Month: June 2021

It’s been quite the year for Golden State Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson. On the court, Toscano-Anderson’s years-long journey through professional leagues in Mexico, Venezuela, and the G League culminated in him becoming a fan favorite with his hometown team. Toscano-Anderson had a cup of coffee with the Dubs last season prior to the league’s shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which he parlayed into a two-way contract this year.

Eventually, Toscano-Anderson’s hard-nosed style of play and popularity within the organization led to him receiving a two-year deal with the Warriors. As Draymond Green told us earlier this year, “I love Juan, man. A guy who got out the mud, who played in Mexico and played overseas. I think Juan, his senior year of college, maybe averaged six or seven points, and now he’s in the NBA contributing on an NBA team.”

But perhaps Toscano-Anderson’s biggest contributions came off the court. The winner of the 2019-20 NBA G League Community Assist Award, Toscano-Anderson was named a finalist for the inaugural Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award, which the league will give out to “a current NBA player for pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged.” Alongside Toscano-Anderson, whose nomination came because of his work with Black and Latinx communities, the finalists are Carmelo Anthony, Harrison Barnes, Tobias Harris, and Jrue Holiday. Each player chose a social justice-focused organization as part of their nomination, with the winner receiving $100,000 for their org and the remaining four finalists all getting $25,000 each.

The award is scheduled to be announced prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, whenever that comes to happen. Prior to that, Dime caught up with Toscano-Anderson to discuss his nomination and giving back to the community where he grew up.

How does it feel to know your first full season in the league is ending with recognition for your off-court work?

I think it’s really cool. I mean, there are thousands and thousands of basketball players out there, this league is filled with 400 other great basketball players. Basketball players are gonna come and go, and so people eventually forget what you did on the basketball court and unless you’re a Michael Jordan, or a Steph Curry, LeBron James. So for myself — I wouldn’t say I try to, but for myself, this is great to be acknowledged for something outside of on-court activity, and I’m really excited about it. I’m really humbled by it, and it’s really cool to just be acknowledged for it.

Are you someone who has always used whatever platform you have to give back to the community?

Prior to making it to the NBA, I didn’t even necessarily see myself as having a platform. I had like 8,000 followers on Instagram before I got to the NBA, now I have close to 300,000. So, it’s just been a huge growth for myself and my following.

So to answer your question, no, I didn’t always use my platform. I just did things wherever I could, whether that was giving a young kid in high school who has basketball dreams a few pairs of good basketball shoes, some fresh clothes, whatever the case may be. Helping a kid pay some fees for college applications or whatever. I just try to find ways to help people, connect the dots for people. You never know how something that could be so small to myself could be something in the way for other people. Somebody may not be able to afford a $200 application fee or some type of fee, but for myself, thank God that I’m able to afford things like that and that’s pretty light to me, so I just try to find different ways to help people in whatever they need.

One thing that I’ve come to learn is charity-focused athletes are that way in part because people in their lives hammered home giving back. Does that apply to you, and if so, who were those people?

I wouldn’t even necessarily say it was hammered home for me. My mother, 1,000 percent, she’s worked for the city of Oakland ever since I was born — I’m 28 now, so probably for 30, 31 years she’s been working for the city of Oakland. And when I was a kid, she worked with juvenile delinquents. My mom was a single mother, so on Saturdays when she had to go to work and do her juvenile delinquent programs, my brother and I would tag along because my mom couldn’t afford a babysitter and we had nowhere else to go, so we would tag along, and that became a regular thing for us every Saturday. Obviously as we grew up we continued to do those things. When Dorell Wright was with the Warriors, I would volunteer at his Christmas and Thanksgiving giveaways, also.

So, it just became second-nature for us. It was something my mom always has always done and it’s something that … we believe in doing the right thing and helping people, and so it comes pretty natural for my family and I.

I know you’ve been asked this question a million times through the lens of basketball, but as a Bay Area native, how much pride is there in knowing that the stuff you’re doing is helping people in your community?

It’s very humbling, it’s very gratifying. I grew up on 95th and Eighth Street, and on 98th and B Street, there’s a park, but the park was thrashed. I could never go play basketball there, so I had to walk all the way to 85th to use the Boys and Girls Club to go shoot hoops. In these neighborhoods, these kids don’t really have resources.

