Category: Worldwide

Palm Springs is reportedly breaking records on Hulu, and for good reason. The wedding-focused Groundhog Day mashup starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti is a funny and refreshing twist on the time loop movie genre without it getting too far in the weeds or too zany. Mind you, that’s tough to do when the trailer shows Samberg literally hunted with a bow and arrow.

There have been a lot of questions about the movie’s ending and what it means, but one thing we now know for sure is exactly how long Samberg’s Nyles was in the time loop central to the movie. In an interview with Decider earlier this month, Palm Springs writer Andy Siara talked about the movie’s ending, and while he wouldn’t confirm whether the two lovebirds actually made it out of the loop or what the final scenes meant, he does confirm the exact length of time that Myles was trapped in Palm Springs.

“I don’t know if I’m supposed to say exactly, but Nyles has in there for over 40 years. There are versions of the script where—mainly when Sarah comes in—I put titles in of how much time has passed. The main thing I hope got across was that a lot of time had passed. A lifetime of memories has passed, basically.”

Four decades is certainly long enough to forget a lot of things about your past life, especially if every day you live is exactly the same. That’s more than 14,000 days of waking up to the same thing, over and over again, enough to truly drive you crazy. Given that information, it’s certainly understandable that most of the movie is him being nihilistic about his life and the possibility of ever finding a way out. It’s a good thing, then, that he eventually got some company to help him along the way.

Trader Joe’s will begin making changes to the packaging of some of its food products over concerns that variations on the Trader Joe’s brand name can be seen as culturally insensitive. For years, the grocery chain has been altering the brand naming on its private label products typically categorized as “ethnic foods,” using monikers like Trader José for Mexican-food inspired products, Trader Ming for Chinese food, Arabian Joe for Middle Eastern products, Trader Joe San for Japenese foods, and Trader Giotto on pasta and other Italian food staples. Criticism over the branding has existed for some time and recently picked up renewed interest thanks to a Change.org petition started by a California high school student, Briones Bedell.

The name changes, Bedell writes, “Belies a narrative of exoticism that perpetuates harmful stereotypes,” and seems to imply some food items are normal, and therefore ethnic foods are deviations from the norm. Following the petition, Trader Joe’s announced their intention to change the branding and addressed the criticism over the overtones of its branding. Trader Joe’s national director of public relations, Kenya Friend-Daniel told ABC News, “While this approach to product naming may have been rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusiveness, we recognize that it may now have the opposite effect — one that is contrary to the welcoming, rewarding customer experience we strive to create every day,” but indicated that the decision was not because of Bedell’s petition, stating that Trader Joe’s “have been in the process of updating older labels and replacing any variations with the name Trader Joe’s” since before the petition.

Trader Joe’s is currently in the process of changing the product labeling but has not publically indicated how long it’ll be until we see the new labels. Does that make your case of Trader José beer a collector’s item now? Probably not. But it’s still a pretty decent beer, so there’s that.

While the actual sports calendar is in complete disarray due to COVID-19 and the still-ongoing pandemic hitting the United States particularly hard, the virtual sports calendar has stayed relatively unchanged. Some video games have seen coronavirus-related delays, but major sports titles like NBA 2K and Madden remain on track for their traditional release windows, which are just before the real seasons would start in real life.

That changed on Monday, though, when EA announced that its upcoming hockey game NHL 21 would move from a September release to sometime in October.

To answer the most commonly asked question first, NHL 21 will launch a little later this year, shifting from our usual September window to October. This year has been full of extraordinary circumstances and we’ve had to make major adjustments in developing the game from home. This transition has been very successful and we’re happy to say that the game is on track and feature-complete against our original vision, we just need a few extra weeks to do the polish, fine tuning and bug fixing.

The announcement assured fans that the game would be “worth the wait” and EA promised a look at the nearly-finished game sometime in late August. EA Sports also announced on Monday that it would not have true next-gen releases for the game on the upcoming Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, though the game would be forward compatible and playable on those consoles with the same features it will launch with. Sports sims like NBA 2K21 will have next-gen releases, but it looks like hockey fans are left out in the cold on this one.

