Members of the media are taken on a tour during the transformation taking place inside Vivint Arena before the start of the NBA basketball All-Star weekend Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, in Salt Lake City. More than 60 players are making their way to Salt Lake City for All-Star weekend, some of them for the first time, one of them for the 19th time. And while some events will tout the league's future, many will be celebrating the past.(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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.
Michael Jenkins gives his picks for the final week of the NFL regular season while Joe Osborne dishes out his insight for how to approach a week where some teams choose to sit out their star players. Meanwhile, Austin Mock explains his strategy for selecting a winner in the national title game between Georgia and Alabama.
Sponsored by BetMGM
It's no secret tech giant Amazon has a mission of becoming a major player in sports media, and the company is poised to make progress on that goal in 2022. Amazon Prime Video will be the exclusive home to Thursday Night Football for the 2022-23 NFL season. In December, the New York Post reported that Amazon is in the beginning stages of developing studio sports programs, and hopes to soon have a full daily lineup of sports shows. Front Office Sports senior reporter A.J. Perez joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The seven-time Pro Bowler Antonio Brown thrust himself into the spotlight again after an on-field meltdown against the New York jets that ended with him pulling off his jersey and exiting the field at MetLife Stadium, leading his Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians to say that Brown was "no longer a buc." Sports commentator and former quarterback Lester Ricard Jr. joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to discuss the troubled star's latest actions as well as his checkered past few years in and around the league. "About three or four years ago, Antonio Brown, his career was trending towards a Hall of Famer, one of the best wide receivers of all time," said Ricard Jr. "I don't know if he's self-imploding or whatever's going on with him." Ricard went on to speculate about a specific hit Brown may have taken years back he felt could have led to the current behavior.
Sports betting is going mainstream in the United States. Dozens of states have legalized it, California is set to do the same this year. Arizona, which legalized sports betting in September, set new national records for gambling in its first months. Daniel Graetzer, CEO of Maximbet, joins Cheddar News to discuss what's next for the booming industry.
There is a new player in the mobile app stock trading space.
Zingeroo recently announced a funding round of $8.5 million. The company says it aims to bring 'friendly competition' to stock trading, by literally breaking trading down into daily and weekly competitions between friends. Zingeroo also says it hopes its new approach can make trading more accessible, educational, and social than ever before. Zingeroo co-founder and CEO Zoe Barry joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell for more.
Back in July of 2021, the NCAA announced a new policy in favor of allowing student-athletes to be given the chance to gain income through endorsement deals as well as public appearances. The Name, Image, and Likeness policy have found great appreciation among athletes who now can grow their businesses without having to sacrifice their playing eligibility. However, some critics believe this new policy could cause some chaos in the locker room. Sports Reporter at the Wall Street Journal Laine Higgins, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Chris Vannini, National College Football Reporter for The Athletic, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he breaks down the complications COVID-19 is having on college bowl season, with five games cancelled as of Thursday.
Eric Mitchell, sports analyst and co-founder & head of media relations at Lifeflip Media joins Cheddar News to discuss how covid-19 is impacting pro sports.
