Occasionally last season, former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel elected to close games without Russell Westbrook in the lineup. Given Westbrook’s stature, vast collection of accolades, and the significant trade required to bring him to Los Angeles, such a move was somewhat surprising. Conversely, though, given his struggles in 2021-22 and discordant fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, such a move made sense, especially on the nights Westbrook’s jumper, defense, and decision-making lagged below the necessary threshold.
If those struggles continue into 2022-23, new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham will enjoy the freedom to reduce Westbrook’s minutes, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
“Ham will have more power to bench Westbrook down the stretch of games, according to league sources. (Former head coach Frank Vogel did so a few times last season),” Buha wrote in a recent mailbag article. “That could eventually extend to removing Westbrook from the starting lineup as well.”
Buha also speculated that Los Angeles’ regular closing lineup could be composed of James, Davis, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Austin Reaves, and Troy Brown, although he noted Stanley Johnson could supplant Toscano-Anderson, depending on how training camp unfolds.
And herein lies the problem for Los Angeles. Even if Westbrook’s foibles extend into next season, the alternatives and counters are not ideal solutions. Barring a Westbrook trade that bolsters the rotation significantly, the roster around James and Davis is quite lackluster. Toscano-Anderson is an effective, defensive-minded bench wing. Reaves is a sufficient closing option, fueled by his defensive exploits and complementary offense. I still reserve some optimism about Brown’s NBA future, but he was a fringe rotation forward on a Chicago Bulls team that lost in the first round in five games last season. Either him or Toscano-Anderson closing games for a team with title aspirations is suboptimal.
A renewed version of Westbrook, however likely or unlikely that is, provides this team a boost that none of the aforementioned Lakers probably can. It’s absolutely conceivable all of them prove to be better closing candidates than Westbrook next season, but that presumably spells trouble for Los Angeles’ overall quality as a team if it’s consistently the case.
This is not to say Westbrook deserves to close all the time, more so that his inability to do so would hamstring the roster and underline the lack of playoff-caliber and starting-caliber depth around James and Davis. Those two will be required to do some seriously heavy lifting, though their talents may certainly be up for the challenge. It’s simply a lot to ask is all.
JayWood wants his music to make his listeners feel good about themselves. It’s a goal JayWood, the moniker of Winnipeg-based musician Jeremy Haywood-Smith, had in mind when he started working on his sophomore album Slingshot. At the time, there weren’t many reasons for JayWood himself to feel a sense of joy; he was grieving the loss of his mother and reflecting on his experience as a young Black man living in a predominately white province of Manitoba amidst social uprisings in 2020. “I don’t think I’ve ever really felt activated or militant as much as I did the summer of 2020,” he said, commenting on his track “Shine.” “It was an exhausting time but I wanted to try to do something to commentate on everything that was happening.”
Through creating Slingshot, JayWood found escapism, comfort, and gratification. The album is conceptual in nature, built around a set of imagined characters and surreal interpretations of his own life which are meant to take place in the span of one day. Packed with intellectual, rhythmic tracks, Slingshot toes the line between classic indie rock and soulful bedroom pop. The album moves through lush beats on songs like “God Is A Reptile,” a jazzy and empowering track that describes working through insecurities, and hard-hitting, upbeat grooves like “All Night Long,” which speaks directly to social issues and the anxiety of impending climate collapse.
Celebrating the release of Slingshot, JayWood chats with Uproxx about Damon Albarn’s inspiration and being incredibly flexible in our latest Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Intentional, Vibey, Dense, Groovy
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
As something that can inspire some folks to make the art that they feel good about for themselves.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?
Portland is super dope, and they have all the vegan options.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
Maybe Damon Albarn? I just loved the idea of constantly being able to reinvent your image and your sound without needing to make a big deal about it. I’m inspired by change!
Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
I don’t know if I’ve had the best meal of my life yet. Nothing comes to mind, I’m fully blanking.
What album do you know every word to?
Probably Demon Days by Gorillaz.
What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?
It might be Paul McCartney, I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to see him again but it was super special and fun.
What is the best outfit for performing and why?
I love performing in casual clothing just because it’s super comfy but I should probably start dressing better tbh.
Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?
I love Catatonic Youths on IG, that sh*t is too good. My biggest fear is ending up on there though.
What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?
I think the whole Black Messiah album by D’Angelo has been played more times than I can count.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
“Summer Sonic Japan.” I’ve been wanting to go back to Japan for so damn long so this is me manifesting it.
What album makes for the perfect gift?
