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5 Best Kits in World Cup History

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Every four years, the countries with the top soccer programs in the world meet up to determine who has the best squad at the World Cup. This isn’t just a showcase for athletics, but also for fashion. Each country has a unique kit that they wear, with some of them quickly becoming fan favorites worldwide. Because of this, countries do their best to stand out and have their kit recognized globally.

When teams don’t play it “safe” it can sometimes look gaudy and have people making fun of them either in the moment or years down the road. Then, there are those kits that end up being timeless classics. Let’s take a look at the history of the World Cup and discover the five best country kits that have been worn (in no particular order).

Argentina (Multiple Kits)

There’s one country that hasn’t really made major changes to its World Cup kits over the years, and it’s Argentina. The Argentines have won the World Cup three times, with the first coming in 1978 when the country hosted. They took home the title again eight years later in Mexico, then had Lionel Messi establish himself as the greatest soccer star in the world when they won in Qatar in 2022.

When you think of Argentina at the World Cup, you think of the white and blue vertical stripes that make up their jersey. Made to look like the nation’s flag, Argentina’s kits have been largely untouched for more than a century. While the ‘away’ kits have had some changes for each World Cup, the ‘home’ uniforms are a classic that the country can (and frankly shouldn’t) change.

United States (1994)

The United States hosted the World Cup for the first time in 1994 just four years after qualifying for its first World Cup since 1950. The United States had been known more for football, basketball, and baseball, but the 1990s saw an emergence in the soccer program. When the country hosted in 1994, it decided to have a unique kit to really stand out.

The blue tops were adorned with large white stars with “USA” emblazoned on the left breast. When combined with the red shorts, it was truly a star-spangled kit for the Americans. While it was considered “tacky” years later, it has now come around to being fashionable again. The kit turned out to be a good luck charm for the US, too, as the nation had its best World Cup finish in 44 years.

Nigeria (2018)

When you’re using a color like neon green, you have to make sure that you get the kit right, otherwise, it’s just going to be an eyesore. One of the greatest examples of neon green done well came in 2018 when Nigeria wore the color for the World Cup in Russia. For Nigeria, it was just their fifth World Cup appearance, but the kits made an impression.

Nike designed the uniforms and had a lot of inspiration from Nigerian culture. “We wanted to tap into the attitude of the nation,” designer Dan Farron said. “We built this kit and collection based on the players’ full identities…We started to see trends in attitude and energy connecting the athletes to music, fashion, and more. They are part of a resoundingly cool culture.” Sadly, the team didn’t make it past the group stage, winning just one game.

Mexico (1998)

Mexico is one of those countries that some people might be surprised to learn haven’t been beyond the quarter-finals of a World Cup. It’s true, though, as they’ve reached the final eight just twice (1970 and 1986). It hasn’t been for a lack of appearances, though, as Mexico has made the World Cup in all but just a handful of years.

The country has been dressed for success, however, and that includes their top kits from 1998 in France. The kit featured a Mayan-inspired design and the country’s signature green, white, and red colors from the national flag. Mexico reached the round of 16 at the World Cup but got knocked out by Germany.

Australia (2006)

Up until 2006, Australia had almost no history at the World Cup. They weren’t a member of FIFA until 1966, and even then, they had just one appearance (1974) until 2006. Australia has fared much better since then, making each World Cup and advancing past the group stage twice. The first of those two occasions was indeed 2006 when they unveiled their amazing kits.

The design was simple with mostly solid yellow tops and green shorts, but something about it just went together very well. The Socceroos still wear the colors that all of the nation’s sports teams wear, with green representing the forests while yellow (gold) represents the beaches and minerals.

5 Best Movies About War

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There are all types of movie genres out there, but one of the hardest to get right is war. Set pieces are often intricate and expensive, which is why Hollywood tends not to make too many of them compared to earlier years when boots-on-the-ground warfare was much more common. That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been some fantastic war films recently, though. Let’s take a look through Hollywood history to find the five best movies about war, some of which came out more recently than you may have expected. 

Saving Private Ryan

By the time the late 1990s came around, many thought that the “war epic” genre was dead in the water. At that point, it had been over a decade since a very successful one had been released, but Steven Spielberg made sure that when he entered into a film about combat that he was going to do it right. The end result was a $70 million epic starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and many other A-list stars called “Saving Private Ryan”.

The movie was intense right from the very beginning, which showed the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. Critics and audiences could feel the horrors of war while watching “Saving Private Ryan” and it ended up being one of the most successful films of the 1990s, pulling in close to a half-billion in ticket sales. “Saving Private Ryan” won five Oscars, including Best Directing and Best Cinematography.

