Category: News

We’re more than halfway through the first season of House of The Dragon and in episode seven’s ‘Driftmark’ the cracks in House Targaryen are blown wide open thanks to a drama-filled funeral, a stolen dragon, and a shocking story twist book readers won’t see coming.

Daemon Targaryen joins the rest of his family at the familial seat of his late wife and he wastes no time in creating chaos. Though, to be fair, he didn’t have to try too hard seeing as how Otto Hightower is back as the king’s Hand and Alicent Hightower is slowly losing her mind with jealousy.

Here’s where everyone sits in the line of succession after another week of bloody drama.

The Pretenders

Laenor Velaryon

Everyone grieves in their own way – just look at Daemon, chuckling like Pennywise the Clown as his wife’s body gets tossed into the deep end – but stumbling his way through his sister’s memorial service and weeping on the beach in full view of his entire court is just not King Consort behavior. Then again, Laenor has never been adept at playing this game for the Iron Throne and after the loss of Laena, he’s lost even the will to do so. We wish things had gone differently for both him and Rhaenyra but, out of everyone on this show, he might be the only character to actually get a happy ending. Or, at the very least, a shot at one. Rowing across the Narrow Sea with his boyfriend in tow and a shaved mop means that Laenor doesn’t finally have to pretend to be anything but himself. Excuse us while we go experience feelings in the corner.

Alicent Hightower

Alicent Hightower is much surer of herself and her schemes back home in Kings Landing, At Driftmark, she feels, well, adrift: clinging to Ser Criston Cole’s presence like he’s some kind of security blanket, avoiding the stares of her new partner in crime, Larys, and trying her best to make Rhaenyra uncomfortable at Laena’s viewing. Her meltdown following the loss of Aemond’s eye is proof that here, where her titles and power mean a bit less than they do at the Red Keep, she’s something of a desperate, cornered animal, clawing at the chance to exact revenge against Rhaenyra for years’ worth of perceived slights at the expense of a mere child. And, when she can’t order her armored manservant to do it, she decides to take the Catspaw dagger and carve out Lucerys’ eye herself as justice for Aemond’s disfigurement. (Someone, please medicate this woman.) This momentary loss of control reveals Alicent for who she truly is – a bitter, envious, deeply unhappy woman who would rather blame her friend for the cage she’s been placed in rather than the person who’s really responsible for her imprisonment, her father. But go on girl, keep acting like a lunatic in public. It only helps to strengthen your frenemy’s claim to the Iron Throne.

Aegon II Targaryen

This guy, Alicent?! This is the boy you’ve picked to be the future king? This gangly drunken lecher with matted hair and uncontrollable hormones who jerks off in tower windows and blacks out at funeral services? Technically, Aegon didn’t do anything really wrong this episode, but he sure didn’t do anything right, either — hence his place in the line of succession this week.

King Viserys Targaryen

How Viserys managed to rule a kingdom for this many years when he can’t even control the infighting amongst his own family members is truly a mystery but it’s clear that limbs aren’t the only thing this man has lost in the last decade. His daughter, his brother, his wife, and his own kings guard openly disrespect him and his wishes on the daily and, save for a brief outburst after Alicent wielded a knife against his heir (his HEIR, y’all) the man is content to simply sit under his blankets, drink his grape juice, and take day naps. What’s the Westerosi equivalent of a home for a retirement home because this guy needs to go there, like now?

Corlys Velaryon

It’s hard not to sympathize with Corlys in this episode. He loses his daughter and then his son in quick succession and he must play host to the very people he views as responsible for these deaths. He’s loving and attentive to Rhaenyra’s sons, even though it’s obvious they aren’t of his blood, and he does his best to mend fences with House Targaryen — even going so far as to defend Daemon to his wife — in order to keep the peace. But he treats his son terribly and he tries to gaslight his grieving wife into believing his pursuit of power is fueled by his desire to see justice for the insult dealt to her decades ago instead of his own ambition. For someone so obsessed with his legacy, he’s doing a piss poor job of taking care of the people in his life that will one day preserve it.

