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For decades, Charles Barkley’s golf swing has been the butt of jokes. The Hall of Famer had a disastrous hitch in his swing that made it look like he was trying to pump fake mid-downswing and led to him being abjectly awful at the game he loves so much.

Barkley has been trying to fix his swing for years, working with various coaches and trying to get through the mental block that caused the hitch and it appears he has finally unlocked whatever he needed to swing a club normally. Behold, the new and improved swing of Charles Barkley.

It is almost unrecognizable, as he showed it off at a PGA Tour Champions pro-am day with some fellow Auburn legends, causing Bo Jackson to be in such disbelief he had to run up and hug Chuck after the swing. According to Chuck, the credit belongs to his new coach Stan Utley, who has him down to a single-digit handicap which is a wild improvement from the 20+ number he was at previously.

We’re gonna break out the Konica Minolta BizHub Swing Vision Camera to take a closer look at what Chuck has changed and how well he’s hitting it now.

We’ll start at the top of the backswing, where you can see that Chuck’s head moves a touch back, but not nearly as dramatically as he used to. The balance is such an incredible improvement, as he gets a really good hip turn while staying over his feet and not lurching backwards.

Notice how his hips open without getting his back hip outside his back foot. Chuck’s never had a big full turn, but his hand placement is good and high and he’s getting some lower body action going which is important. Now, where the swing really changes is in the downswing.

This is the exact moment where the hitch used to happen, but now he’s just got great, stable movement through the golf ball. Look at the way his right knee is driving down and to the golf ball, as his hips rotate through. His head has gotten almost back to square with the golf ball and the stability on his lead leg is incredible, as he’s driving that weight through but keeping that leg stable rather than waving through the ball.

Now we get to right after impact, which is just about picture perfect. He’s keeping his head down and behind the ball. His hips are still firing all the way through, with his body turning and thrusting upwards while his left foot and leg remain strong and locked down. His arms are at full extension, driving through the ball rather than trying to scoop and lift it.

And then the follow through, where that left leg is still locked down, perfectly vertical, his back leg has turned through, the hips have fired all the way around and his belt buckle is facing the target. He’s in great balance, hands finish nice and high and his head has barely moved at all.

It is truly an incredible swing transformation and it should provide some hope to everyone out there that if Charles Barkley can fix his golf swing, you too can can put the work in to fix something in your life.

While Meghan McCain is known for being one of the more prominent anti-Trump Republicans, her criticisms of her own party’s allegiance to the now former president have always been mild compared to her assaults on Democrats. Well, that changed on Wednesday, when McCain absolutely unloaded on the GOP for its latest attempt to oust Congresswoman Liz Cheney as conference chair.

Cheney, like McCain, has not bought into the “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, and she’s had a target on her back ever since. This time around, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was caught on a hot mic trashing Cheney, but McCain wasn’t buying the hot mic excuse as she launched into an unusually fiery tirade on the state of the Republican Party. “Well, let’s cut the crap,” McCain said during a panel discussion on The View. “He wasn’t caught on a hot mic. That was done intentionally.” Via Newsweek:

“The message that’s being sent by the highest member of Republicans in Congress is that women like me and Liz Cheney who refuse to bend the knee to President Trump, but still remain loyal Republicans, we don’t have a place in this party,” she said. “We’re worthless. We’re not worth fighting for to keep. It’s Kafkaesque to spin in this any other way.”

McCain then warned the party she’s been in since birth that there will be “consequences” if it continues to only promote Trump-loyalists like Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who is being eyed to replace Cheney. “Go ahead in this sausage-fest of MAGA up on Capitol Hill!” McCain ranted. “Pull her out and put another woman in who will do anything you want for President Trump.”

(Via The View)

A farmer in Belgium has caused an international incident by inadvertently redrawing the border between Belgium and France. The farmer moved a border stone that stood on the grounds for over 200 years because it was blocking his tractor.

The two countries share a 390-mile border that was established under a treaty signed in 1820.

