'Rock Dog': Film Review

Luke Wilson and Eddie Izzard lend their voices to this generic computer-animated Chinese-American production.

Something was evidently lost in translation where the blandly rendered Rock Dog is concerned. An adaptation of the graphic novel, Tibetan Rock Dog by Zheng Jun, this draggy, computer-animated feature exhibits neither bark nor bite in its portrayal of a sheep-guarding, guitar-playing Himalayan mastiff who has his head perpetually in the clouds.

Coming after the film’s Chinese release last summer, which disappointed its 14 executive producers by bringing in less than 10 percent of its $60 million budget, the Americanized version, with a voice cast including Luke Wilson, Eddie Izzard, J.K. Simmons and Sam Elliott, will be hard-pressed to do much better, with a marketing campaign catering to younger pups.

While groomed by his gruff alpha dog dad, Khampa (Simmons) to keep the wolves away from the woollier inhabitants of Snow Mountain, young Bodi (Wilson) has always been distracted by the sound of music.

So when a transistor radio literally drops from the heavens (falling off of a passing plane), Bodi takes it as a sign to pursue his dream, leading him to the decidedly Zootopian urban sprawl that’s home to the reclusive Angus Scattergood (Izzard), the Wayfarer-wearing feline of a Mick Jagger-esque rock legend dogged by a pesky creative block.

Buried beneath all the increasingly tired visual gags and well-worn character conventions is a workable message about following one’s muse, but director Ash Brannon, a Pixar veteran, along with at least eight other writers, seem content simply to lay down the same old licks.

Considering that Xheng’s graphic novel was inspired by his own career as a rock star (among his hits was a Chinese-language cover of Coldplay’s “Yellow”), one would have expected Bodi’s journey not to have felt like such a generic retread, echoing any number of anthropomorphic efforts from Kung Fu Panda to Brannon’s own 2007 animated mockumentary, Surf’s Up.

Although Izzard and Wilson have a nice rapport, the efforts of the other voice actors — including Elliott as Fleetwood Yak, the town elder and part-time narrator, and Lewis Black as a gangster wolf on Wilson’s tail — get lost in the shuffle of under-choreographed subplots.

As for the music, the resemblance of Rock Dog’s playlist to actual rock’n’roll is about the same as that of Vanilla Ice to rap music. Despite his rockier aspirations, Bodi, like his under-achieving vehicle, was born to be mild.

Distribution: Summit Entertainment
Production companies: Huayi Brothers Media Corp., Mandoo Pictures, Huayi Tencent Entertainment Co., Eracme Entertainment, Dream Factory Group
Cast: Luke Wilson, Eddie Izzard, J.K. Simmons, Lewis Black, Kenan Thompson, Mae Whitman, Jorge Garcia, Matt Dillon, Sam Elliott
Director: Ash Brannon
Screenwriters: Ash Brannon, Kurt Voelker
Producers: Amber Wang, Joyce Lou, David B. Miller, Rob Feng, Zheng Jun
Executive producers: Wang Zhongju, Zheng Jun, Deng Feng, Angela Wu, Andrew Yang, Wang Zhonglei, Jerry Ye, Xu Xiaoping, Liu Shengyi, Tan Fei, Chuck Peil, Uri Fleming, Mike Bundlie, Lauren Selig
Production designer: Elad Tibi
Music: Rolfe Kent
Editors: Ivan Bilancio, Ed Fuller
Casting: Jen Rudin

Rated PG, 90 minutes

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Jordan Peele's 'Get Out' Scares Up Huge $11M

Jordan Peele's Get Out is yet another directorial debut by a known actor that has snagged strong reviews and superb buzz. In that sense, it's little different from the likes of Sarah Polley's Away From Her, Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone and Lake Bell's In A World. It also shares something rather rare with Robert Redford's Ordinary People in that it's going to be a big box office win as well as a critical darling.

Blumhouse and QC Entertainment's comic thriller just snagged $10.842 million on its opening day, basically doubling its $5m production budget. It's just getting started, but Get Out is going to make a lot more than Stanley Tucci and Scott Campell's Big Night or Drew Barrymore's Whip It.

The grimly topical "social thriller," courtesy of Universal/Comcast Corp., about a young black man (Daniel Kaluuya) taking a weekend trip to meet his white girlfriend's (Allison Williams) family, rode a wave of buzz stemming from a great trailer and an unending wave of rave reviews. Of note, Get Out has amassed 132 positive reviews out of 132 total reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the first live-action fictional film to snag a 100% on the site with well over 100 respective positive scores. We'll see if it can keep up the streak. But with an average critic score of 8.3/10, it's already the year's first live-action, multiplex-friendly critical darling.

