Gagmen Author Rss https://dangkygmail.com/author/gagmen/ Gagmen Author Rss - Blog DangKyGmail Thu, 03 Dec 2020 10:30:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://dangkygmail.com https://dangkygmail.com/public/skin/logo.png Gagmen Author Rss https://dangkygmail.com/author/gagmen/ 144 144 <![CDATA[The 10 best (and 5 worst) movies of 2020]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/12/03/the-10-best-and-5-worst-movies-of-2020/ Thu, 03 Dec 2020 10:30:43 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/12/03/the-10-best-and-5-worst-movies-of-2020/ " /> Credit: Illustration by EW; Josh Ethan Johnson/A24; Searchlight Pictures; Patti Perret/Amazon Studios; Focus Features (2); Disney/Pixar;

It’s a true that this year didn’t give us the movie slate we expected; 2020 was funny like that. But to say that a world without Bonds and Wonder Women and only provisional Christopher Nolan is somehow not worth noting would be huge disservice to all the smart, strange, and often entirely unexpected films we were lucky enough to get instead. So many, in fact, that dozens couldn’t even make this list. A boom in female-helmed horror? Yes please, Relic, Amulet, and She Dies Tomorrow. The deluge of great documentaries? Find Crip Camp, On The Record, Boys State, Welcome to Chechnya, Time, Athlete A, and The Mole Agent streaming online. A pretty strong Ben Affleck drama? We see you, The Way Back! (And we regret you, The Last Thing He Wanted). A lot of nervy, norm-cracking comedy, too: Palm Springs, Happiest Season, The Forty-Year-Old Version, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. 

We may be more than ready to put these past months in the rearview, but in a moment decidedly short on magic, the ten picks here represent something sweeter: Education, escapism — and more than anything, the sheer joy of cinema. 

Credit: Netflix

10. Dick Johnson is Dead

Directed by Kirsten Johnson

Dick — retired therapist, dedicated Seventh Day Adventist, zippy octogenarian — becomes the muse of his documentarian daughter (and one of the year’s least likely movie stars) in the sweetly surreal Dead, a fantastical true-life experiment in which deep fakes become the sincerest form of parental love.

Credit: Focus Features

9. Promising Young Woman

Directed by Emerald Fennell

Hell hath no fury, it’s true; but Fennell’s eviscerating, darkly comic debut is no mere candy-coated portrait of a woman scorned. As a self-appointed one-girl wrecking crew named Cassie, Carey Mulligan takes on misogyny one noxious dude-bro at a time. She’s a knockout, and the ending is too.

Credit: Amazon Studios

8. One Night in Miami...

Directed by Regina King

Though it takes a minute to shake off the constraints of its stage roots, King’s slow burner — about the stranger-than-fiction convergence of four Black superstars at Cassius Clay’s 1964 title bout — becomes both an illuminating snapshot of the era and a sort of acting Olympics for its outrageously talented stars.

Credit: Matt Kennedy/Focus Features

7. Kajillionaire

Directed by Miranda July

A sunny bystander (Gina Rodriguez) wanders into the circumscribed world of two aging L.A. grifters (Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger) and their grown daughter (Evan Rachel Wood); the financial stakes may be low, but July (Me and You and Everyone We Know) makes it feel like millions, emotionally.

Credit: Focus Features

6. Emma.

Directed by Autumn de Wilde

As delectable as a tower of pastel macarons and nearly as hard to resist, de Wilde’s tart take on Jane Austen’s classic romance spills over with great performances from the likes of Bill Nighy and The Crown’s Josh O’Connor, though it’s a sublimely droll Anya Taylor-Joy in the title role who truly takes the cake.

Credit: Netflix

5. The White Tiger

Directed by Ramin Bahrani

A sprawling Technicolor melodrama about class and caste and destiny in modern-day India? Let the Slumdog Millionaire comparisons come; Tiger may share some surface similarities — including a star-making turn for its ambitious young hero, played here by Adarsh Gourav — but the enchantment is entirely its own.

Credit: Allyson Riggs/A24

4. First Cow

Directed by Kelly Reichardt

Stop us if you heard this one before: a pair of Gold Rush prospectors, a biscuit recipe, a contraband dairy cow. Though the latest from Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy, Meek’s Cutoff) may play like a shambolic tale of male friendship and flaky pastry, there’s a sneaky transcendence at the center of it all.

Credit: Disney/Pixar

3. Soul

Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers

When Pixar is good, it is very, very good; when it’s great, it can touch the profound. Soul, about a middle-aged jazz pianist (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who finds himself trapped in purgatory on the eve of his big break, feels as tender and funny and gorgeously human as anything on screen this year.

Credit: Josh Ethan Johnson/A24

2. Minari

Directed by Lee Isaac Chung

Korean immigrant Jacob (Steven Yeun) dreams of a plot of Arkansas land to call his own; his dubious wife (Yeri Han) just wants some stability for their young family. Chung’s ’80s-set dramedy — winner of Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize — is the kind of indie gem you wait for: a small, exquisitely acted story with a huge heart.

1. Nomadland

Directed by Chloé Zhao

Tone poem, nouveau Western, elegy for the American dream: Nomadland can feel like all those things, and more. Much of the drama in Chloé Zhao’s starkly unadorned portrait of a widowed Nevadan named Fern (Frances McDormand) who learns to fit her entire world into a van happens in small, almost imperceptible moments. There are long days laboring in Amazon warehouses or potato fields; endless stretches of tarmac and rest stops; even a bittersweet hint of romance with a fellow vagabond (David Strathairn). That the movie manages to serve as both a grim reckoning of our nation’s frayed safety net and a celebration of a sort of middle-aged manifest destiny is certainly a testament to Zhao’s deceptively spare script. But it’s the dreamlike, richly textured soul of her story that stays; a new kind of cinematic classic, painfully made for these times.

The Worst: Prestige Gone Bad

Credit: Vertical Entertainment

Capone

Directed by Josh Trank

How it started: a sobering portrait of the last days of the world’s most notorious gangster. How it ends: a putty-nosed Tom Hardy, mumble-raging and filling his adult diaper to the brim.

Credit: Lacey Terrell/NETFLIX

Hillbilly Elegy

Directed by Ron Howard

This ham-handed adaptation of J.D. Vance's lightning-rod 2016 memoir hits every smug, unsubtle note; Appalachian poverty porn recast as a moralizing soap opera.

Credit: Daniel McFadden/Focus Features

Irresistible

Directed by Jon Stewart

It should have been a home run in a year like this: a master satirist riffing on the absurdity of modern politics, with Steve Carell and Rose Byrne. But, oh, what a lead balloon. #Resist

Credit: Netflix

The Last Thing He Wanted

Directed by Dee Rees

A lauded Joan Didion novel adapted by Mudbound’s Rees and starring Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck — and, alas, for all its pedigree, a murky, baffling mess.

Credit: Daniel Smith/ Warner Bros.

The Witches

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Ask not why Zemeckis felt compelled to remake Roald Dahl’s classic tale when a perfect 1990 film version already exists. No, seriously — don’t ask.

For more on our Entertainers of the Year and Best & Worst of 2020, order the January issue of Entertainment Weekly or find it on newsstands beginning Dec. 18. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.

Related content:

  • The best and worst TV shows of 2020
  • 2020 was a Hell of a year
  • EW reveals its 2020 Entertainers of the Year

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:GAGmen

]]> <![CDATA[2020 was a Hell of a year]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/12/02/2020-was-a-hell-of-a-year/ Wed, 02 Dec 2020 09:30:43 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/12/02/2020-was-a-hell-of-a-year/ " /> Credit: Illustration by Kyle Hilton for EW

This is normally the time for a fond look back at the best and worst of the pop culture year. Anyone out there feeling normal? Anyone out there feeling “best”?

Distract yourself from global calamities by merely worrying about the disasters the pandemic brought to show business. In 2019, Disney released seven movies that grossed more than a billion dollars. This year, there’s no such thing as a billion-dollar movie. The company is reorganizing itself into a Disney+ content farm, while it waits for its theme parks to fully reopen. The Mulan reboot was supposed to be a step forward for onscreen representation and one of several Disney releases steered by female directors. Instead, Black Widow and Eternals will see us later, and Mulan’s at-home release brought the kind of controversy that results in multiple headlines about internment camps. 

