Category: Worldwide

Three and a half years after his third album, The Weeknd returned in March with his fourth effort, After Hours. If the Canadian singer had it his way, he would have embarked on a massive North American and European tour starting this summer, but unfortunately the pandemic happened. However, nearly five months after After Hours‘ release, The Weeknd got a chance to perform songs from it thanks to Tik Tok.

Promoted as the “first-ever in-app cross reality experience,” The Weeknd jumped into the virtual world to perform for fans in a concert he dubbed The Weeknd Experience. It only lasted 15 minutes, but in that time the singer tapped into songs not only off After Hours but also tracks like “Pray For Me,” his collaboration with Kendrick Lamar off of the Black Panther soundtrack. To top it all off, The Weeknd also previewed a new, untitled song for fans. The track sounds like it may have been an After Hours leftover, as its production fit the album’s overall sound.

The new track also arrives just a day after The Weeknd released a new collaboration with the late rapper Juice WRLD, called “Smile.”

You can listen to the unreleased track in the tweet above.

In what was being heavily-billed as a potential Eastern Conference second-round preview, the Raptors and Celtics squared off in Orlando on Friday night, each eager to send a message and assert their dominance, but in the end, it was Boston who did precisely that with a 122-100 blowout win over Toronto.

Jaylen Brown had the hot hand for Boston, leading seven players in double-digit scoring with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three. Jayson Tatum added 18 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Daniel Theis logged a big double with 11 points and 11 boards and knocked down two of his four three-point attempts.

Toronto was unbeaten going into their tilt against the Celtics, having firmly re-established their status as the reigning champs through the first week of action in the bubble and already secured the No. 2 seed, as they held a 4.5 lead over Boston in the East standings.

But the Celtics reminded them that the road through the East won’t be a cakewalk as they were able to badger the Raptors into a horrific shooting night. Toronto went 10-of-38 from three-point range overall for the game, which started with a brutal 1-10 in the opening quarter. Boston didn’t fare much better early on, starting the game 3-of-10 from the field.

The Celtics eventually turned on the jets and took a 31-16 lead early in the second quarter, but it was Kyle Lowry (11 points) and and Fred VanVleet (13 points) who finally showed some signs of life, leading a 7-0 run to briefly cut the lead to single digits.

The first half didn’t offer many Raptors highlights, but it did give us this beautiful pass from Marc Gasol to a cutting VanVleet for the layup.

More credit needs to be given to Gasol for the pass. Wasn’t quite a one-timer but he knew before VanVleet did pic.twitter.com/5yJU9GPd7F

— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) August 8, 2020

Theis led the way for the Celtics in the first half, scoring all of his 11 points before halftime and knocking down two of his four three-point attempts.

.@dtheis10 is doing it all tonight pic.twitter.com/LvhCCspbMS

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 8, 2020

Overall, the Raptors shot just 31 percent in the first half, including 3-of-18 from behind the arc. But Toronto came out with a lot more energy to start the third quarter and was able to briefly cut the lead to 10 behind a 6-0 run, capped off by a nice steal by VanVleet on Walker.

Fred VanVleet ripped Kemba pic.twitter.com/YMeg0QBYyr

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 8, 2020

But that turned out to be short-lived. Things got ugly quick after halftime, behind what ended up being a 36-12 run in the third quarter for the Celtics to push the lead to 91-57 going into the final frame, thanks to some hot play from Kemba Walker (17 points, four assists) and Tatum.

even through contact, @KembaWalker‘s gonna get his pic.twitter.com/Xz4TC2cOIE

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 8, 2020

They did it in part by going 7-of-11 from long-range in the quarter, with everybody getting in on the action from distance.

AUTOMATICpic.twitter.com/mWiCrk6ZKD

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 8, 2020

Toronto waived the white flag after that and took their first loss of the restart, with Boston moving to 3-2 in Orlando. The loss makes the Phoenix Suns the last undefeated team in the bubble.

