Basketball Society @BBallSociety_
ZION BREAKING ANKLES !! https://t.co/DwNsvnsUXa
Bleacher Report CBB @br_CBB
Grant Hill got his own face on the jacket
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The West Virginia Mountaineers picked up a much-needed marquee win Saturday with a 65-64 upset victory over the seventh-ranked Kansas Jayhawks at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Jermaine Haley made a go-ahead layup with 8.5 seconds left, and the Mountaineers defense came up with a clutch stop on the game’s final possession. Haley led the way for WVU with 13 points, while James Bolden (12) and Derek Culver (11) also reached double figures.
Bleacher Report CBB @br_CBB
JERMAINE HALEY DOES IT FOR WVU
Mountaineers go on a 7-0 run to upset No. 7 Kansas at home, 65-64 https://t.co/40B0riEBiA
Dedric Lawson posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Kansas, which shot just 43.6 percent from the field and turned the ball over 18 times.
The Jayhawks opened the season with 10 straight wins, including victories over the ranked Michigan State Spartans, Tennessee Volunteers and Villanova Wildcats. They’ve dropped three of their past eight games, however, and narrowly escaped an upset bid by the Texas Longhorns on Monday.
Kansas struggled to find a rhythm against West Virginia’s high-pressure defense. It made only five of its 16 attempts from three-point range and recorded a mere six assists on 24 field goals.
Jeff Goodman @GoodmanHoops
Kansas loses in Morgantown to a struggling West Virginia team. The Jayhawks certainly vulnerable. Maybe this is the year The Streak ends …
Meanwhile, the Mountaineers pulled off the stunner without leading scorer Sagaba Konate, who is still sidelined by a knee injury.
West Virginia needed a statement win following an 8-9 start, which included five straight losses to open Big 12 play.
Chris Anderson of 247Sports provided postgame comments from WVU head coach Bob Huggins, who hadn’t lost faith in his team’s potential.
“We had a great practice. They were very engaged. There were 10 eyes on [me] when I talked about what we wanted to do. It worked,” he said. “We’ve said all along that we’re talented enough that we shouldn’t be where we are in the league standings. We’ve stubbed our toe with some dumb things.”
Steve Berkowitz @ByBerkowitz
WVU men’s basketball — which had been 0-5 in Big 12 play — upsets Kansas. That means WVU will make $25,000 donation in honor of coach Bob Huggins to the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Research Edndowment
West Virginia will look to take another step toward a massive turnaround Monday night when it welcomes the Baylor Bears to WVU Coliseum.
Kansas will get a chance to avenge one of its three losses Monday when it returns home to take on the Iowa State Cyclones, who won the teams’ first matchup 77-60 on Jan. 5.
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Immigration hardliners on Saturday afternoon blasted President Donald Trump’s proposed deal to end the government shutdown, attacking his offer of temporary protection for some undocumented immigrants in exchange for border wall funding.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) tweeted: “A Big Beautiful Concrete Border Wall will be a monument to the Rule of Law, the sovereignty of the USA, & @realDonaldTrump. If DACA Amnesty is traded for $5.7 billion(1/5 of a wall), wouldn’t be enough illegals left in America to trade for the remaining 4/5. NO AMNESTY 4 a wall!”
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“100 miles of border wall in exchange for amnestying millions of illegals. So if we grant citizenship to a BILLION foreigners, maybe we can finally get a full border wall,” tweeted conservative media commentator Ann Coulter, who has repeatedly antagonized the president for failing to erect a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border during his two years in office.
“Trump proposes amnesty. We voted for Trump and got Jeb!” Coulter added, referring to Trump’s 2016 GOP primary rival, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has previously criticized the president’s immigration rhetoric.
Tom Fitton, president of the right-wing activist group Judicial Watch, also blasted Trump’s proposal, tweeting that the overture to Democrats “will encourage more illegal immigration and undermine the rule of law.”
“Amnesty is not a good plan, @realDonaldTrump,” Fitton wrote online.
