Category: News

Two of the NBA’s top teams collided on Wednesday night, as the Lakers and Sixers squared off in Philadelphia, with the Sixers sneaking away with a 107-106 win after nearly blowing a 14-point lead in the second half. It took a Tobias Harris jumper with 2.4 seconds remaining to salvage what was shaping up to be an ugly fourth-quarter collapse.

Harris had 24 points and seven rebounds on the night, but it was Joel Embiid who led the way for Philly as he continued his streak of dominant play, finishing with 28 points, six rebounds, four assists, and a pair of blocks. But the big man also had a scary moment in the second half as he went up for a layup and came down hard on his hip.

Upon review, it appeared LeBron shoved Embiid while he was in the air and was subsequently hit with a Flagrant 1.

Joel Embiid was visibly in pain and went down hard on his back after being fouled.

LeBron was called for a flagrant 1 and Embiid stayed in the game. pic.twitter.com/LSOVsgVy5f

— ESPN (@espn) January 28, 2021

Any situation where a player gets hit in the air like this is taken seriously by the officials and is sometimes grounds for Flagrant 2 and automatic ejection. This, of course, is at the discretion of the officiating crew, and in this instance, they ruled it a Flagrant 1 and allowed LeBron to remain in the game.

Afterwards, Embiid sounded off on the play, claiming that LeBron received preferential treatment in this instance and that, if the roles were reversed, he believes he would’ve been hit with a Flagrant 2 and ejected.

Embiid on the LeBron flagrant: “You look at it, that’s a very dangerous play, and I guarantee if it was me I would have probably been ejected from the game.”

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) January 28, 2021

There’s obviously a lot of gray area in these incidences, and the wording in the rule book certainly leaves things open to interpretation as to what constitutes “unnecessary and excessive” contact. Regardless, Embiid obviously didn’t appreciate what was inarguably a dangerous foul on LeBron’s part and something he’ll surely be feeling in the morning.

The Washington Wizards were a bad team to start the season, and things have only gotten worse with injuries and being the team that, thus far, has been hit hardest in terms of sheer number of positive COVID-19 tests. However, this isn’t exactly new territory for Washington, which for the past two seasons has gone 57-97 following five straight seasons at .500 or better.

Bradley Beal has carried the load these past two and a half seasons, as John Wall has dealt with various injuries (and then was dealt to Houston right before he returned) and the Wizards have failed to build a competent roster around the All-Star guard as he enters his prime. Beal recommitted to the Wizards in 2019 on a two-year max extension to quiet trade rumors, in hopes that the franchise would put things together and he could lead their path back to the playoffs. However, that has yet to happen, and the apparent frustration of Beal is not just understandable but justified, as the consistent losing has clearly taken a toll on him.

It hasn’t impacted what he does on the court, as he currently leads the NBA in scoring at 34.4 points per night (and that was before Wednesday’s 47-point outburst in New Orleans) a full four points clear of Kevin Durant, and is doing so on career-best efficiency, shooting 48.3 percent from the field. Those are preposterous numbers, particularly given the lack of help around him and, as such, the immense attention he receives from opposing defenses, but his monstrous output simply can’t push the Wizards over the hump.

On Wednesday, he had 47 points and six assists in a 124-106 loss to the scuffling Pelicans, as it was him and a rag-tag group that went to New Orleans — Garrison Mathews was the second-leading scorer for Washington with 15 off the bench.

That performance in another loss gave Beal a special spot in dubious NBA history, breaking a tie with Walt Bellamy for the most consecutive losses when putting up 40 points.

Beal’s face on the bench — which, late game candids of Beal on the bench have become a go-to for producers of Wizards broadcasts — told the story, as did this tweet from his wife, Kamiah Adams-Beal.

The trade rumors surrounding Beal have been rather constant for some time, and he has yet to indicate publicly that he wants out, although you’d be hard pressed at this point to find anyone who would blame him for such a proclamation. Still, one has to think that the phones will be ringing with serious and strong offers for the star guard as February rolls on and the March trade deadline approaches because the entire hoops world can see that he is a star withering away on an aimless team, tasked with a Sisyphean effort each night of trying to push the boulder that is the Wizards up a hill where the top can never be reached.

