Month: March 2021

The aftermath of the helicopter crash that ended Kobe Bryant’s life and that of his daughter continues, but the latest news is from Kobe’s late wife, Vanessa Bryant. In a series of Instagram posts, Bryant unveiled details of a lawsuit against the L.A. County Sheriff’s and Fire Departments due to their mismanagement of the crash scene last January.

As ESPN’s Dave McMenamin noted in his reporting on Bryant’s posts, the lawsuit details how one sheriff’s deputy took between 25 and 100 pictures of the scene (including the bodies of the crash victims) and sent them around to others in the department. Bryant specifically made a point of releasing the names of the deputies who participated in what the suit calls “morbid gossip.”

They are: Joey Cruz, Rafael Mejia, Michael Russell and Raul Versales. As McMenamin notes, Bryant recently won a case that allowed the names of the deputies to be made public.

Among the more egregious allegations in the lawsuit — which Bryant posted numerous screenshots of on her Instagram page — are the lies told by deputies Cruz and Mejia, including their insistence that they sent fewer and less salacious photos around than they actually did. In interviews with investigators, the suit states, both have admitted their lies and misjudgment, though not fully.

The releases from this case by Bryant come shortly after an official report detailed the mistakes made by Bryant’s personal pilot while flying in poor weather conditions. At the same time, the misconduct by law enforcement is a key part of the circumstances around Bryant’s death, and a heavily criticized part of celebrity accidents overall, so it is understandable that Vanessa Bryant would continue to pursue justice.

Green Lantern wasn’t the first comic book movie to star Ryan Reynolds. That would be X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in which he played…well, the character who becomes Deadpool, albeit in a different iteration than the one he essayed later. But over the years he’s been pretty open about not being crazy about his first superhero starring role: the 2011 film stab at Green Lantern. Only catch: He’s never actually seen it. That changed on Wednesday, in which he rang in by St. Patrick’s Day live-tweeting his maiden voyage with the film, all while drinking gin.

So how did it go? Perhaps better than you’d assume. His tweets were a mix of gentle ribbing and sincere nostalgia, plus jokes about being surprised that his romantic lead was played by his future wife, Blake Lively. Not only had he never watched it, he hadn’t even read the full script.

There was some good-natured ribbing.

And some not-quite-in-jokes.

And some props to his (admittedly top shelf) cast. (Seriously, Peter Sarsgard plays Tim Robbins’ son! And Angela Bassett’s in it! And Geoffrey Rush! And the mighty Mark Strong! Even younger Taika Waititi!)

And some actor talk about the difficulties of acting alongside special effects.

And talk of his own personal powers.

And some bittersweet moments.

And some backstage talk.

And self-effacement.

Conclusion: Could have been worse!

Anyway, Green Lantern worked out for everyone in the end, and that’s what counts. Happy St. Paddy’s!

(Via EW)

Nick Jonas delivered his fourth album Spaceman last week — his first solo release since 2016’s Last Year Was Complicated. He doubled back with a brand new video for “This Is Heaven,” which finds him walking in the empty rooms and hallways of an unknown building as he shows his gratitude towards life’s blessings with the uplifting track. The singer is alone for most of the video, except for various points that see him belting the song with a group of instrumentalists and backup singers behind him.

Jonas spoke about the track in an Instagram post. “This song means so much me, to this album,” he said. “I feel like it’s sort of the center point, and kind of the thing that propels us into the theme of commitment, and honestly [it’s] just one of my favorites.”

He also explained how the visual expanded on the song’s theme. “Giving it a different environment and talking about kind of what happens when you are able to escape in whatever way is right for you,” he said. “For some people that’s a good book, video games, a nice meal, dinner… whatever it is, but this is about that escapism feeling.”

You can watch the “This Is Heaven” video above.

Spaceman is out now via Island Records. Get it here.

