#//DO YOU KNOW WHAT A STRUGGLE IT WAS TO FIND RONALDO'S PICTURES?

[anxechoxinxhell]

razegut replied to your post: just carious

sketchy…

//MMHM, MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!

[love-takes-work]

Steven Universe Comic #31 (2019) - Outline & Review

The thirty-first installment of the ongoing comic series for Steven Universe is about encouraging Peedee to develop confidence and have fun during a dance contest.

Plot:

Steven and Connie are immediately excited when they see a flier advertising a dance off . . . and they could win free pizza for a year! They've got to enter!

In their enthusiasm, Steven and Connie spread the word about the dance contest to Peedee while he's getting them their fry bits. Steven's seen Peedee dance before and thinks he's got some awesome moves. He encourages Peedee to show up for the dance contest even though Peedee himself seems less than confident in his skills.

Peedee's a little worried that people will laugh at him, but Connie assures him that they will deal with anyone who laughs at him with extreme prejudice. However, Steven and Connie have their own problems; when they count their money, they don't have enough to cover the entry fee, and Steven's wealthy dad is out of town as manager of Sadie's band while they're on the road. They decide to combine their cash AND their bodies and enter as Stevonnie. Decision made, they practice dancing.

Peedee sees Stevonnie dancing and compliments them. He seems distressed, though, and admits to Stevonnie that he worries about his dancing because he's "in his own head" about it, in stark contrast to the carefree way Stevonnie dances. He feels inadequate competing against them, and in a burst of motivation, he asks if they'd mind giving him dance lessons. Stevonnie, flattered, consents.

Peedee still struggles with confidence, while Stevonnie is an unending fountain of positivity about how good he'll do at the dance off. He's still unsure when the dance off begins, and when Stevonnie sees him, they ask him to come out and dance. He's hesitant, and Stevonnie respects if he does not want to dance, but they encourage him and play up what fun it will be. Peedee finds that to be true when he accepts.

Soon they're all having a great time, but Stevonnie becomes conflicted when they realize the judges are focusing on and encouraging them. They want to win, but they want Peedee to win! How can they do both? Luckily, Mr. Smiley appears and provides an out: He wants Stevonnie to emcee instead of participate, because Nanefua lost her voice and their substitute DJ--Onion!--refuses to speak. With some relief at not having to compete against Peedee, they accept the last-minute emcee gig.

Stevonnie amps up the crowd and calls out compliments for all the dancers on the floor. But eventually, a dance off emerges. And who might it be? Jamie vs. Peedee!

The dancing heats up and both dancers are having a blast. The judges select a winner and give the envelope to Stevonnie to read, but a seagull snatches it and they have to pass the announcement back to the judges. Garnet gets up and handles it. They've selected Jamie as the dance contest winner and the recipient of all that pizza.

Stevonnie is concerned that Peedee will be so disappointed, and runs out to console him. But this turns out to be unnecessary . . . because Peedee, despite even his own expectations, really enjoyed the dance contest. He had an excellent time!

Mayor Nanefua comes to comment on the close call (though she can still hardly speak; lost voice you know). Peedee and Stevonnie feel very good about the outcome! And what's more, Nanefua awards Stevonnie a lesser prize of 1 month's free pizza for helping out with the emceeing. Stevonnie offers to split a pizza with Peedee and the comic ends.

Notable:

1. In the very beginning, in the place where Steven discovers the dance off flier, there is also a flier for "Sadie and the Killers," which seems like a corruption of Sadie's actual band name, "Sadie Killer and the Suspects." In the previous comic, #30, Steven also calls the band "Sadie and the Killers" in dialogue, though he also referred to them correctly earlier in that comic. Seems to be a weird misconception somewhere that keeps getting repeated. (Later in this one, Mr. Smiley mentions "Sadie Killer," but not the rest of the band name.)

2. In other news, I'm also very curious about the poor lost iguana being searched for by Ronaldo on another flier. I sure hope Brody's okay! But maybe it's good that the iguana escaped Ronaldo . . . one never knows.

3. When Steven is urging Peedee to enter the dance contest based on having seen him dance before and thinking he's talented, it reminds me a little of when Steven did the same thing to encourage Sadie to sing in Beach-A-Palooza in the TV episode "Sadie's Song."

4. Steven and Connie suddenly own piggy banks that they dramatically bring together to count their money for the entry fee. When it's only enough combined cash to make one entry fee, that inspires Stevonnie's entry instead of separate entries, and the author remembered that Steven's dad is way too rich to not be able to give Steven a $40 entry fee, so they had him conveniently out of town with no way to ask him for money. I do kinda wish they'd just decided to fuse for the contest because they wanted to, or so they wouldn’t have to compete against each other, or to choose to save money, instead of having a setup where they were pushed into that conclusion due to lack of funds with the First National Bank of Dad conveniently out of town. This is nitpicky, but in a comic where several developments occurred due to coincidences and forced circumstances, I would have preferred seeing some agency.

5. Stevonnie's Gem is drawn sort of inconsistently in this comic. It's supposed to be pentagonal but it shows up as hexagonal most of the time. It's strange because the same artist worked on this comic who worked on the previous one and Stevonnie was in that comic too with the correct facet configuration.

6. Peedee has a weird little mini-Frybo that he's carrying around in this comic. He hides his face behind it once while he's embarrassed. What a throwback.

7. Stevonnie encourages Peridot to "get out of the Temple more" at one point. I wonder if that means she's supposed to be still living in Steven's bathroom in this part of the timeline. Comics exist in a weird limbo sometimes.

8. Stevonnie's encouragement for Peedee is all really cute and relatable. All the scenes where they're helping Peedee are so genuinely full of Steveny optimism.

9. Mr. Smiley appearing and begging Stevonnie to emcee is a strange scene because he claims he's been looking for Stevonnie "since the competition started," and yet right before that we see him at the judges' table looking at them and approving with the other judges, in no apparent panic to recruit them as an emcee. I'm just as puzzled that Mr. Smiley couldn't just do it himself instead of acting like he's desperate for Stevonnie's help, considering it was supposed to be Nanefua's job (forfeited due to her lost voice) and she's also a judge so it can't be because he needed to be free for judging. It would've been a nice little gesture if someone on the panel (surely Garnet!) noticed Stevonnie's conflict and suggested this solution, but there was no indication that the problem was fabricated.

10. They call Barb "Mrs. Miller" in this comic--it's unclear in the show whether Barb has a partner, but nothing has indicated that Sadie has another parent in the picture or that her mom is married to anyone. I am not sure if she's actually a Mrs., but so far in canon we just have absence of evidence.

11. Garnet congratulating Jamie and referring to the prize as "more pizza than is usually recommended" and "enjoy your many, many, many pizzas" was hilarious and great writing for Garnet.

12. I love that Peedee enjoyed himself even though he didn't win the dance-off, but I felt a little disappointed that the story elected to take Stevonnie out of the conflict inherent in competing against a friend you're rooting for by throwing an equally appealing escape right in their path in the form of them being NEEDED for another role. It's nice that there was still a conflict that Peedee had to face and work through, but at the same time I kinda would have liked to see Stevonnie resolve the issue without a ready-made exit. And I feel similarly about a seagull snatching the winner-reveal envelope out of their hand so they didn't even have to personally announce that Peedee didn't win. I liked that Stevonnie got to have some free pizza too, though, since Steven and Connie seemed to really want that pizza but didn't care as much about how others felt about their dancing.

13. Man, Peedee enters the contest just wearing his usual tank top that he wears at work. Doesn't that boy have any other clothes?

14. I thought the way the dancing was drawn in this comic had some excellent energy! It really conveyed motion very well and each frame looked like it captured bodies on their way to another position, not just awkwardly posing. I love when art can do that.

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

[moonvalecrossing]

Now here's something I haven't asked you in a long time: a "Fav and Least Fav" ask related to Pokémon. Favorite and least favorite Gym Leaders of each type they specialize in? Kahunas and Trial Captains will count, but if one ends up as your fav/least fav, I'd suggest separating them and the actual Gym Leader that's your fav/least fav of their type. Also, Bede and Marnie's statuses as Gym Leaders will count too, mostly just so Piers can have some competition with his sis. :P

Alrighty. Time to sit down and tackle this!

Normal Type- Least Favorite: Whitney. WHITNEY. That damn Milktank. I’m sure she’s killed many a Nuzlocke team. And yet still has the gall to cry like a baby when she loses. She also comes across as one of those vapid dumb and pretty trend girls. “Everyone was into pokemon so I got into it too!” I really think skill is the only thing they care about when they hand out the title of Gym Leader sometime because this chick really doesn’t seem to be the type who’d normally get this type of authority.

Normal Type- Most Favorite: Cheren. He is adorable baby husband. Though mostly it’s really cool to see another rival become a gym leader like Green did. I just wish they’d kept his glasses instead of for some reason swapping them to Bianca for some reason.

Fighting Type- Least Favorite: Korrina. Her character art bugs me. Is she seriously supposed to be wearing skates and also doing fighting moves? I can’t even stand on four wheel skates without nearly breaking every bone below my waist. And you’re telling me this girl runs around doing axe kicks on roller blades??? No thank you. Also she hoists a Lucario onto you. I like raising my pokemon from their earliest point and you go and make me have to take one because I’d feel bad if I didn’t since it wants to come with me now.

Fighting Type- Most Favorite: Brawly. Mostly because he’s hot. Slightly because his gym is actually a gym with workout equipment in the remake and I find that amazing and hilarious.

Flying Type- Least Favorite: Skyla. Partially because of her anime counterpart. Mostly because I hate her design. Why are her wrists so thick on those gloves? Why is she wearing boots, a cropped jacket, those weird gloves, and what look closer to boxer style panties than shorts underneath a bunch of bondage-y belts? She looks like a generic anime waifu more than a pokemon character. Like a Mega Man OC. Of one of those weird dating games where the women are just objects in female coded human form Skyla’s a humanized seatbelt.

Flying Type- Most Favorite: Falkner. Because Kahili isn’t a gym leader. Congrats, Falkner. You cute little bugger. Also he’s the only notable male flying type trainer.

Poison Type- Least Favorite: Prepare the flame shields. I don’t like Roxie. Small children as Gym Leaders bug the hell out of me. I see Gym Leaders as characters with high authority in the pokemon world. I hate the idea of kids who look like they’re only a few years out from learning the alphabet and basic mathematics having any kind of power in a region. The only exception I have is Galar because the gym leaders feel less important since they’re merely sports celebrities. ...Also I hate Roxie’s Pebbles Flintstone hair. It makes her look even more like a baby to me.

