#2010s Patriots Squad

[tampatom12]

”I haven’t been reblogging a lot of 2010s Patriots squad lately” what is Maauto but Young Tom/Rob? What is JoeMarr and DiggsAllen but Young Bradelman? The dynamics are there. When one homoerotic QB/TE/WR duo retires, two more take their place

WHY HAVEN'T I EVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT IN THAT WAY BEFORE?!?! 😱🤯

This is very true and an all around EXCELLENT point!!!!

Thanks for bringing it to me attention, anon!! 🙌🏻🌟💯🔥💞

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

The reason why I made that initial post was because I didn't want people to think that I had forgotten my first football OTP's. Tom, Rob, Danny and Jules are always gonna be so important and special to me, even when I reblog and talk about players other than them. 💓

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Andrew Prokop at Vox:

The left’s hopes for sweeping change from the 2010s have crashed into the reality of the 2020s. The energy of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns and the George Floyd protests is a distant memory. Some members of the Squad have moved toward the Democratic mainstream, while others lost primaries. Several of the progressive prosecutors elected in recent years have been ousted from office (by voters or due to scandals) or appear headed that way. In Democrat-dominated spaces — like cities and mainstream media outlets — there’s been growing pushback against the left. Ambitious progressive rallying cries of just a few years ago, such as defunding the police and Medicare-for-all, are now absent from the discourse. Politicians who assiduously cultivated left activists are now increasingly tacking to the center — most notably Vice President Kamala Harris, who has abandoned many of the positions she took while running in the Democrats’ 2020 presidential primary. Altogether, it’s seemed that progressives have moved from being on the offensive to being on the defensive — in both politics and the nation’s culture.

Of course, it’s not as if progressives’ gains over the past 20 years or so have been entirely wiped away. The Democratic Party remains significantly further to the left than it was a decade ago and certainly two decades ago (see, for instance, my recent article about the rise of the New Progressive Economics). Yet, as bloggers Noah Smith and Tyler Cowen have argued, there are growing indications that the leftward drift of the party and of the country’s culture broadly has stopped. On some fronts, there has indeed been a reversal. “No matter who wins, the US is moving to the right,” Semafor’s David Weigel argued last week, citing “immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights, climate change policies, and criminal justice reform” as issues where progressives are on the defensive. Being on the defensive is not new for the left — it’s the historical norm. Bursts of activist energy and successful reform are typically followed by long stretches where either the new status quo persists or a backlash reverses at least some recent change.

[...]

The era of rising progressive ambitions lasted from about 2005 to 2020

Historical periodization is a tricky thing, but here’s a rough attempt at it. From about 1980 to 2005, the left was mostly irrelevant to national politics. The Cold War was over, and capitalism reigned ascendant. The Republican Party moved right, while the Democratic Party moved to the center. The country cracked down on criminals, unauthorized immigrants, and non-working welfare recipients. 9/11 made patriotism mandatory. Same-sex marriage was viewed as politically toxic. But 2005 to 2020 was, broadly, a period where progressives and the left became increasingly influential inside the Democratic Party, in Democrat-dominated spaces, and in the larger culture. Call it the era of rising progressive ambitions. The disasters of George W. Bush’s second term kicked off the shift, discrediting Republican governance. This enabled the election of the nation’s first Black president, Barack Obama, whose agenda was strikingly ambitious and progressive when compared to the Clinton years. Democrats’ leftward shift accelerated in the 2010s, which saw:

The increased cultural influence of the social justice left, which transformed how much of the country thought and spoke about racial and gender issues (“the Great Awokening”)

The launch of viral protest movements like Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and Me Too

The nationwide spread and Supreme Court’s protection of same-sex marriage rights, followed by increased advocacy for trans rights

The rise of more economically progressive and even democratic socialist politicians, as seen in the support for Sanders’s campaigns, the Squad’s arrival in Congress, and party leaders’ embrace of some of Elizabeth Warren’s ideas

A leftward move of mainstream Democrats on issues like immigration and criminal justice, where activists had made the case that status quo policies were cruel and harmful

Increased public discussion about causes like Medicare-for-All, the Green New Deal, and student loan forgiveness

Basically, on a host of issues, the “Overton window” — the boundaries of which political and policy ideas are deemed fit for mainstream discussion, rather than fringe or self-evidently absurd — opened far further left. Trump’s election didn’t stop the left’s rising influence. Indeed, it intensified it, raising the stakes of politics and heightening passions. (Trump’s rise simultaneously opened the Overton window further right on some issues, as leading Republicans increasingly embraced bigotry and flouted democratic norms.) The assumption spread among Democrats that the establishment’s approach had failed and that bold new progressive ideas were necessary. During the party’s 2020 presidential primary, most candidates — including Harris — scrambled to the left, wooing activist groups. Joe Biden, the most old-school major contender, won, but rather than a full-on pivot to the center for the general election, he embraced much of the progressive agenda. It was a political necessity for helming the Democratic Party of 2020.

[...]

The backlash and disillusionment of the 2020s

Things feel different in the Biden years. In part that’s due to the constraints and disappointments that always exist when a party tries to turn a bold campaign agenda into governing reality. Narrow congressional majorities limited Democrats’ legislative possibilities (and then they lost the House). The conservative Supreme Court, meanwhile, blocked some Biden actions like student loan forgiveness and rolled back abortion rights protections. But the trend was broader. Democrats in cities disavowed police cuts as they struggled with rising crime and complained they couldn’t handle a migrant influx. Corporations have laid off DEI workers. Mainstream media companies, increasingly influenced by progressive causes (and sensitive to left criticism) in the 2010s, are now more forthrightly asserting their journalistic independence and challenging progressive ideas. Activism in protest of Israel was met with fierce pushback at universities. Commentators started declaring that “wokeness” had peaked as social justice controversies grew less intense and frequent.

[...]

All of this has happened before

Meanwhile, there’s also been a conspicuous decline of energy and intensity among progressive activists. While many certainly remain committed to their longtime causes, others have disengaged or shifted their focus to opposing Israel’s war in Gaza (an issue that bitterly divides the Democratic Party and where Democratic leaders are disinclined to embrace the left). Perhaps if Trump wins, progressive energy would surge again in opposing him — but perhaps too many people are now burned out and apathetic, and the mobilization won’t match the bygone days of Trump’s first term. And a backlash against Trump’s governance would not necessarily spur the Democrats to resume their leftward march. Activists naturally get disappointed and disengaged when major change proves elusive. “Every major social movement of the past 20 years has undergone a significant collapse,” the activist Bill Moyer wrote in 1987, “in which activists believed that their movements had failed, the power institutions were too powerful, and their own efforts were futile.” Fatigue, burnout, and organizational crisis then ensue; some move on to new causes.

This Vox article explains how the progressive left has been in defense and retreat mode since 2020 after being in the ascendency since 2005 or so.

[youngeditor1999]

As a fan of the 2010s Patriots Squad, why do you think Edelmandola is such a popular ship?

For those who might not know: Edelmandola is the ship name of Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. (:

Now, onto the question itself...!!

For one it's because of the INSANE chemistry that Danny and Jules have always had with each other, both on and off the field!!!

I know that they were both (damn good!) Wide Receivers and didn't throw the ball to each other, but that's also what made them so appealing to many. The fact that they held the same position on such an iconic team will never be forgotten!!

Another thing that will never be forgotten is their relationships with Tom and Rob during that time!!!

Those four really had it all goin' on at the time. 🥺🤧💞

Danny and Julian's combined friendships with Tom and Rob also solidified their bond with each other. People could easily tell how much this group of men meant to each other and how much Jules and Danny in partictular seemed to love, enjoy and appreciate each other. (Although Julian also did-and does!!-love to get fruity/flirty with Tom, too!! 😉😏😍)

But anyway, to bring it back to Danny and Julian...

These two were also friends with each other before Danny joined the Patriots and have remained friends long after he left the team.

Julian has always been very loud on social media and made sure to talk about Danny often, which included giving him shout outs on Insta back when he wasn't even on it!!

Addtionally, Julian always made a post in honor of Danny's birthday and also congratulated him on starting another season as a player, even after Julian himself had retired.

Moving on, Julian and Danny have always been on the smaller side when it comes to height, weight and what one typically thinks of when it comes to football players. Though it is true that they both had-and have!!-big muscles, they are also a bit shorter compared to other men in the league.

This aspect set up their underdog mentaility, which they both desperatly wanted to beat. 😊🐿🦊

Last but not least, the amount of peace and joy that these two have when they are around each other is truly unmatched. They love each other deeply and can't help but to share their love with the public sometimes!!!