I was lucky enough to meet some different types of people that helped me with those things — put me in camps, put me on teams, bought me baseball bats and baseball gloves and things like. I’m aware of what’s going on in the neighborhood that I grew up in and surrounding neighborhoods and neighborhoods alike. There’s not many resources, there’s not many outlets for these kids. And so I want to change that, because there’s a lot of talent in these neighborhoods, there’s a lot of creators, there’s a lot of entrepreneurs, there’s a lot of kids who want to do great things in their lives but they’re hindered by the lack of resources. So it’s very gratifying to me, I’m happy to help. No deed is too small or too big to help somebody, so I’m excited about all that.

Can you give me a run through of that some of the stuff that you’ve done off the court and why those have been the areas of focus for you?

We’ve done a lot. I bought Christmas trees for Christmas, I bought 35 Christmas trees along with gift cards to Safeway, so families could have dinner, as well. I’m a shoe collector, but I’m not a hoarder. So when I buy new shoes I try to get rid of my old shoes, so I always find a young man who’s you know doing well in school, maybe pursuing basketball, I’m giving away basketball shoes — I try to find people who can use the things that I have. We adopt families for Christmas. My family and I, we adopt families for Christmas. We’ve done some stuff, sending a bunch of money and clothing and gear down to the small town that my family’s from. I do some free clinics in Mexico from time to time, I actually have an upcoming two-week tour of clinics that I’m going to do in Mexico, among many other thing, the list goes on.

Like I said, it comes very naturally for my family and I, it could be an everyday thing for us. There was a homeless family living outside of my mom’s job, we paid for them to stay in a hotel for a couple months to help them get back on their feet, and I’m so happy to see that they’re doing well. It was a small family of two parents and baby girl, and now they’re living in a home. I would never say that it is because of me and my family, but we just led a helping hand to those people who needed it. Those things are very gratifying.

There was a really great piece in The Undefeated a few months back where you said, “I’m not comfortable at all, I still feel like my back is against the wall,” and, “I want to do something to solidify myself, I want to have longevity in this league.” Now that this season is over, do you feel like you have solidified yourself as someone who is able to make a difference on and off the basketball court?

Yes and no. Do I feel solidified? A little bit, I feel like I’ve made a name for myself ,but I still feel the same pressure every day. As an African-American male, I feel like your job is never done. As a male in general, I feel like your job is never done, you have to continue to raise the bar for the people around you. If you decide to have a family some day, you are the head of your household. You have to continue to raise the bar for the people who are looking to you for advice or protection. So, as a young African-American male, I can only speak for myself I feel the pressure all the time. And I guess that’s self-inflicted pressure, which is a gift and a curse. It puts the battery in my back for me to wake up every day and go hard, regardless of where I get in this league or where I get in life.

That’s why I admire guys like LeBron James — he could easily just be like, “I’m the greatest basketball player. I got a billion dollar Nike deal, I’m set.” But he continues to create opportunities for children in his schools, production companies, movie roles, all the stuff with Uninterrupted giving people platforms and things like that. That’s why I admire that guy, because he looks to raise the bar, and that’s my motto, just continue to raise the bar.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Bay Area rapper Allblack released his debut album TY4FWM in May, spawning videos for singles “Ego” featuring Drakeo The Ruler and “War Stories” with Mozzy. Today, he added another to the growing collection, bringing in yet another of his West Coast homies, Vince Staples, to complete the video for “We Straight.” The greyscale video sees the two California rappers hanging out on the block with flashes of still photos breaking up the action.

TY4FWM (short for “Thank You For F*cking With Me”) arrived after a string of releases from Allblack, who’s been quietly building his catalog since 2017, including No Shame 3 in 2020. The debut album is the culmination of these releases, with features from both high-profile Bay Area icons like E-40 and G-Eazy, as well as rising stars like Guapdad 4000, Rexx Life Raj, and ShooterGang Kony.

