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The Chicago Bears have gotten off to an awful start to the 2023 NFL season, as the team is 0-2 with losses to the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have the second-worst point differential in the NFC, and in what seems to be a perpetual issue for the Bears, the team’s offense has been especially rough. There have been a total of four designed runs for third-year signal caller Justin Fields, while the passing game has been a mess, too.

Fields spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon and expressed that he “wasn’t necessarily playing my game” against the Bucs, saying that he felt “robotic and not playing like myself.” He promised to change things on Sunday before throwing in an interesting line: “That includes thinking less and just going out there and playing off of instincts, rather than just so much info in my head, data in my head, and literally just playing football.”

After getting asked what was causing him to think too much, Fields did not hold back.

“Could be coaching, I think,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it makes it … they’re doing their job when they’re giving me what to look at, stuff like that. But at the end of the day, I can’t be thinking about that when the game comes. I prepare myself throughout the week, and when the game comes, it’s time to play free at that point. Just thinking less and playing more.”

After making clear that he doesn’t think there are “too many coaching voices,” Fields talked about getting fed too much info and how a player will think about these things while they’re playing.

“It doesn’t let you play like yourself,” he said. “You’re trying to process so much information to where it’s, like, if I just simplify it in my mind, I would have did this. I saw a few plays on Sunday to where, if I was playing like my old self, we would have had a positive play. There would have been a few more third-down conversions. I think that’s the biggest thing for me, is just playing the game how I know how to play it, how I’ve been playing it my whole life. So, that’s what I gotta get back to doing.”

The Bears will travel to Kansas City to play the Chiefs on Sunday.

Boygenius is back with a new video for their song “Cool About It,” off their recent record, The Record. Directed by Lauren Tsai, it marks the band’s first animated visual and it is emotionally centered around a dog and their toy.

As each of the members tackles a verse, it matches the somber nature, opening with an image of a girl playing at a park with the dog, too.

“‘Cool About It’ is a beautifully melancholic and piercing song that puts words to feelings often unexplained,” Tsai shared in a statement. “It is an absolute dream to collaborate with the genius that is boygenius. I made animated videos on YouTube when I was 11 and I cannot imagine something I’d lose my mind over more if I could go back in time and tell myself. I will always be grateful to the band for the many ways in which their work has affected my life.”

Next week, Boygenius will kick off their fall tour with two sold-out nights in Boston starting on September 25. They will then play additional shows in NYC, Philadelphia, and more, as artists like Muna and Samia join them as special guests. A complete list of dates and more information can be found here.

Check out Boygenius’ video for “Cool About It” above.

The story of the college football season thus far has been Colorado’s 3-0 start under Deion Sanders, as Coach Prime has the nation buzzing about the Buffaloes.

It is such a big story that it’s a leading topic on First Take, which is usually an NFL first show when it comes to football. On Wednesday, Mad Dog joined Stephen A. Smith and Marcus Spears on the desk to discuss Colorado’s start and their first big test against Oregon on Saturday, where the Buffaloes are 20.5-point underdogs to the Ducks on the road. While talking about the excitement for the game, which will be the night game on ABC, Mad Dog laid out his incredible plans for Saturday, as he’s headed out to fabulous Flagstaff, Arizona to visit his son.

Mad Dog is going to have a day in Flagstaff, as he’ll go for a run, walk the dogs, and then get real loose by pouring a midday cocktail, popping a gummie, and getting ready to lock in on college football. Once he’s good and “sauced” in his words, he’ll call his bookie “Fat Rob” and put 10 dimes on Coach Prime and the Buffaloes before taking the other half of the gummie and dialing in on the game.

The best part of this entire thing is Marcus Spears absolutely losing his mind that Mad Dog is detailing all of this on air, looking around trying to see if everyone else is hearing this to make sure he’s not hallucinating this entire thing. Second is Mad Dog damn near doxxing his bookie by rattling off the first six digits of Fat Rob’s phone number — who apparently used to be a priest in the Vatican??????

I need this to be a weekly segment where Mad Dog just details his weekly plans and comes increasingly close to giving millions of people Fat Rob’s number.

Quentin Tarantino is hopefully not hard at work on The Movie Critic, but once the strike is over, production can begin on his 10th and final film. That includes finding a cast, although it’s been rumored that Paul Walter Hauser has been offered “the lead role,” assuming Jamie Taco doesn’t beat him to it.

The Ankler’s Jeff Sneider has also heard that Tarantino is “saving a role in his final film THE MOVIE CRITIC for two of his former leading men. Here’s one of them…” he wrote on X, along with a GIF of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction.

