The smartest player in the NFL – and perhaps in the history of the NFL – “abruptly” retired two days after a medical study found indications of the degenerative brain disease CTE in 99 percent of the deceased NFL players who donated their brains for scientific research. ESPN reports:

Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel, the NFL’s mathematics expert, abruptly announced his retirement from football at the age of 26 on Thursday, just before the first full-team practice of training camp. …

Urschel is pursuing his doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the offseason, focusing on spectral graph theory, numerical linear algebra and machine learning. He was expected to compete for the Ravens’ starting center job in training camp.

GroundFloor Media’s Get Grounded Foundation distributed a total of more than $17,000 to Child Advocates – CASA of Jefferson & Gilpin Counties, The Bridge Project, The Denver Children’s Advocacy Center and PCs for People. The programs were selected for their efforts to get a new or innovative program off the “ground floor” in the area of child abuse and neglect, youth behavioral health or childhood hunger relief.

Street art can be one of the most provocative forms of protest, and the arts-and-culture-heavy city of Minneapolis has not disappointed:

In advance of right-leaning Sinclair’s acquisition of Denver’s Fox31, news director Holly Gauntt has jumped ship to rival 7News. Joanne Ostrow at The Denver Post has the details.