Month: January 2021

There are things you simply can’t do in the NBA. Ever since the Malice at the Palace, the league has cracked down on fighting, handing hefty fines and automatic suspensions anytime someone throws a punch. But they’ve also tried to clean up interactions between the players and officials.

Earlier this decade, things had reached a fever pitch in terms of players arguing calls after almost every play, such that it was becoming too much of a distraction as it interrupted game flow and detracted from the overall viewing experience for fans. Hence the “Respect the Game” initiative.

There are strict expectations about how players are required to treat the referees, and avoiding making physical contact. But sometimes these things are inevitable and plunge us into some grey(ish) territory. Take, for instance, this incident with Jordan Clarkson during the Jazz’s game against the Suns on Thursday night.

Jordan Clarkson got a tech after shoving an official. pic.twitter.com/y1TQwAxv7t

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 1, 2021

On Friday, the NBA handed down a $25,000 fine to Clarkson, on top of the technical foul he was issued after the play.

$25K fine for Jordan Clarkson as a result of making contact with an official.

Here’s the video of the incident:https://t.co/oeLSDOrCO2

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 2, 2021

Clarkson was certainly in the wrong in terms of pushing the official here. But the frustration was also understandable, given that Clarkson had just made a steal on the inbounds pass and then lost possession as his momentum carried him into the referee, who was right in the middle of the play. Regardless, the zero-tolerance policy means that players will always be in the wrong in instances like this.

After the world learned of the death of rapper MF Doom yesterday, tributes, admiration and support have been pouring in from the hip-hop community celebrating Doom’s legacy. An important one came today from Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), who posted a video of his 2014 performance of the Madvillain’s 2004 Madvillainy track “All Caps.” His caption was, naturally, posted in all caps too and paid homage to Doom with gratitude:

“ALL CAPS

CAPS LOCK ON.
INNALAHI WA INNALAHI RAJOON
PARIS 2014 RECORDED LIVE ON SITE

INSPIRATION INFORMATION
THANK YOU AND THANK YOU AGAIN.
PEACE.”

Noting that the video was directed by Samuel Thiebaut and edited by Antoine Kerninon for Oleo Films, Bey honored the performer by posting his previous cover of the song and crediting him for inspiration. Though it’s still unknown what the cause of death for the man born Daniel Dumile was, his wife Jasmine shared yesterday that he “transitioned” earlier this year in October. During a year where the world was dealing with a global pandemic and loss of life in unfathomable numbers, it was a shock to get news of the underground rapper’s death on New Year’s Eve. But tributes like Bey’s help commemorate the impact he had. Watch the clip above.

The never-ending saga of infighting between Liam and Noel Gallagher of the Brit-rock band Oasis has become almost a joke in itself. The pair infamously use social media platforms, interviews, and whatever other means they can get their hands on to insult one another back and forth. After the band broke up in 2009 their relationship has been contentious and has prevented them from cashing in on what would surely be a lucrative reunion tour.

“Believe you me – it’s gonna happen very f*cking soon because he’s greedy and he loves money and he knows that it’s got to happen soon or it won’t happen,”Liam told NME in an interview last February. And he seems to be doubling down on the hope as of New Year’s Eve last night, when he wished his brother a happy new year and reiterated his desire to get the band back together. “HNY Noel love you long time 2021 is our year c’mon you know LG x,” Liam wrote.

No response from Noel yet, but considering “Wonderwall” is the first ’90s era song to pass a billion streams on Spotify, fans are still very much interested in the band’s music. Now it’s up to Noel.

Cobra Kai: Season 3 — (Netflix series) The good news? This The Karate Kid revival is still as much of an adrenaline shot as the last two rounds. The bad news? It’s also infuriatingly good. After Johnny and Daniel’s combined bad moves contributed heavily to Miguel landing in a hospital bed, Johnny’s looking for redemption. While he does the hard work in the hospital — and Kreese re-takes the dubious reigns of the Cobra Kai dojo, which makes me worried about him instructing Hawk to be even more of an anger-bear monster — Daniel-san heads to Okinawa, where an old rival is ready for him. The soul and fate of every sensei (and their students) are up for grabs.

Vikings: Season 6B — (Amazon Prime) The final ten episodes of the History Channel series are making their debut on streaming first. The epic saga comes to a close with grave consequences from the confrontations between the Vikings and the Rus. Ivar the Boneless has a last reckoning with the King, and there’s unfinished business all over England. Get ready for (of course) a violent and bloody end to the show.

The High Note — (Focus Features film on HBO, Saturday) Movies in 2020 didn’t fare so well in theaters, but HBO is giving this film a second whirl. The comedy-drama picture stars Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Zoë Chao, Bill Pullman, Eddie Izzard, and Ice Cube, and it’s about the personal assistant who aims to be a music producer while working for a famous singer.

