Month: November 2020

Gordon Hayward was set to become one of the most sought-after commodities during the free agency frenzy this year, as the Celtics forward had a $34.1 million player option with Boston for the coming season, but decided to opt out to become an unrestricted free agent.

He’s drawn interest from a number of teams in recent days, although the Knicks, one of the reported suitors, were said to be less likely of a destination after using their picks on Draft night. According to multiple reports, Hayward had indicated that he’d prefer to end up with the Pacers, which would require some finagling via a sign-and-trade to make the deal happen.

But ultimately, that plan did not come to fruition, because a surprising team dropped the whole bag, instead. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Charlotte Hornets decided to give Hayward a four-year deal worth $120 million, and he’s decided to accept.

Teams like the Knicks and Hawks had the cap space to sign Hayward, but ultimately, it was the Hornets that swooped in and made a deal happen. Hayward has struggled to stay healthy during his time with the Celtics, and the hope is that a change of scenery might help rejuvenate a player who has yet to regain his former All-Star form.

The Milwaukee Bucks entered this offseason with one goal: Build a team that is able to compete for a championship and convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to stick around long-term. The team took a step in that direction when it traded for Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans, and on Saturday morning, the team acquired a pair of players that should play a role in bolstering their rotation.

The first move, reported by Shams Charania, is the free agent signing of Bobby Portis, formerly of the New York Knicks. While the financials of the deal are unclear, Charania reports that Portis will head to Milwaukee on a two-year deal that features a player option for 2021-22.

Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN both reported the second deal. Now-former Orlando guard DJ Augustin will join the Bucks on a three-year deal that will pay him $21 million.

Neither of these signings will single-handedly make Milwaukee the title favorite, but both players should fill roles on the Bucks’ roster. Portis gives the team a solid frontcourt option off the bench, while Augustin is a very capable floor general who should slide into the hole left by George Hill’s departure in the Holiday trade nicely. Portis averaged 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in a largely reserve role for the Knicks last season, while Augustin wrapped up his four-year stint in Orlando by averaging 10.5 points and 4.6 assists a night.

One of the top guards on the free agent market is off the board. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors — who was expected to garner plenty of interest as an unrestricted free agent for a team that needed someone to run their offense — will return to Tampa Toronto on a four-year deal that will pay him $85 million.

Charania added that the deal has a player option in it for the fourth year.

VanVleet is one of the best stories in the NBA. Once a decorated but undrafted guard out of Wichita State, VanVleet cut his teeth in the Raptors’ G League system and eventually made his way to the senior squad as a reserve guard. He kept on grinding and eventually became an invaluable member of their rotation, playing a major role in the team winning its first ever NBA championship in 2019.

Last season, VanVleet ascended to Toronto’s starting lineup, where he had an incredibly productive season — he averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 steals in 35.7 minutes per game, all career-best marks, while providing tenacious defense on the other end of the floor. It’s unclear what the market was for his services, but regardless, VanVleet will continue to ply his trade up north.

This past Friday marked three weeks since King Von’s untimely death. The Chicago rapper was shot outside of an Atlanta nightclub on November 6 in an incident that left his peers and supporters extremely saddened. Since his passing, fans have shown strong support for King Von’s music, helping the rapper earn his highest debut on the Billboard albums charts. Now a popular name in hip-hop has taken things a step further.

21 Savage surprised King Von’s sister, Kayla B, with a brand new Range Rover this past week, prompting her to took to thank him over Instagram. “2021 PAID FA WITH 21 ROSES!” she wrote. “NOBODY EVA BOUGHT ME ROSES! I LOVE MY BIG BROTHER @21savage.” In another post, which she shared on her Instagram story, Kayla B revealed that her brother planned to buy her the vehicle prior to his death. “Von was about to sneak & buy me a car before he passed and look my brother still made sure I got it,” she said.