The Bucks and Sixers met on Wednesday night in a clash between two of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference, a matchup we very well may see in the conference semifinals should the Nets take the 1-seed in the East as expected. While the matchup didn’t feature one of the biggest stars as Joel Embiid continues to sit with a knee injury, it was a highly competitive, even if ugly game.

The Bucks struggled mightily on offense in the first half, scoring just 31 points and trailed by 14 at halftime, but came alive late to take what felt like a comfortable lead, before a run from the Sixers forced overtime at 93-93, a score straight out of a 2004 East playoff series. In that overtime period, Giannis Antetokounmpo took over to lead the Bucks to a win — although the Sixers would again cut it to as little as one late — going on a 7-0 run of his own that he capped off by taking a seat on the Philly court in triumph.

That drew boos from the Philly crowd and caught the attention of the Sixers, who weren’t pleased with Giannis’ celebration. Dwight Howard noted after the game that Giannis’ seated celebration made him want to deliver some justice, Texas Rattlesnake style, a mere day after 3/16.

He was, naturally, joking a bit, but the game was contentious throughout and Giannis and Dwight had a couple of minor run-ins. It is funny to see the Sixers a little ruffled by some antics that come straight out of the Joel Embiid playbook, but you always love it when its your guy and hate it when someone else does it. Hopefully we can see these two go at it at full strength come playoff time, because it’d be a series with great physicality and defense and each team would have a little testiness as well.

An incident in the final moments of the third quarter in Wednesday night’s game between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets caused Steph Curry to head to the locker room and miss the remainder of the game. With the Warriors up by 15 and Curry holding for the last shot in the frame, the former league MVP hoisted a jumper, then lost his balance and fell down on a metal stair near the Rockets’ bench.

It didn’t appear to be anything particularly out of the ordinary, but Curry was unable to brace his fall and fell flat on his backside. He was in very obvious pain, to the point that some people on Houston’s bench tended to him as he was on the ground.

Curry immediately made his way back to the locker room, and shortly after, Golden State’s PR team tweeted out that he will miss the remainder of the game with what has been described as a tailbone contusion.

The obvious hope for the Warriors — which went on to win the game sans Curry, 108-94, and are jockeying for position at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture — is that this won’t hold out their best player for anything more than one quarter of a game that was done and dusted against the Rockets. We’ll keep you updated as more information comes in on whether or not Curry will have to miss any more time.

Saba wowed the hip-hop world in 2018 with his sophomore album Care For Me. The 10-track effort was labeled by many as one of the best hip-hop projects from that year, but after its release, the Chicago native would go more than two years without a solo release. That all changed last September with the arrival of not one but two singles: “Mrs. Whoever” and “Something In The Water.” Their release launched a string of drops that brings us to his latest singles, “Ziplock” and “Rich Don’t Stop,” which were released on Wednesday.

The Care For Me rapper turned the two songs into a medley for their music video. In it, he can be found on the roof of what appears to be a fairly tall building as he raps the bars of his “Ziplock” track. The reflective single transitions into a much more upbeat effort with “Rich Don’t Stop,” which finds the rapper looking ahead to brighter days. The video also served as a fundraiser for the John Walt Foundation, which was made in honor of Saba’s late cousin, who helped co-found the Pivot Gang collective of which Saba is also a part

After dropping “Mrs. Whoever” and “Something In The Water,” Saba closed out 2020 with “So And So” and “Areyoudown? Pt. 2.” He also connected with Amine and Femdot for the tracks “Talk” and “Lifetime.”

You can watch the video for “Ziplock/Rich Don’t Stop” above.

Rod Wave is about to release his third album Soulfly, but before it arrives, he’s delivered a unique treat to fans. Following the release of “Street Runner,” the lead single from his upcoming full-length effort, the Florida native has teamed up with Krool Toys for a collaborative project tied to the track that delivers an arcade-inspired game.

Rod also spoke about the new song and game, saying it’s “a personal song about the sacrifices I made to pursue this career that I have now all while never forgetting about the family and loved ones I’m doing it for. This video game brings my story to life beyond the music.”

