Category: News

Paul Pierce has had quite the week. The former All-NBA wing went onto Instagram Live and appeared to accidentally broadcast himself having a racy house party to his entire follower list instead of a close group of friends. While a bunch of current NBA players thought the whole thing was hilarious, Pierce’s now-former employer didn’t think it was quite as funny, as ESPN parted ways with the former Celtics, Nets, Wizards, and Clippers standout.

Pierce seemed to take the whole thing in stride, posting a few messages to social media in which he thanked both his supporters and his haters. Now, one of his former teammates chimed in … well, kind of.

Shaquille O’Neal, who played against Pierce for years and suited up alongside him in 2010-11 in Boston, laughed at the mere mention of Pierce’s name during TNT’s pregame show on Tuesday night.

The great thing about this video is it’s not commentary on anything that happened with Pierce, it is literally just bringing up Pierce’s name in conversation and Shaq immediately laughing. The camera then pans over to the rest of the TNT crew, and while Adam Lefkoe has a smile on his face, both Candace Parker and Dwyane Wade couldn’t help but react to the fact that bringing up Pierce made Shaq’s mind go to that place.

We’ll have to wait until Thursday night to see if Shaq and the Inside the NBA crew have a similar reaction should Pierce’s name pop up. Our bet: Yes, and also, there will be riffing.

Game of Thrones premiered 10 years ago next week. To celebrate a decade of dragons, drunkards, and Dothrakis, HBO has planned a month of Thrones-specific events, including a #MaraThrone of every episode, special appearances from cast members, and a chance for couples “who were married in Westeros-themed ceremonies” to win “anniversary presents including Game of Thrones-branded barrels of wine, custom chalices, and elaborate cakes designed in partnership.” It better be a lemon cake…

HBO has also released a “new” trailer for the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones. It’s a curious decision, as season eight is widely considered to be the worst season of the otherwise great show. As the Hollywood Reporter notes, “The trailer is a well-edited clip that refreshes fans on the dramatic highlights and lavish spectacle of the final six episodes of the Emmy-winning series — yet is also stirring up all sorts of feelings among fans who felt the last season was a massive disappointment.”

This is currently the top comment under the trailer:

Can’t wait to see how important Jon’s lineage is, how they defeat the Night King, how Jamie redeems himself and what Varys’ grand plan has been this whole time

OK, that’s not too bad! Let’s read some more.

Season 8 was like if Frodo realised he could snap the One Ring in half like a twig as soon as he reached Mordor.

Uh oh.

“our enemy doesn’t tire”
*Tires within one episode

Are you guys remaking it? Because if you’re not, then it’s better to not release a trailer for it again and reminding us of something we wanna forget.

I wish they didn’t cancel this show after 6 seasons it had so much potential

It’s crazy how popular this show was back then, and how quickly everyone has forget it.
Probably the most disappointing thing in entertainment history.

That’s a hyperbolic claim (someone hasn’t seen Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice!), but it goes to show how disappointed many viewers were by the final season. But! There’s plenty more Thrones coming our way, including House of the Dragon, a Broadway play, and three prequel series in development. What is dead may never die.

At least the series trailer rules.

Former The Daily Show host has largely been missing from our TV screens since 2015, but he’s kept his advocacy fires burning, and soon, Jon Stewart will be formally back in your living room, baby. His upcoming current events show has looked for writers on social media, and one can imagine that he’ll stay unconventional while taking on current events once more. The show is already tapped for multiple seasons, and we don’t have a formal start date as of yet, other than Fall 2021.

However, there is now a title for the series. According to a press release, the show will formally be called, “The Problem With Jon Stewart.” That, of course, is ambiguous but in-your-face at the same time. One can imagine that he’ll be exploring various “problems” as he sees them on a regular basis, but he might also be poking fun at himself there because right-wingers will always find a “problem” with how Jon Stewart covers things. Does it really matter, though, what the title precisely means? Stewart’s shown himself to be a gifted satirist, who’s unable to resist amusing his viewers.

Previously, Apple TV+ revealed (via a synopsis) that the series “won’t have a nightly or even weekly cadence.” However, Apple TV+ is also now revealing that each episode shall run one hour in length as a “single-issue” series. So, one should expect the unexpected here? Sounds like a plan.

As stated above (and I wanted to say it again because this is Jon Freaking Stewart we’re talking about), Apple TV+’s The Problem With Jon Stewart will arrive in Fall 2021.

As DMX remains in the hospital in critical condition after suffering a heart attack, TMZ reports the rap icon will require a battery of tests to determine his family’s next steps. According to DMX’s manager Steve Rifkind, doctors will perform the tests today to determine DMX’s brain activity level. On Friday, after his initial overdose and heart attack, doctors say his brain was deprived of oxygen for nearly 30 minutes, which left him with little brain activity and he’s currently in a coma. After the tests, DMX’s family will need to decide whether to keep him on life support in hopes of recovery.

