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And that’s why he wasn’t around in the final minutes, as Canada clinched a trip to the Basketball World Cup semifinals. “It's an honor,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after Canada's first World Cup semifinal berth was clinched. The winners of those games will play for the World Cup on Sunday night. Slovenia was bidding to make the World Cup semifinals for the first time since gaining its independence in 1991. “Congratulations to Canada,” Doncic said.

Persons: — Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous, Alexander, RJ Barrett, “, ” Gilgeous, Canada's, we're, ” Doncic, Doncic, I've, They've, it's, Dillon Brooks, Brooks, Doncic —, —, ” ___ Organizations: —, Canada, Basketball, Slovenia, Serbia, U.S, Lithuania, Paris Olympics —, NBA, AP Locations: MANILA, Philippines, Canada, Slovenia, Serbia, Friday’s, Germany, Europe, France, Manila

Microsoft announced the biggest gaming deal in history in early 2022, but the acquisition was blocked by Britain's competition regulator, which was concerned the U.S. computing giant would gain too much control of the nascent cloud gaming market. Under the restructured deal, Microsoft will not be able to release Activision games like "Overwatch" and "Diablo" exclusively on its own cloud streaming service — Xbox Cloud Gaming – or to exclusively control the licensing terms for rival services. Instead, French gaming rival Ubisoft will acquire the cloud streaming rights for Activision's existing PC and console games, and any new games released by Activision in the next 15 years. A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. Microsoft said Ubisoft would acquire the rights through a one-off payment and a market-based wholesale pricing mechanism, including an option that supports pricing based on usage.

Persons: Tom Smith, there's, Gonzalo Fuentes, Alex Haffner, Fladgate, Sarah Cardell, Yadarisa, Kate Holton, Foo Yun Chee, Barbara Lewis, Sharon Singleton, Mark Potter Organizations: CMA, Microsoft, Activision, Ubisoft Deal, Ubisoft Entertainment, Ubisoft, Markets Authority, European Commission, Geradin Partners, Big Tech, Reuters, REUTERS, European Union . Competition, Federal Trade Commission, European, European Union, Sony, U.S, Thomson Locations: New York, Paris, U.S, Europe, Brussels, EU, Issy, France, British, United States, Bengaluru, London

☆ Sweden and Spain gear up for 'high pressure' World Cup semi-final
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It's going to be a high-pressure Spain and high-pressure Sweden," Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson said. Sweden are the highest-ranked nation remaining - at world number three - and are appearing at their fifth World Cup semi-final. Sweden won all three group games this tournament and dispatched two World Cup winners - the United States and Japan - in the knockouts. Spain are winless in 11 meetings against Sweden - none of which were at a World Cup - and have lost seven of those games. "It gives you goosebumps thinking about how close we are to the final ... Spain will come out more determined than ever.

Persons: Peter Gerhardsson, Kosovare Asllani, Jorge Vilda, Jenni Hermoso, Hritika Sharma, Pritha Sarkar Organizations: SYDNEY, England, Sweden, Spain, Thomson Locations: Sweden, Spain, Sydney, Australia, Germany, United States, Japan, Netherlands, Cordoba, Hyderabad

☆ Take-Two forecasts second-quarter net bookings below estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Grand Theft Auto The Trilogy by Take-Two Interactive Software Inc is seen for sale in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 7, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoAug 8 (Reuters) - Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO.O) forecast second-quarter net bookings below Wall Street targets on Tuesday, in a sign that spending on games was under pressure amid persistent inflationary pressures. Spending on videogame content was flat in the first half of the year, while console sales rose 23%, according to data from gaming research firm Circana. The videogame publisher forecast net bookings between $1.4 billion and $1.45 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.45 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Adjusted sales rose 20% to $1.20 billion in the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.21 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Chavi Mehta, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Inc, REUTERS, PlayStation, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Nigeria go home with heads held high after agonising exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Through the competition they made a mockery of their world ranking of 40 with a blend of pace, power and organisation. "They've been fantastic the whole tournament," coach Randy Waldrum told reporters after the England loss. I want to stay with this team and continue working towards the Olympics (next year). For now, Nigeria should be lauded for the quality they produced on the field and the potential they have to go further with this squad. "We don't want to take the success now and not continue to move forward when we get back to Nigeria," Waldrum said.

Persons: Randy Waldrum, we've, We've, Waldrum, Nick Said, Christian Radnedge Organizations: England, Super Falcons, Nigeria football, Olympics, Thomson Locations: Nigeria, Brisbane, England, Australia, Ireland

☆ Harder 'hungry for more' as Denmark set their sights on Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Joel Dubber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"It's a long time since we came here, first of all to qualify for a World Cup but now we're also playing the round of 16," the 30-year-old told reporters. "It's big for us and that's why I'm so proud of the whole team but, of course, we're hungry for more." It was a sentiment shared by Harder, a former team mate of Kerr's at Chelsea. The Danes can take heart from the impeccable form of their own captain, who earned her maiden World Cup goal with a 21st minute penalty against Haiti. Denmark forward Signe Bruun fouled Haiti goalkeeper Kerly Theus' outside the box and amidst the chaos substitute Mille Gejl's cross from the right was guided home by Harder.

Persons: Pernille Harder, Luisa Gonzalez PERTH, Denmark's, we're, Lars Sondergaard's, Sam Kerr, Harder, Kerr's, I've, she's, Signe Bruun, Kerly Theus, Mille, Sondergaard, Joel Dubber, Ken Ferris Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, REUTERS, Haiti, Olympic, Canada, Australia, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Haiti, Denmark, Perth, Australia, Sydney, China, Chelsea

CNN —After the thrill of winning successive Women’s World Cup titles, the 2023 tournament – so far – has brought the US team very much down to earth with a bump. For a team that has been so historically dominant at the Women’s World Cup, performances throughout the 2023 edition so far have been underwhelming for women’s soccer’s most dynastic team. Fans of the US team get ready for the Women's World Cup group game against Portugal. 3 ranked in the world by FIFA, has plenty of World Cup history. Sweden drew with the US in 2015 and also beat them in 2011 – the last time any team defeated the USWNT inside regulation at a World Cup.

Persons: Ana Capeta’s, Vlatko Andonovski, “, Julie Foudy, Buda Mendes, Alex Morgan, ” Morgan, Thailand’s, –, Megan Rapinoe, Morgan, Andonovski, Mallory Swanson, Tobin Heath, Sam Mewis, Catarina Macario, Becky Sauerbrunn, Abby Dahlkemper, Andrew Cornaga, Trinity Rodman, Carli Lloyd, ” Lloyd, Crystal Dunn, Lloyd, ” Andonovksi, ”, Rebecca Welch, Rose Lavelle, Lavelle, Saeed Khan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sophia Smith, we’ll, Lindsey Horan, ” Andonovski, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, TNT, US, National, Getty, Portugal, New Zealand, Canada, Tokyo, Christen Press, Vietnam, Professional, Chicago Bulls, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Montreal Canadiens, UEFA, Leagues, ”, Sweden, FIFA Locations: Portugal, Buda, Thailand, Netherlands, Vietnam, England, New, New Zealand, Sweden, Spain, Auckland, Wellington, AFP, Real Madrid

☆ Meta’s Reality Labs has now lost more than $21 billion since the beginning of last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Analysts polled by StreetAccount were projecting Reality Labs to record $421 million in sales and $3.5 billion in operating losses. Meta reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday and said that its Reality Labs unit, which develops virtual reality and augmented reality technologies needed to power the metaverse, logged a $3.7 billion operating loss. Last year, Meta's Reality Labs unit lost a total of $13.7 billion while bringing in $2.16 billion in revenue, which is driven in part by the company's sales of Quest-branded VR headsets. Reality Labs lost $3.99 billion during the first quarter. Meta said in its earnings report that it expects operating losses in its Reality Labs unit "to increase meaningfully year-over-year due to our ongoing product development efforts in augmented reality/virtual reality and investments to further scale our ecosystem."

Persons: Meta, Zuckerberg Organizations: Meta, StreetAccount, Reality Labs, Labs, Quest Pro, VR, Apple, Qualcomm

☆ Djokovic relieved to survive Rublev dogfight
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic's celebration after finishing off Andrey Rublev in a high-octane Wimbledon quarter-final said it all on Tuesday. Like Rublev, Sinner will go after the 36-year-old Djokovic with his aggressive game and the Serbian will need no reminding that he trailed Sinner by two sets in last year's quarter-finals before reeling him in. "He (Sinner) likes to play on grass. He likes to play on quick surfaces because he likes to be aggressive and take control of the point," said Djokovic. "From both forehand and backhand, he's smashing the ball really, really hard.

