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The Bulls and Pacers met on Sunday with Indiana looking to pull even with Chicago for 11th in the East, two games back of the Wizards for 10th and the final play-in spot.

The result was a high-scoring thriller, as Zach LaVine had another big game with 42 points but it was not enough to overcome Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers. The first-time All-Star had 29 points and 11 assists in what became a 125-122 Indiana win, including the game-winning bucket as he pulled up from well beyond the three-point line to bury the dagger over Patrick Beverley with under 3 seconds to play.

Haliburton has had a sensational year for the somewhat surprising Pacers, who were a team many had on potential tank-watch coming into the year, but have been competitive and held their group together through the deadline. Aiding Haliburton in the win over the Bulls were rookie Bennedict Mathurin, who had 17 points off of the bench, while Myles Turner added in 16 and Chris Duarte also had a nice night with 15 in a reserve role.

On the Bulls side, DeMar DeRozan chipped in 23 points, but the rest of the squad just was not able to give LaVine quite enough support to get a win in a big effort, as they slide back in their chase of 10th. Both Chicago and Indiana are three games back in the loss column, but just one back in the win column of Washington now, as they’ll be hoping to see the Wizards stumble down the stretch to allow for a real race for that final play-in position.

Fox News’ antics after the 2020 election are finally coming back to bite them. The $1.6 billion lawsuit against the news network by Dominion Voting Systems has been ramping up, prompting lots of damning revelations to go public. For one thing, its own hosts didn’t believe some of the voter fraud malarkey they disseminated. Rupert Murdoch thought it was bunk, too. Problem is, as a recent report shows, they were terrified of losing their audience if they reported the news correctly.

The New York Times got their mitts on a recording of a Zoom call involving, among others, anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, held nearly a fortnight after Election Day and a week and change after most outlets called it for Joe Biden. During the chat, they didn’t congratulate themselves for accurately calling Arizona for Biden earlier than most places. Instead telling the truth was the problem.

“Listen, it’s one of the sad realities: If we hadn’t called Arizona, those three or four days following Election Day, our ratings would have been bigger,” said Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott. “The mystery would have been still hanging out there.”

Instead, MacCallum argued, they shouldn’t report solely on the facts. Instead they should consider how viewer reactions would be to them practicing sound journalistic practice.

“In a Trump environment,” MacCallum said. “The game is just very, very different.”

Baier agreed. “We are still getting bombarded,” he said, saying it “became really hurtful.” He suggested, like MacCallum, that they consider things other than facts. “I know the statistics and the numbers, but there has to be, like, this other layer,” with which they could “think beyond, about the implications.”

MacCallum had his back. “There’s just obviously been a tremendous amount of backlash, which is, I think, more than any of us anticipated. And so there’s that layer between statistics and news judgment about timing that I think is a factor,” she said, worried about the “loud faction of our viewership” who did not appreciate learning Biden had likely won Arizona, which he did.

That brings things back to a germane quote, first made public in Peter Baker’s 2022 book The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021. Two days after the election, with Biden’s lead narrowing, Baier emailed Fox News president Jay Wallace and others to suggest they recall their calling of Arizona.

“It’s hurting us,” he wrote. “The sooner we pull it even if it gives us major egg. And put it back in his column. The better we are. In my opinion.”

And so Fox News moved into the voter fraud speculation business, which may have wound up destroying them in the end anyway.

(Via NYT)

Last month, SZA and featured opening act Omar Apollo kicked off the North American wing of the former’s SOS Tour. Following its opening, the singer took to social media to share that will she was excited by the crowd’s reception of the show. However as the tour progresses, the setlist will change to give her creative control.

Although SZA ended up postponing her Philadelphia show, she was sure to give twice as much energy during the first night of her shows in New York City. Not only did she bring out her latest musical bestie Phoebe Bridgers for a surprise performance of their song, “Ghost In The Machine,” she also called on hometown rapper Cardi B to join her on stage as well.

Performing their collaborative track, “I Do,” off of Cardi B’s Grammy-Award-winning debut album, Invasion Of Privacy, the arena went crazy. The pair have performed the song together in the past, most notably at Coachella in 2018, but as SZA’s star continues to rise, this moment meant a lot to the songwriter.

