Month: August 2020

The Miami Heat are on the verge of a sweep. The Heat and the Indiana Pacers squared off in Game 3 of their first round series on Saturday afternoon, and despite the Pacers showing some serious guts to rally back from as many as 20 points down against their Eastern Conference foes, Miami came out on top, 124-115. With the win, Erik Spoelstra’s bunch took a commanding 3-0 series lead.

The Heat seemed poise to cruise to a win based off of a dominant first half. The team had a 75-56 lead at the half, in large part due to the fact that Miami shot 11-for-20 from deep in the first 24 minutes — the point total and the number of made triples were both a single-half record in franchise playoff history.

Darn near everything worked for Miami in the first half, something that was exemplified at the end of the second quarter when Goran Dragic darted into the lane and beat the buzzer with a layup that just barely made it out of his hand.

That hot shooting disappeared in the third, though, and ironically enough, that led to a scintillating quarter for the Pacers. In what was a wonderful team effort, Indiana began the frame on a 12-2 run, locking Miami down on one end and taking advantage of their chances at the other. By the time the quarter came to an end, Indiana’s once-gigantic deficit was reduced to only four, and the Heat took a 94-90 lead into the fourth.

Whatever Spoelstra said in the huddle prior to the fourth appeared to work. The quarter was defined by the Pacers looking ready to get over the hump — 94-92, 98-95, 111-109, 114-112 — but the Heat figuring something out. Their best shot may have come on the possession following that last aforementioned score, with Malcolm Brogdon drilling a triple to put Indiana within arm’s reach.

But unfortunately for the Pacers, Bam Adebayo is quite hard to keep off of the glass. The Heat missed back-to-back shots, but Adebayo reeled in both, eventually making his way to the free throw line and drilling them both. On the following possession, T.J. Warren had a contested layup, but was met at the rim by Jimmy Butler.

Despite a shot clock violation on the next Miami possession, Indiana couldn’t score, and from there, the Heat just ran down the clock, with Butler, Dragic, and Jae Crowder baiting the Pacers into fouls and getting eight points in the final 40 seconds from the free throw line.

Four players on the Heat scored at least 20 points. Butler led the way, going for 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block. Despite a tough shooting night (5-for-16 from the field), Butler was tenacious in getting to the charity stripe, where he went 17-for-20. Dragic dropped 24 and pitched in six assists, Adebayo had a double-double with 22 points and 11 boards, and Tyler Herro provided 20 points off the bench.

For the Pacers, Brogdon was superb, scoring a career-high 34 points, dishing out 14 assists, and hauling in seven rebounds. Warren had a productive day at the office — 23 points, six rebounds, five steals, two assists — while Oladipo scored 20 points, albeit on 21 shots. If Indiana has any hopes of a comeback, their All-Star guard will have to find the form that made him one of the best players in basketball prior to the quadriceps injury that cost him a year of action.

Game 4 will take place on Monday evening. Things are slated to tip off at 6:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Zack Snyder recently released a short teaser for the Snyder Cut of Justice League, and during Saturday’s DC FanDome event, a teaser trailer materialized. In other words, it’s all happening for the not-so-little fan campaign (and Snyder, who stepped away from completing the film due to a family tragedy with Joss Whedon taking over the theatrical cut) that persuaded HBO Max to make it so after years of waiting.

Previously, Snyder let viewers know that his cut is “an entirely new thing,” not to mention an installment that won’t affect the DCEU, continuity-wise. From the looks of this trailer, he’s delivering on those promises. Among other things, we get a better look at Superman’s Black Suit in motion. We’ve got more Darkseid, an upgraded Steppenwolf, and plenty of shots of Batfleck, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash.

If you’re a fan of the latter two heroes, you’re in luck with this cut. Prior to unveiling the trailer, Snyder revealed that Cyborg is “the heart of the movie,” and he’s excited to flesh the character out more onscreen. There’s certainly going to be room for that here, and with more of The Flash as well, given that the film will be over four hours long.

We knew this thing would probably be dark as well as epic, and setting the trailer to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” certainly sets that mood. The Snyder Cut panel happened following reveals about Wonder Woman 1984 (a new trailer) and The Suicide Squad (the new roles played by Pete Davidson, John Cena, Idris Elba, and more), so let’s just say that the stage was sufficiently primed for the returning Snyder.

