Category: News

Yesterday (March 7), Nick Cannon and Kevin Hart announced Who’s Having My Baby? with a trailer. What is it? It looked like an upcoming game show on E! hosted by Hart, in which Cannon looks for a new woman to impregnate and add to the whopping 12 children he already has.

Now, Who’s Having My Baby? is a ridiculous concept for a game show, but in some ways, it seemed somewhat plausible. Cannon has been eager to joke about his prolific paternity and Hart previously got in on the fun by sending Cannon a condom vending machine. Furthermore, perhaps impregnation wasn’t the literal goal of the game show, and the promo was just a clickbait-y sort of introduction for a show with a less atypical premise. E! getting in on the video made everything seem more real, too:

Ultimately, though, it does appear that Who’s Having My Baby? is fake, at least in terms of it being a genuine game show. Variety reports that the idea is “actually a gag, orchestrated by comedian Kevin Hart, as a sketch for an upcoming, not-yet-announced project,” which could be announced as soon as today, per “insiders.”

Neither Cannon nor Hart have yet to drop the bit and reveal the show isn’t real, but it appears an announcement on that front is coming soon.

In a world in which most movies are available at the touch of a button – or the touch of a button and a rental fee; or, in some rarer cases, the touch of a button and a disc shows up a couple days later – it’s weird to think there was a time period where it was near impossible to watch Star Wars. (Okay, if we are getting into semantics, yes the original, non-Specialized version is pretty difficult to watch right now, but that’s not what this is about.) When I was five years old my parents took me to see The Empire Strikes Back and this was my first cinematic introduction to the Star Wars galaxy. I was too young to see Star Wars in theaters when it came out so that was that and I’d have to wait until a 1981 theatrical re-release before I ever saw the first movie. (Star Wars would not be released on home video until 1982, which I made my parents rent 50 times, in Betamax.)

I mentioned The Empire Strikes Back was my cinematic introduction, but it wasn’t my first experience with the characters because I had already gotten a bunch of Star Wars action figures made by the good folks at Kenner. The brand new toys from The Empire Strikes back then were all anyone could talk about at school and I had been counting the days until I could finally see this movie. So the way it works is, Kenner made 20 figures from the first Star Wars movie. Then they made Boba Fett with the promise he’d be a big part in the new movie that was still many months away. (This is a big reason Boba Fett still has the following he does today among Gen X, even though he’s not really even in Empire that much. The action figure had been released long before the movie so kids had him going on hundreds of adventures long before he just kind of stood around in the actual movie.)

When the new figures from The Empire Strikes Back hit stores, the original Star Wars figures were still there, too, and just kind of all blended together. There was no rhyme or reason to what my parents got me, so I’d get a figure of Walrus Man, then wonder what adventures this Walrus Man fellow will be on in The Empire Strikes Back. (Walrus Man, now better known as Ponda Baba, is not in The Empire Strikes Back.) Speaking of rhyme and reason, there didn’t seem to be a lot of it when Kenner decided what action figures to actually make. Did they make the actual head villain from the movie, Grand Moff Tarkin? Nope, they sure didn’t. Did they make R5-D4? Yep, they sure did.

I truly didn’t realize a good amount of these action figures were only in the movie for a few seconds. I just assumed R5-D4 was R2-D2’s pal. Look at the picture that comes with R5-D4’s action figure, we see our hero Luke Skywalker really having what seems to be an important moment with R5-D4. No doubt thanking R5-D4 for saving the day once again. Anyway, I had had an R5-D4 action figure for well over a year before I ever saw the original Star Wars. And when I finally did, R5-D4 shows up, shorts out, his head explodes and catches on fire. Then some Jawas wheel him away. That was it.

I can only assume Jon Favreau had a similar experience with R5-D4 and wanted to change this narrative. When Favreau was teasing The Mandalorian before its premiere, one of the first photos he shared was of R5-D4, who would eventually show up in the fifth episode, eventually becoming the droid belonging to Amy Sedaris’s Peli Motto. And it was nice that R5 finally had a nice home.

But that now has all changed as R5-D4 has now actually joined the adventure in this second episode of the season, accompanying Din Djarin and Grogu, serving as the astromech droid for Din’s Naboo Starfighter. And, as luck would have it, without R5-D4, that would be it for this season of The Mandalorian. Grogu can do some impressive things, but he probably can’t pilot a starfighter back to Bo Katan. But R5-D4 sure can, and does, paving the way for a rescue. (Well, technically two recuses. It probably wasn’t Din Djarin’s finest hour.)

