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The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the best teams in the second half of the NBA season, climbing into the 4-seed in the East entering Wednesday’s game with the similarly hot New York Knicks. While there have been many reasons for Atlanta’s surge, from Bogdan Bogdanovic’s shooting to Clint Capela’s sensational defense, it’s a team that is still powered by their third year guard Trae Young.

Young, like many on the Hawks roster, has missed some games here and there with relatively minor injuries, including some recent time on the bench due to a calf issue. On Wednesday, Young left a tight game with the Knicks and had to be helped to the locker room after rolling his ankle pretty severely as he came down from a floater.

You can see Young immediately grasp at his left ankle, and had to be helped to the locker room by teammates, barely putting any weight on that left leg. He was quickly ruled out by the Hawks with what is officially being called a sprained left ankle, and the team and Atlanta fans will be awaiting an MRI surely to come on Thursday that will determine the severity of the sprain and a potential timetable for how long the star guard might miss.

When we think of what a Tyrannosaurus looked like, we picture a gargantuan dinosaur with a huge mouth, formidable legs and tail, and inexplicably tiny arms. When we picture how it behaved, we might imagine it stomping and roaring onto a peaceful scene, single-handedly wreaking havoc and tearing the limbs off of anything it can find with its steak-knife-like teeth like a giant killing machine.

The image is probably fairly accurate, except for one thing—there’s a good chance the T. rex wouldn’t have been hunting alone.

New research from a fossil-filled quarry in Utah shows that Tyrannosaurs may have been social creatures who utilized complex group hunting strategies, much like wolves do. The research team who conducted the fossil study and made the discovery include scientists from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Colby College of Maine, and James Cook University in Australia.

The idea of social Tyrannosaurs isn’t entirely new—Canadian paleontologist Philip Curie floated the hypothesis 20 years ago upon the discovery of a group of T. rex skeletons who appeared to have died together—but it has been widely debated in the paleontology world. Many scientists have doubted that their relatively small brains would be capable of such complex social behavior, and the idea was ridiculed by some as sensationalized paleontology PR.

However, another mass Tyrannosaurus death site found in Montana lent scientific credence to the theory, and now the Utah discovery has provided even more evidence that these massive creatures weren’t solitary predators, but social hunters.

“The new Utah site adds to the growing body of evidence showing that Tyrannosaurs were complex, large predators capable of social behaviors common in many of their living relatives, the birds,” said Joe Sertich, curator of dinosaurs at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. “This discovery should be the tipping point for reconsidering how these top carnivores behaved and hunted across the northern hemisphere during the Cretaceous.”

The Utah site, known as the Rainbows and Unicorns Quarry (yes, really), has provided paleontologists a wealth of fossils since its discovery in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 2014. Such sites are rare, and the findings in them are often difficult to interpret.

“We realized right away this site could potentially be used to test the social Tyrannosaur idea. Unfortunately, the site’s ancient history is complicated,” said U.S. Bureau of Land Management paleontologist Dr. Alan Titus. “With bones appearing to have been exhumed and reburied by the action of a river, the original context within which they lay has been destroyed. However, all has not been lost.”

Researchers used a multi-disciplinary approach, examining the physical and chemical evidence to determine that a group of 12 Tyrannosaurs at the Utah site were likely killed during a flood that washed their remains into a lake. “None of the physical evidence conclusively suggested that these organisms came to be fossilized together, so we turned to geochemistry to see if that could help us,” said Dr. Celina Suarez of the University of Arkansas. “The similarity of rare earth element patterns is highly suggestive that these organisms died and were fossilized together.”

The Tyrannosaurus fossils are dated at 76.4 million years old. The research team has also found fossils from seven species of turtles, multiple fish and ray species, two other kinds of dinosaurs, and a nearly complete skeleton of a juvenile (12-foot-long) Deinosuchus alligator.

