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☆ NBA roundup: Mavs' playoff hopes dashed by Bulls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

The result ended the Mavericks' hopes of reaching the Western Conference play-in tournament. Chicago, which had already clinched an Eastern Conference play-in spot, played without leading scorers DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine as well as Patrick Beverley. Orlando, which was in contention for a play-in spot over the past month following a 5-20 start, played its second game since being eliminated Tuesday. Grizzlies 137, Bucks 114Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 36 points to lead seven Memphis players in double figures as the Grizzlies clinched the No. Pascal Siakam scored 19 points, Precious Achiuwa added 16 points, and Fred VanVleet had 12 points and eight assists.

☆ The Toughest Ticket in Paris Isn’t Messi—It’s Wemby
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Joshua Robinson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LEVALLOIS-PERRET, France—The hottest ticket in French sports these days is for a sleepy gym on the outskirts of Paris, where basketball players duck under doorways and fans use halftime as a collective smoke break. Supporters come to games just 2,800 at a time, because that’s all the building here can fit. But those who do get inside have all made the trip for the same reason: a 7-foot-3 teenager named Victor Wembanyama. At 19, he’s the brightest NBA prospect since LeBron James, and soon, he’ll be on his way out of France.

[1/3] Las Vegas Grand Prix, Inc. CEO Renee Wilm and Terry Miller of Miller Project Management give a tour of the Las Vegas Grand Prix paddock construction site, in Paradise, Nevada, U.S., March 3, 2023. "We think this is going to the biggest sports and entertainment event of the year," Renee Wilm, the CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, told Reuters. "There is no better way for Las Vegas to draw the attention of our international customers than through Formula One," Steve Hill, CEO of Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, told Reuters. JUST THE BEGINNINGAnd the Las Vegas sports bonanza won't stop at the F1 finish line. Reporting by Rory Carroll in Las Vegas Editing by Christian RadnedgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nike envisions a wild future with Olympics in outer space, clothing made of spider silk, and footballs make of stardust
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Nike recently published a fun and thought-provoking book about the company's next 50 years. The company playfully envisions athletic competitions in space and footballs made from stardust. The small 192-page book is mostly a fun, futuristic read about what Nike might be doing in 2073. Sam Grawe, who wrote the 2021 book Nike: Better is Temporary, is an editor and contributed essays. On a more terrestrial level, Nike foresees clothing made from spider silk and the emergence of volcanic glass compounds.

☆ NBA roundup: Knicks get by Wizards, clinch playoff berth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

[1/4] Apr 2, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Quentin Grimes (6) dribbles against Washington Wizards forward Corey Kispert (24) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. New York led by no fewer than eight and by as many as 20 the rest of the way. Atlanta got 25 points from Dejounte Murray, 18 points and 10 rebounds from John Collins and 14 points and 11 boards from Clint Capela. Dallas also got 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from Doncic and 18 points from Wood. The Rockets' starting backcourt of Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green combined for 44 points with Green adding seven assists.

☆ Twitter overhauled its verified check marks this weekend — but seemingly only for The New York Times account
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The first day of Twitter's previously announced axing of "legacy" verified checks nearly passed without incident. However, Twitter CEO Elon Musk was presented with a meme about the New York Times not intending to pay to keep its check. "Oh ok, we'll take it off then," Musk said, and the Times' gold check disappeared overnight. "Oh ok, we'll take it off then," Musk said in another response Saturday night, and the Times' gold check disappeared sometime overnight. Both James and Alexander still have blue check marks as of Sunday afternoon.

☆ News outlets, athletes, celebs — and the White House — don't plan to pay for Twitter Blue checks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Several news outlets and high-profile Twitter users have said they don't plan to pay for Twitter Blue. As of Saturday afternoon, the "legacy" checks appear to remain active across the platform. Individuals can subscribe to Twitter Blue for $8 per month. Several news outlets have said they don't plan to pay for the gold check. Others don't plan to reimburse journalists who pay for Twitter Blue, largely saying that since blue checks only convey a user paid $8, they no longer provide the credibility they once did, according to CNN.

☆ Billionaire LeBron James is 'the cheapest guy in the NBA,' won't pay for Elon Musk's Twitter Blue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The 38-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star on Friday tweeted that he has no plans to pay for Elon Musk's Twitter Blue subscription, even if it means he loses his blue verification check mark on Apr. "Welp guess my blue ✔ will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain't paying the 5," James tweeted to his 52.8 million followers. Twitter Blue will actually cost $8 per month, not $5, though the distinction probably doesn't mean much to James, who once agreed that he was "the cheapest guy in the NBA." "I don't know how long this could last," James says in the film when asked why he won't pick up the tab. 1 as he pushes users to sign up for Twitter Blue.

