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On occasion, NFL handicapping is a maddening experience. That was the case in Week 14, at least in this space and with one particular decision. Overall, we posted a 2-3 output, which is far from disastrous, but we rolled with the first half under in the Bengals game, only to lose that particular wager with a handful of seconds left in the first half. Predictably, the full game total stayed under with ease and, well, that is the difference between a winning week and a losing week.

Alas, we remain undeterred, and the Week 15 slate has some appetizing spots. Before diving into our five selections, let’s pause and check out the season-long effort.

• Week 14: 2-3
• 2020 Season: 33-35-2

Come get these winners.

Carolina Panthers (+8.5) over Green Bay Packers

The Packers are red-hot, winning three straight and five of six. In contrast, the Panthers have lost seven of eight, and things are seemingly going in the wrong direction. With that said, six of those seven defeats came by one possession, and Teddy Bridgewater is the king of all underdogs. Carolina’s quarterback is 33-13-1 all-time and a blistering 23-6 as an underdog. That isn’t the basis for the pick, but it certainly helps. Give me the Panthers to keep it close.

Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings UNDER 47 points

We always enjoy a good Under bet and, with Akiem Hicks back for the Bears, this feels snug. Minnesota loves to pound the rock with Dalvin Cook and, quite honestly, that usually works. The Bears have had mild success in slowing Cook, though, and Chicago’s offense might also be overvalued right now after facing two putrid defenses in Detroit and Houston. It may not be comfortable the entire way, but this feels like a rock fight. Give me a few points and perhaps a missed field goal (or two) from Dan Bailey.

New England Patriots (+2) over Miami Dolphins

There is a lot happening here. Bill Belichick owns rookie quarterbacks, and the Dolphins are starting one. Miami is running unbelievably hot in turnover luck. New England’s strength offensively is on the ground, while Miami’s defensive strength is against the pass. The Dolphins are also 10-3 against the spread. Did I mention that they are running unbelievably hot and we get to take Bill Belichick against a rookie quarterback?

Jacksonville Jaguars (+13) over Baltimore Ravens

Hold your nose. I’m tempted to give out the Jets at +17.5, too. Be thankful we settled here instead.

Arizona Cardinals (-6) over Philadelphia Eagles

If it feels like we’re on the Cardinals every week, it’s because we basically are. Some of that is about Arizona being undervalued (at least at times) but, this week, a lot of it is about Philadelphia. The Eagles aren’t very good and, with all due respect to Jalen Hurts, Philly is getting more respect from last week’s performance than they should. This number should be 7.5 or higher, and with more than half of the tickets on Philadelphia, Arizona is the rare sharp favorite. Lay the number.

Preseason is different for everyone in the NBA world, especially in 2020 with limited deployment and a shortened window to prepare for the regular season. That dichotomy was on full display in one particular moment on Thursday evening, and it came during the third quarter of an otherwise anonymous tilt between the Washington Wizards and the Detroit Pistons. With the Pistons playing quite well in the first half, Washington was trailing and, apparently, frustration set in for Thomas Bryant.

Pistons star Blake Griffin, who is attempting to re-establish himself after a long-term injury, got into a mini-tussle with Bryant, slinging him to the ground during the course of live action. From there, Bryant didn’t take kindly to the gesture.

As noted here, Griffin was assessed a Flagrant-1 foul for his actions, and that is some level of justice for Bryant. Still, it is undeniably amusing to see Griffin flatly laughing as Bryant was incensed, and while Bryant isn’t that young, it could also be the difference between an established long-term veteran and a player that is still rising in the league.

Nothing is that serious in the preseason but, to be charitable to Bryant, it is possible that he thought it was a dangerous action by Griffin and no one wants that. In the end, all was well, and the Wizards got the (very small) win of the flagrant foul.

Twitter is a tough place to exist in even the best of times, but according to a report the company is trying to make everyone using the social media site to remember that actual humans exist behind all those avatars. Well, mostly.