Persons: Novak, Andrey Rublev, Djokovic, he's, Martyn Herman, Ken Ferris Organizations: Wimbledon, Thomson Locations: Serbian

☆ Microsoft CEO Nadella says he has 'no love' for exclusive deals between game companies and consoles
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella arrives to court in San Francisco on June 28, 2023. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Wednesday that he would like to eliminate exclusive arrangements between video games and popular gaming consoles. Microsoft employs the strategy as well for its Xbox, though Nadella said his company is a "low share player in the console market." Regarding exclusive deals, Nadella said "I have no love for that world." The FTC is worried that the tie-up could allow Microsoft to withhold popular games in Activision's library from other consoles or degrade service for those games elsewhere.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Nadella, Sony hasn't, Jim Ryan, he's Organizations: Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Federal Trade, Nintendo, Sony, FTC, Activision, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Linux Locations: San Francisco, California

☆ Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Ken Belson | Benjamin Mueller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Jeffrey Vlk played running back in high school in the 1990s and then safety in college, he took and delivered countless tackles during full-contact football practices. So, starting in 2019, Vlk eliminated full-contact practices. Players wore shoulder pads once a week, on Wednesday, which he called contact day. That’s when they hit tackle bags and crash pads, and wrapped up teammates but did not throw them to the ground. Vlk said no starting player had been injured at his practices in four years.

Persons: Jeffrey Vlk, Vlk Organizations: Buffalo Grove High School Locations: Chicago

☆ Women’s Champions League final: Pain of defeat ‘motivating’ Barcelona ahead of clash with Wolfsburg
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The pain of defeat from last season’s Women’s Champions League final has lingered at Barcelona. Even faced with a resurgent Lyon, Barcelona was expected to come out on top. Ingrid Engen has now lost two Champions League finals, one with Wolfsburg and one with Barcelona. Barcelona won the first Women's Champions League title in the club's history in 2021. Playing in a Champions League final will be a great moment in our careers.

Persons: Ingrid Engen, Lyon, Alejandro Rios, don’t, ” Engen, “ It’s, ”, Barça, Lucy Bronze, Clive Brunskill, FIFA’s, Jonatan Giráldez, “, Engen, you’ve, Lena Oberdorf, I’ve, Oberdorf, –, Tommy Stroot, ” Stroot, David Lidstrom Organizations: CNN, League, Champions League, Lyon, Wolfsburg, Engen, Barcelona, CNN Sport, Bayern Munich –, Chelsea, Women's Champions League, Barcelona ’, Norway, Young, Ballon, “, UEFA Locations: Barcelona, Turin, Lyon, Eindhoven, Netherlands, Wolfsburg

☆ DirecTV reaches deal to provide NFL 'Sunday Ticket' to bars and restaurants
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

DirecTV has struck a multiyear deal to continue broadcasting the National Football League's "Sunday Ticket" package to commercial establishments, including bars and restaurants. The NFL sold the "Sunday Ticket" commercial rights to EverPass Media, a joint venture owned by private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners and the NFL, earlier this year. The companies confirmed the "Sunday Ticket" deal on Thursday afternoon. Bars and restaurants, such as Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters, rely on "Sunday Ticket" to bring in big crowds on Sundays during the NFL season. The NFL signed a seven-year deal with Google 's YouTube TV for the residential "Sunday Ticket" broadcast rights in December.

loadingWhile Arteta and his players dismissed talk of "bottling" the title race, for their fans there is a crushing sense of what could have been. Arsenal were eight points clear two months ago and appeared to be heading towards bagging their first league title since Arsene Wenger's 2003-04 'Invincibles'. GUARDIOLA MIND GAMESBut the eight-point gap was an illusion as City always had games in hand while Guardiola played mind games, effusive in his praise of Arsenal and Arteta, his former assistant at City. Guardiola has seen his fair share of tense title races and even when Arsenal had three games to go, he gently applied more pressure. The master had outshone the apprentice as Guardiola's side marched to their fifth league title in six seasons.

☆ The New A.C. Milan Picks Up Where the Old One Left Off
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“This club is used to these moments, these emotions. It knows how to be a protagonist.”For Milan, this is the stage on which it belongs. The clubs have been here before: They were paired together in the semifinals in 2003, and again in the quarterfinals in 2007. And yet the rivalry’s return is not testament to how little has changed, but how much. It was still, recognizably, the team that Silvio Berlusconi had built, the fruits of the first modern superclub: experienced, authoritative, impossibly glamorous.

☆ NBA roundup: Jimmy Butler, Heat eliminate Bucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Apr 26, 2023; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) drives against Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (21) during game five of the 2023 NBA Playoffs at Fiserv Forum. Butler followed up his franchise-playoff-record, 56-point performance in Game 4 by helping the eighth-seeded Heat overcome a 16-point, fourth-quarter deficit with 12 straight Heat points during one stretch before converting an alley-oop in the final second to force overtime. Bam Adebayo collected 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Heat, who will face the fifth-seeded New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Antetokounmpo recorded 38 points and 20 rebounds and Khris Middleton pumped in 33 points for the Bucks. Anthony Davis amassed 31 points and 19 rebounds and Austin Reaves registered 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the seventh-seeded Lakers.

