Month: June 2021

In a few days, on June 20, Foo Fighters will perform at Madison Square Garden for the storied venue’s first full-capacity show of the year. Ahead of then, though, the band actually performed another show, at Canyon Club, a 600-person-capacity venue in Agoura Hills, California. That was last night, and the show was only for fans who could show proof of vaccination. This ruffled the feathers of some anti-vaxers, who decided to protest the event.

Foo Fighters fans shared photos of the scene, with one writing, “This is what happens when you just want to attend a @foofighters concert at a small local concert hall and the next thing out know you’re a ‘Vaccine Segregationist’.”

CBS Los Angeles quotes one protestor as saying, “What they’re doing is saying only vax people… separating humans is not OK. Those of us who have healthy immune systems should be able to enjoy these freedoms just like everybody else.”

Variety reports that photos from the protest seem to show Ricky Schroder, an actor best known for his childhood role in the ’80s TV sitcom Silver Spoons, in attendance. Ahead of the event, he wrote on Facebook, “Dave Grohl is an ignorant punk who needs slapped for supporting Discrimination. Ignorance comes in all shapes & sizes. Kurt Cobain is laughing at you Dave along with Millions of Patriots….Fool.”

“I think it’s on you. This article will persuade the world that this is the right choice, or not.” These are the words of Late Night with Seth Meyers producer Mike Shoemaker, half-joking, but half not, that the onus is on me to convince you that the current iteration of Late Night – this one that currently does not have a studio audience – is a Late Night finally firing on all cylinders.

Now, it’s true I do believe that. And, yes, I showed up to studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Center on a hot June New York City Thursday afternoon with an agenda: to convince Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker of this (correct) opinion. But both Meyers and Shoemaker have been in television a long time and I know that they also know this, but haven’t fully decided quite what to do about it yet. So I, somewhat jokingly, but mostly seriously, said back to Shoemaker, “I don’t think this article needs to convince America, I think it’s just the two of you.” To which Shoemaker replied, “Now you know Seth’s secrets. That’s the way to do it.”

“Look, one day the audiences are going to come back and I’ll fall back in love with them. I feel very confident about that,” says Meyers. To which I respond there’s no part of me that believes that even a little bit. To which Meyers says, “That’s very fair of you to say. A very fair assessment based on how much I’m talking about enjoying them not being here.”

***

Since the Seth Meyers version of Late Night debuted in 2014, the show has undergone some tweaks here and there. There was the decision to start the show with Meyers seated at his desk instead of starting with the more traditional stand-up monologue. And there was the addition of the show’s now-signature feature, “A Closer Look.” but it would take world-changing-level circumstances to force Late Night (and everyone else in the world, really) to make significant changes to its format. The difference with Late Night, though, is the significant changes to its format have been for the better. It’s, now, less a structured late night talk show, and more a madcap hour featuring Seth Meyers and a carnival full of jokes from Amber Ruffin and Jeff Wright; a fake recap of a television show called Tiny Secret Whispers; weird off-camera characters Meyers just has full conversations with; yelling at his cue card guy, Wally; yelling at his writer Mike Scollins about jokes he doesn’t like; Al Pacino impressions; Werner Herzog impressions; Meyers’s new fake musical, Cicada Cicada; and, well, a lot of Meyers laughing. He’s almost now the late night equivalent of Mister Rogers (this is now a show that features talking inanimate objects, like paintings and craft-works) only with Meyers as sort of a playfully reluctant host to all this whimsy, but, by the end, can’t resist. Right now, it’s not a show easily comparable to any other iteration of Late Night, or any other talk show, really. And in the seven years Meyers has been hosting Late Night, I’ve never seen him happier.

“It got here sort of step-by-step,” says Meyers. “Starting with, of course, a pandemic and the many different iterations the show had taken until it’s reached its way back into an empty studio, post a Trump presidency. I feel like a lot of different things happened to make it what it is now.”

But, however, it got to what it is now, isn’t this the best version?

Meyers: “Well, we certainly are aware it’s the most natural version of the show we’ve ever done. Wouldn’t you agree with that?”