Dunkirk

Many consider Steven Spielberg to be the greatest director of his generation, and many feel the same way about Christopher Nolan in the newer era of cinema. Nolan has directed incredible films which include “Interstellar”, “The Dark Knight”, and “Inception”, while his first entry into the war genre was phenomenal with “Dunkirk” in 2017. The film was shot beautifully and put people into the action of World War I.

As a result, “Dunkirk” won Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. “Dunkirk” has a massive cast that includes familiar names such as Harry Styles, Cillian Murphy, and Tom Hardy. Making well over a half-billion at the box office, “Dunkirk” proved to be yet another success for Nolan’s prestigious career, and it has been hailed as the “Saving Private Ryan” of the new millennium.

Apocalypse Now

In 1899, a novella named “Heart of Darkness” was created by Joseph Conrad, which is what “Apocalypse Now” was based on. This time around, though, the film revolved around the Vietnam War. 1979’s “Apocalypse Now” was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who at that point had been known for his work on the first two “Godfather” films.

“Apocalypse Now” was chock-full of memorable lines and scenes to go along with a long list of A-list stars. This included Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, and even Harrison Ford. It cost just over $30 million to make “Apocalypse Now”, and it would gross well into the six-figures, making it a hit. Surprisingly, the only Academy Awards won by “Apocalypse Now” were for Best Sound and Best Cinematography.

The Hurt Locker

While it wasn’t as big of a hit at the box office as some of the films before it on the list, “The Hurt Locker” was a critic’s favorite when released in 2008, showing the more modern intensity of combat as we know it. Kathryn Bigelow would win Best Director at the Academy Awards thanks to “The Hurt Locker”, and the film went on later that night to win Best Picture.

“The Hurt Locker” is jam-packed with familiar names, especially if you’re a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Evangeline Lilly (Wasp), and Guy Pearce (Killian) all make appearances in the MCU and “The Hurt Locker”. Other notable stars from the film include David Morse, Brian Geraghty, and Ralph Fiennes.

Das Boot

Out of the films on the list, some might think that “Das Boot” would be the oldest, but it actually came out two years after “Apocalypse Now”. “Das Boot” was directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who went on to direct films including “The NeverEnding Story”, “Air Force One”, and “The Perfect Storm”. Some feel this was still Petersen’s best work, though, as it really tapped into the psyche of those in a submarine during the war.

“Das Boot” follows the story of the German submarine U-96 and its crew, with an ending that we don’t want to ruin, so simply watch for yourself and admire the great storytelling. “Das Boot” was a big success at the box office and received several Academy Award nominations including Best Director and Best Cinematography. 

5 Largest Concerts in Florida History

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Florida can be a tough place for outdoor venues since the weather is so unpredictable. However, there have been many musical acts who are willing to brave the elements in hopes that the Sunshine State lives up to its name. As a result, there are some concerts that have set attendance records in the state of Florida, with these five concerts and festivals pulling in the most concertgoers over the years.

Ultra Music Festival

In the late 1990s, Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes had an idea to start a music festival in the Miami area that would focus on the EDM genre. Back then, EDM was a very niche genre compared to what it is today. In 1999, the first ever Ultra Music Festival was held on Miami Beach but has changed venues several times since then. It was a small crowd at the time, with just 10,000 people showing up.

Things would change over the years, however, as the festival moved venues and EDM became more popular. For five years, the UMF was held at Bayfront Park and nearly quintupled in attendance. When the venue changed to Bicentennial Park, it reached 100,000 for the first time in 2011. After moving back to Bayfront Park, the Ultra Music Festival set new records with 170,000 in attendance.

Led Zeppelin

Before the Buccaneers of the NFL called Raymond James Stadium their home (and built an awesome pirate ship in the stadium), they played their home games at Tampa Stadium. Locals started calling it the Big Sombrero thanks to its unique shape, and the venue had a lot of character before it was demolished in 1999.

The Big Sombrero was home to a lot of memorable concerts, but the one that really stood out was when Led Zeppelin came to town. At the time (1973), no other band was able to pull in that many people to one venue with 57,000 in attendance. When they returned four years later, there were 70,000 people, but the concert was cut short due to inclement weather. A riot ensued when the show was canceled, causing a black eye on the stadium’s history.

