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At this point, it’s pretty firmly established that Drake took the L in his back-and-forth with Kendrick Lamar earlier this year. Only Aubrey himself (or his staunchest online supporters) could make the argument that Kendrick did NOT run roughshod over Drake’s reputation with his flurry of aggressive diss tracks, which included the presumptive song of the summer, “Not Like Us.”

Fortunately for Drake, there is a path to redemption — at least, according to former Kendrick Lamar labelmate, Ab-Soul. The Carson artist, who is still signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and appeared in the “Not Like Us” video alongside the other original members of the label, shared his theory on Twitter (back to not calling it “X”).

“If Drake is the MC I imagine he can be,” he wrote. “Redemption is not off the table.”

Of course, this is pretty much the crux of the divide between the two rappers, as well as being the main case against Drake from the majority of his critics over the past decade and a half. Drake spent his first two mixtapes, Room For Improvement and Comeback Season, courting the underground before blowing up seemingly overnight after the leak of a reference track of Drake’s song, “Brand New,” which he’d written for an unnamed R&B singer.

Since then, Drake has split his time on recordings between harder-edged, tough guy-style rapping (because the backpacker thing was never all that profitable) and brokenhearted crooning. In an effort to appeal to the zeitgeist, though, both his raps and his singing have taken on a manosphere-inspired, Red Pilled outlook, which has alienated a bunch of his most dedicated fans. Ab-Soul’s comments reflect a general vibe on rap discussion forums like Twitter that there’s a version of Drake that could potentially earn back his lost respect as a rapper, but he’d have to reject some of his biggest defenders, ditch the toxic attitudes, and start writing like his old rhyme heroes Phonte and Lupe Fiasco again.

It’s a bold theory, and I’m not sure it’d hold true in practice, but therein lies the rub: If skills sold, truth be told…

Breaking Bad is rightly considered one of the best TV shows of all-time, but it wasn’t a big hit, at least not in the early seasons. Only one episode in the first four seasons was viewed by over two million people — yet every episode in the final season hit that mark, including 10 million for the series finale.

Why did Breaking Bad suddenly get so big? “I think Netflix kept us on the air,” creator Vince Gilligan said back in 2013. “I don’t think our show would have even lasted beyond season two… It’s a new era in television, and we’ve been very fortunate to reap the benefits.”

Breaking Bad was one of the first shows to benefit from the Netflix Effect. And it’s happening again for another Bryan Cranston-starring series. Your Honor, which aired for two relatively anonymous seasons on Showtime, has become a surprise success on the streaming service. According to Variety, the legal drama “was watched for 1.5 billion minutes from June 3 to June 9. This accounts for viewership across both Paramount+, where the series was already available, and Netflix, where it had its first full week of availability after being added on May 31.” A month later, Your Honor is still in the Netflix top 10.

“A first time experience gets a lot of attention, but there is a lot to be said for a second time,” Cranston said in a statement. “To have Your Honor get new life at Netflix is the dream scenario. Millions more people now have the chance to catch up with this extraordinary show that I am so proud of.”

If Your Honor gets big enough, maybe there will be a prequel series.

(Via Variety)

Ambition isn’t always a great thing (particularly when it’s directionless). But it’s always powerful.

For better or worse, the third season of The Bear will be defined by its relationship to ambition – both within the story of the show and in the ways that that story is told.

This is the season that proved that perfection is the enemy of progress and that Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) is the enemy of everything (and everyone) else, his idiosyncrasies devoid of charm, his intense passion more easily defined as toxic rage and psychotic obsession. He was consumed.

Carmy has become such an alienating force in the world of the show that no one is really fighting him or fighting for him. Save for one moment, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) mostly moves around him. Natalie (Abby Elliott) doesn’t know how to talk to him anymore.

Think about the intensity of his and Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) fridge showdown last season. All that was said – hard, pointed blows meant to break a forcefield. This season, it’s all surface level “fuck you’s” and that one, wordless stare through the dividing wall between their worlds that called back to the finale.

You can see it on everyone’s faces – concern, exhaustion, disgust as they’re forced to take a backseat to Carmy’s do-it-all, screamo energy. “Joy” is not a non-negotiable at The Bear and certainly not when in Carmy’s view or orbit.

