Month: January 2023

Midway through the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game between the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks, Gary Trent Jr. and Brook Lopez engaged in a brief shoving match off the ball. As Jrue Holiday attempted and made a left-handed runner, Lopez and Trent got tangled up, which resulted in Lopez removing Trent’s headband and moving him deeper into the baseline.

Trent’s teammate, OG Anunoby, presumably took exception to those acts from Lopez and confronted the 7’1 center. That decision ignited a much larger shoving match involving various members of both teams, including Raptors assistant coaches.

After a somewhat lengthy deliberation period among the officials, Lopez received two separate technical fouls, while Anunoby and assistant Jamaal Magloire earned one tech each themselves. Referee Bill Kennedy didn’t vocalize what exactly Lopez did to warrant a pair of techs, but the headband removal and subsequent shoving likely did the trick to end his night early.

Lopez’s exit left the Bucks without three starters, as both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton didn’t suit up because of knee soreness. However, Jrue Holiday stepped up on both ends all night, especially once Lopez left the game. He notched 37 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and one block to help Milwaukee outlast Toronto, 130-22, despite Fred VanVleet’s 39 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

The win moved the Bucks to 29-16, while the Raptors fell to 20-25.

Rumors have been circulating that Selena Gomez and Drew Taggart from The Chainsmokers are dating. “They aren’t trying to hide their romance by sneaking around at members-only clubs,” a source told US Magazine, adding that they’re “very casual and low-key.”

It seems like they might be getting a little less low-key. The couple was caught together at The Gutter, a bowling alley in New York City, on Sunday, January 15. New photos shared by Page Six, which quickly went viral. “There was also a group of young girls that went up for pictures from her shortly after and a man getting an autograph,” the insider told the publication, who also said the alleged couple were making out.

The Chainsmokers have been making a lot of headlines lately, especially for admitting to having threesomes together with their fans. Alex Pall explained, “I think we were just like, ‘What the f*ck just happened?’ They were never planned.” Taggart added, “I feel like that’s how threesomes happen, though.” It was never ‘die-hard fans’: “No one wearing merch or anything,” they said. “It’s been a long time,” Pall continued. “But in the early days — it was also the days when we used to have to share the hotel rooms. We’d be in Europe, they have the two beds, and they don’t even split them apart. They literally have two singles. So it’s almost like we were forced by the European government because they don’t separate their beds.”

Jamin Pugh, known professionally as Jay Briscoe has passed away at the age of 38, AEW President Tony Khan announced via Twitter on Tuesday evening.

Moments after Khan’s announcement, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer News reported that Pugh, one half of the current Ring of Honor tag team champion Briscoe Brothers, was involved in a fatal car crash.

Thoughts and prayers have continued to pour out from the wrestling community, with mere hours following Jay’s last tweet.

Staples of the ROH brand since 2002, Jay and his brother, Mark, were the lifeblood of the promotion and continued to carry its torch well into Khan’s ownership. Jay Briscoe was a two-time ROH World Champion, 13-time ROH tag champion, and former ROH six-man tag champion. Jay’s death comes a month after one of the greatest matches in Ring of Honor history, where the Briscoe Brothers unseated FTR for the tag titles.

Their feud is one of the best in recent memory, with FTR setting the stage with a win at Super Card of Honor in April, FTR taking a best two out of three falls match later in July at Death Before Dishonor, and the Briscoe earning the win in the double dog collar match as the headline of Final Battle just last month.

John Wall’s appearance on the “Run Your Pace” podcast has rubbed a few people the wrong way. Earlier in the day on Tuesday, a comment Wall made about his tenure with the Houston Rockets rubbed one of his former teammates the wrong way, as Justin Patton took umbrage with the fact that Wall said Patton started games was proof the team was trying to lose games.

Now, Tyler Hansbrough is pushing back against a claim Wall made. As Wall tells it, his dream school was the University of North Carolina. Wall, a native of the Tar Heel state, says UNC was the only school that could have prevented him from attending Kentucky, in part due to the fact that his mother suffered an aneurysm. But during a visit to Chapel Hill, Wall claims he was big timed by Hansbrough, the program’s star power forward, which made him attending UNC a non-starter.

“I’m the recruit, I walk up and say what up, he says, ‘I don’t talk to recruits,’” Wall claimed. “I was like, f*ck you, I ain’t coming here. That f*cked it up right there.”

Wall said meeting Hansbrough, a national champion with the Tar Heels and one of the best players in the country, was something he dreamed of doing. There are, however, two sides to every story, and apparently, Hansbrough … well, he remembers things a little differently, and believes the main thing that drove Wall to Lexington was money.

I do not know about you, but I did not expect a war of words between John Wall and Tyler Hansbrough breaking out when I woke up this morning.

