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☆ W.N.B.A. Star Takes Over Voting Organization Started by LeBron James
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More Than a Vote, a nonprofit organization founded by LeBron James in 2020, is rebooting this fall with a new focus on women’s issues and reproductive rights. Nneka Ogwumike, a nine-time W.N.B.A. All-Star with the Seattle Storm and president of the players union, will take over James’s role in leading the organization, and has recruited a group of female athletes to her cause. “It’s more than just abortion,” Ogwumike said in an interview. “It’s all about educating people about all the different roles that exist in society that support and protect the freedoms of women when it comes to family planning, I.V.F., birth control, everything.

Persons: LeBron James, Nneka, ” Ogwumike, “, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, James Organizations: Seattle Storm

☆ Their Parents Fled War. Now South Sudan’s Young Team Is in the Olympics.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When South Sudan’s young basketball team took to the court for an exhibition game against America’s basketball royalty, there were few expectations that they could hold on against the likes of LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Then they lost by just one point, 101-100, stunning not only their loyal followers, but also the team’s players, who had grown up revering the N.B.A. The South Sudanese will face the United States again Wednesday, this time at the Paris Olympics, and with the Americans now on notice, the odds are distinctly against the African team. But for many of their fans in Africa and elsewhere, that is beside the point. Despite having no place of their own to train, the team won the only slot open to Africa for men’s basketball.

Persons: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, — James Organizations: America’s, South, Paris Olympics, men’s, Puerto Rico, Games Locations: South Sudanese, United States, Africa, Puerto, Paris

☆ No, You Can’t Beat an Olympic Table Tennis Player
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Andrew Keh | Chang W. Lee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lily Zhang and three teammates from the United States table tennis team were hanging out on a large boat last Friday, making small talk with the N.B.A. star Stephen Curry — as one does at an Olympic opening ceremony — when he asked what sport they played. Moments later, the four table tennis players found themselves engaged in a brief but spirited debate with Curry and his teammate Anthony Edwards about whether Edwards, one of basketball’s brightest young talents, could notch a point against them on the table. On one hand, the table tennis players said, it was one of those extraordinary, and extraordinarily funny, interactions that can happen only at the Olympics. On the other hand, they said, they have interactions like this all the time.

Persons: Lily Zhang, Stephen Curry —, ” Curry, Curry, Anthony Edwards, Edwards Locations: United States

☆ The French Swimmer Who Is Carrying His Country on His Back
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Jenny Vrentas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The French swimmer Léon Marchand understood that he would be his country’s marquee athlete at the Paris Games, and he surely is. Marchand, 22, has ascended to the top of the swimming world just in time for his home country to host the Games, and as one of France’s best — and earliest — hopes for Olympic gold. Carrying the weight of a nation’s hopes can be an uncommonly heavy burden for any athlete, and Marchand will not bear it alone, of course. Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 sensation who just completed his rookie season with the N.B.A.’s San Antonio Spurs, will lead France’s men’s basketball team. Teddy Riner, one of the best judokas in history, will look to claim a medal at a sixth straight Games.

Persons: Léon Marchand, didn’t, Nike Jordans, ”, Marchand, Victor Wembanyama, Teddy Riner, Thierry Henry Organizations: Paris Games, Games, Arizona State, University of Arizona, Nike, San Antonio Spurs, France’s Locations: selfies, Arizona, France

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery Sues N.B.A. Over Rights Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Warner Bros. That left Warner Bros. Discovery, a current rights holder, set to lose the league at the end of next season. “Given the N.B.A.’s unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights,” Warner Bros. content.”Mike Bass, a spokesman for the league, said, “Warner Bros. Discovery’s claims are without merit, and our lawyers will address them.”

