Mavericks ownership said no to the relocation rumor.

There was a report out of nowhere that the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks franchise was moving to Las Vegas. The Mavericks general manager told employees the team has “no plans” to move to Las Vegas. The franchise is owned by Dr. Miriam Adelson who is based in Las Vegas. Then there was another statement put out by the franchise. “The Adelson and Dumont families have already started and are committed to investing and building in Dallas Fort Worth. The families have absolutely no plans to move the team out of North Texas.” In 2023, Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands company acquired a 108-acre parcel in Irving, near the stadiums that house the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys and Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers in Arlington. There is some speculation that land could be used for a casino and a Mavericks’ arena. The Las Vegas Sands lobbyists have been attempting to get Texas lawmakers to legalize casino gambling.

Las Vegas and Nevada business and political leaders have in the past decade shed the image of a gambling town that was unsuitable for major league sports franchises. The National Hockey League granted an expansion franchise to Bill Foley in 2016 and Foley got the Vegas Golden Knights franchise onto the ice in 2017. Mark Davis moved his National Football League franchise from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020 after Nevada officials gave Davis one of the largest stadium subsidies ever although that has now been surpassed in western New York and in Nashville as funding for new facilities. Major League Baseball’s John Fisher is attempting to move to Las Vegas. Fisher has not been able to get private funding for the proposed Las Vegas baseball stadium. The National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver has said that the league is looking at expanding and that Las Vegas is a leading candidate for an expansion franchise.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kendrick Lamar aims to infuse his Los Angeles hip-hop flavor into New Orleans while staying true to his storytelling roots during Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime performance.

“Being in the now and being just locked-in to how I feel and the energy I have now, that’s the L.A. energy for me,” he said Thursday at a press conference hosted by Apple Music. “That’s something I wanted to carry over to New Orleans and for the world to see. This is me. This is Kendrick Lamar, 37 years old, and I still feel like I’m elevating, I’m still on a journey.”

The rap megastar will take the Super Bowl stage fresh off a Grammy triumph, where he claimed two of the night’s biggest awards — song and record of the year — for his diss track “Not Like Us.”

When asked what viewers can expect, Lamar answered: “Storytelling. I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music. And I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on.”

Lamar will be bringing hip-hop back to the NFL’s championship game, where he performed as a guest artist with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem in 2022. On Sunday, he becomes the first solo hip-hop artist to headline the halftime show.

“It reminds me of the essence and the core response of rap and hip-hop and how far it can go,” he said. “It puts the culture at the forefront, where it needs to be and not minimized to just a catchy song or verse. This is a true art form, so to represent it on this type of stage is like everything that I’ve worked for and everything that I believe in as far as the culture.”

SZA will join him but few other details about the performance were revealed, bowing to a tradition in which headliners keep their plans secret. Rihanna waited until her Super Bowl performance in 2023 to reveal she was pregnant with her second child.

The Super Bowl will be held Sunday at the Caesars Superdome, with the two-defending champions Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles in a championship rematch.

Who else is performing at the Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl pregame will have some Louisiana flavor: Jon Batiste will hit the stage to sing the national anthem, while Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle are slated to perform “America the Beautiful.”

Batiste said he’ll be thinking of his grandfather, a veteran who recently died.

“I think about a lot of people in my life who have represented what I believe this song is about and should be about at its highest aspirational level,” he said. “When I channel that, it makes it feel like it’s me. But it’s way bigger than me. I’m just a vessel for that energy in the world to continue. If that can happen, I might get choked up.”

Ledisi will perform “ Lift Every Voice and Sing ” as part of the pregame performances.

The national anthem and “America the Beautiful” will be performed by actor Stephanie Nogueras in American sign language. Otis Jones IV will sign “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and the halftime show will be signed by Matt Maxey.

The pregame performers are all Louisiana natives.

Why is the Super Bowl perfect time for Lamar & SZA?

In just a week, Lamar will go from dominating the Grammys with five wins in all his categories to taking center stage at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Fresh off releasing his highly-acclaimed album “GNX,” Lamar is also gearing up for a major tour alongside SZA, his former Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate. The Grand National Tour kicks off April 19 in Minneapolis and concludes June 18 in Washington, D.C.

“I’m honored to be next to her talent,” Lamar said of SZA.

___

For more on the Super Bowl, visit https://apnews.com/hub/super-bowl

RANT SPORTS

FOX and Tubi come together for Super Bowl 59

On Super Bowl Sunday, FOX broadcasts five-and-a-half hours of pregame coverage beginning at 1:00 PM ET with FOX SUPER BOWL LIX PREGAME live from three locations, including the FOX Sports set on New Orleans’ iconic Bourbon Street.

ROAD TO THE SUPER BOWL, an NFL Films award-winning series featuring NFL Films’ classic slow-motion footage and the best of more than 100 players and coaches wired for sound, kicks off FOX Super Bowl Sunday programming at 11:00 AM ET on FOX.

Tubi is free streaming the game in a first for FOX

In addition to the pregame show, there will also be a Tubi-exclusive red carpet show prior to the game for those sports lite fans who may be more interested in the celebrity sightings, halftime show and commercials.

FOX owns the free streaming service Tubi will be the home of the Super Bowl for the first time. FOX unlike CBS has Paramount+, NBC has Peacock and ABC has ESPN does not have a dedicated streaming service. This is a big win for both streaming video fans as well as Tubi. The streaming service hopes that the Super Bowl will give fans see some of the very entertaining programming you can find on Tubi

The Madden Cruiser: A Bayou Adventure With Bill Belichick – Noon

The one-hour special features eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick hopping aboard Hall of Fame legend John Madden’s iconic “Madden Cruiser” bus for an unforgettable road trip. Their ultimate destination: New Orleans. Special guests include Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Curt Menefee, Pro Football Hall of Famers Ed Reed and Ty Law, New Orleans legends Archie Manning and Tyrann Mathieu and Emmy© Award-winning media personality Rocsi Diaz.

The Game pregame 1 p.m.

The casts of FOX NFL SUNDAY, America’s most-watched NFL pregame studio show since its inception, and NFL KICKOFF combine for one mega broadcast showcasing five-and-a-half hours of live pregame coverage, beginning at 1:00 PM ET on FOX live from Bourbon Street. Curt Menefee hosts the special edition alongside Terry Bradshaw with analysis from Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson and Rob Gronkowski. Jay Glazer offers exclusive news from around the league heading into the big game.

Also offering interviews, analysis and reports throughout FOX’s pregame show are Charissa Thompson, Charles Woodson, Julian Edelman, Michael Vick, Peter Schrager, Kristina Pink and Cooper Manning with “The Manning Hour.

RANT SPORTS MUST-READS