Guilty pleasures
By NewsPress Now
Charles Barkley says he will not retire and remain with TNT
Charles Barkley intends to remain with TNT Sports through the remainder of his contract.
The Hall of Fame player announced Tuesday that he will not retire next season, reversing the announcement he made in June during the NBA Finals.
Barkley said at the time that the 2024-25 season would be his last on television, no matter what eventually happened with the NBA’s media deal negotiations. He signed a 10-year contract extension with TNT Sports in 2022.
Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports, has sued the NBA in New York state court after the league did not accept the company’s matching offer for one of the packages in its new 11-year media rights deal, which will begin with the 2025-26 season.
“I love my TNT Sports family. My (number one) 1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible. We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me,” Barkley said in a statement. “I have to say … I’ve been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about. I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support, and most importantly our fans. I’m going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come.”
ESPN/ABC, NBC and Amazon Prime Video were expected to try to court Barkley before Tuesday’s announcement. “Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson has also said he intends to remain with TNT but the futures of Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith remain uncertain.
Barkley joined TNT in 2000 and has been a part of the iconic “Inside the NBA” show, which has won 21 Sports Emmy Awards and has been a model for studio shows. Barkley took home his fifth Sports Emmy for Outstanding Studio Analyst in May.
What Barkley’s future looks like if TNT does not have the NBA remains to be seen. Turner has had an NBA package since 1984 and games have been on TNT since the network launched in 1988.
However, the relationship started to become strained when Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said during an RBC Investor Conference in November 2022 that Turner and WBD “don’t have to have the NBA.”
TNT Sports also carries the NHL and NCAA men’s basketball tournament with CBS. It recently has added the College Football Playoffs, Big East basketball, NASCAR and the French Open.
“Charles is one of the best and most beloved sportscasters in the history of television. I know I speak for all the members of the TNT Sports family when I say we are incredibly thrilled to share this mutual commitment to continue showcasing Charles’ one-of-a-kind talents and entertain fans well into the future,” TNT Sports Chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser said in a statement. “We continue to add to the breadth and depth of our sports portfolio and it’s fantastic to have Charles for this journey as we develop new content ideas and shows for our fans.”
Barkley was the co-host of “King Charles,” a weekly talk show on CNN with “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King. But the limited-run series ended in April after six months.
Billy Ray Cyrus finalizes divorce from singer Firerose
LOS ANGELES | Billy Ray Cyrus and Firerose are now divorced.
The dissolution of their seven-month marriage was finalized Monday by a Williamson County judge in Tennessee three months after Cyrus filed for divorce.
Cyrus, 62, cited irreconcilable differences and “inappropriate marital conduct” when he filed for divorce from the 36-year-old, whose legal name is Johanna Rose Hodges.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Cyrus’ lawyers, Rose Palermo and Jason Talley of Cheatham Palermo & Garrett, said he and Hodges reached a settlement Friday, adding that Cyrus is “relieved to put this nightmare behind him.”
“I’m just very relieved… and giving thanks today to breathe a sigh of relief,” Cyrus said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate… it played out this way.”
“It was a matter of the heart. Love is blind … that’s for sure. B.R.C.,” his statement concluded.
Cyrus’ lawyers claimed in their statement that Hodges legally changed her last name to Cyrus before mediation, which they say Cyrus feels “validates his assertion that his ex-wife’s sole impetus for marrying him was to obtain his last name.”
Hodges’ lawyers did not immediately return requests for comment.
The court documents show neither party will pay spousal support, and much of the division of assets is based on ownership before the two married.
At the time of the initial May filing, Cyrus was also seeking an annulment due to fraud on Hodges’ part, saying in the filing that he would not have married Hodges “had he known” about the alleged fraud. The filing gave no further details on the alleged inappropriate conduct or fraud but said each should be able to keep property that they own separately.
After getting married in October 2023, the musicians lived in Tennessee and released several songs together. According to the court documents, Cyrus will turn over ownership, master rights and copyright interests, as well as royalties, to Hodges for the music and intellectual property they created together before and during their marriage.
Cyrus has been married twice before, notably to Tish Cyrus, with whom he shares five children, including musician and actor Miley Cyrus. They divorced in 2022 after nearly three decades together. They had previously called off divorce proceedings in 2010 and 2013.
The 2022 divorce kicked off a highly publicized rift in the Cyrus family. When Miley won her first Grammy Award in February, she said, “I don’t think I’ve forgotten anyone” after a long list of thank-yous and shoutouts to her family that included her mother, who was in attendance, but excluded her father and onetime “Hannah Montana” co-star.
Suga of K-pop sensation BTS fined for driving while drunk
SEOUL | Suga, a member of K-pop sensation BTS, apologized Wednesday for driving an electric vehicle while intoxicated.
His label, Big Hit Music, said Min Yoon-gi, famously known as Suga, was driving an “electric kickboard” Tuesday night when he fell while parking it. A police officer spotted him and administered a breathalyzer test which Suga failed, leading to his license being revoked and a fine, the label added.
An electric kickboard refers to a type of vehicle without a seat. However, police told local media Suga’s vehicle had a seat and resembled an electric scooter under traffic law. The type of vehicle affects the penalty for drunk driving.
Yongsan Police Station in Seoul reportedly booked him for violating the Road Traffic Act. It’s currently unclear whether the police have begun the investigation process. Multiple calls to the station’s spokesperson went unanswered.
The K-pop star issued an apology on Weverse, an online fan platform, saying he was driving after consuming alcohol at dinner.
“I come to you with a very heavy heart and deep apologies for disappointing you with this regrettable incident,” Suga wrote on Weverse. “I thought complacently that it was a short distance, not realizing I was not allowed to ride the electric scooter while intoxicated, breaking the road traffic act.”
Suga has been doing his mandatory military service as a social service agent since September 2023. Such agents typically work regular work hours and are allowed to return home after work hours.
Big Hit Music, his label, also apologized, stating: “He will accept any disciplinary measures from the place of duty regarding actions that caused social controversy as a social service worker.”
According to the spokesperson from the Military Manpower Administration, the incident will not impact his current status as an agent since it happened outside of official working hours.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men must serve in the army, navy or air force for 18-21 months under a conscription system established due to threats from rival North Korea.
Individuals with certain physical or mental conditions may instead serve for 21 months at non-military institutions such as welfare centers, community service centers and post offices.
‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ stage play will land on Broadway
NEW YORK | The Upside Down is coming to Broadway.
Producers of the “Stranger Things” stage play said Tuesday the franchise’s latest effort will jump to New York City’s Marquis Theatre in spring 2025. It is directed by Stephen Daldry and co-directed by Justin Martin.
“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” will begin performances on March 28, 2025, ahead of an official opening of April 22, 2025. Earlier this year in London, it won the Olivier Award for best new entertainment or comedy play award, as well as the trophy for best set design.
The original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Kate Trefry starts four decades before the 1983 start of the series on Netflix. It is in many ways an origin story for Henry Creel, the original Hawkins Lab test subject who surfaced in Season 4 and was known as Vecna.
The play was a hit with critics, with Time Out calling it a “sprawling maximalist monolith, a gargantuan entertainment that goes beyond being a mere ‘play,’” and the Guardian saying, “This is breathtaking theatre with its own arresting imagination.”
—From AP reports
—From AP reports
