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Draymond Green will step away from the Golden State Warriors in the aftermath of his altercation in practice with teammate Jordan Poole. In a video released by TMZ earlier this week, Green and Poole got into it with one another, and after Poole shoved the former Defensive Player of the Year, Green responded by throwing a right hook that caught the side of Poole’s face.

There have been rumors that Poole’s attitude in camp on the verge of a lucrative contract extension has rubbed teammates the wrong way, even though Steph Curry has pushed back against this. In the days since, we’ve heard from plenty of folks around the Warriors, and on Saturday, it was Green’s turn to address the situation.

Green went on to say that he’ll take an indefinite leave of absence from the team, which is scheduled to begin its regular season on Oct. 18 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Green also addressed the fact that a video of the incident was made public by TMZ, saying that “it was bullsh*t that it leaked” but conceding that the video “looks even worse than I thought it was.”

The team is in the midst of an investigation to discover the source of the leak.

This article originally appeared on 03.03.20

When polarization starts to feel like a defining characteristic of humanity, sometimes we need a reminder that people really are capable of coming together as one.

Watching a stadium full of Green Day concertgoers bust out their best “Bohemian Rhapsody” when it came over the loudspeakers is just such a reminder.

As the person who uploaded the concert footage to Reddit noted: “For almost 6 minutes, the equivalent of a small city sang, with one voice, the beautiful song of a man who has been dead for decades. If you can do this, you’re not just a famous person, you’re a legend.”

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What could be more palette-cleansing than hearing thousands of people breaking into song together for an entire six minutes? What’s more unifying than a piece of music being so beloved and well-known that a whole stadium knows every note and word and sings it in unison with all their heart?

via GIPHY

As one commenter on Reddit wrote, “Ever notice how one crowd singing together always sound the same as other crowds, as in has the same tambre [sic] and sound quality? It’s like the recognizable and familiar voice of humanity. Regardless of how different the people in the crowd are, the crowd always sounds the same. I think the idea that we are listening to humanity’s voice when hearing a crowd sing is a beautiful concept.”

Listen to the voice of humanity. It’s truly a beautiful thing.

www.youtube.com

This article originally appeared on 12.03.19

Madeleine Albright once said, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” It turns out that might actually be a hell on Earth, because women just do better when they have other women to rely on, and there’s research that backs it up.

A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that women who have a strong circle of friends are more likely to get executive positions with higher pay. “Women who were in the top quartile of centrality and had a female-dominated inner circle of 1-3 women landed leadership positions that were 2.5 times higher in authority and pay than those of their female peers lacking this combination,” Brian Uzzi writes in the Harvard Business Review.

Part of the reason why women with strong women backing them up are more successful is because they can turn to their tribe for advice. Women have to face different challenges than men, such as unconscious bias, and being able to turn to other women who have had similar experiences can help you navigate a difficult situation. It’s like having a road map for your goals.

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​It’s interesting to note that women in leadership positions who lacked this style of support system didn’t make as much as the women who did. “While women who had networks that most resembled those of successful men (i.e., centrality but no female inner circle) placed into leadership positions that were among the lowest in authority and pay,” Uzzi writes. Men and women have different needs, and that even extends to their tribe.

But it’s not just in the workplace. A 2006 study found that women who had 10 or more friends were more likely to survive the disease than women who lacked close friends. The study found socially isolated women were 64% more likely to die from cancer, and 43% more likely to have a breast cancer reoccurrence. Friendship is literally the best medicine.

Never underestimate the power of a group text with your girlfriends. Having a place to commiserate over sexism and support other women with goofy gifs when someone succeeds can enrich your life on all fronts.

It’s interesting to note that women in leadership positions who lacked this style of support system didn’t make as much as the women who did. “While women who had networks that most resembled those of successful men (i.e., centrality but no female inner circle) placed into leadership positions that were among the lowest in authority and pay,” Uzzi writes. Men and women have different needs, and that even extends to their tribe.

