From another season with NBA King LeBron James to the return of gymnastics royalty, here's what's happening in entertainment.
The King's Return
The 2023 ESPY Awards went down in Los Angeles last night and, as expected, it was a star-studded affair that paid tribute to the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, honored Damar Hamlin and the Buffalo Bills medical crew that saved his life, and included a major announcement from LeBron James.
After receiving the award for Best Record-Breaking Performance, honoring the NBA star's rise to all-time leading scorer, he confirmed that he will be returning to the floor for his 21st season.
"I love this game. I love the game of basketball," he said. "I don't care how many more points I score or what I can or cannot do on the floor. The real question for me is 'Can I play without cheating this game?' The day I can't give the game everything on the floor is the day I'll be done. Lucky for you guys, that day is not today."
James confirmed that he has "a lot left" in the tank so we should expect to see him playing for years to come.
Fresh off of her first U.S national title win in the 100 meter final last weekend, Sha'Carri Richardson questioned why she was not invited to this year's ESPY Awards.
"The ESPYS invited me when my life was in shambles as if I was a charity case. The disrespect that track & field receives in the USA alone is nasty. Half of the athletes there now could not do what we do on our WORST day," she said in a tweet.
Richardson was referring to her 2021 season, when she won the 100 meter final to advance to the Tokyo Olympics, but was later disqualified after testing positive for marijuana. In recent weeks, she has been campaigning for track and field sprinters to unionize to address low pay and called for a meeting of athletes ahead of the national competition. It is likely she sought to use the ESPYs platform to bring even more attention to her cause – particularly as she continues to dominate in the sport.
Olympic gold medal gymnast Gabby Douglas has announced she's ready to get back into competition.
Douglas' last competition was the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. After that, she announced she was stepping back to focus on her mental health. In 2017 the world learned about the abuse many top gymnasts, including Douglas, suffered while in the care of USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.
Former teammates Simone Biles and Suni Lee have also indicated they want to compete in Paris, so a reunion of heavy-hitters could be on the horizon.
Brian Stewart, the U.S. brand ambassador for Belvedere Vodka, joined Cheddar News to show off the cocktail called the Belvedere Raspberry Circuit to pair with the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, a race getting underway for the very first time on May 8. “I wanted this drink to be very approachable, but I also wanted to drink to be as luxurious and exciting as the race itself," he said.
It’s NFL draft night! A former defensive end for the Dolphins, Bears, and Texans Wale Ogunleye joined Cheddar News to talk about which rookies-to-be the NFL teams will be picking and also discuss the impact of the pandemic on the incoming players. "I do think having the ability to stay at school maybe a year or two longer, and it may be getting your adulthood going, it might help out a lot, but again, it's a different animal in that locker room," he said. Ogunleye, who also heads sports and entertainment at the financial firm UBS, also talked about providing financial literacy education and advice for young athletes.
Chelsa Messinger, host of 'The Daily Tip', joins Cheddar Bets to compete with Alex Glaze and draft the best card possible from tonight's slate.
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Ryan Glasspiegel, sports and entertainment reporter for the New York Post, explains why we're seeing teams and leagues gravitate towards Las Vegas, and sheds light on the recent report that Amazon is pushing for a Black Friday NFL game.
Emmanuel Macron staves off the far right challenger Marine Le Pen in France, conservative lawmakers find themselves embroiled in varying controversies, and pickleball is hotter than ever in the U.S.
Between Bells EP Conor White recaps some of the biggest stories of the week, and teaches Baker Machado and Azia Celestino a thing or two at the same time. It's This Week in Trivia!
The Golden State Warriors a new affiliate company called Golden State Entertainment to create sports-related original content, documentaries, and musical collaborations. David Kelly, chief business officer, joined Cheddar News to discuss “We think it's a great time to step off into this area. I think the better question maybe is why this hasn’t been formed previously?” he said. "There's a lot of synergies between sports, music, and film, and so we think that the timing is right to bring those worlds together into this venture." He noted that projects aren't limited to Warriors-only content, pointing to the documentary "38 at the Garden," about former New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin.
Sean Zerillo, Senior Writer for Action Network and co-host of the MLB podcast "Payoff Pitch" joins Cheddar Bets to discuss why under have been a lucrative bet for him so far, and how he's adjusting his strategies moving forward.
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Michael Jenkins, host of 'The Daily Tip', joins Cheddar Bets to break down each game in the NBA Playoffs tonight and why not to take the bait on the Grizzlies-Timberwolves point total.
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