iStock/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES) — As wildfires in California rage on, three National Football League games are scheduled to take place in the state between Sunday and Monday, but plans could change as the NFL monitors concerns over air pollution due to smoke.

Amid worries over poor air quality at the games, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told ABC News that “at this point, all games will kick off as scheduled,” but league officials are “monitoring conditions in California and are in close communication with the clubs and local authorities.”

The Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams game is expected to take place at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and the Los Angeles Chargers will play the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

According to ESPN, the Rams canceled practice on Friday and the Raiders were limited to a walkthrough due to the fires.

Meanwhile, the New York Giants vs. the San Francisco 49ers game is expected to take place in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Monday night.

At least 23 people have been killed this week as flames from the wildfires engulfed their vehicles, homes and neighborhoods in Northern California, authorities said.

There were more 100 people missing in the region, but by Saturday, officials added that at least 70 people reported missing were located and are now safe.

Gov. Jerry Brown requested a presidential major disaster declaration to “bolster the ongoing emergency response and help residents recover from devastating fires burning in Butte, Los Angeles and Ventura counties,” his office announced on Sunday.

Butte County is in the north, while Los Angeles and Ventura counties are in the southern part of the state.

The governor’s request comes a day after President Trump blamed “gross mismanagement of the forests” in California for the trio of deadly wildfires, and threatened to withhold federal funding to assist the flame-ravaged state.

“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!” Trump tweeted on Saturday.

When asked about the president’s tweets, Evan Westrup, the governor’s press secretary, told ABC News on Sunday: “Our focus is on the Californians impacted by these fires and the first responders and firefighters working around the clock to save lives and property — not on the president’s inane and uninformed tweets.”

In August, wildfires in California broke records after the Mendocino Complex Fire became the largest in the state’s recorded history.

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Amin M. Jamali/Getty Images(NEW YORK) —  After a nearly forty-year ban, hundreds of Iranian women were allowed to attend an international soccer final at a stadium in Tehran on Saturday, where they managed to secure nearly one percent of the seats at Azadi Stadium.

Saturday’s event — the Asian Champions League final pitting an Iranian team known as Persepolis against a Japanese squad called the Kashima Antlers — saw the most significant female presence at a top soccer match in Iran since the Islamic revolution in the late 1970s.

Iranian conservatives have persistently been opposed to women attending live sports matches, but cultural pressure has been steadily building against the ban.

“It is time to let women in,” said Reza, 45, a real estate employee who was trying to find a ticket to enter the stadium. “We are fed up with so much economic pressures. We all need fresh air,” the woman, who declined to provide her last name, said.

Reformists and women’s rights activists have been pushing for opening the doors to stadiums for years. Besides, pressures from international bodies seeking Iran’s compliance with their required equality standards have occasionally forced Iranian authorities to let at least a small group of women in.

The practice invited widespread criticism by social media users who alleged that there were select groups of women attending the stadium to fulfill international expectations, an allegation denied by authorities.

“I prefer watching nonsense soap operas than Persepolis and Kashima’s match with this way of selecting the spectators,” wrote Samira Alampanah on her Twitter.

Waiting outside the doors about three hours before the match, Yalda, 28, said “we want to get in for Persepolis.”

“So, it will have some real fans on the seats, not just the select group allowed in to appease FIFA and AFC,” she said, referring respectively to the international and Asian governing bodies of professional soccer, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association and the Asian Football Confederation. Outside the U.S, soccer is known as football.

But Yalda’s path was tougher than she had imagined. She and a group of about 200 fans had to pass three gates before entering the stadium — each one of which kept their hopes of getting in hanging in the balance.

Ironically, some of the women reported, the officials at each gate were as uncertain as women themselves.

“I’ve been told ten times to go home and watch the match on TV, and then another official comes and says ‘there is still hope,’” said Mahsa Taheri, 27, an accountant who decided to skip a day at work once she heard that women would be allowed in.

“I’m here to stay,” she said.

After several hours of waiting, the gates were eventually opened for Yalda and others. A security official who requested anonymity told ABC News that Fariba Mohammadian, Iran’s Women’s Deputy Minister of Sports, helped exhausted and intimidated female fans into the stadium.

But, by the time the women got inside, the section of about 850 seats allocated to females was almost full. Despite being on their feet at the gates for hours, the newly-arrived fans started to cheer their team, many shedding tears of joy.

“I am proud that we insisted so much, leaving no way for the officials but to compromise to some extent,” said Maral, 42, who had come to watch the game with her sisters and her cousin. “We want our team to know that everyone supports them, not just men.”

In a note published on FIFA’s website, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said it was “a historic and festive day for football, a real breakthrough.”

Infantino thanked Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for paving the way for the women’s attendance at the stadium.

