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HBO’s Lovecraft Country is ambitious and astounding and will undoubtedly blow your expectations away. Created by Misha Green, who’s working with Matt Ruff’s 1950s-set dark-fantasy novel as source material, the show counts horror visionary Jordan Peele and sci-fi maestro J.J. Abrams as executive producers. The show is full of literary references and monsters, both in-your-face and and figurative; we’ll discuss the resulting symbolism on a weekly basis.

The debut Lovecraft Country episode, “Sundown” — referring to localities where Black Americans weren’t welcome after dark, and “sundown towns” aren’t entirely a thing of the past — isn’t bashful at all about piling onto the bookishness of its leading trio, led by Jonathan Majors as Atticus “Tic” Freeman. Even though he flips the bird while bidding “good riddance to old Jim Crow,” Tic’s anything but free of the 1950s-set racist horrors that persist in the U.S. He’s aided on a journey to find his missing father by his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) and childhood friend, Leticia “Leti” Lewis (Jurnee Smollett, who is a damn revelation in this show). This week, the show gives us a cursory tour of literary (and cinematic) references, and here are a few (although not all) of them.

Here’s the 1950s, in case you thought life in 2020 was exhausting.

Let’s get down to those references.

The Jackie Robinson Story And More

Lovecraft Country opens with the sleeping mind of Tic, whose mind is absolutely soaked with pulp fiction, so there’s the technicolor dream to match. The references to the 1950 movie do have a tie-in book to match, but I’m slightly cheating here by calling this a literary reference. Still, it’s a hell of an opener with words taken from The Jackie Robinson Story‘s narrator: “This is the story of a boy and his dream, but more than that. This is the story of an American boy, and a dream that is truly American.”

Tic’s diving in and out of battle trenches (heartbreakingly, he’s served a country that hates him) before gazing upon UFOs and dodging otherworldly creatures, all with a smattering of actual literary references to H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, along with At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft, and A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (we’ll discuss the latter two authors below). He’s rescued by Robinson, the first African-American Major League baseball player who’s credited with busting the color barrier within the sport. He’s also busting some neon-green guts and looking mighty “post-apocalyptic” (which should delight Jordan Peele to no end). Since these visions spring from Tic’s head, we’re getting a glimpse of how he’d like the world to be and how he would like to be the hero that swings at the monster. Before the episode’s end, Tic got a shot at doing just that.

A Princess Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

This lovely lady sure didn’t shy away from telling Tic that the protagonist (John Carter) of Burroughs’ 1912 book isn’t a hero worth celebrating, given that he fought for slavery as a Confederate officer. Still, Tic insisted that he’s willing to overlook the flaws of stories (they’re “like people”) because “I love that the heroes get to go on adventures in other worlds, defy insurmountable odds, defeat the monster, save the day.” It’s escapism, he reasoned: “Little negro boy from the South Side of Chicago don’t notoriously get to do that.”

Tic should have listened to his travel companion. Burroughs’ novel is virulently racist and filled with tropes to that effect, including the characterization of Natives being savage, and even when Natives are allowed to escape that stereotype, they’re still nowhere near as honorable as the “civilized” white presence represented by John Carter. Burroughs’ seminal pulp story went on to influence many scientists as well as fiction writers, who were embraced by readers seeking escapism. And although Tic would love to overlook flaws that exist in the stories that he adores, he (along with Leti and George) can find no escape from the reality of Jim Crow America.

The works of H.P. Lovecraft, obviously

Howard Phillips Lovecraft’s legacy is, like that of Burroughs, appallingly racist, and this scene between Tic and George serves as a window for the horrors that follow. Tic’s love for “pulp trash” was clearly opposed by his father, Montrose, who’s gone missing and left a bizarre letter about a family legacy in what at first looks like “Arkham” (like the sci-fi/pulp publishing house) but turns out to be Ardham, Massachusetts. It’s a place that hasn’t popped up on the census in centuries and sits in the middle of nowhere and far from any designated points in The Safe Negro Travel Guide, which is based upon the all-too-real Negro Motorist Green Book.

Within this discussion, Tic and George debated whether Lovecraft’s “home of corpse reanimator Herbert West” could refer to Ardham as a real place. Despite the letter not even slightly resembling the way that Montrose actually speaks, they traveled to a place where sundown brings even more horror than daylight. It’s worth noting that, although the Re-Animator story dealt one of the first literary mentions of a zombie-like uprising of monsters, what the group encountered is more vampire-like in nature.

