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It’s a good time to be a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite the fact that the team’s postseason run ended with a whimper, Cleveland had an excellent regular season last year, as the team won 51 games and secured the 4-seed in the Eastern Conference. Built around one of the best 4-man groupings in the league and spearheaded by a legitimate superstar in Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs can (and should) feel like they can go blow for blow with just about anyone in the NBA.

And yet, last year’s postseason defeat was humiliating — this quote sums things up well. Learning how to turn regular season success into postseason success is a normal step for young teams, and as we move closer and closer to the start of the 2023-24 campaign, Cleveland is in a position where they can show that they’re ready to take that next step.

Biggest Question: Can They Balance Enough Shooting With An Elite Defense?

The Cavaliers seemed to take joy out of being an absolute chore to play against last season. No team played at a slower pace. No team had a better defensive rating. They were better than anyone else at preventing teams from attempting shots from behind the three-point line. They were very good at defending around the rim. While their offense was not perfect, it was ninth in the league in offensive rating, spearheaded by a pair of guards in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland who are capable of making magic happen.

And then, they ran into the Knicks. Despite winning 51 games — their most in a season without LeBron James on the roster in 30 years — Cleveland got repeatedly punked by New York in their limp, five-game defeat in the first round. Their defense generally held up outside of a quite frankly shocking inability to grab defensive rebounds, but the biggest problem was their offense, which had the worst offensive rating in the postseason. They struggled mightily from three (32.7 percent) and turned the ball over more than anyone (15.8 turnovers per game).

Their bet appears to be that more floor spacing will add a bit of variety into their offense and give defenses something to keep them honest while Garland, Mitchell, and Evan Mobley all go to work. The team brought in Max Strus and Georges Niang this offseason, both of whom are elite shooters who are eager to let it fly and should be really nice fits in the starting lineup (Strus) or off the bench (Niang). It’d be wise to lean on them heavily to juice the offense, and while neither are horrible defenders — both guys compete on that end of the floor — a guy like Isaac Okoro is more stout on that end of the floor. Maybe it’s possible that Mobley and Jarrett Allen (when he is healthy) are just going to be a top-5 defense no matter what, and if the shooting they brought in can give their offense a boost from “very good” to “elite,” Cleveland is going to win a ton of games.

X-Factor: Another Step Forward For Evan Mobley

The most optimistic Evan Mobley fans believe he’s a face of the franchise type of player. Even those who aren’t quite that high believe he has the potential to be an All-Star, and with good reason — he’s only 22 and he is already one of the most singularly destructive defensive players in all of basketball. His offense is still a work in progress, but if he’s building on top of his floor, he’s a guy who has averaged 15.6 points on 53.3 percent shooting from the field in his NBA career. If that dude is your third-best player, you’re in a very good spot.

The thing that makes Mobley so interesting is that he has the talent to be much more than a third-best player on a team as good as the Cavaliers. His jumper is a work in progress, but it doesn’t look irreparably broken or anything. He flashes the ability to put the ball on the deck and create. Allen’s injury to start the year could end up forcing Mobley to play more center — which is probably his long-term position in the league — and could theoretically be the sort of thing that results in growing pains but is a long-term positive.

Mobley made his playoff debut and was, to put it bluntly, embarrassed. The Knicks shoved him around and completely minimized his impact, as he went for 9.8 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, 1.2 blocks, and 0.6 steals in 37.6 minutes per game. He shot 47.8 percent from the field and missed the only three he took over five games. I’m a big believer in his talent, and we’ll see if last postseason was a wake-up call for him at all the things he has to do to become great. If he can, the Cavs are going to be a handful during the regular season.

It’s no secret that Taylor Swift is a pop-culture tsunami, washing over everything that she touches. When she recently appeared at a NFL game touting a massive entourage that notably included Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy, the rumor mill kicked into high gear with hopes that Swift would cameo in the film as Dazzler. In the X-Men comics, Dazzler is a mutant pop singer with the ability to convert sound into light and energy, and Taylor Swift is a pop singer with the ability to convert fans into mass hysteria, so this should be a no-brainer.

