Month: May 2022

In January of 2021, not long after they permanently banned Donald Trump, Twitter came for Mike Lindell. The MyPillow guy was one of the loudest purveyors of voter fraud misinformation, and he’d violated the rules enough that they gave him the boot, not once but twice. But on a sleepy Sunday, he was suddenly back.

Lindell launched his new account with a video message proving that it’s really him. “Hello, everyone at Twitter, this is Mike Lindell,” Lindell said in the video. “I’m here to tell you about my new account here @MikeJLindell. That’s the only account over here at Twitter that I’m using. All those other ones are fake accounts and they’ve been using my name out there.”

He instructed people to “please share it with everybody you know,” adding, “Let everybody you know so we can get the word out over here at Twitter in case they do take it down. And thanks a lot for helping out.”

Indeed, the account may not be long for this world. Or will it be? After all, Elon Musk purchased the social media service last week, hinting that he may reinstate permanently suspended accounts, like the one belonging to former president — and Lindell favorite — Donald Trump. Musk appears to have not taken control of the service yet, so maybe Lindell should have waited a bit longer to make his valiant return.

(Via Raw Story)

The Milwaukee Bucks have drawn first blood in their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Boston Celtics. Despite the game taking place in Beantown, the defending champions were able to take home court away from the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference behind a stellar defensive performance en route to a 101-89 win.

A cagey first quarter saw both teams rely on huge runs to create some separation. Boston landed the first haymaker halfway through the frame, as the team scored eight consecutive points and got the crowd at TD Garden rocking.

As they’ve done so many times over the years, though, the Bucks were able to take that punch, compose themselves, and strike back emphatically. A dunk by Jaylen Brown in which he rose over Giannis Antetokounmpo saw the Celtics go up by seven, at which point Milwaukee ripped off a 10-0 run to quiet the crowd and find themselves with a 27-24 lead after 12 minutes.

Throughout the first half, the Buck defense made life tremendously difficult for Boston. The team’s top two offensive players, Brown and Jayson Tatum, combined for 15 points on 5-for-18 shooting prior to the break, while the Celtics shot 16-for-47 (34.8 percent) from the field heading into the locker room. That mixed with a stellar performance in the first half by Antetokounmpo (14 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) and the team connecting on 10 of their 20 attempts from three gave Milwaukee a 56-46 lead at the half.

The third quarter followed a similar format: Boston would make some sort of run and turn the pressure up on Milwaukee, only for the Bucks to be able to keep themselves from getting caught in the storm and going on a run of their own. The Celtics kept getting within two possessions, but each time, they were unable to get that final push over the line to tie things up or take a lead.

Even when Antetokounmpo committed an uncharacteristic foolish foul with 3:37 remaining and had to leave the game, Boston could not capitalize. Antetokounmpo attempted to poke the ball away from Tatum 30 feet from the basket, but there was enough contact that he was called for his fourth foul of the game.

Tatum hit a pair of free throws to make it a six point game, but Milwaukee managed to win the rest of the quarter behind their stellar defense — the Celtics scored four points while Antetokounmpo watched — and find themselves up, 78-70, heading into the fourth despite their star watching from the bench.

And once Antetokounmpo came back in at the start of the fourth, the Bucks put their foot on the gas and pulled away. The team went on a 9-2 run at the beginning of the period, led by as many as 16 points, and saw Antetokounmpo go off the backboard to himself for a dunk that felt like a knockout blow. After a foul by Grayson Allen with 1:59 left and Milwaukee leading by double-digits, both teams decided to punt on the remainder of the contest and empty their benches.

Jrue Holiday was Milwaukee’s top scorer, going for 25 points with 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists, while Bobby Portis scored 15 points and reeled in 11 rebounds. While Tatum led the Celtics with 21 points, six rebounds, six assists, and two steals, essentially everyone Boston played struggled to get going against the Bucks’ defense, as the team went 28-for-84 (33.7 percent) from the field.

Game 2 will take place in Boston on Tuesday night, and is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. ET on TNT.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks walked into TD Garden to take on the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon in the first game of their Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup. As he’s wont to do, Antetokounmpo put on a show on both ends of the floor, with his most impressive moment coming when he went off the backboard to himself.

Antetokounmpo tried to bulldoze Grant Williams as the shot clock was winding down, but realized the Celtics’ big man was a bit too much of an impediment. So instead of continuing to go that route, he opted for a turnaround jumper, which Williams also sniffed out.

