Ilia Topuria (15-0) knocked out Alexander Volkanovski (26-4) with a huge right hand to claim the UFC featherweight championship in the main event of UFC 298 in Anaheim.
Volkanovski was measured to open the first round, going to his lead leg kicks to keep the challenger out of range. Topuria connected on consecutive calf kicks that seemed to throw the champ off his game. Topuria had Volkanovski flinching at each feint and looked for to connect on his overhand rights. Volkanovski was able to shift out of the leg kicks and gave the challenger a bit of his own calf kicks to mix things up in a fairly even first round.
The second saw Topuria move away his calf kicks to chip away with strikes upstairs. Topuria continued to work Volkanovski around the cage with a mix of leg kicks, heavy shots up top, and eventually found his opening with a massive right hand that put the champion out cold.
Topuria came into Saturday night’s main event 14-0 in his career and 6-0 since hitting the UFC in 2020. He earned the championship bout with a decision victory over Josh Emmett in June of last year.
Volkanovski dispatched Yair Rodríguez with a knockout victory over Yair Rodriguez in July. Just three months later, he came back to avenge one of the rare losses in his career, but a first round head kick from Islam Makhachev sent him back to the featherweight division. Outside of two losses in the lightweight division, Volkanovski had never lost a featherweight bout heading into Saturday night’s tilt.
INDIANAPOLIS — Mac McClung is once again the winner of the NBA Dunk Contest. After putting on a show last year in Salt Lake City, McClung returned to defend his crown and managed to do what he does best: soar through the air and put on a show.
Despite some remarkably harsh judges and a crowd that made booing Jaylen Brown its top priority, McClung was still able to entertain. He was the top dunker in the first round, earned a showdown with Brown in the finals, and once again earned a win. And now, one question remains: Will McClung return in 2025 and be the first person in NBA history to successfully three-peat in All-Star Saturday Night’s main event?
First Round
Jaime Jaquez Jr. got things started in the event. He started things off in a very literal big way, as he brought Shaquille O’Neal out onto the floor. With Shaq recording things on his cell phone, Jaquez propelled himself over the big man while doing a one-handed windmill. It didn’t quite get him a 50, though, as he set the bar at a 47.4.
Next up was Jacob Toppin, who enlisted the services of his brother, Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin. With Obi holding the ball over his head, Jacob went up and did a two-handed reverse for a 47.8.
The biggest name in the competition went third, with Jaylen Brown stepping out onto the floor. He became the third straight competitor to get some help, although he had someone in a full Dominique Wilkins uniform and give him some instructions. Brown pulled off an ultra-athletic windmill with a little hesitation at the very top of the dunk, which got him a 48.8 that actually got some boos from the crowd.
With the first three dunkers down, defending champion Mac McClung stepped onto the floor. The G League standout had a helper stand under the time, and while he missed his first attempt, he cleared the person holding the ball, grabbed it, let it go in midair, and did a reverse with two hands for a 48 that once again got the crowd booing.
Jaquez came back out for the second round of dunks. He couldn’t quite make his first attempt, but tossed the ball from the wing did a 360 with one pump in midair that got him a 46.8. With both of his dunks down, Jaquez registered a 94.2 in the opening round.
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) February 18, 2024
For Toppin’s second dunk, he made his way to the wing and missed his first attempt. But he more than made up with it on his second try, as he did a 360, put the ball through his legs, and finished with two hands. The 47.2 he earned gave him a 95 between his two dunks, but the score on the dunk once again got some boos from the crowd.
McClung stepped onto the floor next and headed over to a corner. He cocked the ball behind his head, did a two-handed windmill, and threw down a reverse. His 49.4 was the highest score of the round, and his score of 97.4 between both dunks earned him a spot in the final and officially eliminated Jaquez.
Brown got a chance to go last and needed only a 46.2 to eliminate Toppin and move into the final. He enlisted the help of Jayson Tatum and Kai Cenat, with the former throwing him a lob over the latter, who was seated in a chair. Brown caught the lob, dunked with one hand, and earned a score of 47.6, giving him a 96.4 and a spot in the final round.
Brown got the chance to go first in the final round, and paid tribute to the late Terrence Clarke by throwing on his high school jersey. His effort was a windmill with a 180 that got him a score of 48.6 — which was, once again, a score that earned boos from the crowd.
For McClung’s first dunk of the final round, he had someone sit on someone else’s shoulder and take the ball. He missed his first try, but on his second attempt, McClung cleared them both, grabbed the ball, and did a powerful windmill that injected some life into the crowd. It did just enough to move him into first place, as he picked up a 48.8.
To try and pick up a monster final score, Brown pulled Donovan Mitchell out from the crowd and put a glove on his left hand. Mitchell propped the ball up on top of his head, and Brown jumped over his fellow All-Star and did a windmill that he put home with his weaker hand. The judges gave him a 49.2 — enough for a 97.8 in the final round that, you will be shocked to learn, the crowd did not like.
McClung had to save his best for last, as he needed a 49.1 to win the competition. He once again pulled Shaq out from the crowd and made the Hall of Fame inductee put on his high school jersey. With the big fella holding the ball above his head, McClung ran in from the corner and jumped right over him en route to a powerful reverse. This earned the only perfect score of the night, and with his 50, McClung officially went back-to-back.
HE’S DONE IT AGAIN
Mac McClung is the back-to-back #ATTSlamDunk champion
The win made McClung the first person to win two Dunk Contests in a row since Zach LaVine in 2015 and 2016. He joins LaVine, Nate Robinson, Jason Richardson, and Michael Jordan to accomplish that feat.
The2024 Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis featured a bit of a judging controversy, not quite on the level of Dwyane Wade in 2020, but there were some questionable scores from the judging panel that seemed to favor the lone current All-Star in the competition, Jaylen Brown.
The Dunk Contest has been lacking in true star power in recent years, and the crowd in Lucas Oil Stadium certainly wasn’t in agreement with the scores Brown was getting for his dunks compared to the others in the competition. Brown advanced to the final round against Mac McClung on these two dunks.
The crowd made their feelings known, booing after almost every score was revealed for Brown, and they weren’t alone in feeling like something was a bit fishy. Joel Embiid, who was home watching the contest due to his knee injury, was tweeting throughout and said that he’s “a professional hater” but if he entered the contest he could win based on the scores being handed out for All-Stars — that is, if his knees could do it.
I’m a professional hater but I’m not hating when I say I could win the dunk contest with these scores but not sure the knees would allow it lmao
McClung did end up winning with a 50 on his final dunk as he cleared Shaq without needing a pushup, edging out Brown in the finals, so if there was an agenda to get Brown better scores, there was also a limit to how far it would go.
After the Three-Point Contest at NBA All-Star Saturday Night, a second shooting competition awaited before the Dunk Contest in the form of a special contest between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu to crown the best Three-Point Contest shooter. Curry held the record for most points in a competition for a few years before Ionescu broke it this past summer, and they settled the score for charity in Indianapolis.
As is always the case with a live sporting event, there was the possibility that one of them could go cold and it would be a bit of a dud, but the two both showed up and showed out in a major way. First up was Ionescu, as she got to set the pace that Steph would have to chase. Ionescu caught fire out of the gate, making every shot on her first rack and once again looking like she might go off on an historic run, this time shooting from the NBA line.
She tapered off a bit at the very end, finishing with 26 — which was the winning number from Damian Lillard in both rounds in the Three-Point Contest just prior — and leaving the door just a bit ajar for Curry. Steph got off to a slower start, but he torched his last two racks, using his moneyball rack in the final corner to narrowly beat Sabrina with a score of 29 to take home the belt.
Afterwards, Ionescu noted the competition showed that no matter who you are, if you can shoot you can shoot, and her performance and comments were certainly inspirational as she clearly wanted to make a statement and did just that. Curry, meanwhile, did what we’ve come to expect from him and put on a terrific show on his way to a win, with some late drama that made for a very fun event.
INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time since 2007 and 2008, someone went back-to-back as the winner of the Three-Point Contest at the NBA’s All-Star weekend. Damian Lillard, the Milwaukee Bucks’ sharpshooter who won the competition last year while he was a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, took down fellow former champ Karl-Anthony Towns and Trae Young to defend his crown at Lucas Oil Stadium.
First Round
Young started off the round, and while he was cold to start, he managed to pick things up as his round went on. This included a perfect 5-for-5 from his moneyball rack to set the bar extra high with 26 points. While Donovan Mitchell didn’t have as much success with his moneyball rack — he only knocked down two of his five attempts — he still managed to put up a respectable 21 points.
The hometown hero went third, with Tyrese Haliburton putting on a show for the Naptown faithful. Unlike the previous two competitors, Haliburton got hot from the jump and never relented, as he went into his moneyball rack with the potential to move into first place. He didn’t quite get there by missing one offering, but his 26 points still put him into first alongside Young.
After Milwaukee Bucks sharpshooter Malik Beasley was unable to punch a spot in the final round with a 20, a former champion stepped up in Towns. His performance on his moneyball rack (he knocked down four of five shots) and his ability to hit a Starry shot worth three points meant he eliminated Mitchell before he made it to his final rack, and he was able to register 26 points to set up a three-way tie.
Jalen Brunson found himself in a good spot heading into his final rack, which was made up entirely of moneyballs. But unfortunately, he needed to make at least three of those to move into a tie atop the leaderboard, and because he only hit two, the New York Knicks star saw his event come to an early end. Lauri Markkanen met a similar fate, as he was mathematically eliminated as he entered his final rack. While he made all of his shots, he could only reach 25 points.
To end the round, Lillard knew exactly what he needed to do. He put his moneyball rack second, and while he only hit two of them, he was able to hit a Starry shot and get hot on the next two racks. Needing at least three shots and his moneyball to go in on his final rack to secure a tie, Lillard managed to accomplish just that, setting up a four-way tie and the need for a tiebreaker round.
Players only got 30 seconds in the tiebreaker round, with Young going first and registering 15 points thanks to a perfect moneyball rack. Haliburton went second and couldn’t quite match Young’s mark, but still managed to record 12 points.
Towns got to go third and managed to eclipse Young, as his perfect moneyball rack helped him go for 16 points and put Haliburton on the bubble with Lillard wrapping up the round. Lillard was able to punch his ticket to the finals, as likewise picked up 16 points and eliminated Haliburton altogether.
KAT jumps out to the lead in the tiebreaker of round 1!
Towns went first in the final round, as he told Allie LaForce of TNT that he wanted to try and replicate what worked for him when he won the event back in 2022. Although he only hit two of the five balls on his moneyball rack, Towns hit both of his Starry shots en route to putting up a final round score of 22.
Young stepped up second, and he positioned himself to move into first place with a big moneyball rack, which he put last. He went 4-for-5 from the final corner, giving him a score of 24 and sliding him into first place with Lillard stepping up last.
Knowing exactly what he needed to do to go back-to-back, Lillard hit one of his two shots from Starry range and four of his five moneyballs. Entering the final rack, Lillard had 24 points needed to just make a single shot to defend his title. While he missed his first four, he nailed his moneyball to pick up 26 points.
DAME TIME
Dame Lillard scores 26 points to take home the 2024 #Starry3PT
A great opera voice is a learned art, not a natural-born gift like other styles of singing. It takes discipline, physical training, and to truly wow the audience, the performer must be a great actor and athlete as well.
“Singing opera is to ordinary vocal activity what distance running, triple-jumping and pole-vaulting are to ordinary exercise,” said Sir Antonio Pappano, music director of the Royal Opera House wrote for the BBC. “Which means that singers and, almost as important, those who teach them are locked in the same kinds of relationship that obtain between elite athletes and charismatic coaches.”
So what goes on inside of the head and throat of an opera singer while they perform?
German baritone Michael Volle performed “Song to the Evening Star” by German composer Richard Wagner while inside of an MRI scan to give people a never-before-seen look at how an opera singer produces such a haunting sound. It’s a pretty freaky-looking image, but shows the amazing control these performers must have to hit such powerful notes.
Victor Wembanyama won’t play in the All-Star Game itself on Sunday night, but he is still one of the featured attractions in Indianapolis this weekend. The Spurs young star is one of the NBA’s biggest draws because he’s as unique a player as we’ve seen come into the NBA, and fans want to get a glimpse of him and his incredibly unique skillset.
Wembanyama got his first taste of All-Star in the Rising Stars Game on Friday night before participating in the Skills Challenge on Saturday night. Ahead of that appearance at Lucas Oil Stadium, Wembanyama joined TNT’s crew for an interview with Ernie, Shaq, Kenny, and Chuck, and was asked about playing for Gregg Popovice. Wemby waxed poetic about the legendary coach, saying he’d long thought he was the best coach in the league before ever coming to the NBA.
“I’ve always thought Pop was the best coach in the world, years before being drafted.”
He was also asked about Pop’s tough love approach and in detailing an early example of that, very casually dropped an F-bomb live on air that had the TNT crew in stitches.
The funniest part is that Wemby very clearly didn’t realize he even did it — or that he wasn’t supposed to. After realizing he apologized, with Ernie ensuring the young man that it was perfectly fine. Victor will learn how to do a little bit of self-censoring when delivering quotes on TV, but it’s a funny moment and a reminder that of just how new a lot of this is for the young star.
Each year, music’s biggest names come together to compete for high recognition at the Grammy Awards. But occasionally, entertainers can put aside their competitive spirits for the right cause. In January 1985, that moment came when Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, and Michael Omartian set out to record “What Are The Word.”
The track pulled in several chart-topping musicians to lend their voices for charity. On February 16, during his appearance on JimmyKimmel Live, Richie revealed that even though the moment was magical, he did have a few regrets that night, including not including Madonna in the fold. Despite Madonna’s superstar success at the time, the team opted for Cyndi Lauper instead.
Richie went on to explain the relation behind the decision. “We had only a half a line to sing,” he said. “So, we had to have voices that people knew right away. You had to have an identifiable voice… Cyndi had that.”
In the new Netflix documentary The Greatest Night In Pop, viewers can relive the moment as footage from the star-studded recording session outlines the meticulous work that went into recording the song.
Watch the full clip above.
The Greatest Night In Pop is exclusively streaming on Netflix. Find more information here.
Friday was not a good one for Donald Trump. The former president — who’s already on the hook for $83 million to E. Jean Carroll, who’s twice sued him for defamation over alleged sexual assault — was ordered to fork over another $354.9 million (plus inflation) as part of his civil fraud suit. (On top of that, he’s barred from doing business in New York, his home state, for three years.) You know what that means! Time to hit up his sometimes cash-strapped fans for some dough. But instead of a mere fundraising email (that may also double as a Valentine’s Day message to his wife), Trump is thinking outside the box: He’s selling gold shoes.
BREAKING: Donald Trump takes the stage in Philadelphia with Gold Trump Sneakers. WATCH pic.twitter.com/QcubCAoHk3
Not letting me buy more than 3 pairs of these beautiful gold sneakers is the only crime trump is guilty of as far as I’m concerned. pic.twitter.com/3xs1GsgRHj
Per The Daily Beast, Trump showed up at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a town it’s worth noting is not not very blue. He didn’t show up empty-handed; He’s hawking three kinds of Trump shoe: the red athletic “T-Red Wave” goes for $199, the white and gold athletic fit “POTUS 45” for $199, and the gold “Never Surrender High Top Sneaker” for $399.
According to the site selling the shoes, Trump isn’t the only one who will be benefitting monetarily. They’re the result of a licensing agreement with 45Footwear, which have been granted the use of his name, image, and likeness. The company is also not affiliated with his campaign.
The shoes are only on sale for three days.
That’s not all 45Footwear is selling. They also have two kinds of Trump fragrance: Victory 47 Cologne and Victory 47 Perfume.
How well will these do? Though they’re only available for a limited time, they still join a long line of Trump products, most of which have been miserable failures. Trump Sneakers and Trump Fragrances — those sound about as ridiculous as Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, and, of course, the newly unearthed Trump Urine Tests.
INDIANAPOLIS — Jalen Brunson has steadily evolved over his career. From a solid backup to a starter and quality No. 2 with the Dallas Mavericks, Brunson has blossomed into an All-Star and the unquestioned leader of the New York Knicks.
Brunson’s play this season, averaging 27.6 points and 6.5 assists per game, has helped the Knicks take hold of the 4-seed in the East at the All-Star break, even with some significant absences due to injuries in recent weeks. After an active trade deadline, the Knicks are poised to be a real threat in the Eastern Conference once they get healthy, and their star guard (who has proven himself as a postseason performer) is a big reason why.
At his first All-Star weekend as a participant in Sunday’s game, Brunson is plenty busy — he’s also participating in Saturday night’s Starry Three-Point Contest. Ahead of that, Brunson sat down with Dime at NBA Crossover on Friday afternoon for a conversation about the Knicks, Villanova, the process of becoming a leader on the court and controlling the game as a point guard, the challenges of the Three-Point Contest, and his enjoyment of the most ubiquitous beverage in Indianapolis on All-Star Weekend.