But it’s a moment that had to make me step back and re-calibrate a bit. What a motley crew. A guy who kind of looks like Boba Fett, with a kid who looks like Yoda, with the actual R5-D4, just cruising around the galaxy looking for memory chips for IG assassin droid units and magical lakes of redemption. What a strange thing to exist. But, most importantly, finally, after all these years, that R5-D4 action figure has finally paid off. Now let’s get Snaggletooth into some action.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Blondshell — the indie project of 25-year-old Sabrina Teitelbaum — is building up the anticipation for her self-titled debut, whether that’s with singles taken from the record, such as the explosive “Veronica Mars” or the haunting “Olympus,” or one-offs like the Spotify single “Cartoon Earthquake.” Or this new Cranberries cover of “Disappointment.”

It’s safe to say that Teitelbaum’s take on “Disappointment” is not a disappointment. The build-up is beautiful and potent, her vocals and the guitars blending together and sweeping the listener into the hypnotic storm of sound.

“I wanted to sing a song off of No Need To Argue, which is one of my favorite albums ever. Dolores’ voice carries so much emotion throughout the entire album, not just on the big hits like ‘Zombie,’ but on the more understated songs as well,” the New York City-native singer said in a statement about the cover. “‘Disappointment’ hits me so hard because it feels like heartbreak disguised as apathy. I wanted to sing the song how I heard it, with the intensity of the pain behind those airy, relaxed vocals and drums.”

Listen to her cover of The Cranberries song above.

Blondshell is out on 4/7 via Partisan Records. Find more information about it here.

This week Tucker Carlson dusted off an old favorite of his: downplaying the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. This time he had 40,000 hours of security footage in his mitts, and he did what everyone knew he did, namely cherry-pick the most boring segments from it to make the outlandish claim that the violent attempt to overturn democracy was a mostly peaceful affair populated by mere “sightseers.” He’s doing it out of love for Trump, right? Wrong, at least if you go by some newly publicized texts he exchanged with a staffer two days before that fateful day.

“We are very very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait,” Carlson texted an unknown Fox News employee. “I hate him passionately,” he soon confessed, adding that he “blew up at [ex-Trump staffer] Peter Navarro today in frustration. I actually like Peter. But I can’t handle much more of this.”

Wow, Tucker sure seems pretty exasperated, huh? It’s almost as though he wants to go back to the old days, when he wore a bow-tie on the air and got shredded by Jon Stewart, who all but ended his tenure at CNN. (That’s right, Tucker Carlson was once on CNN. Crazy to think.)

The leaked texts are the latest treasure trove from Dominion’s pricey lawsuit against Fox News, which claims — with lots of evidence — that the network’s brass and stars knew all the 2020 voter fraud nonsense they were peddling was bull.

Does Tucker still hate Trump “passionately”? Is it all a schtick to Hoover up fame and money and a sense of power? It sure seems like it. As it happens, him admitting in private that he despises the big guy jibes interestingly with comments he said about non-far right media some two months prior: “Reporters hate Trump with an all-consuming mania. They hate him so intensely that at times it’s been amusing to watch.”

It’s almost as though Republicans like Tucker often trade in projection: accusing others of the very thing of which they’re guilty.

Tucker’s latest Jan. 6 segments have drawn ire from not only Democrats and families of officers who died as a result of the Capitol riot. Even Republicans and his own network have torn it asunder. Meanwhile the guy who gave him the footage, Kevin McCarthy, is simply claiming he hasn’t seen what he did with his dubious gift.

(Via The Hill)

Manchester Orchestra are going all-in with The Valley Of Vision, their forthcoming album, which arrives with a virtual reality short film. First, they unleashed the lead single and opener “Capital Karma.” Now they’re back with “The Way,” the second track on the LP.

“The Way” is a mystical experience right off the bat. Against a haunting ambiance, frontman Andy Hull‘s voice is a guiding force as he recollects some emotional wreckage: “I think I’m losing my mind / Fear became the fentanyl / Hungry like the animal / I’ve been sleeping in,” he sings. Despite the darkness and eerie texture, Hull reaches for hope as he repeats the line, “Let me start again,” grasping for redemption.

The forthcoming short film that accompanies the song was directed by Isaac Deitz. He said in a statement, “Experiencing the film in its intended 180-degree, 3D VR format feels like downloading a dream into your head,” he explained. “Each symbol represents a different experience nested in our internal worlds; it’s up to you whether you want to just enjoy them, or try to interpret what the dream means.”

Listen to “The Way” above.

The Valley Of Vision is out 3/10 via Loma Vista Recordings. Pre-order it here.

NCT 127 kicked off 2023 by reissuing their album 2 Baddies as a deluxe edition called Ay-Yo. Now, the other NCT group NCT Dream are back with The Dream Show2, their first headlining tour in the United States, which takes place this spring.

The tour is a short run, beginning on April 5 and ending on April 21. It hits the east coast with cities like Newark in New Jersey and Atlanta in Georgia, as well as the west coast with Los Angeles in California and Seattle in Washington.