Poison Type- Most Favorite: Koga. Despite the fact I still think that he and Sabrina had their gyms switched, he’s still my favorite. He even became a member of the Elite 4 and left the gym to his daughter. I find that sweet.

Ground Type- Least Favorite: (Actually Hapu, because of reasons stated above for Roxie, except even more because this kid is a freaking KAHUNA. Why is this little mud farm girl chosen to be the KAHUNA of a whole dang island and one of the most important people in Alola? Surely the Tapus could find someone better, but then again the gods must be crazy.) Clay. Because he looks like a Texan Business Tycoon. And I’m a left-leaning American. That should probably explain things well enough. Because boy howdy do I not wanna open that can of worms. Maybe if I ever get to the point of fighting him in Black Version my opinion will change. But like I said. My real answer is Hapu. Clay just has the misfortune of being next at the bottom of the line.

Ground Type- Most Favorite: Giovanni. Because he is my mafia husbando and I am a garbage human. Have you seen a picture of the man in the “How I became a Pokemon Card” manga? Hot damn. And his newer pokemon cards? HOT DAMN.

Rock Type- Least Favorite: Gordie. This Ronaldo Fryman looking fucknugget with accessory tips from Bling Bling Boy on Johnny Test. He looks like one of those smug basement dweller types who’d call me a FEEEEEMALE if I turned him down for a date. Also his official art does the same thing I hate about Diantha’s. His knee faces more inner-forward but his foot’s pointing outward. Unless that picture’s drawn with him in mid dance spin, dude’s ankle is broken. At least he looks kind of cute when he doesn’t have his hair styled back in that douchey style. I feel like he’d yell about feemales again if I told him I thought his mom was hot. Also he’s not wearing socks with dress shoes and that should be a criminal offense.

Rock Type- Most Favorite: Roxanne is super cute. Even if she’s skirting the line of young people in positions of power she actually looks like a mature person who was ahead of her age level in school. However I will object to the idea of her being a teacher in any shape or form like in the anime. This person hasn’t even struggled through the mental ravages of puberty aint no way she should be allowed to be a teacher.

Bug Type- Least Favorite: Burgh, if only because people use him as a stereotype a lot and I hate that. Toxic masculinity is bs. MEN CAN BE FABULOUS WITHOUT BEING GAY. That said, his pants and shoes are a color crime.

Bug Type- Most Favorite: Guzma is the equivalent of a Bug Type trial captain and you will never convince me otherwise. I- what- you’re really gonna fight me on this? Fine. Bugsy. Bugsy is my precious bug-catching child. Precious baby.

Ghost Type- Least Favorite: Acerola. I’ve already stated why I hate kids in power like this. Plus I just. do not like. characters with the bubbly personality and the cat mouth. I instantly know I’m going to dislike a character the moment I see that damn catmouth. I’m not coming up with a non-trial alternative for this one. I am either neutral to or love the other ghost trainers.

Ghost Type- Most Favorite: Morty. Because 1. He’s hot. 2. He’s got a sweet scarf. 3. Agatha’s not a gym leader. :P Morty has a very nice design. After the remakes came out anyways.

Steel Type- Least Favorite: There’s only like two of these. I don’t hate Jasmine at all but she’s the only other actual gym leader of the Steel Type. So we’re gonna use Molayne anyways. Mostly because his stick-ass gangly legs give me the creeps.

Steel Type- Most Favorite: I’ve never met him but Byron looks like a miner hobo and I dig that. Plus he made Roark and Roark’s hot. (Then why isn’t Roark my favorite rock gym leader? Because not all my favorites can be because of my asexual thirst.)

Fire Type- Least Favorite: Blaine always makes me think of my grandfather and I am not that fond of my grandfather. Even though Blaine seems much much nicer and friendlier a grandpa than my actual grandfather.

Fire Type- Most Favorite: Flannery’s design is adorable and I love it. Doesn’t hurt that it’s also the kind of outfit my more pro-fire trainer would wear.

Water Type- Least Favorite: Marlon. Don’t get me wrong. Marlon’s hot. But he gets to be least favorite for lying about being a tan boy. Seriously look at that tan line around his swim suit that pastey white skin does not do his design favors.

Water Type- Most Favorite: Wallace. This one is pure thirst. Pure. Thirst. Wallace is a babe. I love everything about this fabulous bastard. Especially his hat and scarf in the remake. Especially the remake. Babe.

Grass Type- Least Favorite: Milo. I’m starting to feel like the people who design and did the art for some of these newer characters don’t know how bulkier people’s legs work. Because Milo and Gordie’s legs just look really, really wrong. These characters do not have ankles their calves just end at flat feet. Also milo’s leg is doin that broken ankle thing too. Other images don’t make them look as bad, though. Other than that I hate characters who have no whites to their eyes. It’s freaking creepy and Milo’s baby face doesn’t help. And I can not figure out the design of this guy’s eyebrows either. I know he has them but they don’t look like the anything but exist to blend with his bangs.

Grass Type- Most Favorite: Erika. I like her design a lot. I guess some of the weeb in me still exists deep in there.

Electric Type- Least Favorite: Sophocles. I just don’t like his design. At all. Only other arguments I could give are the kid with with Clemont again. That and his jumpsuit.

Electric Type- Most Favorite: Lt. Surge, Volkner, and Elesa are are great. But Elesa wins because Lt. Surge is a paranoid soldier who makes getting to him a chore and Volkner looks like he takes the same brooding pills they fed to Cloud after Final Fantasy Advent Children turned into into the broodlord. Also ‘urgh need actually challenging opponents’ characters bug me, regardless of how attractive they are.

Psychic Type- Least Favorite: Tate and Liza. But this time the main reason ISN’T because they’re babies. No, no. That’s a big reason, but even being psychics can’t save them. They have a BIG problem. The main reason for these two is that their gym team is garbage. Emerald and Black2/White2 not counting in this because of the remake being their current gym team in my eyes its just a damn solrock and lunatone! I love me Lunatone, don’t get me wrong. But damn, kids. How are you actually gym leaders with a team of pokemon that is barely suitable for the gym trainer in the first gym of the region? The only starter that can’t hit you with a super effective move is the fire starter. Being a double battle only means that I can get rid of your pokemon faster because I get to use TWO pokemon moves on my turn.

Psychic Type- Most Favorite: Olympia. Her design is absolutely beautiful. I want her dress. I want her cape. She is the black and silver space queen and she WILL BE RESPECTED IN THIS HOUSE. Even if whoever did her art doesn’t seem to realize dresses don’t slip into the navel or hug into the crotch hole. Surprised whoever drew it didn’t also add the camel-toe since they think fabric works that way. If I were her I’d strangle someone with one of those magical floaty ring bracelets. Space mom aint having non of your objectification shit.

Ice Type- Least Favorite: Candice. You live in a winter town. Your gym is an ice slide hell. Put on some goddamn pants and a coat. I’m not gonna give you any sympathy when you end up with the worst cold ever.

Ice Type- Most Favorite: Melony. She is adorable and has actual weight to her. And she loves her kids. And holy shit look at her she’s actually dressed for cold weather and ice unlike nearly every other goddamn Ice Gym Leader besides Pryce.

Dragon Type- Least Favorite: Claire is an arrogant b-witch who cant accept defeat and is worst that whitney because at least Whitney gave you your earned badge when she stopped crying like a baby. Claire refused until you did some ‘trial’ and still didn’t think she’d have to give you the badge until granddad dragon master told her to stop being a child. Also she gets more least favorite points because she’s what has prevented me from talking about how much I hate Iris here. That’s right, Claire. I dislike you so much you get MORE hate points because you prevent me from hating another character more than you.

Dragon Type- Most Favorite: Raihan is a babe and the most challenging Gym Leader I’ve ever faced. Bonus points because technically I wouldn’t call him a type-based gym leader but a strategy based leader because he focuses on weather more than dragons. Plus his “Leader Challenges You!” post makes him look a little wild.

Dark Type- Least Favorite: Marnie. Because I wanted to see her brother again so I invited him to the Championship thing and Marnie freaking cockblocked me by beating her brother in the first round. LET ME SEE YOUR BROTHER, MARNIE.

Dark Type- Most Favorite: Piers is my husband and Marnie’s just gonna have to deal with it. :P He’s super cute and his worrying over Marnie in the post game was the cutest damn thing. Plus young Piers in his rare league card is so precious and gives me life. It’s gonna take a lot of work for any other dark type trainer to top Piers.

Fairy Type- Least Favorite: Mina. I hate Mina. Lazy/Unfocused/High artist characters piss me off. Alo Mina should have been a normal type trial captain because of smeargle and the fact that Ilima has pink hair and the same huge buggy-like water eyes Valerie has. Mina even dips her damn hair in paint like Smeargle does with its tail. Mina couldn’t be assed to have an actual trial the first time around. Second time around she just made you go collect something from people you already beat.

Fairy Type- Most Favorite: Bede. If you can’t look this beautiful sparkly eye angel of a child in the eyes and find him amazing once he becomes Opal’s apprentice, you have no soul and should probably get that looked at.

[thesportssoundoff]

“The UFC Heads To Charlotte! Please Read? A little?” UFC on Fox: Jacare vs Brunson 2 Preview

Joey

Jan 23rd, 2018

The UFC returns to Fox with.....

I mean.....

Okay so this card isn't all that great. The UFC went all out to end the year and made November and December some big months. This Fox card is sort of a victim of that as well as the usual fact that Jan tends to be a thin month PLUS fighters tend to get hurt when it's cold and they tend to not wanna do a training camp around the holidays and etc etc etc. This show is a rather thin show but hey! I'll convince ya to care it because there are some fights worth keeping an eye on. Y'all ready?

