Month: January 2023

Damar Hamlin has issued his first public statement since Monday night’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. Hamlin posted to both his Instagram and Twitter accounts, thanking fans who prayed for him in the aftermath of his hit on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins that led to him going into cardiac arrest and getting hospitalized in Cincinnati.

Over on his IG account, Hamlin wrote that “The Love has been overwhelming, but I’m thankful for every single person that prayed for me and reached out” before saying that he’s “on a long road” and requesting that people continue to pray.

Hamlin’s post included the words his doctors in Cincinnati said to him after he woke up and asked who won the game, as he did not know the NFL opted to cancel it several days after it was suspended. The doctor told Hamlin that “you’ve won the game of life.”

This is the latest positive development on Hamlin’s road to recovery. After getting CPR on the field, Hamlin was put in an ambulance and brought to a local medical facility. It had been announced that Hamlin was “neurologically intact,” and on Friday, Hamlin’s breathing tube was removed and he was able to FaceTime into a Bills team meeting.

It took four days, 15 separate votes and a lot of boredom for Kevin McCarthy to be elected Speaker of the House. The hold-up was due entirely to a motley crew of renegade Republicans, who were adamant that the former minority leader not be promoted. Among them was Matt Gaetz, who went farther than even Lauren Boebert: He threatened to quit the chamber if McCarthy got the gig. But why does Gaetz despise him so much? The answer seems to be very personal.

Rolling Stone spoke to multiple sources, who addressed the very open secret of Gaetz’s animosity towards the new House Speaker. According to them, it involves the two-year federal investigation into Gaetz and his connection to a sex trafficking ring. Gaetz has allegedly been furious at what he perceived as a lack of support from McCarthy as the investigation unfolded. That said, McCarthy has never punished Gaetz during the controversy, not even stripping him of any committee positions. (No charges have been filed against Gaetz, but his old “wingman” Joel Greenberg was sentenced to 11 years in prison.)

Gaetz spent the last week publicly railing against McCarthy. During the 14th vote, which took place Friday evening, McCarthy even confronted him on the House floor, though what they said was not clear to those watching it on C-SPAN. Gaetz was then confronted by another GOP lawmaker, Mike Rogers, who had to be physically restrained after the argument appeared to instantly grew heated. During the final vote that got McCarthy the job, Gaetz simply voted “present.”

(Via Rolling Stone)

The trial for Young Thug and his Young Stoner Life crew’s RICO charges is officially underway. This past week, jury selection began for the court hearings.

According to a report from WSB TV, jurors saw and heard Judge Ural Glanville read lyrics from some of Young Thug and YSL’s songs during the first parts of jury selection this past Wednesday. Glanville particularly homed in on the anti-cop lyrics of one Thug’s songs, “Slime Sh*t.”

Glanville read the lyrics, “Hey, this that slime sh*t, hey/ Y L sh*t, hey/ Killin’ 12 sh*t, hey/ F*ck a jail sh*t, hey/ … Cookin’ white brick, hey, hey/ […] I’m not new to this, hey, I’m so true to this, hey I done put a whole slime on a hunnid licks.”

Later on, he read the lyrics from the verses of some of the other YSL affiliates, including Yak Gotti. On Gotti’s verse, he raps, “Slime or get slimed / In the VIP and I got that pistol on my hip/ You prayin’ that you live / I’m prayin’ that I hit / Hey, this that slime shit…F*ck, f*ck the police / in a high speed.”

Young Thug, Gunna, and 26 other YSL associates were arrested in May 2022 and were charged with eight counts of violating the RICO Act. Gunna and a few others have taken plea deals, but Thug and the rest of the YSL affiliates have been in custody since. The trial is expected to begin on Monday, January 9.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music group.

The entire sports world has kept Damar Hamlin in their thoughts over the last week. Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, went into cardiac arrest during the first quarter of the team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals after making a tackle on Tee Higgins. Hamlin was taken away from the stadium in Cincinnati via an ambulance and the game was eventually canceled.

In the days since, both the Bills and those around Hamlin have provided updates on his status, and while he remains in critical condition, he no longer needs a breathing tube and keep progressing in his recovery. Saturday marked the first round of NFL games since Hamlin was hospitalized, and before things kicked off in the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders, the home squad called for “a moment of support and love” in recognition of Hamlin and his family.

