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NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland by the numbers
February 16, 2022 1:02 p.m.
CLEVELAND – NBA All-Star 2022 will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in a record 60 languages on their televisions, computers, mobile phones and tablets, culminating with the 71st NBA All-Star Game when Team Durant faces Team LeBron on Sunday, Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. TNT and ESPN Radio will air the NBA All-Star Game live in the United States at 8 p.m. ET.
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse will also host Clorox Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 18 and State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night (which features the AT&T Slam Dunk, MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest and Taco Bell® Skills Challenge) on Saturday, Feb. 19. The Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Feb. 18, the NBA All-Star Practice presented by AT&T and the NBA HBCU Classic presented by AT&T on Feb. 19, and the NBA G League Next Gem Game on Feb. 20 will take place at the Wolstein Center.
Below are some numbers and tidbits pertaining to NBA All-Star 2022.
NBA All-Star Game
- 4 – A record four former NBA G League players are NBA All-Stars this season: Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks), Dejounte Murray (San Antonio Spurs) and Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors).
- 6 – Six members of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team are on All-Star rosters: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), James Harden (Philadelphia 76ers), LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) and Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns).
- 8/24 – The Kobe Bryant Trophy, which will be awarded to the Kia NBA All-Star MVP, features an eight-sided base representing the eight decades of All-Star Games and is a nod to Bryant’s No. 8 jersey number. The 24 stars on the first level represent the All-Stars in the game and Bryant’s No. 24 jersey number. The trophy headlines the lineup of reimaginedNBA All-Star hardware, designed in partnership with artist Victor Solomon, that will be presented during NBA All-Star 2022.
- 16 – Giannis Antetokounmpo made all 16 of his field goal attempts as the Kia NBA All-Star MVP of the 2021 All-Star Game, setting the record for most field goals without a miss in the All-Star Game.
- 18 – LeBron James is set to play in his 18th All-Star Game, which will tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA record, and make his record 18th All-Star Game start (every season since 2004-05).
- 20 – At 20 years old, LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets) is set to become the fourth-youngest player to play in the All-Star Game.
- 22 – This year’s NBA All-Star rings, which are awarded to players in recognition of their selection to the game, feature 22 stars and diamonds in reference to NBA All-Star 2022.
- 24 – The winner of the All-Star Game will be the first team to reach (or surpass) the Final Target Score, which will be the leading team’s total score after the first three quarters plus 24points. For example, if the leading team has 100 points after the first three quarters, the Final Target Score will be 124 (100 + 24).
- 128 – Chris Paul has the most assists in All-Star Game history with 128 (which is one more than Magic Johnson).
- 750,000 – A total of $750,000 will be awarded to two beneficiaries through the All-Star Game, with Team Durant playing for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and Team LeBron playing for the Kent State I Promise Scholars Program.
NBA All-Star History in Cleveland
- 1 – Michael Jordan recorded the first triple-double in NBA All-Star Game history when he finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland.
- 9 – Nate “Tiny” Archibald had nine points and nine assists as the MVP of the 1981 All-Star Game in Richfield, Ohio.
- 18 – Kobe Bryant was 18 years old when he won the Slam Dunk contest at NBA All-Star 1997.
- 20 – Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets scored 20 points in the third quarter to lead the Eastern Conference to a 132-120 victory over the Western Conference in the 1997 All-Star Game, now tied for the most points scored by a player in a quarter in All-Star Game history.
- 35/50/75 – The Cleveland area has hosted NBA All-Star when the league celebrated its 35thseason (1981), 50th anniversary (1997) and 75th anniversary (2022), marking its three times as All-Star host.
- 50 – The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, as announced in 1996, were honored at halftime of the 1997 All-Star Game. Each of those players was recently named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, a group of 76 players who will be honored at the 2022 All-Star Game.
Clorox Rising Stars
- 4 – Under a new format for Clorox Rising Stars, four teams of seven players will compete in a mini-tournament consisting of three games.
- 6 – Six elite young players from NBA G League Ignite will compete across the Clorox Rising Stars and Clorox Clutch Challenge shooting competition on Feb. 18: MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels, Michael Foster Jr., Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson and Fanbo Zeng.
- 36 – Rising Stars honorary coaches and NBA 75th Anniversary Team selections Rick Barry (8), Gary Payton (9), Isiah Thomas (12) and James Worthy (7) combined for 36 NBA All-Star selections.
AT&T Slam Dunk
- 1 – A first-time champion will be crowned in AT&T Slam Dunk. Cole Anthony (Orlando Magic), Jalen Green (Houston Rockets) and Juan Toscano-Anderson (Golden State Warriors) are set to make their event debuts, and Obi Toppin (New York Knicks) returns for his second appearance after finishing as the runner-up last year.
