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As first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Dallas Mavericks are signing free agent guard Isaiah Thomas to a contract.

The news was confirmed by Marc Stein, who said Thomas was en route to Sacramento to join the Mavs on the bench for their game against the Kings on Wednesday night.

Thomas, 32, recently saw out a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, filling in while the team dealt with several players in the league’s COVID-19 protocols. He appeared in four games for the Lakers, averaging 9.3 points and 1.5 assists a night. Before signing with Los Angeles, he played one game with the Grand Rapids Drive in the G League.

Currently, the Mavericks have several players — including Luka Doncic, Reggie Bullock, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Maxi Kleber — in the league’s health and safety protocols and could use another ball handler on the team to help them get through this spell. If Thomas sticks around, he also might be an interesting bet for a team that needs someone else who can provide an element of self-creation alongside Doncic. Thomas isn’t what he was back when he was with the Boston Celtics, but he’s looked healthier in recent stints than he has since being injured near the end of his Celtics tenure.

A recent thread on Ask Reddit posed the question: Which fictional character would make a great U.S.A. president?

Some answers were simple and lighthearted. Others were drawn out and thoughtful. Some characters are well-known. Others are a bit more obscure. Regardless, it’s a fun read and offers an insightful way to look at what it really means to be a leader.

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Optimus Prime—Transformers

This comment was so passionate I had to keep the entire thing:

“He’s the perfect balance of introspection, deliberation, decisive action, compassion, toughness, fighting spirit, humility, and inspires others to greatness not because of his ego, but because he sincerely wants the best for everyone. He’s eloquent enough to work with intellectuals, strong enough to keep corruption out, hard working and honest enough to connect with and inspire the working classes, and an absolute paragon of ethics. When it comes down to it, he puts his own ass on the line without hesitation. I’d vote for Optimus Prime. I’d work on his campaign staff. I’d canvas for Optimus. I’d fight his fights. He’s the heroic leader we need. I wish he were here.” – Cephelopodia

Jean-Luc Picard—Star Trek: The Next Generation

“Make it so” is an awfully good campaign slogan.

“This character has informed so much of what I think of as the political ideal that’s it’s almost absurd.” – Tactius_AMP

Aragorn—The Lord of the Rings

The King of Gondor rallied some intense loyalty and humorous political banter.

“He would have my allegiance until my sons, sons die.” – Radda210

“Well, he’s got eight years.” – AutismFractal

Captain Raymond Holt—Brooklyn 99

The stoic, pragmatic and serious-to-the-point-of-absurd police captain would bring a level of sophistication to the role. Plus he stands up for what he thinks is right.

The only drawback is we might have the more frivolous holidays cancelled. Like Christmas.

President Josiah Bartlet—The West Wing

“During 2020 with all the presidential speeches that sounded non presidential, I kept thinking that we needed a couple of Josiah Barlet speeches during that time.” – southdakotagirl

Uncle Iroh—Avatar: The Last Airbender

For those not familiar with “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” Uncle Iroh was a fan favorite, arguably for being the show’s moral compass and source of wisdom. Which was pretty remarkable, considering he was technically on the “bad side.”

“Calm, wise, friendly and best of all he already got all that war crime stuff out of his system years ago. He’d be the best us President in history.” – Lord Noodles

“…Iroh is the benevolent father we need, with quiet dignity and terrifying power.” – spaceman_spyff

Kermit the Frog—The Muppets

“The lovers, the dreamers, and me would vote for him” – DrOddcat

Steve Rogers—Captain America

I mean, he does stand for America’s ideals like no other. He has integrity, courage, honesty and let’s not forget stamina. He can do this all day, after all.

Leslie Knope—Parks and Recreation

“Leslie wouldn’t get sucked in to corruption. She would negotiate and compromise, as one should, but she wouldn’t “make deals” like most politicians. Above all else, she would always be honest!” – Happy_Camper45

“And she has binders of plans for everything” – Big_Economy_1729

(Sadly, there were very few female characters I saw on the thread. I’m hoping I just didn’t scroll far down enough.)

Last but not least … Captain Planet

Maybe then we’d take climate change seriously.

