NBA players held a meeting on Wednesday evening in the aftermath of the day’s slate of playoff games getting postponed due to a strike. The main takeaway from the meeting was that two teams, the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers, voiced their support for ending the NBA season altogether, while the remaining teams would apparently like to continue playing.
All of this came on the heels of the Milwaukee Bucks opting not to play against the Orlando Magic, which led to the remaining two playoff games on the day getting put on hiatus, too, as a form of protest after a police officer shot a 29-year-old Black man named Jacob Blake of Kenosha, Wisconsin in the back seven times. Despite everyone in the Bubble attending the meeting, there is still more conversations to be had, and according to ESPN, a follow-up conversation is currently scheduled to occur on Thursday morning.
Reporting with @malika_andrews: The NBA players have another meeting set for Thursday morning in the bubble to continue the discussion on how they’ll proceed with the playoffs.
As was reported in the aftermath of Wednesday’s meeting, there are still plenty of conversations that need to occur among the players, and the action taken by the two Los Angeles teams was not a formal declaration that they won’t play the season no matter the outcome of Thursday’s meetings, but rather, those two teams expressing where they stand right now. It is unclear what is going to come of either meeting on Thursday, but regardless, it does not feel hyperbolic to say that the fate of the remainder of this season could be shaped based on what the players and the Board of Governors will discuss in their respective sessions.
It’s been an emotional rollercoaster around the NBA this week, as players have been left reeling after yet another unarmed Black man was shot by police. The Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin has once again galvanized many around the NBA to refocus their efforts on the Black Lives Matter movement, and subsequently, thrown the remainder of the season into uncertainty.
Players from all three playoffs series slated for Wednesday night action decided to refuse to play their scheduled games in the hope of putting pressure on lawmakers and public officials, and especially NBA owners, to enact some kind of meaningful change. The WNBA soon followed suit, along with the MLS and some MLB teams.
Beyond the Bubble, it has opened up the conversation for people around the NBA, past and present, to share their own personal experiences and the dangers they face being Black in America. Lakers legend Robert Horry was one such figure among many who spoke about how he fears for his children’s lives each time they leave the house and how those fears stem directly from the people who are supposed to protect all citizens.
“Black men are an endangered species, pretty much. I have to tell my kids, ‘If you have to lay down on the ground and they can kick you, beat you, at least you go to the hospital and you can come home to me.’”
Still, nothing has been officially decided as of yet, and the NBA Board of Governors will meet early Thursday to try and put together some kind of action plan to use their considerable influence in a way that would result in concrete social justice reform.
Whether you’re a smooth sipper or you love the bright bite of an agave-based cocktail, there are simply too many great bottles of tequila out there to choose from. To make your shopping process all the easier, we’ve fixed our eye to every list of the best expressions to pour out of this year’s spirit judging season in search of the absolute best bottles to stock your home bar with. Because if you’re going to drink tequila, you really should make it the best of the best.
Which has brings us to highest-scoring bottles of tequila from the International Wine & Spirits Competition. From completely un-aged silver glittering Blancos to carefully crafted Reposados to even the most luxurious of aged and purified Cristalinos, the IWSC has tasted the best the modern tequila market has to offer and ranked each bottle accordingly using a double-blind tasting method for full impartiality. The IWSC’s judges hail from over 30 countries and are made up of mostly distillers themselves, which helps to give the results an extra layer of authority that we feel we can really trust.
The six bottles on this list all managed to score in the 90-100 range of the IWSC’s 100 point system, meaning even if you buy one of these bottles blind, you’re probably going to land in something great. In addition to links on where you can buy your own, we’ve included the IWSC’s detailed tasting notes to help you really zoom in on what kind of tequila you’re looking for.
So let’s dive into some of the top-rated bottles of tequila from this year, according to the International Wine & Spirits Competition.
Best Blanco/Plata Tequila: Expresiones Corazon Blanco (92 Points)
Drizly
ABV: 40% Distillery: Tequila San Matias de Jalisco Average Price:$59.99
The Tequila:
This small-batch artisanal Blanco tequila is made from matured agave cooked in stone and brick ovens and fermented in stainless steel tanks in an open-air setting before being twice distilled, resulting in an expression with bright citrus and slightly tangy characteristics.
