Fall is almost here and that means we’re about to get barraged with whiskey drops. It makes a lot of sense, the holiday (gift-giving) season is a mere few months away. This fall is destined to be even bigger, broader, and better than any fall that’s come before. And one main reason for that is that we’re finally getting Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel from Buffalo Trace here in the U.S.
So, what’s the difference between this and the standard Blanton’s Single Barrel expression we already have? Blanton’s Single Barrel was born in 1984 from the legend Elmer T. Lee who would handpick “honey barrels” from the center cut of Warehouse H in what’s now Buffalo Trace’s main facilities. That expression was the “original” single barrel bourbon on the market and has become one of the most hyped bottles of bourbon out there. That single barrel expression is cut to 93 proof (46.5% ABV) for each bottle.
Straight From The Barrel is straight from the barrel in every sense. There’s no filtering and no cutting the juice down to a specific proof. This is Blanton’s in its purest form. That means the ABV will vary from release to release.
That also means the look, nose, and taste of these very limited releases will vary as well. Buffalo Trace says in their press release that this year’s expression carries “notes of dark chocolate, caramel, and butter with earthy undertones of walnut and hazelnut on the nose.” They continue, “the palate delivers intrepid notes of warm vanilla, oak, toasted nuts, and a rich spiciness with hints of butterscotch or honey, with a deep and resonate finish.”
You might be able to grab a bottle of Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel for the suggested retail of $150. But, given the limited availability and the fact that this is Blanton’s, expect higher prices on retail shelves — if you can find it that is.
The 2019 winner for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Lubing Right on Up and Sliding into a Sewer was a slippery menace, able to both hide in the sewer from Sister Night and hide his real identity from us, the viewers. The most popular theory is that Lube Man is actually FBI Agent Dale Petey, but that hasn’t been confirmed. Until now.
In a video interview between Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof, composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (of THE Nine Inch Nails), and Rolling Stone‘s Alan Sepinwall, that greased-up rascal Lube Man hijacked the Zoom call to recite a poem. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times / It was the age of Aquarias / Now let’s get precarious ’cause a mask won’t stop this virus / Slipping into your mind from behind,” Lube Man rapped over one of Reznor and Ross’ beats. They didn’t give it to him for free, though. In lieu of payment for their musical accompaniment, Lube Man had to reveal his true identity. And for once, an internet fan theory proved accurate: Lube Man is… Petey, and he’s really hoping for a second season (it ain’t happening).
HBO
You can watch the Rolling Stone interview here (and all of Watchmenthis weekend).
Fall is right around the corner. Before we all know it, we’ll be awash in pumpkin ales and Oktoberfest lagers. The holiday season with heavy-duty ABV spiced ales will be right around the corner from that. Then, it’ll finally be 2021 and we’ll start all over again. So, to hold on to the last, fleeting days of summer 2020, we’re calling out some great summer beers that we are actually drinking.
The below eight beers are from Uproxx Life’s drinks writers. These are the beers that stand out to us right now. Hopefully, our insight will help you expand your beer palate and world. Some of these beers will be pretty easy to find nationwide while others will be a bit more regional. Either way, each one is a good example of that bridge between late summer sippers and fortifying fall flavors. – Zach Johnston
I’m not going to lie, I drink this beer year-round. Still, there’s something about sitting in the beer garden this time of year as the weather breaks, gets a little windier, rainier, and you feel it in your bones that summer is essentially over while sipping a crisp Augustiner from a holzfass (wooden keg). This Munich beer is exactly what you need it to be. It’s refreshing AF on a hot summer day. It’s fortifying as the leaves start to turn. What more can you ask for?
Tasting Notes:
This is a mellow lager with an edge that dances between melon sweetness and earthy grassiness. The malts are present with a biscuit feel that’s accentuated by a mild hop bitterness that leads back into the grass. The sip ends crisp and bright with a light touch that never weighs you down.
