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Published June 18, 2022 11:50AM Father's Day Brunch Cimone Key Creative Studio is hosting a Father's Day Brunch, Saturday, June 18th from 12p.m. -2 p.m. at 150 Turtle Creek Blvd. The brunch features Pastor Bryan Carter from Concord Church, Model Kordell Beckham, and Odell Beckham Sr., Speaker, philanthropist, and the father of NFL player, Odell Beckham Jr. DALLAS - Cimone Key Creative Studio is hosting a Father's Day Brunch, Saturday, June 18th from 12 pm-2 pm featuring Pastor Bryan Carter from Concord Church, Model Kordell Beckham, and Odell Beckham Sr., Speaker, philanthropist, and the father of NFL player, Odell Beckham Jr. MC and host will be Pskillz from 97.9 the beat. The event was created to emphasize the support and significance of black fatherhood. Being Father's Day weekend, they are offering a brunch that includes DJ, networking, interactive demo boxing for fathers and sons/daughters, and an intimate and interactive discussion with celebrity fathers on overcoming challenges faced by black fathers. A net of their proceeds will benefit the community's highly at-risk youth. The event is presented by Cimone Key Creative Studio, an award-winning black woman-owned branding agency that holds events uplifting their community in the Dallas area. The event will be held at 150 Turtle Creek Blvd #106 Dallas, Texas 75207 To purchase tickets, click here.

Festivals

Willson Contreras singles in the sixth inning Friday at Wrigley Field.Chase Agnello-Dean/Getty Images After two nights of dinners and stories, reality will hit Cubs catcher Willson Contreras when he comes to bat in the first inning Saturday with younger brother William behind the plate for the Braves. ‘‘It’s going to be emotional,’’ Willson said Friday. ‘‘It’s going to be good, especially being the older brother. Seeing your younger brother play against you is priceless.’’ Willson, 30, is six years older than his brother, who is batting .287 with nine home runs. The two worked out together during the COVID-19 stoppage in 2020, and their parents will be in attendance at Wrigley Field for a memorable experience. ‘‘Latin culture is everything about family,’’ said Contreras, a native of Venezuela.Stiff Schwindel First baseman Frank Schwindel might not be available Saturday after leaving in the second inning with lower-back stiffness suffered while running to first on a grounder. ‘‘He went three rounds of treatment and is still stiff,’’ manager David Ross said after the game. Coincidentally, P.J. Higgins, Schwindel’s replacement at first, cleanly fielded a grounder by Orlando Arcia with the bases loaded and sprinted to first base for the final out of a 1-0 victory against the Braves that snapped a 10-game losing streak. ‘‘It was a really good feeling to go at somebody,’’ Ross said.Captured by COVID Right-hander Marcus Stroman admitted he wasn’t at full strength when he returned from a 17-day COVID-related layoff in early May. Stroman threw five innings and 77 pitches in his next start against the Diamondbacks but said his shoulder never recovered, eventually resulting in a trip to the 15-day injured list with inflammation in the shoulder. Stroman, who is 2-5 with a 5.32 ERA in nine starts, played catch for the second consecutive day and hopes to throw off a mound next week if his shoulder responds well to more throwing sessions. ‘‘I don’t want to go too quick,’’ said Stroman, who hasn’t pitched since June 3 and acknowledged he might need a rehab assignment.Memory lane Braves manager Brian Snitker was a catcher on the 1971 Macon High School team that earned the distinction of being the smallest school to reach the Illinois state finals. Snitker’s team was documented in a book titled ‘‘One Shot at Forever,’’ and Snitker said he tried to pattern his batting stance after those of some Cubs players. ‘‘I think I was Glenn Beckert as a sophomore,’’ Snitker recalled. ‘‘I was Jim Hickman as a junior. I probably morphed into both as a senior.’’Roster updates Infielder David Bote was scheduled to resume his rehab assignment at Triple-A Iowa. Bote, who was rehabbing from surgery on his left shoulder, experienced dizzy spells June 7. Reliever Ethan Roberts (inflammation in right shoulder) threw live batting practice Thursday at the Cubs’ complex in Mesa, Arizona, and is scheduled to pitch on a rehab assignment Sunday at Iowa. Outfielder Clint Frazier cleared waivers and was sent outright to Iowa. Frazier has yet to decide whether to report or become a free agent.

Baseball

DJ and TV presenter Lauren Laverne grew up in Sunderland and started her career as lead singer in the Britpop band Kenickie. In 1998, she moved into broadcasting, with stints on MTV, Channel 4 and Xfm, where she was the first woman to host the station’s breakfast show. She now presents the BBC 6 Music breakfast show and has hosted Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs since 2018. From 22 to 26 June, she will host coverage of the Glastonbury festival on 6 Music and BBC TV. She is married with two sons and lives in London.1. ExhibitionFashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear, V&A, London; until 6 NovemberA display from the Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear show at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Photograph: Vickie Flores/EPAI’m a long-time member and fan of the V&A – I’m waiting with bated breath for its new premises in Stratford and for the reopening of the Young V&A. This is a thrilling deep dive into the fascinating, surprising history of menswear design. It was exciting to see such a diverse portrayal of men and how they have presented themselves over the years and the juxtaposition of designer pieces and famous outfits with historical portraiture and objects from the V&A archive was cleverly done. It got the thumbs up from both my sons too.2. AudiobookWindswept and Interesting by Billy ConnollyBilly Connolly performing at the Secret Policeman’s Ball, 1979. Photograph: AA Film Archive/AlamyI was brought up on Connolly’s comedy. My dad was born in the Highlands and Billy was one of his heroes. Our conversations were peppered with our favourite lines from his standup (“those are the very fellows for me!”). My dad has been gone almost four years now, so it was emotional listening to Billy’s life story in his own words. Of course it’s funny. It’s also clever, tender and beautiful. Listening to it made me feel closer to my windswept and interesting father and very grateful that Billy is still around, as smart, tough and humane as ever.3. BookDickens’ London: Essays About London and Its People (Folio Society companion to the collection Dickens in Europe)‘Bursting with life and personality’: Charles Dickens. Photograph: Hulton DeutschA friend who totally gets me gave me this wonderful collection of essays exploring Dickens’s “magic lantern” and favourite character – London itself. Night Walks is a fantastic winter read – gloomy, dreamlike and revealing – but this collection feels to me like London at this time of year: bursting with life and personality. The city he just couldn’t stop writing about – rowdy, boisterous, infuriating and delightful in the 19th century – will be intimately familiar to 21st-century Londoners.4. TVDrag Me Down the Aisle (TLC)‘Incredibly soothing’: Drag Me Down the Aisle presenters (l-r) Thorgy Thor, Alexis Michelle, Jujubee and BeBe Zahara Benet. Photograph: Robert Evans/TLCI’ll be honest with you: I really only plan to watch TV shows in which people who really know their shit (ideally wearing great outfits) solve problems. Drag Me Down the Aisle is arguably the apotheosis of this genre and I find it incredibly soothing. The premise is as the title implies: each week, four queens give a hapless bride the wedding of her dreams, from an Amish lady having a frock-based nightmare, to one who is struggling to come to terms with her new shape and another who’s been too busy becoming a biochemist to plan her big day. It’s a sparkling joy.5. AlbumPiece of Me by Lady WrayLady Wray: ‘glows with soulful warmth.’ Photograph: CBS Photo Archive/CBS/Getty ImagesThis record has been stuck on my turntable – Through It All feels to me like the song of 2022. Working with the superlatively talented Leon Michels (producer and bandleader of El Michels Affair), US soul singer Lady Wray has created a record that glows with heartfelt, analogue warmth, coruscating with poetic, lyrical glitter. Timeless is an overused word, but the big things – love, heartbreak, compassion and hope – really are, as this album shows.6. EventKaleidoscope festival, Saturday 23 JulyDJ David Rodigan, who is appearing at the Kaleidoscope festival this year. Photograph: David Levene/The GuardianAlexandra Palace is my favourite venue in London. I’m biased because it’s in my neighbourhood but honestly, it’s amazing: a venue that is a charity hosting everything from the Earthshot prize to the Knitting and Stitching Show and Alice Cooper’s Night of Fear (these last two were, as I recall, on consecutive weekends). I can’t wait for its wonderful, family-friendly all-day-do, set in Ally Pally’s glorious 196-acre park with city views, to return in July, with a bill including Orbital, the Happy Mondays, David Rodigan on the 1s and 2s, standup comedy, kids arts and activities and plenty of spoken word too.

Music

Don’t pigeonhole Ron Trent.The prolific and celebrated Chicago house music producer, best known for the track “Altered States,” returns June 24 with his new record, “What Do the Stars Say To You.” The album, the culmination of more than 25 years of curiosity, deep learning, spiritual practice and musicianship, is a stark departure from the Trent many fans around the world are used to hearing on the dance floor. But Trent, who said the record embodies many of his long-held interests and loves, said the record is very much a reflection of who he is. “The bottom line, it was timing, it was energy, it’s spirit, which is at the core of everything,” he said.Although Trent only began working on the album four years ago, the spark developed decades ago. “Believe it or not,” he added. “I had kind of started working in a capacity of wanting to create this aesthetic.” Many years later, Trent released a three-track EP that he deemed an introduction to what was to come. “You know, this more head space, jazz, Balearic slash krautrock type of album,” he said. “Something that’s more for the audiophile, for the aficionado, for the connoisseur, for the people that appreciate listening to music on a higher level and not just music playing in the background or I’m shaking my tail feather.” Those same elements can be heard on “What Do the Stars Say To You.”Chicago house music producer Ron Trent. (Steven Piper / HANDOUT)Work on the record began in 2018 but ramped up during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a time of change, both good and bad, for Trent. He described the last two years as a “transitional period” where he lost friends and acquaintances as well as wages and personal relationships. “It’s like a storm of uncertainty as well,” he added. “Being myself, I had to have a goal and look deep within for that strength to pull from.Used to being on the road, Trent joked that this was the first time he had spent this much time at home since he was a teenager. He used his time to simply practice and perfect. He learned guitar, which he said helped him unlock new musical textures, ones he heard in his own music but was unable to access. The daytime was spent working on “whatever’s going on” and the nighttime was focused on production and learning.“I’m very much into practice on a regular basis, a practice of spiritual engagement. And to me, being musicians and good DJs, we’re mediums, right? You’re transferring energy. You’re pulling things out of the air and you’re creating, you’re manifesting. So when that’s happening, you have to be present. You’re looking in, but you’re in it. And then you’re also receiving,” he explained. “It’s a sense of being aware of oneself, and that comes from self-study, that comes through practice and repetition.”That guitar work comes into play on the record. He was influenced, surprisingly enough, by the music and aesthetics of his youth in the early to mid ‘80s, especially from shows like “Miami Vice.” “A lot of the music that I collect or paid attention to had guitar in it,” he explained. “So when I started doing my own thing, now I’m touching it in those places. I’m like, ‘OK, I can access this.’”Chicago house music producer Ron Trent. (Steven Piper)The record is also a throwback to a less tangible quality missing in music, a sound that is complete and with something significant to say. “I also missed the days of — since I’m a record collector too — being able to get albums that you put them on and you let them play,” Trent explained. “All the tracks have their own personality and you feel you’re part of the story or the journey, having an experience delivered, not just a whole big mish-mosh of tunes thrown together.”New singles from the record invoke such feelings. Collaborators include Ivan Conti and Azymuth, among others. On “Flos Potentia (Sugar, Cotton, Tabacco),” Trent collaborates with Khruangbin, the Texas-based trio also known for their evocative, cinematic records that transport listeners to distinct places and times, from the dirt roads of their home state to the tropics of Thailand. And while the record may be classified as “ambient,” Trent’s roots in house music are never far. “Flos Potentia” has a smooth, effortless sort of danceable groove that sounds familiar and emotionally transportive, as if plucked from a more enthralling period of time.“It’s just music that’s more fulfilling on a lot of different levels,” he said. “It’s got different layers and something that is timeless.”Britt Julious is a freelance critic.

Music

Dolly Parton is one of the hardest-working people in Hollywood — and at 76, the legendary country artist doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon. The Tennessee native has just released her first novel, "Run, Rose, Run" with author James Patterson along with a companion album of the same name. "Run, Rose, Run" follows a young singer-songwriter on her path to stardom in Nashville.Last week Parton opened up about her illustrious career, professional regrets and how she combats burnout in an interview with organizational psychologist Adam Grant for his podcast "WorkLife with Adam Grant."Throughout her 50-year career, there's one piece of bad advice people have tried to pass on to Parton – but she's always brushed it off. "The main advice that people wanted to give me was to change my look – to go simpler with my hair and the way that I dress, not to look so cheap, nobody was ever going to take me seriously they would say," she told Grant. She explained: "The way I look and the way I looked then was a country girl's idea of glam, just like I wrote in my 'Backwoods Barbie' song. It was really like a look I was after. I wasn't a natural beauty. I just like to look the way I look. I'm so outgoing inside, I need the way I look to match all of that." Parton also revealed her secret for juggling multiple projects without burning out. During her career, she has received 50 Grammy Award nominations, four Emmy Award nominations and one Tony Award nomination, has sold more than 100 million albums, opened a Dollywood theme park and launched The Dollywood Foundation where she started book-gifting program Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, and she even helped fund the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine."I've got so many irons in the fire that sometimes I'm burning my own butt," Parton joked. "I have to get up earlier, I have to work longer, and I have to have a bigger cup of ambition in the morning to get it all done," referencing the opening line of her popular hit '9 to 5.' She continued: "I don't have time to burn out, I'm burning up. I'm a creative person and every new thing will create something else … energy begets energy and creativity begets creativity, so I just really have to stay with it because I want to see things happen, I want to make things happen."After a stressful work day, Parton said she likes to spend time at home with her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, and either cook or read. She also turns to her relationship with God for comfort: "I always say when things are bad I pray, when they get worse, I pray harder." Parton's other secret to success is simple: Don't take yourself too seriously – and that includes not dwelling on past mistakes. "I like to enjoy my work, I like to have it be fun, and I like the people around me to have fun doing it," she said. "My biggest regret is I have no regrets."Check out:Dolly Parton credits her long-term success to this 6-word piece of advice from her mother6 companies offering free tuition to employees, from Dollywood to StarbucksDo these 4 things every day to be happier and more resilient, according to mental health expertsSign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter

Music

Naomi Osaka's best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the third round in 2017 and 2018Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from Wimbledon with an Achilles injury.The 24-year-old previously said she was "unsure" if she would play Wimbledon due to its lack of ranking points.The ATP and WTA stripped the points from Wimbledon after the tournament banned Russian and Belarusian players over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Osaka's name appeared on the singles entry list for Wimbledon when it was released last week, but she has not appeared in any of the grass-court events.Speaking after her first-round French Open exit, Osaka said she was "not 100% sure" she would appear at the SW19 tournament."The intention of this measure was good, but the execution is all over the place," Osaka said in May of the decision to strip Wimbledon of points."I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it's more like an exhibition. I know this isn't true, right? But my brain just like feels that way. "I would love to go, just to get some experience on the grass court, but at the same time I'm the type of player that gets motivated by seeing my ranking go up."The world number 43 has slipped down the rankings after taking several breaks from the sport last year to protect her mental health.Osaka won the US Open in 2018 and 2020 and the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, but has never gone beyond the third round at Wimbledon.Live scores, results and order of playAlerts: Get tennis news sent to your phoneFormer finalist Eugenie Bouchard also withdrew from the tournament on Saturday because of the lack of points.The Canadian former world number five dropped to 253 in the WTA standings in January after a lengthy absence following shoulder surgery, but was able to enter the Wimbledon main draw under her protected ranking.Players only receive a limited number of protected ranking entries to use at tournaments."As much as I love Wimbledon and skipping it makes me sad, using a protected ranking [PR] entry at a tournament with no ranking points doesn't make sense," said the 28-year-old, who lost in the 2014 singles final to Petra Kvitova."I must choose wisely and use my PR entries at tournaments that will help me get back to where I want to be."Bouchard said she would use her two Grand Slam protected ranking entries at the US Open and Australian Open. Are you stuck for Father's Day ideas? Here's some simple yet sophisticated recipes that will do the trickSaudi Arabia's $2bn golf series : Is this a new exciting tournament for golf or a method to cleanse the country's global reputation?

Tennis

Bonnie Raitt is nothing if not generous, and during her 90 minutes onstage at Leader Bank Pavilion Friday night, that characteristic showed up again and again. She made sure the audience knew who was playing with her by introducing her band (including Boston’s own guitar master Duke Levine — ”hometown team!,” Raitt exclaimed) after the second song instead of toward the show’s end. She gave shout-outs by name to some of her longtime Boston friends and to former Globe music critic Steve Morse. And she paid tribute to musical contemporaries, particularly to John Prine (“I miss him every day”) before playing a hushed version of the Prine song she has made her own, “Angel from Montgomery.”As usual, she also gave flashes of her characteristic outspokenness and compassion. She made sure to point out the Ukrainian flag displayed onstage and went on to characterize Vladimir Putin with a choice epithet and to remark that what he was inflicting on Ukraine had a level of cruelty and barbarism that she’d never seen before.And, as usual, she offered a set that didn’t veer radically from her wont. She is touring behind her latest album, “Just Like That . . . ,” so she gave a good sampling of the record, leading things off with “Made Up Mind” and then the plenty funky anthropomorphization of addiction, “Waitin’ for You to Blow.” The title track, which she sat down and took to acoustic guitar to play, was a beautiful musical display of her compassion. “Livin’ for the Ones,” her memorial to pandemic losses, had a touch of early Bonnie and rocked as hard as anything she’s ever done, while the soulful “Blame It on Me” indicated that the ravages of time have not visited themselves upon the places she is able to take her powerful voice.Get The Big To-DoYour guide to staying entertained, from live shows and outdoor fun to the newest in museums, movies, TV, books, dining, and more.Alongside the new was the tried-and-true: “Angel from Montgomery,” “Something to Talk About,” the reggae-tinted “Have a Heart,” break-out song “Nick of Time,” and “No Business,” which gave the evening’s first taste of Raitt’s singular bottleneck whine.There were a couple of forays off the beaten track, notably for “Back Around,” her cowrite with Malian griot Habib Koité, which she called a “concoction” of Malian blues and John Lee Hooker; she played it on resonator guitar, paired with Levine’s acoustic, to marvelous effect. But by and large, this was a familiar performance, and it showed Raitt still doing what she does best.The effects of the stroke that opener Lucinda Williams suffered in November 2020 were clearly evident during her time onstage (and she talked about them), but what was also evident was that she has overcome whatever effects it had on her singing voice, which seemed stronger than ever. A simmering, extended take on her “Are You Down” was a highlight of her hour-long set.Stuart Munro can be reached at [email protected] RAITTWith Lucinda Williams. At Leader Bank Pavilion, Friday

Music

Liam Neeson (top center clockwise) in MEMORY, SCHINDLER'S LIST, STAR WARS: EPISODE I, TAKEN, MICHAEL ... [+] COLLINS, and LOVE ACTUALLY. Open Road Films/Briarcliff Entertainment, Universal, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox Whether he has tugged at your heartstrings, saved the day as the hero you can count on, or you’ve simply felt the force of his lightsaber, actor Liam Neeson continues to bring a variety of emotions to us moviegoers through his many decades of powerful performances up on the big screen. With his latest film Memory from Open Road Films and Briarcliff Entertainment arriving in theaters, Neeson is back to his modern action role ways that fans have come to expect from the actor over recent years. So, what was it about Neeson’s latest character Alex Lewis that intrigued him to take on this Memory project? Scot Williams stars as “Ellis Van Camp” and Liam Neeson as “Alex Lewis” in director Martin ... [+] Campbell’s MEMORY, an Open Road Films / Briarcliff Entertainment release. Credit: Rico Torres | Open Road Films / Briarcliff Entertainment ©2022 Open Road Films / Briarcliff Entertainment “They sent me the Belgium film that was made in 2003, I believe, that I enjoyed immensely,” Neeson tells me over Zoom. “It was terrific, but I thought it could be updated. I find the character fascinating to play. A precision hitman assassin who is going through the early stages of Alzheimer’s. It just added texture to the character and made the moral issues of the film very ambiguous - lots of shades of gray. And just doing the research on Alzheimer’s and dementia was traumatic in some of the documentary films I saw and I have a friend in Ireland who’s early stages dementia, so I kind of knew a little bit firsthand of what this man is going through.” There is no arguing that Neeson has built a bonafide action star persona in Hollywood. Starting around his 2008 film Taken, a sleeper hit that grossed nearly $227 million at the worldwide box office and a collective total of more than $932 million worldwide between what would become a Taken trilogy of films. Bryan (Liam Neeson) prepares to take extreme measures during his interrogation of a man he suspects ... [+] of being a key player in the kidnapping of his daughter in TAKEN. 20TH CENTURY FOX “I’ve said this publicly, we shot Taken, I loved the script. I thought it was a tight, little European thriller but I thought we’d probably end up just going straight to video. We opened it in France first, it did well, and then they opened it in South Korea and it did well. And then I remember getting a telephone call from my nephew in Worthing in the South of England. Yeah, Uncle Liam, we saw your film. What film is that? Uh, Taken. I said it’s not out yet, what do you mean you saw it? Uh well, we downloaded it on the computer. I said that’s against the law, you can’t do that! So I remember thinking well, that’s the end of that, but FOX took it in this [U.S.] country and made great little trailers, showed them at various sporting events, and they created the success of it.” When I bring up with Neeson his famous Taken line I will find you and I will kill you, he says with a laugh, “If I had five cents for every time I said that on one of my sons’ friend’s voice messages, I’d be quite rich.” With his long list of action films that have been released since then, I wondered what it is about these highly-trained characters that intrigues Neeson most to keep taking on these types of roles. M_10611_RC Liam Neeson stars as “Alex Lewis” in director Martin Campbell’s MEMORY, an Open Road ... [+] Films / Briarcliff Entertainment release. Credit: Rico Torres | Open Road Films / Briarcliff Entertainment ©2022 Open Road Films / Briarcliff Entertainment “‘A’ - they’re fun! I get to hang out with my stunt/fight coordinator Mark Vanselow - we’ve done 25 films together now. We have armorers with the guns and I never take that stuff for granted, even though I’ve used a lot of guns in films. Each project where there is a firearm, I try and wipe my slate clean and look at it as if for the first time someone is showing me how a gun works - how to load it and stuff, you know? I enjoy it very much and you know, they keep offering me these things!” Even with his recent rise in the action genre, let’s not forget Neeson’s earlier years in Hollywood with his many other memorable performances in the categories of comedy and drama, from Best Picture Winner Schindler’s List to the timeless favorite Love Actually to even as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, projects I bring up with Neeson. So, out of all of the characters and films he has been a part of over the years, I wondered if there is one specific performance for Neeson that he holds dearest to his heart because of either the role he played or the experience he had while filming. “I have to say the films you mentioned, I’m very proud of. I’ve made 100 films up until Christmas past - I’m staggered by that and deeply honored and flattered, but my favorite is Michael Collins. He was an Irish revolutionary figure, one of the founders of the modern Irish state and he was highly controversial. I don’t think the film did terribly well here (grossing just over $11 million at the U.S. box office), even though there’s like 30 million people in the country who have an association with Ireland. I am very proud of it.” Julia Roberts, Liam Neeson, and Aidan Quinn in the 1996 film MICHAEL COLLINS. Warner Bros. Pictures With the ever-changing landscape of some films skipping a theatrical release with the growing trend of video streaming premieres, the North Ireland-born actor has his own thoughts on the shift we are seeing on the distribution decision-making of major motion pictures today. “We’re all very aware of the whole streaming service - it’s almost like a whole new industry, which is great for independent films that always have trouble getting off the ground. It’s great for them. I am concerned a bit - maybe I’m being snobbish, I love the big screen. I love cinema, I love going into a darkened theater with a bunch of strangers, the curtains part, the lights go down and you’re transported. That to me always has been since when I was a kid going to see matinee movies in my hometown. I was just transported and I still am when I go to the cinema. I’ve watched a lot of these streaming series and stuff - they’re superb, they’re fantastic, but give me the big screen all the time, you know?” On June 7, Neeson will celebrate his 70th birthday, a fact he jokes about with me and playfully shares that he has the same birthday as “It’s Not Unusual” singer Tom Jones. As Neeson continues onward with his action-packed Hollywood career, I asked Neeson what his mindset and priorities are today as he is about to embark on a new decade of his life. Actor Liam Neeson, director Martin Campbell and actor Guy Pearce on the set of their film MEMORY, an ... [+] Open Road Films / Briarcliff Entertainment release. ©2022 Open Road Films / Briarcliff Entertainment “I feel incredibly lucky. Seriously, very, very fortunate. It’s funny, Anthony Hopkins, Tony Hopkins, I was in a film with Tony years ago in Tahiti called The Bounty and any time I see Tony now, we give each other a hug and I say how you doing, Tony? He says Great, I haven’t been found out yet! I kind of feel the same myself (laughs). My mindset is look, I’m fortunate to get to do what I do. I love it! Someone told me years ago if you can find a reason to wake up in the morning and do a job that you love, you have a gift for the rest of your life, and I certainly have been given a gift. That hasn’t changed, my mindset is still the same. I love doing it. I love being with a film crew, especially film crews. I’m fond of actors but I adore film crews. It’s a bunch of guys and girls that come together to make you look good and to tell a story.”

Movies

Published June 16, 2022 8:24PM Updated 9:06PM article Michael Shields on guard at the YMCA MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - During the summer, it's typical to see a teen or college student working a summer job as a lifeguard, sitting in a tall chair at your pool or beach. However, as the YMCA struggles to find workers, retired seniors are showing up to fill shifts. Michael Shields says he went from Baywatch to graywatch and is one of many seniors giving lifeguards a new look. YMCA hires seniors for lifeguards to help staffing shortages About 50 senior citizens signed up to be lifeguards at the YMCA after retiring from their careers during the COVID-19 pandemic. "A lot of the grandparents they’ll ask me well what am I doing here?" said Michael Shields. Shields is actually back to life guarding at the West St. Paul pool for a second time, after first guarding here in 1977 -- a time when the job came with a whistle and a bottle of suntan lotion. Today, like all the other lifeguards, he’s trained and ready to jump in any time. While he may not have a lot in common with his teenage co-workers. They have fun and all share a common goal to keep swimmers safe. "We all have the same education," said Shields. "We all have to pass the same American Red Cross course, we have to take the same monthly in-service training through the YMCA so we sort of build respect for each other." Shields is one of about 50 Senior "Y" lifeguards, most of whom signed up after retiring from their careers during the pandemic. They all can swim 300 yards and can carry out a rescue if need be. "They can do everything the youngsters can do, and they have life experience," said Shannon Kinstler with YMCA Aquatics. "So they’re usually very kind and gentle." Whether you're Shields age or 15 years old there are plenty of lifeguard positions open. Pay starts at $15 an hour at least and then you get a $2 raise after working twenty hours so if you like the sun and like to swim this could be the job for you.

Swimming

“Hi my friend, how are you doing?” he says as “SportsCenter” anchor Elle Duncan says a quick hello and offers an update on the particulars of an upcoming segment in which he will participate.Duncan heads off, and Brendan Haywood, a former player and current NBATV analyst, swings over to give Perk some good-natured grief about not returning texts.“I was going to see if you wanted to chop it up, break a little bread with your boy, but no, can’t get a reply,” says Haywood with a laugh. “Too big for me now.”Perkins laughs and engulfs him in a bear hug.Then comes Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, not to be confused with former Celtic Isaiah Thomas, the IT who is actually liked around here. The former Pistons star, who also does work for NBATV, shouts, “Perk!” and greets him with an elaborate handshake. He graciously offers a much more basic handshake to a reporter.Later, after the interview, Perkins remains in his spot, holding court at the corner of the court, chatting with Bill Simmons, while the parade of visitors continues. Perk seems to know everyone who swings by, but when he clearly doesn’t and there’s an introduction to be made, he treats the new acquaintance like a new friend, always asking their opinion of this NBA matter or that after he shares his own.It becomes clear, if it weren’t already, that he is well-liked not because he’s on TV, but he’s on TV in large part because he is so easy to like. On the air and off, an authentic personality like Perkins’s is always in demand. People want to be in the presence of someone like that.“I’m able to be me, and that’s all they ask, and all I want to be,” said Perkins.Kendrick Perkins (left, with Rajon Rondo) was with the Celtics from 2003-11, and never envisioned a career in media during his playing days.The Boston Globe/Boston GlobeWhen Perkins retired from the NBA in 2019 after 14 seasons, he figured he might go into coaching.A media career?“It never actually crossed my mind, to be honest with you,” he said. “It’s usually the bigger-name guys that get those offers. Not a country guy from Texas like me.”But during the 2019 playoffs, Perkins figured he’d give Twitter a whirl.“And I thought, you know, I’m just going to start tweeting my thoughts throughout the playoffs and things of that nature and see where that gets me,” he said.A tweet scolding the Celtics’ Marcus Smart for a defensive slip-up caught the attention of a Fox Sports producer.“I said something like, ‘You know you’re not supposed to leave strong-side corner, Marcus Smart,’ and I got a DM after that asking if I’d like to go on ‘Undisputed,’ the Skip Bayless show,” Perkins said.ESPN checked in not long after that, and Perkins pulled off an unprecedented double.“I’m the only one to go on ‘Undisputed’ and ‘First Take’ in the same day,” he said with a laugh. “Did one from the studio and the other from my hotel room.”His ESPN hits were, well, a hit, and “that’s been my ride ever since,” he said. He signed a multiyear contract extension with the network in May 2021, appearing on various studio programs, including “SportsCenter,” “First Take,” “NBA Today,” and “Get Up.”Celtics fans know he also is a regular on NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics programming. That assignment came about at the urging of color analyst and former Celtics teammate Brian Scalabrine.“I was doing a radio appearance with Scal,” said Perkins, “and he said, ‘Hey, I’ve got an idea for you. Do you want to come on the Boston channel with me?’ I said, ‘Sure,’ and NBC Sports Boston got in touch. Scal hooked me up.”He’s asked if Scalabrine demanded an agent’s fee.“I mean, as much as I helped him through his career, that’s the least he could do,” laughs Perkins.During the just-concluded Celtics season, NBC Sports Boston on occasion would have Perkins in studio with Scalabrine and fellow former teammate Eddie House, along with host Amina Smith. The good-natured needling and camaraderie among the three former teammates made for entertaining television. It was easy to imagine that’s what their interactions were like in the locker room on the 2008 championship team.“That’s exactly what it was like,” said Perkins. “The same energy. But it comes naturally. You can tell that nothing was rehearsed. That’s how it was in the locker room. We argue, and we keep arguing, but we smile the whole time and right after. We may disagree, and two guys may jump on one, but that’s part of it that makes it fun.“Listen, you can go on television and break down the game, and yeah, that’s cool. But you also have to have some type of personality about yourself, some type of humor or friendliness or entertainment, because that’s why people tune in.”And why NBA personalities, one after the other, before a huge game, come by just to say hello. When Perk is present, just about everyone wants a moment in his presence.Chad Finn can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeChadFinn.

Basketball

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Denise Richards is standing up for her daughter.On Friday, the "Real Housewives" alum took to Instagram to share a statement regarding her daughter, Sam "Sami" Sheen’s, new OnlyFans account."Lots of negative comments on my social this past week. I have to say, I wish I had the confidence my 18 yr old daughter has. And I also can't be judgmental of her choices," Richards began. "I did Wild Things & Playboy, quite frankly her father shouldn't be either."CHARLIE SHEEN REACTS TO DAUGHTER SAMI SHEEN, 18, JOINING ONLYFANS: ‘THIS DID NOT OCCUR UNDER MY ROOF’ Denise Richards defends her daughter, Sami, after she launched an OnlyFans account. (Photo by Brett Costello / Newspix via Getty Images)Richards added: "And to be able to ignore the negativity at her age? It took me many years & I still sometimes struggle. I'm in awe of her ability to be able to shut out the noise. Because it can destroy you."Richards shared that she just learned about the online service a few months ago and said she might start her own OnlyFans."Is it so bad to control it & monetize it too? I'm sorry, but s— if I can get paid and at my age? To see me in a bikini?!? God bless you. Perhaps I should open my own account." she continued.Her father, Charlie Sheen, has not been as accepting of Sami's latest business venture.CHARLIE SHEEN'S EX DENISE RICHARDS VOWS TO ‘SUPPORT’ THEIR DAUGHTER SAMI AFTER ACTOR DISAPPROVES ONLYFANS PAGE"She is 18 years now and living with her mother," the former "Two and a Half Men" star told Fox News Digital on Tuesday via his publicist Jeff Ballard. "This did not occur under my roof. I do not condone this, but since I’m unable to prevent it, I urged her to keep it classy, creative and not sacrifice her integrity."The influencer, who has 47K followers on Instagram, turned 18 in March. She recently moved back in with Richards, 51, following some turbulent times between the pair. Charlie Sheen said he does "not condone" the 18-year-old joining the predominantly adult content subscription platform. (Reuters)Sami took to her Instagram stories on Wednesday to respond to trolls who questioned whether she had "the body" to join OnlyFans in a Q&A session.One user mocked the influencer and asked, "Do you really think you have the body for of lol."CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTERThe teen replied with a photo of herself holding a plate filled with multiple slices of pizza."Yes because there’s no ‘body’ you need to have in order to do of," she responded. "Only thing that matters is making sure that you’re comfortable with what you’re posting & remembering that all bodies are beautiful." Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards were married from 2002 to 2006. ((Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage))Richards and Sheen were married from 2002 to 2006 and also share their daughter, Lola Rose, 17.Fox News' Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report. Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.

Celebrity

This year’s inductees reflect the booming VC interest as well as the growing variability in AI-focused startups making unique uses of existing technologies, others developing their own and many simply enabling other companies to add AI to their business model. By Helen A. S. Popkin The mad scramble to adopt Artificial Intelligence amid the Covid-19 crisis is officially old news. We interact with AI as seamlessly as we do our smartphones, through voice assistants, customer service, automated tasks, self-checkout, fraud detection, in healthcare decisions and infinitely more invisible applications that affect our daily lives. Investments in AI research and applications are set to hit $500 billion by 2024, according to research firm IDC. And PwC predicts AI will contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. With all that money flowing, it can be hard to figure out what the coming thing is, but certain trends do emerge. Our fourth annual AI 50 list, produced in partnership with Sequoia Capital, recognizes standouts in privately-held North American companies making the most interesting and effective use of artificial intelligence technology. This year’s list launches with new AI-generated design and and multiple funding round announcements that came about after our esteemed panel of judges laid down their metaphorical pencils. Inductees reflect the booming VC interest as well as the growing variability in AI-focused startups making unique uses of existing technologies, others developing their own and many simply enabling other companies to add AI to their business model. Click here for full coverage of the 2022 AI 50 list. Hugging Face makes its AI 50 premier as the low-key developer darling turned $2 billion unicorn. The open-source platform (named for the autological emoji) hosts the closest thing to plug-and-play machine learning models, which are used by developers to build features like search, text moderation, image segmentation powered by machine learning and other tools for their own organizations. Hugging Face is also proving an important linchpin in the major leagues, partnering on projects with Qualcomm and Amazon, among others. The fourth year of AI 50 also heralds the fourth appearance on the list for three startups that also provide AI architecture to major companies. It’s no surprise to see Forbes Under 30 alum Alex Wang and his company Scale AI, back with a $7.3 billion valuation and a fresh deal with the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. Automated support platform Moveworks marks its AI 50 streak with a $2.1 billion valuation and a breakthrough with conversational AI now able to understand nuance in six languages. And Domino Data Lab returns with an $800 million valuation. These AI 50 “hat tricks” – the companies who’ve been on the list three years in a row – illustrate the breadth and depth of artificial intelligence and include Abnormal Security (cybersecurity), AMP Robotics (recycling robots), ASAPP and Cresta (customer service), Databricks (analytics) and Genesis Therapeutics (drug discovery). But enough about the old dogs – the 2022 AI 50 list also features some fasinating new companies. Overjet emerged from stealth in 2021 to become the first-ever dental AI product cleared by FDA. Cofounder and CEO Dr. Wardah Inam, who did her post-doctorate work in biomedical sensing in MIT’s computer science and artificial intelligence lab, got the idea for Overjet when her new dentist prescribed a treatment plan very different from those she received before. Waabi, founded by AI pioneer and computer scientist Raquel Urtasun, believes it’s taking a new approach to creating self-driving technology for long-haul trucking. And Aurora Solar cofounders Chris Hopper and Sam Adeyemo were introduced to the inefficiency of solar sales as Stanford Students when they installed panels at a school in East Africa. That frustrating experience inspired them to develop Aurora Solar’s proprietary measurement and modeling technologies to help speed up and lower the cost of solar power installations. The Forbes AI 50 list was compiled through a submission process open to any company based in North America, privately held and developing technology that enables machines to learn from experience or new data or perform human-like tasks such as recognizing speech or images, classifying information and predicting outcomes. The application asked companies to provide details on their technology, business model, customers and financials like funding, valuation and revenue history (companies had the option to submit information confidentially, to encourage greater transparency). In total, Forbes received more than 400 entries. From there, our VC partners applied an algorithm to identify more than 120 with the highest quantitative scores and then a panel of 12 expert AI judges in academia, new IPO executives, venture capital and international technology companies identified the 50 most compelling companies. Private AI companies that were incubated at, largely funded or acquired by large tech, manufacturing or industrial firms–including some of the leading autonomous vehicle developers–were not eligible for consideration. Forbes MORE FROM AI 50 2022 MORE FROM FORBESThe $2 Billion Emoji: Hugging Face Wants To Be Launchpad For A Machine Learning Revolution MORE FROM FORBESAI Upstart Waabi Adding Self-Driving Veterans In Race To Commercialize Robot TrucksBy Alan Ohnsman MORE FROM FORBESMashgin Hits $1.5 Billion Valuation With AI-Powered Self-Checkout SystemBy Rashi Shrivastava

AI Startups

Quavo Your #1 Customer Has Arrived!!! Barbershop Patron Booted 6/18/2022 10:55 AM PT What Quavo wants, Quavo gets -- and in this case, that would be a haircut ... no matter who's in line in front of him. Check out this video that's now going viral ... it shows the Migos rapper walking into a barbershop with a small crew, and immediately getting the attention of the clipper in chair #1 -- who seems to know Quavo needs a trim and needs it now ... in that exact spot. A barber kicked his client out of the chair when Quavo walked in the barbershop 😭 pic.twitter.com/A83RGWciFo— XXL Magazine (@XXL) June 18, 2022 @XXL Unfortunately for the dude who was already sitting there -- a fella named Lance, it seems -- he got the boot from the barber ... who jokingly tells him he's gotta go and make way for Q. Lance is a good sport and slowly starts to eject himself as the barber removes the apron and all the cutting gear he's got on him. Everyone seems to just know and accept ... this is Quavo's chair, and he takes priority over anyone else there -- even if it is mid-cut! Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media. It's actually getting some reactions online -- like some saying they wouldn't budge, even for Quavo -- but everyone at Diamond Cuts here knows the drill ... and there's no hard feelings.

