Richey Gahagen

~ Sports Guru ~ Foodie🎮~ RICHEY2KING2
IG ~ richeyg
Snapchat ~ richeygahagen

[World News Tonight @ABCWorldNews]

President Trump announces a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran has been reached, stating the United States blockade will be lifted immediately, and the Strait of Hormuz will reopen after the deal is signed on Friday. Martha Raddatz has more. https://t.co/rKSmifr4to

[Adam Ryan 🤝 @AdamRy_n]

Aldon Smith passed away this weekend. Most people are talking about his incredible ability, potential, and performance as a football player.

Even though that is all true. He was so much more than that. He was a great friend and his kindness changed my life forever.

I met Aldon our freshman year at Mizzou. He was redshirted and relatively unknown as an athlete. His giveaway was the biggest hands you'll ever see and his ability to dunk at 250lbs, but his size in many ways didn't match his personality. He was relatively quiet and in most scenarios would try to shrink into the room vs stand out in it.

Over the course of the next year, we became close. We were very different people, from different places, but we both connected on the feeling of being a bit lost in the beginnings of adulthood. That year, I never really thought about him as a football player. He was just this gentle giant who loved to play video games and talk about life.

His sophmore year he broke the single season sack record at Mizzou, became an All American, and his life changed forever.

He became a celebrity on campus. He became a household name in Missouri. He became a top NFL draft prospect.

I remember how crazy his life became, and how quickly. ESPN doing interviews. Fancy cars being "loaned" to him. And people everywhere inserting themselves into his life.

Despite the craziness, my friend was always a text away.

My junior of college, I decided to take my first stab at entrepreneurship. I wanted to launch a chapter of Camp Kesem.

Kesem is a summer camp for children whose parents have been affected by cancer. The camp would be totally free and be a chance for a kid to experience the magic of being a kid again. As a son of a breast cancer survivor the idea of being able to create this camp in Missouri meant the world to me.

The Livestrong Foundation was hosting a nation wide contest to win $10,000 as seed capital to get started. To win, you had to have the most votes.

I tried really freaking hard to win that competition. I was going up against some really influential people at huge schools. As a somewhat awkward kid in Columbia, MO I had no chance.

So I asked my friend Aldon for a favor. I asked him if he would help me out and promote the link to vote.

He did more than just posting about Kesem on Facebook, skyrocketing us into the top place in the country. He kept supporting me the next 3 years while I was working on building Kesem.

He showed up to have fun with the kids. He helped me fundraise. He helped me get Kesem to become an official organization sponsored by the NFLPA so he could publicly endorse us as as a player.

Since then Torry Holt, Larry Fitzegerald, and many others have supported Kesem. But Aldon was the first.

Kesem led me to move to Austin to work for the Livestrong Foundation. Kesem is how I met my wife. Kesem gave me the confidence to start Workweek and continue the path of building something from scratch.

But in reality, Aldon enabled all those things.

Throughout the years we had many amazing memories together. Having my wife and I vacation to his house in San Jose. Going to New Orleans for the Super Bowl and seeing his entire family make the trip. Meeting his son and watching him be a dad. The hilarious night we met Derek Jeter. Having the most intellectual conversations about life while playing Call of Duty.

I also saw him struggle. There's no doubt he was a complicated person. Truthfully, I don't know if he ever really figured out who he wanted to be. I know just because your'e 6'4, 250lbs, and get 5.5 sacks in a single NFL game doesn't necessarily mean you want to be a football player. No matter the reasons, he made many bad decisions in his life. Some of those mistakes made it hard for me to stay as close as we'd once been.

One day, not too long ago, I just decided to text him. It had been years since we really chatted. I just wanted to say thank you for all that he had done for me and that I was sorry I wasn't there for him more through his struggles. We FaceTimed after that, and it was like the old days all over again.

Aldon was more than the headlines, the mistakes. He was a generous, gentle soul, a kid at heart, someone who was endlessly curious about life... all in the body of a world class NFL player, bearing the weight of professional pressure and personal circumstances that most of us can't even imagine.

People are complex. People who make bad decisions can also do great things. A person can be hated by almost everyone and, yet, there are people in that person's life who still love them deeply.

