Sports
Jonathan Isaac’s new sneakers suddenly mirror Charlie Kirk’s message after assassination
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Orlando Magic big man Jonathan Isaac is releasing his new signature sneaker, the Judah 2, which will feature six Bible verses.
For Isaac, an outspoken Christian with many conservative views, the goal of the shoe is to not be afraid to voice your opinion. But suddenly, with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, that goal means that much more.
“It’s about free expression,” Isaac told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “It’s about I’m a Christian guy, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and king of the world and lord and savior of my life, and I want to wear these shoes as a tribute to Him. And anybody who wants to do the same, join me.
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Jonathan Isaac said Charlie Kirk was a “respectable man.” (IMAGN/Getty)
“If you disagree with me, I’ve always tried my best with whatever stances I’ve taken to be graceful about it and truly try to care and understand the person that’s on the other side of it. Maybe we agree to disagree, but I’m never the type to try to impose myself on anybody else.”
Isaac befriended Kirk over the years, appearing on his podcast and texting back and forth on occasion. Like many others, Isaac took the terrible news hard.

Charlie Kirk poses at The Cambridge Union on May 19, 2025, in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. (Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union)
OREGON COACH DELIVERS POWERFUL UNITY MESSAGE AFTER ASSASSINATION OF DUCKS FAN CHARLIE KIRK
“It’s tough to put into words. … Really the only thing that I can say is just to speak to who Charlie was. Everybody will talk about what Charlie has said and his stances and stuff like that – Charlie had my respect,” Isaac said. “Not because I agreed with everything he had ever said or done. Some of the conversations we had was even me disagreeing with things he said. But we always had civil discourse, and he was always prepared to talk about why he thought what he thought. To me, that’s a respectable man.”
One of Kirk’s goals was similar to Isaac’s with his new sneakers.
“Let’s build this thing as a brand to unite Christians, lovers of God, lovers of country all across the nation, and give them a touchpoint to know each other, recognize each other, but also, to have their faith right in front of them,” Isaac said of his sneaker, and why he places Bible verses on them.”
The Judah 1 was “completely sold out,” according to Isaac, so he wanted to step up his game this go-around.

Jonathan Isaac looks on against the Atlanta Hawks during the third quarter at Kia Center on April 08, 2025, in Orlando, Florida. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)
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“I was like ‘let’s take it to another level’ in terms of the design. I wanted to move the verse from the back of the shoe to the front of the shoe…” he said. “Just ones that speak to me and to the team. What would be encouraging as a believer to be in a basketball game? What would you want to read? What would you want to hear?
“One of our shoes, the Judah 2 Mighty Warrior, the verse is the Angel calling Gideon a mighty warrior when Gideon didn’t think of himself as a mighty warrior to begin with. So that little verse is, ‘I’m stepping onto the court, I’m lacing my shoes.’ And right there on the tongue, I have a verse that says ‘I am a mighty warrior.’ And that encourages you to go out and play your best.”
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Sports
Silver considering all remedies for rampant tanking in NBA
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday that tanking has been “worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory” and he’s considering “every possible remedy” — including taking away draft picks — to stop the type of overt behaviors he fined the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers for this week.
“In the old days, it was just sort of an understanding among partners in terms of behavior,” Silver said before Saturday’s All-Star Saturday events. “I think what we’re seeing is modern analytics where it’s so clear that the incentives are misaligned. … Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view. Which was what led to those fines, and not just those fines but to my statement that we’re going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams’ behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice.”
Silver began his news conference by saying he had recently talked to 97-year-old Bob Cousy about the first All-Star Game in 1950, and they had both remarked at how far the game had come since then. That framed Silver’s line of thinking that after 75 years, it might be time to rethink how the league runs its draft, just as the league continues to experiment with its All-Star Game format.
Silver noted that in conversations with general managers and other members of the league’s competition committee, the incentive structure of the lottery has made it unclear that the worst teams are actually the teams with the worst records.
“If teams are manipulating their performance in order to get higher draft picks even in a lottery, then the question becomes … are they really the worst-performing teams?” Silver said. “It’s not clear to me, for example, that the 30th-performing team is that much measurably worse than the 22nd-performing team, particularly if you have incentive to perform poorly to get a better draft pick.
