Month: January 2024

The racketeering trial against Young Thug and his record label, YSL Records, continued this week after being delayed by a stabbing involving one of the defendants. However, it didn’t take long for the trial to endure further interruptions. The Zoom call through which several of the participants were streaming experienced a break-in from a fan, who shouted “Free Thug! Mistrial!” several times before the stream was cut.

As the trial continued today, a more run-of-the-mill video was played in court: That of Rich Gang’s 2014 hit “Lifestyle” which featured Young Thug and fellow Atlanta rapper Rich Homie Quan. The video was apparently played by Young Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel as part of a line of questioning toward witness Trontavious “Tick” Stephen.

According to legal affairs reporter Meghan Cuniff, who has followed and reported the trial via livestream, the lawyer aims to demonstrate that Tick’s cooperation comes from his eagerness to cut his own sentence short, rather than any particular knowledge of alleged misdeeds committed by the supposed “gang,” YSL. From the clip played, it’s unclear how it’d play into Steel’s line of questioning, but according to Cuniff, the judge did not allow it to be admitted as evidence, preferring that it be submitted during a different testimony.

Unfortunately, as Cuniff points out, Steel won’t have much of an opportunity to do so for a while; Judge Ural Glanville has recessed the trial until January 22.

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

The New York Knicks are the owners of the longest active winning streak in the NBA at five games, which just so happens to be the same number of games since they brought in OG Anunoby in a trade.

The Knicks gave up some offensive pop in the backcourt in the form of Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, but what they gained was a wing player that allows them to play to their fullest potential on the defensive end. Knicks fans were understandably frustrated with Tom Thibodeau’s usage of Quickley, as the team was better when the guard was on the floor, but he just wasn’t a Thibs guy. Through five games it’s clear that Anunoby is a Thibs guy, as his size and strength on the wing are allowing the Knicks to turn up the physicality on the defensive end. New York has not allowed a team to score more than 106 points in the last five games, and their 100.2 defensive rating (via NBA Stats) since acquiring Anunoby is the best in the league by a comical amount (The Pelicans and Bulls are tied for second at 107.4).

While it’s certainly a small sample size, it does show the potential of this group, as their new starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Isaiah Hartenstein has been absolutely bludgeoning opponents. That group has a 20.9 net rating in 84 minutes together, as they’ve struck an ideal balance (so far) on both ends of the floor. Anunoby’s defensive skills that were a bit redundant with Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam are a breath of fresh air in New York, and being able to deploy he and Josh Hart for 48 minutes to hound opposing wings allows them to play the style Thibs wants them to. They are also an even better rebounding team now, with Hartenstein dominating the boards inside and three good rebounders in Randle, Hart, and Anunoby at the forward spots. Over their winning streak, the Knicks have the league’s best rebounding rate (56.2 percent) and the second best defensive rebounding rate (77.0 percent), providing few second-chance opportunities to their opponents.

What they’ve done best since acquiring Anunoby on the defensive end is stifle “the others” of their opponent. Against the Timberwolves, Sixers, and Bulls (the three best teams they’ve beaten), they allowed the stars to get theirs — 64 combined from Edwards and Towns, 57 from Maxey and Embiid, and 54 from DeRozan and White — but they clamped down on the supporting casts. That shows an attention to detail and connectivity that is impressive for a team integrating a new key piece, as you don’t do that unless rotations are crisp and you’re communicating well on switches and help — and is evidence of them not needing to overhelp as much with a better defensive lineup.

On offense, Anunoby is still getting settled, but it certainly seems as though the offensive hierarchy has been cleared up a bit with the trade. While there have always been rumblings he’s wanted a larger role in Toronto, Anunoby has spent most of his career operating off of the ball and is comfortable in that role and knows how to move, cut, and work effectively without the ball in his hands. That puts the ball in Brunson and Randle’s hands more, where they’ve been nothing short of tremendous, combining for 52.4 points and 13.2 assists per game over the winning streak.

