Bill Burr has had a pretty interesting few months. It starts late last year when he guest stars on an episode of The Mandalorian as Mayfield, who became an overnight sensation in the Star Wars world. (At the very least, Star Wars fans weren’t used to a character with a Boston accent.) As Burr explains, it was an interesting gig for him, since part of his comedic persona is making fun of Star Wars. And now he plays a popular character in canon who is set to return in the upcoming second season.

And this week he co-stars opposite Pete Davidson in Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island. Burr says he’s been ignoring the reviews because he says he’ll always read something that will stick with him too long, but he is getting accolades. (I gave him one of those accolades.) Burr dismisses it all by saying people will just wonder who the loud asshole with the mustache is, but he’s doing quite a bit in this film. Yes, Burr’s Ray is gruff, but there’s a sweetness just under there of a guy just trying to connect with Pete Davidson’s Scott. (Ray is dating Scott’s mother, played by Marisa Tomei, and Scott is not pleased about this. Also, Burr loves working with Marisa Tomei.)

So Burr has his big movie coming to video on demand this Friday, the fourth season of F is For Family also premieres on Netflix this Friday. And, to top it all off, this interview was supposed to happen last week, but Burr and his wife had their second child on the day it had been scheduled. So, yes, he has a lot going on.

Congratulations. I know we were supposed to talk last week, but something great happened for you.

Oh, thank you very much. Yes, I am feeling like the luckiest guy in the world right now.

Also, between The King Of Staten Island and The Mandalorian, you’ve kind of exploded.

Well, I wouldn’t say exploded. I think I’ve definitely gotten more people to know who I am. But nobody bugs me when I walk down the street, which is great. I mean, I’m in the perfect place in this business. I get work, and I can still live a cool life.

Well, no one’s bugging anyone walking down the streets right now. And everyone is wearing masks.

Well, I’m not going to argue with you, but, I mean, I do walk around as me a lot. I go into grocery stores, nobody bugs me.

Have you read the accolades? You’re getting accolades for this movie.

Oh, that’s great. Well, yeah, I know the movie was doing all right, but I try to stay away from the reviews because, you read long enough, you’re eventually going to read something that’s just going to stay with you for a long time.

True.

Because there’s probably some truth to it. So I’m just like, ah, I heard it’s going good, so thank God. But this is Pete’s movie and Judd, they put it all together. And I got to work with Marissa Tomei! I’ve worked with a lot of people. She might be the best I’ve ever worked with. She was just incredible. Incredible, incredible to work with: such an amazing, amazing actor. And what’s funny is I didn’t watch her do Edith Bunker until after we shot just because I didn’t want to be any more intimidated by working with somebody so talented.

Obviously she’s an Oscar winner, but what makes her so special to share scenes with?

Because I feel like she hasn’t forgotten. It’s like there are things you learn when you first start acting that, after a while, you forget and you get into habits. She still remembers all of that stuff, plus 30 years of everything that she learned. So she, without even trying, was teaching me things that I had never seen before and then reminding me of stuff that I forgot like I don’t know. It was her and Buscemi, both of them. All of this stuff, I was trying to take them in as much as I could. I’ve got a long way to go, is what I’m saying.

Well, it’s funny because when Universal sends a list out that’s like, “Hey, here’s who’s available to talk for this movie,” and your name’s on there. And I’m like, “Oh my gosh, he’s done so much stuff that I like.” But I never thought of your name and Pete’s name together before, but it really works.

Oh, that’s awesome. Alright, great, because I was worried people were going to be like, “Who’s this loud asshole with a mustache?” Because I never know! You never know how they’re going to come together, so this one seems like it came together, which is great.

Judd Apatow mentioned you came up with a lot of your own lines.

Yeah, everybody was improving. It’s a Judd movie, so Judd is open to you doing it a couple of times the way it’s written, and then you start playing around. And if there’s something there, Judd steers you in that direction. And if there’s nothing there, then you just go back to the script.

What’s your favorite thing you came up with that made it, or maybe didn’t make it?

Oh, God. Let’s see. It was over a year ago… I can tell you a buddy of mine, a comic, called me up and he asked me about that line when Pete’s character says that he loves me and I don’t say it back. And he goes, “Well, what if I die someday?” And I said, “Well, I guess I’ll just be that guy at the funeral being like, ‘Well, even though I never said I loved him …” So yeah, I don’t know. I don’t fucking know.

That’s a great line. I would have never guessed that was made up on the fly.

Well, you’re doing it all the time, it’s just nobody is filming it. Like, this whole conversation now is you’re talking, and then I’m listening, and then we’ll just sort of go from there. It’s like once you get between your ears and you start thinking like, “Oh my God, I have to improv,” then that’s usually when any sort of good idea goes away, so yeah.

Well, there’s also the scene where you and Pete go at it physically, in a fight.

That was a hot day. I remember that. And I also learned that umbrellas, just because they block the rain, doesn’t mean they block UV rays, so I cooked my head pretty good on that day.

Oh no.

Yeah, you know, it’s part of being a redhead. I should have known better. Pete was going all out. Pete was so amazing to work with, but I had to tell him, “Listen, man, these fake fights are fake. But if you go all out, heads can bang together.” A couple of takes later, of course, we banged heads together. And I was like, “Yeah, that’s what I was talking about.” And then we kind of went from there. But I love that scene. And then I loved when Marissa’s character comes up in the end and both me and Pete, our characters think we’re so right, but she just comes in with that outside perspective that you guys are both way out of line here. And it’s such a great beat in the story. And then all of a sudden, me and Pete’s characters have to now figure this whole thing out together, both trying to get the approval of the same woman. There’s a lot of stuff going on there.

What did you make of the reaction to your episode of The Mandalorian? That episode just went gangbusters. That whole week everyone was talking about it.

Well, the thing was, Rick Famuyiwa wanted to do it in the style of Reservoir Dogs. So I think that that’s what ended up getting it, you know? And he did some shooting on that thing with the handheld, which I guess that style had not been done. I mean, I’m not a big Star Wars guy, so I don’t know. And then also, I don’t want to spoil anything, but something that happens to a good guy never happened, I guess, in the series. Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

Did they come to you? I’m just curious how that even happened.

Well, everything that you get ends up just because of something that happened like five, six years earlier. So a few years earlier, I did a movie called Black or White with Mike Binder.

Right.

And through becoming friends with Mike Binder, Mike Binder was friends with Jon Favreau. So me and Mike, we both smoke cigars, so we used to hang and we would smoke cigars together. And after we shot, we developed a friendship. So we’re still hanging out. And through Mike, I got to meet Jon Favreau. And then Mike had his birthday party, and I went there, and Jon was there. And I was there with my wife, and he said, “Hey man, I’m doing this Star Wars thing. There’s a part in it that we’re writing for you. Would you want to do it?”

And I said to him, I said, “John, I’ve got to admit, I’ve been making fun of Star Wars forever.” And he goes, “I know. I listen to your podcast.” He goes, “I think your fans will get a kick out of it if you were in it.” So I was like, “Really?” And my wife was standing there and she’s kicking my leg going, “Do it!” So I was like, alright, I’ll do it. I’m so glad I said yes. I’m so glad I said yes because, I mean, I didn’t know he was going to shoot the thing like a spaghetti western. Had I known he was doing what he was doing when I went to that party, I would have been mumbling to myself in the car ride over, trying to figure out how I could, without being obvious, bring up, “Hey man, if there’s anything I can do in that.” So that’s how it came together.

Is it great you’ve been making fun of Star Wars for this long, and now you are literally a very popular character in canon.

Well, the thing is, when I was making it, I wasn’t being serious. I was just doing that comedian thing.

Sure.

It’s something that they really liked, so I made fun of it. That’s why I made fun of Michelle Obama when she was doing the arena tour because I knew she was so precious to so many people. It’s just a funny thing to do. So that’s all it was. So I never really disliked it. I found that as I was growing up, there was sci-fi fans and sports fans. You know? Very little crossover.

Well, I’m the crossover. I might be the only person in the last year or so who went to both Star Wars Celebration and the Super Bowl.

Oh, wow. Well, I will tell you this, Star Wars fans are cool as shit. They’re very polite. They’re respectful. And yeah, I went to Comic-Con. I got to do a thing at Comic-Con for Breaking Bad one time. I got to sort of host this thing as they brought all the big guns on that show out: Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston and all of those guys. And I was going to go down there and make fun of them for being nerds and stuff, and they just had a really cool vibe and they were really nice. And they were just nerding out about the show. And I was like, “Why would I be a jerk to these people? They’re great.” All this stuff that I wanted to say, “Hey, what’s up, you fucking nerds?” Obviously joking, but I was just like, I think they’ve heard enough of that in life.So, fortunately, I made that smart move.

