Gilbert Arenas and Skip Bayless have made news lately for reasons they would rather forget. Now, they will attempt to put an entertaining spin on NFL news in a digital program launching Tuesday and airing three times a week.
Arenas, a Van Nuys Grant High product who played 11 seasons in the NBA, will rebrand his current channel. Bayless, who had long runs on ESPN’s “First Take” and FS1’s “Undisputed,” will be featured on “The Arena: Gridiron” along with former NFL coach Jay Gruden and former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib.
Arenas was arrested July 30 and charged along with five others with conspiracy for allegedly running illegal poker games at his Encino mansion, court records show. Arenas, 43, rented out the mansion “for the purposes of hosting high-stakes illegal poker games,” according to a news release issued by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
The three-time All-Star guard — who went by the nickname “Agent Zero” according to federal authorities — was charged with conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, operating an illegal gambling business and making false statements to federal investigators.
Among the others charged was Yevgeni Gershman, 49, a.k.a. “Giora,” of Woodland Hills, who the U.S. attorney’s office described as “a suspected organized crime figure from Israel.” Arenas pleaded not guilty and was released on a $50,000 bond.
Bayless has also been sifting through court filings. He is a defendant along with Fox Sports, broadcaster Joy Taylor and executive Charlie Dixon in a lawsuit by former FS1 hairstylist Noushin Faraji, who alleged that Bayless offered her $1.5 million for sex.
Faraji filed a request to dismiss the lawsuit this month in L.A. Superior Court, which legal experts said is an indication that a settlement has been reached.
Bayless told the Athletic that he isn’t bothered by the criminal charges against Arenas.
“I’ve talked to Gil,” he said. “He has no concerns. I mean, he’s obviously concerned, but he believes he did nothing at all wrong, except rent out his space, and I believe in him.”
Underdog, a five-year-old gaming and media firm, will own and produce the show. Arenas’ two digital basketball programs under “Gil’s Arena” have become one of Underdog’s biggest draws.
Shifting to football prompted the addition of Bayless, whose spirited back-and-forth on social media with Arenas grew into a professional relationship.
“I’m back in the saddle in the debate arena,” Bayless said. “I live for this. I love this.”
It was another busy year in the world of business.
Test your knowledge on the stories of 2024 from Boeing, to bots, rebrands and the Budget.
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Test your knowledge on the biggest financial stories of 2024
1. It took an ITV drama series on The Post Office to create enough public anger about a long-running miscarriage of justice. What was the name of the actor who played Alan Bates? a) Toby Jones b) Timothy Spall c) Tom Hiddleston
2. What happened three miles high on a Boeing 737 Max plane? a) A couple locked the toilet door for a long time b) A door peg blew off midflight c) A teenager was left topless
3. Jeremy Hunt delivered his last Budget in March. How many Chancellors were there in the last 14 years of Tory government? Bonus point for naming them all in correct order. a) Five b) Seven c) Six
4. Royal Mail’s biggest investor and West Ham FC shareholder Daniel Kretinsky struck a £3.6billion takeover of the 500-year old postal service. What’s his nickname? a) Kret the Krusher b) Czech Mate c) Czech Sphinx
6. Which company overtook Apple twice this year as the world’s most valuable business in the world, having nearly doubled in value in 2024? a) Nvidia b) Microsoft c) Amazon
7. Which security firm caused the world’s biggest outage with IT problems grounding planes, disrupting railways and taking TV stations off air? a) Cisco b) CrowdStrike c) McAfee
8. In August the Bank of England made its first interest rate cut in four years down from 5.25 per cent. Before then rates had risen to the highest level in how many years? a) 10 years b) 8 years c) 16 years
9. Lord Stuart Rose was damning about Asda, the supermarket he chaired, saying he was “embarrassed” by its performance. Put the below in order of exits: a) Mohsin Issa, boss b) Zuber Issa, co-owner c) Stuart Rose, chairman
10. Rachel Reeves said she would take a penny off a pint in the Budget. But how much did pub chain Fuller’s boss Simon Emeny say her tax raid would add to the price of a pint? a) A quid b) 50p c) 10p
11. Jaguar’s rebrand was widely ridiculed for putting out an advert that didn’t feature a car. What was the rebrand’s new slogan? a) Copy nothing b) Sell nothing c) Show nothing
12. Billionaire Mike Ashley wanted a new job this year. What did he apply for? a) Chief ales taster at Wetherspoons b) Head of Department for Government Efficiency c) CEO of online fashion retailer Boohoo
Beer prices to fall by 1p Rachel Reeves reveals in Budget – but drinkers will be hit by more expensive booze
ANSWERS
1. a) Toby Jones.
2. b) and c) A door peg on the plane blew out mid-air with the pressure ripping a teenager’s shirt off their body.
3. b) Seven – (George Osborne, Philip Hammond, Sajid Javid, Rishi Sunak, Nadhim Zahawi, Kwasi Kwarteng, Jeremy Hunt).
4. c) Czech Sphinx.
5. b) Scarlett Johansson.
6. a) Nvidia.
7. b) CrowdStrike.
8. c) 16 years.
9. b) Zuber Issa in June a) Mohsin Issa in September c) Stuart Rose in November.
10. c) 10p.
11. a) “Copy Nothing.”
12. c) To become Boohoo CEO as part of his activist campaign
Jobs risk in Aviva’s takeover
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Aviva has clinched a £3.7billion takeover of rival insurer Direct Line
OVER 2,000 jobs are at risk after Aviva clinched a £3.7billion takeover of rival insurer Direct Line.
Aviva yesterday announced it had agreed a recommended cash and share deal, two days before a Christmas Day bid deadline.
Boss Amanda Blanc said it was “excellent news for the customers and shareholders of Aviva and Direct Line”.
Direct Line also owns the Green Flag and Churchill insurance brands, which will beef up Aviva’s business in home and car insurance.
Direct Line has struggled to turn around its business and already slashed 550 jobs in November to cut costs.
Aviva said it was aiming for at least £125million in cost synergies and planned to reduce the combined workforce by 5 to 7 per cent.
This would be equivalent to between 1,600 and 2,300 job losses over three years. Aviva has over 23,000 employees, and Direct Line just over 10,000.
Range in rebrand
THE RANGE will rebrand up to 70 former Homebase stores throughout 2025 but keep the latter’s website up and running.
Controlled by Plymouth-based billionaire Chris Dawson, The Range snapped up Homebase after it fell into administration last month.
The retailer said it will continue to use the Homebase brand name for garden centre concessions in Range stores, kitchen installations and some home improvement products.
Honda accord?
JAPAN’S top motor firms are in talks over a merger to help them survive the rise of cheap Chinese electric cars.
Honda and Nissan, the country’s second and third biggest car-makers, are leading talks with Mitsubushi to decide by January if a three-way agreement can go ahead.
All are suffering from weak demand for their EVs, and have been hit by soaring costs of investing in new technology.
The three firms have a combined £46billion valuation — well below Japan’s No1 car firm Toyota on £186billion.
BOOHOO has offloaded its office in Soho, London, for £49.5million to help repair its balance sheet.
The online fashion retailer bought the office for £72million three years ago when it was riding high on the back of an internet sales boom.
Winner served
A GROWING appetite for fried chicken has delivered a £400million fortune to the trio who brought fast food chain Wingstop to the UK.
The brand has now been gobbled up by US private equity firm Sixth Street — which will result in a big windfall for entrepreneurs Tom Grogan, Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin.
Six years ago they made a cold call to Wingstop’s US parent company, asking if they could bring it to Britain. It now has expanded to 57 UK sites, which employ 2,500 staff.