Early Saturday morning, 21 Savage posted a message on Twitter that explained why he bought the Range Rover for Kayla. “I never speak on stuff like this because I don’t do it for the internet but y’all being disrespectful,” he said before revealing that he knew Kayla prior to meeting King Von. “Von was already planning on purchasing the gift for her birthday and due to his untimely passing, he wasn’t able to finish so all i did was finish what he started because I told kayla when he passed I had her 4L and I meant it,” 21 said. He added, “All the immature comments and speculations surrounding this are very insensitive please keep them to yourself. Respect to his family, his children, O’Block, OTF, and anybody else I left out.”

As of this writing, it’s been two weeks since Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. Not only has his predecessor, Donald J. Trump, yet to concede, but he’s launched dozens of frivolous lawsuits, baselessly alleging voter fraud. That’s put a hold on some of the Biden team’s transitional efforts, but there’s one place that’s fully committed to a change in power: As per Deadline, Twitter is ready to switch the official presidential account to the incoming 46th president on January 20.

Mind you, the account — @POTUS — isn’t much used by the current commander-in-chief, who’s always manned his personal account instead, spending much of his days, and nights, tweeting and re-tweeting, sometimes from suspect accounts. The official presidential account does re-tweet Trump’s own tweets, but that’s pretty much it.

That said, Trump’s personal account, the infamous @RealDonaldTrump, may not be with us that much longer. During his presidency, he’s repeatedly broken Twitter rules that have gotten other accounts suspended, sometimes permanently. Twitter top brass has been censoring them recently, as he’s been spreading misinformation about the election, but they’ve said they can’t delete them or ban him because, in essence, he’s the president. But on Inauguration Day, when he not longer is, that will no longer be the case, and Trump will be subject to the same rules as anyone else. Surely many are placing bets on how long he’ll last in the Twitter wild.

(Via Deadline)

One of the biggest hip-hop moments this year occurred on Thursday when Jeezy and Gucci Mane squared off in a much-anticipated Verzuz battle. The two rappers, who have been sworn enemies the last 15 years, ultimately put their differences aside, closing the duel by performing “So Icy” together. It was a satisfying end to the battle, as the bulk of the night was filled with tense moments between. One of those was when the 1017 rapper played his scathing Jeezy diss track “Truth” while taunting his opponent. The following morning, Jeezy stopped by The Breakfast Club to explain why he reconciled with Gucci.

“I just had to make a decision,” Jeezy said. “It’s going to be about what I see going on and how I can contribute and let people understand it’s bigger than us. For all the things you see, that King Von thing really touched me. I know [Lil] Durk well and it was surreal to get that call. Them kids. It ain’t gotta be that way.” He added, “It was a lot of that. What happened to Mo3, what happened to Boosie. It was a crazy weekend.”

The Recession 2 rapper also said he would be down to make music or tour with Gucci at some point in the future.

For me to hear him say on a stage, “You extended the olive branch,” let me know where we’re headed. I would’ve never thought in a million years I would’ve heard that type of verbiage out of his mouth. Look how many times we went out in the world, to come back where we started and see that. What can you say? Even for the people that support us, it’s divided. Shit, that’s the first time in a while I heard “Icy” and thought, “Cool, I can listen to ‘Icy’ again.”

You can watch Jeezy’s full interview on The Breakfast Club above.

Gucci Mane is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Donald Trump has hated the media since Day 1 of his presidency, but it can be argued that if anything they’ve gone easy on him, not saying the things they really want to say. But ever since he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, the gloves have been slowly coming off. CNN’s Anderson Cooper is no longer trying to hide his contempt for him and his cronies. And now even Brian Williams, MSNBC’s most staid and old school anchor, is offering a deeply and witheringly sarcastic take on the outgoing president.

Williams was responding to a suggestion made by old Trump pal Geraldo Rivera, who’s been among the too few in his circle to call bull on 45’s baseless claims of voter fraud. But that hasn’t stopped Rivera from offering a bizarre and pointless olive branch to Trump, in an attempt to make him finally concede the election: Why not name the COVID-19 vaccine after him? Well, for one reason, it would be an insult to Dolly Parton. But Williams thought that thinly veiled sarcasm was the real way to put out this fire.

“You know, Geraldo raises a good point there,” Williams began. “It’s possible we don’t give the president enough credit for his FDR-like devotion to tackling this virus — his laser-like focus, his daily devotion, the sympathy he’s always expressing to the families of the quarter-million dead.”