But it’s not just in the workplace. A 2006 study found that women who had 10 or more friends were more likely to survive the disease than women who lacked close friends. The study found socially isolated women were 64% more likely to die from cancer, and 43% more likely to have a breast cancer reoccurrence. Friendship is literally the best medicine.

Never underestimate the power of a group text with your girlfriends. Having a place to commiserate over sexism and support other women with goofy gifs when someone succeeds can enrich your life on all fronts.

One of college football’s best rivalry games is taking place on Saturday, as the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners are going toe-to-toe in the Red River Showdown. Unlike previous years, Oklahoma is the team that enters the game in a state of turmoil, as the Sooners have lost back-to-back games to Kansas State and TCU.

Of course, this is a strange year for Oklahoma, as Lincoln Riley left to take the USC gig and longtime Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables is in his first year in charge. Still, there are high expectations in Norman that just have not been met, and as of this writing, the Sooners face a 28-0 halftime deficit against their rivals.

This included what might be the worst pop pass in college football history. The idea behind the play is pretty simple: you show that the QB on a given play is running, someone sneaks behind a defense, and they catch the ball. It usually happens on the goal line as a way to get a touchdown, but Oklahoma ran one on its own 20 on a first-and-10. It … did not go especially well.

That defensive player could have called a fair catch here on what will surely go down as the easiest interception of his career.

If you think it’s shocking that too few people are going to see Billy Eichner’s Bros, then wait till you hear about the latest pro-Trump rally at the Capitol. As per The Daily Beast, a group of MAGA heads once again congregated at the site of the Jan. 6 riot, but looked more like a gathering than an assemblage. That’s because only 27 people showed up.

On Friday afternoon, only about two dozen people showed up for what was called the “Stop the Tyrants & Unite for Freedom” rally. Among the attendants were defenders of the roughly 2,000 people who stormed the Capitol, as well as a Steve Bannon podcast regular, a MAGA fashion designer, and, of course, someone dressed up in Colonial garb. There weren’t many of them, and that low turnout number includes two private security guards.

Those who showed up were treated to speakers on a miniature stage who were sometimes drowned up by five liberal activists who kept blowing whistles. At one point, a speaker tried to defend the police officers who he said were getting “hearing damage” from all the whistling, perhaps forgetting about all the Capitol officers who were violently assaulted on Jan. 6.

Why the low turnout? One speaker, rightwing lawyer Deborah Weiss, blamed it on scheduling, with the event taking place during a weekday afternoon. She also accused mysterious leftwing forces of making it hard to send out emails about the event.

The latest pro-Trump rally bomb comes a mere two weeks after one that only did marginally better. On September 24, what was billed as the “biggest J6 event to date” instead only drew a “few dozen” attendees. Meanwhile, a rally for Doug Mastriano, the MAGA candidate running for governor of Pennsylvania, did slightly better than both, wrangling in about sixty (60) people. But, as the fashion designer speaker at Friday’s rally said, “it doesn’t matter the size of a crowd.”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Keanu Reeves has never worked with Martin Scorsese, beyond the two chatting in 2012’s celluloid-vs.-digital documentary Side by Side. That was about to change, sort of: The beloved actor was set to be one of the leads in the long-in-the-works adaptation of The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson’s bestselling non-fiction tome from 2003, which is being executive produced by Scorsese and his frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio. Alas, this union was not to be.

As per Deadline, Reeves has suddenly departed the adaptation, which is slated to be a limited series for Hulu. A reason has yet to be given. Perhaps he’s a little busy, what with him returning as nicotine-addicted occult detective John Constantine. It would have also been Reeves’ first stint leading a TV series.

Whatever the reason, it’s yet another setback for The Devil in the White City, which has had quite the epic journey to the screen. Tom Cruise was the first to show interest, but his attempt floundered in 2004. DiCaprio snatched up the rights in 2010, with Scorsese slated to direct. That also fell through, but the director and actor have stayed on as executive producers.

The Devil in the White City tells of two historical figures: David H. Burnham, a visionary architect who made his name at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and Dr. H. H. Holmes, who is considered the first serial killer. Reeves was to play Burnham. The Hulu adaptation is still on, with a prospective release in 2024.

