Month: September 2021

Vice presidents don’t tend to be as remembered as well as those they served under. (There are exceptions. One of them is currently commander-in-chief.) So you might not recall Dan Quayle. He was veep under another veep-turned-president, George H.W. Bush. He’s not remembered that fondly, if at all. His legacy may wind up being that one time he insisted, at a spelling bee, that “potato” was spelled “potatoe.” (He also launched a culture war against fictitious television character Murphy Brown.) But we live in the weird timeline, which is to say that the reason we still have a democratic republic is because of him.

As per CNN, Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s forthcoming Trump book Peril has a hair-raising passage in which another former veep, Mike Pence, turned to Quayle for advice towards the end of the Trump administration. The then-president was pressuring Pence to help overturn the election. He couldn’t do that, mind you. But he still, apparently, had to be talked down from joining his superior’s attempted coup.

Over and over, Pence asked if there was anything he could do.

“Mike, you have no flexibility on this. None. Zero. Forget it. Put it away,” Quayle told him.

Pence pressed again.

“You don’t know the position I’m in,” he said, according to the authors.

“I do know the position you’re in,” Quayle responded. “I also know what the law is. You listen to the parliamentarian. That’s all you do. You have no power.”

Again, Pence couldn’t overturn the election results, despite Trump’s repeated insistence to the contrary. But CNN offers two timelines had Pence not done the right thing and certified the election:

At best, that would have led to a series of lawsuits contesting whether Pence had the ability to overturn the election. That process would have dragged out for weeks — if not months — leaving the country in limbo in ways that could well have spawned further violence.

At worst, we could have seen the legitimate decline of American democracy, with the demonstrated will of the people overturned by a single man.

What did happen is still not great: Trump continues to assert, with no proof and after endless legal embarrassments, that the 2020 election was stolen from him. And a large chunk of Republicans, politicians and voters alike, insist this lie is true. Oh, and there was that Capitol riot. But it could have been even worse. And the reason it’s not worse is because…of Dan Quayle?

When the news broke, people couldn’t believe that the voice of reason was…wait, Dan Quayle?

Others couldn’t believe that we still have a (mostly) functioning democracy because of…no, really, it’s Dan Quayle?

Some forgave him for “potatoe.”

But others were more cautious. Maybe a timeline in which the nation survived because of Dan Quayle is not a good one.

And others pointed out that Mike Pence was awfully close to joining the coup.

But he didn’t. He cleared the lowest bar imaginable. And he may have only done that because of Dan Quayle? That still doesn’t feel right.

(Via CNN)

Most 16-year-olds want a car or maybe the latest iPhone for their birthday. But not everyone is Rick Ross’ son. The rapper purchased a Wingstop franchise for his son’s 16th birthday, as he revealed in a recent Instagram post. “Everyone wish my son @mmgbigbank HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY!!!” the rapper wrote in the post’s caption. “Today, he became the owner of his 1st @wingstop franchise. [You’re] now officially a BOSS!!! Keep Going.”

Ross himself is the owner of 25 Wingstop franchises locations. He recently helped them launch Thighstop, which helped the company cope with the recent shortage of chicken wings. The rapper also spoke about his support and growth with the company during an interview with Complex.

“Well, first and foremost, my personal passion for it hasn’t wavered any, over all the years I’ve loved Wingstop,” he said. “You see, I’m still repping it like it’s the first time I had it. And when I eat Wingstop, it’s still like the first time I had it. And on a business side, when I went and sat down with the CEO, Charlie Morrison, he knew I had no experience being a franchisee.”

He added, “He knew I didn’t have the time sitting in a franchise, but he saw my vision and my passion. He opened the doors for me. He didn’t just let me follow my dreams. He let me go to that next level.”