Ray Bradbury and a surreal car chase

Another writer beloved by Atticus (he’s fond of Bradbury’s 1950s short-story collection, The Martian Chronicles) gets namechecked by George during dinner at the house of Leti’s brother. The group had barely escaped a car chase unscathed following the intervention of a silver car that appeared to toss up an invisible barrier against a group of good ol’ white boys (who were incensed at the trio asking to be served at the Simonsville diner, where Uncle George reminded Atticus why the White House is white).

From there, we got a glimpse of a mysterious blonde woman that emerges from the silver car that we see several times and hear stories about (presumably, it’s the car that picked up Montrose went he went missing). The connections here aren’t explicit (and I might be reading into things too much), but the crash could refer to Bradbury’s 1947 story, “The Crowd,” which connects back in a ghostly way to a car accident that Bradbury witnessed as a child. The silver color of the car in the Lovecraft County crash scene might also be a nod to the silver vehicles of 1953’s Fahrenheit 451. All of that went down, of course, following this reminder from George.

A few loose ends:

The monsters of Devon County

The deceptively winding terrain of Devon County is where sh*t got real, starting with Sheriff Hunt, who degradingly informed the group that they’re standing in a “sundown county.” And we’ve got another chase scene, this time a truly terrifying one that ended in a roadblock, where literal monsters surface (George got to drop a Bram Stoker reference after figuring out that they’re vampire-esque and fear light) and end up transforming a lawman into one of them. How fitting, not to mention one of the show’s many reminders that Black history and horror are often interchangeable terms.

All hail Leti

I simply needed to point out that Leti saved the day (twice) while driving a car after her male companions didn’t want a woman to drive.

And introducing William

Would you have walked into that house at the end of the episode? Tic, Leti, and George definitely noted the silver car as they approached, and here’s their host. He looks… fun.

HBO’s ‘Lovecraft Country’ airs Sundays at 9:00pm EST.

After a few weeks off, Last Week Tonight returned to HBO on Sunday (following the premiere of Lovecraft Country) with an episode centered about jury duty in the United States. You can watch that segment here, but before host John Oliver got into how “the role of a court is not to make it f*cking easy by having cases heard by only a group of white people,” he touched on President Trump beating the birther drum. Yes, again.

“The big news was Kamala Harris being announced as Biden’s running mate, a decision that sent conservatives scrambling for attack strategies, from claiming it’s an ‘extreme, far-left’ ticket — which it absolutely isn’t — to a baseless accusation that she may not meet the citizenship requirements to hold the office despite being very much born in the United States. It’s a depressing resurgence of birtherism, so of course Trump jumped all over it,” Oliver said. Trump told reporters last week that he heard Harris “doesn’t meet the requirements. I have no idea if that’s right. I would have assumed that the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president.”

Harris was born in California.

“It’s frankly amazing how slow Trump is to respond to so many things like, I don’t know, public health crises,” Oliver cracked, “yet when it comes to amplifying racist conspiracy theories, suddenly he’s The Flash on cocaine.” The host then brought up the “batshit theories” being peddled by Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right politician from Georgia who is favored to win a congressional seat, and QAnon supporters everywhere.

“Many QAnon supporters believe in a global conspiracy involving a ring of Satan-worshipping, child-molesting criminals led by prominent Democrats that includes everyone from Hillary Clinton to Tom Hanks to a Mexican cement company. They also believe information about it is being leaked via cryptic posts on the internet by someone with very high Q-level security clearance, which sounds just as made-up as it definitely is,” Oliver explained. He then summed up the dangers of whack-a-doodle theories:

“It’s bad enough to encounter these conspiracy theories online, [but] it is worse to potentially encounter them in the halls of Congress. I would love to be shocked that the Republican leadership is embracing an ongoing troll with a history of racist comments but the truth is they’ve been doing that for years now because you can only see Greene as a disturbing anomaly if you ignore the basic facts that when it comes to the modern Republican party, where they go one, they go all.”

You can watch the entire episode here.

Adele’s latest album, 25, came out in 2015, and five years later, fans are thirsting for more from the legendary singer. One fan recently asked the singer directly where her new music is, and he got an answer.