I have some clips that I need to share regarding them, but am currently very tired and also have a few other things to do before I go to sleep.

That being said, I WILL reblog this later with cute clips of them being obsessed with each other!!!!!

[uniquejellyfishqueen]

11/24/1835 The Texas Rangers, a horse-mounted police force were authorized by the Texas Provincial Government

*Didn’t she have horses wearing friendship bracelets?

11/24/1877 - Black Beauty, by English Author Anna Sewell is published. It became an immediate best seller and eventually sold over 50 million copies

11/24/1932 - In Washington, D.C., the FBI Crime Lab opens (officially known as the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory

11/24/1943 - During World War II, at the battle of Makin, the USS Liscome Bay is torpedoed by the Japanese near Taraw and sinks killing 53 officers and 591 enlisted men

11/24/1963 - The assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald is killed by Jack Ruby

11/24/1969 - The Apollo 12 command module splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean, after it completed the second manned mission to land on the Moon

11/24/1971 - Dan Cooper, aka D.B. Cooper parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines plane during a thunderstorm over Washington state with $200,000 in ransom money. He was never found.

*same initials as Down Bad

11/24/1973 - Photography by Ringo Starr hits #1

11/24/1994 - At the first annual MTV European Music Awards, Oasis is named the Best UK Band 

11/24/1998 - Garage, Inc., is released as the Metallica compilation of cover songs

11/24/2014 - Shady XV is a two-disc compilation album released by Eminem

The Panthers host the Chiefs on 11/24 at 1pm.

Bank of America Stadium is 33 acres.

Broke ground on 4/22/1994 and opened on 8/3/1996

The Carolina Panthers have never won a Super Bowl, losing both of their appearances:

2004: In Super Bowl XXXVIII, the Panthers lost to the New England Patriots 32-29.

2016: In Super Bowl 50, the Panthers lost to the Denver Broncos 24-10. The panthers were the favorite by 5.5. The network it was on was Westwood One…(Woodvale?….I forgot how the west was won….)

*They are 1 out of 12 teams that have not made it to a Super Bowl.

Owned by David Alan Tepper 9/11/1975 hedge fund manager of Appaloosa Management (specializing in distressed debt) founded in 1993 based in Miami Beach, FL (their logo is a horse.)

TS was wearing a Panther necklace on 11/19

The Panther on her 1989 set

The “Big cat” on her blind for love shirt in the bank vault

“Range Rovers and Jaguars…”

“Karma is a Cat”

Her 2 cat is Olivia Benson… Named after Mariska Hargitay who can speak 4 languages.

In SVU History:

* Clarence Williams III 
In the 2000 Law & Order episode "Burn Baby Burn" (aired on 11/22/2010), a former Black Panther named Clarence Williams III shoots and kills two cops on the warrant squad. The episode explores the idea that police can never know what they might encounter when they knock on a door. 

* Former Black Panther accused of murder 
In season 11, episode 6 of SVU(aired on 10/28/2009), a former Black Panther is accused of murdering a Caucasian police officer. The episode features a politically charged trial and the accused questioning Detective Green's integrity. 

PANTHER SYMBOLISM:

* Protection and guidance: In medieval bestiaries, the panther was seen as an embodiment of Christ, and was said to bring unity and harmony to the animal kingdom, while also protecting from evil. 

* Leadership and unity: In modern times, the panther has become a symbol of leadership and unity, especially in comics, civil rights activism, and cinema. 

* Power, protection, and ferocity: In Greek mythology, the panther was associated with Dionysus, the god of wine and pleasure. 

* Grace, beauty, and mystery: For many tattoo enthusiasts, the panther represents these qualities. 

* Justice, morality, and money: In The Visit, the black panther symbolizes these concepts

Or we have the Florida Panthers

They do not have a game on the 24th.. but they do play on the 23rd and 25th of this month…. Bookends of sorts. And they are all home matches for the kitties.

11/23 Colorado Avalanche W 7 vs Florida Panthers 4

11/24 KC Chiefs vs Carolina Panthers

11/25 Capitals vs Florida Panthers

The day before Thanksgiving 11/27 the Florida Panthers host The Toronto Maple Leafs (TS current stop on the ET)

11/27/1942 is Jimi Hendrix birthday (electric lady..)

11/27/1957 Caroline Kennedy Birthday (US Ambassador to Australia since 2022)

11/27/1727 - The foundation stone of the Jerusalem Church in Berlin i laid

11/27/1870 - Baseball is called "The National Game" by The New York Times

11/27/1901 - The U.S. Army War College is established

11/27/1924 - The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held in New York City

11/27/1960 - Gordie Howe becomes the 1st NHLer to score 1,000 points

11/27/1961 - Gordie Howe becomes the 1st to play in 1,000 NHL games

11/27/1965 - The Pentagon tells U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson that if they are to succeed in the Vietnam War that the number of American troops has to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000

11/27/1973 - The U.S. Senates votes 92-3 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States

11/27/1983 - Avianca Flight 011 (Boeing 747) crashes near Madrid's Barajas Airport, killing 181 people on board

11/27/1989 - Avianca Flight 203 (Boeing 727) explodes over Columbia, killing all 107 people on board and three people on the ground - The Medellin Cartel claim responsibility

11/27/2009 - The Nevsky Express train between Moscow and Saint Peterburg derails after a bomb explodes causing 28 deaths with 96 people injured

11/27/2015 - A shooter in a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado shoots four police officer, one police officer and two civilians die and six are injured

11/27/2017 - Country singer Blake Shelton is named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive

11/27/2020 - Days after the discovery is announced, the Utah monolith is removed

11/27/2021 - All Too Well, the extended version by Taylor Swift with a time of 10:13, hits #1 on the Hot 100

But also because Pittsburgh has been relevant The Penguins host the Florida Panthers on 12/3/24. 1..2..3..?

*5 days before the last day of tour.

12/3/1818 - Illinois becomes the 21st U.S. State

12/3/1910 - Modern neon lights are demonstrated for the first time by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show

12/3/1960 - The musical Camelot debuts at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway in New York City

12/3/1968 - NBC airs a TV special called Elvis

12/3/2014 Actor Taye Diggs (Private Practice) divorces Broadway actress Idina Menzel after 11 years of marriage

12/3/2015 - Scott Weiland American singer and songwriter who was the lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots and made six albums with them

12/3/2015 - Based on the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a live adaptation of The Wiz airs on NBC

12/3/2016 - Following his death, Leonard Cohen's original version of Hallelujah enters the Hot 100 at #59

TS HISTORY IN NC (15 shows):

1/20/2007 @ Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC

5 song set list

8/2/2008 @ Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion, Raleigh

7 song set list

8/3/2008 @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - Charlotte

8 song set list

Fearless Tour:

6/12/2009 Greensboro

9/5/2009 Charlotte

5/1/2010 Raleigh

Speak Now Tour:

6/30/2011 Greensboro

11/16/2011 Charlotte

11/17/2011 Raleigh

Red Tour: Charlotte

3/22/2013 Charlotte: “Tim McGraw”

9/12/2013 Greensboro: “Change” acoustic tour debut, “Everything Has Changed” with Ed Sheeran

9/13/2013 Raleigh: “Everything Has Changed” with Ed Sheeran

1989 World Tour:

6/8/2015 Charlotte:“You Are In Love Acoustic”

6/9/2015 Raleigh:

10/21/2015 Greensboro: “Little Red Wagon” with Miranda Lambert

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.5 (after 1940)

1940 – World War II: Norwegian Campaign: Norwegian squads in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen capitulate to German forces after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms. 1941 – Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa; the country commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots' Victory Day. 1945 – World War II: The Prague uprising begins as an attempt by the Czech resistance to free the city from German occupation. 1945 – World War II: A Fu-Go balloon bomb launched by the Japanese Army kills six people near Bly, Oregon. 1945 – World War II: Battle of Castle Itter, one of only two battles in that war in which American and German troops fought cooperatively. 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 1955 – The General Treaty, by which France, Britain and the United States recognize the sovereignty of West Germany, comes into effect. 1961 – Project Mercury: Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight. 1964 – The Council of Europe declares May 5 as Europe Day. 1972 – Alitalia Flight 112 crashes into Mount Longa near Palermo, Sicily, killing all 115 aboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy. 1973 – Secretariat wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby in 1:592⁄5, an as-yet unbeaten record. 1980 – Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege. 1981 – Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27. 1985 – Ronald Reagan visits the military cemetery at Bitburg and the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where he makes a speech. 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: Start of Congressional televised hearings in the United States of America 1991 – A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadoran man. 1994 – The signing of the Bishkek Protocol between Armenia and Azerbaijan effectively freezes the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. 1994 – American teenager Michael P. Fay is caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism. 2006 – The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army. 2007 – Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashes after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, killing all 114 aboard, making it the deadliest aircraft disaster in Cameroon. 2010 – Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek government-debt crisis. 2023 – The World Health Organization declares the end of the COVID-19 pandemic as a global health emergency.

