Category: News

Francis Ngannou is no longer UFC heavyweight champion, and Jon Jones will fight Ciryl Gane for the vacant belt, the UFC announced.

The news comes after months of tense negotiations between UFC President Dana White and Ngannou. White acknowledged the organization could not come to terms on a new deal, so he’ll be released from his contract, the UFC will waive its opportunity to match his next contract, and they’ll move on to Jones-Gane.

Ngannou has previously spoken about the UFC’s contracts, the restrictions in those deals, and the want to be “free” from the UFC following his UFC 270 win over Gane in January last year:

The statement from Ngannou in his interview with Ariel Helwani contradicts White’s comments on the champion’s exit, who acknowledged that the UFC offered him the a deal that would make him the highest-paid heavyweight ever, but then sharing his opinion that Ngannou doesn’t want to take a risk and wants to fight lesser opponents and make more money.

Ngannou immediately becomes combat sports’ most coveted free agent. On the open market, a boxing tilt with any of the big heavyweights makes a great deal of sense, but he could also choose to head somewhere like the PFL and take advantage of the promotion’s newly-formed Super Fight division, where fighters will earn at least 50 percent of the pay-per-view revenue, with bouts distributed by ESPN and the streaming service DAZN.

With a national holiday coming up tomorrow, the WNBA slid in some Sunday evening drama, as former league MVP Jonquel Jones is on the move.

While the trade has not yet been made official by the league, numerous reporters have corroborated and expanded on initial reporting, including that Jones specifically asked out of Connecticut. Calling this a seismic shift in the WNBA would be a drastic understatement. Jones earned an All-WNBA 2nd Team nod for her play this past season with the Sun, a year earmarked by a trip to the WNBA Finals.

While Jones’ stats took a dip this past season, it’s not an indictment of play, rather due to the nature of fellow All-WNBA performer Alyssa Thomas returning to the fold. As shown during the Finals, when putting forth her peak performance, there are few players who rival her talent and ability. As reported by Howard Megdal of The Next Hoops, the current construction of the trade is as follows (with room for change as it’s not finalized).

Let’s dive into this from each team’s perspective.

Connecticut Sun

By and large, it is impossible to recoup value when a franchise stalwart asks out; an organization is not going to get equal value back for a former MVP who is still and MVP-caliber talent.

Connecticut’s rebuilt staff and organization has preached the need to be more versatile, to put a greater emphasis on shooting and spacing, focused on revamping their offense. As has been made clear in every press conference from the Sun’s president, GM, and new head coach, the expectations are to be back in the playoffs, and deep into he playoffs.

Rebecca Allen is a career 36.9% 3-point shooter who can hit capably off movement on high volume, something the Sun frankly haven’t had the past few seasons on the wing. However, Allen was hurt during the FIBA World Cup in September, suffering a rib injury and partial lung collapse. It was announced in October that Allen would be out for two months by her overseas team, Valencia Basket Club, and she has yet to suite up for Valencia this season.

Ty Harris adds another dynamic backcourt threat, capable of playing on and off the ball with size at the guard position as well. Particularly with Jasmine Thomas out most of last season, Connecticut’s guard depth was inconsistent. As Thomas works her way back into the fold, Harris could provide some invaluable minutes in the backcourt alongside Natisha Hiedeman, who broke out as a starter herself last season.
The sixth overall pick in the coming draft is interesting, but for how this current draft is shaping up and considering the value return for Jones, this is underwhelming. It’ll be worth waiting to see what if any future draft compensation finds its way to Connecticut via this trade.
Recent 6th overall picks

• Lexie Hull (2022)
• Michaela Onyenwere (2021)
• Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan (2020)
• Napheesa Collier (2019)
• Azura Stevens (2018)
• Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (2017)
• Jonquel Jones (2016)

Nothing is set in stone, and each draft is different; a star is not guaranteed at any pick, let alone the sixth. Connecticut has typically drafted well, but this is a different front office set-up, as former head coach Curt Miller was also general manager.

If the Sun keep this pick, it marks a noteworthy first opportunity to make a selection in Darius Taylor’s tenure. Brionna Jones, reigning All-Star and Sixth Player of the Year is a pending free agent, but the team will reportedly use its core designation on Jones.