Meanwhile, Vince Staples has been teasing the release of his own new music, with two albums set for release in 2021, starting with his comeback single “Law Of Averages,” dropping this week. In the meantime though, he’s put in his fair share of appearances as a feature artist on tracks like “In My Stussy’s” by Lil Yachty.

Watch Allblack’s “We Straight” video featuring Vince Staples above.

Indie wunderkind, Indigo De Souza, is rolling out her next album release with a… splat. The new video for “Kill Me” blends heartache with the grotesque — giving off some heavy Requiem For A Dream vibes. De Souza chirps in a fluffy soprano while digging her Kermit-green nails into a raggedy old cake. The video follows a Wrestlemania nightmare between a man and a pregnant woman, in their respective corners of a ring before slapping their bodies with the destroyed desserts.

To the uninitiated, cake sitting is all about the squirm/satisfaction factor. And the way “Kill Me” applies that spectacle to the even-more messed up performance of custody battles and divorce is revelatory. “Cake sitting is this wonderful art form, rampant with metaphors of creation and destruction, engaging in equal parts with desire and disgust,” said the video’s director Jordan Alexander. “It lends itself to the song and Indigo came over to test it out and was way better at it than I am.”

De Souza said she wrote “Kill Me” when she was “deeply consumed in a big, crazy love and coming to terms with the reality of living with mental illness.” She recorded a demo of what would become the song in 2018, sitting on her kitchen floor and singing into her laptop webcam. When she recovered the video years later, she barely recognized the broken girl she once was. “It was such a strange feeling watching the video because I couldn’t remember writing the song, but little bits and pieces of it felt familiar to me. It felt like it had been a lot longer than a year.”

“Kill Me” is the first single from De Souza’s new album, Any Shape You Take, which was produced by Brad Cook and recorded at Sylvan Esso’s studio, Betty’s, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Listen to “Kill Me” above and find the Any Shape You Take art and tracklist below. De Souza also announced new North American tour dates to support the album this fall, so find those below as well.

1. “17”
2. “Darker Than Death”
3. “Die/Cry”
4. “Pretty Pictures”
5. “Real Pain”
6. “Bad Dream”
7. “Late Night Crawlers”
8. “Hold U”
9. “Way Out”
10. “Kill Me”

08/26 — Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
08/27 — Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
08/28 — Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Backroom
08/29 — Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
09/21 — Washington DC @ Songbyrd
09/22 — Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
09/24 — Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Zone 1
09/26 — Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
09/30 — Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
10/11 — San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
10/15 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo

Any Shape You Take is out on 8/27 via Saddle Creek. Preorder it here.

Following a long-simmering controversy involving his defense of a contestant’s “antebellum” photos, The Bachelor host Chris Harrison officially exited the series in early June after tense negotiations that reportedly netted him an eight-figure payout after he threatened to air the show’s dirty laundry. Now, details on Harrison’s exits are emerging, and a new report is citing his disastrous interview with Michael Strahan as the beginning of the end of his Bachelor career.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Strahan was not pleased with interviewing Harrison in a blatant attempt to pave the way for his return to The Bachelor. Harrison had stepped down as host after defending frontrunner Rachel Kirkconnell whose social medial revealed that she participated in an Antebellum-themed sorority party. However, Harrison’s absence was only supposed to be temporary, but all of that changed after Strahan voiced his concerns live on the air. Via THR:

“His apology is his apology, but it felt like I got nothing more than a surface response. Only time will tell if there is any meaning behind his words.” The produced nature of the sit-down that Strahan publicly objected to was an approach seemingly designed to protect Harrison. The GMA host was unhappy with the substance of the interview, sources tell THR. “That interview was the nail in the coffin” for Harrison’s return, adds a source close to the production.

While Harrison wasn’t publicly receiving support from producers at the time, privately, they were making plans to reinstate him until the Strahan interview started a cascading effect. Harrison would exit the show less than 90 days later.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

At the midway point of the season, it looked as though there would be little drama for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. LaMelo Ball of the Hornets was playing spectacularly for one of the league’s most pleasant surprises, with many of the rest of the top half of the lottery either struggling or dealing with injuries.