Shoemaker: “Yeah. Definitely, yes. I don’t even know if it’s natural, it’s certainly not labored. We don’t have to work hard to fit it into this box. It doesn’t take much of that. So in that sense, it is very natural.”

So in the past did you feel you were trying to fit Late Night into a box?

Shoemaker: “I think we always took how something would play to an audience into account.”

Meyers: “I mean, when I look back at this show and the sort of different acts it’s had, I think the first 18 months was probably the most we ever tried to fit it into a box, and what we thought a late night show was. And then we found our way via ‘A Closer Look,’ certainly, into doing the show we most wanted to do. But, now … I guess I thought we were doing the show we most wanted to do, but it wasn’t the show, so I was wrong. This is the show we’ve most wanted to do for sure.

So on that aforementioned hot New York City Thursday at studio 8G inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza, I watched a taping of Late Night with Seth Meyers. A thing I had done before, but not like this, not without an audience. As an “audience member,” under these circumstances, it was a fascinating experience in that watching the process is so much more interesting because literally nothing was conducive to me having an enjoyable viewing experience. It was much more like watching all the stuff that happens behind the scenes during the commercial breaks at SNL than it was “an afternoon of comedy for the crowd,” like it used to be. Almost everything that now plays so well and so weird for the actually late at night television crowd at home, I just imagined the silence of a full crowd in the room wondering, “What on Earth am I watching here? Why is Seth Meyers doing an Al Pacino impression? Wait, who is Werner Herzog?”

But there’s the conundrum, it’s the best experience watching Late Night in person, but you can’t have an audience to have this experience. I mention this to Meyers after the show and he jokes, “That’s like saying how much you love flying coach, as long as there’s no one else in coach.”

***

“You know, pre-COVID, we had a test audience,” says Shoemaker. “Which is, basically, during our rehearsal, we would invite people from the building, 25 tourists. And we didn’t always rely on it, but that based a lot of the choices. We tried everything that way, and then that was kind of the barrier to entry. And that’s all gone. It’s really like brain to mouth to television.”

Meyers: “Now, I should note, there are a few stopgaps in place. It’s not like we’re just barfing things onto the page and then doing it.”

Shoemaker: “I mean, some things are!”

But, see, that’s the strange dichotomy of a late night studio audience. The show has to play to both the 200-some people in the room in the late afternoon, as well as to the millions of people watching at home well past midnight. That balance seems way off. Why should the 200 people in the room, who, mostly, were just asked off the street if they want to watch a taping and hadn’t really considered it much before that day, dictate what millions of people are seeing at home? (Also, daytime humor seems a lot different than humor after midnight.)

Meyers recalls, “When I was doing a show in an attic, and I was talking into an iPad with the realization that most of the people who would be watching it would be on the other side of their iPad, it felt really stripped down. And when you take out the performance to an audience? A very small percentage of the people who watch your show, obviously, are in the live studio any given night. And by removing them, I did feel like it brought us a lot closer to the people at home.”

I mention to Meyers that when he was on Conan O’Brien’s podcast a few weeks ago he told Conan that if a studio audience reacts too positively to a joke, he starts to question himself.

Meyers: “I mean, it has been very liberating. We have people, of the 10 to 12 people that are watching any given night, they’re people like Shoemaker who is not an easy laugh. And so there’s still a way to mark, as it’s going, how it’s going.”

I then mentioned that, in the press, Meyers has a tendency to tell us that he will love audiences again, as he said to me, but then he will tell guests and other late night hosts the complete opposite and that, yes, we can see him when he does this because this is on television. Meyers jokes, “I’m not going to lie to Gayle King.”

Shoemaker: “It took you time for you to even realize that it was a possibility for them not to be here.”

Meyers: “Well, I think the reality and the thing I keep coming back to is, I didn’t dislike the audience when they were here. I liked them a great deal.”

Shoemaker: “It wasn’t an option. I mean, it’s possible that you could say you’d have to do it from your house. I mean, I could see that in a catastrophe, but we never thought we’d get to do it in the studio with lights and audio that works … and nobody here. This is the most unpredictable outcome. And yet, it’s the thing we found the most fun, because it wasn’t as much fun when you were at your house, for you. I think that there’s a lot of lifting that being actually done in the studio, when you didn’t have to worry about everything.”

