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The 2021 NBA Finals are set to begin on Tuesday night in Phoenix, but the events of this weekend in the NBA media space has caused some last minute changes for ESPN.

On Sunday, a bombshell report indicated internal discord within the ESPN NBA team over leaked audio of Rachel Nichols suggesting Maria Taylor was given the role of anchoring NBA Finals coverage because of ESPN’s concern about their “crappy record on diversity” instead of being deserving of that role — which is strange given she anchors the company’s studio coverage throughout the entire regular season and playoffs. That, unsurprisingly, created quite the uproar and the past two days have seen ample discussion about race, media coverage, and allyship across social media.

On Monday, Nichols very briefly addressed the situation with an apology to Taylor and her colleagues to open The Jump before moving on, and there were many who were surprised ESPN seemingly wasn’t changing anything with regards to Nichols’ responsibilities. That changed on Tuesday, when on the day of Game 1 it was announced that Nichols would no longer be on sidelines and would just do The Jump, with Malika Andrews taking on reporting duties for the Finals alongside Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson.

Malika Andrews will join the team to provide sideline reports throughout the series. The quartet will call the action courtside from Phoenix and Milwaukee.

The press release, unsurprisingly, doesn’t mention specifically that Nichols was removed, just that Andrews is joining the Finals broadcast team and Nichols will be hosting The Jump. The company did release a brief statement on the move to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, saying the goal was to keep focus on the Finals.

Taylor, of course, will continue hosting NBA Countdown from on site for pregame and halftime, and you can almost guarantee that her colleagues, particularly Jalen Rose, will have something to say at the start of the Game 1 broadcast on Tuesday night.

One of my favorite Friends subplots happened off-screen. David Schwimmer, the future-“Juice” loving actor who played Ross on the NBC sitcom, did not get along with his frequent season one scene partner, Marcel the Monkey.

“I hate the monkey. I wish it were dead,” he told Entertainment Weekly back in 1995. They say time heals all wounds, but not here. During HBO Max’s Friends reunion, Schwimmer said, “Here is my problem: The monkey, obviously, was trained. It had to hit its mark and do its thing right at the perfect time. What inevitably began to happen was we would all have choreographed bits kind of timed out, and it would get messed up, because the monkey didn’t do its job right.” He added, “It was time for Marcel to f*ck off.”

But Marcel’s trainer think it’s time for Schwimmer to f*ck off.

“I have never ever watched Friends because of Schwimmer’s comments about the monkeys. I have refused to ever since he did an interview after the animals got written out of the show and he said they tried to bite him and throw poop at him. They didn’t do any of that,” Mike Morris told the Sun. “None of it is true, when I was there, none of that ever happened.” He’s speaking out now because he feels Schwimmer’s comments are disrespectful to Monkey, one of the two capuchins who played Marcel on Friends; she passed away last year at 36 years old (the other, Katie, is still alive).

“I just don’t agree with it, if anything he threw off their timing if we want to be truthful. Schwimmer was fine with the monkeys for the first couple of episodes and happy to be there. But people would laugh at the monkey and I think he got jealous because it wasn’t him getting the laughs. He seemed to get a little bitter about them being there after that.”

Morris added, “It got to the point where he just really resented the monkey being there, he obviously had a problem with her and he’s still talking about it now… I find it despicable for him to still be speaking ill of her.”

At least we finally know who put up the “ROSS IS NOT COOL” graffiti.

(Via the Sun)

Vince Staples is just days away from the release of his self-titled album, sharing its latest single, “Are You With That?” to not only build buzz for the project but to also show off his intriguing artistic growth. Usually known for pairing his fatalistic lyrics with doom-ridden, menacing soundscapes, Vince takes a different tack with “Are You With That?,” hum-rapping a reflective meditation on the Pyrrhic choices that often face folks who grow up the way he did over an upbeat, almost nostalgic tune that belies the paranoid subject matter.

