Did You Hear Roger Federer Joined Coldplay?!

Special delivery from Ed-ex. Ed Sheeran is one of those rare solo acts that can consistently sell-out massive football stadiums. Such was the case at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts a few weeks back, but Sheeran probably made a bigger impact when he played to a much smaller audience that same week.

Children in the youth orchestra at the Tobin Community Center in Boston had been practicing Sheeran’s “Eyes Closed” for their recital. They didn’t know he’d be performing it with them.

Not only did he join the tune, he invited all of the performers and their families to come to his show, gifted an autographed acoustic guitar, and took photos.

The fun didn’t stop there on that leg of the tour, as Sheeran’s friend, little known musician John Mayer, got the nod to open for him and join him on stage. So kind of Ed to give a struggling artist a chance. And what a moment for cargo pants!

Kidding aside, we need that Ed shirt.

Eat your heart out, Hasselhoff. I worked as a lifeguard for 4 summers. Never had a chance to make any saves. One time a grandmother went in after her grandchild fully clothed, but I assure you, that was NOT necessary. He wasn’t going under, Nana! Get a grip.

Anyways, Noah Roche (12) and Weston Roche (8) just obliterated my nonexistent save tally.

They were swimming at an apartment pool when Noah noticed a 7 year old boy had ventured to the deep end and gone under. He dove down and quickly discovered that the boy was not okay. The second member of the Roche Bros tag team, Weston, dove in and pulled him to the surface.

The boy’s mother was able to successfully perform CPR, and he made a full recovery. [Good Morning America]

Step aside Hasselhoff (or The Rock, for you Gen Z’ers). The Roche Bros are the new stars of Baywatch.

And totally redeem yourself!! Brazilian photographer Leonardo Sens worked for three long years to capture this unbelievable photo. He studied the Moon’s position carefully, determined when it would align with Christ the Redeemer, and made his attempts.

In 2021, he wasn’t able to frame it in time. In 2022, clouds and haze foiled his attempt. In June of 2023? Perfection.

This is what happens when an exciting vision meets preparation and persistence. Let’s see Midjourney do that!

(But if Midjourney can, in fact, do that…nobody show Leonardo, and don’t show me either. Not interested!)

We knew we liked Costco. Costco is beloved. People love their bulk buys, and they love hot dog prices that are stuck in the 1980s…as is their American right! Is anything more American than $1.50 hot dogs and comically large quantities of things like macaroni and cheese? We salute you Costco.

And now we have a new reason to do so. A Costco Redditor recently shared that after their mother-in-law passed, they discovered she had a balance on her Costco credit card. When they called to pay it off, the agent refused payment and even refunded the fees, recognizing the sensitivity of a tough situation.

Treating customers like humans can go a long way.

Citi gets a shoutout for running Costco’s card program, but it’s more fun to fawn over our bulk buy crown jewel than a bank, isn’t it? Kirkland forever.

Kramer had the right idea. There’s an episode of Seinfeld where Kramer swims in the East River for fitness, much to Jerry’s bewilderment. Before long, his questionable workout regimen explodes in popularity, effectively crowding him out of the river.

That’s kind of what Chris Harris aimed to achieve last week, minus the crowding. He swam 28.5 miles AROUND Manhattan for charity. One of the beneficiary organizations is +POOL, which strives to promote free and safe access to swimming in waters around NYC.

Congrats to Chris on an epic achievement!

Chris was joined for the last stretch of the swim by Olympic gold medalist, Anthony Ervin. We’re left to wonder 1) how that swim compared to the 50 Free in Rio and 2) if Ervin could take Kramer in Kramer’s home water.

Don’t bet against Cosmo.

Is there anything better than an ice cold Coke when you’re really in the mood for one?!

Well, consider a world in which that option wouldn’t even be available to you.

On this day in 1985, Coca-Cola announced that it would resume selling “old formula” Coke after the failed experiment that was New Coke. While blind taste tests suggested many preferred the new formulation, the public backlash was swift and severe (sounds familiar).

While consumption of cola has no doubt declined, you can’t deny the power of a classic.

There’s arguably nothing better you can do for a person than reunite them with their pups.

This week, we’ve got two stories of great Samaritans doing just that.

