Alright, here is our post about the Josh Hart tweets. If you are not aware of what that sentence means, here is something that Josh Hart — who became a father for the first time during the New York Knicks’ Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Miami Heat — tweeted out on Tuesday evening.
Have yall ever tasted yall significant others breast milk? Asking for a friend
After Hart put this on Al Gore’s internet, a number of NBA players decided to respond and, in the case of one college and professional teammate, unfollow his account. Hart, to his credit, seemed to find the whole thing very funny.
The tweet came across the desk of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who simply said “what the hell” and promised to discuss this on his podcast. Well, the podcast ended up dropping, and Smith did, indeed, discuss all of this. He says a lot of stuff that you would expect Stephen A. Smith to say on this subject, then drew a parallel between this and the famous Making the Band sketch from Chappelle’s Show where Dave Chappelle, as Diddy, demanded that the contestants picked him up a bottle.
The whole thing ends with Smith saying Brunson was justified in demanding Hart loses his number, Hart getting called “a weird one,” and Smith expressing his hope that Hart sticks with the Knicks moving forward.
At the end of the regular season, Tristan Thompson got signed by the Lakers after spending the year as an analyst with ESPN. After not playing in the first round, he got some spot minutes against the Warriors before spending the first three games of the Western Conference Finals out of the rotation once again.
In Game 4, Thompson was the first big off the bench as Darvin Ham desperately sought out answers against the Nuggets, and Thompson performed rather admirably, albeit in defeat. In 10 minutes of play, Thompson had four points and one rebound, giving L.A. an energy boost on both ends in a game where Anthony Davis was struggling mightily to impact things offensively. Thompson’s main job was to try and bother Nikola Jokic after the big man and the Nuggets had figured out how to exploit the Rui Hachimura matchup, and he did fairly well in that matchup, understanding no one (particularly an aging, undersized center) is going to stop him.
On Wednesday, Thompson was back at his day job with ESPN in the NBA Today studio, and he was asked to offer some firsthand advice to the Heat on how to approach defending the two-time MVP. After getting roasted by Richard Jefferson at the open, they ran through three clips of Thompson having some success against Jokic, where he explained how the most important thing is to do your work early before Jokic gets the ball to keep him off his spots, because when he’s in position he’s mostly unstoppable.
Tristan Thompson brings his firsthand experience guarding Nikola Jokic in the Western Conference Finals to NBA Today. He has some advice for the Miami Heat: pic.twitter.com/L9UVcCAy56
It’s a good breakdown and is the value of ESPN having a guy like Thompson, who was literally playing a week ago, on staff. It also highlights why defending Jokic over a seven-game series is so incredibly difficult, because you see how hard Thompson is working on every single possession. He could do that because he was only playing 10 minutes in that game, but to do that for a full series takes a ton out of opposing bigs and requires significant frontcourt depth (something Miami doesn’t have). Jokic, meanwhile, isn’t expending nearly as much energy as Thompson is trying to move him off his spot, which is part of why the big man has been so good late in games this postseason.
Still, this is what is required when facing Jokic, constant work to make him uncomfortable and keep him from getting the ball where he wants it on the court. It’s easier said than done, especially over a full series, but this will be what Bam Adebayo and company will be tasked with trying to do starting Thursday night.
The single arrived on Wednesday, May 31, as the second offering from Palehound’s forthcoming album, Eye On The Bat, after April’s “The Clutch.”
“‘My Evil’ is about the extremely humbling experience of realizing that yes, you Are the a**hole,” lead vocalist El Kempner said in a press release. “I found myself acting in ways I was ashamed of, and realizing how capable I was of hurting somebody when I was trying so hard not to. Sometimes when you try so hard to be a ‘good person,’ you’re actually swinging so far and recklessly that you make a full circle back to being a sh*thead. It can be very hard to forgive yourself, and this song is a portrait of that struggle for me.”
“The Sopranos is a show that’s been constantly on loop in my life for the past few years. When I got the idea to make a video based on the intro credits of Tony driving through Jersey, I knew I had to do it with my friend Richard Orofino. He’s possibly even a bigger Sopranos fan than I am, and he did an incredible job mapping out a lot of the original locations from the show, including Tony’s house that we see at the end of the video. This whole thing was super DIY, just me and Richard (and his camcorder) having the time of our lives and being embarrassing superfans. It’s not exactly shot-for-shot of the original but, to brag for a sec, I’m truly amazed at how close we were able to get it.”
