Latest news with #FTW
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Stefon Diggs boat video 'controversy,' explained
Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you wondering about all this talk about a video of Stefon Diggs and women on a boat? And you're confused? We got you covered. We've basically stated this above: there was a video that surfaced over Memorial Day weekend. In it was New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs, some women, and a substance in a bag. What was in it? What was Diggs doing? Why is this such a big deal that it needs to be talked about? Advertisement These are questions everyone has after the video was addressed during Patriots OTAs on Wednesday, and with Diggs not in attendance. Let's dive in to this whole thing. What's the Stefon Diggs boat video? The video shows the wide receiver surrounded by three women, and the receiver opens a bag that has an unidentified substance in it. That's it. Isn't Cardi B dating Stefon Diggs? We saw photos of the rapper and receiver at a New York Knicks game, with talk they were. Is Cardi B in the video? As far as I can tell, no. What's the substance in the bag? Again, we have no idea. There's a lot of speculation going around the interwebs, as we know can be a thing, but we have no information beyond the video itself. What did Mike Vrabel say the video? Here's the video: He chose to keep that conversation between him and Diggs, but he did say he wants Diggs "to make great decisions on and off the field." Has Stefon Diggs said anything about the boat video? Not that we've seen. But he's not at OTAs. What's the latest on Stefon Diggs' injury? Remember: he tore his ACL while with the Houston Texans. He hasn't been fully cleared for full football activities yet as he continues his rehab work. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Stefon Diggs boat video with women, substance explained
USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
The Stefon Diggs boat video 'controversy,' explained
The Stefon Diggs boat video 'controversy,' explained Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you wondering about all this talk about a video of Stefon Diggs and women on a boat? And you're confused? We got you covered. We've basically stated this above: there was a video that surfaced over Memorial Day weekend. In it was New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs, some women, and a substance in a bag. What was in it? What was Diggs doing? These are questions everyone has after the video was addressed during Patriots OTAs on Wednesday, and with Diggs not in attendance. Let's dive in to this whole thing. What's the Stefon Diggs boat video? The video shows the wide receiver surrounded by three women, and the receiver opens a bag that has an unidentified substance in it. That's it. Isn't Cardi B dating Stefon Diggs? We saw photos of the rapper and receiver at a New York Knicks game, with talk they were. Is Cardi B in the video? As far as I can tell, no. What's the substance in the bag? Again, we have no idea. What did Mike Vrabel say the video? Here's the video: He chose to keep that conversation between him and Diggs, but he did say he wants Diggs "to make great decisions on and off the field." Has Stefon Diggs said anything about the boat video? Not that we've seen.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Death Wish coffee is a threat to your taste buds (complimentary)
Death Wish coffee is a threat to your taste buds (complimentary) Welcome back to FTW's Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey. I have a friend who swears by Death Wish coffee. But he's also a vaguely intense dude who wakes up before his kids rise to sneak in hour-long workouts. As such, something about the "world's strongest coffee" felt a bit excessive to me, a guy who wakes up minutes before he has to get his daughter on the bus and then spends the next few hours quietly figuring out which NFL quarterbacks are actually bad. Despite that lack of early morning... anything, really, caffeine plays a major role in my life. My day starts with 40 to 50 ounces of water, then about 20 ounces of coffee. Usually that's mixed with milk and some protein powder to carry me through to a late lunch. But I'm open to new experiences and, inconveniently, out of milk. What I do have is a new brand of coffee to try (Death Wish) and a new creamer I've never had before. Enter Oatly's Sweet and Creamy and Barista edition oat milks. I don't mess with oat milk often. I think the only time I've ever had it was in premixed canned cold brews. While it doesn't scratch the itch cow milk does, it's a reasonable swap with a longer shelf life, so I can get behind it. Let's try the pairing, along with some of my traditional coffee blends, and see how they turn out. Blue and Buried Death Wish with Oatly Sweet & Creamy Oatmilk Creamer: A This coffee is pungent in a great way. It's clean, sweet blueberry with a little vanilla ice cream underneath, sitting on a mild current of coffee beans. It reminds me of bringing a fresh pint of SweetWater Blue up to my lips on trivia night back in grad school, which is a weird place to go with coffee but is a nice olfactory callback. The creamer looks the part, turning black coffee into a swirling brown nebula. A few white flecks serve as stars in that spiral, concentrated oak milk dislodged from the outer reaches of the bottle by shoddy shaking. I'm sipping this out of my Created Paris not-quite-Olympics mug, which not only looks great but also holds juuuuuust enough coffee to get me through a cup before it gets cold. The oat milk creamer adds to the whole "melted ice cream" vibe wafting off the top of this warm mug. Oh, wow. Between the sweetness of the berries, the cream of the Oatly and the underlying plant base you really do feel the cereal vibes from the first sip. It's not overpowering in terms of sugar, but it's enough that I'll try the next cup without a packet of Splenda