According to Mashable, Twitter is testing a feature that will show you some mutual interests in a window below what you may fire off at a random stranger with a bad take on the social media site.

The intent is to make you think twice about roasting a human with a bad opinion because you both like, you know, cats or something.

The company began testing a new feature, dubbed humanization prompts, on Thursday with the goal of improving conversational health on the platform. As part of the test, some Twitter users will be presented with the shared interests and mutual followers of the accounts they’re replying to.

In other words, humanization prompts aim to not-so-subtly point out what Twitter users have in common. But don’t be surprised if you personally don’t see the prompts. The test will only go into effect for approximately 10 percent of English-speaking Android users.

Fittingly, that Mashable tweet had some pretty funny responses in the replies about some of the weirdness that may come from knowing mutual interests among your sworn internet enemies.

Some think this kind of thing may just end up being weaponized, anyway.

The most common response to all this is that Twitter should simply get rid of abusive users of the platform and better protect users from Nazis and trolls, rather than encourage them to just play nice with others. But perhaps that’s more difficult than using some algorithms to discover that most people like dogs.

[via Mashable]

Lorde has been slowly but surely returning to the public eye, a clue that her next album will be dropping shortly. She tends to be very public during an album release cycle and during tour, and then take a lot of time off being a celebrity when she’s in writing mode, so if she’s doing interviews, new music is about to come.

Recently, the New Zealand singer revealed that a trip to Antarctica had deeply impacted her, so much so that she’s written a book about it called Going South. She further mentioned during an extensive interview about the same freezing trip that she’s working on “the whole cinematic universe” of her next record.

Now, we’ve got something even more specific — the record itself, Lorde LP3, does indeed have a title. And, she said that title was itself also influenced by her trip to the frozen tundra. “I felt incredibly inspired by going to Antarctica,” she said in a video interview with Antarctica New Zealand. “I actually decided on the album name right around that trip, just coming back from that trip I thought ‘this is what it is,’ which is not something that’s even close to being announced, and that in itself is a weird announcement. There is something so inspiring about it.”

Check this clip for her exact mention of the album title, and further reflection of why Antarctica is so inspiring:

And watch the full interview with Antarctica New Zealand here.

Cyberpunk 2077‘s tough 2020 just got more difficult thanks to Sony. The makers of PlayStation announced on Thursday night that it would be pulling the highly-anticipated game from its online stores and offering full refunds several days after the game’s developer made the same offer.

In a statement, Sony stressed that not only will they now give refunds, it will not sell the game to any customers through its online store “until further notice.”

SIE strives to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, therefore we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store. SIE will also be removing Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation Store until further notice.

Once we have confirmed that you purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store, we will begin processing your refund. Please note that completion of the refund may vary based on your payment method and financial institution.

The decision to pull the game from the store is complicated, but as Patrick Klepek explained, it has to do with Sony’s refund policy.

CD Projekt Red announced Monday that it would be offering refunds to anyone who bought the game and was unsatisfied. The game, available on multiple consoles and PC, could be purchased through a number of different digital and retail stores. CD Projekt Red, for example, owns GOG.com and could easily facilitate those. But several customers struggled to get refunds directly from Sony, which cited forthcoming bug fixes and patches on the way from CD Projekt Red in the coming weeks and months that would likely fix problems customers were having.

In Monday’s announcement about refunds, CD Projekt Red apologized in particular for the game’s performance on last-gen consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the former of which had countless gamers complaining the title crashed and rendered it essentially unplayable. And though the game seems to perform with more stability on the next-gen Sony console, as of Thursday night, it seems it’s also unavailable for PS5 gamers, too.

It’s unclear how long the game will be unavailable in the Sony store, and anyone who already has a copy or a physical disc of the game will be able to endure it on the PlayStation 4 and 5, but it’s a massive blow for a game that’s had one of the roughest launches in 2020 to say the least.