Perhaps the song’s crowning achievement is making self-loathing sound so delightful. “I’ve become the person I’d want to punch in the face if they / Ever treated you this way,” Kempner sings softly in the opening verse. “My Evil” continues to lay out Kempner’s vices, or how they feel their “evil” comes to fruition, delicately acknowledging that side of themselves without crossing over into admonishment.
Watch the “My Evil” video above, and check out Palehound’s 2023 North American headlining tour dates below. (Ticketing information is available here.)
10/17 — Syracuse, NY @ The Lost Horizon #
10/19 — New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom #
10/20 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry #
10/21 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage #
10/23 — Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall #
10/24 — Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall #
10/25 — Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade – Purgatory #
10/26 — Nashville, TN @ Blue Room @ Third Man #
10/28 — Austin, TX @ TBA
10/29 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Factory Obscura
11/01 — Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge $
11/02 — San Diego, CA @ Casbah $
11/03 — Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room $
11/04 — San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel $
11/06 — Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s $
11/07 — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios $
11/09 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court $
11/10 — Denver, CO @ Globe Hall $
11/11 — Fort Collins, CO @ The Coast $
11/14 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry $
11/15 — Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon $
11/17 — Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle $
11/18 — Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar $
# with Empath
$ with alexalone
Eye On The Bat is out 7/14 via Polyvinyl Record Co. Find more information here.
Donald Trump may be killing it in the polls for the 2024 Republican primary, and yet he keeps amassing adversaries. So far eight other conservatives have thrown their hat in the ring — and borne the brunt of Trump’s fury and dunking. But when Chris Christie formally announces his campaign next Tuesday, it sounds like he’ll be openly asking for a fight with his old pal-turned-adversary.
The former New Jersey governor has a bumpy past with Trump. He ran against him in 2016, but his campaign quickly flamed out. He transitioned into an ally, and he even served on his transition team in the early days of his lone term in office. But after the Jan. 6 riot, Christie turned on him and has set his sights on saving the Republican Party from MAGA wackos.
That’s evident from a three-point strategy Christie’s campaign sent Axios:
1. Being joyful and hitting a more hopeful note aimed at America’s “exhausted majority.”
2. Being authentic—a happy warrior who speaks his mind, takes risks and is happy to punch Donald Trump in the nose. Christie’s recent interviews and New Hampshire town halls aim to recapture the brio of his 2009 governor’s race.
3. Running a national race—“a non-traditional campaign that is highly focused on earned media, mixing it up in the news cycle and engaging Trump,” an adviser said. “Will not be geographic dependent, but nimble.”
The language — “engaging Trump” — may be relatively soft. But given how terrified so much of the GOP is of riling Trump and/or his base, even “engaging” him sounds fearless.
One of Christie’s allies was a little more forthright while daring not to speak his name. On Tuesday The New York Timesreported on the Christie-focused Super PAC that was recently launched, called Tell It Like It Is. According to Brian Jones, the political strategist leading it, the ex-governor is “willing to confront the hard truths that currently threaten the future of the Republican Party.”
It’s a wink-wink statement, but no one, not even Trump’s most ardent supporters, would fail to guess who Jones is subtweeting.
Will Christie prove the most openly anti-Trump Republican contender? Seems like it, though surely a coterie of voters still haven’t gotten over Bridgegate.
Lil Uzi Vert changed their pronouns to they/them in July 2022. At first, the “Just Wanna Rock” artist subtly indicated the change by updating their Instagram bio, and then it was confirmed to Pitchfork by their spokesperson. As noted by XXLand Complex, On Tuesday, May 30, Uzi was revealed as a cover star for the summer issue of 032c, and they opened up about the decision to change their pronouns in the accompanying.
“No, I never hesitated,” Lil Uzi Vert said. “But I did take my time to learn as much as I could about this before I was able to proceed. Taking the time to figure out who you are is a big part of what it means to be alive. Once you figure out whether you’re here with it, there with it, or both, you’re not alone anymore.”
They continued, “This community offers access to a certain kind of support that you might not have had [previously during] your entire life because you weren’t raised that way. I come from a household where it’s not okay to be ‘non’ anything.”
Additionally, Lil Uzi Vert emphasized that they don’t feel “brave at all” for changing to they/them, and they offered their perspective the United States of America’s general acceptance of non-binary people.
“America is slowly getting there,” they said, per XXL. “I don’t think it’s right for everyone, everywhere, to change at the same rate. There are a lot of places that have been untouched by certain influences, and I think that’s beautiful and perfect in its own way. Everything has a gift and a curse.”
“What we are trying to do now over time is sell parts of this inventory and donate money to the organizations that are helping us and that were also hurt by Kanye’s statements,” Gulden told investors, as relayed by Complex at the time.