It’s worth nothing that HBO Max is referring to this (in press materials) as “the Director’s Cut of Justice League,” but yep, fans are gonna keep saying “the Snyder Cut.” Look for the cut in 2021 on HBO Max.

Much of the world has been deprived of concerts the last five months because of the still-ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While the United States continues its work on lowering cases of the virus to a number worth considering a return of concerts, Germany believes they are in a comfortable enough position to conduct some experiments regarding a potential return to indoor concerts.

The German government is testing the spread of coronavirus for indoor concerts through a research study. In the study, 4,000 people between the ages of 18-50 were called to participate and attend one of three concerts by singer Tim Bendzko. According to TMZ the purpose of this study has been defined as a way “to investigate the conditions under which such events can be carried out despite the pandemic.”

Each volunteer is provided with face masks and must wear tracking devices to track whether they are socially distancing and how close they interact with people if they do not. Another device is used within the study to show how aerosolized particles spread. The first concert in the study occurred Saturday in Leipzig, Germany where 2,000 people attended.

The Minister of Economics and Science offered a statement on the study saying, “As long as there is a risk of infection, major concerts, trade fairs and sporting events cannot take place. This is why it is so important to find out which technical and orginisational conditions can effectively minimise the risks.”

You can see a video from one of the concerts above.

(via TMZ)

Monday Night Football’s move to ESPN at the end of the 2005 season is part of the last big shuffle of National Football League broadcast rights, but according to a report, ABC is looking to get back into the football game once more.

According to Front Office Sports, Disney is maneuvering to bring Monday Night Football back to ABC, and a source says there’s a good chance the deal actually happens. According to the report, ABC is in an “increasingly strong position” to land the deal with the NFL.

Negotiations between the NFL and network partners ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and CBS Sports for the next round of TV rights are still in their early stages and nothing is finalized.

But sources on both sides of the negotiating table say Disney is making a strong push to bring ABC back to the NFL TV lineup. If ESPN retains MNF, the games could also be simulcast or megacast on ABC. “Both Disney and the NFL want it to happen,” said a source.

ABC had the rights to Monday Night Football from 1970 to 2005, when the networks shuffled a bit and ESPN swapped out Monday Night Football for Sunday Night Football. NBC took the latter over, eventually getting a significantly better pick of games in the process. ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast contract runs up until 2021, and Front Office Sports reported that a deal with ABC could put the network into the rotation of networks that airs the Super Bowl, which right now stands at NBC, Fox, and CBS.

ABC has moved on from Monday Night Football in a variety of ways in recent years, most notably turning that time slot into the Bachelor zone. But a return to broadcast television would be significant here, and it looks like Disney wants to make it happen very soon if the reports at to be believed.

Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner has left IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida — where the 2020 WNBA season is being held — due to personal reasons, the team announced Saturday.

“Our team’s commitment remains on the 2020 regular season and playoffs,” the Mercury’s statement read. “Our players and coaches will have no additional comment on the matter.”

The news comes after Griner missed Phoenix’s game against the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night, in which the Lynx won 90-80, due to personal reasons. The loss to Minnesota was the team’s third consecutive loss, and in Griner’s absence, Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith couldn’t do enough as Phoenix really missed having her interior presence. Kia Vaughn stepped in to replace the 29-year-old, but only managed three points and two assists to go with five rebounds.

This season, the Mercury have struggled to meet expectations, currently sitting in sixth place in the league standings with a 6-7 overall record. Considered a title contender heading into the 2020 season, the Mercury look frustrated as they are unable to string together consistent wins. The Mercury’s final regular season game is scheduled for Sept. 11 against the Seattle Storm, and if they stay among the top eight seeds, their stay in Bradenton will be extended for the playoffs.

If Griner returns to IMG Academy this season, she will likely have to quarantine before being allowed to return to action.

Despite facing some recent struggles in his campaign, Kanye West is pushing full steam ahead in his attempt to run for president. The rapper recently celebrated his appearance on a number of ballots in states across the country including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, and Tennessee. While that may have been a good sign for Kanye, the rapper has reportedly missed an important financial deadline for his presidential run according to TMZ, one that points to trouble for his campaign’s already slim chances.

