Tag: Future

Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert was an epic victory lap full of nostalgia and the best kind of pettiness

The best moments from Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert.

There shouldn’t have been any doubt about who won this generation’s greatest rap beef after Kendrick Lamar dropped Not Like Us to unofficially bring his war of words with Drake to an emphatic end with a chart-topping song that continues to dominate the summer airwaves.

However, if there was any remaining sliver of belief Drake made out OK, Lamar extinguished it with one incredible night of performances Wednesday at the Kia Forum for The Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert. It was a show so good I wouldn’t have believed the hype this morning had I not stayed up to watch it myself on the surprisingly crispy Amazon Prime Video stream.

The four-hour concert was more than a victory lap, though. Sure, Lamar used his set to hammer home the point he won, performing Not Like Us five (FIVE!) straight times to close the show, in addition to doing Euphoria and Like That. But it was also a night of nostalgia, unity and just all around good vibes.

It opened with performances from other West Coast artists before transitioning into a set by DJ Mustard, with performances from Tyler the Creator, YG and Dom Kennedy, among so many more. Then K. Dot finally did his thing and a good night got even better.

These were the best moments from Kendrick Lamar’s finale.

Opened with Euphoria (with new lyrics)

It didn’t take long for us to learn what type of time Lamar was on, because he opened his set with what is still in my opinion the best song to come from his beef with Drake. To my knowledge this was the first time Lamar ever performed Euphoria, or any of the disses for that matter.

The energy in the arena was palpable through the screen. And not only did Lamar do the whole six-plus minute hookless song in its entirety, he added new lyrics: “Give me Tupac’s ring back and I might give you a little respect.”

Black Hippy reunion and a Money Trees performance

After taking us on a journey backwards through his catalog, from DAMN. to To Pimp a Butterfly to good kid, m.A.A.d city, Lamar landed on his 2012 hit Money Trees, which set the stage for Jay Rock to perform his popular verse before diving into some of his other hits.

But that was just the start of what turned into a nostalgic reunion of TDE’s Black Hippy, with Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q eventually joining Lamar and Rock. And of course Q had to do some of his hits too.

This meant something to some of us!

The Like That verse

This was the song that kicked off the “big three” beef, so it was a big moment to see Lamar perform his verse. And it hit just as hard in concert as it did the first time we all pressed play on the Future and Metro Boomin smash.

Unfortunately, Future was one of the few artists not in attendance to do his part of a collab. That’s the only thing that could have made this better.

A Dr. Dre set with a twist at the end

It wouldn’t have been a legendary show without having one of the West’s living legends come out, and Lamar checked that box by having Dr. Dre do a couple songs in the middle of his own set: Still D.R.E. and California Love.

But Dre wasn’t done after that. Before he left the stage, Lamar asked him if he had anything else to say. That’s when Dre broke into a whisper that’s become synonymous with the metaphorical death of Drake’s career:

“Psst. I see dead people.”

And right on cue, Lamar jumped into Not Like Us.

He did Not Like Us (x5!)

This is when the grave dancing really begun, because Lamar didn’t do Not Like Us once, twice or even three times to bring his show to a close. He did it FIVE times.

And the first two times, he dropped the beat right as packed arena was singing “A minorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.” And if you know the reference, you know the message he was trying to send to you know who. This was a victory lap unlike any seen before it.

He had the entire crowd singing it and everybody at home. There ain’t no coming back from this for Drake.

A moment of unity, including some NBA stars

There were some celebrities in attendance besides the artists performing, including Lakers star LeBron James. But when Lamar invited his L.A. family on stage at the end, Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan were among the locals to come up and vibe out to Not Like Us with Lamar.

And yes, that’s DeRozan who spent nine years as a Toronto Raptor, which had to be another shot to Drake’s ego. Look at how much fun Westbrook is having.

In the end, though, it turned into a beautiful moment, as Lamar had all these people from different backgrounds, hoods and cliques come together for a good time and a beautiful photo to cap it all off.

This was really a special moment in hip hop.

The Lions used Ciara’s ex Future to troll Russell Wilson so hard before win over Broncos

Well played, Ford Field.

Maybe this worked (I kid, but who knows?), but either way, the Detroit Lions did all they could to take down Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos.

