Month: January 2023

Georgia put the biggest beatdown in bowl game history on TCU on Monday night, in what just happened to also be the National Championship — with the team literally eating hot wings on the sideline during the game cause it was such a blowout.

The Dawgs’ 65-7 win was never in doubt, as Georgia took and early 10-0 lead and, after TCU made it 10-7, never looked back. The first failed offensive drive for Georgia didn’t come until the opening drive of the second half, and aside from the one coverage bust that set up the Horned Frogs deep in the red zone, the defense played a nearly flawless game.

It was a comprehensive destruction as Georgia cemented itself as college football’s new power program. What was noticeable throughout the postgame interviews on the field was how every single Bulldog player had bought into the idea that no one had believed in them and they had to summit the mountain again to prove the doubters wrong. We also got a glimpse at how Kirby Smart goes about creating that edge when a recording of his pregame speech hit social media, and while it is extremely NSFW, it also might get you ready to run through a wall on this Tuesday afternoon.

“Trust your preparation. Your ass has prepared for this sh*t for f*cking 365 days, I think about them f*ckers in that locker room, think about getting our opportunity, all the sh*t you went through this week to get ready for this game, now you pay the price. You go out there with energy, enthusiasm. Ain’t nobody with room to be cautious. Ain’t nobody with room to be nervous about sh*t. Go out here and f*ck their ass up. Don’t think about scoreboard. Don’t think about sh*t. You think about knocking the sh*t out of ‘em. Did you hear what Fox(?) said about you Monday? I sat in that f*cking meeting, I said I want to play right then. Tore your sh*t up out here two years ago. F*cked your sh*t up. Goddamn pride and joy tells me you f*cked these guys up. You go play the right way. You play the right way. You knock their ass over. You stay off the f*cking ground. You tackle the f*cking man with the ball. This sh*t’s easy. Look at the right sh*t. Punish their ass on offense and kick their ass on special teams, guys. It’s about who the f*ck we are. I believe in you. Let’s go kick some…[team starts cheering]”

The message certainly got through as I think the best description of what the Dawgs did to the Horned Frogs would be “f*cked their ass up,” as requested by Kirby.

Mercury Prize-winning Scottish trio Young Fathers dropped what seems to be the last single off their forthcoming studio album, Heavy Heavy. However, the band consisting of musicians Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole, and G. Hastings shouldn’t be toyed around with musically as their song by that name may suggest.

Sonically, the trio has rejected the idea of sonic boundaries in past single releases, “I Saw,” “Tell Somebody,” and “Geronimo,” and that tradition extends to their new single, “Rice.” As the group prepares for their album’s release next month, the song is the final appetizer before the full entree is served. The band paints a gutwrenching piece of spiritual yearning in just under three minutes.

Opening with the lines, “When it’s coming / I’ll be running / You’ll be doomed in 9th / We are mining / I am golden / You’re not finding what we’re holding,” it is difficult to shake the idea that something learner at play here in this thing called life.

Another set of standout lyrics in the song comes in the stanza, “I need to bide my time until I’m home again / Fill these boots to feel my soul and say / Buy more drugs to feel that love again / Kill them slow they reap, I sow amen.” This confession of both situational observations and internal self-reflection is jarring yet profoundly poetic.

The inspiration behind the track’s title comes near the song’s end in the lines, “Leave ’em out in the open / Put it all on the line / I need to catch more fish baby / I need to eat more rice.” Rice, in this context, serves a dual meaning. First, in the literal sense, a grain, but also in the spiritual sense. Many cultures view rice as a sign of nutrition and sustenance.

In a statement released about what fans can expect from their album, Kayus replied, “[Heavy Heavy] could be a mood, or it could describe the smoothed granite of bass that supports the sound, or it could be a nod to the natural progression of boys to grown men and the inevitable toll of living, a joyous burden, relationships, family, the natural momentum of a group that has been around long enough to witness massive changes.”

Listen to the whole song above.

Heavy Heavy is out on 02/02/2023 via Ninja Tune. Pre-order it here.