Okay, look, maybe it’s impossible for a real-life person to 100% embody these heroic traits. But that’s the beauty of fiction: It reveals our ultimate potential (for both good and bad). It can’t always take into account all the complexities and inevitable drawbacks of the human condition. It can, however, inspire us to be better.

Maybe there is no President Picard or President Rogers out there, but seeing them portrayed in our stories is still important. Observing the virtues they represent (and let’s not forget that they are representations and symbols, rather than multidimensional human beings, after all) might help inspire the next generation of heroes, leaders and politicians. That’s what well-written characters do.

In the meantime, I’ll start working on my campaign for “Ted Lasso”’s Keeley Jones for President.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint reunited for an HBO Max special. Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts “invites fans on a magical first-person journey through one of the most beloved film franchises of all time,” according to the official description, but it wasn’t always a magical time for the cast. Both Watson and Grint confess in the special that they considered leaving the series.

“You were considering pulling out, I’ve never really spoken to you about that,” Grint says at one point to Watson (via Decider). She replied, “Yeah. I think I was scared. I don’t know if you ever felt like it got to a tipping point where you were like, this is kind of forever now… The fame thing had finally hit home in a big way.”

As actor Tom Felton (who played Draco Malfoy) pointed out, Watson also had to shoulder the responsibility of being the franchise’s sole female lead from a young age. “People definitely forget what she took on and how gracefully she did it,” he said during the reunion. “Dan and Rupert, they had each other. I had my cronies, whereas Emma was not only younger, she was by herself.”

Grint had his issues with fame, as well. He frequently contemplated “what life would be like if I called it a day.” But they both stuck around for all eight films and made so much money that they rarely appear in movies anymore (Watson’s last movie was 2019’s brilliant Little Women, while Grint sticks to the small screen). You gotta respect that. But you must also give it up for Radcliffe, who will play a farting corpse, Allen Ginsberg, an eccentric rich guy named Fairfax, whatever you need. Watson and Grint took one path, Radcliffe took another, but they’re all winners because none of them are in the much-maligned Fantastic Beasts.

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts premieres on January 1.

The true Tyrese Gibson-heads among us have known for years that the Fast/Furious comic relief character is so obsessed with Benihana’s that he had his own custom replica built in his backyard, an amenity known as “Gibsihana.” As Gibson told Uproxx back in June, “I’ve probably fed about 7,000 people in the last ten years and it’s like the favorite thing to do.”

My personal theory is that Gibson became Benihana-pilled when he starred alongside Devon Aoki in his first Fast film, 2 Fast 2 Furious; Aoki, of course, being the heir to the Benihana fortune — the daughter of Benihana’s founder, the Olympic wrestler turned restaurateur turned hot air balloon pioneer Hiroaki “Rocky” Aoki. But who knows, one doesn’t necessarily need a personal connection to appreciate an onion volcano.

Before now, the only glimpses the world had to Gibsihana was through Aziz Ansari’s Instagram posts from 2016. But then this year, Tyrese put the house on the market. Having bought it for $1.385 million back in 2011, it was originally listed for $3.5 million in Spring of 2021. It was reportedly relisted in November for $2.895 million, by The Oppenheim Group, of Selling Sunset fame. (If your realtor doesn’t have a reality show what are you even doing?)

The Redfin listing, linked in Tyrese’s Instagram profile, describes the 7-bedroom, 7-bath house as: “A fully private and gated Mediterranean estate in the Walnut Acres neighborhood of Woodland Hills situated on nearly half an acre of land. This impressive compound features a beautifully appointed 5,415 sq. ft. main house with additional backyard structures totaling 2,980 sq. ft.”

Raise your hand if your entire house could fit inside Tyrese’s “additional backyard structures.” Anyway, we’re probably all here for the pictures, so let’s get to the entree. Here it is, Gibsihana’s:

There doesn’t appear to be a sign announcing it as “Gibsihana,” (perhaps it was removed for easier branding by the future owners, I like to imagine it will soon become a Frank Stallonihana’s) — though it is helpfully situated on “Visionary Lane.” What a great idea, I think I’ll be buying my wife a customized “Boss Bitch Blvd” street sign for her birthday.