In a statement to Complex, Stefan of Krool Toys explained the inspiration behind the game: “When building out this game we really wanted to give people the feeling of being back in an arcade getting behind one of those old school sit-down racing games, as well as incorporate some elements from Rod’s home of Florida.”

Street Runner can be played through Krool Toys here. Rod is also offering a chance to win a one-of-one Street Runner Game Boy box, as well as a customized Game Boy Advance, which one can enter in here.

As for Soulfly, the album will arrive on March 26 and feature 19 songs, with a sole guest appearance from Chicago rapper Polo G.

Everything is coming up Cade Cunningham in March thus far, with Oklahoma State avoiding a postseason ban during Cunningham’s freshman season thanks to an appeal from the university and the Cowboys storming to a four-seed in the NCAA tournament. That should be shortly followed by a No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft, and during some downtime this week after the Big 12 Tournament, Cunningham spoke with The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie to break down his game.

In the interview, Vecenie dug into the ways that Cunningham’s game is unique and special, from his ability to make his teammates better no matter the situation, his unselfishness in the pick and roll, and his stepback jumper. On the jump shot — which was no sure thing when Cunningham came out of Montverde Academy — Cunningham attributed his development to consistency in the gym and watching the greats.

“It definitely started with the groundwork. Getting my jump shot on balance and really making sure I knock down 1,000 jump shots. Then adding onto that, with a lot of defenses trying to find ways to get into my shot, I needed to find a comfortable way to get into that shot while making space.”

While searching for the patterns in the game to add his stepback jumper in, Cunningham began watching film of players like Luka Doncic and LeBron James who take and make that shot a high level. After he watched them, it started to come more naturally.

“I just kind of picked little things from each guy and see how they do it so effectively and then try to add it to my game and see how it translates to my body. I think it’s helped me a lot. Then after making a couple, your confidence is through the roof, so now I kind of feel like anytime I shoot the ball, it’s going to go in.”

As a high school recruit, Cunningham was compared to players like Jason Kidd and Grant Hill, who were not perimeter threats as we think of them in today’s NBA. But like any player with a high basketball IQ and strong work ethic, Cunningham added new elements to his game and has begun to master the most important shot for any ball-handler in the league right now, the pull-up jumper. Cunningham has shot 41.2 percent from three this season, with a majority of his attempts coming on unassisted shots. Mastering that stepback has opened up a whole new world for Cunningham, as he keeps defenders guessing because he’s tremendous going downhill, but now can create great shots off of the anticipation of drives with his stepback jumper.

The failed MAGA coup of January 6 was a terrifying day in American history, but it could have been even worse. Thanks to Capitol Police officers, the violent Trump supporters weren’t able to kidnap or murder members of Congress, hang former vice president Mike Pence, or overturn the election. It was a no-brainer for the House to come together for a rare bipartisan union and award them the Congressional Medal of Honor for helping to save democracy. But of course, there were some dissenters, and they were the usual suspects.

As per CNN, a mere 12 Republicans voted the measure down, but they’re about who you’d expect. There was Matt Gaetz, of course (though not Jim Jordan, the Beavis to his Butt-head). Marjorie Taylor Greene was a shoe-in. Tooth-loser Louise Gohmert, obviously. And then the rest: Andy Biggs of Arizona; Thomas Massie of Kentucky; Andy Harris of Maryland; Lance Gooden of Texas; Michael Cloud of Texas; Andrew Clyde of Georgia; Bob Good of Virginia; Greg Steube of Florida; and John Rose of Tennessee.

Why would they vote to not award the hard-working, blue-collar types that saved their hides? Because the award dared mention that they earned it for the actions during the January 6 riot, which it referred to as an “insurrection.” Gohmert even filed an alternative version, which erased the Jan. 6 date entirely, merely saying the fallen officers “passed in January.”

