Ex-NFL star Darren Sharper gets 18 years prison

Gottlieb: Darren Sharper sentenced 18 years in prison

Former NFL star Darren Sharper has been sentenced to 18 years and four months in prison in a case where he was accused of drugging and raping as many as 16 women in four states.

• Darren Sharper accused of drugging, raping as many as 16 women
• Sharper played in the NFL for 14 years and retired in 2011

U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced Sharper on Thursday, telling him she couldn"t understand how he did what he did, since he was college educated and obviously had grown up "in one of the most loving households."

"We can never ignore the damage you inflicted on those women and society at large," she said.

Sharper had pleaded guilty in federal court in New Orleans to drugging three women so he could rape them. He also has pleaded guilty or no contest in state courts in Louisiana, Arizona, California and Nevada to charges arising from allegations of drugging and raping women.

"I would like to apologize a thousand times," Sharper said. He looked at the floor as he said, "I"m still trying to figure out why I made some of these choices. ... I lived my life right for 38 years, then I took this path."

His voice thickened and broke as he said his parents hadn"t raised him to take such actions.

Defense attorney Billy Gibbens asked leniency because Sharper"s testimony helped get "late" guilty pleas from two codefendants who will be sentenced in October.

Sharper will be sentenced next Thursday in Louisiana state court, Gibbens said outside court. He said he believes Sharper will be sentenced next month in Las Vegas, and couldn"t recall the Los Angeles sentencing date.

An Arizona judge sentenced him to nine years and what both Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McMahon and Gibbens said amounted to lifetime probation.

McMahon told the judge in court, "I don"t think Mr. Sharper has really wrapped his head around the fact that he is a serial rapist."

A woman who woke up next to Sharper after being drugged also spoke before Triche handed down the sentence. The woman"s voice was shaky and she frequently brought a handkerchief to her eyes. Her name was not given in court, and The Associated Press does not identify by name victims of sexual abuse.

She told Sharper that because of arrogance and "clear stupidity," he kept drugging and raping women even after he knew she was talking to state and federal investigators.

"Within days ... you gave me ... and the entire judicial system in Louisiana the big middle finger because you thought we weren"t capable of stopping you," she said. "You continued to rape other women in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas."

She said she understands that people make mistakes. "But it wasn"t a mistake. A mistake happens once and you never make it again." Rather, she said, it was "a way of life for you and your friends."

Prosecutors suggested a 9-year prison term for Sharper under a multi-jurisdictional plea deal, but Milazzo rejected it in June as too lenient. The sentence she imposed, 18 years and four months imprisonment, was 15 months short of the maximum. Sharper also was fined $20,000.

Sharper is getting the same sentence on each of three counts of distributing drugs with rape as the aim, but they will run concurrently with each other and with state sentences, the judge said. She said he will be on three years" supervised release after he gets out of prison, including "s*x treatment conditions" and registration as a s*x offender.

Sharper"s family left the courtroom without speaking to reporters. Gibbens said later that the federal sentence won"t affect plea agreements in the four state courts.

Sharper or his friend Brandon Licciardi, a former sheriff"s deputy in neighboring St. Bernard Parish, put anti-anxiety drugs or sedatives into women"s drinks so they could rape them, according to a 15-page statement signed as part of Sharper"s plea agreement.

Milazzo has scheduled sentencing Oct. 13 for Licciardi and a second New Orleans codefendant, Erik Nunez.

Outside the courtroom, McMahon quietly asked the woman, "Are you ready to do this in October?" She nodded.

Charges around the country involve nine victims, but Milazzo has said in court that there may be as many as 16.

She said Thursday that she will, as Gibbens requested, recommend a prison either in Petersburg, Virginia, or Butner, North Carolina, so he can be near his family in Richmond, Virginia.

Like Sharper, Licciardi and Nunez admitted distributing drugs with the intent to commit rape. Their federal plea agreements say Licciardi has accepted a 17-year sentence, with 10 years for Nunez.