Here we have the interior:

I’m not sure what the circular mirror next to the hot hibachi is for. Perhaps for fixing your lipstick after Tyrese’s personal chef flips a seared shrimp into your mouth.

The house, of course, has plenty of other unique features, like this life-sized Transformer presiding over a backyard grotto, and the spa situated above the pool house. Aziz apparently partook in its services during his visit:

If you’re wondering about the repeating flying V logo motif, it seems to be explained by Tyrese’s Instagram profile text, which reads, “Chairman | CEO of www.VoltronTravel.com.” The V is the logo for Voltron Travel. Upon discovering this, I had high hopes, of Uproxx letting me one day expense some kind of Gibsiventure. But upon closer inspection, Voltron Travel appears merely to be a branded web hub, a search engine “powered by Priceline.” Not really sure what that means, but I doubt Tyrese Gibson would be planning me some kind of Hibachi Walkabout through Abu Dhabi like the banner images seem to promise.

There’s also this room somewhere in the backyard, decorated with an antique Coca-Cola vending machine, a disco ball, a sexy Egyptian statuette. With such a surplus of couches that a few would seem to be non-functional. What kid doesn’t dream of one day being able to afford a layer cake of couches?

Most other parts of the house are pretty garden variety rich dude, styled in Russian oligarch-chic, like this bathroom that looks a hotel in Dubai. It has a recording studio, multiple screening rooms, and my favorite feature, this basketball hoop sans-backboard inexplicably situated in the middle of an outdoor screening area:

Why no backboard? As Brian Grubb pondered in Slack, “you go to shoot a bank shot and a f*ckin’ bird flies out?” Also, who has to sit on the free-throw line during viewings of Black & Blue?

In any case, if you have about $3 million burning a hole in your pocket, you can definitely own this teriyaki fever dream, where you can host your own pedicure pool parties with unlimited spicy beef and everyone gets their own bathroom. Sound pretty f*cking boss, honestly.

Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.

Environmentalism has been a major topic in the music touring industry over the last few years. Coldplay recently plotted a sustainable stadium tour and Billie Eilish has worked to make brands more environmentally conscious. And as one of the top-touring artist of the past decade, Ed Sheeran is also taking steps to ensure he’s being environmentally friendly.

Sheeran recently spoke to BBC Radio London about his plans to curb the environmental impact of his touring — and it involves planting a lot of trees. The singer already owns a multi-million dollar estate, which includes at least seven different buildings on one property (including his own private pub!), but he’s now looking to buy up even more land. Sheeran’s goal is to “rewild” parts of the country in order to help the local flora and fauna.

“I’m trying to buy as much land as possible and plant as many trees as possible. I am trying to rewild as much of the UK as I can. I love my county and I love wildlife and the environment,” he said.

The singer acknowledges that touring in an environmentally friendly way can be very tough, but he says he’s still doing the best he can. “I feel like I am going to get my head bitten off anytime I say that, as my job is not a hugely sustainable job as I go and play in cities, but I am trying my best,” he said, adding, “I think it’s about finding the balance with that — and I honestly think that this next tour that I’m going on, at the end of the tour, I can’t see myself going on one of them like that again.”

Apparently, Sheeran already has a history of helping local wildlife. His UK property houses a pond and he even beekeeps. “I have got a massive beehive,” he said. “I have this massive wildlife pond with newts in it, salamanders, and there’s a grass snake that lives in there and hedgehogs.”

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

Rudy Giuliani cannot catch a break—and he has only himself, Donald Trump, and The Big Lie to blame. In a year that has seen the former New York City Mayor hold a press conference next to a dildo shop, prattle on endlessly while oily goo leaked from his head, be sued for $1.3 billion by the company that makes voting machines, and reportedly hurtle toward bankruptcy, Rudy himself seems more concerned about why Fox News has banned him from appearing on the network. But all that could change if and when the House’s January 6th Committee comes for the one-time TIME Person of the Year.