in it. Still, it's a charming blend of flavors I like with just enough coffee taste to remind you you're about to get blasted with caffeine. It continues to hold up without the added sugar substitute, though it's a little more coffee this time around and less "milk left over after crushing a bowl of Boo Berry." If you're looking for pure coffee flavor, this isn't for you. But if you're like me and happy to add fruit and dairy(ish) and whatever else in an effort to make your coffee more interesting (and less like coffee), it's an easy win. Light Roast Death Wish with Oatly Sweet & Creamy Oatmilk Creamer: B Unlike the blueberry, this smells like pure coffee bean goodness. The caffeine content is... well, let's say confusing. Death Wish maintains its claim of "strongest coffee in the world" applies to the taste. But estimates on the caffeine content vary wildly. Some come out as high as 400 milligrams per eight ounces which is... whoa. The instant version of this light roast clocks in at a more manageable 300. That is a full day's worth on a long, NFL Sunday. The higher bound would be more than four times the typical amount in a cup of coffee (95 mg). Per Death Wish's sales pitch, the Blue and Buried only clocks in at around double the caffeine of a typical mug. In my personal experience, while I do feel a bit more jittery than my usual cup I don't feel like I'm ingesting a threatening amount of caffeine. I still get to sleep at night and my afternoon crash, while still a problem, isn't any worse than it usually is. Well, OK. Back to the taste. It still smells great. The first sip is a pretty basic light coffee flavor, quickly washed out by the sweet cereal jazz of the Oatly. The creaminess is a bit overpowering, which is great for me as a guy who generally only drinks regular coffee at conventions or hungover at breakfast places that don't offer Bloody Marys. As a result, the brew itself is more of a conduit for cream and caffeine than anything you'd get on your own. Hold on, lemme give it a swig with a fresh, black cup. Light Roast Death Wish, black: B It's a flavorful coffee, not overly harsh or acidic. It's light enough to be a fairly easy sip without sugar or cream. There's overt roasted dark chocolate vibes in each sip before a dry finish. There's a liiiiiitttttle bit of fruit sweetness as well, but it's very minor. Ultimately, black coffee isn't my jam. But Death Wish's light roast is something I could sip without regret in a pinch. Espresso Roast with Thread Performance vanilla protein mix: B Let's get back to my normal coffee routine, which is probably slightly offensive to coffee snobs. I drink mine with a protein shake as creamer, a combination that gets me in a decent spot for an afternoon workout while serving as breakfast and getting me to my usual 2 p.m. late lunch without hunger pains. As such, I'm not getting the full flavor of Death Wish's espresso roast. Still, you get the darker, roasted flavors that shine through that binding layer of whey. It's rich with a little bit of burnt chocolate to it -- not in a bad way, but more like a sweeter version of burnt ends. It blends well with the sweeter vanilla, creating a pleasant push-and-pull. As a coffee wimp, I need that tempered experience. I get the impression this espresso would stand up well on its own, but dosed with creamy vanilla protein it works out even better. Dark Roast Death Wish with Thread Performance vanilla protein powder: B+ The dark roast tones down the caffeine but offers a bolder, smoother coffee flavor. You do taste that extra heat, not quite a char but a little reminder these beans have spent some time in the fire. That rises above the taste of my daily protein -- I'll be talking about my five-week Thread Performance plan later, but it was solid enough for a basic-tasting powder -- and brings a little less acidity than the lighter coffees I'm used to. There's a little chocolate in there and very little bitterness. The big flavors coat your tongue with that roasted coffee taste. It's strong, and it's a lot to handle for a nerd like me who's happy to take a good cup of coffee and mash it into something less with milk and Splenda. But hey, I ruined it and I still liked it, so that's something... right? Peppermint Mocha: A First off, this smells incredible. Rich and minty with a little bit of chocolate that has wafted across my kitchen to make my morning a little more tolerable. This is the diffuser I needed. I'm sipping this with a Splenda and some oat milk creamer (Oatly Sweet & Creamy) since I figure vanilla protein and mocha mint probably aren't a good combo -- or, at the very least, not representative of the coffee itself. The first sip is creamy mint goodness. The sugary vanilla of the oak milk works well with a strong mint undercurrent that slides under the strong roasted notes of Death Wish. As you'd expect, it's got a bit of a Christmas vibe that makes me regret not brewing this at 6 a.m. December 25 after my daughter wakes up and loses her mind. It's sweet with just enough of a minty kick at the end to snap off each sip satisfyingly. It's not overbearingly rich, with the chocolate and mint balanced just enough against your traditional coffee flavors for everything to work without driving you into taste bud fatigue. It may be the best flavored coffee I've ever had. Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's? This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I'm drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That's the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm's. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Death Wish coffee over a cold can of Hamm's? These two probably will never meet, barring a 6 a.m. wakeup before the Indy 500. But the heights of Death Wish and its mastery of bold flavored coffees are a godsend for someone like me, who likes coffee but doesn't appreciate it on its own. The blueberry and peppermint? Oh, friends, they are wonderful.