While Wilson was warming up at Ford Field before Detroit handed him a 42-17 win on Saturday night in Week 15, reporters said that the PA was playing all hits by the star rapper Future. Why is that significant? Because Ciara — Wilson’s wife — is Future’s ex. And the rapper and Wilson haven’t exactly seemed like buddies over the years.

Well played, Ford Field DJ. Got him there. Here are the reports from before the game:

See it: Notre Dame two-sport great poses with future Notre Dame two-sport great

It’s probably too late for Samardzija to be any help to the Bears, isn’t it…

Notre Dame has had its fair share of multisport star athletes over the years.  During World War II, Edward “Moose” Krause starred in football and basketball while also lettering in track. Dick Arrington finished third nationally in wrestling in 1965 while earning All-American honors for helping protect Heisman Trophy quarterback John Huarte.

Bob Golic doubled up as an All-American wrestler while also starring on the football team. Raghib “Rocket” Ismail earned All-American honors in both football and track.

Perhaps the most well-known multisport star at Notre Dame in recent years was wide receiver and star pitcher, [autotag]Jeff Samardzija[/autotag].  Samardzija helped lead Notre Dame’s turnaround in 2005 and 2006 before opting to play professional baseball instead of taking his shot at the NFL.  The Valparaiso, Indiana, native crossed paths with incoming freshman [autotag]Drayk Bowen[/autotag] in a photo that was shared on social media Wednesday night.

Bowen was recently named the 2022 High School Butkus Award winner as the nation’s top high school linebacker.  Bowen plans to play baseball for the Irish in addition to football.

Related:  The best photos of Jeff Samardzija at Notre Dame

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Future may have take a shot at Russell Wilson in new Quavo collab: ‘[Expletive] Russell’

Could this be about Russell WIlson, who’s married to Future’s ex Ciara? Hmm.

In case you don’t know the history: Atlanta rapper Future used to be engaged to Ciara, and they had a child together. But they broke up in the mid-2010s and Ciara then married now-Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson.

Got it? Good. Because it’ll come into play here. Quavo and Future dropped a new song on Friday called Turn Yo Clic Up, and there’s an NSFW lyric in it: “I got it out the field, [expletive] Russell.”

Hmmm. Could that be about Russell … Wilson? No official word either way, but the speculation about it is rampant, as you’d expect from Twitter:

Saints’ known opponents for 2023 season so far

We already know all but three of the Saints’ opponents for the 2023 season:

There are just four games left on the 2022 schedule, and it’s safe to say the New Orleans Saints haven’t quite met expectations. So some eyes are already being drawn to 2023. And we know all but three of the teams the Saints will face next season.

The Saints are scheduled to host the same-place finisher in the NFC East next year while visiting the same-ranked teams in the NFC West and AFC East. If current standings hold, that means a home game with the Washington Commanders and road trips to face the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots.

We’ll know the finalized list of 2023 opponents after the 2022 season. For now, here’s what we know during the Week 14 bye:

2023 CFB Recruiting: Notre Dame lands their quarterback!

How mad is Pat Narduzzi right now? You just hate to see it.

Where there is smoke there is fire and through the clouds of it that have been noticeable for weeks, the fire has finally been found in regards to Notre Dame finding a quarterback in their 2023 recruiting class.  Former Pitt commitment, four-star prospect [autotag]Kenny Minchey[/autotag], announced his commitment to Notre Dame on Tuesday.

Minchey announced he was dropping his commitment to Pitt last week and was on campus for Notre Dame’s drubbing of Boston College this past weekend.  This doesn’t come as a surprise based on recent events but should still be met with celebration.

Minchey is listed at 6-1, 207 pounds.  He just concluded his senior season at Pope John Paul II High School just outside Nashville, Tenn.  He chose Notre Dame after previously being committed to Pitt and holding offers from the likes of Michigan State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and others.

Minchey will be attending the All-American Bowl in January.  He becomes the 24th commitment to Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class as Marcus Freeman and company try to keep it all together ahead of the early signing period next month.

Meet all of Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class right here!

[mm-video type=video id=01gjh09ehjzsb1pyjvzp playlist_id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gjh09ehjzsb1pyjvzp/01gjh09ehjzsb1pyjvzp-89c789233edfb160dc4c69edcae99518.jpg]

[listicle id=64884]

NFL MVP best bets for 2022: Lamar Jackson’s odds in a contract year are worth your attention

Can Aaron Rodgers make it three in a row? Or will the NFL crown a new king this year?

