“Our owners and teams are based all over the country in red states and blue states and purple states,” Silver said Tuesday, via the Charlotte Observer. “It was a strongly-held view that HB2 was inconsistent with the values of this league.” HB2 nullified Charlotte’s expanded non-discrimination ordinance that extended legal protection for gay, lesbian and transgender individuals. It also requires transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate in government buildings....

That vision from the league’s commissioner, speaking at the Beyond Sport United conference Wednesday, is not a surprise, not in 2015 and not after Becky Hammon coached the Spurs’ Las Vegas Summer League team to a championship. It’s more of a recognition of how far along the path we already are to seeing that future, when the question is not so much if, but when. MORE: 17 things we won’t forget from 2014-15 season | Hammon shows she belongs...

And he handled the question about whether the NBA was considering moving the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte in the wake of North Carolina’s passing of HB2 with a sense of resignation and careful diction that can only be achieved by answering the same question a thousand times. MORE: Is a change to ‘Hack-A-Shaq’ coming? “We’ve been crystal clear that we believe a change in the law is necessary for us to play in the kind of environment that is appropriate for a celebratory NBA event, but that we did have some time,” Silver said Thursday....

Vinatieri said in an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” he’s “riding off into the sunset” after a career that spanned almost a quarter of a century. “By Friday, if paperwork goes through, you heard it here first,” Vinatieri told McAfee, who held for Vinatieri in Indianapolis. Vinatieri spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Patriots and the last 14 with the Colts. He didn’t play during the 2020 season after the Colts opted to roll with Rodrigo Blankenship as their kicker and no other team signed him....

The Reds conceded twice in the first half at Coopers Stadium before a Dylan McGowan own goal nine minutes from time ensured Gamba triumphed 3-0 in their Group H opener. While Adelaide had some promising moments throughout the match and finished the game with more possession, passes and a great passing accuracy in their attacking half, the J.League visitors were far more clinical. Gamba had 14 shots to Adelaide’s seven and led shots on target 5-1....

West, who legally changed his name to Ye, has been involved in several controversies over the last month, beginning with his Yeezy fashion show during Paris Fashion Week, in which he debuted controversial “White Lives Matter” shirts on the runway. He went on to cover a multitude of topics in a Fox News interview with Tucker Carlson, and later went on a social media tirade and was suspended from his Instagram and Twitter accounts after saying that he was “going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE....

The dog’s owner shared the clip to popular Subreddit “Zoomies,” where fellow dog-lovers head to share the adorable moments their canines “zoom” around. According to the owner, the dog is believed to be a Labrador mix with a greyhound, though it’s possible it could be a Carolina dog. In the video, the dog can be seen running around the yard at full-speed, bouncing around and circling different areas over again, running around furniture and plants....

Two-year-old pooch Hugo has become a sensation on social media, racking up 39,700 followers and over three million likes on TikTok since his owner, Alexandra Owens, began posting footage of the pup. Personal trainer Owens is originally from the United Kingdom, but lives in Bondi, Sydney, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic had been unable to travel home for four years. However after Australia opened their borders earlier this year, Owens was able to travel home and spent three months in the U....

The footage was shot at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago on February 2 and shows the male polar bear Hudson roll about gleefully in fresh snow in his enclosure. The large bear shakes himself off during the footage and proceeds to roll about again, seemingly enjoying it, as the snow that blanketed the city during a winter storm on February 2 falls around him. Up to seven inches of snow fell in some areas of Chicago on Wednesday....

Testing positive for marijuana or any other such drug is a violation of his bond conditions. The Montgomery County district attorney’s office would like the presiding judge to put aside Peterson’s $15,000 bond and put him in jail. MORE: The danger of Peterson rushing to trial On Wednesday, Peterson learned that his tentative trial date would be at the earliest on Dec. 1, too late to play in the NFL again in 2014....

While some couples have begun rescheduling when they’ll tie the knot as far ahead as 2022, AdultFriendFinder gives engaged couples the opportunity to exchange nuptials in front of their family, friends and loved ones while still social distancing. Couples can stream their weddings from their own homes (or other private locations) in 4K and 1080p. FriendFinder Networks CEO Jon Buckheit told Newsweek that the site has seen an increase in traffic since the coronavirus pandemic has spread, forcing people inside....

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) started investigating after students in Grande Prairie, Alberta, were taken to hospital with serious injuries after taking part in the after-school fights in high school parking lots, a spokesperson for Grande Prairie RCMP told Newsweek. “Grande Prairie RCMP received reports that multiple fights were taking place after hours involving local high school students,” the spokesperson said. “Information suggested the fights were possibly taking place in school parking lots and may be organized by other young adults (age range possibly between 18-24)....

After a tight 0-0 draw in the first leg, somebody needed to take charge of the second leg game and it was Al Hilal’s star striker Carlos Eduardo who rose to the occassion. The Brazilian helped Al Hilal take full control of the game at the end of the first half with twin strikes before completing his hat-trick in the second half. First, in the 42nd minute, Nicolas Milesi sent in a sumptuous free kick which was headed in expertly by Eduardo....

GROUP E: Tianjin Quanjian 4-2 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (Tongpo 8’ Cheng 55’ Modeste 84’ Pato 90+3’ - Shin-Wook 37’ Adriano 67') Chinese outfit Tianjin Quanjian handed South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai their first loss of the tournament on Wednesday. The home team started the game well and took the lead inside 10 minutes when Wang Yongpo finished off a good move orchestrated by Alexandre Pato and Axel Witsel. Kim Shin-Wook equalised for Jeonbuk in the 37th minute....

It was The Mariners’ Katsumi Yusa who registered the first goal of the match, in the 36th minute. However, The Blues had an answer to the Japanese’s strike as Sandesh Jhingan netted the equalizer in the second half. Skipper Sunil Chhetri sealed the deal for Albert Roca and company by scoring the winner in the 57th minute to grab full points for the JSW-owned outfit, who now sit second in their group....

Ingwe head coach, Robert Matano handed Salim Abdalla a return back to the starting line up in the absence of injured Robinson Kamura. Kamura was involved in a road accident on Friday morning on his way to training and could not shake off the injury in time for the clash. Abdalla will partner Joshua Mawira in the defence while Kerizon Kizito has been dropped to the bench. Dancun Otieno makes his 17th league start this season as Alexis Kitenge and Vincent Oburu lead Ingwe’s hunt for a second successive win....

This is Algeria’s 17th participation in the African Cup of Nations; their solitary title dates back to 1990, it was on home soil. They haven’t reached the final since then. This is Tunisia’s 18th AFCON participation, a tally only bettered by Egypt (23), Ivory Coast (22) and Ghana (21). Tunisia’s only AFCON title dates back to 2004, as hosts. Since then, they haven’t progressed further than the quarter-finals. The only previous AFCON encounter between Algeria and Tunisia saw the latter win 1-0 in the 2013 group stages, courtesy of a 91st minute strike by Youssef Msakni....

Cameroon are making their 18th appearance in the tournament. They have won it four times (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002), only Egypt have been more successful (7 trophies). Meanwhile, Guinea-Bissau are the only team making their debut in the African Cup of Nations this year. Only two of the last eight teams to make their African Cup of Nations debut have progressed to the knockout stages (Equatorial Guinea in 2012, Cape Verde in 2013)....