#Where is Branden and Ryan?

[darkshadows93]

Look, I don't tend to stray my posts away from my fandoms. But I think this is something that needs to be shared and action has to be done.

On May 28th around 4:55 pm in Davenport, Iowa (the city I currently call home), a 117-year-old former Davenport Hotel (now called Davenport Apartments) had a structural failure and the south side of the building partially collapse. It took the local utilities two hours to shut down a major water and gas leak and longer to start search and rescue.

Though people were safely escorted from the building, multiple people had been killed from the rubble. Peeople are still unaccounted for, and the City of Davenport declared the building to be included jot even 24 hours after the collapse with loved ones and pets still trapped, and seen at the windows within.

One of the missing (as of yesterday was found) Lisa Brooks, was declared missing and were asked for her apartment where Davenport Police claimed they kicked down her door to find nothing the night of the collapse but on Sunday is found sticking her head out the window of her third floor apartment asking for help.

The City of Davenport are covering the whole situation up. They have claimed that no bodies have been recovered but multiple EMS started otherwise. Cats and dogs can been seen crying from the windows of the unaffected side. People are still missing and yet today May 30th, they are going to tear it all down regardless of the life of those missing or the pets.

If Lisa Brooks could be found within her apartment, what about Branden Colvin and Ryan Hitchcock and the others unaccounted for? What about the cats and dogs crying in the window as they watch a bulldozer and explosives come?

What about the hundreds of people displaced and the City of Davenport and the properly management not doing anything to help them?

Shane on you Davenport. Shame on you

[fundielicious-simblr]

Character Recap! Gen 2

After a good break to sort my life out, I decided that it would be good to do an update on everybody (yup, this is one of those posts) Why, you ask? Because I enjoy driving myself crazy by creating unnecessary amounts of work for myself - but y’all knew that already 😂 Keeping in line with that theme, one night at 4am I decided that I wanted to revamp my character pages (which ended up being my whole Tumblr theme) which would require updated pictures of everybody. I don’t know what possessed me to dredge up my old coding knowledge - if you can even call it knowledge- but I’m still in the process of finishing the character pages for gen 3 because there’s so many of them. 😅

Even though we’re on gen 3 officially, these characters are still mentioned in some parts of the story, and I also find it hard to let go of these since they’re my OG 8, the first sims born in game that I’ve ‘raised’. I’ve only just had the time to sit down and calculate peoples ages, meaning that the first 2 couples should technically still be adults, but I’m not reversing the aging process - we’re too far in 😂

I’ve updated my character’s page for gen 2 (gen 3 is almost done, but this isn’t about them 😂) I decided to add the ‘labels’ for each couples (where they fall on the fundie scale) because then it would align with what I do for gen 3′s character pages and how I label them. I tried to summarize all the ‘yikes’ bits of the relationships with the bulletpoints to truly highlight the 🥴-iness of it all you know? 

Allan & Casandra 

Meet Allan (54) and Casandra Collins (51) - Here’s a quick recap of their relationship:

They met at Family Bible Camp at 22 and 18 respectively, and were married 5 months later - both had their first kiss at the altar.

They continued to live as quiverfull fundamentalists after their marriage, subscribing to conservative biblical modesty standards, meaning that Casandra (and their subsequent daughters) wear skirts and dresses. They pledged to allow the Lord to decide their family size which led to 15 children - 13 living and 2 miscarriages.

Allan works as the Head Pastor at Newcrest Baptist Church along with being on the Board of Directors for the Centre For Learning and Life, whilst Casandra homeschools their children still at home and ministers to the women of the church in her duties as the Pastor’s wife. When she’s not doing that she’s visiting her grandchildren that live in town, or traveling to see the children and grandchildren that live elsewhere.

Here they are with all their children:

Back L-R: Adalynn (32), Barrett (31), Macie (31), Zoe (29), Maggie (25), Reece (24), Beckett (23)

Front L-R: Amira (22), Priscilla (20), Annette (20), Allan (54), Casandra (51), Charles (18), Parker (17), Ashton (15)

Branden & Lea

Meet Branden (52) and Lea (50) Collins - A recap of their relationship

They met when Lea’s family visited Newcrest Baptist so her father could give the sermon as the visiting pastor when he was 17 and she was 16, and they were married a year later - they saved their first kiss for their wedding day.

