According to Haynes, Billups is “fully invested in making the jump (to coaching) a reality” and “teams have now begun the process of researching Billups’ candidacy.”
In the meantime, Billups has served as an NBA analyst for ESPN and Fox Sports West, where he calls Clippers games locally. Billups also played in the Big 3 for two seasons from 2017-19.
The fan favorite Billups, an NBA champion and five-time All-Star, was known for his savvy all-around game as a player with the Pistons, Nuggets, Knicks, Timberwolves, and Clippers. The 43-year-old’s interest in becoming a coach comes the same day Steve Nash was hired by the Nets.
With Nash taking the Nets job, there are openings in New Orleans, Indiana, and Philadelphia. Notably, three of the four coaches who have been dismissed or replaced this offseason already are Black, while Billups’ candidacy adds to a broad list of qualified Black candidates around the NBA this offseason.
22-year-old rapper Silentó (real name Richard Lamar Hawk) has had an eventful past few days, which were headlined by an arrest for alleged domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon over a pair of incidents. Silentó, of course, is best known for his 2015 single “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and has been certified six-times Platinum.
ABC 7 reports Silentó was taken into custody by Santa Ana, California police on Friday, August 28 following a report of a domestic disturbance in the 100 block of MacArthur Boulevard, according to authorities. The rapper was booked and released on a charge of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.
The very next day, Silentó is alleged to have entered a home in the 12700 block of Burbank Boulevard in Valley Village, wielding a hatchet and looking for his girlfriend, who did not live in that home. TMZ adds somebody in the house screamed for help, while others in the home took down and disarmed the rapper. Silentó’s friend apparently arrived shortly after and told him he was in the wrong house. The two then reportedly fled as the police were called.
Officers caught up with Silentó and took him to jail. He was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. NBC Los Angeles reports that as of Wednesday afternoon, the rapper remains in custody on $105,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court on the morning of Friday, September 4.
The Umbrella Academy‘s July 31 return to Netflix was a twist-filled blast that involved the Hargreeves siblings working to ward off another apocalypse in 1960s-set Dallas. It had fantastic action scenes, the weirdness that one expects from the characters, and plenty of cultural relevance to entertain the show’s rabid fanbase, which elevated the series to the top of the very first Nielsen Streaming Top 10 list, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Granted, this list is running on data that’s a month old and covers the week of August 3-9, but it provides an interesting glimpse into what shows beat The Office:
1. The Umbrella Academy, 3.01 billion minutes viewed
2. Shameless, 1.13 billion
3. Grey’s Anatomy, 918 million
4. The Office, 897 million
5. Criminal Minds, 697 million
6. NCIS, 524 million
7. In the Dark, 418 million
8. Dexter, 316 million
9. Supernatural, 315 million
10. Parks and Recreation, 304 million
Showtime’s Shameless being so high on the list (although still only 1/3 of total minutes as compared to The Umbrella Academy) has plenty to do with the show’s tenth-season arrival on Netflix. The Office, of course, made #3, followed by procedurals that are already airing on cable heavy rotation. People still can’t get enough of Matthew Gray Gubler or Mark Harmon, it seems, and seeing Supernatural (and its thirteen seasons) on the list makes sense, along with Parks and Rec, which recently aired a reunion special. Seeing Dexter on the list, several years after it went off the air, is a mild surprise, as is Grey’s Anatomy scoring near the top. It’s enlightening with more data to come, no doubt.
Summer may be ending but that doesn’t mean we have to stop enjoying some barbecue, or even easy-going backyard grilling. Besides some tasty veg, meat, or fish to grill, you’ll also need some serious BBQ sauce to smother whatever you’re cooking. But what’s the best BBQ sauce to have on hand when you fire up the grill or smoker? That question is not as easy to answer.
Let’s look at what makes a great BBQ sauce first. For us, a great BBQ sauce starts with the marrying of an umami tomato base and molasses sweetness. From there, a little tang and spice need to be present to varying degrees of intensity, but usually fairly balanced. After that, things get too pinned to individual palates to really dig into here.
So, to find out what the people use when they’re barbecuing in their backyards, we popped over to Ranker. There was a list of the Best BBQ Sauce Brands with over 50,000 votes, and that felt like a good enough quorum for us (though, we had to combine a couple of rankings as they were for the same sauces). So, let’s dive into the best BBQ sauces you can buy right now and use this weekend.
The Sauce: This Arizona sauce is a blend of roasted tomatoes, roasted chilis, blue agave, molasses, apple cider vinegar, cocoa, and Oaxacan coffee that gives this sauce a powerful sounding depth of flavors. These days, it’s damn near impossible to find unless you’re in a specialty shop in Arizona. If you’ve had it, let us know!