The Philadelphia 76ers were in control for almost the entirety of Wednesday night’s showdown with the Lakers, but in the closing minutes, L.A. erased what was an 11-point deficit to take a 106-105 lead with 12 seconds to play.

The play they dialed up for their go-ahead bucket was a beauty, as they had LeBron James come get the ball from Dennis Schröder, who then went to the corner to set a screen for Anthony Davis, forcing Joel Embiid and Danny Green to communicate and navigate an inverted guard-center screen, which they were unable to do, as Davis cut to the hoop for the uncontested layup.

That was the culmination of a rather incredible run, sparked by Alex Caruso’s energy for L.A. and some timely shots from Schröder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and some disastrous offensive play from the Sixers. However, on their final possession, Philadelphia was able to find the bucket they needed as Tobias Harris took the reins and got to his spot underneath the left elbow for a pull-up jumper to take the lead with 2.4 seconds left.

The Lakers had called their last timeout to set up the AD go-ahead bucket, so they were unable to advance the ball and Joel Embiid was able to force Davis into the halfcourt scoop shot to preserve the win that should’ve been much easier than it was.

Joel Embiid continued his dominance in the game with 28 points, six rebounds, and four assists, out-dueling Davis who finished the night with 23 points and eight boards. LeBron James was the reason Philly could never fully get detached from L.A., as he had 34 points, seven assists, and six rebounds on the night. But it was Harris’ 24 points and Ben Simmons putting together a 17-point triple-double that made the difference for the Sixers in getting a big win over an L.A. team that had yet to lose a road game this season.

The Lakers have seemed determined to see how poorly they can play while still winning this season, and they certainly tried to pull out an absolute theft on Wednesday. Harris’ jumper put an end to that comeback effort, and the team that should have won did, but the end of that game showed why L.A. will always have a chance and the area where the Sixers still have work to do. The Lakers defense late in games is tremendous, and they have two closers in Davis and LeBron surrounded by decent at least shooters. Philly, meanwhile, has to find ways to get some easy buckets in the halfcourt, as the offense looked like they were pulling teeth in the final minutes when the Lakers ratcheted up the pressure.

Still, a win is a win, and the Sixers get a big feather in their cap as they move to 13-6, while L.A. drops to 14-5, likely to fall behind Utah to second in the West by the end of the night.

On Tuesday the Drake University college basketball team — that is, the team for the Iowa-based college, founded in 1881 — was slated to play Missouri University in an NCAA matchup. Just like any other athletic game, the spread, which is the odds of either teaming winning the game, was revealed beforehand, with Drake U standing as a 4-point favorite. However, a mix-up on Twitter quickly spread like wildfire. Fans of Drake — that is, the famed Toronto rap superstar — mistook the game’s spread, which read as “Drake -4,” as a sign of new music from the rapper.

When the rapper’s supporters figured out what the phrase really meant, they expressed their disappointment through a series of “facepalm” and “shaking my head” tweets. One user claimed that they “got my hopes up for nothing.”

It’s no surprise that Drake fans are on the edge: The rapper originally said his upcoming sixth album, Certified Lover Boy, would drop at some point in January, but he recently said he would have to delay the project because of a recent knee injury, the surgery and rehab for which has eaten into time he could be used putting the final polish on his latest opus.

You can read some of the reactions from Twitter users below.

Superstars are not excluded from the pains of trying to be creative in the midst of a pandemic. Artists like Cardi B and Taylor Swift have found their own ways to work on their respective projects over the past year. Drake is another act on the list of artists who aim to finish an album amid the coronavirus restrictions, and while fans hoped his upcoming Certified Lover Boy project would arrive this month, the Toronto rapper recently revealed he would need some more time to finish it. During an appearance on Pensados Place, Drake’s go-to producer 40 shared how they’ve worked on the project without being in each other’s presence.

40 explained that he and Drake used a platform called Unity Connect, which allows developers, artists, creators, and more to connect and collaborate with each other from a distance. He also revealed Zoom has been a big help to the process. “I like Zoom because I can screen share him my ProTools screen to his laptop. So he opens up his laptop, he sees my Pro Tools screen and he sees me in the corner on Zoom… and then he’s listening to the playback in realtime of what I’m playing and he’s got his headphones plugged into his MacBook so he’s got digital audio coming off his Mac converter. It sounds amazing,” 40 explained.

