NBA All Star Gam3 '23 - TNT/TBS
Picked by Reporter Lawrence Banton
It's the midpoint of the NBA season and that means it's time for the league's best to gather for their annual exhibition game. Weeks ago LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named team captains. The league switched its approach to the game this year and have upped the stakes. Teams will be selected less than an hour before competition commences. It should be noted that Team LeBron is 5-0 in the All-Star Game and has not lost since the league made the format switch in 2018. The big game tips off on Sunday at 8:30 pm. Other events like the celebrity game and three-point contest begin today and run through the weekend.
Star Trek: Picard: Season 3 - Paramount+
Picked by Digital Editor Mike Nam
The saga of the iconic Starfleet admiral concludes in the third season of Picard, which is streaming now. The final season draws together the original cast members of Star Trek: The Next Generation, prompting folks online to quip that it's essentially the eighth season of THAT show. In any case, join Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, and Brent Spiner for one last trek across the stars with the beloved classic cast.
Love and Monsters - Amazon Prime Video
Picked by Reporter Alex Vuocolo
This Amazon Prime Video original — released early in the pandemic to little fanfare — is about a post-apocalyptic world in which gigantic, carnivorous monsters reign over the surface and humans live in underground bunkers. The plot begins when a young survivor decides to leave the safety of the bunker and travel miles across a dangerous landscape to reunite with his girlfriend from before the world ended. The cast is strong; the CGI imaginative and convincing; and the pace pleasantly brisk. So if you're looking for something to hold you over before the next The Last of Us episode, Love and Monsters hits many of the same notes.
Throwback Picks
Shrek 1 & 2 - Prime Video
Picked By Growth Associate Keara O’Driscoll
This series is one of the few "children's" movies that truly can be enjoyed by all ages. Both choices are great to throw on in the background for the kids in your life, and you won’t find yourself banging your head against the wall to the tune of We Don’t Talk About Bruno.
The Freshman - HBO Max
Picked by Senior News Editor Dina Ross
Marlon Brando knocks off Marlon Brando playing The Godfather in this 1990 comedy, which also stars a young Matthew Broderick playing a bright-eyed film student who gets a rough-and-tumble welcome to New York City. Broke and alone, Clark (Broderick) is offered a job that is too good to be true that leads him on a wild ride involving the mafia, an eye-roll-inducing academic advisor, and a pesky komodo dragon. If you haven't seen it in a while, or ever, it's worth an easy watch.
Podcast Pick
Let’s Make a Rom-Com - CBC Podcasts
Selected by Newsletter Impresario Graison Dangor
Perhaps you’ve heard about BuzzFeed’s new AI quiz that generates the plot of a romantic comedy. (Mine is called Life's a Fire, starring Henry Golding and Christina Aguilera as love interests, set in Winnipeg. Agents: Get in touch anytime.) The CBC’s approach to making a rom-com is much more fun: Have three podcast hosts try to create a script that’s actually good. To get help over the eight-episode series, the trio turn to screenwriters who have worked on iconic rom-coms like Legally Blonde and 10 Things I Hate About You. Their approach worked in the podcast’s first season: The New Yorker called Let’s Make a Sci-Fi one of 2022’s best shows.
PlayVS is the first esports league for high school students. The company announced $15 million in funding that will go towards preparing for its upcoming inaugural season.
Facebook is facing more backlash after a New York Times report revealed the social media company shared user data with at least 60 device makers. It turns out Facebook shared information with four Chinese firms, including Huawei. The Chinese company Huawei is the third largest smartphone maker in the world and has also faced intense scrutiny from U.S. government officials.
Tesla shareholders voted to keep Elon Musk on as chairman of the electric carmaker. At the annual shareholder meeting, Musk said the company is on track to deliver 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week by the end of this month. Tesla will also open a new gigafactory in Shanghai, its first outside of the U.S.
And we talk to WNBA legend and Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie. She stars in the new film 'Uncle Drew' alongside Kyrie Irving, Chris Webber, Shaq, and other comedy and basketball greats. Leslie also weighs in on the NFL kneeling controversy.
Denying people the right to express their opinions doesn't represent America's democratic values, says Lisa Leslie. Trump "focuses so much on trying to be the dictator of our country," Leslie tells Cheddar.
The U.S. didn't qualify for the World Cup this year, but Tab Ramos, who played in three championship events, is still "bullish" about the sport's future in America. "We have a lot of young players -- 18, 19, 20, 21 -- who are ready to take that step and ready to take the U.S. to new heights," he tells Cheddar. Ramos is now the U.S. under-20 national team coach.
The media exec points out that people will pay for sports content before they even pay for dinner. Discovery inked a $2 billion deal Monday to broadcast golf tournaments internationally, across platforms.
Facebook is under fire again for its privacy practices after reports that it gave device makers like Apple, Amazon, and Samsung access to user data. The New York Times claims that over the past 10 years, the social media site struck deals with at least 60 companies for user information. This latest report is just another setback for Facebook as it tries to repair its reputation following the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
Apple's developer conference, or WWDC, kicks off today in San Jose, California. This year, the tech giant is focusing on software developments rather than new hardware. Cheddar's Hope King reports live from the conference about what we can expect ahead of the keynote speech.
The 2018 World Cup is just days away. We're joined by Tab Ramos, soccer legend, head coach for the U.S. Men's National U-20 team, and World Cup analyst for Telemundo Deportes, to talk about the big event.
Tab Ramos, soccer legend, head coach for the U.S. Men's National U-20 team, and World Cup analyst for Telemundo Deportes, previews the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The NFL's decision to ban players from taking a knee during the anthem propagates the narrative that the athletes belong at the bottom of a hierarchy and are just supposed to "do as we say," says ex-Giant Victor Cruz. "I think you'll still see some kind of protest," he tells Cheddar.
The skateboarding legend, who became the first person to land a '900' trick back in 1999, has successfully turned his sporting career into a business empire. It all boils down to perseverance and taking risks, he tells Cheddar's Jon Steinberg.
The social media network's live video platform will help grow its monthly active users, especially as consumers rapidly ditch cable for on-demand content, says Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser.
