Month: April 2021

Arsenal supporters have long had gripes with its ownership group, frequently grumbling about the perceived lack of investment — both in terms of effort and money — of the American-based Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. The group owns a number of professional sports teams in the United States, but none of them are as tradition-rich as their London-based Premier League side.

This frustration reached a new level during the Super League debacle in recent weeks, with fans being more vocal than ever in their cries of “Kroenke out.” As a result, Daniel Ek, the CEO of Spotify, has made clear that he wants to purchase the club away from the Kroenkes, and on Wednesday, he appeared on CNBC and claimed that he is ready to make a bid.

“I’ve been an Arsenal fan since I was 8 years old,” Ek said. “Arsenal is my team, I love the history, I love the players, and of course, I love the fans. So, as I look at that, I see a tremendous opportunity to set a real vision for the club, to bring it back to its glory. And I want to establish trust with fans, I want to engage the fans again.

“So, to answer your question, I’m very serious,” Ek continued. “I’ve secured the funds for it, and I want to bring what I think is a very compelling offer to the owners and I hope they hear me out.”

Ek is going to run into one pretty gigantic problem here, even if he has support from fans and other players and whomever else: The Kroenkes have apparently made clear that they don’t want to sell. But perhaps Ek — along with whatever partners he has — can come to the table and make something lucrative enough that Arsenal could come under new ownership.

The 2021 NFL Draft begins on Thursday night. It’s the biggest day in the lives of a number of individuals, all of whom will achieve their dreams of becoming an NFL player. For us sitting at home, the Draft is an opportunity to learn about the next generation of professional football players during the biggest sports event of that weekend.

The Draft has grown considerably from a fun little quirk to an all-out event, and apparently, the fine folks at Marvel have decided to get in on the fun. ESPN announced that it’ll team up with Marvel to create a collection of comic book-inspired cover for seven players in this Draft: Alabama’s Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith, BYU’s Zach Wilson, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Georgia’s Azeez Ojulari, Michigan’s Kwity Paye, and Notre Dame’s Jeremia Owusu-Koramoah.

The Worldwide Leader dropped six of the covers already, with the seventh getting revealed just before the start of the Draft.

As that tweet indicates, Lawrence is the only player whose Marvel cover is not clear. At the very least, this adds the smallest amount of uncertainty to what should be a pretty drama-free night for the former Clemson standout, as Lawrence has been written in permanent marker as the No. 1 pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars from the moment he declared for the Draft.

On Wednesday, after mostly staying out of the news since his client, former president Donald J. Trump, left office, Rudy Giuliani was pulled back in. The feds descended upon his New York City home and office, stepping up a criminal investigation into his dealings with Ukraine. Later in the day, the former NYC mayor tried to spin it — and given that he’s almost cosmically doomed to inventive failure, it couldn’t help but seem perfectly pathetic.

As per The New York Post, Giuliani tried two things. He tried to pin the blame for the investigation on “Trump Derangement Syndrome” — a term often used by Republican lawmakers and pundits whenever Trump came under scrutiny by those not on his side. And he tried another favorite Trumpist move: invoke the unholy name of Hunter Biden.

In a statement released by his own lawyer, Giuliani claimed that he offered, “on several occasions,” federal investigators copies of Hunter Biden’s hard drives. They “steadfastly declined” them. “Keep in mind that the agents could not read the physical hard drives without plugging them in, but they took Mr. Giuliani’s word that the hard drives were copies of Hunter Biden’s hard drive and did not contain anything pertaining to Mr. Giuliani,” the statement read. “Their reliance on Mr. Giuliani’s credibility tells you everything you need to know about this case.”

Or maybe it doesn’t tell you everything you need to know? It’s a pretty unconvincing piece of spin, even for a Trump loyalist. But what would you expect from someone whose November was more disastrous than some people’s whole lives?

