The Chicago White Sox hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers in a Thursday matinee that included one of the best examples of how quickly a bad decision can backfire. Bennett Sousa was on the bump in the top of the sixth inning while the Dodgers were holding onto a 7-5 lead. Despite just allowing Freddie Freeman to drive in a run and throwing a wild pitch, Sousa was able to get ahead of Trea Turner for a 1-2 count with two outs in the inning.
And then, White Sox manager Tony La Russa had an idea: What if, instead of trying to get Turner out, he was intentionally walked, instead? So they decided to go in that direction.
“When was the last time you saw somebody intentionally walked on 1-2?”
As you can tell by the guy at the end of the video who appears to scream “HE’S GOT TWO STRIKES, TONY,” this wasn’t a particularly popular decision. Anyway, even a bad process can lead to good results and oh god Max Muncy went yard immediately after this.
La Russa attempted to defend the decision after the game by arguing that Turner turns into some sort of indomitable force with two strikes against left-handed pitching and Muncy is a much more favorable matchup.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
Since the last update of this weekly R&B column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists. Chloe keeps her remix streak alive thanks to a new “shemix” of Capella Grey’s 2021 summer smash “Gyalis.” Giveon announced his official debut album Give Or Take, a project that will arrive later this month. Lastly, Normani seemingly confirmed the title of her next single. Here are some more releases you should check out:
Arin Ray – Hello Poison
It took a little over four years, but at long last, Arin Ray returned with a new album. Hello Poison arrives as yet another sultry and passionate offering in Ray’s discography and it checks in with 15 songs and collaborations with Blxst, VanJess, Ari Lennox, Ty Dolla Sign, D Smoke, Childish Major, and more.
India Shawn – “Exchange”
After releasing her Before We Go EP to end 2021, India Shawn has returned to center stage with her new single “Exchange.” In a press release, she described the song as “by far the sexiest song I’ve ever written.” She added, “It’s about love, pleasure, and reciprocity. As I evolve in my career and womanhood, it’s becoming increasingly important to show up as my whole self, sexy and sensual included.”
Jean Deaux – Most Wanted (Deluxe)
Another singer who’s back in action after releasing a 2021 project is Jean Deaux. After releasing Most Wanted last year, she returns with its deluxe reissue. It features two new songs including “Ease Up” with Masego, with is a groovy and laid-back record that you’ll surely enjoy.
Blk Odyssy – “Benny’s Got A Gun” Feat. Benny The Butcher & George Clinton
With Blk Vintage Reprise set to arrive later this month, Blk Odyssy, the project of New Jersey artist Juwan Elcock, returns with the latest single from the forthcoming release. “Benny’s Got A Gun” arrives with contributions from Benny The Butcher & George Clinton and it speaks on the deadly cycle of retaliation, told through the eyes of a young boy named Benny who is bullied by kids in his neighborhood.
Reggie Becton – “Call” Feat. Nana
You can always trust Reggie Becton to deliver some great music to the world. It’s something that’s evident on “Call,” his new single with California rapper Nana. The lovelorn record is one that Reggie uses to reminisce on a past relationship over the stirring strings of a guitar. Nana also supplies a strong verse that boosts the song’s quality.
Tre Samuels – “Magic Stick”
Australian singer Tre Samuels recently inked a deal with Warner Records and now he’s back with his new single “Magic Stick.” Samuels takes on the slick throwback beat to deliver intimate verses that combine for a track that will thrive in the summer. The song is also the first offering from his upcoming
Naira Marley – God’s Timing’s The Best
After gaining traction last year with “Coming,” a record that arrived after collaborations with Davido, MohBad, and more, Naira Marley arrives with his debut album God’s Timing’s The Best. He released the album on Marlian Day, a day declared by Naira to celebrate liberty and the resilience of Marlians – Naira’s fans. The album’s 14 songs feature help from Zinoleesky, Mayorkun, Jada Kingdom, and more.
Nia Sultana – Bigger Dreams
Brooklyn singer Nia Sultana steps forth with her debut EP Bigger Dreams. It’s a seven-track effort that features help from Rick Ross and Che Ecru and highlight singles that include “In The Morning” and “Proven.” Altogether Bigger Dreams is a project that watches Sultana navigate the many stages of love: falling in it, falling out, and all the messy in-betweens.
