HOUSTON, TEXAS – JANUARY 22: Tari Eason #17 of the Houston Rockets drives to the basket against … [+] Georges Niang #20 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first half at Toyota Center on January 22, 2025 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The Houston Rockets currently rank second in the Western Conference, despite the youthfulness of their roster, in which multiple core members are under the age of 25.
Winning in the NBA isn’t easy. Period. It’s even more difficult for young players who lack the experience to tough out ugly games.
However, in Tari Eason, the Rockets have a guy who seemingly loves to turn games ugly, and his worth has been on display this season, when he hasn’t been sidelined.
Eason, who’s playing his third season, missed 15 of 17 games from December 5th to January 15th, but has picked up from where he left off.
Stat-stuffer
Eason has been on quite the four-game tear, averaging 11.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and a whopping 2.6 steals per game, while connecting on 41.7% of his three-pointers.
That’d be impressive if he produced those numbers over the course of a full game. But Eason is doing this in just 23.3 minutes of playing time, making his per-minute numbers all the more ridiculous.
Defensively, Eason is a menace, and loves to muck up the game for his opponents, while turning games physical. He’ll play the passing lanes, contest shots on the perimeter and inside, compete hard on the glass.
Offensively, he’s opportunistic, scrappy, finds ways to score despite not always being fluid in his movements. Granted, he’s otherworldly athletic, which helps him a great deal, but he makes himself available, doesn’t turn down shots, and rarely turns the ball over. All aspects go a long way.
More minutes
It’s curious, then, that Eason isn’t playing more. Jabari Smith Jr is out with a hand injury, and Eason hasn’t been in any particular foul trouble during those games.
While head coach Ime Udoka might prefer to limit Eason’s minutes to allow him to go fully nuclear in the minutes he does receive, eventually that’s got to change.
As such, it’d be a solid investment for Udoka to test out the 23-year-old in an expanded role, if only to find out if he can handle more minutes. However it shakes out, that’s knowledge and data that the Rockets can analyze.
As for Eason himself, his intensity and energy are major assets, and some he will need to maintain, even when the season drags into the often up and down months of February and March.
But if he does, and if Udoka provides him with more opportunities, it’s at this point difficult to see how he’d fail.
Tari Eason, a rising star in the world of basketball, is making a name for himself as he slowly but surely breaks out onto the scene. With his impressive skills and natural talent, it’s no surprise that he is catching the attention of fans, coaches, and scouts alike.
From his exceptional scoring ability to his defensive prowess, Eason is proving to be a force to be reckoned with on the court. His versatility and basketball IQ set him apart from others, making him a valuable asset to any team he plays for.
As he continues to hone his craft and showcase his abilities, there is no doubt that Tari Eason is on the path to greatness. Keep an eye on this young star as he continues to rise to the top of the basketball world.
Madonna is slamming the Donald Trump administration for their slew of executive orders targeting marginalized groups.
The pop icon took to her X account (formerly Twitter) on Thursday to express her support for the LGBTQ community after the president, who returned to the White House last Monday, signed an order barring transgender people from serving and enlisting in the military.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
“It’s so sad to watch our new Government slowly dismantling all the Freedoms we have been fighting for and WON over the years,” Madonna wrote, adding the LGBTQ pride flag and broken red heart emojis. “Don’t give up the Fight!”
On Monday, Trump signed a controversial executive order titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness.” The order reinstates a policy from Trump’s first term and rescinds a 2021 order by Joe Biden that allowed trans people to enlist in the military and serve openly. The president has also rolled back diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives in his first week back in office.
The “Material Girl” singer has been a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ community, dating back to the 1980s, when she spoke out about the HIV/AIDS crisis and was fighting for gay rights. In 2019, Madonna was also honored with the Advocate for Change Award at the 30th annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD, also wrote in a statement following Trump’s executive order, “Transgender people are already serving in the military with honor and keeping our country and military safer and stronger. They meet the same rigorous health and readiness standards, and continue to do so. The Trump administration’s inaccurate statements and rhetoric targeting transgender people are not based on facts. LGBTQ Americans have been here before, ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and Trump’s previous trans military ban. Research and military experts have made it loud and clear that targeting service members because of who they are is blatantly discriminatory and makes our country less safe.”
Madonna isn’t the only celebrity condemning Trump’s aggressive new policies. In a since-deleted Instagram video, Selena Gomez got vulnerable over the deportation of undocumented immigrants. “All my people are getting attacked … the children. I don’t understand,” she said as tears streamed down her face. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could do something but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise.”
Madonna Slams Trump Administration for “Slowly Dismantling All the Freedoms We Have Been Fighting For”
Madonna, the iconic singer and outspoken activist, has once again taken aim at the Trump administration for what she sees as a systematic erosion of the rights and freedoms that Americans have fought so hard to achieve.
In a recent interview, Madonna criticized President Trump and his administration for their handling of various social and political issues, including the treatment of immigrants, LGBTQ rights, and women’s rights. She accused the administration of slowly dismantling the progress that has been made in these areas over the years.
Madonna, who has never been one to shy away from controversy, has been a vocal critic of President Trump since he took office in 2017. She has used her platform to speak out against his policies and actions, and has urged her fans to stand up and fight for what they believe in.
The singer’s latest comments come at a time when tensions in the United States are running high, with many Americans feeling disillusioned and frustrated with the current political climate. Madonna’s words serve as a reminder that the fight for equality and justice is far from over, and that it is up to all of us to continue pushing for progress and positive change.
