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Economic Times
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
Rebellious, retro, radical chiclet: How chewing gum may just sum up our times
Watching IPL , I noticed that no one quite chews as much gum as cricketers. In other sports - swimming, hockey, tennis, squash, football - gum gets in the way of playing. Not so in cricket. So, why doesn't IPL have an official gum? Just like Amul is the official ice-cream partner? Suryakumar Yadav a.k.a. SKY would make the perfect poster boy for a gum brand. The man's jaws are constantly working away at last time we had an official gum partner was in 2009, when Wrigley 's tied up with all IPL teams. Last year, Mentos was the exclusive chewing gum sponsor for Esports World Cup, the global gaming festival - 'to keep gamers fresh and de-stressed.'I am a gum chewer. There are some people who one can never imagine chewing gum - like Manmohan Singh, Narendra Modi, my folks. Back in the day, we didn't have Hubba Bubba in all its variety. Bubble Yum was the big one in North India in the 1980s. Wrigley's came via the phoren gum chewers, there was a ladder to climb. One started with chewing gum, then graduated to the big boys' club: bubblegum. It was a bit like learning how to blow smoke rings. Initially, one would get cock-eyed with concentration. It took some learning to pull the thin film of gum over one's tongue, then blow it out seemingly effortlessly with just the right amount of unassuming gum also had a touch of rebellion, a kind of insouciance to it. If you popped one in the school classroom, it was a minor offence. One was made to spit it out. Madonna went a step further and made bubble gum sexy. There are any number of images of her blowing big countries like Singapore, gum could potentially be dangerous. It was banned in 1992 due to its nuisance value. Extant stocks of gum were confiscated, and fines - even jail terms - announced. Reasons given were to do with littering, jammed lift doors, and disruptions caused to the mass rapid transport system by gum chewers sticking gum on door would travel to Johor Bahru in Malaysia to pick up gum and bring it in illegally. When a BBC reporter argued that such laws would stifle creativity, Lee Kuan Yew said, 'If you can't think because you can't chew, try a banana.'In India, classic chewing gum commercials have vanished from TV screens. Ask any copywriter/visualiser and they will tell you that gum TV ads allowed for wacky freedom. Popping a gum was akin to swallowing an LSD tab. Crazy things happened to the Shock went with the tagline: 'Hila ke rakh de'. In one ad, a man goes to his barber and gives him a picture of a spiky punk haircut that he wants. The barber puts a piece of Centre Shock in his mouth, blowing up his - 'Dimag ki batti jala de' - had a TV commercial featuring the evolution of man, which ends with a homo sapien turning tables on a donkey. People Tree in Delhi's Connaught Place subverted the Polo mint (not strictly gum) commercial by printing t-shirts which declared, 'There's a hole in my ass, so why shouldn't there be one in my mint?' It featured a donkey with a hole punched into its can we forget the Chiclets commercials? A memorable one had a couple seeking each other out inside a darkened cinema - by shaking their packets of Chiclets and following the is also a metaphor for the times we live in, what with bubble gum social media, bubble gum politics and religion, bubble gum cricket, and bubble gum attention spans. Even more reason to put bubble gum ads back on TV.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
5 bold predictions for the 2025 WNBA season: Seismic shifts, 3-point firepower and more dunks
The 2025 WNBA season officially tips off on Friday, and every team will be in action this weekend to start what should be an important season in the league's history. The pressure is on for the league to follow up on what was a historic 2024. We'll have plenty of predictions this week on who will win it all, and who will take home individual trophies, but we have a few other predictions — some wild, some not — of what will happen this WNBA season. At least one team will change ownership While owning a WNBA team is about supporting the growth of women's sports, it's also an investment. Most people want to make money off of their investments, and most WNBA owners got into the game for a fairly low fee. Considering the popularity of the game, growing attendance numbers and television ratings, this would be a smart time for an owner who doesn't want to deal with the demands of running a professional sports team to get out. Advertisement For example, Michael Alter, the owner of the Chicago Sky, bought the team for a reported $10 million. A valuation of the Sky in 2023 put them at $85 million. The Connecticut Sun were purchased in 2007 for a similar amount by the Mohegan tribe. Now the team, which has arguably the worst facilities in the league, is reportedly looking for bidders . The growth of the WNBA means that players expect better facilities and resources, and the smart move for some owners is to turn over the keys. The all-time WNBA attendance record will be broken In 2024, the Washington Mystics and Indiana Fever broke the WNBA regular season attendance record in a September game at Capital One Arena. However, the all-time record is still held by the Detroit Shock/Tulsa Shock/Dallas Wings for a 2003 Finals game between the Shock and the Los Angeles Sparks at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Deanna Nolan/Swin Cash-led team won the title in three games, and 22,076 fans were there to see the Shock win. Advertisement Currently, there are no WNBA arenas with a capacity higher than 20,000, which is the capacity of the Target Center in Minnesota. But teams have moved games to bigger arenas when the demand is there, and that trend will continue this season. There aren't any NBA arenas that have the capacity to break the record, but perhaps we'll see the Fever move a game or two to Lucas Oil Field, which has hosted the NCAA tournament and can hold 70,000 for basketball. Sonia Citron will break Sabrina Ionescu's 3-point contest record Sabrina Ionescu's performance at the 2023 All-Star Game 