Month: May 2024

The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers will meet in the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals, renewing one of the great rivalries of the 1990s. From 1993 to 2000, the two teams met six times in the playoffs, with each team winning three of those series.

Since then, the teams have met just once in the postseason (2013) in 23 years, but the 2024 edition feels like it could be the start of another postseason rivalry between Indiana and New York. It’s hard to replicate the roster continuity of the 90s in today’s game, but both teams have cornerstones set at the guard position with Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson, and if both can retain their ex-Raptor wings in Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, that would seem like two good starts to perennial playoff cores.

What makes the 2024 edition of this rivalry so interesting is the divergent styles the two teams play. Indiana likes to play at breakneck speed, pushing the pace off makes and misses alike to stress opposing defenses and attack weak points before they can get set in the halfcourt. New York, meanwhile, is a classic Tom Thibodeau outfit, looking to wear you down with defensive pressure and intensity, and then dominating on the boards on both ends. The clash of styles should be fascinating, as each team will look to dictate the tempo which could lead to wild swings.

If we’re lucky, the 2024 renewal will find footing alongside some of the past epics between these two teams, and before we get to Monday night’s Game 1, we wanted to look back at the history between New York and Indiana in the playoffs and some of the moments that defined the rivalry.

1993 Eastern Conference First Round (Knicks 3-1)

The 1993 first round matchup between the top-seeded Knicks and the 8-seeded Pacers is where it all began. The Knicks won in four games, with Patrick Ewing leading the way while getting help from John Starks and others. But the seeds of a rivalry Reggie Miller averaged 31.5 points per game in the series and drawing a theatrical ejection of John Starks (who just went for 29/11 in Game 2) for a headbutt in Game 3 — which would serve as the intro to the fantastic 30 for 30, Winning Time.

1994 Eastern Conference Finals (Knicks 4-3)

Things really picked up in 1994, as the two teams looked to take advantage of Michael Jordan’s absence from the league and punch their ticket to the NBA Finals. It was a grueling 7-game duel that culminated in a wild finish to Game 7, with Patrick Ewing putting up a huge 24-point, 22-rebound game, including the go-ahead tip-dunk in the final minute. That was followed by a Reggie Miller airball that sent the Knicks to the NBA Finals.

While the Knicks got the last laugh, that series was where the legend of Reggie Miller in the playoffs really grew with his Game 5 performance in the Garden, scoring 25 in the fourth quarter to lead Indiana to a win — and then delivered his iconic “Spike Who?” line to Ahmad Rashad after the game.

1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Pacers 4-3)

The 1995 Pacers-Knicks conference semifinals is one of the all-time great NBA Playoff series, providing an almost unbelievable number of memorable moments. It started with the biggest of them all, as Reggie Miller and the Pacers quite literally stole Game 1 thanks to Miller’s 8 points in 9 seconds, which remains one of the craziest playoff sequences in NBA history.

The Pacers would win both back in Indiana to put the Knicks on the brink back in the Garden in Game 5, but they were able to stay alive thanks to a game-winning runner from Ewing in the final seconds, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

After winning Game 6 in Indiana, the Knicks had a chance to pull off a remarkable comeback from down 3-1 and found themselves in the same position as Game 5. This time, however, Ewing could not provide the heroics, as a running layup at the buzzer hit off the back rim and bounced out to send the Pacers to the Conference Finals.

1998 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Pacers 4-1)

It would take three years for the two teams to meet again, this time with some different supporting casts, but most of the main stars remained the same. The Pacers would once again get the best of the Knicks, winning in five games with Game 4 being the standout. Miller once again had a big game in New York, scoring 38 points, including a game-tying three in the closing seconds, in an Indiana overtime win. That game also featured another scuffle between Miller and Starks, with the Knicks guard getting ejected in the first quarter for throwing an elbow to Miller’s head.

1999 Eastern Conference Finals (Knicks 4-2)

The two teams met again in the Conference Finals in the strike-shortened 1999 season, where the 8-seeded Knicks gave Miller a taste of his own medicine. After splitting games in Indiana — where Ewing suffered an Achilles injury — the Knicks were able to improbably hold serve in Game 3 thanks to a Larry Johnson 4-point play in the closing seconds to turn a 3-point deficit into a 1-point win.

While the Pacers would even the series at 2-2 in the next game, the Knicks won Games 5 and 6 to become the first 8-seed in league history to reach the NBA Finals.