The calls for Swift to appear in Deadpool 3 were so strong that Levy couldn’t escape the subject during a new interview with The Wrap. His answer was notably coy:

“They sure are loud,” Levy said of Swift fans clamoring for her to play the musical mutant. “I’m going across the board. ‘No comment’ because that’s a double whammy. That’s Taylor-related. And it’s MCU-related. I’m no dummy. You’re going to have to wait and see.”

If all of this sounds familiar, that’s because Swift’s history of being dream-cast as Dazzler goes back nearly a decade to X-Men: Apocalypse. Thanks to her well-documented friendship with Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner, Swift visited the set of the film, which naturally, kicked the Dazzler rumors into overdrive. While Swift doesn’t appear in the film, Turner’s Jean Grey and Tye Sheridan’s Cyclops do visit a record store where they find a Dazzler album. There was speculation that Swift posed for the cover, but a source squashed that rumor.

The Swift as Dazzler rumors briefly fired up again for the next X-Men film, Dark Phoenix, which did include Dazzler’s live-action debut. However, the role was played by The Orville star Halston Sage.

Could Deadpool 3 make the Taylor Swift as Dazzler fancast a reality? The chances are pretty high. For starters, Ryan Reynolds is some sort of powerful genie who already brought Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine. The guy is pulling all kinds of rabbits out of a hat. Deadpool 3 will also dabble in the Multiverse, which makes a Swift cameo even easier. She can simply play Dazzler from an alternate reality, freeing Marvel to cast another actress down the road.

Although, maybe Swift wants to be the official pop star of the MCU? Surely, Kevin Feige wouldn’t say no to that.

(Via The Wrap)

When on the field, Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson had been having one of the best starts to the 2023 season of any of the NFL’s first year starters this season, completing 60 percent of his throws for 577 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, while rushing for four more touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Richardson has also only completed two of his four starts for the Colts, as big hits have knocked him out of games twice, first with a concussion and later with a shoulder injury. That shoulder injury kept him out of last week’s game against the Jaguars, and over the weekend there were rumblings the Colts and Richardson were considering season-ending surgery. On Wednesday, the team confirmed that was the path they would be taking with Richardson, with Colts owner Jim Irsay citing the desire to fix the injury completely so he can start fresh next year and not have anything linger.

The Colts have seen how injuries can pile up on a young star QB and lead to long-term issues, as Andrew Luck dealt with shoulder issues and more in his tenure in Indianapolis, ultimately retiring at just 29 years old. It seems they’ve learned from what Luck’s health problems caused in part by trying to play through injuries, and they will try to be more patient with Richardson and get him fully healed up before putting him back on the field. In the meantime, Gardner Minshew will continue starting games for the 3-3 Colts, and as part of Richardson’s recovery process, one would think there will be plenty of conversations with the young QB about limiting the number of big hits he takes when he uses his legs.

During a recent episode of Ozzy Osbourne‘s Osbournes Podcast, he had an interesting confession about something he used to do while he was performing. Granted, it’s probably a long list, but this one has to do with, well, the rock star willingly wetting himself.

“When I was onstage, I used to go, ‘Oh, fuck it,’ and just piss, ’cause I was wet anyway from throwing water around,” Ozzy said.

“Thanks for sharing,” his wife, Sharon, jokingly responded.

The reveal came after Ozzy, Sharon, and their kids Jack and Kelly were having a conversation about unique and strange things that have been sold at auctions — one of which was Queen Victoria’s underwear. Sharon also owned an old pair of Marilyn Monroe’s shoes, according to NME.

“Hang on a second, so it’s weird to have the Queen’s underwear, but you can have Marilyn Monroe’s shoes?” Jack asked.

“Shoes, a handbag, a dress is different than somebody’s bloody knickers that they farted in and sh*t in,” Sharon responded to her son.

Then, Ozzy joked, “[Queen Victoria] was an old girl, she was probably incontinent. She owned continents, but she was incontinent.”