Mother by Cleo Sol is such a beautiful album, a good friend of mine recommended it and I really thought it was such a great gift so I think give it to the people you love.
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
I remember we stayed at some tweens’ party house on my friends tour. It was pretty f*ckin gross tbh but the worst part was there were a bunch of drunk kids hanging out and there was like a little tween breakup happening while we trying to sleep. Also some kid tried to kiss everyone it was brutal.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
I have a panther head on my right thigh that I got with a good friend of mine! We went to a place here in Winnipeg where there’s a gumball machine and what comes out of it you get tattooed, it was my first pick and I was like hell yeah! I got very lucky with that.
What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?
Oh jeez I haven’t listened to the radio in a while now but honestly anything super catchy will keep me listening.
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
Back in 2018 there were a series of moments I was going through a really rough time in my life and there were a small handful of people that helped me through that time. I was very hard to be around and hard to deal with but the fact that I was able to have a support system that helped me get back on track means the world to me. I won’t forget it.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
I’d say don’t try so hard and just stay in your own lane. Trust the process, go to therapy, go to the gym, stretch regularly, take more pictures with your family and friends and be kind to yourself and others. Also stop being a f*ck.
What’s the last show you went to?
I went to see a local band called Poodle Paddle. They just had their single release show and it was a lot of fun. I’m stoked to see what new music comes from Winnipeg.
What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?
Super random but it might be Midsommar? I don’t know what it is about cults that gets me super intrigued but yeah that movie is great.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
I’m actually incredibly flexible and I can bend in a lot of fun ways.
Slingshot is out now via Captured Tracks. Get it here.
Earlier this year, Uproxx featured rising Afrobeats star CKay as our January cover story subject, with Wongo Okon detailing CKay’s breakout with the 2019 single “Love Nwantiti.” Since then, “Love Nwantiti” has only increased in popularity, with a remix featuring Joeboy and Kuami Eugene accumulating nearly 300 million views on YouTube, an acoustic version racking up almost 200 million, and CKay’s Tonight Show debut exposing the song to millions more stateside.
Today, we’ve got CKay recalling his come-up in his own words to Uproxx’s Cherise Johnson in the latest episode of How I Blew Up. In his in-studio interview, he describes being an unsigned artist, uploading music to SoundCloud, becoming a trending topic on Twitter, how he adopted a persona as “Africa’s Boyfriend,” and the aftermath of his breakout single’s viral success.
“There were mixed emotions,” he admits. “It was like a mixture of people who were really gassed and people who were really pissed… To have my music having as much of an impact globally is an amazing feeling.” He also offers his thoughts on the importance of Billboard‘s new Afrobeats chart as the genre becomes a bigger international influence and says he was honored to be included in the discussion.
After Warner Bros. Discovery made the shocking announcement that it was pulling the plug on the Batgirl movie, which was so far into production that it was reportedly conducting test screenings, DC Comics fans only have one question on their minds: Why? The film seemingly had everything going for it: The directors behind Ms. Marvel and Bad Boys for Life, Michael Keaton as Batman, and Brendan Fraser making his blockbuster return as the villainous Firefly.
However, incoming Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has been on a mission to refocus the studio on theatrical releases (and cut costs), which put Batgirl in a rough spot. Not only would shelving the movie give the company a tax write-off, but it would also help mend fences with filmmakers who felt burned by previous CEO Jason Kilar’s controversial decision to stream Warner’s entire 2021 film slate on HBO Max during the pandemic. Via Variety:
“Batgirl” found itself on the bad end of that decision, apparently neither big enough to feel worthy of a major theatrical release nor small enough to make economic sense in an increasingly cutthroat streaming landscape. Spending the money to expand the scope of “Batgirl” for theaters — plus the $30 million to $50 million needed to market it domestically and the tens of millions more needed for a global rollout — could have nearly doubled spending on the film, and insiders say that was a non-starter at a company newly focused on belt-tightening and the bottom line.
However, while Zaslav is trying to mend bridges after the infamous HBO Max release strategy, shelving Batgirl could backfire as creatives start to fear that their projects won’t see the light of day. Case in point, Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah released a statement revealing their shock at the decision.
“We are saddened and shocked by the news. We still can’t believe it,” the filmmakers wrote. “As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves. Maybe one day they will insha’Allah.”
You can read their full statement below, which also praises star Leslie Grace as well as the cast and crew for their hard work:
Not only is summer a great time to enjoy a refreshing IPA based on the weather, but it’s also when we celebrate National IPA Day. Every first Thursday in August (this year it falls on August 4th), the world comes to a complete standstill as people from all walks of life celebrate this historic and momentous day. Flags fly at half-mast and children cheer in the streets.