According to Vanity Fair, Rudy may very well be one of the next people on their subpoena list. According to VF staff writer Charlotte Klein, the subject in question is a phone call Trump made to the Willard Hotel, where Rudy and Trump’s other lawyers and strategists like Steve Bannon had set up a kind of war room in order to help the then-president save the job the American people had voted him out of. As Klein writes:

In that call, first revealed last month, Trump reportedly relayed that his number two, Mike Pence, was not inclined to insert himself into the certification process on Trump’s behalf and pressed his advisers for other ways to stop Joe Biden’s certification. That conversation was among several strategy discussions Trump is said to have had with his Willard-based aides the night before the insurrection.

Bannon and Eastman, of course, have already been subpoenaed, and Trump has been attempting to use “executive privilege” as an excuse for not allowing the committee access to White House records from those days. Given the fact that the former president has refused to pay the legal fees he owes to Rudy, or attempt to help his former lawyer/BFF in his time of need, who knows what Giuliani—ever the loose cannon—might have to say (intentionally or otherwise).

But the House subcommittee isn’t the only group wanting a piece of Rudy. As The Grio reports via Yahoo! News, two Georgia poll workers who were essentially accused of working to overturn a presidential election by Giuliani are now also suing him for spreading such damning lies about them. Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, filed a lawsuit at the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. last week against Giuliani and OAN, who they accuse of “working together” to spread what they knowingly knew were lies about them and their fellow poll workers.

“As part of that campaign, OAN repeatedly turned to Giuliani, a member of former President Trump’s campaign team, and one of the central orchestrators of the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was rigged,” the complaint reads.

According to Yahoo!, the complaint—which is more than 80 pages long—specifically cites manipulated security footage of Freeman, Moss, and others counting ballots following the 2020 presidential election. Team Trump published an edited version of the video on December 3, 2020 and claimed it showed Freeman and Moss “rigging” votes.

If Giuliani attempts to ignore the subpoena, perhaps the committee could get him to film a Cameo video about his illicit behind-the-scenes dealings.

(Via Vanity Fair)

I didn’t think it was possible, but 2021 absolutely crushed 2020 in terms of sneaker drops. Last year gave us future classics like the Travis Scott Cactus Jack Dunks, the Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Dunkies, those fuzzy psychedelic Grateful Dead SB Dunks… okay, maybe more SB Dunks than anyone needs in a single year, but it also introduced us to the Foam RNNR (for better or worse), the Salehe Bembury New Balance 2002Rs, Union Jordan 4s, and a handful of dope Off-White drops. Serious gems for 12 straight months in the midst of a pandemic when no one was leaving home much.

And yet, somehow, this year was better. Substantially better.

We’re two years into this decade and we’re having an unprecedented run of amazing sneaker releases despite all the production difficulties caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Who knows what didn’t come out this year that was supposed to. So we say bring on 2022! But first, let’s celebrate this year in sneakers by collecting all of our favorite sneaker drops of the year. These sneakers were the best of the best, the pairs that captured our imaginations, dropped our jaws, and gave us all those SNKRS app Ls that left us way more heartbroken over a pair of shoes than any human should ever be. This isn’t a ranking, it’s simply a celebration of 2021’s footwear. But rest assured, any one of these is great enough to be your favorite of the year.

Here are the all-time best sneaker drops of 2021.

AMBUSH x Nike Dunk High Cosmic Fuchsia, February 2021

It’s easy to forget this sneaker dropped this year because it was released back in the early days of 2021, but the Cosmic Fuchsia high-top Dunk is seriously dope. Designed by AMBUSH founder Yoon Ann, this Dunk featured a bold monochrome colorway with a reimagined silhouette that adds depth via enhanced paneling and a floating swoosh that resembles motorbike pipes.

Find the AMBUSH x Nike Dunk High Cosmix Fuchsia at your favorite aftermarket site.

CLOT x Nike Air Max 1 Kiss Of Death, March 2021

Sure, it’s a refresh of a fifteen-year-old sneaker, but what sneakerhead this year didn’t attempt to pick these kicks up when they dropped in a raffle at the retailer JUICE? The Kiss of Death featured a translucent toe box with a beige suede upper, a crimson snake-skin Swoosh and matching accents, and a glow-in-the-dark heel panel atop a bright orange midsole.

Who doesn’t love a sneaker that allows you to flex your sock game in new and interesting ways?