Thanks to his role in Top Gun: Maverick and his work in the critically-acclaimed new film, Devotion, Glen Powell has quickly become a rising star in Hollywood who will soon have his pick of projects to choose from. But if you ask Powell what he’s most jazzed about, the answer is simple: Captain Planet.

Back in 2018, the writer/actor collaborated with Leonardo DiCaprio to get a live-action adaptation of the classic ’90s cartoon going at Paramount. However, the project was ultimately scrapped, but according to Powell, the eco protector may soar again at a different studio, and both he and DiCaprio are eager to make it happen. Via Entertainment Tonight:

Powell shared an update, noting that the status of the film will depend on the ongoing Warner Bros. shakeup and “where all the superhero stuff kind of lands there.”

“I think those conversations will be happening shortly,” he noted. “I know DiCaprio is super passionate about it. I’m super passionate about it. I think it could be great… I want that one to work. I’d love to play that superhero.”

Should Captain Planet not take pollution down to zero at Warner Bros. Discovery, Powell will presumably have other chances to tackle the superhero genre. Since Top Gun: Maverick‘s success, he’s been fancast as Cyclops and Hal Jordan (a.k.a. Green Lantern), but he’s quick to point out that he hasn’t had any official discussions for any comic book films. Yet.

“It takes a long time to navigate this town,” Powell told ET. “So for anyone to be like, ‘Oh, he’d be great in this role,’ it’s humbling, it’s great.”

(Via Entertainment Tonight)

Last year, How I Met Your Father became part of Hulu’s venture into spinoffs after the success that How I Met Your Mother had in the mid-2000s. The original series was one of those rare shows that, despite being well-loved by your parents, was actually a solid sitcom! It makes sense that Hulu would want to replicate this for the next generation of pub-dwelling New Yorkers (who may or may not have hated the finale).

While it took a little time and momentum to get going, How I Met Your Father actually became a stable hit with its own storylines and frequent callbacks to the original series, but not too many. Plus, it gave Hilary Duff an opportunity to live out her squashed Lizzie McGuire dreams, and that makes it all worth it.

The series stars Duff as Sophie, a woman recounting to her son how she met his father in 2022, with the older Sophie voiced by Kim Cattrall. Along with a cast of 30-something millennials, Sophie and her pals try to make it in New York by dating and drunkenly playing board games. Who can’t relate?! The series also stars Chris Lowell, Francia Raisa, Suraj Sharma and even Josh Peck and Leighton Meester make appearances, along with John Corbett as a new love interest. They really know their audience here.

According to the official description:

Sophie and her close group of friends take on changes to their careers and love lives as they stumble into their 30’s. Figuring out life through trial and error isn’t easy, but there’s nothing you can’t get through with friendship and plenty of laughs.

Season two will premiere on January 23rd on Hulu. Check out the trailer above.

Jamal Crawford made a career out of being an elite sixth-man, and that even translated to his second career in TV, where he spent last year doing some guest work on TNT’s Tuesday studio show. Now, though, Crawford is part of TNT’s full-time starting lineup on Tuesday nights, joining Adam Lefkoe, Candace Parker, and Shaquille O’Neal by filling the seat vacated by Dwyane Wade.

As Crawford explains it, TV wasn’t where he expected to be after his playing career ended, as his initial focus was pursuing a front office or coaching role, but after spending time with NBA TV, TNT, and on HooperVision with Quentin Richardson, he officially has “gotten bit by the bug” and is all-in on being in front of the camera. Ahead of the season premiere of TNT’s Tuesday night coverage this week, Crawford spoke with Dime over the phone about joining the TNT family, his excitement to be on the desk full-time, as well as thoughts about this season — from the individual scoring explosion to the Nets turnaround and more.

As you get ready to start the Tuesday night TNT season, what was last year like for you getting to join that desk on a guest basis? And what are you most excited for coming into the season full time on the TNT desk?

