The Cleveland Sirens were officially announced as the newest WNBA team on Tuesday. The new franchise will begin play in 2028.
The new name and logo were revealed during a press event this morning. The name was teased with the slogan "hear the call" and the logo was discovered on the team's website a few minutes before the big reveal. It seems that Cleveland has landed on a name that is both classic and culturally relevant.
The mythical creatures are having a moment thanks to The Odyssey and now they're part of a league experiencing rising popularity and attention. Now they just have to wait two years to start playing basketball. The team will be put together ahead of the 2028 season, starting with an expansion draft.
One of the breakout memes of the summer features Matt Damon screaming. That image comes from Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey." In the scene where Damon is screaming, Odysseus is tied to the mast of his ship hearing the siren song.
Considering the source material for that movie is over 2,000 years old, sirens aren't exactly new. There are siren references in the Harry Potter series. Some of the outcasts in Netflix's "Wednesday" are sirens. There are even sirens in "The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants."

#name #damon #logo #years

Between them, Albany Firebirds quarterbacks Sam Castronova and Tyler Kulka put up numbers this season that leave every other passing attack in Arena Football One in the dust.
Castronova and Kulka each started six of Albany's 12 regular-season games, combining for 3,199 yards and 76 touchdowns through the air against just seven combined interceptions. But, when it came to selecting his starting quarterback for the AF1 playoffs, Albany head coach Damon Ware knew he had to lean on experience.
That means Castronova, who won championships in Albany with the defunct Empire in 2022 and the undefeated Firebirds in 2025, will start Saturday's 4 p.m. semifinal game against the Minnesota Monsters at MVP Arena.
"Sam's at the top of his game, so Sam gets the slight nod," Ware said. "He's been there, done that. He's just such a phenomenal player."
Castronova hasn't played since a June 20 loss to the Nashville Kats, as he was away from the team due to personal reasons for the final two games of the regular season and Albany - which went 9-3 during the regular season - has also had three bye weeks during that time.

#season #firebirds #games #game

Ben Affleck has joined the list of celebrity winners of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
The Argo star took home the top prize with help from Jeopardy! champion Jamie Ding.
Affleck conquered the $1 million question almost exactly one year after his Good Will Hunting co-star and best friend Matt Damon did the same. Damon was similarly paired with Jeopardy! wiz and current host Ken Jennings, who helped him reach the top prize for charity.
The money from Affleck and Ding's victory will go toward Affleck's Eastern Congo Initiative, which is dedicated to supporting the people living in the African region.
In the final question, Affleck and Ding had to guess which turkeys were not pardoned by a US president: Peanut ****** er & Jelly; Tater & Tot; Mac & Cheese; or Spaghetti & Meatball. The pair used their lifeline to ask host Jimmy Kimmel, who guessed the answer as Spaghetti & Meatball.
"I would bet on Jimmy," Affleck agreed. "I would go for it."

#affleck #spaghetti #star #prize

Ben Affleck's nonprofit Eastern Congo Initiative was the real winner during the two-part conclusion of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
On Wednesday, the 2x Oscar winner teamed up with Jeopardy champ Jamie Ding to bring the ABC game show's big prize home to his charity, the first U.S.-based advocacy and grant-making organization dedicated to supporting the people of eastern Congo.
More from Deadline
'The Office' Stars Win 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' For Planned Parenthood & Philabundance
Matt Damon Spars With Jimmy Kimmel On 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'

#congo #winner #initiative #jamie

Red Sox 2004 Hero Picked for Yankees' Old-Timers Game originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
There are very few players in MLB history with crossover legacies with both the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.
Babe Ruth, of course, is the most famous.
One of the others, though, is Johnny Damon.
Damon was a World Series champion with the Red Sox on their curse-breaking 2004 team.

