The NBA is still trying to map out what the 2020-21 season will look like. Potential start dates have been all over the place, with the most recent indications being that the league believes it will have to wait until Jan. 2021 to tip things off following the most recent season getting delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s been reported that the NBA hopes to have a full, 82-game season with a postseason, something that isn’t a big surprise considering this year had to be shortened. There is, however, a pretty big issue hanging over this: The largest international basketball tournament, the Summer Olympics, are slated to occur in some form or fashion in the summer of 2021, and many of the NBA’s best players will want to participate.
Prior to Game 2 of the 2020 NBA Finals on Friday evening, commissioner Adam Silver addressed this, saying that he does not believe the league would install any kind of break during the Olympics.
“We’ll consider it. I think it’s unlikely, at the end of the day, that, if we start late, we would stop for the Olympics,” Silver said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “Because, as you know, it’s not just a function of stopping for the period in which they are competing over in Tokyo. But they require training camp, and then they require rest afterwards.”
Silver did concede that while Team USA would in all likelihood be fine, this would be difficult for international teams that rely heavily on the players they boast in the NBA. If the league would push things back three months from its normal schedule and tip off the 2020-21 season in January, a full, 82-game season with a full postseason would mean the year would end around August or September.
This, of course, would mean the Olympics – currently slated to start in late-July — would occur during the playoffs. There is no guarantee the Olympics happen based on how things are going amid the pandemic, but the lack of a break would make for an awkward situation for players who want to participate but are on playoff teams.
Live script readings have become one of the more popular forms of quarantine entertainment, with old casts reuniting over Zoom, usually with some special guests, and usually to raise money for charity. The Princess Bride got one. So did Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Now, as per Entertainment Weekly, the same is happening to another modern classic with a sprawling cast: Dazed and Confused.
Richard Linklater’s time piece, about a night in the life of high schoolers — plus an openly pervy slightly older dude, played by Matthew McConaughey — wasn’t a hit upon release. Instead it’s one of the movies, like The Big Lebowski, The Boondock Saints, and many more, that gained its audience on home video.
About two dozen of Dazed and Confused’s huge name cast will participate in the reunion, among them McConaughey, Parker Posey, Anthony Rapp, Adam Goldberg, Wiley Wiggins, and, of course, Ben Affleck, who played the most hissable character, who luckily gets his comeuppance. Patton Oswalt will moderate a Q&A afterwards. Will anyone do anything as entertaining as Shia LaBeouf toking his way through the Fast Times read? You can find out on October 11. The night’s chosen charities, incidentally, include March for Science and the Voto Latino Foundation’s campaign to promote voting in Texas. You can donate here.
The Dalmore/The Balvenie/Glenfiddich/iStock/Uproxx
Many whisk(e)y fans are creatures of habit. You know, the sorts of drinkers who exclusively stick to rye, Tennessee whiskey, scotch, or bourbon, depending on their personal preferences. We get it, of course — tried and true is tried and true for a reason. But the world (especially the whiskey world) is far too full of vibrant flavors and experiences to pigeonhole yourself.
Today, we’re reaching out to bourbon fans and urging you all to stretch a little. We get that you love your corn-based whiskey, aged in American oak, with its sweet vanilla and caramel notes. It’s always there for you with its famed “Kentucky hug.” But we’re here to put you on to the joys of scotch whisky — which can present similar flavor profiles.
If you know where to look, that is.
“Keep your eye out for scotches produced in the Highland Region of Scotland,” says Zach Wilks, bartender at Anthony’s Chophouse in Carmel, Indiana. “Highland scotches tend to be a little bit sweeter.”
To drill down a little further and get some specific bottle recommendations, we asked a handful of bartenders for their favorite scotch whiskies for bourbon whiskey fans.
Glenmorangie Nectar D’or
Jarred Craven, founder of Craven Cocktails and USBG bartender in Los Angeles
I’ve long been a bourbon drinker, but one of my early forays into scotch was Glenmorangie Nectar d’Or. I still think it was the right choice. The dessert wine cask finish boosts the sweetness, spice, and vanilla — all the things a bourbon drinker will love about this Scotch.
The best scotch whisky for fans of bourbon is Compass Box Hedonism. The use of aging in former bourbon barrels, blend of grain whiskies, caramel, vanilla coconut will resonate with bourbon fans.
The Glenrothes Bourbon Cask Reserve
Frederic Yarm, blogger for CocktailVirgin and USBG bartender in Boston
The Glenrothes Bourbon Cask Reserve utilizes solely first fill bourbon barrels, which provides a better flavor parallel to the American spirit than traditional scotch aging in various barrel types. Glenrothes’ nutty, honey, and spice notes — without much detectable peat smoke — is very understandable to an American whiskey drinker seeking to enjoy traditional American oak-derived flavors complementing the malt ones.