So, with those avenues exhausted, Antetokounmpo said screw it and decided to just lob the ball off the backboard and go get it. Jayson Tatum couldn’t quite get there fast enough, and as a result, Antetokounmpo grabbed it with two hands and threw it down.

The fine folks up in Milwaukee, as you might guess, were big fans of the whole thing.

A little earlier in the game, Antetokounmpo found himself on the other end of a huge dunk, as Jaylen Brown skied high to clean up a miss and throw down with one hand. This is certainly not a bad way for him to get the Celtics back.

This week sees the release of the film that brought Sam Raimi to the subgenre whose modern incarnation he helped create: the comic book movie. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was helmed by the director of the Tobey Maguire-era Spider-Man trilogy, which came at a time when superhero movies were far from the only game in town, paving the way for Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies and, a handful of years later, the beginnings of the MCU. Raimi’s been doing press for his new sequel, and he was inevitably asked why he only made three Spidey films.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Raimi said they tried to make a fourth Maguire Spider-Man, but there were issues with the script, which he felt wasn’t living up to the previous three. On top of that, Spider-Man 3, released in 2007, made a bucketload of money but received mixed reviews, especially compared to its widely-acclaimed predecessor.

“It was a very painful experience for me,” Raimi said. “I wanted to make a Spider-Man movie to redeem myself for that. [The aborted] Spider-Man 4 — that was really what that was about. I wanted to go out on a high note. I didn’t want to just make another one that pretty much worked. I had a really high standard in my mind. And I didn’t think I could get that script to the level that I was hoping for by that start date.”

Raimi also discussed some of the ideas he had for the aborted Spider-Man 4. He thought about giving his longtime pal Bruce Campbell, who had cameos in the three films, the villainous role of Mysterio. There was even talk of bringing in Kraven the Hunter, a character getting his own movie starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Instead, Sony wound up waiting a few years and rebooting it with Andrew Garfield.

But that doesn’t mean Raimi’s done with Spidey forever. He floated the idea of reuniting with Maguire for a new franchise, though that might be tricky to pull off.

“My love for the characters hasn’t diminished one iota,” Raimi said. “It would be the same things that would stop me now that stopped me then: ‘Does Tobey want to do it? Is there an emotional arc for him? Is there a great conflict for this character? And is there a worthy villain that fits into the theme of the piece?’ There’s a lot of questions that would have to be answered. If those could be answered, then I’d love to.”

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be released to theaters on May 6.

(Via Rolling Stone)

While collaborations with Beyonce and other artists are far and few nowadays, one way that Queen Bey interacts with her peers is by celebrating their birthdays with brief messages on her website. It’s something that fans and celebrities alike look forward to when someone’s birthday comes around. The latest example of that came with Lizzo who turned 34 last week. Beyonce showed love to the singer through a message on her website, but it’s the baby picture she used that took Lizzo by surprise.

Lizzo caught wind of Beyonce’s birthday message thanks to a screenshot of it on Twitter from the Beyonce fan account @BeyLegion. “Beyoncé?!” Lizzo replied. “Where u get this pic?? I ain’t seen this since I was born [crying emoji].” With this message, it seems like Beyonce has some Nardwaur-type team equipped to get their hands on baby pictures that have yet to leave the plastic-wrapped pockets of family albums.

The funny interaction comes after Lizzo announced that her third album Special would arrive on July 15. So far, the project is led by “Rumors” with Cardi B and “About Damn Time.” She also stopped by SNL to perform “Special” and “About Damn Time.”

You can view Beyonce’s birthday message and Lizzo’s reaction in the post above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Perhaps the most highly-anticipated second round series in the 2022 NBA playoffs is the 2-3 matchup in the Eastern Conference between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks. No one would be surprised if either team lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy, but first, they have to get through one another and prevent the other team from making it to the conference finals.

The tone was set early in Game 1, as both teams played a cagey first quarter that saw each go on substantial runs en route to a 27-24 Bucks lead after one. But the best moment of the period came via Jaylen Brown, who cleaned up a Grant Williams missed three by detonating on Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The reigning NBA Finals MVP went up for a rebound on the miss and had no idea that Brown ran in from the opposite corner. It gave Brown a chance to pick up a head of steam and effortlessly jump over Antetokounmpo for one of the best dunks we have seen all postseason.

