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Sean McVay Reportedly Could Have Gotten Up To $100 Million To Join Amazon’s NFL Broadcast

Sean McVay won a Super Bowl and had to confront a pretty big question: Should he come back and coach, or ride off into the sunset and do something else? McVay has mentioned in the past that he does not want to spend his entire life coaching, but on Friday, the Los Angeles Rams coach told Adam Schefter of ESPN that he was going to eschew other opportunities and return to the team next year.

That news came amid rumors that the 36-year-old McVay might move to the broadcast booth. According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, Amazon was interested in bringing him on board as they get ready to begin their NFL broadcasts, and were willing to cut him a potentially gigantic check to pique his interest.

Amazon Prime Video were planning on meeting next week with the Los Angeles head coach about him becoming an NFL TV game analyst, and sources felt the platform might go as high as offering five years and $100 million for its exclusive Thursday Night Football package in the fall.

Marchand went on to report that McVay didn’t just attract interest from Amazon, as Fox reportedly had interest in bringing him in and putting him in the booth. The network is on the lookout for a new No. 1 NFL analyst, as Troy Aikman is reportedly on the verge of heading to ESPN and joining its Monday Night Football team.

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Joel Embiid On Playing Alongside James Harden: ‘We’ve Never Had This, Nothing Close To It’

James Harden‘s debut as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers couldn’t have gone any better. Harden suited up on Friday night for the first time since he was traded by the Nets in the deal that sent a package headlined by Ben Simmons back to Brooklyn, and the early returns were quite good — the Sixers blitzed the Minnesota Timberwolves, 133-102, with Harden putting up 27 points on 7-for-12 shooting with 12 assists, eight rebounds, and five made threes.

Philly has been quite good in recent years, a pretty consistent regular season winner and playoff team. But as Joel Embiid said after the game, Harden brought something that the team has not had at any point during his time with the franchise.

“You should have seen my face every single time, especially in the fourth,” Embiid said when asked his thoughts on Harden. “You know, the first three quarters, obviously making plays for all of us. That was probably the most wide open I’ve ever been in my career. I had a lot of easy baskets, I used to have to work for everything. But in the fourth quarter, the shotmaking ability, shot creation, you should have seen my face. I was just like, ‘We’ve never had this, nothing close to it.’ So, hopefully that continues. We didn’t even play our best, but I think we can be way better than that.”

Embiid had 34 points on 10-for-18 shooting with 10 assists in the win.

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Report: Rich Paul Met With The Lakers To Stress That LeBron Is Committed To Helping Them Win A Championship

It’s been a pretty underwhelming season for the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite entering the year with title-or-bust expectations, Los Angeles found itself sitting 27-31 entering Friday night’s game against the Clippers. They’re firmly in the play-in field, an automatic playoff berth seems like too tall a mountain to climb, and over the All-Star break, questions started being asked about LeBron James‘ long-term future with the team.

Between public comments James made that indicated a willingness to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers some day, his statement of intent to play his final season in the NBA alongside his son Bronny, and the fact that the team did not do anything at the trade deadline, it’s hard not to wonder if the future Hall of Fame inductee has his eyes on going elsewhere once his contract is up following the 2022-23 campaign. But according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, a recent meeting between Rich Paul and some higher-ups in L.A. was meant to quell fears that James is planning his next chapter.

In the aftermath of LeBron James’ public comments on a possible return to Cleveland and media reports describing his agency’s displeasure with the organization, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul met with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka on Tuesday, insisting that there’s no movement underway to seek management changes and that he believes there’s a shared accountability for the franchise’s disappointing season, sources told ESPN.

After Pelinka resisted making any deals at the trade deadline, James’ own public comments — raising the possibility of a return to Cleveland and praising Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti — started to fuel speculation that he could leave in free agency in 2023. Paul has privately downplayed that possibility, and told the Lakers that James is committed to playing his part in helping the Lakers to become championship contenders again, sources said.

While James has been quite good when he has been able to play this season, injuries to Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook’s general issues getting used to life in L.A., and James missing time due to injury have led to a serious inability to gel. Maybe they’ll be able to figure some things out once Davis comes back from his current ankle injury, but if not, it seems likely this will be a quick playoff trip for the Lakers before an offseason where they’ll have to circle the wagons and figure out a way to win another Larry O’Brien trophy.

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There’s Now An NBA Version Of Wordle Called ‘Poeltl,’ And It Is Terrific

Everyone loves Wordle, except for the people who use their Twitter accounts to complain about folks who post their Wordle scores every day. The success of the popular game, which was recently purchased by the New York Times, has led to a number of fun spin-offs — my preferred one is Worldle, where you get an outline of a country and have to guess what it is.

Well, it was my favorite one until the newest idea for this sort of game has hit the internet. Thanks to Gabe Danon, the producer of the podcast Dunktown, we now have a Wordle-inspired game called Poeltl.

