Month: February 2021

Pascal Siakam is in the midst of his fifth season in the NBA. During his relatively short tenure in the league, Siakam has won a championship alongside Kawhi Leonard on the Toronto Raptors, made an All-Star team, and got a deserved second-team All-NBA nod at the conclusion of the 2019-2020 campaign.

All of this is to say that even though he’s in the midst of a slightly down year — which, “slightly down” means 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game — Siakam is one of the best basketball players on earth. This is what makes the following clip from Thursday night’s edition of Inside the NBA, in which Shaquille O’Neal did not know Siakam’s first name and admitted as much on screen, so baffling.

“I don’t call him Pascal,” Shaq explained earnestly even though the door was open to make a joke that would have helped him out in this situation. “I call him Siakam.”

Now, listen, most people who watch Inside understand that it is an entertainment show first and a basketball show second, which is fine! It is, objectively, more fun watching Shaq and Charles Barkley riff than most any other thing that happens on sports television, there is a formula that has worked incredibly well for them and it is why Inside is the most successful sports studio show ever behind SportsCenter. Still, there is a sentiment that they have leaned too far into this to the point that it can make them look bad when they get a bit overzealous, and those who believe this got a feather in their cap today.

Just about everyone is dunking on Senator Ted Cruz right now because he thought it would be a dope idea to go on vacation in Cancun while many in his state were busy freezing in powerless homes. And then he blamed it on his daughter. Which is colder than the weather in the state he ditched.

People not liking Ted Cruz is nothing new, Lindsey Graham once famously said, “If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you” (which, in the context of Trump’s second impeachment, doesn’t mean quite as much) and conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer once wrote of Sen. Cruz, “Everybody who knows him in the Senate hates him. And I think hate is not an exaggeration.” Also, the senator regularly gets into it with Seth Rogen for some reason — why would you dare tangle with Seth?

And now Sen. Cruz will go down in history as the only Senator to be roasted by a clothing brand that he himself supports. With his own money. That’s like paying fealty to a guy who called your wife ugl — oh, wait.

Outdoor clothing brand Patagonia sarcastically responded to one of the several now-viral airport photos of Senator Cruz, in which he is seen wearing one of the brand’s fleece shirts.

“Thanks, @tedcruz, for supporting our mission to Save our Home Planet by choosing a Snap-T made out of 100% post-consumer recycled bottles…” writes Patagonia’s official Twitter, “If you decide it isn’t the right fit for you we’d be happy to buy it back”

That’s a climate denier burn and a “we don’t want your money” burn rolled into one!

In response to the widespread backlash, Sen. Cruz has returned to Texas, cutting his vacation short. It will be interesting to see which brands, public figures, and fellow politicians roast him between now and when he arrives at his home.

When the NBA All-Star starters were announced on Thursday evening, few surprises arose. Most of the ten starters were not particularly controversial and, while there was a tie between Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard, there is absolutely no doubt that Lillard will be included when the coaches select the reserves. To that end, it is always fun to argue about which seven players will back up the starters, and our aim in this space is to anoint the best seven representatives from each conference to form the 12-player teams.

There are some shoo-ins among the bunch, but others are a bit tricker to select. At any rate, here is the way it all breaks down, beginning with the Eastern Conference.

EAST

Frontcourt

• Khris Middleton — Middleton has 51/44/90 shooting splits. He’s completely out of his mind, yet again. Put some respect on his name.
• Jayson Tatum — The Celtics hanging around .50o isn’t ideal but, as you’ll see again in a moment, Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been masterful. The problem is… almost everything else.
• Bam Adebayo — Miami hasn’t been very good this season, but Adebayo isn’t the reason. In fact, he’s averaging 20/9/5 while shooting 57 percent and playing great defense. On the whole, he’s also been the best player for the Heat since Jimmy Butler missed extended time.

Backcourt

• James Harden — Yes, Harden deserves some blowback for the way things ended in Houston. He’s also just been (way) too good to leave off. If you didn’t already agree, watching him lead Brooklyn to a comeback win (without Durant and Irving) over Phoenix earlier this week should do the trick.
• Jaylen Brown — Brown’s breakout season continues with nearly 26 points per game and 41 percent from three-point range. He’s improved almost across the board and is a no-doubt selection.

