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The NBA schedule will begin to be announced on Tuesday afternoon when the opening week national TV schedule for ESPN, ABC, and TNT is released along with the Christmas Day schedule. That will set the table for the full schedule release to come in the next week or so, and most expect a heavy dose of the Lakers, Nets, Knicks, and Warriors this season.

While the 3 p.m. ET release on The Jump was still hours away, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon couldn’t help but report three of the Christmas Day matchups. One will be a rematch of the East playoffs between the Hawks and Knicks in Madison Square Garden, where Trae Young will look to continue playing the villain in New York. The expected primetime game is Nets-Lakers at Staples Center, which was always a lock for Christmas, with the only question being whether it’d be in Brooklyn or L.A. The nightcap for Christmas will put Luka Doncic on center stage, as he and the Mavs will head to Utah to face the Jazz.

That leaves two slots remaining, with many anticipating a Finals rematch in Milwaukee between the Bucks and Suns to fill a fourth spot and it’d be fairly shocking for the Warriors not to also make the Christmas Day cut. That would leave just one other team (possibly the Sixers) to round out the slate, with Hawks-Knicks almost assuredly as the opener at 12:30 p.m. ET, Lakers-Nets in the 8 p.m. ET primetime slot, and Mavs-Jazz as the 10:30 p.m. ET closer.

We’ll find out the official schedule later on Tuesday afternoon, but as always the NBA is stacking its best teams on Christmas for the league’s biggest single day of the regular season.

There’s a new podcast coming that offers a new angle on the life of late Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle and sports. Presented by 30 For 30 Podcasts and The Undefeated, the four-part “The King Of Crenshaw” will “focus on how the late Nipsey Hussle’s life, death, and legacy deeply impacted the sports world” and “examine how that overlap of Black male creativity, talent and ambition will forever live on in Nipsey’s responsibility to his neighborhood. And how NBA players are vowing to continue his marathon moving forward.”

The pod will also feature interviews with NBA All-Stars Isaiah Thomas, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarcus Cousins, plus Nipsey’s brother Blacc Sam. “Everyone knows I’m a huge Nipsey fan,” Cousins, who plays for the LA Clippers, said. “He’s more to me than just a rapper. He’s an icon.”

On March 31, 2019, Nipsey Hussle was tragically shot and killed at his Marathon Clothing store in South Los Angeles. His death shook the music world, leaving many to grieve a loss that came at the height of his career. On the two-year anniversary, his longtime girlfriend, Lauren London, took to Instagram to honor him. “The Day Of Ermias’ transition changed the course of my life forever,” she wrote. “2 years, and it feels like yesterday and eternity all at the same time. Grief and Healing have been constant companions on this journey.” She added, “In Honor of His life and demonstration… May all of Heaven exalt Your name for all You did on Earth and beyond. Brave and Beloved Soul, Ermias. You are missed deeply. You are loved immensely. You will forever be. I love you eternally.”

Look out for a full season drop of “The King Of Crenshaw” on 8/23.

Nipsey Hussle is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jeopardy! is technically between seasons (so you won’t be seeing current champ Matt Amodio on your TV for awhile). One wouldn’t know that it’s hiatus time, however, from the controversy that continues to swirl around the future of the long-running game show after beloved host Alex Trebek’s death. John Oliver look a swing at the show’s dual-hosting fiasco, with Sony moving executive producer Mike Richards into full-time host duties (of the syndicated flagship show) and Mayim Bialik picking up the primetime and spinoff variants.

And although LeVar Burton fans (who loved him on Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation) still can’t get over seeing him “snubbed,” it’s been reported that Burton’s ratings trailed those of his fellow guest hosts. No matter, though. Burton has shown himself to be gracious, and Selma director Ava DuVernay is on his side.

It seems that DuVernay is envisioning a little Schitt’s Creek-esque magic, given that she tweeted, “Me trying to create a show right in this moment for @levarburton to host and make an international hit.”

Well, LeVar is here for this. He swiftly tweeted back, “Check your DM’s!”

Can you see this actually happening? Sure, why not. Perhaps they can also enlist some former Jeopardy! champs, who’ve been throwing some shade and would make fine cameo guests. Both James Holzhauer and Ken Jennings roasted the strategy of having two Jeopardy! hosts. Also recently, a gift to Jennings from the late Trebek has caused people to wonder what could have been.

