Category: Worldwide

August 23 is the birthday of the late Kobe Bryant. The former Lakers star tragically died in a helicopter accident in January and while time presses on, much of the basketball world is still attempting to come to terms with Bryant’s death. An icon of the sport and an inspiration for many, Bryant was seen as a hero around the basketball world.

Many of those same athletes and organizations that revered Bryant took to Twitter to show their love for the player they loved. Across all of them, it was the same message. He was an inspiration to them and someone they wish they could get the chance to speak to once again.

Pau Gasol also offered a remembrance of his longtime friend and teammate, who he won two titles with in L.A.

Bryant was not just an inspiration to a legion of NBA stars, but he was among the most prominent and vocal supporters of the women’s game and the WNBA. On Sunday, many WNBA players were seen getting off their bus before their games in the WNBA Bubble at IMG Academy wearing Bryant’s jersey in tribute.

Jewell Lloyd, long a fan of Bryant, was also very close to him and saw him as a mentor. She tweeted a video showing her adoration for Bryant on Twitter.

This followed up a story done by The Undefeated that Lloyd also retweeted two days before where she spoke about the messages Bryant instilled in her.

There were of course many NBA players showing their adoration of Bryant through Twitter as well. You were able to see how far across the world Bryant touched from Nicolas Batum in France to Zach Lavine in Washington, and so many points in between.

Bryant was obviously respected by his peers throughout his playing days. One of his Western Conference adversaries, Dirk Nowitzki, showed his respect through a tweet of his own.

It’s clear that Bryant’s impact is still being felt across the NBA. His ability as not only a basketball player but as a person left an impact on many. An impact that is not going to fade anytime soon.

The Boston Celtics put the finishing touches on a sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers with a 19-2 run over the late third and early fourth quarter, en route to a 110-106 win that was not as close as that final score indicates. The win officially puts away a Sixers team that now enters a critical offseason.

The Sixers hoped the Bubble might bring them some health and a refresh after a year of stagnation, but once Ben Simmons’ season ended it felt an awful lot like another lost year in Philly for the hyper-talented, yet underachieving group. For Boston, they seemed to find their stride at just the right time, even amid the loss of Gordon Hayward for a month with a sprained ankle. Their three stars — Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kemba Walker — all took turns in this series giving the Sixers defense fits and now will look to a second round clash with the Toronto Raptors.

Here are three takeaways from this series, for Boston going forward in a quest to make the Finals and for Philadelphia entering an offseason of changes.

1. Tatum and Brown are the truth

Any questions about whether Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s growth this year would translate to the playoffs was answered emphatically in this series, as the two served as catalysts at various times for huge runs that gave Boston separation from Philly at key points — including the aforementioned run to end the third and start the fourth that proved to be the difference in Game 4.

Tatum finished the series averaging 27 points per game, while Brown chipped in 21.5 per as they continue to drive this Celtics offense, while also providing excellent defensive efforts on the other end.

Now the Celtics go from facing a team with a rather disjointed defense despite their talent in Philly to the most connected defense in the league in Toronto, and the tough-shot making of Tatum and Brown will be put to the ultimate test. They’ll face wave after wave of long, physical defenders from the Raptors, but they’ve proven more than capable of creating just enough space to take and make shots over the course of this year. The chess match between those two and the sensational Raptors defense figures to be the determining factor of that series, and will make for a delightful watch. The good news for Boston is it’d be hard for their two top stars to be in a better rhythm and have more confidence than they do right now coming out of a dominant first round performance.

2. How do the Celtics shift focus to a backcourt attack?

Boston is going to have to make a major shift in their defensive focus from this series, where it was all about Joel Embiid inside, to a Toronto team who are driven by their backcourt of Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet. Those two are playing like one of the league’s best backcourt duos and will look to go after Kemba Walker at the point of attack. With Simmons out, Philly lacked creation on the ball and it was clear how much that hurt them against Boston, as they struggled to get Embiid the ball where he needed it and also to alleviate the pressure on his shoulders.

Toronto does not have that problem in the slightest and it’ll be interesting how the Celtics shift their defensive philosophy. Brad Stevens and his staff had a terrific gameplan for this Sixers offense in place, and he made some great in-game tweaks whenever the Sixers would find a potential point of weakness. The Raptors are a much tougher task, however, and it’s now incumbent on Stevens and company to spend the next few days figuring out how to make life uncomfortable for Toronto’s two excellent creators.

3. Where do the Sixers go from here?

It is really hard to figure out what the path is for Philadelphia from here. A year ago they were four infamous bounces away from forcing OT in Game 7 against the eventual champs in the conference semis and now they’re out of the playoffs after four games. Brett Brown’s tenure as coach is almost assuredly over, but the questions extend far beyond questionable rotations and lineup choices to a roster that’s imbalanced and ill-fitting.