The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: Part Four — (Netflix series) The Riverdale spinoff will come to a (planned) end with this installment starring Kiernan Shipka. This time around, the Devil-afflicted Nick’s attempting to win Sabrina back after surrendering to his darker urges, but The Eldritch Terrors have descended upon Greendale, and The Void could truly be the End of All Things. Can the Fright Club save the day? I’m (strangely) pulling for Harvey over here. And Salem the Cat. Meow.

Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:

Supermarket Sweep (Sunday, ABC 8:00 p.m.) — Leslie Jones and every bit of her enthusiasm will host contestants in this revival of the grocery-shopping game show.

The Outpost (Sunday, CW 9:00 p.m.) — An unexpected ally accompanies Talon and Zed back to The Outpost after it’s overrun. A sacrifice must be made in order to avoid defeat.

Shameless: Hall Of Shame (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — Another week of “special”-style treatment follows last week’s Mickey and Ian edition. This week, Kevin and V (and their fam) get the spotlight.

Your Honor (Sunday, Showtime 10:00 p.m.) — Panic-Cranstoning is still in high effect with Bryan Cranston’s bad-breaking judge realizing that he’s being blackmailed while the mob family still aims to avenge their son’s hit-and-run death.

In case you missed these recent picks:

Death To 2020 (Netflix special) — Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker has had it with 2020, too, which is saying a lot, given that he’s used to telling the most unsettling tales on the streaming waves. In this darkly comedic special, familiar faces (including Samuel L. Jackson, Leslie Jones, Hugh Grant, Kumail Nanjiani, Tracey Ullman, Lisa Kudrow, Cristin Milioti, and more) come together documentary-style while narrating real-life archival footage as renowned (yet fictitious) characters. It’s the year-end meltdown that you didn’t know that you needed.

Wonder Woman 1984 — (Warner Bros. film on HBO Max) Years ago, no one would have imagined the newest Wonder Woman movie heading straight to streaming (at the same time as some U.S. theaters), but here we are. And the end result ain’t dark and gritty but, instead, a lot like dessert. Gal Gadot’s Diana is done with World War I, and now she’s soaring through a mall food court and working in a museum. Watch out for that Cheetah (Kristen Wiig) and Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal), and yes, Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor is somehow back for more after presumably biting the dust.

Soul — (Pixar film on Disney+) Yep, this movie was scheduled for theaters, too, and you know the drill by now, but you’ve probably never seen anything like this Pixar installment. Jamie Foxx voices a jazz-obssessed music teacher in this existential and cosmic movie. His character dies, turns into a fuzzy blob, and then ends up in a place called The Great Before. There, he learns about the inception of souls and personalities before they head up to Earth. He ends up answering profound life questions for himself while exploring what makes life worth living.

Letterkenny: Season Nine (Hulu series) — This season, the Hockey Team digs into Judaism, Katy goes into the dating scene with guns blazing, and there are some strange sleepovers afoot. Oh, and we’re in post-fight territory with Hicks, Skids, and Hockey Players going to the “American Buck and Doe” event.

The Black Keys have been one of the most important forces in the indie rock era for the last two decades, and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their widely-acclaimed album, Brothers, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney decided to release a deluxe version of the project. Though it’s been out physically since mid-December, the songs from the reissue are available only today for the first time. New additions include previously unheard songs “Keep My Name Outta Your Mouth” (above) and “Black Mud Part II” (below).

The title of the record Brothers has special significance to the band, who have shared a bond over the last twenty years that is similar to family. ““I was thinking about what the record meant to me — how Dan and I had gone through this sh*t that brothers go through where you don’t get along, but then you do get along and realize it’s an unconditional love,” Carney said of the title in a press release.

Also included on the new collection is “Chop And Change,” which was previously only released on the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack. Aside from celebrating material from the Brothers era, the rock duo also released a brand new album, Let’s Rock in 2019. Check out both of the unheard songs above and stream the whole project here.

It’s still relatively early in the new NBA season, yet far enough removed from the offseason that it’s difficult to remember who went where in free agency and trades. It usually results in one of the Inside the NBA crew’s best segments, when they challenge Charles Barkley to his annual game of “Who He Play For?”

In all honesty, most of us probably wouldn’t fare much better than Chuck if it came down to it, and that probably applies to the players, as well. But something you don’t often see is a player briefly forgetting what team they currently play for, which is what happened to Steven Adams on Thursday night.

Adams, of course, was traded from OKC to New Orleans during the offseason, and when the Pelicans traveled to play the Thunder, his familiarity with the arena he called home for seven seasons — the entirety of his NBA career — caused a brief lapse in memory.

