Category: Viral
Category Added in a WPeMatico Campaign
“Normal it will not be, at least until we have herd immunity and we have a vaccine,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday.
One major question that exists regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is how many people have actually been impacted by the virus. Whether it be individuals who fell ill but never got their case confirmed or were asymptomatic carriers, scientists are still trying their best to get as much information as possible to map out the best possible plan for combatting this novel coronavirus.
Major League Baseball wants to play a role in helping this question get answered. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the league will participate in a study Stanford University, USC, and the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory will run in the coming days. As Passan explained, these researchers are looking for a pair of antibodies that form after someone has COVID-19 in their system — one is produced early on in the process of combatting the virus, while the other stays in a person’s body after they have recovered.
Those involved with the study stressed that this is not happening as part of a plan to fast-track MLB’s hopes of playing game as soon as possible. Via ESPN:
The goal of the study is to get a better sense of the virus’ true infection rate by utilizing a nationwide sample. The speed with which MLB coordinated logistics and ensured participation from a wide range of people, including players, front-office staff, concession workers and others, made it the right choice for the study, according to doctors running it.
An important thing to note here is that these — which are done via a finger prick and take a sample of a person’s blood — are different from the ones needed to diagnose the virus. Molly Knight of The Athletic reported that three unspecified teams will not participate in the study, while one of the doctors at the helm of all this praised MLB for its willingness to hop on board and speed up a process that would normally take a long, long time.
“This will be the first time we will be able to see how truly prevalent COVID-19 has spread throughout the United States,” Dr. Jar Bhattacharya said. “And instead of it taking years to pull together a study of this scope, especially with stay-at-home orders, MLB has helped us turn it around in a matter of weeks.”
This is not the only similar study occurring to try and get some insight into the scope of the virus, as the National Institute of Health announced its desire to find 10,000 volunteers to get a sense of how many Americans have built up antibodies to COVID-19. As for when games can resume, that is still a big unknown, as there has been no update on whether or not MLB will be able to move forward with its proposed plan for a bubble league in Arizona.
Hey all you cool cats and kittens out there. It’s hard to remember the last time a documentary became such a global phenomenon that it dominated the conversation for weeks after it was released and infiltrated nearly every aspect of our culture. Yet here we are, and the world still can’t seem to get enough of the completely batsh*t crazy Netflix sensation Tiger King.
And there’s good reason for that. Not only is it one of the strangest and most relentlessly entertaining spectacles in recent memory, it came into our lives at the perfect cultural moment as the world went on lock-down amid the coronavirus pandemic, trapping us in our homes and making us desperate for a distraction.
Just when you thought the craze might be slowing down a bit, your favorite characters are up to their old tricks again, this time in the form of an NBA 2K simulation courtesy of YouTube user 2K Toro.
Joe Exotic, Jeff Lowe, Doc Antle, and of course, the inimitable Carole Baskin are all featured here in a matchup between, naturally, Team Exotic and Team Baskin.
The documentary has been such a phenomenon that it actually prompted officials to reopen the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Baskin’s husband, Don Lewis. There is also reportedly a film or television series in the works based on these characters and events. The main takeaway is that we haven’t heard the last of this. Not by a long shot.
We don’t usually share 16-second teasers for a limited series based on a character who was created in the 1930s, but we’ll make an exception for Perry Mason.
HBO’s Perry Mason has a killer cast, led by Matthew Rhys (The Americans), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), John Lithgow, and Shea Whigham; also, the brief teaser was shared in the thirstiest way possible. “Matthew Rhys can peek into my window any night of the week,” HBO’s official account tweeted, which, can you blame them?
Matthew Rhys can peek into my window any night of the week.
A closer look at #PerryMasonHBO is coming soon. pic.twitter.com/zwH58hqGcW
— HBO (@HBO) April 14, 2020
Robert Downey, Jr., who’s producing the series through his and his wife Susan’s Team Downey production company, got in on the fun, too, tweeting, “I know it’s Tuesday because I’m still wearing my Sunday pajamas. I ALSO know a way to get an exclusive sneak peek at PERRY MASON. All my love, DSB (double-scrub Bob).” Here’s more:
[T]he reimagined Perry Mason is set in 1932 Los Angeles. While the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression, this city is booming! Oil! Olympic Games! Talking Pictures! Evangelical Fervor! And a child kidnapping gone very, very wrong! Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, the limited series follows the origins of American Fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason. When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason’s relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself.