Does Elton Brand get another year as the general manager to try and fix things or do they replace him as well? Can Brand or a new GM find ways to shuffle the deck with Al Horford and Tobias Harris’ massive contracts in an offseason that may be short and with the league facing uncertainty about salary cap figures for the future? Can a new coach unlock a consistent offense from this group?

All of these questions hover over a team with two All-NBA talents in Embiid and Simmons, but one can’t help but wonder what another wasted year of their partnership might lead to in the near future.

Westside Gunn was preparing to release his debut album, Who Made The Sunshine, on Shady Records this Friday. The Buffalo-based rapper, however, will delay its release following the death of Griselda’s DJ Shay. Tragically passing due to the coronavirus, DJ Shay’s death has impacted the entire Griselda camp as Westside Gunn alluded to in the Instagram post announcing his death.

“U wanted this sh*t more than ALL of US, it wouldn’t be a Benny, WSG, Armani, Conway, BSF if it wasn’t for You,” he said in the post. In a new Instagram post, Westside Gunn looked to keep fans optimistic with a new update.

“First I wanna say thank u for All the love, support and prayers that has been giving, GRISELDA has the best fans in the world.. just wanna be the first to tell u my album @shadyrecords debut “WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE” has been postponed, we’ll be figuring out a date soon and I’ll keep u posted,” Westside said in the Instagram post.

While the delay may be a disappointment, the Griselda offered a silver lining for fans with the upcoming album. “Love to y’all and I Promise u this album will be coming soon and if Pray for Paris in your Top 5 this will be too this shit is amazing I Promise You.”

Who Made The Sunshine would be the rapper’s third release of the year follow Pray For Paris and Flygod Is An Awesome God.

The 76ers battled the Celtics on Sunday afternoon to keep their playoff hopes alive in Game 4 already down 3-0 to Boston in their first round series.

However, attention for Philly shifted to the health of Tobias Harris in the late third quarter of a three-point game when the forward had his legs taken out from under him as he jumped to challenge a Jayson Tatum layup and slammed into the floor headfirst in a terrifying moment. Harris would lay on the floor, bleeding profusely from near his left eye, for some time, but thankfully was able to get up and walk off the floor, holding a towel to his head as they looked to slow the bleeding. As fair warning, the video below is pretty graphic.

It was a very scary scene in the arena as Brett Brown and the Sixers trainers quickly rush over to Harris after Al Horford and the referee on the baseline immediately called for medical attention once they saw Harris on the floor writhing in pain. It’s always the greatest fear of a player to have their legs taken out from under them as they are jumping in traffic under the basket and Harris landing headfirst on the floor was very scary to see.

Harris received stitches for a laceration above his eye and was evaluated for a concussion, which he was cleared from as he was back on the bench and checked back in to the game at the 5:12 mark of the fourth quarter.

After a rather stunning performance in Game 2 of their first round series with the Clippers, the Mavs saw disaster strike in their Game 3 meeting. Not only did the Clippers run out to a 17-point lead through three quarters of play, but Luka Doncic hopped off the floor with a sprained left ankle.

He returned briefly, but again was forced to the back after being unable to move as he hoped and, while the Mavs bench battled admirably, Dallas dropped Game 3 and Doncic’s status for Game 4 was in question. The Mavs young star remained optimistic about his chances to play but was listed as a gametime decision for Sunday afternoon’s game, and after arriving to the arena on Sunday he was given the go-ahead to suit up for a pivotal Game 4.

Dallas obviously needs a win in this game to avoid a 3-1 deficit to one of the title co-favorites, and Doncic’s presence is critical to their chances. The question is whether that ankle, which he tweaked when slipping in Game 1 and then rolled badly in Game 3, will be able to hold up through this game without giving him any more problems.

They’ll need their bench and role players to be able to possibly take on bigger scoring loads if Doncic’s explosiveness to the rim is hampered by that left ankle, but they’ve proven capable of doing so thus far in the series.

Sarah Cooper’s viral videos impersonating Donald Trump may finally get the audience she’s apparently eluded all along: the current president of the United States. Donald Trump will apparently seek out Cooper’s videos now that they were brought up to him during an interview on Fox News on Sunday where he was encouraged to check them out.

Cooper’s Trump impersonation has made her a viral star in recent months, snagging an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and helping her secure both a Netflix special and the chance to turn her book into a CBS sitcom. But the videos, while hugely popular on social media sites like TikTok and Twitter, had apparently not crossed the feeds of Trump.