Garth Brooks (Multiple Times)

Garth Brooks has been a huge draw for pretty much his entire career, and since the 1990s has been selling out football stadiums across the United States, showing that he’s at a different level than most performers. There have been a couple of times in which Brooks has set attendance records in Florida, with one concert coming in Orlando while the other was in Gainesville.

When Brooks played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, more than 70,000 people turned out to sing along with him while he played his greatest hits. After the show, Brooks tweeted out “Orlando, I’ll say it again – YOU (expletive) ROCK!” As for his concert in Gainesville, Brooks set a new record with a crowd of 75,500 at the sold out Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, home of the Florida Gators football team.

Bad Bunny

Garth Brooks isn’t the only one to have a massive crowd show up at Camping World Stadium. When he kicked off his “World’s Hottest Tour” in 2022, Bad Bunny picked Orlando to be the place where he’d start it all. The venue didn’t have quite as many seats as Brooks’s concert due to the setup differences between the concerts, but Bad Bunny was still able to fill all 65,000 available seats.

Interestingly enough, one of the reasons that Bad Bunny chose Orlando is because he had spent a lot of time there while training for his match at WrestleMania. The WWE has a performance center in Orlando, and WrestleMania 37 was held in Tampa, allowing Bad Bunny to call the state his home for several months.

Miami Pop Festival

Psychedelic music was all the rage toward the end of the 1960s, and 1968 saw two massive festivals take place in Florida. The first Miami Pop Festival was held on May 18th and 19th at Gulfstream Park and brought out 25,000 people thanks to performers including the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Chuck Berry. The second iteration of the festival, though, drew in massive numbers compared to the original.

The other Miami Pop Festival took place during the final days of 1968, and this time brought in more than 100,000 people. Also held at Gulfstream Park, the second festival saw the return of Chuck Berry while also adding around two dozen more bands. This included Fleetwood Mac, Marvin Gaye, the Grateful Dead, and Three Dog Night.

5 Most Viral Instagram Posts Ever

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Instagram allows us to simply share a photo with a caption and it can be seen by millions of people around the world. It’s an extremely useful app for those that don’t want to read too much into backstories and simply enjoy photos for what they are. Over the history of Instagram, there have been several posts to garner tens of millions of likes, with these five going more viral than any other.

For this list, we wanted to make sure that we only got one Instagram post per user. The 2022 World Cup saw the top of the list get filled up by many posts from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, so we’re taking just the top one from each player.

Ariana Grande Gets Married

Singer Ariana Grande has had a ton of hits throughout her illustrious career including “7 Rings”, “Thank U, Next” and “Bang Bang”. The amount of success she was able to achieve before turning 30 was remarkable, though perhaps her best day came on May 15, 2021. It was on that day that Grande married real estate agent Dalton Gomez.

For Grande, it was the first time that she was in a relationship with someone who wasn’t a celebrity, so many people didn’t even know that she was getting married. Donning a Vera Wang dress, Grande posted an album of her wedding on Instagram and it became one of the most-liked posts in Instagram’s history.

The Last XXXTentacion Post

XXXTentacion got his music career off the ground in his early teenage years when he was releasing his tracks on Soundcloud. By the time he was in his late teens, he had developed a large following thanks to his song “Look at Me” from his debut album “17”. Born Jahseh Onfoy, XXXTentacion had a lot of personal problems, and sadly only lived to be 20 years old.

On May 19, 2018, XXXTentacion posted what would end up being his final photo on Instagram. The photo was simply of him shirtless and upside down with the caption “LOVE IS WAR”. Almost exactly one month later, XXXTentacion was murdered in broad daylight in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Many went back to his last post to like it as it became a piece of history.

Ronaldo’s Advertised Chess Match

We now get to the soccer portion of the list as Cristiano Ronaldo has dominated a good portion of the list of most-liked Instagram posts ever. Ronaldo’s most popular post of all time, though, is simply an advertisement that he posted in November 2022. The photo shows Ronaldo playing a game of chess on top of a Louis Vuitton case that resembles a chess board.

The caption makes it so that people are fooled and states that it’s an advertisement from a photoshoot. “Victory is a State of Mind,” Ronaldo said. “A long tradition of crafting trunks photographed by (Annie Leibovitz) for (Louis Vuitton).” What made it so popular is that it took two legends of the sport and put them together, with celebrities instantly calling it one of the most iconic pictures in sports history. 

The Egg

On January 4, 2019, a man named Chris Godfrey set out to have the most-liked post on Instagram and wanted things to be very simple. He posted a photo of an egg with a white background and nothing more. Godfrey named the account world_record_egg and it would be the account’s only post.