That plan came to fruition today, May 31. Adidas’ official website is headlined by Yeezy, advertising that “some of the remaining inventory” of his products are available on the brand’s app, Confirmed, and promising that a “portion from the sale of these items will be donated in support of the fight against discrimination, hate, racism, and antisemitism.”
An accompanying press release details that the benefiting organizations include the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change.
“The release will mark the first time that products have been available to consumers since adidas terminated the Yeezy partnership in October 2022,” the press release explains. “The products will be existing designs and designs initiated in 2022 for sale in 2023. Additional releases of existing inventory are currently under consideration, but timing is yet to be determined. Today’s announcement has no immediate impact on the company’s current financial guidance for 2023.”
“After careful consideration, we have decided to begin releasing some of the remaining Adidas Yeezy products,” Gulden said in a statement. “Selling and donating was the preferred option among all organizations and stakeholders we spoke to. We believe this is the best solution as it respects the created designs and produced shoes, it works for our people, resolves an inventory problem, and will have a positive impact in our communities. There is no place in sport or society for hate of any kind and we remain committed to fighting against it.”
The May 31 Yeezy drop comes one day after Billboardreported that Adidas’ request for an emergency order re-freezing of the $75 million held by Yeezy was denied by a federal judge.
On Wednesday, nearly three years after he was formally charged in Los Angeles, Danny Masterson was found guilty in court of two cases of rape. The actor could face 30 years behind bars. Throughout the case, Masterson’s adherence to the Church of Scientology came up, with four of his accusers alleging that they were stalked and harassed by church affiliates. Former Scientologist-turned-critic Leah Remini even got involved, reacting after a mistrial late last year. She did the same after two of the charges against him ended in guilty verdicts.
The two guilty verdicts in the rape trial of celebrity Scientologist Danny Masterson are a relief.
The women who survived Danny Masterson’s predation are heroes. For years, they and their families have faced vicious attacks and harassment from Scientology and Danny’s…
“The two guilty verdicts in the rape trial of celebrity Scientologist Danny Masterson are a relief,” Remini wrote on Twitter shortly after the news broke. She called those who “survived” Masterson’s actions “heroes” for having “soldiered on” amidst “vicious attacks and harassment from Scientology and Danny’s well-funded legal team.”
Of the three rape charges that went to trial, only two of them ended in a guilty verdict, namely two women he’s been convicted of raping in his Hollywood Hills home in 2003. A jury could not reach a verdict for a third person: a former girlfriend who accused him of raping her in 2001.
To her, Chrissie Bixler, Remini said, “I know Danny raped you; I know that Scientology tried to destroy you. However, this case would not have moved forward and resulted in two guilty verdicts if it were not for you.”
Remini also had plenty to say about the Church of Scientology. While she admitted they were “not formal defendants,” they did, she claimed, “played a significant role in obstructing justice in this case and other instances of sexual violence.”
She also offered them a stern warning, writing, “This case is just the beginning of our plan to hold them accountable.”
You can read Remini’s full statement below:
The two guilty verdicts in the rape trial of celebrity Scientologist Danny Masterson are a relief,
The women who survived Danny Masterson’s predation are heroes. For years, they and their families have faced vicious attacks and harassment from Scientology and Danny’s well-funded legal team. Nevertheless, they soldiered on, determined to seek justice. While it is up to them to decide whether they are satisfied with this verdict, I am relieved that Danny Masterson is facing some justice after over two decades of brutal sexual violence with no criminal consequences.
To Chrissie Bixler, whose count ended in a hung jury, I know Danny raped you; I know that Scientology tried to destroy you. However, this case would not have moved forward and resulted in two guilty verdicts if it were not for you. I am sorry you didn’t receive a guilty verdict on your charges; you deserved one. But please never forget that justice would not have been served if it were not for you.
Although Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige, were not formal defendants, they played a significant role in obstructing justice in this case and other instances of sexual violence.
Senior Scientology officials, civilian Scientologists, and their proxies have conspired to silence victims and intimidate witnesses for decades.
This case is just the beginning of our plan to hold them accountable.
I speak only for myself when I want to thank Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson, and their staff for their relentless pursuit of justice for the last six years.
I want to thank Judge Charlaine Olmedo for her professionalism and for not allowing Scientology’s antics to disrupt this trial.
While I am often issuing harsh statements against the LAPD, in this case, I want to thank the LAPD detectives in this case. They faced relentless harassment from Scientology as well and kept moving forward.
