Month: October 2020

On a few occasions during Benedict Men, the 12-episode Quibi docuseries executive produced by Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, I went back to something that the series’ director, Jonathan Hock, told me about sports documentaries before I dove in. As he explained, sports documentaries need to strike a balance.

“Well, the key to the good sports documentaries in my estimation is that they’re never about the sport,” Hock said. “And yet at the same time, the sport itself does provide a crucible for our characters to endure, to pass through, and to take the measure of themselves as individuals. ”

It’s hard not to consider that second point in just about any portrayal of high school basketball in America, particularly when it’s a vehicle like Benedict Men, which follows the basketball program at prestigious New Jersey prep school St. Benedict’s in Newark. In addition to its radical approach to education — which was featured on 60 Minutes in 2016 and puts students in charge of how the school functions — St. Benedict’s is an athletic powerhouse in the state. The soccer program, for example, has produced multiple members of the United States Men’s National Team, including former captain Claudio Reyna and one of his teammates at the school, current national team manager Gregg Berhalter.

But for Garden State natives like myself, the school has always been synonymous with its basketball program. St. Benedict’s just wins basketball games, including this past year’s State Prep A title, and sends dudes to college and the pros. J.R. Smith is a Gray Bee. Lance Thomas is, too. A handful of other dudes (Isaiah Briscoe, Trevon Duval, Tyler Ennis) who have had cups of coffee in the Association call the school home.

At the head of the school, someone with whom all the aforementioned names is assuredly familiar, is a Benedictine monk named Ed Lahey (affectionately known to the students and the viewers of Benedict Men as Father Ed). An alumnus of the St. Benedict’s — who, in a powerfully New Jersey moment, told me he went to school with much older relatives of mine — Lahey graduated in 1963, and since 1973, when the school reopened following a brief closure in the aftermath of the infamous Newark Race Riots in the late-60s, he’s been at the helm.

He also, as we learn in the second episode of the series, isn’t a particularly big fan of the way basketball, oftentimes dangled as golden ticket to the league for young men of color who have aspirations of a better life for them and their families, works in the United States. He makes a jarring comparison between high school basketball and slavery, and excoriated the myriad of voices in a young man’s life who are actively attempting to get them to buy into the thought of them having what it takes to become the next LeBron James some day.

“No 16 or 17 year old kids should be in a position of thinking that he’s got the whole burden of supporting his family and getting them out a poverty-stricken or worse misery situation,” Lahey tells me. “No kids should have on them, but the system stinks. The whole system stinks, which keeps people of color stuck in the situations that they’re in.”

It doesn’t help that basketball can run pretty antithetically to the way St. Benedict’s looks to operate. The school’s motto is “What hurts my brother hurts me,” and in the world of high-level high school hoops, viewing yourself as a member of a collective isn’t always easy. There are moments in the documentary where the program, led by head coach Mark Taylor, has to reckon with this. The on-court stuff you expect (players falling asleep on defense, or making terrible decisions with the ball, or deciding to shoot themselves out of slumps) pops up, as do things like showing up late to practices or struggling in school.

All of this is what inherently got me thinking about Hock’s quote.

Benedict Men is, at its core, about basketball’s role in something much larger: a community made up of kids who will, one day, go on to do something other than play basketball. While the school — and, by extension, the basketball program — teaches its students everything you might expect, there’s also an emphasis placed on understanding that your best interests and someone else’s best interests are two in one the same, something that Lahey believes important to emphasize in general.

“Whatever hurts my brother hurts me, or whatever hurts my sister hurts me, is what the place is built on,” Lahey says. “That’s how you create community, and what we’ve lost in this country, what’s been destroyed in this country, is the sense of community. We suffer from it horribly. And if we can’t figure it out, there’s going to be big, big problems beyond us, in the not too distant future, is my belief. So we work overtime on creating community and constantly communicating this sense of community, and that’s what a team is built on it.”

The season the team goes through in the documentary tests the sense of community the program is built on. A collection of its players go through their own ups-and-downs, whether it’s current Xavier guard C.J. Wilcher hurting his ankle, Eastern Illinois big man Madani Diarra working to get healthy after missing a year and a half due to a knee injury, or St. Peter’s wing Zarique Nutter hitting a collection of bumps in the road during his time with the team. The Gray Bees have squad-wide affirmations after wins, major heart-to-hearts following low points, and with a season culminating in a loss to a rival in the state title game (it’s not a spoiler since it’s several years old and something you can Google), the ethos of the program and of the school at large are put to the test.

