Tool singer Maynard James Keenan claims that his outift of a blond wig, exaggerated red lipstick and prosthetic breasts at Welcome to Rockville on Sunday in Daytona Beach wasn’t a commentary on Florida’s anti-drag law. Last week Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a series of bills against drag shows and transgender rights, and one prevents minors from attending drag shows. And since Welcome to Rockville is an all-ages event, Keenan was likely in violation of the new law. Keenan gave an interview to The Messenger where he said that his outfit “had nothing to do with Florida. I’ve been cross-dressing since long before these clickbait-junkie dupes were out of diapers. It’s pretty crazy the technology and the prosthetics nowadays, how they’ve come along, and I just was considering bringing the look back.” Keenan confirmed that he hadn’t heard from Florida law enforcement about his appearance and claimed, “Nobody’s enforcing it. They just do that and they throw it out there to shore up their base for an election year.” Keenan also told The Messenger he doesn’t support the restrictions for drag shows. “I think limiting people’s access to anything is absurd. Good parenting allows you to teach your kids how to be reasonable and reason and puzzle things out and decide for themselves what the [heck] they wanna see or not wanna see.”
Before Metallica went to Europe to start the 72 Seasons tour, James Hetfield met with a pair of wounded Ukrainian soldiers recovering from their injuries at a hospital in Vail, Colorado. Vail Daily reports that Hetfield was introduced to the two soldiers by Kelli Rohrig of Limbs for Liberty, a local non-profit organization founded to support Ukrainians who have been injured during the war. Rohrig met Hetfield by chance in the hospital’s parking lot and asked him to meet the two Ukrainians.
During her show Monday night, Stevie Nicks thanked Taylor Swift for writing the song “You’re On Your Own, Kid” from her ‘Midnights’ album. She said it helped her mourn the loss of Christine McVie. Here’s Stevie. (She also says they never argued.)
Katy Perry reportedly wants to quit “American Idol” because of all the criticism she’s been getting online this season. Sources say she blames the producers for editing the show to make her seem like a mean judge.
Morgan Wade found out she has a high risk of breast cancer, so she’s having a double mastectomy in November. She has the BRCA gene, which runs in the family. Her mom had the surgery, and her cousin will be getting it too. Morgan says she’ll be staying busy right up to the surgery date. She told Page Six, quote, “I’m going really hard until November, then I’ll have time off to rest. I feel fine, I’m just [p*ssed] I won’t be able to work out. That’s my only qualm.”
Netflix has started cracking down on password-sharing in the U.S. Premium subscribers can now add up to two out-of-household users for $7.99 each. Standard subscribers can only add one.
My HBO Max was updated to just Max, yesterday. The new and improved HBO app for streaming debuts this week and with its premiere comes more 4K entertainment than HBO Max ever offered. If you subscribe to the “Ultimate” plan for $19.99 a month, the company says you’ll get ‘“8 times more films and episodes of 4K ultra high definition content than HBO Max, like ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘The Last of Us’, ‘Harry Potter’, ‘The Lord of the Rings trilogy’, ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy, ‘The Matrix’ and more.” Max will also include Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos audio where available. There are currently 1,000 high-definition titles at Max’s launch.
Jeff Bridges seems to be winning his battle with cancer. His stomach tumor that used to be 9-by-12 inches is now the size of a marble. But he’s still recovering from having Covid in 2021, at the same time he was receiving cancer treatment. Jeff says, quote, “A lot of getting better was a matter of setting really small goals. At first they’d say, ‘How long can you stand?’ For a while, my record was 45 seconds before I’d collapse . . .And then they were saying, ‘Oh, look, you’re standing for a minute! That’s so cool, now can you walk 5 feet?'”
And Finally
This year’s MTV Video Music Awards will stay in Jersey at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The event has been at the venue for two years straight and three times in the last five years. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the VMAs. The ceremony takes place on Tuesday, September 12th.
After walking two batters and bringing the winning run to the plate, Closer Ryan Helsley got a groundout to end the game and secure an 8-5 victory last against the Reds at Great American Ball Park. The Cardinals won for the 12th time in 16 games and inched ever closer to .500. The Cardinals built a lead out of Paul Goldschmidt’s two homers by the end of the third inning and the first hits of Tommy Edman’s three-hit night. The seven runs in the first four innings Adam Wainwright take it into the sixth inning. With the bullpen’s help to hold the lead, Wainwright improved to 2-0 this season and is three wins shy of the 200th in his career. Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt launches two homers, Ryan Helsley holds fast for win in Cincinnati (stltoday.com)
Cards play the Reds again in Ohio at 540pm today
In NBA news. The Nuggets swept the Lakers and advance to the finals. Jayson Tatum scores 33 for the Celtics stave off elimination by topping Heat 116-99 in Game 4. Heat @ Celtics tonight on TNT at 730pm
Michael Block wrapped up a phenomenal, storybook week Sunday by finishing with the best performance in nearly four decades by a club pro in a PGA Championship tournament. Why am I talking about this on the biggest show ever especially in St. Louis? Because Block went to Parkway Central High and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. His day job includes giving golf lessons at a public course in suburban Los Angeles. Block, who finished one over par 281 after a 1-over 71 in the final round, teared up. It was so good that he had a hole-in-one in the final round.
He high-fived and hugged playing partner Rory McIlroy after McIlroy had to assure Block that the ball went into the hole. It was the 29th hole-in-one at the PGA Championship in the last 40 years.
“To do it on that hole on this stage was a lifelong dream,” Block said. “It can never get better. That’s it. I can retire. Good night.”
Not quite yet. Block, 46, receives and automatic bid to play in next year’s PGA Championship based on his top-15 finish and also has been given a sponsor’s invitation to play in next weekend’s PGA Tour event, the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Parkway Central High grad Michael Block has epic run in PGA Championship (stltoday.com)
Officials and witnesses say that fans angry at being blocked from entering a Salvadoran soccer league match knocked down an entrance gate to the stadium, leading to a crush that left at least 12 people dead and dozens injured. The stampede took place late Saturday during a quarterfinals match between clubs in southern San Salvador. Over 500 people were treated for injuries and over 100 of them were taken to hospitals.