He continued:

“Even the way the president lectures us in that way to ‘please wear a mask and stop the spread.’ And he’s always advocated injections. Geraldo may be onto something. What Trump Steaks did for the hungry, what Trump Water did for the thirsty in our nation, what Trump University did to lift up the uneducated in our country. Well, along comes Trump: The Vaccine. Possibilities, I think you’ll agree, are endless.”

On their face, Williams words may seem indistinguishable from the kind of fulsome and dubious praise that make Trump happy. But as Williams spoke, the screen was filled with ironic images: of Trump playing golf, of him posing for his propaganda videos made to make him look stronger than he is, of him generally being a useless buffoon who’s done next-to-nothing as the people who voted for him died en masse. It’s the kind of reverence Trump deserves after four long years and for however long it takes for him to publicly admit he’s a loser.

While Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout is widely thought of as the OG bourbon-barrel-aged stout (the first version was entered in the Great American Beer Festival in 1995), it’s hard to argue with the popularity of Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout). This bourbon-barrel aged chocolate coffee stout has a ridiculous score of 100 (out of 100) on Beer Advocate and is one of the most widely beloved beers in the world.

In fact, the beer is so popular that it’s spawned two more iterations — KBS Espresso and the newly released KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge.

If you’re new to stouts, you might be confused by what the phrase “Kentucky Breakfast Stout” actually means. Before there was KBS, there was simply Founders Breakfast Stout (and there still is). This imperial coffee stout was made with flaked oats and two different types of coffee. (While we rarely drink beer for breakfast, it is a thing and the addition of coffee certainly helps.) In 2001, sensing the emerging popularity of barrel-aged stouts, the folks at Founders wanted to find a way to barrel-aged its iconic Breakfast Stout.

Barrel broker (yes, it’s a thing) Tom Griffin asked the Founders team if they wanted a few bourbon barrels. After tweaking the recipe a few times, they came up with the KBS we all now know and love. We taste and rank all three expressions below.

3) KBS Espresso

ABV: 12%

The story:

Founders KBS is a bourbon barrel-aged chocolate coffee stout that is brewed with actual coffee. KBS Espresso takes the caffeine to a new level by aging the stout on espresso beans after the initial bourbon barrel aging. The result is the perfect stout for fans of serious coffee aroma, flavor, and the buzz that comes with it.

Tasting Notes:

If you nose this beer as you might with a whiskey, you’ll be met with aromas that are… exactly what you’re expecting. The first scent is reminiscent of popping open a can of coffee beans. This is followed by subtle bourbon sweetness. The first sip yields subtly bitter, dark roasted coffee, milk chocolate, and creamy vanilla. The finish is bold, warming, and ends with a nice kick of espresso and caramel.

Bottom Line:

Saying this is the lowest-ranked of the three is a bit misleading. It’s a great beer. It’s really great for people who love coffee. For the rest of us, the original KBS will do.

3) KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge

ABV: 11%

The Story

This is the newest addition to the KBS family. It’s an imperial stout with Mackinac fudge, coffee, maple syrup, and chocolate — all aged in oak bourbon barrels. The people of Michigan believe that their fudge is the best in the world. Founders paid homage to that by making this supremely indulgent version of Kentucky Breakfast Stout.

Tasting Notes:

This beer has the words ‘maple’ and ‘fudge’ in its name, so it should come as no surprise that the first aromas that fill your nostrils are rich fudge and sweet maple syrup. The first sip delivers even more velvety, sweet milk chocolate, charred oak, vanilla sweetness, and a nice subtle coffee backbone. The finish is smooth, slightly warming, and ends with a mouth full of melted fudge.

Bottom Line:

This is a fun beer that’s great for the holidays, but it’s not the kind of beer you’re going to want to drink all day. It’s high in ABV and the equivalent of drinking a boozy milk chocolate bar.

1) KBS

ABV: 12%

The Story:

As we mentioned before, back in 2001, the folks at Founders were offered a few bourbon barrels by a friend. They figured, “Why not add Breakfast Stout to the barrels and see what happens?” The barrel amplified the chocolate, coffee, and caramel flavors of the stout while adding warming bourbon and charred oak notes.

