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For 12 seasons, Matthew Stafford toiled away in Detroit, leading Lions teams that ranged from abject disasters to respectably decent.

Stafford became the poster child for empty QB stats in the eyes of many, throwing for over 4,000 yards eight times in Detroit, but only receiving one Pro Bowl nod (2014) for his efforts. He reached the playoffs three times, losing all three times in the Wild Card. Stafford saw the prime years of his career seemingly come and go in Detroit without much to show for it, and became a polarizing figure in the process. A wasted talent on a franchise that failed him? Or piling up stats and never elevating his team to sustained success?

There was only one way for him to answer those questions. And that was to go elsewhere, with Detroit acquiescing to a trade request and sending him to Los Angeles, where the Rams hoped he was one of the final missing pieces in a championship puzzle.

Seemingly every game this season was a referendum on Stafford’s career, with both sides being able to serve their own confirmation bias. A great game, proof he simply needed better support pieces around him. A bad one, proof that you can take the QB out of Detroit, but can’t take the Detroit out of the QB.

All along it was building towards this postseason, where Stafford has been presented the chance to rewrite his legacy and change the narrative about a 13-year career in the span of a month. He (and the Rams team as a whole) have pounced on that opportunity through three rounds of playoff action. Stafford, who had a spell of concerning play towards the end of the season with regards to turnovers, has been a model of consistency and quality decision-making through three games.

He’s completed 72 percent of his passes for 905 yards, six touchdowns, and just one interception. He’s orchestrated a pair of game-winning drives and has delivered in both fourth quarters he’s been needed. For a quarterback who’s always been known for his cannon of an arm, it’s been his precision in crucial moments that’s stood out during the Rams postseason run. He has been sharp and decisive on key third downs and in late clock situations, with few plays more exemplary of that growth than his third-down dart to Cooper Kupp in traffic to keep a drive alive to set up what became the game-winning field goal in the NFC title game.

That play spoke to the confidence he has in himself and those around him, something that was not always the case in Detroit. It also showed the confidence McVay has in Stafford (and Kupp), running a basic option route rather than trying to scheme up a first down, trusting his top guys to simply beat the defense in that moment and it worked. That play was the perfect harmony of accuracy, timing, and power that many wondered if Stafford could ever bring together on the big stage.

Stafford’s been busy with the pencil and eraser this postseason, crafting a new story for himself and answering just about every question about his ability to mesh his immense talent with the savvy and decision-making needed to be a championship quarterback.

Sunday, he’ll have a chance to write it all down in ink and make it permanent.

The rumor mill was open this weekend, as some people noticed that Julia Fox unfollowed Kardashian fan accounts and deleted some pictures of her and Ye (aka Kanye West). Naturally, the conclusion that many reached in light of that activity is that Fox and West’s relationship was facing some trouble. However, Fox addressed all this directly and assured all onlookers that there’s a perfectly good explanation for everything.

In a video shared on her Instagram Story, Fox said, “Guys, relax. I unfollowed the fan accounts because I was tired of seeing myself, OK? Suddenly, Instagram was not a fun place anymore. And I took the f*cking photos down because I read the comments and everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, you clearly only posted photos where you looked good in.’”

Her latest Instagram post, a gallery of photos of herself and West, addresses that sort of feedback directly, as she wrote, “And of course special thanks to Ye [heart emoji] pics by @arnold_daniel. YES IM AWARE I ONLY CHOSE PHOTOS THAT I LOOK GOOD IN [nail polish emoji].”

While West’s life story has new chapters to it every day, a majority of the tale will be told in the upcoming Jeen-Yuhs documentary series, which premieres on Netflix on February 16.

The big names surrounding this year’s trade deadline are obvious. All-Stars like Ben Simmons, James Harden and Domantas Sabonis dominate the headlines, and high-level starters such as CJ McCollum and Christian Wood (the 2020-21 version, at least) could also move the needle for teams.

Yet not everyone has the flexibility to acquire those types of players, even if improvements ahead of the playoffs remain a priority. That’s where lesser targets factor in, and this is often where the top contenders operate at the deadline. Finding guys who can still invigorate a rotation, whether it be for the regular season’s stretch run or beyond, is important for teams trying to take a step forward in the second half of the season or add more 16-game players for the postseason.