Roy Beck, president of the anti-immigration organization NumbersUSA, called the president’s offer “a loser for the forgotten American workers who were central to his campaign promises.”
“An amnesty-for-wall trade would once again reward previous immigration lawbreakers without preventing future immigration lawbreakers,” Beck said in a statement. “This kind of amnesty deal will incentivize more caravans, more illegal border crossers and more visa overstayers at the expense of the most vulnerable American workers who have to compete with the illegal labor force.”
In an address from the White House, the president proposed a bill providing temporary protection for some undocumented immigrants along with other measures in exchange for $5.7 billion in funding for his border wall.
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Washington, DC – Sherry Cain, a 78-year-old Kentucky native, said she’s lived a long time and has seen a lot of change in the world, “but never anything like this in our country”.
That’s why she brought her family to Washington, DC on Saturday for the third annual Women’s March.
“I am just so fearful for their future if continue on this road,” she told Al Jazeera, pointing to the government shutdown, US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and what she called the “abdication of Congress of their duties”.
“We have to do something,” she said.
Four generations of the Cain family – Sherry, her daughter, granddaughter and great grandson – joined thousands of women and their supporters who marched nationwide.
This year’s march came against the backdrop of a partial government shutdown, now in its 29th day, that started after Trump refused to back down on his demand for more than $5bn in funding for a wall on the US southern border.
The forecast of rain and snow in Washington, DC, on Saturday, combined with the National Park Service limited snow removal services due to the shutdown prompted DC organisers to change the route of the march, according to local media. Participants started at Freedom Plaza, a few blocks from the White House, instead of the National Mall, as initially planned.
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| Sherry Cain brought her daughters, granddaughter and great-grandson to the march [Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath/Al Jazeera] |
Protesters marched past the Trump International Hotel chanting, “All for one and one for all, stop the shutdown, stop the wall.”
At one point, a woman released a Trump baby balloon into the air and the crowd started waving, cheering and yelling, “good-bye!”
Some held signs that called for Trump to be impeached, others emphasised the need to believe survivors of sexual assault and rape, and many demanded an end to the shutdown.
Raquel Chee held a sign that read, “See me. I am still here.”
“We are here to tell everybody …that we’re not going anywhere,” said Chee, a member of the Window Rock Navajo Nation in Arizona.
She told Al Jazeera she brought her four children with her to the march to give a voice to her brother, uncles and and murdered or missing indigenous people across North America.
“We are here to speak out for them, remember them and bring light on the issue that our relatives go missing and murdered all the time,” she said.
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| Raquel Chee said she’s march for all the indigenous people who have been murdered or gone missing [Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath/Al Jazeera] |
The Women’s March movement began after the 2016 election of Trump. The day after his inauguration in January 2017, millions worldwide marched for women’s rights.
According to organisers, this year’s march focused on the success of the 2018 midterm elections, which saw a record number of women run and get elected to office. The first Muslim women, Native American women, and youngest woman were recently sworn into Congress.
The movement also hopes to turn its attention to the presidential race in 2020.
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| Thousands marched past the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, chanting ‘stop the shutdown, stop the wall’ [Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath/Al Jazeera] |
In major cities, however, participants held separate marches due to controversy within the Women’s March movement.
In November, Teresa Shook, one of the Women’s March co-founders, accused other organisers of steering “the Movement away from its true course”, referring to allegations of anti-Semitic ties directed at Linda Sarsour, who criticises the US’s policy towards Israel, and Tamika Mallory, who maintains an association with Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam.
In a Facebook post, Shook called on Sarsour, Mallory, Bob Bland and Carmen Perez to step down and “to let others lead who can restore the faith in the Movement and its original intent”.
The four organisers denied the allegations, but Sarsour said in a statement that the movement “should have been faster and clearer in helping people understand our values and our commitment to fighting anti-Semitism”.
Since then several local marches and activists have sought to distance themselves from the national movement.
