Month: January 2024

The New York Knicks picked up their sixth straight win on Saturday night when they dominated the Miami Heat in a 125-107 win at Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately the focal point after the game wasn’t on yet another strong two-way showing from the Knicks, but instead was concern over the status of star forward Julius Randle.

Late in the fourth quarter with the Knicks up 115-98, Randle drove to the basket when Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez tried to slide in for a charge, getting underneath Randle as he went up to the basket. Randle landed hard on his right shoulder, suffering a dislocation and had to exit the game.

Ever since, Knicks fans have been waiting on the results of further testing and an MRI to reveal a timetable for Randle’s absence from the team, and on Monday morning Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania brought some relatively good news on that front. Randle hasn’t suffered significant damage to his shoulder and is apparently expected to be back in a few weeks time, rather than missing months of action, which is about as good as the Knicks and their fans could have hoped for.

It does help that the All-Star break is coming up in a few weeks, and the Knicks will not play a game for a full week as their last game before the break is on February 14 and their first game after it is February 22. While this injury will preclude Randle from participating in All-Star Weekend, it’s possible he could return not long after the Knicks resume their season — with the caveat that it’s all dependent on how his shoulder heals and if he’s dealing with any pain.

It also helps that the Knicks have been sensational of late and have built themselves a bit of a cushion in the race for a top-6 spot in the Eastern Conference. Their win on Saturday pushed them a full five games ahead of the Heat for 7th in the East, and while they might not be able to keep up their torrid winning pace of late without Randle, if they can tread water in his absence they should be able to keep a solid hold on playoff position until he returns.

When Taylor Swift returned to the stage of the MTV Video Music Awards in the summer of 2022, it was clear she came with a mission. Although, at the time, many didn’t know what it would be. Her crystal chain dress had fans convinced that it was finally time for Reputation (Taylor’s Version) — a fitting return to the place that had been the origin point for all that drama. Yet, the pop star had other plans.

While accepting the award for Video Of The Year for her “All Too Well” short film, Swift revealed that she wasn’t putting out a re-recording at all. Over the past few years, she has been working to regain control of her original first six albums, of which only two more are left. Instead, she would be dropping her tenth studio album, Midnights, just a few months later.

During the pandemic, Swift’s surprise releases of Folklore and its sister project, Evermore, allowed new audiences to discover just how strong of a songwriter she was. By leaning into the inspiration of The National (who appeared on “Coney Island”) and the rise of Phoebe Bridgers-esque songwriters, she was able to tap into a vulnerable and seemingly fictitious level of creativity. Because of this new influence and shift in the culture, it’s no surprise that Bridgers would also go on to collaborate with Swift on “Nothing New.”

Although she had put out Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, Swift needed a bridge to lift the energy from her past non-re-recorded albums. Before she announced the Eras Tour, fans had wondered how she would tour for two slow and somber albums, while also somehow incorporating the bubblegum energy that fueled 2019’s Lover — as her “Lover Fest” shows scheduled in 2020 were subsequently canceled.

Midnights was the answer to this problem. Described initially as “13 sleepless nights scattered throughout [her] life,” Swift utilized the growth she had as a songwriter during quarantine to apply it to darker pop melodies. Lyrically, she added that she viewed the record as “a collage of intensity, highs and lows and ebbs and flows.”

It prompted some of Swift’s most heartbreaking tracks, whether she took listeners through an isolating journey on “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” a track five pick that rivals the Red era, or found herself grappling with the loss of innocence on the 3 a.m. Deluxe Edition’s “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.” Yet, as promised, it also provides moments of respite through the romantic highs of “Paris” and the standard version’s closer, “Mastermind.”

Swift also directed the music videos for “Lavender Haze,” “Karma,” “Bejeweled,” and the “Anti-Hero” lead single, continuing to grow in her relatively recent artistic medium from behind the camera, of which she tested the waters as a solo director with 2019’s “The Man.”

For most artists, it is rare to put out arguably their best work sixteen years in and ten records later. But it’s become clear that Swift does not fall into the rules placed upon most artists.

Commercially, it also is Swift’s most successful era to date. She became the first artist to take up all top ten spots on the Billboard Hot 100 with songs from it. At the time, she beat her own record from 2017’s Reputation for the biggest US sales week in only four days. And it is up for six awards at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Midnights is in the running for Best Pop Vocal Album, “Anti-Hero” for Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance, “Karma” for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and the coveted Album Of The Year. If Swift nabs a win for the latter, she would be the only performer (non-engineer) to take home the title four times. She is currently tied at three as the only woman, alongside Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon.