They had trouble having children for the first year and a half of their marriage, eventually having their twin girls Abbey and Brittany (28), their son Tanner (25) joined the family 3 years later.

Branden is now a retired Christian novelist, whose books have been bestsellers and he travels from church to church to run writing seminars for authors who are hoping to make it in the business. Lea stays at home and tends to her garden now that all their children are grown. She started the garden in their time before children and that garden has grown to be a local hit - she’s been selling the honey made by their bees and runs workshops to teach young women how to start their gardens to promote healthy eating. She travels along with Branden when he's teaching somewhere, and if she doesn’t she’s visiting her grandchildren.

Here they are with their children:

Front L-R: Abbey (28), Brittany (28), and Tanner (25)

Claire & Ryan

Meet Claire (51) and Ryan Paulson (55) - Here’s their recap:

They met when Claire travelled with a music group to perform at Ryan’s home church when she was 20 and he was 24, they were engaged 3 months later and married 3 months after that - they too had their first kiss at the altar.

They too pledged to allow the Lord to decide their family size and ended up having 10 children, like their parents they subscribe to conservative biblical modesty standards, meaning that the girls in the family wear skirts and dresses only.

Ryan runs his own IT business whilst Claire is a renowned Christian musician. Despite her immense talent, Claire’s main focus was and still is homeschooling her children and being a keeper of the home. As Ryan is his own boss, he is able to travel with Claire whenever she travels to teach of perform, she’s taught their children (who’ve seemingly inherited her talent) and the family performs at various events.

Here they are with their children:

Back L-R: Carter (30), Valentina (28), Alan (27), Celeste (26), Kristyn (24), Sabrina (24)

Front L-R: Jarrod (20), Zachary (18), Conner (15), Jarrett (15)

Danielle & Sebastian

Meet Danielle (51) and Sebastian (53) Hunt - Here’s a recap of their lives:

They met when he moved to Newcrest for his Veterinary residency and started attending their church, where during their courtship they both realised they had a shared love of nature and animals. 6 months later they were married, at the ages of 28 and 30.

They struggled to have children, and when Danielle did get pregnant 3 years into the marriage they ended up losing that pregnancy in the 3rd trimester - Danielle was pregnant with a baby girl they named Sarah. The next year they got pregnant and had their son James (19), and 4 years later they had their daughter Gabriela (15).

Sebastian runs a Vet Clinic in Brindleton Bay and Danielle stays at home to homeschool Gabriela, she does work at the clinic when she has the time and is responsible for the bookkeeping.

Here’s their family:

Elaine & Taylor

Meet Elaine (48) and Taylor (49) Godwin - Here’s a recap of their lives so far:

They met when Taylor moved to Newcrest to be a commuter into the city for his job as an engineer, and started attending their church. They courted for a year before marrying at the ages of  24 and 25.

They had their daughter Kyra (23) a year into their marriage, followed by twins Rory and Ruby Rae (17) 6 years later, Ava Grace (15) was born 2 years after the twins, and the youngest Amelia (11) was born 4 years after Ava.

Taylor works as a mechanical engineer whilst Elaine uses her teaching degree to homeschool the children and teach at the local homeschool co-op. Elaine wanted her children to have the experience of being taught by more than one person, but wanted control of their curriculum, meaning that the co-op was the best thing for them.

Here’s their family:

Fletcher & Cara

Here’s Fletcher (45) and Cara Collins (44) - Here’s a recap of their lives:

They met at Cara’s university when Fletcher was 22 and Cara was 20 and married 3 years later at the ages of 24 and 23 respectively. They set their own standards and therefore kissed before marriage. 7 years into their marriage they had their only child, a son that names James Lee (14)

Whilst Fletcher was raised in a conservative, fundamentalist household, Cara was raised in a less strict conservative Christian home and they chose to realign with less strict rules for their lives. 

Fletcher works as a Sergeant for the Newcrest Police Department and Cara works as a fundraising specialist for the local Conservative party in Newcrest. 

