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If you’re looking for a reminder of the good in people, we’ve got some sweet evidence for you.

Madison Mealy and her husband Blake recently moved to a rural area in the Blue Ridge Mountains and are new to country living. Mealy shared a video on TikTok showing her husband mowing the lawn with their baby in a backpack.

Cute, right? The only problem is they have a humongous lawn and her husband was mowing it with the teeniest push mower.

To be fair, if you’ve never had a big lawn, you may not realize how long it takes to mow and that not all lawn mowers are created equal. (They make riding lawn mowers for a reason, and it’s not because of laziness.)

Mealy shared her amusement at having sent her husband out to buy a mower and seeing him come back with the tiny mower. It was going to take him hours to mow their grass.

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But after she took a shower and went back to check on his progress, what she found was so heartwarming.

Not one, not two, but several strangers—presumably neighbors—had seen Blake trying to tackle their acreage with a subpar mower, and they showed up to help.

“We don’t know any of these people,” Mealy wrote.

Watch:

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“Reminder: there’s a lot of good left in this world,” wrote Mealy.

It’s true. Helping without being asked. Showing up when you see a need. Taking a burden off of someone’s back without expecting anything in return. There are instances of pure human kindness like this all around us, every day, even if they’re not right in front of our faces.

We have plenty of viral examples of people at their worst, so it’s important that we share humanity at its best. And if you’re tempted to think that the former is the norm while goodness is the exception, don’t. Studies show that most people are honest, generous and helpful.

As Mealy said, “People are so good.” We just need beautiful reminders like this on occasion.

Thanks for providing one of those reminders, Mealy family. (Now go get yourselves a proper mower.)

This article originally appeared on 06.17.22

During Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 19, TNT’s Allie LaForce relayed that J. Cole is responsible for Miami Heat breakout star Caleb Martin landing with the team in September 2021.

The Heat pummeled the Boston Celtics, 103-84, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conferences Finals on Monday, May 29, with Martin scoring 26 points and snagging 10 rebounds. Ahead of Miami clashing with the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals, Martin joined The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz to relish his moment in the sun.

“I’ve had a lot of people reach out, show a lot of love,” Martin said. “Obviously, my mom and my family. [J.] Cole called me right after the game. Everybody knows the story about Cole pretty much now, but Cole called me, and we were talking after the game. He was just so hype — jumping up and down.”

Le Batard then asked Martin whether it’s “legitimately 100 percent so that there’s no way that you’re on the Heat if not for J. Cole.”

“Honestly, I think the chances of me being here without him making the phone call and getting in touch with Caron, it’d be pretty slim to none,” Martin confirmed. “I feel like I definitely probably wouldn’t be here. For sure.”

During a press conference on May 31, Martin also shared that Cole had “called me before I got undressed after Game 7,” and the Dreamville rapper is “definitely gonna be at some games” during the Finals (as shared by Naveen Ganglani).

Martin first signed with the Charlotte Hornets as an undrafted free agent out of Nevada in 2019, but he was waived by the team in August 2021.

The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania broke the news in September 2021 that the 27-year-old had signed a two-way contract with the Heat, and Miami locked him up on a three-year extension last July. That contract has never looked better.

The 2023 NBA Finals tip off in Denver on Thursday, June 1. The entire series will air on ABC.

Watch Martin’s full Le Batard interview above.

After seven years opposite Skip Bayless on the Undisputed desk, Shannon Sharpe is leaving Fox Sports, according to Ryan Glasspiel of the New York Post.

Sharpe will reportedly stay on through the NBA Finals but will leave the show in June after reaching a buyout with Fox Sports. Glasspiel highlights the very public friction between the two after Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a game this past season and Bayless sent out an incredibly insensitive tweet that Sharpe was very upset about, leading to a blow-up on air when Bayless interrupted him as he explained why he had taken the day off following Bayless sending that tweet. Glasspiel also references Bayless’ constantly antagonizing LeBron James, who Sharpe is a massive fan of, as a potential source of further tension.

That Sharpe has apparently sought out a buyout signifies that things have become untenable between the two, as you don’t go looking to end a contract early if that’s not the case — Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast will also be leaving the network. Sharpe figures to have plenty of interest from other networks, but whether ESPN, in particular, pursues him given what is surely a high pricetag is not a guarantee given the backlash they received internally from hiring Pat McAfee (for a reported $17 million a year) in the midst of company-wide layoffs.

Wherever he ends up, Sharpe will get the chance to break out on his own without Bayless across from him, and Fox and Bayless will have to find a new sparring partner for Undisputed.

Alright, here is our post about the Josh Hart tweets. If you are not aware of what that sentence means, here is something that Josh Hart — who became a father for the first time during the New York Knicks’ Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Miami Heat — tweeted out on Tuesday evening.