The late Blackalicious MC Gift Of Gab left behind a sizable collection of recordings the group will be sharing in the future. Today, the first of his posthumous releases, “Vice Grip,” dropped, providing fans of the Oakland native’s intricate lyrics a heaping dose of them as he again puts on a breathless display of vocal virtuosity over a rollicking beat.

Gift Of Gab passed away this June at the age of 50. In a statement, Blackalicious producer DJ Xcel wrote, “Our brother was an MCs’ MC who dedicated his life to his craft. One of the greatest to ever do it. He’s the most prolific person I’ve ever known. He was all about pushing the boundaries of his art form in the most authentic way possible. He truly believed in the healing power of music. He viewed himself as a vessel used by a higher power whose purpose was to give positive contributions to humanity through Rhyme.”

Blackalicious’ label Quannum has enough material from Gab to release unheard music for “years to come.” Gab was one of several prominent figures the underground rap world has lost over the past few months, including Zumbi of Zion I, MF DOOM, and Squeak of Pivot Gang.

Listen to “Vice Grip” above.

It’s been nearly two decades since Eminem made his film debut in the box office hit 8 Mile, and he’s now ready to work on another acting project. The rapper has now accepted one of his first acting roles since 8 Mile, and it’s in 50 Cent‘s upcoming Starz TV show Black Mafia Family.

50 confirmed the news of Em’s role on Instagram. The rapper is set to portray the famed FBI informant White Boy Rick, aka Richard Wershe Jr., who was convicted of drug charges and sentenced to life in prison at just 17 years old. Wershe was officially released in 2020, and the 2018 eponymous film starring Matthew McConaughey told his story.

Speaking about Em’s involvement in the upcoming series, 50 wrote: “Oh yeah i’m bringing the big dogs out, I couldn’t do a show based in Detroit without incorporating the legend @eminem. Got him to play white Boy Rick in BMF, this sh*t is out of here.”

Eminem has just a few acting credits on his IMDb page since 8 Mile (aside from music videos): He’s been on Crank Yankers, Funny People, Entourage, and The Interview.

Em isn’t the only rapper 50 Cent is enlisting the help of for his TV series. Last year, the rapper implored Rick Ross to use his track 2010 “BMF” on the show, which would be a fitting addition seeing as the title is already the same. Ross accepted, but on one bizarre condition: 50 Cent had to agree to promote Wingstop on his Instagram page. Ross owns a number of Wingstop storefronts, so he said he’ll agree to clear the track for 50’s Starz show, but first wants to “profit off of him.”

In 2018, Ariana Grande delivered one of the year’s musical highlights with her album Sweetener. It was released on August 17 of that year, which makes today its third anniversary. Grande has decided to observe the occasion by reflecting on the album with some behind-the-scenes photos. Sharing a gallery of them on social media (in the form of a video), Grande wrote simply, “thank you.”

Grande previously said of the album in a 2018 interview, “Sonically, also where I’m using my voice is very different this time. I feel like everyone’s heard me do all the gymnastic stuff and it’s fun, I love to sing, you know and like, prove a point when I’m like, ‘Look what I can do,’ but also it’s cool that this is a way more about like, the lyrical content and it’s like a sweeter more mature side of my voice. I feel like it’s like using newer parts of my range that I don’t get to showcase on my radio ones.” She also noted, “I feel I’m gonna look back at life and like instead of having kept diaries, I would have made albums and be like, ‘Oh, I remember exactly what was happening when we made this, I remember exactly what’s happening.’ So it’s just another dope chapter closed.”

Revisit our review of Sweetener here.

During a new interview with Steve Bannon, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene kept her conspiratorial brand strong by making a nonsensical argument about American gun ownership and the Taliban. While using the chaos in Afghanistan as a backdrop, Greene accused the Biden administration of “paying the Taliban” by gifting them with “weapons, vehicles, Blackhawk helicopters.” In reality, the Afghanistan national army abandoned their weapons and vehicles, which the Taliban immediately seized as soon as U.S. forces left the country, but Greene isn’t one to let a few facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory.

According to Greene’s illogical rant, Biden’s “gifting” of weapons to the Taliban makes any attempt to enact gun control in America null and void. Never mind that there’s a massive difference between having weaponry in a war zone and on American soil, if the Taliban have assault weapons, then goshdarnit, Americans should have them, too.

