On Thursday, Donald Trump is supposed to report to a D.C. courthouse to be arraigned. He should know the drill now; after all, this is his third indictment in only a handful of months. It might not be his last. Later this month he’ll learn whether or not he’s getting a fourth, this one related to his alleged attempted election tampering in Georgia. So far Trump has been able to avoid some of the formalities of being arraigned, such as getting a mugshot. If this one happens, he won’t be so lucky.
As per WSB-TV out of Atlanta, should Fani Willis, district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, decide to indict Trump later, county sheriff Pat Labat is ready to treat him like any other perp.
“Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mugshot ready for you,” Labat promised.
Labat also said he’s been monitoring how the president’s other indictments have been handled in New York City and Miami. He’ll be watching what happens Thursday, when the former president reports to D.C. His office is already working with local, county, state, and federal law enforcement, should he have to take a mugshot of one of the most famous and angriest people on the planet.
So Christmas may come early this year, meaning the world will finally have a mugshot of Donald John Trump.
(Via WSB-TV)
The Houston Rockets were really the only team that came into the 2023 offseason with a lot of cap space that actually wielded it in a way to make big splashes in free agency. While most of the league was busy either re-signing players or using their cap space to absorb big contracts on the trade market, the Rockets were the one team throwing big cash around at free agents to lure them to Houston and send their rebuild into the next phase.
Houston seems ready to move on from just trying to acquire as much young talent as possible and start trying to compete for a West Play-In spot by blending their young, hopeful stars with established veterans. With Ime Udoka now onboard as head coach, the Rockets expect to take a step forward, and they had a clear plan this summer and nearly executed it in totality. However, there was one big miss in free agency that created some missteps, and now the Rockets come into the 2023-24 season with a clearly improved roster but questions about just how high they can climb in the very crowded West Play-In race.
Draft: A-
Houston will hope this is the last time they’re picking up near the top of the draft on merit rather than incredible lottery luck, and if it was they seem to have done extremely well for themselves. With the fourth overall pick they took Amen Thompson from Overtime Elite, a hyper athletic guard with size who has incredible upside, with the swing skill being him developing a reliable jump shot. Then, with the 20th pick, they got the apparent steal of the 2023 Draft, as Cam Whitmore of Villanova fell from a potential top-5 pick out of the lottery due to medical questions. He showed his talents in Summer League, earning MVP honors in Vegas, and while the health questions will be something to monitor, in the immediate the Rockets managed to nab a pair of top-10 caliber prospects with just one top-10 pick. Our Brad Rowland gave Houston a B+ for Thompson and an A for Whitmore on Draft night.
Thompson isn’t without flaws by any means, but he brings tremendous upside to the table. Amen projects to be immediately be one of the best athletes in the NBA on arrival, and his combination of on-ball playmaking and defensive potential is tantalizing. The big question is whether he’ll develop a solid jump shot, which could determine his ultimate ceiling.
From the outside, we can’t know how to evaluate this. Whitmore’s precipitous fall is shocking amid rumblings of shaky medicals. If you remove that, this would be a total and complete heist for Houston. At a certain point, nabbing a very clear top-10 talent is worth the risk for a player they were considering at 4 early in the process.
Free Agency/Contract Extensions: B
For any team trying to exit the rebuilding phase and add top talent, there is a tax to be paid, and Houston was willing to do that this summer, best evidenced by the 3-year, $130 million they gave to Fred VanVleet. That deal raised eyebrows when it was announced, but it became more palatable once details came out and we learned the third year was a team option. VanVleet is the kind of steady-handed, defensive-minded veteran point guard the Rockets were desperate to get to pair with Jalen Green in the backcourt, and they paid what they had to in order to pry him out of Toronto.
With a clear eye on upgrading their roster on the defensive side of the floor, they made a hard pursuit of Brook Lopez as well, with reports out of Houston indicating they thought they were nearing a deal — feeling so strongly they made some trades to move some money around before a deal was agreed to. Unfortunately for the Rockets, Lopez opted to stay in Milwaukee and they were left without the defensive anchor they hoped to be bringing in. The pivot for Houston was to sign Jock Landale to a 4-year, $32 million deal with just the first year guaranteed, as Landale was coming off a very solid season in Phoenix backing up Deandre Ayton. That was a fine signing, as was bringing in the ultimate veteran, Jeff Green, on a 1-year, $6 million deal.