It’s a really interesting documentary, one that gives a glimpse into a basketball program that is a microcosm of a school that features a vast, diverse population. Students from all backgrounds — different races, different religions, different classes, etc. — are part of a radical experiment to try and figure out what happens when you believe in the power of a community to overcome, a rising tide to lift all boats. Should one boat get a hole in it, there is a sea filled with others ready, willing, and able to assist.

And at the center of it all — although this is surely a depiction he’d dislike — is a septuagenarian Benedictine monk with a thick Jersey accent and an overwhelming belief in the inherent good his students possess. Basketball is merely a way to build bridges to unite them in that inherent good.

This is on display in the final scene of the documentary. It takes place at the school’s graduation ceremony, and Lahey’s arms are wrapped around a pair of members of the team — Diarra and starting guard Jake Betlow. The former is a practicing Muslim, the latter is Jewish, and Lahey, of course, is Christian, something that he points out to the duo’s delight.

As a man of unshakeable faith, Lahey wants to teach his students that the divisions that exist because of things like the version of God they believe in are unnecessary.

He explains:

What gets us in trouble, Bill, as you know, is religion in this world. We kill each other over religion, but there’s a difference between religion and faith. Faith has to do with a relationship with the mystery of what we in English called G-O-D, God. Of course, the problem is that once you name that mystery, you’ve already limited it, right? Limited the mystery, which you can’t do, but we have to use words. So this mystery of divine love is part of every major religion, certainly there is religions of the book — Islam, Judaism, and Christianity — and I describe it, I think, for people usually is we’re all climbing the same mountain of faith, but we’re just climbing it from different sides. Islam coming from one side, Judaism kind of close to us coming up. But the great news is that we all meet in the eternal embrace of the mystery of love, of the mystery of the divine, of God, on the top of the mountain.

That’s the shocker. That’ll be the shocker for some people, they’ll get up there and they’ll say, ‘How the hell did you get here? You’re not Christian, or you’re not Muslim, or whatever.’ But so, if you can focus on faith and helping kids to realize that God’s love for them as they are, and God loves all of us as we are, that’s the the good news, especially if you know how you are and that you realize that God loves you, anyway.

That’s what we’re trying to communicate, not so much religion. Religion is the rules that kind of support the belief. But if you get focused on all the rules and everything, that’s what allows us to start hurting one another. So yeah, guys like Mandani and Jake Betlow, that’s critical to who we are. And these kids, why do we do it? Why? Because we want to be a sign of faith. People come to faith by seeing signs of faith. The signs of faith essentially are two things: love and unity. Not unison, but, unity, accepting the other the way the other the way the other is and love for yourself. And to do that, you have to understand the other person’s suffering. It’s super important. And that’s what we can’t do, we can’t do that as a country in our relationships with other countries, and we can’t do that in this country with one another, understand the suffering of the other and the reality of the other.

Benedict Men is, of course, a documentary about a basketball team, a very, very good one at that. But it’d be a bit inaccurate to say that it’s a documentary about basketball. It wouldn’t have been in the school’s spirit if it was.

As part of Bon Iver’s “For Wisconsin” initiative, Justin Vernon is hosting contests, winners of which will get to meet him and discuss voting. Vernon posted a photo of one of those meet-ups yesterday, and in it, he performs a new song he wrote for the recently deceased Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Your Honor.”

Introducing the song to contest winners Benny and Eric, Vernon said, “I wrote a song on Friday, which I never do anymore. I kinda wrote it right after we heard about Ruth Bader Ginsburg passing. She just opened so many doors for so many people that people don’t even understand or realize, and her service to the nation, I think, is still somehow underestimated.”

He then played an electric guitar and sang lyrics like, “Time’s getting shorter and shorter / Why waste your fine life? / See it’s already fostered in for ya / Can’t you just feel for another? / I implore ya,” and, “This is farther and farther from over / You’re in the margins of time / What say you, what say your honor?”

Before the song, Vernon and the contest winners discussed politics. Eric, an unsure voter, brought up his struggles with the current two-party system, a topic that was the focus of their conversation.

Watch Vernon perform “Your Honor” and talk with the contest winners above.

It’s understandably difficult for many Americans to muster up much sympathy for President Trump right now. As the leader of the country, his downplaying of COVID-19 led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths.

So to see him fall victim to the disease he helped perpetuate feels a lot like karmic retribution.

He’s also been callous when it comes to separating children from their families at the border, sent messages of support for white supremacists, and openly admitted to sexually assaulting women.

It can be a little difficult to feel any sympathy for the First Lady as well. Recently leaked audio shows her making callous comments about children separated for their families at the border.