As the 2022 NFL season nears the kickoff of Week 1, the BetFTW crew is offering up our best outright bets for the new year. Here you’ll find picks and analysis for the top awards handed out at the end of each campaign. Let’s talk about who will be crowned the 2022 MVP.

Aaron Rodgers has captured back-to-back MVP awards heading into his 15th season as the Green Bay Packers’ starting quarterback, but he doesn’t appear on any of the ballots below.

After the departure of top wideout Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, the BetFTW crew expects the award to find its way to a different recipient this year.

All odds via Tipico Sportsbook.

[tipico]

Tequila, a wedding and Vegas panic: The $1K bets on Utah State to win the CFP national championship, explained

Yes, you read correct. Utah State. Not No. 7 Utah.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you confused as to why the Utah State football program suddenly saw multiple $1,000 bets to win a title this season? Well, we finally have an answer and we’re here to help.

College football season hasn’t even started yet and we’ve already gotten the most ambitious bet we’ll probably see all season long.

Two friends, Pete Kizenko and Robert Doran, teamed up to place two $1,000 bets on the Utah Aggies to win this season’s national championship.

Not the No. 7 ranked Utah Utes of the Pac-12, but the Utah State Aggies of the Mountain West, who have 1000-1 odds of winning the title.

How did they arrive at this bet? Tequila.

What started as a suggestion to take the over on the Aggies’ win totals—thanks to some unintentional hype from former Michigan Wolverine athletes Doran drank with at a wedding the previous night—turned into a “[expletive] it! Let’s hammer the national championship” upon review of Utah State’s schedule.

The $1,000 down on the Aggies left many, including Caesar’s Sportsbook confused and searching for a logical reason behind such an unlikely bet. Especially after two more bets of the same size came in on Utah State. One was from Kizenko, who doubled down after noticing his action didn’t move Utah State’s line at all. A third wager of $1,000 came from an unidentified bettor in Illinois.

Per ESPN’s David Purdum:

As news spread on Twitter of the three $1,000 bets on Utah State in three days, there were questions like, “Did they get Utah and Utah State mixed up?” and comments like, “Probably the worst bet I have ever seen.”

Meanwhile, [the] Caesars’ trading team were asking, “What’s the angle? What are we missing? Because it’s just so unusual.”

“It’s funny, because you had everybody thinking that these smart people are doing crazy research on Utah State and that it’s some like hidden Messiah golden pick,” said the 33-year-old Doran, who owns the breakfast and brunch spot Almost Home General. “And really, it just came from me ripping tequila shots with some players at a wedding.”

If five months from now we are talking about the Utah State Aggies as national champions, we’re going to circle back to this moment and remember that tequila shots were the driving force behind some history.

That and some Michigan alums who should absolutely get into handicapping. Or scouting.

[mm-video type=video id=01gb8g841z8h0r7cebw8 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gb8g841z8h0r7cebw8/01gb8g841z8h0r7cebw8-f5080e1b4dc72a4e9ba303a6a6c62536.jpg]

[listicle id=1953891]

Rookie of the Year Odds Watch: Keegan Murray, Nikola Jovic rise after 2022 Summer League

The Miami Heat forward is getting attention from oddsmakers

Somewhere along the way toward becoming an NBA staple, the Las Vegas Summer League convinced people that it wasn’t going to prove who would make it in the NBA, but it would surely show who couldn’t.

Oddsmakers have apparently taken the cliche to heart.

Following the Portland Trail Blazers’ 2022 Summer League title victory over the New York Knicks, handicappers have already begun shifting futures for Rookie of the Year—with only a handful of players moving in a positive direction. For the most part, Summer League seems to have convinced oddsmakers of who can’t win the coveted award.

Here’s a glance at where things stand in mid-July via Tipico Sportsbook:

Odds as of July 18, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

ESPN releases CFB top 25 Future Power Rankings: Where’s Georgia?

Where does Georgia rank in ESPN’s future power rankings?

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg is keeping us all entertained this offseason with his future college football power rankings. So far, he has released his future college football rankings for quarterbacks, offenses and defenses.

On Tuesday, Rittenberg combined the three to create his top 25 future power rankings.

Georgia fans should be pleased with where he ranks the Bulldogs. Here’s his top 10: