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Sports documentaries have become big business for streaming services, particularly Netflix, as the streaming giant has found a winning formula with its follow-doc structure. After the success of Drive to Survive, which took American fandom in Formula 1 to entirely new levels, they’ve applied that formula to the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, and others.

Their next sports documentary will hit the streamer on February 18, when “Court of Gold” releases, following the men’s basketball teams from the USA, Serbia, Canada, and France through the 2024 Olympics in Paris. On Thursday, Netflix released the first trailer for the doc, which features interviews with a number of stars and sets up the general tension of last year’s Olympic men’s basketball tournament: Can someone finally dethrone the United States? Two teams, Serbia and France, came perilously close to beating the Americans, but Kevin Durant’s question from the trailer became prescient.

For all the talk about how other countries had more chemistry and a structure they all knew how to play in, the talent pool still matters, and as KD says, “is that chemistry gonna help you when you gotta guard Steph?” Curry’s heroics in both the semis against Serbia and the final against France made that quote from KD an easy inclusion in the trailer. While the Americans came out on top once again, the behind the scenes look at all of these teams should be fascinating, particularly the locker room footage from games.

Last May, adidas announced they were bringing in Candace Parker as the new president of their women’s basketball division. Parker had long been an adidas athlete and was once one of the few WNBA stars with her own signature sneaker, and her addition as president signaled a refresh with the brand.

With Parker leading the way, they figured to be in the mix for top stars and showed their investment in the women’s game. Heading into the 2025 WNBA season, they were looking for more stars to add to their roster, and on Thursday announced the addition of two-time All-Star Satou Sabally to their roster.

“Joining the adidas Basketball family is a dream come true,” said Satou Sabally. “adidas is dedicated to innovation, creativity, and championing women’s sports. I can’t wait to inspire the next generation and continue moving the game forward with the support of my adidas family.”

“Satou was a priority addition to the adidas Basketball family, and we couldn’t be more excited to have her joining,” said Candace Parker, President of adidas Women’s Basketball. “Her versatility and commitment to making an impact made her a no brainer for the adidas roster. Satou is a unicorn on and off the court and we’re thrilled for her to help in building the future of adidas Basketball.”

Sabally is headed into a big offseason, as she indicated she would not be returning to the Dallas Wings next season, sparking plenty of speculation about her future as free agency approaches, even as the Wings gave her a Core designation (which likely will facilitate a sign-and-trade). Wherever she ends up, she’ll be rocking the three stripes as their newest star, joining the likes of Chelsea Gray, Aliyah Boston, Nneka Ogwumike, Aaliyah Edwards, Kahleah Copper, and others.

One of the biggest off-court stories of the 2024-25 NBA season is the upcoming change in what networks will broadcast games, as this is the final year of the NBA on TNT before Amazon and NBC join ESPN as the league’s national broadcast partners.

Initially, it looked like that would mean an end to Inside the NBA. However, after spending two decades trying in vain to replicate the success of their competitor, ESPN, TNT Sports, and the NBA agreed to a deal that will keep the show on the air, with ESPN licensing the show from TNT, who will continue to produce it from Atlanta. That brought a sigh of relief to many fans, but it quickly became apparent that the announcement had been made before every loose end was tied off.

Charles Barkley continued to muse about leaving for NBC or Amazon, noting ESPN and TNT haven’t given him a schedule yet and he’s not about to end up like other ESPN analysts working constantly. From there, Shaquille O’Neal didn’t have a new deal after this season and was reportedly not happy they announced the show would continue before signing him up long-term. On Thursday, word broke from CNBC’s Alex Sherman that Shaq and Kenny Smith’s situations had, at the least, been resolved, as they were both inking multi-year extensions with TNT Sports.

But, rest assured NBA fans, O’Neal and Smith are coming back. Both are on the verge of re-signing with TNT Sports, CNBC has learned. O’Neal will sign a five-year contract. Smith will ink a multiyear deal, as well. A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson declined to comment.

Sherman notes that both Shaq and Smith spoke with NBC and Amazon, but ultimately came back home to TNT Sports. With those two back, it would seem to signal the show will indeed go on as planned with ESPN — one would think those two wouldn’t re-sign without at least something approaching a firm plan for their schedule in place. Barkley is forever the wild card, but I also think he just wanted to enjoy the idea of free agency — Chuck knows rule number one is never turn down a free dinner — and had that taken away from him a bit, so he made sure to still get that in his own way.

