Month: July 2023

Donald Trump professes to be a man of the people. He in turn is treated as one by his ardent supporters. But is he? It’s possible that someone who owns a gold toilet (but who also may not be as wealthy as he claims) is not. The former president’s love of McDonald’s has long made him seem like an everyday schnook, but when he visited another chain, he only managed to out himself as an effete snob.

As per Raw Story, Trump visited Dairy Queen after a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa. There, he decided to treat everyone to Blizzards, one of the most popular items at the ice cream eatery. Trouble is, Trump apparently had no idea what that is.

“Everybody wants a Blizzard. What the hell is a Blizzard?!” he said at the register.

Trump also used the opportunity to claim the country, which has had stellar job reports for months and which is allegedly on the path to having lower inflation without a recession, is doing terribly.

“I want to see our country brought back,” said the guy who left office with high unemployment. “Our country is not doing well but it will be doing well very soon.”

Trump loves hobnobbing with common folk at eateries — at least for a time. Last month he swung by the famous Miami restaurant Versailles where he told the crowd he was paying for everyone — only to hightail it out of there well before anyone had the chance to eat, let alone give him their bills.

(Via Raw Story)

Rookie big men tend to have a rough go of things at Summer League, and unsurprisingly, Victor Wembanyama didn’t have the smoothest debut out in the desert on Friday night. While there were plenty of flashes of the two-way brilliance that made Wembanyama the most hyped NBA Draft prospect since LeBron James, he struggled to efficiently score the basketball in the San Antonio Spurs’ 76-68 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

After the game, Wembanyama spoke about his debut, and while he said he was happy to pick up a win, he admitted that he wasn’t at his best as he prepares for the upcoming regular season.

“Special moment, really special to wear that jersey for the first time,” Wembanyama said. “It’s really an honor. And, overall, I’m glad we won this game, there’s no better way to start for your premiere. Honestly, I didn’t really know what I was doing on the court tonight, I’m trying to learn for the next games, and the important [thing] is to be ready for the season.”

There were moments, particularly as a rim protector and a playmaker, where Wembanyama looked like a star in the making, even if he did find himself on the wrong end of a vicious throwdown by Kai Jones. Where he struggled was efficiently scoring the basketball, which is a common issue for players like him at Summer League, as guards don’t always get them the ball in spots that let them go to work and defenses are comfortable selling out to stop bigs from scoring. The good news for Wembanyama is that we have more than enough evidence to suggest that this was merely an off night, and he’ll get a chance to bounce back on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Wembanyama went for nine points, eight rebounds, three assists, and five blocks, all while going 2-for-13 from the field against the Hornets.

In his first season back from a torn ACL, Dario Saric looked an awful lot like the Dario Saric of old offensively in 57 games split between Phoenix and Oklahoma City. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in limited action (14.1 minutes per night), but shot the ball well with 45.8/39.1/82.9 shooting splits.

Saric’s defense isn’t a strength, particularly as he is deployed now as a small-ball center, but he does inject some serious offensive juice for a team looking to play 5-out on offense and was a positive impact on the Thunder in their strong close to the season. And now, Saric is preparing to cash in on this by joining the Golden State Warriors, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that the veteran big man is now off the market.

Saric’s shooting, playmaking, and general basketball IQ should all be a snug fit in San Francisco, and while he’s presumably not going to step into the starting lineup from day one or anything, he’s a reliable backup big who could be the latest in a long line of veterans who step in and elevate the Warriors’ second units. Saric has only made it to the postseason twice in his NBA career, and now, he’s on his way to a team with legitimate aspirations of winning a championship.

Swifties are enjoying Taylor Swift‘s re-recording of Speak Now, which finally arrived this Friday. And Swift herself is celebrating the album in a big way. Last night (July 7), she premiered the video for “I Can See You” during the first night of her Kansas City shows during The Eras Tour.

Aside from featuring cameos from actress Joey King and Swift’s ex, Taylor Lautner, fans believe the “I Can See You” video also contained Easter eggs hinting at Swift’s next project. As Swifties are wont to do, they have begun sharing their theories via social media.

Is Taylor Swift’s 1989 her next re-recorded album?

In the “I Can See You” video, fans noticed a sign on a bridge that read “1989 tv,” which they immediately took as a sign that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is coming soon.