It’s always a fun day when we find out one of history’s most terrifying creatures is even more terrifying than we believed. One Tyrannosaurus sounds scary enough, but a group of them strategizing to hunt? That’s definitely worse, like a coordinated troupe of Godzillas. No thanks, Cretaceous Period. We’re good here.

Compared to single malt whiskies, blended Scotches don’t really get the respect they deserve. But we represent for blended scotch around here (almost) as hard as we hold it down for single malts. So much so that we decided to put eight classic expressions to the test via a blind tasting.

Why blind? If you’re not busy glaring at the label that says Johnnie Walker or Famous Grouse, you’re probably going to spend more time actually nosing, tasting, and valuing the whisky in your glass. In doing so, you’re going to have to identify what each whisky tastes like, without any preconceived notions. Which is a fun way to enjoy whisky, if nothing else.

While the eight blended Scotch whiskies we’re tasting today aren’t made by the same distillery, they’re all around the same $40 price point and are also all household names in the whisky world. Meaning they’re easy to find at your local liquor store or bottle shop. If that errand sounds like a hassle but you find yourself thirsty, click on the linked prices to order online.

Part 1: The Taste

I selected eight blended Scotch whiskies for this blind tasting. They’re definitely not bargain-basement bottles but aren’t overly expensive either. They’re all decent sipping and mixing expressions:

• Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition
• Dewar’s White Label
• Chivas Regal Extra
• Copper Dog
• Johnnie Walker Black
• The Naked Grouse
• Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend
• Monkey Shoulder

Let’s get started!

Taste 1:

Tasting Notes:

Take a moment to nose this whisky before taking a sip and you’ll find notes of toasted vanilla beans, citrus rinds, nutmeg, and butterscotch. Sipping this whisky reveals a surprising amount of character, with hints of clover honey, dried cherries, buttery caramel, and sweet malts. The finish is long, warming, and ends with a nice mixture of caramel and spicy cinnamon.

Taste 2:

Tasting Notes:

Breathe in the scents of buttercream frosting, dried apricots, subtle cinnamon sugar, and sherry sweetness. On the palate, you’ll find ripe berries, buttery caramel, vanilla beans, and dried cherries. It all ends with a nice mixture of toffee and sherry.

Taste 3:

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, I knew that there’s some juice from Islay in this blend, with a hint of peat smoke up front. Following close behind were sweet, dried fruits and caramel malts. The palate swirls with dried orange peels, prunes, caramelized sugar, and subtle spices.

The finish offered a great combination of peat smoke and tropical fruit flavors.

Taste 4:

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, I got a whole lot of candied orange peels, sweet cream, cinnamon, and rich oak. The palate delivered hints of bitter chocolate, citrus zest, rich caramel candy, and subtle pepper. The finish was very warming and full of sweet caramel and subtle spice.

Taste 5:

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, I got aromas of dried fruits, vanilla beans, and subtle spice. The sip itself brought up creamy caramel candy, cinnamon, and a subtle hint of smoke. It all ended in a mellow haze of caramel and smoke.

Taste 6:

Tasting Notes:

Even for a blended whisky, the nose was pretty lackluster here. The only aromas found were those of dried wood, honey, and vanilla. Sipping this whisky offered a little more… but not tons. Flavors of buttery caramel, milk chocolate, heather surfaced while the woody notes grew pronounced.

The finish was medium, fairly warm, and ended with more honey.

Taste 7:

Tasting Notes:

The scents of caramel apples, honey, and sweet malts started the dram. All in all, the aromas were pretty light, though. The palate was equally light, with hints of almonds, candied orange peels, cinnamon, and slight vanilla. As for the finish, I got a mouthful of honey and caramel and not a ton else.

Taste 8:

Tasting Notes:

The nose gave me aromas of cooking spices, ripe cherries, orange zest, and vanilla beans. Sipping the whisky revealed hints of raisins, dark chocolate, butterscotch, and subtle sherry sweetness. The finish was long, filled with pleasing heat, and ended with a nice subtle ripe fruit sweetness.