Godfrey succeeded in his mission as the egg became the most-liked post within weeks, destroying the previous record of 18 million. The caption said “Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this.” Naturally, everyone wanted to be part of history and started liking the egg photo tens of millions of times over.

Messi Becomes the GOAT

We had already mentioned soccer legends and Lionel Messi, and now we get to both his top post and the top post in Instagram history. There had been one accomplishment that Messi was searching for in his illustrious career, and that was winning the World Cup for his native Argentina. Messi did just that with a huge game in the finals of the 2022 event.

Shortly after winning the title, Messi took to Instagram, posting an album of his team celebrating while he holds the prestigious trophy. When translated to English, the post reads “Champions of the world! So many times I dreamed it, so much I wanted it that I still don’t fall, I can’t believe it…Thank you so much to my family, to all who support me and also to all who believed in us.”

5 Forgotten Classic Car Manufacturers

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When most people think of classic cars, they tend to think of manufacturers that are still around to this day including Ford, Chevrolet, and even luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari., A lot of these classic cars are incredibly common and can be purchased by even a novice collector who’s trying to build a foundation before getting into the rarer classic cars that are floating around.

The familiar names aren’t the only ones that have made a lot of classic cars, though. There are some brands that are no longer with us that made some of the most popular classic cars of all time. Let’s take a look at those manufacturers, some of the models that they made, and how much those cars are selling for today.

Plymouth

Plymouth was once a brand under the Chrysler umbrella that started in 1928 and were a luxury brand compared to the standard Chrysler car. The original models were just called Plymouths until it became its own brand, producing models which included the Acclaim, Grand Voyager, and Satellite, just to name a few. At one point, Plymouth was making nearly 1 million cars per year in the early 1970s.

However, things would change quickly in the 1980s, and by the end of the 1990s, Plymouth’s luck had run out with the remaining models rebranded to either Dodge or Chrysler vehicles. Plymouth shut its doors in 2001, but there are plenty of popular classic cars out there including the Road Runner, Prowler, Belvedere, and Savoy, which can typically range from $30,000 to $75,000.

Studebaker

If you visit South Bend, Indiana, and make your way to the Minor League Baseball stadium downtown, you might notice that there’s a massive building that looks like it hasn’t been used in quite some time. That building was once part of the massive Studebaker Corporation plant, which was founded all the way back in 1852 before going out of business in 1967.

The company made the switch from horse-drawn vehicles to automobiles in the 21st century and got off to a strong start when it made the move in the 1920s from Detroit to South Bend. However, Studebaker felt a massive impact from Ford’s increase in production, and the move to Indiana ultimately proved to be its demise as it couldn’t keep up with Detroit manufacturers. Some of the more popular Studebakers include the Avanti, Lark, and Champion, which can be as cheap as $15,000.

Packard

The list is solely made from cars that were made in Detroit, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana, and Packard is one of those that were built in both cities. Packard Motor Car Company started in 1899 in Detroit and was much more cutting edge than it gets credit for in terms of adding features that are still used today like the steering wheel and air conditioning.

Packard had a strong few decades and then merged with Studebaker during the final years for both companies. Packard models include the Caribbean, 120, and Patrician. At the cheapest, you can pick up a Packard for around 8,000, while more expensive ones can get nearly six figures.

Edsel

The Ford Motor Company wanted there to be a “Big 4” in Detroit with two of those four being under the Ford umbrella. Thus, in 1956, the Edsel division was founded and named after Henry Ford’s son. However, the Edsel company would only last for three years, becoming defunct on its anniversary in 1959.

The release of the Edsel was a response to Ford becoming publicly traded, making Edsel a family-owned operation. Edsels were a bit more expensive than the standard Ford but cheaper than Lincolns. In fact, they were right on pace with Mercury and had models including the Corsair, Pacer, Ranger, and Citation. Classic Edsels aren’t too expensive, typically costing as low as $10,000 and as high as $70,000.

Tucker

If you remember the 1988 film “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” starring Jeff Bridges, then you already know the story of Preston Tucker. The Michigan native became enthralled with automobiles and worked with Ford in his early 20s before quitting the company and starting to sell Studebaker cars. In the late 1930s, Tucker began creating combat vehicles, then focused on civilian cars including the Tucker 48.

The Big 3 in Detroit didn’t take too kindly to Tucker making his own model, and he eventually ran into legal issues that shuttered his company. Still, the Tucker 48 models that are out there (albeit rare) are incredibly valuable and downright gorgeous vehicles. Some sell for up to $3 million in great condition, with a low-end of $500,000.

