#(but also i am more interested in the rest of the team than carson and greta)

[dashiellqvverty]

i still think a league of their own (the show) could and should have just been about max

[dherzogblog]

The Birth of The Daily Show: 25 Years of Fake News and Moments of Zen

It was July of 1995 and I had left MTV to become President of Comedy Central. It was the basic cable equivalent of going from the NY Yankees to an expansion team. I was on the job just two weeks when I received a call from Brillstein Grey the high powered managers of Bill Maher, host of one of the networks few original programs, "Politically Incorrect". We were informed Bill and his show would leave the network when his contract expired in 12 months. It was a done deal. Bill wanted to take his show to the "big leagues" at ABC where he would follow Night Line. Comedy Central was left jilted. Terrible news for a network still trying to establish itself. We had a year to figure out how to replace him and the clock was ticking. So began the path to The Daily Show.

It was very much a fledgling Comedy Central I joined, available in barely 35 million homes, desperately seeking an identity and an audience. It was just over three years old, born into a shot gun wedding that joined two struggling and competing comedy networks, HBO’s Comedy Channel and Viacom’s HA!, Watching them both stumble out of the gate, the cable operators forced them to merge, telling them: "We only need one comedy channel, you guys figure it out”. After some contentious negotiations the new channel was born and the red headed step child of MTV and HBO set out to find the pop culture zeitgeist its parents had already expertly navigated. The network had yet to define itself. The programming consisted mainly of old stand up specials from the likes of Gallagher (never underestimate the appeal of a man smashing watermelons), a hodgepodge of licensed movies (“The God’s Must be Crazy and The Cheech and Chong trilogy were mainstays) and Benny Hill reruns. The networks biggest hit by far was the UK import “Absolutely Fabulous”, better know as “AbFab”. Comedy Central boasted a handful of original shows, including the wonderfully sublime "SquiggleVision" of “Dr. Katz”, the sketch comedy "Exit 57" (starring the then unknown Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert) and of course Maher’s "Politically Incorrect". In retrospect I don’t think Bill got enough credit for pioneering the idea of political comedy on mainstream TV. Back then he was the only one doing it.

Politically Incorrect performed just fine, but got more critical attention than ratings. It was a panel show, and I had something a bit different in mind to replace it. I knew we needed a flagship, a network home base, something akin to ESPN's Sports Center where viewers could go at the end of a the day for our comedic take on everything that happened in the last 24 hours….."a daily show". I had broad idea for it in my head. I would describe it as part "Weekend Update", part Howard Stern, with a dash of "The Today Show" on drugs complete with a bare boned format to keep costs low so we could actually afford to produce it. We could open with the headlines covering the day's events (our version of a monologue), followed by a guest segment (we wouldn't need to write jokes...only questions!), and finish with a taped piece. Simple, right? We just needed someone to help flesh out our vision.

Comedy Central was a a second tier cable channel then and considered a bit of a joke (no pun intended). It had minuscule ratings, no heat and even less money to spend. Producers were not lining up to work with there. Eileen Katz ran programming for the channel and the two of us began pitching this idea to every producer who would listen. One of the first people we approached was Madeleine Smithberg, an ex Letterman producer and had overseen "The Jon Stewart Show" for us at MTV. We thought she was perfect for the role. “You can’t do this, you can’t afford this, you don't have the stomach for this, it will never work ” Madeliene said when we met with her. We could not convince her to take the gig. Ok then....we moved on. The problem was we heard that same refrain from everybody. No one wanted the job. So after weeks being turned down by literally EVERYONE, I said to Eileen: “We have to go back to Madeleine and convince her to do this with us"!

Part our pitch to her was we would go directly to series. There would be no pilot. The show was guaranteed to go on air. We had decided this show was our to be our destiny and we had to figure it out come hell or high water. As a 24 hour comedy channel, if we couldn't figure out a way to be funny and fresh every day...what good were we? We told Madeliene we were committed to putting the show on the air and keeping it there till we got it right (for at least a year anyway). That, plus some gentle arm twisting got her to sign on. Shortly after that, Lizz Winstead did too.

Madleiene and Lizz very quickly landed on their inspired notion of developing the show and format as a news parody. It brought an immediate focus and a point of view to the process . All of the sudden things started to take shape and coming to life. Great ideas started flowing fast and furious while an amazing collection of funny and talented began to come on board. Madeliene and Lizz were off to the races. Now all we needed was a host.

The prime time version of ESPN's Sports Center was hosted by Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann back then and it was must see cable TV. But I had recently started to notice another guy hosting the show's late night edition. He was funny, with a snarky delivery reminiscent of Dennis Miller. His name was Craig Kilborn. On the phone with CAA agent Jeff Jacobs one day, I asked if he knew happened to know who repped him? “I do" he said. "We just signed him”. Within days he was in my office along with Madeleine, Lizz, and Eileen who were all a bit skeptical about the tall blond guy with the frat boy vibes sitting across from them. After opening the meeting with a few off color comments that would probably get him cancelled today (an early warning sign fo sure), Craig ultimately won them over and we had our host.

FUN FAC#1: Minutes after the news of Craig's hiring went public, Keith Olberman's agent called me directly to ask why we hadn't considered hiring him?

Ok, we had a host and producers...but what to call it? After sifting through dozens of ideas for a title, Madeleine called me one day and said, "I think we should just call it what we've been calling it all along...."The Daily Show". As we approached our launch date we taped practice shows and took them out to focus groups to get real life feedback. The groups hated it.... I mean with a red hot hate. They hated Craig, the format, the jokes, everything. We were crushed and dejectedly looked around at the room at one another. "Now what?" “Either they’re wrong, or we are". I said I think they are...but it doesn’t matter, we're doing this!" We never looked back.

The show took off quickly garnering some quick buzz and attention, we felt like we had crashed the party. Well, sort of. We had no shortage of fun, growing pains and drama along the way. The Daily Show version 1.0 was about to unravel. In a December 1997 magazine interview Craig made some truly offensive and inappropriate remarks about Lizz and female members of the staff. Whether it was poor attempt at humor or just plain misogynist (or both) is beyond the point. It was all wrong, very wrong. Craig was suspended for a week without pay. Lizz left the show. In the moment I chose to protect the show and its talent more so than Lizz. That was wrong too. It's more than cringe worthy looking back now, and I regret not making some better decisions then. My loyalty to our host was later "rewarded" when in the Spring of 1998 Kilborn's team, a la Bill Maher, unceremoniously informed us he had signed a deal to follow Letterman on CBS when his contract expired at the end of the year. No discussion, a done deal. Comedy Central jilted again. Like Maher, Kilborn wanted his shot at the network big leagues and we had a little over six months to figure out how to replace him. We all know how that chapter ended. That search would eventually reunite us with Jon Stewart who along with The Daily Show took Comedy Central and basic cable to the "the big leagues" on their own terms, redefining late night comedy in the process The rest, as they say, is "Fake News" history.

Fun Fact #2: before approaching Jon (who I did not originally think would be interested) I initially offered the job to a chunkier, largely unknown Jimmy Kimmel, fresh off his co hosting duties on "Win Ben Stein's Money" ...only to have him turn us down.

My fascination with late night began as a kid. I remember how exciting it was to stay up to sneak a peek at the Carson monologue and watch him do spit takes with his chummy Hollywood guests. Later on I also loved the heady adult conversation Dick Cavett would have with everyone from Sly Stone to Groucho Marx. But it was the comedic revolution of Saturday night Live in 1975, followed by Letterman's game changing show in 1981 that truly established late night as the coolest place on the television landscape. I could only dream of one day being part of it.

25 years on, I couldn’t be more proud of The Daily Show and its legacy. Those days helping build it alongside Madeleine, Lizz, Eileen and the team were among the most satisfying (and fun) experiences I have ever had. It was thrilling to take a shot at the late night landscape and try and make our mark, especially when no one thought we could.

I am prouder still of what Trevor Noah and his staff have achieved since they took the hand off from Jon, evolving and growing the show through a new voice and lens. I think my personal "Moment Of Zen" will last as long as Trevor remains behind the desk, allowing me to selfishly boast of having hired every host this award winning and culture defining franchise has ever had.

25 years later. it remains as relevant as ever, a bona fide late night institution, standing shoulder to shoulder with all the great shows that inspired us to start.

[yayeetsonny]

Family~Krashlyn x Baby Reader

Prompt: Baby r is super short (shorter than Crystal lol), she is super close with Ali and Ash, they are like parents to her since her home life isn't great and her actual parents suck ass. She’s bummed about a father daughter dance and tries to hide it but Ash and Ali get her to spill. Ash saves the day

Requested By: Anonymous 

TW: Mentions of Neglect, verbal and emotional abuse and Anxiety. Brief depictions Verbal/emotional and brief physical abuse.

Y/N PRO//

I have always been jealous of kids whose parents are actually decent human beings. Jealous of those who have a good relationship with their parents and their mom and dad are actually nice to them and care about them. My parents are all about themselves, they never make time for me and I’m pretty sure if they had it their way they would have abandon me years ago. The only reason they haven’t is because of their precious “Image” They are some pretty powerful people in the business world and they don’t want their reputations ruined by any bad publicity. They see me as secondary to their company, and they are always leaving me alone in the house for long stretches of time. On the off chance they are home they make a point to tell me how pathetic I am and how I’m useless or worth nothing. They admonish me for my grades in school even when I’m doing really well and they call my social anxiety “ridiculous” and tell me I need to “get over it.” 

My life isn’t all bad though. I have made a pretty good name for myself, I’m a pro soccer player in the NWSL for the Orlando Pride and I play on the National team. Even at the tender age of 15, I have been afforded all these amazing opportunities and I have several college scholarships waiting for me. It’s amazing, and I have some of the best people in the world supporting me and my dreams. My Pride teammates of course and my national teammates as well, they’ve all be my anchors through everything but 2 people have always stood out above the rest. My teammates and ‘moms’ Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris. They are my biggest role models and the parents I’ve always wanted. I would not be where I am without them. I don’t speak very much around anyone but them but everyone else understands and doesn’t push me to talk.

Speaking of those two I’m currently smooshed in a Krashlyn sandwich as I make my way onto the field for Pride practice.

“Hey shorty! Good to see you!” Ash said 

“Hey baby girl, How was school?” Ali asked 

“Hey guys, good to see you too. School was okay.” I said once they pulled away

“Just okay? Why’s that?” 

They looked at me concerned. They both knew about my social anxiety and how sometimes school was really hard for me. I only shrugged in return.

“Come on Y/N, what is it?” 

They got me to move over to a bench and sit in between them.

I once again only shrugged.

“Please tell us?”

I let out a tired sigh but knew I could trust them with anything.

“ My anxiety was getting in the way of a lot today.” I said, suddenly finding my shoes very interesting. 

“Hey…”

Ali put her finger under my chin and gently lifted my head so we’d make eye contact.

“What have we talked about when it comes to your anxiety?”

“That it doesn’t define me and that it’s okay if I have hard days sometimes.” I mumbled

“And what else?” Ashlyn chimed in

“And that I can always talk to you guys about it and that I don’t need to be ashamed of it. I know, I just don’t want you guys to think I’m weak or-”

“Hey, no. Don’t do that to yourself.”

“We know not everyday is going to be happy, full of sunshine and rainbows. That doesn’t make you any less strong and it most certainly doesn’t make you weak.”

“Thanks guys. I needed that reminder.” I said wiping the tear that had started to fall.

“We’ll always be here to let you know just how great you are.” Ashlyn smiled softly at me

“You ready to practice or do you need a minute?”

“I’m ready.”

I stood up, shook out any extra nerves and Ali leaned down to kiss me on the head.

“You know, kid… you’re really short.” She laughed

“I know.” I giggled

“I’m pretty sure you’re shorter than Crystal.” Ashlyn chuckled

“No way!” 

“Yeah I think so! She’s what… 5’0 feet even? How tall are you?”

“4’9 and 1/2” I mumbled

“Oh man! You are short.” 

“It’s not funny!”

I pouted at them as they continued to laugh at me but after a moment I smiled and joined in.

“Okay, okay. Time to get to work kids.” Ali said

“Yes mom” Ash and I said

We made our way to the center of the field where the rest of our teammates were. Alex Morgan and Carson Pickett among them.

“Hey, Krashlyn! Mini Krashlyn!” Carson Pickett said, excitedly running up and giving us all a hug.

“Hi.” I said 

“Hey guys! Hey mini K, how you been?” Alex asked coming up and also giving us hugs.

The Pride and national team all called me “Mini Krashlyn” or “Mini K” because they know how close I am with Ash and Ali and they consider us “America’s cutest family.” It’s a little silly but mostly really cute.

I waved and gave her a thumbs up.

She smiled at me softly in return

We were interrupted by coach telling us to get to work.

“Alright ladies! Let’s go, you know the drill. Warm up and then get on the line!” 

I rolled my eyes at the thought of doing suicides or sprints first but did as told. After we warmed up I got on the line in between Alex and Ali. Ashlyn was on Alex’s other side and our other teammates filled the rest of the line.

“You ready, kid?” Alex asked

I nodded and smiled in return.

Coach Skinner blew his whistle and we were off. We started out with sprints and then moved to suicides. By the end everyone was panting and trying to catch their breath. Well everyone except for Marta, she looked barley winded.

I just shook my head at her.

She shrugged in return, smirking at me. After a quick water break we moved onto drills. We went through, passing, defending and shooting drills and then a scrimmage before coach called it a day. We said good bye to our teammates before Ash and Ali gave me a ride home.

“You did good today, kid.” 

“Thanks.”

The ride to my house was in relatively comfortable silence with just the radio softly playing in the background but no one seemed to mind. Once they pulled up and stopped at the curb I got out and grabbed my stuff from the back.

“Bye guys. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for the ride.”

“Y/N, wait.” Ash stopped me before I could go any further 

“Are you sure, you don’t wanna just spend the night at our place?”

I had told them that my parents were out of town and they knew what that meant. They tried to let me handle things how I saw fit but since I was only 15 they worried about me being alone for too long and sometimes convinced me to stay with them for a few days. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks for the offer though. My parents should be home tonight.”

“Are you sure? They don’t seem to commit to being home on time and we-”

“Ash I’m good. I promise. See you tomorrow.” I cut her off

I could tell they were conflicted about leaving me here but I gave them the best reassuring smile I could and they let it go.

“See you tomorrow, Y/N. We love you.”

“I love you guys too.”

I closed the car door, they waited for me to unlock my door before driving off. When I got inside I dropped my bag on the floor and sunk down next to it. My parents were actually coming home today and I wasn’t really looking forward to seeing them. 

I knew I needed to clean the house a little bit, so after sitting for a while longer I got up and got to cleaning. After a couple hours everything seemed to be the way they liked it, spotless. So I deemed it done and went to put away the supplies. As I was doing that I heard the front door open and rushed to finish putting everything away. I then made sure I looked “presentable” and made my way to the front of the house.

“Hi, mom. Hi dad. How was your trip?” I said as I came face to face with them for the first time in 2 weeks.

“Is the house clean?” My father asked completely ignoring what I said

“Yes sir.”

“It better be.”

My mom did little to even acknowledge my presence, only going as far to hand me her luggage and point upstairs. She then followed my father as he inspected my cleaning job. I rolled my eyes but brought her bag up anyways. I would have taken my dad’s too but he hates when I touch his stuff.

“Y/N M/N L/N!” dad yelled from wherever there were in the house. Oh man, he sounds really mad.

I went downstairs, and after searching for a minute I found them in the guest room.

“Yes sir?”

“What is this?” He asked sharply, showing me his hand that had a white glove with dust on it.

“Dust, sir.” 

“And why is there dust in this room?” His voice was dangerously low.

“I-I’m sorry sir, I did the best that I could.”

“Yeah, well your best isn’t good enough! You worthless waste of space. Clean the whole house again!”

“The whole house? But sir it’s just a little dust, I can-”

I didn’t get to finish because I felt a stinging sensation in my cheek and only after did I realize he had slapped me. I was dumbfounded, he had never done that before, he’d only ever yell at me and break the occasional vase but I never thought he’d actually hit me.

“Don’t ever talk to me like that again.” He growled 

I didn’t realize that I started crying.

“Stop crying before I give you something to really cry about.”

I stood there, stunned. I knew my parents were awful but I never thought either of them would put their hands on me. I wasn’t sure what to do, I wanted to call Ash and Ali but decided against it because I knew that they would most likely want to kill my father for this. I really wish my parents loved me. 

I did what my father said and cleaned the whole house again but this time I paid extra attention to the guest room and when it was finished I decided to go to bed. I could have eaten dinner but I was too exhausted to even try.

The next day…

At school I stayed more to myself than usual and made no real effort to talk to anyone. I was just walking to my next class when a very cheery girl, who looked to be a senior came up to me and in a cheery voice said

“Hey! The father daughter dance is next week on Friday night, don’t miss out!” 

She then handed me a flyer and all but, skipped away. I stood there for a moment wondering how someone could be so… happy, then I looked at the flyer and it read

“Spring Father-Daughter Dance! Next Friday, the 18th at 7! Don’t miss it!” 

I just scoffed at the idea of attending it with my dad, there was no way he would take me or even consider it. I just crumpled up the flyer and shoved it in my bag. Stupid dance, stupid flyer. 

I carried on with the rest of my day continuing to keep to myself. As much as I hated to admit it; I really wanted to go to the dance. I always wondered what a father-daughter dance was like and wish more than anything my dad actually carried enough to go. I knew that would never happen so I just continued to sulk about it until the school day was over.

When I got home I wasn’t surprised to find that my parents were gone, again and they wouldn’t be back for awhile. So I decided to call Ashlyn and Ali. Ali picked up on the first ring.

“Y/N?”

“Hi Ali, um- well, m-my parents left and they won’t be back for a-awhile and I was wondering if I could stay with you guys? I know we normally just have dinner together on Tuesdays but I just thought that w-we could-”

“Y/N! It’s okay, yes of course you can stay with us. We’ll be there in 15 minutes.” She said cutting off my rambling.

“Okay, thank you.” 

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“Of course Y/N. See you soon.”

“See you.”

