Donald Trump’s war with the media has officially extended to what was once his favorite outlet: Fox News. Under fire for a series of reports about Trump’s statements about fallen soldiers, he has spent the weekend denying reports that he disparaged veterans on several occasions and even attacked Fox News for confirming at least aspects of a story in The Atlantic that sparked the news cycle.
The president on Friday called for Fox News to fire Jennifer Griffin, a Fox News reporter who confirmed aspects of a damaging report about comments Trump made about American soldiers, reportedly calling them “suckers” and “losers” in an incident where a trip to a French cemetary where American troops were buried was abruptly canceled earlier in his presidency.
The incident began with Thursday’s story by The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, which detailed Trump’s canceled trip to Aisne-Marne Cemetery outside Paris. Officially the White House said weather scuttled travel to the cemetery, but Goldberg’s report said Trump didn’t want to mess up his hair in the rain and also disparaged military members who died while serving, calling them “suckers” and “losers.” The report also detailed Trump’s resistance to lowering flags to half mast when John McCain died.
Trump tweeted at length to deny that report and disparage Goldberg on Friday, but other outlets worked to confirm aspects of the report and detail other instances where Trump had disparaged veterans. That includes Fox News, who saw Griffin report and confirm aspects of Goldberg’s piece.
Two former sr Trump admin officials confirm .@JeffreyGoldberg reporting that President Trump disparaged veterans and did not want to drive to honor American war dead at Aisne-Marne Cemetery outside Paris.
Griffin’s lengthy Twitter thread and an appearance on air instantly went viral. And while the network’s other programs questioned the legitimacy of the reporting, Griffin made Fox one of several outlets that also confirmed reports Trump was working so hard to deny. Trump continued to issue various denials about the reports, and on Friday demanded that Fox fire Griffin for her report.
Jennifer Griffin of Fox News Did Not Confirm ‘Most Salacious‘ Part of Atlantic Story https://t.co/rUpbSWhHac via @BreitbartNews All refuted by many witnesses. Jennifer Griffin should be fired for this kind of reporting. Never even called us for comment. @FoxNews is gone!
CNN has a more thorough rundown of how Fox News has covered the reporting and, in some cases, failed to amplify Griffin’s report while casting doubt on the legitimacy of other outlets’ coverage of the incident. The important context to all this is that Trump desperately wants veterans to cast votes for him this fall, and he’s largely run on a campaign where he has strengthened the military and increased funding. But his words, at least according to multiple sources from multiple networks, have him fighting a very different battle in the weeks leading up to the November election.
It’s the weekend that movie studios, theater chains, and moviegoers have seemingly been waiting months to happen: The much anticipated release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Elizabeth Debicki. The anticipation has been far more about the substance of the movie — reviews have been lukewarm but positive (74 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) — and far more about whether American moviegoers would return to theaters in the midst of a pandemic. How well or poorly Tenet does may determine whether studios continue to roll out new products (Wonder Woman 2, Black Widow, and No Time to Die, among others) or if the studios will go back into hibernation until the pandemic ends.
So, how did Tenet do? The film scored $20 million for the four-day Labor Day weekend, which is solid, considering the context in which it has been released. There is a pandemic going on; theaters are not yet opened in the two largest markets, Los Angeles and New York City, in addition to a number of other large markets, like Miami, and theaters are socially distanced. Moviegoers are really just starting to dip their toes in, so a $20 million result, while not impressive, at least met expectations, and remember Tenet will have theaters more or less to itself for the next month. Given the scant number of titles in release this year, it could theoretically remain in theaters until Thanksgiving or beyond. I expect it will have plenty of legs.
Nolan’s Tenet is also playing well overseas, where the threat of the pandemic has subsided in many parts of the world. Tenet did $30.5 million in China over its first weekend, and since its release last weekend, it has already put up over $100 million internationally. In China, Tenet is pacing Dunkirk, so it is clear that the box office is still viable overseas, especially considering that the Chinese historical war drama film, The Eight Hundred, has scored roughly $350 million in mainland China over the last couple of weeks. That’s huge, especially considering that China is operating socially-distanced theaters. It can be done, although the model may mean far fewer titles so that blockbusters like Tenet or Wonder Woman can occupy multiple screenings for weeks at a time (Tenet, for instance, is the only blockbuster title being released before Wonder Woman in October).
