Year: 2024

Three years ago, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez agreed to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx for a reported price tag of $1.5 billion from longtime owner Glen Taylor.

Lore and Rodriguez have been regular features courtside in Minnesota since, but they took on a partial stake in the Wolves immediately. The transition to them being the majority owners was not set to be complete until this week, with the deadline for them to purchase the majority share being on Wednesday. When that deadline came and went, Glen Taylor decided that he didn’t want to sell his stake in the Wolves and Lynx anymore, putting out a stunning statement on Thursday via the team that said the franchises are no longer for sale.

Glen Taylor, Chairman of Taylor Sports Group, Inc., the general partner of Minnesota Timberwolves Basketball Limited Partnership (“Timberwolves and Lynx”), this morning confirmed the expiration of the option of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to acquire controlling interest in the Timberwolves and Lynx.

Under terms of the purchase agreement, the closing was required to occur within 90 days following the exercise notice issued by Lore and Rodriguez. That 90-day period expired on March 27, 2024.

Under certain circumstances, the buyer could have been entitled to a limited extension. However, those circumstances did not occur.

“I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court,” said Taylor. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”

This announcement came as a fairly big surprise to those around the NBA and WNBA, and now it’s fair to wonder what kind of tension may exist within the ownership group at the moment. That said, it maybe shouldn’t come as a total shock that Taylor would look at the Timberwolves having their best season in decades and think maybe he should stick around and try to cash in a bit more in the future with the valuation sure to rise (especially with a new TV deal on the horizon). In the meantime, there’s some serious off-court drama for the Wolves to navigate as they try to prove themselves as a legitimate contender in the West.

Last year, Mike Lindell had the brilliant idea to host a “Prove Mike Wrong” contest where he offered a $5 million award to anyone who could debunk that he wasn’t sitting on data that proved the 2020 election was stolen. To the surprise of no one, Lindell did not have the goods. A cybersecurity expert named Robert Zeidman easily discredited Lindell’s “data.” However, Lindell refused to pay up, and the whole thing landed in court.

Lindell lost an arbitration ruling, and his attempt to have a court overturn that ruling failed last month, which seemed to be the nail in the coffin until the MyPillow CEO went for a last minute appeal.

Via Above the Law:

So on February 24, Judge Tunheim gave Lindell 30 days to pony up the $5 million plus interest since April of 2023. And on the 30th day, he noticed an appeal to the 8th Circuit.

Lindell hasn’t asked Judge Tunheim for a stay of the judgment, likely because the original arbitration language, which was drafted by Lindell’s personal attorney Kurt Olsen, defers payout until all appeals are exhausted.

Here’s the thing: Lindell’s lawyers have already bailed thanks to him pulling the very Trumpian move of not paying them either. He’s reportedly retained a bankruptcy lawyer in his last-ditch effort to get out of paying Zeidman the $5 million award.

This latest legal move follows on the heels of Lindell’s MyPillow being evicted from a Minnesota warehouse because, and you’ll never believe this, Lindell wasn’t paying the rent. The CEO was reportedly behind over $200,000, and he made no efforts to block the eviction.

(Via Above the Law)

Cowboy Carter season is here: As of this post, we’re just hours away from the release of Beyoncé’s latest album. She’s letting others in on the party, too, as the project also boasts appearances from Shaboozey, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Linda Martell. If you’re an Apple Music user, here’s what to know about when you can give the project a listen.

When Will Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Album Be On Apple Music?

The album is already out in some international territories like Australia and New Zealand. As for the US, it will likely be released at midnight ET on Friday (March 29), as are most new albums. The album should also drop in other parts of the world as usual.

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tracklist

1. “Ameriican Requiem”
2. “Blackbird” (The Beatles cover)
3. “16 Carriages”
4. “Protector”
5. “My Rose”
6. “Smoke Hour With Willie Nelson”
7. “Texas Hold ‘Em”
8. “Bodyguard”
9. “Dolly P”
10. “Jolene” (Dolly Parton cover)
11. “Daughter”
12. “Spaghettii” Feat. Shaboozey
13. “Alliigator Tears”
14. “Smoke Hour II”
15. “Just For Fun”
16. “II Most Wanted” Feat. Miley Cyrus
17. “Levii’s Jeans” Feat. Post Malone
18. “Flamenco”
19. “The Linda Martell Show”
20. “Ya Ya”
21. “Oh Louisiana”
22. “Desert Eagle”
23. “Riiverdance”
24. “II Hands II Heaven”
25. “Tyrant”
26. “Sweet Honey Buckin’”
27. “Amen”

Cowboy Carter is out 3/29 via Parkwood/Columbia. Find more information here.