While the Knicks aren’t going to maintain a +20 net rating all year, what they’re doing right now also doesn’t feel particularly flukey. The defense will soften some and they will go through the typical shooting swells and dips (their 39.1 three-point percentage during the winning streak is probably not going to last all year), but they also could get a more consistent output from Anunoby on that end. There may be more to come from New York to add some more firepower to this roster, but as constructed they are going to be a handful for the top teams in the East, because they have given Thibs the defensive weapon on the wing he craved.

Where do the Knicks find themselves in this week’s DIME Power Rankings? Let’s find out…

Tier I: The Celtics

1. Boston Celtics (29-8, Last week: 2)

The Celtics keep winning at a truly impressive clip, most recently edging out Minnesota in an overtime thriller, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown playing at a tremendous level. They are the deserved favorites to win the title right now as it just feels like they are the class of the league right now — and have particularly separated themselves at the top of the East. The only real questions about this team (beyond staying healthy, which is a question for any contender) is whether they can stay as fluid in late game situations when the playoffs arrive. So far this season, they’ve looked less stagnant in tight fourth quarters than in the past, which was the goal in adding Kristaps Porzingis, and while final possessions still tend to be Tatum pull-up jumpers, there is much more flow in the closing minutes.

Tier II: The Best In The West

2. Oklahoma City Thunder (25-11, Last week: 1)
3. Minnesota Timberwolves (26-11, Last week: 3)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (24-13, Last week: 7)
5. Denver Nuggets (26-13, Last week: 6)

The race at the top of the West is going to be brutal this year. Where Boston has been able to open up a healthy gap in the East, none of the teams in the West race can seemingly get away from each other. Minnesota still sits on top, but they’ve been leaking oil a bit of late. The defense hasn’t been quite as stingy and the offense, despite great years from Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, can get a little sticky at times. This is the first real stretch of middling play we’ve seen from them this year, and how they respond will be telling for whether they’re ready to be a real title contender this year. Around them is another young team in this situation for the first time in OKC, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to make a strong MVP Case, and a pair of veteran squads with varying confidence levels in the playoffs. Denver, of course, will fully believe that they can win it all and seem to be managing the regular season and positioning themselves to be a top-4 seed come playoff time. The Clippers have one player (Kawhi Leonard) with a strong postseason resume and then stars around him that are trying to break through for the first time. This group is absolutely fascinating to me, and I’m very excited to see how it all sorts itself out in the West.

Tier III: The Next Best In The East

6. Milwaukee Bucks (25-12, Last week: 4)
7. Philadelphia 76ers (23-13, Last week: 5)

These two have fallen off of the pace with Boston but still have a bit of an edge on the teams behind them. That gap is closing by the day, though, and they could each really use a winning streak for morale purposes. The Sixers are dealing with a Joel Embiid knee injury right now, and unsurprisingly, his absence has coincided with their worst stretch of play of the season. Milwaukee, meanwhile, just cannot figure it out defensively and while their offense was carrying them in spite of poor defensive efforts, Damian Lillard’s in a shooting funk and the offense has lost some of its juice, leading to a skid of their own.

Tier IV: Playoff Hopefuls

8. New Orleans Pelicans (23-15, Last week: 8)
9. Sacramento Kings (23-14, Last week: 9)
10. Indiana Pacers (22-15, Last week: 12)
11. New York Knicks (22-15, Last week: 15)
12. Cleveland Cavaliers (21-15, Last week: 16)
13. Dallas Mavericks (22-16, Last week: 14)
14. Miami Heat (21-16, Last week: 10)
15. Orlando Magic (21-16, Last week: 13)

The battle for a top-6 seed in both conferences is going to be hellacious, as they each go at least 7 deep with teams solidly above .500 right now. In the East, the Pacers, Knicks, and Cavs are all hot over the last week-plus, as they’ve leapfrogged the Heat and Magic in the standings. In the West, seemingly every team in the top-7 is playing well at the moment, with Sacramento and New Orleans running particularly well of late — the Pelicans have been blasting teams on the road, with an active 7-game road win streak. Put simply, there’s a lot of good basketball being played by teams in the top half right now.

