The dust has settled on the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2023-24 season. The disappointment didn't just reverberate from their Game 6 loss against the Indiana Pacers, nor a second straight year where they didn't advance out of the first round. It reverberated for a lost season where nothing ever really met the eye of expectations.
Never has it felt better for the Bucks to decompress from a season that didn't end by going all the way to a title.
The American Idol Season 22 auditions continued apace Sunday (seemingly brought to you by the Santa Barbara Tourism Board, as California Gurl Katy Perry took her fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan on a guided visit of her sunny hometown). And while there quite a few stunning ticket recipients, I was actually intrigued by a couple of the in-on-the-joke novelty acts. These rejects were likely just angling for 15 minutes of viral fame, with no hopes or intentions of making it to Hollywood… but I figure I’ll help them out and give them a few minutes more.
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From Estelí, Nicaragua
As Tuesday night became Wednesday morning in Estelí, Nicaragua, it felt like every child in the city had negotiated a later bedtime and had managed to finagle a way into the VIP parking lot of the Estadio Independencia.
One boy would signal a car he’d seen a Real Estelí player get into. A few hundred yards down the dirt path from the lot to the main road, that player’s car would be mobbed by exuberant young fans.
You can find all of Back Row’s And Just Like That recaps here.
We’re just about halfway through And Just Like That’s second season, and fans I’ve talked to seem divided over whether or not it’s getting better. I would argue that it is. Is it The Bear? No, but that’s not what anyone expects. We expect something of the quality of, what, Gossip Girl? If you’re still with our Samantha-less friends and wondering if the show runners are hearing the anti-Che cacophony, we know now that the answer is YES: this episode served a Che send-up on the sort of silver platter that you would only find in Charlotte’s house.