The studio’s woes are not unique, and they sum up just how many tipping points defined 2020. Protest and pandemic collided in a perfect storm of social awakening, energizing a yearslong reckoning with Hollywood’s systemic failings. Splash Mountain will no longer sing the Song of the South — and the hottest take of the summer declared that Hamilton, the Broadway sensation–turned– Disney+ hit, was too conservative. 

Start with Disney, though, to explain the power of great entertainment in this terrible year. The vanishing of all non-Twitchable athletics meant that ESPN, the company’s sports showcase, turned The Last Dance into a mass addiction, recasting ’90s superman Michael Jordan as an obsessive antihero. Meanwhile, the rise of Disney+ reflected streaming’s newfound centrality. Consider: the freak-show hysteria for Tiger King, the rediscovery of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Emmy- sweeping adoration for Schitt’s Creek. That’s all directly attributable to Netflix, the face HBO Max yearns to see in the mirror. 

It was a year of delays and cancellations. Artists are often defined by their limitations, and in 2020 new connections were formed by an industry cut off from its normal rhythms. Timbaland and Swizz Beatz made Verzuz into a livestreaming showcase for a few generations of musical legends. Late-night hosts found a different energy broadcasting remotely; the only thing keeping me sane was Desus & Mero’s twice-weekly Zoom session. Taylor Swift went home and recorded her most acclaimed album in years. Megan Thee Stallion didn’t miss a beat on her journey to omnipresent megastardom. Sarah Cooper started lip-synching Donald Trump on TikTok, and now people my age understand what TikTok is. John Krasinski’s Some Good News became such an immediate ritual that CBS bought it, and now people TikTok age understand what “selling out” is. 

I miss movie theaters, and feel nostalgic for our dumb arguments about big action movies. Yet there was a strange grace in our de-blockbusterized film culture. The lack of superheroes meant Delroy Lindo’s stunning Da 5 Bloods performance was the summertime event. A drought of Hollywood Chrises coincidentally marked a dominant year for female auteurs, seven of whom appear on our movie critic Leah Greenblatt’s top 10 list (which will post this week as part of EW’s expansive End of the Year coverage). 

There was no shortage of comfort food, and I’m not just talking about all the bread everyone on Instagram claimed they were baking. But pop culture also offered catharsis, as audiences sought insight into our strange new reality. That’s why 2011’s Contagion was suddenly regarded as a prophetic classic — and why Elisabeth Moss’ star turn in The Invisible Man transcended its palpable #MeToo resonance to become a vital portrait of death-at-every-corner paranoia.

Let’s not sugarcoat this. Movie theaters are bankrupt. Live performance is on life support. Bookstores struggle on good days, and there are no good days. Television was unstoppable for months, but even Wile E. Coyote has to look down eventually, and autumn saw cancellations, the Quibi crash, and productions paused by positive tests. (Stay safe, Superstore!) It was a great year for videogame sales, however, and at the risk of sounding unbearably parental, the last thing our lonely species needed was a medical reason to retreat into digital infinity. (No offense, Animal Crossing!) 

Still, there are reasons for hope. After years of corporate bromides about diversity, the awakening force of global anti-racism demonstrations led to progressive action in Hollywood. The Oscars' diversity requirements, CBS’ plan to de-Caucasianize its reality TV, the implicit promise that Johnny Depp will be less employed in the future: None of these plans are perfect, but they are a start. 

It’s always darkest, and all that. The next president listens to scientists, so that’s a big improvement already. In moments of despair, think of Ben Affleck. A couple of years ago, the onetime Argo Oscar winner was a meme-y, unfortunately-tattooed tabloid casualty. Now he’s rocketing off comeback reviews for The Way Back toward an intriguing slate of projects. Against all odds and good sense, he will play Batman again. (Not what I wanted for Christmas, frankly, but I’ll support any multiverse big enough to include Harley Quinn.) So when they tell you things will never be normal again, tell them Earth will rise like a very colorful phoenix soaring out of ashes inked on somebody’s back. 2020 was the absolute worst. 2021 won’t have to try too hard to be the best. 

Come back to EW.com throughout the next few weeks for in-depth coverage of the best and worst pop culture had to offer in 2020.

For more on our Entertainers of the Year and Best & Worst of 2020, order the January issue of Entertainment Weekly or find it on newsstands beginning Dec. 18. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.

Related content:

  • EW reveals its 2020 Entertainers of the Year: Pedro Pascal, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kerry Washington, and more

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:GAGmen

]]> <![CDATA[Darth Vader actor Dave Prowse dies at age 85]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/29/darth-vader-actor-dave-prowse-dies-at-age-85/ Sun, 29 Nov 2020 11:25:00 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/29/darth-vader-actor-dave-prowse-dies-at-age-85/ Credit: Alfa Films/Everett Collection

Star Wars star Dave Prowse has died at the age of 85, according to the BBC. The British actor played Darth Vader in the original trilogy of the science fiction franchise, 1977's Star Wars, 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, and 1983's Return of the Jedi. According to Prowse's agent, the actor passed away after a short illness.

A former weightlifter who grew up in the city of Bristol, Prowse scored early roles in 1970's Horror of Frankenstein and Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange. Six years later, he became a sci-fi icon portraying Vader in Star Wars, even though the character's dialog in the first three films of the franchise would be spoken by James Earl Jones, director George Lucas having deemed Prowse's Bristol accent unsuitable for his space saga.

Prowse's other credits included the TV shows Doctor Who and Space 1999. The actor was also famous in the UK for playing the Green Cross Code Man in a series of PSAs which promoted road safety.

Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright, who grew up near Prowse's hometown of Bristol, has paid tribute to the late star on Twitter.

"As a kid Dave Prowse couldn’t be more famous to me; stalking along corridors as evil incarnate in the part of Darth Vader & stopping a whole generation of kiddies from being mown down in street as the Green Cross Code man," wrote the filmmaker. "Rest in Peace, Bristol’s finest."

Related content: 

  • Stars we lost in 2020

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:GAGmen

]]> <![CDATA[Why a second season of 'The Undoing' is unlikely]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/28/why-a-second-season-of-x27-the-undoing-x27-is-unlikely/ Sat, 28 Nov 2020 11:30:00 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/28/why-a-second-season-of-x27-the-undoing-x27-is-unlikely/ Credit: Niko Tavernise/HBO

Grace Fraser thought her life was perfect. When The Undoing began, the Manhattan therapist (played by Nicole Kidman) was happily married to her husband, Jonathan (Hugh Grant), and their son, Henry (Noah Jupe), was happy and healthy. But that all started unraveling after the murder of Elena Alves (Matilda De Angelis). Grace's happy marriage? Turns out her husband was having an affair with Elena. Her happy son? As viewers found in at the end of episode 5, he's somehow in possession of the murder weapon.

With only one episode left to answer every last question, there's already talk about whether the limited series will continue after its first season. After all, HBO has been known to extend popular limited series past their original plan. But for The Undoing, it's seems unlikely. "This is a tight story, which is why I think six hours is perfect," says director Susanne Bier of choosing the episode number for the series. "There's something about six that has a natural arc."

Knowing it was a limited series changed how Kidman approached the project to begin with. "It's not like a drama series where you're not quite sure how they're going to evolve and you have a next season," Kidman told EW at the start of the drama. "That's why I say it's like cinema, because you have a beginning, middle, and end. The thing about a limited series is it's so difficult because you're writing a much longer form of cinema that you have to keep people engaged in, and in some ways that's so much harder. That, as an actor, is delicious."

That's not to say that the show couldn't return, but it is to say that the initial approach to the story was a six-episode limited series and nothing more.

Related content:

  • Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant face 'ugly truths' in The Undoing trailer
  • The Undoing star Nicole Kidman on Grace's 'iconic' coat
  • Hugh Grant is done being the charming leading man: 'I'm quite happy to have that behind me'

Author:GAGmen - Source: EW

]]> <![CDATA[Isabella Gomez to lead HBO Max's 'Head of the Class' reboot pilot]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/25/isabella-gomez-to-lead-hbo-max-x27-s-x27-head-of-the-class-x27-reboot-pilot/ Wed, 25 Nov 2020 15:13:55 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/25/isabella-gomez-to-lead-hbo-max-x27-s-x27-head-of-the-class-x27-reboot-pilot/ Isabella Gomez Credit: Leon Bennett/Getty Images

One Day at a Time star Isabella Gomez is going back to school as the lead in HBO Max's Head of the Class reboot pilot. Only, she won't be a student. Instead, she's on her way to the head of the class (literally) as first time teacher Alicia Adams.