Then, Ball injured his wrist, keeping him out 21 games before returning for the stretch run in May, and as he was injured, top overall pick Anthony Edwards began to hit his stride in Minnesota, seemingly closing the gap and making for quite the ROY debate. Ball averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game on 43.6/35.2/75.8 shooting splits for the season over his 51 games, while Edwards averaged 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists on 41.7/32.9/77.6 splits, playing all 72 games.

In the end, Ball’s strong start and eventual solid close for a Charlotte team that eventually lost in the first game of the play-in was enough to earn him Rookie of the Year honors, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Unsurprisingly, the Timberwolves weren’t happy to hear the report, posting this in reaction to Woj breaking the Ball news.

When the official announcement comes, likely later on Wednesday, it will be interesting to see how the voting shakes out. With the other awards given out thus far, only Coach of the Year has been tight in the voting race, but I expect this will be far more contested than MVP, DPOY, and the other player awards we’ve seen thus far, where despite debates, there was a lot of separation in the actual voting.

Blind tasting bourbons is always fun. It’s a chance to throw off the yoke of a label, branding, and PR to get down to the nitty-gritty of what’s in the bottle. Using this approach, we’ve been diving into barrel-proof, single barrels, ten-year-olds, and more to find the bourbon whiskeys that really shine. Well, the ones that shine according to our palates anyway.

Now, we’re going even deeper by pitting Kentucky bourbon against non-Kentucky bourbon. It’s a bourbon face-off!

For the uninitiated, straight bourbon whiskey must be made with a mash bill (recipe) of at least 51 percent corn and distilled no higher than 160 proof (80 percent ABV). That hot juice must go into a new, charred oak barrel at no higher than 125 proof (62.5 percent ABV) for at least two years. It does not, however, need to be made in Kentucky.

That last rule (or lack thereof, depending on who you’re talking to) really pisses off a lot of bourbon fiends. Some so-called purists stick to only sipping whiskeys made in the Bluegrass State and can be downright unwilling to try the complex, nuanced, bangers coming out of Texas, New York, Wyoming, Washington, and all over the United States. It’s too bad, too — they’re definitely missing out.

In an effort to prove that point — or prove them right… depending on the results — I decided to use four well-known Kentucky bourbons and four non-Kentucky bourbons in a blind taste test.

Our lineup:

• Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
• Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
• Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch Bourbon
• 1792 Small Batch Bourbon
• Woodinville Straight Bourbon (WA)
• Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon (WY)
• Hudson Bright Lights Big Bourbon (NY)
• FEW Bourbon (IL)

If any of these bourbons pique your interest, make sure to click on the prices to try them yourself. Okay, let’s get tasting!

Part 1: The Taste

Taste 1:

Tasting Notes:

The nose was surprisingly spicy on this one. That was tempered by dried cherries, wood char, and a great deal of butterscotch. The palate continues with a combination of sweet and spicy notes of dried fruits, buttery vanilla, creamy caramel, subtle cinnamon, and oaky wood. The ending is slightly warming, long, and filled with caramel sweetness.

Taste 2:

Tasting Notes:

This is a very bold whiskey from the first sniff. There are heavy aromas of wood char, toasted vanilla beans, and a gentle, nutty sweetness that made me want to take a sip. When I did, I found a ton of oak-inflected sweetness, brown sugar, fresh leather, and subtle cinnamon. The finish was warming and filled with subtly smoky wood char.

This was definitely a memorable sip and one that I’m excited to try again.

Taste 3:

Tasting Notes:

Right away, you can tell that not only is this a young whiskey but it’s loaded with corn. The first aromas I noticed were caramel corn, sweet grainy scents, and a very low level of vanilla essence. Taking a sip added to the feeling that this is a young bourbon. There were notes of wood char, more vanilla, and more corn.

All in all, it felt like it should have been left in the barrel a little longer.

Taste 4:

Tasting Notes:

The nose was so complex, it required multiple nosings to find all the flavors. First, I noticed dried fruits and caramelized sugar. This was followed by caramel corn, wood char, and sticky toffee. The palate is just as bold as its nose. There are nuanced notes of butterscotch, sweet cinnamon, charred oak, toasted vanilla beans, and a subtle spicy sweetness on the finish.

