SHAQUILLE O’Neal and Stephen A. Smith didn’t cover themselves in glory during a live TV challenge.
And fans predicted the rival basketball analysts could end up being “meme of the year.”
ESPN personality Smith joined the Inside the NBA crew on TNT Sports for a special showdown on Saturday.
Both networks were in Las Vegas, Nevada to broadcast the semifinals of the NBA Cup.
But before the action at T-Mobile Arena, Smith appeared on the TNT pregame show.
He was due to take on TNT star Kenny Smith in a free-throw competition before the first semifinal.
The contest took place in the plaza outside the arena in front of a live audience.
And Smith showed his prowess in beating the former NBA player over five free-throws.
Smith and Shaq then went head to head in a 3-point contest.
But both of them struggled to even hit the rim or backboard in a woeful display of shooting.
Smith ended up taking the honors on the rival show thanks to his free-throw shooting.
He was able to at least make a 3-pointer after a number of attempts.
Shaq’s co stars Smith, Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson all struggled as well.
One fan said the show will be, “meme of the year.”
Another wrote, “They trying to miss?”
While a third posted, “The barrage of air balls had me weak.”
TNT broadcast the first semifinal of the NBA Cup Saturday afternoon.
The NBA Cup returned for a second season this year with the finals once again set to take place in Las Vegas.
The 30 teams were split into six groups of five teams each with games taking place on Tuesdays and Fridays from November 12 to December 3.
The six group winners and two best wild cards advance to a quarterfinals stage on December 10 and 11.
And the final four head to Las Vegas for the semifinals on December 14 and the final on December 17.
All games count towards the team’s regular-season record, apart from the championship game.
The Eastern Conference showdown between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks tipped off at 4.30 pm ET.
And ESPN took over for the later semifinal.
They showed the Houston Rockets take on Western Conference rivals the Oklahoma City Thunder.
TNT is in the last year of it’s NBA rights deal having lost out to Amazon Prime.
Inside The NBA struck a deal to save the show and be licensed to ESPN from next season.
The NBA Cup is in it’s second season and the final will be played Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
The championship game is live on ABC from 8.30 pm ET on Tuesday.
LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers to glory in the inaugural tournament last season.
RUSSIAN troops withdraw from Syria yesterday — following the toppling of the regime of Vladimir Putin’s ally Bashar al-Assad.
Moscow ordered military units out from posts in the Alawite Mountains but reportedly plans to keep an airbase and naval facility manned.
Military sources said equipment and senior Syrian officers were also being evacuated.
Footage from Syria shows hordes of Putin’s troops fleeing the country in military trucks after a decade of bloodshed.
And satellite pics from a Russian airbase on the west coast reveals how Vlad’s men have been forced to take apart their attack helicopters and air defence units before leaving hot on Assad’s tail.
Bloodthirsty dictator President Bashar al-Assad was removed from power last week in an incredible 10-day blitz by rebel forces.
He fled to Russia – where longtime pal Putin gave him sanctuary – and where the twisted pair will now be licking their wounds after a double-pronged defeat.
Putin had sent his forces to Syria some nine years ago to help keep Assad in power during unrest in the country.
But on Friday footage captured by Channel 4 showed a long convoy of Russian military vehicles pouring down a road as they made their way quickly out of the country.
It is a great victory and a great joy
An onlooking Syrian
Dozens of troops were seen crammed inside army trucks flying the Russian flag.
Mad Vlad had sent the Russian military into Syria in 2015, with ground troops, fighter jets and ground weapons to aid Assad’s twisted regime.
Together are responsible for killing thousands of Syrians throughout the bloody Civil War that started in 2012.
A happy Syrian watching as Russian soldiers drove past told Channel 4: “It is a great victory and a great joy.
“[Russians] They killed us and destroyed us. Thank god.”
Meanwhile, the satellite pics captured by Maxar and Planet Labs show at least two Antonov AN-124s, one of the world’s largest cargo planes, at the Khmeimim air base.
The huge jets were stationed with their nose cones open – allowing for Vlad’s men to pile in dismantled army kit.
Three Il-76 transport aircraft, Russia’s workhorse heavy lifters, were also on the ground.
And three An-32s and one An-72, smaller models of transport aircraft, were visible in the satellite images.
An analyst at Maxar noted that a Ka-52 attack helicopter “was being dismantled and likely prepared for transport”.