The report reveals that Kanye missed an FEC deadline, which was August 20, to file a financial report for when he raises or spends $100,000 on his campaign. Filing this report is required by the FEC, so Kanye not doing so it means one of two things: he missed the filing deadline or he failed to raise or spend $100,000 on his campaign. Neither are good news for his presidential run.

The news comes after Wisconsin banned Kanye from appearing on the presidential ballots after The Wisconsin Elections Commission, a bipartisan panel consisting of three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 to ban the Chicago rapper from the ballot due to late qualifying paperwork. Prior to that, a poll from Politico/Morning Consult revealed Kanye was polling very poorly among Black voters, gaining only 2% of their vote for his presidential run.

(via TMZ)

The Orlando Magic stunned the Milwaukee Bucks in the first game of their opening round series Tuesday. It was a legitimate shock, as the Magic looked terrific and the Bucks — which sleepwalked through the Bubble’s seeding games — appeared to have some questions to answer. A few days and two games later, and boy, does that all seem pretty funny in retrospect.

Milwaukee trounced Orlando in Game 2 and once again asserted themselves in Game 3 on Saturday. Thanks to their most recent effort, a 121-107 win that wasn’t quite as close as the final score indicated, the Bucks are now 2-1 up in the series. As usual, Giannis Antetokounmpo magnificent: 35 points on 12-for-14 shooting, eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal.

Welcome To The Playoffs, Khris Middleton

No one on the Bucks needed a big game more than Middleton. He scored 14 points and shot horribly in Game 1, and despite the win in Game 2, the All-Star forward scored two points. While his abilities to rebound and distribute were there, the scoring and shooting that makes him such a valuable player — particularly next to Antetokounmpo — had abandoned him.

He still isn’t at his best, but Middleton had himself a nice Game 3. He scored 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting while connecting on three of his seven attempts from deep. Middleton also pulled in eight rebounds and doled out six assists. Again, this is not the level that Middleton can reach at his best, but using this series as a springboard to achieve the level he’s capable of achieving is gigantic for Milwaukee going forward.

The Bucks Have To Play 48 Minutes

At one point in the third quarter, Milwaukee found itself up by 34 points. It’s not an unfamiliar spot for them to be in this year — the Bucks were quite good at mashing opponents during the 2019-20 season, and normally, the fourth quarters are just formalities, as both teams end up clearing their benches and going on cruise control.

The thing that’s so interesting is that while Milwaukee picked up two double-digit wins, both included them switching off for a bit and Orlando staging a comeback. This time, the Magic got within 12 in the fourth quarter. They never got closer, and Milwaukee was able to create some space between the two teams before Orlando rallied late, but the fact that they made it to that point made me raise my eyebrows.

Part of this is due to the fact that Orlando plays really, really hard and has zero sense of quit in them. But as the postseason goes on, the Bucks can’t have these sorts of big lulls that give an opposing team a chance to rally back and close the distance. A team like the Magic — especially this extremely hobbled version — don’t have anywhere near the firepower to really threaten Milwaukee. Teams like Boston, Miami, and especially Toronto do.

A Moment Of Appreciation For The NBA’s Most Fun Backup Backcourt

God, watching D.J. Augustin and Terrence Ross when they’re both cooking is a blast. The pair played really well off the bench for Orlando on Saturday — the former had team-highs with 24 points and six assists, while the latter chipped in 20 points. Both shot 8-for-13 from the field and connected on four threes.

The Magic are almost certainly not going to be championship contenders any time soon. They’re in a position to consistently be a very solid and very annoying team going forward, particularly if they can stay healthy, but it’s hard to see them competing for a ring barring something unforeseen. Still, whether it happens in Orlando or elsewhere, it’d bee really cool to see Augustin, 32, or Ross, 29, suit up for a title contender sometime before their careers come to an end. Every team could use Augustin’s steady hand and ability to run an offense, or Ross’ ability to catch fire and score in bunches. And if they take another game off of Milwaukee in this series, odds are at least one of those two dudes will be a big reason why.

The 2020 MTV VMAs are almost a week away and to ensure the show goes on despite the pandemic, they’ve set up a livestream ceremony to be hosted by Keke Palmer. The initial list of performers was revealed at the beginning of the month, with Roddy Ricch, The Weeknd, and more added later. Unfortunately, Roddy Ricch has since revealed he will no longer be able to perform.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be performing at this year’s VMAs as announced,” Roddy wrote in an Instagram story post. “My team and I did everything in our power to make this work, due to COVID compliance issues at the last minute we had to call off the performance. My team and I are safe and everyone’s health is a main priority, as well as giving a quality performance. I appreciate MTV for the opportunity to perform and I hope I can see y’all next year. STAY SAFE.”