#yankees #nesn #source

Why Marlins manager Clayton McCullough compared team's 12-game losing streak to 'The Odyssey' originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Marlins were one of the biggest surprises in baseball, until they weren't.
Miami went from 10 games under .500 and in playoff position to under .500 in an instant, losing 12 consecutive games after a dominant June. For manager Clayton McCullough, the journey was a reflection of one taken by Matt Damon.
McCullough compared his experience during the team's losing streak to that of Odysseus in "The Odyssey," taking a lighthearted approach before the Marlins snapped the skid with a comeback win over the Phillies on Monday.
Here's a look at why McCullough compared the Marlins' losing streak to "The Odyssey."

#ODYSSEY

No matter where they go, the Rams have always found success:
The Cleveland Rams won the NFL Championship in 1945, the St Louis Rams won the 1999 championship in Super Bowl **** IV, and the Los Angeles Rams won the 2021 championship in Super Bowl LVI.
No other franchise has ever won a championship in three different cities. How did the Rams go there and get here?
The Cleveland Rams were founded in 1936 by attorney and businessman Homer H. Marshman and former Ohio State player-coach Damon “Buzz” Wetzel as part of the second American Football League and joined the NFL in 1937.
Nine years later, on December 16th, the Rams defeated the Washington Redskins 15-14 while playing in front of the home crowd. A temperature of −8 °F led to a low-scoring game, and a play that prompted a significant rule change provided the margin of victory.

#Rams #super

Jennifer Garner got refreshingly candid about her decades in the public eye, reflecting on her relationship with the paparazzi at the height of her marriage with ex Ben Affleck and the "Stockholm syndrome thing" she has with one longstanding photographer.
"It was totally ludicrous," Garner told Evan Ross Katz on Netflix's "Shut Up Evan!" podcast Tuesday. The actress and producer, who sat with the talk series in promotion of Peacock's "The Five Star Weekend," admitted that she knows complaining about fame is a privileged problem to have — "It felt like poor little me, you know, my poor little kids who have everything in the world." But she emphasized that some situations saw the paparazzi being "a danger to everyone around us."
"If I went through a yellow light, 15 cars would go through the red behind me. They would drive up onto people's lawns, even on a hillside," she recounted. Garner was even asked to remove their children from the local kids' soccer league because too many photographers would follow her and her family to the games.
"It wasn't just about us; it was just an industry that had gotten out of control," Garner said.
"So, as much as I recognize that, you know, we are privileged and lucky and grateful for all that that has afforded us and all that that's made available, at the same time, it just got silly, and kids were at the center of it," she continued. "I mean, I lived on the street with a lot of much more famous and successful people than I, but they followed me because I had the kids. They wouldn't follow Ben. They wouldn't follow Matt Damon. They wouldn't. They were like, 'There's the chick with the kids.' That's when you know it's just it's not right."

#kids #privileged #poor

Anne Hathaway and her "The Odyssey" co-stars have been making the rounds to promote the epic film, but one recent interview turned into an unexpectedly emotional moment. During the actress' appearance on "The View," Hathaway fought back tears after Whoopi Goldberg shared a few heartfelt words, leaving the Oscar-winning actress visibly moved.
On the July 20 episode of "The View," Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, and director Christopher Nolan sat down with the hosts to talk about their recently released film. Everyone on the panel had high praise for "The Odyssey" and urged the audience to see the movie.
Toward the end of the segment, Whoopi Goldberg turned to each of the guests and expressed her appreciation of their craft. Hathaway was brought to tears as she turned to her, saying, "Anne Hathaway, it's been wonderful watching you. It's been wonderful watching you grow up. And you have just blossomed, turned into this fabulous actress," she continued.
Hathaway, visibly emotional, covered part of her face and said, "No, don't." Goldberg insisted that she needed to hear it. "Girl, yes! Yes! You need to know. You need to know… It's something you need to know and remember," the host sincerely said.
"I don't know what to say. Thank you. You know how I feel about you," Hathaway responded with glassy eyes.

