DALLAS — They should have known what was coming for them, the kind of night that is easier than any other to predict in the NBA.
By the time the Mavericks left the court a loser Monday night in Memphis, it was clear they’d only be a shell of themselves by the time they got back to Dallas, where the Lakers were waiting. Luka Doncic was hurt. Kyrie Irving’s back had him sidelined. And center Daniel Gafford’s sprained ankle meant another key piece for Dallas would be unavailable for a game Anthony Davis labeled a “must win” after the Lakers lost in Houston on Sunday.
Yet every season teams get caught on nights like this, their feet a little heavy, their reactions too slow against a roster energized by the power of opportunity.
“They was waiting on us; it seemed like they was licking their chops,” Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith said.
More shots, more minutes, more chances — the momentum only builds as players gain confidence. And Tuesday, even though the Lakers had more talent, they couldn’t stop the waves crashing into them.
Dallas beat the Lakers 118-97, the Mavericks blowing the doors off the Lakers in the second half despite being without their key offensive options minus Klay Thompson.
“I’m not sure what our rotations were.,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I’d never seen us try to execute what we were doing. I haven’t watched the film yet. Just watching it live and talking to the assistants who did watch it on film, we’re not sure what was going on with the shift positioning and the rotations …Never seen it before.”
Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) knocks the ball from Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) as he attempts a layup during the first half Tuesday.
(LM Otero / Associated Press)
The Lakers were flat on offense, the ball rattling out and off the rim. They were clueless on defense. And they paid for it. Following a stretch where the Lakers won eight of 11 games, the team has now dropped two in a row, getting swept on a Texas roadtrip.
“I mean, it sucks, obviously, especially knowing where we were and how well we’ve been playing,” forward LeBron James said.
Former Laker Spencer Dinwiddie scored more than double his season average. Quentin Grimes and Jaden Hardy doubled their averages off the bench. P.J. Washington scored 10 more than his average. No matter who had the ball, Dallas attacked the Lakers guards and put the defense into help situations they couldn’t handle. Over and over.
Washington finished with 22 points, Dinwiddie had 19. Grimes scored 23 and Hardy added 15. The Lakers’ point-of-attack defensive failures helped create wide open threes for the Mavericks, who made 18 of them.
“We just didn’t do a good job of playing good basketball,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said. “That’s really it.”
Davis scored 21 points to lead the Lakers on a night when their offense was toothless, even though LeBron James nearly had a triple-double: 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
And as their defense faltered, their offense was stuck in the mud, the misses piling up until Redick mercifully pulled his regulars in the final minute.
Davis declined to speak postgame.
He missed 11 of his shots. Reaves missed nine of his. The Lakers ended up shooting 45.3% but it felt way worse — probably because of the defense.
“It felt like we played a little tired tonight,” Redick said.
The Lakers return to Los Angeles for their next eight games, a stretch when they need to rebuild the momentum they lost in Texas.
“We can’t really dwell on it too much,” James said. “That’s the name of the game of the NBA. You see what you could’ve done better but you gotta get ready for the next opponent and we got another game coming on Thursday in our home building.”
CULVER CITY, Calif. — Taylor Rooks, Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki will be part of the Prime Video studio show when the streamer begins its coverage of the NBA next season.
Griffin, who retired in April after a 15-year playing career, was at the top of the list for everyone. NBC, which will return to doing NBA games when the 11-year media rights deal begins in October, and ESPN were also interested in him.
Griffin was the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA draft and was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2011. Along with winning the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest, when he dunked over a parked car, he was a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection.
Nowitzki, a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team, will also be a first-time analyst. The 14-time All-Star selection and 2007 NBA Most Valuable Player played 21 seasons, all with the Dallas Mavericks, before retiring in 2019. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.
Rooks is a feature reporter on Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” coverage as well as being a host and reporter on Bleacher Report and TNT.
The studio show will be based in Culver City, California, on the Amazon MGM Studios lot.
Prime Video will have 66 games during the regular season, including all games from the quarterfinals of the in-season NBA Cup. It also has every game of the play-in tournament, first- and second-round playoff games and one of the conference finals in six of the 11 years.
