Tennessee Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks was alert and had full use of his extremities after being carted off the field Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to multiple reports.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters after the game that Burks was moving and being evaluated in the locker room.
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel looks on from the sidelines in the first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 2, 2023 in Pittsburgh.(Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
“It’s probably better than how it looked,” Vrabel said.
Burks was seen walking out of the locker room on his own power, according to ESPN.
Burks hit his head on the ground late in the fourth quarter after attempting to make a deep catch along the sideline and lay motionless on the ground.
Burks’ facemask was cut off before he was placed on a backboard. He gave a soft thumbs-up while he was being taken off the field.
“It’s a scary part of the game, the fact that someone gets carted off the field and you just act like it didn’t happen,” Titans rookie quarterback Will Levis said. “But that’s football. It’s a part of the game that we have to accept it.”
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks, #16, makes a catch during the regular season NFL football game between the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 2, 2023 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.(Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Burks is in his second season out of the University of Arkansas. The Titans selected him with the 18th pick last year, seemingly as a replacement for A.J. Brown, whom they traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
In five games this season, Burks has eight catches for 122 yards.
Tennessee lost 20-16 to Pittsburgh, handing Levis his first NFL loss as a starter as the Titans dropped to 3-5 on the season.
“Losing sucks, especially at this level,” Levis said. “It’s so hard to win games and you have an opportunity like that to win it at the end, and it doesn’t happen, it makes you feel a whole lot worse. Credit to (Pittsburgh). They made the plays when they needed to and we didn’t.”
Will Levis1, #8 of the Tennessee Titans, looks down field against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 2, 2023 in Pittsburgh.(Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Do you ever wish you could know who is calling you without having to actually look at who’s calling you? If you are like me, you probably have a lot of contacts on your phone, and sometimes it can be hard to remember who is who.
Maybe you have a friend who always calls you with good news, a family member who needs your help or a boss who expects you to answer right away. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could tell who is calling just by the sound of your phone ringing?
Well, guess what? You can. Both iPhone and Android devices have a feature that lets you set a custom ringtone for any contact on your phone. This way, you can assign a different sound to each person and recognize them instantly when they call.
If you don’t want to use the default ringtones that come with your phone, or if you want to have more variety and options, you can also buy ringtones from online stores. Depending on the type of your phone, you can access different online stores that offer a wide range of ringtones for different prices.
For iPhone users, the most convenient way to buy ringtones is through the iTunes Store. To buy ringtones from the iTunes Store, you need to have an Apple ID and a valid payment method. Frankly, with all the new ringtones in the latest iOS 17 and later software, you shouldn’t need to spend a dime unless you are looking to go big on customizing what you hear when certain people call.
To buy ringtones from the iTunes Store on your iPhone
Open the iTunes Store app on your iPhone
Tap More in the bottom right corner of the screen
Tap Tones
Browse or search for the ringtone that you want to buy
You can go to the iTunes Store to purchase ringtones for your contacts.(CyberGuy.com)
You can preview the ringtone by tapping the Ringtone, then click the name of the Ringtone and it will play
Tap the price of the ringtone to buy it. You will be asked to either Set as Default Ringtone, Set as Default Text Tone, or Assign to Contact
You can preview the ringtone before purchasing and once you select the one you like, you can then check the price and determine how you want the sound to be used.(CyberGuy.com)
Then you will be asked to confirm your purchase.
Confirm that you want to purchase the sound.(CyberGuy.com)
For Android users, there are several online stores that offer ringtones for Android devices. Some of the most popular ones are Google Play Store, Zedge and Verizon Tones. You can access these online stores from your Android phone or tablet or from your web browser on your computer.
To buy ringtones from these online stores, you need to have a Google account and a valid payment method for the Google Play Store, or a Zedge account and a valid payment method for Zedge, or a Verizon account and a valid payment method for Verizon Tones.