While Roddy’s cancellation may be a disappointment towards his fans, they have some reason to be optimistic: He revealed in a recent GQ profile that his upcoming sophomore album will be a “full-blown masterpiece.”

Roddy Ricch is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It may have grossed three quarters of a billion dollars, but 2016’s Suicide Squad was still considered something of a disappointment, enough so that a chunk of its cast — chief among them Will Smith’s Deadshot and Jared Leto’s Joker — wound up not coming back for the confusingly named sequel. But at least there’s plenty of new cast members to make up for that. In fact, the teaser dropped at this weekend’s DC Fandome showed nothing but its new Squad members, one after another for two whole minutes.

Of course, some of them were coming back: Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney’s Boomerang, plus non-good villains like Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag and Viola Davis’ government stooge Amanda Walker. But there were plenty of newbies — 13 to be exact. The biggest news was that we learned what characters will be played by three of its most famous additions: Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, and John Cena as Peacemaker.

Here, for the record, is the rest of the main cast, a number of them regulars for new director James Gunn, who replaced David Ayers:

• Michael Rooker as Savant
• Flula Borg as Javelin
• David Dastmalchan as Polka Dot Man
• Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher
• King Shark (actor not revealed)
• Mayling Ng as Mongal
• Peter Capaldi as Thinker
• Alice Braga as Solsoria
• Nathan Fillion as T.D.K.
• Sean Gunn as Weasel

Alas, you’ll have to wait almost a year to see them in action. The Suicide Squad is due to hit theaters on August 6, 2021.

You can watch the trailer in the video above.

James Gunn recently teased that no one had correctly guessed Idris Elba’s The Suicide Squad role. We already knew that it wouldn’t be Deadshot, since that supervillain’s hanging in reserve for Will Smith’s eventual return to the franchise, and Gunn suggested that he’d be revealing the Elba detail at this weekend’s DC Fandome. Well, that’s happened and more. Not only did we learn about Elba’s role but also that of Pete Davidson (whose role people actually accurately guessed awhile back), John Cena, Nathan Fillion, Peter Capaldi, and the rest of the new cast members. Let’s do this:

– Idris Elba as Bloodsport: Robert DuBois is an enemy of Superman, and a mercenary who wields high-powered firearms and weaponry that’s loaded with Kryptonite bullets. He’s a Vietnam War-obsessed, deranged supervillain who was employed in the comics by Lex Luthor to take on the Man of Steel.

– John Cena as Peacemaker: Christopher Smith is a pacifist diplomat who prefers using non-lethal weaponry and other combat mechanisms, which are consistent with his commitment to achieving world peace. That doesn’t work out so well, and he gradually becomes more violent in his vigilantism.

– Pete Davidson as Blackguard: Richard “Dick” Hertz has a super-criminal record but previously was a solo operative who gained powers after his recruit into the 1000. They eventually sought to execute him, but he escaped death and later joined the Suicide Squad, where he clashed with The General.

Here’s the rest of the gang, some returning and some new:

– Harley Quinn – Margot Robbie
– Amanda Waller – Viola Davis
– Colonel Rick Flag – Joel Kinnaman
– Savant – Michael Rooker
– Javelin – Flula Borg
– Polka Dot Man – David Dastmalchian
– Ratcatcher 2 – Daniela Melchoir
– Mongal – Mayling Ng
– The Thinker – Peter Capaldi
– Sol Soria – Alice Braga
– TDK – Nathan Fillion
– Weasel – Sean Gunn
– Captain Boomerang – Jai Courtney
– King Shark – Unknown

That includes one hell of a freshened-up Task Force X. (RIP Slipknot.)

Gunn also revealed that this film, which has been characterized as a franchise relaunch after David Ayer’s 2016 blob-filled extravaganza, Suicide Squad, will function as a sequel to the John Ostrander-written comic books. He also promised a ton of explosions, which feels like a given, but it’s still nice to hear, since we’re all missing the movies.

The Suicide Squad will release on August 6, 2021.