#PSBSportsChop: Russell Westbrook Is Mr. NBA Pop Culture – January 27, 2016

By: Brandon Clay @PSBPopCulture

It is well documented that Russell Westbrook is one of the premier basketball players walking the Earth right now. His unique combination of elite athleticism, basketball skill, and off-court style sets him apart from his peers. Westbrook has always been known to play the game at a different pace than those around him. In high school, he went from being lightly recruited to averaging 25 points a night as a senior, which led to him landing a scholarship to UCLA. After coming off the bench as a freshman in Westwood, Westbrook became a starter as a sophomore and shot his way up the NBA Draft Boards, being chosen fourth overall in the 2008 NBA Draft. He’s backed up the selection since putting on the Oklahoma City Thunder uniform with four NBA All-Star game appearances. Westbrook’s ability to fill the stat sheet in multiple categories on a nightly basis speaks both to his polished skill set and willingness to do whatever is needed for his team to win.

***Through January 15th, the dynamic playmaker is averaging 24.4 points, 9.5 assists and 7.1 rebounds per contest and through fan voting was named a starter in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game for the Western Conference.

Westbrook’s in-game performance and post-game style has landed him on magazine covers, lead roles in commercials and deals with major brands worldwide. Because of that, adults and children on basketball courts all across the globe are emulating the 2015 NBA All-Star MVP’s on-floor play. Off of the hardwood, his fashion sense has sparked another wave of sorts. NBA players and fans alike are wearing True Religion, the clothing line that Westbrook is a creative campaign manager for. Couple that with his own line of Westbrook Frames and you can argue that he is undoubtedly one of the league’s marquee stars in the ever-growing world of Pop Culture. Westbrook’s reach even landed him a national advertisement campaign with Mountain Dew Kickstart, this year, with two ad campaigns that have been well placed everywhere the NBA faithful look. NBA Hall-of-Famer Michael Jordan’s brand has even taken note of Westbrook’s play, subsequently signing him as a member of Team Jordan, resulting in him being chosen as the signature athlete for the Jordan XXX debut earlier this month. The shoe will hit retail shelves on February 12th.

My collabo with @Naturel and DEW comes out on 10.13.15. Follow @MountainDew for the big reveal. #DoTheDEW

A photo posted by Russell Westbrook (@russwest44) on

THE BREAKDOWN: For as well as Stephen Curry has played during the 2015 calendar year, Westbrook has kept himself in the 2016 MVP voting discussion with his play this season. With the 2016 Olympics around the corner, expect Westbrook to be in the mix for the U.S. Senior National Team. His play is in line with Curry, Chris Paul, and Kyrie Irving. Bringing home the gold medal would only enhance Westbrook’s growing popularity.

As long as he remains amongst the NBA’s elite on-floor performers, Westbrook has the potential to be the league’s go-to guy in the world of fashion and Pop Culture. I’ve watched basketball games in 12 states during the month of December and seen hundreds of players wearing his Jordan compression tights. They’re also rocking True Religion jeans and various colors of his frames as spectators at local games and national club season tournaments too.

Westbrook is leading the trend of athletes who naturally transition into fashion models. He has the look, the build and the stage to influence trends worldwide. He’s got a blend of charisma coupled with a willingness to push the envelope fashion-wise that I haven’t seen in my 14 years covering the sport. Keep an eye on his game (and fashion) as he leads the Thunder into the 2016 postseason and perhaps the franchise’s first NBA Championship.

#whynot snag a pair of the @westbrookframes Silver Series from @jackthreads? #donthateonthebrodie

A photo posted by Russell Westbrook (@russwest44) on

Brandon Clay serves as the publisher of PSBPopCulture.com. A self-professed entertainment, music and sports junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. Clay is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.

Category: #BCSSportsChop | LEAVE A COMMENT

#TeenLifeStyle: Triple A Excellence – January 26, 2016

By: Stella Alverson @StellaAPSB

Our Principal, Dr. Banks Bitterman, has a daily mantra at Buford High of “Triple A Excellence.” This includes achieving excellence in the academics, athletics, and the arts. Personally, I try to exemplify all of these by playing volleyball, singing in the advanced chorus, and challenging myself in the classroom every day. Buford offers a plethora of Advanced Placement classes, and I have several on my schedule as I start to eye what it takes to be ready for college.