Sharper was named All-Pro six times and chosen for the Pro Bowl five times during a career that included stints with the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. He played in two Super Bowls, one with the Packers as a rookie and one with New Orleans Saints when they won in 2010.

He ended a 14-year career in 2011. He was working as an NFL network analyst when women began telling police in several cities similar stories of blacking out while drinking with him and waking up groggy to find they had been sexually abused.

Source: http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/sports/article.html/content/news/articles/ap/2016/08/18/darren_sharper_prison_sentence.html

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WWE Smackdown Live results and observations: (08/16/16): Naomi wanted Eva Marie to catch that fade

ULTIMA HORA: ¡Suspensión a Eva Marie! || EXTRA: Cambios para WWE 2K17

Tuesday marked the very last chance WWE had to hype SummerSlam, as Smackdown Live took center stage.

Over the course of two brisk hours, I felt that the blue brand did a good job of putting the final touches on the stories surrounding its top matches and still managed to produce some quality wrestling at the same time.

Before I delve deeper into my analysis, here are the full match results from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas:

- American Alpha, The Hype Bros & The Usos def. The Ascension, The Vaudevillains & Breezango

- Eva Marie vs. Naomi ended in a no contest

- Heath Slater def. Randy Orton via disqualification

- Dean Ambrose def. Erick Rowan

- Becky Lynch & Carmella def. Natalya & Alexa Bliss

- John Cena def. Alberto Del Rio

Cena stood tall over AJ Styles

To hear that Cena stood tall over anyone should come as no surprise to anyone that has paid attention to WWE programming over the last decade or more, but it did raise some eyebrows as it pertains to the possible outcome to his grudge match against Styles at SummerSlam.

After Cena defeated Del Rio in a very entertaining main-event match, Styles, who was sitting ringside doing commentary, hit Cena with the phenomenal forearm.

Styles then grabbed a microphone and talked some trash to Cena, but the face the runs the place quickly recovered and caught Styles with an attitude adjustment.

However, that wasnt enough Cena. He had to up the ante. He grabbed a pair of steel steps, dragged them over to the announcer table, picked up Styles and tossed through the table, as the program went off the air.

Why is this noteworthy? As I said earlier, Cena stands tall over people more often than not, but if you follow the typical booking trend of WWE, this may mean Styles is going to defeat Cena at SummerSlam.

In the world of WWE, the person that gets the upper hand heading into the pay-per-view is usually losing the match at the pay-per-view. Ill be the first to say that this is not what happens 100 percent of the time.

There have been times when the guy that stood tall went on to win at the pay-per-view. A prime example of that was Daniel Bryan before WrestleMania 30.

Another reason that it may not happen this time is because it is Cena. It may sound too simple, but it really is just that simple. Cena wins a lot more than he loses. That is just how it is.

But if WWE follows its typical booking pattern and gives Styles another victory over Cena clean or not it will be looked at as a huge deal.

While Cena remains loyal to WWE and professes as much every chance he gets, his list of obligations outside of WWE are growing. Even if that list isnt growing on its own, Cena will do what he can to make sure that it indeed grows.

With that being said, Cena and possibly even WWE may feel it is time for Cena to take a big loss and pass a torch of sorts to Styles as the leader of Smackdown Live.

Or maybe Cena will just win again.

Dolph Ziggler continued to look strong

One of the best things since the brand extension has been the rehabilitation of the credibility of Zigglers character from a wins and losses standpoint.

Ziggler has always been seen in the eyes of the fans as extremely talented and very capable of having quality matches, but not always as a guy that can legitimately challenge for a top championship.

Over the course of a month, WWE has simply yet effectively made Ziggler credible again and that continued Tuesday night on Smackdown Live.

Ziggler had yet another verbal exchange with WWE World champion Ambrose Tuesday and cut yet another tremendous promo. It amazes me that Ziggler rarely got the microphone before the brand extension, as the guy clearly has the ability to talk. He moonlights as a standup comedian for goodness sakes.

You can tell in his promos since the brand extension that he has been itching at the chance to get some time on the microphone and he has since taken full advantage of it.

