The Milwaukee Bucks have not played well since Doc Rivers arrived on the scene, with their final game before the All-Star break being a particularly dismal performance, losing to the extremely shorthanded Grizzlies in Memphis.
With that loss, the Bucks fell to 3-7 with Rivers as head coach, as for every stride made defensively, the offense has tapered off in its place. There are always some growing pains with a coaching change, but for a team that was 32-14 when Rivers stepped in out of the ESPN booth, going 3-7 to fall well behind pace of the Celtics in the East was not supposed to happen. Thursday night’s loss was particularly jarring given their opponent, as the shorthanded Grizzlies are certainly frisky, but also outmanned by Milwaukee’s talent level.
However, the way to negate that is by outworking the other team and executing better, and that was certainly what Memphis did to Milwaukee. After the game, a less-than-thrilled Rivers called out his team, noting while some guys came to play, the Bucks had “some guys in Cabo,” a nod to the upcoming week vacation players are going to get.
Doc Rivers: “We had some guys here, some guys in Cabo.”
Rivers may very well be right that the Bucks weren’t fully locked in for a game against the banged up Grizzlies right before the All-Star break, but it’s also part of his job to make sure they are. Rivers has never been shy about calling out his players publicly in past head coaching gigs, but it’s fair to wonder if he has the standing in the locker room right now for it to have the intended effect. A week off will require the Bucks to figure some things out — with Rivers coaching the All-Star Game with a losing record as head coach this season — and we’ll see if Rivers can get the buy-in required for them to turn things around this year. If not, Shaq’s postgame analysis could come true that they’ll be bounced in another first round series.
“The way they’re playing right now, they gonna get swept in the first round.”
Beach Boys founder and singer Brian Wilson is reportedly suffering from dementia. According to documents obtained by The Blast, Wilson is being treated for dementia, and his team is currently seeking conservatorship.
The reported court filings note that Wilson “is unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter.” Wilson’s wife Melinda Kay Ledbetter Wilson, who died on January 30, 2024, was reportedly taking care of him up until her passing.
In the court filings, it is said that Wilson is experiencing “fear, depression, helplessness” to levels which are said to be “severely inappropriate.”
“[Wilson] is easily distracted, often even when aware of surroundings, and its purpose. Often makes spontaneous irrelevant or incoherent utterances. Has very short attention span and while unintentionally disruptive, is frequently unable to maintain decorum appropriate to the situation,” read the filings.
Wilson is reported to be “slow the progression of the illness.”
Wilson’s family confirmed the plans of a conservatorship in a statement, which reads:
“Following the passing of Brian’s beloved wife Melinda, after careful consideration and consultation among Brian, his seven children, Gloria Ramos and Brian’s doctors (and consistent with family processes put in place by Brian and Melinda), we are confirming that longtime Wilson family representatives LeeAnn Hard and Jean Sievers will serve as Brian’s co-conservators of the person.
This decision was made to ensure that there will be no extreme changes to the household and Brian and the children living at home will be taken care of and remain in the home where they are cared for by Gloria Ramos and the wonderful team at the house who have been in place for many years helping take care of the family.
Brian will be able to enjoy all of his family and friends and continue to work on current projects as well as participate in any activities he chooses.”
Wilson had previously been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, which is said to have worsened over time. He is reportedly taking medication to slow the progression of dementia.
A conservatorship hearing is set to take place in court of April 26, 2024.
Actress Julia Roberts was late to the game when it came to joining social media, so she was blown away when she finally saw first-hand how toxic it could be. She started an Instagram account in June of 2018 and, shortly after, was the target of trolls mocking her appearance in a post by her niece.
Roberts was upset about the negative comments people made about her looks and then was gutted when she considered social media’s effect on young women. In a 2018 interview with Oprah Winfrey for Harper’s Bazaar, Julia recounted the story.
“Although something did happen recently on my niece Emma’s Instagram that I think taught me a lot about what it’s like being a young person in today’s society. One weekend morning Emma slept over, and we got up and were having tea and playing cards and having this beautiful morning, and then a couple of days later, she posted a picture of us,” Roberts recalled.