It was really cool for me as a guest because obviously the show is so popular, everybody watches it. So just to get a chance to have an opportunity like that as a guest was really cool. Being around everybody there and then kind of graduating to this point and being blessed enough to get this opportunity to make it home base and be a regular is even more fun. Because now when you go as a guest, you don’t want to over-talk or step anybody’s toes, you know, and you’re just kind of doing your role and doing your job. Now you’re like, I’m doing my role as well, but I’m kind of part of the family and I think that brings a different comfort level.

Whether it’s Inside, whether it’s the Tuesday show, that comfort level is something that that I think the TNT broadcast really wants to show and that family thing comes through. What is your relationship been like with Adam and Candace and Shaq, building to this moment and getting a chance to spend more time with them and get to know them on and off set?

Yeah, I’m so excited because I was truly a fan. Anybody who knows me knows I’m a basketball junkie. So I was really fans of all of them, you know, even before doing guest work. So to get a chance to know them a lot more over the last year, you know with Shaq obviously, Shaq’s one on one, right. Like he’s Shaq, his name says it all. So you know loving Shaq and getting to know him more over the last year and the kind of person he is. And then Lefkoe I was already a fan of, because he’s done such great work. I’ve always loved how he kind of point guards and setting everything up just as a fan and watching him closely and how he does things and goes about his business. He has a certain coolness to him. And Candace is a one of one in her own right as well. I’ve gotten a chance to work with her a lot the last couple of months. We did a lot of work together on Center Court (on NBATV) pretty much every week, the last couple of months and just getting to know her off screen as well. So super, super, super excited, even more excited than I was when I knew I’d be doing it because now I have a real relationship with all of them. I think the chemistry will kind of shine through.

What are the things that you’ve learned in your time between when you stopped playing and now and that transition into broadcasting? Is there anything that surprised you about you know, getting into this world or what have been the biggest lessons that you think you’ve learned, whether it’s Center Court whether it’s the the League Pass games with Q Rich. What are the things that you’ve learned over the past few years in this broadcasting world?

That I’ve gotten bit by the bug, to be honest with you. I didn’t know this would be my future. When I was stepping away from the game, or starting to think about other things as far as not playing, it was more on the front office side. That was actually my only focus. You know, I got offers for both that and coaching, and actually turned ’em down and Q Rich kind of got me in this space. He was my introduction to the space. So I have to give him a big shout out because without him saying, ‘hey man, you’d be good, do this HooperVision with me,’ and that’s kind of how it started. And then guest work and getting bit by the bug. I didn’t know I would enjoy it this much. So this is something I’m really taking the passion to as far as talking the game. I always talked the game. I’ve had camps, I’ve talked with my friends and barbershop talk, but to do it at this level with the world watching, I never knew that I would enjoy it this much. And now I want to be really good at it because I’m really into it.

What is it about talking ball, especially when you get on the desk with somebody like Shaq with somebody like Candace and you know two legends in the game and getting to to swap stories and get their perspective and share your perspective. What is it about that that so special? Because it seems like it would be just such a cool opportunity.

It’s such a cool thing because we all have different perspectives. Right? We all you know have a ton of experience around the game but we all see it from a different lens or we may articulate it from a different lens. And I think there’s something out there for every fan base to gear towards. It may be Candace’s point, it may be Shaq’s point, it may be Lefkoe’s point, it may be something I say that sticks with them. So you have these four different views, and you may agree with us one day or agree with a certain person one day, but then be like, nah I’m not feeling what that person said right there. You know, today they were talking crazy, and that’s what’s so good about it because it’s unscripted. We don’t know what each other’s gonna say, we’re just going off of our feel and our experience and that’s what’s really cool about the Turner and TNT family.

Shifting to what we’ve seen this season. We’ve seen some some crazy offensive individual performances and team performances, obviously led by Donovan Mitchell going for 71 the other night. What are you seeing about the talent level in the league particularly as as offensive playmakers that’s allowing for us to see so many 50-point games, 60-point games and obviously the 71 point point game?

