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 NCAA has updated its policy on transgender athletes, allowing each sport’s national governing body to make its own decisions for transgender participation. The new rule is in line with recent changes from the U.S. and International Olympic and Paralympic Committees. Joanna Hoffman, communications director of Athlete Ally, joined Cheddar News to discuss the potential impact of the new rule on the transgender community.
The NCAA voted to streamline their constitution at their annual convention on Thursday. Each of the three college divisions can decide how student-athletes can make money from outside sources but still restricts schools from directly paying its players.
With New York recently announcing the legalization of sports betting, even a greater number of bettors are looking forward to the NFL's divisional round. Derek Carty, a fantasy sports and sports betting analyst, talked to Cheddar about betting strategies for the four upcoming playoff games. "I feel like the Chiefs are a little bit overrated by the markets, and so the Bills here really look good to me," Carty said for the Kansas City and Buffalo matchup. He also pointed to the Green Bay Packers to be the likeliest team to win the Super Bowl this year.
Olivia Harlan Dekker and Sean Green break down and provide their top picks for the NFL Divisional Round this weekend, while Frank Schwab dissects NBA futures and gives his take on the ongoing Nets drama.
Sean Green, co-founder of The Sports Gambling Podcast Network, joins Cheddar Bets to break down the best plays across the AFC Divisional Round matchups.
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Frank Schwab, sports betting writer for Yahoo! Sports, joins Cheddar Bets to find the best value down the MVP contender list and make sense of how to bet the Nets at home and on the road.
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The drama surrounding tennis star Novak Djokovic continues after he was deported from Australia over the weekend due to the nation's COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Djokovic was forced to leave the country on the eve of what was to be his first match in defense of his Australian Open title after three judges ruled in favor of his removal and revealed their reasoning for doing so. Adding to his woes, a law recently passed in France is putting his chances of defending his French Open title in jeopardy. The director of Marist's Center for Sports Communication, Jane McManus, joined Cheddar to discuss the ongoing fallout.
Alex Silverman, senior reporter covering the business of sports at Morning Consult, joins Cheddar News to discuss why the number of those betting on sports doubled in 2021 and what's next for the industry in 2022.
If you have not placed your buffalo wings order yet, hurry up. The biggest weekend in NFL playoff history kicks off in just under 48 hours with six games being played over three days. Sports Analyst at Yahoo Sports Pamela Maldonado joined Cheddar to give us a preview ahead of the Super Wild Card Weekend.