The 5 Biggest Basketball Upsets In History

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Upsets happen in every sport, but it seems like they happen the most often in basketball. There are times when even a fairly unathletic shooter can get hot and knock down enough three-pointers to make a huge difference while the favored team goes ice-cold with their looks. As a result, some of the best teams from the best programs in college basketball history have been taken down by mid-majors that many have never heard of.

Whether it be early in the season or a trip to the Final Four on the line, some upsets have left neutral fans jumping out of their seats while fans of the blue-chip programs are still feeling dejected to this day. Here are our picks for the five biggest upsets in college basketball history.

Chaminade over Virginia

Prior to Chaminade hosting the Maui Invitational, they would take on some top programs early in the college basketball season for a tune-up game and a chance for those programs to get to Hawaii for the holiday season. Chaminade became a whipping boy for these teams, but that wasn’t the case in 1982 when they took on Ralph Sampson and the number-one-ranked Virginia Cavaliers.

Chaminade and Virginia entered halftime tied at 43-43, and they certainly didn’t go away in the second half. The Cavaliers took a lead midway through the half, but Chaminade fought back and grabbed the lead with just 35 seconds remaining. They held on and stretched their lead by three more points, shocking the world by winning 77-72, handing Virginia its first loss of the season.

UMBC over Virginia

Heading into the 2018 NCAA Tournament, a number one seed had never lost to a number 16 seed. Almost nobody thought that Virginia would be the team to be the first top seed to lose, but they did just that against the UMBC Retrievers in the first round of the tournament. Neither team was getting their shots to drop in the first half, and the two teams were tied at 21 apiece following the first half.

Virginia came into the game and favored to win by more than 20 points, but they came out flat in the second half, especially on defense. The Retrievers outscored the Cavaliers 53-33 in the half and went from 20-point underdogs to 20-point victors. Sadly, UMBC’s run wouldn’t last long as they lost to Kansas State 50-43 in the second round of the tournament.

Eastern Illinois over Iowa

There have been a few long shots that ended up winning despite being underdogs by around 20 points. In the history of college basketball, no team that was excepted to lose by 30 or more points had ended up winning their game. In December 2022, Eastern Illinois University put an end to that 558-game stretch by defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes.

By the time the game tipped off, the EIU Panthers were a 31.5-point underdog to Iowa, and it looked like the Hawkeyes were going to cover that spread when they jumped out to a 14-point lead within just a few minutes. However, the Panthers stormed back in a big way and wound up stunning Iowa with a 92-83 win. It’s not like EIU showed flashes of being good outside of the game, either, as they were 3-9 heading into the contest. 

Norfolk State over Missouri

The 15-seed vs 2-seed matchup in the NCAA Tournament is always a bit more interesting than the 1-16 game. There have been several occasions where the 15-seed has pulled off a major upset, and perhaps the biggest one came in 2012 when the Norfolk State Spartans upset the Missouri Tigers 86-84 in the school’s first-ever tournament appearance.

The game was overshadowed a bit because fellow 15-seed Lehigh had upset Duke in the first round as Duke has a lot more detractors, but the Norfolk State win was even more shocking. Unfortunately, Norfolk State didn’t play well at all in the following round as they lost by 34 points to Florida, who eventually made the Elite 8.

NJIT over Michigan

The University of Michigan has a storied history in basketball, whereas NJIT doesn’t have much of a history at all. In fact, it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that the Highlanders became a Division I program in basketball and at one point became the seventh team to go winless in a college basketball season in 2008.

In January 2014, though, they defeated the Wolverines, who were ranked #17 in the country at the time. The game was close throughout and the Highlanders held onto their narrow lead for the last few minutes of the game, winning 72-70. What was even more surprising was that NJIT was only 2-5 coming into the game.

Oregon’s 5 Greatest Ever Sports Heroes

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Across all levels of sports, the state of Oregon has had a tremendous amount of athlete who has called the Emerald State their home at one point. Oregon was once known almost exclusively as the home for track and field in the United States, but over the years has gotten a lot more attention for other sports, especially football.

Between the Ducks, Beavers, Trail Blazers, and many other teams that are based out of Oregon, who are the top sports heroes that the state claims? While there are sure to be differing opinions, here are our picks for the five greatest Oregon sports heroes.

Clyde Drexler

Clyde Drexler could be considered a legend in many different parts of the country. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana then raised in Houston, Texas where he became a college basketball legend. Drexler then entered the 1983 NBA Draft where he became the 14th overall pick. Thanks to his career with the Portland Trail Blazers, Drexler was one of just two Hall of Famers selected in that year’s draft.