After Hart put this on Al Gore’s internet, a number of NBA players decided to respond and, in the case of one college and professional teammate, unfollow his account. Hart, to his credit, seemed to find the whole thing very funny.

The tweet came across the desk of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who simply said “what the hell” and promised to discuss this on his podcast. Well, the podcast ended up dropping, and Smith did, indeed, discuss all of this. He says a lot of stuff that you would expect Stephen A. Smith to say on this subject, then drew a parallel between this and the famous Making the Band sketch from Chappelle’s Show where Dave Chappelle, as Diddy, demanded that the contestants picked him up a bottle.

The whole thing ends with Smith saying Brunson was justified in demanding Hart loses his number, Hart getting called “a weird one,” and Smith expressing his hope that Hart sticks with the Knicks moving forward.

At the end of the regular season, Tristan Thompson got signed by the Lakers after spending the year as an analyst with ESPN. After not playing in the first round, he got some spot minutes against the Warriors before spending the first three games of the Western Conference Finals out of the rotation once again.

In Game 4, Thompson was the first big off the bench as Darvin Ham desperately sought out answers against the Nuggets, and Thompson performed rather admirably, albeit in defeat. In 10 minutes of play, Thompson had four points and one rebound, giving L.A. an energy boost on both ends in a game where Anthony Davis was struggling mightily to impact things offensively. Thompson’s main job was to try and bother Nikola Jokic after the big man and the Nuggets had figured out how to exploit the Rui Hachimura matchup, and he did fairly well in that matchup, understanding no one (particularly an aging, undersized center) is going to stop him.

On Wednesday, Thompson was back at his day job with ESPN in the NBA Today studio, and he was asked to offer some firsthand advice to the Heat on how to approach defending the two-time MVP. After getting roasted by Richard Jefferson at the open, they ran through three clips of Thompson having some success against Jokic, where he explained how the most important thing is to do your work early before Jokic gets the ball to keep him off his spots, because when he’s in position he’s mostly unstoppable.

It’s a good breakdown and is the value of ESPN having a guy like Thompson, who was literally playing a week ago, on staff. It also highlights why defending Jokic over a seven-game series is so incredibly difficult, because you see how hard Thompson is working on every single possession. He could do that because he was only playing 10 minutes in that game, but to do that for a full series takes a ton out of opposing bigs and requires significant frontcourt depth (something Miami doesn’t have). Jokic, meanwhile, isn’t expending nearly as much energy as Thompson is trying to move him off his spot, which is part of why the big man has been so good late in games this postseason.

Still, this is what is required when facing Jokic, constant work to make him uncomfortable and keep him from getting the ball where he wants it on the court. It’s easier said than done, especially over a full series, but this will be what Bam Adebayo and company will be tasked with trying to do starting Thursday night.

Palehound has a reputation for crafting ambitious and thoughtful videos, and “My Evil” might be the apex.

The single arrived on Wednesday, May 31, as the second offering from Palehound’s forthcoming album, Eye On The Bat, after April’s “The Clutch.”

“‘My Evil’ is about the extremely humbling experience of realizing that yes, you Are the a**hole,” lead vocalist El Kempner said in a press release. “I found myself acting in ways I was ashamed of, and realizing how capable I was of hurting somebody when I was trying so hard not to. Sometimes when you try so hard to be a ‘good person,’ you’re actually swinging so far and recklessly that you make a full circle back to being a sh*thead. It can be very hard to forgive yourself, and this song is a portrait of that struggle for me.”

The “My Evil” video is more literally a portrait of The Sopranos‘ opening credits scene, as Kempner also explained:

“The Sopranos is a show that’s been constantly on loop in my life for the past few years. When I got the idea to make a video based on the intro credits of Tony driving through Jersey, I knew I had to do it with my friend Richard Orofino. He’s possibly even a bigger Sopranos fan than I am, and he did an incredible job mapping out a lot of the original locations from the show, including Tony’s house that we see at the end of the video. This whole thing was super DIY, just me and Richard (and his camcorder) having the time of our lives and being embarrassing superfans. It’s not exactly shot-for-shot of the original but, to brag for a sec, I’m truly amazed at how close we were able to get it.”

Perhaps the song’s crowning achievement is making self-loathing sound so delightful. “I’ve become the person I’d want to punch in the face if they / Ever treated you this way,” Kempner sings softly in the opening verse. “My Evil” continues to lay out Kempner’s vices, or how they feel their “evil” comes to fruition, delicately acknowledging that side of themselves without crossing over into admonishment.

Watch the “My Evil” video above, and check out Palehound’s 2023 North American headlining tour dates below. (Ticketing information is available here.)

