Category: News

(Spoilers for The White Lotus will be found below.)

No one knew what to expect from The White Lotus going in, but that first season body bag clued everyone into a murder that would eventually be afoot. By the second season’s launch, we knew the game, and that means that at least one of these miserable vacationers won’t be leaving alive. There’s some potentially life-threatening stuff going on for sure. The question, of course, is this: who will be the murder victim?

Let’s just say that I didn’t expect to be so worried about Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya this year. She’s the connecting thread between seasons, after all, and I expected that she’d be around for Season 3. Yet wouldn’t that be a great unexpected twist from Mike White if she died? I’d be very upset if this happened, and that would be doubly the case if “the gays” were the ones who took her out. A woman should be able to count on them!

Ahhh, it’s the perfect cover. And White told Variety that he “wanted to make gay sex transgressive again,” so why turn all societal (Carrie Bradshaw/Stanford Blatch-esque) expectations upside down as well? Last week, it appeared that — possibly — Tanya’s husband could be setting her up in cahoots with Quentin and his “nephew,” Jack, and this week, Jack conveniently carts Tanya’s unhappy assistant, Portia, away for a day of “fun.” All the while, Quentin maintains unfettered access to Tanya, who’s been feeling vulnerable (she thinks her husband is simply cheating) and trusts her new pal.

Well, she probably should not trust him. That’s my gut feeling, and I’m not alone. She’s the guest of honor at Quentin’s party, and everyone’s kissing Tanya’s butt for no reason, so what gives? Even though Tanya’s loving the attention (and the coke), this can’t work out well. Could her earlier vision of Greg with “shark eyes” next to men with “effeminate hairstyles” mean that he shows up in the finale and dies, or will it be Tanya who goes out? The momentum for this theory grew stronger over the past week, and people went into this episode feeling very tense:

The episode’s only getting started. Keep watching for more Tanya developments and try not to grip that remote control too hard.

HBO’s The White Lotus airs on Sunday nights.

The Lakers pitiful start to the season and the constant talk of what trades L.A. can make to try and make itself a contender has pushed Anthony Davis’ early season performance to the backburner. However, as the Lakers continue to play better ball, Davis’ effort is the central reason why, and Sunday night provided the best example of that yet in a 130-119 win over the Wizards.

Davis is averaging 28.6 points and 12.8 rebounds per game this season, doing most of his work inside the paint as he has embraced the center position under Darvin Ham. He’s taking fewer long twos and three-point attempts than ever before in his career, and the result is a leap in efficiency, posting a career-best true shooting percentage of 64.3 percent to start the season. That will only rise with what he did against the Wizards, as he went 22-of-30 from the field for 55 points, gobbling up 17 rebounds as well in an absolutely dominant performance in Washington.

What continues to stand out is how he goes to work early and often in the paint, attacking with force in a way we haven’t seen from him in a long time, getting himself in rhythm before he even considers stepping out for jumpers. He knocked down 2-of-3 from long range, but waited til late to get those in once he’d already established a flow and forced the opponent to sit well off of him to try and stop another drive or roll.

This is the type of play many have wanted to see from Davis for years, and it’s a credit to both he and Darvin Ham that he’s finally embracing it. For all the issues plaguing this roster, Ham deserves an immense amount of praise for what he’s done in managing the stars on this Lakers team, as he has Davis thriving as a center and Russell Westbrook playing excellent ball off the bench, two things few thought could happen so quickly.

The San Francisco 49ers picked up a big win on Sunday, as they dominated play against the Miami Dolphins in a 33-17 victory. That win came at a significant price, though, as Jimmy Garoppolo left the game in the first quarter and was carted to the locker room with a foot injury.

After the game, Kyle Shanahan revealed that Garoppolo had broken his foot and would require surgery, ending his season.

Garoppolo is the second 49ers quarterback to suffer a season-ending injury after Trey Lance fractured his ankle in Week 2, thrusting Garoppolo back into the starting role. Now, the Niners will turn to Brock Purdy, who led them to the win against Miami on Sunday and showed impressive poise in orchestrating the offense, but it is certainly a big blow for a team with championship aspirations.

The 49ers are currently 8-4, riding a five-game winning streak in which they’ve looked lethal on both sides of the ball. They still have a championship caliber defense and a ton of weapons at the skill positions, but they’ll have to rely on this year’s Mr. Irrelevant, as Purdy was picked with the final selection in this past April’s Draft and now finds himself at the helm of one of the NFC’s top contenders.

While Garoppolo has taken his fair share of criticism for not being the type of dynamic quarterback that can lift a talented team to a championship, he has shown he’s a capable enough game-manager to get the Niners deep into the playoffs. With more weapons than ever around him this season, headlined by Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey, it seemed like San Francisco might have a chance to win it all with Garoppolo under center. Now it’s on Purdy to show what he’s capable of, but one would think it’ll further inhibit the Niners offense and make them lean on their elite defense and rushing attack. Whether that is the kind of style that can win a championship in 2023 is a significant question, but maybe Purdy has more juice than anyone anticipates.