Tier V: The Middle

16. Phoenix Suns (19-18, Last week: 11)
17. Houston Rockets (18-18, Last week: 17)
18. Utah Jazz (19-20, Last week: 21)
19. Los Angeles Lakers (19-19, Last week: 19)
20. Chicago Bulls (18-21, Last week: 20)

This tier features teams going in different directions. Phoenix and the Lakers are trending the wrong way, as both teams just cannot figure out how to string together wins long enough to get away from .500 despite their considerable talent at the top. Houston, meanwhile, has been treading water at .500 almost all year in a rather remarkable bit of consistency, with their stretches of success or struggles almost entirely dependent on whether they’re in the midst of a homestand (15-6 at home) or on a road trip (3-12 on the road). On the other side, Utah is on a heater, having won 8 of their last 10, including against some top teams, to climb out of the bottom of the West and into real Play-In contention, making them a fascinating team to watch at the deadline as they have plenty of asset ammunition to take a big swing if they want to. The Bulls are also trending up with three straight wins to continue the positive vibes in Chicago, as they’ve moved into ninth in the East and after things looked bleak early with poor play and Zach LaVine’s trade request, they now seem in position to maybe bolster their roster in a LaVine trade rather than start a teardown.

Tier VI: In The Mud

21. Golden State Warriors (17-20, Last week: 18)
22. Memphis Grizzlies (14-23, Last week: 23)
23. Brooklyn Nets (16-21, Last week: 22)
24. Atlanta Hawks (15-21, Last week: 24)
25. Toronto Raptors (15-23, Last week: 25)

The Warriors join the group that is currently occupying NBA purgatory — teams that want to be good but are, in fact, bad. All of these teams are contenders to shake things up in a big way via trade. The Warriors are apparently willing to listen to teams about anyone but Steph, Atlanta is seemingly ready to move on from Dejounte Murray, and Toronto still has Pascal Siakam on the roster for now. Brooklyn has reportedly rebuffed any calls on Mikal Bridges but wants to add talent around him, while the Grizzlies (who are on a three game winning streak) now are without Ja Morant for the season and Marcus Smart for six weeks, meaning they are likely going to take the long view on what seems like a lost season.

Tier VII: Tank Generals

26. Portland Trail Blazers (10-26, Last week: 26)
27. Charlotte Hornets (8-27, Last week: 27)
29. San Antonio Spurs (6-30, Last week: 29)
28. Washington Wizards (6-31, Last week: 28)
30. Detroit Pistons (3-35, Last week: 30)

The Pistons made a statement this week losing by 22 to the Spurs to make clear there is no contender other than Detroit for the title of worst team in the NBA. Everyone else in this group is bad, but no one is on the Pistons level here. Still, that doesn’t guarantee the Pistons the No. 1 pick and there’s stiff competition behind them to secure top lotto odds.

Suki Waterhouse returned with her new single, “OMG,” which will appear on her next album later this year. The track was co-written with Natalie Findlay and focuses on the feeling of looking back on a relationship.

“We started half the song and then put it to the side,” she told Rolling Stone. “We were like, ‘It’s not working.’ And then two months went by and we were back in the studio, and suddenly this chorus came out with this energy around it.”

In the music video, which was shot in Panavision and directed by Émilie Richard-Froozan, Waterhouse shot part of it at Diplo’s Greenhouse in Los Angeles, according to the publication. She poses in a red dress, using the French singer, Édith Piaf, as inspiration.

“Doesn’t he have the most stunning greenhouse you’ve ever seen?” Waterhouse added. “We knew we wanted to do this Piaf women-in-distress look. Indie budgets are really hard, and shooting in L.A. is really, really difficult to do at the moment, so we had to get very quite crafty with the location. I heard he had a greenhouse, and I DM’d him. He was very sweet to lend us.”