Connecticut coring Jones, essentially a franchise tag that allows for exclusive negotiating rights, insures that the organization still keeps one of their All-Stars in the frontcourt. Without moving one of their max level players, it would’ve been virtually impossible for the Sun to potentially re-sign Brionna Jones.

New York Liberty

For the New York Liberty, this is an absolute home run. Jonquel Jones is without question the best player that franchise guard Sabrina Ionescu has played with in her young career. Ionescu thrives as a ball-screen operator with her pull-up threat and rhythmic downhill pace and touch. Adding Jones’ overwhelming ability as a roll threat, pop threat, and her gravity overall gives the Liberty an incredibly dynamic two-player duo to build around.

I’m very excited to see how Jones looks in Sandy Brondello’s system, which often utilizes high post playmaking, a great deal of dribble hand-offs, and prioritizes an outside in approach to open up driving lanes and maximize spacing. Jones has been candid about marketability and visibility; there is perhaps no more marketable and visible market than New York City when the basketball reaches its highest heights.

Without question, this vaults the Liberty into the upper echelon of the W. With two of the top players in the league, the foundation is strong, and there’s room for the surrounding cast to continue to build throughout the off-season. After making a leap into the stratosphere of competitiveness this past season and earning a trip to the first round of the playoffs, the Liberty undoubtedly have larger aspirations in 2023.

While Jones is the headliner, don’t sleep on the addition of Kayla Thornton! Thornton just had the best season of her pro career for Dallas, with her second half of the season offensive outbreak proving vital to the Wings’ surge into the playoffs. She’s a stout on-ball defender who can toggle across multiple positions and brings a solid offensive skillset as a strong driver, aggressive rebounder, and occasional three-point threat. For a team that often lacked a true ball-stopper on the defensive side of the ball last season, Thornton is a significant get.

Dallas Wings

Dallas’ involvement in this trade is incredibly interesting. Given recent reporting from Khristina Williams of Girls Talk Sports TV that Allisha Gray is expected to be traded from the Wings, it was surprising to find out that she was not involved in the trade. The Wings appear to be incredibly active in reshaping their future, hiring a new coach in the offseason and now getting aggressive in the trade market.

Natasha Howard was an All-Star for the Liberty this past season. A dynamic roll threat, face-up scorer, and rangy defender in the frontcourt, the former DPOY and multiple time All-Defense member brings a lot to like for Dallas. While we don’t yet know what newly hired head coach Latricia Trammell’s system will look like, she has long been known as a lover of defense. Howard adds versatility and a strong interior presence for a team that toggled through multiple defensive schemes, never quite settling in due to their wide range of personnel.

The biggest question: How does this work with the current frontcourt?

Satou Sabally was dealing with nagging injury much of this past season, but she’s one of the more exciting young players in the game and should be viewed as a vital part of Dallas’ longterm plans. She primarily plays the four and spent some time at the five this past year as well. While she has the skill and athleticism to play the three for stretches, the inconsistency of her three-point shot has led to her often not being guarded as a threat from deep this past season. It’s worth noting that Sabally has shot 41.2% from deep during Turkish League and Euroleague play since the 2020-2021 season (77 total games), but 25% from deep on similar volume during her W career per InStat Scouting. If her shot bounces back in the W, this is a different story.

Teaira McCowan was arguably Dallas’ MVP down the stretch of last season, stepping into the starting lineup over the final 13 games and averaging 16.2 points and 10 rebounds per games as the Wings went 8-5. Sabally and star guard Arike Ogunbowale both missed chunks of the end of the season due to injury. McCowan is a restricted free agent this offseason and solely a center. The trio could certainly play together, but it’s the kind of theoretical fit that makes me want to see that lineup immediately, because I have so man questions in every facet.

What does the collective passing look like? Satou is a phenomenal passer while Howard and McCowan are both prone to turnovers. That’s putting a lot of decision-making on Dallas’ guards. Again, not inherently a bad thing, but I’m very curious to see it play out.

Crystal Dangerfield is a heady ball-handler and playmaker who can get into the lane. She brings potential as a rotation guard for the Wings who could also see some turnover in their backcourt if they decide to keep her in Dallas. Marina Mabrey is a restricted free agent. The aforementioned Gray is unlikely to remain in Texas. Ty Harris is in Connecticut. There’s a great deal to parse through here for each team, but Dallas has the feel of a team that’s just starting their engine.