Despite the controversy, thousands of women showed up to marches on Saturday.
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| This year’s march came after a year of historic gains for women in politics in the US [Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath/Al Jazeera] |
Although the number is far less than the first march in 2017, 19-year-old Howard University student Ciana Moore said it’s still important to continue standing up for everyone has been affected by Trump’s presidency.
“It’s amazing to see all different types of women, all ages, people from all over coming together,” she told Al Jazeera as the Washington, DC march was just getting under way.
“It’s really empowering to be here for each other.”
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After some uncertainty about his future with the organization, John Harbaugh will reportedly remain head coach of the Baltimore Ravens for the foreseeable future.
Per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the 56-year-old has agreed in principle to a new deal with Baltimore.
The Ravens said in a statement released on Dec. 21 that Harbaugh would return in 2019 and that the two sides were working toward an extension.
“John Harbaugh will continue as our head coach for the 2019 season, and he and we are working on an extension to his existing contract, which expires after the 2019 season,” the team said.
Following a 4-5 start in 2018, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported on Nov. 11 that Harbaugh and the Ravens were “very likely headed to a mutual parting of the ways” after the season.
One source told La Canfora that the coach’s odds of being with Baltimore in 2019 were “quite bleak.”
The Ravens responded by winning six of their final seven games to capture the AFC North title for the first time since 2012.
One reason Baltimore took off was the spark provided when rookie Lamar Jackson took over as the starting quarterback in Week 11. He’s still developing as a passer, but he displayed tremendous playmaking skills with 695 rushing yards on 147 attempts.
Harbaugh, who was hired in January 2008, showed a willingness and ability to adjust his offense around Jackson, and it has paid huge dividends for the team. It may have been a driving force in helping him save his job.
Among current NFL head coaches, Harbaugh is one of only five who has remained with the same team for at least 10 seasons. He owns a 104-72 career record with seven playoff appearances, including a victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII.
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Khartoum, Sudan – Jihan Abdulrahman sat in her living room, surrounded by family, holding her middle daughter Samah. Both had tears in their eyes as Jihan recalled the last conversation she had with her younger brother Saleh on the morning of January 9.
“I woke him up before 9am because he asked me to,” she said, wiping her tears. “He and his brothers wanted to head to Omdurman and join the protests.”
They left early because they knew the security forces would eventually block roads to stop the procession, she said. Jihan kept checking up on them via phone but soon her worst fears were confirmed as she learned that 22-year-old Saleh had been shot.
“They struggled to get him to a hospital and there he kept bleeding,” she said. “Two shots. One in his arm and the other in his back.” He died later at the hospital.
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| Jihan Abdulrahman [second right] mourns her brother Saleh who was killed by Sudanese security forces in Omdurman on January 9 [Hiba Morgan/Al Jazeera] |
The Omdurman protest was one of more than 300 anti-government demonstrations that have taken place in Sudan since December 19. Dozens of people have been killed, most of them shot by security forces. Sudan’s government puts the death toll at 26, while activists say at least 55 people have died.
When South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011, the new country gained 75 percent of the oilfields which had accounted for more than half of the former Sudan’s gross domestic product (GDP). Oil exports were also the main source of hard currency in former Sudan. After the South seceded, Sudan’s economy fell into a downward spiral.
Inflation has soared in the past few years, leaving many unable to afford basic commodities, while half of Sudan’s population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
In the months before the protests, Sudan’s national economy was facing additional strains. Shortages of fuel and cash had resulted in long queues forming in front of banks, ATMs and petrol stations. Amid a lack of hard currency in the country, the price of some imported medications soared, while some medicines became scarce.
The first protest took place in the city of Atbara sparked by a shortage in bread. The local authorities later announced that there was not a single sack of flour in the city at the time. Following that demonstration, people in the neighboring town of Berber also took to the streets, to protest against economic conditions. It was the start of a domino effect that spread nationwide.