The Contenders

Rhaenyra Targaryen

For a Targaryen, Rhaenyra hasn’t shown much fire in that last couple of episodes. It’s clear that the rumors about her sons’ parentage have threatened her already tenuous claim to the throne and that, combined with Alicent’s obsessive plotting of her own downfall, have left the princess unsure of herself and at a loss as to who to trust. Harwin’s death hits her particularly hard but, luckily, her favorite uncle is back in town and the two waste no time plotting and f*cking and plotting some more. (They’ve got 10 years to make up for after all.) Rhaenyra’s showdown with Alicent at the end of the episode is the fiercest we’ve seen her so far, spurned on by the need to protect her children and her pent-up frustration with a woman who traded their friendship for a shot at more power and a higher title. But the icing on this incestuous cake came when Rhaenyra and Daemon calmly planned Laenor’s “death,” knowing how it would be perceived by others at court and welcoming the fear it would instill in her enemies. Just more proof that the incurable condition (of being a messy little b*tch) that Daemon suffers from is contagious.

Daemon Targaryen

Speaking of Westeros’ much-missed Rogue Prince, Daemon begins the episode far more subdued than we’ve seen him amongst his own family members. He’s likely grieving his wife, but he seems more wounded by the treatment he’s received at the hand of his brother. And yes, hurt people hurt people, but did he really need to insult Viserys as his mangled, mottled singular hand shakily extended an olive branch? Yes, yes he did. Thankfully he’s more open to reconciliation with Rhaenyra and after some sexy times in a seaside shack, Daemon seems a bit more like himself – happy to sit back and watch the Hightowers make fools of themselves, puffing up like a preening peacock at Ser Criston Cole, and deviously crafting a way to rid his niece of her husband, marry her, and ensure his place on the Iron Throne in that order. Love that for him.

Aemond Targaryen

Unlike his completely clueless brother, Aemond seems to understand the game for the throne that his mother and grandfather are playing. Maybe it’s because he’s the younger son, maybe it’s because his sister mumbles nonsense to insects as a hobby, or maybe it’s because his brother drowns himself in wine and embarrasses the rest of his family constantly. Whatever the reason, Aemond craves power and he’s willing to lose an eye to get it. After that pig incident in the Dragon Pit at Kings Landing, it’s nice to see Aemond manning up and taking Vhagar for himself – contrary to what Laena’s girls think, he didn’t steal her, that’s just how riderless dragons are claimed – but he’s a bit of a d*ck about the whole thing when he’s caught taking a joyride after hours. We want to like him but there’s a self-serving mean streak — likely instilled in him by his mother — that’s clearly going to win out in him

HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ airs on Sunday nights.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon will be found below.

The House of Targaryen is one f*cked up bunch. We see repeatedly see this with incestuous pairings and, last week, when the series’ worst character (Aegon) jerked off in a (symbolic) window and emotionally tortured his own brother with a pig. That brother (Aemond) made some antagonistic moves of his own this week, but we’re here to talk about another antagonist, Prince Daemon, who people absolutely love. And that credit goes to the writers and Matt Smith for being likable while playing a guy who’s exiled over and over again and continues to emerge and wreak havoc at court.

In Episode 7, “Driftmark,” Daemon (after one week, or maybe a decade in actual time, of being a Dad with a capital “D”) didn’t act as expected after his latest wife’s death. He killed the first wife, of course, and his second wife (Laena Velaryon) died during a complicated childbirth after hauling herself in front of her dragon (prompting a discussion of whether Targaryens are fireproof) and ordering, “Dracarys!” Well this week, Daemon has returned to fine form, at least in the eyes of viewers who can’t help but love him. He started giggling during his wife’s funeral. And that was only the beginning.

Then fans received the scene they were waiting for. Daemon and Rhaenyra finally vanquished their many years of unresolved sexual tension. They found a little love nest on the beach, and it was actually (since it had to happen) a beautifully understated scene, although not terribly visible because this franchise loves darkness too much. In other words, Princess Rhaenyra and Uncle Daemon did the deed on the same beach where his wife’s funeral was held and shortly after Ser Harwin’s death. Damn.

The Targaryens are gonna Targaryen.

HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ airs on Sunday nights at 9:00pm EST.