Check out Ozzy Osbourne’s stage piss routine, and the recent episode in full, above.

Adele is no longer drinking wine. Or any kind of alcohol.

During a recent show as part of her Las Vegas residency, Adele revealed, “I stopped drinking quite a long time ago… maybe, like, three and a half months ago. It’s boring. I mean, oh my God, it’s boring. I was literally borderline alcoholic for quite a lot of my 20s, but I miss it so much. I cut out caffeine.” She was talking to two concertgoers who were enjoying “a pint” of whiskey sour. “I’m very, very jealous,” she added, according to Page Six.

The “Easy on Me” singer previously addressed her drinking habits during another Vegas show. “I remember when I came here in COVID, in lockdown. It was 11 a.m., and I was definitely, like, four bottles of wine in — like we all were,” she said. “I said in 2020 that I wanted to put my album out. And we were all at home just drunk basically.” Adele also cut one drinking as part of her weight loss journey. “That’s one great way of really sort of getting to know yourself, is just drinking water and being sober as anything,” she said.

You can watch footage from the recent Vegas concert below:

Reggaeton has been one of the biggest genres in music globally for 20 years. In truth, there probably should have been a reggaeton-focused television series ages ago, but Netflix’s Neon fills the gap admirably. It’s a comedy-drama about the music industry in the vein of shows like Atlanta, Dave, or Rap Sh!t — or maybe even a less testosterone-fueled, more music-focused version of Entourage or How To Make It In America. Conceived by New York Times best-selling author Shea Serrano and showrunner Max Searle, Neon follows the exploits of Santi, who moves from small-town Florida to Miami with his two best friends/managers in tow, hoping to capitalize on a viral hit.

Naturally, he runs afoul of the usual pitfalls of the music industry, from disinterested power players to the travails of simply funding his independent operation. He’s got a few contacts and many of reggaeton’s established stars in his corner, though, and the determination to push through the adversity he faces in his pursuit of stardom. The show is a reliably funny, often poignant look at the journey to make it in the modern recording industry that remains grounded in reality even as Santi racks up unlikely wins. After all, every success story starts with the odds stacked against the protagonist, and Santi — played by Tyler Dean Flores of Falcon And The Winter Soldier and Miguel Wants To Fight — is exactly the kind of kid you want to see win.

What struck me most throughout my binge — all eight episodes are out this week, October 19 — was how authentic and true to the music and culture of reggaeton Neon strives to be. Much of that can be credited to the original music created for the series by executive music producers Tainy & One Six (Lex Borrero and Ivan Rodriguez), who made efforts to make songs that not only enhanced the story of the show but could also live in the real world as legitimate reggaeton hits. It helps that Daddy Yankee is also a producer on the show and makes a cameo — as do other Latin music stars like Jon Z, Jota Rosa, LYANNO, and more.

Ivan Rodriguez of One Six graciously agreed to a Zoom interview with Uproxx to reveal more of the process behind creating music for the show that could stand on its own, the global impact reggaeton has had, Flores’ commitment to getting the character just right, and faking it ’til you make it.

What was it about this project that was so attractive that it just had to live in this format?

I think the most important thing about this project was that we’ve seen culture really lend a lot of love and support to the creators, in the same way that we create from our point of view, as Latinos. We love the idea of representation and we love the idea that we’re creating music that really represents us and our storytelling. The moment that Scooter’s team brought this to us and we sat down and really got into the characters and what the story was about. It was a no-brainer, because it was really telling the story of a lot of us, whether we’re upcoming artists, producers, songwriters, people that are trying to make their dreams happen. As Latinos, we really connect to that story. We live that story in real life.

It really did feel authentic to my own personal experiences with the musical industry, especially in terms of people inflating their own importance, or trying to make it seem like they’re bigger than they are. How close is that to your real-life experience, or do you have any examples of things where you had to go in the back door or fake it until you made it?