Celebrity

The Cubs never even had a chance in a four-game sweep by the Padres at Wrigley Field.Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images You have to tip your cap to the Cubs for really nailing their 2022 slogan, “It’s different here.”Boy, is it ever. The baseball is worse than we’ve seen in a long time, the roster practically unrecognizable. The crowds are dwindling. One suspects the hot dogs are more rubbery and the beer less fizzy, too. If “different” was the target, this might be a bull’s eye.But I kid about the Cubs, and what else is there to do at the intersection of momentous and meaningless — momentous because the Cubs entered Friday’s series opener against the Braves on a double-digit losing streak for the third time in the last calendar year (uncharted territory) and meaningless because the season was a lost cause long before June 4, the last time they’d won a game.Jim Hissong was at Wrigley Field for that 6-1 victory against the Cardinals on June 4. Thirteen days later, on Friday, he made the 60-mile trek from Yorkville again and watched the Cubs beat the Braves 1-0 to end a 10-game skid. A retired high school teacher and baseball coach who umpires high school games, Hissong, 72, is part of a large group of friends who share a pair of season tickets. I know all this because I saw his kindly face beneath a Cubs “W” hat on the main concourse and, before I knew it, was peppering a perfect stranger with one rude question after another: Why the heck are you here? Isn’t there something more enjoyable you could be doing, like disassembling your lawn mower or helping a vague acquaintance move? Have you been kidnapped? “I’ve been a Cubs fan since 1963,” he explained. Hissong loves the Cubs, as so many do, and isn’t even bitter at them for trading their biggest stars last July and, he expects, doing the same with catcher Willson Contreras and others next month. But he’s no pushover and has no trouble telling it like it is. “They’re a mess right now, just a complete mess,” he said. “And the problem is that the luster of going to Wrigley Field is starting to wear off. A lot of people used to come to Wrigley Field because it’s Wrigley Field, but a lot of that is going away now because No. 1, they don’t win, and No. 2, the tickets are just too expensive — they’re outrageous.” Cubs fans are seeing a whole lot of losing.Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images Speaking of outrageous, the mega-market Cubs are in fourth place and have won only 12 of their last 45 games at Wrigley going back to last September. Since winning at Dodger Stadium last June 24 to get to 42-33 — first place! — they’re a soul-sucking 53-98. And they managed to find a new low over their last two series, being outscored 28-5 by the Yankees and 41-15 by the Padres — the first time in 143 years a Cubs team was outscored by 20-plus runs in back-to-back series. It’s all so bad, so bleak, so broken. Yet into the ballpark strode a couple of tall fellows, looking a whole lot alike in their Cubs shirts, before Thursday’s 6-4 loss to the Padres. Brothers Larry and Bill Belokon grew up on the Northwest Side but now live in Crystal Lake and Maricopa, Arizona, respectively. In the 1960s and ’70s, their dear mother would take them to Wrigley on “Ladies Days,” when she’d get in for free. These days, Larry, 63, hunts down a pair of tickets for whenever Bill, 67, is in town. “We got the tickets awhile ago, or else I don’t know if we’d be here,” Bill said. “We didn’t know they were going to be on a crazy losing streak. I hope the Cubs don’t get no-hit today.” Like Hissong, these aren’t the happiest of customers. Larry, a lifelong fan, still hasn’t ponied up for the Marquee Network and is holding firm on that front. “Not until they start winning,” he said. “Maybe then, maybe not. Used to be you could watch all the games for free all the time, you know?” The Cuellar men had mixed feelings as they milled about on the concourse Thursday. Felipe Cuellar, 36, of Schaumburg, has been to a handful of games this season and considers himself a die-hard fan but lately is growing increasingly frustrated with the direction of the team. “It sucks,” he said. “Maybe we got a little bit spoiled from the 2016 World Series, but it was painful to all of a sudden have the team broken apart the way they did it. It’s hard to watch now. Whatever they’re putting out in the field is not what should be expected.” And when the Cubs trade Contreras? “It’s gonna suck even more, man,” he said. So why, then? Why come out and partake in this grand fiasco? In this case, it was because Felipe’s brother, Gerardo, was given tickets as part of a work event. For Gerardo, 38, of Huntley, it was career Cubs game No. 1. That went double for Gerardo’s son, Christian, 12. “I’m trying to get into baseball,” Christian said between bites of career Wrigley dog No. 1, which he took down like an old pro. “It’s kind of boring, though, because they’ve been in rebuild. One of my friends says his only wish is for the Cubs to win a World Series again.” The poor friend had to wait, what, five or six whole years for the first one? But back to Christian: Did he find it kind of funny that his first Cubs game just happened to be on the day of the team’s 10th straight loss? “Yeah, a little, I guess,” he said. “But I’m a Bears fan, so I’m used to it.”

Baseball

PreambleIt’s Moving Day! Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looked after 36 holes ...-5: Morikawa, Dahmen-4: Buckley, Rahm, McIlroy, Wise, Hossler-3: Hardy, Scheffler, NeSmith, Rodgers, Harman-2: Burns, Fitzpatrick, Hadwin-1: Daffue, Tarren, Vick (a), Lingmerth, Riley, Schauffele, Bradley, Zalatoris... here’s a selected list of players who missed the cut …Sergio Garcia, Im Sung-jae, Mito Pereira, Cory Conners, Webb Simpson, Shane Lowry, Jason Kokrak, Jim Furyk, Cameron Young, Stewart Cink, Kevin Na, Tony Finau, Kim Si-woo, Daniel Berger, Harold Varner III, Branden Grace, Cameron Smith, Louis Oosthuizen, Francesco Molinari, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Phil Mickelson... and here are today’s tee times (all times local, add five hours for BST). It’s on!09:49 (a) Stewart Hagestad, Joseph Bramlett10:00 Patrick Cantlay, Sebastian Munoz (Col)10:11 (a) Sam Bennett, Denny McCarthy10:22 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor), Samuel Stevens10:33 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)10:44 Chris Naegel, Chris Gotterup10:55 Guido Migliozzi (Ita), Grayson Murray11:06 Max Homa, Adam Scott (Aus)11:22 Wil Besseling (Ned), Jordan Spieth11:33 Richard Bland (Eng), Todd Sinnott (Aus)11:44 Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English11:55 (a) Austin Greaser, Gary Woodland12:06 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Cameron Tringale12:17 Marc Leishman (Aus), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)12:28 Patrick Reed, Sebastian Soederberg (Swe)12:39 Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose (Eng)12:55 Seamus Power (Irl), Justin Thomas13:06 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Adam Schenk13:17 Brandon Matthews, Andrew Putnam13:28 Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor), Brooks Koepka13:39 Thomas Pieters (Bel), Will Zalatoris13:50 Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffele14:01 Davis Riley, David Lingmerth (Swe)14:12 Callum Tarren (Eng), (a) Travis Vick14:28 M. J. Daffue (Rsa), Adam Hadwin (Can)14:39 Sam Burns, Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng)14:50 Brian Harman, Patrick Rodgers15:01 Matthew NeSmith, Scottie Scheffler15:12 Beau Hossler, Nick Hardy15:23 Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Aaron Wise15:34 Hayden Buckley, Jon Rahm (Spa)15:45 Joel Dahmen, Collin Morikawa

Golf

That’s the lot from me today. Thanks for reading and congratulations to Leicester. I will leave you with Robert Kitson’s report of a memorable Twickenham final:Freddie Burns joked in his post-match interviews about not celebrating too early after this infamous incident, when he played for Bath, back in 2018:But there is no question that this drop goal is the moment he’ll be remembered for – all the more remarkable considering George Ford would probably still have been on the field, even at that late stage, if it wasn’t for his first-half injury. Well played, Freddie Burns.The “We are the champions” social media graphic from Leicester:Austin Healey on BT reveals that Toddington Services on the M1 is always a big party hotspot when Leicester have won a title. “You can keep your Ministry of Sound,” he insists.Ellis Genge, the departing Leicester captain, speaks: “I think I get more emotional the more I speak ... We’ve had a good year for certain reasons ... obviously it’s been an emotional few weeks for us as a club. I think we’ve got everything we deserved ... What these brilliant fans don’t see is the 8.30 starts and 4 o’clock finishes, relentless, the whole way through. We’ve worked for everything we’ve got ... Credit to the boys, I’m buzzing for all the young boys ... They’ve started their careers with a Premiership trophy ... this group deserve it. “I’ve been at the club six and a half seasons. I remember I came here, I think it was the 1st of Feb 2016 ... I was never supposed to be here. To come to a club with so much prestige, and all those greats that have played before me, is brilliant for me. I’ve made some lifelong friends along the way, people I never thought I’d even chat to, let along be mates with. For me it’s a very good day.For BT Sport, Sarra Elgan Easterby asks what is special for Genge about working with Steve Borthwick: “I just respect the bloke. He goes about his work quietly, he never wants any plaudits. To work as hard as he does, and not get the reassurance all the time, I don’t know how he does it. If I did that, I’d need a pat on the bum every five seconds to say – “You’re doing well, you’re doing well.” But he sticks to his process, he backs himself, he backs us, and we’ve come away with a trophy.”Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, speaks to BT Sport: “Congratulations to Leicester, they’ve had a wonderful season, a brilliant season ... They were very good today, they were too good for us today. I think they’re very good at dominating territory, and suffocating you, and not allowing you to play the game you want to play. We kind of knew that beforehand, but we weren’t able to deal with it anywhere near as well as we’d hoped today.“It’s been a really positive season overall given where we were. At the same time it’s incredibly disappointing to perform the way we did when it mattered most, to be honest. We’ve got some real potential in this group ... but we’re disappointed today.”Steve Borthwick, the Leicester head coach, has a chat with BT Sport: “It was tight, it was nerve-wracking but I’m so proud and pleased for the players. They worked really hard to get to this point and to find a way to win at the end, I’m just delighted for them.”On the winning drop goal: “The players on the pitch had the composure to work themselves into a good position. We got to that good position. I watched him yesterday [Freddie Burns] striking these balls at the training ground ... he’s got nerves of steel, hasn’t he?“Everybody in the whole club has worked really hard to get to this position. It wasn’t so long ago there were some very dark times. I’m just delighted for everyone. I think everybody at the club is still hurting for the Youngs family. [Tiffany Youngs, Tom Youngs’s wife, died earlier this month aged 35.] It was just very classy at the end for Ellis and Tom to pick the trophy up together. It just shows how tight the players are.“It’s funny. When you work one week at a time, work really hard, and be really clear on what you are going to do, then something like this can happen. I don’t think anyone would have imagined we could have got close to this, not so long ago. But the boys have, and that’s credit to all their hard work. Ultimately you want to win rugby games but you’ve got to make your family proud, you’ve got to be proud of yourself, and make your friends proud of you. That’s what we do each week.”Freddie Burns, now speaking to ITV4, is asked by David Flatman if he thought this day would never come: “100 per cent. Even with 75 minutes on the clock, with a man in the bin [I thought it wasn’t going to happen].“I’ve got to give special credit to George Ford who’s been unbelievable all year, those were big boots to fill when I came on.”Burns then joins in with “Take Me Home, Country Roads” which is blasting over the PA and leaves to celebrate with his teammates. “Three days on the sauce,” he reckons.Freddie Burns celebrates his side’s win. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty ImagesRichard Wigglesworth, a surprise selection at No 9 for Leicester, has a chat: “We were on the ropes for a long time but showed a lot of character. We were determined to come out firing, and leave nothing out there, and we did. Saracens are a champion club, full of champion people, and you knew they weren’t going to go away.”Freddie Burns speaks: “I’m all cried out, I need to top up with some champagne and some cider. I can’t believe it. I thought moments like this weren’t made for me ... honestly, it means everything. I’m in disbelief.“When I started this journey at five years old I had two ambitions, to play for England and to win the Premiership, and I’ve down both now. To get the drop-kick over, I can’t believe it. I just wanted to run and celebrate but then I realised there was still time on the clock.”Robert Kitson’s report:The final whistle, and Leicester’s celebrations, available to watch on Twitter thanks to BT Sport:“Job Done.” Is the always-understated Steve Borthwick doing Leicester’s Twitter as well as coaching the team?Owen Farrell has a chat with Martin Bayfield on BT Sport: “It was a game of not making too many mistakes. We wanted something to hit, something to get our teeth into, at times ... and Leicester didn’t give us that ... full credit to Leicester, they’ve been outstanding all year and they carried that over into this final. They stuck to their game plan and when we made mistakes, they punished us. It was as simple as that.“They got a few mistakes in our half and managed to punish us, that was it.”Leicester’s Jasper Wiese speaks: “It’s everybody’s win. It just shows the hard work we’ve put in through the season. It’s special. With some of the boys leaving, we said: this is the last one together. It’s special, it’s unbelievable. “We wanted to be unpredictable in attack, and the defence ... the coaches got it right this week and got everyone fired up. The coaches told us - Don’t worry about the mistakes ... everybody’s going 100 per cent, giving it all for the guy next to them ... I think the family we’ve made, the boys are tight, we play for each other ... all the fans are here, everybody being there for us. It’s amazing.”Full-time! Leicester are Premiership champions! Final score: Leicester 15-12 SaracensAbsolutely amazing drama right at the end. Owen Farrell’s penalty looked to have forced extra-time – and Leicester were down to 14 men after a late yellow card. But the Tigers launched one final assault on the Saracens try-line and moved through several phases ... and Freddie Burns was in position to knock over the decisive drop goal! That’s an 11th title for Leicester. Steve Borthwick, their very impressive head coach, sits motionless as the final whistle sounds and then drops his head, seemingly in disbelief. But he will be feeling such incredible emotion on the inside. What an achievement by him and his team. And what a final. No one can say Leicester don’t deserve their title with the way they dominated the regular season. Added to which Saracens were fortunate not to be down to 14 men permanently after that high hit by Davies in the first half.In the end it was a wonderful final that lived up to all the pre-match hype. Remarkable.Leicester Tigers’ Freddie Burns (right) celebrates with Chris Ashton (left) at the final whistle. Photograph: Tim Goode/PA79 min: It was Burns’s high kick that set up that attack. Then marshalled by Youngs, Leicester moved through several phases, and engineered the field position for Burns to send over a drop goal! The game will restart ...Freddie Burns drops the ball ... Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty ImagesAnd blooters it between the sticks to give Leicester Tigers the lead. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/ReutersBurns wheels away in celebration. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/ReutersDrop goal! 79 min: Leicester 15-12 Saracens (Burns)Amazing!78 min: After an exchange of kicks, Burns puts up a high kick and nearly gathers it on the chase, but that sets up Leicester with the field position for a final bash at the Saracens try-line.75 min: Penalty! Leicester 12-12 Saracens (Farrell)And Farrell draws the scores level with an easy penalty.Owen Farrell’s trusty right boot draws Saracens level with five minutes to go. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA75 min: Yellow card for Leicester! (Scott)There is arguably little justice in that for Leicester as Scott’s tackle was so much less serious than the one in the first half by Davies. Regardless, they are down to 14 men.75 min: Billy Vunipola picks the ball out of the scrum and rushes towards the try-line. Some desperate defence by Leicester keeps him out. Now the TMO is having a look at a high hit by Matt Scott on Vunipola. The crowd wails as the replays are shown on the big screen. 73 min: Saracens roar into the Leicester 22 and the Tigers are seriously stretched! Leicester look tired but they manage to reset their defence and they keep Saracens out, for now. It was Farrell who offloaded to Jamie George, who was held up just short. And now Saracens have the put-in at a scrum five metres out as we move towards the final five minutes.72 min: Sarries attack with ball in hand. Farrell delays a pass in midfield, and when he finally does deliver it, it bounces off Billy Vunipola and into the grateful hands of a Leicester player.70 min: We are into the final 10 minutes of the Premiership season. And it is very much in the balance. Saracens are growing into this at what might be the most important time ...67 min: It was Charlie Clare, Harry Wells and Ben Youngs that came on for Leicester, with Julián Montoya, Calum Green and Richard Wigglesworth going off.Penalty! 63 min: Leicester 12-9 Saracens (Farrell)Farrell knocks over a simple penalty after that spell of pressure for Saracens. Surely the right call to take the points. Genge goes off for Leicester, Montoya is off with an HIA, and it looks like Borthwick has just freshened up his whole front row.Owen Farrell of Saracens kicks a penalty. Photograph: Matt Impey/Shutterstock61 min: Farrell snatches a ball in midfield and runs determinedly through a gap, seemingly wanting to inject a bit of urgency into his team’s play. It works – they move through several phases and edge into the Tigers 22. Farrell gets his hands on the ball three times in the attack. Then the TMO flags up a tackle off the ball, and Saracens have a penalty after a fairly long advantage played by Barnes. It’s a chance for Saracens, do they kick for the corner or take the points? 60 min: Leicester’s Matt Scott comes on for Matías Moroni. It seems it’s a tactical switch, although the commentators initially said it may have been an HIA.58 min: Ben Early coughs up the latest penalty won by Leicester as the game approaches its fourth and final quarter. It looked like the penalty was awarded for Earl going off his feet at a ruck. Anyway, Leicester kick for territory and then run the ball off the lineout with Porter making a muscular carry and smashing through a couple of would-be tacklers. Leicester remain encamped in the Saracens half.Leicester Tigers’ Guy Porter (second right) breaks through the Saracens line. Photograph: Tim Goode/PA55 min: Leicester construct an excellent driving maul on their right wing and move to within a couple of metres of the try-line. Saracens defend it equally well, and win the put-in at a scrum. McCall is pictured looking very concerned up in the stands and it easy to see why. Saracens haven’t fired a shot in this second half so far although their defence is standing firm.53 min: The Tigers work through a few more phases in the Saracens 22. Burns sends up a crosskick intended for Ashton. But Daly defends it very well, catching and then being bundled into touch by Ashton. Dan Cole goes off for Leicester, Joe Heyes on.51 min: Leicester kick a penalty for the corner and then rumble a maul towards the try-line. They win another penalty. There is a real sense that they are turning the screw on Saracens here. The likes of Itoje have been very quiet but there is still time.49 min: Burns mops up a long kick ahead from Sarries and clears. Saracens look to build some more continuity in attack. They are turned over yet again, and a stunning kick for the corner by Steward puts Malins under plenty of pressure. The result is a lineout for Leicester deep in their opponents’ territory.Hanro Liebenberg of Leicester Tigers wins the ball in a lineout. Photograph: Juan Gasparini/Seconds Left/Shutterstock47 min: Some strong defending from Leicester sees them turn over Saracens while McCall’s team are looking to build themselves back into this game. They are less than a converted try ahead on the scoreboard, of course, but are playing with the authority of Premiership winners at the moment.43 min: Leicester attack down the left thanks in part to a bright run from Harry Potter. After initially playing advantage Barnes penalises Saracens for not rolling away, and Burns will have a crack at a very tough, long penalty kick from out on the touchline ... he has the distance, but the ball sneaks outside the left-hand post. Second half kick-off!Alex Lozowski is on for Saracens, in place of the injured Sean Maitland. Which team is going to seize the initiative in the second half?Half-time reading:Half-time! Leicester 12-6 SaracensSaracens attack in the closing moments, but a knock-on by Isiekwe brings their efforts, and the first half, to a close. That was great to watch – plenty of kicking in the first 10 minutes, but since then there has been lots of ambition and opportunity for both sides to do a bit of attacking with the ball in hand. Saracens are arguably fortunate not to be a man down following that high hit by Aled Davies, for which he was shown a yellow-card. But regardless, they are still going to be up against it if Leicester can continue to piece their game together in such impression fashion. See you in a few minutes for more.35 min: Try! Leicester 12-6 Saracens (Wiese)That is a fantastic set-piece move by Leicester and it brings a five-pointer. After the scrum penalty, Genge taps it and bashes his way towards the line. He is tackled but sucks in three or four defenders at least. The Tigers scrum-half Wigglesworth seizes on the ball and pops up a perfect short pass to Wiese who is on already on the move and has built up enough momentum to crash over the try-line. Burns cannot convert this time, but that was a brilliantly executed move and one that will boost Leicester’s confidence, not to mention their points tally.Jasper Wiese (third left) is congratulated by his team-mates as he celebrates scoring Leicester Tigers’ second try. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images/Reuters33 min: Wigglesworth charges down an attempted Farrell kick from hand. Wigglesworth, somewhat comically, has no idea where the ball has gone. It has squirted out to the Tigers’ right, where Ashton scoops it up and then tries a kick infield for a teammate to run on to. It flicks off a Saracens body and then Farrell recovers to claim the ball in the in-goal area. Leicester get another five-metre scrum ... and this time they win a penalty of their own from a scrum!Penalty! 31 min: Leicester 7-6 Saracens (Daly)Farrell hands the kicking duties over to Daly for a long-range dig at goal just inside the Leicester half. Daly thumps a quite beautiful kick which loops perfectly through the middle of the posts. A stunning kick. And a handy piece of damage limitation for Saracens.An enormous penalty by Elliot Daly of Saracens. Photograph: Andrew Fosker/Seconds Left/ShutterstockTry! 27 min: Leicester 7-3 Saracens (Liebenberg)Steward and Ashton storm down the left wing. Ashton is held up short. But in the next phase Liebenberg forces his way over as Leicester immediately capitalise on Saracens’ numerical disadvantage. Burns, seemingly free of nerves, clips through a superb conversion from out on the touchline. The Tigers lead!Hanro Liebenberg’s Leicester Tigers team-mates celebrate after he went over to score their first try. Photograph: Alex Davidson/Getty Images

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“Trying to find the positives in a negative situation so all love. But there goes my grass dreams," the tennis champion said in an Instagram post.Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts during a women's singles match at the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament in Paris on May 23, 2022.Christophe Archambault / AFP via Getty Images fileJune 18, 2022, 5:06 PM UTCTennis champion Naomi Osaka withdrew from Wimbledon due to an injury to her Achilles, according to NBC Sports. Osaka, 24, commented on the reports Saturday, writing in an Instagram post: "Trying to find the positives in a negative situation so all love. But there goes my grass dreams." The post included the quote "after the storm comes the calm" followed by several pictures of Osaka on a tennis court and receiving treatment for her leg. This will be the second consecutive year she has not attended the tournament. Last year, her representative said the athlete was taking personal time with family and friends. Last month at the French Open, the four-time Grand Slam tennis champion and former world No. 1 said she was considering skipping Wimbledon because there will not be ranking points this year. "I’m not sure why, but I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it’s more like an exhibition. I know this isn’t true, right? But my brain just like feels that way. Whenever I think like something is like an exhibition, I just can’t go at it 100%," she said at the time, according to NBC Sports. The women’s and men’s professional tennis tours stripped Wimbledon of ranking points after the tournament banned Russian and Belarusian players because of the war in Ukraine. Osaka's Achilles injury has been an ongoing issue for the tennis star. She withdrew from a tournament before the French Open, which she ultimately lost 7-5, 6-4 to American Amanda Anisimova in the marquee first-round match at Roland Garros. Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.

Tennis

Maryna Striletska has been officiating in Switzerland's men's third tier to prepare for this summer's EurosMaryna Striletska's life was turned upside down one morning in February when she woke to find her dogs barking and her husband weeping in front of the television."I'll never forget the moment," she tells BBC Sport. "He was watching the news with tears in his eyes and said 'the war has started'."One of Ukraine's top assistant referees, Striletska had made history just four months earlier as part of the first all-female team to oversee an England men's international. But that World Cup qualifier between Gareth Southgate's side and minnows Andorra at the Estadi Nacional felt like a world away as army vehicles rolled through her village, 19 miles from the Russian border."In the first day, for 24 hours, trucks and military cars came through," she recalls. "The Russian army were friendly, asking us which way to Kyiv."They thought we needed help, brought flowers and bread, but after a week they realised we didn't want this help. After that they started to be angry and started shooting civilian cars and I thought maybe I want to leave."Eventually, Striletska did exactly that, packing her belongings into just one bag and setting out on an arduous dash to safety in Switzerland. Since then, the 38-year-old has taken up her flag again as an assistant referee in the Swiss men's third division. Next month, she will arrive in England to officiate at the Women's Euros. The refereeing family has thrown the Ukrainian trailblazer a lifeline. But speaking on Zoom from the bedsit she now shares with her daughter Eva in Basel, she says her outlook on life has changed forever.'The referee world is like a big family'Raised in Luhansk, Striletska was more interested in athletics than football as a teenager, but she combined the two at university and played on for six years after her graduation."I ran like a crazy horse because I was doing athletics," she says. "I wasn't so good with the ball, but I like running!"The former midfielder was persuaded to put her athleticism to a new use in 2006, when the Ukrainian FA sought to recruit female referees in each of the country's 24 regions."In that time, we had maybe 10 girls in Ukraine refereeing, so each federation decided to find one girl," she says. "They asked me and at the time I was not so happy, but I tried."Today, Striletska is one of a raft of top-drawer Ukrainian female officials, who include the first woman to referee in the country's men's Premier League, Kateryna Monzul.Striletska has assisted Monzul in the women's World Cup, Olympics, Euros and Champions League, as well as the men's Europa League, Nations League and under-21 European qualifiers.Maryna Striletska (right) alongside Kateryna Monzul (centre) and Svitlana Grushko before England's men's World Cup qualifier with AndorraMaryna Striletska was part of the first all-female referee team to oversee an England men's international"It's our team, Kateryna, me and Oleksandra [Ardasheva] or Svitlana [Grushko]," she says. "This is a small team, a small family. It's really like sisters."But now, since the war has started, I'm seeing that the referee world is like a big family and I feel I am part of that; people want to help."'For three weeks I cried every day'It was mid-March when Striletska finally decided to heed the advice of her sister in Switzerland and flee war-torn Ukraine.The home life she had known - weekends working as an assistant or video assistant referee in the Ukrainian men's Premier League and evenings coaching two girls' teams - was already over. But the constant fear of bombing from low-flying planes as they roared over her house and concerns for 11-year-old Eva's safety had begun to take its toll.So, Striletska packed her daughter, a friend's wife and their two children into a car and set off for Poland, sitting at the wheel for hours at a time to beat nightly curfews."It was difficult because all the road signs had been taken down," she says. "We had to hide in a village on the journey while we waited for tanks to pass through."One time we went to a church and slept on the floor, I'd driven for 18 hours and just wanted to sleep. At 6am we would start again."It took me four days. After we got to the border we were queuing for 17 hours, but then after that it was easy - I felt we were safe."Striletska could only hope that her husband and fellow football coach, Sergiy, would be safe as he had to stay behind."He will defend our home because for us it is a second time," she says. "We used to live in Donbas and in 2014 we lost everything and I never saw my parents again before they died."Reunited with her sister in Switzerland, Striletska initially struggled to think about anything apart from her husband and the war, but football has given her an outlet."For three weeks I cried every day," she says. "I was forgetting I was in the world of football because I was thinking about the war. That's why I had to start refereeing."Maryna Striletska says she is grateful for all the help she has received since arriving in SwitzerlandStriletska says the Ukrainian FA, having offered to help all its referees, contacted their Swiss counterparts on her behalf; they gave her matches in the men's third tier Swiss Promotion League."I'm so thankful for this because the Swiss federation have given me a lot of games," she says. "It helps because at least for two hours I can forget about the war and just see defenders, attackers, offsides!"'Enjoy the moment' With her daughter settling in school, Striletska has been spending her days following her Fifa fitness programme and learning German."Switzerland are doing a lot for Ukrainian people, all museums, trains, buses are free for us," she says. "I really can't thank this country enough, they've even organised a free language course for us."Despite her gratitude, Striletska is desperate for a speedy return to her homeland. For now, though, she stays in touch through the internet."Now our region is more or less normal, the Russians have gone to Donbas and the east," she says. "Sometimes my husband says they hear explosions, but not like it was before. Even our sports hall starts work and I'm doing training sessions with the girls online."Another morale boost is the call-up for a second women's Euros alongside Monzul, who also left Ukraine and has since refereed in the women's Serie A in Italy."I was really happy to get the news about the Euros," Striletska says. "It's an unbelievable feeling, I can forget about the war and I'm looking forward to us working together again."The two were last in the UK in November for Arsenal's Women's Champions League tie with Danish side HB Koge in Borehamwood, then England's Women's World Cup qualifier with Austria at the Stadium of Light.Striletska's life has changed beyond recognition since then, and so have her values."After this I realise you don't need a lot in life," she explains. "Money is not important, the most important thing is relations between people."People are helping me, talking to me, bringing fruit for my daughter, small things but helpful, and these are the things that are important in our life. "We're always trying to reach higher, work harder, buy things, but really, you just need to enjoy the moment."

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What is the best innings you’ve seen this summer? It’s must be Jonny Bairstow’s 136 on that arm-pinching afternoon at Trent Bridge – right? Though Jos Buttler’s glorious unpicking of the Netherlands’ bowling attack on Friday was a humdinger of a highlights reel. And remember Joe Root’s two centuries in the first two Tests against New Zealand? That Trent Bridge knock, all tissue-paper delicacy and outrageous placement, was his fastest Test hundred.Though, for context, it’s got to be Ollie Pope’s first hundred north of the River Thames – the final flowering of his talent. Surely? But don’t forget Phil Salt’s maiden international hundred, slotting into the Bairstow role in the first ODI in Amsterdam. Or Dawid Malan’s delicate nudge to the selectors after being dropped for the West Indies tour, or the fastest England one-day fifty on record by Liam Livingstone, that walking, talking scatter-gun.Basically, it’s been a riot. Throw in Daryl Mitchell’s 190 at Lord’s and his hundred in the second Test, plus Tom Blundell’s 109, which made him the first New Zealand wicketkeeper to score a Test century in England, and English cricket fans have been ridiculously spoilt.It is not just in the Test arena. In the County Championship, there has been a similar flowering of high scores. However you want to explain it – a dry spring, flatter pitches or that dodgy early batch of Dukes balls – runs have flowed. And flowed.There have been 13 double hundreds: from Chris Dent (Gloucestershire), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon (Lancashire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Azhar Ali (Worcestershire), Ben Slater (Nottinghamshire), Tom Haines (Sussex) and, in the last round, from the New Zealander Rachin Ravindra who, in his one and only match for Durham, powered 263. Not forgetting Cheteshwar Pujara, who danced to two double centuries in three matches for Sussex, or Pakistan’s Shan Masood, who went one better with back-to back-double centuries for Derbyshire.Honorable mentions, as well, to Yorkshire’s Harry Brook, the next cab on the rank for the Test team, who fell just short, with 194 against Kent, and who averages 115.75. And Kent’s Ben Compton, grandson of Denis and purveyor of 988 Championship runs, who at 28, and from second XI cricket, is flying a flag for the late bloomers.Sam Hain and Adam Hose helped Birmingham Bears set a new T20 record score on Friday. Photograph: Tim Goode/PAOn Friday at Trent Bridge, three days after Bairstow’s heroics on the same ground, Birmingham Bears broke the Blast record score with 261 for two against Notts Outlaws – Sam Hain and Adam Hose doing the business with 174 in just 70 balls.Meanwhile, in Amstelveen, Buttler, along with Salt, Malan and Livingstone, was peppering the boundaries and beyond, losing balls at an astonishing rate. Down into the thickets they fell, bouncing off tree trunks and, at one point, landing on top of the indoor school, fetched by an enterprising man with a stepladder. The hosts will be bracing themselves for more punishment in the second game of the three-match series on Sunday.Buttler, ransacker in chief, spoke with admiration of Salt, who only made the team because England’s all-format players are busy with the Test series. “He looks just another one off the production line that there seems to be with white ball batters in England,” Buttler said. “I’m really impressed watching him up close in the days leading into this, and he struck the ball incredibly cleanly today, put the bowlers under a lot of pressure, he’s very fearless, very much in the Jason Roy role at the top of the order. He’s got a great future.”Salt also referenced Roy, who spent most of the innings watching from the dressing room, bowled by his cousin Shane Snater in just the second over of the innings for one. “I love chatting the game through with J-Roy because he’s so clear and so destructive in what he does.“That goes for most of the lads in here. I’ve tried to learn off everything, I try to take the things they do best and add that to my game. J-Roy has definitely been an influence and I’m lucky to have people like that around who are willing to give time and have those chats and want to see you do well.“Morgy [Eoin Morgan] has been very clear with how he expects people to play if they want to be in an England shirt and that’s something that I’ve bought into from day one of being around this team. It’s pretty self-explanatory what you need to do if you want to play for England.”The Spin: sign up and get our weekly cricket email.Salt has played in a number of franchise leagues, including the Big Bash, Pakistan Super League and Caribbean Premier League, and the move from Sussex to Lancashire at the end of last season has given his game a boost. “It’s a huge club and I do love playing there. Again, it’s a similar thing to franchise cricket – the intensity in that dressing room is also a step up from a lot of other places so yeah, I’m really enjoying my time there.“Hopefully if I can keep doing stuff like that and keep putting my name in the [England] hat, hopefully I will give the selectors a headache.”What a welcome headache that is for England’s selectors, who spent last winter fruitlessly looking for runs, but now find them flooding in from all directions.

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Ritchie has brought success to Disney with a live-action remake before. He directed the 2019 reboot of "Aladdin," starring Will Smith. “Hercules”©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection With Disney already deep into post-production on a live-action retread of “The Little Mermaid,” and currently filming a controversial “Snow White” remake starring “West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, the Mouse House isn’t slowing down. It was announced yesterday that British director Guy Ritchie will helm an upcoming live-action redo of the 1997 Disney animated feature, “Hercules.” Disney’s “Hercules” tells the story of the eponymous character (voiced in the original by Tate Donovan) and Greek god. Living among mortals, Hercules becomes determined to reclaim his god-like status, becoming a quasi-celebrity in the process. Along the way he falls in love with the acerbic Meg (voiced by Susan Egan) and must defeat Hades (voiced by James Woods), the God of the Underworld. Ritchie has brought success to Disney with a live-action remake before. He directed the 2019 reboot of “Aladdin,” starring Will Smith. The feature would go on to gross over $1 billion dollars worldwide, including $356.6 million in the United States. Ritchie most recently finished directing an untitled action film set to star Jake Gyllenhaal. Back in December a trailer was released for Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune,” set to reteam him with collaborator Jason Statham, though that film has been delayed. Right now nothing else is known about the project, including casting. The original animated “Hercules” feature raked in $252 million at the box office, worldwide, upon release in 1997 though it was criticized at the time for being heavy on product placement. Hercules has long been a popular subject in film and TV, Disney aside. Numerous actors including the original Hulk, Lou Ferrigno, have played the character. “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” aired on television from 1995 to 1999 with Kevin Sorbo starring. In 2014, Dwayne Johnson played the character in a take on the character directed by Brett Ratner. Disney mining their animated catalog for new live-action feature opportunities doesn’t look to end anytime soon, especially considering the box office success of features like “Aladdin” and “The Lion King.” It’s currently unknown just how long it will take to get “Hercules” to the big screen, but it certainly shows audiences that their favorite Disney classics aren’t safe from the live-action treatment. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.

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Kahleah Copper had season highs with 23 points and 10 rebounds, Emma Meesseman scored 17 points and grabbed a season-best 12 rebounds and the Chicago Sky beat the Atlanta Dream 106-100 in overtime Friday night at Wintrust Arena.Allie Quigley also scored 17 points, Azurá Stevens and Rebekah Gardner added 15 apiece and Courtney Vandersloot had 11 for the Sky (10-4).Meesseman made a jumper, Copper hit a 3-pointer and, after Rhyne Howard made a layup on the other end, Quigley hit another 3 to give the Sky a 99-93 lead about 2 minutes into overtime. The Dream (7-8) twice trimmed their deficit to two points, but Stevens answered each time — the first with a pair of free throws to make it 101-97 with 1 minute, 27 seconds to play and the second with a 3-pointer that gave the Sky a five-point lead with less than a minute to go.AD Durr scored 21 points and McDonald finished with 20 for the Dream. Howard and Cheyenne Parker added 16 points apiece and Destiny Slocum scored a career-high 10.Ruthy Hebard hit a jumper to give the Sky their biggest lead of the game at 71-53 midway through the third quarter, but the Dream responded with an 18-2 run that trimmed their deficit to 73-71 after McDonald and Slocum made back-to-back 3-pointers to cap the spurt.McDonald converted a three-point play before Parker made two free throws to give the Dream a one-point lead with 31.4 seconds left in regulation, but Copper made 1-of-2 free throws with 19 seconds remaining to tie it at 91. Howard missed a potential winning 3-point shot in the closing seconds. Naz Hillmon grabbed the offensive rebound, but her put-back attempt was blocked by Stevens to force overtime.

Basketball

Ezra Miller One Last Go-Around as 'Flash' ... Nixed Thereafter: Report 6/18/2022 11:31 AM PT Ezra Miller is apparently on the outs with Warner Bros. Discovery amid a tumultuous time -- a new report suggests this is the embattled actor's last outing as DC's fastest superhero. The 'Flash' star is said to be getting the boot after this final time starring as Barry Allen in the yet-to-be-released flick (which is already in the can) -- meaning he won't reprise the role going forward in the DCEU ... this according to Deadline, which seems to have softened its position, but is still suggesting their a goner. Zaslav’s First Movie Crisis: What To Do With Ezra Miller, The Erratic Star Of Warner Bros’ $200M ‘Flash’ Franchise Launch https://t.co/TMJKZ9YMHG— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) June 18, 2022 @DEADLINE Here's what they first said Friday about Miller's future ... "In (David) Zaslav’s plan to make DC an explosively successful division like Marvel under his newly structured studio, with its own new boss, the non-binary identifying Miller, we hear, is simply not a part of those plans going forward in the future universe regardless if there are more allegations or not." They have since revised their story to read ... "Sources said even if no more allegations surface, the studio won’t likely keep Miller in the Flash role in future DC films. That would mean replacing him in the future, but there is still a $200 million investment on the line with the first film and Warner Bros execs have to be cringing at each new press report." MEGA Indeed ... they hedged on the off chance WB keeps them around. But by most accounts -- including from other reporters who say they've confirmed the news -- it appears Ezra's nixed. Essentially, Warner is praying no more negative headlines emerge about EM ... but on the issue of the ones that have surfaced thus far -- a source told Deadline, "here is no winning in this for Warner Bros. This is an inherited problem for Zaslav. The hope is that the scandal will remain at a low level before the movie is released, and hope for the best to turn out." The saga is far from over. Not only have the parents of 18-year-old activist Tokata Iron Eyes filed for a restraining against them -- albeit, without success as they can't find Ezra to serve them -- but a second protective order was reportedly issued this past week in favor of the mother of a 12-year-old child out of Massachusetts ... who has her own claims against them. Amid all this chaos, Miller reportedly posted a series of memes that some interpreted as them mocking the authorities, who are trying to track them down. Then, they deleted their IG. Ezra Miller storying these memes while on the run for kidnapping a girl is the craziest shit I’ve ever heard 😭 pic.twitter.com/05X2dlYWLP— عمیر (@OmairrrrS) June 16, 2022 @OmairrrrS FWIW, Iron Eyes says she's fine and that her parents are wrong -- but nonetheless, people are deeply concerned ... and it appears both Ezra and TIE are off the radar. Meanwhile, it would appear Warner's made a decision. And there may still be more to come.

Movies

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Priscilla Presley says that her ex-husband, Elvis Presley, would approve of the latest film highlighting his life.In a Good Morning America appearance on Friday, Presley, 77, was joined Olivia DeJonge – who plays her in the upcoming movie – to share insight of what its like to see her life on the big screen."I'm sitting there watching this movie and going 'god I wish he could see this,'" she said of Elvis. Presley then shared that he would have loved the new movie, claiming "it was perfection." Presley talked about the moment in the film where she asked her ex-husband to seek help on his "drug dependency" and she said that scene brought back "memories."PRISCILLA AND LISA MARIE PRESLEY LEAD THREE GENERATION APPEARANCE AT ‘ELVIS’ PREMIERE IN MEMPHIS Priscilla Presley says Elvis would have "loved" the latest film inspired by his life. The musician died in 1977 at 42. ((Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images))"It was getting more and more frightening as time went by where he just was like, rebelling," Presley said. She went on to praise the film’s lead, Austin Butler, on his interpretation of the late musician. Austin Butler and Priscilla Presley attend the screening of "Elvis" during the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)"Austin was just unbelievable," she noted. "As I was watching it, actually, I was going wow, this is a movie that he would have really loved. Showing who he was, what he was striving for, what his dreams were."Although it was "strange" for Presley to her life played out by DeJonge, she applauded her on her performance.PRISCILLA PRESLEY SAYS SHE WOULD GET ‘NERVOUS’ LEAVING ELVIS ALONE: ‘EVERYONE IN THE WORLD WAS AFTER HIM'"I'm so happy that she was sensitive and that she was caring and that she was a little strong with him as well, and you know, I thought she did a really, really nice job, I was pleasantly surprised," she said.DeJone told Presley during the interview that her approval was a "huge relief." Elvis Presley and bride Priscilla Presley May 1, 1967. (Getty Images)"Within my research, it was so evident the amount of love and care and sensitivity that was there so I'm very glad that that came through," the actress said.During the Cannes Film Festival in May, the film received a 12-minute long standing ovation, which moved Presley to tears.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTERShe hugged the film’s director, Baz Luhrmann, as the applause roared.Presley has continuously praised the upcoming biopic and said on the red-carpet of the 2022 Met Gala, "I think it's a movie for everyone." Baz Luhrmann, Olivia DeJonge, and Austin Butler attend the Canadian screening of Warner Bros. "Elvis" in June. (Photo by Jeremy Chan/Getty Images)She added: "Even the people who've heard stories about Elvis before, they're gonna learn something."CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPA few days after the Met Gala, she took to Instagram to reiterate her love for the movie, which is set to be released June 24. "I've seen Elvis the film, I watched the trailer over a dozen times," she wrote, attaching a video of the trailer. "Beautifully done Baz, Tom, Austin and Olivia." Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.