To buy ringtones from online stores on your Android
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer
Open the online store app on your Android phone. If you don’t have the app installed, you can download it from the Google Play Store.
Browse or search for the ringtone that you want to buy. You can preview the ringtone by tapping the play button next to it
Tap the price of the ringtone to buy it. You may be asked to sign in with your account and password or use biometric authentication to confirm your purchase
The ringtone will be downloaded to your Android phone and added to your library.
Buying ringtones from online stores is a quick and easy way to get new sounds for your phone. However, you should be aware that some online stores may charge you extra fees or subscriptions for using their services. You should also check the compatibility and quality of the ringtones before buying them.
Now, when someone you never want to miss calls, you’ll know immediately, even when your phone is across the room. Setting custom ringtones for your contacts is a simple way to personalize your phone. You can also have fun with it and choose ringtones that match the personality or mood of each person.
What are some of the ringtones that you have assigned to your contacts and why? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact.
For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.
Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.
Web3 tools powered by layer-1 blockchain Solana are driving tangible returns and delivering deep customer data insights, according to prominent mainstream brands and companies that attended Solana Breakpoint.
The four-day conference in Amsterdam attracted a wide variety of businesses and projects from Web2, Web3 and traditional backgrounds. A prominent takeaway was the adoption of Solana-based tools and services, innovating payments and loyalty programs.
Boba Guys, a growing United States-based bubble tea brand in the mold of Starbucks, unpacked how its pilot program for a new customer loyalty app delivered insightful data while seemingly incentivizing customers to return to its stores in San Francisco.
The five-week program relied solely on in-store promotion to customers in the area. Six hundred users were onboarded, with 31% of orders being attributed to the loyalty program after the fact. Co-founders Bin Chen and Andrew Chau also reported that the app saw a 67% increase in monthly visits of loyalty program users and a 65% increase in spending.
Solana Foundation’s head of commerce business development, Josh Fried, tells Cointelegraph that the development of the loyalty program provides a tangible use case for commercial clients looking for Web3, blockchain-based tools to build their businesses and customer base.
“The Boba Guys pilot initial data shows that we’re actually improving their business results. A real retailer with 25 locations got on stage and said this Solana-based program was bringing a return of investment of 800%,” Fried explained.
For every $1 that Boba Guys puts into the program, the company sees $9 in revenue in return. It’s a “legitimate business uplift,” Fried said, and the company is planning to roll out the app across its stores in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.
The recent integration of Solana Pay into e-commerce platform Shopify is another indicator that Web3-based payment tools are becoming a viable alternative for conventional businesses. Fried unpacked how merchants are beginning to provide meaningful feedback on adopting its payments rail.
The MadLab nonfungible token project noted a material uplift in sales from crypto native users who were holding crypto. “These users were holding USDC on Solana, waiting for the utility to use it to pay for something rather than just trading. The community used the integration to start buying merch,” Fried said.
Another anecdote came from an entrepreneur based in Denver, Colorado, who has turned to Shopify’s Solana Pay integration to drive sales of bespoke fragrances. The attraction to the payment solution is the ability of Web3 to help drive e-commerce sales:
“When you’re buying e-commerce, you can’t smell something. Right. He’s like, ‘for a storyteller, I need metaverses, I need Web3 technology that’s going to bring new layers to the sale.’”
While optimistic, Fried concedes that there is a significant amount of work to drive the adoption of Solana Pay and Web3 tools built on Solana. Having worked at Google for a decade on the development of Google Pay, he highlights that even the tech behemoth took years to see the adoption of its increasingly ubiquitous payment service.
“What helps is when somebody like Visa comes along and says, ‘Hey, we’re going to start doing interbank settlement on the Solana blockchain,‘” Fried explains. Major payment processors and rails will be crucial in driving Web3-based payment adoption.
At a recent hearing for Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger, Latah County District Court Judge John Judge urged the media and other courtroom spectators to “have some dignity and some restraint” while stating he was not going to ban cameras from the proceedings.
“I haven’t put a decision out yet, but what I’m going to do is take control of the cameras in the courtroom; I’m not going to ban cameras in the courtroom,” he said at the start of a hearing Friday. “But I need to have more control over what the cameras are doing and what media, or people who are not media, are doing with the filming.”
Judge has taken issue in the past with how the media and other spectators have recorded and used courtroom images – and both the prosecution and defense urged him in court filings to kick cameras out. The move set the table for a constitutional balancing act as the court weighs the public’s First Amendment rights alongside Kohberger’s Sixth Amendment and 14th Amendment rights to a fair trial.
Bryan Kohberger looks on while in the courtroom at the Latah County Courthouse in Moscow, Idaho on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022.(August Frank/Lewiston Tribune)
There is also massive public interest in the case, and taxpayers are footing the bill.
“I know I can only control so much, and that’s why I continue to urge people to be patient and have some dignity and some restraint,” Judge said.
The court has already issued a restrictive gag order on the case, barring lawyers for both sides, investigators and even expert witnesses from discussing details beyond the public record.
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death.(@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
“We don’t want to have a trial in the media or in the public,” Judge said during a June 27 hearing. “We want it to be in the courtroom.”
In that hearing, he told photographers not to focus on the tabletops where lawyers placed their notes and not to focus continually on the defendant. In his latest instructions, he also told photographers not to take photos or video when the court is not on the record.
Prosecutors have also asked to have cameras removed from the Kohberger case – although court filings showed that they were also open to keeping them under certain restrictions, such as removing them during some sensitive witness testimony.
Judge John Judge smiles in court during Bryan Kohberger’s hearing in Moscow, Idaho, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Judge rejected an attempt to overturn the grand jury indictment for the 2022 murders of four college students in their home.(Kai Eiselein/Pool)
Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, 21-year-old best friends, were discovered dead in the same third-story bedroom of their off-campus rental house in Moscow. On the second floor, police found the bodies of housemate Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, both 20.
On a knife sheath under Mogen’s body, investigators allegedly recovered a DNA sample that led them to Kohberger, according to a probable cause affidavit. Authorities have said that at least some of the victims were sleeping at the start of the ambush. A surviving housemate told police that after overhearing the struggle, she saw a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” walk out the back door.
Judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger’s behalf to four charges of first-degree murder and a felony count of burglary at his arraignment in May. He also denied Kohberger’s attempt to dismiss the indictment last week.
An artificial intelligence bot appointed as “principal headteacher” of a British boarding school has been a helpful tool for leadership, the headmaster told Fox News.
The AI bot, Abigail Bailey, was originally designed to appear as a human-looking avatar that would respond with a moving mouth and facial gestures. But after conversations with AI industry leaders about its human-like persona, the bot was renamed “ABI” and the avatar was removed.
Teachers at Cottesmore can use ABI to help create lesson plans(Roland Weihrauch/picture alliance via Getty Images)
“The name of the bot, the first iteration of the bot, was Abigail Bailey, and the title was AI principal headteacher,” Cottesmore School Headmaster Tom Rogerson told Fox News. The AI was meant to “help with leadership and structure thoughts.”
It would also allow teachers to “spend more time with the students,” Rogerson said.
BRITISH HEADMASTER DETAILS HOW AI TEACHING BOT IS HELPING FACULTY:
ABI can give advice on how to best mentor students with learning needs like ADHD, give risk assessments on what could be hazardous to a student’s education and create lesson plans tailored for individual pupils. The school has also been developing additional AI platforms to help create educational material for students.
Cottesmore School was founded in 1894 and has around 200 students enrolled. (Cottesmore School)
“One of the most exciting things that’s happening — and we’re developing it with a developer — is the idea of a bespoke learning program for individuals,” Rogerson said. “So you learn about how each child learns … and you feed it into the AI and it will produce individual booklets or individual resources for the specific child sitting in front of you.”