After the two performed, SZA took a moment to thank Cardi B for coming out, saying, “This queen is so kind to even take the time with two children and a bajillion dollar career to come here…thank you so f*cking much.”

Cardi B didn’t want the party to stop there, asking the crowd, “Should we get ratchet?” Then the DJ went on to play “Tomorrow 2,” in which Cardi is featured.

SZA’s praise of Cardi B continued on Instagram, where she continued to thank her for making a guest appearance.

View the remaining tour dates below.

03/05 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
03/07 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
03/09 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
03/10 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
03/13 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
03/14 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
03/16 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
03/18 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
03/19 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
03/22 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Kia Forum

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

The XFL 3.0 has a very different vibe from the initial version, as the league is now a much friendlier and safer place than the early 2000s XFL that glorified the violence of football in a way leagues now try to mitigate.

The league’s stated effort is to give guys a chance to put their game on film and show their talents, allowing them a chance to extend (or start) a career at a higher level in the fall somewhere. However, it’s still football and as such tensions can run high in an inherently violent game, which we saw at the end of a thrilling back-and-forth game between the D.C. Defenders and St. Louis Battlehawks as things boiled over into an ugly brawl that took nearly a minute to get everyone separated and pulled apart.

As Tom Luginbill noted from the sidelines, it had been a chippy game throughout and eventually, as D.C. wrapped up a win, that chippiness became a full-on fight as someone from St. Louis ended up at the bottom of a pile of Defenders players who clearly had taken offense at something and were giving him the business. Naturally that led to other Battlehawks players coming over to try and protect their guy and things only escalated from there.

The Suns and Mavs really do not like each other, and their budding rivalry is one of the best things going in the NBA. On Sunday afternoon in Dallas, the two teams met in what became another tense battle that saw both teams seemingly take control at various times, only for the stars on the other side to get things going and pull things back to make it tight.

Ultimately, it was the Suns that came out on top thanks to some late-game heroics from Kevin Durant, who was simply unstoppable in the closing minute, burying the go-ahead jumper with just under 12 seconds on the clock.

Luka Doncic would drive on Josh Okogie on the ensuing Mavs possession, bumping Okogie to the ground and having a wide open layup chance that he somehow blew, with Kevin Durant snagging the rebound to secure the Suns win.

After that, Devin Booker came over to point to the spot and yell at a ref about Doncic getting away with a charge, which Luka took exception to and told Booker to “f*ck off” and the two got in each other’s face with big grins as they chirped at one another and pushed a bit.

They were handed offsetting technicals, as there was nothing really to the dustup. It’s a bit funny to see Doncic getting mad at someone else chirping at the officials given his propensity for getting on the refs, although he may have thought Booker pointing at the spot was taunting him for missing from 3 feet away from the basket.

In any case, the Suns got the win in a game where Durant and Booker each went over 35 points, while Doncic and Kyrie Irving each had over 30, as the stars showed out exactly as everyone hoped. The closing sequence only adds to the intrigue between these two teams and the hope of NBA fans that we’ll get another Dallas-Phoenix playoff series later this year.

Everyone loves Adele (well, except Chaka Khan), especially on the internet, thanks in part to her award-winning discography but also due to the plethora of memes she has unintentionally given birth to over the past few years. The love for the singer has only heightened over the last few months as her Weekends With Adele Las Vegas residency has brought out fans from all over the world.

The “Easy On Me” singer has made it clear that she expected all black-tie vibes during each performance but attendees have taken it a step further. Apparently, Adele’s residency has become an unofficial go-to wedding-stop ticketed event. Not only has the singer aided in a few romantic proposals at past shows, but just recently a newlywed couple attending the show looking for the singer to sign the bride’s wedding gown.

As the recording artist was being escorted out of The Colosseum at Caesars Palace through the concert hall, she waved to fans until she was stopped in her tracks by a couple overly dressed for the occasion. Fresh off of their wedding ceremony, the bride and groom headed straight to the show, still dressed in their respective formal suit and wedding gown. As the singer stopped to ask if they had just gotten married, the bride asked for the singer to sign her gown. The groom quickly pulled out a pen, and Adele couldn’t resist.

