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CJ McCollum And James Harden Dueled As Portland Beat Houston In An Early Game Of The Year Contender

We’re mere days into the 2020-21 NBA season, but it’s hard to imagine too many games being better than the slugfest we witnessed between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Despite James Harden, surrounded by a myriad of trade rumors, throwing haymaker after haymaker in the way that only he can, the Blazers sneaked out a 128-126 win in overtime.

The reason this happened was in large part due to Portland’s incandescent backcourt, which is oftentimes the case whenever they win a big game. Damian Lillard was outstanding, scoring 32 points with nine assists and five rebounds. But the man of the hour was C.J. McCollum, who went blow-for-blow with Harden and eventually hit the shot that had to go in for the Blazers to come out on top.

Portland got the ball with 13 seconds remaining on the clock after a big bucket by Harden. Lillard drove to the rim and tossed it out to McCollum, who pulled up from deep and canned his career-high ninth triple of the game.

McCollum on the whole had one of the best nights of his career. He scored 44 points on 17-for-30 shooting from the field and 9-for-16 shooting from three with eight assists and three rebounds, giving Portland a much-needed counterweight to Harden. Despite the fact that Harden has had, well, let’s call it a tumultuous offseason, he showed zero signs of letting up once he steps on the floor. Harden scored 44 points on 12-for-22 shooting, doled out 17 assists, and pulled down four rebounds.

His air of inevitability showed up late in the game. Harden scored eight of the team’s 13 points in overtime and assisted the other five, with the biggest bucket coming at the very end. The former league MVP pulled out his signature, a devastating stepback triple while being checked by Robert Covington that looked like it might have sealed things for Houston.

McCollum’s bucket came on the ensuing possession, and while the Rockets got one more chance, a Harden pass was plucked out of the air by Covington to secure the win. Houston is scheduled to play 71 more games this season, while Portland has 70 more on the horizon. Still, it’s quite hard to imagine either of those teams playing a better game the rest of the year.

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Mike Schur Explained Why ‘Parks And Rec’ Would Have Been A Very Different Show If It Premiered After The Super Bowl

Parks and Recreation is a show that’s come and gone on NBC, but it’s still fascinating to consider what could have been different about the comedy still beloved by fans years after it’s aired. For instance, did you know that it could have originally aired as a lead-out of the Super Bowl? But according to showrunner Mike Schur, that would have come at a considerable price.

Schur appeared as a guest on Rob Lowe’s podcast, and the show’s creator and one of its biggest stars discussed just how different things could have played out if they had made some different decisions during its first season. And as it turns out, they had a big decision to make right away when it came to how the show itself would premiere.

As Schur explains on Literally! With Rob Lowe, the show was originally slated to debut after The Office served as lead-out to Super Bowl SXIII in 2009. But keeping the schedule required to fulfill that obligation may have meant not casting an important part of the show: Leslie Knope herself.

“Steve Carell was the most important part of how The Office worked, they just built it around a generational talent,” Schur said, describing the thought process behind creating the show. “And I was like ’the person to do it around is Poehler. There’s just no one better.’”

The plan for Schur’s new show was simple: they had been given a 13-episode first season order and a big spot, but the person they wanted to make their Steve Carrell was simply not going to be able to make it work.

“It was going to be the Super Bowl, The Office and Parks and Rec was going to launch to whatever, 28 million viewers,” Schur said. “But Pohler was pregnant and she was due to give birth literally the week we would have started shooting the pilot.”

Getting that kind of order, and platform, is a dream for any showrunner. And that kind of instant audience is a game-changer for something new. But Poehler seemed, at least to Schur, important enough to give all that up for.

“We kept just having this feeling of like ‘Who else though? Who else can do this? We don’t know anybody else. We could look, but I don’t think we’re going to beat Amy Poehler,” Schur said. “So Greg and I made, at the time, what seemed like an insane decision.”

That decision was to ask NBC to delay its debut three months, and cut the first season from 13 episodes to six. But that gave Poehler enough time to have her child, keep her spot on the show and make Leslie Knope a reality.

“We just kept feeling that debuting after the Super Bowl is a short-term fix,” Schur said. “Getting Amy Poehler on the show is the long-term solution.”