The two subjects that dominated cultural conversation most during 2020 are, obviously, COVID-19, followed closely by the song “WAP” from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. So as creatives with too much time on their hands are wont to do, some concerned citizens at John Hopkins University decided to pair the two together in a little PSA about wearing a mask — and yes, it’s as well-meaning and cringe-worthy as it sounds.

Orchestrated by the Bloomberg School Of Public Health, the parody of “WAP” is dubbed “WAmP” (Wear A Mask, Please) and seeks to help people understand how important it is to actually wear a face covering — “not just hold it as a prop.” The parody song includes other lyrics that point to social distancing and other seemingly hard-to-follow instructions, like not wearing the mask on your chin, and making sure it covers both mouth and nose.

“There’s a mask on his mouth,” goes the sampled refrain in this version, replacing the original’s declaration “there’s some ho’s in this house,” and in general the new version hews pretty close to the rhythms and melody of the original, it’s mostly the lyrics and visuals that have been swapped. Credited artists for the song are “Birdi Jay” and “Thee Mental Notes,” with the former alluding to John Hopkins’ mascot, the Blue Jay, who stars in the video. Watch the clip below. All corniness aside, they get full marks for creativity.

Cardi B has yet to weigh in on the PSA.

After a period of relative tranquility after James Harden reported to training camp and appeared in a preseason game for the Houston Rockets, the rumor mill began churning again in earnest on Thursday evening. First, ESPN reported that the Rockets are “expanding trade discussions” for the star guard, even beyond the destinations (Brooklyn and Philadelphia) that Harden is thought to prefer.

From there, multiple reporters weighed in with insight that the Philadelphia 76ers could be at least willing to include superstar Ben Simmons in the discussions.

However, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey responded swiftly to those rumblings, telling Shams Charania of The Athletic that the team is “not trading Ben Simmons.”

Though next week’s start of the 2020-21 regular season could act as a soft deadline for negotiations, the Rockets do not have to move quickly, with Harden under contract for multiple seasons. To add to that, Harden did show up for camp and all indications are that he will take the court and (very likely) perform at a high level as he awaits the deal that he is reportedly seeking.

As for Philadelphia, the 76ers would potentially love to lure Harden away from Houston without giving up Simmons and, at least from a contractual perspective, the organization does have other ways to get that deal done. However, the Rockets should absolutely be asking for Simmons in return and, if Philadelphia is unwilling to include Simmons or Joel Embiid, it is entirely possible that Houston might hang up the phone before talks can escalate.

In some ways, it feels as if a deal could be on the way, if only because the chatter has been happening for a long time. Still, this on-record denial from Morey is the latest road block, and the partnership between Harden and the Rockets may need to continue for a while.

Click to download here.

Dreaming about lo mein on the season finale of Pod Yourself A Gun.

On the latest episode of Pod Yourself A Gun: A Sopranos Podcast, Rolling Stone chief television critic and co-author of The Sopranos Sessions, Alan Sepinwall, returns to talk to Matt and Vince about the final episode of The Sopranos season 3, “Army of One.”

In the last pre-9/11 Sopranos episode, everyone’s favorite fail-stunad’ is at it again. The principal has a DNA match on AJ’s peepee, and Tony thinks military school will straighten the little piss bandit out. He’ll never get to be Donald Trump’s helicopter pilot if he doesn’t learn some discipline. During their talk, the guys decide when it’s okay to hit your kids, and try to find out if David Chase has heard the show. Let’s hope not!

If you’ve been hiding out in the projects in Boonton, you might not know that there’s now a PYAG Patreon tier. Give us money and you too can hear your name on a podcast!

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Kawhi Leonard is entering his second season in Los Angeles after choosing the Clippers in free agency a year ago, provided they paired him with another star in Paul George. The Clippers’ pursuit of Leonard had been no secret, as Lawrence Frank was a regular at Raptors games to watch Leonard and make clear L.A.’s desire to bring him back home.