Word broke Tuesday that legendary comedian and entertainer Norm Macdonald passed away at the age of 61. Macdonald reportedly suffered from cancer for nearly a decade, all while making people laugh consistently and with vigor. Macdonald also crossed over to the sports world in several ways, notably hosting the ESPY’s and firing away on Twitter during events both large-scale and run-of-the-mill. With that as the backdrop, many folks expressed their condolences and shared memories of Macdonald on Tuesday, and one example came from Brooklyn Nets forward Blake Griffin.

Griffin, who is a six-time All-Star, won the NBA Rookie of the Year award more than a decade ago. As is customary, Griffin was at the podium at a press conference while receiving that particular honor and, amusingly, Macdonald crashed the party by impersonating a member of the media and asking Griffin a question in what the NBA fixture described as “my favorite press conference moment ever.”

Macdonald’s trademark style is on full display here, deadpanning on how no player has ever “repeated” as Rookie of the Year. Griffin, who has famously crossed over into the comedy world during his sports career, definitely seemed to enjoy it in the moment when it happened, and it is clearly a moment he cherishes to this day.

Dan Orlovsky entered the “former athlete to broadcaster” pipeline a few years back. The longtime NFL quarterback has worked for ESPN since 2018, where he’s done everything from film work on the network’s various football shows, to appearing in the booth in college games, to popping up on the morning shows and firing off takes.

Now, I am going to need all of you to prepare for the sequence of words I am going to write, and then I need you to take another moment to prepare for the videos that pop up: Dan Orlovsky is capable of barking like a dog. And not just, like, the way you or I might if we’re trying to rile up a puppy during play time, but the man can do a killer impression of some sort of larger canine.

Fellow ESPN writer/analyst Mina Kimes learned this and posted two videos to Twitter. I am going to once again stress that you take a moment to prepare yourself for this. Ready? Ok, behold:

I learned of these videos while my dog was sitting next to me on the couch and, as Orlovsky started to bark, my dog perked up and tilted his head, because he was confused as to why another dog that he could not see was in the room. Now, it is extremely easy to say this is fake, but Kimes has taken to Twitter to stress this is 110 percent real.

Orlovsky has not addressed this, but we will let you know if this he goes in depth on how the heck he can do this.

John Wall is under contract for two more seasons with the Houston Rockets. However, word broke on Tuesday that Wall and the Rockets are reportedly working toward a resolution that would send the former No. 1 overall pick to a new team in the near future. Following the initial reporting from Shams Charania of The Athletic that included the nugget that a buyout is not currently on the table, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle indicates that the Rockets are also “unlikely to move him before the trade deadline.”

If Wall is both unlikely to be bought out and unlikely to be traded before a deadline that is months away, the reality could be that of a stalemate between the two sides. All of the public reporting indicates that the situation isn’t toxic, with the Rockets valuing Wall’s professionalism and experience, but Houston has a jam-packed backcourt and they are clearly in the midst of a rebuild.

While Wall’s contract includes a player option for the 2022-23 NBA season, his recent play, combined with injury issues, make it a virtual lock that he will exercise that option, and the former No. 1 overall pick is owed nearly $92 million over those two campaigns. It is certainly possible that the former All-Star guard could return to a strong level on the floor but, practically speaking, the contract is clearly underwater in terms of the current trade market, and the Rockets may be better off simply letting the deal expire if either side doesn’t want a buyout.

It will be interesting to see how this progresses. However, a string of reports in mid-September sets the stage for what could be a real waiting game, particularly if Wall has a desire to return to the floor this season.

It’s been over a year since Pop Smoke’s tragic death, and the rapper was shot and killed during a home invasion, and his passing still haunts the music community. It’s not surprising how any form of disrespect towards him may cause turmoil. An example came recently, when Audrey Jackson, the late rapper’s mother, shared on her Instagram page that her son’s gravesite was vandalized.

On Monday, Jackson posted a string of Instagram videos that captured the damage that was done to her son’s gravesite. “So, chips leftover from either them trying to break in or from it being fixed to at least have it covered,” she says in the video. “But this was unnecessary, whoever you are.” She also shared her frustration at the damage in the post’s caption, writing, “Whoever you are, you have my attention. Now what!?.”