The episode of The Office that debuted after the Super Bowl, “Stress Relief,” was the most-watched in show history. So Parks would have gotten an incredible debut if they carried out the original plan for 13 episodes. But, as we know by now, it was absolutely the right call and the biggest move Schur could have possibly made. Knope was the next Michael Scott, and the show remains beloved long after it left NBC.

Schur also talked extensively about the realities of creating entertainment in the COVID-19 era, and there are some sobering thoughts about what difficult decisions have to be made regarding staff, safety and budgets amid a pandemic. But as Schur and Greg Daniels have shown in the past, they certainly have the ability to think in the long term and watch it pay off.

[via Deadline]

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The Knicks Accidentally Had Reggie Bullock Wear Different Numbers On The Front And Back Of His Jersey

The New York Knicks played host to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. It’s an early matchup of two teams that have different goals this season, but an up-and-coming New York squad against a Sixers team with aspirations of putting last year’s disappointing campaign behind them still had the potential to be quite fun.

The Knicks did hit an early bump in the road, although it had nothing to do with anyone’s ability to play basketball. Veteran marksman Reggie Bullock checked into the game in the first quarter, but there was an issue: He had the same number on his back as one of his teammates, Mitchell Robinson.

This eventually got recognized, and Bullock, who normally wears No. 25, scooted off the floor and swapped out his shirt, something that required him to check out of the game.

You know something is good when it appears to make a referee laugh and Mike Breen, who has seen basically everything in his broadcasting career, say that this is a new one for him. Anyway, the Knicks went into the locker room for the half down 60-55. It is unclear if the team planned on using that time to make sure everyone had the right jersey number.

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Watch Steph Curry Go Five Straight Minutes Without Missing A Three In Practice

Things could be going better for the Golden State Warriors right now. The team is 0-2 on the year, and while that record on its own isn’t horrible, the team got run off the floor by both the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks. That’s not exactly the easiest schedule to start the year, but for a franchise with championship expectations, this is not the loss that anyone would want in the Bay.

Most everyone is playing poorly, including Steph Curry, who has struggled to find his torrid scoring form to start the year after missing essentially the last year due to a wrist injury and the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ending the Dubs’ season — Curry is averaging 19.5 points per game while connecting on 34.2 percent of his attempts from the field and 20 percent of his triples.

The good news for Golden State, though, is that Curry is still the greatest shooter to ever live, something he reminded everyone in a video posted to the Warriors’ official Twitter account. Curry made 135 straight threes, a mark that is wild even though it did happen in practice.

It’s hard not to be hypnotized by this, and it is quite impressive, although one of the other elite shooters in the Warriors’ organization disagrees.

Listen, you don’t win three titles in four years and make it to five straight Finals by having flexible standards.

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The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Showrunners’ New Netflix Show Is Now Tied Up In A Real-Life Attempted Murder Plot

The Three-Body Problem is one of the many Netflix projects the streaming service hopes will be a big hit with viewers, especially since Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are attached to the project. But while we know little about what that show will look like, we’ve seen increasingly strange bits of news leaking out associated to the source material.

Earlier in 2020, for example, the Three-Body Problem‘s author drew controversy when he was critical of Uyghur Muslims in an interview with The New Yorker, which led to several conservative critics and politicians to call for Netflix to stop working on the show. But Liu Cixen’s comments were not nearly as odd as the latest news about the Netflix series, which is currently embroiled in a real-life plot that sounds like it comes right from the last show Weiss and Benioff worked on.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote earlier in the week that the Chinese producer for the series was hospitalized after a poisoning that was later traced to another person in the company. As THR explained, Netflix acquired the rights to the Chinese sci-fi bestsellers and hoped to adapt them in English, acquiring the rights to them from a Chinese company Yoozoo Group and The Three-Body Universe. But the chairman of the former company was attacked earlier in the month.

Yoozoo Group’s chairman, Lin Qi, who is credited as a producer on the Netflix series alongside Benioff, Weiss and others, was hospitalized after having been poisoned on Dec. 16, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Shanghai police. Local authorities have apprehended a suspect, surnamed Xu, whom they believe to be responsible for the poisoning.

The suspect Xu, 39, has been identified by Chinese media outlets as Xu Yao, a senior executive in Yoozoo’s film and television division (only his surname and age were released by police). Local reports have alleged that a prior dispute among the Chinese entertainment company’s executive ranks preceded the surreptitious assault on Lin.