However, considering the Rockets plan was to reshape the team by building a defensive identity via incoming veterans, missing out on Lopez — the best defender of the bunch and the guy that was going to make the plan especially viable — caused a considerable step back for Houston. They have undoubtedly made their team better this summer, but the ceiling won’t be as high as it would’ve been with Lopez anchoring a new-look defense.
Trades: C+
The other big move from the Rockets was completing a sign-and-trade for Dillon Brooks, giving him a 4-year, $86 million deal that, like VanVleet’s brought considerable sticker shock. Houston sent out Josh Christopher in the deal, which is understandable as they had a glut of scoring guards on the roster, and Brooks, again, fits the model of trying to upgrade their defense at all three levels. For all the headaches he caused at times in Memphis, he was an All-Defense performer and will legitimately help them on that end, as he and VanVleet can take on most any opposing ball-handler obligations and will immediately make their defense better. Now, the question about Brooks’ defense (and VanVleet a bit as well) is how good they’ll look without an elite level backline defender. This is, again, the issue with not landing Lopez, as Alperen Sengun and Jock Landale patrolling the rim behind you is a far cry from what Brooks had in Memphis with Jaren Jackson Jr. that allows you to be as physical and pressure ball-handlers, because when you do get beat, the penalty is lessened.
The cost on Brooks’ deal is high, and higher than most anyone anticipated he’d get, considering the only real threat for him was teams with a midlevel (which would’ve been in the $54 million range for 4 years). It’s a descending deal, which will make him a bit easier to move if they feel they need to down the road, but my biggest concern with giving Brooks that kind of deal is what he will think his role should be on offense. Forever, the issue with Brooks has been a desire to be among the leading options, taking a lot of ill-advised shots as a low-efficiency but high-volume shooter. Giving him a contract worth north of $20 million per year, making him the second-highest paid player on the team, isn’t the type of thing I’d expect to dampen his enthusiasm for taking a lot of shots, and therein lies the big risk with this contract (that, unlike VanVleet’s, does not have a team option or non-guarantee).
While you can talk yourself into the Brooks move, the rest of the trades Houston made this summer were less than ideal, simply because of why they were made. They traded TyTy Washington, Usman Garuba, and KJ Martin (alongside some second rounders and a redirected Patty Mills) to create space for a Lopez signing that never happened, ultimately folding it all into the Brooks deal with Christopher heading to Memphis. That’s just bad process and asset management by Houston’s front office. Whether that was a matter of Lopez walking back on something or not, you can’t make those trades until you have a firm agreement. As such, I don’t grade this as a particularly successful summer of trades, even if they did accomplish one of their goals in bringing Brooks onto the roster who will make them better.
My only issue with this summer of moves from Houston was their inability to address the center position, which is the most important in terms of building a strong defense. Having better defenders at the point of attack and on the wing is undoubtedly going to help them and they are unquestionably a better team than they were last year, but missing out on Lopez (and making the trades they did to facilitate a deal that never went down) keeps this from being a completely successful summer.
Yesterday Donald Trump got a new present: his third indictment in the last handful of months. He’s not the only polarizing figure who might wind up in prison. As per CNBC, on Wednesday federal law enforcement treated Vince McMahon with both a search warrant and a grand jury subpoena.
McMahon’s alleged crimes are even somewhat similar to some of Trump’s alleged crimes. Federal investigators have been peering into claims the World Wrestling Entertainment honcho has paid millions over the years in hush money to women who have accused him of sexual assault.
As it happened, McMahon is currently out of the office. On July 21, McMahon went out on medical leave following what the WWE described as “major spinal surgery.” He may be recuperating but he’ll technically remain on staff as Executive Chariman.
Last year, McMahon stepped down from the WWE amidst allegations that he had raped two women three decades ago. In January, some six months later, he returned, saying his departure was due to “bad advice from people close to him.” He claimed the allegations would blow over.