[ajoytobeheld]

The films of the year! (last year)

January 11th, 2010

Here in no particular order is my fail safe opinionated and completely flawed list of films I enjoyed the most last year. There are a lot of films I did not see, so for all “A Serious Man” and “Antichrist” lovers IM SORRY I DIDNT GET AROUND TO WATCHING THEM! They are on my ilovefilm list, honest. There are also some films missing which I thought were okay, but did not find them as effecting as others, e.g “Let The Right One In” and “Up” but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy them, it just means I am a heartless bitch. Also my memory sucks so I probably left loads out too.

Drag me to hell!

An entertaining B movie pastiche of disgustingness and stupidity with Mr Raimi returning to his “Evil Dead” esque horror comedy roots after the awful “Spiderman 3.” Plus the heroine does battle with a evil handkerchief, and we all love it when linen goes bad.

Moon

Starring lots of Sam Rockwells and Kevin Spacey’s REALLY creepy voice, it’s budget allowed special effects which make “Red Dwarf” seem sophisticated but is a highly original and character driven Sci-Fi film. Yes, it was made by David Bowies son.

Zombie land

Best Bill Murray cameo I can remember.

Inglorious Basterds

This film got bafflingly average reviews despite the fact it is a complete return to form after the film about Kirk Russel killing women WITH HIS CAR!

The acting displayed from Christoph Waltz would make Daniel Day Lewis weep into his cobblers shoes, and the  scene in which the “Basterds” are undercover in the German bar….I was literally hanging off my seat, about to fall unto the floor, gripping the chair of the arm scared…..it was unrelentingly good. Even my mum liked it, and her favorite film is “Shirley Valentine.”

The Hurt Locker

This Katherine Bigelow piece tracks a bomb defusal squad in Iraq and although I am unsure about its slightly one sided patriotic message, it is still an educational, gripping and somewhat disturbing insight into the American army.

Frost/Nixon

One of my favorite films of last year, I knew little to nothing about Watergate or Nixon himself and this film made me learn things which normally I hate! plus Michael Sheen is always an incredibly watch-able and charismatic presence.

Star Trek

It could have sucked, it could have been a sacrilegious experience, but it was entertaining and sensitive to its origins.

Where The Wild Things Are

This is a incredibly brave and incredibly heartbreaking film which shows that Mr Jonze does not bend to the will of studios, it explores the confusion of childhood so perfectly and really pulls the “Stand By Me” esque punches. Perfect. BRING TISSUES.

In The Loop

I love Armando Iannucci very hard, plus its nice to know what “My Girl” is up to. The political ramifications this film depicts are also somewhat terrifying.

Hunger

I love Michael Fassbender very hard as well, and this biopic of political prisoner and hunger strike participant Bobby Sands is a uneasy viewing experience… he was also great in the disturbing “Eden Lake.”

Milk

A heartbreakingly beautiful biopic with the guy from High School Musical.

Public Enemies

There was something about this which sparked me despite its glaring errors and flaws (e.g filming on digital and Christian “continually disappointing” Bale.) I think its the unrelenting charisma of Marion Cottilard and Johnny Depp.

Coraline

A incredibly terrifying “kids” film with wreaths of imagination and darkness to boot.

My Least Favourite Film of the Year: (500) Days of Summer. It has to be seen to be believed how try hard and awful it is. I would recommend going out and watching it right now, honestly. Do it.

Ellen x

[aion-rsa]

Best War Movies to Watch: A Complete Streaming Guide

https://ift.tt/32Bbpxh

Sadly, the human race has pretty much never not been at war. We remain an ever violent, combative crew. Hopefully one day that’ll change and we’ll enter an era of unprecedented peace. Until then though, we have the movies!

War might be hell, but war flicks can be pretty great at times! Armed combat and all the other various theaters and forms of battle makes for high-octane drama and gripping backdrops. And that’s pretty much exactly what we are looking for out of our drama films.

What follows is a (mostly) comprehensive list of all the war movies available with a streaming subscription on the major streaming services. If you’re interested in paying per movie, options like Amazon, Google Play and YouTube should help broaden the field. Otherwise, scroll below because the films here are all free with a log-in subscription to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, or HBO Max.

‘71

Available on: Hulu (US), Amazon Prime Video (UK)

An underrated British thriller from the last decade, ’71 turns “the Troubles” in Ireland into a pseudo-horror movie. At a mere 99 minutes, this is lean, economical filmmaking with a barebones premise about a British solider (Jack O’Connell) who gets separated from his unit during a Belfast riot in 1971—the height of British-Irish tension. His plight to survive the night is riveting filmmaking and a grim look back to still fresh nightmares.

The African Queen

Available on: Amazon Prime Video (purchase only in UK)

An unlikely war movie at first glance, The African Queen is very much the story of two middle-aged people caught up in the chaos of the First World War. It’s also a crackling adventure yarn about autumn romance between a drunken river boat captain (Humphrey Bogart) and a Christian missionary (Katharine Hepburn) who’s brother was just killed by Germans in colonial Africa. Both set out to get down the river, and away from the Germans’ reach, in this charming John Huston classic with still stunning location photography.

The Alamo

Available on: Hulu

As an ironically little remembered version of the Alamo siege from director John Lee Hancock, The Alamo (2004) is still the best film version of these events. With a refreshing eye for historical authenticity instead of Texan mythmaking, the movie unpacks the lives of David Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton), James Bowie (Jason Patric), and William Travis (Patrick Wilson) with a warts and all approach. It also relays the events of the battle in its actual context at night, and in grim chaos, and gives needed attention to the overlooked contributions of the Tejanos to Texan independence.

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But most significantly, it has a bittersweet soul as expressed in Carter Burwell’s score, which is at its most beautiful when Crockett climbs a parapet to serenade both sides of the battlefield with his fiddle.

A Bridge Too Far

Available on: Netflix (US Only)

The last of its kind, A Bridge Too Far is one of those old-fashioned all-star war epics about World War II that came into vogue between the 1950s and ‘70s. But this nearly all-British production is not about one of the Allies’ greatest triumphs, but rather one of their most disappointing defeats: the failure of Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands.

Director Richard Attenborough and screenwriter William Goldman try to squeeze it all in, which will honestly be exhausting to some viewers. For others, seeing a historically accurate (if too lighthearted) rendering of this battle with the likes of Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Ryan O’Neal, Robert Redford, and more will be enough.

Casablanca

Available on: HBO Max

Another Bogie movie where the war is adjacent to the central conflict, Casablanca is the best wartime melodrama ever produced. Some even consider it the greatest American movie for that matter. Actually made during the Second World War, there is a great rush of patriotic idealism and anxious uncertainty about its vision of a seedy Moroccan city that is ostensibly under free French rule, but is not-so-secretly being occupied by the Nazis. There everyone goes to Rick’s, a café run by a disillusioned American (Bogart) who sticks his neck out for nobody.

Read more

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But Rick must soon pick up the fight again after an old flame named Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) walks into his gin joint, bringing with her a French husband, a freedom fighter who has the Nazis breathing down his neck. All three are going to make some tough choices, as will complicit French police officer Louis (a marvelous Claud Rains) as the forces of World War II finally start pulling.

Cold Mountain

Available on: HBO Max

An attempt at an old fashioned sweeping wartime epic, Cold Mountain still brings modern historical insight to the oft-mythologized Civil War. The film is about several people from North Carolina’s Appalachian region. Like many Confederate soldiers, particularly from NC, Inman (Jude Law) has no slaves and no real reason to fight for the Southern cause. So after hellish battle, he deserts and attempts to make a sprawling trek back home.

Elsewhere, however, his sweetheart Ada (Nicole Kidman) must make hard decisions of her own with the leering eye of the Home Guard peeking over her shoulder, especially as word of Inman’s desertion reaches the mountains. An odyssey of the Civil War from the vantage of the impoverished it rolled over, Cold Mountain is a refreshing melodrama.

Da 5 Bloods

Available on: Netflix

Spike Lee’s latest joint is also one that opened up wounds from the Vietnam War that never really healed. Set more in the 2010s than 1960s, Da 5 Bloods follows four Black veterans who’ve ostensibly returned to Vietnam to find the remains of their fallen brother (Chadwick Boseman in one of his final roles). But they’re also here to reclaim gold that was stolen back in ’69.

