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CLEVELAND (AP) — The Kelce brothers showed up for their own giveaway. Cleveland-born Travis and Jason Kelce were both in attendance Tuesday night as the Cavaliers paid tribute to the NFL stars with a souvenir bobblehead depicting them in Cavs jerseys and holding basketballs. During the first timeout in the opening quarter, the Cavs presented Jason, who retired from the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday after 13 seasons, with a framed No. In typical Jason Kelce form, he wore a sleeveless T-shirt and was enjoying a beer when play resumed. Swift, who began dating Travis Kelce during this past season, had a good excuse for not being present.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Travis, Jason Kelce, Jason, Jason's, Travis Kelce, Swift, ___ Organizations: CLEVELAND, Cavaliers, NFL, Rocket Mortgage, Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Heights High School, Kansas City Chiefs, Pro Bowl Locations: Cleveland, Cleveland's, She's, Singapore

☆ 35 Hours for a 10-Second Clip: The Art of the TikTok Trick Shot
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Emmett Lindner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There are nights when Michael Shields lies awake next to his wife and thinks about Ping-Pong balls. He muses on their arcs and speeds, the ways they bounce off a wooden plank or roll down a Hot Wheels track. In the mornings he often turns his visions into reality, and millions tune in to watch. If, as in Mr. Shields’s case, the trick shots garner enough views on social media, talent agents begin to call, and money and corporate partnerships help to keep new content coming. His brother-in-law, Trent Golz, tosses an orange Ping-Pong ball and Mr. Shields releases the hanger, which slides toward the ground while the ball ricochets among five meticulously placed tiles.

Persons: Michael Shields, Shields, Trent Golz

☆ That airless Wilson basketball you see influencers trying out? It costs $2,500, and it's already sold out.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Wilson created a futuristic airless basketball that's getting all the hype on social media, and the $2,500 price tag didn't stop it from selling out. The limited edition Airless Gen 1 is a 3D printed basketball that allows air to pass through it — unlike a traditional basketball that's pumped with air. Wilson's airless basketball is getting a lot of hype online. The most immediate difference between the Airless Gen 1 and a regular basketball — other than appearance — is the sound. Time will tell if the Airless Gen 1 will become a collectible or the foundation of a new era of basketball.

Persons: Wilson, it's, Marques Brownlee, weren't, Wilson didn't Organizations: that's, Business, NBA, New

☆ Opinion | Trump’s G.O.P. Is a Confederacy of Fakers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Thomas L. Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I’ve got a suggestion for the next Trump-G.O.P. You know how sports memorabilia stores sometimes sell basketballs autographed by an entire N.B.A. For an extra $500, you could get a white flag autographed solely by Trump and J.D. This is a matter of principle for me. But I got a round of golf at Trump’s West Palm Beach course.

Persons: I’ve, Donald Trump, MAGA sycophants he’s, Vladimir Putin’s, Vance, Mike Johnson, Trump, Lindsey Graham, “, John McCain, Graham, you’ve Organizations: Trump Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Palm

Stephen Curry is headed back to NBA All-Star weekend. “Stephen vs. Sabrina” will happen as part of All-Star Saturday Night in Indianapolis on Feb. 17. Curry, the NBA’s all-time 3-point king, will take on the reigning WNBA 3-point shootout queen and single-season record holder Ionescu. That topped Curry’s NBA 3-point contest best of 31. Curry will shoot from the NBA 3-point line with NBA basketballs, and Ionescu will shoot from the WNBA 3-point line with WNBA basketballs.

Persons: Stephen Curry, Sabrina Ionescu, “ Stephen, Sabrina ”, Curry, Ionescu, “, Brandin Podziemski, I’ve, ” Curry, Podziemski, Ionescu’s SI20, Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Charlotte, Scoot Henderson, Henderson, Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, Washington’s Bilal Coulibaly, Utah’s Keyonte George, Utah’s Keyonte George , New Orleans ’ Jordan Hawkins, Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr, Dallas ’ Dereck, Paolo Banchero, Paolo Banchero , New Orleans ’ Dyson Daniels, Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey, Utah’s Walker Kessler, Indiana’s Bennedict, Sacramento’s Keegan Murray, Portland’s Shaedon Sharpe, Houston’s Jabari Smith, Jalen Williams, Mac McClung, Izan Almansa, Matas Buzelis, Ron Holland, Tyler Smith, Oscar Tshiebwe, Alondes Williams, ___ Organizations: NBA, WNBA, Sacramento, Ionescu’s, State Farm, NBA Foundation, San Antonio, Rising, G, Oklahoma City, Detroit, League Locations: Indianapolis, Portland, Utah’s Keyonte George , New Orleans, Paolo Banchero , New Orleans, Oklahoma