3-point contest was jaw-droppingly good, as she hit 35 of 37 shots. But every record that is made can be broken, and Washington Mystics rookie Sonia Citron, who hit 37.2% of her 3-pointers in her final college season, has the kind of shot that could make huge waves in the 3-point contest at the All-Star Game in Indiana this summer. She'll likely be going up against Caitlin Clark, who said she would participate this year, but Citron showed time and time again at Notre Dame that she can handle pressure, and she will likely have plenty of fans in the stands from her time in South Bend. Get after it, Sonia. Dunks will become a more common occurrence Though slam dunks are seen as a flashy way to score two points, they are also a way for an offensive player to ensure the defensive player can't block their shot. As the men's game evolved — and rules banning dunks were rescinded — dunks became a more common tool for offensive players. Advertisement WNBA defenses have evolved, and players like A'ja Wilson, Ezi Magbegor and Brittney Griner find ways to swat the ball left and right. Throw in that there are more players who can dunk, like Griner and Magbegor's new teammate Dominique Malonga? It's a recipe for more dunks, and an easy answer to silly people who think the WNBA needs to lower the rims. The WNBA and WNBPA will avoid a work stoppage OK, maybe this is more of a hope than a prediction. The players opted out of the collective bargaining agreement the day after the Liberty won the WNBA title in 2024, and they have several issues that need to be settled. With the league signing new television rights deals, the players want their fair share of the new revenue. They are also concerned about retired players' pensions, facilities and better deals for foreign players. The word the players' union keeps using is 'transformational.' They expect a CBA that will reward them for the time and effort they have put into building the league into its current state. While the current CBA expires at the end of the 2025 season, the true deadline is the start of the 2026 season. Deadlines always inspire action, so it's possible they could avoid a stoppage. But the players have indicated they're preparing themselves for the possibility.
Forbes
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
St. Louis Sweeps And Johns Brothers Quit At Major League Pickleball Columbus
St. Louis' ladies (Kate Fahey on the left and Anna Bright on the right) power the Shock to an ... More dominant, undefeated weekend in Columbus. Event two of the compact 2025 Major League Pickleball (MLP presented by DoorDash) season saw most of the Premier teams travelling to the uniquely decorated Pickle & Chill facility in Columbus, Ohio for an interesting weekend of team pickleball. Key Links for tracking the event this weekend, which featured livestreams from the two primary courts at the facility on MLP's YouTube channel and on Premier League Recap Day 1 Observations Wow that's a lot of Orange. The Orlando Squeeze entire team gathers around their coach for a ... More mid-match strategy session. Day 2 Observations A quick editorial about this situation: The reaction to the Johns brothers' withdrawal online in the pickleball-sphere was fast and furious, from players, fans, and MLP team representatives. Ben doubled down on social media with discussions about ambient light wattage and what not, which is fine … if the entire pickleball world didn't already know the truth. The problem is, Ben Johns has been overtly showing a lack of effort in MLP dating back to mid-season last year. Collin Johns famously ranted about the MLP format in a series of leaked texts/emails mid-season last year. We're all well aware of Ben's issues playing indoors with his childhood eye condition and can certainly understand his concerns, but then why did a) Ben agree to play at all, and b) why did Collin withdraw as well? Does Collin also have a childhood eye injury causing him issues with indoor lighting? Furthermore, why did the Johns brothers subsequently leave the facility instead of cheering on their replacements (as Jimmy Miller sarcastically pointed out on twitter)? Lastly, there's nine teams in Columbus competing this weekend; how is it that the Johns brothers are the only ones complaining about the lights and refusing to play? The facility with such poor lighting, by the way, has hosted a slew of professional tennis events and is the home of the Ohio State college tennis team, making one question just how 'bad' their lighting could be? During the MLP media day earlier this year, I asked a pointed question to the league whether the Johns brothers were going to take this competition seriously this year. I was assured specifically (by a member of the Johns family on the call) that they would. It took less than an event and a half of lackluster results for the Johns brothers to prove otherwise, to the surprise of few in the industry. The UPA is stuck between a rock and a hard place right now with one of its signature players, whose actions and comments usually lead to rule changes and policy shifts for the tour. CEO Connor Pardoe tried to spin things a bit by saying that we shouldn't 'let this situation take away' from the great play this weekend. But the elephant has left the room at this point. It has become harder and harder to explain why a billionaire team owner in Tom Dundon refused to spend money last year to put a competitive team around Ben Johns, why he refused to spend anything more than the bare minimum in the 2025 draft to do the same, and it's become harder and harder to reconcile the on-camera actions of these players, knowing as we already do from their own mouths last July, that they don't care about playing MLP. If they don't want to play MLP, Fine. Release them from their contracts, reduce their pay or reassign their salary obligations to clinics or other activities (as the league has done with dozens of other players), replace them on the Carolina team with scrubs off the waiver wire, and move on. It just isn't fair to the rest of the players who are trying, or the fans who care, to watch this farce go on any longer. There's a dozen UPA players opted out of MLP at this point, some of whom flourished in the MLP