Cleveland Browns decline trade request from running back Kareem Hunt amid his ‘hold in’ during training camp

All-Pro running back Kareem Hunt is “holding in” by not participating in team drills during training camp, admit his request that the team either pay him or trade him. Hunt held out of team drills on Friday and Saturday as a way to let Cleveland know he was unhappy with his contract. However according to reports, the Browns have privately denied his request for a trade.

Hunt set to be a free agent after the 2022 season, but the Browns can fine him if he continues to hold out from participating in team drills. The 27-year-old Hunt is in the final year of a two-year, $13.25 million extension and will earn a base salary of $1.35 million in 2022 with a $1.5 million roster bonus. He also has a per-game roster bonus of $200,000 each, which could bring the total amount he earns this season to $3.4 million.

Hunt has yet to perform as he did during his 2017 rookie season with the Chiefs, when he rushed for a league-leading 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns. He has spent the last three seasons with Cleveland, highlighted by an 841-yard, six-touchdown season in 2020. After signing the extension the following offseason, Hunt battled injuries last year, playing in just eight games all season.

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Brett Eldredge to play first-ever Ryman residency with 3 holiday shows

Brett Eldredge is making his comeback as “Mr. Christmas” as he spreads holiday cheer with an upcoming series of shows at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Eldredge’s team announced the performances on Twitter:  “Brett will be playing three shows in Nashville to kick off Christmas this year! Catch him at The Ryman Auditorium November 25-27. Members of The Locals fan club will have first access to presale tickets starting tomorrow, 8/2. Tickets go on sale to the public this Friday, 8/5!”

The Ryman Auditorium also announced the return of Eldredge’s Glow Live Tour – “BREAKING! @bretteldredge‘s Glow Live Tour is back and bigger than ever! This year, catch Brett at the Ryman for THREE nights, November 25-27, for his first ever #RymanResidency!”

For tickes, head to www. ryman.com.

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Take a look at Reba McEntire in the Season 3 trailer of ‘Big Sky’

ABC has shared the first trailer for Season 3 of ‘Big Sky,’ with new cast member Reba McEntire narrating the 30-second spot. McEntire says in the clip: “Welcome to Montana, a place where the horizon never ends, full of friendly folk just trying to do right. But in the untamed wilderness, you never know what’s going to be coming around the bend. One thing’s for certain, once you set foot in this place, you may never want to go home again… and you might not.”

Season 3 focuses on a new mystery, with McEntire starring as Sunny Barnes, whose backcountry trip does not go as planned. Private detective Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury), undersheriff Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick), and Sheriff Beau Arlen (Jensen Ackles) team up to solve a mystery linked to Barnes’ travelers.

Created by David E. Kelley, ‘Big Sky’ is based on C.J. Box’s ‘The Highway’ novels. The first season saw Dewell, Hoyt, and Cody Hoyt (Ryan Phillippe) team up to find two sisters kidnapped by a truck driver. In Season 2, Hoyt rejoins the county sheriff’s office and investigates local drug dealers and a cartel. The third season will include a cast of mostly new characters, played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler, J. Anthony Pena, Henry Ian Cusick, Luke Mitchell, Seth Gabel, Anirudh Pisharody, and Madalyn Horcher.

Check out the trailer for Season 3 of ‘Big Sky’ – here.

WATCH: Reba McEntire Shares First-Look Of Her ‘Big Sky: Deadly Trails’ Character In New Trailer

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‘Days of Our Lives’ moving to Peacock after nearly six decades on NBC

NBC announced its long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives will be moving to its digital-owned platform Peackock after airing the show for nearly six decades. Currently, Peacock already streams past episodes from the Emmy-winning drama series and previously aired its spinoffs, including Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem and Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas film.

Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming said in a statement: “This programming shift benefits both Peacock and NBC and is reflective of our broader strategy to utilize our portfolio to maximize reach and strengthen engagement with viewers. With a large percentage of the ‘Days of Our Lives’ audience already watching digitally, this move enables us to build the show’s loyal fanbase on streaming while simultaneously bolstering the network daytime offering with an urgent, live programming opportunity for partners and consumers.”