“So there might be 20 children in the room and there would be 20 different booklets that will be produced, and they will all have the things that they’re interested in,” he continued.
Some teachers in the U.S. have also found AI to be a helpful tool in creating classroom material and providing other instruction. A Harvard University professor, for example, is using AI to help teach students how to code.
As AI in education grows, the tech could eliminate teaching jobs in the future, Peter Schiff, chief economist at Euro Pacific Asset Management, previously told Fox News. Elementary school through high school soon “will be obsolete” because AI education is “better and faster than the current system,” he said.
ABI the educational AI bot functions similar to ChatGPT, Rogerson told Fox News. (Chatgpt)
But Rogerson said the teachers at Cottesmore aren’t going anywhere.
The school’s AI bots are “not there to take away from anybody or to replace anybody,” Rogerson said, adding that the bots “are there to augment the offering.”
To watch the full interview with Rogerson, click here.
Ramiro Vargas contributed to the accompanying video.
Jon Michael Raasch is an associate producer/writer with Fox News Digital Originals.
2023 was anticipated to be the comeback year for Bitcoin. Experts predicted that the King of Crypto would soar to $50,000 or more, but it has only bounced back to about $26,000 since the bear market started in late 2021. Cointelegraph Markets Pro, despite the bearish trends ruling the space, has sent investors more than 150 winning alerts so far this year.
Smart investors are not sitting on the sidelines and waiting for legacy coins to pop. Instead, they rely on Markets Pro — the breakthrough AI-powered crypto trading dashboard — to spot market-moving events before they drive select crypto prices up. As a result, they had the opportunity to jump ahead of gains like 50%, 61%, 80%, and even 88%.
Those gains were spotted by just one of the AI indicators — Newsquakes™ which is considered the fastest and most actionable newsfeed in crypto — built into the dashboard to track crypto market developments known to impact prices and create “flash” breakouts within hours.
PEPE — 50.35% in 5 hours!
On May 5, 2023, the listing of the PEPE token made headlines. The popular memecoin built on the Ethereum blockchain was launched in April 2023 and quickly became one of the most traded cryptocurrencies in the market.
News of the Binance listing hit the market at around 7:00 UTC. By 12:00 UTC, the coin grew 50.35% in just five hours. Most traders missed the move, while those with access to alerts from Markets Pro got the opportunity to take advantage of the surge.
SOMM — 61.88% in 4 hours!
On March 17, 2023, an announcement was made about Sommelier that made investors anticipate a potential price pop. Sommelier is a non-custodial, cross-chain platform for executing intelligent DeFi vaults which automatically invest a user’s funds based on a specific strategy.
Markets Pro picked up on the story and alerted members at 9:00 UTC. By 13:00 UTC, SOMM gained almost 62%.
OAX — 80.53% in less than 72 hours!
OAX is a native Ethereum divisible virtual token. The OAX Foundation, whose aim is to help the DeFi and crypto financial services sector flourish, issues the token.
A breaking news story appeared on the Markets Pro “radar” on March 22, 2023 about OAX.
Near the time of the announcement, the token was trading at almost $0.29. In less than 72 hours, it surged to $0.52.
Investors with access to the Markets Pro alert had a shot at nearly 81% gains.
FLM — 88.15% in 29 short hours!
On June 20, 2023 an unexpected announcement was released about Flamingo Finance. According to sources, Flamingo just entered into a partnership with O3 Labs. Which allowed Flamingo to bridge to 14 EVM chains.
The story broke at 09:00 with FLM priced at a little over 6-cents. Markets Pro picked up the story and sent an alert in real-time to members. A day later, the price surged to just shy of 12-cents, handing investors who had access to the intel a hefty 88.15% gain.