Bottom Line:
I can’t think of a better beer to end summer on than this one. Then, I can’t think of a better beer to celebrate the start of fall with than this one.
Style: American Amber Lager Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY ABV: 5.2%
The Beer:
This is the premier beer from the now-iconic Brooklyn Brewery. And … it still slaps. Staying true to the idea of an American craft lager, the hops are front and center with the more classic lager malty notes pulled back. This is a real refresher, especially off the tap.
Tasting Notes:
You’re greeted by those hops and it brings about a real sigh of relief for your senses. The malts have a deep caramel edge that counterpoints the resin and florals of the hops damn near perfectly. The sip lingers with those bright hops and caramel-y malts just long enough to draw you in for another gulp from the glass.
Bottom Line:
This is on tap a fair amount around Berlin and I’ve found I’ve been ordering it a lot recently. It’s just hitting the right spot right now.
Style: Berliner Weisse Brewery: Mikkeller Brewing San Diego, CA ABV: 4%
The Beer:
Over the summer, Mikkeller’s Raspberry Blush has been my go-to beer on those punishingly hot summer afternoons when I’m looking for a refreshing sour beer that’s low enough in ABV to lend itself to a multi-can session. From Mikkeller San Diego, Raspberry Blush is a Berliner-Style Weisse brewed with raspberries and coffee, giving it a rich pink hue that is as visually refreshing as it tastes.
Tasting Notes:
While it looks intense, Mikkeller’s Raspberry Blush is actually pretty balanced, with some slight initial raspberry tartness that is tamed down and rounded out by notes of earthy roasted cacao. The flavors hit in waves but never overstay their welcome. It’s refreshing and light with a glittering appearance that is as fun to pour and fun to drink.
Bottom Line:
Kill a four-pack with a friend or knock it out on your own over the hottest days as we slowly escape summer.
Style: Sour Blonde Ale Brewery: Cascade Brewing, Portland, OR ABV: 8.3%
The Beer:
If you’re looking for a refreshing sour ale that screams “summer” but you also want something with a bit of a punch, don’t sleep on Cascade Brewing’s Mango Road 2019. This sour blonde ale is aged in oak wine barrels for 18 months before being steeped with mangos, jasmine flowers, and pink peppercorn, resulting in a medium-bodied brew with a complex combination of flavors.
Tasting Notes:
Be warned — I don’t care how many sour ales you’ve had, the first taste of Mango Road might make you recoil as your palate activates from the intense tart acidity. But after the flavors settle, this brew really comes alive with refreshing notes of mango, fragrant jasmine, and just a hint of spice to round it out.
Bottom Line:
Popping open a bottle of Mango Road is sure to be a new summer pastime. And while you could definitely kill a bottle yourself, I find this one is best shared with one or two other people as a nice early appetizer for a night of drinking.
Style: Indian Pale Ale Brewery: Three Nations Brewing Company, Carrollton, TX ABV: 6.9%
The Beer:
Three Nations Brewing Company founder and brewmaster, Gavin Secchi, was trained in Germany. Prior to Three Nations, he worked at a number of popular breweries including Goose Island in Chicago, Karbach in Houston, Rahr & Sons in Fort Worth, and Franconia in McKinney before launching Three Nations in 2015. First brewed in spring 2017 as a seasonal IPA, Mango Smash has now become the company’s bestselling beer.
Tasting Notes:
The light honey hue is a result of the 2-row base malt. Crafted with pineapple concentrate and juicy mango, it’s the six different hops that give this beer its alluring aroma. Mango Smash has a dry, light, and crisp mouthfeel, with a slightly bitter finish consisting of subtle sweet stone fruit.
Bottom Line:
If you’re thinking this beer will be overtly bitter like most IPAs, that’s not the case. It’s the perfect brew for those seeking something fruity and refreshing to combat the final sweltering heat of summer.