The Giuliani investigation involves his alleged attempts to dig up dirt on the current president’s son, and it also involved issuing a grand jury subpoena to his executive assistant, as well as searching the Washington-area home of Victoria Toensing, a lawyer close to him who had several dealings with Ukrainian officials.

All in all, today marked a big step down from the Giuliani of 20 years ago. Once upon a time he earned raves, even multiple SNL stints, for his handling of the September 11 attacks. Today his New York City residence and office were raided, and mere months after he spread election misinformation and attempted to subvert the will of the American people. There can be second acts to American lives, but sometimes they ain’t pretty.

(Via The New York Post)

While Travis Scott has amassed a number of awards in his career, his latest comes as a result of his work with public service. According to Billboard, the Astroworld rapper was recently awarded for his philanthropic efforts for HBCU students, specifically his work with Red Carpet Advocacy (RAD) Awards, which highlights people who “inspire purpose.” Scott was one of five recipients of the award, joining a list that includes Laverne Cox, Charlize Theron, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Margot Robbie.

Some of Scott’s past charitable contributions include paying off the tuition of five students at historically Black colleges and universities, which he did back in October. A month later he created the Cactus Jack Foundation, and a few months later, he partnered with his Houston hometown to deliver 50,000 meals to residents after the state’s brutal ice storm. The foundation also launched its first major initiative, the Waymon Webster Scholarship program, named after the rapper’s grandfather, who attended an HBCU, and aimed at granting several HBCU students with scholarships. First-round selections have already been made through the program for potential recipients that were enrolled at Prairie View A&M University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Texas Southern University, and Grambling State University.

The award arrives after Scott was listed as a headliner for Rolling Loud’s Miami festival with Post Malone, ASAP Rocky, and others.

It’s been a while since we heard from Rudy Giuliani, formerly “America’s Mayor” and last year one of the big stars of Donald Trump’s disastrous final months in office. (To say nothing about his inadvertent role in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.) But on Wednesday he roared back into the news: His Manhattan home (and office) was raided by the feds, who are looking into his potential criminal activity involving Ukraine.

One person not happy about it: Andrew Giuliani, son to New York City’s former mayor. A former Trump staffer currently employed by the Trump-leaning Newsmax, Giuliani the Younger spoke to press outside his father’s Upper East Side apartment, claiming that if the feds could do this to a man of high power with lots of dubious ties, it could happen to anyone.

“Any American, whether you are red or blue, should be extremely disturbed by what happened here today, by the continued politicization of the Justice Department,” Andrew said. “This is disgusting.”

He also tried to throw another prominent son under the bus. “The only piece of evidence that they did not take up there today was the only piece of incriminating evidence that is in there — and it does not belong to my father, it belongs to the current president’s son.”

Andrew — who once upon a time was, along with his sister Caroline, estranged from his father before patching things up and getting sweet jobs — was not met kindly by social media. They were quick to spot the similarities to a famous impersonator of famous politicos: Will Ferrell. Not only did he look a bit Ferrell-esque, but his patois, particularly his mangling of the word “politicization,” was, too.

In fact, lots of people made the same Will Ferrell joke.

It even encouraged a response from the company co-founded by Ferrell.

Some saw a bit of Matt Gaetz.

Others were reminded that Chris Farley used to impersonate him on SNL when he was a child, who achieved fame for his rambunctious appearance during his oath of office back in the day.

And others just saw another unfortunate scion.

The rollout for Young Thug and YSL Records’ Slime Langauge 2 has been quite eventful. Thug and Gunna teamed up for a lavish pool party in their video for “Ski,” which also saw the emergence of the Ski Challenge. Thug later spotlighted his brother, Unfoonk, in a video for “Real.” Outside of music, Thug and Gunna also joined forces to bail 30 inmates out of Georgia’s Fulton County Jail, a good deed that was displayed in their latest video for “Paid The Fine.”

The new video captures the newly freed inmates as they walk out of the county jail and reconnect with family friends. Elsewhere, Thug, Gunna, Lil Baby, and YTB Trench sit around a large table, accompanied by fellow rapper Bankroll Freddie and more. There, they eat a big meal as they rap along to the Slime Langauge 2 track.