To be internally conflicted about complex events is to be human. But, in the end, it’s always best to be the bigger person and err on the side of decency — as hard as that may be.

As Michelle Obama once said, “When they go low, we go high.” Unfortunately, that’s not a road a lot of people are taking right now on social media. It may be a big relief for many to post “I told you so” on Facebook or to take a gleeful stab at the president in a moment of schadenfreude.

But all that does is bring you down to the president’s level.

I see it already, tweets from supporters of the president saying that all that “we go high” stuff was just a front. That it was just a veil to cover up for pettiness and jealousy.

Gleeful tweets about the First Family’s health stand in stark contrast to the reason tens of millions of people have fought back against this presidency: a belief in decency.

We care about people’s health. We care about the country’s most vulnerable. We care about human decency.

Some of the president’s harshest critics have come out to send messages of support to him and the First Lady at a time when it’s incredibly easy and satisfying to take a shot. That’s because they’re living the values that led them to despise the president.

Actress Alyssa Milano chastised President Trump a few days ago for politicizing the virus.

Rachel Maddow has been one of the strongest voices in making the case for impeachment over the Russia scandal.

Trump’s opponent Joe Biden recently said he’s “downright un-American.”

Bernie Sanders accused Trump of attempting to “undermine Democracy.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York recently said that Trump “better have an army” if he comes into his city.

Jamie Lee Curtis once criticized Trump for making inappropriate comments about her “Parent Trap” co-star Lindsay Lohan.

Democratic Representative Adam Schiff has been one of Trump’s harshest critics and has openly called for his removal from office.

Former Democratic presidential frontrunner Pete Buttigieg called Trump the “least qualified” of all 2020 candidates.

One day this presidency is going to end and, hopefully, it’s in a few months. Why not our collective reaction to the health of the president and his wife be one final way to display a decency they never could.

Michelle Obama’s words still matter: “You don’t stoop to their level,” she said. “Our motto is when they go low, we go high.” That motto has served as a north star for millions of Americans over the past four years, let’s follow it ’til the end.

2020 has been a weird and, frankly, horrific year. And while it seems like COVID-19 has canceled just about everything from our favorite music festivals to, you know, the entire travel industry, the one thing it hasn’t been able to stop is the sneaker world. Pandemic be damned, brands still managed to crank out release after release for sneakerheads to lose their minds over. In fact, when looking over all the sneakers that have dropped this year — from new Off-White Nikes to the countless Yeezy drops to the numerous rereleases of some of the Nike Air Max ’90s — 2020 has been a great year for sneakers.

While this year in sneakers has been filled with a lot of highs, it’s also had some lows. And some really weird left turns and random collaborations. But this year’s oddest brand and designer co-releases are only a product of the truly insane world we live in now. In 2020, we impeached the president, entered a global pandemic that completely changed our lives, made people hot for Andrew Cuomo for like a week, dodged murder hornets, started wearing facemasks, witnessed a Travis Scott McDonald’s burger that was literally just a Quarter Pounder with cheese and bacon take over the world, and came to grips with just how fragile our democracy can be. So it really doesn’t surprise us that 2020 was also the same year that the Grateful Dead would come to dominate the streetwear scene or Bad Bunny would release a glow in the dark Croc or Adidas a would drop a sneaker that looks like Chewbacca. Hell, there was even a full Reebok-Minions collection — yes, those Minions.

To highlight some of our favorite style-related 2020 weirdness, we gathered all our favorite oddball sneaker collaborations in one place. To be clear, this isn’t a list of the best sneaker collaborations of the year (that’s coming), nor is it a list of the worst sneaker collaborations (believe us, there are a lot of those and they’re bad). These are the “just plain strange” entries that feel like they could only exist in the upside-down world that is Earth in the year 2020.

Let’s get into it.

PUMA Sonic The Hedgehog RS-X3 Collection

The first of two video game collaborations released by PUMA this year, the Sonic the Hedgehog RS-X3 collection is actually pretty dope, as far as videogame-themed sneakers go. Released to coincide with the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, there is something haunting about this release within the context of COVID-19. While we’ve had many random and weird collaborations drop this year, this one released a month before life as we knew it came to a screeching halt and it carries a sort of carefree innocence to it.

Both pairs in the collection feature a blocky shape with semi-translucent uppers and suede overlays in either a blue Sonic-themed iteration or a red colorway that looks more Knuckles-esque (or is it Eggman?) but are strangely still Sonic branded. We would’ve preferred a real-life replica of Sonic’s runners, but overall this was a pretty solid collaboration between two unlikely brands.

Ben & Jerry’s Nike SB Dunk Low Chunky Dunky

Why does this work so well?

