What's up, sunshine? Happy Friday.
Friday fry. Yay. We made it to the best
day of the week. I'm Koi Wire with
another episode of CNN 10. So fresh and
so clean. Clean. What a week it has
been, and we are so grateful to spend
part of it with you. Now, let's get you
your news. We begin in Milan where the
2026 Winter Olympic Games opening
ceremony gets underway 8:00 p.m. local
time. Before reaching Olympic HQ, the
Olympic torch was carried by Team USA's
first ever honorary coach Snoop Dog to
nearby Monza. US Vice President JD Vance
and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also
representing America at the games. and
the surrounding cities are buzzing with
important preparations, including
avalanche control. After days of heavy
snowfall, natural snow can build up in
unstable layers on a slope, and if left
alone, it can release suddenly, a
massive avalanche. The workers seen here
use smaller explosives to release the
snow safely under controlled conditions.
Competition is already underway, though,
at the winter games with mixed doubles
curling and women's ice hockey. I'll be
headed to Italy in a few days to cover
the games and I am taking you with me.
So be prepared to get your news perhaps
with a side of pasta.
Pop quiz hot shot. Which NFL stadium has
a natural grass field that rolls outside
for sunlight? State Farm Stadium,
Caesar's Superdome, AT&T Stadium, or
Lucas Oil Stadium?
If you said State Farm Stadium,
touchdown. Home turf of the Arizona
Cardinals. The Bermuda grass sits on a
giant movable tray weighing about 19
million pounds. Moving it in or out
takes about 45 to 70 minutes. Super Bowl
60 between the Patriots and the Seahawks
is just 2 days away. And this year's
matchup features a detail that may not
be quite so obvious to viewers, but
it'll be a big deal to a lot of the
players. This year's matchup will be
played on live grass, not turf. It's an
issue that's long divided the league and
the players, but players they wanting to
have their health and safety in the
spotlight. And our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has
more on why this matters and how the NFL
plans to literally level the playing
field. There are 32 NFL teams and 30
stadiums around the country. Half of
those stadiums play on grass and half
play on turf. And this has become one of
the most provocative issues in sports.
92% of these players say they prefer
grass. Yeah. So, as chief medical
officer of the NFL, what do you do with
that?
>> I think we have to understand why is
that? Number one, it's performance. They
want to be able to perform. So, I've got
to be able to execute the movements that
I need to do to do my job and do it
well. But secondly, how does my body
feel after playing on that? One of the
things we're learning from the testing
is turf returns energy back to your body
differently than natural grass does. The
data is a bit mixed on this topic. Data
from the 2021 2022 seasons did find
grass to result in a lower number of
lower extremity injuries. However, the
NFL says data from every season since
then does not show a significant
difference in injuries on grass versus
turf. But due to different factors like
different climates, different stadium
designs, and even different operational
needs, alternative surfaces have become
increasingly necessary. It all started
back in 1966 where you had the Astrodome
and then Astro Turf, which at that point
was basically just like carpet on top of
concrete. It's changed a lot over the
last several decades, but there's still
a lot of concerns about injuries, about
toxicity, about whether you can ever
make this turf really behave like grass.
>> It gives us that bounce back, that
energy return to the body, so what
they're feeling when they step
underfoot. Nick Papus is the NFL's field
director and his job is to quantify that
grass feel that players want and then
try to level the playing field.
So how to do that? First step is to
develop a series of standards that all
fields will need to meet by 2028. And
part of that testing is for things like
surface hardness, player impact, and
overall traction.
>> We've added two studs like a cleat on
the bottom. It's about twice the weight,
falls from the same height, but
ultimately gives us a representation
that is much like the athlete. We can
test all of our stadiums with these
devices and actually quantify the amount
of traction available at any given time.
Rotational traction, so twisting of the
cleat and translational traction, so a
sliding of the cleat,
>> essentially putting a cleat into the
ground, testing rotation and movement.
>> And these tests are applied at 60
individual points all over the field.
While no two fields will ever be exactly
the same, the hope is they might at
least start to feel that way to the
players.
>> Do you think that we're going to get to
that point where you look at 30 NFL
stadiums and they basically all have a
uniform surface?