Reps for the network and Gomez have confirmed the casting news to EW, which was first announced by Deadline. Alicia is described as "whip-smart, funny, blunt high school teacher," who thought she had it all figured out when she was in school. As a new teacher, she'll learn what she really wants out of life.

The original Head of the Class told the story of history professor, Charlie Moore (Howard Hesseman) and the gifted students he taught at Millard Fillmore High School in Manhattan. The series aired on ABC from 1986 to 1991, though Hesseman departed in 1990 and was replaced by Billy Connolly.

So far, the network has ordered a pilot and five additional scripts for the reboot.

The news comes after it was announced Tuesday that One Day at a Time has been canceled by ViacomCBS.

Related content:

Author:GAGmen - Source: EW

]]> <![CDATA[What to Watch on Tuesday: Love songs and Truth or Dare on 'The Bachelorette']]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/24/what-to-watch-on-tuesday-love-songs-and-truth-or-dare-on-x27-the-bachelorette-x27/ Tue, 24 Nov 2020 07:00:00 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/24/what-to-watch-on-tuesday-love-songs-and-truth-or-dare-on-x27-the-bachelorette-x27/ What to Watch

We know TV has a lot to offer, be it network, cable, premium channels, or streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Facebook Watch, and others. So EW is here to help, guiding you every single day to the things that should be on your radar. Check out our recommendations below, and click here to learn how you can stream our picks via your own voice-controlled smart-speaker (Alexa, Google Home) or podcast app (Spotify, iTunes, Google Play).

The Bachelorette

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 8 p.m. on ABC

If you’ve been longing for a little more Fear Factor in your Bachelorette episodes, this week is for you. Tayshia puts the guys through an extended game of Truth or Dare, featuring smoothies made with cow testicles and a habanero pepper challenge. Also on the agenda: A one-on-one date where Tayshia gets real about growing up biracial in Orange County, California, and a pre-rose ceremony dustup which has everyone hating on (the now mustache-less) Noah. —Kristen Baldwin

Related content: 

Hillbilly Elegy

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Netflix

If you want to see a nearly unrecognizable Glenn Close and Amy Adams duke it out as hillbillies, this Netflix film is for you. In the film, which is based off of J.D. Vance's bestselling memoir of the same name, Adams plays Bev, a woman struggling to raise her two kids while battling addiction, and Close plays her mother, Mamaw, who is resilient and whip-smart but who's had a rough life of her own. The past and present are interwoven as J.D. (played by Gabriel Basso as an adult and Owen Asztalos as a child) — now a Yale Law student — returns to his hometown amid a family emergency and must come to terms with his own history, Appalachian values, and the American dream. Come for the wigs (Adams named hers Beaverly!), stay for the powerhouse performances. —Lauren Huff

Related content: 

What ELSE to Watch

8 p.m.

NCIS (400th episode) — CBS

The Voice — NBC

The Haves and the Have Nots (season premiere) — OWN

Hollywood Exes: Reunited — VH1

9 p.m.

FBI — CBS

Chopped: Comfort Food Feud — Food Network

10 p.m.

Big Sky — ABC

FBI: Most Wanted — CBS

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team (season premiere) — CMT

Tosh.0 (series finale) — Comedy Central

Transplant — NBC

Streaming

Dragons: Rescue Riders: Huttsgalor Holiday — Netflix

By Black (series debut) — SoulPancake

Buddy Games (movie) — Digital/VOD

Girl (movie) — VOD

The Walrus and the Whistleblower (doc) — VOD

32 Weeks (movie) — Digital

Getting to Know You (movie) — Digital

*times are ET and subject to change

Author:GAGmen - Source: EW

]]> <![CDATA[The Weeknd had the most bizarre costume at the AMAs]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/23/the-weeknd-had-the-most-bizarre-costume-at-the-amas/ Mon, 23 Nov 2020 01:35:51 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/23/the-weeknd-had-the-most-bizarre-costume-at-the-amas/ The Weeknd may have looked bloodied and bruised at the AMA’s on Sunday night — but don’t worry, the bandages were just part of his latest stunt.

The R&B sensation — who accepted an award for best soul/R&B album — sported a red suit and a fully bandaged face during the award ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

The artist didn’t mention his odd facial wear during his acceptance speech, but was still wearing the bandages during his live renditions of “In Your Eyes” (with Kenny G) and “Save Your Tears.”

Although the singer started wearing the beaten up look in his video “Blinding Lights,” fans reacted on Twitter with shock and amusement.

“damn, when the weeknd said ‘i can’t feel my face when i’m with you’ he wasn’t joking,” one user wrote in reference to the singer’s hit song “Can’t Feel My Face.”

The Weeknd caused a similar stir during the VMA’s when he showed up looking as if he had just gotten into a bar fight backstage.

]]> <![CDATA[Knicks’ plan of luring Donovan Mitchell doesn’t work]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/23/knicks-8217-plan-of-luring-donovan-mitchell-doesn-8217-t-work/ Mon, 23 Nov 2020 00:58:55 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/23/knicks-8217-plan-of-luring-donovan-mitchell-doesn-8217-t-work/ Knicks assistant coach Johnnie Bryant never became the magnet for Jazz superstar Donovan Mitchell, as the franchise had hoped.

The 35-year-old Bryant was known as a solid player-development coach in his six years in Utah. But a chief reason why he was wooed by the Knicks away from Utah to serve on Tom Thibodeau’s staff was to be a lure for Mitchell, sources said.

Bryant and Mitchell had a close personal relationship, but they won’t be reuniting. Mitchell reportedly agreed to a five-year, $195 million rookie max extension with the Jazz on Sunday.

Mitchell was to be a free agent in 2021 and feuded with Rudy Gobert over their COVID-19 infections in March that shut down the league. A report swirled the relationship was forever damaged.

Mitchell, whose father works for the Mets, is a Westchester product, and there has long been a theory he may want to play for his hometown team. When Leon Rose became Knicks president, those rumors flourished even more because Mitchell was his client at Creative Artists Agency.

Johnnie Bryant (left) talks with Donovan Mitchell before a 2019 Jazz game.NBAE via Getty Images

Though Thibodeau didn’t know him, Bryant was signed to a five-year contract that averaged close to $1.5 million per year. There was also hope internally former Jazz forward Gordon Hayward would feel more comfortable in New York with Bryant on board. Hayward signed with Charlotte on Saturday.

Mitchell’s bond with Utah grew during the Orlando restart when he emerged in the first round of the playoffs. He averaged 36.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 51.6 percent from 3.

The Knicks, at No. 8, passed on Mitchell in the 2017 draft and he fell to 13th. Knicks president Phil Jackson was a fan, but thought Frank Ntilikina was a better fit to run the triangle offense. Jackson was fired days later and the Knicks scrapped the triangle.

You cannot make it up.

The Knicks could still have one roster spot if they waive both Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans in the Minnesota deal for Ed Davis that netted another second-rounder. If they had the extra spot on their 15-man roster, they could use it for Taj Gibson.

The Knicks are also in position to accept a contract from a team looking to create cap space.

]]> <![CDATA[Frank Gore fearing worst possible outcome for Jets players]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/23/frank-gore-fearing-worst-possible-outcome-for-jets-players/ Mon, 23 Nov 2020 00:57:47 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/23/frank-gore-fearing-worst-possible-outcome-for-jets-players/ Frank Gore is in his 16th NFL season. The Jets running back has been a Pro Bowler and played in a Super Bowl. He has rushed for 1,200 yards in a season and is No. 3 all-time in NFL rushing yards.

At 37 years old, Gore is now trying to avoid an embarrassing entry on his résumé. He is trying to avoid being part of an 0-16 team, a fate that the Jets inched closer to Sunday with a 34-28 loss to the Chargers in Los Angeles. The Jets are now 0-10 for the first time in franchise history.

“We’re thinking about that every day,” Gore said of 0-16. “We’ve got to get one. You don’t want to go 0-16, especially this might be my last year. I can’t go out like that.”

It would be a humiliating finish to Gore’s magnificent career, and it would be a blemish for every coach, player, front office executive and the others associated with it. It is something the Jets are trying desperately to avoid, even if a segment of their fan base is hoping for a winless season and the No. 1 draft pick that comes with it.