It shouldn’t — mixing an ice cream brand, no matter how beloved, with one of Nike’s greatest sneaker silhouettes should look like a stupid cash grab. And yet… the Chunky Dunky is so packed with detail that we can’t help but marvel at the work that went into this collaboration. A psychedelic collar references the Vermont ice cream brand’s crunchy hippy roots, the leather upper recalls the brand’s iconic label with rolling green hills and a perfect blue sky.

As for that expert use of cow print? Come on, sneaker collaborations rarely get this good.

The Chunky Dunky was unsurprisingly one of this year’s most hyped sneaker drops and that popularity seems to have held nearly half a year after its release, with aftermarket prices still hitting the $1,500 mark.

Nike SB Dunk Grateful Dead Collection

Before they dropped, I wrote off the Grateful Dead Collection as ugly garbage. I still think they’re ugly but boy was I wrong about them being garbage. Which pair is garbage exactly? Is it the yellow pair that sells for $800+ on the aftermarket? Certainly, it isn’t the green pair that goes for $1,000. Oh I know, it must be the orange pair that routinely sells for over $2200…

Point being, people really really love this shoe. The Grateful Dead Dunks pay considerable tribute to the Grateful Dead’s dancing bears with Nike saying that the shoe features “bear-inspired detailing” which… sounds adorable. The upper features a mix of suede and faux-fur with a frayed Nike Swoosh.

I will never doubt the power of the Dead again.

PUMA Super Mario 64 RS-Dreamer

How do you celebrate a 35-year-old video game icon? By giving him a signature sneaker, of course. This Super Mario 64 PUMA RS-Dreamer coincided with the release of a 3D Mario collection on the Nintendo Switch, as well as other Mario-branded memorabilia as part of everyone’s favorite mushroom tripping Italian plumber’s 35th birthday.

As we’ve come to express from video game/cartoon/franchise collaborations, this RS-Dreamer is pretty much just Mario in sneaker form, with a red, blue, and white mesh upper with coin, star, and other Mario-world graphics spread throughout. Because this is J-Cole’s signature Puma, you can look at this as a three-way collaboration between Super Mario, J-Cole, and PUMA — a surreal reflection of just how weird this year has been.

Adidas x Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Collection

We’ve fully ranked the entire nine-sneaker Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Collection and the full line definitely has its highs and lows. On the horrible end of the spectrum, you have a sneaker that resembles Chewbacca complete with faux fur and a utility belt. On the other side of things, you have an UltraBOOST tastefully colored to resemble the terrain of Dagoba, or a Top Ten Hi that actually looks like something Boba Fett might be caught wearing.

The full list of characters that got the three stripes treatment includes Chewbacca, Darth Vader, C-3P0, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Princess Leia, a Stormtrooper (for some reason), Yoda, Boba Fett, and Luke Skywalker. Adidas, if you’re listening, can we please get a sneaker to rep Ghost Obi-Wan Kenobi? Make it translucent!

While the collection was overall uneven, it was still a lot of fun and a bright spot in a dark year.

PlayStation x Zara

This is easily this year’s worst brand collaboration. Who exactly was asking for a PlayStation branded sneaker from Zara? This release being a kid’s only size doesn’t make its existence make any more sense, either. What kid wants a PlayStation branded Zara sneaker? Sporting a remarkably unappealing PS-1 era colorway and modeled after a 16-year-old system that was popular before the shoe’s target audience was even born, the Playstation Zara sneaker doesn’t have a single appealing quality.

But it’s here because it’s weird, not just because we wanted to dunk on it. As fun as that felt.

Chinatown Market x Crocs x Grateful Dead

While I’m humbled to admit that I was wrong about the Grateful Dead Dunks I feel pretty confident that this three-way collaboration between Chinatown Market and Crocs and the Grateful Dead is not cool.

Did it sell out? Absolutely.

These clogs are dripping in psychedelic tie-dye patterning and come with dancing bear Jibbitz. While it is definitely very Grateful Dead, it’s also very Chinatown Market, and as far as collaborations go all three brands feel pretty well represented in a respective and tasteful way.

Yes, we just called a tie-dye clog “tasteful.” 2020, am I right?

LEGO x Adidas ZX 8000

I don’t hate these. I mean sure, I wouldn’t wear them, like not even to LEGO Land, but as far as the concept goes — a LEGO-branded Adidas — this collaboration nails it. Featuring a white mesh upper with off-white suede accents, the LEGO Adidas ZX 8000 features vibrant primary colors on the sneaker’s paneling, looking exactly what you’d imagine a LEGO sneaker might look like.