Waterhouse’s next album is expected to arrive later this year, as she revealed to the outlet that it has to conceptually do with “metamorphosis” and a “disco ball spider.” Until then, not much else is known.

Check out “OMG” above.

Earlier this week, Fox News casually floated a baseless conspiracy theory about Taylor Swift working for the Pentagon, or… something.

“Around four years ago, the Pentagon Psychological Operations Unit floated turning Taylor Swift into an asset during a NATO meeting,” host Jesse Watters said during Tuesday’s episode of Jesse Watters Primetime. “What kind of asset? A PsyOp for combatting online misinformation.”

The View host Whoopi Goldberg is like, Speak Now? More like speak never about Taylor again, Jesse.

“There are real issues impacting millions of Americans,” Goldberg said during Thursday’s episode of the daytime talk show, according to Entertainment Weekly. “This is what the Fox News folks wanted viewers to be worried about during their prime-time broadcast on Tuesday.”

After showing the clip of Watters suggesting that Swift is being controlled by the government, she continued, “I have to say, when we talk about snowflakes, you people worry about the weirdest stuff. She got people to go out and vote, including probably all kinds of people that you’d rather not have voting. If she can get people to do that, why would you say that was a bad thing or talk about it like you’re disparaging it? What kind of bull…?”

Goldberg is “tired of dumb people. I’m just, I’m tired of it. I can’t handle it.” Here is Whoopi not handling the haters, who are famously going to hate hate hate.

You can watch the segment below.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Last October, Michelle announced their Glow EP alongside two singles, “Agnostic” and “Glow.” The project will follow 2022’s After Dinner We Talk Dreams and its subsequent tour. The New York-based collective comprised of Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard gave listeners another glimpse at what can be expected from Glow with the release “Never Again” this morning, January 11.

In the gentle yet alluring song, Michelle collectively lament repeatedly investing in the wrong person — or being wronged by the last person they’d expect — and vow not to make the same mistake, singing, “Never again, never with you / I wanna rewind and undo / Start at the end, try something new.”

“The hallmarks of Michelle’s music — layered vocal harmonies, analog synthesizers, vibrant percussion, smoldering hooks — dominate the sonic landscape of their upcoming EP, with the four female vocalists pushing the boundaries of their considerable singing talents while Charlie and Julian fine-tune the production,” a press release explains of Glow, due out February 9. “Despite all the tinkering elsewhere, it is important to note that the vocals remain largely untouched and appear in their organic state. Songs hop across genres, from funky R&B to bedroom slow jams to amped-up beat-heavy anthems and more.”

Watch the “Never Again” visualizer above, and check out the Glow tracklist below.

Michelle’s Glow tracklist

1. “Glow”
2. “DNR”
3. “On The Line”
4. “Agnostic”
5. “Never Again”

With the 2024 Emmys rapidly approaching and boasting nominations from some of the hottest shows on TV, the big question is where can viewers watch The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony so they can see if their favorites like Better Call Saul or Succession took home a trophy (or several).

This year’s ceremony takes place on Monday, January 15, and we’ve got all the details on where to watch the red carpet action and awards speeches whether you’re tuning in on broadcast TV or using a streaming device. We also got you covered if you’re busy Monday night, but still want to catch up on the star-studded event.

How To Watch The 2024 Emmy Awards On Broadcast TV

The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards will air its broadcast on Fox on Monday, January 15 at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT.

If you want to check out the hottest celeb looks, red carpet coverage will kickoff on E! at 6 PM ET / 3 PM PT

How To Watch The 2024 Emmy Awards on Streaming

To stream The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on January 15, you will need a service that offers a live streaming package like Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, or Fubo TV. However, if you’re not in a rush, Hulu will have the entire awards ceremony available for streaming starting Tuesday, January 16.

The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards airs January 15 at 8 PM ET on Fox.