Fox announcer John Strong badly booted a celebrity spotting during the World Cup final on Sunday.
As Argentina battled Spain in the latter's eventual 1-0 victory, the camera focused on actor Matt Damon watching the match with his Argentine wife, Luciana Barroso Damon.
Sports: Fox Sports ***** yst Cooks Up Wild World Cup Conspiracy Theory About Red Card On U.S. Team
"Brad Pitt also among the fans here," Strong said with authority.
Right movie-star milieu. Wrong dude.

Actor Ben Affleck's net worth has taken a massive leap following the blockbuster sale of his stealth AI startup, InterPositive, to streaming giant Netflix. The recent regulatory filing revealing a $587 million purchase price has officially rewritten the actor-director's financial trajectory, transforming him from an A-list movie star into a top-tier tech founder. Prior to the landmark March 2026 acquisition, industry trackers valued Affleck's wealth around $150 million to $200 million. Now, liquidating his stake in one of Netflix's largest acquisitions to date has comfortably catapulted his net worth past the $300 million mark, setting a new blueprint for celebrity wealth in the digital age.
Although he is best known for his movies, Affleck significantly increased his net worth after selling his AI startup, InterPositive, to Netflix. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the actor's net worth is estimated to be around $300 million. That's a big jump compared to his frequent collaborator Matt Damon, whose net worth is only estimated to be around $170 million.
So where did that large number come from? Over the decades, the actor has earned hundreds of millions of dollars in film salaries and backend bonuses. In addition to his roles in front of the camera, he has earned millions as a director and producer. However, it's the March 2026 sale of his stealth AI filmmaking company, InterPositive, to Netflix that has really boosted his net worth.
On Friday, July 17, the streamer disclosed that it paid $587 million for InterPositive in cash. The disclosure was released in the company's Form 10-Q. The filing states, "In March 2026, the Company completed an acquisition which was accounted for as a business combination for a total purchase price of approximately $587 million, consisting of cash consideration," as published in The Hollywood Reporter.
Although the filing didn't name InterPositive, Netflix announced the deal on March 5. Even though the sale is relatively recent, InterPositive is not a new company. It was created in 2022 and began exploring the AI ***** e, with an emphasis on altering a production's visual effects without inhibiting the creative aspects of filmmaking.

Matt Damon reflects on life now and his latest movie, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, in his PEOPLE cover story
Upon turning 50, he reflects, "I really started feeling like time is the most precious commodity there is"
Being "intentional" about how he spends his time, the dad of four says, involves his family, work and nonprofit Water.org
Matt Damon is reflecting on his priorities amid one of the most notable moments in his career.
The 55-year-old star of The Odyssey (in theaters now), Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek poem, says in his PEOPLE cover story interview that his priorities have sharpened upon celebrating a milestone birthday.

Tom Holland made an endearing comment on Zendaya during The Odyssey Press Tour.
During a recent interview alongside his fellow castmates, Robert Pattinson, Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway, the 30-year-old actor addressed a theory about Homer's epic and the relationship between Odyssus and his wife Athena, played by Zendaya.
"'Did Athena love Odysseus romantically?'" Tom read aloud in a Wired interview. Answering the fan question swiftly, he said, "No, because she's married to me."
Matt jokingly responded, "Yep, good answer."
The playfulness continued later on once Robert asked the group, "'What does Athena teach Telemachus?'"

NEW YORK – Luke Pettitte's pinstriped bloodlines suggest that his path to Yankee Stadium might be as a pitcher.
Yet, the son of Yankees' lefty legend Andy Pettitte possesses "big power'' as a right-handed hitter.
An eighth-round selection by the Yankees in this past weekend's MLB Draft, Luke Pettitte was "one of the bigger power bats in this draft,'' said Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer.
Yankees scouts liked Pettitte as a right-handed pitcher at Dallas Baptist, but when he underwent Tommy John surgery last year, "we followed him as a hitter.''
In 42 games as a designated hitter for Dallas Baptist this spring, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Pettitte posted a 1.096 OPS, and a .337 batting average, with 16 home runs.