Movies

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comJune 18 (Reuters) - Former world number one Naomi Osaka has pulled out of Wimbledon due to a left Achilles injury, the four-times Grand Slam champion said on Saturday.Japan's Osaka suffered the injury in Madrid, forcing her to miss the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome in the leadup to the French Open where she lost in the first round.Last week she posted a video on social media, saying: "Here's me running on a underwater treadmill because my Achilles is being stubborn still (sic) I must be aging or something."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comShe added on Saturday: "My Achilles still isn't right so I'll see you next time."Tennis - WTA Masters 1000 - Madrid Open - Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain - May 1, 2022 Japan's Naomi Osaka in action during her second round match against Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo REUTERS/Susana VeraOsaka had said after her defeat at Roland Garros that she was not 100% sure if she would play on grass this season.The men's ATP and women's WTA took away ranking points from the grasscourt Grand Slam after organisers the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) decided to ban participation by Russian and Belarusian players following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.Osaka had reasoned that playing in the major without the possibility of earning points would not help her ranking and the decision of the authorities had reduced her motivation to play.Osaka, who is ranked 43rd, also pulled out of Wimbledon last year after taking time off for "personal reasons" -- a month after quitting the French Open due to mental health issues.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; additional reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Tennis

“This will, in all likelihood, unless something really strange happens, bring us our best merchandise sales we’ve ever had at the US Open — sales are fantastic,” said Mary Lopuszynski, the managing director of US Open merchandising.The USGA does not divulge dollar figures. But public financial statements for the nonprofit organization report the pre-pandemic total revenues from USGA’s Championship events — the big four are the US men’s and women’s Opens and senior Opens, with the men’s Open the chief revenue driver — reached $45.9 million in 2019 (excluding TV broadcast rights), with Championship merchandise sales of $3.18 million.A few factors are likely behind this year’s strong showing.Besides the opportunity to make a unique (if last-minute purchase) for Father’s Day — the US Open is always well-timed in this regard — attendees are “excited to be out, which they haven’t been able to do a lot” after roughly two years of being mostly cooped up during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Lopuszynski.Even the work-from-home trend is working in the USGA’s favor when it comes to selling its golf apparel.“Now that we’re working from home, we’re dressing differently, and of course people like wearing golf apparel but you can also wear it at home, this is regular work apparel now, and that’s shifted a lot from what it used to be,” said Lopuszynski.Lopuszynski and 10 other USGA merchandise full-time staffers, along with 21 interns have been on site since May 1, preparing for what amounts to one of the largest pop-up stores you’ll ever find.Of the tournament’s 3,800 volunteers, 1,100 are deployed for selling merchandise from some 250 different vendors.The main tent occupies 24,000 square feet on what is normally The Country Club’s driving range, situated conveniently between the 1st and 18th holes. There’s also an an annex tent, occupying some 6,600 square feet near the 14th hole.The main merchandise tent at past US Opens usually take up 36 to 39,000 square feet, but that wouldn’t work for the relatively small footprint of The Country Club. But the smaller size is in no way limiting or slowing down the pace of sales, said Lopuszynski.Customers are plucking items from shelves and racks quickly, requiring frequent re-stocking managed via a back-of-house storage facility that features 17 full-size UPS cargo truck containers.New merchandise is still being shipped in — multiple boxes of Ralph Lauren items were being cataloged before being opened Friday afternoon.The weather is cooperating in the favor of merchandise sales.With cooler weather in the forecast for Sunday, orders of 5,000 more pieces of layering outerwear have been placed.Even Friday’s brief flirtation with downpours that never truly arrived despite the posted severe weather warnings saw plenty of attendees found unneeded refuge in the tent.And umbrella sales spiked.“We had a pretty good hour,” said Lopuszynski with a laugh.The biggest seller in the tent is headwear, which comprises roughly 25 percent — about 100,000 hats in all — of merchandise. There’s about 220 different kinds of hats — baseball, visors, bucket — with the straw hats already sold out.The Country Club’s squirrel mascot and yellow-and-green color scheme is proving to be a hit, said Lopuszynski.“It’s maybe one of the best logos we have and the most popular — people love it, it’s just a little different, a little quirky,” she said.Besides hats, men’s, women’s and children’s apparel from nine different companies take up much of the floor space, along with plenty of golf items, including about 20,000 golf towels and 25,000 ball markers.Prices range from $2 for ball markers to close to $300 for some men’s outerwear jackets.Besides about 500 straw hats, other items have sold out, like all the Christmas ornaments, some 280 inflatable bouncy balls used mainly by kids for autographs, about 100 bronze clover ball markers, and around 1,500 small stuffed squirrels.“Boston is a great sports town,” said Lopuszynski. “But now having the US Open come here after so many years, I think the excitement level was off the charts, so that’s cool. It’s always nice to be somewhere where people think this is as special as we think it is.”Michael Silverman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeSilvermanBB.

Golf

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - April 9, 2022 AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost attends a news conference before qualifying REUTERS/Martin KeepRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMONTREAL, June 18 (Reuters) - As Formula One wrestles with 'porpoising' problems that have left some drivers battered and bruised, AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost suggested on Saturday that if conditions are too tough in the cockpit there is always a comfortable couch at home.Driver health has been put in the spotlight at the Canadian Grand Prix with teams told to put safety before performance and address the problem of cars bouncing dramatically at high speeds.Concern reached new levels last weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix when seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton struggled to get out of his Mercedes at the end of a punishing race.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTost, whose drivers are Frenchman Pierre Gasly and Japan's Yuki Tsunoda, said he understood cars were difficult to drive but offered little sympathy."These are Formula One cars, this is not a Rolls Royce and drivers should be aware about this," said the Austrian, before the cars took to a rainy Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Saturday for final practice and qualifying."If the cars are too stiff, it's too difficult for them (the drivers) maybe they should stay at home, in the living room sitting in a chair and they can do their races."Porpoising has become the newest F1 flash point with the governing FIA wading in on Thursday with a technical directive of measures to reduce or eliminate the problem. It said it had done so in the interest of driver safety. read more Tost and Alpine team principle Otmar Szafnauer argued that it was not really a safety issue."It was clear from the very beginning that these cars would not be easy to drive," said Tost. "This floor makes it necessary that cars are set up stiff, that the cars are quite close to surface."The cars aren't anymore as comfortable to drive as they were in the past."Now the drivers complain about it. I can understand it is not so easy for them, on the other hand this is a Formula One car not a Rolls Royce."Tost recalled a time when drivers would come to him after a race saying they needed to see a dentist because the ride was so jarring.The AlphaTauri boss suggested maybe a little more time in the gym and a bit less complaining might help."Drivers must do more training for their neck muscles - this helps for sure," added Tost. "And the FIA is coming now with this technical directive which of course will help to find out how big are the forces."How much this can be controlled we don't know yet."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Steve Keating in Montreal; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Other Sports

Leicester’s matchwinner, Freddie Burns, has admitted he could barely believe the sensational conclusion to the Premiership final which saw him kick the match-winning drop-goal to deny Saracens in the final minute of the game.Burns was required to play a more prominent role than he expected when George Ford limped off in the first half, having already managed to revive his professional career at Leicester after a stint in Japan. “I’m in disbelief right now. I’m normally not short of words but I can’t believe I’m sitting here. I managed to shin it over – it was like a dead duck – but I don’t care. It went through.“We’ve been a team of fighters all year and shown that in numerous games. I don’t think people really gave us much of a shot. Everyone was talking about Saracens’ big game players but I wouldn’t have swapped any of our boys for theirs. We just kept fighting and came out at the right end of it. To give the supporters this moment and reward for their support means everything to everyone at Tigers.”Head coach Steve Borthwick also saluted the calm way in which his players engineered the chance for Burns to prevent the match spilling over into extra time. “The composure to get themselves into a better position was phenomenal,” said Borthwick. “To think as clearly as they did that far into a very touch game was very impressive. I watched him [Freddie Burns] striking these balls yesterday at the training ground … he’s got nerves of steel, hasn’t he?”The recent death of former club captain Tom Youngs’s wife, Tiffany, generated additional emotion for all involved with Leicester’s first title for nine years. “Everybody in the whole club has worked hard to get to this position,” said Borthwick. “I’m just delighted for everyone. Everybody at the club is still hurting for the Youngs family. It was very classy at the end for Tom Youngs and Ellis [Genge] to pick the trophy up together.“If you are really clear on what you are going to do, sometimes this can happen. You want to win rugby games but you’ve got to make your family proud and be proud of yourself, and make your friends proud of you.”Saracens’ director of rugby, Mark McCall, admitted that Leicester, who finished top of the regular season table, had deserved their success.“They trapped us in our half for large periods and backed that up with brilliant defence,” said McCall. “It was very frustrating but a lot of that was their making. We were a bit suffocated today. It was tough to break them down. Fair play to them, they did it brilliantly.”The Breakdown: sign up and get our weekly rugby union email.McCall also declined to blame his players for opting for a late close-range penalty rather than going for a potential match-winning try against 14 men. “It’s hard to know the right thing to do. I don’t disagree with the decision at all. I don’t think that was the game – they deserved to win.”

Other Sports

Right on schedule, Universal has dropped the second (and presumably final) trailer for Jordan Peele’s Nope. The preview is more of a brief “making-of” featurette than a trailer, and amusingly it’s even more cryptic than the CinemaCon footage or the recent television spot. By coincidence or design, it’s a trailer that won’t traumatize the youngest Jurassic World: Dominion viewers. That TV spot pretty much confirms that the movie is about aliens or flying saucers. Whether there’s more going on will be open for debate until the film screens for the press. One effect of this whole “everything is a spoiler” marketing (encouraged by perpetually online folks who get mad on social media if you mention that Ryan Gosling is revealed in the first five minutes of Blade Runner 2049 to be a replicant), is that nuts and bolts storytelling is considered spoiler-y in terms of pre-release marketing. Conversely, the reveal of fundamental plot beats leads to the presumption that there’s more in store even if that’s not the case. Fair or not, the likes of Chris Nolan’s Interstellar and Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland were exactly as advertised. Maybe Nope, starring Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott and Keith David, is “just” about a small town that gets attacked by ufos. Peele has hinted that there’s more to it than that, and I’m sure there are plenty of third-act twists and turns to be discovered in late July. However, the notion that we’re being hoodwinked in terms of what the movie is about could be an example of online discourse being mistaken for general audience sentiment. First, Us was what its single trailer promised, a horror movie about a family being attacked by murderous doppelgangers. Second, it’s incredibly hard to get audiences to show up for an original picture, even with a marquee filmmaker like Jordan Peele at the helm. The last thing you want to do is essentially con your audience that took a chance on an original (or new-to-you) theatrical release. That’s why I was so cranky about Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway’s Serenity. It’s hard enough to get folks to show up for an old-school erotic thriller in theaters, let alone when one of the few such films to exist in theaters turns out to be a mindbender whereby the entire film is a video game controlled by a traumatized child. Heck, one big reason M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable was so divisive in late 2000 was precisely because the marketing didn’t even hint at being a superhero origin story. Everyone had their theory as to why Bruce Willis’ David Dunn survived that train crash. When Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price explains that he thinks Dunn is a real-life superhero, half the audience internally cheered and the other half internally booed. Imagine The Sixth Sense being sold as a drama about a kid with a mood disorder and then 50 minutes in Haley Joel Osment turns to Bruce Willis and whispers “I see dead people.” Half the audience would have rolled with it and the other half would have rebelled. To be fair, this discussion is mostly academic. Get Out opened with $33 million and legged out to $176 million domestic and $255 million worldwide in early 2017. Us opened with $71 million (second only to Avatar’s $77 million launch among opening weekends for live-action originals) and earned $175 million/$255 million in early 2019. Get Out cost $5 million while Us cost $25 million. Even if Nope cost (speculative guess) $40 million (shooting with IMAX cameras is expensive), even a “disappointing” $160 million worldwide cume would be four times the budget in raw theatrical. Can Nope open above Us and potentially swipe Avatar’s live-action opening weekend record? That seems unlikely (but not impossible), if only due to what still amounts to a slight Covid curve. I’m optimistic that it can still open high enough ($50 million) to get the film a 31-day theatrical window versus Comcast’s current 17-day exclusivity clause. Okay, so it probably won’t outgross Top Gun: Maverick in North America as I predicted in late April, but sometimes you gotta make a “Rocky beats Apollo” bet just to feel alive. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website. Send me a secure tip.

Movies

Sir Ringo Starr, Bruce Springsteen and Ronnie Wood were among stars who have been wishing Sir Paul McCartney a happy 80th birthday.The ex-Beatle turned 80 on Saturday, days after finishing a brief US tour. The milestone comes the weekend before McCartney becomes Glastonbury’s oldest solo headliner, when he takes to the Pyramid stage on Saturday.On Thursday, he was joined by Springsteen on stage in New Jersey, and the pair celebrated with a duet of Glory Days and I Wanna Be Your Man. Springsteen popped up again later to play guitar on a medley of songs from the Abbey Road album.Jon Bon Jovi also joined Sir Paul on stage at the same concert, singing Happy Birthday to him with the help of 50,000 fans.Fellow ex-Beatle Sir Ringo Starr, meanwhile, sent “peace and love” to his friend and former bandmate on Twitter on Saturday, posting a picture flashing a V sign for peace.Referencing their 1968 song Birthday, Starr, who turned 80 last year, wrote: “They say it’s your birthday Saturday happy birthday Paul love you man have a great day peace and love Ringo and Barbara love love peace and love.”Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and Beach Boys star Brian Wilson also posted photos with McCartney along with birthday wishes.And American singer-songwriter Carole King shared a photo of the pair embracing, with the caption: “Happy birthday paulmccartney. Welcome to the 80s.”As well as fellow rock stars, McCartney was congratulated by former prime minister Gordon Brown. Referencing Thursday’s gig, Brown tweeted: “I think we would all like to sing Happy 80th Birthday to Paul McCartney today. My friend Jon Bon Jovi doing it in style here.”Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), of which Sir Paul is a longstanding supporter, also took the opportunity to thank him for his work, saying: “We love seeing you advocate for animals, and strive for ethical change! Thank you for raising awareness of the SaveCrueltyFreeCosmetics European Citizens’ Initiative.”Sign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BSTOn Friday, four unsigned musicians – Serena Ittoo, Humm, Emily Theodora and Dullan – also performed at the ex-Beatle’s childhood home in Liverpool.During his career, Sir Paul has won 18 Grammys, been awarded an OBE and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2017.The father of five has been married to Nancy Shevell since 2011.

Music

A San Francisco start-up called Ample wants to make electric vehicle battery swapping work in the United States following a history of failure by others in the space.When electric vehicles started gaining ground in the early 2010s, Tesla and a start-up called Better Space promised their customers would have the convenient option of battery swapping."Hopefully this is what convinces people finally that electric cars are the future," Musk said, rallying a crowd at a splashy demo in 2013, before sending them off to enjoy a party. Musk also said then that the battery of a Tesla Model S could be swapped in about 90 seconds.But both companies failed to make swapping commercially viable. Better Place shut down in May 2013 despite having raised $850 million in venture funding. In June 2015, Musk claimed customers weren't interested in swapping their batteries. At the same time, electric vehicle companies improved their battery and charging station technology. This enabled their cars to drive more miles on a single charge. Owners could also spend less time plugged in at charging stations when they weren't replenishing their batteries overnight at home or hotels. Ample's modular electric vehicle batteries.AmpleWhy now?However, Ample thinks the time is right to try again.Ample now operates five battery swap stations in the San Francisco Bay Area specifically for Uber drivers. Participating drivers with supported electric vehicles can exchange a spent battery for a fully charged one in less than 10 minutes. At launch, Ample supports the Nissan Leaf — which is the main electric vehicle used by Uber drivers — and some Kia electric vehicles. It does not support Teslas, however, along with other popular EV models. Right now, the stations have a maximum capacity of 90 cars per day.Eventually, Ample hopes to make swapping an option for all EVs.Even though EV batteries have improved over the past decade, Ample believes swapping will be popular among fleet managers, delivery, service and ride-hail drivers. They log hundreds of miles a day and don't want to put wear and tear on their batteries by rapid charging them every shift, Ample founder and CEO Khaled Hassounah said.Hassounah added that his company's approach is technically distinct from prior efforts.The company spent about seven years developing robotics that can remove spent battery modules from a car's battery pack and replace them with fully energized modules in less than 10 minutes. Ample can replace a few modules in a pack or all of them, depending on how much of the battery was drained and how far it needs to go before returning home for an overnight recharge. Companies trying battery swaps in the past exchanged the entire pack, not individual modules within them. Drivers can sit in the car or get out and stretch their legs while the swap is completed. The company is pushing to get the time for a swap to less than five minutes this year.Ample battery swap stations are designed to be installed quickly along a route. They are prefabricated and assembled wherever they're wanted, but do not require complex construction or permitting. They take up the space of only about two parking spots. Like most companies in the emerging field, Ample is looking to reduce the environmental impact of energy generation for the onslaught of electric vehicles in the U.S. and abroad."With a kind of continuous update of the battery, a car that is 10 years old can drive about as far as the newest model being released this year," Ample President and co-founder John de Souza said. Hassounah also noted that "electric should not be a tough decision. ... But it has to be cheaper and simpler, because we're not competing with gas yet."By removing and charging drained batteries at off-peak hours, or using electricity from renewable energy sources to charge them up before a swap, Ample can help fleets hit environmental goals and spend less on electricity.The co-founders also said swapping should enable used electric vehicles to stay on the road, performing perfectly for longer, rather than turning into e-waste.The company has raised $68 million in venture funding, led by Shell Ventures and joined by Repsol Energy Ventures and Eneos Innovation Partners. These energy businesses are facing disruption as governments push for wider adoption of electric vehicles. Transportation and mobility investors Moore Strategic Investors and Hemi Ventures also invested in Ample.Ample's electric vehicle battery-swapping station.AmpleChallengesLong-time electric vehicle researcher and automotive writer John Voelcker says any battery swapping effort in North America will face warranted skepticism."Battery swapping has massive challenges in terms of capital requirements," he said. "Just like bike-sharing, it's not evenly distributed. It might make sense to have stations along a particular route, but demand can spike around travel, like at Thanksgiving time. They will have to move heavy batteries from place to place to make this work."Scott Case, CEO of a Seattle start-up that measures electric vehicle battery health called Recurrent, said it's "definitely a pro that you might be able to upgrade your battery over time without paying for an entirely new one."But there are some risks that are kind of low tech if you're going to be taking batteries out of your vehicle over and over again, like dealing with dirt and grime from the road that can get introduced into your system."Ample says it has designed around this, in part by including a battery monitoring system on each swappable module that can alert a driver if there's an issue, and can disable just the impacted module until the car can come in for a swap.Hassounah and de Souza know they are facing doubters. But he said: "We're making a major transition, a third of human consumption of energy is moving from one form to another. And any time we make that kind of change, we have to step back and rethink things." For Ample, that means, revisiting a good idea that didn't work out, but possibly should have.The company is not alone. Nio, a high-tech EV maker, succeeded in launching a battery swapping service for its customers in China. Shares of Nio are on a tear, surging more than 1,000% over the past 12 months.

Automotive and Transportation

Soccer Football - Euro 2020 - Final - Italy v England - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - July 11, 2021 England's Marcus Rashford looks dejected after missing a penalty during a penalty shootout Pool via REUTERS/Frank Augstein Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comJune 18 (Reuters) - More than half of all players at the finals of last year's European Championship and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) were subjected to some form of discriminatory abuse online, a report published by global soccer governing body FIFA has revealed.The independent report used artificial intelligence to track over 400,000 posts on social media platforms during the semi-final and final stages of the two competitions and found the majority of abuse to be homophobic (40%) and racist (38%).It added that much of the abuse came from players' home nations and took place before, during and after games.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comEngland's Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who are Black, were bombarded with online abuse after missing their spot-kicks in a shootout against Italy which settled the July 11 European Championship final after the game finished in a draw. read more The report said a substitute player from Egypt was the most abused player at the AFCON finals this year."Our duty is to protect football and that starts with the players who bring so much joy and happiness to all of us by their exploits on the field of play," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement on Saturday."Unfortunately, there is a trend developing where a percentage of posts on social media channels directed towards players, coaches, match officials and the teams themselves is not acceptable, and this form of discrimination -- like any form of discrimination – has no place in football."The report added that the abuse on Twitter was constant across the period of its study while Instagram abuse was "event driven" -- like losing a final -- and more than 75% of comments on the platform included emojis.Reuters has contacted Twitter and Instagram for comment.Ahead of the World Cup starting in Qatar in November, FIFA said it would work with players' body FIFPRO to implement a plan to protect teams, players, officials, and supporters from abuse on social media during international tournaments.The two bodies will launch moderation tools and offer educational support and mental health advice to players at FIFA tournaments.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Soccer

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon will miss the remainder of the 2022 season after the organization announced that Rendon will undergo season-ending surgery on his right wrist next week. Rendon, who signed a seven-year, $245 million contract with the Angels in 2020, suffered the injury in early May, and was on the injured list from May 17 to June 10. Anthony Rendon #6 of the Los Angeles Angels returns to the dugout in the first inning during the game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium on Saturday, June 11, 2022, in Anaheim, California. (Katelyn Mulcahy/MLB Photos via Getty Images)"We knew [surgery] was always an option, but we were trying to figure out how to get through each day, but it got to the point where it didn’t get better," Rendon said Friday, according to MLB.com. "Yesterday was the last straw. I tried to go through a new routine to try to see if I could play. And we tried to do some stuff during the game, but it just wouldn’t happen."Angels head athletic trainer Mike Frostad said that the recovery time for Rendon’s surgery is four-to-six months, and that the third baseman should be ready for next season’s offseason. MIKE TROUT’S BAT MEETS UMPIRE’S FACE"More often than not, this injury ends up in surgery and we were expecting this to be the outcome," Frostad said, via ESPN. "We were just trying to get through to the end of the year, and he was trying to get through the end of the year, and he just wasn't able to get there." Anthony Rendon #6 of the Los Angeles Angels runs to first base against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium on June 14, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)"We're anticipating that it's a four-to-six-month recovery," Frostad continued. "So by doing it now, he should have a fairly normal offseason."ANGELS FIRE MANAGER JOE MADDON DURING 12-GAME LOSING STREAKRendon’s first three seasons in Los Angeles have been disappointing, playing in only 58 games in 2021 due to a hip injury. Rendon will have played in just 103 of a possible 324 games in the past two years at the end of the 2022 regular season. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM"We’ve got a few different options," interim manager Phil Nevin said. "We have certainly have guys who can go over there and play well defensively. But when you take Anthony Rendon out of the lineup, the way he works pitchers and takes at-bats, just that name in the lineup, it’s different. I’m not going to lie to you. But with where he’s at, he just couldn’t go, so we’ll piece it together every day." Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon (6) singles to left off of Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Lou Trivino (62) in the bottom of the sixth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Anaheim, California. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)It’s a major blow to an Angels team which has struggled mightily since its hot start to the season. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPOn June 7, the Angels fired manager Joe Maddon after the team had lost 12 straight games following a 24-13 start to the year. The Angels have gone 3-7 since making a change at the managerial level, and sit 11 games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West. Joe Morgan is a Sports Reporter for Fox News.

Baseball

Stuck, like all musicians, in the tedium of recent lockdowns, pianist Joe Webb found relief in the cheerful music and uncomplicated teenage movies of the 1950s and 60s. As a kind of memento, before moving on, he recorded these 10 numbers with his quintet, arranging them as the soundtrack to an imaginary 60s pool party film. Mel Tormé, LaVern Baker, Erroll Garner, even Cannonball Adderley – I’m no expert in the genre, and I’m certainly not complaining, but that seems a bit on the classy side to me.Anyway, it’s a musician’s choice and he’s playing it. You can find quite a lot of jazz influence in 60s popular music, and it’s there in most of these tracks. They’re tuneful and catchy; at around three minutes each they have to be. Songs that originally featured vocals come across nicely as instrumentals, particularly Yea Yea, with Webb playing organ, Georgie Fame-style. Instrumental tunes are treated more like mini-jazz performances. There are many limitations in the task he set himself, but Webb handles them all adroitly. You don’t need a pool party; try this at your next barbecue. Listen to One Mint Julep by Joe Webb.

Music

It is, of course, essential that we draw the positives. In the modern age that is all you can ever do after defeat, look for learnings to be enacted moving forward. Although it almost seems distasteful to point out something that went right for England after a dismal Nations League campaign that culminated in their worst home defeat since 1928, there was, in the fatigue and the frustration, one vague sliver of a silver lining. It’s not just that Jack Grealish dragged England back into the game away to Germany, it’s that his performance in Munich hinted at a new way of conceptualising the game.Grealish is one of those players who, for 18 months or so, has come with a clamour. There is a constituency within the England support and punditocracy that demands his inclusion. He is a smart, bright player who seems somehow normal; if he didn’t happen to be a supremely gifted footballer, he would be watching matches and necking Jägerbombs in a beer garden. He has an unaffected niceness that makes it almost impossible not to warm to him. But can you trust him to track his man, to close down the passing lanes, not to lose the ball with one gauche trick too many?It is an issue with which Gareth Southgate and Pep Guardiola have had to wrestle. Grealish, in an unusually revealing on-pitch interview after the final game of the league season, spoke of how hard he has found it to learn a new style at Manchester City. Southgate has talked of the importance of allowing him his freedom. But short of a return to the football of 40 years ago, when complex systems were less prevalent and the team could be built around one playmaking genius, how can that be achieved?The answer was there in Munich: by bringing him off the bench. Context is everything. When the game is in the balance and you’re trying to set the pattern, Grealish is a risk. But later, when a stalemate needs breaking or you’re chasing a goal, even if you’re defending a lead and want an outlet on the counter, those anarchic qualities become a blessing. A dribbler will never be more effective than when running against weary defenders, even if in practice that just means winning a string of free-kicks. That role of second-half substitute, the game‑breaker, the finisher, feels made for him.Ole Gunnar Solskjær resisted the ‘super sub’ tag in his playing days. Photograph: Dan Chung/The GuardianThere remains a lingering sense that the starting XI is the real business, that being a substitute is somehow lesser. Players such as David Fairclough and Ole Gunnar Solskjær resisted the tag of “super‑sub”, insisting they were more than that. But there is no reason for a player coming on to seem inferior. Particularly now the Premier League has fallen into line with most of the rest of the world to permit five substitutes, it seems likely bench specialists will become more common; all it takes is a shift of mentality.It has felt in the past that football was approaching this point. When Romelu Lukaku was on loan at West Brom in 2012-13, Steve Clarke would regularly start with either him or Shane Long and then, when they had run the legs off the central defence, bring on the other to exploit spent limbs.The benefits then are twofold: not only is the player coming on fresh and so at an advantage against tired opponents, but the player who starts knows he can play at full tilt from the off because his game is only likely to be an hour or so – and that in turn should exhaust his direct opponent.While that is useful in the centre of the pitch, it is perhaps of even more value when the duels between wide forwards and wingers can extend along almost the whole flank and require great stamina anyway.Specialist subs have become at least semi-accepted with goalkeepers who are penalty experts. Andrew Redmayne hadn’t played a single minute of Australia’s qualifying campaign but came on for the captain, Mat Ryan, with seconds of extra time remaining in Monday’s World Cup qualifying playoff against Peru. Quite how responsible his antics, dancing on his line and tossing away the Peru keeper’s annotated water bottle, were for Australia’s win is unclear, but he joined a growing list of sub keepers credited with inspiring shootout wins.Australia reserve keeper Andrew Redmayne was brought on for their penalty shootout with Peru, and helped them secure World Cup qualification. Photograph: Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty ImagesThe earliest appears to have been Nikos Christidis, who came on for Lakis Stergioudas as AEK Athens beat QPR in the Uefa Cup quarter-finals in 1976-77 and saved Dave Webb’s penalty, since when managers as diverse as Martin O’Neill and Louis van Gaal have employed the tactic. But a resistance remains, so that Thomas Tuchel was widely criticised for bringing Kepa Arrizabalaga on in February’s League Cup final, even though the same plan had worked in the Uefa Super Cup final earlier in the season.But when penalties are so distinct, demanding reflexes and aptitude at game theory as much as reading the play and positioning, why wouldn’t some players who aren’t necessarily the best open-play keepers excel at them? When learning the habits and tells of opponents is such a key part of the process it makes perfect sense to have one player focus on revision while the open-play keeper gets on with the match itself. It’s only convention that makes the idea seem uncomfortable or worth condemning when it goes wrong – as it occasionally will.The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.In the days of one, two or even three subs, perhaps the benefits didn’t seem worth it compared with bringing on a fresh outfielder or having cover for potential injuries. Now that five (plus an additional one in extra time) are permitted, though, it seems reasonable that a couple can be reserved for the use of specialists, be they penalty-saving keepers, tricky attackers in the mould of Grealish or some other specific role.It’s already beginning to happen. All that remains is general acceptance and for players to come to relish the role of being the super-sub. After all, you’re playing against weakened opponents on a specific quest for glory. What’s not to enjoy about that?

Soccer

Sports June 18, 2022 / 12:17 PM / CBS/AP Naomi Osaka pulled out of Wimbledon on Saturday, citing a lingering problem with her left Achilles tendon and marking the second consecutive year she's decided to sit out the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. The four-time major champion and former No. 1-ranked player posted a photo of herself on a grass court and wrote on Twitter: "my Achilles still isn't right so I'll see you next time."Osaka has not played an official match since losing in the first round of the French Open to Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-4 on May 24. During that match, for which she said she took a painkiller, Osaka tried to stretch her tendon by tugging on the toe of her shoe at changeovers and squatting to flex her lower leg between points.After that defeat, Osaka said she was leaning toward missing Wimbledon because the professional tennis tours aren't ranking points awarded — a response to the All England Club's decision to bar all players from Russia and Belarus over the war in Ukraine. "I'm not sure why, but I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it's more like an exhibition. I know this isn't true, right? But my brain just like feels that way. Whenever I think something is like an exhibition, I just can't go at it 100%," Osaka said then. "I didn't even make my decision yet, but I'm leaning more towards not playing, given the current circumstances."Eugenie Bouchard, who was the runner-up at the All England Club in 2014, announced Friday on social media that she would not play at Wimbledon because there are no ranking points available. Bouchard is working her way back from surgery on her right shoulder. Osaka did not play at Wimbledon a year ago as part of a mental health break she took after pulling out of the French Open before her second-round match.She has not won a match at the All England Club since getting to the third round in 2018. Osaka lost in the first round of Wimbledon in 2019, and the tournament was canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.All four of Osaka's Grand Slam titles came on hard courts: at the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020 and at the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021.The 24-year-old Osaka has played only 17 matches this season and her ranking fell to No. 43 this week. In: Wimbledon naomi osaka Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

Tennis

Perrie Edwards has announced her engagement to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as she shared a series of snaps of the proposal and her huge diamond ringVideo LoadingVideo UnavailablePerrie Edwards shares cute video of son Axel with fiancé AlexFormer Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards has announced her engagement! The mum-of-one revealed her partner, Liverpool FC player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 28, had popped the question to her fans on Instagram on Saturday night. "Last night the love of my life got down on one knee and I said… YES!" Perrie, 28, captioned a sweet snaps of the romantic proposal taken by photographer Callum Mills. The photo montage showed the moment Alex got down on one knee, with the songstress holding her head in her hands stunned by the romantic gesture that took place at sunset. Perrie also shared a snap of her jaw-dropping diamond ring against a blurred backdrop of the scenic coastline. Former bandmate Jade Thirlwall was one of the first celebrities to react to the cute update, commenting an emotional emoji underneath Perrie's announcement. "Awwww congratulations," TOWIE star Lauren Pope wrote to the newly-engaged star, while Vicky Pattison gushed: "Omgggggggggg!!!!! Congratulations gorgeous girl." Dancer Danielle Peazer - who is rumoured to have reunited with ex Liam Payne - also commented on her friend's happy news, writing: "Yaaaaasssss." Perrie's engagement news comes after she announced she had welcomed her first child with Alex back in August. She shared the news on Instagram, posting a black and white close-up photo of the baby’s hand on its face, and another of the child’s foot resting on her partner’s hand, writing: “Welcome to the world baby 21/08/21.” Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Perrie Edwards are now an engaged couple ( Image: AFP/Getty Images) Two weeks later she announced the couple had named the new arrival Axel. Alex and Perrie began dating in November 2016, following the singer's high-profile split from former fiancé Zayn Malik. The couple went public with their relationship by going Instagram official with their relationship in 2017 and the star has made no secret of wanting to marry the footballer. During an appearance on the Capital Breakfast Show with Roman Kemp, she was asked: "If he did pop the question, is it a silly question to ask, would you say yes?" Perrie jokingly replied: "I have to think about it, I think… No, obviously!", before adding: "But do you know what, I appreciate him, we don’t want to rush into it. But it would be a definitely yes from me, I reckon!" The future Mrs Oxlade-Chamberlain's happy news comes as speculation begins surrounding when the Little Mix ladies will release solo material, following their farewell tour coming to an end last month. Perrie recently told The Sun : "We've all said we will let each other know when we’re going to release so we don’t end up clashing in the charts. We’re rooting for each other, not competing against each other." Alex's proposal comes as Perrie embarks on a new chapter in her career ( Image: perrieedwards/Instagram) The singer is now free to pursue solo projects, following Little Mix's hiatus beginning in May ( Image: GC Images) Leigh-Anne - who also became a first-time mum to twins last year - added: "We are so close and that’s the thing. We’re all going to be in communication about this the whole time." The 30-year-old said that their friendship is too important to jeopardise and they want to ensure that they are not getting in each others' way after they each start their solo career. Their last concert was live streamed from the O2 Arena on Saturday May 14 in London around the world. Pregnant Perrie and Leigh-Anne, alongside Jade, at the BRIT Awards in May 2021 ( Image: JMEnternational for BRIT Awards/Getty Images) The final year of Little Mix's time together involved two thirds of the band being pregnant - with Perrie and Leigh-Anne both announcing their pregnancies within weeks of each other. Days after Perrie announced she and Alex had become parents in August 2021, Leigh-Anne revealed she and her footballer fiance, Andre Gray, had had twins a week earlier. Reflecting on going into labour with baby Axel, Perrie recently confessed she very almost didn't ring her footballer boyfriend to come home - after mistaking her waters breaking for an embarrassing accident. Perrie and Axel on holiday earlier this year ( Image: Instagram) At the time of the singer's waters breaking, Alex was staying in a hotel with work and Perrie's mum was initially reluctant to call him away in case it was just a toilet accident. Despite baby Axel arriving ahead of schedule, the former X Factor winner has no complaints. "I'm not mad at three bonus weeks, as we keep saying," the singer confessed on an Instagram Live shortly after giving birth to little Axel. Perrie also gushed about motherhood, saying: "Most amazing experience of my life, literally can't explain how amazing it was. He [Axel] is just the best." Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at [email protected] or call us direct at 0207 29 33033 Read More Read More

Celebrity

Disney's Buzz Lightyear Park Mascot Turns Into a Real Boy!!! ... Er, Space Man, Rather 6/18/2022 12:30 PM PT Buzz Lightyear has a new look at Disney Parks -- instead of the classic toy costume we're used to seeing when their in-house mascots roam around ... he'll now look more lifelike. The change was announced this week by Disney's official Laughing Place social media page -- which handles all their park news. As you can see, Buzz isn't made of plastic anymore ... he's an actual human being dressed in a space suit -- and not just that, but he talks now! It looks like Disney timed this roll-out with the release of Pixar's "Lightyear" flick, which just hit theaters Friday. Indeed, it was that exact day that this real-life Buzz showed up at Tomorrowland within L.A.'s Disney HQ. Makes sense ... y'know, future-y worlds, etc. As for how new Buzz interacts ... he's still in character as an out-of-place astronaut who doesn't recognize our world, in search of intelligent life -- just like in 'Toy Story.' Buzz Lightyear has landed in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. 🚀✨ pic.twitter.com/Gj1owD4oia— Patrick Dougall (@PatrickADougall) June 17, 2022 @PatrickADougall The strange thing, of course, is that he's missing Buzz's classic purple space cap -- which usually makes him look like a professional swimmer -- and his signature wings. The colors are also kinda dull ... aka, no green/purple anywhere to be seen. So, interesting iteration. Lastly, you might notice that this Disney Parks Buzz doesn't really sound like the classic Tim Allen character -- or even Chris Evans for that matter. Namely, no deep all-American voice. To infinity and beyond?

Movies

Mickey and Minnie Mouse walk around the Main Street of Hong Kong Disneyland. ANDREW ROSS/AFP via ... [+] Getty Images AFP via Getty Images What’s the difference between a cult and a fandom? Online, it’s increasingly hard to tell, with hoards of simpering fans who loudly dedicate themselves to their chosen franchise, product or celebrity. Out of all of the most intense fandoms—Marvel, K-pop, Johnny Depp—‘Disney adults’ might be the most widely mocked. A Disney adult is, well, exactly what it sounds like—an adult Disney enthusiast who spends an alarming amount of time, money and attention on all things Disney, such as sobbing at the sight of the plastic spires of Cinderella's castle, buying an excessive amount of merchandise, or being overly intimate with costumed performers. A recent post on the subreddit, r/AITA (a place where anonymous Redditors can ask if they were in the wrong after an argument), saw a Reddit user claim to have spent the entirety of their wedding catering budget on a brief appearance from Mickey and Minnie Mouse, leaving hungry guests to fend for themselves, via the surrounding vending machines and massively overpriced restaurants of Disney Land. The inhabitants of Reddit unanimously found the original poster to be in the wrong, for obvious reasons, and the post was later deleted, but not before it was screenshotted and posted on Twitter, where it went viral after a religion studies professor retweeted it with a lengthy, sternly worded plea to “stop pathologizing Disney adults.” The professor went on to defend Disney obsession as akin to religious belief, and triggered an avalanche of mockery, as Twitter users doubled down on their right to poke fun at people who find meaning in the hallowed halls of the Haunted Mansion, and weep at the sight of a performer wearing a Goofy costume. The jokes sparked a backlash of defenders, who asserted the right of Disney adults to enjoy their hobby without being relentlessly mocked. And to be fair, Disney adults certainly aren’t harming anyone (except for those hungry wedding guests)—they’re just enthusiasts, and aren’t particularly far removed from hardcore sports fans, anime fans, or any other fandom, really. But something about the sight of middle-aged men and women embracing the sickly, saccharine Disney aesthetic, designed for young children, seems to trigger a certain amount of revulsion. But are Disney adults really any different from the grown men who are overcome with incandescent rage at the mere mention of The Last Jedi? Ironically, it’s all the same fandom, now that Disney has swallowed up Star Wars in its never-ending quest to monopolize the entertainment industry. Perhaps it’s the slack-jawed subservience to a megacorporation that really sparks the mockery, as Disney adults don’t seem interested in criticizing their beloved brand - they’ll happily sit through a tepid live-action remake and applaud obediently at the sight of those iconic ears (the Star Wars fandom, on the other hand, is infamous for hating their favorite franchise). Disney adults don’t have a reputation for aggressive gatekeeping, or infighting—it’s their boundless enthusiasm that seems to weird people out. Or rather, their willingness to engage in Disney’s cynical facade; it takes a special type of individual to embrace a stranger wearing a plush costume, and tell themselves that they just met Mickey Mouse. Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website.