(Via Deadline)

An altercation at a Golden State Warriors practice this week made headlines, as Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole in the face. There were plenty of questions that remained after reports of the fight started circulating, and then, TMZ published the video of the incident, which showed that the two went chest-to-chest at a practice, Poole shoved Green, and Green responded by throwing a right hook.

Thanks to TMZ, we now know what is alleged to have happened — and what was said — between the two in the lead-up to the punch being thrown. While Steve Kerr and Steph Curry both stressed that Poole’s attitude has not caused headaches during camp, TMZ claims that Poole’s expected big-money contract extension led to him carrying himself “in a cocky manner” in the days leading up to the altercation. This rubbed a number of teammates, including the extension-eligible Green, the wrong way.

When practice rolled around on Wednesday, TMZ reports that Green called Poole a “b*tch” on several occasions due to Poole calling fouls while the team scrimmaged. Then, they got into it over some chirping between the pair.

Things escalated when Poole allegedly said, “You know what it is, Draymond.” — seemingly bragging over the contract situation — and Draymond got in Poole’s face, allegedly saying, “No I don’t know, what is it?”

The Warriors have already launched an investigation to figure out the source of the video leaking to TMZ.

Last week, Billy Eichner made a big bid for movie stardom. It did not go so well. The Judd Apatow-produced Bros opened with a huge release, hoping that in this franchise-heavy age there was room for a) a rom-com and b) one that was about gay men. (And also c) a movie starring a guy who’s made his name screaming at strangers on the street.) Turns out there wasn’t. Eichner went on a furious Twitter tirade, putting the blame on straight people for not turning up. Now, with a few days to cool down, he’s offering a more measured response.

Eichner participated at the New Yorker Festival on Friday, where he spoke alongside legendary performer (and Bros player) Harvey Fierstein. He slightly backed off his previous stance, but not by too much.

“Homophobia is a bigger problem than as it pertains to this silly rom-com we made, you know what I mean? But do I think it’s a factor? Yes. I think in certain parts of the country, it probably was a factor,” Eichner told the crowd.

But he acknowledged that it’s also about how moviegoing has changed in the last several years.

“There’s a lot of factors to it. To open this movie, in this many theaters, a rom-com in 2022 — there are rom-coms with mega-stars, which struggle at the box office, and a lot of the biggest comedy stars are taking their movies to streaming. And for good reason! That seems to be where people want to watch these movies. I still love seeing these movies in the theater. I grew up going to see all these romantic comedies at the movie theater with my parents.”

He admitted, “It was a bold swing to open this movie in this many movie theaters without big movie stars.”

Eichner, who’s said he was once told he was too gay to be on TV, came under some considerable fire when he lashed out after Bros‘ lackluster opening weekend, saying “Everyone who ISN’T a homophobic weirdo” should go see his movie.

Bros is now playing movie theaters.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

This article originally appeared on 03.09.20

Somewhere in Salt Lake City, a Girl Scout is getting allll the good mojo from The People of the Internet.

Over the weekend, Eli McCann shared a story of an encounter at a Girl Scout cookie stand that has people throwing their fists in the air and shouting, YES! THAT’S HOW IT’S DONE. (Or maybe that’s just me. But I’m guessing most of the 430,000 people who liked his story had a similar reaction.)

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“I just saw the most wild thing!” McCann wrote on Twitter. “A man started walking toward the Girl Scouts cookie stand in front of the grocery store and he yelled ‘My bitches are BACK’ and this Girl Scout just yelled ‘No. Walk away.’ AND HE DID.”

So simple. So straightforward. But it gets even better.

McCann wrote out the full story on his blog, It Just Gets Stranger, offering some extra details to his tweets.

“It was truly jarring,” he wrote of the man’s exclamation. “Like, it was sort of the last thing I expected anyone to say. My mind suddenly rebooted. The six or so other people who were all standing around in front of the grocery store froze and looked at him. I opened my mouth to say something, but then really didn’t know what to say.”

