*By Max Godnick*
Not everyone is rooting for the Golden State Warriors to continue their dominance after announcing plans to sign a fifth All-Star in Demarcus Cousins.
And those naysayers can now add the sport's most iconic, bellowing voice to its chorus of criticism.
"I think it's a little bit broken," said Shaquille O'Neal about the state of the NBA in an interview with Cheddar on Friday.
The four-time NBA champion and and 15-time All-Star is no stranger to success on the league's biggest stage. During his 19-year career, he played alongside current and future Hall of Famers including Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade. But none of his teams started five of the best players in the league or required the same free-agency acrobatics necessary to construct the Oakland behemoth.
And the unprecedented consolidation of elite talent has [some](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-golden-state-warriors-have-broken-the-nba-1530619138) sounding the alarm about the death of the league's competitive balance.
"I just miss the days where guys would compete against each other," O'Neal said, looking back on the storied, and largely equal, rivalries between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and IsiahThomas, and Shaq's own Lakers and Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs.
The NBA has seen a social-media-driven renaissance over the past decade. It leads the other major American sports leagues in Twitter and Instagram followers and has spawned a digital ecosystem of memes, hot takes, jokes, and real-time commentary that has allowed its popularity to reach new heights.
O'Neal said the digital landscape created a win-now atmosphere that's fueled the rise of "superteams" like the Warriors.
"There's so much pressure on these kids to win," he said, adding, "everybody wants to be a winner, so a lot of these guys are taking the easy route just to get a championship."
It's hard to say LeBron James is taking shortcuts on his path to winning an elusive fourth title. The superstar just announced he'll sign with the Los Angeles Lakers for a four-year, $154 million contract. But unlike his stints in Miami or Cleveland, James won't be immediately joined by a fellow All-Star on his new team.
"LeBron is going to need a lot more help if he wants to compete with the Golden State Warriors," said O'Neal.
The 'Inside the NBA' analyst played for the Lakers from 1996 to 2004, winning three championships along the way. He said he thinks James "will do great" on the team, but thinks management should find a way to trade for disgruntled San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard if they hope to put up a fight against the Warriors - a group Shaq called, "the most talented team in NBA history."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-shaq-thinks-the-nba-is-broken)
Emmanuel Acho joined Cheddar News to talk about his new book "Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits." The former NFL player, current broadcaster, and host is on a mission to help people see beyond the goals that they have set for themselves. “People say 'what is being illogical?'" he said. "To me, it's believing it is so even when it's not so — so that it can be so."
Adidas is now the first major sports brand to create a program for paying college athletes. The new "name, image and likeness" network will allow more than 50,000 students across NCAA Division 1 schools to become paid spokespeople for the brand. Thilo Kunkel, Associate Professor and Director of Sport Industry Research Center at Temple University, tells us why this new program is only the beginning of an exciting time for student athletes.
Sports betting has boomed over the past year; but at the same time, sports betting stocks have not been so hot. Now, some sports betting brands are starting to rethink how to spend their money, especially when it comes to ads. It will come after online sports betting brands spent more than $320 million on advertising in 2021, up 38% from 2020, per MediaRadar. Brendan Coffey, sports finance reporter for Sportico, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Rowing-machine maker, Hydrow, raised $55 million in Series D funding round, led by Constitution Capital. Hyrdow offers a connected rowing machine that costs $2,495. The company's funding round comes as the at-home fitness industry is facing some challenges, due to many consumers returning to gyms after working out at home during the pandemic. Bruce Smith, founder & CEO of Hydrow, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
WNBA star Sue Bird is back with the Seattle Storm after announcing her retirement last year and spoke to Cheddar about taking a pay cut to help her team win, issues around gender equity in sports, and partnering with beer brand Corona on sweepstakes that will allow fans to win a limited edition Corona fridge with space to display sneakers. "I love whenever you can partner with a company that you A) enjoy," she said. "It's not that ridiculous to see me with a Corona in my hand. You're not supposed to say that as an athlete, but it's true."
Turkish media reports say a second superyacht belonging to Chelsea soccer club owner and sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has docked in a resort in southwestern Turkey.
Ben Strauss, sports and media reporter at the Washington Post, joins Cheddar News to recap round two of the NCAA Men's Tournament and what we can expect heading into the Sweet 16.
March Madness kicked off this month as more and more states are legalizing sports betting — and some major upsets almost immediately busting many a bracket. Jay Croucher, the director of trading at the sportsbook PointsBet, joined Cheddar News to talk about the tournament and the current top picks. "There's not too much difference in terms of the busiest days of the year between the Super Bowl and the first day of March Madness," he said.
The NCAA tournament kicks off this week, so it's about that time to finalize your march madness brackets if you haven't already, and decide where to call the upsets. Iain MacMillan, senior editor at MacMillan, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
March Nadness is officially underway, and betting on this year's tournament has the potential to reach record levels. About 45 million Americans are expected to wager a total of $3.1 billion on just the men's tournament alone, according to a new survey from the American Gaming Association. Prince Grimes, Senior Writer for USA Today's sports betting media property, BetFTW, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss how betting could play into this year's tournament and other storylines surrounding March Madness.