On Sunday, the Jets nearly overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to pull off their first win but could not quite get it done against the Chargers, who improved to 3-7.

After playing a dismal first half, during which they managed just 82 yards and let Chargers rookie quarterback throw for 277 yards and two touchdowns, the Jets mounted a second-half comeback. They scored three touchdowns and got the ball back at their own 46-yard line with 2:48 left and trailing 34-26. They moved the ball to the 32, but Joe Flacco’s fourth-down pass toward Denzel Mims fell to the ground and the Jets’ upset hopes crashed with it.

Frank GoreGetty Images

The Jets are now two losses away from tying the longest losing streak in franchise history (12), set during the 1995-96 seasons.

The Jets also were officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss and the Colts’ win over the Packers. The team’s postseason drought is now at 10 seasons, the second-longest drought in team history. The longest is 11 seasons from 1970-80.

“It’s probably the most frustrated any of us have ever been playing football,” defensive end Henry Anderson said. “We’re working hard throughout the week. It’s just frustrating. I feel like we’re doing everything we can during the week of preparation. We’ve just got to continue to find the extra few things we can do to get us over the hump.”

For those fans dreaming of Clemson star Trevor Lawrence, this was the best result possible. The Jets played a competitive game but lost. They have a one-game “lead” over the Jaguars for the No. 1 pick.

For the players and coaches, this is another dark week in a season full of them.

The Jets defense, playing three rookie starters in the secondary, had no answer for Chargers quarterback Herbert and wide receiver Keenan Allen. Herbert completed 37 of 49 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with wide receiver Keenan Allen for 16 receptions, 145 yards and one touchdown. The 16 catches are the most ever by a Jets opponent.

Jets veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, starting in place of the injured Sam Darnold, struggled early but seemed to find a rhythm in the second half. He wound up 15 of 30 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and one interception that was returned for a touchdown.

The Jets got off to a quick start. After their defense stopped the Chargers’ first drive. Anderson blocked a Ty Long punt that Quinnen Williams recovered on the Chargers 29. Four plays later, La’Michal Perine scored a 5-yard touchdown and the Jets were up 6-0 after a failed extra point by Sam Ficken, his first of two misses.

The Chargers’ next possession ended with a fumble by Allen at the Jets’ 1-yard line that was recovered by safety Ashtyn Davis. The Jets had momentum, but Flacco flushed that away on the very next play. He threw an awful pass intended for Jamison Crowder that Chargers cornerback Teavaughn Campbell intercepted and returned 6 yards for a touchdown and a 7-6 lead.

“The interception I threw was really bad,” Flacco said.

Herbert then proceeded to carve the Jets up, throwing touchdowns to Mike Williams and Hunter Henry to give the Chargers a 24-6 halftime lead.

The Jets offense sputtered in the first half. Their wide receivers did not have a catch in the first two quarters.

“We couldn’t get in a rhythm,” Gore said.

The Jets rallied in the second half. Flacco threw two touchdown passes, one each to Breshad Perriman and Chris Herndon and Gore scored his first touchdown as a Jet. The Jets were more aggressive in the second half, taking more deep shots and it paid off.

Herndon’s 6-yard touchdown — his first of the season — with 4:00 left to play made it 34-26. After a defensive stand, the Jets got the ball back with 2:48 left and a chance to tie the game. But Flacco threw three straight incompletions from the Chargers 32 and Los Angeles escaped with the win. The Chargers took a safety to run time off the clock and prevent the Jets from running another offensive play.

“It’s very tough,” Gore said. “Any team sport, you want to win. One thing I can say about this team is we come to work every week, Sundays we give it our all, everybody gives it their all. We’ve just got to keep fighting as a team and try to get one, but it’s tough because you play this game to win.”

]]> <![CDATA[Joe Burrow injury adds twist to NFC East playoff madness]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/joe-burrow-injury-adds-twist-to-nfc-east-playoff-madness/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 22:41:08 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/joe-burrow-injury-adds-twist-to-nfc-east-playoff-madness/ The slogging NFC East race has tightened even further, with a serious injury suffered Sunday likely to factor greatly into the outcome of the division.

Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow, the No.1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, indicated he expects to miss the remainder of the season after he injured his left knee in the third quarter of Cincinnati’s 20-9 loss to the Washington Football Team (3-7).

According to NFL Network, “based on the initial diagnosis,” Burrow has suffered a torn ACL and possibly “additional damage.”

“Thanks for all the love,” Burrow tweeted before the game ended. “Can’t get rid of me that easy. See ya next year.”

The Bengals will face the Giants (3-7) next week and the Cowboys on Dec. 13, so Burrow’s absence likely will factor in a division in which all four teams are separated by a half-game after first-place Philadelphia fell to 3-6-1 with a sloppy 22-17 loss to Cleveland.

Dallas improved to 3-7 after Andy Dalton — in his first start since Oct. 25 — tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz with 1:37 remaining for a 31-28 road win against Minnesota (4-6).

The Bengals (2-7-1) were ahead of Washington at halftime, 9-7, but Burrow was carted off the field after being hit by multiple defenders on a third-down pass attempt deep in Cincinnati territory. The injury was so gruesome CBS didn’t even show a replay, and several Washington players — including No. 2 pick and former Ohio State teammate Chase Young (Burrow transferred to LSU)— came out to console Burrow before he departed.

Joe Burrow is helped to a cart after suffering a left knee injury.Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“Joe was certainly in pain and we’ll wait to get a final update before I make any [statements],” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “It’s not fun. He’s making improvements every week and we were getting the offense headed in a direction that we felt was exciting. … To lose your quarterback is tough, but that’s the way it goes and next man up.”

According to ESPN, Burrow ranks fourth in NFL history for the most passing yards in a player’s first 10 games with 2,688, including his total (203) from Sunday’s game. Backup quarterback Ryan Finley, who made three starts last season, completed just 3 of 10 pass attempts for 30 yards following Burrow’s departure.

Alex Smith threw for 166 yards with a third-quarter touchdown pass to Steven Sims for Washington, which will visit Dallas on Thanksgiving.

“Another step, another thing I never thought I’d be doing again,” Smith said after his first win as a starting quarterback since Nov. 11, 2018, due to multiple leg surgeries. “It’s one thing to come out and get that first playing time and a whole other deal to play winning football as a starter. It’s amazing to get a win.”

Carson Tense

Carson Wentz endured another shaky day with two costly interceptions, but Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson said he isn’t considering turning over the offense to rookie second-round pick Jalen Hurts after the Eagles’ 22-17 loss to Cleveland.

Pederson said Wentz will start again next week against Seattle, the second of a five-game stretch against teams with winning records.

“With the way the game was going and the elements and we were just really a score from putting ourselves back into this, I did not consider [making a quarterback change],” Pederson said. “No questions about it, he’s our starter.”

Carson WentzGetty Images

Wentz completed 21 of 35 passes for 235 yards, but 57 of those yards and his second touchdown pass of the game came on the final drive with the Eagles down by multiple scores. He now has 14 interceptions through 10 games this season, matching his career-high (over 16 games) during his rookie season in 2016.

“I know that’s part of the deal. It’s always a scrutinized position, playing quarterback. That’s what I signed up for … going back to high school,” Wentz said. “So I can take it, I can wear it. It is what it is.

“Are we playing as good as we can as a team? No. Am I playing my best football? No. … You guys can ask whatever questions you want, but I’m just going to put my head down and go to work.”

Oh, Henry

A game that started with feisty words between the two teams and coaches at the center of the field ended with Tennessee defeating Baltimore again, 30-24 in overtime, in a rematch of last year’s AFC divisional playoff game.

Derrick Henry, who ran for 131 yards to surpass 1,000 for the third straight year, ripped off a 29-yard touchdown in OT as the Titans improved to 7-3.

The Ravens (6-4) squandered a 21-10 lead in the third quarter, but Lamar Jackson led them on a field-goal drive to tie the score with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.

Derrick HenryIcon Sportswire via Getty Images

“We’re at two losses in a row, games we should have won. It looked like that team wanted it more than us,” Jackson said. “When we went up, I felt like we took our foot off the gas.”

Before the game, Ravens coach John Harbaugh got into a shouting match with Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler and into another heated discussion with Titans coach Mike Vrabel after most of the Tennessee team huddled on the Ravens’ logo at midfield. The two coaches did not appear to shake hands after the game.