Turning people against your lead character is, for sure, a bold, ambitious choice. It’s one I applaud that fits what I perceive the larger story to be. It’s also a move that indicates extreme faith in the audience’s willingness to hang in and be challenged. Based on some reviews, though, The Bear may be paying a price for it, among other things this season.

I have, at this point, run through this season of The Bear three times. I get every criticism dropped on the show (too many filler episodes, too much of the Fak Brothers, not enough focus on Sydney’s flirtation with leaving, no real narrative payoff). I agree with those that say it’s not as good as it has been in the past, but it’s still pretty great, incredibly interesting, and obviously invested in pushing boundaries in service to a larger story.

That amazing, mostly wordless season premiere (“Tomorrow”) was the exact right tonal bookend for the season 2 finale, filled with solitary contemplation and a rededication to the tenets that had served Carmy well through his career: his non-negotiables. It’s going to break bad, but in that episode we understand that the idea of control and these sort of commandments serve as a place for him to hide his hurt heart and his fear of failure.

The premiere also sets us off on a beautifully shot season that often highlights the art and alchemy of cooking and the ritualistic nightly cleansing of a place that becomes, for Carmy, more like a temple than a kitchen. Throughout the entire season, it’s the only place where he seems even remotely at ease — alone with his tweezers and his latest creation, trying to solve a riddle that no one else can really gauge.

In episode 2 and 3 (“Next” and “Doors”) the frenzy returns as the restaurant fills up with other people and a buzz over the fridge lock-in and everything that went down. These are some of the hardest watches of the show’s run, particularly “Doors.” Carmy is unhinged. Again, it’s bold as hell to shock viewers’ systems with these 3 episodes right at the start.

Episode 4, “Violet,” begins with a throwback to last season and an intimate conversation in bed between Carmy and Claire (with a reminder of what real stakes look like). It upsets the pace perfectly while creating a devastating reminder of the sacrifices Carmy believes he needs to make to get a Michelin star and establish The Bear.

Love or loathe the binge model, you have to admit that The Bear crew seeks to be intentional with how episodes flow into one another. Not always the case with this model.

I don’t think Carmy smiles until the 7th episode of the season, “Legacy,” when he’s in flashback talking with Claire (Molly Gordon). Soon after, he’s talking about wanting a “panicless” legacy devoid of anxiety in one of few chill moments of conversation between him and one of the people he works with, in this case Marcus (Lionel Boyce). It’s a sign that he’s at least somewhat a captive of his ambitions and emotions.

In episode 9, “Apologies,” Carmy acknowledges his pain more fully, calling Claire “peace” in contrast to chaos and admitting that he thinks about her every day, this while standing atop a heap of boxes that never seem to fit into their bin.

It takes a long way to get there, but these are key moments of growth, demonstrating the kind of dimension and relatable storytelling that has always won the show fans. All while pushing Carmy to the maximum of what a lot of fans will accept (and maybe a little beyond).

There are other such moments scattered throughout: Richie telling Natalie about the birth of his daughter, the strengthened bond between Sydney and Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), Gary “Sweeps” Woods (Corey Hendrix) talking about his failed baseball career while stocking bottles of wine in the midst of working to become a sommelier. Even Carmy and Unc (Oliver Platt) dancing around guilt (and other things). Spare little moments of care, friendship, love, concern.

Liza Colón-Zayas is perfect in the Ayo Edebiri-directed, flashback-laden episode “Napkins,” the season’s 6th. It lives to remind us all of the history of The Beef (complete with a great Jon Bernthal appearance) and the stakes at play here. The heartbreak of her character’s journey as a middle-aged worker lost in the grey of a job market that wants, at once, younger and differently qualified, whispers about the worries her character and a lot of others on this show are likely feeling. Because if The Bear fails, their lives will be severely upended.

“Ice Chips,” this season’s 8th episode, feels like this year’s “Fishes” with its focus on family trauma, but it’s more hopeful as Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) is the only option to help when Natalie (Abby Elliott) goes into labor.

Outside of any one moment, exchange, or look, it’s the fact that both characters are making an effort with each other. Donna is doing her best to keep her emotions in check, and Natalie is dodging the motherly blows that slip out of Donna’s mouth. It’s a highly relatable dance for a lot of people, captured magnificently. It also doesn’t feel made-for-TV. It’s messy. A moment of desperation that produces an uneven thaw. It’s a start.