Gaetz, meanwhile, found it “offensive,” claiming it combined the honor with “editorial comments about the January 6 sequence of events” — a pretty next-level fit of vague word salad to describe a catastrophe that led to actual deaths.

But Liz Cheney, the leading Republican in the House, one of the Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, did not mince words. “What happened on January 6 was an attack on the Capitol,” she told CNN. “The officers who defended us, both Capitol Police, the Metropolitan police, all the law enforcement officers who defended us put their lives on the line — some lost their lives — and there should be no question that we’re awarding people a gold medal for their actions on that day,”

In any case, this means there are 12 House Republicans who are okay publicly admitting what happened on Jan. 6 was not what it really was. Then again, one could definitely say it was a “sequence of events.”

(Via CNN)

I’m about fourteen seconds into demoing a Super73 electric bike in a quiet Irvine, California industrial park when I “get it.” The “it” in that sentence being why these vehicles seem to inspire such cultish devotion from their rabid fanbases on social media and Reddit. The answer is easily visible in my dorky smile.

Tearing around a football-field-sized parking lot at 32mph? Feeling like I’m on an old-school motorbike but without the same level of road rash risk, big trucks to contend with, and the need for a special driver’s test? It’s a nice balance of convenience, comfort, and cool. No wonder celebrities from Jack Black to Joel McHale to Meek Mill rep the brand.

After a few more minutes, I understand why every single surf grom in the town where I live, Laguna Beach (CA), seems to have a Super73 or one of its competitors. Just the chance to dodge the city’s notorious summer traffic by using the bike lanes is appealing enough to make me long for one. And while most of the e-bikes on the market cost upwards of $1000, the middle of the price bell curve is still substantially less than a Vespa or a top-notch, unmotorized racing or road bike.

“You like it?!” a helpful clerk asks as I fly past her for the third time.

“Tooooootalllyy!” I call over my shoulder, pressing the throttle down as far as it will go.

“The COVID lockdown came in March, the bike boom started in April, and since then demand for e-bikes has spiked through the roof,” Matt Ford, competitive cyclist and owner of Rock N’ Road Cyclery tells me. “We have five stores and can’t keep them in stock. It might not even be the specific bike someone is looking for, they’re just saying, ‘I want to be in that e-bike world, so… I’ll take it!’”

Ford’s assessment of the massive sales boom for e-bikes, particularly since the start of the pandemic, is echoed by brands across the industry. Super-73, ONYX, Rad, and Specialized have all spent a fair chunk of 2021 back-ordered online. Wait times for the most hyped bikes can stretch for months, as fulfillment problems due to pandemic-related factory closures collide headlong with unprecedented demand.

“E-bike growth has continued at historic levels,” Dirk Sorenson, an analyst at The NPD Group, told Bicycle Retailer in July. He noted that sales spiked 84% in March 2020, 92% in April, and 137% in May. All of this growth was great, of course, save for the fact that it coincided almost too neatly with production hubs in the US and China shutting down.

“We started to hear about problems downstream in our supply chain in January, heading into Chinese New Year,” says LeGrand Crewse, founder of Super73. “So a lot the production targets of our new bikes were delayed for about 90 days. Then demand started to dry up before turning upward again and spiking.”

By summer, the angle went from “spiking” to vertical. It hasn’t slowed much since.

While Covid backlogs plagued Super73 and other e-bike brands from the 2020 Christmas season into the new year, rabid fans of the vehicles didn’t seem to mind much. They continued to gather on forums and social media, posting their adventures and design tweaks (Super73 and many of its competitors celebrate people customizing their bikes).

Investors weren’t bothered by the wait times, either. In February 2021, Super73 took on $20 million in outside funding; Rad Power Bikes announced a successful $150 million raise that same month.

As the industry has trended upwards, it’s also innovated. The number of companies and range of bikes has rapidly blossomed, year over year — with styles that Ford notes “often couldn’t be more different and still be categorized as bikes.”