Parts of an S-400 air defence unit were also seen breaking up for a return to Mother Russia.
Putin’s naval base at Tartous, Russia’s only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub, “remains largely unchanged”, Maxar added.
Moscow has backed Syria since the early days of the Cold War, recognising its independence in 1944 as Damascus sought to throw off French colonial rule.
The West long regarded Syria as a Soviet satellite.
The Kremlin has said its focus since Assad’s fall was to ensure the security of its military bases in Syria and of its diplomatic missions.
ASSAD’S rule over Syria ended in dramatic fashion after rebel forces stormed Damascus in a surprise offensive, forcing the dictator to flee to Russia.
His life took a dramatic turn in 1994 when his elder brother, Bassel, the family’s chosen heir, died in a car accident.
Bashar was abruptly recalled to Syria and groomed for power.
Initially, hope stirred for reform as Bashar promised modernisation, anti-corruption measures, and political openness.
But the so-called “Damascus Spring” was short-lived.
Within a year, Assad cracked down on dissenters, signalling the beginning of his authoritarian rule.
The Assad regime quickly devolved into a kleptocracy, with Assad and his extended family siphoning wealth while suppressing opposition.
The Syrian Civil War became a geopolitical quagmire.
Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, portrayed himself as a bulwark against terrorism while cynically releasing jihadist prisoners to bolster extremist factions.
This fuelled the rise of groups like ISIS, reshaping global terror.
The end of Assad’s reign came abruptly in December 2024, as rebel forces launched a lightning offensive, exploiting weakened Syrian defences.
Rebels captured Damascus in a lightning campaign, declaring the capital “free” and marking the end of years of brutal authoritarian rule.
With Russia mired in Ukraine and Iran preoccupied with regional conflicts, Assad’s regime was left vulnerable.
Rebels stormed Aleppo, marking a symbolic victory, and Assad fled Damascus.
Assad left aboard a military plane amid rumours of its crash before resurfacing in Moscow, where Vladimir Putin granted him asylum.
It comes as an apparent Russian conspiracy to distribute false news about an al-Assad ‘aircraft accident’ has been exposed.
The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security claimed on X that Russia “hid their trail” in assisting al-Assad’s escape by circulating fake claims that he died in a crash.
Meanwhile, opposition forces took control of key cities, toppled Assad’s statues, and announced plans for a transitional government.
The fall of Assad deals a blow to allies Russia and Iran, with both withdrawing assets from Syria.
HOLLYWOOD actor Jamie Foxx has been left injured after reportedly being involved in an altercation in a Beverly Hills restaurant.
The actor, who is known for his roles in films including Django Unchained and Baby Driver, has been left needing stitches following a fight that broke out at Mr Chow in Beverly Hills.
The 57-year-old actor is said to have had a glass thrown at him, before police were called.
The star was seen entering the restaurant on Friday night (13 December) alongside his daughters Corinne and Anelise Foxx, as well as his former partner Kristin Grannis.
A spokesperson for Foxx told Page Six that Jamie was at his birthday dinner “when someone from another table threw a glass that hit him in the mouth“.
They added: “The police were called and the matter is now in law enforcement’s hands.”
He’s said to have left the restaurant by the time law authorities arrived, but not received any medical attention at the scene.
The incident comes after last year Foxx suffered a major setback with his health, which saw him hospitalised in after suffering a mystery “medical complication“.
The star was hospitalised after a ‘bad headache’ in April 2023, with Jamie saying it had seen him go ‘to hell and back’.
The actor and comedian opened up about his health in his Netflix special, which saw him ‘open up old wounds’.
In October he told CBS Morning’s host Gayle King about his concerns of talking about his health diagnosis for his comedy stand up.
Called ‘What Happened Was’, it takes a deep dive into the actor’s recent health scare.
Speaking to Gayle backstage after wrapping up the recording of his show in Atlanta, the Collateral actor admitted to her that it was “an excruciating time to be able to open those wounds every single day for three nights”.
He added: “Usually, when you do a stand-up special, you go out for a year and work every nook and cranny, then you tape it.
“You don’t just show up in Atlanta and turn the camera. It was excruciating because the worry is what gets you.”
“We’ve got a great show in the room, but we don’t know what they may laugh or what they may not laugh at.”
“Any comedian will tell you that’s the thing, the worry is the thing.”
