It’s been a bit of a whirlwind for Doc Rivers this offseason. His departure from the Clippers was inevitable after they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Nuggets in Orlando, but he wasn’t unemployed for long, as the Sixers swept in immediately and made him their new head coach.
Naturally, he’s had to answer a lot of questions about the Clippers’ collapse, particularly the persistent rumors about their locker-room dynamics, but with the new season just around the corner, there are more pressing concerns regarding how he plans to turn the Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons pairing into a legitimate championship duo.
One thing’s for certain, it’s not going to be by suddenly transforming Simmons into a shooter. Simmon’s well-documented struggles to make shots anywhere outside the paint with any sort of consistency have long been a talking point when discussing Philly’s title chances, but Doc is apparently not buying into the hype.
“It think it’s overdone,” he said. “I couldn’t care less about Ben’s shooting. And I’m being honest. I want Ben to be a player. Ben’s a great basketball player. Ben makes plays. Ben has vision that only 5-10 guys in the NBA have. And he has it with size. We won a world championship in Boston with Rajon Rondo, who they quote-unquote said you can’t win with a non-shooting guard on the floor. Well, we didn’t have a problem winning at all that year.”
It’s a salient point, although the NBA hadn’t fully embraced the three-point revolution at that point, and the Celtics had other shooters surrounding Rondo, which is a problem area that the Sixers attempted to address this offseason by bringing in Seth Curry and Danny Green.
Still, Doc has plenty of work ahead to turn a very talented team into true title contenders, not to mention overcome the growing perception about his coaching ability after the disastrous way things ended in Los Angeles this fall.
Dave Grohl is celebrating Hanukkah this year the best way he knows how — through music. Earlier this week, Grohl decided that Christmas music gets too much attention around this time of the year. So in order place emphasis on the Jewish holiday, Grohl decided that he was going to team up with producer Greg Kurstin for The Hanukkah Sessions where they plan to cover songs by popular Jewish artists for eight days in a row.
Grohl and Kurstin kicked off The Hanukkah Sessions Thursday with an electric cover of Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” after noting the trio are the “only Rock and Roll Hall Of Famers with a lyric about kugel.” But for the second day of Hanukkah, the two musicians decided to pick a song from a hip-hop contemporary: Drake.
With Grohl on drums and Kurstin manning the keyboard, the two delivered a buoyant cover of Drake’s 2016 Views track “Hotline Bling.” Sharing the cover with a tongue-in-cheek statement, Grohl mentioned that Drake has never hid the fact that he was Jewish so that “a generation of Jewish parents could tell their kids ‘if Drake took the time to study for HIS Bar Mitzvah, you can too.’”
You might be surprised to learn that this superstar is… Canadian. He’s never hidden the fact that he was M.O.T. so a generation of Jewish parents could tell their kids “if @Drake took the time to study for HIS Bar Mitzvah, you can too.” Twitterverse, challah at your boy! pic.twitter.com/eyMyuNs5WP
Republicans in Texas are openly encouraging its members to succeed from the United States and form a new “Union” on Friday after another lawsuit trying to overturn the presidential election results in Donald Trump’s favor was flatly dismissed by the Supreme Court. Despite all that light treason, most people took the opportunity to dunk on Ted Cruz once again.
Cruz had already said he was willing to argue in front of the court on behalf of a lawsuit like this, though that lawsuit was quickly dismissed. On Friday, a second one filed directly to the court was also rejected by the highest court in the land. According to the New York Times, the court refused to get involved in Trump’s “brazen” attempt to steal the election and somehow undo the results of the November contest he lost by millions of votes and by the same margin in the Electoral College he called a “landslide” when he won in 2016.
Texas’ lawsuit, filed directly in the Supreme Court, challenged election procedures in four states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It asked the court to bar those states from casting their electoral votes for Mr. Biden and to shift the selection of electors to the states’ legislatures. That would have required the justices to throw out millions of votes.
Mr. Trump has said he expected to prevail in the Supreme Court, after rushing the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett in October in part in the hope that she would vote in Mr. Trump’s favor in election disputes.
In response, the Texas GOP issued a bizarre and troubling statement that suggested people frustrated by Trump’s loss form a new “Union.”
The @TexasGOP is out with a statement in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, all but calling for secession:
“Perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution.” pic.twitter.com/4bB3gk88t4
The constant attempt to undermine the constitution while wrapped in the flag and attempting to sound supportive of the foundations of America’s government is an odd quirk of Trump and his surrogates framing his attempt to steal an election as anything but an extraordinary and unprecedented battle against the sanctity of the nation’s elections. And while it’s extremely troubling to say the least, it was also another chance to make fun of Ted Cruz for his continued support of Trump despite, well, everything.
Ted Cruz will now never get to stand before the Supreme Court and prove his loyalty to the man who called his wife ugly and said his dad killed JFK.