During his 12 seasons in Portland, Drexler averaged 20.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. Drexler was named an All-Star for eight of those seasons, including his tremendous 1988-89 campaign. During that season, Drexler averaged 27.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, both of which were career highs. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.

Marcus Mariota

Hawaii native Marcus Mariota was highly sought-after when he was coming out of high school in 2011. Oregon ended up being the lucky recipient of his services at quarterback, and Mariota didn’t disappoint. He would end up playing for three seasons with the Oregon Ducks, including getting significant playing time as a freshman.

All in all, Mariota finished with 10,796 passing yards and 105 touchdowns while also adding in 2,237 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. Mariota only had 14 interceptions throughout his career, as well, with the cherry on top being the first Oregon player to win the Heisman Trophy. Mariota was selected second overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans.

Steve Prefontaine

The first member of the list to be born and raised in Oregon, Steve Prefontaine became the face of running during the early 1970s. In fact, more people took up running as a hobby because of “Pre” and his signature mustache. He grew up in Coos Bay, Oregon, and chose to stay in-state for college at the University of Oregon.

Prefontaine participated in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich the year after winning gold at the Pan American Games. He broke the 4-minute mile barrier, and set a personal best of 3 minutes 54.6 seconds in 1973. Sadly, Prefontaine’s was taken in his prime in 1975 as a car crash claimed his life at just 24 years old. To this day, though, he remains an iconic figure in the world of track.

Danny Ainge

Danny Ainge is the only member of the list to not participate in college or professional sports in the state of Oregon but was a legend because of his high school days. Aigne was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, attending North Eugene High School during the mid-1970s. Ainge excelled at every sport and was named an All-American for football, baseball, and, of course, basketball.

Ainge had the offer to stay in-state for college but ultimately decided to head to BYU. While there, he was a member of the All-WAC Team in all four seasons and had his number retired by the BYU basketball program. Ainge spent well over a decade in the NBA before retiring as a member of the Phoenix Suns in 1995.

Damian Lillard

The other Portland Trail Blazer to make the list is point guard Damian Lillard, who has established himself as the franchise’s all-time best player. Lillard didn’t go to a large school for his college hoops days, heading to Weber State as he was only a two-star recruit and ranked outside of the top 100 in the nation.

Lillard showed his value, though, and he would end up being taken sixth overall by the Blazers in the 2012 NBA Draft. Since then, Lillard has been named an All-Star more than a half-dozen times while also being named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Being able to average more than 25 points per game after a decade in the NBA is remarkable, and Lillard did just that.

5 Best Acting Performances by Singers

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If you haven’t been trained in acting, it can be extremely hard to give a convincing performance on-screen. Movie studios are willing to take a chance on singers, though, as their name power alone can help bring in audiences. There have been some truly poor performances from singers who dabble in acting for the first time, but there have also been some great ones.

Let’s take a look at some of the musicians who wowed audiences with their performances, with several of them getting nominated for Academy Awards. Here are our picks for the five best acting performances from those who came from the music industry.

Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)

Jennifer Hudson made waves in 2004 when she appeared on the third season of “American Idol” as a contestant. Hudson made it deep into the competition, but ultimately fell short as she finished in seventh place. Still, Hudson made a big impact during that time. Hudson didn’t go into singing after her “Idol” days, though, but instead went into acting.

In 2006, Hudson made her acting debut in the biopic “Dreamgirls” playing real-life singer Effie White. Hudson, like her co-star Beyonce Knowles, was nominated for an Oscar. Out of the two, Hudson was the only one to take home the trophy, winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Since then, Hudson has starred in films including “Chi-Raq” and “Respect”, this time playing Aretha Franklin.

Eminem (8 Mile)

During the late 1990s, underground Detroit rapper Eminem hit the mainstream when he was discovered by Dr. Dre and released his first debut with Aftermath, “The Slim Shady LP”, in 1999. Born Marshall Mathers, Eminem is considered by many to be the greatest rapper ever due to his songwriting and flow. He hasn’t dabbled much in acting, but when he has, it’s been memorable.

Eminem’s best role came when he played a fictionalized version of himself in the hit film “8 Mile” in 2002. The film had a large budget, but it ended up paying off as it grossed nearly a quarter-billion at the box office. Taking on the part of Jimmy (a.k.a. B-Rabbit), Eminem gave a heartfelt performance with audiences able to tell that Eminem tapped into his Detroit upbringing for the performance.

