Month: June 2022

The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics once again spent the first half of Game 2 trading blows, with the Warriors clawing their way in front by two at the half — much in the way Boston did in Game 1.

As has been the case all postseason in home games, the Warriors came out of the locker room at halftime locked in, taking advantage of continued sloppy play by Boston, forcing turnovers, and finally started to get the three-ball working from their entire roster. As is usually the case, Stephen Curry led the way, as he poured in 14 in the third quarter, catching fire from three as he started to find some breathing room on the perimeter in the pick-and-roll.

He wasn’t alone, as Klay Thompson and Otto Porter Jr. also got in on the act, but most importantly for the Warriors was Jordan Poole finally finding his stride late in the quarter. After hitting a three that broke him free of a 1-for-5 start to the game, Poole once again found the bottom of the net just before the halftime buzzer on a preposterously deep shot that you really only ever see from No. 30 on the Warriors.

That capped off a 19-2 run that pushed Golden State’s lead to 23 at the end of three quarters, but even bigger than that is it might be the sequence that gets Poole settled into this series after spending the first six quarters of the Finals looking absolutely lost. Poole is the type of player that can get hot and stay hot, and if that’s the case, the Warriors become significantly more dangerous in the halfcourt when he’s engaged and capable of creating for himself to take some pressure off of Curry.

The new season of Stranger Things has brought the world plenty of things to talk about and take note of. The fourth season of the show absolutely crushed viewing records on Netflix. It also brought forth a jokey reference to “Weird Al” Yankovic that the king of novelty song parodies himself quickly caught wind of. The new Stranger Things season also helped Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” climb up the charts after the song played a big role in the show. It appeared at No. 1 on both Spotify’s global daily chart and the iTunes singles chart. Following the song’s unexpected success, Kate Bush shared a rare statement thanking fans.

“You might’ve heard that the first part of the fantastic, gripping new series of Stranger Things has recently been released on Netflix,” she wrote in a message that she posted on her website. “It features the song, ‘Running Up That Hill’ which is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show – I love it too!”

She continued, “Because of this, ‘Running Up That Hill’ is charting around the world and has entered the UK chart at No. 8. It’s all really exciting! Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song. I wait with bated breath for the rest of the series in July.”

You can view the message on her website here.

The Utah Jazz will have a new head coach entering the 2022-23 season, and as a result, old rumors regarding All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell have once again popped up. In the aftermath of Quin Snyder’s resignation as the head coach of the Jazz on Sunday afternoon, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Donovan Mitchell is “unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise’s future.”

Despite the fact that rumors regarding Snyder’s future have swirled for some time, Mitchell was reportedly caught off guard by his decision, as he had a good relationship with his now-former head coach.

Mitchell considered Snyder a significant part of his reasoning for committing to a five-year maximum contract extension in 2020, and Snyder’s decision to step away on Sunday has left Mitchell “surprised and disappointed,” sources told ESPN.

Mitchell remains fond of Snyder and accepts his reasons for stepping down, but he’s spending the immediate aftermath of Snyder’s decision trying to process what the coach’s loss means in the larger scope for the organization and himself, sources said.

Questions about Mitchell’s future — particularly if he sees himself as a long-term member of the franchise — have been around for some time, but following the start of the team’s offseason, reports indicated that Mitchell is the player around whom Utah wants to build going forward. Despite this report, there is no word about whether or not Mitchell will ask for a trade, or if the next coach of the Jazz will view him as an integral part of their plans.

Game 2 of the NBA Finals will be fascinating to watch given how the opener played out, with the two teams playing evenly through the first half, then the Warriors making a huge run in the third (as they so often do), followed by the Celtics dominating the fourth quarter to erase a 12-point deficit and turn it into a 12-point win, stunning the Golden State crowd in the process.

From a betting perspective, the general consensus is for a bounce back game for the Warriors, as they are 4.5-point favorites in Game 2, up from being 3.5-point favorites in the opener at home, with most of the tickets coming in on Golden State. However, digging deeper beyond just the spread and total (214.5), the player prop offerings for Game 2 also offer a chance at buying in on initial trends or betting on individuals to either bounce back or fall off from their Game 1 efforts.

Most notably, the Celtics got the job done in Game 1 on the backs of their others, with Jayson Tatum going 3-of-17 from the field for just 12 points (but did have 13 assists) while Al Horford led the way with 26 points in a surprising performance. On the other side, Stephen Curry erupted early with 21 first quarter points and cruised to 34 on the night, but didn’t get the same amount of help, with Jordan Poole particularly struggling with 9 points off the bench.

