Latest news with #Slay
UPI
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Dusty Slay gets creative with clean comedy in 'Wet Heat'
July 29 (UPI) -- Dusty Slay's second full-length Netflix special, Wet Heat, is streaming Tuesday, and the stand-up comedian says it wasn't always clear to him that comedy was the right path. Slay, 43, told UPI in a recent phone interview that he was a fan of comedy from a young age, but his own aptitude for it came later. "I was always trying to make people laugh," he said. "But I moved to Charleston, South Carolina, from Alabama when I was 21. And about 2003, I moved with a friend and then we had some problems. So I moved out and got my own place and I didn't have any friends, so I took an improv class. And that's how I got into stand-up -- I took improv, and I did improv for a long time." He said the idea of doing stand-up professionally didn't enter the equation until around 2011. "I won a stand-up comedy competition," he recalled. "And I thought, 'Maybe I could do something with this.' So I started to take things a little more serious, and then in early 2012, I quit drinking, and things became very clear to me, and I got very good at comedy -- Well, I got good at comedy much faster. I wouldn't say I got very good right away, but I got much faster." Sober and clean Slay said giving up drinking didn't just make him better at comedy, it changed his entire approach. "Quitting drinking changed my whole life in a positive way. I never think of myself as an alcoholic, but I was most certainly a binge drinker that once I started drinking, it usually ended in some sort of a disaster. Not a tragedy, but I would black out and lose my friends and things like that," he said. Slay said he was "a bit of a maniac" when he was under the influence. "So much of my jokes were all about drinking. I would label myself an 'alcoholic' and I thought it was funny. I thought it was funny to drink too much and make bad decisions. But I was really living that lifestyle, so while I was making jokes about it, I was also falling apart in a lot of ways -- while still having fun. It just changed my life, and once I quit drinking, I no longer could make drinking jokes." Slay said quitting drinking was the first step toward becoming a clean comic -- but it wasn't the last. "I've always been on the cleaner side, but I had jokes here and there along the way that I would do that I wouldn't do now. ... I did a couple of shows where people asked me to be completely clean, and then when I would go through my set, I would be like, 'Oh, I'm losing some of my best jokes. I'm losing some of my best punchlines,'" he said. Slay said the final straw was when he got a write-up about a joke he told at a show. "I was the cleanest person on the lineup, yet I got the worst write-up because of this one joke. So I just said, 'You know what, I'll just be completely clean, but I still want to talk about the things I want to talk about, but I'll just find a new creative way to say that.'" He said being a clean comic forced him to get more inventive. "I had to find other words. I couldn't rely on shock," he said. On the road Slay said his favorite part of stand-up comedy is taking his act to different cities, but he has to strike a balance between going on the road and being around for his wife and kids. "I don't like to be gone for longer than a week, because I want to be home with my kids. But that's what comedy is to me. Now, if you live in New York, you live in LA, or maybe even Chicago ... you can get locked into a circuit where you're still getting to do a lot of comedy every night. But if you're not living in those cities, touring is what you have to do, and it is the most fun thing to me." The comedian, who lives with his family in Nashville, said two of his favorite venues are close to home: Zane's Comedy Club and the Grand Ole Opry. "I don't think it was until I did the Grand Old Opry that my dad actually took it serious, and by that point I had already done two late night [shows]," he said. Slay said he was surprised at the reception he received when he first started venturing out of the Southeast. "I remember the first time I went to Phoenix, I drove from Nashville to Phoenix to do comedy at Stand Up Live. And I thought, 'Man, this is too far out.' They're going to be like, 'Go back to the South.' And it was one of my most fun weekends. I just remember being so excited about how well it went," he said. Slay said he was shocked to find a similar reception in cities as far away as Portland, Ore., and Seattle. "I think a lot of it is because Charleston, although it's a very southern city, it is an artistic city and it's a bit of a snobby city with its art. So I had to learn to make artistic people laugh. Then when I started working the road, it was a different thing. I had to learn to make people on the road laugh, which a lot of these cities are not very artistic cities," he said. "I think I often get labeled as a 'Southern comic' when really a lot of times I do better in more artsy cities," Slay said. Comedy as music Wet Heat finds Slay talking quite a bit about one of his favorite subjects: music. He also frequently discusses his favorite artists on his podcast, We're Having a Good Time. Slay said he finds a lot of common ground between music and stand-up comedy. "I think that, in a way, our comedy bits are like our own little songs. They're our own little poems. When I do a full comedy special, I almost think about it like how someone would put out an album -- at least the older albums, where an album would be complete. You might have some themes from an earlier song that come back in a later song, and it ties the whole thing together," he said. He said his approach to putting together a special is inspired, in part, by the ways he analyzed Pink Floyd albums as a teenager. "We're very much in a phase of comedy where everybody wants clips, we all want our likes and we all want to go viral with a clip. But when I think about a special, I like to have a full-on, complete special that feels like I'm going in and out of little songs," he said. Dusty Slay: Wet Heat is streaming now on Netflix.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Eagles' 12 most intriguing players: Why No. 5 is Birds' version of 'Ted Lasso' character
PHILADELPHIA − The biggest mystery in the Eagles' secondary isn't necessarily who will replace Darius Slay as one starting cornerback and C.J. Gardner-Johnson as one starting safety. Yes, the Eagles need to replace both players, and that will certainly be a main story line during training camp, which begins with the first practice on July 23. Rather, it is possible that Cooper DeJean could end up replacing both Slay, who was named to the Pro Bowl in three of his five seasons with the Eagles, and Gardner-Johnson, who was third in the NFL last season with six interceptions. 'THAT'S BULL...: Eagles coach rips Jalen Hurts narrative regarding Saquon Barkley, others WHAT EAGLES WON'T SAY: The 'r' word Eagles, Nick Sirianni won't use about the Super Bowl. They use this instead And all the while, DeJean could also play his usual nickel corner spot. That could make DeJean like the Roy Kent character on the show "Ted Lasso," when fans chant his name as being "here, there, and every(expletive)where!" That's why DeJean is No. 5 on our list of 12 most intriguing Eagles heading into the start of training camp on July 22. We're counting them down each weekday from No. 12 to No. 1. The series began July 7 and will culminate with the start of camp. So it's not a question of whether DeJean will play as much as where DeJean will play. The Eagles already saw DeJean's value when he returned an interception return for a touchdown in the Eagles' 40-22 demolition of the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Feb. 9. So it was long expected that DeJean could end up as the outside corner in place of Slay when the Eagles are in base defense. Yet in June, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio revealed that DeJean could also be the safety next to Reed Blankenship, also when the Eagles are in base defense. Last season, the Eagles were in base about 12% of the time. Perhaps that percentage increases because of DeJean's ability to play both cornerback and safety, in addition to his role as a nickel. It should be noted that DeJean played all three spots in college at the University of Iowa. For the record, DeJean expressed a willingness to do whatever is asked of him, and that he is comfortable playing all across the secondary. "I'll play wherever, to be honest," DeJean said. "Wherever they put me on the football field, I'll play there. As long as I'm out there, I'll be ready to play no matter what position − whether it's corner, nickel or safety." The difference is that this season, DeJean's position could vary not only from game to game, but from play to play. For example, the Eagles are facing the Cowboys in their season opener on Sept. 4. The Cowboys have two top wide receivers in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. It's easy to see DeJean lined up on the outside opposite Quinyon Mitchell to take one of those players in base defense. Celebrate the Eagles' Super Bowl win with our new book Then if the Cowboys are in a favorable running situation, DeJean might move to safety to stop the run. Or if the Cowboys are in a 3rd-and-long, DeJean might move to nickel. If DeJean is lined up at safety, then Kelee Ringo is on the outside at corner. If he's outside at corner, perhaps Sydney Brown is at safety next to Blankenship. Or it's conceivable that rookie Drew Mukuba, drafted as a safety but with a background at nickel, could be at nickel while DeJean mans either outside corner or safety. All of this, of course, is to maximize having the Eagles' best four or five defensive backs on the field. DeJean is the one who makes that possible. The Eagles didn't have to worry about that as much because they had established players in Slay and Gardner-Johnson at outside corner and safety, respectively. "Last year it was a good fit for where we were personnel-wise," Fangio said about DeJean playing nickel. "This year that could change." Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@ Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles' championship season in 'Flying High,' a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Cooper DeJean: Philadelphia Eagles' 12 most intriguing players for 2025
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Eagles' 12 most intriguing players in 2025: Can our No. 7 player come out of his shell?