With said $10.842 million Friday, including $1.8m in Thursday previews, the picture is aiming for a $28.5m debut weekend. But with said buzz and excellent word-of-mouth already forming (the film snagged an A- from CinemaScore), an over-$30m debut weekend is not out of the question. If it tops $26.411m (Don't Breathe's opening last August), it will be the second-biggest wholly original R-rated horror film debut ever, behind only Blumhouse's The Purge ($34m back in June of 2013).

And all of this is sans marquee movie stars, sans IP and sans a marquee horror director. To be fair, I might argue that the notion of a somewhat acclaimed/well-known comic artist tackling a horror movie added to the film's mystique. This was a sell based mostly on its primal (and all-too-easy to explain) concept, starting with a gangbusters first (and only... kudos on that front) trailer debuting during the BET Awards last October.

Along with a surprise Sundance premiere which elicited an initial round of rave reviews, and the usual prerelease press and digital marketing (including All Def Digital's music video), Get Out got a somewhat unexpected boost from M. Night Shyamalan's Split. Said January release, which just crossed $220 million worldwide making it Blumhouse's biggest global grosser ever, was a prime platform for that buzzy Get Out trailer.

As I've always said, sometimes the best marketing is a good trailer attached to a popular hit playing to friendly demographics. Split was unexpectedly huge and leggy, opening with $40 million and legging it past $130m domestic, so a lot more horror-friendly folks got prime exposure to Get Out's prime piece of marketing.

There were two other wide releases this weekend, both of which played as glorified sacrifices to the post-theatrical/overseas box office gods.

Lionsgate snagged the Chinese-produced animated comedy Rock Dog for reasons that I can only presume are about building its library for the long haul. The $60 million production (!) was the most expensive Chinese-financed animated production ever, but it flopped there too earning just $5.7m. The film, based on a graphic novel by Zheng Jun, is going to make around $3.5 million this weekend after a mere Friday gross of around $890k. That will be lower than Norm of the North ($6.7m) and barely higher than The Wild Life ($3.3m).

Lionsgate and Summit obviously aren't too concerned about this one, what with La La Land making all the money and presumably winning most of the Oscars tomorrow. But if Lionsgate ever wants a real foothold in theatrical animation, they need to do... well, the opposite of this. To be fair, maybe that's not a big concern. After all, Alpha and Omega made $50 million worldwide back in 2010 and spawned five direct-to-DVD sequels with two more on the way and Shaun the Sheep was a critically-acclaimed $100m+ worldwide grosser in August of 2015.

But there is little silver lining for Collide. One of a number of films acquired from the ashes of Relativity, the Open Road pick up will barely make $1.5 million this weekend after a Friday gross of around $540k. The Nicolas Hoult/Felicity Jones/Anthony Hopkins/Ben Kingsley car chase heist caper was shot years ago but was bounced around the release schedule (and retitled from Autobahn) for two years. The overall budget was $21.5m, most of which was covered via output deals and foreign sales, but Open Road is only on the hook for distribution.It has made $2.5m overseas thus far.

Truth be told, I'm shocked this ended up in theaters considering its status and its history, perhaps surviving merely on the hope that a post-Rogue One Felicity Jones might give it a boost. But, and this is a general free tip, if you're trying to bank on a now-famous actress who just starred as the lead in an action movie or franchise, those fans will be less willing to show up for a film where she plays the love interest/damsel-in-distress. Lionsgate learned that two years ago with American Ultra. Oh well, Collide is pretty forgettable, and it will soon be forgotten to the extent that it was ever known.

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Hollywood’s Magic Castle Confirms Death Of Magician Daryl Easton

“The magic community mourns the loss of one of our most beloved and talented performers,” a statement posted on the Magic Castle’s Facebook page says, adding that the Academy of Magic Arts’ “deepest regrets and heart-felt sympathy go out to Daryl’s family.”

Easton, who often performed simply as Daryl the Magician, was performing at the Magic Castle this week, and was found dead on the club’s premises on Friday evening. The Magic Castle statement confirms that the death was ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Easton, an AMA member, was “an award-winning close-up magician with over 40 years of experience in both performing and selling the finest magic in the world,” according to the Magic Castle.