Persons: “, ” Warner, Mike Bass, “ Warner, Discovery’s, ” Organizations: Warner Bros . Discovery, National Basketball Association, Disney, Comcast, Warner Bros, ” Warner Bros, Discovery, Court, “ Warner Bros Locations: New York

☆ W.N.B.A.’s Popularity Booms, but Money for Players Hasn’t Kept Pace
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She is six feet tall, speaks with a central Georgia drawl and smiles as if she’s keeping the best secret. During the W.N.B.A.’s All-Star weekend, she jumped into a whole new tax bracket. Her salary this year is $185,000, but she earned an additional $115,150 on Friday by winning the league’s 3-point contest and skills competition. Her situation illustrated a theme of the league’s All-Star festivities. There is more money than ever coming into the W.N.B.A.

Persons: Allisha Gray, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese Organizations: Atlanta Locations: Georgia

☆ Simone Biles Sticks the Landing - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Julie Kliegman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

All the signs suggest Simone Biles is ready for it: to return to the Olympic stage and crush her new floor-routine mix that starts with a Taylor Swift song. Ms. Biles stepped aside from several events at the Tokyo Games in 2021 after experiencing anxiety and the “twisties,” a gymnastics term for disorientation while performing midair tumbles. “I have to focus on my mental health,” she told reporters. It’s the rare athlete who can find the courage to speak openly about mental health. star Chamique Holdsclaw has discussed how she resisted revealing her own experience with depression in 2004 because as an athlete, “you’re supposed to be strong, fierce, tough.

Persons: Simone Biles, Taylor, —, Biles, “, ”, she’s, Chamique Holdsclaw, “ you’re, DeMar DeRozan, that’s Organizations: Olympic, Tokyo Games, Games, Toronto Raptors Locations: Paris

☆ N.B.A. Announces Lucrative Rights Deals With Disney, Comcast and Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Tania Ganguli | More About Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The National Basketball Association announced new rights agreements with Disney, Comcast and Amazon on Wednesday in which the companies will collectively pay $77 billion over 11 years, substantially increasing the league’s annual revenue and reflecting the continued importance of live sports programming even as streaming has reconfigured the entertainment industry. In making the announcement, the league said it had rejected Warner Bros. Discovery’s bid to match Amazon’s offer. “Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements. All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.”The new deals, which include both N.B.A. games, will take effect with the 2025-26 season and are more than two and a half times the average annual value of the league’s current rights agreements.

Organizations: National Basketball Association, Disney, Comcast, Amazon, Warner Bros

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery Says It Has Matched a Rival Bid for N.B.A. TV Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Tania Ganguli | More About Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Warner Bros. Discovery said on Monday that it had matched a rival offer to air N.B.A. games, a move aimed at allowing the company to keep the lucrative broadcast rights it has held for decades. “We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them,” Warner Bros. Discovery did not identify which broadcast package it matched, but said its current contract allowed it to keep the rights if it matched competing offers.

Persons: Discovery, “, Warner, “ We’ve, ” Organizations: Warner Bros, Discovery Locations: Amazon

☆ For Fashion, Sports Stars Are the New Superstars
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-21 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the late 1990s, something strange started happening on the cover of glossy magazines. Instead of models, movie stars increasingly became the faces of choice. And not just in the world of men’s wear, which has long embraced the sports world as part of the fashion world for reasons related to long-held gender stereotypes), but in all worlds. “Sports stars are the new Hollywood stars,” said Jens Grede, a co-founder of Skims, a brand that reached a $4 billion valuation in four years in part by focusing campaigns on athletes. star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Olympic gold medal gymnast Sunisa Lee and a host of W.N.B.A.

Persons: Linda Wells, “, ”, Jens Grede, Shai Gilgeous, Alexander, Sunisa Lee, Skylar Diggins, Smith, Cameron Brink

☆ W.N.B.A. Players, Bargaining Power Soaring, Seek Expert Advice on Labor Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

W.N.B.A players have never had more leverage than they have right now. Attendance and viewership records are being shattered, and everyone wants to know why the players’ salaries aren’t higher. But the players’ union doesn’t want to be too hasty. is we make a united decision, but also listen to the pros and the cons both ways,” said Breanna Stewart, forward for the New York Liberty and the league’s most valuable player last season. “Staying in, opting out — what are our goals going forward, especially after the things that have changed this year?” said Stewart, a vice president for the union.