The stone, marked 1819, was put in place four years after the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Nearly 50,000 soldiers died in the battle that would determine the border.

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However, for the farmer, it was much more important for him to be able to move his tractor than to protect the integrity of the Franco-Belgium border.

Two weeks ago, a historian was taking a walk through the Belgian village of Erquelinne and saw that the stone had been moved seven-and-a-half feet. The redrawn border expanded Belgium and diminished France by about 3,200 square feet.

David Lavaux, the mayor of Erquelinnes, was amused by the farmer’s actions, but asked him to please move it back to avoid creating a “diplomatic incident.”

“We have no interest in expanding the town, or the country. He made Belgium bigger and France smaller. It’s not a good idea,” Lavaux told the French TV channel TF1. “I was happy, my town was bigger. But the mayor of Bousignies-sur-Roc didn’t agree.”

Bousignies-sur-Roc lies on the French side of the border and is home to around 400 people.

“If [the farmer] shows goodwill, he won’t have a problem, we will settle this issue amicably,” Lavaux added.

Lavaux knows exactly where the stone should be moved to keep the original border intact. “We know exactly where the stone was before, right next to a tree,” Lavaux told CNN. “In 2019, during the 200th anniversary, they were geo-localized very precisely.”

via Google

If the farmer refuses to move the stone back to its original position, it may cause some tension between the two countries. The problem would have to come before the Belgian foreign ministry. The ministry would then have to call a summit of the Franco-Belgian border commission to determine exactly where the stone goes.

The commission has been dormant since 1930.

“We should be able to avoid a new border war,” Aurélie Welonek, the mayor of Bousignies-sur-Roc, a French town the borders Belgium, said, citing the fact that the two countries get along much better than they did during Napoleon’s reign.

“Our two countries get along well, so there were no great concerns at this point,” she said. “I fully trust my Belgian counterpart who did what was necessary with the farmer. We asked him to move the stone back, and should he not cooperate, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would get involved.”

Let’s hope that the farmer does what’s right and moves the border stone back where it belongs. Or, maybe he can petition the Fracno-Belgium border commission to find a way for him to drive his tractor without having to redraw the map of Europe.

Ted Cruz continues to make it just too easy for his opponents to drag him on social media, but his latest gaffe sparked a truly entertaining caption contest and we’re officially declaring AOC the winner.

To back up a bit, Cruz earned a lot of eye-rolls and sh*t-posts after tweeting a photo of an intimate dinner he shared with former President Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago. In the photo, both Cruz and Trump are smiling jovially at the camera. Cruz captioned the pick by declaring Trump was “in great spirits” and hinting they were planning on taking back both the House and the Senate majority in 2022.

Now, a lot of people on Twitter had fun with this embarrassing about-face, calling out Cruz for cozying up to a man who once called his wife ugly and suggested his father killed JFK, but Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chose to go a different route by reminding voters that both of these bloated potato sacks had a hand in almost destroying our nation’s very fragile democracy — and during a global pandemic, no less.

Not only did AOC call out Trump and Cruz for their part in the Jan. 6th insurrection, but she also included some choice emojis — honestly, we don’t know why we haven’t compared these two to a pair of Japanese ogres before. Hurling daggers at Ted Cruz isn’t really a competition because, at the end of the day, we all win but if we’re being forced to acknowledge a “best dig,” it might be AOC. After all, plenty of Republicans have said truly heinous things about Cruz over the years, but only a handful of them have attempted a full-blown coup.

Although they haven’t officially announced it yet, it’s clear that Coldplay is in the midst of rolling out a new album. They have a fresh single, “Higher Power,” coming this week, and it appears they’re engaging in some world-building as well. They’ve teased something called “Alien Radio,” which included its own written language. Now it looks like a fictional planet named Kaotica is involved as well, which quickly drew backlash from Lady Gaga fans who feel Coldplay’s whole new era feels too similar to Gaga’s Chromatica campaign.