Skylar Stecker – “Know It’s Wrong”
After sharing a solo acoustic version of “What’s Good,” her single with Tone Stith, earlier this month, singer Skylar Stecker is back with “Know It’s Wrong.” The 20-year-old let her vocals shine on the record that speaks about falling for temptations and making not-so-good decisions in the name of love.
Romeyo Wilson – “Risking It All” Feat. Kiki Rowe
Toronto-based R&B singer Romeyo Wilson gave us his seven-track Breakfast In Bed project last year, and while there’s no telling what body of work we might receive from him this year, he is delivering some new tunes for us in 2022. An example of that comes with “Risking It All” with Kiki Rowe, a record that arrives as a passionate effort dedicated to taking a chance at love.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
There might not be an E3 this year, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t getting any video games to check out this month. Summer Game Fest is back and this year they’re pulling no punches. Major franchises, indies, and games from each of the three major consoles, plus PC, were all on display throughout one of the longer showcases we’re going to see this month. What that meant though was plenty of time to see gameplay, developer interviews, and plenty of trailers and reveals. It was the exact celebration of video games that anyone would want to see. So let’s not waste any more time and jump into what we learned from Summer Game Fest 2022.
The Callisto Protocol
At first glance, The Callisto Protocol looks and feels like every single action horror game that has come out recently. Here’s a third-person over-the-shoulder view, zombie-like monsters, and enclosed environments. After seeing gameplay, it still felt like that but it did accomplish its main selling point which is reminding everyone that this is the unofficial sequel that the first Dead Space game never really got. While Dead Space went off in a more action oriented direction with Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3, The Callisto Protocol focuses on providing that extreme interstellar horror that fans loved so much about the first game.
The inspiration from Dead Space is very apparent throughout the entire gameplay trailer. The main character has their health bar visible on the back, the player can shoot off limbs, and enemies need to be finished with a stomp once they hit the ground. The inspirations could not be any more clear and that’s okay because many fans have been wanting another game like this for years, so hopefully it meets their expectations when it releases in December.
Modern Warfare II
Summer Game Fest brought us a full gameplay look at Modern Warfare II. The first thing that is noticeable is just how good everything looks. Despite the level being so dark and gritty, every raindrop is visible, and you can see the emotion of each character as they move through the mission. Characters move naturally, and that section where everyone lines up on the stairs together is a really cool use of character animation, and for Call of Duty fans this is exactly what they want to see.
The big selling point of the trailer is that the entire engine that Modern Warfare II is running on is going to be what future Call of Duty games are on from this point forward. Similar to the last few games were all connected to Warzone in some capacity, the devs working on Call of Duty want each game to feel connected in some way. If each game looks as good as this one, there will be a lot for fans to be excited about.
Witchfire
What if you took DOOM (2016), made the gameplay a little more methodical, added magical powers, and then gave it a unique look? Well, you would have what we saw out of Witchfire. This fast paced first-person shooter had all the style and substance of a game that only mowing down demons with gunfire can replicate. Unfortunately, it’s only just now about to enter early access so we probably won’t be getting the final product for a little while longer.
That said, this looks like a fun game to get in on while it’s in the Early Access period. There’s a lot of fun potential in this trailer and getting the chance to experience every new addition before launch is going to be a treat for quite a few players. Don’t let Witchfire slip by unnoticed.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
Remember how cool and unique Cuphead was when it first came out? A game with the art style of classic cartoons, a score fitting of the setting, and extremely challenging gameplay that left every player aching for one more run? Cuphead was a masterpiece and now everyone is going to get the chance to play through even more of it with the latest DLC, The Delicious Last Course. As an aside, that is a great double use of an acronym and whoever named it that deserves a raise.
The Delicious Last Course will star Ms. Chalice as she goes on an adventure featuring all new bosses, levels, and scenarios. They might not be calling this a sequel, but it certainly feels like one with all of the new content that is on the way for Cuphead fans. It’s also a great opportunity to get back into the game now that the TV show has been renewed for a second season.
Honkai: Star Rail
Remember when Genshin Impact came out and it was a very blatant clone of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Well, clone or not it did extremely well and its popularity has spawned a new game in the same style. Honkai: Star Rail is an action sci-fi game with a similar art style to Genshin Impact, but an entirely different gameplay system to set it apart. The action looks fast and fun which is necessary for a game like this one.
