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Listen. I know Black Widow is still in theaters, What If and Hawkeye are just around the corner, a second season of Loki has been confirmed, and both Shang-Chi and The Immortals look like they are going to slap, but let me just say: I’m going to miss Loki. I’m going to miss Tom Hiddleston’s buttery-smooth deliveries, Sylvie’s endless spunk, Mobius mild-mannered charm, and of course that wonderfully synth-y scores. But above all, I’m going to miss these little break down’s and deep dives into fan theories — so let’s revisit one, then do this one last time.

For quite some time, we’ve suspected Kang the Conqueror was behind all of *waves arms around* this and, as it turns out, we were right. While the series’ final episode never dropped the character’s name outright, the charismatic self-proclaimed “conqueror” played by Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country) is none other than Kang himself — or, at the very least, a variant of Kang.

You see, during Loki, Sylvie, and Kang’s exchange, Kang tells the pair that while the operation he’s running seems a bit shady, he is the lesser of far greater evils and he actually created the TVA in an effort to prevent a war across timelines. According to Kang, by creating the TVA and maintaining a sacred timeline, he subsequently prevented the rise of his evil selves and presumably the less quirky and far more deadly Kang(s). Based on this knowledge — as well as his attire and the lack of Major’s role being listed as “Kang” in the credits — it would seem this man is actually Immortus, a futuristic and much more peaceful version of the villain. However, this first appearance of Immortus is also the last thanks to Sylvie, and his final words (“see you soon”) imply the actual baddie is on his way. So, let’s refresh on just who he is and what’s he’s going to be doing in the MCU.

Kang the Conqueror (real name Nathaniel Richards, a descendent of Reed Richards’ family) is a Marvel villain who is pretty damn close to Thanos and Doctor Doom level in terms of threat level. While he doesn’t have any superpowers per se, he is a master physicist and genius who specializes in time travel and engineering, which enables him to do some serious multiverse damage. Back when Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was revealed, Jonathan Majors was announced to be playing Kang in the 2023 film. All of this in addition to the details of WandaVision, What If, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — all of which have a lot to do with multiverses — led us to believe he was going to be the main villain in Marvel’s phase four, and Loki has started the build-up even earlier than anticipated.

As far as what lies ahead, now that the real Kang has essentially been untethered from a dead-end universe, we can expect him to emerge to wreak havoc in the MCU, particularly in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and it wouldn’t be surprising to see more allusions to him in both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. In each of the films, the Marvel multiverse is seemingly a major factor, as Spider-Man potentially features former Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in it as well as villains from their respective franchises and I mean, “multiverse” is literally in the next Doctor Strange films name. As the MCU adds more names to its roster, it’s likely we’ll see the next group of older heroes — heroes like Thor, Star Lord, Doctor Strange, and the like — make their departure. Loki is only the start of how much Marvel will be pulling on our heartstrings in the coming years, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say we can’t wait to experience it all.

Many believed that Normani would have her moment a couple of years ago after her previous group, Fifth Harmony, split and left its respective artists to set out on their solo paths. Normani released a collection of singles from 2018 to 2019, which included work with Sam Smith, 6lack, and Khalid, but after one of her most popular efforts, “Motivation,” arrived in 2019, the singer seemed to disappear, apart from guest features. Luckily, the singer is finally ready to share some new tunes.

On Friday, July 16, Normani will share her first single in almost two years: a track titled “Wild Side,” which will come with a guest appearance from Cardi B. Normani shared the news on her social media accounts.

The announcement comes after she previewed a new song back in February. “Know it’s been a while,” she wrote in the caption of the Instagram post. It’s still unknown whether or not the previewed track is “Wild Side,” but the song is quite the slow-tempo effort, making it a huge contrast to “Motivation” and its upbeat production. She also used the video to remind viewers of her impressive dance skills.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Page-turning tomes about the disastrous final stretch of the Trump administration: Collect ‘em all! For weeks, extracts have been pouring from the three big forthcoming books on the subject, and a new piece by The Daily Beast does the herculean task of examining each one. And among the doubtless countless new and shocking stories that will emerge is this (as teased out by Mediaite): On the day of Jan. 6, then powerful GOP lawmaker Liz Cheney was absolutely not putting up with Trumpist colleague Jim Jordan.

