Maccabi Tel Aviv are due to play their EuroLeague home games at the Spyros Kyprianou arena in Limassol, starting with the Tel Aviv derby against Hapoel on November 12.
The move still awaits official confirmation from the club and from the EuroLeague itself, with plans for each game providing for 3,000 tickets for Maccabi supporters, 1,500 for the Cypriot public and 100 for fans of the visiting side; final arrangements for spectators have not been agreed.
Maccabi are still asking the EuroLeague for permission to return to their home ground in Israel. Should Euroleague not yield by January, the game against Panathinaikos on January 7 will also be played in Limassol.
The Cyprus Mail was informed that the EuroLeague was initially against the move to Cyprus due to its sponsorship deal with Turkish Airlines.
According to local media, a Maccabi representative spoke by telephone with one of the deputy police chiefs regarding the team’s presence and the running of the games.
From Monday, a designated police liaison is due to coordinate with the club’s managers at police headquarters level, covering the number of people travelling and their movements.
A video conference with Maccabi officials is planned to settle the details of police cover, and the club is expected to send an official letter within days on fan and team movements.
Maccabi were due to host Real Madrid in Limassol on October 22, but the game was played at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, which the club has used as its home court since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.
Maccabi formally asked Cyprus to host the games in a letter to President Nikos Christodoulides on September 22. Between 12 and 15 home games were expected in Limassol, depending on how far the club progressed.
Police unions have warned that the games would need about 500 officers and called them a “huge additional responsibility” for a force already short of staff.
A police source put the policing cost of all the games at more than €1 million.
Justice Minister Costas Fitiris told MPs on Monday that Cyprus had accepted a request to invoice Maccabi for the policing, although no game had yet been played on the island.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with O'Shea Jackson, known professionally as Ice Cube, a 57-year-old rapper, actor, and cofounder of the professional three-on-three basketball league Big3, who is based in Los Angeles. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I started out wanting to be the best rapper in the world. Then John Singleton put me in "Boyz n the Hood" in 1991, and I loved creating at that level. I didn't just want to be an actor; I wanted to be a producer and a writer. I wanted to control my own films and be involved in record company meetings. That thrust me into the business world.
I understand, from the neighborhood I come from in South Central Los Angeles, that if you don't learn the game, you're going to get taken advantage of. I knew that if I really wanted to be a solo artist and didn't want to be a horror story at the end of my career, I needed to learn the business. That's when I started transitioning to working behind the scenes.
In 2016, my cofounder, Jeff Kwatinetz, and I had the idea to start a professional three-on-three basketball league. We spent a year throwing around ideas for it before announcing Big3 in January 2017.
I love three-on-three, and I've always wondered why it hasn't been professionalized. We wanted to elevate it and attract players who still want to play at a high level against their peers in the summer. I also still rap and act, and I haven't looked back.
Here's a day in my life in Los Angeles.
5 a.m. — my goldendoodle wakes me up
My goldendoodle, Luffy, and I wake up at the same time, or one of us wakes the other up. He's a year old, so he's still got puppy energy. My wife, Kimberly, and my four kids watch an anime where the lead character's name is Luffy, which is how he got the name.
I've been an early riser ever since I was young. I like to wake up before everybody — sometimes two hours before my family — to hyper-focus on anything that needs my undivided attention. The East Coast is three hours ahead of us anyway, so I don't want to be late talking to people there.
7 .a.m. — coffee and walking Luffy
I usually make myself coffee at home. I'm a fan of Peet's dark roast. Then I take Luffy for a walk.
I'm not big on working out early in the morning, so I try to exercise in the evenings. To me, the morning is for coffee, enjoying being alive, and being happy that I get another chance to see another day.
I'm not a big breakfast guy, so I usually don't eat until late afternoon.
8 a.m. — thinking in the shower
Most of my ideas come when I'm in the shower. They'll just flood me with everything I need to get done, almost in order: you gotta have that, you gotta have that, stop procrastinating on this, get to that. The shower is where I get a lot of my clarity.
9 .a.m. — prioritizing my schedule from my home studio and office
I don't go into the office — I stopped doing that in 1999. I'm not built to be in the office. I'm a remote kind of guy.
I've got a spot in my house that's a studio and office. A lot of work gets done in there, including new music. It's cool to have it all in one place.
Because I'm splitting my time between Big3, music, films, and other things, I have to really plan the day and prioritize. There are things that have to get done today and things that can wait until tomorrow, so it's about deciphering what needs my immediate attention and focus.
10 a.m. — meetings focused on wherever I am
When I'm traveling, my day can vary a lot. I have a lot of meetings on my iPhone and Zoom, so I plan them around whatever I'm there to do.
If I'm on tour, everything has to come after what I have to do that night and the focus I need to give to the live performance. I've tried to do a movie in the daytime and go to the studio at night, and something suffers.
You don't want to spread the work too thin, either, just because you can. You want everything to still be as top-notch and good as you can make it. That takes discipline.
12 p.m. — ordering lunch and trying not to succumb to burgers
When it's time to eat, the first thing that pops into my head is always burgers. I try to push burgers aside and think of something different, like a Greek salad wrap. Otherwise, I'd go for burgers and fries all the time.
