Category: Worldwide

The 2020 NBA Draft Lottery took place on Thursday night, and after the ping pong balls did their thing, the Timberwolves found themselves sitting with the No. 1 pick in this October’s Draft. The Warriors will follow them with the No. 2 pick in the Draft, while the Hornets sit in third and Bulls sit in fourth having both jumped over the Knicks in the lottery, leaving New York picking eighth. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Draft Lottery occurred virtually as opposed to in a conference room in a Manhattan hotel, with Mark Tatum delivering the pick order from Secaucus, New Jersey.

Here’s how the entire Lottery will break down:

1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Golden State Warriors
3. Charlotte Hornets
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Detroit Pistons
8. New York Knicks
9. Washington Wizards
10. Phoenix Suns
11. San Antonio Spurs
12. Sacramento Kings
13. New Orleans Pelicans
14. Boston Celtics (via Grizzlies)

With tiebreakers being settled last week, we now know exactly what the first round order will look like in mid-October (at least until trades begin happening).

15. Magic
16. Trail Blazers
17. Timberwolves (via Nets via Hawks)
18. Mavericks
19. Nets (via 76ers via Clippers)
20. Miami
21. 76ers (via Thunder via 76ers via Magic)
22. Nuggets (via Rockets)
23. Jazz
24. Bucks (via Pacers)
25. Thunder (via Nuggets)
26. Celtics
27. Knicks (via Clippers)
28. Lakers
29. Raptors
30. Celtics (via Bucks via Suns)

Unlike the 2019 Draft, in which Zion Williamson and Ja Morant were viewed as no-brainer options to go with the top picks, this Draft lacks a clear-cut No. 1 pick. Names like Anthony Edwards of Georgia, James Wiseman of Memphis, and LaMelo Ball of the Illawarra Hawks have been mentioned as potential top options, while this Draft’s depth has been especially praised. For the Wolves, they now have a fascinating decision to make, as they already have Russell as their lead scoring guard and Karl-Anthony Towns as an offensive marvel. Given the makeup of the top of this draft, there’s not a clear perfect fit, but Edwards and Ball will likely be the widely projected two potential picks of Minnesota if they don’t shop it around — as Golden State almost assuredly will be doing with the No. 2 overall pick.

The 2020 NBA Draft is scheduled to take place on Friday, Oct. 16.

Last night, SZA took to Twitter to voice her frustrations with her label, Top Dawg Entertainment. In the now-deleted tweets, SZA directed fans to ask TDE president Punch to release her music as fans have been waiting for a new release since her 2017 album, Ctrl.

When a fan shared a screenshot with her proving requests have been made to Punch, but to no avail, SZA responded with additional frustration saying, “This is all he says to me as well. Welcome to my f*cking life .” Despite describing her relationship with Punch as “hostile,” SZA has returned to Twitter with an update now that the dust has settled.

Responding to tweets calling for her freedom from the label, SZA denies being held “hostage” by TDE. “Don’t nobody need to free me Lmao I’m not held hostage n neither is my music!!,” she said in one tweet. “Me n punch be disagreeing ..hes never steered me wrong and I trust Gods timing.”

In a pair of tweets following the first post, SZA would explain the turnaround from her tweets the night before. “Lmao when u don’t get somewhere By urself u can’t always make ALL the decisions by urself. And das ok,” she said in the tweet. “Sometimes u gotta be patient .. sometimes no is a blessing… i trust the ppl around me… And by being patient I mean ME !! I gotta learn it. *paaatience paaaatience paaatience is a virtue*”

Contrary to the thinking at the start of 2020, it’s been a quiet year for TDE as many of the artists who had confirmed or were rumored for 2020 releases, like Reason, Schoolboy Q, and Kendrick Lamar, have yet to reveal much info about their albums. This may be a result of the pandemic that has affected all corners of the music industry, of course, but it remains to be seen if TDE will come through with some 2020 releases or continue to leave fans waiting.

The Milwaukee Bucks got surprised by the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, falling in Game 1 of their 1-8 series matchup. There wasn’t concern, necessarily, but there was some curiosity about what the Bucks would do in Game 2, as they looked a bit lethargic during the seeding games in the Bubble.