Perry Mason premieres later this year.
If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.
Chris D’Elia: No Pain (Netflix stand-up comedy special) — The latest outrageous set of bits from Chris D’Elia — who told us about sharing a surprisingly fantastic meal with Tom Arnold — has arrived on the streaming giant. Please enjoy his strange fixations with dolphins, growling at babies, and inappropriate photos.
Ellen’s Game Of Games (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) — Ellen’s preexisting gig as the master of ceremonies for this strange show survives through quarantine. In this installment, contestants take on games such as “Oh Ship,” “Son of a One-Eyed Monster,” “Taste Buds,” and “Buckin’ Blasters.” And watch out for something called “Hot Hands.”
The Conners (ABC, 8:00 p.m.) — Dan’s gearing up to confess his feelings for Louise, but cupid-disaster might have already struck. Oh, and Darlene wants to have a baby.
Empire (FOX, 9:00 p.m.) — Lucious uncovers some of Andre’s screw-ups while running Empire, while Cookie’s attempting to get BossyFest back off the ground. However, Hakeem and Maya’s unlikely partnership is working out quite well.
For Life (ABC, 10:00 p.m.) — A 23-year-old case against Maskins could pay off for Aaron if he manages to represent a longtime inmate. Meanwhile, a drug-smuggling racket is still causing problems for Captain Foster.
The Last O.G. (TBS, 10:30 p.m.) — The third season for Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish’s show sees Tray getting to know the neighbors at his new apartment.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Jonathan Lapook, Cate Blanchett
Jimmy Fallon Live! — Jason Bateman
Conan — Keegan-Michael Key
The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Michael Shannon, JJ Watt
The Late Late Show With James Corden — Dan Levy; Meghan Trainor.
A Little Late With Lilly Singh — Nikki Glaser
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah — Noah’s reporting live from his couch, and naturally, the subject of the night will be the ongoing pandemic and social distancing.
While WWE has resumed weekly live broadcasts this week, because Florida has decided to consider them an essential business that doesn’t need to shut down, All Elite Wrestling actually is shut down for the moment, with all of their talent currently able to shelter at home and practice social distancing. AEW Dynamite is still airing new episodes, but they were all pre-recorded in a crowd-free marathon taping a couple of weeks at QT Marshall’s gym in Norcross, Georgia. They reportedly have enough episodes in the can to last through mid-May, and we’ll see what happens after that.
Watching these recent episodes, it’s clear that quite a few roster members are missing. Tony Khan has previously stated that anyone who’s not comfortable wrestling during the pandemic is welcome to stay home with no penalty or ill will. Now Wrestling Inc has reported who wasn’t at those tapings, and therefore who we can expect not to see in the ring on Wednesday nights for at least the next month.
The Young Bucks, Hangman Adam Page, Nyla Rose, PAC, The Lucha Bros, SCU, MJF, and Big Swole were all missing from the tapings. We already knew that PAC and the Lucha Bros, who had just recently formed Death Triangle, are unable to make it to Dynamite right now. It’s come up before that California and New York based talent were told not to attend the tapings, as those are considered hot spots for the coronavirus. That would also include the NYC-based Private Party and Santana and Ortiz, who aren’t mentioned here.
MJF tweeted something a bit ominous about his absence, but knowing his social media it may well turn out to be a work.
I wish I could put my body on the line more for you guys. I truly care so much about you being entertained during your hour of need. Unfortunately something awful has happened to me and it has gradually gotten worse. I can’t comment on what the issue is at this time. https://t.co/1WoXSzPh7r
— Maxwell Jacob Friedman (@The_MJF) April 13, 2020
Meanwhile, Big Swole posted on her Instagram about how she misses Dynamite, but she’s immunocompromised because of her history with Crohn’s Disease.
It’s possible that some of the missing talent will appear in non-wrestling segments recorded at their homes. Either way, it’s going to be a while before Dynamite looks like the Dynamite we’re used to, but then you could say the same thing about most of the world right now.