Fights: 11

Debuts: 2 (Cory Sandhagen and Austin Arnett)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 1 ( Ilir Latifi vs OSP Cancelled)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC):  4 (Ronaldo Souza, Derek Brunson, Dennis Bermudez, Randa Markos)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:  2 (Bobby Green*, Dennis Bermudez)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC:  4 (Gregor Gillespie, Derek Brunson, Joaquim Silva, Vinc Pichel)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC): 18-10 Jacare Souza- 2-1 Derek Brunson- 4-2 Dennis Bermudez- 2-2 Andre Fili- 2-2 Gregor Gillespie- 3-0 Jordan Rinaldi- 1-1 Drew Dober- 3-1 Frank Camacho- 1-1

Too High Up- Drew Dober vs Frank Camacho

Okay so I feel bad about this because Dober/Camacho might be a fantastic fight. At 170 lbs, Camacho/Dober is one of those needed "THROW HANDS AND DO COOL SHIT!" type fights that you put on a card to guarantee an exciting fight where one dude is down to get finished. The problem is that both guys are sort of just there to be action fighters. Nothing is going to change for the winner or the loser, they'll always exist as mauler brawler types who have fun fights. This is a pretty good fight for action purposes but I just don't see main card on Fox. Sorry fellas.

Too Low- Kaitlyn Chookagian vs Mara Romero Borella

This to me would be a fine main card opener. No, it's not going to be a super action fight but Kaitlyn Chookagian vs Mara Romero Borella would be a solid fight with some divisional relevance. Give me this fight over two dudes swangin' on a main card filled already with dudes swangin'

Stat Monitor for 2018:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 0-3): Austin Arnett, Cory Sandhagen

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 1-1): 0

Second Fight (Current number: 1-3): Mara Romero Borella, Yi Jeon Kim

Cage Corrosion (2-4): George Sullivan

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- 185 lbs is sort of undergoing a bit of an under the radar renaissance of sorts. Robert Whittaker's emergence as a serious dude to know coincides with a heap of new talents being brought in at the weight class, namely guys like Eryk Anders, Oskar Piechota, Karl Roberson, Julian Marquez as well as the emergence of good fighters hitting their stride like Kelvin Gastelum, Anthony Smith, Gerald Meerschaert, Thiago Santos, Antonio Carlos Junior and Paulo Costa. Even with all of that being said, this is still a division that relies on about 6-10 guys to be headliners. Brunson and Jacare are two of those guys who will always be put into positions like this almost entirely due to what they bring to the table. They're known and in the UFC 185 lb class, they're almost always contenders to some various degree. The point I'm going for is that this could be the last chance for both of these guys because there's a heap of fighters under 30 who seem to be knocking on the door to the top of the division.

2- This is a weird sort of event where one of the guys is the hometown guy but you get the feeling that the other guy is the one they really want to build up. The UFC and Jacare reached an agreement on a new contract the day BEFORE he fought Robert Whittaker and so Jacare probably is earning more money now than he ever has before. He's a popular guy who has headlined in Brazil and could in theory be a continuous headliner in Brazil. He's reputable, fans like him and he's the sort of fighter who always seems to be one fight away from the title picture. It's easy to point out that he's lost to the guys in the interim title fight and got smoked by Whittaker but I wonder how much that matters at this point. It's in Brunson's backyard but I wonder if this is all about getting Jacare back into the title picture.

3- Brunson on paper is a pretty intriguing stylistic matchup for Jacare. It's grappler vs wrestler but Brunson hits hard enough to give Jacare reason to pause and avoid getting reckless. If it stays on the feet, I feel like Jacare is the guy with the more versatile offense compared to Brunson but the power is on Brunson's side. Jacare has been dropped and stunned in fights that extend beyond the first round recently and while he's still pretty quick for 185 lbs, I wonder if he's beginning to morph into one of those "Tough Dads" that makes middleweight such a wacky division.

4- Once upon a time not too long ago, Mirsad Bektic was expected to be in that mix at 145 lbs as a serious title contender. He had earned high praise as a prospect and did little in the UFC to disappoint from that regard even if you had concerns about how little he seemed to strike comfortably on the feet. Bektic's journey to the top was halted by Darren Elkins and if you're a prospect who loses at 135 to 155 lbs, you might as well fall off the face of the Earth. Since the loss to Elkins, Bektic has disappeared and might as well be redebuting at this point. There's so much to like about Mirsad Bektic that you're left to hope that he can recover from that loss even better. He got caught wrestling too much vs Elkins, gassed and then got finished when his wrestling abandoned him so it's not like it's a talent related issue I don't believe. Godofredo Pepey is the opponent and he's the right guy to test Bektic; active off of his back, more flash than substance on the feet, holes in the game that can be exploited and a real lack of wrestling savvy to not get taken down.

5- Speaking of "Once upon a time not too long ago", Dennis Bermudez once racked up a winning streak that featured Clay Guida, Max Holloway and Steven Siler. Since then? Well it hasn't quite been as pretty. Bermudez has always been hittable but he's always recovered well and been able to keep himself in the fight. Ricardo Lamas took advantage of Bermudez's slow starts and hittable nature, hurting him early and subbing him with a guillotine. Bermudez and Jeremy Stephens had a fucking amazing fight that ended with Bermudez being on the wrong end of the last knockdown, getting dropped and stopped by a Stephens flying knee on a sloppy takedown.  Since then Bermudez has been more and more skittish as a fighter. He's still aggressive when he needs to be but he wrestles more, strikes less and seems almost cautious to the point of self conservation. He had the Zombie hurt and never stepped back on the gas en route to a stoppage loss and he never seemed to get out of the starting blocks vs Darren Elkins. Dennis Bermudez and Andre Fili are similar like minded talents who have struggled finding any sort of footing in the UFC.

6- Some might call Andre Fili inconsistent but let's be real; Fili has gone W-L-W-L-W-L-W-L-W in the UFC. Seems consistent to me, am I right?

7- Juliana Lima is not a fun fighter to watch compete by any stretch of the imagination BUT her vs Randa Markos is a really intriguing fight. This is a battle of two fighters who could exist on the back end of the 115 lb division and both have lost to the elite of the elites (Tecia Torres, Alexa Grasso, Carla Esparza and Joanna Champion to name a few).

8- Gregor Gillespie is a really intriguing 155 lber who is a bit too old to be a prospect (31) but not proven against top competition to feel like we know what he is in total. Unfortunately he's really not getting a fair step up with Jordan Rinaldi who is kind of a bottom layer of the division. Showcase fight for a big market.

9- Vinc Pichel vs Joaquim Silva is a REALLY good fight that is way too buried on this card. It's opening up the FS1 prelims but it's easily better than a collection of fights swimming around on the card above it. Pichel came back from a lengthy absence to flatten Damien Brown and his hands and wrestling skills make him a pretty intriguing 155er. Joaquim SIlva is a little basic for my tastes but he may be one of the best Brazilian "prospects" around. He's another guy we've seen tested before and he's passed those tests.

10- Bobby Green vs Erik Koch is such a battle between two guys who lose in spite of themselves consistently. I am ALL about this fight.

11- The featherweight division has won FOTN the past two shows to kick off 2018 so let's see if they can keep this going on with three straight shows. Bermudez vs Fili has an awesome shot to do it.

12- Any idea why fans have completely hopped off the Niko Price train? Seems totally weird given how good he was prior to his loss.

Must Wins

1- Derek Brunson

It's in his hometown against the highest ranked opponent he's ever faced. For MOST MMA fans, Brunson will always be the guy who loses to the best guys he faces. Machida could've been a guy you could rely on to turn that reputation around but alas alack. Brunson has improved a bunch since their first fight but has he improved enough to leapfrog Jacare?

2- Dennis Bermudez

Two fight skid, co-main event on Fox, opponent who stylistically matches up well with him. Bermudez needs this one.

3- Niko Price

Price finished Alan Jouban, Brandon Thatch and Alex Morono* to the point where it looked like the ATT product would crack the top 10 or so. Price took a step back vs Vicente Luque on short notice and then EVERYBODY forgot who he is. He's under 30 at 170 lbs with fight finishing instincts, length and pacing. The loss to Vicente Luque feels more like a roadblock and not an indictment of what he is.

Five Can't Miss Fights

1- Dennis Bermudez vs Andre Fili

2- Derek Brunson vs Jacare Souza

3- Gregor Gillespie vs Jordan Rinaldi

4- Bobby Green vs Erik Koch

5- Mirsad Bektic vs Godofredo Pepey

[gadgetsrevv]

Toe Poke Daily: Messi accepts Ronaldo’s dinner invitation

Cristiano Ronaldo notched his 10th 4-goal game for both club and country in Portugal’s 5-1 win over Lithuania.

The Serie Awesome podcast crew provide their grades on Juve’s summer dealings, where questions arise over keeping “dead weight” players.

As Barcelona’s stuttering start continued with a 2-2 draw at Osasuna, Steve Nicol is still baffled they’re struggling even without Lionel Messi.

The Toe Poke Daily is here every day to bring you all the weirdest stories, quirkiest viral content and top trolling that the internet has to offer, all in one place.

Jump to: Barcelona’s new kit inspired by Ronaldo — no, not that one | Kevin-Prince Boateng admits to buying three cars in one day

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could be sharing a table for two soon.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has accepted an invitation to dinner from his great rival, Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

While the pair were sat next to each other in the front row at last month’s UEFA Champions League draw in Monaco, Ronaldo revealed that, despite sharing the stage at many gala events for over a decade, they had never broken bread together.

“We have a good relationship, we have not had a dinner together yet, but I hope in the future,” Ronaldo said, to much applause from the star-studded audience.

Well, it could happen. In a rare interview with Sport this week, Messi was pressed on his relationship with Ronaldo after his eternal rival extended an olive branch across the divide.

“We’re not friends because we have never shared the same dressing room, but we always meet up at the galas, we speak and there is absolutely no problem between us,” the Argentina captain said. “That last one [the UEFA Champions League draw gala] was the one where we spoke the most because we spent the most time together.

“I don’t know if we will eat together because both of us have busy lives and I’m not sure if we will be able to make them coincide, but I have no problem accepting his invite to dinner.”

Nice try, Leo, but you’re not wriggling out of this social commitment that easily.

– Marcotti Why do Messi and Ronaldo fans always fight?

It makes you wonder what would be on the menu when they finally make it to their table for two — La Pulga wheat? “Siiiiuu!!” bass? Jamaican curry GOAT?

Messi was also asked by Sport if he ever gets tired of being, well, Lionel Messi. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner refuses to grumble about any aspect of his life, even when he’s being routinely approached by fans while not exactly looking his best on the early morning school run.

“No, I don’t get tired. Thankfully, I experience many strange and impressive things and that is very nice,” came the reply. “It’s true that I would like to be unnoticed. Especially when I’m with my children at school or on the streets.