“Daryl performed as a headline act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for seven years fine tuning his already encyclopedic knowledge of magic. Daryl has performed literally thousands of shows for audiences as diverse as the Witch Doctors on the South Pacific island of Vanuatu to the movers and shakers of the political world at the Presidential Ball in Washington, D.C.”

The Magic Castle has been a club for magicians since 1963, with such notable members as Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Johnny Carson, Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Alexander.

Easton was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene, and early media reports said his body was observed with a plastic bag over his head.

The Castle closed Friday night, but re-opened this morning.

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BlackBerry KeyOne Android Phone Launched

BARCELONA — TCL launched the smartphone that it is counting on to revitalize the diminished BlackBerry brand. It’s called the BlackBerry KeyOne, and is being marketed as the most secure Android phone in the world.

KeyOne goes on sale in the U.S. in April for $549.

Speaking at a Mobile World Congress press event  here, TCL Communication CEO Nicolas Zibell said the phone represents the “beginning of a new story” for BlackBerry.

The old story is well known of course. How the once-powerhouse Canadian based-smartphone maker fell on hard times after the iPhone came along.  BlackBerry’s market share dwindled down to practically nothing.

Under a recent licensing agreement, Hong Kong-based TCL is now responsible for the hardware branded under BlackBerry Mobile. BlackBerry in Canada still supplies the security and software smarts.

The KeyOne is the first BlackBerry handset to come out under TCL’s watch.

The new phone certainly looks like a traditional BlackBerry, what with a Qwerty keyboard that reminds you of the popular BlackBerry keyboards of yesteryear. But this is a modernized version, with programmable keys that can provide up to 52 shortcuts. For example, you can press the “I” key for quick access to your inbox, or the “m” key for a maps shortcut.

The gesture-responsive keyboard also doubles as a trackpad.

Staple BlackBerry features on the device include the BlackBerry Hub repository for all your various communications, and DTEK security software.
Indeed, the KeyOne remains an enterprise play, but one BlackBerry hopes it will eventually appeal to consumers.

The KeyOne is supposed to have an all-day battery with fast charging. It runs off a Qualcomm 625 processor and has a modern USB-C connector. It runs the Nougat 7.1 version of Android.

Other specs: the phone has a 4.5-inch display (resolution 1620 x 1080), with a 12-megapixel rear camera and 8mp front camera. It comes with 32GB of internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD.

It also has a fingerprint sensor but is not water resistant like other premium devices.

Ken Haier, the director of emerging device strategies at Strategy Analytics’ global wireless practice, believes that TCL’s ambition this year to stabilize the brand’s share is doable, especially given BlackBerry’s tiny volumes. The more difficult challenge for TCL, he says, will be to return BlackBerry to growth.

“They intend to do that as part of an integrated portfolio strategy in which they go to operators with a range of devices for all customers," Haier says. "There’s some merit to the strategy, but ultimately it will come down to features and price, as the BlackBerry brand doesn’t retain a strong following anymore, even in the enterprise.”

Consumer tech analyst Carolina Milanese of Creative Strategies thinks the price is a bit high, though she added in a tweet that TCL “should not go so low and devalue (the) BlackBerry brand.”

On Sunday at MWC, we hear from another fallen phone brand Nokia, itself pitting hopes on the comeback trail.

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EPL Results: Saturday's Week 26 Scores, Updated 2017 Premier League

Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to 11 points after beating Swansea City 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The Blues took advantage of title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal not being in action thanks to Sunday's 2017 EFL Cup final between Manchester United and Southampton.

At the other end of the table, Crystal Palace climbed out of the drop zone after beating Middlesbrough 1-0 at home. The result not only took the Eagles clear of immediate danger, it also put defending champions Leicester City into the bottom three.

Here are the final scores from Saturday's matches:

 

 Here's what those results mean for the table:

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Oscars 2017: Who's predicted to win ?

It's the biggest night of the year in Hollywood - the Oscars begin at 17:30 PST on Sunday (01:30 GMT on Monday). As the final preparations take place, here's what to look out for in the main battles.

Best picture

The frontrunner: La La Land

Surely, with a record-equalling 14 nominations, this will waltz off with the top award. It's classic yet contemporary. It feels unlike any other modern film, yet feels so right. And it's about the agony and ecstasy of "making it" in Hollywood. What could be more Oscar-friendly?

The challenger: Moonlight

A beautifully-crafted film and a beautifully-told story, Moonlight gives screen time to the type of central character that Hollywood doesn't normally dwell on, or does so only as a stereotype - a poor, young, gay, black, marginalised man.

