awesome

'Obviously awesome' -- Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade honored

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki and Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade said goodbye to the All-Star Game stage in style as both future Hall of Famers were honored during Team LeBron's 178-164 victory over Team Giannis on Sunday night.

Nowitzki and Wade were added to the All-Star pool of players by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and both appreciated the gesture and the emotional moments they experienced throughout the weekend -- the biggest one coming between the third and fourth quarters, when each player was presented a framed All-Star jersey by his team's captain and were both joined at center court by the rest of the game's All-Stars for a picture.

"This one was special," Wade said of his entire experience. "I'm just thankful for the NBA for making sure and accommodating one of the things that I didn't even think I needed or wanted. My team did an amazing job, my family. I couldn't ask for anything more of this weekend. It definitely was my most enjoyable. People like to ask, and this one will take the place now as my most memorable and most enjoyable All-Star."

Both Nowitzki, 40, and Wade, 37, gave a small speech to the crowd during the jersey presentation.

Kevin Durant won his second career All-Star MVP, after helping lead Team LeBron back from a 20-point deficit in a 178-164 win over Team Giannis. Durant finished the game with a team-high 31 points.

Team LeBron and Team Giannis put on a show in Charlotte. Here is every big moment from the 2019 All-Star Game.

The Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki and the Heat's Dwyane Wade, once rivals, swapped jerseys after Wednesday's game in Dallas.

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"The game is in good hands," Wade said. "So it's easy to walk away right now."

Both players had their share of memorable moments throughout the night. Nowitzki knocked down a pair of long 3-pointers at the end of the first quarter that got him smiling wide while running down the floor. Wade and former Heat teammate LeBron James connected for an alley-oop in the third quarter that brought back memories of their days playing together in Miami.

"That was obviously awesome," Nowitzki said. "I wanted just to play a few minutes and hoist up a 3 and that's exactly what happened. The first one I was a little deep, but I was like, 'Hey, last time on this stage, I'm going to go for it.' It went in. The second one I was like, 'Hey, let me step back a little more and see what happens,' and it went in too. It was just a fun all around weekend for me. It was a pleasure to compete with these guys one more time on this stage. I got honored in between the third and fourth quarter, that was emotional, so it was a great weekend for me and I'm ready to go home."

Nowitzki played just four minutes but finished 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, while Wade played 10 minutes and had seven points and four assists.

"I had some cool moments," Wade said. "I got the moments I wanted. I feel like the whole weekend has been that way. You visualize something and you hope it goes that way. It definitely has. It went way beyond the moments that I visualized, and that's all I needed."

Wade and Nowitzki's teammates seemed to be enjoying their success as much as each player did. The group spoke with reverence after the game about the impact both men have had on the NBA during their respective careers.

"It meant everything," said James, a close friend of Wade. "Like I've been saying the last couple of days, it's been a bittersweet moment for me with him. The bitter part is obviously this is the last time being on the same floor together and playing the game we love so much, and obviously all the memories we have, both as competitors, as teammates, so on and so on. Playing here in the States, playing abroad with Team USA and doing what we've been doing for so many years. And then the sweet part of it, seeing him be able to go off on his own terms, saying when he's done and nobody forced him out or did anything of that nature. He's able just to hang it up when he was ready to hang it up and be at peace with it all. So that's real sweet of it."

"It was surreal, man," Golden State Warriors All-Star swingman Klay Thompson said. "Those guys are such legends. Especially from my childhood. I've watched them battle it out in the Finals and the regular season, and those are two [players] that have had so much impact on the youth. You would practice the fadeaway, you practice the Eurostep Dwyane Wade set a precedent with. To be here and for the NBA to honor them like they did, they deserve it because they're true global superstars in this game and took our game to new heights."

Both players have been getting standing ovations in opposing arenas throughout the season, but only Wade has officially stated this is his last season. When asked about his own future after Sunday's game, Nowitzki was still not fully committed to retiring at the end of the year, but wore the look of a man who knew his time on the floor was coming to an end soon.