HONOLULU — The Sony Open turned solemn Tuesday morning when dozens of players, caddies and PGA Tour officials joined Grayson Murray‘s family along the shore behind the 16th green at Waialae to pay tribute to the defending champion who took his own life four months later.
Murray won the Sony Open last year by making birdie on the 18th hole and winning a playoff with a 40-foot putt.
The celebration of his life took place one day after the PGA Tour announced the launch of the Grayson Murray Foundation, which is geared toward raising awareness and support of mental health and addiction.
“Grayson touched the heart of so many by sharing his own mental health challenges,” his parents, Eric and Terry Murray, said in a statement. “He utilized his platform as a multi-time champion on the PGA Tour to reach and inspire those in need — and we are determined to continue his generosity and unwavering commitment to help make a difference in the lives of others.”
His father twice declined to speak while fighting back tears during the ceremony led by Corbett Kalama, the president of Friends of Hawaii Charities who shared a Hawaiian prayer as the sun rose over the waters.
Eric Murray eventually encouraged Murray’s friends to remember his son’s passion.
“Through the foundation, we want to keep that passion alive,” he said.
Kalama invited the family — Murray’s parents, a brother and sister and caddie Jay Green — to the water to toss petals of white orchids into the ocean. Some three dozen players, caddies, officials and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan lined up alongside them. Monahan folded his blue blazer across his arms as he stood barefoot in the sand.
Peter Malnati played with Murray at the Colonial in May and alerted officials that something was wrong when Murray withdrew during the second round. Murray took his life at his Florida home a day later on May 25.
Murray was a raw talent after taking up golf at age 8. He won his age division three straight years at the prestigious Junior World Championship in San Diego. But he struggled to fit in at college, going to Wake Forest, East Carolina and then Arizona State.
He always spoke his mind, even about his own struggles. But he announced he had been sober for eight months when he won the Sony Open.
“It’s not easy,” Murray said after winning in Hawaii. “I wanted to give up a lot of times. Give up on myself. Give up on the game of golf. Give up on life, at times.”
Webb Simpson was among those close to Murray, having first seen him as a young boy when they worked with the same coach, Ted Kiegiel, in North Carolina.
“I can only imagine how hard it must be to lose a child,” Simpson said. “I hope they can see how celebrated he was. It was a great outpouring of support. I miss him.”
The president of Murray’s foundation is Jeff Maness, who said it was an outgrowth of Murray’s wish to help others in need.
“As Grayson bravely faced his own experiences with depression and addiction, he witnessed firsthand the challenges that greet those who seek help, both financially and from an accessibility standpoint,” Maness said. “Grayson was intent on using his position as a PGA Tour player to help others. … We honor him as we carry forward his mission.”
In January 1974, Jimmy Carter — then the governor of Georgia — hosted a post-concert reception for Bob Dylan at the Governor’s Mansion in Atlanta. Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band was on the guest list, but he had been rehearsing in Macon an hour and a half away and arrived after midnight to barely make it in the door.
That night, though, Carter and Allman became fast friends who bonded over blues records by Elmore James (the two differed in recalling how much Scotch they drank). Although the Allmans were a multiracial group of long-haired hippies and not beloved in most halls of power, Carter was a deep-cut fan and quoted the band’s lyrics back to Allman. The Allmans’ manager, Phil Walden, had built his career in Macon, and the band’s label, Capricorn Records, would soon throw some of the first fundraising concerts that seeded Carter’s long-shot bid for the U.S. presidency.
“The Allman Brothers helped put me in the White House by raising money when I didn’t have any money,” Carter later recalled.
The former president, who died Sunday at 100, was a lifelong music fan, inspired and deeply moved by his era’s rockers, gospel singers and country songwriters, who often returned the affection onstage and at the White House. His tastes in rock and pop music were a subtle but unmistakable gesture toward racial reconciliation and, as evidenced by his support of the National Endowment for the Arts later, a vision of a diverse and inclusive American culture.
Well before Kamala Harris was “Brat” and Barack Obama was a Spotify tastemaker, Carter was, as one documentary labeled him, America’s first “Rock & Roll President.”
Carter grew up with gospel music in the church, telling the Washington Post that it was “not a racial music … it’s a music of pain, of longing, of searching, of hope, and of faith.” His reputation as a president conversant in rocker counterculture, though, was noticed by the era’s preeminent gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson.
