Month: July 2021

Back in February, Spiritualized‘s Jason Pierce (aka J. Spaceman) announced that his seminal space-rock band would reissue their first four albums: 1992’s Lazer Guided Melodies dropped April 23, followed by 1995’s Pure Phase. Now, Spiritualized’ 1997 LP Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space — which famously featured contributions from Dr. John, the London Community Gospel Choir, and pedal steel guitarist B.J. Cole — is due for a reissue in September via Fat Possum Records.

Looking back on making what is often regarded as the band’s best work, Pierce said in a statement:

“We went out to America ahead of recording this record. John [Coxon] had joined on guitar and I’d recorded the title track and a number of other demos that ended up on the finished record.

But we got to play ‘Cop Shoot Cop’ and ‘Electricity’ live and to work them out before we recorded them for the record and then John became integral to the band. He came from a world of Syl Johnson and Al Green, Teenie Hodges, and Reggie Young; a different world within the guitar lines. And then there was Kate [Radley]’s hugely influential keyboard that was relentless and loud.”

Pierce also revealed how he managed to get Dr. John to play on the record. “With Dr. John, I just wrote a letter, sent the track and his response was immediate. He said, ‘Absolutely, absolutely, love it.’ It was where he wanted to be. I was completely in awe of him and his playing and everything he put to it. I could hardly speak, to be honest. Not that I needed to speak much. It didn’t add anything little or less to the proceedings. It was an amazing session, amazing to do.”

The Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space reissue is out 9/10 via Fat Possum Records. Pre-order it here.

The NBA Draft is just days away and shortly after the next crop of NBA players learn where they’ll be starting their careers, free agency will arrive as teams jockey for position to make a leap next season.

Every team has different needs and financial situations coming into the offseason, and as such free agency rankings from a wide view does little to provide insight into the players who will headline each team’s wishlist. Here, we’re going to try and take a more narrow view for each team, taking into account their roster needs, franchise situation (contender, hopeful contender, rebuild, etc.), and the money they have to offer to pick out the free agent we think will be atop their free agent board when August arrives.

We already looked at the West, so now we will shift focus to the East, going from worst to first based on last year’s standings to pick out a free agent for each team who is not one of their own.

Detroit Pistons: Doug McDermott (UFA, Pacers)

The Pistons will have a pretty full roster after the Draft and they won’t have much money to spend in free agency, thanks in large part to the $30 million in dead cap being eaten up by Blake Griffin’s buyout. As such, the focus right now is on the future even if the goal is to be better in 2021-22 than they were last year, and that should mean looking to surround the presumptive No. 1 pick, Cade Cunningham, with players who can help him out. When you have a rookie taking the reins on offense, it helps to have quality shooting around them and with the mid-level the Pistons could look to swipe Doug McDermott away from their divisional rival in Indiana. McDermott is an elite three-point shooter (40.7 percent last year) and has some secondary creation abilities, but really he’d be there to space the floor and give Cunningham (and last year’s top pick Killian Hayes) more space to operate.

Orlando Magic: JaMychal Green (UFA, Nuggets)

The Magic have to figure out someone that can play on the wing for them and, preferably, someone who offers some positional versatility at the 3/4 spot. McDermott could honestly also be a target for Orlando, but ideally they get someone that can be a connector with defensive versatility and Green would certainly bring that. I’m not sure the mid-level is going to be enough to get him to Orlando, as he may very well have those kinds of offers from elsewhere (including Denver where he just declined his player option for just over $7 million). Still, he is the type of player Orlando could use no matter what they do at 5 and 8 in the Draft, and they would be thrilled if they could convince him to join their young team.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Alex Caruso (UFA, Lakers)

The Cavs are one of the hardest teams to figure out in this exercise, as they could go in a lot of different ways this offseason. Their first priority is re-signing Jarrett Allen, and at No. 3 in the Draft they are likely to take Evan Mobley, which means there won’t be a need at center. They could probably use some big wing depth, particularly with Kevin Love’s future very much in doubt, but there aren’t a lot of guys that fit their timetable out there. If Collin Sexton is indeed the odd man out of their young backcourt trio, then adding a backup point guard would make a lot of sense and Caruso provides some needed defensive versatility. Whether they can convince him to come to Cleveland is very much in doubt, but the Cavs interest in Caruso has been reported already and he makes a lot more sense than many of the other free agent point guards on the market at their price range.