This story comes from I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year, from Washington Post journalists Carol D. Leonnig and Philip Rucker. The day after the failed insurrection Cheney was speaking with Joint Chief of Staff Chair Mark Milley — himself months later to become a Republican pariah after he dared give a nuanced answer to Jordan bud Matt Gaetz — when she ripped into the representative from Ohio, who had spent the weeks since the November election spreading voter fraud lies.

“That f*cking guy Jim Jordan. That son of a b*tch,” she reportedly vented. “While these maniacs are going through the place, I’m standing in the aisle and he said ‘We need to get the ladies away from the aisle. Let me help you.’ I smacked his hand away and told him, ‘Get away from me. You f*cking did this.’”

What did Jordan do next, after being accused of endangering her life by repeatedly claiming the election had been stolen from Trump? He helped get her demoted in the House for not being loyal to a one-term president. But what else to expect from someone who hangs around with a guy being federally investigated for ties to human trafficking?

I Alone Can Fix It will be released on July 20.

(Via The Daily Beast and Mediaite)

After hitting fans with battles between Swizz Beatz and Timbaland and SWV and Xscape in May, Verzuz kept things moving in June with another pair of matchups: one between Eve and Trina and another between Soulja Boy and Bow Wow. This month, they kicked things off with a battle between Keith Sweat and Bobby Brown, which proved to be an excellent presentation of R&B’s past. Now the duel series has announced New York-based rap groups, Dipset and The Lox, as their next matchup.

While the battle itself is great news, that’s just half of it. Fans of both groups can purchase tickets to watch them duke it, out as the matchup will be live, taking place in the Hulu Theater at New York’s Madison Square Garden. It’s the first time that Verzuz has sold tickets to attend one of their events.

While the August 3 battle will be the first Verzuz for Dipset’s members, among them Cam’ron, Freekey Zeekey, Jim Jones, and Juelz Santana, this not the case for the ones in The Lox. The matchup is the first Verzuz for two of The Lox’s members, Styles P and Sheek Louch, but it’s the second for their remaining member, Jadakiss, who previously went up against Fabolous for one in June 2020.

You can check out a flyer for the matchup between Dipset and The Lox and purchase tickets for the battle here.

The 2021 WNBA All-Star Game provided a unique format, as Team USA played the rest of the WNBA All-Stars in their first tune-up game before the Tokyo Olympics — in what would very likely be their stiffest test of the entire process. For the WNBA All-Stars, many of whom are Americans that weren’t on the USA roster, it was a chance to prove something and, for some of the younger players, show they should be serious contenders for the 2024 squad.

Happily, the game turned out to be exactly what everyone was hoping for, as both sides looked to be fired up from the start and played in a highly competitive game that looked more like a playoff game than an All-Star game in terms of the intensity and effort level on the court. In the end, the WNBA All-Stars came out on top, even without the services of Liz Cambage who sat out with her own Olympic run set to begin soon for Australia, in a 93-85 win over the winners of the last six Olympic gold medals.

The star for the WNBA All-Stars was Arike Ogunbowale, who was considered one of the biggest snubs from the USA roster behind Nneka Ogwumike. The Wings superstar earned game MVP honors with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including some of the biggest shots down the stretch of the fourth quarter as she helped the WNBA squad pull away from Team USA late.

Early on, Team USA having a couple days of camp under their belts to work on sets and plays seemed to pay off as they bolted out to an early lead, thanks to plays like this from Sue Bird to Britney Griner.

But after a slow start, the WNBA squad started to settle in and move the ball well themselves, creating openings and getting the USA defense into rotation — and just generally starting to knock down shots.

At the half, Team WNBA led 44-43, and things stayed tight into the fourth quarter, with the two sides deadlocked at 66 headed to the final frame. As the fourth wore on, Team USA simply couldn’t get stops as Ogunbowale and the WNBA side lit up the scoreboard for 27 in the fourth.

