Pokémon Gocreator Niantic Labs’ newest augmented reality game based on theHarry Potteruniverse is available now for bothiOSandAndroidin the US, a day earlier than we anticipated it would launch in the region. The game, calledHarry Potter: Wizards Unite, is similar in style toPokémon Go, asking players totraverse a virtual map overlaid on the real world and collect magical artifacts.
Three years ago I was sitting in a hotel room in Burbank, California when I was reading an article that the creators of Pokemon teamed up with Niantic Labs, a software company from San Francisco, to launch Pokemon Go. The game brought a new angle to the franchise, giving the player the ability to physically go outside and catch Pokemon on a real map fed into the game via Google Maps. Naturally, I downloaded it and caught my first “real” Pokemon from bed, a Growlithe, just to give a middle finger to the system and the concept of “Go”.
After it’s release, I think we as a country were united for the first time since post 9/11. Every single person I knew was playing and having a blast while doing it. Kids were taking to the streets, finally getting off the couch and aimlessly walking with their head down in front of buses and into the middle of the street to catch endless Pikachus, Charmanders, and Squirtles. It was joyous. A few people even got stabbed because they were playing at 4 am in bad neighborhoods. What a rush.
Fast forward three years and I may be the only one still playing. Not only am I still playing, I have a complete Pokedex. I did exactly what the slogan said and I caught them all.
I even caught a Black Charizard, something I was not aware existed until I caught it.
Now how did I accomplish this amazing feat? By taking the “Go” out of the title and downloading a hacked version of the app that enabled a joystick and let me play from the comforts of my own living room. Sure, it kind of defeated the entire purpose. I could have just played the normal game. Alas, my OCD would not allow this.
So now we have Harry Potter Wizards Unite. I myself downloaded it moments ago and can say it’s already been deleted off my phone. Too confusing, don’t have the time. They did apparently pay Daniel Radcliffe to voice Harry Potter again though so that was neat. That’s about as much as I learned though.
So my hope is that in these trying times we collectively return to the streets and once again unite for the latest craze in mobile gaming. Fresh air, exercise, camaraderie. If you need me, i’ll be in bed playing Pokemon.
THIS is telling. This is 1,000% about Kyrie Irving and if you don’t agree you are lying to yourself. I love Jaylen Brown, I think he has a lot of untapped potential which we’ve seen in spurts the past 2+ seasons, but he has yet to put it all together. Obviously he’s a very intelligent guy as the youngest elected VP of the NBA Players Association, and entering his fourth year in the league its time for Brown to show why he was a No. 3 overall pick. As for the ice cold IG headline, I think we all know that Jaylen Brown fucking hates Kyrie’s guts. From his midseason interviews clapping back at Kyrie for throwing “the young guys” under the bus:
For context. Jaylen wasn’t even asked about Kyrie comments. He wanted to talk about it.
Q: How do you stop being uptight?
A: “We can’t make comments. We can’t point fingers. We just gotta empower each other. If we don’t everybody’s going to go into their own little shell.”
Jaylen Brown: “We’ve got to be more accountable as a group. It’s not one guy’s fault. It’s not young guys, old guys’ fault. It’s everybody. We all have to be accountable to turn this thing around.”
To his post-game comments after getting knocked out of the playoffs by Milwaukee:
“I tried to do the best I could with the cards I was dealt. I tried to be mature about the process and handle it the best I could.” #Celtics#CelticsTwitter
And lets not forget Brad Stevens’ comments after that Milwaukee series too.
“I always reference Jayson and Jaylen, I can’t imagine handling what they have to handle at 20 and 22. I cant fathom it. I would have cracked a long, long time ago.”
So hopefully this is addition by subtraction when Kyrie walks, but I gotta admit I do not feel great about this team if when Al Horford signs somewhere else too. That last sentence is something that sports radio has mocked for the past three years because yes Al Horford is not objectively worth $30 Million a year, but he is was still an integral piece of this team’s success.
I was in my daily cocoon of sadness sitting in soul crushing traffic this morning when I opened up YouTube and went down the Lupe Fiasco rabbit hole. It wasn’t long before I came back to the 2006 mixtape heater “Switch.” In addition to the 10,000 pound bass booming throughout, this song is incredibly clever and shows just how slick Lupe was back in the day. Lupe himself even describes the song as “a little science experiment” as he literally switches back and forth from subject matter without missing a beat.
In the song Switch, Lupe runs an “Experiment” during which he lays out for the listeners several different facets or niches that all rappers tend to fall into. Every time the background says “Switch”, Lupe will change the flow, meter, cadence, vocab, and topic to correspond to another niche of rap. – Genius
So turn up your factory ass system or pop in your headphones and let this Lupe classic bang.
Sherdog – Soriano was one of two competitors to get job offers from the UFC. Regiment Training Center export Yorgan De Castro was the other, as he kept his perfect professional record intact and put away Sanford Alton Meeks with a leg kick and follow-up punches in the first round of their heavyweight showcase. A former linebacker at Iowa State University, Meeks (1-1) bowed out 4:45 into Round 1.
Correction: This blog was updated to correct Yorgan De Castro’s current gym as Regiment Training Center.
“We want to be able to say, ‘I come from New England MMA, we’re some of the baddest motherfuckers in the country’.”
Those were the words of Peter Barrett when I interviewed him before Cage Titans XLIV last week. One might say Yorgan De Castro’s victory last night might be the icing on the cake for that sentiment. We saw what fighters from the local scene could do to each other on Saturday. Last night, De Castro showed what they could to everyone else.
De Castro came into this fight not only highly ranked in MA and New England at Heavyweight, but at Light Heavyweight as well. Although he weighed in at 253lbs for this bout, I wouldn’t be shocked if eventually he cut back down. With that said it is HARD to see him doing that any time soon after a performance like this one.
His opponent, Alton Meeks, is actually a former D1 linebacker at Iowa State, so you know he’s an athlete. He was able to take De Casto down a couple of times but the Regiment Training Center product kept getting back up, frustrating the hell out of Meeks. From there it was only a matter of time before De Castro showed how devastating he could be on the feet, earning his fourth KO/TKO in five fights and keeping his perfect record in tact.
So click clack, I think they hear us coming. The rest of the MMA world is surely aware of NE MMA now. Our little local scene boasts Lauzon, Powell, Kattar, and Font in the big time with De Castro now joining them. Congrats to Yorgan De Castro, a big win for a whole community.
I’ll be sharing some interesting stories that have taken place through the years and will hopefully have some guests in the future too. #PhiresidewithPhilpic.twitter.com/4NDVTPNKmt
Phil Mickelson is the most interesting dude in golf hands down. Completely unprompted, just launching a webs series so he can break out old stories of a phantom shitter on the golf course. I had zero idea where he was going with this, but I gotta say Phil has a real knack for storytelling. Sets the scene, introduces key characters, builds up the suspense, then BAM he drops the punchline and gets the hell out of dodge. As the infamous George Costanza once said: always leave on a high note.
So I was perusing the old timeline a little earlier this afternoon when I stumbled upon a follower of a follower or some shit like that announcing they had officially reviewed a film for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Honored and humbled to announce that I’m now a film critic for the @sfchronicle. I can’t even sum up how it feels to be included in these pages except that it’s like a dream come true. https://t.co/886SHbwJVb
This is usually one of the more beautiful things about Twitter. When someone breaks through with a massive success or shares a heartwarming story, Twitter as an internet community often comes together to share praise. Sometimes it’s a new job like in this case, sometimes someone has managed to stay sober for a couple of days. Either way complete strangers are afforded the opportunity to drop a “good goin man” and keep that person encouraged. You realize, if but for a second, maybe the world doesn’t completely suck.
But thennnnn sometimes you look a little closer. Take Ziki for instance. He decided to announce his first successful venture as an SF Chronicle film while also linking to his review fucking TORPEDOING a new Jim Gaffigan move. I mean what an absolutely OUTRAGEOUS move. That’s like if someone were to announce they had bought their first company while also linking to a story about them laying off every last fucking employee. It’s straight up tone deaf narcissm at its finest.
But to be honest that is my point here and on Twitter, where I am now being BERATED by “writers” and “critics” for taking ol’ Z to task:
Further evidence that people still don’t understand what a film critic’s job even is. Maybe one day…
Film critics are the complete and utter worst. Really anyone who employs themselves by criticizing someone else’s shit is the worst. I mean there was a fucking “South Park” episode satirizing how pretentious Yelpers are. But film critics? Good fucking Lord. I said it on twitter and I’ll say it on here, I don’t think a film critic has ever written a positive review. Every movie is terrible. They all stink to high heaven. And film critics would know because they also know a few big words they learned getting their English degree.
The bottom line is if you want to find something wrong with something you will. And no one looks cool being overly nice do they? So Ziki decided to bust out the tough love and rip this movie, which no one would have seen REGARDLESS to shreds. really big move from him.
So to all film critics out there, I don’t know what happened to you in life to feel so insecure that you have to now rip up fucking movies to feel better about yourself. But hey, if that smidge of power gets you through the day….eh nah that’s just sad.
Danny Ainge refused to include Jayson Tatum in any Anthony Davis deal (as he should have). Kyrie Irving is as good as gone. Al Horford just opted out of his last year. Look around guys.
The Celtics now belong to Jayson Tatum.
If you had asked me two years ago (23 months ago but whos counting) I would have traded “every player on the Celtics roster” for Anthony Davis. But so much has changed since then. AD shot his way out of New Orleans, he demanded a trade to the Knicks or the Lakers, his agent Rich Paul tried to strong arm a deal to LA mid-season and then made it wildly clear that AD would not re-sign with Boston. Now I get it that it’s Danny Ainge’s job to call that bluff and pull the trigger on a trade because A. Davis may end up loving Boston like Kevin Garnett did and B. Davis suddenly would be sacrificing $50 Million dollars to leave Boston for LA. But, by landing in LA, Davis and Paul both get exactly what they wanted. Maybe it was a bluff, maybe it wasn’t. All I know is I’m not trading Tatum and the rest of the team for a guy who may or may not play in Boston for less than 12 months. I’m just not doing it. Tatum has shown way too much promise and you’d have to throw in heart and soul guys like Marcus Smart *just* to make the money work. Pass.
As for the Kyrie situation, I have been going back and forth on my thoughts because I hate reacting to news that hasn’t happened. I don’t want to bury a guy for a decision he hasn’t made yet. BUT, it sure seems like Kyrie is already out the door. There are reports that the Celtics are resigned to losing him in free agency. In fact Adam Himmelsbach wrote in the Globe that Kyrie has essentially “ghosted” the Celtics leading up to free agency, which would be the least surprising shit I’ve heard about him if true. Kyrie has shown that, despite all his grandiose speeches and delusions of grandeur as this elder statesman, he is just immature. A leader, or even a grown ass adult for that matter, handles last season very differently. I’m 30 and even I know that publicly criticizing younger, more impressionable co-workers is a piss poor way to inspire confidence and improve performance. Read a management book on one of your 6 hour flights for christ’s sake. Even Cleveland.com is criticizing Kyrie for making the same mistakes as the guy he so desperately wanted to get away from on the Cavs.
That doesn’t mean I think things are beyond repair though; I honestly believe Kyrie could come back, show a little embarrassment at the way everything has been handled the past 12 months, put up a good month of basketball and all would be forgiven. But, I just don’t think thats the way he’s wired.
And this is why the Boston Celtics do not kowtow to superstars. The C’s did everything they possibly could have to appease their young superstar in Kyrie Irving and he still is less than two weeks away from likely leaving them at the altar. You may need to do that in order to win an NBA title, but I’d rather live and die with guys like Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas than beg a superstar to please come play for our historic franchise. Why?
Woj also tweeted earlier today that Horford has reportedly opted out of his contract.
Boston Celtics center Al Horford will not exercise the $30.1M option on his 2019-20 contract and become an unrestricted free agent, league sources tell ESPN. Horford and the Celtics both have interest in working toward a new deal in July, sources tell ESPN.
To be completely honest, I fully expected this from big Al. He is 33 years old with one year left on his deal in a suddenly barren free agent market. This is his last chance to get a long term deal. So he could opt in and cash the $30M check, or he could opt out and potentially negotiate a 3-year $60M deal to stay with the C’s and secure the bag for another $30M. Nobody is going to pay Horford $30M per on his next deal so it makes perfect sense for him to opt out. Orrr he could see the writing on the wall in Boston and try to take a lesser deal to jump ship to a more clear cut contender. Except, theres not so many clear cut contenders out there now with Golden State’s rash of injuries, Kawhi’s uncertainty in Toronto, LA’s revival with AD, Philly’s 3 starters heading towards free agency [plus Ben Simmons needing a max extension next summer], Milwaukee lurking, not to mention the apparent turmoil in Houston. So theres a whole lot of second tier teams that think they have a legit shot at a title next year.
So to Tatum, Brown and the other young guys: you all privately and publicly battled with Kyrie last year for mostly petty reasons. Kyrie is definitely to blame for that, but Tatum, Brown and co. aren’t without fault. Either way the team suffered as a result. Tatum, Brown and the young guys reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals without Kyrie (and Hayward) so I get it. Well now Kyrie is all but gone so here you go. It’s your team now Jayson. Jaylen can be your 1A, but this is your team.
Tatum has the best pedigree, the highest ceiling, has shown the most elite offensive flashes, and has the length to play D, can be a spot up shooter or get to the rim. I am excited to see what a 3rd year Jayson Tatum looks like with the ball in his hands a lot more. I think Tatum will be an All-NBA player before long….but he better be. Danny just bet the next decade of the Celtics’ fortunes on Tatum being that good. Because if he’s not, we have become the Atlanta Hawks.
What if I told you that the LA deal for AD has been in place for months but because @MagicJohnson openly tampered multiple times the only way that the @NBA / Adam Silver wouldn’t be forced to veto the trade would be for Magic to step down?! Hmmmmmmmm
It helps if you read the above tweet in the ESPN 30 for 30 voice, but this is the most outrageous yet completely based in logic conspiracy theory I’ve heard in a long long time. So from here on our I will act as if this is fact.
In reality I know the Lakers get generational superstar talent every few years like we’re living in Groundhog Day despite completely mismanaging their entire franchise. They just always have and always will. Players like to be in sunny Cali, near beaches and models and other famous elites. I get it. Doesn’t mean it won’t forever piss me off though.
Whether its AD or Dwight Howard (when he was good) or Pau Gasol or Chris Paul or Shaq and on and on we go. The Lakers always fall ass backwards into supreme talent because they were fortunate enough to move from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, where there are no lakes.
But Magic Johnson has tampered his ass off for years while pretending to be a legitimate basketball executive for the Lakers. The league has gone pretty easy on him in my opinion, but I’ve already written too many words about Earvin being bad at his job to get into it all over again.
This theory goes right up there with MJ retiring to play baseball because of a gambling suspension and the Knicks using a frozen envelope to land Patrick Ewing. It just makes too much sense to not be true.
Thanks again to Cage Titans for hooking us up with the front row seats and to all the fighters that gave us a bit of their time leading up to the fights as well as the night of the event. We’ve still got some post fight interviews from Joey B as well as the full stream of consciousness play by play that we’ll probably drop in a podcast too. So keep an eye out for the rest of that sweet sweet fight #content.
Welllll fuck me. Saturday night was everything you’d expect out of the best of the best in New England MMA and then some. We had amateur and professional bouts, from debuts to vets looking to inch their way closer to the big time. In addition to Peter Barrett and Joe Giannetti, who we spoke to earlier this week, “Shameless” Don Shainis and Brandon Fleming, among other, graced the cage to do battle. Here are some notes:
-Those were some HIGH-LEVEL ammy bouts we got to see along with some awesome backstories. The first victor Red and I got to see was actually competing in his first and only MMA fight before leaving to join the Marines. Semper Fi.
-Jake Bagley, fighting out of Nostos MMA (home of Devin Powell) came to do work and knocked his opponent the fuck out. It was revealed after the fight that just one year ago, Bagley was in rehab. Now he’s a guy who looks like he has a legit future in MMA. O and Red got this little quip from him:
Line of the night from Jake Bagley after his W at @CageTitans tonight:
“Nobody hits like I do. I wake up and work 40 hours building houses every week. I kind of felt like he was on vacation and I’m going to work.” pic.twitter.com/62XHNGJ9Ph
-Kristina Katsikis had her pro debut fighting out of South Shore Sportfighting. Although she lost, she really came back after a lopsided first round against Whittany Pyles. One thing that really stood out was that she had ZERO quit against a bigger, stronger opponent. Lots more to see from “the Meat Grinder”.
-Friend Of The Blog “Slippery” Pete Barrett did NOT disappoint. Remember when he told me he’d either knock his opponent out or send him crawling out of the cage due to lead leg damage? Well he kind of attempted to do both. In the end, Barrett was too much coming out of breaks for Zack DiSabatino and won via RD1 TKO after a nasty knee and a few head kicks. HUGE THANKS to Steve Demenico from Domenico101MMA and the #ambassadortofighters for the below video where you can hear your boy asking Pete about his victory. Find Steve on IG and Twitter at @ambassador_to_fighters .
-Tough loss for Joe Joe Giannetti but these things happen sometimes. He already has retracted his statement on taking a break and now wants to fight a couple times this summer. #comebackseason proceeds as scheduled for Skelator.
Red has a bigger breakdown with a ton of media coming up later today but there’s just a taste. A LOT more MMA content coming from yours truly and The 300s.
So I was perusing the old timeline a little earlier this afternoon when I stumbled upon a follower of a follower or some shit like that announcing they had officially reviewed a film for the San Francisco Chronicle.
The 300s 