Style: Belgian Tripel Brewery: Strange Land Brewery, Georgetown, TX ABV: 7.5%
The Beer:
Strange Land Brewery’s Fleur D’Oranger is rooted in Georgetown, Texas, just outside of Austin. Yet, it’s inspired by Belgian brewing tradition. The hand-crafted beer is a limited release and makes use of local ingredients, such as honey, which adds to its unique flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
This distinctive beer pulls you in with its citrus and floral scent. Brewed with orange blossom honey, zesty orange peel, and coriander, the effervescent fruit flavor is balanced with a bite of bitterness. A delicious hint of tangy lemon and hops gives this beer a well-rounded finish.
Bottom Line:
From the first whiff to the last sip, the Fleur D’Oranger has all the fixings to be an essential beer of the year well beyond its summer appeal.
When it comes to a summer refresher, it’s really hard to beat a simple, crisp, Mexican-style lager. There’s no over-the-top hop presence or random adjuncts overpowering the classic, thirst-quenching flavors. But, if You really want to quench your thirst on a hot, steamy summer day, it’s hard to beat the classic chela. I go for Karbach Viva Chela with its Mexican-style lager combined with salt and lime.
Tasting Notes:
This beer tastes like summer in a can. Crack one open and you’re immediately met with subtle citrus and salt aromas. The first sip is equal parts briny, full of an explosion of citrus, and undeniably crisp. It only gets better from there.
Bottom Line:
This is the kind of beer you reach for all summer long. But, it’s so good you’ll probably want to continue drinking it well into the fall.
Style: Hazy IPA Brewery: New Belgium, Fort Collins, CO ABV: 6.7%
The Beer:
I was born in the early 80’s and I love everything about the decade from Teen Wolf, to snap bracelets, to Garbage Pail Kids. That’s why I was so excited when New Belgium dropped a hazy IPA in homage of the decade perfectly suited for sipping in a Members Only Jacket.
Tasting Notes:
While it’s likely this beer wouldn’t have had the same appeal in the 80’s, it’s fresh, juicy, and full of tropical fruit flavors like mango, guava, and grapefruit. Just like the 80’s started off sweet and ended subtly bitter as the 90’s arrived, so too does this beer.
Bottom Line:
While it seems like a gimmick, this beer is far from a publicity stunt. Fans of hazy IPAs will love this beer just like “I love the 80’s.”
Chicago’s King Von is a rapper on the rise after signing to Lil Durk’s Only The Family record label and releasing his critically-hailed studio album Levon James earlier this year. He’s begun drawing attention with singles such as the Lil Durk-featuring “Down Me” and “All These N****s,” the heartbroken “Why He Told,” and now, he’s building on that buzz with the impassioned video for “How It Go.”
In the “How It Go” video, Von addresses the shortcomings of the justice system — a favorite topic for the Windy City spitter — as he details what goes on behind the closed doors of a criminal trial. Specifically, the first half of the video focuses on the negotiations between prosecutors and public defenders which often result in plea deals for young men and women who feel powerless in the face of the courts. The latter half of the video sees Von struggling to survive in prison, from fights with fellow inmates to the crushing mental pressure of solitary confinement.
“So what you gon’ do?” Von asks in the song’s piercing second verse. “You gon’ rob or gon shoot? / You gon’ trap or gon’ crack? / You gon’ win or gon’ lose?” It appears he’s chosen to win, switching up street life for rap life, and with the assistance of Lil Durk, is well on his way to dodging his former profession forever.
The 2020 Emmys are fast approaching, and the lineup of talent being recognized by the awards show serves as a reminder of all the good TV that’s out there, just waiting to be devoured. And as we like to do around all the major awards shows, Uproxx asked Britt Ellis and Taylour Chanel to break down a handful of their favorite nominations in a brand new episode of Obsessed! And this time, Chanel and Ellis are shaking off the disappointment of last year’s underwhelming awards season in favor of highlighting some standout performances and fan-favorite series that might take home hardware come Emmys night.