Vince explained the stylistic switch up to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe as he premiered the new song, admitting, “I was just having a lot of conversations with a lot of people around me… and people always say, ‘Oh, you used to always say these stories and this and that, and I don’t notice much about these specific things. Why don’t you put it into the music?’ And it’ll be stuff that has been in songs for years. And then I realized the backdrop wasn’t right for certain things I was saying or vice versa. I feel like [Vince Staples] is kind of very descriptive and distinct… it’s not a bunch of glory stories or things like that, I guess it’s just more personal.”

Listen to “Are You With That?” above. Check out Vince’s previous Vince Staples single “Law Of Averages” here.

Vince Staples is due 7/9 on Motown. Pre-save it here.

It may be July but that doesn’t mean we’re done with our summer full of video game announcements, presentations, and showcases. After E3 and Summer Game Fest came and went, it was just kind of assumed that Sony wasn’t going to be showing us anything this summer. They remained quiet throughout the month of June and if they didn’t have anything to show us then there wasn’t much reason to force a presentation.

Well, either something at Sony changed, or they always had something to show and wanted to keep it under wraps, because Sony will be hosting a summer presentation after all. On Thursday, July 8, Sony will be hosting a State of Play to show off the upcoming Deathloop, some indie games, and third-party titles. In other words, don’t expect anything from Sony proper but we can still expect to see some video games coming to PlayStation.

This is an interesting announcement because it comes following a rough week for PlayStation’s PR and reputation. It hasn’t been a secret for a while now that PlayStation has shifted a lot of its focus to major blockbuster titles. That focus led to some issues where, according to Bloomberg, developers working with PlayStation didn’t feel like they had the tech giant’s support when making games. Where their focus lies was again called into question within the last week when many indie developers came forward to IGN to express their frustration when working with PlayStation. Now, this does not mean they threw this presentation together in response to that criticism, because events like this take way too much time to put together to suddenly host one in a week. However, considering they’re advertising the third parties and indies, in particular, this may be their way of trying to show that they aren’t what recent reports are showing them to be.

As for what we want to see from this presentation, we won’t be getting any news on God of War or Horizon, so let’s just hope we get a nice variety of games to watch.

This showcase will not include updates on the next God of War, Horizon Forbidden West, or the next generation of PlayStation VR. Stay tuned throughout the summer though, as we’ll have more updates soon.

It would also be nice to get a little bit more information on what exactly Deathloop is supposed to be. We know it’s a fun action shooter, and have seen some gameplay in the past, but details beyond what we’ve seen have been sparse. Either way, these presentations are always fun and it’s great to get a chance to see more more video games this summer.

Amen Dunes, aka the project of Los Angeles’ Damon McMahon, has a new song out featuring UK post-punk crew Sleaford Mods. Titled “Feel Nothing,” the track was recorded with superproducer Ariel Rechtshaid. It’s the first new music from McMahon since his 2018 LP Freedom, not counting the 2019 remix McMahon did of “L.A.” featuring British singer-songwriter Westerman. A rhythmic, gradually expanding cut, “Feel Nothing” also features synths by Freedom collaborator Panoram and a vocal duet by Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson and McMahon.

Likewise, it was announced today that McMahon has been signed to Sub Pop Worldwide. In a highly complimentary review of Freedom, which he called “one of the year’s best indie-rock records, Uproxx’s Steven Hyden said: “Freedom is both an intimate singer-songwriter record and a hypnotic, star-gazing epic that positively soars with romantic uplift. What’s most striking is the sense of perpetual motion — Freedom moves with unprecedented insistence for an Amen Dunes record. No cabin could possibly contain this music. McMahon hasn’t merely stepped away from seclusion and into a larger world; he has launched himself, thrillingly, into the stratosphere… After Freedom, the sky’s the limit for Amen Dunes.”

In a tweet, McMahon wrote, “‘Feel Nothing,’ first song in three years, produced by @arielrechtshaid, music by @sleafordmods and Panoram is out today on @subpop. Big love to them 4 & 2 all of u.”

Listen to “Feel Nothing” above.

In reinventing himself as 2 Chainz, the Atlanta rapper formerly known as Tity Boi of Playaz Circle picked up a new lease on his stalled rap career, beginning a decade-plus renaissance that saw him featured on some of hip-hop’s biggest hits — and often stealing the show thanks to his absurdist sense of humor and outsized personality.

