NBA Free Agency: Odds On Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade And Dirk Nowitzki Leaving Current Teams

This Week In Women’s Sports: Venus Williams Calls For Gender Equality, WNBA Goes To The White House
At 36-years-old, Venus Williams is no longer dominating the women?s tennis circuit like she used to. However, she remains among the most well-respected athletes and voices in the game. Remember the Op-Ed piece that Williams wrote in 2006 in response to the lack pay equity at Wimbledon? ?It?s a shame that the name of the greatest tournament in tennis, an event that should be a positive symbol for the sport, is tarnished,? said Williams.

NBA Free Agents Should All Thank The Obscured One Who Made Free Agency Possible
Assume you are one of the best in the world at the only thing you have been trained well to do. How many of us would risk that career to file a lawsuit against the owners of the entire industry knowing you would likely be blackballed from that industry if you lose?

Squaw Valley Expects Beijing Olympics Alliance To Boost China Business 10-Fold
An alliance with the host of the snowboarding and freestyle events at 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is expected to boost business from China back at home for Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, the popular California ski resort.

This Week In MMA Biz: Tragic Ryan Jimmo Details, B.J. Penn Off The Hook, Bisping vs Henderson II?
The sudden passing of Ryan Jimmo sent shockwaves through the MMA community early this week, but family, friends and fans of the 34-year-old Canadian fighter can take some solace in the fact that his suspected killer is being brought to justice.

China Billionaire Wang Wenxue’s India Industrial Zone Plan Advances
China Fortune Land Development, a Beijing-headquartered industrial real estate developer led by billionaire Wang Wenxue, said Friday its board backed a tentative agreement to help develop an industrial zone in India.

Big Gap In Media Vs. Non-Media Reaction To Tesla Model S Autopilot Fatality

My very limited experience with Tesla’s Autopilot (two extended test drives) made one thing very clear: if I wasn’t ready to be hands-on instantly, it could be a dicey proposition. (Credit: Brooke Crothers) While the media response to the Tesla Motors Model S Autopilot fatality was predictable, the non-media response was

How a Brand Evolution Drove A Cultural Transformation
One of the most common responsibilities CMOs have is the management of the brand, including, when appropriate, activities designed to strengthen and evolve a brand. When done correctly, the shift of a brand positioning drives product, service, and experience design, in addition to the commercialization (i.e., communication and selling) of the changes. And when done really well, a shift in the brand drives a cultural transformation from the inside out. To better understand how this is done in a B2B context, I talked with Josh London, CMO of IDG, the world?s largest tech media company.

Subdued Novak Djokovic Says He Needs “A Rest” After Wimbledon Shocker
What was wrong with the world No. 1 in his match against Sam Querrey?

Subdued Novak Djokovic Says He Needs “A Rest” After Wimbledon Shocker
What was wrong with the world No. 1 in his match against Sam Querrey?

Friday Box Office: ‘Independence Day’ Implodes, ‘Finding Dory’ Just Keeps Swimming
‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ dropped 72% from its prior Friday gross.

Wimbledon’s First Middle Sunday Since 2004 Sells Out In 27 Minutes
Tickets were almost three times oversubscribed for the first “People’s Sunday” this decade after rain wreaked havoc with the schedule.

11 Common Reasons For Emergency Room Visits Over Fourth Of July Weekend And How To Avoid It
As innocuous as they seem, sparklers burn at temperatures over 1800 F. After all, those pretty colors come from burning metals. You wouldn?t let your 4 year old play with a 350 degree oven so why let them play with sparklers? I can?t tell you how many injuries I have seen ? serious burns on hands, forearms, feet. A spark can also land on clothing, causing it to catch fire ? which absolutely can happen.

Samurai Darth Vader Figure Is Re-Released This November
The fascinating Meisho Movie Realization toyline from Bandai, the one that features Star Wars character is feudal Japanese samurai armor, will finally re-release its first Darth Vader figure this November.

Overwatch’s Unlikely Rival: League of Legends?
Overwatch has passed League of Legends as the most popular game in Korea, but is the victory permanent or short-lived?

Live-Action ‘Ghost In The Shell’ Movie Producer Tries To Deal With Casting Controversy
One of the biggest issues that has surrounded the upcoming live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, is that the casting has been more than a little off. However, the movie?s producer Steven Paul has tried to at least assuage some of the anger directed at the film in a new interview.

How Businesses Are Using Anonymous Blind App To Change Work Culture
Have you ever wanted to say exactly what you were thinking at work but had to refrain out of fear of being offensive, reprimanded or fired? There?s an app for that.

Right Stuf Brings More ‘Gundam’ Anime Westward
In an announcement at this year?s Anime Expo, Right Stuf has taken on the mantle of bringing even more classic Gundam anime Westward.

7 Common Staffing Mistakes That Doom Many Businesses
Business success is all about having the best team, yet the average entrepreneur has little prior experience with hiring people and building top-notch teams. It’s no wonder that half of startups fail in the first five years, and an even smaller percentage ever see a return for their years of effort. Most new entrepreneurs assume their passion will attract and motivate the right team members.