10/17 — Syracuse, NY @ The Lost Horizon #
10/19 — New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom #
10/20 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry #
10/21 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage #
10/23 — Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall #
10/24 — Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall #
10/25 — Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade – Purgatory #
10/26 — Nashville, TN @ Blue Room @ Third Man #
10/28 — Austin, TX @ TBA
10/29 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Factory Obscura
11/01 — Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge $
11/02 — San Diego, CA @ Casbah $
11/03 — Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room $
11/04 — San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel $
11/06 — Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s $
11/07 — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios $
11/09 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court $
11/10 — Denver, CO @ Globe Hall $
11/11 — Fort Collins, CO @ The Coast $
11/14 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry $
11/15 — Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon $
11/17 — Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle $
11/18 — Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar $

# with Empath
$ with alexalone

Eye On The Bat is out 7/14 via Polyvinyl Record Co. Find more information here.

Donald Trump may be killing it in the polls for the 2024 Republican primary, and yet he keeps amassing adversaries. So far eight other conservatives have thrown their hat in the ring — and borne the brunt of Trump’s fury and dunking. But when Chris Christie formally announces his campaign next Tuesday, it sounds like he’ll be openly asking for a fight with his old pal-turned-adversary.

The former New Jersey governor has a bumpy past with Trump. He ran against him in 2016, but his campaign quickly flamed out. He transitioned into an ally, and he even served on his transition team in the early days of his lone term in office. But after the Jan. 6 riot, Christie turned on him and has set his sights on saving the Republican Party from MAGA wackos.

That’s evident from a three-point strategy Christie’s campaign sent Axios:

1. Being joyful and hitting a more hopeful note aimed at America’s “exhausted majority.”

2. Being authentic—a happy warrior who speaks his mind, takes risks and is happy to punch Donald Trump in the nose. Christie’s recent interviews and New Hampshire town halls aim to recapture the brio of his 2009 governor’s race.

3. Running a national race—“a non-traditional campaign that is highly focused on earned media, mixing it up in the news cycle and engaging Trump,” an adviser said. “Will not be geographic dependent, but nimble.”

The language — “engaging Trump” — may be relatively soft. But given how terrified so much of the GOP is of riling Trump and/or his base, even “engaging” him sounds fearless.

One of Christie’s allies was a little more forthright while daring not to speak his name. On Tuesday The New York Times reported on the Christie-focused Super PAC that was recently launched, called Tell It Like It Is. According to Brian Jones, the political strategist leading it, the ex-governor is “willing to confront the hard truths that currently threaten the future of the Republican Party.”

It’s a wink-wink statement, but no one, not even Trump’s most ardent supporters, would fail to guess who Jones is subtweeting.

Will Christie prove the most openly anti-Trump Republican contender? Seems like it, though surely a coterie of voters still haven’t gotten over Bridgegate.

(Via Axios and NYT)

Lil Uzi Vert changed their pronouns to they/them in July 2022. At first, the “Just Wanna Rock” artist subtly indicated the change by updating their Instagram bio, and then it was confirmed to Pitchfork by their spokesperson. As noted by XXL and Complex, On Tuesday, May 30, Uzi was revealed as a cover star for the summer issue of 032c, and they opened up about the decision to change their pronouns in the accompanying.

“No, I never hesitated,” Lil Uzi Vert said. “But I did take my time to learn as much as I could about this before I was able to proceed. Taking the time to figure out who you are is a big part of what it means to be alive. Once you figure out whether you’re here with it, there with it, or both, you’re not alone anymore.”

They continued, “This community offers access to a certain kind of support that you might not have had [previously during] your entire life because you weren’t raised that way. I come from a household where it’s not okay to be ‘non’ anything.”

Additionally, Lil Uzi Vert emphasized that they don’t feel “brave at all” for changing to they/them, and they offered their perspective the United States of America’s general acceptance of non-binary people.

“America is slowly getting there,” they said, per XXL. “I don’t think it’s right for everyone, everywhere, to change at the same rate. There are a lot of places that have been untouched by certain influences, and I think that’s beautiful and perfect in its own way. Everything has a gift and a curse.”

In other Lil Uzi Vert news, producer Lyle Leduff provided an update on The Pink Tape:

See Lil Uzi Vert’s 032c cover below.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Last October, Adidas ended its partnership with Kanye West, who legally changed his name to Ye, in response to several anti-Semitic comments he’d made. CNBC reported in February — and the likes of the Associated Press and Rolling Stone reported again at the beginning of May — that the abruptly severed relationship left Adidas with $1.3 billion in unsold Yeezy product. On May 11, Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden revealed the company’s plan to salvage what can be salvaged.

