Month: July 2021

Categories
Sports Daypop

NFL planning to enforce forfeits in event of games cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreaks

shutterstock_1190527867

The NFL announced Thursday it will not allow games to be rescheduled in 2021 in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak. The league’s new policy was announced in a memo sent to all 32 teams, in which it states that if a team is forced to cancel a game due to COVID-19 infections among its non-vaccinated players, the team will likely have to forfeit the contest, per the NFL’s memo. Organizations that cause cancelations in 2021 could also face discipline from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

COVID-19 forced a number of postponements during the 2020 season, though all teams played the entire 16-game schedule. There were no postponements in the playoffs, and Super Bowl was held as scheduled on Feb. 7.

The 2021 season is slated to begin on Thursday, Sept. 9 when the Buccaneers host the Cowboys.

Editorial credit: Alena Veasey / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Sports Daypop

Cardinals’ DeAndre Hopkins questions NFL future due to COVID-19 vaccine concerns in since-deleted tweet

shutterstock_97167467

In a since-deleted tweet, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins questioned his future in the NFL due to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Hopkins said in the tweet: “Never thought I would say this, But being put in a position to hurt my team because I don’t want to partake in the vaccine is making me question my future in the @Nfl.” The tweet was deleted about 30 minutes after it was posted; Hopkins then later tweeted: “Freedom?” ”

The tweets were posted on the same day the NFL announced that teams that had COVID-19 outbreaks among unvaccinated players could be forced to forfeit games. The NFL said more than half of its teams have COVID-19 vaccination rates greater than 80% of their players, and more than 75% of players are in the process of being vaccinated. Nearly all clubs have vaccinated 100% of their Tier 1 and 2 staff. Teams have appropriate protocols set up for staffers who have not been vaccinated, consistent with the guidance given last April.

Hopkins played the first seven seasons of his NFL career with the Texans before he was traded to the Cardinals prior to the 2020 season. He has 10,009 receiving yards, the 49th most in NFL history.

Editorial credit: JASON TENCH / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ casts Michaela Coel in sequel

shutterstock_1934348222

“I May Destroy You” creator and star Michaela Coel has been cast in Marvel Studios’ upcoming “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” According to Variety, Coel joined the production at Atlanta’s Pinewood Studios, where director Ryan Coogler started production last month. Other cast members include returning stars Letitia Wright, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett.

Coel, 33, was nominated for a 2021 Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for her HBO series, which fictionalized her experience as a sexual assault survivor. Her prior credits also include the series “Chewing Gum” and “Black Mirror,” as well as the 2017 film “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

The “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” will premiere in theaters on July 8, 2022.

Editorial credit: Cubankite / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

’13 Reasons Why’ star Tommy Dorfman comes out as a trans woman

shutterstock_1547650475

“13 Reasons Why” star Tommy Dorfman is reintroducing herself as a trans woman. In a Time magazine interview published Thursday, Dorfman — who played Ryan Shaver in the Netflix series — revealed that she has been “privately identifying and living as a woman.”

“Today is about clarity: I am a trans woman. My pronouns are she/her. My name is Tommy,” Dorfman said, adding that she has officially undergone a medical transition as well. Dorfman, who previously used they/them pronouns, noted that being public about her transition for the first time a “beautiful” process. Dorfman also revealed that she will not be changing her name in order to honor her namesake, “an uncle who held me as he was dying.” Tommy noted that it isn’t a “transition” in the sense that she is going somewhere, but “this is an evolution of Tommy. I’m becoming more Tommy. Just that I am actually myself.” She added that she will no longer take on any male roles – something that made her “feel really uncomfortable” – and will instead “infuse my trans body into film and television.”

Dorfman also took to Instagram to share her gratitude, saying: “Thrilled to reintroduce myself as the woman i am today. Thank you to all the trans woman (sic) that showed me who i am, how to live, celebrate myself, and take up space in this world.”

Editorial credit: Quinn Jeffrey / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Pop Daypop

Taylor Swift will not submit ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ for consideration at Grammy and CMA Awards

shutterstock_1386434315

Taylor Swift will not be submitting her re-recorded Fearless (Taylor’s Version) for Grammy and CMA Awards consideration. However the 31-year-old Swift will be placing her ninth studio album ‘Evermore’ up for nomination in each eligible class.

Swift re-recorded her 2008 second studio album after Scooter Braun bought Big Machine Records which held the rights to her first six albums in 2019. In a press release to Billboard, a Republic Records consultant stated: ‘After cautious consideration, Taylor Swift won’t be submitting Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in any class at this year’s upcoming Grammy and CMA Awards. Fearless has already received 4 Grammys together with album of the year, in addition to the CMA Award for album of the year in 2009/2010 and stays probably the most awarded nation album of all time.’