The answer: A 111-96 win in which Giannis Antetokounmpo went for 28 points, 20 rebounds, and five assists. The Magic put up a fight, but it was not quite enough after an abysmal first quarter. Before all eyes turn to Game 3 to see if the Bucks have found their way, we looked back on everything what happened on Thursday evening.

The Bucks Needed That

It wasn’t that Milwaukee lost a game in this series — which, to be clear, it should have swept — it’s that the team lose Game 1 after going 3-5 during its seeding games and looking vulnerable for the first time all season. The Bucks are a team that is reliant on its rhythm. The high-powered offense needs to be in a certain groove as it fires dozens of threes a game. The defense needs to be a collection of five players working in harmony. That wasn’t always happening during the seeding games, and during Game 1, that same thing happened against the Magic.

To try and make up for this, the Bucks came out and put the clamps on Orlando from the very start. The Magic had more turnovers (5) and personal fouls (4) than made field goals in the first quarter, going 3-for-24 in the frame. Milwaukee led by 12 at the end of the quarter, 21 at the end of the first half, and despite a few little flurries from Steve Clifford’s side in the third and fourth quarters, were able to come out on top.

Picking up a win was important for Milwaukee regardless, but picking up a relatively comfortable win in which they found the rhythm that they rode to the best regular season record in the league was quite important. Now, it’s on them to take care of business three more times in this series before moving onto the conference semis.

Khris Middleton Needs To Find His Shot

Middleton is an absolutely wonderful basketball player — he did not make back-to-back All-Star Games and get handed a monster contract last offseason on accident. He is crucial to what the Bucks try to do, especially on offense, where his ability to hit shots and act as a creator is crucial to making sure the entire machine is humming.

While Middleton is playing hard and doing some things well — he’s averaging 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in two games this series — his shot has abandoned him through two games. In Game 1, he went for 14 points on 4-for-12 shooting from the field and 2-for-6 shooting from three. Game 2 was even worse: two points, 1-for-8 shooting from the field, 0-for-4 from deep.

This will maybe get it done against Orlando, but against Boston or Miami or Toronto, it’s a recipe for disaster. Watch him in Game 3. It might be in Milwaukee’s best interest to get him in a groove.

The Magic Can Win At Least One More In This Series

These guys play hard as hell, man. Orlando’s offense is very, very reliant on Nikola Vucevic being able to go to work against a stout Milwaukee interior defense, and he managed to do this on Thursday with 32 points and 10 rebounds. From there, they really need at least one of Terrence Ross or Evan Fournier to get hot, and for the backcourt duo of D.J. Augustin and Markelle Fultz to hit shots when they are available.

Their first half was absolutely wretched, and as such, they needed a whole lot to go right if they wanted to win on Thursday. That did not happen. But they did hold the Bucks to 36.6 percent shooting from three, force 20 turnovers, and get to the free throw line 31 times. With how hard they play, how they are able to defend, and the possibility that they add a very good player to their rotation in Aaron Gordon if he can return from injury, they can take at least another game off of Milwaukee.

Sarah Cooper may be best known online for her lip synch videos of Donald Trump, but her prior works are also getting the benefit of her newfound burst of fame. Cooper has parlayed her internet fame into a number of appearances on TV, including a guest spot hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live. But the latest news for the comedian is that her 2018 book will be adapted for television.

Variety reported on Thursday that Cooper’s book, “How To Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings,” would be turned into a sitcom on CBS, with Cooper co-writing and executive producing the series.

In a competitive situation with a penalty attached, Cooper is attached to co-write and executive produce the potential series, with Cindy Chupack onboard as co-writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Nina Tassler, Denise Di Novi, and Joan Boorstein will executive produce under their PatMa Productions banner. CBS Television Studios, where PatMa is under an overall deal, will produce.

The series would follow three women at different stages in their careers at a male-dominated company as they help each other navigate modern gender politics in their careers and in their personal lives.

Variety noted that Chupack has worked on a variety of hits, including Emmy-winning work on Sex and the City and Modern Family. It’s the latest bit of good news for Cooper that comes on the heels of her Netflix special, which is slated to arrive this fall. She’s also reportedly writing her third book, an autobiographical take on Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” for Audible.

[via Variety]

Despite just 24 hours of promotion prior to its release, Taylor Swift’s Folklore album has given her plenty of reasons to celebrate in the near-month following its release. Coming off its third week atop the Billboard album charts, Swift decided to gift indie record stores with a pretty awesome surprise: signed copies of the Folklore album.

A number of these indie record stores took to their social media pages to show off their unexpected packages of signed CDs to their followers.

The surprise to the indie record stores serves as Taylor’s latest interaction with her fans. She recently had a FaceTime call with “best friend” Selena Gomez during Gomez’ Selena + Chef cooking show. She also took a moment to reveal all the easter eggs hidden in her “Cardigan” video which she dropped when Folklore was released. This came after she confirmed who some of the characters throughout the album were based on, too.

It’s good to see Taylor reaching out to the indie community with such a nice gesture, especially after Folklore has been labeled as her first “indie” album. Folklore has helped Taylor reach a number of milestones including being the first female artist since 2018 to spend her first three weeks atop the Billboard album charts. Other accolades include having the most No. 1 debuts and the third-most No. 1 albums overall among female artists.

Fans of Jay-Z and Pharrell gave fans a surprising announcement on Thursday that the two legends would be releasing a new collaboration at midnight for their fans to enjoy. Entitled “Entrepreneur,” the song arrived in conjunction with Pharrell’s TIME magazine cover package “The New American Revolution.” But hours before the song’s official release, some fans are already criticizing Jay-Z thanks some lines from the song.

On “Entrepreneur,” Jay-Z used a line to criticize what he views as the black community’s lacking support on black entrepreneurs. “Why y’all on black twitter?” he questioned. “And buying Gucci instead of supporting Fubu?” Many fans took issue with Jay-Z’s comments and pointed to what they view as an inconsistent stance on such a topic, with some bringing up his controversial partnership with the NFL.

One Twitter user went to highlight this inconsistent stance in a tweet, posing that in a few months Jay-Z would partner with Gucci despite his criticisms of the company on the song. “Jay Z four months from now: I’m very pleased to announce I’m collaborating with Gucci on their black twitter line,” the tweet said.

Other criticisms of the line were focused on Jay-Z’s choice to use Fubu, a once-popular brand in the black community that is no longer a go-to brand for its preferred audience. Once again, fans challenge his stance as he’s celebrated luxurious brands, like Gucci, multiple times in his career. While Fubu may have just been a metaphor for all black-owned businesses, one Twitter user pointed out that the line in “Entrepreneur” is still inaccurate.

“Black twitter is absolutely a community where black consumers support black entrepreneurs,” the wrote. “He’s off base on all of this. Whether you think he’s speaking metaphorically or not.”

Daniel Tosh is suddenly looking for a new network for Tosh.0 after Comedy Central abruptly canceled it despite a long-term extension of the long-running variety show. The Hollywood Reporter noted on Thursday that Comedy Central is ending Tosh.0 after twelve seasons despite giving the comedian another four seasons earlier this year.

Instead, Tosh.0 will end its run on the network in September.

In a shocking move, the ViacomCBS-owned cable network has reversed course on its January decision to renew the series for four more seasons. Instead, Tosh.0 will wrap its run with its 12th and now final season. The last 10 episodes return Sept. 15.

THR noted that the network is going through a bit of an overhaul of its schedule, including a pivot to more adult animation and news-driven shows like The Daily Show. But it’s rare that a network orders a long-term extension of a show and then reverses it just months later. Which perhaps is why Tosh.0 could reportedly get shopped to other networks to continue it past its now-dozen seasons. That note might provide some solace for fans of the show, but it’s nothing compared to the considerable extension the comedian got in January, which also included work on another show.

The January deal for Tosh.0 was for a whopping 80 new episodes that would have taken the show through its 16th season in 2024. The pact included an overall deal for comedian Tosh. The status of that pact is unclear. At the time, talks were underway for an unscripted series that Tosh would host and exec produce as well as a script deal for which he would serve as an exec producer.