Another thing we’ve seen questions around is next-gen consoles. For NHL 21, we made the decision to focus on adding innovation and new features rather than the resource-heavy task of porting the game to new console technology. You’ll still be able to play NHL 21 on the next-gen consoles through forward compatibility but we are fully focused on launching NHL 21 on the Xbox One and PS4 and look forward to the opportunities the next-gen systems will bring in the future.

None of this is particularly shocking, especially when you consider that game development largely shifted, like much of the rest of industries across the world, to a work from home situation. There are countless issues that could have come up to delay the game’s release, but even with a month added to its development time the title will come out well before the next season of NHL hockey is played. That league’s bubble is expected to begin play on August 1, and no schedule for next season exists right now, either.

The NBA will resume play this week in the form of scrimmages in the Disney bubble, with actual games that count beginning July 30. On Monday, teams had to submit final rosters for the bubble, noting players that will be eligible to play, although not everyone on the rosters is guaranteed to play in the restart.

There are a number of players on these rosters that are still awaiting arrival in Orlando after testing positive for COVID-19, but hope to join their teams eventually once cleared and, as such, are included. That’s important to note as these may not be the exact rosters teams have available for the first games, but offers an official look at who will be eligible to play provided health and clearance to get into the bubble.

Boston Celtics

Jaylen Brown
Carsen Edwards
Tacko Fall
Javonte Green
Gordon Hayward
Enes Kanter
Romeo Langford
Semi Ojeleye
Vincent Poirier
Marcus Smart
Jayson Tatum
Daniel Theis
Kemba Walker
Brad Wanamaker
Tremont Waters
Robert Williams III
Grant Williams

Brooklyn Nets

Jarrett Allen
Justin Anderson
Chris Chiozza
Jamal Crawford
Donta Hall
Joe Harris
Tyler Johnson
Rodions Kurucs
Caris LeVert
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
Jeremiah Martin
Dzanan Musa
Garrett Temple
Lance Thomas

Dallas Mavericks

J.J. Barea
Trey Burke
Antonius Cleveland
Seth Curry
Luka Doncic
Dorian Finney-Smith
Tim Hardaway Jr.
Justin Jackson
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Maxi Kleber
Courtney Lee
Boban Marjanovic
Kristaps Porzingis
Dwight Powell
Josh Reaves
Delon Wright

Denver Nuggets

Will Barton
Keita Bates-Diop
Bol Bol
Vlatko Cancar
Tyler Cook
Torrey Craig
Troy Daniels
PJ Dozier
Jerami Grant
Gary Harris
Nikola Jokic
Paul Millsap
Monte Morris
Jamal Murray
Mason Plumlee
Michael Porter Jr.
Noah Vonleh

Houston Rockets

Bruno Caboclo
DeMarre Carroll
Tyson Chandler
Chris Clemons
Robert Covington
Michel Frazier
Eric Gordon
Jeff Green
James Haren
Danuel House Jr.
Luc Mbah a Moute
Ben McLemore
Austin Rivers
P.J. Tucker
Russell Westbrook

Indiana Pacers

Goga Bitadze
Brian Bowen II
Malcolm Brogdon
Aaron Holiday
Justin Holiday
Alize Johnson
Jeremy Lamb
TJ Leaf
T.J. McConnell
Doug McDermott
Naz Mitrou-Long
Victor Oladipo
Domantas Sabonis
JaKarr Sampson
Edmond Sumner
Myles Turner
T.J. Warren

LA Clippers

Patrick Beverley
Amir Coffey
Paul George
JaMychal Gren
Montrezl Harrell
Reggie Jackson
Kawhi Leonard
Terance Mann
Rodney McGruder
Marcus Morris Sr.
Joakim Noah
Patrick Patterson
Landry Shamet
Lou Williams
Ivica Zubac

LA Lakers

Kostas Antetokounmpo
Devontae Cacok
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Alex Caruso
Quinn Cook
Anthony Davis
Jared Dudley
Danny Green
Talen Horton-Tucker
Dwight Howard
LeBron James
Kyle Kuzma
JaVale McGee
Markieff Morris
Rajon Rondo
JR Smith
Dion Waiters

Memphis Grizzlies

Grayson Allen
Kyle Anderson
Dillon Brooks
Brandon Clarke
Gorgui Dieng
Marko Guduric
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Josh Jackson
Tyus Jones
John Konchar
De’Anthony Melton
Ja Morant
Jontay Porter
Anthony Tolliver
Jonas Valanciunas
Yuta Watanabe
Justise Winslow

Miami Heat

Bam Adebayo
Kyle Alexander
Jimmy Butler
Jae Crowder
Goran Dragic
Udonis Haslem
Tyler Herro
Solomon Hill
Andre Iguodala
Derrick Jones Jr.
Meyers Leonard
Kendrick Nunn
KZ Okpala
Kelly Olynyk
Duncan Robinson
Chris Silva
Gabe Vincent

Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo
Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Eric Bledso
Sterling Brown
Pat Connaughton
Donte DiVincenzo
George Hill
Ersan Ilyasova
Kyle Korver
Brook Lopez
Robin Lopez
Frank Mason
Wesley Matthews
Khris Middleton
Marvin Williams
D.J. Wilson

New Orleans Pelicans

Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Lonzo Ball
Zylan Cheatham
Derrick Favors
Josh Hart
Jaxson Hayes
Jrue Holiday
Brandon Ingram
Frank Jackson
Nicolo Melli
E’Twaun Moore
Jahlil Okafor
JJ Redick
Sindarius Thornwell
Kenrich Williams
Zion Williamson

Oklahoma City Thunder

Steven Adams
Darius Bazley
Deonte Burton
Hamidou Diallo
Luguentz Dort
Terrance Ferguson
Danilo Gallinari
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Devon Hall
Kevin Hervey
Mike Muscala
Abdel Nader
Nerlens Noel
Chris Paul
Andre Roberson
Dennis Schroder

Orlando Magic

D.J. Augustin
Mo Bamba
Khem Birch
Michael Carter-Williams
Gary Clark
James Ennis III
Evan Fournier
Melvin Frazier Jr.
Markelle Fultz
Aaron Gordon
Jonathan Isaac
Wes Iwundu
BJ Johnson
Vic Law
Terrence Ross
Nikola Vucevic

Philadelphia 76ers

Alec Burks
Joel Embiid
Tobias Harris
Al Horford
Furkan Korkmaz
Shake Milton
Raul Neto
Kyle O’Quinn
Norvel Pelle
Josh Richardson
Glenn Robinson III
Mike Scott
Marial Shayok
Ben Simmons
Matisse Thybulle

Phoenix Suns

Deandre Ayton
Aron Baynes
Devin Booker
Mikal Bridges
Jevon Carter
Cheick Diallo
Ty Jerome
Cam Johnson
Frank Kaminsky
Jalen Lecque
Elie Okobo
Kelly Oubre Jr.
Cam Payne
Ricky Rubio
Dario Saric

Portland Trail Blazers

Jaylen Adams
Carmelo Anthony
Zach Collins
Wenyen Gabriel
Mario Hezonja
Jaylen Hoard
Damian Lillard
Nassir Little
CJ McColum
Jusuf Nurkic
Anfernee Simons
Gary Trent Jr.
Hassan Whiteside

Sacramento Kings

Marvin Bagley III
Harrison Barnes
Kent Bazemore
Nemanja Bjelica
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Corey Brewer
Yogi Ferrell
De’Aaron Fox
Harry Giles III
Kyle Guy
Budy Hield
Richaun Holmes
Justin James
DaQuan Jeffries
Cory Joseph
Alex Len
Jabari Parker

San Antonio Spurs

Marco Belinelli
DeMar DeRozan
Drew Eubanks
Bryn Forbes
Rudy Gay
Keldon Johnson
Trey Lyles
Chimezie Metu
Patty Mills
Dejounte Murray
Jakob Poeltl
Luka Samanic
Lonnie Walker IV
Quinndary Weatherspoon
Derrick White
Tyler Zeller

Toronto Raptors

OG Anunoby
Chris Boucher
Oshae Brissett
Terence Davis
Marc Gasol
Dewan Hernandez
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Serge Ibaka
Stanley Johnson
Kyle Lowry
Patrick McCaw
Malcolm Miller
Norman Powell
Pascal Siakam
Matt Thomas
Fred VanVleet
Paul Watson

Utah Jazz
Tony Bradley
Jarrell Brantley
Jordan Clarkson
Mike Conley
Ed Davis
Rudy Gobert
Joe Ingles
Donovan Mitchell
Juwan Morgan
Emmanuel Mudiay
Georges Niang
Royce O’Neale
Miye Oni
Rayjon Tucker
Nigel Williams-Goss
Justin Wright-Foreman

Washington Wizards

Isaac Bonga
Troy Brown Jr.
Thomas Bryant
Jerian Grant
Rui Hachimura
Ian Mahinmi
Garrison Mathews
Shabazz Napier
Anzejs Pasecniks
Jerome Robinson
Admiral Schofield
Ish Smith
Jarrod Uthoff
Mo Wagner
Johnathan Willams

One day when the glory comes
It will be ours, it will be ours
Oh one day when the war is won
We will be sure, we will be sure

The song “Glory” from the feature film Selma won an Oscar in 2015. Originally performed by John Legend and Common, the song combines elements of rap, hip hop and gospel, and was a powerful anthem representing the Civil Rights Movement portrayed in the movie.

Now, that anthem has new lyrics and a young, fresh face—or rather, a bunch of young, fresh faces. The Detroit Youth Choir’s rendition of “Glory” includes the original chorus, plus lyrical nods to the coronavirus pandemic and the current uprisings for racial justice. Seeing these young people singing their hearts out in a song written about a similar fight decades ago is both chilling and thought-provoking.

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Members of the choir, which reached second place in last year’s America’s Got Talent competition, walk through the empty streets of Detroit while they sing in the video—socially distanced, of course. (The video includes a disclaimer at the beginning and the end explaining that the health of the teens was first priority in the making of the video.) The image of them singing spread out while walking over “Power to the People” painted on the street sums up so much of our current moment.

Detroit Youth Choir ‘Glory’ – featuring IndigoYaj

www.youtube.com

People love this new version of the song, leaving comments like the following on YouTube:

“Powerful. From their lips to OUR ears. We owe these kids a better reality.”

“I got chills just listening to these talented youth singing Glory. We all must work together to ensure that every American has equal and sustainable rights. We must end any pre-conceived notions about each other without knowing who people really are. The passion in this rendition of Glory is astonishing. Kudos to the Detroit Youth Choir. Keep singing!”

“Love this and will keep trying to change those minds that don’t see the need to change one at a time. Please keep inspiring us to keep making change happen

“This is beautiful, moving and inspiring. Bravo!!!! I live over in Basel, Switzerland now, but I was born in Detroit. May all of the beautiful, talented and courageous young people in this video continue to shine so brightly. You are already making a difference. I have goosebumps and you had me in tears. Systemic racism must finally come to an end. #Glory #WeAreOne #BlackLivesMatter #DYC #ExitRacism“

“God bless these babies. Their generation surely are going to make changes for the better.”

The YouTube video also includes a fitting quote from the late civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis: “What I try to tell young people is that if you come together with a mission, and it’s grounded with love and a sense of community, you can make the impossible possible.”

J. Cole’s love for the sport of basketball is well-documented. Not only has he been a feature at the NBA All-Star Game both as a performer and as a dunk contest prop, but he’s also used his journey in the sport as a parallel to his rap career in his albums, music videos, and business partnerships. Earlier this year, he used hoop dream home movies as an ad for his upcoming sneaker with Puma, and as the NBA prepares to return in its Orlando “bubble,” numerous players have been seen sporting the shoe.

However, a new essay from Cole for The Players’ Tribune reveals just how deeply that love goes: so deep, in fact, that he once considered quitting his day job to pursue a pro basketball career. In the wake of the release of his critically-hailed, fan favorite album 2014 Forest Hills Drive, Cole reveals that he found himself with a lot of free time on his hands, a sense of complacency regarding rap, and the itch to get back onto the court: “Slowly, the dream of playing professionally began to make its way back to the front of my mind,” he recalls. “I was approaching 31, four years older than I thought I would be, but still possessing most of the athleticism I had in my 20’s.” He told himself, “‘If you’re gonna do this, now is the time.”’”

He freely admits that there were obstacles to that dream, though. “One of the biggest hurdles I would have to climb was my skill level, or lack thereof,” he self-owns. “I was, at best, a Lifetime Fitness All-Star.” His problems, he details, included “an inconsistent jumpshot due to a raggedy form, a weak left hand, and a lack of confidence.” He says the thing that drove him back to rap was the sense of missed potential he knew he’d feel if he didn’t push his Dreamville label to the next level. He also missed collaborating with other rappers, something that he did a lot more of in 2019.

Now, he proclaims that he’s put his hopp dream behind him — mostly — and rediscovered his hunger for hip-hop. Even so, he leaves the essay off with a cryptic line that makes it sound like he hasn’t completely given up on his other career aspiration. “At 35 years old, I know that sounds crazy when said out loud,” he confesses, “But I believe all of the best dreams do.”

Read the full essay here.

Ahead of the NBA’s restart at Disney, a number of players announced they would be opting out of playing. Among the contenders to make legitimate playoff pushes, the biggest name that announced his intention not to play was Victor Oladipo, citing concern in being able to get his body back up to speed as he continues to work his way back from a ruptured quad a season ago.

Oladipo did join the team in Orlando — an easy trip for him given that he lives there — and has since changed his stance on playing, noting he’s now considering playing in the restart after feeling good in practices. On Monday, Pacers coach Nate McMillan confirmed that intention for Oladipo to play, noting he does expect the star guard to play in this week’s first scrimmage game and they will continue evaluating from there.

However, while getting one All-Star back, the Pacers are down All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis, who is battling a plantar fasciitis flare up that has kept him not just out of practice in the bubble but has kept him from putting any weight on his leg for a few days, per McMillan, via 107.5 The Fan.

“I do,” McMillan said when asked specifically about Oladipo playing in the scrimmages.

“He’s going through the practices and he’s looking good. Our first scrimmage is on Thursday and we’ll see how our guys feel, and we’ll get them minutes accordingly. Right now, there’s no restrictions on anyone (besides Domantas Sabonis). Other than that, I expect everybody to be ready to go.”

Sabonis has been a revelation in Indiana the last two years since acquiring him alongside Oladipo in the Paul George trade, and his absence would take away some significant firepower from the Pacers offensive attack. Indiana is currently fifth in the East, tied with the Sixers, and without Oladipo the expectation was they would slide firmly to the sixth spot during the eight-game restart. With Oladipo playing, they have a chance of battling with Philly, but will need a recovery from Sabonis from a very difficult injury to get a firm handle on.

One of the oddest things about the COVID-19 pandemic is that it’s hard to identify people at times because they are wearing a mask. It can be tough noticing people you regularly see in the community because more than half their face is obscured.

In this case, people were trying to locate and identify John Thomas Archer, a 23-year-old architecture student who wowed people in the ReMARKable Cleanouts second-hand store in Norwood, Massachusetts. But it was hard to figure out who he is because of the mask he wore to protect him from getting or spreading COVID-19.

On Saturday, July 11, he walked into the store and asked an employee, Melissa Rediker, if he could play one of the pianos on display, it had a “Do Not Play’ sign attached.

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Archer sat down at a Steinway and started banging out a song that always gets everyone in the bar singing along, “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey. Everyone knew what Archer was playing right off the bat due to the songs infectious bass line.

The store placed a video of his playing on its Facebook page and it went viral.

Good News Movement on Facebook Watch

The video made the store owner, Mark Waters, so happy that he decided to give Archer the piano.

“He started playing and the place lit up!” Waters told CBS Boston, adding: “We’ll give him the piano. Bring the kid in! We’d be more than happy to bring it to him. We can’t find him! Nobody knows who this young man was.”