My love of whiskey has grown immensely over the years and I owe the transition from bourbon appreciation into the realm of scotch entirely to Bowmore 15. It has the iconic peat of an Islay scotch that is mellowed by its time spent aging in bourbon barrels and then finished in Oloroso sherry barrels. The combination of malt, peat, and style of aging produces a complex whisky with a smoky nose, rich toffee flavors, and sweet sherry finish.
Bowmore 15’s complexity and balance would be a welcome treat for any avid bourbon drinker and is a must to add to your list of whiskies to try.
Glenlivet Founders Reserve is aged with American oak casks — giving it a more approachable taste to an American bourbon palate. It’s creamy, sweet, and full of flavors that appeal to bourbon fans.
The Singleton Glendullan 12. It’s a single malt that’s been matured in oak barrels used for bourbon. It’s great for bourbon fans because of its sweet, caramel, and vanilla flavors with subtle hints of cinnamon.
The Dalmore 12 is my go-to for highland whisky. It spends its first nine-years in bourbon barrels, so it picks up a lot of those characteristics of vanilla, caramel, and subtle char.
The Balvenie 12 Year Doublewood has a very smooth flavor due to the dual maturation of the same single malt. Peatiness can deter bourbon drinkers from enjoying scotch, but this bottle is mild in peat while not losing that characteristic taste entirely.
Glenfiddich does a 14 Year finished in bourbon barrels — which is the perfect bridge for those on the path from bourbon to scotch. While it’s aged for 14 years in ex-bourbon barrels, it’s finished in charred, new American oak barrels to give it an extra kick of flavor.
The Dalmore 15
Andy Printy, beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis
The Dalmore 15 Year will blow most bourbon drinkers’ minds. The body is exquisite. The nose is sweet spice and dank lumber. As you put it to the tongue, it surges with warm toffee, caramel, and almost no heat. The finish is easily as smooth and honey-like as any “allocation” bourbon on the market.
Lagavulin 12 is my pick. I like the smoky notes and the malt flavor. It’s a great gateway for bourbon fans who want to get into smokier whiskies.
Aberfeldy 12
Gabriel Urrutia, co-founder of Drink Miami and USBG bartender in Miami
I love Aberfeldy 12 with its use of first-fill bourbon barrels. It also comes in at a great price point — so you’re comfortable drinking it on the rocks, neat or in a cocktail. The bourbon barrel gives it the added flavors of toasted caramel and sweet vanilla.
Rich The Kid has spent much of 2020 caught up in lawsuits. Back in February, the “New Freezer” rapper was hit with a lawsuit from his former management company, Blueprint Artist Management, who claimed he had not paid them for their services to him from the past three years. The company claimed they are owed $3.5 million in unpaid fees that accumulated following a deal both parties agreed to in 2017. Seven months later, a judge has made a decision in the case.
According to The Blast, Rich The Kid has been ordered to pay $1.1 million to Blueprint Artist Management after the rapper failed to respond to their lawsuit against him. The judge’s awarded price of $1.1 million is comprised of $960,614 in damages, $143,696.28 in interest, and $873 in costs, for a grand total of $1,105,183.28. The management company’s original lawsuit for $3.5 million included unpaid commission in the amount of $500,000 and a termination fee in the amount of $700,000 after Rich ended their contract in 2019. The lawsuit also states that Rich was waiting for a loan from his label in order to pay what he owed to Blueprint Artist Management.
At the end of May, a judge ordered Rich to pay over $300,000 to his landlord after the rapper was sued for skipping rent and damaging a Hollywood Hills mansion. The damages in the mansion included a broken saltwater pool system and entertainment system.
There’s plenty of news out there these days, but murder hornets are doing their best to stay atop the list of terrifying things that can kill you. The invasive species, which originate in Asia, were spotted in the Western part of the United States earlier this year, and officials now say they’re still here.
According to a story in The New York Times, “slaughter season” is upon us, and people are ready to start chasing down giant hornets. The story details one such hunter, Philip Bovenkamp, who discovered a hornet on his property and tried to do his patriotic duty and kill it.
In Washington State, the search for the colony near Mr. Bovenkamp’s property, which is near the Canadian border and about 30 miles south of Vancouver, has taken on particular urgency because the hornets are about to enter their “slaughter phase,” Mr. Spichiger said. That’s when they attack beehives in force, removing and decapitating every bee inside and then harvesting the brood and pupae for food.