When a law enforcement dog escaped from his handler’s backyard in Fresno, the Sheriff’s Office was devastated. Odin, trained to search and track, was now the dog in need of tracking.

As it turns out, Odin found himself five miles away, meeting a new friend, Olivia, a Belgian Malinois. Camryn Escoto, Olivia’s owner, didn’t simply ignore Odin’s bizarre arrival. She took action, calling her dog trainer for advice. Luckily, the trainer was aware of Odin’s disappearance.

Escoto called the Clovis police and promptly delivered the officers’ pal to a tearful reunion. Criminals beware: Odin is back on the hunt. [WSAZ]

Bubba Nulisch was put in a medically induced coma to fight a bacterial infection.

As if that wasn’t enough of a nightmare, when he woke up, he learned his dog had escaped the care of a friend. Bullet was found via a rescue organization, but proving that Bullet was actually his dog - while still in the hospital - was a challenge.

A stranger, Kim Joppie, learned of Nulisch’s plight via social media. She jumped in, interfacing with both the rescue organization and with a foster family that was about to adopt Bullet.

Thanks to her generous work, Bullet and Bubba were happily reunited before he even left the hospital.

Kim Joppie didn’t have to do literally any of that. But she did. Kim Joppie rocks.

Based on the picture, we can confirm Bullet and Bubba think so too. [Washington Post]

It’s okay to push your kids. Some people believe you have to give up your hobbies when you have kids. Neely Gracey is not one of those people. She pushed her two year old son, Rome, around a track, running one mile in 5:24.17. That’s a world record for the fastest mile ever run by a female while pushing a stroller….by 33 seconds.

Rome was apparently not impressed, focusing instead on an icee truck and some drones he saw during the race. Ah, parenthood.

We’re impressed, Neely.

Putting the puzzle pieces in place. Last month, a California man with severe autism took down the Rubik’s Cube world record. Max Park solved a 3×3×3 cube in 3.13 seconds, the culmination of over a decade of Rubik’s competition.

Park was introduced to cubes at 9 years old to address motor skill weaknesses. While he got better at the cube itself, he also blossomed socially at the competitions. As his father put it: “he found his tribe of people.” [Fox News]

A tribe is out there for all of us. We just have to find something we’re passionate about and put ourselves out there.

My thing will not be Rubik’s Cubes. *hurls cube across room in frustration* 

Roger Federer, global treasure. Last fall, Roger Federer called time on one of the greatest tennis careers in history. This summer, he’s enjoying the fruits of retirement. Deservedly so.

It’s hard to think of another athlete that operated at the highest level for as long as Federer did with the utmost class and grace, and without an ounce of scandal or controversy. Off the court, Federer’s foundation has helped more than 2.4 million children benefit from better quality education. Focused in Southern Africa & Switzerland, the foundation has spent 77.5 million CHF on education initiatives.

While we might not normally be inclined to use this space to celebrate famous people getting to do awesome things, Rog deserves it. So, here he is getting an ovation so long that it could’ve lasted until next year’s Wimbledon if he didn’t sit down.

The Princess of Wales isn’t the only royalty in that box…

Better yet, he gave an epic shaker solo with Coldplay a few nights prior. You read that right. While his on-court performances were the stuff of maestro, the shaker performance was truly inspired.

Federer has also seen Elton John and Bruce Springsteen in the last week. Best summer ever? He might’ve retired a couple years sooner if he knew this was what life was like on the other side.

From one sportsman to another. Speaking of great sportsmen, Mike Conley just won his fourth NBA Sportsmanship Award. Unsurprisingly, that’s a record. In true point guard fashion, Conley shared the credit for the achievements with all those who have impacted him.

One to look up to for sure.

This Rook won’t fall. Kenneth Rooks ran smack into the barrier during the steeplechase at Saturday night’s US National Track and Field Championships. Thing came out of nowhere. Wham!

By the time he tumbled over it, he found himself about 30 meters behind the race.

Many would fold. Rooks isn’t many.

He rallied to not only close the gap, but to sprint past the field in the last 100, becoming the new national champion.

I walk into something by accident, I’m wide awake at night replaying it for hours in the horror of embarrassment. Rooks runs full steam into a barrier, he’s winning a national championship within minutes.

We are not the same.