My goal is to attend a college or university well known for their academic curriculum. With that in mind, I am already looking at how to be prepared for the challenges that come along with that academic path. As college applications begin to draw nearer, I’m taking harder classes and trying to better my standardized test scores on both the ACT and SAT. I have not taken the SAT yet, but I took the ACT this past December. The scores just came back and I made a 33 out of 36. As a sophomore that score, which was in the top one percent of students nationwide, puts me in great shape to keep moving in the right direction towards my goal. I plan on taking it again soon with the hopes of adding at least a point if not two or three.

I just got my transcripts back from last semester, and here they are:

Spanish II: 97
AP World History: 104
Advanced Chorus: 100
Honors Chemistry: 101
Accelerated Pre-Calculus: 100
AP Psychology: 106
Honors World Literature: 99

Stella-A-PSBStella Alverson is a contributor to PSBPopCulture.com with her #TeenLifeStyle articles. Alverson has been around the PSBPopCulture.com Team since her early days and is well versed in how we do things around here. She is currently an Honor Roll student at Buford High School and is on her way to playing college volleyball upon high school graduation.

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#iTunesSounds: “No More Parties in LA” – Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar – January 25, 2016

By: Brandon Clay @PSBPopCulture and Donte’ Grant @DineroJones

After a slight delay, Kanye West was back last week with his “G.O.O.D. Friday” series. Kanye enthusiasts had to wait until Monday morning for the arrival of “No More Parties in L.A.,” featuring none other than lyrical behemoth Kendrick Lamar. Here’s an in-depth look at the output from two of the industry’s A-List stars:

GRANT’S TAKE: The six-minute track was produced by Madlib. West, who is the boss of G.O.O.D. Music, teased his fans with a snippet of this record at the end “Real Friends” when it dropped on January 8th. The Madlib-produced track marks the first time West and K.Dot have appeared together on a song. West uses this record to remind everyone his still has impeccable rap skills. Ye’ mentions “I was uninspired since Lauryn Hill retired” and “I know some fans who thought I wouldn’t rap like this again” in the same way he delivers a hilarious anecdote about an assistant crashing his matted Maybach. Effortless flows with substance, combinations like this one are far and between nowadays in Hip Hop. It’s only fitting Kanye brought it back on a song featuring Lamar. K. Dot dominated hip hop in 2015 garnering 11 Grammy nominations from his critically acclaimed and commercial successful “To Pimp a Butterfly” opus. It’s safe to say with the the February 11 release of West’s highly anticipated album “Swish,” the Louis Vuitton Don is set to have a big year in 2016.

CLAY’S TAKE: I agree with Donte’s outlook on this one. The wordplay and samples give me the feeling that Mr. West is cooking up a similar production to his “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” album released in 2010. That loop of the Ghostface hook off of the G.O.O.D. Music collab “Cruel Summer” was not lost on me. It’s the same song where Kanye first proclaimed “Hold on, I ain’t trying to stuntman but the Yeezy’s jumped over the Jumpman.”

FAVORITE LINE: “Thinkin’ back to how I got here in the first place: second class chicks wouldn’t let me on first base. A backpack brotha with luxury taste buds and the Louis Vuitton store got all of my pay stubs.” — Kanye

Screen Shot 2016-01-25 at 12.29.24 PMDonte’ Grant is a contributor to PSBPopCulture.com. He is a 10-year music industry veteran. Grant is a former A&R at Atlantic Records, Jeezy’s CTE label, and founder of TheOrganizedGrind.com. A former hooper at Augusta State, he is a diehard LA Lakers fan. Grant is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. He has been around the PSBPopCulture.com Team since it’s inception. You can follow him on Twitter @dinerojones.

Brandon Clay serves as the publisher of PSBPopCulture.com. A self-professed entertainment, music and sports junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. Clay is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.