If that sounds terrifying, well, try killing one as a human being. The toxins in what are colloquially called “murder hornets” can kill humans, and all Bovenkamp had on him was a can of wasp spray.
“I was a little weak in the knees” after seeing the hornet up close in the shop, he said. “My heart was beating fast.”
After Mr. Bovenkamp reported the hornet to the state Agriculture Department, Chris Looney, a state entomologist who went to the property to investigate, managed to catch an Asian giant hornet in a net — the first one caught alive in the United States, according to the department.
The plan, apparently, is to kill these hornets but also capture and track them back to their nest before the “slaughter phase” can begin in earnest. We’re all counting on you, Washington. This year has been tough enough.
Things could be going a lot better for the Miami Heat right now. The team is in an unenviable 2-0 hole in the 2020 NBA Finals, losing each of the first two games in their series against LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers. They’re bruised and battered, with Bam Adebayo missing Game 2 due to a shoulder injury (he’s optimistic for a return on Sunday) and Goran Dragic an unknown because of a torn plantar fascia.
It’s not great! Their most recent loss, a 124-114 defeat on Friday night, saw them fix one major problem that existed during Game 1. Their offense was tremendous, with Jimmy Butler taking on the role of playmaker, Tyler Herro having a solid performance, and Kelly Olynyk giving them a major offensive punch off the bench. They got to the free throw line a ton and had plenty of success there, hitting 31 of their 34 attempts from the charity stripe, and connected on 40.7 percent of their threes, although they didn’t shoot quite as many as they needed (11-for-27).
Their offensive rating was 125.1, which is very, very good. Their issue, however, has been on the defensive end of the floor. In Game 1, the Lakers had an offensive rating of 120.3. In Game 2, that number kicked up to 136(!), which is so good that the Golden State Warriors never hit that in any of the nine full NBA Finals games they played with Kevin Durant in the lineup. (Funny enough, the Cleveland Cavaliers managed to do that against them one time in those nine games.)
The numbers, in general, are incredibly not kind to the Heat on the defensive end of the floor. The Lakers are carving up their defense, with an effective field goal percentage of 56.6 percent and a true shooting percentage of 59.9 percent. An incredible 44.2 percent of their shots during the Finals have been threes considered “open” or “wide open,” per NBA.com. Those shots made up 32.1 percent of their shots during the regular season and 32.7 percent of their shots in the playoffs before the Finals. And of course, while that’s happening, Davis and James are getting basically whatever they want.
Getting Adebayo back and healthy should help solidify Miami’s defense a little more, if only because it means Olynyk — a very good offensive player who competes on defense but isn’t exactly Rudy Gobert — will play less. But even then, the Heat have just had zero answer for so much of what the Lakers can do. Even their vaunted zone, which has flummoxed opponents for lengthy spells throughout this postseason, just hasn’t been able to put the clamps on L.A.
Getty Image
Things really can’t get all that much worse and, because of this, I would like to suggest a possible solution: The Heat, which pride themselves more than any other team in basketball on their ability to out-work their opponents, should play defense like one of those overactive mid-major teams that makes the NCAA Tournament, raises hell, and goes on a run.
Consider, for a moment, the kinds of things you have come to expect out of those sorts of squads, like, say, VCU under Shaka Smart when they went all-in on Havoc, or West Virginia in those years when they have their best teams due to a high-intensity brand of basketball. These squads defend 94 feet, trap like crazy, do everything they can to force turnovers, and just generally try to throw opposing teams out of their rhythm. Even if they can’t generate a ton of turnovers or anything like that, the main goal is to do that last thing: rattle the opponent and make them uncomfortable.
Does this mean playing man-to-man for 94 feet? Sure! What about a full-court zone, either a 2-2-1 or a 1-2-1-1 or something like that? Why not! Miami’s defense, right now, could not be struggling any more against the team that was 11th in offensive rating in the NBA during the regular season. While the Lakers have two absolutely brilliant offensive players in Davis and James, they are not the offensive juggernaut that we’ve seen through two Finals games — their ORtg during the regular season was 112, it was 115.6 through the first three rounds of the playoffs, and in the Finals thus far, it’s been 126.3.
It is entirely plausible that this is just the Lakers playing really, really well, and as the series continues, they come back to earth a little bit. Even if their two stars do not slow down, the Heat banking on stuff like “Alex Caruso, Markieff Morris, and Rajon Rondo won’t continue to combine to hit 48.3 percent of their threes” probably isn’t the worst idea in the world. If I may briefly counter: It’s the NBA Finals, they have to win four of the next six games, and if the Lakers win twice, it’s over. They need to throw the farm at L.A., and why not try to do something extremely weird, like “play defense like an overly caffeinated 12-seed that wins by double-digits?”
