user: IN: ‘AGT’ winner Mat Franco’s secret weapon: Heidi Klum?
From left, Howard Stern, winner Mat Franco, Melanie Brown, Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum. Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP

On Wednesday, America’s Got Talent winner Mat Franco, 25, became the first magician in the show’s nine-season history to be crowned champ.

He just called us a few minutes ago to chat about it.

“I’m trying to soak it all in.”

“It felt like a rush of energy and excitement. It was blowing my mind.”

“I really thought any one of the six finalists could have taken it.”

“Penn and Teller, David Copperfield. I grew up watching David Blaine. And there are many more whose names you may not know.”

“It was one of those TV specials with all sorts of magic acts. I just wanted to do what they were doing before I even knew what that meant. I was 4 years old and was hooked.”

“When you’re first beginning, you want to learn how to perform a trick. Sleight of hand takes years and years and years of practice. That’s the most difficult kind of magic.”

“I’m glad you asked what makes a good magic act, not a good trick. Connecting with people is really more important. It’s not what makes a good trick. Magic is not about the tricks. It’s about what happens in their mind and the feeling you give them. That’s the magic.”

“They all did at different moments (Howard Stern, Mel B., Howie Mandell and Heidi Klum). During the top 12, Heidi mentioned I was her favorite magic act on the show. But each of them had their own twist on saying very, very nice things.”

“If you asked me two years ago, I would never have known I’d be here now as winner of AGT. To be able to plan ahead? That’s just impossible. Really, it’s a matter of taking a deep breath, evaluating everything that’s taken place so far. First, they whisk us away to Las Vegas.”

Franco and other top acts from the season will star in America’s Got Talent Live at the AXIS Powered by Monster inside Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on Sept. 26 and 27 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
What is a short summary of the above article?

OUT: Plus, what it takes to be a great magic act.


Input: Former New Orleans Saints Wives Say NFL Covered Up Their Abuse
If you’re looking to marry into the NFL, two former wives of players have some advice for you: keep your mouth shut when he hits you. That’s not their playbook, it’s the one they were handed when they were put in abusive situations during their husbands’ playing days.

On Friday, The Washington Post ran a story that detailed the horrifying lives of two women who were married to New Orleans Saints players in a time period between the 1990s and present day. To highlight how tight of a grip abuse still has on them, only one woman was willing to use her name publicly.

Dewan Smith-Williams, who was married to New Orleans Saints player Wally Williams in the 1990s and 2000s, detailed her abuse and how then-head coach Jim Hasslet nudged her towards keeping her mouth shut. Smith-Williams notes that Hasslet told her that taking the fall for her husband was not a good idea, which years later caused her to silence herself about her husband’s illegal activities even after he took a baseball bat to their entire house.

“We’ve told agents about it, called the NFL Players Association when things were really, really bad,” Smith-Williams recalls. “They would say, ‘Oh, we’re really sorry that you are going through this. We’ll look into it.’ But you never heard back. There’s no one available for the wives.”

The wife that wanted to remain nameless detailed an even more horrifying incident in which she was violently abused by her NFL husband only to have no one care. She notes that the police were called by the neighbors, who proceeded to joke with her husband and ask for autographs. But the most horrific and spine chilling details came in the days after.

After the incident occurred, the New Orleans Saints called the house to not so much offer assistance but to make sure she wasn’t going to go public with what happened. If that doesn’t paint a terrifying enough picture, the woman then noted that her husband refused to take her to the hospital and drove her around to make sure she told everyone that she had been in a car accident

“I learned to listen and not speak,” she says. “He would remind me of that night, how no one would care if I was gone and how the cops did [not care]. It was all about him. He reminded me that I was alone and disposable.”

This unnamed woman is still shackled in chains of an abusive relationship as her anonymity is on account of her abuser is still associated with the NFL in enough capacity that she is scared to say her name.

As if the NFL didn’t already have a big enough problem with abuse, this highlights just how deep the roots are. You can’t hear these stories and not feel sick. All of this happened over the last decade, which means the NFL needs to stop cowering behing the facade that abuse is a ‘societal problem’.

Abuse in the NFL being a societal problem is like saying obesity is a problem because gym memberships cost too much. There’s correlation but pretty transparent correlation. The NFL needs to stop hiding behind machismo and answer to what is very clearly a societal problem that the largest sports business in the world is enabling.

This article originally appeared on SI.com
What was this article about?
++++++++++
It's about: Two former New Orleans Saints wives have come forward to tell their story of abuse, fear and how the NFL tried to keep them quiet


Q: Transactions - NYTimes.com

CHARLESTON (W.Va.) - Announced the resignation of Rich Meckfessel, athletic director.

INDIANA (Pa.) - Named Frank Cignetti, former football coach at West Virginia, athletic director.

LAMAR - Said that Larry Kennan has resigned as football coach to join the staff of the Oakland Raiders. Named John Payton interim football coach. FOOTBALL

MONTREAL (CFL) -- Officials of the new Canadian Football league team in the city said that is would be named the Concords. The Concords replace the Alouettes, who were withdrawn from the league May 13.

UNITED STATES LEAGUE -- Announced a two-year television agreement with ABC. HOCKEY

MINNESOTA (NHL) -- Signed Craig Hartsburg, defenseman, to a seven-year contract worth more than $1 million. SOCCER

COSMOS (NASL) -- Named Martin Rotberg vice president of operations.
What are the most important parts of this text?

A:

assistant: COLLEGES   CHARLESTON (W.Va.) - Announced the resignation of Rich Meckfessel, athletic director.   INDIANA (Pa.) - Named Frank Cignetti, former football coach at West Virginia, athletic director.