The outsider: Hidden Figures

This real-life story of three black, female mathematicians in a white, male world at Nasa in the 1960s has exceeded expectations at the US box office, and is the highest-grossing of the nine best picture nominees.

Best actress

The frontrunner: Emma Stone (La La Land)

If La La Land is to sweep the board, then it will sweep Emma Stone along with it. She's also at the age, and the stage of her career, at which the Academy likes to admit female stars to its A list.

The challenger: Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

The French actress won a Golden Globe for her role in rape revenge thriller Elle, and there's a strong contingent that thinks the Oscars should give her the credit she deserves for her 40-year career.

The outsider: Natalie Portman (Jackie)

At one stage, Portman and Stone were neck-and-neck. The Academy loves stars who transform themselves into real-life legends, as Portman has with former US first lady Jackie Kennedy. But Jackie has underperformed at the box office and elsewhere in the Oscar nominations.

Best actor

The frontrunner: Denzel Washington (Fences)

Denzel is probably the marginal favourite in this race. If he wins, he will become only the fourth man to have won three acting Oscars, and will be the oldest best actor winner for 25 years.

Or maybe the frontrunner is: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

It's a close call, and Casey is still in very much contention for his depiction of pent-up grief. But he has slipped back, partly because he's hardly charmed the campaign circuit, and partly because of a shadow cast by sexual harassment claims dating back to 2010.

The outsider: Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

If Ryan Gosling wins best actor, then La La Land really will be sweeping everything before it.

Best supporting actress

The frontrunner: Viola Davis (Fences)

Playing the same role that earned her a Tony Award on Broadway, Viola is, according to the bookies and the pundits, the surest thing in this year's Oscars.

The challengers: Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Nicole Kidman (Lion), Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) and Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea) all gave fine performances. But they needn't bother rehearsing an acceptance speech.

Best supporting actor

The frontrunner: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Ali was the standout performer in Moonlight's ensemble. And with a role in Hidden Figures also among his credits, he is another actor the Academy is ready to anoint as a major star.

The challenger: Dev Patel (Lion)

There's a lot of love and a late surge of support for Patel, who has come of age as an actor eight years after his breakthrough film Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars.

The outsider: Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

He may be supporting, but Bridges steals the show as a wizened, maverick Texas Ranger.

Best director

The frontrunner: Damian Chazelle (La La Land)

La La Land is so beloved by the Academy that they're likely to reward Chazelle's vision and audacity - and the fact he's made a film like this at the age of 32. He would be the youngest best director winner in Oscars history.

The challenger: Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

But Moonlight also shows rare directorial acumen and marks the arrival of another major film-making talent in Jenkins, who would be the first African-American winner of this award.

The outsider: Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)

It would be a big statement to give the award to the Australian after his exile from Hollywood following notorious anti-Semitic, racist and misogynist outbursts. But then again, the Oscars did give this award to Roman Polanski in 2003, despite his own Hollywood exile after admitting unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

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Police: Car plows into parade crowd in New Orleans; 28 hurt

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A suspect is in custody after 28 people were injured Saturday when a vehicle plowed into a crowd watching the Krewe of Endymion parade in the Mid-City section of New Orleans, police said.

Police Chief Michael Harrison said the suspect is being investigated for driving while intoxicated. Harrison was asked twice by the media if terrorism was suspected. While he didn’t say “No” he did say it looks like a case of DWI.

“We suspect that that subject was highly intoxicated,” he said.

Twenty-one people were hospitalized after the crash with five victims in guarded condition. Seven others declined to be hospitalized, city Emergency Services Director, Dr. Jeff Elder said.
The victims range in age from as young as 3 or 4-years-old to adults in their 30s and 40s, said Elder.

Among the injured was one New Orleans police officer. Harrison said the officer, who was on duty, was undergoing tests to determine the extent of her injuries. She was in “good spirits,” he said.

The accident came during one of the busiest nights of Mardi Gras when thousands of people throng the streets of Mid-City to watch the elaborate floats and clamor to catch beads and trinkets tossed from riders. As police and city officials were assessing the accident scene, people were streaming home as plastic bags that used to hold trinkets and discarded beads littered the ground. The area where the accident occurred was cordoned off with police barricades.

One woman at the scene told The New Orleans Advocate (http://bit.ly/2miOHGP) that a silver truck whisked by her just feet away as she was walking through the intersection.

Carrie Kinsella said, “I felt a rush it was so fast.”

Twenty-year-old Kourtney McKinnis told the Advocate that the driver of the truck seemed almost unaware of what he had just done.