Now, he is getting some recognition as one of hip-hop’s funniest rappers thanks to a fan’s tweet positing that “some of his metaphors make absolutely no sense but they be fye and rhyme.” Responses range from chastising the original poster for a slightly fallacious proposal — all of 2 Chainz’s ridiculous metaphors make perfect sense, even if they’re over the top, tongue-in-cheek, or wildly unrealistic, thank you very much — to reminiscing on specific bars with the help of Genius.com’s reposting function.

As one fan put it, “as soon as you hear the words ‘2 Chainz’ in the song…… you bout to hear some BARS.” The 43-year-old rapper is now six albums deep in his career as 2 Chainz, most recently dropping So Help Me God! in 2020 after appearing on Verzuz with Rick Ross and on Family Feud with Big Boi. Songs from the album include “Quarantine Thick,” “Can’t Go For That,” “Southside Hov,” and “Grey Area” — and yes, some of the wittiest bars you’ll ever hear in rap.

Late in Werewolves Within, a new indie horror-comedy about a group of small-town residents who are being terrorized by a mysterious creature during a snowstorm, forest ranger Finn Wheeler, played by Sam Richardson, gives a monologue about why he’s a decent human being. “I’m a nice person, alright? I’m considerate. I’m compassionate. I care. People want me to change, but there’s nothing wrong with me,” he says. “I’m a nice person who wants to do nice things for other people and have nice people do things for other people, you know? Sorry, I got to tell you, it’s f*cking OK to be nice.”

I have never met Sam Richardson and it’s dangerous to assume you know what a famous person is like in real life. That being said, he seems like a good dude who wants to do nice things for other people. He’s certainly brought a lot of joy to my life, from playing Richard Splett on Veep to co-starring with Tim Robinson on Comedy Central’s delightfully silly Detroiters to voicing Dr. Champ on BoJack Horseman to his prolific July.

Here’s what he’s been up to over the past week.

July 1

Richardson made his second guest appearance on the funniest podcast in the game, Doughboys. The fast food and chain restaurant review show is hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell, Richardson’s co-star in The Tomorrow War. In his first episode, recorded when they were filming the movie in Atlanta, he reviewed Krystal (2.5 out of 5 forks). This time, he went to Burger King — it was a 4.5 forks experience. You can tell it’s going to be a good episode when Mitch is embarrassed doing his trademark “howdy ho” (which he, and not an animated character, came up with it) and the guest starts talking and giggling before they’re even introduced. “Burger King 5 with Sam Richardson” succeeds on both fronts. The interview with Chris Pratt is the cherry (Coke Zero) on top.

July 2

Werewolves Within came out in theaters on June 25, where it was greeted with positive reviews, followed by a VOD release on July 2. It’s a fun murder-mystery to see with a group of strangers, but it’s also a good choice for a movie night with friends at home. Werewolves has “cult favorite” written all over it with an impressive cast, including Milana Vayntrub (Lily from the AT&T commercials), Harvey Guillén (Guillermo from What We Do in the Shadows), Michaela Watkins (too many credits to list just one), and Catherine Curtin (Orange is the New Black). But this is Richardson’s film — it’s a rare, long-overdue leading role for a comedy ensemble mainstay. He brings his trademark fast-talking nervousness to the part, but Mishna Wolff’s screenplay gives him hero moments too. Everyone should watch Werewolves Within, but especially a romantic-comedy casting director, because Richardson and Vayntrub have sparkling chemistry.

July 2

The Tomorrow War is a $200 million “big, dumb, beautiful” science-fiction action movie that’s a whole lot of fun. It’s nice to have a summer blockbuster that’s not based on an existing property — it’s even nicer that the cast is filled with comedy performers who know how to sell an unintentionally goofy line, like Chris Pratt, Mike Mitchell, Betty Gilpin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, J.K. Simmons, and Richardson. As the in-over-his-head comedic relief who holds his gun wrong and screams “sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t” when being attacked by alien monsters, he’s the closest thing that The Tomorrow War has to an audience surrogate. This character type can quickly become grating (Ludwig Dieter in Army of the Dead isn’t nearly as funny as Zack Snyder thinks he is), but Richardson never overplays the broad comedy; he’s consistently amusing and the film’s clear MVP.