Worldwide, the $200 million film has earned $146.2 million after two weekends. While I don’t think the domestic take is cause enough for studios to rush out their huge blockbusters, I do think it financially justifies the release of a few blockbusters from now until the end of the pandemic (the public health question is another matter, entirely). If the film can earn $100 million by October stateside, and another $300 million overseas, I think it’s worth it to release Wonder Woman 2 in October.
While Mulan was released stateside to Disney+ subscribers for $30, it’s still rolling out internationally. It opened in only 5 markets this weekend ahead of next weekend’s release in Russia and China, but it did a decent $5.9 million in Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Middle East.
Tenet’s entrance has also put a huge dent in last weekend’s release, New Mutants. The good news is, it’s drop was consistent with the second-weekend drop of other X-Men movies. The bad news is, that drop is precipitous, and New Mutants started with only a $7 million weekend. After earning $2.8, it’s looking at big decline in its second weekend, earning now $12 million after 10 days despite adding more theaters in its second weekend. New Mutants might be ushered from theaters very soon, although it may stick around for a few weeks because there’s nothing else playing besides Tenet. Even if Mutants vacates theaters, however, that does not necessarily mean that it will be available on streaming outlets anytime soon. 20th Century licensed the streaming rights to HBO, so it will appear on rival HBO Max before it can be streamed on Disney-owned Hulu. In the meantime, New Mutants isn’t doing much better internationally. It added $4.2 million overseas to bring its worldwide total to $20 million.
Meanwhile, in third place, Unhinged continues to do well in drive-in theaters, adding $1.6 million this weekend to bring its total to $11 million. On Friday, 29 of the top 30 grossing theaters around the country for Unhinged were drive-in theaters, including four of the top six in Los Angeles. Drive-in theaters, I’m sure, would have loved to take advantage of Tenet in places where theaters aren’t open, like Los Angeles, but Warner Brothers put in a very strange restriction, saying that drive-in theaters could not screen Tenet in cities where the movie was not also playing in theaters.
Bill & Ted Face the Music earned another $610,000, and after Labor Day receipts are fully accounted for, it should tap out at around $2.26 million after 11 days on a $25 million budget. Remember, however, that the Bill and Ted sequel is also running concurrently on PVOD, where it’s been the top film for the last two weekends.
The Personal History of David Copperfield added 190 theaters weekend, but it didn’t help. It still fell 25 percent off its weak opening weekend, and has now earned only $1.1 million after adding $360,000.
This weekend saw the release of NBA 2K21, a rare in-season release for 2K Sports’ ever-popular basketball title. The game coming out while the playoffs are still plugging along makes for some interesting dilemmas, including there likely being some ratings updates that come out much sooner than is typical — unrelated to that is the shooting hotfix that went live on Sunday, mere days after release.
As always, players will petition for better ratings and the magic of modern gaming is that they can update when players play better (or worse) in real time and adjust their stats. Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James top the overall ratings for this year’s game at 97 overalls each, followed by a pair of 96’s in James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, with 14 total players earning a 90 or above.
For now, to start the game, here are the ratings for every player on every team.