Considering Swift soared to new heights in 2023, it will be a question of whether the Recording Academy voters will continue to let everything she touches turn to gold. Even when looking at some of the other categories, it seems Swift’s influence has shined through.

Although they would have made it on their own otherwise, considering their individual waves last year, it is worth noting that two of the Best New Artist nominees received at least some sort of boost from being in the pop star’s orbit. Ice Spice appeared as a feature on Swift’s “Karma” remix, as the two performed it during one of the New Jersey Eras dates. This move also allowed Swift to keep Midnights in people’s minds months after its initial release. Gracie Abrams, who is also in the running, was among the tour’s opening acts.

And no matter how you might feel about it, Swift, and The Eras Tour, were inescapable this past year. Kicking off in March, Swift’s show devoted segments to each of her albums (except for her 2006 debut), as she played for three hours nightly. She creatively opened the show with selections from Lover, then Midnights as the grand finale, allowing for a perfect pop sandwich, if you will. The highest highs of 1989 and Red arrived in the middle, and then fans could take a breather during her quieter moments.

After the North American leg alone, Swift’s tour was well on track to become the first to generate over $1 billion, with even more shows scheduled in Europe this year. Her new relationship with football star Travis Kelce has placed her in direct eyesight of sports fans with each Chiefs game appearance. Swift has embraced the rise in attention — even accepting the cover award for Time’s Person Of The Year in the process.

The shift is such a stark contrast to the years she spent shying away from public outings, and instead feels like a return-to-form that was last truly present during 1989. And a lot has changed in the culture since 2014. With the rise of TikTok, Swift leaned into it for Midnights, allowing her to continue to reach new, younger listeners, and re-introduce her pop side to those who were tuned out during the Reputation, and even Lover, eras. In a sense, the album is a blend of the two.

Now that Swift’s contract allows her ownership of all master recordings, she has also moved away from the traditional album cycle. Instead, she releases what she wants, when she wants. When some demos from the Lover era leaked, she gave fans a studio version of one with “All Of The Girls You Loved Before.” And months after the Midnights release, she reignited the excitement by putting “You’re Losing Me” out on a show-exclusive CD in May 2023, leaving the rest of the fans using shared files to play the Joe Alwyn breakup anthem on repeat. Swift did not put the song on streaming until November.

It’s this free-flowing nature of Swift’s release schedule that has fueled the intensity for fans to try to find any theories or easter eggs to what might come next. Are we still in the Midnights era? Or, most recently, does Swift’s inner circle having B&W profile pics signify that it’s time for the Reputation re-recording?

This non-chronological form has worked out in Swift’s favor, particularly when it comes to sales. In the case of “You’re Losing Me,” fans first had to buy a ticket to The Eras Tour, be at a show where the CD was sold, and then buy that. And for the initial release of Midnights, the back covers formed a clock, so many opted to purchase all four — and the shelves the vinyl copies could rest on.

Swift has also seemingly recognized that no matter what she puts out, the majority of fans will now buy, without her needing to do much. Since she has been on tour, save for the Time cover, the release of Midnights saw her last few promotional appearances.

“I’m beside myself,” Swift told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show after he pointed out that she broke Spotify’s record for the most-streamed album in a single day. “I’m feeling very overwhelmed by the fans’ love for the record. I’m 32 so we’re considered geriatric pop stars. So I’m just happy to be here.” (She would later beat her own record with 1989 (Taylor’s Version) — without any additional music videos or late-night interviews.)

Even if Swift does not happen to take home the Album Of The Year Grammy for Midnights, this era served as more concrete proof that she could play by her own rules and still be wildly successful, now that the perceived barriers that were present for pop stars during the early aughts have been practically knocked down. Or, who knows, she just might have another trick up her sleeve and ready to go.

Nicki Minaj just released “Big Foot,” a new diss track that goes after Megan Thee Stallion and doesn’t pull a single punch. Minaj really went all out, addressing a lot of personal and sensitive things about Meg.

What Did Nicki Minaj Say About Megan Thee Stallion On “Big Foot?”

Minaj said a lot about Megan on “Big Foot.” So, let’s break it down topic-by-topic (all lyrics via Genius).

Nicki Minaj On Megan Thee Stallion Getting Shot By Tory Lanez

“Bad b*tch, she like six foot (Ooh), I call her Big Foot (Brr)
The b*tch fell off, I said, ‘Get up on your good foot.’”

“Like a body builder, I keep raisin’ the bar
F*ck you get shot with no scar? (Brr).”