Wisconsin entered this season with the same expectations they typically do as a preseason top 25 squad that hoped to compete in what figured to be a wide open Big Ten West division. However, through six weeks the Badgers have struggled against decent competition, getting dominated by Ohio State (which happens to most everyone), but more concerning have been losses to Washington State and Illinois at home.

That Illinois loss on Saturday, a 34-10 beatdown at the hands of a divisional rival coached by former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema, was apparently the breaking point for the boosters up in Madison, as word broke on Sunday evening from ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that head coach Paul Chryst was being fired, with defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard being elevated to interim head coach.

Chryst’s buyout is reportedly $16.4 million if he gets the full number.

There’s a very real chance Leonhard becomes the long-term selection, as he has emerged as one of the nation’s best defensive coordinators in recent years and the Badgers tend to like keeping things in the family, but it had become clear to Wisconsin’s athletic department that Chryst’s message was no longer reaching the team. Chryst was in his eighth season with the Badgers, compiling a 67-26 record in his time that peaked early in his tenure, when he had the Badgers finish in the top-10 in 2016 and 2017, winning the Cotton and Orange Bowls respectively.

However the last three years haven’t gone according to plan in Madison with 10 losses in two and a half seasons and finishing outside the top 25 the last two years.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan is back in action after a one-week break. To get you up to speed with all the Raising Kanan events that occurred before episode seven, titled No Love Lost, we should start with Raq who is still pressing onward with her expansion plans despite objections from her brothers Marvin and Lou-Lou. Raq also informs Lou-Lou of Jukebox’s newly-sparked relationship with her mother Kenya. Elsewhere, Lou-Lou decides that the permanent solution to his problems with Crown is to kill him, which he does. Kanan’s new romance turns out to be quite complicated, and maybe even a bit more than he can handle and Detective Burke continues to investigate Detective Howard’s shooting despite his objections for her not to.

In No Love Lost, we find out that love is not in the air for Raq as new interactions with Symphony and Cartier make that clear. She also learns information about Scrappy that will cause him to regret past decisions. Kanan gets caught with his pants down (literally), Marvin completes his anger management class, Jukebox tries something new but it may not be for her, Lou-Lo makes a new partnership, and Unique is up to no good per usual.

Here are some of the biggest questions we had after the third episode of season two:

Will Raq’s Decisions Backfire On Her?

There were two decisions that Raq made in No Love Lost that could have a role in how the second season of Raising Kanan ends. The first was her decision to offer a deal to Cartier’s associate while out at dinner with Cartier and the second was her decision to not kill Symphony before he moves to North Carolina. At this point, it’s clear that Raq’s intentions with Cartier aren’t too romantic as she looks to take advantage of his knowledge and network for her own benefit. As for Symphony, it seems like her love for him was too strong for her to go ahead and kill in order to ensure that his knowledge about her drug operation stays to himself. Both of these decisions from Raq could play a big role in how business goes for her in the future. We can’t imagine that Cartier will be too pleased with her backdoor deal and it doesn’t seem like Symphony will do much talking, but nowadays, you never know.

Did Marvin’s Anger Management Class Really Work For Him?

It took a few episodes, and quite the fight against his stubbornness, but Marvin finally completed his anger management class. The episode shows Marvin laughing and celebrating with fellow class members, even one he almost got into a fight with. Marvin seems happy that he completed the course, but we have to ask, did it really work for him? There are still moments that he flashes anger, like finding out that Jukebox reconnected with her mother and putting a hit on the woman who snitched on him and got him into the legal mess in the first place. Marvin’s ability to control his anger will surely serve him well going forward, especially as a romance is seemingly on the horizon with his instructor Renee. If Marvin doesn’t put his lessons into practice, it could cost him in the long run.

Will Detective Burke Let It Go Or Let It Consume Her?

