Ostensibly Hoops

[The Anti k*]

[hedge]

Single digits except for one!

[The Anti k*]

Single digits except for one!

Exactly. Common denominator?

Coaching

Man, we absolutely had to have that game today vs Arkansas, or it was right back to the bubble all season long.

[Tree]

Looks like one bad season to me. And in a sport where everything just got completely rearranged and players getting paid and what not.

[Dave23]

Villanova came out smoking hot in the 1st half. That was a smack down.

Probably not the worst time for one…they’ll be fine…

[eCat]

I think UK plays Carolina this year don't we?

[eCat]

what I have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving is that I am not Josh Giddey

[Tree]

[eCat]

just heard my niece bought a house across the street from Calipari.

[innocentbystander]

just heard my niece bought a house across the street from Calipari.

You should have her paint a sign on the roof of her house that reads

How can we win another championship with a team full of one-and-dones?

[eCat]

There was nothing in Drew Ortiz's author biography at Sports Illustrated to suggest that he was anything other than human.

"Drew has spent much of his life outdoors, and is excited to guide you through his never-ending list of the best products to keep you from falling to the perils of nature," it read. "Nowadays, there is rarely a weekend that goes by where Drew isn't out camping, hiking, or just back on his parents' farm."

The only problem? Outside of Sports Illustrated, Drew Ortiz doesn't seem to exist. He has no social media presence and no publishing history. And even more strangely, his profile photo on Sports Illustrated is for sale on a website that sells AI-generated headshots, where he's described as "neutral white young-adult male with short brown hair and blue eyes."



Ortiz isn't the only AI-generated author published by Sports Illustrated, according to a person involved with the creation of the content who asked to be kept anonymous to protect them from professional repercussions.

"There's a lot," they told us of the fake authors. "I was like, what are they? This is ridiculous. This person does not exist."

"At the bottom [of the page] there would be a photo of a person and some fake description of them like, 'oh, John lives in Houston, Texas. He loves yard games and hanging out with his dog, Sam.' Stuff like that," they continued. "It's just crazy."

The AI authors' writing often sounds like it was written by an alien; one Ortiz article, for instance, warns that volleyball "can be a little tricky to get into, especially without an actual ball to practice with."

According to a second person involved in the creation of the Sports Illustrated content who also asked to be kept anonymous, that's because it's not just the authors' headshots that are AI-generated. At least some of the articles themselves, they said, were churned out using AI as well.

"The content is absolutely AI-generated," the second source said, "no matter how much they say that it's not."

After we reached out with questions to the magazine's publisher, The Arena Group, all the AI-generated authors disappeared from Sports Illustrated's site without explanation.

[hedge]

"Ortiz isn't the only AI-generated author published by Sports Illustrated, according to a person involved with the creation of the content who asked to be kept anonymous to protect them from professional repercussions."

How do we know that that second "person" isn't an AI?

[eCat]

how do we know YOU aren't AI?

[aTm]

Sports Illustrated probably bought that content from like India or whatever

[hedge]

I feel like we've been around long enough that we know nobody in here is AI, although IB could be a rudimentary early version. But I'm convinced some of the "posters" on IC are totally AI bots. And if they're not (IB and the posters at IC), then I welcome our AI overlords, b/c if those guys are real, anything would be an improvement...

[innocentbystander]

No AI is intelligent enough to response coherently to your gibberish

[Jungle Rat]

My buddies kid finally getting some extended minutes (13). 2 for 2 on 3 pointers. He was in a boot the 1st 3 games.

[hedge]

The bank was open...

[eCat]

good test tonight - Miami returning all JR and SR players against UK.

The spread is 6.5? not sure. My gut says UK doesn't cover. But they have been playing on a tear lately

[aTm]

A&M's shooting percentage is like 220th in the country or some shit but are rated 4th in offensive efficiency. We have like 20 more offensive rebounds than the next best power conference team.