The funny thing is the Heat have players to be able to pull off this kind of chaotic style, even for stretches. Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, and Andre Iguodala are all very good, very versatile, and very competitive defenders. Adebayo coming back gives them an anchor to whatever they’d what to do, and would, in theory, give the guys in front of him the freedom to fly around and do whatever they want to hunt turnovers. A lot would be asked of, say, Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson, who would need to stay on the floor so their offense does not completely crater, but while they are hardly stout defenders, “go stand there and trap the ball-handler in the backcourt” is something they can probably do.
There is a pretty obvious achilles heel here: rebounding. But the thing is the Heat are going to get absolutely shredded on the glass no matter what happens. The Lakers have absolutely owned the glass in this series, which is not particularly stunning, because they have more big and long and physical guys than the Heat do. It is impossible to punt on something when you can’t, and unless they decide to throw out a Butler-Olynyk-Adebayo-Udonis Haslem-Meyers Leonard lineup (please do this, Erik Spoelstra), they’re gonna continue getting hammered on the glass. It will be tough, but they can, instead, sell out on trying to turn the Lakers over a ton — L.A. was 23rd in the league in turnover percentage this year.
Listen, Miami’s in a tough spot right now, and even if they can get healthy between now and Game 3, they have a major, uphill battle ahead of them. It’s worth trying out everything to fix what has been an especially porous defense, which means it is worth trying to make games as weird as humanly possible by playing defense like a hyper-aggressive mid-major college basketball team.
After making fans wait more than a year for its arrival, 21 Savage and Metro Boomin delivered their Savage Mode II joint album on Friday. The reception of the album was been well so far with fans, including Morgan Freeman’s unexpected inclusion on Savage Mode II, where he appears as a narrator, as one of the album’s most enjoyable parts. Another point of conversation from the album is rooted in 21’s song, “Snitches And Rats.” The track has many of his fans concluding that it’s an indirect shot at Tekashi 69 following the colorful rapper’s trial, prison sentence, and now-completed house arrest. While the shoe may fit for Tekashi, 21 Savage isn’t willing to entertain the rumors.
Taking to Instagram to chat with fans, 21 Savage spoke about the song and revealed that intended as a message towards the “Trollz” rapper. “I see y’all talking about the ‘Snitches & Rats’ song [being] like a 6ix9ine diss song or something,” he said in the Instagram livestream. “6ix9ine ain’t the only rat in America. He’s not the only snitch in the world, man. F*ck wrong with y’all? Y’all need to listen to that sh*t though ’cause that sh*t is facts. A rat is a f*cking rat, period.”
As for Savage Mode II, the album arrived with fifteen tracks and features from Drake, Young Thug, and Young Nudy. The album quickly made headlines shortly after its release after Drake revealed he had a past relationship with SZA back in 2008 on the album’s song “Mr. Right Now.” You can watch 21 Savage’s respond to the “Snitches And Rats” rumors above.
A major college football upset occurred on Saturday afternoon. The TCU Horned Frogs, which entered as 10.5-point underdogs, went to Austin and knocked off the ninth-ranked Texas Longhorns, 33-31. It moved TCU to 7-2 against Texas since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12, and was the second week in a row that a major upset occurred in the conference, as Kansas State took down Oklahoma last Saturday.
It also featured a moment that, had I wagered on the under, I would have been driven to pulling my hair out. The total closed at 62, but plenty of bettors were able to get it at anything from 60 to 63. Here is how that went for those who got it at, say, 62.5 or 63:
TCU opted to take the reasonable approach to a fourth down with barely any time left, instructing quarterback Max Duggan to just run backwards and milk the clock. For under bettors, this had to feel like a slow-motion car crash, as it was evident that Duggan was going to take as much time as he possibly could and just run out of the back of the end zone. With the ball starting on the 15, that meant he was going to scamper 22 yards behind the line of scrimmage and see to it that the over hit.
For those who were able to get the total at 62.5 or 63, this was a catastrophic sequence of events. Lo and behold, Duggan makes his way out of the end zone and runs out the clock in one of the more agonizing ways possible.
Fans in college football stadiums is a weird sight to behold right now. Amid a global pandemic that has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths in the United States and hospitalized the commander-in-chief, many college football teams have tried to find ways to make their stadiums look a little more full beyond the handful of fans they’re allowed in, per their state’s various health and safety guidelines.
One answer that Texas football tried to pursue on Saturday afternoon is a whole bunch of cardboard cutouts, a la what we’ve seen a number of baseball teams do with fans of their squads. The Longhorns decided to add a little twist to the whole thing, though, by making the cutouts pictures of various roles held by the program’s most famous fan, Matthew McConaughey.