Good morning Gang Green Nation! With training camp now just two weeks away the dead period in the offseason grows short. Other than some Geno Smith stories the Jets seem to have avoided too much drama in the summer thus far. Let’s hope that continues and we go into the season with mostly on field concerns.
Here are your links to your New York Jets this glorious Monday in July.
Geoffrey A Knox – 5 bold predictions for the New York Jets’ 2026 NFL season
Geoffrey A Knox – Damon Harrison makes compelling case for more recognition
Geoffrey A Knox – How the Jets quietly secured most of their offensive future

ALBANY - If the Albany Firebirds want to repeat as Arena Football One champions, they'll probably have to go on the road to do it.
The Firebirds entered Saturday's regular-season finale against the Nashville Kats at MVP Arena with a chance to take the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage for the postseason away from Nashville. Instead, while the Firebirds came back from an early 19-point deficit to tie the game on multiple occasions in the second half, the Kats were able to scratch out a 57-54 victory to lock up the top seed.
In order to earn the No. 1 seed, Albany (9-3) would have needed to win by 10 or more points to win a head-to-head point differential tiebreaker over Nashville (11-1).
Firebirds coach Damon Ware said that, while he was hopeful his team could turn the tables on Nashville and get the top seed, he's satisfied with being locked into the No. 2 seed and getting two straight bye weeks for his injury-riddled team to get ready for the playoffs.

In just four seasons, Brent Venables has transformed the Oklahoma Sooners from the nation's No. 122 defense into the No. 6 unit in college football. Oklahoma must replace several key contributors from last season, including EDGE R Mason Thomas, defensive tackles Gracen Halton and Damonic Williams, Cheetah Kendal Daniels and safety Robert Spears-Jennings.
Despite those departures, there is still an expectation inside the program that the defense will regress in 2026. Instead, Oklahoma believes it has the talent to become the nation's top defense. That confidence stems from Venables' long track record of building elite defenses throughout his coaching career.
On3's J.D. PicKell said on "The Hard Count" that many inside the program believe this could be the best defense of the Venables era.
"They think this might be their best 11 they've had under Venables on that side of the football," PicKell said. "You never worry about scheme with Venables."
Replacing veterans such as Thomas and Halton won't be easy, but Oklahoma believes its overall talent level is stronger than ever. A big part of that is who the Sooners return on that side of the ball. Oklahoma returns 55% of its production on that side of the ball, including stars like David Stone, Jayden Jackson, Taylor Wein, Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke.

Matt Damon shares four daughters with his wife, Luciana
Luciana had a daughter, Alexia, from a previous relationship when the couple began dating
The couple went on to welcome three daughters, Isabella, Gia and Stella
Matt Damon is a proud girl dad to Alexia, Isabella, Gia and Stella.
The Odyssey actor first crossed paths with his now-wife, Luciana Damon, while she was bartending in Miami Beach and he was in town filming Stuck on You. When they met, Luciana had one daughter, Alexia, who was 4 at the time.

The backdrop is dramatic, and the timing divine. As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, a host of veterans will battle it out on Golf Channel as part of the inaugural Liberty Cup.
The event, held at Liberty National Golf Club on July 4, will feature some of the best veteran golfers from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, coordinated through the Veteran Golf ***** ociation.
Among the special guests who took part in the event are Urban Meyer, John Smoltz, Gary Sheffield, Josh Donaldson, Ron Harper and John Starks.
The taped event will receive national attention with a two-hour Golf Channel special airing from 3-5 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 4. Featuring reporting and storytelling from Brandel Chamblee, Damon Hack and Jimmy Roberts, the broadcast will go beyond the competition itself, spotlighting the veterans who earned their place in the field and showcasing how the VGA uses golf to enrich the lives of veterans and their families.
The Veteran Golfers ***** ociation has grown into the nation’s largest competitive golf community for veterans and their families, serving more than 46,000 members across the country. Through more than 2,500 local tournaments each year, as well as regional championships and national events, the nonprofit organization provides opportunities for competition, camaraderie and connection, bringing together veterans of all eras and branches through a shared passion for golf.