However, there are recent allegations that implicate Clippers executive Jerry West of improprieties in his pursuit of Leonard, lobbied by Johnny Wilkes, who claims to be Leonard’s friend, in a lawsuit that was first reported by TMZ. West denied wrongdoing, but Wilkes claims he was promised $2.5 million by West to assist in steering the star to Los Angeles. The lawsuit also alleges West agreed to give Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, a house and a travel expense account as part of the agreement for Leonard to join the Clippers.

Marc Stein of the New York Times and Sam Amick of The Athletic both reported on Thursday that the league was now launching an investigation into the claims in Wilkes’ lawsuit, although it remains unclear how much merit there is to the claims — and most importantly, if anything can be proven.

We’ll learn in due time how real these allegations are and if they are at all something that can be proven, either in court or in an NBA investigation. Given that the parties involved aside from Wilkes all have reason to avoid such improprieties becoming public knowledge, even if such agreements did happen, barring hard evidence it figures to be very difficult to find someone among the chief individuals involved who would be willing to admit to these things having taken place.

The pandemic has robbed us of the better part of a year. Not being able to have holiday celebrations has made it feel as if the holidays didn’t even happen. Those little rituals of cutting turkey with your family on Thanksgiving or going to a BBQ on Labor Day are what makes the holiday feel more like a holiday than just getting the day off. Technically, the only reason why we had a Fourth of July this year is because July 4^th is a date on the calendar.

COVID hasn’t entirely cancelled Christmas. Festive Holiday light shows mean you can experience that Christmas-y feel from the safety of your own car. Or better yet, you can skip getting in your car and watch them on You Tube. These people have been working hard, despite the pandemic, to make sure that some of that Holiday magic enters our lives.

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Magical Light Show

Titanium (David Guetta/Sia) 2020 Christmas Light Show

www.youtube.com

The Magical Light Show happens every year in Tracy, California and 2020 isn’t an exception. The light show also doubles as a fundraiser for the McHenry House, a family shelter in Tracy. You don’t have to be anywhere near the California city to view the show or to donate. The organization is taking donations on their website.

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas Light Projection

The Grinch- Christmas House Projection Show 2020

www.youtube.com

COVID is basically the Grinch who stole Christmas, or at least the Grinch who reduced Christmas to only essential functions. This light show is the Dr. Seuss classic, but projected on to somebody’s house – which is really the best way to see it, anyways.

Polar Christmas Light Show At Toronto Pearson Airport

Polar Christmas light Show 2020 Massive (4K) #Christmas Medley Disco Remix 2020 no copyright #Glow

www.youtube.com

In any other year, going to the airport around the Holidays is a special kind of hell you’d only wish on your worst enemy (because it’s not fatal, just uncomfortable). The upshot of 2020 is that Holiday travel is less painful, thanks in part to this fun light show on the way to the airport in Toronto. It’s like a Christmas-y theme park ride at a time when theme parks are closed. And it’s a lot cheaper than Disneyland, too.

Larsen’s Light Show

Larsens Light Show – Carol of the Bells

www.youtube.com

There’s something so soothing and satisfying about watching perfectly synchronized lights and music. This Campton Hills, Illinois-based light show does not disappoint. The show is lovingly put on by Brian Larsen. This year is actually the last year for the show in its current location. Traffic issues are making the light show move to a different, larger, and hopefully less congested location.

COVID Mask (Monster Mash Parody)

Covid Mask – Monster Mash parody – Halloween lightshow 2020

www.youtube.com

Is it still October? It could be. Who really knows. Time has been irrelevant since March. It’s hard to tell what day or month it is anymore. We didn’t have Halloween, so this Monster Mash/face mask parody is still relevant, even though we’re halfway through December. This cheeky light show pokes fun at the frustrations of having to wear a face mask. But seriously, you should wear a face mask. It’s a pain in the butt, but it could save someone else’s life.