☆ Microsoft’s blockbuster deal to buy Activision is in jeopardy. Here’s what could happen next
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

UK officials said Wednesday they will block the company’s $69 billion deal to acquire video game giant Activision-Blizzard. It could also complicate Microsoft’s future in the gaming industry and severely upend Activision, which was in the throes of an internal crisis in the months leading up to the deal. By buying Activision, Microsoft would become the third-largest video game publisher in the world after Tencent and Sony. (The UK dropped its concerns about the console market in March, while the European Union reportedly does not oppose the deal.) In a memo Wednesday to employees, Kotick attempted to strike an optimistic note, whatever the outcome of the deal may be.

☆ Chris Smith: Former NFL defensive end dies aged 31
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Matt Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Former NFL defensive end Chris Smith has died, his former agent said on Tuesday. Smith spent eight seasons in the NFL and played for seven franchises. Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images/FileThe Browns tweeted their condolences on Tuesday. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Browns DE Chris Smith,” the message reads. “Rest in paradise Chris Smith,” wrote Browns tight end David Njoku on Twitter.

☆ Chelsea sack Potter with club 11th in Premier League
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 2 (Reuters) - Chelsea have sacked manager Graham Potter, the London club said on Sunday after a string of poor results left the team 11th in the Premier League. "Graham has agreed to collaborate with the club to facilitate a smooth transition," Chelsea said in a statement. "In his time with the club, Graham has taken us to the quarter final of the Champions League, where we will face Real Madrid. "We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter final ahead. Potter is the 12th manager to be sacked in the Premier League this season and the announcement came hours after relegation-threatened Leicester City parted ways with Brendan Rodgers by mutual agreement.

☆ NHL roundup: Tim Stutzle helps Senators rally past Flames
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

February 14 - Tim Stutzle scored 1:55 into overtime to cap off a four-point night and give the Ottawa Senators a 4-3 comeback win over the visiting Calgary Flames on Monday. Stutzle had assists on all three of the Senators' earlier goals, and the forward matched a personal best with four points in a game. The Flames are 12-9-11 in one-goal games this season, with the 20 combined one-goal losses leading the NHL. Roman Josi and Colton Sissons scored goals for the Predators, who lost for the second time in their last three games. Sheldon Dries replied for the Canucks, who have just one win in their past five games (1-3-1).

The PlayStation VR2 headset launches February 22 for $550, and preorders are available now. Sony says more than 30 PS VR2 games will be released during the initial launch window. PlayStation VR2 The PS VR2 is a new virtual reality headset built for the PS5. PS VR2 featuresThe PlayStation VR2 carries over many features found on the original model released in 2016, while offering a few key upgrades and new options. The PlayStation VR2 base package costs $550 and includes the headset, two wireless PS VR2 sense controllers, and a pair of headphones.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Lakers forward LeBron James returns to Los Angeles on the verge of becoming the NBA's all-time leading scorer after wrapping up a five-game road trip in New Orleans on Saturday night. 'King James' now needs just 36 points to pass fellow Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record 38,387 career points after contributing 27 points in the Lakers' 131-126 loss to the Pelicans. Ticket prices for those games have predictably skyrocketed and Hollywood's biggest stars are expected to be seated courtside. At this point the only question is what kind of shot he will take to seize the a title. Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Emotional Townsend savours Calcutta Cup hat-trick
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I don't know if it's this fixture. I didn’t get close to winning as a player, it was always the same result down here. Two years ago (when Scotland won at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years) there was no crowd here so this was emotional. Townsend said it reminded him of the computer game version of the late former All Black Jonah Lomu "when he ran faster than everyone else. It was one that sends the Scotland supports crazy and silences everyone else as you don’t see tries like that very often," he said.

☆ HBO's 'The Last of Us' is really good. That doesn't mean other video-game TV shows will be.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

From "Fallout" to "God of War," a slew of other video-game TV shows are in the works. The second episode was watched by 5.7 million viewers on Sunday, a 22% increase from the premiere's first night, HBO said this week. But just because "The Last of Us" creators, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, managed to bring the game to TV in a satisfying way, doesn't mean other video-game shows will have the same fate. That's not to say that they don't feature compelling narratives, and they could still be great TV shows. The "Assassin's Creed" and "God of War" games feature a bevy of side missions that could convolute an adaptation.

☆ NHL roundup: Panthers rally late, nip Bruins in OT
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Barkov also assisted on Brandon Montour's goal, and Sam Bennett scored for the Panthers. Anders Lee also scored for New York, which won its second straight game and prevailed for just the third time in 13 games (3-7-3). Carrier scored the only goal for Vegas, which lost its fourth straight game (0-2-2) and fell for the seventh time in eight games (1-5-2). Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Phillip Danault scored goals for the Kings, whose three-game winning streak ended. Colorado forward Valeri Nichushkin sat out for the second straight game with an upper-body injury.

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