Starting Sept. 12, Days of our Lives time slot will be filled with the launch of ‘NBC News Daily’. The new hour-long show will be anchored by NBC’s Kate Snow, Aaron Gilchrist, Vicky Nguyen, and Morgan Radford, providing the viewers with “signature world-class reporting and breaking news coverage in a first-of-its kind.” The program will also be streamed simultaneously on NBC News NOW and Peacock.

Days of Our Lives first launched on NBC in 1965; the series celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2020 and was renewed for seasons 57 and 58 on NBC in 2021. The move leaves only three soap operas to remain on broadcast TV, including The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless on CBS, and General Hospital on ABC.

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HBO Max’s Selena Gomez cooking show ‘Selena + Chef’ to return for Season 4 premiering Aug. 18

Selena Gomez’s cooking show Selena + Chef has been renewed for a fourth season on HBO Max. The 10 episode season of the unscripted series will premiere on August 18th with three episodes, followed by three more on August 25th – and the final four on September 1st, exclusively on HBO Max. Selena + Chef premiered in August 2020, inspired by Gomez spending more time in the kitchen during the pandemic.

In season four, Gomez heads to the beach with her friends and family, where Selena will continue to learn the joys of cooking with all-star chefs in a beautiful Malibu beach house. Season 4 featured chefs include Adrienne Cheatham, Devonn Francis, Gordon Ramsay, Kristen Kish, Ludo Lefebvre, Matty Matheson, Nick DiGiovanni, Paola Velez, Priya Krishna and Rachael Ray.   As in the first three seasons, each chef will highlight a different charity. To date, the series has raised $400,000 for 26 nonprofit organizations.

You can view the Season 4 trailer –  here.

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1 dead, 11 sickened in Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Napa County, California

A Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in California’s Napa County has caused one death and nearly a dozen hospitalizations since mid-July.  Public health officials have found one possible source of the bacteria that causes the illness, with high levels of Legionella bacteria being found in a water sample taken from a cooling tower at Embassy Suites Napa Valley. However, none of those who were sickened had visited or stayed at the hotel.

According to a Napa County statement: “The cooling tower has since been taken offline, which mitigates any ongoing risk to public health.”  Dr. Karen Relucio, the county’s health officer, said in the statement that county and state public health investigators have been working with hotel staff to “remediate the source of exposure, but we must continue to investigate other cooling towers and water sources in the outbreak area, as it is common to find more than one source.”

Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia caused by a bacteria that grows in warm water. People can get Legionnaires’ disease when they breathe in water vapor containing the bacteria. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Outbreaks are commonly associated with buildings or structures that have complex water systems, like hotels and resorts, long-term care facilities, hospitals, and cruise ships. The most likely sources of infection include water used for showering, hot tubs, decorative fountains, and cooling towers.” The disease isn’t contagious, and can be treated with antibiotics, but can be dangerous for some people, such as those with pre-existing conditions. Symptoms include muscle aches, fever and chills.

A dozen Napa County residents have been hospitalized with the disease since July 11. Three remain hospitalized and one person died; the county said that person was over the age of 50 and had “risk factors for severe disease.”

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WNBA star Brittney Griner found guilty in Russian drug trial; is sentenced to 9 years in prison

WNBA star Brittney Griner was found guilty by a Russian court on Thursday on drug smuggling and possession charges, and was sentenced her to nine years in a Russian penal colony.  The verdict came after closing arguments in Griner’s trial at a court near Moscow.

The two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist has been in a Russian jail for almost six months since her arrest at Moscow’s airport in February with two vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her bags.  Cannabis is illegal in Russia, but Griner’s attorneys have argued that she has a valid medical prescription and that she didn’t intentionally pack the cartridges. However in its verdict, the court ruled that Griner had deliberately intended to smuggle cannabis.

The 31-year-old, who’d faced a total of 10 years in prison, pleaded guilty to the charges last month in a bid for leniency from the court. Last week, Griner testified in her own defense, saying she packed the vape cartridges by accident and that she had ‘no intention’ of breaking Russian law. Prosecutors argued for a 9 1/2-year jail sentence for Griner; however, the court rejected those arguments and sentenced Griner to nine years in jail, and a fine of 9 million rubles (equal to about $150,000). The 9-year sentence is considered by many an excessive punishment for Griner possessing less than 2 grams of the cannabis oil. Griner’s attorneys said the verdict was “absolutely unreasonable” and promised to exercise the basketball star’s right to an appeal.