Lil Yachty just announced Let’s Start Here, a new album arriving later this year. “Thank You for the patience,” he wrote on social media. Later, he added, “I have so many things to say.” The rapper’s last record was 2021’s Michigan Boy Boat. The other week, he also made a post looking for an all-women band which has been deleted since: “Yachty is putting a band together,” the post read, noting he was looking for two to three background singers, a guitar player, a bass player, a drummer, and a keyboard player. It’s unknown whether it could be for the album, a tour, or something else.

Release date

Let’s Start Here is out 1/27 via Quality Control/Motown.

Tracklist

The tracklist is currently unknown, and this will be updated later.

Features

Any details about features are not yet available. However, Michigan Boy Boat was packed with features from artists like Babyface Ray, Veeze, Sada Baby, Swae Lee, and more, so it’s not wild to assume he will bring some friends onto the records.

Artwork

Check out the artwork for Let’s Start Here below in his social media announcement of the LP.

Singles

No singles have been released yet but hopefully they are on their way and will arrive soon.

George R.R. Martin has long delighted and, these days, confounded readers. On the one hand, people sure love A Song of Ice and Fire and its TV show, Game of Thrones. On the other, they love it so much they can’t wait for the author to finally finish the sixth installment, which has taken him over a decade. In terms of speedy writing, Martin has nothing on one of his idols, Roger Zelazny. Whereas it’s taken Martin some 27 years to write almost six books, Zelazny was able to crank out 10 books in his series The Chronicles of Amber in “only” 21 years. There’s even a chance Martin will get one of his wishes — to see Amber get adapted for television — before he finally completes Winds of Winter.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, a television series adaptation of Amber is now in the works, and from an unlikely source: Stephen Colbert. The late night host and Daily Show alum has many other interests beyond comedy. One is fantasy. And like Martin he loves Zelazny’s magnum opus. The show is in the early stages of development. It doesn’t even have a writer or writers yet. Nor does it have a home, although Colbert’s production company has a first-look deal with CBS.

The press release describes the plot of Amber as concerning Corwin, a man “who awakens on Earth with no memory, but soon finds he is a prince of a royal family that has the ability to travel through different dimensions of reality (called ‘shadows’) and rules over the one true world, Amber.”

Should Amber make it to air, it will join other recent fantasy series, such as Netflix’s The Sandman, which also has a ton of material from which adapters can draw.

Martin gushed about Amber on his blog as recently as last October. “I am a fantasy fan, and I want more fantasy on television,” he wrote. “Most of all, I want Roger Zelazny’s Nine Princes in Amber [the series’ first book]. I will never understand why Corwin and his siblings are not starring in their own show. And hey, if epic fantasy continues to do well, maybe we will finally get that. A boy can dream.”

Looks like Martin may get his wish, just as his his fans may (eventually) get theirs.

(Via THR)

Gear up, Y2K music fans, the Lovers and Friends festival is back! The annual music and arts festival, which was once a fever dream, is finally being made into reality. The one-day event will feature performances by some of the biggest names in R&B, hip hop, and soul music. Artists like 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, and Usher are expected to hit the stage. The festival will take place on May 6 at the Las Vegas festival grounds.

Current artists like Summer Walker, Jhene Aiko, and Miguel are also expected to appear.

The first iteration of the festival has come a long way. In 2020, the event was listed as taking place in Carson, California. Numerous artists on the original lineup initially denied their involvement. But demand for the show only increased, causing the tickets to skyrocket, even prompting the organizers to add a second day. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was put on hold.

However, in 2022, a revamped version of the festival returned.

Sad to say, it didn’t go so well — logistics were a mess, many fans were left without shade or water in the 100-plus-degree desert heat, and there were reports of gunfire, which led to a stampede, leaving a few folks with minor injuries.

Check out the full Lovers & Friends lineup above.

Tickets are on sale on 01/20 at 10 am PST. Pre-order them here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Through roughly three months of action in the 2022-23 NBA season, the Sacramento Kings find themselves at 24-18 and the fourth seed in the Western Conference. They’ve won four games in a row and are on pace to not only make the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06, but host a series for the first time since 2003-04.

The foundation of Sacramento’s resurgence is its third-ranked offense, spearheaded by De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, both of whom tout legitimate All-Star candidacies. Surrounding those three are a bevy of versatile off-ball scorers and shooters, namely Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, and Malik Monk.

The Kings run a dribble handoff-heavy attack predicated on Sabonis’ craft and strength, and Fox’s blistering speed and touch. The duo recently appeared on ESPN’s “NBA Today” to explain one of the team’s most popular actions, dubbed “Pistol 5.” Fox led the breakdown and together, they highlighted how multifaceted the action is, given their complementary skill-sets and how well the floor is spaced around them.