It’s certainly a noteworthy scandal in China, and attached to a major Netflix production — and showrunners very familiar with poison plots — it’s a very strange coincidence indeed. As the Hollywood Reporter story notes, there are some high expectations for the series on the streaming front, as the books are a huge international smash and have some major names attached to the show’s creation.

Netflix was planning the property as a major event series, with Benioff and Weiss at the helm, and Alexander Woo (The Terror: Infamy) installed as showrunner. The project also counts heavyweights such as Rian Johnson, and Rosamund Pike and Brad Pitt’s Plan B among its executive producers.

Hopefully Qi is OK and things get back on track without further strangeness, but it’s an eventful start to The Three-Body Problem’s path to the screen to say the least. Hopefully there are no more recycled Game of Thrones plotlines involved in what’s left of the show’s news cycle.

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The Browns Will Miss Four Receivers Against The Jets Due To COVID-19 Close Contacts

The Cleveland Browns are nipping on the heels of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North, sitting one game behind the squad from the Steel City for the top spot in the division. They’ll have a theoretically easy matchup against the lowly New York Jets this weekend, but due to a number of players being deemed COVID-19 close contacts, things will be a little more tricky than usual.

The Browns, which are already missing Odell Beckham Jr., had a collection of receivers receive this distinction earlier in the day, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Subsequent reporting by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com indicated that three players — top pass catcher Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, and rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones — will be held out.

Even worse, Cabot followed this up by noting that KhaDarel Hodge, another receiver, will be out, as will linebacker Jacob Phillips. Despite this, the game is still scheduled to go on as planned.

With all of these absences, Cleveland is down to one healthy active wide receiver in former Lions WR Marvin Hall, while a pair of practice squad receivers will join the active roster.

Ultimately, all of this was confirmed by the team.

Obviously the No. 1 priority is that all of these players remain COVID free, but when it comes to how tomorrow’s game tomorrow, it’s probably fair to assume that standout running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are going to be used in a whole lot of different ways, as will tight ends Austin Hooper, Harrison Bryant, and David Njoku.

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A Live ‘The Lion King’ Musical On The Voice-Based App, Clubhouse, Is Getting Nothing But Love

If you’ve spent a good amount of time on social media within the last few months, you’ve probably heard of Clubhouse. The up and coming voiced-based social media app has become the new wave in the world of online communication and has also become a great way for folks to engage in social interactions of all kinds in the midst of a pandemic. While the app has made headlines recently for the things celebrities have said on it, today’s news is thanks to some every-day, yet very talented, people on the app.

Led by marketing executive and event producer Noelle Chesnut Whitmore, a live rendition of The Lion King musical has made its way to Clubhouse. The musical is well-produced as many of the cast members, all who auditioned last month for the more than 40 roles in the musical, flawlessly performed their respective roles, sang, and played instruments with little to no delay or lags on the app.

In a press release, Whitmore revealed that the idea to bring The Lion King to Clubhouse came after she met Chris “Boogie” Glover, a user on the app, and was impressed by his distinct voice, one she quickly realized would be perfect for the role of Mufasa. After hearing him recite a few lines, the idea for the musical was put into motion.

Whitmore is the director and executive producer for the Clubhouse edition of The Lion King while Kam Dela and Bomani X, the latter whose face is depicted on the Clubhouse app icon, are musical directors. Award-winning actor Myles Grier voices Simba and Nala is voiced by Mir Harris. Other actors notable names in the show include Gina Belafonte, Dr. Victor, Minh Do, Brandon Rainey, Tunde Sho, Dai Thompson, Felicia Brathwaite, Aja Monet, and Shannon Yang. Despite the app’s limiting capabilities, the crew changed their profile pictures frequently (an act referred to as “PTR” or pull to refresh) to update the “scenery” as the musical progressed.

The first show for the Clubhouse edition of The Lion King musical began on December 26 at 3PM EST. At the time of this post, 5,000 individuals joined the room to watch the cast reenact the undeniable classic. As a result, #TheLionKingCH hashtag began to trend on Twitter and it currently sits as the second-highest trending topic in the United States. Fans took to Twitter to express their excitement and appreciation for the musical.