1 p.m. — checking out social media and executing on projects
I look at a lot of social media to figure out my next move. Social media-wise, I still like X, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. I'm not a big-time Facebook guy. I also don't use any AI apps.
I have several projects, and they're each in one of three stages: planning, execution, and follow-through. There's always work to be done. I've been in business for 40 years — I've seen it all. Nothing gets me too high, and nothing gets me too low.
I'm always looking for the most strategic way out of a sticky, complicated, or bad day. I don't really let it stress me, because I always know there's a solution.
6:30 p.m. — shut down business and hang with my family
It's crazy for somebody in the music industry, where mostly everything happens late at night, but it's for my sanity.
When it comes to my off time, people think I'd be out enjoying being Ice Cube, running around and getting the love that's out there, but I like kicking it with my family, hanging out, and not doing too much. A typical dinner is going to a steakhouse with my family, or to a burger joint if I'm on the road.
To unwind, I like to watch sports. Hopefully, there's a game on that I want to see: basketball, football, a Big3 game, or baseball. I'm a Dodgers guy.
11 p.m. — try to get to bed
I don't like to talk about stuff late at night, because then I'll be up all night, and I have to be back up in a few hours. I don't need much sleep, about five or six hours, but I make sure I get it.
Some days, I'm off to do something super cool, like a concert or a movie in France. It's important to balance the craziness with the regular, sensible stuff.
My life can be very exciting and complicated at times, and very simple and normal at other times. It's the best of both worlds.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 13 of his game-high 27 points during a decisive third-quarter run as the host New York Knicks rallied past the Detroit Pistons 111-97 on Tuesday for their first win of the season.
New York trailed by 13 points in the first quarter.
The Knicks outscored the Pistons 37-13 in the third and held off a fourth-quarter rally to avoid becoming the first defending NBA champion to open 0-4 since the Boston Celtics in 1969-70.
Towns also pulled down a season-high 20 rebounds.
Jalen Brunson produced 23 points and seven assists for New York while OG Anunoby and reserve Landry Shamet scored 13 points apiece. Mikal Bridges finished with 12 points, and Andre Drummond added 10 points off the bench.
The result snapped the Knicks’ six-game losing streak against the Pistons, who won all three games between the teams last season by an average margin of 28 points.
Paul Reed had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who were seeking their first 4-0 start since the 2018-19 season. Cade Cunningham (19 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) flirted with a triple-double while Duncan Robinson recorded 12 points.
Detroit’s Ausar Thompson and reserve Daniss Jenkins each had 11 points.
The Pistons ended the first quarter on a 15-5 run and took a 38-25 lead on Reed’s 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left.
Drummond and Shamet sparked the Knicks’ comeback bid in the second. They scored the first 11 points in a half-ending 19-8 run. Brunson sank two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining to give New York the lead for good at 51-50.
The Knicks remained hot to open the third quarter, when they scored the first 11 points to take a double-digit lead. Shamet’s 3-pointer with 2:59 left in the period gave New York its first 20-plus-point lead at 82-61.
The Knicks were up 88-63 when Josh Hart ended the third with a 3-pointer, and they extended the gap to 27 when Towns began the fourth with a layup. The Pistons outscored New York 34-21 the rest of the way and got as close as 104-93 on Ronald Holland II’s putback dunk with 2:39 remaining.
The basketball star seems proud to leave the job to his partner. That’s so last century
Nobody can accuse the basketball star LaMelo Ball of being bad at his job. That said, the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of dribbling.
Ball has a nine-month-old son, LaOne, with his partner Ana Montana (real name: Analicia Chaves) and is apparently uninterested in dealing with all the body fluids that come with a baby.
LeBron James' multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio is as impressive as his NBA career.
His portfolio includes a $36.75 million Beverly Hills property where he's building a compound.
He also purchased a home in Coconut Grove. Take a look at the homes he's owned over the years.
LeBron James has had a legendary run on the court. The four-time NBA champion has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, and now the Philadelphia 76ers, winning titles with his first three teams.
His real estate portfolio has grown alongside his career. James has bought homes near most of the cities where he has played, building a multimillion-dollar collection of properties in the process.
Forbes estimates James' net worth to be $1.4 billion as of publication. Over the years, he has secured lucrative endorsement deals and business ventures with brands including Nike, Beats by Dre, PepsiCo, and Fanatics.
Now, James is reportedly living in a luxury building in New York City and commuting by helicopter to Philadelphia for 76ers games and to the team's practice facility in Camden, New Jersey (the flights are covered through his partnership with Fanatics) — a routine that has drawn criticism from some fans.
Take a look at some of the properties James has purchased over the years, from a custom-built home in Akron, Ohio, to a 13,000-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills.
The NBA star's first real estate purchase was a home worth more than $ 2.1 million outside Akron, Ohio.
In 2018, LeBron James, in partnership with Akron Public Schools, opened the I Promise School.
Allison Farrand/NBAE via Getty Images
James was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, and the city remains a big part of his life.
