On March 21, 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, American singer Madonna posted a video to Twitter and Instagram in which she delivered a monologue in the [...] (albeit positioned so as not to reveal any intimate areas) from a rose-petaled bathtub during lockdown to slow, melancholic music, reflecting on the global crisis. In the video, she described COVID-19 as "the great equalizer," stating that the virus "doesn’t care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell. It’s the great equalizer." The speech was intended to underscore the shared vulnerability of all people during the pandemic.
However, the video received widespread criticism and backlash. Many commentators and members of the public deemed it tone-deaf and insensitive, particularly given the luxurious setting in which it was filmed and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on marginalized communities. Following the criticism, Madonna eventually deleted the video from her social media accounts.
Ibrahim Al-Nasser is a Saudi Arabian video game analyst and video game collector. He was awarded a Guinness World Record for connecting the largest number of video game consoles to a single television screen.
Career
In March 2024, Ibrahim Al-Nasser rose to prominence after when he connected 444 different video game consoles to a single television screen.
He used an innovative external adapter to connect the consoles to one television. He created his setup from scratch, using a system of RCA switchers, HDMI switchers, converters, and various cable management techniques. During his endeavor, he maintained a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet by inputting technical instructions, using the spreadsheet as a guide for activating certain switchers to access specific consoles.
During his Guinness World Record attempt, he began with the earliest video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, and concluded with the recently released PlayStation 5 Slim. He also connected other prominent video gaming consoles including the likes of Xbox 360, Wii U, Super A'Can, Super NES Classic Edition, Nintendo Switch, Atari SA and Sega Genesis. The Guinness World Record officials paid visit to his location to exclusively capture the setup of his consoles and uploaded a video to YouTube.
In celebration of its twentieth anniversary, a special 20th anniversary team was named by Australia's National Basketball League in 1998.
Name |
NBL Teams |
|---|---|
Andrew Gaze * |
Melbourne Tigers |
Leroy Loggins * |
Brisbane Bullets, West Adelaide Bearcats |
Mark Bradtke * |
Adelaide 36ers, Melbourne Tigers |
James Crawford * |
Geelong Supercats, Canberra Cannons, Perth Wildcats |
Phil Smyth |
St. Kilda Saints, Canberra Cannons, Adelaide 36ers, Sydney Kings |
Scott Fisher * |
North Melbourne Giants, Perth Wildcats |
Mark Davis * |
Adelaide 36ers |
Larry Sengstock |
St. Kilda Saints, Brisbane Bullets, Gold Coast Cougars/Rollers, North Melbourne Giants |
Cal Bruton |
Brisbane Bullets, Geelong Supercats, Perth Wildcats, Hobart Devils |
Andrew Vlahov * |
Perth Wildcats |
Herb McEachin |
Canberra Cannons |
- = active at the time the team was named
To mark its 25th anniversary during the 2003–2004 season, the National Basketball League (NBL) announced its 25th Anniversary All-Time team on 9 December 2003. As a way of recognising the single best and most influential player in league history, the player who received the most first-placed votes in the voting process for this team was also named the NBL 25th Anniversary Most Valuable Player.
To be eligible for selection, players and coaches must have played or coached in at least 100 NBL games. Selection Committee members were asked to vote regardless of position, with Australian and import players eligible for selection.
The first-ranked player on each ballot received 10 votes, the second received nine, the third received eight, and so on down to the 10th-ranked player who received one vote.
Each Selection Committee member was asked to name the greatest coach in NBL history, with the top vote-getter receiving that honour. Past and present coaches on the selection committee were excluded from voting on the coach category.