“At times I take them to school at 8:30 am and I’m asked [by fans] if they can have an autograph or take a picture with me and I’m looking very sleepy. But anyway, I cannot complain about anything.”

– ESPN fantasy soccer: Sign up now! – Luck Index: Could City have won title by more? – ESPN Ultimate XI: Our dream team would win it all!

Barcelona’s new kit inspired by Ronaldo — no, not that one

Barcelona have turned to one of their former greats as inspiration for their new third kit.

– All the new 2019-20 kits for Europe’s top clubs

While his time at the Camp Nou was brief, Ronaldo scored 47 goals in 49 appearances for Barca during the 1997-98 season to secure himself a place among the club’s myriad legends.

As a nod to O Fenomeno, the Catalans have brought back the iconic teal strip that became synonymous with the World Cup-winning Brazil forward.

– Can you guess XI on Kompany’s City debut? – ‘Disrespectful!’: Stars angry at FIFA 20 ratings – Maradona’s unveiling at new club got pretty wild

Kevin-Prince Boateng admits to buying three cars in one day

Kevin-Prince Boateng — you might see him in a Lambo.

Kevin-Prince Boateng has revealed he once bought three cars in one day during his largely ill-fated stint at Tottenham early in his career. The Ghana international endured two turbulent seasons at White Hart Lane which culminated in him being sold on to Portsmouth at a loss in 2009.

Looking back, Boateng admits that his behaviour was “idiotic” but that it was a result of him being a lonely young footballer with large amounts of disposable income and lots of free time to spend it as he pleased.

“I was an idiot. I didn’t treat football as a job,” the 32-year-old told La Repubblica. “I had talent, but I trained the bare minimum, an hour on the field. I was the last to arrive and the first to leave. I’d be out with friends.

“I had money, I lived like a king. I’d never been to the gym. That changes your later career. I bought three cars in one day when I was at Tottenham: a Lamborghini, a Hummer and a Cadillac.”

Boateng — who counts Barcelona, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund among his 11 clubs — offered a few choice words of warning for young players today who find themselves in danger of drifting off course.

The midfielder, now at Fiorentina, said: “To the youngsters, I tell them: ‘You cannot buy happiness.’ I didn’t play, I had family problems, I was out of the squad.

“I was looking for happiness in material things: a car makes you happy for a week. I bought three to be happy for three weeks.”

//due to VPPA compliance we can not send keywords through URLs implicitly in the US var countryValue = $.cookie("country"); if(!!countryValue && countryValue !== "us") {

(function() { var _fbq = window._fbq || (window._fbq = []); if (!_fbq.loaded) { var fbds = document.createElement('script'); fbds.async = true; fbds.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbds.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(fbds, s); _fbq.loaded = true; } _fbq.push(['addPixelId', '1587432981493230']); })(); window._fbq = window._fbq || []; window._fbq.push(['track', 'PixelInitialized', {}]);

$.ajax({ url: '//pixel.mathtag.com/event/js?mt_id=694557&mt_adid=137010&v1=&v2=&v3=&s1=&s2=&s3=', dataType: 'script', cache: true }); } (function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=116656161708917";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, "script", "facebook-jssdk")); Source link

via wordpress https://ift.tt/31d9yfs

[usnewsaggregator-blog]

Cristiano Ronaldo wants 7 Ballon d'Ors and 7 children

New Post has been published on http://usnewsaggregator.com/cristiano-ronaldo-wants-7-ballon-dors-and-7-children/

Cristiano Ronaldo wants 7 Ballon d'Ors and 7 children

Cristiano Ronaldo has set himself goals in his both his professional and personal life by declaring he wants to win seven Ballon d’Or awards to go with seven children. 

Ronaldo welcomed the arrival of his fourth child earlier this week, celebrating the birth of his baby daughter Alana Martina with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez. 

The 32-year-old looks set to claim his fifth Ballon d’Or award when the winner of the 2017 honour is announced later this month.

Cristiano Ronaldo is targeting seven Ballon d’Ors as he prepares to win his fifth next month

And while Ronaldo says it would be a ‘dream’ to secure his fifth gong, he insists his ambitions do not stop there. 

‘I want seven children and the same number of Ballon d’Ors,’ Ronaldo told L’Equipe via Goal. ‘That means I do not intend to stop there. 

‘As long as I play, I will win all I can win. My dream is the fifth Ballon d’Or, and next year there will be another one to go’. 

Though Ronaldo is the heavy favourite for this year’s Ballon d’Or based on his performances last season, he has endured a relatively slow start to this campaign.

Ronaldo poses at the Bernabeu with his four awards won in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016

The Real Madrid forward has struggled in front of goal with just one strike in seven La Liga matches so far as Madrid find themselves eight points off leaders Barcelona in the Spanish league table.

And Ronaldo says he accepts the criticism for his barren run but is keeping calm despite his sluggish start to the league season. 

‘I’m happy and I feel good, you have to stay calm and keep working, because you can obviously do better,’ Ronaldo said.

‘You look at me as a goal machine, like a guy who has to score all the time. If that’s not the case, everybody does not care if I know I have played well or not.

Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo has been celebrating the birth of his fourth child (pictured here, his two twins, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr and his girlfriend Georgina)

‘I am only judged on scoring, which is sometimes not always the most important thing.

‘I accept the criticism, but I do not agree. That’s why I avoid reading or hearing what is said about me. But, I have no choice but to accept it, I cannot control the world.’

Madrid’s defence of their Champions League title has also been mixed, with two wins, one draw and one defeat from their opening four matches leaving them in second place in the group. 

Ronaldo has struggled in front of goal in La Liga with one strike from seven games this season

Zinedine Zidane’s side drew against Tottenham at the Bernabeu before being dismantled by the north Londoners at Wembley, losing 3-1 with Ronaldo grabbing a late consolation for Madrid.

But Ronaldo says Los Blancos have nothing to fear after winning the Champions League in three of the last four seasons.

‘I’m not afraid of PSG, we’re the defending champions two years in a row, we have to respect that,’ Ronaldo said.

‘We would prefer to finish first in the group, but the important thing is first of all qualification.’

Original Article:

Click here

[torentialtribute]

Ronaldo doesn’t own Valladolid for the boardroom buffets! Real Madrid legend wants glory

Retired football players used to buy cafés, now they buy football clubs. There is the class of & # 39; 92 with Salford City, there is David Beckham with Inter Miami and last year there is Ronaldo with Valladolid.

The difference between Ronaldo and the rest is that Valladolid is not a young club trying to climb the ladder or a new franchise with enormous untapped potential. It is a 91-year-old bastion of the Spanish game. Never a competition winner, but twice a Copa del Rey finalist and with 43 seasons in the top flight.

The simple answer to why they now become owners is that they can. Players have never stopped with so much money. Ronaldo earned £ 160 million during his career, Forbes suggests. If you do not want to coach and do not want to represent players or a club, why are you not in the management box and you take charge of an entire football institution.

<img id = "i-a8a48737bd996604" src = "https://dailym.ai/2KGzeM2 image-m-11_1559832676861.jpg "height =" 644 "width =" 962 "alt =" <img id = "i-a8a48737bd996604" src = "https://dailym.ai/2WgE5KP /06/15/14458228-7106557-image-m-11_1559832676861.jpg "height =" 644 "width =" 962 "alt =" Brazilian superstar Ronaldo (center) took over the low La Liga club Valladolid in a surprising move last September Ronaldo (center) took over the low La Liga club Valladolid last September in a surprising movement "

Brazilian superstar Ronaldo (center) took over the low La Liga club Valladolid in a surprising movement last September

Instead of coaching or acting as a club ambassador, Ronaldo inv

Last season he took a seat in the Bernabeu alongside the man who once decided that Real Madrid would spend £ 40 million on him. Florentino Perez sanctioned Ronaldo's purchase from Inter Milan in 2002.

He won La Liga in 2003 and was still in the club in 2007 when the party also won the title. By that time, coach Fabio Capello had given him up or, if you think the Italian coach's version was given in 2017, Ronaldo would have given up.

Asked about the most difficult player he ever coached, Capello said: & I was coached and the most difficult. He showed wounded with a weight of 96 kilos. I asked him how much he weighed when he won the World Cup in 2002 and he said 84 pounds. I asked him to go to 87. He eventually won. He didn't want to drop his weight. He dropped to 94. He played three games in front with [Ruud] van Nistelrooy and we lost all three. It was a shame to see that the player with the most talent was not willing to make a sacrifice.

Ronaldo & # 39; s preference for good food now need not be restrained. The boardroom buffers up and down The League is his to ferm. But he does not take over Valladolid for a relaxed life.

Ironically last season, Valladolid had major problems ahead. They only completed the campaign score 32 times. Winners La Liga Barcelona scored 90 goals and the three relegated clubs, Girona, Rayo Vallecano and Huesca scored 37, 43 and 41 respectively.

He was asked how his powers to do something about it were expanded and there were is a humorous and more serious answer.

Offensive midfielder Keko told Make last year: & # 39; It is complicated when Ronaldo gives you advice. He tells me how I should have completed the move, but it is just like Messi who tells you how to receive the ball between the lines. What can you do? You know he's right in theory, but you also know he's done it in practice. So you say, "Yes, you're right"

The most serious reaction is that the club buys players who can finish – to bring in strikers who could make the Ronaldo. The season just ended when Valladolid remained alone in the penultimate weekly program, they struggled with one lead and alternated between Enes Unal, who scored six goals, and Duje Cop, who failed to leave the competition.