A great example can be found just last year, when the Bucks dealt for P.J. Tucker, who became a vital piece of their title team. This year there are plenty of valuable veterans out there on teams with future-facing priorities, and here we’ll take a look at five vets that could be on targets for contenders this week.

Eric Gordon

Despite all of the Rockets struggles, Gordon is putting together a really encouraging scoring campaign over in Houston. He’s drilling 42.7 percent of his triples, 55.8 percent of his twos and averaging 14.2 points on 62.6 percent true shooting. That final number is 6.7 points above league average, the best mark of his 14-year career, even amid a fairly stagnant offensive attack.

Gordon offers both long-range shooting and interior scoring prowess. According to Cleaning The Glass, his 35 percent rim frequency ranks in the 75th percentile among wings, while his 65 percent clip there places him in the 60th percentile of efficiency. With a distinct cadence and dribbling savvy, he’s excellent at marrying the threat of his jumper and driving to generate good looks for himself. He also provides some juice as an on-ball defender.

The passing and off-ball defense are poor, though. Plus, he has 1.5 years guaranteed years remaining on his contract, at roughly $19 million per year, so streamlining the finances in a trade could be complicated. But Gordon is a versatile scorer who can produce from deep and at the rim quite effectively. Those players aren’t abundant in the league, let alone on the trade market. He can certainly help a contender. I’d really love his fit with the Suns, for instance, who lack downhill scoring.

Mike Muscala

Already in his third season with the Thunder, Muscala has been one of their best players this season. He continues to be a premier stretch big (42.9 percent from deep this year, 39.2 percent since 2019-20) and has been pretty active defensively. He’ll rotate to alter shots around the rim, bother ball-handlers in pick-and-rolls and get a paw on passes, all at rates that feel previously unmatched in his career.

Muscala’s deal doesn’t hamstring anything either. He’s slated to earn $3.5 million through 2022-23. A team who wants more floor-spacing out of its center spot (a chance at redemption with the Lakers, maybe?), while also not jeopardizing the defense, would benefit from his game.

Justin Holiday

After trading Caris LeVert on Sunday, the Indiana Pacers seem like a prime candidate to keep shifting toward a retool, at the very least. Sabonis and Myles Turner will be the biggest prizes in Indiana’s potential fire sale, but Holiday’s game is likewise best utilized on a winning squad, a direction Indiana doesn’t seem slated for the rest of the year.

He’s knocked down 38.8 percent of his threes since 2019-20 (.714 three-point rate), can capably shoot off screens, and is a high-level cutter and useful on-ball defender against lower-rung perimeter creators. There should be significant appeal for him to slot in as a viable rotation wing on various good teams. The Sixers strike me as an optimal landing spot.

Gary Harris

Harris’ first 17 games of the year — 6.8 points on .390/.241/.857 split — were, uh, rather rough. Since then, he’s been on absolute tear, averaging 14.4 points on .461/.425/.843 splits over the past 30 games.

He’s a versatile long-range shooter, perceptive cutter (especially along the baseline) and can occasionally create out of ball screens. While he’s not the menacing perimeter defender of yesteryear — injuries have sapped some of his mobility — he still got the chops to thrive at times.

Playing out the final year of a four-year, $84 million deal, Harris is on expiring contract. But he’s set to earn $20 million this season, so, similar to Gordon, the finances could get tricky. Nonetheless, he’s turned it around since late November and absolutely can bolster a playoff club (Celtics or Jazz, perhaps?).

Montrezl Harrell

The Wizards exist in an odd space. They’re trying to maximize and build a winning roster around Bradley Beal ahead of his free agency this summer. But the reality is they’re 2-8 in their last 10 games, outside of a play-in berth (0.5 games back) at 24-28 overall and haven’t been playing good basketball since a 10-3 start.

Harrell isn’t really to blame for these struggles, and him potentially being moved stems from the crunch at center, with all of him, Daniel Gafford and Thomas Bryant deserving minutes. Both Bryant and Harrell will be free agents this summer, but Bryant’s youth (24 vs. 28) and floor-spacing abilities might entice Washington more to retain him over Harrell.