After we hung up I went to go pack a bag and I couldn’t help but have a bounce in my step as I did. The 15 minutes flew by and before I knew it I was meeting Ash and Ali out front and they were putting my bag in the car.

“You, okay?” Ashlyn asked coming around and giving me a hug

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“How was school?” Ali asked as I got in the car.”

At the mention of school I went silent. I had forgotten about the sour mood it had put me in but now I remembered why and became sad all over again. 

“Y/N?”

“Hmm?”

“I asked you how school was?” Ali turned off the car and turned around in her seat.

“Oh, it was fine.” I said trying not to look at either of them.

“Are you sure? You seem upset about it.” Ash said

“Yeah I’m sure. Nothing upsetting me today!” I said hoping they would believe me.

Ashlyn PRO//

Ali and I shared a worried glance as we watched Y/N avoid our eyes. We knew something was bothering her but didn’t want to push, so we just let it go and see if she would tell us on her own. The drive back to our house was quiet and not in a good way. I really hoped Y/N would open up to us soon, I hated when things got awkward between her, Ali and I.

When we got back to the house Y/N got out, without a word, got her stuff and headed to the garage, waiting for us to open it to let her in. After Ali and I once again shared a worried glance we opened it so she could go in and she did, presumably disappearing to the guest room.

“Do you have any Idea what could be bothering her?” 

“Not a clue.”

“Do you think her anxiety is acting up?”

“No… Well maybe but we just talked about that yesterday. She knows she doesn’t have to hide that from us.”

“Hmm… I’m sure she’ll tell us when she’s ready.”

We talked for a few more minutes before heading inside. We decided to leave Y/N be and get started on dinner. After we were done we called her into the dinning room and we sat down to eat. We knew school was possibly a sensitive topic but since she said it was “fine” we decided to ask about her day anyway.

“So… learn anything new in school?”

“W-we learned about fossils.” She mumbled

“That’s cool! Anything exciting happen?”

She once again looked uncomfortable and I started to think this may have been a bad idea.

“N-nope. Nothing.” 

“Y/N are you sure you’re okay?” I asked

“Ash…” Ali said, putting her hand on my arm.

“What? I just want make sure she’s okay.”

“I’m fine. School was fine.”

“Why do you seem so bothered every time we ask about it then?” 

“I don’t know.”

She looked down at her shoes and I knew her facade was starting to waver. I didn’t want to push but I was starting to become really concerned.

“Hey… What is it?”

“It’s no big deal.”

“Anything bothering you is a big deal.”

“I’m fine.” She said but her voice cracked, giving away how she really felt

“We all know that’s not true. Y/N, please talk to us. It’s okay.” 

“There’s a father-daughter dance next Friday.” She said quietly 

“Oh, babe. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because it’s stupid. Not like I have a dad to go with anyways.” She said angrily 

“Hey, no… It’s not stupid, not if it was bothering you and you want to go. Do you?”

“Yeah but it doesn’t matter. My dad would never willingly go.” 

“I’m sorry he treats you so poorly it’s not fair.” I paused for a moment before coming up with an idea. I decided to keep it a secret for now and tell Ali later when Y/N goes to bed.

“It is what it is.” She mumbled

“Well, what if we had a movie night to cheer you up?” I said

“Thanks guys, but I think I’m just gonna go to bed. May I be excused?”

“Sure, kiddo.”

We smiled sympathetically at her as she made her way to the guest room. As soon as the door shut I turned to Ali with a big grin on my face.

“What?”

“I have an idea, but we have to keep it a secret from Y/N.”

“Okay? What is it?”

“We hold our own dance right here. On the same night as the father daughter one!”

“Ash, that’s brilliant!”

“i know, but shhh, we can’t let her know.”

“When did she say it was?”

“Next Friday.”

“Perfect. I have some calls to make.”

After talked more about the plan, we agreed to call all of our teammates, from both the Pride and the national team. I started with Alex since she was on both teams.

“Hey Al?” 

“Hi Ash, what’s up?”

“Well, I’m planning a dance for Y/N. With Ali’s help of course. It’s next week on Friday night. She’s bummed about the father-daughter dance at school and I thought we could throw a better one to cheer her up.”

“Ash that’s so thoughtful. Do you need help with decorations and that kind of stuff?”

“That would be great, yeah.”

“I’m on it and I’ll text everyone and tell them not to spill the beans.”

“Thanks Al.”

“Anytime. Ahhh, she’s gonna love it.” She squealed 

“I hope so. Bye Alex.” I chuckled

“Bye Ash.”

The plan was in motion and I couldn’t be more excited. We just had to keep it a secret for a week. That couldn’t be that hard.

It was very hard.

We had contacted everyone from both teams and the majority of them said they could make it, some were flying in a few days early, to come visit us and to say Y/N was confused and suspicious was an understatement. She had almost caught me talking about it on the phone several times but I convinced her it was something else. But when players started showing up she grew even more suspicious.

Hey Y/N, good to see ya!” Tobin said as she and Christen made their way into our house.

“Hi?”

“You not happy to see us?” She teased

“No, I am b-but Ash said no one was coming to visit.” she said turning to me, narrowing her eyes.

“Well we decided to surprise you, surprise!” Chris said

“So... You, Tobin, kelley, Emily, Lindsey, and Alyssa all decided to surprise me?”

“Yes?”

“Hmmm. Well thanks for coming. I’ve missed you guys.”

“We missed you too!”

The next few days flew by and by Friday everything was set to be perfect. Ali took Y/N out for the day so we could set everything up. Our Orlando Pride teammates, along with the national teammates who had flown in early were helping. Everyone else would be landing in a couple hours.

“Ash where should we hang this banner?” Christen asked, holding up the “mommy-daughter dance” banner we made.

“Right over there, above the fountain.” I said.

We were planning to have it in the backyard so everyone could fit into the space. We compiled a playlist of songs that Y/N loved along with a few that were about a mother and daughter so that we could have to special dance they had at the father-daughter dances. We also strung up some twinkly lights and made sure the yard would be as lit up as possible. While this was mostly my idea Ali and the others really helped me put everything together and I was grateful for all their help.

Ali and I agreed that I would dance with Y/N first and then she would.

“Ash, When are the others supposed to get here?”

“By 5:00. Why?”

“Ali says Y/N wants to come home now.” Alex said

“Shit. What time is it?”

“4:15.”

“Okay, that’s not too bad. But how are we gonna hide all of this?” I gestured to all the decorations and food that was set up.

“I have no idea.”

“Oooo I know!” Tobin said

“What do you got, T?”

“I’ll just convince her to play Mario Cart with me, distract her from looking at the yard, and give you, Ali and everyone else enough time to get ready.”

“That’s perfect! But what about you?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I have a perfect outfit already lined up and it’ll only take me 5 minutes to change.”

“Jeans and a T-shirt huh?”

“Yeah...”

Alex and I chuckled. Of course, classic Tobin.

Time continued to fly by and before I knew it, Y/N and Ali were home and Tobin whisked her away to play video games.

“Wow Ash, this is amazing.” Ali marveled at our handy work.

“Thanks babe, you think she’ll like it?”

“She’ll love it.” She kissed me gently.

5:00 o’clock came around and everyone else started to arrive. Tobin did a good job of keeping Y/N away from the commotion and I told everyone to come in through the side gate.

“You did good, Harris” Megan said, patting me on the back.

“Thanks, Pinoe.”

Everyone started to get ready, taking turns in the bathroom or our room. Ali and I the last to get ready. When I was sure everyone was good, and everything was set I texted Tobin letting her know it was go time.

“Okay everyone! Thank you for coming! Y/N will be out here any minute so get ready to surprise her.”

Everyone left through the side gate to wait until I gave them the signal to come in and I stood right in the middle of the yard, waiting for Tobin to bring out Y/N. I heard the door to the yard open and adjusted my bow tie when I noticed it was crooked.

“Okay kid, don’t peek yet okay?” I heard Tobin say.

“Tobyyy... where are we going?”

“Just one second... Okay open!”

When she did, the look on Y/N’s face was one that I would never forget. Her eyes sparkled as took everything in and when she saw me standing there, she started to tear up. She really started to cry when she saw the banner we made.

“Mommy-daughter dance. Ash... You did this for me?”

“Of course kiddo. I wanted you to have a special night tonight, even if it meant you didn’t go to the dance at your school.”

“This is so much better, thank you!”

She ran to me and jumped in my arms. I caught her with ease and spun her around, peppering her face with kisses as she giggled.

“Anything for you baby girl.”

“Where’s Ali?”

“She is here, that’s actually the other part of the suprise. Ali! Guys!” I called out to them.

Everyone walked through the gate, Y/N gasping as they did.

“Oh my god. Guys?! What are you all doing here?”

“Well... we know this is a mommy-daughter dance but we wanted to be here for your special night.”

“Thank you!”

“We wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Alex said softly

Y/N PRO//

I was overflowing with emotions, I had never felt so loved in my life. I hugged everyone and thanked them for coming before finally getting to Ali. She smiled at me with tears in her eyes and opened her arms, which I quickly ran into.

Ali... how can I thank you?”

“Save a dance for me?” She giggled

“Of course.”

“As much as I would love to chat with you, I think someone is waiting for you on the dance floor.” She said pointing at Ash. I looked back at her hesitant to leave.

“I don’t mind at all. Go have fun, we’ll dance soon.”

“Thank you mama, I love you.” I said before kissing her on the cheek and running off to dance with Ashlyn. That was the first time I had ever called her mama but I thought it was a fitting title and her and Ash are the parents I’ve always wanted

I joined Ash on the dance floor and she signaled to someone to change the song to a slow one. She smiled down at me as she took my hands in hers. Our height difference made it so I was definitely going to be stepping on her toes but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Thank you for all of this, mommy. I was so bummed about missing the other dance but I couldn’t be happier.” I said softly. I saw suprise cross her face at the new name I had given her but she embraced it without hesitation.

“I’m so glad, little one. Your mama and I love you so much. We always will.”

“I love you both more than I’ll ever be able to explain. You guys are the parents I’ve always wanted and the family I’ve always needed.” I said getting emotional.

“Family. Always.”

//

Sorry for any mistakes - N

[uswnt5]

i’m back again, and probably on thursday post draft lol. first off happy election is over szn.

second: there’s so much new information coming out, i wish all of this would’ve been released at one time. would’ve been easier to follow

i didn’t come here after actual protected rosters were released, but i can’t say i’m all the surprised with which NT players were left off. the only one that threw me for a loop was Press. think everyone was doing a double take there. admittadley i think Press has always kind of had one foot out the door with Utah since she got there (i know that’s an unpopular take, just my opinion, but also i get that wasn’t where she wanted to end up in first place, but still). however, Kelley also seemingly wants to yeet out of Utah too, so unless there were talks and Kelley agreed to stay in Utah idk what happened there with protecting her.

even if Press is abroad right now, Utah is gambling LV not taking her because she’s abroad and would likely refuse to play. still a major, major gamble. LV could take her and sell her elsewhere (literally anywhere, bc they have the upper hand with the #1 draft pic everyone is after and they’d be stupid to let it go) for more money, Utah seems to willing to part with her for a measley 75k. and again, LV could sell her somewhere she wants to be even less than Kentucky, it’s a business and even though they should, they don’t have to take her feeling into account. mad, mad stupid on Utah’s part. could have waited a year and sold her to LA for double what they’d get for losing her and maybe even gotten roster protection + draft picks. well probably never know what went into that decision, but if i had to guess probably not a lot of common sense.

My guesses for the draft:

Orlando: Konya Plummer and Carson Pickett (don’t have many great options bc aussie internationals will probably stay in wsl)

Washington: Yokoyama and Dougherty-Howard

NCC: Ally Watt/Meredith Speck and Addyson Merrick (merrick really showed tons of potential this year)

Sky Blue: Kayleigh Rhiel/Sabrina Flores and Jennifer Cudjoe (will be sad to see cudjoe taken, she really stepped up this year)

Houston: Brianna Visalli and Jamia Fields

Utah: Christen Press (if not, which id be shocked at—> Brittany Ratcliffe/Gunny Jonsdottir and Desiree Scott)

Portland: Eckerstrom and Gabby Seiller/Christen Wesphal (they left so much talent available i cry) (basically said have your choice of any keeper and leave the rest of our allocated players alone, it’ll probably work too)

Reign: Quinn/Rosie White/Jasmyn Spencer/Maddison Hammond (they have a quite a bit of talent available too so we’ll see)

on top of Cheyna Matthews, Yuki Nagasato and Savannah McCaskill. i’d be very surprised if this doesn’t go the way i expect with NT players and only taking one. i’m interested to see what happens after depending on who gets taken, especially bc trade szn opens again the day after the draft.

welcome back I’m sure the TL loves that you still have not updated your phone and can send long messages. It makes me laugh! 

happy election is over and we won szn. praise be. 

I am terrible at guessing picks and honestly don’t pay enough attention to the league players as a whole, if they’re not on teams I consider my favorites, so I’ll take your word for it.

I just can’t wait to see what happens with Christen, but I’m once again annoyed that she will be forced back into speculation from the media and mostly likely demonized for not agreeing to report to another team. I, for once, was just looking forward to her getting to sit this one out, and then Utah went and did that.... stupids. 

[truestory1929]

April 9th 2020

Final Blog 1979 to 1983 Emerson and Mary leaving the nest. After 1983 our house just went along just like everybody else!

Left to right back, Jamie, Me, Dad, Rita, front left, Emerson and Dorothy. This pic was just after we met our Father for the first time in 15 years!

THE FINAL BLOG! April 9th 2020

1979 to 1983

Emerson's leaving and Mary is moving in!

     Well here we are January 1979, my oldest son brother Emerson is halfway through grade 12 and wondering what to do in June when he graduates. Emerson took Motor Mechanics in High School this trade is still with him today, saved him tons of money, but he never took it up as a career. We had  rules in our house about education. First; education was more important than sports, two; you can live with us as long as you continue your education as long as you are progressing, this does not mean spending three years in grade 12, third and last; when the education is over, you live with us rent free for one year, get a job, save money for an apartment and move out. Otherwise we believe without these rules [ and we saw enough of it]  your parents will charge you a small rental fee,then you will take your excess money and buy a fancy sport's car with big payments,and a big insurance  bill and now go no where fast. This might be called tough love today. Especially because the average age of moving out is about 27 years old if you are lucky.

    David joined T-ball last year, and Jason joined this year. Sports was not at the top of our list for raising kids. I only played back yard sports. We had a ball field out by the Saint John airport where the car rental company is now. We played a lot of flys and grounders, scrub etc. Pat Riley and Jim Daly both hitch hiked to the south end of Saint John and played Little League. We played pond hockey on Treadwell Lake. I really did love sports but because of my situation I just did not get there. I am not feeling sorry for myself, its just the way it was.The first year I was at my foster home, the boys in Johnson's road talked me into joining school boy hockey. I had no equipment and The Wood's [ my foster parents] where not interested in helping me. I bought old time hockey equipment from the Merzetti's.[ who owned Mutal Jobbing on Douglas avenue] You could use google today and find this hockey equipment from the 50's. Leather helmet, leather pants and size 10 skates when I was a size 8. I loved it, but hitchhiking to Simonds Centennial Arena in the dead of winter was brutal. I played about 10 games. I did not even know what an off side was and I would be standing down in front of the other teams net waiting for the puck before my team mate was across the blue line. After a couple of games I caught on after all the the screaming and yelling from the coach and the players. Its funny now to think back on this stuff. Murray Sewell was responsible for my kids getting into sports. Murray had his t-ball team practicing in the Glen Falls play ground [which was next door to our house]so David went over to see what was going on. He got David throwing the ball and Murray was impressed. Like in the Chevy movie "BING0" this guy could throw a ball voila sports was born into the Reynolds Family.Jean was a good athlete, basically a tom boy until she was 16 years old, then yahoo, the most beautiful girl I ever met, a real lady, dainty, sweet, kind, loving, supportive [ and I mean supportive, I had a lot of crazy ideas and she went along with them eventually]. She was always being picked to be on someone's team at he Allison grounds in Rockwood Court. So its in [watch for the pun] the Jeans! lol

 Now lets go back to the Merzetti's. In my first year with my foster parents, Marion and Fred Woods, Jim Merzetti asked me if I wanted to make some extra money stocking shelves at Mutal Jobbing. Well sure I was always looking for ways to make money. I use to walk the ditches with Jimmy Daly for pop and beer bottles and we we an empty 50 lb burlap bag. We would take them Berry's store across from the airport and cash them in. Pile winter wood for neighbours, run errants for the neighbors, fish trout through the ice and sell them and even cut trees down from other people's land and sell them for christmas trees. We just got inside the door and this elderly gentleman walked in. MR. Merzetti who own the business introduced him to me, his name was Havelock Lane. Tall slim man very nice. Three years later after Jean and I started dating, she introduced me to her grandparents Havelock and Genavieve Lane! Yep, same guy!

    Emerson graduated yahoo, big milestone for any Reynolds to graduate.You know I never said this before,I hated our last name, I swore I was going to change my name when I grew up. We used to get "ren-hole" because we we so dirty and so poor, an I'm sure we were stinky. How do you bath in the winter and wash clothes when I filled the washer up every morning to supply water for Mom for the day out of Treadwell Lake? I remember when I graduated I thought I died and went to heaven! Emerson decided to go to NBCC and Take the one year plumbing course. We were very proud of him  wanting to continue his education. This will make the fourth Reynolds to go to NBCC. Myself, Dorothy and Jamie also graduated from NBCC. He passed in flying colors. He never took up Motor mechanics or plumbing as a career trade, but has saved himself lots of money doing both. Who really knows what you want to do for a living for the rest of your life? Every person I know [and I know a lot of people] are not doing what they thought they might do after the education is over with one exception, My son David, he knew he wanted to be a Doctor in grade 6. Emerson had done many jobs, each jog shaping his skills and shaping his well being. He has found his niche in Ventilation, he is at the top of his game, he  is in upper managment, he creates multi-million dollar bids for his company, he is well respected in his company and his field of expertise! Emerson never took us up on the offer to stay rent free for a year. NBCC let him graduate early as he had a job with Bob Duplussis Plumbing company. Moved out and into his own apartment on Michael Crescent all by the time of his 21st birthday on June 5th 1980. Emerson lived with us for 7 years. He is my oldest son, he is a big brother to my three sons. It was a hell of a run Em!

