Month: December 2021

It’s been a few games since Giannis Antetokounmpo played in a basketball game. The reigning NBA Finals MVP missed the Milwaukee Bucks‘ last five games because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and while there were questions about whether or not he’d be able to take the floor on Christmas Day, Antetokounmpo got cleared in time to suit up against the Boston Celtics.

As a result, Christmas was a pretty good day for the fine folks in the Cream City. Despite going into the locker room at halftime down by 15 points, Milwaukee was able to pick up a 117-113 win, thanks in large part to an MVP-caliber performance by the big fella. Antetokounmpo went for 36 points in 30 minutes of work on 13-for-23 shooting. Never one to leave other columns in the box score empty, Antetokounmpo pitched in 12 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks for good measure.

Perhaps his best moment came in the game’s waning moments, when it looked like Antetokounmpo was going to meet Jayson Tatum at the summit and block an attempted dunk. Tatum, realizing there was a very tall person standing right next to him, decided to dump the ball off to Robert Williams, who had a clear path to the basket to cut the Bucks’ lead to one.

Instead, Antetokounmpo reacted quickly, jumped with Williams, and blocked him. The ball ended up bouncing off of Tatum’s hand and led to the Bucks picking up a win.

Milwaukee’s season, up to this point, has been defined by the team’s inability to keep their core players on the floor together for extended periods of time, as bouts with COVID and injuries have not been kind to the defending champions. But if they’re healthy and have Antetokounmpo doing what he does best, they’re going to have something to say in the race to win the Eastern Conference. Perhaps this will include doing the Cha-Cha Slide a few times along the way.

The Milwaukee Bucks have become a staple of the NBA Christmas Day slate thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo and their steady presence atop the East standings year after year, and as the reigning champs they got to host a Christmas game against the Celtics that turned out to be a thriller.

Boston led by 13 with under six minutes to play when the Bucks put Giannis, fresh off the COVID list, back in for one last burst, and the Finals MVP put forth an incredible effort to steadily reel in Boston and, ultimately, give Milwaukee a 117-113 win. Up three with under 10 seconds to play, Giannis put a bow on the win with an outrageous block of Robert Williams on a dunk attempt and the ball ultimately bounced out of bounds off of Williams.

While the referees reviewed the call on the floor, the Bucks began their celebration with game ops playing the Cha-Cha Slide, which got DeMarcus Cousins and the rest of the Bucks bench up and moving, as they slid to the right, slid to the left, and criss-crossed in delightful choreography.

The best part of the video was Jrue Holiday sliding in perfect lockstep with Boogie from outside the frame, and a year after carrying some of the league’s best locker room vibes through the playoffs to a championship, it certainly seems like this is a team that is once again having plenty of fun on the court and off of it.

On Christmas Eve, BTS member Suga tested positive for Covid-19 after the group’s recent string of LA performances. He tested positive with no symptoms after already self-isolating in quarantine in Korea, so everyone was hopeful that none of the other members would be infected. However, their management company BigHit Music has now reported that two other members, RM and Jin, have both tested positive as of Saturday.

RM returned to Korea last week, December 17, and has been quarantining since but tested positive today with no symptoms. As for Jin, he returned to Korea on Monday, December 6, and developed “mild flu-like symptoms” on Saturday, after which he tested positive. As for Suga, he returned to Korea on December 23 and tested positive on Christmas Eve, though he was also asymptomatic. Here’s hoping all of the members have a relatively easy time with their respective quarantines and get better very soon. No word yet on whether any other members have developed symptoms or will receive a negative test.

Of course, stadium concerts are always a risky event in the time of Covid-19, but even more so for the performers, who, in this case, were exposed to four nights of crowds of thousands of people. Also important to note: all members of BTS were fully vaccinated at the end of August, which has probably contributed to the light cases and mild symptoms.

Read the full statement from BigHit Music below.

Hello.

This is BigHit Music. BTS members RM and Jin were diagnosed with Covid-19 on the evening of Saturday, December 25.

After returning on Friday the 17th from the United States following his personal schedule as part of his official vacation period, RM immediately underwent PCR testing, was found negative and entered into self-quarantine in his home as mandated bye Covid-19 control procedures. However, he underwent PCR testing today before his scheduled release from quarantine and was found to be positive for Covid-19; his currently exhibiting no particular symptoms.