More recently, in the past two months, Markets Pro alerted members to 45.25% gains on LOOM, 44.42% gains on POND, and 41.17% gains on Bitcoin Cash. In the past 7 days members were alerted to unusual market activity on KAS right before it took off 21.27%. In the past 12 days a Markets Pro alert let members know about JOE right before it shot up 39.05%. In the past 13 days, an alert pointed to ARKM right before it surged 21.63%.
That’s not all. Just weeks ago an alert was sent out for VTHO netting 30% returns in just 15 minutes. The next alert could be going out at any time.
Markets Pro helps crypto investors win
In crypto investing, minutes often make a world of difference. Markets Pro strives to deliver actionable news as soon as it becomes available. NewsQuakes™ are sourced from a real-time aggregation engine, collated from over a thousand primary sources every minute and analyzed by an AI algorithm to determine which news stories could impact crypto prices now. These breaking alerts are delivered without human intervention. So, they are often the fastest way for market participants to know about major events in the cryptocurrency space.
Newsquakes™ spotted the market events that led to these and dozens more winning trades. Immediate alerts were then sent to members, so they could jump on the potential breakout tokens they liked. Newsquakes™ is among a handful of advanced AI indicators built into the dashboard to help crypto investors and traders find winning plays.
See how Cointelegraph Markets Pro delivers market-moving data before this information becomes public knowledge.
Cointelegraph is a publisher of financial information, not an investment advisor. We do not provide personalized or individualized investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile investments and carry significant risk including the risk of permanent and total loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Figures and charts are correct at the time of writing or as otherwise specified. Live-tested strategies are not recommendations. Consult your financial adviser before making financial decisions.
All ROIs quoted are accurate as of September 12, 2023…
This Portrait and Model Photography Masterclass is a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the company of renowned photographer Joe McNally. Together, explore Estonia’s stunning island of Saaremaa, a little-known Baltic gem, while working to elevate and expand one’s photographic expertise.
Tallinn, Estonia, November 3, 2023, An incredible opportunity has arisen to be part of a 5-day Photographic Masterclass with none other than famed pro photographer Joe McNally. The venue will be a photogs’ dream location, an enchanted island off the Estonian coast in the Baltic Sea. A select group of participants will have an opportunity to increase their knowledge and experience with industry professionals, and models, using top-of-the-line equipment.
At the end of this 5-day-long masterclass, attendees will leave with the skills and knowledge to take their photography to the next level. They’ll certainly walk away with a deeper understanding of the look and feel of light and how to use it to create the most stunning images. It’s no secret that successfully manipulating light is the key to successful portraits.
Participants will:
Learn to use light to command attention and guide a viewer’s gaze.
Learn how to navigate the practical challenges of environmental portraiture and location lighting.
Discover techniques for diffusing, bouncing, and using both raw and direct light – perfect for boosting the drama and adding dimension to one’s shots.
Take a deep dive into the three main aspects of the successful use of light: color, quality, and direction.
Learn techniques for manipulating available light and using flash to achieve the desired result.
Leave lighting equipment at home and enjoy a generous selection of top-end Profoto gear for the extent of the workshop.
During the workshop, Joe McNally will engage the group with tips, tricks and insights, aiming to help each participant master the art of managing light in portrait photography. In addition to these daily sessions, everyone will enjoy plenty of hands-on shooting experience each day, working with no less than 8 models with professional makeup and hair on-hand. To maximize shooting time and engagement with subjects, the workshop will utilize small photo teams, with a cap of just 14 participants ensuring a personal feel and plenty of individual attention.
Seize the daily opportunity to practice using light to create stunning images.
Soak up the expertise of Joe McNally in daily Q&A sessions, each featuring examples of lighting scenarios and portraiture to engage the group.
Take advantage of a generous amount of shooting time, with at least eight shooting models along with professional makeup and hair.
Enjoy an exciting spread of gorgeous shoot locations, from primeval forests to the historic Kuressaare Castle, and special, exclusive access to Jämaja’s enchanting, countryside church.
Make the most of your newly acquired skills by expanding your portfolio with jaw-dropping photographs of Saaremaa.
