From 'The Blind Side' bombshell to an NBA star standoff, here's what's happening in entertainment.
Blind(ed) Side
Michael Oher, former NFL tackle and the focus of the hit 2009 film The Blind Side, has alleged the couple that took him in during his teenage years lied about adopting him. In a Tennessee court filing, Oher said the couple, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, did not tell the truth about his adoption status and instead tricked him into signing papers that made them his conservators.
He asked a judge to terminate the conservatorship and to require the couple to turn over a full account of money they made off of his name. Oher also requested the Tuohys face some sort of sanctions and be required to pay compensatory and punitive damages, according to the Associated Press. The filing also revealed that Oher only learned of the status of his adoption this year.
ESPN x NBA
ESPN analyst and color commentator Doris Burke will be making history come the NBA finals. She will become the first woman to serve as TV analyst during a championship final for any of the four major U.S. sports.
The network announced she'll be calling the game along with former Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers and long-time commentator Mike Breen. The news comes just weeks after the network cleared the house of some of its most tenured analysts, like Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson.
Rivers joins the analyst team after losing his coaching job when the 76ers failed to reach the NBA finals this year.
Harden Drama
Also, in NBA news: what's beef? 76ers star James Harden is in a standoff with the team that he clearly wants to leave. Harden, who headed to Philly in 2022 after his 1-year stint on the Brooklyn Nets, wanted to head to the L.A. Clippers, but talks between the teams didn't pan out.
This weekend, during a promotional even in China, Harden called 76ers owner Daryl Morey a liar. The declaration comes after the 76ers announced that they stopped entertaining trade offers for Harden and would retain him for the upcoming season. It's unclear what happens next with training camps scheduled to start in October.
The United States Women’s National Team has settled its lawsuit over gender-based pay disparity with U.S. Soccer for $24 million. Filed in 2019, the settlement will end with all claims by the USWNT being resolved following a judge's dismissal of its case in 2020.
Coming off of the latest NFL season, Draftkings has plans for growth and new bettors to join its platform following what it saw as a record year of state legalization of sports betting and Super Bowl action. CEO Jason Robins joined Cheddar News to talk about what in store for the company in 2022, including labor issues leading to the postponement of the MLB's spring training games and the NCAA's March Madness. "There's a lot of really exciting stuff that happens in the first couple of rounds all the way through to the championship game. So typically we've seen incredible activity during March Madness on the betting side," Robins said.
PlayersTV is bringing sports viewers Athletes On Demand, a subscription platform to provide fans with thousands of hours of sports content from their favorite athletes. CEO Angela Bundrant joined Cheddar News to discuss the new rollout. "People can expect to receive content or buy into content on demand that comes from their favorite athletes," said Bundrant, listing star partners like the Phoenix Suns' Chris Paul and New Orleans Pelicans' C.J. McCollum.
Walker Ross, Assistant Professor of Sports Business Management at Florida Southern College, joins Business of Sports: The Beijing Winter Olympics 2022, where he says that actions Beijing and other Olympic host sites have been implementing to combat climate change has simply not been enough to offset their carbon footprint.
Olivia Harlan Dekker breaks down Thursday's primetime matchup between the 76ers and Bucks, NBA champion Richard Jefferson sets the scene for this weekend's All-Star Game, and Alex Monaco discusses who he's bullish and bearish on for Thursday's action.
The 15-year-old Russian Olympic figure skater Kamila Valieva found herself at the center of a scandal after a positive test for a banned substance became public. Valieva fell out of gold contention in the women's free skate after falling, avoiding a potentially embarrassing situation, where a medal ceremony would have been nixed had she won. Scott Hamilton, the retired American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist in the 1984 Games, joined Cheddar to break down the scandal. “It’s a team competition and every member of the team participated in that score and hers should be disallowed”.
Alex Monaco, host of the “The Bettor Half Hour” on MSG Networks and the “Sports Gambling with Moneyline Monaco” podcast, joins Cheddar Bets to give his last-minute tips before tonight's slate of games starts.
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Richard Jefferson, host of the Road Trippin' podcast, NBA Today analyst, and NBA Champion, joins Cheddar Bets to break down All-Star Weekend festivities and to give his "Pick 6" for tonight.
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BetMGM Host Olivia Harlan Dekker joins Cheddar Bets to break down tonight's big Bucks-76ers matchup -- likely Philly's last game without James Harden.
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While many are excited to watch the final two NFL teams square-off and see which one ultimately takes home the trophy, some, on the other hand, are there for another mian attraction -- the commercials. Companies during this year's game are looking towards the future From electric vehicles, to robots, and crypto-currency, several first-time advertisers are expected to join long-time advertisers like Pepsi, Budweiser and Doritos during the NFL's biggest game. Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer at R/GA, joined Cheddar News' Big Game Special to discuss.