Something of a heist movie, Lee mixes genres yet never loses sight about the anguish of those who fought in a war, and the legacy it leaves even decades and generations later.

The Dirty Dozen

Available on: HBO Max

Even if you haven’t seen Robert Aldrich’s epic 1967 adventure, the term “dirty dozen” and the basic premise of the movie have found their way into popular culture over the decades and influenced recent movies like Suicide Squad.

A grizzled (as if there’s any other kind) Lee Marvin leads a team of prisoners–including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, George Kennedy, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland and more–on a suicide mission during World War II, with full pardons as their reward if they survive. The results are explosive and, at the time of release, controversially violent. They also make for one of the great war movies of the era.

Enemy at the Gates

Available on: Netflix, Amazon (US Only)

Sniper versus sniper; eagle versus eagle. That is the basic appeal of Enemy at the Gates, the rare Hollywood World War II drama where America is not even present. Rather this is a film about the war of attrition between the German and Russian forces at the Battle of Stalingrad, the nightmarish conflict which began turning the tide against the Third Reich. The movie features an all-star cast, including Jude Law, Ed Harris, Rachel Weisz, and Bob Hoskins, but it’s the chilly environs of hell on earth which make this worthwhile.

Five Came Back

Available on: Netflix

A film told in three parts, Five Came Back tracks the singular, and now fairly astonishing, choices made by five A-list Hollywood directors: John Ford, Frank Capra, George Stevens, John Huston, and William Wyler. They all chose to leave Hollywood either at the peak of their careers, or at the beginning of it, to make films about the Second World War. Each ultimately served as an officer, and several were in the actual thick of combat to capture war footage (and propaganda) for the first time in history. It was a patriotic and revealing choice then and now, and it’s examined with insight by the likes of Mark Harris and Steven Spielberg here.

Flags of Our Fathers

Available on: HBO Max

Not as good as director Clint Eastwood’s companion film told from the Japanese perspective, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers is nonetheless a worthwhile film. A rather skeptical look at the lives of American marines who were turned into an inaccurate legend by the U.S. military when they were photographed raising the American flag above the sands of Iwo Jima, the picture tracks the home lives of soldiers who did their job only too well and were then asked to return home as glorified heroes… and then live an ordinary American life.

The Four Feathers

Available on: HBO Max

One of the great British adventure films of the pre-war era, The Four Feathers is director Zoltan Korda’s sweeping reimagining of the A.E.W. Mason novel. Set during Britain’s colonial wars in Egypt and Sudan during 1882, the film tracks an English officer who only took a commission in the military to honor his family’s ancient war record. However, when the call of war comes, he fears he would not do his duty in battle and resigns his service… so his three friends and even a fiancée give him four white feathers: white for cowardice.

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To redeem himself, he travels to Sudan and helps the British cause while posing as a local. Filmed on actual African locations and in glorious Technicolor at a time when American movies were afraid to leave California, The Four Feathers is a classic (and politically incorrect) throwback.

Gallipoli

Available on: Amazon

Australian filmmaker Peter Weir has directed just 13 films, but probably 10 of them are classics, and this 1981 drama is one of them. A 25-year-old Mel Gibson stars as one of several young men who enlist in the Australian Army during the First World War. They eventually find themselves on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, site of a costly and lengthy battle that ended in defeat, but marked a turning point for Australia’s perception of itself and its place in the world and a seemingly disinterested British Empire. It’s a harrowing tale about the loss of innocence, national character, and the price of war for both.

Glory

Available on: Netflix (US Only)

Arguably the greatest film ever made about the American Civil War, Edward Zwick’s Glory continues to shine like one gallant rush. Based on the lives of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry regiment, the film tracks the hard fight for respect—and freedom—endured by the first African American regiment in U.S. history.

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With a still crackling ensemble that includes Morgan Freeman, Matthew Broderick, Andre Braugher, and Denzel Washington in his first Oscar winning role, the movie both mythologizes and humanizes the 54th’s struggle as the American struggle. It also soars with James Horner’s most transcendent and ethereal musical score.

The Great Dictator

Available on: HBO Max

The rare comedy on this list, The Great Dictator was a film of political courage by writer-director-producer-and-star Charlie Chaplin. Filmed in 1940 when much of the world was already at war, but the United States was not, this Hollywood film made a farce out of the hatred and fascism of the Third Reich, with Adolf Hitler being especially skewered.

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In the film, Chaplin plays both a fictional barber and Hitler-like dictator who switch places in a Prince and the Pauper styled mix-up. Chaplin thus makes a still hilarious deconstruction of Hitler’s madness and insecurities at a time when most Hollywood studios chose to pretend there wasn’t a war going on. The film also concludes in one of the greatest anti-war speeches in cinema history.

Hacksaw Ridge

Available on: HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video UK

The rare film that is told in merely two acts, director Mel Gibson’s World War II drama is fairly underrated. The film follows the remarkable true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), an unlikely U.S. Army corporal since he was also a conscientious objector who refused to hold a gun. Nearly court-martialed for his defiance of orders, as a medic Doss insisted he could serve his country well by saving lives on the battlefield. He got his chance at the Battle of Okinawa when he pulled 75 lives out of the carnage, which is captured in grisly detail by Gibson. Likely the bloodiest WWII movie since Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge is also one of the best.

Hamburger Hill

Available on: Amazon Prime Video (US Only)

This 1987 film set during the Vietnam War recounts one specific mission: a 1969 assault by the U.S. Army’s 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, known as the “Screaming Eagles,” on a well-fortified North Vietnamese position near the Laotian border. Dylan McDermott, Don Cheadle, Courtney B. Vance, and Steven Weber all make early career appearances in the film as young soldiers thrust into a situation where victory almost seems more like defeat—as good a metaphor for the Vietnam conflict as any.

Hostiles

Available on: Netflix

Director Scott Cooper did the rare thing with Hostiles: He looked back at American history with nuance and sincere contemplation. This film is ostensibly about a U.S. Cavalry officer on his final mission, which is to escort a family of Native Americans across the last remnants of American frontier. But when that officer (Christian Bale) knows he’s escorting the dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) who led the doomed side of American Indians in previous conflicts—and alongside a woman (Rosamund Pike) who just lost her family to Indian attacks—the ghosts of America’s sins and recriminations walk with them.

The Hurt Locker

Available on: Hulu, Netflix UK

The film which won Kathryn Bigelow the Oscar for Best Director, The Hurt Locker is the first great movie about the War on Terror in the 21st century. Boiling down the madness of war to being like “a drug” for some soldiers, the film essays the high-stake tension—and adrenaline—of being an officer in the Army’s bomb squad who is responsible for disarming IEDs, bomb vests, and other hidden weapons of death.

It’s terrifying… and exhilarating as personified by Jeremy Renner’s addicted Staff Sgt. William James. Also with a career-making performance by Anthony Mackie and a pseudo-journalistic script by Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker gets under your skin.

Platoon

Available on: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video (US Only)

There were plenty of Vietnam War movies before Oliver Stone’s Platoon, but what shook audiences in 1986 is that this was the first time one was made by a Vietnam veteran. Not that Stone didn’t take liberties: He makes his soldier’s eye view of the generation-defining conflict a fever dream of America’s darkest moments in the shit.

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But his lament for the soldier also brought a renewed sense of sorrow and regret to how veterans were treated in the aftermath. With a heartbreaking supporting performance by Willem Dafoe, whose demise in the film has become iconic, there’s a reason for many this remains the only Vietnam War movie of consequence.

Red Tails

Available on: HBO Max

Here is executive producer George Lucas and director Anthony Hemingway’s well-meaning but so-so aerial war epic about the Tuskegee Airmen. The real-life Black pilots, mechanics, bombardiers, and more made up a segregated flank of African American airmen (as well as flyers from Haiti, Trinidad, and other Caribbean nations) in World War II. This film attempts to honor them with a cast that includes Terrence Howard, David Oyelowo, Nate Parker, and Cuba Gooding Jr.

War Machine

Available on: Netflix

David Michod (Animal Kingdom) wrote and directed this Netflix satire set during the ongoing war in Afghanistan, eight years after the 9/11 attacks. Brad Pitt stars as four-star general Glen McMahon (loosely based on real-life general Stanley McChrystal), whose bleak assessment of the situation on the ground puts him at odds with President Obama and others. Like other less-than-reverent films before it, War Machine is interested in the sheer insanity of war: doing the same thing over and over again while hoping for a different outcome.