He also said jokingly, “If I was an artist, I’d be done going to the studio. Yo, set me up on Connect. I’ll be in my hotel room.”

You can watch his interview in the post above.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In video games you can do anything! Or at least almost anything. Up until recently, savvier players of Cyberpunk 2077 — the much-discussed but deeply troubled new RPG — could even sort of, not quite have sex with the character modeled on and played by Keanu Reeves. But no more: As per PC Gamer (by way of The AV Club), the game’s developers, CD Projekt Red have gone in and removed the mod that allows one to have their way with the star of Johnny Mnemonic.

Before it was deleted, the mod in question allowed players to, as PC Gamer put it, “manually swap character skin textures onto other models.” And so, if you were one of the lucky gamers to acquire this mod, you could hypothetically swap Keanu onto the body of a “joytoy,” which is to say a sexbot.

Mind you, it sounds like it was very, very, very far from fake-having sex with one of Hollywood’s most ageless stallions. “The mod creates a pretty bad approximation of having sex with Keanu,” PC Gamer reports, “because the character remains dressed and doesn’t have Keanu’s voice (it retains the Joytoy’s voice lines).” Still, it’s the thought that counts, we guess.

When PC Gamer reached out to CDPR for an explanation, they were told they were looking out for those big-time actors who put their trust in them, assuming their likenesses wouldn’t be draped over top a video game sexbot. “Our most important rule regarding user-generated content, game mods in particular, is that it can’t be harmful towards others,” they told the publication. “In the case of model swaps, especially those that involve explicit situations, it can be perceived as such by the people who lent us their appearance for the purpose of creating characters in Cyberpunk 2077.”

So if you ever wanted to play a video game in which you have sex with a fully clothed Keanu Reeves as he speaks with another character’s voice, it looks like you’re too late.

(Via PC Gamer and The AV Club)

Facebook may have had modest beginnings: It was a way for college males to rate the hotness of female students. But it somehow grew into a global service that may have helped make Donald Trump president for four years, becoming an unstoppable hotbed of misinformation. And though the site’s top brass has tried to limit its spread (such as banning Trump himself, though he could slink back in), they say they’re finally going to take further steps to reduce its political content altogether.

Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of the social media giant, said on a conference call Wednesday that they’re trying a new way to reduce the amount of users sharing fake news from sites with questionable urls: They’re going to reduce the amount of political content in the News Feed section altogether.

“One of the top pieces of feedback that we’re hearing from our community right now is that people don’t want politics and fighting to take over their experience on our services,” Zuckerberg — described by Deadline as “clearly worn down by recent events” — told reporters. Apart from changing what’s in the News Feed, he didn’t specify any other ways to stop the spread of far right lies. “We are still working through the best way to do this,” he admitted.

The announcement comes three weeks after the failed MAGA coup, in which whipped-up Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. They organized in part over social media, not just Facebook but Twitter and, especially, the currently AWOL Parler, which lost a lot of its foundation in the fatal riot. As mentioned, Facebook was quick to ban Trump from their coffers, though, unlike Twitter, the move wasn’t permanent.

(Via Deadline)

For the past four years, Drakeo was locked up in Los Angeles’ Men’s Central Jail following a pair of arrests that stunted what seemed to be a steady and promising rise to fame. In November, the rapper was freed from prison and he quickly got to work. Among his accomplishments: the new video for “Captions,” a track off his late 2020 mixtape We Know The Truth. In the video, the West Coast rapper stands tall in front of the camera, letting the rap game know he’s back.

Draeko released the We Know The Truth mixtape — which originally boasted 18 songs but grew to 25 with its deluxe release — a month after his release from prison. But that wasn’t all. Before 2020 was up — and again, with less than two months after his release from prison — Drakeo dropped a second mixtape, Because Yall Asked, proving through its 15 tracks the rapper will undoubtedly make an impact now that he’s home.

The new “Captions” video is also his second of the month. A few weeks back he shared another one for “Mr. Mosely Claps Back” a few weeks back.

You can watch the “Captions” video above.

We Know The Truth is out now via Stinc Team. Get it here.