Part 2: The Ranking

A blind taste test can really prove eye-opening and this one definitely was. From the final rankings below, it’s obvious that higher-proof whisky appeals to my palate.

8) Dewar’s White Label (Taste 6)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $33 for a liter

The Whisky:

Dewar’s White Label is one of the most well-known blended whiskies for a reason. It’s always bargain-priced, it’s been around for more than a century, and it’s masterfully blended to feature an astonishing 40 or so whiskies by Dewar’s Master Blender Stephanie Macleod.

Bottom Line:

Honestly, I expected more from one of the most well-known blended whiskies. It’s not bad by any degree. But the flavors were a little more muted than I like when sipping whisky.

7) Copper Dog (Taste 7)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $34

The Whisky:

A copper dog is another name for the “whisky thief,” the metal instrument used to sample still aging whisky through the bunghole. This blended malt whisky is an homage to the tool. It’s a blend of single malt whiskies from eight Speyside distilleries. It was created to have enough flavor and balance to be both a valuable sipper and a great mixer.

Bottom Line:

This was my first introduction to Copper Dog, and it tasted exactly as I expected it to — standard. All of these whiskies proved serviceable, but Copper Dog was a little lower in the flavor department than I hoped.

6) Johnnie Walker Black (Taste 5)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $40

The Whisky:

The name Johnnie Walker means quality. Even if you’re grabbing a bottle of the cheapest expression from the brand, you can be pretty sure you’re getting a good product. Johnnie Walker Black Label is a blended malt and grain whisky that is made up of around 40 different whiskies with a minimum age of 12 years.

Bottom Line:

This expression was smoky, sweet, and mellow. It’s a tremendous sipper, but the price also makes it okay to try as a mixing whisky. It fell lower on this list than expected, but it’s still a solid dram.

5) Chivas Regal Extra (Taste 8)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $40

The Whisky:

Like Johnnie Walker, Dewar’s, and Famous Grouse, Chivas is known for its blended whiskies. You can spend the rest of your life sampling the various blends in its full-line, or you can crack open a bottle of Chivas Regal Extra and saves some cash in the process.

This blended Scotch gets an added kick from the addition of whiskies that were aged in Oloroso sherry casks.

Bottom Line:

If you’re a fan of sherried whiskies like Aberlour A’Bunadh or GlenDronach 12, this is the budget blended whisky for you. It deserves a permanent spot on your home bar cart.

4) Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend (Taste 3)

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $40

The Whisky:

Founded in 2000, Compass Box is a well-known producer and bottler of blended whiskies. It’s very well-known for its unique blends. The Great King Street Range was first introduced in 2014. One of its best is the Glasgow Blend. It’s a blend of 33 percent Lowland grain whiskies and 67 percent single malt whiskies from the Highlands, Speyside, and even Islay.

Bottom Line:

As blended whiskies go, this is a true sipper. And for around $40, you’ll want to grab a few bottles. It also makes a mean, spicy penicillin.

3) Monkey Shoulder (Taste 1)

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $35

The Whisky:

This malt whisky blend was created for bartenders and people who enjoy mixed drinks. Made by William Grant & Sons, it’s a blend of single malt whiskies from three well-known (unnamed) Speyside distilleries. The result is a sweet, vanilla-filled, buttery whisky that stays true to the Speyside style on a budget.

Bottom Line:

Before this taste test, I always believed that Monkey Shoulder was nothing but a mixing whisky. But while it works perfectly well as a base for a cocktail, it actually stands up surprisingly well on its own as a bargain sipping dram.

2) The Naked Grouse (Taste 2)

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $35

The Whisky:

If you’re looking for a well-made, perfect-for-mixing blended Scotch, look no further than the flagship expression from The Famous Grouse. But if you’re looking to ramp up The Famous Grouse’s flavors, go for The Naked Grouse. Made from a blend of various single malt whiskies including those from The Macallan and Highland Park, this expression is aged in sherry casks for added flavor.

