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49ers Home Games And Practices May Be Moved After Santa Clara County Banned Contact Sports

Much like the rest of the United States, California is experiencing a new surge in COVID-19 cases and local governments are acting to limit the spread ahead of what could be a deadly winter in America. Some of those rules, it seems, may impact where the San Francisco 49ers play home games.

Santa Clara County, where the team practices and plays, reportedly banned contact sports even played outside.

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted, that may mean the Niners do need to find a new place to both play home games and practice, at least until the new restrictions end.

The easy answer could be simply playing home games in opposing team’s stadiums, though if those games have spectators there’s a competitive advantage that could be at play. It’s another wrinkle in what’s been a very odd NFL season. And though the moves are a new complication and may be frustrating for some fans, it’s far from the only way the coronavirus pandemic is currently impacting the NFL. Another pair of games were moved this week due to infections on both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. More positive cases were reported on Saturday, putting even the Tuesday rescheduling of that game into some doubt.

There’s also the matter of the Denver Broncos and their quarterbacks, who may have also been exposed to COVID-19 ahead of their Week 12 matchup.

In not orchestrating a bubble and playing in home stadiums and the larger country as a whole, the NFL invited a slew of potential problems in actually pulling off a full season in a pandemic. As the weeks go on, it seems more and more like the league is running out of ways to deal with them all without significantly impacting its schedule and the way seasons play out.

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Syracuse Spiked The Ball On 4th-And-Goal And Missed Out On A Potential Upset Of NC State

It’s been a tough year for Syracuse football. Dino Babers’ fifth season in The Salt City has seen one win, a bunch of losses, and a program that looks stuck in the mud after failing to build on a 10-win campaign in 2018. They did, however, have a chance to pick up another win on Saturday afternoon against a respectable NC State side.

With 5:20 left in the fourth quarter, the Orange got the ball on their 25 yard-line. Facing a 36-29 deficit, Syracuse marched down the field, converting a trio of third downs and one fourth down to get the ball to the Wolfpack nine with 52 seconds left.

First and second down were a pair of runs — one went for two yards, the other went for none. Syracuse lined back up for third down, and over the next 20 seconds or so of real time, calamity ensued.

For one, shout out to Orange signal caller Rex Culpepper for finding a way to keep the third down play alive, because this is a really sticky situation and he found a way to make something happen before NC State’s defense got home. After that, yikes. To give them the benefit of the doubt to an extent, the offense would have basically needed to get to the line of scrimmage and just run four verts, but there is a reason that someone (I assume on NC State) screamed “oh thank god,” and someone (team unclear) screamed “oh sh*t” once they realized what happened. Time and score are everything, folks.

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Marcus Smart Praised The Incredible Story Of Ohio University Star Jason Preston

The best story in college basketball comes by way of the Ohio Bobcats. Jason Preston, a junior guard for the team who stuffed the stat sheet last season, put forth quite the effort in the team’s narrow loss to eighth-ranked Illinois on Friday night. What drew him plenty of praise, though, was when the path he traveled to get to Athens was laid out on the broadcast.

As the story goes, Preston went through unfathomable personal hardship as a teenager, was so lightly-recruited of a high school basketball player that he was going to college as a student, showed out at an AAU tournament, and picked up a pair of scholarship offers after posting his highlight video to Twitter. You really need to hear the whole story to believe it, and even then, the whole thing is unbelievable.

It’s hard not to find this whole story amazing, and in the eyes of one NBA player, Preston’s path is quite admirable. Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart praised Preston for having the kind of attitude that “will get you all you ever need.”

During the 2019-20 campaign, Preston did everything for the Bobcats, averaging 16.8 points, 7.4 assists, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. Against Illinois, he went for 31 with eight dimes and six boards as Ohio barely fell, 77-75.

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The Lions Fired Head Coach Matt Patricia After A 4-7 Start And A Thanksgiving Day Debacle

The Detroit Lions are in the market for a new head coach. The team announced on Saturday afternoon that Matt Patricia, who the team hired in the lead-up to the 2018 campaign, had been relieved of his duties after two and a half years on the job. Additionally, Detroit will part ways with general manager Bob Quinn, who has been in his role since 2016.