Florida State's offense will feature one of the ACC's most highly regarded professional prospects in 2026. After a breakout season at Florida State, Seminoles wide receiver Duce Robinson is being viewed as one of the ACC’s top future NFL players. Lindy’s Sports Annual ranked Robinson as the No. 2 NFL talent in the conference, behind only Miami edge rusher Damon Wilson II.
The ranking is another sign of how quickly Robinson changed his profile in Tallahassee. In 2025, he earned first-team All-ACC honors and was named a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist after finishing with 56 receptions for 1,081 yards and six touchdowns in his first season as a Seminole.
Lindy’s described Robinson as a “tall, rangy target with above-average speed,” a fitting summary for a 6-foot-6 receiver who gives Florida State one of the most difficult matchups in the conference.
Robinson’s return gives the Seminoles a true No. 1 option in the passing game and one of the ACC’s most intriguing draft prospects. With his size, catch radius and production already on display, he enters the season positioned as one of the central pieces of Florida State’s offense.
The ranking also reflects Robinson's growing NFL draft stock. Scouts have long been intrigued by his frame and athletic profile, traits that have become increasingly coveted at the professional level. If Robinson can translate those physical tools into consistent production during his first season in Tallahassee, he could position himself among the top receivers available in the 2027 NFL Draft.

The Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables are tasked with replacing two key contributors on the defensive line . Gracen Halton and Damonic Williams are both in the NFL now, with Halton being selected by the San Francisco 49ers and Williams signing with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent. But the Sooners may have one of the best in the nation in defensive tackle David Stone .
While those two are big losses, they also give more opportunities for guys like David Stone and Jayden Jackson. Stone was a five-star in the 2024 recruiting class, but had a limited impact as a freshman, finishing with six tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack. That led him to enter the transfer portal before the 2025 season, then decide to stay in Norman .
In his sophomore season, Stone showed significant development as part of the interior rotation, recording 42 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. He emerged as a disruptive presence inside, consistently collapsing pockets and forcing offensive adjustments.
College football ******* yst David Pollack sees a high ceiling for Stone.
"You start with a star in the middle with David Stone," Pollack said on 'See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack.' "Stone is an animal. He is a five-star kid... last year, you saw, man, he was really good and now he's just scratching the surface. He could be one of the best defensive tackles in the country."

The New York Giants had two franchise greats named to the All-PFF Team.
Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke named former Giants nose tackles Dexter Lawrence and Damon Harrison to the All-PFF team, which recognizes the best players to play at each position in the NFL in the PFF era since 2006.
Lawrence earned first-team honors, and Harrison received second-team honors.
Dexter Lawrence II and Damon Harrison are the two players with overall PFF grades above a 92.0 on over 1,000 snaps while lined up at nose tackle. They have identical 92.4 grades and have played over 2,000 snaps at nose tackle.
The two reached that grade in different ways. Nose tackles don't typically have much success as a pass-rusher, but Lawrence has been excellent. He boasts a 15.5% pass-rush win rate while lined up at nose tackle, and the 10 other players with over 1,000 nose tackle snaps range from 2.6%-8.5%. Lawrence was also very good against the run, and his well-rounded play gives him the top spot.

1996 Formula 1 champion Damon Hill has claimed that Ferrari would have been "silly" to ignore Lewis Hamilton's feedback after making such a significant financial investment in the seven-time champion.
Speaking on the BBC's Chequered Flag podcast following Hamilton's emotional victory for the Maranello outfit at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, Hill outlined how the Briton has reshaped the team's machinery to suit his driving style.
The victory marked the end of a challenging period for Hamilton, who had struggled with the ground effect era cars in his final years at Mercedes.
"We've been through the emotion as we always do with Lewis of the pain of Abu Dhabi and then also not having a competitive car at Mercedes and it being very difficult for him to seem to recapture his form, and last year where he hit the depths of despair," Hill said.
"And now he's bounced back, and he's delivered and he's got a car. He's made Ferrari listen to him is what it seems to me. He's made them listen, 'I need this from the car.'"