Joining Ogunbowale in double figures for the WNBA was Jonquel Jones, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds as the MVP frontrunner continues to dominate even in All-Star action, and Courtney Williams, who brought 15 points off the bench and carried the WNBA offense for some key stretches. On the other side, Griner led the way for Team USA with 17 points, with Breanna Stewart scoring 15 with six rebounds and the veteran Sylvia Fowles chipping in 12 points and seven boards, but overall the USA offense wasn’t able to keep up after a crisp start and, even without Diana Taurasi, this game surely opened some eyes on things to work on as camp wears on.

In the end, this is probably a very good thing for Team USA, getting such a stern test early on and seeing where they have things to work on, and the gold medal favorites will look to build on this moving forward as they get ready for another Olympic run.

Historians will have a field day with our time for too many reasons to count, but one thing that will particularly mystify them is the large number who turned on one of the people who did his best to keep people alive during a once-in-a-century public health crisis. That person is Dr. Anthony Fauci, longtime immunologist and, inexplicably, demon to the GOP. Among his bewildering number of haters is Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and Trump wannabe, who decided to try to profit off the people whose lives he endangers with merchandise targeting the man who did his best to ensure the pandemic hasn’t gone even worse.

On Wednesday, the governor made an announcement. No, it wasn’t about the renewed surge in COVID cases in his state. It was about a new line of merch bearing the words “Don’t Fauci Florida.” T-shirts. Baseball hats. Flags. Koozies. DeSantis’ verbing of Dr. Fauci’s name wasn’t meant as complimentary, but perhaps it should be. “Fauci,” one could say, could mean to save lives, not doom them to preventable deaths.

The merch was presumably directed at those who haven’t been vaccinated, and who comprise the lion’s share of new COVID cases and related deaths. And when it went public, and as places like Fox News delighted in how triggered it made people who don’t want more mass death, people on social media were quick to try and remind him of the grim numbers in the state DeSantis governs.

Some found it disrespectful of the over 600,000 who’ve died of the virus in the U.S. alone.

Some did not mince words when describing DeSantis and those who listen to him.

And some turned the tables on him.

But maybe Isiah Whitlock Jr., of The Wire and Spike Lee joints, had the most appropriate response.

On Wednesday night, Maria Taylor was in her typical role hosting NBA Countdown on ABC prior to Game 4 of the NBA Finals, but she may not be in that role, or with ESPN, for much longer.

It has been reported for weeks that Taylor and ESPN are at an apparent impasse regarding contract negotiations, with ESPN reportedly lowering its offer that had been on the table two years ago as the company continues to deal with budget issues following the pandemic. As such, Taylor’s future with the company has been in doubt, with the reported tension in ESPN’s NBA camp from Rachel Nichols’ leaked comments suggesting Taylor got her Finals role due to ESPN’s issues with diversity only furthering the belief that Taylor could be on the way out the door.

As for where she would go, with her pedigree as a host and sideline reporter for some of ESPN’s biggest properties of college football and the NBA, Taylor figured to have plenty of suitors. According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, NBC Sports is apparently the frontrunner for Taylor’s services, as the two sides are apparently close on a deal.

“The deal’s at the half-yard line. But that can still be a long way in contract negotiations,” said a source. The negotiations could still fall apart or ESPN could raise its offer.

As for what Taylor’s role would be at NBC, that seems to be the biggest question in all of this and likely what needs to be sorted out most. It’s possible she could contribute to their Notre Dame football coverage, although that isn’t exactly a step up for her, but with Mike Tirico set to take over for Al Michaels in the near future (this upcoming season is to be Michaels’ last), she could take over as the host on NBC’s Sunday Night Football studio show in 2022 — and possibly serve in a dual sideline role with Michelle Tafoya in the immediate.

There is also the allure of Olympics coverage for Taylor, although whether she would be added immediately to NBC’s Tokyo coverage seems like a bit of a logistical hurdle given how close that would be to the end of the Finals. McCarthy also notes that it’s possible the NBC deal is an overlapping one with Amazon, which has also pursued Taylor for some sort of role in their Thursday Night Football coverage when they take over exclusive rights for the NFL’s weeknight game in 2022, or includes a role on Today to give Taylor a presence beyond the sports world.