Zach LaVine: 85
Lauri Markkanen: 80
Wendell Carter Jr.: 79
Otto Porter: 78
Coby White: 77
Tomas Satoransky: 76
Kris Dunn: 76
Thaddeus Young: 76
Denzel Valentine: 76
Chandler Hutchison: 75
Daniel Gafford: 75
Shaquille Harrison: 73
Luke Kornet: 73
Cristiano Felicio: 72
Ryan Arcidiacono: 70
Max Strus: 68
Adam Mokoka: 68
Cleveland Cavaliers
Andre Drummond: 85
Kevin Love: 82
Collin Sexton: 80
Tristan Thompson: 79
Larry Nance Jr.: 79
Cedi Osman: 75
Kevin Porter Jr.: 75
Darius Garland: 74
Jordan Bell: 74
Ante Zizic: 73
Dante Exum: 73
Dyla Windler: 71
Matthew Dellavedova: 70
Alfonzo McKinnie: 70
Dean Wade: 70
Matt Mooney: 68
Boston Celtics
Jayson Tatum: 89
Kemba Walker: 86
Jaylen Brown: 84
Gordon Hayward: 83
Marcus Smart: 80
Daniel Theis: 79
Enes Kanter: 76
Robert Williams: 74
Brad Wanamaker: 73
Vincent Poirier: 73
Javonte Green: 72
Grant Williams: 71
Semi Ojeleye: 71
Romeo Langford: 70
Carsen Edwards: 70
Tacko Fall: 70
Tremont Waters: 69
Mitchell Robinson: 81
Julius Randle: 80
Elfrid Payton: 77
Taj Gibson: 77
Bobby Portis: 77
R.J. Barrett: 75
Frank Ntilikina: 73
Moe Harkless: 72
Kevin Knox: 72
Reggie Bullock: 72
Wayne Ellington: 72
Damyean Dotson: 72
Dennis Smith Jr.: 72
Ignas Brazdeikis: 70
Theo Pinson: 69
Kenny Wooten: 69
Jared Harper: 67
Blake Griffin: 83
Derrick Rose: 81
Christian Wood: 80
Luke Kennard: 78
John Henson: 75
Langston Galloway: 75
Bruce Brown: 74
Jordan McRae: 74
Svi Mykhailiuk: 73
Thon Maker: 73
Tony Snell: 72
Sekou Doumbouya: 72
Brandon Knight: 70
Justin Patton: 69
Jordan Bone: 69
Khyri Thomas: 68
Louis King: 68
Toronto Raptors
Pascal Siakam: 88
Kyle Lowry: 87
Fred VanVleet: 85
Serge Ibaka: 80
OG Anunoby: 79
Marc Gasol: 77
Norman Powell: 77
Chris Boucher: 77
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson: 76
Terence Davis: 76
Matt Thomas: 74
Patrick McCaw: 73
Stanley Johnson: 71
Malcolm Miller: 69
Dewan Hernandez: 68
Paul Watson: 67
Oshae Brissett: 67
Houston Rockets
James Harden: 96
Russell Westbrook: 88
Robert Covington: 79
Eric Gordon: 78
Danuel House: 76
P.J. Tucker: 76
Jeff Green: 76
Austin Rivers: 75
Ben McLemore: 74
DeMarre Carroll: 73
David Nwaba: 73
Chris Clemons: 73
Tyson Chandler: 72
Thabo Sefolosha: 72
Bruno Caboclo: 72
Luc Mbah a Moute: 72
William Howard: 68
Michael Frazier: 68
Fantasy football returns in force once the NFL season gets back underway, which means another season of someone in your league using a reference from The Office in their team name. And as it turns out, a huge number of people involved with The Office loved fantasy football. To the point that it impacted the show actually getting made.
As detailed in a very fun story by Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg, the fantasy football league made up some on-camera talent as well as some writers and others off screen. And it was incredibly competitive, to the point that people doing research on the set’s working computers would interrupt filming.
It was even problematic that the computers had Internet access on the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company set. Actors whose desks were in the background of a scene risked a scolding if the camera panned in their direction and caught them perusing NFL news or setting their lineup.
“So many times during football season the directors would say, ‘Guys, you’ve got to turn your screens off,’ ” actor Stephen Saux, a stand-in for eight years on The Office, told Yahoo Sports. “They would get a little upset about fantasy football sometimes. They’d be like, ‘We’re trying to make a TV show here.’ ”
The show’s own fantasy football league includes some big names involved like John Krasinski, but others that were off camera as well. The story details the team names players would pick for one reason or another, and also how they used to draft: by passing a notepad around the set and the show’s actual offices and waiting for people to get some time to make a pick. Things are much more streamlined now, of course, but it was as old school as it gets when the league got started.