“Yeasty spice and fresh limes entice the nose. First taste impressions of pepper and glazed pineapple soon surrender to an intriguing, highly eccentric amalgam of Parma Violets and Love Hearts.”
Bottom Line:
At $60 a bottle, Expresiones Corazon certainly doesn’t make the cheapest bottle of Blanco tequila on the market, but given its three-year streak of topping the charts at the annual spirit tasting competitions, it’s clearly one of the best.
Best Flavored Tequila/Tequila Liqueur: Black Fire (92 Points)
Black Fire Tequila
ABV: 33% Distillery: Undisclosed Average Price:£22.59
The Tequila:
Not yet available to the US market, this tequila liqueur sounds like an absolute treat for the senses thanks to its combination of Blanco tequila, black coffee, and hints of chili.
“Big, expressive, and rich with coffee aromas and nutiness mixed with hints of aniseed; a nice complexity to the liqueur, creating an overall well-made drink.”
Bottom Line:
Ideal as part of a more complex cocktail, Black Fire sounds like a great additive for anyone looking for a stronger kick from their tequila. It also sounds like the perfect kick to add to your post-dinner coffee or dessert.
Best Reposado Tequila: Storywood Tequila Speyside 7 (95 Points)
Storywood Tequila
ABV: 40% Distillery: La Cofradia Average Price:£38.95
The Tequila:
Harvested and distilled in Tequila, Mexico, Storywood’s single malt Resposado is aged for seven months in Scottish Speyside whisky barrels that supply the expression with subtle hints of earthy vanilla, honey, and caramel with a bright lowland agave base hitting that perfect middle ground between aged and un-aged.
“Lifted and herbaceous with great balance and character. Commendably packed with savory herbs, peppercorns, and cooked agave, yet still manages to possess subtle hints of honey and peach. The oak is well balanced and adds some rather pleasing tannins.”
Bottom Line:
Whether you like to sip your tequila or throw it into a mixer for a top-shelf cocktail, Storywood Speyside provides a solid Reposado tequila that brings together the best of both worlds of the tequila spectrum.
Best Añejo: Cierto Tequila Private Collection (91 Points)
Rather than leaning on high-pressure diffusers or additives to achieve the deep amber hue of Cierto Black Label’s Private Reserve Añejo, Cierto uses traditional methods to produce this award-winning tequila. Crafted using only fully matured agave that is hand-harvested and slow-cooked by fifth-generation masters, Cierto’s Añejo is aged in ex-wine casks alongside oak barrels. This results in tequila with a smooth mouthfeel made to savor.
“Butterscotch and herbs tantalize the nose. Sweet agave and the well-judged oak reveal an elegant character and bring a savory, yet delicate balance to the mouth.”
Bottom Line:
A tequila crafted with serious sippers in mind, as soon as we’re able to get our hands on a bottle of Cierto, we’ll let you know if the expression measures up to the rumored high price. With marks this high though, we’re not doubting whether Cierto delivers.
ABV: 40% Distillery: Tequila Tapatio Average Price:$54.99
The Tequila:
El Tesoro is absolutely killing it this year, scooping up accolades and awards at all of the major spirits tasting competitions as well as being the only Extra Añejo tequila to grab IWSC’s high honor Gold Spirit award this year. Made using Blue Weber agave harvested at full maturity and fermented in wood fermentation tanks in an open-air setting, El Tesoro’s Extra Añejo is aged in American oak ex-bourbon barrels for four to five years giving the Tequila its vibrant golden hue and pulls forward decadent flavors of chocolate and coffee.
“Leafy in style with cool herbaceous notes and some oak on the nose. Spiced strawberries, cherry bubblegum and big dollop of white pepper offers a delectable and well-balanced mouthfeel. Very drinkable.”
Bottom Line:
Given its laborious process, El Tesoro’s Añejo is pretty fairly priced. With its high honors and reputation, it’s one of the best Extra Añejo’s you can buy without killing your bank account, though you’ll probably still reserve this bottle for special occasions and guests.