Meyers: “My entire day is taken up focused on writing and performance, which was not the case when I was home. And so that also is liberating.”

Look, I know, and if you’re reading this, you know, that Meyers and Jimmy Fallon have very different comedic tastes and styles. But to the layperson who is just flipping through channels around 12:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. central), there’s now a sharp contrast between the two shows. Back in 2014, Fallon, a host in a suit, would be delivering jokes to a crowd of people and then here comes Meyers, a host in a suit, located one floor above Fallon, delivering jokes to an audience. But now, Fallon ends, and viewers instead get a casual Meyers, with no audience in sight, delivering Al Pacino impressions to the delight of only his crew. It’s filmed at 4 p.m., but it feels like something that was filmed at 12:30 a.m. It feels like something made specifically for someone still up in the wee hours on a weekday.

Meyers: “It makes total sense that the contrast would be bigger now.”

Shoemaker: “Last week, Seth even said, I wonder what it’s like watching the end of Jimmy that has a full audience and applause, and go into us. And I said yeah, I wonder. I still haven’t checked. Like, I don’t know. I wonder if that’s jarring.”

I can answer that. The answer is it feels like something that’s actually filmed late at night.

Meyers: “I think one of the things we’re going to be most interested by, and obviously are going to try to stay tuned into is, whether or not people will find it jarring. And whether once more shows come back with audiences, will people watching at home opt for those shows over ones like ours that don’t have a studio audience there.”

Well, I don’t think people care as much about there being an audience at a show than maybe someone who works on a TV show thinks.

Shoemaker: “I think that you’re right and I made this argument in the past. I know there’s a thinking, like in regular primetime television, that if you have a multi-cam, you don’t put it in the same block as the single cam. And I think it doesn’t matter. I think that people go to what they like. I don’t think that you’re shaken when all of a sudden you go from The Office to Will and Grace. I don’t think that it matters. And I think this is probably the latest example that maybe it doesn’t.”

Meyers: “I think you’ve been here when there were audiences before?”

I have.

Meyers: “You come out, you talk to the audience ahead of time, there’s a warm-up comedian. Before the band comes on I would go into the audience and do a Q&A, and those were all things I liked doing. But, obviously, now, I would be mentally, clinically insane if I did that now. So it is true as well I think doing this show now, you realize, oh, 12:30 at night on a Tuesday is not a time where you’re usually with a large group of people. Like, when I was in high school, I would watch SNL with a bunch of friends, but I never had people over to watch Letterman.”

***

Okay, it’s time to try and convince “the world.” (In other words, it’s time to try and convince Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker.) Both Meyers and Shoemaker know right now the show is the best its ever been. They both say it’s the most fun. And they both agree this is the version of Late Night they’ve wanted to do. Also, it’s the most efficient version: All that time spent warming up an audience is time used on the show for the home viewer instead. So if the show is the best it’s been, if the show is the show they both want to be doing the most, if the show is the most fun it’s been … why is bringing audiences back even a question right now?

Well, first, it sounds like some filibustering is going on before any real decisions are made. Meyers says they could have audiences now (like Fallon and Colbert have done), but the earliest audiences even would possibly come back to Late Night is September. Which, to be fair, gives them three full months to kick the tires a few more times to see how it’s going before any real decisions are made. But, also, they make it clear that they believe the decision is theirs to make and they know they only get one shot at this because once audiences come back, they can’t just decide, oh, we made a mistake, and make them go away again.

How much power do you actually have just to tell the suits you would rather keep the show the way it is with no audience?

Meyers: “We feel like we have the power to say that.”

Shoemaker: “We haven’t had a lot of conversations about it. I mean, it wasn’t an option until very recently. And if anything, they felt bad that it wasn’t. Because there are many COVID protocols. Whereas other shows, I think, were unhappy to not have an audience. Like SNL and Fallon, we were not. So now that the people are coming back no one is saying to us, “When are you?” They just want to know, ‘Hey, when are you (bringing back audiences) so that we have notice because we have to get the elevators working and things like that.’ Literally no one from the network has asked to speed it up, or even for a timetable. Which is not to say that they haven’t discussed it without us, but it isn’t an issue yet.”