Unfortunately, it looks like member Haechan won’t be joining. It was announced in January that he would be taking a step back from the group. “Recently, Haechan had experienced abnormal conditions,” a statement explained, “such as heart palpitations, chest tightness, and more, so he went to the hospital with his manager and got a consultation and examination where he received the medical advice that treatment and rest are required. As Haechan’s health recovery is the most important, he will not participate in scheduled activities for the time being and plans to recover his health while resting.”

Check out the full tour dates below.

04/05 — Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
04/07 — Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
04/09 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
04/12 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
04/14 — Dallas, TX @Texas Trust CU Theatre
04/18 — Los Angeles, CA @ Honda Center
04/21 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena

Find ticket information here.

The quest to determine the top club in CONCACAF is on. The 2023 CONCACAF Champions League kicked off on Thursday with three fixtures, all of which involve teams from MLS traveling south. The evening kicked off with Austin FC traveling to Haiti to play Violette, while it will end with Orlando City SC taking on Mexican side Tigres UANL.

In between those games, the defending MLS Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Union went to El Salvador, where Alianza were waiting for them in the Estadio Cuscatlán. It was a tense game, and during the second half, a little bit of levity got added to the festivities when a dang dog ran onto the pitch.

If you look right up near the corner flag at the 67:47 mark, you can see the dog emerge and start running around. John Strong and Stu Holden of Fox Sports both delighted in the game getting postponed for this extremely good boy, and they especially enjoyed when the dog made a beeline for the ball and picked it up with its mouth. A stadium worker with a huge smile on his face came out and got the dog out of there so the game could resume.

And now, I will end this post with several bad puns: Robert Lewandogski, Diego Maradoga, Kevin De Beagle, Harry Cane Corso. Thank you.

Draymond Green has rarely been one to hide his emotions on the court. That passion has often worked in the Golden State Warriors’ favor, as they’ve won four championships in eight seasons, thanks in part to Green’s play and boisterous leadership. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t benefit them. Late in the first half of Tuesday’s game between Golden State and the Oklahoma City Thunder, that proved to be the case.

Green flashed to the free-throw line, but neither Jordan Poole nor Klay Thompson passed him the ball in a timely manner. As a result, Green stopped calling for a pass and turned his back away from Thompson, clearly frustrated by the outcome. Yet just as Green did that, Thompson sent a pass toward Green, though the damage was already done. The ball sailed past Green and into Lu Dort’s arms, which ignited a fast break for the Thunder. However, Oklahoma City couldn’t immediately convert that chance, missing three different layups and coming up empty on the possession.

The whole sequence is rather amusing. Thompson finding Green right as Green heads the other way, Green walking toward the sideline, Oklahoma City botching the fast break, all of it is art. Basketball is beautiful and humorous. Thank you, folks.

The biggest free agent in the NFL is still technically on the market. The Baltimore Ravens and starting quarterback Lamar Jackson were unable to come to terms on a new, long-term contract ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s franchise tag deadline, but there’s a catch: the Ravens put the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, which means he is still allowed to negotiate a deal with other teams and, if Baltimore does not match it, the team will receiver two first-round picks as compensation.

The problem Jackson is facing, however, is that NFL teams don’t seem to be interested in him. In the aftermath of the former NFL MVP becoming attainable, numerous teams began letting it know that they don’t plan on pursuing him, even though most of them have major question marks at quarterback.

Jackson is known to be asking for a lot of guaranteed money — he reportedly wants a guaranteed deal like the $230 million contract Deshaun Watson got from the Cleveland Browns, a deal which was specifically cited by Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti as something that will “make negotiations harder with others.” All of this has raised eyebrows among NFL players, with one — Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd — straight up accusing Baltimore of “sabotaging” its franchise player.

Clark throwing out collusion is quite the allegation, and apparently, the NFLPA is keeping an eye out to see how things develop.

In 2021, Chicago quartet Ratboys followed up their third studio album Printer’s Devil with the record Happy Birthday. Since then, they’ve contributed to some compilations, with one including a cover of Kacey Musgraves.

The band is back today with the sprawling 8-and-a-half-minute epic “Black Earth, WI.” It’s a mellow song with striking imagery: “Oh, I was hypnotized / Caught up in the northern lights / Driving around in circles,” Steiner sings. The guitars are laid-back but mesmeric, contributing to this dreamy scene.

“We recorded ‘Black Earth, WI’ live off the floor in Seattle last year at the amazing Hall of Justice and it was our first time recording straight to tape,” Julia Steiner said in a statement. “We had to be conscious of how many takes we could fit onto a reel, but lucky for us, take two was the one.”

In our 2020 interview with the Bernie Sanders-approved group, they discussed their evolving sound. “We played, like, 150 shows in the States,” guitarist Dave Sagan said. “We just had become very comfortable with being a loud band. I think a lot of what happened on those tours was we were paired with bands that had a lot of energy and personality, and we had to take it upon ourselves to match that in different ways.”

Watch the video for “Black Earth, WI” above.