Thompson was on assignment for Rolling Stone to cover Ted Kennedy’s nascent presidential campaign in 1974 but caught Carter giving “a king hell bastard of a speech,” and “by the time it was over he had rung every bell in the room,” as Thompson wrote.
Although it seems at odds with his devout, peanut-farming reputation, Carter’s countercultural credibility helped build the coalition that won him the White House. In 1976, as he accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidency, America was coming out of a contentious and mistrustful era of Watergate and the Vietnam War. Carter took the occasion to quote his beloved Dylan in search of hope and optimism.
“My vision of this nation and its future has been deepened and matured during the 19 months that I’ve have campaigned among you for president. I’ve never had more faith in America than I do today,” Carter said. “We have an America that, in Bob Dylan’s phrase, is ‘busy being born,’ not ‘busy dying.’ ”
Carter was fond of quoting Dylan. He’d said in a 1974 speech: “After listening to his records about ‘The Ballad of Hattie Carroll’ and ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ and ‘The Times, They Are a-Changing,’ I’ve learned to appreciate the dynamism of change in a modern society.” Years later, Carter introduced the singer at MusiCares’ Person of the Year ceremony in 2015.
Dylan was one of many musicians who came to trust in Carter’s tastes and moral compass.
The Band covered “Georgia on My Mind” on “Saturday Night Live” in support of Carter just before the 1976 election and later released a studio version. At an event for Carter’s inauguration in 1977, Aretha Franklin sang “God Bless America.” While at the inaugural concert, Paul Simon said onstage, “Perhaps a time of righteousness and dignity may be upon us,” and David Crosby told Rolling Stone that Carter was “so intelligent that he knows how to be human and accessible and real. It’s sheer genius.” Even the right-wing singer-musician Charlie Daniels in 2014 called Carter “a good man. … He brought some credibility back to the office of the presidency.”
In 1978, Carter hosted a star-packed jazz concert on the South Lawn of the White House, where he hopped onstage with Dizzy Gillespie and drummer Max Roach for the famous two-word chorus of “Salt Peanuts.”
Carter loved jazz and touted the pioneering free-jazz pianist Cecil Taylor in interviews. For a former Georgia governor just a few years removed from the heat of the civil rights era, it was a significant gesture of solidarity and respect for a defining Black art form.
Perhaps most famously — if apocryphally — in 1980, after performing for Carter in the Rose Garden, Willie Nelson claimed he sparked a joint while sitting on the roof of the White House. In his autobiography, Nelson wrote, “Sitting on the roof of the White House in Washington, D.C., late at night with a beer in one hand and a fat Austin Torpedo in the other, I drifted into a reflective mood. Nobody from the Secret Service was watching us — or if they were, it was with the intention of keeping us out of trouble instead of getting us into it.”
(Nelson clarified that Carter was not present for this, as it was Carter’s son Chip up on the roof with Nelson that night.)
In the 2020 documentary “Rock & Roll President,” which also featured interviews with Nelson, Jimmy Buffett and Bono, Dylan said that Carter was “a simple kind of man, like in the Lynyrd Skynyrd song. He takes his time, doesn’t live too fast. Troubles come, but they will pass. Find the woman, and find love, and don’t forget there’s always someone above. There’s many sides to him. He’s a nuclear engineer. Woodworking carpenter. He’s also a poet. He’s a dirt farmer. If you told me he was a race car driver, I wouldn’t even be surprised.”
On news of his death, many musicians wrote heartfelt tributes to Carter.
“President Jimmy Carter was a truly extraordinary man and a rare politician who always stood up and spoke out for idealism, compassion and human rights and particularly for the rights of women and those who suffered real oppression,” wrote singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, a longtime friend who respected Carter’s peace advocacy, particularly his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.”
“Rest easy, Mr President. I’m sad for us, and happy for you. Your and Mrs. Rosalynn’s legacy of love will live forever,” wrote country singer Trisha Yearwood, who with her husband, Garth Brooks, worked on the 2024 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project with the housing charity Habitat for Humanity.
Heart singer-guitarist Nancy Wilson called Carter “an incredible bridge between policy and our humanity,” and Georgia rapper Killer Mike wrote on social media, “I am honored to say I have known a ‘Good Man’ who truly made a difference in a wicked world.”