They’ve seen the William Shatner, “Have You Ever Kissed a Girl?,” SNL sketch probably 30 times by now, so they know.

I’m surprised that didn’t hurt his 8X11 autograph signings later on in his career.

It really didn’t. They love him. I guess he could say anything he wants and get away with it. He’s probably the one person.

Alright, well, here’s the clip you have to watch. You’ve got to watch Alex Trebek When that girl is describing that she’s into hardcore nerd rap. She’s describing who it appeals to. And he just listens. He goes, “Oh, so losers.”

Oh, I’ve seen that.

Well, it’s funny until she says, “Well,” and then I felt bad for her. I said, “Oh man, you’ve got to swing harder than that.”

At Comic-Con, I was interviewing Peter Cullen, the guy who does the voice for Optimus Prime, and Larry King. I think I mentioned something to Cullen about voicing the evil car, KARR, on Knight Rider…

I remember the show, I don’t remember the evil car.

And Larry King looks at me and says, “Oh, you’re one of those nerds, right?” And it was just one of the greatest moments I’ve ever experienced.

[Laughs] I listened to that story… I don’t remember who Optimus Prime is. I’ll know if you tell me. Who is that?

Oh, he’s the leader of the Transformers. He’s like the main good guy Transformer.

Oh, yeah. Now I remember watching that.

I should have explained that first. I went too far to the other side of the Venn diagram for that.

It’s alright.

‘The King of Staten Island’ will be available to stream this weekend. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

The wait for a new season of HBO’s brilliantly toxic Succession will be longer than usual, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but here’s a treat for all you slime-puppies out there: the cast is virtually reuniting for a Q&A session today, June 10. I hope they spend 25 minutes on “my boy Squiggle” alone. The Hollywood Reporter also spoke to Kiernan Culkin (Roman Roy) during a roundtable with some of the finest working actors on TV, including Watchmen‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Better Call Saul‘s Bob Odenkirk, and Picard‘s Patrick Stewart, who gave the Succession star a one-of-a-kind compliment.

When asked by THR how Hollywood sees him, Culkin replied, “I pretty much just play one thing. I did a movie right before Succession called Infinity Baby. I was like, ‘Oh, there’s some similarities with these characters.’ And I did a play called This Is Our Youth, and I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s kind of like that, too.’ And I was trying to figure out what it was and, ‘Oh, I’m drawn to sociopaths.’ I don’t really want to explore why. It’s just something I connect with.” Once he was finished, Stewart said, “Kieran, you are now stuck with, and I mean this as the greatest possible compliment, the creepiest character that I have ever seen on TV. I’m not always sure I can stay in the room when you walk onto the screen.”

Is Patrick Stewart on Cameo? He should be. I would pay $500 to hear Jean-Luc Picard call me creepy, or, better yet, the Succession insult of his choosing. “Cover star for Toxic Male Monthly.” “The poorest rich person in America.” “A dildo dipped in beard trimmings.” There’s a lot to choose from. Some other Culkin gems from the chat:

“The pilot was sent to me to read for another character, Cousin Greg, and I immediately knew that I just wasn’t that guy. But I read on, and Roman walks into the room, and his first line is, ‘Hey, hey motherfuckers,’ and he just starts jabbing everybody. I’m like, ‘Well, this guy looks like fun.’ He’s the kind of guy who just has suffered no consequences ever in his life.”

I just have to say, I learned something from you about 15 years ago, Patrick. You were on Ellen, telling a story, and in the middle, you said, ‘I poured myself a nice glass of Tanqueray gin.’ Ellen said, ‘Well, you know, because of that, they’re going to send you a case of gin.’ And you went, ‘I’m no fool.’”

“I don’t get naked, but I have masturbated three or four times on my show, so there is that.”

I miss Succession.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

Our Longest Summer series will look at the eight teams whose seasons are now officially over, and will have to wait until mid-October to make decisions on what’s next and how to proceed after falling short of the cut-off for a continued 2019-20 campaign.