McConaughey, a native of Texas, is a fixture at Longhorn football games, having shown up on the sidelines — both at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and when the team has had road tilts — numerous times over the years. That opportunity will not be afforded to him again any time soon, and as a result, Texas tried to find a solution to that issue ahead of Saturday’s game against in-state rival TCU. Still, even if he’s not there physically, he is certainly there in spirit.
Donald Trump announced he had coronavirus early Friday morning and by that evening he was at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington seeking treatment, but the confusion over his health and just when he knew he had COVID-19 continued on Saturday.
Trump tweeted his diagnosis after midnight Friday morning, setting off a chaotic string of events in Washington. Several officials in the White House have tested positive, and many are scrambling to get results that were near Trump and his team over the last several days. Chris Christie, who helped Trump prepare for Tuesday’s debate and then appeared on network TV to analyze it, tweeted Saturday that he had contracted COVID-19 as well.
I just received word that I am positive for COVID-19. I want to thank all of my friends and colleagues who have reached out to ask how I was feeling in the last day or two. I will be receiving medical attention today and will keep the necessary folks apprised of my condition.
As the fallout of a White House super-spreader event continued to escalate, medical officials gave an update on Trump’s condition on Saturday morning as others around him reported they had also tested positive.
Trump had been quiet about his own status, only tweeting a handful of times in the hours since his COVID-19 testing results were made public. The president tweeted a brief video message on Friday after he was at Walter Reed, though it appeared to be shot in the White House before he left via Marine One.
The video drew plenty of reaction online, as did the subsequent news conference with medical officials on Saturday that put into question the timeline established by the White House about when Trump tested positive, how long he’s been receiving treatment and what exactly that treatment has been thus far. Doctors told reporters at the briefing on Saturday that the president was “doing very well,” but that was immediately contradicted by a pool report given to reporters that cast a much different light on his status and how important the next hours of his treatment are to his health.
JUST IN: A source familiar with the president’s condition tells reporters:
“The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”
That report, which was given directly to several reporters, was supposed to be off the record but reporters soon realized it came from Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows.
UPDATE: Immediately after the press conference ended and before the anonymous statement was sent out, Mark Meadows briefed reporters without cameras—but he was caught on a feed asking to be off the record. pic.twitter.com/JyrhSmu1Y0
Other reporters echoed the much more dire predicament that second report indicated, reporting that Trump was expressing fears about the virus and there was real concern about his health.
Conversations w Republicans close to WH over last 12 hours indicate it’s been far more dire than WH has said. Before being taken to Walter Reed, Trump kept asking aides, “Am I going out like Stan Chera? Am I?” (Chera was Trump’s NYC friend who died of Covid in April)
Per source, Trump was told on Friday he could go to Walter Reed voluntarily, but he would be taken no matter what when his condition worsened. Doctors told Trump if he waited he could lose ability to walk to Marine One (optics of a wheelchair or stretcher obvs would be terrible)
That’s jarringly different from the medial briefing, let alone the tweets sent from Trump’s account on Saturday afternoon. Perhaps more troubling, though, was the doctor’s statement during the press conference that Trump was 72 hours — or three full days — away from his initial diagnosis and 48 hours away from his first treatment of an experimental drug cocktail the White House had announced he started taking on Friday.
President Trump’s doctor says he’s 72 hours into the diagnosis. Another physician says Trump received a special antibody therapy “about 48 hours ago.” The public found out 36 hours ago that Trump was positive — only after it was revealed an aide had tested positive.
That disclosure would indicate that Trump tested positive well before Friday around 1 a.m. and he potentially went about business as usual while knowing his was COVID-19 positive.
The White House later attempted to clarify that timeline, saying the doctor that spoke was incorrect. But the release itself not only spelled “Regeneron” wrong, it incorrectly described the treatment the company says the president has received.
NEW: Regeneron spox Hala Mirza tells @CBSNews‘s @amybirn that it’s incorrect to call what the President has received “polyclonal antibodies.”
“It is two monoclonal antibodies. It was incorrect in the physician’s letter.” https://t.co/rYtEQlWQNm
That, coupled with an AP report that the president did, indeed, get supplemental oxygen on Friday afternoon as well as the conflicting report given anonymously to the White House pool reporters immediately after the press conference has made for an extremely confusing situation in Washington as the health of the president continues to be uncertain. What is certain is that the public is very much in the dark about the status of the president as he fights COVID-19, and it seems many in the American government itself seem to be equally confused about it all as well.
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