Celebrity

This was popular. The most well-supported club in English rugby, so far from their customary place at the top of it for so long, have retaken the podium. They took it courtesy of a last-minute drop goal by one of the most popular players in English rugby, so long of career that it came as some surprise to learn this was his first Premiership final. And, boy, did it go down well.And they did it all against … well, we can safely say, fairly or not, Saracens are not the most popular club in English rugby.There was something inevitable about the way they hung around in this one, riding the 12 points they conceded during a spell in the sin-bin for their scrum-half, Aled Davies, in the first half, before waxing noticeably in the final quarter, when all the best champion teams make their pedigree tell.They might even have scored the try that could have won them the game with five minutes to go, had Wayne Barnes, the most popular referee in English rugby, not found himself caught between Billy Vunipola, on his umpteenth charge into the heart of the Tigers defence, and those self-same defenders. Saracens were swarming on the Leicester line, just as they gathered to attempt their customary thrust into the heart of a defence in the last minutes of a final. And they had to stop for a scrum. Moment gone.Them’s the breaks, as they say. They came away with just the penalty from that visit, which set up a finale to die for. Blink, and Saracens let the latest of a seemingly eternal bombardment of kicks go unsecured, and suddenly it was Leicester swarming at the death. Freddie Burns assumed position, strangely to the right of the posts and actually some way further back than he needed to be. No matter. His drop goal was good – the reaction of him, the bench, the crowd in general enough on its own to bring a tear to the eye.“I thought moments like this were just not made for me,” he said. “I’m in disbelief! When I started playing at five years old, I had two ambitions – to play for England and to win the Premiership. I’ve done both now.”As the euphoric scenes played out at the end, the richness of the story made itself clear. There was Tom Youngs, the most popular player in Leicestershire, amid the bedlam, so recently retired and bereaved; there was Kevin Sinfield, so noble in support of his old mate, Rob Burrow. There was Steve Borthwick, there was Richard Wigglesworth, Chris Ashton, grand old men of English rugby, former Saracens all. Everywhere we looked at the climax there were beautiful moments.Owen Farrell scored three penalties but ended up on the losing side with Saracens. Photograph: Garry Bowden/ShutterstockWhich is not to say the rugby was. After the most extraordinary and exhilarating final series of last season – and indeed of so many recent seasons – this was a return to the sort of nerve-shredding intensity of rugby as we might remember it. But that, in turn, is not to denigrate what was on offer. Those who do not like kicking might not have appreciated much of it – most of it, even – but if rugby’s more claustrophobic qualities are your thing you could not take your eyes off this one. And in between the deluge of balls from the sky there was rugby to admire, Saracens’ penchant for an off-loading pivot as dazzling as Leicester’s sense for an outside shoulder.The key event in the first half was that yellow card for Davies. Cards will continue to shape these epic narratives – more’s the pity – for as long as players are blamed for events that clearly have “no malice”, a phrase as embedded in rugby now as a banged head. As if the sport does not have enough random variables already feeding into that sacrosanct judgement that is the final score.At least more of the cards now are being mitigated down to yellow, whatever the semantics in the reasoning. Leicester’s Matt Scott saw yellow himself for the same reason in those breathless last minutes.When the geeks come to review this remarkable tale with a steady pulse, they will note the way Leicester took their chances when Davies was in the bin.The Breakdown: sign up and get our weekly rugby union email.A break by Freddie Steward down the outside-centre channel paved the way for Jasper Wiese’s try, before the magnificent Wigglesworth exploited the disharmony at half-back to charge down Owen Farrell on the way to Leicester’s second.Saracens had the second half to recover the six-point deficit that arose, but just could not shift the fate of the day in their favour. Up stepped Burns, himself playing because of one of the darker twists when George Ford, in his last game in a Leicester shirt (for now at least), twisted an ankle in the first half.That was a deeply unpopular moment, met with respect by fans and players of all persuasion. Thankfully, there were developments more popular to unfold.

Other Sports

Will Zalatoris had a hot putter. Now it’s suddenly stone cold. A par putt missed from eight feet at 7; a birdie effort passes by the hole from similar distance on 8. He’s -2. A poor start for Brian Harman, who bogeys 2 and 3 to slip to -1. And back on 1, Rory McIlroy finds his errant drive in a decent lie, only to hit a hot wedge over the back of the green. But he’s able to chip out of the cabbage to a couple of feet, from where he salvages his par. It’s all about hanging on in there today.Here comes Rory! A warm ovation from the gallery. Boston Celtics, you see. Then silence as he screams LEFT! and sends his opening drive towards the concession stands down that side of the hole. Danger here. Also some trouble for Scottie Scheffler at the par-three 2nd. He leaves his tee shot short and left, then skulls a chip through the green. He does well to limit the damage by getting up and down from the fringe, but that’s handed back the shot he picked up on 1. He’s back to -3.Cameron Tringale is also yet to make his mark in the majors. His best finish is a tie for 26th at last year’s Open; he hasn’t played at the US Open since 2015, when he tied for 54th at Chambers Bay. But the 34-year-old Californian is going along nicely this afternoon: turning in level-par 35, he’s just birdied 10, 12 and 13 to whisk himself up the standings to -1.Sam Burns already has three victories on the PGA Tour this season. The latest came at the Charles Schwab Challenge three weeks ago, so he’s bang in form. He doesn’t have much of a record in the majors yet, but this could be the 25-year-old from Louisiana’s breakthrough event. He rattles in a long birdie putt across 3, and joins the group at -3.Scottie Scheffler has a nice flat lie in the bunker, and can take a shy at the green from the best part of 200 yards. The Masters champ whips a glorious iron into the heart of the green, straight at the flag. He’ll have a look at birdie and an ideal start from 25 feet. In it goes, calm as you like. What a putt. What a second shot. What a phenomenon Scheffler is. He’s now one off the lead, already an ominous move.-5: Morikawa, Dahmen-4: Scheffler (1), Buckley, Rahm, McIlroy, Wise, HosslerThe world number one Scottie Scheffler takes to the 1st tee. He pulls his opening tee shot into a fairway bunker. Meanwhile Tom Kim follows up his eagle at 5 with a 20-foot birdie roll at 7, walking it in, in the Kevin Na style. At -2, Tom is on the right tracks. Sorry. Sorry. I’m sorry.Scottie Scheffler of the United States plays his shot from the first tee during the third round. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesNot the start Matt Fitzpatrick wanted. A three-footer for par pulled left at 1. He slips back to -1. He left the flagstick in there, as he usually does, but the wind was blowing it around like crazy. That surely can’t have helped. A fair chance he’ll be taking it out for the shorter putts from now. Meanwhile on 6, Will Zalatoris misses the green to the right and doesn’t get particularly close with his chip on, but he steers in the left-to-right 12-footer to remain at -3.-5: Morikawa, Dahmen-4: Buckley, Rahm, McIlroy, Wise, Hossler-3: Zalatoris (6), Hardy, Scheffler, NeSmith, Rodgers, Harman-2: Burns (2)-1: Kim (6), Lingmerth (4), Vick -a- (2), Hadwin (2), Fitzpatrick (2)Joohyung Kim of South Korea reacts to an eagle on the fifth green Photograph: Amanda Sabga/EPAMin Woo Lee already has one big title to his name: last year’s Scottish Open, which the young Australian won after a final round of 64 and a play-off with Thomas Detry and Matt Fitzpatrick. He’s also got the US Junior Amateur on his resumé, and when he won that in 2016 it meant he and sister Minjee, who lifted the US Girls’ Junior in 2012, became the first brother and sister to land both of the USGA’s junior championships. Minjee, of course, won the US Women’s Open just a couple of weeks ago in sensational style. Little bro won’t be completing another double this week, but he has finished up with birdies at 17 and 18 for a round of 69 to end Moving Day at +2. Maybe next year?Kim Joo-hyung, 19 years old from Seoul, is making his US Open debut this week. He’s not wasting any time, either. A 68 yesterday, and now he’s just holed out from 50 yards at the par-four 6th for eagle. Kim – who has already been in the winner’s circle this year, with his second Asian Tour title at the Singapore International in January – is known to friends and family as Tom. Why? “Actually, it was Thomas. I got it from Thomas the train when I was young. I had the whole thing, I had the lunchbox, I had the toys, yeah. As I grew older, some people started calling me Tom and I thought it was just shorter and more simple. My brother even calls me Tom. It was kind of natural. And my family calls me Tom as well, my friends call me Tom, so it kind of just came natural to me. It was that kind of name.” Tom is currently -1 overall.I’ve got this earworm now, so you have to have it as well.Will Zalatoris gets plenty of pelters for his erratic putting, but when he’s on, he’s on. A long birdie effort drained at 2, another chance shaving the cup at 3, and now he’s picked up another shot with another rake on 4! This guy loves the majors – five top-ten finishes in seven starts, including two runner-up places – and he promised he’d try his damnedest to go one better after losing the PGA play-off to Justin Thomas last month. He could be making good on that. He’s -3. Callum Tarren has announced his talent this week. The 31-year-old from Darlington led the US Open by a couple of shots at one point yesterday, and they’ll never take that away from him. But he suffered a dismal back nine yesterday, coming back in 38, and it may have rocked his confidence. A shaky three-putt bogey at 1 and he slips back to level par overall.It’s tough out there, and it’s only going to get tougher. But it’s always possible to post a score. Denny McCarthy is in with a two-under 68, though the 29-year-old from Maryland demonstrates how you have to keep on scrapping at 18, tapping a 20-foot birdie putt that runs and runs and runs five feet past. He’s not of a mind to spoil his good work on the the very last hole, though, steeling himself to roll in the par putt. He’s +1, currently outside the top 20, but on Sky, the ever-excellent Dame Laura Davies suggests he’ll certainly be inside it come the end of an attritional day.The only truly notable move so far has been made by the PGA runner-up Will Zalatoris. The 25-year-old from San Francisco has already made his mark on the US Open, making a hole-in-one during his first round at Winged Foot in 2020 then very nearly making another six holes later. A dimple away from history. He tied for sixth that year. He’s going along nicely this year too, having carded 69 and 70 while under the radar for the first two days. He only just gets onto the front of the par-three 2nd with his tee shot, but steers in a long right-to-left swinger for birdie, then nearly drains another at 3. He’s made the first move near the top of the leaderboard to -2.Having said all that, one of the first players to complete his round today has done so under par. Sebastián Muñoz finished birdie-birdie, and signed for a one-under 69. The 29-year-old Colombian’s best finish at a US Open was a tie for 59th at Winged Foot a couple of years ago; at +2 overall, he’s currently tied for 30th and on course to better that significantly.... so, any early movers, then? Well, the wind has been brisk at Brookline ... so no. Of the 40-odd players already out there, a grand total of three are currently under par for their rounds, and one of those has only played two holes. The USGA will be cock-a-hoop. Hey, it’s the US Open, it’s just how it’s got to be. The average score on the front nine on the first two days was 35.9; today it’s 36.9. The wind’s expected to pick up, as well, which in turn will further harden the greens. Expect it to be a grind ... but grinding, as Prince never tired of telling us, can be a very enjoyable experience indeed. Here we go, then.PreambleIt’s Moving Day! Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looked after 36 holes ...-5: Morikawa, Dahmen-4: Buckley, Rahm, McIlroy, Wise, Hossler-3: Hardy, Scheffler, NeSmith, Rodgers, Harman-2: Burns, Fitzpatrick, Hadwin-1: Daffue, Tarren, Vick (a), Lingmerth, Riley, Schauffele, Bradley, Zalatoris... here’s a selected list of players who missed the cut …Sergio Garcia, Im Sung-jae, Mito Pereira, Cory Conners, Webb Simpson, Shane Lowry, Jason Kokrak, Jim Furyk, Cameron Young, Stewart Cink, Kevin Na, Tony Finau, Kim Si-woo, Daniel Berger, Harold Varner III, Branden Grace, Cameron Smith, Louis Oosthuizen, Francesco Molinari, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Phil Mickelson... and here are today’s tee times (all times local, add five hours for BST). It’s on!09:49 (a) Stewart Hagestad, Joseph Bramlett10:00 Patrick Cantlay, Sebastian Munoz (Col)10:11 (a) Sam Bennett, Denny McCarthy10:22 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor), Samuel Stevens10:33 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)10:44 Chris Naegel, Chris Gotterup10:55 Guido Migliozzi (Ita), Grayson Murray11:06 Max Homa, Adam Scott (Aus)11:22 Wil Besseling (Ned), Jordan Spieth11:33 Richard Bland (Eng), Todd Sinnott (Aus)11:44 Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English11:55 (a) Austin Greaser, Gary Woodland12:06 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Cameron Tringale12:17 Marc Leishman (Aus), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)12:28 Patrick Reed, Sebastian Soederberg (Swe)12:39 Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose (Eng)12:55 Seamus Power (Irl), Justin Thomas13:06 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Adam Schenk13:17 Brandon Matthews, Andrew Putnam13:28 Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor), Brooks Koepka13:39 Thomas Pieters (Bel), Will Zalatoris13:50 Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffele14:01 Davis Riley, David Lingmerth (Swe)14:12 Callum Tarren (Eng), (a) Travis Vick14:28 M. J. Daffue (Rsa), Adam Hadwin (Can)14:39 Sam Burns, Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng)14:50 Brian Harman, Patrick Rodgers15:01 Matthew NeSmith, Scottie Scheffler15:12 Beau Hossler, Nick Hardy15:23 Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Aaron Wise15:34 Hayden Buckley, Jon Rahm (Spa)15:45 Joel Dahmen, Collin Morikawa

Golf

A long time ago, before streaming services and DVD players and even VCRs and cable television, when you wanted to watch a movie at home, you’d have to know exactly what time and channel that film would come on. You’d settle in for the long haul in front of a television that doubled as a piece of furniture and take kitchen and bathroom breaks as fast as possible during commercials.When I explain this archaic practice to my 21st-century middle-school students, they believe me, but they don’t quite understand.Yet it’s true. That’s how I’d watch The Sound of Music each Christmas with my grandmother and The Wizard of Oz around Easter and some creepy movies — The Amityville Horror, Audrey Rose — that would show up Saturday afternoons on the two independent TV stations in Dallas.In the early days of HBO, there were a few movies accessible over and over again. I don’t know how many times my sister and I watched 9 to 5 on cable in the early ‘80s, but I still know all the lyrics of the title song and almost every word of dialogue. Same for Midnight Madness, Cannery Row and Xanadu.My best friend Melissa was the first person I knew whose family owned a VCR, and she was therefore the first person I knew who could rent a movie. She could watch a movie any time she chose — dependent only upon when her doting dad would drive her to Blockbuster.Most weekends in 1987, until Melissa’s family moved south to San Antonio, we could watch Top Gun at her house. When I hear any song from the film — “Danger Zone,” “Take My Breath Away,” “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” — I’m 15 and googly eyed over Tom Cruise all over again.All these decades later, of course, our at-home movie options are practically unlimited, depending on your streaming services and how much you’re willing to spend. We can start, pause, rewind, fast-forward, add captions to the bottom of the screen. We could watch old and new movies all day every day, which makes the experience convenient and, well, mundane.Related:What I did (and didn’t do) on the road to my 50th birthdayI missed movie theaters during the worst of COVID-19, and I’m happy to embrace the communal experience again — overpriced popcorn and soda, reclining (and heated!) seats, too many previews, a giant screen and sound that you sometimes feel vibrating through your body.My inner teenager was thrilled that Top Gun: Maverick was released only when the public was ready to venture out again. The sequel was made for the big screen, and I couldn’t wait to take my two almost-grown children along with me. Though I was pulled in by nostalgia, I was more impressed by the strengthened plot and elevated writing compared with the 1986 original. (Admittedly, I didn’t care much about quality dialogue in the olden days. See Xanadu for proof.)That my peers and I are old enough to be pulled in by nostalgia isn’t alarming so much as it is sobering. We are, indeed, middle age. In fact, my own children are already targets with the release of Lightyear, the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, a hero of the Toy Story films that launched before my older child was even born.While Woody and Buzz seem young to me, they’ve been around since 1995. Millions of children have yelped, “To infinity and beyond!” They and their parents — and grandparents, I venture — are ready to pile on more lore atop memories of simpler days.It’s also a film tailor-made for a big screen, all the better for us to admire the animated genius of Pixar and the corner of space they’ve carved out for our favorite space ranger.In just a few months, the hits of summer 2022 will be available to watch forever and always in our homes and on our phones, mixed in with thousands of other titles. Progress is a good thing. But I’m happy that some moments are still big and special. It’s how memories are made.Tyra Damm is a Briefing columnist. She can be reached at [email protected]:When the world feels heavy, it’s up to all of us to make it a little lighter

Movies

Tennis - ATP 500 - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 18, 2022 Italy's Matteo Berrettini reacts during his semi final match against Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp Action Images via Reuters/Andrew CouldridgeRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, June 18 (Reuters) - Italy's Matteo Berrettini reached his fourth consecutive grasscourt final as he overpowered unseeded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp at the Queen's Club Championship on Saturday.Friday's sizzling heat had disappeared at the historic London venue, but defending champion Berrettini maintained his hot streak on the grass to win 6-4 6-3.The second seed will be a big favourite in Sunday's final against Serbia's Filip Krajinovic who took advantage of a poor display by twice former winner Marin Cilic.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comKrajinovic, who had never won a grasscourt match prior to this week, won 6-3 6-3 against the seventh-seeded Croatian.Berrettini was briefly held up in the second set by a short rain delay but he returned to break serve and cruised to victory, ending the contest with a neat drop volley.World number 10 Berrettini, who reached the Wimbledon final last year, has now won 19 of his last 20 matches on grass.His only loss in that spell was against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final a year ago.The 26-year-old was once again rock solid on his serve, dropping only four points on his first delivery.Berrettini broke serve in a marathon sixth game and moved 5-2 ahead only to drop his own when serving for the set. He responded in style though, breaking again to pocket the opener.Van de Zandschulp never looked like turning it around as Berrettini remained clinical in the second set.Krajinovic, 30,continued to surprise himself as he took apart Cilic whose usually strong serve malfunctioned."I don't like playing on grass, normally I skip the grasscourt events, then turn up and lose in the Wimbledon first round. But maybe I'm starting to like it," he said on court.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond and Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Tennis

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour has generated a lot of emotions over the past two weeks as several major golfers have joined the tour, earning themselves a suspension from all PGA Tour events. Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, and Bryson Dechambeau are just a few of the golfers who took LIV’s massive payday, setting off controversy in the world of golf. Dustin Johnson of the United States plays his shot from the third tee during the third round of the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club on June 18, 2022 in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)On Friday, NBA Hall of Famer and TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley sounded off of the drama, telling "The Pat McAfee Show" that he was rooting for chaos at the U.S. Open. "I want all the LIV guys on top of the leaderboard," Barkley said when asked about this weekend's U.S. Open . "I want to see the PGA Tour shaking in their d--n boots. Listen, I'm not a religious dude, but I want chaos this weekend at the U.S. Open."US OPEN 2022: COLLIN MORIKAWA, JOEL DAHMEN SIT ATOP PACKED LEADERBOARD HEADING INTO WEEKENDBarkley went on to say that he didn’t judge the golfers who chose to take the money, joking with McAfee about the massive amounts of money being thrown around. Charles Barkley is all smiles on the first tee at the NCR Pro-Am prior to the PGA TOUR Champions Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf and Country Club on May 11, 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA Tour via Getty Images)"I don’t judge other people," Barkley said. "Listen, if someone gave me $200 million, I’d kill a relative."CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM"I’m serious. They said Phil Mickelson got $200 million and Dustin Johnson got $150 million. For $150 million, I’d kill a relative, even one I liked!"Though the PGA Tour has suspended the golfers who chose to join LIV Golf, those golfers are able to play in the U.S. Open in Brookline, MA, due to the fact that the tournament is run by the USGA. BROOKS KOEPKA OVER LIV GOLF QUESTIONS AHEAD OF US OPEN: ‘I’M TIRED OF ALL THIS STUFF'Though LIV golfers are allowed to play in the 2022 U.S. Open, USGA CEO Mike Whan said that could change in the future. Bryson DeChambeau of the United States plays his shot from the sixth tee during the third round of the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club on June 18, 2022 in Brookline, Massachusetts. ( Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP"I could foresee a day," Whan said on Wednesday, per ESPN. "Do I know what that day looks like? No, I don't. To be honest with you, what we're talking about [LIV Golf] was different two years ago, and it was different two months ago than it is today. We've been doing this for 127 years, so I think [the USGA] needs to take a long-term view of this and see where these things go. So we're not going to be a knee-jerk reaction to kind of what we do."Four LIV golfers made the cut at the U.S. Open, including Johnson and Dechambeau. Joe Morgan is a Sports Reporter for Fox News.

Golf

PITTSBURGH — The Giants on Saturday dipped back into the waiver wire and added a former Rookie of the Month. Yermín Mercedes, 29, was claimed by San Francisco after he was designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox last week. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Giants waived catcher Michael Papierski, whom they acquired in exchange for Mauricio Dubon after he was designated for assignment earlier this year. Mercedes, who is mostly limited to designated hitter but can also play first base and catcher, started last season with hits in his first eight at-bats, setting an MLB record, and went on to post a batting line of .415/.455/.659 for the month. Mercedes was named the American League Rookie of the Month for April 2021. Ever since, however, he has batted .196/.264/272 in limited major-league opportunities. Mercedes clashed with Chicago manager Tony La Russa over baseball’s so-called unwritten rules, but he should have no such issues with the Giants organization, which has shown no qualms with running up the score. La Russa last season called Mercedes “clueless” for homering off a position player during a blowout. The Giants have a track record of success with players written off the by White Sox. Carlos Rodon has proven a valuable free-agent pick up. And Luis Gonzalez was another waiver-wire pickup after Chicago designated him for assignment last August. Rodon lowered his ERA this season to 2.88 with eight shutout innings Friday night and is second in the National League with 91 strikeouts. A year and a month since Mercedes was named the top AL rookie for the month of April, Gonzalez earned the same honor in the National League for his month of May. Mercedes will report to Triple-A Sacramento.

Baseball

Swimming - FINA World Championships - Budapest, Hungary - June 18, 2022 Women's 400m freestyle gold medallist, Katie Ledecky of the U.S. celebrates on the podium after the final REUTERS/Antonio BronicRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBUDAPEST, June 18 (Reuters) - Olympic silver medallist Katie Ledecky powered to victory in the women's 400 metres freestyle event on the opening day of the swimming world championships in Budapest on Saturday to capture a record-extending 16th gold medal in the competition.Ledecky, 25, was already the most successful female swimmer coming into the world championships and now has 19 medals in total. Only her male compatriots Michael Phelps (26 titles) and Ryan Lochte (18) have won more gold medals.Ledecky took full advantage of the absence of reigning world and Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus of Australia to reclaim her title with a time of three minutes and 58.15 seconds, finishing ahead of Canadian 15-year-old Summer McIntosh, who took silver.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAmerican Leah Smith was third, nearly four seconds behind her compatriot."It feels good. It's the fastest I've ever been at worlds so I'm really happy with that and really excited about the rest of the week I have ahead of me," Ledecky told Olympics.com."Summer is now in the sub four-minute club so it's only going to get harder. I know I have my work cut out for me."Titmus, who set the world record of 3:56.40 at her national championships last month to eclipse Ledecky's mark, denied fans another showdown with her rival after opting to skip the worlds to prepare for next month's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.Ledecky was on course to reclaim the record halfway through her race before her pace dropped slightly, but she staved off a strong challenge from McIntosh to claim a fourth world title in the event having settled for silver in 2019.The U.S. men's 4x100m freestyle team briefly threatened to break the world record but eventually finished 1.1 seconds shy of the mark to bag the gold, finishing in three minutes 9.34 seconds.The team of Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Held, Justin Ress and Brooks Curry pipped Australia to top spot while Italy came in a close third, losing out on the silver medal by 0.15 seconds.The Australian women's team, however, did not disappoint as the reigning Olympic champions won gold in the same event, beating Canada and the U.S. by more than a second.The team of Mollie O'Callaghan, Madison Wilson, Meg Harris and Shayna Jack finished with a time of 3:30.95.MAIDEN GOLDS FOR WINNINGTON, MARCHANDAustralia's Elijah Winnington finished strongly to win the men's 400m freestyle event, earning his first individual gold medal at the worlds.The 22-year-old finished in 3:41.22 seconds, going 1.63 seconds faster than Germany's Lukas Martens, who claimed silver at the Duna Arena."I tried to have fun in the pool and enjoy this whole experience," Winnington said after setting the third-fastest time at the world championships."In the last call room I've heard the noise, the MC's (master of ceremonies) voice and it was a total boost for me. I haven't had this feeling for a long time."Brazil's Guilherme Costa took the bronze while Austria's Felix Auboeck, who dominated the heats earlier in the day, could only manage fourth despite a solid start.Frenchman Leon Marchand won the 400m medley with a championship record time of four minutes 4.28 seconds to beat Americans Carson Foster and Chase Kalisz to the top of the podium and claim his first world title.Earlier, Japan's Yukiko Inui bagged the first gold at the 19th edition of the worlds, winning the women's solo technical event. Ukraine's Marta Fiedina earned the silver while Greece's Evangelia Platanioti took bronze.The world championships, originally scheduled to take place in Fukuoka, Japan before being shifted to the Hungarian capital due to COVID-19 concerns, will run until July 3.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar and Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Swimming

It seemed like Kenny Atkinson was going to depart the NBA champion Warriors for a head coaching job with the Charlotte Hornets. But now, it seems like Atkinson has decided to stick around with the champs. According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Atkinson will remain with the Warriors as their top assistant coach and not go to the Michael Jordan-owned Hornets to be their head coach. ESPN Sources: Kenny Atkinson has decided he won’t become the Charlotte Hornets’ head coach and will remain with Golden State as top assistant. After being offered job during the NBA Finals, further conversations led Atkinson to believe it would be best to remain with Warriors. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2022 Wojnarowski reported that “further conversations” were a factor in Atkinson’s decision to stay with Golden State — which, it’s reasonable to assume, meant the Warriors and owner Joe Lacob were ready to financially incentivize Atkinson to remain. Atkinson previously was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-2020, helping Brooklyn complete a major turnaround from a 20-62 record in his first season to a 42-40 record and a playoff appearance in his third year. Before his fourth season, Brooklyn signed former Warrior Kevin Durant as well as Kyrie Irving and Atkinson seemed to be pushed out, with a mid-March resignation framed as a “mutual parting of ways.” Atkinson spent 2020-21 as a Clippers assistant, then joined the Warriors for this past year. He was seen as a vital piece of their deep coaching bench, alongside former head coach — and soon-to-be Sacramento Kings head coach — Mike Brown. With Brown departing for the Kings, Atkinson would be the Warriors’ likely fill-in at the head coaching role should Steve Kerr need a replacement for a game. Kerr missed three games in the Western Conference semifinals after testing positive for COVID, but he’s missed portions of seasons in the past with a variety of physical health ailments, too. And while Kerr put on his best coaching performance of his career to help the Warriors with their fourth title in his eight years at the helm, it’s interesting to wonder if retaining Atkinson is a sign of how long Kerr wants to keep coaching.

Basketball

Evans hasn't hit the gym as hard since hanging up his Captain America shield. Chris Evans is really starting to let himself go since venturing into voice acting. Um, we’re kidding. Obviously. The former “Avengers” star shared on the red carpet for Disney/Pixar’s “Lightyear” that he has “shed like 15 pounds” since stepping away from the Captain America role with 2019’s “Avengers.” “Every time people see me they’re like, ‘Are you OK? You lost a little bit of weight,'” Evans told Yahoo. “I haven’t had to hit the gym as hard.” And adjusting to life post-Marvel has been a whole other feat. “You know, it’s different,” Evans explained. “For 10 years, you always have a movie around the corner. For 10 years, you finish one, your life is scheduled by, ‘OK, in six months we have press, six more months we start the next movie.'” The MCU alum continued, “To kind of have open waters…there are parts of it that are nice, and there are parts of it that I really, really miss because it was a role that meant a lot to me. And I love those people. And it’ll be the best 10 years of my professional life without any question, forever.” Evans also shut down rumors that he would be returning to the MCU, previously teasing that the role would “have to be perfect” for him to come back. “That seems to be something people would like to see,” Evans said in an interview with ComicBook.com. “I don’t want to disappoint anybody but it’s tough to…It was such a good run and I’m so happy with it. It’s so precious to me. It would have to be perfect. It just would be scary to rattle something that is, again, so, so dear to me. That role means so much to me. So, to revisit it, it would be a tall order.” In the meantime, Evans is staying in fighting shape as a rogue assassin in the Netflix action thriller “The Gray Man,” helmed by Marvel collaborators Joe and Anthony Russo. With rumblings of a franchise based on Gosling and Evans “electric chemistry” (like they’d have any other kind…), “The Gray Man” already broke records as the most expensive Netflix original film. The spy thriller pits Evans against Ryan Gosling in an international game of cat and mouse. Ana de Armas and Regé-Jean Page co-star as CIA operatives, along with “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” breakout Julia Butters and Billy Bob Thornton. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.

Movies

Winners of 12 of their last 15, the Red Sox can clinch a weekend series against the Cardinals on Saturday evening after scraping past St. Louis on Friday night.Kutter Crawford is on the mound again as Alex Cora continues to piece together a rotation with Nate Eovaldi and Garrett Whitlock on the shelf. The righthander threw five scoreless innings against the Mariners in his last appearance on June 12.Righthander Dakota Hudson will start for the Cardinals, making his first career appearance against the Sox. He allowed six runs in seven innings against the Reds in his last outing, but threw seven innings of one-run ball in each of his previous two appearances in a strong start to June.LineupsCARDINALS (37-29): TBAPitching: RHP Dakota Hudson (4-3, 3.29 ERA)RED SOX (35-30): Duran CF, Devers 3B, Martinez DH, Bogaerts SS, Story 2B, Cordero LF, Dalbec 1B, Bradley RF, Plawecki CPitching: RHP Kutter Crawford (1-1, 5.74 ERA)Time: 7:15 p.m.TV, radio: Fox, WEEI-FM 93.7Cardinals vs. Crawford: Has not faced any St. Louis battersRed Sox vs. Hudson: Trevor Story 1-6Stat of the day: Over the last 16 games, Red Sox starters have posted a 1.87 ERA in 91 ⅓ combined innings.Notes: The Red Sox can win their fifth consecutive series with a victory Saturday ... Saturday night will mark Crawford’s second start of the season and his first career appearance against any interleague opponent ... Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to a season-long 10 games on Friday night ... The Cardinals added catcher Ivan Herrera from Triple-A Memphis on Friday. He is expected to start once before the Cardinals leave Boston after soon-to-be 40-year-old Yadier Molina was placed on the 10-day IL with right knee inflammation.Amin Touri can be reached at [email protected].

Baseball

This is the modern world (so we need modern software tools for modern applications). Adrian Bridgwater Software is modern. By its very nature in the total universe of spacetime and all worldly matter, code-based software and the applications and data-centric services we get from it are modern. Blindingly obvious statements notwithstanding, the notion of software modernism it’s not quite as ridiculous as it sounds. The technology industry is extremely fond of talking about tools to build so-called modern applications, but what does this idea mean and how do the engineering tools in this space function? If there is no formalized definition of modern software as such, then (initially at least) we can take this term to mean cloud-native applications. Additionally, we can take it to mean Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) accelerated applications with all their autonomous self-awareness and control. We can also take it to mean applications with big data analytics, mobile-first applications and those that are perhaps pre-engineered to scale up and out to the new cosmic force that will come from quantum computing, as and when it arrives in a form outside of the prototyping lab. What modern software really means But all those modernisms are actually quite cerebral superficial elements of the IT stack in a sense. What we reality mean by modern applications are those that can rely on an ‘intelligent backend infrastructure’ to provide all the provisioning and management and updates and changes they need in order to serve the new always-on world of computing. Enterprise open source NoSQL database management specialist MongoDB has specifically called out the need to design software engineering tools to address the growing data needs of developers to build modern applications. Taking perhaps some of the above-offered definitions to heart in the way it has now expanded its own technology. The firm says calls its latest updates part of its developer data platform vision. The suggestion here is beyond the comparatively straightforward notion of software applications using data i.e. they have always done that, it’s in their basic nature. This is a point where we are thinking about a far wider set of use cases for data inside a massively expanded infinite variety of apps. It’s also about servicing more of the data lifecycle (data is created, lives, morphs, expands, deduplicates, degrades and eventually dies) and making it optimized for modern architectures with sophisticated levels of data encryption - all within a single integrated developer data platform. “Hundreds of millions of new applications will be developed over the coming years that deliver compelling customer experiences, enable new capabilities to transform businesses and increase operational efficiency via more sophisticated automation – and these applications all require a highly scalable, cloud-native, globally distributed data platform,” said Dev Ittycheria, president & CEO of MongoDB. “Our vision is to offer a developer data platform that provides a modern and elegant developer experience, enables broad support for a wide variety of use cases and delivers the performance and scale needed to address the most demanding requirements.” Beyond simple data services This is beyond ‘simply’ giving developers data infrastructure services to be able to build operational and transactional use cases i.e. those parts of the IT stack that we might consider to be bread and butter building blocks needed for an enterprise to actually physically trade and keep the lights on. Beyond this foundational level, MongoDB has extended to now also serve search and analytics use cases, all within a unified platform. Given the rise of dedicated enterprise search vendors such as Algolia, Elasticsearch and Yext alongside tech behemoth offerings like IBM Watson Discovery and AWS OpenSearch Service, it makes sense that MongoDB would table this related type of functionality at an infrastructure level. These enhancements allow teams to accomplish more while preserving a consistent developer experience and reducing the complexity of the data infrastructure required to support modern applications. The extensions and developments MongoDB has created are surfaced in its core product MongoDB Atlas. This is a fully-managed cloud database that handles all the complexity of deploying, managing and healing software application deployments on the cloud service provider of a customer’s choice (the big three obviously being AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform). “Every application today needs a search bar/function if we want it to gain widespread and positive user acceptance - and with the new release of MongoDB Atlas we have shown just how easy it is to ‘stand-up’ [i.e. create and add] search into an application,” said Mark Porter, MongoDB CTO. “If users don’t get that kind of functionality along with in-app analytics and the other core building blocks of modern sophisticated applications then they will not come back for more.” In terms of actual enhancements referenced here, MongoDB has announced a number of capabilities that make it easier for developers to build in-app analytics and power richer application experiences. As an example, column store indexing (available later this year) will enable users to create and maintain a purpose-built index that dramatically speeds up many common analytical queries without requiring any changes to the document structure or having to move data to another system. MongoDB has also announced new products and capabilities that enable development teams to better analyze, transform and move their data in Atlas while reducing reliance on batch processes and ETL (Extract, Transform & Load) jobs that can create delays, limit productivity, and increase costs. Atlas Serverless is now generally available and allows users to support a wide range of application requirements with little to no initial configuration and ongoing capacity management. Users benefit from the ability to scale to zero and deploy in all three major cloud providers, and tiered pricing automatically reduces the cost for large workloads without upfront commitments. Beyond a kitchen sink In addition to supporting a wide range of workloads, organizations need to have the flexibility to deploy the right application architectures to serve their needs. “A lot has been done to extend MongoDB and Atlas to an even higher level of engineering, but we shouldn’t think of this technology as some kind of ‘kitchen sink’ solution, it’s more nuanced and sophisticated than that,” said Andrew Davidson, MongoDB VP of cloud. “What I mean by that is, we do a lot to make sure that day #1 of any developer job starts better. Let me balance that by saying that we realize that every day #1 will be different for every developer because every software engineer will be aiming to build towards a different goal with their application and services - and, perhaps obviously, every developer will start from a different ground zero in terms of their own ability to draw upon application data infrastructure provisioning and preparedness,” added Davidson. He continued, “A platform built to serve this space needs to be able to ‘unfurl’ and reveal deeper functionalities throughout the development lifecycle when software engineers need those extended powers… and MongoDB Atlas does that. The data is hard part - the business logic by comparison is the easy aspect here - data schemas and types and workloads can change a lot as an application evolves - so developers need a platform built to serve the application (and therefore the business) needs at all times.” Among the long list of other product updates now brought forward by MongoDB is news that Atlas Data Lake will now feature fully managed storage capabilities that provide the economics of cloud object storage while optimizing for high-performing analytical queries. Atlas Data Lake reformats, creates partition indexes and partitions data as it is ingested from Atlas databases, creating a highly performant companion data lake. We can also note Atlas’s Data Federation capabilities, which allow teams to create virtual databases so that they can work with data that resides in a range of different sources. Development teams can query, transform, or create views across one or more collections, MongoDB clusters and storage buckets. CEO Ittycheria defines modern apps Keen to provide additional clarifying context upon all of this discussion, MongoDB president & CEO Dev Ittycheria asks us a simple question - what would an application be without data? “If we think about any application, the reason developers spend so much time working with data is to make sure it is timely, deduplicated, managed and presented [to the relevant part of an application’s execution] at the right point. Thinking about what it means to build a modern application, the ‘old way’ involved moving data in and out of database tables (maybe as many as 15 to 25) - but by using the document model, everything is stored in one area - so a modern application is characterized by the fact that we have moved the data infrastructure management burden (we call it the undifferentiated plumbing) out of the way so that developers don’t have to jump through hoops,” explained Ittycheria. Going further, he notes that a modern application has a wide range of functions compared to ‘old fashioned’ apps that may have existed before the web and the cloud that we know today. Those functions could include operational data functions and transactional components, plus in-app analytics capabilities, as already suggested in this analysis. “Think about Google Maps as a good example,” enthused Ittycheria. “We used to just use paper maps, then we got online maps on our smartphones, then we got real-time analytics functions to provide us with directions and tell us if we make a wrong turn… then we got live traffic updates too. This is a case of a modern application being able to bring more and more layers of data to bear embedded into the user interface level over time to automate more of the manual processes that humans used to have to think about. Now, Google can afford to employ thousands of software engineers to do that, but most companies can’t - so MongoDB provides a route to that kind of application richness by abstracting away the application plumbing required,” added Ittycheria. A toolset of its time? Advocates of MongoDB have suggested that the firm has shown impressive foresight i.e. it has created a layer of data infrastructure services to reduce developer friction when software programmers are building applications in the cloud-native world. That friction element is made up of all the chores related to infrastructure engineering that developers don’t want to have to focus on i.e. they actually just to build us great apps. The parallel here is simple to illustrate if we think about driving a car. If you had to change the oil, tighten the suspension, rotate the tires and replace your windscreen every time you wanted to get in your automobile, you probably wouldn’t be too happy. It’s the same for cloud-centric developers building modern applications (remember our initial definition?), they want to be able to create modern apps that have sophisticated data infrastructure engineering services running beneath them. The modern app might pop up on your smartphone and provide you with really intuitive touchscreen functions and AI-like features, but it’s only truly modern if its modernized beneath. As it is in people it is in software, it’s what’s inside that counts.

Software Applications

OAKLAND – This wasn’t the way Matt Davidson wanted to introduce himself to A’s fans at the Coliseum. Davidson, in his first home game since joining the A’s less than two weeks ago, made a couple of costly mistakes in the fifth inning of Friday’s 5-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals. After Bobby Witt Jr. singled to center to open the fifth inning, Davidson, starting at third base, couldn’t field a ground ball by Salvador Perez, putting runners on first and third base with no out. Witt later scored on a sacrifice fly as the Royals took a three-run lead. Perez later scored from second base as a Michael A. Taylor pop-up to third base landed in between Davidson and shortstop Elvis Andrus. Davidson also failed to cleanly handle a ground ball hit to the left side by Whit Merrifield. Overall, it was just a forgettable night for Davidson, who was signed by the A’s as a free agent on May 10 and selected from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 7. “The game sucked for sure,” Davidson said Saturday morning. “Especially being the new guy on the team and showing that. I’m pretty (upset) at myself, but that’s how baseball is. You play every day and sometimes you suck and sometimes you’re really good.” Davidson wasn’t in the lineup Saturday as Jonah Bride took over third base. Friday was Davidson’s eighth game with Oakland. The A’s are 3-17 since May 25, and have made 17 errors in that time. “It just sucks that we’re struggling a little bit and every little thing stands out,” Davidson said. Regarding the play on Taylor’s pop-up, Davidson said, “that was just me not being aggressive enough. It was over me and it started fading a little bit, and that was just a bad play by me. “It’s my job just to call that and take it. Doesn’t matter who you play with, you’ve got to take responsibility.” PISCOTTY UPDATE: A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty, who hasn’t played since May 6 as he recovers from a left calf strain, will run the bases again Sunday and if he comes out healthy, will start a rehab assignment in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Kotsay said the A’s plan for him is to be a designated hitter and play right field. Since Piscotty hasn’t played in over six weeks, how long his rehab assignment will last is unclear. The A’s start a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday before they begin a 10-game road trip that lasts until July 3. Oakland plays three in Kansas City, three in New York against the Yankees and three in Seattle. “As a veteran guy, you get a little bit more leeway in that process because he knows his body so well,” Kotsay said. “We trust the fact that he’s going to communicate with us how he’s feeling on a daily basis.” LOWRIE BACK: Jed Lowrie, who has recently dealt with a wrist and shoulder soreness, is back in Saturday’s lineup as the DH. He’s hitting sixth. Lowrie’s last full game was June 9 in Cleveland.