Regardless, if Harrell is available, he should have suitors, despite his well-documented playoff foibles. Some of them are on poor coaching decisions (Doc Rivers kept playing him against Nikola Jokic) or an incongruent fit with schemes (Frank Vogel prefers defensive-minded centers, though his ball-screen defense is undoubtedly an issue in high-leverage spots).

There are plenty of positives, though, most notably that Harrell can score the hell out of the ball. This season, he’s averaging 14.1 points on 68.2 percent true shooting, which is absolutely ridiculous efficiency on notable scoring volume. Since 2018-19, he’s averaging 15.8 points on 63.7 percent true shooting.

He’s one of the NBA’s best pick-and-roll bigs and can score out of face-ups in the right circumstances. Pair him with a good creator and he’ll cook during his minutes, especially if he’s empowered to just bully opposing bench bigs. Understanding Harrell’s exploits and shortcomings and how they align with your team’s vision is paramount to maximizing him.

If a team is searching for a big to effectively handle 12-18 minutes a game off the bench and wants an offensive jolt, Harrell is perfect. Identifying that team is a bit challenging, but I’m not entirely opposed to the idea of him in Dallas or Toronto.

The Joe Rogan Spotify saga isn’t going away anytime soon, folks. Today, a right-wing platform just offered Rogan the same $100 million that Spotify paid him for the exclusive rights to broadcast his The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, because of course they did.

The company that has approached Rogan with the offer is Canadian video platform Rumble, which has prominent right-wing pundits like Steve Bannon and Dinesh D’Souza in its stable. As The Hollywood Reporter reported, CEO Chris Pavloski posted an open letter to Rogan on the company’s Twitter account. It has a real deal with the devil vibe.

“Dear Joe, We stand with you, your guests, and your legion of fans in desire for real conversation,” Pavloski began. “So we’d like to offer you 100 million reasons to make the world a better place. How about you bring all your shows to Rumble, both new and old, with no censorship, for $100 million bucks over four years? This is our chance to save the world. And yes, this is totally legit … We stand with you, your guests and your legion of fans in desire for real conversation.”

So what would stop Rogan from spurning Spotify and taking the money from Rumble? For one, Spotify’s platform is huge and Rogan can certainly get more listeners there than just about anywhere else. Additionally, for all the malarkey that he spits on his show, he is a self-proclaimed liberal who has apologized for using the n-word. So, finding a platform that would seemingly not care if he used it or spread vaccine misinformation isn’t likely what motivates him quite so much as what the court of public opinion thinks of him in the long run.

Meanwhile, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote a letter to all staff members on Sunday night indicating that he doesn’t believe that censoring Joe Rogan is the right call. Time will surely tell how this all plays out…

By the time the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul debuts, it will have been over two years since the wonderful season five finale (the show’s star having a heart attack on set and, y’know, a global pandemic slowed things down slightly). Unless AMC decides to drop the season premiere tonight. That would be a nice treat. We earned it.

But more likely is Saul returning later this year. “When?” is still the question, though. “#BetterCallSaul returns for its final season. Mark your calendar,” the show’s official Twitter account tweeted today, along with a menacing teaser of the Cousins walking across a crime scene. But the premiere date is never revealed. There’s nothing to mark on the calendar, unless you want to draw a circle around the entire year.

The only hint at a possible premiere date is the letters “D” and “R” that the Cousins ignore. D is the fourth letter of the alphabet, April is the fourth month; R is the 18th letter in the alphabet. April 18, 2022, is a Monday, the night that Saul typically airs. Is this a far-fetched theory? Yes, yes it is. But if you told in 2015 that Saul could end up being better than Breaking Bad, I would haven’t believed you either. Anything is possible… except for getting the season premiere tonight. That’s not happening.

You can watch the teaser below.

There’s no shortage of advice for getting through difficult times. Unfortunately, most of that advice is either painfully unrealistic or reeks of toxic positivity. Solid advice that is both helpful and comforting is hard to come by – which is why this advice is going viral for all the right reasons.

The advice comes from Elena Mikhalkova – or rather her Mikhalkova’s grandmother – and it goes like this:

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My grandmother once gave me a tip:

In difficult times, you move forward in small steps.

Do what you have to do, but little by little.

