Month: May 2024

After Kendrick Lamar dissed Drake and J. Cole on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” Cole fired back with “7 Minute Drill.” Cole quickly had a change of heart, though, removing the song from streaming services and calling it “the lamest sh*t I did in my f*ckin’ life.”

Since then, Lamar has left Cole alone while going all in on Drake. Through it all, there have been jokes that Cole is living worry-free and enjoying life at the moment, certainly more than Drake is. It appears the jokes are pretty much true, according to one fan’s supposed interaction with the rapper.

Per Complex, a fan named Lale shared a photo of herself and Lamar at a beach, where she says she happened to spot the rapper. In the photo, Lamar is wearing headphones plugged into a laptop.

Lale says she had a 30-minute conversation with Cole, and he apparently told her he was working on a new album. She apparently asked about the Drake side of the Lamar feud and he reportedly said he “doesn’t like beef.”

It certainly seems like Cole is having a better time than Drake is at the moment. Lamar has repeatedly gone after him with diss track after diss track, and his response didn’t get rave reviews online.

Drake has been dealing with a lot lately, whether it’s the break-in attempt at his home, the shooting near his home, or the ongoing Kendrick Lamar beef. Early this morning (May 9), Drake seemingly took a minute to address the latter situation.

On his Instagram Story, Drake posted the opening scene from the Netflix show A Man In Full, in which Jeff Daniels’ character Charlie Croker is lying dead on the floor. He says in a voiceover, “I don’t mean this as a criticism. Maybe I do. But when you die, will people notice? When I go, there are gonna a lot of memories of me by a lot of people, many who hate me. Even so, a person needs to live with vigor. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Meanwhile, Seth Rogen recently shared his thoughts about the beef situation, and how something so personal is playing out in such a public way. On stage at his Seth Smokes The Bowl event, Rogen said, “What’s crazy is these are not, like, personal correspondences: These are songs! These are hit songs! These are No. 1 and 2 on iTunes, like, right now! These are songs the Apple algorithm is telling my mother to listen to while working out.”

Austin Rivers sure did stir up a discourse this week during an appearance on Pat McAfee’s show. Rivers, the longtime NBA player who is now a pundit for ESPN, went onto the show and expressed his belief that there are 30 NBA players who could be dropped in the NFL right away and succeed, and if the shoe was on the other foot, there are not 30 NFL players who could make it in the NBA right now.

Some folks, like JJ Watt, reacted very strongly to this. Others, like Shaquille O’Neal, reacted very strongly to Charles Barkley reacting to this. Barkley expressed his belief on Inside the NBA after the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night that Rivers is wrong, which led to Shaq reacting about how you’d expect: He immediately wanted Barkley to go stand out in front of the desk so he could tackle him to prove a point.

Listen, I do not know if this would or would not prove anything about NBA players being able to play football, but I am 100 percent certain that no one — no NBA player, no NFL player, nary a soul on this planet — wants to get tackled by Shaquille O’Neal. Anyway, the tension got reduced significantly when Shaq was given an autographed hockey jersey.

The New York Knicks took a 2-0 series lead on the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night in another gutty effort in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd.

Things looked bleak for the home team as halftime arrived with the Pacers leading by 10 and Jalen Brunson’s status unknown having left for the locker room with a foot injury. However, Brunson would return in the third quarter to lead a big run to push New York to an 8-point edge entering the fourth. In that fourth, Indiana cut the deficit to one possession on a few occasions, but could never reel in the Knicks who always had an answer in the form of a timely bucket — even with OG Anunoby leaving in the third quarter with a hamstring injury.

As the Knicks finally took control of the game for good in the final minute, the New York crowd decided to serenade Reggie Miller one more time, as TNT flew Miller in for Game 2 while the Nuggets and Timberwolves series he was calling had an extended break until Friday’s Game 3. Miller and the broadcast crew were fairly oblivious to the loud “F**k You Reggie” chant cascading down from the crowd (or at least did a good job ignoring it) until Josh Hart came over to their broadcast table to make sure Miller knew exactly what the New York faithful were saying.

Brian Anderson’s nervous laugh as Hart’s f-bomb hit Miller’s hot mic really makes this — at that point the audience had heard that word very clearly a number of times by way of the chant. Hart, who has become the avatar for this Knicks team’s spirit, couldn’t help but help pass the Knicks fans message along to the Hall of Famer who was public enemy number one for so many years in the Garden — and still is, apparently.

