Sports world's powerful reaction to the George Floyd tragedy

We love sports! And we know you love sports, too. But why do we miss them so much? 

So as we wait for the biggest team sports to return in America, we asked ourselves why we fell in love with sports in the first place. And we are sharing those stories -- both ours and yours. These are the stories shared so far:  

• For Nancy Armour, it was the Sundays spent watching the Green Bay Packers with her father, Mickey. 
• For Christine Brennan, it was an undefeated Toledo team that went on a 35-game streak -- with her listening or being at every game.
• For Cesar Brioso, the tragic death of Yankees legend Thurman Munson and the emotions it brought forth crystallized the importance of sports in his life. 
• And for reader Rick Kosek of Atlanta, he was working in a fabrication plant after barely graduating high school (his words). But an opportunity presented itself -- and he seized it. And now he's a College World Series champion.

We want your stories, too! Email us at usatodaysports@usatoday.com to share the moment or reason that you first fell in love with sports. 

RIP George Floyd. 

The painful moments of George Floyd's death have reignited discussions around racism and police brutality in the United States and have led to protests around the country. Members of the sports community are using their platforms each day to join the conversation:

• Former NBA player Stephen Jackson expanded on his longtime friendship with George Floyd, in an emotional interview on NBC’s "Today" show.
• Two of the NFL's biggest stars let their voices be heard: “We cannot continue to ignore racism as though it has ended, or never happened.”
• Ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick broke his silence with verbal, financial, and legal support for protesters in Minneapolis, which led to a former top NFL executive to prompt teams to sign Kaepernick.
• Michael Jordan who spent his NBA career mostly silent on political or racial issues also offered strong sentiments: "We have had enough."
• Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers explained in a statement that “the response we are seeing across the nation, to the murder of George Floyd, is decades in the making.”
• Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow took to Twitter to voice his support for the black community while most college football coaches have remained silent.
• Nike aired a new ad calling out racism that challenged viewers: "don't pretend there's not a problem in America."
• Seth Towns, an Ohio State basketball player who was detained last week, gave an impassioned speech at a protest.
• Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown used his platform to help coordinate protests in his home state of Georgia where he drove from Boston to be a part of.
• Protests over the death of George Floyd spread to sports leagues in Europe where soccer players wore items bearing "Justice for George."

The other standout sports stories from the week that was: 

• JUMP IN A POND: U.S. Olympic swimmer Lilly King is getting creative while training in Indiana. 
• BETTER THAN PERFECT: Looking back at Armando Galarraga's perfect game that wasn't.
• FATHER FIGURE: The late Eddie Sutton was more than just a coach for many of his players. 
• GENEROSITY: Cleveland Cavaliers big man Andre Drummond left a $1,000 tip at a Florida restaurant. 
• OLYMPIANS ... THEY'RE JUST LIKE US! With the Summer Olympics on hold, United States athletes embrace being "really bad' at quarantine hobbies.
• BOSTON MARATHON CANCELED: Organizers had hoped to stage it on Sept. 14, but on the in-person event will not take place for the first time in its 124-year history.
• NBA IN DISNEY: How NBA can play out season at Disney sports complex in Florida
• RIP BOBBY JOE MURROW: 3-time gold medalist for U.S. at 1965 Summer Olympics died at age 84
• NO FANS? When sports return, fans will not be there and athletes are already reacting.

Pop quiz: Do you recognize these iconic sports stats?

Video to brighten your day

We all could use a pick-me-up right now. Here's just the sweetest video of how a FedEx man connected a young fan with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.

The rest of the good (and goofy) from the week that was: 

• The Nationals' World Series rings are awesome ... and even include Baby Shark! 
• Several MLB teams held Memorial Day tributes in empty stadiums. 
• Lovie Smith's iconic beard is no more.  
• With offseason uniform updates in the books, we rank the NFL teams' threads.
• Tennessee forward plays saxophone cover of "Careless Whisper" in empty park.
• Packers' Aaron Jones teams up with Call of Duty to help veterans during pandemic. 
• A PGA Tour pro's 7-year-old son hit a hole in one. 
• Tyson (Fury) vs. (Mike) Tyson? 
• Former All-SEC DL C.J. "Poop" Johnson published a potty-training book.
• A ticket stub from Michael Jordan's first NBA game sold for big money. 

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