Coco Talanoa — Sports / Page 49
In Football We Trust: Star Lotulelei's NFL Draft Day
What’s NFL Draft Day like for a player on the verge of making it? For Utah Utes defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, whose mother and father immigrated to the U.S. from Tonga, it means pigs on spits, hundreds of family, friends, and media, and the weight of their expectations entirely on his shoulders.
Joseph Parker vs Jason Bergman highlights
Check out the highlights from the Rumble in Paradise between the uso Joseph Parker and Jason Bergman in Samoa!
Bergman was unable to continue the fight in the eighth round after being floored several times throughout the fight, with Parker winning by TKO.
Parker vs Bergman #RumbleInParadise
Check out what both parties had to say in their upcoming match to be held in Apia, Samoa this Saturday night!
Epic Polynesian Wedding Proposal
Christian Parker, brother of NBA superstar Jabari Parker, proposed to girlfriend Terina Oto on New Year’s Eve with the help of friends at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Hawaii.
Oto, a lead performer in the evening show at the Polynesian Cultural Center, thought the choreographed dance was a tribute to the service missionaries at the PCC, but it was all for her. Parker enlisted the help of Oto’s uncle, a choreographer at the PCC, who came up with the idea to create a flash mob. Parker then recorded a song in a studio in Chicago, using the voices of LDS friends such as The Jets and The Moleni Brothers.
On the night of the proposal, Oto escorted the service missionaries, who she thought were being honored, to the front of the stage after the PCC evening show. She then watched as more than 200 people, including students at her preschool, family, friends and co-workers, participated in the flash mob that led to Parker’s proposal.…more
Iupati named Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year
Arizona Cardinals Offensive Lineman Mike Iupati has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year Award presented by Hawaiian Airlines.
The Award recognizes the most outstanding professional football player of Polynesian ancestry.
The 6-foot-5-tall, 330-pound American Samoa native was born to Aposetola and Belinda Iupati and is of Samoan ancestry. Iupati attended the University of Idaho where he played for the vandals and earned All-American and All-WAC honors.
"As a proud Polynesian and Samoan, I am honored to be selected as the inaugural Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year," said Mike Iupati. "I would like to congratulate the other finalists, Marcus Mariota, Rey Maualuga, Koa Misi and Manti Te'o as they represent the very best of our culture and the National Football League."
Iupati, in his sixth season out of the University of Idaho, has helped lead the Arizona Cardinals to a 13-3 regular season record.…more
Rieko Ioane, Sonny Bill Williams share trade secrets
Sonny Bill Williams arrived for his first official day in All Blacks Sevens camp on Sunday with numerous question marks hanging over his head.
"The big thing for me is just getting out there and doing it, getting reps in," Williams said.
"I've got confidence that I'll be able to pick it up eventually but that's the reason I'm a full-time Sevens player this year, because I knew coming into it that it would be really tough and I've got to give it my all."
Rubbing shoulders with Sevens veterans DJ Forbes and Tim Mikkelson has been invaluable for Williams' education in what is his fourth professional sport and he has already begun drawing from their combined 62 tournaments' worth of experience.
But it's not only the old heads helping out, with 18-year-old Reiko Ioane revealing he has also been sought after by the code-hopping star for advice.
"He definitely has a lot of learning to do.…more
Maria Tutaia joins tennis stars on streets of Newmarket!
Traffic stopped for a celebrity tennis match on the streets of Newmarket, Auckland in preparation for the upcoming ASB Classic next Monday.
A section of popular Auckland shopping destination Newmarket was closed off on Sunday as tennis stars Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki had a friendly few hits with Silver Fern Maria Tutaia and TV host Makere Bradnam.
The ASB Classic favourties went head-to-head with their Kiwi partners right in the middle of Broadway on a makeshift tennis court spanning the entire road.
Silver Fern Maria Tutaia - the only one of the four without a background in tennis - was paired with Wozniacki. The pair lost both sets gracefully to Ivanovic and Bradnam.
"Well, for me it was pretty easy, I'm quite the tennis guru!" Tutaia joked.
Bradnam said it was an awesome opportunity to smack the ball around with her heroes.…more
SBW sparks conflict with graphic images of dead children
Sonny Bill Williams tweeted extremely graphic images of two dead children after returning from Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon, demanding to know what they had done to deserve death.
The two images, which thecoconet.tv has chosen not to publish due to their graphic nature, show young children lying on the ground with wounds to their heads, torso and legs.
"What did these children do to deserve this?" SBW tweeted on Tuesday evening.
Williams recently returned from visiting a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon as a Unicef ambassador working to bring awareness to the plight of the children and their families living in the camps.
The All Black star said his time at the temporary settlements at Faida in the Bekaa Valley, made him realise how "ignorant" of the refugee crisis he was.
He continues, "This summer share a thought for the innocent lives lost everyday in war,"
Early mixed reactions to Williams' tweet were followed by a flood of support on Twitter.…more
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and the great 'King Tonga'
The Rock is known for not only looking out for his fans, but also his family - check out his awesome Facebok post about his Uncle - King Tonga!
Years later and I get a call from WWE saying "Vince McMahon wants to see you wrestle immediately. He's flying you to RAW tomorrow and you'll have a tryout match." I thought holy shit that's awesome, buuuut there's a few problems: For me, I wasn't just having "a tryout match", because I had never actually HAD a real match in my life. Ever.…more
Jarryd Hayne back in business!
After being banished to the 49ers' practice squad for almost two months, Jarryd Hayne became the team's top running back option in today's game.
His time in the practice squad quickly paid off, Hayne showing the power and speed that made him an NRL star, including an 11-yard run that put quarterback Blaine Gabbert in a position to connect with tight end Vance McDonald for the first touchdown of the game.
Hayne also showed his toughness, with one highlight late in the second half when he was hit by the Lions' 185cm tall, 110kg linebacker Josh Bynes, but bounced off and kept moving forward for a three yard gain and, more importantly, a first down.
The former rugby league star had five receptions and nine carries for a combined 47 yards at running back, including the 11-yard run that set up the 49ers' first touchdown.