Best Cristalino: Satryna Cristalino Tequila (92 Points)
Satryna
ABV: 38% Distillery: Distillery: Corporativo Destileria Santa Lucia Average Price:£125
The Tequila:
Stateside, Cristalino is rarely recognized as its own respective category of tequila. In Mexico, the filtered Añejo tequila is exploding in popularity as drinkers seek out all the care and craft of an aged tequila with some of the brightness of a Blanco. Made using steam-cooked Blue Weber agave sourced from Guadalajara, Satryna waits for ten to 12 years to harvest their agave and then lets the juice age for an additional 18 months in American oak barrels before being fine filtered into a Cristalino state. The result is then bottled in a wildly ornate handcrafted French decanter encrusted with metal foil in an aesthetic that owes a considerable debt to the imagery of Día de Los Muertos.
“Soft on the nose with a creamy and sweet texture. Strong hints of new American oak and quality agave make this a very well balanced easy sipping tequila.”
Bottom Line:
A bottle of Satrnya Cristalino is a gift, whether you’re purchasing it for yourself or for a friend that enjoys the complexities of a luxury tequila. It’s a lovely addition to any bar, even once it’s empty.
The NBA’s players met on Wednesday night to discuss their plans moving forward after players from the Bucks began what became a leaguewide wildcat strike, refusing to play their Game 5s in protest of police shooting Jacob Blake in the back seven times, leaving him paralyzed, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The meeting lasted several hours, with reports emerging of a number of different players and coaches stepping up to speak, eventually with coaches being asked to leave. About 2 and a half hours into the meeting, word emerged that the Lakers and Clippers had both voted against continuing the season and left.
Sources: The Lakers and Clippers have voted to boycott the NBA season. Most other teams voted to continue. LeBron James has exited the meeting.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers have voted to boycott the rest of the playoffs and were the first two teams to exit the meeting, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
Per Charania, they were the only two teams who voted against resuming the season, with LeBron James calling on owners and the league to do more.
Sources: Every team besides Lakers and Clippers voted to continue playing. LeBron James said in meeting he want owners to be more involved/take action.
As Udonis Haslem reportedly pointed out to the rest of the teams, there isn’t much of a path to the resumption of the season if the Lakers and Clippers, the two top seeds in the West, aren’t a part of it, and clearly there must be a full decision made.
Sources: Miami’s Udonis Haslem spoke and essentially told everyone in room that — without Lakers and Clippers, how will season continue?
LeBron James walked out. Rest of Lakers and Clippers exited behind him.
We will await that official word from the players union, but for now it seems two of the league’s biggest teams that feature four of its biggest stars do not plan to continue playing. The question is if the Lakers and Clippers can be brought back into the fold when the NBA’s Board of Governors meet on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. ET, should ownership and league executives agree to do more, speak out, and wield their power, money, and influence more at the state and national levels.
Sources to @YahooSports: Board of governors meeting scheduled for 11 AM ET. So the Clippers and Lakers power move is giving the owners a timeline on a plan
I can confirm that tomorrow’s Board of Governor’s meeting will be at 11 a.m. Seemingly the season rests on what the league’s wealthiest people can commit too.
If nothing else, the Lakers and Clippers taking this stance applies immense pressure on ownership to make serious plans and put actual, actionable things on the table in their meeting. Somewhat unsurprisingly, given it was always going to be very difficult to get every player and team on the same page with something like a strike, David Aldridge of The Athletic says the meeting ended “ugly” with players not fully certain how things will play out in the coming days.
Told the players’ meeting ended “ugly,” per a source, with uncertainty about what will happen tomorrow. The union will be present at the special Board of Governors meeting, per a source.
It seems as though Steve Ballmer has, at least to a point, gotten the message sent by the Clippers players, issuing a statement through the team on Wednesday night, calling for police accountability and reform.
Following the police shooting of Jacob Blake (who was left paralyzed) in Kenosha, Wisconsin, protests have been ongoing for days. It comes as no surprise that Tucker Carlson would (not for the first time) side against protestors of police brutality, but his rhetoric on Tuesday grew so heated and over-the-top that people are calling for Fox News to give him the boot.