- 30 – In addition to the live presentation of AT&T Slam Dunk by TNT and ESPN Radio on Feb. 19, Cartoon Network will air a special 30-minute, superpowered Teen Titans Go! edition of the contest on Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. ET.
MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest
- 4 – Four 2022 NBA All-Stars are part of the field for the MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest: Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors) and Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks).
- 6 – The two-round, timed shooting competition will feature the THE DEW ZONE,™ which is located 6 feet behind the 3-point line, where the participants will attempt two shots – with a special green ball – that are worth three points each.
Taco Bell® Skills Challenge
- 3 – Three teams of three players will compete in a new format for the Taco Bell® Skills Challenge, with the teams composed of three Antetokounmpo brothers (Giannis and Thanasis of the Milwaukee Bucks and Alex of Raptors 905), three Cleveland Cavaliers players (Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley) and three NBA rookies (Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons and Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder).
- 4 – The competition will consist of four rounds and test shooting, passing and dribbling ability, culminating with the top two teams from the first three rounds competing in the fourth and final round, where the winning team will be the one that makes a half-court shot in the fastest time.
NBA All-Star Around the World
- 2 – With their participation in Clorox Rising Stars, Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder; Australia) and Dyson Daniels (NBA G League Ignite; Australia), who were teammates at NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, from 2019-2020, will become the first twoNBA Academy alumni to participate in NBA All-Star.
- 4 – There are a record-tying four international All-Star Game starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; ties to Nigeria), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon), Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia) and Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors; Canada). Two other international players were selected as All-Star reserves: Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia) and Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz; France).
- 6 – Six international television and radio networks – from France, Greece, Latin America, Mongolia, Poland and Spain – will conduct live onsite commentary at NBA All-Star 2022. Three television networks – from India, Netherlands and Norway – will broadcast NBA All-Star remotely for the first time.
- 15/12 – Fifteen international players from 12 countries will participate in NBA All-Star 2022 events.
Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
- 4 – The Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game will tip off with the Ruffles Ridges 4-point Shooting Competition. Ruffles and the NBA will donate $4,000 to support the Thurgood Marshall College Fund for every shot made from behind the line, with a minimum of $40,000.
- 21 – The Celebrity Game rosters feature 21 participants, including Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and seven recording artists in Anuel AA, Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, Jack Harlow, Machine Gun Kelly, Quavo and Anjali Ranadive.
NBA G League Next Gem Game
- 1 – The next generation of talent will be highlighted in the first NBA G League Next Gem Game, a matchup between NBA G League Ignite and the Cleveland Charge on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
Social Impact
- 14 – Volunteers across the NBA family will participate in the 14th Annual NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service presented by Nike, SAP and State Farm on Feb. 18, sorting and packing food donations at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and gently used books with the Kids’ Book Bank Cleveland to support thousands of children, seniors, families and other individuals in need.
- 2,000 – The NBA will dedicate its 2,000th Live, Learn or Play center, at the Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland, as part of the NBA 75th Live, Learn or Play Initiative in partnership with Kaiser Permanente.
- 110,000 – The NBA will support vaccination and testing efforts in Cleveland through 11 vaccination clinics, in addition to donating 10,000 rapid antigen tests and 110,000 face masks to the city’s COVID-19 Taskforce.
- 3,000,000 – As part of NBA All-Star 2022, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association will provide more than $3 million in programming and support to the Greater Cleveland and HBCU communities.
HBCUs
- 1 – Howard University and Morgan State University will meet in the first NBA HBCU Classic presented by AT&T on Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. ET, which will be simulcast on TNT, ESPN2 and NBA TV. As part of the NBA’s and AT&T’s ongoing commitments to HBCUs, they will donate $100,000 to each school.
- 2 – The NBA and MTN DEW will selected two HBCU students to receive up to $50,000 scholarships from Howard University and Morgan State University.
- 11 – Eleven HBCU college students will participate in an NBA All-Star Event Shadow program.
- 500,000 – In continued support of HBCU students, institutions and programs, the NBA and NBA Foundation will make grants of $250,000 each, totaling $500,000, to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and UNCF (United Negro College Fund).
NBA All-Star on TNT
- 5 – Five Turner Sports analysts were named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team: Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Shaquille O’Neal, Isiah Thomas and Dwyane Wade.
- 20 – TNT will present the NBA All-Star Game for the 20th straight year.
