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The highly anticipated USA-Canada matchup will indeed be happening on Sunday in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but it will not be in the gold medal game as expected. Instead, the two North American squads will be playing for the bronze after Serbia dominated Canada early on Friday morning and then Germany took down Team USA in a thriller.

The two teams went back and forth throughout the first half, with Germany leading by two after the first quarter and the Americans leading by one at halftime. The offenses shined early for both sides, with the two teams attacking each other and putting on quite the shot-making display. Mikal Bridges had 15 points at the half (but just two in the second half), while Franz Wagner and Anthony Edwards would score 22 and 23 points respectively on the game showing off their varied offensive skillsets.

However, in the third quarter the German side took control, as Dennis Schröder orchestrated the offense, Andreas Obst became a flamethrower from deep, Wagner continued to be a problem with his size on the wing, and Daniel Theis and Isaac Bonga gave the Americans fits inside.

In the fourth quarter, it was Edward once again leading the charge to get Team USA back in the ball game, as he threw down a vicious dunk (and tried another shortly after that led to free throws) and buried a huge three to cut the deficit to one possession.

However, while Germany’s offense got a bit muddled late, the USA squad was unable to ever reclaim the lead, getting the deficit down to as few as one point before Obst again buried a three off a baseline inbounds play, shaking Tyrese Haliburton and sending him to the floor before knocking down a huge shot.

That was followed by an early dagger from Schröder, who hit a stepback from the midrange over Austin Reaves (who they hunted relentlessly on defense late) to put Germany up six with 40 seconds to play.

Reaves would redeem himself with a quick two on an outlet and then drew an offensive foul to give Team USA a chance at again cutting the deficit to one score, but they couldn’t make it happen and by the time they did get another bucket, time had all but run out. All Germany had to do was get the ball in with half of a second on the clock and the celebration was on for a massive moment for German basketball and heartbreak for Team USA.

Obst finished with 24 points and six assists to lead all scorers, while Schröder had 17 points and nine rebounds to continue his stellar tournament. Franz Wagner had 22 points and five boards and his brother Mo chipped in 10 off of the bench. As a team, Germany had 30 assists on 41 made baskets, as they carved up the USA defense all night with their activity and size.

Edwards finished the night with 23 points and eight rebounds, doing all he could to get Team USA through to the gold medal game. Once again he found himself needing more help than he got down the stretch, but really the story of this game was Team USA’s inability to get stops. Germany had 100 points in the first 32 minutes of the game and piled up 113 overall, as their size and strength (coupled with a good shooting night) proved too much for the Americans. However, it can’t even be chalked up to hot shooting, as Team USA actually shot more efficiently from three (12-of-25) than Germany (13-of-30), they just couldn’t handle the Germans at any level defensively. Jaren Jackson Jr., for all his immense abilities on defense, is not the anchor inside against big teams the Americans need and there are too many weak points to attack on the perimeter when Team USA puts out their best offensive lineup — as Haliburton and Reaves were repeatedly targeted.

The Americans will now face Canada for the bronze in a highly anticipated matchup that loses a good bit of its luster now that it’s not for gold, but still features a ton of NBA talent and will be fascinating to see how both teams get up for that game considering the stakes aren’t what they expected. Germany will take on Serbia in a gold medal game few predicted, but it’s one that should be highly entertaining as Serbia has been a buzzsaw in this tournament, led by Bogdan Bogdanovic, while Germany is coming off of the biggest win their basketball program has had and will be riding high.

Despite some controversy surrounding the emerging technology, Time Magazine is showcasing the most influential people in AI for their next cover. Some musicians — like Sting or Ed Sheeran — are not interested in this advancement of technology; others, like will.i.am or Lupe Fiasco, are on board with it.

However, the most active supporter of AI in music might be Grimes, who’s featured on Time‘s list. The blurb mentions Elf.Tech, her platform which allows fans to upload a capella vocals, and recreate them in her voice using AI technology. Her recent song, “I Wanna Be Software,” was a love letter to the digital realm.

