Latest news with #ReturnoftheMac
New York Times
16-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Mac McClung flashes perfect score, pulling off historic third straight NBA dunk contest win
SAN FRANCISCO — He may still not be a household name, nor is he really an NBA player, but Mac McClung can now say he is the greatest dunk champion in league history. McClung, 26, who plays for the Osceola Magic in the NBA G League and played in just one game for the Orlando Magic this season, became the first player in dunk contest history to win the event three years in a row — pulling off a perfect score of 200 with four dunks not quite seen before and beat San Antonio rookie Stephon Castle in an entertaining final round to finish off All-Star Saturday night at the Chase Center. Advertisement McClung jumped over a car. And Evan Mobley. He contorted his body in strange ways while already in mid-air, and dunked two balls at the same time when he began the attempt with his hands empty. So you can say the field was lighter compared to past dunk contests, but in the first such event in the Bay Area since Vince Carter's historically grand performance in Oakland, in 2000, McClung was by far the best dunker on the court and will be remembered forever for what he did at the Chase Center, and for being able to win three years running. Only Nate Robinson had won three dunk contests before McClung, but Robinson's wins were not consecutive. McClung's night began with him taking the court to 'Return of the Mac,' an appropriate title given his name and prowess as repeat champion. For his first dunk, organizers backed a Kia sedan onto the court and parked it in front of the basket. Yes, dunkers have jumped over cars before (Blake Griffin in 2011), but McClung not only jumped over the car — he also pulled the ball off of a friend's head, who was standing through the sun roof. MAC MCCLUNG ARE YOU KIDDING ⁉️🤯@Kia | #KiaK5 — NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2025 For McClung's second dunk of the first round, he jumped over the same friend and again took the ball off of his head to do it, but this time turned nearly 180 degrees toward the rim after his back was already facing the basket. To begin the final round, McClung's friend spun on a hoverboard while another man climbed a ladder parked next to the basket. With a running start, McClung timed his jump to not only clear his friend, but again lift the ball off of his head, and then as he was ready to dunk it, he knocked the ball out of the hand of the man on the ladder into the hoop, for dunks of two balls on the same turn. Advertisement Castle, MVP of the Rising Stars Challenge on All-Star Friday, made it interesting with a 50 on his last dunk — a 360 in which he moved the ball behind his back and dunked left handed — giving himself a score of 99.6. There wasn't much margin for McClung to play with, and he pushed the limit by soaring over the Cavs' Evan Mobley, who is not only 6-11, but was standing on a box that was at least a few inches tall. Stephon Castle GLIDES in for the 360 Behind-The-Back 😱#ATTSlamDunk — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 16, 2025 Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis and Bucks second-year man Andre Jackson didn't get out of the first round. Buzelis failed to convert his first dunk all together (each player had three attempts per turn) and Jackson was plagued by misses before converting on simplified versions of his dunks. Tyler Hero, a first-time All-Star who is currently tied for fourth in 3s this season, unseated Damian Lillard as 3-point champion by narrowly escaping round one (by one point, over Lillard) and then finishing with a final-round tally of 24 points — beating hometown favorite Buddy Hield, of the Warriors, by a point. Herro had the most 3s this season of anyone in the eight-man field. Most shots in the 3-point contest were worth one point, money balls were worth two points and two shots were worth three points. Hield took the opening round with a score of 31, and had a chance to catch Herro if he had made the entire rack of money balls in the championship round. Hield connected on the first three but missed his fourth shot, dooming him to finish one point behind Herro. 'I was definitely nervous going into the first round. But I thought I shot it pretty well in the second round, and then Buddy had the chance to tie it at the end, ' Herro said. 'Obviously a great competition, a bunch of great shooters. … Also, it felt cold in the arena the first time I went. For the second time, I felt more loose going right away.' Advertisement Cleveland's Darius Garland also advanced to the final round. He wore a No. 22 Cavs jersey (his number is 10), to honor his father, Winston, who wore 22 when he played for the Golden State Warriors in 1990. Lillard, who was not only the two-time defending 3-point shootout champion, but is also from nearby Oakland, didn't get out of the first round. Had Lillard won again, he would have joined 18 Larry Bird (1986-88) and Craig Hodges (1990-92) as the only players to win three consecutive 3-point shootouts. The Cavaliers' duo of Donovan Mitchell and Mobley, both All-Stars, won the annual skills challenge, emerging victorious in individual rounds of an obstacle course, passing contest and shooting competition over the host-Warriors' Draymond Green and Moses Moody. To the extent that there is any interest or intrigue in the skills challenge — which is always the first of the Saturday events and has been tweaked several times — the Spurs' team of Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama proved it. They were actually disqualified — kicked out, booted, canceled, if you will — for deliberately throwing up shots quickly to save time during the first round. 'If they weren't disqualified, I think we probably would have just did the same thing to be honest with you,' Mitchell said. 'Play to win, I guess.' 'I feel like my first round I tried to do a similar thing but made it look like a real shot, but that didn't work really well, so I switched up my strategy,' Mobley added. This story will be updated.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Big Mac bridge now 'more open than any Chiefs receivers.' Social media has jokes