A spokesperson explains, “Expert review will also form a key part of the workshop, with class critiques and discussions of both our images and our overall visions and goals as photographers. Such critiques are integral to the workshop as they’re among the best ways to advance as photographers. By participating in these, you’ll develop a clear direction for your photographic journey, ultimately leading to greater success and achievement in your field.”
Along with Joe’s attention, students will have the exceptional eye of Pasi Hakala, a highly talented, Finland-based professional photographer who will also assist throughout the workshop. In Joe’s own words, Hakala is a “versatile,” “veteran storyteller” as well as “a constant and excellent teacher.”
In the evenings, models may also be available for independent shoots, in which participants can garner further practice with various lighting setups. Though outside the workshop’s official program, this is certainly an opportunity to expand one’s portfolio.
Due to the intimate nature of this workshop and to ensure Joe has enough time with each individual participant, spaces are limited to 14. Spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so we recommend reserving now to avoid disappointment.
About Joe McNally:
Joe McNally is a renowned professional photographer known for his exceptional versatility and technical expertise. He has worked on a wide range of projects and is highly respected in the industry.
In other words, Joe McNally is known as the quintessential “Pro’s-Pro” who is an extremely versatile and deeply experienced assignment photographer. He has photographed FIVE cover stories for National Geographic (amongst an overall FIFTEEN coverages), and SEVEN covers of LIFE Magazine. And has worked in over 70 countries.
He is known for his ability to photograph simple assignments with intimacy and grace, as well as for his expertise in handling large-scale productions with numerous moving parts.
Joe McNally has a reputation for getting his camera into unique and challenging locations, including climbing the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Empire State Building multiple times.
Pittsburgh Steelers star linebacker T.J. Watt continues to prove himself as one of most consistent players on the field.
During Thursday night’s narrow victory over the Tennessee Titans, he also proved his grit when he registered his 87th career sack – all without his helmet on.
T.J. Watt, #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers, celebrates a sack in the first quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Acrisure Stadium on November 2, 2023, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
“I felt like he showed some toughness tonight,” Watt said of rookie quarterback Will Levis.
“He took some hits, was able to deliver some good passes under pressure, and we were able to just continue to kind of keep him under duress and be able to have him throw that pick at the end, that was huge.”
One of those hits came in late in the first quarter when Watt broke free from Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, who appeared to grab onto Watt’s face mask, resulting in Watt’s helmet being ripped off.
T.J. Watt, #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers, sacks Will Levis, #8 of the Tennessee Titans, in the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium on November 2, 2023, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
The incident didn’t stop Watt from charging towards Levitt, who was already stumbling to stay up on his feet.
It was sack number 9.5 of the season for Watt and the 87th of his career. He is just one sack away from topping brother J.J. Watt for most sacks within their first 100 games.
“T.J. is gonna break all my records,” J.J said during the broadcast before Thursday night’s game. “He’s going to break every single one, it’s just a matter of when and I’m very happy for him”
Kenny Pickett, #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers, passes the ball in the first half against the Tennessee Titans at Acrisure Stadium on November 2, 2023, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.(Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
Kenny Pickett’s three-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson with 4:02 remaining gave the Steelers the 20-16 win, marking their third victory in four games.
Victor Wembanyama entered the NBA as the most-hyped prospect since LeBron James.
The French phenom, standing at 7 feet, 4 inches, was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2023 NBA Draft and was billed as the next great big man to play for the organization.
Victor Wembanyama, #1 of the San Antonio Spurs, walks off the court following the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on Nov. 2, 2023 in Phoenix. The Spurs defeated the Suns 132-121.(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Spurs selected David Robinson first overall in 1987 before taking Tim Duncan in 1997, with both players going on to have Hall of Fame careers as San Antonio became the envy of the NBA.
The same result, fair or not, is expected for Wembanyama.
He is off to a nice start just five games into his NBA career.