Remember when Tony Soprano said that “remember when?” is the lowest form of conversation? He was predicting the 2020s trend of revivals and reboots would be the next wave of entertainment. And he was right! We all want to reminisce over our favorite TV shows and characters, so it makes sense that these award shows are bringing everyone out of the woodwork to reunite on stage. It’s not Peak TV, but it’ll do.

After the Suits cast appeared together at the Golden Globes, it seems like the crew behind the Emmys is trying to cash in on some sweet nostalgia. Host Anthony Anderson told PEOPLE that viewers can expect some tributes to fan-favorite shows during the award ceremony. “We are paying tribute to iconic shows that have changed the scope of television and entertainment by being on the air,” he explains. “We’re going to be paying homage to them, having a lot of cast members come back as themselves, as these characters, and there’s going to be a little interchange between me and them on the sets of their shows,” he added.

The outlet confirmed that Cheers stars Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger and George Wendt, are all slated to appear together, in addition to Sopranos stars Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli. The cast recently had a giant pasta dinner together, so maybe we can hop for more surprises.

Emmy producers Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay also confirmed to Variety that the 75th annual award show would focus on celebrating the best of television over the last seven decades. “It was a grand task to figure out how to celebrate 75 years of television. If we can bring some nostalgia to that stage, then I think that we’ve done a good deed,” Rouzan-Clay said.

In addition to the Cheers and Sopranos cameos, Ally McBeal stars Calista Flockhart, Greg Germann, Peter MacNicol and Gil Bellows are expected to make an appearance, along with Martin stars Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, Carl Anthony Payne II and Tichina Arnold

Now the Suits cast needs to pull off something cool if they want to stay in the discourse. Where is Meghan Markle now?!

The 75th Annual Emmy Awards will air on Monday, January 15th at 8 pm EST.

(Via People, Variety)

Is this the year you finally go to Disneyland or Disney World? Or maybe an overseas destination, like Tokyo Disney (including the majestic Tokyo DisneySea), Disneyland Paris, or Hong Kong Disneyland? Or maybe you’ve already been to one of the theme parks but you’re itching to go back.

I don’t blame you. There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t think about the rolling boulder in Indiana Jones Adventure, the nostalgic smell of Pirates of the Caribbean (now in candle form!), or the charmingly awkward pre-ride video for Avatar Flight of Passage. There’s never a not-good year to visit the Disney theme parks, in my opinion. But 2024 is shaping up to be a particularly festive one.

Here are some of the most anticipated rides, events, and experiences at Disney Parks for 2024.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (Disneyland and Disney World’s Magic Kingdom)

Let’s begin with a new ride!

Splash Mountain is gone (but our memories of the Ernest special remain). It’s been replaced — and likely improved — by Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a log flume ride based on 2009’s The Princess and the Frog. The attraction follows Princess Tiana, Naveen, and alligator Louis as “they prepare to host a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras celebration. Along the way, you’ll see familiar faces, make new friends, and travel through the bayou to original music inspired by songs from the film as they are brought into the next chapter of Tiana’s story.”

The steep, thrilling drop at the end remains (Disneyland also features the Southern-inspired Tiana’s Palace restaurant).

Country Bear Jamboree (Disney World’s Magic Kingdom)

For years, I’ve been dreading an announcement that Country Bear Jamboree is closing and being replaced. Because, well, anything would be inferior to animatronic bears singing old-timey songs. But good news: it’s not going anywhere. Country Bear Jamboree (one of the last rides Walt Disney personally oversaw) is getting a makeover. Expect an “Opry-style show with reinterpreted Disney tunes” in different genres, including bluegrass, pop-country, Americana, and rockabilly.

Grizzly Hall, where the Jamboree is held, will temporarily close on January 27 and reopen later this summer. My guy Big Al better still be there.

