Month: April 2021

The 2021 Oscars are upon us, two months later than usual, and better late than never? Steven Soderbergh has promised that this awards ceremony will feel like watching a movie (whatever that means!), and although David Fincher’s Mank leads with the most nominations, it sure seems likely that Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland could sweep the biggest categories. With that said, you might be wondering how you can watch the Oscars if you’re not one of those folks with a conventional TV set up. We’re ready to help.

Times are changing, years after cord cutting became popular. Sure, you can watch the ceremony on your local ABC affiliate, who will be hosting the April 25 event at 8:00 p.m. E.S.T. There shall be some limited red-carpet warmup moments beginning at 6:30 EST. And you can stream this thing live on ABC’s website if you’ve got a cable or satellite account. Yet let’s get real, if you already prefer streaming these events, you’re probably already thinking about cord cutting or actually doing so already.

With that said, cord cutters have options: (1) Nabbing a free trial on one of the services that I’m about to mention next; (2) or going ahead and plunging for a streaming service like Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, or FuboTV, so that you can check out your local ABC affiliate. If you wanna do so, be advised that Hulu Live is currently going for $64.99 per month; YouTube TV is down for a $65.00 per month charge, and FUBO TV is also weighing in at $65 per month.

Hey, though. There’s actually one way to watch the Oscars for free, guaranteed: via the Roku Channel, and all you have to do is subscribe for free and then make sure you have a compatible device (such as a Chromecast) for streaming the ceremony to your TV.

We’ll be doing live coverage of the bigger moments from this evening’s ceremony, so please join us tonight.

Jorge Masvidal suffered his first knockout loss in more than a decade on Saturday night when Kamaru Usman put him to sleep in the main event of UFC 261 with one of the most violent single punches you’ll ever see in any ring or Octagon.

Usman retained his welterweight crown with the second round knockout, making sure there was no doubt he was the most dominant fighter in the division and, arguably, in all of men’s mixed martial arts. Masvidal wasn’t just knocked out but he was out cold, as ref Herb Dean grabbed his hand and called over the medical personnel after Usman’s vicious right and a few hammerfists had the Miami fighter done. As many noted as video of the knockout went viral, mere seconds before getting knocked out, Masvidal was laughing after a haymaker of his own just missed Usman. That, and his unconscious body, quickly became a meme on Twitter.

There were also plenty of the classic knockout memes that quickly made the rounds.

From a betting angle, no one had a worse night than Chad Ochocinco who saw his $50,000 Masvidal bet go up in flames as Gamebred plummeted to the canvas unconscious.

There were also plenty who couldn’t help but note that Usman is on quite the run of knocking out UFC’s biggest Trump supporters.

The reaction of the announcing crew Octagon-side also became memeworthy as Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier flipped out after seeing Usman’s vicious right hand in action.

https://twitter.com/mintchoco65/status/1386178568229638145

Riding three-consecutive welterweight title defenses, Kamaru Usman’s mission toward the division’s best ever required a second showdown with Masvidal after the latter took a short notice fight the distance in July last year. Saturday night, Usman (19-1) put those questions to rest with a massive second-round knockout, putting Jorge Masvidal (35-15) to sleep to retain the welterweight crown at UFC 261 from Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

Masvidal opened the first with snapping leg kicks to Usman’s lead leg. Usman exchanged a few big right hands, switching levels and jabbing the body while feigning the takedown. Masvidal went for a flying knee and Usman body wrapped the challenger and put him on his back. Masvidal went to work from his back, slicing elbows to Usman’s head, but Usman maintained control, pushing Masvidal against the cage and controlling the challenger. Masvidal made his way back to his feet with a minute left in the round, but it was Usman again tossing some big shots to close the action-packed first.

A minute into the second round, though, Usman landed a massive right hand the spun Masvidal around and knocked him out cold, adding some hammer fists for good measure before Herb Dean jumped in to call it. The reaction Octagon-side from Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan on commentary is legendary.

Usman came into the UFC 261 main event riding a 17-fight win streak, with a rematch against Colby Covington likely coming up next.

Saturday night was Masvidal’s first return to the Octagon since dropping his chance at UFC gold last July. Before that, Gamebred had rattled off three-consecutive wins, including his stunning knockout of Ben Askren and a win over Nate Diaz for the Baddest Motherf*cker Belt.

Two years after becoming the UFC’s first Chinese champion, Zhang Weili (21-2) has carved out a path of superstardom, earning gold one year after entering the UFC and taking fight of the year honors against Joanna Jedrzejczyk last year.

In the co-main event Saturday night at UFC 261 from Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, Rose Namajunas (11-4) changed everything with a stunning left head kick to knockout Weili and claim the strawweight title.

After the head kick, Weili argued the stoppage. She maintained that stance with Joe Rogan after the fight, adding that she was “still conscious,” so she felt the fight should have continued.

Namajunas and Weili quickly opened the first, sticking and moving with huge heavy shots before the massive head kick for the win. For Namajunas, the knockout follows a path of redemption for the former champ, who was dropped on her head by Jessica Andrade in May 2019, suffering a knockout loss in just her second title defense. Namajunas won a split decision against Andrade in a return match in July 2020 before earning just her second title shot against Weili Saturday night.

For Weili, this was just the second loss of her career after she dropped her debut back in 2013.

The most dominant flyweight in UFC history, Valentina Shevchenko (21-3) entered Saturday night on a seven-fight win streak, with five title defenses in the division. Saturday night at UFC 261, Shevchenko was on a mission to show off that dominance in a TKO victory over Jéssica Andrade (21-9) to retain her flyweight belt from Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

The champ opened the first round in dominant fashion, walking down the challenger and peppering her with combinations. While Andrade tried to find her range, Shevchenko shot in for a whopping five takedowns, utterly dominating Andrade while patiently transitioning on the ground.

In the second, Shevchenko did much of the same, taking Andrade down twice before transitioning into the crucifix position and elbowing her opponent into the finish.

For Shevchenko, while she wouldn’t pick who’s next in the flyweight division after the fight, it’s hard to imagine anyone who matches up with her well-rounded abilities.

With no clear opponents left in the division, maybe it’s time for a trilogy bought with Amanda Nunes, who has handed Shevchenko her last two losses, both by decision. Four years since her last bout with Nunes, both fighters are at the top of their games and could make for quite the showdown. With Nunes holding both the bantamweight and featherweight belts, it would almost certainly require Shevchenko to move back up the bantamweight division for such a fight to take place.

Seven years after Anderson Silva snapped his leg against Chris Weidman, the latter was the victim of the same gruesome, unfortunate injury just seconds into his UFC 261 fight against Uriah Hall.

More than a decade after their first fight, Weidman and Hall’s showdown was one of the most compelling bouts in the middleweight division. After snapping a two-fight losing streak with a win over Omari Akhedov in August, Weidman was on a journey back into title contention with his eyes on Israel Adesanya’s crown. Instead, he’ll look to make a recovery similar to Silva, with what he hopes are different results. Silva, who fractured both his fibula and tibia at UFC 168 in December 2013, spent more than two years away recovering and rehabilitating following the injury. He returned to the UFC and fought for another four years, winning just once before retiring following a knockout loss to Hall in October 2020.

Weidman’s leg looked eerily similar as everyone in the arena and at home immediately knew how awful the injury was as it happened live.

(WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO BELOW)

After the fight, Weidman was stretchered to the back with in tears with his leg stabilized and a towel covering the injury, and acknowledged the crowd from the stretcher.

Hall was understandably shaken up as they tended to Weidman, kneeling in front of his corner. Hall was then interviewed in the Octagon by Joe Rogan, saying he has nothing but respect for Weidman, adding that he introduced him to fear as the first fighter to defeat him.

Hopefully Weidman will be able to make a full recovery, but fight fans are unfortunately aware of just how long and difficult the road to recovery from such an injury can be.

A lot has happened since the tragic death of Anthony Bourdain, but it hasn’t gotten any easier to fill the void left behind in the culinary and travel worlds since his death in 2018. And while the work left behind remains, added to that later this summer will be a new documentary about his life.

Friday came with word of a new film Roadrunner, directed by Morgan Neville and set to hit theaters on July 16. Before that, though, the film is set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 11. Neville, an Oscar-winning director, famously chronicled Mr. Rodgers in Won’t You Be My Neighbor. His Bourdain film is also set to premiere on CNN and stream on HBO Max if you’re not comfortable heading back to theaters just yet but still want to see more from Bourdain’s life.

According to a release promoting the film, the documentary will chronicle the “uncommon life of the late storyteller, explorer, and chef, Anthony Bourdain” who became famous for his 2000 book “Kitchen Confidential” and sparked a string of culinary and cultural travel shows that inspired millions to explore.

The film marks another Bourdain-related project premiering in 2021, following the posthumous release of his final book, “World Travel: An Irrelevant Guide.”

The Chicago Bulls fell behind by more than 20 to the Heat in Miami on Saturday afternoon, after a dismal performance early in the game, but clawed their way back behind 57 combined points from Coby White and Nikola Vucevic to put the outcome in doubt late.

In the closing minutes, Denzel Valentine made some big baskets, including this sequence to pull the Bulls within two possessions.

However, that heat check three in transition was an omen of bad things to come, as Valentine got the ball with a minute to play after a Chicago stop and proceeded to go full Carlton Banks with a pull-up, heat check three from 30 feet that missed everything to result in a backbreaking turnover for Chicago on a possession they desperately needed to result in a bucket.

Adam Amin and Stacey King, who it should be noted have been a League Pass joy for NBA fans all season, have a perfect reaction as King just starts saying “no” over and over while Amin reacts in abject horror as Valentine rises and fires from “Steph Curry range.”

The reverse angle from behind Valentine really hammers home how far off the shot was, as it never even comes close to being on line with the rim.

Afterwards, on the NBC postgame show, Kendall Gill asked the question every Bulls fan was thinking, “What the hell was Denzel Valentine doing?”

It is the absolute worst example of a role player trying his hand at hero ball after hitting a couple shots. Valentine finished with nine points, four rebounds, and three assists off the bench to help Chicago close the gap, but unfortunately the lasting memory from this game will be this all-time bad shot in a key moment.

The first of two memorial services for DMX occurred on Saturday at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The late rapper was brought in a bright red casket to the arena aboard a massive monster truck that was followed by hundreds of motorcyclists and bikers. As for the service itself, the night was highlighted by a performance from Kanye West and his Sunday Service Choir, a fantastic remix of DMX’s “Slippin” from the rapper’s daughter Sovonah, and appearances from Nas and the Ruff Ryders collective, among others. It was here that one of the most powerful moments of the night came.

Following comments from Eve and The Lox, Swizz Beatz took the stage to remember DMX and get a few additional things off his chest.

“Words can’t describe our loss,” he said. “But, our gain is heavy, as well, because we got a real serious person upstairs that’s looking down on us and that’s going to guide us on our journey… I just wish all of these people showed up for him when he was here. You got thousands of people claiming who they are, and [selling] tickets and things like that. This man needed everybody.”

He added, “He didn’t need everybody when he [was] not here. He needed everybody when he was here. So, we got to learn how to celebrate each other while we’re here… The things that I’m witnessing from my brother’s passing is a big educational thing for me to learn. I’m glad that I got to see it at this age. A lot of people ain’t your friends, a lot of people ain’t your family.”

The Verzuz co-founder then closed his speech with one final thought about “handling your business” and making sure your family is set up in case something goes wrong with your own health.

I need everybody to do a will. You have to do your will. You do not want strangers — bloodsuckers — handling your business when you’re not here. You want to ones that you love handling your business. But, imma make sure my brother straight. Imma make sure my brother’s kids is straight and everybody in here better do the same, as well. ‘Cause this is not a fashion show, this is not a performance, this is a real-life day-to-day.

You can watch Swizz Beatz share his words in the video above.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are shaping up to be electric rivals this Major League Baseball season, with both teams doing what many other professional baseball teams refuse to these days: pay good baseball players to try winning a World Series title. Even early in the regular season, games between the two teams have felt like they have significant stakes. And on Saturday Fernando Tatis Jr. added a bit of spice to the mix after going yard off Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer.

The enigmatic righty made waves earlier in spring training while routinely throwing pitches with his right eye closed, most notably against their division rival Padres. Bauer says the move is to work on making himself uncomfortable, chalking it up to “having a little bit of fun” according to ESPN.

“I figured if they can’t score off me with one eye open, it’s gonna be difficult to score off me with two eyes open,” Bauer told Alden Gonzalez in March. “Just having a little bit of fun.”

But baseball is a game of rules and respect, and Bauer has continued to play around with pitching with one eye open. He actually plunked a batter doing it later in spring training. And given the fire the regular season meetings have had, it’s perhaps no surprise that Tatis Jr. referenced the incident when he crushed a home run against Bauer in the top of the first inning.

As soon as the ball cleared the fence and Tatis Jr. rounded first, he turned back toward the mound (and then the dugout) to backpedal while covering his right eye with a gloved hand.

It’s about as direct a message as you can make in a game like this, and given the hot streak Tatis Jr. has been on lately he’s certainly not afraid to stir the pot a bit here. We’ll have to see what happens to follow this up, baseball being a game of respect and rules and whatnot. But Tatis Jr. made it clear on Saturday that he, too, likes to have a little bit of fun. This time at Bauer’s expense.