Of particular relevance with these calls for Fox News to take news against the anchor is Carlson’s defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old vigilante who opened fire (with a semi-automatic rifle) on protesters, killing two of them in the process. Rittenhouse has been arrested and (according to Antioch Police, via CNN) charged with first-degree intentional homicide. However, Carlson didn’t hide his on-air support for the teen.
“Are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder?” Carlson reasoned. “How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would.”
Tucker Carlson: “So are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder? How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would.” pic.twitter.com/5Mm4L4Qejv
People are rallying with disgust over Carlson’s apparent justification of Rittenhouse’s actions. They’re asking Fox News to take him off the air, as well as for consumers to boycott advertisers on the cable news network.
If they don’t take action after this, every one of Fox News’s executives, directors, and advertisers is complicit in Tucker Carlson’s racist, murderous rants. https://t.co/YbT8as1kHg
Tucker Carlson has no significant advertisers left, but at what point do large advertisers stop supporting Fox News, which rubber-stamped this call for vigilante violence tonight?
Via the Daily Beast, Carlson has suggested that Rittenhouse was acting in “self-defense,” and he further condemned protesters, saying that “Kenosha has devolved into anarchy, the authorities in charge of the city abandoned it.” He added, “People in charge, from the governor of Wisconsin on down, refused to enforce the law. They stood back and watched Kenosha burn.”
Conway The Machine is preparing to unload what would be his third project of the year after Lulu, with The Alchemist, and No One Mourns The Wicked with Big Ghost Ltd. But he’s dropped a new single off this future release, “Fear Of God.” The Hit-Boy-produced track kicks off with a lengthy verse from Conway that finds him reflecting on his rise in fame. Showing up to close out the track after the two-minute mark, Dej Loaf supplies an energetic finish to the song as she reminds listeners of her fearless spirit.
Following his Method Man collaboration, “Lemon,” Conway’s collab with Dej Loaf is the latest single to be released from his upcoming album, From King To A God. The album is set to release on September 11, but it may be delayed to honor DJ Shay, who tragically passed earlier this month due to coronavirus, as other members of the Griselda squad, including Westside Gunn and Armani Caesar, have announced they will do. Following his death, the crew honored DJ Shay in a series of Instagram posts.
As for Dej Loaf, the song arrives after the Detroit native shared a visual for “No Saint” ahead of her upcoming Sell Sole 2 album.
You can listen to “Fear Of God” in the video above.
From King To A God is out 09/11 via Drumwork/Griselda/EMPIRE.
Wednesday was a landmark day in the sports world, as players from four major sports league’s refused to play in protest of Kenosha police shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back on Monday.
The MLS had one game play — Nashville vs. Orlando City — but at halftime of that game the rest of the league, beginning with Atlanta Unite and Inter Miami, decide they too would not play in protest and the rest of the night’s games were postponed by the league as well.
Inter Miami and Atlanta United stand together in solidarity as they boycott their match tonight. pic.twitter.com/AuJDSbNvQ1
The Black Players for Change group in the MLS issued a statement voicing their support of the movement and the decision not to play made by players in sports all over the country.
It is a powerful movement, and as Chris Webber so eloquently said on TNT earlier in the night, what comes next, while important, is something players can take time to figure out. What is important is how many players are standing together on this issue, across sports, and expressing the need for significant change in this country with regards to police brutality and systemic racism. The Bucks have called for Wisconsin lawmakers to return to session to vote on a bill that includes police reforms that has not been voted on for more than a month, and players from the NBA, WNBA, and elsewhere in the sports world will have more in the way of demands and calls to action from fans and the leagues themselves soon.
Backed by a strong production from Hit-Boy, Nas’King Disease has gone over well with fans. He continues to promote the album, this time with a video for the song “Ultra Black.” Directed by Spike Jordan, the video boasts cameos from legendary Harlem designer Dapper Dan, Pyer Moss founder Kerby Jean-Raymond, and Hit-Boy himself, all while Nas celebrates the beauty of the homes in Black America. It follows a few families through their daily routines in the video, their lives painted in a beautiful light by Nas’ lyrics.