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (Disney World’s Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris)

My beloved Star Tours – The Adventures Continue will have new destinations and characters, including Ahsoka. I’m still waiting on Watto, but that’s a good start. Speaking of Star Wars, you can already hear a new playlist from Oga’s Cantina resident Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes-loving droid DJ R3X at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disney World’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland.

All-Day Park Hopper

All-day park hopping is back. This is how it should have been all along. Since 2021, guests could only go from, for instance, Disneyland to Disney California Adventure after 2 pm (with a Park Hopper pass, of course), but now you’ll be able to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, then Radiator Springs, then back to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance whenever you want.

Pixar Fest (Disneyland)

Ahead of the release of Inside Out 2, Pixar Fest is returning to Disneyland Resort. The “celebration of friendship and beyond,” featuring a popular nighttime show (Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular) and a new parade at California Adventure (Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!), takes place from April 26 through August 4.

Inside Out 2 is the only new Pixar movie coming out in 2024, although Soul, Turning Red, and Luca (one of the best Pixar movies in years) are being released in theaters for the first time after debuting on Disney Plus.

Fantasy Springs (Tokyo DisneySea)

If you haven’t been to Tokyo DisneySea, what are you waiting for? Tokyo DisneySea is widely considered to be the crown jewel of the Disney theme parks. And that was before the opening of Fantasy Springs this June with three themed areas: Rapunzel’s Forest, Peter Pan’s Never Land, and Frozen Kingdom.

Have a look here.

Pixar Place Hotel (Disneyland Resort)

Later this month, Disneyland Resort’s Paradise Pier Hotel will officially transform into Pixar Place Hotel, the first Pixar-themed hotel in the United States. Be sure to book your reservation now (dibs on the WALL-E room).

D23

This isn’t parks specific, but D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event will run from August 9-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center, down the street from the Disneyland Resort. If it’s anything like previous D23 events, there will be major announcements, including the latest on Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and Pixar projects. Maybe some theme park news as well? Or more on the much anticipated Disney Treasure? You can learn more about acquiring tickets here.

One rumored change to the NBA calendar has been to hold the NBA Draft over a few days. Apparently, we’re getting closer and closer to that happening, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that the league is making preparations for the 2024 Draft to be broken into two nights, so long as it gets sign off from the Players Association.

Previously, both rounds in the 2024 Draft was scheduled to take place on Thursday, June 27. But according to Woj, the new proposal would bump the first round up to Wednesday evening, with the second round taking place on Thursday. The location would not change, as the league would hold it at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

We’ll have to see if this is the end of the league’s expansion of the NBA Draft as an event, or if there will eventually be plans to turn Thursday into a larger spectacle by adding a third round or moving it from city to city, like the NFL does with the NFL Draft every year. But for the time being, the league will at least get to see what happens if it attempts to gin up a little more publicity during the period between the end of the regular season and the start of free agency.

On Tuesday night, the Memphis Grizzlies won their third straight game, beating the Dallas Mavericks 120-109. That win came a day after the team announced Ja Morant’s season was over due to a shoulder injury that would require surgery, putting a significant damper on any enthusiasm for a Grizzlies run.

Memphis had shown signs of life with Morant back from suspension, but now they’ll have to navigate the rest of the season without him. That figured to shift considerable responsibility onto the shoulders of Marcus Smart, but he suffered an injury to his right ring finger during that win over Dallas, as his finger appeared to pop out of place on a three-point attempt (that he impressively made) in the game.

Unfortunately for Smart and the Grizzlies, that finger injury was more than a simple dislocation and will keep him sidelined for at least the next six weeks, putting real stress on the Memphis backcourt rotation.

Vince Williams Jr. has emerged as a breakout player this year on the defensive end for the Grizzlies and figures to get even more burn with Smart out for an extended time, while Desmond Bane will shoulder an even larger creation burden on the offensive end. It’s the continuation of an absolutely brutal season for the Grizzlies, and it feels like it will be a lost year in Memphis with a focus on continuing to develop young talent in the rotation with an eye on 2024-25.