Here’s how it works: Like Wordle, you type in your guess and a green, yellow, or gray (well, gray-ish) square let you know how you did. You guess an NBA player, and have to find a perfect match based on their team, conference, division, forward, height, age, and number. The particular rules look like this:

Poeltl game
https://poeltl.dunk.town/

There is a decent enough chance that, if you’re a big basketball fan, the silhouette mode and a guess or two can get you across the finish line without too much trouble. My highest recommendation is that you don’t click on the silhouette mode unless you’re really, really stuck, but regardless, the game is a blast and worth your time. Don’t take my word for it, take it from the subject of Friday’s puzzle (this is, of course, a spoiler, so be warned). We’ll let you know if Karl-Anthony Towns faces (ultimately unfounded) accusations of cheating on this one, too.

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Artist makes everyday spaces magical by cleverly adding pixelated, old-school pop-culture icons

Anyone who grew up in the late ’80s and early ’90s—Gen X, I’m looking at you—grew up in a world that was dominated by 8-bit graphics. Back in the day, computers and video game systems had a limited amount of processing power so the graphics had to be simple.

That meant the heroes that we played with such as Mario from Super Mario Brothers or Link from The Legend of Zelda, had to be super simple looking and we had to fill in the rest with our imaginations.

Video graphics have come a long way over the past 30-plus years, but people still love the old designs because it takes them back to a simpler time. This has led to an 8-bit movement where people use their creativity to make art within the confines of the limited medium.

Some people also use the limited 8-bit soundscape to create music that’s reminiscent of the old games. Sure, computer game music may be much more sophisticated these days, but is there anything better than the soundtrack to the original Tetris? Would Super Mario Brothers be the same with a sophisticated soundtrack? I think not.


Swedish artist Johan Karlgren, who goes by the name Pappas Pärlor, creates pixelated 8-bit-looking art and then inserts it into everyday scenes. The interesting thing is that his 8-bit art isn’t done with computer graphics, but Perler beads.

Perler beads are small, plastic beads that one places on a grid, and when the picture is done, they are melted with a household clothing iron. The beads are a fun hobby for kids who love to see the melting beads ooze their way into a fully-formed picture.

Although they weren’t originally intended to make 8-bit art, because the beads are placed on a grid when they melt together the designs look like they came straight out of a Nintendo Entertainment System.

Karlgren recreates iconic images from comics, cartoons, video games and movies with the beads and then adds them to the scenarios, turning the mundane into the whimsical.

What’s Karlgren’s big inspiration? “Anything that makes me feel something,” he told Bored Panda. “It could be anything from childhood memories to politics or people doing awesome stuff that I wanna interpret.”

For Karlgren, his work is the byproduct of having a good time. “I don’t really choose what to create. My work is sprung from playing, and I’ll try to go with the ideas that come up in my head,” he said.

One of the hallmarks of Karlgen’s work is taking drab places such as a parking lot or other types of urban infrastructure and livening them up with the addition of one of his Perler bead creations. “It’s something that makes me happy, and hopefully other people [when] seeing it as well,” he told Newsweek.

Karlgren is a father of four and started posting his creations on Instagram back in April 2014. Since then, his fun, old-school designs have earned him more than 144,000 followers. Here are some of his coolest, and funniest 8-bit designs.

8-Bit Joker

“Rose!”

Raiders of the Lost Fence Knob

Mario Kart: Snow Speeders

“Here’s 8-Bit Johnny!”

The Man of Steel

That Creep Can Roll

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

​Anthony Adams Rubbing Hands Meme​

“I Said God Damn!”

“Take My Money!”

Darth’s Day Off

Jaws

“Go Ahead, Make My Day.”

Mini Bernie

Tony Montana

The Homer Meme

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The best way to board passengers on a plane—and why we’ll likely never see it happen

Have you ever been boarding an airplane and said to yourself, “There’s got to be a more efficient way to do this”?

People love to debate the quickest way to get people and their luggage aboard an aircraft. Every airline has its own method, which largely revolves around boarding people with some kind of status—first-class/premium seats or loyalty program status—first, followed by the nonstatus coach folk in various groupings. (I personally like to spend as little time as possible on the actual airplane, so I’ve never understood the “perk” of early boarding. I guess you get your pick of overhead bin space, but that alone isn’t worth it to me.) Airlines are always tweaking their methods, both to be more efficient and to keep their customers happy.

But none of them do it in the truly most efficient way. And why not? Well, because people are involved.


If humans were robots we could program to do what we want them to do without getting their knickers in a twist over not getting to be first, we could theoretically board airplanes in a way that would minimize bottlenecks and get everyone seated quickly. But alas, we are not.