Carter may yet earn one last piece of music history. Come Feb. 2, he’s up for his fourth Grammy win, for audio book, narration, and storytelling recording, for “Last Sundays In Plains: A Centennial Celebration.”
Having recently wrapped up a successful year with the release of his critically-acclaimed Chromakopia album in late October, Tyler, The Creator now has more praise coming his way, this time from proto-punk veteran Iggy Pop.
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77-year-old Pop took the time to heap praise upon Tyler on his Iggy Confidential radio show for BBC Radio 6 Music. In his raspy voice, Pop recalled how he and Tyler had previously worked together on an ad campaign for Gucci alongside A$AP Rocky.
“I’ve always liked Tyler,” Pop began. “I did a day’s work with him once, and he would do what it takes to get attention. He’s also a genuine all-around song, dance, writer talent — a genuine old-school talent with a new-school approach.”
The pair’s previous collaboration came about in February 2020, with Gucci seeing them team up with A$AP Rocky to promote their menswear collection which served as an ode to the archetypical rockstar.
“Male elegance can be unpredictable and strange,” Gucci’s Creative Director Alessandro Michele told Forbes of the campaign’s idea. “The result is a group campaign with three men who I believe had fun too.
“There is always this image of eccentricity, because they are in fact eccentric themselves,” he continued. “A certain type of fun is also portrayed and the idea of how one’s obsession with appearances can create a kind of common ground that can become a sort of brotherhood. It was beautiful to see these three men together, seemingly different but very similar.”
Pop’s description of Tyler – “a genuine old-school talent with a new-school approach” – seems to be apt, with the younger musician recently seeing some of his biggest successes to date with the release of the soul, jazz, and hip-hop blending Chromakopia.
Tyler’s eighth album, it became his third consecutive record to top the Billboard 200, while opening track “St. Chroma” became his first to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart.
Previously, his top-performing songs on Streaming Songs, which began in 2013, had been “Earfquake” and “Wusyaname” (the latter featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Ty Dolla $ign), both of which peaked at No. 3 in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Notably, this latest success was accompanied by the single “Noid” being found in the No. 2 position.
Drinking coffee in the morning may provide greater health benefits than consuming it throughout the day, according to new research.
A study involving over 40,000 adults in the United States found that the timing of coffee consumption could impact health outcomes, particularly the risk of death from heart disease.
Researchers observed two main patterns of coffee drinking, those who consumed coffee predominantly in the morning and those who drank it all day.
The findings revealed that 36% of participants were classified as morning coffee drinkers, while 14% were all-day drinkers.
Over a nearly decade-long follow-up period, researchers from Tulane University tracked participants’ health and discovered that morning coffee drinkers had a 16% lower risk of death compared to non-coffee drinkers.
This group also demonstrated a 31% reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
By contrast, all-day coffee drinkers did not experience the same health benefits.
The study, published in the European Heart Journal, highlighted that higher coffee intake was “significantly” linked to lower mortality risk, but only for those who drank their coffee in the morning.
Researchers suggested that timing might play a critical role in how coffee interacts with the body, potentially influencing factors such as circadian rhythms, inflammation, and blood pressure.
This, in turn, leads to changes in cardiovascular risk factors such as inflammation and blood pressure.
“Further studies are needed to validate our findings in other populations, and we need clinical trials to test the potential impact of changing the time of day when people drink coffee.”
In a linked editorial, Professor Thomas Luuscher, from the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals in London, said: “Many all-day drinkers suffer from sleep disturbances”.
He wrote: “Overall, we must accept the now substantial evidence that coffee drinking, particularly in the morning hours, is likely to be healthy. Thus, drink your coffee, but do so in the morning!”
Deal or No Deal Island is back for Season 2! The series, which blends the original Deal or No Deal with nail-biting physical challenges and strategic gameplay, blew our minds with its first season. Now 14 new players are staying on the Banker’s private, swampy, tropical island.
Once again, host and Game Master Joe Manganiello is ready to find the Banker’s ultimate challenger. Each competitor hopes to be the last player standing, securing the right to play the Banker for the entire prize pot. Last season, contestant Jordan Fowler took home $1,230,000 as the first winner of Deal or No Deal Island. Will the winner of Season 2 take home even more cash? Let’s dive into the Season 2 premiere recap of Deal or No Deal Island, “The Banker Strikes Back.”
