Bigger than sports: When the sun shines, we’ll shine together

The GIST: On-field cellies tend to get the most air-time, but sometimes it’s off-field moments that deserve the spotlight. So, amidst the often-negative news cycle, we’re shining light on a few deserving stories that will have you in your feels.

🏈 Putting family into football: No. 5 Clemson HC Dabo Swinney postponed yesterday’s practice so that he and 40 Tigers could travel home with All-ACC defensive tackle Bryan Bresee to attend his 15-year-old sister’s, Ella’s, funeral. She passed away from brain cancer on Thursday, and Clemson honored her at their game only two weeks ago.

• Before Saturday’s game, which Bresee missed, opposing HC Sonny Cumbie wore an “Ella Strong” t-shirt, and each of his Louisiana Tech players wrote letters to Bresee’s family.

🏀 Giving back: Nine of Kansas’ men’s basketball players stunned the attendees of a charity event on Sunday night. As part of a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal, the Jayhawks attended a gala to raise money for local unhoused families and decided to cut checks of their own to the tune of $17K total.

• Jalen Wilson, who proposed the idea to chip in, said “...NIL’s not always about us gaining money; it’s about us being able to change people’s lives with the money we’re receiving.” Gen Z is something special.

🏀 Betting on a comeback: Just five months after being shot 10 times in her arms and legs at a Las Vegas house party, USC women’s hooper Aaliyah Gayles has been cleared to ball again. The eighth-ranked 2022 recruit will redshirt this season as she continues to recover.

• And the WNBA champs Las Vegas Aces supported Gayles, too. Both Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum anteed up hundreds toward the Trojan’s medical bills. Our hearts.