Cher (Moonstruck)

Cher had a little acting work early in her career with then-husband Sonny Bono when the two had a variety show together. However, Cher mainly was known for her music career in the 1960s and 1970s thanks to hit songs like “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)”, “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves”, and “Dark Lady”. 

After the height of her music career, Cher got into acting during the early 1980s. After appearing in “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean”, she starred in the 1983 film “Silkwood”, leading to her first Oscar nomination. Four years later, she starred as Loretta Castorini in the hit film “Moonstruck”, this time earning herself her first Oscar win.

Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born)

Lady Gaga burst onto the scene in the mid-2000s with the release of her debut album “The Fame” which featured a long list of massive hits. She quickly became one of the most popular names in music and was even chosen to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show. After accomplishing basically all she could in music, Gaga turned her attention to acting.

She had made appearances in the films “Machete Kills” and “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” during the mid-2010s, but her acting career really took off at the end of the decade. That’s when she starred in the remake of the 1954 film “A Star Is Born”, playing Ally Maine. Gaga was nominated for a pair of Oscars, taking home the title for Best Original Song (“Shallow”), but was snubbed for Best Actress.

Mary J. Blige (Mudbound)

Mary J. Blige is music royalty as many consider her to be the Queen of R&B. Blige churned out hits in the 1990s and 2000s including “Family Affair”, “Real Love” and “I Can Love You”. Blige made her acting debut in 2001 with “Prison Song”, but it would be a long time until she returned. In 2017, she came back in a big way, playing the role of Florence Jackson in “Mudbound”.

Blige starred alongside the likes of Carey Mulligan and Garrett Hedlund in a critically acclaimed performance. Like Lady Gaga, Blige was nominated for both acting and singing at the Academy Awards. While she didn’t win either title, she did get the nod for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song (“Mighty River”).

5 Call of Duty Swatting Incidents

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There was a time when “swatting” was so rare that nobody had ever heard of it. In the digital age, though, swatting has become so common that instances barely make the front page of headlines unless tragedy happens. Many of the targets for swatting are live streamers, many of which have rubbed certain fans the wrong way. All it takes is one deranged viewer to swat someone, and the results can be deadly.

If you’re unfamiliar with swatting, it’s when emergency services are called to someone’s house that requires the local SWAT team to arrive. This can be anything from a bomb threat to a hostage situation, and the SWAT team enters the home with their weapons drawn expecting the worst. However, they find unarmed people who were simply live streaming. Some of the most common targets for swatting are streamers who play “Call of Duty” games in front of fans. Here are five instances of those streamers being swatted.

Casey Viner

The tragic and unnecessary event surrounding this swatting incident resulted in the death by officer shooting of an uninvolved victim Andrew Finch. In 2017 a feud erupted between Call of Duty: WWII players Casey Viner and Shane Gaskill. At the height of their dispute, Viner threatened Gaskill with the act of swatting. 

Gaskill proceeded to give Viner a false address in Wichita, Kansas. Viner’s friend Tyler Barris made the actual call to the police department, resulting in a swift arrival at Finch’s residence. Unaware of why police were swarming his home, Finch exited his home and officer Justin Rapp fatally shot the innocent man. 

Drift0r

In 2021 streamer and YouTube personality Drift0r revealed he and his family were victims of multiple swatting attempts at his Texas residence in 2019 and 2020. He posted a video on his YouTube channel discussing his experience with those incidents where he claimed there was a barrage of violence against him and his family by crazed fans of other creators who had a strong disliking for the streamer. 

He stays vigilant, though he’s reported a number of perpetrators have been apprehended by police and the charges were brought upon them. The trials have since ended, giving him the freedom to detail the harrowing experience further. 

Nadia Amine

Twitch streamer and Warzone pro Nadia Amine was one of the more recent incidents where a popular Call of Duty streamer was swatted. Though, the outcome was much more wholesome and didn’t result in anyone being injured. 

The SWAT member involved with investigating the call thankfully had knowledge of the streaming platform Twitch and the swatting of popular streamers. He even joined the stream at one point and encouraged viewers to sub to the channel and help Amine reach her sub goals. A wholesome outcome for what could have been another tragedy. 

iShowSpeed

Another recent swatting attempt came on August 8th, 2022 to twitch streamer and YouTuber iShowSpeed. The fun and energetic up-and-comer, who was a regular on Call of Duty, was swatted during a YouTube live stream where he was placed in handcuffs and arrested at his home. 