Do you think when Ted Cruz looks for a seat in the senate cafeteria, all the other senators put their backpacks on the empty chairs and avoid eye contact. I bet that happens
Your guess is as good as anybody’s about the future of America as we know it amid a truly unheard of attempt to seize power and Trump’s refusal to cede the election to Joe Biden. But at least the decision likely ruined Trump’s Christmas party at the White House.
At the White House Christmas Party, guests were informed about 10 minutes ago that the president won’t be joining them to make remarks.
The Recording Academy officially unveiled their list of 2021 Grammy nominations in late November. The original list was incomplete because the committee deciding the nominations for the Best Immersive Audio Album category was unable to meet due to the pandemic. But that wasn’t the only part of the nominations list that was missing at the time. Beyonce and Jay-Z’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter was just recently added to the list for her work in one of Beyonce’s videos.
As reported by TMZ, the eight-year-old has now been officially Grammy-nominated under the Best Music Video category for Beyonce’s “Brown Skin Girl” after she lent her vocals on the track. The report states that Carter’s initial exclusion must have been a mix-up on the part of the Recording Academy, as her name was added to the list alongside WizKid several weeks late.
Carter’s nomination now puts her in the running against some well-known artists. “Brown Skin Girl” is up against Future and Drake’s “Life Is Good,” Anderson .Paak’s “Lockdown,” Harry Styles’ “Adore You,” and Woodkid’s “Goliath” video.
If Carter wins a Grammy for “Brown Skin Girl,” it won’t be her first time winning an award for her appearance in the video. Carter was nominated for the BET HER Award for the collaboration with her mom, which she ended up winning back in June.
Check out the full list of 2021 Grammy Nominations here.
It’s been a big week for Jack Harlow, whose debut album That’s What They All Say was finally released. And while the new music day got a bit more crowded thanks to a surprise Taylor Swift album, Harlow is getting plenty of attention for both his debut and a video he shot with Big Sean for “Way Out.”
And while there’s been some controversy over the release, he’s also gotten the attention of ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter, who took some time from covering the league’s injuries and complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic to tweet about Harlow on Friday. Specifically, a line from Harlow’s “Keep It Light” where he name-dropped the sports journalist and his involvement behind the scenes of the NFL. Schefter tweeted an image of Harlow and the lyrics that included his own name, saying he appreciates the mention and that he finally managed to impress his kids with some musical clout.
“Thrilled after 53 years to make my hip-hop debut (finally some cred with my children),” Schefter tweeted. “Thank you, @jackharlow.”
Harlow seems to have appreciated that Schefter noticed the mention, as he retweeted his message on Friday night.
Harlow’s gotten plenty of attention this week for not just his new music, but also his preference for certain cartoon characters, and now we know he’s made it on the radar of one of the most influential reporters in sports. We’ll keep you posted on whether Adrian Wojnarowski gets name-dropped in the next Griselda single as well.
Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Miami Heat have to feel pretty good about things heading into next season. They surprised a lot of folks on their way to the Finals in Orlando, and they feel fairly confident that if the injury bug hadn’t gotten to them at the worst possible time, they would’ve been much more competitive against the eventual champs.
The Heat are basically running things back this season, having secured Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic in free agency, but as Heat president Pat Riley understands all too well, it never pays to be complacent in the NBA. So it’s no coincidence that Miami has suddenly found their name cropping up in the latest James Harden trade rumors as one of his preferred destinations.
And if you were curious as to what Jimmy Butler might think of the prospect of adding one of the league’s all-time lethal scorers to the mix in South Beach, you might look no further than Instagram, where Butler recently liked a post about Harden naming Miami as a trade target.
Asked about it on The Jump this week, Butler naturally demurred, claiming that he was simply appreciating Harden’s new cut.
That is expert-level evasiveness on the part of Butler. These days, one can never be too careful, what with how the NBA has promised to crack down on tampering. It’s a hefty fine, and Butler would have to sell several cups of Big Face coffee to make up for the financial hit.
In any case, the Rockets are apparently standing pat on what appears to be a steep asking price for Harden and appear to be in no rush to make a deal happen, as Harden finally reported to Rockets training camp this week after missing the first couple of days. Still, it’s a situation to keep an eye on, and the Heat are definitely in play here.
FKA Twigs has accused her ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf of sexual assault, battery, and domestic violence in a lawsuit that was made public on Friday. And later in the day she released a statement about the events, saying she made the difficult decision to come forward in order to help make other survivors feel heard.
The singer detailed LaBeouf’s alleged 2019 “relentless abuse” in an interview with the New York Times on Friday. She revealed that LaBeouf threatened to purposefully cause a car crash, left visible bruises on her body, and knowingly infected her with an STI. Her accounts of LaBeouf’s abuse were corroborated by Karolyn Pho, one of LaBeouf’s previous girlfriends.