<img id = "i-751b74e292aea8d9" src = "https://dailym.ai/31kJHmt -7106557-image-a-5_1559724185942.jpg "height =" 833 "width =" 962 "alt =" <img id = "i-751b74e292aea8d9" src = "https://dailym.ai/2CYdfvj 2019/06/05/09 / 14392308-7106557-image-a-5_1559724185942.jpg "height =" 833 "width =" 962 "alt ="

Ronaldo with his colleague Galacticos at Real Madrid in 2004: David Beckham, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Raul "

Ronaldo with his fellow Galacticos at Real Madrid in

<img id =" i-f1357c8fa4e42210 "src =" https://dailym.ai/2KGzNp8 "height =" 647 "width =" 962 "alt =" He will hope to use his real connections to help Valladolid – here he is pictured at the Open Madrid tennis tournament in May, along with Real forward Lucas Vazquez (left) and captain Sergio Ram os watching Rafael Nadal in La Caja Magica "

<img id =" i-f1357c8fa4e42210 "src =" https://dailym.ai/31mUcFA 14392436-7106557-image-a-8_1559724190698.jpg "height =" 647 "width =" 962 "alt =" He will hope for his Real connections to help Valladolid – here he is standing next to Real forwar at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in May

He hopes to use his real connections to help Valladolid – here (in Spanish) he is pictured at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in May, alongside Real Forward Lucas Vazquez (left) and captain Sergio Ramos on Rafael Nadal in La Caja Magica

<img id = "i-7ca7e4d0f62689d5" src = "https://dailym.ai/2WL7fkY 09 / 14392404-7106557-image-a-12_1559724214900.jpg "height =" 641 "width =" 962 "alt =" Ronaldo is meant to seduce Vinicius to borrow a season in Valladolid, because he will be in the following season action at Real fight. "

<img id =" i-7ca7e4d0f62689d5 "src =" https://dailym.ai/31qBRaC .jpg "height =" 641 "width =" 962 "alt =" Ronaldo tries to seduce Vinicius to Ronaldo tries to seduce Vinicius to loan a season […]

Ronaldo tries to seduce Vinicius to borrow a season at Valladolid, as he could come into action for action in Real next season

In the wi After opening the window, Ronaldo – whose purchase of 51 percent of the shares in Valladolid made him £ 25 million – his first major signature in the form of Sergio Guardiola from Cordoba. He scored 22 goals in the second division in the previous season and although he only finished the campaign for Valladolid with three goals, he was a huge improvement in the situation before he arrived.

Another serious problem is grabbing the club too – the match scandal that has turned Spanish football upside down. Valladolid's 2-0 defeat to Valencia on the last day of the season is considered one of the three games being investigated.

One of the 10 players who were taken into custody was Borja Fernandez, a good friend of Ronaldo's who played Valladolid more than 200 times. After he retired at the end of the season, he was expected to take a position in the club – but Ronaldo has put that on hold pending an internal investigation.

Ronaldo recently said: & # 39; Borja is a friend, I hope & # 39;

He added: & # 39; I think it's good that it's being investigated because we all want to be there. don't be corruption. I'm from Brazil, where we have the kings of corruption. We will support the investigation.

Looking forward to next season, however, Ronaldo was very open about helping the Spanish club. He has the most links with – Real Madrid.

& # 39; We have no money, but I have already asked Madrid for Vinicius & # 39 ;, Ronaldo recently told reporters in Spain. During his heyday he was a young man, and he wanted to be with him, and he should be with her. Ronaldo was one of the greatest strikers ever to play the game, for Brazil and a large number of giant clubs "

<img id =" i-a3d9f2661ba5d38f "src =" https://i.dailymail.co .uk / 1s / 2019/06/05/09 / 14392566-7106557-image-a-10_1559724203608.jpg "height =" 811 "width =" 962 "alt =" During his heyday, Ronaldo was one of the

During his heyday, Ronaldo was one of the greatest strikers ever played. the game, for Brazil and a large number of giant clubs

Vinicius is not so much warmed up to the idea, but if Real Madrid eats well when buying both Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic and cannot continue afterwards if Gareth Bale or Marco Asensio likes Zidane then a season that plays every week in the top flight could serve Vinicius better than a year lost g

Even if Valladolid does not get Vinicius, it seems clear that Ronaldo is considered a friend of the club and that he benefits from offering loan players. Rodrygo Goes is arriving this summer and can be given on loan to the Ronaldo team.

He is pictured on vacation with his partner Celina Locks in Ibiza after the end of the Spanish football season

<img id = "i-79d88ad0a622abb2" src = "https://dailym.ai/2KGzOtc" height = "705" width = "470" alt = "

He is pictured on vacation He is pictured on vacation He is pictured on vacation He was pictured on vacation with his partner Celina Locks in Ibiza after the end of the Spanish football season

Florentino Perez always has I had a weakness for Ronaldo when I resigned from the presidency in 2006 (before returning in 2009) I spoke about a culture of spoiled players that I accidentally encouraged at the club.

& # 39; Maybe I have brought these players well & # 39 ;, he said during his farewell press conference. & # 39; Now I want to tell them that it is e what counts is Real Madrid. & # 39;

It was always understood that Ronaldo was one of those too indulgent by the famous & # 39; Galaticos & # 39; ethos that Perez had created.

However, there were no problems, and when Perez returned three years later and the club spent nearly £ 225 million on reconstruction, the £ 31.5 million purchase of Karim Benzema was portrayed by many as the best shot of Perez in finding another Ronaldo.

Perez has never been shy about going to the dressing room at the end of the games. The current quarrel between Captain Sergio Ramos and the president ends up in part in Perez in the dressing room after Real Madrid was beaten by Ajax from the Champions League and waited for the players to read them the riot.

Ronaldo must have learned a lot from Perez and Silvio Berlusconi, who was his president in Milan and who demonstrably knew even less about the game and tried to intervene even more

But there is one thing he doesn't copy. He has already said that he will not go to the dressing room, either before or after matches to talk to the players. It is a brave promise.

This season, Valladolid saved itself. Next season with a little planned investment, the goal will be to aim for European places. Let's see if that self-imposed dressing room keeps watch.

<img id = "i-111cb8d350f87e4e" src = "https://dailym.ai/31qFY6D image-a-8_1559827027584.jpg "height =" 641 "width =" 962 "alt =" Valladolid finished 16th in La Liga during Ronaldo's first season at the club, including a 1-0 loss in Barcelona in February "

] <img id = "i-111cb8d350f87e4e" src = "https://dailym.ai/2KGzP0e. jpg "height =" 641 "width =" 962 "alt =" Valladolid finished 16th in La Liga during Ronaldo's first season with the club, including a 1-0 loss in Barcelona in February "

Valladolid finished 16th in La Liga during Ronaldo's first season with the club, including a 1-0 loss in Barcelona in February

Source link

[socialattractionuk]

Why I always talk about periods on a first date

Picture: Getty)

My dating life is undeniably tragic.

It wasn’t until 21 I managed to go on a ‘proper’ date. If nothing else, that was an excellent fact to drop during a round of ‘never have I ever’,

You’d be forgiven for wondering why I’d take a dire situation and throw in conversations about periods. But that’s what I do: on every first date, I’ll bring up periods.

Monthly periods have been a part of my life for some 12 years now, but I’m yet to achieve peak ‘women in tampon ads’. If you’re unaware of this concept, it’s the idea that everything is great on your period, and that we all frolic around in white dresses. It’s a lie.

I might be 26, but I’ve still got no idea when the damn thing will start or stop. I never know if this time it’ll be just cramps or if this will be the month it makes me throw up, or perhaps the week I bleed through my tampon in the mere time it takes to commute to work.

It’s fair to say my period and I have a pretty ‘hate-hate relationship’, and I’m still not entirely comfortable talking about it openly. Sure, it might be 2018, but how many of us would actually feel comfortable discussing our period in front of our bosses, friends who aren’t quite best friends, or, the holy grail, on a first date?

The last year has been groundbreaking for talking about periods. A Freedom4Girls report back in March 2017, which found girls were regularly missing school because they couldn’t afford pads, opened the metaphorical floodgates. Several were said to be using socks, rags or even sellotape as makeshift sanitary products.

Faced with those shocking details, we can’t let our awkwardness around periods keep holding back the conversation.

(Picture: Metro.co.uk)

We’ve since seen unashamedly bold campaigning from the likes of Amika George and Bloody Good Period’s Gabby Edlin, a trial scheme in Scotland to give low income women access to free sanitary wear and manifesto commitments from The Green Party, Lib Dems and the Labour Party.

However, while all this is great progress, we’re still, for the most part focusing on periods as an abstract – something which happens to other people, not to us.

But periods do affect all of us – whether it’s a human rights issue which threatens our dignity, equality, and education, or shyly telling your date you’re too tired to go back with them, when actually you’re just on your period.

As a journalist I’ve followed period poverty closely – but the more I’ve probed the problem, the more obvious the daily stigma about periods becomes.

Last year I rang every food bank in the country to find out how many women were requesting sanitary products each month – a simple question, but not such a simple answer. ‘Oh, yes,’ replied one well meaning foodbank manager. ‘We give them soap.’

Another told me how women in their area were too wealthy to suffer from period poverty – despite clearly struggling enough to need a food bank. A large number of men seemed to wince when I even asked the question.

And this is when it all spilled over. After yet another day wallowing in a pool of period despair, I found myself on one of those rare first dates.

‘So, what do you do?’ was the general theme of his question. I don’t think he was expecting me to tell him that I’m currently investigating why some people are effectively banned from hygienically controlling the blood between their legs. It didn’t work out, but that was more to do with a fundamental disagreement about Taylor Swift.

As the months went on I got bolder, deciding to actively incorporate this into my meeting new people checklist. I can confirm it’s great fun to ask your date to carry what is effectively half of Boot’s tampon supply while you’re searching for your phone.

It’s also an excellent idea to bring out your period facts for new people at parties. Did you know the super cute elephant shrew is one of the only other mammals to have periods?

More: Lifestyle

Morrisons is cutting back on plastic by selling flower bouquets in paper

All of the vending machine locations in Fortnite

Real Madrid to give Cristiano Ronaldo's old No.7 shirt to £20m star

It might seem superficial. Talking about periods on a shitty (or not so shitty) date doesn’t solve a crisis overnight. However, the ability to talk about periods in a sensible way is a pretty good barometer of whether someone is worth your time in the long run – and if you can talk about ‘icky’ things like blood, there’s a strong chance you’ll be able to talk about the difficult things later in your relationship.

Even if they don’t, and the mere mention of blood is a little bit too much, every casual throwaway mention goes a little way to normalising the idea in their minds. And, at the end of the day, you can’t solve a problem if more than half the population aren’t really talking about it.

MORE: Severe PMS has stopped me from living my life to the full

MORE: We’re an inclusive football club and part of that means offering free sanitary products in our toilets

[newssplashy]

Argentina find themselves in a far from enviable position, with their coach effectively powerless, but one which is a huge improvement upon last week.

Argentina find themselves in a far from enviable position, with their coach effectively powerless, but one which is a huge improvement upon last week

Poor Jorge Sampaoli. It looks to all the world that Argentina are through to the World Cup knock-outs despite their forlorn coach, who is now taking orders from his own players.