>> I do. In the last 10 years, we've seen
helmets change dramatically and that's
really improved their safety. I think
you're about to see the same thing
happen in the surface industry. Each
Friday in February, we are going to
celebrate Black History Month by
highlighting iconic individuals and
amazing achievements that helped shape
the fabric of this country. Today, we're
going to talk about baseball hall of
famer and civil rights icon Hammer and
Hank Aaron, who battled racism to become
one of the greatest to ever play the
game. Henry Lewis Hank Aaron was born in
1934, grew up in a deeply segregated
Alabama, and played briefly in the Negro
Leagues before making his major league
debut with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954.
Hank Aaron played 23 seasons in the
major leagues, setting many records that
still stand to this day. Perhaps his
most famous achievement came in 1974
when he broke Babe Ruth's home run
record with his 715th home run. A feat
that would stand for more than three
decades. But Aaron's path to the history
books was far from easy. He and his
family were the target of death threats,
racist hate mail, and daily taunts. An
ugly reality Aaron never shied away
from.
>> Jackie Robertson broke in baseball in
1947,
and people resented that very much. So,
and then along came Henry Aaron, a black
player to break one of the most
charitable records in all the sports.
Well, people weren't ready to accept
that. So, you know, the time was not
ready. The country was not ready. So,
you know, I had to accept that.
>> But Mr. Aaron's legacy extends far
beyond the field. After retiring from
the game, he went on to become an
executive with the Atlanta Braves. In
1994, he founded the Chasing the Dream
Foundation to help disadvantaged youth.
Often cited as his proudest achievement,
Aaron remained a steadfast civil rights
advocate until his death in 2021 and
never stop trying to encourage the next
generation to break barriers.
>> The message that I have for youngsters
that is chasing their dream is that
never give up in spite of anything. Just
always remember that, you know, that
you're going to have roads. You're going
to have roadblocks, but the most
important thing is to keep just keep
striving and keep pulling.
>> And this week, the Braves are honoring
the hammer by unveiling a series of Hank
Aaron diamonds at a public high schools
all throughout Atlanta as part of an
investment into baseball and softball
programs throughout the city that meant
so much to him.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10
comes from our very own Andy Scholes at
one of the most popping spots at the
Super Bowl. What's up, Andy? What's up,
Coy? We're here at the famous radio row
where thousands of media members from
all around the world come to do their
shows, create content, and interview all
of the athletes and celebrities that get
paraded through
>> old school players from the Himalayas.
You know what I'm saying?
>> It's loud. It's crowded. And this year,
there's one woman who will be making
history in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Meet Brena Rogers, a broadcast engineer
for the Bump and Stacy Show on Seattle
Sports 710.
>> I can see a few little like jitter
spots, but nothing crazy. I mix their
mics. I EQ them. I add dynamics. I put
some compression and limiting on them.
Brenda controls the volume, balance, and
clarity of both the commentators and the
loud crowd to make sure the game sounds
perfect for listeners. This Sunday,
Rogers will become the first woman to
engineer a Super Bowl radio playbyplay
broadcast. There have been challenges
along the way, but that didn't stop
Rogers.
>> It's a really hard field to get into for
women, and add on top of that the STEM
aspect, and it's even harder. And so
it's like I got my foot in the door and
now I'm going to hold the door open for
everyone behind me.
>> Because at the Super Bowl, history isn't
just made on the field. Sometimes it's
made by those behind the scenes helping
us enjoy the moment. And Coy, before I
send it back to you, I want to give a
big shout out to the Hopewell Middle
School Mustangs in Milton, Georgia. All
right, superstars, we have two shoutouts
to kick off this Super Bowl weekend. And
the first one goes to Coach Garlet at
Jackson Middle School in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. Rise up. And look at this.
It is Marty Gro season and we got a
piece of the party right here sent to
our studio. Thank you. Shout out to Mr.
Spencer at St. Paul's High School in
Covington, Louisiana for this amazing
kingake. And we will let you know which
member of our CNN 10 team finds the
lucky baby. Play that Friday music.
Nare. Go out. Spread some kindness this
weekend. You never know how or when or
who, but you may be the light someone
needs. You are more powerful than you
know. Have an awesome weekend everyone.
I'm Koi Wire and we are CNN 10.
Heat.