PHILADELPHIA − We see glimpses every now and then of the cocky, trash-talking, fun-loving cornerback that Quinyon Mitchell can be. But most of the time, Mitchell is reserved, willing to let his actions on the field do his talking for him. It worked well for Mitchell last season as a rookie with the loquacious veteran Darius Slay playing on the opposite side at cornerback. But Slay is gone, and no one else on the roster has played more snaps as an Eagles cornerback than Mitchell, who was a starter and full-time player from Week 1. So should the Eagles expect more of an outgoing, vivacious display from Mitchell this season? Perhaps the parade, when Mitchell was seen celebrating with fans − adult beverages and all − was an indication of Mitchell coming out of his shell. Then again, while fellow 2024 rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean was spread thin around the region during the offseason, basking in the adulation of being a key part of the Super Bowl champs, Mitchell mostly kept a low profile. So, has his life changed since the Super Bowl? "Nah, I just been the same dude," he said. "I feel like I've always been the same dude." But in many ways, Mitchell's life will change, at least on the football field. Mitchell, not Slay, is now the leader of the cornerback room. Mitchell, not Slay, will be required to lock down the opponent's top receiver, perhaps traveling from side-to-side wherever that player lines up. NFL: The 'r' word Eagles, Nick Sirianni won't use about the Super Bowl. They use this instead That's why Mitchell is No. 7 on our list of 12 most intriguing Eagles heading into the start of training camp on July 22. We're counting them down each weekday from No. 12 to No. 1. The series began July 7 and will culminate with the start of camp. Mitchell, of course, knows all of this. He has always been a student of the game, and he learned a lot from Slay, who turned 34 years old last season and served as a mentor for Mitchell. But Mitchell also knows that he has to lead differently. He learned that from Slay as well. "I just think what he showed me was just connecting well with the guys," Mitchell said. "Just learning from each other, so I just pick everybody else's brain in the group. Helping everybody out. Just been gelling together." That has not only resonated with the other young cornerbacks, but also with veteran free agent Adoree Jackson, who spent the last four seasons with the Giants. "Obviously, being in New York, I got to study and see them on film, and see those two guys perform without knowing them," Jackson said about Mitchell and DeJean. "Then actually getting to know them, (they are) students of the game, hard workers, very humble. And just good general people. "I've been excited watching them compete and compete with them, then learn from them as well because they've been here and they're helping me out." Celebrate the Eagles' Super Bowl win with our new book Mitchell said he's not satisfied with a rookie season in which he passed every test and was one of the finalists for rookie defensive player of the year. After all, Mitchell ranked third among NFL cornerbacks in fewest yards allowed per coverage snap at 0.8 yards (minimum of 600 snaps). He also ranked third among NFL defensive backs in forced incompletions at 15. None of that, however, means anything going into the 2025 season. "Like coach said, we're on the mountain right now, so it's just getting better each and every day, learning new stuff, getting better at my strengths and weaknesses," Mitchell said. So where on the mountain is Mitchell?"At the bottom," he said. Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@ Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles' championship season in 'Flying High,' a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Quinyon Mitchell: Why Philadelphia Eagles cornerback is key to success
GMA Network
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- GMA Network
Gabbi Garcia, Khalil Ramos explore 'effortlessly picturesque' Scotland
Gabbi Garcia and Khalil Ramos are off to a new destination! The Kapuso It Girl took to Instagram to share photos from her latest trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, with her long-term boyfriend. In the photos, the two could be seen exploring Scotland's vibrant street scenes and beautiful architecture. Gabbi also didn't miss out on trying whisky ice cream, which Scotland is known for. "Effortlessly picturesque. Hello, Scotland," she wrote in the caption. Gabbi and Khalil have been in a relationship for eight years. The couple recently starred in the digital series "How to Cheat Death." Meanwhile, Gabbi currently appears in "Encantadia Chronicles: Sang'gre," reprising her role as Alena. She previously starred in murder-mystery series "Slay" and was one of the hosts of the "Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition." Earlier this year, Khalil took on the lead role in the "Liwanag sa Dilim" musical, which featured the songs of Rico Blanco. —Hermes Joy Tunac/MGP, GMA Integrated News
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Steelers' New Corner Brings Health Concerns
Steelers' New Corner Brings Health Concerns originally appeared on Athlon Sports. In an attempt to improve the roster, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan has made a number of moves this offseason. Advertisement Khan attempted to upgrade the secondary earlier this offseason with a trade for Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay Jr. Now, we find out he may have arrived with an injury concern. NFL insider Adam Caplan appeared on FOX Sports Radio to discuss Slay's knee injury that dates back to 2023. "As I'm told, one of his knees is a concern," Caplan said. "He actually had arthroscopic surgery on it late in 2023. He's got great length, and he was super fast coming out of Mississippi State. You have to wonder how well he can run. … You never know when a guy's going to lose it, and they could lose it in an instant." Advertisement Slay originally suffered the injury in Week 5 of 2023, causing him to miss the following week. After the condition lingered, he finally elected for arthroscopic surgery ahead of Week 15 and he missed the rest of the regular season. He returned for the Eagles' Wild Card game against the Bucs before suffering a back injury. During 2024, Slay dealt with a number of injuries, including a knee, a groin and an ankle sprain. Injuries could be a part of why he told NBC Sports Philadelphia that he intends to retire after the 2025 season. Since then he was released by the Eagles and signed by the Steelers. Advertisement We'll see if he can stay healthy next season and if that has an impact on his decision to play again in 2026. Related: Ex Steelers Quarterback Blames Team for Kenny Pickett's Failure in Pittsburgh Related: Steelers Could Find Defensive Depth with Home-Grown Talent This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