And what is the most efficient way? I would have assumed it would be back-to-front, but it’s not. As a video from CGP Grey explains, boarding methods that intuitively seem like they might work best actually don’t. There are several reasons for this, from the unpredictability of who is going to struggle to get their carry-on bag into the overhead bin to the fact that, as the video points out, “The human inability to follow instructions is breathtaking.”

The video is really fascinating in addition to being entertaining. (There’s poetry involved.) Check it out:

So it turns out the best way to board is every other row, back to front, window seats first, followed by the same pattern with middle and then aisle seats. Seems perfectly logical.

And the only barrier to this method is getting people to line up in a specific order? That doesn’t seem like it should be that hard of a task. Southwest Airlines already does that with its boarding groups (everyone gets a number and lines up accordingly), though they don’t have assigned seats. Has no airline ever even given it a try? Seems like it might be worth a shot at least.

And if nothing else, at least now we know that we’re doing it all wrong. If we’re going to be inefficient, we should at least be aware that we’re doing it on purpose.

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The beautiful, heartbreaking words of Ukrainian poet Borys Humenyuk still ring true today

In the cold winter months of late 2013-early 2014, gunshots and smoke filled the streets of Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv. Protestors were met with violence. Many were fatally wounded. This event became known as Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, and from it arose a distinctive poetic style: one that perfectly captures the tragic, complex experience of war.

Borys Humenyuk fought in the Revolution of Dignity, and found therapy writing poems on his tablet, posting them to the internet whenever he had the opportunity. He mentioned in an interview with a local Ukrainian newspaper, “sometimes, instead of yelling or crying, I want simply to shoot the skies. Some people do so – fire from their automatic guns in the sky – I write verse.” Now he is a beloved artist of his country, fondly nicknamed “The Ukrainian version of Ernest Hemingway.”

Now, the people of Ukraine mourn in the wake of violence yet again. Just before dawn on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a series of missile attacks on the city of Kharkiv, and the invasion has spread across central and eastern Ukrainian territory. One of Humenyuk’s most captivating poems titled “When You Clean your Weapon” reflects on his experience in a completely different war. And yet, even years later, the words still carry weight. And they help connect us to those who are suffering, even (for some us) miles and miles away. It doesn’t take away the suffering, but art and empathy are always a healing salve in one way or another.


“When You Clean your Weapon” tells the story of war from the perspective of a young soldier, who treats his gun like a child, swaddling it and shielding it from the rain. This happens before the young man has even held a real child. He climbs into the earth, which takes him in like a womb. For a moment, he remembers his connection to nature. But then he shoots. And never again can he get rid of the smell of gunpowder. For he and the war are now one.

The poem captures how humanity is lost on the battlefield, even to those who survive. We become one with the weapon, instead of each other. Violence repeatedly gets chosen as the solution, and yet perpetuates the same problematic cycle … trench after trench. The truth is, the weapon is never clean, once it’s fired.

“When You Clean Your Weapon” by Borys Humenyuk 

When you clean your weapon

When time and again, you clean your weapon

When you rub strong-smelling oils into your weapon

And shield it from the rain with your own body

When you swaddle it like a baby

Even though you’ve never swaddled a baby before —

You’re only nineteen, no baby, no wife —

The weapon becomes your only kin

You and the weapon are one.

When you dig trench after trench

When you dig this precious this hateful earth by handfuls

Every other handful reaches your soul

You grind this earth between your teeth

You don’t, you never will have another

You climb into the earth like into your mother’s womb

You are warm and snug

You’ve never felt this close to anyone before

You and earth are one.

When you shoot

Even when it’s at night and you don’t see the enemy’s face

Even when night hides the enemy from you and you from the enemy

And embraces each of you as her own

You smell like gunpowder

Your hands, face, hair, clothing, shoes —

No matter how much you wash them — smell of gunpowder

They smell of war

You smell of war

You and war are one.

This poem comes from an anthology series of several poems titled “Words for War: New Poems from Ukraine,” translated by Oksana Maksymchuk and Max Rosochinksy.

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Reporter doing a story about a stolen dog catches the ‘dog-napper’ live on camera

There’s an old trope in movies and TV where a criminal will return to the scene of a crime shortly after it was committed. It’s a great way to create a sense of drama and to give an easy way for the heroes to catch the perpetrator, but does it happen in real life?

It doesn’t make much sense for a criminal to put themselves in a position to get caught, but neither does committing a crime in the first place.

If a criminal does return to the scene, it’s often so they can relive some of the sensations they felt while committing the crime.

Such was the case with alleged dog-napper Kyle Gariepy, 29.

On Friday, May 7, 2021, the Cambridge Police Department in Massachusetts reported that a 13-month-old German shorthaired pointer named “Titus” was stolen out of a parked vehicle. The department released footage of the alleged dog-napper walking the dog over the Boston University bridge.