The Big Mac is back! The closure of what's formally known as the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge by a massive Nov. 1 fire became a bit of a meme in Cincinnati. The bridge's reopening is no different. After upending the daily commutes of 100,000 drivers, cutting off traffic to Northern Kentucky businesses and racking up $13 million in repairs since November, the southbound span of the bridge reopened Sunday night. And the region is celebrating accordingly. We rounded up the best reactions to the bridge's epic comeback. Take a look. Channel 5 anchor Kelly Rippin took to X to share her excitement for the bridge's reopening, granting the structure a new nickname: "The Bearded Beauty." Get it? The witty hometown brand Cincy Shirts created a T-shirt that reads "Return of the Mac," a play on Mark Morrison's 1996 R&B hit "Return of the Mack." The T-shirt features an illustration of the Big Mac Bridge and a sign for Interstate 471, which is the highway that runs across the bridge. "Connected Again," is written beneath the illustration with the reopening date, "February 9, 2025." The brand debuted the shirt in a hilarious Facebook post, writing "Our traffic nightmares are over! We had to make something to celebrate this important moment in Cincy history." It's finally reopening! Our traffic nightmares are over! We had to make something to celebrate this important moment in Cincy history Posted by Cincy Shirts on Friday, February 7, 2025 The shirt costs $20 and is available online and at Cincy Shirts' Fort Mitchell and Loveland locations. Local comedian Joe Boyd took to X to celebrate the bridge reopening and, of course, roast the Kansas City Chiefs' less-than-stellar Super Bowl 59 performance. The Ohio Department of Transportation joined in on the fun after the agency announced the bridge would reopen a full month earlier than anticipated. The department tweeted a photo of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and the bridge with the caption: "Comeback Player(s) of the Year." In honor of the bridge's reopening, the Facebook account Digging Cincinnati History shared an old Enquirer article from the 1980s laying out plans McDonald's had to build a floating franchise along Newport's riverbank, at the foot of the golden arches of the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge. Unfortunately, the McDonald's Big Mac and Big Mac bridge collaboration never came to fruition as the chain pulled its plans due to construction complications. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big Mac bridge reopens over the Ohio River. Social media reacts
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The reopening of the Big Mac Bridge has its own T-shirt, and we're cracking up
The closure of the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge in November became a bit of a meme in Cincinnati. The bridge's reopening is no different. Cincy Shirts has what you need to celebrate Sunday's reopening of the bridge, colloquially known as the Big Mac Bridge. The witty hometown brand created a T-shirt that reads "Return of the Mac," a play on Mark Morrison's R&B 1996 hit "Return of the Mack." The T-shirt features an illustration of the Big Mac Bridge and a sign for Interstate 471, which is the highway that runs across the bridge to carry vehicles from Cincinnati to Newport, and vice versa. "Connected Again," is written beneath the illustration with the reopening date, "February 9, 2025." It's finally reopening! Our traffic nightmares are over! We had to make something to celebrate this important moment in Cincy history Posted by Cincy Shirts on Friday, February 7, 2025 "The Big MAC Bridge is BACK BABY! Oh my how we have missed you my dear friend!," the description on Cincy Shirts' website reads. "The hours and hours that this has cost Cincinnatians, along with the dollars that it has costed local businesses is mind blowing." The bridge's southbound lanes have been closed since Nov. 1 due to a fire that caused extensive damage. The closure upended the daily commutes of 100,000 drivers, while the repair project likely cost $10 million. The shirt costs $20 and is available online and at Cincy Shirts' Fort Mitchell and Loveland locations. You can show off your Big Mac pride in a light blue or heather grey version of the tee. The Ohio Department of Transportation also joined in on the fun after the agency announced the bridge would reopen a full month earlier than anticipated. The department tweeted a photo of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and the bridge with the caption: "Comeback Player(s) of the Year." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincy Shirts releases silly T-shirt for Big Mac Bridge's reopening