He was thankfully unharmed, though very shaken up and confused by what had occurred. Fellow streamer, Adin Ross, who became a swatting victim just one day before, was said to have paid the streamer’s enormous bail for his unnecessary arrest. 

Adin Ross

When he first started streaming, Adin Ross teamed up with his sister and started to grow a following on Twitch. Ross was known in his early years for playing the NBA 2K franchise, and even rubbed elbows with some current ballplayers. Ross quickly became one of the most followed people on Twitch with millions of loyal fans that would boost his popularity.

While Ross has certainly been a controversial figure on Twitch and YouTube, nobody deserves to be swatted due to the danger of the situation. However, multiple people felt the need to do just that, and in late 2022, he was swatted twice in a matter of weeks. After the second incident, Ross tweeted out “I’m done bro. I really got swatted again please stop whoever’s doing it.” The person who claimed to be the swatter said they did it because they felt Ross deserved it and that he didn’t respond to a message on Discord.

5 Controversial Opinions of Tucker Carlson

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Tucker Carlson has been a presence on television for decades now, getting his start as a host on CNN at the start of the new millennium after years of being a writer. Carlson spent the first half of the 2000s with the Atlanta-based news network and made his way to both PBS and MSNBC before heading to Fox News in 2009.

Ever since then, Carlson has been a staple for conservatism on the right-wing news network, with “Tucker Carlson Tonight” beginning in 2016. The show has been consistently near the top of the ratings since its inception, with some agreeing with what he’s saying while others see him as one of the most controversial people in the history of media. So what is it that Carlson says that makes him so controversial? Here are five of his opinions that had people reacting the most.

Climate Change

One major study conducted regarding the content of the Fox News Channel said that in the first half of 2019, there were nearly 250 segments that spoke about climate change. Of those, 86 percent were dismissive of the severity of climate change or outright said that it was a hoax. No other anchor on Fox News had more of these segments throughout the months than Tucker Carlson.

Carlson has hosted countless climate change deniers on his program, echoing his feelings regarding the topic. “It is a war against people,” Carlson said of the introduction of green energy. He went as far as to say that fossil fuels were “our greatest blessing,” and that “It’s not global warming; it’s global cooling. That’s what’s going to kill your grandmother.”

 Perhaps the most controversial line from Carlson came when he said “in the hands of Democratic politicians, climate change is like systemic racism in the sky. You can’t see it, but rest assured, it’s everywhere and it’s deadly.”

Race

And that line leads us to our next point. Nobody has stoked the flames of race-related topics quite like Carlson since he landed his own show on Fox News. Many of these times have concerned immigration in the United States. Many sources have said that Carlson’s show has promoted racism, which he has denied.

Carlson has said that white supremacy as an idea is “a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power.” When pushed back on the issue, Carlson said “I’ve never had a white supremacist work for me. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to a white supremacist…I’m stating my sincere views as reflected in my personal life and my professional life as clearly as I can.”

LGBT Rights

When talking about the LGBT community, especially transgender people, Tucker Carlson has been extremely outspoken. He has said that gender-related treatment for minors is “sexual mutilation of children” and encouraged parents to get in the face of any teacher who talked about transgender people.

Even during the Colorado Springs nightclub shooting, Carlson said “These horrifying murders in Colorado over the weekend quickly became a pretext for yet more censorship of your speech. You are responsible for this, they told you, because you said the wrong thing.” Members of GLAAD responded by saying that Tucker was fueling anti-LGBT hate speech.

COVID-19

Throughout the first couple of years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tucker Carlson had opinions that seemed to be all over the place. At first, Carlson said that the virus was incredibly deadly and needs to be taken more seriously than Republicans had been. However, just two months later, he minimized the seriousness of the pandemic.

Carlson then went on to claim that people shouldn’t be vaccinated and that the entire pandemic was a hoax. This caused an uproar as his viewers that follow him loyally weren’t sure what to believe because of the constant changes. He has now stood firm on being anti-vax despite receiving it himself.

Abortion

Despite once being a registered Democrat, Tucker Carlson has been a long-time supporter of the pro-life movement. Carlson has only dug his heels deeper onto that side of the argument and said that many people only support abortion because they don’t want to spend money and it will affect the economy.

“When you get to this point, and this point is a place where the economy is so completely distorted that only Democratic voters – donors – can still afford to have normal families,” Carlson said. “When you get there, the solution is simple: Don’t reproduce. Childlessness is the cure for the economy they created. And that’s why abortion is so very important, especially now.”