ESPN and the NBA made news on Thursday with the official confirmation of an upcoming HORSE competition featuring betting favorite Trae Young, Chris Paul, Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Tamika Catchings and others. Just hours later, though, the partnership continued with the quarterfinals of the NBA 2K “players-only” tournament, with four match-ups aired in back-to-back fashion.

In the first match-up of the night, Devin Booker, playing as the Dallas Mavericks, took on Rui Hachimura, playing as the L.A. Clippers, in a battle between the No. 5 seed (Booker) and the No. 13 seed (Hachimura). In the early going, there were upset winds blowing, with Hachimura leading and Booker seemingly bothered by the use of the “All-Star” game difficulty after Hachimura hit a three with Lou Williams.

It was all Booker from there, though, with the Phoenix Suns guard taking a 13-point lead by the end of the third quarter, largely behind the play of Luka Doncic.

Ultimately, Booker was never really challenged in the fourth quarter on the way to a 71-55 victory and the first berth in the semifinals.

For the honor to face off against Booker in the semifinals, No. 8 seed Montrezl Harrell, playing as the Portland Trail Blazers, faced No. 16 seed Derrick Jones Jr., playing as the Dallas Mavericks. Harrell took an early lead and kept it through the end of the first quarter, but Jones Jr. knocked down a buzzer-beating three-pointer to cut the margin.

Harrell maintained a six-point lead at the halftime break and took further control in the third quarter, eventually building a double-digit lead.

Jones Jr. did make quite a push in the latter stages of the fourth quarter, slashing the deficit to as few as three points in the final minute. Still, Harrell emerged victorious by a 71-66 final score to set up a matchup against Booker in the “final four” of the event.

In the second-to-last battle of the night, the No. 2 seed took on the No. 10 seed with Young facing Deandre Ayton. Young chose to play with the Lakers, setting up a battle of Los Angeles as Ayton selected the Clippers.

Ayton got off to a lights-out start, seizing the lead in the early going behind strong offense. In fact, Ayton led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter.

Young did push back a bit in the second quarter, keeping the deficit manageable, but Ayton still took the lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Ayton stretched the advantage to double-figures again, but the lead didn’t last. Young made a furious push at the end of the quarter, taking the lead in the final seconds.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair, to the point where it was (far) more competitive than the previous two games. Ayton claimed the edge in the final minutes, though, and he picked up a seven-point win to advance to the semifinals.

In the nightcap, No. 6 seed Andre Drummond, playing with the Milwaukee Bucks, took on No. 14 seed Patrick Beverley, playing with the Philadelphia 76ers, with a spot in the semifinals on the line. Beverley provided a bit of entertainment early when he revealed that he is “working out like a madman” during the shelter-in-place period.

When it came to the game itself, Drummond garnered an 11-point lead after the first quarter and he was in a fantastic position.

Beverley did come a live a bit in the second quarter, climbing back within a six-point halftime margin, and he had fun doing it.

The always entertaining guard wasn’t done there, taking the lead in the third quarter on the back of effective defense (and some trash talk).

Drummond converted a three-pointer as the buzzer went off to end the third, giving Drummond’s Bucks the lead as the closing period arrived.

Despite that counterpunch from Drummond, it was all Beverley in the fourth and, in on-brand fashion, he wasn’t quiet about it.

Eventually, Beverley held on to advance as the lowest seed to land in the final four.

The semifinals will take place on Saturday, with Harrell facing Booker and Ayton squaring off against Beverley. ESPN is set to broadcast the proceedings once again, with the finals also scheduled for Saturday.

And it’s oh-so accurate.

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Sometimes you get more than what you paid for.

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“Absolutely not.” —Me just trying to enjoy a non-horror film for once.

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It’s magic!

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Historically speaking, tequila hasn’t really gotten the respect it deserves as a sipping spirit. Perhaps because of too many faded memories of brutal, cheap tequila shots taken with a wedge of lime. Or maybe because there are so many great mixed tequila drinks — from margaritas to palomas — that it’s easy to forget all the great sipping tequilas out there. That changes now.

If you’ve never enjoyed a glass of tequila neat or on the rocks, you’re missing out on a complex, vegetal, flavorful experience. Just ask Kevin Moran, general manager at Seagar’s Prime in South Walton, Florida, who reps hard for Don Julio 1942.

“1942 is 100% Agave and from Jalisco,” he says. “This añejo tequila is aged a minimum of two and a half years in oak, giving it a distinctive sweet vanilla character. No need for lime and salt thank you, this is a ‘sipping’ bottle.”