Wild Cards

• Zach LaVine — Jokes about LaVine’s defense largely still apply. Jokes about his efficiency do not. The scoring guard is putting up 28.5 points per game and doing it on 52/44/85 shooting. He has an excellent All-Star case and the Bulls are hanging around the race for the play-in to help his cause.
• Trae Young — As usual, Young’s counting stats are awesome and he is one of the best offensive guards in the league. There seems to be some pushback, largely on account of his foul-drawing, in the national consciousness, and Atlanta’s recent swoon didn’t help. Still, the Hawks have a +3.5 net rating when he plays and a -8.3 net rating when he sits. He’s been excellent, even while shooting a little bit below where his real baseline is.

Honorable Mention

• Julius Randle — My pal and DIME’s own Bill DiFilippo made quite a case for Randle. He was my last cut and is highly deserving of inclusion.
• Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner — The Pacers are a solid playoff team, and it is odd to leave them out entirely. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the case for any individual, in part because all three have been so good (and valuable) in different ways.
• Nikola Vucevic — Vucevic has been awesome this season in Orlando, and it’s truly a shame that the Magic are so bad. That isn’t the reason he is omitted, but it probably plays a part.
• Gordon Hayward — Charlotte’s investment in Hayward raised a lot of eyebrows, but year one is going well. He is averaging more than 22 points per game, shooting 42 percent from three and looking a lot like the All-Star caliber player he was in Utah.
• Jimmy Butler — This is just a math problem. Butler missed 12 of the first 28 games for Miami. He’s still very, very good and no one should be surprised if the coaches vote him in.

WEST

Frontcourt

• Paul George — There might be some question about George only playing 20 games so far, but that’s enough. He is shooting 48 (!) percent from three and the Clippers are awesome. He’s getting in and he should.
• Rudy Gobert — Utah is a juggernaut and Gobert still may be the No. 1 defensive force in the league. He’s also underrated on offense. This is an easy one.
• Anthony Davis — Davis probably won’t play (and we’ll replace him later), so this is performative. He’s still done enough to earn an All-Star bid with reduced counting stats, and it would be wise to remember that he’s an uber-elite defender on top of everything else.

Backcourt

• Damian Lillard — Perhaps the easiest selection on the entire board. He’s unbelievably good.
• Donovan Mitchell — Mitchell leads the team with the best record in the NBA in scoring. That usually gets you in the All-Star field but, even if that didn’t sell you, he’s shooting 39 percent from three for the season… even after a slow start.

Wild Cards

• Devin Booker — Booker is scoring and assisting a little bit less than last year. That comes with the territory when you add Chris Paul and the talent around you improves. He’s still the best player on a (very) good team, and Booker has proven himself at this point.
• Zion Williamson — This is probably the most controversial selection. I get it. Zion isn’t very good on defense. He’s also averaging 25 points per game with a 67 percent true shooting, and Williamson is seemingly getting better by the day. It’s also the All-Star Game and, as a tie-breaker, go with the fun player.
• Mike Conley (injury replacement) — Call me a hopeless romantic, but it would be fun to have Conley earn his first All-Star bid as the replacement for AD. Slide Zion to the frontcourt and a Wild Card spot opens. It’s not as if Conley hasn’t played well on the court. In fact, he leads the entire sport in net rating. The Jazz can have three All-Stars given their incredible run, and I’m in.

Honorable Mention

• De’Aaron Fox — Sacramento has been reasonably competitive and Fox is their best player by a wide margin. He has the stats to make a case, and it’ll come for him soon enough.
• DeMar DeRozan — Honestly, this would’ve sounded preposterous to me a few months ago. Now, DeRozan has been pretty awesome for a Spurs team that is right in the middle of the playoff race. He’s been pretty efficient as a scorer to go along with seven assists per game, and his big-shot prowess helps that team.
• Chris Paul — I almost put Paul on the team, even with no statistical argument for it. He’s been awesome again.
• Brandon Ingram — Ingram vs. Williamson could be an interesting argument, but I lean on Zion’s efficiency. Ingram is still enjoying a strong first half.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — SGA needed to have incredibly gaudy numbers to have a real chance. Still, the Thunder are frisky and he’s playing excellent basketball and deserves a mention.