NBA All-Star on ESPN
· 26 – ESPN Radio will broadcast its 26th All-Star Game, with play-by-play voice Marc Kestecher, analyst P.J. Carlesimo and reporters Ros Gold-Onwude and Monica McNutt on the call.
· 31 – Analysts Kendrick Perkins and Richard Jefferson, who will call the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game with host Cassidy Hubbarth and reporter Monica McNutt, combined to play 31 seasons in the NBA.
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Isambard-AI, the UK’s most powerful AI supercomputer, goes live
6:39 p.m. July 18, 2025
(NVIDIA PR) The U.K. has officially joined the premier league of global AI infrastructure — and it’s not starting small.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing (BriCS), leaders today unveiled Isambard-AI, the most powerful AI supercomputer ever built in the U.K.
U.K. Secretary of State Peter Kyle was joined by leaders from across academia, industry and government, including Simon McIntosh-Smith, director of the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing, and Neil MacDonald, executive vice president and general manager for Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s server business.
“And as we press this switch to activate the UK’s most powerful supercomputer, we are embarking on Britain’s super future where AI contributes towards the delivery of better public services, greater public prosperity, deeper scientific discovery and stronger national security,” Kyle said.
The numbers back up Kyle’s statement:
- 21 exaflops of AI performance
- 5,448 NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips
- Set to rank 11th worldwide on the latest TOP500 list of world’s fastest supercomputers
- More than 10x faster than the next-fastest supercomputer in the U.K. More computing power than all other U.K. supercomputers combined
- Ranked fourth globally for energy efficiency
Engineering teams working collaboratively to maneuver and install components within the supercomputer’s data hall, illustrating the complex and coordinated effort behind the build.
Why It Matters
Isambard-AI gives U.K. researchers and businesses a once-in-a-generation leap in computing power. It’s a platform to accelerate breakthroughs in:
- AI-driven drug discovery
- Advanced climate modeling
- Materials science
- Large language models (LLMs) tuned to U.K. languages and laws
Backed by £225 million in government investment and built with NVIDIA, HPE, the University of Bristol and others, Isambard-AI signals a clear ambition: to lead in AI, the U.K. must lead in compute.
Simon McIntosh-Smith, director of the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing, with Simon Appleby, AI business lead at HPE.
A glimpse into the project’s strategic planning, showing a screen outlining the ambitious goal of installing multiple supercomputers, including Isambard-AI’s phases, within 12 months.
A Turning Point for UK Science
Named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel — the 19th-century engineer who reshaped Britain with railways, bridges and ships — Isambard-AI brings that same scale of ambition to AI research.
And like Brunel’s projects during his era, it moves fast. Having gone from conception to deployment in just under two years, including the construction of the modular data center in 48 hours, the supercomputer is already running live projects aligned with national priorities.
Early flagship projects include:
- Nightingale AI: A sovereign, multimodal health foundation model trained on National Health Service (NHS) data to support earlier diagnoses and personalized care.
- BritLLM: A U.K.-developed LLM project supporting British languages like Welsh, alongside English, to promote inclusivity and better public service delivery in healthcare, education and public services.
- UCL Cancer Screening AI: Developing the first scalable AI system for prostate cancer detection via MRI, aiming for faster diagnoses and tailored treatments.
- EIMCRYSTAL (University of Liverpool): Using AI to search 68 million chemical combinations to discover greener, more sustainable industrial materials — reducing reliance on rare or toxic inputs.
- EgoAI (University of Bristol): Using AI to analyze recordings from wearable cameras and other smart devices to help people perform tasks better at home. This holds immense promise for assisting dementia patients in the future.
A technician carefully installs a server blade equipped with direct liquid cooling, demonstrating the hands-on precision involved in assembling Isambard-AI’s advanced computing infrastructure.
Built Fast, Built Smart
How do you build a supercomputer in half the usual time?
“We treated the project like a high-performance processor,” said Simon McIntosh-Smith, director at BriCS. “We executed everything in parallel.”
Key to this speed:
- Parallelized project management
- Early procurement of critical hardware, particularly GPUs
- Prefabricated modular data halls shipped in and assembled in days
- Relentless optimization of delivery timelines
- Ground broke in June 2024. By June 2025, the full 5-megawatt system was live: built, tested and running at a global scale.
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Smart launches revamped Online Store, rolls out Postpaid Plan 799
9:43 p.m. July 7, 2025
Mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) is making it simpler and faster for more Filipinos to elevate their digital lifestyle with the launch of its revamped Smart Online Store (https://store.smart.com.ph/), a portal where new and existing customers can conveniently explore and securely avail of the latest prepaid and postpaid offers with just a few taps on their smartphone or computer.
As a special introductory offer, the revamped Smart Online Store is the launch platform for Smart Postpaid Plan 799, a SIM-Only Plan that comes with 15 GB open-access data for all sites and apps, 100 GB of 5G data for six months for use in Smart 5G-covered areas, Unlimited Calls and Texts with Landline Calls, and a complimentary Netflix Mobile subscription.
As an added perk for subscribers who will subscribe to the new Smart Postpaid Plan 799, applications made through the Smart Online Store will receive 50% more open access data (7.5 GB) for the first six months.
Easily sign up for a Smart Postpaid Plan 799
New and existing subscribers can conveniently sign up for Smart Postpaid Plan 799 by simply going to https://store.smart.com.ph/ (https://store.smart.com.ph/), selecting “SIM-Only Plans,” and then choosing “Plan 799.”
Customers must then fill out the required personal information to complete their online application.
Initially available only on the Smart Online Store, Smart Postpaid Plan 799 will also be offered to all Smart Stores nationwide soon.
Value-packed offers at your fingertips
Aside from enabling subscribers to avail of Smart Postpaid Plan 799 with just a few clicks, the Smart Online Store also allows customers to bundle a device with their SIM-Only Plan.
Moreover, Smart Online Store’s intuitively designed portal makes it so much easier for customers to discover other value-packed products and services that suit their lifestyle – from data, call, and text offers, SIMs and eSIMs, to the latest smartphones.
The portal also allows users to reload for credits, avail of limited promos, purchase phones bundled with Smart and TNT SIM cards, buy devices under Smart Bro 5G promos, and order Smart and TNT SIM packages.
Lastly, customers can enjoy a wide range of payment options with priority handling for select credit cards.
The revamped Smart Online Store is just one of the many ways that make Smart simply reliable for Filipino mobile users looking to level up their digital lifestyle and enjoy the many benefits of technology.
Visit the Smart Online Store and sign up for a Smart Postpaid Plan 799 now at https://store.smart.com.ph/.#
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Mega Sardines: 50 years of serving nutrient-rich meals, primed to go global
10:22 a.m. June 20, 2025
As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, Mega Prime Foods Inc. reflects on a remarkable journey—one that began with a simple mission to provide affordable, nutritious food to Filipino families.
What started as a humble fishing company has now become one of the most innovative and socially driven food manufacturers in Southeast Asia, producing over 3 million cans of sardines daily from its advanced facilities in Batangas and Zamboanga.
Sardines, long a staple in Filipino households, are among the most nutritionally dense foods in the world—rich in Omega-3 fatty acids for brain and heart health, vitamin B12 for metabolic support, and a host of other essential nutrients like calcium, iron, and selenium. Mega Sardines ensures these health benefits are preserved through its industry-leading “catch to can in 12 hours” process—setting it apart in freshness, quality, and care.
For Chairman and Founder William Tiu Lim, the journey has not been easy. From natural disasters like the devastating 1970s typhoon that destroyed much of their fishing fleet, to political and economic crises, Mega has endured and grown stronger. Through it all, Tiu Lim held fast to three core values: Quality, Innovation, and Malasakit—a uniquely Filipino term meaning selfless concern for others.
“We’ve always aimed for the best possible quality,” said Tiu Lim. “Our fish go from sea to can in just 12 hours, compared to the industry’s usual 1–3 days. That freshness is our edge.”
This commitment to innovation and excellence recently culminated in a global milestone: Mega Sardines was designated a “Superfood” by the Medical Wellness Association (MWA), becoming the first seafood product ever to receive the distinction. The recognition was awarded during Mega’s 50th anniversary celebration by MWA Board Member and faculty member James Michael Lafferty, underscoring the brand’s role in promoting global wellness.
“I was honored to announce Mega Sardines as the world’s first seafood Superfood,” said Lafferty. “It’s a testament to their quality, innovation, and mission to improve health outcomes.”
As the company transitions into its second generation of leadership under President and CEO Michelle Tiu Lim-Chan, the vision for global expansion is clear—but rooted in the same human values that built the brand.
“We are people-first,” said Lim-Chan. “We serve our customers, support our employees, and provide opportunities to improve lives. Growth is not just about geography—it’s about purpose.”
Mega Prime Foods is already expanding its product lines, offering not only sardines but also tuna, mackerel, fruit cocktails, coconut gel, Primo non-alcoholic sparkling juices, and the Jimm’s Coffee functional beverage line.
“Our proudest achievement is our ability to turn compassion into tangible, quality products,” Lim-Chan added. “We are not done yet. The next 50 years will be even more exciting.”
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