That’s one of the beautiful things about this show. When you break down some of those “fake it ’til you make it” elements of it, they’re all so real. Driving up in the car that you’re sleeping in, you’re driving up to the meeting, and then you put on your best clothes. Everybody’s faking it until you make it, even the person on the other side of the boardroom. This show really brings to life the “fake it ’til you make it” element of artists, but in a beautiful way that they’re believing in their vision, and that they have their friends. It’s like, “My friends are the manager and the creative director, and they just believe in me and we believe in each other, and really we’re all faking it, but we really want to make it.”

One of the things that has always fascinated me about movies and television shows that try to take on music and the musical industry, is that a lot of times the music itself is not necessarily authentic to what we would be hearing in the real world. How did you go around making sure that the music itself was something that can conceivably live outside of the show, and just be like a song that you would hear on the radio?

I think we started off the right path, because sometimes these projects and these shows get done, and for whatever reason they don’t bring the right people into them. I really do this, and Tainy really does shift the music in Latin as far as the sound of reggaeton, and where that sound lives. All the little details that make the music connect with people. He really does this for all the biggest artists in the world. Bad Bunny, Jay Bobbin, Rauw Alejandro, Selena Gomez, et cetera. So him being part of this project really allowed for the music to really be super credible, and sound as good as everything else, but also with the understanding that these songs weren’t some songs that were on a hard drive somewhere or that were just created without thinking about it twice.

We were really doing character-building with these songs. So yes, when you hear them at first listen, you’re like, “This is a banger. This feels good. This is exactly what I thought it would be.” But when you get into the lyrics and you get into the small details of what he’s saying, his delivery, even being a Latin person living in the United States, we lean into the accent not being all the way from a Latin country. Being from a guy that lives in Fort Myers, how he would sound, how would his accent be in Spanish? And I think that really shows if you’re paying attention to both the show and the music at the same time. Then you’re like, “Wow, they really went out of their way to make that really vivid through the music and really connect.”

Tyler Dean Flores is an incredible performer. He really brought the character of Santi to life. What was it like working with him on stuff like performance, and how much coaching did he need to be a real reggaeton star?

I love Tyler. He’s my friend now, and that’s amazing to be able to connect with him. When he came into the studio, it was just great because he was also getting into that character mode in his mind of everything that the character brings to the table and who he is. So as we were creating the music, it wasn’t just about the performance, but also picking his brain. If we were doing a song for this particular scene or this particular feeling in this part of the season, he would really break down to me how he was feeling as the character and the emotions that he’s trying to portray. By doing that, his character really informed the music.

When it came to Tyler being Santi, the character on the mic, it was really that same thing, getting in that mode, him really listening to a lot of reggaeton music already, but doubling down on that and kind of becoming an artist for those weeks. Really honing his craft and getting into the swagger and the delivery that it would take to get inspiration. He was listening to a lot of Rauw Alejandro. I think that was the main inspiration for the musical side of the character. It really felt like we were actually crafting an artist there for those weeks.

What do you hope people take away from the story of Neon from this first season? Hopefully, there will be more seasons. What do you sort of expect people to learn about reggaeton, about Latin culture, and what do you hope for the future of the show?

The main thing that I feel people are going to really connect to both the music and the storytelling. They’re going to see how the reggaeton genre, even though it is drums and it feels good and it’s danceable, and it also has the element of the street and youth culture, is really a way to express how Latinos feel. Reggaeton is another way that Latinos express how they feel, their lives, their dreams, their aspirations, and their ambition. I think they will really see that through the show on both the character side and also on the music, that reggaeton is beyond a genre. It’s really like a form of expression for Latinos.

Neon is streaming on Netflix

After months of reports that James Harden would make things “uncomfortable” if he was still on the Sixers roster when training camp started, things went fairly smoothly when that time arrived.

While he skipped media day, he arrived to camp in Colorado and worked out with the team, seemingly recognizing that his past antics had stopped his value around the league and, if he wanted someone to trade for him, he needed to play a little nicer this time. However, with that method not working to his liking, Harden has apparently decided to change his approach, with Shams Charania reporting the star guard has not been with the team since Sunday and no showed practice on Wednesday.

Harden, naturally, is in Houston.