The last episode, “Forever,” feels very much like a season finale with rampant guest stars, multiple threads begging for resolution, a big confrontation between Carmy and Joel McHale’s archdickhead mentor chef that borrows from a Mad Men all-timer, and some Yoda-chef wisdom from Olivia Colman’s character. All this before Carmy’s phone reveals a mix of texts and voicemails that create chaos, but also maybe some clarity… for next season.

I don’t think a season 3 that continued churning through story at the pace of the first 2 seasons would have been very good. Not with a season 4 (and maybe 5) on the horizon.

It would have felt incredibly rushed and unrealistic if Carmy had some kind of instant epiphany. He had to run a gauntlet of emotional and career devastation to prove the point that I think the show is trying to make (which we were harping on last season as well) about the hierarchy of dreams, work, craft, family, friends, and love. In a culture that’s been sold on a hustle first, second, and third mentality, there is a lie that there’s always going to be time for everything else after we get where we want to get in our careers – a goal that constantly moves. I think Carmy is in the process of understanding the cost that he is levying against himself to go all-in on The Bear.

What all of that means for Carmy and Claire, Carmy and Donna, Carmy and The Bear, and the future of the show, I couldn’t tell you. I don’t think the gauntlet is done, nor do I think this one relationship should be presented as a fix-it-all for the character. The point is more that Carmy develop some kind of guidance system for his own ambition while also maybe realizing that the clock-adjacent sign that says “Every second counts” might have less to do with rushing through dinner service and more to do with being present.

‘The Bear’s third season is currently streaming on Hulu.

Ariana Grande has recently teased that she’d like to go on tour again, but now it seems like the idea is moving in a more concrete direction.

On the July 9 episode of the Shut Up Evan podcast, Grande said, “I still want it, too, that’s the thing. I think it would be a really lovely idea to be able to trickle in some shows in between the two Wicked films, you know? I think there’s a version of that that exists. It’s definitely, for a multitude of reasons, not going to be a tour in the way that I used to tour: It would be a mini little sampling of shows, I think. But I do think it would be really nice to do that, and it’s something that my team and I are working on.”

The first Wicked movie is set to hit theaters on November 22, while the sequel is currently scheduled for November 26, 2025, so based on what Grande said, her tour would fall somewhere between those two dates.

This follows a February interview in which Grande said, “I would love to do shows. I love being on stage, I miss being on stage, I miss my fans so much, that’s the honest-to-God truth. […] It would obviously be shorter. If it were anything, it would be a littler something, but I definitely do have the itch. I miss my fans and miss being on stage, but then again, I also am not ready to announce any sort of thing or get people too excited, because I don’t want to disappoint.”

There’s not one book or experienced parent that will tell you that parenting is easy. In fact, you’ll likely find people either dancing around how hard it can be or simply being brutally honest about the struggles that come with trying to raise tiny humans. It’s a noble job that is not for those with a weak constitution…or emotional state.

There are days when you may find yourself so sleep deprived that you cry right along with your baby, hoping against hope that an adultier adult comes to rescue you. Alas, you are the adult, unless you’re a teenager who is stuck caring for a plastic baby for your early childhood class.

Shaquita White shared a video of her teenage daughter’s experience caring for the woman’s temporary plastic grandchild. The teen was tasked with caring for the “real care baby” over the weekend for a grade in her early childhood class. Seems like the girl was immediately in for a heaping dose of reality after being lulled into a false sense of confidence when the baby sat quietly all day–until it wasn’t.

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As soon as the video starts, the girl declares that she has already failed the assignment while at her track meet before explaining, “I got the baby at two o’clock. I get out of school at 2:45, I’m on the bus it’s 3:15. It hasn’t made one noise, it hasn’t even cooed, it hasn’t even giggled, it hasn’t even made nothing. And then as soon as I want to start doing my warmups and I have the baby with one of my friends cause it’s not making any noise. This baby wanna start yelling and start crying.”

The young temporary mom rushed to care for the baby only to realize that she couldn’t find the diaper bag that contained the bottles, diapers and other things she needed to make the crying stop. Turns out she forgot the bag on the school bus and had to open the emergency exit door to retrieve it.

That would’ve been enough to make any new parent stressed out but this all took place in the first few hours of caring for it, she still had to get through the rest of the weekend. Seems the track meet was just the preview of how her weekend undertaking was going to pan out because that little plastic baby definitely had the teen rethinking future decisions.