Over the weekend, Adele shared a recommendation about a self-help book, but some folks in the comments were more interested in a new release from Adele. A fan asked in the comments of the Instagram post, “Adele where’s the album,” followed by a crying emoji. Adele actually answered them, writing, “I honestly have no idea.”

There were signs earlier this year that a new record from Adele would arrive at some point this year. In January, her managers suggested that 2020 would be the year for the 25 follow-up, and while officiating a friend’s wedding in February, Adele told those in attendance, “Expect my album in September.”

However, those things were said before the coronavirus pandemic had a strong grip over the world and changed the entire music industry. So, while it’s possible that Adele intended then to release a new album towards the end of 2020, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the pandemic changed her plans to the point where she’s not sure exactly when her next release will drop.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, Kanye West and his Sunday Service Choir have only managed to put on a handful of Sunday Service performances in 2020. Now, though, months since the last one, Kanye and the choir made their return, giving a picturesque performance at Kanye’s Wyoming ranch.

Kanye shared some videos and photos from the performance, writing, “Praise God [praying emoji]. We would like to thank our staff for making sure all Covid safety guidelines were followed today during Sunday Service at our West Mountains family ranch in Wyoming. We are beyond blessed to be able to share the love of Christ through worship #SUNDAYSERVICEISBACK.”

Kim Kardashian (with whom Kanye has had some bumps in the marital road recently) was in attendance, and she also shared some videos from the event. She also offered some more details about the performance, revealing that it was filmed and that “the music will be shared soon,” writing, “For anyone wondering, Kanye’s team took every precaution to ensure the choir’s health and safety which is always top priority. It was filmed today without an audience. The music will be shared soon for anyone who could use a some uplifting.”

Watch clips from the return of Sunday Service above and below.

Something about this Getty photo of Seth Rogen looking happy for Ryan Reynolds (accepting a Deadpool-related award) at the 2016 MTV Movie Awards warms my heart. Maybe it’s the purity of Zac Efron that’s sealing the deal here, but I should get to the point: Rogen and Reynolds were both called upon to join forces for the greater good, in line with Sharon Stone coming for people who won’t wear masks during the pandemic. Both men rose to the challenge.

Here’s what happened: last week, British Columbia Premiere John Horgan name-checked both Canadian-born actors to implore young adults to help stop the Covid-19 spread by declining to gather.

Rogen issued a literally-blunt response that encouraged people to pick up the blunt instead. “Please do not go out to parties and BBQs and other large gatherings!” he tweeted. “The COVID is still out there! It’s more fun to hang out alone and smoke weed and watch movies and TV shows anyway! Do that instead! Thank you!”

Short, sweet, and full of weed on Rogen’s behalf will hopefully work some good. Meanwhile, Reynolds got a lot wordier by tweeting his “message” that he supposedly left with Horgan’s office. Naturally, the Detective Pikachu fired a shot at Hugh Jackman over plastic surgery before pointing out that young people are getting sick and dying from this virus. In addition, he’d also like his mom, Tammy, to be able to go outside and “go full Mrs. Robinson” without worrying about death. Goodness:

“My mom, I mean, she doesn’t want to be cooped in her apartment all day; she wants to be out there cruising Kitsilano Beach, looking for some young 30-something Abercrombie burnout to go full Mrs. Robinson on. She is insatiable. But here’s the thing. I hope that young people in BC don’t kill my mom, frankly, or [environmental scientist] David Suzuki, or each other. Let’s not kill anyone. I think that’s reasonable.”

Mom must be proud. Listen to the message below.

The explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut on August 4 left unimaginable damage, leaving 171 people killed, thousands injured, dozens missing, and about 300,000 homeless. In the wake of the tragedy, a number of high profile people have donated to help, including The Weeknd as well as an Oscar-winning actor, the latter who, at least at first, preferred to be anonyous.

Among the many buildings partially destroyed by the explosion was the one belonging to Le Chef, the esteemed restaurant once visited by the late Anthony Bourdain. A GoFundMe page was set up by filmmaker Amanda Bailly and journalist Richard Hall, and they were surprised to receive a generous donation from someone who named Russell Crowe. The two took to Twitter to spread the news about the sizable donation, writing, “Someone called Russell Crowe made a very generous donation to our Le Chef fundraiser. But not sure if it’s *the* @russellcrowe.”

But it was the Russell Crowe. The Oscar-winning actor revealed himself on Twitter, writing “I thought that he would have probably done so if he was still around,” Crowe wrote. “I wish you and LeChef the best and hope things can be put back together soon.”

