The NBA has fined Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard $50,000 and suspended him from all team activities for a week after he used an anti-Semitic slur that was heard on a video game livestream, the league announced Thursday. Leonard will also be required to participate in a cultural diversity program. In …
Read More »Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman to perform original piece at Super Bowl
Poet Amanda Gorman became a breakout star of President Biden’s inauguration after her moving performance earlier this month — and now, she’s set to inspire national audiences again. The NFL announced Wednesday that Gorman will recite an original poem during the pregame ceremony at Super Bowl LV. Gorman, the youngest …
Read More »Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird announce engagement
Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird, an iconic power couple in women’s sports, have added a new ring to their collection. Bird shared a photo on Instagram on Friday showing Rapinoe getting down on one knee while sliding a ring onto Bird’s finger — no caption needed. Rapinoe and Bird, both …
Read More »Dax Shepard reveals he relapsed after 16 years of sobriety
Dax Shepard revealed this week on his popular podcast, “Armchair Expert,” that he relapsed after 16 years of sobriety. Shepard shared the unfiltered story of his struggle with the painkiller Vicodin, which stemmed from a motorcycle accident in 2012 and subsequent injuries. While Shepard said he initially had “no problem” …
Read More »Washington NFL team hires independent firm to review “culture” amid sexual harassment allegations
The NFL’s Washington Redskins have hired a law firm to conduct an independent review after 15 women alleged, in a Washington Post report, that they were sexually harassed while working for the club. The firm Wilkinson Walsh in a statement said it will conduct “an independent review of the team’s …
Read More »Book excerpt: “A Burning” by Megha Majumdar
In her debut novel, “A Burning” (Knopf), Megha Majumdar writes of characters in contemporary India who collide over issues of class, social media, politics and corruption. In the excerpt below, we are introduced to a girl, Jivan, whose flippant comment on a Facebook post leads to an accusation of terrorism. …
Read More »Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett headline 2020 class
Kobe Bryant was already immortal. Now he’s officially a Hall of Famer as well. And he’s got plenty of elite company in the 2020 class. Bryant, who died on Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash, and fellow NBA greats Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett headlined a nine-person group announced Saturday …
Read More »Kenny Rogers has died at 81
Singer Kenny Rogers died Friday night, according to a statement from representative Keith Hagan. He was 81. The statement said Rogers died “peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.” “The family is planning a small private service at this time out of concern …
Read More »Max von Sydow, actor who starred in “The Excorcist,” dies at age 90
Copenhagen, Denmark — Max von Sydow, the self-described “shy boy”-turned-actor known to art house audiences through his work with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman and later to moviegoers everywhere when he played the priest in the horror classic “The Exorcist,” has died. He was 90. His agent Jean Diamond said Monday that …
Read More »Westminster dog show 2020: Siba, black standard poodle, wins nonsporting group after McDonald’s snack
Chic and strong-headed, Siba the black standard poodle will only eat chicken — no meat, no veggies, not even turkey. That became a problem when handler Crystal Murray-Clas couldn’t find any at the Westminster Kennel Club show Monday. So this prim and proper poodle chowed down on the closest thing …
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