That includes Zendaya’s mesmerizing turn as a drug-addicted teen on HBO’s Euphoria — a show that’s become a cultural phenomenon and has fans clamoring for a second season to drop soon. Chanel is definitely one of those fans, tuning into the season not once, but twice, in order to appreciate its gritty, surrealist storytelling. And lit makeup looks. For Ellis, though, the show to watch from this year’s awards slate is Succession, which has been nominated for 18 awards, including major acting categories like Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. Even if you’re like Chanel and struggle to watch “rich white people doing rich white people things,” the dramatic chaos of this dysfunctional family is undeniably addictive.
One thing our hosts can agree on, though, is that critical darling Schitt’s Creek deserves all the Emmy love following its glorious final season. The series was nominated in every main comedy category, doubling down on recent past Emmy love that took entirely too long to develop if you ask us. Still, better late than never.
Will this finally be the year some of these exciting series take home Emmys hardware? Check out the video above to see what Ellis and Chanel think.
Despite a healthy sense of self-doubt — the hallmark of any artist (and I don’t use the term “artist” lightly) — as an art director, animator, musician, videographer, director, designer, and pro skater it doesn’t seem like there is anything Alexis Sablone can’t do. Oh, and did we mention she also has a Masters Degree in Architecture from MIT? During the pandemic, Sablone pulled her various talents together to self-produce, score, shoot, and edit the promotional material for her new Converse CONS collection, Designed By Alexis, which features new iterations of Converse’s iconic One Star Pro, Jack Purcell Pro, and Louie Lopez Pro sneaker silhouettes made to Sablone’s performance-based specifications.
“I grew up skating by myself in a small town, so in some ways, skating New York City all alone during quarantine felt familiar,” Sablone tells us. “On the other hand, filming myself, making the music, and editing it all together with my animations was very new for me. I’ve never controlled all of the pieces in a project like this and the process really gave me a creative outlet and something to throw myself into during the isolation of quarantine.”
Originally conceived to be introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games where Sablone would ride as part of the inaugural US Skateboarding team before the pandemic put a pause on that, Sablone’s background in architecture and her artistic sensibilities pop up throughout the Designed By Alexis collection, as every minute detail feels consciously constructed. Throughout our chat, Sablone speaks of the tactile feel of the sneakers, the grip of a rubber toe, or the need for reinforced stitching to compliment her precise style. As such, every aspect of the design feels constructed with a purpose that artfully mixes functionality with style. The collection reflects a person who is interested not just in art from a superficial standpoint, but someone interested in exploring the inner workings of what makes the composition work in the first place.
So let’s jump into our chat with Alexis where we talk about her new sneaker line, creating during the pandemic, the influence of Japan, and the ways she hopes the skateboarding community continues to evolve to be a more inclusive space.
Converse/Alexis Sablone
You’ve been making a name for yourself as a pro skater for quite a while, but it wasn’t until recently that you signed with Converse. What is your connection to the brand and why was Converse the perfect home for what you wanted to accomplish in footwear?
I grew up with Chucks. I had some awareness of the shoe’s early history as a basketball sneaker, but mainly I think Chucks always stood out because it was a shoe all different types of people loved to wear. Depending on who’s wearing it and how, Chucks take on a whole different style, but they’re always classic. That’s why when I eventually came to know Converse as a brand in skateboarding, it fit. I liked the way skateboarders looked in Converse and skateboarding is about a lot of things, but style is and always has been one of them. In addition, one of my best friends was the team manager at Converse Cons, plus the team has many of my favorite skateboarders. When the opportunity for me to join the team came along, it just made sense and felt right.
Tell us a little bit about what you were going for with the design of the One Star Pro?
Despite my love for Chuck Taylors, the One Star was almost immediately my favorite skate shoe when I got to Converse. I began skating in the ‘90s and although the One Star technically began as a ‘70s basketball shoe, to me, it was a shoe of the ‘90s. It has a little bit of that classic skate shoe of the ‘90s look, a little bit of that ‘90s punk kid at the mall look. Basically, it felt classic and nostalgic, bringing me back to my favorite period in skateboarding style and history.
