Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 1/11/17
A wild news day, indeed
10:30 AMHidden Figures is quite the film. There should have been nothing “unexpected” about its success, even if showing on fewer screens than normal. When our stories are told, people show up because they’re interesting. Period.
Let the countdown to Donald Trump begin. Now that President Barack Obama’s farewell speech is behind us, there’s really no looking back. Tuesday night in Chicago was an emotional one, as the 44th president of the United States delivered his final remarks while the nation looked on. All this came after a very bizarre and troubling news dump that indicates Trump was likely in cahoots with Russia the entire time. Overall though, it wasn’t just some victory lap speech for Obama. He basically had to defend his entire presidency and the need for democracy not just globally, but right here in the United States, as well.
Speaking of Trump, he’s supposed to be holding an actual news conference Wednesday. You’ll recall that he basically never, ever, does this, because it’s a matter of power and control. It’s the same reason why he very rarely made actual television appearances while campaigning, simply choosing to call in. Now, he’s been up early this morning getting these tweets off, so who knows how the rest of the day will go. It’s scheduled for 11 a.m. in New York, of course. Meanwhile, the Russians are denying any involvement with him, either.
Tuesday was a wild news day. Caught among all the frenzy was the outcome of the Charleston, South Carolina, mass murder trial. Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who killed nine black people at a church, had his fate in the hands of a jury, and they chose to put him to death. What the purpose of that is, at this point, who knows, but he’ll be the first person put to death for a federal hate crime. Families of the victims call it a hollow victory, which if you don’t believe in an eye for an eye is a grand understatement, considering.
3-on-3 half court has always been my favorite form of basketball to play. In short, there’s no loafing whatsoever. You either guard your man, make a play or just get burned all day long. In high school, we used to do an outdoor tournament in that format and it was tons of fun. There was talk of having it in the Olympics, and every once in a while, you’ll find it on TV somewhere. Anyway, Ice Cube is part of a new group starting a league for old NBA players, and it appears that Allen Iverson will be a player coach in said outfit. Alrighty, then.
Free Food
Coffee Break: If Chris Brown and Soulja Boy actually do get in a boxing ring, it’ll be a win for the rap game overall. If this is how people choose to start settling beefs in the future, I’m all for it. Is their feud ridiculous? Of course. So much so that they’ve decided they apparently want to take this thing to Dubai, which actually sounds fun. I guess.
Snack Time: That episode of The Simpsons about hip-hop drops soon, so we’ve got a preview to watch. I’m simultaneously excited and mega worried about how this is going to turn out, if we’re being honest.
Dessert: Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson? Terrible. Idris Elba as a radical militant in 1970’s London? Awesome.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 1/10/17
Tonight’s the night, in Chicago, for Barack Obama’s final speech as president
2:00 PMIf you didn’t already know, Domonique Foxworth is from Baltimore. So, The Baltimore Sun wrote a story about him. Check it out.
Farewell, Mr. President. Tuesday night in Chicago, Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States of America, will tell the nation goodbye in a formal speech. Of course, this will have many people in their feelings. It’s not really about politics, it’s about appeal. And while many people had a basic dislike for the man (yay, racism!), he was a very well-liked person by a lot of the United States. Not to mention that whenever you’re a two-term president, the simple concept of change is enough to make people emotional. 9 p.m. EST, kiddos. Set your DVRs.
America’s criminal justice system is fundamentally flawed. This isn’t news. But what is difficult to often determine is exactly how that can be measured, outside of just angry citizens constantly having to deal with the establishment. In New Orleans, however, a new report shows that the bail and jail system isn’t exactly working. Not only that, but it’s also losing said jurisdiction money. You see? Because that’s how institutional hate works. People will do things because they feel they have to, not because it actually makes any sense. FiveThirtyEight reports.
For a long time, my favorite soccer tournament was the UEFA European Championship. It was a tight-knit field of 16 teams, which meant that because of the continental talent, no one in the field was going to be a bad team. The tournament expanded to 24 teams last year, and while it’s not easy for everyone to determine what is and is not a watered-down field, the FIFA World Cup has been that way for years. Now, it’s becoming worse. The only thing good about the expansion to 48 teams is that the tournament isn’t going to take any longer, timewise.
Deshaun Watson and the Clemson Tigers won the national championship Monday night. It was a good game, a minor upset and vindication for Dabo Swinney’s team after losing to Alabama last year in the same game. But on Monday, a tweet was circulating with a picture of former NFL running back Warrick Dunn and Watson when he was a kid. A lot of people forget that Dunn has a charity that puts single mothers in homes. He’s been doing it for years. So, now that he’s a champion, let’s revisit the story of how his house became his home.