Coldplay have mentioned Kaotica on social media, noting that a CD single edition of “Higher Power” includes a decoder of the aforementioned fictional language and it arrives “courtesy of our friends on Kaotica.” The CD also features an image of the Kaotica planet and Gaga fans aren’t pleased with how much the pink sphere looks like Chromatica.

Fans were quick to accuse Coldplay of copying Gaga:

As at least one Coldplay fan has noted, though, the band has actually used space-themed imagery in promotional material for years.

Check out some more reactions below, including fans imagining what it would be like if the two fictional planets went to war.

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

Please read the following sentence in the voice of Don LaFontaine: In a world without sleep, a young girl may hold the key to a cure. (I miss Don.) Awake stars Jane the Virgin‘s Gina Rodriguez as Jill, a former-solider who witnesses satellites falling from the sky. The next day, following a car crash, no one in the world can fall asleep — except Jill’s young daughter. “We don’t know what caused it or why it occurred. But what we do know is that none of us can sleep,” a voiceover says in the trailer above.

Awake should not be confused with Awake: The Million Dollar Game, also on Netflix. One is a high-concept thriller; the other is a game show where contestants must stay awake for over 24 hours before competing in various physical and mental challenges. You should probably watch A World of Calm after watching either, though.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Global hysteria ensues after a mysterious catastrophe wipes out all electronics and takes away humanity’s ability to sleep. Scientists race against the clock to find a cure for the unexplained insomnia before its fatal effects eliminate the human race. When Jill (played by Gina Rodriguez), a former soldier, discovers her young daughter may be the key to salvation, she must decide: protect her children at all costs or sacrifice everything to save the world.

Awake premieres on Netflix on June 9.

TNT’s broadcast teams may look very different in the 2021-22 season as rumors have swirled for some time that this will be Marv Albert’s last season, but word emerged on Wednesday that his partner in the booth, Chris Webber, may also be on the way out from Turner after this season.

According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, Webber, like Albert, has his contract run up at the end of this season and the feeling has been “building” that he will depart the network as well.

As for Webber, he has been on TNT’s No. 1 team for a few seasons now, but has yet to fully connect with the audience. The feeling that Webber may not return has been building for a while.

It would be a major shakeup at TNT, with Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller likely moving up the ladder into the No. 1 spot, with veteran play-by-play announcers Brian Anderson and Ian Eagle splitting duties on the second unit and Tuesday nights amid their other obligations doing Brewers and Nets games, respectively. The more interesting question is who would step into the No. 2 analyst role.

Marchand notes that when Webber pulled out of the NCAA Tournament bubble (which he apparently did late, ruffling some feathers at Turner), Grant Hill’s performance in a two-man booth with Ian Eagle impressed inside the Turner building. Hill’s contract is likewise running up, but he’s been doing NBA TV broadcasts and some TNT games this year and would be a strong candidate. Jim Jackson has also become a terrific game analyst and is plenty deserving of the opportunity as well. With Tuesday and Thursday games, Turner also could look to bring in some new blood to their building and Marchand notes that Richard Jefferson’s deal with ESPN is up at the end of this year and his rise as a game analyst could make for an interesting bidding war between the two national NBA networks.

Webber’s tenure at TNT has been an interesting one. He was initially beloved but has steadily seen his approval drop among NBA fans as his long-winded stories that often seem to spiral off track have become a running joke for fans. His work in studio has always felt stronger than his work in the booth, evidenced by his powerful commentary after the NBA ceased play in the Bubble last year following police shooting Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. He has a great mind for basketball and when he’s succinct, as is required in the studio setting, he can be tremendous. The issues arise when he goes long on tangents and circles the point, seemingly trying to fill time.

Webber’s future in the NBA television space is unclear, but few NBA fans would be sad to see a shakeup of the top TNT booth given Webber’s approval and the acceptance from just about everyone that Albert has lost his fastball.