☆ Under Armour's new partnership with Steph Curry will last beyond the NBA star's retirement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Jessica Golden | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

NBA superstar Steph Curry and Under Armour are once again betting big on each other. The deal will ensure that Curry, 35, will remain with Under Armour long past his playing career. Curry will take on a new role as president of Under Armour's Curry Brand and will work across categories such as basketball, golf, women, youth and sports style to deliver new products. The nine-time NBA All-Star first signed with Under Armour in 2013 in a deal worth about $4 million per year. Over the course of their partnership, Curry and Under Armour have launched 10 signature shoes together.

☆ Just months after buying the platform, Elon Musk is officially the biggest account on Twitter, leapfrogging former president Barack Obama to reach 133 million followers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk overtook Barack Obama on Thursday to become Twitter's most followed account. Five months after buying the social-media platform, Musk has over 133 million followers. The Twitter CEO posted 72 times on Monday, and has his tweets boosted by engineers, per Platformer. According to the follower-tracking site SocialBlade, Musk saw the biggest increase last April – the month he first offered to buy Twitter – gaining 9.7 million followers. The Twitter CEO became the sixth-user to cross the 100 million mark last June, according to The Verge, which first reported the news.

☆ Twitter is secretly boosting 35 VIP users including Lebron James, AOC, catturd2, and Ben Shapiro: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

This means their tweets automatically bypass an algorithm meant to cap a Twitter user's reach. Platformer's Managing Editor Zoë Schiffer cited internal documents from Twitter which listed 35 VIP users, who all have their posts monitored and promoted for greater visibility. The list also included the pro-Trump, MAGA-friendly Twitter commentator, catturd2, with whom Elon Musk has had many Twitter conversations. Twitter engineers have ensured that tweets by these VIP users will automatically be ranked higher than others in terms of their visibility, Platformer revealed. The VIP users' tweets also bypass a Twitter algorithm which prevents too many posts from a particular user from being viewed, per Platformer.

☆ Pay $84 a year for Twitter Blue or lose your checkmark beginning April 1, Twitter says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue,” the company’s tweet continued. Twitter Blue is a subscription service that Musk relaunched late last year that costs individuals $84 a year or $8 a month. Twitter Blue first launched in the pre-Musk days of 2021, as a subscription service offering “power features” like undoing a tweet and saving bookmarks to folders. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesMusk pulled the Twitter Blue program for a few weeks and relaunched it yet again in December, with additional steps for reviewing and approving subscribers. The company also says Twitter Blue users will see 50% fewer ads in their home timelines, and that their tweets will be prioritized among replies, mentions and searches.

Nike said its apparel inventory fell in the third quarter and expects to end fiscal 2023 with "healthy" inventory levels. Sales in Greater China fell about 8% even as the country eased pandemic-related restrictions, which is expected to benefit the company in the near term. Nike now expects reported revenue for the full year to increase in the high-single-digit range, compared with its previous forecast of growth in the mid single digits. In the fourth quarter, the company expects flat to low-single-digit revenue growth, compared with estimates of a 2.42% rise, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Nike posted revenue of $12.39 billion in the third quarter beating estimates of $11.47 billion and reported a profit of 79 cents per share above estimates of 55 cents.

March 20 (Reuters) - Nike is expected to report a rise in third-quarter revenue and grow its market share through 2023, helped by major rival Adidas' split with designer and rapper Kanye West that caused the German company to lose about $600 million in quarterly sales. Nike (NKE.N) is also expected to get a boost from higher sales of its Jordan Retros and some newer launches as the world's No. "There is an opportunity for Nike to pick more market from Adidas," said Jessica Ramirez, senior analyst at Jane Hali and Associates, adding that Adidas has not had as many bestsellers as Nike. Nike has also doubled down on its product lines such as the LeBron 20s and Nike Mercurial shoes, while also grabbing a bigger chunk of the growing China market. Still, Nike's margins are expected to be squeezed in the quarter as it continues to offer promotions and discounts to shed excess stock.

☆ Foot Locker touts a renewed partnership with Nike — but it still won't get the hottest sneaker releases
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Matthew Kish | Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Even so, don't expect to see more of the hottest Nikes and Jordans at Foot Locker stores. The Foot Locker CEO, sporting gold Nike Air Max 97 sneakers, announced a renewed partnership with Nike at the company's investor day, addressing one of the core analyst questions facing the sneaker retailer. Mary Dillon started as Foot Locker CEO in September. Mary DillonSpeculation had been building about Foot Locker and Nike working more closely together again since December when Nike CEO John Donahoe mentioned spending time with Dillon on a Nike earnings call. As part of its new strategy, Foot Locker wants to double sales of non-Nike brands, such as Hoka On, and Crocs by 2026.

☆ NBA roundup: 3-pointer at buzzer pushes Mavs past Lakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Anthony Davis scored 26 points with 10 rebounds for the Lakers after missing Wednesday's defeat to the Houston Rockets because of load management. Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Dennis Schroder added 15 as Los Angeles played its 10th consecutive game without LeBron James (foot). Washington's 12 points and Kelly Oubre Jr.'s 11 points led Charlotte. Jalen Green paced Houston with 25 points while Kevin Porter Jr. added 20. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 31 points and six assists, while Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points and 17 rebounds.