This is an absolutely massive deal, and a huge swing to tip off what will likely be a busy close to winter in basketball. As the remainder of the trade, the offseason, and free agency unfurl, there figure to be more big moves on the horizon that will shake up the power structure o fthe league.

Alabama basketball player Darius Miles was one of two men arrested and charged with capital murder on Sunday after a shooting that was reported to police at 1:45 a.m. local time.

Per AL.com, the shooting happened as the result of an argument outside a bar district, with the victim being shot and killed in a car, while the driver, who was unharmed, returned fire.

Both Miles, of D.C., and 20-year-old Michael Lynn Davis, of Maryland, are charged in the killing of as Jamea Jonae Harris, 23, of Birmingham. The shooting happened on the Strip. About 1:45 a.m. Sunday, Tuscaloosa police and University of Alabama police were dispatched to the Walk of Champions at Bryant Denny Stadium on a shooting. A vehicle had stopped there upon sighting a University of Alabama Police vehicle. Harris was dead inside the vehicle, said Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Capt. Jack Kennedy. The driver, who has not been identified, told police their vehicle had been struck by gunfire. The driver said he had returned fire in self-defense and may have struck a suspect.

“It appears at this time that the shooting was the result of a minor argument that occurred between the victims and suspects after they encountered each other along the strip,’’ Kennedy said.

Miles had been on the bench on Saturday afternoon for the Tide’s 106-66 win over LSU after having been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. The university released a statement after Miles’ arrest became public, announcing Miles was no longer a part of the team and had been removed from campus.

“The University of Alabama’s utmost priority is the safety and well-being of the campus community. We are grieved by the incident that occurred near campus last night and extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and friends.We are grateful for the quick and thorough response of law enforcement and emergency response teams, and we will continue to fully support the ongoing investigation. We were made aware of the recent charge against student-athlete Darius Miles; he has been removed from campus and is no longer a member of the Alabama men’s basketball team.”

George Santos has only been a sworn-in member of Congress for just over a week, but he’s already the most famous member of this year’s freshman batch. That’s not because he’s worked on any legislation. It’s because every day there’s one, two, sometimes three new leftfield revelations about how he misled or outright lied to voters to get his new gig. Some of the revelations are big, some are small. This latest one is sort of in between the two poles.

On Friday, video made its way to social media that captured Santos in 2019. He spoke at a “Walk Away LGBT” event, in which conservatives try to coax queer people to leave the Democratic party, which goes out of their way to protect their rights, and join the one that calls them things like “groomers.” Thing is, Santos didn’t use his real name. Instead he told the crowd his name as “Anthony Devolder.”

As per The New York Times, at the time Santos was using a different surname professionally. He’d tell people and employers his name was George Devolder. But at Republican events he ditched the “George” part, too. There he’d go by Anthony, where he’d do things like ask a trans YouTube star if they “can help educate other trans people from not having to follow the narrative that the media and the Democrats put forward,” as he did at the 2019 event now making the rounds.

Using an alias to persuade LGBTQIA+ people to vote against their interests is but one of an ever-escalating pile of misleading statements, embellishments, and fibs Santos told in the lead-up to his successful 2022 congressional run. He’s bent the truth about his work history, his heritage, even his mother’s death. On one of his first days on Capitol Hill, he was even caught repeatedly missing his name being called out for a vote. Maybe if they’d called for “Anthony Devolder,” he would have responded.

(Via NYT)

The Miami Dolphins nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NFL Playoff history on Sunday afternoon in Buffalo, as the Skylar Thompson-led ‘Fins somehow erased a 17-0 first half deficit to tie the game late in the second quarter and keep it within a possession all the way to the end.

With under five minutes to go, the Dolphins got the ball trailing 34-31 and had a chance to go for a game-winning, or at least tying, drive. Thompson hadn’t been dynamic, but he did enough to take advantage of short fields to keep Miami in the game and came up with a big throw to Jaylen Waddle on 3rd and 10 to get the drive going.

Miami would then move out near midfield and find themselves with a 4th-and-1, with the game on the line, as they’d burned all three timeouts already to prevent delay of game penalties, as they struggled with the play clock all afternoon. However, Bills defensive lineman Ed Oliver went down with an injury, meaning the Dolphins got a play clock reset and had an extra 10-plus seconds to get a playcall in, but somehow were only breaking the huddle after the reset with four seconds on the play clock. The result was an all-time awful delay of game call.