“It was unclear who he was calling ‘bitches,'” he continued. “If it was the Girl Scouts, well obviously that was terrible. If it was the cookies, I mean that’s kind of funny (don’t @ me), but totally inappropriate to say to a bunch of 12 year olds (is that how old Girl Scouts are?). Either way, he shouldn’t have said it and I don’t know what could have possibly made him think this was a fine way to approach a group of Girl Scouts.”

McCann said the girl’s response was immediate, and it floored everyone. “Her tone was so full of confidence and sass,” he wrote. “It was the most perfectly delivered line I have ever heard.”

“This dude completely froze. He just stopped walking. His face went bright red. His mouth was sort of gaping open. He did this very awkward and stilted nod, almost apologetic, abruptly turned around, and shuffled back to his car at like 6-minute-mile pace. The girl just death stared him all the way through his walk of shame.”

I still can’t process what I just saw. I don’t understand it at all. It was like witnessing the worst miscalculation he was bright red and just went back to his car. Everyone just stood in silence. This girl death stared him all the way through his walk of shame.

— Eli McCann (@EliMcCann) March 7, 2020

McCann says it took him a bit to digest what he’d just seen.

“I ended up walking into the store and the entire time I was shopping I was just trying to process what had happened. I kept replaying it over and over and wondering if I had misheard or misunderstood something,” he wrote.

“Who was this guy? Did he just make the biggest miscalculation of his life? Is he going to move away and start a new life now? Is that girl going to be president one day? Can I adopt her? Can she adopt me? Can I start a cult to follow her?”

As he was leaving the store, he went up to the girl to compliment her—then got another perfectly delivered line from the intrepid Girl Scout.

“Two adult women were standing behind the girl (the troop leaders, I assume),” he wrote. “I said to the girl, ‘I saw how you handled that man earlier. That was really really impressive. Your troop is pretty lucky to have you.'”

“And this girl. This Goddess of a human. The one I’m for sure going to worship if ever she starts a religion. Without stuttering. With perfect comedic timing. She responded:

‘You gotta be pretty tough if you’re gonna go out in THIS outfit.‘”

OMG.

I just went and talked to her (tried to buy cookies but couldn’t because cash only). I told her I was impressed with how she handled that dude and she just said with perfect comedic timing “you got learn to be pretty tough if you’re gonna go out in THIS outfit!”

— Eli McCann (@EliMcCann) March 7, 2020

Let’s all give this girl a virtual high five for her gumption and wit. It takes a lot of courage to say something to an adult when you’re a kid, especially a man who is doing something inappropriate. The fact that she seemed to have been perfectly prepared for that moment, shutting him down so immediately and decisively that everyone in the vicinity stopped to take note, is so dang impressive.

This is what happens when you teach girls their true worth and encourage them not to accept anything less than respect and dignity. Gotta love it.

It’s less than a month from Election Day, and while some races are imploding, others are keeping on track. In the latter camp is the one between John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who are running for a vacating Senate seat in Pennsylvania. For months, Fetterman has pelted his opponent in creative ways, sometimes using his own words against him. Now he (or some poor intern) is reaching into the deep archives of his longtime show in order to mock him using his own words.

The latest ad, which dropped on Friday, intercuts a mock-standard campaign ad with clips of Oz saying weird stuff about sex and digestion on The Dr. Oz Show, which ran until earlier this year, when he up and decided to rebrand as a MAGA candidate. One juxtaposition starts with a faux-earnest narrator talking about “struggling” Pennsylvanians, then cuts to Oz using some questionable, carnival-like doohickey to guess the age of a woman’s vagina. (It’s 73, by the way.)

Elsewhere, Oz can be seen talking about penises that “bend to the left,” telling participants to act like poop, showing off a giant model rectum, and telling someone that their “anus looks like your lips.” This isn’t up there with Crudité-gate or enlisting Snooki, but it’s a reminder that there are 13 seasons worth of potentially humiliating Oz material, to say nothing of his stints on Oprah.

You can watch the ad in the video above.

(Via The Wrap)