One fun note about the very competitive league: Ed Helms only lasted a season. And he basically got kicked out because he just wasn’t as into it as everyone else.
“He would have an injured quarterback as his starter for weeks,” Bertolina recalled. “We were like, ‘What are you doing? It’s deteriorating the league! You’ve got to get into it!’ He didn’t care the way the rest of us did.”
The story is full of fun details, including the present day difficulties of holding a draft with the league’s remaining members now that the show is done and other members are off doing other things. There’s a very fun anecdote about one of the league’s most notable members going AWOL on the draft for a very exotic reason. But it’s very fun to think that while the show was being made about a fictional office, a very real office activity was actively taking place on set, too.
It’s been seven years since Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and sixteen years since the original Anchorman, but the Anchorman movies are still perhaps the most talked about movies in the careers of several of their participants, including Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, and Paul Rudd. Recently, in fact, Paul Rudd was interviewed by The Ringer in a segment called, “10 Questions With Kyle Brandt.”
In the Q&A, Paul Rudd ends up revealing the scenes that made him laugh the hardest in both Anchorman and Anchoman 2. In the former, Paul Rudd says that he “really laughs when Ferrell says, ‘Milk was a bad choice,’ because I remember when he did it, and it was so surprising,” he says. Steve Carell and Paul Rudd were standing next to him during the scene, and he was just “making things up, and he takes a swig of milk and says, ‘Milk is a bad choice,’ and I just remember looking at Steve Carell, and he and I were looking at each other and trying not to laugh and ruin the take. It was the funniest thing I’d ever heard.”
On Anchorman 2, however, Paul Rudd and Steve Carell tried to keep it together in another scene so not to ruin the take, but even Will Ferrell broke. It was the scene when Ron Burgundy says that he’s blind, living in a lighthouse, and therefore cannot masturbate. “That was the scene on Anchorman 2 where we were laughing so hard we couldn’t even make it through … Will is just a genius. He’s stars making up things and he says he can’t pleasure himself to the memories of Mrs. Buttersworths, the bottle of syrup. And then when he finally figured out [how to masturbate], it was about the amount.”
Someone has isolated the blooper, in fact, and put it on YouTube, so you can watch Paul Rudd completely lose it when Ferrell starts comparing ejaculate to Pompeii.
Paul Rudd can next be seen in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which was delayed until March 2021, while Ferrell can currently be seen in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga on Netflix.
Christopher Osburn has spent the last fifteen years in search of “the best” — or at least his very favorite — sips of whiskey on earth. In the process, he’s enjoyed more whiskey drams than his doctor would dare feel comfortable with, traveled to over 20 countries testing local spirits, and visited more than fifty whiskey distilleries.
Just because you aren’t willing to pay the equivalent of a car payment for a bottle of booze, that doesn’t mean you need to settle for low-level whiskey. The whiskey world (and specifically the bourbon market) is ripe with affordable deals. Sure, you might want to enjoy a glass of the likes of Pappy, Weller, and Blanton’s, but you should also be able to sip on a glass from a bottle of bourbon that costs less than $20.
Since this month is National Bourbon Heritage Month, we figured that the time was right to highlight our favorite bottom shelf (or closer to the bottom than the top) bourbons to enjoy this and every other month of the year.
Jim Beam White Label
ABV: 40% Distillery: Jim Beam, Clermont, KY (Beam Suntory) Price:$18.99
The Story:
There’s a reason Jim Beam White Label is the #1 selling bourbon in the world. It’s cheap, easy to drink, and the same every time you crack open a bottle. This high rye mash bill bourbon is distilled at low temperatures and matures in new, charred American oak barrels for four years before finding its way into the iconic white-labeled bottled.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a chance you’ve never nosed Jim Beam before drinking it. Well, we’re here to tell you that you should. If you do, you’ll be met with subtle rich vanilla, charred oak, and sweet corn. The first sip brings forward more toasted wood, leather, butterscotch, and sweet cream. The finish is sweet, long, and ends in a peppery flourish.
Bottom Line:
You might buy this bottle for mixing, but you shouldn’t sleep on it as a bargain sipper. It’s mellow enough to be enjoyed with a few ice cubes.