Jin returned to Korea on Monday, December 6 and underwent PCR testing immediately after his return and again before his release from self-quarantine, and was found negative on both occasions. However, feeling flu-like symptoms this afternoon he underwent PCR testing and was found positive for Covid-19 late this evening. He is exhibiting mild symptoms including light fever, and is undergoing self-treatment at home.

RM and Jin both completed their second round of Covid-19 vaccinations in late August, and are currently undergoing self-treatment at home as per health authority guidelines. Neither member had any contact with other members after their return to Korea.

Our company will continue to provide support for the rapid recovery of RM and Jin, placing our highest priority on the health and safety of our artists. We will continue to cooperate fully with requests and guidelines of healthcare authorities.

Kemba Walker has been in the midst of quite the resurgence since making his way back into the New York Knicks’ starting lineup. After being dropped from the team’s rotation altogether at the end of November and sitting on the bench for 10 consecutive games, Walker has become indispensable in recent days as injuries and COVID absences have led to him getting more run.

His most recent big game came on Christmas Day, as the Knicks hosted the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden and picked up a 101-87 win over the team that eliminated them from the postseason last year. While Walker didn’t put forth the kind of gaudy scoring output that we’ve seen since he was reinserted into the starting lineup, he finished the game with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists, giving him his first triple-double since April 4, 2014, when he was a member of the Charlotte Hornets.

Unsurprisingly, the 6-foot Walker hit the scoring and assist marks before he was able to haul in 10 rebounds. It led to some funny moments in MSG, as every single person in the arena knew Walker needed one more board to get there, only his teammates weren’t always able to help him clear the hurdle.

But ultimately, Walker was able to get there, much to the delight of the adoring fans in Manhattan.

The rebound made a little bit of franchise history. Not only was this the NBA’s seventh Christmas Day triple-double and the first since 2017, but it was the first time a Knicks player did this on Dec. 25.

It seems safe to assume Kemba Walker will not be removed from the Knicks’ rotation again any time soon.

Musician Glen Hansard has been organizing a Christmas charity event in Dublin for several years now. And to support the Irish event, Ireland’s very own rockstar, Bono of U2, has been making appearances at the annual event. In previous years, Bono has performed the holiday classic “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love in 2020, as well as “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way” and the carols, “O Holy Night” and “O Night Divine” back in 2018. Both of those years, Edge joined him in his performance. This year, however, he showed up by himself and played with a group of Irish musicians, including Hansard, as his backing band.

After giving the people what they want with The Joshua Tree tour in 2017, he’s since realized how near and dear this album — well, and Achtung Baby — are to U2 fans. In that spirit, he performed “Running To Stand Still” from The Joshua Tree at the event as a slightly more subdued version, but complete with a harmonica solo. Previously the event was held on Dublin’s Grafton Street, but this year the concert 2021 was moved to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and performed as a livestream event, with all the proceeds still set to benefit Simon Community.

Check out the performance above, and if you’d like to support the charity efforts of Hansard, donate to support people experiencing homelessness across Ireland right here.

Last year Bad Bunny was quite prolific, releasing not one, not two, but three albums. He kicked off the year with his second album, Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana in February, and followed that up a few months later with Las Que No Iban A Salir
as a surprise album in May, and finally finished off the year in December with his surprise third project, El Último Tour Del Mundo. That third project became the first Spanish-language album to ever top the Billboard lbums chart, following up Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana‘s positioning at No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart before that.

With that many albums out in one year, it’s no surprise that the Puerto Rican rapper, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is still in the process of sharing videos from the projects with his fans. Yesterday, Ocasio dropped the “Te Deseo Lo Mejor” video, which was directed by David Silverman, the filmmaker behind The Simpsons Movie. In the clip, Homer is once again on the outs with his wife Marge, and wanders Springfield running into the Puerto Rican rapper (transformed into a Simpsons character, of course) several times, before stumbling into a Bad Bunny concert where, with Ocasio’s help, he wins Marge back. Check out the clip above.