The best part, however, was the notion that he was simple one move away from being WWE World champion and that one move is the super kick. Yes, its a lot like what Shawn Michaels used to tell a lot of his opponents about the same move, but this is far from the first time Ziggler has channeled Michaels in some way.

He definitely did by hitting Ambrose with a super kick out of the blue to end the segment.

I cant say enough how much I have enjoyed WWEs simple approach to building this feud. It probably would not be able to keep things this simple if Smackdown Live was a three-show as oppose to just two, but that is one of the advantages Smackdown Live has over Raw.

The Heath Slater saga continued

One of the best things going in all of WWE is the running storyline involving Slater.

After taking part in a great segment with Brock Lesnar Monday, Slater was back at it again Tuesday, as he continued his pursuit of a contract with one of the brands.

This time, he got a match against Lesnars opponent at SummerSlam, Orton.

With the odds stacked against him, Slater dug deep and found a way to defeat the former world champion in a huge upset.

OK, thats not what really happened. Slater technically did get the victory, but only by disqualification because Orton failed to adhere to the referees counts while he was beating the daylights out of Slater.

But hey, a win is a win for Slater and he doesnt get those very often. Im sure h**l take it.

After Slater was given the victory, Orton continued the beating he was dishing out and even mocked Lesnar by giving Slater a trip to Suplex City. Orton even bounced around the ring like Lesnar, which was pretty cool.

But this wasnt really about that big match between Orton and Lesnar. This was really about Slater and the plethora of children he has to support.

Slater eventually made his way into the trainers room and was receiving medical attention when Smackdown Live general manager Daniel Bryan and commissioner Shane McMahon walked into the room and commended Slater on his bravery and once again offered him a contract.

Slater seemed very grateful to finally get the offer and had a pen in his hand in preparation to sign, but was knocked so silly, he began calling Bryan and McMahon their Raw counterparts, Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon.

This apparently offended Shane McMahon, as he quickly slipped the contract from under Slaters pen, which means the poor guy still doesnt have a contract. Slater was so out of it he had no idea what had even happened until they left.

Eva Marie got stuck in traffic

This week on How Eva Marie Got Out of a Wrestling Match, Eva Marie was slated to go against Naomi, who had a fantastic entrance.

Naomis great entrance was all for naught, as Eva Maries fantastic announcer told the audience that she was unable to compete due to her being stuck in traffic. What a shame.

Eva Marie eventually made it to the building and interrupted the womens tag team match, but was quickly thwarted by Naomi, who still wanted Eva Marie to catch the fade she had waiting for her earlier in the night. Eva Marie wanted no parts and ran away.

All of this set up a six-woman tag team match at SummerSlam. Naomi will team up with Becky Lynch and Carmella to face Eva Marie, Natalya and Alexa Bliss.

Bray Wyatt left Erick Rowan hanging

In a surprising turn of events, Wyatt left the ring without Rowan after the latter lost to Ambrose on Smackdown Live.

This was done without any explanation, but it definitely left a lot of questions as to what will be next for each man if they are indeed going their separate ways.

Wyatt could easily stand on his own as a heel or even a babyface. However, Im not so sure about Rowan. When he went on his own back in 2014, he remained mostly the same and his singles run was largely forgettable.

A complete overhaul of his character may help this time around, but that obviously depends on what direction WWE takes with him.

Curt Hawkins returning to Smackdown Live

It was officially announced Tuesday former WWE Tag Team champion Curt Hawkins is returning to WWE and will part of Smackdown Live.

Hawkins was last with the company in 2014 and has spent the last two years working on the independent circuit.

Hawkins was never the biggest star in the world, but was always good in the ring. He looks to be coming in with a new character, which could help him this time around. If nothing else, he provides depth on the roster and could help get some of the younger talents over.

No hype for the Intercontinental championship

The reason why I am saving this for last is because WWE thought so little of what is supposed to be its second-most prestigious title that it only had time to hype the feud surrounding during a commercial break.