With the Lakers being a non-factor last season we were given a brief respite from the endless GOAT debate that so often consumes the NBA dialogue when LeBron James’ teams are in the title hunt.

However, while that’s not the case for the Lakers currently, LeBron James staring down the all-time NBA scoring record this season has rekindled the discussion as James stands to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the top spot at some point later this season, health pending. Adding the all-time scoring mark would certainly put another impressive bullet point on LeBron’s resume, but it is an accomplishment that figures to only divide those who are so entrenched on both sides of the debate.

As LeBron’s career progresses into his 20th season, the biggest separator in the LeBron vs. Jordan argument is how important longevity is to you. That’s at the crux of Draymond Green’s argument in favor of LeBron, as he explained on his “Throwing Bones” show in great detail, stumping for James as the best player of all-time by noting how he managed to hold the title of best player in the league for 15 years, all while the NBA went through some massive changes.

Green’s full top 5 is fascinating on its own, as he clearly leans hard on his take that the current era is the best and, therefore, the best players come from it, with LeBron, Jordan, Kobe, Steph, and Shaq as his list.It’s an interesting argument and it’s not one that I’m particularly surprised to see a current player making. Citing the overall talent quality in the league as well as how James has been adaptable to varied play styles and been dominant no matter the fads that have swept through the league in terms of roster construction makes a compelling case.

It’s not one, though, that’s likely to sway Jordan fans, as part of the argument for Jordan is that his prime years were so unassailably dominant that it doesn’t matter if his career didn’t extend as long. On top of that, you wouldn’t have to look far to find folks who would quickly argue against Green’s assertion that James was the league’s best player starting in 2005.

Still, it’s something Green has clearly thought about considerably, and he makes plenty of good points that LeBron supporters can make a mental note of next time they want to start an argument at the bar.

The Atlanta Hawks have gotten off to a solid, yet unspectacular start to the 2022-23 season, sitting at 13-10 through a quarter of the season, good for fourth in the East currently, but with just a game separating Atlanta and Toronto for the 8th seed.

Given the all-in move made to trade three first-round picks for Dejounte Murray, Atlanta has high hopes for this squad, but there seems to be a gap between them and the very top contenders in the East that still exists. The Hawks have struggled with shooting so far this year, and while Bogdan Bogdanovic getting back healthy is a considerable help, the expectation is that more moves are on the horizon. There is also some lingering tension between Trae Young and head coach Nate McMillan that isn’t necessarily helping the vibes around the Hawks so far, with a report on Sunday indicating a disagreement between the two on Friday led to the All-Star guard not attending Atlanta’s win over the Nuggets.

According to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Young and McMillan had a tense exchange prior to shootaround as Young got treatment on his shoulder.

While Young was receiving treatment on his right shoulder, sources say McMillan asked him whether he would participate in shootaround, receive treatment during walk-through and play in the game against the Nuggets. But Young made it clear that he wanted to focus solely on his treatment while missing shootaround and deciding later in the day whether he would play.

That approach, however, was not McMillan approved. Since the face of the Hawks’ franchise was deciding not to take part in shootaround, McMillan ultimately presented him with two options for that night’s game, sources said: Play off the bench — or do not show up to the arena. Young responded by saying he would not be playing against the Nuggets, and the team ruled him out while citing right shoulder soreness.

That is, per the report, not the first time the two have butted heads, and Amick and Charania note the Hawks have had “multiple” team meetings this season to resolve various disputes that have arisen in the locker room overall. It’s certainly not an ideal situation for a team with lofty aspirations to be dealing with internal turmoil, particularly considering how the last time tensions between Young and a coach ended in the firing of Lloyd Pierce.

While the report indicates McMillan is not on the hot seat in Atlanta, it will be worth monitoring how the Hawks’ season progresses and how Young and the rest of the team respond to McMillan. With John Collins back on the trade block (but also on the shelf with an ankle injury), it doesn’t seem like things are simply going to go away in terms of off-court distractions any time soon, and Atlanta’s going to have to navigate that until a deal materializes to alter this roster.

Kanye West has often aspired to be like Jesus, but he’s not doing such a hot job. Not only has the rapper-turned-presidential candidate has rebranded as an anti-Semite, but his apostles so far leave a lot to be desired. At least he’s lost one of them: As per The Daily Beast, Milo Yiannopoulos has either been fired from Ye’s semi-formal presidential campaign or (his claim) left amicably.

A once-mighty far right scourge who was effectively ousted from the GOP after defending pedophilia, Yiannopoulos recently joined Ye’s campaign as its manager. During his brief tenure, he was present for some real lows in Ye’s career/life. He was there for the infamous Thanksgiving dinner with Donald Trump, which he later claimed was a ruse — an attempt to punk the former president.

He was missing from Ye’s also infamous interview with Alex Jones, in which the bankrupted conspiracy theorist came off looking like the saner of the two (while not being sane at all, of course). Perhaps and Ye were already on the outs. But Yiannopoulos claimed he wasn’t canned.

“Ye and I have come to the mutual conclusion that I should step away from his political team,” Yiannopoulos told The Daily Beast. “I will continue to pray for Ye and all his endeavors.”