JKJKJK, no one on earth gives a flying f*ck about food holidays anymore (unless someone is giving away free fries). Still, an extra reason to drink a piney, fruity, citrus-filled, sometimes slightly bitter (other times explosively bitter) hop-centric IPA is never a bad thing.
Jeremy Marshall, brewmaster at Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma, California says that if you’re just starting out in the world of IPAs, you should ease your way in.
“A beginner IPA can’t be too much, and definitely can’t be too bitter or have hop burn,” he notes. For that, I recommend a smooth west coast IPA over most hazies — as clear IPA is always free of hop burn.”
If you need a little more help in picking your first IPA, you’re in luck. We asked a handful of craft beer experts and brewers to tell us the best beginner IPAs for National IPA Day. Keep scrolling to see their picks.
Odell Good Behavior
Odell
Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone® and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
For beginners in the beer scene or the IPA scene, in particular, I like to recommend Good Behavior by Odell Brewing. It’s extremely light and the slight peachy notes make it refreshing. It’s not that everyone who tries it loves it, but it drives home the point that an IPA can be sessionable (or in the words of Odell, “crushable”). The aroma is bright and tropical, so it’s quite the turn-on even before the first sip.
Faction IPA
Faction
Jeremy Marshall, brew master at Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma, California
I’m thinking about Faction IPA. It is approachable, very aromatic, and not too bitter. It’s about mid-6% ABV alcohol so it’s not a double IPA. But it has a nice mix of Southern Hemisphere hops (like Vic Secret and Nelson Sauvin) mixed with the mighty Citra of the Pacific Northwest (also now the most widely planted and most successful hop ever out of a private breeding program).
I’ll go all the way back to what I think of as a standard in the world of IPAs and that is Odell Brewing’s IPA. It has every aspect of what made IPAs take the lead in craft beer. Beautiful hops and that ‘backbone’ people always talk about carrying those beautiful hops. It’s malty, fruity, floral, dank, and has just a touch of pine but all in balance and so enjoyable. It’s from a beer like this that all other American craft IPAs were bred and derived so if I was introducing someone to IPA, I’d start here.
Moonlight Brewing Bombay by Boat is my pick. Moonlight Brewing doesn’t make anything except awesome beer and Bombay by Boat has been one of their core beers forever. It’s an absolute masterclass on a classic American IPA. Lots of West Coast hop character bringing resin and light citrus blended with a robust malt structure that makes for a supremely balanced and drinkable IPA. This is a benchmark for anyone looking to understand IPAs.
Cold IPA is a new-ish style that uses lager yeast, so it’s typically a lot cleaner than many IPAs out there. It’s balanced and not as bitter as a West Coast IPA and not as sweet as a Hazy IPA. Its clean finish leaves you wanting more. Drake’s Brewing makes an awesome one. This 6.5% ABV cold IPA gets its bold flavor from the addition of Centennial, El Dorado, Citra, and Azacca hops as well as lager yeast, extra pale premium Pilsner, and Dextrin malts. Add Puffed Jasmine Rice and you have a highly flavorful beer.
Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing is consistently great. A good intro to low bitterness modern IPAs without being over the top. And it is readily available in most markets. Highly recommend it as a starting point for hoppiness. It’s juicy, hazy, and extremely drinkable on a hot summer day.
Spiteful IPA is a nice local one that is a great representation of the style. It’s straightforward and showcases classic North American hops in a pleasant manner. This well-balanced, citrus-filled IPA gets its flavor from the addition of Citra and Amarillo hops. It’s a great beginner IPA to get you started in the world of hoppy beer.
Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale
Bell’s
Josh Radigan, director of food and beverage at Viceroy in Washington DC
The best beginner IPA would be Bell’s Brewery’s Two Hearted Ale. It’s just a classic and easy approach without being overwhelming. Brewed with Centennial hops, this year-round beer is known for its mix of resinous pine and bold citrus flavors.
This year-round, 7.5% IPA is brewed with Bravo, Chinook, Mt. Hood, Nugget, Cascade, and Citra hops to give it a nice citrus, piney flavor. It’s balanced with ale yeast and Crystal, Munich, and Pilsner malts. The result is a well-rounded IPA with notes of citrus zest, dank pine, and tropical fruit flavors.
Not only is it a great beginner IPA, but it’s so good you’ll continue drinking it for years to come.