Thats right, during a commercial break.

Current Intercontinental champion The Miz was in the ring doing another episode of Miz TV during the opening segment, but mentioned nothing about his title defense at SummerSlam against Apollo Crews.

Instead, he was busy getting in between Ambrose and Ziggler.

It wasnt until the commercial break when The Miz and Crews had some interaction, which puzzled me.

This isnt just any other title. This is the Intercontinental championship and WWE tells me on commentary every week how prestigious it is, but cant even find the time to promote its match on television? Outside of not having it on the show at all, that is about as bad as it gets.

Both The Miz and Crews deserve better than that.

Published: August 17, 2016 1:48 AM EDT | Updated: August 17, 2016 4:00 AM EDT

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Source: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/the-squared-circle/WWE-Smackdown-Live-results-and-observations-081616-Naomi-wanted-Eva-Marie-to-catch-that-fade.html

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American Allyson Felix narrowly loses 400 to the Bahamas" Shaunae Miller

U.S. women"s 4x100 relay disqualified after Allyson Felix is ELBOWED by a Brazilian

RIO DE JANEIRO A valiant effort by Allyson Felix to overcome an ankle injury that threatened to derail her Olympic dreams months before she reached Rio wasnt quite enough for her to win gold in the womens 400-meter dash on Monday night, when Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas dived at the line and won the race by perhaps half an arms length.

Miller won with a time of 49.44 seconds, to a season-best 49.51 for Felix, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended USC. Shericka Jackson of Jamaica was third in 49.85.

No one was initially sure who had won. Miller, gasping for air after holding off Felixs late surge, fell forward onto the track and rolled over onto her back. Felix sat on the track, arms clasped around her knees, as she looked to the scoreboard for the result.

The crowd at Olympic Stadium let loose a roar when Millers name was listed first, followed by Felix.

Felix won the gold medal in the 200-meter dash at the London Games four years ago and had hoped to pursue a 200-400 double here. However, a training accident that damaged ligaments in her ankle in late April led her to struggle at the U.S. Olympic trials and she didnt make the team in the 200 and so was unable to defend her title. However, she is expected to run both the 400-meter and 1,600-meter relays here.

Running in Lane 4 on a track dampened by rain that had delayed the start of several races, she made a strong surge down the stretch and appeared in position to win. But thats when Miller made her desperate and successful dive and came up a winner.

Source: http://www.thedailyworld.com/sports/american-allyson-felix-narrowly-loses-400-to-the-bahamas-shaunae-miller/

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Understanding the Controversy Over Caster Semenya

Caster Semenya Rio Olympics | Caster Semenya Storms Into 800m Final with Team GB"s Lynsey Sharp

It is not known for certain what, if any, procedures were undergone by Semenya, who won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Nor could it be verified, as reported in 2009 in The Daily Telegraph of Australia, that Semenya had internal testes and three times the testosterone level of a typical woman.

At this point, it does not matter. Last year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Swiss-based high court for international sport, suspended track and fields testosterone policy for two years.

The court said it had been unable to conclude that hyperandrogenic female athletes may benefit from such a significant performance advantage that it is necessary to exclude them from competing in the female category.

Did elevated testosterone provide women with a 1 percent competitive advantage? Three percent? More? Available science could not say, the court ruled. It gave the I.A.A.F. two years to try to discern that advantage. The ruling was based on the case of Dutee Chand, a sprinter from India.

The court ruling was the correct one.

As the arbitration panel noted, science has not conclusively shown that elevated testosterone provides women with more of a significant competitive edge than factors like nutrition, access to coaching and training facilities, and other genetic and biological variations.

All Olympians have some exceptional traits. That is why they are elite athletes. A level playing field for everyone remains elusive, perhaps unattainable.

Kenyan and Ethiopian marathoners live and train at altitude, naturally enhancing their oxygen-carrying capacity. And they tend to have long, thin legs that make running more energy efficient. Kevin Durant and Brittney Griner are great basketball players in part because they are nearly 7 feet tall.