“This team is more Messi’s than mine,” said Sampaoli back in March. He was talking about Messi’s ability to get the best out of his team-mates, but now, three games into a chaotic campaign in Russia, we may as well think about Argentina’s No.10 as their player-coach.

There is some dispute as to whether Messi actually made the decision to bring on Sergio Aguero during Tuesday’s match with Nigeria; did he tell Sampaoli it was happening, did Sampaoli ask Messi what to do, or did the coach merely make the decision himself and relay it to the captain, as has since been claimed in the Argentine press?

It almost doesn’t matter. The public has made its mind up and in this post-truth age, the damage has been done for Sampaoli.

READ ALSO:

His touchline outfit against Croatia did him no favours in that sense and in all honesty the video footage from Tuesday certainly looks incriminating - he appeared completely lost, and it’s easy to see why so many people believe he’s asking Messi for instructions.

Even more so when his post-match comments are taken into account. “When Leo came and hugged me, I felt very proud and happy,” Sampaoli said, as he sat a matter of yards from Messi.

“He knows I am very passionate, passionate every single day. I have had the possibility to travel with him, and share many moments with him before the World Cup.

"He knows me, and he knows me well. He knows we have this common dream of coming to Russia, and doing something important for Argentina.”

Having already said Argentina’s defeat against Croatia was everybody else’s problem, not Messi’s, it’s quickly got to the stage that Sampaoli is talking about his star man with more reverence than Real Madrid coaches are forced to talk about Cristiano Ronaldo.

And Messi is now clearly giving the team-talks, too. His coaches at previous World Cups have said that he has always been more of a leader by example, with Javier Mascherano providing the more vocal duties, but on Tuesday night in Saint Petersburg it was Messi down in the tunnel, just before the second half started, barking out orders. Come full-time it was Messi leading the celebrations.

Messi, as man of the match, sat at the same table as Sampaoli to conduct the post-match press conference and it looked like the Barcelona man was merely flanked by his assistant.

And, again, even with that now effectively the case, it almost doesn’t matter.

Victory over Nigeria seems to have unified the camp in a way that was unimaginable amid the chaos following the Croatia game. From Aguero’s clear display of disgust aimed at Sampaoli in the post-match mixed zone, to the rumoured punch-up between Mascherano and Cristian Pavon, to the fact that the players clearly had a say in the starting line-up for their final group game, Argentina’s campaign was threatening to end in shambles.

It still might, given many of their on-pitch problems were still evident against Nigeria, but off the pitch things seem to have changed for the better in the past 48 hours.

On the bus back from the stadium to the team hotel on Tuesday night, the players raucously sang the same songs that their fans have been singing all over Russia, with Lucas Biglia on drums and Aguero, his discontent seemingly behind him, involved just as much as anybody else.

Mascherano, his unexplained black-eye having now disappeared, later posted a picture of his lakeside view at the team’s training base on Instagram, highlighting that he was in ‘peace’.

And that does genuinely seem to be the mood inside the camp right now. It is a complete reversal from this time last week, when a group of players had called for Sampaoli to be dispatched before they had even had time to sleep on the 3-0 humbling in Nizhny Novgorod.

They effectively got their wish; Sampaoli is still there in body, but he has lost almost all of his power. The result is a happier group, with Messi and Mascherano, emboldened by Tuesday’s victory, now calling the shots.

How far this will take them remains to be seen. They will play France next, a team who themselves have struggled to get going on the pitch, and if Messi picks the right team and then stars in it, a quarter-final appearance is not beyond Argentina.

But Tuesday’s win may merely have provided them with a stay of execution, and you get the feeling that if it does go wrong for them this summer, it will be every bit as shambolic as the Croatia defeat and the hours immediately afterwards.

At least this remarkable situation does at least give Argentina a chance to keep fighting - alongside each other - this summer, even if Sampaoli is as much of a spectator as the rest of us.

via NewsSplashy - Latest Nigerian News Online,World Newspaper

[jamesmilligoodlife-blog]

How To Make Friends With Absolutely Anyone!

Everyone loves when they make friends and a lot of us ask ourselves why can we not do it more often?  

Making new friends a lot of time can be an issue someone struggles with internally or even externally. Wouldn’t you like to have the confidence and know how to make friends with any stranger who walks into your path? Well the truth is you can and it really is not hard. In the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, he lays out some simple frameworks to help you make friends out of strangers.   Before we get started looking at these frameworks, I think it is important to address one very simple component. This is something that can take away all the proven success and happiness these frameworks bring. I’ll let Dale tell you this one himself: “The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere. One comes from the heart out; the other from the teeth out. One is unselfish; the other selfish. One is universally admired; the other universally condemned.” - Dale Carnegie The importance of having genuine interest and appreciation is huge. Handing someone flattery is nothing but an insult because people sense it from a mile away.

 How to Make Friends

1. Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.

Bringing this negative energy towards people you are meeting or people you know really makes them not want to be around you. Obviously there are cases where you are going to do some of these things but the key is to limit it and try to be a positive happy going person! Positive energy is usually reciprocated when making new friends. Do not tell them what they are doing wrong or even whine about your life. The key is to bring something to the table that is of value.   2. Give Honest, Sincere Appreciation. For anyone that steps foot on this planet, we all know that being appreciated is huge. Whether it is at work, playing a sport, or doing a hobby with friends, when someone shows us they appreciate our efforts and the work we have put in it pays huge dividends!   Once again, the key word is HONEST appreciation. No one wants to be felt bad for or feel like you are give them the participation trophy when it comes to this. When you start appreciating people more, you will see a huge shift in their confidence and demeanor around you. It really is rewarding for both sides.  

3. Arouse In The Other Person’s Eager Want.

A lot of times in a non-selfish way people want to talk about their wants and needs which is totally fine! When trying to make friends, it is best to talk in the terms of this person’s want. Have genuine interest in this want because if you ask me about what I want or anyone for the matter they can talk about it for days!   Ask them details about their want and really get them picturing in their mind the desire they have for it. The key is to be genuinely interested in this want and to enjoy their enthusiasm.

Make Friends on Facebook

  4. Become Genuinely Interested in Other People.

Everyone has exciting things going on in their life that they are passionate about. For some it may be their job downtown for others it could be Kentucky Basketball. Let these people talk about their experiences and interests to learn more about them as a person. The key to this is really listening to them and sometimes maybe even learning more about different subjects.   For example, I made friends with a truck driver at my Dad’s warehouse. We started talking and he was telling me about a new fireplace he had renovated in his house. For me, I am not the most handy person so I listened to how he did it. He went through how the different types of sealants he used and other steps he had to take in order to get it ready to go. He was a great guy and I know from now on that when I see him in the warehouse he’ll remember for that. This an example of where you make friends in places you would never think!

5. Smile

To be honest this is one I probably struggle with the most sometimes. It is not because I am not happy, sometimes I just have a mean mug on for no reason! A person is ten times more approachable when they are cheesing from cheek to cheek. Also, when you smile it is proven to put you in a more positive mindset and in return you let off positive energy. This quote says it all:   This is one of the easiest ways to begin an approach to make friends. Be confident in yourself and have a huge smile on your face just because!

6. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the most important sound in any language.

Always Always Always remember people’s names. Do not say you are bad at it because that means you are choosing to be bad at it. In Unlimited Memory by Grandmaster Kevin Horsley, he speaks about how a lot of things you say you are not good at will become reality. This is because when you tell yourself something so many times you begin to actually believe it, whether it is true or not.   Repeating a person’s name to them at the end of a conversation is huge. Also, the second time you meet this person and call them by name it will light them up! It shows you care and remember.  

7. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

This principle really goes along with a lot of the earlier ones. Being a good listener and referring to what people said early on in conversations is huge. Some people feel bad talking about themselves too much and the encouragement will really help them feel comfortable with you.  Finding the persons passion and showing your interest will create a great response from that individual. A lot of times if you point at that passion it will open them even more. Making new friends is a great thing!!  

8. Talk in the terms of the other person’s interests.

Talk about what the other person is interested in. Really get them going about their dog or some event they have coming up. Enjoy their excitement and ask them questions about it. Give them positive genuine feedback that builds confidence for them in that area.   Sometimes people are in conversation and one side will bring up something like an upcoming event. Some will disregard what the person said and make it like it's not important or does not matter.

9. Make the other person feel important - and do so sincerely.

Everyone wants to feel important and be recognized for what they do. If you scored a nice goal and the fans did not react you would doubt yourself a little bit. If you landed a huge sale at work and no one said anything you would feel like it did not matter. People want to be recognized and feel important.   Note: Back to being genuine, do not reward them because they finish a simple task or something that they do everyday. People will know when you are using flattery versus being genuine.  

10. The only way to get the best out of an argument is to avoid it.

This is probably the hardest of the ten! In my practice of these principles I have been involved in some arguments where it is so hard to runaway from it. It is probably one of the most important of the principles as well. Arguments are never good because people gain resentment when they are proven wrong. In the modern day from political arguments to whose better Messi or Ronaldo, there is a never a good result in the end.   Try to stay away from the lose-lose situations. Another option is validating the person’s point then using the word and instead of but. Instead of taking a knife and cutting their argument, you introduce a new side to the argument that could potentially be involved.  

Putting it to Practice

Like with anything you have to practice these principles. Go to a public place and try them out. Go to people you know such as your family, friends, co-workers, etc. and try it there as well. The difference will be noticeable and you will most likely enjoy the feeling that comes from it. It is to time go out and make friends!   If you have any questions or experiences comment below!   In Dale Carnegie’s, How to Win Friends and Influence People, he goes further into depth on how to utilize these principles. The book also has a whole other side to influencing people which I will be writing about soon as well. This is the best book I have ever read and is #1 on my list. Click to Post

[gadgetsrevv]

Neymar returning to Spain would be an ego trip by Barca or Real. PLUS: Chelsea exposed at Man United

It’s back! After a summer of international soccer, Gab Marcotti returns with his weekly column reflecting on the big talking points. It’s the first edition of Monday Musings for the 2019-20 season.

Jump to: Is Neymar really on the move? | Man United vs. Chelsea | Juve’s squad issues | Stop complaining about VAR | Are Man City deep enough? | Bayern get their winger

The latest on Neymar’s transfer saga

So now it’s apparently just a question of making the numbers work. PSG sporting director Leonardo confirmed that the club are in talks to sell Neymar, with Real Madrid and (possibly) Barcelona the likeliest destinations. But when you put a $210m Euro price tag on a guy, it’s far from straightforward. Particularly since whoever signs Neymar will also be on the hook for some $300m+ in wages over the next five years.