Category: #iTunesSounds | LEAVE A COMMENT

#TeenLifeStyle: Sub Deb – January 24, 2016

By: Stella Alverson @StellaAPSB

When it comes to traditions, Andalusia, Ala., is a place like no other. In Andalusia, I get to experience a more traditional southern lifestyle as compared to Buford, Ga., which is more of an urban experience. Buford has school dances and bigtime sporting events, whereas Andalusia has more of a country club social atmosphere. Twice a year, the country club holds a dance for members with daughters in high school. Instead of being a Sadie Hawkins dance, we call it Sub Deb. The Winter Sub Deb theme this year was Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and I was too excited to contain it. Last year, I was unable to attend any of the two dances last year due to volleyball, so I was ecstatic when there were no overlapping dates this time around. I had the pleasure of asking a very nice boy new to Andalusia to the dance, Luke Thrower.

so glad i got to go to sub deb with him❤️

A photo posted by stella alverson (@stellaapsb) on

Luke is new to town, and one of my best friends, Julia Smith, set us up to go to the dance together. Luke is your typical country boy, and I knew immediately he’d be an awesome date. Dress shopping is one of my favorite things to do in preparation for the dance. About two months ago, I bought my (current) dream dress. It is a red Sherri Hill with embellished panels, and my parents were just as excited about it as I was. The date and the dress were perfect. All I could do was wait for the date to arrive.

Now, scheduling a trip down to Andalusia can prove difficult on it’s own, but when you add a volleyball recruiting showcase and a tight timeline to it, that’s when a person can have an anxiety attack. The dance was on December 6th. That morning, I was signed up to participate in the morning wave of the Southern Showcase, a major volleyball recruiting showcase. Immediately afterwards, my mom and I had to hit the road to make it in time for my hair appointment at 4:00 pm in Andalusia. The 5-hour drive from Buford to Andalusia (we do gain an hour as it’s in the Central Time Zone) may not seem that far, but in a time crunch, it can feel like 9 hours. My excitement for the dance helped along with the time, and I found myself playing the night out over and over in head as we got closer. I had my hair done in a curled side swoop over my shoulder. Hot rollers were a new experience to me, and my curls were unlike anything I could have ever done myself.

After I finished getting ready, I headed over to my brother William’s and his wife Helen Anne’s house for pictures and finishing touches. Luke picked me up at 6:30, and the photo shoot began. With the Christmas tree as the backdrop, Luke and I took enough pictures to momentarily satisfy my parents, but that didn’t last long. We then headed over to the pre-dance picture session with our friends and their parents, including mine. As a pageant coach, my dad Bill helping in staging the group pictures and even the individual ones.

Editor’s NOTE: Make sure to catch Bill in action in his TLC show, “Coach Charming.”

It was awesome getting to catch up with my friends since I hadn’t seen most of them in months. The dance itself wasn’t exactly how a typical high school dance is run. For one, there was a breakfast buffet (Get it? Breakfast at Tiffany’s theme with a breakfast buffet? LOL) and a whole period of time dedicated to eating a meal, almost like a rehearsal dinner type feel. Then, all the senior girl members were escorted out in front of the crowd by their dads and shared a father-daughter dance. Personally, this is one of my favorite parts of Sub Deb. All the girls always look so happy to be there with their dads, and their dads all look ready to cry at the sight of how beautiful his daughter is.

Then, the dance floor is opened up to the rest of the attendees. I had a great time dancing for hours with all of my friends and enjoying my first Sub Deb. After the dance closed at 11, a big group of my friends hit up the Huddle House for a 2nd breakfast-for-dinner meal. It was great getting to know Luke more and catching up with all of my preschool buddies. There’s a lot you miss when you live five hours away! Everyone ended up going their separate ways around midnight, and then the unavoidable wave of tired seemed to hit everyone. The night ended with Luke, Julia, and Chase (her date) coming back over to my dad’s house to watch a movie, and we could barely stay awake while trying to pick an old Disney original. I think it’s safe to say that my first Sub Deb was a success, and I’ll let you know about my second in about two months when we take on Western theme.

Stella-A-PSBStella Alverson is a contributor to PSBPopCulture.com with her #TeenLifeStyle articles. Alverson has been around the PSBPopCulture.com Team since her early days and is well versed in how we do things around here. She is currently an Honor Roll student at Buford High School and is on her way to playing college volleyball upon high school graduation.

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#PSBSportsChop – Should David Blatt Have Been Fired – January 22, 2016

By: Brandon Clay @PSBPopCulture

The Cleveland Cavaliers fired their coach, David Blatt, on Friday and immediately inked assistant Tyronn Lue to a three-year deal worth a reported 9.5 million dollars. A source close to the situation informed me this time a year ago that Lue taking over was a distinct possibility as Blatt struggled to mesh with LeBron James. The question is should Blatt have been fired? The Cavaliers did make the NBA Finals last year without All-Star Kevin Love while starting point guard Kyrie Irving was banged up all season not playing again after Game One of the Finals.