Old Grand-Dad
ABV: 40% Distillery: Jim Beam, Clermont, KY (Beam Suntory) Price:$20
The Story:
You might have sipped on a glass of Basil Hayden’s in the past. This premium bourbon from Jim Beam has a strong connection with the much cheaper Old Grand-Dad. That’s because the man who adorns the bottle is none other than Basil Hayden himself. Old Grand-Dad is one of Jim Beam’s “Olds” expressions along with Old Tub, and Old Overholt.
Tasting Notes:
The first sniff brings forth peppery spice from the high-rye content as well as cinnamon and sweet vanilla. From the first sip, you’re met with dried fruits, toasted oak, rich caramel, and hazelnuts. The finish is long, warming, and ends in a mix of spice and subtle smoke.
Bottom Line:
This is definitely a bargain bourbon. But, it might be a little too spicy for some novice drinkers. It’s best mixed into an old fashioned or Manhattan.
Heaven Hill Green Label
ABV: 45% Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery, Louisville, KY Price:$12.99
The Story:
The biggest knock against Heaven Hill Green Label is the fact that it’s only available in Kentucky. While you can find random bottles in other states, this Bluegrass State-exclusive is as mysterious as it is drinkable. If you’re one of the people who have even tried this 6-year-old bourbon, consider yourself lucky. But, if you can find it, you’re in for a bargain at under $15.
Tasting Notes:
You might not want to nose this super cheap bourbon. But, if you do, you’ll be greeted with sweet vanilla, rich oak, and the musty, nostalgic smell of a barrelhouse. The first sip brings forth caramelized sugar, cinnamon, corn sweetness, and a hint of maple syrup. The finish is long, bursting with warmth, and full of charred oak and butterscotch flavors.
Bottom Line:
Use this bottle for mixing. Sure, you can sip on it, but that’s not really what it’s for. Mix it into a Mint Julep, put your feet up, and just enjoy the evening.
Evan Williams Black Label
ABV: 43% Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery, Louisville, KY Price:$16.99
The Story:
Legend says that Evan Williams opened the first distillery in Kentucky in 1783. This bargain bourbon bears his name in remembrance of the man who changed the alcohol world on the banks of the Ohio River. While it’s inexpensive, it’s not noticeable in the flavor. Due to the whiskey spending longer than necessary in the barrels, it has a mellowness that far surpasses its price tag.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is full of herbal, sweet vanilla, and salted caramel aromas. The first sip brings forth a symphony of butterscotch, cooking spices, pecans, licorice, and dried orange peels. The finish is medium in length and long in heat with a subtly spicy finish.
Bottom Line:
Even though this whiskey is cheap, it’s smooth enough to fit the bill as a sipper on a chilly fall evening. Toss in a single ice cube and enjoy the changing of the seasons.
Very Old Barton
ABV: 40% Distillery: Barton Distillery, Bardstown, KY Price:$12.99
The Story:
Likely the best bargain in the bourbon world, Very Old Barton’s name is as confusing as its price tag. While it has “very old” in the title, it’s not very old at all having been aged for between four and six years at the Barton Distillery and comes in 80, 86, 90, and 100 proof. Even with all of the other bourbons Barton’s produces, you definitely shouldn’t sleep on its highly rated, much cheaper relative.
Tasting Notes:
This high corn content is noticeable from the first nosing. You’ll be met with fresh corn, sweet cream, and charred oak. The first sip yields an immediate vanilla sweetness that moves into a rich chocolate, spicy cinnamon, and dried fruits. The finish is long, sweet, and warm with a subtle hint of pepper at the very end.
Bottom Line:
Get a bottle of old Barton’s and make it a mainstay on your home bar. You definitely won’t regret stocking a bottle for mixing or sipping. It works well for both.
Four Roses Yellow Label
ABV: 40% Distillery: Four Roses Distillery, Lawrenceburg, KY (Kirin Brewing) Price:$19.99
The Story:
Four Roses is well known for its Small Batch, Single Barrel, and Small Batch Select. But, while these are great bottles, none of them is a bargain like Four Roses Yellow Label. For under $20, you can get a bottle of bourbon made up of whiskeys aged between 4 and 12 years. How this high-quality, award-winning, supremely mellow, highly sippable bourbon remains so affordable we’ll never know.