The depressing thing here is that this seems to be driven more by ego than footballing logic on all sides. Sure, Neymar is a hugely talented player and, possibly, still one of the heirs apparent to the Cristiano Ronaldo/Messi duopoly. But Barcelona have just added Antoine Griezmann to a front line that includes Messi and Luis Suarez (not to mention Ousmane Dembele). Real Madrid have just spent $110m on Eden Hazard and have big plans for Vinicius and Rodrygo, plus Marco Asensio won’t be injured in perpetuity. (And that’s before we get into Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez).

Where does he fit at either club, except as a an ego-trip and commercial roll of the dice?

The answer is he doesn’t. Signing Neymar would require a dismantling of the team that has been built (and, presumably, planned, though with Real Madrid you’re never quite sure how much planning is involved). And is his contribution, especially at that price, big enough to justify tearing up the blueprint?

I’d suggest the answer is a resounding “no,” not to mention the numbers. I know some treat Financial Fair Play as a joke but hey, it’s real and it’s still around. Barcelona can’t find a few extra million to land Matthijs De Ligt but they can commit half a billion to bring back Neymar, the guy who left so he could write his own story away from Messi’s shadow? Really?

Real Madrid, already stuck with two guys (Bale and James) whom they’re struggling to sell because of the absurdly onerous contracts they gave them, happily go and lavish another mega-deal on a guy who started less than half of his league games at PSG in the past two years? You sure?

Neymar’s time at PSG has failed to live up to expectations but it’s not stopped Spain’s two biggest clubs from trying to get him back in La Liga. Why?

It’s a sign of the modern game, and the way big clubs are straitjacketed by massive contracts, that if this deal happens, it won’t be a cash deal. The only way it works is by throwing in makeweights, which is why you’re likely to hear plenty of talk of Philippe Coutinho or Nelson Semedo, or James or Isco going the other way. Sticking a player in as part exchange not only saves you cash, but it allows for some neat accounting slight of hand because you can put almost whatever valuation you like on him and then let the magic of amortisation do the rest.

Stay tuned.

There’s also the distinct possibility that he doesn’t move at all, which would mean that sanity prevailed. Thomas Tuchel hinted at it after Sunday’s Ligue 1 opener for PSG. Of course, if he stays it will be curious to see what the reaction of the PSG fans will be. On Sunday night, during the 3-0 win over Nimes (Neymar was nowhere to be seen), he was invited — via banners and chanting — to get the hell out of the club.

Will it be the sort of thing that gets forgotten after a few good performances and some winning runs? You hope not, but you fear yes, just as you hope that if Florentino Perez or Josep Bartomeu break the bank one more time for this guy, they will be held to account.

There’s nothing wrong with spending big if you think you have the right guy: Kylian Mbappe is Exhibit A, B and C here. But to do it out of ego, in the waning weeks of the transfer window, while ripping up the script, smacks of irresponsibility. This is a good time as any to remind Florentino and Bartomeu that they don’t own their clubs. They are presidents with a responsibility for stewardship.

Breaking down Man United vs. Chelsea

Frank Lampard is playing with house money this season. As one of the more analytical and reflective football men out there, you could picture him in the summer playing the scenario game.

Best (realistic) case?

The combination of youngsters, loan diaspora and holdovers coalesce around his brand of football (which, lest we forget, is far closer to his predecessor’s than any Chelsea manager since Andre Villas Boas), Chelsea break into the top three, go deep in the Champions League and he gets a big, fat transfer budget next summer.

– Ogden: Pulisic must hit ground running at Chelsea

Worst (realistic) case? The kids’ inexperience costs Chelsea dear, the likes of Mason Mount, Reece James and Tammy Abraham offer further evidence of the gulf between the Premier League and the Football League, there’s a massive Eden Hazard-shaped hole that Christian Pulisic can’t come close to filling and they slip down the table, missing out on the Europa League.

But guess what? Between the transfer ban, the Hazard departure and the fact that he finally tapped into Chelsea’s vaunted Academy, there are enough mitigating circumstances there that he gets a pass. And he has another go in 2020-21, except with a full year of Premier League experience under his belt and a chance to actually acquire players next summer.

Frank Lampard, left, and Chelsea have a lot of work to do following Sunday’s heavy defeat at Man United. That said, it’s not all smooth sailing for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, right, either.

It’s worth bearing all of this in mind when evaluating Chelsea this season, in particular the opening 4-0 smackdown at Old Trafford. Despite leaving N’Golo Kante (who was unfit) on the bench and being without Antonio Rudiger, not to mention the long-term injuries to Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, they hit the woodwork twice and looked bright and sharp on the ball for most of the first half. But Kurt Zouma‘s sloppy tackle gave United a penalty, which Marcus Rashford converted, and as the saying goes, goals change games.

United were able to play on the counter and they did it very well, though, again the second and third goals were the result of individual errors by Cesar Azpilicueta (not something you can chalk up to youthful inexperience) and the fourth was a deflected effort to crown a fast break that began with Zouma on his back and Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire asking the referee to stop the game for what they thought was a head injury.

In other words, a healthy dose of misfortune, individual errors and happenstance, though that doesn’t gloss over the fact that there is plenty of work for Lampard and Chelsea to do. The individual blunders loomed large but there was also a serious lack of balance in the side, which isn’t surprising when it’s the first game of the season and more than half your starting XI were either elsewhere or on the bench last season.

As for United, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire hit the ground running and gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the perfect platform upon which to counter-attack. For all the venom he gets from some quarters, Paul Pogba popped up with two assists (one of them, as delightful as you’re likely to see this weekend). And yes: when it comes to flat-out pace, United have plenty.

The test, of course, will come later, as Jose Mourinho (not that he has an axe to grind or anything) pointed out on TV: what happens when they face teams who park the bus? Speedy strikers are great if they have space in which to run but when the opposition sit deep, you need either creativity (that’s on you, Paul) or the physicality to punch it in (and both big Belgians are gone).

That’s where Solskjaer will earn his bacon and in that sense, he faces a far more daunting task — at least as far as 2019-20 is concerned — than Lampard.

Can Juve resolve squad issues before it’s too late?

It’s rare that you get a manager speaking with the sort of honesty we heard from Maurizio Sarri over the weekend, when he admitted Juventus need to shift six players between now and the end of the transfer window or risk having to cut them from their Champions League squad. A lot of the focus has been driven by the transfer window, with speculation about the likes of Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain and/or Mario Mandzukic moving or, in midfield, Sami Khedira or Blaise Matuidi. But there ought to be a bigger concern: how did we get here?

Juventus can count and they knew that because they have just one homegrown player in the squad, perpetual third keeper Marco Pinsoglio, they can only register 22 players. So what kind of planning is it to find yourself in mid-August being forced to give guys away?

This situation is aggravated by the fact that most of the players they want to shift are older and with hefty contracts. What’s more, with the Premier League window closed, there are only so many potential destinations and there won’t be any late-August panic buys from mid-table English sides.

It’s pretty basic stuff. You hope that sporting director Fabio Paratici has some sort of plan up his sleeve, one that won’t cost the club too much money. Otherwise, for all his success in landing the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Adrien Rabbit and Aaron Ramsey, he will have dropped the ball big time.

Enough complaining about VAR already!

There were no VAR screw-ups in its first weekend of Premier League life. Of course, this doesn’t mean there was no controversy, mainly because — despite the fact that it has been around for nearly three seasons and fans, players and media would have seen it in the World Cup, Champions League knockouts and FA Cup — some observers seemed to act as if they were seeing it for the first time (witness the Raheem Sterling offside) and others seemed unaware of the changes to the Laws of the Game that came into effect on June 1 (Philippe Dendoncker’s disallowed goal in Wolves’ win over Leicester).

– VAR in the Premier League: Big decisions explained

My colleague Dale Johnson has written about this at length if you want to go granular but put in its simplest form: offside is offside and it doesn’t matter how close it is. It’s frustrating to have to repeat this. And while, I’ll grant you, offside VAR is more of a by-product of why video replay was brought in to begin with (which was to correct major, aka clear and obvious, errors), the fact that we have the technology to apply it to offside calls more accurately than human assistants means there’s no reason not to use it.

Whatever you think of the margin of error that exists at the junction of frame velocity, human velocity and the brains of VAR operators, it surely is more accurate than a sprinting linesman asked to look in two directions at once while determining the exact moment boot strikes ball.

I’ve heard some suggestions that it would be better to only use VAR on blatant offside errors. OK, fine. So how do you judge what is blatant? And, while we’re at it, when it’s that close, even the very best human assistant referees are left to guess. With no VAR, Sterling might have been flagged offside or he might not. It would have been a coin flip.

Does that really sound more reasonable?

The Wolves incident actually has nothing to do with VAR but simply with a rule change that came into effect on June 1. If you handle the ball, even accidentally, and then gain an advantage from it that allows you to score a goal, that goal gets disallowed. Why? Because IFAB figured it’s against the spirit of the game to score with the help of an arm or hand and they want to standardize officiating, with more consistency. Making refs decide on the spot what is accidental and what is not when a goal is scored is, according to them, unnecessary. Which sounds reasonable enough, though it was somewhat jarring for Wolves fans on Sunday.

In the Dendoncker goal, the Belgian midfielder struck a ball that hit his teammate, Willie Boly on the arm. It was clearly accidental and had it just rolled away, everything would have been fine. But the ball sat up for Dendoncker to hit cleanly into the back of the net, and that’s why it was disallowed.

Would the goal have stood if there had been no VAR? Not unless the referee didn’t see the ball hit Boly’s arm. In which case, it’s a good thing there is VAR.

There will undoubtedly be mistakes and blunders, either with the VAR protocol or technology or implementation this season. But Week One went smoothly and whatever “controversy” arose feels mostly down to folks needing something to talk about.

Once the VAR novelty wears off, hopefully by the start of September, we can all move on.

Is Man City’s squad deep enough?

Manchester City raced out to a resounding 5-0 victory at West Ham in week one of the Premier League season and most have them as favourites to three-peat as champions. Rightly so, perhaps, but you wonder if they aren’t a little bit thinner than you’d like them to be in central defence.