“Now listen up, Big Foot
You know I got a lotta tea
I went easy on you
Um (Glass fragment foot ass, b*tch).”

Nicki Minaj On Megan Thee Stallion’s Late Mother

“How you f*ck your mother man when she die?
How you go on Gayle King and can’t cry?
Chile, bye
Big foot, but you still a small fry
Swearin’ on your dead mother when you lie (Ay, yo).”

“‘Cause she was lyin’ on your dead mama (Ooh), on-on your dead mama (Ah-ah-ah-ah)
Lyin’ on your dead mama (Ooh-ooh), on-on your dead mama
Lyin’ on your dead mama (Ooh-ooh), on-on your dead mama
Lyin’ on your, lyin’, lyin’, lyin’ on your dead mama (Brr, ooh).”

Nicki Minaj On Megan Thee Stallion’s Dispute With Carl Crawford And 1501 Certified Entertainment

“B*tch, you better stop that dialogue (28 sh*t)
‘Fore I hit Carl and buy your catalogue
(Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha) Sigh.”

Nicki Minaj On Megan Thee Stallion’s Rapping Abilities

“Your flow is such a bore
Drinkin’ a bottle of Henny through a straw.”

“Uh, still ain’t topped ‘Red Ruby’ (No, no, mm-mm)
Tryna steal the sauce, I said, ‘Get up out my cook book’ (Brr).”

“They got you all them Grammy’s, but your flow’s still a no.”

Nicki Minaj On Future Megan Thee Stallion Diss Tracks

“I don’t think you want the next installment of this song
I know it’s the most attention you’ve ever gotten.”

“Now, since you think it’s funny to speak about people’s families
We’ll all join in
We’ll all play the reindeer games
Soon as your new nose heals
And soon as your…
Well, let’s leave that for the second installment.”

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Things are getting rough between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion right now, and Minaj just escalated the beef with a new diss track, “Big Foot.”

On just the song’s introduction, Minaj addresses Megan’s contract dispute with Carl Crawford and 1501 Certified Entertainment, the death of Megan’s mother, and Megan’s Gayle King interview in which she cried but didn’t appear to shed actual tears. According to Genius, those lyrics are:

“Your flow is such a bore
Drinkin’ a bottle of Henny through a straw
B*tch, you better stop that dialogue (28 sh*t)
‘Fore I hit Carl and buy your catalogue
(Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha) Sigh
How you f*ck your mother man when she die?
How you go on Gayle King and can’t cry?
Chile, bye
Big foot, but you still a small fry
Swearin’ on your dead mother when you lie (Ay, yo).”

Elsewhere, Minaj accuses Megan of lying about getting shot by Tory Lanez (“F*ck you get shot with no scar?), criticizes her rapping abilities (“They got you all them Grammys, but your flow’s still a no”), and claims Megan copies her (“Tryna steal the sauce, I said, ‘Get up out my cook book’”).

Listen to “Big Foot” above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Suits came back in a big way in 2023.

The USA Network series, which aired from 2011 and 2019 and once made Prince Harry super uncomfortable, was the surprise hit of the summer, with millions of minutes viewed once it was available to watch on Netflix. Actually, make that billions: Variety reports that Suits “racked up 57.7 billion total minutes watched in 2023, putting it just ahead of the 57.1 billion minutes of viewership accumulated by The Office” in 2020.”

It’s the most minutes ever for a show in the streaming era — and a lot of background viewing while people were doing the dishes or folding laundry.

When comparing total time watched, though, projects with more episodes and/or longer episodes stand at an obvious advantage. The entirety of Suits runs for about 83 hours, which would mean it had an easier time reaching that 57 billion-minute mark than The Office did with about 73 hours of content.

For 2023 only, Suits tops the overall streaming list, followed by family favorite Bluey (43.9 billion), procedural NCIS (39.4 billion), ubiquitous medical drama Grey’s Anatomy (38.6 billion), and nightmarish Cocomelon (36.3 billion). Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso (16.9 billion) is number one among original streaming programs (a.k.a. not acquired), then four Netflix shows, The Night Agent (14.4 billion), Ginny & Georgia (13.8 billion), Virgin River (13.7 billion), and Love Is Blind (13.1 billion).

Hm, the data must be wrong. I know there’s 15 billion minutes of I Think You Should Leave viewed from me alone.

You can see the full lists here.

(Via Variety)

Congratulations are in order for the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Ravens 17-10 in AFC Championship Game yesterday (January 28) to secure their spot in Super Bowl LVIII. The game goes down on February 11 and of course, people are wondering if Taylor Swift will be in attendance.