Don’t think about the future, or what may happen tomorrow.

Wash the dishes.

Remove the dust.

Write a letter.

Make a soup.

You see?

You are advancing step by step.

Take a step and stop.

Rest a little.

Praise yourself.

Take another step.

Then another.

You won’t notice, but your steps will grow more and more.

And the time will come when you can think about the future without crying.

Can we all just pause for a minute to take a deep breath and maybe wipe the tears from our eyes? Because I don’t know about you, but this advice is just what I’ve needed to read almost every day lately.

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I suspect I’m not alone in this either because Mikhalkova’s advice is being shared all over the internet lately.

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With Covid raging again and many of us (dare I say, all of us?) struggling with one thing or another, this quote hits. Unlike the clichéd “one foot in front of another” advice that can seem both demeaning and overwhelming, this advice offers concrete steps to take.

Wash the dishes. Make soup. Rest, and praise yourself.

These are things I can do. Well, maybe not soup, per se. But cookies. I can make cookies. And maybe you can make soup. Or knit a scarf. Or sweep the kitchen floor. This is enough.

What this advice taps into that other tidbits lose sight of is that when we’re in the midst of a calamity, even the most simple and everyday tasks are more difficult. Making lunch can seem monumental and the mere thought of doing virtual school for another few weeks can make us take to our beds, sobbing in the fetal position. Advice to “look on the bright side” can be patronizing and counterproductive. This advice does none of those things but, instead, acknowledges that even a small step matters. It doesn’t dismiss the pain, but recognizes that even thinking about the future can be painful and that progress sometimes looks like making it through the day without crying

This advice also goes beyond the “sun will come out tomorrow” reminders and acknowledges that things might not be better tomorrow or the day after that. It will take time for wounds to heal and difficult times to pass, but we need not passively wait for this time to come. We can make soup, rest, and be kind to ourselves.

In the early days of the pandemic, I remember feeling like there was so much more I should be doing with all this extra “at home” time. Yet I found even the most basic tasks to be more difficult. In turn, I felt guilty for not being more productive. But what I’ve learned – or rather am learning – is that allostatic load and decision fatigue are very real. Productivity looks different on different days, and sometimes being patient with ourselves is the most productive thing we can do.

Mikhalkova’s advice taps into a mantra that I often recite when I’m struggling: Just do one good thing. Unload the dishwasher. Return an email. Fold the laundry. Hug my kids. Then do the next good thing. Eventually these things add up. Time passes and small steps turn into something bigger.

What I love most about Mikhalkova’s advice – and what is easy to forget in difficult times – is the reminder to praise ourselves along the way. Because sometimes that pat on the back we need the most is our own.

Christine is a writer who lives in the Chicago area with her husband, two sons, and rescue dog. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.

Sydney Sweeney is everywhere these days–from her stellar performance on The White Lotus to the vibrantly messy Cassie on Euphoria, Sweeney has built herself a tiny empire of both TikTok followers and people who are into antique car repair. Turns out the two interests can co-exist!

Sweeney recently spoke to Cosmo about her relationship with social media, both good and bad. “I would love to share my normal life so that people can see that it’s not all glamour. But I can’t because one, I like my privacy, and two, social media is another platform for business. Sharing my life on it could go against the integrity of the business and brand I’m trying to create.” The brand Sweeney has been recently trying to create is an impressive car builder.

The Euphoria actress is known on TikTok for her car repair videos, which show Sweeney restoring a vintage 1969 red Bronco in overalls and hot pink gloves.

She discussed her new-found love of cars, saying she wanted to build one. “Anyone can go buy a brand-new car, but not everyone can have something rare that has history. In quarantine, my creative juices were overflowing. I was very bored and I got addicted to going to auction sites for cars. I wanted a Bronco so badly. But I wanted to build one so that when I drove it and people said ‘cool car,’ I could be like ‘yeah, thanks’ and know I made it.”

This is a rare glimpse into Sweeney’s personal life, as she tries to remain as private as possible due to excessive harassment on the internet. “I have this formula that I try to follow. I’ll post about my work, I’ll post about fashion because when the hell else would I look that good? And then I try to sprinkle in a Syd post once in a while.” She mentioned how she recently trended on Twitter, and went on an Instagram rant about how horrible that was.