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[alfredohaylee-blog]

Pried it open and pulled out a gun that was stored inside

The year also marked the beginning of Robinson's short stint with Hollywood, where he played 'himself' in a movie based on his life, The Jackie Robinson Story. Three more MVP titles were added to his list of accomplishments over the next three years. Brooklyn Dodgers defeated New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series.

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[tampatom12]

For anybody wondering, this is still a Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman based account even with all of the non-2010s Patriots Squad things I've been reblogging lately!!!

[isherloathemyself]

Movie List

Seen ☼ Own ☽

Leonardo Whilhelm DiCaprio

Critters 3 (1991) ☼ This Boy’s Life (1993) ☼☽ What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) ☼ The Foot Shooting Party, short film (1994) The Quick and the Dead (1995) ☼☽ The Basketball Diaries (1995) Total Eclipse (1995) ☼☽ Romeo + Juliet (1996) ☼ Marvin’s Room (1996) ☼☽ Titanic (1997) ☼ The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) Celebrity (1998) ☼☽ The Beach (2000) Don’s Plum (2001) ☼☽ Catch Me If You Can (2002) ☼☽ Gangs of New York (2002) The Aviator (2004) ☼☽ The Departed (2006) ☼ Blood Diamond (2006) ☼ Body of Lies (2008) ☼☽ Revolutionary Road (2008) ☼ Shutter Island (2010) ☼☽ Inception (2010) ☼☽ J. Edgar (2011) ☼☽ Django Unchained (2012) ☼☽ The Great Gatsby (2013) ☼☽ The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) ☼ The Audition, short film (2015) ☼☽ The Revenant (2015) ☼☽ Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Heath Andrew Ledger

Clowning Around (1995) Blackrock (1997) Paws (1997) ☼☽ 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) ☼☽ Two Hands (1999) The Patriot (2000) ☼☽ A Knight’s Tale (2001) ☽ Monster’s Ball (2001) The Four Feathers (2002) ☼☽ Ned Kelly (2003) The Order (2003) ☼ Lords of Dogtown (2005) ☼ The Brothers Grimm (2005) ☼☽ Brokeback Mountain (2005) ☼☽ Casanova (2005) Candy (2006) I’m Not There (2007) ☼☽ The Dark Knight (2008) The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) ☼☽ I Am Heath Ledger (2017)

Joaquin Rafael Phoenix

Kids Don’t Tell (1985) Spacecamp (1986) ☼ Russkies (1987) Parenthood (1989) ☽ To Die For (1995) Inventing the Abbotts (1997) ☼ U Turn (1997) Return to Paradise (1998) Clay Pigeons (1998) ☼☽ 8mm (1999) The Yards (2000) ☽ Gladiator (2000) ☽ Quills (2000) ☽ Buffalo Soldiers (2001) ☼ Signs (2002) It’s All About Love (2003) ☼ Brother Bear (2003) ☼ The Village (2004) ☽ Hotel Rwanda (2004) ☼☽ Ladder 49 (2004) ☼☽ Walk the Line (2005) We Own the Night (2007) ☼ Reservation Road (2007) Two Lovers (2008) ☼ I’m Still Here (2010) ☼ The Master (2011) ☼ The Immigrant (2013) ☼☽ Her (2013) ☽ Inherent Vice (2014) ☼☽ Irrational Man (2015) ☼ You Were Never Really Here (2017) ☼☽ Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (2018) ☼ Mary Magdalene (2018) ☼☽ The Sisters Brothers (2018) ☼ Lou, short film (2018) ☼☽ Joker (2019)

Jennifer Shrader Lawrence

Garden Party (2008) The Poker House (2008) The Burning Pain (2008) Winter’s Bone (2010) Like Crazy (2011) ☼ The Beaver (2011) ☼☽ X-Men: First Class (2011) ☼☽ The Hunger Games (2012) ☼☽ Silver Linings Playbook (2012) ☼ House at the End of the Street (2012) The Devil You Know (2013) ☼☽ The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) ☼☽ American Hustle (2013) ☼☽ X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) ☼☽ Serena (2014) ☼☽ The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) ☼☽ The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) ☽ Joy (2015) ☼☽ X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) ☼☽ Passengers (2016) ☼☽ Mother! (2017) ☼☽ Red Sparrow (2018) ☼☽ X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

Chris Hemsworth

Star Trek (2009) A Perfect Getaway (2009) Ca$h (2010) ☼☽ Thor (2011) ☼☽ The Avengers (2012) ☼ The Cabin in the Woods (2012) Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) ☼ Red Dawn (2012) Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Rush (2013) ☼☽ Thor: The Dark World (2013) ☽ Blackhat (2015) ☼☽ Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) Vacation (2015) In the Heart of the Sea (2015) The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016) ☼☽ Ghostbusters (2016) ☼☽ Doctor Strange, post-credit scene (2016) ☼☽ Thor: Ragnarok (2017) ☽ 12 Strong (2018) ☼☽ Avengers: Infinity War (2018) ☼ Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) ☼☽ Avengers: Endgame (2019) ☼☽ Men In Black: International (2019) ☼ Extraction (2020)

Margot Elise Robbie

Vigilante (2008) ICU (2009) About Time (2013) ☼☽ The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Focus (2015) Suite Française (2015) Z for Zachariah (2015) Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) The Legend of Tarzan (2016) ☼☽ Suicide Squad (2016) ☼☽ I, Tonya (2017) Goodbye Christopher Robbin (2017) ☽ Peter Rabbit (2018) ☽ Flopsy Turvy, short film (2018) Terminal (2018) Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018) ☽ Mary Queen of Scots (2018) Dreamland (2018) ☼☽ Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) ☽ Bombshell (2019) ☼ Birds of Prey: and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn (2020)

Taika Waititi

Scarfies (1999) Snakeskin (2001) A New Way Home, short film (2001) Turangawaewae, short film (2002) Henious Crime, short film (2004) Toy Boy, short film (2004) ☼ What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires, short film (2005) Falling Leaves, short film (2005) Eagle vs Shark (2007) Boy (2010) ☼ Green Lantern (2011) The Captain, short film (2013) ☼☽ What We Do in the Shadows (2014) Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) ☼☽ Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss by Passing Through the Gateway Chosen by the Holy Storsh (2018) ☼☽ Avengers: Endgame (2019) ☼☽ Jojo Rabbit (2019)

[grantmgardner]

Pro Cycling Sponsorship: How Cofidis and Total Direct Energie Have Survived for So Long

The existence of pro cycling teams is extremely volatile, even for the teams that compete in the UCI WorldTour, the top tier of men’s road cycling. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is a governing body that along with organizing the WorldTour, has multiple other cycling disciplines (like BMX and track cycling) under its control. There are three main road race organizers (ASO, RCS Sport and Flanders Classics) that own the races that make up the UCI WorldTour calendar. These organizers are independent organizations that have little incentive to cooperate with one another, or the UCI. This creates a situation where there is no centralized league power structure like there is in the National Football League or English Premier League. In the NFL, all 32 teams benefit from the success of the league, and share in the wealth. Due to the lack of organization between teams, race organizers, and the governing body; cycling is a sport without a sustainable revenue-sharing model. Therefore, teams must seek out their own sources of revenue, which creates a sport that is almost entirely dependent on sponsorship marketing.

Professional cycling does not have an annual relegation and promotion system, like the Football Association in England, but teams are occasionally added to the WorldTour if the UCI determines they meet certain “administrative, ethical, financial, organizational, and sporting” criteria.

For the 2020 season, the UCI WorldTour has 19 registered teams. Given the volatility of team finances, 19 teams is not always the standard. Teams often go out of business or merge with other teams. Last year the WorldTour had 18 registered teams. Seventeen teams will be returning and Katusha-Alpecin has merged with Israel Cycling Academy to form Israel Start-Up Nation. Cofidis was added as a nineteenth team. The winner of the second-tier UCI Pro Continental Tour for 2019, Total Direct Energie, will be a twentieth quasi-WorldTour team in 2020, receiving invites to all UCI WorldTour races.

View my spreadsheet that shows the evolution of teams in the top-tier of men’s road cycling since the start of the UCI ProTour

The main benefit of being in the WorldTour is that all WorldTour teams receive automatic entry into the top races regardless of their performance on the road. Lower level teams have to fight for wildcard spots to get into races like the Tour de France. Given that cycling teams rely on sponsorship for the majority of their revenue, getting into the big races, where the marketing exposure is greatest, is crucial.

In 2005, Cofidis and Total Direct Energie (then known as Bouygues Telecom) were original members of the WorldTour’s predecessor, the UCI ProTour. In 2010, both were relegated to the Pro Continental classification due to poor performance. After 10 years in the wilderness, Cofidis is back at the top flight and Total Direct Energie has achieved quasi-WorldTour status. 