The Sauce: St. Louis’ Pappy’s Smokehouse is a cornerstone of the local BBQ scene. Their sauce is equally beloved and worth tracking down for your own BBQ sauce collection. The sauce amps up the tang with plenty of vinegar while keeping things just the right amount of spicy with the addition of a chili sauce and a red hot sauce in the ketchup base.
The Sauce: Bone Suckin’ Sauce feels like a bespoke sauce that you can actually find at most grocery stores. The sauce is billed as a “Western North Carolina style sauce” that leans into a foundation of sweetness from a mix of honey and molasses next to plenty of tang. The sauce is so beloved that it continually tops “best BBQ sauce” lists around the country.
The Sauce: Memphis BBQ is low-key one of the best BBQ corners of the country (sorry Texas and the Carolinas). Sticky Fingers Memphis Original Barbecue Sauce brings that wonderful, smoky, and tangy world right to your own backyard. The sauce combines molasses and brown sugar with just the right amount of vinegar and mild spice to boost any grilling session.
The Sauce: Stubb’s is a Texan icon at this point. Their Sweet Heat sauce combines a base of molasses and brown sugar with chipotle chili sauce, giving it a mild yet distinctly sharp edge. There’s also a nice edge of apple cider vinegar tang, tying the whole damn sauce together.
The Sauce: This is a perfectly fine dipping BBQ sauce. You can use it on some chicken, we guess. But the sauce leans a little more sweet than tangy. Also, it’s $1.50 for a bottle. You can’t expect hand-crafted greatness at that price point.
The Sauce: This feels like the Coors Light of the list. We love Coors Light around here because it gets the job done and is perfectly fine for what it is. Still, there’s a plastic presence here that’s a little off-putting.
The Sauce: Stubb’s Original should be in your fridge right now. This sauce isn’t going to blow your socks off, but it’ll suit any backyard grilling session perfectly fine with its mix of tangy vinegar, sweet molasses, and sharp black pepper.
The Sauce: This is probably the most complex BBQ sauce on this list and a steal at this price. The sauce, of course, utilizes Jack Daniel’s Tennesee Whiskey with a mix of apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice, brown sugar, and tamarind paste. It’s bold and unique.
The Sauce: Honey and chipotle in one BBQ sauce? Sign us up! This is a great go-to sauce with a good thickness and tang that’s also cheap enough to always have stocked. It’s also the tasty sauce is this price range by a country mile.
Following last week’s reveal of the Boba Fett Adidas Top Ten Hi, Adidas has revealed the latest addition to its group of silhouettes celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Empire Strikes Back, The Darth Vader Superstar. Oh wait, no sorry, they’re not actually called the Darth Vader Superstar, Adidas has chosen to oddly dub these kicks “Superstar Star Wars Shoes.” Last week’s release was officially named the “Top Ten Hi Boba Fett.” But these? They get the generic name.
That’s probably because, while both the Darth Vader Superstar and the Boba Fett would’ve never made it on our weekly roundup of the best sneakers. The Vaders aren’t nearly as cool as the Fetts. The Fetts were full of small fan-servicey details that reflected their namesake in a really cool way — they even came with a pouch! But the Vader Superstar does little to reflect the sith lord they’re named after aside from dress the sneaker in matte black leather.
Admittedly, we do like the stitching on the upper and the reflective three-stripes that are meant to resemble the lines and detailing in Vader’s suit. But, we would’ve liked to see Adidas lean more into functional design details rather than using more obvious signifiers like the imperial insignia on the heel tab, or the tongue portrait of Vader.
Adidas
In another head-scratching move, Adidas also replaced the Superstar’s iconic shell toe with a toe box shaped like Darth Vader’s mask and helmet. Finally, the “Superstar Star Wars Shoes” feature translucent outsoles revealing the words “I Am Your Father.” Which, sure, is no doubt the most iconic line from Empire Strikes Back, but to print it on the bottom of a shoe? Hilarious.
It’s a shame that of the full collection, which has so far featured a Luke Skywalker Stan Smith, Stormtrooper NMD R1, Lando Calrissian NMD RI V2, and a Boba Fest Top Ten Hi, the Darth Vader Superstar — ahem Superstar Star Wars Shoes — are the weakest by far.
Vader deserved better than this. He killed the Emperor! Oh, wait…
The Darth Vader Superstar is set to drop on September 17th for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair at the Adidas webstore.