Look, it’s one week of official games in the bubble and things are getting a tiny bit slow. It doesn’t mean things aren’t going to pick back up again, but so far guys have cooled it on going down waterslides at 3 p.m. because they are probably practicing instead. It’s one of the pitfalls of this industry, the chronicling downtime of professional athletes trapped in an experimental bubble industry, but it won’t alter in any way the frequency or quality of my work. You’ve got my word on that.

Otherwise, the biggest developments this week were night swims and general submersion after dark, a recurring appearance of one very bold duck, and shoes with fake pieces of fried chicken on them. Let’s see!

Victor Oladipo

Let’s start with a snack. Victor Oladipo sat down at one of the many restaurants housed in the Grand Floridian alongside teammate, Jeremy Lamb, and very quickly became transfixed and mildly obsessed with the apple creature creation set down in front of Lamb. Which, fair. Is this on the menu? Is it off menu, like a secret specialty? Did someone send this out just for them, or does every table get one? Is there just one artist back in the kitchen whose job it is to create creatures out of fruit, because if so, I can tell you right now this mystery master with a paring knife might be better suited for a gig with a subsidiary of Disney, The Jim Henson Company.

Rating: Who ate the head with its innocent, trusting eyes first?

Al Horford

It’s nice to see Horford spending his down time really MILKING the endorsements. No, honestly, chocolate milk is a wonderful, quenching drink, best served in a chalice balanced in one hand by Al Horford which he works a basketball in the other. But it’s also fine right from the carton.

Rating: This is not a paid promotion but Milk, if you would like it to be, my hands are just as hot as Horford’s only with clankin’ keys instead of threes.

Bradley Beal

It’s been nice to see the hobbies guys are getting into as their downtime dwindles, or else falls at really strange times where going out to sit by the pool at midnight (though that is coming up a little later) might not be the best choice. Beal has a drawing tablet and he has been sketching his heart out. Most notably, this vaguely menacing Mickey.

Rating: Do Scott Brooks next.

Donovan Mitchell

Ice baths to athletes are a lot like the call of the wild, or is it the call of nature? Anyway when they call, you need to answer. Time, place, outdoor conditions all may be unideal, but guys have to bravely ford their icy waters, much like early pioneers. Mitchell had to sit in one this week in the pouring rain as the tail end of Hurricane Isaias skimmed by Orlando. I wonder if it would be less painful, to have tropical rain hitting you as your lower half slowly froze? Or would it put your senses on an even higher alert?

Rating: I hope someone was handing him dry towels, at least.

Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic

The 24/7 ice baths continue with a solid chunk of the Blazers sitting in them after midnight. This felt a lot like a summer camp escapade because they chronicles their journey from arena, via golf carts, over to where the baths were being set up, and it was all filmed by Nurkic in black and white which sort of made it seem like a night vision camera. That’s why Damian Lillard looks like a Dracula. That’s the only reason!

Rating: They had fun.

P.J. Tucker

Tucker continued to maintain an immaculate sense of self in the bubble this week, operating truly at his own pace, with his own preferences. The preferences in this case being extremely expensive, very old vintage wines. We know some players brought portable hyperbaric chambers into the bubble for their rooms, what we don’t know is if they have a wine cellar equivalent setting.

Rating: P.J.’s wine plug is putting in more work than James Harden in keeping Rockets basketball entirely efficient and completely joyless.

Malcolm Miller

Somebody’s made a good friend in room service.

Rating: Watch for “Famous Amos” to be the next track Dame drops from the bubble.

Jaren Jackson Jr.

I guess I take back completely what I said earlier about players’ poolside habits needing to change or not being that convenient. A good motto to live by is the one on display here by Jackson: When you want to go to the pool, go to the pool. Pool closure hours are another tool by a capitalistic society trying to keep us ignorant of the pleasures of lying beside one after dark.

Rating: Can you “close” water? Can you tell the ocean to cool it? Pool anarchy now.