The 2019-20 season was always going to be a little strange for the Golden State Warriors. After the 2019 NBA Finals, Kevin Durant exited to Brooklyn and, with Klay Thompson suffering a long-term injury in the early summer, the Warriors simply couldn’t afford any additional injuries. Almost on cue, Stephen Curry missed the (vast) majority of the campaign and the offseason acquisition of D’Angelo Russell couldn’t stop the bleeding.

When the NBA’s hiatus arrived, the Warriors owned the league’s worst record and, while that does mean favorable odds in the draft lottery, no one saw this coming for Steve Kerr’s bunch. With that in mind, Golden State arrives at an interesting offseason with a number of balls in the air and avenues to pursue as they will have hopes of going from worst to first in 2021.

2020 Free Agents

None, though the Warriors do have several non-guaranteed contracts

2020 Projected salary cap space (assuming $115 million salary cap)

More than $44 million over the cap and $20 million over the luxury tax, per Early Bird Rights

Areas of Strength

This is pretty easy. Despite having the worst record in the league, the Warriors still employ an uber-elite player in Stephen Curry and two more All-Stars in Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Golden State’s depth has certainly taken a hit with defections but, if Andrew Wiggins makes the strides that many believe he can in a supporting role, that would unlock quite a bit for the Warriors. Finally, Golden State has an intriguing chess piece with a first-round pick guaranteed to land in the top five and, beyond that, the Warriors also own a valuable 2021 first-round selection from Minnesota.

Areas of Need

As noted previously, this isn’t a team with a ton of depth all the sudden, especially if Kevon Looney’s injury issues don’t improve. The Warriors did unearth a gem in Eric Paschall but, overall, Golden State is going to need to add a couple of rotation-quality players to pair with their star power. Of course, that all assumes health (Thompson) and high-end performance (Green) from their supporting stars, which is probably more important than anything short of Curry’s own availability.

Biggest Decisions

As you can see above, the Warriors are way over the salary cap and luxury tax. Usually, teams in that situation don’t have much flexibility, but that isn’t necessarily true of Golden State. In addition to this year’s draft pick and Minnesota’s 2021 selection, the Warriors have the benefit of a $17.2 million trade exception created in the Andre Iguodala trade. In short, that means that the team can acquire another substantial salary, at least if ownership is willing to dig even deeper into the tax. As for the draft pick, it might make sense for Golden State to cash in the uncertainty (especially in a bad draft) for a player, but they might have salary-matching issues if that player doesn’t fit snugly into the Iguodala exception.

Overall Offseason Focus

The Warriors aren’t getting any younger, with all three stars now in their 30’s. The franchise’s window for title contention remains open given the genuinely special talent on the roster but, to put it bluntly, Golden State needs to get healthy and push even more of their chips into the middle to sincerely contend in 2020-21. Cashing in the Iguodala exception (and maybe setting up a run for a big-time trade piece using Wiggins’ contract) is a good start but, with Curry now up for an extension in his own right, this is a wildly expensive team and the results have to match that after a one-year blip. If they don’t, the entire enterprise could evaporate in a hurry. The good news is, they’re the non-bubble league team in the best position to take advantage of the quick turnaround that’s in store for teams that make a deep postseason run this season and will only have a month or so of a real offseason.

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Johnny Walker, best known to fans as the inimitable Mr. Wrestling II, has died at the age of 85. Bill Apter announced his passing on social media on Wednesday morning. At this time, the cause of death is unknown.

The original Johnny Wrestling was introduced as the tag team partner of the original Mr. Wrestling, Tim Woods, and was a popular star in Championship Wrestling from Florida and Georgia Championship Wrestling throughout the 1970s and ’80s. Under the persona he was able to win and hold the NWA World Tag Team, NWA United States Junior Heavyweight, NWA National Heavyweight, and NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championships during an incredible 35+ years in the sport. Walker made his debut in 1955 and retired in 1990, but came out of retirement in 2007 at the age of 73 to win the HCW Kekaulike World Tag Team Championship with his rotégé, Steve Corino, also known as “Mr. Wrestling 3.”

Walker was also President Jimmy Carter’s favorite wrestler, and reportedly made Secret Service agents mad by hanging out with Carter and the First Lady, Lillian, at the White House in his full wrestling mask. He was supposed to attend Carter’s inauguration, but passed because he didn’t want to unmask. You don’t become Mr. Wrestling by letting everyone know your civilian identity.