Bryson Tiller made his return to the music world last October with his third album, Anniversary, a great step upward from his 2017 project, True To Self. Nearly four months after releasing his third album, Bryson offers his video for the track “Sorrows.”

The Lousiville singer begins the video by wandering the endless horizons of a desert. He stumbles across a woman when suddenly they’re both pulled into a vortex and sent plummeting down to a world beneath them. Bryson soon finds himself standing in a similar desert that’s riddled with clocks floating around him. Later on, nightfall arrives and Bryson’s body is replaced by an unidentifiable human whose head is a hologram of the singer’s face.

The video video comes months after Bryson tapped Kehlani to play his intimate partner in a video for “Always Forever.” On a more recent note, the singer promised a deluxe version of Anniversary was on the way. An on-screen message during his December appearance on Sneaker Shopping with Complex previously said the deluxe reissue would arrive at some point in February. He also revealed his long-awaited Serenity album would be split into a triple-disc with a rap side, an R&B side, and a pop side.

You can watch the video for “Sorrows” above.

Anniversary is out now via RCA. Get it here.

There is nothing that brings joy to the masses quite like videos of animals, particularly animals doing things that are usually reserved for people. Dogs skateboarding is the elite of the elite in this genre. Dogs serving as bat boys at Minor League Baseball games is also a favorite. Basically, dogs doing anything sports related is a beloved past time of viral internet video creators, with the occasional cat playing soccer finding its way into the mix.

However, we are really limiting our possibilities when we insist on limiting our purview of animals doing sports things to just dogs and cats. The diversity of the animal kingdom has not fully been explored properly, and I would like to present Exhibit A of what I mean by this.

Look at this sledding chicken.

Yes, that chicken went X Games mode and crushed it on its little sled going down not just a straight hill, but a hill with a curve. That is a strong degree of difficulty and just look at how the chicken finds the balance with a little wing flap at the top and then cruises, cool as the other side of the pillow, down to the bottom.

The chicken is apparently a retired laying hen who was adopted from a farm and is now a beloved pet of this family, per the person who blessed us with this video (who works at said farm). The chicken very clearly enjoys its post-egg laying life as an extreme sports athlete, and we should all be so lucky to find such a rewarding, self-fulfilling second chapter. As the guy who recorded the video says, “awesome,” indeed.

The NBA All-Star Game, quite often, looks the same from year-to-year. The league has made some welcome changes in recent years with the captains format and Elam Ending, but the games themselves almost always follow a similar path, where for three quarters everyone has fun and throws crazy lobs and take 35-foot shots before getting serious about winning in the fourth quarter if it’s close. Some games are more fun than others, but they are rarely the most exciting or fun part of the weekend’s festivities.

There is, however, one thing that I love about the game. It is always extremely cool to see players make it to All-Star for the first time, something that is especially true when it’s a veteran guy who has cut their teeth for years and get rewarded for a breakout campaign. It’s great when a young, budding star makes it for the first time and you can tell it obviously means a ton to them, but think of, say, Rudy Gobert last year after he was literally moved to tears the year prior over missing out.

One thing that can get lost amid all of the discourse around basketball is that, despite the fact that they’re bigger and faster and stronger than everyone else, the people who play the games are still humans. They experience the human emotions we all do, and those feelings are not always reciprocated by all of us in the world of sports fandom and media. It is cool to see good things happen to people, especially when that someone has done things The Right Way and finally sees their hard work pay off.

This year, there are a number of players making strong cases for being a first-time All-Star, but few have established a case as strong as Julius Randle, who has been sensational in his seventh NBA season and second for the New York Knicks.

“It’d be amazing, man,” Randle recently told Sopan Deb of the New York Times of possibly making his first All-Star Game. “You put in a lot of work and sacrifice and dedication to your craft. So for you to receive those accolades or whatever it may be and be recognized as such would be a great feeling … and especially as a Knick.”

There seems to be one or two guys in every NBA season who get a push from their teammates to make the All-Star Game, which then translates to pieces like this being written about how they deserve to make the All-Star Game, which leads to more players speaking, and more pieces written, the cycle continues on unabated. The thing is that those players can oftentimes have cases the feel pretty fringe-y — sure, they have a case to make the game, but they’re not objectively someone who has played at that level.