Here’s their family:

Grayson and Keira

Meet Grayson (42) and Keira (40) Collins - Here’s a recap of their lives:

They met when Keira moved to Newcrest to work as a Nurse in the pediatrics ward at Newcrest General hospital, Grayson had begun his rotations and they were in the same orientation group. Keira also joined Newcrest Baptist, their relationship blossomed from there and married after dating for a year and a half at the ages of 26 and 24.

They were open to having as many children as the Lord saw fit to provide, and they had their son Matthew (14)  2 years into their marriage, followed by their son Archie (11) 3 years later. There were complications during Archie’s birth that lead to Keira having a partial hysterectomy to save her life, meaning that their family is complete with their 2 boys.

Grayson works as an Obstetrician/Gynaecologist at Newcrest General, and Keira worked as a Nurse until they had their children. They’ve chosen to homeschool their children until high school, after which they enroll them in a private Christian high school. Once Archie the youngest moves into high school, Keira plans to return back to work at the hospital.

Here’s their family:

Harley & Gabriel

Meet Harley (42) and Gabriel (45) Barnard - Here’s a recap of their relationship:

They met at a dinner party in San Myshuno, they became fast friends and started dating a year after they met. They dated for 2 years before getting married at the ages of 28 and 21.

Harley was the first of her female siblings to go to college, she has a 1st class degree in Fine Arts with a focus on Fashion. She’s also the first of her female siblings to work a full time job. After going to college, Harley realised she was more like her older brother Fletcher and his wife in terms of beliefs, so when she married Gabriel they both agreed that in terms of beliefs that they’d attend a conservative non-fundamentalist church in San Myshuno. They both chose not to have children, so they spend time with their nieces and nephews, as well as the children their nieces and nephews.

Gabriel works as the Head Chef of a 5 star restaurant in the city, and Harley is the Editor-in-Chief of the popular fashion magazine ‘Myshuno Madness’

Gen 2 total: 8 sims (16 if you count the spouses)

Aaaand that is the first reintroduction post! Posts will restart after this one, mostly because I need queue some things up before doing the gen 3 posts so that I don’t need to worry about spoilers 😂

[winstonhcomedy]

“Dope A-F” - 8/15 -8/19 - “ Pet Lovers, Crushing Defeats, and Homecoming”

I missed my deadline on Sunday which isn’t great, but oh well! I am so happy I got most of my stuff done. I only didn’t do the IG video (because honestly I have no idea what I’m going to do for that) and my blog post because I couldn’t get my internet to work! But so far this week I am 2 for 2 ! Hooray! So let’s hop right into it.

8/15

After work I headed straight to the venue. Tonight’s show was going to be a Kindred Spirit. I was closing it out. I was looking forward to getting a bite at the food truck, and doing some comedy. The brewery is pretty big, and it is not super conducive to comedy, but I have always had a pretty good set here.

I get to the venue and since it had been raining the food truck cancelled. Which is a huge bummer. So I just kind of sit around and wait for other comedians to show up so I am not chilling out starving.

After a while a few comics show up. Aaron Shoemaker was going to be hosting, then a dude who has only done comedy once showed up and I think his name was Richard. Aaron and I catch up and talk as the other comics arrive. The other comics on the show were Will Minor, Stella Naulo, Alida Harper, and Ry Mather.

The turnout is less than usual at these shows. I think it is due to the weather. The charity we are raising money for is Goochland Pet Lovers. The show is running a little late, but nothing too crazy. The biggest thing is how new all of the comics are. I have only been doing comedy 4 years and I have been doing it longer than the rest of them combined.

The show starts and Aaron goes up to host. The crowd is kind of weird. They are pretty tight and they aren’t really digging anyone’s jokes. Some people are bombing, but others are at least doing ok. Stella did a little crowd work and that did well, but when she transitioned to her material it was just the same response everyone else had gotten.

I wanted to do well, but I was hungry and honestly didn’t really feel like I had the ability to do well. I decided I was just going to try and have fun and only do crowd work. Which I did for about 30 minutes. I had an extremely good set! Especially with how the room was. I actually got to talk about politics in a center right room and able to make the super republican dude in the crowd laugh. I was doing callbacks and able to jump back and forth between audience members.