As per the GoFundMe page, Le Chef is located in the neighborhood closest to the explosion, and over the years it has “survived war and economic crises.” And yet it was the port explosion that “left it in shambles.” Bourdain described Le Chef as “a legendary spot, famed for its simple, straightforward, home-style classics.”

Bourdan famously visited Beirut for an Emmy-nominated episode of his first food and travel show No Reservations, which found him and his crew trapped in the city due to the sudden outbreak of the Israel-Lebanon War. Their first stop before the strife broke out was indeed Le Chef, which said “felt kind of familiar, like a New York diner.”

The GoFundMe was asking for $15,000, a third of which came from Crowe. As of August 16, it had exceeded its goal, raising over $18,000.

(Via Deadline)

The Los Angeles Lakers will begin their hopeful quest for a 17th championship — and first in a decade — on Tuesday when they face the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of their first round matchup in Orlando. For LeBron James, it’ll be business as usual trying to make a run to an NBA Finals, but for Anthony Davis and many of the rest of the Lakers key contributors it will be a new experience.

The last time the Lakers had a top star with serious postseason experience it was Kobe Bryant leading the Lakers to titles in 2009 and 2010, and if L.A. gets beyond the first round of the playoffs this year they have plans to honor their former star. According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers will wear their Black Mamba jerseys for the conference semifinals and beyond should they make it through the red-hot Blazers, paying tribute to Kobe’s legacy.

It’ll be the latest effort of the team to honor the star who died tragically in January in a helicopter crash, as the team hosted an emotional remembrance of Bryant prior to their first game back after his death and have consistently spoken about how his memory is always with them. This year’s playoff run figured to feature plenty of Kobe tributes should they have been playing at home in L.A., so wearing their snakeskin Black Mamba uniforms is a nice way to bring that to the Orlando Bubble.

Jay Williams, like most of us, is feeling a bit anxious at the moment. After months of working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s returned to the ESPN studio for NBA Countdown as the playoffs get set to begin and, on Monday, he’ll be in studio for his maiden voyage on ESPN Radio as he, Keyshawn Johnson, and Zubin Mehenti launch their new morning show: Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin from 6-10 a.m. ET.

“There’s been a heightened sense of anxiety,” Williams says of his recent return to the studio. “My daughter is immune suppressed. So is my mom — she’s had two kidney transplants. So, I’ve been hyper diligent about it, but ESPN’s done a really good job of sanitizing everything and the minimum amount of people are in the studio that need to be there and we’re all wearing the proper PPE until we are live on air. So, it’s been OK. Compared to what other people have to go through on a day-to-day level, there’s no comparison, right. At the same time, it’s been pretty insane times. Working from home for the past three or four months, you’re like, ‘Oh, I can work from home and still spend time with my family.’ But there’s something so unique about being in the presence of others and being able to react and not having a lag. It’s been cool to get that feeling back.”

When ESPN announced its new radio lineup, headlined by the morning show change that saw Golic & Wingo end its run in favor of the new trio of Williams, Johnson, and Mehenti, it raised plenty of eyebrows. Creating a wholly new show with three members who – while they all separately have years of experience – haven’t worked on a radio show together in the morning drive timeslot came as a surprise to some. It’s also led many to ask the group the same question: How do you think you guys will work together?

It’s a question Williams has grown a bit tired of, noting it’s a fairly new concern in the media landscape. “Before Mike & Mike worked together, there wasn’t this whole evaluation of their chemistry and how that would play out,” Williams says. “Before Mike & the Mad Dog were together it wasn’t like, ‘Hey, what’s their chemistry going to be like?’”

And yet, it’s something that will persist at least until the three get some time on the microphones together and build an identity for the show. It may be viewed as a challenge by some, but it is something Williams is excited for. A 13-year veteran of the industry despite being just 38 years old, Williams has climbed the ranks from ESPNU analyst to ESPN college hoops analyst to a spot on College Gameday to a move to the NBA side on Countdown and a regular spot on Get Up!

That journey has afforded him a tremendous amount of experience as well as some perspective on who he is in the media space.

“I think the way I saw my personality could fit in is that I’m always malleable,” Williams says. “Nobody can stop me from being me, and I’m gonna play off other people’s strengths, and I gotta give a lot of that credit to being around Coach K for three years. It’s like, how do you try to bring the best out of other people?”

