What Had Happened Was Trending stories on the intersections of race, sports & culture
O.J. Simpson Parole Hearing Daily Dose
O.J. Simpson (C) reacts after learning he was granted parole at Lovelock Correctional Center, in Lovelock, Nevada, USA, 20 July 2017. Simpson is serving a nine to 33 year prison term for a 2007 armed robbery and kidnapping conviction. EPA/Jason Bean / Reno Gazette-Journal

Daily Dose: 11/9/17

O.J. Simpson gets kicked out of a Vegas hotel

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

6:43 PMThursday was another TV day, so if you get a chance to check out Around The Horn, please do so. I pulled a bit of a prank, so let me know how that goes over.

School shootings are a massive problem in the country. They’re basically everyday occurrences on balance, which overall should scare you very much. Instead of trying to get lawmakers to, you know, help prevent people from getting the types of guns that can kill in mass quantities, we take a different route. Like down in Miami, where a school is offering up “bulletproof panels” for sale to kids to put in their backpacks, in case of a shooting. This is what it’s come to.

KFC thinks they slick. On Twitter, it follows exactly 11 people. If you’re not familiar with its “secret recipe” that includes 11 herbs and spices, where have you been? This is not a reflection on their chicken, which is a whole separate discussion. But, one guy figured out its little social media strategy and it’s actually kind of brilliant. As it turns out, they follow five Spice Girls and six guys named Herb. So, once homeboy cracked the code fast food company hooked him up with a serious gift.

O.J. Simpson is out here wilding. The man who is widely believed to have gotten away with a double murder, then served all sorts of time in prison for an unrelated crime, is now out. And not only is he out, he’s partying with ladies, just like he was before he went to prison. Thursday he got kicked out of a hotel for being drunk in public, which is just an incredibly bad look. I have no idea what the limitations of his parole are, and whether this will send him back to prison. But dude might want to slow down, if he can.

It appears that Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott won’t be playing this week. His on-again-off-again relationship with the NFL has now turned into a matter of public ridicule on multiple levels. Another court has decided that he can’t play and his six-game suspension will now be served. Who knows if it will be off again by Tuesday? This case, by the way, has completely sent Cowboys owner Jerry Jones into the next stratosphere with anger. He’s trying to sue the NFL over commissioner Roger Goodell, which we all know is about Zeke.

Free Food

Coffee Break: If you don’t know who Masai Uriji is, you should. He runs the Toronto Raptors and he was born in Nigeria, and is largely responsible for the resurgence of that franchise in the NBA. He also happens to be very much a part of trying to grow the game in Africa.

Snack Time: Planes get grounded for a lot of different reasons. But if you’re the dude who gets caught by his wife cheating to the point that they gotta land the plane? My guy, that’s not good.

Dessert: I can’t stop looking at these shoes.

Daily Dose

Daily Dose: 11/8/17

Drake is coming to take over Hollywood

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

12:39 PMHey, gang, it’s another TV day, so if you’re into that, tune in to Outside the Lines at 1 p.m. EST on ESPN. We’ll be talking about this story by Brian Windhorst on how LeBron James has taken on Michael Jordan’s role in the eyes of the NBA.

The president has been in Asia, and so far, so decent. He’s weathered one relatively embarrassing revelation about his proclivity for McDonald’s, the first lady has endured some embarrassment at the hands of a Korean pop star and, oh, yeah, the Democrats cleaned up Tuesday night on Election Day. We’re not just talking about at the top of every ticket, either: a transgender woman in Virginia, an openly lesbian mayor in Seattle, the first Sikh mayor in Hoboken, New Jersey. The victories are symbolic and also important.

Los Angeles has a ton of cars. So what do you do in a place where you need to get around quickly? Well, there’s public transportation, but also the far more baller option: helicopters. The problem is that helicopters are all sorts of loud and dangerous, so they don’t really make for a good commuting option. (Speak for yourself.) As a result, NASA and Uber are teaming up to create a new flying car that will basically serve as a transportation replacement for the chopper. This is an actual good idea that feels like more than just sci-fi fantasy.

Now that he’s conquered the rap game, Drake is coming for Hollywood. This transition — or addition, if you will — seems like a natural fit, considering that his close friends all seem to be people who in some way are movie stars. But we’re not just talking about him suddenly starring in movies. Aubrey Graham is looking to disrupt by creating, something he should know well as a child actor turned rapper. It might seem like a fame grab to the uninitiated, but I’m actually as interested in this as I am anything else he does.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been hanging out at Bloomberg News all morning. The man hired to represent the league’s 32 owners has been under quite a bit of scrutiny recently, considering all the fallout from pregame protests that have come back to haunt him. Some people think he could be out soon, but apparently the checks are still clearing. So far, he’s claimed that people come to the stadium to have fun, not to view protests, just to give you an idea of how it’s going. You can watch here.

Free Food

Coffee Break: If you can’t wait for Black Panther to finally hit next February, you’re not alone. We’ve got quite a few very fun teasers, and it’ll be interesting to see how this plays over the holiday season with the movie not even being released yet. But here’s another sit-down with the star, Chadwick Boseman.

Snack Time: I have little sympathy for accidents that befall people who hunt animals. Yes, they are unfortunate, but ultimately, that’s the game, right? Well, one dude in France learned the hard way and paid the ultimate price.