DMX was initially hospitalized in White Plains, New York after his apparent drug overdose on Friday (April 3), which triggered a heart attack. Although false reports were circulated that he was recovering, his family and Rifkind issued a statement hoping to curtail misinformation that might complicate his treatment. The news of his hospitalization prompted a massive response from fans and peers on social media, which saw waves of tweets declaring support for the rapper and dismay over his condition.

DMX’s struggles with addiction have been well-documented, both by the press and in his music, and his vulnerability with regard to his mental health has been credited as one reason his music resonates so strongly with so many people. Before his relapse, he was reportedly working on a new album and enjoying renewed interest after his matchup with Snoop Dogg on Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s popular Verzuz web show.

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled to the second Super Bowl in franchise history this year, taking down the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9. It was Brady’s first Super Bowl as a member of a team that wasn’t the New England Patriots, and in the aftermath of winning his seventh Lombardi Trophy.

It was, of course, a bit of a strange sight seeing Brady suit up for a team other than New England, but what might have been even more weird was watching him celebrate by appearing to have … let’s say one too many beverages and chuck the Lombardi Trophy from one boat to the next. During an interview with Michael Strahan of Good Morning America on Wednesday, Brady called the whole thing “pretty cool” based on “what I remember” from the boat parade, and then got into throwing the trophy across the water, which he wants back.

“First of all, there was not a lot going through my mind at that point,” Brady said. “I mean, that was not smart, for a couple reasons. One is, if we drop it, that’s a little bit of a problem. But the worst thing that could happen is the edges on that trophy are so sharp, and had those things clipped one of my boys in the other boat, it would have been an ugly parade.”

Between the regular season and the playoffs, Brady has thrown more than 12,000 passes in his NFL career, so we’re confident that this isn’t the first time he’s let it rip and wanted to take the throw back. Still, let this be a warning to future Super Bowl winning quarterbacks that you should not throw the Lombardi Trophy, particularly if you are throwing it to someone on another boat.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a warning that corporations should “stay out of politics,” or they will “invite serious consequences” after after several high-profile brands (including Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, and Major League Baseball) began making moves to protest the controversial Election Integrity Act that recently passed in Georgia. The act has been accused of being a major effort by Republicans to suppress the African-American vote, and considering that McConnell is up to the hilt in corporate donations and has been a major proponent of mixing private sector cash with politics, Stephen Colbert didn’t waste an opportunity to rip McConnell for his blatant hypocrisy.

As Colbert noted by highlighting a tweet from the Public Citizen watchdog group, in the past five years alone, McConnell has taken in over $4.3 million in corporate donations to his campaign. Which is why McConnell spent Wednesday morning clarifying that by “stay out of politics,” he doesn’t mean entirely. “I’m not talking about political contributions,” McConnell told reporters, which opened the door for Colbert to go to town with his impression of the Kentucky senator.

“No, no, I’m just sayin’ shush, darlin. You’re so much prettier when you don’t talk,” Colbert mocked around the 6:00 minute mark above. “Now, spread open that wallet, baby, and give ol’ Mitch a peek at that bottom line.”

Colbert also played a 2013 clip that showed McConnell arguing that the First Amendment guarantees that American corporations have a right to participate in politics just like any citizen would. “I’d call that a self-own, but he’s already 100 percent owned by corporations,” Colbert quipped, bringing the roast to an end.

As the world departed from an awful 2020, the hope was that the new year would bring a lot more happiness and a lengthier string of enjoyable moments. With the first quarter officially in the books, the horizon of relief and normalcy seems to be a bit closer than before, but there’s still a long way to go. However, for Key Glock and Young Dolph, they’ve delivered this thrill in the form of their new project, Dum And Dummer 2.

Key Glock and Young Dolph’s music has always resided in the pocket of braggadocious exuberance. The Memphis rappers brought themselves out of their respective childhood and adolescent hardships to a present-day lifestyle that sees them indulging in the shiniest of diamonds and lounging in a home bigger than their youthful dreams. For what it’s worth, the duo is entitled to enjoy their respective limelights when their worlds were so dark for an extended period of their lives. Dum And Dummer 2 extends this celebration, but rather it being a solo affair, Key Glock and Young Dolph stand as brothers to relish in their riches.

This celebration comes alive on icy tracks like “Penguins” and “Aspen.” The brisk theme of the respective songs brings a harsh punch to the ears of listeners like the wind that accompanies sub-zero temperatures in the Colorado city the duo rapped about. “My neck and wrist is Colorado rocky, yes, I’m havin’ it,” Glock declares on the latter track. “I’m cutthroat to the bone, I hope you n****s understand me, b*tch.” Their shiny jewels produce a reaction similar to their straightforward bars which both fall in line with their nonchalant attitudes, all bringing a chill to their supporters and opponents alike that causes a tight clench of the jaw.

The Memphis rappers are well-in-tuned with their distant approach to the world. A glance into their respective lives and it’s clear that they have no desire to reside in the public eye or get mixy with their rap colleagues. It’s why the law gets laid down from Dolph and Glock on “What U See Is What U Get,” with lines like “I know you never, ever, ever seen a youngin’ flex like this / I’m ’bout my cheddar, mozzarella, never catch me in the mix.” Glock doubles down on this line of thought on “In Glock We Trust,” one of five solo tracks he possesses on Dum And Dummer 2. “ Considering Young Dolph’s near retirement in summer 2020 and eventual sayonara from the game last month, you can’t help but accept their “IDGAF” approach as the farthest thing from a facade.