Djokovic, Norrie and Fruhvirtova were not prepared to blame the ever-changing types of tennis balls used year-round at the sport's highest levels, but they weren't necessarily ready to absolve that issue completely, either. He said when the ATP asks male players at the end of each season what they think can be improved about the sport, he always mentions the fluctuations among the fuzzy tennis balls. Ten brands of tennis balls — and 19 distinct types — were used across the WTA in 2023. "It does change week by week." One significant difference between tennis and some other sports is that surfaces change, prompting ball changes.

Persons: Novak, Cam Norrie, Brenda Fruhvirtova, Norrie, Fruhvirtova, “, Milos Raonic, Taylor Fritz, didn’t, I’ve, ” Fritz, “ It’s, It’s, it’s, Katie Boulter, Carlos Alcaraz, Fritz, Alcaraz, Victoria Azarenka, ” Azarenka, AP Sports Writers John Pye, Andrew Dampf, ___ Organizations: Australian, Melbourne Park, WTA, ATP, ”, Wimbledon, NHL, Major League Baseball, FIFA, U.S ., U.S, Victoria, AP Sports Writers Locations: California, Melbourne, British, Australia, Turin, Italy

☆ Influencers are the new travel agents: Here's how creators are using their adventures to build businesses, from planning group trips to becoming certified advisors
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-08 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

DMs persuaded some travel creators to arrange group trips with their followersTravel creator Gabby Beckford led her first group trip with her followers in August 2021. Ismail initially worked with the group travel company TrovaTrip, which handled the logistics. AdvertisementAs more travel creators build communities to travel with, startups like Jerne are popping up to help support their businesses. Morgan said quite a few creators are now using Jerne to find brands to sponsor group travel, as well. "Travel advisors have been hosting group trips for as long as they've existed," he said.

Persons: —, Tia Cooper, she's, Cooper, they've, Instagram, influencers, Tim Morgan, Gabby Beckford, she'd, Beckford, Nabila Ismail, Ismail, Morgan, It's, Dharma, Charaf El Mansouri Organizations: Service, Business, BI, DMs, Intrepid, Brand, Virgin Voyages Locations: Ireland, Abu Dhabi, Croatia, Mexico, Indonesia, Pakistani

☆ Secretive Taiwanese power plant opens to public for the first time — as an art space
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Wayne Chang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Beigan, Taiwan CNN —In a sleepy Taiwanese island village just eight miles off the coast of mainland China, scooters whiz past an unassuming building that has stood here, largely overlooked, for decades. YI.ng Lighting DesignKnown locally as Jun Hun (or “Army Soul”), a nickname shared with the Taiwanese army division that built it, the Beigan Power Plant entered service in 1975 and became a linchpin of the local economy before closing in 2010. Art in the ‘heart’ of MatsuThe transformed Beigan Power Plant is the flagship venue of the Matsu Biennial, which runs through November 12 and features artworks exploring the outlying islands’ heritage, cultural identity and military past. “The power plant is the heart of Matsu that hasn’t stopped beating, and the generators are the essence of the power plant,” Liu said told CNN at the studio he shares with Chu. “I want to use sound to breathe new life into the deserted power plant, so that viewers can grasp what it was like when these generators were still running,” Wang told CNN at her studio.

Persons: Taiwan CNN —, —, Hun, ”, Mao Zedong’s, Matsu —, Matsu, Annie Chu, Liu Ping, hasn’t, ” Liu, Chu, Kinmen, Wang Yu, ” Wang, ” Chu Organizations: Taiwan CNN, Matsu, Taiwanese, Plant, Kuomintang, KMT, People’s Liberation Army, CNN, Visitors, Beigan, Matsu Biennial Locations: Beigan, Taiwan, China, Matsu, Taiwan’s, Taipei, Wang, Beijing

☆ 11-year-old De’Evan McFall dreamed of making it to the NFL. A stray bullet stopped that goal in its tracks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Elizabeth Wolfe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —To hear 11-year-old De’Evan McFall tell it, he was going all the way to the NFL or NBA. And De’Evan could have been far more than a youth league legend if he had the chance, the coach believes. But on January 15, De’Evan was shot and killed by a stray bullet fired by a teenage girl who was fighting another girl, Dallas police said. The teen who fired the gun had been fighting De’Evan’s sister, according to De’Evan’s mother, Vashunte Settles. In just seconds, Settles became one of the hundreds of parents to lose children to gun violence this year.