McMahon has denied any wrongdoing and a statement from the WWE said the company has “cooperated throughout and fully understands and respects the government’s need for a complete process.”
In any event, there’s a chance that Trump and McMahon could wind up being prison roommates.
(Via CNBC)
AMC’s The Walking Dead came to an end in late 2022 after 11 seasons, although Robert Kirkman’s comics ended three years prior and in an abrupt way. This allowed the show to move beyond the source material out of necessity, but to be fair, there were already plenty of differences between the two. People didn’t seem to get too precious about those difference either, and thank goodness because Daryl Dixon must never die on the shows. Carol’s platonic soulmate, of course, didn’t appear in the comics and was actually created as a fit for Norman Reedus, although one wonders why TV Daryl and his weapon of choice never popped over into the comics.
Initial showrunner Frank Darabont actually concocted Daryl after Reedus went for the role of Daryl’s older brother, Merle. Michael Rooker nabbed that role while (via Comic Book and according to Kirkman’s own words in The Walking Dead Deluxe #67) casting directors wanted to cast Norman but found that he “wasn’t a perfect fit” to play the horribly racist, entirely abrasive Merle. And so, Daryl and his bike were born. However, Kirkman felt that it would have been a disservice to the show’s writers if he ported Daryl into the comics:
“I would never have done it because it would feel wrong to bring the work of so many other people into the comic,” Kirkman explained. “I never wanted the show to change the comic, since the comic is what made the show possible, and I worried it could turn into a snake eating its own tail.”
Kirkman further stressed that Daryl and Merle were “very much a team effort involving other season one writers Jack LoGiudice and Charles H. Eglee,” and of course, Darabont had originated them. So even though Daryl never got his day in the comics, that’s fine. He lived throughout the entire eleven seasons of the show and wayyyy longer than Merle and the majority of the show’s characters, for that matter. Even better, Daryl is getting his own dang solo spinoff. Not even Rick Grimes is doing a solo act, so there.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premieres on September 10.
(Via Comic Book)
Every summer, dozens of NBA players hold basketball camps across the country that allow kids to hear from their favorite player, learn some new basketball skills, and maybe even go 1-on-1 in a drill with an NBA star.
However, this summer there is a new basketball camp being offered down at IMG Academy in Florida — where the WNBA Bubble was held and many stars have played high school ball over the years in football and basketball — that will be hosted by none other than Stephen A. Smith. The cost for this camp, which runs next week (Aug. 6-12), is $2,899.
You may be asking: Why would anyone send their child to a weeklong basketball camp run by Stephen A. Smith for nearly $3,000? I am also asking that same very question, so unfortunately I don’t have a good answer for you. Here is the description of the camp from IMG’s website.
IMG Academy is getting loud and providing a once-in-a-lifetime camp opportunity for young athletes with its Stephen A. Smith Basketball Camp at IMG Academy taking place Aug. 6-12.
As part of the camp package, Smith will participate in several engaging opportunities with camp participants, including sharing an inspiring message to the young athletes and hosting a Q&A-format discussion. All camp participants will receive exclusively branded Stephen A. Smith Basketball Camp at IMG Academy apparel to wear for the week of camp.
Stephen A. Smith is a featured commentator and executive producer on ESPN’s First Take, analyst on NBA Countdown and host of K[no]w Mercy with Stephen A. Smith podcast.
None of this explains why you would send your child to this camp or what your kid will get out of this that is different from a regular basketball camp aside from a Q&A with Stephen A. and “engaging opportunities” with the ESPN star. I really, desperately hope Stephen A. gets out there and does drills or plays 1-on-1 with campers, because I cannot think of much that would bring me more joy in the August desert of sports content than video of a 14-year-old camper crossing Stephen A. into oblivion — or, alternatively, a video of Stephen A. mercilessly blocking the shots of children and then posting them up while talking trash.
That would be worth $2,899, but if he’s not out there on the courts, you can keep it.