Finally, to the jury, thank you for seeing the truth. Thank you for not allowing emotions to get in the way of cold hard facts. Thank you for showing Scientologists (former and current) that justice is not only possible, but that they should come to expect it.
And thank you to all of you who have supported the women who faced hell to fight for justice. Every reply, every retweet, every like…it all mattered.
When the Sex and the City sequel …And Just Like That appeared in late 2021, it did so with one glaring omission: There was nary a sight of Samantha Jones. Turns out Kim Cattrall had zero interest in returning as the publicist who’s the randiest of the main foursome. But with Season 2, she changed her mind, sort of. As per The Hollywood Reporting, Samantha will make an incredibly brief return appearance, but don’t expect it to find the old gang back together.
According to THR, Cattrall made good on a report from last year and filmed in the flesh in one scene in the Season 2 closer. Cattrall did her scene in New York City in secret — so secret that she did her work with a limited crew and no interaction with former co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis.
Samantha made a cameo in AJLT Season 1, too, kind of: A scene in the final episode found Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw texting with her AWOL pal, who had conveniently relocated to London. The pair made plans to meet up in person and talk out their apparent beef. Perhaps that will still happen: Through the magic of editing, the filmmakers could simply stitch together a conversation between Parker and Cattrall that evidently never happened. Or maybe Samantha will just be seen avoiding her former brunch confidants.
In real life, Parker and Cattrall really are estranged. The two had a falling out after the latter declined to do a third SATC film. The rift was such that Parker revealed last year that they didn’t even ask her to join AJLT:
“We did not ask her to be part of this because she made it clear that that wasn’t something she wanted to pursue, and it no longer felt comfortable for us, and so it didn’t occur to us … That’s not ‘slamming’ her, it’s just learning. You’ve got to listen to somebody, and if they’re publicly talking about something and it doesn’t suggest it’s someplace they want to be, or a person they want to play, or an environment in which they want to be, you get to an age where you’re like, ‘Well, we hear that.’”
In other news, Cattrall will star in Netflix’s show Glamorous, which — intentionally or not — has the same release date as the first episode of AJLT’s second season.
Insults of any kind are painful, but jabs towards someone’s financial status are their own breed.
In January 2023, Singapore-based Zoe Gabriel was on the receiving end of this particular flavor of mockery when she posted a TikTok about a purse from local retail brand Charles & Keith—a gift bought for her by her father.
In her excitement, the 17-year-old called the bag, which costs around $80, a “luxury” item as she unwrapped it. Her excitement was sadly cut short by some of the negative comments she received.
One comment seemed to stand out above the rest and prompted Gabriel to post an emotional response video.
The now-deleted comment, which read, “Who’s gonna tell her?” followed by a laughing emoji, showed in the background as Gabriel tearfully explained why the purse meant so much to her as someone who grew up without a lot of money.
“We couldn’t buy new things as simple as bread from BreadTalk,” she said, referencing a popular Singaporean bakery. “That kind of thing was a luxury to us…Every time we passed by a store, my parents would just say next time, but next time would never come.”
With this context, Gabriel shared why the shameful comment was so inconsiderate.
“To you, an $80 bag may not be a luxury. For me and my family, it is a lot, and I’m so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money.”
Gabriel’s video quickly went viral, even making its way to the actual founders of the Charles & Keith brand, Charles and Keith Wong. According to The Straits Times, the brothers were so “impressed” with Gabriel that they invited her and her father to have lunch and an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour at the company’s headquarters.
The brand later posted a photo on its Instagram page showing Gabriel modeling a lilac-colored Charles & Keith bag for International Women’s Day, even announcing her as a new brand ambassador.
You’d think it would go without saying to just let people enjoy things, but we know that on the internet simple courtesy sometimes goes out the window. However, this is a heartwarming reminder that for every ignorant remark, there are also those who want to lift others up.
Gabriel might have been ridiculed, but she has since seemed to come out on top, posting videos of herself wining and dining and dancing and traveling and basically having the time of her life. Sounds like the ultimate luxury to me.
On every basketball superteam, one star player is tasked with having to sacrifice the most for the good of the collective. Through four games, it’s clear that on the overnight juggernaut New York Liberty, that player will be Sabrina Ionescu. While Ionescu was the first piece of New York’s super roster, the way she plays and her lack of experience compared with her MVP-caliber veteran teammates make her the player who will have to change most for the Liberty to rise.
The team added Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Courtney Vandersloot during the offseason. It was clear that, as a result, when and how Ionescu got the ball would be quite different than at any point in her basketball life. The returns have been up and down through four games to start the season amid the team’s feeling out process, although Ionescu was ultra-productive in Stewart’s return to Seattle on Tuesday night.