The best new hip-hop albums coming out this week include projects from Ashton Travis, Big Sean, Blxst, Lil Durk, and Phil Augusta Jackson.
After last week’s ultra loaded New Music Friday, this week we’re getting a little bit of a reprieve with only five projects, most of them (relatively) short. The quick runtimes of newcomers Asthon Travis, Blxst, and Phil Augusta Jackson’s projects leave plenty of time to chew through the mega sized Detroit 2, which has a whopping 21 tracks.
Even if a few of those are “stories” like the interludes from the original Detroit mixtape, it’s still a schedule clearer, for sure — especially with all the rewinding we’ll all be doing to catch all the double entendres sure to infest “Friday Night Cypher.” We don’t know much about Lil Durk’s project, other than it’s likely being released to spite Windy City enemy Tekashi 69, whose own project TattleTales is also coming out this Friday. As you can see, it’s not represented on this list, for reasons which should be obvious.
Signed to Def Jam early last year, he’s a singer/rapper combo from Houston whose style pays homage to both old school legends like DJ Screw and contemporary stars like Don Toliver and Travis Scott (for whom he is supposedly named). A Howard University dropout, the crooner addresses relationship issues and personal growth with smooth vocals, sticky melodies, and woozy instrumentals. His debut is well-worth the playthrough.
Big Sean — Detroit 2
The obvious highlight of the week, Sean returns to what many consider his best project (which, tragically, is still somehow not available on streaming services) for inspiration, landing upon an extensive tracklist packed to the brim with both high-profile features and close friends coming through to pay homage to his long-awaited comeback. Sean considers himself in the best mindstate of his recent life, so don’t be surprised if this one lives up to expectations and finally shushes the critics.
Blxst — No Love Lost
West Coast native Blxst has low-key been all over the place this year, dropping both well-received solo singles and featuring on underground hits from local faves and fellow newcomers like Eric Bellinger, Bino Rideaux, and 1TakeJay. With a laid-back, melodic style, this sing-rapping hybrid artist is positioning himself to follow in the footsteps of favored chorus composers Bellinger and Ty Dolla Sign. His debut is one you’ll be returning to a whole bunch in the future, guaranteed.
Lil Durk — The Voice
Durk already released a well-received project earlier this year, as well as a deluxe edition, so his abrupt announcement for this project seemed to come out of nowhere. However, he’s currently receiving the greatest mainstream attention of his surprisingly long career thanks to placements with Nas on King’s Disease and with Drake on the overnight hit “Laugh Now Cry Later,” netting Durk his first No. 2 single ever. Why not strike while the iron is hot? While his plans of thwarting Tekashi 69 with only a week’s notice seem… unlikely… he’s a consistent force, so we feel comfortable putting this here, even with so little information (not even an album cover!).
Phil Augusta Jackson — The Redondo Tape (EP)
Yes, this one is a little bit of a left-field inclusion, but when one of Insecure‘s executive producers announces an EP, you have to at least give it the one curiosity play. Knowing this, Jackson capitalizes on The Redondo Tape, offering a flurry of competent rhymes, some down-to-earth perspective, and yes, I do have a little bit of local bias as well. If you read this column with any regularity, you know I rep my stomping grounds — New Yorkers have done it for years. But hey, Jackson turns out to be a versatile, engaging artist in his own right and it’s clear he knows his stuff from the Insecure soundtracks he helps to curate every season, so hopefully, your curiosity is piqued as well — and satisfied.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
“Ky is like my big brother,” Tatum told Charania. “We still talk to this day, and we’ve talked a few times this playoffs. He always encourages me to be special. Having that relationship with him and having somebody like him in my ear at a young age, it means a lot.”
As Tatum tells it, despite Irving ultimately choosing to leave Boston to join the Nets in free agency last summer, Irving still reached out to Tatum on his way out to let him know it was his time to lead the Celtics. That connection has lasted into 2020, as Tatum still receives feedback and support from Irving from afar.
The bond between the two is not the only topic Tatum opens up on. Tatum also details how gratifying it was to finally make an All-Star team this season and the confidence it gave him. Not surprisingly, Tatum vaulted up to 26.6 points per game post-All-Star break and improved his three-point shooting dramatically, filling out his game in a manner that could take the Celtics to another level.
Through it all, Tatum told Charania he also learned to do things — as a player and leader — his own way.
“You can steal from a lot of different guys — Ky, Kobe (Bryant) — but you have to do it your own way. I’m one of the youngest guys on this team but I know the role I have. I know how these guys view me and they value what I have to say.”
