In most cases, basketball players just want to play, and Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is no different. Even though Durant ripped the new All-Star Game format back in December, he was willing to give it another chance. After the league implemented a tournament-style approach, it might’ve worked to his liking. Following the game, he […]
The post Suns’ Kevin Durant gets brutally honest on All-Star Game ‘competition’ appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The 2025 All-Star Game is in the books, and once again, everyone seemed to be complaining about the league’s new format for the festivities. Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum wasn’t nearly as harsh as some of his peers were on the new format, but he does believe that there’s one big change that the league […]
The post Celtics’ Jayson Tatum shares key change he’d make to NBA’s new All-Star Game format appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The New York Yankees have opened spring training and already have a significant injury. After a historic postseason run last year, Giancarlo Stanton is back on the shelf. Stanton told the Associated Press that he is dealing with a tennis elbow injury, something he dealt with for parts of last year. “Tennis elbow or however […]
The post Giancarlo Stanton’s troubling injury revelation puts Yankees’ Opening Day at risk appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The PGA Tour made an unconventional return to Torrey Pines this week for the Genesis Invitational. After the Los Angeles wildfires moved the tournament away from Riviera Country Club, the signature event kicked off in La Jolla. Ludvig Åberg, the 25-year-old Swede, won the tournament, hosted by Tiger Woods, thanks to a Sunday charge. He […]
The post Ludvig Åberg drops ‘fun’ revelation after Genesis Invitational win appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Vanderbilt women’s basketball freshman Mikayla Blakes set a Division I women’s basketball freshman scoring record, again posting a plus 50-point game with 55 points in a 98-88 overtime win against Auburn on Sunday. The performance passed the previous record of 54 points, set by WNBA star Elena Delle Donne as a redshirt freshman at Delaware […]
The post Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes breaks Elena Delle Donne record with 55 points appeared first on ClutchPoints.
TRIBUTES have poured in for a mum-of-two who was shot dead at a pub on Valentine’s Day by a gunman who reportedly “jumped off the QE2 bridge”.
Lisa Smith, 43, was shot dead by a man “known to her” at the Three Horseshoes pub in Knockholt, Kent, on Friday evening.
Cops are now scouring the River Thames for the gunman who is thought to have jumped from the QE2 bridge.
A car and a firearm were found abandoned nearby at 7pm on Saturday.
One source said Lisa – also known as Lisa Stockings – had been in the pub with a female friend before she was pronounced dead at the scene following the tragedy.
Tributes have now poured in for mum-of-two Lisa as she was pictured for the first time.
Grieving Teejay Smith paid tribute to his murdered mother Lisa following the horror shooting.
The 19-year-old posted one of him and his mum, writing: “My mum, the best woman to walk in two shoes.”
Teejay posted a number of snaps of his mum and one picture showed Lisa posing next to an Amy Winehouse statue.
Another showed her dolled up in a sparkly dress at a glitzy dinner event.
Posting a video of floral tributes left at the scene, Donna Kidd said: “Taken way too soon, our lady Lisa girl loved forever and always never be another Lisa.
“Girl love from all your girls.”
Marylou Tom Harber added: “No words so sad RIP Lisa girl to beautiful for this earth.”
Meanwhile tributes were left at the scene, with flowers and balloons, placed on a nearby section of grass.
One touching card read: “Our love and prayers are with your family, especially your boys and granddaughter.
“May they continue to frown knowing the love you always showed them.
“May your light continue to shine as bright as it always has.”
Two other cards read: “Dear Lisa, rest in peace.”
Many people had left Red Bull along with their written tributes.
Balloons with the words ‘a wonderful mum’ had also been left tied to a brick near the flowers.
Another balloon had the Disney mermaid Ariel.
One source said Lisa had been in the pub with a female friend before she was pronounced dead at the scene following the tragedy.
Kent Police have been undertaking an extensive manhunt to find her killer, with the latest being they found a vehicle linked to the shooting on the Queen Elizabeth II bridge in Dartford.
The suspect, named as Edvard Stockings, was later seen on the wrong side of the barrier 17 miles away at Dartford Crossing and is thought to have jumped.
Kent Police say a firearm, thought to be linked to him, was later recovered.
Detective Chief Inspector David Higham said he is “not ruling out the possibility that he may have entered the water.”
He added: “We are currently only looking for one suspect and do not believe there to be an ongoing risk to the public.
“Specialist officers continue to work with the families of both parties involved to support them following this tragic incident.”
The pub’s landlady Michelle Thomas described how the tragedy unfolded while she was printing off menus for Valentine’s Day dinner service.
Michelle says she heard two bangs as Lisa was shot, with the mum-of-two later being pronounced dead at the scene.
She told Sky News: “There was so much commotion – screaming, shouting, crying. People were outside, on their phones.
“We tried to get people inside the pub to consolidate them. People were only just starting to sit down, it was early on in the evening.”
As 30 people were seated for dinner, another 20 were situated in the bar as the shocking shooting began.
The landlady described the community as experiencing “absolute shock” as the pub reopened for the first time on Sunday following the tragedy.
Terrified locals claimed they heard “three loud bangs” after the woman was shot dead outside the pub on Friday night.
Another revealed how petrified couples were “locked in” the pub for their own safety.
The villager, who lives close to the pub, said: “I heard three loud bangs and a bit of commotion.”