Meyers: “I will say this. We will not even… the earliest would be September for us. And so we’ve given ourselves the freedom to enjoy a summer without putting any pressure on it.”

Shoemaker: “But we feel it’s coming. Mostly, guests, which are now maybe half Zoom and half here, I think guests enjoy the audience a little more.”

Do they? I’ve been watching a lot of clips of Later with Bob Costas. Everyone on that show seems to have a great time and there’s no audience.

Shoemaker: “And they’re perfectly fine?”

You know why, because I think they like the crew laughter better than audience laughter, too.

Shoemaker: “Yeah, that could be. We haven’t done a poll. We have not asked them. We have all this time to figure it out. It’s only been a handful of guests since we started letting them in. So we don’t really have a good sampling.”

Meyers: “I think it’s very fair for you to make the observation that I’m not telling the truth when I say I want an audience to come back. I think what it really is, Mike, and again, I’m not disabusing you of your previous notions: I’m very aware that once we have audiences back, it’s only a one-way street, right? Unless there’s another pandemic, you don’t go back to no audiences.”

Which nobody wants.

Meyers: “You don’t, right. So you knock on wood that once the audience has come back, it’ll be like that forever. And so it will be hard not to mourn the ending of a thing that we have managed to find joy in. I guess I do know that when audiences come back, I’m going to have to go out for the warmup and be like, no, look, I know you guys have read some stuff I’ve said. But I love you. It wasn’t you, it was me! That was stuff I was working through!”

Could you imagine being in that first audience back? Knowing you are the most unwelcome guests of a late night show ever? You are going to be hissed.

Meyers: “The best will be when a joke bombs in front of an audience and my save is that would have worked if none of you were here. If the studio was empty, that would have killed. I’m going to have a side camera for the people watching at home that I’m just going to look at and be like, sorry about my guests.”

Shoemaker: “Well, Mike, now I think it’s on you. This article will persuade the world that this is the right choice, or not.”

Who am I trying to convince? You both just said you have the power to do this. Am I trying to convince the two of you?

Shoemaker: “We’re not saying that out loud so much.”

Okay, then I’m just telling you, just don’t do it. Don’t do it.

Shoemaker: “Let’s see how you convince America. I think you could do it, Mike. I believe in you.”

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

The Los Angeles Clippers are apparently going to have to beat the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night without the services of their best player. According to Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the right knee injury that Kawhi Leonard suffered in the waning moments of Game 4 is so bad that he’ll have to sit out Game 5.

Even worse, the report indicates that Leonard could be out for the remainder of the series.

Stating the obvious here, but the already difficult task of beating the best team in the league becomes exponentially harder if Leonard is not on the floor. Leonard stepped awkwardly while trying to drive to the rim late in the game, which saw him sit on the bench down the final stretch, but said he believed that he’d “be good” in the immediate aftermath.

It is unclear if this knee injury is related to the lingering quadriceps issues that have plagued Leonard throughout his career. As is oftentimes the case, Leonard has elevated his game to a new level this postseason, leading the Clippers with 30.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.1 steals in 39.3 minutes per game while connecting on 57.3 percent of his field goal attempts. On Tuesday, Leonard earned first-team All-NBA honors for the third time in his career.

Liz Cheney has got nothing to lose, which is good news for Americans who want to take a peek behind the curtain of the Washington, D.C. political machine. Her latest target is GOP Rep. Paul Gosar, who seemed to want to rewrite the history of the Capitol riots of January 6th while questioning FBI director Christopher Wray during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Tuesday.

While discussing rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed during the mayhem of January 6th as she attempted to enter a defended/restricted area inside the building, Gosar decided that the Capitol Police were the bad guys in this scenario and spoke of them in the same way that one might describe a serial killer who has chosen a victim. After asking Wray if he knew “who executed Ashli Babbitt?” to which Wray replied that he did not “know the name of the person who was involved in the Ashli Babbitt shooting,” Gosar—speaking over Wray at every turn—went on to paint his own picture of how the events of that day went down:

“It’s disturbing. The Capitol police officer that did this shooting appeared to be hiding, lying in wait, and they gave no warning before killing her. Question again: Why hasn’t that officer who executed Ashli Babbitt been named when police officers around the country are routinely identified after a shooting.”