Hassan Whiteside

Whiteside has traveled a lot of new roads of personal growth and discovery in the bubble. First, the joy of Rick Springfield, and now, a new and potentially disastrous relationship.

Rating: Summer loves weren’t meant to last forever.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai took his braids out this week.

Rating: He got them redone in time for his next game but for a little while Afro Shai was out there, just living.

Chris Boucher

The good news for fans of this column and the bad news for the storage capacity of my phone is that I finally learned how to screen record, and here is the inaugural treasure I present to you. Boucher, like many, probably all, is getting a little bored in the bubble. He remedied this by slapping on a spooky eyeball filter and juxtaposing that with one of the most soothing songs of all time. The results? Mesmerizing.

Rating: You’re gonna watch this 15 times.

Josh Richardson

Not sure if this nickname will stick on court but godspeed to Richardson who, hopefully, got something else to stick off it.

Rating: Lotion, I mean lotion. For his legs.

Josh Okogie

While NBA Wine Guys is a club that meets regularly, it is also a state of mind untethered by schedule. Here, Okogie put that ethos on display while dipping his legs in the heavenly and heavily chlorinated hotel pool waters with a nice nightcap of vino, a Cabernet to be precise.

Rating: Cheers to you, Josh, I’m sure P.J. will share his $500 bottle of Cab Sauv with you.

Troy Daniels

Daniels received one of the most simultaneously thoughtful and disgusting gifts of all time this week, Crocs covered in KFC. The all over print monstrosities even have little fake pieces of fried chicken affixed to their toes and came in a plexiglass case with gold inlay. No sightings yet of him wearing them around the grounds which is probably for the best in case a real croc laid its googly eyes on them.

Rating: This is what people mean when they say someone couldn’t buy a bucket.

BONUS: The Grand Floridian Mallard Duck

This duck has been popping up in a lot of places, and Luka Doncic has grown pretty fond of it, so I decided to dig a little deeper to get the facts. It turns out the duck in question, a female mallard, has only been popping up at the Grand Floridian, where both Luka Doncic and Malcolm Brogdon are staying. Is “Roso,” what Doncic calls the friendly mallard here, Slovenian slang for duck? You’ll be happy to know that by watching the Slovenian intro to the hit Disney show, Ducktales, I’ve deduced it isn’t. Anyway the most conclusive findings are that this is a pretty cute and fearless duck and I’m glad the Nuggets aren’t staying at her hotel so she won’t see Troy Daniels’ chicken sandals and get scared.

The Brooklyn Nets have been one of the more pleasant surprises of the NBA restart in Orlando. Despite a severely-depleted roster, they’ve won three out of their first five games, including a big upset victory over the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks earlier this week.

On Friday, they clinched a playoff spot with a 119-106 win over the Sacramento Kings, thus securing the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference standings and avoiding a potentially nail-biting play-in scenario with either the Magic or the Wizards for the last remaining playoff spot.

In the process, they helped earn Kevin Durant a hefty bonus that was built into his contract before last season, a reported $1 million incentive or making the postseason.

Kevin Durant has earned a $1M bonus with Brooklyn now clinching a playoff spot. The bonus before the season was considered likely and will not impact his $40.1M cap hit for 2020-21. https://t.co/lwhsuuIgFR

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 7, 2020

Kevin Durant, who is still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered during last season’s Finals, is receiving the bonus despite not playing for Brooklyn at all this season or participating in the restart in Orlando. He is, however, expected to suit up for the Nets next season, although there is no clear timetable on when he — or the next NBA season — returns.

Inside the NBA rarely lets us down. On Thursday night, Charles Barkley and company treated us to a demonstration of his memory capacity (or lackthereof), and the results were just about what you’d expect. They were back at it again for Friday night’s busy dlate of action, but this time with a special guest host on the panel.

Draymond Green joined the crew, and didn’t take long before the fireworks started. The Warriors forward has something of a checkered history with Barkley, as the two have traded barbs in the media after Green expressed his displeasure with Barkley’s criticism.