Detective Burke is neck deep into her investigation of Detective Howard’s shooting despite his request for her to leave it alone. So far, Burke has learned that Howard has a child which she suspects is Kanan, but she hasn’t found out much else about her partner. All of that changed in episode seven when she learns that Howard was once an undercover cop, and it’s here that she believes that Howard may have had a child with a confidential informant. If all of it checks out, that means that Raq was the C.I. in question for Howard. It also means that Howard got her pregnant during Raq’s time as an informant, which could mean some trouble for him. Burke’s love interest suggests that she back out of the investigation into Howard as it is one that internal affairs would normally handle, but it appears to be too late for that as Burke is completely consumed in the matter. A fork in the road is approaching, a Burke will have to decide whether to let this investigation go or let it consume. Either way, there’s no turning back once she picks a side.

Kanan, Was It Worth It?

This is a question that we’re left to ask ourselves on multiple occasions with Kanan. When he stole that money from the closet in the stash house, we wondered if it was worth it. Even his interactions with the white woman during his camping trip with Raq brought that question. For his latest act, Kanan finds himself in bed with Palomar’s mother. Since meeting Palomar and her mother at Famous’ birthday party earlier this season, Palomar’s mother has had an eye for Kanan. Kanan and Palomar quickly make things official as boyfriend and girlfriend, but that doesn’t stop Palomar’s mother’s pursuit. She eventually wins over Kanan as the two take things to the bedroom, but to the surprise of no one, Palomar catches them leaving her furious about her discovery. It seemed like Kanan had a good thing going with Palomar, which makes his decision extremely questionable. He can say goodbye to Palomar, and a relationship with her mother is very unlikely, so Kanan, was it worth it?

Will Jukebox Be Her True Self Around Her Mother?

Jukebox has been spending time around her mother in the last few episodes. So far, things seem to be going well between them, but there’s one thing Kenya has yet to learn about Jukebox and that’s the fact that Jukebox is attracted to girls. We watched her relationship with Nicole, before her death, in season one. This is important as Kenya is an active member of the church where gay and lesbian relationships aren’t the most welcomed. As a result, Jukebox tries to conform in order to make her mother happy, and that results in her going on a date with a fellow male church member. Things seemingly go well between the two, but Jukebox is clearly uncomfortable with it all. Jukebox assumes that Kenya will object to her sexual preference, but she could be wrong. One could assume that Kenya will accept Jukebox for who she is if she truly wants a relationship with her.

Can Lou-Lou Finally Find Success?

In episode six, Lou-Lou’s tension with Crown reaches a boiling point and it pushes him to kill Crown. It comes after Lou-Lou learned that Crown met with Raq to hatch a plan to get Lou-Lou out of the record label. Now that Crown is gone, Lou-Lou is left to seek help from Cartier and they agree that Cartier will take over 25% in exchange for Lou-Lou receiving help in warding off people from Crown’s past. Nonetheless, Lou-Lou’s next task will be to make Zisa a successful act. Accomplishing this is a make-or-break thing for him because if he fails, he will have to let her go according to a deal that he and Cartier made earlier this season. Without Zisa, Lou-Lou will have no one on the label and that will make it extremely hard to cash in on his investment and prove to Raq that it was all worthwhile. Whether or not he’s able to do that remains to be seen in future episodes.

New episodes of STARZ’s ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ are available to watch on Sundays at 12:00am EST.

Tyler Herro had a breakout in the bubble as a rookie, where he played a major role in the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals, but followed that up with just a solid, yet unspectacular 2020-21 season, setting up a very important third year for his hopes in establishing himself as one of the league’s rising young stars.

He succeeded in that goal, winning Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game on 44.7/39.9/86.8 shooting splits coming off the bench to get the Heat to the No. 1 seed in the East. After announcing his desire to start this offseason — which was met with an unsurprising “he’ll have the chance to earn that,” from Pat Riley, citing a need for improvement on defense — there was some wonder as to how the Heat viewed their young shooting guard as he became extension eligible.

As training camp opened, Herro had not received an extension like some of the other top players in his class, but on Sunday that changed as the Heat and Herro agreed to a large (but not max) extension that will keep him in Miami for four more years beyond this season, for $130 million.

The deal features $10 million in incentives, with a base of $120 million.