Ionescu made six of 10 threes, showing awareness off-ball and a growing understanding of where and how she will need to operate around her new star teammates after spending most of her career as the focal point in New York. Plays like this illustrated a comfort using her shooting as the ultimate back-breaker for the Liberty offense:
Expect plenty of these actions from the Liberty this season. Double drag with Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, with the former spacing and the latter rolling. Easy triple for Stewie. pic.twitter.com/SuF1OxKRPr
With a quick flick release and tons of confidence, Ionescu is more than capable of being a lights-out floor-spacer. As a former No. 1 overall pick who led the Liberty to the playoffs the past two seasons, she is overqualified for such a rudimentary role. While she’s aced that assignment so far and is among the best shooters in the WNBA to start the season, Ionescu is nonetheless adapting to her role on one of the most talented teams ever assembled.
Through four games, Ionescu’s usage and assist rates are way down while her three-point rate is a career-high. She is shooting 45 percent in the restricted area and 29 percent from 2-point range. She has seven total free throw attempts in 132 minutes.
Ionescu missed some shots she’d normally make to start the year, which I believe comes down to getting used to the demands of an off-ball role. Playing next to Vandersloot — who is third in WNBA history in assists — Ionescu is starting more possessions as a floor-spacer or flying off screens in head coach Sandy Brondello’s motion offense. Still, in Ionescu’s fourth season, she knows how to create space for her pull-up jumper or floater, and her trademark power driving game makes her tough to corral. Some of the shots she’s gotten as a result of all this have just not fallen, which is a thing that sometimes happens over a sample size of four games.
Ionescu is operating more like Diana Taurasi did for nearly a decade in Brondello’s system in Phoenix than the Trae Young-like role she was in to start her career. More structure should benefit Ionescu as the season goes on, but until Tuesday, her timing and touch had been just a little off.
The bigger adjustment will come in attacking closeouts and getting to the basket, something Ionescu has not routinely done as a basketball player until this season. While Ionescu got comfortable taking spot-up threes next to Betnijah Laney and Natasha Howard in recent years, in the biggest moments, she returned to a traditional high pick-and-roll or transition drag screen game, getting downhill with the threat of her passing and pull-up three creating space for her in the halfcourt.
Next to a superior scorer in Stewart and a superior table-setter in Vandersloot, Ionescu will act as a more straightforward off-ball player. There are tons of things that are just different enough about that role — the physics, the footwork, the need to stay locked in even as your team gets away from you for stretches. Ionescu has front-rimmed many of her misses, as good a sign as any that her misses are down to discomfort.
Ionescu is shooting 46 percent from three, so defenses still must respect her as a major threat even as she finds her way in a new role. Her best moments inside the arc early in the season have come when she takes advantage of that space, shifting and cutting into space without the ball and canning wide-open looks.
By staggering her and Vandersloot, the Liberty can still retain much of what makes Ionescu special. She is dynamite handling the ball in transition, and remains a matchup problem because of her size as a guard. When she gets hot from deep or gets the opponent into foul trouble, Ionescu can pile up points with the WNBA’s best. When she gets to handle the ball, Ionescu is still a killer in transition when the defense is on its heels and she has more time to process.
And when everyone is on the floor, opponents are already being faced with the fact that they cannot afford to leave Ionescu to guard the primary action Brondello calls. Ionescu is a high IQ player who is already learning to maneuver within her new confines and challenge the defense even more aggressively.
For the Liberty to reach their ceiling, one key ingredient will be Ionescu settling into the best version of herself alongside the other stars. New York’s starting lineup is outscoring opponents by just 3.4 points per 100 possessions this season, whereas the other superteam in Las Vegas has seen its starters post a net rating of plus-31. Of course, plenty of things need to be sorted out in the early days of New York’s grand experiment, which is always the case when there’s such a major injection of talent. It’s unclear if the Liberty have enough defense in their starting lineup overall, and while Stewart and Jones have excelled overseas playing together, they both are used to scoring and defending as centers. Even Brondello and Vandersloot, as envious of a problem as it is, face a challenge in keeping everyone engaged and involved on offense.
The history of basketball is littered with players on ultra-talented teams — Klay Thompson, James Harden, even Candace Parker on this year’s Aces squad — who needed to sacrifice to make everything around them work. Though she is still early in her professional career, Ionescu has a pathway toward doing what she’s great at and still driving winning at the highest levels. If she can polish her role over the next 36 games, Ionescu’s adaptation should be one of the biggest reasons why New York is able to compete for a WNBA championship this fall.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
heard it goes down like almond milk