The government declared a state of emergency and imposed curfews in some of the towns where protesters had taken to the streets. It also announced closures of schools and universities. Internet access was restricted and some social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter were blocked, accessible only through Virtual Personal Networks (VPNs).
Regardless, the internet became the most reliable way to document and report on what was happening on the streets, as security forces arrested and blocked journalists covering the stories.
Videos of men riding in pick-up trucks, their faces wrapped in heavy scarves, have surfaced online. In some of the videos the men can be seen beating protesters and breaking into activists’ homes and arresting them.
“These are the militias of the ruling National Congress Party,” the Umma Party under opposition leader Saddig al-Mahadi stated in a press release.
The government has responded to the protests by blaming its economic woes on US sanctions that were imposed in 1997 but lifted in late 2017. It has also accused those protesting of being influenced by what it calls foreign powers aiming to destabilise the country.
“Some are adopting foreign agendas,” President Omar al-Bashir said in his first rally three weeks after demands for him to resign started. “They’re being operated by outside forces … enemies to the Sudan. However we reiterate: those who are seeking power, they are welcome. However there’s only one route to grab power – it is the ballot boxes. It is only through transparent, free elections.”
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| Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir waves to his supporters during a rally at the Green Square in Khartoum [Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters] |
The government has announced plans to increase salaries for civil workers to try and end the economic crisis. President Bashir remains defiant in his position to stay in office until elections are held next year, while those protesting remain determined to keep going till he steps down.
That movement gained further momentum when 23 different opposition parties declared their support for the protests.
“The government needs to end its rule and step down,” Mubarak Elfadil, the head of Umma National Party for Reform said.
His party was once part of the government but pulled out after the protests started, along with another party called Sudan Reform Now, headed by Ghazi Salahuddin. Ghazi was once a member of the ruling party, but he quit and created his own political party after the protests.
Some political analysts say that the current protests could create further divisions within the ruling party, while political opponents said the president’s policies were responsible for the unrest.
“The policies of President Bashir already seceded (South) Sudan and created lots of conflict and wars all over Sudan with a failed economy,” Mariam al-Aahadi, the vice president of the mainstream Umma party told Al Jazeera.
“President Bashir is frightened by the indictment of the ICC,” she added, referring to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which issued arrest warrants on Sudan’s president for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the western region of Darfur.
“He is holding Sudan as a captive so he can have a safe haven and it doesn’t work that way,” she added.
There have been several waves of anti-government protests since 2012. But the current one has become the longest since Sudan gained independence in 1956. Hundreds have been arrested in cities and villages across Sudan amid street demonstrations.
In every march, similar slogans can be heard: “Freedom, Peace and Justice” as well as “step down, that’s it.” Among those arrested are activists, doctors, lawyers, and journalists who have been covering the demonstrations. What started out as a sporadic wave is becoming more organised with a group known as the Sudanese Professional Association taking the lead in organizing major protests in the capital Khartoum and several other cities.
“We will continue to pursue and achieve our rights for democratic change peacefully standing together as one nation against the collapsing regime in Sudan,” the group said on its Twitter page. Its members are in hiding and those that are known are in detention.
“Since the 19th of December 2018, Sudanese people have been taking the streets bravely in the face of the brutal militarily and security apparatus of the ruling National Congress Party in Sudan,” the group tweeted.
“These violations included the use of live ammunition that led to the death of several tens of peaceful civilians, documented attacks on hospitals and medical facilities, arbitrary detention of hundreds of Sudanese citizens.”
Jihan said her husband, who was arrested on December 28 during a meeting with members of the Baath party, is one such case.
“I have nothing for this government and I’m not afraid of them. When my husband comes out, we will file a lawsuit against the security forces for killing my brother.”
But it’s not clear if he will be released anytime soon. Sudan’s State Security Prosecution issued arrest warrants for more than 70 people on Friday, including 38 journalists and activists on charges of “incitement” and spreading “false news”.
More protests have been called for, as what has become to be known as the Sudan Uprising enters its second month. Sudan remains at crossroads, positioned between two determined sides, each keen on winning the battle.