Earlier his month, Cardi B announced that she was joining Playboy in a new role as a creative director, and this week more details about the collaboration have been revealed. In an Instagram post, the rapper let her fans know that the launch of a platform called Centerfold is her first project with the magazine. “My first project with @playboy !!!” she wrote in her caption. “Introducing CENTERFOLD, so excited to share this platform with so many amazing creators.”

The website for the new platform is now live, and boasts a series of creators who are already active on the platform to help support the launch, including Mia Malkova, James Maas, Lana Rhoades and more. Fans and creators can sign up for an account on Centerfold in order to access or create content. Cardi is also the model for the site’s launch page, in a signature pose alongside a pool showcasing her assets with plenty of jewelry and her peacock tattoo on full display. “A platform for creative freedom, artistic expression, and sex positivity,” reads the tagline on the landing page. It looks like Playboy has taken notice of some of what’s happened with platforms like OnlyFans, which supports sex workers, but also includes accounts from plenty of other celebrities and rappers like A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. 50 Cent has also teased starting an account, and Tyga recently deleted his account with hopes of launching a competing platform, so he seems likely to get involved with Centerfold in the future, too.

Keep your eyes out for more from Centerfold and more of Cardi’s potential future endeavors with Playboy.

As one of the few younger rappers who has been recognized by the Grammys recently, Roddy Ricch has more of a relationship with the Recording Academy than some of his peers. At the 2020 awards, Roddy was nominated for a whopping six nominations, including nods for both Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year. Anyone who has followed the conversation around the Grammys and hip-hop over the years knows that they haven’t always gotten it right in the past.

During an appearance on Kevin Durant’s The ETCs Podcast last week, Roddy told KD that after his 2020 nominations he was “tripping” on the Grammys for snubbing a few of his peers. “Uzi is like, like when I was talking to the Grammy’s ‘y’all ain’t nominate Uzi for [Best Rap Album],’ I was tripping on them,” he remembered. “Even like Lil Baby, y’all ain’t nominate Lil Baby? Like I’m tripping, cause it’s like everybody got their own lane, and it should be spoken about, talked about more because I feel like the n——s now that’s doing shi* like, no disrespect, we really breaking barriers.”

In the year where Roddy received all his nominations, the projects from Uzi and Baby that would’ve been eligible are Lil Baby’s My Turn and Lil Uzi Vert’s long-awaited release, Eternal Atake, which were both released in 2020 as well. In fact, Baby’s My Turn was the best-selling album of 2020 (!) — even beating out Taylor Swift’s Folklore.

Roddy also told KD that instead of competition, he feels like it’s more of a collaborative vibe within the new cohort. “I feel like it’s more for sure more a collaboration because we run into each other more,” he said. “But I feel like everybody got their own lane, everybody got their thing they do, you know what I’m saying?”

Check out the interview clip below, and the full episode here.

The 2021-22 NBA season is out of office on Christmas Eve, taking some time to celebrate the holiday before a monster, five-game slate on Christmas Day. So, on this day without games, let’s celebrate some enjoyable developments and occurrences from the first two months.

Anfernee Simons’ emergence

Back-to-back stinkers (11 points on 3-for-18 shooting) dampens some of the luster around Simons’ breakout, but the fourth-year guard is a notably more comfortable and capable creator with the ball in his hands this season.

Averaging a career-high 12.1 points on 55.4 percent true shooting, Simons has displayed serious shot-making chops and newfound moxie when operating in ball-screens. After shooting just 44.3 percent on twos during his first three seasons, he’s up to 48.6 percent this year. That’s not a sterling mark, but it’s a sizable uptick and emblematic of his growth.

Previously, Simons was routinely timid and ineffective venturing inside the arc. Now, he’s much more composed and confident, and understands how to get the spots he desires. He no longer appears as though his only means of scoring is a catch-and-shoot triple. Knocking those down at a 44.6 percent clip this season, they remain quite the reliable source of offense, yet he’s also expanded his arsenal to provide secondary handling and creation.

Portland’s season has been rather underwhelming, but Simons’ development in a contract year is a bright spot for him and the team.

D’Angelo Russell, defensive anchor

Before a recent slide, due in large part to injuries and COVID-related absences, the Minnesota Timberwolves were fielding a top-10 defense. A number of players and factors are responsible.

