Serena Williams said every athlete "should be completely grateful and honored" for the protests started by former NFL players Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid.Kaepernick and Reid http://www.49erslockerroom.com/authentic-joe-staley-jersey , two former San Francisco 49ers now out of the league, were each given huge ovations when they were introduced and shown on the big screen during the match between Serena and Venus Williams at the U.S. Open on Friday night. Serena Williams said she was focused on the match and did not notice the pair in the stands. Reid raised his fist and Kaepernick smiled for the fans.Kaepernick tweeted a photo of his young niece with Serena and wrote, "Lani lost it when Serena surprised her after the match!!! Thank you so much Serena !!!"Serena said she was grateful for the stand they took that has seen both players take on the NFL. An arbitrator is sending Kaepernick's grievance with the NFL to trial, denying the league's request to throw out the quarterback's claims that owners conspired to keep him out of the league because of his protests of social injustice. A similar grievance is still pending by unsigned safety Eric Reid, who played with Kaepernick in San Francisco and joined in the protests.Kaepernick began a wave of protests by NFL players two seasons ago, kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality. The protests have grown into one of the most polarizing issues in sports, with President Donald Trump loudly urging the league to suspend or fire players who demonstrate during the anthem."I think every athlete, every human, and definitely every African-American should be completely grateful and honored how Colin and Eric are doing so much more for the greater good, so to say," Serena said. "They really use their platform in ways that is really unfathomable. I feel like they obviously have great respect from a lot of their peers, especially other athletes, people that really are looking for social change."Serena Williams equaled her most-lopsided victory ever in 30 professional meetings with sister Venus, beating her 6-1, 6-2 in the third round. The 2018 NFL season is officially in full swing DeForest Buckner Jersey White , which means regular season betting is back. I’m back for another year of picks in the Westgate SuperContest. SB Nation’s partners over at Odds Shark are sponsoring my entry again. The contest requires selecting 5 games each week and picking them against the spread. I finished 2-3 in Week 7, which dropped me to 17-15-3 for the season. Overall for last week, I finished 8-5-1.The San Francisco 49ers are a SuperContest one-point underdog in their Week 8 road game against the Arizona Cardinals. The SuperContest line is released on Wednesday, and since then, they have climbed to 1.5- and 2-point favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.I decided to use the 49ers as one of my five picks. There were three reasons I was not certain about the 49ers early in the week. The first is road divisional games can be messy, the second is new Cardinals offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, and the third is the 49ers are so incredibly inconsistent.All that being said, the 49ers are better than the Cardinals. It’s not exactly saying a lot, but as we saw three weeks ago, the 49ers could dominate the Cardinals if they can avoid stupid mistakes. In Week 5, San Francisco more than doubled them up in yardage and tripled them up in first downs. Five turnovers were the difference, and I am betting on the 49ers cleaning that up to some degree this week. And with only a one point line (SuperContest picks are based on Wednesday lines), I look at this mostly as a straight up pick.Here are my five SuperContest picks for Week 8.Jaguars (+3) over EaglesRavens (-2) over PANTHERSGIANTS (PK) over Washington49ers (-1) over CARDINALSVIKINGS (PK) over SaintsI went 8-5-1 overall in Week 7. Here are all my picks for Week 8:TEXANS vs. Dolphins (+7.5): Dolphins — LOSSEagles vs. Jaguars (+3 — London): JaguarsSTEELERS vs. Browns (+8): BrownsCHIEFS vs. Broncos (+10): BroncosBEARS vs. Jets (+7): JetsGIANTS vs. Washington (PK): GiantsLIONS vs. Seahawks (+3): SeahawksBENGALS vs. Buccaneers (+4.5): BuccaneersPANTHERS vs. Ravens (-2): RavensRAIDERS vs. Colts (-3): RaidersCARDINALS vs. 49ers (-1): 49ersRAMS vs. Packers (+9.5): RamsVIKINGS vs. Saints (PK): VikingsBILLS vs. Patriots (-13.5): Patriots