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Though President Donald Trump touted his forthcoming plan as a “major announcement,“ there are reasons to doubt it will mark a turning point in the 29-day standoff. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo
His remarks Saturday will mark an attempt to reopen negotiations to end the 29-day impasse.
President Donald Trump is expected to propose a broad immigration compromise intended to force Democrats back to the negotiating table, an attempt to break a shutdown stalemate that entered its fifth week on Saturday.
Details of Trump’s proposal will come in remarks at 4 p.m. from the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room. They’re likely to include increased protection for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and an extension of Temporary Protected Status for the refugees who hold it, though sources cautioned that the details have yet to be finalized and could change at the last minute. Democrats seem unlikely to take the deal, particularly if Trump doesn’t open the government up first before discussing the border issue.
Story Continued Below
The president declined to offer details of his plan while speaking to reporters Saturday morning. He continued to play up the threat posed by caravans of migrants from Central America — “If we had a wall, we wouldn’t have a problem” — and then, moments later, said the building of the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is well underway.
“I think we’re making a lot of progress,” Trump said. “You know, we’re building wall as we speak. Nobody covers that. And I understand that. But we’re building wall as we speak. We’re going to continue.”
The president’s gambit is intended to turn the tables on Democrats, casting them as the unreasonable party if they refuse to negotiate with a president who is making the first move and saying he’s willing to compromise. White House aides believe Democrats may be under increasing pressure to strike a deal given that federal workers are set to miss a second paycheck in the coming week.
A Democratic congressional aide, however, indicated the party thinks little of Trump’s latest idea.
“Dems were not consulted on this and have rejected similar overtures previously. It’s clearly a Republican-and-Republican negotiation,” the aide said.
Trump’s latest attempt at a deal came together after White House senior adviser Jared Kushner reached out to Democratic senators, though there is no indication that those senators are supportive of the president’s forthcoming proposal. But Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) along with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are cosponsors of the BRIDGE Act, which would protect DACA recipients from deportation for three years and grant them work authorization permits. Durbin has said he will only negotiate after the government has reopened.
Kushner, along with Vice President Mike Pence, have served as the White House’s liaisons to Capitol Hill during the shutdown, but have thus far been unable to strike a bargain on the president’s behalf — and lawmakers have increasingly demanded to hear from the president himself.
Though Trump on Friday touted his forthcoming plan as a “major announcement,” there are reasons to doubt it will mark a turning point in the 29-day standoff.
The White House is pushing the GOP-controlled Senate to lead movement of any compromise legislation, according to an administration official. But Democrats have been resolute in their demand that Trump reopen the government before agreeing to an increase in funding for border security — a major chasm between the two parties that the president’s tentative proposal appears unlikely to solve.
The White House‘s gambit would require support from at least seven Democratic senators to pass the chamber, a heavy lift unless Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) were to endorse such a move. Democrats on Friday continued to insist they would not negotiate with the president before the government reopens.
The president‘s decision to make the first move to propose a compromise marks a swift reversal from the tone he struck with a bipartisan group of lawmakers just three days ago, when he described a degenerating situation on the Southern border. He told them “we have the worst human trafficking in the history of the world” and that drug traffickers now weld drugs into cars so that “dogs can’t even smell them.”
In the meeting, held in the White House Situation Room, Trump told the junior lawmakers that he would not budge until he got an indication from Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that they were willing to make a deal, according to a person in the room.
He claimed his strength had grown in the polls as the shutdown had proceeded, though he declined to offer any specific numbers. Independent polling shows the opposite, and the president’s campaign team has increasingly fretted that the shutdown is kicking off his reelection effort on a sour note.
Trump also insisted he would not sign a continuing resolution to temporarily reopen the government, telling the lawmakers it would be too hard to shut down the government again after reopening it if he didn’t get the money for his wall, and that “Nancy said she’d only give me a dollar.”
“If I open it up, it’s going to be hard to shut down again,“ he said.