At one point in the video the teen proclaims she has baby brain from being so frazzled trying to care for the baby while at school. Once the baby screamed so long in the middle of the night that “grandma” woke up to see what was going on only to find her daughter exhausted after waking up every two hours to feed the baby. The teen was so tired that she begins to cry when her mom wakes her up to care for the plastic doll.

Commenters were proud of the teen for doing such a good job caring for the realistic doll while thought the baby is a good reality check for teens.

“At the end She said this baby gotta go! thanks for sharing, I think this is a wonderful project!,” someone says.

“Give this girl an A!!! She was trying!!,” another person writes.

“I laughed so hard!!! Poor baby!!! Poor Mommy!!!! Poor Grandmother!!!! Hahaha!!!!! Every young girl needs to experience one of these so that they will know teenage pregnancy and parenthood is no joke… Thank you for sharing. This was very entertaining,” one person laughs.

“I love her! She is so sweet and responsible- running to the bus. I really felt for her when she cried because she was so tired. She did a great job. You did a great job supporting her too. Well done,” another shares.

By the time the weekend was over, the entire family, including the teens siblings were ready for the baby to go back to the early childhood classroom. Even fake babies keep the entire family awake when it would rather cry than sleep. This will be a life lesson that all the kids in the house remember for the rest of their lives.

Once upon a time, our only option for getting clothes clean was to get out a bucket of soapy water and start scrubbing. Nowadays, we use fancy machines that not only do the labor for us, but give us free reign to choose between endless water temperature, wash duration, and spin speed combinations.

Of course, here’s where the paradox of choice comes in. Suddenly you’re second guessing whether that lace item needs to use the “delicates” cycle, or the “hand wash” one, or what exactly merits a “permanent press” cycle. And now, you’re wishing for that bygone bucket just to take away the mental rigamarole.

Well, you’re in luck. Turns out there’s only one setting you actually need. At least according to one laundry expert.

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While appearing on HuffPost’s “Am I Doing It Wrong?” podcast, Patric Richardson, aka The Laundry Evangelist, said he swears by the “express” cycle, as “it’s long enough to get your clothes clean but it’s short enough not to cause any damage.”

Richardson’s reasoning is founded in research done while writing his book, “Laundry Love,” which showed that even the dirtiest items would be cleaned in the “express” cycle, aka the “quick wash” or “30 minute setting.”

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Furthermore the laundry expert, who’s also the host of HGTV’s “Laundry Guy,” warned that longer wash settings only cause more wear and tear, plus use up more water and power, making express wash a much more sustainable choice.

Really, the multiple settings washing machines have more to do with people being creatures of habit, and less to do with efficiency, Richardson explained.

“All of those cycles [on the washing machine] exist because they used to exist,” he told co-hosts Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson. “We didn’t have the technology in the fabric, in the machine, in the detergent [that we do now], and we needed those cycles. In the ’70s, you needed the ‘bulky bedding’ cycle and the ‘sanitary’ cycle … it was a legit thing. You don’t need them anymore, but too many people want to buy a machine and they’re like, ‘My mom’s machine has “whitest whites.”’ If I could build a washing machine, it would just have one button — you’d just push it, and it’d be warm water and ‘express’ cycle and that’s it.”

According to Good Housekeeping, there are some things to keep in mind if you plan to go strictly express from now on.

For one thing, the outlet recommends only filling the machine halfway and using a half dose of liquid, not powder detergent, since express cycles use less water. Second, using the setting regularly can develop a “musty” smell, due to the constant low-temperature water causing a buildup of mold or bacteria. To prevent this, running an empty wash on a hot setting, sans the detergent, is recommended every few weeks, along with regularly scrubbing the detergent drawer and door seal.

Still, even with those additional caveats, it might be worth it just to knock out multiple washes in one day. Cause let’s be honest—a day of laundry and television binging sounds pretty great, doesn’t it?

To catch even more of Richardson’s tips, find the full podcast episode here.

This article originally appeared on 2.4.24

Seemingly every discussion of what a team is doing this offseason eventually shifts to “the apron.” The new CBA’s harsh penalties and restrictions for teams that go above certain thresholds went into effect this summer, and teams have been frantically trying to dodge the dreaded second apron — and, if they can, get under the first apron and/or tax as well.