In 2003, after the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted him at age 18, he purchased an almost seven-acre property in Bath Township, a community just outside Akron, for more than $2.1 million.
After tearing down the property's existing home, he built a 30,000-square-foot house in its place. The six-bedroom, fourteen-bathroom home includes a recording studio, a full barbershop, a home theater, a sports bar, and a two-lane bowling alley, Robb Report reported.
While James spends much of his time outside of Ohio these days, he's still very connected to Akron.
In 2018, through the LeBron James Family Foundation, he opened the I PROMISE School in partnership with Akron Public Schools. The public elementary and middle school serves at-risk kids, providing them with free meals and transportation. Eligible students also receive free tuition to the University of Akron.
James bought a $9 million home in Coconut Grove before it was cool.
James briefly owned this home in Miami.
Courtesy of Opulence International Realty
In 2010, after seven years with the Cavaliers, James announced during a live, hourlong ESPN special that he would be joining the Miami Heat. The move became one of the most controversial moments in NBA history.
While many Cleveland fans saw it as a betrayal, Miami welcomed James with open arms. That year, he purchased a 13,930-square-foot, six-bedroom home in Coconut Grove for $9 million.
After four years with the Heat, during which James helped bring home two championships along with fellow superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, he listed his Miami home for $17 million. After returning to Ohio, the home eventually sold for $13.4 million, Realtor.com reported.
A Realtor.com listing shows the home was last sold for 18.5 million in 2023. It's no surprise its value has climbed. Over the years, Coconut Grove has become one of Miami's hottest and wealthiest neighborhoods, attracting high-profile residents including Citadel CEO Ken Griffin and Google's cofounder and former CEO Larry Page.
James liked Brentwood so much that he bought two mansions in the neighborhood.
Brentwood, a neighborhood in California.
Adam Mustafa/Getty Images
James returned to his hometown to play for the Cavaliers in 2014. But when he bought a $21 million, six-bedroom mansion in Brentwood the following year, it sparked rumors that he could eventually move to the Lakers.
The 9,440-square-foot colonial-style home had eight bathrooms and amenities, including a basketball court, a home gym, and an infinity pool. James eventually sold the home for $19.6 million in 2021, Robb Report reported.
In 2017, James purchased a second Brentwood property for $23 million. The newly built mansion had eight bedrooms, marble floors, 14-foot ceilings, and a rooftop terrace overlooking Los Angeles.
The speculation about James joining the Lakers proved right in 2018, when he signed a four-year, $153.3 million deal with the team. In 2020, he led the team to an NBA title and became the first player in league history to win Finals MVP with three different teams.
James bought a Beverly Hills mansion for $36.75 million and is building a compound in its place.
Lerbonn James bought a $TK home in Beverely Hills.
Alexis Gonzalez/Getty Images
In 2020, James made his biggest real estate purchase to date when he bought a 13,000-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills for $36.75 million.
The mansion, which sat on 2.5 acres, was built in the 1930s and once belonged to Lee Phillip Bell, the co-creator of the soap operas "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful," Realtor.com reported.
In 2023, he demolished the existing home and began building a new compound from the ground up. According to Robb Report, the plans call for two homes: a roughly 16,000-square-foot, two-story main house with a 7,700-square-foot basement garage, pool, spa, and outdoor kitchen; and a 6,550-square-foot, one-story guesthouse with a basement theater and hot-and-cold plunge pools.
James is living in New York during the basketball season, while his wife, Savannah, and their daughter remain on the property as construction continues.
In October, the couple gave Vogue a look inside the property. Among their most treasured features in the home is an OxyHealth hyperbaric chamber, the Vitaeris 320 model, which, according to the health website Regenerated, can cost between $ 18,000 and $23,000.
Match-fixing scandal in Greek basketball: Six arrests and €820,000 in cash found in the safe of one referee. Implicated in the scandal that shakes the Greek Basketball is also the president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), Vangelis Liolios, ANT1 TV who has been also arrested and other media reported on Tuesday afternoon. Law enforcement […]
In mid-August, The New York Times lost a defamation lawsuit in Alabama. It’s the first such case the paper has lost in more than half a century. Back in 2023, the Times reported that a University of Alabama basketball player named Kai Spears was at the scene of a fatal shooting—information that turned out to be false, and based on a single anonymous source. A jury found the paper liable for damages to the tune of $9.25 million. Ryan Phillips, the only reporter to attend the duration of the defamation trial, describes the experience:
Chief among the post-publication issues was the Times‘ reluctance to issue a correction or retraction when it became immediately clear that Witz’s anonymous source had been wrong in their assertion that Spears was in Miller’s car during the shooting.
The jury heard lengthy testimony about how the newspaper published “updates” in the form of “Editor’s Notes” to the online story to reflect each new denial coming from the University of Alabama, UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne, Spears’ father, and then the Alabama walk-on himself in an Instagram post.
Apart from the updates, which the Times argued were tantamount to a correction when applying Alabama law to the evidence, the story remained unchanged until an official correction was eventually published by The New York Times on June 3, 2023.
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