In 2020, Swift launched two new albums, folklore and Evermore. Folklore received Album Of The Year on the Grammys this previous March; yhe companion album, Evermore, launched in December 2020 and is eligible for the 2022 Grammys.

Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Pop Daypop

Ariana Grande releases live performance of ‘Off The Table’ with The Weeknd

shutterstock_1272953791

The Weeknd and Ariana Grande have collaborated once again for the Vevo official live performance of “off the table.” The singers previously worked together on a remix of “Save Your Tears.”

Ahead of its release, The Weeknd took to Instagram earlier this week to reveal that the video was dropping soon. “Ari 🤍 @vevo off the table tomorrow,” he captioned a still from the music video on Tuesday.

Grande also shared a sneak peak, writing, “Last but not least ….. 🤍 @vevo off the table – wednesday @theweeknd. positions – thursday🌿.”

“Off the Table” was released as the fifth track on Grande’s album, Positions, which came out last October. Check out the live performance of “off the table” – here.

Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Sports Daypop

San Francisco 49ers sign linebacker Fred Warner to five-year, $95M extension

shutterstock_211724500

The San Francisco 49ers and linebacker Fred Warner agreed to a five-year, $95 million contract extension on Wednesday. Warner will earn $40.5 million in guarantees, making him the highest-paid inside linebacker in the NFL.

The 24-year-old Warner was named first-team All-Pro this past season, after notching 125 combined tackles and two interceptions in the 2020 season. He tallied 125 tackles in 2020, adding a pair of fumble recoveries and two interceptions, and has finished with 100-plus tackles in each of the last three seasons, including 124 as a rookie in 2018.

The 49ers finished last in the NFC West last season at 6–10 after reaching the Super Bowl in 2019.

Editorial credit: dean bertoncelj / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Sports Daypop

Texas and Oklahoma look to potential conference move to SEC, leaving Big 12

shutterstock_1860021406

Texas and Oklahoma have reached out to the SEC regarding a potential conference move. The addition of the Big 12 powers would give the SEC 16 schools, creating the nation’s first “super-conference” though Texas and Oklahoma’s induction into the SEC will be dependent on a “majority vote.”

Texas and Oklahoma both nearly left the Big 12 conference after the 2010 season, but stayed put as Missouri and Texas A&M left for the SEC.  Texas A&M president Ross Bjork said Wednesday he hopes the Aggies remain “the only SEC team from the state of Texas.”

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey declined to comment on Wednesday’s report. A Texas spokesperson told the Austin-American Statesman’s Brian Davis that “Speculation swirls around college athletics. We will not address rumors and speculation.”

Oklahoma State released a statement critical of any move: “We have heard unconfirmed reports that OU and UT approached Southeastern Conference officials about joining the SEC. We are gathering information and will monitor closely. If true, we are would be gravely disappointed.”

Editorial credit: Tyler Travis Clarkson / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

First trailer for Ridley Scott’s ‘The Last Duel’ is released featuring Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Ben Affleck

shutterstock_729584197

The first trailer for Ridley Scott’s period drama “The Last Duel” has been released, featuring Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Ben Affleck.

The Last Duel is based on the book by Eric Jager, and has Affleck portraying King Charles VI and Damon as knight Jean de Carrouges, who must settle a dispute with Jacques LeGris (played by Driver), over sexual assault claims made by Damon’s wife, played by Comer.

The movie, produced by 20th Century Studios, had been in production for over a month in March 2020 when it was shut down amid the Covid-19 outbreak.  The movie is now set to open in theaters October 15.

Take a look at the trailer for The Last Duel – here.

Editorial credit: Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

Former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein pleads not-guilty to 11 counts in Los Angeles Court

shutterstock_1607433748

Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday to four counts of rape and seven other sexual assault counts. The 69-year-old was brought into court in a wheelchair by sheriff’s deputies, wearing a brown jail jumpsuit and face mask. Attorney Mark Werksman entered the plea one day after Weinstein was extradited to California from New York, where he was serving a 23-year prison term.

Weinstein’s charges involve five women and span from 2004 to 2013, said to have taken place in the hotels in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles that the New York-based Weinstein would make his headquarters for Hollywood business. Weinstein pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape, four counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint and one count of sexual penetration by use of force, charges that together could bring a sentence of 140 years. The women were not named in the charging documents.

A New York jury found Weinstein guilty of rape in 2013 and sexual assault in 2006 at his Manhattan apartment; he is appealing that conviction, seeking a new trial. Weinstein maintains his innocence and contends that any sexual activity was consensual.

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com