The second semifinal of the NBA HORSE Challenge pitted Allie Quigley against Zach LaVine in a Chicago battle of Sky vs. Bulls, and from the get go it was clear LaVine was not going to ease up when it came to skirting the “no dunk” rule after skunking Paul Pierce in the opening round.

LaVine gave Quigley her first letter with a between-the-legs reverse layup and did most of his damage the rest of the way on similar efforts.

He even admitted to being afraid of getting in a shooting contest with the WNBA sharpshooter, who tried to goad him into taking jump shots by noting he was one of the NBA’s best three-point shooters and pointing out how he made 13 threes in one game this season. She did have a few openings, as LaVine missed a few of his efforts, and put three letters on him with her patented hopping on one leg shot and seated bank shot, but ultimately, he regained control of shot choice and did too many wild layups.

To close things out, LaVine went off the backboard and between the legs, with Quigley unable to even get an attempt off, advancing to the finals against Mike Conley Jr.

It was a question going in whether LaVine would continue using his athletic advantage after dusting poor Paul Pierce in the first round with similar attempts. Quigley hung in there and made a few, including a bounce between the legs layup, but ultimately, LaVine was doing too many dunk contest quality layups for her to keep up.

“People had been doing some filming with celebrities from home, but it was still at that stage that it felt a bit like it was a brave new world of production.”

View Entire Post ›

The coronavirus has placed a heavy weight upon the shoulders of healthcare workers all across the country. On top of that, the healthcare workers are also risking their lives by coming in close contact with infected patients. Looking to protect the workers as best of the can, many in entertainment, including Future, Jay Z and Meek Mill, and Diddy, have done their part to help with relief. Thursday night, Beyonce joined the likes of Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Christina Aguilera on ABC’s The Disney Family Singalong to deliver a heartwarming performance of “When You Wish Upon A Star.”

“I’d like to dedicate this song to all the healthcare workers who have been working tirelessly to keep up healthy and safe. We greatly appreciate you,” Beyonce said as the sounds of a piano begun to flutter in the background. Video of her performance, which lasted a little over a minute, was played online for viewers who tuned into the singalong. Upon concluding her rendition of “When You Wish Upon A Star,” a song which was first heard in Disney’s 1940 film Pinnochio, Beyonce delivered words of hope to those who were watching. “Please hold on to your families tight,” she said. “Be safe, don’t give up. We’re going to get through this, I promise.”

You can watch Beyonce’s performance in the video above.

The last three weeks have been quite thrilling for Tory Lanez and his fans. After premiering his Quarantine Radio show towards the end of March via Instagram Live, Tory has kept his fans and celebrities friends entertained with talent shows, twerking contests, and sporadic appearances from some of entertainment’s best known talents. Whether it was intentional or not, Quarantine Radio wound up being a perfect platform for Tory to promote his new album, The New Toronto 3, but first-week projections imply that doing that didn’t boost sales.

Regardless, Tory’s can always take comfort in the fact that he’s now an independent artist. With The New Toronto 3 serving as his last project under Interscope, he is free to do as he pleases with little resistance. After sharing a self-directed video for “Who Needs Love” earlier this week, Tory takes a seat in the director’s chair once again, this time for his “Dope Boy’s Diary” video.

In the video, a young girl resides in the director’s chair while Tory makes his way to the makeshift stage, where he delivers anecdotes about his past struggles and current successes. The dimly lit video showcases a dark and almost sinister side to Tory, much different from the well-spirited Quarantine Radio host we’ve seen in the past few weeks.

You can watch the video for “Dope Boy’s Diary” above.

The NBA HORSE Challenge rolled on with the semifinals and finals on Thursday night, with Chauncey Billups taking on Mike Conley Jr., who continues to have a prohibitive advantage thanks to his indoor gym in Columbus, Ohio.

Conley jumped out to a quick H-O lead thanks to a banked in three and over the backboard swish shot that Billups was unable to answer.

Billups was able to avoid total disaster by matching Conley on a spinning, one-legged effort from the top of the key.

Conley handed Billups his third letter with this corner three after throwing the ball in the air, spinning, catching it and shooting off one leg.

It was the second time Billups got behind three letters in this competition, but unlike against Trae Young, he wasn’t able to go on a huge run. He did get a letter back with a bank shot from the top of the key to avoid a disaster.

Conley hit an “off-handed” three, as he continues to break out his ambidexterity in emergency situations when he needs a to pick up a key letter, with Billups clanging a left-handed effort in response.

Billups would draw things back to H-O-R-S to H-O with a banked in three from the break, but Conley ultimately closed things out with a granny shot free throw to move on to the finals.

Conley has to be the prohibitive favorite at this point, given his ability to effectively steal letters at will with “offhand” shots, and his indoor gym. He’ll face the winner of Allie Quigley and Zach LaVine later on tonight’s broadcast.

Michael Jordan is a mythical figure, both in the sports world and in the greater consciousness around the globe. Most believe the former Chicago Bulls (and Washington Wizards) star is the greatest basketball player of all-time and, because he ruled the NBA in a world before social media, there are many legendary tales about Jordan, both on and off the floor.

One such anecdote is Jordan’s infamous quote of “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” The quote has been attributed to Jordan in many different contexts, especially when discussing his well-known avoidance of political matters. In fact, full investigations have been assigned to the quote’s origin, including a deep dive by Slate’s Laura Wagner in 2016.

Within it, Wagner cites Second Coming, a book written by Sam Smith in 1995 and centering on Jordan, and it references this excerpt as the first use of the now widespread wording, even if “sneakers” wasn’t originally included.