Also on the list is Holly Herndon. Her blurb explains “her digital twin,” Holly+. “Working with technologists, Herndon created a vocal deepfake of herself in 2021 by extensively training a neural network on her voice. Now, any amateur musician can use Holly+ to transform their pedestrian voice into hers, perfectly tuned and ethereal,” it reads.

After making Elf.Tech, Grimes tweeted about being worried that fans were making better songs than her. “I am actually kinda stressed that ppl r starting to make competitively (or maybe better??) quality grimes sounding songs than I do but it’s also the most wonderfully poetic way to die and respawn in another career,” she wrote.

The AFC team with the best FanDuel odds to win the 2024 Super Bowl is the Kansas City Chiefs (although maybe not after last night), while the Philadelphia Eagles are the favorites in the NFC. Drew Carey did not pick either team to win the Super Bowl. He chose the team with the worst odds, and another that’s close to the bottom.

To be fair, Carey didn’t know which teams he was backing when he punched holes into the Punch-A-Bunch predictor for a segment on The Price is Right. For the AFC, he involuntarily picked the Houston Texans, who are tied with the Arizona Cardinals with the worst odds to win the Super Bowl (if you wager $250 and they win, you get $45,000). In the NFC, Carey is unfortunately aligned with the Washington Commanders. “Oh man… You know what? Don’t risk your money,” he said while showing the card to the studio audience.

Carey added, “It’s also nice to know who not to bet on.”

The Price is Right host must be disappointed that he didn’t pick the Cleveland (which famously rocks) Browns — but glad he didn’t choose the Baltimore Ravens. “I will always hate the Ravens,” he once said (the old Browns were moved from Cleveland by evil Art Modell to become the Ravens before the new Browns returned to Ohio). “Always. Of course, we hate Pittsburgh in Cleveland, but that’s healthy. Believe it or not, I think we hate the Ravens more.”

For what it’s worth, the Browns have the 13th best Super Bowl odds.

It’s Barbie’s world if you’re still in doubt. As the 2023 VMAs return to Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, on September 12, rapper Nicki Minaj will be on double duty for the evening. In August, organizers announced Lil Wayne, Demi Lovato, Stray Kids, Karol G, and more would grace the ceremony’s stage for the evening. However, there was one substantial pink omission: the head Barb herself. Today (September 8), that has changed.

On X (formerly Twitter), the event organizers revealed that the “Last Time I Saw You” rapper would not only be performing for the crowd mixed with music professionals and fans, but in addition to that, she would serve as the evening’s host.

“BAAAAAARBZ @NICKIMINAJ IS PERFORMING AT THE 2023 #VMAs, AND she’s our emcee for the night!! Watch her LIVE ~ TUESDAY at 8p on @MTV [pink bow emoji],” read the post.

Minaj is up for several awards at the 2023 VMAs, including Video Of The Year (“Super Freaky Girl”), Artist Of The Year, Best Hip-Hop (“Super Freaky Girl”), Best R&B (Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj – “Love In The Way”), and Best Visual Effects (“Super Freaky Girl” – Visual Effects by Max Colt and Sergio Mashevskyi).

Last year, Minaj also performed a mashup of her biggest hits. She was also bestowed the coveted Vanguard Award, the highest honor from the event.

The 2023 MTV VMAs will take place on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on MTV. To watch, tune in via MTV.com live stream or on Paramount+. Find more information here.

This week, Danny Masterson’s decades-long prison sentence ended a long legal saga (and hopefully also ended a pattern of harassment by Scientology goons) for his rape victims. The That ’70s Show star reportedly blew a kiss to wife Bijou Phillips in the courtroom and has vowed to appeal the sentence. In the immediate aftermath of the sentencing announcement, however, a nearly decades-old Conan O’Brien clip has been making the rounds because it hits rather uncomfortably now.