As Madonna herself put it, “We cannot let the actions of a few powerful individuals dictate the future of our country. We must stand together and fight for the freedoms that we hold dear.”
Tags:
Madonna, Trump Administration, freedoms, dismantling, fighting for, political activism, current events, celebrity news, social justice, resistance, activism, equality, human rights, government policies.
The ever-changing TV news business is reportedly offering anchors, from Kotb to O’Donnell, their walking papers or new contracts with significant pay cuts, and many big-name journalists are declining them or shifting to smaller roles.
On Thursday, struggling CNN shifted much of its programming lineup, bumping hosts such as Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer to different timeslots as the company cuts about 200 TV positions, or 6% of its workforce, according to the network’s own reporting. The company also removed Jim Acosta from their lineup, leaving him without a show. On Tuesday, Acosta announced he has exited the network after “weighing an alternative time slot CNN offered me.”
Over the past year, a slew of notable anchors jumped ship. At least a half dozen marquee hosts at U.S. news organizations — from Fox News to CNN — have left their powerful perches at the anchor desk.
As news consumers flee traditional platforms for peppy TikTok videos and political podcasts, media experts are opening up to USA TODAY about TV anchors changing the channel on the format.
Read about the celebrities you love: Sign up for USA TODAY’s Everyone’s Talking newsletter.
‘God-like days are definitely over for news anchors’
The “big three” networks — CBS, NBC and ABC — have toyed in recent years with replacing big-name news anchors, like Kotb and O’Donnell, with little-or-lesser-known broadcasters. Kotb was replaced by Craig Melvin, well-known among “Today” viewers but far from a household name.
When ex-“Today” anchor Katie Couric left the CBS nightly anchor chair in 2011, she was replaced by Scott Pelley. Before O’Donnell took the reins of “Evening News,” the network tapped Jeff Glor, who was recently laid off.
Their hope, experts say, is that news organizations can cut high salaries, hiring younger anchors whom they hope will appeal to a younger audience.
Anthony Adornato, chair of the broadcast and digital journalism at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, says “news consumption habits” are having a direct impact on the health of the TV news industry.
“There is less of an emphasis on those big-name anchors who are making a ton of money,” Adornato says, noting that younger audiences are engaging with non-traditional content.
CNN and MSNBC’s ratings have plummeted in recent years, and especially since the Nov. 5 election. The TV news business is simply managing costs in a new, challenged environment, media experts like Mark Feldstein say. Feldstein, a former ABC News and CNN investigative correspondent, is the University of Maryland broadcast journalism department chair.
“These networks are about making money and they’re going to do what makes money,” Feldstein says, adding that budget cuts are “kind of like the breakdown of the studio system in Hollywood. Networks aren’t as big as they used to be. Their audiences are dwindling, their profits are dwindling.”
Adornato added that “the big salaries of the big anchors” are “being more closely monitored” by networks if stars are unable to “bring in the numbers on traditional broadcast.”
Norah O’Donnell’s replacements are relative unknowns
Cable news networks like CNN have made surprising promotions such as elevating correspondent Kaitlan Collins, who covered Trump’s first term and recently returned to the role. Collins, 32, now pulls double duty on CNN as the network’s chief White House correspondent and host of “The Source” in Chris Cuomo‘s former 9 p.m. timeslot.
“We’re seeing a whole lot of younger people, which is not necessarily a bad thing, than we did many years ago,” Adornato says.
Feldstein agrees, arguing that networks’ “promotion of younger talent is an effort to attract younger viewers in TV news,” and “the big problem (for networks) is the aging demographic of their audience.”
Ex-news anchors like Hoda Kotb can build brands without the help of TV
Experts say broadcasters like Kotb, who spent 26 years at NBC, doesn’t need a mammoth network now that she has already established a lasting brand. Kotb, host of the popular podcast “Making Space,” plans to work with NBC on special projects and pursue her passions in the health and wellness space. O’Donnell will also continue to contribute to CBS News.
“They’ve built a brand already and now they don’t need to necessarily be on television,” Adornato says, adding that anchors are still able to “reach an audience through social media and build a brand of their own,” even with smaller paychecks. As networks purge well-known talent, Feldstein believes personalities such as Kotb still resonate with viewers but says name recognition is “slowly diminishing over time.”
“It used to be that the (big three) television networks had a monopoly or oligarchy on the brand,” Feldstein says, but”NBC is still bigger than Hoda. People don’t have strong emotions about NBC or any of the other networks. They do have strong emotions about Hoda and some of the other talent.”
As Kotb makes space for something new and O’Donnell signs off, the days of Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow are done, according to Adornato.
“The God-like days are definitely over for news anchors.”
This story has been updated to add new information.
In today’s fast-paced world of social media and instant news updates, the value of traditional TV anchors is slowly diminishing. With the rise of citizen journalism and online news sources, viewers are turning away from the familiar faces on their screens in favor of more diverse and immediate sources of information.
TV anchors, once seen as the trusted voices delivering the news to the masses, are now facing competition from a myriad of sources, all vying for the attention of viewers. The rise of streaming services and online news platforms has made it easier than ever for people to access news and information without the need for a traditional news anchor.
Additionally, the rise of social media has allowed for news to be shared and spread at a rapid pace, often outpacing the efforts of traditional news outlets. This has led to a decrease in the influence and impact of TV anchors, as viewers are able to access news from a variety of sources and perspectives.
While TV anchors still hold a certain level of credibility and authority, their role in the news industry is slowly shifting. As technology continues to evolve and change the way we consume news, the value of TV anchors may continue to diminish as viewers seek out alternative sources of information.