Blatt was a combined 83 and 40 in his 18 months as the head coach including an Eastern Conference best 30-11 record to date during the 2015-16 season. Record notwithstanding, Blatt never seemed to have the full respect of James and the rest of the Cavaliers. That lack of respect was evident in last year’s Finals as James repeatedly waved off calls from the sideline choosing to go in a different direction from what Blatt was calling. In that way, the vibe reminded me of when Mike Brown was at the helm. The Cavs management has put the franchise in the hands of the King and unlike in Miami, there isn’t a Pat Riley in the front office who can talk to James from a place of “been there, done that.”

As James plays into his prime years, the goal is no longer the NBA Finals. For the 31-year-old, it’s bringing the NBA World Championship back to Cleveland or bust. With that said, the oft-injured Irving suiting up throughout the postseason and whether Love can defend the pick-and-roll will be more critical than who stands up the duration of the game. However, if Lue makes the Cavs core more comfortable down the stretch of the season then there is something to be said for that. Time will tell if Lue can lead this embattled group to the only thing that will make this season a success: LeBron James third NBA Championship.

Keil Moore’s Take: Today might prove that being an NBA General Manager is much safer place to be than being an NBA head coach. Cleveland’s GM, David Griffin, made multiple moves last year that appeared to be in line with building a title team but the league is changing with the Warriors leading the way. By signing multiple seven footers, Griffin’s moves didn’t account for that. They are paying top dollar for a post in Tristan Thompson who is playing 18-20 minutes a game right now. As our team member Jonathan Hemingway likes to point out, there are personnel issues including the fact that the Cavs probably should be playing Lebron at the power forward position a lot more. I’m interested to see how this plays out through June.

Brandon Clay is a contributor to PSBPopCulture.com through his various genre reviews. A self-professed entertainment & music junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.

Category: #BCSSportsChop | LEAVE A COMMENT

#FreshStyleFits: Bomber Jackets – January 21, 2016

***Brandon Clay pictured in a Topman Jersey Bomber Jacket.
Photo Cred: Jonathan Hemingway @JLHemingwayPSB

By: Brandon Clay @PSBPopCulture and By: @KTaylorPSB

Taylor’s Take: Kendall & Kylie Jenner along with Gigi Hadid clearly love rocking the bomber jacket with leggings (and my personal favorite accessory being their Yeezy shoes). I love this jacket because it’s the perfect casual, comfy jacket while still looking fashion forward. Black and olive green are popular colors for this look but moving into spring floral prints are going to be right on point with the way this trend is moving. My suggestion is to pair the jacket with leggings like Kendall and Gigi like to wear or sport torn jeans like Kylie.

I decided to go with a modified version of the look that you probably wouldn’t see the Kylie wearing but it fits my style best.

Macy’s: Tommy Hilfiger Tweed Bomber Jacket – $52

Here are three different looks that are still in stock:

1) Missguided: quilted jacket rib collar bomber khaki – $68

2) Urban Outfitters: Light Before Dark Bomber Jacket – $64

3) Free People: Quilted Aviator Jacket – $148

Brandon’s Take: From the GQ stylish man of the year, Kanye West to award winning actor Eddie Redmayne, bomber jackets are definitely the move for guys this season. There are multiple ways to pull off the look. A pair of OVO Jordan 10’s might call for a bigger version while a pair of low top Louis Vuitton sneakers or Converse are a perfect reason to pull out a slim version from the closet.

Here are three different looks at varying price points that are still in stock:

1) Alpha Industries: MA-1 Jacket – $140

2) Topman: Stone Wool Blend Canvas Bomber Jacket – $140

3) Topman: Grey Jersey Bomber Jacket – $55

#PSBPopCulture | Jordan 72-10's | #SoleFlow CRED: @jlhemingway | #AnyGymIsHome

A photo posted by BrandonClayPSB (@brandonclaypsb) on

Brandon Clay is a contributor to PSBPopCulture.com through his various genre reviews. A self-professed entertainment & music junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.

Taylor-Staff-PicTaylor Johnson serves as Brandon Clay’s personal stylist and is one of the most fashionable people in Atlanta. While attending graduate school at Georgia State, she’ll contribute to various categories throughout the PSBPopCulture.com site.