“And the number of people who felt absolutely required to talk about how terrible I looked in the picture—that I’m not aging well, that I look like a man, why would she even post a picture like this when I look that terrible!” she continued. “And I was amazed at how that made me feel. I’m a 50-year-old woman and I know who I am, and still my feelings got hurt. I was sad that people couldn’t see the point of it, the sweetness of it, the absolute shining joy of that photo. I thought, ‘What if I was 15?’”
Beauty influencer Samantha Marika combined the audio of Julia telling the story, added it to the candid photo of her and Emma, and posted it to Instagram, and it went viral.
Julia’s concerns about teenage mental health aren’t unfounded.
A 2022 report by Pew Research shows that online bullying is pervasive among teenagers and looks are a common target. “Nearly half of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, with physical appearance being seen as a relatively common reason why,” the report said. “Older teen girls are especially likely to report being targeted by online abuse overall and because of their appearance.”
Even though online bullying is common, those who watched Marika’s video were disturbed by what happened to Roberts and her young niece.
“Before I listened to the whole thing I thought to myself how wholesome this photo was that the two of them are playing cards and look so happy! People are really sad and depressed that they wanna judge on how someone should look it’s the saddest thing about humans. We can’t even see joy anymore,” ChantsBoomBoom wrote in the comments.
Even though Roberts was disturbed by the comments she saw on Instagram, she’s glad that it helped her grasp what’s happening to young people online.
“I was so happy that happened because I had this whole new glimpse into a way of living that I didn’t get at all,” she told Winfrey. “You have to go through things to understand them, and this was just a little paper cut of what can really go on with social media.”
Super Bowl LVIII started with the San Francisco 49ers marching down the field and getting deep into Kansas City territory. It did not, however, end with points, as Christian McCaffrey fumbled on the fifth play of the drive.
Points there would have been really big, because the Niners ended up leaving a whole lot of points on the board in the first half, which let Kansas City hang around despite not being at its best. As it turns out, San Francisco got a little unlucky with the fumble, as the cameras and a mic caught star tight end George Kittle — who has a reputation for being one of the league’s most upbeat and fun loving guys — slowing down for just a tick to say hi to Chiefs defensive lineman George Karlaftis. The problem: The fumble happened right next to them, and Karlaftis is actually the one who ended up falling on it.
Again, this is more bad luck than anything for Kittle — I do not know for sure, but I would venture to guess that he does this on opening drives all the time. It would have taken one hell of a play for him to realize there was a fumble behind him and fall on it. But regardless, the next time you think of the insane ways that the Chiefs manage to make big plays in big moments in big games, here’s one for you to remember.
No Kanye West project ever comes without controversy. His Ty Dolla Sign joint album Vultures 1 is no different. Today (February 15), Vultures 1 was removed from Apple Music.
The album arrived last Friday (February 9) following numerous delays. However, according to a spokesperson from music distributing company FUGA, the company was never supposed to drop the album.
Why was Kanye West & Ty Dolla Sign’s Vultures 1 Removed From Apple Music?
In a statement to Billboard, a spokesperson for FUGA said the company never officially agreed to distribute the album.
“Late last year, FUGA was presented with the opportunity to release Vultures 1. Exercising our judgment in the ordinary course of business, we declined to do so. On Friday, February 9, 2024, a long-standing FUGA client delivered the album Vultures 1 through the platform’s automated processes, violating our service agreement. Therefore, FUGA is actively working with its DSP partners and the client to remove Vultures 1 from our systems.”
This isn’t the only controversy the album has faced in the days since its release. Both Ozzy Osbourne and the estate of Donna Summer have said that West had previously asked to sample or interpolate works of theirs, however, they both denied. West used the samples anyway.
Since the album’s initial removal, Billboard has reported that the album is now back on Apple Music, now distributed through Label Engine.
Representatives for Label Engine, Apple Music, and Ty Dolla Sign did not immediately return our request for comment.
Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Caitlin Clark’s pursuit of history reached its successful conclusion on Thursday night. The fourth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes played host to the Michigan Wolverines, with the reigning National Player of the Year needing only eight points to surpass Kelsey Plum’s NCAA women’s basketball scoring record.