“I’m reading all these comments saying so much stupid stuff about my appearance. I went on social media and cried. People were like, ‘Oh, she’s just looking for attention.’ People literally kill themselves over stuff like this. And people just don’t give a fuck. I went on for, like, maybe 12 seconds. I did not think anyone was going to record it. I just needed to let it out. Then it just went everywhere and it became its own beast.”

So, instead of being vulnerable on social media, Sweeney decides to maintain a perfect balance of hand-picked dog pics and vintage car repair videos. Sometimes that’s all the fans need.

Last week, Encanto highlight “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” made history by becoming just the second song from a Disney animated movie to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, following “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Now, on the new chart dated February 12, “Bruno” is once again No. 1 for a second week, making it, in terms of chart performance, the biggest-ever song of its kind: “Bruno” is now the first song from an animated Disney movie to spend multiple weeks at No. 1.

“Bruno” and the Encanto soundtrack are now the first soundtrack song and album to simultaneously top their respective charts for multiple weeks since Eminem “Lose Yourself” and the 8 Mile soundtrack in 2003. Additionally, “Colombia, Mi Encanto” debuts on the chart at No. 100, making it the eighth song from the film to appear on the chart. “Surface Pressure,” the second-biggest hit from the movie, achieved a new peak at No. 8 this week.

In late January, Lin-Manuel Miranda (who wrote the Encanto tunes) appeared on The Tonight Show and was asked if he saw the song’s success coming. He responded, “No, mainly because group numbers never get the same kind of love that the ballads get or the comedy songs get. But I did know it was catchy, because when I was first writing it, I would catch my kids singing it just from overhearing me writing it.

Millions of Green Day fans are going to have their eyes peeled for Billie Joe Armstrong’s stolen car after the singer posted a rallying cry for help on social media. The white 1962 Chevy II is in immaculate condition and was stolen from Costa Mesa, California on Saturday morning. Armstrong quickly took to social media to ask for an assist from the Green Day hive.

“My car was STOLEN 1962 Chevy II. This car is near and dear to all our hearts and has been in the GD family for over 30 years,” Armstrong begins. “Please send any sighting, tips or info to the Costa Mesa police. Incident # 22-002015, 22-002016. Please call 714-754-5280 please re-post, lets all help find this car!!”

The message was posted to Armstrong’s Instagram account, which has 2.4 million followers, as well as his Twitter page, which has another 1.1 million followers. That’s a lot of eyeballs for just one car, but this is clearly a special one for the noted classic car collector. The website HotCars.com reported on the theft and estimates that a 1962 Chevy II/Nova in “pristine” condition is worth around $77,000.

Meanwhile, Green Day have been teasing what appears to be a new album called 1972 and perhaps Billie Joe doesn’t want to risk the superstition of going through recording without this Green Day automotive relic by his side? If you can help, the info line is above.

Green Day is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In the lead-up to the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and its complete domination of the box office until Jackass Forever stepped in almost two months later, Tom Holland referred to the highly-anticipated installment as “dark and sad,” and even went so far as to describe it as “not fun.” While Holland was simply trying to highlight that the movie pushes Peter Parker to the limit and challenges his seemingly endless optimism, which it does, Marvel was not thrilled with the young actor telling everyone that No Way Home is “brutal” going into a theatrical release with a rampant COVID variant in the mix.

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

It’s funny, I actually got in trouble on the press tour. I got a phone call from some people at the studio, saying, “Stop saying the movie is brutal! Stop saying the movie is emotional! It doesn’t sell the movie!” And I was like, “But it is! This is the most emotional superhero movie that’s ever been made.” And they were like, “We want people to understand how fun it is.” And I was like, “It is fun, but it’s also kind of heartbreaking.” So I had to sort of change track on how I was promoting the movie, but I’m glad I gave at least some people some warning.

In Holland’s defense, more than any of his prior Spider-Man performances, No Way Home is an emotional gut-punch that veers closer to Spidey’s comic origins where his life of trying to be a friendly neighborhood hero is marred by tragedy. That said, the film is still an absolute blast. So basically Marvel and Tom Holland are both right. Now, shake hands and be nice.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)