After the New York Times interview was published, FKA Twigs shared a statement detailing why she chose to come forward:
“it may be surprising to you to learn that i was in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship. it was hard for me to process too, during and after i never thought something like this would happen to me. which is why i have decided it’s important for me to talk about it and try to help people understand that when you are under the coercive control of an abuser or in an intimate partner violent relationship leaving doesn’t feel like a safe or achievable option.
i hope that by sharing my experience i can truly help others feel like they are not alone and shed some light on how those who are worried somebody they care about may be in an abusive relationship can help because i understand it can be confusing and hard to know what to do.”
The New York Times also reached out to LaBeouf about the story, who admitted to “alcoholism” and “aggression” and issued an apology in a statement.
“I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel,” LaBeouf said. “I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalizations. I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years. I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I’m ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt. There is nothing else I can really say.”
Christopher Osburn has spent the past fifteen years in search of “the best” — or at least his very favorite — sips of whisk(e)y on earth. He’s enjoyed more drams than his doctor would dare feel comfortable with, traveled to over 20 countries testing local spirits, visited more than 50 distilleries around the globe, and amassed a collection of bottles that occupies his entire basement.
In this series, he cracks open his worn “tasting diary” and shares its contents with the masses.
On the flip side, you wouldn’t enjoy the flavors of a drink whose base is bottom shelf swill. The key is to find the middle ground — a whiskey that’s good enough to sip, but not so pricey that you’ll regret tempering the flavors with bitters, simple syrup, herbs, juices, and other ingredients.
To highlight those mid-range bourbons — sippable and perfect for mixed drinks — I cracked open my whiskey journal and picked eight beloved bottles. Check my picks below and add any I’ve missed to the comments!
Buffalo Trace’s flagship bourbon is 90 proof and, although it carries no age statement, it’s assumed to be between 8-10 years old. That’s a pretty long time maturing for a whiskey that can be purchased for under $40. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better priced, high-quality bottle to mix with.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find notes of sweet vanilla, subtle herbs, and a whole lot of brown sugar. The sip is filled with sweet cinnamon, charred oak, dried cherries, and licorice. The finish is long, warming-yet-mellow, and ends with a nice kick of caramel sweetness.
Bottom Line:
This is like the Swiss Army Knife of bourbons. Mix it into any whiskey-based cocktail and you’ll be more than happy with your decision.
Sure, you can’t go wrong with Evan Williams Black Label. But for only a few more dollars, you can get one of the best and most reasonably priced mixing (and sipping) bourbons on the market. This single barrel whiskey is aged at Heaven Hill for 7-8 years. The result is a complex, smooth bourbon — two qualities that make it ideal for mixing.
Tasting Notes:
You’ll find toasted marshmallows, creamy vanilla, and just a hint of spice on the nose. The sit delivers caramelized sugar, toasted wood, sweet vanilla, and spicy cinnamon. The finish is medium, full of warmth, and ends in a nice kick of cracked black pepper.
Bottom Line:
While it’s well-rounded enough to sip on its own, it shines in drinks like the old fashioned or sidecar, and it makes a very distinct whiskey sour.
This bonded, 100-proof whiskey is like the bolder, spicier cousin of Jim Beam White Label. While that expression is also great for mixing. If you’re looking for your cocktails to remain high in alcohol content and flavor even, after adding a few ingredients, this is the whiskey for you.
Tasting Notes:
The nose features nuanced aromas of charred oak, molasses, and toasted vanilla beans. Cinnamon, nutmeg, sweet almonds, dried fruits, and brown sugar all show up on the palate. The finish is long, full of heat, and ends in a nice final flourish of cinnamon spice.
Bottom Line:
The best aspect of this whiskey, besides its complex flavor, is its high proof. It stands out well in cocktails with multiple ingredients like a mint julep or a whiskey cobbler.
Old Forester 100 is a real bargain for the value. Made in the prohibition-style, this 100-proof whiskey is made from barrels hand-selected by the master distiller. It’s bold, rich, subtly spicy, and perfect for mixing into your favorite cocktails.
Tasting Notes:
Enjoy the aromas of caramel corn, sweet chocolate, and toasted oak before welcoming the flavors of spicy cinnamon, cocoa powder, dried mint, and candied orange peels. The finish is long, warm, and ends with hints of butterscotch and vanilla.
Bottom Line:
Even with the high proof, this whiskey is surprisingly smooth. It works well in classic drinks like the old pal or the brown derby.
Is there a better value than Rebel Yell? With its corn and high-wheat mash bill, it’s sweet, warming, soft, and full of classic bourbon flavors like caramel, vanilla, and charred oak. It can be sipped neat, but it shines when used as the base for your favorite cocktails.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find floral hints mixed with clover honey, brown butter, and dried fruits. The first sip is filled with candied orange peel, caramelized sugar, sweet vanilla, and subtle spice. The finish is long, warming, and ends with a final kick of sweet butterscotch.