Find the CLOT x Nike Air Max 1 Kiss of Death at your favorite aftermarket site.

Yeezy 450 Cloud White, March 2021

Kanye can be incredibly polarizing, but if you love sneakers you have to admit, he’s one of the few interesting footwear designers operating right now. Case in point — the 450 Cloud White. It straight up doesn’t look like any other shoe on the market. Designed in partnership with the father of the Instapump Fury, Steven Smith, the 450 Cloud White dares to push against the idea of what a modern sneaker should look like, and it does it pretty damn successfully.

Does it look more like something an alien would wear than a human? Absolutely, but who cares? Sneakers should be fun and the 450 is that if nothing else.

Find the Yeezy 450 Cloud White at your favorite aftermarket site.

Air Max 90 Love Letter, March 2021

The Air Max 90 enjoys legendary sneaker status. It’s like a Jordan 1, you don’t have to do a lot to it to make it dope, just drop it in an amazing colorway and let the shape do the rest. One of the sneaker’s best colorways this year was this women’s size exclusive Air Max 90 that combined pastel pink with crimson red and white over a leather upper.

Designed in anticipation of Valentine’s Day (and subsequently delayed until March), this sneaker captured a bit of what made 2020’s Strangelove Dunks so special but put it on an arguably cooler silhouette.

Find the Air Max 90 Valentine’s Day at your favorite aftermarket site.

Skepta Nike Air Max Tailwind V, April 2021

Designed in partnership with British grime MC Skepta, this alien-esque take on the Tailwind is the only sneaker released this year that manages to reflect the dark and dire times we’re living in. There is something about the Tailwind V that looks sterile, stale, isolated, cold, and uninviting.

It’s moody and shimmers with iridescent accents, giving it an illuminated vibe that looks like something you’d find in a dark alleyway. It manages to send chills down my spine, that’s a sign of great design.

Find the Skepta Nike Air Max Tailwind V at your favorite aftermarket site.

Bad Bunny x Adidas Forum Low Easter Egg, April 2021

This year saw superstar reggaeton singer and rapper Bad Bunny throwing his hat into the world of sneakers via a partnership with Adidas. To date, Bad Bunny has been solely focused on a single silhouette, the Adidas Forum Low, the best of which was this pastel pink iteration that dropped in celebration of Easter.

Featuring an upper of mixed suede and leather, with a strap-secured lacing system, the Bad Bunny Easter Egg sports Bad Bunny branded graphics and a thick double-layered cushioned tongue. It doesn’t look like what you’d expect from a reggaeton-inspired sneaker, which is kind of Bad Bunny’s whole thing in the first place, so we dig how this is reflective of his artistry.

Find the Bad Bunny x Adidas Forum Low Easter Egg at your favorite aftermarket site.

A Ma Maniére x Air Jordan 3 Raised By Women, April 2021

This Air Jordan 3 made in collaboration with Atlanta-based luxury streetwear brand A Ma Maniére inspired a lot of internet chatter leading up to its release date and it still stands as one of 2021’s finest pieces of footwear.

The sneaker attempted to pay tribute to the power of women, A Ma Maniere wrote during the sneaker’s launch, “As we look to the future of our communities, our country, and the world, from the White House to any house, we are all raised by women.” The three dropped in a full-size unisex run with a matching apparel collection bathed in the same off-white, white, and grey tones of the sneaker.

A Ma Maniere would follow up this ultra hyped drop with an Air Jordan 1 in the same colorway and you best believe we included that one on this list too!

Find the A Ma Maniére x Air Jordan 3 Raised By Women at your favorite aftermarket site.

Aleali May Air Jordan 1 High Zoom CMFT Califia, April 2021

April was one hell of a month for sneakers and has clearly dominated our yearly roundup. Closing out the month is another strong drop, the Aleali May Air Jordan 1 High Zoom CMFT Califia. Inspired by May’s high school drill team, the Califia features a mix of true blue and green with cream chenille detailing at the wing logo over an off-white midsole and a slightly shimmery swoosh.

The sneaker presents itself as a modern reinterpretation of a classic Nike University color combination, and we love it for that.