2000 Eastern Conference Finals (Pacers 4-2)

A year later, Reggie Miller got to put on his final big show in the Garden, exacting revenge on the Knicks in the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals by scoring 34 in Game 6 in New York to send the Pacers to their first (and only) NBA Finals. This was the final battle between Miller’s Pacers and Ewing’s Knicks, as the New York legend would move on to the Sonics that offseason for the twilight of his career.

2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Pacers 4-2)

The 2013 edition saw the Paul George-Roy Hibbert era Pacers at the peak of their powers go up against the best Knicks team of the Carmelo Anthony era. The two teams split the first two in New York before the Pacers took control by winning both at home. Game 6 was the best game of the series, as the Pacers were able to get the series clinching win at home despite a 39-point performance from Melo — thanks to a playoff career-high 25 from Lance Stephenson.

It doesn’t look like this whole Drake/Kendrick Lamar situation is stopping any time soon. After Lamar spent last week unleashing a flurry of diss tracks aimed at Drake, the latter fired back last night (May 5) with his latest contribution to the conversation, “The Heart Part 6.”

So, how did Drake’s new diss go over? Well, here’s an indication: “Nah Drake” was the No. 1 trending topic on X (formerly Twitter) after the song was released, as Kurrco notes.

A number of the reactions focused on the line, “Only f*ckin’ with Whitneys, not Millie Bobby Browns, I’d never look twice at no teenager,” which is a clear response to Lamar accusing Drake on “Not Like Us” of having an inappropriate interest in young women.

One X user wrote, “he called u master manipulator and u admitted to feeding him lies then dropped a bar about Millie Bobby Brown when Kendrick never mentioned her. you’re #Caught.” Another tweeted, “kendrick: drake you are a pedophile. drake: i did NOT do anything inappropriate with millie bobby brown.” Somebody else said, “Drake put out the names Millie Bobby Brown and Epstein in reference to himself before Kendrick even mentioned them.”

Check out some more reactions below.

While Sunday featured a pair of Game 7s in the first round of the NBA and NHL playoffs, much of the sports world’s attention on later in the day was focused on Netflix’s roast of Tom Brady. The future Hall of Famer, for whatever reason, signed up to get lit up for a few hours by various comedians and former teammates and coaches live on the streaming giant.

It was a pretty wild event, reminiscent of the golden age of Comedy Central roasts as the comedians and athletes that hit the stage all let it absolutely rip. Brady’s divorce was frequently brought up, as was Deflategate, and Julian Edelman and Bill Belichick both seemed to use this as an excuse to get some things off their chest about Brady’s longtime trainer, Alex Guerrero.

However, the wildest joke of the night might’ve belonged to Brady himself, as he took to the stage and gave it right back to everyone. Among them was Drew Bledsoe, who Brady famously replaced after an injury to Bledsoe and never gave that job back. Few probably expected Brady to come at Bledsoe by way of a 9/11 joke, but he certainly did just that.

“Like the rest of America, I’ll always remember where I was that fateful day in September of 2001, when tragically, those two Jets…slammed into Drew Bledsoe.”

I think this is made even crazier by the fact that Brady got up and told Jeff Ross “don’t say that sh*t again” when he made a joke about Robert Kraft getting busted for solicitation at a Florida massage parlor, meaning Brady’s line of joke tolerance has 9/11 coming in before his old boss’ indiscretions.

If anyone thought Drake would throw in the towel after Kendrick Lamar hit him with three back-to-back disses — “6:16 In LA,” “Meet The Grahams,” and “Not Like Us”– has another think coming, as Drake not only keeps the mayhem going with a new diss of his own, but also takes a page from Kung-Fu Kenny’s playbook, titling the new song “The Heart Part 6,” a reference to Kendrick’s long-running freestyle series.

This time around, Drake addresses the accusations that Kendrick levels in his last three diss tracks, claiming that he seeded the stories with individuals that he knew Kendrick could reach out to for dirt on him. He celebrates being a master manipulator as Kendrick coined the phrase in his first diss track, “Euphoria,” having successfully tricked the Compton rapper into biting bait he himself laid out ahead of the battle.

Drake also reverse-unos Kendrick’s allegations against him of pedophilia denying that he has any such charges against him while theorizing that Kendrick’s own history with abuse is what led the Pulitzer prize winner into taking that angle of attack against him. Honestly, if this is the last diss from either rapper, that would be okay, because this thing is rapidly getting out of hand.

