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The Golden State Warriors are just two seasons removed from winning their fourth championship of the last decade, but there are plenty of questions for them to answer this season as they look to bounce back from a bit of a down year that saw them land the 6-seed in the West and get bounced in the second round.

On Tuesday they played host to the Suns in the nightcap of the NBA’s opening night festivities on TNT, offering an early measuring stick game for both teams — with both being without a key player. Phoenix was without Bradley Beal, as the newest member of the Suns is dealing with a tweaked back, and the Warriors were without their defensive leader in Draymond Green as he works his way back from an ankle injury. The absence of Green loomed large in the first half, as the Suns got busy on offense in the second quarter to dart out to a 15-point halftime lead.

Despite it being just one half of basketball and the Warriors being down their best defender, Charles Barkley had seen enough of the Warriors to declare them dead, 24 minutes into the season.

Naturally, the Warriors went on a 25-5 run to open the third quarter and immediately retake the lead over the Suns, and if they end up winning, the postgame show will almost assuredly flashback to laugh at Chuck. If you want to say the Warriors aren’t in the very top tier of contenders in the NBA this season, you wouldn’t find a ton of argument outside the Bay Area, but to call them “cooked” after a half of basketball was maybe Chuck getting out in front of his skis a bit. That said, he’s said this before and seems to just be doubling down on his proclamation from last year that got Draymond Green very mad at him — with TNT almost assuredly calling Dray in after this one, especially if Golden State gets the win.

Richard Roundtree had a long and storied career, with over 150 credits and dozens of characters. But sometimes an actor needs but one role to make history. Roundtree had John Shaft. He played the private dick across five movies and a TV show, in turn reshaping what Black masculinity looked like onscreen.

On Tuesday Roundtree passed away after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81.

Released in 1971, Shaft instantly catapulted the largely unknown Roundtree to superstardom. It was his first movie. His entrance is like watching God walk amongst humans. John Shaft emerges from a Times Square subway station, clad in a brown leather jacket, collar up, to the strains of Isaac Hayes’ Oscar-winning song. He walks across 8th Avenue, cooly dodging cars until a cab almost hits him. He flips the cabbie the bird.

Shaft wasn’t the first Blaxploitation hit. That would be Melvin Van Peeble’s Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. But it helped define an era of cinema in which Black protagonists, historically depicted as servile or victims, won. Roundtree soon returned to the role for Shaft’s Big Score!, and again for Shaft in Africa, and once again for a short-lived TV show.

When Samuel L. Jackson starred in his own Shaft movie, it wasn’t a remake. He played John Shaft, alright, just not that John Shaft. He was the nephew of the original, played again by Richard Roundtree. (He did the same thing for the 2019 film also, confusingly, called Shaft.)

Roundtree never had a role as rich or as cool as John Shaft, but he was always around, and always a welcome presence. He appeared in the disaster movie Earthquake, opposite Peter O’Toole in the Robinson Crusoe movie Man Friday, with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds in City Heat. He appeared with Michael Moriarty and David Carradine in the nifty low-budget monster movie Q.He played the mayor in Se7en. On television he was part of the vast ensemble in the seminal Roots.

Roundtree left an indelible mark on American culture. His passing was mourned by those who knew him, including Jackson, who called him “The Best To Ever Do It!!”

Others who knew Roundtree weighed in as well.

By other actors.

Many remembered him, of course, for Shaft.

Others praised his non-Shaft work.

Others honored his contribution to Black American culture.

And others shared his great, great looks.

After the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals last year en route their first championship, some on the team — headlined by coach Michael Malone — took some additional victory laps to prod at the Lakers and, mostly, the outsized coverage the Lakers got in that series compared to the results.

The Lakers did not appreciate that and vowed to get Denver back this season, and were set to get their first chance at revenge in the season opener as the Nuggets got their rings on Tuesday night. That figured to be a perfect opportunity for the Lakers to play spoiler, and in the preseason they made clear it was a game circled on their calendars. Anthony Davis, in particular, made it known that he couldn’t wait to play the Nuggets after all their talking.

Fast forward to Tuesday night and as the Nuggets put the finishing touches on a fairly comfortable 119-107 win, the Ball Arena crowd serenaded the Lakers with a “Who’s Your Daddy?” chant, rubbing a little more salt in the wound of another loss to Denver. Meanwhile on Twitter, Davis found himself getting dunked on after this video resurfaced and fans had an awful lot of fun with the fact that he had 0 points in the second half while Nikola Jokic put up another big triple-double as the Nuggets pulled away with the win.