“What we are trying to do now over time is sell parts of this inventory and donate money to the organizations that are helping us and that were also hurt by Kanye’s statements,” Gulden told investors, as relayed by Complex at the time.

That plan came to fruition today, May 31. Adidas’ official website is headlined by Yeezy, advertising that “some of the remaining inventory” of his products are available on the brand’s app, Confirmed, and promising that a “portion from the sale of these items will be donated in support of the fight against discrimination, hate, racism, and antisemitism.”

An accompanying press release details that the benefiting organizations include the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change.

“The release will mark the first time that products have been available to consumers since adidas terminated the Yeezy partnership in October 2022,” the press release explains. “The products will be existing designs and designs initiated in 2022 for sale in 2023. Additional releases of existing inventory are currently under consideration, but timing is yet to be determined. Today’s announcement has no immediate impact on the company’s current financial guidance for 2023.”

“After careful consideration, we have decided to begin releasing some of the remaining Adidas Yeezy products,” Gulden said in a statement. “Selling and donating was the preferred option among all organizations and stakeholders we spoke to. We believe this is the best solution as it respects the created designs and produced shoes, it works for our people, resolves an inventory problem, and will have a positive impact in our communities. There is no place in sport or society for hate of any kind and we remain committed to fighting against it.”

The May 31 Yeezy drop comes one day after Billboard reported that Adidas’ request for an emergency order re-freezing of the $75 million held by Yeezy was denied by a federal judge.

On Wednesday, nearly three years after he was formally charged in Los Angeles, Danny Masterson was found guilty in court of two cases of rape. The actor could face 30 years behind bars. Throughout the case, Masterson’s adherence to the Church of Scientology came up, with four of his accusers alleging that they were stalked and harassed by church affiliates. Former Scientologist-turned-critic Leah Remini even got involved, reacting after a mistrial late last year. She did the same after two of the charges against him ended in guilty verdicts.

“The two guilty verdicts in the rape trial of celebrity Scientologist Danny Masterson are a relief,” Remini wrote on Twitter shortly after the news broke. She called those who “survived” Masterson’s actions “heroes” for having “soldiered on” amidst “vicious attacks and harassment from Scientology and Danny’s well-funded legal team.”

Of the three rape charges that went to trial, only two of them ended in a guilty verdict, namely two women he’s been convicted of raping in his Hollywood Hills home in 2003. A jury could not reach a verdict for a third person: a former girlfriend who accused him of raping her in 2001.

To her, Chrissie Bixler, Remini said, “I know Danny raped you; I know that Scientology tried to destroy you. However, this case would not have moved forward and resulted in two guilty verdicts if it were not for you.”

Remini also had plenty to say about the Church of Scientology. While she admitted they were “not formal defendants,” they did, she claimed, “played a significant role in obstructing justice in this case and other instances of sexual violence.”

She also offered them a stern warning, writing, “This case is just the beginning of our plan to hold them accountable.”

You can read Remini’s full statement below:

The two guilty verdicts in the rape trial of celebrity Scientologist Danny Masterson are a relief,

The women who survived Danny Masterson’s predation are heroes. For years, they and their families have faced vicious attacks and harassment from Scientology and Danny’s well-funded legal team. Nevertheless, they soldiered on, determined to seek justice. While it is up to them to decide whether they are satisfied with this verdict, I am relieved that Danny Masterson is facing some justice after over two decades of brutal sexual violence with no criminal consequences.

To Chrissie Bixler, whose count ended in a hung jury, I know Danny raped you; I know that Scientology tried to destroy you. However, this case would not have moved forward and resulted in two guilty verdicts if it were not for you. I am sorry you didn’t receive a guilty verdict on your charges; you deserved one. But please never forget that justice would not have been served if it were not for you.

Although Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige, were not formal defendants, they played a significant role in obstructing justice in this case and other instances of sexual violence.

Senior Scientology officials, civilian Scientologists, and their proxies have conspired to silence victims and intimidate witnesses for decades.

This case is just the beginning of our plan to hold them accountable.

I speak only for myself when I want to thank Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson, and their staff for their relentless pursuit of justice for the last six years.

I want to thank Judge Charlaine Olmedo for her professionalism and for not allowing Scientology’s antics to disrupt this trial.

While I am often issuing harsh statements against the LAPD, in this case, I want to thank the LAPD detectives in this case. They faced relentless harassment from Scientology as well and kept moving forward.

Finally, to the jury, thank you for seeing the truth. Thank you for not allowing emotions to get in the way of cold hard facts. Thank you for showing Scientologists (former and current) that justice is not only possible, but that they should come to expect it.

And thank you to all of you who have supported the women who faced hell to fight for justice. Every reply, every retweet, every like…it all mattered.