- = active at the time the team was named
Name |
Votes |
NBL Teams |
|---|---|---|
Andrew Gaze * |
287 |
Melbourne Tigers (1984–) |
Leroy Loggins |
255 |
Brisbane Bullets (1981, 1983–2001), West Adelaide Bearcats (1982) |
Mark Bradtke * |
179 |
Adelaide 36ers (1988–1992), Melbourne Tigers (1993–) |
James Crawford |
127 |
Geelong Supercats (1982–1985), Canberra Cannons (1986), Perth Wildcats (1987–1999) |
Phil Smyth |
102 |
St. Kilda Saints (1982), Canberra Cannons (1983–1992), Adelaide 36ers (1993–1994), Sydney Kings (1995) |
Ricky Grace * |
99 |
Perth Wildcats (1990–) |
Scott Fisher |
93 |
North Melbourne Giants (1987–1992) & Perth Wildcats (1993–2002) |
Mark Davis |
69 |
Adelaide 36ers (1985–2001) |
Larry Sengstock |
65 |
St. Kilda Saints (1979–1981), Brisbane Bullets (1982–1989), Gold Coast Cougars/Rollers (1990–1992), North Melbourne Giants (1993–1996) |
Robert Rose * |
64 |
South East Melbourne Magic (1992–1993), Adelaide 36ers (1994–1995), Canberra Cannons (1996–1998), Townsville Crocodiles (1998–) |
Brian Goorjian * |
19 |
Coach: Eastside Spectres (1988–1991), South East Melbourne Magic (1992–1998), Victoria Titans (1998–2002), Sydney Kings (2002–) |
Eddie Crouch * |
Referee |
Other vote getters:
Name |
Votes |
NBL Teams |
|---|---|---|
Shane Heal |
45 |
Brisbane Bullets (1988, 1992–1995), Geelong Supercats (1989–1991), Sydney Kings (1996–2003) |
Al Green |
41 |
West Adelaide Bearcats (1981–1984), Adelaide 36ers (1985–1990), Newcastle Falcons (1991–1993) |
Dwayne McClain |
28 |
Sydney Kings (1991–1993), Gold Coast Rollers (1996), Brisbane Bullets (1997) |
Cal Bruton |
23 |
Brisbane Bullets (1979, 1985–1986), Geelong Supercats (1982–1984), Perth Wildcats (1987–1989), Hobart Devils (1992) |
Andrew Vlahov |
20 |
Perth Wildcats (1991–2002) |
Herb McEachin |
20 |
Canberra Cannons (1979–1992) |
Darryl McDonald* |
16 |
North Melbourne Giants (1996–1998), Victoria Titans (1998–2002), Victoria Giants (2002–2003), Melbourne Tigers (2003–) |
Lanard Copeland* |
9 |
Melbourne Tigers (1992–) |
Steve Carfino |
8 |
Hobart Devils (1986–1987), Sydney Kings (1988–1990) |
Ian Davies |
8 |
Launceston Casino City (1980–1981), Newcastle Falcons (1982–1985), Geelong Supercats (1986–1987), Sydney Kings (1988–1990) |
Damian Keogh |
7 |
Nunawading Spectres (1980–1984), Bankstown Bruins (1985), West Sydney Westars (1986–1987), Sydney Kings (1988–1995) |
Derek Rucker* |
6 |
Brisbane (1990–1991), Newcastle Falcons (1994), Townsville Suns (1995–1997), Townsville Crocodiles (1998), West Sydney Razorbacks (1998–) |
Wayne Carroll |
6 |
Coburg Giants (1980–1986), North Melbourne Giants (1987–1990) |
Bruce Bolden |
5 |
Eastside Spectres (1987, 1990–1991), Westside Saints (1988–1989), South East Melbourne Magic (1992–1994), Sydney Kings (1995–1998), West Sydney Razorbacks (1998–2003) |
Ray Borner |
5 |
Coburg Giants (1980–1985), Illawarra Hawks (1986–1988), North Melbourne Giants (1989–1992), Geelong Supercats (1993–1994), Canberra Cannons (1995–2000), Wollongong Hawks (2000–2001) |
Tony Ronaldson* |
3 |
Eastside Spectres (1990–1991), South East Melbourne Magic (1992–1998), Victoria Titans (1998–2002), Perth Wildcats (2002–) |
Dean Uthoff |
3 |
Nunawading Spectres (1983–1985), Eastside Spectres (1988–1991), Sydney Kings (1992–1996) |
Brett Maher* |
1 |
Adelaide 36ers (1992–) |
Wayne McDaniel |
1 |
Adelaide 36ers (1983), Geelong Supercats (1984–1985), Newcastle Falcons (1986–1988), Hobart Devils (1989–1994) |
Other vote getters (coach):
Name |
Votes |
NBL Teams |
|---|---|---|
Brian Kerle |
4 |
St. Kilda Saints, Brisbane Bullets |
Lindsay Gaze* |
2 |
Melbourne Tigers |
Barry Barnes |
1 |
Nunawading Spectres, Eastside Spectres, Geelong Supercats, Canberra Cannons |
Selection Committee Members: Bob Elphinston (chairman), Barry Barnes, David Claxton, Gary Fox, John Gardiner, Peter Harcourt, Bret Harris, Ron Harvey, Betty Hassen, Stephen Howell, Adrian Hurley, Andrew Johnstone, Phil Lynch, Lorraine Landon, John Maddock, Ken Madsen, Robyn Maher, Jan Morris, Boti Nagy, Bill Palmer, Barry Richardson, John Scott, Mal Speed, Dean Templeton, John Davidson, Perry Crosswhite, Tim Morrissey, Peter Kogoy, Peter Walsh, Phil Brown, Marty Clarke, Mike Wrublewski, Grantley Bernard, Dave Hughes.