Cheney spoke out on Twitter about Gosar’s apparent reimagining of that day, and shared a story about her personal interaction with him on January 6th and her general opinion on his Capitol Police Are the Enemies rhetoric, explaining:

“On January 6, as the violent mob advanced on the House chamber, I was standing near @RepGosar and helped him open his gas mask. The Capitol Police led us to safety. It is disgusting and despicable to see Gosar lie about that day and smear the men and women who defended us.”

This isn’t the first time that the Arizona GOPer has described Babbitt’s death as an “execution” or painted a picture of the Capitol Police as a bunch of homicidal maniacs. Back in May, during an earlier House Oversight Committee, Gosar went the “execution” route again when describing Babbitt’s death and described the mob of people who stormed the Capitol as both “peaceful protestors” and “peaceful patriots.” Which doesn’t seem to line up with Cheney’s (and reality’s) recollection of that day. And also stands in stark contrast to how Capitol Police officers who were there that day described the situation.

You can watch Gosar and Wray’s full exchange below.

(Via Mediaite)

Today (June 16) would have been Tupac Shakur’s 50th birthday. Many are remembering the late rapper on this milestone day, but Jada Pinkett Smith got started early yesterday by sharing a previously unreleased poem that Tupac wrote for her.

Filming the poem, which was titled “Lost Soulz” and written by Tupac on a sheet of lined notebook paper, Pinkett Smith says in a video, “Over the years, ‘Pac wrote me many letters and many poems, and I don’t think this one has ever been published, honestly. He had a song called ‘Lost Souls,’ on the Gang Related soundtrack, but I believe this was the original concept because he wrote this, I believe, when he was at Rikers [Island]. And I was like, I don’t think he would have minded that I share this with you guys.”

She then recited the poem, which reads:

“Some say nothing gold can last forever
And 2 believe this [I] need no proof
I have witnessed all that was pure in me
And be changed by the evil men can do
The innocence possessed by children
Once lived inside my soul
But surviving years with criminal peers
Has turned my warm heart to cold
I used 2 dream and fantasize
But now I’m scared 2 sleep
Petrified, not to live or die
But to awaken and still be me
It is true that nothing gold can last
We will all one day see death
When the purest hearts are torn apart
LOST SOULS are all that’s left
Down on my knees I beg of God
To save me from this fate
Let me live to see what was gold in me
Before it is all too late.”

Also yesterday, fellow Tupac associate Jim Belushi shared a story about trying to get the rapper to cover Frank Sinatra.

Watch Pinkett Smith read the poem above.

The Phoenix Suns may be without the services of star point guard Chris Paul for the start of the Western Conference Finals, and it’s not because of the pesky shoulder injury that has lingered throughout this offseason. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Paul has been placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols and he’ll be out for an indefinite period of time, although Charania noted that if Paul is vaccinated, his isolation period would not be as long.

Paul has been magnificent for the Suns this postseason, serving as the leader of a generally pretty young bunch that took down the Lakers in the first round and blitzed the Nuggets in the conference semifinals. He’s averaging 15.7 points, 8.7 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game while putting up remarkably efficient shooting splits — 50.9 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from three, and 91.2 percent from the free throw line. While he was an All-Star and finished in fifth place in MVP voting due to his regular season performance, the veteran guard has taken his game up a notch during the playoffs.

Now, all eyes turn to the Western Conference Semifinals series between the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers. Currently tied at two games each, a potential Game 7 would take place this upcoming Sunday, giving Paul a little extra time to get out of isolation and back onto the floor.

Having a clown at a birthday party is an old-school—albeit slightly terrifying—rite of passage that kids have been forced to endure for decades now. But having a birthday party full of mostly clowns is goddamn nightmare fuel. Yet that’s the best way to describe the guest list at the little soirée that someone decided to throw together for Donald Trump on Monday night in celebration of his 75th birthday—except Melania Trump, the former president’s wife of 16 years, was not among them. And Jimmy Kimmel noticed!