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Beirut, Lebanon – Poor attendance of regional leaders and divisions over Syria overshadow the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit which begins on Sunday in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.
After initially pulling out, Qatar‘s emir is expected to attend the official session of the summit. Lebanon‘s presidency confirmed on Saturday that Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will arrive in the Mediterranean city ahead of the meeting.
At Beirut’s Rafic Hariri Airport on Saturday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun received Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, the only other head of state expected to attend the summit.
Although a handful of Arab leaders had originally confirmed their attendance, the emir of Kuwait and the Egyptian and Palestinian presidents pulled out at the last minute.
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Can the Gulf Cooperation Council survive? |
Instead, 20 countries taking part in the summit sent delegations that arrived in Beirut throughout Friday and Saturday, including Egypt’s foreign minister Samih Shoukry and the Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.
The economic summit, which has attracted numerous leaders in previous years, is a prelude to the actual Arab League summit taking place in Tunisia in March.
Elias Sakr, Lebanese journalist and analyst, called the summit a “complete failure”.
“It shows that Lebanon, given its political divisions, has failed to get the Arab states to agree on a strategy that would help it face its economic and political challenges,” Sakr told Al Jazeera.
Although it has a lower profile than the Arab League summit, the lack of attendance portrays Lebanon’s weak regional diplomacy, and domestic and regional rifts over Syria and its ally Iran, other analysts said.
“The lack of attendance gives a message that Lebanon lacks agency,” said Mohanad Hage Ali, a political analyst at Carnegie Middle East Center.
“The attendance of Arab leaders would have supported Lebanon, a failing state economically and politically, and would have helped it relaunch itself on the Arab stage after being seen as an Iranian pawn for years,” Ali told Al Jazeera.
A major point of contention, both regionally and domestically in Lebanon, is whether Syria should be reinstated as a member of the Arab League following Syrian President Bashar al-Assad taking control over most of his war-torn country.
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| Libya is boycotting the summit after its flag was torn down and burnt last week near the venue [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters] |
While Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil called for Syria’s return to the Arab League during a pre-summit meeting on Friday, referring to Syria’s absence as the “the biggest gap in the conference”, the group’s Secretary-General Ahamed Aboul Gheit told journalists at a press conference later in the day that there was no agreement over Syria’s return.
Syria’s membership in the League was suspended in 2011, but political forces inside Lebanon remain divided over the issue, reflecting a wider rift among neighbouring countries over the prospect of normalising ties with Damascus.
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How will US troop withdrawal affect Syria’s war? |
“The divide is domestic and regional. Hezbollah and Amal [backed by Iran] want to bring Syria back into the league, while other groups do not,” said Yousef Diab, a Lebanese political analyst.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah has fought alongside Assad, and its political allies including President Michel Aoun have recently stepped up calls for rapprochement with Damascus.
“Likewise, while some Arab countries such as Iraq and Algeria may support the move, Arab leaders’ boycott of the summit signals some sort of blame towards Lebanon for wanting Syria at the summit,” Diab told Al Jazeera.
Part of the contention around Syria also relates to Article 13 of a proposed summit statement, which discusses the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.
While Lebanon, which hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, called on Friday for their return to Syria, other countries have been divided over the wording of the article with some Arab ministers insisting that this discussion must be linked to a political solution in Syria.
Lebanon is also expected to present on Sunday an initiative for setting up a funding structure to rebuild Arab countries devastated by wars.
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Who can shape Libya’s future? |
Another contentious issue that plays into the weak attendance at the summit is Libya, analysts said.
Libya decided to boycott the summit after members of the Lebanese Amal party tore down and burned its flag near the summit venue last week.
The Hezbollah ally replaced the Libyan flag with their own to protest the disappearance of Shia leader Musa al-Sadr while visiting Libya in 1978.
“The list [of attendees] was acceptable for an economic summit, but after the incident, many pulled out in a show of solidarity with Libya,” Ali told Al Jazeera.