     Ben now has got into the sports world He joined t-ball this year. Jean is trying to get her drivers licence. Jean is very nervous about theses things. She is now 30 years old. I work shift work so I am not around to drive the kids to their sports for every game. We are going nuts, we have friends and neighbours helping us with driving to and from ball and hockey venues. Kudos to the Sewell's, Goguens, Allaby's, Carson's, White's, Mclaughlin's, Hutchinson's, Doiron's, Stevens, and many more for helping with picking up and delivering our kids to and from the rinks and ball fields. I was driving a 1974 Pontiac Lemans at the time. Big car, Jean failed two road tests up to this point. The car was too big for parallel parking , combine that  with Jean's nerves it was useless. Okay new plan, I called rent-a-wreck to see if I could rent a small car for her to take road test. They said no [remember no speaker phone] as their insurance only covers the driver. I said okay, [I never told Jean the whole conversation] come on Jean we are going to get a small car for you. I told her she could  sit in our the car until I got the rental car, I was not making any mistakes about blowing my scam. I rented an AMC pacer, nice and small, easy to parallel park etc. I left my car in the parking lot and drove home, we already had the appointment made. Jean said she would need to take a valium to calm her nerves just before we leave. The road test was in the West Side Motor vehicle. Now the examiner always asked for the permit and car registation. The registration was just a photo copy. In these AMC pacers they hasd  a tray that ran the entire width of the car under the dash. So I told Jean that it was just laying under the glove box where he could see it, praying that he would not pick it up. Remember Jean has no idea that this whole thing is illegal. Well she took the test and passed in flying colors. Yahoo Jean has her licence, I told Jean the whole story after we got home. The colr drained from her face.

    Okay, we are starting to finish chapters and start a new one. David finally gets his own room at 9 years old after Emerson moved out. We asked him how he wanted his room done. He wanted wallpaper with the old vintage airplanes, De Havilland's etc. We bought him a Captains bed and painted the room. That was one happy kid yahoo! Well the yahoo did not last long. Around Christmas time we got a call from Jean's mother who was living in Montreal at the time. We had just got settled in bed for the night, its was around midnight when the phone rang. We turned on the bedroom lights and Jean proceeded to talk to her mother. No speaker phone then, but I gathered it was Vera. Jean hung up and said her mother was crying and broken hearted. I asked her what was the matter and she said that Mary needed a place to stay until she graduated from high school.[ Quebec passed a new law that year requiring all students to finish their education in French only. Mary was taking hairdressing. Bill 101 was enacted on August 26, 1977. The bill basically was  made to ensure the Province of Quebec became totally French speaking only. The top jobs at the time were held by English speaking Canadians. Bill 101 was to make schooling in French only up to high school. All signages were to be in French only. Then in 1980 they decided that the high schools were to be French only too. Mary needed to move back to Saint John to finish high school.]  Jean said her mom wanted us to talk it over and call her back tommorrow. I told Jean call your mom back right now. You were the one who decided to take in Emerson for me. If you said no it was no. Now it is my turn, we are taking her in. Jean called Vera back and told her we would take care of Mary, and that was that. Now we have to tell David that he will have to move back in the laundry room for at least three years. Poor David, as sad as he was he never complained, he went about his business as usual. He might have said something to his brothers but not us? Mary was in grade eleven and will be going to Saint John Vocational School. Something I forgot to say about Emerson, he did a lot of babysitting, he made his own money as he was a member of the Miltia since he was 16 years old, and bought us very nice gifts [Thanks Em] Okay now, Mary was the same, she helped Jean around the house, she baby sat and made life for us as easy as possible. Mary was 17 years old when she moved in.

   Well Mary graduated in flying colors in June 1982. Mary decided that she really did not want to be a hairdresser. Jean was working at the Top of the Town restaurant. This was located on Main st. on the roof of Keddys Hotel. I talked to the superviser of the down stairs coffee shop and dining room off the main hotel lobby and was able to talk her into hiring Mary as a cashier. She eventually became a waittress. Jean introduced Tony Kane to Mary. Tony was working in the banquet department. The next year I got her an apartment in east Saint John and her and Tony moved in together. Mary moved out the end of September 1983. Before she moved out I got Mary to teach me how to cut hair.[ I just cut Jeans hair yesterday as we are quarantined]. David is now 12, Jason is 11 and Ben is 6. cutting their hair became another job for me for years to come. Emerson was getting married on Oct 8 1983. I was the best man at the wedding. It was a blast. When we got home we found our house was in  shambles. Some one broke into our home and ransacked the place, stole our stereo system and all my 8mm home movies from 1979 to 1983, Christmases, birthday, sporting events etc. We were heart broken. You never really get over something like that. It was like somebody tearing your heart out.

     Well David gets his room back again, he is now 12 years old. You are a good man David.We have been married now for 13 years Dec 12, 1983. We started this journey moving people into our home in 1973, two and half years after we were married. We were married December 12 1970. We will be married 50 years this December. We were going to go on a cruise, but we think in lieu of what is happening right now with the coronavirus that cruising is out for a long time for us. We have no desire to even fly overseas. We will stick to North America thank you very much!

   This will be my last blog, hope you guys found something that interested you. I can't sign out before I mention the foster parents. May of 1967 I went to Fred and Marion Wood on Johnson Road, where I grew up with  their youngest son Gerald. He introduced me to motorcycles, he would let me ride all of them, he had 4 different bikes in my time there. I never had an older brother so now I do. Gerald or Woody which he prefer, we still bike around today.  Dorothy and Emerson went to the Donnie and Jean Armstrong's, god bless them they 7 kids of their own. Jamie went to the Baxters Len and Mertle, who had at least 8 kids of their own.[The Baxters and the Armstrongs lived across from each other on the Loch Lomond road beside the Norris road.] Then Emerson went to the Morris's, and Dorothy went to the Websters. Then Emerson went back to the Armstrongs and then to me and Jean May 9th 1973. So from May 1967 to May 1973 Emerson moved 4 times in 6 years. Dorothy then went to Godin's and then to our place on Cooks Lake road off the Norris Road in August 1975 to attend NBCC. We lived in a small house we were renting from Dawn and Vince Dempsey. They were our Landlord and Landlady for our first 7 years of our marriage. After Dorothy graduated she and her boyfriend, John Sullivan, got an apartment on the Loch Lomond Road. People can say all they want about foster parents, some good stuff and some bad stuff. Without them, where would we be today. Mr amd Mrs. Wood taught me every thing I know. learned manners, building, [ I used all the tools to build an addition on the back of their house. which launched me into the Oil Refinery], I learned how to plAy chess, learned how to play a guitar etc. We had three square meals a day, we were warm, were clothed, we had it all. Yes we were separated, yes the love was not the same as we got from mom. But man, these people took us into their homes and took care of us. We were backward, dirty, angry, at times just plain bad, neglected, dressed in rags, if you can think of it that was us, but they took us in anyway, GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

    I wanted my grandchildren to have some history about their grandparents and their parents. I knew nothing about my grandparents, little about my aunts and uncles, cousins etc. They all lived in Nova Scotia. The only relatives that came to see us was Mom's parents Fred and Margie Hayter, they came in 1961 a year after Dad left, just for the day, and my Aunt Goldie in the late 70's at Todd Street in Glen falls. I started this project in the fall of 2013, I do not know where the time goes.I was going to quit a few times, I stopped writing for a while, but my grandkids urged me to finish. At times it seemed that I was just whining or feeling sorry for myself or sometimes it just made me sad. Thanks you for urging me on, it was good therapy for me, it made me realize how lucky we are, to have the family we have and all the good people I have met and all the things we have done! I am a lucky man to be so rich with LOVE!

    I never thought I would live long enough to receive an old age check, we have been getting it three years now. Its great to be a Canadian. After living in USA for the last several winters you know how lucky you are. They do not have free health care [ I know what you are thinking its not free , we paid high income tax compared to the Americans but that was a good thing, just ask an American.] and we have the Old Age check. They do not have this. They have social security, which is based the same as our Canada Pension Plan, a working persons pension. [ notice I did not say working man's pension lol]. Our old age check is an  awesome bonus. Canadians do not contribute financially to it, you only need to be 65 years old,and be a Canadian citizen for 5 years. Yahoo. I hope you all get to collect it someday.

      We will continue to quarantine ourselves after our mandatory quarantine on April 15th. We may be carriers so we do not want to pass anything on to you. We will continue the 6 feet or 2 meters social distancing,and we will wear a mask when we are out. We will visit out in the yards at your place or ours for the good of all of us! We love you all very much!    

    Your grandparents Nana and Papa! oxoxoxoxoxoxoxo see you soon!

[whumpstation]

Whumptober Day 8 - Fever

I believe this is one of the original prompts, but I think I moved the day. XD OH well. Enjoy. Sick and fever fics are kinda my thing, so this one is the longest one so far. I hope you enjoy.

Whumptober Day 8 – Fever Series: Stargate Atlantis Words: 1508 ETA: 2.5-3 hours

         Post mission found one Rodney McKay in the commissary. The physicist lazily rolled his food around his tray as he stared at his tray without really seeing it. If anyone had cared to look, they would’ve noticed his eyes were a bit glassy, and his face a slight more flushed than normal, but no one cared about Rodney McKay. He learned that very quickly growing up. He supposed he was being a bit overdramatic, but he was in an extremely foul mood.

        He had been more tired – run down really – for the last couple days. He even went to bed early the night before, but he woke up feeling just as tired as when he fell asleep. Then came the mission this morning. Just another dull ‘meet and trade’ mission that went nowhere fast. Luckily nothing exploded, and no one even got a splinter, but the natives were not interested at all in trading with outsiders. Waste of his time really. Planet didn’t even have any ruins or unusual power sources for him to investigate.

        Rodney sighed to himself as he stabbed a potato more forcefully than necessary, but didn’t bring it to his mouth to eat it. He just didn’t feel all that hungry, which really should’ve been a big red flag, but he missed it just like his teammates.

        “Whoa, buddy. What did that potato do to make you so mad?” John - always with the jokes and wisecracks.

        Rodney flinched a little bit at the suddenness of John’s arrival, but the scientist relaxed quickly. “Not in the mood, Colonel,” he mumbled quietly, never taking his eyes from the tray.

        John frowned as he sat down across from his teammate, and dare he say – friend. “What’s wrong with you today? You’ve been quiet all day. Something going on that I should know about?” John took a bite of his food as he waited for what was sure to be one of McKay’s famous scathing monologues, but he was surprised when the genius only shook his head and mumbled, “Nothing’s wrong. Just back off, Colonel Nosey.”

        John stopped for a moment to study his friend. Something was definitely not right. His skin was flushed, he was obviously tired from his drooped posture and red eyes, and most worrying of all was that he wasn’t eating! McKay never turns down food. John was about to press further when his other two teammates arrived – Teyla and Ronan.

        “May we join you, Colonel? Doctor?” Teyla asked politely as Ronan merely plopped down in a chair next to McKay.

        John huffed in laughter at both of them, momentarily distracted by their arrival. “Please do, Teyla.” John said in a slightly more sarcastic tone of politeness as she took a seat next to her team leader.

        Teyla took in McKay’s appearance and shot John a worrying look. He nodded in agreement and looked back at McKay to continue grilling him to get to the bottom of what was bothering him. What he saw when he looked at McKay stole his breath away. Rodney must have either forgotten they were there, forgotten where he was, or thought they weren’t looking as he was leaning on the table with his glass of ice water pressed to his forehead. The scientist had a look of pure relief on his face as he slowly rocked the glass from side to side along his heated brow. John, Teyla and even Ronan all stopped and just watched their teammate for a minute, unsure what to do, if anything.

        John had finally had enough and leaned forward over the table a bit to grab McKay’s wrist. “Buddy, you ok?” He asked softly, but apparently not softly enough as Rodney’s eyes shot open; he gasped and dropped the glass to the table, spilling its contents all over his uneaten food and partially on his lap. As the water dripped off the table onto his lap, the now gasping man shot to his feet and took a few shaky steps backwards.

        His team was instantly on their feet, and John had one hand behind his back to brace him and one on his arm to anchor him. “Easy, buddy. It was just me. It was just me! Just breathe.” John tried to sound calm, as he steadied his shaking friend, completely ignoring the looks they were getting from the now silent commissary. “Maybe we should go somewhere a little more private? What do you say?” John offered as he shared a glance with his other two friends, who nodded in agreement.

        Before anyone could even move though, Rodney suddenly doubled over in a coughing fit. John and Ronan supported him through it, as Teyla rubbed his back in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. After about a minute, Rodney caught his breath and slowly unfolded himself, but his breathing was still labored and raspy.

        Being this close to Rodney, John could now feel the heat that radiated off his friend. He could see the glazed over look in the scientist’s normally clear blue eyes. Small tremors ran through the stocky man; shaking his hands that still had a solid grip on him. “Rodney? Talk to me, buddy. What’s going on?” John finally asked, concern dripped from every word.

        Rodney blinked heavily a couple times at his friend, as his head bowed and rose a few times in turn. “J..John. I…I don’t…” and suddenly his legs gave out from under him and he was slowly being lowered to the floor by two pairs of hands. He was aware enough to feel something soft under his head, and far away voices, but it was only for a moment before everything gave way to black and silence.

        When Rodney finally came back to the land of the living, things had definitely changed. He was still lying down, but he was definitely in a bed and not on the floor. He was also in lighter fitting clothes than he was wearing before, and he could feel the tell tale tugs of tubes in his arm and up his nose. ‘Yep. Infirmary. IVs, breathing tubes and who knows what else. I hope I’m not dying again. I’m just too tired to deal with any of that right now.’

        “He’s got a bit of a fever, and he’s past exhausted, but I’m confident that he’ll make a full recovery with a few days rest.” Carson’s voice floated over him as he slowly gained control over his senses.

        ‘Oh, well that’s good to know. Rest I can definitely do right now. I am a bit thirsty though.’

        “Thanks, Doc. I’m glad it’s nothing more serious than that. I guess I’ll have to add ‘babysit McKay’ to my to-do list to make sure he’s not working himself to death.” John rattled off somewhere to his right, a bit closer (or just louder) than Carson.

        That babysit crack struck a nerve though, and McKay took his chance to crack open his eyes and do this best to glare at his CO. “Babysit? Really?” Rodney croaked out before a coughing fit took him by surprise and he suddenly felt two pairs of hands steady him and a straw pressed to his lips. He took small sips which felt heavenly on his parched throat, and eased his coughing.

        He nodded at Carson for the water, and glared back at John. “I don’t need a babysitter. You on the other hand…”

        “I don’t usually work myself into early grave, McKay. You’re lucky we were there when you fainted.”

        John was going to continue when Rodney bristled and bit back, “I did not faint. I...passed out.”

        “Same thing!” both Carson and John replied in unison.

        Rodney huffed and sank back into the pillows. He really was just too tired for this. He didn’t even realize that he had closed his eyes until the overhead lights dimmed a bit. He opened them again as best as he could to see John and Carson staring at him compassionately.

        Carson patted his covered knee and smiled softly at him, “Get some rest, Rodney. Let the fever reducers do their job. The only thing you need to focus on right now is sleep.” Carson glanced at Sheppard for a moment before leaving to tend to his other patients.

        McKay lazily rolled his eyes to meet John’s, “Don’t…need a…babysitter,” he mumbled out grumpily, as what he assumed were the fever reducers started to kick in and drag him down the Land of Nod.

        The military man smiled and huffed a bit, patting McKay’s shoulder, “Whatever you say, Buddy. Just get some rest. I’ll check in later.”

        McKay tired to glare at him one more time, but a yawn interrupted the gesture, and his eyes were suddenly closed for business. The physicist could feel himself slip ever more and more into slumber, but before he completely disappeared, he could’ve sworn he felt someone tuck the covers around him a bit more snuggly. Either way, Rodney McKay sighed in contentment and gave into a healing sleep.

[smilingformoney]

America’s Most Eligible 2 Diamond Scene: Play Nice with Vince

CHAPTER FOUR

You: You’re right, Jen. Now might be my only chance to get in with Vince. You: He’s gonna help me with this Challenge… even if it costs him the grand prize. Jen: That’s what I like to hear. Now get back there before he suspects you of anything! You put on your best cheery grin and head back to Vince. He looks up at you in surprise. You: Here’s what’s gonna happen. We’re gonna work together. Nicely. And we’re gonna make the best damn sandcastle this beach has ever seen. You gesture to the pile of sand Vince has gathered. You: What’s this? Vince: Well, I was going to put a tower here… You: There? Really? That’s what everyone else is going to do. You: I thought you wanted to set up apart as the frontrunners. Vince: Of course I do-- You: Then prove it.

You: We should build… -A modern sandcastle.

You: Picture a sleek monument, one that’s both artistic and surreal. 

-An elegant sandcastle.

You: Picture a spiral staircase wrapping around a dramatic spire. 

You: Nobody else is gonna take a risk like that. And between the two of us, I think we can pull it off. Vince pauses, looking at you thoughtfully. Vince +1 Vince: Okay. Then let’s get started. You quickly get to work on the sandcastle. But soon, an awkward silence settles over both of you.

Vince: It would appear that you’d rather be anywhere else right now… You: It’s not that. I just wish we could clear the air and act like real partners for a change. Vince: And how do you propose we do that? You: By getting to know each other. If we’re gonna be an effective team, you’ll need to open up to me. 

You: So tell me about yourself… -Why did you try out for AME? Vince +1

Vince: Why do any of us try out? It’s certainly not for any noble reasons. You: That’s not true. Some of us want to prove ourselves, to make our families proud, or to help people… Vince: And whoever says any of those things is just fooling themselves. You: You’re being cynical-- Vince: I’m not. Deep down, we’re all here because we want to be seen and we want to be adored. Vince: In my case, I also wanted to win. And I wanted it so badly that I actually made it happen. You: Well, I can’t fault you for being ambitious.