format (ahem, Julian Arnold), so what's a couple more? Coincidentally, Zane Navratil posted an event recap video that echoes many of the items I said above. Miami's dynamic French duo (Jay Devilliers on the left and Noe Khlif on the right) have helped them ... More move into playoff position. Day 3 Observations Day 4 Observations Team Standings Update post Event In Premier Player Standings/Stats Analysis for the Weekend: Unfortunately, MLP has eliminated the per-event player points link, which was a great way to highlight individual performers for a weekend. That's a shame and I hope they return that feature. In Premier In Matty Pickles' media MLP Pick-em competition, I went 7/8 for the week, missing only on the Atlanta-Chicago tie. Next up on the Pickleball Calendar? According to my Master Pickleball Schedule, the APP returns to action next weekend at the Vlasic Classic in Cincinnati. It's also the first waiver period for MLP (which should be fascinating). The rest of the month gives us some of the biggest events of the season: PPA's Atlanta Grand Slam and the APP's NYC Open follow in successive weekends in mid to late May. It's a great month for pro pickleball! The MLP returns to action at Month's end, with Event No. 3 set for Austin, Texas, hosted by the Texas Ranchers.
Washington Post
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Kitty Dukakis, wife of former governor and presidential candidate, dies at 88
BROOKLINE, Mass. — Kitty Dukakis, the wife of former Massachusetts governor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, who spoke openly about her struggles with depression and addiction, has died. She was 88. Dukakis died on Friday night surrounded by her family, her son, John Dukakis, said on Saturday by telephone. She fought to make the world better, 'sharing her vulnerabilities to help others face theirs,' her family said in a statement. 'She was loving, feisty and fun, and had a keen sensitivity to people from all walks of life,' the family said. 'She and our dad, Michael Dukakis, shared an enviable partnership for over 60 years and loved each other deeply.' Dukakis won high marks as a political campaigner during her husband's 1988 presidential efforts, stumping tirelessly for him. She was called a key influence in his decision to seek the presidency. She even figured in the opening question of a 1988 presidential debate , when her husband was asked: 'Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?' Dukakis said he would not, and his unemotional response was widely criticized. Earlier in the campaign, in 1987, Dukakis revealed she had overcome a 26-year addiction to amphetamines five years earlier after receiving treatment. She said she began taking diet pills at age 19. Her husband made anti-drug efforts a major issue and she became prominent in the effort to educate youngsters against the perils of drug and alcohol abuse. But a few months after Michael Dukakis lost the election to Vice President George H.W. Bush, Kitty Dukakis entered a 60-day treatment program for alcoholism. Several months later she suffered a relapse and was hospitalized after drinking rubbing alcohol . In her 1990 autobiography, 'Now You Know,' she blamed her mother for much of her alcohol and drug addiction and a long history of low self-esteem. In 2006, she wrote another book, 'Shock,' which credits the electroconvulsive therapy she began in 2001 for relieving the depression she had suffered for years. The treatment, she wrote, 'opened a new reality for me.' Current Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey called Dukakis 'a force for good in public life and behind the scenes,' a leader in the effort to ensure that the Holocaust is never forgotten, and an advocate for children, women and refugees. 'She spoke courageously about her struggles with substance use disorder and mental health, which serves as an inspiration to us all to break down stigma and seek help,' Healey said in a statement. Dukakis used her personal pain to help others, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement on social media on Saturday. 'Her legacy will live on in the policies she helped shape and the people she inspired to speak their own truths,' Campbell said. Dukakis broke ground by speaking openly about her struggles and championed support for the homeless and political refugees, said Maria Ivanova, director of Northeastern University's Policy School, which hosts the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy. 'Kitty Dukakis brought honesty, compassion, and strength to public life,' Ivanova said in a statement. 'Her legacy is one of service, resilience, and truth-telling.' Kitty Dukakis inspired many to engage in activism and was a 'deeply devoted spiritual companion' to her husband, center Director Ted Landsmark said in a statement. 'They have been truly effective change-makers on behalf of those in need of care and support,' he said. Michael Dukakis served as a distinguished professor of political science at the university. He has retired, but returns to campus for events and student consultations, Landsmark said. Dukakis and her future husband met while attending high school in Brookline, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. He was dull and frugal; she was dramatic and fancy. He is Greek Orthodox; she was Jewish. Kitty Dukakis, who was divorced and had a 3-year-old son, married Michael Dukakis in 1963, and they had two children, Andrea and Kara. Dukakis, whose late father, Harry Ellis Dickson, was associate conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, earned degrees in modern dance and broadcasting. After the presidential election, in 1989, Bush appointed her to be a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. She earlier served on the President's Commission on the Holocaust in 1979 and on the board of directors of the Refugee Policy Group. She has also been a member of the Task Force on Cambodian Children. By the late 1990s, Dukakis and her husband divided their time between Massachusetts and California, where she was a social worker and he was a professor for part of the year at the University of California, Los Angeles. ____ Former Associated Press writer Lisa Flam contributed to this report.