The New York Knicks are two wins away from the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite Jalen Brunson missing the entire second quarter with a foot injury and OG Anunoby missing much of the second half with a hamstring injury, New York was able to defend Madison Square Garden in Game 2 with a 130-121 win over the Indiana Pacers.

New York came out on fire as it looked to take a 2-0 series into Game 3 in Indiana. While the two teams felt one another out for the opening few minutes, the Knicks quickly ripped off a 15-3 run that got the Garden on its feet and made the Pacers look rattled.

And then, in less than a minute, that lead disappeared. Following a timeout once the Knicks went up, 24-13, the Pacers came out and ripped off 11 unanswered points in only 48 seconds to tie things back up.

The remainder of the period was hilariously back-and-forth. New York could not miss — it shot 76.2 percent from the field and 50 percent from three in the opening frame — while Indiana hammered them on the offensive glass, securing six offensive boards for seven second-chance points. With Tyrese Haliburton scoring 13 points and Anunoby scoring 12 in the quarter, the two teams were tied up at 36 each.

The Pacers were able to take control of things in the second, in large part due to the extended absence of Brunson, who left the game late in the first quarter and went to the locker room, where he was eventually ruled questionable to return with a sore right foot. With the game turning into a track meet, Brunson’s absence meant that Indiana’s ability to play fast — whether it was in the halfcourt or getting out and running — was a bit much for New York to handle.

As such, the Pacers were able to take a 73-63 lead into the locker room at halftime, with Haliburton bouncing back from his abysmal Game 1 to lead the way with 22 points, five assists, and four rebounds. Obi Toppin went for 13 points off the bench, while Pascal Siakam had 10 points and six rebounds. The Knicks, meanwhile, were led by Anunoby’s 22-point half, while Josh Hart nearly had a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Knicks did get a major boost to start the third, as Brunson emerged from the locker room and was able to take the floor. His return coincided with the Knicks (and their fans) catching fire, while the Pacers struggled to get out of the gate. It didn’t take long for New York to erase their halftime deficit, and thanks to a 21-6 run in which Donte DiVincenzo had 10 points, they found themselves in the driver’s seat midway through the quarter.

The lead got up to nine points, at which point the next bad injury break came for New York: Anunoby, while getting out in transition, awkwardly threw up a layup and immediately held his hamstring. Immediately upon coming out, he made his way down the tunnel and into the locker room, and was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the game.

But despite Anunoby going out, New York was able to hold serve over the rest of the period. They doubled up Indiana in the quarter, and took a 99-91 lead into the fourth.

Right out of the gate in the final quarter, T.J. McConnell started to be a thorn in the Knicks’ side. The Pacers started things out on a 10-3 run, with McConnell scoring six points and hounding Brunson on the defensive end during that stretch.

But Indiana struggled to get the final push necessary to take the lead, in part because of Brunson, who continued to build out his repertoire of big shots in the playoffs down the stretch. That, mixed with the Knicks doing the little things that have gotten them to this point — offensive rebounds that lead to good looks, forcing timely turnovers, etc. — helped them keep control of the lead.

Brunson’s 29 points led the Knicks, while both DiVincenzo and Anunoby had 28. Hart chipped in 19 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists. Haliburton led the Pacers with 34 points and nine assists, while Toppin gave them 20 points off the bench.

The series will now make its way to Indiana, where the Pacers will look to even things up with two games in their home building. Game 3 will take place on Friday night at 7 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Tax evasion lawsuits against Shakira may soon be a thing of the past. Today (May 9), the Associated Press is reporting that Spanish state prosecutors recommended an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by the Colombian superstar.

Shakira has repeatedly denied evading her taxes. She is currently under investigation for the alleged evasion of 6.7 million euros ($7.2 million USD) in taxes on her 2018 income by way of an offshore company.

The allegations were originally brought forward by the aforementioned Spanish state prosecutors, however, they have since noted that “there is not sufficient evidence” of an alleged fiscal crime. As a result, they are recommending the case be thrown out.

The investigating judge will get the final say as to whether or not to continue the probe, as well as recommend that the case be tried or dismissed.

At the time of writing, Shakira currently lives in Miami. She relocated last year, from Spain, after a split from her ex, soccer player Gerard Pique.

Back in March, Shakira released her latest album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, which features the hit single, “Puntería,” featuring Cardi B.