To be clear, the play they had called was awful and got blown up — why that was anything other than QB sneak is mind-blowing — so it gave them second life, but Thompson couldn’t complete a desperation pass to Mike Gesicki, allowing the Bills to run out the clock.

Buffalo would pick up a first down on a third down run to guarantee the win, but it was much more difficult than it probably should’ve been. For the Dolphins, they played a fairly incredible game but the inability to get plays off on time was an issue all game and something Thompson and Mike McDaniel never made the proper adjustment to and it ultimately cost them in the most pivotal moment of the game.

To make matters worse, McDaniel said after the game the issue was that they thought they had a first down (when no one else anywhere was confused by that) and didn’t have a fourth down play call ready.

That’s fairly inexcusable in that spot for the Dolphins staff, particularly McDaniel.

Beyoncé‘s recent album Reinassance resonated with quite a few folks. One of them was Blxst. The 30-year-old rapper just dropped his own version of Queen Bey’s disco-inspired hit, “Cuff It.” The remix of the track, entitled “Cuff It / Wetter,” was posted to Blxst’s official YouTube page on Saturday, January 14. The soulful tune spans about a minute and a half and is the perfect blend of Bey and the singer.

“I feel like fallin’ in love / I’m in the mood to f*ck something up,” the duo sings. “I need some drink in my cup, hey / I’m in the mood to f*ck something up.”

Blxst, whose real name is Matthew Dean Burdette, released his debut album Before You Go this past April. The project featured artists like Arin Ray, Rick Ross, Zacari, and Grandmaster Vic. The singer also served as a producer on a couple of tracks for the album, which spans 13 songs.

Recently, the California singer and rapper teamed up with another Cali native, Larry June, for a track entitled “Keep Calling.” He also worked with Babyface Ray and Nija on “Spend It.”

While it’s unclear what Blxst has planned for 2023, fans are patiently awaiting his next project.

Check out Blxst’s “Cuff It / Wetter” video above.

SZA’s SOS party will continue for at least one more week. Her highly anticipated sophomore album arrived in December, shortly after she served as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, and it became her first career No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 albums chart. SZA hasn’t relinquished the position since December 19.

Billboard revealed this week’s chart (dated January 21) with SOS sitting at No. 1 for a fifth consecutive week after moving 125,000 equivalent US album units in the week ending January 12. Nos. 2-6 on the chart remained the same from last week: Taylor Swift’s Midnights (No. 2), Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains (No. 3), Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss (No. 4), Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti (No. 5), and Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album (No. 6).

The publication put SZA’s fifth week in context, putting SZA in elite company.

“Only four albums have spent at least five weeks at No. 1 since the start of 2022: in order from most recent, SOS, Taylor Swift’s Midnights (five), Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti (13) and the Encanto soundtrack (nine),” Billboard‘s Keith Caulfield relayed. “SOS is the first album to spend its first five weeks at No. 1 since Adele’s 30 ruled the list for its first six weeks (its total run at No. 1) from Dec. 4, 2021-Jan. 8, 2022.”

On Friday, January 13, however, SZA felt particularly proud of a different chart accomplishment: hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songwriters chart for the first time in her career because 15 SOS tracks are charting on the Hot 100.

“I appreciate every milestone and accolade but THIS?” SZA tweeted. “As a writer [this] means so f*cking much to me. I aspire to be a better writer everyday thank you WOW.”

Also last week, SZA shared her cinematic, gory video for “Kill Bill.” She’ll take it all on the road for her SOS Tour, beginning in February with Omar Apollo as the opener.

Congratulations are in order for NBA YoungBoy. The 23-year-old rapper recently married his longtime girlfriend, Jazlyn Mychelle, which whom he shares two children with. The couple jumped the broom in Salt Lake City last week, VIBE reports.

Last Sunday (January 8), screenshots of a marriage license dated the day before (January 7) began circulating on social media. The images showed that Jazlyn Mychelle Hayes was listed as Spouse 1 and that Younboy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, was listed as Spouse 2.

The certificate states that the nuptials happened in Salt Lake City, where the Louisiana rapper moved to after being released from prison in 2021.

This past November, while on Instagram Live, the rapper announced his intentions to marry Mychelle.