Listen to “The Heart Part 6” above.

In life only two things are certain — death and taxes. However, there is something else that you can almost always bet your bottom dollar on, a Foo Fighters tour.

Last year, the band hit the road for the Everything Or Nothing At All Tour. Due to overwhelming success, Foo Fighters extended the run into 2024. So, if you snagged yourself a ticket, what should expect?

Continue below for show times, the remaining tour dates, and more.

What Time Is Foo Fighters On Stage For The ‘Everything Or Nothing At All Tour?’

According to attendees submitted data on Setlist.fm, Foo Fighters tend to take the stage two and a half hours after doors to the venue have opened. For example, on May 1 in Dallas, Texas, Dos Equis Pavilion began letting ticketholders into at 5:30 p.m. By 8:30 p.m., the band had kicked off the opening song to their setlist.

Now, the length of their set fluctuates from show to show. For more lively crowds, their encore can run between one and three songs. So, to play it safe be prepared for a roughly two hour and forty five minute performance.

Foo Fighters Tour 2024: Everything Or Nothing At All Tour

05/07 — Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
05/09 — Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
05/11 — Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome To Rockville (festival appearance)
06/13 — Manchester, England @ Emirates Old Trafford !/
06/15 — Manchester, England @ Emirates Old Trafford %~
06/17 — Glasgow, Scotland @ Hampden Park %<
06/20 — London, England @ London Stadium !>
06/22 — London, England @ London Stadium %@
06/25 — Cardiff, Wales @ Principality Stadium !
06/27 — Birmingham, England @ Villa Park %@
07/17 — Queens, NY @ Citi Field &+
07/19 — Queens, NY @ Citi Field £=
07/21 — Boston, MA @ Fenway Park £=
07/23 — Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium £=
07/25 — Cincinnati, OH @ Great American Ballpark &+
07/28 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Field &!
08/03 — Denver, CO @ Empower Field at Mile High &+
08/07 — San Diego, CA @ Petco Park £$
08/09 — Los Angeles, CA @ BMO Stadium £=
08/11 — Los Angeles, CA @ BMO Stadium &$
08/16 — Portland, OR @ Providence Park Soccer Stadium &$
08/18 — Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park &$

* with The Breeders
! with Wet Leg
% with Courtney Barnett
# with The Chats
{ with Teenage Joans
[ with Body/Type
@ with Hot Milk
} with Dick Move
? with Teenage Jesus And The Jean Teasers
/ with Loose Articles
~ with Chroma
< with Honeyblood
> with Shame
with Himalayas
& with Pretenders
+ with Mammoth WVH
! with L7
£ with The Hives
= with Amyl And The Sniffers
$ with Alex G

Foo Fighters’ Everything Or Nothing At All Tour poster

Tom Brady has an extremely strong argument as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He won seven Super Bowl championships (appearing in 10), five Super Bowl MVPs, and three NFL MVPs over his two decades in the NFL with the Patriots and Buccaneers. He made an outrageous amount of money and is set to make even more over the course of a monstrous deal with Fox to be their new lead broadcaster — if he doesn’t try to make another NFL comeback this fall.

All of this is to say, Brady should not be in a position where he’s desperate to say yes to things like a celebrity roast. And yet, there he was on Sunday night sitting on stage as comedians (and Drew Bledsoe) tore into him on stage live on Netflix, looking like he was not exactly enjoying himself.

While Brady’s football career is unassailable, his personal life is not, and if he thought certain things would be off limits then he was very mistaken. There were plenty of divorce jokes, which he probably expected, but the line he seemingly drew in the sand was when Jeff Ross made a massage joke about Robert Kraft. Brady stood up from his seat, walked over, and very much not jokingly said “don’t say that shit again” to Ross.

Kraft, of course, was charged with solicitation in 2019 after a sting at a Florida massage parlor, but pled not guilty. Ross, who showed up for the roast in a “Roast J Simpson” jersey, has never met a line he wouldn’t dance over, and Brady was clearly not pleased with that — and it briefly looked like we might have a Will Smith-Chris Rock moment.

Spring is in full bloom across the US, but not the weather isn’t the only thing heating up. But nothing quite as hot as Drake’s feud with nearly the entirety of rap.