Here, we’ll track all of the major player prop bets (lines via Caesars Sportsbook) throughout the game, updating those that go over during the course of play and then all those that finish under their projected totals when the clock strikes triple-zero.

POINTS

Boston Celtics:
Al Horford (11.5)
Jaylen Brown (23.5)
Derrick White (9.5)
Robert Williams (6.5)
Marcus Smart (14.5)
Jayson Tatum (27.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Klay Thompson (19.5)
Andrew Wiggins (16.5)
Kevon Looney (6.5)
Jordan Poole (14.5)
Draymond Green (8.5)
Stephen Curry (27.5)

REBOUNDS

Boston Celtics:
Jayson Tatum (6.5)
Robert Williams (6.5)
Jaylen Brown (6.5)
Marcus Smart (4.5)
Al Horford (8.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Draymond Green (8.5)
Kevon Looney (8.5)
Andrew Wiggins (5.5)
Otto Porter Jr (5.5)
Klay Thompson (4.5)
Stephen Curry (4.5)

ASSISTS

Boston Celtics:
Jayson Tatum (5.5)
Al Horford (3.5)
Jaylen Brown (3.5)
Robert Williams (0.5)
Marcus Smart (5.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Stephen Curry (5.5)
Klay Thompson (2.5)
Andrew Wiggins (1.5)
Kevon Looney (2.5)
Draymond Green (5.5)

TOTAL POINT/ASSISTS/REBOUNDS

Boston Celtics:
Marcus Smart (23.5)
Al Horford (23.5)
Jaylen Brown (33.5)
Robert Williams (13.5)
Derrick White (15.5)
Jayson Tatum (39.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Stephen Curry (39.5)
Jordan Poole (19.5)
Klay Thompson (26.5)
Andrew Wiggins (24.5)
Otto Porter Jr (13.5)
Kevon Looney (18.5)
Draymond Green (23.5)

POINTS/REBOUNDS

Boston Celtics:
Jayson Tatum (34.5)
Robert Williams (13.5)
Derrick White (12.5)
Al Horford (20.5)
Jaylen Brown (30.5)
Marcus Smart (18.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Draymond Green (16.5)
Otto Porter Jr (11.5)
Klay Thompson (23.5)
Kevon Looney (15.5)
Andrew Wiggins (22.5)
Jordan Poole (17.5)
Stephen Curry (32.5)

POINTS/ASSISTS

Boston Celtics:
Jayson Tatum (32.5)
Marcus Smart (19.5)
Jaylen Brown (27.5)
Derrick White (12.5)
Al Horford (14.5)
Robert Williams (7.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Kevon Looney (9.5)
Jordan Poole (17.5)
Stephen Curry (33.5)
Klay Thompson (22.5)
Andrew Wiggins (18.5)
Draymond Green (14.5)

REBOUNDS/ASSISTS

Boston Celtics:
Jayson Tatum (12.5)
Al Horford (12.5)
Derrick White (5.5)
Robert Williams (7.5)
Jaylen Brown (9.5)
Marcus Smart (9.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Draymond Green (14.5)
Klay Thompson (6.5)
Otto Porter Jr (6.5)
Jordan Poole (5.5)
Stephen Curry (11.5)
Andrew Wiggins (7.5)
Kevon Looney (11.5)

THREE-POINTERS MADE

Boston Celtics:
Jayson Tatum (3.5)
Derrick White (1.5)
Al Horford (1.5)
Grant Williams (0.5)
Jaylen Brown (2.5)
Marcus Smart (2.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Stephen Curry (4.5)
Otto Porter Jr (1.5)
Jordan Poole (1.5)
Andrew Wiggins (1.5)
Klay Thompson (3.5)
Draymond Green (0.5)

BLOCKS

Boston Celtics:
Jaylen Brown (0.5)
Jayson Tatum (0.5)
Robert Williams (1.5)
Marcus Smart (0.5)
Al Horford (1.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Draymond Green (0.5)
Andrew Wiggins (0.5)
Kevon Looney (0.5)
Stephen Curry (0.5)
Klay Thompson (0.5)

STEALS

Boston Celtics:
Marcus Smart (1.5)
Robert Williams (0.5)
Jayson Tatum (1.5)
Jaylen Brown (1.5)
Al Horford (0.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Andrew Wiggins (0.5)
Kevon Looney (0.5)
Stephen Curry (1.5)
Draymond Green (1.5)
Klay Thompson (0.5)