Later this year, Shakira will embark on the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour.

This past Monday (May 6), Cardi B had one of the most talked about looks at the Met Gala. However, when identifying the designer, Cardi made a bit of a faux pas.

During the red carpet portion, Emma Chamberlain interviewed Cardi. When she asked her about who she was wearing, Cardi appeared to draw a blank. She explained ““They’re Asian and everything” — an identifier that was met with backlash.

In a comment section Vogue‘s former managing director Gilbert Cheah expressed disdain toward how Cardi acknowledge designer Sensen Lii.

“For the record and recognition, and no thanks to Cardi B, the designer of her gown is Sensen Lii who’s Chinese,” said Cheah. “The gown took two months to make. I personally think it’s boring and not even on theme but she chose it and should have at least remembered his name and not just that he’s ‘Asian’

Cardi later took to Instagram to explain that she didn’t mean to “be offensive.” She noted that she did, in fact, draw a blank on how to pronounce Lii’s name, and didn’t want to get it wrong.

“I kind of forgot how to pronounce the designer’s name because his name is a little bit complicated… my mind was just racing,” Cardi explained.

At the time of writing, Lii has not directly commented on the matter.

(Via TMZ)

Following a deathly crowd surge at Travis Scott‘s 2021 Astroworld Festival, 10 families filed wrongful death lawsuits against the rapper and Live Nation. According to a report from the Associated Press, nine of the 10 lawsuits have been settled.

The news arrived Today (May 9), as one of the lawsuits was set to go to trial this week.

Jury selection was set to begin Tuesday in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Madison Dubiski, a 23-year-old Houston resident who was one of 10 people killed in the 2021 Astroworld tragedy. However, Neal Manne, an attorney for Live Nation, said during a court hearing today that nine of the suits were settled, including one for Madison Dubiski.

“Mr. Scott is grateful that a resolution has been reached without the need for a trial,” said Ted Anastasiou, a representative for Scott. “The confidential agreement will honor Madison Dubiski’s legacy and promote improvements for concert safety.”

Noah Wexler, an attorney for Dubiski’s family, also confirmed that the case has been “resolved in its entirety.”

At the time of writing, the suit filed by the family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, the youngest person killed during the concert, is still pending.

“As the youngest victim, Ezra’s terror must have been unimaginable as the crowd surge ripped him from the safety of his father’s shoulders and then crushed and suffocated the life out of his small body,” Bob Hilliard, an attorney for Blount’s family, said in a statement following Wednesday’s hearing.

Reggie Miller is back at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. Miller is joining TNT’s broadcast booth for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers, a longtime rivalry that is being renewed this season. And of course, for the fine folks in the Big Apple, there is no bigger antagonist in the history of this series than Miller, who always brought that little something extra at the Garden and made life hell for the Knicks.

Now, with the Knicks up in the series 1-0, Miller is here to provide some analysis, and of course, get a little stick from fans in New York. This included one of the biggest Knicks fans out there, Ben Stiller, videobombing an interview that Miller did with the Inside the NBA team and making clear that he did not care for him.

As you can see a little later in the clip, Miller and Stiller (which would be a great name for a law firm or something) eventually showed one another some love. And of course, there was Spike Lee, who brought Miller a present: Copies of the New York papers from when the two had their infamous run-in back in the 1990s, which Miller went on to sign.

Everything about Reggie being back at the Garden is really cool, and kudos to two of the biggest Knicks fans out there for leaning into it.

For the third time, Nikola Jokic has been named the NBA’s MVP. Jokic won the award on Wednesday night, and the Inside the NBA team both announced he was the winner and got to speak to him before the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers played in Game 2 of their series.

In a bit of a surprise, Shaquille O’Neal really did not like that Jokic won the award this time around. Shaq, who is a well-documented fan of Jokic, went on a lengthy rant about why he thought the award deserved to go to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — the Oklahoma City Thunder star came in second, and received the second-most first-place votes this year.

It was interesting to see that Shaq was this passionate about it, and Ernie Johnson did a good job asking questions that kept leading him down this road. And in a fun twist, Jokic actually went onto TNT after all of this for an interview, and Shaq made it a point to tell him that he believed Gilgeous-Alexander should have won over him.

Shaq did make it clear that he loves Jokic and views him as “the vice president of the big man alliance,” which is quite the honor to bestow on his fellow big man.