Toronto Raptors: Jarrett Allen (RFA, Cavaliers)

The Raptors are going to be a fascinating team to watch this summer, as they could be big players in free agency, with north of $20 million to play with in cap room, and on the trade market with the No. 4 pick and Pascal Siakam making for a tantalizing package should they go big game hunting to really shake things up. Whatever they do, they have to address their frontcourt situation and find an upgrade at center and there’s no better possibility at that spot than Allen. As mentioned above, the Cavs will likely match most anything the Raptors could offer, but they should absolutely try to get an offer sheet in there just in case Cleveland gets cold feet. Should Allen be unavailable, the attention for Toronto likely shifts to Richaun Holmes of the Kings, as they could certainly out-bid Sacramento’s Early Bird offer and lure Holmes away from NorCal.

Chicago Bulls: Lonzo Ball (RFA, Pelicans)

The Bulls want to upgrade their point guard spot and I don’t think they can earnestly get in the Spencer Dinwiddie sweepstakes because it would require them cutting both Tomas Satoransky and Thaddeus Young, but Lonzo Ball could very well end up closer to their price range (while only needing to rid themselves of Satoransky). Ball would bring them a quality point of attack defender that they desperately need and his game being predicated on pushing the ball in transition and not creating too much for himself as a scorer could pair nicely with Zach LaVine. It’ll be very interesting to see what Ball’s market looks like, but Chicago would be a snug fit for both sides.

Charlotte Hornets: Richaun Holmes (UFA, Kings)

The Hornets clear need, as of this moment, is at center. They have to address that this summer and try to get younger, and Holmes feels like a really good fit for what Charlotte likes to do, coming from a Kings squad that likewise pushes the tempo. Holmes should have a robust market — as mentioned earlier, Toronto should also be in on him — and deservedly so. He’s become a very good starting center in Sacramento and after Jarrett Allen gets locked in either in Cleveland or somewhere else, Holmes immediately becomes the top center on the market. The Hornets could use that kind of presence to try and take another step next season into the playoffs, and should have a strong offer to make.

Indiana Pacers: Alec Burks (UFA, Knicks)

Indiana’s roster is pretty much locked in to what it is until they make a trade. Should they move Myles Turner, then the need in the frontcourt becomes bigger and that’s where they may look to allocate their MLE money. For now, I don’t think they would be wrong to look to add some more scoring punch off the bench given how last season went — although, the hope is TJ Warren’s return mitigates that need considerably. If they want to go that way, Burks could be a nice option to add to the bench in place of Doug McDermott if he doesn’t return. Burks is likewise a terrific three-point shooter and has some secondary creation ability, which Indiana could use.

Washington Wizards: TJ McConnell (UFA, Pacers)

We’ll apparently know this week whether the Wizards are going to suddenly be shopping Bradley Beal or not, but until word breaks that something has changed and he wants out, the goal continues to be fighting for a playoff spot in the nation’s capital. The Wizards could use an upgrade at backup point guard over Ish Smith, and with just the MLE at their disposal to make significant additions, this could be the team that makes a run at TJ McConnell. The Wizards also could use some frontcourt depth, but Daniel Gafford’s emergence last season they might be more inclined to spend the MLE on a backup point guard and use the bi-annual exception and minimums to fill out the rest. Pretty much every guard at the MLE and below level requires you to pick between offense and defense. McConnell is definitely a defensive choice, but Washington could certainly use someone capable of applying pressure at the point of attack.

Boston Celtics: Cameron Payne (UFA, Suns)

Boston is going to look into pretty much any mid-level type point guard out there after trading Kemba Walker for Al Horford, as they have to make a point guard signing this offseason. They could use another creator in that spot, and Payne would give them that if he can be pried out of Phoenix by the full mid-level. He’s about as balanced a point guard option as there is at the MLE level and Boston would do well to add him if the plan is to run it back with mostly the same group in Ime Udoka’s first season. He showed he can be a positive contributor on a contender with the Suns, and Boston could hope he can bring their bench unit some much needed energy.

