Category: News

Each year, the NFL season rolls along and, while some weeks are more difficult to decipher than others due to byes and other considerations, there is a 17-week run of relative normalcy. Then, Week 18 happens. Yes, some games are still “normal” in that both teams are incentivized to play at their maximum levels, but most of the slate is a complete mess. Which teams will rest starters? Which teams will punt entirely? Which teams really care about the No. 4 seed compared to the No. 3 seed and so on?

In short, it’s a very, very difficult week to handicap and, as such, it is the only time during the regular season in which we won’t be handing out five selections. Week 17 was solid with a 3-2 mark that could’ve rather easily been 5-0 with a couple of breaks, and the season-long progress is below.

• Week 17: 3-2
• 2023 Season: 44-37-4

Come get these winners.

Baltimore Ravens (+4) over Pittsburgh Steelers — Caesars

The Ravens are going to rest basically anyone they can rest in this game, which is why the line is what it is. In the NFL and with 53-man rosters, though, teams simply can’t rest everyone, and the line move is too aggressive here. Baltimore is still extremely well-coached. This game has a low total. Pittsburgh has middling quarterback play. And, for the grand finale, fading the “must-win scenario” in Week 18 has been profitable over many years. There you have it.

Tennessee Titans (+3.5) over Jacksonville Jaguars — Widely Available

It would’ve been nice to get this earlier in the week, but this column usually comes out on Thursday. In an effort to get to three picks, we’re staying with the Titans. Tennessee is playing spoiler and, as noted above, it’s a spot where the market can overreact. Trevor Lawrence’s injury is part of the calculus too, but this could be a slugfest and we’re still nabbing more than a field goal.

New York Giants (+5.5) over Philadelphia Eagles — FanDuel/MGM

This a game with a total in the low 40’s and that helps to inform the play. I also trust Tyrod Taylor a lot more than the previous quarterback play in New York, and Philadelphia’s defense is floundering. I understand the motivational angles against the Giants, but it’s a division game and the Giants have been competitive, even while playing out the string.

Thursday night marked the first time that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama stepped on an NBA floor to play against one another. While the Milwaukee Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs played against one another earlier in the year, Wembanyama didn’t take the floor that night, so on the night of his 20th birthday, the reigning No. 1 overall pick welcomed the two-time league MVP into the Frost Bank Center.

The expectation was that both guys would do some pretty silly stuff during the game, and early in the second quarter, we got a pretty fun back-and-forth between the two. Antetokounmpo brought the ball up the floor, barreled his way into the paint, busted out a spin move, and dunked over Jeremy Sochan and through a contest from Keldon Johnson. Not to be outdone, Wembanyama got the ball up the floor and made his way past Antetokounmpo, who reached in for a steal.

Wembanyama gathered his dribble, but the problem was he was one step inside the three-point line and about to travel. But there was no need to worry, as he just threw the ball off of the backboard, grabbed it, and dunked.

Maybe one day I will understand how either guy is capable of making something this impressive look this easy.

Ice Spice isn’t the only talent in her family. Her brother, Joey Gaston, is one of the most-watched high school football players in the state of New York. Gaston is a running back at Iona Prep, and is set to graduate in 2025. Over the course of the past two years, both Ice and Gaston have risen to fame in tandem.

In an interview with Complex Sports, Gaston revealed that since his connection with Ice was uncovered by fans, opponents from rivaling schools will often use his sister’s lyrics to troll him while he’s playing.

“Defensive ends, they sack me, and they like, ‘You thought I was feeling you?’,” said Gaston, in reference to Ice’s hit single, “Munch.” Gaston seems to be a good sport about it though. Elsewhere in the interview, he shared that fans often join in on the fun.

“I was playing in the semifinals of the playoffs, second half we’re getting ready to go on the field,” Gaston says. “I hear the student section like, ‘all right, he’s coming, he’s coming.’ They start clapping and saying ‘we love Ice Spice’ *clap clap* ‘we love Ice Spice. Next drive, I threw a touchdown and I went to the sidelines and I started clapping.”

You can watch a clip from the interview above.

Every parent reaches the point in their kid’s life when they realize they are growing up too quickly. This feeling can get even scarier these days when it seems like tweens (ages 8 to 12) are acting more like teens.

Alexis, a mother and speech-language pathologist, recently called out this trend in a viral TikTok video that has received over 300,000 views. In the video, Alexis says parents should push back at their kids having “adult” interests at a young age and that tweens should be playing with toys.

“As a mom and school SLP, I am unsure when third, fourth, and fifth grade became sixth, seventh, and eighth grade,” she says. “But rest assured, your 8-year-old should still be playing with toys. It’s okay. And as parents, we should be encouraging them to play with toys. Stop forcing these kids to grow up so quickly,” she continues.