Via The Independent:

“Anytime any Democrat ever speaks to America about gun control again, and they want to talk to you about your AR-15, you tell them right now how many weapons and how many semi-automatic weapons did you hand over to terrorists in Afghanistan, to the Taliban, ISIS and possible Al-Qaeda before you ever talk to Americans about gun control,” she told Mr Bannon’s Real America’s Voice podcast.

Naturally, Greene also praised Trump and called him “more presidential” than Biden will ever be while conveniently ignoring the fact that Trump negotiated the withdrawal deal with the Taliban that set the stage for the calamity in Afghanistan.

(Via The Independent)

Just a couple of weeks out from releasing her forthcoming LP Before I Die, South Korean multi-hyphenate Park Hye Jin has shared a mellow new single, “I Need You,” which follows earlier tracks “Whatchu Doin Later” and “Let’s Sing Let’s Dance.” Similar to the aforementioned singles, “I Need You” is sung in both Korean and English. Over light, jazzy piano and a skittering hi-hat, the DJ, singer, rapper, and producer expresses a near-universal wish to get closer to a potential love. Meanwhile, Park Hye Jin’s chilled-out vocals stay cucumber-cool.

Earlier in the summer, Park Hye Jin announced plans to release her debut LP, Before I Die, in the fall via Ninja Tune. The album is entirely written, produced, and performed by Park Hye Jin and follows a lengthy list of high-profile collaborations with artists like Clams Casino and Take A Daytrip (“Y Don’t U”), Blood Orange (“Call Me (Freestyle)”), Nosaj Thing (“Clouds”), and Galcher Lustwerk. Along with the album news, Park Hye Jin announced that she’s hitting the road in the fall; her upcoming US tour dates kick off in Toronto in October.

Listen to “I Need You” above.

Before I Die is out 9/10 via Ninja Tune. Pre-order it here.

If there’s one thing Tucker Carlson is good at, it’s being one of the world’s most loathsome humans. If there are two things he’s good at (and that’s a stretch), it’s stirring up fear and anxiety where none need exist. Case in point: As Daily Beast notes, on Monday night’s show, Fox News’s resident fearmonger no doubt scared the sh*t out of lots of viewers when he warned them that while Afghanistan might be more than 11,000 miles and an enormous ocean away, the violent Taliban takeover happening there right now will affect them—Tucker’s corncob viewers—in deeply personal ways.

In true Tucker (a.k.a. Trucker) style, the scariest situation he could come up with to petrify his audience had nothing to do with the American troops being sent overseas to help quell the situation. Nope, Tucker’s biggest fear is that an Afghan refugee could soon be living in your neighborhood—or his! Oh, the horror!

Unsurprisingly, Carlson has never made any secret of his stance on immigration (he’s against it). In fact, Carlson is so painfully Xenophobic that even Geraldo Rivera once called him out on it! But Tucker and facts—or even reason—are a toxic combination, so he shared his own version of a history lesson on why we should all be worried:

“[I]f history is any guide—and it’s always a guide—we will see many refugees from Afghanistan resettle in our country in coming months, probably in your neighborhood. And over the next decade, that number may swell to the millions. So first we invade, and then we’re invaded. It is always the same.”

So what current pressing matter does Carlson think would be a better use of the government’s time than attempting to step in to help a country that is under siege from a group the UN-designated a terrorist organization more than 20 years ago? “Fentanyl ODs.”

(Via Daily Beast)

To most people, an invitation to Barack Obama’s birthday party would be a life highlight. To Larry David, it was a nuisance.

The Curb Your Enthusiasm creator was invited then disinvited to the former-president’s potential-superspreader birthday bash after the guest list was slimmed down to “only family and close friends.” David was happy to be left off, however, because he assumed he would have to perform at the birthday party. He went “into a tailspin,” according to the New York Times, “trying to think of what routine he could come up with in three days.”

But then David spoke to Obama’s assistant:

“I was pretty glum when I finally called back his assistant,” David said in an email. “When he told me I was eighty-sixed from the party, I was so relieved, I screamed, ‘Thank you! Thank you!’ He must have thought I was insane. Then I hung up the phone, poured myself a drink, and finished my crossword puzzle.”

That’s good advice from Larry. Have you spent the last five hours yelling at a robot when all you want to do is cancel your cable service? Hang up the phone, pour yourself a drink, and finish your crossword puzzle. This applies to all kinds of scenarios, not only when the former-president crosses you off the guest list for his birthday party (relatable).

(Via the New York Times)