Zack Warne, 19, added: “It is shocking, this is Knockholt, not south London.
“The helicopter was up all night.”
Joyce Betts, 82, who lives nearby, continued: “My granddaughter called me and said ‘make sure your windows and doors are locked’.
“I could see lights outside but I couldn’t tell what was going on it was coming through that someone had been shot, I thought oh my God that’s all we need in our sleepy little village.”
One villager, who would only give her name as Julie, said armed police swooped on the pub.
She said: “My brother-in-law and sister-in-law were in the pub for valentines dinner. They were locked in.
“I was texting them making sure they were okay. There were armed police all over the pub.
“When they were told to come home they had to have their picture taken and they were escorted home by the police.
“It is scary. It was really distressing for them.”
Ray Picot, 70, said: “Just after 7pm I heard the shots. Bang, bang. I thought it was a road traffic collision at first.
“I thought ‘oh no not another accident’. The helicopter was buzzing around for hours.
“I’ve lived here 30 years and it’s a real shock. It’s such a quiet area.”
Officers and South East Coast Ambulance Service paramedics had rushed to the pub in the quiet village after reports of a disturbance at the Three Horseshoes pub.
There, they discovered Lisa who had suffered injuries “consistent with gunshot wounds” and she was declared deceased at the scene shortly after 7pm on Friday.
Following the horrific shooting, the pub released a statement that read: “Following the official press release of the tragic incident that happened on the premises last night – all of us at the Three Horseshoes want to send our sincere condolences to the victim’s family and friends.
“We also want to send our support to anyone else in the local and surrounding community who have been impacted by this.
“Please be respectful of everyone involved at this difficult time, thank you.”
EMMERDALE fans are absolutely stunned to learn who Dominic Brunt’s wife is in real life.
The 54-year-old actor has played the role of Paddy Kirk in the long-running ITV soap since 1997.
Dominic has been a mainstay in front of the camera on Emmerdale for nearly three decades.
From various affairs to the utterly devastating loss of a child, Paddy has been at the centre of some of the most notable storylines.
However, fans of the ITV soap were left absolutely shocked to discover that he calls fellow soap star Joanne Mitchell, 53, his wife.
She has held a number of roles on the soap, the first of which came in 2003 when she played DS Karen Barnborough in two episodes.
She later made two more appearances as a midwife called Yeo, and later as CAFCASS officer Susan Davies across four episodes in 2009.
Her most notable role came in 2016 after she replaced Janet Bamford in the role of Sandra Flaherty.
This is the mum of Liv (Isobel Steele) and the step-mother of Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller).
The actress played the character for six years before stepping away from the soap in 2022.
She’s also had multiple roles on Coronation Street, which include the character Marsha Westbrook in 2018.
After meeting at drama school in Bristol, Dominic and Joanne decided to get married in 2003.
They share two children: sons Mickey-Joe and Danny Lee.
In a 2022 interview with Inside Soap, Joanne spoke about working alongside her husband on the Dales.
She said: “I haven’t seen Dominic at the studios yet since I’ve been back this time.
“It’s fun to be on the same show but I’ve not actually worked with him yet. We haven’t had any scenes together as our characters live separate lives in the village.”
Everything you need to know about Emmerdale
Recently, a snap of the pair went viral as Emmerdale fans were whipped into a frenzy.
One fan stated: ” “Fine actor. But I never knew his wife was Liv’s mum in Emmerdale!”
As a second exclaimed: “So shocked Sandra is his off-screen wife.”
“Wow I didn’t know he is married to Liv’s mum in real life,” commented a third viewer.
As a fourth user added: “That’s who that is!”
Emmerdale continues on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
F1 ENGINEER Calum Nicholas says he was left “broken” by the death of Jules Bianchi after his Japanese Grand Prix crash.
The Red Bull engineer worked with the French F1 driver at Marussia as a mechanic back in 2011 – his first job in the paddock.
During the 2014 Japanese GP, Bianchi lost control of his Marussia and clashed with a recovery vehicle.
The weather conditions in Japan at the time were treacherous and delayed the race from getting underway.
Following the collision, Bianchi suffered a diffuse axonal injury which is caused by severe damage to the head.
Bianchi spent nine months in a coma before tragically passing away in 2015.
He was the first F1 driver to die from injuries that occurred during a Grand Prix since Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna.
Safety in the sport has come on leaps and bounds since then, with the introduction of the halo and clearer communication when a recovery vehicle is used.
That hasn’t helped Nicholas shake Bianchi’s death from his memory though.
Nicholas collected the wreckage of the car from the FIA garage and broke down in tears.
In his book, Life in the Pitlane, he writes: “I was not in any way prepared, at the age of 24, to have been responsible for building a car that somebody later died in.
“Regardless of the cause of the crash not being a mechanical fault, the guilt of having been one of the mechanics responsible for that car broke me for a little while.”
Since leaving Marussia at the end of that season Nicholas has become a familiar face on Netflix’s hit show Drive to Survive as a key engineer in Max Verstappen’s pit crew.
As part of the Red Bull driver’s team, Nicholas has helped propel Verstappen to four straight F1 world titles.
The Brit has also worked with Lewis Hamilton on the Hamilton Comission, a research project into diversity in motorsport conducted by the seven-time world champion.