It’s worth noting again that the two forcible rape convictions involve 2003 events at Masterson’s Hollywood Hills home. And in 2004, the That ’70s Show star visited O’Brien, where the subject of accents came up. Even after transplanting to California, Masterson found the pronunciation of certain words would stick around from his Long Island days. That led to a story about fellow Scientologist Bodhi Elfman giving Masterson hell, as he told Conan: “He always teases me and he says, ‘Hi, my name is Danny Masterson, would you like to touch my balls.’”

In this clip highlighted on Twitter by the WuTangKids account, Conan inquired about why on earth Masterson would ask for that. Masterson had a wiseass comeback: “I mean, you got ’em, you know what I mean? Everybody should grab.” And Conan (in classic Conan comeback fashion) quipped, “I’ve heard about you… you’ll be caught soon, I know you will.” Masterson agreed, although no one had any idea at that point how accurate that would turn out to be. Looking back, this is a real head shaker of a conversation.

In May, Masterson was found guilty of two of three counts of rape by force or fear. 20 years after those crimes, he’s 47 years old, and he most likely won’t surface from prison until age 77. During the sentencing hearing, the judge told the actor, “You are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another person’s voice and choice. Your actions 20 years ago were criminal.” Prior to that moment, one of Masterson’s victims called out his former DJ moniker, DJ Donkey Punch (yes, that would refer to the dangerously violent sexual act).

The Conan clip isn’t the only one that looks especially sketchy these days. Here’s a clip from a James Corden interview where Masterson declares, “I probably have more photos of Commando Kutcher here naked in the club than probably anybody.” It was awkward then, and it’s worse now.

Ron DeSantis is reportedly grousing behind the scenes about his embarrassing GOP debate strategy being leaked just days before the Fox News event. Adding insult to injury, the leak came from the Florida governor’s super PAC, Never Back Down, and he’s not thrilled with the lead strategist over there.

According to the Washington Post, DeSantis’ campaign is once-again awash in internal drama as the governor has reportedly soured on Never Back Down and has been privately complaining about the group’s performance. DeSantis entered the Republican primary as the biggest threat to Donald Trump and the most likely to secure the nomination. He’s now flailing in the polls and may not make it past Iowa or New Hampshire:

DeSantis has expressed regrets over Jeff Roe’s hiring as a lead strategist at the super PAC Never Back Down, an outside group that has assumed many responsibilities in the race traditionally handled by campaigns, two of the people said. One, a DeSantis donor, heard the comments directly from the governor, this person said.

DeSantis has also voiced anger over a pre-debate strategy memo from Never Back Down, which was publicly posted last month on the website of Roe’s firm, Axiom, these people said. One of them, the donor, said the governor was “apoplectic.”

In DeSantis’ defense, the leaked memo was pretty humiliating thanks to its blatant attempt to have the governor try to drive in Trump’s lane by doling out weak nicknames to his opponents. One of those names was “Fake Vivek” or “Vivek the Fake,” which prompted Vivek Ramaswamy to slap DeSantis with a much more brutal and accurate nickname of his own: “Robot Ron.”

(Via Washington Post)

On Thursday (September 7), Zach Bryan‘s mugshot was floating around the internet. The rising country star had been arrested in Oklahoma on an obstruction of investigation charge. He immediately addressed it online, explaining he “had an incident with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.”

Since then, he’s shared a video further explaining the situation.

“I was an idiot today, and my decisions did not reflect who I was as a person. I just want to make that clear. I should’ve been smarter about it,” he began. Then he said that a few days ago he was driving through a small Oklahoma town when he was pulled over for going a few miles over the speed limit. The cop asked for his license, registration, and address.

“I told him, ‘Hey man, I don’t really feel comfortable giving you my address. I’m a musician, I’m just not comfortable with it,’” he said.

“So he says, ‘If you don’t give me your address, I’m gonna have to take you to jail,’” he continued.