In central defence, Vincent Kompany is gone and, effectively, City’s fourth central defender is Eliaquim Mangala, who hasn’t actually played at all in 18 months (and was nothing to write home about before that) and won’t be stopped from leaving should the right offer appear. Nicolas Otamendi is a year older and coming off a Copa America. John Stones had a poor season last year. He may bounce back, he may not.

The next option, presumably, is dropping Fernandinho into defense, but he’s 34 and has had injuries. Plus, if he’s at the back, he’s not in defensive midfield, which leaves only Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan (whose injury record isn’t great) in the middle of the park.

You can only assume Guardiola has a ton of faith in some of the teenagers populating the development squad, like Eric Garcia and Joel Latibeaudiere. Otherwise, a rough patch of injuries and suspensions could cost them dear.

Bayern get their man (and it’s not Sane)

Having missed out on Leroy Sane, Bayern seem set for a band-aid solution to the wing by bringing in Ivan Perisic from Inter on loan. If the reported numbers are correct — $5m loan fee, plus a $25m option to buy — it’s a cheap-and-cheerful way of adding some experience and quality in a guy who already knows the Bundesliga well.

It may be one of those rare moves that helps all those concerned.

Perisic wasn’t part of Antonio Conte’s plans at Inter and from their perspective, getting his wages off the bill and a little bit of money back makes sense. He’s been frighteningly inconsistent but has his moments and perhaps Bayern, a far more stable club than Inter, can ensure he gets some continuity to his performances. He ought to his seize this opportunity with both hands, because this is what you call landing on your feet after falling off a skyscraper.

As for Bayern, if he performs the way he did most of last season, no biggie: they can just send him back in the summer.

//due to VPPA compliance we can not send keywords through URLs implicitly in the US var countryValue = $.cookie("country"); if(!!countryValue && countryValue !== "us") {

(function() { var _fbq = window._fbq || (window._fbq = []); if (!_fbq.loaded) { var fbds = document.createElement('script'); fbds.async = true; fbds.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbds.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(fbds, s); _fbq.loaded = true; } _fbq.push(['addPixelId', '1587432981493230']); })(); window._fbq = window._fbq || []; window._fbq.push(['track', 'PixelInitialized', {}]);

$.ajax({ url: '//pixel.mathtag.com/event/js?mt_id=694557&mt_adid=137010&v1=&v2=&v3=&s1=&s2=&s3=', dataType: 'script', cache: true }); } (function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=116656161708917";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, "script", "facebook-jssdk")); Source link

via wordpress https://ift.tt/2H27Aqe

[torentialtribute]

How Cristiano Ronaldo is edging Paulo Dybala out of Juventus

It's extremely unlikely we will ever see Cristiano Ronaldo playing for the same team as Lionel Messi . But Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus last summer presented us with the next best thing: the Portuguese superman combining with Messi's army, the Argentina No 10-in-waiting, Paulo Dybala.

At the beginning of the season the pair posed for photos together at the Bianconeri's training center in Continassa. Dybala looked as pleased as punch with his new companion. The club's fans and directors were excited by what the veteran could teach the younger man in terms of consistency, focus and preparation.

Fast forward eight months and Ronaldo is flying in Turin, with 28 goals in 42 games, and his incredible one-man show against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Yet it has been a frustrating campaign for Dybala.

Paulo Dybala (left) seemed delighted when Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus last summer

The pair posed for jokey pictures on the club's training ground (left); but Ronaldo's all-powerful presence has diminished Dybala's once pivotal role in the Juventus team

Italian sports paper Tuttosport report that Dybala will be sold to fund new forward signings

So much so that Italian sports paper Tuttosport is now reporting that the Old Lady are looking to rejuvenate their attacking line -up following their shock exit from the Champions League at the hands of Ajax – by selling Dybala.

Juventus are reportedly willing to cash in on star striker Dybala in order to raise funds to sign one of Joao Felix, Mauro Icardi, Federico Chiesa or Moham ed Salah this summer.

There are no problems with Ronaldo – he and Dybala get on and respect each other.

"I am lucky, I play with Lionel for the national team and Cristiano with Juve," Dybala has said. 'Not many people have had this opportunity. I have learned a lot from Ronaldo. ”

They even blended their goal celebrations during the 3-0 home win over Frosinone in February. They both scored and mixed Ronaldo's dramatic leap into the air and 'Siiiiiiuuuuu' ('yessssss') shout, and the mask gesture Dybala makes his hand over his mouth. Dybala invited his followers on Instagram to name their new move, suggesting 'Siuuumask'.

And most players would be relatively satisfied with Dybala's tally or five goals so far this season in Series A and five in Europe.

Dybala isn't 'most players', however. He has struggled to make a consistent impact in 2018-19 and regularly resembles a fish out of water in coach Massimiliano Allegri's XI.

PAULO DYBALA'S C.V.

Age : 25

Born : Laguna Larga, Cordoba, Argentina

Position : Forward / Attacking midfield

Clubs : Instituto (2011-12), Palermo (2012-15), Juventus (2015-present)

International : Argentina – 18 caps, 1 goal

Honors : 4x Serie A, 3x Coppa Italia, 1x Serie B

Allegri doesn The select Dybala for every game. Cristiano is one 'untouchable' in attack, Mario Mandzukic is the other. The Croatian is the epitome of a warrior, one of the hardest working players in the league, helping the defense and foraging on the wings. His sacrifice and tireless running allow Ronaldo to save his 34-year-old legs for counter-attacks or back-post sprints.

Allegri is one of world football's finest tacticians, and his trophy-loading spell in Turin is notable for formations that get the best out of the people available. Allegri doesn't force players into his preferred schemes, but molds his approach around them. Seems like common sense, but so many top coaches, past and present, refuse to be so malleable.

This season 4-3-3 has been the order of the day at the Allianz Stadium. The way Juve deploy, it doesn't contain an orthodox No. 10 operating centrally behind the forwards, or a second striker. The idea is to give Ronaldo the liberty to do as he wishes, but this has cost Dybala.

The 25-year-old has been operating slightly further away from the opponent's goal this year, which explains a drop in his league goals. After 18 starts last season he had scored 17 times. This year he only found the net on five occasions in 22 league starts.

Dybala has ceded free-kick duties to Ronaldo, who, for the record, has been particularly impressive in that department. Dybala is a rare talent, an intoxicating dribbler, but is yet to hit the heights of this campaign.

His trademark of cutting in from the right and shooting with his miraculous left foot has been all too infrequent in 2018-19 . The Jewel, as Dybala is known, is too good for the bench but doesn't have a natural role in Allegri's current incarnation of the Bianconeri.

Dybala has scored fewer goals this season and seen his position on the pitch changed

Ronaldo is in red-hot goalscoring form at Juve with the team set up to fulfill his needs

Regular observers of Dybala and Juve maintain that his best role is as a second striker in 4-3-1-2 or 4-4-2. But with Ronaldo, Mandzukic (who is likely to sign a new long-term contract) and emerging wonder boy Moise Kean, they are well stocked for forwards.

The wide roles in attack are less than ideal for Dybala. Journalist Filippo Conticello of the Gazzetta dello Sport says: "Dybala doesn't possess the physical power of Federico Bernardeschi, and when he is selected, finds himself further and further away from the other team's box. This was evident in the disappointing loss away to Genoa. Plus, we all know how gifted he is, but he's not a leader. "

Dybala is unlikely to be given a decent run as the withdrawn forward in the near future, hence the rumors of a departure.

Dybala, who has appeared 18 times for Argentina, including a fruitless cameo at last summer's World Cup, was a £ 23m signing from Palermo in 2015. But the view is that he could fetch three or four times that now.

In the past two decades Juventus have been willing to sell their biggest names for the right price. Barely months after winning the 1996 Champions League they sold striker Fabrizio Ravanelli and midfielder Paulo Sousa, and let Gianluca Vialli leave for free, reducing their wage bill significantly.

Juventus have never been afraid to sell their big names and Dybala could be the next to go

A move to the Premier League could be on the cards, alongside or against his pal Paul Pogba

The Italian giants cashed in on Zinedine Zidane and Filippo Inzaghi in 2001, and used the profits to sign Pavel Nedved, Gianluigi Buffon, Marcelo Salas and Lilian Thuram.

More recently they sanctioned Paul Pogba's return to Manchester United for £ 89m. The Frenchman was hugely popular in Turin and arguably Series A's best midfielder. But the wise heads at the Allianz Stadium knew they could not reject such a juicy offer.

"For a while we have known that you will make a big sale this summer," Conticello says. 'One of the big earners will leave, to generate cash. The two names are dyed Dybala or Miralem Pjanic. Two years ago when Dybala was in the best form of his career, Juventus would have demanded € 200m (£ 173m) for him. Now they would accept € 100m (£ 87m). "

PAULO DYBALA'S DIMINISHED RETURN FOR JUVENTUS THIS SEASON RECORD IN ALL COMPS Season 2015/2016 Season 2016/2017

Season 2017/2018

Season 2018/2019 Games Played 46 48 46 39 Games Started 35 41 38

29

Minutes Played 3085 3370 3376 2550 Goals 23 19 26 10 Assists 9 8 6 4 Goal Involvements 32 27 32 Mins / Goal 134.13 177.37 129.85 255 Chances Created (inc. assists) 81 78

81

58

For Juve fans, the notion of Dybala boarding a plane to England or Spain is a lot less painful now Ronaldo is one of theirs. He has had great times, including a goal on his debut in the 2015 Italian Super Cup, four consecutive league titles (barring an unlikely collapse this season) and three Coppa Italias. And he single-handedly knocked out Barcelona 2017 Champions League.

The favorites for his signature are Atletico Madrid, where he would be treated like a king, and Bayern Munich, who have recruited Latin stars Arturo Vidal James Rodriguez in recent years. Another option is a swap with Inter striker Mauro Icardi. It's no secret Juve are on Icardi, but Dybala is reportedly happy with the idea of ​​a switch to the blue and black half of Milan.

He would also be perfect for any Premier League side requiring a bit of flair in the final third. For all their searing pace in attack, Liverpool misses Philippe Coutinho's creativity from attacking midfield, which is Dybala's area of ​​expertise. If Chelsea get around their transfer from FIFA and sell Eden Hazard, Dybala would be a good replacement, even if their styles aren't identical.

Manchester United are ready to start their summer transfer overhaul as they have made contact with Juventus about a swoop for Dybala according to Calciomercato . He has until the end of the season to convince Juve to keep him. Questions about his temperament and versatility remain, but the man known as The Jewel still has time to sparkle.

Source link