Wembanyama had 38 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks Thursday night in a 132-121 win over Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns.
The 19-year-old rookie shot 15 of 26 from the field and scored 10 of San Antonio’s final 16 points as the Spurs beat the Suns for the second straight game.
Victor Wembanyama, #1 of the San Antonio Spurs, handles the ball against Kevin Durant, #35 of the Phoenix Suns, during the second half of the NBA game at Footprint Center on Nov. 2, 2023 in Phoenix. The Spurs defeated the Suns 132-121.(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“He’s a multi-faceted player — he’ll pass to the open guy,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said of Wembanyama. “He’s got confidence in himself. He made some plays that were unbelievable. That combination is pretty good.”
The 38 points by Wembanyama ties him for the third-most points as a San Antonio rookie, behind Hall of Famer David Robinson, who scored 41 and 39 points in his rookie season, according to ESPN.
“Just trying to figure out what he is because we have never seen him before,” Suns star Devin Booker said, per ESPN. “We got him early in the season, and hopefully next time that we play him we can make some adjustments to make it tougher on him. But he has an advantage being 7-4 and being able to shoot over everybody. Just finding different ways to make it tough on him.”
San Antonio jumped out to a 27-point lead in the first half before the Suns clawed back to tie the game 116-116 late in the fourth quarter.
Victor Wembanyama, #1 of the San Antonio Spurs, defends Devin Booker, #1 of the Phoenix Suns, during the game on Nov. 2, 2023 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.(Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images)
Wembanyama responded with 10 of San Antonio’s next 12 points as the Spurs moved to 3-2 on the year.
“I’d say it’s that a 20-point lead is nothing,” Wembanyama said. “It works both ways. It’s also something we’ve seen in FIBA when we play team U.S. or scout U.S. You could be up 15 and in a blink you’ll be down one and you don’t know what happened because they ran the fastbreak like crazy and got some defensive stops.
The Beatles have released what they’re calling their “last song” featuring vocal tracks of the late John Lennon developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) on Nov. 2.
“Now and Then” was released by Universal Music Group (UMG), one of the world’s leading music companies, and was accompanied by a short documentary detailing how they came to create the track using new technologies
The video explains how director Peter Jackson developed software while working on his comprehensive Beatles documentary “Get Back” that allowed the team to uncouple John’s vocals from his piano part in the original cassette tape recording of “Now and Then” from the late 1970s that Lennon initially made as a demo.
“[We developed] a technology which allows us to take any soundtrack and split all the different components into separate tracks based on machine learning.”
In a separate interview, the track’s co-producer Giles Martin explained that AI can be taught to recognize voices.
“So if you and I have a conversation and we’re in a crowded room and there’s a piano playing in the background, we can teach the AI what the sound of your voice, the sound of my voice, and it can extract those voices.”
Paul McCartney, one of the four original Beatles members, said after they heard of Jackson’s new technology they “better send John’s voice to them off the original cassette.”
Thus the new track got off the ground with a little help from AI. John Lennon’s son Sean Ono Lennon commented in the video that his dad “would’ve loved that because he was never shy to experiment with recording technology.”
“To still be working on Beatles music in 2023… wow. We’re actually messing around with state-of-the-art technology, which is something the Beatles would’ve been very interested in.”
Along with John Lennon, the track features the two remaining members of the Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and the late George Harrison.
On McCartney’s post, fans have called the new track “beautiful” and a “work of art and perfect way to end the discography.” One fan even said she hopes AI will help make “Beatles live hologram concert on stage” for those who missed opportunities to catch them live.
However, there has already been mumbling from others about the use of AI and the “fake” Beatles song.
In a recent survey of musicians conducted by Pirate music studios, 53% of respondents said they have “concerns about how their audience might perceive music created with the assistance of AI.”
The survey also inquired why musicians were reluctant to use AI, with 58% reporting that “loss of authenticity” was the primary concern.