It would’ve been interesting to see Adidas try for something a little more blocky here, but that might’ve slipped the sneaker too far into gimmickry. In the end, they probably made the exact right call by keeping things subtle.

Reebok x Minons Collection

I will never understand America’s fascination with the Minions. People keep dressing like them, and brands keep dropping Minion-themed collections. Made in celebration of next year’s release of Minions: Rise of Gru, Reebok dropped a six sneaker collection of Minion themed gear along with two t-shirts. That’s right, Reebok dropped a not one, not two, not three, four, five but SIX sneaker collection themed around a movie that isn’t even coming out this year.

Consisting of a Question Mid, three Instapump Furys, and two Club Cs, the Minion collection is full of movie tie-ins that we can’t possibly take the time to fully dive into. Some of them glow in the dark, some of them look like what a Minion would look like if it were a shoe, all of them are on the edge of being bizarre.

Crocs Bad Bunny Glow In The Dark Clogs

You wake up one morning, and suddenly everybody owns a pair of Crocs. The popularity of the Jibbitz-encrusted clogs has slowly been bubbling up over the last couple of years and the latest celebrity to lend their name and style to the brand is none other than Bad Bunny.

Made in celebration of Bad Bunny’s YHLQMDLG, these Crocs glow in the dark and come equipped with Bad Bunny-referencing Jibbitz and Bunny logo branding. We can’t believe we’re saying this but with that clean white colorway, these are looking pretty damn crisp.

As is often the case due to a hasty WNBA playoff structure that favors the top teams, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the league, the Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces, will meet in the WNBA Finals, which begin Friday night on ESPN2. The two best teams all year will culminate their Bubble season with a five-game series that features two of the last three MVPs, two veteran Hall of Famers, and two of the best coaching staffs in the league.

Since the league switched to a conference-less postseason in 2016, the Finals have been an annual treat, going a full five games in three of the past four years. With so much star power on both sides, this year’s series should be quite competitive as well, but Seattle breezed through the playoffs while the Aces enter the last round depleted and spent. Still, this series is going to be good, and these three keys could end up determining which side comes out on top.

1. The battle of unguardable MVPs

That’s what this one is all about. A’ja Wilson edged out Breanna Stewart for the MVP trophy this year, keeping Stewart from her second trophy in three seasons. They will likely match up a fair bit when Las Vegas goes small. As two of the best shot-makers in all of basketball, the way each player can get to their spots and knock down shots will go a long way in deciding the series.

Having limited Connecticut in transition in the last round, the Aces should be able to contain Stewart when she handles the ball in transition, and Las Vegas can switch different players on Stewart to make her uncomfortable. The Aces protect the paint better than any team in the WNBA, so expect Stewart’s game to take more of an outside bent in the Finals. But despite an incredible recovery from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon, Stewart has been in a shooting slump since basically mid-August. Outside of a monster 31-point outing in Game 3 against the Lynx, Stewart hasn’t been a consistently dominant scorer in weeks.

She will face Wilson, who has been the best clutch scorer in the league, willing her team to the No. 1 overall seed and a Game 5 victory over the course of a few weeks to earn the MVP award and chart the course toward a championship. Sporting an old-fashioned game, Wilson is great simply because there is no way to guard her. Throw three players at her at the elbow and Wilson will rise up for a jumper over everyone. Sell out on protecting the rim and Wilson will face up and draw a foul. Match up with a bigger player and Wilson is bound to slip past them.

The odds probably favor Wilson in terms of individual shot creation, but Stewart’s shooting is a wildcard in this and every series. With a center who can rain threes, the Storm can invert pick-and-rolls, space the floor better than anyone, and dictate matchups all series long. When two great players match up with one another and get theirs, series are often decided by the role players and coaching.

2. The versatility battle with Dearica Hamby out for Las Vegas

The reason the Storm are so deadly is not just that they have a ton of talent. With Stewart and 2019 All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard, Seattle’s frontcourt is perhaps the most flexible in the game. Both players can shoot from outside, create shots for themselves and their teammates, and defend 1-5. Think of this like when the Warriors down-sized with Draymond Green and Kevin Durant as their nominal bigs. There’s really no way to stop them when that happens.

Throughout the year, Las Vegas had its own small-ball post player duo of Hamby and Wilson to match the Storm. But in the semifinals, Hamby injured the MCL in her right knee. She will miss the rest of the season. The back-to-back reigning Sixth Woman of the Year is the ultimate modern big, a player who can protect the paint, initiate offense, and shoot. Without her, Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer simply lacks the go-to adjustment to match the Storm’s versatility.