One of the highest-rated IPAs on BeerAdvocate, Societe The Pupil is a well-balanced, summery IPA loaded with ripe tropical fruits, bold citrus flavors, and slightly bitter, resinous pine. It’s clean, fresh, and well-suited for sipping on National IPA or literally any other day of the year.
Beyoncé’s seventh studio album, Renaissance, hasn’t even been out for a full week, but changes are underway for some of the album’s track. The Queen Bey has already removed an interpolation of Kelis’ “Milkshake” from the song “Energy,” after the singer/chef expressed disdain toward Beyoncé for not notifying her that she would be interpolating the track. Her team also confirmed she will remove an ableist slur from the track, “Heated.” But now, Monica Lewinsky is calling for the removal of a particular line in Bey’s song, “Partition,” which was released in 2013 on her self-titled fifth album.
In a line on “Partition,” Beyoncé recalls a steamy sexual encounter with her husband, Jay-Z. “He popped all my buttons and he ripped my blouse / He Monica Lewinsky’d all on my gown,” she sings on the track, referring to an infamous sex scandal between then-president Bill Clinton and Lewinsky, his former intern.
After news broke earlier this week that Beyoncé would be removing the ableist slur from “Heated,” Lewinsky shared a link to the news story on Twitter, commenting, “uhmm, while we’re at it…#Partition,” seemingly implying that she would like for Bey to remove the aforementioned line from “Partition.”
This is not the first time Lewisky has expressed disdain toward that particular lyric. In a letter Lewinsky shared with Vanity Fair in 2014, Lewinsky referred to the lyric saying, “Thanks, Beyoncé, but if we’re verbing, I think you meant ‘Bill Clinton’d all on my gown,’ not ‘Monica Lewinsky’d.’”
Lewinsky hasn’t shared anything regarding the lyrics since her tweet, nor have Beyoncé or her team revealed plans to change or remove the lyric.
Back in 2002, a new basketball league popped up and spent two years compelling fans as it mixed hoops, football, and trampolines. SlamBall aired on Spike TV (this is an incredible Of Its Era sequence of words) and put a twist on the game that was awfully familiar to anyone who had a friend with a trampoline and a basketball hoop that could be moved to the backyard.
There have been plenty of calls over the years for SlamBall to come back in some form or fashion, and in a recent interview with TMZ, SlamBall founder Mason Gordon revealed that it will make its return in the summer of 2023.
“We’ve gotten opportunities,” Gordon said. “Pretty much every couple of months, there will be an opportunity to bring SlamBall back in some form. And my partners and I have always looked at it and said, ‘We’re not gonna come back until the market conditions are, like, really optimal,’ and the alternate sports marketplace is on fire. And there’s a reason for that: Younger audiences are really out there looking for, like, what sport can I call my own, because a lot of them aren’t watching two and a half hour, three-hour long broadcasts anymore.
“SlamBall just kind of fits the bill,” he continued. “They’re 20-minute games, television half hours. People always really gravitated to the action, and it’s this incredible mash-up between basketball, football, hockey, little bit of gymnastics, little bit of video games. That’s just SlamBall, you get a whole lot in one neat, tidy little package.”
The original SlamBall league, the one that was on Spike, featured six teams during its first season and expanded to eight in its second. There have been additional attempts beyond that to have SlamBall in some form or fashion, and all of us at Dime are excited to see how this one will turn out. And now, here is a SlamBall dunk compilation I found on YouTube:
Scratch that. Things are going so terribly wrong for Jones that some are comparing his trial to an episode of Law & Order. The whole mess started when Jones, who is being sued for $150 million in damages by parents of the children killed in the 2012 massacre, began perjuring himself on the stand, claiming his business was bankrupt, that he couldn’t provide any emails or texts he sent about Sandy Hook because there were none and that he didn’t defame both the presiding judge and the jury in the case on his televised show. And the reason we know Jones was lying about all of this — besides that taping of Infowars where he shared an image of Judge Maya Guerra Gamble on fire and claimed the jury was rigged — is because his lawyers “accidentally” sent a digital copy of the entire content of Jones’ cell phone to the lawyers representing the Sandy Hook victims’ families.
Here’s the moment it happened in court.
Omg — where did Alex Jones find this lawyer — Groupon?