Clark managed to get that right away, as she scored the first eight points of Iowa’s game against the Wolverines. She managed to break the record by pulling up from well beyond the three-point line and drilling a triple.
Plum set the record in 2017 during her senior year as a member of the Washington Huskies. The Las Vegas Aces star and former No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft accrued 3,527 points in her decorated collegiate career.
Clark came close to breaking the record during Iowa’s last game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln. She entered the game needing 39 points to surpass Plum, and while she managed to score 31 through the first three quarters, the Husker defense threw everything it had at Clark and held her scoreless in the fourth en route to an upset. This did, however, make it so Clark was able to set the record on her own home floor at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, although she did have one request about the occasion.
“I hope they don’t stop the game,” Clark said, according to Cassandra Negley of Yahoo Sports. “We can’t be wasting timeouts on that, come on now.”
It’s time for the ultimate test, as pop sensation Dua Lipa has declared an end to “Training Season.” Tonight (February 15), Lipa is laying down the law with her new single and video, “Training Season,” letting the men vying for her attention know that she’s not going to train them on how to treat her right.
Written by Lipa, along with Caroline Ailin, Danny L. Harle, Tobias Jesso Jr., and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, “Training Season” is a bouncy bop, which marks an early contender for the ladies anthem of summer 2024. Yes, it may be too early to call, but as history has shown, Lipa’s songs can stand the test of time.
“I had been on a string of bad dates, and the last one was the final straw,” said Lipa in a statement. “The next morning I arrived to the studio to Caroline and Tobias asking me how it all went and I immediately declared ‘TRAINING SEASON IS OVER,’ and like the best ‘day after’ debriefs with your mates, we had a lot of laughs and it all quickly came together from there.”
In the song’s accompanying video, Lipa is seen in a cafe. And while many men attempt to woo her, she is unfazed by all of them, finding more comfort in her own company.
“Training Season” marks the second single from Lipa’s upcoming third studio album, which is due for release later this year.
You can see the video for “Training Season” above.
Dua Lipa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The old fashioned and Manhattan are the two most recognizable American whiskey cocktails. You’ll find them on every decent bar menu worldwide. They’re also very similar on paper — whiskey (often bourbon or rye) with a sweet additive, bitters, some orange, and a cherry. But they’re leagues apart concerning how they land on your palate/senses.
Since both whiskey cocktails offer something unique, we thought it was time to break down the differences. Below, we’ll be shining a light on what makes each of these cocktails a unique classic. We’re also adding recipes so you can get a handle on these at home. Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top Five Cocktail Recipes of the Last Six Months
Part 1 — The Differences Between an Old Fashioned And Manhattan Cocktail
Stanislav Ivanitskiy/Unsplash
The very first step on this journey is understanding what a cocktail is. It’s a base spirit with a sweetener, a flavoring element, and water. That’s it. That’s in comparison to a “highball” — a base spirit with a fizzy soda, juice, or water mixed in. Whisky highballs, Rum and Cokes, Jack and Gingers, screwdrivers, 7 and 7s, etc. all fall into the latter category.
An old fashioned and a Manhattan follow the classic ideal of a cocktail to the letter — base spirit (American whiskey), sweetener (sugar or sweet vermouth), flavoring agent (bitters), and water (added when stirred with ice via dilution).
The key difference between these two cocktails is the sweetening agent. In an old fashioned, you’re relying on sugar. In a Manhattan, it’s sweet vermouth.
Back in the 1800s, people started ordering “old fashioned” cocktails because they got tired of overly wrought cocktails with too many ingredients. It became fashionable in the early 19th century to go back to the basics of spirit, sugar, flavoring, and water. Simple, direct, and — when done right — delicious. The old fashioned was created out of the “less is more” ethos.
As a quick sidebar, the “old fashioned” wasn’t just for whiskey back then either. People would ask for gin or brandy old fashioneds more than they ever would a whiskey one, as those two spirits were far more popular until the late 1800s. But we digress.
The Manhattan, on the other hand, started popping up around the 1860s in the American cocktail scene. Yes, it originated in Manhattan, likely around Broadway. The drink uses sweet vermouth — a floral and botanical fortified wine with sugar added — as both a sweetening and flavoring agent. The recipe is more about the influence of French and Italian vermouth on the American drinking experience than going back to basics like the old fashioned.