This is an unconfirmed report, but Tarantino has worked with many actors more than once, but not Travolta. Could a Vincent and Jules reunion be in the works? (I assume Samuel L. Jackson will be in The Movie Critic.) There’s no animosity between the two as far as we know, although if I were Tarantino, I would be bitter about resurrecting Travolta’s career, only to see him make Gotti.

Sneider responded to those asking if Samuel L. Jackson was the other ex-leading man who is set to appear in The Movie Critic by saying, “He was already kinda out there,” adding: “I’ve heard of another one… and an actress too.”

Bring back Pam Grier. Get her that overdue Oscar nomination.

(Via Games Radar)

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Lately, I’ve been utterly fascinated by a current trend within music where artists with perfectly good stage names — Fly Anakin, Post Malone, Killer Mike, Vic Mensa, etc. — have been dropping albums titled with their real names (just their first name, though). For instance, Fly Anakin released Frank last year; Post Malone and Killer Mike dropped Austin and Michael earlier this summer, respectively; and last Friday, Vic Mensa shared Victor. I’m not entirely sure what sparked this trend — although I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that it was, as with many things, Doja Cat’s fault (she debuted in 2018 with Amala — but it has been interesting to watch so many artists enter their “vulnerable, stripped-down” eras at the same time.

However, only one of the above artists has really capitalized on the trend. After all, the use of your government name as an album title suggests that the album is going to be an introduction of sorts, peeling back the layers to reveal the person at the core of the persona. And with props all around to the other names mentioned above, most of these artists’ latest projects have been really good but not really revelatory or unique amid their respective discographies — except for Vic Mensa. With Victor, Vic has seemingly finally rediscovered his voice, over a decade after his entrance to the rap world at large. The struggles he went through to get here make it all the more impactful and welcome.

In a lot of ways, Vic’s career so far has been a victim of his associations. When I first discovered him back in 2011, he was the rapper and co-frontman of a band called Kids These Days at just 19 years old. Their blend of rock, blues, and rap was delightful and unlike anything else at the time, even with all the genre experimentation and fusion that marked the so-called Blog Era. Kids These Days put out an EP in 2011 and followed up with a mixtape in 2012, but split soon after, cleaving Vic from one of the more interesting aspects of his music, his band. This left him as just another in a plethora of new, young rappers scrambling for attention during one of hip-hop’s biggest talent booms since the Golden Era. It wouldn’t be the first identity crisis he’d go through.

In 2013, it felt like Vic had regained his footing with Innanetape, his solo debut mixtape, which garnered strong reviews and proved that Vic could stand on his own without the bluesy backdrops provided by his band. Unfortunately, the tape dropped six months after his friend Chance The Rapper’s game-changing Acid Rap, which seemingly ate up all the little oxygen available for breathless praise of rising rappers from the Windy City from blogs and critics. In comparison to the sonically adventurous Acid Rap, the more traditionalist approach of Innanetape got lost in the wash; it doesn’t help that Vic’s impressive technical delivery was overshadowed by Chance’s vocally dynamic bombast. This is all old news, but look no further than the fact that Vic’s opening for Chance on their shared 10th-anniversary tour for proof of the lopsided reception among fans, which caused a rift between them they only recently managed to mend.

It feels a little reductive to attribute Vic’s later unmoored wanderings to his and Chance’s later association with fellow Chicago star Kanye West, but it was right around the time both began collaborating with West that Vic’s musical compass seemed to start spinning out (incidentally, that was around the time Kanye’s did the same). Vic struggled with substance abuse around this time, and his musical releases — including his 2017 debut album The Autobiography and rock side project 93Punx — similarly felt unfocused and inconsistent. Mensa’s debut received generally favorable reviews, but most noted its scattershot approach (in my own review, I wrote that it felt unfinished, with the sense “Vic is still searching for a sound.”

With Victor, it feels like he’s finally found it. Playing armchair psychologist is a sucker’s game, but on past projects, it’s felt like Vic kept trying on different rap and production styles, looking for a persona or a gimmick that would redeem that early attention he got with Kids These Days and make him sound “unique.” Here, he sounds comfortable with himself, like maybe being conventional isn’t all that bad, as long as you truly great at it. From the confessional “Sunday Morning Intro” to the party-ready “Swish” with G-Eazy and Chance The Rapper, Vic embraces both his personal failings and the inspirational messaging which have always been the best parts of his prior work, employing straightforward, bass-heavy production that keeps things moving along with a gritty, propulsive intensity.