Baseball

E-40 I Called GSW In 6 After Gm 1 Loss ... And We're Only Getting Started! 6/18/2022 1:03 PM PT TMZSports.com It was June 4th. The Warriors just blew a double digit, 4th quarter lead to the Celtics at home. Many people thought the championship was there for Boston to take. But, not rap legend E-40 ... who straight up told us Golden State "in 6." And, that's exactly what happened. Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media. TMZ Sports talked to E-40 Saturday morning about everything from his prediction, to Steph Curry's legacy, to Boston fans talking s**t, and in what will be music to the Warriors fans ears ... how the team isn't done winning 'chips. "They definitely did [win in 6], and they did it in classy fashion. With all the trash talking and slander, with all odds against them. Like I said it takes a strong team, mentally and physically. Strong individuals, to overcome what they overcame with so much doubt." Of course, the Warriors won the series in 6 games. On Steph's legacy, 40 believes he's one of the greatest players ever. "Steph Curry my G.O.A.T., bro. I'm not saying that because I know him and he's such a good person." He continued ... "I've never seen anybody get down like he's gets down on the court, ever." FYI, Curry now has 4 NBA titles, 2 NBA MVP's, and 8 All-Star appearances. Golden State Warriors 40 even weighed in on the Boston area bar who infamously wrote "Ayesha Curry Can't Cook" on a sign outside their restaurant ... something the diehard Warriors fan says was out of line. "They're talking about folks wives. That's their livelihood. Even when they were talking about "Ayesha can't cook." They ain't never tasted her cooking, and it's somebody that's also a chef themself, or got a restaurant that said that, that's just straight hatin'," 40 says. "That's her livelihood. She got all kind of cooking shows, all kind of cooking endorsements and all kind of stuff, restaurants, she doing her thing. So you don't do that. That's some sucker s**t if you ask me." 6/4/22 TMZSports.com Now, the part Warriors fans will really like ... 40's prognosis for the squad going forward. GSW has won 4 titles in the last 6 years ... and they've made 6 Finals in the last 8 seasons. But, 40 says they're nowhere near done yet. "We gonna start with this dynasty. We got young players. I think we're gonna get a few more, I don't think it's gonna stop!"

Basketball

Jun 17, 2022; Brookline, Massachusetts, USA; Collin Morikawa looks on during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY SportsRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBROOKLINE, Mass., June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Open co-leaders Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen began their third round on Saturday at The Country Club outside Boston where whipping winds have so far made for tough scoring conditions.With the top three players in the world rankings -- Scottie Scheffler, defending champion Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy -- all within two strokes of the lead after the second round, a day of excitement appears in store at the year's third major.By the time the co-leaders set off in the final pairing at the par-four first hole, only nine of the 46 golfers on the course were under par on the day as the layout was playing the toughest it has all week.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMorikawa matched the lowest round of the week on Friday with a four-under-par 66 and now tries to put himself in position to win a major in three consecutive years following triumphs at the British Open (2021) and PGA Championship (2020).Dahmen, a 34-year-old qualifier playing in his third U.S. Open and ninth career major, is one of three players in the field to card multiple scores of 68 or better on the par-70 layout in Brookline.Among the five golfers who began the day one stroke off the lead are Spaniard Rahm and four-time major winner McIlroy, who arrived at Brookline as the tournament favourite and fresh off a successful title defence in Canada.Rahm went off in the penultimate group alongside Hayden Buckley and are playing behind the pairing of Northern Irishman McIlroy, who bogeyed the par-three second, and Aaron Wise.Masters champion Scheffler, looking to become the first player to win multiple majors in a year since Brooks Koepka did it in 2018, began the day two strokes off the lead and cut it in half with a birdie-bogey-birdie start.Will Zalatoris, who finished runner-up at last month's PGA Championship, covered the front nine in two-under 33 and was two shots behind the co-leaders.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Frank Pingue; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Golf

"I stand with him in knowing the heaviness that is present in both of our hearts as this relationship has been very real for us," wrote Young, who said she is "deeply hurting." Six months after they got engaged on the Season 18 finale of "The Bachelorette," Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya have called it quits. On Friday, the now-exes both shared statements to their Instagram Stories, in which they revealed the sad news of their split and also reflected on their romance. All The Bachelor and Bachelorette Couples Still Together in 2022 View Story In her post, Young, 28, began by pointing out that "having a relationship in the public eye has not been easy," before announcing that she and Olukoya have ended their engagement. "I'm struggling to say that Nayte and I will be going our separate ways, but I stand with him in knowing the heaviness that is present in both of our hearts as this relationship has been very real for us," she wrote. The reality star continued by directing a message at Olukoya, writing, "To you, Nayte, you quickly became my best friend and the love I have for you is incredibly strong. I will never stop wanting to see you succeed." Concluding her post, Young explained, "I will always acknowledge and appreciate the adventures, support, and growth both Nayte and this experience have brought me. At the same time, I'm deeply hurting and will need time and space to work through this heartbreak." Meanwhile, Olukoya shared similar sentiments in his statement. Instagram "When we both started this journey, we were looking for our Soulmates. Our forever. Our best friends," began Olukoya, 27. "However, as we grow and learn, we also realize that sometimes somebody that you hold dear to your heart isn't somebody that you're meant to spend the rest of your life with." "Michelle and I are going to move forward separately," he continued. "Hearts are heavy, emotions are high, and we are dealing with this the best way we can." Olukoya added that he and Young are "naturally private people," and plan to "continue being so" as it pertains to their split. He went on to stress that their romance "was real," saying, "We genuinely fell in love, and we genuinely became each other's best friends." "Michelle and I will always cheer each other on, but moving forward, we will be cheering from a distance," he shared, before thanking viewers who "supported" their relationship. Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media. Olukoya ended his statement by asking followers to "allow" him and Young their privacy. "Our relationship may have developed in the public eye, and we know this news will bring a lot of mixed reactions, but please remember that this is real," he concluded. "The emotions are real. The heartbreak is real. And that we are real. We're human beings going through a breakup, and we all know breakups are difficult. So we're asking that you allow us our privacy so that we can mend our hearts in the privacy of our own lives." See both Young and Olukoya's posts in full, above. Late last month, Young denied rumors that she and Olukoya had broken up. The rumors came after she was seen not wearing her engagement ring. "There is a video circulating of me on a rooftop this weekend and I'm not wearing my engagement ring," she shared on her Instagram Stories at the time, per PEOPLE. "And what I will have to say is to the person who is paying close enough attention to catch that moment, you also had to be paying close enough attention to see one of my friends briefly remove my engagement ring to try it on and then place it back on my finger," she said on Instagram at the time. "Just a friendly reminder that Nayte and I, we are human beings -- not a zoo exhibit." Young and Olukoya became engaged in September 2021, with the proposal going down during the Season 18 finale of "The Bachelorette," which aired in December 2021. Getty

Celebrity

Sometimes a club final arouses emotions that even the grandest of Test matches cannot surpass. This was one of them, a spectacular finish made even more special by the sight of Tom Youngs, whose wife, Tiffany, died this month, hoisting the Premiership trophy to the heavens alongside Ellis Genge. Out of darkness into the light, for all connected with Leicester and the Youngs family.The outpouring of joy – and relief – at the final whistle was also indicative of the long and winding trek the once-mighty Tigers have had to undertake to regain their old status. Not since 2013 have England’s erstwhile superclub been crowned domestic champions and the coup de grace could scarcely have been more dramatic, a last-gasp drop-goal from the replacement stand-off, Freddie Burns, breaking the deadlock.The game had seemed almost certainly destined for extra time, with the Tigers down to 14 men, only for Ben Youngs to sweep the match-deciding pass back to his fly-half almost in front of the posts. The flight of the ball from Burns’s kick was lowish and flat but over it went and Saracens were sunk, their own visions of swapping the Championship for the Premiership penthouse abruptly ended.If it was a triumph for Burns, who has overcome plenty of trials and tribulations in his career, it was doubly so for Steve Borthwick, who has done a magnificent job of breathing fresh life into a proud old institution. First-half tries from the South African duo of Hanro Liebenberg and Jasper Wiese were not the only reasons Leicester emerged victorious but they perfectly reflected the muscular energy that hammered Saracens into reluctant submission.It was also front and centre of the defensive excellence that kept Saracens, normally so proficient at keeping the scoreboard ticking over, tryless. Worse still, they were confounded by two extremely familiar faces. Borthwick and Richard Wigglesworth, at 39 the oldest player to appear in a Premiership final, were once key cogs in the Saracens machine and used their inside knowledge to excellent tactical effect.Saracens found themselves staring into the mirror at an uncanny likeness of their hard-nosed selves. There was a lot of kicking involved but anyone remotely familiar with both these sides could have predicted that. More significant was the manner in which Leicester took their best chances and absolutely refused to back down. Saracens’ safety-first decision to take a simple equalising penalty with four minutes left rather than going flat out for a winning try was, in retrospect, a pivotal moment.Freddie Burns (second left) shows his delight after seeing his winning drop goal sail over. Photograph: Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesFrom the start it was all about who could deliver when it mattered most. On a grey, humid afternoon the sense of anticipation was suitably strong. It felt heavy and thunderous and that was just the weather. Leicester were last in a final nine years ago and that weight of expectation was tangible. The rock-solid Freddie Steward dropped his first high ball, which is practically unheard of.Losing George Ford relatively early to an ankle injury also felt ominous, the fly-half going down right in front of the East Stand having eluded Aled Davies’s tackle. It was a sad way for his Tigers career to draw to a close but, with the game already showing signs of being a tightrope-walking thriller, there was no time to dwell on such things. Soon enough there was another twist, Davies being shown a yellow card for a high shot on the onrushing Julián Montoya.Leicester were duly energised and immediately exploited their numerical advantage, Steward making good ground before Liebenberg powered over from short range.Burns slotted the angled conversion but a ruck penalty allowed the 14-man Saracens to soak up some time and earn three points via the booming left boot of Elliot Daly. The reprieve proved temporary, a smartly executed tap-and-go move from five metres out ending with Wiese blasting around the corner to register another valuable try.The subtle shift of angle and momentum had Borthwick’s fingerprints all over it and either side of half-time Leicester were also proving a handful at the breakdown where Montoya once again was a consistent menace. The turnovers were ruining Saracens’ play and another of them resulted in a huge territorial gain and a prolonged Leicester attacking siege.Three times, though, the peep of Wayne Barnes’s whistle signalled defensive penalties that kept the margin at six points until another Owen Farrell penalty at the other end made it 12-9 with 15 minutes left. When Leicester again offended under the posts with four minutes left, with Matt Scott given a yellow card for making head contact on a charging Billy Vunipola, it seemed it might yet be Saracens’ day.The Breakdown: sign up and get our weekly rugby union email.There was some debate about whether or not Farrell would slot the penalty but, having done so, there were still four minutes left for someone to become a hero. For a while, as Leicester hammered away, it looked as though a drop-goal might not necessarily be top of their wishlist. In the end, though, Burns stepped up and will not have to buy a beer in the east Midlands for the rest of his career. The celebratory team photos, with Tom Youngs in the middle of them, will also never lose their emotional resonance.

Other Sports

Kelly Holmes says that when she won the 800 metres and 1,500 metres during the Athens Olympics, she was terrified that someone would say she had relationships with women while in the ArmyVideo LoadingVideo UnavailableDame Kelly Holmes explains the ‘fear’ she felt during sporting career Eighty thousands flag-waving fans lined the streets to cheer Kelly Holmes as she returned home after glory at the Athens Olympics. It was September 1, 2004, and with two gold medals around her neck it should have capped the greatest achievement of her life. Kelly, then 34, waved to supporters and flashed her trademark smile. But inside, she was in pieces. For despite the acclaim that came with winning the 800 metres and 1,500 metres, Kelly was filled with dread that someone would “out” her. The former Army sergeant feared she could be jailed under draconian Forces rules banning homosexuals in the ranks. Today, finally revealing her true self and speaking to the Sunday Mirror on her terms, Dame Kelly recalls that day in Tonbridge, Kent – close to the village of Hildenborough, where she grew up. Kelly, pictured with her mum, holds her medals ( Image: Reuters) She says: “People were hanging out of windows like I was this pop star. “Thousands of people had come to see me and there were even tanks from the Army. Winning gold was everything I dreamed of since I was a child. “I come back from the Olympics and stand on a bus with two gold medals for my country – and all I’m thinking is, ‘What if somebody says something... that I had relationships with women when I was in the Army’? I was living in fear.” A second parade, with fellow winners from Team GB, followed in London the next month. Some 200,000 hailed the heroes but, once more, Kelly’s joy was muted. Even after the Forces’ shameful ban on homosexuals was abolished in 2000, Kelly was afraid she could be punished retrospectively. She has come out has gay ( Image: Jonathan Buckmaster) She has a jigsaw tattoo in tribute to her mum Pam ( Image: Jonathan Buckmaster) The Olympic golds were among countless victories blighted by the weight of her secret, which she carried for 34 years – until today. Kelly, 52, won Sports Personality of the Year in 2004, received a damehood the following year and set up her own youth charity, the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. But she never felt able to reveal her own truth. Kelly tells us: “I feel like I’ve always put barriers up with people. I would hide behind them, trying to make them laugh. “I didn’t ask them about their relationship – so they wouldn’t ask me. At an event I would be polite, friendly, but it would all be very top line, and then I’d go. I’d never spend enough time with anybody because I couldn’t – because how could I tell them the truth? And that’s affected my career, because I’ve always felt like I could do more.” Dame Kelly Holmes at the Athens Olympics ( Image: Daily Mirror) Losing her beloved mother Pam Norman in 2017 to myeloma, a type of blood cancer, marked a turning point. Kelly explains: “On the day she died I couldn’t cope and I remember self-harming. It was the last time I did that, because I thought, ‘This is not going to bring her back’. I knew I needed to use this as my strength to realise that she’s not living, but I was still here to live by not hurting myself and by being myself. But I didn’t know how to.” The trigger for change came in October 2020, when Kelly was struck down by Covid. She says: “I’ve lived my private life openly – everyone close to me knows I am gay. “When I was lying on the sofa feeling awful I realised that if something happened to me, they’re the ones who would be saying, ‘It’s such a shame Kelly couldn’t stand there and be herself’. I don’t want that to be said at my funeral.” Kelly won the English Schools 1,500m final at the age of 17 ( Image: Mirrorpix) She is breaking her 34-year silence ( Image: Jonathan Buckmaster) The issue became “all-consuming” for Kelly in the following months. And in December 2020 she hit breaking point. She goes on: “I was on the brink. I thought I was going to do something bad. I had to hold myself in my bed because all I could envision was going downstairs and getting a knife. “I realised, ‘I can’t do this, because I haven’t self-harmed since my mum died’. So I got up and emailed this counsellor for the first time ever – because I had to do something. “I chatted with her and it didn’t work for me because she questioned if I’m ashamed of being gay, which I hated. I’m not ashamed, I know who I am. It was just killing me not being able to say anything, not knowing how to say it.” Instead, she sought out a psychologist. In April 2021 she was diagnosed with professional burnout and took 10 months off her charity, public speaking and TV work. She says: “I couldn’t function, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t feel, I couldn’t be. “My psychologist explained the build-up of traumas and holding this big need to shout, ‘This is who I am!’ had stopped me functioning.” Kelly continued to see the psychologist, as well as a hormone specialist. Crowds line the streets of Tonbridge in Kent as Kelly shows off her medals ( Image: PA) She adds: “It helped. Your friends say, ‘It’s all right because society doesn’t care any more’, but you can’t switch off fear like that. “Lots of people come out, but they haven’t lived through the eighties with the stigmatisation, they weren’t in the Army, where it was illegal for them to be gay. This journey helped me feel it was okay.” Kelly now hopes to speak out on LGBTQ+ issues and support causes she cares about, possibly by making more TV documentaries. “Privately I have lived my life openly, but professionally I haven’t – and professionally is really important to me,” she says. “I’ve never been to Pride, I’ve never been to an LGBT event. “I’m a motivational speaker but as soon as they ask me to speak about diversity and inclusion I’ve always been like, no. That’s too close to speak about. I avoided everything.” Today, Kelly sees an exciting future and says her mum would be really proud and happy for her. In tribute to Pam, she has a tattoo over her heart of an empty jigsaw segment describing her mum as her “missing piece”. Kelly winning the women's 800 metre final at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games ( Image: Reuters) Last year she had the word “life” inked on her wrist. “It’s a reminder that I chose to live,” she explains. “The semi-colon instead of the ‘I’ is the symbol of mental health. In the bad times it’s good to think about what I went through to be here. “I wish this point I’ve got to psychologically and emotionally could have come 10 years ago. “I wish I was 30 and coming into this world because it is fun for people now – there’s hope and opportunity. “I’m not that age but I’m still living. And now it’s time for me to shine.” Read More Read More

Other Sports

PITTSBURGH — Alex Cobb on Sunday will make his first start for the Giants since May 29, just before he suffered a string of unfortunate injuries that sidelined him for three turns through the rotation. “It feels like it’s been a month,” Cobb said. Cobb was nearing a return from a lower back strain when he tweaked his neck during a side session, landing him on the 15-day injured list. He became the first Giants pitcher forced to miss at least 15 days since the MLB rule change took effect in May that extended the IL stint for pitchers from 10 to 15 days. The rule was intended to limit roster manipulation, something the Giants could be accused of with their I-80 shuttle between San Francisco and Triple-A Sacramento last season, but don’t consider Cobb a fan. “I honestly think it’s a stupid transition to go to that after what we’ve been through as a league for the last three years, dating back to 2020,” Cobb said. “We play 162 games in 180 days. If you’re gonna manipulate the roster for 10 days, who cares?” The league played a shortened season in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just as players were recouping from the side effects of the 60-game season, they had to work around a spring training this season shortened by the lockout fueled by the labor dispute between owners and players. Cobb argued the league and players association, who agreed on the 15-day pitchers’ IL, weren’t prioritizing players’ health. “The thing is when one guy goes on, other people have to make up for that. So you’re extending the bullpen, putting them in a vulnerable place,” Cobb said. “If it was just 10 days to just catch a breather and get back out there, when you come back you’re able to not be on as short of a pitch count.” Returning from a three-week absence, Cobb will be on a pitch count and an innings limit Sunday against the Pirates, though neither he nor manager Gabe Kapler were willing to get more specific. Although Cobb was able to continue throwing on the side, “that’s a good bit of time,” he said. Cobb first suffered the lower back injury during a workout between starts in Philadelphia and was scratched from his next start in Miami. When he resumed throwing, he felt stiffness in his neck, which extended his absence enough to make an IL stint the sensible move. Cobb threw three innings Tuesday in a simulated game at Oracle Park and said he feels good entering his start Sunday. “The whole situation was kind of challenging. We felt like we were close to avoiding the IL stint and then it just didn’t work out,” Cobb said. “You’re kind of ready to come back before you even go on, so that makes it a little bit longer. Whenever you’re hurt or on the IL you feel like a burden, taking up space and not contributing at all to the team. … It’s just exciting to get back out there and compete again.” With Cobb making his return Sunday and Anthony DeSclafani anticipated to be activated from the 60-day injured list when is eligible (Tuesday in Atlanta), the Giants are nearing a full-strength Opening Day rotation for the first time since the third week of April. Yet, after Carlos Rodón’s eight shutout innings Friday night, the Giants rotation was tied with Boston for the lowest ERA in the majors during the month of June (2.00). “The potential’s there for us to rattle off a quality outing every single night and give your team a chance to win. That’s what we’re doing right now,” said Cobb, who has a 5.73 ERA in eight starts but an expected number of 2.06, the widest gap in the majors. “It’s gonna be nice to jump in and be a part of that and hopefully keep that streak going.” Jakob Junis (Grade 2 hamstring strain), who filled in when DeSclafani went down and had a 2.63 ERA in 48 innings (seven starts), is still 4-6 weeks away from rejoining the team. But once he’s ready, Cobb suggested they could go to a six-man rotation. “Woody and Webby and Carlos have been grinding every start and packing on some innings,” Cobb said. “So maybe give them a breather down the road.” Crawford drops down Shortstop Brandon Crawford was penciled in to the eight hole Saturday for the second consecutive game, a position in the batting order he hadn’t assumed since the first month of the season last year. Crawford has struggled to regain the form that made him a critical piece of the Giants’ 107-win team last season, with a batting line of .219/.308/.348 in 201 at-bats to begin this season. However, his lower position in the Giants’ lineup recently was “certainly not an indictment of Craw,” Kapler said. “We know Craw has plenty of talent and athleticism and hitting prowess to sit right in the middle of our lineup. He’s gone through a few struggles here and there. Those are things I know he’s working hard at,” Kapler said. “When Craw is doing Craw things, he’s right in the middle of our lineup, and I would expect the same once we get him back to where he wants to be and where we know he can be.”

Baseball

Strictly Come Dancing star Alijaz Skorjanec has revealed his dream career after quitting the BBC show after nearly a decade - and he's got his sights aimed for HollywoodVideo LoadingVideo UnavailableThis Morning: Alison Hammond 'devastated' over Alijaz's exit Former Strictly Come Dancing star Alijaz Skorjanec has dreams of making it in Hollywood. The professional dancer shocked fans when he announced he was quitting the BBC Latin and ballroom show after nearly a decade on the show, and he has now opened up about his future plans going forward - and he has some big dreams. As he announced the news, Aljaž admitted he was very emotional to walk away from the show, as he paid tribute to his wife Janette Manrara, who left the show in 2021 and went on to present the spin-off show, It Takes Two, alongside Rylan Clark. Alijaz had been on Strictly for nine years ( Image: BBC) He now has plans to make it in Hollywood ( Image: PA) "Dancing in acting without any script. You are telling a story through movement. So I would love to do some acting. Hopefully I’ll get to do films. That industry is something that has always intrigued me a lot, so I would love to do that," he told the Daily Star. "I am looking forward to the future. I want to do something different and new." He added: "Strictly has given me an amazing platform and I want to use it well." Alijaz has had a number of celeb partners over the years ( Image: BBC/Guy Levy) "On a beautiful sunny day in May 2013 one phone call changed my life forever! It went like this ... we would like to offer you a position on @bbcstrictly as a professional dancer. A dream became a reality and it was the biggest opportunity for a 23 year old boy from Slovenia. It didn’t matter how many beautiful ballrooms I performed in during my competitive career, stepping onto the sacred Strictly floor was the most nervous I had ever been," he said in a statement. "A little while ago I made the tough decision that Strictly 2021 would be my last. The show has given me an opportunity and freedom to create and express myself in front of millions of people every weekend for the last 9 years. His last celeb partner was Sara Davies ( Image: BBC) "The love and support I got from the team of producers was second to none. Louise Rainbow, Sarah James, Kim Winston, Jack Gledhill are just a few of the unsung heroes behind the success of the show - I am forever grateful to them!" He finished with a tribute to the fans, adding: "And finally, thank YOU, the people that watch Strictly who have been so kind to me all these years. Every comment, vote, kind message never went unnoticed. You are the reason we all do it, thank you!" Read More Read More

Celebrity

Olympic legend Dame Kelly Holmes has spoken of the emotional toll she endured for decades of having to cover up her sexuality and feared being persecuted as a young soldierDame Kelly is an inspiration to young people Olympic legend Dame Kelly Holmes inspired a generation of young athletes with her exploits on the track. Now she is set to inspire a new generation by revealing she is gay. In a candid and moving interview in today’s Sunday Mirror, Dame Kelly speaks of the emotional toll she endured from decades of having to cover up her sexuality. She tells of how she feared being prosecuted as a young soldier, due to homosexuality in the Armed Forces being banned at the time. And how she could not fully enjoy her gold medal winning victories at the Athens Olympics because she feared being outed. Having to suppress her sexuality affected her mental wellbeing, leading her to self-harm. The experience of Dame Kelly – the loneliness and torment that comes with not being able to be your true self – will be familiar to many young gay and trans people today. That is why she deserves so much respect for sharing her story. Kelly Holmes won gold in the 1,500 meters final at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 ( Image: Daily Mirror) Aspiring young gay sportsmen and sportswomen now know that they are not alone, and that they do not have to pretend to be something they are not. Thankfully, attitudes towards homosexuality are changing. As Dame Kelly observes in her interview, you’re now more likely to be drummed out of the Army for homophobia than for being gay. But the battle for equality and tolerance is far from won – as the recent rise in hate crimes towards LBGTQ+ people proves. There are few prominent gay people in the higher echelons of our major sports. By coming out, Dame Kelly is not just helping to break down barriers – she is also sending a vital message of hope to young athletes of the future. Poorly planned Britain urgently needs more doctors. In some parts of the country getting a GP appointment is as rare as hen’s teeth. The shortage of GPs is also one of the reasons why the hospital waiting list in England has swelled to 6.5 million – the highest since records began. So it makes absolutely no sense for the Home Office to be threatening to remove up to 1,000 foreign GPs just as they have finished their training. If we are going to tackle the crisis in the NHS we should be doing everything we can to welcome overseas doctors. Instead the Government has created a hostile environment for them. Sheer chaos An Ed Sheeran lookalike had to be escorted to safety after being mobbed by fans. At least he ended up in the exclusive £1,000-a-pop A Team seats... Read More Read More

Celebrity

Kim K & Kanye Attend North's Basketball Game ... No Pete In Sight 6/18/2022 1:44 PM PT Kim Kardashian and Kanye West seem to be on much better terms than some might think -- especially amid Pete Davidson's continued integration -- because the exes got together again in person. Check out these photos, obtained by TMZ, which we're told were shot Friday at a multi-purpose gym facility near Thousand Oaks, CA ... where their eldest daughter, North, was playing in a league basketball game for kids around 7 PM. There's mom and dad in the stands ... looking on as North does her thing with her team. They weren't even that far apart -- just a row back from one another, in very close proximity. Eyewitnesses tell us they did speak from time to time throughout the evening, and appeared to be cordial. Neither parent made a big scene by cheering or much of anything else ... we're told they looked like they were just trying to lay low and just watch North together. This is definitely a good sign of successful co-parenting, which Kim and Kanye had already shown they can do without issue. Remember, they did this exact sort of thing back in March when they hit up Saint's soccer game in the same crew. There, too, they looked OK. That was during a time when Kanye was raging online as Pete and Kim's relationship was getting more serious ... but since then, he's calmed down a lot and been mostly silent. 6/4/22 TMZ.com Of course, much has changed in the months that have followed ... including the undeniable fact that PD has not only met Kim and Kanye's kids, but has gotten pretty close with them as well -- evidenced in a recent one-on-one outing he had with their son at The Grove. When people saw this ... they figured Ye might flip his lid again, but based on this latest outing between the two parents, something tells us everyone's on the same page now.

Celebrity

From Memphis to HollywoodElvis was directed by Baz Luhrmann … Photograph: Bettmann ArchiveBaz Luhrmann’s take on Elvis was never going to be understated: “It’s not a movie so much as a 159-minute trailer for a film called Elvis,” concluded Peter Bradshaw. Fast-rising Austin Butler plays Presley, with Tom Hanks as a dastardly Colonel Tom Parker. It’s two decades since Luhrmann made a decent film: the new one is in UK cinemas on 24 June.The sunscreen sessions… who had a No 1 single in 1999, as did Mr Oizo … Photograph: AlamyElvis had 21 UK No 1 singles. Baz Luhrmann also achieved the feat with his Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen), an unexpected No 1 in 1999. It was the era’s equivalent of a Live, Laugh, Love poster. That was a good year for one-hit wonders, with Mambo No 5, Blue (Da Ba De) and Mr Oizo’s Flat Beat, which bounced from Levi’s ad to the top of the charts.A French touch… alter ego of Quentin Dupieux, who directed Deerskin, starring Albert Delpy, who appeared with his daughter Julie in On the Verge … Photograph: Getty ImagesQuentin Dupieux, the Frenchman behind Mr Oizo, also directs surrealist films. 2019’s Deerskin, a black comedy about a vintage jacket, was the first to get a UK cinema release. Among its cast is Albert Delpy, a prolific stage and screen actor, as well as father of Julie Delpy – he played her dad on screen in two of her films and in her 2021 Netflix/Canal+ series On the Verge.If the Shue fits… also starring Elisabeth Shue, whose brother Andrew was in Melrose Place … Photograph: Getty ImagesThe show followed the LA lives of four friends in their late 40s, played by Delpy, Sarah Jones, Alexia Landeau and Elisabeth Shue. For a brief period in the 90s, her brother Andrew Shue almost became the more recognisable Shue, with his role as Billy in Melrose Place. He also had a minor career as a footballer, even occasionally playing for LA Galaxy while on TV.The marriage plot… as was Priscilla Presley, who married Elvis in 1967. Photograph: Getty ImagesJoining for a character arc as Nurse Benson in mid-period Melrose Place was Priscilla Presley. Long before her turn to acting in Dallas and the Naked Guns, she married Elvis in 1967. She’s played in Luhrmann’s film by Australian actor Olivia DeJonge, previously seen in Netflix’s “sci-fi Dawson’s Creek”, The Society. And with that, this mystery train reaches the end of the line.Pairing notesRead Greil Marcus’s revered 1975 book Mystery Train examines American culture through rock’n’roll – in 1991 he followed on with Dead Elvis: A Chronicle of a Cultural Obsession.Drink In 2015, Luhrmann and costume designer wife Catherine Martin collaborated on the interiors for Faena Hotel Miami Beach. Their signature cocktail includes vodka, champagne, aperol, rose and hibiscus.

Movies

With the arrival of a shiny blue lowrider and cheers from the crowd, “The Cheech” opened its doors in downtown Riverside. After five years of planning and fundraising, comedian and actor Cheech Marin’s Chicano art museum welcomed its first guests Saturday morning, June 18, with a street celebration to herald a venue that’s expected to put the city on the national arts map. About 10 a.m., Marin — wearing an orange cap with the museum’s logo — hopped out of a 1962 Chevy Impala lowrider and unlocked the doors of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture with Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson. Visitors enter the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside on opening day, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) A celebration marked the opening of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside on Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Comedian and actor Cheech Marin drives up in a lowrider Saturday, June 18, 2022, to open the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Cheech Marin, at left wearing orange cap, arrives in a lowrider Saturday, June 18, 2022, for the opening of the the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside. (Photo by Fielding Buck, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) The first group of visitors enter the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside on opening day, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) The first group of visitors enter the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside on opening day, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Visitors to the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside on Saturday, June 18, 2022, include Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, middle left, and to her right, Riverside City Council Member Erin Edwards and Riverside City Council Member Steve Hemenway. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) The first visitors enjoy the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside on opening day, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Comedian and actor Cheech Marin waves to the crowd Saturday, June 18, 2022, as he arrives for the opening of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Opening day was sold out, but those who had tickets — and others — had plenty to say about the cultural significance of the museum. “We have so many Hispanic communities in Riverside, and this will bring them together,” said Maria Batres, of Ballet Folklorico de Riverside, whose troupe performed a blessing in front of the museum before Cheech’s entrance. Lock Dawson joined among a group of museum staff who applauded the first visitors as they entered the museum in the city’s former main library. They included JoAnn Jimenez, whose group was first in line. “It’s amazing, where do I begin?” she said, standing in front of a 26-foot-tall lenticular that stretches to the ceiling, the first work of art that visitors see. The untitled work was crafted by brothers Einar and Jamex de La Torre. The museum dubbed The Cheech was created as a home for Cheech Marin’s extensive Chicano art collection. He began building it in the 1980s after finding fame with Tommy Chong in the comedy duo Cheech & Chong, followed by a movie career. The center now holds about 550 paintings, photographs, sculptures and other works from Marin’s collection. Located next door to the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, the new museum is projected to bring in 100,000 visitors a year. He has described Chicano art as arising from 1960s protests and evolving over the decades into a way of depicting how real people live their lives. He called it a mixture of Mexican art, world art and pop culture. Marin began to be known as an art connoisseur in the past 20 years as he began sending his collection to major museums such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The concept of a museum in Riverside began in 2017, when his collection was being exhibited at Riverside Art Museum, and then-City Manager John Russo and other civic leaders pitched the idea to Marin. After that, planning and fundraising began. “Someone asked me how it feels now at the end,” Ofelia Valdez-Yeager, a Riverside resident, community leader and chair of the Reach for the Cheech campaign, said at a Thursday, June 16, dedication ceremony. “It feels like I’ve been pregnant for five years.” The Cheech came together as a $14.5 million public-private collaboration with major donors such as Bank of America and Altura Credit Union as well as a city subsidy of nearly $1 million a year to the Riverside Art Museum, which was contracted to run it. The Cheech is housed in Riverside’s former main library, a 1964 building that retains its mid-century modern exterior but was overhauled inside. Now, instead of a check-out desk at the entrance, visitors see the de la Torre brothers’ giant lenticular, which includes several themes of Chicano art. Images include an Aztec goddess, native California flowers, a map of East Los Angeles and the face of Cheech Marin himself. Creators of The Cheech see it as a platform to spread the influence of Chicano art across the world. “We hope that this building and this collection and this participation of the community will be a beacon for everybody else around the country to finally redefine inclusion,” Marin said at the ceremony. “Now it is going to be embodied in a place they can come to.” Marin said he brought all his children to Riverside to see the museum. “They are really awed by this, as I am awed by this: to have an entire building turned over to the promotion of a part of culture that has been thoroughly neglected for a long time but now is represented.” “I couldn’t be prouder of anything I’ve ever done in my career or in life.” ABOUT THE CHEECH What: Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture Where: 3581 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside. When: It opened Saturday, June 18, and was sold out for the first day. Reservations are timed and must be made in advance on the museum’s website. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The museum will stay open until 8 p.m. on select Thursdays and will be closed on Tuesdays in August. Admission: $15.95; $10.95 for 65 and older and ages 13-17; children under 12 and military personnel, free. Information: 951-684-7111 or https://riversideartmuseum.org/visit/the-cheech-marin-center-for-chicano-art-culture/

Celebrity

From revenge thrillers to comedies, many of today's top filmmakers have done their part to keep the Western genre alive. Gone are the days when Westerns ruled the box office, with superheroes now filling the role that cowboys once played in the American consciousness. But fear not, the Western genre is far from dead. The brutality of the American West, combined with the hope that many people found in it, continues to inspire some of the most exciting filmmakers working today. It also has one of the richest histories of any genre, which allows filmmakers with a passion for Hollywood history to engage with the classics of the 20th century while updating Western tropes for modern audiences. The genre is so versatile that Westerns can reflect almost any political sentiment, meaning that Western movies tend to be an interesting barometer of the era in which they were made. Just this past Oscar season, a Western came very close to winning best picture: Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.” That film used the landscape of the West to interrogate American masculinity and the way it imprisons men as much as it does anyone else. If that film whet your appetite for more in the genre, here are some others you should check out. From violent revenge thrillers to comedies, keep reading for 15 of the best contemporary films about the American West. “The Hateful Eight” (2015) “Django Unchained” may be Quentin Tarantino’s flashier Western, but his second stab at the genre is every bit as good, if not better. “The Hateful Eight” trades the sweltering heat of the South for a brutally cold blizzard, as an eclectic group of dangerous Western characters (and a stellar cast of Tarantino regulars) take shelter in a stagecoach stopover. Tarantino evokes classic snow westerns like Sergio Corbucci’s “The Great Silence” while crafting a slow burning whodunnit that inevitably gets very, very bloody. Everything is tied together by a haunting score from legendary Western composer Ennio Morricone, who recycled elements of his scrapped score for John Carpenter’s “The Thing” and won an Oscar for his efforts. The contained location caused many to compare the film to Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs,” and while “The Hateful Eight” does a good job of matching that movie’s simmering tension and massive body count, it scales the premise up into a three hour Technicolor masterpiece. —CZ “Hell or High Water” (2016) “Hell or High Water”©CBS Films/Everett Collection / Everett Collection Years before his massive “Yellowstone” franchise aired its first episode, Taylor Sheridan proved that he is a master of reimagining Western tropes in a contemporary setting. “Hell or High Water” stars Chris Pine and Ben Foster as two ranchers who are forced to take up bank robbing when their mother’s illness places them at risk of losing their family ranch. The “robbers running from Texas Rangers” premise is straight out of a John Ford movie, and Sheridan and director David Mackenzie seamlessly integrate it with contemporary financial realities to craft a thrilling neo-western that breathed some much-needed life into the genre without ever feeling like its homages are forced. —CZ “Bone Tomahawk” (2018) “Bone Tomahawk”RLJE Films S. Craig Zahler combined elements of the Western and horror genres to craft “Bone Tomahawk,” a fantastic genre piece that stars Kurt Russell as a grizzled Western sheriff trying to rescue the victims of a tribe of cannibals. That premise could have resulted in B-movie schlock, but its thoughtful execution turns the film into something truly special. The production design captures the best elements of the Western genre, and its slow burning story gives the film ample time to humanize its characters. But when the moment is right, it fully leans into its most horrifying elements, resulting in a thrillingly good time at the movies and a reminder that the Western genre still has plenty of cinematic life in it. —CZ “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (2018) “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection First time? Joel and Ethan Coen returned to the American West for this Netflix anthology film, which consists of six unrelated vignettes that unfold like a fantastic short-story collection. The shorts cover everything from traveling balladeers to gold prospectors, mixing the Coen Brothers’ folksy dark humor with surprisingly deep character work and lush storybook production design. It may not be as flashy as earlier Coen Brothers comedies, but it’s a peak example of the duo’s late career output. The Academy clearly thought so as well, honoring the film with Oscar nominations in the Adapted Screenplay, Original Song, and Costume Design categories. The brothers have said that it may or may not be their final film as a duo, as both have begun to branch out and work on solo projects. While cinephiles are certainly hoping that more Coen Brothers films are on the horizon, this would be a good one to go out on. —CZ “Unforgiven” (1992) Perhaps the epitome of the modern Western, Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning epic “Unforgiven” is a melancholic meditation on the West, exploring its myths and its history through a dark and violent lens. The film is set in 1881, with Eastwood starring as William Munny, a retired outlaw who returns to the trade after years of settling down as a farmer. Celebrated for its moral ambiguity and noir atmosphere, the film simultaneously debunks and pays tribute to one of cinema’s most established genres by expertly juxtaposing violence and heroism, as well as courage and revenge. Principally noted for its anti-violence expression, “Unforgiven” went on to become the third Western to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and has since been admitted to the National Film Registry. “Django Unchained” (2012) “Django Unchained”©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Collection Messy, bold, raucously funny and curiously affecting, “Django Unchained” is quintessential Quentin Tarantino. Part homage and part subversion, it’s also an audacious reimagining of the spaghetti Western. Set in the Deep South during the antebellum era, the film centers on Django (Jaime Foxx), an African-American slave. He teams with Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a German bounty hunter posing as a traveling dentist who buys him and then promises freedom in exchange for his help in collecting a large bounty. Characteristic for Tarantino, the movie is stuffed with visual and narrative references, not to mention classic actors associated with the genre like Bruce Dern. But it’s also a stylish, gory period piece in its own right, with Tarantino’s inventive original screenplay and Waltz’s scene-stealing supporting performance both going on to win Academy Awards. “The Homesman” (2014) “The Homesman”©Roadside Attractions/Courtesy Everett Collection Tommy Lee Jones’ haunting and contemplative Western flew under the radar last year despite a stirring lead performance from Hilary Swank and a richly confrontational narrative. Jones inverts what’s typical for the Western by allowing women to drive the action. Set in the mid-1850s, “The Homesman” follows Mary Bee Cuddy (Swank) as she sets out to transport women in need of escape from pioneer life to Iowa. Realizing the difficulty of the journey, she hires a low-life drifter (Tommy Lee Jones) to accompany the her. Lensed beautifully by Rodrigo Prieto, the films tracks the group as they cross the Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat. Sneakily feminist and unrelentingly gritty, “The Homesman” is an embodiment of the modern Western. “True Grit” (2010) The Coen Brothers had already gotten their feet wet in this arena with the Oscar-winning phenomenon “No Country for Old Men,” but even so, how they’d fare with such classic material was another matter entirely. Fortunately, their knack for droll humor and visual splendor meshed seamlessly with this infamously Western tale. In “True Grit,” 14 year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) teams with the aging, drunken U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to hunt down Tom Chaney, the man who murdered her father. Unlike “No Country” or the various other styles they’ve dabbled in, “True Grit” represents the Coens’ first true genre exercise. And through it, they string together a delightfully old-fashioned narrative and extract a breakout performance out of Hailee Steinfeld. “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (2007) “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection Andrew Dominik’s moody, evocative “The Assassination of Jesse James” did Ron Hansen’s eponymous 1983 novel justice and then some. A deeply psychological and quietly unsettling Western, the film dramatizes with piercing specificity the relationship between James (Brad Pitt) and Ford (Casey Affleck), and what led to the infamous (and titular) killing. This is a movie that gets under your skin — from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ eerily unshakable score, to the magnificent camerawork of the great Roger Deakins — working as both a portrait of an outlaw and an exposition of masculinity in the process. It’s a tour-de-force in craft, most notably in Casey Affleck’s performance, which went on to win several critics prizes as well as earn an Academy Award nomination. Evoking stylistic Westerns like “McCabe and Mrs. Miller,” “The Assassination of Jesse James” is the new century’s definitive Western tonal poem. “3:10 to Yuma” (2007) “3:10 to Yuma”©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection Roger Ebert said of James Mangold’s remarkable remake, “‘3:10 to Yuma’ restores the wounded heart of the Western and rescues it from the morass of pointless violence.” Indeed, this propulsive and star-studded modern Western pulls off an impressive feat, managing consistent thrills, a smart narrative and an effective re-imagining of the 1957 eponymous film (as well as Elmore Leonard’s original short story). As the story goes, notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) is captured, and Civil War veteran Dan Evans (Christian Bale), struggling to survive on his drought-plagued ranch, volunteers to deliver him alive to the 3:10 to Yuma, a train that will take the killer to trial. Both actors do visceral, intense work in this bracing two-hander, while Mangold’s vision is equal parts throwback and contemporary. But above all, “3:10 to Yuma” is an irresistibly exciting ride. “The Proposition” (2005) “The Proposition”©First Look Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection John Hillcoat (“The Road”) takes the Western to the Australian Outback in this brutally-tense account of loyalty, revenge and the quest for justice. In “The Proposition,” a lawman (played by Ray Winstone) apprehends the notorious outlaw Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce), and gives him nine days to make a fatal decision: Burns can either kill his older brother, or they’ll execute his younger brother. A sweeping moral parable, the film drew attention for its visual and narrative homages to the classic films of Sergio Leone, as well as its uncompromising effectiveness as a bleak mood piece. “The Proposition” broke out of the Australian cinema scene and garnered international recognition, with stateside film critics paying particular attention to the superb performances of Winstone, Danny Huston and Emily Watson. “Meek’s Cutoff” (2010) Kelly Reichardt is among the most consistently brilliant indie film directors around, so it should come as no surprise that “Meek’s Cutoff,” her stab at the Western, ended up as a rousing success. The film, loosely based on an 1845 incident on the Oregon Trail, chronicles the ill-fated journey of a wagon train, led by frontier guide Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood), through the Oregon desert along the route later known as the Meek Cutoff. Reichardt’s calibration comes off so effortless and yet so refined, managing to tell a minimalist, character-driven story through the guise of a slow-burn Western thriller. Textured with a feel for the historical and the perspective of the contemporary, “Meek’s Cutoff” is that rare historical drama to feel completely lived-in and authentic. Carried by the marvelous, subtle performances of Greenwood and Reichardt muse Michelle Williams, this modern Western breathes life like no other. “Lone Star” (1996) “Lone Star”©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection In “Lone Star,” John Sayles’ mysterious and carefully-unfolding psychological Western, the unearthing of human bones and a rusty sheriff’s badge in a Texas border town resurrects painful memories for Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper), a young lawman. Through an elegant study of past and present, the film draws Sam into an intricate, fascinatingly woven web of ethical, familial, and intercultural conflicts. “Lone Star” is a classically romantic, oft-despairing and ultimately tragic account of forbidden love, unavoidable consequence and the ghosts of the past. Sayles’ spin on the Western is profoundly humanistic, favoring interaction over pure action and emotional resonance over violent resolution. The result is a passionately-felt and wrenching watch, anchored by the sterling performances of Cooper and the late Elizabeth Peña. “Dances with Wolves” (1990) “Dances with Wolves”©Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection “Dances with Wolves” is the ultimate Western epic, a film of immense grandeur and historical depth. Set during the Civil War, it chronicles the exploits of Lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner), whose loyalties are put to the test after being accepted and embraced by a Native American tribe. Directed by Costner in a revelatory achievement, “Dances with Wolves” is considered a landmark for its revitalization of the Western epic. Sweeping, emotive and remarkably filmed, Costner’s cinematic achievement has been preserved by the National Film Registry as the quintessential modern American Western. It also won the Academy Award for Best Picture, especially notable since it was the first Western since 1931’s “Cimmaron” to win the big award. “The Rover” (2014) “The Rover,” Australian filmmaker David Michôd’s follow-up to his acclaimed family crime saga “Animal Kingdom,” maintains the director’s firm tonal command even as it reaches into more richly ambiguous territory. In this sweaty, sun-caked piece of Aussie Western-noir, a hardened loner (Guy Pierce) pursues the men who stole his only possession, his car, capturing along the way one of the thieves’ brother (Robert Pattinson). The duo form an uneasy bond as they press on through the dangerous journey. “The Rover,” chiefly concerned with the economic devastation that’s come to be characteristic of the 21st Century, cleverly filters contemporary existential dread into a dirty, bleak and morally-minded Western template. Like many movies on this list, “The Rover” is more expressionistic than action-packed, but it still manages a distinctiveness through its confidence in silence and specificity in location. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.