What’s real and truly undeniable about Young Dolph and Key Glock is their hardships and the often piercing struggles they endured to stand on their self-constructed thrones. They allude to it on tracks like “Sleeping With The Roaches,” which is upheld by a headbanging bass and fluttering keys that produce an erratic and near paranoia-inducing atmosphere. “I used to cut the lights on and all of the roaches started runnin’ through the kitchen,” Dolph raps, but this unsettling experience was only temporary as he updates it just a line later. “Now when I cut the lights on, I ain’t gotta do nothin’ but put on this Richard.”

Key Glock and Young Dolph’s Dum And Dummer 2 continues a streak of presenting their lives as-is in the form of music. There isn’t much to break down nor do hidden themes exist. It’s all delivered clear-eyed and unfiltered with the hope that listeners enjoy it or even get jealous of their possessions and motivate themselves to push further down their own path of success — that is, their definition of it at least. Another thing this project achieves is presenting another dazzling showcase of the Memphis natives’ unbreakable chemistry. For the past four years, the two rappers racked up a long list of memorable moments together. However, with Dolph bidding the rape game a solemn goodbye, it’s only right that he hands the keys over to his protege in the best way he knows how before walking out the door.

Dum And Dummer 2 is out now via Paper Route Empire. Get it here.

The year is 2008: The first Twilight movie is in theaters, Beyonce and Jay-Z are newlyweds, and Taylor Swift drops her No. 1 album Fearless just one month after getting her heart broken by Joe Jonas. Now, 13 years later, Swift is throwing it back to 2008 by debuting a handful of previously unreleased tracks. With her latest song “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” fans are convinced that it’s Swift’s way of slighting Jonas for their messy breakup.

The new track was written during her Fearless era and Swift even hinted that it touched on drama, so fans were quick to connect the dots and point out that “Mr. Perfectly Fine” must have been Joe Jonas. Throughout the song’s lyrics, Swift touches on how a man broke her heart and takes aim at his vanity, leading fans to imagine how Jonas is currently coping with the news.

Some fans pointed out how the new track arrives less than a year after Swift allegedly gifted Jonas a blanket to congratulate the birth of his first child.

Other Swifties wondered if the singer will share a song about her previous relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal after they briefly dated in 2010 ahead of her album Red.

Even if Swift’s song is a reflection on her break up with Jonas, the boyband singer’s wife Sophie Turner isn’t fazed by the drama. In fact, Turner publicly shared her support about the track on social media. “It’s not NOT a bop,” Turner wrote alongside a post about the track.

The Arizona Wildcats have decided to enter college basketball’s coaching carousel. In news first reported by Jeff Goodman of Stadium and then confirmed elsewhere, the program has opted to part ways with longtime head coach Sean Miller on the heels of a 17-9 campaign that saw the team miss out on the NCAA Tournament due to a self-imposed ban.

Miller went to Tucson after five years at Xavier and gave the Wildcats some stability following the Lute Olsen era. The team went 302-109 during Miller’s 12 years in charge with a 150-68 conference record. Arizona won the Pac-12 regular season title under Miller five times and won the conference tournament another three.

Prior to the 2018-19 season, Arizona made the NCAA Tournament seven out of eight years with Miller at the helm and one NIT. The team missed out that season and did not make it in 2020-21 due to the FBI’s investigation into a college basketball bribery scandal that prominently featured Miller — he was recorded on a wiretap discussing a payment of $100,000 that would ensure that then five-star recruit Deandre Ayton would commit to the Wildcats. It is unclear if his getting wrapped up into an investigation of this magnitude is what led to the university moving on from Miller or if it is due to the team’s performance.

According to reports, a number of names have been kicked around in relation to this job, with Jeff Borzello of ESPN reporting that Gonzaga associate head coach Tommy Lloyd’s name “buzzing” in recent days.

Atlanta rapper Yung Baby Tate is currently a hot commodity after releasing her album After The Rain and the breakout success of its single “I Am” with Flo Milli. Striking while the iron is white-hot, YBT told Fox Soul’s The Mix that a deluxe version is in the works and coming “very soon.” She promised “five or six” new songs, as well as a new single, before she begins work on a follow-up.

Elsewhere in the interview, Tate shares the inspiration behind her breakout hit “I Am,” and recalls how she was signed to Issa Rae’s Raedio record label. She also insists that the XXL Freshman cover should be all women, and talks relationships, including one she recently ended as a result of inconsistent communication.

Tate, whose rise to stardom included a standout appearance among the boys’ club on Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers III track “Don’t Hit Me Right Now,” also recently appeared on Australian rapper Tkay Maidza’s 2000s pop culture-inspired “Kim” video as a gigantic version of Kim Possible villain Shego.

You can watch the full episode of The Mix with Yung Baby Tate here.

Yung Baby Tate is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.