Category: News

The Dallas Cowboys had good reason to think that this was the year they were positioned to make a run in the NFC. But unfortunately for Jerry Jones and co., the team went out of the postseason with a whimper, as the Green Bay Packers jumped on them early on Super Wild Card weekend, never let up, and walked out of Dallas with a 48-32 win.

Because of this, all eyes were on Stephen A. Smith, who has a penchant for taking to Twitter and making fun of the Cowboys after bad things happen to them. Funny enough, Smith decided to have a little fun with how one-sided this game was for a bit, as he posted a video to Twitter during the game where he kept himself from laughing and teased what was coming.

As the game wound down, Smith continued to make everyone think that something was on the horizon.

And then, the full video dropped, and boy, was Smith deep in his bag while making sure to save his absolute best material for Monday’s edition of First Take. If you’ve ever seen him make fun of the Cowboys, you can probably guess which notes he decided to hit, but if you have not seen him do this before, behold a master of his craft at work.

The Cowboys will now enter an offseason full of questions, as this was supposed to be the team that got them over the hump and to the NFC Championship Game at the very least. As for the Packers, they’ll now move on to take on the San Francisco 49ers next weekend.

All year the Dallas Cowboys were vastly better at home than on the road, which is why them winning the NFC East felt so important for their playoff chances.

However, it didn’t take long for the Green Bay Packers to make all of that feel moot in Jerry World on Sunday evening, as Jordan Love and Aaron Jones carved up the Dallas defense through the air and on the ground, while Dak Prescott had a nightmare first half with two picks leading to touchdowns (one being a pick-six, the other deep in his own end) as Green Bay opened up a 27-0 lead.

The Cowboys would find some offensive footing late in the first half and then continued that in the third quarter, but the Dallas defense got tortured by Matt LaFleur, as the Packers had receivers running wide open all game. Romeo Doubs was pretty regularly uncovered deep down the field, as he racked up 148 yards on his first five catches, with none of them being contested grabs.

However, LaFleur’s masterpiece came with the Packers up 34-16, hunting for the dagger in the late third quarter were running the ball with ease when they decided to run a filthy leak play, bringing tight end Luke Musgrave across the formation before turning up field without a Cowboys defender in sight. Despite it being one of Love’s worst passes of the game, hanging up in the air for seemingly ever, Musgrave had time to field it like a fair catch and then turn and run into the end zone for the dagger.

Just in case that wasn’t enough, the Packers marched down the field on their next drive as Love threw a filthy fourth down TD to Doubs to push their point total to 48 on the game and put a bow on one of the most impressive performances in the Wild Card round we’ve seen in some time by a road team.

With rumors circulating that he could make an appearance during the 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show and Coachella, it is clear that fans are desperate for new music from Justin Bieber. But supporters will have to hold out a bit longer because the “Baby” singer has a few other creative projects to finish.

On January 13, Bieber’s fashion label, Drew House, announced their latest collaboration with Adidas and the National Hockey League (NHL). In a series of vibrant photographs captured by Tyrell Hampton, the companies unveiled the new designs for the 2024 All-Star Game jersey collection. Blending Bieber’s love for streetwear and the NHL’s traditional garment structuring, the parties found a way to incorporate each element. There are four colorway options (blue, red, yellow, and white) in both men’s and women’s sizing.

This isn’t the first time Bieber creatively joined forces with the NHL. In 2022, Bieber revealed his curated collection with the Toronto Maple Leafs starring The Kid LaRoi. NHL’s Chief Brand Officer and Senior Executive Vice President Brian Jennings acknowledged that in a statement about their latest venture.

“After the tremendous success of our first NHL, Adidas, and Drew House collaboration for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Next Gen jerseys, we looked forward to another opportunity to bring a bold, fashion-forward look to NHL jerseys,” he said. “The All-Star Weekend in Toronto is the perfect setting for a fresh perspective on the All-Star jersey. The vibrant colors in this year’s All-Star collection are both youthful and classic and offer the perfect complement to the young NHL talent set to meet in Toronto for this year’s NHL All-Star Weekend.”

The 2024 NHL All-Star Game is set to take place on February 3 at Ontario’s Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.

The Drew House x Adidas jerseys for NNHL’s2024 All-Star Game retail between$100 and $190. All items can be purchased on both Adidas and the official NHL website. Find more information here.

You know what’s fun? There’s now more time between when the Star Wars “Special Editions” came out than between them and the original films. The newfangled, CGI-graffitied versions of the original trilogy hit theaters in the spring of 1997, and they’re now the main versions people can watch. (Although the one on Disney+ is where you can see the curious “Maclunkey” addition.) Thing is, they almost didn’t happen.