Find the Aleali May Air Jordan 1 High Zoom CMFT Califia at your favorite aftermarket site.

UNDEFEATED Nike Kobe 5 Protro “Hall Of Fame,” May 2021

With Kobe Bryant’s Nike contract expired we’re not completely sure the next time we’ll ever get another Kobe 5 Protro release, so we may be looking at one of the last! The “Hall of Fame” reads like a tribute to Bryant and features The Laker’s gold and purple color scheme with metallic detailing, a gradient swoosh, and faux-snakeskin paneling meant to evoke that Mamba Mentality.

Find the UNDEFEATED Nike Kobe 5 Protro Hall Of Fame at your favorite aftermarket site.

Puma x Rhuigi Suede, June 2021

In 2021, you’re not going to find a single Puma on any year-end sneaker lists, except ours! We’re not afraid to give Puma some love, even if they miss the mark more often than they hit. One of the brand’s best drops this year was this special suede sneaker they made in collaboration with Rhude’s Rhuigi Villaseñor. Featuring distressed detailing, an animal print heel, and classy brown accents over an off-white base, the Rhuigi exudes class and luxury, echoing the aesthetic of Rhuigi’s Rhude brand.

Find the Puma x Rhuigi Suede on sale (ouch) at Foot Locker.

Salehe Bembury x New Balance 2002R Water Be The Guide, June

New Balance’s 2002R silhouette is having a bit of a moment this season, and one of the greatest iterations of the sneaker to drop this year comes straight from Salehe Bembury, who has a particular talent for putting together super fresh New Balances.

Inspired by the life force of water, the 2002R Water Be The Guide sports a fuzzy suede upper with an open-hole mesh base, leather detailing, and a shearling New Balance “N” logo at the midfoot.

Find the Salehe Bembury x New Balance 2002R Water Be The Guide at your favorite aftermarket site.

Auralee x New Balance 550, July 2021

Made in collaboration with Japanese streetwear brand Auralee, this take on the New Balance 550 exudes class. By draping the sneaker in a simple aged Ecru grain leather upper, this New Balance 550 keeps your eye focused on the sneaker’s simple shape and lets the silhouette do all the heavy lifting. It makes you appreciate just how talented New Balance is at crafting simple performance-focused sneakers that look as great as they are comfortable.

It has a vintage vibe to it that we don’t doubt looks more beautiful with age.

Find the Auralee x New Balance 550 at your favorite aftermarket site.

Fragment Design x Travis Scott Air Jordan 1, July 2021

This is without a doubt the biggest sneaker to drop this year with Travis Scott’s name attached to it. It’s easy to see why this was such a success, the sneaker is a crowd pleaser through and through. First of all, it’s an Air Jordan 1 so people are already going to love it, couple that with Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack branding and a design courtesy of famed Fragment Design label head, Hiroshi Fujiwara, and you’ve got a certified hit on your hand.

The combination of Sail, Black Military, and Blue Shy on the upper is enough to make us forgive the stupid backward swoosh gimmick. A month later the sneaker dropped in an equally great low-top version. We prefer the high.

Find the Fragment Design x Travis Scott Air Jordan 1 at your favorite aftermarket site. Be warned though, this one is massively expensive.

Off-White Nike Dunk Low 1 of 50, August 2021

This year, the late Virgil Abloh dropped one of his most ambitious sneaker projects ever, a fifty sneaker collection of low-top Nike Dunks. It was admittedly hard to pick just one of the fifty to represent this achievement in sneaker design, but we’re going to have to go with the pack’s first drop.

The debut pair features a crisp white upper with an exposed foam tongue, Abloh’s trademark Helvetica branding, a metallic silver swoosh, and a yellowed midsole with Flywire laces that zig-zag across the design. It’s not easy to reimagine a classic, Abloh did it fifty times.

Find the Off-White Nike Dunk Low 1 of 50 at your favorite aftermarket site.

Social Status x Nike Dunk Free Lunch Strawberry Milk, October 2021

We would’ve liked this list to include both colorways from the Social Status’ Free Lunch Nike collection, but considering the sneakers are so similar and we’re trying to keep this list a tight 20, we had to pick one, so we’re going with the Strawberry Milk.