“He was just kind of out of it,” she said.

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Who is the 'bravest woman in America' Ida Lewis?

Before women could even vote, Ida Lewis saved 18 people from drowning in the waters off Newport, R.I., became nationally famous and earned the moniker "bravest woman in America."

 

Not bad for a woman doing a man's job during a time most women weren't in the professional workforce.

On Lewis' 175th birthday Saturday, Google honored the late official keeper of the Lime Rock Light Station, located on an island off Newport, with an animated slideshow of her daring rescues. The U.S. Coast Guard also took notice.

The Coast Guard regards Lewis as one of its most famous members, although she served in the agency's predecessor named the U.S. Lighthouse Service. She took over as keeper of the Lime Rock Light Station after her father, who had been the keeper, died in 1872, according to the Ida Lewis Yacht Club. The yacht club now uses the lighthouse as its clubhouse on the same island, which was renamed after Lewis.

Lewis is famous for her many rescues, which put her on the cover of Harper's Weekly in 1869 and in other newspapers and magazines. One of her more famous rescues, the Coast Guard notes, came in 1881, when she rescued two soldiers who fell through the ice. She earned the Gold Lifesaving Medal for the act.

The yacht club claims her notoriety got the attention of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and Vice President Schuyler Colfax, who visited her in 1869.

Lewis worked as keeper up until the day she died in 1911 at the age of 69. The Coast Guard said she suffered a stroke while on duty.

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Ex-Labor Secretary Tom Perez elected DNC chairman

Former US Labor Secretary Tom Perez edged Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison by 35 votes Saturday to become the head of the Democratic National Committee.

He promptly called President Trump “the worst president in the history of the United States.”

After a months-long battle many Dems compared to a presidential primary, Perez outlasted Ellison in the second round of voting in Atlanta, securing 235 votes to Ellison’s 200. Perez had fallen one vote shy of the victory threshold in the first round of voting. 

The results were another blow to Mayor de Blasio, who was in Atlanta to back Ellison.

Perez announced he would make Ellison “deputy chairman” of the DNC and embraced him from the podium after the vote.

Ellison wiped away tears, thanked his supporters, and said, “We don’t have the luxury of going out of this room divided.”

When Perez took the stage, he slammed President Trump and called for Democrats to remain engaged.

“They’re going to ask the question . . . where were you in 2017 when we had the worst president in the history of the US?” he said.

“We need every house call, we need to listen to people, we need to get back to basics, and we need to move forward,” he added. 

The former Cabinet member earned the endorsements of several Obama administration alums, including former Vice President Joe Biden and former Attorney General Eric Holder. 

Ellison’s most high-profile backer was Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but he also picked up support from Sen. Charles Schumer and Mayor de Blasio.

Democrats compared the race to a proxy war that refought the bruising 2016 primary between the left-wing Sanders and the party establishment led by Hillary Clinton.

Ellison enjoyed the support of the party’s upstart liberals, who saw his candidacy as a way to snatch a victory from November’s presidential defeat. Perez, who was on Clinton’s short list for vice president, was backed most strongly by Democratic stalwarts in the Obama and Clinton camps.

But Ellison, who is a Muslim, was damaged by criticism from pro-Israel organizations and slams from major Democratic donors who blasted his past associations with the Nation of Islam.

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Who Is Tom Perez ??

Tom Perez was elected Saturday as chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after a competitive race against Rep. Keith Ellison, becoming the first Latino to lead the party.

Perez, 55, left the Obama administration last month after serving as labor secretary since July 2013. In that job, he helped push for new overtime rules to ensure workers get overtime pay, extended overtime protections for home care workers and extended minimum wage protections.
He also helped establish worker safety rules, and under his leadership the department provided paid sick leave and ensured employment protections for federal contractor employees, according to his biography on the department’s website.

He was elected Saturday in Atlanta, receiving 235 votes and surpassing the 218-vote threshold to win. Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat and the first Muslim elected to Congress, received 200 votes. Perez appointed Ellison as deputy chairman immediately after the results were announced.

“We are united as a party,” Perez said after his election, with Ellison standing by his side. “We have so much work ahead of us because across America, people are fearful. People are fearful for our future. Democrats united are the hope for our future.”

Perez is a native of Buffalo, New York, and received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, a law degree from Harvard Law School and a master’s of public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

His parents were immigrants from the Dominican Republic. His dad died when Perez was only 12 years old, according to his biography on his campaign website, and he later put himself through college by working on the back of a garbage truck.