BLOCKS/STEALS

Boston Celtics:
Al Horford (2.5)
Derrick White (1.5)
Jayson Tatum (1.5)
Robert Williams (2.5)
Marcus Smart (1.5)
Jaylen Brown (1.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Otto Porter Jr (1.5)
Kevon Looney (1.5)
Draymond Green (2.5)
Stephen Curry (1.5)
Klay Thompson (1.5)
Andrew Wiggins (1.5)

TURNOVERS

Boston Celtics:
Marcus Smart (2.5)
Robert Williams (0.5)
Derrick White (1.5)
Grant Williams (0.5)
Al Horford (1.5)
Jayson Tatum (3.5)
Jaylen Brown (2.5)

Golden State Warriors:
Stephen Curry (3.5)
Klay Thompson (1.5)
Draymond Green (2.5)
Andrew Wiggins (1.5)
Jordan Poole (1.5)
Otto Porter Jr (0.5)
Kevon Looney (1.5)

Back in 1983, Bon Jovi joined forces as a band and the rest is history. Since then the band would go on to release 15 albums and win multiple awards along the way including one Grammy in 2007 and two MTV VMAs, one in 1987 and the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1991. Nearly four decades after the group’s formation, the band was hit with sad news. Its founding bassist and former member Alec John Such passed away at the age of 70. The band shared the news in a statement that they posted on their social media pages on Sunday.

“We are heartbroken to hear the news of the passing of our dear friend Alec John Such,” the statement read. “He was an original. As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band. To be honest, we found our way to each other thru him — He was a childhood friend of Tico [Torres] and brought Richie [Sambora] to see us perform.”

The message concluded, “Alec was always wild and full of life. Today these special memories bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. We will miss him dearly.”

A cause of death for John Such was not revealed at the time of the announcement. John Such only appeared on Bon Jovi’s first six albums, including 1986’s Slippery When Wet which is home to their signature songs “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.” In 1994, John Such said he was burnt out and announced his departure from Bon Jovi. He was then replaced by Hugh McDonald. In 2018, John Such was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame alongside Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Tico Torres, and David Bryan.

You can Bon Jovi’s statement in the post above.

Harry Styles’ stardom is in full effect this year and he’s shown it in multiple ways. His first single of the year, “As It Was,” spent four weeks at No. 1 on the singles chart and it also became this year’s first Platinum song less than a month after its release. It took just three days for his third album Harry’s House to have the best vinyl sales week of the modern era. Then, the album debuted at No. 1 on the charts with the biggest sales week for a male singer since 2015. A day later, four songs from the project checked in within the top ten of the singles chart.

Now, for the second consecutive week, Harry’s Harry’s House checks in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. For the chart dated June 11, 2022, Harry’s House posted 160,500 album units sold compromised of 102,500 streaming equivalent album units thanks to 134.36 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs. It also delivered 56,500 pure album sales. With its return to No. 1, Harry’s House becomes the first album that was released in 2022 to spend its first two weeks at No. 1.

Harry’s House beat out a former No. 1 to hold on to the top spot. The project outsold Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti by a little under 20,000 units to reclaim the albums chart crown. Behind Bad Bunny’s album is Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers which checks in at No. 3.

You can revisit our review of Harry’s House here.

The Utah Jazz have been one of the NBA’s most consistent franchises over the last six years, reaching the playoffs each season, almost always hovering in the 50-win range (or the equivalent in a shortened season) during the regular season. However, that has not translated to the postseason success, as they have three first round exits and three second round exits in those six appearances.

As this season wound down, there were growing rumblings that changes were coming this summer in Utah. The Rudy Gobert-Donovan Mitchell dynamic grew increasingly strained during this year and some posited that the Jazz would pick between their two stars this offseason to try and start fresh. Others, like Bojan Bogdanovic, could find themselves dangled on the trade market if they don’t break up their star duo, as Utah seems desperately in need of at least some kind of shakeup to their roster.

On top of roster changes, there have been a number of rumors pointing to head coach Quin Snyder potentially leaving this summer as well. While Snyder didn’t bolt for the Lakers job as L.A. had hoped, last week it was reported that he was still mulling his future, and on Sunday, hours prior to Game 2 of the NBA Finals, word broke from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Snyder was indeed stepping down as head coach.

The team confirmed the news shortly after.

The expectation is for Snyder to take a full year off to recharge and then potentially re-enter the coaching ranks next season. There are rumors that he is the preferred choice of Gregg Popovich to be his successor in San Antonio whenever he steps down, and this would certainly pave the way for that, whether that’s this offseason, next offseason, or beyond — with the key caveat being that Snyder would need to want that position. Whenever he decides to resume his coaching career, Snyder will be highly coveted given his success in Utah but will also have questions about his ability to adapt in the postseason that won’t be shaken until he gets an opportunity with a different team and roster.