-What makes you happy? Vince +1

Vince: Are you suggesting I’m a chronically unhappy person? You: Maybe. I don’t think I’ve seen one genuine smile out of you. Vince shrugs, then looks off into the distance. After a moment, he nods. Vince: Power makes me happy. It’s the key to success, stability, self-assurance. And when you have all three, what more do you need? Vince: Aside from a good wine, of course. You: Huh. You didn’t mention anything about family. Or friends. Vince: I suppose that may seem odd to you. But I’ll let you in on a secret… You can never rely on other people to bring you happiness. Vince: All it will do is hold you back. You: I… guess I never thought of it that way.

-What do you do for a living? Vince +1

You: You know, besides selling autographs and headlining D-list nightclub tours. Vince: I know you said that just to be cute, but there’s no shame in dealing the cards I’ve been given. I’m an entrepreneur. Vince: These days, I run my own self-help site, ‘The Gentleman’s Guide to Charisma: How to Get the Girl and the Job of Your Dreams’. You make a face at the name, and Vince smirks in response. Vince: The first course is free. You should check it out sometime. You: I nothing, I guess I can appreciate your hustle.

Vince chuckles. Vince: And here you were, thinking I was the big bad Vince you were warned about. Vince: It’s always better to check for yourself if the rumours are true. Especially if the rumours were started by jealous, bitter people. You: See, it’s when you say things like that that make me believe the rumours. Vince: I’m not being harsh, Jamie, just truthful. Some people can’t stand being beaten.

You: I don’t get you… -Why are you picking fights with Adam? Vince +1

Vince: You don’t mince words, do you? You: Why would I? He clearly wants nothing to do with you. And after the stunt you pulled with the bull, maybe he should press charges. Vince: I’m not sure what you’re insinuating, Jamie. I had no control over what happened at the rodeo bar! Vince: And as for me ‘picking fights’ with Adam… am I not allowed to try and make amends with old friends? You: Is that really what you’re doing? From where I’m standing, it seems like you’re just trying to get into his head again. You: He’s changed since you last talked to him. And your mind games aren’t going to work anymore.

-Aren’t you tired of being fake all the time? Vince +1

Vince: You don’t mince words, do you? You: I don’t see a point in beating around the bush. But it seems exhausting to keep up your ‘charming gentleman’ act. You: Wouldn’t it be easier to just be real with everyone? Vince: It seems to me what you call ‘fake’, I call strategic. I suppose I could hurl insults and carry on about how much better I am than the others… You: What, are you scared it would ruin your chances? Vince: I know you’re not naïve, Jamie. Reputation is everything in this game… And being ‘real’ is the biggest mistake you can make.

Vince pointedly gets back to work, turning his back on you.

When you return to Vince, he takes the bucket of water from you with a nod. Vince: Thanks. This’ll help… He quickly forms a pile of sand into another tower, motioning for you to assist him. As you make quick work of the details, Vince clears his throat. Vince: Jamie… I get that you have some problems with my tactics. But I’d like to explain where I’m coming from… Vince: I’m all about the mind game. Sure, you can best your opponents through brute force, but it’s far more effective to conquer their confidence. Vince: It’s human nature to zero in on another’s weaknesses… and to strike when the moment’s right. You make think it’s cruel, but that’s the game. You: You’re really working overtime to convince me you’re a good guy. Vince: Of course I am. You said it yourself, we need to be a proper team. And I can’t do that with someone who doesn’t understand. He brushes his hair out of his face, thinking hard. Vince: Let’s be real for a second, Jamie. Vince: You’re playing the sweetheart to stay on everyone’s good side… but as we saw last season, someone’s bound to take advantage of that. You: So… what are you saying exactly? Vince: You need to follow my lead. Toughen up. Either you start thinking critically, or you won’t make it to the end of this season. You: I get that. I do. But what you’re doing is far beyond what you’re telling me. You: You’re tearing people down. Look at Adam! Do you have any idea how much you hurt him? How much you’re still hurting him? Vince: I regret that he was hurt… but he should’ve known better. Vince: If I stop and think about all the collateral damage my strategies might cause, I’d never get anything done. And true winners cannot hesitate. You: That’s a cold outlook, Vince. I don’t think-- Vince: Jamie, what I do in this game is never personal. Nothing ever is on a show like this. We’re here for money, for fame… Vince: And you should be prepared to deal with cutthroats. Adam wasn’t. And that was his mistake.

You: Well… -At least you’re being honest.

You: I can’t say I’m happy about how you play the game… but I can appreciate that you aren’t trying to sugarcoat the truth with me. 

-Your strategy is impressive!

You: You’ve made some good points, and you did win your season. Clearly you know what you’re doing. You: Even if you burned a lot of bridges along the way…

-You’re still a jackass.

You: All you’ve given me is selfish excuses for acting the way you do. But you can’t keep hurting people like this. It’s not right.

Vince: Listen… I’m not going to judge you on how you choose to play the game. And I think it’s only fair that you show me the same courtesy. As you get back to building the sandcastle, you let his words wash over you. Vince +1 Vince: I’m glad we had this talk, Jamie. But what I think you should do now is take a minute to consider the possibilities… You: And what possibilities would those be? Vince: A true partnership, for one! Vince: Think about it. If we can work together in front of the cameras, and win America’s heart as the team to beat, we’ll be golden. When you frown, Vince rolls his eyes. He grabs the bucket and heads to the water, turning to call over his shoulder… Vince: You’ll learn soon enough, Jamie. I’m your best shot at making it to the finale. You: (We’ll see about that…)

Jen: Hey. It looks like the heart-to-heart with Vince went well? You: I dunno if I’d put it that way, but I do think I understand him a little better. You: It’s interesting though… He talked a lot about teaming up. And about how we need to put our strengths on camera, front and center. Jen: That tracks with what I know about him. He’s all about his nice guy persona. Meanwhile, he’s exposing everyone else’s weaknesses for his own gain… Jen: But maybe you can turn that against him. Force him to show his true self to the cameras and prove to America how ineligible he really is. You: And then I’ll have the upper hand…

-If you built the modern sandcastle

Carson: Look at those crisp lines. It’s like this castle is made of stone instead of sand. The level of ingenuity here is far above the rest! Carson: I say put it in the MoMA, because we’re in the presence of true artistes!

-If you built the elegant sandcastle

Carson: I must say, the level of detail here is absolutely exquisite! Magical! Carson: It’s like something out of the storybooks I loved as a kid! 

Carson: And so, I’m happy to announce that Jamie and Vince are the winners of this Challenge!

You: Thanks, Carson… -We could’ve won this with our eyes closed! Yvette +2, Slater +2, Ivy -2

You: Especially when you consider how terrible the other sandcastles looked. Yvette: Wow. And I thought Ryder was the rude one from your season. Slater: Know what? I kind alike that Jamie doesn’t bother downplaying her victory. That confidence’ll go a long way. Ivy: There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Ivy: And Jamie’s crossing over into arrogance, as usual. 

-This shows our partnership might just work after all… Adam -2, Vince +2, Ronan +2

Adam: You don’t really mean that, do you? Vince: Don’t be jealous, Adam. I’m glad Jamie’s finally seeing the light. Ronan: Ah, I love a good ‘enemies to allies’ storyline.

-But I shouldn’t have to share this win with Vince! Eden +2, Vince -2, Adam +2

You: I’m the one who did all the work! Eden: Good for you, Jamie. It takes guts to go after the accolades you deserve. Vince: If you felt that way, I wish you would’ve brought it up sooner. I’d never want a teammate of mine to feel that things are unfair. Adam: Save it, Vince. I don’t doubt for a second that Jamie’s telling it like it is.

Carson gathers you and the other contestants in the living room. When the cameras are rolling, he presents you with the Date Card. 

-Read the Date Card! 

You: It says that the Challenge winners-- Vince: That’d be us. You: --and the other safe contestants will be going on the next group Date.

CHAPTER FIVE

Carson: Adam, you’re up first. As Adam heads to the Confessional room, Slater leans back and mutters to you… Slater: Any advice you can give me who to vote out? I’m stumped. You: Well, if you ask me…

Who should Slater vote out? -Bianca and Kiana -Bianca and Ronan -Yvette and Kiana -Yvette and Ronan

Slater: Solid. Thanks, Jamie. As Adam rejoins you outside, Slater takes his place. You: All there is to do now is wait…

[stilinski24andmccall11]

Being a werewolf isn't as glamorous as people make it out to be. Most would consider it a gift and others a curse. Me well I'm in between the two. I think it's kind of bittersweet. The heightened senses were great. The speed and the strength are also great, but only when you don't have to suppress it. The biggest burden of being a werewolf is keeping the secret itself. Do you know how hard it is not to use those super reflexes on the soccer field given I may use some of them but that's beside the point. I was born a werewolf so it is a lot easier for me to control myself. I, like most werewolves, use an anchor. My anchor is my best friend, Christina Martinez, the only person I would trust with my life. She is my rock and I don't know what I'd do without her. She does know that I am a werewolf and she took the news really well. It even brought us closer together. Now she is really protective of me which I find funny as it should be the other way around.

"Claire Carson, why haven't you answered any of my texts this morning. I thought some hunter killed you in your sleep." Christina huffed while stomping over to me.

"I didn't feel it go off Chris, I'm sorry." I explain myself.

"Well from now on just know that I'm going to text you every morning and you better answer or I'll hunt you down myself." Christina threatens pointing a finger at me. See protective. I smile and nod in understanding. I stick my hand out towards her, offering it to her she takes it and we walk to class together.

Our first class just happens to be English which I excel at. Christina....not so much.

"Claire what in the hell is this guy talking about." She whispers seemingly frustrated.

"Research papers Chris, research papers." I say with a sigh, this is going to suck. Mr. Arthur is making us write a six page research paper on any supernatural creature of our choice. How do I do this, I mean I am one but I know next to nothing about them.

"Ms. Carson, what is your paper's topic going to be?" Mr. Arthur asks.

"Uh werewolves." I say immediately. Ah shit, I didn't want to say that.

"Nice choice, I'm looking forward to reading it." Mr. Arthur says I slump forward onto my desk. "Ms. Martinez what about you?"

"Banshees?" She says as more of a question than an answer.

"That's a good one it will be interesting for you." He informs her with an encouraging small before moving on to the rest of the class. She shakes her head and looks at me with a glare. 'You are so helping me with this.' she mouths and points at her paper. I chuckle but agree nonetheless 'What are friends for.' I mouth back. She nods seemingly satisfied.

The last bell for school finally rings so Christina and I head to the locker room to get ready for practice.

"I'm coming over after this," Christina announces from beside me, " so we can talk about this stupid paper." She finishes leaving no room for argument so I decide to just stay quiet. "I'm going to need a ride too, my dad took my car this morning." I nod in understanding trying to focus on tying my cleats.

"That's fine I assumed you were coming over today anyway, we have much to talk about." I inform her. "What do you think we are going to do today?" I ask her.

"Run, die, then run some more."she says exasperated. I laugh at her attitude towards today.

I throw my arm over her shoulder as we walk out onto the field, "Don't worry best friend I won't let you die. We have things to do." I assure her. Looking around the field I see the boy's team on one half getting touches. "On second thought, maybe we'll just die together." I say when I realize we're scrimmaging the boys.

"What are you talking about you're going to be fine. You've got those supernatural powers to back you up. I'm just a plain old boring human and guess what I'm the freaking goalie." Christina rants looking like she's about to pass out.

I pull her into my arms and hold her, "I promise I will do everything in my power to not let them get to you." I whisper to her, giving her a reassuring squeeze. She returns it and pulls away. "We better get out there."

"Alright ladies, as you can see we are going to be scrimmaging the boys. I want you to be passing and moving. These boys are going to underestimate you capitalize on that. They think this is going to be an easy game. I heard them say it. But remember hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." Coach tells us following quickly with the line up. Christina is in the goal as usual and I am one of the center backs right in front of her, it's perfect. I nod back to her in reaffirming that I will keep my promise. The boys coach blows his whistle and the fun begins.

Automatically our strikers pass the ball back to me. The boys start a full out sprint towards me. I side step the first one and cut past the next. One of my wings is wide open down the field so I send it the ball her way. Getting a good first touch she turns and heads down the sideline towards the goal. One of the backs for the boy's team starts to catch up.

"Man!" I yell, she hears me and crosses it to the sticker in the middle, Brianna. Brianna volleys it into the back of the net. The team erupts into screams, celebrating the goal. The boys are screaming at each other trying to figure out who had who. A whistle blows and we line up for kick off once again. The boys send the ball to the right wing. My defense shifts over to defend, he gets past our left defender with ease following quickly by the wing and makes his way to the stopper. I look at Christina who has panic written all over her face and turn Bach just in time to see the boy slip past my stopper. I have to stop him for Christina. I get into defensive stance and quickly start shuffling waiting patiently for a mistake. One touch gets a little ahead of him and I pounce. I roll the ball to the left just out of his reach. Using his momentum as an advantage I sprint forward as he fumbles to turn.

"Man!" Coach tells, I quickly send the ball to my right flank. She runs down the sideline and attempts to cross but is cut short by a boy defender.

The scrimmage continues on like this neither team scoring anymore goals. I stop runs from coming in and Christina stops the long shots. That is until the boys get a breakaway. Three boys come barreling down the field while the other three defenders and I prepare. My stopper steps to the boy with the ball and the outside backs cover the other two boys I stay back as help. The boy with the ball gets past my stopper so I quickly cover for her. He makes a heavy touch right away and I steal the ball. I can tell he is coming in too fast for me to send the ball down the field so instead I send it out of bounds. He smirks at me then glances at Christina the smirk than becomes a full blown evil grin. I raise my eyebrows in challenge. One of the boys throws the ball in to the closest man there. That boy then crosses the ball to the snoring boy next to me. He settles it and pushes the ball to far ahead of him to draw Christina out of the goal.

"Christina!" I yell while sprinting in her direction. If she gets hurt I'll never forgive myself. I reach them just as Christina scoops up the ball. I throw my body in front of hers shielding her from the oncoming attack.

A solid body hits my back in an odd way causing it to arch away from the pain, but the body keeps coming. I hear a sharp crack signaling that one of my bones had broken. I feel it in my left shoulder. I see that Christina quickly moved out of the way as my body toppled forward. When my body hits the ground I let out a cry of anguish. I faintly hear the gasps of my teammates plus some.

"What the hell is your problem? You had plenty of time to stop. What exactly were you trying to accomplish?" I hear Christina fume. The boy in question doesn't respond he just walks away.

"Chris," I call in a small gruff voice. My best friend pushes to my side.

"Hey C, are you alright?" Christina asks her tone filled with worry.

"I'm healing but I need you to help me up so they don't ask any questions. I really don't want them poking and prodding me." I say quickly. She nods and pulls me up before coach has the chance to make it over.

"Carson are you alright?" Coach asks.

"Fine coach, I think it was just in my head."I inform her.

"That didn't sound like it was just in your head." She says suspiciously.

"I'm fine coach really." I attempt to reassure her. She nods and walks away calling practice for today. My teammates start to crowd around me poking and prodding my shoulder.

"Excuse me ladies, pardon me, coming through." A male voice says loudly pushing through the crowd. Chistina quickly steps in front of me, effectively blocking my view.

"What are you doing here asshat?" Christina asks viciously.

"Well this asshat would like to apologize." The boy says calmly. Seemingly unaffected by Christina's apparent rage. I step beside Christina and get a better look at the boy.

"The name is Nathan by the way, my friends call me Nate." the boy now called Nathan tells me.

"Well Nathan," Christina says with an attitude, "are you going to get on with an apology we're not going to accept or should we just walk away now?" Nathan glares at Christina, then back at me.

"Anyways, I just wanted to genuinely say I'm sorry, I tried to stop myself." Nathan explains and Christina coughs bullshit under her breath making me smile. "But I also wanted to come over here to tell you two that you guys are amazing players, no wonder your team has won state the past three years."

"Thank you, that's very nice of you," I say disinterested.

"How about we bring it in to ease this tension." Nathan says, spreading his arms out for a hug. I cautiously step towards him. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. "You know Claire you are a very beautiful girl," Nathan whispers in my ear, "and I think I just found out how special you are. Don't doubt that I won't make you mine soon."I shove him off of me glaring at him. He smirks at me.

"Not even your dreams there big boy." I tell him returning his smirk. With that I turn, grab Christina's arm, and stalk towards our locker room.

"Ummm do I even want to know what that was back there?" Christina questions with a raised eyebrow.

"It was nothing just the usual guy being a perverted jerk." I lie, she looks at me suspiciously, but doesn't question is any further knowing she's not going to get anywhere. We change in silence for the rest of the time.

When we both finish changing we head to my car. I see Nathan on the other side of the parking lot watching us intently. I place my hand on Christina's back and push slightly to make us walk faster. She turns to questions me, I give her a look and she hastily jumps into the car. I follow right behind.

I put the car in reverse and peel out of the lot as fast as possible. "What the Heck is going on Claire, you're freaking me out!" Christina says panicking.

"Nathan is what's going on. I'm pretty sure he has an idea as to what I am and he's completely obsessed with me." I say rushed looking in my rear view mirror to see if we have a tail.

"Claire!!" I hear Christina yell. My eyes divert to the road in front of me only seeing headlights. We both let out a scream as I jerk the steering wheel to the right. I lose control of the car and it spins out to the left out. I put my arm over Christina's body to hold her against the seat. The other car hits the tail of my car and pushes it off the road.

The car rolls three times down the small hill, then stops standing on its roof. My head throbs from the impact against the seat. My eyes glance over to Christina seeing that she is perfectly fine just in shock. I unbuckle my seatbelt and Tumblr out is my seat.

"Chris, hey look at me Christina, we have to get you out of this seat alright?" I say in a small voice. She nods slowly, finally looking in my direction.

"Claire you're bleeding... Like a lot." she whispers.

"I'm fine for now let's just get you out of this car for now." I reassure her. She nods in agreement and reaches for the buckle. Releasing the buckle she drops into the roof landing on her back.

"Ow," she groans. I grab under both of her arms and drag her out of my wrecked car. "You know I feel like I should be the one dragging you out of the wreckage right now." Christina informs me looking at my face. "Claire you don't look so good," my best friend says worried.

"I'm alright," I lie finally pulling us far enough away from the car to be safe. I lay down on the soft ground exhausted and feeling like someone has taken a sledgehammer to the back of my head. I faintly hear Christina calling for help and my eyelids grow heavy.