Category: #PhotoshootFresh | LEAVE A COMMENT

#FreshStyleFits: Kanye West + adidas = YeezySeason – January 20, 2016

By: Brandon Clay @PSBPopCulture

Kanye West has come out the gate in 2016 on a mission. He’s revived his G.O.O.D. Friday series of single drops in anticipation of his album “Swish” due to release on February 11th. It’s no secret that Mr. West has long been known as one of the game’s premier rap artists and music producers. Since dropping “Yeezus” in 2013, he has been quiet musically not releasing an album or EP since then. In the interim, he’s done a little of everything else becoming a husband to Kim Kardashian, a father twice over to North and Saint West, as well as a go-to in the fashion world.

Listen to more about this topic on the GreenLabel.com Report at the 9 min mark:

He split (rather loudly) with Nike and signed with adidas. Most recently, his signature line of Yeezy Boost sneakers have been arguably the hardest sneaker to get that actually hit retail shelves. One of West’s latest singles, “Facts,” talks all about it so make sure to listen if you haven’t already. I had a conversation with Mississippi State assistant, Elena Lovato, about the scarcity an event this weekend. Shortly thereafter Tennessee assistant, Jolette Law, commented on the shoes as well.

As popular as the Jordan Brand Collection of shoes have been, Kanye has a valid point about his shoes jumping over the Jumpman.

With an original suggested retail price of $200, current prices on the newly released Yeezy 350 Boost (Tan colorway) low top sneaker have climbed to $1,500 per pair on reseller VIP Exclusives. The black and turtle dove colorways of the 350 Boost which were released earlier in 2015 are going for $2,500 while the 750 Boost hightop version has a price point of $3,500. Even the OVO Jordan 10’s that were released in limited supply late last year can be found around $550 per pair right now.

If you got your hands on a pair like Buford High volleyball star Avery Cason, did before the prices skyrocketed congratulations.

We were fortunate enough to get our hand on each of the four low top versions before they left the retail shelves avoiding the expensive headache of trying to find them through a reseller. Here’s a look at the shoes:

#SoleFlow | #YeezySeason (Part I) 🎄🎅🏾

A photo posted by BrandonClayPSB (@brandonclaypsb) on

#SoleFlow | #YeezySeason (Part II) 🎅🏾🎄 “You knew after yesterday’s Part One, there had to be a Part Two.”

A photo posted by BrandonClayPSB (@brandonclaypsb) on

#YeezySeason (Part Three) | #yeezyboost350

A photo posted by BrandonClayPSB (@brandonclaypsb) on

Brandon Clay is a contributor to PSBPopCulture.com through his various genre reviews. A self-professed entertainment & music junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.

Category: #PhotoshootFresh | LEAVE A COMMENT

#EntertainmentPSB: “The Bachelor” – Episode 3 – January 19, 2016

Three episodes in and the third villain emerges. First it was Lace, then Olivia, and the now poor misunderstood Jubilee. The Bachelor producers are geniuses.

By: @KTaylorPSB

First Date: Lauren B., a flight attendant, was nervous for the first date because there was a plane involved. However, I’m sure she wasn’t mad about the fact that the plane through over all of the other peasants (contestants) while she was kissing Ben in the plane. Lauren takes a majority of the date to tell Ben she likes “simple things” so basically she wanted him to know she isn’t high maintenance. Oddly enough he seems to be into high maintenance (cough, cough Olivia) so maybe try another angle Lauren B. The couple dance to Lucy Angel (yeah, I don’t know who she is either) at the end of the night, and Ben talks about her music like it’s an Adele love song (it’s not).

Caila: She loses it when she starts thinking about Lauren B and Ben on their one on one date. Honestly Caila, I’d be nervous too.

Jubilee: As two dates cards pass by without her name on them, her facial expressions get increasingly entertaining. However, she receives a one on one date later in the episode. Jubliee starts off her date being mad Ben was 20 minutes late, and mad that she has to go in a helicopter. She follows that up spitting out caviar in front of Ben, which was about as classy as her all white linen outfit, topped off with giant hoop earrings. Jubilee really opens up about her tough past and Ben definitely respects her unlike the girls who have trouble controlling their jealousy.

Jubilee

Group date: Ben brings out Alex Morgan to teach these girls how to play soccer, and if I were the girls I would be mad because how is anyone supposed to look hotter than Alex Morgan playing soccer?! The girls took this as seriously as the World Cup, and they have never watched the World Cup.