Honestly it felt so good. Shows like this serve as a reminder to me the importance of being able to do crowd work. I am so glad I make myself write, and try material out at open mics. I do not want to be the dude who only does crowd work, but I love being the dude that if I need/want to I can only do crowd work.

I think the highlight was a table of 2 parents and 3 young adults. I was able to talk about their time in college, and joke about where they go/are going to school. It got some huge laughs. I also had a dude come up on stage with me in the first 10 minutes. He was just a drunk dude who had a lot of money. We joked back and forth, and he legit came across as insane. This was one of the most nuts shows I have ever done. I’d give it an A-.

I got off stage and met some people, and got my free beer from the venue to go. I talk to the comics for a bit and make sure I grabbed my mic stand (used it because the one they had was shit) before heading out. I got home and passed out because after long sets I get super tired.

8/16

The next day after work I headed up to DC. I was in the Comedy Kumite competition in the DC Improv lounge. I get up there and Alex Castagne and I meet up to walk and talk for a bit. He is on a show at Shaw’s Tavern.

After walking for a while we go our separate ways and I get to the club. The lineup for the show’s look like it is going to be fun. I am going against Kasha Patel in the first show and then Wendy Wrobleski in the second show.

We get a good hang going before the first one. Max Wolfson, Ross Benoit, Kasha, Lawrence Killebrew (Atlanta), Kevin Seefried, Simone, Wendy, and myself.

The show starts and the first two rounds of the first show were going great. Kevin, Simone, Ross, and Lawrence all murdered. I was so excited and then I went up. We did rock paper scissors to determine who goes first and I lost so she picked me.

I ate a massive dong on stage. I did ok, but the room was so hot. They hated my teaching material and I disappointed myself. I’d give this set an F. I truly hated it. Then Kasha went up next and she had an ok set. Honestly neither of us really killed.

They then did audience reaction and we tied. Then they did it again and I lost. Knocked out in the first round sucks. It reminded me why I really hate comedy competitions. I put too much pressure on myself, and if you lose it is impossible to not feel hurt.

So I spent the rest of the first show getting into my own head, and being upset with myself. I hung with the other comics and after the first show we headed to Shake Shack. I grabbed my milkshake and went back to the Improv to see Alex for a bit. Benjy Himmelfarb and Dee Ahmed are there as well. We talk a bit before I head inside to get ready for the second show.

The second show starts and Wendy and I are the first match. We go up and I lose rock, paper, scissors again and get started. I have a much improved set. I do crowd work and jokes. Everything is working and I am riffing just trying to get anything to land. It felt so good to recover and be able to have a good set. I’ d give this set a B. Which for the first set is definitely dope.

Then Wendy goes up and she has a good set too. I really respect her as a comedian. She gets laughs, but isn’t destroying. All in all a really good set. They bring us back up and do audience response and I lose again. This one hurt for a different reason. The first show I had a bad set, and I felt like I deserved to lose. This set was different. I gave it my all and I don’t think I could have done better with this crowd. I am just super upset with myself. It is also pretty early and I am all kinds of in my feels. I miss my dad, I am kind of sick, I am starving, and honestly just want to go home.

I go to leave and cancel my spot at Big Hunt. I just wasn’t in the right headspace for this (I will never bail on a set again). Looking back I”m mad I did this, but honestly if my mind was telling me to go I am glad I did. I ended up being so tired on my way home I stayed at TJs. I got there and passed out immediately. I had a show tomorrow headlining in my hometown and I needed to get out of my own head.

8/17

I woke up the next day and started to head to Farmville to headline The Brew House. I stopped a few times on my way since it was a close to 3 1/2 hour drive. I stopped at a diner and had a pretty good meal but some piss poor service. I also stopped at a Sheetz for a frozen lemonade which hit the spot.

When I got into town I parked and walked to Charley’s Waterfront Cafe so I could have a bowl of their Roasted Red Pepper and Crab soup. This was one of my favorite meals when I was younger. I haven’t had it in about 10 years so it was really awesome to go back.

I then headed to The Brew House and met up with Liz. Liz had booked this show after how much fun the show in Blackstone was. Her and I hung and talked a bit before her and a friend went walking around Main Street.