The thing about Honkai: Star Rail is that, just like Genshin Impact, it’s going to have a Gacha system for pulling new characters to use. That means if there’s a characters you really like and want to use then you better hope you pull that character by random luck. Of course, you could spend money to get more pulls and a higher chance at the character but this gambling like system is a hard sell for some players. It’s a shame too because the game is pretty much guaranteed to be a fun time.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
What if Ninja Turtles games were good again? That’s the hope that many fans have when they’ve seen gameplay for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. Everything about it from the art style, to the music, looks like they’ve hit their assignment out of the park, but we will only know for certain once the game is finally released.
Thankfully, we’re gonna have that way sooner than expected. Summer Game Fest shocked everyone when they announced that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge would be releasing on June 16 alongside Casey Jones as a playable character, and six player multiplayer. There is so much to be excited about here and we can’t wait to finally play it.
The Last of Us Part 1
So this was awkward. The final reveal of the event was supposed to be the often rumored remake of The Last of Us. The only problem is that PlayStation accidentally leaked it hours before Summer Game Fest began. Like professionals, everyone involved managed to pivot and instead of getting fans excited over shock value, they spun it to be about how they’ve improved the game and what can be expected in the upcoming TV show, with a few jokes about the leak thrown in.
As for the game itself, it takes an already gorgeous looking game and makes it look even better. Everything from the character models to the lighting has an extra layer of polish that just wasn’t available on the PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4 HD version. With a September release date, and a PC port in development, we won’t have to wait too much longer to experience one of the best stories in gaming all over again.
Last month, Atlanta rappers Young Thug and Gunna were arrested in a racketeering case blaming them and their label, YSL, for gang activity in the Atlanta area. In total, 28 members of YSL were charged with crimes including attempted murder and possession of illegal firearms. However, a point of contention has arisen among those in the rap community: the State’s use of Thug and Gunna’s lyrics as the principal evidence against them.
Prosecutors say that their lyrics mentioning YSL prove their membership in a gang, and under the terms of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, they can be charged as part of a criminal organization, rather than for any specific crime. However, the rappers’ contemporaries have spoken out against the use of lyrics against them, citing the creativity in hip-hop and the artist’s right to free speech. Even rivals such as The Game and YFN Lucci have criticized the prosecution’s strategy, and now, YSL’s parent label, 300 Entertainment is getting involved as well.
300, which was founded in 2012 by Kevin Liles, Lyor Cohen, Roger Gold, and Todd Moscowitz, launched a petition on Change.org calling for the protection of Black art and laws to codify rappers’ freedom of expression. The petition is inspired in part by the success of New York State Bill S7527, nicknamed the “Rap On Trial” law, which would limit the use of lyrics in criminal trials unless prosecutors can prove that they are based in fact and relevant to the case. The state’s Senate passed the bill in May; it must pass the Assembly and be signed by the Governor to be ratified into law.
While the petition doesn’t say exactly what changes its author Liles is seeking, a good start would be the nationalization of a law like S7527, which would ensure that artists nationwide are protected, not just in New York. As noted in the petition, YSL aren’t the only ones who’ve been scooped up by such broad interpretations of the law and their lyrics. And while the RICO law is intended to keep America’s streets safer, it should take more than a hit on the radio to prove someone guilty of a crime.
Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott is the final girl for the ages, and it’s difficult to imagine the Scream franchise continuing without her. Yet that’s precisely what’s going to happen after Campbell revealed that she felt undervalued (especially considering what she’s brought to these movies) by the salary offered her for the sixth installment, so she’s leaving the building. Yep, this is what’s happening to the female star of one of the world’s most successful horror franchises. And yes, it’s 2022.
In the aftermath, David Arquette (who portrays the beloved Dewey Riley) made it known that he found (as he related to ComicBook) the situation “kind of unfortunate,” yet “I understand her decision.” A huge void shall be felt, too, and one wonders whether Paramount Pictures will attempt to renegotiate Campbell’s deal. In the meantime, ComicBook updates the situation by checking in on the Midnight Movie Club podcast with Matthew Lillard (who played Stu Macher from the first movie), and Lillard is not happy about this.
As Lillard points out, a studio would never do this to the star of, say, Top Gun: Maverick:
“Did Tom Cruise take less money from Top Gun Maverick? F-ck no dude. So why is a woman supposed to take less? Why wouldn’t you pay her more as the series goes on? And was Scream 5 a hit or not a hit? It was a smash hit. Did they make a sh-t ton of money? Yes. Should Neve Campbell be paid for the work she’s done in five movies of a franchise? Yes, because she’s a female lead of one of the most successful horror franchises.”
ComicBook also points toward Jamie Kennedy’s Hate To Break It To Ya YouTube podcast page, where he says that he’s seen the Scream 6 script, in which Sid “played a heavy part.” While this claim has obviously not been proven, one can imagine that Campbell’s role was a sizable one, not a mere cameo, since she’s digging in her heels and insisting upon fair pay. Whether this affects Scream 6‘s planned March 31, 2023 release date remains to be seen.
Neve Campbell can currently be seen in Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer series and was recently cast in Peacock’s Twisted Metal adaptation.
One of the best things ESPN has done in recent years is the restructuring of First Take that saw Max Kellerman exit as Stephen A. Smith’s permanent sparring partner and replaced him with a rotating cast of characters that step into the proverbial ring with Smith on the network’s top morning program.
It has freshened up the show tremendously, but most importantly it has kept Smith on his toes, at times putting him up against people who press him on his takes and make him uncomfortable. Arguably the best of those guests at getting under Smith’s skin and calling him out for bad takes is JJ Redick, who has become a staple of the show and regularly airs Smith out for what he thinks are bad takes, whether that’s criticizing today’s players for being soft or bizarrely arguing that Russell Westbrook shouldn’t go to Darvin Ham’s intro presser.
That makes for tremendous television, but given Smith’s role as the unquestioned star, it leads to many wondering if he’ll welcome those guests back. On Thursday, Redick teased Smith’s appearance on Friday’s episode of “Old Man and the Three,” in which he asked Smith about that, and Smith gave a lengthy answer about why he likes having people on First Take who disagree with him.
After I Think You Should Leave instantly became a viral hit for Netflix, spawning hundreds of memes in its wake, Season Two of the Tim Robinson sketch comedy series pulled off the impressive feat of being just as good, if not arguably better, than the first season. However, a new interview with casting director Leslie Woo reveals that the show almost lost one of its best Season Two sketches thanks to COVID.
Actor Biff Wiff‘s portrayal of an unfiltered Santa Claus who scores an acting role as loose cannon cop, Detective Crashmore, nearly got cut before Wiff even had a chance to audition for the role. Fortunately, Woo decided to press on with virtual auditions, and well, the whole thing was cosmic gumbo. Via IndieWire:
The process that eventually led to Biff Wiff (who’s gone on to have a standout year with other parts in “Dave” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) was one that nearly stopped in March 2020 before it even had the chance to start.
“The first day that I was going to audition the Santa Clause role was the day before everything shut down. Knowing that we had a bunch of older gentlemen coming in the next day, we shut things down a day early,” Woo said. “So I was doing live self-tapes and Skypes with them simultaneously. The experience of that was so wonderful and amazing, just to be able to talk to these guys for a minute and get to know them, but that was definitely one of the roles that presented challenges from a logistical standpoint.”
As for the magic of Wiff’s performance as a profane Santa discovering the joys of his acting rate, turns out the dude was channeling himself and playing it as “real as I possibly could without giving [a] totally flat reading.” In an interview with Uproxx‘s Vince Mancini, Wiff said that his process even earned its on nickname on the set.
“The director, Zach was a really nice guy. They’d give me a lot of freedom,” Wiff said. “Almost every shot was, okay, you’ve done it, so we’ve got what we want, do it like you want. And they were real good about that. They just started calling it ‘The Wiff Way.’” And if you don’t like it, well..
America’s first millionaire was opium smuggler John Jacob Astor. America’s first billionaire was oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller. America (and the world) doesn’t have its first trillionaire yet, but it could happen as soon as two years from now.
Approve crunched the no-human-should-have-that-much-money numbers and found that Tesla founder / Rick and Morty meme-lord Elon Musk is on pace to become the world’s first trillionaire by 2024. “We compared the annual net worths of the top 30 richest people from 2017 through to the present day, to calculate the year on year annual growth rate for each of our billionaires and estimate how soon each of them will reach one trillion dollars,” the study reads. How could he get there?
The world’s richest person, Elon Musk, has an estimated net worth of $263 billion as of 19/01/22, according to Forbes. Since 2017, Musk’s fortune has shown an annual average increase of 129%, which could see him enter the trillion-dollar club in just two short years, achieving a net worth of $1.38 trillion by 2024 at age 52.
A lot could happen to damage Musk’s bank account by 2024, like, say, attempting to buy a famously not-profitable social media platform. In which case, Gautam Adani, “the chairman of the commodity trading business Adani Group,” is next in line to cross the one trillionaire barrier. (A trillion dollars is such a foreign concept that my laptop doesn’t even recognize “trillionaire” as a word.) He’s followed by Zhang Yiming (2026), Mukesh Ambani (2029), Bernard Arnault (2029), and Jeff Bezos, all the way in 2030. Is it even worth being a trillionaire if you have to wait eight years?
Although late Chicago rapper Juice WRLD’s catalog has proven to be quite lucrative since his passing (two posthumous albums with another in the works), not everyone is satisfied with the handling of his unfinished recordings. After Juice’s former girlfriend Ally Lotti insinuated that his legacy is being mishandled by his label, Grade A Productions, Juice’s former engineer-producer Max Lord also chimed in on Twitter to back up to show support for her and offer context.
According to Lord, Grade A co-founder George “G Money” Dickinson and Juice WRLD manager Peter Jideonwo — although he took care to exclude Juice’s mentor Lil Bibby from his accusations — have resorted to some unsavory methods to gain control of Juice’s music, even resorting to death threats against Lord. He accused them of using a Twitter account (which has been locked) to disrupt Juice’s fan community on social media while trying to strong-arm him into handing over recording equipment.
Tweets from the @chasemasta account on Twitter accuse Lord of taking “all Juice’s studio equipment when he died” and using his possession of the equipment as leverage over Grade A. Meanwhile, Lord says that the person behind @chasemasta was trying to set him up at the behest of Dickinson and Jideonwo.
“This @chasemasta kid is a pawn they let come hang out for a couple weeks to help disrupt the juice fan community to ensure every time you listen to Juice Wrld they get paid,” he wrote. “They want me out of their way, discredited, so they can continue to have their way. These open threats of violence against me from Grade A, posted on Chase’s Twitter, this stuff is absurd. They’re openly threatening to kill me. They’ve stolen firearms from me. They’ve threatened me with them. We’ve gotten in physical altercations because Juice didn’t like beats G Money tried to have him record on the day before he passed away, that he would profit from. With Ally coming [out] about these sorts of things, I owe it to her and Jarad to back her up here and speak out on this.”
Needed to respond to some defaming tweets, and address my support for @highimallyy . We Love you Juice, and something needs to change. pic.twitter.com/yMQhXkcHRb
Despite their frequent references to potential gay characters, Disney and Pixar haven’t actually shown LGBTQ characters being openly affectionate with each other, that is until Lightyear came around. The Toy Story spinoff famously features a same-sex kiss that was allegedly taken out of the film during editing, only to be added back after Pixar employees spoke out about the ordeal.
The stars of the film, Uzo Aduba and Chris Evans, are happy that Disney took the steps to add the moment back in. “It’s incredible, and a real hats off to Disney and Pixar for having that kiss be a part of this story,” Aduba told Vanity Fair. “The kiss is a greeting and a gesture of love that is tender. It does establish who they are as people, but it is not the singular identifier for who either of them are. Seeing a loving gay couple in a meaningful way is important for everybody.”
Evans, who plays the titular Lightyear man himself, thinks that it’s important to show these moments. “It’s great that it’s back in the film,” Evans said. “I think it’s a shame that it’s such a story. It should be more normalized, but I’m glad we are making those steps.” Evans has been openly supportive of the LGBTQ community after his brother came out.
Still, Evans makes a great point: it shouldn’t have to be a big deal to have something like a kiss be in a movie. Producer Galyn Susman added, “Representation is huge for us, and we want to make connections with as many people as possible. Alisha and her wife have a relationship that lasts an entire lifetime. We don’t have enough movies that show relationships that last an entire life, and that’s aspirational.”
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