The news of a shakeup in the Motor City isn’t a particularly big surprise, as Patricia has seemingly been on the hot seat for some time. The former New England Patriots’ defensive coordinator went 13-29-1 in his tenure in Detroit, with his final game coming in a high-profile loss to the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving. Despite Patricia’s reputation for being a defensive coach, Deshaun Watson and the Texans carved the Lions up in a 41-25 win, and the Lions sit 30th in the NFL in scoring defense.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Lions will turn to offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell for the remainder of the campaign.

Bevell was hired as the team’s offensive coordinator at the start of last season and has no prior head coaching experience. Patricia’s ouster comes as the team sits 4-7 on the year, putting Detroit in last place of the NFC North.

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Eric Trump Tried To Spread Election Misinformation Over Twitter And Got Owned Instead

You know you have it bad when you wish you were Donald Trump Jr. The outgoing president’s other son has never had the power of his older brother, who’s gone from yet another ignored Trump child to an attempted clone of his potentially screwed father. But every now and then Eric tries to bluff into the news, posting the kind of bold if wrongheaded silliness that tends to get Jr. attention. His latest volley came on Saturday, when he attempted to sow further, baseless distrust in the 2020 election results.

“Does anyone believe that Biden got 15 million more votes than Obama in 2012?” Eric wrote. “This from a candidate who would go days/weeks while hardly campaigning.”

It’s a familiar line among Trump and his minions, who’ve thrown everything they can at the election results, including the kitchen sink. And like their dozens and dozens of failed legal challenges, this one is easily debunked. All one has to do is point out the false equivalency: that Mitt Romney wasn’t the same threat to democracy that his dad continues to be, thanks in part to tweets like Eric’s.

Likewise, many were inspired to come out of the woodwork and give him a piece of their mind. Soon a phrase went viral: “Yes Eric,” with many people explaining to him the many ways he’s wrong. Some took the time to explain it to him, as they would a child.

Some pointed out that not campaigning — and thereby endangering his supporters with exposure to a highly contagious virus, as well as all the people with whom they come in contact — was in fact one motivating factor for Biden voters.

And some were a little more blunt than others.

Anyway, better luck next time, kid. It’s hard to live up to this guy.

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Watch Vanderbilt Kicker Sarah Fuller Become The First Woman To Play In A Power 5 Football Game

History was made in the world of college football on Saturday afternoon. Sarah Fuller, formerly a goalkeeper for Vanderbilt’s women’s soccer team, suited up for the Commodore football program, and following the halftime break, became the first woman to ever play in a Power 5 college football game.

Due to a number of issues with Vanderbilt’s specialists — a combination of an opt out and some COVID-19 quarantines among that position group — the Commodores held tryouts this week to determine who would boot the ball for the program. Fuller attended the tryout, and the SEC Championship-winning goalkeeper earned a spot on the university’s other football team.

Some anemic offense meant Fuller did not get onto the field in the first half, and following the intermission, she took to the field as part of the kickoff team and made history on a designed squib kick that the Tigers recovered at their own 35.

“I think it’s amazing and incredible,” Fuller said on the official Vandy football website in the lead-up to the game. “But I’m also trying to separate that because I know this is a job I need to do and I want to help the team out and I want to do the best that I can. Placing that historical aspect aside just helps me focus in on what I need to do. I don’t want to let them down in anyway.

“It’s an honor they called on me to be able to do this and help them out.”

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Busta Rhymes Says He Misses When Artists Created A ‘Full Album Experience’

It’s been almost a month since Busta Rhymes dropped his tenth album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God. The Long Island native recently sat down for an interview with NPR in which he discussed the current state of music and how, in his opinion, today’s artists fail to create a “full album experience.”

“That’s what I come from. That’s what I miss,” Busta said. “And I think that’s something that this generation needs to experience in the right way now: the experience and the importance of understanding what it is to treat yourself to an incredible, cohesive body of work.” He was then asked for his opinion on some of today’s artists and the music they’ve released.

“I embrace everything with grace, because when I was trying to get on in the beginning, you know, we took from the influences and the elder statesmen before us,” he replied. “We took from it and tried to make it our own. But of course, in the process of trying to make it your own, you do certain things different, in a way that some of the elder statesmen might not be willing to accept.”

You can revisit our review of Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God herehere.

Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God is out now via EMPIRE/The Conglomerate Entertainment. Get it here.