Then I started to see all of the locals I had grown up with and knew through my time in high school Tracey Carilli and her husband Tony were there. I got to talk to Tracey for a long time. It was super nice to catch up with her. Then Judy Ellington and Julie Adams showed up. Then it was like nonstop. I had Johnny Ellington, Jason, the Meadows, Michelle Wheeler, Michaela Atkinson, Branden Bolt, Jacob Mercier, Ryan Sharpe, Jackie Montego-Sharpe, Dusty Grey, Rebecca Ragland Grey, the Carters, Andy Ellington, Susan Johnson, Carson Johnson, Sierra Smith, and I am sure I am missing some. I know these names mean nothing to you guys, but it meant the world to me that people who made a large impact in my life as a child/young adult came to support me.

There was a line out the door to come in at 7:30. We had to start late so people could get seated. I knew about 1/3 of the audience and the rest were just people looking to catch the show and grab a bite to eat.

Jason Kusterer and Anthony Thompson showed up a bit before showtime. Then Liz found out they didn’t have a PA so we had to go grab mine out of my car and set everything up while people filed in. I could tell it was going to be a rowdy crowd but I was ready.

The show started and Liz went up and let everyone know it was going to be an adult show. She got everyone to yell their favorite curse word. She then went into her set and she did a fine job hosting. After her was Kusterer who started out pretty strong, but lost the crowd after a joke about suicide by cop. Then Anthony went up and tried to deal with how loud the room was. They were about half paying attention and the rest were just talking and being super loud and drunk.

It was a tough room, but he did a good job. He did a good amount of material and addressed them in spots. He kept them paying attention, and walked around the crowd a bit. He held the show together, and got some pretty big laughs which was dope to see.

Then it was my turn. I felt a ton of pressure to succeed. I was worried they’d all hate it, but I just went for it. I did about 33 minutes and 20 of it was crowd work. I worked the crowd, and did some local crowd work as well (which feels like cheating, and an advantage I had over the other comics). I was able to tie it in to talking to a few teachers I didn’t know. One was a lady who was talking all night. She was an English teacher who made her students put Beowulf on trial. I kept busting her balls on that. Then there was a history teacher who had a crush on Thomas Jefferson and I was really able to play off of both of them.

It was a super fun set. I had some lulls in the middle when I switched to material and realized that is not what this crowd wanted. The 1/3 that I knew paid attention and dug the material while the other 2/3 were just kind of drunk townies who wanted me to interact with them. So I went back to crowd work when I lost some steam. The last 10 minutes was crowd work and me trying new jokes because it was a free show. The people enjoyed it but I did not close as strong as I wished. I’d give this set a B/B-.

I got off feeling weird, but got to catch up with everyone. It was so nice and everyone was so supportive. I am sure they liked it as much as they did because they care about me, but either way the whole crowd was entertained. I felt like I did my job as a headliner, and I think its a good sign I wanted to do better. it is good to know I can work these rooms, but I wish I had gotten to do more material.

After everyone left I got to hang with Kusterer and Anthony for a bit. We talked about our sets and comedy. We talked about small towns like this, and the type of show it was. We had a blast hanging out. They left and I finished my drink. I then hopped in my car and headed home to get a good nights rest.

8/18

This was my day off. I kind of relaxed, ate, and saw Toy Story 4. I hung out with my mom and started watching Avengers End Game. I am most upset that I didn't use my time wisely this day. I wasn’t able to get an IG video for Saturday or my blog post up for Sunday. So one week in and I already messed it up. Which is ok. I am just going to have to try harder this week.

8/19

After work I headed up to the Southern in Charlottesville for the open mic. I had a few new tags and stuff I really wanted to do. I felt weird all day, and honestly my mental health isn’t the best. I’m glad that tomorrow I get to go to therapy. I need to find a way to afford it weekly again, but for right now that is not a possibility. I am hoping some more comedy gigs, and some better luck I can build my savings back up.

I get there and Kusterer, Patrick Nowaczyk, Ry Mather, and Tom Hall are already there. I go inside and throw my stuff down and say hi to Danny. Then Heather walks in. I rode some grilled cheese bites from Shawn, and sit down to talk.