Spurred on by tangible growth, eager venture capitalists, and the fear that established motorcycle and car companies with deeper pockets are going to edge into their industry, upstart companies are racing to establish their respective lanes. So far, there seems to be plenty of space under the e-bike tent. Bikes made by Super73 and ONYX really aren’t built to be true “pedal bikes” in any sense, they’re more akin to the old gas-powered mopeds. ONYX even calls itself an “electric drive train motorbike” on its website and on social platforms (though it’s got pedals to retain its e-bike status).

On the flip side, Specialized bikes still look and feel like the rest of their product line; they’re “pedal-assist” bikes– not meant to do all the work for you. Somewhere in the middle are companies like Segway (yes, that Segway), which has gone the moto-dirtbike route, and brands like Rad Power Bikes, which focuses on adding carrying capacity, convenience, and ease to the standard bicycle experience.

“Honestly, I started thinking about getting my e-bike because it was so cool looking,” says Joe Collord, who waited three months for an ONYX bike to help with his San Diego commute. “I was looking for a road bike and this did everything I needed, plus it was a blast to ride — I mean, you’re weaving through cars at 45 miles per hour.”

The second half of his comment highlights something of a sticking point in the e-bike world. Though the vehicles have different bodies and vibes — Super 73 is akin to a low-riding cruiser, ONYX looks like a cafe racer, Rad looks like an actual bicycle, etc. — the real differentiator is power. And when it comes to power, California currently divvies the bikes into classes I, II, and III, with different rules for each. Other states have other parameters, with many rules feeling mushy as new tech outpaces legislation.

In California, the top speed for class III bikes, theoretically, is 28 MPH. Anything faster than that is a motor vehicle and governed by the Department of Transportation (DOT), but there’s no enforcement mechanism in place and, since all of these bikes have pedals, it would be hard for a police officer to pull a rider over unless they’d been caught on radar gun. Sure, someone going 60mph on an ONYX might be easy to identify, but someone flying down a bike lane at 32mph on a Super-73 will have an easy time skirting the rules.

When I ask Collord about registering his Onyx as a motor vehicle I can almost hear him cringe. “Well… not yet. I do drive in the car lane — because I don’t want to be a dick flying past cyclists at 45 miles-per-hour — but I haven’t registered as a motor vehicle… yet.” He pauses. “I am looking into it.”

Eventually, there will have to be hard and fast rules created to govern e-bikes. But right now it’s more like the Wild West, for better or worse. People who buy an electric bicycle because it’s so convenient aren’t really racing to deal with the hassles of the DMV.

“The pandemic changed everyone’s thought on how they get around,” Super73’s CEO LeGrand Crewse, tells me a few weeks after my demo and our initial interview. “They’ve realized that they don’t always need a car and I don’t think that’s changing anytime soon. We’ve historically thought of two-wheeled vehicles in the US as recreation more than transportation — that’s not the case elsewhere and I’m glad to see it changing here.”

The shift is visible in most coastal cities in Southern California — the unarguable epicenter of America’s e-bike boom. It’s sure to be seen elsewhere soon enough and could, potentially, have a positive impact on traffic flow in a legitimate way. Delloite’s famous tech predictions estimate e-bike sales between 2020 and 2023 at 130 million. As a vehicle to replace a car on short trips, GreenAmerica.org puts e-bikes at 1/10 the energy use of automobiles, with electric energy being significantly cleaner than gas and e-bike emissions landing at precisely zero.

Potential applications stretch into the travel sector, too. Already, hotels are starting to offer e-bikes (and even e-retro mini SUVs) for rental. Post-pandemic, it’s easy to imagine multi-day trips, part pedal-powered and part electric, through the American Southwest and other wild spaces. City tours, which already utilize e-scooters, are sure to hop on the e-bike wave.

“Obviously, the huge interest is good for us and our industry,” Crewse says. “But these bikes are good for the environment, they’re good for connecting communities, and they’re good for the world at large.”

After demoing multiple bikes over the course of months, I’ll add one undeniable x-factor: “They’re also fun as hell.”