Overall, this is the best sip so far.

Taste 5:

Tasting Notes:

This whiskey didn’t have a lot going on in the nose. There was caramel corn-like sweetness, a bit of woody oak, and some cinnamon but not much else. The flavor was similar to the aroma with more charred wood, subtle vanilla, butterscotch, and a hint of honey that played well with a kick of cinnamon at the end.

It’s definitely not the worst sip of the day but fairly muted in the flavor department.

Taste 6:

Tasting Notes:

The nose was filled with a wallop of spicy cracked black pepper, hints of vanilla beans, and toffee. Underneath that, there was a pretty heavy aroma of pure alcohol. On the palate, this whiskey seemed rather one-dimensional with peppery rye taking center stage and vanilla and caramel sitting on the edges.

By the end, there was too much pepper, a lot of alcohol burn, and not enough buttery vanilla notes.

Taste 7:

Tasting Notes:

I smelled fresh, sweet corn, dried stone fruits, vanilla beans, and charred oak. Taking a sip zeroed in on dried cherries, creamy butterscotch, toffee, and just a hint of pipe tobacco.

This was a very pleasurable sip of whiskey. I will definitely come back for another pour soon.

Taste 8:

Tasting Notes:

Instead of the usual corn and caramel-centric notes, this whiskey has more peppery rye and sweet cereal aromas. There’s also a good deal of dried fruits and a hint of toasted oak. The flavor is fairly light but pleasing with hints of raisins, buttery vanilla, more subtle rye, and just a hint of clover honey.

This is definitely not an old whiskey, but it’s still flavorful enough to be a nice sipper.

Part 2: The Ranking

8. Hudson Bright Lights Big Bourbon — Taste 3 (New York)

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $40

The Story:

Hudson Bright Lights Big Bourbon’s new recipe is made with a super corny mash bill of 95 percent corn and five percent malted barley. It’s 92 proof and aged for three years in new, charred American oak barrels. The result is a sweet, mellow, easy-to-drink whiskey.

Bottom Line:

Unlike many people, I wasn’t a huge fan of the original Hudson Baby Bourbon. I always found it to be a little light on the palate. So … I’m not surprised I have similar feelings about its replacement.

7. 1792 Small Batch — Taste 6 (Kentucky)

ABV: 46.85%

Average Price: $30

The Story:

This renowned small batch bourbon is well known for its high rye mash bill. While the actual mash bill isn’t listed, it’s assumed by many that the rye content is between around 20 percent. This whiskey is a blend of hand-picked barrels from Barton 1792’s master distiller.

Bottom Line:

If you’re a fan of rye whiskey and aren’t afraid of a little extra alcohol burn, you’ll enjoy this whiskey. While definitely not a bad tipple, it’s not one that I’ll be racing back to any time soon.

6. Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch — Taste 5 (Kentucky)

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $20

The Story:

Evan Williams is the second best-selling bourbon in the world. Their Small Batch expression might be the best value bottle on the market at around $20. Recently rebranded, Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch is 90 proof, selected from less than 300 barrels and aged for six to eight years in charred, American oak casks.

Bottom Line:

The overall flavor and quality are actually right on par with its price. It’s a great whiskey to have on hand as a mixer, but that’s about it.

5. Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon — Taste 7 (Wyoming)

ABV: 44%

Average Price: $40

The Story:

In recent years, Wyoming Whiskey has made a name for itself in the bourbon world mostly because of this flagship expression. The juice is made with a mash bill of 68 percent corn, 20 percent wheat, and 12 percent malted barley. It’s then aged for a minimum of five years in new, charred American oak barrels.

Bottom Line:

I’ve had Wyoming Whiskey before, so I’m not surprised that it fared well in this blind taste test. You might not think landing in spot #5 is a good thing, but you need to remember that it’s pitted against four well-known Kentucky brands and three other great sippers.

4. FEW Bourbon — Taste 8 (Illinois)

ABV: 46.5%

Average Price: $40

The Story:

Evanston, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, is the home of FEW Spirits. This distillery has racked up consistent awards since it opened in 2011. Its flagship expression is its FEW Bourbon. Made with a mash bill of 70 percent corn, 20 percent rye, and ten percent malted barley, it’s distilled on-site and matured in charred, new American oak casks for at least three years.