Bottom Line:
This bourbon is bargain barrel cheap. Don’t be afraid to experiment with this whiskey. Mix it into a nice, holiday punch and have yourself a merry little socially distant Christmas.
If you didn’t know it already, 1792 was the year Kentucky officially became a state. This small-batch whiskey is made with the brand’s high-rye recipe. The result is a sublimely balanced bourbon with a great mix of sweet and peppery spice.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is surprisingly complex, featuring aromas of cracked back pepper, buttery caramel, and sweet vanilla. The palate is filled with caramelized sugar, sweet corn, nutty sweetness, and just a dash of cinnamon. The finish is medium, full of warmth, and ends with a final flourish of spice.
Bottom Line:
1792 Small Batch is so good you might not even want to mix with it, and that’s okay. If you do, mix it into a simple drink in which it can shine, like an old fashioned or a Manhattan.
Like Pappy and other big names in the bourbon world, This small-batch bourbon uses a mash bill that’s heavy on wheat instead of rye. Specifically, Larceny is made with winter wheat. The result is a softer, more well-rounded, and slightly sweeter whiskey, well suited for mixing into your favorite mixed drinks.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is filled with hints of walnuts, caramel, and brown sugar. The palate carries those aromas into flavors of spicy cinnamon, charred oak, buttery vanilla, and just a hint of peppery spice. The finish is medium, warm, and ends with a nice final bit of sweet heat.
Bottom Line:
If you’ve never tried Larceny, now’s the time. Add this bottle (and the barrel proof version) to your liquor cabinet to mix into all of your favorite holiday drinks. Spike some hot cider with it, you’ll be pretty delighted that you did!
Old Grand-Dad is one of the most underrated whiskeys on the market. It’s bold, complex, and perfect for mixing. It’s one of Jim Beam’s series “The Olds,” along with Old Overholt, and is filled with sweet corn, buttery vanilla, and toasted oak flavors.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find hints of dried orange peel, caramel corn, charred oak, and sweet vanilla. The palate skews toward subtle black pepper, spicy cinnamon, brown sugar, and molasses. The finish is long, full of pleasing heat, and ends in a nice kick of pepper.
Bottom Line:
Instead of Scotch, use Old Grand-Dad Bonded as the base for your seasonal hot toddy. The high proof and subtle spices work perfectly with hot water, honey, and lemon.
Jhene Aiko and Nas both put out albums this year, but that doesn’t mean they are finished releasing projects this year. Teaming up one last time in 2020, the duo put forth a dazzling video for their collaboration from Aiko’s acclaimed Chilombo LP.
Offering a black-and-white visual to the heart-throbbing number “10k Hours,” Aiko and Nas opt for elegant minimalism. The video depicts Aiko delivering her devastating lyrics into a microphone while sporting a sophisticated dress. Nas then appears, similarly dressed to impress, to reflect on his past rocky relationships in his verse.
In other Aiko news, the singer recently joined Summer Walker, Kehlani, and Teyana Taylor in calling out double standards in the music industry. “There are different sounds within R&B that I’m seeing reflected in other genres,” Aiko said in a conversation with Billboard.
“We’re seeing more rappers singing, being more melodic, doing more love and sexy songs. You probably wouldn’t have heard that from a straight-up rapper back in the day. And now there are traditionally pop artists doing R&B albums, but it’s called pop… I’m like, ‘This is a very ’90s R&B sound, but it’s considered pop.’”
On the same exact day that TIME honored Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as its “Person of the Year” — a title that Donald Trump has coveted for years — one of Europe’s largest magazine has bestowed the outgoing president with a far less prestigious title. In an article titled “Loser of the Year,” Der Spiegel magazine blasted Trump’s incompetence during his first and only term in office, labeling him as a man who was “was never concerned with the common good, but always with one thing — himself.” Via The Hill:
“Nothing is normal under Trump,” the article added. “He refuses to admit defeat. Instead, he speaks of massive electoral fraud, although there is no evidence for it. The whole thing is not surprising. Trump’s presidency ends as it began. Without decency and without dignity.”
The writers are, of course, referring to Trump’s ongoing efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election while refusing to address the rapidly rising coronavirus rates that are threatening to exceed hospital capacities by Christmas. During his own “vaccine summit” on Tuesday, Trump spent the whole time railing against reality by claiming he was rewarded a “victory” in the election and pleading with the Supreme Court to have the “courage” to hand him a second term. Trump’s tactics became even more unhinged by the end of the week as he spent Friday morning ranting on Twitter that the Supreme Court needs to “Save the USA!” before going global with his plea. “I just want to stop the world from killing itself!” he desperately tweeted.
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