Every month, Uproxx cultural critic Steven Hyden makes an unranked list of his favorite music-related items released during this period — songs, albums, books, films, you name it.

1. Waxahatchee, Tigers Blood

When I caught up with Katie Crutchfield via Zoom earlier this month, she seemed excited to talk about the albums she has made thus far as Waxahatchee. Perhaps she was already feeling triumphant over the reviews of Tigers Blood, the sixth Waxahatchee LP that wowed critics in March. A sonic and thematic sequel to her acclaimed 2020 release Saint Cloud, the new record continues Crutchfield’s transition from the noisy and confessional indie rock of early Waxahatchee to the wised-up country rock of her mature “thirtysomething” period. This pivot is obvious and, it turns out, self-conscious. Tigers Blood is another product of Crutchfield’s union with Saint Cloud producer Brad Cook, who helped the singer-songwriter assemble a supporting cast that includes MJ Lenderman (prominently featured on the instant-classic single “Right Back To It”), Spencer Tweedy, and Phil Cook. “Honestly, the way I look at my whole catalog is pre-Brad and post-Brad,” she told me. “The Brad era sits together and works together. And then the pre-Brad era, it was really one album at a time, and they weren’t really in any communication with each other.”

2. Rosali, Bite Down

One of my favorite singer-songwriters working today is Rosali Middleman, a 41-year-old Michigan native who records and performs as Rosali. I became a fan in 2021 upon the release of her tremendous third album, No Medium, a cathartic collection of stormy folk-rock tunes spotlighting Middleman’s remarkably tender yet tough vocals and the loose-limbed instrumental backing of the Omaha-based David Nance Group. It’s all raw vibes and electrified feels, like Sandy Denny jamming with Crazy Horse on a late night in the mid-1970s. Just as No Medium was one of my favorite records of 2021, her latest Bite Down is one of the best things I’ve heard in the first quarter of 2024. It’s her first release for Merge Records, who signed Rosali after the critical success of No Medium. She says the pandemic lockdown, and her move away from the city to more secluded and peaceful environs in North Carolina, inform the album. Whereas No Medium contains bracing songs about addiction, romantic loss, and mortality, Bite Down approaches those themes with a flinty, indomitable fighting spirit.

3. Good Looks, “If It’s Gone”

Good Looks is a band from Austin, Texas that has been described as “socialist heartland rock.” I can’t speak to the socialist part, but in the video for their debut single from 2022, “Almost Automatic,” they are shown playing in the middle of a cow pasture, which is certainly heartland rock-y. And the music, naturally, is girded by a mix of earthy strums and air-y solos that evoke wide open spaces. This month Good Looks released the first song from their upcoming sophomore effort, Lived Here For A While, and I can’t stop listening to it.

4. Wild Pink, Strawberry Eraser

For the past several years, Wild Pink’s John Ross has perfected a musical formula that can be described — reductively but more or less accurately — as the meeting point between The War On Drugs and Death Cab For Cutie. Each Wild Pink record has been progressively more experimental and expansive, as Ross elaborates his observational lyrics with grand sonic flourishes. The new EP Strawberry Eraser however suggests that Ross might be in the process of paring back. Recorded by Ross alone, the prominence of drum machines is felt immediately on this short but impactful record, creating an undercurrent of mechanical dread that contrasts with the bashful warmth of Ross’ voice.

5. Mannequin Pussy, I Got Heaven

When I interviewed Mannequin Pussy frontwoman Marisa Dabice in 2019, she was open about her ambitions after starting out in the underground punk space. “I really wanted to make a big-sounding rock record,” she said. “I love where we’ve come from and our other records, but I really believe in artistic progression and being able to challenge yourself.” At the time she was promoting MP’s third album Patience, which proved to be a prescient title. It took a lot of patience indeed for the band to put out LP4, I Got Heaven, at the start of the month. But the new album shows that Dabice’s commitment to artistic progression continues unabated. While Mannequin Pussy can still rage and stomp with the best of them, the music on I Got Heaven shows off a new level of musical sophistication that evokes the big-ticket albums of the grunge era.

6. Restorations, Restorations

Philadelphia punks Restorations have long specialized in setting the humdrum realities of everyday life to doggedly anthemic music, like Bruce Springsteen fronting Fugazi. There are plenty of bands who attempt to strike a similar balance, but few do it with the veteran skill of Restorations. Which is why new music is always welcome from them. Their new self-titled effort is their first in six years, but to their credit they pick up right where they left off, delivering the sort of consistently uplifting rockers that were made for post-work beers.

