A handful of North American teams got the opportunity to participate in Copa America this summer. The tournament, which is usually made up of teams in South America’s footballing federation CONMEBOL, is taking place in the United States this year, but despite that, the USMNT did not make it out of their group. Nor did the other usual powerhouse of North American football, Mexico.
In a surprising turn of events, Canada was able to get out of a group that included Argentina, Chile, and Peru. They came in second place in Group A, got to the knockouts, and won their quarterfinal game against Venezuela in penalties. Now, on Tuesday night, the Canadians will take on Lionel Messi and Argentina with a spot in the final on the line, and in a show of national pride, Drake posted to his Instagram Story that he’s put $300,000 on them pulling off the upset.
Now, I certainly won’t say that this is a guaranteed loss (and I think this one would not classify as the Drake Curse rearing its ugly head), but Canada faces one heck of an uphill climb here. Not only are Argentina the defending winners of this tournament, and not only are they the defending World Cup winners, but the two teams were actually in the same group as one another and played in the opening game of the tournament, which Argentina won, 2-0.
Canada is an incredible story, as they’ve gotten to this point under American manager Jesse Marsch, and the fun quirk of this tournament is that things go right to penalties after regulation, so they wouldn’t need to hold on for dear life through 30 minutes of extra time if things are level after 90 minutes. That means pulling the upset is ever so slightly easier … but that wouldn’t mean much for Drake’s bet, as his bet is for Canada to win in regulation.
Celebrity marriages, they never last. But our love for Shrek does. Fourteen years after Shrek Forever After, DreamWorks Animation has announced that Shrek 5 is officially in development. The fifth film in the series — not including 2011’s Puss in Boots and 2022’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (the best film in the Shrek-verse since Shrek 2) — will feature the original voice cast of Mike Myers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Fiona, and Eddie Murphy as Donkey.
Murphy recently revealed that voice recording has already begun. “We started doing [Shrek 5] months ago,” the Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F star told Collider. “I did this. I recorded the first act, and we’ll be doing it this year, we’ll finish it up. Shrek is coming out and Donkey’s gonna have his own movie. We’re gonna do Donkey as well. So we’re gonna do a Shrek, and we’re doing a Donkey [movie].”
Still waiting on the Three Blind Mice spin-off.
Back in 2018, Illumination CEO (and Minions wrangler) Chris Meledandri, who is overseeing the revival, discussed his plan for future films. “When you look back on those vocal performances they’re awesome, and while you certainly could make a case for a complete reinvention, I find myself responding to my own nostalgic feelings of wanting to go back to those characterizations,” he said. “The challenge for us has been to find something that really does feel like it’s not simply yet another film in a series of sequels.”
Not too Far, Far Away… @Shrek 5 is coming to theaters on July 1, 2026 with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz. pic.twitter.com/3j6ctXpPGu
With the NBA’s free agent market slowing down, the most likely way that we are going to see a high-profile move between now and the start of the 2024-25 season is via a trade. We got a glimpse of that over the weekend, when the Sacramento Kings pulled off a sign-and-trade to acquire DeMar DeRozan from the Chicago Bulls.
Over the last few days, we’ve identified a few potential targets for these sorts of trades and tried to cook up deals that make sense in the event that they find themselves on the move. And here, we wanted to put them all together and list out the teams and players that we have our eyes on as the summer goes on.
Zach LaVine
Getty Image
There may not be a weirder player on the trade market than LaVine, who is very good at basketball and can bring some instant offense to any team that wants him, but his injury history and gigantic contract have essentially destroyed any sort of trade market for him, per reports. Still, there are teams that can (and should) take the plunge, because they could really use what he brings to the table, and by all accounts, the Bulls are willing to respond to the market by selling low on him.
Markkanen makes less money than you think, but any team that trades for him is going to need to have a serious conversation about paying him, as he’s an unrestricted free agent after this season. He is, however, 100 percent worth the investment, as the All-Star forward can light it up from all over the place and is a very good rebounder. Even if he is just a rental for a team with aspirations of winning a championship right now, he’s worth the high asking price that Danny Ainge and the Jazz front office would surely demand.