Dessert: There’s a new movie coming out about my former employer The Washington Post. Looks like a fun one.

Meek Mill “Wins & Losses” Album Release Party Daily Dose
Meek Mill attends Meek Mill “Wins & Losses” Album Release Party at Velosolutions Pumptrack on July 21, 2017 in New York City. Shareif Ziyadat/WireImage

Daily Dose: 11/7/17

Meek Mill is headed to state prison

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

1:48 PMWhat’s up, squad? Hope your Election Day is treating you well. It’s another TV day for me, so please do tune in to Around The Horn at 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon on ESPN.

So, Meek Mill is going to prison. Why? Because in a nation in which we throw people in prison for what feels like every conceivable reason, a guy violated probation and the judge felt she had no choice. Mind you, there are side theories floating around that because he didn’t do a song with Boyz II Men and shout-out the judge, she decided to put him behind bars. In all seriousness, though, this is a sad day for a guy trying to turn things around. Then again, posting silly violations on social media is never smart.

Harvey Weinstein’s fall from grace has had an incredible effect on Hollywood. A staggering number of other ancillary accusations have come out regarding sexual harassment, assault and coercion in the movie business. The concept of the “open secret” is one it appears we’re finally tackling. Yet, there are still details that make your skin crawl when you hear exactly how these smear and fear campaigns worked to protect powerful men. This story about the lengths people go to is really terrifying.

It’s an Election Day in America. Which means if you are in one of a couple of states that are having rather important races nationally, you’ll want to get out and perform your civic duty. For some people, it’s an afterthought they only participate in when they think they can make a difference. But in Virginia, where felons had their right to vote reinstated, it’s a privilege at this point. And for one man doing it for the first time, it was an incredible feeling.

Josh Gordon was a heck of a football player. He also is an addict. As a player for the Cleveland Browns, he was routinely mocked for having violated the NFL’s substance abuse policy on multiple occasions. But the reality is that Gordon wasn’t just a dude who loved partying, he was a guy with a real problem. A get-high-and-drink-before-NFL-games type of problem. I don’t doubt that many players over the years have done this, but to hear it discussed so explicitly is still fascinating.

Free Food

Coffee Break: We all know who Richard Spencer is at this point. If you don’t, he’s the Nazi dude who pops up from time to time trying to make points about white supremacy and other nonsense that sometimes gets him punched in the face. Well, a black man took the time to interview Spencer, and it got real.

Snack Time: 5Pointz is a place that means a lot to me. So when they buffed and whitewashed the whole thing sometime back over a land dispute, it was heartbreaking. It went to court, and now some decisions are being made.

Dessert: If you want to hear me do an interview with a college kid, here you go.

26 People Killed And 20 Injured After Mass Shooting At Texas Church Daily Dose
Law enforcement officials continue their investigation at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on November 6, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas. On November 5 a gunman, Devin Patrick Kelly, killed 26 people at the church and wounded 20 others when he opened fire during a Sunday service. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Daily Dose: 11/6/17

Another church massacre: Gunman kills 26 in Texas

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

1:31 PMHappy Monday, kiddos. It was quite the weekend around the football world and, alas, another devastating one in terms of violence in America. Hug your friends and family a little harder tonight.

Another day, another mass shooting. I don’t mean to be flip about the matter, but this is basically where we’re at in this country, which is really scary. A guy walked into a church in Texas and killed 26 people with a gun and injured 20 others. He was later shot and killed. Authorities believe the gunman had some type of connection to the specific congregation he chose to attack. The president is choosing to blame this tragedy on mental illness, not gun control, which seems like something that I’m not sure anyone can really call right now. But, yeah, guns kill people.

If you’re wondering whether an iPhone X is a smart investment, I’ve got some news for you. They are rather fragile. Of course, they look and feel incredible, but because the whole thing is basically made of glass, you’ve got to be EXTRA careful handling it, because if you drop it, the likelihood of it breaking is extremely high. No, like, for real, people have tested this and basically the phones instantly shattered. I’m sure you can get a case that’ll keep your worries down, but that’s gonna be one delicate device to deal with.

ComplexCon happened over the weekend. Basically, every hypebeast and tastemaker in America descended upon Long Beach, California, to celebrate all things related to what we’ll just call “the culture.” While there were quite a few news items to come out of the proceedings, for me, there was one standout. N.E.R.D unveiled a new album and performed for the first time in a couple of years. Obviously, the three of the group members are in completely different life places at this point, but I’m very much looking forward to the complete project.

Lamar Odom has suffered another setback. The former NBA basketball player and Kardashian-adjacent reality star collapsed at a Los Angeles nightclub over the weekend, which is extremely troubling. Let’s not forget that his battle with substance abuse is well-known, so while his people are saying that a heavy workout and hot conditions at the venue are to blame, we just hope he’s OK. It’s unfair to speculate about what he may be doing, but we do know his health has taken a major hit in the past few years.

Free Food

Coffee Break: The situation with Tyrese has taken another turn. While his beef with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has apparently subsided, his friends Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith threw some paper his way and told him to shut up. What did he do? He posted about it on the internet. This dude just doesn’t get it.

Snack Time: Remember that lady who flipped off the presidential motorcade while she was riding her bike, and went viral? Well, her boss found out and she got fired.

Dessert: San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich continues to be a national treasure.

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