So ends yet another of Yiannopoulos’ failed attempts to worm his way back into the party that ejected him. Over the summer, he briefly interned for Marjorie Taylor Greene. Perhaps there will be no second act for a former Republican star, whose attempt to become a bestselling author ended miserably as well.

As for Kanye, well, at least he still has the Holocaust-denying white supremacist who gets into food fights in In-N-Outs.

(Via The Daily Beast)

This cuffing season, SZA, Keke Palmer, and the ladies of Saturday Night Live are looking for some fellas to keep them warm. Joined by Cecily Strong, Ego Nwodim, and Punkie Johnson, the women delivered a festive holiday anthem dedicated to the heavy-set men.

“Not just any man will do,” says Nwodim.

“That’s right,” says Strong. “We out here looking for some big boys.”

A group of conventionally fit men are then pushed away as a group of bigger men arrives at the winter scene.

SZA then comes in with the song’s chorus, singing, “It’s cuffing season, and now we’ve got a reason, to get a big boy, I need a big boy, give me a big boy.”

Throughout the video, Palmer is seen cozying up with a man by the fireplace.

SZA replaces a picture of Chris Pratt as Star-Lord with a picture of Pratt as Andy Dwyer on Parks And Recreation.

Strong imagines herself and a big man flying first class,” to the tune of Jack Harlow’s Fergie-sampling hit, “First Class,” “because he can’t fit in the back.”

Although Johnson is a lesbian, she expresses the desire for a “big boy” so she can “be the little spoon sometimes.”

Check out “Big Boys” above.

Avatar: The Way Of Water producer Jon Landau tweeted a photo with The Weeknd today (December 4) along with the message, “As the Na’vi say, “Zola’u nìprrte’ soaiane Avatar”… Welcome to the Avatar family.” The Weeknd retweeted it and added a vague “12.16.22” tweet with a 12-second snippet. Avatar‘s official account joined the fun, too. What does it all mean?

The Weeknd’s teaser clip features an ascending choir and evocative percussion, so the natural assumption is that The Weeknd will have a song on the Avatar: The Way Of Water soundtrack. But that has not been explicitly confirmed. According to Variety, “It remains unclear what the extent of the Weeknd’s involvement will be in the film or the soundtrack. Reps for the Weeknd and Disney did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.”

Avatar: The Way Of Water is James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to his 2009 Avatar film, which won three Oscars and still ranks as the second-highest grossing film in history, per IMDb. The Weeknd isn’t a stranger to unprecedented success — “Blinding Lights” became the longest-charting single in Billboard Hot 100 history and held that title until this October.

Most recently, The Weeknd featured on Metro Boomin’s newly released Heroes & Villains tracklist.

Drake‘s discography contains several anecdotes about exes, former flings, and past loves. Whether the love manifested by way of a long-term relationship, or a brief chance encounter, you can guarantee Drake has written a song about them, or even included a vocal sample of theirs on an album interlude.

Keke Palmer, who hosted last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live formed a union comprised of Drake’s past lovers in a sketch called “The United Tingz Of Aubrey.”

“My name is Courtney,” said one woman. “I left Drake a voicemail once about an overdue car payment and now I’m an interlude on an album. How does that work?

“I served Drake some lettuce wraps at PF Changs in 2009,” said another woman. “I laughed at his little joke about our huge menus and apparently I’m his ex now. Make that make sense.”

Palmer explained how she ended up in the category of one of Drake’s former “tingz.”

“My name is Keke Palmer, and that ‘Kiki do you love me’ song ruined my damn life,” said Palmer referring to Drake’s 2018 viral hit, “In My Feelings.” “That man had the whole internet asking if I was the Keke. Well yes, I am the Keke, just not that Keke.”

Check out the hilarious sketch above.

The clock has not struck midnight on Midnights, Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album from October. Outside of Ticketmaster’s The Eras Tour presale fiasco, this era has so far been pristine. Midnights debuted at No. 1, becoming Swift’s 11th No. 1 album and posting the biggest first-week sales numbers since Adele’s 25 in 2015. Not to mention, the 11-time Grammy winner became the first-ever artist to monopolize Billboard‘s Hot 100 top 10.

The dominance will continue for at least one more week. Billboard reported today (December 4) that Midnights is again No. 1 atop its Billboard 200 albums chart dated December 10. “Midnights earned 151,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week ending Dec. 1 in the U.S. (down 15%), according to Luminate,” the publication relayed. “The last Swift album with more weeks at No. 1 is Folklore, which notched eight nonconsecutive weeks atop the list in 2020.”

Additionally, Pop Base and Pop Crave pointed out that Swift is now the first-ever female artist to log 60 total weeks atop the Billboard 200.

Midnights spent two consecutive weeks at No. 1 before Drake and 21 Savage’s joint album Her Loss wrestled the top spot from her for the chart dated November 19. Swift reclaimed the No. 1 crown the following week and has held onto it since then.

This week’s chart is rounded out by Her Loss at No. 2 and Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti at No. 3, and then a few holiday-themed albums in Michael Bublé’s Christmas (No. 4), Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song (No. 8), and the A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack from Vince Guaraldi Trio at No. 10.