I loved skating it as it was. But for my One Star Pro, I wanted to make some performance modifications and tried to do so in ways that were visible but kept the classic feel of the original. I blow through shoes really fast when I skate, plus I like the grippy feel of a rubber toe on the board, so I added reinforced stitching and a partial rubber toe cap to meet those needs. I’m really happy with how it came out and I think the modifications add to the lifetime of the shoe, which makes me feel good knowing kids out there buying it can get a lot out of it.
Converse
What about the Jack Purcell Pro and the Louie Lopez Pro made you want to include these silhouettes as part of the collection?
I thought the three shoes complemented each other. I enjoy skating in all three, but they each bring a little something different and feel pretty different to skate in. The signature thick rubber toe of the Jack Purcell Pro gave me an excuse to do a version of my One Star AS Pro with a suede toe rather than rubber just this once, since some people don’t like the grippy feel of rubber in the front. It was nice to work with a collection of three for that reason – I could make one really bright shoe (the Louie) and then two monotone shoes, all black and all white, but still tie the three together with details like the license plate and sole print, and also the mixing of multiple materials in each shoe.
One of the cool things about your new collection is how much creative control Converse gave you over the project, letting you make music, shoot and edit footage, make animations… What was their reaction to you taking such a hands-on approach and what was your favorite part of that process?
The decision to make that project came pretty naturally. It was a combination of timing — the pandemic and being isolated — plus my own desire to kind of push myself in new directions and see what came out, and finally, Converse’s willingness to trust me through the process. Obviously, the skateboarding itself wasn’t new to me, nor was the animation, since I’ve done a number of animation projects for skate videos at that point. But filming myself, editing, and certainly, making music was all totally new to me.
It’s hard to pick one favorite part of the process. Making the track was definitely the most frightening since, apart from loving music and being able to sing along to some extent, I knew nothing about how it was made. I’m sure I’ll look back and have a hard time listening past all the rookie mistakes. But, for now, I’m pretty excited about how it came out since I was really operating in the dark. Everything — not just the music — was a process of trial and error: “Nope, that looks wrong” or “nope, that sounds terrible” or “no this” and “no that.” Eventually, though, I think it came together and was a pretty rewarding process.
Ultimately, you could look at it and say “Ok, cool. It’s like, a little minute and a half long skate video.” But from the inside, with any creative process, like anyone that makes anything knows from experience, it’s a million little decisions, and a lot of careful thought and dreaming up ideas, and headaches trying to execute them, realizing they don’t always work out like you’d thought.
All in all, that’s my idea of fun, I guess. I always need a project to keep me going and this one really helped push me through a strange and isolating time in the world.
Converse
Your collaboration with Converse CONS paid tribute to Japan as inspiration, what specific inspiration did you draw from the country?
Well, initially, the shoes were supposed to be released around the 2020 Olympic games hosted in Tokyo. So that’s where the prompt began. But on a more personal level, from Miyazaki and Masaaki Yuasa to Maki Sasaki and Shigeru Mizuki, Tadanori Yokoo, Masahisa Fukase, Issey Miyake — just to name a few — many of my favorite artists are Japanese. So in that way, I’m constantly inspired by Japanese culture and work that has come out of it.
When I was younger, I had a book of Japanese woodblock prints as well as Hokusai Manga and I was obsessed with the idea of sequential images and the realization that my Disney cartoons were built off of this foundation, in a way. Also, I was in love with the way the signatures were drawn into the woodblock prints. Usually characters inside of a vertical box, and often in bright colors that really popped and stood out from the rest of the image — like a scroll almost superimposed, floating on top of the image. Somehow, graphically, this just really attracted me and I liked studying them. They were always the part I looked for first before the actual image!