Lastly, there’s the way the drinks are served. More often than not, you’ll see a Manhattan served up in a cocktail glass. “Served up” doesn’t mean in a tall stemmed glass. It means serving the drink strained from the mixing/diluting ice into a fresh glass without ice. You can also call this served “neat.”
An old fashioned is served over ice in a rocks glass. You can mix the drink in the glass and it often is/was made and served that way to save time behind the bar. You will see old fashioneds mixed in a mixing glass and then poured over fresh ice too. But you’ll rarely see an old fashioned served up or neat.
That all said, you’ll see Manhattans served over rocks in a glass too. It’s a choice and rarer — but not outrageously outside of any norm. The same goes for a martini, by the way.
So, to reiterate, the main difference between an old fashioned and a Manhattan is the sweetener that’s used. An old fashioned uses sugar (raw granules, simple syrup, sugar cubes, etc.) whereas a Manhattan uses sweet vermouth. They’re both accented with Angostura Bitters, a touch of orange oils, and kissed with a brandied cherry at the end.
Here’s how to make both at home!
Part 2 — Old Fashioned and Manhattan Cocktail Recipes
Old Fashioned
Zach Johnston
Ingredients:
2 oz. bourbon whiskey
3 dashes of Angostura Bitters
0.25 oz. simple syrup
Orange peel
Cherry
Ice
Large ice cube
Here’s an axiom to live by in cocktail making: Always use great spirit as your base. In this case, I’m using Eagle Rare 10-year Bourbon. Yes, it’s a little harder to get but, wow, does it make an amazing old fashioned. The rest is easily available at any liquor store or grocery store.
If you don’t have access to Eagle Rare, then use Micther’s Small Batch Bourbon. It’s a delicious cocktail whiskey that’s very widely available nationwide.
Zach Johnston
What You’ll Need:
Rocks glass
Mixing jar/glass
Cocktail strainer
Jigger
Pairing knife
Barspoon
Zach Johnston
Method:
Prechill your glass.
Add the simple syrup, bitters, and bourbon to a mixing glass, and then add two large handfuls of ice.
Stir the drink until the mixing glass is ice-cold to touch — about 20 seconds.
Strain the drink into the prechilled glass over a large ice cube.
Express the orange oils over the glass and drop in the peel with a dark cocktail cherry. Serve.
Bottom Line:
Zach Johnston
This is so creamy and delicious. There’s this layer of oaky earthiness (that Buffalo Trace vibe) that shines through the sweetness of the sugar that takes this drink to a whole new level.
Manhattan
Zach Johnston
Ingredients:
3 oz. bourbon whiskey
0.75 oz. sweet vermouth
2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Orange peel
Cherry
Ice
The star of the show in a Manhattan is the base whiskey, so I always make it a killer one. In this case, I’m using Michter’s 10-year Single Barrel Bourbon. Yes, it’s expensive and rare, but it makes an extraordinary cocktail. If you can’t access the Michter’s 10-year, replace it with the Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon. It’ll get the job done.
I’m using a lighter French vermouth. If we were still deep in winter, I’d replace that with a darker and more syrupy Italian vermouth.
Zach Johnston
What You’ll Need:
Coupe or cocktail glass
Mixing jar/glass
Cocktail strainer
Jigger
Pairing knife
Barspoon
Zach Johnston
Method:
Prechill the glass in the freezer.
Add the bourbon, sweet vermouth, and bitters in a mixing glass, and then a large handful of ice.
Stir the drink until it’s ice-cold — about 20 to 30 seconds.
Strain the cocktail into a prechilled glass, express the orange oils and discard the peel, and then add the cherry. Serve.
Bottom Line:
Zach Johnston
This is the drink to master. It’s uncutious, dark, and delicious. It goes down so easily. I guarantee that you’ll be making more of these throughout all of Bourbon Heritage Month.
Prohibition cocktails are back … again. Taste cycles aside, the Prohibition era was a boom for cocktail culture, mostly because bartenders needed to use big flavors to cover up sub-par booze or hide the booze in the glass from the fuzz. One of the most iconic examples of this era’s cocktails was the Algonquin.