The video arrives after Nas clarified that his Doja Cat line on the song, which caused some controversy shortly after its release, was simply a result of lyrical wordplay. “I just really was saying a rhyme that rhymed with ‘Ultra Black.’ I rhymed that word with ‘ultra black,’” he explained. “It’s all love. […] It’s bars, it’s just lines. We play with words.”
Back in February, Chris Evans — one of the most likeable of the Avengers, which is saying something — made people mad. How? By taking a picture with Ted Cruz. Granted, it wasn’t just a photo with the controversial Senator and failed presidential candidate; Cruz’s daughter Caroline was in between them. But it seemed jarring that the very progressive former Captain America would willingly be within 30 miles of Cruz, let alone document it for posterity.
The incident, of course, was mostly forgotten, particularly as, well, other, more important matters took up our collective brain space. But half a year later, while chatting on The Daily Show, the actor opened up about it and attempted to explain his reasoning.
He had a couple excuses. “In that circumstance, it was a child,” Evans said, addressing Cruz’s daughter. “I’ll always take a picture with a kid.”
But that wasn’t all. Evans had also started a utopian (or maybe simply overly ambitious) political project called A Talking Point, which is described as a way to “create a bipartisan channel of communication and connectivity between Americans and their elected officials.” Naturally he’d wind up face-to-face with one of the GOP’s most prominent members. So he had another, deeper reason for the Cruz picture:
“[I]n general, just even sitting down with certain politicians ― there are certain people on the extremes of both parties who, there’s no wiggle room for that. And again, what I would argue is, look, if this person wasn’t in power, if this person wasn’t writing bills that affected your life, fine, we can shun them. You know what I mean? We can scream louder than them. But we can’t pretend they don’t have some sort of say, some sort of impact.”
In other words, he meant well. He even thinks it’s lofty to converse with someone with whom he, and many of his fans, vehemently disagree about, well, just about everything. Evans said he finds it “far more pernicious to become stubborn and retreat to your corner” instead of having a conversation, attempting to find “landscape of competing ideas,” as he puts it. “Because I think the other way just becomes cyclical, and everyone spirals, and no one listens, and I don’t think you move the ball down the field as effectively as you would if you say: OK, let’s just, you know … out-talk me.”
In any case, best of luck to Evans as he tries to do A Talking Point during what may be the most combative election season in recorded history!
You can watch the full interview in the video above. The Cruz business begins around the 5:43 mark.
The NBA announced that it will not hold today’s playoff games after several teams, starting with the Milwaukee Bucks, decided to boycott over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The coach of the L.A. Clippers, Doc Rivers, shared his reaction to the shooting, as well as to the country’s current unrest over racial injustice in a video that’s been shared widely. Steph Curry, who plays for the Golden State Warriors, wrote on Twitter, “Proud to know you @DocRivers. Sometimes we don’t know what to say every time this hurt happens. We Need Change! There is so much Truth in every Every word of this. Y’all wake up.”
Doc Rivers Delivers Emotional Speech On Jacob Blake
Coach Rivers explained the strangeness of the fearmongering coming from the president and the RNC when Black people are the ones who have always had reason to fear. He pointed out the hypocrisy in the way protests for Black Lives are met with riot gear versus the way men with guns who storm capitol buildings are handled with kid gloves by the police. But perhaps the most powerful moment came when he said, “It’s amazing to me…why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back.”
Proud to know you @DocRivers. Sometimes we don’t know what to say every time this hurt happens. We Need Change! The… https://t.co/NSnAIgiENM
As Doc Rivers said, “It’s really so sad. Like, I should just be a coach. And I’m so often reminded of my color. You know, it’s just really sad. We’ve got to do better. But we’ve got to demand better.”
We all need to demand better of our law enforcement system that enforces laws unevenly and of our justice system that serves justice unequally. “My dad was a cop,” said Rivers. “I believe in good cops. We’re not trying to defund them and take all their money away. We’re trying to get them to protect us, just like they protect everybody else.”
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Raise your hand if you want Tucker Carlson to be Fired.
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