This comes after reports indicated there was once again no real reaction on a deal with the Clippers and the expectation Harden will begin the season in Philly. That apparently doesn’t sit well with the star, who saw two weeks of attempted good behavior not lead to the intended results and has apparently decided that was enough of that.

Harden already was working out to the side and was not attending preseason games, but seems to be escalating his distance from the team by now completely skipping practice altogether. After saying he intended to “play basketball” this year, indicating he’d do so even if not traded, he may be changing his tune with the season approaching and there being no signs a resolution to his trade demand is coming.

Earlier this year, singer and instrumentalist Caroline Polachek released her fourth album, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You. The album received much acclaim, and Polachek isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Today (October 18), Polachek dropped a new song, “Dang.”

On “Dang,” Polachek teams up with producers Cecile Believe and Danny L Harle, who help deliver nearly three minutes of hyperpop bliss.

Over the course of Polachek’s career, which spans nearly two decades, Polachek has experimented with a multitude of genres, while remaining a staple under the indie-pop umbrella.

Desire, I Want To Turn Into You doesn’t follow a cohesive narrative, nor does Polachek consider it a “concept” record, as she mentioned in an interview with Elle. In that same interview, she expressed gratitude by how well-received the record was, and how so many listeners and critics understood her vision.

“I feel really grateful that people, both critics and listeners, have been so down to go into all these different zones within one album and not see it as a conflict,” Polachek said. “I feel very emboldened by how understood the record was.”

You can listen to “Dang” above, and also see Polachek’s debut of the song in a special Ted Talk-themed performance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert below.

Taylor Sheridan decided that his mountain of TV shows isn’t enough. Nor are three Yellowstone shows enough. At some point, a 6666 series will splinter off from the Yellowstone tree trunk, and the series will follow the lives of the cowboys who reside at the 6666 Ranch. Is it a real place? Oh yes.

As well, bits and pieces of the franchise have already filmed at the real-life location. Those would apparently not include any part of 1923 (starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, who look so happy next to ^^^ Sheridan’s cowboy hat that I had to use a photo), but some 1883 episodes (the prequel starring Sam Elliott) were filmed at the 6666 Ranch (or the “Four Sixes”) near Guthrie, Texas. Despite the ominous-sounding name of the joint, this is not a haunted ranch (that we know of).

The 6666 Ranch is legendary and hails back to 1870 when Captain Samuel “Burk” Burkett founded the location and got things atarted right with 100 heads of cattle who were brandished with “6666.” Today, the ranch spans an area that’s said to be as big as two Chicagos. Sheridan sealed the deal on purchasing the land, reportedly for up to $320 million and partially funded by investors who were keen on Sheridan’s plans to film Yellowstone-related programming on the premises.

This also may or may not be the place where Sheridan films cowboy camps (at a very lucrative price point) for cast and crew of his shows ahead of filming, but the 6666 Ranch is still headed up by General Manager Jim Leathers, who recently admitted that he didn’t know much about Taylor Sheridan before the screenwriting powerhouse visited the ranch with intent to purchase.

The sprawling territory will be where much drama takes place in 6666, according to the Paramount+ show’s synopsis:

Founded when Comanches still ruled West Texas, no ranch in America is more steeped in the history of the West than the 6666. Still operating as it did two centuries before, and encompassing an entire county, the 6666 has inspired a new scripted series where the rule of law and the laws of nature merge in a place where the most dangerous thing one does is the next thing. The 6666 is synonymous with the merciless endeavor to raise the finest horses and livestock in the world, and ultimately where world-class cowboys are born and made.

6666 production is currently on hold like nearly everything else in Hollywood, but we’ll keep our eyes on further developments.

The recent trend of parents going out of their way to give their children unique names has brought up a lot of discussion on social media. Some of these names sound cute when a child is 5 years old. But will Caeleigh, Zoomer or Rhyedyr look like a serious adult on a job application in a few years?

