The close-up look at how teams prepare for their opponent and things that happen in a game that matters brings the Cowboys into focus for Week 14.
The NFL has added two new wrinkles to their Hard Knocks franchise in 2024. Every summer, fans are able to track the happenings of one team during their training camp build up to the regular season. This year Max (formerly HBO) added a look at the offseason component when it profiled the New York Giants through free agency and the draft.
And starting last week, fans got their first in-season view of football operations as Hard Knocks profiles the four teams in the AFC North. The premiere episode came out last week as it looked at closely at the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals before their head-to-head matchup, and the Baltimore Ravens as they got set to face the Phiadelphia Eagles.
With the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14, it stands to reason they could make an appearance on the show’s second episode.
The Cleveland Browns took on the Denver Broncos in Week 13, but were not featured in the game action that spanned the last third of the episode. That game, like the Cowboys’ gut-punch, 27-20 loss to the Bengals, was a Monday Night Football affair. If the logic is that game was too late to be included in the episode, it stands to reason Dallas’ game won’t see any airtime on Episode 2, and would potentially be part of Episode 3 when the Bengals are profiled.
If you’ve ever wanted to dine at the fictional Satriale’s Pork Store from The Sopranos, today is (potentially) your lucky day.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show debuting its pilot, HBO announced a partnership with Postmates that allows fans of the show to eat like a made man.
Unfortunately, only fans in New York and Los Angeles (and surprisingly not New Jersey!) can enjoy this deal. But if you live in either of those cities, you can potentially have an iconic meal styled like a Satriale sandwich delivered to your doorsteps.
All this from a slice of gabagool? We're bringing Satriale's to life for one day only through an exclusive partnership with @Postmates to celebrate 25 years of #TheSopranos. Fans in New York and LA can open the app and order The Gabagool, powered by Ggiata Delicatessen and… pic.twitter.com/F0Y6L19MbX
For fans who live in Los Angeles, they can use the Postmates app to deliver from one of the Ggiata Delicatessen locations. Meanwhile, folks in New York can find the sandwich from Regina’s Grocery.
Both restaurants, for today only, are searchable under Satriale’s.
They will have the sandwich (for $10 before delivery fees) listed as The Gabagool, which is what series lead Tony Soprano calls the Italian cold-cut meat also known as capicola.
Even though it is disappointing that this sandwich is only available in a limited quantity and while supplies last at participating locations, that will make it even more special for the lucky few who get their hands on such a treat.
From Tamagotchi pets to board games like Hungry Hungry Hippos to pagers that were larger-than-life, the ’90s were a whole mood. The era also produced stellar shows like Friends, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Simpsons, and more.
Simply put, the ’90s was an undefeated era. Television back then was memorable, producing many iconic moments still talked about today. It was nearly impossible to resist parking in front of the TV for “TGIF” Fridays when all your favorite shows were on.
Admittedly, I still throw on episodes of shows I’ve seen dozens of times to cackle hysterically like I’ve never seen them. It’s peak washed behavior, but I make no apologies.
It got me thinking that there must be other people who do this as well and could use a list of highly underrated shows to add to their binge-watch shenanigans.
Grab your favorite comfort food and a spot on the couch, and live your best ’90s life with this (totally biased, but also correct) list.
Dr. Jerry Buss apparently loved John C. Reilly in the movie version of Chicago.
With just one episode left in the second season of Winning Time on HBO, fans are seeing a slightly different reception this time around.
The show was widely criticized for inaccuracies during its first season by some of the real-life individuals (including Jerry West,Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson) portrayed in the show.
Although the Lakers originally said they had no comment about the show and were not supporting this project, we’ve seen a slight change of tune in the second season.
One very important person depicted in the show who is not critical of this season is Lakers owner Jeanie Buss (played by Hadley Robinson).
During Jeanie’s recent appearance on the official podcast of the show, she spoke about one of her interactions with John C. Reilly — who portrays her late father, Dr. Jerry Buss.
“John C. Reilly is absolutely breathtaking as my dad,” she said. “He’s absolutely fabulous.”
Jeanie said that she first met Reilly when he was attending a Lakers game. She decided to introduce herself to him because she knew that he was going to play her father in the show.
At first, according to Jeanie, the actor seemed nervous that he was going to get kicked out of the game.
Instead, however, she told him a heartwarming story about a moment she shared with her father when they went to the movies, one of their shared passions, and saw Chicago (2002) in theaters.
“He was really good … [he is] somebody that can be so funny [and] can play such a tragic character,” she said.
Jeanie said that her father likely would not have had the same disappointment that others portrayed in the show like West and Abdul-Jabbar felt.
“I think he’d be really honored that you were playing him,” she continued.
This is not the first time that Jeanie has praised Reilly’s portrayal of her father. She had similar comments last month during an interview on AM 570 LA Sports.
“I know some people are like, ‘I can’t believe you’re watching that show!’ I said, ‘You know what? I really miss my dad so much. It’s kind of nice to see him.'”
Jeanie said that the costume department of Winning Time tried to get in touch with her father’s old tailor.
While the tailor had since passed away, his son had since taken over the business. Now, whenever she watches the show, it even looks like she is watching her dad.
“The wardrobe that he wears — that is what was making me crazy. Those were outfits that my dad actually wore.”
Check out these movies streaming on Max this September.
It’s September, and it’s time to prepare for the end of summer, break out the pumpkin flavors at Starbucks and get the fall foliage going across the country.
If you want a take a break from summer’s waning days and need some quality time with your television, we’ve got 50 movies from Max (formerly known as HBO Max) that are ready to stream whenever you’re ready.
While there are plenty of great films on Max, we’ve tried to find a nice cross section of genres and tastes so that there’s a little bit for everyone with this list.
But if you’re not a Max user and are still looking for something good to watch, we can help with that too. Check out some of our other viewing recommendations:
HBO’s Winning Time reminded us Magic Johnson wanted to leave the Lakers during his third season in the league.
Editor’s note: All interviews for this story were completed prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Magic Johnson played for the Lakers during the entirety of his NBA career. But all of that nearly ended when he demanded a trade in 1981.
Such frustration seemed unlikely when Johnson was named NBA Finals MVP as a rookie in 1980. Fans saw the joys of victory during the first season of HBO’s Winning Time when Paul Westhead (brilliantly portrayed by Jason Segel) improbably led the Lakers to win an NBA championship during his first year as interim head coach.
“Season 1 is about a guy stepping into his adulthood and it’s a series of unlikely circumstances that leads to an unlikely victory,” Jason Segel told For The Win. “It’s really a story of underdog triumph.”
Warrick Page/HBO
But after he became the permanent head coach of the team the following season, his new offensive game plan “did not endear him” to Johnson or his similarly skeptical teammates.
Stubbornly, he stuck to his intuition and may have lost the locker room in the process.
“[Season 2] is the story of somebody who probably didn’t belong to be in this position in the first place trying to hold the ring of power and just not being able to do it,” Segel said. “He can’t see his way out of pride.”
Los Angeles began the 1981-82 season with a 2-4 record and the chemistry on the team was awful. According to sportswriter Jeff Pearlman, the author of the Winning Time source material, Johnson refused to board the team bus after the Lakers lost to the Spurs during the sixth game of the season.
Winning Time is elite television they got Magic Johnson cooking Utah Jazz fans 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/IzT5CUMQfy
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) August 28, 2023
A few games later, Johnson and Westhead reached a breaking point during a game against the Jazz at the Salt Palace in Utah (via Los Angeles Times):
After receiving a postgame lecture from Westhead, Magic … said: “I can’t play here anymore. I want to leave. I want to be traded. I can’t deal with it no more. I’ve got to go in and ask [Buss] to trade me.”
HoopsHype recently ranked Johnson’s trade request as the second-most important in league history. The reason is that, despite riding a five-game win streak, Westhead was fired the next day.
Westhead was eventually replaced by longtime Lakers head coach Pat Riley, who is portrayed in the show by Adrien Brody. The two coaches, who were once friends, saw their relationship dissolve largely over differing opinions about how to coach Johnson.
“In order to save himself and Magic and help everyone live up to their potential, it causes a rift in his friendship with Paul,” Brody explained. “There’s really a lot of humanity going on in the game and their lives.”
Segel recalls a pivotal moment in the timeline of the two coaches that happens on screen.
“Pat Riley has been protecting me from myself for most of the season,” Segel said. “There is a moment where I go to go after Magic and Pat stops me and I turn on Pat and I say, ‘What, Pat?’ really aggressively and you see on Adrien’s face and he makes the decision to just say nothing. He lets me end it.”
Riley admirably stepped up with Westhead no longer in the picture.
Led by Riley after Westhead was ousted, the Lakers were 50-21 (.704) to end the season and Los Angeles went on to win another championship. That may not have happened if Johnson hadn’t publicly requested his trade, which then effectively forced Westhead out of his position.
Jason Segel is putting on a masterclass as Paul Westhead in Winning Time
According to Rodney Barnes, who is an executive producer and writer on the show, Segel was able to perfectly capture Westhead’s many flaws during this season of Winning Time.
“Everybody is not cut out for [the job],” Barnes said. “To have the pressure of a [personality like] Pat Riley sitting next to you the whole time and what that does to you emotionally and psychologically … Jason Segel is fantastic.”
We’ve got 50 great movies you can watch right now on Max.
It’s already July, with plenty of fun summer hangouts, delicious cookouts and swim days seemingly on repeat for many during this festive month.
If you want a break from the sun and need some quality time with your television, we’ve got 50 movies from Max (formerly known as HBO Max) that are ready to stream whenever you’re ready.
While there are plenty of great films on Max, we’ve tried to find a nice cross section of genres and tastes so that there’s a little bit for everyone with this list.
But if you’re not a Max user and are still looking for something good to watch, we can help with that too. Check out some of our other viewing recommendations:
