Category: News

Kevin Love joined USA Basketball during its pre-Olympic training camp in Las Vegas, only to pull out before the team departed for Tokyo due to a calf injury that he believed would have prevented him from competing at the international level. It seemed straightforward enough and the sort of issue that would have been put to bed right when Love decided to leave camp, but on Friday, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo addressed the whole thing in a way that was ultra-critical of Love.

As Colangelo tells it, Love reached out and made his case to join the team, saying he was healthy enough to go. And then, Love left, which Colangelo still seems pretty hung up on.

“I didn’t think Kevin Love was going to play. I wasn’t even sure he had much left to play,” Colangelo said, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN. “He reached out to us and said he was in shape and said he felt he owed us. And on the basis of that, we’re looking at someone with international experience who at one time was a heck of a rebounder and could still shoot the ball. You know, being like a 12th man on a roster.

“Well, it didn’t work out,” Colangelo continued. “He wasn’t in shape. And he was way behind as it turned out. So you move on. Call it a mistake. Call it giving someone an opportunity. Someone who had equity with us.”

Colangelo, it must be said, will end his tenure with USA Basketball following these Olympics, so he assuredly feels like he can be a little more open than usual. But still, this is quite the approach to take with regards to Love, because even beyond the fact that he’s contributed to USA Basketball in the past, it’s weird to just straight up bury someone like this, especially when the apparent issue (his health and fitness) was evident last NBA season.

Earlier this week, Better Call Saul star and sketch comedy legend Bob Odenkirk collapsed on the set of the AMC series. It was nearly 24 (very scary) hours before his millions of fans got an update on his status, but luckily, it was a good update.

“We can confirm Bob is in stable condition after experiencing a heart-related incident,” a statement from his representatives read. “He and his family would like to express gratitude for the incredible doctors and nurses looking after him, as well as his cast, crew and producers who have stayed by his side. The Odenkirks would also like to thank everyone for the outpouring of well wishes and ask for their privacy at this time as Bob works on his recovery.”

Odenkirk’s health has continued to improve, according to his Mr. Show co-creator and co-star David Cross. “Just got off the phone with Bob and he’s doing great! Joking and japing and joshing,” the comedian tweeted on Friday. “Both he and his family are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and concern everyone has shown. You will be hearing from him soon. But he’s doing really well!!!” Get better, Bob!

Odenkirk will be back to yelling “god dammit” before we know it.

With the release of Madden NFL 22 less than one month away, EA Sports is doing what it can to stir up excitement over the game. As one of the biggest sports titles every year, there is a constant expectation for Madden to be improving and adding new features, and one of the big focuses of the last few versions of the game has been showing the impact of star players.

People who play Madden are used to the star players being a little better than the rest, with EA Sports creating the 99 Club as a way to highlight the upper echelon of athletes. These are the players who have proven themselves to be impactful in any matchup. They are an exclusive club that Madden celebrates, and after a week of promotion we now have our inaugural members for Madden NFL 22.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams

Davante Adams has been one of the most explosive targets in the NFL for years and a favorite of Aaron Rodgers. His ability to catch the ball in traffic, get out in space, and be a general menace has many defensive coordinators pulling their hair out on gameday. In Madden itself, he’s best known for having a catch radius where, as long as the ball is in his general vicinity, he can go grab it. His catching ability is incredibly frustrating for corners but basically a win button for players that need a bail out option.

Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald

Arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, nobody dominates their position the way Aaron Donald does. His lightning-quick reflexes gets him off the line faster than anyone else, which makes him an absolute nightmare for quarterbacks and running backs. In the game itself, he’s known for being someone that can drain an entire offensive line’s blocking meter almost instantly. Better put a double on him or he’s going to live in your backfield.

Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey

Jalen Ramsey is known for two things: talking trash and being one of the best shutdown corners in the NFL. He has the ability to be physical with even the biggest receivers, but his true talent comes from how he uses his athleticism. Balls thrown in his direction are almost always contested, so even if he can’t get a hand on it, the receiver will need to make a spectacular grab to make a play. In Madden, he’s a corner that needs to be taken out of the play immediately or he can shut down an entire half of the field. He’s one of the few guys that players can leave in single coverage on the elite wide receivers.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce

He’s big, he’s fast, and he’s a touchdown machine. Travis Kelce is just as dominant as any wide receiver in the NFL, if not more so, because if a linebacker ends up on him, then he’s going to have the advantage when a ball is thrown his way. Kelce is a favorite target of the next dude on this list and of Madden players, because it’s as easy as throwing the ball up there and letting him come down with it. He almost has to be doubled team within the game, because he will win any 50/50 ball against a non-corner.

Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes

Developers have said that Patrick Mahomes breaks all the rules. Typically, a player is only able to get into the 99 Club with a lengthy body of work, but Mahomes entered it for the first time in his second year as a starting quarterback. It was obvious why: He’s a generational QB with the athleticism to escape pressure and an arm that can make quite literally any throw. He’s not quite the cheat code that some previous Madden QB’s have been — i.e. Michael Vick in Madden 04 — but Mahomes’ ability to dance in the pocket and throw cannons makes him a favorite for players that just want to run four verts all day. Giving him a fellow 99 Club member in Kelce to throw to certainly doesn’t hurt.

Despite Friday being one of Meghan McCain’s last days on The View, it seemed like just a regular episode for the daytime talk show except for the notable absence of Whoopi Goldberg, who has earned a reputation for putting McCain in her place when things get heated. But outside of Whoopi being gone, it was just another day on The View as McCain went through the motions and did what she’s done for most of her tenure on the show: Repeat right-wing talking points that exactly match the coverage on Fox News.

During a discussion on House Republicans protesting the return of mask mandates, McCain made a bold claim. “Quite frankly, I have a higher likelihood of getting shot leaving this building than I do of getting COVID,” she said (via The Wrap). “From July 14th to the 28th, there were four COVID deaths and 11 homicides in Washington, D.C.”

What’s interesting is that these are the exact same figures that Fox News reported earlier Friday morning:

Of course, McCain didn’t stop there. She continued her ongoing attempt to blame vaccine hesitancy on the Biden administration instead of Republicans refusing to get the shot for partisan reasons. McCain then repeated her claim from Thursday that freedom-loving Americans will flee to Arizona to escape lockdowns and mask mandates.

You can see McCain’s full remarks at the 4:25 mark below:

Via The Wrap:

“I think that the White House should be honest with the American public and say that there is no going back to normal, and that taking off the mask was just a ruse,” McCain replied. “There will probably be lockdowns, and again, Americans who want to live, as I said yesterday, this is literally going to become a state by state issue, and if you don’t want to live under masking and you don’t want to live under these mandates, unfortunately, you’re probably going to have to move to a state where they’re not going to do it — like in Arizona.”

And that was one of Meghan McCain’s last days on The View. She’s leaving the same way she came in: Parroting Fox News, blaming Democrats for the actions of Republicans, and touting Arizona as the best state ever. What an incredible journey.

(Via The View on Twitter)

This article originally appeared on 9.29.15

“Just because you didn’t do marriage well doesn’t mean you can’t do divorce fabulously.”

That’s something my mother-in-law said to me when her son and I were ending our young, impetuous, and ultimately-not-right-for-us marriage. It stuck with me through the years.

These sweet images from Brittany Peck’s wedding have struck a chord with families across the Internet, and they seem to be getting that very same lesson about “doing divorce well” through to millions.

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The photographer got a clue something unusual was about to happen.

Delia Blackburn, an Ohio photographer, was snapping pictures at the nuptials, as you do. She described to WKYC3 what happened when the father of the bride, Todd Bachman, approached her.

“He said, ‘I’m going to do something special, just be ready.'”

Before Bachman finished walking his daughter down the aisle, he turned around in the direction of his daughter’s stepdad, who was also in attendance.

Then Brittany’s stepdad details what happened next.

“And he came up to me and reached out and grabbed my hand and he said, ‘Hey, you’ve worked for this as hard as I have.’ He said, ‘You deserve this as much as I do. You’re gonna help us walk OUR daughter down the aisle.’ At that point, I had no clue what was going on.”
— Todd Cendrosky, stepfather of Brittany Peck

Todd B. looks like a dad on a mission — to be the coolest guy ever. Image by Delia D Blackburn, used with permission.

“I got weak in the knees and everything — I couldn’t have had anything better in my life. That was THE most important thing in my life.”
— Brittany’s stepdad

Todd C. is like, “What is even happening right now?” Image by Delia D Blackburn, used with permission.