In all, there are a number of possibilities for how this could work, but it seems increasingly likely that Taylor will be the latest to move on from ESPN for greener pastures, leaving a massive hole for the company on both NBA and college football coverage.

Halftime of the WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas brought the Three-Point Contest, which is always one of the highlights of both the NBA and WNBA All-Star festivities, and Wednesday night was no exception. Jonquel Jones, Allie Quigley, Sami Whitcomb, and Jewell Loyd were the four contestants and all of them put on a show, headlined in the first round by a sensational performance from Jones, as the 6’6 center flaunted her shooting touch with 27 points to book a trip to the final round.

Whitcomb posted 26 points to apply pressure to the two-time champion of the contest, Allie Quigley of the Chicago Sky, and she managed to answer with 27 points, advancing to the finals against Jones on the final moneyball of the last rack. In the finals, Jones got off to a slower start but caught fire when she needed to on the moneyball rack and hitting one of the Dew Zone three-pointers to put up a more than respectable 24, but when Quigley got it going it was just automatic as she ran away on the final rack to beat Jones with 27 and earn her third Three-Point Contest crown.

Watching an elite shooter get into a rhythm is one of the most beautiful things in basketball, and once Quigley locked in it seemed like everything was falling. Jones’ reaction while watching Quigley mow down the moneyball rack was especially great, as she could just see the Three-Point title slipping away from her, with nothing she could do about it. Quigley’s wife, fellow Sky teammate and WNBA All-Star Courtney Vandersloot, was especially fired up after the win, producing a tremendous reaction.

It was a very fun contest, per usual, and provided some terrific late drama in both rounds, with Quigley showing why she’s considered one of (if not THE) WNBA’s best shooters in the process, while Jones turned heads with her shooting prowess from the center position.

USA Basketball’s quest for a fourth straight men’s basketball gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics hasn’t gotten off to the best start, as Team USA lost its first two exhibition games to Nigeria and Australia before finally righting the ship against Argentina on Tuesday night. There was the obvious caveat for the Americans that they were without three members of the Olympic roster, as Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Devin Booker are all currently playing in the NBA Finals.

Those three will join the squad once either the Bucks or Suns have won the NBA championship, but it’s possible that another player might have to be added to the fold. On Wednesday night, Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic broke news that Bradley Beal had entered health and safety protocols (with no word on the specifics of what that exactly means), leaving his status for the Tokyo Games in question.

Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press confirmed that report, while making sure to note nothing is definitive regarding his status for Tokyo.

Losing Beal would obviously be a significant blow for Team USA, particularly since the three guards coming in from the Finals will have missed camp and will be on tired legs as they arrive to the team. For Beal, it would be a gutting way to miss the Olympics, as he spoke with us recently about how excited and honored he was to join such an elite group who have played on the USA Olympic roster. Hopefully he is able to clear protocols and produce the needed negative tests to rejoin the team and make the trip to Tokyo, but it’s an unfortunate situation that will have to be monitored over the next week-plus.

Conan Gray‘s latest single, “People Watching,” was co-written with Julia Michaels and Dan Nigro — yes that Dan Nigro — and you can hear it above. Following the same pattern of his story-song cadence, Gray explores what it feels like to see other people fall in and out of love while remaining outside of the relationship format, safe from the turmoil, but also removed from the intimacy.

Here’s what Conan had to say about the new song:

“’People Watching’ is for all my fellow lonely people who wonder what it’s like to be deeply in love. I’ve never dated anyone in my entire life, so I’ve spent so many years of my life watching perfect couples sit in cafes and share coffee, whispering sweet nothings to each other. I can’t help but fantasize about what it must be like to feel that emotion. There’s nothing I love more than watching them exist in their little world, where seemingly nobody else exists to them. The song’s lyrics are things I’ve eavesdropped off of times I used to spend people watching at the cafe in college. Studying them living their lives lets me live vicariously through them, in a way.”

This track follows up his other recent new song, “Astronomy,” which reveals a slightly slower side of the rising pop star. Hear “People Watching” above and keep an eye out for a new video coming later this week.