Users on Twitter rushed to share their congratulatory messages to the couple, applauding Adele for the kind gesture.

While others wasted no time, trimming the video for what we’re sure will be Adele’s next trending meme.

Weekends with Adele at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, will conclude on March 25, 2023.

For the last half century, Steven Spielberg has graced the big screen — and occasionally the small screen — with fantastical visions of the outlandish. Some what does the guy who made Close Encounters of the Third Kind think of an occurrence similar to that movie, namely the recent spate of UFOs? As it happens, he has an appropriately out-there theory on that subject.

During a recent career-spanning interview with Stephen Colbert, the Oscar-winning filmmaker as asked his thoughts on those unidentified flying objects, including the mysterious balloon from China. He got a little conspiratorial.

“I’ve never seen a UFO,” Spielberg admitted. “I wish I had! I’ve never seen anything I can’t explain. But I believe certain people who have seen things that they can’t explain. I think what has been coming up recently is fascinating, absolutely fascinating. And I think the secrecy that is shrouding all of these sightings and the lack of transparency… I think there is something going on that just needs extraordinary due diligence.”

He added, “I don’t believe we’re alone in the universe. I think it’s mathematically impossible that we are the only intelligent species in the cosmos. I think that’s totally impossible. At the same time, it also seems impossible that someone would visit us from 400 million lightyears from here — except in the movies, of course — unless it figures out some way of jumping the shark, so to speak, and getting here through wormholes.”

Spielberg then floated a theory on what they could be. “The most optimistic thing I feel about these things we see in the skies, that the Army and Navy and Air Force are recording on their gun cameras, is that what if they’re not from an advanced civilization 300 million lightyears from here?,” he theorized. “What if it’s us, 500,000 years in the future, that is coming back to document the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st century because they’re anthropologists? And they know something we don’t quite know yet that has occurred, and they’re trying to track the last hundred years of our history.”

Of course, that theory hinges on the idea that humanity to still be kicking around in 500,000 years, which Colbert joked may be outlandish. “Yes, we survive,” Spielberg said. “Or at least a certain percentage of us survives that allows future generations to flourish.”

Spielberg’s theory — which is a lot more soothing than the one cooked up by Tucker Carlson — sounds a bit like the last half hour of his 2001 sci-fi film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, which [SPOILER] finds humanity slowly wiped out by the effects of climate change. Their robot creations, however, seem to have evolved and use the boy droid played by Haley Joel Osment to learn about humanity before their behavior eradicated them from the planet.

You can watch the full interview in the video below.

(Via IndieWire)

On March 17, the Power Universe returns to the small screen thanks to Power Book II: Ghost season three. Things will pick up right from the aftermath of season two’s dramatic events, and when we say drama, we mean drama. Season two ended with the shocking deaths of Zeke, Mecca, and Lauren. Zeke was accidentally killed by Lorenzo while Mecca was killed by Monet (played by Mary J. Blige) during a confrontation at his apartment. Monet was absolutely distraught when she learned about Zeke’s death shortly after, but Lorenzo did not confess to the accident. As for Lauren, she was killed in an accident that looked a lot less like an accident thanks when Ellie’s involvement is put into consideration.

In better news, Tariq successfully beat his case after Brayden said it was him, not Tariq, who was selling drugs on campus out of their dorm room. He also said that Course Correct was a solo operation with Tariq being nothing more than a roommate. So now that you’re up to speed on Power Book II: Ghost, here’s the game plan for season three.

How Many Episodes Are In ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Season 3?

Just like season two, the third season of Power Book II: Ghost will feature a total of ten episodes. Each episode will be an hour long and premiere every Friday on STARZ. The new episodes will be available to watch on the STARZ app and website starting at 12:00am EST/PST on Fridays. The episode will then air again on the STARZ channel at 8PM EST/PST.