In a separate post, Jackson showed Pop Smoke’s father cleaning up the damage. The vandalism was initially reported by TMZ on September 11, which showed that someone pried it open. The publication also reported his casket may have been pulled out, as scrape marks on the floor suggest, but this was not confirmed by Pop Smoke’s family.

You can take a look a Pop Smoke’s mother’s Instagram posts above.

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers struggled mightily in their 2021 season opener. The Packers took on the New Orleans Saints and got ran off the field, with New Orleans picking up a 38-3 win. Rodgers, the reigning NFL MVP, did not look like someone capable of making magic when he’s on the field, going 15-for-28 with 133 yards, no touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions.

Rodgers appeared on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and discussed the game. Specifically, he wanted to point out one play: the first interception that he threw. As Rodgers tells it, he took a pair of shots below the belt that led to him getting picked off by rookie defensive back Paulson Adebo.

“I don’t like to make a lot of excuses for interceptions,” Rodgers said. “There’s some sh*t ones, there’s some ones you wish you had back, there’s some ones that really aren’t your fault. That one was entirely due to the double nut shot I took.”

As Rodgers explained, he was trying to step up in the pocket and throw the ball to Davante Adams, but while he tried doing that, disaster struck. He took a “left kinda clothesline” and “somebody on the right, with a right kind of cross.”

“I guess I’ve gotta overcome that and throw a better ball in that situation,” Rodgers said, much to the delight of McAfee and AJ Hawk. “That was a painful one, they got their money’s worth on that one.”

Let us consult the tape:

This is certainly not to take away from Adebo, who will forever get to say that his first career pick came against one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. But while it’s hard to totally make out what happens in the pocket, it does seem pretty obvious that something happened to Rodgers, because it is exceedingly rare for him to miss a receiver that badly. At the very least, let this be a lesson to any young football player (and also Aaron Rodgers): wear a cup.

For the better part of the last two years, Britney Spears has used her Instagram account to complain about her longstanding conservatorship and the ways it has restricted her lifestyle. She criticized those close to her who failed to when they were needed needed. She also slammed the paparazzi and apologized to her fanbase for misleading them about her well-being. But it recently vanished, for reasons currently unknown.

Spears’ Instagram page was either suspended or deleted on Tuesday, leaving many to question what happened to cause its removal. The news comes just two days after she used her Instagram account to confirm her engagement to Sam Asghari, her boyfriend of four years. In a post to her page, an image shows her standing beside Asghari, showing how much she likes the ring he got for her. To the proposal, she happily replies, “Yes!”

The turn of events also comes after her father filed a petition with the Los Angeles Superior Court to end her 13-year conservatorship. Jamie Spears said his daughter is “entitled to have this Court now seriously consider whether this conservatorship is no longer required.” He added that, “grounds for establishment of a conservatorship may no longer exist.”

You wouldn’t think it, because of how filling a few slices can be, but pizza is wanting for sides. Something about pizza just doesn’t feel complete. It has all the same basic ingredients as a burger — meat, cheese, sauce — but somehow doesn’t make a full meal. Wings, while a good addition, are perhaps a little too filling, and adding an order to the side of your pizza makes it so that you constantly have to decide which is more deserving of whatever room is left in your stomach.

That’s not the vibe — nobody wants to stress over whether they should be eating another wing or another slice of pizza. Garlic knots and cheese bread, while sensible options, feel redundant; it’s just pizza without the good stuff. This brings us to the salad. Salad is the best accompaniment to pizza, but busting out a knife, fork, and bowl while you’re eating finger food can be unnecessarily cumbersome.

So what we need is an extra little snack that is just as easy to eat, requires only our hands, and pairs well with the salty flavors of pizza. And now Little Caesars thinks they have the answer to our dilemma with their new M&M’s Minis Cookie Dough Brownie.