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Indy 500 pole winner Robert Shwartzman has a rap song. We rated it.
Indy 500 pole winner Robert Shwartzman has a rap song. We rated it. Robert Shwartzman became a popular Google search topic Sunday after the IndyCar rookie shocked the racing world by qualifying for pole position in this weekend's Indy 500. And those who searched long enough came across one little obscure fact about the 25-year-old that certainly got our attention here at FTW: he's also a rapper... Kinda. Under the moniker Shwartzy, the Russian-Israeli driver has just one song from what I can tell -- a 2023 track called ACTIVE -- but the recording quality is actually not bad. One can only assume he plans to release more music when he isn't so busy putting Prema Racing on the IndyCar map. Now, look, as someone who also records music on the side, I'm not here to judge another rapper... or, er, actually, that's exactly what I'm here to do. But not for the attempt, only for how good it is. I gave ACTIVE a listen, and it gets a solid C- from me. Depending on what you prefer in a good song, the rating is either too low or too high, which is exactly why it's perfect. The beat is good, which does the heavy lifting for ACTIVE, and the hook is somewhat catchy, which completes half the battle in making something that doesn't stand out for all the wrong reasons. Those elements alone make this good background music. But the harder you listen, the harder it is to... well, listen. Shwartzy is basically doing a bad impression of modern rap songs carried by melodies more than actual lyrics (even the ad libs are familiar), which can make some lyrics hard to understand and disguise the cheesy song-writing in the parts you do decipher. And though he eventually finds his footing towards the end of his lone verse, it starts with an awkwardly choppy flow that occasionally misses the beat. Overall, it's not terrible, but after qualifying for the Indy 500 pole, it's easy to see why he hasn't put out more music. Shwartzman might have a brighter future behind the wheel than he does behind the mic.
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Breckenridge's Spring Forward IPA is a throwback. It's a toss up whether that's good
Breckenridge's Spring Forward IPA is a throwback. It's a toss up whether that's good Welcome back to FTW's Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey. Breckenridge feels like it's always been there. Maybe not with the cache of a Sam Adams or a Sierra Nevada, but lurking on the shelves of your local bottle shop since you hit drinking age. The brewer has, in fact, only been around since 1990. Which, sources tell me is 35 years ago and... good god. My own existential crisis aside, it seemed to embody the rising tide of craft brewing in that era. It made interesting beers outside the lagers that dominated America's macrobreweries. It had funky packaging and art. It came from the exotic land of Colorado, home of John Elway and neon ski pants. What wasn't to like? Despite all these positives, it never seemed to break through the way its peers did. Even now, as part of a national conglomerate (Tilray), Breckenridge feels more like the Errict Rhett in a league of Emmitt Smiths. Now that I've appropriately remembered a guy -- not an insult! Rhett was good! For the time! -- let's take a look at Breckenridge's new spring seasonal. Spring Forward Grapefruit IPA: C+ It pours with a little less carbonation than expected, but still leaves a quarter inch head that lingers well after the bottle has emptied. The smell off the top is split between resin-y hops and grapefruit. Together it's a little rough, but also appealing in a "oh, so this could be interesting" kind of way. The first sip is more bitter than expected for a spring beer. The hops are tart but not especially juicy or danky. That puts a lot of the lift onto the grapefruit, which gets it about halfway up before running out of gas. The citrus lingers in the aftertaste and does mellow out that bitter hop taste, but the overall impression feels like a throwback to the early days of IPAs. Except, you know, with fruit. It's a little underwhelming and surprisingly... divisive? for a national craft brewer like Breckenridge. Which, honestly, makes me respect the effort a little more. There's a certain crispness that I appreciate. But the IPA of it all is a little simple and single note. You can do better. Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's? This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I'm drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That's the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm's. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Breckenridge's Spring Forward IPA over a cold can of Hamm's? It's a totally fine pale ale. I'll stick with the Hamm's, though.