Persons: ”, Byron Sanders, De’Evan’s, Sanders, De’Evan, Vashunte, De'Evan McFall, Choppa, “, he’s, ” De’Evan, wouldn’t, …, De'Evan's, ” Sanders, who’ve, Shay Govan, Govan, De'Evan, Angela, ” Govan, that’s what’s, they’d, ” De'Evan, NLE Choppa Organizations: CNN, NFL, De’Evan’s Dallas, football team, DeSoto Colts, Dallas, NBA, Firearms Locations: Govan

LAS VEGAS (AP) — It started as a crude sketch — a circle with a stick person inside. He and MSG Ventures CEO David Dibble were trying to create a plan to give the entertainment venue industry a facelift in Las Vegas. “That’s cool,” said Glenn NP Nowak, an architecture professor at the nearby University of Nevada, Las Vegas. However, the Sphere is the most expensive entertainment venue built in Las Vegas, eclipsing the approximately $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium sports facility that opened in 2020. The government here was welcoming and encouraging.”The project started as a partnership with casino company Las Vegas Sands, the then-owner of the Venetian and Palazzo resort towers on the Las Vegas Strip.

Persons: James Dolan, David Dibble, Dolan, ”, don’t, Dibble, Darren Aronofsky, Glenn NP Nowak, Nowak, Harry Reid, ” Dolan, it's, “, I'm Organizations: LAS VEGAS, Garden, New York Knicks, Rangers, MSG Ventures, University of Nevada, Walt Disney, Montreal Biosphere, Avicii Arena, Caesars Entertainment, Harry Reid International Airport, Sands, Las Locations: Vegas, Madison, Las Vegas, Florida, Montreal, Canada, Sweden, London, New York

The Maui Invitational will be held in Honolulu this year because of the wildfires that devastated Lahaina, where the tournament usually is played. “We appreciate everything the Maui Invitational is doing to help Maui and its residents.”Political Cartoons View All 1163 ImagesTickets purchased for the tournament in Maui will be honored. Also, the Maui Invitational has launched an online auction with all proceeds going directly to relief and recovery efforts. The Maui Invitational, one of college basketball's premier events, has long been a source of pride in Lahaina, also a major tourist destination. “The Maui Invitational is a great event that celebrates all of Hawaii,” Hawaii Governor Josh Green said in a statement.

Persons: Chaminade, Richard Bissen, Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self, Tom Izzo, Josh Green, ” Organizations: Maui, Stan Sheriff Center, Kansas, Purdue, Gonzaga, Marquette . Syracuse, Chaminade, UCLA, NAIA, Virginia, Lahaina Civic Center, Maui Invitational, mauiinvitational.com, ’, Hawaii, Strong, surfboards Locations: Honolulu, Lahaina, Gonzaga , Tennessee, Marquette, Maui, Asheville , North Carolina, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Mike Krzyzewski , Kansas, Michigan, Oahu

☆ Patrol dogs are terrorizing and mauling prisoners inside the United States
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Hannah Beckler | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +64 min

But prison patrol dogs aren't deployed for chases; they are used inside the prison walls. Tri-State Canines training facility, Warren, OhioVirginia Department of Corrections patrol dogs are typically Belgian Malinois, Czech shepherds, or German shepherds. Department patrol dogs are trained to bite once and hold to minimize flesh tears and lacerations. Patrol dog kennels, Virginia Department of CorrectionsThe patrol dog kennels are even smaller, at 6 feet by 10. A veterinary technician who treated patrol dogs at a clinic in Lebanon, Virginia, said she was told not to touch the patrol dogs in her care without their handler present.