If you don’t have any qualified sippers on hand, it’s time to order a few bottles for Easter weekend delivery. If you’re stumped on what to get, don’t worry — some of our favorite bartenders have your back.

Clase Azul Reposado

Joseph Palminteri, director of food and beverages at Via Sophia in Washington DC

My go-to tequila in Clase Azul Reposado. It’s an ultra-premium reposado tequila made with Tequilana Weber Blue Agave that is slow-cooked in traditional stone ovens for a minimum of 72 hours. Once the agave reaches a deep, rich flavor, it is fermented with proprietary yeast prior to distillation. Once the tequila is distilled, it is aged for 8 months in hand-selected oak barrels. This process results in a superb, smooth taste that exceeds expectations with each sip.

Tequila Fortaleza

Nate Simmons, bartender at Garden & Grain in Pensacola, Florida

Tequila Fortaleza from Tequila, Mexico. This brand is everything that is right about craft spirits. Family brand, years of experience, the best ingredients, and prepared the right way. The blanco, reposado, anejo, and the still strength are all great to enjoy neat.

Tequila Ocho Extra Anejo

Mazzarie Parker, bar manager of Maypop Restaurant in New Orleans

Tequila Ocho Extra Anejo was the first high-end tequila that truly changed the way I thought of tequila. You can taste the notes of peaches and apricots balanced with warm baking spices; a level of elegance and complexity that made me appreciate tequila in a whole new light. I’ve always been someone who will shoot tequila (with salt, lime, and dread), but this tequila is truly a treat.

Don Suenos Anejo

Bryan Long, assistant director of food & beverage at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Palm Beach, Florida

The best tequila is Don Suenos Anejo. This anejo has a smooth finish with hints of citrus and vanilla, with grassy undertones and a final touch of pepper. The small family farm out of Jalisco has been producing agave for 43 years.

Don Julio Anejo

Miki Nikolic, beverage director at The Double Dealer in New Orleans

I love honey and vanilla. That’s why I have to say Don Julio Anejo. It has a rich taste that I haven’t been able to find in another tequila.

Espolon Anejo

Cody Dillon, general manager at Florblanca in Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

The best sipping tequila is Espolon. The anejo and super anejo offer a consumer-friendly price point and drinkability. I enjoy drinking the anejo on the rocks with a squeeze of fresh lime.

Herradura Reposado

Courtney Everett, bartender at O-Ku Sushi in Atlanta

I like Casamigos Blanco and Herradura Reposado. They’re both delicious and great to sip over ice. They’re both good quality, but for the price point, I usually stick to Herradura.

123 Anejo

Josh Saphier, bartender at Eighteen36 in Houston

When enjoying tequila neat I typically go with an anjeo. I enjoy the 123 Tequila Anejo. Certified organic and bottled at the estate. This tequila is rich in flavor, super smooth, no burn at all and as you let it open up, more and more flavors present themselves.

Roca Patron Silver

Josh Streetman, bartender at Motor Supply Co. in Columbia, South Carolina

Tequila for me is best enjoyed either in an unaged silver or blanco style or extra anejo at three years or older. For the former go for a single estate Patron or Roca Silver. Also, Arte Nom which is the highest elevation production available, if you can find it. On the latter side, I like Avion Reserva 44 and Tears of Llorona.

Don Julio 1942

Natalie Migliarini, the mixologist behind Beautiful Booze on Instagram

Don Julio 1942 tequila. This is my go-to celebration tequila but who needs a celebration these days to drink some liquid gold. I enjoy the roasted agave notes as well as the hints of vanilla.

Qui Extra Anejo

Piero Procida, bartender at The London West Hollywood in Los Angeles

Qui Extra Anejo tequila, by far. There are many great tequilas out there, but an inexpensive price point and very high-quality product puts this tequila as one of my favorites and the best in my opinion. The quality is superb and on par with many high-level tequilas. It is smooth enough to drink by itself as a sipping tequila and being an extra anejo you certainly do not want to alter the flavor with anything else but to simply enjoy by itself.

Since his passing in December, fans of Juice WRLD have been able to hear new music from the rapper thanks to collaborations he recorded prior to passing. First a 14-minute freestyle aired on Charlie Sloth’s Fire In The Booth show, followed by posthumously released appearances on “Godzilla” with Eminem, “PTSD” with G Herbo, and “Suicidal (Remix)” with YNW Melly. As per fellow Chicago rapper Lil Bibby, it looks like a posthumous Juice WRLD album is on the horizon.

Lil Baby released a video of him and Juice WRLD to Instagram, reminiscing about his time with Juice in the video’s caption. “Miss my lil bro walking round wit skateboards and sh*t, playing wit Yugio cards and watching Naruto,” he said. Returning to the video to add a later comment, Lil Bibby revealed that Juice WRLD’s posthumous album was on the way saying, “Album coming soon.”