We’ll find out for certain soon, but Amazon seems to be moving in a much younger direction with their studio show, currently featuring Taylor Rooks, Dirk Nowitzki, and Blake Griffin. As for NBC, Sherman notes they’ll be headed more in a “news magazine” style approach, which will be interesting to see how that comes together, but if the goal is less banter, as Sherman says, I can’t imagine them being serious threats to steal Barkley away. All signs point to Inside continuing as planned on ESPN, with the new networks bringing some fresh talent into the studio show game, all of which should be very good for the NBA.

On January 21, Bruno Mars celebrated the success of his and Lady Gaga’s “Die With A Smile” by teasing his next collaboration.

On Instagram, in response to the song enjoying another week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Mars wrote, “THANK YOU ALL! I’m headed to the studio right now to make a strip club anthem so I can celebrate and properly act up this weekend. Someone please help me get in touch with Sexyy Red!!”

It soon became clear, though, that he was probably already in touch with Sexyy: The next day, he shared a photo of himself and Sexyy, set to a snippet of a new song. “Found Her,” Mars wrote.

Some have reported that the song is set to arrive tomorrow (January 24) and that it’s called “Fat, Juicy, & Wet,” although neither artist has directly confirmed either of those two points. The title makes sense, though, given that Sexyy shared Mars’ post on her Instagram Story and added the hashtag #FJW. “Fat, Juicy, & Wet” also seems like an appropriate title for the “strip club anthem” that Mars envisioned.

Mars, meanwhile, has the 2025 Grammys to look forward to, as “Die For A Smile” is nominated for Song Of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Congratulations to all the nominees at the 2025 Oscars. Now, let’s talk about who got snubbed. It’s a crime that Denis Villeneuve wasn’t nominated for Best Director for Dune and Dune: Part Two, and The Substance star Margaret Qualley was left out of Best Supporting Actress for some inexplicable reason? But arguably the biggest snub was Challengers for Best Original Score.

“Challengers had two elements that were very powerful in terms of sound,” director Luca Guadagnino told Variety about his sexy tennis drama. “One was the erotic crunchy pulse of tennis. The racket swinging, the ball hitting, bones crushing. And on the other hand, the pulse and energy of the score.”

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross brought the energy for the techno-driven score, and then some, so no one can make sense of why they weren’t nominated.

“challengers original score snub cancel the oscars,” one person on X wrote. Another added, “No CHALLENGERS in original score… I feared days like this would come.” Simply put: “No CHALLENGERS for original score, for shame.”

Challengers Not Getting Nominated For Best Original Score: Reactions

Challengers not being on here is crazy (via)

Sorry there’s been a mistake, challengers you guys won best score. This is not a joke they read the wrong thing. Challengers. Best score. (via)

challengers not getting an oscar nomination for best original score… they just pissed me off (via)

the academy either didn’t watch challengers or had the sound OFF (via)

No best original score Oscar nomination for CHALLENGERS’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is ridiculous (via)

It’s a sad day for Challengers nation.

You can check out the full list of nominees for the 2025 Oscars here.

In recent years, Best Original Song has gone to big pop and rock acts like Lady Gaga (“Shallow” from A Star Is Born), Elton John (“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman), and Billie Eilish, twice (“No Time To Die” from No Time To Die and “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie). Will that trend continue at the 2025 Oscars? The nominees for the 97th Academy Awards were revealed this morning, including Best Original Song and Best Original Score.

Best Original Song has two songs from Emilia Pérez, a track from the Elton John documentary Elton John: Never Too Late, and songs from The Six Triple Eight and Sing Sing.

As for Best Original Score, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ techno-driven score for Challengers was unfortunately snubbed, but the Oscars did nominate Daniel Blumberg’s masterful work for The Brutalist (read our interview), as well as John Powell & Stephen Schwartz for Wicked, among others.

Check out the complete Best Original Song and Best Original Score nominations below.

Best Original Song

“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight
“Like A Bird” from Sing Sing

Best Original Score

The Brutalist — Daniel Blumberg
Emilia Pérez — Clément Ducol
Conclave — Volker Bertelmann
Wicked — John Powell & Stephen Schwartz
The Wild Robot — Kris Bowers

To find the full list of 2025 Oscar nominees, click here.

The ongoing Los Angeles wildfires continue to rage, but the show must go on. In this case, that show happens to be the 97th annual Academy Awards, which will take place on Sunday, March 2 and will be hosted by Conan O’Brien. And if this ceremony is like the Globes, there will be a distinct lack of chaos unless Vin Diesel and The Rock smack each other with their eyes again.

This year’s crop of nominees will surely draw strong representation from The Brutalist, Emilia Pérez, Wicked, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, and Anora. Also, do not count out Sebastian Stan after his Globe win and twin nods (for The Apprentice and A Different Man) there. Dude has been swerving outside the Marvel box for over a decade, and it might be his time. Additionally, the awards telecast will bypass Best Original Song performances this year, but there’s no word on whether that will affect the customary 3+ hour runtime. We’ll find out the answer to that question when we find out.