Who’s in the cast of Deal or No Deal Island?
Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/NBC
Seychelle Cordero – age 31 – Staten Island, N.Y. (Flight attendant)
Dickson Wong – age 24 – Wood River, Ill. (Parks and Rec office)
Alexis Lete – age 27 – Louisville, KY. (artist and former WWE wrestler)
Phillip Solomon – age 37 – Austin, Tex. (fitness instructor/middle school teacher)
Maria-Grace Cook – age 21 – Greer, S.C. (EMT)
Storm Wilson – age 25 – Austin, Tex. (Project manager)
Courtney Kim (CK) – age 36 – Charlotte, N.C. (Corporate banker/poker player)
Charles “Rock” Carlson – age 65 – Henderson, Nev. (Corrections officer)
La Shell Wooten – age 55 – Chapel Hill, N.C. (Social worker)
Luke Olejniczak – age 29 – Eagle River, Wis. (Private chef)
Sydnee Peck – age 27 – Redondo Beach, CA. (Wall Street consultant)
Parvati Shallow – age 41 – Los Angeles, CA. (Survivor winner, yoga instructor)
Dr. Will Kirby – age 51 – Los Angeles, CA (Big Brother winner/physician)
David Genat – age 44 – Perth, Australia (Australian Survivor winner)
Of course, there are three reality stars in the mix. Parvati and David have both won Survivor, while Dr. Will won Big Brother. It remains to be seen if these reality stars’ resumes will help or hurt them.
Joe Manganiello explains the first challenge on Deal or No Deal Island Season 2
Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/NBC
Parvati was getting some serious side-eye as the contestants sped towards the island in a boat. She wasn’t going to openly admit that she competed on Survivor four times and won once. The yoga teacher and life coach created an all-female alliance on Survivor known as the Black Widow Brigade. But no worries, Parvati isn’t a threat.
“I’m here to just blow fairy dust in people’s eyes so that they can’t imagine life without me. Look, I could be a cult leader if I want to,” she said in a confessional. That is probably true.
Finally, the players met Joe on a platform in the water. He warned the group to discard everything that they think they know because the Banker has flipped the game. For the first challenge, dubbed the “Banker’s Pyramid Scheme,” the Banker wanted to assess what type of players were on the island. There was a golden pyramid on a floating platform in the water, with water spraying out of its top. There are nearly $5 million in cases located on the structure.
To get one of the high-value cases, contestants must cross floating rocks that are slippery and loosely connected. Side two of the pyramid has cases that contain medium-value dollar amounts, and those contestants can take an easier, but longer, path through the jungle.
Side three boasts three red cases, and these can be reached via zipline. One has a “swap,” one has a “steal,” and one has the lowest case amount. The player with the highest value case will be safe and decide who will face the Banker in The Temple.
As the players started to plot their course, Joe added another wrinkle. Whichever path they choose will determine which team they are on, and the team with the lowest combined total is up for elimination. Yikes!
Two teams face some problems
Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/NBC
This challenge is insane. David, Seychelle, and Luke picked the zipline to the red cases. The plan was for Luke, who was at the top of the perch, to watch who took the $1 million case. However, instead of waiting, he just zipped away. Then Seychelle followed suit, leaving David alone to mutter about their lack of strategy.
Meanwhile, the team going over the rocks for the high-value cases included Phillip, Sydnee, Lete, and Parvati. Poor Sydnee had trouble crossing the rocks and hit her face on one. Ouch! I felt that at home.
Finally, David, who was still hanging out at the top of the zipline, saw Lete take the $1 million case. What he didn’t see was the players switch the cases after that. It’s an old-fashioned switcheroo, and I’m here for it!
Finally, it’s time for the teams to open their cases. The Jungle team, comprised of Storm, CK, La Shell, Rock, Maria Grace, and Dickson, have a combined total of $1.6 million. Rock has the highest case, worth $450,000.
Next, the Zipline team opened their cases. Luke had the “steal.” Poor David tried to convince Luke to take a case from the high-value team, like Lete’s $1 million. However, Luke insisted on taking Rock’s case for $450,000. All because he wanted a “bird in the hand.” Everyone was stunned. Then, Seychelle discovered that she had the lowest case in the game at $75,000. That meant that David had the “swap,” which was worth $200,000.