Additionally, fans noticed other allusions to the 1989 era, including the lipstick she wore in the Polaroid on the 1989 album cover, as well as parallels to the action-packed “Bad Blood” video.

Some fans have even begun sharing their theories as to when exactly 1989 (Taylor’s Version) will drop.

As per usual, Swift remains tight-lipped about her next move.

But in the meantime, you can listen to Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) here.

Taylor Swift warned at the start of her first night in Kansas City on The Eras Tour that she had some surprises in store — and she truly did. As it was the first show since the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) yesterday, she centered the treats for the crowd around that.

The show started off as two of Swift’s Valentine’s Day co-stars, Taylor Lautner and Jennifer Garner, were spotted at the show. This raised some fan theories about why they were there, including joining Swift on stage or a surprise video.

While Swift usually performs “Enchanted” during the Speak Now segment of the set, she added “Long Live (Taylor’s Version)” tonight. Not only that, but she debuted a new dress and brought back her famous blue koi fish guitar.

And, as it turns out, the Swifties were right. Swift premiered the music video for her vault track, “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version),” during the surprise song segment — and Taylor Lautner and Joey King (who originally appeared in the “Mean” music video) joined her on a rescue mission in the visuals.

While Swift had been rumored to have been working with Lautner and King a few months earlier, nothing could have prepared fans for this — as cheers roared over the livestreams. The two co-stars then joined Swift on the stage, as Lautner walked out by doing some gymnastics tricks.

“He was a very positive force in my life when I was making the Speak Now album and I want to say he did every single stunt that you saw in that music video,” Swift said.

Taylor Swift’s “I Can See You” music video is set to premiere at 1 a.m. ET. Until then, check out some previews of it above as well.

For the first time since getting selected No. 1 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, Victor Wembanyama suited up for the San Antonio Spurs and played in a basketball game on Friday night. Wembanyama and the Spurs were in the main event at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, as the team went up against the Charlotte Hornets, which feature the No. 2 pick in this year’s Draft, Brandon Miller.

It wasn’t especially pretty, which tends to be the case in Summer League. Wembanyama learned the hard way that games in this environment aren’t always the easiest, and while the Spurs picked up a 76-68 win on the evening, the French star had an up-and-down evening that featured both flashes of his potential and examples of how he’ll have to get used to life in the NBA.

Wembanyama wasn’t able to get his offense going early on, but his presence was very much felt on the defensive end of the floor. His length, timing, and athleticism were all things that the Hornets struggled against when he played, and he even showed off a bit of his playmaking before he picked up his first bucket. That came when he was found in transition, and despite being double-teamed, was able to score and pick up an and-one.

The handles that make him so unique were also on display, as Wembanyama was able to get to the rim from the perimeter and dump off a pass that led to a teammate getting fouled.

Ultimately, though, Wembanyama looked an awful lot like a rookie playing his first Summer League game during the opening half. There were some flashes, but in 13 minutes of work, Wembanyama scored five points on 1-for-7 shooting with five rebounds, three blocks, an assist, and two turnovers. One of those turnovers came while he was attempting to back down Miller, who stood him up admirably and stripped him.

In the third quarter, Wembanyama wasn’t able to really put his fingerprints all over the game beyond his ability to protect the paint and rebound, although he had a “welcome to the NBA” moment thanks to a throwdown by Kai Jones. That was the case for most of the fourth quarter, too, until he finally knocked down his first three of the game while getting fouled.

Wembanyama played a little more than 27 minutes on evening and had nine points, eight rebounds, five blocks, three assists, and three turnovers. He shot 2-for-13 from the field and 1-for-6 from behind the three-point line. While Wembanyama certainly did not look out of place, and his mix of rim protection and playmaking popped, he became the latest example of a rookie forward/center who struggled to get his offense going in his Summer League debut.

Next up for Wembanyama and the Spurs is a matchup against Scoot Henderson and the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN2.

Victor Wembanyama‘s Las Vegas Summer League debut happened on Friday night, as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft played his first game in a San Antonio Spurs uniform. On the other side of the court was Brandon Miller and the Charlotte Hornets, as the league put on a matchup between the top-2 picks last month to kick off Summer League.

Wembanyama certainly flashed the talent that made him a generational prospect during the game, but like any great shot blocker, he ended up on the other side of a highlight. Kai Jones went up and grabbed a lob over top of Wembanyama and went to throw down. Unfortunately for him, he was a little too far away from the rim to actually dunk, but unfortunately for Wembanyama, Jones is a ridiculous athlete who was just able to throw it through the rim from several feet away.