Will Taylor Swift Go To The 2024 Super Bowl?

It seems that Swift would very much want to be at the big game. She has been in attendance to support Travis Kelce and the Chiefs throughout their playoff run, including yesterday, when she and Kelce shared a sweet post-game kiss.

There is a possible scheduling issue, though: The Eras Tour resumes soon, with a run of dates at Japan’s Tokyo Dome from February 7 to 10. This year’s Super Bowl is taking place in Las Vegas on the 11th, so considering a flight from Tokyo to Vegas is 12-plus hours, it would certainly be a tight turnaround for Swift to make it.

Variety did the math, though, and it turns out that thanks to the international date line, the timing actually isn’t as tight as it may seem:

“Running between the South and North poles, the international date line serves as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. When traveling eastbound over the line, the date decreases by one day, while going west over the boundary moves things forward by one day. Luckily, Swift is traveling east — meaning that she’ll be able to perform her concert on Saturday night in Tokyo, get a full night of rest, and as long as the 13-hour flight leaves before 6 p.m. Japan Standard Time on Sunday, she’ll land in Las Vegas before kickoff at 3:30 p.m. PT. Also helping the matter is Swift’s private jet, which will ensure a non-stop flight on an international journey where that usually does not exist.”

So, Swift hasn’t said anything about whether she plans to try making the big game, but it at least appears to be logistically possible.

The Kansas City Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl! In one of the biggest NFL days of the season yesterday (January 28), the team beat the Chiefs beat the Ravens 17-10 in AFC Championship Game. Naturally, there was a lot of celebration on the Chiefs’ side, including a sweet moment between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

After the game was decided, friends and family of Chiefs players took the field to celebrate with their loved ones, including Swift. When she reached Kelce, they kissed, hugged, and kissed again, as shown on the game’s televised broadcast.

Some think they even spotted Kelce and Swift saying “I love you” to each other.

Swifties were over the moon about the whole thing. One wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “my reaction to taylor swift going onto the field to kiss travis kelce is literally not normal send me to the mental hospital i need a lobotomy.” Another said, “TAYLOR AND TRAVIS KISSED IM CRYING.”

As aforementioned, this win means the Chiefs are heading to the Super Bowl on February 11, when they’ll go up against the San Francisco 49ers. A potential problem for Swift, though, is that she has an Eras Tour concert in Tokyo on February 10, so it could be tough for her to fly across the world and attend the big game.

The Detroit Lions took a 24-7 lead into halftime in Santa Clara on Sunday evening, as they stunned the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers in the first half of the NFC Championship Game.

From that point, seemingly everything that could go wrong for the Lions did go wrong, while the Niners capitalized on mistakes and managed to find big plays when they needed it in a way Detroit simply couldn’t. There will be plenty of blame to go around in Detroit, as their defense couldn’t get a stop, receivers couldn’t pull down key catches, and Dan Campbell’s decision-making on fourth down and with the clock late all contributed to a rather incredible collapse as the 49ers came back to win 34-31.

The first drive of the second half saw the Niners move it into Detroit territory, but the Lions were able to force a field goal attempt to stay ahead by two touchdowns. On the ensuing drive, the Lions continued to dominate on the ground, all the way up until some curious play-calling and decision-making put a halt to things. On 3rd and 4, the Lions chose to put receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in the backfield instead of one of their running backs that had been eating all day, and only got two yards on an inside handoff. On 4th and 2, the ever-aggressive Dan Campbell chose to go for it, which most everyone agreed with, but put the ball in the air, with Josh Reynolds unable to haul in a difficult catch in good coverage, as Jared Goff hit him in the hands, but it was low and away and bounced to the turf.

At that point, things really started to take a turn. Brock Purdy put up a deep ball that should’ve been intercepted by Kindle Vildor became a 51-yard completion to Brandon Aiyuk after bouncing off Vildor’s facemask, leading to TD a few plays later.

On the first play of the next drive, Jahmyr Gibbs put the ball on the ground after an awkward handoff exchange with Goff, with the Niners jumping on the ball to get another possession in plus-territory.

Christian McCaffrey would then punch it in for a TD to tie the game.

On the next drive, the Lions had two drops over the middle of the field on 2nd and 3rd and 10 that would’ve been first downs. The first saw Sam LaPorta unable to make a difficult catch as he got hit, followed by a stone cold drop from Reynolds while wide open.

From there, the Lions were unable to down a perfect punt by Jack Fox at the 1, as the gunner overran the ball bounding up in the air, with his momentum carrying him into the end zone for a touchback. The Niners would march for another field goal (with some more Purdy escapism along the way), taking their first lead of the ball game at 27-24.

On the next drive by the Lions, they again found themselves facing a 4th and short in field goal range and chose to go for it. Again they passed the ball, but this time the Niners got pressure on Goff and forced an incompletion that was nowhere close to a receiver.

From there, the defense finally seemed like they might get a stop, but were unable to bring down Purdy on 3rd and 4 at midfield, as he escaped a sack and broke loose for a long scramble that eventually set up an Elijah Mitchell touchdown run (after a big McCaffrey run as well) to go up 34-24.

Once again the Lions moved it into San Francisco territory on their next drive, as Goff worked it in the three-minute drill but once they got to the goal line, they stalled and on 3rd and 1 decided to run the ball with a minute on the clock, only to get stuffed. Rather than go hurry up and save their timeouts, Campbell called his first timeout, meaning even though they scored on a TD pass to Jameson Williams on 4th down, they needed to successfully get an onside kick which no one does in the NFL anymore.

After three runs to bleed out the clock, the Niners were able to celebrate a second straight comeback win and another trip to the Super Bowl, where they’ll meet the team that beat them the last time they were there, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Niners undoubtedly deserve credit for their effort in the second half. Brock Purdy made huge plays when they needed him most, especially scrambling and making plays outside of the play structure. The defense got right after being decimated in the first half and had the right design on each of the fourth down plays to force a perfect throw and catch that the Lions could not execute.

Even so, the Lions will spend the next eight months (or longer) looking back at this parade of miscues and mishaps, wondering what could’ve been if they’d just managed to secure one or two of those big plays in their favor. Campbell will have to answer endless questions about his fourth down aggression (especially when he didn’t go for it at the end of the first half in a 4th and goal from the 3), but the timeout management late was the bigger coaching mistake in my mind — along with a few “too cute” play choices, headlined by the St. Brown handoff while they were rolling on the ground otherwise.

The Detroit Lions dominated the first half of Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, leading 24-7 at the half, but there was a feeling that at some point the Niners offense would wake up.

Brock Purdy did not look sharp in the early going, and while they drove into Lions territory to start the second half, they could only muster a field goal to make it 24-10 as things stalled out once across midfield. Detroit continued to run the ball well on their next drive, but a fourth and short drop by Josh Reynolds ended their first drive of the third quarter, allowing the Niners a chance to make it a one score game.

To do so, they desperately needed the passing game to wake up and it did in a truly wild way as Purdy threw what looked to be his second interception of the game, only for Lions defensive back Kindle Vildor to have it go through his hands, bounce off of his facemask, and into the diving arms of Brandon Aiyuk.

It’s a wild swing, as what should’ve been a pick turned into a huge play, with Aiyuk being touched by Vildor on his way down meaning it was not a touchdown.

A few plays later, Aiyuk found paydirt after shaking free from Cam Sutton, with Purdy finding him for a much more conventional completion in the end zone.

Things continued to swing in favor of the Niners from there, as Lions rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled on the first play of their next drive, handing San Francisco the ball back in Detroit territory, down just seven points.

High school is tough enough for the average 17-year-old girl. Anyone who stands out is a target for whispers and hushed laughter in the in hallways or, at worst, public ridicule.

That’s why Maddie Cable, 17, from Charlotte, North Carolina, was less than enthusiastic after being told she needed to wear a large plastic brace to school for at least six weeks.

Cable was in a car accident with her mother in November, and she fractured her T12 vertebra. After doctors stabilized it with rods and pins, Maddie was fitted with the massive brace.

“At first, I felt very self-conscious about the brace,” Cable told Buzzfeed. Then her friend Sarah Chako had the brilliant idea of turning the bland-looking brace into a badass steampunk armor corset using metallic spray paint, gear-shaped stencils, acrylic paint, and metal framing trim. Steampunk is a sci-fi/retro style that combines futuristic steam-powered designs and American “Wild West” aesthetics.

“I enjoy wearing it now,” Cable said. “It makes me feel more confident.” Her mother is pleased, too. “People are initiating conversation instead of just staring,” Cable’s mom, Linda, told HuffPost. “She feels like they see her, and not just her injury.”

Cable’s story is a great example of what you can do with some creative thinking, good friends, and steampunk power. She turned a depressing situation into an opportunity to express herself.

This article originally appeared on 09.12.17