When it comes time to slow things down, Vic adeptly does so with introspective tracks like “Sunset On The Low End” and “Strawberry Louis Vuitton.” He tackles systemic racism on “Blue Eyes,” gives thanks for seeing 30 years on “Blessings” with Ant Clemons and D Smoke, and channels the spiritual best of Kanye on “14 Days” to close things out. His sole concession to trend chasing (outside of the title, of course), is the House-influenced bonus track “Eastside Girl” — which is wisely left for the end of the project, keeping fingers away from the “skip” button. Victor gives listeners exactly what it says on the tin: A holistic look at an artist who’s come into his own at last. Vic had to go through everything he did to mature enough as an artist to synthesize those experiences into an honest, unfiltered summation of himself. This is his real autobiography — it was worth the wait.

Sufjan Stevens revealed today that he has been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition known as Guillian-Barre Syndrome. In an emotional new Instagram post, Stevens updated fans about why he’s been distant from the release of his upcoming album, Javelin.

The musician has been in the hospital, after losing the ability to walk. “Luckily there’s treatment for this — they administer immuno-hemoglobin infusions for five days and pray that the disease doesn’t spread to the lungs, heart and brain,” he assured fans. “Very scary, but it worked. I spent about two weeks in Med/Surg, stuck in a bed, while my doctors did all the things to keep me alive and stabilize my condition. I owe them my life.”

Stevens has since been moved to an acute rehab a few weeks ago, where he is undergoing physical and occupational therapy to learn how to walk again.

“It’s a slow process, but they say I will ‘recover,’ it just takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work,” he added. “Most people who have GBS learn to walk again on their own within a year, so I am hopeful. I’m only in my second week of rehab but it is going really well and I am working really hard to get back on my feet.”

Check out Sufjan Stevens’ full post below.

“Hi Friends. Quick update on my life. I’m very excited about having new music to share, but I just wanted to let you know that one of the reasons why I haven’t been able to participate in the press and promotion leading up to the release of Javelin is bc I am in the hospital. Last month I woke up one morning and couldn’t walk. My hands, arms and legs were numb and tingling and I had no strength, no feeling, no mobility. My brother drove me to the ER and after a series of tests–MRIs, EMGs, cat scans, X-rays, spinal taps (!), echo-cardiograms, etc.–the neurologists diagnosed me with an auto immune disorder called Guillian-Barre Syndrome. Luckily there’s treatment for this — they administer immuno-hemoglobin infusions for five days and pray that the disease doesn’t spread to the lungs, heart and brain. Very scary, but it worked. I spent about two weeks in Med/Surg, stuck in a bed, while my doctors did all the things to keep me alive and stabilize my condition. I owe them my life.

On September 8, I was transferred to acute rehab, where I am now undergoing intensive physical therapy/occupational therapy, strength building etc. to get my body back in shape and to learn to walk again. It’s a slow process, but they say I will ‘recover,’ it just takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work. Most people who have GBS learn to walk again on their own within a year, so I am hopeful. I’m only in my second week of rehab but it is going really well and I am working really hard to get back on my feet. I’m committed to getting better, I’m in good spirits, and I’m surrounded by a really great team. I want to be well!

I’ll keep you posted as I progress. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. And a huge shout out to all the incredible caretakers of the world working night and day to help us heal. They are living saints.

Be well, be joyful, stay sane, stay safe. I love you.

yours truly from a wheelchair XOXOXO Sufjan Stevens.”

Amid a looming government shutdown and the usual deluge of Senate business, John Fetterman’s colleagues are taking the time to be very upset about his congressional hoodie. Never mind that he is getting the job done and showing up for votes and looking much happier these days than before entering treatment for severe depression. His GOP colleagues are still somehow fixated upon Fetterman’s decision to dress like himself after Chuck Schumer relaxed the dress code for the Senate floor.

This is good news for Kyrsten Sinema’s denim vest, but of course, criticism has been coming from the GOP House wing, too. Lauren Boebert called out Fetterman’s “unbecoming” congressional attire, which led to his comeback about her “grabbing the hog” in public. He also pushed back at Ron DeSantis, who described “like, sweatshirts and hoodies and shorts” as “dumbing down.”

Still, Fetterman is willing to indulge the whiners by issuing a condition for showing up in a suit. As Democratic advisor Sawyer Hackett reported, Fetterman made a statement: “If those jagoffs in the House stop trying to shut our government down, and fully support Ukraine, then I will save democracy by wearing a suit on the Senate floor next week.”