“The entire NFL family has been praying for Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills as he continues his recovery, and we thank the first responders and medical professionals involved in his care,” Tim Hughes, the announcer for the Raiders, told the crowd at Allegiant Stadium. “At this time, the Raiders ask everyone to join us in a moment of support and love for Damar and cheer for him, and his family, as they continue their fight.”

According to the Bills, Hamlin was able to speak to his teammates on Friday for the first time when he FaceTimed into a team meeting.

There are better ways to spend one’s birthday than in a hospital recovering from a freak accident, which is how Jeremy Renner is ringing in his 52nd. But look at this way: At least he’s on the mend. Last Sunday, the first day of 2023, the Oscar-nominee and Marvel staple was inadvertently run over by a gigantic snow plow. It could have easily killed him. It didn’t, and here’s proof that he’s having as good a birthday as he could considering what befell him.

Renner has been posting updates throughout the week, showing himself beat up but getting better. He even got a makeshift hospital “spa day.” On Saturday, his birthday, he shared a group photo on his Instagram Stories, showing him sitting upright in his hospital bed, surrounded by 11 ICU staffers.

“Thank you Renowned Medical ICU team for beginning this journey,” read the caption.

At the time of his “freak tragic accident,” Renner was trying to help a relative whose car was stuck in the fall after a massive storm at his Nevada home. After freeing the car with his plow, Renner exited the vehicle, at which point disaster struck. He was rushed to the ICU and he’s slowly but surely getting better.

Get well soon, Mr. Renner, and happy birthday!

(Via The Daily Beast)

The NFL’s efforts to try and sort out the AFC playoff picture in the aftermath of the canceled game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals has apparently rubbed some folks in Cincinnati the wrong way. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the fact that the Bengals’ path during the postseason could come down to a coin flip — along with the fact that they have to choose between resting players during their regular season finale on Sunday or minimizing the odds the coin flip scenario comes to fruition — has “many” within the organization feeling “livid.”

The Bengals will play the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Despite the fact that Cincinnati has already been declared the winners of the AFC North, the on-the-fly rule changes the league made in the aftermath of the Bills-Bengals game getting called due to Damar Hamlin going into cardiac arrest on the field means there is a scenario where Cincinnati could drop down to a Wild Card spot based on the outcomes of two games and a coin flip. Schefter noted that, if this happened, the Bengals would be the first team to both win a division and open the Wild Card round on the road.

Per ESPN:

The coin flip scenario comes into play if the Ravens win Sunday in Cincinnati and the Chargers win in Denver. The Ravens and Chargers have identical records, but Los Angeles would get the No. 5 seed (and play either Buffalo or Kansas City), while Baltimore would get a third game against Cincinnati. The reward for the No. 6 seed Ravens sweeping the Bengals, yet losing the division title would be the coin flip opportunity to host third-seeded Cincinnati in the playoffs.

Of course, the easy way for Cincinnati to avoid this scenario altogether is to just beat Baltimore at home on Sunday — they enter the game as 9-point favorites. But if the game against the Bills ended with the Bengals picking up a win, they’d have the division all sewn up and would be able to go into this game against the Ravens with some of their most prominent players resting.

On Friday, Bengals coach Zac Taylor expressed dismay with how the league has handled this.

“As far as I’m concerned, we just want the rules to be followed,” Taylor said, per Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “When a game is canceled, you just turn to winning percentage to clarify everything so we don’t have to make up rules. There’s several instances this season when a club is fined or people in our building are fined and we’re being told, ‘Follow the rules. It’s black and white. It’s in the rulebook.’ So now when we point out the rules and you’re told, we’re going to change that, I don’t want to hear about fair and equitable when that’s the case.”

Modest Mouse is set to make a return to the stage, amid tragedy that took place last week. On this most recent New Year’s Eve, the band announced that their drummer, Jeremiah Green, had died after a battle with cancer. Yesterday (January 6), the band announced their first show since Green’s untimely death.

Modest Mouse is set to headline the Between Days festival, which will take place August 19 and 20 in Quincy, MA.

“Modest Mouse’s management has indicated to us that the band is committed to performing at In Between Days,” festival organizers said in a statement to Spin. “Out of respect for the band, any other messages or statements regarding personnel or specifics will come from the band itself at a later date. In Between Days has made a donation to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of Jeremiah Green.”

The band has been fairly quiet on social media since Green’s death, however, they did offer a few words via Instagram, following the news.