That changed on Sunday when the president was asked directly about Cooper in an interview on Fox News. Yahoo snagged video of a preview of that interview, which included an exchange between Trump and Steve Hilton. In it, Trump says he hasn’t seen the videos, but is encouraged to watch them even if they are not necessarily meant to show the president in a positive light.

Here’s how the exchange went down, as told by CNN:

“I have not, no,” Trump said, blank-faced. “I’d like to see them. Are they good or bad?”

Hilton told Trump he thought the president would find them very entertaining.

“OK, good! I’d like to see them,” Trump said. “If you’re saying they’re positive, I’d like to look. If they’re not positive….”

Hilton acknowledged that Cooper “doesn’t mean it to be positive.”

“I see,” Trump said. “Well, I’ll have to check it out.”

This certainly makes sense, as Trump’s social media presence is a tight circle of people expressing their support for him online. It’s a far cry from the other parts of the internet, where Cooper’s “How to Medical” video have garnered more than 20 million views. Cooper also appeared at the all-virtual Democratic National Convention last week, an event Trump claimed to watch but later incorrectly said the Democrats wiped the phrase “under God” from the pledge of allegiance when it was, in fact, not.

Many people have speculated online about whether Trump has seen her videos and, of course, what he thinks of them. According to the interview, he has not. But he definitely knows about them now.

Lil Mosey was finding success at every turn in his blossoming career thanks to his Gold-certified album Certified Hitmaker and his hit single, “Blueberry Faygo.” Unfortunately, Mosey ran into trouble with the law recently as the rapper was reportedly arrested last week for carrying a concealed weapon.

According to a report from TMZ, police officers pulled over his 2016 Cadillac after it was spotted driving without plates. After noticing a holster was in the driver’s seat, officers conducted a search within the vehicle and discovered three loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistols.

One of the pistols police officers discovered was in the possession of a juvenile who was reportedly in the vehicle with Mosey along with Mosey’s bodyguard. Another pistol was found in the glove box while the third one was found in the center console. In addition to the guns, officers also found four credit cards in the bodyguard’s backpack that were not registered to any of the occupants in the vehicle.

No one in the vehicle claimed to be responsible for the weapons found in the glove box and center console, and as a result, the three occupants in the vehicle were arrested and booked on felony concealed weapons charges. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office is reportedly reviewing the case prior to Mosey’s court date, which is reportedly next month.

Mosey’s arrest arrives after the rapper connect with Lil Baby for their “Back At It.”

[via TMZ]

DCFandome gave comic book folks plenty to get excited about while they endure a year without a proper Comic-Con, and the biggest news of the night was a first look at a trailer for Robert Pattinson’s turn as Bruce Wayne in The Batman. The dark look at a movie that’s less than a quarter filmed didn’t offer much narratively, but it did show some pretty brutal violence from the caped crusader and a bit of what Pattinson will sound like while in the costume.

There’s a lot to break down from the look we’re given, despite Pattinson’s reticence to speak about the movie and what’s included in it. But one thing fans immediately fixated on was a still that leaked early on Saturday, was quickly scrubbed from the internet and then indeed popped up in the trailer that was shown off to end the DCFandome event.

We get a look at this potential, well, look twice during the trailer. First, a pair of eyes watching a press conference from the shadows at the 1:05 mark. Later, there’s a scene where Pattinson arrives back at what’s almost certainly the Batcave and takes off his helmet to reveal a very dark look.

Many, including our own Kimberly Ricci, noted that it looked a lot like The Crow, the 1994 revenge film starring Brandon Lee. In the movie, Lee’s character is killed along with his fiancé, though he comes back from the dead to exact some very dark vengeance while sporting a visage that’s very similar to what Pattinson wears at times during the trailer.

Seven was another movie that people pointed out as seemingly referenced in the trailer as well.

As the trailer spread online, “The Crow” started to trend on Twitter, as many made the comparison between Pattinson’s look and the jolt of nostalgia it gave. As many pointed out, the use of a haunting Nirvana tune could also be another hint that the movie will rely on the aesthetic from The Crow, as it also had a haunting and very good soundtrack.

Others pointed out it’s not the first Batman movie to take some hints from makeup in The Crow, though the last time fans pointed it out it was for the bad guy, not Bruce Wayne.

We’ll have to rely a lot more on influence and intuition to learn more about what’s in store for this version of The Bat as production on the film remains on hold due to COVID-19, but Saturday certainly gave fans a lot to think over. And in this case, maybe a 90s classic to re-watch in anticipation of the next Batman movie’s release.