Yeah, let me make a disclaimer by saying obviously the talent is really really great, and it’s exciting and it’s fun to see all these numbers. But on the flip side, I think it’s easier to score right now, to be honest with yaou. Just the way the game is called, the amount of threes that are being put up. I think it’s easier to score, but it’s fun to watch because now you truly can see the best of any person’s game right. Like before you have people who had a ton of game who may have been stifled by a system or stifled by where the league was. But now you’re seeing everybody at their max potential right and that’s what’s really cool about it because you can see these guys have these explosive performances. And we don’t know what’s coming next, to see 50 point games this often, nad to see Donovan get 71 is just like wow, right? He’s not just getting 71, he’s getting 71 and 11 assists and 8 rebounds, like it’s like everything souped up. But it’s fun to watch because you just don’t know what’s gonna happen.

Yeah. You mention the league and the shifts that we’ve seen in how it’s called but also how it’s played. I mean, every team can run a small ball lineup now and the spacing is crazy. You were in the league to see a lot of that shift. You were you were there in the early 2000s and everything was really condensed and then you saw everything starting to get spaced out. When you take a step back, is it kind of crazy to see where the league has gone just in the last 20 years or so?

Yes, it absolutely is. If you think about it, an off the dribble three-pointer was considered the worst shot in basketball. Like no, there’s 22 on the clock you can get that shot anytime. Now, the off the dribble three, if you can shoot that shot, make it a weapon. You’re probably a franchise guy now because you can shoot that shot off the dribble, you’re Dame Lillard or Steph Curry or any of these guys — Trae Young, Luka. Now you’re considered one of the biggest weapons, so to see that change for me personally, because I was a guard who did it early. It was frowned upon and I was sitting on the bench if I did it once, right. To see that change for me is probably the most dramatic thing of all.

Yeah. We’ve also seen the season that it feels like it’s pretty wide open. Early on it looked like Boston was maybe going to kind of run away with the East but they’ve come back a bit. What’s your feeling on where the league is at right now as far as the team dynamics and how we don’t seem to have a clear favorite at this moment? And does that make it more exciting as we get into the second half of the season?

Yeah, for me it makes it a lot more exciting because all these teams truly believe they can win, right? If they believe that, then they’re going to work towards that. They’re going to hold each other accountable to a way like, no we’re supposed to be winning these games and if they’re all doing that, the league will be better off for it. Because you’ll have instead of, you know, we always say there’s five or six teams that we believe can win it, now there might be 12 team that believe they can win it. And that’s almost damn near half the league, right, so if they are right there saying we believe we can win it if we make this move or we do this and we stay injury free. That’s what makes the league great because you don’t know, it’s almost like March Madness. There’s not a favorite, anything can happen. And that’s really cool because it brings the consumer and it brings the fan in. If you’re a fan rooting for one of these teams, you believe your team can win it, so you may root that much harder. So I love seeing it because it’s gonna up the whole level of the league, especially coming down the stretch of the season.

Are there any teams that you look at right now that maybe got off to a little slower start but but that you think can be in that contender range coming up as as we get to the playoff push?

Yeah, Brooklyn. I’ve been big on Brooklyn going into the season so even when they went through the roughest stretch right I was — you can go back and look on the GameTime and Center Courts — I was like I still believe in Brooklyn. So I didn’t know they would win like 20 straight but I thought they would be formidable come playoff time and I really believe now they have the right mix. I believe they made some changes. They gave themselves to the team I think from top to bottom right so you can feel that you can see it but I think they’re still like a backup big away from really being a true contender.

I’m sure you’ve been in a position where you’ve been on a team where there’s been a coaching change, and for a team like Brooklyn, what does that do and how can that kind of galvanize a group? When you get a coaching change you can get somebody that maybe has a different voice that connects with guys a little bit better. Like how does that change? Cause I think as a fan or as somebody who’s not been in a locker room, it can be tough to kind of understand exactly what a coaching change can do. But how can changing that voice and getting the right voice in charge really change a team’s trajectory on a season?