Jarred Vanderbilt and Jaden McDaniels have been awesome. Patrick Beverley’s arrival has been crucial. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns have made strides. Head coach Chris Finch employs impactful, creative schemes.

One reason, however, is probably most surprising and equally paramount: D’Angelo Russell’s off-ball awareness and general communication. He’s constantly arranging his teammates on where to be, while simultaneously offering steady contributions as a helper with stuff like this:

Because of inflexibility and poor lateral quickness, Russell struggles navigating screens and containing ball-handlers at the point-of-attack. So, Finch reduces his workload in those roles and he’s excelling off the ball.

His minus-0.2 Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus is the second-best mark of his career and just the second time he’s ranked outside of the bottom 25th percentile. The Timberwolves’ defense is 12 points better with him on the floor (101.2 vs. 113.2 defensive rating).

Those numbers aren’t a fluke. Russell’s defense has been legitimately good and deployed in an effective way. It’s a reason why Minnesota is fighting for a play-in berth — or, if they get lucky, just a straight-up playoff spot — these days.

Kemba Walker’s recent scorchers

Right around Thanksgiving, New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau opted to remove starting point guard Kemba Walker from the rotation. Not merely a demotion to the second unit, an outright benching. Walker watched from the sidelines for 10 consecutive games and didn’t play a minute.

While I wouldn’t have done it, the move was understandable, given New York’s bevy of scoring guards available. Walker was struggling mightily to create and score inside the arc, and his defense wasn’t cutting it either.

Over the past three games, absences from Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Derrick Rose have led to Walker returning to the starting lineup and absolutely cooking opponents to the tune of 31-8-5 on 60.9 percent true shooting. The run’s been punctuated by a 44-bomb against the Washington Wizards on Thursday evening, a flurry of buckets that surely seemed to delight the veteran guard.

Walker is a New York native and handled the benching basically as well as anyone could. When opportunity arose, he seized it and let the joy of the game overtake him. Thursday’s experience seemingly carried notoriety and his passion was evident. Walker’s long been a marvel to watch, both for his torrid pull-up shooting and blissful demeanor. This recent stretch is no different.

Aaron Gordon’s two-way play

The Denver Nuggets’ 2021-22 campaign has been a season from hell, apparently. Jamal Murray entered the year sidelined with a torn ACL, while Michael Porter Jr. and PJ Dozier are also now sidelined indefinitely with serious injuries. A team that looked like a legit title contender just eight months ago is now simply trying to make the playoffs.

One positive beyond Nikola Jokic having an historically great season: Aaron Gordon has been quite good on both ends as he continues to bring the off-ball scoring and perimeter defense the Nuggets coveted when they acquired him last season.

Virtually every night, Denver pins him to the top perimeter creator. By and large, he’s performed admirably, particularly at the point of attack and navigating screens to bother talented scorers.

Offensively, his chemistry with Jokic as a cutter is telekinetic. Despite the absences of Murray and Porter, Gordon isn’t routinely overindulging in self-creation attempts, even amid Denver’s vastly undermanned attack.

He’s shooting a career-high 74 percent at the rim (93rd percentile) and has shown faculty as a trusty slasher. His 59.9 percent true shooting is 4.4 points above league average, the best number of his career. If Murray and Porter return as the versions they were last season, this team is going to be tremendously good and Gordon’s two-way profile will be vital to that.

Following a few years of turmoil, Ariana Grande seems to be in a really good place lately. At the end of 2019, she released one of her best albums to date, Positions, and announced this March she’d accepted a role as a guest judge on The Voice. Right around Christmas last year, she got engaged to her boyfriend Dalton Gomez, and the pair tied the knot at their home in Montecito this spring for an intimate ceremony.

Today, however, fans woke up and noticed that Ariana had deactivated her Twitter account. She’s been posting on her Instagram story throughout the day, so it seems like her social media presence isn’t a thing of the past, but there was no message or reasoning behind the step with Twitter. Of course, there are plenty of reasons why anyone — and especially a celebrity — would want a break from the endless doom scrolling that Twitter often elicits. And even more so in a world where the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has once again led to many cancellations.

But it might also be that Ari is readying new music or signaling the beginning of a new era, so fans are also wondering what she might have up her sleeve with the move. Keep an eye out for more info either way, now that The Voice is over, we just might be getting new music.