Bottom Line:

Sherry is the name of the game with this expression. It’s way cheaper than it ought to be. Just don’t tell the folks at The Famous Grouse that.

1) Cutty Sark Prohibition (Taste 4)

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $40 for a liter

The Whisky:

One of the cheapest whiskies on this list, Cutty Sark Prohibition is the second most popular expression from the brand. Named to pay tribute to Bill McCoy, a famous Cutty Sark smuggler during Prohibition, it’s a 100 proof, bold blend of single malt and grain whiskies.

Bottom Line:

This is a bold, brash, in-your-face whisky designed to pay tribute to the potent whiskies of the Prohibition era. If you like your whisky surprisingly cheap and highly potent, this is the perfect dram for you. It was certainly my favorite this go around.

As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.

Meek Mill clearly has a big heart. The rapper took to Instagram to show him giving his grandmother a new house. A touching video shows the moment she walked through the doors of her new humble abode, smiling ear to ear as she went on a tour, checking out, among other things, the motorized stair lift system that will help her move up and down the two-story home.

“I appreciate you, grandma,” Meek said to his grandmother in the video, who responded, “And I appreciate you for looking out for your grandmother.” The rapper gave himself a solid pat on the back for the gift in the caption. “I did this for my dad and my Grandmom,” he wrote. “I’m Prada myself! Ya definition of real not the same as mines I get it!”

The gift comes after his grandmother’s prior residence in South Philly was vandalized back in December 2018, with racial remarks spray painted onto it. Meek spoke about the incident in a tweet, writing, “the crazy part is this was a all black neighborhood 20 years ago It was gentrified and now this.” He later pressed charges for it, according to his publicist.

Meek Mill is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Remember hydroxychloroquine? It’s been a very long time — about a year— since doctors and public health organizations, like the FDA, warned against claims, most often floated by former president Donald Trump, that the drug meant to combat malaria could also work on COVID-19. It doesn’t, and what’s more, it causes side effects, on top of making it difficult for those who actually need it to obtain it. And yet on Wednesday, there was Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon and former Trump staffer, talking about it like it was 2020 all over again.

This comes from Raw Story, who caught Carson’s disastrous appearance on Neil Cavuto’s Fox Business show, where he rambled on about how “we’ve allowed politics to be injected” into the vaccination roll-out, claiming that some people I “are skeptical about what they hear from the NIH, from the CDC, from various — quote — authorities.”

Carson using airquotes around “authorities” probably won’t exactly help the problem of wide swaths of Trump supporters refusing to get vaccinated, even though it will help things return to normal, which they want.

But he was just getting warmed up. Soon he was talking about “other things” that work to combat COVID-19 — like a drug whose effectiveness was disproven around this time last year. “You know, you look at the Western African countries along the coast. When you go there, you know, you have to take hydroxychloroquine or other antimalarials,” he said. “Interestingly enough, their instance of COVID-19 is tremendously less than ours. Is that a coincidence? I don’t think so.”

But even Cavuto knew that he had to nip this one in the bud, and quick. “Medical experts have looked at that, doctor, as you know, and poo-pooed that connection,” the host informed the doctor.

“You just said a bunch of people have poo-pooed the hydroxychloroquine,” Carson retorted. “But the evidence is there. What they haven’t done is investigated it. You know, and that’s part of the problem. And that’s why people don’t have confidence in our system.”

Cavuto again tried to talk some sense into him: “Wasn’t the evidence — the issue on that, doctor, for those with heart or other issues, it would not be a good idea — period — thinking that this was a magic or silver bullet to deal with the virus? Wasn’t that the issue?”

No,” Carson replied, then laid out a dishonest argument involving choice. “The issue is that we should put everything on the table. We shouldn’t just pick one thing and say, ‘You have to do this.’ We should say, let’s look at this whole variety, this whole plethora or possibilities that we have and let’s develop them all and let’s be objective about it instead of trying to steer them down one pathway.