Alex

Amanda: She just continues to be adorable so I can’t even begin to make a sarcastic comment about her.

Haley: Haley suffered from separation anxiety when Emily and her had to play against each other on opposing soccer teams. She never said anything about it but I had never seen them a part until then.

Jennifer: She isn’t that memorable on any dates but she sure does try to make herself memorable in her low cut cocktail party dresses.

Leah: Leah tells us how much she loves football again (it’s a soccer date so she’s confused from the get go) and we are all like Leah we know you love football because the image of you bending over, exposing your spanx, with a football is stuck in our brains.

Amber: Amber is trying so hard to find something wrong with Olivia and all she can come up with is that she has weird toes. I hope the only bad thing my enemies say about me is that I have ugly toes. Plot twist Amber got the group rose.

Lauren H: Lauren H. THE TEACHER made short air time with her “I’m not very good a juggling a lot of (soccer) balls.” quote because how could she top that one liner?

Olivia: Of course Olivia’s team won the soccer team won the game, because has she lost anything yet? Apparently Olivia told everyone that her wardrobe is worth $40k, and honestly it was well spent so I’m not even judging her for that gold digger comment. She didn’t have a lack of foot in (giant) mouth comments when she tearfully told Ben she hates her cankles after he just said two family members died.

Rachel: Rachel managed to get hurt on the soccer field but is capable of riding a hover board flawlessly?

Lace: Lace must have been on a water break telling Alex Morgan how she isn’t crazy when they went over the rules of soccer. “I didn’t know the goalie could use their hands” – Lace.

Emily: She was the all-star goalie of the game (sorry Lace).

Lace gracefully exits voluntarily in the ultimate Bachelor plot twist. Shushanna was eliminated by Ben mainly because I think he gave up trying to pronounce her name correctly a long time ago. Poor Jami joined the two girls in the limo ride home where I think she googled cat adoption places the entire ride home.

Taylor-Staff-PicTaylor Johnson serves as Brandon Clay’s personal stylist and is one of the most fashionable people in Atlanta. While attending graduate school at Georgia State, she’ll contribute to various categories throughout the PSBPopCulture.com site.

Category: #EntertainmentPSB | LEAVE A COMMENT

#EntertainmentPSB: “The Bachelor” – Episode 2 – January 18, 2016

It is just two weeks and I think that Ben is already my favorite Bachelor of the 20 seasons! And I’m not just saying that because the first shot of Ben of this episode with him wearing close to nothing. He managed to make every girl feel special during some point in the week, and it is kind of adorable how he holds every girl’s hand when he talks to them.

By: @KTaylorPSB

Date 1: Ben takes the girls to a high school where they have to participate in challenges in groups of two to win “Homecoming Queen” along with time with Ben. However the activities included dunking your head in water to bob for apples and running a race around the track, so the winner got to spend sweaty, make up free one on one time with Ben, lucky them!

Jackie: Jackie only got air time during the group date when the other girls were making fun of her small mouth in front of Ben, so that was unfortunate.

LB: LB flew under the radar again this episode. Turns out the reason why is because she really didn’t want to be there in the first place and went home after denying his rose during the ceremony.

Lauren H.: Lauren H got a ribbon for the best volcano explosion at the science fair from Ben. So basically their relationship is as boring as that ribbon sounds.

Becca: Becca showed off an impressive left-handed jump shot in a cocktail dress, so obviously she’s perfect.

Amber: Amber came in second place on the group date and got LB’s left over rose when she turned Ben’s rose down during the rose ceremony. Rough week for Amber.

Mandi: Mandi beat all of the girls in the competitions to win the time with Ben. However, I think Ben modified her prize because he didn’t want to spend one second longer with Mandi and her sweaty crop top.

JoJo: My personal favorite part of this date was when JoJo and Becca let the world know that neither one of them knew where or what the state of Indiana is. Despite her geography mishap was forgiven by Ben and he specifically pulled her aside during the group date to talk on the rooftop. JoJo ended up getting the group date rose, which obviously didn’t sit well with the other girls (tears already).

Jubilee: Unfortunately for Jubilee she chose Lace as her partner in the group date challenge and assigned Lace as the “brains” of the pair. Her place in the competition ended quickly after discovering Lace can’t read. Jubilee opened up to Ben about being adopted, however throwing out the adoption card apparently doesn’t get you a group date rose.