It looks like it will be just a little bit longer before the Barbz get their hands on Nicki Minaj‘s long-awaited fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2. Tonight (October 24), Minaj took to Instagram to share a message with the Barbz.

In a live stream, Minaj revealed that she has opted to delay Pink Friday 2.

“The new album date for this incredible body of work, that I am so proud of is on a special day to me and to the Barbz — it will come out on my birthday,” said Minaj. “Pink Friday 2 I am so happy to announce will be out on my birthday.”

Minaj’s birthday is just a few weeks after the previous November 17 release date. And while some fans are disappointed at the pushback, she has plenty of treats in store for this era. Fans can look forward to Minaj dropping the official announcement and pre-sale information for the Pink Friday 2 tour on November 17.

Elsewhere in the stream, Minaj revealed she is partnering with JCPenney and Amazon to distribute two new perfumes in conjunction with Pink Friday 2. One will arrive on December 13, and the other on December 26.

You can see the clips from the livestream above.

Pink Friday 2 is out 12/8 via Republic Records. Find more information here.

A terrific bit occurs any time Nikola Jokic talks to the Inside the NBA crew. You see, Jokic is one of the few players that Shaquille O’Neal openly adores, and any time the two cross paths because Jokic makes a cameo on the show, Shaq makes it a point to say something to him in Serbian, which Jokic really loves.

That happened on Tuesday night after Jokic had a triple-double in the Denver Nuggets’ season opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Ernie Johnson told Jokic that Shaq was about to come on the air, which got a smile and an emphatic “let’s go Shaq!” out of the reigning NBA Finals MVP. Shaq said “volim te,” which made Jokic laugh and got a “good job, Shaq!”

Much like me, Kenny Smith wanted to know what Shaq said here, and both the Hall of Fame center and the future Hall of Fame center responded that this was Serbian for “I love you.” The Inside crew can come under criticism for not always giving the current generation of players the love and respect that they deserve, but Jokic is absolutely not someone who gets that treatment. Everyone on the set is a legitimately huge fan of Jokic’s game, and it really does make for excellent television whenever they talk to him.

Flo Milli can’t keep the fans and the haters away. Today (October 24), the “BGC” rapper took to social media to announce her upcoming third studio album, Fine Ho, Stay.

The album follows Flo’s debut mixtape, Ho, Why Is You Here? and her debut album, You Still Here, Ho?, continuing a reality TV-inspired theme.

On the album cover, Flo is seen rocking purple hair, a colorful dress, and red bottom Louboutin heels. Her name emblem resembles the VH1 TV channel logo from the early-to-mid aughts.

In recent months, Flo has released new tracks, like the sexually-charged “Chocolate Rain,” and the ladies’ anthem, “BGC.” She’s remained tight-lipped about Fine Ho, Stay, however, she did tease the record to The Forty-Five following her Coachella appearance back in April. Flo said that while she does plan to tap into her vulnerability, like she did on her 2022 ballad “Tilted Halo,” fans can expect a variety of sounds on the album.

“I’ve been [exploring that vulnerability] a little bit more,” said Flo. “But I’ve been exploring lots of different pockets. Y’all will see on the new album the versatility that I bring.”

According to a press release, Fine Ho, Stay will arrive next month.

You can see the cover art below.

The 2023-24 NBA season began with a rematch of the 2023 Western Conference Finals. The Los Angeles Lakers traveled to Denver to take on the defending champion Nuggets, and in a result that is awfully familiar to everyone who watched them pick up a sweep last postseason, Denver was able to pick up a 119-107 win behind a monster night for Nikola Jokic. The reigning NBA Finals MVP, you will not be shocked to learn, started the season off with a triple-double, going for 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists in the win.

There was a whole lot of back-and-forth between the two teams, both during their series and in the aftermath. It seems like there is legitimately some bad blood here, and as the game was winding down, Nuggets fans made sure the Lakers heard them, as they busted out a deafening “who’s your daddy?” chant at the Ball Center.