Again, Wembanyama altered a whole lot of shots during the game, so it’s not like he was getting dominated at the rim all night. This is just an especially nasty reminder of how it’s impossible to stop everything at the rim, even if you’re 7’4 with an 8-foot wingspan who alter shots at the rim with relative ease.

Britney Spears shared a new update to Instagram about the incident that occurred between her and the San Antonio Spurs player Victor Wembanyama in Las Vegas recently. In a video from TMZ that surfaced earlier today, Spears had reportedly gone up to tap the player on the back, when she was hit in the face by his security team.

Despite this, Spears still has no bad feelings toward Wembanyama and said she’s a “huge fan.”

“I’ve been working in the industry for years and have been with some of the most famous people in the world … NSYNC at one point were like The Beatles … girls would throw themselves at them everywhere we went … not one time in my life has a security guard ever hit another person !!!” she wrote.

“I’m not sharing this to be a victim … I SIMPLY GET IT HONESTLY … my reaction was priceless … BAD ??? YES … I’ve had documentaries done about me and none of which I approved … I have felt helpless in most situations and my experience in Vegas and my reaction was a cry out on all levels … I will say it !!!” Spears added.

Spears had previously shared a professional statement but still had thoughts on the situation. Now, it seems she just wants to move past it. “It’s not his fault his security hit me … sh*t happens !!! I hope you’re all having a wonderful Friday !!!”

Check out her Instagram post above.

Next week, Lil Tjay will be dropping his anticipated new album, 222. To hold fans over until then, the rapper has shared the album’s tracklist, which also includes some star-studded features — showcasing just how far he’s grown since his last record in 2021.

Lil Tjay’s first feature on the tracklist is Summer Walker on “Stressed.” The two have previously collaborated on the Pop Smoke “Mood Swings” remix.

Following that on the album is “2 Grown,” which includes The Kid Laroi.

Fivio Foreign is set to appear on the new track “Bla Bla” — marking the latest in the duo’s line of collabs. Some of Lil Tjay and Fivio Foreign’s past songs included “Zoo York,” which featured the late Pop Smoke, “Not In The Mood,” and “Headshot.”

“I mean, just being from New York, it’s just a great energy all together,” LIl Tjay shared with Apple Music about “Headshot” at the time, via RapUp.

Other key features on Lil Tjay’s upcoming album include Jadakiss on “Hole In My Heart,” Youngboy Never Broke Again on “Project Walls,” Coco Jones on “Grateful,” and more surprises.

Continue scrolling for the full 222 tracklist.

01. “Nightshift”
02. “June 22nd”
03. “Nobody”
04. “Scared 2 Be Lonely”
05. “Stressed” Feat. Summer Walker
06. “2 Grown” Feat. The Kid Laroi
07. “Heart Felt Soul”
08. “Bla Bla” Feat. Fivio Foreign
09. “Someone Who Cares”
10. “Forgot I Was the 1”
11. “Hole in My Heart” Feat. Jadakiss
12. “Project Walls” Feat. Youngboy Never Broke Again
13. “Beat the Odds Part 2” Feat. Polo G
14. “Foster Baby”
15. “Grateful” Feat. Coco Jones

While the main event at the first night of Las Vegas Summer League is the Victor Wembanyama vs. Brandon Miller showdown on Friday night, the game immediately leading up to it ended up being pretty spectacular, too. The Portland Trail Blazers, led by No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson, and the Houston Rockets, which featured No. 4 overall pick Amen Thompson, went head-to-head in their own high-profile matchup.

Both players performed well before going out with injuries, and ultimately, the Rockets picked up a 100-99 win thanks to a game-winning buzzer-beater by last year’s No. 3 overall pick. Jabari Smith Jr. had himself quite the night, one that was capped off by catching and hoisting a three off of a pass by Tari Eason with 0.6 seconds left. The pass by Eason and the defense by the Blazers meant he got off a clean look which he knocked down.

Smith had a rough rookie campaign in Houston, but flashed the talent that made him such a highly-regarded prospect out of Auburn on Friday night. He scored 33 points on 8-for-18 shooting, and while he only knocked down three of his eight attempts from deep, he got to the free throw line 17 times and knocked down 14 of them. Smith also pitched in seven rebounds and a pair of assists.