Eero Mantyranta, a Finnish cross-country skier who won seven Olympic medals in the 1960s, including three golds, was found to have a genetic mutation that increased his hemoglobin level to about 50 percent higher than the average mans.

There is no fundamental difference between a congenital disorder that produces high testosterone levels and a genetic mutation that produces elevated hemoglobin levels, according to a recent commentary, entitled The Olympic Games and Athletic s*x Assignment, in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Yet elevated levels of naturally occurring hemoglobin do not disqualify athletes. In any case, the Journal commentary said, all of these biological differences are minuscule compared with the suspected use of performance-enhancing substances.

If elevated testosterone provided an overriding competitive advantage, said Karkazis, the Stanford bioethicist, why did Chand, the Indian sprinter, not advance beyond the first round of the Olympic 100 meters?

Photo Semenya celebrated after the womens 800 meters final at the 2009 world track and field championships. She won by more than two seconds. Credit Olivier Morin/Agence France-Presse Getty Images

If you believe this is jet fuel, then whats going on? said Karkazis, who testified on Chands behalf before the arbitration court.

The I.A.A.F. does not investigate further if atypically high levels of testosterone in men are determined to occur naturally, an editorial in Scientific American recently noted. It added, Fairness and science both dictate that women should be treated exactly the same.

There are reasonable people on both sides of the testosterone debate. And there is deep emotion, too. It is an extremely complex issue, which includes the Olympic participation of transgender athletes.

Experts do not suggest that Semenya has taken banned substances. No one serious is calling her a man. No prominent voices suggest that separate categories should not exist for womens and mens sports.

But many remain concerned that womens sports will be threatened if some athletes are allowed to compete with a testosterone advantage, even if athletes are reluctant to address the testosterone issue during the Olympics.

Semenya easily advanced out of the semifinals on Thursday night; the final is Saturday. Ajee Wilson of the United States, who finished second to Semenya in their opening heat, said, It is something that should be revisited. But Wilson also said: At this point, what I think doesnt really matter. Were all on the track. Whoevers on there is racing.

Dr. Eric Vilain, a medical geneticist from U.C.L.A., last year told my colleague Juliet Macur that if we push this argument, anyone declaring a female gender can compete as a woman.

He added, Were moving toward one big competition, and the very predictable result of that competition is that there will be no women winners.

Paula Radcliffe of England, the retired world-record holder in the womens marathon, told BBC Radio last month that it was no longer sport when a victory was so seemingly assured as Semenyas appeared in Rio.

Radcliffe also suggested that some unnamed countries might actively recruit hyperandrogenic athletes to win more races.

But this feared gender apocalypse, as Karkazis calls it, seems unlikely. We are talking about a very small number of women. And male impostors exist in myth more than reality. It appears that Semenyas case is being used to make wider assumptions based more on supposition than evidence.

The notion that womens sports need to be protected is paternalistic, Karkazis said, calling it the mantle under which all kinds of discriminatory and sexist ideas enter.

In a sport once dominated by white Europeans, said Madeleine Pape of Australia, who competed against Semenya in the 2009 world championships, women who have fought so hard for the right to compete and for sustainable financial support can feel threatened by the rising success of a faster competitor. Especially, Pape said, if that athlete is non-gender-conforming and is married to another woman, as Semenya is.

In truth, Radcliffe is more of an outlier than Semenya. Radcliffes marathon record of 2 hours 15 minutes 25 seconds is about 10 percent slower than the fastest mens time of 2:02:57. Meanwhile, Semenyas best performance at 800 meters of 1 minute 55.33 seconds, which is not the world record, is about 12 percent slower than the mens record of 1:40.91.

Radcliffe and gold medal athletes in Rio, like the American gymnast Simone Biles and the swimmer Katie Ledecky, have been as dominant or more dominant than Semenya, but their gender has not been openly questioned, Pape said.

When we look at it objectively, Caster Semenya is no more exceptional than they are, Pape, who is a doctoral student in sociology at the University of Wisconsin, said in an email. So why do we celebrate them while persecuting Semenya?