The first batches hit the taproom in 2003 and it’s been a fan favorite ever since.

Tasting Notes:

The first sniff is full of strong, bold, chocolate, and coffee aromas. The first sip is full of sweet bourbon, rich vanilla, toasted oak, bitter espresso, and creamy milk chocolate notes. The finish is sweet, warming, and ends with a nice hint of bourbon sweetness.

Bottom Line

While it’s fun to try different KBS recipes, it’s pretty tough to be the original. It’s perfectly balanced and full of rich chocolate and coffee flavors. The perfect barrel-aged beer.

In late August, a 17-year-old named Kyle Rittenhouse from Illinois crossed state lines and shot three protesters during the unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, killing two. One he shot in the head. Instead of inspiring a reckoning among conservative circles, Rittenhouse became a Republican folk hero. Indeed, less than three months later he’s been set free, after raising enough funds to make his astronomical bail of $2 million. And people were shocked to discover some of that dough came from no less than former child star Ricky Schroder.

Schroder, who has never reclaimed the spotlight he once had as the young star of the ’80s sitcom Silver Spoons, was outed on Friday by Rittenhouse’s lawyer L. Lin Wood, who himself is most famous for defending Richard Jewell, a rent-a-cop falsely accused of terrorism during the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. (Wood was played by Sam Rockwell in Clint Eastwood’s movie from last year.) Wood thanked those who raised money to free a teenager facing two counts of murder, and singled out two prominent donators: Mike Lindell, aka the My Pillow guy, and the once-famous Schroder.

Schroder was proud to be called out. He even reposted Wood’s tweet on Parler, the social media site that has been overtaken by conservatives and which, despite its commitment to free speech, requires one to sign up for an account to read what people post there. But those who remember him were horrified to learn what he’s become. Some even check out his Wikipedia page, where they learned that, only two years ago, he was arrested twice for suspicions of domestic abuse, though he was not prosecuted for either.

Schroder was a big star in the ’80s, but he never successfully transitioned into an adult performer. Not for lack of trying. He spent three seasons on NYPD Blue, during which time he changed his name to simply “Rick.” (He’s since changed it back.) But people were not happy to see the 50-something Ricky.

Some reckoned with their youth.

Some questioned his priorities.

Some pointed out that Dolly Parton knows how to use her riches.

Others remarked on how the Trump era has exposed the seedier sides of people’s natures.

Some compared and contrasted him with Paul Rudd, who is one year older and not someone who donates to people awaiting murder trials.

One person pointed out that Schroder first became famous with the 1979 remake of the 1930s wrestling weepie The Champ, in which his father was played by an even better-known conservative actor: Jon Voight.

One person who chimed in was fellow actor Chad Lowe, who shed some light on Schroder’s evolution.

And some had no idea who Ricky Schroder is.

But those who did knew that the real star of Silver Spoons was a young supporting player named Jason Bateman.

Kyle Rittenhouse is due for a preliminary hearing on December 3, where he will be tried for first-degree intentional homicide.

(Via THR)

In-N-Out is now officially the favorite fast food burger joint of Colorado, as the state opened its first In-N-Out Burger in the Denver suburb of Aurora. Anticipation for the new In-N-Out was high. So much so, that at one point yesterday people were waiting in 14-hour drive-thru lines to get their hands on a Double Double, a chocolate shake, and some devastatingly lackluster fries.

Unless they ordered those taters Animal Style. Coloradans, do ya’ll know about Animal Style yet?

Look, 14-hours is a long time to wait for anything, let alone In-N-Out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Californian, I adore In-N-Out, but I’ve never waited longer than 40 minutes at the drive-thru. And even then, that’s a long enough wait to opt for Wendy’s or Five Guys. Or better yet, go to the mom and pop burger joint.

Things, unsurprisingly, got tense in the drive-thru with reports of fights breaking out and all sorts of other shenanigans that typically happen when people wait longer than an hour for food. The Aurora Police Dept was on the scene to keep things civil, and the department’s official Twitter account has been posting updates to the line’s current wait time, which ended the day yesterday at a much more manageable 12 hours.