Founded in 1997 by iconic manager, Cyrille Guimard, Cofidis has been around longer than most of the successful teams currently on the pro cycling scene, like Team Ineos (est. 2009) or Deceuninck-Quick Step (est. 2003).

The origins of Total Direct Energie can be traced back to the 1980s, to an amateur team known as Système U, run by none other than…Cyrille Guimard. As with most cycling teams, they morphed and evolved over time. Eventually, in 2000, under the direction of Jean-René Bernaudeau, they became the professional team known as Bonjour. 

It’s really quite remarkable that Cofidis and Total Direct Energie have survived for so long when more successful teams like HTC-Highroad were unable to weather the storms of doping scandal and financial difficulty. Even Team Ineos, the squad formerly known as Team Sky, nearly crumbled in the spring of 2019 when 21st Century Fox and Sky pulled their funding amidst an international media shakeup that resulted in Disney and Comcast acquiring the respective companies.

At the time of Team Sky’s sponsorship crisis, they had won six of the last seven Tours de France and the previous year, star rider Chris Froome was the defender of all three Grand Tour titles after winning his first Giro d’Italia. Since the team’s inception, they had won two Monuments, nine Classics, and numerous other races. But none of that mattered without a title sponsor willing to foot the bill. One of the greatest cycling teams of all time nearly vanished into thin air; and it would not have been the first time.

Total Direct Energie’s biggest win in team history? The 2006 Clásica de San Sebastián. Cofidis? A little more impressive: the 1999 edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Cofidis and Total Direct Energie are less successful than other teams like Ineos or Deceuninck-Quick Step in terms of results, but that does not affect their existence as a team. What does impact their livelihood is who their title sponsors are and their title sponsors’ ties to the true powerbroker of pro cycling: the Amaury Sports Organization (ASO).

ASO is a French company that organizes numerous cycling races including the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and many others. The French bank, Cofidis, is a key sponsor and partner in ASO’s events, therefore, regardless of UCI WorldTour status or performance, the Cofidis cycling team gets a wildcard bid to participate in their events. Despite multiple title sponsorship changes since 2000, Total Direct Energie has received roughly the same beneficial treatment as Cofidis. Both teams have participated in every Tour de France since their inception.

Cofidis and Total Direct Energie have existed for so long because they have a guaranteed ticket to race the Tour every summer, and that’s good enough for their sponsors. The companies, Cofidis and Total Direct Energie, get good return for their investment. Every year, they know their teams (a.k.a. mobile billboards) will tour around France broadcasting their brand to the French people and the world. There is a significant incentive for these brands to stay invested in the sport of cycling. Other sponsors (like Sky) are fickler, and their cycling teams suffer the consequences.

Currently, all that matters in pro cycling is who your sponsor is and how invested they are in the sport. A team like Ineos, that has had the same recent dominance as the EPL’s Manchester City or the NFL’s New England Patriots, would not have to worry about going out of business in any other major sport. But in cycling it’s a fact of life. Pro cycling needs a central league, that consolidates revenue and distributes it equitably to all member teams, in order to remain a viable business in the twenty-first century.

Hopefully, the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak will subside and cycling, and sport in general, will be able to resume soon. Unfortunately, many pro cycling teams may not survive the suspension of the season with the lack of revenue from racing and the financial pressure placed on sponsors.

[thefederalistfreestyle]

You Can Star In ‘Hamilton’ And Still Fear For Your Life As A Black Man (HuffPo):

Carvens Lissaint is tired of having to prove he belongs in his own building. He’s a 6 foot 3, 29-year-old black man, raised in Harlem, and he lives in a new upscale glass residential tower in downtown Brooklyn. He moved there in September, the same month he landed a starring role in “Hamilton” on Broadway, one of the biggest hits in musical theater history. But again and again — five times in all, by his count — the rotating cast of security desk attendants treats him like an outsider.

“I come here with some Trader Joe’s groceries, about to cook my wife some dinner, and they’re like, ‘I’m sorry, deliveries are downstairs. You have to call up,’” he said. “They just see a black guy wearing Beats headphones, sweats and a hoodie. … I’m like, ’I live here. These are my keys.’”

[. . .]

Lissaint always struggled with traditional academics, knowing he wanted to be a performance artist. He enrolled in community college ― mainly to have a dorm to sleep in ― and flunked out after his first year. He wanted to be an artist and had already found some success as a spoken-word poet, despite his dad’s repeated warnings to ignore poetry and “get a job that pays the bills.” His dad went so far as to forbid him to attend poetry slams in high school, but Lissaint competed anyway and won the acclaimed New York Knicks Poetry Slam in 2007 at 18 years old. He won several more in the next two years and eventually began coaching slam teams and mentoring young poets.

Poetry wouldn’t pay the bills, though, at least not yet. He crashed on friends’ couches or rode the subway all night for about three years after community college. He would perform on the train to scrape together enough cash to see his favorite Broadway show, “In the Heights,” again and again. The musical, written by “Hamilton” playwright Lin Manuel Miranda, opened on Broadway in 2008, also at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, also starring Jackson, one of Lissaint’s heroes.

“In the Heights” is a love letter to Washington Heights, a Hispanic neighborhood in upper Manhattan. Lissaint was transfixed. He saw the play 13 times. Sometimes his friends would give him a ticket, knowing how much he loved it. “Chris Jackson is the reason I started acting,” he said. “I was a young black kid from upper Manhattan. To see a musical about Washington Heights and see a black dude onstage, that was inspiring.”

At 20, Lissaint had another terrifying encounter with the police. He was riding in a car with three black friends to an arts party in New Jersey, where people were playing guitar and rapping and making music together. A policeman pulled them over for allegedly making a turn that was too wide. The cop forced them out of the car and searched it, claiming there was a scent of burned marijuana in it, though Lissaint insists none of them had smoked or had any drugs on them. His friend Miles was angry at the injustice of the situation and started cussing, which prompted the policeman to call for backup, and five more squad cars showed up with dogs, Lissaint recalled. The officers approached Lissaint and his friends with guns drawn, though he and his friends were unarmed.

Lissaint had a sick feeling he could die that night. “I was sitting there, like, yo, they could kill us,” he said. “They could kill us right now, and we can do nothing about it.”  

He was homeless for two and a half years before he started auditioning at conservatories, hoping one of them might see his potential and give him a scholarship. He got a callback from Juilliard in 2010. New York University’s acting program had accepted him, but he couldn’t get into the main school with his academic record. Ultimately, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan gave him a full ride and helped him with living costs, and he was able to enroll.

It was there that he began to understand that high art was generally considered to be art created by white people ― and that black people’s art forms and aesthetics aren’t as valued pedagogically or considered worth investigating in the theater and academic worlds.

“A teacher would say, ‘Bring in a piece of high text,’ and I would bring in a spoken-word poem or a rap. And they’d say, ‘No, we mean high art, like Shakespeare,’” Lissaint said. “Voice and speech teachers told me, ‘You should stop doing spoken-word poetry, it’s inspiring your regionalism and your dialect too much. We’re afraid you’ll never be able to work in the American theater because of your speech, because you do that rap thing.’”

[. . .]

I asked Lissaint what’s like to go from being homeless and sleeping on friends’ couches to having this fancy apartment. “My wife was trying to get me a gift, and she asked me what I want,” he said. “I’ll tell you exactly what I want.”

He leaped from the couch, crossed to the wall and started flipping the light switch on and off, creating a strobe effect in the living room. “You see that? The lights work!” he shouted, his voice becoming louder and more performative. “That’s dope to me! I don’t need much! That is dope! You see this? The lights are on! I don’t need much!”

Instead of buying things, Lissaint has decided to use his new Broadway money and platform to make a five-track album and a book of poetry about racism and violence against black bodies. He realized while he was in grad school that performing art solely for entertainment’s sake wasn’t going to fulfill him. “I’m sitting in class doing Shakespeare monologues, and Trayvon [Martin] just got killed, and we see a Black Lives Matter march pass by our rehearsal. And I’m like, what am I doing in here?” he said.

Lissaint’s new projects, both called “Target Practice,” draw from his experiences and reflect on stories like that of Philando Castile, a black man who was pulled over by police in Minnesota and fatally shot in front of his girlfriend and her child in 2016. The poems pulse with outrage at the white ruling class, even implicating his Broadway audience.

[. . .]

He referred to an incident on July 4, when he posted a photo on Instagram of an 1852 speech by Frederick Douglass about “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” and the fact that Americans were celebrating freedom while keeping African men enslaved. Douglass’ speech, one of the most damning pieces of oratory in American history, condemns the display of patriotism on Independence Day as “hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.”