“This is the power of football and makes it all worthwhile!”

Once allowed in, some fans burst into tears of joy which were subsequently supplanted by tears of disappointed fans.

Persepolis lost the final to its Japanese rival.

“One thing I am sure is that we will definitely come again,” Maral said.

“We know that there will be gates on the way, but we hope it gets easier to get in.”

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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:
 
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
 Final OT  Philadelphia  133  Charlotte   132
 Final  Orlando       117  Washington  108
 Final  Detroit       124  Atlanta     109
 Final  Indiana       110  Miami       102
 Final  Brooklyn      112  Denver      110
 Final  Utah          123  Boston      115
 Final  Sacramento    121  Minnesota   110

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
 Final  Toronto     6  New Jersey    1
 Final  Columbus    2  Washington    1
 Final OT  Detroit     3  N-Y Rangers   2
 Final  St. Louis   4  San Jose      0
 Final  Winnipeg    5  Colorado      2
 Final  Minnesota   5  Anaheim       1
   
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
 Final  (13) Syracuse   54  Louisville        23
 Final  Boise St.       24  (16) Fresno St.   17
   
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
 Final  (2) Kentucky           71  S. Illinois           59
 Final  (6) Tennessee          87  Louisiana-Lafayette   65
 Final  (7) Nevada             83  Pacific               61
 Final  (8) North Carolina    116  Elon                  67
 Final  (11) Auburn            88  (25) Washington       66
 Final  (12) Kansas St.        56  Kennesaw St.          41
 Final OT  Buffalo                99  (13) West Virginia    94
 Final  (14) Oregon            81  E. Washington         47
 Final  (15) Virginia Tech     87  Gardner-Webb          59
 Final  (18) Mississippi St.   95  Austin Peay           67
 Final  (21) UCLA              91  Long Beach St.        80
 Final  (22) Clemson           71  NC Central            51
 Final  (23) LSU               97  UNC-Greensboro        91

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Interscope RecordsIce Cube takes aim at The White House with his new single “Arrest The President,” which he released today.

The former N.W.A. member calls for a raid of the President’s residence in the first track from his upcoming album, Everythangs Corrupt.

“Let’s meet at the White House / Run in and turn the lights out / They treat it like a trap house / These mother***ers never take the trash out,” he raps in the song.

Cube commented on Instagram, ““Arrest The President” – the first track from #EverythangsCorrupt just dropped. Go listen to some truth now.” 

Everythangs Corrupt, which is the rapper/actor’s tenth studio album, will be released on December 7. It will be Cube’s first studio album since I Am the West in 2010.

In other Cube news, the entertainer is also a sports fantastic, and according to TMZ, he’s teaming with LL Cool in a group that’s collectively hoping to purchase 22 regional sports channels.

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RCA RecordsKhalid has just released the video for “Better,” the song he dedicated to his hometown of El Paso, Texas.

In the clip, the American Music Award winner sings on a rooftop parking lot while surrounded by a dozen cards whipping around him.

“Better” appears on Khalid’s new Suncity EP which he dropped October 19.  The 20-year-old singer released the song right after El Paso honored him on September 13 by declaring “Khalid Day” in the city.

Khalid has two nominations for the Soul Train Music Awards: Best R&B/Soul Male Artist and Best Collaboration Performance for “OTW,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign and 6lack.

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Epic RecordsGet ready to be immersed in all things Mariah Carey.

The singer is launching “The Mariah Experience,” an interactive exhibit in New York City, to coincide with her new album’s release next week.

Mariah herself will make an appearance at the installation’s launch on November 16 at 7:30 p.m. to sign copies of the new album, Caution.

The exhibit, housed at Sony Square NYC at 25 Madison Avenue, will feature a Mariah-themed space with Instagrammable photo setups, multimedia displays, memorabilia, a pop-up shop and more.

“The Mariah Experience” runs through December 4.

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Arik McArthur/FilmMagicShots were reportedly fired while Tekashi 6ix9ine and Kanye West were shooting a video Thursday night at an $80 million estate in Beverly Hills 

TMZ reports that at 10:25 p.m., police received a call that shots were fired — approximately eight, according to a person on the set.  No injuries were immediately reported.

Sources say that Tekashi and Kanye were on the set. Nicki Minaj was scheduled to be in the video but had not arrived when the shots allegedly rang out.

Police are checking video from security cameras in the area for clues. 50 Cent posted a photo on Instagram of a bullet hole in a window that may have been at the scene, and commented, “Now somebody done shot my son video up in LA.”

Shots were also fired on the set of a video Tekashi and 50 were shooting in August in New York city.

Two weeks ago, Tekashi was sentenced to four years probation for violating the terms of a plea agreement stemming from his 2015 arrest for the use of a child in a sexual performance.