The Hill
22-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Kitty Dukakis, wife of former governor and presidential candidate, dies at 88
BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — Kitty Dukakis, the wife of former Massachusetts governor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, who spoke openly about her struggles with depression and addiction, has died. She was 88. Dukakis died on Friday night surrounded by her family, her son, John Dukakis, said on Saturday by telephone. She fought to make the world better, 'sharing her vulnerabilities to help others face theirs,' her family said in a statement. 'She was loving, feisty and fun, and had a keen sensitivity to people from all walks of life,' the family said. 'She and our dad, Michael Dukakis, shared an enviable partnership for over 60 years and loved each other deeply.' Dukakis won high marks as a political campaigner during her husband's 1988 presidential efforts, stumping tirelessly for him. She was called a key influence in his decision to seek the presidency. She even figured in the opening question of a 1988 presidential debate, when her husband was asked: 'Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?' Dukakis said he would not, and his unemotional response was widely criticized. Earlier in the campaign, in 1987, Dukakis revealed she had overcome a 26-year addiction to amphetamines five years earlier after receiving treatment. She said she began taking diet pills at age 19. Her husband made anti-drug efforts a major issue and she became prominent in the effort to educate youngsters against the perils of drug and alcohol abuse. But a few months after Michael Dukakis lost the election to then Vice President Bush, Kitty Dukakis entered a 60-day treatment program for alcoholism. Several months later she suffered a relapse and was hospitalized after drinking rubbing alcohol. In her 1990 autobiography, 'Now You Know,' she blamed her mother for much of her alcohol and drug addiction and a long history of low self-esteem. In 2006, she wrote another book, 'Shock,' which credits the electroconvulsive therapy she began in 2001 for relieving the depression she had suffered for years. The treatment, she wrote, 'opened a new reality for me.' Current Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) called Dukakis 'a force for good in public life and behind the scenes,' a leader in the effort to ensure that the Holocaust is never forgotten, and an advocate for children, women and refugees. 'She spoke courageously about her struggles with substance use disorder and mental health, which serves as an inspiration to us all to break down stigma and seek help,' Healey said in a statement. Dukakis used her personal pain to help others, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement on social media on Saturday. 'Her legacy will live on in the policies she helped shape and the people she inspired to speak their own truths,' Campbell said. Dukakis broke ground by speaking openly about her struggles and championed support for the homeless and political refugees, said Maria Ivanova, director of Northeastern University's Policy School, which hosts the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy. 'Kitty Dukakis brought honesty, compassion, and strength to public life,' Ivanova said in a statement. 'Her legacy is one of service, resilience, and truth-telling.' Dukakis and her future husband met while attending high school in Brookline, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. He was dull and frugal; she was dramatic and fancy. He is Greek Orthodox; she was Jewish. Dukakis, who was divorced and had a 3-year-old son, married Dukakis in 1963, and they had two children, Andrea and Kara. Dukakis, whose late father, Harry Ellis Dickson, was associate conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, earned degrees in modern dance and broadcasting. After the presidential election, in 1989, Bush appointed her to be a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. She earlier served on the President's Commission on the Holocaust in 1979 and on the board of directors of the Refugee Policy Group. She has also been a member of the Task Force on Cambodian Children. By the late 1990s, Dukakis and her husband divided their time between Massachusetts and California, where she was a social worker and he was a professor for part of the year at the University of California, Los Angeles.