This Dunk features milky shades of pink and white, a chunky swoosh, and an upper composed of velvet and leather. It has a collector’s item quality to it but that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t stop at wearing the f*ck out of these until they fall apart.

Find the Social Status x Nike Dunk Free Lunch Strawberry Milk at your favorite aftermarket site.

Air Max 1 x Patta Aqua Noise, November 2021

As we hit the winter months, the sneaker drops started to slow down considerably but a few releases managed to catch our eye as the perfect cap for a near-perfect year of sneaker releases. This iteration of the Air Max 1 made in collaboration with Amsterdam-based skatewear brand Patta is one such release.

Featuring a mix of grey and aqua tones, the Aqua Noise sported a mini swoosh, a wavy-mudguard, dual-branding at the tongue and heel, and an off-white midsole. It’s clean and slightly understated, one of the year’s top five sneakers for sure in spite of its simplicity.

Find the Air Max 1 x Patta Aqua Noise at your favorite aftermarket site.

COMME des GARÇONS Homme Plus x Nike Air Foamposite One, November 2021

I have a love-hate relationship with this shoe. On one hand, I love that it looks like something that belongs in a glass case at a contemporary art museum, and then on the other hand… I hate that. It attempts to push the expectations of sneaker design, which I can always appreciate, but I’m not sure I’m totally sold on the result.

The upper features zen garden-esque swirls dressed in either an all-black or all-white colorway. It’s a statement sneaker if there ever was one. What does it say about you if you own it? You’re a pretentious asshole. Just kidding, of course, it’s a dope design worth appreciating even if we’re not entirely convinced it works.

Find the COMME des GARÇONS Homme Plus x Nike Air Foamposite One at your favorite aftermarket site.

Air Jordan 2 Low x Off-White White and Varsity Red

This Off-White Air Jordan 2 has the unfortunate baggage of being Virgil Abloh’s final design released while the late great designer was still alive. The fashion world is still reeling from the loss, but the sneaker stands as a powerful final statement from one of footwear’s GOATs.

The design served as a tribute to the legacy of the Air Jordan 2 and featured an artificially aged design that attempted to capture what a vintage pair might look like had it been locked away in a time capsule. The pair sits atop a cracked midsole and was revered-engineered from an original pair MJ actually wore.

As a final detail, Jordan’s signature was printed on each pair, a reference to his tendency to sign a pair of shoes and give them away to kids after games.

Find the Off-White Air Jordan 2 at your favorite aftermarket site.

Air Jordan 1 x A Ma Maniére Sail and Burgundy, November 2021

When A Ma Maniére dropped the Air Jordan 1 Sail and Burgundy, it felt like a victory lap. High off the success of the A Ma Maniére Jordan 3, the Sail and Burgundy offers everything the previous release offered, just on a Jordan 1 instead of a Jordan 3.

The sneaker features a textured suede upper with snakeskin detailing on the collar and swoosh, and a soft quilted sock liner in a beautiful off-white and brown colorway. In any other year, this would be the best sneaker release, but it had to compete with the A Ma Maniére Jordan 3, which came first. As such, this feels a bit like retreading old ground, as beautiful as it is.

Find the Air Jordan 1 x A Ma Maniére Sail and Burgundy at your favorite aftermarket site.

Air Jordan 11 Cool Grey, December 2021

This feels like an anti-climactic way to end a list of the best sneakers of 2021, but what can we say? This sneaker is simply beautiful. That’s to say, it’s simple and beautiful. Featuring a monochromatic leather upper dressed in tones of grey, the uninspiredly named Cool Grey features a crisp white midsole over an icy outsole and is one of the sneakers OG colorways.

It’s not mind-blowing, but it’s a celebration of one of the greatest Jordan silhouettes of all time on the year of the design’s 20th anniversary. For some Jordan 11 fans, this colorway is the holy grail.

Find the Air Jordan 11 Cool Grey at your favorite aftermarket site.