@practicallyspeeching

There are going to be some pissed off parents in the comments, I’m sure lol #slp #slptok #teachertok #teachersoftiktok #parenttok #parentsoftiktok #elementaryschool

Just one look at Glamour’s “Best Gifts for Tweens Who Have Everything” holiday list explains everything. It suggests that young girls want Stanley Quencher cups, skincare products and manicure kits instead of American Girl dolls.

Alexis understands that we live in a new world ruled by smartphones and influencer culture, but that doesn’t mean tweens have to pay the price by losing their innocence.

“And I realize that kindergarten is now the new second grade, and that’s a whole other ball of wax, but we need to be playing. You don’t need to be acting 12 when you are 9,” she concluded.

Just a few weeks after a jury found him guilty of reckless assault and harassment, actor Jonathan Majors has scored his first on-air interview.

According to multiple sources, Majors will appear on Good Morning America on Monday, Jan. 8th in a sit-down interview with ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis. The network plans to air the segment across multiple platforms with an extended version airing on ABC News Live’s Prime with Linsey Davis. The announcement comes after Majors was dropped by Marvel, whose parent company Disney also owns ABC.

No details have been given regarding what Davis will cover in her chat with Majors though the star is currently awaiting sentencing following his domestic violence trial. He faces up to a year in prison for recklessly assaulting his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, and harassing her during an argument the pair had in the back of an NYC taxi in March of 2023. The trial brought to light some damning evidence against Majors including audio clips, text messages, and video footage of the incident. It’s likely Majors will only receive probation and a fine for his crimes as this is a first-time offense but it sounds like he’s already planning a comeback and he’s picked GMA of all places to kick off his apology tour.

(Via Deadline)

Every parent reaches the point in their kid’s life when they realize they are growing up too quickly. This feeling can get even scarier these days when it seems like tweens (ages 8 to 12) are acting more like teens.

Alexis, a mother and speech-language pathologist, recently called out this trend in a viral TikTok video that has received over 300,000 views. In the video, Alexis says parents should push back at their kids having “adult” interests at a young age and that tweens should be playing with toys.

“As a mom and school SLP, I am unsure when third, fourth, and fifth grade became sixth, seventh, and eighth grade,” she says. “But rest assured, your 8-year-old should still be playing with toys. It’s okay. And as parents, we should be encouraging them to play with toys. Stop forcing these kids to grow up so quickly,” she continues.

@practicallyspeeching

There are going to be some pissed off parents in the comments, I’m sure lol #slp #slptok #teachertok #teachersoftiktok #parenttok #parentsoftiktok #elementaryschool

Just one look at Glamour’s “Best Gifts for Tweens Who Have Everything” holiday list explains everything. It suggests that young girls want Stanley Quencher cups, skincare products and manicure kits instead of American Girl dolls.

Alexis understands that we live in a new world ruled by smartphones and influencer culture, but that doesn’t mean tweens have to pay the price by losing their innocence.

“And I realize that kindergarten is now the new second grade, and that’s a whole other ball of wax, but we need to be playing. You don’t need to be acting 12 when you are 9,” she concluded.

Hacks, baby. It’s the perfect TV show. I’m sticking to that conclusion, and fortunately, the third season of the Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder hate-love affair shall soon be on the way. Get your chainsaws ready.

How soon? The series not only dealt with that pesky 2022 Hollywood slowdown, but Jean Smart also took much needed time off for a heart procedure. Thankfully, she bounced back, and the reigning curmudgeons got back to work. HBO hasn’t yet announced a specific date, but Spring 2024 is the official release season. On Instagram, here’s the short and sassy word: “Steppin’ on out. Hacks returns this spring on Max.”

What next, though? The second season finale could have actually functioned as a series finale, and it wasn’t clear whether Deborah truly intended to cut Ava loose (“stepping out” might be a cruel tease). Entertainment Weekly spoke with creators and showrunners Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, and Paul W. Downs, and they (naturally) did not clarify the situation because that’s what the third season shall do. However, Aniello revealed that Deborah was “legitimately suing Ava” over the NDA violation, and here’s more context:

“We’ve always talked about that the relationship between Deborah and Ava is this kind of dark mentorship, that the relationship is extremely complicated and twisted in some ways. It’s beautiful in some ways and loving, but it’s also twisted. And so for us at the very end, this lawsuit being the thing Ava’s looking forward to as a way to see Deborah, and then that being so sad to her when it goes away was a kind of perfect encapsulation of how complicated and twisted and bittersweet, this relationship has turned.”

There’s no way that Ava and Deborah are done with each other, but we’ll have to wait and see how much “torture” that the mentor will hand the student, sometime this spring on Max.

(Via Hacks on Instagram & EW)

Last year, Blumhouse defied convention by dropping the surprise horror hit M3GAn during the month of January, which is generally a dumping ground for films. The studio did not pull off the same trick with Night Swim.