Todd Bachmann explains his last-minute decision like this:

“It hasn’t always been peaches and cream, by any stretch of the imagination. … There’s no better way to thank somebody than to assist me walking my — walking OUR daughter — down the aisle.”

And that’s how you do it, folks. Image by Delia D Blackburn, used with permission.

And Brittany herself was pleased with the outcome.

The bride sent a video message from her honeymoon to WKYC, saying, “We’ve seen it all, been through it all, but at the end of the day we’re all happy.”

Divided families know that love isn’t a finite thing — there’s enough to go around. Image by Delia D Blackburn, used with permission.

This article originally appeared on 12.08.15

Land ice: We got a lot of it.

Considering the two largest ice sheets on earth — the one on Antarctica and the one on Greenland — extend more than 6 million square miles combined … yeah, we’re talkin’ a lot of ice.

But what if it was all just … gone? Not like gone gone, but melted?

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If all of earth’s land ice melted, it would be nothing short of disastrous.

And that’s putting it lightly.

This video by Business Insider Science (seen below) depicts exactly what our coastlines would look like if all the land ice melted. And spoiler alert: It isn’t great.

Lots of European cities like, Brussels and Venice, would be basically underwater.

In Africa and the Middle East? Dakar, Accra, Jeddah — gone.

Millions of people in Asia, in cities like Mumbai, Beijing, and Tokyo, would be uprooted and have to move inland.

South America would say goodbye to cities like Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.

And in the U.S., we’d watch places like Houston, San Francisco, and New York City — not to mention the entire state of Florida — slowly disappear into the sea.

All GIFs via Business Insider Science/YouTube.

Business Insider based these visuals off National Geographic’s estimation that sea levels will rise 216 feet (!) if all of earth’s land ice melted into our oceans.

There’s even a tool where you can take a detailed look at how your community could be affected by rising seas, for better or worse.

Although … looking at these maps, it’s hard to imagine “for better” is a likely outcome for many of us.

Much of America’s most populated regions would be severely affected by rising sea levels, as you’ll notice exploring the map, created by Alex Tingle using data provided by NASA.

Take, for instance, the West Coast. (Goodbye, San Fran!)

Or the East Coast. (See ya, Philly!)

And the Gulf Coast. (RIP, Bourbon Street!)

I bring up the topic not just for funsies, of course, but because the maps above are real possibilities.

How? Climate change.

As we continue to burn fossil fuels for energy and emit carbon into our atmosphere, the planet gets warmer and warmer. And that, ladies and gentlemen, means melted ice.

A study published this past September by researchers in the U.S., U.K., and Germany found that if we don’t change our ways, there’s definitely enough fossil fuel resources available for us to completely melt the Antarctic ice sheet.

Basically, the self-inflicted disaster you see above is certainly within the realm of possibility.

“This would not happen overnight, but the mind-boggling point is that our actions today are changing the face of planet Earth as we know it and will continue to do so for tens of thousands of years to come,” said lead author of the study Ricarda Winkelmann, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

If we want to stop this from happening,” she says, “we need to keep coal, gas, and oil in the ground.”

The good news? Most of our coastlines are still intact! And they can stay that way, too — if we act now.

World leaders are finally starting to treat climate change like the global crisis that it is — and you can help get the point across to them, too.

Check out Business Insider’s video below:

This article originally appeared on 05.28.15

Even though I don’t wear very much makeup, every few days or so SOMEONE (friends, family, internet strangers) will weigh in on why I “don’t need makeup.” Now, I realize this is meant as a compliment, but this comic offers a hilariously truthful (and slightly weird) explanation of the “too much makeup” conundrum.

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Image set by iri-draws/Tumblr, used with permission.

Not everyone is able to turn into a badass lizard when someone asks about their face-painting hobbies. Don’t you kinda wish you could? Just to drive this hilarious comic all the way home, here’s four reasons why some women* wear makeup:

*Important side note: Anyone can wear makeup. Not just women. True story.

Four reasons some women* wear makeup:

1. Her cat-eye game is on point.

Via makeupproject.

2. She has acne or acne scars.

Via Carly Humbert.

3. Pink lipstick.

Via Destiny Godley.

4. She likes wearing makeup.

While some people may think putting on makeup is a chore, it can be really fun! For some, makeup is an outlet for creativity and self-expression. For others, it’s just a way to feel good about themselves and/or enhance their favorite features.