DCFandome gave comic book folks plenty to get excited about while they endure a year without a proper Comic-Con, and the biggest news of the night was a first look at a trailer for Robert Pattinson’s turn as Bruce Wayne in The Batman. The dark look at a movie that’s less than a quarter filmed didn’t offer much narratively, but it did show some pretty brutal violence from the caped crusader and a bit of what Pattinson will sound like while in the costume.

There’s a lot to break down from the look we’re given, despite Pattinson’s reticence to speak about the movie and what’s included in it. But one thing fans immediately fixated on was a still that leaked early on Saturday, was quickly scrubbed from the internet and then indeed popped up in the trailer that was shown off to end the DCFandome event.

We get a look at this potential, well, look twice during the trailer. First, a pair of eyes watching a press conference from the shadows at the 1:05 mark. Later, there’s a scene where Pattinson arrives back at what’s almost certainly the Batcave and takes off his helmet to reveal a very dark look.

Many, including our own Kimberly Ricci, noted that it looked a lot like The Crow, the 1994 revenge film starring Brandon Lee. In the movie, Lee’s character is killed along with his fiancé, though he comes back from the dead to exact some very dark vengeance while sporting a visage that’s very similar to what Pattinson wears at times during the trailer.

Seven was another movie that people pointed out as seemingly referenced in the trailer as well.

As the trailer spread online, “The Crow” started to trend on Twitter, as many made the comparison between Pattinson’s look and the jolt of nostalgia it gave. As many pointed out, the use of a haunting Nirvana tune could also be another hint that the movie will rely on the aesthetic from The Crow, as it also had a haunting and very good soundtrack.

Others pointed out it’s not the first Batman movie to take some hints from makeup in The Crow, though the last time fans pointed it out it was for the bad guy, not Bruce Wayne.

We’ll have to rely a lot more on influence and intuition to learn more about what’s in store for this version of The Bat as production on the film remains on hold due to COVID-19, but Saturday certainly gave fans a lot to think over. And in this case, maybe a 90s classic to re-watch in anticipation of the next Batman movie’s release.

We have written about the father of Macaulay and Kieran Culkin before, when Macaulay was on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron several years ago. According to Macaulay, their father, Kit, was “a bad abusive man,” with whom Macaulay severed all contact after his parent’s divorce. Macaulay remains estranged from him to this day.

I am weirdly fascinated with Macaulay Culkin’s father, Kit, and so clearly is Marc Maron, who had Kieran on his WTF Podcast this week. At the outset, Maron said to Kieran, “I know you and your siblings don’t like to talk about your old man, but… ” and then proceeded to talk about Kieran’s father for the next 20 minutes. Kieran, however, was game, and said at one point that it was fun to talk about his father with someone for the first time in years.

Kieren didn’t get into his father’s abuse as Macaulay had, but Kieran echoed something that Macaulay had told Maron about his experiences with his father: “I’m going around the country locked in a room with a man who didn’t like me,” Macaulay had said. Meanwhile, Kieran also didn’t like to be trapped in hotel rooms with his father, but for different reasons. “He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t really bathe,” Kieran told Maron. “One of those guys who, if you try to tell him he stinks, says, ‘I smell human.’ It sounds like I’m exaggerating, but he wouldn’t bathe but maybe once a year, he would take a bath. That is true. He just didn’t bathe.”

Kieran recalls a story, in fact, when his father took a bath while he and his siblings were at school, and “my sister Cody, she was a teenager, she walked in, smelled the air, and said, ‘Eww. Did Dad take a bath?’ And I remember seeing layers of dirt film on the side of the tub. He was just an offensive man.”

Ironically, their father was a failed actor, although Maron wondered if the fact that he didn’t bathe might have contributed to his inability to land a role. “He would have been really good as a homeless guy,” Kieran said. “My mom said, when she met him, she asked him what he did, and when he said he was an actor, she immediately looked at his teeth and thought he must be lying. He had teeth growing in sideways and they were yellow and falling out. He was also afraid of the dentist.”

Kit Culkin sounds like a real character. There are photos of him in his 70s floating around the Internet, which seem to echo Kieran’s description. Kieran, like Macaulay, remains estranged from their father, although Kieran did say that he came and saw him at a Broadway play about six years ago. It was the first time he’d seen his father in 16 or 17 years. “Holy sh*t, you really let yourself get old,” was the first thing that Kieran said to his father.

“I did, Kieran. I did,” he replied with a dead serious tone. Kieran hasn’t spoken to his father since, although Kit Culkin will get a chance to see his son at the Emmy Awards on television early next month, where he’ll be up for Best Supporting Actor in a drama.

Source: WTF with Marc Maron