Movies

Dame Kelly Holmes, 52, comes out as gay as she says 'I'm finally free' after living a 'secret life' for decades Published: 16:56 EDT, 18 June 2022 | Updated: 16:57 EDT, 18 June 2022 Dame Kelly Holmes has publicly come out as gay.The Olympic runner, 52, has spoken about her sexuality for the first time as she declared she 'finally feels free' after years of living a 'secret' life.The athletics star admitted she was 'fully aware' of rumours about her sexual orientation but is now happy to be coming out 'on her own terms'.Speaking to the Mirror, she said: 'There have been lots of dark times where I wished I could scream that I am gay – but I couldn't.'More to follow. Speaking out: Dame Kelly Holmes has publicly come out as gay Advertisement

Celebrity

Basketball legend and TV personality Shaquille O’Neal recently bought a home in Collin County, local brokerage Rogers Healy and Associates Real Estate said Tuesday.Zac Gideo, a real estate agent for Rogers Healy, worked with O’Neal last May to buy a home on a 0.228-acre lot, according to the firm. The home has high ceilings, a huge primary bedroom with a spa-like bathroom, a kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances and a backyard with a large pool and waterfall, the company said.“I found him the perfect home and most of the process was done virtually — FaceTime calls, videos of the property, etc.” Gideo said in a statement.Gideo declined to share the sale price or the exact location other than Collin County. He told The Dallas Morning News that O’Neal did not share a specific reason for buying in the area but said that the expansion of his Big Chicken restaurant chain to Texas was a factor.“It has a lot to do with that, and basic travel — he travels here quite a bit for different things,” Gideo said, adding that O’Neal will live in the home part-time. O’Neal is also an analyst on Inside the NBA, the postgame show for the NBA on TNT.The brokerage has worked with other high-profile clients, including Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Sean Lowe from ABC’s The Bachelor, who is selling his five-bedroom home in University Park for $5 million.Born in Newark, N.J., O’Neal has Texas ties and is a graduate of Cole High School in San Antonio. He played for six teams during his 19-year NBA career and won four NBA championships, three in Los Angeles and one in Miami, before retiring in 2011.O’Neal also sold his $11 million mansion outside Orlando in October, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Basketball

The Crusaders have strangled the ladder-topping Blues with a ruthless display of power rugby to win the Super Rugby Pacific final in Auckland, claiming a record-extending 11th Super Rugby crown.The powerhouse Christchurch-based franchise snapped the Blues’ 15-match winning streak as they dominated Saturday’s final at a rain-soaked and sold-out Eden Park in Auckland.Scrumhalf Bryn Hall and winger Sevu Reece scored tries either side of halftime, while Richie Mounga ran the game with a brilliant display at flyhalf and contributed 11 points from the boot.The Blues, roared on by a big home crowd, were simply unable to get on the front foot and unleash their talented backs until it was too late.Scrumhalf Finlay Christie gave them a sniff of hope with an opportunist try in the 59th minute, but a defensive mix-up gifted Reece a try four minutes from time to put the result beyond doubt.It was a sixth straight title for the Crusaders under coach Scott Robertson after they won the last three editions of trans-continental Super Rugby and also the domestic Super Rugby Aotearoa competition in the last two pandemic-hit years.“We’ve always talked about effort on both sides of the ball,” said All Blacks lock and Crusaders veteran Sam Whitelock. “It’s not always about scoring points, sometimes it’s about stopping them from scoring.”Super Rugby relaunched this year as a Pacific-focussed championship, but the final result was the same as 10 of the 24 editions of the pre-COVID competition.On display were the steely defence, dominant set-piece, forwards who battle for every breakdown and backs who looked to attack at every opportunity that are in the DNA of the Christchurch-based dynasty.The Blues, dominant in the early years of the competition, had looked to usurp the Crusaders on the back of a high-octane attack but initially looked shell-shocked at the intensity of the contest.For all their domination of territory and possession in the opening half, the Crusaders had only a drop goal and penalty from Mounga to show for their efforts until just before the break. Leicester Fainga’anuku had earlier been held up over the line and the hulking winger was stopped just short when he launched himself at it again.Argentine flanker Pablo Matera was pushed back from close range but Hall cleverly dabbed the ball down for a try through a jumble of legs.The Blues lineout was in all sorts of trouble, and those woes continued after the break, another turnover leading to a Crusaders penalty which Mounga converted for a 16-0 lead after 46 minutes.Christie finally got the Blues on the board when he pounced on a loose ball at the back of a Crusaders scrum for a converted try that cut the deficit to 16-7, but even that was too steep a mountain to climb against the visiting defence.“Tonight wasn’t our night, we really weren’t good enough,” said Blues flyhalf Beauden Barrett. “Really disappointing, we had a good season, we wanted to come here and do a job here tonight. It’s a tough one to swallow.”

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There are many ways a festival curated by Grace Jones might have played out. Jones’s musical playground was the club, her crucible the disco era. When she began making waves in the early 80s, her music boasted a stern electronic undercurrent and no little funk. She covered too many artists to count.Her Meltdown festival lineup, on ice for two years, is as eclectic as Jones’s pedigree implies. It is, however, busy with up-and-coming talents rather than marquee acts (Solange had to pull out). Leading voices from the African continent outweigh Jones’s own sources or contemporaries.The early half of the week has much to commend it. The threads linking Jones to Dry Cleaning are thin but tensile: the drum-machine edge of drummer Nick Buxton and the stentorian, deadpan manner of frontperson Florence Shaw, who gives nothing away but her scorn. You could easily imagine this south London post-punk outfit covering the Normal’s new-wave cult hit Warm Leatherette, with all its sprechgesang and anomie, as Jones once did.Dry Cleaning’s 2021 debut, New Long Leg, was basically all sprechgesang and anomie, with Shaw’s cut-up-style lyrics built from slices of life so fleeting and unanchored they sounded as if she was staring out of the window of a speeding car – their early track Traditional Fish basically lists shop frontages – or flicking past memes on her social media feed. Somehow, it all holds together, rather like this Meltdown, and so it proves tonight in a seated venue where inhibitions prevent dancing as the rhythm section intended.Live, the band very much have the upper hand, with Shaw’s bored delivery often no match for the bobble of the bass or the pranging punk-funk of guitarist Tom Dowse, as active on his feet as Shaw is stony. But the elliptical phrases that do escape the band’s churn seem all the more significant.“I just wanted to tell you I’ve got scabs on my head,” Shaw intones, staring down the crowd during the excellent Strong Feelings, listlessly lifting up a bit of hair, the closest this intentionally blank band member comes to stagecraft.Some “da, da da”s are dangled for comfort on songs such as the wistful More Big Birds, but Dry Cleaning’s approach is stirringly radical. Even the Fall, high priests of oblique poetics, had vocal melodies and choruses.An entire new album’s worth of bone-dry aperçus is coming in October, they announce, called Stumpwork – “Look it up!” (an embroidery technique, it turns out). The good news is that the new song they play – Don’t Press Me – has a great one-liner: “Don’t touch my gaming mouse, you rat.” The bad news? Shaw dilutes their USP by singing a little.Two nights later, there is dancing in the aisles. On the evening Dry Cleaning played, it was touch and go whether the Malian superstar of 30 years’ standing, the Grammy-winning Oumou Sangaré and her seven-strong band, would get their visas in time, a problem that seems to continue to dog international acts that have the audacity to want to entertain British audiences.But Sangaré sashays on unperturbed, imperious and warm at once. Despite the language barrier – she sings in Bambara – her music is all about communication. Her songs span entreaties and takedowns; they are full of sage advice or exasperated rage against the folly of war on songs such as Kêlê Magni , a joyous shakedown, ironically enough. Sangaré’s gestures are conversational, carrying her meaning; she waggles a finger or widens her arms as though to say: “Come on!”The set list goes hard on her most recent album, the superb Timbuktu, one unexpectedly conceived in Baltimore where Sangaré got stuck as Covid hit. But it is full of pride in her native Wassoulou region, tinged with wistfulness and emotional authority; more so than before in her work, it subtly explores the links between west African music and American forms.‘Emotional authority’: Oumou Sangaré and her band at Meltdown. Photograph: Burak CingiTonight, that means the arpeggios of Abou Diarra’s n’goni are offset by the slide guitar of Julien Pestre. Sometimes, the ratio skews just a little too far towards the latter, but a luminous keyboard solo by Alex Millet hangs perfectly over on Degui N’Kelena.Best of all is Sangaré herself, who, from out of nowhere, can hit a note like a mallet, abetted by two spirited backing vocalists on call and response. Dily Oumou finds Sangaré at her loudest and most pained, singing about resilience in the face of her enemies. It’s hard to imagine this woman having enemies, but as a feminist, entrepreneur and activist, she is bound to have made some.Here, though, in dribs and drabs, then in flows, people pour out of their seats to film themselves dancing in front of her. Some fans present her with a painting. Sangaré dispenses hugs and three of her bracelets before scurrying offstage, her dress coming undone from all the ebullience. This article has been edited to remove the reference to Moonchild Sanelly, who was never in the lineup

Music

The Warriors are atop the NBA once again. This status — once unimaginable for this organization — has become so commonplace that forward Draymond Green has taken to calling the NBA Finals the “Warriors Invitational” after Golden State’s fourth title — and sixth championship-round appearance — in eight years. Yes, the Warriors might have been down for the two years leading up to this incredible, improbable 2022 championship, but Green and the Dubs know what happens next: Twenty-nine other teams have set their sights on the crown-holder, and they’re going to come hard. Because the Warriors’ championship this year wasn’t expected, every reason will be given between now and next June as to why the Dubs will be a one-term title winner. Haters are going to hate. There’s no reason to believe the Dubs can’t win the title again next year. “I feel like next year we’re gonna be even better,” Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins said Saturday. He’s probably right. Let’s start with the astonishing but verifiable fact that when Green, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry start every game of a playoff series, the Warriors have never lost. Nope, not one series. That’s a run that dates back to the 2015 playoffs. And until that streak ends, it’d be foolhardy to pick against the Warriors. With this team’s veteran core, an impressive young core, and Wiggins emerging as one of the NBA’s best wings, the Warriors are built for success, not just for next year, but for many years to come. But while the Warriors are built for annual success, we all know building in the Bay is costly and prices keep going up. How the Warriors handle this upcoming offseason will go a long way to determining if they can go back-to-back or slide back to pack. The top impediment to the Warriors repeating as champions next year is green. No, not the player — I’m talking about cold, hard cash. The Warriors have seemingly endless funds, but we might find the limit in the near future. Golden State is poised to set an NBA record for payroll next season, and that’ll be the case even if they don’t return everyone from their title-winning team. As of today, Golden State is well over the NBA’s luxury tax threshold with just the contracts they already have on the books for next season. They’re so deep into the tax that they’ll likely have to pay $6 on top of every $1 they spend this offseason. So buy all the hats, t-shirts, and title trinkets you can find, Warriors fans, because Joe Lacob, the Warriors’ CEO, will be banking on that additional revenue to keep this squad together. Now, Curry, Green, and Thompson are locked in for a few years yet — there’s no need to fret there. But there’s a good reason Wiggins and Jordan Poole shot a video in the Warriors’ locker room after clinching the title where they proclaimed they were about to “get a bag” Of money, that is. Because, well, they are. Wiggins is going into the final year of his five-year contract, signed with Minnesota and traded to Golden State in 2020. A fair extension would keep Wiggins at his current salary, but after this exceptional performance in the playoffs and Finals, he wouldn’t be out of line to ask for a raise. “I would love to stay here,” Wiggins said. “Being here is top-notch.” But brokering a new deal could be tricky for the Warriors, because Jordan Poole, who broke out this past season, is also due a contract extension. The Warriors have until Oct. 17 to agree to a new deal with the incendiary point guard, lest he becomes a free agent this time next summer. Poole had a historic postseason for a 22-year-old, and as such could command as much as $20 million per year on the new deal. The Warriors should not have to choose between the two, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to pay both players. With the Warriors’ luxury tax situation, you can see exactly how much winning costs. The Warriors spent an estimated $350 million in payroll this season. Next season, that payroll should be well over $400 million, and in the years to come, more than half-a-billion dollars. One would have to imagine Warriors ownership — even with all the extra playoff revenue and the Chase Center being an ATM for the team — will reach a spending limit at some point. When that day comes is anyone’s guess, but every offseason, deals are handed out for the next five years. We might get our answer soon. In the meantime, addressing Wiggins and Poole’s contracts should be the team’s top priority. But regardless of what happens with those negotiations, they are not at risk of losing either for the upcoming season. The same cannot be said of Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, and Otto Porter, who were all critical to the Dubs this postseason and are all due raises. Maybe those raises come from other teams. Perhaps the Warriors are helped by a less-than-robust free-agent market. The good news for the Warriors is that, even if they lose any of those three important role players, they have three young players who could, in theory, take on those jobs. Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody played positive minutes for the Warriors this postseason. Combine their ages and they are only two years older than LeBron James. Both have a bright future ahead of them, with Kuminga having the talent to be a future All-Star. The Warriors also expect James Wiseman — the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft — to play in 2022-23 after missing this past season with a nagging knee injury. The Warriors organization might have created a perpetual winning machine. Whatever the Warriors’ veteran core loses in the years to come, the Warriors’ young players will pick up. All while Wiggins, in his prime at age 27, and hopefully Looney (26) and Payton II (29), too, remain the team’s steady metronomes, eventually becoming the veterans. It’ll cost a whole lot to maintain, but if this is the price of winning championships, bills will be paid. So the question isn’t if the Warriors can win another title next season. No, the real question is how many more can they add before Curry and company hang up their sneakers? I wouldn’t put a limit on it. Not yet. Because the Warriors might pay, but betting against them doesn’t.

Basketball

As the smell of cigar smoke, champagne, and beer wafted through TD Garden after the Warriors claimed the NBA title with a Game 6 win over the Celtics on Thursday night, Marcus Smart vowed to take some lessons from the defeat.“We all made some mistakes that obviously shouldn’t have been made, could have been prevented,” he said. “But we’re learning. That’s part of it. You take that and go into next season, and you try to build off of it.”And one result of playing so deep into June is that next season is not that far away. The NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, the free agent negotiation period opens June 30, and the Las Vegas summer league starts July 7.After a string of seasons that included chasing big free agents, maneuvering with high lottery picks, and even reshuffling the front office and coaching staff, this appears to be a rare summer of stability for the Celtics.Get Court SenseBounce around the NBA with our Celtics-centric look at the latest happenings on and off the court.All of the team’s top rotation players are under contract for next season. Al Horford’s $26.5 million deal is just partially guaranteed, but locking it in will be a formality. Even at 36, Horford was an essential piece of this defensive-minded group, and he showed no wear as the season progressed. He erupted for 30 points in a key Game 4 win over the Bucks in the conference semifinals and had 19 points and 14 rebounds as he tried to ignite a comeback Thursday night.Horford is also eligible for an extension, and considering his urgency to win a title, and the fact that he won’t find a better situation to do that elsewhere, the Celtics could find a way to keep him around on a discount.Jaylen Brown has two seasons remaining on the four-year, $107 million extension he signed in 2020. This fall, Brown will be eligible to sign a three-year extension worth as much as $123 million, but he would almost certainly decline that offer because he will be in line for a much more substantial payday when this contract expires, potentially as much as five years and $273 million if he makes an All-NBA team over the next two seasons.All-NBA bonuses might be a sore spot for franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum. When he failed to be selected for an all-league team last season, it cost him about $32 million in his five-year, $163 million rookie-max extension. He received first-team All-NBA honors this season, but unfortunately for him there are no retroactive adjustments.Third-year forward Grant Williams will be eligible for an extension. One year ago, the chances of him being offered one would have been slim, but he emerged as a key bench piece this season, shooting 41.1 percent from the 3-point line and showing improvement as a versatile, physical defender.If the season had ended when Williams erupted for 27 points in Game 7 of the conference semifinals against the Bucks, his value would have been at its highest. But he had less of an impact in the next two series.Former Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was always reluctant to give extensions for players on rookie contracts, but his replacement, Brad Stevens, closed a four-year, $54 million deal with Robert Williams last year. Grant Williams does not have the same level of upside as Robert Williams, but he would be a strong secondary piece to keep with the Tatum and Brown core in the coming years.The Celtics have about $156 million in salaries slotted for next season — including Horford’s full guarantee — which would put them about $7 million over the luxury-tax line that they maneuvered to stay below this season. They remain well above the $122 million salary cap and they will be a tax team, limiting their options for alterations.They will have a $6.4 million taxpayer mid-level exception, along with $17.1 million, $9.7 million, and $6.9 million trade exceptions that allow them to acquire players without needing to send out similar salaries in return. But it remains to be seen how deep into the luxury tax ownership is willing to swim.The Celtics traded their first-round draft pick this year to the Spurs when they acquired Derrick White in February, leaving them with just a second-round choice, No. 53 overall.The flurry of February deals created plenty of open roster spots and the Celtics mostly filled them by signing G-League players. Fourth-string center Luke Kornet is an unrestricted free agent and two-way contract players Brodric Thomas and Matt Ryan are restricted free agents. Nik Stauskas, Sam Hauser, Juwan Morgan, and Malik Fitts are on non-guaranteed deals.Some will likely compete for end-of-bench slots again, but there will be changes. The Celtics have a $1.5 million team option for Hauser, the sharpshooting 6-foot-8-inch forward who has shown some promise when given the opportunity. If they decline it now, Hauser would become a restricted free agent, potentially allowing the Celtics to sign him to a longer deal if they wish.Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.

Basketball

CelebrityKim KardashianIn the show, it seemed as though the meeting had been called immediately after the family learned about the scandal — and that Khloé was too upset to see anyone.Posted on June 17, 2022, 2:12 pm This week, fans of The Kardashians finally got the storyline that they’d been waiting for in the show’s season finale, with the family’s raw reaction to Tristan Thompson’s paternity scandal airing in full. Hulu The fallout had already been teased in last week’s episode, which showed the stars caught unaware by the news that Tristan had fathered a baby with another woman behind the back of his girlfriend, Khloé Kardashian. But the episode ended just before viewers saw Khloé’s response and this week’s show picked up where it left off, with Khloé sobbing down the phone to her sister Kim Kardashian in an incredibly candid scene. Hulu Immediately afterward, Kim, her sister Kourtney Kardashian, their mom, Kris Jenner, and her boyfriend, Corey Gamble, were seen sitting around a table for a family meeting to discuss the latest saga. Hulu “Every time there’s some serious family drama going on we always have a family meeting,” Kim says in a confessional. “And we all lean on each other for support and that’s what we’re here for.” Hulu At the meeting, the group looks downcast as Kris shares her concern that Khloé is isolating herself. “I don’t want her to get to a place where she doesn’t have anybody to talk to because she feels like she has to be strong,” Kris says as she seemingly fights back tears. Hulu Kourtney then asks if Khloé was attending the meeting, and Kim says that she doesn’t think so. A few moments later, Kim receives a text and tells the others: “Khloé just texted me that she’s not going to come.” Hulu “I wish she would have shown up,” Kris responds. “I think the longer it goes on without [Khloé] really expressing her feelings and deciding how she wants to move forward it can be very alienating and lonely, she tends to keep things inside.” The family had a promotional photo shoot for the show in December, and the scene ends with Kim saying: “All I want to know is if Khloé will make it to the photo shoot for the Kardashians show.” Hulu However, internet sleuths have now found evidence that the family meeting was actually filmed on Jan. 31 — almost two months after the news about Tristan broke, and weeks after the shoot had taken place. Hulu It was Kourtney who gave the game away, with the star having been papped in Malibu wearing the exact same outfit, hairstyle, and nail color that she was wearing in the scene at the end of January. Hulu Posting a link to the historic news article that featured the photos on a Reddit forum, someone pointed out that Khloé had seen her family many times between the paternity scandal breaking and the day the meeting was filmed. “The family meeting was filmed January 31st based on Kourtney’s outfit, Khloé found out end of November/beginning of December when the documents leaked and she did attend Christmas with the fam, so the meeting was staged,” they wrote. Kourtney’s nails appeared to confirm that she wasn’t just rewearing the same outfit, with another user writing: “Her nails are chrome in the episode. In these pap shots, they are as well, chrome.. I’m a nail technician, and lemme tell you, chrome chips soo quickly.” Some admitted that the length of time that had passed explained why the family seemed “emotionless” in the scene as they slammed the show for trying to trick viewers. Hulu “Explains why they were so emotionless about it all. I wish they had stuck to a real timeline rather than jumble it around to have a good final episode. Do better Hulu,” one person wrote. Another added: “The meeting was so emotionless. This news was truly shocking and to have them all together like ‘…’ was so fake.” Someone else said: “Wow they are the worst. I hope the show gets canceled.” And one more added: “💀💀💀💀 this timeline is chaotic, I’m over it, why even put out the season if it was gonna be edited so poorly.” Another reiterated the fact that viewers were supposed to believe the scene was the immediate aftermath to the scandal, commenting: “Then Kim mentioned the photoshoot to convince us it was December 💀.” And one user questioned whether Kourtney was secretly hinting about the setup when she lashed out at Tristan for not being honest. “The lack of honesty is what does it for me,” she said at the meeting. “Like, let’s just be honest with who we are and what we are doing.” Hulu “I think that’s why Kourt was subtly telling Kim everyone needs to be just honest. And Kourt always had this look at Kim like ‘stop with the lies/your narrative,’” they theorized. Meanwhile, the jump in the timeline may explain Kim’s outburst at the camera partway through the chat, where she broke the fourth wall and told the audience that she was sometimes tempted to air her grievances publicly. Hulu “To say that I’m not tempted sometimes, I’d be lying,” she began. “I’m exhausted of taking the high road, like, I’m on my zone where I’m like: ‘If you bring bad energy into my life, a boundary goes up.’” Hulu “Half of me wants to just put it on blast,” Kim continued. “If you don’t think I screenshot every single fucking thing… I’m just not in the mood today, so I don’t know.” Hulu In the context of the scene, this appears to be a reference to none of the family calling Tristan out on social media following his scandals. However, if it was actually filmed in January then that is when Kim and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson, were in the middle of a very public social media attack from her ex-husband, Kanye West. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue While Kanye didn’t post about Kim and Pete on Jan. 31, or the day immediately before, he’d made several scathing posts about them both in the weeks prior that Kim did not publicly respond to. Tellingly, he tended to delete his Instagram posts shortly after sharing them, which may explain Kim’s comment about screengrabbing. This is not the first time that The Kardashians has been caught manipulating its timelines, and the show came under fire last month when viewers accused the reality show of faking a narrative to avoid mentioning the Astroworld tragedy. Hulu On Nov. 5, 2021, 10 people were killed in a deadly crowd surge at Travis Scott’s music festival in Houston. Erika Goldring / WireImage, Travis’s girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, was watching the show from a VIP box with their 4-year-old daughter Stormi, and her sister, Kendall Jenner. @KarJennerNews Kendall and Kylie, as well as other family members, shared statements to express their heartache at what had happened at the festival in the days that followed. Thomas Shea / AFP via Getty Images However, the tragedy wasn’t mentioned at all in the show, which was instead edited as though Kendall was in Miami the entire time. Hulu “We’re not stupid #TheKardashians, we know Kendall was with Kylie and Travis in Houston during the Astroworld accident on Kris’s birthday. Don’t play it off like Kendall was in Miami the whole time,” one viewer tweeted. we’re not stupid #TheKardashians we know kendall was with kylie and travis in houston during the astroworld accident on kris’s birthday. don’t play it off like kendall was in miami the whole time 03:04 PM - 12 May 2022 Twitter: @jennifervarz “#TheKardashians really faked the Kendall in Miami during Kris’ birthday plot… bc Kendall was in Houston w Kylie at the Astroworld travesty…” another agreed. “Like they say…the devil works hard but Kris Jenner works harder.” #TheKardashians really faked the Kendall in Miami during Kris’ birthday plot… bc Kendall was in Houston w Kylie at the astroworld travesty... Like they say…the devil works hard but kris Jenner works harder. 01:55 AM - 13 May 2022 Twitter: @sabreigha incomingYour weekday morning guide to breaking news, cultural analysis, and everything in between

Celebrity

Topline Fanatics has reached a deal with over 100 universities to launch the first-ever trading card line featuring active college athletes, the company announced in a release Thursday morning, a historic move that comes with an uneven payday for athletes. Last year's Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young is one of the athletes Fanatics signed Thursday. Getty Images Key Facts The first digital and physical cards will be released this fall, and Fanatics reached an agreement with nearly 150 schools including some of the most popular athletic programs, like the University of Alabama, the University of Kentucky and Duke University. Fanatics also announced deals with almost 200 college athletes by securing their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights, including University of Alabama football player Bryce Young, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner and University of South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, the 2022 Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament. Terms for the deals with schools and athletes were not disclosed, but a source close to the deal told Forbes individually signed athletes can make “well into the five figures” through the partnership. However, CNBC reports a majority of the athletes not signed to deals will not receive any money, though Fanatics says it plans to continue to sign individual deals with more athletes. The cards will be released through Fanatics’ Topps brand, the sports card giant Fanatics acquired in January for $500 million. Key Background Following decades of legal challenges to NCAA rules that prevented athletes from profiting off any marketing deals, the college athletics landscape dramatically changed last July when legislation allowing athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL) went into effect. Except for a few notable exceptions among star athletes, most athletes have yet to considerably cash in. The average compensation per Division I athlete is $3,711, according to data from athlete marketing platform Opendorse, while Division II and Division III athletes have made just $204 and $309 on average, respectively. Fanatics, owned by billionaire Michael Rubin, has emerged as one of the major players in NIL, announcing a deal in February allowing college football players to profit off of sales of their jerseys. Big Number $8 billion. That’s how much Rubin is worth, according to Forbes’ calculations. An April funding round valued Fanatics at $27 billion, a stark increase from its $18 billion valuation last August. Further Reading Fanatics strikes deal with colleges, student-athletes to launch Topps trading cards (CNBC) New NIL Rules Open The Sports Card Industry To NCAA Athletes (Forbes)

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Wes Byrne was creating a fire risk when fans blocked the area to grab the chance of a selfie with the Ed Sheeran so was moved to a much more expensive seatWes with the real Ed Sheeran An Ed Sheeran lookalike had to be moved to safety during a gig after being mobbed by fans for selfies. Security guards took action after Wes Byrne was feared to be creating a fire risk – and moved him from his £82.50 seat to a VIP zone, where tickets sell for more than £1,000. Wes, 30, who has previously met superstar Sheeran, bought tickets to see him perform at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium last weekend. But when he went to the loo, he was surrounded by so many fans wanting pictures that his sister had to rescue him. Former Love Islanders Callum Jones and Molly Smith were among those asking for selfies. Callum Jones took a selfie with Wes There was such a crowd that Wes, his sister Sammy, 33, and her eight-year-old son AJ had to be moved to safety by security. Wes, whose favourite Sheeran tune is You Need Me, I Don’t Need You, said: “I got lots of looks when I first walked in, but it wasn’t until the first person asked for a selfie that the floodgates opened. “Nearly everyone knew I was a lookalike, although a few kids thought I was the real Ed. “About 15 minutes before Ed came on stage, the queue for selfies with me was all the way down a line of steps and out an exit, so security told us to go with them to some executive seats. “We weren’t complaining – it was a much better view. Ed Sheeran on stage at the Etihad Stadium ( Image: Mark Surridge) “It was AJ’s first-ever music gig and he thought all the attention was hilarious.” Wes had never heard of Sheeran until 10 years ago, when people started telling him he looked like the Bad Habits hitmaker. He now picks up extra work as a lookalike on top of his full-time job as a council binman. Wes, from Shaw, Greater Manchester, said: “Not a day goes by when I don’t get stopped or asked for a selfie. My girlfriend Leah absolutely hates it.” Wes got to meet his famous lookalike on the set of an advert for Heinz tomato ketchup back in 2019. Sheeran loves the condiment so much, he has a tattoo of the bottle and even brought out his own brand of the sauce, called Edchup. Wes recalled: “The advert was based on him, but he was touring so didn’t have time to stay for all the photos. “I was called in for shots that were meant to be the side and back of his head.” While he may look like Sheeran, Wes doesn’t think he can compete with the singer in the music stakes. I’m an awful singer,” he said. “I did try learning the guitar but I gave up because I was useless.” Read More Read More

Music

Texas Rangers' Corey Seager, left, and Marcus Semien and Tampa Bay Rays' Yandy Diaz look up at the ... [+] video board during a challenge in the seventh inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Arlington, Texas. Diaz was out at second trying to stretch a single. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) ASSOCIATED PRESS The Philadelphia Athletics of the early 1910s had the $100,000 Infield. First baseman Stuffy McInnis, second baseman Eddie Collins, third baseman Frank “Home Run” Baker and shortstop Jack Barry purportedly earned a combined $100,000 a year. It was a princely sum at that time for baseball players and valued at close to $3 million in today’s dollars. The Texas Rangers have the $500 Million Middle Infield, which consists of second baseman Marcus Semien and shortstop Corey Seager. Both players signed with the Rangers as free agents on Dec. 1 – Seager agreeing to a 10-year, $325-million deal and Semien inking a seven-year, $175-million pact. Talk about a jump in salaries over 11 decades. Those signings were designed to help return the Rangers back to respectability this season and eventually become building blocks of a championship team. The Rangers seemingly hit bottom last season when they finished 60-102 for their worst record since the franchise moved to Arlington from Washington in 1972. It also marked Texas’ sixth consecutive losing season since its last postseason appearance in 2016. A little more than a third of the way through the Rangers’ first season with Seager and Semien in the lineup, the results have been mixed. The Rangers are certainly more respectable with a 26-30 mark. However, Seager and Semien have not produced to their level their contracts would suggest. Seager leads the Rangers with 11 home runs but is hitting .223/.291/.405 in 54 games. A recent spurt has lifted Semien’s line to .222/.280/.353 through 55 games with six homers and 10 stolen bases. However, Rangers manager Chris Woodward makes it clear Texas is not experiencing buyers’ remorse and is confidence it will get plenty of bang for its half-billion bucks. “I know both of them would like to be performing at a higher level, which they will,” Woodward said. “I have full confidence in them, what they bring every day, the attitude, the way they work, the way they prepare, the way they are inside the clubhouse. “They are unique in their own way. They have different processes in preparing but they both set great examples to anyone in this clubhouse with their work ethic.” Adding players with big talent was the Rangers’ primary motivation for pursuing Seager and Semien. The 28-year-old Seager is a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner. He was the MVP of the National League Championship Series and World Series in 2020 – both played at the Rangers’ Globe Life Field during the pandemic— when the Los Angeles Dodgers won their first championship since 1988. Semien, 31, was both the American League Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner last season. His 45 home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays set the MLB record for a second baseman in a single season. However, the Rangers also signed the duo with the long game in mind, to be what Woodward calls “pillars of the franchise.” Seager’s contract runs through 2031 and Semien’s deal doesn’t expire until 2028. Both Seager and Semien were part of a strong free agent class of shortstops last winter that included Javier Baez, Carlos Correa and Trevor Story. Though Semien moved to second base in his lone season with the Blue Jays in 2021, he spent his first eight big league seasons at shortstop and was pursued by other teams on the open market to play the position. The Rangers surprised many around baseball by signing two of those five players and Woodward knows many teams had to be envious of Texas pulling off such a feat. “It’s a big part of your team in general,” Woodward said of the middle infield. “You’re always talking about middle-of-the-field players – the catcher, the shortstop, the second baseman, the center fielder. That’s where your premier guys are, especially on both sides of the ball. “Everyone looks up to them because they are your hardest-working players and there is a lot of value to that long-term. Shortstop, especially, is a premier position nowadays, where you need your guy to be your best hitter as well as your best defender. That’s why Corey and Marcus mean so much to what we’re doing here. They are both special players and special people.” Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out some of my other work here.