The New York City luxury-hotel cocktail is a mix of American rye whiskey, dry vermouth, and fresh pineapple juice that dominated the 1920s and 1930s. Pineapple juice was in fashion at the time to cover up booze in cocktails. What’s interesting about this cocktail is that it’s not a sugar bomb. This is a grown-up drink that has serious nuance and depth while delivering something fresh and light.
Hence, it’s weathered the test of time.
Below, I’ll be making this super easy cocktail so that you can make one too. This is a three-ingredient shaker (well, four with ice) that takes all of 30 seconds to make. Sounds good, right? Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top Five Cocktail Recipes of the Last Six Months
There are three keys to unlocking this cocktail’s greatness. First and foremost is the American rye whiskey. You want to use something deep and spiced to power through the pineapple juice. I dig Rabbit Hole’s Boxergrail Rye as it stands up to big juicy flavors.
Next, you need to use dry vermouth, which might feel a little counterintuitive for this drink. Dry vermouth is far more common in dry martinis than in tropical juice shakers. But this layer adds a savory and botanical depth with a clear dryness that helps elevate this drink beyond the ordinary.
Lastly, you’ll need real pineapple juice, which you can find at any grocery store. Try not to get the pineapple juice with sugar added. You’ll need to get the real-deal fresh stuff. Adding sugar throws this drink off, so tread carefully.
Naturally, if you have a juicer, you can make your own.
Zach Johnston
What You’ll Need:
Coupe or Nick and Nora glass (prechilled)
Cocktail shaker
Cocktail strainer
Fine mesh strainer
Barspoon
Paring knife
Spear
Zach Johnston
Method:
Add the rye, vermouth, and pineapple juice to a cocktail shaker with a large handful of ice. Affix the lid and then shake vigorously for about 15 seconds.
Fetch the glass from the freezer and then double-strain the cocktail into the glass.
Garnish with a speared pineapple wedge and cherry. Serve.
Bottom Line:
Zach Johnston
This is a dry, botanical bomb with a nice layer of sweet and almost tart pineapple juice and spicy rye whiskey. It’s complex without feeling like homework thanks to a brightness that makes this very quaffable. You get that spicy and caramel rye whiskey. You get that bright and light fruit juiciness. You get that dry and bold woody vermouth. And it all works in this amazing harmony.
If you’re looking for a lower-sugar cocktail (there’s still plenty of sugar in the whiskey and juice) that’s dry, savory, and still super fresh, this is the play. It’s especially great if you’re looking for a fruity fresh cocktail that’s not a sugar bomb.
Sesame Street characters have been dominating social media lately thanks to Elmo, and more recently, Grover who’s decided to chart an ill-fated path into journalism. (Grover, no!) Now, here comes Abbott Elementary star Tyler James Williams with a horrifying tale about being a child actor on the set of the beloved TV show.
The actor was only seven years old when he made an appearance on Sesame Street, and clearly, the first thing he saw has haunted him forever.
“I remember the moment of walking on set and seeing a man in Big Bird and it stopped me at first,” Williams told The Jess Cagle Show. “The head was off and he just had the legs on, and it definitely shocked me.”
Despite having that image seared into his brain, Williams revealed that the performers are actually very cognizant about making the production process as kid-friendly as possible even though you’ll occasionally see a headless Big Bird or Elmo with a hand up his, um, back.
“They stay in character the entire time,” he remembered. “If it’s Elmo, although you can see the hand up the puppet, the voice coming out of the man’s mouth will always be Elmo until the kids leave, so that’s what helps bridge the gap a little bit. I’m seeing behind the curtain, but I’m still getting things here that are comfortable and familiar. They’re very aware of how I think jarring that can be for a kid and they do a really good job of making it feel as natural as possible.”
After getting over the initial shock of seeing a decapitated Big Bird, Williams said that even as a kid, he quickly realized that working the iconic character is hard as hell.
“Big Bird, the man is in the suit, but the mouth is moving from his arm that is stretched up, so you somehow have to be able to stand and move one of the arms and flap it and, you know, walk and do all of this while your other hand is moving along with the mouth,” Williams said. “And I remember looking at that and going, ‘This is much harder than anybody thinks.’”
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