The Journal of the American Medical Association said it was appropriate for athletes who were born with a disorder of s*x development and were raised as female to be allowed to compete as women.

That sounds like the right call. Let athletes compete as who they are.

G*d made me the way I am, and I accept myself, Semenya told You, a South African magazine, in 2009. I am who I am, and Im proud of myself.

It would seem unfair to tell her, Sorry, you cant run in the Olympics because of the way you were born.

Continue reading the main story

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/20/sports/caster-semenya-800-meters.html

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Ben-Hur stands in the shadow of Wyler"s 1959 epic The Denver ...

Ben-Hur - Review

Two stars out of four. Rated PG-13. 124 minutes.

Remaking a film that won 11 Academy Awards invites inevitable comparison, but the latest adaptation of Ben-Hur distinguishes itself from William Wylers 1959 epic by retooling key character and story elements. Its still a big, biblical-era tale of power, loyalty and vengeance, only refocused through rose-colored lenses with an eye toward appealing to the lucrative faith-based audience.

Produced by the power couple behind The Bible miniseries, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, this Ben Hur is like an abbreviated, more Christ-centered take on Wylers film. It boasts similar sweeping desert landscapes, well-dressed Roman armies and heart-pounding equestrian action. Some shots pay clear homage to the Oscar-winning classic. The violence here is far more graphic, thanks to modern special effects (and sensibilities). This film is also an hour and 40 minutes shorter than Wylers epic (thank goodness).

But where Wylers version is ultimately about family and unrequited romance, director Timur Bekmambetov is more interested in redemption and the words of Jesus Christ. Jesus was silent and his face unseen in Wylers film. Played handsomely by Rodrigo Santoro, Jesus has a lot to say here.

Screenwriters Keith Clarke and Oscar winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) start with the premise and characters from the original 1880 novel. Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) and Messala (Toby Kebbell) are like brothers until Messala becomes a Roman officer who falsely accuses Judah of betrayal. Messala condemns Judah to slavery and jails his innocent motheRodrigo Santoro who portrays Jesus, left, and director Timur Bekmambetov on the set of Ben-Hur.r and sister. After years of captivity and an unlikely escape, Judah befriends a horseman who insists he exact vengeance against Messala during the celebrated Roman chariot race.

The action of that horse race is just as thrilling and exquisitely choreographed as any present-day movie car chase. Its as intense as Wylers, though more visceral. Advances in filmmaking and animal training mean the falls are more dramatic and the injuries more gruesome and vivid.

The sprawling sets of Roman amphitheaters and hillside villages are as sumptuous here in as Wylers film, but somehow less magnificent. In the age of the Hunger Games and ever-present CGI, massive scale just doesnt have the impact it once did.

Beyond that basic framework, the writers have taken many creative liberties with the source material. Theres no yearning romance between Judah and Esther (Nazanin Boniadi) as in the original story or even between Judah and Messala, as in the 1959 film. Judah and Esther are married early in the first act of this Ben-Hur, and theres none of the homoerotic hinting Charlton Hestons Judah and Steven Boyds Messala shared in Wylers film. Here, the mens brotherly bond trumps romance.

The role of Sheik Ilderim, which won Hugh Griffith a supporting actor Oscar, was expanded here for Morgan Freeman. Unfortunately, the characters humor was removed in the process. A welcome addition to any cast, Freeman is out of place in this flatly drawn part, and not just because hes the only one who doesnt use a British accent. Why do characters in biblical dramas speak with British accents, anyway?

Speaking of creative liberties, Messala follows an unexpected trajectory here that exists neither in the original novel or Wyler adaptation. To say more would be a spoiler.

The music that plays such a significant role as to be a character itself (and an Academy Award winner) in Wylers Ben-Hur fades into the background here, save for Andra Days original song The Only Way Out, which plays over the closing credits.

This film bests other recent biblical dramas with more inclusive casting. Besides Freeman and Santoro, there are several actors of color, though Judah and Messala are both played by white Britons. Ridley Scotts 2014 biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings, which similarly pits brother against brother, was widely criticized for its overwhelmingly white cast.