Persons: Santos Cardona, Michael Smith, Smith, Marco, crouch, Mohammed Bollendia, protectively, Ashraf Abdullah Ahsy, Ivan L, Frederick II, Cardona, Abu, John Ketzer, Ketzer, Michael J, Donald Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld, Abu Ghraib, Lane McCotter, Gary DeLand, Terry Bartlett, Richard Billings, Larry DuBois, John Armstrong, Terry Stewart, Charles Ryan, Ryan, Stewart, Adrian Duran, cradled, Duran he'd, Duran, Blackie, growled, he'd, It's, extractions, they're, Jerko, Jeremy Defour, Bert, Antwon Whitten, Virginia, Peter C, Meade, —, Oikeutta eläimille, Dave Blosser, Blosser, Eli Hiller, he's, Matthew Johnson, Oscar, Johnson, Oscar growled, Boris, Cajos, Linwood Mathias, Lucas Pruitt, Mathias, Xavia Goodwyn, sicced Lojzo, Edris, Michael Watson, Watson, Thomas Rose, Rose, Goodwyn, Red, Rick White, Ron Angelone, Wallens, Tyler Parry, Charlton Yingling, Parry, Eugene, Bull, Connor, Bill Hudson, Yingling, Solomon Northup, Solomon, Walter Gadsden, Malcolm X, Michael Brown, Ferguson, They're, Jeffery, White, Curtis Garrett, Garrett, Kathleen Dennehy, Dennehy, Aaron Fedor, Jimmy Stanley, Dora Schriro, Schriro, Omar, Dionisio Paulino, Paulino, Robert Silva, Adrian Duran's, Adrian Duran Duran, Adrian, unwound, Sussex II, Whitten, Western District of Virginia Jeremy Defour, Defour, Kenneth Licklider, Chris Robbins, Rivan, she'd, They've, Stephen McReynolds, McReynolds, Daniel Clinton, Tom, Clinton, basketballs, Clinton's, Fuga, Jamie Elliott, Elliott, Duran couldn't, Bodhi, Jamie, Jawan Lee, Lee, Lee's Organizations: US, Business, Associated Press, Department of, Rights, Department, Justice, Department of Justice, Virginia Department of Corrections Police, Human Rights Watch, Virginia Department of Corrections, University of Virginia School of Law, Sussex II, Police, Kern Medical, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, The Indiana Department of Correction, Delaware Department of Correction, South, New Jersey Department of Corrections, Tri, Warren , Ohio Virginia Department of Corrections, State Canine Services, Court, Western District of, Red, View Regional, Onion, North Correctional Center, Corrections, Goodwyn, FBI, Ku Klux Klan, Human Rights, University of Nevada, University of Louisville, AP, Breeders, Ferguson Police Department, Souza, Baranowski, Commonwealth, Baranowski Correctional, Prentice, Black, United States, District, Massachusetts, Housing, Virginia Commonwealth University Health, Virginia, Housing Unit, Patrol, Southwest, Southwest Virginia Veterinary Services Locations: Abu Ghraib, Iraq, Belgian, Baghdad, Abu, United States, New Mexico, Utah, DeLand, Billings, Bartlett, Arizona, DuBois, Massachusetts, Armstrong, Connecticut, Arizona , Connecticut, Delaware , Indiana , Iowa , Massachusetts , New Jersey, Virginia, Alexandria , Virginia, Los Angeles, backyards, Sussex, lunging, Indiana, Richmond , Virginia, Iowa, Augusta, Ridge, New Jersey, South Woods, Warren ,, Czech, Europe, , Virginia, Western District, Western District of Virginia, Warren , Ohio, Holland, Tri, Canton , Ohio, Wallens, Onion, Red Onion, View, Norton , Virginia, Portsmouth , Virginia, Kentucky, Birmingham , Alabama, Las Vegas, Americas, Caribbean, American, Ferguson , Missouri, Lancaster , Massachusetts, Richmond, Lebanon , Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Lebanon, Waverly , Virginia, chihuahua

☆ The Grand Canyon, a Cathedral to Time, Is Losing Its River
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Raymond Zhong | Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

And yet, the Grand Canyon remains yoked to the present in one key respect. The Colorado River, whose wild energy incised the canyon over millions of years, is in crisis. Down beneath the tourist lodges and shops selling keychains and incense, past windswept arroyos and brown valleys speckled with agave, juniper and sagebrush, the rocks of the Grand Canyon seem untethered from time. The Grand Canyon is a planetary spectacle like none other — one that also happens to host a river that 40 million people rely on for water and power. At Mile 0 of the Grand Canyon, the river is running at around 7,000 cubic feet per second, rising toward 9,000 — not the lowest flows on record, but far from the highest.