Miami Heat: Kyle Lowry (UFA, Raptors)

The Heat wanted Lowry on the trade market but weren’t willing to part with enough to pry him from Toronto. Part of the reason for that is they knew they could make a run at him in free agency. The fit between Lowry and the Heat is clear. They want to upgrade their point guard position from the Dragic/Nunn pairing and Lowry brings them the two-way ability they crave in a veteran package. Lowry obviously wants to be part of a contender, and despite a stepback season for Miami last year, he still would likely see them as one of the few teams that can make him a significant offer while also bringing him the chance to compete for a title.

Atlanta Hawks: Paul Millsap (UFA, Nuggets)

Atlanta seemed fairly set at the center position with Clint Capela and the late emergence of rookie Onyeka Okongwu, but with Okongwu’s shoulder surgery keeping him out likely until mid-January, the Hawks are going to need to address frontcourt depth before adding another . As mentioned previously, there aren’t a ton of great options but for a hopeful contender looking for a stopgap, the Hawks could do worse than bringing back an old friend. Millsap’s ties to Atlanta are still strong with a gym he owns in the city and, if any team is going to be able to get him out of Denver without throwing a bunch of money at him, the Hawks would seem to be the one. Atlanta’s biggest priority is going to be bringing back John Collins and they would have to be committed to small-ball to make this work, but for two-way ability that keeps them afloat in the East race, I’m not sure they could do much better than Millsap.

New York Knicks: Spencer Dinwiddie (UFA, Nets)

The Knicks have the most cap space of any team this summer, but I think they’ll look to spread that around to a few players rather than signing a big veteran max type guy. A big reason for that is, I don’t think any of the veteran max type guys on the market are going to be interested in the Knicks even coming off a surprising run to the 4-seed. I’m sure they’ll put the necessary phone calls in on guys like Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul, but I don’t see either of those leaving their current teams for the Knicks. As such, I think they look a tier down and hope Spencer Dinwiddie’s return from an ACL tear sees him return to form. Dinwiddie would reportedly like to go home to L.A., but that seems highly unlikely to be a possibility, so staying in New York would seem like the next best option. He would bring them some dynamic backcourt scoring that we saw the Knicks desperately need in their playoff series with Atlanta, while leaving them room to add a couple other quality players on the market should they choose to — or leave them max money for next summer to go star hunting.

Milwaukee Bucks: Austin Rivers (UFA, Nuggets)/Daniel Theis (UFA, Bulls)

I’m going to cheat here and put two answers because everything about the Bucks offseason is going to depend on whether they can get Bobby Portis back on the taxpayer mid-level. If the answer is yes, then the clear need is a backup ball-handler/creator upgrade over Jeff Teague, and Rivers might be the best available at their price range (aka, the minimum). If the answer is no and Portis walks, then they have to go find a reserve center that would be available for $5.9 million. If they could get Theis for that number, that would be an absolute heist (Theist?) in terms of impact at that figure. I don’t think Theis will go for that cheap, but coming off making $5 million in Boston and Chicago, it’s possible and is certainly the best-case scenario for the champs if Portis leaves.

Brooklyn Nets: JJ Redick (UFA, Mavericks)

I feel pretty confident that, at the least, Jeff Green and Bruce Brown will be back in Brooklyn (and maybe Blake Griffin), which means they can use their taxpayer MLE on a bit of a luxury signing. No one is more of a luxury signing for the Nets than JJ Redick, as they already have Joe Harris and Landry Shamet, but they also could use some more guard depth with the inevitability that they’ll see some guys miss some time. There isn’t a great option for them in terms of a ball-handler/shooter at that price and we know Redick wants desperately to be in Brooklyn, so he’d probably be more than happy to take the discount to chase a ring and be at home.

Philadelphia 76ers: Patty Mills (UFA, Spurs)

The Sixers have the full MLE at their disposal which gives them a leg up on their fellow top East contenders in terms of adding a bigger impact player without requiring them to take a big discount, and I’m not sure there’s a player-team combo in free agency that makes more sense than Mills to the Sixers. Obviously the Sixers offseason is dictated by whether they look to make a major shakeup and trade Ben Simmons, but no matter what they do, Mills fits the profile of what they need tremendously. The Sixers may need another shooter if Danny Green leaves, although they’ll want to retain him as well, but mostly what they need is another on-ball creator who can space the floor and Mills has to be at the top of the list for them at that need.