It was super fun catching up and hearing what everyone had been up to. Tom started a new job, Pat broke his arm, and a bunch of other shit. Then Paige came in wearing a new outfit. He had a shark hat that I’d never seen before, but definitely has a Paige vibe.

Then a bunch of comics rolled up. Jack Gerow, John Marg, Luzader, Sam Wood, Sammy Major, Keaton Ray, JR, Johnny Rad, Shane Hill, Alex Castagne, and Chris. I kept popping in and out of different groups joking and catching up. We had the comics meeting and I found out I was 10th. I was between Luzader and JR.

The crowd was an ok size. Not bad. better than the last few at least. A dude with a service dog came inside and Chris started joking about it right away during his set. Which was awesome. They loved it, and it really got the audience as loose as we could get them.

When the show kept going there were a few good sets, but for the most part it felt like everybody was tight. No one was offended, and no one left early. They just would rather politely smile at an offensive joke and hold back the laughs.

Alex had a strong set for the room, and so did Paige. Ry Mather had one of the better sets I’ve seen him have and it was cool to watch Kusterer open up and try some newer stuff in front of a different crowd.

It was my turn and I feel pretty good about the set. I joked and riffed around. I told a super offensive joke that I only do off stage. That was fun. I tried some new tags to 2 or 3 jokes and they worked for the most part. I tried a more rapid fire delivery, but it screwed with my rhythm a little bit. So that was good to find out. I also riffed a character of a dude who is a conspiracy theorist but he thinks that more than 6 million jews died in the Holocaust. He believes it was 12. So he isn’t a Holocaust denier is a Holocaust multiplier. I’d give my set a C- but it was a super fun C-.

I hung out for the rest of the show and had a good time. We were lighting Johnny Rad during his set, and he got a little salty and called Chris a dumbass. It was awesome. It was like watching someone yell at their dad.

The show ended and I headed straight home. I was feeling pretty depressed. I am very disillusioned with comedy. I feel stuck. Not just physically, but also my career. I need to stick around for a bit after dad’s passing, but at the same time I am so worried I am using it as an excuse to not move.

We did it! I got caught up in time for the Tuesday blog post! Thanks for reading laydees and baybees ! I love you all very much! Make sure to check out all of my content on youtube, IG, and twitter! I am trying to kill the game! xoxo til next time

[mitchbeck]