The next day, members of the local 7NEWS crew, including Juliana Mazza and photojournalist John Guice, posted up in the parking lot where the dog was stolen to report on the theft. While the news crew was setting up, they noticed a man who looked like the person in the surveillance cam footage walking a dog that looked like Titus.

Guice walked over to the man, whose name is Kyle Gariepy, and struck up a conversation with him while the news team rolled the camera. Mazza then walked over and asked if she could pet the dog so she could surreptitiously see if he had a name tag.

When she found out the dog was Titus, she asked the man why he didn’t call the number on the tag and he said his phone was “broken.” This begged a follow-up question. It’s been a day, why haven’t you contacted the owner or the authorities?

Gariepy gave a very strange excuse for why he had the dog.

“He was just barking in the car, and I walked past the car, and I thought it was supposed to be a dog I was dog walking,” Gariepy told the crew. “It wasn’t a kidnapping. It was just a simple mistake.”

Why in the world would someone ask him to walk a dog that was in a parked car?

Gariepy’s story didn’t add up, so the news crew called the police and Gariepy stood there and waited until they arrived. Gariepy was arrested and charged with larceny of more than $1,200, and breaking and entering into a vehicle to commit a felony.

Later, the police called Titus’ owner Greg Siesczkiewicz and asked him to come and pick up his dog.

“I’m thrilled to have Titus back. I think, he is thrilled to have me back,” he told Inside Edition.

“I’m just glad that the person came back and I’m just glad that you guys were there,” Siesczkiewicz told 7NEWS. “If anyone ever sees this who questions the value of media, social media, broadcast media, this proves it.”

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The ‘Justified’ Limited Series You Were Already Excited About Might Just Go Ahead And Add Quentin Tarantino As Director

In 1994, Pulp Fiction made Quentin Tarantino one of the most famous filmmakers in Hollywood. What did he do with his newfound clout? Direct an episode of ER, of course. Ten years later, in the time between Kill Bill: Volume 2 and Death Proof, he stepped behind the camera for another TV show: CSI, a one-off gig that earned him his only Emmy nomination (his role as an Elvis impersonator on The Golden Girls was sadly overlooked). Those are, to date, the only times Tarantino has directed for TV. But Deadline reports that he’s in “early talks to direct one or two episodes” of Justified: City Primeval, the Justified limited series with Timothy Olyphant reprising his role as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (not to be confused with Space Raylan):

Tarantino and Olyphant worked together on the director’s most recent film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. There also is the filmmaker’s devotion to Elmore Leonard, who created the Givens character… He optioned several Leonard titles during his career and has talked about possibly directing one of his Westerns, Forty Lashes Less One.

One Leonard adaptation that actually got made is Jackie Brown, based on his 1992 novel Rum Punch. If you want to make a case that it’s Tarantino’s best movie, well, you wouldn’t be the only one.

Tarantino also worked with Olyphant’s Justified co-star Walton Goggins on Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight, and you can hear his voice in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. There’s no word on whether Boyd Crowder will, like Raylan, be in City Primeval, but if he is, one thing’s for sure: his hair will look incredible.

(Via Deadline)

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Snoop Dogg Now Owns Death Row’s Music Catalog — With Some Exceptions

Earlier this month, it was reported that Snoop Dogg had acquired Death Row Records’ brand, but was still hammering out negotiations for the accompanying catalog. Today, Billboard reports that he’s officially completed those negotiations and now owns the masters for both of his albums under the label, Doggystyle and The Doggfather, as well as those for his 213 associates Daz Dillinger and Kurupt, along with Lady of Rage and the compilations and soundtracks Death Row released throughout the ’90s. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

However, that impressive collection of music does not include a few of the most well-known Death Row releases. Dr. Dre’s The Chronic is set to be returned to Snoop’s longtime collaborator sometime next year (August at the latest), while Tupac Shakur’s seminal classic All Eyez On Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (as Makavelli) have already reverted to Amaru Entertainment and the Tupac estate.

Snoop might not miss those exceptions much in the long run, as Billboard notes both of his albums are Death Row’s best sellers. Meanwhile, his newly released BODR (Bacc On Death Row) — his first release for the album in 25 years — is already generating revenue to the tune of 10,000 units, while Doggystyle alone was worth 169,000 units just in 2021. Billboard puts the total revenue for the catalog at around $6 million last year. Combined with the branding — which handles merch and licensing of the Death Row logo — Snoop’s adding about $50 million of value to his name. Billboard notes, however, that Snoop may not have paid that much to MNRK, which previously held the rights to Death Row, due to it no longer having an interest in the brand and having a tendency to return rights to artists, as it did with Dre and Pac.

Snoop says he wants to turn Death Row into an “NFT label,” which holds interesting prospects for the future, while his former protege Bow Wow revealed plans to release his own final album under the imprint earlier today.