Lissaint now has 11,000 followers, and a white woman who described herself as a “Hamilton” fan commented on his post, “This would definitely make sense to an African American male in the 1800s. Not so much to an African American male who makes his money in 2018 singing in a play based on American history. You are very talented and one of my favorite actors in the play. This post, however, is offsetting.”

Lissaint points much of his poetry at people like her who seem oblivious to ongoing racial oppression in this country. “There are ’Hamilton’ fans who don’t like black people,” he told me matter-of-factly.

He said white people after the show will demand that he pose with their kids or yank him around for pictures like he’s a prop, instead of just asking him. One woman in Houston grabbed the “Hamilton” backpack on his body and twisted it around to show it to her friend, without ever acknowledging the man wearing it. “When you’re an artist, people feel like they own you,” he said. And when you’re a black artist ― “that has deeply rooted implications.”

[. . .]

Performing for an audience black and brown high school kids is his favorite thing to do; it gives him a special kind of energy onstage. He said he hopes that seeing “Hamilton” can do the same thing for the next generation that “In the Heights” did for him as a young black man. [. . .]

read the entire amazing article & get tix to his book release [x]

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.5

553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins. 1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta. 1260 – Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire. 1494 – On 2nd voyage to New World Christopher Columbus sights Jamaica, landing at Discovery Bay and declares Jamaica the property of the Spanish crown. 1640 – King Charles I of England dissolves the Short Parliament. 1654 – Cromwell's Act of Grace, aimed at reconciliation with the Scots, proclaimed in Edinburgh. 1762 – Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg. 1789 – In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time since 1614. 1809 – Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a U.S. patent, for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread. 1821 – Emperor Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. 1835 – The first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen. 1862 – Cinco de Mayo: Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico. 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County. 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate government was declared dissolved at Washington, Georgia. 1866 – Memorial Day first celebrated in United States at Waterloo, New York. 1877 – American Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles. 1891 – The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor. 1904 – Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball. 1905 – The trial in the Stratton Brothers case begins in London, England; it marks the first time that fingerprint evidence is used to gain a conviction for murder. 1920 – Authorities arrest Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti for alleged robbery and murder. 1936 – Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 1940 – World War II: Norwegian Campaign: Norwegian squads in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen capitulate to German forces after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms. 1941 – Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa; the country commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots' Victory Day. 1945 – World War II: The Prague uprising begins as an attempt by the Czech resistance to free the city from German occupation. 1945 – World War II: A Fu-Go balloon bomb launched by the Japanese Army kills six people near Bly, Oregon. 1945 – World War II: Battle of Castle Itter, the only battle in which American and German troops fought cooperatively. 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 1955 – The General Treaty, by which France, Britain and the United States recognize the sovereignty of West Germany, comes into effect. 1961 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight. 1964 – The Council of Europe declares May 5 as Europe Day. 1972 – Alitalia Flight 112 crashes into Mount Longa near Palermo, Sicily, killing all 115 aboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy. 1973 – Secretariat wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby in 1:592⁄5, an as-yet unbeaten record. 1980 – Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege. 1981 – Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27. 1985 – Ronald Reagan visits the military cemetery at Bitburg and the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where he makes a speech. 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: Start of Congressional televised hearings in the United States of America 1991 – A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadoran man. 1994 – The signing of the Bishkek Protocol between Armenia and Azerbaijan effectively freezes the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. 1994 – American teenager Michael P. Fay is caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism. 2006 – The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army. 2007 – Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashes after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, killing all 114 aboard, making it the deadliest aircraft disaster in Cameroon. 2010 – Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek government-debt crisis.

[righthome5]

It's Just Sport, Right - Or is It?

Didier Drogba to play for France within the subsequent global cup; Lionel Mesi to interchange citizenship and be part of Spanish squad; Samuel Eto'o to wear England Color in South Africa 2010.

If any of these titles were to grace the quilt on global Newspapers, many in Argentina, Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire could scream treason, betrayal and call for murder. The horror of seeing their prodigal sons represent the coloration of a overseas country will undoubtedly pierce the coronary heart of their countrymen, sprint the hopes of worldwide popularity and generate this sort of frustration capable of engendering the maximum heartfelt nationalism.

Why would such be the case? Shouldn't humans choose the crew or united states of america they need to symbolize? What are the criteria that could allow an immigrant to symbolize his or her adoptive u . S . A .?

In a few circles, the debate rages as much as the boiling factor of anti-immigration, and anti-Semitism. Especially if the immigrant has different functions (a few say race) that singles him or her as a particular foreigner.

Arguments range from patriotism, nationalism, ethnocentrisms, seasoned and anti-immigration, ranges of ancestry, contribution to the nation, birthrights and period of stay. Mind you that the ones arguments rarely floor whilst it's miles about sporting a gun and going to warfare…But it truly is every other subject matter…ï

So who's right, who's incorrect? During the Euro 2008 football event, The Turkish team boasted five foreign-born players, such as Colin Kazim-Richards, originally of England. Portugal also had 5. Croatia and France had seven every. And 4 of the 5 strikers at the German country wide crew were now not born in Germany. France may be very infamous for dozing with foreigners who can run in the back of a ball, and ditching people who ran after a piece permit.

The issue could be very divisive, and often generates racial and political fallout. What's the Turkish citizenship by investment big deal, one can also say, all of us must choose in which they need to play if the rules allow it; well, they may definitely if we are talking approximately the Professional club degree, the problem is pretty special on the global level, and a lot extra hypocritical.

No huge deal when Nigerian-born NBA movie star Hakeem Olajuwon changed into naturalized U.S citizen and played for the 1996 U.S Olympic squad, however what a controversy whilst WNBA celebrity Becky Hammon chose Russia over the U.S

Another thrilling case was those of brothers Salomon and Bonaventure Kalou who nearly ended up gambling inside the equal international cup representing two extraordinary nations.

While those instances reflects the developing meaninglessness of citizenship as well as the opportunity to break down out of place nationalism, it offers a glance at a totally familiar problem: it is all about the moolah, l'argent, le peze, mbongo, the cash, paper, le fric…

When weapons, diplomatic channels, sanctions, and other traditional manner by means of which governments regularly have interaction are inefficient, international locations use soft strength to deliver messages of supremacy and prosperity.

Nations compete for the proper to host International activities together with the Olympics and the world cup. Masquerade inside the costumes of nationalism and patriotism, those events specially generate revenues. They appeal to vacationers, they devise jobs, they gift a exclusive image of a country, and that they provide probably lengthy-term investments.

[junker-town]

Why South Dakota State is a potential 2022 NCAA tournament Cinderella

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

The Jackrabbits are going to be a trendy first round upset pick, and for good reason.

Team: South Dakota State Jackrabbits

Record: 30-4 Conference: Summit League Seed: 13 First Round Opponent: Providence (Thursday, 12:40 p.m. ET) DraftKings Sportsbook odds: +60000 to win title, 3-point underdogs vs. Providence

What You Need to Know:

There are three major things you need to know about this veteran South Dakota State team, which has now made three consecutive NCAA tournaments under three different head coaches:

1. They play one of the most fun styles in the country.

South Dakota State shoots 44.2 percent as a team from beyond the arc, easily the best mark of any team in the country. Patriot League champion Colgate is a distant second at 40.1 percent. They also average a whopping 86.7 points per game, the most of any team in the country not named Gonzaga.

2. It’s been a long, long time since they’ve tasted defeat.

SDSU owns the nation’s longest active winning streak and just became the first team in the history of the Summit League to run the table during the regular season and then win the conference tournament. Since losing to Missouri State all the way back on Dec. 15, South Dakota State has ripped off 21 consecutive victories. Thirteen of those 21 victories have come by 10 points or more.

3. They’re the Jackrabbits.

I mean, come on. We need Jackrabbits making March magic.

Why The Can Advance:

It was more than a little bit surprising to see South Dakota State pop up as a No. 13 seed on Selection Sunday instead of 12, but there’s still plenty of reason to believe the Jackrabbits are going to be winning at least one game in this tournament.

For starters, let’s look at their opponent.

Ordinarily, a matchup featuring the Big East’s regular season champion against an automatic qualifier from the Summit League would be a no-brainer, but this isn’t an ordinary 4/13 matchup.

Despite being No. 13 in latest AP top 25 poll, Providence is just No. 49 on Ken Pom and No. 32 in the NET Rankings. The predictive metrics in particular are non-believers in the Friars, mostly because they seem to have lived a bit of a charmed life over the last four months. Providence is a remarkable 15-2 in single-digit contests and 11-2 in games decided by five points or fewer.