(via NPR)

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Ten Non-College 2021 NBA Draft Prospects To Watch This Year

A lot has already been made of the 2020 freshman class (aka the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery), and for good reason. Cade Cunningham, B.J. Boston, Jalen Suggs, Evan Mobley, and their friends are all great prospects. However, as I’m sure we all understand by now, not all of the best players play in the NCAA anymore. This year in particular is a fairly strong class of international and G League prospects. If you want to keep tabs on a handful of them, here are the guys who are most worth your time.

Jalen Green, G, G League Ignite

One of the elite high school scorers of the last half decade, Green was the best player in this class three years ago, but his development physically and as a decision maker hasn’t been as good as you would hope from a top-3 player. Still, he could have gone to any school he wanted, and instead decided to take up the G League’s offer and get himself into something close to an NBA weight room a year early. The concern with him is that he’s not a good enough passer and playmaker to be a full-time point guard, and not nearly big or physical enough to play anywhere else, but the talent is incendiary and he should be the premier player on this first iteration of the G League Ignite. On that note…

Jonathan Kuminga, F, G League Ignite

The second star of the Ignite, Kuminga is a power athlete combo forward type who reclassified early after graduating high school as a junior. He’s 6’8 and is a huge athlete in space with a not entirely broken jumper. The question for him is refining his overall shot selection and decision making. He’s still fairly new to the game, but his athleticism and size are surely going to draw interest from NBA teams.

Usman Garuba, PF, Real Madrid

The youngest player in Real Madrid’s storied history (that’s right, younger than Luka Doncic), Garuba has struggled as a scorer but has still contributed at a high level as a defender, rebounder, and big man passer on the best team outside of the United States. Garuba has a terrific frame and length, and is one of the better teenage paint defenders I’ve seen in the last decade+. He has a ready-made NBA role whenever he comes over, but if he wants to end up going in the top-10, like a lot of people have been predicting for a few years, he has to start scoring more effectively.

Ibou Badji, C, FC Barcelona

All you need to do is look at James Wiseman going second overall to know that physical tools are still the main thing NBA teams look at for big man prospects. You likely won’t see many bigs with better tools than Badji, a Senegalese seven footer who doesn’t turn 19 until next October. He’s got an alleged 7’8 wingspan and flashes some pretty incredible movement skills. Like fellow wingspan freak Mo Bamba before him, Badji is a shot blocker and lob threat, but there are some questions about his physicality and fit as more than a drop big in the NBA. He’s only getting 16 or so minutes per game for Barca’s B team, but it’s hard to imagine some NBA team not jumping at the chance to draft Badji if he ends up staying in the 2021 Draft.

Roko Prkačin, F, Cibona

A highly versatile combo forward from Croatia who turned 18 this week, Roko has great size and length for a true NBA forward prospect, and has just enough shooting and playmaking to complement his high-level defense and lateral movement skills. He’s far from a finished product, but he is contributing to a high-level ABA team already, which is not something you see all that often. He should be taken in the top-20 in 2021.

Ariel Hukporti, C, Riesen

Another toolsy, big-bodied teenager who already looks like the best pick-and-roll big in this class. Playing a bench role in the Bundesliga last year, Hukporti turned a lot of heads at the Basketball Without Borders camp earlier this year, and will likely hear his name called in the NBA Draft at some point sooner or later. As with every seven footer, there are questions about his mobility and scheme fit in the NBA, particularly as a non-shooter, but the athletic profile and tools are there to be molded by somebody.

Mojave King, SG, Cairns Taipans

A smooth athlete and fluid shooter, King is the premiere star of the NBL’s Next Stars program for the 2020-21 season, taking a role with a much better team than LaMelo Ball’s Hawks last season. He’s about 6’5 and has a great frame to grow into for an off-ball scoring guard. There is sometimes a confusion of smoothness with great athleticism (see: Reddish, Cam), so I’m going to be watching whatever tape there is of King closely to see how well he can explode off the dribble. A good season in the NBL could easily see the New Zealander taken in the Lottery as NBA teams continue the shooting arms race.

Daishen Nix, PG, G League Ignite

The most polished player on the G League squad this year, Nix decommitted from UCLA to run the offense in front of Green and Kuminga. The lobs that those two throw down on all the highlight mixes this year will most likely come from Nix, but he’s a legit first round prospect in his own right, a big point guard with a smooth looking shot and a great ability to change speeds around picks. There are defensive concerns with him, as there are every below the rim guard, but like Killian Hayes before him, there’s a certain threshold of goodness being that large can afford you, and I think Nix will play himself into a mid-late first round slot pretty easily.