Persons: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, ”, Breanna Stewart, Stewart Organizations: New York Liberty, “

☆ N.B.A. Board Backs TV Rights Deals, but Steps Remain
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Tania Ganguli | Kevin Draper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The companies are expected to pay the N.B.A. On average, ESPN would pay the N.B.A. The Board of Governors voted to approve the deals at its yearly meeting in Las Vegas. must now present the deals to Warner Bros. Discovery, and once that happens, the company will have five days to match one of them to remain in the mix.

Persons: Adam Silver, Silver, Charles Barkley Organizations: Basketball Association’s, Governors, Disney, Comcast, Amazon, TNT, Warner Bros, ESPN, NBC Locations: Las Vegas

☆ Wall Street Law Firms Are in a Poaching Frenzy. Kind of Like the N.B.A.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Maureen Farrell | Anupreeta Das | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hotshot Wall Street lawyers are now so in demand that bidding wars between firms for their services can resemble the frenzy among teams to sign star athletes. In recent years, highly profitable private equity giants like Apollo, Blackstone and KKR have moved beyond company buyouts into real estate, private lending, insurance and other businesses, amassing trillions of dollars in assets. As their demand for legal services has skyrocketed, they have become big revenue drivers for law firms. This is pushing up lawyers’ pay across the industry, including at some of Wall Street’s most prestigious firms, such as Kirkland & Ellis; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Davis Polk; Latham & Watkins; and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Lawyers with close ties to private equity increasingly enjoy pay and prestige similar to those of star lawyers who represent America’s blue-chip companies and advise them on high-profile mergers, takeover battles and litigation.

Persons: Simpson Thacher, Davis Polk, Paul, Weiss Organizations: Blackstone, KKR, Kirkland, Ellis, Bartlett, Latham, Watkins, Garrison, Lawyers Locations: Rifkind, Wharton

☆ Before LeBron and Bronny, These Fathers and Sons Made Sports History
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James, 19, in the second round of the N.B.A. Next season, he could play in the same lineup as his father, the 39-year-old superstar LeBron James. The Ageless Gordie Howe and SonsGordie Howe retired from hockey at age 43 after an illustrious career. But when his sons Mark and Marty joined the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association three seasons later, he could not resist. “They knew my greatest wish has always been to play pro hockey with my sons,” he said, “and when they asked me, ‘Would you be interested?’ I said, ‘Hell, yes.’”

Persons: Bronny James, LeBron James, Bobby, Barry Bonds, Peter, Kasper Schmeichel, Pamela, JaVale, Imani McGee, Gordie Howe, Mark, Marty, “, ”, ’ Organizations: Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Aeros, World Hockey Association

☆ 24 N.B.A. Prospects on Their Draft Day Outfits
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Erik Tanner | Sandra E. Garcia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The towering, baby-faced athletes were dressed in their best for the night of their lives: the N.B.A. Their arrival at the draft was a culmination of years of hard work and dedication. On draft night the young men could finally show up as who they have always aspired to be. draft is historically a night of surprises, from the team’s choices and sudden trades to the players’ unconventional outfits. It is a night of suits, watches, jewels, discreet messages sewn into the jacket linings and sequins.

Persons: Armani, Versace Organizations: Barclays Center, Dolce, Gabbana Locations: Brooklyn

☆ Why the N.F.L. Put a $7 Billion Antitrust Case in the Hands of an Unpredictable Jury
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Ken Belson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

and other leagues moved more of their games onto cable and satellite broadcasters and subscription streaming services. The strategy has paid off: Ninety-three of the 100 most-watched programs on television last year were N.F.L. dismissed offers to create cheaper services that would have let fans buy games based on teams. They are seeking damages of $7 billion, which could be tripled under antitrust statutes. That could take a significant bite out the league’s annual media rights, which are now worth more than $10 billion a year.

