Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 11/7/16
Janet Reno dies after battle with Parkinson’s
10:30 AMIf you didn’t get a chance to tune in on Friday to Highly Questionable, you missed a fun one. If you want the audio podcast, check it out here. Also, Miami is always a solid business trip, as Domonique would say.
A day before a momentous election, we have sad news from the executive branch. Janet Reno, the former U.S. attorney general who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, died Monday morning. You might remember that she battled Parkinson’s disease for a long time, something that she revealed publicly while she was still in office. She was the first woman to ever serve in the position and her tenure featured a doozy of 1990s legal scandals, including Elian Gonzales, the Branch Davidian compound and Monica Lewinsky. She was 78.
There’s something especially troubling about people being shot and killed at funerals. But that’s what happened in Chicago over the weekend, at the hands of an off-duty police officer, no less. This story has all the trappings of the usual. An official in an unmarked car allegedly does something provocative. When called on it, the person indicates he or she is legally carrying. Things escalate, and a black person dies. All of this during a funeral procession. ABC News has the details on the latest shooting to produce demonstrations. Meanwhile, by the way.
If Hillary Clinton loses the presidential election, many people will blame James Comey. The FBI director who came out of pocket with a reckless letter indicating that maybe his organization might be reopening an investigation in to the Democratic presidential nominee’s emails, creating a real panic nationally. Then, he backtracked, offered up an awful “my bad” and basically made everyone extremely uncomfortable, very unnecessarily. FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver wonders: How much damage did Comey actually do?
For Brandon Marshall, things are getting better. The Denver Broncos linebacker who decided to start taking a knee during the national anthem before NFL games has decided that he’ll no longer be doing such, citing improvements, as he sees it. Marshall isn’t bugging; he’s not saying the problem is solved. He’s saying that in the time since he started his protest, he’s had meaningful conversations with Denver police that have allowed him to feel good about where things are headed. ESPN’s Jeff Legwold reports.
Free Food
Coffee Break: Last weekend, in things people said that we wish they hadn’t, Dave Chappelle made some very unexpected criticisms of Hillary Clinton, which, as we see it, puts a major dent in the momentum he’d built up following the announcement that he’s hosting Saturday Night Live next week, with A Tribe Called Quest as the musical guest.
Snack Time: I haven’t watched The Simpsons in years, but it just got extended for another two seasons, pushing the total to 30. Thirty years is a record for a scripted television program, never mind one that’s animated.
Dessert: If you’re voting Tuesday, you might want to read this. What your ballot looks like matters.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 11/4/16
Sorry, folks. You can’t bet on the election
10:30 AMHey, don’t forget. 4:30 p.m. EST today, Domonique Foxworth and I will be talking trash on ESPN2 with Papi as co-hosts of Highly Questionable. I’m expecting a fun ride, plus I got to go to the beach this morning, so I’m happy.
A sex scandal has roiled Oakland, California’s police department over the past few months. The short version is that a multitude of officers were sexually exploiting a teenage prostitute and most certainly using their positions with the force as part of said criminal activity. One officer killed himself last year after revealing his involvement with the girl. As the story goes, officers were basically trading undercover bust info for sex, among other things. ABC News reports that California prosecutors are expected to announce results of their probe Friday.
It’s been a rough year for Samsung. First, the company’s Galaxy 7 phone was recalled en masse because it was simply blowing up for no apparent reason, which is pretty much the scariest possible proposition for any handheld device, save it sucking your soul from the inside out while you use it, which it arguably may be doing anyway. That aside, Samsung is recalling nearly 3 million washing machines, and I’ll bet you can guess why. Yes, they’re exploding. These stories of the tops blowing clean off these machines are actually pretty scary.
Most people presume that you can bet on anything in Vegas. Alas, that’s not true. You can bet on sports of all types. You want to lay down some cash on a sporting event? Sure. But all those crazy prop bets you hear about regarding all sorts of wild events aren’t really real anymore. Which is too bad. It seems like betting on the presidential race would be a great way for sportsbooks to make cash. And strangely, somehow, important to our democracy. FiveThirtyEight’s David McIntire explains why sports are the only things moving lines in Nevada.