Rokas Jokubaitis, PG, Žalgiris

One of the bevy of 2020 international players who withdrew from this November’s Draft, Jokubaitis has seen his stock rise as much as anyone else in Europe since play resumed this fall. Stepping into a full-time role for one of the stalwarts of the LKL, Jokubaitis has been getting a consistent 15-20 minutes per game, and has produced well, averaging around 13 points and six assists per 36 this season. Jokubaitis is a big-bodied guard in his own right, standing around 6’4. He’s a very good pick-and-roll guard, using his size to seal defenders and find the open man. Athletic and shooting limitations may hold him to being a third guard type, but he seems a pretty safe bet to make an NBA roster at some point in the relatively near future.

Josh Giddey, PG, Adelaide 36ers

The other significant NBL rookie, Giddey is a true PG at 6’8, which even today is fairly rare. He’s got a lot of room to develop physically, but the passing and ball-handling skill is real, which alone is usually enough to at least get you on the NBA’s radar. Even more than King, Giddey needs to really produce at a fairly high level this year to get his name called next June (July? August? Who knows!), but the talent is obvious.

Honorable Mentions
Malcolm Cazalon, G/F, Mega Soccerbet
Matthew Strazel, PG, ASVEL
Carlos Alocén, PG, Real Madrid
Nikita Mikhailovskii, SF, Avtodor Saratov
Khalifa Diop, C., Herbalife Gran Canaria
Juhann Begarin, G, Paris Basketball
Arturs Kurucs, G, Kirolbet Basket
Augustas Marčiulionis, PG, Rytas Vilnius
Isaiah Todd, PF, G League Ignite
Kai Sotto, C, G League Ignite

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From Surfboards To Vinyl — A Few Of The Small Businesses We’re Celebrating Today

2020 has been an uncertainty-filled year for everyone. But it’s also proved the power of community, the importance of cultivating a collectivist mindset, and the need to support the people and companies we care most about. As we enter the holiday shopping season, we feel it’s important to help celebrate the small businesses that are near and dear to our hearts. Businesses that have found a way to keep going and helped make these past nine months a little more navigable.

In honor of Small Business Saturday, we asked a handful of writers and editors to shout out small businesses they love. Companies with both a brick & mortar and an online presence (in case our readers feel inspired to shop from afar). Our picks cover everything from comics to fashion to music. That said, these are just a few of the dozens of small businesses the UPROXX team is supporting today. And while you might find something on the websites of one of these companies that resonates with you, don’t spend so much that you’re not able to support your own local small businesses today and throughout the year.

Lark & Owl Booksellers — Georgetown, Texas

Tucked away in the small town of Georgetown, Texas (approximately 30 minutes outside of Austin), is a quaint independent bookstore called Lark & Owl Booksellers. The inclusive, women-founded shop sells books that reflect a diverse range of voices offering a glimpse into other worlds outside of our own bubble.

Beyond books, Lark & Owl also doubles as a bistro and hub for unique gifts. I personally love their variety of cards and stationery sets because I love being the recipient of a nice handwritten letter.

-Gabrielle Pharms

Fingerprints Music — Long Beach, California

Amoeba Music, thanks to its three locations statewide, is probably the most widely recommended (and visited) record shop in all of California. This popularity means that if you’re looking for hard to find releases or rare pressings, you’re probably not going to find them there. Luckily, California has no shortage of lesser-known but just as amazing independently owned record shops, and Long Beach’s Fingerprints is a gem that rivals juggernauts like Amoeba and Rasputin.

Tucked away in Long Beach’s artsy 4th street corridor, Fingerprints is stocked wall to wall with LPS, CDs, tapes, and more and the store’s online shop features all the same goods, from new releases, to harder to find gems, all neatly organized to still give you that bin-diving feeling you get from shopping in person.

-Dane Rivera

Zapp Comics — New Jersey

If you find yourself in need of a break from the swirling new norms of the world, I highly recommend falling into the broad array of fantastic worlds conjured by the likes of Jeff Lemire, Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue Deconnik, and others. For years, Zapp Comics has been my bridge to that kind of escapism and my accompanying fixation with all manner of toys and statues.