Those years on the ESPN TV circuit has also given him an appreciation for time and nuance, and it’s what particularly excites him about the opportunity to work in radio. Where TV is about being as concise as possible to fit the most into a finite timeslot as you can, radio affords you so much more space to dive deeper than is ever afforded on most television shows. Time constraints are the enemy of nuance and context. They force you to condense an idea into its most basic form, which on sports television can often results in the creation of a hot take. The thought behind it gets lost, any context for the opinion swept away neatly in the corner so that what’s presented is only the most concentrated essence.

You’re left with declarations. A list. A ranking. A sweeping statement, iron-clad in its refusal to budge.

“I’ll give you NBA Countdown as a prime example,” Williams says of the time constraints of TV. “It’s Maria. It’s Jalen Rose. It’s Paul Pierce and myself. Paul Pierce is remote so he’s on a delay. So you have three minutes for the A-block. A minute and 45 seconds is for a feature piece. So, that leaves you a minute and 15 seconds for a thought on a game — let’s say you’re watching Devin Booker play since he’s been killing everybody. By the time Maria asks you a question, you’re at a minute. Now you’re sharing a minute with two other people and they have things they want to get across. Let’s say by the time Jalen Rose is done with his point you have 40 seconds. By the time Paul is done with his point, you have 15 seconds, and then everything transitions your way and you hear the producer in your ear, ‘10, 9, 8, 7…’ So you’re trying to squeeze 10 pounds into a two-pound jar. It just doesn’t work. You don’t get a chance to explain thoroughly what you’re talking about.”

Williams continues.

“So, that’s difficult TV,” he says. “What happens is, you end up trying to say, like, what’s going to be catchy? What’s going to get people’s attention? But you’re also trying to stay true to what you see or what you evaluate. So it’s a very tricky position to be in. Whereas now with radio, Key can cook for a minute and a half or two minutes and then be like, ‘OK Jay what do you think?’ And, ‘Pfft, what do I think? Let me tell you what I think. Four things you just said there, I don’t know what the…’ and you can actually go down a couple of layers, which is drastically different than trying to squeeze two layers into 10 seconds. It’s just different worlds, man.”

The former Duke standout looks forward to having the airspace to move away from that. To present opinions with context and layers. To have conversations that yield growth from both parties — maybe even an admission of being wrong — in lieu of yelling and standoffishness. Disagreements will happen and Williams isn’t shy about sharing his opinion, but for a man whose adult life has been so much about the journey rather than the destination, his approach to sports conversations and opinions is the same. He’s not afraid of stepping back off of an opinion when new information is presented or someone brings something up he hasn’t considered.

To refuse to do so would lead him down a path he doesn’t want.

“Then you become a caricature,” Williams says. “I’m not trying to become that, man.”

Recently, Williams has had that with the debate over whether to play college football, where he was strongly for cancelling the season. After hearing Trevor Lawrence bring up how for many players being on campus and at the facility, where testing was regular and guys were closely monitored, he adapted his viewpoint.

“I was like, damn, you’re right Trevor Lawrence, but I will say to you this, why do they have to go home?” Williams observes. “These are student athletes. You don’t need to have a football season, and they can still remain on campus as athletes and still have that protection that’s in place, you just don’t need to have 10 conference games. But you know what, why don’t we think about postponing the season before we think about canceling? So, what I feel like happens in that conversation is people are like, ‘Oh yeah, Jay, I can’t believe you said you’d cancel the season.’ I’m like, well that’s what I thought. Trevor Lawrence has changed the way that I thought, and that’s what’s supposed to happen with constructive conversation.”

Allowing yourself to listen to an opposing viewpoint, rather than digging in further, is where nuance comes in. And as Williams sees it, makes for more lively discussion, regardless of medium.

“I think being able to learn and evolve while having fun,” Williams adds, “while being lighthearted, while telling stories about your experiences personally — I think that’s good TV and good radio, man.”

Williams is excited about working with Johnson, who is a veteran of the ESPN airwaves both on TV (where he’s returning as a member of the NFL Live team) and radio, having spent years with a show on ESPN Los Angeles. As Williams notes, he has spent his media career finding himself and his voice, arriving at a point where he’s fully confident in who he is as a broadcaster and confident in being authentic. Johnson has had that his whole life, being unabashedly Keyshawn. That dynamic is something Williams thinks will work terrifically on their new show, with Mehenti helping bridge it all together as a veteran host of both SportsCenter and various radio programs.