I know there’s a lot going on for you this weekend, but what do you have going on with Starry here at Crossover and then obviously the Three-Point Shootout Saturday night?
I’m just excited to be partnering with Starry. Starry, it really hits different, I mean, it’s my go to lemon-lime soda — it’s crisp, it’s refreshing — and I’m just happy to be a part of it. I’m also happy to be participating in the Starry Three-Point Shootout and then obviously the All-Star Game, so it’s gonna be a big weekend.
How do you go about Three-Point Shootout prep? Like, what’s your process?
You just got to practice shooting off the rack. I think that’s the weirdest thing. And you don’t have time to sit there and hold your follow through and watch it go in, and then you gotta get back on defense. You’re just boom, boom. But, I think it’s cool. I think it’s a unique experience and it’s a different type of competition, but still competition at the end of the day.
Where’s your money ball rack placement?
Right corner, last rack.
Is that just so you know if you need it, you’ve got it?
For sure, yeah. I also think it’s just, the corner shot in the NBA is the easiest shot, it’s the closest. And then I think that’s one way to kind of get warm for that rack, so I think it’s pretty good.
Let’s talk a little Knicks. As you get ready for the second half of season, you got some new guys coming in that you’re working in like Bojan [Bogdanovic]. And then you’re also gonna get some of your guys that are hurt back hopefully soon. How important is the second half of the season in re-establishing that rhythm as you get ready for the postseason?
Yeah, I think it’s really important. Obviously, we want everyone back 100 percent. So I think for us, especially with the new guys we have coming in, Alec [Burks] has been with Thibs before, but with Bojan, making sure that he knows exactly what we’re doing on both sides of the ball. We just gotta be ready to go. We can’t lose sight of what’s at stake. We gotta have that same focus, that same mindset. And we’ll find a way. We’ll find a way to get better every single day. That’s just our goal.
As a point guard, what’s been your development in terms of learning the feel of how keeping your teammates involved keeping yourself going, that balance of attacking and facilitating? And what is the process as a young point guard in the NBA of learning that leadership role on the floor and of controlling the game.
So, it’s never ending. You kind of have to go with the flow. You can never just predetermine what you’re going to do or how things are going to play out during the game. And I think for me, I’m always trying to be aggressive to make plays, whether it’s from myself or for my teammates. So, find the ways to have the defense collapse where you can see openings for others or yourself.
So, it’s a healthy balance, but I think the most important part about it is always being in attack mode, whether it’s to shoot to score, make sure the defense is on its heels, and just giving your teammates confidence. Obviously, everyone assumes that getting assists kind of helps with getting your teammates involved, but I think giving them confidence and making sure that they know that they’re able to do the stuff that they do on a nightly basis is important. So, I try and do it as much as I can.
You’ve known Thibs for a long time.
Long time.
Do you have a favorite Thibs story from before you played for him that you look back on and just laugh about now that you play for him in the NBA?
Damn [laughs]. Favorite Thibs story before I played for him? It’s not really a story, but when people who see Thibs from afar think he’s a guy who just yells all the time and is always just basketball, basketball, basketball — which he is, 100 percent — but he’s a great dude off the court. So, he’s a great person to hold a conversation with and really get to know and he’s just … he’s a genuine dude.
Obviously you have a bunch of ‘Nova guys on the team. I wanted to know what you think it is about coming from Villanova and what Coach Wright especially had you guys doing that has allowed so many guys to come into league and have the success they’ve had so quickly, and in various roles? It seems like guys are able to come into the league and find their comfort level quickly, and I wondered if you think there’s specific reason for that?
I think Coach Wright preaches team first. So, team first and having the right attitude in whatever role you’re in. And I think at Villanova, we’ve all been in different roles throughout our time there. And so I think the most important thing to us is winning, and what can we do to win, and how can we approach each game with the right attitude and right mindset? And that’s been Coach Wright’s thing for the for the longest time, and it’s helped us get to where we are, and so he definitely is a major part in our success.
Last thing real fast: Who picks up the bill at dinner between you and Josh [Hart]?
[laughs] I would say me. I would say me. He owes me next time, though.
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