Tasting Notes:
From the first nose, you know that you’ve opened a special bottle. You’re immediately met with aromas of rich honey, cinnamon, and toasted oak. The first sip brings up cinnamon apple, brown sugar, and caramel along with creamy butterscotch. The finish is long, warming, and ends in a pleasing hint of spice.
Bottom Line:
Four Roses Yellow Label is another great bottle to stock your bar. That’s because it’s a dual-threat. It’s perfect for slow sipping and shines in your favorite whiskey cocktail.
The Denver Nuggets have drawn level in their series with the Los Angeles Clippers. Thanks to one of the most impressive quarters we have seen out of any team in the Orlando Bubble, the Nuggets picked up a surprising 110-101 win to make their opening round series tied at one game each.
It was a gutsy performance from Denver, which looked like it was on the road to getting swept after Game 1. They dug deep, picked up a win, and as a result, we have ourselves a series. Here are three takeaways we had after the final buzzer sounded.
The Clippers won three quarters…
…except for the first, where they got ran out of the gym. Denver looked absolutely magnificent during the game’s opening 12 minutes, boasting a 44-25 lead when the horn blared to mark the end of the frame. Jamal Murray’s 11 points stood out, but Nikola Jokic was particularly good, scoring 15 points, ripping down six rebounds, and blocking a pair of shots. He looked like a man possessed, and it did not matter whether he was being checked by Ivica Zubac or Montrezl Harrell.
As a team, Denver shot 17-for-24 during the quarter and hit seven of their 11 attempts from deep. They hit eight threes over the next three quarters. Saying that the Nuggets looked bad during Game 1 is an understatement, and they must have agreed, because teams don’t come out with this big of a chip on their shoulders unless they are trying to prove a point. Murray mentioned after the game that the team was tired in Game 1, which absolutely seemed to be the case, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday.
If Denver’s going to keep winning in this series, they’ll need these sorts of stretches where they just catch fire and everything is clicking — Jokic and Murray are both hitting shots and setting things up for those around them. They don’t need to do it over an entire quarter like this, but Mike Malone and co. would surely like it if they did. On the night, Jokic had 26 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks while shooting 10-f0r-17 from the field and 4-for-5 from three. Murray, meanwhile, had 28 with six assists.
The Nuggets have heart
At one point in the fourth quarter, it seemed like Los Angeles had figured everything out and were just getting to the point where it could take the lead and pick up its second win in the series. With about eight and a half minutes left to go in the frame, Paul George hit a three to cut Denver’s lead to five. It did not feel fluky in any way, it seemed like the Clippers had just gotten to the point where everything clicked.
And then, the Nuggets responded. The team immediately went on a 10-0 run after that stretch, giving themselves some necessary breathing room and demoralizing the Clippers just enough that they were never quite able to get that close again. Las Angeles is a team that is really, really intense, with a star in Leonard who carries himself with a sense of inevitability that he has backed up throughout his career. When you are able to take the wind out of their sails a little bit, that says a lot about your group. Denver did that, and as a result, they won.
Two guys deserve a shout out for what they did in the game. Gary Harris, a good player who has just not been himself for the duration of the season because of injuries or general poor form, hit three threes in the quarter, played tough defense, and showed flashes of being the guy who Denver inked to a substantial deal a few years ago. And while Jerami Grant only had five points on 1-for-9 shooting, he was a menace on defense, giving the Nuggets some serious bite in the paint.
Some optimism for L.A.
If one wanted to try and spin this loss as not particularly bad for the Clippers, they would probably try to say something like this: Despite getting run off the floor in the first quarter, they won the next three and found themselves within two possessions of being able to overtake Denver in the fourth. They did this despite a really not great shooting night from top to bottom and Leonard, who is normally magnificent in the postseason, had 13 points on 4-for-17 shooting and did not hit a shot in the second half. As a team, they connected on nine of their 32 threes.