“We should work together to give people choices,” he added, again dishonestly. “That’s what America is all about.”
Cavuto tried one more time to reason with him, pointing out that multiple public health bodies “did not recommend this.”

Shilling for a debunked miracle drug that even Trump stopped talking about almost a year ago wasn’t the only embarrassing thing Carson said on Wednesday. He also appeared on regular Fox News to decry calls for racial equity, trying to make the argument that basing anything on skin color — such as, say, pointing out that American society has long been rigged in favor of whites, and that some white people are prejudiced against people of different skin color — is “what animals do.”

After Carson’s banner day, he earned a lot of attention on social media. Some questioned his credentials.

Some couldn’t believe he was dropping this old favorite.

Some roped in Candace Owens.

Others made fun of him.

And others reminded people that Carson himself contracted COVID-19, and when he did he was almost certainly not prescribed hydroxychloroquine.

You can watch Carson’s Cavuto appearance above.

(Via Raw Story)

The world of digital collectibles known as NFTs have been going strong since taking off a few weeks back, and the latest musical act to get in on it is Doja Cat. The singer announced the launch of her own curated NFT marketplace, called Juicy Drops, as well as the debut of her first NFT collection, which arrives this Friday, April 23.

The Juicy Drops marketplace is a collaboration with Intellctable Holdings, a new NFT-focused company founded by 20-year music executive Shannon Schlappi. The marketplace’s first official drop features a collection of NFTs made in collaboration with toy designer BOOMTRONIC. Doja’s NFTs, which are inspired by her performance at last month’s Grammy Awards, sports a collection of 3-D digital graphics that includes a spinning, metallic Doja image in a gilded frame, as well as an image of her cat Raymus. The collection comes in six different colors with varying tiers of available quantities and price points. For instance, there’s a very rare “Metallic” tier with three different rarities and a “Flavored” tier with three additional rarities. Buyers who collect all six will earn a chance to be rewarded with a very rare “Mystery” tier that will not be for sale.

Doja spoke about the new venture in a press release. “I’m helping to launch my NFT company so that I can actually own and control my art,” she wrote. “I want to be able to make all decisions related to my creative vision and help other artists do the same. My ownership also allows me to direct how we can give back to causes that I truly believe in.”

The Washington Wizards were putting forth a terrific first half performance against the Golden State Warriors before they saw one of their best young players go down with an apparently serious injury.

Rookie forward Deni Avdija was taken off the court in a wheelchair after suffering a gruesome looking ankle injury in the second quarter. The injury was so bad that teammate Jordan Bell ran over and covered his leg with a warmup shirt, recognizing how bad it was, and consoled the young forward on the court as he was attended to.

Avdija would leave in a wheelchair in considerable pain in a scary scene in Washington.

The injury occurred as Avdija came down and had his right leg get caught underneath him as he fell backwards, with his ankle getting bent terribly. (Warning: Video of the injury is graphic.)

Avdija has had his ups and downs this season, as rookies often do, averaging 6.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for the Wizards, but the flashes have been there of the potential he has as a playmaking forward. Hopefully Avdija will make a full recovery and we’ll learn more about the specifics of the injury in the coming day as X-rays and MRIs will be scheduled, but for now we can just wish for the best for the young man.

For the last few weeks, Matt Gaetz has been in deep doo-doo. In late March, it was revealed the Florida representative and ride-or-die Trumpist has been under investigation for his ties to an alleged sex trafficking ring — a probe that has since expanded to campaign finance irregularities. On top of that, James Carville made fun of how he looks. Throughout it all, Gaetz has alternately asserted his innocence and tried to pretend nothing was wrong, even as longtime cohorts, including former president Donald Trump, have kept their distance.

