Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut sets ESPN viewership record for league game on network
NEW YORK (AP) – ESPN's coverage of the Connecticut Sun's Caitlin Clark game against the Indiana Fever was the highest-rated WNBA game on the network. On Tuesday's league opening night, Clark's WNBA debut, which the Sun beat the Fever 92-71, drew an average of 2.1 million viewers on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, including a 7:45-7 p.m. That figure, which includes a peak audience of 2.3 million viewers through minute 59, is higher than the nearly 1.5 million viewers recorded by ESPN for the Phoenix Mercury-Connecticut Sun game on May 22, 2004, during Diana Taurasi's rookie season. exceeded the number of viewers.
The Academy of Country Music Awards are here.Luke Combs leads nominations
The 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards will be held Thursday at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, north of Dallas. The 59th ACM Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire for a record 17th time, will feature artists such as Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, Post Malone, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and more It promises to be a star-studded event with memorable performances by. Jason Aldean pays tribute to the late Toby Keith. The 2024 ACM Awards will be streamed on the Amazon Music channel on Prime Video and Twitch Live at 8pm ET.
As Zambian schools tackle climate change, one teenager uses sign language to spread the word
KASAMA, Zambia (AP) — Bridget Chanda is passionate about educating Zambia's deaf community about climate change. The Zambian government is being urged to further integrate climate change education into school curricula as the southern African country suffers from more frequent extreme weather events, including the current severe drought. But to share it with the deaf community, we need people like 18-year-old Chanda to help translate it. This task is more difficult because sign language does not include many climate-related terms.
Cricket World Cup to be held in a New York City suburb where the sport is popular among immigrant communities
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (AP) — A temporary stadium is being built outside New York City as the United States prepares to host its first Cricket World Cup next month. The sport found fertile ground in waves of immigrants from the Caribbean and South Asia. The United States is co-hosting the T20 World Cup, with eight matches to be played at Eisenhower Park on Long Island. American cricket organizers hope the match will bring the same excitement for soccer as the first FIFA World Cup in the United States in 1994. USA Cricket estimates that there are more than 400 regional leagues across the country and more than 200,000 Americans play the sport.
Angie Harmon sues Instacart and former shopper who shot and killed her dog Oliver
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Actor Angie Harmon has filed a lawsuit against Instacart and a former Instacart shopper who shot and killed her dog during a grocery delivery at her North Carolina home in March. The lawsuit was filed last week in Mecklenburg County. The lawsuit seeks to hold shoppers and Instacart liable for charges including trespass, gross negligence, emotional distress and invasion of privacy. Police said the shopper said he shot the dog because it was attacking him. Instacart said it immediately suspended and then permanently deleted the shopper. The company says it conducts comprehensive background checks on shoppers.
Man pleads guilty to stealing Arnold Palmer's green jacket and Augusta Masters memorabilia
CHICAGO (AP) – A former warehouse assistant at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia has pleaded guilty to transporting millions of dollars worth of stolen Masters Tournament memorabilia and historical items, including Arnold Palmer's green jacket. Ta. Richard Grobenski of Georgia filed the complaint Wednesday in federal court in Chicago. Federal prosecutors said the 39-year-old took the products from the warehouse to another party in Florida to sell online. They say the scheme lasted nearly 10 years and Grobenski made about $5 million from his sales. Prosecutors say the memorabilia also included stolen jackets belonging to Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Netflix plans to broadcast NFL games on Christmas for three years, including two games this season
Netflix and the NFL announced a three-year deal that will see the streaming giant distribute games on Christmas Day. Netflix will distribute both games this year, and at least one game in 2025 and 2026. Netflix announced in an advance presentation to advertisers that it will host defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City in Pittsburgh, followed by Baltimore in Houston. Netflix began airing NFL programming last year with the series “Quarterback.” A series about wide receivers will air for the first time this year. Netflix began broadcasting live sporting events last year, but golf and tennis were exhibition events. The July 20th match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul is also scheduled to be aired, and World Wrestling Entertainment's flagship show “Raw'' is scheduled to begin airing next year.
Brazil's dance craze sparked by young people in Rio's favelas is recognized as a cultural heritage site
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Pasinho is a Brazilian dance style created by children from Rio de Janeiro's favelas in the 2000s. And it was declared an “intangible cultural heritage” of the state of Rio, bringing recognition to the cultural expressions that originated in the working-class region. The authors of Pasinho were young children with sufficient flexibility and had no problems with their joints. They started trying out new moves at home, showing them off at community funk parties, and, importantly, sharing them on the internet. Dancing also became a means for young people to move between communities controlled by rival drug gangs. The film offered young people from the favelas an alternative to a life of crime or the usual fantasies of becoming soccer stars.
WNBA challenge: How to translate the Caitlin Clark hype into sustainable growth for the league
Aja Wilson, Brianna Stewart, Diana Taurasi and more are joined by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, making the WNBA a star-studded roster. The league receives unparalleled attention. The WNBA's challenge now is to turn this hype and fuss into a movement and not just a blip in its history. Minnesota coach Sheryl Reeve said everyone involved in the game needs to be more innovative in how they market and promote their players and the game to take advantage of a potential tsunami for both the league and women's sports. He said there is. This means fans will spend their money and the WNBA will make the right move ahead of its next media deal after the 2025 season.
Blinken's Kiev song choice raises eyebrows as Ukraine battles heavy Russian aggression
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, an amateur musician, might have thought he had an upbeat tune perfect for playing with a Kiev bar band. Fresh off a day in which he expressed an optimistic outlook on the war with Russia despite gloomy news from the front lines, he spoke to a packed club, ostensibly to encourage Ukrainians to keep fighting. They played “Rockin' in the Free World.” It's supposed to be a homage to the glory of life in the West, uncompromised by communism and authoritarianism, but it's actually a lament about the despair caused by homelessness, drug addiction, and poverty.
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