Sometimes, it is just not your night, and on Saturday, it was just not their night. While they should certainly not throw the baby out with the bathwater right now, there was one interesting thing that happened that Doc Rivers would probably be wise to consider as he maps out his rotations over the remainder of this series. Harrell, for how good he is, just is not a good matchup against Jokic. Zubac and JaMychal Green getting the lion’s share of the minutes against the All-Star center might not be the worst idea.
But of course, this was all one loss. We’ll see if this trend continues in Game 3, but regardless, in the world of postseason losses, this is certainly not one that warrants a whole bunch of overreactions.
While one series in the Eastern Conference is on the verge of a sweep, the other has turned into a best-of-three series. That’s because the Toronto Raptors took care of business on Saturday night, picking up a 100-93 win over the Boston Celtics in their conference semifinal tilt. With the win, Toronto tied things up at two games a piece in what has, easily, been the best series in this round of the postseason so far.
Game 5 — and hopefully Games 6 and 7 — is shaping up to be a brawl between two teams that fight like hell and will do anything to win. Before we get to that point, though, we looked back on the Raptors’ second win in a row.
The Great Equalizer
In the first three games of the series, Toronto just could not hit anything from deep. They went 10-for-40 in Game 1, 11-for-40 in Game 2, and 13-for-40 in Game 3 from behind the arc, a noticeable cold streak from the team that was third in the league in made threes and fifth in three-point field goal percentage during the regular season. With the Raptors’ struggles in generating points in the half-court during the series and Boston’s ability to keep them from getting out and running, hitting shots from downtown was crucial.
This problem fixed itself in Game 4. The Raptors were 17-for-44 from three, with the 1-2 punch of Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet combining to go 9-for-21 on their own. In fact, outside of a poor night from deep for Pascal Siakam (2-for-13), Toronto was on fire from deep. On the other side of things, Boston — which had shot very well in the series — went ice cold, going 7-for-35. Three starters (Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker) went 1-for-6, while Jaylen Brown shot 2-for-11.
Again, Toronto is not a particularly great team when it comes to generating offense in the halfcourt. If the champs want to win two of the next three, hitting triples is going to be gigantic. Saturday night was an excellent start as they look to do that.
That’s Spicy
Siakam’s come under some fire for how he’s played thus far in the series. Coming into Saturday night, he was averaging 15.3 points and six rebounds in the series while connecting on 36.2 percent of his shots from the field and 18.2 percent of his threes. He is better than this — you do not become an All-Star on accident — but he was playing some really poor basketball. For someone who needs to be a consistent option if this team is going to knock off the Celtics, that’s not acceptable.
While he still had a rough night from three, Siakam was very, very good. He scored 23 points on 10-for-23 shooting and hauled in 11 rebounds. He was darn near automatic inside the arc, going 8-for-10 on twos. Despite the fact that his jumper wasn’t falling, he stayed assertive and was a menace in the paint. Siakam’s a long and patient player, and when he’s able to get a head of steam or back down a smaller defender, he’s going to find ways to score.
Add in his defensive intensity and Siakam is someone who should be able to win games for Toronto. He hasn’t been able to do that through three games, but on Saturday, he looked like that dude. If Siakam’s shots from deep can start falling, then the Raptors could end up doing a repeat of last year’s series against Milwaukee, falling down 0-2 before ripping off four wins in a row. If not, that’s fine, because Game 4 showed that he’s able to win them games in other ways.
This Series Rules
So normally with the third takeaway, we’ll mention something about the other team, unless the game was really boring and one-sided and we decided to put down a good recipe for chicken wings. Instead, an observation: I love everything about this series.
Boston and Toronto approach every game with the same mentality. They battle for 48 straight minutes, dive for loose balls, fly around on defense, try to draw charges, all the stuff that should add up to a whole lot of winning plays over the course of an entire game. Despite only one of these groups having a ring, both the Celtics and the Raptors have the mentality that you see out of champions. Whether it’s Smart scratching and clawing for everything, or Lowry doing this stuff…
…every single game that these two teams play are brawls. Compared to the other series in the East, in which one team is wired this way and the other looks like a group of deer in the headlights (pun absolutely intended), this is like watching a heavyweight fight, and now, it’s best two-out-of-three to determine which one will get to play for the right to be crowned champions of the Eastern Conference.