“After the game, there wasn’t an issue,” said Harbaugh, whose team will visit undefeated Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving night. “And [what happened] before the game is irrelevant.”

Coughing It Up

Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s fumble in Green Bay territory in overtime set up Indianapolis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship for a 39-yard field goal to lift the Colts to a wild 34-31 win over the Packers.

Aaron Rodgers (311 passing yards) had led Green Bay (7-3) on an 86-yard, 10-play drive in 82 seconds for a game-tying field goal at the end of regulation.

Philip Rivers finished with 288 passing yards and three touchdowns for the Colts (7-3), who trailed 28-14 at halftime before outscoring the Pack, 20-3, in the second half and overtime.

King of the Hill

The Saints went 5-0 during Drew Brees’s injury absence last season, and they are off to a strong start with the NFL’s all-time passing yardage leader sidelined again with fractured ribs.

Taysom Hill threw for 233 yards and ran for two touchdowns in his first NFL start, while the Saints defense dominated the Falcons in the second half in a 24-9 victory in New Orleans.

Michael Thomas added nine receptions for 104 yards for the Saints (8-2), and Alvin Kamara (50th career touchdown) became the first player in NFL history with at least 500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in each of first four NFL seasons.

The Hurt Locker

In addition to Burrow, another rookie quarterback, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa was replaced in the fourth quarter by Ryan Fitzpatrick after appearing to suffer a foot or ankle injury.

New England running Rex Burkhead also reportedly suffered a torn ACL against Houston and Titans linebacker Jaylon Brown suffered a season-ending elbow fracture against Baltimore.

Other injuries: Falcons receiver Julio Jones (hamstring), Texans receivers Randall Cobb (foot) and Kenny Stills (leg), Steelers tight end Zach Gentry (knee) and cornerback Joe Haden (knee), Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen (knee) and safety Daniel Thomas (arm), Lions cornerback Phil Ford (concussion), Saints guard Andrus Peat (concussion), Panthers guard Dennis Daley (concussion), Eagles center Jason Kelce (elbow) and tackle Lane Johnson (shoulder).

Post Patterns

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s two scoring passes included rookie receiver Chase Claypool’s 10th TD in 10 games, as Pittsburgh completed the first 10-0 start in franchise history with a 27-3 win over Jacksonville (1-9). … Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (344 passing yards) accounted for three touchdowns (one rushing) in Houston’s 27-20 win over New England (4-6). … Panthers quarterback P.J. Walker was 24-for-34 for 258 yards in his first NFL start in place of Teddy Bridgewater (knee) with a TD toss to Mike Davis as Carolina (4-7) posted a 20-0 shutout over Detroit (4-6). … Broncos running back Melvin Gordon ran for 84 yards and two scores as Denver (4-6) ended Miami’s five-game winning streak, 20-13. Tagovailoa was held to 83 passing yards, and Fitzpatrick was picked off by Broncos safety Justin Simmons in the end zone with 1:07 remaining for Miami (6-4). … Ravens receiver and former Cowboys star Dez Bryant had his first NFL receptions (four for 28 yards) since December 2017. … Bengals receiver A.J. Green, who missed all of last season with an ankle injury, caught his first TD pass since October 2018 before Burrow was injured.

Three Stars

1. Derrick Henry, Titans RB

The AFC rushing leader ran for 133 yards, including a 29-yard TD in overtime, in Tennessee’s 30-24 win over Baltimore.

2. Deshaun Watson, Texans QB

Watson completed 28 of 37 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns in Houston’s 27-20 win over New England.

3. Olivier Vernon, Browns DE

The former Giant recorded three sacks — including one for a safety — in Cleveland’s 22-17 win over Philadelphia.

Fantasy Insanity Fifth Down

  • There are cold, heartless fantasy ramifications to rookie Bengals QB Joe Burrow’s injury. Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins take a pretty big hit. Boyd will become a Flex option rather than a solid WR2, and Tee Higgins becomes more of a filler than a strong Flex play.
  • Matt Ryan had a miserable game — his fourth of the season without at least one TD and sixth with one or fewer. Carson Wentz arguably played as badly, even if his fantasy results weren’t as awful. We wonder if the Eagles will consider, at some point, pivoting to Jalen Hurts. Really, as bad as Wentz has been, what could it hurt?
  • Taysom Hill wasn’t a disaster in his first start at QB. Realize, though, he was facing the softest D vs. opposing fantasy QBs, Atlanta wasn’t certain which QB it would face, and Hill’s fantasy output leaned heavily on two rushing TDs. It will get harder for him against prepared defenses. It also will be interesting to see if he maintains TE eligibility at ESPN and FanDuel.

He Said What?

“We are where we are because of the mistakes we’re making, coaches and players. This is a test to see who’s in and who’s out. That’s where we are. It’s a matter of challenging the leadership of the football team, challenging the guys to keep things together. We still have an opportunity in our division.”

— Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson after the NFC East-leading Eagles fell to 3-6-1 with a 22-17 loss to Cleveland.

]]> <![CDATA[Dabo Swinney blasts Florida State for COVID-19 postponement: ‘Just an excuse’]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/dabo-swinney-blasts-florida-state-for-covid-19-postponement-8216-just-an-excuse-8217/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 22:11:39 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/dabo-swinney-blasts-florida-state-for-covid-19-postponement-8216-just-an-excuse-8217/ In what was a rant only fit for 2020, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney accused heavy-underdog Florida State of using the coronavirus as an excuse to get out of Saturday’s game, which was postponed just hours before kickoff.

Swinney learned the night before that one of his players had tested positive for COVID-19, and medical personnel from both schools could not agree it was safe to play the game set in Tallahassee, Fla.

“This game was not canceled because of COVID,” Swiney told reporters on Sunday. “COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game. And to be honest with you, I don’t think it has anything to do with their players. I have no doubt that their players wanted to play, and would have played. And same with the coaches. To me, the Florida State administration forfeited the game.”

The pandemic has upended college football all season, leading to postponements and conferences starting to play games at different times, though a coach eviscerating an opponent for pulling out of a game seemed to be a first of its kind.

Swiney said Clemson followed all COVID-related protocols, implying that Florida State was afraid to play in the game because it was 35-point underdogs, according to sportsbooks.

The player, an unidentified backup offensive lineman, had displayed what Swinney called “mild” symptoms during the week despite continuing to test negative for the virus until Friday.

But testing for the coronavirus is not considered perfect and carriers could still be contagious regardless of the symptoms they show.

Florida State athletic director David Coburn told the Associated Press that “we listened to our medical folks” and “decided it wasn’t safe to play today.”

Saturday was supposed to mark the return of star Clemson quarterback and likely first-overall 2021 NFL Draft pick Trevor Lawrence, who missed the previous two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19.

Swiney, whose No. 4 Tigers are fighting for a spot in the College Football Playoff, argued that Florida State should have never pulled out of the game because Boston College still faced Clemson even after Lawrence tested positive for the virus three days before the matchup.

“Trevor practiced all week except for Thursday,” Swinney said, “and BC didn’t have any problem coming down here to play.”

“So now we’re changing the rules? You either trust the test or you don’t,” Swinney said. “If the test is negative, we’re going to tell guys they can’t play anyway? That’s why we test. If a guy has an earache or a runny nose and tests negative all week, and we’re going to say we won’t take you? You either trust the test or you don’t and the rules are what they are. There’s been plenty of games played this year where guys were not positive one week and positive the next week. This is a virus. We all know what we’re dealing with. The bottom line is the rules were put in play for everyone and we more than met the standard.”

Before Swiney’s tirade Florida State said it hoped to play Clemson in December but it is unclear whether the teams will be able to schedule another game given their respective schedules.

“We were there. We were ready. We met the standards to play,” Swinney said. “In my opinion they forfeited the game. That’s $300,000 [in travel costs] that’s gone out the window. … If the standard to play was zero positive tests, we never would’ve had a season.”

]]> <![CDATA[Jets nearly complete stunning comeback as futility hits new low]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/jets-nearly-complete-stunning-comeback-as-futility-hits-new-low/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 22:04:43 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/jets-nearly-complete-stunning-comeback-as-futility-hits-new-low/ All the Jets fans rooting for the team to be competitive but lose are getting exactly what they want lately.

The Jets nearly overcame an 18-point halftime deficit and made things interesting in a 34-28 loss to the Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The loss dropped the dismal Jets to 0-10 for the first time in franchise history. They are now two losses away from tying the longest losing streak in franchise history (12), set over the 1995-96 seasons.