7. Hannah Frances, Keeper Of The Shepherd

This beguiling singer-songwriter welcomes Joni Mitchell comparisons due to her use of alternate tunings as well as the Hejira vibes that permeate her latest album, Keeper Of The Shepherd. But fans of aughts-era freak folk will also find much to love here, as Frances specializes in melodic and transportive musical eccentricity.

8. Adrianne Lenker, Bright Future

In 20 years we’re all going to look back at Adrianne Lenker’s songwriting run in the late 2010s and early 2020s as one of the great creative outbursts of this era. Lenker writes so many songs — and so many great songs — that she’s had to work outside of her otherwise prolific band Big Thief to accommodate them all. I can’t help but admire this, even when I have mixed feelings about the results. I put Bright Future on this list because I think it’s an undeniably impressive achievement by an artist who is increasingly willing to work without a net (or much refinement, for better or worse). There are some fantastic tunes here (“No Machine,” “Already Lost”) as well as plenty of fascinating experiments. What gives me pause is the wish that she had fleshed them out a bit more with her bandmates in Big Thief, who have proven that they can make magic with Lenker’s material. Perhaps that’s unfair. But Bright Future (for now) sounds to me like a batch of promising demos for a classic Big Thief record that will never exist.

Let’s get this out of the way immediately: Breaking Bad is not coming back. It’s possible that Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul will reprise their characters in another Super Bowl commercial, or whatever, but there will not be another “canonical” TV show or movie with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at the digital wasteland that is Facebook.

Earlier this week, the page “YODA BBY ABY” shared a poster for Heisenberg, which is described as a “a pulse-pounding sequel that unfolds after the legendary finale of Breaking Bad.” The post continues, “When an ambulance delivers Walter White to a fate seemingly sealed by cuffs and concrete, his most daring escape begins, unveiling two hours of unmatched brilliance and ingenuity. Coming to theaters in August 2024 from AMC Films, witness Walter White’s final level, now more powerful and merciless than ever in a masterful game of survival and danger.”

The post has over 71,000 shares and nearly 60,000 comments, but Heisenberg is an obviously fake movie. For one thing, “YODA BBY ABY” describes itself as “100% satire and fake news.” The account has dozens of other parody posters, including a Splash remake with Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya and a Golden Girls reboot starring Tina Fey as Dorothy, Amy Poehler as Sophia, Lisa Kudrow as Rose, and Maya Rudolph as Blanche. If you have your hopes up for Ace Ventura: The Legend of the Albino Pigeon, I’m sorry but that’s on you.

Don’t fall for Heisenberg. It’s the kind of stunt Slippin’ Jimmy would attempt.

Beyoncé is dropping her country-inspired album Cowboy Carter in just a few hours, as fans are extremely excited to hear what she has in store for the 27 new tracks. Yesterday, she revealed the tracklist, and collaborations with Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, and more are included, according to Consequence.

“I have a few surprises on the album and have collaborated with some brilliant artists who I deeply respect,” she previously shared on Instagram when revealing the cover art. “I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound.”

Here’s when Spotify users can expect to hear it on the platform.

When Will Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter Album Be On Spotify?

Although Beyoncé has previously released her music on the streaming service Tidal, fans can expect to hear Cowboy Carter like normal on Spotify. It will be available at midnight ET or 9 p.m. PT. For those in any other time zone, it will be available whenever new music typically drops in your location.

As a little bit more of what to expect, she will be covering Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and paying tribute to other country legends.

Cowboy Carter is out 3/29 via Parkwood/Columbia. Find more information here.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band resumed tour earlier this month after having to postpone 2023 dates due to Springsteen’s peptic ulcer disease. The 2024 world tour began on the West Coast — having performed in San Diego, California on Monday, March 25, and preparing to perform in San Francisco, California this weekend — and Springsteen must be feeling better because he also flew across the country to appear at Zach Bryan’s The Quittin Time Tour show at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

According to setlist.fm, Springsteen popped onto the stage during Bryan’s encore. First, Bryan performed “Sandpaper” as a duet with Springsteen, and then Maggie Rogers joined the party for “Revival,” which included a Springsteen guitar solo that seemingly left Bryan and Rogers awestruck. (Earlier in the concert, Rogers performed “Dawns” with Bryan.)

Bryan was a little nervous and jokingly apologized to the crowd because he “messed [Springsteen] up.” During Springsteen’s “Revival” solo, Rogers could not have had more fun playing the tambourine.

Bryan will retake Barclays Center on Thursday night, March 28, but fans will presumably be bummed that they didn’t have tickets to the March 27 show.

Below are posts from Bryan’s Springsteen- and Rogers-assisted encore. See the remainder of Bryan’s tour dates here and Springsteen and The E Street Band’s tour dates here.