Aside from being a rapper, Lil Bibby is also an executive at Grade A Productions, the same label Juice was signed to, so his announcement of a posthumous album can be taken with a bit more than a grain of salt. It was also reported back in January that Juice WRLD has over 2,000 unreleased songs.

Philadelphia-born model and rapper Chynna tragically passed away Wednesday night at the age of 25, an unexpected end to a career with so much more to accomplish. A member of A$AP Mob, Chynna was loved and adored throughout the music industry, and many sent condolences and love to her family and friends. The day after her passing, NBC News reported that the Philadelphia Department of Public Health revealed the cause of death to be an accidental drug overdose.

News of her passing was reported by The Wrap Wednesday night after they received a statement from her family through her management team, which read in part: “Chynna was deeply loved and will be sorely missed.”

Chynna had previously admitted to struggles with opiate addiction, specifically in a 2018 interview with Pitchfork that took place during a period of sobriety. “It got to the point where I had to do something just to be able to get onstage and do my job. I didn’t like that. That was taking it too far, because it stops being fun and starts being because you have to, and that’s when you need to chill.”

Chynna signed to Ford Models at the age of 14, and she launched her musical career in 2013 with her single “Selfie.” She joined the A$AP Mob prior to the release of “Selfie.” Her most recent project, In Case I Die First, was released in December 2019.

Bob Dylan’s new single, “Murder Most Foul” about the assassination of John F. Kennedy and its impact on America is his first to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is remarkable because it does a great job at documenting the history of the event while also portraying the raw emotional energy surrounding the assassination.

Dylan has written songs that went to number one for other artists, Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963) and the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965). But, at the tender age of 78, this is the first in Dylan’s own name.

He reached number two on the Hot 100 twice in 1965 with “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965) “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” (a.k.a “Everybody Must Get Stoned”). He hit #2 on the Adult Alternative charts in 2000 with “Things Have Changed.”

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Bob Dylan – Murder Most Foul (Official Audio)

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“Murder Most Foul” by Bob Dylan

1.

‘Twas a dark day in Dallas – November ’63
The day that will live on in infamy
President Kennedy was riding high
A good day to be living and a good day to die
Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb
Say wait a minute boys, do you know who I am?
Of course we do, we know who you are
Then they blew off his head when he was still in the car
Shot down like a dog in broad daylight
‘Twas a matter of timing and the timing was right
You got unpaid debts and we’ve come to collect
We’re gon’ kill you with hatred and without any respect
We’ll mock you and shock you, we’ll grin in your face
We’ve already got someone here to take your place
The day that they blew out the brains of the king
Thousands were watching, no one saw a thing
It happened so quickly – so quick by surprise
Right there in front of everyone’s eyes

Greatest magic trick ever under the sun
Perfectly executed, skillfully done
Wolfman, oh wolfman, oh wolfman, howl
Rub a dub dub – it’s murder most foul

2.
Hush li’l children, you’ll soon understand
The Beatles are coming they’re gonna hold your hand
Slide down the bannister, go get your coat
Ferry ‘cross the Mersey and go for the throat
There’s three bums comin’ all dressed in rags
Pick up the pieces and lower the flags
I’m going to Woodstock, it’s the Aquarian Age
Then I’ll go over to Altamont and sit near the stage
Put your head out the window, let the good times roll
There’s a party going on behind the grassy knoll
Stack up the bricks and pour the cement
Don’t say Dallas don’t love you, Mr. President
Put your foot in the tank and step on the gas
Try to make it to the triple underpass
Black face singer – white face clown
Better not show your faces after the sun goes down

I’m in the red-light district like a cop on the beat
Living in a nightmare on Elm Street
When you’re down on deep Ellum put your money in your shoe
Don’t ask what your country can do for you
Cash on the barrel head, money to burn
Dealey Plaza, make a left hand turn
I’m going to the crossroads, gonna flag a ride
That’s the place where Faith, Hope and Charity died
Shoot ’em while he runs, boy, shoot ’em while you can
See if you can shoot the Invisible Man
Goodbye, Charlie, goodbye Uncle Sam
Frankly, Miss Scarlet, I don’t give a damn
What is the truth and where did it go
Ask Oswald and Ruby – they oughta know
Shut your mouth, says the wise old owl
Business is business and it’s murder most foul