Persons: windswept, Davis, John Weisheit, ”, “, Mead Hoover, Powell, Daniel Ostrowski, Victor R, Baker, . Baker, Lake Powell, Dr, Ed Keable, wouldn’t, Jack Schmidt, Schmidt, ’, Alma Wilcox, “ There’s, we’ve, Nicholas Pinter Organizations: Rockies, York Times, University of California, Utah Glen, Lake, Mead, Recreation, Hualapai, CALIF, ARIZ . Utah Glen, Lake Mead, Area, Forest Utah, Engineers, University of Arizona, of Reclamation, National Park Service, Center, Colorado River Studies, Utah State University Locations: Colorado, The Colorado, North America, Utah, Powell, Lake Mead, Arizona, . UTAH COLO, N.M, ARIZ . Utah, Mead, NEV . UTAH COLO, Glen, ARIZ, Hopi, Nevada, Lake Powell, Arizona , California , Nevada, Mexico, Davis, Little Colorado, tamarisk, gesturing

☆ Dude Perfect Conquered YouTube, Now They Want the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Miles Kruppa | Photography Jennifer Boomer For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FRISCO, Texas—Five former college roommates at Texas A&M University built a YouTube following of tens of millions with trick-shot videos. Their videos show them sinking basketballs while blindfolded or from a rooftop, among other stunts. Now, in their mid 30s, the five friends who started Dude Perfect LLC are looking for their next act. Their solution: a 30-acre theme park and headquarters they expect to cost at least $100 million and take more than two years to build. Dude Perfect has also branched out into live shows across the U.S. and branded products like sweatshirts and toys.

☆ 'It's embarrassing for our sport.': Duke University women's basketball coach says her team played first half with the wrong ball
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

According to Lawson, her players complained about the basketball during the first half of the game against FSU. While Lawson alleges it was men's basketball used in the first half, the ACC and FSU concluded otherwise, per ESPN. Despite her outrage, Atlantic Coast Conference and Florida State officials concluded the ball used during the first half of Sunday's game, which was played in Florida, wasn't a men's basketball. They beat us playing with a men's ball in the first half and a women's ball in the second half," Lawson said. "But I can't say if we'd have played with a women's ball in the first half and the second half that we would have won.

☆ Despite GOP criticism of the prisoner swap that freed Brittney Griner, Fiona Hill said Trump was 'not particularly interested' in freeing Paul Whelan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Critics, including Trump, asked why Brittney Griner was freed while Paul Whelan remains jailed. Hill said Trump wasn't "particularly interested in Paul [Whelan]'s case" while in office. "If I made that deal the Dems would chant, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA!" "I also have to say here that President Trump wasn't especially interested in engaging in that swap for Paul Whelan," Hill said. However, she added, Whelan, Griner, and Reed were all caught up in what she called "political games" while doing things that "seemed completely ordinary."

☆ Super skills on show for Guinness World Records Day
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Feats ranging from the most alternating single-arm handstands in one minute to solving the most rotating puzzle cubes while skateboarding are being celebrated in this year's Guinness World Records Day. With the theme of "Super Skills", the 19th annual event has prompted people across continents to set new milestones for what is humanly possible. "Guinness World Records Day is a global celebration of the superlative so it's a chance for everyone around the world to have a go at getting their name in the famous Guinness World Records book," said Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records. "We've all got skills, we've all got party tricks but are they good enough to make it into the Guinness World Records book. Nicolas Montes de Oca from Mexico scored three titles: most single-arm handstands in one minute (male) with 23 repetitions, most handstands in one minute (male), totalling 41 repetitions, and most alternating single-arm handstands in one minute, with 32 repetitions.

☆ The Clippers Finally Get to Test Their Version of the Super Team
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Robert O'Connell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After a practice in mid-September, the Los Angeles Clippers released a photo reel on the theme of training-camp togetherness: dunks, laughs, camera-mugging, a chest bump. But one shot of a solitary player made everyone’s eyes widen. Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers’ expensive and often-unavailable superstar, had returned to the floor following a season missed due to ACL surgery, and in the picture he ran down-and-backs on legs that looked not just healed, but upgraded: quadriceps as round as basketballs, calves that jutted out at pronounced and unignorable angles.

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