During one of the opening segments, Barkley took a moment to discuss the late-game matchup between the Celtics and the Raptors, and in the process waxed philosophical about the general problem of having a big man on your team who can’t shoot and how that allows opposing defenses to cheat off of them.

That clearly hit a little too close to home for Draymond, who apparently read it as a direct criticism of his own play within the Warriors and didn’t waste any time before calling Barkley on it, leading to a wonderfully-awkward TV moment that was enough to make anyone squirm.

“You taking shots, Chuck?”

Draymond Green vs. Charles Barkley on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/R6eLr2rd6v

— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) August 7, 2020

And he wasn’t finished there. Not by a long shot. When the subject of the red-hot Suns came up, Draymond came right out and called for Devin Booker to get out of Phoenix.

“Get my man out of Phoenix.”

Draymond wants D-Book to flourish somewhere else.

(via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/GV4ojWeV8o

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 7, 2020

Of course, he didn’t miss that opportunity to use it as another roundabout shot at Chuck, who spent the better part of his career with the organization. But the absolute best part came toward the end, when Ernie asked him if he was tampering, to which he replied simply and honestly, “maybe.”

Whether the league will have something to say about it remains to be seen, but Draymond’s TNT appearance has been eventful, to say the least.

Yakko, Wakko and Dot are all coming back and they’re already gotten the green light from Hulu for a second revived season. The beloved animated show is coming back with new episodes, the most notable of shows reportedly getting release dates from the streaming service on Thursday.

According to TV Line, Hulu has slated the revival of the WB cartoon for November 20, with a new season of the show coming for the first time since 1998.

The 13-episode first season also welcomes back iconic Animaniacs characters, including Pinky and the Brain. (Also worth noting: The show has already been renewed for a 13-episode second season, set to premiere in 2021.) Steven Spielberg is executive-producing, alongside Sam Register, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey and Wellesley Wild.

Animaniacs was stuck on 99 episodes for decades, first premiering in 1993 and airing on both Fox Kids and Kids WB. News of a second season already on the way is certainly exciting for fans, as it means seeing more of the Spielberg-produced show won’t rely on it getting a huge number of eyeballs this fall. Some of the show’s bits are still beloved to this day, and the news that Pinky and The Brain are back as well gives considerable hope that the show’s vibe remains the same on the streaming giant. Hulu celebrated the news by dropping an audio message from Tress MacNeille, who voices Dot, on Twitter.

The news comes with two other land-baed shows hitting Hulu later in 2020 as well, with Monsterland (Oct. 2) and No Man’s Land (Nov. 18) also on the schedule for the streaming service.

The best new hip-hop albums coming out this week include projects from Aminé, Gashi, Lil Keed, and NLE Choppa.

Batten down the hatches, folks. This week may seem a little light on big-name releases from established faves, but next Friday, a torrent of content is coming over the horizon, including projects from the likes of Young Dolph, Coi Leray, Boldy James, and many, many more. So for now, let’s all enjoy the space we have to fully process this week’s spate of releases, which also offers the deluxe version of Rod Wave’s excellent Pray 4 Love.

Here are all the best new hip-hop albums coming out this week.

Aminé — Limbo

The highlight of the week is Portland’s own quirky, funny, surprisingly insightful Aminé. Building on the success of “Caroline” and “Reel It In,” tracks like “Complicated” and “Woodlawn” may be the highlights for longtime fans, but Aminé also has plenty to say on “Becky,” “Fetus,” and “Mama.” With a guestlist that includes Charlie Wilson(!), JID, Summer Walker, Vince Staples, and Young Thug, the 40-minute set has enough star power to turn heads, but it’s the principal artist who holds court, offering up his unique Northwestern outlook on growing up without getting old.