The new horror film starring Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon is getting soaked in reviews that were left underwhelmed by this tale of a haunted swimming pool. (Yup, you read that right.) The premise was already wobbly to begin with, and Night Swim just doesn’t have the buoyancy to keep the whole thing from capsizing into boredom.

You can see what the critics are saying below:

Owen Gleiberman, Variety:

This one, waterlogged as it is, should have been called “The Aquatyville Horror,” and some might consider that a recommendation. But I never cared for the “Amityville” movies, with their “ominous” buzzing flies and their grab-bag atmosphere of threadbare haunted trickery. The title of “Night Swim” suggests the heightened sensual atmosphere of a college pool party, and that’s probably what it should have been: a slasher film set in the 12-foot deep. Instead, it’s a family horror movie, and this is one case where you really feel the PG-13-ness of it all.

Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter:

The short that provided this film’s inspiration had a running time of under four minutes, which sounds exactly right. Unfortunately, the feature version runs 98 minutes, its simple premise gussied up with a backstory mythology that isn’t likely to make Stephen King green with envy. And when the most chilling line in a movie is “There’s something wrong with that pool!” it’s all too easy to imagine the barbs on a future episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Benjamin Lee, The Guardian:

Yet Night Swim, a film about an evil swimming pool, is no M3gan and while not as atrocious as these first week frighteners can often be, it’s akin to a cold splash of water in the face, an immediate return to the ho-hum norm of before. It’s the sort of bottom-shelf concept that feels more at home in the 80s, alongside Blood Beach, Death Bed and Killer Workout and there’s not not some trashy fun to be squeezed out of such a lurid premise. Yet unlike those films, it’s accompanied by an uncomfortably stony face, silliness taken with far more seriousness than it deserves, quickly sinking the whole thing further by the minute.

Kristy Puchko, Mashable:

There’s the promise that Night Swim might right itself and plunge into fun and thrills. Spoilers: It won’t. Pulling inspiration from a flood of uniquely terrifying movies, Night Swim wades into horror with the right moves but no fluidity in how they come together. While it has splashes of fun, it’s ultimately a lazy effort that feels totally disposable.

Alison Foreman, IndieWire:

Without believable characters to root for or interesting design choices to distract from the lacking heart, “Night Swim” could have found its saving grace in an engaging, tightly constructed puzzle box nightmare. Unfortunately, McGuire muddies his brilliant concept with contradicting rules, unclear symbolism, and the sincerely outrageous decision to allow a huge portion of his movie’s best moments to take place during THE DAY. In the suffocating shadow of “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” one could theoretically argue that “Night Swim” would have been better with the kids as the main protagonists.

Night Swim dives into theaters on January 5, 2024.

Our favorite season — awards season — is finally here and with dates for major events like the Oscars changing thanks to strikes and fewer Covid restrictions we practically need a calendar to keep up. Sure, everyone knows the Academy Awards are slated to air March 10th but for invested fans looking to shore up their ballots before the big night, there are some important milestones to pay attention to before then.

We’re talking about the 2024 Oscar Nominations, that unpredictable 20+ minute long telecast that sets the stage for the biggest battles in each category. While we don’t know who the presenters will be (or which names they’ll butcher) we do know the nominations will be announced on Jan. 23rd. In December, different branches of the Academy held preliminary voting to whittle down category entries. So far, we know the Oscars shortlist for Documentary Feature, Best Original Song, and more. The rest will be voted on beginning Jan. 11th through to Jan. 16th. Once the final nominations are announced, another round of voting will run from Feb. 22 – 27.

So far, blockbusters like Barbie and Oppenheimer have commanded the most nods, but Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Color Purple have all made strong showings in the below-the-line categories. Expect to hear more for them when the Oscar nominations are announced.

Donald Trump dubbed Ted Cruz “Lyin’ Ted” when they were both running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He also insulted his wife and basically called him a “p*ssy.” But once he stopped seeing the Texas senator as a threat, Trump gave him a more flattering nickname. “He’s not Lyin’ Ted anymore, he’s Beautiful Ted,” he told ABC News in 2018. “I call him Texas Ted.” (UT Longhorns fans would prefer Leave Texas Ted.)

So much for that: the New York Times reports that Trump is “privately ranting about and workshopping nicknames for other holdouts, like Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.” He’s allegedly furious that Cruz hasn’t backed his 2024 bid for the White House, and is letting people know it.

“Ted — he shouldn’t even exist,” Mr. Trump said recently of Mr. Cruz, a 2016 rival, according to a person who heard the remarks and recounted them soon after. “I could’ve destroyed him. I kind of did destroy him in 2016, if you think about it. But then I let him live.”

Trump, who apparently talks like a cartoon super villain in private company, has also been boasting about receiving an endorsement from Representative Tom Emmer. “They always bend the knee,” he said.

Back to Ted. Remember 2016? It feels like 50 years ago:

(Via the New York Times)