A recent viral video on TikTok is a unique twist on the current discussion surrounding names. Samantha Hart has a name that doesn’t seem like it would draw any negative attention in professional circles. However, her parents didn’t consider email conventions when they named her back in the late ‘90s when email was new.

“My name is Samantha Hart,” the 27-year-old said. “Most companies use the email designation of first initial, last name, meaning my email would be shart.” For the uninitiated, a shart is an unintentional release when one thinks they only have gas.

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The issue arose because Samantha has had two “professional” jobs in the past in which her name has been an issue. So, as she began a third job, she wondered how to approach the situation with a new employer.

@thesam_show

sorry if i talk about this problem too much but it is HAPPENING AGAIN!!

“At every single workplace, I have received an email from HR the week before I start letting me know that my name does not exactly fit the company email structure as they would intend and [asked] would I mind if they gave me a different structure for my email,” Hart said.

So she asked her 30,000 followers on TikTok if she should just “reach out, right off the bat” to her employer and ask for “something else” or wait for HR to react to her email situation. But most of the responses were from people who have been in the same embarrassing situation as Samantha and wished their parents had thought twice before naming them.

“Clittmann has entered the chat. Have been dealing with this since college,” Chris.Littmann responded.

“As Swallo, I feel your pain,” Samantha Wallo replied.

“My name is Sue Hartlove so my work emails are always shartlove,” Sue added.

“I went to college w Tiffany Estes,” Abby1233213 wrote.

“Rkelley has entered the chat,” Rach commented.

“Worked with a guy named Sam Adcock,” Lori added.

“My last name is Hartstein, and my mom’s personal email is ‘shartstein.’ People literally call her shart-stein,” Lyss wrote.

“I used to work with a BAllsman,” JenniferKerastas added.

“I worked with a Patrick Ecker at a previous job…” NoName wrote.

“Our high school used last name, first two letters of first name. My friend’s email ended up being ‘mountme,'” Averageldeal commented.

Andy Marks won the comment section with: “Always best to initiate the shart convo… wait too long and it tends to come out at the least opportune moment.”

While the comments were dominated by people sharing their unfortunate email addresses, a few people in the IT field shared their advice for how Samantha should approach her new employer with her email issue. Most agreed that she should address the issue before it becomes a larger problem.

“As someone in IT—please reach out. When we have to rename a bunch of logins after someone starts it can cause headaches for everyone (inc you!),” Kelsey Lane wrote.

“At every single workplace, I have received an email from HR the week before I start letting me know that my name does not exactly fit the company email structure as they would intend and [asked] would I mind if they gave me a different structure for my email,” Hart said.

So she asked her 30,000 followers on TikTok if she should just “reach out, right off the bat” to her employer and ask for “something else” or wait for HR to react to her email situation. But most of the responses were from people who have been in the same embarrassing situation as Samantha.

“Clittmann has entered the chat. Have been dealing with this since college,” Chris.Littmann responded.

“As Swallo, I feel your pain,” Samantha Wallo replied.

“My name is Sue Hartlove so my work emails are always shartlove,” Sue added.

“I went to college w Tiffany Estes,” Abby1233213 wrote.

“Rkelley has entered the chat,” Rach commented.

“Worked with a guy named Sam Adcock,” Lori added.

“My last name is Hartstein, and my mom’s personal email is ‘shartstein.’ People literally call her shart-stein,” Lyss wrote.

“I used to work with a BAllsman,” JenniferKerastas added.

“I worked with a Patrick Ecker at a previous job…” NoName wrote.

“Our high school used last name, first two letters of first name. My friend’s email ended up being ‘mountme,'” Averageldeal commented.

Andy Marks won the comment section with: “Always best to initiate the shart convo… wait too long and it tends to come out at the least opportune moment.”

While the comments were taken over by people sharing their unfortunate email addresses, a few people in the IT fields shared their advice for how Samantha should approach her new employer with her email issue. Most agreed that she should address the issue before it becomes a larger problem.

“As someone in IT—please reach out. When we have to rename a bunch of logins after someone starts it can cause headaches for everyone (inc you!),” Kelsey Lane wrote.