There are all sorts of theories as to why ratings are down in the NFL. There are people who legit believe that Colin Kaepernick of all people is somehow turning viewers away because of his kneeling protest (something that was never on TV before, BTW, so why people would miss it makes no sense). Others think that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are sucking up all the airspace. Others say that too many games are to blame. But Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has a more basic theory. The league ain’t fun and, thus, the games don’t entertain.
Free Food
Coffee Break: Hamilton’s soundtrack went double platinum for the Broadway musical, and with Lin-Manuel Miranda stepping away from the production, there’s now room for him to do a lot more with the product. One such thing is a new mixtape based on the play, WHICH LOOKS FIRE.
Snack Time: Apparently, the fallout from that Beyoncé appearance on the CMAs went even more poorly than we thought. Turns out that they ended up scrubbing a whole lot of her from the show’s website as a result. What a mess.
Dessert: Tinashe dropped a new mixtape for your weekend. Check it out after you pick apples with bae.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 11/3/16
Beyoncé shuts down the CMAs with the Dixie Chicks
2:00 PMWhat are you up to Friday afternoon? Nothing? Great. Then tune in to ESPN2 at 4:30 p.m. EST. Domonique Foxworth and I will be hosting Highly Questionable tomorrow. Yes, Papi will be there, too. Tune in!
When a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard runs for office in 2016, problems will arise when he speaks in public. That’s exactly what went down Wednesday night in New Orleans where David Duke showed up at Dillard University for a Senate debate. Mind you, it’s an HBCU. The protests turned quasi-violent, with demonstrators trying to push their way into the event hall past police. Why? Because the broadcaster decided that having people in the crowd at all was a bad idea. It didn’t go well for Duke, to say the least. ABC News reports on the bizarre night in Louisiana.
Don’t ever try to tell me that the Dixie Chicks don’t keep it real. Remember back when lead singer Natalie Maines had the guts to stand onstage and tell the country music world in 2003 that then-President George W. Bush invading Iraq was a terrible idea? Well, it got the group blackballed from the industry to an extent. So, on Wednesday night, when they were invited to sing Daddy Lessons with Beyoncé at the 50th anniversary of the Country Music Awards, people lost their minds. Lucky for you, Beyoncé dropped a CDQ on SoundCloud of the collaboration. ABC News details the fun.
Dave Chappelle once told a very funny joke about voting. The basic premise was that white guys will tell you anything about their personal lives, up to and including lewd acts, but will never reveal who they plan on supporting on the ballot. So, when you hear all these people talking about how undecided they are, it’s really just a dodge to see what someone else is going to say and basically deflect. Point is, in this presidential race in particular, most people have known who they plan to vote for. FiveThirtyEight’s Dan Hopkins explains that those choices haven’t changed.
Josh Huff is a wide receiver for the Eagles. Not exactly a star, he’s not the kind of player you care about a lot unless you have him in a fantasy league or root for his team. He was pulled over this week with a gun in his car. Alas, the gun is licensed in Texas, where he’s from, not New Jersey, where he lives. It’s been a marginal distraction for the team this week, but in explaining his situation, Huff made a rather interesting observation. He basically said, if you think most athletes don’t carry guns, you’re wrong. Then he took a swipe at former NBA star Gilbert Arenas. ESPN reports.
Free Food
Coffee Break: If you haven’t caught up on all of FX’s Atlanta, you absolutely need to, fam. I can’t even explain how much I love this program. The writing, the characters, the somewhat faux reality in the context of surrealism, the dialogue, all of it. But perhaps most important is the music. The finale ends on a legitimately perfect note. Watch it.
Snack Time: Some people have a hard time understanding how a large social media presence can lead directly to making money for individuals. Well, if Instagram develops its shopping feature the way it wants, you’ll get it then.