“Something in my brain switched. I was like, ‘Oh s–t. That’s right, I’m playing for New Orleans.‘”

Steven Adams’ return to OKC had him mixed up pic.twitter.com/VWLflTx1na

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 1, 2021

The Pelicans ended up getting the blowout win on New Year’s Eve, 113-80, and Adams played well in his return, finishing with a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds. With the victory, New Orleans move to 3-2 on the young season, as they look to establish themselves as one of the up-and-coming squads in the West.

One of the ways 2020 really stunk was the passing of NBA Hall of Fame inductee Kobe Bryant, who passed away his daughter, Gianna, and a number of others in a helicopter crash. It wasn’t hard to see people pay tribute to Bryant in a number of ways following that tragedy, whether it occurred in the immediate aftermath or at some point later in the year.

On Friday afternoon, a member of the Cincinnati Bearcats rang in the new year with a tribute to Bean. It wasn’t a surprise, though, because the young man has a name that inherently does this. Senior cornerback Coby Bryant picked off a pass by Georgia quarterback JT Daniels in the Peach Bowl, and after making his way back to the sideline, he went full Eastbay Funk Dunk in celebration.

As you can guess, Coby is a big fan of Kobe — his parents, he explained, named him after the Lakers star, but wanted him to “carve out his own legacy,” so they made a little tweak to the spelling.

“I always have to carry that every week in me,” Bryant told Keith Jenkins of Cincinnati.com about the weight that his name carries. The dunk, obviously, was a nice way to pay homage to that name, but the ultimate way for Bryant to do that on Friday would be to pick up a big win.

Even if the world at large was a dumpster fire during 2020, for some people, it was still a monumentally important year in the arc of their career. One of those people was Doja Cat, whose hit “Say So” catapulted the pop singer to new heights, including a No. 1 on the Billboard charts, a collaboration with Nicki Minaj, and the kind of pop stardom that many people crave but few achieve.

Given her new status, it’s no surprise that she was slated to perform at the New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show last night, helping bring in 2021 with a live rendition of one of her 2019 tracks, “Like That.” Both “Say So” and “Like That” are off Doja’s Hot Pink album that might’ve been released two years ago now, but is still definitely getting a lot of attention. She performed both at the show last night, complete with an intense outfit change between the two. But since most people have probably seen and heard “Say So” everywhere by now, the “Like That” performance stood out a little more.

With a couple backup dancers on stage with her rocking white afros, the singer herself sported a white sparkly wig and an-all white sheer bodysuit strategically bedazzled with plenty of sparkles and a feathered skirt. With a very small group of people in the audience, all masked, Doja still kept the energy high. She didn’t say much to introduce the song but definitely happily shouted out “2021!” before beginning. Watch the performance above.

Last night during a virtual livestream NYE concert, Justin Bieber debuted a brand new song called “Anyone.” He released the video shortly after too, in which he plays a small town, simple fighter who works his way up to the national championship. All with the support of his loving, devoted girlfriend of course, who doesn’t seem to have much purpose besides loving her good time boxing champ. The parallels drawn here between the fighter and living ini the public eye as a pop star are clear, so much so that it’s almost surprising not to see Hailey herself playing the wife role in the clip.

Still, it’s a sweet song about the power of love that fits neatly into the new oeuvre of Bieber songs we got in the back half of 2020, joining “Holy,” “Lonely,” and “Monster” for what amounts to a new mini-EP from Bieber.

Or is it paving the way for another full-length album? Hard to say at this point. Even more fascinating for fans who have spent large quantities of time tracking Justin’s tattoos is the behind-the-scenes video he shared of getting them all covered to portray a straight-laced boxer in the video. Check out that clip below and the video above. Surely we’ll be hearing a lot more from Bieber very soon in 2021.

Even during a global pandemic, there’s one pop star who never stops working. That’s Beyonce, of course, who took to Instagram to share a recap video of her year that included philanthropy to support communities hurting under the weight of COVID-19, collaborating with Megan Thee Stallion, her releases with Adidas for Ivy Park, and the Black Is King visual album, to name a few.

“Cheers to a New Year Beehive!!” she wrote in the caption for the IGTC footage. “2020 divided us and united us. Most could not see loved ones and we felt too many loses, but we were united by our humanity. This year for me has been about celebrating joy, chasing happiness, and living in love. As we all look forward and pray for new beginnings, my wish for you is that you honor yourself and those you love. Celebrate that you are an important individual who contributes to our beautiful collective.”

Bey is also the kind of friend who understands that the best way to get through something horrible is to poke fun at it, and made her friends and inner circle custom “F*ck 2020” necklaces as gifts. Now that the year from hell is behind us, here’s hoping we can get the world back on track so seeing Beyonce on tour instead of on Instagram is a possibility again.