Over the last few weeks, the “First Person Shooter” rapper’s has had to endure shot after shot from his former collaborators. On Drake’s latest response record, “Family Matters,” he ended the figurative clip on them all. But given the list of folks gunning for Drake it has become a tedious task keeping up with them all. So, below we’ve compiled a quick reference breakdown.

Who Did Drake Diss On “Family Matters?”

The easiest answer is everyone. But you came for a list. So on “Family Matters” Drake took aim at Kendrick Lamar, Asap Rocky, The Weeknd, Rick Ross, and of course Metro Boomin.

Continue for a few of the standout lines tailored for each musician. You can listen to the full track at the end.

Kendrick Lamar

I been with Black and white and everything that’s in between / You the Black messiah wifin’ up a mixed queen / And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem / On some Bobby sh*t, I wanna know what Whitney need / All that puppy love was over in y’all late teens / Why you never hold your son and tell him, ‘Say cheese?’/ We could’ve left the kids out of this, don’t blame me / You a dog and you know it, you just play sweet / Your baby mama captions always screamin’, ‘Save me’ / You did her dirty all her life, you tryna make peace
I heard that one of them little kids might be Dave Free / Don’t make it Dave Free’s
‘Cause if your GM is your BM secret BD

Asap Rocky

Gassed ’cause you hit my BM first, n**** / do the math, who I was hittin’ then? / I ain’t even know you rapped still ’cause they only talkin’ ’bout your ‘fit again / Probably gotta have a kid again ‘fore you think of droppin’ any sh*t again / Even when you do drop, they gon’ say you should’ve modeled ’cause it’s mid again / Smokin’ Fenty ’bout it, should’ve put you on the first one, tryna get it in / Ask Fring if this a good idea the next time you cuddled in that bed again / She’ll even tell you leave the boy alone ‘fore you get your head split again

The Weeknd

I know you like to keep it short, so let me paraphrase / Knew it was smoke when Abel hit us with the serenade /
N**** said, ‘Uh, uh’ / Almost started reachin’ for my waist

Rick Ross

Ross callin’ me the white boy and the sh*t kind of got a ring to it / ‘Cause all these rappers wavin’ white flags while the whole f*ckin’ club sing to it / Murder scene on your man tonight, then come to the vigil with the candlelight / Body after f*ckin’ body and you know Rick readin’ my Miranda rights / I’m goin’ on vacation now, hope next time, y’all plan it right

Metro Boomin

Leland Wayne, he a f*ckin’ lame, so I know he had to be an influence / These n****s had a plan and they finally found a way to rope you into it / Two separate albums dissin’, I just did a Kim to it, n****, skim through it

Listen to the full track below.

Our first Game 7 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs arrived on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, and despite falling into a huge first half deficit, the Cavaliers managed to take down the Magic, 106-94, and advance to the conference semis against the Celtics.

Early on it did not look like the trend of the home team winning each game would continue in Game 7, as the Magic ran away to a huge early advantage with the Cavs looking shell-shocked. Paolo Banchero carried the load in the first half for Orlando, scoring 24 points in a thoroughly dominant showing, as he put the Magic on his back.

However, after taking an 18-point lead, the Magic saw Cleveland claw back into it late in the second thanks to a bench spark from Caris LeVert and Sam Merrill. They provided some much-needed offensive juice to keep the Cavs attached while their stars struggled from the field.

In the third quarter, it was the Donovan Mitchell show. While he had 15 in the first half, he only shot 3-of-13 from the field, but quickly got into a rhythm in the third quarter by pushing the pace. Mitchell had 17 third quarter points to outscore Orlando by himself, quickly erasing Cleveland’s deficit and pushing them to the lead.

However, Mitchell needed someone to provide some help, and they got it in the form of their big offseason acquisition, Max Strus. The former Heat wing finally got rolling from three, scoring 11 points in the third (after a scoreless first half) to push the Cavs lead out to eight going to the fourth.

Even as the Cavs cooled off to start the fourth quarter, the Magic simply could not pry the lid off the rim. While the Cavs got timely buckets from LeVert and Strus to aid Mitchell, the Magic couldn’t provide similar support to Banchero. Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs had dreadful games, combining to go 3-of-24 from the field, which allowed the Cavs to tilt their defense fully towards Banchero in the second half, forcing him to go through the entire defense any time he wanted to try and score — and, impressively, he was able to do that some in the fourth to keep Orlando within reach.