Dessert: If you smoke e-cigarettes, you might want to be careful. They can basically explode at any time, fam.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 11/2/16
Two police officers ambushed and killed in Des Moines, Iowa
12:45 PMWe’ve got some fresh content for the streets from the desk here today. First, we got our first podcast episode off from the new studio here, and secondly another installment of Locker Room Lawyer. Stay for the outtakes, kiddos.
An ambush attack on police has left two officers dead in Iowa. For those of you thinking that this is somehow related to angry black folks deciding to take their anger out of law enforcement, pump the brakes. The suspect that officials are looking for is named Scott Michael Greene, who also apparently once decided that flying a Confederate flag and causing a scene at a high school football game was a cool thing to do. ABC News has the latest details on the incident.
People in this world identify themselves many different ways. There are heterosexuals, homosexuals, transsexuals, the list goes on. Until this morning, however, I had never heard the term “ecosexuals.” But apparently it’s a growing trend in which people basically identify their sexuality as something more closely related to their connection with the earth, than, say, another human being. There’s also a healthy dose of doomsday alert involved with many who feel this way. VICE‘s Neil McArthur looks at how ecosexuality may actually save the planet.
We’re less than a week away. Many people have voted early, as in tens of millions of people, but others are still gritting their teeth, waiting for what happens next Tuesday. The political ads are heating up, if you haven’t turned on your television recently. Somehow, and we’ll just chalk this one up to male privilege, there are people who believe that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is more honest than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, which … OK. Anyway, the gang at FiveThirtyEight has a new election podcast out. Tune in here.
LeBron James is already winning the psychological battle over the Golden State Warriors. Since the world won’t let the Warriors forget that they blew a 3-1 lead in last year’s NBA Finals, The King played along as well during his Halloween party. Come on, it was funny, no big deal, right? Wrong. The media has been asking players in The Bay about it since it happened, and many of them are NOT amused. I feel like this is the wrong tack. If you admit that this bothers you, you’ve already lost. ESPN’s Chris Haynes reports.
Free Food
Coffee Break: Bruno Mars is the biggest pop star this world has right now. If you couldn’t tell on his latest Saturday Night Live appearance, my man is on another level. His live shows are off the charts, his music is dope and he’s finally embracing his star persona as a legit part of his presentation, which is awesome. Read this feature on him.
Snack Time: A casino in Queens, New York, is about to have the worst karma in the world after what they did to one woman. A machine told her she won $43 million. They basically just said, nah, and gave her a steak dinner. Seriously.
Dessert: You didn’t know that you needed a Sade and MF Doom mashup tape, but you did. You’re welcome.
All Day Podcast
All Day Podcast: 11/1/16
The death of Vine, Tristan Thompson’s Kardashian connection and a conversation with Omar Epps
5:23 PMThings look a little different around here these days. We’ve set up our new studio at The Undefeated offices, which has made everyone more comfortable on the mic and saved us a ton of time in general. Much respect to everyone who helped us out along the way.
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As for this week’s episode, we also heard from some new voices. Aaron Dodson, who you’ve seen as a featured player in Practice Squad and Locker Room Lawyer, lends his voice to the show to talk about his Halloween experience. He dressed up as San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the reactions he got on the street are worth tuning in to hear.
Also, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is rumored to have told teammate Tristan Thompson to keep his new boo Khloe Kardashian away from the team, lest she create any distractions. Personally, I don’t see any real issue with what a man chooses to do in his off time, but King James runs the squad. Jill Hudson’s take on the matter is certainly interesting.
To cap things off, the crew discussed the death of Vine as a social medium and our Bristol, Connecticut, correspondent (that’s only partly a joke) Terrika Foster-Brasby sat down with actor Omar Epps to discuss his career in sports movies and the upcoming release of Almost Christmas. She’s great and we’re looking forward to more of her on the program.
Give it a listen, and if you have any feedback or show ideas, feel free to email us at allday@andscape.com.