During the broadcast, YoungBoy shared that he was feeling “lonely,” a fan suggested he go onto OnlyFans to “lift his spirits.” The rapper responded to the hilarious suggestion by revealing that he was getting married.

“I’m getting married [on] January 7,” he said. “Boy, you can’t pay me $10 million to get on muthaf**kin’ OnlyFans, n****. You crazy.”

When it comes to music, YoungBoy released his fifth studio album, I Rest My Case, on January 6. His last album, The Last Slimeto, was released back in August 2022. This new project marks his first with Motown Records after parting ways with Atlantic Records in 2022.

NBA Youngboy is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Did you know Donald Trump is running for president again? It’s easy to forget. After all, he’s barely — if at all — left Florida since announcing his third bid. He announced his campaign amidst a flurry of scandals and disappointments that have all but rendered him persona non grata in the party he radically changed last decade. Not even his old employees are willing to back him, at least for the time being.

One of them is Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She was Trump’s second press secretary. Her tenure made her a household name, but at a cost: She did some of his dirty work. She would humiliate herself. She even spread a doctored video of CNN’s Jim Acosta “assaulting” a White House staffer, which he did not remotely do. But now, as the newly sworn in governor of Arkansas, she’s suddenly keeping her distance.

As per Mediaite, Sanders went on Fox News Sunday, where host Shannon Bream asked point blank if she’d endorse her old boss’ 2024 run. Instead, she dodged the question.

“I love the president, have a great relationship with him,” Sanders told Bream. “I know our country would be infinitely better off if he was in office right now instead of Joe Biden. But right now, my focus isn’t 2024. It’s focusing here in Arkansas and doing what we can to empower the people of this state, and make sure that I’m delivering on the promises that I laid out over the course of the last two years.”

Bream didn’t give up, though. “What kind of timeline would you have for making a decision?” she asked Sanders. “Do you want to see who else gets into the primary? Will you wait for the nominee?”

“My focus isn’t on 2024,” Sanders repeated. “It’s on what we can deliver in this legislative session. I’m not going to set an arbitrary timeline. I’m not really focused on that at all.”

Trump has a lot to be angry about these days, but it can’t feel great that one of his former employees, who as press secretary regularly dodged questions she didn’t want to or couldn’t answer, was dodging this particular question. Perhaps Trump’s fortunes will improve; he has, after all, spent his entire life avoiding responsibility for his actions. But that she would do him dirty like this at all ain’t a good sign.

(Via Mediaite)

Lisa Marie Presley died suddenly on Thursday, January 12. The 54-year-old daughter of Priscilla Presley and the late Elvis Presley had reportedly been hospitalized earlier that day for “full cardiac arrest” (as noted by the Associated Press).

Nicolas Cage, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, and Michael Jackson’s estate were among those to publicly mourn Presley, who had been married to Cage from 2002-04 and Jackson from 1994-96. Austin Butler joined them with his own statement, as relayed by Billboard.

“My heart is completely shattered for Riley, Finley, Harper and Priscilla at the tragic and unexpected loss of Lisa Marie,” Butler said. “I am eternally grateful for the time I was lucky enough to be near her bright light and will forever cherish the quiet moments we shared. Her warmth, her love and her authenticity will always be remembered.”

Lisa Marie Presley is survived by her three children — Riley Keough, 33, and 14-year-old twins Finley and Harper Lockwood — and Priscilla Presley. Her 27-year-old son, Benjamin Keough, died by suicide in July 2020.

Lisa Marie and Priscilla had atttended the 2023 Golden Globes on Tuesday, January 10, to support Butler and Elvis, the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic Butler starred in as the titular icon (and still talks like). Butler took home the trophy for Best Actor In A Motion Picture, Drama — his first career Golden Globe.

Butler thanked “the Presley family” during his acceptance speech “for opening your hearts, your memories, your home to me.” He concluded, “Lisa Marie [and Priscilla], I love you forever.”

Butler has largely been praised for his portrayal of Elvis Presley, including by Lisa Marie.

“I do want to take a moment to let you know that I’ve seen Baz Luhrmann’s movie Elvis twice now. Let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular. Absolutely exquisite. Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart & soul beautifully,” she tweeted in May 2022. Lisa Marie added in a following tweet, “In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and FINALLY done accurately and respectfully. (If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot, haha.)”

The nomination field for the 2023 Oscars will be unveiled on January 24.