Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the Spotlight! In case all eight of you missed me last week while I was out, I will do my best to show that I am coming back a better version of myself. What does that mean in my situation?  Well, we’ve recently witnessed impressive range and reinvention from familiar faces and names. Beyoncé is topping the charts--certainly not an all that surprising revelation on its own but for the fact that she’s branched away from her familiar R&B/Pop category into Country Music. In so doing, Beyoncé has made history as the first black woman to hold the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with a country song.  Charting her own course through history, former Disney Channel star and recording artist Bridgit Mendler (who’s since earned a Masters degree at M.I.T. and her J.D. at Harvard Law) has herself reached out to the stars, founding a satellite data startup. Then again, newness does not always translate to something better. Major League Baseball found that out when it was revealed (in more ways than one) that their new Nike uniforms that are being rolled out this year are sheer/partially see-through—back to the drawing board there (though I might have considered leaning into this one as a way of attracting an audience).  In any event, instead of reinvention, I just plan to see through my best laid plans to pepper you with wordplay, dad jokes and shenanigans all the while (maybe?) informing you about all things sports and entertainment – not unlike these:

• • Hip hop artists Kanye (“Ye”) West and Ty Dolla $ign and their controversial album, Vultures I already under the threat of litigation from Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne for use of a musical sample of a Black Sabbath performance of “Iron Man” (for which approval was withheld by Osbourne due to Ye’s hateful antisemitism) are now being sued by Donna Summer’s estate for an unauthorized sample of the late singer’s hit entitled “I Feel Love.” I’m reminded by an old proverb: the titles of songs you take, does not a better person make.
     
  • Kansas City Chiefs’ superfan “ChiefsAholic” could be going to prison for nearly a dozen robberies, or as it’s called in the criminal justice system, being a “ThiefsAholic.” 
     
  • The New York Jets’ flagship radio station will no longer be ESPN New York as the latter is choosing to part with its FM signal – but shed no tears for ESPN New York – they are well-acquainted with Jets losses.
     
  • LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne unveils a billboard in New York’s Times Square as part of her endorsement deal with apparel brand Nautica. An occurrence that without name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities for collegiate athletes could not have been done.