Bottom Line:

There’s a reason FEW Bourbon has racked up awards. Its high rye (northern rye) mash bill means it’s a great mix of sweetness and spice.

3. Elijah Craig Small Batch — Taste 2 (Kentucky)

ABV: 47%

Average Price: $30

The Story:

This small-batch expression has won countless awards. It carries no age statement but has a mash bill of 78 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and ten percent rye. It gets its notable flavor from the ingredients listed, but more from the extra char on the American oak barrels it’s aged in.

Bottom Line:

When it comes to bourbon, there’s probably no brand that I drink more than Elijah Craig. In fact, I’m such a fan, I’m surprised it didn’t fall higher on the list. It just shows the amount of quality in this tasting.

2. Four Roses Small Batch — Taste 1 (Kentucky)

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $40

The Story:

One of the best value small-batch whiskeys on the market, Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon is well-known for its balance and flavor. It begins with four different bourbon recipes. Each barrel is plucked from the rickhouse by the master distiller when they are between six and seven years old. Those are then married together to create this 90 proof, mellow, easy-to-drink bourbon.

Bottom Line:

There’s a reason Four Roses is such a big name in the bourbon world. The distillery is consistently cranking out reasonably priced high-quality whiskeys. Its small-batch expression might be its best value to quality ratio.

1. Woodinville Straight Bourbon — Taste 4 (Washington)

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $40

The Story:

Washington State is well-known for its craft beer, but it’s beginning to gain traction in the spirits world because of notable brands like Woodinville. Its flagship expression is its straight bourbon. This small-batch, pot-distilled bourbon has a mash bill of 72 percent corn, 22 percent rye, and six percent malted barley (all grown locally) and is aged for five years in new, charred American oak barrels.

Bottom Line:

This was the first time I ever tried Woodinville so I didn’t really know what to expect. Obviously, our own Zach Johnston is a big fan. I’m glad I tried it without seeing a label as this is now going to be one of my new go-to whiskeys.

As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.

K-pop group Seventeen first arrived on the scene with their 2015 debut EP 17 Carat. The project catapulted the thirteen-member group into stardom, remaining on the Billboard World Albums chart for a record-breaking eleven weeks. Since then, the group have released a handful of mixtapes and LPs, sold millions of albums, and racked up billions of streams. Now, they’re setting their sights on a 2021 comeback and have teased the upcoming single “Ready To Love” with a couple of short previews.

The first teaser has a snippet of the song and features resonating synths and the group’s soaring harmonies, seemingly pulled from the track’s hook. The second preview offers a better taste of the song, which apparently boasts a pulsing, dancefloor-ready beat as the group sings of finding purpose in their lover. Each accompanying visual component is as equally vibrant as the song, showing the K-pop group wistfully looking at the camera and later delivering some expertly-timed choreography in the pouring rain.

Both visuals announce that “Ready To Love” will arrive on Friday, June 18. It’s set to be the lead single for Seventeen’s upcoming eighth mini-album, which is titled Your Choice. Other than revealing the project’s name, Seventeen don’t offer many more details about when exactly fans will be able to hear the full release.

Watch Seventeen’s two “Ready To Love” teasers above.

One of the biggest subplots of the 2020-21 NBA season has been an increase in players getting injured, with a number of these being the sorts of soft tissue injuries that can come from being overworked. It’s not hard to draw the link between the circumstances under which this season began — the shortest offseason in league history due to the Orlando Bubble — and all of this, and in a series of tweets on Wednesday afternoon, LeBron James did just that.

James took to Twitter and said that he tried to push back against starting the season when it did, claiming that he knew that injuries ticking up was an inevitability. He also said that these various injuries are directly due to a lack of rest, and that “I speak for the health of all our players and I hate to see this many injuries this time of the year. Sorry fans wish you guys were seeing all your fav guys right now.”

James went on to tweet that he understands the business side of all of this, and offered up support to Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, who suffered an ACL injury in Game 4 of the team’s Western Conference Semifinal series against the Utah Jazz that could sideline him for some time.