The solution is fairly obvious for Las Vegas, as it involves playing the two best players on the team together as much as possible. While the Aces have played all of 2020 without Liz Cambage (medical exemption) and Kelsey Plum (Achilles), they made a big addition in the offseason in the form of the legendary Angel McCoughtry, who has been one of the best two-way players in the league all season. As Justin Carter noted at Winsidr, McCoughtry and Wilson have played together as the sole “bigs” for just four minutes all season, but Laimbeer noted postgame after Game 5 of the semifinals that those two would see time together against Seattle.

While neither is a typical defensive anchor, both are great team defenders and are quick enough to keep up with the Storm. Las Vegas’ other options are Emma Cannon, a late-season signing who hasn’t played in the WNBA since 2017, and Carolyn Swords, the low-minutes veteran starter whose lack of athleticism could make her a liability in this series with Seattle presenting nowhere to hide. The best bet is that we see Las Vegas close tight games with Wilson and McCoughtry together at the 4 and 5, with second-year jumbo guard Jackie Young giving the team an ultra-small look or an extra weapon to switch around defensively in spurts.

3. The Sue Bird factor

There’s been a lot of “don’t bet against Sue Bird” going around on social media among WNBA pundits since the Finals matchup was decided, but can Seattle count on Bird to stay on the court and make a huge impact at this point? The future Hall of Fame inductee played in just 11 games all year and was basically only out there to knock down spot-up threes and set up teammates. That’s a perfectly fine player, and Bird has always raised her game in the playoffs, but a couple weeks from her 40th birthday, it would be hard for Seattle to bet on getting a legendary series out of her.

Still, it’s clear Seattle had the luxury of playing things patiently with Bird all year in the Bubble to get her right for the postseason and especially the Finals. While she only shot 35.5 percent in a semifinal sweep over Minnesota, Bird took her play-making to another level and played over 26 minutes per game. But with backup combo guard Sami Whitcomb out for the Finals for the birth of her daughter, Seattle’s depth is depleted and Bird may be needed more. Based on how much talent is on the Storm roster, that may be all they need. Certainly, Seattle won plenty in 2019 and 2020 even with an unavailable or inhibited Bird. Stellar third-year guard Jordin Canada is a more than capable fill-in for Bird and is often a better option defensively.

Against Las Vegas, it may not matter. As Ben Dull noted at Floor Game, the Storm’s usual blitzing defense may not be as necessary against the Aces, who run the offense inside-out rather than from the perimeter. That means the Storm can maximize Bird on offense without asking too much of her defensively. A few key clutch shots, fast break assists or simply being able to run the offense in crunch time could be a big help for Seattle in a series that could be closely decided.

The Aces come into the series after a slog of a semifinal battle against Connecticut, while the Storm are rested and possess a clear star talent advantage. Will that matter? Smart bettors would likely put their money on this fledgling Storm dynasty to continue, but the Aces have defied odds all year and have a clearer team structure centered around elite defense and Wilson’s brilliance. A long, fun series is likely in the cards here.

On Friday morning, America woke up to the biggest news imaginable: someone sucker punched Rick Moranis on the streets of New York City.

News quickly spread and dominated talk online, as not much else is going on these days, and though specifics were scarce there was video obtained by multiple news outlets that showed Moranis getting assaulted under a scaffolding on the city’s Upper West Side.

From ABC 7 New York:

Video shows the moment a man wearing a black “I (heart) NY” sweatshirt and a backpack hit the 67-year-old “Ghostbusters” star and knocked him to the ground.

It happened Thursday at 7:24 a.m. on West 70th street near Central Park West.

The attack happened just a few blocks from the apartment building where Moranis’ character lived in the movie.

The attack was seemingly as random as the headline it generated, but the outrage that came with it was swift. Among those reacting to the bizarre news online was Captain America himself, Chris Evans, who said on Twitter that his blood was “boiling” when he learned Moranis was attacked.

He wasn’t along in freaking out about Moranis’s plight and demanding justice for the man who once shrunk several objects — both inanimate and alive — without rebuke.

There was a lot of confusion online as to why a 67-year-old man minding his own business in New York would draw the ire of someone in “I <3 NY” clothing, but this year is full of unexplainable and frustrating things. Thankfully Moranis seems to be OK and this incident instead transformed into an appreciation of a beloved actor. But Captain America is still livid.

In recent months, Dave Grohl has been involved in perhaps the most adorable “feuds” in the history of music, swapping recordings back and forth with 10-year-old music prodigy Nandi Bushell. A couple weeks ago, he wrote a theme song for Bushell, and she returned the favor by writing and recording a song for Grohl. Bushell wrote the song, titled “Rock And Grohl — The Epic Battle,” and played all the instrumental parts herself, and the song is better than many written by people twice her age.