/Film spoke with producer and longtime George Lucas collaborator Rick MacCallum, who shed some light on how those “Special Editions” came to be. Turns out, Lucas was reluctant to reissue that trio for the first one’s 20th anniversary. Some speculated that he did it to get cash to make the prequels. Others more cynically speculated that it was just to get more money. But according to MacCallum, it was super-fandom that pushed him over the edge.

“The driving force behind it at that particular time was a wonderful guy who ran the marketing division of Fox named Tom Sherak,” McCallum recalled. A “total Star Wars freak,” Sherak had been “bugging George for years” to re-release those films in theaters.

But one day, Sherak showed up at Lucasfilm with an actual truck filled with “literally hundreds of thousands of letters from parents saying, ‘Please can you re-release the film? I want my son and daughter to see and experience what I experienced as a young person in the cinema.’”

That, MacCallum remembered, “was just too overwhelming to say no.”

Of course, Lucas didn’t just dump the trilogy back in theaters as-is. MacCallum recalled:

“I’ll never forget, George had shown me his notebook… He used to write out of this high school notebook with a No. 2 unleaded pencil, and he had the original script of ‘Star Wars.’ And to the side were all the notes of the things that he couldn’t achieve.

There were issues and things that he didn’t like, that they didn’t have the money to do, and things he would love to do if he ever had the chance to go back and revisit the films. And that became kind of the benchmark of, “Okay, these are all the things that he saw in his mind’s eye. This is the film that he wanted it to be, but he didn’t have the money or the resources at the time or the technology to be able to do it.”

And suddenly, Fox gave us that opportunity.”

The rest is controversial history. Many, especially original Star Wars heads, have complained that the late ‘90s CGI ruined the original trio, and they really don’t like that those, with things like Han Solo awkwardly shooting second, are the ones you stream on Disney+. (Lucas has made the original versions available in some releases, though. Then there’s those “despecialized” editions.) On the other hand, Lucas has spent so much of his life, his reputation, and his own money lovingly restoring tons and tons of classic and experimental cinema. One could argue that more than atones for arguably screwing up his own work.

(Via /Film)

You know what’s fun? There’s now more time between when the Star Wars “Special Editions” came out than between them and the original films. The newfangled, CGI-graffitied versions of the original trilogy hit theaters in the spring of 1997, and they’re now the main versions people can watch. (Although the one on Disney+ is where you can see the curious “Maclunkey” addition.) Thing is, they almost didn’t happen.

/Film spoke with producer and longtime George Lucas collaborator Rick MacCallum, who shed some light on how those “Special Editions” came to be. Turns out, Lucas was reluctant to reissue that trio for the first one’s 20th anniversary. Some speculated that he did it to get cash to make the prequels. Others more cynically speculated that it was just to get more money. But according to MacCallum, it was super-fandom that pushed him over the edge.

“The driving force behind it at that particular time was a wonderful guy who ran the marketing division of Fox named Tom Sherak,” McCallum recalled. A “total Star Wars freak,” Sherak had been “bugging George for years” to re-release those films in theaters.

But one day, Sherak showed up at Lucasfilm with an actual truck filled with “literally hundreds of thousands of letters from parents saying, ‘Please can you re-release the film? I want my son and daughter to see and experience what I experienced as a young person in the cinema.’”

That, MacCallum remembered, “was just too overwhelming to say no.”

Of course, Lucas didn’t just dump the trilogy back in theaters as-is. MacCallum recalled:

“I’ll never forget, George had shown me his notebook… He used to write out of this high school notebook with a No. 2 unleaded pencil, and he had the original script of ‘Star Wars.’ And to the side were all the notes of the things that he couldn’t achieve.

There were issues and things that he didn’t like, that they didn’t have the money to do, and things he would love to do if he ever had the chance to go back and revisit the films. And that became kind of the benchmark of, “Okay, these are all the things that he saw in his mind’s eye. This is the film that he wanted it to be, but he didn’t have the money or the resources at the time or the technology to be able to do it.”

And suddenly, Fox gave us that opportunity.”

The rest is controversial history. Many, especially original Star Wars heads, have complained that the late ‘90s CGI ruined the original trio, and they really don’t like that those, with things like Han Solo awkwardly shooting second, are the ones you stream on Disney+. (Lucas has made the original versions available in some releases, though. Then there’s those “despecialized” editions.) On the other hand, Lucas has spent so much of his life, his reputation, and his own money lovingly restoring tons and tons of classic and experimental cinema. One could argue that more than atones for arguably screwing up his own work.

(Via /Film)

This week, rap fans have showered Doja Cat with praise following her guest verses on tracks “Jeezu” and “N.H.I.E.” Even Jay-Z weighed in on Doja Cat’s artistry, giving his stamp of approval regarding her lyrical abilities. Following the unexpected wave of support, Doja Cat took to her official Instagram page to hint that she has plenty more intricate bars to dish out.