The message here, though, is a good and timely one, coming straight from Jesus: Lay down your arms and love your enemy.

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/19/ben-hur-movie-review/

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The Sad Absence of Japandroids And The Bands That Have Risen Up To Make "Celebration Rock" In Their Place

Lil" B Gives An Update on Frank Ocean"s Album

Getty Image

For those of us who obsess over long-gestating (and possibly even nonexistent) albums, the past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster. First, Frank Ocean (or somebody in Oceans camp) suggested that the follow-up to 2012s Channel Orange would soon appear on Apple Music, though so far it hasnt happened, which has apparently ruined a lot of lives out there. Then, Bon Iver previewed their new (kinda bonkers!) album, 22, A Million, the bands first since 2011s Bon Iver, Bon Iver, at last weeks Eaux Claires festival, set for late September. Finally, theres Japandroids, a two-man punk band from Vancouver thats less famous than Ocean or Bon Iver, but who nonetheless reignited widespread speculation over a sequel to 2012s Celebration Rock after announcing their first tour in three years last week.

Japandroids hasnt promised any new music yet, but given the wait for Celebration Rock which came out one month before Channel Orange, back when only one of the Rae Sremmund dudes was old enough to vote any sign of life from this otherwise M.I.A. band is reason for hope. A new Japandroids record already seems well overdue. After all, the duo are not meticulous artistes like Ocean or Bon Ivers Justin Vernon. Whatever the mannered soundscapes of Channel Orange and Bon Iver, Bon Iver are intended to signify, Celebration Rock represents the opposite. Fire it up, and Celebration Rock is incapable of purring softly; from the start, it roars with overpowering gusto. Its a flinty machine that runs on cheap power chords and bargain-basement drum fills, with cast-iron gears lubricated with gallons of skunky beer.

(Perhaps, Im being overly wordy here. To properly express my enthusiasm for a new Japandroids album, it would be better if I could communicate with a series of hugs and beer cans slammed against my forehead. Instead, I hope this suffices: Whooooooooa! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah! Whoooooooooa!)

In terms of indie-rock if the label indie-rock still suits Japandroids, rather than punk or even emo Celebration Rock is one of this decades watershed releases. It is the Pulp Fiction of 10s indie, doing for rock what Tarantino did for crime films by taking all of the cliches and conventions of the genre and reinvigorating them with canny execution and sheer, infectious enthusiasm. Like Pulp Fiction, Celebration Rock doesnt exist in a vacuum; Titus Andronicus 2010 LP The Monitor mines similar territory, as does the Hold Steadys output in the 00s. Where Japandroids diverge is in their preference for pure sensation over intellectual or literary trappings. For the Hold Steadys Craig Finn, youthful indiscretions are remarked upon from an adults distance. In the songs of Titus Andronicus, tales of woe from lead singer Patrick Stickles childhood in New Jersey are contextualized in a grander web of American history and critical theory. On Celebration Rock, meanwhile, the party happens in the moment, which the music evokes with every furiously strummed riff and triumphant wail.

Japandroids make music that should, theoretically, be relatively easy to produce more than once or twice per decade. And yet, when you make a record as good at being simple as Celebration Rock is, it doesnt leave you with a lot of options moving forward. If you repeat the formula, you have to compete directly with your most beloved record (and your audiences distorted memory of that record). If you change up the formula (assuming youre even capable of doing that), you run the risk of losing what people liked about you in the first place. Whether any of this has weighed on Japandroids in the time since they essentially dropped out of sight, at this point, is anyones guess. The band hasnt granted any recent interviews, and members Brian King and David Prowse shun social media. Album or no album, whatever Japandroids do from here will be a genuine surprise.

Source: http://uproxx.com/music/japandroids-absence-beach-slang/

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UFC 202 notes: Magny, Garbrandt on verge of stardom

UFC 202 Embedded: Vlog Series - Episode 4
LAS VEGAS-

No matter what happens Saturday night, the success of UFC 202 will probably be measured by how the card performs when its compared to UFC 200.