KEELEY / KUHN: FURGELE DEALT TO GREENVILLE

Mariners trade defenseman for second time BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners  PORTLAND, ME – January 19, 2020 – The Mariners traded defenseman John Furgele to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Sunday in exchange for future considerations. Furgele was in his second stint with the Mariners after being traded to Atlanta last February. Greenville will become his fourth ECHL organization. Furgele, who turned 27 last Wednesday, played most of his rookie season of 2018-19 in Maine, coming out of Quinnipiac University, after transferring from the University of New Hampshire. In 51 games for the Mariners last season, Furgele had eight goals and 13 assists. On March 7th, 2019, Furgele was traded to the Atlanta Gladiators for forward, Branden Troock. In 15 games for the Gladiators to close out the season, Furgele had three assists. He signed with the Kansas City Mavericks in the offseason, playing seven games with a goal and two assists before his release in mid-November. In 17 games for the Mariners in the time since Furgele has three assists. Furgele is a native of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. The Mariners currently have eight defensemen on the roster even after trading Furgele: Zach Tolkinen, Sean Day, Jeff Taylor, Brandon Crawley, Marc-Olivier Crevier-Morin, Ryan Culkin, Josh Couturier, and Scott Savage who was reassigned from Milwaukee yesterday. Additionally, Jonathan Racine is on loan to the AHL’s Stockton Heat. The Mariners play their final game before the All-Star break this afternoon in Brampton at 2 PM. They’ll return home on Friday, January 24th for Star Wars night, against Worcester once again. It’s a “1-2-3 Friday,” featuring $1 Aquafina, $2 Pepsi products, and $3 Bud Light Drafts through the start of the 2nd period. Star Wars characters from local fan groups will be on hand, and the first 2,000 fans in attendance will get a Mariners t-shirt courtesy of Unifirst. Groups of 10 or more can get discounted tickets to all games by calling 833-GO-MAINE. Individual tickets can be purchased at MarinersOfMaine.com, at the Trusted Choice Box Office inside the Cross Insurance Arena, or by calling 207-775-3458. _______________________________________________ Second-year pro joins the blue line in the Upstate BY: Jordan Kuhn, Greenville Swamp Rabbits GREENVILLE, S.C. — Greenville Swamp Rabbits have acquired defenseman John Furgele from the Maine Mariners in exchange for future considerations. Furgele, 27, will join his fourth ECHL team. Known as a puck-moving blueliner throughout his entire career, Furgele has scored 10 goals and 21 assists in 92 pro games. His stops in the ECHL, aside from the Maine Mariners, include the Kansas City Mavericks and Atlanta Gladiators. The Glen Mills, Pennsylvania native split his time playing college hockey between the University of New Hampshire and Quinnipiac University. The latter is where he served as an alternate captain and put up a single-season high of 14 points in 38 games. A tremendous student in the classroom, Furgele was named an ECAC All-Academic, and an AHCA All-American Scholar. The latter accomplishment required a 3.60 GPA and a significant playing contribution to the team. The Swamp Rabbits are back in action on Monday to take on the Atlanta Gladiators at 12:30 p.m. Get Social: Follow the Swamp Rabbits and get behind-the-scenes coverage like never before on the team’s official Facebook and Twitter pages! Contact a Swamp Rabbits Account Executive at 864.674.PUCK (7825) for information on 2019–20 ticket plans, special group rates, and hospitality opportunities and secure your seats today! Get the latest Swamp Rabbits gear by visiting the “Hop Shop” online at Shop.SwampRabbits.com to browse the full collection of fan wear and novelties! Read the full article

[listenupreno]

Release (S1.Ep11)

Guest Ryan Bauer joins this episode where we take a look at the "almost" final track of TEN, "Release," He-Man, and lightning... Sign up to be a guest for an upcoming Season 2 or 3 episode: https://forms.gle/ZGaucGZ4uJ4GMdMSA

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[junker-town]

Memorial Sunday schedule and TV coverage thrown off by ominous weather forecast

Tiger is in contention on Sunday at Muirfield Village but mother nature’s intervention means you’ll have to work to keep up on an adjusted schedule.

Tiger Woods is back in Sunday contention on the PGA Tour and based on where we were in recent years, that’s an improbable gift. It should be a boon to the Tour and its network partners, which always see a dramatic increase in ratings when Tiger is involved.

But this Sunday at Memorial also comes with the usual Memorial weather. The annual stop at Muirfield Village has been plagued by bad weather and the forecast was not pretty for the final round. So the PGA Tour made the move to bump up tee times some five hours and send the remaining field off split tees and in groups of three. This is a customary move. They do it all the time when the forecast looks like an on-time finish could be disrupted. It often works too, for scheduling purposes, and this Sunday’s tee sheet is condensed down to a 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET block.

But for coverage purposes it’s never a good option. Moving tee times up, especially on a Sunday, usually means a tape delayed finish on CBS. We’re going to get that again on this Sunday, but at least the network, along with Golf Channel, stepped up and have said they will be live streaming coverage from 8:30 a.m. onward. Woods is five shots off the lead but playing some incredible tee-to-green golf right now. If his putter whips into shape, he’ll be making a run at that lead held by Bryson DeChambeau.

Tiger winning again on the PGA Tour would be one of the best sports stories of all time. There needed to be livestream coverage, at the least. So we’ll get Tiger’s every shot online, we just won’t be able to watch the finish live on TV.