It’s hard to replicate the breadth of options at Zapp’s two physical locations in New Jersey — Wayne and Manalapan — but some truly choice collectibles are up on their eBay page and they regularly post wall books and other nostalgic treasures on their social channels, all of which you can buy and get shipped to you if you aren’t local.

-Jason Tabrys

LaRayia’s Bodega — Los Angeles, California

From handbags to DuRags to jewelry to shirts to bucket hats to caps… hell, and even bundles of sage — LaRayia’s Bodega has everything. This woman-of-color-owned-and-operated cafe in Downtown Los Angeles’ Koreatown has an online merch store packed with dope streetwear and accessories sporting the bodega’s slogan, “Love Without Reason.” Proceeds go directly to support store owner LaRayia Gaston’s mission of addressing food injustice through her Lunch on Me program, which helps to serve 10,000 monthly organic meals to homeless communities in cities like Los Angeles and New York.

-Dane Rivera’

Thalia Surf Shop — Laguna Beach, California

Thalia Surf Shop was ahead of the curve on two major movements.

  1. The resurgent popularity of the slow surf, 70’s throwback, hippie California look.
  2. Shops differentiating themselves by collaborating directly with artists.

The combo of those two elements, plus an incredibly friendly team, has made Thalia Surf the standout surf shop in a town literally teeming with them. This is one of the few outlets where longtime friend of UPROXX Tyler Warren sells his boards. He also does tee shirts for the shop, alongside other famous surf-artists like Thomas Campbell and Alex Knost.

If you dig on the cruisy-throwback look of surf culture — when candy-colored VW busses lined the parking lot at San Onofre State Beach (who are we kidding, they still do that) — then this spot is your paradise.

-Steve Bramucci

LB Skate Co. — Long Beach, California

Looking to get your hands on a pair of Nike SB Dunk Turdunkens? What about that Atmos Nike SB collab from earlier in the month. You know the one with the elephant print and teal colorway? Want to build your own skateboard? You can do all of that and more at the Long Beach Skate Company.

Skater owned and operated for a decade, the LB Skate Co is any skater’s one-stop hub for all things to do with the culture. Their online store is stocked with all of the same goods as in-house, so while you won’t be able to chop it up with the team of local skaters who run the shop, you’ll still be able to set yourself up with everything you need from your deck’s trucks to wheels, to bearings and hardware thanks to LB Skate Co’s intuitive webstore.

-Dane Rivera

Green Bean Books — Portland, Oregon

I did the West Coast launch for my first novel at Green Bean, so I’m biased, but in a city where Powell’s Books takes up a lot of oxygen, Green Bean definitely deserves your love. Statistically speaking, the chances are pretty good that you have a niece, nephew, godchild, friend with a kid (that you actually like), or are a parent yourself. If so, Green Bean carries books from across the wide world of children’s literature — with a long history of supporting new authors and industry-wide diversity.

Thanks to Green Bean’s incredible staff, you might go in (or onto the patio in COVID-times) looking for a boxed set of books on wizards that you loved as a kid, but leave with a whole different set of magic-filled books by an author sure to excite (who isn’t already a billionaire). If Indiana Jones-style throwbacks are your vibe, you can also find autographed copies of the novels of yours truly at the shop or order them over the phone.

-Steve Bramucci

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Lil Wayne Reunites With Drake On ‘BB King Freestyle’ And Announces His ‘I Am Not A Human Being III’ Album

Lil Wayne added to what’s been productive year on Friday, when he released the mixtape No Ceilings 3. The rapper first announced the project back in August during an appearance on ESPN, where he also said that fans could expect the release of Tha Carter VI in the near future. Wayne released the project just days later, and one highlight has been “BB King Freestyle,” which boasts and a guest appearance from Drake.

The two rappers reunited once again, adding to a lengthy list of collaborations, including “Miss Me,” “She Will,” and “Love Me.” On their latest effort, the two rap over a smooth and luxurious beat. In addition to the collab, DJ Khaled revealed Wayne will release his fourteenth studio album, I Am Not A Human Being III, at some point next year. The announcement was made at the end of “Lamar,” which is a remix of Jay-Z’s classic track “Takeover.”

No Ceilings 3 boasts 20 tracks and features appearances from Young Thug, Gudda Gudda, Young Kam Karter, who is Wayne’s third child, and more.

You can listen to “BB King Freestyle” above.

No Ceilings 3 is out now. Give it a listen on DatPiff here.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.