Randle, I would argue, is not just one of those stories. As the leader of the overachieving and wonderfully frisky New York Knicks, which currently sit at 14-16 and are in the Eastern Conference morass that simultaneously has them in striking distance of a top-4 seed and at risk of falling out of the play-in tournament picture altogether, Randle has amplified all of the stuff that has made him such an intriguing player over the course of his NBA career. He’s averaging career-best marks in scoring (23.2 points per game), rebounding (10.9 boards a night), playmaking (5.5 assists per game), and three-point shooting (40.7 percent from deep). The only player to put up this sort of season is named Larry, and it ain’t Hughes or a Nance. When the Knicks need something to happen, he is given the basketball and given license to cook, something that he’s done rather well this season.

Randle has done two things especially well this season in this role as the lynchpin of the Knicks’ offense. For one, he’s really tapping into his playmaking skills in a way he never has been asked to before. Randle’s never been a bad passer by any stretch of the imagination — he’s always shown off the ability to make a quality pass here and there, but with the Knicks’ struggles with consistent point guard play this season, Randle has shouldered quite the playmaking load. Randle is tops on the squad in assist percentage (25.1 percent, putting him in the 95th percentile of all bigs, per Cleaning the Glass) while the only Knick with a higher Assist-to-Usage ratio is Derrick Rose, who has played five games in New York. On top of that, Rose’s is in the 18th percentile of all guards in this metric, while Randle is in the 85th percentile of bigs.

One of my favorite things about watching Randle play is how clever he is as a passer. He’s someone who has some nights where he gets a little sloppy, ad he’s not the kind of guy who will consistently whiz the kind of home run-style passes that only the LeBrons and Lukas of the world are capable of pulling off.

What Randle is good at is realizing the gravity he holds on the basketball court, particularly when he gets near the rim, and dumping a — and please read this in your thickest possible soccer announcer voice — cheeky little pass to someone. Watch the first pair of clips here, as Cleveland’s defense gets pulled in and Randle, realizing that their selling out on him opened things up for someone else, turns down his potentially good look for a great look elsewhere.

The funny thing about this is the whole “gets near the rim” part, insofar as Randle just isn’t doing that as much this year. In years past, it has not been uncommon for Randle to get the ball and turn into a fullback, lowering his shoulder and trying to bowl through opponents as he chucks up an ugly lefty hook/runner through traffic that does not go in. At 6’8 and 250 pounds with a good bit of bounce to him, it’d always looked a bit weird when he’d do this.

So instead, Randle is doing something entirely different: He’s shooting more midrange and threes than ever and, as a result, attempting fewer shots from inside of 10 feet than ever. Sorting out his rookie campaign, when he was injured 14 minutes into his first game and did not play again, 73.3 percent of Randle’s shot attempts are twos this year, a career-low. We can probably credit pre-injury Mitchell Robinson for taking up space, but just 20.8 percent of Randle’s shots are within three feet, again a career-low. The 20 percent of shots he’s taken from 3-10 feet? You guessed it, a career low.

His shot profile is made up of 32.6 percent midrange/long twos — 10 feet out to the three-point line — and 26.7 percent threes. He’s taking tons and tons of jumpers and is he’s knocking them down at an impressive clip. In order: Randle is making 48.4 percent of his shots from 10-16 feet (second-best mark of his career), 48.6 percent of his shots from 16 feet out to the three-point line (career-best), and as previously mentioned, a career-high 40.7 percent of his threes. While he’s not Ray Allen, Randle’s shooting form has always looked decent, and this year, he’s traded in a bunch of the haphazard drives through crowded lanes for jumpers. Camping out in the corner has been more of a staple in his game, as a quarter of his attempted triples are corner threes, and he’s knocking them down at a 45.7 percent clip.

Calling Randle the Knicks’ best player this season has been an understatement. He’s leading them in basically every metric that tries to measure a player’s impact on the game (PER, win shares, box plus/minus, VORP), and when Randle is on the floor, things just click for them. Even with intangible stuff like “he plays hard,” Randle sets the tone for New York, the rest of the team responds, and as a result, the team has outperformed expectations so far this season.

A few worthy guys in the East are going to be left out when the coaches make all of their selections. You can be all but assured that Khris Middleton and Jayson Tatum will take up two of the frontcourt spots, leaving one guaranteed frontcourt position open for the group of Randle, Bam Adebayo, Jerami Grant, and Domantas Sabonis. With the backcourt talent of the East — Zach LaVine, James Harden, Jaylen Brown, and, Trae Young are all in the mix for a reserve spot — it’s possible there will only be one and maybe no Wild Card spots for the frontcourt.