Baseball

Clayton Stephenson from the United States plays the Gershwin Piano Concerto in F Major on a Steinway Hamburg piano with guest conductor Marin Alsop and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra on June 14, 2022 for the finals of the Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas.(Ralph Lauer / Ralph Lauer/The Cliburn)Unlike most musicians, pianists can’t easily bring their instruments with them when they travel. They must play whatever piano is available, and adjust accordingly.In the final round of this year’s Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, competitors are selecting from two Steinways: a Hamburg and a New York. Most favor the German-made instrument, but some are in the New York camp.For Clayton Stephenson, the sole American in the finals, repertoire plays an important role in his decisions. He chose the Hamburg for both Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F Major and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, he said, because it’s brighter and better suited for those works. If he had more time to prepare, he would have picked the New York for Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, but is going with the Hamburg because he has more experience with that instrument.Dmytro Choni, a Ukrainian pianist, chose the New York for all his performances in the semifinal and final rounds because he believes it projects better in the 2,000-seat Bass Performance Hall.“I didn’t expect to choose the American one because I’m much more used to the European one,” he said. “But on this particular piano, I felt much more comfortable.”Pianist Dmytro Choni performs Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto on a Steinway New York piano with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor Marin Alsop in the final round of the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, on June 15, 2022 at Bass Performance Hall. (Ralph Lauer/The Cliburn)(Ralph Lauer / Ralph Lauer/The Cliburn)For the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds at Texas Christian University’s new Van Cliburn Concert Hall, though, Choni picked a Hamburg piano because he thought it was more suitable for a hall with just a third of the seating capacity of Bass.Russian pianist Ilya Shmukler, on the other hand, picked the Hamburg for all of his Bass Hall performances because he thought that one projected better than the New York.“The New York is so colorful and can produce a very beautiful sound,” he said. “But when we’re talking about a hall with 2,000 seats, we need something real big. That’s why I chose the Hamburg for all my semifinal and final rounds. I think I made the right choice.”Picking the right piano, then, isn’t an exact science, and comes down to personal preference.DetailsAll performances are being livestreamed free at cliburn.org, cliburn.medici.tv and youtube.com/thecliburn. 4K HDR video and surround-sound audio are available via subscription at hyfi.live/vancliburn.For performance tickets and information on livestreams, call 817-738-6536 or go to cliburn.org. Performances are at Bass Performance Hall, Fourth and Commerce in Fort Worth.Related:Cliburn 2022 competition finals Day 3: Formidable fingers, less subtletyTim Diovanni, Staff Writer. Tim Diovanni is reporting on classical music in a fellowship supported in part by the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. The News makes all editorial [email protected] @howeyehearit Top Arts & Entertainment StoriesGet the latest Arts & EntertainmentCatch up on North Texas' vibrant arts and culture community, delivered every Monday.By signing up you agree to our privacy policyMost Popular on DallasNews.com123456

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Formula One F1 - Canadian Grand Prix - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada - June 18, 2022 Red Bull's Max Verstappen after finishing in pole position after qualifying Pool via REUTERS/Jim WatsonRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMONTREAL, June 18 (Reuters) - Max Verstappen put Red Bull on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday with Alpine's Fernando Alonso joining the Formula One championship leader on the front row after a wet qualifying.Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was third fastest and seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton fourth for Mercedes.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Alemán Courtesy Relaxing at home, famous Mexican rapper Erick Raul Alemán Ramirez, a.k.a. Alemán, grabs a bong of Paleolithic dimensions, fills it with weed and lights it up. "I'm preparing a bonboncito [a play on words on ‘bong’ and ‘bombon’] for the interview," he warns. "I’ll be able to speak better, more relaxed... You know I have always been transparent and never minced my words; people know me." His bong is not suitable for travel. It is an untransportable bong, almost real estate, only for at-home use, huge just like the puff the rapper inhales. “Having fun is paramount. The workload lightens a lot when you have fun... Cannabis itself doesn't make you lazy, nor does it make you successful. It all depends on the foundation you have. I always wanted to be a bona fide, intellectual marijuana artist who could go further.” One of the most accomplished, old-school cannabis rappers in Latin America, Alemán has recorded with everyone from Snoop Dogg, B-Real of Cypress Hill and Berner, to Duki, Khea, C. Tangana, Akapellah, Nicki Nicole and Trueno. His path to fame was paved with hard work, perspicacy and, of course, ganja. 'Even My Friends' Moms Smoked Cannabis' Erick grew up in Cabo San Lucas, in Baja California Sur, Mexico. His region is a peninsula, surrounded by sea, sharing its Northern border with the United States. The only way to get to the rest of Mexico, really, is by plane. “We are surrounded by sea.” In this insular situation, young Erick's musical and cannabis culture was formed, heavily influenced by California’s society. MORE FROM FORBES16 Hispanic Artists Who Support Cannabis - And You Need To Check Out Right NowBy Javier Hasse In his youth, his friends surfed and smoked. But not him; he was afraid of what his parents might say. However, the stigma around cannabis was, for the most part, non-existent in his social life: “Even my friends' moms smoked cannabis.” Little by little, Erick dabbled in the world of pot. And he liked it. He liked it a lot. "My friends were always surfing. I would go to the beach to smoke a joint, to watch them surf and to write in my little notebook, to write my rhymes there." At the age of 21, having accumulated some local fame as a rapper, having come out of the cannabis closet with his parents and having released some songs like Circo, maroma & teatro ("my first song that was bumping on cars, at parties"), Erick went to Mexico City "to try his luck in rap, to chop rocks again, to knock on doors, to be known, to be seen in live shows." Uncle Snoop "We've always wanted there to be a face of hip-hop here in Mexico," says Alemán. Today, that face is his. And he earned that place on the back of hard work and perseverance. "Bro, the truth is that there is no secret to success. Just a lot of hard work and being authentic. Also investing in yourself. The first chance I got, I ramped up my video production, I invested more money than what I had," he declares. "From the days when I had nowhere to sleep, to today, when we live in a mansion, the only thing that has changed is the view, but we are still the same..." "There is also another factor: that people choose you, that they see themselves reflected in you. And I feel very grateful that people have chosen me." His affiliations with the mainstream rap world have also helped. His collabs with Snoop Dogg, B-Real and Bizarrap are among his most listened-to tracks in his repertoire. But how did this young Mexican break into the world of mainstream hip-hop? It was producer Scott Storch, keyboard player for The Roots, who would take him up (up North and to the top of the charts), after Erick dared to challenge the supremacy of mega-viral Tekashi69: "Yo soy el 100% Mexa [I am the real Mexican here]". “First came the feat. with B-Real. Stortch had already named me in front of Snoop Dogg a few times, but it was my manager and partner, Darwin Norvak, head of the Homegrown Mafia label, who closed the deal.” Cannabis was always, always, a very effective lubricant as well. "The first time I talked to Berner was lighting up a joint, talking about strains. When you're into cannabis, you realize there's a mystique to it and you really connect more with people. With Snoop, it was the same: all cannabis. We all were smoking, asking what the other one was smoking." It's The Dollar, Dollar Bill Erick dreams of being able to follow in the footsteps of Berner and his uncle Snoop: getting into the cannabis business is the ultimate goal. "The day cannabis is legal in Mexico, I'd like to give people first-hand access to the best-quality weed and its medicinal effects," the rapper voices. "Countless times in Mexico I've been invited to release a product. But today, being a public persona, I can't do it because it's not regulated yet. There are permits for cultivation and medicinal use already… So I'm just waiting for all this to happen." "But that hasn't stopped me from conducting my research: I’ve been developing my own strain for two years, bro. I'm ready. As soon as it's well regulated here in Mexico and I can start opening up the industry to the people, I'm going to start working. I want people to have the best quality weed on hand... For years I've been doing the field work. People have seen me with the product.” While he waits for legalization, Alemán takes on other businesses. Home-Grown Business Erick and his partner Darwin spent many years in the world of self-management, with their label Homegrown Mafia. Independence was very important to them. However, shortly before the pandemic, Sony came along with an offer they couldn't refuse: Millions of dollars and continuity for Homegrown Mafia's independence. MORE FROM FORBESThe Unusual Suspects: 12 Hispanic Power Players In The Cannabis Space To Watch In 2022By Javier Hasse"It was the first multi-million dollar contract for a Mexican label," says Erick. "It was something that allowed me to live up to the expectations of my own label, my friends, my colleagues. I gathered them and got them all deals... And that [having contracts] was fundamental during the pandemic, when we didn't have shows to play at." 130,000 Witnesses The story of the best joint of Alemán's life is quite unique. It was an act of civil disobedience in front of 130,000 (yes, one hundred and thirty thousand) people. It happened in the Zócalo in Mexico City during a free show alongside Calle 13's Residente. "Mexico City is also my home. This is where I started, where people support me.... That day they told me I couldn't smoke, because the show had been approved by the President," he recalls. "But I couldn't help it. I was very excited, I was ecstatic to see so many people and so many lights. And I thought, at a moment when a mosh pit opened, 'the only thing I'm missing is a joint.' And I had one in my bag. I took it out, lit it up... The first drag I hit was the stuff of dreams!" Beyond the dream fulfilled, Alemán fantasizes about sharing a joint with María Sabina, a very popular shaman from Oaxaca who got to provide psychedelic mushrooms to the Beatles. "She's a sage, a sister. She went beyond the lines of knowledge and reality... I would like to know about life and what lies beyond." But the artist also recognizes that there is still a long way to go: as long as cannabis is illegal and its users criminalized, the mission will not be accomplished. MORE FROM FORBESA Decade Into Legal Cannabis, Americans See Legalization As A Net Positive For Economy And SocietyBy Javier Hasse"How can it be that alcohol and tobacco are legal, but cannabis is not?" asks Alemán. "Not to mention all the medicinal benefits cannabis has. That's the main and primary thing, but the recreational part is also important. I'd rather smoke a joint and stay at home or go outdoors and be able to smoke a joint without anyone bothering me. Cannabis has to be legal because cannabis changes the world, brings people together and makes everything more beautiful." "It's also important to talk about job creation potential and the flow of money that legalization generates. Here in México, that would be a giant step," he concludes. Alemán will be touring in the coming months. Below is his schedule of confirmed and to-be-confirmed shows. May - 13 Puebla - 14 Querétaro - 20 Private CDMX - 26 Cuernavaca - 28 Guadalajara June - 03 Saltillo - 25 Oaxaca - 29 Los Angeles July - 01 Toluca - 03 Mc Allen - 08 Aguascalientes - 09 Morelia - 16 Culiacan - 23 Mexico City - 29 Durango August - 05 Villahermosa - 06 Tuxtla Gutierrez - 14 Monterrey - 19 Merida - 20 Campeche September - 03 Torreon USA - Dates to be confirmed in September - Atlanta - Philadelphia - NYC - Chicago - Denver - Dallas - Houston - San Antonio - El Paso - Las Vegas - San Diego - Anaheim - Riverside - Los Angeles - Phoenix - San Francisco - Sacramento - Portland - Seattle October - 06 Guadalajara - 15 Cd Juarez - 16 Los Cabos

Music

Relentless in both reliability and form of late, Max Verstappen can only expect to leave the Canadian Grand Prix with what is swiftly becoming an ominous lead after claiming pole position in Montreal. Quick all weekend the Red Bull driver was nailed on at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, while his title rival Charles Leclerc can hope at best only to minimise the damage as he was compromised by penalties that will see him start from 19th on the grid on Sunday.For Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes a weekend of experimentation on their car delivered no progress but the team at least held their place as the third fastest, with Hamilton in fourth. However his teammate George Russell managed only eighth after taking a gamble on slick rubber in the final minutes. Fernando Alonso was a superb second for Alpine, the double world champion at 40 years old showing his class in wet conditions. Carlos Sainz was in third for Ferrari with Haas’s Kevin Magnussen in fifth.Verstappen was majestic in Montreal in very tricky wet conditions while Leclerc, stymied by Ferrari’s reliability issues, seems powerless to halt the world champion once more extending his lead. The Monegasque driver took a swathe of new power unit components before qualifying after his engine failure in Baku. With the fourth engine units he has already surpassed the maximum three permitted and there are still 14 races to go.Verstappen in contrast could not be more confident with four wins from the previous five races. Leclerc has suffered two DNFs and a Ferrari strategic meltdown in Monaco in the last three. He did have a 46-point lead after the third round in Australia but Verstappen now holds a 21-point lead over his teammate Sergio Pérez and a full 34 points over Leclerc. With Red Bull having made it clear they are backing Verstappen as their No 1 driver this year, the gap to Leclerc is the one that counts and it is becoming a chasm.Verstappen put himself in the best possible position to expand it further with a mighty performance in difficult conditions on Saturday. With the track wet the final laps require commitment and care and with a natural touch Verstappen found it.Lewis Hamilton will start in fourth on the grid in Montreal. Photograph: Jim Watson/EPAQualifying opened after heavy rain, with drivers tiptoeing round a treacherous track. With it drying in Q3 they stayed out looking for the final moments offering the most grip, in an old-school shootout. Verstappen pushed to the limit, negotiating the testing, high kerbs, looming walls and heavy braking zones that define this mighty track with precision on a drying surface. Setting a time of 1 min 21.299 sec he was a full six-tenths up on Alonso.Given his form of late, Red Bull’s formidable race pace and Verstappen’s exceptional tyre management, he may well be unassailable out front on race day.Hamilton returned his best qualifying of the season but was still 1.5 seconds back from Verstappen. After the FIA announced on Thursday there were to be concessions in the rules to combat the porpoising that has plagued some teams, including Mercedes, this season, their efforts to adapt the car on the fly in Canada have been painful. Hamilton said it was undriveable in practice on a circuit where he loves racing and has seven wins. Reverting to a previous setup has worked but he remains in no position to challenge the leaders.Mick Schumacher was in sixth for Haas, Esteban Ocon in seventh for Alpine, Daniel Ricciardo in ninth for McLaren and Guanyu Zhou in tenth for Alfa Romeo.Quick GuideHow do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?ShowDownload the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhones or the Google Play store on Android phones by searching for 'The Guardian'.If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.Turn on sport notifications.Pérez crashed out after locking up in Q2 causing a brief red flag delay and finished in 13th. McLaren’s Lando Norris had a power unit issue and finished in 14th, in front of Leclerc, with Ferrari opting for their driver to not set a time in Q2. Valtteri Bottas was in 11th for Alfa Romeo and Alex Albon 12th for Williams.Pierre Gasly was in 16th while his AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda was in 20th, his place at the back of the grid cemented with a grid penalty for taking new power unit elements. Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll were in 17th and 18th for Aston Martin and Nicholas Latifi in 19th for Williams.

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It could go either way with Cooper Raiff, the American writer, director and star of Sundance Audience award-winner Cha Cha Real Smooth. There’s an undeniable charm to this wry tale of a directionless college leaver (Raiff) who gets a job as a bar mitzvah host and strikes up a friendship with an older woman (Dakota Johnson) and her autistic daughter. Still only 25 and already on his second feature, Raiff knows exactly what he’s doing – Cha Cha is funny, honest and shamelessly manipulative. He’s a talent to watch. He also, given his propensity to cast himself as adorable goofball characters who are curiously irresistible to women, has the potential to turn into one of the pre-eminent cinematic irritants of the next decade, so fingers crossed on this one. In select cinemas and on Apple TV + Watch a trailer for Cha Cha Real Smooth.

Movies

Fire owner Joe Mansueto, and team president Ishwara Glassman Chrein, haven’t commented on broadcaster Arlo White joining the LIV Golf Tour.Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times It’s pretty clear why a sizable group of people wants the Fire to cut ties with announcer Arlo White. Ironically, it was White himself who articulated the reasons so many despise people who take Saudi money.Of course, that was well before White did it himself.Chatting in October with regular play-by-play announcer Tyler Terens on the Fire’s in-house podcast, White discussed the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s purchase of English team Newcastle United. White, then the voice of NBC’s Premier League coverage, and Terens talked about how conflicted they were by the transaction.While Saudi money instantly made the rabidly followed but perpetually underachieving team the world’s richest club, the promise of a glorious future came at a cost. White recognized that, having recently announced Newcastle’s first match after the takeover.“Clearly, there are ethical issues at play in terms of the human-rights record in Saudi Arabia, the treatment of gay people in Saudi Arabia in which there is no law, there is no support for anybody LGBT in Saudi Arabia,” White said on the podcast. “Women’s rights, other religious rights, they are discriminated against in law in Saudi Arabia.”Unfortunately, the Fire haven’t said anything like that since White was announced as the lead broadcaster of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series. Actually, they haven’t said anything at all to the media or their fans who are concerned about the Fire employing someone tied to a controversial regime.The Fire have declined to make owner Joe Mansueto or team president Ishwara Glassman Chrein available for comment to explain their decision-making process, how much they anticipated any potential blowback and what benefits they could get from holding on to White. Since last week when LIV Golf teed off, White has turned off replies on his social-media posts and was caught referencing the uproar during a hot-mic moment.But it appears the Fire still are planning to use White this summer for a handful of telecasts during their last season on WGN. That’s despite what White explained in October, something that has become another flashpoint for a struggling franchise.PIF’s chairman is Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince who is believed to have ordered the 2018 torture and murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi government executed 81 people in March, oppresses women and the LGBTQ+ community and is responsible for the ongoing bloodshed in nearby Yemen, among other atrocities.It’s hard to imagine that the Fire aren’t aware of what PIF represents and what any affiliation with it would say about their franchise.Last year, White was conscious of PIF and the Saudis and spoke about them months before he took their money to help them sportswash their appearance.However, as the Fire bunker down, those October comments, White’s hot-mic disdain of the “campaigning” to get him removed from the team and an Instagram post Tuesday seemingly doubling down on his choice will have to suffice for now.But maybe the Fire brass’ silence says it all.

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Provided By Gabriel Aikins The ascension of Mallrat has been a long time coming. The Australian pop songwriter born Grace Shaw honed her work religiously over three EPs in the late 2010s. With each of these projects — 2016’s Uninvited, 2018’s In the Sky, and 2019’s Driving Music — the scope of her ambition and skill grew, as Shaw evolved as a producer, expanded her own musical tastes, and matured as a songwriter. Her first single of 2022, “Your Love,” represented a higher level to her art, a biting mix of hip-hop and pop unlike anything she’s created before. The result of this refinement is her long-awaited debut album Butterfly Blue, which incorporates new sounds into Shaw’s pop framework. This is the exact album she wanted to make, and no one was going to stop her. Butterfly Blue began to take shape around the release of In the Sky, on which Shaw added more complex and overlapping synths into her production on tracks like the sonically packed “Groceries.” After Driving Music was released, Shaw buckled down and spent the next several years largely in Melbourne crafting her debut, a lengthy process she’s grateful for in that it allowed her to craft and tinker to bring her vision to life. “It meant that I didn't have to compromise anything about the album. I had lots and lots of time to make it exactly how I wanted,” she tells MTV News. Shaw wanted to explore more sounds, so she did. “Your Love” combines blaring synths with snares and hi-hats and includes a sample from Memphis rapper Gangsta Pat’s 1995 track “Killa, Part 2.” Shaw introduces guitar riffs with plenty of chunky distortion, like on the aptly named “Rockstar.” In order not to limit herself in the directions her songs may go, Shaw enters into the writing process with an open mind. “I don't usually have things that I want to achieve before I write a song. I just start the song and then make it as good as it can be,” she says. Instead, she notes more general musical ideas and textures she enjoys as elements she wants to incorporate during production. She became interested in the contrast between “really distorted, aggressive sounds, and really beautiful vocal samples,” as found on the hook of “Heart Guitar,” which combines a gently sung melody with a gruff looping guitar riff. Butterfly Blue is both cohesive based on the pop elements Shaw has used as Mallrat before, but unrestrained by any idea of what a pop song can or cannot be. Single “Teeth” is a growling punk track with vicious riffs and chaotic climaxes, and “I’m Not My Body, It’s Mine” shifts from piano and guitar to billowing vocal harmonies and electronic distortion in the blink of an eye. Being able to take her music wherever her mind wanders is the point. “I don't think I could do it if I had to compromise even a little bit,” Shaw says. Since Butterfly Blue is her debut album, she doesn’t feel the weight of expectations about what she’s supposed to sound like, something she’s grateful for. “I hate being told what to do,” she summarizes with a laugh. As such, the album fits snugly into the present moment as pop becomes increasingly experimental while standing on its own merits. This was a key focus for Shaw, who says she wants to keep her music “timeless.” She stays up to date on trends and new production techniques, but always with an ear towards making them her own, like on the exhilarating waves of electronically enhanced vocal harmonies and fuzzy electro-pop of “To You.” “I don’t pull up a recent popular song that we like and say, ‘How can we recreate this?’ We just make something that's cool,” she says. Her collaborators help keep the energy exciting. She points to fellow Australian producer Styalz Fuego — who has worked with a range of artists from Imagine Dragons to Tinashe — as someone whose artistic meticulousness matches her own. This also extends to singular, often controversial rapper Azealia Banks, who joins Shaw on “Surprise Me.” As another creative with an unshakable vision of their work, Banks served as a natural partner. “She put so much care into her verse,” Shaw says. “She recorded it several times, like, ‘This can be better.’ And then she's kind of become a little bit of a mentor to me in the process.” Shaw’s meticulous approach to writing follows her into her production, an area she maintained a constant presence in during the recording of Butterfly Blue. “If I'm not involved in production on a song, I get very bored,” she says. One of her favorite production choices that she added to the record was the huge number of vocal harmonies and the integration of her main vocals into the instrumental mix in a way that complements both. This is heard perfectly on “Obsessed,” where Shaw’s sung melody and instrumental backing weave in past each other at the top of the mix. Shaw says listeners (including her) identify with voices instinctively based on human nature. Part of it comes from a preference in her demoing process: Her early general vocalizations and gibberish often morph into vocal backings on the finished songs. “I don't usually record lyrics that I hate,” she states plainly. As Butterfly Blue arrives and more of the world begins to discover Mallrat, it’s with the knowledge that the music they’re discovering was made on her own terms. The drive to create exactly what’s in her head has led to her working hard to always make sure she’s putting out the best possible work she can be proud of. “That is an attitude that I think has carried through much of the album,” she says, “and it's something that I'm going to take with me.” Pop Electronic Music Mallrat

Music

Rewind the clock a little less than four years and there was Eddie Jones arguing that a defeat by the Barbarians should not be included in England’s losing streak because it was not a Test match. Excluding it, the run of defeats still reached five after two subsequent losses against South Africa before the Springboks were beaten, thanks in no small part to Danny Cipriani’s left boot, in a sodden Cape Town.On the back of another difficult Six Nations and back-to-back defeats by Ireland and France, Jones has made clear that “it’s not England this week. It’s England XV against the Barbarians.”A quick look at the Barbarians lineup goes some way to explaining why, not to mention the number of players from Leicester and Saracens absent, and that in turn might have been behind Jones’s insistence that this is a “young” England XV.In reality, beyond the decision to select Tommy Freeman, 21, at full-back, youth is not really an apt way to describe this side. Will Collier and Mark Atkinson have three caps between them but they are the wrong side of 30, as is the returning Jonny May, while Danny Care bumps up the average age from the bench.Rather this side is somewhat of a hodgepodge of likely starters for the first Test against Australia on 2 July and those standing in for players busy 24 hours earlier in the Premiership final. To go back to 2018 once more, eight of the side who started against the Barbarians also started the first Test against South Africa and the remaining seven in the second game were involved in the Premiership final.Sunday’s match offers a hit-out then for some of Jones’s frontline players, a reward for a number of others for their club form of late before they begin their summer holidays and the chance to test a few tactical tweaks at something close to Test match level.“We are experimenting in the game,” says Jones. “We are looking at players who are capable of playing Test rugby and we are looking at doing a couple of different things tactically to see if it suits the strengths of the players.”Jones reckons he has a pretty good idea of his squad for Australia and though there may be one or two who impress and force their way into his thinking, most seats on the plane are already taken.Jonny May at the front as England train at Pennyhill Park in Bagshot, Surrey. Photograph: Alex Davidson/RFU/The RFU Collection/Getty ImagesApplying the same logic of 2018, Jonny Hill, Tom Curry, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, Marcus Smith, Joe Marchant, May and Joe Cokanasiga can all consider themselves firmly in the frame to start the first Test against the Wallabies. The exception is Courtney Lawes, who is on the bench but will surely start the Test series provided he is fully fit.Before inking anyone’s name on to the starting sheet, it should be remembered that this is always a challenging weekend for the head coach given the possibility of injuries and suspensions occurring from both matches taking place at Twickenham.More significantly, however, this fixture gives Jones the chance to test a number of players who have recently regained fitness and are yet to find their form. Into that bracket can go Jack Nowell, May and Hill, who has been named to start at second-row having not featured for club or country since January because of a stress fracture of a fibula and a number of setbacks along the road to recovery.“I’m dying to play rugby,” says Hill. “Whether it’s five minutes or 80 I feel I am ready to go after all this time. Just to wear the jersey at Twickenham again in front of a decent crowd is always an honour.“When the injury was first diagnosed it was like: ‘It will be a couple of weeks off feet, then we’ll build you up and get you back playing.’ But I had that three or four times in the end until I had the surgery. I have not played for a while so I’m excited about getting back out there.”That he will line up against George Kruis, for whom it will be a swansong appearance before calling time on his career, and Will Skelton, who, as things stand, will not be part of the Australia setup against England, only whets the appetite for Hill.The Breakdown: sign up and get our weekly rugby union email.“It’s something we need leading into Australia,” he says. “I’ve certainly had a few battles with Will Skelton and Kruis with [Exeter] in the past. George deserves the send-off he will get because he’s given so much to England. I’m honoured to be playing in his last game because I used to look up to him.”

Other Sports

Athletics - Diamond League - Paris - Stade Charlety, Paris, France - June 18, 2022 Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce celebrates after winning the women's 100m REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPARIS, June 18 (Reuters) - Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce matched her season's best of 10.67 seconds to win the 100 metres at the Paris Diamond League meeting on Saturday.The 35-year-old Jamaican was in a class of her own after a super fast start to beat Britain's Daryll Neita by 0.32 and Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou by 0.34."It was a superb race and I'm happy with the time," said Fraser-Pryce after clocking the 12th fastest time in history.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"It motivates me to go event faster."American Devon Allen was a cut above the competition in the 110m hurdles, finishing in 13.16. Although outside his personal best, Allen was always in control at the Charlety stadium a month before the world championships in Eugene, Oregon.Shaunae Miller-Uibo also eased her way to victory in the 400m in 50.10 after slowing down in the final stretch.The Bahamian said earlier this month that she would not attempt to become the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic titles in an individual running event.Canada's Olympic champion Andre de Grasse disappointed with fourth place in the 200m, won by South African Lux Adams in 19.82 in the Diamond League's penultimate leg before the worlds.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Olympic Sports

Ryan Moore ended a four-year wait for this ninth Royal Ascot jockeys’ title here and did so with winners from opposite ends of his race-riding repertoire. Broome, a 6-1 shot, made all the running to see off a field including Hurricane Lane, last year’s Irish Derby winner, in the Hardwicke Stakes before Moore pulled off a remarkable needle-threading exercise aboard Rohaan in the Wokingham Handicap, finding a way through a wall of horses as he went from nearly last to first in the space of a furlong.Rohaan’s victory, for the second year running in this ultra-competitive handicap and under top weight of 9st 12lb for good measure, moved Moore to a total of seven winners over the meeting, three clear of his nearest pursuers, William Buick and Danny Tudhope, with only two races to run.Even the normally taciturn Moore found his face breaking into something akin to a smile after pulling up on Rohaan. His cause looked hopeless with just under a quarter of a mile to run, with Rohaan close to the stands’ rail and still at least four lengths off the pace. The leaders were also tightly bunched after the whole field decided to come stands-to-middle.When Moore asked Rohaan to quicken, though, the response was immediate, and crucially he was not stopped anywhere on his path to the line. Rohaan powered through a narrow gap between Mr Wagyu and Popmaster, the eventual runner-up, without a second thought and was in front a few strides later. It was Moore’s 74th winner at Royal Ascot, putting him four behind Frankie Dettori in the list of current jockeys.Moore handed the credit to Rohaan and his trainer, David Evans, afterwards. “I knew from two-and-a-half out that he was coming right back to form and that he was going to win,” he said. “He felt like the horse of old and all credit to David for getting him there.”Quick GuideGreg Wood's Sunday tipsShowWorcester 1.30 Port O'Clock 2.00 Ashoka 2.35 Masterdream 3.05 Inn The Bull 3.35 Percy's Word 4.05 Pop The Champagne 4.35 Leopolds Rock 5.07 Windy CoveHexham 1.45 Nero Rock 2.15 Lady Babs 2.45 Melburnian 3.20 The Vollan 3.55 Grand Du Nord 4.25 Follow Your Arrow 5.00 Gone In SixtyPontefract 3.45 Lady Lavina 4.15 Love Is Golden 4.45 Glenartney 5.15 Oleg 5.45 Unplugged 6.15 Exminster (nap) 6.45 Ghathanfar (nb)Moore’s earlier victory on Broome in the Group Two Hardwicke Stakes was a complete contrast, a race which he took by the scruff from the start and refused to let go. Broome had something to find with Hurricane Lane, the favourite, on ratings and with last year’s Irish Derby winner making his first start since finishing third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last October, Moore was determined to make it a test.Broome had his field on the stretch as they turned for home and, while Buick did his best to launch a challenge on Hurricane Lane, they faded into third in the closing stages as Broome powered on to a three-and-a-quarter-length defeat of Mostahdaf. He was cut from 33-1 to around 12-1 for the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes back at Ascot next month.Buick had earlier drawn to within one winner of Moore over the week when he took the Jersey Stakes on Noble Truth but he was on the wrong one in a Godolphin one-two in the £1m Platinum Jubilee Stakes, as Naval Crown (33-1) edged out Creative Force (12-1). He eventually ended the week with five winners, two behind Moore, having brought Stratum with a strong run in the closing stages to win the Queen Alexandra Stakes, the final race of the meeting, for the second year running.James Doyle, Naval Crown’s rider, steered a path down the same stands’ rail where Rohaan would prevail 35 minutes later, and was both delighted and relieved to have got on the board for the week with time running out.Naval Crown, ridden by James Doyle, wins the Platinum Jubilee Stakes. Photograph: Hugh Routledge/Shutterstock“It’s really tough when you’re going into the last day here [without a winner],” Doyle said. “Charlie [Appleby] said to me this morning, ‘Why are you looking so grumpy?’ And I said, ‘I’m running out of bullets.’ So for this fella to get us out of jail is brilliant.“William said it was about time I pulled my finger out, he’s been winding me up all week, so when you get one on the board, it settles everything down a bit.”Aidan O’Brien, Broome’s trainer, ended the week as the leading trainer for the 11th time in his career, with five winners, one more than Appleby, Britain’s champion trainer, who is still looking for his first top-trainer award at this meeting.

Other Sports

By Matt WilliamsIn the coming decades, many space agencies hope to conduct crewed missions to the Moon and even establish outposts there. In fact, between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), Roscosmos, and the Indian and Chinese space agencies, there are no shortages of plans to construct lunar bases and settlements. These will not only establish a human presence on the Moon, but facilitate missions to Mars and deeper into space. For instance, the ESA is planning on building an “international lunar village” on the Moon by the 2030s. As the spiritual successor to the International Space Station (ISS), this village would also allow for scientific research in a lunar environment. Currently, European researchers are planning how to go about constructing this village, which includes conducting experiments with lunar dust simulants to create bricks.To put it simply, the entire surface of the Moon is covered in dust (aka. regolith) that is composed of fine particles of rough silicate. This dust was formed over the course of billions of years by constant meteorite impacts which pounded the silicate mantle into fine particles. It has remained in a rough and fine state due to the fact that the lunar surface experiences no weathering or erosion (due to the lack of an atmosphere and liquid water). Because it is so plentiful, reaching depths of 4-5 meters (13-16.5 feet) in some places – and up to 15 meters (49 feet) in the older highland areas – regolith is considered by many space agencies to be the building material of choice for lunar settlements. As Aidan Cowley, the ESA’s science advisor and an expert when it comes to lunar soil, explained in a recent ESA press release:“Moon bricks will be made of dust. You can create solid blocks out of it to build roads and launch pads, or habitats that protect your astronauts from the harsh lunar environment.”In addition to taking advantage of a seemingly inexhaustible local resource, the ESA’s plans to use lunar regolith to create this base and related infrastructure demonstrates their commitment to in-situ resource utilization. Basically, bases on the Moon, Mars, and other locations in the Solar System will need to be as self-sufficient as possible to reduce reliance on Earth for regular shipments of supplies – which would both expensive and resource-exhaustive.To test how lunar regolith would fare as a building material, ESA scientists have been using Moon dust simulants harvested right here on Earth. As Aiden explained, regolith on both Earth and the Moon are the product of volcanism and are basically basaltic material made up of silicates. “The Moon and Earth share a common geological history,” he said, “and it is not difficult to find material similar to that found on the Moon in the remnants of lava flows.” The simulant were harvested from the region around Cologne, Germany, that were volcanically active about 45 million years ago. Using volcanic powder from these ancient lava flows, which was determined to be a good match for lunar dust, researchers from the European Astronaut Center (EAC) began using the powder (which they’ve named EAC-1) to fashioning prototypes of the bricks that would be used to created the lunar village.Spaceship EAC, an ESA initiative designed to tackle the challenges of crewed spaceflight, is also working with EAC-1 to develop the technologies and concepts that will be needed to create a lunar outpost and for future missions to the Moon. One of their projects centers on how to use the oxygen in lunar dust (which accounts for 40% of it) to help astronauts have extended stays on the Moon.But before the ESA can sign off on lunar dust as a building material, a number of tests still need to be conducted. These include recreating the behavior of lunar dust in a radiation environment to simulate their electrostatic behavior. For decades, scientists have known that lunar dust is electrically-charged because of the way it is constantly bombarded by solar and cosmic radiation.This is what causes it to lift off the surface and cling to anything it touches (which the Apollo 11 astronauts noticed upon returning to the Lunar Module). As Erin Transfield – a member of ESA’s lunar dust topical team – indicated, scientists still do not fully understand lunar dust’s electrostatic nature, which could pose a problem when it comes to using it as a building material.What’s more, the radiation-environment experiments have not produced any conclusive results yet. As a biologist who dreams of being the first woman on the Moon, Transfield indicated that more research is necessary using actual lunar dust. “This gives us one more reason to go back to the Moon,” she said. “We need pristine samples from the surface exposed to the radiation environment.”Beyond establishing a human presence on the Moon and allowing for deep-space missions, the construction of the ESA’s proposed lunar village would also offer opportunities to leverage new technologies and forge partnerships between the public and private sector. For instance, the ESA has collaborated with the architectural design firm Foster + Partners to come up with the design for their lunar village, and other private companies have been recruited to help investigate other aspects of building it.At present, the ESA plans to build their international lunar village in southern polar region, where plentiful water ice has been discovered. To investigate this, the ESA will be sending their Package for Resource Observation and in-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Commercial exploitation and Transportation (PROSPECT) mission to the Moon in 2020, which will be travelling as part of the Russian Luna-27 mission.This mission, a joint effort between the ESA and Roscosmos, will involve a Russian-built lander setting down in the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin, where the PROSPECT probe will deploy and drill into the surface to retrieve samples of ice. Going forward, the ESA’s long-term plans also call for a series of missions to the Moon beginning in the 2020s that would involve robot workers paving the way for human explorers to land later.In the coming decades, the intentions of the world’s leading space agencies are clear – not only are we going back to the Moon, but we intend to stay there! To that end, considerable resources are being dedicated towards researching and developing the necessary technologies and concepts needed to make this happen. By the 2030s, we might just see astronauts (and even private citizens) coming and going from the Moon with regular frequency.Source: Universe Today If you enjoy our selection of content please consider following Universal-Sci on social media:

Space Exploration

OAKLAND – A game between the American League’s two worst teams turned into a pitchers duel, as Cole Irvin of the A’s and Kansas City Royals’ Brad Keller took turns mowing down hitters on a picturesque day at the Coliseum. Irwin, though, wound up as the hard-luck loser, in part due to a questionable decision by one of his outfielders. With one out in the seventh, Royals outfielder Michael A. Taylor lined to left field. Seth Brown broke in and dove to try and make a spectacular catch, but instead came up empty, allowing the ball to roll to the wall and Taylor to get to third base. Ryan O’Hearn doubled to right in the ensuing at-bat, scoring Taylor for the game’s winning run in what became a 2-0 A’s loss to the Royals on Saturday before an announced crowd of 10,936. Irwin (2-4) allowed three hits and one run in 6⅓ innings in what was arguably his strongest outing of the season but remains winless since he came off the injured list late last month. Keller (2-8), meanwhile, faced the minimum amount of hitters through five innings and didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the sixth when Jonah Bride doubled to left for what was just Oakland’s second baserunner at that point. The A’s then loaded the bases in the sixth as both Tony Kemp and Brown walked, but Ramón Laureano flew out to right field. The A’s have now scored two runs or less in 12 of their last 17 games, as Saturday marked the seventh time they’ve been shut out this season. Keller, who had been winless in his last seven starts before Saturday, had six strikeouts and allowed just one hit and three walks in seven innings. Irvin came into Saturday with an 0-2 record and a 3.72 ERA in five starts since his return from the 15-day injured list on May 22. Prior to dealing with left shoulder tendinitis, Irvin was 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA in five starts. The last time the A’s were no-hit was July 13, 1991, when they lost 2-0 to the Baltimore Orioles at the Coliseum. In that game. Bob Milacki threw six innings, followed by one inning each from Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson, and Gregg Olson. The streak of 30 years, 11 months, and five days prior to Saturday remains the longest for any MLB team of not being no-hit. The A’s, who lost 5-1 to Kansas City on Friday, have now lost nine straight series at the Coliseum since they took three of four from the Baltimore Orioles from April 18-21. Oakland is now 7-25 at home and 22-45 overall. The Royals, in last place in the American League Central, improved to 23-41.

Baseball

Topline Actress Rebel Wilson, known for her roles in the Pitch Perfect franchise, revealed in an Instagram post Thursday that she’s in a relationship with a woman, clothing brand founder Ramona Agruma, writing “#loveislove.” Rebel Wilson (R) and Ramona Agruma attend Operation Smile's 10th Annual Park City Ski Challenge ... [+] Presented By The St. Regis Deer Valley & Deer Valley Resort at The St. Regis Deer Valley on April 02, 2022 in Park City, Utah. Getty Images for Operation Smile Key Facts Wilson, 42, previously dated only men publicly, and said she “thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess.” Wilson split from Jacob Busch, an heir to the Anheuser-Busch family, in 2021. The Bridesmaids actress said last month she was in a relationship with someone she met after being set up by a mutual friend. Wilson and Agruma attended the Vanity Fair Oscars party together earlier this year. Key Background Wilson recently revealed that in 2019 she took part in an experiment she called the “Year Of Love,” in which she went out with roughly 50 people. “For a woman my age—at that point I was 39—I really wanted a relationship, but I had only had a few small relationships,” she said. “I’ve got to just get more practice in dating.” Wilson said the practice helped her learn what she liked and what she didn’t in romantic partners. Further Reading Rebel Wilson Reveals the New Love in Her Life: I Found My 'Disney Princess' (People) Rebel Wilson Reveals She's Dating Her ‘Disney Princess' (Glamor)

Celebrity

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Reality TV star Khloe Kardashian is clearing the air.The "Kardashians" star responded to rumors on Friday that she was "seeing another NBA player" after her ex-boyfriend, Tristan Thompson’s most recent cheating scandal played out on the season finale of the Hulu show."Definitely NOT True!!! I love you! Thank you for the nice wishes but I am not seeing a soul," Kardashian responded on an Instagram post sharing the allegations. Khloé Kardashian responded to speculation that she's dating again after the latest Tristan Thompson scandal. (Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)"I am happy focusing on my daughter and myself for a while."KHLOÉ KARDASHIAN AND TRISTAN THOMPSON BREAK UP AGAINThompson is the father of Kardashian's daughter, True, 4. The athlete has come under fire several times before for his past infidelities, notably when Kardashian was pregnant. He also was at the center of a cheating scandal involving Kylie Jenner's best friend, Jordyn Woods.His most recent scandal was aired on the reality series. Thompson was sued for child support in December by Maralee Nichols, a personal trainer from Texas. The pair were in a sexual relationship for months and conceived their son. Khloe Kardashian says she's focusing on herself for the time being. (Photo by RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)Thompson is also the father to his son Prince, 5, who he shares with his ex-girlfriend, Jordan Craig.Kardashian addressed the scandal during a Disney FYC screening and Q&A that was held on Wednesday.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER"It's not easy, but it's also, I think, a form of therapy for me at the same time," Kardashian said. "And I like to see how the rest of my family responds to things.She added: "Those little things mean a lot to me, and I like to see that stuff, just how the whole family — not about this situation, but any situation — how we all rally around one another in times that are hard for us." Tristan Thompson and Khloe Kardashian share their daughter, True, 4. (Photo by Jerritt Clark)While the Kardashian family traveled to Portofino, Italy to see Kourtney Kardashian marry Travis Barker in May, Thompson spent some father-daughter time with True.Thompson shared a video of True applying hair care products to his hair. True applied a generous amount on top of his head, which he replied with, "Oh, wow! That's a big one! Okay… The waves are going to be looking like a tsunami, right?"CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPHe also referred to his daughter as his "twin" during the same night. Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.

Celebrity

Andrew Poturalski and the Wolves open the Calder Cup Finals on Sunday.Courtesy of the Wolves The Wolves have some mojo entering the Calder Cup Finals.Well, more accurately, MoJo.On April 13, Wolves star Andrew Poturalski and his wife, Haley, welcomed their first child, a son named Morrison John. The Poturalski family has taken to calling the newborn MoJo, and the Wolves haven’t lost a game he has attended at Allstate Arena.“He’s brought some good mojo since he’s come to games,” Andrew Poturalski said. “We’re undefeated [at home] since he’s been at the games [in Rosemont]. It’s just awesome to have him there. We’ve got some cool pictures, and it’s definitely really special. It’ll also be really cool when he’s a little older and can appreciate it.”Sunday will be Poturalski’s first Father’s Day as a dad, and his family will spend at least a part of it in Rosemont for Game 1 of the AHL’s Calder Cup Finals against the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Wolves, who had the best points percentage in the league during the regular season, have home-ice advantage in the series with a 2-3-2 format.Poturalski, who had 28 goals and 73 assists, is trying to relish this moment.“Right now, we’re super fortunate in our lives and life is pretty good, and we’ve got a lot of good things going for us,” Poturalski said. “I think people don’t appreciate stuff when you’re in the moment. It’s such a cool time in our lives, and you never know if you’re going to be back in a spot like this in the Calder Cup [Finals], so you’ve got to make the most of it as well.”Poturalski and the Wolves have plenty of other things to enjoy.With a roster loaded up by parent-club Carolina, the Wolves went 50-16-5-5 and cruised to a division title. Then in the playoffs, they swept the IceHogs in three games before dispatching Milwaukee in four.The Wolves jumped ahead of the Stockton Heat 3-0 in the Western Conference finals and seemed primed for another short series. But Stockton responded with a pair of overtime wins, forcing a Game 6 in Rosemont which the Wolves won to finally put away the Heat.“I thought that was a good thing to go through some adversity, to do it on the road, to be together and to kind of feel it and experience it all together,” coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “I think that’s all part of our journey and part of our story, is you need to go through some tough times, some tough losses, just so when you get back to certain situations you kind of understand the emotion and roller-coaster of the playoffs.”The league itself also has gone through trying times.For the first time since 2019 when Poturalski and Warsofsky, then a Charlotte assistant, beat the Wolves for the championship, the AHL is holding the Calder Cup Finals. The 2019-20 season was abandoned due to the pandemic and the 2020-21 campaign didn’t feature a complete postseason.The Wolves know that if this series goes the distance, they’ll have home ice. Not that Poturalski wants the Cup to come down to a winner-take-all match, even if they have MoJo on their side.“We’re hoping it doesn’t get to seven for sure,” a laughing Poturalski said.