Gashi — 1984

Known primarily for his party-ready pop rap anthems, Gashi tries a new trick on his latest, offering up ’80s-esque dance pop and surprising guest stars like Sting(!!), Njomza, and Pink Sweats. Trading in fist-pumping for two-stepping, Gashi’s retrowave approach may not qualify as hip-hop in the strictest sense, but the sensibilities he developed over his previous projects like 2016’s Stairs and 2019’s Gashi are in evidence, lending a streetwise attitude to the synthy production.

Lil Keed — Trapped On Cleveland 3

Ahead of the release of his latest, Atlanta’s Lil Keed boldly predicted it’d be going platinum. That may be the case, as he continues to display the clear charisma that made him one of the standout members of Young Thug’s YSL Records crew and earned the blessing of Drake. His sing-rapping is slathered over some of most hypnotic trap beats to utilize the 808 kit, while appearances from some of the subgenre’s biggest names — Future, Gunna, Lil Baby, Travis Scott, Young Thug — will ensure that curious fans will at least be willing to check it out. Keed’s slick flows, a smart update of the style pioneered by his mentor Thug, will keep them listening.

NLE Choppa — Top Shotta

One of the most anticipated projects of the week, Top Shotta finds NLE Choppa delivering the promise of his “Top Shotta Flow” freestyles and a year of build up that included the Cottonwood EP and a flurry of singles with big-name co-signers such as Lil Baby and Roddy Ricch. Choppa’s signature energy remains the highlight of the project, as the 17-year-old star taps into some of the most bass-heavy beats his squad of trap producers (Budda Beats, Quay Global, and more) can cook up and jab-steps all over them with all the nimbleness of his youthful dance steps.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Former President George W. Bush and current president Donald Trump may both be Republicans but they have contrasting views when it comes to immigration.

Trump has been one of the most anti-immigrant presidents of recent memory. His Administration separated undocumented families at the border, placed bans on travelers from majority-Muslim countries, and he’s proudly proclaimed, “Our country is full.”

George W. Bush’s legacy on immigration is a bit more nuanced. He ended catch-and-release and called for heightened security at the U.S.-Mexico border, but he also championed an immigration bill that created a guest worker program and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented people.

Unfortunately, that bill did not pass.

Bush has alluded to his disagreement with Trump over immigration policies in an interview with People in 2017.

“I don’t like the racism and the name-calling, and I don’t like the people feeling alienated,” Bush said. “I didn’t feel like speaking out before because I didn’t want to complicate the job. However, at the Bush Center, we are speaking up … through actions defending the values important to Laura and me.”

via Crown

Bush is celebrating American immigrants with a new book of paintings “Out Of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants” which will be published on March 2. It includes 43 portraits by the 43rd president. Many of the subjects are people he knows personally.

It’s hard not to notice the political statement the book makes coming out at time when the current Republican president, and party at-large have, made anti-immigrant sentiment a big part of their collective identity.

“While I recognize that immigration can be an emotional issue, I reject the premise that it is a partisan issue. It is perhaps the most American of issues, and it should be one that unites us,” Bush writes in the new book’s introduction.

“My hope is that this book will help focus our collective attention on the positive impacts that immigrants are making on our country,” he adds.

The book will serve as a companion piece for Bus’s upcoming art exhibition at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas.

“Both ‘Out of Many, One” and the exhibition of the same name will include bold, principle-based solutions that comprehensively address the current debate on immigration,” Crown, the book’s publisher, says.

“At the heart of the recommendations is the belief that every year that passes without reforming the nation’s broken system means missed opportunities to ensure the future prosperity, vitality, and security of our country,” the statement continues.

A portion of the proceeds from “Out of Many, One” will go to help immigrants resettle.

Bush’s persona as president was a tough-talking Texan, so his love for painting has been a rather surprising development in his post-presidential life.

He was inspired to paint after learning of Winston Churchill’s love of the art. His passion for painting became public knowledge after his sister’s email was hacked in 2013, revealing some of his artwork.

Since, he’s been very public about his hobby, publishing a book of paintings of military veterans, “Portraits of Courage,” in 2017.