That’s right. Either Jones — a man reportedly worth millions despite his claims of being broke — hired the most incompetent legal representation he could find or the guys representing him just really hate his guts. Not only did the lawyers hand over years’ worth of unredacted texts and emails, but they also did so without marking them as privileged which means the team representing the Sandy Hook side has been using the Infowars host’s own words against him all day in court. Even worse, Jones’ lawyers made the error 12 days ago, which means they’ve allowed their client to lie on the stand for nearly two weeks before copping to their mistake.
Obviously, this is a devastating turn of events for Jones who has now lied about everything from how much money Infowars was making from his Sandy Hook conspiracy theories — sometimes 800K a day — to having one of his producers harass Sandy Hook officials during the height of his media blitz against the school. But, for everyone hoping this scumbag, who profited off the death of innocent children for a decade, finally gets what’s coming to him … well, they’re having a hell of a time over on Twitter.
Wow. Sandy Hook parents’ lawyer is revealing that Alex Jones’ lawyers sent him the contents of Jones’ phone BY MISTAKE.
“12 days ago, your attorneys messed up and sent me a digital copy of every text” Jones has sent for years.
Alex Jones’ lawyer accidentally sending the Sandy Hooks parents the entire contents of his phone feels like God adding an edit button to the fucked up world we live in.
Seen a lot of Law & Order, haven’t seen a twist as good as “Alex Jones’ lawyers accidentally sent Sandy Hook parents’ lawyers the entire contents of his phone and his long-hidden financials, but they waited 12 days to let him lie” in my life. Just an absolutely wild day.
screen grab of Alex Jones’ reaction after the prosecuting attorney informed him his lawyer accidentally sent 2 years of phone/email records which prove he committed perjury pic.twitter.com/GkRclFUST2
— LeGate (founder @ pillow-fight.com) (@williamlegate) August 3, 2022
QAnon cultists have been disappointed a handful of times when they’ve predicted that John F. Kennedy Jr. will somehow rise from the dead (or never have been dead at all) and reappoint Donald Trump to his rightful place as president. Or that the two will somehow run on a ticket together. In the meantime, these kooky conspiracy theorists have been running in local elections to snatch the seats of power across the country. And they’re faring about as well as that JFK Jr. revival.
Case in point: Ron Watkins, one of the main leaders of QAnon, who some people believe to be Q himself. As Mediaite reports, Watkins was one of the many individuals who was determined to face off against Democratic incumbent Tom O’Halleran in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District. He faced a humiliating defeat.
While Watkins was always considered an underdog, he somehow managed to out-fundraise many of his competitors, leading some (probably terrified) individuals to believe that he had a real shot at pulling off a surprise win. Instead, he received less than 4 percent of the vote.
Zoinks!
Watkins was thought to be an underdog as his fundraising was outpaced by his many rivals, and the results from InMaricopa.com show that Crane took 33.5 percent of the vote on Tuesday. Blackman was next with approximately 25 percent of the vote, followed by Deluzo, Yates, Moore, Ksystofiak, and then Watkins with 3.8 percent.
The election follows a shaky performance from Watkins, who was called out by his rivals for botching the facts during the district’s primary debates. Watkins’ tenuous relationship with facts coincides with his involvement with QAnon, the right-wing movement claiming that a secret cabal of globalists, child sex traffickers and deep state Satan-worshipers conspire to oppose Donald Trump and bring the United States under their control.
Doesn’t look like Watkins is their man. There’s still time to hold out hope for JFK Jr. though.
Sara Quin of Tegan And Sara is currently caring for a couple of babies. One is the duo’s upcoming album Crybaby, which they announced last month, when they also shared a new single, “Yellow,” along with a video. The second baby is more literal: Yesterday, Sara took to the band’s social media accounts to share a photo of her with her new baby, writing, “My #crybaby.” The photo is of her holding the child, whose back faces the camera.
The comments section of the Instagram post is full of loving comments from people including Phoebe Robinson, Cobie Smulders, and others.
While that post could have just been about Sara holding any old baby to make a joke about the new album title, Tegan did confirm it is in fact Sara’s kid in a tweet calling out an article that uses a photo of her instead of Sara, writing, “My favourite part of this article about Sara announcing she has a new baby on IG is that they used a photo of me performing at the top of it. So Sara has a baby, whatever. I have a microphone. Take that Sara.”
My favourite part of this article about Sara announcing she has a new baby on IG is that they used a photo of me performing at the top of it. So Sara has a baby, whatever. I have a microphone. Take that Sara. https://t.co/dI6y0tB3mc
Crybaby is out 10/21 via Mom+Pop Music. Pre-save it here.
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(@RealGregorad) 
(founder @ pillow-fight.com) (@williamlegate) 