Swell 2026 runs in New York City from October 27 to 29 and is Ripple's biggest event yet. It's the first to merge Swell with the XRPL Apex developer conference, with more than 1,500 attendees, 75-plus speakers, and 50-plus sessions across three stages.
The stage leans toward finance and utility, featuring Matt Damon (co-founder of Water.org, which uses Ripple's payment network and RLUSD), Tom Farley, Brad Garlinghouse, Monica Long, and David Schwartz, with sessions built around XRP Utility, Payments, Tokenization, and the RLUSD stablecoin.
Swell has historically not moved the XRP price, so the thing worth watching is whether Ripple announces verifiable commitments, like a named bank integrating its tech or a tokenization pilot with a disclosed figure, rather than vague intent.
Don't wait: the ***** yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
Ripple's flagship event is heading back to New York, and this year's is the biggest the company has ever staged. Swell runs from October 27 to 29, and it looks different from any event that came before.

Matt Damon has played an astronaut, a spy and a master thief. But rapper? That's a new one.
The Oscar winner recently stepped into the recording booth as "the Nomad" — that's "Damon" spelled backward, in case you were wondering — for Water.org's new Get Blue initiative, a campaign designed to raise awareness about the global water crisis through everyday purchases, exclusive products and brand partnerships.
"It's a constant struggle, big big trouble, let's fix it on the double," he raps in the song. (Don't believe me? Here you go.)
When I tell Damon I did not have "Matt Damon, hip-hop artist" on my 2026 bingo card, he laughs: "You can take it off your 2027 bingo card."
The rap may be the attention-grabbing part, but the mission behind it has been part of Damon's life for nearly two decades. An estimated 1 in 4 people worldwide lack access to safe water. Through the global nonprofit, cofounders Damon and engineer Gary White have helped more than 90 million people gain access to safe water or sanitation.

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Matt Damon and Emily Blunt have worked together multiple times, having starred in The Adjustment Bureau and been members of the stacked cast of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. But, outside of being co-stars, they also happen to be neighbors! While it's already public knowledge that the two stars live a few floors apart, I just learned that Damon's spot really is the place to be.
Emily Blunt recently appeared on Today and, during her appearance, she couldn't help but laugh when she watched a video of Matt Damon asking the British actress who her favorite co-star is who lives in the apartment above her. Gee, who could he be referring to? The Devil Wears Prada actress talked about one benefit of having Damon as her neighbor and, honestly, I'd be taking advantage of this perk as well if I were able:
[Matt] loves that we're below him. I think he prefers that. He's actually a few floors up. He's really above us. He's got the roof. But, he does let me take my dogs up to pee.
Good neighbors are definitely important, and I'd say Damon falls into that category. It's generous of him to allow access to just allow any kind of access to his private roof, let alone to allow his pal's dog to pee. This truly speaks volumes about how comfortable and trusting Damon and Blunt's friendship is.

Matt Damon visited Eastwood Ranch Foundation to go on a date with Betsy, a pit bull waiting over 1.5 years for adoption
The visit supports California Adopt-A-Pet Day, which aims to address the state's pet overpopulation crisis
Damon met several dogs, while the shelter has a variety of pets available to take home during its community adoption event
Matt Damon just scored the ultimate "dream date" — with permission from his wife, of course.
The Odyssey star, 55, paid a visit to Eastwood Ranch Foundation's Animal Rescue and Adoption Facility in Agoura Hills, Calif., where he spent the afternoon with a few dogs looking for new homes, including one particular cutie: Betsy, a pit bull who has been waiting to be adopted for nearly two years.

Rosemary Enright, Labor & Employment Practice Group leader, has been named to Buffalo Business First’s Power 200 Women list for 2025. #Congratulations , Rosemary! Click here to read more: https://barclaydamon.com/n...
#news #LaborAndEmployment #Attorney #WomenInLaw #Power200

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