Thats not entirely fair. UFC 200 was stacked with famous fighters, while the marketing for UFC 202 has relied (almost) entirely on Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.

But where UFC 200 had established stars, UFC 202 has a couple guys who might be one or two fights away from superstardom themselves.

Or a title shot, at least.

For Neil Magny and Cody Garbrandt, Saturday night represents a massive opportunity to shine under the brightest spotlight of their careers.

A win for Garbrandt over Takeya Mizugaki could earn him a fight against UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, while victory over Lorenz Larkin would put Magny squarely among the welterweight elite.

It is what it is at the end of the day, Tyron (Woodley) is great and he just won the title so congratulations to him, but I know Im super close to fighting for the title, Magny said Thursday at UFC 202 Media Day at the Red Rock Casino. Just look at the guys Ive beaten recently, it shows that Im right there and Im ready to go.

While Magny is only seventh in the UFCs largely ridiculous official rankings, hes been on an absolute tear over the past couple of years. Since February of 2014, hes won 10 of 11 fights, beating big names including Hector Lombard and Kelvin Gastelum, who is inexplicably listed above him in the rankings.

Larkin might not exactly be the big-name opponent who can push him into the upper stratosphere of UFC stardom, but Magnys employers tend to reward guys who fight regularly, and theres no one whos been more willing to jump into the octagon than Magny.

But for anyone looking for the UFCs next big thing, its got to be Garbrandt.

The heavily-tattooed 25-year-old has the look of a superstar and was dressed to impress at Thursdays media day. He wore a crisp new David August suit and held court with the media on everything from a potential fighters union to his thoughts on Wednesdays fracas between McGregor and Diazs fight camps.

Garbrandt was mature, he was articulate and he spoke with the confidence of a man who had won his first four UFC fights and had secured three knockouts in that period.

Win on Saturday, and a title fight is likely next. Lose, and its straight to the back of the line.

No pressure, kid.

Theres always going to be that urge to win and that burning desire to win for me, Garbrandt said. I love winning and I hate losing but I know thats part of the sport. I dont focus on losing, I just focus on going out there and having fun and performing to the best of my ability.

If its not my day then its not my day, but I go out there in training camp and prepare myself to go to battle. Im always going out there looking for the knockout, theres no difference on Saturday.

UP NEXT FOR COVINGTON

All things considered, its a little strange that more people arent talking about Colby Covington.

The 28-year-old California native has been around the UFC for almost two years now and has gone 4-1 in his time with the UFC. His opponents havent been especially high profile, but hes finished three opponents and has often looked spectacular in doing so.

On Saturday, h**l take on Max Griffin on the UFC 202 preliminary card. Covington is predicting h**l finally get people talking.

Im going to finish him, theres no way hes getting out of the second round, Covington said. If he does, hes not getting out of the third, so Im definitely just going to steamroll him and hes not going to be able to keep up with my pace.

Thats kind of what Im going to do to the whole division. No one can keep up with my pace.

This is another opportunity to get right back in front of the cameras and get another big win and get what I want. I want the big fights, I want the top-15 fights.

BACK WHERE SHE BELONGS

Like so many Canadian fighters before her, Randa Markos decided a while back that a move to Montreals Tristar Gym was the best thing she should do for her career.

But something wasnt right at Tristar, and when she returned to her home at Michigan Top Team before her last fight with Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger, things began to click into place. With a second fight in two months scheduled for Saturday night when she takes on Cortney Casey, Markos made it clear that she wouldnt be going anywhere any time soon.

Obviously if I stayed at Tristar they would have gotten to know me a little bit better and would have helped me with my game and everything, Markos said. But I feel like Im at a point in my career where I got this far with what I know and I dont want to change it, I just want to add more things to my game.

daustin@postmedia.com

@DannyAustin_

Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2016/08/18/ufc-202--notes-magny-garbrandt-on-verge-of-stardom

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