While it’s easy to say this is sour grapes for James due to a hobbled Lakers side being eliminated in the first round, he is both correct and someone who intimately aware of the way injuries have played a role this season. While the ankle injury he suffered doesn’t quite fit into this, both Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope suffered these sorts of injuries during the team’s postseason run.

Former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart made Stephen Colbert and his audience uncomfortable on the “Late Show” Monday night when he went on a rant about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stewart believes the virus probably came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, instead of the once near universally accepted belief that it emerged from wet markets in the area.

“Science has, in many ways, helped ease the suffering of this pandemic … which was more than likely caused by science,” he said to nervous laughter.

Jon Stewart On Vaccine Science And The Wuhan Lab Theory

youtu.be

Colbert believes that there’s “a chance” that the virus leaked out of the lab.

“A chance? Oh my god!” Stewart replied. “There’s a novel respiratory coronavirus overtaking Wuhan, China, what do we do? Oh, you know who we could ask? The Wuhan novel respiratory coronavirus lab.

“The disease is the same name as the lab! That’s just a little too weird, don’t you think?” he continued.

Stewart then dealt a series of hilarious metaphors to put his theory in perspective.

“There’s been an outbreak of chocolatey goodness near Hershey, Pennsylvania — what do you think happened?” he said of another scenario.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe a steam shovel mated with a cocoa bean … or it’s the f—ing chocolate factory. Maybe that’s it!” he said.

“‘I have been alone so long, and when I realized that the laboratory was having the same name — first name and last name — of the evil that had been plaguing us, I thought to myself, ‘That’s f–ed up,'” he said.

Colbert countered Stewart’s opinion with a pretty strong argument.

“It could be possible that they have the lab … because in Wuhan there are a lot of coronavirus diseases because of the bat population there,” he suggested.

Stewart’s comments have been controversial because as a prominent liberal, they appear to confirm some of Donald Trump’s thoughts on the virus’s origin.

In late April and early May of 2020, Trump claimed he had a “high degree of confidence” that the virus came from a lab.

At the time, many of Trump’s critics pushed back against the claim, calling it a conspiracy theory or an attempt to blame China for the virus. Which makes sense because Trump routinely peddled conspiracy theories and tried to scapegoat China for COVID-19 calling it the “China virus.”

However, Trump backed off the theory after the spring of 2020 and never released any information that would have confirmed the idea.

Stewart’s thoughts also rightly make many uncomfortable because Americans have a historical desire for retaliation and promoting the lab-leak theory could lead to an overreaction like we had after 9/11. It could also exacerbate the growing number of racist incidents against Asians.

The truth is nobody knows the virus’s origin. But there is growing circumstantial evidence that the lab-leak theory should be considered. A Wall Street Journal report revealed that three researchers at the lab were hospitalized in November 2019. The new information has caused the Biden administration to order a new intelligence investigation into the virus’s origins.

Last month, Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted that it may be a possibility.

“That possibility certainly exists, and I am totally in favor of a full investigation of whether that could have happened,” Fauci said.

Colbert’s reaction to Stewart’s opinion highlights a major problem in political discourse in the United States: if the other side believes something, it must be wrong. Democrats have leaned into being the party of science over the past generation by embracing environmental science and evolution.

Liberals have also been better at fighting back against the COVID-19 virus by wearing masks and getting vaccinated.

At a time when we don’t know the origins of COVID-19, liberal thought leaders like Colbert should put science before party and keep an open mind, even if it means having to possibly say that Donald Trump was right about one thing.

As the old saying goes there are “those who want to get it right” and “those who want to be right.” Regardless of party, we should all be on team-get-it-right so that we can prevent the next pandemic.

Back in 2016, Islands announced their retirement from music to focus on other pursuits. The retirement was short lived, however, and now the band is back with a brand new album called Islomania. Despite the extended break, the new album picks up right where the group left off, complete with jangly guitars and infectious shimmering melodies that have arrived just in time for Hot Vax Summer.