Even so, on his own merits, though, Randle stands as a deserving selection for the game. Whether you go off of the statistical case, impact of winning, or the narrative, he has what voters are looking for. The way he has elevated a frisky Knicks team from “projected high lottery side” to “knocking on the door of a top-4 playoff spot” by turning into a tone setter and alpha dog is something that deserves some sort of recognition. Randle has been one of the best players and one of the best stories in the league this year. Giving him a well-earned All-Star nod would be a good way to reflect that, but whether he makes it or not, his effort this season should be commended.

Prince Markie Dee of The Fat Boys has reportedly died at the age of 52 from congestive heart failure, reports AllHipHop. His passing was also confirmed by the likes of Questlove, Fat Joe, and Run The Jewels’ El-P, who all took to social media to mourn his death. Born Mark Morales, Prince rose to prominence with The Fat Boys alongside Kool Rock-Ski and the late Buff Love in the early 1980s. They would become one of the first rap groups to release full-length albums and achieve mainstream popularity, finding success alongside groups like Run D.M.C. and Whodini.

In 1984, The Fat Boys emerged with their Gold-certified self-titled debut album, which is heralded as a hip-hop classic. Its release would kick off a string of Gold albums that included 1985’s The Fat Boys Are Back and 1988’s Coming Back Hard Again. The group’s lone Platinum-certified album arrived in 1987: Crushin’, responsible for the group’s high-charting song, “Wipeout,” which peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Despite the group’s success, The Fat Boys broke up at the turn of the decade. Prince Markie Dee went on to be a successful producer and solo act in the 1990s. He dropped his debut solo album Free in 1992, which also birthed his first No. 1 single, “Typical Reasons (Swing My Way).” He also wrote and produced songs for Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, Craig Mack, and more. On a more recent note, he served as a radio host and DJ for Rock The Bells, who shared their condolences in a tweet saying “voice and his presence can never be replaced.”

Members hip-hop community took to social media to mourn the loss of Prince Markie Dee.

Last Updated: February 18th

We’ve filtered through HBO Max’s massive movie queue already, so it’s only right that we take a look at some of the best TV shows the platform has to offer. Of course, HBO originals like Game of Thrones and Succession belong on this list, but we’ve already given them a shoutout on our rankings of the best HBO shows, so go there if you’re looking for network staples. Here? Well, here we’re giving the original series and old favorites the shoutouts they deserve.

Here are the best shows streaming on HBO Max right now.

The Flight Attendant

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 7.1/10

Kaley Cuoco surprised everyone, especially fans from her Big Bang Theory days, when she delivered this jet-setting mystery on HBO Max. In it, Cuoco plays Cassie, a flight attendant who masks her many troubles with alcohol and avoids forming meaningful relationships by way of her job. When she hooks up with a passenger and wakes to find him dead, the downward spiral she’s been putting off arrives with a force. Cuoco is brilliant in this, as are Zosia Mamet and Rosie Perez.

Search Party

4 seasons, 40 episodes | IMDb: 7.7/10

This genre-bending comedy hid its greatness over on TBS for its first two seasons, which is why we’re thrilled HBO Max decided to shuffle it over to their new streaming platform. More people need to be watching this show, mainly because it manages to distill the millennial experiences into darkly comedic subplots about murder, missing person cases, and conservative talk shows, but also because the cast is terrific.

The West Wing

7 seasons, 155 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

Aaron Sorkin’s iconic political drama receives more than its fair share of praise. It’s got a boatload of Emmys to its name, an enviable cast, and a team of polished writers — it’s not the dark horse of this list by any means — but greatness is greatness, and we must recognize it. The show, which stars Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Rob Lowe, and a slew of other A-list names too many to list, follows the inner-workings of the president’s inner circle. It’s a who’s-who of political masterminds, manipulating events behind the scenes, managing the damage of bad decisions, controlling the press, and trying to lead the free world while fighting their own personal battles. In short: it’s the gold standard of television.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

6 seasons, 148 episodes | IMDb: 7.9/10

Besides introducing the masses to the undeniable talent of Will Smith, and giving us the dopest theme song to ever exist on television, this classic family sitcom managed to put in some real work with all those laugh tracks. Smith plays a version of himself, a kid from Philly who move to Bel-Air to live with his rich relatives. He teaches them some street smarts, they try to class up his act, and the comedy comes from that disconnect, but we’d be lying if we said we didn’t get emotional from time to time while bingeing this thing.