Trades:
(ed. note: The Kings were part of the original post, but have since made a move that takes them off of the list)
Golden State Warriors
Warriors: Lauri Markkanen Jazz get: Andrew Wiggins, Brandin Podziemski, unprotected first-round picks in 2025 and 2027, first-round pick swaps in 2029 and 2031
San Antonio Spurs
Spurs get: Lauri Markkanen Jazz get: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio’s 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, Chicago’s top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick, Boston’s 2029 first-round pick, Minnesota’s 2031 first-round pick
Oklahoma City Thunder
Thunder get: Lauri Markkanen Jazz get: Lu Dort, Jaylin Williams, Oklahoma City’s 2025 and 2027 first-round picks, Denver’s top-5 protected 2027 first-round pick, Dallas’ 2028 first-round pick, any three second-round picks Oklahoma City currently has
No one questions Ingram’s ability to score the basketball, and over the years, he’s expanded his game to become better as a facilitator, as well. Ingram’s stock, however, is rather low, as he’s set to be an unrestricted free agent after this upcoming season, he’s coming off of a brutal playoff run where he was frequently punked by Lu Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and it’s clear that the Pelicans want to build around Zion Williamson, as the experiment with building around both of them just has not worked. Having said that, Ingram is still a good player who can help teams win basketball games, the question is who wants to pay him what he’s asking for next summer.
Trades:
(ed. note: The Kings were, once again, part of the original post, but are no longer a team that makes sense for Ingram — however, we added a third team below that was not in the initial post)
There was some initial sticker shock at the 5-year, $160 million deal Grant signed last offseason. But it becomes a smaller portion of a team’s cap percentage every year and he’s guaranteed to be under contract for at least the next three years (he has a player option for 2027-28), so there’s a real case to be made that he’d be a savvy addition for a team that could use a big wing who can score and defend.
Trades
Los Angeles Lakers
Lakers get: Jerami Grant Blazers get: Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish, 2029 Lakers first, 2025 Clippers second
Golden State Warriors
Warriors get: Jerami Grant Blazers get: Andrew Wiggins, Moses Moody, 2026 Warriors first
Houston Rockets
Rockets get: Jerami Grant Blazers get: Jabari Smith Jr. Pistons get: Jeff Green, Jock Landale, a pair of future second rounders
They’ll get their wish soon with The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), Em’s upcoming twelfth studio album. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
Release Date:
The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) is due 7/12 via Shady Records/Aftermath/Interscope. You can find more info here.
Tracklist:
Eminem has not released the tracklist for The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), but we’ll update when he does.
Features:
So far, the only features that have been revealed include Eminem’s fellow Detroiters, BabyTron and Big Sean, who both appear on “Tobey.”
Singles:
Two singles have been released so far: the comedic “Houdini” and the wordplay-riddled “Tobey.”
Artwork:
Eminem revealed the artwork for The Death Of Slim Shady on July 9. You can see it below.
Australian group King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are known for two things: They’re one of modern psychedelic rock’s brighest stars, and they release a ton of albums. Their debut LP, 12 Bar Bruise, came out in 2012, but now they’re already onto their 26th album: The band just announced Flight b741 (set for an August 9 release) and shared a video for “Le Risque.”
The band’s Stu Mackenzie says of the new album, “We wanted to make something that was primal, instinctual, more ‘from the gut,’ just people in a room, doing what feels right. We wanted to make something fun.” He added, ““We came in with the roughest skeletons for songs and tried to keep the arrangements simple, free and easy. The best takes were always the ones where we were winging it pretty significantly.”
Watch the “Le Risque” video above and find the Flight b741 cover art and tracklist below, as well as the band’s upcoming tour dates.