Bushell wrote in the video description, “Mr Grohl. The song you wrote for me was truly, truly EPIC! You really are LEGENDARY! I wrote a song for you to say THANK YOU! I made up and played all the instrument parts myself, just like you! It’s called ‘ROCK and GROHL, The EPIC Battle’! I hope you love my song, as much as I love your song for me! Whoever wins this round, it’s been an HONOUR to battle you. The Rock Gods of old are happy! Thank you Dave Grohl and @Foo Fighters.”

She also revealed that she had the opportunity to record the song in a professional studio, which she really enjoyed: “I had the most incredible time recording my song in a REAL studio!!! I was invited to @Metropolis Studios by Jamie from @RolandChannel. I got to work with 2 awesome producers Josh Wilkinson and Joe Rubel who taught me how to record instruments and make my song sound EPIC. Being in the studio was one of the best experiences of my life. I loved it!”

Watch Bushell perform “Rock And Grohl” above.

In A Very Punchable Face, the memoir that SNL head writer Colin Jost released over the summer, the “Weekend Update” anchor touched upon the tumultuous summer after his first season as anchor after replacing Seth Meyers. Jost explained that he had to re-audition for the role, although by that point, Cecily Strong — who had co-hosted “Update” with both Seth Meyers and Colin Jost — was no longer involved, and was eventually replaced by Michael Che. Jost speculated as to why, but didn’t say definitively why Strong decided to step down.

This week on WTF with Marc Maron, Cecily Strong finally explained exactly why she left the “Update” desk, despite being a fairly popular anchor during her brief tenure.

“I feel really thankful I got to do [‘Weekend Update’],” Strong explained to Marc Maron. “I was such a huge fan of Seth [Meyers], and he was our head writer, so getting to do that with him was a really big deal my second year.”

“But I did miss [character work],” Strong continued. “I would get kind of jealous of other people creating new characters on ‘Update.’”

Asked how it all transpired, Strong explained that, “there really wasn’t a set thing that happened. It didn’t feel like it was working out. It didn’t feel great. I felt like I didn’t want to be stuck to that. I didn’t want to only do ‘Update.’ And it felt like ‘Update’ was going to need a major revision, and it’s not Seth anymore, and it’s, like, can I walk away?”

So that’s basically what Strong did: She walked away. By the end of the summer, however, she briefly had second thoughts. “Should I have done that?” she wondered. “I had a quick fearful moment, but I am happy the way it worked out, and I love Michael Che.”

Again, Strong emphasized, she doesn’t want to sound ungrateful for the opportunity, but she and Lorne Michaels “had a lot of talks,” and Strong simply “didn’t want to be known for ‘Update,’ and especially, a not-great ‘Update.’ I want to do characters that are a lot of fun, and that’s what I want the bulk of what I do on the show to be.”

It’s certainly worked out for her. Cecily Strong is now known for dozens of characters, including Susan Collins and Jeanine Pirro. She’s also recently been cast as the lead in a star-studded musical comedy for Apple TV+.

SNL, meanwhile, returns for its 46th season premiere tomorrow night.

Source: WTF with Marc Maron

Late last night, we learned that the President of the United States has tested positive for COVID-19. Where and when he contracted it is unknown, and with how many places he’s been in the past few days and how many people he’s come into contact with, it’s not likely we’ll ever find out.

While we await updates on the president’s health and hope for the best, people who have potentially been exposed by Trump and others in his circle are isolating and getting tested. The contact tracing in this scenario is mind-blowingly complicated, but one person who has recently been in a room with the president is speaking out.

Kristin Urquiza was one of Joe Biden’s guests a the presidential debate. She lost her father, who was a Trump supporter, to COVID-19 this summer. Her father’s obituary went viral for calling out the politicians who downplayed the virus and showed poor leadership in trying to mitigate it:

“Mark, like so many others, should not have died from COVID-19. His death is due to the carelessness of the politicians who continue to jeopardize the health of brown bodies through a clear lack of leadership, refusal to acknowledge the severity of this crisis, and inability and unwillingness to give clear and decisive direction on how to minimize risk.”

Urquiza has shared a statement about being possibly exposed to the virus from the president as she sat in the front row of the debate.

“The verdict was already in that Trump’s behavior at Tuesday’s debate showed his complete disregard for our democratic process and voters’ right to hear directly from our Presidential candidates. But as news spreads that Trump, Melania, Hope Hicks, and probably many more of Trump’s inner circle are COVID-positive, another thing becomes clear: Trump has no regard for human life.