Indiana Pacers Get Major Steal By Signing Al Jefferson In NBA Free Agency
The Indiana Pacers have been extremely aggressive this offseason and Larry Bird made yet another big move by signing Al Jefferson in NBA free agency. Indiana ended up signing him to a three-year, $30 million contract, which was extremely good value compared to other deals that were made. Jefferson may be 31-years-old, but he could end up being the biggest steal of the offseason.

Seriously, Apple’s Tim Cook Is Taking On An Expanded Role At Nike Right Now?
Tim Cook losing focus at Apple?

Customer Success Is Proving That The Customer Made The Right Decision To Do Business With You
In a successful business relationship, validation is a two-way street. First, during the initial sales process, the customer validates the company’s efforts by making a purchase or agreeing to do business. Then, after the sale is made, the company validates the customer’s decision to buy and turns the initial sale turns into repeat sales, ultimately creating a loyal customer. And that validates everything.

Who Helped Kent Bazemore Score $70 Million?
Austin Walton is the agent of record for Atlanta Hawks player Kent Bazemore, who just signed a 4-year, $70 million deal.

Doctors’ Declaration Of Independence
The most common and gratifying word I have heard from doctors since trumpeting the importance of the Quadruple Aim and starting the seed stage venture fund named the Quad Aim Fund is ‘hope’. It’s been striking how many doctors have said that they had lost hope and hearing the stories of the highest performing healthcare delivery organizations restored their hope in their profession. The primary reason why is that virtually every high performing model I’ve chronicled is led by doctors.

Are You In A Leadership Role? Here’s What You Need To Know About Your Brain
In my work, I talk a lot about how to reduce fear in the workplace and structure full engagement. Discover how engaging the ‘heart brain’ brings to light a key component of this type of leadership.

Why Barbecuing Could Be Hazardous To Your Health (Hint: It’s Probably Not What You Think)
Make sure the guests at your July 4th cookout don’t end up swallowing meat spiked with a bristle from a wire grill-cleaning brush. It happens.

The Top Grossing Scary Movies Of All-Time

Box Office: ‘Purge: Election Year’ Scares Up Huge $14.5M Friday
It won’t win the weekend, but ‘The Purge: Election Year’ was the big winner among new releases.

Making Medicine Safer
I have two very inquisitive sisters, and they’ve raised four inquisitive children. I give them full credit for this, although my parents must have had something to do with it, as in 7th grade math I won an award for my “unique ability to question the trivial.”

The Top-Grossing Film Adaptations

Box Office: ‘Legend Of Tarzan’ Snags Surprisingly Mighty $14M Friday
‘Tarzan’ swung a little higher than I expected on its opening day.

Donald Trump’s Road To The GOP Nomination

‘Trump’ By Ted Rall: Donald Goes Into The Military … Sort Of
The sixth in the preview from cartoonist Ted Rall’s upcoming graphic biography of Donald Trump, “Trump: A Graphic Biography.”

10 Best Cities To Invest In A Home

All-Day Breakfast Saved McDonald’s. What Would Save Sears?
Here’s what would save Sears: sell the right stuff to the right people with the right salespeople.

This Week In Boxing Biz: Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao To Return? CBS Ratings For Thurman-Porter
There are whispers that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are thinking about returning to the ring. And how many people watched Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter?

Box Office: Disney’s ‘The BFG’ Earns Not-So-Huge $7M Friday
Steven Spielberg’s fantasy about giants wasn’t so big on its opening day.

This Week In WWE Biz: Brock Lesnar And Randy Orton Returns, Roman Reigns Losing Big Money, More
WWE return updates on Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton, plus news on Roman Reigns’ Wellness suspension, Finn Balor and American Alpha being called up from NXT, a big accomplishment for The Rock, Batista’s complaints about WWE and more.

The Incredible Logistics and Technology Circus That Is The Tour De France
The Tour de France is an extraordinary sporting event that involves formidable technical and logistical challenges. Here are some of the factors involved in organizing the race and broadcasting it live to billions of TV viewers.

Will Brexit Affect Global Supply Chains?
There has been a lot of doom and gloom surrounding Brexit.  It is clear that in the short term Brexit has created uncertainty and roiled markets. In the longer term I believe its impact will be minimal. It is mainly tariffs and trade restrictions that would have the largest impact on global supply chains. I believe both the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) will seek to keep tariff restrictions to a minimum. To do otherwise would adversely impact growth and make it more difficult for the politicians in power to get reelected.

Cash Kings 2015: The World’s Highest Paid Hip-Hop Acts

How Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Section.80’ Catapulted Him Into Hip-Hop Royalty
July 2, 2016 marks the fifth anniversary for Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Section.80’ album release. The 16-song creation serves as a piece of social commentary, and laid the foundation for Lamar’s future chart-topping commercial releases and sold-out shows.

College Educated Get All Post-Recession Jobs — Even Low-Pay Ones
People with college educations have snapped up 99% of post-recession job growth. What happens to everyone else can be seen in votes for Brexit and Trump.

This Week In Golf Biz: Olympic Withdrawals, Riviera Gets New Sponsor, Muirfield To Re-Vote
The withdrawals of Rory McIlroy and Jason Day are the latest setback for golf’s return to the Olympics after a 112-year absence. It raises the question of whether golf should be back in the Summer Games.