It is certainly a significant financial commitment from the Heat, and one that indicates they believe he can become more than just a microwave scorer off the bench. Miami is now locked into Herro being part of their core going forward, alongside Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler at north of $30 million a year — with Duncan Robinson also locked in at $18 million annually. After making minimal moves this offseason to add talent, Miami is banking on some internal improvement, and Herro figures prominently into those plans with this new deal.

SNL’s Season 48 premiere was a biggie, with one of the stars of the year’s biggest money gobbler doing a spot-on Peyton Manning, to say nothing of musical guest Kendrick Lamar. A lot had changed, though, since last season. Over the summer there was a mass exodus, which longtime honcho Lorne Michaels blamed on the pandemic. But eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed an additional omission: Where was Cecily Strong? If you’re worried she’d joined several of her other former cast members, don’t.

As per Entertainment Weekly, there’s a simple explanation for Strong being AWOL: She’s doing theater. Strong is currently stationed in Los Angeles, at the Mark Taper Forum, performing the one-woman show The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. The stage production, first mounted in 1985, was written by Jane Wagner and performed by her now-wife, Lily Tomlin. It’s a great gig, allowing Strong to step into some pretty legendary shoes. But it does mean Strong won’t rejoin SNL until October 23.

Rumors have swirled for the last couple years that Strong, who joined SNL a decade ago, may leave, but it’s always ultimately proven untrue. Last year she earned additional acclaim for a sketch in which she dragged Texas’ draconian abortion law while dressed as a clown — a bit that has only gained in power given what the Supreme Court did months later.

(Via EW)

This article originally appeared on 08.05.21

Six years ago, a high school student named Christopher Justice eloquently explained the multiple problems with flying the Confederate flag. A video clip of Justice’s truth bomb has made the viral rounds a few times since then, and here it is once again getting the attention it deserves.

Justice doesn’t just explain why the flag is seen as a symbol of racism. He also explains the history of when the flag originated and why flying a Confederate flag makes no sense for people who claim to be loyal Americans.

This high school student, Christopher Justice, does a great job at explaining the Confederate flag and its problems.pic.twitter.com/CcOXHCB8GQ

— ud835udc0bud835udc1aud835udc27ud835udc1cud835udc1e ud83cudff3ufe0fu200dud83cudf08 (@ud835udc0bud835udc1aud835udc27ud835udc1cud835udc1e ud83cudff3ufe0fu200dud83cudf08)
1628088843

But that clip, as great as it is, is a small part of the whole story. Knowing how the discussion came about and seeing the full debate in context is even more impressive.

In 2015, a student at Shawnee Mission East High School outside of Kansas City came up with the idea to have student journalists document students engaging in open discussions about various topics. In support of this idea, history teacher David Muhammad helped arrange a debate about the use of the Confederate flag in American society in his classroom.

According to the Shawnee Mission Post, Muhammad had prepared a basic outline and some basic guiding questions for the discussion, but mainly let the students debate freely. And the result was one of the most interesting debates about the Confederate flag you’ll ever see—one that both reflects the perspectives in American society at large and serves as an example of how to hold a respectful conversation on a controversial topic.

The full discussion is definitely worth a watch. Justice had quite a few Confederacy defenders to contend with, and he skillfully responded to each point with facts and logic. Other students also chimed in, and the discussion is wildly familiar to anyone who has engaged in debate on this topic. For his part, Mr. Muhammad did an excellent job of guiding the students through the debate.

“I had Chris in class, so I knew he was super intelligent and that he read a lot,” Muhammad told the Shawnee Mission Post in 2018. “But that really came out of left-field. He was never out there very much socially, so I didn’t expect for him to want to speak in front of a crowd like that.”

(In case you’re wondering, according to LinkedIn, Christopher Justice is now studying political science at Wichita State University after switching his major from sports management. David Muhammad is now Dean of Students at Pembroke Middle School and also serves as a Diversity Consultant.)

Thanks, SM East, for documenting and sharing such a great discussion.

The Baltimore Ravens looked dominant in the first half against the Buffalo Bills, jumping out to a 20-3 lead at home and it appeared the marquee game of the day might end up being a rout.