It’s not often you see someone go up and over Antetokunmpo like this. Brown, funny enough, has a bit of a history of dunking on perhaps the best player in the world, and this is one heck of an addition to his highlight real.

In a new, explosive, three-part report, The New York Times meticulously dissects how Tucker Carlson, in their words, “became Trump’s heir.” That is to say, the Fox News host was able to position himself to become a kind of de facto leader of the Republican party when the former president left office in disgrace and banned from most of social media. It’s an exhaustive study, reporting on about five years of his weekly nighttime show.

But there are also some juicy stories from anonymous Fox News sources. For instance, Carlson — who has occasionally criticized Trump but is more often there to do his bidding and even recommend he support certain politicians — reportedly acted differently when not on air.

“In private, Mr. Carlson mocked the president’s habit of calling to head off his on-air attacks,” a source told NYT, referring to how Trump would sometimes phone into his show to pre-emptively defend a sure-to-be-disparaged policy move.

But that’s not all Carlson did. At one point, he simply declined to take the then-president’s call.

Will this enrage Trump? Or will the partially exiled ex-president do what he did with House minority leader Kevin McCarthy and forgive him his trespasses, perhaps because he realizes even he can’t alienate big honchos in his party? In the meantime, the three-part report on Carlson details how the host has spent years poisoning the minds of his viewers, making them think they’re victims under attack and pitching them white supremacist conspiracy theories, all while downplaying things like the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

(Via NYT and Insider)

The Philadelphia 76ers are heading into their Eastern Conference Semifinals bout with the Miami Heat shorthanded due to Joel Embiid’s orbital fracture and concussion. As it turns out, Miami will likewise be down a starter when things tip off on Monday evening.

The team announced its injury availabilities for Game 1 and revealed that Kyle Lowry, who did not play in Game 4 or 5 of the Heat’s first round win over the Atlanta Hawks due to a hamstring injury, will not be able to take the floor in their first postseason matchup against the Sixers.

Lowry suffered the injury late in Game 3 against Atlanta — which was the only game of the series Miami did not win — and in the lead-up to Game 4, Erik Spoelstra preached patience when dealing with the ailment.

“You have to be smart about it,” Spoelstra said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “The training staff determined that he wasn’t going to play tonight and we have everybody else available and that’s what we’re focused on right now.”

Miami turned to Gabe Vincent in Lowry’s absence. One of the breakout players for the Heat this season, Vincent averaged 10 points and four assists in the two games he started against the Hawks. It is unclear if he will be given the starting job for Game 1 against Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia 76ers are heading into their Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Miami Heat without the services of their best player. In the waning moments of the team’s blowout Game 6 win against the Toronto Raptors in the first round that clinched a matchup with Miami, Joel Embiid got caught by an elbow from Pascal Siakam, which led to him holding his face and coming out of the game.

One day later and it was announced that Embiid suffered an orbital fracture and a concussion as a result of the elbow, which put his availability for the series against the Heat in question. But according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, while Embiid won’t make his way down to Miami for the first two games of the series, the door is open for him to take the floor once the series shifts back to Philadelphia for Game 3 and 4.

It has been reported by Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice that Embiid will not need to immediately undergo surgery on the orbital fracture, which is a major difference between this injury and the fracture that Embiid suffered back in 2018 and caused him to play with a mask.

Game 1 between the Sixers and the Heat will take place on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

Pooh Shiesty, born Lontrell Donell Williams Jr., dodged a career-shattering bullet when a judge only sentence him to five years in prison earlier this month for firearms conspiracy. The sentence was handed down in connection to an October 2020 incident where Williams allegedly shot a man in the buttocks during an exchange for marijuana and sneakers. Williams was initially indicted on four firearms charges, but after he accepted a plea deal from prosecutors, his charges were reduced to a single count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of violent and drug-trafficking crimes. That reduced his possible life sentence to just a maximum of 97 months in prison, but a judge felt that 63 months was adequate for Williams.

However, Williams won’t be a completely free man once he walks out of prison in five years. According to TMZ, Williams will reportedly be on supervised release for three years once his prison term is complete and the supervision comes with a few rules. For those three years, Williams is not allowed to associate with any of his co-defendants or alleged gang members. Additionally, the rapper’s parole officer has permission to search his home from time to time. Lastly, Williams will have to enter a treatment program for drugs and alcohol.

Pooh Shiesty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.