On Tuesday night, Kimmel shared a quick clip of a video that Donald Trump Jr. (a.k.a. DJ TJ, a.k.a. Fredo) posted to his Instagram of a group of well-wishers singing a poorly orchestrated version of “Happy Birthday” to his dad at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. And to borrow a phrase from the former president himself, it all looked rather sad. But Kimmel was quick to point out that Melania seemed to be MIA.

“What a party! All the best people were there. Although I couldn’t help but notice his wife wasn’t. It’s his 75th birthday. This is a big birthday. Where’s Melania? Wouldn’t it be great if she ran off with Hunter Biden? ‘Where’s Melania? Wait, where’s Hunter?’”

The political fan fiction is practically writing itself.

You can watch the full clip above, starting around the 5:27 mark.

One of the most highly anticipated games to this point in the 2021 NBA Playoffs arrives on Wednesday with Game 5 between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Utah Jazz. The series sits at 2-2, with the Jazz winning the first two games at home and the Clippers answering with back-to-back wins in Los Angeles. Now, the best-of-seven matchup swings back to Salt Lake City with all eyes on what could be a pivotal contest.

Los Angeles absolutely cruised to a win in Game 4, leading by as many as 28 points in the first half before coasting to the finish line. The Clippers boast an incredible offensive rating of 133.5 points per 100 possessions in the last two games, lifting their overall mark for the series to 124.7 points per 100 possessions. That is a stellar figure under any circumstances, and they rode an impressive 65.9 percent true shooting mark in Games 3 and 4. Individually, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George each scored 31 points in Game 4, and both are averaging 27.3 points per game in the series while leading the team’s offensive attack.

On the Utah side, the status of Mike Conley (hamstring) could be critical. Conley has not appeared to this point in the series but, if available, he would provide the Jazz with another ball-handler and shot creator that can space the floor and defend adequately. With Conley sidelined, Donovan Mitchell has stepped up in a big way, averaging 37.3 points per game in the series. Still, the Jazz scuffled in Los Angeles, and they will look to regain the form that keyed them to No. 1 marks in win-loss record and net rating (+9.0) with top-five units on both offense and defense this season.

From a betting standpoint, Game 4 went Under the total of 224 points and Los Angeles covered the closing point spread of 5 points as a favorite.

Game 5 TV Info

Tip Time: Wednesday, June 16; 10 p.m. ET
TV Network: TNT

Game 5 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Jazz (-125), Clippers (+103)
Spread: Jazz -3 (-107), Clippers +3 (-114)
Total: Over 222 (-110), Under 222 (-110)
Money Line: Jazz (-143), Clippers (+120)

Wells Fargo Center hosts a pivotal Game 5 matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday evening. The series is tied at 2-2 after a memorable win by the Hawks in Game 4, though the 76ers hold the advantage with two of the final three games scheduled to be held in Philadelphia.

Atlanta erased an 18-point deficit in Game 4, and they did it without shooting the lights out. Nate McMillan’s team actually overcame a poor overall shooting night by winning on the margins, as they turned the ball over only four times in the game. Beyond the ball security, the Hawks grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, turning them into 21 second-chance points, and Atlanta can also take solace in their shot quality. Trae Young was masterful as a passer, producing 18 assists, and he was able to set up high-quality looks for his teammates, both beyond the three-point arc and at the rim.

On the other side, Philadelphia has to be kicking themselves after Game 4. The game seemed to be in total control, but the 76ers scored only 38 points after halftime, failing to put the game away and leaving an opportunity on the table. Part of the struggles came from Joel Embiid, with the All-NBA center missing all 12 of his shots after halftime on the way to a 4-of-20 shooting night. Embiid is listed as questionable with a well-chronicled knee issue, and he did not seem to be moving as well in Game 4. If nothing else, that is a storyline to closely monitor in Game 5 and beyond.

Overall, the top-seeded Sixers can be seen as the better team, particularly with a +11.2 net rating in the postseason. Embiid’s status could swing things, however, and Philadelphia may need to lean on a raucous home crowd. The Sixers finished 29-7 at home in the regular season and they are 4-1 in their own building during the playoffs.

From a betting standpoint, Game 4 went Under the total of 226.5 points and Atlanta covered the closing point spread of 3 points as an underdog.