Predictive metrics view close game results as mainly a function of random variance, not the sign of a veteran, clutch team that “finds a way to win” (or whatever your favorite cliche is. Those metrics have seen Providence as a ticking time bomb for months now, and those who believe in them weren’t exactly shocked to see the Friars get walloped by Creighton (85-58) in the Big East tournament semifinals last week.

In summary, there’s a good reason why Providence opened as just a 2-point favorite for this game. It’s also worth noting that the only two other times a No. 4 seed has been favored by fewer than three points (Dayton in 2003 and Vanderbilt in 2010) for a first round game, the No. 4 seed has gone on to lose that game.

What Past Cinderella They Remind Us Of:

The 2009-10 Murray State Racers.

While that Murray State team didn’t shoot it as well as this South Dakota State squad does, they were equally well-balanced, they could score tons of points in bunches, and they entered the tournament as a 13-seed with 30 wins after rolling through their conference.

Ultimately, that Murray State team took down Vanderbilt, 66-65, in an early Thursday afternoon thriller. That’s the same time window that this South Dakota State team will be taking on Providence.

The Racers would lose by just two in the second round to Butler, which would go all the way to the national championship game and come one shot away from taking down Duke.

[blackkudos]

Roger Craig

Roger Timothy Craig (born July 10, 1960) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played with San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders and Minnesota Vikings. Craig went to four Pro Bowls and won three Super Bowls with the 49ers.

High school career

Craig attended Central High School in Davenport, Iowa, graduating in 1979. There, he was teammates with future NFL TE Jamie Williams. His older brother, Curtis Craig, had also played running back, graduating from Central in 1974. The Craig brothers were preceded at running back for Central by future Denver Broncos RB Jim Jensen. The 1976 team, with Roger Craig and Williams, won the Iowa State Championship under Coach Jim Fox. In 1978, his Senior year, Craig rushed for 1,565 yards and 27 touchdowns, earning prep All-America honors. In his final high school game, a playoff loss, Craig rushed for 353 yards and 4 touchdowns. Craig was an all-around athlete, also competing in wrestling and track. In wrestling, he was an Iowa State Championships qualifier. On the track, Craig finished 2nd in the Iowa State Track and Field Championships in both the 110 hurdles and the 400 hurdles as a Senior in 1979. Craig broke the school record in the 110 hurdles that had been set by Jim Jensen. Craig credited 10-time State Champion Coach Ira Dunsworth with helping develop his distinctive high knee running form. Craig's time of 14.43 in the 110 hurdles is still listed among the All-Time Bests at the Iowa State Track and Field Championships.

College career

Craig followed in the footsteps of Curtis Craig and Jamie Williams to graduate from Davenport Central and then attend Nebraska to play for Coach Tom Osborne. Williams went on to an NFL career as well and Curtis Craig was an All-Big 8 Player in 1977.

Roger Craig played three full seasons for the University of Nebraska. In his Nebraska career, he rushed for 2,446 yards and 26 touchdowns, with an average of 6 yards per carry. He was an integral running back in Osborne's I-formation option offense.

After playing mainly for the Freshman squad in 1979, Craig rushed for 769 yards (7.1) and 15 TD's as a Sophomore in 1980. As a Junior in 1981, Craig gained1,060 yards on 173 carries (6.1) and six TD's. Craig was also fourth on the team with 12 receptions for 87 yards and was named to the All-Big 8 Team. In 1982, teaming with Mike Rozier in the backfield, Craig was injured early in the season and lost playing time while injured, but came back with 127-yards rushing in the regular-season final game.

In the dominant Nebraska Offense with Craig during his tenure were: QBs Jeff Quinn and Turner Gill; RBs Jarvis Redwine, I.M. Hipp, Andra Franklin, Craig Johnson, Jeff Smith and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier; T Dean Steinkuhler (#2 overall pick in 1984 NFL Draft); WR Irving Fryar (#1 overall pick in 1984 NFL Draft) and his hometown friend, TE Jamie Williams. Craig also ran one season of indoor track at Nebraska, finishing 4th in the 60 Meter hurdles at the Big 8 Indoor Championships

Collegiate statistics

Pro football career

Craig was the 49th overall selection in the 1983 NFL Draft, taken in the second round from Nebraska, where he once held the record for longest run from scrimmage (94 yards, set during a 1981 game against Florida State University).

In his rookie year in 1983, he scored a combined 12 touchdowns rushing and receiving, as the 49ers reached the NFC Championship game. Craig became well known in his rookie year for his distinctive high-knee running technique.

In Super Bowl XIX in January 1985, Craig rushed for 58 yards, caught seven passes for 77 yards, and became the first player ever to score three touchdowns in a Super Bowl during the 49ers' 38–16 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

The following season, Craig became the first in NFL history to run and receive for at least 1,000 yards in the same season. He ran for 1,050 yards on 214 carries and led the NFL with 92 catches for 1,016 yards, and scored a team high 15 touchdowns. With fullback Tom Rathman, also from Nebraska, the two formed the 49ers' "Cornfield Backfield."

In 1988, Craig was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. He ran for a career high 1,502 yards and caught an additional 76 passes for 534 yards. A memorable game occurred in week 7 against the Los Angeles Rams. He scored three rushing touchdowns and ran a career high 191 yards. He went on to assist the 49ers to Super Bowl XXIII by amassing 262 combined rushing and receiving yards and two touchdowns in their two playoff games. In the 49ers' 20-16 win over Cincinnati in that Super Bowl, he rushed for 71 yards and caught eight passes for 101 yards.

In the 1989 season, the 49ers advanced to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, aided by Craig's 1,527 combined rushing/receiving yards and seven touchdowns in the season, along with his 240 combined rushing/receiving yards and two touchdowns in their two playoff games. In San Francisco's 55-10 win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV, Craig rushed for 69 yards, caught five passes for 34 yards, and scored a touchdown.

The 49ers were 14–2 in the following regular season on their quest to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. In the NFC Championship Game (his last as a 49er), Craig fumbled late in the fourth quarter while his team was trying to hold on to a 13–12 lead over the New York Giants. The Giants recovered the ball and scored on a last-second field goal to win 15–13, and went on to win Super Bowl XXV.

Craig played a season with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1991 and his final two with the Minnesota Vikings, retiring after the 1993 season. He appeared in the NFL Playoffs every year of his career, and made the Pro Bowl four times (1985, 1987–1989).

Honors

in 1987, Craig was inducted into the Quad City Sports Hall of Fame.

Craig was Inducted into the Davenport Central High School Hall of Honor in 1989.

In 1989, Craig became a member of the Des Moines Register's Sunday Register Hall of Fame. and the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.

In 2002, Craig was inducted into the Iowa's IHSAA Football Players’ Hall-of-Fame. His brother, Curtis Craig was inducted in 2003.

He was the first running back to gain more than 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season (1985). Since then, only one other running back has achieved the same feat (Marshall Faulk in 1999). Craig also caught a then-record 92 passes in the 1985 campaign. In 1988, Craig set a then-franchise record 1,502 yards rushing (Garrison Hearst broke the record with 1,570 yards in 1998. Frank Gore holds the current record with 1,695 yards in 2006). The 1988 season was the second time Craig broke the 2,000 combined yardage mark in his career.

Craig finished his eleven NFL seasons with 8,189 rushing yards, 566 receptions for 4,911 receiving yards, and three kickoff returns for 43 yards. Overall, he amassed 13,143 total yards and scored 73 touchdowns (56 rushing and 17 receiving).

As of today, Lydell Mitchell, Roger Craig and Chuck Foreman are the only running backs to lead the NFL in receptions for a single season, and Craig is one of two runningbacks to ever record over 100 receiving yards in a Super Bowl (James White, New England Patriots, Super Bowl 51). His prowess as a receiver out of the backfield is a contrast to his college career, where he caught only 16 passes during his three seasons at Nebraska.

In 1993, Peter King (in Inside the Helmet) reported that Craig was the only running back to be elected to the Pro Bowl at both fullback and halfback. On April 21, 2008 Craig was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF). For the first time since being eligible in 1999, Craig was named one of 25 semifinalists considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009 and one of the 15 modern-era finalists for the Class of 2010.

National Football League statistics

Personal life

Craig spent several years studying Tae Kwon Do under Chris Jensen and Debbie Pederson at Golden State Tae Kwon Do in Foster City (now in San Carlos). He is an avid runner and has participated in over 38 marathons and half-marathons. He was the Grand Marshal for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

Wikipedia