After nearly all live music events were canceled in 2020, music festivals everywhere are setting their sights for a return in the fall. UK’s End Of The Road festival is no different. Officially unveiling their 15th anniversary 2021 lineup, End Of The Road announces headliners like Arlo Parks, Whitney, and Little Simz.

This year’s event takes place from September 2 to 5 at the Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset, England. End Of The Road festival’s lineup, along with Arlo Parks, Whitney, and Little Simz, includes indie acts like Hot Chip, King Krule, Sleaford Mods, Tune-Yards, The Comet is Coming, Tinariwen, Arab Strap, Songhoy Blues, Girl Band, Shirley Collins And The Lodestar Band, Field Music, Squid, Black Country New Road, Dry Cleaning, Richard Dawson, Warmduscher, Anna Meredith, Jane Weaver, Kikagaku Moyo, Altin Gun, and many more.

In a statement about this year’s festival, End Of The Road said they tried to keep their 2021 lineup as similar as possible to their canceled 2020 event, but some musicians weren’t able to make it:

“We worked really hard to bring you our 2020 line-up in 2021, but the world had other ideas. Much has changed since we announced our 2021 line-up in December and some of our pals from across the pond are no longer able to make it. Determined to bring you the best party this summer, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work curating an exciting new line-up. Feast your eyes on our new additions for 2021 and already familiar names.”

Check out End Of The Road festival’s full lineup below.

Late release tickets to on sale May 20 at 6 a.m. ET. Get them here.

Ed. note: Every now and then, we’ll publish a piece from the Patreon account of our own Jackson Frank. This week, we’re running with his series of musings from around the NBA titled “To Be Frank,” in which Jackson identifies a number of trends in the league that have piqued his interest. If you’d like to follow along with everything he publishes, subscribe to his Patreon.

All stats are accurate before games played on May 1.

Bruce Brown, The Tiny Big Man That Could

This season, there is no offensive environment more conducive to experimentation and optimization than the Brooklyn Nets. They tout three elite ball-handlers and a bevy of floor-spacers, fostering a setting in which unusual players who do not adhere to a traditional mold can thrive, if needed (spoiler: it is).

Enter Bruce Brown, a defensive-minded, 6’4 guard who has netted just 29.9 percent of his 244 career triples. During his first year with the Nets, Brown has emerged a critical fill-in starter while their three stars rotate in and out of the lineup. And despite his wonky jumper, he’s excelling as a complementary offensive player, thanks to his own savvy and some creative offensive usage.

Often, Brown is stationed in the corner or wings, tracking events as they unfold, aware of how starkly defenders will ignore him to offer help elsewhere. To counter that, and operate in tandem with the immense gravity guys like KD, Harden, and Kyrie elicit, he’s become a cutting merchant, darting along the baseline or from the arc at the perfect opportunities for finishes.

Cuts are not the only method for Brown to generate assisted scores around the basket. The Nets have treated him as a pick man in ball screens. It’s typically as an outlet when defenses employ aggressive coverage to deter the pull-up threat of Kyrie or Harden. Those 4-on-3 sequences are a runway for the sprightly Brown to convert or create on the short roll.

Nearly 12 percent of his possessions are as a pick-and-roll roll man, per Synergy, where he ranks in the 78th percentile in PPP (1.255). Among 101 players with 40+ possessions this season, he is the lone guard and his 1.255 clip places him 17th.

According to Cleaning The Glass, a career-high 58 percent of shots are coming at the rim, where he’s converting a career-high 66 percent of his attempts (previous best was 54 percent). The spacing Brooklyn places around him on his cuts and rolls, and general team quality upgrade compared to his time in Detroit, are contributing factors, but Brown himself is molding himself to complement a title contender.

He is no longer just a pestering on-ball defender with scarce offensive utility. He is Bruce Brown, The Tiny Big Man That Could.