On January 13, in an Instagram Story upload, Doja Cat teased that the deluxe edition of her Scarlet album could be released soon. The photograph posted on her page was of a whiteboard outlining a working playlist for the project. Fans better brace themselves if this is a taste of what’s to come.

Instead of adding one or two new songs, it seems as if the forthcoming project would feature seven new records (“Acknowledge Me,” “Head High,” “Gang,” “Masc,” “Rider,” Urrrge,” and “Hungry”).

One fan online pointed out that Doja Cat still has other leftover tracks that could easily be considered for the album. “Just please let ‘Shots’ & ‘Whip’ be added too,” they wrote.

Rather than adhering to the traditional deluxe album format, with seven new records and two older options up for grabs, Doja Cat can craft an entirely new body of work, taking a page out of SZA’s playbook. But Doja Cat supporters will want to take this teaser with a grain of salt, especially considering how many revisions Scarlet underwent before it was shared with the world.

Draymond Green has been back with the Warriors for the last week, getting back on the court after stepping away from the game to serve an indefinite suspension from the NBA after hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the face a month after choking out Rudy Gobert.

In his absence, the Warriors have fallen below .500 and are in an existential crisis as an organization. In what is theoretically good news for Golden State, Green will be back in the lineup on Monday when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to Shams Charania.

The Grizzlies have their own issues at the moment, with injuries piling up, most notably Ja Morant suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, but it is a particularly interesting team for Green to return against given the tense recent history between the Warriors and Grizzlies. It will certainly be a test of whether Green has in fact taken strides over the past few weeks with regards to keeping his emotions in check on the floor, as Memphis has historically looked to get under the Warriors skin.

Golden State could certainly use Green’s defensive impact on the floor, and they’ll want to see how the team reacts with him back in the fold as they approach the trade deadline with just about everything on the table for them in terms of possible deals.

Iowa’s in the middle of a deep freeze, with temperatures expected to hit below -45 degrees including the wind chill on Monday night. That may make for low turnout for tomorrow’s big caucus, which may decide who clinches the GOP presidential nomination. But the prospective winner, as always, is saying the quiet part loud, namely that people should roll out to vote even if it kills them.

“You can’t sit home,” the former president said during a speech Sunday. “If you’re sick as a dog, you say, darling — even if you vote and then pass away, it’s worth it. Remember, if you’re sick, if you’re just so sick, you can’t…”

Trump then impersonated a wife ordering her ill husband to “get up,” adding, “Ultimately we know who calls the shots.”

Perhaps Trump realized that he was effectively telling people to risk life and limb to help him do what he’ll probably do anyway, which is win the Iowa caucus. And so he assured any unwell supporters that, if they avoid getting frostbite, then they’re home-free.

“You’re going to be safe,” Trump promised. “And again, it’s going to be all indoors.”

Trump die-hards have a habit of doing whatever the magnet understander says, including sometimes drinking bleach to treat COVID-19, which is not something anyone should do.

(Via Raw Story)

Are you the type of person who is always waiting on someone in the shower, or are you the one holding everyone up with your epic shower songs? Either way, Elisabeth Buecher has the perfect shower curtain for you. The London-based artist created an inflatable shower curtain that fills soft spikes with air if the shower is on too long. After four minutes of running water, a sensor on the tap triggers an inflator for the spikes, and the bather is immediately reminded that it’s time to get out.

Buecher created the installation to raise awareness about water conservation.

“They aim at provoking a debate around water issues and making people more aware of their consumption,” the artist said on her website.

Check out the steps from peaceful showering to an alarming wake-up call below.

This article originally appeared on 09.23.17

Eminem isn’t afraid to hit folks with a cease and desist letter to protect his intellectual property. Sadly for him, legally, there’s nothing he can do to tip the scales in favor of the Detroit Lions. As a native of the Motor City, Eminem is putting all his faith into his beloved team to bring the Vince Lombardi Trophy home.

On January 14, ahead of the Rams and Lions showdown for the NFL’s wild card round, the notorious introvert decided to step into the social media waters to share an urgent message aimed at the Los Angeles Rams quarterback, Matthew Stafford. “Stafford, what’d I say,” he said in the video clip. “You owe me this favor, bro. I was there for you when you won it. I was there for you. I was right there. I rapped for you, Stafford. Bro, I rapped for you!”

With Stafford being a former Lions player, Eminem seems to hope the video would pull at his heartstrings. Ultimately, wishing Stafford would go easy on the franchise during the January 14 game. Typically, the team and Super Bowl hopefuls are words you’d use in the same sentence. However, after the team managed to win its first division in 30 years, Lions fans like Eminem are praying for a miracle.

The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams game is set to begin at 8:15 pm Eastern. Find more information here.