For context, a very drunk Michael Malone got referred to as “the Lakers’ daddy” during the team’s victory parade. Presumably, part of the reason why Denver fans wanted to let them hear it on Tuesday is this was the only time the Lakers will visit them in the regular season. The two sides have two more games scheduled during the 2023-24 campaign, with both of them (Feb. 8 and March 2) taking place in Los Angeles. Perhaps they’ll meet up again in the playoffs once those roll around.

With No Hard Feelings, Jennifer Lawrence tried to bring back the hard-R sex comedy. Once upon a time audiences flocked to movies like American Pie, in which everyday young people awkwardly tried to get it on. Gross-out yukfests featuring questionable hair product could even outgross Pixar! Those days are gone, but though it only did pretty well at the box office, No Hard Feelings will probably earn a second life on home video, where it currently streams. At home viewers can not only be free to enjoy sex jokes away from strangers, but they can also notice some of the finer details, like: Where was this film shot?

The answer is mildly complicated. No Hard Feelings — in which Lawrence plays a chaos agent hired by concerned parents to date their younger son — takes place in Montauk, on the far end of Long Island. It’s famously where Kate Winslet’s Clementine beckons Jim Carrey’s Joel to meet her in the present day sections of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

No Hard Feelings was shot in Montauk, too — partially. Per ScreenRant, the production only spent a week on the eastern end of Long Island. The rest of shooting was done in Nassau County, far, far from Montauk, on the border of Queens County, and therefore in proximity to the Five Boroughs that comprise New York City.

Nassau County isn’t as moneyed or scenic as Montauk, but it has everything else a film production needs to ape it: water, beaches, greenery, and some nice architecture. It’s close enough to the real deal.

No Hard Feelings currently streams on Netflix, and it’s available for rent from any other fine streamer.

Last year, Sueños Music Festival celebrated its second tun in Chicago. The festival reportedly pulled in over 45,000 attendees and boasted a line-up of some of the biggest names in reggaeton and Latin trap. Myke Towers, El Alfa, J Balvin, Ozuna, and Wisin Y Yandel were among the artists performing in the first iteration of the festival. Wisin Y Yandel returned this year for the festival’s second iteration, along with Feid, Nicky Jam, and Ivy Queen.

The first two Sueños Festivals proved to be a hit, and now, festivalgoers and fans can’t wait to return to Chicago’s Grant Park for the third year.

When is the Sueños Music Festival in 2024?

The Sueños Music Festival will take place over the course of two days — Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26 — at Grant Park. At the time of writing, a line-up for the 2024 festival has not yet been announced.

Neither a pre-sale date nor a general on-sale date have been announced, however, fans can sign up here to register for the Sueños Music Festival mailing list. Fans on the mailing list will be granted first access to pre-sale tickets.

According to a preview poster, the 2024 festival will have a line-up of more than 25 Latin and Reggaeton artists, dozens of bars, local Latin food vendors, new experiential activities, and new heights of perreo.

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

Gardening influencer Ashley Nicole (@momjeansandgardenthings) has an easy tip for everyone having a hard time with their plants dying and getting destroyed by pests. It’s a time-honored technique called “companion planting,” where your main crop is surrounded by plants that repel bad insects and attract the good ones.

Nicole founded the blog Mom Jeans and Garden Things, where she shares “tips, tricks, and ideas on ways to grow your own herbal beauty routine.”

“If you’re a beginner gardener and you’re confused about companion planting, this simple formula is going to make everything make sense,” Nicole says in the clip. “There are three main components to companion planting. There’s the main crop … the flower, and the herb.”

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For example, Nicole shares a pot featuring her main crop, a tomato plant, accompanied by onions, oregano, marigolds and chives.

@momjeansandgardenthings

Quick and Easy guide to Companion Planting #gardening101 #beginnergardenertips #companionplanting #newgardeners

Here’s how they work together: “The marigold is going to act as an attractant for pollinators, the oregano is going to act as a repellent,” she said. “Marigold also acts as a repellent. Now I have an additional herb here … our chives and onions, they are going to act as our herb and act as a repellent to pests.”

This unique arrangement keeps pests away from plants while attracting essential pollinators. Commentators praised Nicole for making a complex gardening technique simple and easy to learn.

“This was the best explanation I’ve heard since I’ve begun my container planting on my deck,” Meribah2022 wrote. “Simply explained,” Gabriela Dominguez added. “I tried this last year, and it worked beautifully.”