He started his career as a civil rights attorney at the Department of Justice and later served as special counselor to Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts. Under Attorney General Janet Reno, Perez served as deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights, and toward the end of the Clinton administration, he was the head of the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Before President Obama nominated Perez to his Cabinet, succeeding Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, he returned to the Justice Department in 2009 to serve as assistant attorney general for civil rights.

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Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield arrested in Arkansas

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield was arrested in Fayetteville, Ark., on four misdemeanor charges in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Mayfield, a 2016 Heisman finalist who announced in December that he would return for his senior season, was arrested on a charge of public intoxication, disorderly conduct, fleeing and resisting arrest.

He was arrested at 2:56 a.m. Saturday and was released from the Washington County Detention Center at 11:23 a.m. when he posted bond.

According to Mayfield's arrest report, a man flagged down the officer at 2:29 a.m. to take an assault and battery report. The man was yelling at Mayfield, who told the officer that he was trying to break up an altercation that occurred before the officer got there. The officer told Mayfield to wait so he could take his statement after he talked with the man who flagged him down.

While he was waiting, according to the report, Mayfield yelled curse words and was "causing a scene." The officer noted in his report that Mayfield had trouble walking down stairs, his speech was slurred, there was food on the front of his shirt, and he smelled like alcohol. When the officer asked Mayfield to come to him, Mayfield began walking away, the officer wrote in his report.

The officer said he repeatedly told Mayfield to stop, and at that point, Mayfield began sprinting away. In the report, the officer wrote that he chased after him and tackled him to the ground. The officer said he gave orders to Mayfield to put his arms behind his back, but Mayfield kept his arms locked in a tight position and would not comply with the officer's orders. Eventually, the officer got Mayfield's arms behind his back and handcuffed him.

"We are aware of the matter and are learning the details. We don't have any other information at this time," an OU team spokesman said.

The senior quarterback is the second OU player to be arrested this offseason following cornerback Parrish Cobb's January arrest as a result of his involvement in three first-degree felony armed robberies around his hometown of Waco, Texas.

Cobb has been suspended from the team and the university since the arrest.

In June 2016, OU cornerback Jordan Thomas was arrested on similar charges after a fight broke out in Campus Corner. Thomas was arrested for public intoxication, interference and assault and battery. Thomas was never charged in the incident, and the inference and assault and battery charges were dropped in August. He was given a deferred sentence for the public intoxication. Thomas did not miss any playing time in the 2016 season as a result of the arrest.

Mayfield is due in court on April 7, according to the Washington County website.

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Remy Ma Releases Diss Track, Ignites Feud With Nicki Minaj

Love & Hip Hop star Remy Ma is taking a break in between filming the hit VH1 reality TV series to focus on her music career, and she’s already setting her sights on her next target. She posted a diss track against fellow hip-hop star Nicki Minaj — and the “Anaconda” singer clapped back!

Remy took to Instagram on Saturday afternoon to post a photo of the cover art for her new song “Shether,” featuring a barbie doll that looked like Nicki Minaj — pink wig and all — with its legs and arms torn off. For the nearly seven-minute-long song, Remy went in on Nicki, taking shot after shot — from accusing Nicki of getting butt shots to making fun of her failed relationship with Philadelphia-based rapper Meek Mill.

Nicki seemingly started the feud with her verse on Gucci Mane’s new song, “Make Love,” which was released yesterday — is what prompted Remy’s response.

But instead of responding to Remy’s new track with another track, Nicki posted a screenshot of an article that stated that “Plata or Plomo” — the follow-up track for Remy’s 2016 hit song “All the Way Up” featuring Fat Joe — only debuted at no. 44 on the charts, which was a disappointment.

“Yikes,” Nicki wrote in the caption, adding a face palm emoji.

Remy opened up about her feud with the "Bang Bang" rapper earlier this month during an interview with NYC-based hip-hop radio station Hot 97. She explained that — at the time — they weren’t feuding because Nicki had not done anything to her so she wouldn’t go after her for no reason. But then she foreshadowed her reaction to Nicki’s “Make Love” verse.

“This is known — check my history — any person I ever had a problem with or felt any type of way about, I would have no problem saying your name,” Remy said. “I don’t want you sitting there wondering if I’m talking about you. I’m going to say your name, your government name, I’m going to talk about your kids, your dog, your grandmother — this is what I’m gonna do. It’s not gonna be a sub, it’s gonna be a direct head shot.”

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