Bryan still refused and he handcuffed him. They talked, Bryan gave him his address, and the cop let him go. Then, fast-forward to Thursday, he was driving to Boston when his security guard following him was pulled over. When Bryan got out of his vehicle to see what was going on, a cop instructed him to get back in his car or he would take him to jail.

“I get too lippy with him, he brings me over to his car, and I just didn’t help my situation at all,” he said. “I felt like a child. It was ridiculous, it was immature, and I just pray everyone knows that I don’t think I’m above the law. I was just being disrespectful and I shouldn’t have been. It was my mistake.”

When they let him back out, the cop was talking to him and telling him not to interrupt him. Bryan did interrupt him and so they took him to jail, where he was for a few hours. “I was just an idiot,” he concluded, “I’ll take the fall for it.”

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

Lil Baby’s It’s Only Us Tour has faced several hiccups along the way. Just weeks before the string of shows was set to kick off, the Grammy Award-nominated rapper canceled a number of dates without offering ticketholders any explanation. Days after, he lost his biggest opening act, The Kid Laroi. Since then, it seemed as if everything had been smooth sailing until yesterday (September 7).

Unfortunately, during Lil Baby’s performance at Memphis, Tennesse’s FedEx Forum, one person was shot, according to ABC News. The outlet revealed that the victim was a male concertgoer. After being rushed to Regional One Health Medical Center, it was announced that he was in critical condition due to the wound.

WREG-TV reported that as gunshots were fired in the stadium, Lil Baby was quickly escorted offstage and was reportedly not injured.

The Memphis Police Department took to X (formerly Twitter) to share limited details, including the time of the incident and that, at the current time, the shooter’s identity was not yet known.

Ahead of the show, the entertainer took to Instagram to upload an image behind the scenes to share his excitement for the evening’s performance. Following the incident, fans have flooded the comment section of the same post to discuss their thoughts on the tragic news.

One user, claiming to be a native of the area, wrote, “we sorry i promise.”

Another penned, “we so sorry cuh they do this everywhere jus go to southaven next time.”

One supporter upset by the news was concerned that the incident would mean that in the future Lil Baby wouldn’t return for future tours, writing, “N**** ain’t never coming back now.”

Neither Lil Baby nor his representatives have issued a statement about the shooting.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: more TV shows should star Kurt Russell and Godzilla. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the first of hopefully many collaborations between the legends.

The Apple TV+ and Toho series is the latest installment in MonsterVerse, which also includes Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Kong, a movie where a skyscraper-sized gorilla punches a radioactive lizard in the face. It’s good. There’s no Kong in the trailer above, but there is John Goodman running away from what looks like Kumonga, two generations of Russells (Kurt and his son Wyatt), and Godzilla. Some call him the king of the monsters; I call him my friend.

Here’s more:

Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco, and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch. Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows. The dramatic saga – spanning three generations – reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which also stars Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski, premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, November 17th.

A TMZ report from last month indicated that Rihanna and ASAP Rocky’s second child was born on August 3, and that the child, a boy, had a first name starting with R. Now it appears we have more concrete info on that front.

The Blast obtained the baby’s supposed birth certificate and the document indicates that his name is Riot Rose Mayers, and that he was born on August 1 (so not the 3rd) at 7:41 a.m. in Los Angeles’ Cedar Sinai Hospital. Rocky, meanwhile, recently released a new song called “Riot (Rowdy Pipe’n).”

Riot is Rihanna and Rocky’s second child, their first being RZA Athelston Mayers, whose name was revealed earlier this year. RZA, the Wu-Tang Clan rapper after whom the Rihanna/Rocky baby was named, was flattered by the news, saying, “[It’s] a great honor to know that there’s another generation that’s not even of my own household that feels the strength and the inspiration of that name. RZA [isn’t] only a name, it’s a title. So it’s an honor and I salute her and ASAP and their family. All the blessings in the world from me.”

In non-baby news, Rihanna just linked back up with Puma and revealed her first sneaker with the brand since the reunion.