If you’ve never seen a Maori haka performed, you’re missing out.

The Maori are the indigenous peoples of New Zealand, and their language and customs are an integral part of the island nation. One of the most recognizable Maori traditions outside of New Zealand is the haka, a ceremonial dance or challenge usually performed in a group. The haka represents the pride, strength, and unity of a tribe and is characterized by foot-stamping, body slapping, tongue protrusions, and rhythmic chanting.

Haka is performed at weddings as a sign of reverence and respect for the bride and groom and are also frequently seen before sports competitions, such as rugby matches.

Here’s an example of a rugby haka:

Maori All Blacks Haka at sold-out BC Place in Vancouver

www.youtube.com

The intensity of the haka is the point. It is meant to be a show of strength and elicit a strong response—which makes seeing a tiny toddler learning to do it all the more adorable.

Danny Heke, who goes by @focuswithdan on TikTok, shared a video of a baby learning haka and omigosh it is seriously the most adorable thing. When you see most haka, the dancers aren’t smiling—their faces are fierce—so this wee one starting off with an infectious grin is just too much. You can see that he’s already getting the moves down, facial expressions and all, though.

As cute as this video is, it’s part of a larger effort by Heke to use his TikTok channel to share and promote Maori culture. His videos cover everything from the Te Reo Maori language to traditional practices to issues of prejudice Maori people face.

Here he briefly goes over the different body parts that make up haka:

This video explains the purerehua, or bullroarer, which is a Maori instrument that is sometimes used to call rains during a drought.

This one shares a demonstration and explanation of the taiaha, a traditional Maori weapon.

For another taste of haka, check out this video from a school graduation:

Heke even has some fun with the trolls and racists in the comments who try to tell him his culture is dead (what?).

Unfortunately, it’s not just ignorant commenters who spew racist bile. A radio interview clip that aired recently called Maori people “genetically predisposed to crime, alcohol, and underperformance,” among other terrible things. (The host, a former mayor of Auckland, has been let go for going along with and contributing to the caller’s racist narrative.)

That clip highlights why what Heke is sharing is so important. The whole world is enriched when Indigenous people like the Maori have their voices heard and their culture celebrated. The more we learn from each other and our diverse ways of life, the more enjoyable life on Earth will be and the better we’ll get at collaborating to confront the challenges we all share.

It’s been three weeks since a mob of whipped-up Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building, attempting to overturn the 2020 election but succeeding only in causing the deaths of five people. The blowback has been severe: It got Trump finally kicked off Twitter, for one. (Ditto the MyPillow Guy.) But to some it hasn’t been severe enough. Two of the senators who helped instigate the siege, Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, have refused to step down from their positions, or even apologize. Most House Republicans have also said they won’t impeach the just-departed president. But there’s one conservative who’s still pissed: Joe Scarborough.

The longtime MSNBC host — and former Republican representative — spent part of Wednesday morning’s Morning Joe tearing into those in the GOP who think America needs to move on from the failed MAGA coup. One of those people is Senator Lindsey Graham. But Scarborough wasn’t having it.

“He wants us to forget about the fact that people were bludgeoned in the head with an American flag because of Donald Trump,” Scarborough shouted. “He wants us to forget that a cop was beaten to death, and the reason why the cop-killer beat the cop to death was because they were inspired by Donald Trump to do so. Ted Cruz wants us to forget because he led the sedition along with Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz.” (Joe got so worked up he forget he’d already mentioned Cruz earlier in the sentence, but perhaps some extra emphasis on his involvement was needed.)

“Forget? Forget? You are out of your mind and you’re not a conservative. That’s how conservatives do not talk,” Scarborough continued. “We don’t forget: If you attack our country, we go after you, we jail you, we throw away the key.”

Scarborough was out for blood, which is to say “justice.” Over disturbing images of the siege, he screamed, “This is what the Republicans in the Senate want you to forget.” He then refused to sugarcoat his words. “You know what these people are? These are Trump terrorists. Call them by their name.”

Mind you, many on the left won’t find much else to agree on with him, and his language did have similarities with conservative sentiments expressed in the lead up to the Iraq War. But strange times make strange bedfellows.

You can watch the whole thing above.

(Via The Huffington Post)