Of course, David thought that Lete had the $1 million because he didn’t know they switched cases. The Rocks team wanted to keep David in the game, so they decided to make him a deal and give him a case that they would ensure David’s team would come in second place. As Sydnee so eloquently put it, “He’s so hot it’s stupid.”
Sydnee went over and whispered the plan to David, but he wanted to come in first place. He refused and swapped for Lete’s case. However, when she opened it, it was only worth $500,000.
The Rocks team’s total was $2.55 million, and Sydnee had the $1 million case. Naturally, the Zipline crew was in last place. Since someone from their team had to face the Banker, both David and Luke wanted the opportunity. Luke’s reason for coming on the show was to help his father. When Luke went through a divorce, his father came out of retirement to help him. That is sweet.
Welcome to camp!
Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/NBC
The accommodations impressed the contestants. There are three lodging areas. The group quickly divided into pods. The Red Dome has C.K., Rock, Dickson, and Parvati. Then, we have the Blue Dome, which Lete, Phillip, Seychelle, Luke, and Storm call home. They quickly form the “high-five alliance.” Finally, the Yellow Dome has David, Sydnee, La Shell, and Maria Grace. Welcome to the social game, folks!
Sydnee told David that he wasn’t going anywhere. She wanted him to go steady … oops, I mean, always be her challenge partner. “Sydnee wants to actually eat me,” David told the camera. “Girl, I’m married, you know? Step off!”
Meanwhile, as individuals approached Parvati and told her that they knew who she was, she asked them not to tell anyone. However, David was in for a shock, because Parvati is a fan of his! He hoped to fly under the radar the whole time. And so, the Black Widow and the “Golden God of Australian Survivor” made a pact to go to the end. “Thank God I’ve got someone out here I can play with!” Parvati said. Then they giggled over how sweet and innocent the normal players were.
However, Parvati took a shine to Dickson, and his story of how his parents had him live with an elderly couple who had grandchildren. Parvati and David are now his “mom” and “dad.”
Meanwhile, Seychelle doesn’t want to face the Banker, and she doesn’t plan to go home. She told Lete and Phillip that if someone has to go, it should be David because he is a threat. Then she told Luke that sending David home would be “a sick move.” I see you, Seychelle, working that social game.
Who will face the Banker in The Temple?
Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/NBC
Luke Olejniczak faces off against the Banker in Deal or No Deal Island Season 2, Episode 1.
At The Temple, one thing was clear: Syndee loved to have all the attention on her. She claimed that she was the team leader, which caused some eye-rolling from Phillip, Parvati, and Lete. Finally, Luke stepped up to face the Banker. “This is what I want. Back where I come from, when we’re ready to go to work, we roll up our sleeves, Joe,” he stated, rolling up his sleeves.
Then, the Banker called before the game started. It was Howie Mandel, and he video-chatted with the new contestants. He let them know two things. One, he was not impressed by their performance. And two, he is not the Banker this season. He found his ultimate competitor in Jordan, so he was letting a new Banker take control.
It was time for Joe to get down to business. The prize total will grow every game until the finale. The largest case amounts that the players retrieve during the excursion are added to the board, along with low numbers from the Banker. Luke needed to make a good deal to stay in the game. A good deal means taking an offer that is higher than what is in his case.
Finally, Luke chose number seven for his case. He selected four cases, but a bored Banker only offered him $55,000. He said, “No deal,” and continued to the next round. Afterward, the Banker’s new offer was $220,000. Luke still wouldn’t accept the deal, and he knocked the $1 million off the board in the third round.
Wow – this banker doesn’t play. The new offer was $185,000. Once again, Luke moved on to round four, where he had to select one case. That case knocked another high number off the board, leaving only $1, $500, and $600,000 on the board.
The Banker offered $218,000, or Luke could open one final case. Luke decided to play on, much to Seychelle’s delight. “What I’m hoping for is that Luke makes a terrible deal with the Banker and he gets his *ss shipped back home to Wisconsin,” she stated.