Free Food
Coffee Break: As the generation’s nostalgia wave continues, we continue to see remakes of old items pop up that are going to be profitable for people who finally have the money to buy this stuff again. This time, it’s the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wagoneer. Both companies are making new, updated versions. I would buy both, to be honest.
Snack Time: Don’t ask me why, but I’ve been obsessed with this dude Tree Man ever since I first heard about him. Now, it turns out, he’s cured! I’m so happy for him, because having bark for hands and feet is just really awful.
Dessert: Just want to tip my cap to Maureen Bunyan, a childhood favorite and one of the best to ever do it.
Daily Dose: 1/9/17
Cristiano Ronaldo completes his magical year
4:30 PMOn Sunday, I did a whole ton of radio. The Morning Roast started (yay), and then Domonique Foxworth and I hosted NFL Nation at night. It’s been a really long week already.
Meryl Streep got on stage Sunday night and delivered a speech for the ages. She basically told all of America that our current political and socioeconomic state is completely unreasonable and we know it and should be doing something about it. It was truly classic and directly addressed the man headed into the White House. It was easily the hit of the night outside, of course, Donald Glover shouting out Migos. That was tremendous.
Remember when Kim Kardashian got robbed? That was hectic. Kanye West stormed off stage, she left social media, some people didn’t even believe it was real, and in general, it kind of tore their family apart which is sad. Well, the Paris police have finally apprehended some suspects, and they have a rather long list. Seventeen total people have been apprehended for their roles in the Fashion Week heist, so that appears to be a good thing.
When some New York Giants players decided to get on a boat, you could say they sank their season. Fairly or not, the criticism that came when some of the team decided to vacation in Miami on an off day before a playoff game and document it caught up with them as they lost to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Odell Beckham Jr. said he didn’t think it affected his play, but he had a pretty tough game, and Eli Manning isn’t afraid to point that out.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the best men’s soccer player in the world. At least, according to FIFA. The Real Madrid star was awarded the best player over Lionel Messi, a decision that doesn’t shock many considering the year he’s had. Let’s not forget that Portugal also won the European Championships, which is likely what tipped the scales in this year’s vote. I mean, they’re basically 1 and 1a at any given moment, so the trophies don’t really matter anyway.
Free Food
Coffee Break: My favorite music platform is SoundCloud, just because it feels the most natural to me. There’s no real way for me to explain it other than that, so it really bums me out to hear that in a world with Apple and Spotify, SoundCloud can barely keep afloat.
Snack Time: It appears we’ve gotten to the point where “the talk” isn’t good enough for black families. There’s an actual school of thought for how to deal with the police. This is really sad.
Dessert: This is easily the funniest thing I’ve read all year.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 1/6/17
Michelle Obama delivers her final speech from the White House
3:00 PMThis weekend is a big one for us. Domonique Foxworth, Mina Kimes and I are hosting a new ESPN Radio show called The Morning Roast. It airs on Sundays from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. EST. Tune in, kiddos!
President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s departure has us in our feelings. Not because of any specific policies or anything like that. I’ve said this before, but they were just such a fun family and represented this nation in a way that the rest of the world respected so much. Anyways, the first lady spoke Friday for the last time in public as a resident of the White House. She is a legit incredible inspiration.
The N-word is not funny when white people say it. The N-word has multiple contexts when black people say it. This is plainly how it is. But if you misspell the word “bigger” in a tweet and it gets public, you’re in for all the jokes. You see, “B” is right next to “N” on the keyboard, so don’t make that mistake yourself. These jokes are freaking hilarious though, if you’re allowed to laugh at them. If not, too bad! Deal with it. Don’t even type it. We see you.
Remember when “intelligence” was a thing that was seen and not heard? You know, when the secrets of the United States’ entire military operations weren’t a matter of public, high school gossip style record? Remember that? Well, that’s gone now. To the point that when president-elect Donald Trump is getting a security briefing, the whole world has to know, just in case they want to try to hack said meeting. In all seriousness, there’s an intel briefing Friday. And, it appears to be a scene.
If you haven’t been paying attention, the Milwaukee Bucks are wilding on people. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best player in the NBA’s Eastern Conference not named LeBron James, but they don’t seem to be able to rise up and really scare anyone from a record standpoint. They’re just a highlight machine at this point. But they’re still just 18-16. But look, Antetokounmpo makes them a League Pass MVP. Anyway, there’s a good team there, really.
Free Food
Coffee Break: If you don’t remember Rosey Grier, you might soon. The former Los Angeles Rams defensive end, who was part of the Fearsome Foursome, says he might run for governor of California. If you’re wondering, he’s a Trump-supporting Republican.
Snack Time: I absolutely love DJ Shadow. I also really like Run The Jewels. So, you can guess how I feel about Shadow The Jewels. Excellent start to the weekend.
Dessert: Anderson .Paak and Pharrell together? Yes. Please.