The heel and sole details in the pack I designed for Converse, although totally different, tries to borrow from these colorful, graphic, signature strips, as well as the idea of sequence that early Manga gave to us. All three of the shoes share the same signature — a square red license plate on the back heel containing a perfect Converse star logo, but as you lift the heel, the red square continues and stretches into a long red rectangle down the sole, inside of which, the star evolves or devolves sequentially into abstraction.
You have a Master degree in Architecture from MIT, which is kind of the perfect academic study for a skater, how did your interest in art and architecture influence the Designed By Alexis line?
I think our influences often get all mushed together and ultimately combined with our own intuition and sensibilities as designers. So, it’s really hard to pull one thread and say how this affected that and so on and so forth. But, my background in architecture certainly helped me learn to work through the iterative and often painful design process. I say painful, because for me, there’s inevitably a part of the process in everything I design, where it’s not clicking, it feels wrong, and I don’t know how to make it right. There is no “right”, of course, but there’s a feeling I get and have learned — continue to learn — to trust, that tells me I’m moving in the right direction with a project. A lot of the work I’m doing now falls outside of the classic realm of architecture, but my process and development as a designer feels like a continuous evolution from many long sleepless nights at MIT.
Converse/Alexis Sablone
Style is such a major part of the skateboarding scene, what kind of statement if at all are you trying to make with your sense of style?
I have always just been myself, dressed how I felt comfortable, and never wanted to do something loud just to make a statement. For me, that felt phony. Growing up, I hated the idea of people trying to stand out by looking the part but not really backing it up with substance. My outward style is still pretty simple. I guess it’s getting bolder as I get older because I feel more grounded and like each new year of experience gives me more of a right to not care what anyone else thinks. That said, I’ve always wanted to rely more on other creative outlets, drawing, animating, designing, and physically skateboarding, to try to express myself and let all of that work make its own statement — whatever that may be.
Pro-skater, architect, musician, director, videographer, artist … you do everything. With the Designed By Alexis line, as well as operating as an art director and deck designer within the skateboard industry, what is your approach to art direction and what are you trying to visually infuse into the realm of skate style?
There’s some overlap here in what I was just describing. If I’m making a statement, or visually infusing anything into skateboarding, It’s not part of a master plan I have beyond the fact that I try to trust my instincts and be as authentic as possible. I’m a perfectionist in many ways. As a result, I hate a lot of what I do at least at some point in the process. I’m obsessed with all of my work and I either love it or hate it and those sentiments flip flop from one second to the next. The biggest goals I have are personal. I’m not thinking about what I infuse into skateboarding at large. I’m in my own little bubble. I’m learning to press “send”, to put the pencil down, to take a step back and be okay with whatever I just made, so I can move forward and start working on the next thing.
Not only are you one of the most accomplished and visible women in skateboarding, but you’re also going on to be a core member of the United States’ first-ever Olympic skateboarding team. I wondered if you can speak on your experience operating in a sport overwhelmingly populated by straight men and what you hope for the world of skateboarding going forward?
I was 21 years old before I really first met and got to know any other non-male skaters. Growing up, most of the time it was just me skating alone. There weren’t other skaters in my town and there certainly weren’t any gay skaters or girls. I’ve always believed that skateboarding can and should be for everyone. It was a place for non-jocks and outcasts and weird kids when I started and I think that’s what drew me to it. It was something different and I think it helped me escape into something — a community, a culture — even before I was aware of what I was escaping or really knew that I was queer.
For that, I feel fortunate and am so grateful to have found skateboarding. It wasn’t until I was much older that I saw some of the flaws and had to deal with the uglier inequalities inside the industry. I think the skateboarding community is finally starting to become more self-aware and the industry is beginning to follow suit and improve its practices by supporting and promoting more than one kind of skater. I think there’s still a long way to go, but I’m hopeful.
How have you been spending your time in quarantine, and where is the first place you’re going to skate outside of New York when travel opens up?