The incident has also reflected negatively on Lebanon’s security situation.
“What happened with the Libyan flag, and the lack of response from the state to hold the perpetrators accountable, has shown that on a security level, Lebanon is not fit to host this summit,” said Diab.
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Every sentimental franchise actor has to keep a token from their time on set. Who among us wouldn’t snag a lightsaber, wand, or other iconic prop if we were part of the films and shows that made them legend?
So it was for Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harington, who revealed on BBC Radio that kept, not his sword or man bun or IKEA furs, but the statue of his character we just saw in the crypts.
SEE ALSO: ‘Game of Thrones’ new Season 8 trailer sees the Starks reunite
Harington told morning show host Zoe Ball that he and only he of the Starks (or Targaryens) kept his crypt statue – for emotional reasons, of course.
“They sent it to my house,” he said with a laugh. “Got it in my shed, how sad is that? I was the only one who kept the statue, that’s how narcissistic I am. I’m gonna turn it into a water feature.”
Harington recently described himself and his costars as being “broken” by the end of filming the final six episodes, but they remain bonded by the experience and by being the only ones who know how this massive story all ends.
“It’s weird…I think for all of us, walking around with this big kind of secret, cause we know how it all wraps up,” he told Ball.
Harington said he was “maybe not happy, but very satisfied” by the end, likening it to the bittersweet feeling of finishing a book (cough cough, George R.R. Martin).
“You don’t finish a good book and say, ‘I’m happy I finished that,’” Harington said. “But you have this grief that it’s over, and it’s exactly same with nine years doing this show. No matter how it ended, or how it does end, there’s always this bit of you that’s like, ‘oh’; there’s this loss around it.”
“I’m so excited for people to see it,” he added. “I think it’s going to be extraordinary, hopefully it’ll change TV again like it did originally, and break boundaries. I think it might.”
Game of Thrones Season 8 premieres April 14 on HBO.
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B/R
In their never-ending quest for semi-success, the Washington Wizards have been playing much better since five-time All-Star John Wall went down with a season-ending heel injury. They’re 6-4 since Wall played his last game, and that includes recent victories over the Sixers and Bucks and a two-point double-overtime loss to the Raptors on Sunday.
Bradley Beal has been on an absolute tear, including in Thursday’s 101-100 victory over the Knicks in London, averaging 29.8 points on 45.7 percent shooting over the 10-game stretch. After a rocky 2-9 start and the associated histrionics, things seem to be looking up in the nation’s capital—at least for the basketball team, which is only two-and-a-half games out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Perhaps that’s why owner Ted Leonsis felt good enough to proclaim before the Knicks game that he would never oversee a tank job, according to Candace Bucker and Scott Allen of the Washington Post.
Still, this is a franchise that has yet to reach the potential many envisioned with Wall and Beal in the same backcourt. It is a franchise with little ability to pursue significant help in free agency and a lot of difficult-to-move parts.
That’s why is hasn’t come as a surprise that a conga line of contenders have kicked the tires on Beal, by far the Wizards’ most valuable—and most tradable—asset. Multiple team executives and agents tell Bleacher Report the impending Feb. 7 trade deadline is expected to be a busy one and that Beal’s talent, sharpshooting, versatility, age (25) and contract (two years and $56 remaining) make him one of the most coveted assets in the marketplace.
“There are so many teams in the mix trying to make that extra push that want Beal,” a Western Conference executive told B/R.
But why would the Wizards trade a young, productive star on a reasonable deal? According to the rival executives and agents, the Wizards may not and have indicated no willingness to part with Beal.
The problem is Wall.
“Wall is unmovable,” one of the rival executives told B/R.
As has been well-documented, Wall’s four-year, $170 supermax extension kicks in next campaign, and his salary will nearly double from $19.2 million to $38.2 million. When he returns from his season-ending surgery to address bone spurs in his left heel, Wall, 28, will have played just 73 games over the previous two seasons because of injuries.