Star Trek and Reading Rainbow legend Levar Burton will begin his much anticipated guest-hosting stint on Jeopardy this week. The development finally arrives following a heated fan campaign, and surely, he couldn’t take his mind off departed host Alex Trebek while stepping behind the podium for the first time, and as Burton admits, the first go was difficult. During an Associated Press interview as reported by the Seattle Times, he called the experience “[r]eally, really, really scary,” which sounds about right.

A few jitters were to be expected, yet Burton admitted that he felt “[t]he pressure, the natural tendency was to want to live up to Alex’s example, his legacy.” Then when he finished taping the first episode, he asked his wife (Stephanie) how things went, and she “said ‘ehhh.’” That’s not exactly a resounding endorsement, but Burton insisted, “Now, this is a woman who loves me enough to tell me the truth. She said it wasn’t me.” So, this is how he adjusted:

“I made it my business for the next four chances at bat to just be myself, to forget about the procedure, to forget about the process, stop trying, stop focusing on the wrong thing. You’re not going to be smooth as Alex, let go of that. But what you can bring to the table is you. So that became my point of focus. And when it did, I started having fun.”

Lightening up can make all the difference. Maybe the first episode will seem a little awkward tonight, then? And then hopefully, we’ll see some magic happen. Obviously, we’ll find out more on Monday night and throughout the week on Jeopardy!

(Via Seattle Times)

The release of Madden 22 is almost here and that means it’s time to start getting excited about ratings. While some players and fans will say they don’t care about these, the reality is that everyone wants to see the best players in the league get the respect they deserve. Rookie ratings are always fun as well because it gives us an early prediction about which young athletes have the potential to break out.

On Sunday, rookie ratings were revealed to the world and at the top of the list was none other than Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts with a surprising 81. Right behind him was, No. 1 overall pick, Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence with a 78. No surprise to see these two at the top, because they were considered to be the best offensive players in the draft by a wide margin, but seeing Pitts in the 80’s so early was a bit of a surprise. A few of the other rookies weren’t quite as happy with their ratings.

Since it’s ratings week that means we’re going to be getting new Top 10’s at a slow drip throughout the week. Monday was the day for wide receivers and sitting at the top, as a member of the 99 Club, is the Packers Davante Adams. Not too far behind him are Deandre Hopkins of the Cardinals and Chiefs all-around weapon Tyreek Hill.

The receivers are a little more interesting than the rookies because we expect the rookie ratings to rise and fall as the season goes on, but most of these receiver ratings are going to hang around here for the entire year. We could potentially see one or two jump up into the 99 Club with Adams, or see someone surpass Allen Robinson to get into the Top 10, but this feels like a strong list of players.

What will be interesting to see moving forward is how some of these players feel about their ratings. No position in the NFL may be as proud as wide receivers are and if any of them are unhappy then we’re going to hear about it.

Ben Simmons has been the All-Star player considered the most on the trade market ever since the 76ers season ended with Simmons being the focal point of frustration in Philadelphia during their second round loss to the Hawks.

On Sunday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on the Woj & Lowe special that Philly is very much “engaged” in Simmons talks, not just in accepting offers but making calls and offers of their own to try and figure out who the best possible player they can get in return is. Given their stature as the East’s top-seed this last season, Philly is not looking for a package where the featured return is draft assets, but instead they need immediate impact.

As such, the Sixers find themselves in a bit of a predicament. They may have to get in on serious trade talks this week leading up to the draft because other stars — namely Bradley Beal — are most likely to be dealt by Thursday night if they are traded at all, and the Sixers certainly would want in on the Beal sweepstakes. However, if Beal doesn’t become available, the best opportunity for a trade may just be once the dust settles in free agency and a team or two who missed out on their preferred targets are suddenly a bit more desperate to make a deal.

Whatever the case, trading Simmons is seen as “inevitable” within the organization, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, it’s just a matter of figuring out when they can maximize their return.