I learned many of these lesson due to Aldon, and I'll carry them with me forever.

Rest in peace, Aldon. You won't be forgotten.

[All day Astronomy @forallcurious]

🚨: Tsunami waves after 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook Philippines!

[ABC15 Arizona @abc15]

National Doughnut Day is TODAY, June 5! 🍩 Here are some deals & freebies in the Valley you 'donut' want to miss 🔗 https://t.co/JQgJSMJnfx

[World News Tonight @ABCWorldNews]

Actor Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of simple battery for punching people outside a New Orleans bar in February during Mardi Gras. https://t.co/azVlV7bmPh

[NFL @NFL]

Lamar Miller owns a wild NFL stat 😱 @millertime_6

Longest run in Miami Dolphins history: 97 yards
Longest run in Houston Texans history: 97 yards

[Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter]

Five-time Pro-Bowl selection Derwin James now has become the highest-paid safety for the second time in his career after agreeing today to a three-year, $25.2 million per year extension that includes $57.5 million guaranteed, per @DavidMulugheta of @AthletesFirst.

[SportsCenter @SportsCenter]

WEMBY'S UNBELIEVABLE HALFCOURT SHOT TO BEAT THE FIRST HALF BUZZER 😱

[Clip Station @Clip_Station_]

A family called a worker to repair the pool's safety fence, but after he removed the cover, he was shocked by something striking, and this was his reaction...

[Shams Charania @ShamsCharania]

Brandon Clarke of the Memphis Grizzlies has died at 29 years old. RIP.

[Fantasy Life @MBFantasyLife]

Getting Puka Nacua off dynasty waivers in 2023

[Bleacher Report @BleacherReport]

Wemby has TEN BLOCKS...

The 4th quarter hasn't started yet 😳🤯

[World News Tonight @ABCWorldNews]

As thousands took to Havana's streets for May Day, Pres. Trump expanded sanctions against the Cuban government. The U.S. oil blockade has Cuba on the brink of economic collapse, leaving many without power, fuel and food. @MattRiversABC reports in Havana. https://t.co/kTFlFAwrlM

[World News Tonight @ABCWorldNews]

An $81 billion Warner-Paramount mega merger has received shareholders’ stamp of approval, propelling a deal that could vastly reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape closer to the finish line. https://t.co/iqzGAaKyP1

[World News Tonight @ABCWorldNews]

A former police officer who was allegedly traveling to Louisiana to conduct a mass shooting at a large festival was arrested Wednesday at a Florida hotel where investigators found a gun and nearly 200 rounds of ammunition, authorities said. https://t.co/p1YuBsCzwR

[World News Tonight @ABCWorldNews]

Emergency crews are on the scene of a deadly chemical leak at a plant in West Virginia. At least 2 people were killed and more than two dozen received medical treatment. @sramosABC reports on the leak that's forced residents to shelter in place for a time. https://t.co/Vk5wtdoSCY

[World News Tonight @ABCWorldNews]

Thieves carrying out high-stakes heists have recently targeted a highly valued item that's not cash or jewelry: Pokémon cards, highlighting what appears to be an ever-growing demand for merchandise from the popular childhood card game. https://t.co/e3TlQtEJpE

[ABC15 Arizona @abc15]

Japan issued an advisory for northern coastal areas for an increased risk of a possible mega-quake induced by a major quake earlier in the day on Monday.

Officials said the advisory urged residents to raise their preparedness, such as emergency food and their grab bag, just in case, while continuing their daily lives. https://t.co/ZbZckidoFz

[Shams Charania @ShamsCharania]

Indiana Fever three-time WNBA All-Star Aliyah Boston is signing a four-year, $6.3 million contract extension with the franchise, giving her the richest total salary in league history to date, Zack Miller of WME Basketball tells me, @alexaphilippou and @kendra__andrews. Boston will make $1M in the upcoming season and 20% of the cap from 2027-29.

[Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter]

Highest paid non-quarterbacks in the NFL:

🏈Will Anderson Jr.: $50M
🏈Micah Parsons: $46.5M
🏈Aidan Hutchinson: $45M
🏈Jaxon Smith-Njigba: $42.15M
🏈TJ Watt: $41M
🏈Ja’Marr Chase: $40.25M