Because Fox and Sabonis are such divergent stars in terms of physical profile and skill-set, their assignments don’t typically overlap. The list of defenders who can credibly guard both is quite short. If opponents switch the action, a mismatch has likely been created, meaning help will presumably come from someone guarding one of Sacramento’s accomplished outside shooters. As Fox and Sabonis made evident, it a tough dynamic for any defense to navigate and illuminates why the Kings’ offense has led to so much team-wide success thus far.

They’re your best friend, your protector and oftentimes your dinner date. But even though your dog might be sitting next to you at the table, they’re not usually eating as well as you. And I’m not just talking about leftovers and scraps snuck off your plate, but rather what’s in their bowl every morning and night.

“We were honestly disturbed by what we learned about kibble, [so we] started cooking homemade meals for our dogs, Jack, with local, seasonal ingredients found at the markets near our family farm in Upstate New York. The more we cooked, the more we noticed the health effects on their energy, weight, and allergies,” explains Russell Breuer, the founder of Spot & Tango, the healthiest dog food on the market.

Here’s why they’re different:

Spot & Tango reinvented kibble! Their “UnKibble” dry dog food is made with real, whole ingredients that are all human grade. Their award-winning vet team spent more than a year cooking, testing and perfecting a process for the healthiest dog food – combining fresh, whole foods which are then chilled and placed in a low pressure environment that extracts water and minimally processes the ingredients. That creates long-lasting meals without additives and fillers, and without sacrificing the convenience and reliability of shelf-stability!

This one of a kind Fresh Dry Process is what makes Spot & Tango the best dog food for puppies, dogs with allergies, and picky eaters, as well as older dogs who need soft foods or have sensitive stomachs. With only 14 ingredients transparently displayed on the front of their packaging, Spot & Tango gives dog parents the confidence in their pets’ food without taking up all the refrigerator space.

But if you do have some room to share in your freezer, Spot & Tango also offers a Fresh frozen dog food without any preservatives and nothing artificial. Based on the recipes they’ve cooked for their pets and perfected with teams of nutritionists and vets, Spot & Tango has the best Fresh Dog Food delivery services! And with a variety of meals, your pet will never get tired of eating their fresh dog food.

If you can’t decide which recipes to try first, Spot & Tango has your back. They’ll work with you to develop a customizable meal plan based on your dog’s age, weight, breed, activity level and dietary needs. What’s more is that they offer a happy puppy guarantee! Spot & Tango trials are fully refundable – if it is not the right fit for you and your dog, you get your money back!

Check them out today and receive 50% off your first order with code UPWORTHY50!

Upworthy has earned revenue through a partnership and/or may earn a portion of sales revenue from purchases made through links on our site.

Last year, Smino released Luv 4 Rent, a record packed with features from artists like J. Cole, Lil Uzi Vert, Lucky Daye, Doechii, Fatman Scoop, and more. JID also unveiled his own new album The Forever Story. More than half of the songs have features, with 21 Savage, Baby Tate, Lil Durk, Mustafa The Poet, Ari Lennox, and more. So it’s inevitable that the rappers would pull up to their tour dates with a crew of performers.

On the Luv Is 4Ever Tour, the pair is bringing along SwaVay and Jordan Ward. Atlanta’s SwaVay latest record was last year’s Almetha’s Son Jordan Ward, based in St. Louis, last released an album in 2019 with Valley Hopefuls, but he’s unleashed plenty of singles since then, the most recent being “IDC.”

In case you haven’t seen yet, here are the full tour dates below, though most are totally sold out.

01/22/2023 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
01/24/2023 — Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum
01/26/2023 — Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
01/28/2023 — Oakland, CA @ The Fox
01/31/2023 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
02/02/2023 — San Diego, CA @ SOMA San Diego
02/03/2023 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
02/08/2023 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
02/10/2023 — Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom
02/13/2023 — Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom
02/14/2023 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
02/15/2023 — San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre
02/16/2023 — Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
02/18/2023 — Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
02/21/2023 — St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
02/22/2023 — Miami, FL @ Oasis Wynwood
02/24/2023 — Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
02/26/2023 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
03/01/2023 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
03/03/2023 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
03/07/2023 — Wallingford, CT @ Dome at Toyota Oakdale Theatre
03/09/2023 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues Boston
03/12/2023 — Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
03/15/2023 — Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
03/17/2023 — Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
03/18/2023 — Grand Rapids, MI @ GLC Live at 20 Monroe
03/21/2023 — Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
03/23/2023 — Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
03/24/2023 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore Minneapolis
03/25/2023 — Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland
03/28/2023 — Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center
03/29/2023 — Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works