But a new report by The Daily Beast claims that he’s done far more than that. A new campaign finance report, covering January through March, reveals he’s been dropping tons of cash during what is usually a quiet time, in an apparent attempt to sway public opinion his way. For instance, of the $170,000 he’s spent in that time on direct mail outreach to supporters, $116,543 was spent on March 31 alone — the day after the New York Times piece revealing the DOJ investigation went live.

Gaetz has also dropped $160,000 for fundraising consulting — $10,000 more than his campaign spent on such services in 2019 and 2020 combined. There’s also the six-figures he spent on TV ads — 30-second spots aired in his home district and on some national cable networks, in which he asked supporters to “fight back” against places like CNN.

There was also one alarming deposit: $5,000 on “strategic political consulting” to Drake Ventures, which is owned by notorious smear artist and pardoned former felon Roger Stone, who was recently sued by the DOJ over millions in alleged unpaid taxes. The department claims Drake Ventures is little more than a shelter for more than $1 million.

Where is Gaetz getting his money? In part by fundraising off the scandal. Earlier in April he sent out an email to supporters, asking for cash and slamming the “far-left New York Times” for publishing “salacious allegations against me in an attempt to end my career fighting for the forgotten men and women of this country.”

But he’s not getting any help from his fellow congresspeople. The Daily Beast reports that not even close friends like Jim Jordan — with whom Gaetz has been roundly mocked as “Beavis and Butt-head” — have given him financial support in thus far this calendar year.

(Via The Daily Beast)

After a hot start, the Minnesota Twins are really struggling, falling to 6-11 on the season on Wednesday with a brutal loss to the Athletics in Oakland. The Twins led by one, 10-9, going into the ninth inning, but gave up the game-tying run to force extras. In the 10th inning, the Twins leaned on Byron Buxton, who has been the bright spot for them all year as he is absolutely raking, to put them back in front as he hit a towering two-run home run (thanks to the new start extra innings with a runner on second rule) to left-center.

In the bottom of the 10th, holding a 12-10 lead, things got dicey as the A’s had loaded the bases with two outs. Minnesota got exactly what they needed with a soft grounder to second, but Travis Blankenhorn, who had come in to pinch run and stayed in the game to play second, couldn’t handle the grounder, allowing a run to score and the bases to stay loaded. No matter, the Twins still just needed one out. Once again, Alex Colomé got the A’s to roll over one, this time to third base where Luis Arráez had moved from second when Blankenhorn stayed in the game for Josh Donaldson. Arráez’s throw, well, arose all the way across the field and sailed well over the head of Willians Astudillo to allow two runs to score to hand the A’s a win.

It is, truly, one of the worst fielding sequences you will see from a Major League team, and that it happened with both guys involved in a little baserunning/defense ploy from the manager makes it even more painful. It’s a miserable way to lose a game and finish off getting swept in a series.

Lil Yachty had a big comeback in 2020 thanks to the release of Lil Boat 3. The 19-track album was a return to form, highlighted by moments like “Oprah’s Bank Account” and contributions from the likes of Future, Tierra Whack, Lil Keed, Young Thug, and more. Six months later, the rapper returned in November 2020 with a deluxe reissue that featured eight additional songs. Now he’s ready to make his first big mark in 2021 thanks to the upcoming mixtape Michigan Boy Boat, his third release in less than a year and which will spotlight rappers from Detroit and Flint.

The rapper made the announcement on his Instagram page, with the following caption: “It’s on – 4/23/21… dis 4 my second home… let’s rap.” While it’s unknown how many songs will appear on the mixtape, Lil Yachty tagged a number of artists on the image, including Swae Lee, Sada Baby, Tee Grizzley, YN Jay, Babyface Ray, Louie Ray, Icewear Vezzo, and more.

The rollout for the project began with the single “Royal Rumble,” which boasts appearances from Krispylife Kid, RMC Mike, Babyface Ray, Rio Da Yung OG, and Icewear Vezzo.

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