Ryan Gosling’s Ken may not know exactly where he belongs in the new Barbie movie, but there’s one place he probably never expected to end up: on the Billboard Hot 100. That’s right, Ryan Gosling’s soundtrack contribution, “I’m Just Ken,” has generated enough interest to appear among the top 100 songs in the country. It enters the chart at No. 87, which is pretty impressive considering that it’s Gosling’s first-ever appearance on the Hot 100.
“I’m Just Ken” isn’t the only song he performs on the soundtrack, either. Another song he performs in the movie is an amusing cover of “Push” by Matchbox Twenty. The song has also received a warm reception from fans — including some who didn’t even realize that it was a cover of a song that is (presumably) older than they are — as well as the song’s original performer Rob Thomas. He said he thought the moment it’s used in the movie is “hilarious” and was relieved that it didn’t end up being the butt of the joke.
The movie itself isn’t doing so bad on the box office side of things, by the way. The movie is credited with breaking a record previously held by Marvel’s Captain Marvel, becoming the biggest opening ever for a female-directed motion picture with $155 million over its opening weekend.
The Barbie soundtrack is a Warner Music release. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Warning: This post contains spoilers for the series finale of Succession, a good show that you should watch if you haven’t already.
One of the grimmer developments in the home stretch of Succession — and there were plenty of those — was this: Shiv Roy was pregnant. That wouldn’t be bad news if the father wasn’t Tom Wambsgans, a man she really didn’t love (and probably never will, despite how he ended up at the end). In happier news, the actress playing Shiv, Sarah Snook, was actually pregnant. (She gave birth in May, around the time the last episodes were airing.) That was surely a coincidence, but it did affect how a big scene in the grand finale played out.
In an interview with Variety (in a bit caught by The AV Club), Snook opened up about that scene where Jeremy Strong’s Kendall and Kieran Culkin’s Roman wind up wrestling on the floor after the former finds out Shiv won’t vote for him as Waystar Royco’s new CEO. Thing is, originally it was supposed to be Kendall duking it out with Shiv. Day of, though, Snook realized that getting physical with a colleague who has an unusual, unpredictable approach to acting while pregnant maybe wasn’t a great idea.
“We had a choreography rehearsal between Jeremy and I. And then on the day, I felt good about being able to advocate for myself, going, ‘Let’s just remember this is a fight scene that we haven’t really properly rehearsed that we’re sort of feeling out with a pregnant woman,’” Snook remembered. “I feel safe, but Jeremy doesn’t like to rehearse, and I’m going to respect that to a point—but I’m not going to keep my mouth shut when I’m pregnant and we’re going into a fight scene.”
Not only did Culkin step into her place, but they came up with something else for Shiv and Kendall to do: Instead Shiv tries to leave and Kendall grabs her, which Snook felt was “far more honest and realistic” than brother and sister wrestling.
“Up until that point we’d rehearsed—but the instinct from Kieran as Kieran as much as it was from Roman is like, ‘Get your f*cking hands off her. She’s pregnant!’ And then leaps on him,” Snook explained. “And so it really made sense, so much more sense, that she would just be like, ‘Whoa—it is just boys, like wrestling boys. This is again, childhood.’ So it ended up being fine in terms of my safety, and much better in terms of the scene.”
Shooting that final Succession episode sounds like it was intense. Not only did Snook have to work up the courage to get out of wrestling Strong, but she also nearly made Culkin cry.
(Via Variety and The AV Club)
You know how there are some things that always look cuter the smaller they are? Kind of like baby shoes or overalls—something about them being tiny makes them squeal-worthy.
Well, it turns out the same can be said about turning small things bigger. One man has had a lifelong dream of making a “Little Tikes Cozy Coupe” adult-sized, and recently he made his dream come true.
Even if you’ve never known the proper name for the plastic kids’ vehicle, you’d likely easily recognize the nostalgic toy with its bright yellow and red doors that make a distinct suction-popping sound upon opening or closing them. But one of the best parts is that it’s completely foot-powered like the “Flintstones,” which is great for kids but not so much if you’re trying to beat rush hour traffic.
The TikTok account @Tikestrackercolo posted a short video showing off the adult-sized replica of the Cozy Coupe.