I have no idea where I’ll go! I used to feel like JFK was becoming my second home and now I can’t even imagine stepping foot in there. I hope Paris. Whenever I romanticize traveling, Paris is the image that comes to mind. But anywhere will feel like an adventure at this point. In the meantime, I’m happy to be where I am. I’ve been busy skating in the streets and working on some new design projects in my studio and I have no complaints. NYC is my favorite city in the world and I feel lucky to live here every day.
Converse/Alexis Sablone
The Designed By Alexis collection is available now at Converse.
Following up on his reporting from earlier this month about MLB potentially putting together dual National League and American League Bubbles for the playoffs, Jeff Passan said on The Pat McAfee Show that he expects baseball to play games in California and Texas this fall, with the World Series likely to be played at the Texas Rangers’ brand-new ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
More specifically, the American League will likely play its playoffs in Bubbles in Los Angeles and San Diego while the National League creates a Bubble-like playoff environment in Houston and Arlington.
BREAKING NEWS: @JeffPassan says the @MLB is going to move to bubble cities for the playoffs
Houston & Arlington for the National League LA & San Diego for the American League
“The plan is right now for the last week of the season, even if you’re at home, for you to be staying in a hotel,” Passan told McAfee. “The reason for that is they essentially want to get these teams isolated from everyone … and they are going to Bubble, essentially.”
As Passan reported, the league and players are sorting through details on everything from whether families will be included to what the specific protocols will be.
“At this point, the Bubble is a fait accompli,” Passan said.
Back in mid-August, Passan reported that the two states were front-runners for a potential Bubble because of weather concerns in colder parts of the country by the time the playoffs rolled around in the late fall. The report also stated that Dodger Stadium, San Diego’s Petco Park, the Rangers’ Globe Life Park and Houston’s Minute Maid Park could host multiple games per day in the early rounds of the playoffs.
One executive told Passan: “If we want to make sure we get through October, we really need to get this right.”
Since then, it appears they have settled on what will basically be four smaller pseudo-Bubbles, with players staying at hotels and not traveling. Considering the outbreaks MLB has seen on about one-fifths of its teams at this point, Passan seems to believe MLB has realized the necessity of a Bubble if the playoffs are to go off without a hitch.
This week saw the resignation of Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. after the evangelical leader and early supporter of President Donald Trump found himself embroiled in a public sex scandal. On the night before the Republican National Convention, Falwell Jr. released a statement, in which he claimed that his wife, Becki, had engaged in a “brief affair” with another man over eight years ago, but the couple had immediately reconciled and moved on from the incident.
However, the man in question was revealed to be Giancarlo Granda, a former pool attendant who has long been the center of rumors regarding the couple’s sex life. Granda alleged in a statement that he was first approached by Becki, who invited up to her Miami hotel room to have intercourse while Falwell Jr. watched. While the couple disputed Granda’s allegations, Falwell Jr. resigned as university president shortly after Granda’s statement.
But the subject isn’t going away time soon. Granda appeared on Good Morning America on Friday and shared details of his first encounter with the Falwells in 2012 and how it led to multiple trysts over the next six years:
Granda said that the two men awkwardly discussed the parameters of the impending sexual encounter. He insisted that during that first encounter he reassured Falwell that if the older man became uncomfortable, he would leave, “Hey,” he said he told Falwell anxiously, “if at any point you get jealous or you want me to back off, just let me know and I’ll walk out of here.”
Granda said Falwell reassured him, urging him to “go for it.”
“He enjoyed watching,” said Granda, who told ABC News that the sexual encounters continued “multiple times a year” until 2018 in hotels in Miami, New York and at the Falwells’ Virginia home.
You can watch the full GMA interview with Granda below.
Granda’s interview arrives on the heels on yet another accusation against the Falwells. According to Politico, a Liberty University student has come forward with allegations that Becki Falwell “aggressively” pursued a sexual relationship with him and would use a secret Facebook account to make unwanted advances. But while these allegations have affected the Falwells standing in the Christian community, the scandal won’t be hurting them financially. The New York Post reports that Falwell Jr. could receive a $10.5 million payout from Liberty University for his resignation.