The loss is good news for Jets fans hoping for the No. 1 pick and the chance to draft Clemson star Trevor Lawrence. But it is another dismal week for the current Jets, who had hope late after playing a terrible first half.

Against a Jets secondary that had three rookie starters, Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert looked unstoppable for most of the day. He completed 37 of 49 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with wide receiver Keenan Allen for 16 receptions, 145 yards and one touchdown.

Jets veteran quarterback Joe Flacco struggled early but found a rhythm in the second half. He wound up 15 of 30 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and one interception that was returned for a touchdown.

Flacco had a chance to orchestrate a game-tying drive with 2:48 left, but fell short. The Jets got the ball back at their own 46 after a defensive stand, trailing 34-26. A roughing the passer penalty on Chargers star Joey Bosa put the Jets at the Chargers’ 33. They advanced one more yard, but no further. Flacco’s fourth-and-9 heave to Denzel Mims fell incomplete at the goal line.

It appeared from TV that Adam Gase took back play-calling duties from Dowell Loggains in the second half. If he did, Gase orchestrated three touchdown drives to give the Jets some life after trailing 24-6 at halftime.

La’Mical Perine is brought down by the Chargers defense.Getty Images

After playing conservatively in the first half, the Jets finally took a deep shot on their first drive of the third quarter and Flacco hit Breshad Perriman for a 49-yard touchdown. It was Perriman’s first catch of the day. The bomb with 11:27 left in the third quarter cut the Chargers’ lead to 24-13. Perriman beat cornerback Casey Hayward.

The long touchdown provided some hope the Jets might be able to make the game interesting, but that hope was diminished quickly. Herbert led the Chargers on a 12-play, 75-yard drive that was capped with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Allen for a 31-13 lead.

The Jets scored again on a 10-play, 60-yard drive that was aided by Chargers penalties. Frank Gore plunged in from the 1-yard line for his first touchdown as a Jet. Rookie Denzel Mims starred on the series, though, drawing two penalties and making one really nice catch along the sideline. Sam Ficken missed his second extra point of the game, leaving the score at 31-19.

A 23-yard field goal from Michael Badgley pushed the Chargers’ lead to 34-19 with 6:42 left in the game.

That left the Jets with some life and Gang Green put together a nine-play, 64-yard drive that was finished off with Flacco hitting tight end Chris Herndon for a 6-yard touchdown with 4 minutes left in the game. Herndon’s first touchdown of the season left the Jets down 34-26 with hope of their first win of the season.

The defense, which struggled all day, then held the Chargers to a three-and-out, giving the offense the ball back with 2:48 left to play.

The Jets got off to a hot start in the game, but it did not last long.

The defense forced a punt from the Chargers on their opening drive of the game and Jets defensive end Henry Anderson blocked the Ty Long punt and Quinnen Williams jumped on it for the Jets at the Chargers’ 29.

The Jets rode Gore inside the 10 on three rushes for 24 yards and then rookie La’Mical Perine scored his second touchdown of the season, running it in from the 5. Ficken, who missed the last three games with a groin injury, missed the extra point and the Jets’ lead was 6-0.

Los Angeles got the ball back and moved down the field, but Jets safety Marcus Maye hit Allen at the 1 and forced a fumble that fellow safety Ashtyn Davis jumped on to give the ball back to the Jets.

The Jets had all the momentum on their side but Flacco handed it back to the Chargers. On their first play after the fumble, Flacco threw an awful pass intended for Jamison Crowder that Chargers cornerback Teavaughn Campbell intercepted in the flat and returned 6 yards for a touchdown and a 7-6 lead.

The rest of the first half was all Chargers.

The Jets looked hopeless with their secondary in tatters. They started three rookies in their secondary with Ashtyn Davis at safety along with Lamar Jackson and Bryce Hall at cornerback. They also had backup cornerback Arthur Maulet starting in place of Brian Poole, who is done for the season after having shoulder surgery.

Herbert, the talented rookie, had a field day against the Jets secondary. He hit Williams for a 39-yard touchdown and a 14-6 lead after some poor tackling by the Jets.

Herbert found the end zone for a second time on a 2-yard scoring pass to tight end Hunter Henry.

]]> <![CDATA[It’s hard not to feel sorry for these Jets]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/it-8217-s-hard-not-to-feel-sorry-for-these-jets/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 22:02:28 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/it-8217-s-hard-not-to-feel-sorry-for-these-jets/ Week by week, game by game, there is an inevitability that descends around these Jets football games, and this Jets season. It is a myth that everyone who roots for the Jets is now actively rooting for 0-16; it goes against every fiber of the fan’s code to feel that way. People may say they want 0-16. But nobody wants that on their fan’s résumé.

In the same way we have learned to minimize polling during political campaigns because the answers people may give often vary in reality to what they actually feel, it’s the same with Jets fans who spend Monday mornings celebrating loss after loss with a straight face.

(NOTE: This isn’t to say they are DISAPPOINTED with the losses. But there has to be a part of you — call it muscle memory, call it habit — that enjoyed the blocked punt that set up the early 6-0 lead Sunday, that enjoyed the goal-line turnover that kept it that way an extra few seconds, that wanted to throw your shoe at the TV screen when Joe Flacco’s pick-six restored a sense of order to the day. You don’t have to admit that out loud, of course.)

It would be helpful if the Jaguars would win another game. That would change the dynamic of this Jets season, which sits now at 0-10 following this 34-28 loss to the Chargers in Los Angeles. The Jaguars gave the Packers 59 ½ minutes of worry last week before succumbing. They led 3-0 against the Steelers Sunday before Pittsburgh slapped itself back into reality.

It would also be helpful if we could reach a 1-and-1A consensus about Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, one that might make him every bit as appealing as Trevor Lawrence, the Clemson quarterback who is the object of so many Jets fans’ affections. But Fields had a relatively ordinary day against Indiana on Saturday. Lawrence remains the gold standard. Lawrence is The Target. Lawrence is The Guy.

And the folks in Jacksonville surely feel that way, too.

Joe Flacco runs off the field after the Jets’ loss to the Chargers.AP

So there really is a logic attached to betraying your fan’s instincts. There really is some sense that goes along with taking Flacco’s pick-six quite in stride, that allows you to laugh off the two botched extra points, that permits you to breathe a sigh of relief when the Jets’ last-ditch effort at two-minute glory died in a desperate heave near the goal line.

“We tried our best to get it done,” Jets running back Frank Gore said, “but it just didn’t happen.”

Week by week, game by game, this is the part of the equation that has to, at the least, temper your enthusiasm at the losing. These weekly humblings destroy these players. They eat away at them. Gore has had a long and distinguished career that doesn’t deserve its final chapter to be 0-16.

“We think about that every day,” Gore said. “We’ve got to get one. Especially if this is my last season … I can’t go out like that. We’ve got to get … one …”

Flacco was a Super Bowl MVP not so very long ago; he certainly doesn’t deserve 0-16 on his dossier. None of them do. It is usually more than a little pitiful and pitiable to credit professional athletes of any sport with playing hard, with showing up, with not phoning in games and seasons.

That’s supposed to be part of the compact when you sign on to be a “professional.” You’re paid to work hard. You’re paid to care. Nobody should throw a parade for clearing such a low bar. Yet it is impossible not to feel something — empathy, sympathy, compassion — for the 53 men who are 0-for-10 so far this season.

You want to crush the coach? He’s fair game.

Want to destroy the GM? Have at him.

Want to eviscerate the owners? They have it coming.

But it is almost impossible to wish 0-16 on these players. In a just world the Jaguars will win one of their final six games and make it easier for you (they get the Bears at home in Week 16; maybe it can happen then). If that happens, you can resume your role as a fanatical optimist for at least one week, and allow yourself to root for 1-15. That’s still not a record anyone wants to water ski behind. But it beats 0-16. The players don’t want that.

And admit it: deep down, in a place where you keep your own counsel, neither do you.

]]> <![CDATA[Knicks don’t waste time trading Ed Davis to Timberwolves]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/knicks-don-8217-t-waste-time-trading-ed-davis-to-timberwolves/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 21:56:56 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/knicks-don-8217-t-waste-time-trading-ed-davis-to-timberwolves/ The Knicks continued to use veteran journeyman Ed Davis to gather assets.