However, the Magic were never able to establish a rhythm around their star and with shots not falling, Orlando began to fade away. On the other end, the Cavs were able to get some timely buckets from non-Mitchell members. LeVert continued his strong night off the bench, scoring 15, while Darius Garland finally hit a shot from the corner and Evan Mobley even got a couple paint buckets.

The Cavs were able to gut out the win thanks to another incredible Mitchell performance but, more importantly, the supporting cast picking him up in support. Mitchell finished with 39 points, nine rebounds, and five assists on 11-of-26 shooting, with LeVert giving them those 15 off the bench, Strus chipping in 13 (11 in that third quarter run), Mobley had 11 points, 16 boards, and four blocks, Garland added 12 (10 in the fourth), and Isaac Okoro had eight and was a game-high +27 thanks to his incredible defensive effort.

On the other side, Banchero’s 36-point, 15-rebound double-double wasn’t quite enough given the lack of help. Wendell Carter Jr. had 13 points and Suggs finished with 10 (on 13 shots), but with Wagner only scoring six, they just could not apply enough pressure to the Cavs defense to create space to operate for Banchero in the second half. The Magic now see where they have to improve for next year. Some of that will be internal, with Wagner needing to become a more confident and willing shooter, but some of that is knowing they need to improve their backcourt rotation. Orlando pretty desperately needs to add a veteran guard capable of settling them down on offense and getting them a good shot when things start moving quickly. If they can do that, Banchero proved himself as a star in this series and the defensive core is truly that good.

For Cleveland, this was a critical performance in Game 7 after the way they exited the postseason a year ago. Mitchell was fantastic, and they were the stronger, more assertive team down the stretch. Now they face an immense task going up against the Celtics in the second round, but finally got their first playoff win without LeBron James since 1993 and will be playing with house money against the East’s best team.

Every now and again, bullying can help to better society. Ironically, SZA, an avid proponent of anti-celebrity online harassment found herself on the other side of things.

Despite her busy schedule, which includes her international SOS Tour dates, the “Snooze” singer still manages to catch up television’s hottest shows. Thanks to her May 2 post on X (formerly Twitter), SZA’s followers found out that includes Apple TV’s Severance starring Ben Stiller.

“Was tryna be polite but I really need a new season of ‘Severance’ right the f*ck now,” she wrote.

Well SZA’s outcry quickly made its way back to Stiller. So, the actor took hopped onto his personal page to issue a response.

“Ok…ok. Got it,” he replied.

Although the original series was renewed, not much progress has been made since its 2022 debut. With SZA lighting a fire under the production team, things could change soon. Even so, SZA decided to issue a playful apology for her strong language.

“Omg,” she wrote. “Please accept my humble apology LMAO. Whenever you’re ready is fine . [I’m] just dying of thirst. It’s the best show ever! You’re a madman . Thank you, Mr. Stiller, king sir!”

“Not I’m a stan and got caught bullying,” she wrote. “Not bullying works. I’m calling the cops on myself.”

Now, Severance viewers have launched a countdown until new episodes are uploaded to the streamer.

Thanks to Metro Boomin, Drake is currently learning a biblical lesson. Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.

The pair’s seeming inescapable feud has fueled several diss track from others including Kendrick Lamar, and even a sketch on Saturday Night Live. Now, the general public has the chance to join in.

Following Drake’s “shut up yo hoe ass up and make some drums” advice, Metro Boomin did exactly that. Today (May 5), Metro launched a shared an instrumental online titled, “BBL Drizzy,” a call back to rumors (made by Megan Thee Stallion and Rick Ross) that his foe underwent several cosmetic procedures.

“Best verse over this gets a free beat,” he wrote.

Next, he shared the rules for the contest. “Just upload your song and hashtag #bbldrizzybeatgiveaway,” he wrote.

Most users saw Metro’s action as a clever way to have a laugh at Drake’s expense.

“Metro took Drake’s ‘make some drums’ personal and made a hit beat. Never seen a n**** make a diss beat in my life,” wrote one user.

“Dog making this into a contest IM CRINE,” laughed another.

But some took it as an opportunity to book their careers. Dozens of on the rise rappers have already begun posting their submissions in the hopes of locking in the collaboration.

This is the rap feud that no one asked for, but has become to entertaining to turn away from.