The act of yanking a person’s underpants up their butt: is it a melvin, a murph, or a wedgie? Growing up, my cousins and I called it a “melvin” (they were older, and frequently melvin-ed me). Then at a certain point, someone corrected me, saying that what I was describing wasn’t actually called a melvin at all: it was a “murph,” or a “wedgie.”
It’s a hill I’ve been willing to die on for probably 30 years now, and it’s only gotten progressively lonelier. These days, a trip to Urban Dictionary’s entry for “melvin” nets you, as its top definition, “a frontal wedgie,” where the underwear “ride up into the labia.” Number three for “murph” is “a naturally occurring wedgie.” Based on the definitions of the previous two, do we even need to look up wedgie?
This is melvin erasure and I won’t stand for it. I base my stubborn conviction on a landmark nugget from pop culture. That’s right, I’m talking about Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, the 1991 sequel to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) which sees our lovably dopey, time-traveling Valley bros sent to hell. Where, in a climactic moment, they get out of a jam with the Grim Reaper by telling him his shoe is untied and then yanking his underwear up his butt crack (from behind!).
This leads to the immortal line, arguably the most memorable of the movie, “I can’t believe we just melvined Death!”
With Bogus Journey‘s long-overdue sequel, Bill & Ted Face The Music, opening this weekend, I reached out to screenwriters Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson (who’ve written all three Bill & Ted movies) to pick their… uh… brains. I wanted to know: whether they invented “melvin,” the background of their decision, and why we are right about this and everyone else is wrong. (Fun facts neither here nor there: Matheson is the son of prolific science fiction writer Richard Matheson, while Solomon’s ex-wife is the daughter of John Cleese).
ED SOLOMON: To Melvin someone was something we did way back in fifth grade. I always resisted calling it a “wedgie” cause it was so prosaic. And “we just Melvined death” sounded better. It was exactly the kind of low tech pop culture means of defense that is perfect for Bill and Ted.
CHRIS MATHESON: We definitely didn’t invent it. I vaguely remember hearing it [called that] from junior high, early high school. ’71-’75 basically. We did think it was funny, yeah.. can’t remember much more than that…
There you have it, folks. Pulling someone’s underwear up their butt is called a “melvin.” It’s been called that at least since the seventies. You could call it “wedgie,” if you want to sound like a philistine, but we all know what time it is. A front wedgie? God, what is wrong with you people.
‘Bill & Ted Face The Music’ opens August 28th on OnDemand.Vince Mancini is onTwitter. You can access his archive of reviewshere.
One of those is former Los Angeles Clippers star turned athlete investor Baron Davis, who said “I think it’s just life coming full circle,” after he was front and center for many years of the dark Donald Sterling saga in Los Angeles. Shelburne adds that Dream president Chris Sienko, majority owner Mary Brock and her husband and former Coca-Cola CEO John Brock, “have been providing financial information to potential buyers of the team.”
While Loeffler has stated her intention is not to sell the team and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has indicated it is not currently the plan of the league to force her to do so, the cleanest split would be for someone genuinely interested in growing women’s basketball in Atlanta to purchase the franchise. This is something Loeffler has shown herself unwilling to do any longer, as Shelburne brings in political scientists and longtime Atlantans to show how Loeffler’s fight with the WNBA grew spontaneously out of a need to win politically over a primary opponent who is seen as more supportive of President Trump than she is.
Whether Davis is the right person to becoming the managing partner of the Dream is unclear, but he is certainly a well-known and passionate person in the basketball community and seems to care about turning the page for the Dream after this fight with Loeffler.
Meanwhile, the players of the WNBA have worked with politicians like Michelle Obama and Stacey Abrams to develop a plan to encourage voter turnout in support of Loeffler’s Democratic opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock, this fall. At the same time, the players have taken the stance of no longer mentioning Loeffler by name or addressing the situation directly, turning their cheeks to the woman who once supported them fully and now is using her connection with the league as a political advantage.
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