Locker Room Lawyer, Episode 10: Cam Newton
The Carolina Panthers quarterback feels he isn’t protected from hard hits like other quarterbacks
3:50 PMIn this week’s edition of Locker Room Lawyer, Clinton Yates and Domonique Foxworth take the case of Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton to The Undefeated courtroom.
On Sunday during a postgame news conference following the Panthers’ 30-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Newton expressed his displeasure about the lack of late-hit calls he receives, especially compared with those received by other quarterbacks in the NFL, adding that he planned to go as far as to address the issue personally with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
“At times, I don’t even feel safe. Enough is enough,” Newton said. “I plan on talking to Commissioner Goodell about this. It’s not fun, and I don’t know what I have to do.”
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Ed Werder reported that the NFL has concluded that the Cardinals should have been flagged for an illegal hit on Newton in Sunday’s game. Goodell has also reportedly promised to speak to Newton.
In the meantime, Domonique, a former NFL cornerback and our Locker Room Lawyer, has Newton’s back, and the numbers are in his favor. On the other hand, Clinton argues that the real problem lies in the inherent danger of the sport.
Will the verdict be in Newton’s favor?
Check out the video, and if you have any professional athlete in mind (past or present) who needs the Locker Room Lawyer’s representation, feel free to email us at allday@andscape.com with episode ideas. Also, check out our weekly All Day Podcast.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 11/1/16
Bill Cosby is trying to hide behind his impaired vision
12:30 PMOh, you think you had a cool Halloween costume? I’ll bet you do. Plenty celebrities did, but you know who had the best? None other than our own Brent Lewis’ son, who looked amazing as Kit Kat Chance The Rapper. So dope.
The Bill Cosby trial will soon be underway. He arrived today for a pretrial hearing, looking like a blind old man because, effectively, that’s what he is at this point. The big thing at question for this trial is whether or not Cosby’s other accusers will be allowed to testify against him. The longtime television star’s lawyers are arguing that because he apparently can’t see, they shouldn’t be allowed to speak. That gross irony of that defense is not lost on anyone, considering what he’s accused of doing. ABC News reports the latest.
I’ve got a lot of friends who are hysterical about the election. Between group texts, online chats and otherwise, there are a lot of people who refuse to believe that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will not be the president-elect next Wednesday until they actually see it with their own eyeballs. Between polls and predictions, everyone’s head is spinning about what is a realistic forecast and what isn’t. Luckily, FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver is around to solve that problem. On Tuesday, he explained how the odds of an electoral college popular vote split are in fact increasing.
We really need the Taylor Swift and Drake rumors to be true. If for no other reason that these two could make an album together that would instantly go double platinum just off the strength of both fan bases. Don’t get it twisted, Tay Tay’s got bangers. Perhaps most importantly, if and when the two broke up, they’d both then make albums that would also do numbers. From a music fan standpoint, this is a match made in heaven. Listen to what Viceland‘s Desus & Mero have to say about the matter.
It’s all over for Ray Allen. To be quite honest, I didn’t exactly realize that this wasn’t official for some time. But, the man who initially made me cry as a high schooler back in 1995 when he hit a shot to win the Big East Championship game over Allen Iverson is certainly the greatest NBA shooter of all time. People tend to forget that he used to be a guy that could dunk on you if you didn’t look out. Now, it’s just a countdown to the Hall of Fame.
Free Food
Coffee Break: I’m always looking for new places to hang out and work. Sometimes that means a cafe, other times that means a library or a reading room. Or, if I’m lucky, some combination of both that provides a reasonable environment to concentrate. If they had listening clubs like this where I live, I’d be there every single day.
Snack Time: If you’ve never heard of a fungus called Devil’s Fingers, you’re in for a treat. Check out this tremendous time lapse, paired with some pretty crazy music that will make you feel like you might have gotten closer to hell.
Dessert: The season finale of FX’s Atlanta is Tuesday night, so check out this great GIF thread of what we’ve seen so far.