July 6

The much-anticipated second season of I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson dropped on Netflix at 3:00 a.m. EST this morning. I have not had a chance to watch it yet, but I would like to make a prediction: Sam Richardson will be in one of the season’s best absurdist sketches. Granted, this isn’t much of a hot take, as creator Tim Robinson’s real-life buddy was in one of season one’s most instantly-iconic moments.

Do you think a week goes by where someone doesn’t yell “FUCK YOU, HARLEY JARVIS” at him? I don’t. Anyway, outside of “Baby of the Year,” Robinson also played the Ghost of Christmas Way Future in the two-part “The Night Scrooge Saved Christmas” sketch. He’s back for season two, and even appeared in a promo for the new batch of episodes where he sings “Friday Night” with Phredley Brown and his Detroiters co-star.

It’s wonderful, just like their friendship.

“I feel the world is without optimism, especially in entertainment,” Richardson once told the Guardian. “Things are always bleak and sad, and everybody is so pessimistic. I love and appreciate characters and worlds that are optimistic and sweet.” Richardson doesn’t only play nice guys — he’s a “nice” guy in the Best Picture nominee Promising Young Woman — but guys who seem like nice hangs are where he does much of his best work.

After all, it’s f*cking OK to be nice. Just not to birds.

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got a new EP from Turnstile, the return of Big Red Machine with a guest spot from Taylor Swift, and a new track from Slow Pulp. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.

While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.

Turnstile – Turnstile Love Connection EP

Shortly after roaring back onto the scene with the release of “Mystery,” Baltimore hardcore heavyweights Turnstile have wrapped up the new single as part of an EP of new tracks that illustrate the band’s bright future. Turnstile Love Connection features everything from melodic hardcore to more laid-back ambience to frenetic, caffeine-fueled punk rock.

Mica Levi – Zola (Original Soundtrack)

Mica Levi’s score to the new film Zola fully encapsulates the white-knuckle anxiety of the movies storyline, without the visual component. Featuring harpsichords, xylophones, and other disparate instrumentation, the Zola soundtrack also works as a standalone piece to sonically achieve the vibe of… whatever’s going on down in Florida.

Big Red Machine – “Renegade” (ft. Taylor Swift)

With a new Big Red Machine project on the horizon, it was only a matter of time before Taylor Swift revealed herself as a collaborator. “Renegade” is the first of Swift’s two appearances on the album, and she wrote the song’s lyrics which “hit me so hard when I heard her first voice memo and still do, every time,” said Aaron Dessner in a statement.

Steve Gunn – “Other You”

After his 2019 album The Unseen In Between earned Steve Gunn the title of “indie guitar god” from Steven Hyden, the former Kurt Vile band member is back with Other You, his sixth studio album. The album is previewed by its title track, which Carolyn Droke calls for Uproxx “an atmospheric melody underscored by watery guitars.”

Magdalena Bay – “Chaeri”

After gaining a following with their 2020 EP A Little Rhythm And A Wicked Feeling, LA electro indie-pop duo Magdalena Bay is back with a brand new full-length album. “Chaeri” is the first taste of Mercurial World, and it “stitches together [Mica] Tenenbaum’s saccharine vocals with dynamic synths and a hurried beat to craft a memorable tune about the complexities of friendship and mental health,” writes Carolyn Droke for Uproxx.

Miloe – “Solo” (Lous And The Yakuza cover)

Longtime readers of this column might recognize the name Miloe – I was a big fan of his Greenhouse EP last year. Now, the songwriter from the Democratic Republic of Congo has released “Solo,” a cover of the track by fellow Congolese artist Lous And The Yakua, in honor of Congolese Independence Day. The song also serves as a call-to-donate to the victims of the recent volcanic eruption in Goma (Eastern Congo) that destroyed several homes and left many displaced.