Thanks in large part to Tatum’s improvements, the Celtics are up 2-0 over the Raptors in the East semifinals as Tatum has averaged 27.5 points per game across the first two contests of the series.
Jennifer Lopez has been in the entertainment business for over two decades, so she’s used to meeting big-name celebrities. But the same can’t be said for J. Lo’s daughter, who was absolutely starstruck upon meeting her idol Billie Eilish. Lopez revealed that seeing her daughter’s reaction made her have a newfound appreciation for her own fans.
Lopez recently sat down with her fiancé Alex Rodriguez on his podcast The Corp With A-Rod And Big Cat. During the interview, Lopez recounted the time her and her daughter saw Eilish in concert.
“Emme, my daughter is in love with her. We had a real moment at the Billie Eilish concert that was like, ‘Oh my god, we’re bonding right now. It’s amazing,’” Lopez said. “I was just on tour and she was on tour with me. Right at the end of the tour, we went to go see Billie Eilish. Every night, I was doing meet-and-greets with my fans. Every night they cry and they hug you and you get used to it, it’s a beautiful thing. […] And then I watch my daughter freak out over Billie Eilish.”
Saying the moment made her have an “out of body experience,” Lopez continued: “She walked in the room after the concert, and my daughter goes [gasps with hand over her mouth]. And I looked at her, and I’m like, ‘What’s the matter?’ and she’s, literally, the tears because since she’s eight years old, and how she’s twelve, she’s idolized this girl. For whatever reason, her songs and the words she says she connects to, and she loves her style.” Lopez explained. “It was a mind-blowing experience. It made me appreciate what I do more, my fans more, what Billie did for my daughter,” she added. “All of it, it was like a full circle moment. We love Billie.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Lopez said performing at the Super Bowl halftime show was the was of the most “high-stress moments” of her whole career:
“Leading up to it, I think I was more nervous than on the day. For me, preparation meets the moment. I was so prepared, that in the moment, I was just ready to go. It was like a thoroughbred in the gates, like, ‘Please let me out of the gates, please let me go.’ […] But leading up to it was probably the most nerve-wracking, and Alex can attest to this, most high-stress moments of my whole career. I could never have imaged it would be so stressful. And I think it’s because everybody understands the weight of it, and that fact that it’s 100 percent live and a thousand different things could go wrong.”
Watch Lopez’s full interview on The Corp With A-Rod And Big Cat above and hear her gush about Eilish around the 35-minute mark.
With the exception of his Batman trilogy, director Christopher Nolan has only made one movie with multiple words in the title. There’s The Prestige, then there’s everything else, including his three most recent films, Interstellar, Dunkirk, and Tenet. You could chalk this weird fact up to being a coincidence, but this is Nolan we’re talking about. There was a fake rumor that he bans chairs from his sets because “if [people are] sitting, they’re not working,” as Anne Hathaway put it, and everyone believed it. Nothing is under-thought.
“For me, titles are very tricky to be too self-conscious about. You’re looking for a way of expressing something about the film. To a certain extent, it’s a branding exercise on larger-scale films. I’ve always gravitated towards the simplest version of something that gets it across,” Nolan explained on the ReelBlend podcast. He then gave an example:
“Following, I think when I wrote that script, it was The Following, so we got rid of the The and stripped that down. I think that was the beginning of my interest in trying to make things as short and a pithy as possible, really. But it’s all instinct at the end of the day.”
“Drop the ‘The.’ Just Following. It’s cleaner” — Justin Timberlake to Christopher Nolan in 1998, probably.
This in addition to previous reports linking former Memphis Grizzlies part-owner Daniel Straus, who Sportico also reported was interested in the Timberwolves. While Haslam’s management struggles in Cleveland are well-documented, he is worth an estimated $2.9 billion and would be in the upper-half of the league in terms of wealth. The same is also true of Taylor, who has run the franchise more like a small-market team than his spending power would indicate.
However, the likelihood of anything being imminent seems rather low. Tom Withers of the AP reports that while Haslem was presented with buying the team, it was one of several potential deals put in front of him.
Told #Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam are NOT actively engaged in exploring purchase of #Timberwolves. One of many investment opportunities brought their way.
Many of the same problems of indecision and putting faith in the wrong leaders that have held the Timberwolves back also plague the Browns, making Haslam a curious candidate if Timberwolves fans are seeking a turnaround in the team’s fortune after one playoff berth in the past 16 years. Among the other suitors for the Timberwolves is Kevin Garnett, whom the local Pioneer Press reported in July would put forward about $200 million in a potential bid and likely run the basketball operations for the team.
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