Jennifer: Jennifer was Ben’s first kiss of the night and she didn’t waste any time letting the other girls know.

Lace: Lace continues to act like she lost her mind a long time ago. However, she thinks the remedy for that is to continuously tell Ben how she’s not crazy. Word to the wise Lace, if you have to continuously tell someone you aren’t crazy, it absolutely means you’re crazy. Shockingly, Lace stays another night but I’m very confident in Bachelor producers having a say in that because she is honestly great TV.

Date 2: Ben chose Caila to go on a one on one date along with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart. The pair took Caila and Ben on a “cheap date” to the liquor store and a hot tub store to test out the hot tub. However, the night ended with a private concert from Amos Lee in true Bachelor fashion.

Caila could barely get a word in during her date with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart riding along. However, Ben gave her a rose during their date so there was definitely chemistry. Her date night outfit was super cute and classy in a black sequined jacket.

Date 3: The second group date was in a “Love Lab” where all of the girls were scored on how compatible the girls are with Ben on a scale of 1 to 10.

Emily & Haley: The twins (who I still can’t tell apart) started off the date by telling us they didn’t know anything about science because they weren’t very smart, so thanks for saying what America was thinking twins.

Shushanna: The majority of what I understood from Shushanna from this date was that she was very worried that Ben would think that she smells like cabbage during the smell test. I also understood that she thought wearing purple eye lashes was a good idea. We will just have to agree to disagree on that one Shushanna.

Sam: Poor Sam had a rough group date. Ben described her as smelling “sour” compared to the “sweet” and “flowery” responses the other girls got. Then Sam got the lowest score of 2.42/10, so basically her day couldn’t be going any worse.

Olivia: Olivia begins to emerge as the villain and it’s only the second episode. She received the first impression rose on episode one and now she wins the love lab challenge by having the highest compatibility score. She looked adorable in her hot pink dress, however the horrible “wide open mouth” face emerged from Olivia and she continued to do it throughout the episode (not her best look). Despite her horrible faces and cocky comments, of course Olivia won the group rose date.

Olivia-Mouth-Open

Amanda: Amanda tells Ben that she has two young daughters; so later in the night he set up the most adorable barrette making activity for the two of them to do together for her daughters.

Leah: Leah didn’t get to go on a date this week, but I don’t blame Ben after her terrible football hiking first impression the night before.

Lauren B: Lauren B rocked a yellow lace mini dress to the rose ceremony. Although her and Ben didn’t have a date this week, he made her a picture of their first meeting so she is absolutely going to go far this season.

Jami & Rachel: The two girls were only shown receiving roses tonight because they also didn’t have any dates with Ben this week. However, the good news is that Rachel seems to have ditched the hover board.

Along with LB going home, the attorney Sam and her sour smell went home. Mandi proved that even homecoming queens could get dumped because she joined LB and Sam in the limo ride home. Jackie was the last girl to join them in the limo ride home so she should probably cancel her save the date cards for her and Ben’s wedding.

Taylor-Staff-PicTaylor Johnson serves as Brandon Clay’s personal stylist and is one of the most fashionable people in Atlanta. While attending graduate school at Georgia State, she’ll contribute to various categories throughout the PSBPopCulture.com site.

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#PSBPopCulture: Young Stars, William Wesley, and the Dominance of Steph Curry: A Green Label Interview With Brandon Clay – January 17, 2016

Listen to more about this topic on the GreenLabel.com Report min mark:

Brandon Clay is a Georgia native and former ball player whose mission is guiding the nation’s top young ball players all the way to the hallowed halls of professional basketball.

Starting fresh out of college in 2002, at 20 Brandon began laying the groundwork for what would become Peach State Basketball, a scouting and recruitment enterprise that has evaluated the likes of Justise Winslow, and Jahlil Okafor. Now in its thirteenth year, his empire is international, having expanded its reach as far as Australia and Canada, a testament to the work that Clay and Keil Moore have put in to provide young basketball players with the tools and support they need to take their game to the next level.

Here we interviewed Brandon about his journey with Peach State, and lessons learned from his peers and heroes along the way.

READ THE FULL GREENLABEL.COM ARTICLE HERE: Young Stars, William Wesley, and the Dominance of Steph Curry: A Green Label Interview With Brandon Clay

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