Hockey

Jun 18, 2022; Brookline, Massachusetts, USA; Will Zalatoris plays his shot from the 18th tee during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY SportsRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBROOKLINE, Mass., June 18 (Reuters) - Will Zalatoris enjoyed a near flawless trip around The Country Club to grab the third-round clubhouse lead at the U.S. Open on Saturday as whipping winds made for difficult conditions.Zalatoris, who finished runner-up at last month's PGA Championship, began the day four shots behind co-leaders Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen but carded a three-under-par 67 that left him two shots clear of Keegan Bradley (69).Morikawa was three over par for his round through 11 holes while playing partner Dahmen was four over on the day.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWorld number 14 Zalatoris, the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, wasted no time making a move as he birdied two of his first four holes in the coldest and windiest conditions of the week.Zalatoris bogeyed the seventh where his approach missed the green but he got that shot back with a birdie at the ninth before covering the back-nine in one under.Spain's defending champion Jon Rahm began the day one shot off the pace and, with six holes still to go in his round, was one shot off Zalatoris.Pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy looked set to drop out of contention after three early bogeys but held steady and, with nobody else pulling away, found himself right back in the mix with a birdie at the 11th that left him two off the pace.Masters champion Scottie Scheffler looked ready to move clear of the pack when he holed from 101 yards for eagle at the par-five eighth to grab a two-shot lead but had a rough start to the back nine to fall back into the mix.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Frank Pingue; Editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Golf

PITTSBURGH — The Giants’ 7-5 win here Saturday afternoon, securing their first series win against the Pirates since 2017, was the definition of a team effort. San Francisco scored in six different innings, had nine players contribute to the run column and even needed two relievers and a beaten-up backstop to escape a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. But by the time Camilo Doval recorded the 27th out, the Giants were winners of the seventh game in their past eight contests. Their “line change” that often comes when an opposing starter leaves the game gave them the lead for good, though Pittsburgh threatened to spoil things in the eighth with a home run that made it a one-run game and later put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Pinch-hitting for Austin Wynns in the sixth, Brandon Belt drew the first of four walks off Pittsburgh’s bullpen and scored the go-ahead run on a sac fly from Mike Yastrzemski, who was pinch-hitting for Austin Slater. After the Pirates loaded the bases down one in the eighth against Dominic Leone, Jake McGee struck out Tyler Heineman on the 10th pitch of the at-bat to escape the inning. Catcher Curt Casali, who was already nursing a sore hamstring, took a foul ball off his hand but remained in the game as the only available backstop left once Wynns came out. The only player in the starting lineup not to score or drive in a run was Evan Longoria, who walked three times and was stranded on third in seventh, after Luis González delivered a two-strike double that drove in Joc Pederson for what proved to be valuable insurance. With two more solo shots — Wilmer Flores to left in the first, Austin Slater to center in the fifth — the Giants’ past 10 home runs have come without runners on base. They haven’t hit a multi-run homer since Flores’ two-run shot against the Rockies on June 7. But the Giants were able to manufacture just enough runs in other ways Saturday to make up for the Pirates’ one big blast. Brandon Crawford singled home Thairo Estrada to tie the game at 4 in the sixth, and Darin Ruf drove in Casali to give them a 2-1 lead in the third. Crawford gave Doval room to breath in the ninth with an RBI double in the top of the ninth that extended the Giants’ lead to 7-5, after the Pirates pulled within one the previous inning. The teams traded leads three times through the first three innings, but starter Alex Wood settled down after a three-run third and left with a 6-4 lead with one out in the sixth. The Pirates’ five runs amounted to the most the Giants have given up in 10 games, since a 5-3 loss to the Rockies last Tuesday. They’ve won eight of their past 10 (including seven of eight) and took a 1.21 staff ERA over that stretch into Saturday’s game. Wood was a strike away from possibly tossing a one-run gem. But with one on and two outs in the third, Wood fired two quick strikes past designated hitter Michael Chavis. And then: foul, ball, ball, ball, ball. The next batter, Diego Castillo (who entered the game on a 3-for-40 streak and a batting average of .192), put a 2-2 sinker over the left-field wall that accounted for three of the Pirates’ five runs. Daniel Vogelbach made it a one-run game with a solo blast to right against Leone to lead off the eighth, the first run allowed by Leone in 10 outings (9⅓ IP), and Cal Mitchell threatened to tie it again with a deep ball into the gap with runners on first and second, but Yastrzemski, who took over for Slater in center, ran all the way from his shifted position in left-center to the opposite gap to track it down and preserve the Giants’ lead, before McGee got out of the inning. The Giants had played six series against the Pirates since the last time they won one — their final meeting of 2017 — which had been their longest streak without a series win against any opponent in the majors. But against a team tied for the third-worst run differential in the majors (minus-103 entering Saturday), they will go for the sweep Sunday. Bailey’s early exit: Pitching coach Andrew Bailey was tossed from the game by first-base umpire Jim Reynolds during the final at-bat of the fifth inning. Bailey wasn’t the only one on the Giants bench who was jawing with Reynolds, after he said Diego Castillo didn’t go around on a check swing. Reynolds made a few check-swing calls the Giants were unhappy with, including on the pivotal ball four to Chavis after Wood lost him. Bailey’s ejection marks the second time a Giants coach has been tossed from a game, after Antoan Richardson was ejected in the fifth game of the season during his back-and-forth with the Padres bench and coach Mike Schildt.

Baseball

But as spring returned for a cameo appearance and a cool twilight descended upon this golf course that is rich in character and even richer in history, what was coming into shape was a leaderboard that appears to be cut from a United States Golf Association blueprint that consistently pleases.If you love your final rounds of the national championship to feature a mixture of firepower, star power, and colorful story lines, Sunday clearly promises all of that, thanks to what Saturday delivered.To have the 14th player in the world and last month’s loser of a playoff against Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship, Will Zalatoris, shoot 3-under-par 67 and seize the clubhouse lead at 4-under 206 was an impressive opening salvo for those on the first page of leaderboard.But in short order Keegan Bradley (68, 2-under 208) got into position to become the third New England-born winner of a US Open at TCC (you’ve heard of Francis Ouimet, from Brookline, as in across the street from The Country Club, but 1963 winner Julius Boros was from Fairfield, Conn.), then Matt Fitzpatrick (67 — 206) poured in birdies at 14, 15, and 17 on his way to a 67 and leapfrog Zalatoris for the clubhouse lead only to give it up with a bogey at 18.To clarity, Fitzpatrick is not New England-born; he’s England-born. But every nine years, he takes out Massachusetts residency, moves into Jamaica Plain to stay with Will and Jennifer Fulton, then strolls through the gates of The Country Club to compete for a national championship.He succeeded in the amateur in 2013, but to add this US Open to his rèsumè, he must hold off not only Zalatoris and Bradley, but some serious competition right behind him.World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler; defending champion Jon Rahm; from the roaring fast track of superstardom, Sam Burns (71 — 209); that loveable Northern Irishman who just a few days ago tacked the Canadian Open onto his list of accomplishments, Rory McIlroy; and the second-round co-leader, Collin Morikawa.Sterling company, these lads, as they have combined to win eight major championships and learned that the first step is to get into contention. Mission accomplished; they were within four of the lead as pullovers were tugged on and consistent 15 mile-per-hour winds from the northwest continued to throw down a challenge.Sunday, of course, will determine the winner.But now, let us tip a cap to the USGA, as its formula for this national championship has again succeeded. Since 2010, consider the rollcall of winners — McDowell, McIlroy, Webb Simpson, Rose, Martin Kaymer, Spieth, Johnson, Brooks Koepka back-to-back, Gary Woodland, Bryson DeChambeau, and Rahm — have held a world ranking no worse than 37th, with eight of them in the top 15.It is not exactly a formula as secretive as Coca-Cola’s, however, and frankly, it’s not very tricky. It’s just that they’ve nailed it down pretty good and are consistent in their methods.Soften the course setup slightly in Rounds 1 and 2, let from 15-25 players break par, each day, allow a red number somewhere around 7 or 6 or 5 or 4 lead for 36, cut the field in half, then tighten things up with pin placements, greens speeds, and firmness.It’s uncanny how 2022 has followed this blueprint. Through 18 holes, 4 under led and 25 players were under par. At the halfway point, 4 under led and 23 players had an under-par score beside their name. But as a grayness enveloped The Country Club, the clubhouse lead was 4 under and only nine were under par.That most of those names held marquee value is a prospect that will delight fans and afford USGA officials a reason to smile. Rightfully, so, too.Oh, there is a sprinkling of unheralded names (Joel Dahmen, Adam Hadwin and Nick Hardy). But that, too, is part of blueprint methinks. We had that with Chez Reavie (2019), Brian Harman (2017), Andrew Landry (2016), Erik Compton (2014), Blake Adams (2012), and Gregory Havret (2010).But in each of those cases, the long shot couldn’t match the chalk.We’ll see if that continues Sunday at The Country Club.

Golf

Worldle is the latest Wordle spinoff catching the world by storm.Worldle This story was updated on February 17, 2022. Move over, Wordle. There’s a new game in town that’s lighting up little gray cells across the world. Among the many notable spin-offs of the wildly popular Wordle word game — recently snapped up by The New York Times for a cool seven figures — is Worldle, a map-based game sure to challenge both geography-bee tryhards and the most seasoned world travelers. The game was launched on January 30, 2022 by a French game developer who invited his fans on Ko-Fi, a platform for creatives, to “guess a new country every day!” Two weeks later, the developer announced on Twitter that over half a million people had played Worldle on a single day. “You crazy people! It was supposed to be just a small side project! We are now half a million who played #Worldle today!,” tweeted the game’s creator. On February 14, the term “Worldle” was no. 4 on Google Trends, with more than 200,000 searches performed in the United States. That landed it between “Valentine’s Day quotes” and “Trimetazidine.” Interestingly, “Czechia”— the day’s mystery country on Worldle —was also a breakout search term on Google for the day. The next day, the developer tweeted that the huge number of players was overwhelming the game’s servers. “Hey #Worldle people! We are too many, I need to change my hosting service... You will have a short interruption in around 10 minutes! No worry, it’ll come back after few minutes!” On February 16, The Washington Post reported that the game was already attracting nearly one million players per day. How to Play Worldle Want to play? Go to Worldle. You’ll see a black blob in the silhouette of a county or territory that can be anywhere in the world. You have six guesses to identify the country. After each attempt, you will be shown whether you’re correct, close, or completely off track. Worldle will reveal the distance, the direction and proximity between your guess and the target country. These hints will help you get to the right answer. As an example, let’s say that the target country is Lebanon and you guess Chile. The game will show that Chile is 13,557 kilometers from the target country. You’ll also see that your next guess should be a country to the northeast of Chile. And you will get a proximity score of 32%, meaning that you’re in the wrong part of the world entirely. Next, let’s assume that you guess Finland. You will see that Finland is only 3,206 kilometers from the target, which is to the southeast. Your proximity score is now 84%, which means you are much closer. You then have four more tries to reach the correct answer and win the game. A word to the wise: If you don’t want spoilers, steer clear of Twitter and other social media platforms until you’ve played Worldle that day. Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website. Send me a secure tip.

Video Games

CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn (WABC) -- The Mermaid Parade celebrating the art community and featuring participants dressed in hand-made costumes returned to Coney Island Saturday.This year's celebration was led by Tony-nominated performer and transgender activist Mx Justin Vivian Bond and former New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi as Queen Mermaid and King Neptune.The parade kicked off on West 21st Street and Surf Avenue.People were decked out in shiny handmade costumes from head to tail -- reeling in creative spirits like Azriel Fernandez."I chose rope because fishes are always getting caught," Fernandez said, adding that the parade puts life into perspective.Comraderie is what keeps the thousands along Surf Avenue, including Debborrah Parris coming back to the largest art parade in the country."I love it because you see the beauty of New York City," Parris said.This was the first year of the event since the start of the pandemic - breathing fresh air into a community that organizers say relies heavily on visitors like Ryan Greer and his family.While Greer has been to the parade several times, it is a first for his partner and little one - keeping traditions afloat both old and new.ALSO READ | 'March of Dads' rally held in Brooklyn in support of fathers of color----------* More Brooklyn news* Send us a news tip* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts * Follow us on YouTube Submit a News Tip Copyright © 2022 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.

Festivals

CNN — Naomi Osaka will not compete at Wimbledon later this month, with the four-time tennis grand slam champion citing an Achilles injury. Having posted a video on Twitter of herself rehabbing her Achilles on an underwater treadmill last week, on Saturday the 24-year-old was placed on the tournament’s withdraw list with a “leg injury.” Osaka withdrew from the Italian Open with an ankle injury in May, though returned to play the French Open later that month where she suffered a first round loss to 20-year-old Amanda Anisimova. Following the defeat, the Japanese star said she was unsure whether she would play Wimbledon in light of the decision to remove rankings points from the tournament, which runs from June 27 to July 10. A two-time winner of both the Australian and US Open, Osaka’s best runs at Wimbledon were two third round defeats in 2017 and 2018. The world No. 43 has not played at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 2019, though the grand slam was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. Osaka withdrew from the following year’s tournament, with her agent Stuart Duguid saying that the 24-year-old was “taking some personal time with friends and family.” The decision came a few months after Osaka had withdrawn from the French Open after declining to speak to the media in order to protect her mental health, which prompted a period of absence from tennis for the former world No. 1. In a Twitter post Saturday, Osaka confirmed the ongoing issue with her Achilles and wrote a message titled,”after the storm comes the calm.” “I feel like life keeps dealing cards and you’re never gonna be used to them,” Osaka wrote. “But it’s how you adapt to uncomfortable situations that really says stuff about your character. “I’ve been repeating mantras a lot in my head recently. I don’t know if it’s to subconsciously help myself through stressful times or to ease my mind into realizing that everything will work out fine as long as I put in the work. “Cause what more can you do?”

Tennis

SAN FRANCISCO — Even from the bench, James Wiseman made sure to soak in every bit of the Warriors’ NBA title run. Now the No. 2 overall pick is hoping to get back on the court and help the Warriors defend that title in 2023. How and when Wiseman will take those steps is still up in the air, though there is a good chance he will participate in Summer League games for the Warriors in Las Vegas mid-July. “Most likely play in summer league but we’re trying to get situated,” Wiseman said on Saturday afternoon as the Warriors returned to Chase Center for some hungover exit interviews. “It’s up in the air, but there’s a 90 percent chance.” Wiseman was sidelined for the entire season rehabbing his surgically repaired knee. The seven-foot center had surgery to repair a torn meniscus last April with a timeline to return a year later for training camp earlier this year. But a series of set-backs prolonged his rehab and kept him out of game action. In March, Wiseman approached the doorstep to a return to action, even playing in a handful of G-League games with the Warriors’ Santa Cruz affiliate. But a return was put on hold when his knee swelled up again. Wiseman has had two procedures since his surgery last April. The first was arthroscopic surgery in mid-December to relieve swelling in his knee. And, according to reports, Wiseman had an orthobiologic injection in London this April. Warriors coaches asserted Wiseman is in desperate need of reps, “thousands of reps,” as coach Steve Kerr put it in March. The 21-year-old has only played 39 NBA games in 2020/21 before tearing the meniscus on his left knee during a game against the Houston Rockets. He played just 69 minutes in three games at University of Memphis. Watching the NBA title run from the sidelines was “challenging” for Wiseman. But he studied Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr.– who had meniscus surgery last year, too — during the Western Conference semifinals to see how he moved and worked. Giving him some motivation, too, was watching rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody contribute down the stretch and in the playoffs. “It’s hard for me because I haven’t gotten the exact reps that Jonathan and Moses got,” Wiseman said. “I get the reps, and I think I’m going to be fine.” Wiseman said he hasn’t had any knee swelling recently and is hoping to work on his rim protection and defending guards. For now, he’s celebrating being part of a winning team — he was right with his teammates during the champagne celebration in Boston, hugging the Larry O’ Brien trophy. But he has his sights on short term goals. “It’s all it takes, just to have patience,” Wiseman said. “I’m a young player with a lot of years left to play in this league, god willing. So I’m just being patient with myself and my craft. I don’t have no pressure…I will do whatever I can to make Steph (Curry), Klay (Thompson) and Draymond (Green) successful.” Andrew Wiggins wants to say with the Warriors Once considered a first-pick bust, Wiggins reinvented himself as a standout in this playoff run. Still feeling the buzz from the NBA title celebration, Wiggins expressed his desire to stay with Golden State long term. “I would love to stay here. Being here is top notch,” Wiggins said. “The way they treat their players, we’re all a big family. A lot of places might say that, but here they show that through their actions.” Next season, Wiggins will be in the final year of his five-year, $147 million deal signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves at age 23. He’s up for a possible extension. Or a viable trade piece, depending on how the Warriors decide to spend next season. Jonathan Kuminga’s summer Wiseman won’t be the only Warriors player worth watching at Summer League. Jonathan Kuminga hinted Saturday afternoon that he would “love to” play in the offseason competition in Las Vegas. “I would want to do it especially if I’m trying to grow and learn and get better every day, I got to play more,” said Kuminga, who might also play for the Democratic Republic of Congo national men’s basketball team this offseason. “I feel like the Summer League would be good.” Some players go through their entire careers without winning an NBA championship. But at 19, Kuminga is the second youngest player to earn a championship ring. Kuminga acknowledged how special it was for him to win at the highest level at such a young age. He enjoyed his cousin sending a video of his family doing the Griddy dance after the Warriors knocked off the Celtics in six games. His brother, who is back in Africa, also told him that “everybody is happy that you’re a champion.” “I learned how to be a winner… and now I know what it takes to actually get to the Finals and get the job done,” Kuminga said. “By being out there watching what was going on, listening to coaches, listening to vets, that really helped me and I feel like if we just keep up with the good work hopefully next year we’ll get there and I’m going to be one of the guys helping the team to get there.”

Basketball

Instagram“We just had a conversation that maybe it was better if I just kept him as my own because his schedule was so insane back then.”Posted on June 17, 2022, 6:28 pm Amy Sussman / Getty Images Drake on October 30, 2021, in Long Beach, California. “​​The toughest act to follow's back on tour,” Drake raps on “Sticky,” a track on Honestly, Nevermind, a new, surprise album released Friday.A new tour hasn’t yet been announced, but dog trainer Cheri Wulff Lucas revealed on Instagram this week that Drake’s hectic Summer Sixteen Tour, a collaboration with Future and the highest-grossing rap tour of all time, resulted in Drake surrendering his 12-week-old puppy Reuben due to his tour commitments.But Lucas assures everyone it worked out for the best, even if Reuben doesn’t live in the home that appeared on the front cover of Architectural Digest.About six years ago, the Canadian megastar enlisted Lucas’s help for his new fluffy Akita puppy with food aggression issues, which occur when a dog is territorial over their food, and sent Reuben to stay with Lucas for the training. Cheri Wulff Lucas / Via Instagram Reuben The training was supposed to last two weeks, but when Lucas and Drake couldn’t find time to meet because of Drake’s busy tour schedule, the stay turned into months.This was 2016, an era when “One Dance” played in every single bar; Drake’s tour schedule stretched from July to October. The months ticked by, until Lucas told Drake it would be in everybody’s best interests if she kept the dog.“I basically started to feel like Reuben was one of my own, one of my pack,” Lucas told BuzzFeed News. “And then after a while, we just had a conversation that maybe it was better if I just kept him as my own because his schedule was so insane back then.” Andrew Chin / Getty Images Canadian rapper Drake performs onstage during his Summer Sixteen Tour on September 17, 2016, in Vancouver. Lucas said the conversation with Drake about what was going to happen with the dog was a little bit hard because she had fallen in love with Reuben.“I was just really in love with Reuben, but I wanted to keep it very professional, so I couldn’t very well say, ‘I’m going to cry if you don’t let me keep him,’” she said, laughing. “But he was really open about it. Drake is a really, really nice guy. He’s very humble and very down-to-earth. It came down to just a commonsense arrangement more than anything.” Lucas has worked with celebrity dog trainer Cesar Millan and is featured on several episodes of his show Dog Whisperer.At any given time, Lucas has about 18 to 20 dogs on her 20 acres in California, she said. In addition to training other people’s dogs, she rescues some from kill shelters and has a pack of her own. She said she trains dogs with issues ranging from dog aggression to human aggression and separation anxiety.“We thought it would be in his best interest for him to stay with me,” Lucas said.On Monday, Lucas posted on Instagram detailing the decision. “Long story short, a decision was made that Reuben stay here and be a part of my pack,” part of the caption read. “I was thrilled because by then I loved Reuben as if he were my own. And now he is.” Reuben is an Akita, a breed Drake seems to favor: In a 2016 preview for his album Views, Drake introduced Diamond, who is also an Akita and has appeared on Drake's social media, along with another dog, Winter, over the years. Reuben did not appear on Drake’s @champagnepapi Instagram account, although perhaps it was similar to when Drake didn’t post about his son Adonis at first — think: “I wasn't hidin' my dog from the world, I was hidin' the world from my dog.”Reuben’s food aggression was fixed immediately, Lucas said.“Drake was smart to get ahold of me right away and not let it escalate,” she said.Drake did not respond to a request for comment.

Celebrity

By Monday morning, there could be plans for a Matt Fitzpatrick statue in Brookline. Success in both the US Amateur Championship and the US Open at the Country Club, aswhich is now within Fitzpatrick’s grasp, would be quite the feat.Fitzpatrick, who endured a turbulent Sunday at last month’s US PGA Championship, is hot in pursuit of glory on his next major start. The Yorkshireman, whose amateur win came at this illustrious venue in 2013, will start day four in a tie for the lead. At four under par, Fitzpatrick has Will Zalatoris for company. History favours Fitzpatrick.To his credit, Fitzpatrick spoke confidently about the impact of nine years ago. “I certainly think it gives me an edge over the others, yeah,” he said. “I genuinely do believe that. It’s a real, obviously, positive moment in my career. It kind of kickstarted me.“To come back here and play so well again, it kind of just gives me growing confidence round by round.”Jon Rahm had reached the 18th tee at five under par. Bunker trouble – and a double bogey – followed. The defending champion’s one-over-par 71 means he is one shy of the leading duo.Zalatoris was even closer than Fitzpatrick to a US PGA win, having lost in the playoff at Southern Hills to Justin Thomas. A 67 for Zalatoris was the performance of day three. Curiously, the 25-year-old has five top-10 finishes in seven major starts but is yet to win a mainstream tour event.“The US PGA gave me a lot of belief and confidence that I belong in this situation,” Zalatoris said. “There’s a difference in thinking it and then actually being in the situation and believing it. So I think that’s probably the biggest change. That US PGA really made me feel that I can be one of the world-class players.”Jon Rahm comes a-cropper on the 18th, hitting the edge of the bunker when playing out, leading to a double bogey. Photograph: Julio Cortez/APRory McIlroy’s 73 left him three from the lead and therefore still very much in touch. The wild nature of the US Open was emphasised by Scottie Scheffler, who holed out for an eagle on the 8th which afforded him a two-shot lead at six under. By the 15th tee, the world No 1 was minus one. Scheffler closed at two under after a 71. Adam Hadwin and Keegan Bradley are on the same score.The frustrations associated with a typically fierce US Open setup were embodied by the behaviour of Thomas. The US PGA champion’s ball came to rest inches from a drain in the middle of the 4th fairway. Thomas would have been granted free relief were the drain interfering with his stance or the line of his swing; a referee determined neither applied.Thomas made his annoyance perfectly plain, while casting aspersions towards how many of his fellow professionals would have behaved if placed in the same movie.“That’s what pisses me off,” Thomas said to his caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay. “So many other people would lie about being able to hit that, but it’s just like: ‘I’m not going to hit it.’ That’s fucking bullshit, man.” Thomas tossed his club away for good measure.After signing for a 72, as left him at plus three, Thomas elaborated on the situation. “To me it was around a drain and very clearly my stance and my ball was sitting differently than it would be if that drain was not there,” he said. “I called an official to get a ruling on it, and in the spirit of the game, I wasn’t going to hit the drain. I felt like I very easily could have told her that I was going to and gotten a free drop, but I wasn’t.“It’s unfortunate because it was a great drive and I had a pitching wedge in my hands. I could only hit the ball 100 yards. I mean, it’s very clear that my stance and where my ball was was altered and sitting badly because of that drain, but I didn’t get a drop from it. That’s just how it is. You have to be able to hit the drain to get a drop.”Quick GuideHow do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?ShowDownload the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhones or the Google Play store on Android phones by searching for 'The Guardian'.If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.Turn on sport notifications.In a statement, the United States Golf Association said: “During the discussion, Justin was asked if the drain was going to interfere with his swing, to which he replied it was not. Because there was no interference from the drain, Justin was not provided relief. Rule 16.1a(1) states that interference from an immovable obstruction exists when the ball touches or is in or on the obstruction, or the obstruction physically interferes with the player’s area of intended stance or area of intended swing. The rule goes on to state that if the obstruction is close enough to distract the player but does not otherwise interfere, there is no relief under the rule.”Thomas will not feel he is completely without hope of claiming back-to-back majors. Justin Rose’s race appears all but run after a 74 shuffled him back to plus five. Brooks Koepka’s 75 means he has matched Rose’s 54-hole total.

Golf

He reportedly turned down a “high nine digits" deal to play on the new Saudi-backed golf tour, but no matter. Thanks to endorsements and real estate, he is a billionaire anyway. Tiger Woods’ labored limp around Southern Hills during last month’s PGA Championship was a harsh reminder of how much time has passed since he stalked the fairways at the 1997 Masters en route to his first green jacket. Triumph, injury, scandal, failure and triumph again have filled the intervening years. But through it all, the 46-year-old Woods has maintained his supremacy as one of the top-earning athletes in the world, raking in over $1.7 billion in salary, endorsements and other income over the course of his 27-year career—more than anyone else Forbes has tracked. Forbes now estimates his net worth to be at least $1 billion, based on his lifetime earnings, making him one of just three known athlete billionaires. The others are NBA superstar LeBron James, who has leveraged his fame and fortune by taking equity stakes in a number of businesses, and Michael Jordan, who hit ten digits after he retired, thanks to a well-timed investment in the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. Woods has reached that rarified air despite reportedly turning down a “mind-blowingly enormous” offer from the new Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, a deal that LIV CEO Greg Norman told the Washington Post would’ve been in the “high nine digits.” Yet to this point, less than 10% of Woods’ career earnings, and net worth, comes from golf winnings. The bulk of his fortune comes from enormous endorsement deals with more than a dozen brands, including Gatorade, Monster Energy, TaylorMade, Rolex and Nike, with whom he signed in 1996 and which remains his biggest backer. “He hit the right time in the right sport, being an athlete with a diverse background who was approachable,” veteran sports business consultant and Columbia lecturer Joe Favorito says. “Brands love knowing they’re getting someone who is embraced not just by the traditional but also by the casual fans.” Tiger Woods won his first Masters Championship in 1997, earning him a green jacket and $486,000. This year, the winning payout was $2.7 million.Sam Greenwood/PGA TOUR Archive/Getty Images Woods has used his status and earnings to expand into an array of other ventures, which now include a golf design business (TGR Design), a live events production company (TGR Live) and a restaurant (The Woods). Through TGR Ventures, Woods has taken stakes in Full Swing, a golf technology training tool; Heard, a hospitality software startup; and PopStroke, a luxury mini-golf experience with four locations in Florida and plans to open a half-dozen more locations across the country in 2022. Woods is also identified as a partner in a SPAC announced in January, and he is an investor alongside British billionaire Joe Lewis’ Tavistock Group, golfing rival Ernie Els and Justin Timberlake in NEXUS Luxury Collection, a group of clubs and resorts. “[He’s] been extremely skillful in taking parts of businesses, in creating their own business, in ways that athletes before them just weren’t,” says legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg, reputedly the inspiration for Tom Cruise’s character in Jerry Maguire. Steinberg would know. He still remembers negotiating the then-biggest rookie contract in football history in 1975—a deal that paid Atlanta Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski $600,000 over four years. Even adjusted for inflation, that’s only about $800,000 annually—less than what dozens of NFL rookies made last year. What’s changed? First and foremost, the value of live sports on television. In a streaming world, almost no other programming can still reliably generate a mass audience. In 2011, 51 of the year’s top 100 telecasts were sporting events. Last year, that number was 95 out of 100. The dollar size of TV contracts has soared, taking player salaries— or in the case of golf, tournament prize money—with them. Jack Nicklaus earned $5.7 million (less than $40 million in today’s dollars) over his four-decade playing career, which began professionally in 1961. That’s less than a third of Woods’ 27-year inflation-adjusted haul. Woods’ impact on golf’s TV ratings, and purse sizes, cannot be overstated. In the early 2000s, according to former CBS president Neal Pilson, TV audiences would drop 30% to 50% when Woods was not in contention at a tournament. This so-called “Tiger Effect” contributed to PGA Tour winnings nearly tripling between 1996 and 2008, a stretch in which Woods won 14 major championships. (He is still a major draw, but less so these days.) “Tiger has been the instigator,” six-time major champion Phil Mickelson said in a 2014 interview. “He’s been the one that’s really propelled and driven the bus because he’s brought increased ratings, increased sponsors, increased interest, and we have all benefited.” Tiger Woods' relationship with Rolex began in 1997, when he signed a 5-year, $7 million endorsement deal. The company was one of the first major partners to rejoin his portfolio in 2011 after his infidelity scandal.Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR/Getty Images At his peak, Woods was the most prolific athlete endorser in history, earning north of $100 million per year off the course. He held the No. 1 spot in Forbes’ highest-paid athletes list for ten consecutive years, ending in 2012. Not even his dramatic fall from grace after his 2009 Thanksgiving car crash derailed his earnings power. Over the last 12 months, despite hardly ever teeing up the ball while recovering from a serious car accident, Woods collected $68 million in off-course income, enough to make him the 14th-highest-paid athlete in the world. Seeing Woods fight through obvious pain has kindled a new kind of Tiger mania as fans, and sponsors, support him anew in the role of resilient survivor rather than invincible conqueror. Woods’ wealth is secured whether or not he ever swings a golf club again. Yet he has already announced his commitment to play in this summer’s Open Championship at St Andrews, and hasn’t ruled out his participation in this month’s U.S. Open Championship, despite withdrawing from the final round of last month’s PGA Championship because of soreness in his surgically repaired legs and back. “Initially he was a clean-cut role model; he was someone that epitomized the American dream,” says Steinberg. “In some ways, the struggles have only added to his profile.” MORE FROM FORBES MORE FROM FORBESHow A Little-Known California School Earned Top Marks On Forbes' 2022 College Financial GradesBy Emma Whitford MORE FROM FORBESThe Strongest And Weakest Colleges In America - Behind Forbes 2022 Financial GradesBy Emma Whitford MORE FROM FORBESEXCLUSIVE: U.S. Government Ordered Travel Companies To Spy On Russian Hacker For Years And Report His Whereabouts Every WeekBy Thomas Brewster MORE FROM FORBESHow Two Africans Overcame Bias To Build A Startup Worth BillionsBy Jeff Kauflin

Golf

FORT WORTH — At age 18, South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim on Saturday night became the youngest gold medal winner in the 60-year history of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.At an awards ceremony at Bass Performance Hall, the second prize silver medal went to the oldest of the competitors, 31-year-old Russian Anna Geniushene, and the third prize bronze medal to Ukrainian Dmytro Choni, 28.One of the world’s highest visibility classical music contests, the Cliburn presents cash awards of, respectively, $100,000, $50,000 and $25,000 to its three top winners. More valuable almost certainly are guarantees of three years of concert tours and career management. Selections were made by an international jury including prominent concert pianists, with conductor Marin Alsop as chair.In addition to live audiences in Fort Worth, the contest was followed avidly by other pianists, teachers, conductors and artist managers around the world via live and delayed video streams.Lim is the second South Korean in a row, after 2017′s Yekwon Sunwoo, to win the top prize. His stunningly virtuosic and mature performance of the Liszt Transcendental Etudes in the semifinal round obviously carried the day, and he also took two other awards. Here’s an enormous talent to watch.Geniushene is clearly a solid and substantial musician. Her performances of Brahms’ Op. 10 Rhapsodies and Beethoven’s Op. 33 Bagatelles were magical.Choni offered playing at once sophisticated and natural, and he’s clearly another major talent to watch.The ceremony concluded an 18-day schedule of solo recitals and, with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, concerto performances. The final concertos Saturday, led by Alsop, featured pianists from three countries tragically in the news lately: Ukraine (Choni), Russia (Geniushene) and Belarus (Uladzislau Khandohi).The Saturday night ceremony also presented numerous other awards.Each of three finalists who didn’t win a medal — Uladzishau Khandohi from Belarus, Ilya Shmukler from Russia and Clayton Stephenson from the U.S.A. — received a $10,000 cash award. Semifinalists received $5,000 each, quarterfinalists $2,500, preliminary round competitors $1,000. Other awards worth thousands also were announced.Jury Discretionary Awards, $4,000 each:Patricia and Neal Steffen Family Jury Discretionary Award: Andrew Li, 18, United StatesRaymond E. Buck Jury Discretionary Award: Changyong Shin, 28, South KoreaJohn Giordano Jury Chairman Discretionary Award: Marcel Takokoro, 28, France/JapanOther awards were:$5,000 Beverley Taylor Smith Award for Best Performance of a New Work (this year, competition juror Stephen Hough’s Fanfare Toccata): Yunchan Lim$5,000 Best Performance of the Mozart Concerto: Ilya Shmukler, 27, Russia$2,500 Carla and Kelly Thompson Audience Award: Yunchan LimPandemic delayThe normally quadrennial Cliburn was delayed one year by the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition is named after Texas-raised pianist Van Cliburn, whose win at the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow in 1958, at the height of Cold War tensions, catapulted him into instant fame. The competition was launched four years later by Fort Worth fans of the pianist, who moved to the city in 1986 and spoke at awards ceremonies before his death in February 2013.Screening auditions identified 30 competitors ages 18 to 31, representing 15 countries (counting double nationalities claimed by two pianists). During the three first rounds, the list of competitors was narrowed to six finalists.There were some changes this year. Preliminary and quarterfinal rounds, devoted to solo recitals, were held not at Bass Performance Hall, but at Texas Christian University’s handsome new 717-seat Van Cliburn Concert Hall.Then at Bass Hall, each of 12 semifinalists played a 60-minute solo recital and, with the FWSO and guest conductor Nicholas McGegan, a Mozart piano concerto. The Mozart concerto performances replaced a chamber music round that had been a Cliburn staple.This represented a third concerto in advance of the traditional two contrasting ones in the final round. Alsop, who also served as the jury chair this time, conducted the final round performances.Related:Cliburn 2022 competition finals Day 3: Formidable fingers, less subtletyGeopolitics shadow the CliburnThe Russian invasion of Ukraine loomed over this year’s Cliburn.The Cliburn’s decision to let Russians compete triggered backlash from some who thought they should be banned. Both the Dublin and Honens Piano Competitions initially decided to ban Russians, later reversing course.“We’ve been talking about giving a platform to young musicians, from wherever they are, and will not discriminate,” said Jacques Marquis, president and CEO of the Cliburn.“Naturally, if someone would have been in support of war, we would have the need to disqualify and send home anybody. But we still believe these young musicians have nothing to do with this.”Related:At Cliburn 2022 finals, Russia-Ukraine war looms over the competition

Music

Formula One F1 - Canadian Grand Prix - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada - June 18, 2022 Red Bull's Max Verstappen after finishing in pole position after qualifying Pool via REUTERS/Jim WatsonRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryVerstappen on pole, Alonso alongsideSainz and Hamilton share second rowLeclerc at back of grid after engine penaltiesPerez crashes in second phaseMONTREAL, June 18 (Reuters) - Red Bull's Formula One leader Max Verstappen shone in the wet to take pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday as Alpine's evergreen Fernando Alonso celebrated his first front row slot in a decade.Verstappen's main title rivals sunk out of sight, Mexican team mate Sergio Perez crashing and qualifying 13th while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc ended a run of four poles in a row by dropping to 19th due to engine penalties."I still expect it not to be a straightforward race," said Verstappen after his second pole in nine races.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"But today with the tricky conditions we stayed calm and didn't make mistakes."His qualifying time of one minute 21.299 seconds was 0.645 faster than 40-year-old Alonso's surprising best.Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was third fastest on a drying track and seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton fourth for Mercedes on a weekend dominated by talk of bouncing cars and driver safety."I can't tell you how happy I am," said Hamilton of his best Saturday showing so far this season."On pure pace in the dry we're still a long way off but to get top four in qualifying in those conditions is awesome."Sunday's race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will be the first in Canada since 2019 and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is forecast to take place in sunny and dry conditions.Verstappen has won four of the last five races, with Red Bull chasing a sixth in a row. He leads team mate Sergio Perez by 21 points, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc a further 13 behind.OLDEST MANDouble world champion Alonso, the oldest man on the grid, had been fastest in final practice and Sunday will be his first appearance on the front row since 2012 when he was on pole for Ferrari in Germany.The wily Spaniard said with a grin that he planned to attack Verstappen into the first corner and hoped to lead at least momentarily.Haas's Kevin Magnussen qualified fifth with team mate Mick Schumacher a career highest sixth. Alpine's Esteban Ocon lines up seventh and Mercedes' George Russell eighth."It's something I can build on and grow from. I always loved racing in the wet conditions. On a track like this, there's big potential for drivers showing what they can do," said Schumacher, who has yet to score a point.McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo qualified ninth and Chinese rookie Zhou Guanyu lines up 10th for Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo.Qualifying was halted in the second phase when Perez went straight into the Tecpro barrier between turns three and four and could not reverse out.The car had to be craned off and the barriers repaired before the session resumed.Perez qualified one place ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris who failed to set a time in the second stage after reporting an issue with the power unit that the team could not fix.Williams' Alex Albon had also gone into the barriers at turn six earlier but was able to continue, returning to the pits for a new front wing and eventually qualifying 12th.Aston Martin's four times world champion Sebastian Vettel and Canadian Lance Stroll failed to progress through the rain and spray of the opening phase after they had raised hopes in final practice.Nicholas Latifi completed a miserable afternoon for Canadian drivers in 19th place, although the Williams driver will move up a slot after Leclerc's demotion.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Other Sports

Matt Fitzpatrick won the 2013 US Amateur title at BrooklineEngland's Matt Fitzpatrick takes a share of the lead into the final round of the US Open as he chases his first major title at Brookline Country Club.Fitzpatrick shot a two-under 68 to move to four under, level with American Will Zalatoris, who carded a 67.Defending champion Jon Rahm is a shot behind after he double bogeyed the 18th, with world number one Scottie Scheffler on two under after a wild 71.Rory McIlroy battled to a 73 to sit just three shots behind on one under.Saturday is called 'moving day' in the majors but most of the movement was in the wrong direction as Brookline, the USGA and mother nature combined to serve up a brutal test that even the best in the world struggled to deal with. US Open leaderboardOnly seven players finished under par for the round on a day as much about temperament as talent with bogeys unavoidable. It was all too much for overnight leader Collin Morikawa. The reigning Open champion signed for a ruinous seven-over round of 77 to fall out of contention at two over. Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick both came close at the US PGA Championship last month, with Fitzpatrick also playing in the final group at Southern Hills, while Zalatoris lost in a play-off to Justin Thomas. They both now have another chance to win their first major, but behind them they have the defending champion, the Masters champion and a four-time major winner desperate for more.Fitzpatrick going for Brookline doubleSheffield-born Fitzpatrick won the 2013 US Amateur title at Brookline and he will be hoping the perfect storm of arriving at a familiar course, with his game in good shape and on the back of going close in the last major can tip the balance in his favour.The 27-year-old certainly handled the course better than most on Saturday, with only a closing bogey on 18 preventing him from taking a solo lead.Zalatoris hoping it's third time lucky World number 14 Zalatoris is yet to win on the PGA Tour but in his short career the 25-year-old has finished runner-up in two majors - including that US PGA Championship play-off loss last month. What was more impressive than the four birdies on his card was the fact Zalatoris only made one bogey as he avoided the mistakes that ruined the rounds of so many others. Playing slightly ahead of the faltering leaders, Zalatoris was in the lead when he stood on the 18th tee and duly carved a drive miles right of the fairway, but rescued a par by getting up-and-down from a bunker to show the mental toughness that defined his round. "That 67 feels like a 61 or 62 in my book," Zalatoris told Sky Sports. "That's some of the most solid golf I've played ever."

Golf