"Nothing that happened today changed my mind, if you're asking that," Nowitzki said. "But I want to see how the rest of the season obviously goes. Hopefully I can feel even better than the last few weeks and we'll see how it goes."

Nowitzki said new teammate Kristaps Porzingis has tried to talk to him about coming back for another year.

"We talked about that briefly," Nowitzki said. "I want to make that decision by myself. But I really want what's best for the franchise obviously. We'll see how my body is feeling, but if I just can't do it no more then it's time to go."

Knowing this was his last time on this stage, Wade was trying to soak in as much as he could with his family in attendance. Wade said the most meaningful aspect of his final season has been all the kind words from players throughout the league.

"I've had so many guys that play this game, guys that I maybe have a 'what's up' relationship with or guys that I don't even have a relationship with," Wade said. "But the things that they have expressed to me and the impact that I've made on their careers and what I've meant to them -- those right there are the things that when I walk away from this game, I am taking that with me. And I'm appreciative of all of them saying that to me. This league is competitive, but you say those things to each other. They got me on the way out, and I appreciate them all for it."

Captain Marvel Is 'Totally Awesome' and More First Reactions to Brie Larson's Superhero Movie

The first batch of Captain Marvel reviews are in — and they’re out of this world!

The Marvel film, which is set to hit theaters March 8, was screened for the first time by various press in New York City and Los Angeles, and the Brie Larson-led superhero adventure is receiving positive feedback across the board.

“#CaptainMarvel is (takes deep 90s breath) TOTALLY AWESOME,” Ash Crossan of Entertainment Tonight tweeted. “Never related to a Marvel character quite like Carol. She’s the stubborn witty 90s kid I like to think I am.”

RELATED: She’s Here! Watch Brie Larson in the First Trailer for Captain Marvel

IndieWire‘s Kate Erbland also had a strong take on the superhero film, saying it was a “different and weirder spin on the origin story narrative, and that’s a good thing.”

While Larson unsurprisingly received positive feedback for her lead role as Carol Danvers, another actor has also been identified for their strong performance in the film: Ben Mendelsohn.

“I can’t get over how great Ben Mendelsohn is,” tweeted Mike Ryan of Uproxx.

“I was worried he was just going to be one of those Marvel villains with alien makeup, but that’s not the case at all,” he added. “This movie doesn’t work without him.”

Mendelsohn, 49, plays Thoros in the film, the leader of the shape-shifting villainous aliens Skrulls.

Perri Meniroff of Collider.com was so enthusiastic regarding the film and the cast that he was ready for round two, tweeting “2nd viewing can’t come soon enough.”

The film, which chronicles Danvers becoming Captain Marvel when Earth is caught between a galactic conflict, also stars Lee Pace, Gemma Chan, Clark Gregg and Samuel L. Jackson.

Captain Marvel flies into theaters March 8.

Theft of North Dakotans' truck turns into 'awesome experience' thanks to friendly Manitobans

© Submitted by Wyatt Wahl Wyatt Wahl of Bismarck, N.D., shows off an ice fishing catch on Lake Winnipeg.

A couple of North Dakota men say the people of Selkirk, Man., rescued what could have been a terrible fishing trip after their truck and all their gear was stolen.

"It started out as a very unfortunate experience, and Selkirk made it into something that I'll probably never forget," said Tanner Ouellette of Dickinson, N.D.

"It was just crazy how they pretty much took us in," said his friend Wyatt Wahl of Bismarck, N.D.

Ouellette's 2016 Sierra Denali was stolen early Friday morning and quickly found by RCMP, but it was impounded — with all the men's fishing gear — for two days as police gathered evidence against the two suspects they arrested.

Wahl and Ouellette had travelled up to Selkirk, about 35 kilometres north of Winnipeg, on Thursday night so they could spend the weekend ice fishing.