Keyshawn and JWill bring unique perspectives of the two sports that dominate ESPN’s airwaves. Johnson as a former All-Pro receiver in the NFL and Williams as a former top NBA prospect who’s spent more than a decade covering hoops at the college and pro level for ESPN. However, both are ravenous fans of the other, and can bring those perspectives to challenge the other, even in the sport they have unique expertise in.

“The beautiful thing about Key and I over the last couple weeks is, we’ve been on so many affiliate calls, so many sponsor calls, I’ve let him cook.” Williams says. “And he lets me cook, and we have a lot of banter back and forth. He’s a USC guy. He tries to throw shade my way all the time about this Duke thing. I threw shade back his way about the Jets, like when are you guys going to get ownership that actually wants to win? So we joke back and forth, and I got obviously the Bulls connection. I didn’t play 10 plus years in the NBA like Keyshawn did as he played in the NFL, which gives him such unique POV to how he sees football. You know, how I see football is as a fan. My cousin is David Tyree. I grew up with the Giants from Jersey. I know the NFC East like the back of my hand. He’s a fan of basketball. I follow basketball because that’s been my job, and plus I’ve worked out with all these guys.

So I feel like there’s a beautiful clashing of these two sports where we’re both fans of the other person’s sports and we can challenge each other on what our takes are, but we are also going to be real about who we are. That’s the one thing I know Keyshawn’s always done. For me, growing up in front of the camera, I’ve had to learn how to do that but now at 38, 39, I’m like, ‘Yo, this is who I am, and I’m ever growing and evolving as a person.’ And we want people to grow along with that ride. And I think that’s a pretty cool and versatile angle of attack.”

That dynamic is something Williams is excited for, as he continues to shed the label of being a “basketball guy.” It’s something that any former player that enters the media space has to go through, shaking free of the concept that their value in the media space is tied solely to the sport they played, when, like anyone else, they have passions and interests outside of their profession. It’s something Williams has gone through twice, first losing his basketball career and having to find a new path and now shifting from a hoops analyst to someone who talks about all sports on Get Up! and now ESPN’s morning drive radio show. Looking back now, Williams points to his career-ending injury as the best thing that’s happened to him because it forced him to question his own identity as well as everyone in his orbit.

“The greatest gift that’s ever been given to me is when I had basketball taken away from me,” Williams says. “Because there was so much of me that was associated with what I did as my identity, and what that did was when that association with my identity was taken away, it wasn’t just taken from me, it was taken from everybody else that knew me. So the all of a sudden it became: What’s your narrative? If you’re not dribbling the ball and killing it, who are you? And that was a question I had to ask myself. It’s a question I still ask myself as I continue to grow as a person.”

His journey and career evolution now takes him into the radio space, where he’ll be free to talk about what he’s passionate about, which, if folks aren’t aware of yet, extends far, far beyond basketball. His experiences serve as the lens he sees the sports world through. He might not have played football, but he can still relate to the football player who suffered a gruesome injury and now has to work his way back in the public eye, unsure he’ll ever be the same player again. He’s also understanding of what he doesn’t know, and is excited about the chance to bring in ESPN’s roster of analysts that can lend that expertise and provide him opportunities to bounce ideas and opinions off of, always seeking to bring the audience a bit closer along the way.

He might not know what it’s like standing in the pocket on third-and-13 to explain something Carson Wentz is doing, but he’s more than willing to bring Dan Orlovsky on the show to detail what that feels like, then give his own personal insight layered on top of that. For Williams it’s all about nuance and finding the intricacies of the game. It’s something he keeps coming back to, and it’s a passion that readily exudes from him. He’s hopeful the audience will respond to that as well as he tries to connect his own viewpoint to the expertise of the deep roster at the Worldwide Leader.

“People will say to me, why do I need to hear your opinion on home maintenance?” Williams says. “Well, cause I have a home. I don’t know everything about it, but when my furnace broke I’ve gotta go fix it or pay someone to come fix it and show me how to do it so I can do it better the next time. And that’s what radio is going to be for me. Can I tell you what it is to kick a PK if you’re playing for an MLS team? No, but I played soccer growing up and my wife played soccer, so once again, commonality. How do you build a bridge? That’s what I’m all about, building bridges.”