08/15/2024 — Washington, DC @ The Anthem %
08/16/2024 — Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium * %
08/17/2024 — Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium * %
08/19/2024 — Boston, MA @ The Stage at Suffolk Downs %
08/20/2024 — Portland, ME @ Thompson’s Point %
08/21/2024 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage &
08/23/2024 — Detroit, MI @ Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre ^ &
08/24/2024 — Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion &
08/25/2024 — Newport, KY @ MegaCorp Pavilion Outdoor &
08/27/2024 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Dell Music Center &
08/28/2024 — Richmond, VA @ Brown’s Island &
08/30/2024 — Asheville, NC @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena &
08/31/2024 — Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater &
09/01/2024 — Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island * &
09/03/2024 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory &
09/04/2024 — Milwaukee, WI @ Miller High Life Theatre &
09/05/2024 — St. Louis, MO @ The Factory &
09/06/2024 — Omaha, NE @ The Astro Amphitheater &
09/08/2024 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre &
09/09/2024 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre [early show] &
09/09/2024 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre [late show] &
09/11/2024 — Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield Amphitheater &
09/12/2024 — Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum &
09/14/2024 — Quincy, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre * %
11/01/2024 — Inglewood, CA @ The Forum @
11/02/2024 — San Diego, CA @ The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park ^ @
11/03/2024 — Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre @
11/04/2024 — Stanford, CA @ Frost Amphitheater at Stanford @
11/08/2024 — Las Vegas, NV @ Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood @
11/09/2024 — Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre #
11/10/2024 — Albuquerque, NM @ Revel Entertainment #
11/12/2024 — Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion #
11/13/2024 — Fayetteville, AR @ JJ’s Live #
11/15/2024 — Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater *#
11/16/2024 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall #
11/17/2024 — New Orleans, LA @ Mardi Gras World #
11/19/2024 — Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre Atlanta #
11/20/2024 — St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre #
11/21/2024 — Miami, FL @ Factory Town #
05/18/2025-05/20/2025 — Lisbon, PT @ Coliseu do Recreios
05/23/2025-05/25/2025 — Barcelona, ES @ Poble Espanyol
05/29/2025-05/31/2025 — Vilnius, LT @ Lukiškės Prison 2.0
06/04/2025-06/06/2025 — Athens, GR @ Lycabettus Theatre City of Athens
06/08/2025-06/10/2025 — Plovdiv, BG @ Ancient Theatre
* 3-hour marathon set
^ acoustic set
% with Geese, DJ Crenshaw
& with Geese
@ with King Stingray, DJ Crenshaw
# with King Stingray
Flight b741 is out 8/9 via p(doom) records. Find more information here.
We have seen Nic Cage transform into any type of character you could ever dream of (literally) but there hasn’t been enough nightmare-adjacent Cage. Yes, we’ve seen him in slashers and the likes, but everyone knows what Nic Cage looks like, so in order to be really scary, he has to not look like Nic Cage, and that’s how they pulled off his “demented character” in Longlegs.
In Longlegs, Cage plays the titular serial killer who is being hunted by Lee, portrayed by Maika Monroe.
Monroe recently revealed to IndieWire, that she hadn’t seen Cage’s chilling transformation until his last day of filming.
“Oz wanted to keep us completely separate. No one showed me any photos of him. Oz wanted it to be a complete surprise for that scene when we interact for the first time. Just imagine that,” Monroe revealed. “It was completely shocking and overwhelming. The first time I met him, the cameras were rolling, and they called action. I opened the door, and there he was.”
Not only did they get her initial reaction, but director Osgood Perkins also tracked Monroe’s heart rate the first time she saw Cage in character. “It was insane. It was absolutely insane!” she said. “As you know, he completely transformed. There’s no trace of Nic in there, his voice, his mannerisms. He was very much Method on this. So it was in character, and it’s a very disturbing character, to say the least.”
The first time Maika Monroe saw Nicolas Cage as Longlegs, her heart rate hit 170 bpm.
Even though their first encounter was…tense…Monroe said they were able to chat after. “It was actually very cute,” she revealed. “We filmed that scene and it was his last day, and so we finished filming, and then we just had to [shoot] some stills at the end. So the photographer comes in, and we’re sitting across from each other, and he’s just like, ‘Ah, well, by the way, I’m a really big fan of yours,’ completely back to Nic’s voice. ‘I’m like, what is happening? Am I in a dream right now? What is happening?’ … It was a very surreal day for me.” When Nic Cage shows up in your dreams, you know you’re in for a wild ride.