In the caption of the video that now has 3.3 million views, the owner explains, “My Little Tikes inspired Cozy Coupe! I was inspired by a Hallmark ornament to turn this $700 Geo Tracker into a Cozy Coupe. I have more work to do so follow me for updates.”
The detail on the car is meticulous, down to the stitching on the seats and the stickers on the tires. But one of the funniest details is the feet that dangle from the bottom of the car, giving the illusion of the driver using his feet to get around town. Commenters are absolutely tickled by the Cozy Coupe, and even Little Tikes commented, “Amazing!” complete with a car emoji followed by a cloud of smoke.
@tikestrackercolo My Little Tikes inspired Cozy Coupe! I was inspired by a Hallmark Ornament to turn this $700 Geo Tracker into a Cozy Coupe. I have more work to do so follow me for updates. The paint is screaming yellow and road rage red from Monstaliner, seat embroidery by Tees in Time, tire stickers by TireStickers.com and orange carpart by Accumatsonline #littletikes #littletikescozycoupe #geotracker #geotrackermakeover #downsyndrome #carsoftiktok #hallmarkornaments #tiktok #monstaliner #accumatsonline #tirestickers
“This is ABSOLUTELY the GREATEST thing I have ever seen,” one person said.
“Love the foot power 😅 how fun,” another wrote.
“This is the build by which all builds should be measured against. This is where it all started for car guys. I love this so much,” a commenter said.
You guys, the car even has googly eyes, and now the legs kick while he drives! How could anyone ignore how adorable this car is? If you live in Colorado, the car can be spotted driving around town, so be on the lookout.
@tikestrackercolo
A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.
Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:
“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches.”
“I felt absolutely appalled when she said this, as me and the teacher have, up until now, always maintained a very friendly relationship. She added that the lunches I’m packing my son are ‘very distracting for the other students and have an unpleasant odor.’ I told her that I understand her concerns, as the lunches I pack are definitely not the healthiest, but the lunches are according to my son’s preferences.”
The mother added that she usually sends her son to school with small celery sticks, blue cheese and goat cheese, kimchi, spam and spicy Sriracha-flavored Doritos.
“I ended the call by saying that I very much appreciated her worries, but that at the end of the day, I am not going to drastically change my son’s lunches all of a sudden, and that it’s not my fault if other students are ‘distracted’ by his meal,” the mother continued. “It is very important to me what my son enjoys, and I want him to like my lunches.”
The teacher replied with an email saying the mom’s response was “unacceptable” and that his lunches were “just too inappropriate to be sent to school any longer.”
“I haven’t responded yet and don’t want to. I want to maintain a healthy relationship with my son’s teachers. I am confused as to what to do,” the mom ended her story.
It’s clear that the teacher is way out of line in this situation because the child is eating food that is entirely normal in Korean culture. It may have a strong odor to those who aren’t used to it, but that’s just an opportunity for the teacher to explain to the children how people from different parts of the world eat different types of food. It’s not that hard.
The only reason the teacher should have any choice over what the child eats is if it is egregiously unhealthy and may cause them harm.
The most popular commenter on the forum suggested that the mother bring the issue to the principal’s attention.
“Report her to the principal,” Thatshygal717 wrote. “Her comments regarding your son’s food are ‘disgusting’ and ‘have an unpleasant tone’ aka cough cough racist tone. She’s too inappropriate to be teaching at the school any longer.”
Another commenter, muffiewriters, assured the mother that she was doing nothing wrong. “Your son’s food is perfectly normal,” they wrote. “For a 5-year-old. Your family’s food is normal. The teacher is TA for not recognizing that.”
The mother hasn’t shared what she did next, but she’s handled the situation perfectly so far. She told the teacher that it’s not her fault if other kids are distracted by her food and that she will not change her son’s diet to please other people.
The beauty of America is that we are a country of many different cultures mixed like a beautiful bowl of salad. It’s great that so many people supported the mother and reminded her that her family has every right in the world to eat the food they love, and if it bothers anyone, they can keep it to themselves.
P.S. That teacher has no idea what she’s talking about. Korean food is delicious.
This article was originally published on 3.20.23.