The aforementioned whining has included a letter penned by Rick Scott, who gathered 46 GOP signatures (via Business Insider) for this rhetoric about the “sanctity” of the Senate floor:

“The Senate is a place of honor and tradition, and the Senate floor is where we conduct the business of the American people. It is where we debate the policies which impact every American family and, when necessary, it is where we must make the gravest decision imaginable – whether to send our fellow Americans into battle to defend the freedoms we all hold dear.

“The world watches us on that floor and we must protect the sanctity of that place at all costs. Allowing casual clothing on the Senate floor disrespects the institution we serve and the American families we represent.

“Allowing casual clothing on the Senate floor disrespects the institution we serve and the American families we represent. We the undersigned members of the United States Senate write to express our supreme disappointment and resolute disapproval of your recent decision to abandon the Senate’s longstanding dress code for members, and urge you to immediately reverse this misguided action.”

Fetterman does not appear to be bothered by these grumbles. He’s even launched merch to make further light of the absurd situation. Hopefully, this will all blow over soon, so that Fetterman can go back to making ghost noises and chuckling over how the far right actually believes that a 6’8″ man with a very distinctive voice and tattoos galore could have a doppleganger. Whew.

(Via Sawyer Hackett, Senate.gov & Business Insider)

Few owners in American sports are more strongly disliked than James Dolan. The owner of the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers, Dolan’s tenure at the helm of both teams has been defined by a lack of championships and, especially with the Knicks, controversial actions that have led to fans wanting him out.

Dolan has been extremely sensitive to calls that he should sell his teams — people have famously been removed from Knicks games for expressing their belief that he should do this — but if there’s any solace for folks who want him out, it doesn’t seem like he loves being in the sports ownership business. In a recent New York Times piece, Dolan actually expressed that while he loves the Knicks and the Rangers, sports ownership isn’t exactly a passion of his.

He considered expanding his sports portfolio, perhaps by buying a baseball or soccer team. But while the Knicks and Rangers are “near and dear to my heart,” he said, “I don’t really like owning teams,” calling the economics of major league sports “kind of sleepy.” He ruled out that option.

Since Dolan took over the Knicks and the Rangers in 1999, neither team has won a championship. The Rangers have come close on several occasions and are a perennial playoff team in the NHL, while the Knicks have not been nearly as successful, as the team hasn’t made it to the postseason in consecutive years since 2013. Previously, Dolan was the owner of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, which moved farther and farther away from being a championship contender during his tenure. They are now owned by Joe Tsai, whose portfolio of teams includes the Brooklyn Nets.

Taylor Swift continues to make headlines. Next month, a film documentary of her critically-acclaimed Eras Tour will hit AMC Theaters. Additionally, she will release 1989 (Taylor’s Version), a re-recorded version of her fifth studio album, 1989. But while fans are excited for new material, they also seem to be speculating about her love life.

Swift has recently been romantically linked to Travis Kelce, and while many fans are knowledgeable of the NFL star, some Swifties are dying to learn more.

Who is Travis Kelce?

Travis Kelce is a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. He also holds two Super Bowl rings for the 2020 and 2023 games.

He hails from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and his brother, Jason, plays as the center for the Philadelphia Eagles.

While neither Kelce nor Swift have confirmed the dating rumors, Kelce has apparently been trying to shoot his shot at Swift for a while.

Back in July, Kelce revealed on his New Heights podcast that he attempted to give Swift a friendship bracelet during a stop at her Eras Tour.

“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings, so I was a little butthurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,” Kelce said. “She doesn’t meet anybody — or at least she didn’t want to meet me, so I took it personal.”

If the rumors are true, it looks like Kelce’s effort certainly paid off.

Following a series of antisemitic comments, Kanye West has fallen out of favor with the general public — and with many of his collaborators. After the comments, Adidas, who was carrying West’s Yeezy shoes and fashion line, cut ties with West. Despite the dissolution of this partnership, Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden had nothing but positive things to say about West.

During an interview on Nicolai Tungen’s In Good Company podcast, Gulden spoke highly of West, lauding his creativity.

“I think Kanye West is one of the most creative people in the world,” said Gulden. “And both in music and what I call street culture. So he’s extremely creative and has together with Adi created a Yeezy line that was very successful… I don’t think he meant what he said and I don’t think he’s a bad person, it just came across that way.”

Gulden mourned the end of the Yeezy collaboration but expressed gratitude for the partnership.

“That meant we lost that business,” said Gulden. “One of the most successful collabs in history — very sad. But again, when you work with third parties that can happen. It’s part of the game. That can happen with an athlete, that can happen with an entertainer. It’s part of the business.”

You can see a clip from the interview above.