It’s inevitable, according to league sources. It’s just not clear when it will happen, where he will go, and what the Sixers will receive in return.

“Philadelphia has options,” a league source told The Inquirer. “They’re just not finite.”

The timing of a deal seems to be dependent on who becomes available when. The Sixers’ desire to upgrade their backcourt on the offensive end is well known, and dealing Simmons is their best chance to add a lead guard with scoring punch. The pressure they feel to trade Simmons could also be dependent on the Kyle Lowry sweepstakes, as the Sixers desire to bring Lowry home to Philly is well known but they have ample competition from the likes of the Heat, Pelicans, Mavs, and others, all looking to bolster their playoff dreams with a strong veteran point guard.

If they could get Lowry without moving Simmons, that could alleviate the feeling that dealing Simmons is a must and put the Sixers back in a position of power in negotiations. Without Lowry, desperation might set in and the bar may lower for a Simmons deal (bringing everyone’s favorite fake trade, CJ McCollum for Simmons, back into focus).

When DaBaby invited Tory Lanez onstage during his Rolling Loud set, it looks like fans didn’t only express their disapproval online. Apparently, someone in attendance was audacious enough to diss DaBaby in person in one of the most effective ways there is: By throwing a shoe at him during his set. Since the set was also being livestreamed, it was relatively easy to capture a clip of the unusual moment, as well as his nonplussed response.

During a lull between songs, the North Carolina rapper was commanding fans to light up their cell phones and hold them over their heads — the digital era equivalent to putting your lighters up — when he was suddenly forced to duck the flying footwear. After a timely dodge, he challenged, “Who the f*ck threw that busted ass Adidas?” Specificity is a cornerstone of comedy, so you’ve got to appreciate him for mentioning the brand name and making the moment especially amusing.

Admittedly, we don’t actually know why the shoe was sent spiraling his way but he’s spent a fair share of his career rubbing fans the wrong way, most recently during his Rolling Loud set itself. When the person inside his DaBaby mascot costume turned out to be Tory Lanez, who is under investigation for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, a rapper DaBaby has worked with multiple times, many fans were galled by the pettiness of the moment — especially as Tory’s appearance was sandwiched between “Cash Sh*t” and “Cry Baby,” two songs DaBaby recorded with Megan Thee Stallion. The two have mostly avoided each other since DaBaby co-signed the collaboration with Tory Lanez, which was supposedly shut down after the shooting.

Update: The culprit came forward a few hours later:

You can watch DaBaby’s reaction to the shoe shuriken above.

Davante Adams is one of the most dangerous weapons in the NFL. The Packers wide receiver has the ability to not only go up and catch the ball in traffic, but he can burn some of the best corners in the league with his incredible speed and make defenders miss after the catch in the open field. There’s a reason he’s been one of Aaron Rodgers favorite targets since being drafted in 2014.

Adams reputation speaks for itself and that’s why it should come as no surprise to anyone that the video game version of himself is just as dominant as he is on an actual football field. With it being ratings week at ESPN, Madden is slowly starting to release the overall ratings for every player in the NFL. This also means we’re getting our first handful of entries into the 99 Club. Adams is a part of that exclusive group and the way they chose to reveal it to him was pretty cool, surprising him while he was out on a golf course.

While some players or fans will pretend to not care about the ratings, the truth is that players want to get a high rating. They see a high rating in Madden as a sign of respect and joining the 99 Club is an acknowledgment that not only are you one of the best players at your position, but you’re among the elite of the entire league. It has to be a special feeling and based on Adams reaction, it’s very clear how badly he wanted to be a part of this group.

Adams isn’t going to be the only member of the 99 Club in this year’s Madden, of course. They’re going to be slowly announcing new members throughout the week. While we expect a few of the obvious names, like Aaron Donald, to still be on that list there’s always the potential for a surprise or two.

As the Delta variant continues to cause a rise in COVID-19 cases, specifically amongst the unvaccinated, there’s been an increased amount of scrutiny on Fox News’ penchant for spreading vaccine misinformation. Case in point, a Montana man recently became a social media hero after he confronted Tucker Carlson to his face in a fly fishing store. But while the rhetoric against Fox may seem partisan, CNN Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten ran the numbers, and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the right-wing news network.