An outline of a well built man enters my line of sight getting closer and closer. The man finally kneels beside me and I make out his dark hair, green eyes, and trouble looking features.

"Well that was one hell of a way to say hello" I say to the man with a weak smile. With that I fall into the darkness.

Tell me what you think it’s my first attempt at this kind of writing

[thedenfantasyleague]

The Den Fantasy League Weekly Recap: Week 1

Gentlemen,

We made it. Week One is in the books. I’m currently writing this intro during the first MNF game. Why am I doing so? There aren’t any games being decided on Monday night. Trust me, I hope I’m wrong. Anything can happen on Monday night. Yet here we are, winners are pretty much decided at this point. I’m sure this won’t be the norm but I’m just happy we have football back and seven hours of commercial-free football on Sundays.

Viking Quest v. Debbie Rowe

I called it didn’t I? At the beginning of the week, Jake tried the reverse jinx for him to win but felt it was in the league’s best interest if I took the loss this week. Didn’t feel right taking a win from Jake who is notorious for always being the bridesmaid when it comes to fantasy. As our own Scott Rowe says, “Jake can’t close”. Jake came out hot Thursday night with a near 20-point performance from his rookie CEH and the onslaught continued. 20+ games from Carson and JuJu with his high scorer Josh “Looks Good in Shorts” Allen hitting near 30. Did his team come out too hot? Verdicts still out. For me, I did the noble thing and asked my guys to take it easy in game one. I appreciate Cam, Kamara, Taylor, and Kelce for showing up when no one else was able to hit double digits. We’re on to Hank Mardukas.

Team Timshel v. Kalabar’s Revenge

Speaking of coming out hot, G was our highest scorer in week one which is unfortunate for Mike as he had the third-highest score on the week. G came out guns a-blaze-it (420) with only five of his players NOT in the twenties. Led by Adams with 34.6 (a career-high fantasy day, I’m told), he followed up with Dalvin and the wombo-combo of the attorneys of Ryan and Ridley. Also, his defense came up big against his beloved Bengals. Tough, G. Don’t let the near 20-point margin of victory fool you, our defending champ held his own this week. The Seahawks let Russ cook and he ended with over 30 points. The rest of his team showed consistency across the board as only two players weren’t in double figures. A tough loss for Mike.

Fire Jarn v. Tua Days

Is Robbie focused more on his golf game than this league? People are saying yes. Robbie was our lowest point-scorer for the week and the people aren’t shocked. A mere 70+ point outing is nothing to be proud as his best players both didn’t make it to 14 points. Unfortunately, he saw most of his production coming from his bench players Sloppy and his namesake, Rubbie. Where does he go from here? Does he revert to the Rob of old? Was last year a fluke? Speaking of flukes, Vinny is trying to prove his run last year wasn’t one. Vinny’s biggest production came from his combo meal of Lamar and Mark, a dangerous connection if it continues. He also continued in his love of Kenyan and got 13.5 out of him but the big surprise was his Saints D. Vinny wasn’t buying the Tompa Brady hype and rolled the dice on the Saints and it paid off. Tom was tossing picks like they were beads and the Bucs fell flat. Can Vinny keep this momentum?

11-4-1 PVO v. The Perfect Ten

I’ll state the obvious, there was tension at Drake’s on Thursday. Not one of malice but a competitive spirit filled the air. Dylan and E both wanted this one. Dylan was coming off the high of a successful draft and E wasn’t ready to be the one to bring legitimacy to Dylan’s new look. Like E and myself, Dylan bought in on the Lions on week one. We’re going to move on from the events of that game but the Lions did no favors to anyone that day. Dylan can find hope in Zeke, Julio, and Melvin but no one else put up double digits. In fact, his own heart hurt him. Seibert, who is now a former Brown and current Bengal, got him -3 points. This league is tough enough but add in negatives and you’re finished. E got things started on Thursday night with a 20+ performance from Mahomes. Add that to big games from CMC, DK, Crowder, and even Prater Zone got him 11. E’s biggest concern turns to his RB Conner with rumors swirling. No matter what is to come, E takes the Week One Dub.

Virginia Reel Rockets v. Hank Mardukas

Cabana Boy and Cabana Boy Contender from last year squared off in week one. In our closest game from the weekend, Scott “edged” out Al by a 12+ point margin. It seems like drafting in person may benefit Scott more than he knew as he was led by Dak, Mostert, Thielen, and his Buffalo D got him a solid 10. He also had some success on his bench that may turn some heads, especially when he snaked E for Benny. Smart move, Scott. Al, himself, put up a pretty decent game in his own right. Let by 20+ point performances from Kyler and his new teammate Hopkins were encouraging signs. It was also nice to see Gurley and AJ put up decent games between them. Not so encouraging signs? Le’Veon and Thomas. His first-round pick struggled to even put up four points in his week one debut and Le’Veon is now on IR. This is the time to keep your composure, Al.

Wilmore Cinderella v. Mr. Magorium’s Mixon It Up

An interesting matchup here. Do you remember the time that Gabe broke JP on MNF? Does JP hate Saquon? All I know is that this week, JP may have finally gotten revenge on Gabe. JP was led by a massive performance by Jacobs and Deshaun was no schmuck by contributing a 20+ outing himself. However, in typical JP fashion, his gamble of wanting someone to play on TNF almost hurt him after Hardman only put up 1.1 points. Not great. The other story in this game was Gabe’s history was Kurses. As I’m sure you’re all aware, “Mr. Magorium” was Kursed this year. His only way out? Change his name to Mixon It Up. Gabe didn’t the spirits would work their magic again this year (some reports are saying he called the spirits “Cowards”, not good if you ask me) but they came back with vengeance. So much so he was our second lowest point-scorer this week. Brees was “eh”, Jones had a good outing, Woods showed up on SNF, and his kicker got him a solid ten. Gabe’s Kursing also showed in OBJ’s tumultuous week and the alleged pooping fetish. Then his Flex tears his Achilles. Yikes. He has since changed his team name and the Kurses have backed off but there’s no way of knowing if a residual Kurse is still lingering.

Week Two Matchups

Hank Mardukas v. Viking Quest

Fire Jarn v. Team Timshel

Kalabar’s Revenge v. 11-4-1 PVO

Tua Days v. The Perfect Ten

Wilmore CInderella v. Virginia Reel Rockets

Mr. Magoriums Mixon It Up v. Debbie Rowe (Game of the Week)

Commissioner’s Chat

Kurse

Unfortunately for Gabe, the Kurse seems to be lingering. G has consulted the spirits and they want to test out the name change to see his commitment. 

--

Thank you all for a great Week One and don’t forget, Week Two starts this Thursday with the battle for Ohio. Set your lineups accordingly.

Your beloved Commish, 

Jared R. Mosqueda

[go-redgirl]

Regis Philbin, boisterous television personality, dies at 88 Lauren Wiseman  2 hrs ago

Regis Philbin, the boisterous television personality who gained a devoted following on his long-running morning show and helped reinvigorate the prime-time game show genre as host of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” died July 24 at 88.

The family confirmed the death in a statement released by a personal representative, Lewis Kay. Further details were not immediately available.

Mr. Philbin’s trademark blend of enthusiasm, quick wit and excitability made him a popular television host for more than six decades.

Initially a page on “The Tonight Show” hosted by Steve Allen, he became one of the most seasoned performers on live television. He was an actor, a singer and nightclub comedian before emerging to greater prominence in the late ’60s as second-banana to entertainer Joey Bishop on an ABC late-night talk show that tried to challenge Johnny Carson’s ratings dominance on NBC.

Mr. Philbin spent many years hosting a morning show in Los Angeles before he returned to his native New York in 1983 to take over a failing morning show on the local ABC-TV outlet in New York. He had two short-lived female co-hosts before teaming with Kathie Lee Gifford in 1985.

Three years later, the program was nationally syndicated as “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.” Mr. Philbin’s exclamatory, teasing, air-chopping personality played well against Gifford’s much-younger sex appeal and irreverence, and they thrived on small talk about news in the headlines and what Mr. Philbin called “the aggravations, the slights, the family stuff” in their own lives.

They conveyed the chemistry and appeal of a married couple comfortable with each other’s idiosyncrasies.

“I couldn’t decide if he was obnoxiously adorable or adorably obnoxious,” Gifford wrote in her memoir.

For his part, Mr. Philbin told The Washington Post: “She does get on my nerves once in a while, as I do hers. But what I hate is the hosts who are too civil, too nice to one another. I like to keep an edge between us. And if it looks like there’s an antagonistic thing, well, maybe there is.”

Each morning, the show would open with an unscripted “host-chat.” Mr. Philbin refused to talk with his co-host until they were seated in front of the live audience, enabling spontaneous, off-the-cuff conversation.

Part of the appeal was Mr. Philbin’s ability to make fun of his enthusiasms, particularly for his alma mater Notre Dame, and the fact that so much of the daytime competition was reveling in the tasteless and tabloid.

“That was the year of discontent on television,” Mr. Philbin told Entertainment Weekly about the start of his long run with Gifford. “Geraldo [Rivera] was breaking his nose, Phil [Donahue] was walking around in a dress, Sally [Jessy Raphael] was walking around with hookers, Oprah [Winfrey] was losing 65 pounds. And here we were talking about what we did last night! Who cared? But I knew that if they could just watch us two, three times in a row that we could hook our share of the audience. And we did.”

Washington Post television critic Tom Shales wrote in 1992: “Not racy, not freaky, not remotely tawdry, the syndicated daily hour of small talk and tomfoolery has become one of television’s least disheartening hits, and the reason it’s succeeded has everything to do with the wacky cranks at the heart of it.”

Gifford left the show in 2000 to pursue other interests, including a singing career. The show, renamed “Live With Regis,” continued for the first year with guest co-hosts, including Mr. Philbin’s second wife, the former Joy Senese. He teamed with a new partner, former soap opera actress Kelly Ripa, in 2001, and their show “Live! With Regis and Kelly” aired for a decade.

In 1999, Mr. Philbin began hosting the ABC prime-time show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,” whose format was borrowed from a game show that had aired successfully in the United Kingdom.

The ABC show was initially given a two-week limited run, and it proved such a ratings winner that the network began broadcasting it three times a week. It was also widely considered instrumental in showing that unscripted programming could attract a broad audience for network TV.

Mr. Philbin had been a game show host earlier in his career and when he heard that “Millionaire” was going to be produced for American television, he enthusiastically lobbied to be its host. He appeared on the “Late Show With David Letterman” and proclaimed that if given the new hosting duties, “I am going to resurrect ABC!”

At the very least, he helped resuscitate the prime-time game show format. Following “Millionaire,” which Mr. Philbin hosted until 2002, the networks aired a slew of game shows including “Twenty-One,” “Weakest Link” and “Deal or No Deal.” Within a few years, the “reality” game show genre, which included popular hits such as “The Amazing Race,” solidified their place on network television.

In the New York Times, journalist Alex Witchel wrote in 1999 that “the X factor of ‘Millionaire’s’ success seems to be — besides the money, of course — that Mr. Philbin genuinely wants the contestants to win.”

Mr. Philbin’s experience was suited to carry the show in front of a live studio audience. His much-imitated catchphrase, “Is that your final answer?,” kept the show suspenseful and intriguing.

“I got lucky with this show,” he told the Times in 1999. “I thought I had climbed my mountain with the morning show. Big hit locally and nationally. And all of a sudden this ‘Millionaire’ show comes along and I’m pushed to another mountain peak. I really don’t dare ask anything more. This is it. What else can I want?”

Regis Francis Xavier Philbin was born in Manhattan on Aug. 25, 1931, and grew up in the Bronx. His father was a personnel director for Sperry Gyroscope, which manufactured navigation equipment.

He was named after Regis High School, a Jesuit school in New York that his father attended. He later quipped, “It’s not a great show business name, but Robert Redford was taken.”

He received a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1953 from the University of Notre Dame, then served two years in the Navy before launching a career in entertainment against the wishes of his parents. His early idols were singer Bing Crosby and broadcaster Jack Paar.

He held various jobs, initially with the help of an uncle who worked at CBS radio as a press agent. He spent much of his early career on the West Coast, where he showed promise as a TV personality on local news programs. He had a break in 1964 when Westinghouse Broadcasting hired him for a nationally syndicated late-night show.

It did not work out well, he later told Entertainment Weekly. “I get to Hollywood and find out I’m on a two-week tape delay!” he said. “What could I possibly talk about that would have relevance two weeks from now? I have to be live, and be able to relate something that has happened in my real life. I don’t know how to use writers. I remember being in a hotel suite in San Francisco before the show premiered and staying up until dawn, literally in shock and scared to death. I psychologically was not ready for it. So I failed miserably.”

In 1967, he won a job as announcer and sidekick on “The Joey Bishop Show,” where each night viewers would hear Mr. Philbin say, “And now — twinkle, twinkle, it’s time for Joey!”

But despite the national exposure, Mr. Philbin was unhappy. Often, he was belittled by Bishop and was the butt of on-air jokes. One night, he walked off the set in the middle of a live performance.

“There was talk that maybe it was me who was hurting the show,” Mr. Philbin told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Rather than hurt Joey’s chances for success — and I guess I was offended that they thought it was my fault — I decided to walk one night and see what happened. I simply said, ‘There’s been a lot of pressure on you. I know we’re starting out. I’ve heard some talk that maybe ABC is unhappy with me. You hired me. To get you off the hook — Love ya. Good luck, goodbye.’ ”

Letters from supportive fans immediately poured in and three days later, Mr. Philbin returned to the set. The show lasted until 1969 and often showcased Mr. Philbin as a singer. In 1968, he released his first recording, an album of pop songs called “It’s Time for Regis!”

Mr. Philbin’s first marriage, to Catherine “Kay” Faylen, ended in divorce. In 1970, he married Senese, who had been Bishop’s secretary. In addition to his wife, survivors include a daughter from his first marriage; and two daughters from his second marriage, Joanna and Jennifer. A son died in 2014.

After Bishop’s show ended, Mr. Philbin served as host of a succession of talk shows culminating in a six-year run on “A.M. Los Angeles.” He left the morning show in 1981 and soon reunited with one of his former colleagues, Cindy Garvey, on a consistently low-rated morning show on the ABC-TV outlet in New York.

Once Mr. Philbin took the helm, the ratings picked up. Garvey was later replaced by Ann Abernathy and then by Gifford.

As much as Mr. Philbin enjoyed household recognition, he tried to present himself in private as down-to-earth and approachable. In his 1995 autobiography, “I’m Only One Man!,” written with Bill Zehme, Mr. Philbin called himself a “cab guy.”

“Limousines just embarrass me,” he wrote. “Like anybody else, when I see a limo on the street, I wonder who’s riding in back. Whoever it is, I expect to be impressed. Whenever I’ve gotten talked into riding in a big sedan, I can’t help but think I’m going to let people down by stepping out of it. They want Madonna to be in that car. Or Donald Trump. Or Kathie Lee! I don’t want to be responsible for that kind of disappointment!”

Read more Washington Post obituaries

-----------------------------------------

OPINION:  May Regis rest in peace!

[auburnfamilynews]

They made it to the promised land last year, but came up just short. They overcame odds with late season injuries that limited key starters and forced others to step up together the program to levels that had been a long off dream.

Think I’m talking about Auburn Basketball? I could be but that was also the story of the 2019 Auburn Baseball team. The Tigers made it to Omaha, even with pitching staff ace Tanner Burns who was limited after slipping off a wet mound at Vanderbilt. Though the Tigers didn’t pick up a victory in Omaha, it marked the first time since 1997 that the program made an appearance in College Baseball heaven, which is a huge accomplishment for any program.

The Tigers lost some of the names from the CWS team, namely Will Holland, Edouard Julien and Elliott Anderson (Holland and Julien to the Twins and Anderson to the Royals) but outside of that, Auburn returns the rest of the contributors from the team. There are some familiar faces in different places so let’s dive in and get set for the 2020 season.

OUTFIELD AND DH

JUDD WARD BAY-BAY!!!

This will be pretty easy as Steven William, Kason Howell and Judd Ward (BAY-BAY) all return to patrol the outfield grass and that is a huge bonus for the Tigers. Both Ward and Howell will begin their second seasons in the outfield while Williams kicks off his very rare 3rd year in RF. The DH spot is going to be the interesting one for Auburn as Butch Thompson looks to move Conor Davis to the field to open up a bat in the line up, and there are plenty of options to choose from. Just a few of the names that will be given a shot are freshman Nate LaRue, Ryan Dyal, Johnny Ceccoli and junior John Samuel Shenker who also plays on the football team, just to name a few. Look for Auburn to give each player and others chances as the season begins before finding a solid answer at the DH position before the conference slate begins.

INFIELD

Ryan Bliss

For the most part, the faces will be familiar but almost everyone will be in a new place. The exception will be Matt Scheffler, who returns at the stalwart behind the dish at catcher for the Tigers. The difference this season will be that Matt has some help behind him, namely Nate LaRue, who will definitely see time in the field to help Scheffler get a little rest during the season. Around the horn, Auburn will move Rankin Woley to 3rd, his natural position, and will throw Conor Davis at 1st to see if the big senior can take to the field and open up that DH spot for a left or right handed bat depending on the situation. Up the middle will be another fluid situation. Ryan Bliss came in last year and was solid at 2nd base all season long. However, he was one of the top SS prospects in the country out of High School and the plan all along was to move him to the spot once Will Holland moved to the pros. Auburn, though, finds itself with a great problem to have, a lot of talent that could go in either place. Do you move Bliss to SS and insert Garrett Farquhar to 2nd base or keep Bliss at 2nd and insert either Farquhar or Brody Moore in to SS. My best guess would be the first option and insert Moore into the DH race, as Bliss would be able to fill the leadership role that Holland had, not just as the SS but the locker room leader as well.