Comedy Central also reversed course on Drunk History this week, as we learned yesterday. That decision ended its run on the network without a final season, though. At lest Tosh’s surprisingly long-running show gets a swan song on Comedy Central before potentially moving on.

[via THR]

The best new hip-hop albums coming out this week include projects from Bodega Bamz, Dee Watkins, Duckwrth, Lecrae, Mulatto, and Nas.

Obviously, the big news this week is that Nas is finally working with a contemporary producer (who isn’t a ranch-owning Jesus freak), which has many folks excited about the possibilities of a Nas album that isn’t hamstrung by his terrible taste in beats (I’m not so confident — whenever the dude steps outside his mid-90s boom-bap lane, the results have been… shall we say… mixed). But don’t sleep on the major label debut projects from Duckwrth and Mulatto, who’ve both been grinding independently for the past few years and have track records for producing quality material. Mulatto’s also an XXL Freshman, which means checking her out gets you an early boarding pass on her fan bandwagon (fan-wagon?) before she blows up.

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

Bodega Bamz — Yams Heard This

The East Coast (but really, New York City) sound has never died. People just stopped paying attention. Rappers like Bodega Bamz prove how much of a mistake it is to sleep on the Big Apple, though. Proudly repping his Latin American heritage and his geographic loyalties, Bamz is one of a few artists not only maintaining the traditional sound of the city, but also updating it for a new era. His upcoming third studio album is ASAP Yams approved (according to Bamz, he actually played these songs for the beloved manager before his untimely demise) so you can safely bet it’s going to be worth checking out.

Dee Watkins — Problem Child 2

Despite the fervor for it 2016 SoundCloud faves cooling off in recent years, Florida remains a hotbed for young talent with a gift for pulling on heartstrings by tapping into soulful melodies and combining them with HD street life narratives. While Jackboy may be some folks’ pick for heir apparent to Kodak Black’s vacated throne, I would give that spot to Dee Watkins, who delivers the goods without the excess baggage. “Savage On The Loose” shows off his gift for direct but subtly clever rhymes and his distinctive flow, both of which will land him on a lot of radars once Problem Child 2 drops.

Duckwrth — Supergood

Initially popping up around the end of the “blog rap” era just as the industry was finally adjusting to the wave of self-made internet stars, LA’s Duckwrth has taken a roundabout path to the limelight. However, taking the scenic route has provided him plenty of space to stretch his artistic reach and it shows on Supergood, which combines soulful grooves to upbeat dance production and savvy, sexy rhymes that set him apart from just about everyone else in the game today. For a prime example, check out “Coming Closer” and “Quick.”

Lecrae — Restoration

Look, I know how y’all feel about Christian rap. You’ve damn near thrown Chance The Rapper under the bus and he’s only like ankle-deep in the subgenre. But give Lecrae a chance and he might surprise you. While he’s certainly about chest height in (by way of comparison, Kanye is in up to his ears, which is why he can’t hear us calling him to come back from the riptide infested waters he’s waded into), he’s proven — with a long discography of quality projects, including 2018’s Let the Trap Say Amen with Zaytoven — that even the squeaky-clean message music he provides can offer enough grit to satisfy even the grimiest of gangsters.

Mulatto — Queen Of Da Souf

Not many reality competition stars ever really become, well, stars after the shows air, but Mulatto turned down the deal offered by The Rap Game‘s Jermaine Dupri at just 17 years old, knowing that she could use the platform to launch a career that would justify the spotlight. Four years later, I’d say she accomplished that goal, dropping a single with Gucci Mane, appearing in Cardi B’s record-smashing “WAP” video, landing in XXL‘s 2020 Freshman Class, and releasing her major label debut — all in the same week. It won’t take much more pushing for her to secure the titular crown to which she’s already laid claim.

Nas — King’s Disease

The most anticipated project of the week comes just two years after Nas’ last “full-length” effort — a hiatus less than half as long as his last one (not counting the super mediocre odds-and-ends collection The Lost Tapes 2). Hopefully, he can keep the anti-vaxx conspiracy theories to a minimum and focus on the parts of his game that remain intact after 25 years — his superior gift for narration, his silver-tongued flow, and his smartly satirical eye for social commentary. If he can stick to the facts, Hit-Boy’s production should be enough to lift this one into the better half of his up-and-down discography — even if he’ll likely once again fall well short of the nostalgic perfection of Illmatic. “Ultra Black” wasn’t a great start, though.