While breaking down the data on Monday morning, Enten showed that the media consumption of viewers is directly connected to their vaccine status. Amongst the major networks, Fox News viewers came last in the number of vaccinated. Via Mediaite:

“Just 62% of people who use Fox News as their main news source have at least one dose,” he noted, compared to people who get their news from network news (ABC, CBS, NBC) which is 79%. Viewers of CNN and MSNBC came in at 83%. “What we see is about 20 points less of the Fox News audience has been vaccinated compared to the people who get their news from say, some other television outlet,” he added.

Granted, Fox News started slightly changing its tune last week, and Enten reports there has been a slight uptick in vaccinations, the damage is clearly evident. Even more concerning is that Fox News has a considerably older demographic. While the average age for most cable news is 48, the average for Fox viewers is 55, which is significant, considering older Americans are the most at risk to COVID.

“When you have an older audience, it’s so important they get vaccinated because they’re the ones who have the most danger, unfortunately from Covid,” Enten said.

(Via Mediaite)

The 2021 European Beach Handball Championships made international headlines this year: the European Handball Federation fined the Norwegian women’s beach handball team €1,500 (about $1,772), or €150 (about $177) per player, for “improper clothing” because they wore shorts instead of the customary bikini bottoms.

The situation drew comments from folks all over the world, including Pink, who called the rules “sexist” and offered to pay the team’s fines. She tweeted over the weekend, “I’m VERY proud of the Norwegian female beach handball team FOR PROTESTING THE VERY SEXIST RULES ABOUT THEIR ‘uniform’. The European handball federation SHOULD BE FINED FOR SEXISM. Good on ya, ladies. I’ll be happy to pay your fines for you. Keep it up.”

Ahead of Pink’s show of support, the Norwegian Handball Association shared a photo of the team in their non-bikini uniforms and tweeted a message that translates to (via Google Translate), “We are very proud of these girls who during the European Championships raised their voices and announced that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! We at NHF stand behind you and support you. Together we will continue to fight to change the rules for clothing, so that players can play in the clothes they are comfortable with!”

Speaking of supporting women, Pink recently spoke about being labeled as a sort of “anti-Britney Spears” early in her career, saying, “I love Britney — she used to carry around my album. I was like, ‘Dude, I’m a street punk, I just skateboard. That doesn’t have to be the anti-Britney. I don’t want to fight anybody.’ One of the best things that L.A. Reid ever told me was that this music business is big enough for everybody to win at the same time. There’s no such thing as competition. I think we navigated through it as good as a 20-year-old girl can. Now I think it’s totally different. Girls supporting girls is rad — I love to watch it.”

It looks like the return of live shows has deepened the rift between former friends and collaborators DaBaby and Megan Thee Stallion rather than bringing them closer to reconciliation. Despite being booked just one set after Meg at this past weekend’s Rolling Loud festivities, DaBaby used the opportunity to reinforce his position, aligning himself closer to disgraced Canadian rapper Tory Lanez by bringing him out to perform their collaboration, “SKAT.”

This is, of course, after Megan Thee Stallion accused Tory of shooting her last summer after a Hollywood party. Since then, Tory has maintained his innocence — although he’s yet to offer a satisfactory alternative explanation in many fans’ eyes — and the two had settled into a chilly silence, which Lanez occasionally broke to offer more suggestions that he was “framed” and Megan is lying. However, the simmering feud threatened to boil over when Tory shared a snippet of his and DaBaby’s “SKAT” video in January.

That led to Megan’s fans condemning DaBaby for working with someone they see as her abuser, although Megan stepped in at the time to clarify that the song was recorded prior to her getting shot and that DaBaby had withdrawn his support for the song. But then, the video was finally released in June, prompting a very public falling out between the two former friends as DaBaby tried to claim neutrality and Megan expressed her feelings of betrayal.

DaBaby, ever the contrarian, appears to have doubled down by bringing out Tory to perform with him at Rolling Loud, which included a theatrical reveal from within a DaBaby mascot costume. Video of the reveal on social media sparked a similar response to the one in January, but it doesn’t seem likely that Megan will come to DaBaby’s defense this time.

See fans’ responses below.