Slow Pulp – “Iowa”

Indie shoegaze outfit Slow Pulp have been omnipresent since capturing attention with their 2020 album Moveys. Released as part of a new 7″, “Iowa” reimagines the album track “Idaho,” and the new version “doubles down on the exquisite ‘Stumbleine’ guitars but submerges Emily Massey’s clarion vocals into a lower pitch,” writes Sarah Grant for Uproxx.

The Ophelias – “Neil Young On High” (ft. Julien Baker)

“Neil Young On High” is a song about the difficulty of listening to a certain artist after a breakup. It’s a heavy topic, but the song feels light on its feet, buoyed by glorious harmonies from Julien Baker that provide additional depth to the track.

Pond – “Toast”

You might recognize some of the members of Australian outfit Pond from stints in Tame Impala. There is a similar throughline between Pond’s new track “Toast” and Kevin Parker’s brand of psychedelia, but they are both decidedly their own projects. “Toast” is a breezy number that was inspired by last year’s massive bush fires and the growing disparity of wealth in parts of Australia.

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

While Meghan McCain’s announcement that she’s leaving The View at the end of this season arrived unexpectedly last week, the news wasn’t a total surprise given the numerous shouting matches with her fellow co-hosts. As the The View‘s firebrand conservative, McCain often sparred with the more liberal Joy Behar, which was to be expected. But according to a new report, McCain allegedly grew even more difficult to deal with behind the scenes, and it got to the point where even Whoopi Goldberg allegedly had enough. Via Page Six:

“Everyone was at their wits’ end — even Whoopi, and she’s the chillest of them all. Whoopi is never going to advocate for anyone to get fired. She’s not about that, but she was very clear that she no longer wanted to work with Meghan,” a source told Page Six.

According to insdiers, the emergency meeting in late May to rein in the heated exchanges on The View was the beginning of the end for McCain. After being “protected” for years by former ABC News President James Goldston, his successor Kim Godwin clearly had no qualms with putting McCain in her place. Godwin called the emergency meeting and told the co-hosts to stop with the “personal attacks,” which reportedly caused McCain to storm out of the virtual call.

Following the meeting, the other co-hosts reportedly told Godwin they no longer wanted to work with McCain. “Whoopi was clear that she didn’t want to work with her either,” a source told Page Six. “There have been so many well-documented issues, and [Meghan] has not made a good impression on new management.”

(Via Page Six)

The 12-man roster for Team USA is set as the Tokyo Olympics draw ever nearer, although three of those players — Devin Booker, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday — are currently in the NBA Finals and will miss at least a significant portion of camp.

The roster is star-studded, per usual, but that wasn’t necessarily a given with the NBA season ending so close to the start of the Olympics and so many players voicing their frustrations with the physical toll the condensed season took on their bodies. Still, plenty of stars signed up to go to Tokyo and the American men’s squad will again be the favorites to take home their fourth straight gold medal. As for their schedule, Team USA finds itself in Group A alongside Iran, Czech Republic, and France, the latter of whom they will open their Olympics with in a big time showdown in the group on Sunday, July 25 at 8:00 a.m. ET. The complete Team USA and Olympic men’s schedule can be found here.

On Monday, USA Basketball also announced the numbering for the squad, which goes from 4 to 15. Kevin Durant will wear 7 as he does in Brooklyn, a shift from No. 5 which he wore on the Rio gold medal squad. Bam Adebayo and Jerami Grant will likewise snatch their normal numbers of 13 and 9 for the USA squad, while Draymond Green will be the lone player to carry over his number, 14, from the Rio squad to the Tokyo team.

4: Bradley Beal
5: Zach LaVine
6: Damian Lillard
7: Kevin Durant
8: Khris Middleton
9: Jerami Grant
10: Jayson Tatum
11: Kevin Love
12: Jrue Holiday
13: Bam Adebayo
14: Draymond Green
15: Devin Booker

Camp is set to begin for the nine players not in the Finals this week in Las Vegas, as they go up against the Select squad before some tune-up games leading into Tokyo.