That’s why it feels kinda icky when someone says something along the lines of “You don’t need so much makeup!” Now, it’s arguable that no one “needs” makeup, but everyone deserves to feel good about the way they look.

For some people, feeling good about their appearance includes wearing makeup. And that’s totally OK.

Mickey Mouse loves Metallica now. This is the realization that may dawn on you as you recognize strains of “Nothing Else Matters” flitting in and out of the musical score in Jungle Cruise, the new live-action Disney film starring The Rock.

For me, it was the second consecutive film I saw to feature James, Kirk, Lars and the gang, the first being HBO’s Woodstock 99 documentary, Peace, Love, And Rage. It almost goes without saying that it’s weird to see Metallica as a symbol of white male angst one minute and as background music in a girlboss adaptation of a Disneyland ride the next. And that was probably the point: to force Dudes Of A Certain Demo to reconsider what it means to be “a Disney movie.” Just as Cruella incorporated The Sex Pistols and Vivienne Westwood into their origin story for a Dalmatian killer, Jungle Cruise has Metallica and extended allusions to Werner Herzog (Jungle Cruise‘s villain shares a name and historical basis with Klaus Kinski in Aguirre: Wrath Of God).

Which is to say, Jungle Cruise is built on a cultural framework that would be virtually indistinguishable from an Anthony Bourdain episode about the Amazon — Herzog, Metallica, mortality. Even stranger, it sort of works. Jungle Cruise is a zany mashup of Indiana Jones and Pirates Of The Caribbean (with a dash of Avatar) that’s miles better than the last installments of either (not that that’s saying much). It’s a vaguely anti-colonial thrill ride from the most successful cultural colonizers of all time, proof that as Disney’s IP-mining operation continues apace, at least they’re getting pretty good at it. I suppose the question is, when they manage to tap into a vein of parallel interests, does it make you feel seen or just predictable? Do you feel like a fellow traveler or simply another microtargeted interest group?

Leaving that aside, it’s not the references or the Easter eggs that make Jungle Cruise tolerable. It’s competent direction, solid pacing, and chemistry among the performers. While Disney loves to loot the prestige circuit for the latest festival sensations (as they did in Cruella, tapping I, Tonya director Craig Gillespie), Jungle Cruise is directed by Spaniard Jaume Collet-Serra, a director-for-hire who has done a little of everything: teen horror (House Of Wax), secret dwarf hooker horror (The Orphan), middling Liam Neeson shoot em ups (Non-Stop, Run All Night, The Commuter) and Blake Lively shark movies (The Shallows).

With a screenplay by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who wrote, among other things, my all-time favorite Christmas movie, Bad Santa, Jungle Cruise is more of a thinking man’s Jerry Bruckheimer movie, an Amazonian Pirates Of The Caribbean with a better cast (ie, no Orlando Bloom). It’s corporately woke (girlboss protagonist, openly gay sidekick) but not nauseatingly so. The villains are fun and The Rock is about as good as he’s ever been. What more could you ask of a movie based on a corny amusement park ride? (Not a rhetorical question, I genuinely don’t know the answer).

Emily Blunt plays Lily Houghton, an Amazonia Jones type who is obsessed with finding the “tears of the moon,” a magical flower said to grow in the Amazon that supposedly can cure any ailment. Being that she’s a lady, she’s not allowed to address the stuffy National Geographic Society in chauvinistic 1916 England. So she addresses them through a proxy: her foppish brother MacGregor (the handsomely dimple chinned Jack Whitehall). While MacGregor stalls for time in front of the scoffing toffs, Lily sneaks into the archives to steal an ancient arrowhead that could lead her to the flower, putting her on a collision course with the evil Prince Joachim, played by Jesse Plemons (aka Jesse P. Lemons). He’s a son of Kaiser Wilhelm who would use the flower not to heal the sick, but to grow ever more jingoistic mustaches (something like that, we’re mostly left to assume here).