“It’s a bit of a conundrum. As I’ve said, the All-Star [Game] is 75 years old. The league is 80 years old. It’s time to take a fresh look at this to see to whether that’s an antiquated way of going about doing it.”
On several occasions Saturday, Silver reflected on the conundrum between the short-term incentives teams might have to lose games to improve their draft position and the long-term best interests of the league.
“It’s the whole community coming together and deciding what’s in the best interest,” Silver said. “It’s part of my job to remind everybody. … I understand what your short-term interests may be, but we’d better not lose sight of our fans here. We’d better not lose sight of the people who support this league day in and day out.”
Silver noted that last point as part of an answer to a question about the ongoing investigation into whether the LA Clippers circumvented the NBA’s salary cap in an endorsement deal between then-team sponsor Aspiration and star forward Kawhi Leonard.
Silver said he had no updates on the investigation, which is being conducted by Wachtell Lipton in New York.
“It’s enormously complex. You have a company in bankruptcy. You have thousands of documents, multiple witnesses that have been needed to be interviewed,” Silver said.
“I will say, just in case anyone is wondering, the fact that All-Star [Weekend] is here this weekend has had no impact on the timeline of the investigation. Our charge to the Wachtell law firm is to do the work and then come back and make recommendations to the league office, and that’s where things now stand.”
Silver said he had no timeline on when that investigation might conclude.
He did, however, provide an update on the NBA’s plans for expansion, noting that he expected the board of governors to discuss the issue at its next meeting in March and then start reaching out to potential expansion cities and owners to gauge interest. He noted that the league was not considering a relocation of any of its current franchises.
“I think the logical next move would be to say, ‘All right, we’ve had those discussions internally, we’ve made decisions about cities to focus on and what the opportunity is, and now, we’ve got to go out into the marketplace,'” Silver said. “I think that’s probably the most important step, to find out who is potentially interested in owning a franchise in particular cities, what’s the value of that franchise. There’s some work to do in terms of potential conference realignment. That’s the next step there.”
Sports
Big Clash in Colombo Today: PCB Chairman Meets National Team Ahead of India Match – SUCH TV
Colombo: Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mohsin Naqvi, met the national cricket team and management ahead of the crucial match against India, boosting the morale of the Shaheens.
During the meeting in Colombo, the PCB chairman praised the players’ determination, commitment, and preparation, while extending his best wishes for the high-stakes encounter. He encouraged the team to play with confidence and maintain their fighting spirit on the field.
Captain Salman Agha, head coach Mike Hesson, team manager Naveed Akram Cheema, all squad members, and the coaching staff were present at the meeting. PCB Chief Operating Officer Sameer Ahmed, PSL Chief Executive Officer Salman Naseer, and Director Media Aamir Mir also attended the session.
It is worth noting that Pakistan and India are set to face each other today at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The much-anticipated clash is expected to be watched jointly by PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and ICC Chairman Jay Shah.
Sports
2026 Winter Olympics: Live updates from Milan Cortina
The second Sunday of the 2026 Winter Olympics is a busy one for fans of Team USA.
Mikaela Shiffrin skis in the giant slalom — the race she won at the 2018 Olympics, and her second shot at a medal in Milan Cortina. It’s also the race where she suffered a severe injury with a puncture wound in 2024. Shiffrin has had to deal with PTSD from the crash, and competing again in Olympic giant slalom is part of her comeback. Speedskater Erin Jackson will attempt to defend her Olympic gold in the 500 meters. Pairs figure skating begins, with Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea the top American pair. They had clutch performances to help the U.S. win gold in the team event and have an outside chance of a medal. And U.S. men’s hockey will be back in action against Germany.
Key events (all times ET)
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4:00 a.m. — Women’s giant slalom
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11:03 a.m. — Women’s 500m speedskating
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1:45 p.m. — Pairs figure skating
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3:10 p.m. — Men’s hockey (USA vs. Germany)
MORE: Medal tracker | Full schedule of events | Olympics 101
Here’s a live look at the top moments from Sunday’s events.
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