As for the Jazz, they now enter a coaching carousel that’s seen Mike Brown go to Sacramento and Darvin Ham go to the Lakers, with the Hornets the last team still making up their minds, with Kenny Atkinson and Mike D’Antoni reportedly in the mix in Charlotte. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them lean on an offensive minded coach that could hopefully open things up for Mitchell and company, but we’ll have to wait to see what names get connected with a franchise that has plenty of questions on the horizon.

Mass shootings happen regularly in America now. The Gun Violence Archive — which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people are shot or killed, not including the shooter — counts at least 240 in 2022 so far. Indeed, there have been 32 since the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, which claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers. And there’s no end in sight: Congress is deadlocked, and Republicans have issued insufficient, even bizarre solutions, offered surreal defenses, or, in Lauren Boebert’s case, made nonsensical, borderline psychedelic comparisons.

Speaking of the Colorado lawmaker (who’s made no laws in her year-and-a-half in Congress), she was once again the subject of online mockery when she weighed in the gun control debate. Her beef? Some people advocating for stricter gun laws are engaging in a relatively minor syntax discrepancy — which she decided to do the day after three people died in a mass shooting in Philadelphia and on the day three more were killed during one in Chattanooga.

“If your Representative thinks AR stands for ‘Assault Rifle’, FIRE THEM!” Boebert tweeted.

It’s true, the AR in AR-15 assault rifles does not stand for “assault rifle.” It means “ArmaLite,” after company that designed the guns, which can rip bodies into unrecognizable shreds, in the ‘50s. Now you know!

As for Boebert, she’s demonstrated again and again that she’s not one for learning. So when she tweeted about ignorant representatives, it was only a matter of time for lots of people to turn the tables on her.

In the meantime, everyone stay safe.

The music world is sending their condolences to Metro Boomin as news arrived of a horrific tragedy that involved his family. TMZ reports that the famed producer’s mother, Leslie Joanne Wayne, was found dead on Friday night. Her body was discovered by cops outside of the Atlanta area and according to sources connected to the investigation, Wayne was allegedly killed by her husband who is not Metro Boomin’s biological father. The report adds that Wayne’s husband committed suicide once he killed her. TMZ notes that an autopsy will soon be conducted for an official cause of death.

Metro Boomin has yet to comment on the reported death of his mother, but representatives for the Savage Mode II producer confirm that Wayne passed away over the weekend. They added that the producer and his family are requesting privacy during this difficult time. Metro has often credited his mother for helping find success in life. One of those times came during a 2016 interview with Fader.

“My name is Leland Tyler Wayne,” he said during the sit-down after calling her his “biggest inspiration.” “My mom wanted to give me a name where, no matter what I wanted to do, I’d be able to do it. An astronaut. President. Whatever. Leland Wayne.” Leslie herself also shared her thoughts during the interview and she said that the absence of Metro’s father and how it affected him is what led her to strongly support his musical aspirations. “I knew that he was hurting so much,” Leslie said during the interview, “which is part of what made me support him so much in the music.”

John Waters has always had great taste about bad taste. The filmmaker, performer, and wit has made a long career out of the shocking, the transgressive, the offensive, the crappy. He’s been called the Pope of Trash, the Duke of Dirt, the Prince of Puke, the Ayatollah of A*sholes, and other, more unprintable nicknames. But now, he says, bad taste is dead, and the culprit is Donald Trump.

“Trump ruined it,” Waters told The Guardian. “As soon as Trump was president, it just ended the humour of it. He was the nail in the coffin. He’s the first person that had accidental bad taste that wasn’t funny.”

Waters also discussed camp, a term that has long been hard to define. “Usually, accidental bad taste is what camp originally meant,” he explained. “But today people try too hard. And I think that never works. Because true camp is innocent, it doesn’t do things on purpose. It takes itself very seriously.”

Does that mean his own films — classics like Multiple Maniacs and Pink Flamingos and Desperate Living, which lean into their own crapulence — technically aren’t camp? Maybe not. “I am parodying everything,” Waters explained. “I think I’m parodying writing a novel in the first place, by even calling it a ‘feel-bad romance’, something that no one would put on their book.”

Anyway, clearly Waters wasn’t amused by the time Trump freaked out over trucks. Or when he bought athletes McDonald’s. Not to mention his wife’s notorious holiday decorations. If John Waters doesn’t think those examples of bad taste are funny, they’re probably not. RIP bad taste.

(Via The Guardian)