There’s a moment in MaXXXine — Ti West’s coated-in-pulp trilogy ender starring muse Mia Goth – that’s so salacious, it managed to perfectly capture its creator’s frustration with the tight-laced limitations of today’s Hollywood while also erecting a big middle finger to the neutered killjoys that make up an ever-growing majority of today’s audiences. It happens mid-way through the film, as Goth’s titular heroine slogs through the seedy streets of downtown L.A., hopping from one sexually explicit side gig to the next. She’s bounced from an audition that ended with her topless to the set of a skin flick to a strip club and finally a peep show, wielding her body and the reactions it elicits as a tool to propel her closer to stardom. She’s on her way home now, both exhausted by and at ease with the violent chaos that surrounds her – the hookers picking up johns, the street drugs being passed out like candy, the always-present threat of a serial killer lurking in the shadows – when a man with a switchblade stalks her to a trash-filled alleyway. How this scumbag imagined this would end, we’ll never know, because Goth’s ruthlessly determined final girl upends her trope, flashing a gun from her purse and skirting any narrative trauma writers should like to inflict on her to “earn” her triumphant final act.
MaXXXine has had enough of being a victim, thank you, and she proves it by torturing her would-be assailant in the most degrading way possible.
Now, the more memorable part of this scene comes towards the end, when MaXXXine strips her perp bare, forces him to lay face down on the grimy street, and crushes his balls to a pulp with her stilettoed heel. It’s shocking, it’s gruesome, it’s incredibly satisfying and bleakly funny. But it’s not the moment that caused audiences to squirm in their seats. That came earlier, when MaXXXine forced her attacker to his knees, prompted him to open wide, and shoved the barrel of her gun in his mouth, demanding he fellate her weapon (for a change).
How much sex (if any) should be on TV and in movies has been a taboo topic of conversation lately. It’s not just critics and filmmakers arguing over semantics either. A recent study from Talker Research found that 43% of entertainment fans dub sex scenes unnecessary to a story. According to The Economist, nearly 50% of last year’s top-grossing films featured no nudity or sex. It’s a trend that mirrors younger generations’ attitudes towards intimacy on screen with Gen Z ranking as one of the largest groups protesting against sex on screen. MaXXXine’s sexually-tinged form of punishment for a man with nefarious intentions doesn’t necessarily rate as a sex scene, but its imagery is just suggestive enough to push the boundaries of what today’s moviegoers seem to be comfortable with, especially when paired with all of the other allusions to sex that West weaves in his film.
Whittled down to its simplest form, MaXXXine is about all of the ways sex both sells and gatekeeps, especially in relation to women. Hollywood was built on the backs of ingenues looking to escape the confines of unfortunate childhoods, seeking salvation in stardom, and ill-equipped to accomplish either without commoditizing themselves. West is clear on that, treating sex as a background prop to reach for when a ring of keys between the knuckles won’t do. He pummels your face with it, showing how the industry he’s apart of both exploits and penalizes those willing to bare their bodies to get ahead. MaXXXine’s adult film star past is frowned upon by casting agents who make a point of getting her tits on tape. She’s seen as a risky hire for a B-grade horror movie steeped in the occult because she’s had sex on camera, and irony not lost on the tough-as-nails director (Elizabeth Debicki) who hires her, in part, for the controversy she’ll stir.
And West sets his flashes of skin to a societal backdrop swarmed by the Satanic Panic of the 70s and 80s, a time of Puritanical pearl clutching birthed from the fire and brimstone prosperity gospel that MaXXXine herself has surprising ties to. West has referenced the hypocrisy, explaining in interviews that MaXXXine takes place a year after the MPAA introduced its revised rating system to appease conservative parents. But he uses his camera to investigate the fucked up attitudes towards sex that we seem to have inherited from this decade and this generation too, splicing moments of eroticism with nauseating gore and disturbing religious fervor and asking us which makes us the most uncomfortable.
Perhaps the difference in how West uses sex to paint a portrait of how 80s era Hollywood used sex lies not in the finished product, but in the process. After all, we live in the time of intimacy coordinators and post-#MeToo film sets where actors are given more agency and more care into how sex and nudity are portrayed on screen. But given those advances, it seems strange that just a handful of films and directors (West included) are keen to harness any kind of eroticism in their stories.
With MaXXXine, sex isn’t some accessory to West’s tale, it’s the action driver – what his aspiring starlet tries to distance herself from, what she wields unapologetically, and what she’s needlessly condemned for. It’s explicit, brazen, seedy, unrefined, and, at times, truly cringe to gaze upon.
