Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the Spotlight!  We’re barely into the New Year and it has been an eventful one already. First, (and you would be forgiven for not knowing this, but…) the Golden Globes took place this past Sunday.  The theme of the night seemed to be “bombs” and not much else, as Christopher Nolan’s biopic thriller Oppenheimer swept the major film categories, meanwhile the evening’s host, comedian Jo Koy had a rough go of it with his jokes. The next night a quarterback took a beating--not in the College Football National Championship (my sympathies to my Washington Huskies colleagues)—but rather at the hands of a more skilled J.K. comedian, as (J)immy (K)immel addressed the war of words between he and Aaron Rodgers arising from Rodgers’ implying that Kimmel’s name would appear on the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates. Of course, that turned out to be false (paging defamation litigators…) but that’s neither here nor there. Meanwhile four prominent sports fixtures (3 of whom being football coaches, and 1 of whom being Tiger Woods) have turned pages on respective decades of history. University of Alabama coach Nick Saban, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick have each retired or simply moved on from their respective teams’ sidelines after remarkable careers, while Tiger Woods has ended his 27 year relationship with NIKE Golf.  What awaits them this year and beyond is anyone’s guess. What awaits you is even more Spotlight.

• • An AI-generated, deepfake ad of Taylor Swift purportedly endorsing French cookware brand Le Creuset (which is French for “The Creuset”) highlights the need of brands and celebrities alike to be vigilant, place more of a premium on authenticity—in real ads. It’s little wonder that Congress is setting its sights on the issue.
    
    
  • The trend of original sports content marches on, with LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler and other NBA stars signing on to participate in a Netflix docuseries (produced by James’ SpringHill Company, Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions and Barack Obama’s Higher Ground Productions) similar to Netflix and Omaha Productions’ “Quarterback” series. Unfortunately, the market for original sports lawyer content does not seem as robust.
    
    
  • KETO-friendly snack and cereal company, Catalina Crunch unveils its endorsement relationship with New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson. As a lifelong Knicks fan, this seems like a great fit – both Catalina Crunch and the Knicks can help you lose parts of yourself.