“It keeps me active, so I’m not on the couch chewing potato chips all the time,” Bush said according to CNN. “It’s one of the great learning experiences.”

Roland Pollard and his 4-year-old daughter Jayden have been doing cheer and tumbling stunts together since Jayden could walk. When you see videos of their skills, the level of commitment is apparent—as is the supportive relationship this daddy has with his daughter.

Pollard, a former competitive cheerleader and cheer coach, told In The Know that he didn’t expect Jayden to catch on to her flying skills at age 3, but she did. He said he never pressures her to perform stunts and that she enjoys it. And as a viral video of Jayden almost falling during a stunt shows, excelling at a skill requires good teaching—something Pollard appears to have mastered.

Twitter user Toya Rochelle shared a TikTok video of Pollard’s in which Jayden makes a mistake on a move and falls. Pollard first checked to make sure she was okay. Then he matter-of-factly pointed out the mistake and explained the importance of listening to instructions, while also letting her know that he wasn’t going to let her fall. “Daddy will always save you,” he said.

Once she was calm and they’d talked through what happened, they tried again. This time, with success.

Another Twitter user pointed out that there was more video that followed this interaction, showing how sweet this dad-daughter duo’s relationship really is. After a high-five and an “I’m so proud of you,” Pollard asked if Jayden was ready to go get some ice cream, but she just wanted to go home and have some real food. Really, it’s the little things in their exchange that are the sweetest. For instance, she accidentally kicks him when he puts her on his shoulders and says, “Sorry,” and he instantly responds, “That’s okay.” So calm, so considerate. It’s clear that there’s no shortage of love, trust and security here.

Some watching the videos may feel that these kinds of cheer moves are too dangerous for a child. In an interview with E! News, Pollard explained that despite how the stunts may look to the public, he wouldn’t let anything happen to Jayden.

“I believe that fear is a taught or learned trait and I’ve never given her a reason to be afraid,” he said. “Any flyer I have trained knows that I will catch them if anything tragic goes wrong. She doesn’t necessarily push me directly, but when I see she gets a skill down, I always try and make it harder. I love my daughter with all of my heart and would never put her at risk.”

He also said he always tells her “Good job, mama!” after every stunt. “Before every stunt, I tell her I love her and give her a kiss for reassurance,” he added. “We call it ‘hardwood floor talk.'”

The march toward the legalization of psilocybin continues! For the first time in the country’s history, the Canadian government is allowing terminal cancer patients to legally consume psilocybin as part of their end-of-life care, Vice reports. On Tuesday, Canada’s Health Minister Patty Hadju officially approved the consumption of magic mushrooms for four people who have been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Currently both psilocybin and psilocin, the psychedelic compounds that give magic mushrooms their “magic,” are prohibited under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and (unlike the cities of Oakland and Denver here in the states) don’t enjoy any sort of legalized or decriminalized status outside of clinical trials. According to TheraPsil, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the medical benefits of psychedelics, this is the first time an exemption has been specifically granted for the consumption of psilocybin mushrooms and is a huge win for advocates of psychedelic therapy as part of end-of-life care.

A small FDA-approved clinical trial published in 2016 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that psilocybin was shown to be an effective treatment for those with terminal cancer who were experiencing distress and depression as a result of their prognosis. The study found that after the consumption of psilocybin, anxiety, and depression were greatly reduced, with 80% of people showing sustained benefits as far as seven months later. Feelings of demoralization and hopelessness were improved immediately, and 90% of participants reported that it improved their overall life satisfaction. While the clinical trial was limited to just 29 people, the results are promising enough to warrant more research into psilocybin’s anti-depression benefits.

Vice notes that permission to use psilocybin in Canada for the four patients was granted under a section 56 exemption to the country’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which is notable as being the same type of exemption that was used to kick off the legalization of cannabis for medicinal purposes in Canada, and as we’ve covered before in relation to cannabis, medical legalization and decriminalization are the first steps towards recreational legalization.

In short… get ready for some shrooming.