Organizations: Major League Baseball, Nielsen, Sunday, DirecTV, CBS, Fox Locations: Los Angeles

☆ The T-Shirt’s Message Is Simple: ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports.’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Callie Holtermann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The black T-shirt spells it out in capital letters: “Everyone Watches Women’s Sports.”In the past few months, the message has been hard to miss. Dawn Staley, the coach of the University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball team, kicked off a social media frenzy when she wore the shirt for a pregame interview in January. The comedian and actor Jason Sudeikis wore a version with yellow lettering to the women’s N.C.A.A. Jimmy Fallon got one on “The Tonight Show” as a gift from the recently retired W.N.B.A. The shirt, which was created by a company co-founded by Ms. Bird, has become an unofficial uniform as viewership of women’s basketball has soared, and women’s sports in general have seen greater momentum.

Persons: Dawn Staley, Jason Sudeikis, Jimmy Fallon, Sue Bird, Bird, Megan Ramos, ”, Ramos, Alex Morgan, Simone Manuel, Chloe Kim Organizations: ”, University of South, “ Shipping, Togethxr

Warner Bros. games since the 1980s, and its “Inside the NBA” is widely considered one of the best-ever sports studio shows. But with the end of Warner Bros. Discovery’s exclusive negotiating window looming, the N.B.A. Warner Bros. “The first thing anybody thinks about when you say TNT is the N.B.A.,” said John Skipper, the former president of ESPN.

Persons: of Famer Charles Barkley, “, ”, John Skipper Organizations: Warner Bros . Discovery, National Basketball Association, TNT, Warner Bros, Discovery, of Famer, TV, ESPN

☆ The N.B.A. Sees Its Future in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The coach, Abibou Sall, 34, instructed his players to dribble along the sideline, first with their left hands, then their right. Don’t look down at the ball, he told them, wanting the girls to learn to trust their hands. Sall is a physical trainer for the Pikine Basket Club, which practices at the Jacques Chirac Center. About 600 children play basketball at this recreational center in Pikine, a suburb bordering Dakar. The youngest players, ages 6 to 7, are introduced to the game on mini hoops.

Persons: Abibou Sall, Jacques Chirac, Sall Organizations: Pikine, Jacques, National Basketball Association Locations: Pikine, Dakar

☆ Did Jerry West Inspire the N.B.A.’s Logo? ‘There Was Never Any Doubt.’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Benjamin Hoffman | More About Benjamin Hoffman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Shortly after the announcement that Jerry West, the Hall of Fame basketball player and executive, had died at age 86 on Wednesday, the N.B.A. emailed a statement to the news media from Adam Silver, the league’s commissioner, extolling the virtues of Mr. West as “a basketball genius” who contributed to every facet of the league over a period of more than 60 years. Just above the statement was an image of the league’s iconic logo: A rounded rectangle, blue on one side, red on the other, with a white silhouette of a player dribbling up the middle. In keeping with one of the league’s oddest traditions, no acknowledgment was made that the man dribbling at the top of the statement was, in fact, Mr. West. hired Alan Siegel — the branding expert who created Major League Baseball’s logo — to create a logo for the league in 1969 and he based the image off a photograph of Mr. West, who was a star player for the Los Angeles Lakers at the time.