We’ve seen the Warriors, Nuggets, and Clippers all let big names leave this summer in order to avoid the apron, and it’s clear teams just aren’t willing to risk their future flexibility (and the tax costs) of being a second apron team without being in a position like Boston, which are spending a ton of money and are heavy title favorites. It’s frustrating for fans to see teams willingly breaking up contenders, especially with a gigantic TV deal on the way, and players are quickly learning the full ramifications of the apron system they agreed to and how it will impact what offers are out there for them. As of now, 17 teams are hard capped at either the first or second apron due to the many mechanisms that can trigger that, from aggregating salaries to making a sign-and-trade to using certain exceptions.

The hard cap mechanisms, combined with the restrictions for those that end up as apron teams, have caused teams to be far more cautious with the money they’re handing out, thinking not only about where they’ll be this year, but down the line as well with the enhanced repeater penalties. The unfortunate part of this is that NBA players are about to get a rude awakening in the form of a shift in how teams value players and how much more protective they are going to be about giving out full max deals, especially to veterans. We’re still going to see really good young players get their max rookie extensions, with Franz Wagner as the latest example, but players with 8+ years of service are going to find that the definition of a max player is about to change.

Paul George detailed the lengthy, tense negotiations he had with the Clippers before ultimately getting his 4-year max from the Sixers. The Clippers initially offered him two years, $60 million before eventually getting to the 3/150 deal they gave Kawhi Leonard, but George was concerned he’d be traded and wanted either a no-trade or a 4-year max, which they weren’t willing to offer. As such, he left for Philly, but they are a rare contender with max cap space and the incentive to add a superstar into that space. Those don’t come around often, and teams are suddenly extremely wary of paying a player max money when that player doesn’t consistently deliver max production, or are older and might taper off towards the end of a deal.

Brandon Ingram might end up as the first example of a guy who is going to be squeezed a bit by the NBA’s new definition of a max player, as the Pelicans star wing is entering the final year of his deal in New Orleans and is very much on the trade block. The problem the Pelicans and Ingram are finding is not that teams don’t see Ingram as a good player, but there aren’t many (or, as of this moment, any) that view him as a great enough player to give him the max deal he’s seeking.

Ingram will be at nine years of service by the time his contract runs up, and thus will be eligible for a 5-year, ~$245 million deal with a team re-signing him or a 4-year, ~$182 million deal for a new team in free agency. In the past, he likely would’ve gotten that from someone, as he’s an extremely talented wing scorer who has averaged 23.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game on 47.2/37.2/84.7 shooting splits over his five seasons in New Orleans. That used to be the kind of production that could get you the max from someone, even when you’ve had a checkered injury history like Ingram. But in the new world of the apron, teams are thinking twice about handing out those kinds of long-term, big money deals.

The timing for Ingram hitting the trade market hasn’t helped his case, as he had a woeful playoff series against Oklahoma City, calling into question his ability to be a highly impactful playoff performer — even though two years ago, he was sensational in a 6-game loss to the Suns. It’s possible someone decides he’s worth it, as all it ever takes is one team, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if Ingram becomes the first member of the NBA’s new upper middle class, as the financial value of a very good (but somewhat flawed) player gets redefined. We’ve seen a major shift in how teams allocate contracts as top players command the max and leave little room for mid-tier deals, but as the apron restrictions put teams in a bind, we could see a return of that middle class contract. Unfortunately for the players, that’s not because the lower tier of deals will shrink, but because the max tier is likely to get squeezed. So for someone like Ingram, instead of a 4/182 offer, perhaps it’s 4/140 that ends up on the table, as teams look to create a bit more exclusivity when it comes to who is considered a max star and expand the tier just below.

It’s not just that you narrow your margin for error on the roster construction side with max deals, but as the Bulls can attest with Zach LaVine, trading a player on a max who hasn’t performed to that level has become increasingly difficult as well. The real question is how quickly players and agents are willing to accept what teams seem to want to create as the new normal on the market. The reality of the new CBA, which the NBPA agreed to, is that a hard cap is essentially here.

Teams and star players have always had discussions about how to best build a team within the salary cap structure, with plenty of examples of front offices asking stars to take a bit less to free up money to add more talent around them (the Big 3 in Miami serves as a prime example). However, it seems that will be even more prevalent in this new world, and teams are going to draw firmer lines in the sand than ever before when it comes to contracts, both in length and amount. We saw it with Paul George in L.A., or LeBron James considering a big cut to free up the mid-level and ultimately taking just under the max to stay out of the second apron. Jamal Murray’s extension talks with Denver, by all accounts, aren’t going as smoothly as some expected for a similar reason. Teams are pushing harder to get players to accept a little less in order to create that flexibility, because teams can no longer just spend their way out of a mistake.