Another time, he was approached by U.S. Senate hopeful Harvey Gantt, a black politician who was running against Jesse Helms in North Carolina, Jordan’s home state. Gantt had hoped that Jordan’s name would help him defeat Helms, widely regarded as a virulent racist. But Jordan declined. He wasn’t into politics, he explained, didn’t really know the issues. And, as he later told a friend, “Republicans buy shoes, too.”

With that in mind, Smith himself wrote this week about the story behind what he describes as a “misunderstood” quote. To set up the context, he shared that “Jordan loved the media give and take,” saying that Jordan often spurned pre-game warmups in favor of verbal exchanges with the media and the plain fact that Jordan loved to get the last word.

From there, Smith gets to the goods, painting the picture of himself “blathering on about Jesse Helms and that North Carolina senate race” that took place in 1990. Smith made sure to say that “Jordan knew how much the NBA had been asking players to stay away from this kind of stuff, and the truth is he didn’t need to protect his shoe company investment.” At the same time, Smith was, by his own admission, arguing on behalf of Gantt.

Then, the fireworks happened.

It didn’t matter if it was a game, a bet, the first to get dressed or taped, the first bag down the conveyor belt at the airport which he’d, by the way, arranged with a ten for the baggage handler. Conversation and can-you-top-this was a competitive event to Jordan. There were more skilled players, but no one with that manic, never drained reservoir of competitive energy and desire. It’s why he worked harder, also. Not necessary to be better. But not to lose to anyone at anything.

So he shot me the last word.

“Republicans,” he said with a smile, “buy sneakers, too.”

Smith says he laughed and also had his thoughts “derailed” by the response but, most importantly to the context of the story, he admitted that “it was the final word” from Jordan.

In some ways, this explanation won’t satisfy everyone, even when accounting for the fact that Smith was, well, the person to report the quote in the first place. Smith ended the piece by emphasizing (with an exclamation point and everything) and Jordan’s quip was a joke, and he implores everyone to “stop taking yourselves so seriously.” Whether that, in itself, is a mythical creation after 25 years is up for interpretation but, if nothing else, the original purveyor of the world-famous quote has weighed in.

The guidelines, passed on to governors Thursday, are titled “Opening Up America Again,” harking back to the president’s 2016 campaign slogan.

View Entire Post ›

For nearly two years, anticipation has been building for ESPN’s ‘The Last Dance’ documentary, with a (very) deep dive into Michael Jordan and the NBA title-winning 1997-98 Chicago Bulls. Originally, the much-ballyhooed, 10-hour presentation was scheduled to be released in June but, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing shifts all over the sports calendar, there was clamoring for ESPN to move up the release and, ultimately, that came to fruition with the decision to air the product beginning on April 19.

The series will be unveiled in one-hour episodes, with sets of two broadcast on the same night. In addition, ESPN made the decision to have two different versions on the air simultaneously, with one operating in “uncut” fashion on ESPN and the other edited to remove some of the more colorful language on ESPN2. Beyond that, consumers outside the United States will be able to view the documentary on Netflix the next day, with episodes dropping at 12:01 am PT on Mondays, beginning on April 20 and progressing over five weeks.

Whether you are a basketball die-hard or simply a casual sports fan, there is something for everyone with this documentary, and the full schedule of broadcasts is here, courtesy of ESPN.

Sunday, April 19

9 p.m. ET — Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 1

10 p.m. ET — Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 2

Sunday, April 26

7 p.m. ET — Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 1

8 p.m. ET — Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 2

9 p.m. ET — Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 3

10 p.m. ET — Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 4

Sunday, May 3

7 p.m. ET — Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 3

8 p.m. ET — Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 4

9 p.m. ET — Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 5

10 p.m. ET — Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 6

Sunday, May 10

7 p.m. ET — Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 5

8 p.m. ET — Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 6

9 p.m. ET — Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 7

10 p.m. ET — Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 8

Sunday, May 17

7 p.m. ET — Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 7

8 p.m. ET — Re-air of “The Last Dance” Episode 8

9 p.m. ET — Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 9

10 p.m. ET — Premiere of “The Last Dance” Episode 10

The Trump administration has been eager to reopen the country and get the economy going once more as soon as possible, all while being careful not to make things even worse than they’ve been. On Thursday, they released a treatise entitled “Opening Up America Again,” in which they laid out proposals for what could start running once more. And, as per The Hollywood Reporter, on that list were movie theaters, which have now been closed for nearly a month.

The proposals don’t apply nationwide, and that each state must satisfy certain criteria before businesses deemed non-essential can fire things back up. Not everything would reopen at once; instead there would be phases. “Phase One” discourages gatherings of groups larger than 10, though that doesn’t necessarily discount large venues, such as theaters, long as they enforce strict social distancing. “Phase Two” finds more large venues able to loosen up restrictions, all while tending to “moderate social distancing.” Also grouped in “Phase Two” openings are schools and elective surgeries.

Though Trump himself asserted that his control was “total,” implying that he could force states to open at his will, he seemed to back down on that by week’s end, as the treatise acknowledges that it’s up to states to decide when they’re safe to open things up. THR claims Hollywood is “hopeful that many theaters will begin to turn on the lights by the end of June,” though the National Association of Theatre Owners has yet to comment on the administration’s plan.

So, when (or if) this actually happens, what will this look like? Will moviegoers have whole sections of a theater to themselves, yielding extra legroom? How many will feel safe enough to venture into a movie theater, all to watch Trolls World Tour? Meanwhile, Trump is hopeful some areas of the country will be out of danger as early May 1, although New York is sticking to at least May 15. Stay tuned.

(Via THR)

View Entire Post ›