Well, when it’s used the right way like how Brooklyn’s using it, it can be like getting a max player or two. Because this is so dramatic because now guys are like so into it. Even the guys who aren’t playing are like, you know what, this assistant coach may have been my development guy or the guy helping me. Even though he’s not playing me, I believe in him. I know what he’s about. I spent more time with him one on one, so I’m rooting for him. And I know you know if he sees me preparing the way I prepare and he believes in me like I think he does, he’ll give me an opportunity at some point. So it changes everything, especially when it goes good. You know we see changes that haven’t done anything, or they went backwards. But to see a change that’s dramatic and I’ve always had a high regard for Jacque Vaughn. Like I played one game for him. Literally, the only coach ever played one game for, in the bubble, and I wish I could have played more. I was like man, this guy he just gets on every level like he gets it and I just really took him. And I’ve had 20 coaches, right, and some of them are Hall of Famers. But that guy he’s the one guy I wish I could play for. I just loved his makeup and everything he stood for.

Absolutely. And then we’ve had some teams that haven’t necessarily done what we thought they would do. I think Minnesota is one of standouts, there may be starting to find a little something. What does it take in a locker room to turn around the season when you get off to a start that that’s way worse than the expectations were? Like, what has to happen to get a group back on track and how difficult is that when it feels like nothing’s quite going right?

Right. Sometimes you need that trade to shake up things and bring new energy into life. Right? It’s like making a trade sometimes if it’s used in the right way and it works out, mid-season especially, it can give a whole new life. Remember that team in Milwaukee when I think they were struggling kind of up and down and here comes Gary Payton all of a sudden. Now you pair him with Sam Cassell. Now they take off right and they had start having success and now Sam Cassell has more bounce in his step. You know, sometimes the trade can do it and sometimes it’s just the mental reset if a trade’s not there. Like, how bad do we want it? Forget what’s happened, let’s go be the team we thought we’d be coming out of training camp. So it just depends on the leadership and really giving into each other and getting into each other and wanting to be successful for your teammates not for you, so to speak. Those types of things I think can change the course of the season.

John Mayer recently opened up about the loss of his friend, comedian Bob Saget, on the first anniversary of his passing. The singer shared a sweet photo of Saget at an airport to Instagram on Monday, along with an emotional caption.

“One year ago today, we lost Bob Saget. I loved that guy. I love saying ‘I loved that guy,’” Mayer wrote. “Soon after he left us, I couldn’t finish those three words without falling apart, but now I say it with all the simplicity and complexity that love itself entails.”

“I knew he was otherworldly while he was here,” He continued. “Every moment we spent together was the stuff of Old Hollywood Magic, of dinners and drinks and stories and laughs and memories you knew were cutting deep grooves into your soul as the lathe was turning. Grief is a journey, and it’s a profound trip that someone you lose takes as well; they leave the space around you and slowly climb a staircase to find a space within you.”

Saget and Mayer had been friends for a long time after he reached out to the musician in 2006 about performing at a benefit. Mayer also went on to do a stand-up comedy set with his pal.

“He’s such a great guy. He’s such a good friend,” Saget said, via CheatSheet. “He’s just one of my dearest friends. I’m very lucky.”

Following Saget’s sudden passing last year, Mayer even helped his friend’s wife, Kelly Rizzo, and encouraged fans to donate to the Scleroderma Research Foundation — a nonprofit that Saget frequently supported.

Wheel Of Fortune wouldn’t have made it through forty seasons without being a tightly-wound projection in the production sense, which is why it’s so funny when the show goes off the rails. The show occasionally veers towards dirty jokes and surprising comment territory from contestants, and even Pat Sajak is known to joke about nipple rings because you gotta let loose on occasion.

Letting loose is exactly what one contestant did when solving a “Quiet Neighborhood” puzzle against a 10-second bonus timer. Via The Sun, Jamie McMahon Carrillo ended up getting a little bit excited and did a little “twerk” move against Sajak. Maybe it was a possible twerk? It didn’t even qualify as a Miley-style twerk, so it feels like an attempted twerk. This prompted the question on social media.

The Wheel Of Fortune Twitter account quickly weighed in with skull emoji but called this a “butt bump.” Hmm.