Candy Land is a board game still making an impact on children more than seven decades after its debut, and now it will get its own reality cooking competition.

Variety reported on Thursday that Kristin Chenoweth has signed on for a food competition show based on the Candy Land board game, complete with a royal castle and some unique game-themed twists to the traditional cooking competition.

According to the report, the competition show will feature pastry chefs making wild creations that use the Hasbro game’s candy path setup to go through various places to find ingredients. That means viewers are in for a very elaborate set design.

The six-episode series features five groups of cake and sugar artists, who create showpieces in order to get a chance to win a grand prize of $25,000. The players must make their way through “Candy Land,” seeking out different flavors and unique ingredients as they try to reach their ultimate destination: King Kandy’s Castle.

It sounds a bit like the gimmick from the Netflix cooking competition Crazy Delicious, in which contestants get their ingredients from a Willy Wonka-style set where items grow on trees and everything (that they show you, at least) is edible.

And Chenoweth, who has appeared on Food Network for Trisha Yearwood’s Trisha’s Southern Kitchen,” mostly just seems excited about getting out of life in quarantine.

“I’m so excited for the world to see these talented confectionery artists and the incredible set,” Chenoweth said in a statement. “And I can’t wait to wear a dress again.”

A great stoner once said, “why smoke it, when you can eat it?” That stoner was me, just now. The popularity of edibles has skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic as an increasing number of stoners opt for edibles over flowers and concentrates. Since edibles have all of the anxiety-reducing, pain-alleviating, hunger-inducing, and euphoria-producing qualities found in a jar of fresh bud without any of the harmful effects of inhaling smoke into your lungs, they are by far the healthiest way to get a dose of THC into your bloodstream.

Thanks to our new lockdown lifestyles, we need to be courteous in a way we’ve never been before with the people we share a space with. Your non-pot-smoking roommates who previously used to never be home may now be with you the majority of the day, and they might not appreciate you making the entire building smell like Snoop’s tour bus. So instead of taking your huge glass-on-glass bong outside to toke up, why not just pop an edible from the comfort of your own room?

To help you figure out which edibles are worth your time (and money), we’ve compiled a list of all the edibles that we’ve been munching on this summer with a particular emphasis on gummies and hard candies. Why gummies and hard candies? Because it’s summer, and we don’t need a chocolate-y mess on our hands or a pastry that’s going to sweat in its packaging into an unappetizing state.

So let’s dive into our favorite Cannabis edibles for some end of summer snacking!

Deli Nickels Gummy Rounds

THC Content: 100mg (5mg per gummy)
Price: $15

One of the major drawbacks of gummy edibles is that while they look almost identical to their non-THC containing counterparts, meaning you can’t exactly kill a handful of gummies as you would with a normal pack of candy. If you do, you’ll get way too high. But not being able to indulge your sweet tooth just doesn’t feel right when you’re dealing with candy, which is why we’ve really been digging California dispensary Caliva’s Deli Nickels Gummy Rounds. At just 5mg of THC per gummy, Deli Nickels feature a mild enough dose that they’re great for beginners. At 20 gummies per pack, they’re weak enough that experienced smokers can pop a handful of three to five and enjoy the best experience the candy and cannabis worlds have to offer.

The gummies resemble sugar encrusted coins — we’ll let you guess which coin — and come in your choice of Passionfruit, Mango, Sour Green Apple, and Mixed Berry. We highly recommend the Mixed Berry as the best of the bunch!

Kiva Blackberry Dark Chocolate

THC: 100 mg (5 mg per serving)
Price: $10-$20

We know we said we’d be focusing on gummies for this list, but we had to throw a bar-shaped bone out there for all you chocolate lovers. We included KIVA’s chocolate bars on our CBD roundup but where this brand really shines is in its THC bars. The full line consists of nine different flavors which include Toffee Crunch, Churro Milk Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, Dark Chocolate, Raspberries and Cream, Espresso, Blackberry Dark Chocolate, regular Dark Chocolate, and Milk Chocolate. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of those choices. But if we had to choose just one, we’re going with the Blackberry Dark Chocolate every time.