We’re over five months into an almost nation-wide lockdown, and even after all this, after millions of diagnosed cases and over 160,000 deaths in America alone, there are still some who question the severity of the pandemic in a nation whose leaders are otherwise occupied. One person has had enough: Sharon Stone took to Instagram over the weekend to reveal that her immunocompromised sister, Kelly, is in the hospital, sick with COVID-19. And she knows who to blame: people not wearing masks.

“My sister Kelly, who already has lupus, now has COVID-19. This is her hospital room. One of you Non-Mask wearers did this,” the actress wrote. She continued:

“She does not have an immune system. The only place she went was the pharmacy. There is no testing in her county unless you are symptomatic, & then it’s 5 day wait for results. Can YOU FACE THIS ROOM ALONE? Wear a mask! For yourself and others. Please .”

Stone doesn’t mention where her sister lives, but what she’s going through is common in many parts of the country, especially non-cities. Indeed, The New York Times reported that testing has gone down even as cases continue to spike.

The legendary actress, forever in the history books thanks to iconic turns in the likes of Basic Instinct, continued to post about her sister on Instagram, first with a picture of her and her husband, and then in a video in which Stone herself pleaded with Americans to vote — although given the brouhaha with the United States Post Office, even that may be tricky.

(Via EW)

22 of the NBA’s 30 teams completed an eight-pack of seeding games and, for the most part, the quality of play was top-notch. Unfortunately for the league, some of the drama of playoff positioning evaporated before the final day but, in contrast, basketball observers were treated to a wildly entertaining play-in game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Memphis Grizzlies.

Before the playoff begin on Monday, it is time to wrap up the seeding games and put them in a shiny bow. As was the case with the first two editions of our DIME power rankings from the Bubble, these are Bubble-only considerations and, well, that becomes quite obvious right out of the gate.

Here we go.

1. Phoenix Suns (8-0, Last week — 1st)

The Suns didn’t make it to the playoffs. In fact, Phoenix didn’t even make it to the play-in tournament. Still, Monty Williams, Devin Booker and company put on quite a show in Orlando, going undefeated and putting legitimate pressure on the Blazers and Grizzlies. These are Bubble-only rankings and, well, nobody has a better profile at Walt Disney World than the Suns.

2. Toronto Raptors (7-1, Last week — 2nd)

Despite the reality of a locked-in seed, the Raptors posted the best defensive rating in Orlando by a comfortable margin. In some ways, that shouldn’t be a surprise, but Toronto’s 7-1 mark speaks for itself. They were very good in the seeding games and enter the playoffs feeling very good about things.

3. Portland Trail Blazers (7-2, Last week — 5th)

Technically, the play-in game didn’t count in the standings, but Portland really won seven of their nine games before the playoffs. Damian Lillard was absolutely unbelievable and, with a spot in the postseason on the line, C.J. McCollum and company also stepped up. It will be tough sledding against the Lakers, but the Blazers took care of business and now at least have a shot at a shocking playoff run.

4. Boston Celtics (5-3, Last week — 4th)

Boston essentially punted the finale against Washington but, before that, the Celtics were playing at a high level. Boston finished only behind Phoenix in terms of net rating in the seeding games and, without high-level injury concerns that plague some other teams, the Celtics are in fine shape ahead of their first round matchup with the Sixers.

5. L.A. Clippers (5-3, Last week — 8th)

The Clippers haven’t been able to deploy their entire roster yet. That’s a bit of a concern with a deep playoff run looming but, on the bright side, they have been good even while missing pieces. Everyone is now in the Bubble, and soon we should see Doc Rivers deploy his full rotation.

6. Brooklyn Nets (5-3, Last week — 11th)

Not only did the Nets finish above .500 in the seeding games, but Brooklyn managed to keep the No. 7 seed despite having arguably the least impressive roster of available players. Shouts to Jacque Vaughn for getting this group to buy in, and the Nets nearly kept the Blazers out of the playoffs with their feistiness.

7. Indiana Pacers (6-2, Last week — 9th)

A blowout loss to the Heat may be a harbinger of ugliness to come but, from a Bubble standpoint, Indiana played well. It is probably fair to assume that T.J. Warren isn’t the best player in the NBA, but he was quietly good before the shutdown in March and the Pacers were operating without Domantas Sabonis.