Prior to the new video, Thug and Gunna joined a list of celebrities that includes Saweetie, Jack Harlow, Mookie Betts, and more in the trailer for the third season of Call Of Duty: Warzone. Their appearance convinced J. Cole to play the video for the first time ever, which was shared by Cole’s manager, Ibrahaim “Ib” Hamad.

You can watch the “Paid The Fine” above.

Slime Language 2 is out now via 300 Entertainment/YSL Records. Get it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It’s never too late to find your family. That’s the heartwarming message being shared by Leah Paskalides and her newly adopted daughter, 19-year-old Monyay.

At the age of 11, Monyay was placed into a foster care group home. The pain of having to go through life without a family was always difficult, but it hit hard in her senior year of school. “My senior year is when I went through one of those, ‘I don’t want to do it anymore, I’m done,'” she told ABC News.

Monyay finished school a year early and took the extra time to focus on volunteering with foster children like her. But she faced a tough road ahead, as she was about to age out of the system.

According to the Children’s Home Society of Minnesota, the 23,000 children who age out of foster care every year without families face many challenges. Only 3% earn a college degree, half will develop a substance abuse problem, 60% of boys are convicted of crimes, and 70% of girls become pregnant before the age of 21.

After she turned 18, it looked like she would have to enter the real world as an adult without any real support. But then her caseworker and mentor from the Safe Children Coalition stepped up.

Leah had always wanted to adopt Monyay but it was a conflict of interest with her work.

“She always said, ‘I wish you could adopt me, wish you could adopt me,’ and I couldn’t because of the job and then I was watching a documentary where the person had been adopted as an adult, and I had never really heard of it,” Leah said.

So she decided to adopt Monyay as her adult daughter. “It was important to me that she knew that she was wanted by somebody, that somebody loved her,” Leah told Fox 13. “I could say that as many times as I want, but actions speak louder than words.”

On Tuesday, a judge signed the paperwork making the adoption official.

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“Being told ‘no’ so many times, to hear that ‘yes’ and to hear them pronounce her as my mom, it’s something that’s like, oh my gosh, this is for real,” Monyay told Fox 13.

The funny thing is the two didn’t hit it off at first. Five years ago when Leah was assigned her case, Monyay didn’t like her. “She told me what she was going to be doing and helping me out with my case, and I didn’t like her; she’ll tell you that,” said Monyay.

But over the past five years, the two forged an unbreakable bond.

“She was very motivated and had aspirations for a future, and so I knew she just needed support,” Leah said. “She was always a kid that did not deserve to go through life without a support system of a family.”

The newly-formed family is sharing their story to bring hope to children in the foster care system by letting them know they can be adopted as adults. “It’s never too late because I’m grown but I’m still being adopted,” Monyay said. “Just because it didn’t happen then it doesn’t mean that it won’t happen.”

Monyay hopes to one day open her own group home for teens to help children who grew up like she did.

Since the release of Toy Story back in 1995, Pixar has consistently proven itself as one of the most innovative and heartfelt animation studios in the world, creating beloved stories like Finding Nemo, Coco, Up, and oh so many more. Earlier today, the studio released a second trailer for their upcoming film Luca, which is somehow only months away from its release this summer. However, Luca isn’t the only movie the studio has lined up — here’s a complete roundup of what fans have to look forward to from the folks at Pixar.

Luca (June 18, 2021)

After releasing Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4, Pixar has seemingly made a sharp pivot back to creating original stories, with a greater emphasis on exploring different cultures much like the studio did in Coco. Following Onward and Soul is Luca, a “coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides” set on the Italian Riviera.

However, much like all Pixar movies, Luca isn’t merely a slice-of-life film. Turns out, Luca is actually a sea monster whose true identity is constantly on the verge of becoming exposed. The film marks the feature-length directorial debut of Pixar veteran and Academy Award-nominated Enrico Casarosa, who’s worked on just about every Pixar movie since 2006’s Cars. Casarosa said the film is deeply personal one that celebrates friendship and more specifically, “those kinds of friendships that help you grow up.” Barring any delays, Luca is set to hit theaters and Disney+ on June 18.

Turning Red (Spring 2022)

Pixar’s Turning Red also features the full-length directorial debut of another member of Pixar’s staff: Academy Award-winner Domee Shi, who won the Oscar for her short film Bao, which preceded Incredible 2 in theaters. Just like Bao, Turning Red draws upon Shi’s experience as a Chinese woman to craft a unique and assuredly touching story. The story follows Mei Lee, a “confident, dorky thirteen-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence.” When not dealing with the usual slew of problems adolescence comes with, Lee also faces another major problem — whenever she gets too excited, she turns into a giant red panda. Turning Red is scheduled for release next Spring, just ahead of the next, highly-anticipated film on this list.

Lightyear (Summer 2022)

Though the Toy Story series has presumably reached its conclusion, it turns out Pixar still has plenty of ideas to help flesh out the fascinating world they created. However, while Lightyear sounds like it might be a prequel to the series following the Toy Story gang’s beloved spacefarer Buzz Lightyear, it’s actually quite a bit different. Lightyear tells the story of the Buzz Lightyear, the young test-pilot-turned-space-ranger who inspired the popular children’s action figure. With Chris Evans voicing Buzz and Finding Dory‘s Angus MacLane directing, Lightyear is sure to be a fan favorite when it reaches theaters next summer.

In addition to these movies, Pixar has confirmed they have one other film in the works, though as of right now no names have been tied to the project.

The Boston Celtics picked up one of the more surprising losses of the 2020-21 season on Tuesday night. With Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker both sidelined, the Celtics fell to the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-115, despite a 39-point, 11-rebound outing from Jaylen Brown.

In the aftermath, some frustrations boiled over, and one of the team’s top rotation players will be suspended as a result. The league announced that Marcus Smart crossed some sort of line “during and after” the game in his interactions with the officials, and he was accused of “directing threatening language toward” one of the referees. As a result, the Celtics’ glue guy will receive a one-game suspension, which he will serve on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.

It is unclear exactly what Smart said to earn this suspension, nor is it clear which referee drew his ire to the point that he picked up a suspension. Still, Smart’s the team’s emotional leader, and he’s normally pretty good at knowing the line that he can’t cross, even when he’s really frustrated by how a game has gone. Still, Boston is probably pretty bummed out about any sort of suspension for Smart, as the team is in a battle to stay in the 6-seed and miss out on the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

Invincible, Amazon’s new animated superhero show, isn’t just another program from the work of The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman. It also features a number of the zombie fave’s alumni. Chief among them is Steven Yeun, whose post-TWD life has gone pretty swimmingly: For one thing, he’s an Oscar-nominee now, thanks to Minari. And a bunch of others colleagues have also swung by, playing a key part in the first episode. But now we know there’s going to probably be more where that came from.

ComicBook talked to Kirkman about the new show, which so far only has seven episodes. And he’s open to bringing more Walking Dead-ers into the pack. “I hesitate to name names, just because I would eventually like to bring everyone,” Kirkman told the site. “I can’t think of an actor on The Walking Dead I wouldn’t want to work with again. It’s an amazing group of actors. Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Jeffrey Dean Morgan… there’s not really anyone I wouldn’t want to bring in.”

As for those other TWD vets who’ve already done some voice work, they’re a pretty big bunch: Lauren Cohan, Ross Marquand, Sonequa Martin-Green, Khary Payton, Michael Cudlitz, Lennnie James, and Chad Coleman. The show has also featured plenty of non-Dead heads, like Zachary Quinto, Gillian Jacobs, Jason Mantzoukas, Walton Goggins, and Seth Rogen, who’s also one of the show’s executive producers. But it sounds like it’s really just getting warmed up.

(Via ComicBook)