The M&M’s Minis Cookie Dough Brownie was tested late last year across Tennessee, Virginia, Mississippi, and Kentucky, under the name Kooky Dough Brownie. We’re glad they changed the name because that means I don’t have to spend a paragraph roasting them over how stupid it is. Anyway, it looks like the test launch was a success as now the snack is available at all Little Caesar’s outlets nationwide for just $3.60 under its new, better name.

So has Little Caesar’s finally solved our pizza-side-order dilemma? Let’s find out.

M&M’s Minis Cookie Dough Brownie

As I alluded to earlier, I like the name of this thing because it telegraphs what exactly it is we’re eating — it’s a brownie topped with a layer of cookie dough and M&M’s Minis. Simple. Flavorwise, this snack smacks you with sweetness and has a slightly salty flavor on the backend which ping pongs back to sweetness courtesy of the generous topping of M&M’s Minis. It doesn’t have that dense richness I expect from a good brownie, instead what I got was much airier and more focused on the cookie dough half of the snack, which can be overwhelmingly sweet.

The crunch provided from the M&Ms is a nice addition and brings back some of the chocolate flavors that are masked by the cookie dough, but ultimately it just adds to the sweetness, which is something this brownie needs less of — something I thought I’d never say about a brownie.

Each order comes with four cookie dough brownies which are each 210 calories with 17g of sugar. That’s quite the snack, not quite as sugary as a soda (which is also a must with pizza) but more calories than your average can of Coke. I took the liberty of measuring this brownie, because why not, and found that it measured out to two inches by two inches, and is one and one-half inches high, with the brownie portion occupying almost a whole inch.

That doesn’t sound like a big snack, but trust me, this thing is so overly sweet that it’s kind of hard to get through that small square.

The Bottom Line

Overall, I think the M&M’s Minis Cookie Dough Brownie tastes pretty good but served alongside pizza, it’s just too damn sweet. The idea of eating one of these after a few slices of pizza seems crazy (especially if you like beer or soda to accompany your pie) unless what you’re aiming for is a stomachache. Instead, put these in the fridge and eat one cold a few hours after dinner — that’s more viable.

Sounds like we’ll have to keep looking for the perfect pizza pairing partner (other than beer, that is). The search continues!

Way to bury the lead, Jeff! Yesterday’s news of Jeff Bridges’ cancer remission revealed the beloved Hollywood icon also faced COVID 19, which had him hospitalized for over a month. This put many things on hold, including filming for his new FX thriller series Old Man.

Taking on chemotherapy is no easy task. Pile that onto losing smell, restricted breathing, and medical isolation, and anyone would want to throw in the towel. But for the ever optimistic Bridges, dealing with two health crises simultaneously became a beautiful life lesson, which he shared in a handwritten letter found on his website.

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His letter starts with a brief, lighthearted telling of his cancer/covid experience, saying covid made “cancer look like a piece of cake,” and “Covid kicked my *** pretty good, but I’m double vaccinated & feeling much better now.” He even granted us a rather impressive Darth Vader doodle.

But what comes next is the real tear jerker:

“While I had moments of tremendous pain…getting close to the Pearly Gates…I felt joyous and happy most of the time. This brush with mortality has brought me a great gift. Life is brief and beautiful. Love is all around us, & available @ all times. It’s a matter of opening ourselves up to receive the gift WE, (I) want some other gift that Life isn’t giving us. I mean, who would want to get Cancer and COVID? Well…it turns out I would. I would, because I get to learn about love, learn things that I never would have if I never got it.

Jeff goes on to share exactly what he learned, and it’s a message that really hits home, both literally and figuratively:

“Here’s a flash I had: Home is a place where a person can receive, give, and learn about love. And that place, HOME, is really wherever you are @ any given moment, right now, for instance.”

He then recommends some interesting book titles, song selections, and even a video about albatrosses, which I think we can all agree has equal value.

For anyone struggling to see the gift in times of pain, may Jeff’s candid and genuine words remind you to view wherever you are as an opportunity. An opportunity to learn, grow, and most importantly, to love.