To celebrate the new album, frontman Nick Thorburn sat down to talk Megan Thee Stallion, Uncle Buck, and Lollapalooza ’94 in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Misunderstood genius, woefully unappreciated.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

If anyone remembers me in 2050, I’ll be pleased as punch. I don’t want to get greedy, but if they remember me fondly, I’d very much like that. But ultimately, I’ll settle with just being remembered at all.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

Zagreb, Croatia. These people really get it. They get a perfect audience score from me, 10 out of 10 every time.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

Brian Eno has been a touchstone since starting Islands. As a fellow non-musician who relies heavily on instinct, I often think of the way Eno would work, either as a producer, or alongside Roxy Music, with his early vocal records or his subsequent ambient music. He approaches writing and songcraft from a place that few technically proficient musicians do, and I identify with that.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

Every time I go home, my mom cooks what is always the best meal of my life. Nothing can beat your mom’s home cooking, am I right?

What album do you know every word to?

Velvet Underground’s Loaded.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

I don’t know if it was the best, but a very pivotal concert was my first — Lollapalooza ’94. I was 12, and Smashing Pumpkins were one of my favorite bands. Green Day played first (and stayed at the same Super 8 as me!) and A Tribe Called Quest, George Clinton, The Breeders, and Beastie Boys also played. It was a pretty good cross-section of stuff.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

Something comfy, something loose fitting, perhaps something with an elastic band, or made from soft, stretchy material. No! Comfort is not a factor when performing. You must look incredible and dazzling and glamorous and stylish. You shouldn’t look like you just wandered out of the audience onto the stage. You should look exceptionally attired.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Any hot and sexy influencer with over 400 thousand followers, because they tend to tell me all of the things I need to buy or wear to be cool and special and interesting and lead a meaningful life just like them.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

It’s a toss-up between “The Hamster Dance” by Hampton The Hamster and “Chase” by Giorgio Moroder. One to annoy the sh*t out of everyone, and the other for those moody late-night drives across an empty stretch of country.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“what is an uproxx”

What album makes for the perfect gift?

My new album, Islomania, out June 11th.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

The Unicorns crashed our van somewhere between St. Louis and Nashville in February 2004, after hitting black ice, spinning out and hitting both sides of the highway guard rail, nearly flying off a cliff and narrowly avoiding a tractor trailer. I was relieved that the first song on our album “I Don’t Wanna Die” with the line “I see it now, I die in a car on tour” was not, ultimately, a prophetic announcement.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

At the age of seven, my family up and moved from a small fishing town to another small fishing town much further north in British Columbia. It was a very disruptive thing, moving at such a young age. One of the first things we did was to go see a movie at the local theater. The movie we saw was Uncle Buck, starring Sir John Candy. John Candy is an angel from heaven and his performance in Uncle Buck soothed me. Over the years, I would revisit Uncle Buck whenever I was feeling sad or stressed out, and he became a kind of patron saint to me. I felt it only fitting to get a small picture of his face, from his Uncle Buck-era — my only tattoo — above my left hip-bone, as a small reminder that there are good things in this world.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

If I’m listening to the radio, it’s probably a Hot 97-type thing, and Megan Thee Stallion always has my attention in that sphere. If it’s not Hot 97-ish, I’m probably tuned to some oldies station that’s playing Simon & Garfunkel. I’ll never get enough of those sweet sweet harmonies from Garfunkel.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Gonna have to go with what I can only assume is the standard answer here, and give it up to moms and dad for summoning me to Earth.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Again, everyone probably answers this the same, but I’d tell myself to a) kill John Connor and b) try and enjoy your youth while you still got it. You’re not as ugly and pathetic as you think you are!

What’s the last show you went to?

Martin Rev (from Suicide) solo show in LA at Zebulon in February 2020. It was extremely loud and incredibly antagonistic! I can always appreciate when a show is the musical equivalent of a middle finger.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

Uncle Buck, naturally!

What would you cook if Obama were coming to your house for dinner?

The theme would be “2008 Afghan wedding” and it wouldn’t be any good, partially because I don’t think I could master the subtle flavors of Afghan cooking and partially because he drone bombed an Afghan wedding in 2008, killing 47 civilians including the bride.

Islomania is out now on Royal Mountain Records. Listen here.

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