Sports & Entertainment Spotlight

Welcome back to the Spotlight! And just like that, the Olympic torch for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games has been extinguished, but not before some of the world’s top athletes skied, skated, sledded, snowboarded and curled to glory and public consciousness. Undoubtedly, gold medal victories by both the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams will stand out for years to come, create new endorsement and marketing opportunities for the players and inspire future generations of hockey players—and dentists and orthopedic surgeons. As “luck” would have it, just as the Games closed, a massive blizzard blanketed much of the Northeastern U.S., leaving behind ideal conditions for future Olympians to get acquainted with the ice and snow. Indeed, today’s child sledding down a hill may be tomorrow’s bobsled pilot. Today’s snow fort defender may yet become tomorrow’s hockey goalkeeper. Unfortunately for me, my time has passed and there is no winter sport that involves shoveling snow and/or carefully walking to my climate-controlled car. That said, there’s always the appealing thought of hanging out in an Olympic Village ski lodge, sipping hot cocoa next to a wood burning fire. Anyway, let’s see what logs we have to throw onto the fire this week…

• • Reigning NBA MVP SGA (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) is adding two more prestigious letters to his portfolio—AP—as he entered a “Friend of the Brand” Agreement with Swiss (swish?) luxury watch manufacturer, Audemars Piguet.
  • Socialite and media personality Kim Kardashian puts her star power behind a re-launched energy drink brand called “Update.” As a result, customers who consume the beverage will have an easier time keeping up with the Kardashians while those who consume it too close to their bedtime will be kept up by a Kardashian.
  • Two new award shows celebrating creators are due to debut – one of which by social media firm Snapchat (called the “Snappys”) and the other by podcast agency, Oxford Road (called the “Independent Podcast and Creator Awards). Fingers crossed I receive the award for best/worst dad jokes!