To twerk or not to twerk? People were pretty quick to conclude that this was one, or at least, they couldn’t stop inquiring in disbelief.

Sajak handled the surprise well. He’s seen some stuff over the years for sure, and a little mini-twerk is no big deal.

(Via The Sun)

Video content-sharing application and streamer Triller is at the center of yet another lawsuit. This time, it comes via Universal Music Publishing.

After the company’s acquisition of Verzuz, co-founded by music titans Swizz Beatz and Timbaland in March 2021, they have faced several lawsuits. After Triller allegedly defaulted on the deal after two payments, the pair took the company to court in August 2022 to retrieve the remaining $28 million balance. The following month, the parties reached a settlement.

In a joint statement, Swizz and Timbaland said, “We’re glad to come to an amicable agreement with Triller and continue giving fans the music and community that they’ve come to know and love from the brand.”

Unfortunately, Triller’s legal woes didn’t stop there. At the same time, Sony Music filed a lawsuit against the company for violating their and the artists signed to their label’s intellectual property rights. In the suit, Sony Music stated after Triller “historically failed to make payments in a timely manner,” representatives for the label attempted to contact Triller but only resulted in “near-total radio silence,” forcing the company to terminate its licensing agreement with Triller on August 8, 2022. But the company refused to take down Sony Music artists’ songs from their library for app users.

Now, according to Rolling Stone, Universal Music Publishing is alleging Triller has “repeatedly failed to deliver on its promises” “despite its contractual obligations.”

Attorneys for Universal Music Publishing list in the suit Triller failed to pay the fifth, sixth, and seventh quarterly installments of the licensing fees totaling $3 million, equating to $1 million per quarter.

Triller has not issued a public statement regarding the matter.

Last month, French Montana was filming a music video in Miami Gardens when gunfire broke out, wounding 10 people. The Bronx rapper issued a statement expressing regret at the incident and assuring fans his “thoughts & prayers are w/ the victims & families at this time.” However, that hasn’t stopped one of them from apparently pursuing legal counsel — and a potential lawsuit — against the rapper, according to NBC Miami.

Carl Leon, a 25-year-old music blogger who was injured in the shooting, told local news he plans to file suit. His attorney, Josiah Graham, said, “Sometime during the break of one of the scenes, that’s when he heard gunshots. He didn’t know what happened, like everyone else. He took off running. As he’s running, he fell at some point. When he gets up, he discovers he’s been shot.” Although Leon had been invited to the video filming, Graham stressed that Miami police hadn’t issued a permit for it and said, “It’s our understanding that he had an unauthorized video shoot at Finger Licking, so, we’re looking into that.”

However, a link between the film shooting and the guns hasn’t been publicly established, so it’s unclear whether French and collaborator Rob49 were involved or just unlucky. French was at the restaurant to celebrate the release of his mixtape Coke Boys 6, and it appears that any filming took place as part of the celebration, not a separate, planned video. Meanwhile, Rob49 was apparently also hit and hospitalized.

Back in December, Lizzo visited Late Night With Seth Meyers. During the “Day Drinking” segment, the two enjoyed some day drinks, and left a drunk voicemail to Meyers’ dad. This past weekend, Meyers was asked by fans about the voicemail and how his father reacted to it during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen,

Meyers and Cohen recalled Lizzo saying “Bye, b*tch,” before hanging up the phone.

“Lizzo then, independent of me knowing, reached out to the show, and found out my dad’s address,” Meyers said. “Lizzo sent flowers to my father with a note that said ‘I’m sorry I called you a b*tch.’ That is a class act.”

Last year was one of the biggest years of Lizzo’s career, as she released her long-anticipated sophomore album, embarked on the Special tour, and won an Emmy for her reality competition, Watch Out For The Big Grrrls. In April, she will kick off the second leg of her tour, appropriately called the Special 2our, with dates in North America and the UK.

In the meantime, you can watch the clips from Late Night With Seth Meyers and Watch What Happens Live above.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.