Manchester Storm ice hockey team are set to take part in a fundraising memorial game honouring Adam Johnson, who tragically died in a skating incident last month.
Johnson’s sudden death was the result of a rare, freak accident after his neck was lacerated by another player’s skates whilst playing against the Sheffield Steelers on 28 October.
The 29-year-old Nottingham Panthers forward and former NHL star was rushed to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead, with people all across the EIHL and sporting world in general left in shock following the awful news.
Now, just a few weeks on from his passing, to pay their respects to the talented and well-travelled player, the Panthers are teaming with the Storm to host a memorial match in his name on Saturday, 18 November in Nottingham, with the face-off starting at 7pm.
The Adam Johnson Memorial game will be held at the National Ice Centre, the team’s home stadium inside the Motorpoint Arena and will be collecting donations for the ‘Love For Hibbing and Hockey Memorial Fund‘: a charity fund set up to help raise money for worthy causes in Johnson’s hometown back in Minnesota.
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As an extra gesture of goodwill, Manchester Storm will also be wearing specially commissioned Adam Johnson jerseys, with every player on the ice wearing his number 47.
As the club wrote in a recent statement, “Saturday is sure to be a very emotional evening for many fans and staff attending the fixture, as an organisation we feel honoured to take part and help ease players, fans and staff back into the Motorpoint Arena whilst raising money for the memorial fund.”
The club are delighted to announce the squad will wear a specially commissioned #AJ47 Memorial jersey on Saturday evening with all funds raised going to the 'Love For Hibbing and Hockey Memorial Fund' ⤵️
The Panthers have already carried out a number of tributes for their beloved squad member, including holding a memorial service, minutes silences and writing the message, ‘Forever Our #47’, in club colours on the ice at their home ground.
For those of you wanting to go and watch the Storm and pay tribute to Adam Johnson whilst doing your bit for charity, tickets to the memorial game are on sale now. You can grab yours HERE.
Featured Images — Nottingham Panthers/Manchester Storm
Sport
Wayne Rooney joins the cast of Gary Neville’s The Overlap
Danny Jones
Wayne Rooney has secured a new job just a few months on from departing as Birmingham City head coach, with the Manchester United and England legend being named as the latest member of The Overlap team.
Set to join the cast of the popular Stick to Football online series alongside the likes of former teammates Gary Neville and Roy Keane, as well as the rest of the recurring panel.
Rooney is also set to feature on various other shows across The Overlap channel, including the likes of their regular fan debates and other interviews with athletes and well-known figures.
They announced the signing in true transfer window fashion as well.
As transfer expert Fabrizio Romano quips in the video, Rooney “has signed an agreement with The Overlap” and is expected to make his debut very soon
‘Wazza’ has appeared as a pundit on Sky Sports in recent weeks and has even been spotted playing some FIFA with comedy YouTuber AngryGinge as part of his pro clubs series, but hasn’t been in a steady role since being sacked as the Birmingham manager at the start of the year.
Having already appeared as a guest in one of the most popular episodes of Stick to Football and clearly sharing a strong chemistry with his old friends – as well as the likes of fellow Scouser Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott and Ian Wright – it looks to be a natural fit for the sport-based channel.
The 38-year-old revealed some pretty interesting details about his playing and managerial career last time around, not to mention some of the other offers he’s had since…
Rooney reiterated during his own interview that his primary focus is still on coaching and finding his next managerial role, but for the time being, he’ll be bringing the insight of another ex-pro to the popular YouTube channel.
Speaking on his latest move, the former striker said, “I’m excited to announce that I will be joining my good mate Gary Neville and the team at The Overlap to appear on the channel across some of their brilliant shows on YouTube and the podcast. I can’t wait to get started”.
With an episode from at least one of their series going out most weeks, you can expect to see the footballing legend back on the channel soon.
Featured Images — The Overlap/Wayne Rooney (via Instagram)
Sport
Manchester City star Erling Haaland is now a playable character in Clash of Clans mobile game
Danny Jones
In yet more proof that footballers just live in an entirely different world from us, Manchester City star Erling Haaland has popped up in the popular mobile game, Clash of Clans – and it’s not just a little cameoeither.
Haaland‘s no stranger to the odd brand deal, so when we saw him cutting a promo for Clash of Clans we weren’t too surprised, but it’s safe to say we weren’t expecting to see footballers pop up in video games besides FIFA (sorry, EA FC) at any point this year.
The big number nine is not just a famous face to help push the already hugely popular mobile strategy and city-building game, they don’t need it; it turns out the lethal goalscorer is now going to be an actual playable character in the latest Clash of Clans update.
He even turned his hand to a bit of acting in the trailer:
As you can see, the 23-year-old stars in the new advert which sees troops appear in his home whilst he’s playing the game before being sucked into the game world.
Starring as the Barbarian King, he’s the first real person to ever feature in the game and will be available through a month-long football-themed seasonal event in-game.
When we stop and think about it, the Norwegian striker is pretty much a perfect fit given his Scandinavian heritage and the obvious Viking theme surrounding the franchise – not to mention the fact that he’s apparently been playing the game since he was 10.
He’s also been dropping a hint or two of late, in case you didn’t pick up on them.
Speaking on the collaboration, Haaland said: “I’ve been a huge fan of the game for a long time and know everything about it, so to appear as an in-game character is really cool”.
As for Finnish developer-publishers Supercell, CoC’s general manager Stuart McGaw said in an official announcement: “When we heard Erling Haaland was a fan of our game and that he wanted to partner with us, it was really a dream scenario.”
Haaland will be available to recruit in the game until 31 May, plus, if players raid his village and take down the Barbarian King himself, they can win additional rewards and a place on the leaderboards.
Danny Jones -
14th November 2023 