President Joe Biden said he’s doing everything possible to secure Griner’s release: “Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates. My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and [imprisoned former U.S. Marine] Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.”

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WNBA star Brittney Griner found guilty in Russian drug trial; is sentenced to 9 years in prison

WNBA star Brittney Griner was found guilty by a Russian court on Thursday on drug smuggling and possession charges, and was sentenced her to nine years in a Russian penal colony.  The verdict came after closing arguments in Griner’s trial at a court near Moscow.

The two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist has been in a Russian jail for almost six months since her arrest at Moscow’s airport in February with two vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her bags.  Cannabis is illegal in Russia, but Griner’s attorneys have argued that she has a valid medical prescription and that she didn’t intentionally pack the cartridges. However in its verdict, the court ruled that Griner had deliberately intended to smuggle cannabis.

The 31-year-old, who’d faced a total of 10 years in prison, pleaded guilty to the charges last month in a bid for leniency from the court. Last week, Griner testified in her own defense, saying she packed the vape cartridges by accident and that she had ‘no intention’ of breaking Russian law. Prosecutors argued for a 9 1/2-year jail sentence for Griner; however, the court rejected those arguments and sentenced Griner to nine years in jail, and a fine of 9 million rubles (equal to about $150,000). The 9-year sentence is considered by many an excessive punishment for Griner possessing less than 2 grams of the cannabis oil. Griner’s attorneys said the verdict was “absolutely unreasonable” and promised to exercise the basketball star’s right to an appeal.

President Joe Biden said he’s doing everything possible to secure Griner’s release: “Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates. My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and [imprisoned former U.S. Marine] Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.”

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LA Dodgers’ pitcher Clayton Kershaw leaves game against San Francisco Giants with lower back pain

The Los Angeles Dodgers confirmed that starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw left Thursday’s game against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the fifth inning with lower back pain, after an injury that occurred during warmup pitches. There have been no official updates about Kershaw’s injury or how it may impact the star pitcher going forward, with the team just calling it “low back pain.”

The three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed three hits, two runs and one home run, and totaled four strikeouts. He left the game with the Dodgers up 4–2; right-hander Phil Bickford replaced Kershaw on the mound for the fifth inning.

The 34-year-old is in his 15th season with the Dodgers, and has dealt with back issues throughout his career.  In 2014, Kershaw missed 41 days early in the season with a back inflammation issue, and in 2016, he missed 74 days due to a disc herniation. In 2017, he dealt with a back strain, and deal with ongoing back problems in 2018 and 2020. Kershaw missed one month earlier this season with SI joint inflammation that caused pain in his lower back.

Kershaw currently holds a 2.66 ERA, allowing 66 hits, 27 runs and six home runs in 81.1 innings pitched so far this season, as well as 84 strikeouts and 14 walks.

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Lady A postpone Request Line Tour to 2023 as singer Charles Kelley focuses on ‘journey to sobriety’

Lady A is postponing its Request Line Tour to 2023 while bandmate Charles Kelley focuses on his sobriety.

The country trio shared the news on social media on Thursday (Aug 4th), writing on Instagram: “We have decided to postpone our Request Line Tour until next year. Being on the road with our fans is our greatest joy, so it was a hard but important decision to make. We are a band, but more importantly…we’re family. We’re proud to say that Charles has embarked on a journey to sobriety. So, right now in order to be the healthiest, strongest and most creative band we can be, Lady A will take the time with the support of our families and team of professionals to walk through this together. It’s early on this road, but we are determined to do what will best set us up for many more years together. We’re grateful for your patience.⁣⁣ This update is coming in real time, but in the coming days, your point of purchase will be in touch with new ticket information. We’re looking forward to making 2023 our best year yet!⁣”

Lady A’s Request Line Tour was set to launch next week, August 13th, with back-to-back night’s at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Each night fans were to experience Lady A’s hit songs live, while also interacting with the band in real time to directly request songs — making no two shows the same.

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