I was invited by Vice President Biden to the debate to represent my dad, who died of COVID after AZ Gov. Doug Ducey, Trump’s willing partner-in-crime, lifted the state’s shelter-in-place order even as COVID rates were skyrocketing, and announced on television that it was safe to return to normal life if you were free of pre-existing conditions.

So in a way, it was not surprising to learn that I’ve now been exposed to COVID by The Donald himself as I sat about 15 feet away from him, in the very first row of the debate hall, while he yelled and mocked VP Biden for wearing masks.

Every attendee, myself included, was only allowed into the debate hall after we tested COVID-negative. But given the limitations of rapid testing and Cleveland’s own COVID rules, everyone in that hall should have been wearing masks. And though every one of Biden’s guests managed to do this, Trump’s guests were shockingly barefaced.

Vice President BIden and his guests took every precaution to ensure the safety of all those inside the debate hall. And yet again, Donald Trump’s contemptuous disregard for science and the value of human lives has jeopardized the lives of Congress, Secret Service agents, members of the media, and janitors to a deadly virus that has killed 205,000 Americans to date, with another thousand dying each day that Donald Trump refuses to take leadership and protect Americans from this deadly virus. Irresponsible is an understatement; this is criminal.

How many people must die before we deliver what the American people deserve: a coordinated data-driven, national response to this pandemic. How much more must COVID survivors, COVID families, and all others marked by COVID suffer before our losses are acknowledged and recognized.

I am terrified. I know the darkest result of COVID: an undignified and lonesome death. Something I would not wish upon my worst enemy, present company included. I am working to get a test as soon as possible and will quarantine until I am certain that I am not putting others at risk.

This frightening development will not stop the Week of Mourning from taking place. We will honor the survivors and encourage all those who have lost loved ones and friends to join us in daily virtual vigils at 12:00 noon Eastern Time every day from October 4 to 11. Please visit www.weekofmourning.com to learn more and join me.”

The Week of Mourning will include a National Day of Remembrance on October 4, organized by COVID Survivors for Change as a way to honor those our nation has lost to the novel coronavirus.

No one should have to lose a loved one to this virus. We know that masks and social distancing and handwashing can greatly limit the spread of COVID-19. We know that the U.S. has far more deaths from this virus than it should based on our population. It’s tragic that the president has contracted it, and maddening that it might be due to his flagrant flouting of mitigation measures.

Hopefully, this unfortunate development will help more Americans understand the serious importance of following public health guidelines and doing what we can to limit the spread and get this pandemic under control.

The Karate Kid star Ralph Macchio recently spoke to us about the biggest question that Cobra Kai hasn’t answered yet, and he also promised that “[t]he best is yet to come in this series! And I believe in that.” Given how well show creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossenberg have handled this franchise revival, I believe in that statement, too. Macchio’s still crushing it as Daniel LaRusso, William Zabka’s making everyone adore Johnny Lawrence, and the show’s reeled in a new generation of viewers with an ensemble of fine young actors, including Tanner Buchanan and Xolo Maridueña, who play rivals Robby and Miguel, respectively. And speaking of Miguel, things looked very bad for him at the end of the climactic Season 2 fight. Netflix, which picked up the show after its YouTube cancellation, knows what the people want, so they released a Season 3 teaser to follow up on that cliffhanger. The good news? Miguel lives.

After that climactic high-school hallway battle between Miguel and Robby, that’s a relief. Do you want even more good news? Sure, you do, so let’s do this:

– Season 3 will debut on January 8, 2021
– Season 4 is definitely happening
– Did I mention that Miguel lives?

The teaser also shows a guilt-ridden Johnny keeping vigil at the hospital and Bobby in law enforcement custody. Certainly, there’s a lot of drama to clean up, and it sure looks like Daniel delivers a lecture to Johnny, although it could be argued that both are equally guilty of pushing their charges too far. Also, John Kreese has a bloodied nose, which proves that he’ll (always) be all up in whatever mess he can manage with the wind never permanently taken out of his dastardly sails.

This is all much more promising than the “flatline” tweet that appeared on Zabka’s Twitter account this week. Talk about “no mercy”!

Previously, the show revealed some brief Season 3 footage that more than suggested the return of another antagonist, Chozen, from The Karate Kid Part II. Perhaps he seeks to recapture his honor, and Daniel-san is confirmed to visit Okinawa during the third season, so that all makes sense. We also know that the show’s creators have promised viewers that they won’t go full-The Matrix on everyone. It’s wonderful news all around when we sorely need it.