Doctor Who

11 seasons, 851 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

Doctor Who is a long-running British series that follows the adventures of a Time Lord and his companion as they travel throughout space and time in the TARDIS. Doctor Who can be a little cheesy, but it is nevertheless one of those shows that’s difficult not to become completely invested in once you begin. Viewers who may not even consider themselves sci-fi geeks should give it a shot because this may be the show that converts them. It isn’t just a sci-fi show, it is a series about love and heartbreak and loneliness, about coming of age, about humanity and about loss. Maybe even more than that, watching Doctor Who is not just a television experience, it’s a cultural one, one of the rare shows capable of connecting people across the globe.

Friends

10 seasons, 236 episodes | IMDb: 8.9/10

There are some who argue that Friends was an overrated sitcom, with protagonists as unrealistic as they were lily-white. But like a big bowl of mac ‘n cheese, Friends is TV comfort food: not exactly great for you, but sometimes exactly what’s needed. From classic episodes like “The One With the Embryos” and “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” to its sprawling cast of eccentric supporting characters, the enduringly funny Friends will be there for you when you need to kick back and forget about the real world for a while.

Luther

4 seasons, 16 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

Maybe the bleakest, grittiest cop show you’ll ever see, Luther is so intense that it may at times rattle your brain stem. It’s got the best elements of other of its ilk as it follows a genius detective who struggles to separate his personal and professional lives. But it is also pummeling great drama, and Idris Elba is a tour de force (Ruth Wilson is fantastic, too).

The Office U.K.

2 seasons, 14 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

What can we say about this genre-defining workplace comedy that hasn’t been said before? Ricky Gervais’ mockumentary has influenced some of the greatest works on television and despite its many predecessors, it remains the best example of what a good, mundane comedy series can do. Gervais as clueless boss David Brent, whose desperate attempts at connecting with his underlings are a painful exercise in futility. Martin Freeman is also a stand-out, playing a role that John Krasinski inhabited in the American remake, but it’s the British sarcasm that really elevates this series and makes it worthy of a watch.

The OC

4 seasons, 92 episodes | IMDb: 7.5/10

Another fish-out-of-water type tale, this one skews a bit heavier on the side of melodrama as it follows a troubled kid named Ryan (Ben McKenzie), who’s taken in by a wealthy public defender, his socialite wife, and their nerdy teenage son, Seth (Adam Brody). The two become quick friends, navigating the f*cked-up, elitist world of Orange County, California, falling for society girls, heading South of the Border, confronting criminals who surf. You know, normal West Coast shenanigans.

Rick and Morty

Coupling

4 seasons, 28 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

Think of this early aughts comedy series as the British version of Friends. It follows much the same format — a group of six mates, three women, three men, exploring sex, love, and relationships in the city — but it’s got the courage to dig a bit deeper into what makes men and women tick than its American counterpart. It’s also got plenty of that trademark British sarcasm to pass the time in between hook ups and dick jokes.

Conan Without Borders

1 season, 6 episodes | IMDb: N/A

Technically, this “series” is just a collection of late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien’s recurring travel segment, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time. In fact, Conan’s frequent trips to places around the world are often more enlightening and fun to watch than the more traditional travel shows. Conan Without Borders has a knack for getting people to open up, lightening the mood with his trademark humor before delving into serious topics, like the humanitarian crisis in Haiti or the war in Israel. He’s not afraid to make fun of himself, which puts his guests at ease and gives us a more authentic travel experience.

Primal

1 season, 10 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

Primal is almost like a grown-up take on The Land Before Time. Let us explain. The animated series from visionary creator Genndy Tartakovsky, follows the story of a caveman who befriends a dinosaur and together, they fight to survive the harsh world of the prehistoric age. It’s definitely more violent, with darker, more adult themes at play, but it’s also a beautiful story of friendship packaged in some cool-as-hell illustrations.