If you aren’t familiar with his work, we’ve included some videos below to help familiarize you. Rest in peace to another wrestling legend.

Today is an unexpectedly big day for changes in the music industry. This morning, the Recording Academy announced some major Grammy rule changes, which include the renaming of the Best Urban Contemporary Album category, which is now known as Best Progressive R&B Album. Now, another storied musical institution is also shaking things up: Billboard is making some alterations to their alternative and rock charts, and Billie Eilish is part of the reason for it.

The chart purveyors have announced that their Hot Rock Songs chart has been renamed to Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. Additionally, they have also debuted a pair of new charts stemming from that one: Hot Alternative Songs and Hot Hard Rock Songs. Billboard notes that these changes reflect “the rise of artists making music that is often considered alternative, but does not fit within the commonly held boundaries of rock,” going on to cite Eilish, Powfu, and Benee as examples.

The new Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart “will house songs deemed either rock or alternative, or both, as it expands beyond a listing of core rock titles, including those with an alternative bent, to include songs considered a hybrid of pop and alternative, rap and alternative and more.” Meanwhile, Hot Alternative Songs “will include only songs categorized as alternative in any way,” and Hot Hard Rock Songs “will feature only guitar-based rock songs with a heavier edge.”

The inaugural Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart is led by Powfu’s Beabadoobee-featuring “Death Bed,” followed by Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted,” Benee’s “Supalonely” (featuring Gus Dapperton), Tones And I’s “Dance Monkey,” and Twenty One Pilots’ “Level Of Concern.” The new Hot Alternative Songs chart has the same top five.

Aside from the aforementioned, Billboard is also launching the following new charts: Alternative Streaming Songs, Alternative Digital Song Sales, Alternative Songwriters, Alternative Producers, Hard Rock Streaming Songs, Hard Rock Digital Song Sales, Hard Rock Songwriters, and Hard Rock Producers.

This news appropriately comes shortly after Eilish discussed the ways her music is categorized, telling GQ in a recent interview, “The world wants to put you into a box; I’ve had it my whole career. Just because I am a white teenage female, I am pop. Where am I pop? What part of my music sounds like pop?”

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

Margo Price announced her triumphant third record That’s How Rumors Get Started back in March alongside a handful of tour dates. But after canceling her tour due to the pandemic, Price has elected to delay her album until July. However, the postponement has allowed Price to share another preview of the record. Following her singles “Stone Me” and “Twinkle Twinkle,” Price debuts “Letting Me Down,” which, along with the rest of the album, is produced by Sturgill Simpson.

Directed by Kimberly Stuckwisch, who drove a trailer from LA to Nashville to film in Margo’s home and an abandoned hospital, the track’s accompanying visual reflects the moodiness of Price’s lyricism. About the filming process, Stuckwisch said they were able to maintain social distancing: “We were able to abide by the 6-feet social distance CDC recommendation as we set up a remote head for the camera that we operated from a closet outside of the room. We wore masks the entire time and Margo supplied us with multiple bottles of hand sanitizer and spiked seltzers.”

Along with sharing “Letting Me Down,” Price addressed her album delay through heartfelt prose:

“Take me back to the day I started trying to paint my masterpiece so I could warn myself of what was ahead. Time has rearranged, it has slowed down, it has manipulated things like it always does…the words to some of these songs have changed meaning, they now carry heavier weight.

I’ve seen the streets set ablaze, the sky set on fire. I’ve been manic, heartbroken for the world, heartbroken for the country, heartbroken from being heartbroken again and again.

This album is a postcard of a landscape of a moment in time. It’s not political but maybe it will provide an escape or relief to someone who needs it. Sending love to everyone out there and hope I see you down the highway.”

Watch Price’s “Letting Me Down” video above.

That’s How Rumors Get Started is out 7/10 via Loma Vista. Pre-order it here.

Tyson Fury is the current undisputed king of the heavyweight division in boxing after he dominated Deontay Wilder back in February to win the WBC crown and remain the undefeated, lineal champ. Fury and Wilder will meet for a trilogy fight at some point in the future as Wilder exercised his rematch clause, but that date, initially set for July, remains up in the air amid the COVID-19 pandemic as the two sides hope to fight in front of a full house to maximize revenue.