Well, Luke’s final pick was the $600,000 case. The Banker called back with the lowest offer in Deal or No Deal Island history: $300. Meanwhile, Sydnee kept giving advice but then told everyone else not to say anything. What?! Once again, Luke rejected the offer. His case must have a value of $500 for him to stay.
Who was eliminated in Deal or No Deal Island, Season 2, Episode 1?
Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/NBC
Luke Olejniczak was the first player eliminated in Deal or No Deal Island Season 2.
Welp, the private chef had the $1, which was added to the prize pot. “I put our team at risk. They both get to fight on to live on another day,” he told the group.
In his final confessional, Luke stated, “I got what I deserved, but I’m not going to dwell on the past. The only thing that would be worse than being eliminated is being eliminated when it’s not in your control.”
Before the group headed back to camp, Joe issued a warning. “But beware of the Banker, you never know what she will do next,” he stated. And the crowd went wild! So, who could this new female Banker be?
David is in a tricky position
Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/NBC
The next morning, Parvati and David decide to wait until after the next challenge to drop some wisdom on the newbies. Once someone wins, they will see who influences that person. Still, David is wondering if Parvati is playing him.
Then, Sydnee approached David, asking who he wanted as a partner in the challenge. While he wanted to see how it goes, Sydnee, who went from being homeless to working on Wall Street, won’t accept that. “You’re not going to, like, abandon me?” Sydnee asked. As David tried to figure out what she meant, she snapped, “Just don’t ditch me without warning!” And she doesn’t just mean in this challenge. “You live with me, I’ll f*ck you up,” she said, then laughed. I wonder who will be sleeping with one eye open?
Eventually, the group met Joe on a platform in the swamp. There are signs that say “danger” sticking up out of the water. The host let them know they have disappointed the Banker. So, this challenge will be “a twisted treasure hunt.” And there is a surprise that could upend the game.
Deal or No Deal Island continues on Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.
TELL US – DID YOU ENJOY THE SEASON 2 PREMIERE OF DEAL OR NO DEAL ISLAND? DID YOU ADMIRE LUKE FOR TAKING HIS FATE IN HIS OWN HANDS?
Artificial intelligence became approximately 10 times smarter in 2024, and as such, I thought it might be pretty good at stock picking. So, I asked Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform Gemini (formerly Bard) for the five best stocks for me to buy in 2025. Here’s what it said.
Google says…
Predicting the ‘best’ stocks is risky, as the market is constantly changing. However, based on current trends and analyst opinions, here are five UK stocks that could potentially perform well in 2025:
Diageo: this global beverage giant owns iconic brands like Johnnie Walker, Guinness, and Smirnoff. It has a strong track record of growth and a resilient business model.
AstraZeneca: a leading pharmaceutical company with a robust pipeline of innovative drugs. AstraZeneca is well-positioned to benefit from the aging global population and the increasing demand for healthcare.
Unilever: a consumer goods giant with a diverse portfolio of brands, including Dove, Lipton, and Ben & Jerry’s. Unilever’s strong brand recognition and global reach make it a relatively stable investment.
NatWest Group (LSENWG): the UK’s second-largest bank is benefiting from rising interest rates, which boost its lending margins. However, the economic outlook remains uncertain, which could impact the bank’s performance.
Shell: the major oil and gas company is transitioning to renewable energy sources, but still generates significant profits from its fossil fuel businesses. The price of oil and gas is volatile, which creates both risks and opportunities for investors.
Conventional choices
Well, where to start? Maybe it’s best to start by highlighting that NatWest isn’t the UK’s second-largest bank. However, other than that, these look like some fairly conventional stock picks, with a weighting toward consumer goods stocks, which may perform better in rate cutting cycles.
Likewise, Shell and AstraZeneca are the two largest stocks by market cap on the FTSE 100. Shell is a diversified energy company although it remains highly reliant on hydrocarbon revenues. It also trades at a pronounced discount to its Big Six American peers.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca shares have pushed lower in recent months following the commencement of an investigation in China. However, several analysts have suggested this could be a good opportunity to buy stock in biotech-pharma giant with the price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio falling to 1.4.
Why NatWest?
Gemini’s investment theses might lack detail, but there are compelling reasons to believe NatWest could rebound strongly in 2025. Historically, banks have performed well during interest rate cutting cycles, which could create favourable conditions for NatWest to rally further.