One listener said, “Black people are so fucking creative! I love us. Only ~we~ could’ve orchestrated an audio-only production of The Lion King and still make it interesting, captivating, immersive & heart-wrenching.” Another blown-away fan said, “There Is is nothing that Black Creatives can push themselves to accomplish. This is really a amazing way to utilize clubhouse. Brings out your imagination in the most beautiful way.” They added, “Feels like you are watching it without watching it.”

A second show of The Lion King musical on Clubhouse will take place on Saturday at 8PM EST. Scroll down to see more reactions from listeners.

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Lil Baby’s ‘The Bigger Picture’ Initiative Will Gift 1,000 Coats To Birmingham, Alabama Residents

At the end of November, Lil Baby proclaimed that he made $1.5 million off his summer single, “The Bigger Picture,” and rather than keep it all to himself, he wanted the money to “go [where] it’s needed.” Well, just a little over a month later, the My Turn artist has taken a new step to fulfill that promise.

As a part of his initiative, Lil Baby has committed some of the funds from “The Bigger Picture” to help orchestrate a coat giveaway set to occur on December 28 in Birmingham, Alabama. The event has been dubbed the Winter Warm Wishes Coat Giveaway and here, the rapper will give 1,000 coats to both children and adults in low-income families. Speaking about the giveaway, Birmingham City Councilor John Hillard praised the rapper for the initiative.

“I’m so excited that rapper Lil Baby has chosen to support Birmingham’s District 9 communities,” Hillard said in a statement. “With COVID-19’s critical impact on our communities, I find it honorable that someone with his influence would provide such an essential resource to our residents. He is setting an amazing example for our youth. I want to thank him for his willingness to come to Birmingham and spread kindness during these unprecedented times.”

This isn’t the first action Lil Baby has taken as a part of his “The Bigger Picture” initiative. Earlier this month, he used some of the money he made through the song to give Gianna Floyd, the daughter of the late George Floyd, a party for her seventh birthday.

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Utah Freshman RB Ty Jordan Died Due To A Presumed Accidental Gunshot Wound

The college football world is in a state of morning, as the University of Utah has announced that freshman running back Ty Jordan passed away on Saturday. He was 19 years old.

Jordan, a three-star recruit from Texas who went to Salt Lake City and became the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, is believed to be the victim of an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a statement given to ESPN by the Denton Police Department out of Texas.

The Denton (Texas) Police Department told ESPN that its officers responded to a shooting call at 10:38 p.m. ET Friday. Officers discovered a gunshot victim who had been shot one time. After life-saving measures were applied, the victim was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“Following a preliminary investigation, we do believe that this was an accidental shooting, where the victim accidentally shot himself,” Denton Police Department public information officer Allison Beckwith told ESPN.

While the Utes entered this season with questions in the backfield due to standout back Zack Moss graduating and leaving for the NFL, Jordan stepped in and did not miss a beat. On the year, Jordan ran for 597 yards with six touchdowns on 83 carries in five games. In a statement following the news of Jordan’s passing, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said, “Ty’s personality and smile were infectious and he made a huge impact on our program in the short time he was with us. He leaves an indelible mark on each of us and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. From the bottom of our hearts, all of us in the Utah Football Family want to say we love you Ty and may you rest in peace.”

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Yet Another Monolith Was Found In San Francisco On Christmas Day, This One Made Of Gingerbread

On some Christmas Days you get a present you weren’t expecting. That’s what happened to San Franciscans when they awoke on Friday, only to discover that they were the latest place to be gifted with a giant, mysterious monolith, which have over the last month and change appeared in Utah, Romania, and Atascadero, California. The big difference: This one was made of gingerbread.

AB7 in Los Angeles reports that the monolith appeared first thing in the morning at the top of Corona Heights Park, in the very heart of the California metropolis. Not only was it made of the holiday foodstuff, but it was also decked out in frosting.

No one has yet to claim responsibility for the monolith, nor is it known if it is connected to past monoliths, which have thus far been made of metal. The monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey, meanwhile, appear to be made of some kind of stone. What’s more they appear to be able to trigger a massive evolutionary leap, whereas these monoliths simply trend on social media.

When local station KQED reached out to Corona’s Recreation and Parks Department, they were told they was no rush to remove the monument. “Looks like a great spot to get baked,” General Manager Phil Ginsburg said. “We will leave it up until the cookie crumbles.”

(Via ABC7 and KQED)