The Blackberry Dark Chocolate bar has 54 percent dark chocolate infused with bright and rich berry flavors resulting in a harmonious explosion across your palate that will have you feeling stoned before you start to feel the effects of the full spectrum high.

MOXIE Pineapple Express Cannabis Infused Gummies

THC: 100 mg (10 mg per serving)
CBD 1mg
Price: $20

No, this is not the same MOXIE that makes that odd-tasting old fashioned cola — we checked. This MOXIE is a pretty well-known brand in the cannabis space. They produce flowers, mints, lozenges, and our favorite product Cannabis-Infused gummies. Made using the Sativa strain of the same name, what makes MOXIE’s Pineapple Express gummies so good is the fact that they are water-soluble, which should lead to faster absorption and therefore, faster effects. Anyone who is familiar with edibles knows the pain of waiting for the magic to kick in, MOXIE speeds that process up a bit and tastes good in the process. What more can you ask for?

Mindy’s Edibles Fruit Chews/Gummies

THC:100mg (2-5mg per serving depending on tin size)
Price: $18

Mindy’s edibles come from the mind of James Beard award-winning chef Mindy Segal. Mindy’s Edibles are serious business. As you chew through the gummies, fruit chews, hard sweets, or chocolates she crafts, you’ll seriously start to question whether or not you’re even eating cannabis. We recommend the Gummies only because they’re by far the easiest to find. But if you can get your hands on a fruit chew, don’t hesitate!

As you’d expect from a James Beard level chef, Mindy’s edibles come in fancy flavor names like Glazed Clementine Orange, Lush Black Cherry, and Cool Keylime Kiwi, providing a sensory experience that pairs a little too well with your heightened senses. When the high does come on, you will be tempted to eat more. Not for increased effects but because they’re so tasty.

Atlas Edibles Nimbus Dark Chocolate/ Pecan and Hazelnut

THC: 80mg (10mg per serving)
Price: $20

We couldn’t resist the chance to recommend just one more non-gummy snack on this roundup. We had to pick these Nimbus dark chocolate and pecan hazelnut cannabis-infused granola clusters. Made using a hybrid strain, Nimbus’ small granola clusters offer all the uploading effects of Sativa and the calming and relaxing properties of Indica, striking a perfect balance between stress relief and feelings of (sometimes) intense euphoria.

The only thing we don’t love about this brand is that the clusters come 8 to a bag, you’re going to be left wanting more. Every. Time. If hybrids or Dark Chocolate Pecan isn’t your thing, Atlas also makes an Indica infused Mexican chocolate and a straight Sativa with cashew and cayenne.

Stiiizy BIIIT Sour Straws

THC:: 100 mg (10mg per serving)
Price: $20

If sour candy is your jam, you can’t go wrong with Stiizy’s Sour Straws. They resemble chopped Sour Punch Straws but are better in every way. Instead of causing a headache a half-hour after eating them, these babies get you high. Stiizy makes their sour straws in Blue Raspberry, Green Apple, Strawberry, and an assorted pack with all three. It really does pull you straight back into any nostalgia you might have about hitting up the corner store for some candy in your youth.

Heavenly Sweet Sriracha Crackers

THC: 100mg (10mg per serving)
Price: $14.99

If the chocolate bars, granola, and gummies on this list just aren’t scratching your edible cannabis itch, we’ve got one last option for you. Heavenly Sweet’s Sriracha Crackers are one of those edibles that suffers from the fact that it’s an edible responsible for delivering THC into your system, and not just a fun snack that you can grab a handful of. Heavenly Sweet’s crackers are like Cheez-Its … only they’re actually good. You’ll be absolutely tempted to throw a handful in your mouth, chomp away, and call it a day. Please, do not do that, no matter how hard it is to just have one.

Pro tip: keep this out of the pantry, away from the actual Cheez-its in order to avoid a lost day (like I might’ve) that’ll leave you feeling nauseous, confused, and make the room spin. In the event that you do go too hard on these, remember (as is the case with all edibles) the experience will pass. Just drink water and try to relax.