Travis Scott, who was removed from a number of festivals’ lineups in the wake of the disaster at his own Astroworld Festival in November, may soon be returning to at least one fest’s big stage in 2022. At least, that’s what fans think after the Rolling Loud Twitter account teased the early-bird presale for the traveling festivals’ upcoming Miami event in 2022. “This early bird presale is for the ragers that trust the process,” read the tweet, purposefully adding the nickname Travis uses for his most enthusiastic fans.

It didn’t take long for those fans to read between the line and begin expressing hopes for Travis’ return to the stage since first being dropped from the Day N Vegas lineup and eventually receiving pink slips to such fests as Coachella, as well as business partnerships with Anheuser-Busch and Dior. Travis has received criticism for his role in the Astroworld disaster and his responses to it after he hired a lawyer with past Trump connections as his defense in the upcoming combined lawsuit against him from over 3,000 plaintiffs.

It wouldn’t be the first time Rolling Loud offered a troubled artist a path to redemption — or at least, revenue, given the unapologetic stances of the previously “canceled” rappers who performed on the festival’s stage. Rolling Loud’s organizers were close friends with the problematic XXXTentacion, who performed there while under investigation for accusations of horrifying abuse, and more recently, Rolling Loud backed DaBaby’s upcoming tour after his homophobic comments onstage got him censured by GLAAD, Elton John, and Dua Lipa — statements that ironically occurred during his Rolling Loud Miami performance earlier this year.

If Travis does perform, it seems there are still plenty of fans who would be delighted, even as at least 10 of his fans’ families mourn their unfortunate deaths at Astroworld. See some of the responses below.

Despite catching COVID earlier in the year, Joe Rogan has continued to refuse to get vaccinated, and now, it’s costing him sold-out comedy shows. On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the podcaster revealed that one of his shows in Canada has been canceled because of his unvaccinated status. The 4/20 event had been sold out, but because Rogan refuses to comply with vaccinate requirements or have the venue’s audience be cut in half to meet COVID restrictions, he pulled the plug.

“I don’t even think I can get into the country,” Rogan said. “I don’t think I can go and even if I do go, I don’t trust that Vancouver is not going to follow suit with what Toronto did — where they cut capacity to 50%.”

Never one to skirt controversy, Rogan then touted his natural immunity, which is a debatable protection from COVID particularly as the new Omicron variant becomes the dominant strain. Via Mediaite:

“I’m not vaccinated. I’m not gonna get vaccinated. I have antibodies. It doesn’t make any sense,” he added. Rogan, who has had Covid-19, has been a prominent skeptic of the Covid-19 vaccinations and has endorsed alternative treatments.

However, none of this should be a surprise to the comedian. Back in August, he was already complaining about COVID restrictions affecting his comedy shows, and he was adamant about not forcing his fans to get vaccinated just to see him perform.

“If someone has an ideological or physiological reason for not getting vaccinated, I don’t want to force them to get vaccinated to see a f***ing stupid comedy show,” Rogen said at the time.

(Via Mediaite)

Seemingly every couple of months, Twitter lights up with (very important) conversations about how little artists actually get paid every time their song gets streamed. It varies between streaming services, but according to the RIAA’s 2020 report, Spotify averages $.00437 per stream while Apple Music averages about $.00783. However, the company that pays artists the most per stream is pretty surprising, seeing how it’s oftentimes credited for nearly killing the music industry: Napster.

Thanks to a recent tweet by T-Pain, fans were shocked to learn that Napster still actually exists seeing as the company filed for bankruptcy in 2002 after losing a wave of copyright infringement lawsuits. T-Pain shared a screenshot of a dubious chart originally posted to Reddit which claims how many times a song has to be streamed on a given platform in order for the musician to make $1. T-Pain’s chart shows an artist’s song on Napster has to be streamed 53 times in order to make $1, which is actually accurate per the RIAA’s 2020 report, compared to 315 streams on Spotify (although RIAA’s numbers show it’s more like 229 times).

While it’s fairly well-known that Spotify is one of the biggest streaming platforms with one of the worst artist payouts, fans on Twitter were even more surprised that Napster is still around. T-Pain’s tweet instantly made Napster trend on Twitter, with many people reacting to the news that Napster essentially went from “villain” to the “hero” of streaming.

Others were simply reminiscing on the times they stayed up all night downloading a few songs on Napster.