Lower interest rates often stimulate borrowing and economic activity, boosting bank profitability through increased loan demand. Moreover, banks have hedging strategies to mitigate the impact of fluctuating interest rates, and these strategies can actually push margins higher when central banks cut rates.
While challenges remain, including navigating economic uncertainties and resurgent inflation partially driven by Labour’s first budget, the potential for improved performance in a supportive monetary environment makes NatWest a stock to watch.
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Rookie Season 7 premiere “The Shot.”]
To describe John Nolan in one word, he’s “frustrated,” Nathan Fillion says, to have his wife Bailey’s (Jenna Dewan) sociopathic ex-husband Jason (Steve Kazee) still free at the end of The Rookie Season 7 premiere.
But the episode does begin with Nolan thinking they’ll get him, only for Jason to not be at the location they raid. “The stakes are very high. Jason is nothing if not persistent. He is psychotically persistent and he has targeted the love of Nolan’s life,” notes Fillion in the debut of Booked: The Rookie Aftershow. (Watch the full video above.)
“So the stakes are very high and when he thinks he’s going to be able to do something about it, of course that makes him feel like he’s taking care of the people he loves. But when it doesn’t turn out, it’s a loose end, and John can’t have that,” he continues.
Bailey has been deployed with the National Guard, and while that’s set to end soon, her stay has been extended so she’s safe outside the country. But as Fillion is quick to point out, “Bailey is not a damsel in distress. She is a woman who can take care of herself. It kills John, of course, even though his job is to run directly into danger as is hers — and one could arguably say she has more experience with the military as well.”
The good news is this is not going to put a strain on their relationship. “They are still solid going forward,” promises Fillion. “There are going to be complications, there are going to be things that are problematic in their relationship as there are in all relationships. I think that’s reality. But this is something I don’t think that drives a wedge between them. I think this is something that brings them closer together.” But it’s also something that they have to keep in mind when it comes to future conversations about adoption.
The premiere also featured something that Fillion has been pitching for many years: Nolan commandeering a scooter to go after a suspect (which pays off!). It’s such a Rookie move.
“I was kind of surprised at how fast they go,” the star admits. “I wasn’t really prepared for that. I was not wearing a helmet. I tend not to get on a vehicle that requires balance, A, without a helmet and B, at any speed faster than I’m comfortable falling off of it. And we were doing a nice little stunt on there where I ran right into a young lady, knocking her down on that scooter. It seems easy, but you’re trying not to actually hurt somebody and you’re trying not to actually get hurt all at the same time. But it was nice to finally be able to do it. I’m telling you, I’ve been pitching that one for ages.”
Watch the full interview above as Fillion breaks down the premiere (including taking that shot at the end), teases what’s ahead for Nolan and Bailey, his dynamic with Celina (Lisseth Chavez) as she progresses in her training, and more.
Mike Johns works as an AI consultant, so he knows technology and everything it can do to improve our lives — or make you so dizzy you might get sick.
The Los Angeles resident was trying to get back to California from Scottsdale, Arizona, last week and took a Waymo driverless taxi to the airport. However, he barely made it because the self-driving car wouldn’t stop driving in circles.
“Ok, why is this happening to me on a Monday,” Johns’s viral video begins as the car connects with customer support in the background. “Why is this thing going in circles, I’m getting dizzy!”
Johns, who is talking in the video from the backseat of the car, takes viewers on a head-spinning ride, writing, “This autonomous vehicle said to heck with GPS” and went in eight circles.
“Is someone pulling a prank, is this car hacked?” he asked.
A Waymo representative got the car back online and Johns made it to the airport, though he says he “nearly” missed his flight.
Johns told CNN that he chose Waymo over Lyft or Uber because he works in the technology industry.
“It’s the future of where things are going, so I’m definitely a part of that,” he told the outlet, adding that he wouldn’t rule out using the service again.
Waymo told CNN in an email that it attempted to contact Johns and left a voicemail.
In October, Waymo announced that it raised $5.6 billion, led by parent company Alphabet, with “continued participation” from Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price.
“Customers love Waymo, said Chase Coleman, founder of Tiger Global, at the time. “The company has built the safest product in the autonomous vehicle ecosystem as well as the best.”