Acquired for two second-round picks last week from Utah, Davis’ $5 million pact was shipped to Minnesota for a future second-round pick, sweet-shooting big man Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans.

That gives the Knicks 16 players for 15 roster spots, so one of the two will likely be cut. Spellman, formerly of Villanova, figures to be the keeper. The last pick of the first round in 2018, Spellman played 49 games for Golden State last season after playing his rookie year for Atlanta.

The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 7.6 points for Golden State and shot 39.1 percent from 3-point range. Evans, who played at Cincinnati, appeared in two games for the Timberwolves last season.

The Knicks have accumulated four future second-round picks since draft night. Transactions involving Davis have accounted for three.

]]> <![CDATA[Here’s what’s coming to Manhattan West next year]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/here-8217-s-what-8217-s-coming-to-manhattan-west-next-year/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 20:03:46 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/here-8217-s-what-8217-s-coming-to-manhattan-west-next-year/ The perimeter plywood has come down, a second huge office skyscraper has begun to rise and — ­COVID-19 be damned — the ambitious Manhattan West complex is at last coming into focus.

Brookfield Property Partners’ 8-acre site just east of Related’s larger Hudson Yards is already home to office tower One Manhattan West, where moved-in tenants include law firms Skadden Arps and McKool Smith, to be joined early in 2021 by Accenture, the NHL and EY (formerly Ernst & Young).

Now equally tall, 58-story Two Manhattan West’s steel infrastructure is rising rapidly after a COVID-related pause. It will be completed in 2023 with law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore as the anchor tenant.

Taking up the entire vast superblock bounded by Ninth and Tenth avenues and West 31st and 33rd streets, the $4.5 billion Manhattan West was overshadowed by Hudson Yards, but it’s a mega-project in its own right. It already has the fully rented Eugene apartment tower, the office building known as 5 Manhattan West and a giant Whole Foods.

Now Brookfield has shared a timetable for other elements. The first quarter of 2021 will see the launch of a 40,000-square-foot Market Hall and a food court to include the likes of Sam’s Crispy Chicken and Umami Burger.

It’s to be followed next summer by a luxurious boutique hotel called The Pendry; a multilevel Danny Meyer restaurant; a 10,000-square-foot variety theater called Elemental; two more full-service eateries, Casa Dani and Katsuya; and a 2-acre landscaped park.

The project’s most unusual feature, an NHL-programmed seasonal ice rink, is set for the winter of 2021-22.

Suite news

Apartment-style hotel operator Mint House has taken over the floors at 70 Pine St. that were previously run by Lyric. The growing, tech-oriented hospitality company will handle the landmark tower’s 132 short-term rental suites on Floors 3-6.

Mint House is the third operator to run the suites designed for corporate travelers at 70 Pine, the highly successful, 66-story former office tower that was converted mostly to luxury apartments.

Mint House will manage the suites for tower owners Rose Associates and DTH Capital.

Big Apple office occupancy climbing

It doesn’t yet mean a mass return to offices, but Kastle Systems’ authoritative Back-to-Work Barometer says New York saw the nation’s highest-percentage increase in occupancy in its most recent report for the week ending Nov. 10.

The Big Apple posted a 4.2-percentage point rise to 17.3 percent, followed by Chicago’s 3.4-point increase to 19.6 percent. The leading cities for physical office occupancy were Dallas at 42.2 percent and Houston at 39.7 percent.

Words of wisdom

With many saying the COVID-19 real-estate turndown is like no other, heed these observations from CBRE superstar dealmaker and tri-state CEO Mary Ann Tighe.

“Why does every downturn feel like the first time?” she asks.

Pointing out that New York has had a “deeply cyclical economy going back to the first Dutch settlement four centuries ago,” Tighe reminds us, “Downturns have laid the foundation for change and ultimately regenerated our city.”

Among other examples, she cites that Rockefeller Center was launched “in the depths of the Depression” and that the Durst family bought a 42nd Street blockfront for a penny’s-worth $50 per square foot in 1996 and built 4 Times Square, which is today a $1 billion asset.

She concludes, “For businesses seeking the moment to strike in the Manhattan market . . . for a company confident in its long-term business model, it’s time to go long with a lease.”

For those unsure about the long term, “Landlords are now more accommodating of short-term deals than they’ve been in decades.”

Tighe wrote that in the New York Observer in 2009. But they’re timely enough for November 2020.

They proved prescient — and they’re words to the wise today.

Bronx eateries

Residents of La Central, the affordable-housing complex in The Bronx’s Melrose neighborhood, will soon have more to munch on.

The Hudson Companies’ project that will be home to 992 families has signed three new eatery tenants: Taste of the Bronx Café, Metate Authentica Comida Mexicana and an organic grocery.

The eating spots and a just-signed garage account for 43,000 square feet at La Central, which opened in 2019 and will eventually have five buildings. It previously leased a 50,000-square-foot YMCA.

Hudson Companies’ principal Aaron Koffman termed the signings are “a testament not only to the vibrant Melrose neighborhood but to The Bronx as a whole.”

]]> <![CDATA[Knicks signing Austin Rivers in 2020 NBA free agency]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/knicks-signing-austin-rivers-in-2020-nba-free-agency/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 19:52:20 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/knicks-signing-austin-rivers-in-2020-nba-free-agency/ The Knicks inherited a point guard from Houston and it’s not Russell Westbrook.

With their last roster spot, the Knicks added a fourth point guard in 28-year-old Austin Rivers, who played for the Rockets and is the son of 76ers coach Doc Rivers.

It’s a one-year deal and the Knicks had the cap space to overpay him, though he’s turned into a journeyman after being a 2012 lottery pick at No. 10.

Austin Rivers, who can also play shooting guard, could be a trade pawn at the deadline if the Knicks aren’t in the playoff hunt. Tom Thibodeau coached under Doc Rivers in Boston and they are close.

Austin RiversGetty Images

The Knicks now have four point guards in Elfrid Payton, Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr. The Post has reported the Knicks have looked to trade Smith.

Rivers is yet another client of Creative Artists Agency, the firm Knicks president Leon Rose used to run. In fact, Rivers is repped by Aaron Mintz, who also handles Payton, assumed to be their starting point guard.

Rivers played in 68 games for Houston last season and averaged 8.8 points and 1.6 assists and shot 35.6 percent from 3-point range. He can play both guard positions but he doesn’t move the needle one iota.

]]> <![CDATA[Giants’ least valuable player, most revealing stat and other eye-openers]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/giants-8217-least-valuable-player-most-revealing-stat-and-other-eye-openers/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 19:32:56 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/giants-8217-least-valuable-player-most-revealing-stat-and-other-eye-openers/ The Giants knew it would be a challenging grind to get to their Week 11 bye and that they headed into it on a two-game winning streak, and in contention in the dreadful NFC East, is a credit to their resilience and readily apparent improvement. First-year head coach Joe Judge’s messaging is sinking in.

The upsurge cannot cloak the growing pains that produced an 0-5 start and a 1-7 record at midseason. That the Giants are on a hot streak — for them — and stand at 3-7 is proof how much work remains to drag this franchise back to prominence.

That they lost four games by a total of 10 points indicates the Giants are not dismally far away. They are not there yet, either. When Judge said, “I wouldn’t stop short and say anything that we’re arrived,’’ no one disputed him. No, the Giants have not yet arrived. But at least they are getting closer to their destination.

Most Valuable Player

The Giants knew they were getting a high-volume tackler and a smart guy when they signed Blake Martinez to run their defense from his inside linebacker spot. The knock on Martinez in Green Bay was he did not make enough impactful tackles. Working in a scheme better-suited to his talents, Martinez is making plays all over the field, and rarely misses a snap. Through 10 games, he was tied with Roquan Smith of the Bears for the NFL lead in tackles with 96. Plus, Martinez is an extension of coordinator Patrick Graham, two minds thinking as one.

Least Valuable Player

Tight end Levine Toilolo was signed in free agency to block and use his 6-foot-8 frame as a target around the end zone. Well, where has he been? It is not easy to hide someone so tall. Toilolo is on the field for only 23 percent of the offensive snaps and that usage is actually inflated, as 44 percent of those snaps came in the last three games. So, maybe he will be more of a factor down the stretch. The Giants signed him to a two-year, $6.2 million deal and guaranteed $3.2 million of the contract. Not much of a return on that investment so far.