3.
Tommy can you hear me, I’m the Acid Queen
I’m ridin’ in a long black Lincoln limousine
Ridin’ in the back seat, next to my wife
Heading straight on into the afterlife
I’m leaning to the left, got my head in her lap
Oh Lord, I’ve been led into some kind of a trap
We ask no quarter, no quarter do we give
We’re right down the street from the street where you live
They mutilated his body and took out his brain
What more could they do, they piled on the pain
But his soul was not there where it was supposed to be at
For the last fifty years they’ve been searching for that
Freedom, oh freedom, freedom over me
Hate to tell you, Mister, but only dead men are free
Send me some loving – tell me no lie
Throw the gun in the gutter and walk on by
Wake Up, Little Suzie, let’s go for a drive
Cross the Trinity River, let’s keep hope alive
Turn the radio on, don’t touch the dials
Parkland Hospital’s only six more miles
You got me Dizzy Miss Lizzy, you filled me with lead
That magic bullet of yours has gone to my head
I’m just a patsy like Patsy Cline
I never shot anyone from in front or behind
Got blood in my eyes, got blood in my ear
I’m never gonna make it to the New Frontier

Zapruder’s film, I’ve seen that before
Seen it thirty three times, maybe more
It’s vile and deceitful – it’s cruel and it’s mean
Ugliest thing that you ever have seen
They killed him once, they killed him twice
Killed him like a human sacrifice
The day that they killed him, someone said to me, “Son,
The age of the anti-Christ has just only begun.”
Air Force One coming in through the gate
Johnson sworn in at two thirty-eight
Let me know when you decide to throw in the towel
It is what it is and it’s murder most foul

4.
What’s New Pussycat – wha’d I say
I said the soul of a nation been torn away
It’s beginning to go down into a slow decay
And that it’s thirty-six hours past judgment day
Wolfman Jack, he’s speaking in tongues
He’s going on and on at the top of his lungs
Play me a song, Mr. Wolfman Jack
Play it for me in my long Cadillac
Play that Only The Good Die Young
Take me to the place where Tom Dooley was hung
Play St. James Infirmary in the court of King James
If you want to remember, better write down the names
Play Etta James too, play I’d Rather Go Blind
Play it for the man with the telepathic mind
Play John Lee Hooker play Scratch My Back
Play it for that strip club owner named Jack
Guitar Slim – Goin’ Down Slow
Play it for me and for Marilyn Monroe
And please, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
Play it for the First Lady, she ain’t feeling that good
Play Don Henley – play Glenn Frey
Take it to the Limit and let it go by
And play it for Carl Wilson, too
Lookin’ far, far away down Gower Avenue
Play Tragedy, play Twilight Time
Take Me Back to Tulsa to the scene of the crime
Play another one and Another One Bites the Dust
Play the Old Rugged Cross and in G-d We Trust
Ride the Pink Horse down that Long, Lonesome Road
Stand there and wait for his head to explode
Play Mystery Train for Mr. Mystery
The man who fell down dead, like a rootless tree
Play it for the Reverend, play it for the Pastor
Play it for the dog that’s got no master
Play Oscar Peterson and play Stan Getz
Play Blue Sky, play Dickie Betts
Play Art Pepper, play Thelonious Monk
Charlie Parker and all that junk
All that junk and All That Jazz
Play something for The Birdman of Alcatraz
Play Buster Keaton play Harold Lloyd
Play Bugsy Siegel play Pretty Boy Floyd
Play all the numbers, play all the odds
Play Cry Me A River for the Lord of the Gods
Play number nine, play number six
Play it for Lindsey and Stevie Nicks
Play Nat King Cole, play Nature Boy
Play Down in the Boondocks for Terry Malloy
Play It Happened One Night and One Night of Sin
There’s twelve million souls that are listening in
Play the Merchant of Venice, play the merchants of death
Play Stella by Starlight for Lady Macbeth
Don’t worry Mr. President, help’s on the way
Your brothers are comin’, there’ll be hell to pay
Brothers? What brothers? What’s this about hell?
Tell ’em we’re waitin’- keep coming – we’ll get ’em as well
Love Field is where his plane touched down
But it never did get back up off of the ground
Was a hard act to follow, second to none
They killed him on the altar of the Rising Sun
Play Misty for me and that Old Devil Moon
Play Anything Goes and Memphis in June
Play Lonely at the Top and Lonely Are the Brave
Play it for Houdini spinning around in his grave
Play Jelly Roll Morton, play Lucille
Play Deep in a Dream and play Drivin’ Wheel
Play Moonlight Sonata in F sharp
And Key to the Highway by the king of the harp
Play Marchin’ Through Georgia and Dumbarton’s drum
Play Darkness and death will come when it comes
Play Love Me or Leave Me by the great Bud Powell
Play the Blood Stained Banner – play Murder Most Foul