If this ends up being the case, there would be considerable and understandable pushback from players and agents. But at the very least, their options for getting paid are going to be much more limited. There’s still plenty of money to be made in the NBA’s upper middle class, but that “max player” title figures to become much more exclusive in the near future. Brandon Ingram might be the first test case, but he certainly won’t be the last to be hit with a new reality check.

Julia Fox can never be accused of not being an open book. Her memoir was also a rare tell-all that made (some) people want to know more, not less, and Fox has kept it coming, but not at a pace where it would be too much.

Sure, she had that weird mini-phase where she “dated” Kanye West in a strange situationship that lasted only a few months. Fox later revealed that she and Kanye had never had sex, and Julia later let the world know (via a social media comment) that she’d been celibate for 2.5 years (“and never been better tbh”), which encompasses the time that their relationship would have been going and tracks with her previous claim that the two had never had sex.

Fox is now back with another (friendly) clap back to another social media post, and her reaction appears to be telling. This episode begins with TikTok user @emgwaciedawgie’s viral TikTok video, which includes this sentiment: “I love when I see a lesbian with their boyfriend. It’s like ‘Aww, you hate that man.’” In response, Julia posted a video while strolling down the street: “Hey, that was me. I was that lesbian. So sorry boys. Won’t happen again.”

In 2020, Fox filed for divorce from Peter Artemiev, to whom she was married for two years. The ex-pair shares a 3-year-old son, Valentino, and Julia is (as the kids say) now living her best life.

Eminem is leaning into his status as a white person in hip-hop with a new White Castle merch collaboration that fans are sure to eat up.

The collab was announced yesterday (July 9), and the merch line features two items. There’s a white t-shirt that features the classic White Castle logo, but modified to say “White Rapper” instead. It also reads, “Established in 1972… Buy ’em by the ‘sack,” a reference to Eminem’s birth year and not that of White Castle, which was founded in 1921. The other item is a simpler black and white trucker hat with the “White Rapper” logo on the front.

The hat costs $30 and it’s $35 for the shirt, and both can be bought on Eminem’s web store.

Of course, Eminem’s long-running success in hip-hop has sparked much discussion over the years about his status as a white rapper. For example, in 2023, Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five said of Em, “Obviously, he’s a capable rapper. If you was talking about sales, he sold more than everybody. If you talking about rhyme style — OK, he got a rhyme style. But he’s white! He’s white! If Eminem was just another n**** like all the rest of us, would he be top 5 on that list when a n**** that can rhyme just as good as him is 35?”

Jack Harlow also prompted some discussion when he referenced Eminem on 2023’s “They Don’t Love It,” rapping, “The hardest white boy since the one who rapped about vomit and sweaters / And hold the comments ’cause I promise you I’m honestly better than whoever came to your head right then.”

WWE’s broadcasts booths get overhauled all the time, and according to a new story by Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post, the current top booth on SmackDown is getting a shakeup. While it is unclear which show the duo of Corey Graves and Wade Barrett will call going forward, we now know that Graves is sliding back into a color commentator role, as longtime ESPN broadcaster Joe Tessitore is joining WWE as a play-by-play announcer.

While the news was originally reported by the Post, the wrestling podcast Getting Over confirmed that Tessitore is on his way to WWE.

And not long after the reports began to circulate, WWE confirmed the move.

Tessitore has been with ESPN forever, as he’s a familiar voice on college football broadcasts and is the lead play-by-play guy on its boxing team. He also had a stint as the voice of Monday Night Football, but only spent two seasons in the booth during the network’s infamous experiment with Jason Witten as its top color commentator — Witten only lasted a year, at which point Booger McFarland slid into the booth.

While WWE and boxing are not exactly the same, Tessitore’s experience with a combat sport should hopefully give him a bit of a baseline as he enters this world. Plus he’s got some experience calling more outside the box programming, as he’s the voice of the ABC show Holey Moley.

Glasspiegel reports that the top booth on Raw — Michael Cole and Pat McAfee — will stay together. Additionally, while Tessitore is joining WWE broadcasts, he will remain with the Worldwide Leader.