Levine ToiloloRobert Sabo

Least surprising surprise

That the Giants special teams are awesome. There is more special-teams brainpower assembled than any one staff ought to have. Joe Judge was a longtime coordinator. So is Thomas McGaughey. Heck, Tom Quinn, the assistant special teams coach, was the Giants coordinator for both of their most recent Super Bowl teams. These guys have everything covered, top to bottom. The kicking, punting, coverage and strategy is all on-point. There is plenty of creativity, as well. The Giants win games here.

Biggest disappointment

Evan Engram is better than this. He was better than this as a rookie in 2017. He may never live up to the expectations the Giants had for him when they made him a first-round pick, envisioning him as a matchup problem in the passing game. Engram always dropped too many balls. This season, though, he has tightened up at the wrong times. His talent seems bottled up inside his head. His inability to hold onto a pass as the two-minute warning neared at Lincoln Financial Field cost the Giants a victory against the Eagles and is a hard one to forget. One touchdown and averaging a career-low 9.1 yards per reception is not enough.

Best moment

The Giants’ lead was down to 14-11 early in the third quarter in Week 10 and another second-half collapse seemed imminent. And then, bang. What a show of aggressiveness. Daniel Jones to Sterling Shepard for 27 yards. Jones to Golden Tate for 38, leading to a Wayne Gallman touchdown run. When the Eagles closed to 21-17, it was time for another Giants defensive meltdown. It never happened. The Giants shut the Eagles out for the final 20:25, giving Carson Wentz hell and completing an 0-for-9 perfecto on third-down conversion defense.

see also

Worst moment

Take your pick from the late-game meltdowns in Dallas, in Philadelphia and against the Buccaneers. We will go with the fourth-quarter interception thrown by Jones, and then his double-pump, too-late throw to Dion Lewis on a failed two-point conversion pass, both against the Bucs. The Giants were in the driver’s seat, ready to knock off Tom Brady and an NFC powerhouse, and Jones’ late-game failings caused them to run off the road into a 25-23 loss.

Most revealing stat

Lest we forget amid the recent uptick, this team is 3-7. It is mostly on an offense that has operated since Week 2 without Saquon Barkley. The Giants are 30th in yards per game (306.6), 28th in passing yards (196.1), 16th in rushing yards (110.5) and, most tellingly, 30th in scoring at 19.5 points a game. Add to the lack of production with this — the Giants are 27th in giveaways, with 15 — and it is no secret what is holding them back. Their defense is 12th in the league in scoring, allowing only 23.6 points a game. It is all about the points the Giants do not score.

Worst personnel decision

Do not go rushing to give this coaching staff any credit for Wayne Gallman’s recent ascension. Gallman was buried early in the season. Heck, he was a healthy scratch in Week 2. Even after Barkley went down for the season, Gallman was bypassed by newly signed Devonta Freeman. It was only after Freeman landed on injured reserve that Gallman was given a real chance, although he still must share carries with Alfred Morris. Gallman is not a star, but he runs hard and has five touchdowns in the last four games. This coaching staff, out of desperation, finally found that out.

Upcoming decision

Prize rookie safety Xavier McKinney will soon be ready to get on the field for the first time following foot surgery. So, this will not be an entirely lost season for the second-round pick. How much action should he see? The Giants are set with Jabrill Peppers and Logan Ryan. McKinney could steal snaps from Julian Love. They have to be careful here, as McKinney did not have any on-field work in the spring, got hurt in late August and has not played all season. The more we see of him the better, but not at the risk of any sort of setback, as he figures prominently in the 2021 plans.

]]> <![CDATA[Kim Kardashian celebrates Tristan Thompson’s Boston Celtics deal]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/kim-kardashian-celebrates-tristan-thompson-8217-s-boston-celtics-deal/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 18:58:33 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/kim-kardashian-celebrates-tristan-thompson-8217-s-boston-celtics-deal/ Tristan Thompson is on the move.

The 29-year-old NBA center has agreed to a deal with the Boston Celtics, Yahoo Sports reported Saturday, ending his nine-season run with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In response to the news, Thompson was showered with well-wishes on social media, including messages from Khloé Kardashian’s famous family.

“Congrats @realtristan13 Boston here we come!!!!” Kim Kardashian posted Saturday to her Instagram story.

“LET’S GO @realtristan13,” Rob Kardashian also wrote.

Tristan Thompson and Khloé KardashianGetty Images

As of Sunday, Khloé has not posted about Thompson’s reported two-year, $19 million deal. Boston fans, however, have already welcomed the Good American co-founder to their city.

“I volunteer to be @khloekardashian Boston best friend #kuwtk #welcometoboston,” one fan tweeted.

“@khloekardashian can you come to Boston with Tristan??” another asked.

Thompson shares 2-year-old daughter True with the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star, 36.

In October, Thompson and Khloé — who sparked reconciliation rumors over the summer — sported matching costumes for Halloween.

They had split in February 2019 when Thompson was accused of cheating with Jordyn Woods, Kylie Jenner’s former pal.

]]> <![CDATA[Water can become two different liquids, prove researchers]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/water-can-become-two-different-liquids-prove-researchers/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 18:05:13 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/water-can-become-two-different-liquids-prove-researchers/
  • Water can be in two liquid states under cold temperatures, shows new research.
  • The scientists used x-ray lasers and computer simulations.
  • The discovery has applications across a variety of fields due to water's ubiquity.

    • Water is an essential life force for humanity and our planet. But despite it's omnipresence, there's much we have still to learn about the fateful combination of hydrogen and oxygen atoms that comprises this near-magical substance. Now a new study proves water can have two different liquid states, in one of its most unusual properties.

    The research, carried out by an international team of researchers, involved sophisticated experiments with x-ray lasers and computer simulations. The team, led by chemical physics professor Anders Nilsson from Sweden's Stockholm University, also included CUNY professor Nicolas Giovambattista. He explained in a press release that while it's been proposed about 30 years ago that water may have two different liquid states, this "counterintuitive hypothesis" was been hard to prove, due to the complexity of the experiments necessary. Ice tends to form at the conditions when the two liquids should exist.

    The liquid state of water that we all know and encounter in our daily lives is how water behaves at regular temperatures – around 25 degrees Celsius (77 F) . What the new study showed is that at low temperatures of around -63 degrees C (-81 F), water can be found in two states – a low-density liquid at low pressures and a high-density liquid at high pressures.

    "What was special was that we were able to X-ray unimaginably fast, before the water froze, and could observe how one liquid transformed to the other", said professor Nilsson.

    The researchers found that the difference in density between the two liquids was about 20%. A thin interface would form, given the right conditions, to separate the two kinds of water without mixing them. A similar phenomenon to what you observe when oil and water are combined.

    Kate the Chemist: Water is a freak substance. Here’s why. | Big Think

    The scientists think their find can affect a variety of scientific and engineering uses of water. "It remains an open question how the presence of two liquids may affect the behavior of aqueous solutions in general, and in particular, how the two liquids may affect biomolecules in aqueous environments," Giovambattista explained. "This motivates further studies in the search for potential applications."

    Besides CUNY and Stockholm University, scientists from POSTECH University in Korea, PAL-XFEL in Korea, SLAC national accelerator laboratory in California, and St. Francis Xavier University in Canada were also involved in the study.

    Check out their new study in the journal Science.


    ]]>         <![CDATA[Architect Robert Couturier shows off Marie Antoinette trinket during Zoom gala]]> https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/architect-robert-couturier-shows-off-marie-antoinette-trinket-during-zoom-gala/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 17:35:05 +0000 https://dangkygmail.com/2020/11/22/architect-robert-couturier-shows-off-marie-antoinette-trinket-during-zoom-gala/ Let them eat canapes.

    French architect Robert Couturier stole the spotlight at a Zoom gala by showing off his favorite trinket — an incense burner once owned by Marie Antoinette.

    We’re told Couturier — who was being honored by the French Heritage Society — gave an impromptu tour of his upstate home, and took out the painted toile item.

    “Guests oohed and aahed as he showed her initials, ‘M.A.,’ spelled out in flowers,” said a partygoer.

    The event’s chairs were CeCe Black, Jean Shafiroff (wearing one of her signature ballgowns, long gloves and a French hat), Geoffrey Bradfield, Elisa Fredrickson and Ann Van Ness, along with French Heritage Society chair Elizabeth Stribling.

    Also joining the fun were Couturier’s five well-groomed Shih Tzus.

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