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Anthony Causi / ESPN Images(OAKLAND, Calif.) — Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry will undergo an MRI Friday to evaluate the severity of an injury he sustained during Thursday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The team’s star guard didn’t return to the game in the third quarter due to an adductor strain in his left leg, ESPN reports. Curry briefly tried to stay in the game after he injured himself while challenging a move by Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe. But the injury to his leg proved to be too much for Curry, and forced him to leave the game without returning.

Curry’s teammates and coach don’t seem to be too worried about the seriousness of his injury. Warriors coach Steve Kerr downplayed his concern to ESPN, despite having little experience with the type of injury Curry suffered.

“I’m not nervous. I have nothing to go off of. If this was an ankle, I could tell you four days, 12 days,” Curry said. “But I will see tomorrow. …I’ve honestly never done this before, so I have nothing to go off of.”

Teammate Kevin Durante said Curry “seemed good to me,” but added that he’d have to talk to Curry Friday as they await the MRI results.

“I have to talk to him [Friday] to see how he’s doing, but hopefully he’s doing well,” Durante told ESPN.

The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Golden State Warriors Thursday night 134-111.

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ABC News(NEW YORK) — A new film series is exploring the impact of basketball — both on the court and off — and through the eyes of those closest to the game.

ESPN’s epic 20-hour documentary Basketball: A Love Story, from director Dan Klores and co-producer, retired NBA player Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, features the game’s most influential figures.

“It’s just such a beautiful story. Pro, college, women, Olympics, 62 short stories,” Klores told ABC News’ Nightline. “This is my passion, and I think it’s a passion of hundreds of millions of people around the world.”

The series chronicles key moments of history in the game’s past, including racial injustice and the Civil Rights movement.

“It’s interesting because during that time, you know, yeah, there were things in places. I mean I played in North Carolina in college and there were places that you could go and places that you couldn’t go. Well that was just the times. And you understood that,” Monroe told Nightline. “But as the older players, you know, we appreciate, you know, where it’s been to, where it’s gotten to now.”

The film also exposes the game’s rocky path to gender equality in basketball.

Growing up, WNBA legend Rebecca Lobo wished she had someone to look up to in basketball.

“I wish there was somebody who looked like me. I wish there was a woman playing somewhere that was on TV every week and was showing little girls how to play hoops. But that wasn’t life then, that wasn’t life in the 70s, 80s and early part of the 90s,” Lobo told Nightline.

The WNBA was a big step forward for the sport when it was founded in 1996 after the U.S. Women’s Olympic Team won gold in Atlanta.

“They hadn’t won the gold medal in the ’92 Olympics and so they put this team together with a year to train. But it was so much bigger than that. We didn’t realize we were a test bubble essentially for the WNBA,” Lobo said.

With the WNBA, Lobo was given opportunities she never dreamed of growing up.

“You know, we were making appearances, were visiting places. We were in commercials. This was all new to us and not something any of us had ever thought about because it didn’t exist when we were growing up it’s not something we ever dreamed of because it would have been a pipe dream,” said Lobo.

“The WNBA, it’s an experiment that has worked, and I don’t care. You got all these critics, ‘Oh they don’t play as well as men.’ They’re not supposed to. It’s a different game. Look what the WNBA has meant to the culture, to young women, to girls,” Klores said. “It’s all about a host of other doors that are opening and have opened on every conceivable level that give to people what they need. Pride, encouragement, hope and confidence.”

Those feelings are a part of what Klores said is a much bigger picture in basketball.

“There’s another story being told that’s a story. It’s a story about basketball being a global common denominator,” Klores said.

To Klores and Monroe, basketball is, most of all, a game of love.

“You can go anywhere in the world and talk about just a few things: food, God, music, sex, basketball. Basketball is the game of the underdog,” Klores said. “Basketball presents both sides of love. That’s what these stories do — much more, so more so than in other activities. The joy of basketball, the wonder, the embrace, the disappointment, the loss, even the betrayal. That’s what basketball represents. It parallels race relations. It parallels the story of the underdog in America and now the world.”

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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Oklahoma City 98, Houston 80
OT Boston 116, Phoenix 109
Portland 116, L.A. Clippers 105
Milwaukee 134, Golden State 111

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Vancouver 8, Boston 5
Florida 4, Edmonton 1
OT Philadelphia 5, Arizona 4
OT Buffalo 6, Montreal 5
Vegas 5, Ottawa 3
Tampa Bay 4, NY Islanders 2
Carolina 4, Chicago 3
Dallas 4, San Jose 3
Minnesota 3, L.A. Kings 1

TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Wake Forest 27, (22) NC State 23

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 52, Carolina 21

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Seattle 3, Portland 2

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