Now that you know how many episodes are in season three, and when they come out, here’s an official synopsis of the upcoming season:

The third season of “Power Book II: Ghost” kicks off with Tariq St. Patrick determined to get his trust, get back to his family, and get out of the game for good. The emergence of a ruthless new connect interrupts Tariq’s plans to reunite with Tasha and Yaz and puts him, Brayden, and Effie back into business with the Tejadas as they’re challenged to move more weight than ever before. When Brayden brings Tariq in as an intern at his family’s hedge fund Weston Holdings, the drug business expands beyond Stansfield and the streets onto Wall Street, while Tariq is also shown an alternate, legitimate path to success.

Monet Tejada, set ablaze by the death of her son Zeke Cross, is willing to pay a hefty price to avenge her firstborn and keep the rest of her children – and the business – in line as she works closely with Davis MacLean to solve Zeke’s murder and keep the feds off her trail. Business is booming when a staggering reveal forces Tariq to reckon with a betrayal from those closest to him… and a R.I.C.O. investigation mounting into the entire drug enterprise, pulling Tariq deeper into the business and even closer to the legacy of his father.

Season 3 of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ debuts on STARZ on March 17.

On Sunday, March 4, Nicki Minaj made her return to Rolling Loud as the lone special guest for her longtime friend and mentor Lil Wayne’s headlining set.

Last year, the “Super Freaky Girl” rapper made history as the festival’s first woman headliner at the New York installment. Fast forward to yesterday, a day after the release of her new single, “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” the Queens native wanted to celebrate with a mixed melody performance of her classic and newer hints. Unfortunately it didn’t go over as planned.

As Minaj began to get heated up after being introduced by Wayne, the individual responsible for the event audio struggled to deliver her outlined setlist in the order she had provided. While she attempted to remain calm on stage, she eventually grew frustrated. Lil Wayne tried to brush over the technical hiccups by dancing along to the song playing on stage (Minaj’s “Chun-Li” and Wayne’s “Truffle Butter” featuring Minaj).

However, after repeatedly cueing the parties responsible for the audio to which song should be played, she said, “Kill the DJ. Kill the sound guy.”

One user on Twitter claiming to have inside knowledge wrote, “I was there. I actually don’t think it was on the DJ. It sounded like someone from the sound team was cueing the music, at least for her set. He had zero issues during Wayne’s set, and peep how it sounds as if they’re skipping thru songs on an iPad vs. how DJs drop them in.”

Nicki Minaj hasn’t addressed the matter any further.

On Saturday, Chris Rock held his first major stand-up special since that Oscars slap that shocked the world. He saved it for last, and he did not disappoint: Not only had the comic not forgiven and forgot, he was still fuming. Rock’s scorched earth finale, in which he torched both Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, overshadowed the 50 minutes or so that preceded it, which may be why people weren’t talking about one of his more surprising revelations.

At one point during Rock’s hour-long set, he talked about his daughters, Lola and Zahra, who he described as “rich kids.” “My kids ski, they ride horses,” he said. “They fence. I got fencing little Black girls.”

Rock doesn’t want them to grow up to be spoiled, though, and to demonstrate how committed he is to that, he told a story about a time when Lola got into trouble in high school at a private school. During a class trip to Portugal, Lola and four other students slipped out to go drinking. They were caught. Not that they were ever in real trouble.

“These crazy white schools got rich ass white parents and rich ass white parents do not let their kids get kicked out of school,” Rock explained. “So all the parents, they all got lawyers, even the ones that were lawyers got lawyers. Good lawyers.”

Though Rock’s ex-wife was adamant they lawyer up to keep Lola in school, he decided otherwise. He secretly drove to the school and asked the dean for a favor.

“I need you to kick my daughter out of this school,” he recalled saying. “I need you to kick her Black ass out of this school. I need my Black child to learn her lesson right now before she is up on OnlyFans and some sh*t Please kick my child out of f*cking school.”

And so they did (along with the other girls, amazingly).

The happy ending? Lola appears to have learned the lesson and applied herself. She’s now in culinary school in Paris and doing great. Her father, meanwhile, just had perhaps the most attention-grabbing stand-up special of his long career.