Here are your 2025 Oscar nominations:

Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked

Best Director
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Emilia Perez
The Substance

Best Actor
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ray Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofia Gascon, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Best Supporting Actress
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldana, Emilia Pérez

Best Costume Design
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Wicked

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

Best Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!

Best Live-Action Short Film
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Would Not Remain Silent

Best Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing

Best Original Screenplay
Anora
The Brutalist
A Real Pain
September 5
The Substance

Best Original Song
“El Mal,” Emilia Pérez
“The Journey,” The Six Triple Eight
“Like A Bird,” Sing Sing
“Mi Camino,” Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late,” Elton John Never Too Late

Best Original Score
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Best Documentary

Best Documentary Short Subject

Best International Film

Best Animated Feature

Best Production Design

Best Film Editing

Best Production Design

Best Sound

Best Visual Effects

Best Cinematography

Saturday Night Live is going big in celebration of its 50th anniversary, and part of that effort was announced last month, when it was revealed Questlove and Oz Rodriguez co-directed a new documentary, Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years Of SNL Music. For the making of the film, Questlove went ahead and just watched all 900-plus episodes of the show since its debut in 1975.

He talked about it with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show yesterday (January 22), explaining:

Lorne [Michaels] put this in my lap, maybe April of 2021, like, a year before the Oscars. So, pretty much, I had about two-and-a-half years to watch all 900-plus episodes of SNL. Initially, in the beginning, I think I was just going to compile maybe the 50 best performances on the show, but around ’87, I realized there were way more iconic comedic moments musically on the show, like surpassing just the legendary performances.

He went on to explain with a few Fallon examples, saying, “Like, even for you, I would say your top three are all music-related. First, you know, the Mick Jagger bit. And then cowbell, of course. And then I would even say with Debbie Downer, like, the trombone. That is music. But music plays a major part on that show. And most of the iconic sketches that people remember, be it King Tut or, you know, anything Eddie Murphy’s done, the Lonely Island stuff: it’s all music-related.

Check out the full interview above.

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a strange season. While the team is currently 23-18 and hold the final automatic playoff spot in the Western Conference, they also have the 12th-best point differential in the West, and are one extended absence from LeBron James or Anthony Davis away from finding themselves in some serious trouble — entering Wednesday’s slate of games, they were only 2.5 games up on the 11-seed, which would put them out of the postseason altogether.

All of this is to say that the Lakers are by no means a sure thing to compete for a title in their current position, something that JJ Redick and James admitted to varying extents last week. And apparently, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, it’s gotten to the point that James and Redick are trying to throw their weight around and convince the team to get aggressive on the trade market.

But with the Feb. 6 trade deadline a little more than two weeks away, league sources told ESPN that James and Davis are growing concerned about the Lakers’ ability to make significant roster upgrades with their two tradeable first-rounders. James, a four-time champion, and Davis, a one-time champ, have expressed that they want the franchise to make moves to contend for a championship, with the co-stars believing the Lakers are potentially a piece or two away, sources said.

L.A. did already dip into the trade market, as the team acquired Dorian Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets back in December in an effort to add some shooting and defense around those two. It’s unclear which players on their roster would be the most appealing to opposing teams in trades, but as Charania noted, the Lakers do have a few future first-round picks that they can send out to try and make a deal happen.

Jimmy Butler’s future with the Miami Heat has been one of the dominant stories in the NBA for the last month. What began as “teams are asking about Jimmy” became “Jimmy would prefer a new team” and then “Jimmy has requested a trade”, which the Heat responded to by suspending Butler for seven games.

Butler returned to action last week and played three games of mostly uninspired, but not disastrous basketball as Miami went 1-2 over that stretch. That seemed to signal that the star and the Heat had reached a detente with a few weeks left until the trade deadline, with Butler playing and the Heat doing what they can to find him a trade — with the logistics of moving Butler, especially to his preferred destination in Phoenix, extremely difficult. That lasted all of four days before word broke on Tuesday that Butler had “tripled down” on his trade request, with Shams Charania reporting the Heat were suspending him again for two more games on Wednesday for missing the team’s flight to Milwaukee.

According to Charania, Butler planned on flying separately to meet the team in Milwaukee, but is now expected to be told to stay home from their two-game road trip. After this quick road trip, the Heat are back home and have five more games on the schedule before the trade deadline hopefully brings a merciful end to this saga for all parties, not the least of which being fans who are tired of all of it.