The Golden State Warriors are trying to keep hold of the 10-seed in the West and give themselves a chance at playing their way into the playoffs through the Play-In Tournament, but are getting quite the challenge from the red-hot Rockets, who won their 10th straight game on Wednesday night.

Houston’s hot streak means the Warriors have to be on their game in this final stretch of the season, as they cannot afford to drop winnable games without risking falling out of the Play-In. On Wednesday night in Orlando, they picked up a gritty 101-93 win, but had to do so without Draymond Green for more than 44 minutes of the game after he got ejected for two technicals as he would simply not stop yelling at the officials after a foul call early in the first quarter.

Stephen Curry tried his best to usher Green away from the officials, but Green kept barking and eventually earned his second T and a trip to the showers. Afterwards, Curry was visibly emotional on the court, on the verge of tears due to his frustration with Green’s ejection. Curry would go on to lead the Warriors to the win and was very fired up about it when he hit the dagger three late in the fourth, doing his “night night” celebration all the way down the sideline.

After the game, though, his frustration with Green getting himself tossed was still evident, as he talked with reporters about how they can’t have “self-inflicted wounds” and that Green’s too important to not be doing everything he can to stay on the floor.

Green has missed a substantial chunk of the season due to suspensions for his on-court antics this year, starting with choking out Rudy Gobert and then later hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the face. His second suspension included some mandated therapy to try and figure out how to control his emotions better on the court and have better impulse control. Wednesday was the first time he got ejected since his suspension, and it was clear that Curry’s had about enough when it comes to Green’s antics, particularly with the Warriors in such a precarious situation.

Steph isn’t willing to accept lost years at this point of his career, so making the Play-In is the least the Warriors can do to provide a chance at the playoffs. Green getting tossed 4 minutes into a back-to-back against a good Orlando team isn’t the best way to do that, but Curry did make sure to shout out everyone that stepped up in Green’s absence and showed the fight and resiliency needed to gut out a win in a tough situation (that was created by Green’s own doing).

Jon Stewart has fired back at an attempt to compare the 2014 sale of his New York City penthouse to Donald Trump’s civil fraud case. On Monday’s episode of The Daily Show, Stewart broke down Trump’s scheme, which involved inflating the value of his properties to secure loans and then deflating those same properties when it came to pay taxes on them.

“Money isn’t infinite. A loan that goes to the liar doesn’t go to someone who’s giving a more honest evaluation. So the system becomes incentivized for corruption,” Stewart said in response to claims that’s Trump’s actions were “victimless.”

“The attorney general of New York knew that Trump’s property values were inflated because when it came time to pay taxes, Trump undervalued the very same properties,” Stewart continued. “It was all part of a very specific real estate practice known as lying.”

However, in a gotcha move boosted by the New York Post, right wing commentator Tim Pool tried to accuse Stewart of doing the same thing when The Daily Show host sold his penthouse for $17.5 million.

“Did @jonstewart commit fraud when he sold his penthouse for $17.5M?” Pool tweeted. “NY listed its market value at $1.8M an AV at around 800k. Who did he He defraud?? I am SHOCKED. SHOCKED.”

Obviously, these are very different situations. Stewart selling his penthouse to a buyer willing to pay a higher price for the property is standard real estate practice, particularly for celebrity owned properties. It’s entirely different than the scheme Trump was running. After the Post amplified Pool’s attack, Stewart fired back.

“OMG!! I’ve been caught doing something not remotely similar to Trump!” Stewart tweeted. “I guess all I need to do now is start a fraud college, steal classified docs, bankrupt casinos, pay hush money, grab pussies, discriminate in housing, cheat at golf and foment insurrection and you’ll revere me!”

(Via New York Post, Jon Stewart on Twitter)

A few years since Lorde dropped her Solar Power album, she is now treating fans to some new music. As part of A24’s re-release of the Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense, they also put together a tribute record full of talented performers.

Lorde tackled the band’s “Take Me To The River,” as she has a sentimental attachment to them, first seeing them perform through a YouTube video as a twelve-year-old in 2008.

“This version of the first Talking Heads song I ever heard was done in a few days in Echo Park, L.A. with my friend Jimmy,” Lorde shared in an email. “It’s my interpretation of that pixellated spiritual experience. We did it fast, I didn’t let myself tidy it up too much, it had to feel young and imperfect, the peeling posters, the jaw of acne. It’s beyond a great honour to be part of this compilation. In doing so, I am reaching back through time and pinning something to that kid’s wall.”

Her new cover follows the previous single releases, including Paramore doing “Burning Down The House” and Teezo Touchdown putting his spin on “Making Flippy Floppy.”

Check out Lorde’s cover of “Take Me To The River” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.