NBA, you have a Kelly Olynyk problem

The Houston Rockets are very bad. They’re 16-47, three games clear of any rivals for the league’s worst record. Cade Cunningham certainly might be in their future. But a jigsaw roster and focus on youth development have provided Kelly Olynyk the freedom to display his offensive versatility and credentials, just in time for free agency this summer, when he will be on the market.

In 19 games with the Rockets, he is averaging 18.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals on 70.7 percent true shooting (.587/.396/.881 split). Long a multifaceted big man, Houston is the platform for him to flourish and he is seizing the moment.

Thirteen percent of his offense is coming via post-ups, compared to 3.8 percent with the Heat pre-trade, per Synergy, and he ranks in the 92nd percentile. He’s crushing switch-heavy defensive schemes by punishing mismatches in the post with physicality and deft touch. Once an undersized guy latches onto him, the Rockets make it a priority to feed the sweet-shooting Canadian:

In pick-and-rolls, he’s a master at timing slips to the rim, knifing into openings amid Houston’s well-spaced offense:

And he even gets to wield greater self-creation savvy, whether it be the occasional pull-up long ball, a corkscrew finish or a keeper on a DHO (long a favorite of his):

Increased offensive usage has also established chances to derive playmaking from the attention he commands on a nightly basis. His 16.3 percent assist rate with the Rockets is the second-highest of his career. He’s threading dimes to cutters and spraying passes to shooters, serving as a viable, prominent fulcrum for the Rockets:

Every team in the NBA can bring joy while watching their games, you just have to find the reasons. Olynyk’s emergence as a versatile scorer and facilitator is high on the list for Houston. He is fun. I encourage everyone to watch this blossoming before the season concludes and Olynyk parlays this stretch into a lucrative, well-deserved contract on a new team asking less of him offensively.

Jayson Tatum, taking another leap

Jayson Tatum scored 60 points on Friday in a dazzling performance to lead his Boston Celtics back from a 32-point deficit against the San Antonio Spurs. It was a brilliant outing, yet as I watched through his 20 buckets, I was most impressed with his approach as a driver and interior scorer.

He had patience and craft, and played through physicality. These are sustained improvements that date back to well before his career-high explosion. Over his past 29 games, since Feb. 28, he has a rim frequency of 25.6 percent, where he’s converting 72.4 percent of his attempts. In the prior 28 games, his rim frequency was 21.7 percent and he was only shooting 60.6 percent there. So, not only was he struggling to pressure the basket, he was also failing to score at a high level around the rim.

A 25.6 percent frequency is still fairly low, but 72.4 percent shooting is borderline elite for a wing. It ranks 33rd among 180 players with 50+ shots in the restricted area over that span and 21 of the guys ahead of him are centers. For reference, his 60.6 percent clip ranked 130th among 189 within the same parameters.

Early in the year, and for much of his career, Tatum lacked a reliable plan on his rim forays. He’d bank on length to finish around defenders or burrow his head into them without any sort of counter once swarmed. Contact aversion was far too popular in his approach:

Over the past couple months, he is blending extension finishes and an embrace of contact. He’s simplifying his attempts by leveraging space creation or advantages with a functional East-West handle and applying his 6’10 frame to battle through contract. Fewer of his finishes are overly difficult. He can get off cleaner looks.

On the year, per Cleaning The Glass, he is shooting a career-high 67 percent at the rim, which ranks in the 71st percentile. This second-half stretch isn’t an aberration. It’s an entire half of his fourth year in his age-23 season. He is developing in-season, seemingly a hallmark of his at this stage.

The results are evident and encouraging, but most pertinent is how he’s producing them, operating with improved patience, guile and physicality. The pull-up 3 arrived last season. The ambidextrous, live dribble playmaking surfaced shortly before the 2019-20 hiatus and solidified itself in the bubble. Competent interior scoring is the next step in his development Since late February, it has come to life.

Every year, Jayson Tatum identifies necessary areas of growth and manifests them. This particular plotline is another natural evolution of his basketball journey and is critical to attain his ceiling as a scorer.