Game 5 TV Info

Tip Time: Wednesday, June 16; 7:30 p.m. ET
TV Network: TNT

Game 5 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: 76ers (-315), Hawks (+240)
Spread: 76ers -6 (-114), Hawks +6 (-107)
Total: Over 224 (-112), Under 224 (-109)
Money Line: 76ers (-240), Hawks (+195)

A few days ago Bruce Springsteen let the cat out of the bag — he’s collaborating with The Killers. Longtime listeners of Brandon Flowers and his crew are very aware of just how big an influence The Boss is on their sound, so this is incredible news, both for the band and for fans. Oh and for anyone who grew up with parents so obsessed with Springsteen they made mixtapes of his best songs for the van. What you might not know is that Bruce is mutually a fan of Flowers and the band! What a blessing for indie and classic rock lovers after a year of severe guitar solos drought.

Anyway, the collaboration is now here and it’s a reimagining of a song off The Killers’ 2008 album Day & Age, “A Dustland Fairytale.” According to a press release, this is Bruce’s favorite Killers song (!) and that’s why it was selected. Shortened down to just “Dustland” for the Bruce version, he and the band will be performing their new version of the song live on The Today Show tomorrow. Listen to the new track above, get it right here, and check out the full story of how the collaboration came to be via Brandon’s story told on the band’s socials and copied below.

“February 29, 2020
JFK terminal 2
Destination: Salt Lake City, Utah

I’m a little more anxious than usual about tonight’s flight. Universal just sent out an umbrella email to all artists: “Continue promotion AT YOUR OWN RISK.” There’s a new virus going around, and it’s shutting down the promotional run for our latest and greatest — Imploding the Mirage. We’re dead proud of the record and can’t wait for the world to get a load of it. But what was meant to be a rocket launch, stadium shaking, saliva-inducing tour run was about to come to a screeching halt. There’s plenty of time before boarding, so I get a burger at Wendy’s and call Tana. She’s excited to get her husband home early. And I have to be honest, I’m a little relieved to be getting home early myself.

Around the time I find my gate, I start getting some texts from a number I don’t have marked in my phone. “Watching Glastonbury. You guys have become one hellacious live band my brother! Love the gold suit! We gotta do Dustland one day.” Signed off with: “Bruce.”

Now I’ve got 3 options here:
1. Some cold-blooded monster is playing a cruel trick on me.
2. It’s Bruce Hornsby. But I haven’t talked with him since 2015ish.
Or
3. It really is Bruce Springsteen (I forgot to put both Bruce’s numbers in that phone).

So I google the area code. It’s from Freehold, New Jersey, and I’m still not convinced. So I text Evan (Bruce and Patti’s son who has become a buddy of mine) and get verification that the number really is coming from his old man.

And then, Covid Happened. We were sorry that we didn’t get to tour it, but genuinely happy that we were able to release Imploding the Mirage as some sort of consolation. This is what we do, and this is what we have to offer. A joyful record about unity and perseverance. Our interpretation of that promised light that lives just beyond the boundary of sorrow.

I have always sought to find and reflect that elusive light in my songs. It’s a trait I inherited from my mother Jean. She died from a brain tumor back in 2010 at the age of 64… Sixty Four! I’m turning 40 next week and I’m starting to realize just how young that is. Too young. She was married to my father Terry for 44 of those years. Dustland was written in the middle of her battle with cancer. It was an attempt to better understand my dad, who is sometimes a mystery to me. To grieve for my mother. To acknowledge their sacrifices and maybe even catch a glimpse of just how strong love needs to be to make it in this world. It was my therapy. It was cathartic.

That’s where Bruce comes in. Before I really became a fan of his, I was in the business of stadium-size everything. Larger than life EVERYTHING. Certainly larger than the lives of Jeannie and Terry Flowers. But Bruce has written a lot about people like my parents and found a whole lot of beauty in otherwise invisible people’s hopes and dreams. Their struggles, and their losses.

I’m grateful to him for opening this door for me. I’m grateful to my parents for their example to me. Now go find something new out about your dad, give your mom a big hug, and for god’s sake listen to Bruce Springsteen.”