The Boondocks

4 seasons, 56 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

Watchmen‘s Regina King leads the voice cast of this adult animated sitcom that first aired on Cartoon Network. The show tells the story of the Freemans, a Black family moving from the streets of Chicago to the suburbs. This culture clash fuels much of the plot, with both the parents and the kids struggling to adapt to mostly-white neighborhoods, blatant prejudice, class inequality and more.

Legendary

1 season, 9 episodes | IMDb: 6.3/10

Though this reality competition series opened to some controversy, it’s still an addictive watch and one of the few queer-centered original series that you’ll find on the streaming platform. The Good Place star Jameela Jamil leads a panel of judges as voguing teams battle it out on the ballroom dance floor for a cash prize. To get a better sense of the history and culture at play here, go watch FX’s Pose, then come back and enjoy the show these divas are putting on.

The 2021 NBA All-Star Game is happening, albeit in a format that players aren’t exactly excited about that will condense two days worth of events into one on March 7 in Atlanta. Fan, media, and player voting for All-Star starters completed this week and the starting fives from both conferences were announced on Thursday night, along with the two captains who will be picking teams from the All-Star pool of players.

Unsurprisingly, Kevin Durant and LeBron James won the fan vote in their respective conferences and will be the All-Star captains, and the eight other starters were named as well, as the expected names earned positions before the coaches make the remainder of the selections.

EAST

Kevin Durant
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Joel Embiid
Bradley Beal
Kyrie Irving

WEST

LeBron James
Nikola Jokic
Kawhi Leonard
Stephen Curry
Luka Doncic

The lone bit of “controversy” came in the West backcourt where Doncic and Damian Lillard tied, with Luka getting the tiebreaker as being second in the fan voting while Lillard was second in player and media voting. You can see the full voting breakdown below.

None of those players earning a starting spot come as a surprise, and you can pencil in a few selections that will almost assuredly be made by the coaches from here. For the West, Lillard and Donovan Mitchell seem like backcourt locks, while Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, and Paul George can be penciled in as frontcourt picks — with Davis almost assuredly opting out due to his Achilles injury and being replaced by a reserve selection. In the East, Jayson Tatum figures to be a frontcourt pick while teammate Jaylen Brown is a likely backcourt selection, along with James Harden and Zach LaVine.

The rest of the rosters will be up for debate, with a number of potential first-timers making strong cases this season — guys like Julius Randle, Jerami Grant, Zion Williamson, and De’Aaron Fox — and some All-Star staples needing a coaches pick to make it in. Those decisions will be made over the next week, which will surely lead to snub talk. However, given the criticism the All-Star Game has received publicly from some big names this year, we may have more opt outs than usual and there could be some more reserve picks made than we’re used to.

Ted Cruz is back in Texas after fleeing the country in a “hastily planned” trip to Cancun that’s put his political career in hot water in a freezing cold, powerless state he abandoned on Wednesday night. The Texas senator was caught leaving Texas in a climate crisis that’s left millions without power and clean water, and instead of trying to help he decided it was better he just board a flight to Mexico.

Cruz sheepishly changed his flight plans and returned stateside on Thursday, blaming his children and their desire to vacation as the reason he left a state experiencing a crisis. The New York Times quickly got some new details about Cruz’s trip, which apparently his wife, Heidi, planned in a hurry through a group text message chain. According to the story, Heidi first told friends and neighbors that they were staying with friends to keep warm, but quickly decided they just had to get away.

“Anyone can or want to leave for the week?” she wrote. “We may go to Cancún.” She teased a “direct flight” and “hotels w capacity. Seriously.” Ms. Cruz promptly shared details for a Wednesday afternoon departure, a Sunday return trip and a luxurious stay at the oceanfront Ritz-Carlton in the meantime.

No one appeared to bite, but Ms. Cruz did extend a more practical offer. “We have gas stove so at least we can heat water little that there is happy to help anyone we can too,” she wrote.

The Times story has some other details about Cruz and the immediate fallout to what’s become, to put it mildly, an enormous political gaffe. But what the story seems to lack is details about why Cruz decided he had to join a trip that was apparently orchestrated by his wife. Cruz’s defenders seem to claim isn’t actually capable of helping Texas residents in any way here. The senator seems to have agreed with those claims and simply decided it was best he save himself rather than even try to help others.