This kicked off a search for the “mystery man” who was found by Julie McDonald at WBZ Channel 4 who interviewed him on the newscast three days later.

via ReMARKable Cleanouts / Facebook

That Tuesday, Archer’s girlfriend send him a text saying that people were looking for him.

“My girlfriend sent me a text that the media was looking for me,” he said. “I didn’t know so many people would be affected by watching me play. I am just baffled.”

Archer told McDonald that he was an “amateur” musician and the at the Journey tune was the first he ever learned. He didn’t have a piano at home, just a keyboard. The next day he returned to the store and gave a performance of “All of Me” by John Legend.

“He’s a good young man and I’m glad he gets to have the piano,” Waters said. “If it brings joy into his life, that brings joy into my heart.”

“I just wish there was more stories like this with everyone opening their hearts,” he told Good Morning America. “I’d like to donate something every day if it brought people into a good mood.”

The only problem was that the store isn’t sure how to get the piano up to his fourth-floor apartment.

“A very talented and kind young man who will be receiving a piano…we can get it to his home, but having trouble finding a way to get it on the 4th floor!!” ReMARKable Cleanouts wrote on their Facebook page.

“Do we know anyone who can deliver a piano to a 4th floor? Asking for a friend,” they also posted.

When the NBA announced its intentions to restart the season at Walt Disney World in Orlando, the biggest question was whether the planned bubble would be able to successfully insulate the league and its players from the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in an area that has seen a massive spike in cases in the last month-plus.

The biggest hurdle was going to be the early weeks — as the MLS learned when two entire teams had to withdraw from their tournament in Orlando due to outbreaks within their teams — and so far, so good for the NBA. The first round of player testing saw two positive tests in the bubble, but both were caught during the quarantine period while those players were still in their hotel room and had not interacted with others.

On Monday, the league announced even more good news, as over the past week of testing, with 346 players being tested, there were zero positive tests. This indicates that the system is working as intended, as player testing outside the bubble has flagged positive cases prior to those players joining their teams in Orlando, and making those players test negative twice before coming to Orlando — where they must test negative two more times before joining their teams.

It is a rare bit of good news and offers a test case of how aggressive testing, isolation, and taking the necessary precautions of wearing masks and social distancing can have the intended effect of mitigating the spread of the virus tremendously. While this is a good start, the league and its players must continue being vigilant about following protocols and keeping the bubble secure, but for those hoping basketball does indeed start on time, this is welcome news.

Untitled Goose Game was an indie smash hit in 2019, and now gamers will finally get a physical edition of the game along with some lovely extras. The game that lets you be a horrible goose is finally getting a box, along with a Lovely Edition physical release and a vinyl pressing of the delightful music from the game that had you gently wreck a town for your own goosey pleasure.

The release, part of Iam8Bit’s presentation at the Summer Game Fest Developer Showcase on Monday, puts what was a viral success in a box and adds a number of extras based on the game’s setting. As announced on Monday, the standard edition of the game’s physical release will run at $35 on the Switch and $30 on PlayStation 4 and get you a disc or cartridge, 24-page “Plaza Catalogue” of “useful items and objects that a goose might enjoy collecting.” You also get a “no goose” sticker and an 11×17 village map poster.

Iam8Bit’s special edition is an eco-friendly Lovely Edition that has all kinds of fun biodegradable features, but perhaps most interestingly is the soundtrack, pressed on a special vinyl that’s designed to mimic the game’s abrupt musical cues based on what kind of chicanery your goose got up to. The record, with music by Dan Golding, is an adaptation of Claude Debussy’s Préludes and has a “double groove” pressing that is said to create a unique playing experience every time you listen.

The vinyl is also on reclaimed vinyl, so it’s a physical release of a game that’s very eco-friendly, which is nice. The vinyl alone is a fun addition to a fan’s collection, and the unique aspect of the record would be a fun bit of memorabilia to pick up if you already have a digital copy of the game and don’t need the extras. Not every game’s soundtrack needs to be owned on wax, but this one certainly made the game better and would be a delightful listen when not in control of a goose.