PITCHING

Tanner Burns

Saving the part I am most excited about for last. I have waited a long time to say this so just give me a moment cause this is a loaded message. This is the deepest pitching staff I have ever seen Auburn have in the 20ish years I have followed Auburn baseball. The amount of quality arms the Tigers have is really impressive, and if everything works out and everyone stays healthy, watch out. Your weekend starters are pretty much set as you will see Tanner Burns on Friday, Jack Owen on Saturday and more than likely Bailey Horn on Sunday to start out. For the midweek, I would bet a mixture of Brooks Fuller, Garrett Wade or newcomers Trace Bright or Jackson Reynolds will be the go to guys to try and get Auburn one time through he line up. Those guys will also be mixed in with Andrew Baker, a sophomore transfer from Chipola JC who has a fastball that lives in the mid-90s, who will be paired up with the “Bull” Cody Greenhill to help close the game for the Tigers.

Part of the problem for the Tigers last year was finding that bridge guy that could get those 5 or so outs to get the game from the starters to the Bull to get the Tigers a W. This year, Auburn will have more than enough serviceable options to do that. Along with Fitts, Fuller, Wade, Bright and Reynolds, Auburn could also turn to Ryan Watson, Peyton Glavine, Will Morrison, Carson Skipper and newcomer Hayden Mullins, a freshman left hander from Hendersonville, TN. Mullins will more than likely be a starter for the Tigers next season but had some forearm tightness in the fall that limited his work, so watch for Auburn to sprinkle him in as the season goes along.

Any way you cut it, there’s a ton of promise for this Auburn team and as you can see, Butch Thompson and staff has well earned their across the board top 10 rankings in the multiple national polls. When people asked me before last year what Auburn baseball would look like, I said 2019 will be good, it could be real good, but 2020 is the year, that’s the year Auburn announces its presence with authority. 2019 ended just short of the finish line, but it finished in Omaha. In just 5 days, we find out if Auburn can finish the season in Omaha again, but this time, in a dog pile.

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/2/10/21127896/auburn-baseball-season-primer

[pedroscurls]

Title: Our First Night

anonymous requested: Could you do a request for a girl who is around 19-20, dark blue eyes, pale skin, and dark brunette hair who is like innocent looking but actually has a really dirty and witty sense of humor. And Negan kind of falls in love with her? Could her name be Lara? And could it involve smut? Like dirty sex haha with anal and him talking really dirty before the sex and then during? 💓 💜

Character(s): Negan and Lara (original female character) Summary: Lara has a big crush on the leader of the Sanctuary, Negan. Tonight, though, she finds out just exactly how mutual the feelings are. Word Count: 2,904 Warning: SMUT! Honestly, dirty af smut! Significant age difference and anal! So, beware if you are not into that sort of thing!  Author's Note: Thank you to the anon who sent me this! And also, thank you so very much for including some features so I can picture the girl and include it in the story! Whoever sent this request in, I hope it meets your standards and that I executed your idea well! Thank you again for sending it in! Enjoy! :-)

(GIF Source: @justnegan)

Lara was the youngest Savior that Negan allowed to fight alongside him and his other men. Usually, he was very hesitant in allowing women to join the Saviors, but Lara gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

She excelled at hand-to-hand combat and while her choice of weaponry would always be some sort of knife, she was also a good shot.

Negan would have been stupid to have denied her the right to become a Savior.

He also knew that she was young. Her dark blue eyes accented perfectly well with her dark brunette hair and pale skin. Negan never asked how old she was, but if he were to guess, he would assume she was either nineteen or twenty.

For some reason, he hoped it was the latter.

Aside from her beauty and capability to fight amongst potential threats, Negan enjoyed spending time with her. He never had the opportunity to have some alone time with her, but he would always catch her eye from across the room.

Lara had an innocent face, but behind it, she had a mouth of a sailor and her sense of humor was dirty and witty, much like Negan’s.

Tonight, however, the Saviors were gathered in one of the recreational rooms after a successful supply run. Lara had been with the particular group who found two bags worth of medication and so when she walked in, the men surrounded her with high praise.

“Lara!” they screamed, chuckling obnoxiously.

Lara took note of the alcohol on the table before her eyes scanned the room. She tried to move away from the crowd to get herself a drink, but she felt someone rest a hand on her lower back and before she could turn around to bad mouth the man, she bit her lower lip at the sight of Negan.

“If it isn’t my favorite Savior,” he winked. The crowd dispersed, allowing Lara and Negan to walk directly to the table with all of the alcohol.

“I don’t see Simon anywhere,” she replied.

Negan chuckled, shaking his head as he took a sip from his beer. “Sometimes I forget how fuckin’ funny you are, Lara.”

Lara cleared her throat. She always had a crush on Negan. He exuded confidence and power and Lara wanted nothing more than to be on the receiving end of both those traits. She wondered why he never asked her to become a wife, but she figured she would get restless sitting in a room filled with other women doing absolutely nothing but waste time.

“Seems like your old age is getting to you, Negan. I think Dr. Carson can give you some memory exercises to help you with it.” Lara winked, opening a bottle of beer.

Negan narrowed his eyes. Usually, he wouldn’t let anyone talk to him like that, but with Lara, it was different. He was smitten with her the moment he challenged her to prove to him that she could be a Savior.

Since then, Negan had the perfect team to keep by his side and that always consisted of Simon, Lara, and Arat. He didn’t trust anyone else aside from those three.

“You know, kid, you’re really pushin’ my buttons,” Negan said.

Lara narrowed her eyes. Negan knew exactly how much she hated being called a kid because she certainly didn’t act like her age, which made Negan wonder just how old she really was.

“Well, old man, someone has to, right?”

Negan watched as her small lips wrapped around the top of the bottle. He cleared his throat when she swallowed the contents of the alcohol. He shook his head and took a step in her personal space.

“How old are you anyway? Are you even old enough to drink?” he asked.

“What are you going to do if I’m not? Arrest me?” Lara rolled her eyes.

Negan smirked deviously, his usual brown orbs turning to a darker shade filled with lust.

“That depends. Do you like to be handcuffed? Tied down? Dominated?” he whispered.

Lara bit her lower lip. She needed to keep her composure or else Negan would see right through her façade. She didn’t need him knowing that she was interested.

“Actually, I do. But with guys that are capable. You being old and all, I’m sure you can’t get it up.”

Negan tightened his jaw, taking another step forward. Lara looked into his eyes, feeling a wetness settle at her core as her back hit the wall.

Now, she was trapped between the wall and Negan’s body.

“You’re testin’ me, Lara.”

“Why don’t you prove to me that you’re not like the men your age, Negan?” she offered.

Negan furrowed a brow slightly. He wasn’t expecting her to give in just like that. Besides, he never thought that she was interested in someone like him.

Negan, however, decided to take it a step further and lean down to hover his lips against her ear.

“You do know that I’m probably three times your age.”

Lara nodded, shutting her eyes as she set her bottle of beer down onto the table.

“Didn’t Simon tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I like older guys.”

Negan narrowed his eyes, “You’re lying.”

Lara grinned, resting a hand on his leather-clad chest before she leaned on her toes to whisper into his ear. “If I was, would I be willing to drop to my knees and put your dick in my mouth?”

Negan cleared his throat, moving a hand to grasp her backside roughly which earned him a quiet squeak of surprise.

“Don’t tempt me, doll or else I’ll pull it out right here.”

Lara giggled, pulling back to look up at him. She gently lifted her hand to his cheek, allowing herself to revel in the feel of his stubble against her fingertips.

Negan leaned into her touch. He shut his eyes and leaned forward, moving his lips closer to her own before he stopped himself. He didn’t even kiss his wives and if his men saw him kissing a younger woman that wasn’t his wife, who knows what type of rumors they would spread.

“Meet me in my room,” she whispered.

Negan smirked, “You going to let me get a taste of that pussy, Lara?”

Lara squeezed her legs absently together. “Why don’t you meet me in my room and find out?”

“Well, you better start walking. Let me see that ass while you do,” he winked.

She pulled away from him, taking her bottle of beer and lifting it to her lips. Lara teased him by letting her lips graze the opening of the bottle, parting her lips slowly. She watched as Negan’s eyes dropped to focus on the teasing of her lips before he narrowed his eyes.

“Stop fuckin’ teasing.”

Lara laughed quietly, downing the rest of her drink before setting it down once more. She nodded, licking her lips slowly before she walked away from him. Lara excused herself from the party and walked directly to her room in anticipation.

Once she made it to her room, Lara quickly removed her clothes. She wanted him to step inside to see that she was already waiting for him, and wet too.

After a few minutes, Lara lied back and heard the door creak open. When she saw Negan appear, Lara grinned and sat up on her knees.

“Fuck, doll…”

Lara smiled, standing from the bed to walk over to him. He removed his leather jacket after setting Lucille down carefully onto the small chair near the television. He looked down at your bare frame, running his hand down your side.

“I’ve got a big fuckin’ problem and I think your mouth can help,” he smirked.

Lara looked down at his pants, noticing the large tent bulging out of the fabric. She reached down and ran her palm along him, feeling the hardness against her. “Wow…”

“Ever had something as big as this, doll?”

“Well, I don’t necessarily know if it’s big, Negan.”

Negan narrowed his eyes, turning her around as he pressed himself against her back. He looked down at her backside, bringing a hand down to slap the skin roughly. It left her with an intense sting of pain as she shut her eyes, squeezing her legs.

“You can feel it, don’t you, Lara?” Negan pushed Lara down onto her bed, his hips pressing against her from behind. He groaned, watching as her hips began to roll against his own impatiently.

“Negan…”

“Oh, now you’re moaning my fuckin’ name, aren’t you?”

He quickly removed his t-shirt and undid the belt on his pants. Quickly, he shoved the fabric down to his ankles and grasped his dick to run the tip of it along Lara’s length.

“Holy fuck, you are wet.”

Lara gasped at the feel of his bare manhood so close to her aching entrance. She tried to push back against him to allow him to slide into her, but he pulled back and prevented her from doing it.

“Negan, please…”

“Sorry, doll. As much as I love begging, I want you on your damn knees with your mouth open for me.”

Lara nodded, instantly scrambling to her feet. Once she turned around to face him, her eyes dropped to his erected manhood in his hand. She cleared her throat; she wasn’t expecting Negan to be that big.

Negan smirked, “What? You look a bit scared, doll.”

Lara narrowed her eyes. “Of what? Your dick. I can take it.”

“Sure you can. We’ll test it out, don’t you worry, doll. Besides, young pussy? Fuck yes.”

“You don’t even know how old I am.”

“If I guess, will you get on your damn knees and suck my dick?” he smirked.

Lara nodded. “Okay, you have yourself a deal.”

Negan stared at her, his eyes deviating to her body as he let his eyes linger at her breasts. He reached out to run his fingertips down her chest to her abdomen before allowing himself to touch the tuft of hair at her lower half.

“I think you’re twenty, doll.”

Lara bit the inside of her cheek. Without allowing him to respond, she dropped to her knees and slowly opened her mouth like he asked.

“Mm, I was right?”

Lara nodded, “Yes, now hold up your end of the deal.”

“Oh, I’m holding it up,” Negan smirked. Slowly, he guided his member to her lips, growling at the feel of her soft lips against his throbbing member.

Lara caught him by surprise when she grasped his hips and lowered her head, allowing him to hit the back of her throat. Negan wasn’t expecting her to be able to deep throat, no less suck as well as she was doing for someone her age.

Negan groaned, shutting his eyes and holding Lara’s hair back away from her face. He forced himself to keep his hips still, but the feel of her warm mouth surrounding his throbbing dick, he couldn’t help himself.

When his hips abruptly pushed forward, Lara gagged, pulling back suddenly. She looked up at him, taking note of her saliva slickening his member.

Negan slowly opened his eyes, running his thumb across her cheek as he stared into her blue orbs. Suddenly, he picked her up and tossed her gently onto her bed. He pulled her hips to the edge of the bed and stood between her legs, staring down at her.

“I’ll fuckin’ get a taste of this pussy next time,” he said, running his tip along her length once more.

Lara shivered in anticipation, staring up at him. “Who said there’s going to be a next time?”

Negan narrowed his eyes, “Don’t make me slam into you. I know it’ll hurt…”

“I can take it,” she quipped.

“You are a dirty girl, aren’t you, Lara? What else you have hiding under that sleeve?”

Lara looked down at herself. “I’m naked. No sleeve here.”

Negan growled and suddenly slammed into her to the hilt. He remained still, groaning as her tight walls grasped onto his member in a vice-like manner.

Lara gasped, her hands clutching his shoulders tightly for stability. God, he was big and he was filling her to the brim.

“God, Negan…”

Negan smirked, pulling his hips back before pushing back into her. He watched as her eyes fell shut and her mouth remained open to let a string of moans escape her lips.

Negan didn’t know if he was able to last longer than he was used to. Lara was tighter than he had felt before and he was sure that after this, he was going to want more.

“Fuck, that’s right… That feel good, Lara?” he whispered, looking down at her.

Lara nodded, moaning loudly as a response.

“Shit, doll… You’re so fuckin’ tight… It feels so fuckin’ good.”

He leaned down to rest his hands at either side of her head, his hips slamming against her rapidly to the point that their skin slapping against one another echoed throughout her small room. She loved every inch of his member, loving the way he was able to slide in deeper than she thought was possible.

“You’re so big, Negan… Fuck!”

Negan smirked, snapping his hips forward and remaining still. “You like the way this dick feels inside of you, doll?”

“Y – Yes…”

“I can’t hear you,” he said, repeated the same roughness of his hips coming forward.

“Yes! I love the way you feel inside of me, Negan!”

Negan grinned, “Now that’s more like it. Good girl.” He moved his hands to her hips and continued his rapid thrusts. He felt her walls slowly begin to tighten and as she reached her climax, Negan pulled out and ran his thumb rapidly against her clit to allow her to ride out her high.

Slowly, Negan turned her to abdomen. He looked down at her backside and slowly pushed her buttcheeks apart, growling at the sight.

“Ever had something –”

“Put it in me,” Lara interrupted.

“But –”

“Not in my pussy, Negan.”

“Have you had something there before, Lara?” he asked.

“Nope, but I’m willing to try, so please…”

Negan grinned. “You’re constantly surprising me every goddamn day, Lara.”

He slowly ran his tip along her tight end, watching her wince slightly once he tried to push himself into her. He pulled back, bringing his finger instead to warm her up to him.

“I’ve got to get you ready, baby,” he reassured her.

Lara gasped suddenly when she felt his finger penetrate her other end. She stiffened slightly, grasping onto the bedsheets tightly.

Negan felt her tense up, running his free hand soothingly along her back. “Relax for me, Lara…”

Lara shut her eyes and nodded, allowing herself to relax. When she did, her hole slowly loosened and allowed Negan to push his finger in and out of her.

After a few more movements, he pulled away from her and brought his dick to her tightness. She tensed once more, shutting her eyes in anticipation.

Negan kissed along her back lightly to her shoulder, pushing his tip into her slowly. “Fuck, Lara…”

She moaned, trying to push him away at the sudden intrusion before his arm wrapped around her waist to keep her still. “Negan…”

“Shh, doll… I’ve got you.”

As more of his member slid further into her tightened hole, Negan groaned and allowed only half of his member to feel her tight walls. He slowly began to move his hips, feeling her walls finally give way to his girth.

He used his free hand to rub at her clit, giving her body more pleasure aside from pain. Negan slowly picked up his pace, shutting his eyes at the feel of her tightness surrounding his dick. He was going to want more of her and Negan was sure that she felt the same way.

“Negan… Faster,” she said.

He grinned, nodding in response as his hips slammed forward. Negan felt himself delve deeper before he pulled back halfway only to push further into her.

Lara shut her eyes, allowing herself to give in to the pleasure that she was receiving. Her grip around the bed tightened as she felt her walls begin to tighten at the feel of Negan’s thrusts and his rubbing on her clit.

“Negan… I’m close again…”

He nodded, his hips showing no mercy whatsoever. He growled into her ear, applying pressure to her clit and just like that, her body shook with the intensity of her climax that raked through her body. Lara moaned aloud, his name escaping her lips in a quiet scream.

“Negan!”

Negan groaned, her tightened walls grasping onto him, milking him to his own release. He thrusted a few more times before shutting his eyes, releasing into her. When he pulled back, he watched as a few droplets of his own release drip down her leg.

Negan stood up, grunting quietly as he reached for a nearby towel. He cleaned her up and slowly turned her to her side. Negan never cuddled with any of his wives after sex, but Lara was different.

He could tell.

He lied down and pulled her into his arms.

“You okay?” he asked.

Lara smiled, “A bit sore, but I feel great.”

“A damn twenty-year-old who is one of my top Saviors and is a fuckin’ freak in the sheets. I like that,” he chuckled.

Lara looked up at him.

“So, we’re doing that again?”

“Fuck yes we are.”

[first-and-ten]

2017 Week 1 Preview

Welcome to the NFL season. Maybe it can keep your mind off the fact that the world is burning and drowning at the same time and nazis are everywhere and there is a racist sexual predator in charge of America and North Korea didn’t watch War Games as a kid and the bees are disappearing.

Teams on Bye: MIA, TB

KC 24 - 31 NE -- Game to Watch -- I’m choosing to view this as a good thing because one of my least favorite teams has to lose. Some people are pointing out that Andy Reid has a great record when he has more than a week to prep, but y’all, so does Belichick. There is precedent for the Chiefs kicking the living shit out of the Pats, but I don’t see it this time, not on the night where those jackasses get to bathe in their own self-importance and Super Bowl “highlights.”

JAX 20 - 27 HOU -- Lock It Up -- I’m by no means high on the Texans this year, and I don’t fancy their offense against the Jags D. But this is gonna feel like that Gleason game in the Superdome, and the Jaguars are good at fucking things up even when they are not astounding emotional underdogs. JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney will both be waiting to make Leonard Fournette’s NFL welcome not so welcoming. Maybe they’ll injure Bortles and Jacksonville will have to start an actual QB... If you can call Chad Henne that...

PHI 30 - 28 WSH -- Game to Watch -- -- Unpopular Opinion -- I spent the last year playing the Eagles on Madden franchise so you’ll have to forgive me if I’m a bit bullish on them. I may forget that in real life they don’t have 2,000-yard rusher and 3-time MVP Melvin Jolly in the backfield, or that Fletcher Cox has yet to be enshrined in the Pre Football Hall of Fame. In fact, Carson Wentz has zero Super Bowl rings, as opposed to the six he has garnered on my xbox! Still, the biggest factor for the Eagles last year was Lane Johnson. Before his injury they were 4-1, after they were like 3-8. That combined with Washington’s lack of pass rush means we might not yet have to worry about whether Philly can run the ball. The reverse is true on the other side: Washington’s stout o-line and the Eagles’ strong front seven cancel each other out, leaving Kirk Cousins throwing into an admittedly patchy secondary with no help from the ground game. I like the rivalry game, and I’ll give it to the up-and-comers.

NYJ 21 - 18 BUF -- Unpopular Opinion -- I know Tyrod Taylor technically cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol, but you can’t convince me he’s at 100%, or that the debut of the Rick Dennison offense in Buffalo won’t be a nightmare. This is exactly the kind of game the Josh McCown Browns would win, and it’s one I think his Jets will too. I just don’t see a lot of movement from Buffalo, whose list of weapons has been whittled down to two.

OAK 24 - 28 TEN -- Unpopular Opinion -- -- Game to Watch -- Time for Tennessee to Prove It. There’s no defense I would rather go against in a Prove It game than Oakland. I could easily see Marcus Mariota shredding them. If I wasn't a total whip I would be starting him this week in fantasy instead of Aaron Rodgers. Both of these QBs are young and coming off of injuries. I am excited by this. They also have aging runners trying to stave off younger bucks. I think if Marshawn is gonna be good, it’s gonna be early in the season. In the end, despite being outcoached, I think the Titans watch up great against Oakland and extract an important, top-shelf win at home.

BAL 23 - 27 CIN Such a close game I predict and yet I am not too interested in this game. We’ll see if Flacco is better, but anything else this game reveals could easily be a fluke. In the end, Cincy has dominated the Ravens at home for awhile, and I don’t like where Baltimore is at the moment. If the Bengals can find even one small area of leverage, they’ll find the win.

ARI 31 - 21 DET -- Game to Watch -- -- Lock It Up -- Low-key important game featuring two potential NFC Wild Card teams. The difference will be that one is a team and the other is Matt Stafford gunning his way to an exhausted .500+ despite having to max out the potential of the rest of the roster to get there. I think we might see a big game from Larry Fitzgerald. The Lions don’t seem to be set up to cover him.

ATL 26 - 20 CHI -- Survivor -- Some smart people think this is gonna be a tough out for Atlanta, and yet I give them my highest confidence Survivor designation. Am I stupid? Or am I just banking on Julio Jones making quick work of Chicago’s iffy secondary and Mike Glennon coming back to earth after an excellent preseason?

PIT 35 - 20 CLE -- Lock It Up -- Gonna add a name to the Cleveland QB Jersey of Doom! Kizer, your time on the clock starts now. We get a Joe Hayden revenge game in quick turnaround, and unfairly it will come against a Browns team that will be missing #1 overall pick Myles Garrett. That just bites for football in general. This will be LeVeon Bell’s first-ever Week 1 start, thanks to injuries and a league system that still for some reason punishes players for pot use. Who runs this thing, Jeff Sessions? Anyway, Bell might pass 100 yards by halftime. Something to watch, though, is that Roethlisberger historically struggles in Cleveland. I mean not as much as Cleveland’s quarterbacks do, but he does struggle.

IND 12 - 21 LAR -- NFL Title Belt (IND) -- The NFL Title Belt enters the season on inauspicious terms, ready to be wrested from Scott Tolzien’s hands by the Aaron Donald-less Rams defense. I will be shocked if Indy pulls this off, the only reason I don’t have it as a lock is that I don’t trust the Rams as far as I can throw them, or as far as Jared Goff could throw the ball last season without getting intercepted.

SEA 36 - 28 GB -- Unpopular Opinion -- -- Game to Watch -- I’m fucking excited for this game. You get the Bennett Brothers facing off in the middle of an emotional situation for Michael. You get Sheldon Richardson’s debut. You get Eddie Lacy’s revenge(?). You get the revenge game for the Packers’ stomping that was itself revenge for the NFC title game comeback AND the failed revenge for the Final Mary AND the Fail Mary itself. You get Aaron Rodgers facing an LoB that has no significant injuries for the first time since said NFC title game. Y’all, be pumped. The Seahawks will play passionate because of the Bennett stuff, they will refuse to let GB run, and they will execute their defensive scheme which we know can disrupt Rodgers when it’s done right.

CAR 29 - 27 SF This is a worrisome game, and if it’s SF’s I will be kicking myself. Cam is coming off an injury that lasted all offseason, their secondary sucks, Kyle Shanahan gets to debut his career at home, and the Niners have a weird streak of winning on kickoff weekend. The Panthers have to travel all the way across the country, and on top of that, don’t underestimate the memory of SB50. We saw how pumped the Broncos got playing here in the preseason. But just look at the names of the players and tell me again how San Fran pulls this one off, eh? If nothing else, Christian McCaffrey and Greg Olsen can blow this one open.

NYG 23 - 26 DAL Again? Yo, NFL, stop it with this shit. Look, I want to believe that the Giants will stymie the Cowboys AGAIN and Eli will take advantage of his new weapons and the Cowboys will be exposed, but I don’t think so. Mostly I just dread the coverage of Zeke. Can this just... Not? If Odell doesn’t play I might not even watch, even though it’s the only game today that I’ll be home for.

NO 31 - 27 MIN -- Game to Watch -- The return of Adrian Peterson! Which means he’s good for at least one devastating fumble and at least one run with 5+ broken tackles, along with something stupid he says to the media after the game. This is strength on strength for sure: the Saints offense against the Vikings defense should excite. It may be on the road but the indoor vibe of the Vikings’ stadium is Drew Bree's-Friendly. On the other side, both units have to be improved from last year to make any impact. I like the Saints’ multiple layers of defensive improvement better than the Vikings’ strategy of “throw Dalvin Book at the wall and see if he sticks” so... Whodat!

LAC 16 - 19 DEN -- Game to Watch -- So get this: Not only is this the first game to feature two black head coaches in their debut games, but those coaches GREW UP AS NEIGHBORS IN AURORA COLORADO and then were TEAMMATES ON THE BRONCOS. How on earth does that happen!?!?!? Anyway, usually I would pick a loss for either of these teams since they are new coaches who I don’t honestly have a ton of faith in, but they can’t both lose so I’m kinda gonna go with the It’s Easier To Coach At Home In Denver Than Away At Denver. As you can probably guess, that is one CJ Anderson TD and then four Brandon McManus FGs I have for Denver on the board, not exactly a runaway game. This is a low-key Mike McCoy re-revenge game, as he was stolen from DEN to HC in SD but then had to come back to OC for us after LA showed him the door. I’ll be interested to see how this whole team looks under new coaching, especially since I would at this point consider the Chargers more talented across the board. If we can’t stop the run (like last year) it’ll be tough to squeak one out. I know we have a lot of guys injured up front, but somehow I still like the pieces we’re gonna put out there, and by the time we’re running out of depth the Chargers will be gassed from the altitude. Either way, should be an interesting start (in primetime, no less) to both the Vance Joseph and Anthony Lynn eras.

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose!

[flauntpage]

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23

Turns out a healthy Nick Foles is better than an injured Carson Wentz.

Shocking, I know.

That should really be the extent of the “Foles vs. Wentz” argument that will stink up social media and sports radio this week. One guy is healthy, one guy is not. THEREFORE – at this current moment in time, I’m gonna roll with the healthy Super Bowl MVP. It seems pretty straightforward to me, but unfortunately we’re just gonna have to deal with the frothy nothing-burger quarrels for the next seven days.

I’ll tell ya what; that was the first Eagles game I enjoyed watching this year, at least for three quarters. They moved the ball up and down the field, they played aggressive and nasty defense, and I swear I saw glimpses of the 2017 squad out there.

This, of course, begs the question –

Where was this Eagles team against the Buccaneers, Titans, Vikings, Panthers, Cowboys, Saints, and Cowboys?

Surely the quarterback change was not the sole catalyst for the win, right? Nick Foles did play the first two games this season, and he wasn’t exactly Joe Montana against the Falcons or Bucs. The banged-up defense was lights out for 3+ quarters last night as guys like Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc made big plays. Did they miraculously transform into legitimate NFL starters overnight?

Gut feeling: the Eagles still believed in themselves while the Rams believed they were going to trash a 6-7 team in a rebound game coming off a bad loss. It’s the same underdog mentality that got the Birds a Super Bowl ring last year. “No one likes us, we don’t care” was the rallying cry then, but this year it’s more, “No one thinks we have a prayer, and we probably don’t, but we’re gonna at least go down swinging.” Maybe we can get that on a T-shirt.

I’ve been totally unenthusiastic about this team and actually mostly ambivalent over the past three or four weeks, so I won’t flip flop here and tell you how excited I am going forward. That would be the Skip Bayless thing to do, to just hop back on the bandwagon. I’m still skeptical that a banged-up Eagles team does much of anything in the playoffs, but at least they’ve given themselves a chance at 9-7 and a postseason return after slogging through a mostly miserable title defense in 2018.

1) Nick “The Franchise” Foles

He gets the ball out quicker than Carson does. That’s the big difference. Nick glides through his progressions and takes what the defense gives him. He’ll stand in the pocket and take a hit while Carson is more inclined to extend a play and try to make something happen in that fashion.

It’s not to say that Nick is better than Carson, because I don’t think he is. I think they are both pretty damn good when they’re on their game. Statistically, Foles finished 24 for 31 for 270 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. last night and the Eagles’ offense was a meager 4-13 on third down. Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams and Jake Elliott did the scoring.

The difference between healthy Foles and injured Carson is that healthy Foles was able to stay ahead of the chains with smart and simple plays on first and second down. He had first down conversions on 2nd and 10 and 2nd and 7 on first half scoring drives. He hit Golden Tate for 11 yards on a 2nd and 10 in the third quarter. There were only nine passing third down conversions last night, but Nick made them count and really did a nice job averting the dreaded three and out.

The only two horrendous passes I saw were the interception at the goal line and a risky screen that he probably should have thrown into the ground, but he was otherwise solid.

I wrote a story last week called “Throwing the Football Down the Field” and went through Carson’s last three game charts to find that he was 2-8 in completed passes of 20 or more yards against the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys.

Last night, Nick was 3-5 in this category, all of which came down the right side of the field and took advantage of Alshon Jeffery’s ability to grab the ball in traffic:

That really was important, those deep shots. Carson was barely throwing those, and I wonder if the back injury was affecting his ability to step into those throws, or if the torque of the motion made those shots outside the hashmarks painful to even execute.

At the end of the day, Nick has one touchdown and two interceptions in three games this season. I don’t think he “won the game” for the Eagles last night, as some people are saying this morning, but he was steady last night, he kept the offense on the field, he got different receivers involved, and he picked and chose his spots really well.

2) Play calling

With Nick in the game, I was obviously very interested in how Doug decided to use him. Simplified game plan? Different sets?

Here’s what I wrote down for called plays:

Shotgun – run: 21

Shotgun – pass: 30

Under center – run: 6

Under center – pass: 2

I have it as a 32 to 27 pass/run split. The box score has it as a 33/28 split, so I must have missed one in there. Maybe I was on the toilet. Also, I’d have to go back and watch the entire film to see how many RPOs Doug called, since it’s nearly impossible to watch every blocking scheme in real time. Let’s just pretend this is a Quinnipiac poll with a +3 or -3 margin of error in called runs and called passes.

Either way, that’s a really nice balance, about 54% passing and 46% running. If you want to take away the final three run plays on the clock-killing final drive, you still get a 57% to 43% mix, which is a lot better than what Doug usually winds up with.

A couple of other play notes here:

QB scrambles: 2

Draw plays: 1

running back screens: 3

wide receiver screens: 3

They had two screen looks to Alshon and still tried a few RB screens even with Corey Clement not available. Doug ran 17 straight shotgun plays before trying to go under center, and Jason Peters false started on that first attempt. They finished with about 86% of their plays coming out of the shotgun and 14% coming from under center, which is not dissimilar from what they did with Carson this year.

3) Big boy blocking

Truthfully, I hated the play call on the Adams touchdown run. You’re gonna run behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert?

It ended up being the best bit of blocking either guy has shown all year:

Goedert gets the first block and Ertz follows him through the hole to reach the second level. Adams squirts right through while Marcus Peters shows absolutely no interest in making a tackle at all.

Great blocking, exhibit B:

Do not let Russ see Jason Peters opening up a gaping hole, a hole that your grandmother could walk through.

Goedert is in there again, go figure.

One more play, featuring…. guess who? –

The offensive line was excellent last night. This wasn’t a game where the running backs were gashing the Rams for huge chunks of yards, but the red zone blocking was just elite, well-executed stuff.

4) Guys stepping up

Big games from all of these dudes:

Wendell Smallwood: 10 carries, 48 yards, 2 touchdowns

Avonte Maddox: started at outside corner, had a 2nd quarter interception, two pass break-ups and quality coverage on the game’s final play

Cre’Von LeBlanc: he was “flying around” out there

Rasul Douglas: putting big hits on people

D.J. Alexander: big fumble recovery on special teams

Raise your hand if you had those five guys making contributions to the win.

.

.

.

Yep, me neither.

Both lines were fantastic on the evening. Jeffery had his best game of the year. Zach Ertz still had seven targets despite the “reduced” role and Tate had some chunky yardage pickups, too.

5) Blitz me

Jim Schwartz called a really nice game. He pressured Jared Goff, who predictably folded like a soft California guy.

On the final play, Schwartz brought both linebackers and left his five defensive backs in man-to-man deep coverage:

I look at that play again and see Nate Gerry turn around to say something to Malcolm Jenkins. I wonder if that was a miscommunication or just a good sell job, because Gerry comes on a delayed blitz and I think that forces Goff to get rid of the ball a little bit earlier than he wanted to. Either way, I thought it was a pretty gutsy call to send six guys instead of just dropping 7 or 8 into coverage.

Well done, Jim Schwartz.

6) Officiating

After last week’s debacle, I’ve decided to make this a recurring entry in the column. This will continue through the rest of the season and into next year.

We had a rare “grasping the helmet opening” call on the second Eagles drive that moved the sticks on third down. Marcus Peters didn’t think it was a penalty, but replay shows he had a hand inside Smallwood’s dome. Good pickup by the ref there, leading to a key conversion.

I didn’t think the Aaron Donald hit on Foles was a roughing the QB penalty. He did get him high, sure, but he didn’t strike him in the head and he didn’t exactly follow through or bring him to the ground. Looked like he got him across the shoulder.

I thought the Eagles also got a generous spot on the third down conversion just before halftime, the 3rd and 2 to Dallas Goedert that resulted in a touchdown. Eagles fans would be complaining if the other team got this spot:

Thankfully the two key review plays were correct. That was the fake punt catch that was overturned and the Rasul Douglas goal line tackle that ultimately didn’t mean too much. I’m just happy we didn’t get a huge outrageous controversy this time around, so praise the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven for that.

7) The peripherals

Here we go:

won time of possession battle, 32 to 28 minutes

+2 turnover margin

4-13 on third down (30.7%)

0-1 on fourth down

allowed LA to go 4-12 on third down (33%)

lost 0 yards on 0 sacks

3-5 success rate in red zone

six penalties for 49 yards

That’s much more like the 2017 Eagles. They won the TOP on the strength of that +2 turnover margin. The defense really did a nice job of limiting third down conversions after allowing Dallas to go 10-19 for 52% last week. Zero sacks against that Rams line is excellent, and six penalties for 49 yards is more than manageable.

Good stuff all around.

8) Doug’s best call?

I liked 3rd and 4 draw play with Sproles on the first drive. LA wasn’t expecting that.

I also agreed with the decision to kick the field goal at about the four minute mark in the third quarter. Take the points, keep the momentum on the road, and make it a two-score game.

I honestly also did not have a problem with the 53-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter. That’s aggressive Doug. That’s the Doug we want, right? If Elliott hits that kick, the game is over. Shrug.

9) Doug’s worst call?

I didn’t have any issue with him going for it on 4th down near midfield in the first half, but the play call was what? Josh Adams out of the shotgun? The 3rd down play got you into 4th and short, and that’s what you come up with? And you do it with a guy who had left the game earlier with a head injury?

That was a weird one. Doug is good for at least one of those per game.

The only other play that kind of bothered me was the decision to run Sproles on 3rd and 8 in the fourth quarter. He almost converted, but that offensive series felt a little passive to me with about eight minutes on the clock and a 14-point lead. This game didn’t have to come down to the final play, but the Eagles half-bottled it on both sides of the field.

10) Awful announcing

How ’bout that Fresh Prince clip to start off the broadcast? Everybody hated it, but whatever, at least it wasn’t a shot of a cheesesteak or the Liberty Bell.

And how ’bout Cris Collinsworth doing his Sunday night slide in from the left side instead of the right?

#CollinsworthSlide Audible!

pic.twitter.com/zKl0ALKo8v

— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 17, 2018

“Now here’s a guy…”

That threw me for a loop. Collinsworth always slides in from the right. Cheeky stuff right there.

Couple of other random notes from the broadcast:

Norristown native Tommy Lasorda looks pretty good for age 91

I prefer Terry McAuley to Dean Blandino and Mike Perreira.

I cringed when Collinsworth said, “All that’s missing now is the Rocky music.“

Al Michaels still seems somewhat bored to me. I think he’s ready to retire.

That’s it. Happy Monday.

The post A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[oysterchalk72-blog]

The Linc - Kobe Bryant shared a funny anecdote about Nick Foles

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Four Downs: Everyone stays in their lane - BGN Earlier in the week I noted that the Eagles are, far and away, having the best offseason of the division. That guarantees nothing, but there’s little reason to believe that the Eagles aren’t the best team in the division. I sat on it for a couple of days because I figured a division rival would do something stupid. I should have waited a bit longer, because later that same day the Redskins signed Ereck Flowers. I am laughing as I type that. Not to some minimal signing bonus, non-guaranteed contract in a “hey this guy was a first rounder and we’ve got a pretty good position coach what’s the harm” type of deal. That would be defensible. No, they gave him a $3 million one year contract and guaranteed half of it. For a guy who couldn’t cut it on two 5-11 teams last year. They did sign another former first rounder to a no guaranteed money deal though: Marcus Smith. Yes, that Marcus Smith. If the Cowboys had a 1st round bust they’d probably have signed him too, though there’s still time to trade for Taco Charlton.