For some, that will be the slasher flick’s scariest part.
Miami’s mercenary ratchet rap duo City Girls may be defunct, but the show apparently goes on. JT, one-half of City Girls along with partner-in-rhyme Yung Miami, is proceeding as a solo artist, with a new album, City Cinderella, in the works, led by singles like “Sideways” and “Okay.” It’s slated for release on July 19, and just in time to capitalize, she’s revealed the dates for her upcoming City Cinderella tour, which kicks off a month later in Kansas City, Missouri.
Tickets for the tour go on sale on Friday, July 12, at 10 AM local time. Venue/promoter pre-sales start on Wednesday, July 10, at 10 AM and Spotify pre-sale launches Thursday, July 11 at 10 AM. You can find more info at CityCinderella.com.
JT 2024 Tour Dates
08/20 — Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
08/21 — Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre
08/23 — Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall
08/24 — Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
08/25 — Hartford, CT @ The Webster – Main Room
08/28 — Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre
08/29 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
08/30 — New York, NY @ Palladium Times Square
09/01 — Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
09/03 — Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage
09/05 — Richmond, VA @ The National
09/06 — Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
09/08 — Columbia, SC @ The Senate
09/10 — Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall
09/11 — Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
09/13 — Little Rock, AR @ The Hall
09/14 — Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion
09/15 — Dallas, TX @ Gilley’s – South Side Music Hall
09/16 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall – Downstairs
09/20 — Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
09/22 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
City Cinderella is out on 7/19 via Quality Control. Find more information here.
Is it Haliey Welch? Or Hailey? For most people, it’s “Hawk Tuah Girl.”
Last month, the 21-year-old from Tennesse went viral when the YouTube channel “Tim & Dee TV” asked her to name something that makes a man go crazy in bed. “You gotta give ’em that ‘hawk tuah’ and spit on that thang,” she answered, and thus, a meme was born. It’s been quite a ride since going viral for Welch; she’s making serious money in merch and appearances, performed with Zach Bryan, and crossed one million follows on Instagram. She also formed her own company, according to The Washington Post.
She’s now repped by Jonnie Forster, of music specialist agency the Penthouse in Nashville; he calls her “America’s sweetheart,” and has already helped her register trademarks for both merchandise and entertainment services, such as live comedy shows and podcasts. Welch’s new company, which owns those trademarks, is smartly named: 16 Minutes LLC. She also recently changed the spelling of her first name from the more pedestrian “Hailey” to the presumably more Googleable “Haliey.”
Welch uses “Haliey” in the bio of her Instagram account. It’s also the spelling The Tennessean went with in an early profile. But Welch’s first name has just as often been (mis?)spelled as “Hailey” in articles, like this one, although that could be a typo. So, did she change her name? It’s unclear (I’m sure TMZ is hard at work obtaining her birth certificate), but Haliey is the correct spelling.
Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign fans are currently waiting for Vultures 2, and it’s currently unknown when the project will surface. In fact, based on what Ye supposedly just said, it looks like it may never come out at all.
On his Instagram Story today (July 9), Rich The Kid shared what is allegedly a screenshot of a text message conversation between Kanye West and himself. In it, West writes, “I am retiring from professional music. Not sure what else to do.”
In a text message posted by Rich The Kid, Kanye West says that he will be retiring from music. pic.twitter.com/XZpQZNPEOo
Rich responds, “Retire? Why ? How ? The ppl NEED you the music you & Ty & we have made was the BIGGEST STAMP in culture to this date In 2024. Drop Ye about mine & V2 and we do it all over again the kids need you big bra fasho maybe some time to chill but retiring ain’t it.”
West has certainly become a controversial figure in recent years, but if he were to retire today and not release any more music, his body of work as it stands now would be among the all-time greats.
He has 11 No. 1 albums to his name, making him one of only a few artists with at least 10. West also has five No. 1 singles, starting with 2005’s “Gold Digger” and most recently with his latest one, “Carnival” alongside Ty Dolla Sign, Rich The Kid, and Playboi Carti. He has earned 75 Grammy Award nominations and picked up 24 wins.
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@br_betting pic.twitter.com/G2iGQZTcDz
Friday. 
(@concertleaks)