“I’d like to say a bunch of pretty words right now, but it just isn’t the time,” read the post’s caption. “These will come later, and from many people. Please appreciate all the love you give, get, have given, and will get. Above all, Jeremiah was about love.”

Additionally, Lord Huron is also set to headline the festival, and Yoke Lore, Cautious Clay, and many more will also perform that weekend.

You can check out the full lineup below.

Warning: This post contains some spoilers for the film M3GAN.

While the new year hasn’t been great for everyone, it’s been strong for the movies. Avatar: The Way of Water continues to make all the money, trouncing even Top Gun: Maverick. And the first weekend found a new kid in town: M3GAN, a Blumhouse horror film about a killer android. Not only is it doing well at the box office, but it’s also, maybe improbably, received even better reviews than some of last year’s most acclaimed films. Critics like it even more than Tár! It’s already getting a sequel, despite its titular antagonist meeting her end. But does it have an end credits scene?

The answer is: Nope. M3GAN just ends, like a normal one-off movie (albeit with the suggestion that other forms of technology shouldn’t be trusted either). Obviously you can stay through the credits; a lot of people helped bring the murderous doll to life. But there’s nothing else to see but names, song titles, logos, etc.

M3GAN concerns a high-tech toy designer played by Allison Williams who designs an android companion for her niece, who recently lost her parents in a freak accident. The doll is equipped with the latest in AI technology, which helps her comfort the traumatized kid — and also take out anyone who may upset her.

Producer James Wan, of the Saw, Conjuring, and Insidious franchises (and Aquaman), hasn’t revealed how the sequel will work. M3GAN herself wasn’t completely destroyed, so it’s possible to bring some version of her back to life. All he’s said is he’s always thinking of world-building, saying, “I don’t just think of that one story; I think of the bigger world.”

M3GAN is now in theaters.

The Weeknd‘s fifth studio album, Dawn FM turned one today (January 7). A year ago, the album was released after very little promotion, as The Weeknd wanted fans to hear the album as a cohesive body of work. During the album’s life cycle, songs like “Take My Breath,” “Sacrifice,” “Out Of Time,” and “Best Friends,” garnered enough popularity for them to become singles and fan favorites. Today, to celebrate the album’s anniversary, The Weeknd shared the video for “Is There Someone Else.”

In the video, he is seen peeking a woman as she dances seductively through a window. The woman then sneaks away, leading him to continue his search for her, by way of cameras and telescopes.

“Is there someone else or not? / ‘Cause I wanna keep you close / I don’t wanna lose my spot / ‘Cause I need to know / If you’re hurting him, or you’re hurting me / If I ain’t with you, I don’t wanna be / Is there someone else or not?,” he sings on the song’s chorus.

Shortly after the release of Dawn FM, The Weeknd took to Twitter and implied that the album was part of a new trilogy.

“I wonder… did you know you’re experiencing a new trilogy?,” he said.

It appears that a new era may imminent. Earlier this week, he seemingly teased that the next chapter may arrive soon, saying, “we’re just getting started…”

In the meantime, you can check out the video for “Is There Someone Else” above.

Kicking off the first full weekend of 2023, singer and songwriter Alex G stopped by the CBS Saturday Morning stage to perform three songs from his latest album, God Save The Animals.

For his first performance, he performed “Early Morning Waiting,” an appropriate fit for the Saturday morning news show. During the performance, he was seated at his keyboard, and joined by a violinist, two guitarists, and a drummer, as he softly delivered the sweet, intimate ballad.

Next, he performed “Runner.” This time, Alex is at center stage on the mic, singing while playing acoustic guitar.

“I laugh when you say the wrong thing / Mouthing off to everybody else but me / They hit you with the rolled up magazine / My runner, my runner, my man / My runner, my runner, my man,” he sings on the song’s chorus.

For the third and final performance of the morning, Alex removed the keyboard element from his band for a performance of “Miracles.” For this particular performance, Alex’s vocals shine through, beautifully combining with the strings and percussion.

Over the years, Alex has been very open about his insecurity toward his singing voice. However, in an interview with Pitchfork last year, he revealed how he’s managed to overcome his insecurity.

“I’m less insecure about it, but I’m definitely more of a perfectionist now,” he said. In previous albums, I didn’t care as much, or I guess I felt like if the ideas were there and I was getting them across, they’ll live out there for whoever wants them. But for this album, I wanted to be on key. If I spend all this time on the lyrics and shit I might as well do it right.:

You can watch Alex G’s performances above.