NFC East free agency grades: Eagles edition - PhillyVoice Part of the reason Michael Bennett was traded was because his personality clashed with some in the organization, I’m told, and apparently he graded out poorly against the run.

Josh Jacobs - Iggles Blitz Obviously you can’t say for sure what the Eagles should do since we don’t know who will be on the board. I like Jacobs quite a bit, but if a uniquely talented DT like Ed Oliver is somehow there, I’m taking Oliver without a doubt. Then again, we don’t even know if Jacobs will be on the board at 25. Daniel Jeremiah had him rated seventh in his latest Top 50 rankings. I don’t see Jacobs going before 25, but never say never. Teams down in the 20’s can do some crazy things at times. I do think the Eagles have to strongly consider Jacobs if he is on the board. Normally I’m not a big believer in taking RBs in the first round, but Jacobs is an interesting case. He is 220 pounds and a tough, physical runner. He’s also a gifted receiver.

Lawlor: How do Eagles stack up in new-look NFC East? - PE.com You can argue that the Giants were adding resources as they try to rebuild. OK, there is logic to that. Their roster needs help. There is one big problem, though. They kept 38-year-old Eli Manning around. He is not part of the future. The Giants think they are doing the right thing by keeping their veteran quarterback and two-time Super Bowl winner around. They think he can help young players develop while giving the team a chance to win games. It should be noted that in the last six years, the Giants and Manning have one winning season. The Giants also traded their best pass rusher, Olivier Vernon, and let their best defensive back, Landon Collins, walk in free agency. Again, the goal is to add talent, not lose it.

When the NFL Gives Away Draft Picks, You Better Take Them - Sharp Football It’s no surprise that two of the smartest teams over the last decade at understanding how to build winning rosters (Bill Belichick and Ozzie Newsome) are at the top of this list. It’s also no surprise that when you look back at the last 5 teams that have won a Super Bowl (New England, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle and Baltimore) that 4 of the 5 teams dominated the comp pick process. The lone team that did not (Philadelphia) didn’t receive comp picks from 2015-2018. (Note that Howie Roseman didn’t reassume control from Chip Kelly until 2016, and needed to take some time to settle the roster.) By letting 2018 free agents walk, they received 2 comp picks in the 2019 draft and by letting 2019 free agents walk, they are set up to receive the #1 most draft value from the 2020 comp picks. Now that the roster is more settled, Roseman clearly appears to be focused on exploiting this rule when possible.

Eagles Mailbag: Faith in Nate Sudfeld, Vinny Curry signing, spreading it around - NBCSP I got a few questions about Nate Sudfeld this week and I certainly understand why. He’s now the Eagles’ backup quarterback and Carson Wentz has finished the last two seasons on the shelf. I think there are legitimate reasons for concern. From the time the Eagles got Sudfeld, I thought he was a possible QB2. The problem here is that he is unproven; we haven’t seen much of him outside of summer practices and minimal game action. It’s somewhat of a gamble for a team with Super Bowl aspirations to go into a season with an unproven backup, especially because of Wentz’s injury history. But, to be clear, I like what I’ve seen from Sudfeld. He seems to be pretty athletic and has a big arm. The Eagles have shown how much they like him at every turn. This is one of those situations where I’m skeptical, but just kind of trust their evaluation.

The Bizarre Path of the NFL Draft’s Most Unlikely Sleeper - MMQB He got good enough to warrant interest college programs, but Liggins wasn’t interested in playing college football, instead looking into a military career. That summer he had a change of heart. Rather than reaching out to big-time programs he called the coach at NAIA Dickinson State, in Dickinson, North Dakota, one of the only schools that haddn’t harassed him for initially not wanting to play college football. He ended up becoming the school’s best defensive player. Now, the cornerback is a hidden NFL draft gem in the process of being unearthed. From a training facility in Mesquite, Texas, where he’s currently working out, he’s already talked to more than a dozen NFL teams, including the Jaguars, Broncos, Chiefs, Eagles, Bills, Saints, Ravens, Cardinals, Buccaneers and Browns, despite not attending a single all star or bowl game. The 6’ 2”, 205-pound Liggins was receiving some heavy interest from one NFC West team, so much so that the team sent him their playbook so he could get acclimated to it.

In injury-shortened pro day, Delaware safety Nasir Adderley impresses in front of Eagles personnel - PennLive Adderley jumped 38 inches in the vertical leap, posted 19 reps in the bench press and covered 10 feet, 9 inches in the broad jump. He pulled his hamstring during the 40-yard dash, but Delaware said he ran 4.54 seconds. He also checked in at a shade under 6 feet tall and 203 pounds. Eagles safeties coach Tim Hauck was among the representatives from Adderley’s hometown team at Delaware’s athletic facilities Friday. There were scouts and coaches from many other teams, too, like Detroit Lions defensive backs coach Brian Stewart and Oakland Raiders scout Raleigh McKenzie.

Former Eagles TE Clay Harbor eyeing NFL comeback | ‘I still have a passion for the game’ - NJ.com At this point last year, Harbor was a contestant on “The Bachelorette”. He was coming off a lost season with the New Orleans Saints, as he spent the entire campaign on injured reserve with a wrist injury. Ironically, Harbor re-injured his left wrist while playing football during the taping of the reality show. He tore a ligament in the wrist, forcing him to rehab the injury as NFL teams entered their offseason programs. Despite his ailment, Harbor received interest from a few teams prior to training camp. His first visit was with the Buffalo Bills. Harbor suffered a minor abdominal injury during the workout in Buffalo, so the Bills passed on signing him. Due to the new injury, Harbor was unable to work out elsewhere and spent the rest of the season unemployed.

Right or wrong Giants GM Dave Gettleman is doing what should have been expected - Big Blue View Angry. Confused. Disappointed. Anguished. Frustrated. Resigned. Bitter. Disillusioned. Whatever word or words you want to use to describe them, I have been thinking a lot about the emotional state of many New York Giants fans recently, especially in the wake of the organization’s decision to send Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns. Many in the media haven’t helped, with their poison pens turned menacingly in the direction of Dave Gettleman, who some might think of as the crazy old man in charge of making personnel decisions for the Giants.

Cowboys free agency: George Iloka set to sign with Dallas Cowboys - Blogging The Boys Safety was one of the biggest needs that Dallas was facing when the offseason began. Bringing in Iloka hardly prohibits them from still drafting one, or even signing another in free agency, but it does lessen the need to a degree. This is a great move to give the Cowboys options at places where they need them.

The statistical argument for trading down in the draft - Hogs Haven In the first two rounds, trade back: The general rule of thumb from this analysis is that teams with first round or early second-round picks should be happy to trade down in the draft if the terms of the trade reflect the NFL Trade Value Chart, and that teams holding picks in the middle rounds (3 - 6) should be hesitant about trading them away to move into the top-50 if the terms of the trade are based on the Chart.

Nick Foles gets more than $45 million fully guaranteed at signing - PFT Without per-game roster bonuses, the deal has a base value of $85 million over four years ($21.25 million per year). If he’s on the 46-man roster for all 64 regular-season games, the deal becomes worth $87 million ($21.75 million). The maximum value of the deal (if he earns all incentives, an extreme long shot) is $101 million. The practical guarantee is $50.125 million because the Jaguars can avoid the $5 million roster bonus only by cutting him after one season, which would mean that he will have received $45.125 million for one year with the team. Which surely won’t happen, even though the Jags cut quarterback Blake Bortles after only one year of his most recent deal.

Why the NFL proposed replay rule modifications, and what happens now - ESPN It’s true. After months of discussion and debate, the NFL’s competition committee has no answer for the officiating mistake that marred last season’s NFC Championship Game. There apparently will be no safety net in 2019 if and when two highly graded officials fail to penalize an obvious pass interference foul happening a few feet away. This is maddening and begs for future trouble. But while the committee is punting on that specific problem, it has nevertheless proposed an unprecedented rule change that would address some of the highest-impact officiating mistakes of recent years. If approved -- and to be frank, it will be a tough hurdle -- the league would add pass interference fouls to its list of reviewable plays for one season. The proposal would represent a massive shift in philosophy in its own right, and more importantly, would address a type of mistake that affects the outcome of games more than any other penalty.

10 dominoes that could fall if the Cardinals draft Kyler Murray - SB Nation So what happens if he is? Murray’s selection at the top of next month’s draft wouldn’t just impact the Cardinals, it would affect the plans of every team looking for a franchise passer in 2019. It would also push Josh Rosen out of his position as Arizona’s budding young starting quarterback and onto the trading block. Here’s how that could look, given what we know about teams’ draft needs and current assets so far.

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The Linc - ESPN predicts Nick Foles will end up on the Jaguars

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Ten bold NFL predictions for 2019 season: Landing spots for Le’Veon, Foles - ESPN 1. The Jaguars will acquire Nick Foles, somehow, but still miss the playoffs. This is not to diminish the talents of Mr. Foles, and woe unto the rest of the AFC South if those teams let him hang in contention until mid-December. But the Jaguars team we predict Foles to be joining is not of the same caliber as the Eagles teams for which he performed his late-season and postseason magic the past two years. I believe the Eagles will work with Foles and allow him to have some say in where he ends up. I also believe they’re wary of him ending up in the NFC East with Washington or the Giants, and directing him to a faraway AFC destination like Jacksonville will be more appealing to Howie Roseman & Co. Jacksonville’s hiring of former Eagles QBs coach John DeFilippo as offensive coordinator could make the Jags appealing to Foles as well.

What the Eagles should do at linebacker - BGN If the Eagles don’t retain Hicks, they’ll need a new starting linebacker alongside Bradham. One free agent with a connection to the Eagles is Bradham’s former teammate, Preston Brown. Jim Schwartz trusted Brown enough to have the rookie start 14 games at linebacker for the Bills in 2014. He remained as a full-time in Buffalo before joining the Bengals as a free agent on a one-year, $5 million deal worth $2 million guaranteed in 2018. Cincinnati placed Brown on injured reserve in late November due to a knee injury. With the Bengals bringing in a new coaching staff, the 26-year-old Brown could be looking for a new home that offers familiarity. The Eagles might be able to get him on a one-year, “prove it” deal.

The Kist & Solak Show #76: The Sort of Super Bowl Recap - BGN Radio Michael Kist and Benjamin Solak kind of recap the Super Bowl, touching on the play of Jared Goff and the defensive gameplan from the Patriots, plus a bunch of draft talk because it’s officially the offseason! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Previewing the Eagles’ next calendar year, in stick figure form - PhillyVoice Let’s see if we can get back in the win column this year.

Carson Confirms He’s Human - Iggles Blitz I think Carson handled this situation wisely. He addressed this in a timely fashion. He wasn’t defensive. He didn’t come off as holier than thou. The next year is going to be really interesting for Carson Wentz. He’s going to have a lot of pressure on him to play well and carry the team. He needs to show he can stay healthy and actually make it to the postseason. Carson also will be under a microscope when it comes to incidents. If he is seen looking frustrated at a teammate, that will lead to speculation. If he gives a coach a funny look, some will question that. If Carson and the Eagles have a terrific season in 2019, all of this nonsense will go away.

Carson Wentz opens up about controversial article, relationship with Eagles teammates - The Athletic As for his on-field performance, Wentz was the 12th-ranked quarterback in the league in the all-encompassing metrics like QBR, DVOA and ANY/A. As we’ve pointed out previously, his numbers were strikingly similar to Foles’. Wentz’s accuracy was actually better than it was in 2017, but the improvisational plays he’s accustomed to making outside of the structure of the offense were not available to him. During the interview, Wentz acknowledged that he never felt quite like himself in 2018. “It’s a process,” Wentz said. “As far as injury prevention, I felt great. I didn’t feel – I felt confident, all those things – but as far as being explosive and all those things, I never quite, and I’m not going to use it as an excuse by any means, but I watched the tape from two years ago, you watch last year, you can say I wasn’t quite there as far as mobility stuff. And that’s something I’ll keep working through. And everyone says it’s an 18-month, two-year thing to get really feeling strong again and back to normal. It’s getting better. It’s going to keep getting better. And I don’t think we’ll worry about hopefully either of these injuries going forward.”

Complete transcript of Carson Wentz’s conversation with select media - NBCSP “I heard it that morning. John (Gonoude from Eagles PR) actually sent it over to me and I was, like, I just read it and I was a little confused, I guess. It’s never obviously fun to read your name being thrown around like that, but at the end of the day, try not to stress about it too much and let the media or the perception of others dictate who I am. I know who I am, first of all. I know how I carry myself, I know I’m not perfect, I know I have flaws. So I’m not going to sit here and say it was inaccurate and completely made up, I’m not going to do that. But at the end of the day, I will say our locker room is really close. If there were guys that had issues, in hindsight, I wish we could have just talked about them. But, again, I don’t know how that all happened and everything with that. Again, it’s never fun to read, but to extent, you look at it and be like, ‘well, if someone did have this perception of me, why? What have I done wrong? What can I get better at? I realize I have my shortcomings. Yes, I can be selfish. I think we all have selfishness inside of us. There’s human elements to that, that I really look at and say, ‘well, I can get better.’ I always say I can be better on the field, off the field, how I carry myself. But I didn’t want to make it bigger than … I think everyone probably ran with it different ways and I just kind of said, ‘look, I’m just going to live my life out here and I’m going to let that kind of shape out how it may.’ Honestly, I haven’t really read what’s been happening since. Again, it’s not fun to read, but you try to take what you can from it and be better, I guess.”

Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz says his personality ‘ain’t going to change,’ and it shouldn’t - Inquirer The QB has already proven he has what it takes to thrive. Are there minor modifications he can make? Absolutely. But authenticity matters most in an NFL locker room.

Fans Encouraged To Support Second Annual Carson Wentz Softball Game - PE.com The 2nd Annual AO1 Charity Softball Game benefiting The Carson Wentz AO1 Foundation takes place on May 31 at Citizens Bank Park. Tickets go on sale through the website AO1Foundation.org on February 7. The family-friendly event begins with a home run derby at 6:30 p.m. followed by a game between members of the Eagles playing on opposing teams at 7:30 p.m.

Jay Ajayi updates progress on ACL rehab - CBS Sports Jay Ajayi is just four months removed from ACL surgery, which ended his season with the Philadelphia Eagles and hindered his opportunity for a big payday on the free agent market. Ajayi will be forced to sign a “prove it” deal in order to restore his value in 2019, a year which he likely won’t be 100 percent until October (but still should be ready for the start of the season). Spotrac has started to project market values for all the free agents out there, which Ajayi comes in at $3.6 million per season. Needless to say, Ajayi is working towards getting that contract. The Eagles running back updated his progress in his ACL rehab, jumping up on a step...three days shy of four months to the day he tore his ACL.

February All-Sleeper Team - The Draft Network RB: Elijah Holyfield, Georgia: I just got eyes on Holyfield a couple of days ago — boy, am I glad I did! Holyfield has gotten sparse attention in Draft circles that see him as the blip on the radar between Georgia’s two stud backs of the 2018 cycle — Nick Chubb and Super Bowl champion Sony Michel — and their rising junior star in D’Andre Swift. But Holyfield is a strong runner in his own right — and in this class, that’s enough to vault him to my RB2 slot, which ruffled more than a few feathers when I publicized the ranking. He carries a mid/late second-round grade off of his film, and is a fringe Top-50 player, but he offers the only bellcow profile I’ve seen in this class besides Alabama’s Josh Jacobs. He just never saw that opportunity in the Bulldog backfield. Holyfield wins with sweet feet, as he remains tethered to the ground through sharp and explosive cuts. He can string together moves, load his lower half to deliver a powerful shot, or pick up steam in a hurry when attacking the outside. His meager pass-catching usage is harrowing, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t handle more targets and catches — and for teams that don’t heavily feature their backs in the passing game, or already have a strong pass-catching back — Holyfield makes sense as the “thunder” in a 2-part backfield.

Choiceology: Season 2 Episode 7 - Schwab Seeing as it’s Super Bowl season, it seemed like a good time to revisit last year’s contest as a case study in decision making. The 2018 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles played incredibly well against the formidable New England Patriots. The game could have gone either way, but the Eagles had a secret weapon that gave them an advantage. We speak with Michael Kist from Bleeding Green Nation on the Eagles’ integration of computer models for decision making both on and off the field. You’ll hear the story of how those models were temporarily abandoned and the team struggled before re-embracing them.

Bengals hiring James Casey and Ben Martin, per report - Cincy Jungle Zac Taylor is wasting no time in finding who will be on his staff with the Bengals. Not long after Taylor was hired as the team’s next coach, Field Yates of ESPN reported that Houston Cougars tight ends coach James Casey was joining Taylor’s staff. The team is also hiring Ben Martin, an offensive line coach from Bryant University. Casey is someone you may be familiar with, as he enjoyed a productive career with the Houston Texans from 2009-12, then with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013-14. He ended his career following a one-year stint with the Denver Broncos in 2015.

Connor Barwin release made official by Giants - Big Blue View The Giants made the release of Connor Barwin official on Monday. Barwin had said last week via social media that he would not be a Giant in 2019. Releasing the 32-year-old saves the Giants $1.5 million against the 2019 salary cap. The 10-year veteran had a career-low one sack in 2018.

The Rams Went All In to Beat the Patriots—and It Still Wasn’t Enough - The Ringer Sean McVay’s team exemplified the tenets of modern team building in their run to Super Bowl LIII. They just learned the lesson that’s defined this decade in the NFL.

It’s okay to admit that the Super Bowl wasn’t a good game - SB Nation There are those who want you to believe that Super Bowl LIII was a good game. But... was it? Or are we putting lipstick on a pig for a game that had all the drama of a Week 4 Jets-Dolphins game on a Thursday night? The praise is coming from everywhere, sources both credible in their knowledge of the game of football and not.

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Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2019/2/5/18211776/eagles-news-espn-predicts-nick-foles-jaguars-jacksonville-trade-free-agency-quarterback-rumors-wentz