John Wall’s spotty injury history and mammoth contract increase have made Bradley Beal the target of other teams’ desires with the trade deadline approaching.Will Newton/Getty Images
Wall’s contract also includes a 15 percent trade kicker, making the path to a deal almost impossible to navigate. According to ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe, don’t even think about a Wall trade before July 1 because of the complexities of what is believed to be the first trade kicker spread over a supermax contract.
“We heard they don’t want to trade [Beal], that they want to hold on to him,” one of the execs said. “Of course, they want to trade Wall, but nobody’s going to take the bait on that. They’re stuck with him.”
Interestingly, though, the ball is moving much better without him. Wall’s usage rate this season was 29 percent, which is consistent with where he’s been the past four campaigns. But the Wizards’ assists per game have gone up (from 24.9 to 27.9) without him, and so have their passes per game (from 279.1 to 325.2), according to NBA Advanced Stats.
“John and [James] Harden are the two guys with the ball in their hands more than anybody in the league,” an Eastern Conference scout said. “It’s hard to play with that.”
So where does all of this leave the Wizards and Beal? It depends on how their season goes.
“Knowing Ernie [Grunfeld, the Wizards’ general manager], he will hold on to him in a desperate attempt to make the playoffs,” another Western Conference executive said.
But if things go south—and if the Wizards’ repeated attempts to plug holes and make the playoffs for a third straight year prove futile—which teams are most motivated (and best equipped) to make a play for Beal?
In the East, Toronto and Boston are among the most motivated teams to come calling, for obvious but unique reasons. The Raptors have made it known in front-office circles that they’re interested in adding an elite shooting guard, rival executives say. A package including Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright and a first-round pick might be a sensible starting point to the discussion, one of the execs said.
With the Celtics struggling to find an identity—and defined roles for their plethora of wing players—there could be a path to a deal. Jaylen Brown, the expiring contract of Marcus Morris or Aron Baynes (2019-20 player option) and a first-round pick would have the makings of a compelling offer, according to one executive. The C’s could win the East with a core of Kyrie Irving, Beal, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford. Whether the Wizards would want to help Boston is another story.
And don’t forget about the Pacers, who are not only third in the East but also have the pieces to put together an enticing trade package. Let’s start with Darren Collison, Myles Turner and a first-round pick. The Wizards would get a point guard who could work for the rest of this season while Wall is out, plus Turner, a roll man who could work with Wall down the road (assuming the Wizards are, in fact, stuck with him). From the Pacers’ perspective, adding Beal to a young core of Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young would make them even more formidable.
Despite the Wizards’ slow start, Beal has put together his best statistical season, posting career numbers in scoring, rebounding and assists.Ned Dishman/Getty Images
In the West, the Lakers have to be part of the conversation because of the LeBron James factor, though it’s not clear to rival executives whom they’re willing to trade in any deal and whom they aren’t.
“At one point a month ago, they were dangling Lonzo [Ball] a little bit, but now they don’t want to trade him,” one of the execs said.
Josh Hart, Ivica Zubac and Moritz Wagner are available, rival executives say, while pretty much everyone else is off the table. To get Beal, it’s going to take a lot more than that.
The Mavericks have to be a consideration, given their current crossroads with 2017 lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr. Minnesota would at least have a conversation starter if they included Andrew Wiggins in the discussion (which executives say they’re willing to do). Other borderline playoff teams like the Pelicans, Hornets and Magic also would have to be considered, though New Orleans and Orlando are more focused on upgrading at point guard, execs say.
What about Beal? His agent, Mark Bartelstein, is not looking for a trade.
“Brad wants to win,” Bartelstein told B/R. “He wants to win at the highest level, and he wants to compete for championships. I think he’s seeing progress, and he’s going to do everything he can to lead this team. They got themselves into a huge hole, and he’s going to do his best to get them out of it.”
Whether Beal does will have everything to do with if the Wizards are open for business on a trade-deadline deal for him…or not.
Ken Berger covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @KBergNBA.
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