Some chandelier swings and light swashbuckling ensue, and soon the two are on parallel collision courses with Jack Wolff, played by The Rock, a pun-loving huckster leading boat tours along the Amazon river. Lily and her dandy brother need Jack, his boat, and his CGI jaguar sidekick, Proxima to lead them to the tears of the moon. In so doing, they must avoid Prince Joachim (who arrives in a U-boat) and a cabal of murderous zombie conquistadors led by Aguirre (played by Edgar Ramirez, aka New Bodhi from the Point Break remake). Meanwhile, Jack must do it while dodging his molto Italiano creditore, the signore Nilo Nemolato, played bucca di beppitively by Paul Giamatti.

Yes, there is an enchanted gang of Spaniards, a haunted forest, an evil German, a wacky Italian boat magnate, a punning wrestler, and a menagerie of CGI animals, which is a lot for one movie. Too much, in fact. My screener omitted subtitles for Aguirre and Joachim, who speak at least half their lines in Spanish and German, which I initially assumed was an artistic choice. If Disney movies can have Metallica songs and extended Klaus Kinski references now, why not untranslated foreign languages? Mistake or not, I think it actually helped the movie. Not knowing quite what Aguirre is saying allows one to opt out of trying to fully understand Jungle Cruise‘s plot, which is probably for the best.

Corny dad jokes and wrestling-style stunts is The Rock’s exact wheelhouse, and that paired with Ficarra and Requa’s script was enough to squeeze a few genuine laughs from me. A late second act twist allows The Rock to explore, if not the full breadth of his dramatic range, certainly a broader cross-section of it than you’d probably expect in a movie called “Jungle Cruise.” He and Emily Blunt (as good at the plucky heroine as The Rock is at yukked-up musclehead) actually have chemistry. The weakest element of the film is probably all the CGI animals, ironic for a film based on a ride whose main attraction was animatronics. If they’d spent the graphics budget on practical fx and puppetry I feel confident that they’d have something better than “fine at best,” which is about all you can say for Jungle Cruise‘s surely cutting-edge animation.

All of which is to say: Jungle Cruise is pretty good for a movie based on a Disneyland ride. Better than the Pirates of the Caribbean movies at least. Is that what we wanted? Is this what we want?

‘Jungle Cruise’ opens in theaters this weekend and streams via Disney+. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.

Nicki Minaj may be working on a new album and a documentary about her career, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have time for some good, old-fashioned trash reality TV. By which I mean Andy Cohen has asked her to host the upcoming Real Housewives Of Potomac reunion special — according to a shared screenshot of her text conversation with the show’s publicist — an invitation she enthusiastically accepted.

She made the announcement in her usual fashion, by posting to her Instagram Story, then sharing a screenshot with her Twitter followers. “Who tf is ready?” she tweeted. On Instagram, she wrote, “Don’t move! Everyone binge-watch all the episodes cuz we finna get into some thangz hunty.” She also promised that “My questions will be well thought out, too. Mixed with funny & epic, of course.”

But, as is often the case, she had to include a quick disclaimer: “And Barbz, plz don’t send me a million comments about the album & doc chile just lemme have my moment.” She did toss her ravenous fans a bone, though, adding, “We almost there. Promise. Not lying this time. Love you.”

Naturally, the Barbz — who basically live for drama — were ecstatic to learn of this development. Get into their responses below, and follow along with the show’s cast Sundays on Bravo.

2021 is a big year for Jack Antonoff, given his involvement with new projects from Lana Del Rey, Clairo, and Lorde, as well as his own new Bleachers album, Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night, which was released today. He’s the subject of a new NME profile, and in it, he explains how Taylor Swift is “changing the music industry.”

He said:

“I’ve seen her change the music industry first-hand. She’s amazing for being a champion and making things better for the generations to come. She has a long history of rightly exposing some real darkness in the music industry. And I’m personally thankful for it, outside of our friendship and working relationship, just as an artist. She’s asked me some questions a lot of people are afraid to ask: ‘Why is this OK?’ ‘Why is it OK to treat an artist like this?’ ‘Why is it OK to exercise ownership over things that someone makes from their heart and soul? Why?’ And the answer is always the same: because that’s how it’s been. And that’s why it’s amazing if someone like her comes along and says, ‘Well, hold on: why?’”

He also offered some kind words about some of this other collaborators, like Del Rey, of whom he said, “What I love about working with Lana is that there’s so much more humor in their music than I think people understand.” He also called Clairo “one of our great artists” and noted, “It can’t be understated, the level of her work and her writing.”

Check out the full feature here.

Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night is out now via RCA. Get it here.