I really hope this series goes seven games. Both of these teams are well-coached and collectively believe in one another. Actually, seven games isn’t enough. If this could turn into a best-of-15 series, that would be fun. It’s a shame that one of them have to end up losing.
We list of things we know about Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is surprisingly long and still very incomplete. We know that the series is likely to have a hefty first season, as well as what the casting directors are looking for in their presumptive hobbits. And now we know that at least one of the thrilogy’s major stars wants absolutely nothing to do with it.
Hugo Weaving, who played Elfin leader Elrond, has made it clear he has no interest in heading back to New Zealand to film the TV show Amazon is putting in the universe that won a ton of Oscars and grossed billions of dollars at the box office.
A Variety interview highlighting Weaving’s latest role, a gritty adaptation of Shakespeare’s Measure For Measure, touched on whether he would be interested in the Amazon series that’s rumored to be bringing back a number of roles from the three movies. He was, shall we say, less than enthused.
“No way. Absolutely no,” Weaving tells Variety in a recent phone interview about whether or not he would don the elf ears as Elrond again, considering the upcoming “Lord of the Rings” Amazon series.
That said, he did mention that he’s interested in reprising his role as Agent Smith from The Matrix. As Weaving explained, he loved filming the epic movies that brought the Lord of the Rings books to life for millions of fans but has had “more than enough” of that universe for his lifetime.
“‘Matrix’ might have happened,” he says. “But ‘Lord of the Rings,’ no, I would never — I’m not interested in that at all. Look, I loved being in New Zealand with all those great people, and it was like going back to a family but actually, to be honest, I think everyone had more than enough of it.”
The piece also dives into why he’s been taking roles on projects taking place in his home country of Australia, which is certainly interesting and close to where the fantasy epics he wants no part of were filmed. He just probably won’t be taking any calls from New Zealand anytime soon.
Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is certainly in an interesting spot after America’s two major political parties had their conventions and not much has changed with polling trends. But one sign of support the president has found on the water reportedly turned to disaster on Saturday that lit up social media in a big way.
Dozens of Trump-themed boat parades have popped up across the United States in recent weeks, with Trump amplifying images of them to bolster his support among a very specific crowd of recreational vehicle enthusiasts. Some of these rallies have drawn crowds of counter-protesters, or at least people there to document the spectacle and, like the image above from New York in July, to show their disapproval of the events and the political beliefs of those particupating.
But for some on Saturday watching from the shores, they got quite a sight when a Trump boat parades ended in reports of boats outright sinking. Reports spread on Saturday that multiple boats sank during a Trump boat rally in Texas on Saturday. A local sherif department tweeted that it, indeed, had to respond to several calls about boats from the Trump parade that had sunk.
TCSO responded to multiple calls involving boats in distress during the Trump parade on Lake Travis. Several boats did sink.
The New York Times reported that at least four boats at the event had sunk, though there were no reported injuries. It also had some details about what was supposed to happen at the event, which made many wonder exactly how this led to several boats sinking.
Owners of boats of “all shapes and sizes” were encouraged to participate and to decorate them with “as many Trump flags as she can handle,” the event’s Facebook page said.
Boaters were set to travel around the lake, which is about 15 miles northwest of Austin, at 10 miles per hour, according to the event’s page.
But one image in particular of a Trump flag-flying vessel in some rough waters immediately went viral on Saturday, as did the hashtag #Dumbkirk, a reference to the Oscar-nominated war movie Dunkirk.
That wasn’t the only photo of a Trump boat taking on water that circulated online, though.
Swamped boat near Emerald Point as hundreds of boats parade for President Donald Trump, at least three craft swamped with no injuries reported #statesman@bobphotopic.twitter.com/eY3yyAXvyp
It wasn’t a very good day for the boaters, but it sure was a lot of fun for people online.
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