While Fury is in a holding pattern for a third Wilder fight, he’s already getting ready for what’s next and ensuring that he lines up a fight with the next biggest name in the division, Anthony Joshua. Joshua, a fellow Brit, was likewise once an undefeated champ before being stunned by Andy Ruiz last year in a knockout loss, the first of his career. Joshua would go on to avenge that loss with a unanimous decision victory over Ruiz back in December, and has not fought since reclaiming the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO titles.

Joshua’s immediate future remains murky, but in 2021 he and Fury will meet in the ring, pending everything going right for both in upcoming fights, after agreeing to a two-fight deal, per Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn.

Now, Hearn notes there are no contracts signed, but that the two have verbally agreed to financial terms of a deal, which is always the biggest stumbling block in these negotiations. Distribution will be the other hurdle to be worked out down the road, as Fury is a Top Rank fighter, who has a deal with ESPN, while Joshua has a DAZN deal stateside. However, as we’ve seen with Wilder-Fury (PBC/Top Rank), it has become easier to get cross-promotion worked out now compared to the past when HBO and Showtime were the two top dogs in U.S. boxing distribution and rarely liked to work together, barring a superfight like Mayweather-Pacquiao (and even that took years to figure out).

One would expect these bouts to take place in one of the massive arenas or stadiums in the UK, as it would be a huge fight there that could pack out the O2 or Wembley. It would be a very interesting litmus test for Joshua, who’s best win remains his star-making performance against Wladimir Klitschko back in 2017, but has not faced either of the elite level heavyweights — Wilder or Fury — yet. That knockout of Klitschko pushed him into that class, but the loss to Ruiz knocked some of the shine off of the young Brit that he needs to regain, and knows the only way to do so is by challenging the best in Fury.

Just in case the message of PartyNextDoor’s PartyMobile standout “Savage Anthem” wasn’t entirely clear, the Toronto crooner has released his animated video for the song to clarify a few points — mainly, that you really, really should not, under any circumstances, fall in love with him. The PIX3LFACE-directed video tracks Party through his nights of debauchery, occasionally juxtaposing his hedonism with scenes of a would-be paramour crying her eyes out after failing to heed his warning, “don’t wait on my love.”

Party’s other videos for PartyMobile have used similar innovative techniques to avoid going the traditional route. His video for “Loyal” with Drake utilized Claymation and premiered on Adult Swim. Other singles from the album include the Rihanna-featuring “Believe It,” “Split Decision,” and a remix of “Loyal” that included international superstar Bad Bunny.

Since then, Party has popped up as a featured artist on a number of releases from others. He appears on the new DVSN album, A Muse In Her Feelings, as well as on Trippie Redd’s new single, “Excitement.” Clearly, he’s staying busy despite coronavirus lockdown — just don’t think that’ll make him finally slow down for love.

Watch PartyNextDoor’s “Savage Anthem” video above.

PartyNextDoor is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The MLS announced its plan for what it’s calling the MLS is Back Tournament — a very matter of fact name — that will take place in July and August in Orlando at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex.

All 26 teams will participate in the tournament that features six groups, one of six teams and the rest made up of four, and each team will play three games in pool play before the top two teams from each group, plus the four best third-place teams, move on to a knockout round. Games will be played from July 8 through August 11, with the top seeds in the six groups being host Orlando City SC, Atlanta United, LAFC, Seattle Sounders FC, Toronto FC, and Real Salt Lake. Teams must arrive in Orlando seven days before their first game, but can go as early as June 24.

For the purposes of making the groups work, Nashville SC will operate as an Eastern Conference team for the rest of the season. The group stage games will count towards each team’s regular season record, and the winner of the tournament will get a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. The tournament will span 54 games in total, with players eligible to earn bonuses from a $1.1 million prize pool, and games will be played at 9 a.m., 8 p.m., and 10:30 p.m. ET during group stage play.

There will be 1,200 people in total entering the Orlando bubble, including 750 players, and the MLS has worked with Dr. Anthony Fauci to craft a testing and antibody testing plan for all of its members — they will also contribute antibody testing to the central Florida community in a gesture of goodwill as well.

Once the tournament ends, the plan is for the MLS to return to an adapted regular season schedule with teams playing in their home markets, with the full schedule still to be announced.