Persons: Jerry West, Adam Silver, ”, Alan Siegel Organizations: of Fame, Los Angeles Lakers

☆ Live Updates: Hunter Biden’s Former Partners Describe the Toll of His Drug Abuse
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Eileen Sullivan | Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

forward — rose in a Delaware courtroom to declare that the Justice Department’s sweeping immunity deal with Hunter Biden was not nearly as sweeping as the defense believed. His transfer coincided with efforts by congressional Republicans to portray Mr. Weiss — a Trump appointee held over by President Biden’s aides — as offering “a sweetheart deal” to the Bidens. In early 2023, he published a memoir covering the police trial, describing himself as “the prosecutor who took down Baltimore’s most crooked cops.”Mr. But he was passed over because it was believed he might clash with prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, they said. Ms. Monaco eventually chose another prosecutor from Maryland, Thomas P. Windom, to run the team.

Persons: — bespectacled, Department’s, Hunter Biden, Leo J, Wise, “, . Wise, Biden, Biden’s, David C, Weiss, Mr . Wise, —, ”, Catherine Pugh, ” Mr, Philip Morris, Kathryn Ruemmler, Barack Obama’s, Lisa O, Donald J, Monaco, Thomas P, Windom Organizations: Trump, Baltimore U.S, Harvard Law, Navy Reserve, Justice Department, Enron, Capitol, Monaco Locations: Delaware, Baltimore, Los Angeles, U.S, Wilmington, Washington, Maryland

☆ In ‘Clipped,’ Cleopatra Coleman Spreads Her Wings
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Alexis Soloski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Cleopatra Coleman began with red, swirling it toward pink with a fine-tipped brush. An oval appeared on the paper, and then smaller marks joined it — ears, eyebrows, a line for a nose. “I always draw this woman,” Coleman said. “I don’t know why.”This was on a bright May morning and Coleman, a star of the FX limited series “Clipped,” premiering Tuesday on Hulu, was at Happy Medium, an art cafe around the corner from her temporary apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. So this morning, on a day off from filming a new series, “Black Rabbit,” she had taken herself on a date.

Persons: Cleopatra Coleman, ” Coleman, “, Coleman, George, ”, “ It’s, Donald Sterling Organizations: New York State Summer School, Arts, Los Angeles Clippers Locations: Hulu, Greenpoint , Brooklyn, Manhattan

☆ Sports Gambling Scandals Will Only Get Worse - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Leigh Steinberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some of the biggest scandals in sports history have revolved around players and gambling. Pete Rose is barred for life from baseball, in an agreement stemming from admissions of gambling. These aren’t just hypothetical concerns: Jontay Porter, a center for the Toronto Raptors, was recently barred for life from the N.B.A. As the new baseball season was starting, federal prosecutors said the interpreter for the star pitcher Shohei Ohtani had stolen millions from Mr. Ohtani to pay off gambling debts to an illegal sports bookie. Major League Baseball is investigating Mr. Ohtani’s former teammate David Fletcher over allegations that he placed bets with the same bookie.

Persons: Pete Rose, Jontay Porter, Shohei Ohtani, Ohtani, Ohtani’s, David Fletcher Organizations: Black Sox, Toronto Raptors, Major League Baseball

☆ The New York Times News Quiz, May 31, 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Hall of Fame N.B.A. center Bill Walton died this week at 71. Walton was a famed devotee of what San Francisco band, which he claimed to have seen in concert more than 800 times?

Persons: Bill Walton, Walton Organizations: Fame, San Locations: San Francisco

☆ Its Future in Doubt, the Freewheeling ‘Inside the NBA’ Is on Edge Instead
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The future of “Inside the NBA” was already a sensitive topic when Charles Barkley stepped into an elevator in Minneapolis after Game 3 of the Western Conference finals late Friday night. Without those, the long-term future of “Inside the N.B.A.” is uncertain. Kenny Smith, Barkley’s on-screen foil, voiced his irritation. But Barkley, as he has done throughout his decades in the public eye, made clear that he wouldn’t be muzzled. “Hey man, I can talk to who I want to,” Barkley said to Smith, using an expletive.

Persons: ”, Charles Barkley, Barkley’s, Barkley, Kenny Smith, ” Barkley, Smith Organizations: “, Western Conference, Warner Bros, TNT Locations: Minneapolis

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