8. San Antonio Spurs (5-3, Last week — 6th)

The Spurs had a puncher’s chance to reach the play-in game and they nearly pulled it off. Gregg Popovich’s team played quite well for the most part in Orlando and, with a break here or there, the famed playoff streak could still be alive.

9. Oklahoma City Thunder (4-4, Last week — 10th)

Oklahoma City didn’t need to put the pedal to the floor in the seeding games, and they largely didn’t. At the same time, there were encouraging signs, particularly in the development of Darius Bazley and the presence of Andre Roberson. The Thunder should be more than frisky in the first round against Houston.

10. Houston Rockets (4-4, Last week — 3rd)

Speaking of Houston, it was a largely unremarkable run for the Rockets in the seeding games, and that is fine. James Harden is (very) good but, if Russell Westbrook misses most or all of the first round series against OKC with a quad injury, the Rockets could be in for a big-time battle.

11. Milwaukee Bucks (3-5, Last week — 13th)

Milwaukee didn’t need to care about their performance in the seeding games. At all. The Bucks still played their guys at times, to largely positive results, but any consternation about Milwaukee’s showing is probably overblown. They’re still good.

12. Los Angeles Lakers (3-5, Last week — 15th)

The sentiment shared about the Bucks above also applies to the Lakers, at least to some degree. With that said, Los Angeles really didn’t play well at times, leading to some blazing takes on the internet. When the lights come on, LeBron and company should be fine, but they also don’t have a ton of lineups that everyone loves at the highest levels.

13. Philadelphia 76ers (4-4, Last week — 14th)

Without Ben Simmons, it is tough to pick the Sixers in the first round against the Celtics. In terms of Bubble-only evaluation, Philadelphia was generally fine-ish, though unimpressive in the grand scheme.

14. Miami Heat (3-5, Last week — 7th)

When it mattered, the Heat sent quite a message by thumping the Pacers. Other than that, however, it wasn’t a tremendous run for Miami in the seeding games. The Heat did make the change to start Bam Adebayo at center, though, and that is a wrinkle they project to lean on as the playoffs continue.

15. Dallas Mavericks (3-5, Last week — 12th)

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Dallas was really good on offense in the seeding games. Dallas was also really bad on defense in the seeding games. Some of that is noise with altered/limited lineups, but the Mavericks are going to have to figure out how to get stops in a hurry if they want to threaten the Clippers.

16. Denver Nuggets (3-5, Last week — 16th)

In the spirit of bad defense, we have the Nuggets! Denver finished dead-last in the seeding games in defensive rating, allowing 121.7 points per 100 possessions, and it felt ghastly at times. On the bright side, the showcasing of Michael Porter Jr. has inspired confidence in Denver’s offensive upside, and they do have a winnable first-round matchup in a shorthanded Utah team.

17. Utah Jazz (3-5, Last week — 18th)

Without Bojan Bogdanovic, expectations were measured for the Jazz as the restart began. Through eight games, it appears those expectations may have been accurate, with Utah struggling a bit to a 3-5 mark. Donovan Mitchell did explode late in the process, though, and he is capable of carrying the Jazz on the offensive end when it counts.

18. Memphis Grizzlies (2-6, Last week — 20th)

Memphis put together a quality performance in the play-in, nearly outlasting the Blazers to force a second game. Before that, however, the Grizzlies really struggled, and their built-in advantage for the No. 8 seed crumbled as a result. They’ll be back, but it was clear by the end that Memphis wasn’t operating as a playoff-level team, especially with a limited roster.

19. Orlando Magic (3-5, Last week — 17th)

Well, the Magic made the playoffs. Their prize is a matchup against the Bucks. Best of luck.

20. Sacramento Kings (3-5, Last week — 21st)

To their credit, the Kings didn’t just pack it up after they were eliminated. Sacramento won their last two games, albeit against opponents that weren’t invested, and their overall statistical profile improved as a result. The Kings were still a disappointment, but it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been and now major organizational changes are coming.

21. New Orleans Pelicans (2-6, Last week — 19th)

Thanks for nothing, Pelicans. New Orleans was featured on national television throughout the process but, in the end, the Pelicans put together a listless performance that they will want to forget as quickly as possible. It just wasn’t great.

22. Washington Wizards (1-7, Last week — 22nd)

With Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans out of action, the Wizards had the worst available roster in the bubble and the results displayed their weaknesses. Washington did end on a high note with a win over an unmotivated Celtics team, though, and it was nice that every team garnered at least one victory in Orlando.