Coco Talanoa — Sports / Page 24

Round 1 of the NFL Draft kicked off earlier this evening with the 86th annual meeting of NFL franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 season.

There were 2x Top 10 Draft picks of Pacific Islands heritage.

Zach Kapono Wilson who is of Native Hawaiian heritage and Penei Sewell who was born and raised in American Samoa.

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Similar to Hawaiian born Marcus Mariota who is of Samoan heritage, Zach was picked by the New York Jets 2nd overall in the 2021 draft! 

Wilson played in 30 career games for BYU with 28 starts and is the youngest freshman quarterback to ever start for the Cougars.  In 2020 he earned Pro Football Focus All-America Second Team, Phil Steele All-America honorable mention, Co-Polynesian College Football Player of the Year and finished No. 8 in the Heisman Trophy voting.

He is one of six siblings and grew up in Utah.  His first love wasn't football but basketball and for most of his youth his father took him to basketball tournaments around the US.…more

Samoan Panthers Panthers boys Brian To'o, Jarome Luai & Stephen Crichton have a go at performing one of Boyz II Men's hit classics in this hilarious lipsync video. 

They then have a go at singing the song live on NRL Live after they took on the Broncos on Saturday night.

Via RNZ Pacific 

Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua have been granted conditional licences to join a planned new professional competition next year, New Zealand Rugby has announced.

NZR Pasifika Engagement Manager Saveatama Eroni Clarke, NZR board member Sir Michael Jones, Moana Pasifika Steering Committee co-chair Pelenato Sakalia and Former All Black Sir Bryan George 'BeeGee' Williams announced the move at 2pm this afternoon.

Moana Pasifika is a combined Samoa and Tonga side and is likely to be based in South Auckland, while the Fiji side is set to be based in Suva.

In November, Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika were announced as New Zealand Rugby's preferred partners to join an expanded 12-team competition subject to a range of conditions, mostly financial, to show that they were capable of funding each franchise to the tune of $10 million a year.

World Rugby last month committed $7 million in funding over the next three years to help fund the two Pacific Islands teams.…more

The Kaiviti Silktails have relocated from Fiji to play in the New South Wales Rugby League Ron Massey Cup for a shot at an opportunity in the NRL.

Sporting Australia went behind the scenes to find out just how much effort has gone into this moment, and why you don't want to miss a second.

When you hear the name 'St Pauls College', cricket is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind - you'd be forgiven for thinking rugby league or even Samoan stage Polyfest champs, but that could soon change with the school receiving expert coaching from former Black Caps bowler Dion Nash and their 1st X1 & colts team going unbeaten this season.

To kick off the weekend a number of old boys and cricket stars teamed up against the St Pauls 1st XI with the help of cricket legends Murphy Su'a, Dipak Patel and Mark Greatbatch in an All Stars vs St Pauls game, to fundraise towards buying cricket equipment, uniforms and extra coaching through winter.…more

We chat with Samoan/Maori UFC fighter Carlos Ulberg after his UFC debut at UFC259 in Las Vegas.

He talks about his UFC debut, the connection he has to his walkout song (OMC's "How Bizarre"), winning 'Fight of the Night', whether he lets his son watch his fights and much more.

PG recommended - Explicit language 

Sporting News Australia chats to UFC Heavyweight Tai Tuivasa about bouncing back from his loss to Junior dos Santos, fighting in the UFC for his family and how growing up in Western Sydney has shaped him to be the man he is today.

Steven Adams (The New Orleans Pelicans) finally joins The Old Man and The Three hosted by JJ Redick and Tommy Alter 

He talks about the exhausting pace of this NBA season, the general feeling around the prospect of an All Star Game, admiring Kareem, his impression of Zion Williams, what Russell Westbrook was like as a teammate, his early impressions of Kevin Durant, on the culture shock of the NBA world, reliving the 2016 series against the Warriors, getting kicked in the nuts by Draymond Green, his love of Oklahoma City, his incredible Hail Mary pass to Dennis Schroder and so much more.

25yr old Samoan Wide Reciever has reportedly signed with the New England Patriots to a three year deal worth $22.5 million according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

This means the San Francisco 49ers have lost their first free agent.  Bourne was the 49ers' second-leading receiver in 2020, so losing him is a big blow to coach Kyle Shanahan's offense.  In 15 games last season, Bourne caught 49 passes for 667 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Off the field Bourne and his Bourne Blessed Foundation teamed up with ServiceNow to provide Mac laptops to 20 college-bound members of the OK Program on Thursday at West Oakland Youth Center.

He emerged as an undrafted rookie in 2017 and was given a chance with the 49ers sustaining his roster spot there. Bourne will turn 26 this summer and is the youngest of the Patriots reported signings to open free agency.…more

Cross-code legend Sonny Bill Williams has joined Stan Sport and Nine as a rugby and NRL commentator.

He officially announced his retirement from both Rugby Union and Rugby League yesterday ending a career which includes winning back to back Rugby World Cups with the All Blacks, 2 NRL premierships and 123 games at the Roosters and Bulldogs.

The rugby, league and now boxing star hopes his foray into the commentary booth will prove similarly inspirational for those who might not have had a voice in previous generations.

"I know I represent a lot of young Polynesian boys, Kiwi boys who represent so much on the field and when it comes to off the field we're not really in this space," Williams told Nick McArdle after signing on as a rugby and NRL commentator for Stan Sport and Nine's Wide World of Sports.

Read more on this story from the Wide World of Sports here