They got to their Selkirk hotel around 11:30 p.m. but got up at 5:30 a.m. Friday to head farther north to Lake Winnipeg.

Coffee seemed necessary, so they popped over to the McDonald's next to their hotel on their way out, with all their gear in Ouellette's Sierra Denali Duramax, which was towing a trailer.

They left the truck running but Ouellette hit the lock button on his extra key fob.

"[We] came out and the vehicle was not there, and my buddy [Ouellette], like, looked at me, like 'What the heck? Did we park here?'" Wahl said.

© Submitted by Tanner Ouellette Submitted by Tanner Ouellette

Ouellette ran around to see if he could spot the truck while Wahl went back into the McDonald's and got staff to call the RCMP, who said they received the report of the stolen truck at 6:15 a.m.

After that, the two went back to the hotel next door, all plans of fishing gone with the truck.

They waited while police started patrolling, looking for the truck, which was equipped with OnStar, a General Motors product that provides not only hands-free calling but GPS navigation and security.

Ouellette told police his truck had OnStar, so police contacted the company, which told them where the truck was and that it had been turned off remotely, RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre said. Police found the truck abandoned on the side of Mowatt Road in the rural municipality of St. Clements.

​"I didn't even know that was a thing," Ouellette said about OnStar turning off the vehicle.

The thieves weren't with the truck, so police started looking for them. They found another vehicle in a ditch farther down Mowatt Road, with a man and a woman in it, at 7:15 a.m., Manaigre said.

"The two occupants were questioned and officers came across stolen property inside the vehicle that had been removed from the pickup truck," an email from Manaigre said. The two and another man all face charges.

Ouellette and Wahl got a ride out to the location of the truck, but they couldn't go near because it was a crime scene, so they ended up going back to the police station to wait to find out what would happen next.

That's when Selkirk's friendly Manitobans kicked it up a notch.

"Some people come running in and they want to take us fishing," Ouellette said.

Call for help on social media

Before 10 a.m. Friday, a post was up on the Ice Fishing Manitoba Facebook page, suggesting someone take the guys out fishing because they can't use their own gear. That post generated more than 100 comments, many of them offering equipment, transportation and a day of fishing.

The North Dakotans started getting Facebook and Instagram messages, texts and phone calls, all offering help.

"The whole community of Selkirk … stood up and showed its true colours," Ouellette said.

"It was insane how friendly everybody was and how this community all came together to make our trip a lot better than it could have been," Wahl said.

One man even offered to lend them his vehicle for the weekend.

"That was a crazy offer," Wahl said.

© Submitted by Tanner Ouellette Submitted by Tanner Ouellette

They couldn't take any of the offers right away because they were still dealing with the theft, so Louise Machinski of Bridgeview Bed and Breakfast took them to her place and fed them.

"She made us feel like we were just, like, at home," Wahl said.

"It was awesome. Thank you, Louise," Ouellette said.

The two fishermen were still without gear, but that was taken care of by the community. Dave Kozyra, whom they'd met on another fishing trip, took them out on Saturday.

"We went out fishing the next day with none of my stuff," Ouellette said. "I didn't expect anything like that and it was awesome."

'I'll be right back'

The pair come up to Canada to go ice fishing two or three times every year, they said, but they've never had an opportunity to really get to know the locals.

Their misadventure hasn't soured their opinion of Selkirk — but the community's response to their plight has them singing its praises.

"It was awesome, Selkirk. I'll be right back when I have the opportunity," Ouellette said.

The truck could have been stolen anywhere, said Wahl, who's more surprised by the response of the community than by the crime.

"There's bad people everywhere, and there's good people to fix it," he said.

Three people from Winnipeg have been charged in connection with the theft and are being held in custody.

A 43-year-old man is charged with stealing the truck, possessing stolen property and break-in instruments, possessing a controlled substance and failing to comply with probation. Another man and a woman are charged with possessing stolen property and break-in instruments.