However, the Ravens offense stalled in the second half, getting shutout by the Bills who followed Josh Allen’s lead to a 23-20 comeback win — the second big collapse at home for Baltimore this season. There were plenty of missed opportunities for Baltimore (and a few calls that went against them Ravens fans will point to as part of the problem), but nothing was bigger than a failed 4th and goal from the three with just over two minutes to play in a 20-20 game that resulted in an interception in the end zone.

From there, the Bills marched down the field with relative ease — somewhat confirming coach John Harbaugh’s fears in just kicking a field goal to go up three — and deep into Ravens territory. Baltimore looked confused on whether they should let the Bills score, as many players tried to let Devin Singletary run into the end zone with just under 90 seconds to play, but one Ravens defender ran over to tackle him, all but assuring the Bills could milk the clock all the way down.

After a knee on the one to wind the clock all the way to three seconds left, the Ravens sideline was in disarray, with Harbaugh getting into it with star corner Marcus Peters, who didn’t like something Harbaugh said as he walked off the field and had to be pulled away and restrained from going after his coach.

It’s not what you want to see on the sideline between your coach and a star player, but after the game Harbaugh shrugged it off as the heat of competition and said he still loves Peters — and hopes the feeling is mutual.

The Ravens dropped to 2-2 with the loss but will feel like they should be 4-0, and in what figures to be a tightly contested AFC playoff race, those two losses could prove very important when it comes time for seeding in January.

Netflix’s new limited series, Dahmer, is proving to be one of the year’s most controversial shows. While many have praised Evan Peters’ acting chops as the show’s subject, convicted serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, family members of the victims have deemed the show insensitive, as it has triggered past traumas. Also, some people have slammed artists for alluding to Jeffrey Dahmer in past songs.

In 2010, Kesha released a song called “Cannibal,” on which, Kesha rap-sings, “Be too sweet and you’ll be a goner / Yeah, I’ll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer.’

Today (October 2), Kesha’s mother, Pebe Sebert, who co-wrote the song, has taken to TikTok to address the negative backlash. In the video clip, Sebert revealed that she wrote that particular lyric.

“At the time, Kesha and the other writer were too young to know who Jeffrey Dahmer was,” she said. “Literally, the way it happened is, I had this rhyming program called MasterWriter for songwriters, we were looking for a rhyme for ‘goner.’”

Sure enough, Dahmer’s name popped up, which inspired the line. When Sebert and Kesha were writing the song, the two recalled how Kesha wasn’t popular in high school, and how when she began blowing up, guys began fawning over her. This partly inspired the line, “But now that I’m famous / You’re up my anus.”

“It was a tongue-in-cheek, funny song,” Sebert said, “it was not actually about cannibalism… I’m sorry to anybody who’s lost a family member in this tragedy.”

Also facing backlash following Dahmer are Katy Perry and Juicy J for their 2013 collaboration, “Dark Horse.”

On his guest verse, Juicy raps, “She’s a beast / I call her Karma / She’ll eat your heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer.”

Neither Juicy nor Perry have issued a response to the backlash.

Whenever a player leaves the field on the cart, it’s always cause for concern for fans, as it’s usually an indicator of a significant injury. In Detroit on Sunday, Seahawks fans were in a bit of a panic when DK Metcalf was seen taking the cart back to the locker room after not having a clear issue on the field.

While speculation swirled, the Fox broadcast brought a welcome (and funny) update for Seahawks fans, as Metcalf wasn’t dealing with an injury of any kind, but was instead just dealing with a bathroom emergency with a disaster scenario in play if he were forced to try and jog back there.

This explains why Metcalf was just hanging out on the cart, legs dangling off the sides, without a trainer on there with him, but it’s also incredibly funny that he was in such dire need of a bathroom break that he needed to take the injury cart to the back.

Naturally, Metcalf’s ride to the bathroom reminded fans of one of the all-time great sports conspiracies, where Paul Pierce’s wheelchair exit from an NBA Finals game was actually so he could go poop — something Pierce once confirmed but then insisted he was joking — and led to Pierce’s name trending on Twitter.

We had a poop emergency scandal recently in football involving Lamar Jackson, but he denied “pulling a Paul Pierce,” but it seems DK won’t be able to escape the Pierce allegations this time.