☆ Nike is facing a PR nightmare as Kyrie Irving, Ja Morant, and now Tom Sachs face scandals – but experts say partnerships with celebs and athletes will never go away
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Curbed published a blistering story about Tom Sachs, a Nike collaborator, this week. As long as companies have partnered with celebrities, some endorsement deals have run aground, said Coresight Research CEO and founder Deborah Weinswig. Longtime sportswear industry analyst Matt Powell, who recently founded Spurwink River, said endorsement deals are "fraught with peril." "I thought for a while that brands were moving away from real celebrity endorsements," he told Insider. "We're talking about a very, very small percentage of celebrities who get endorsement deals who have that halo effect," Herzog said.

☆ NBA roundup: Red-hot Knicks outlast Celtics in double OT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

Julius Randle added 31 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who also received 29 points and 11 rebounds from RJ Barrett. Jayson Tatum had 40 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who have lost their last two home games. Bennedict Mathurin scored 17 points, Myles Turner added 16 and Chris Duarte had 15 for Indiana. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 17 points for Charlotte, which dropped its third straight. Walker Kessler (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Kelly Olynyk (15 points, 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles in the loss.

☆ LSU issues statement on academic misconduct after college athlete influencer Olivia Dunne promoted AI essay helper on TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Student athlete-slash-TikToker Olivia Dunne posted a paid partnership video about using AI for homework help. Three days after the video was published, LSU made a statement about the power of AI and warned students of academic misconduct. Dunne is the third highest valued student athlete in the US, according to NIL database. The 10-second clip garnered over one million views, and was followed by a statement from LSU on using AI for schoolwork days later, local news reported. The change sparked a slew of brand deals for college athletes, and Dunne is among the highest earners.

☆ NBA roundup: Suns win in Kevin Durant's debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Bucks 139, Magic 117Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists to fuel streaking Milwaukee's victory over visiting Orlando. Orlando's Cole Anthony scored a season-high 28 points off the bench and Markelle Fultz recorded 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jalen Williams led Oklahoma City with 24 points and chipped in seven assists, while Josh Giddey added 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. The 76ers, who snapped a two-game skid that included a home loss to the Heat, also got 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists from James Harden. Ja Morant had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Memphis, which led by as many as 28 and won its third straight.

☆ NBA roundup: Spurs top Jazz, end 16-game skid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Jeremy Sochan added 13 points and Devonte' Graham had 12 for the Spurs, who got just their 15th win. Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points with 10 rebounds for Utah, Talen Horton-Tucker scored 16 points and Walker Kessler contributed 10 points and 15 boards. The Bucks are on their fifth 15-game winning streak in team history and second in four seasons after winning 18 straight Nov. 10-Dec. 14, 2019. Spencer Dinwiddie added 26 points, but Brooklyn scored only 19 points in the fourth and dropped its third straight. Zach LaVine added 17 points, DeMar DeRozan scored 13 points and Ayo Dosunmu scored 10.

☆ NBA roundup: Damian Lillard erupts for 71 in Blazers' win
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Jerami Grant added 13 points and Nassir Little scored 11 for Portland, which connected on 54.5 percent of its field goal attempts and was 20 of 39 from 3-point range. Doncic scored 26 points with nine rebounds, while Irving had 21 points and 11 assists. Ayton also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and blocked three shots. Nikola Vucevic added 16 points and 13 rebounds for his 39th double-double of the season, third most in the NBA. Jakob Poeltl added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who were coming off a win over the host Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

☆ NBA roundup: Malik Beasley leads revamped Lakers to win
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Anthony Davis scored 12 points with 12 rebounds for Los Angeles. Klay Thompson scored 22 points and Ty Jerome added 20 for the Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry (leg) and Andrew Wiggins (personal). Evan Mobley had 31 points and nine rebounds, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland scored 22 points each, and Jarrett Allen had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Tatum had 31 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Anunoby returned from a wrist injury to score 12 points, but Toronto was without Fred VanVleet (personal).

Police officers involved in the deaths have become an intense focus of investigation, protest, and media coverage. Despite being at the heart of some of the most defining incidents in modern policing, most of the officers involved continue to live their lives under the radar. Insider's review of 72 cops involved in two dozen of the most notorious police killings of the past 30 years shows the many different paths officers have taken. There's no nationwide view into what happens to officers involved in egregious incidents of violence. In rare cases, cops involved in these killings have tried to publicly rehabilitate their image rather than seek out anonymity.

☆ The founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, the best-selling Black-owned spirit brand in the US, explains how she reached $100 million in sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Fawn Weaver founded Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, the US's best-selling Black-owned spirit brand. Uncle Nearest has generated more than $100 million in sales since its launch, information Insider verified with documentation. Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. In 2017, Weaver opened the Nearest Green Distillery and launched Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, making storytelling the foundation of her brand's success. Fawn Weaver, founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey.

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