Golf Channel will put their coverage on TV, as well as the usual simulcast stream, from 8:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. That covers their allowed allotment of time for this Sunday, which would was supposed to run from 12:30 to 2:45 p.m. ET. CBS will then take over at 11 a.m. ET and stream a broadcast until the finish on their website, their app, and PGATourLive.com. Tiger tees off 9:10 a.m. ET so you should get his every shot from the first tee box if you’re up bright and early on Sunday morning. You just won’t be able to watch the finish on TV on CBS, which is running a bunch of paid programming in most markets. Let’s recap because this is all a mess and somewhat confusing:

Golf Channel will have TV and streaming coverage from 8:30 to 10:45 a.m. ET

CBS will have just streaming coverage of the finish beginning at 11 a.m. ET

CBS’ TV coverage will be a tape delay recording beginning at 3 p.m. ET

We’ve got a great leaderboard, Tiger within shouting distance, and one of the Tour’s great events on one of its most recognizable venues. It’s a shame that the weather threw off the schedule but here’s hoping we get this all in on Sunday. Here’s your adjusted Sunday media schedule at the Memorial tournament:

Sunday’s final round coverage

Television:

8:30 to 10:45 a.m. ET — Golf Channel LIVE coverage

3 to 6 p.m. ET — CBS TAPE delayed coverage

Online streams:

8:30 to 10:45 a.m. ET — Golf Channel LiveExtra simulcast stream

11 a.m. to conclusion — PGATourLive.com/CBS simulcast stream on CBS Sports app, CBS Sports.com, and PGA Tour Live.com

7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. — PGA Tour Live coverage

Featured Groups (PGA Tour Live subscription required)

7:40 a.m. — Dustin Johnson / Jason Day / Ryan Armour

9:10 a.m. — Tiger Woods / J.B. Holmes / Whee Kim

Noon to 3 p.m. — PGA Tour Live featured holes coverage -- Nos. 14 & 16 (No subscription required)

And here’s the tee sheet for Sunday at Muirfield Village, barring no early weather delays in Columbus area:

Off No. 1 tee:

7:30 a.m.: Marc Leishman, Kelly Kraft, Brian Gay

7:40 a.m.: Dustin Johnson, Ryan Armour, Jason Day

7:50 a.m.: Branden Grace, Phil Mickelson, Martin Laird

8 a.m.: Chris Kirk, Jhonattan Vegas, Nick Watney

8:10 a.m.: Anirban Lahiri, Peter Uihlein, Henrik Stenson

8:20 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Emiliano Grillo, Patrick Rodgers

8:30 a.m.: Si Woo Kim, Wesley Bryan, Rickie Fowler

8:40 a.m.: Tom Hoge, Julian Suri, Keegan Bradley

8:50 a.m.: Ryan Moore, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Adam Scott

9 a.m.: Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, David Lingmerth

9:10 a.m.: Whee Kim, Tiger Woods, J.B. Holmes

9:20 a.m.: Joaquin Niemann, Byeong Hun An, Justin Rose

9:30 a.m.: Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay, Kyle Stanley

Off No. 10 tee:

7:30 a.m.: Matt Kuchar, Bill Haas, Alex Cejka

7:40 a.m.: Tony Finau, Luke List, Beau Hossler

7:50 a.m.: Andrew Landry, Russell Henley, Russell Knox

8 a.m.: Patrick Reed, Rory Sabbatini, Gary Woodland

8:10 a.m.: John Huh, Lucas Glover, Abraham Ancer

8:20 a.m.: Jamie Lovemark, Louis Oosthuizen, Grayson Murray

8:30 a.m.: Yusaku Miyazato, Chesson Hadley, Charles Howell III

8:40 a.m.: Brian Stuard, Kevin Streelman, Vijay Singh

8:50 a.m.: Brice Garnett, Ted Potter Jr., Shane Lowry

9 a.m.: Ollie Schniederjans, Sung Kang, Bubba Watson

9:10 a.m.: Zach Johnson, Andrew Dorn

9:20 a.m.: Pat Perez, Kevin Tway

[ferrarelli]

On Gloria

Ten minutes into Gloria, I knew what was about to happen.

I think it’s a bit of a downer sometimes to have seen enough plays or movies that as a plot is set into motion, I can cross reference quick enough to spoil the outcomes for myself. Sometimes this leads me to lose interest in what I’m watching or to assume laziness on the part of the storytellers.

In Gloria, it built tension. It built foreboding. It made me want to leave the theatre. The pristine white set. The intern’s last day. The discussions about the meandering and meaninglessness of life. Every time the titular Gloria entered the scene, I felt uneasy. I wanted so badly to be wrong. To have the play surprise me by playing on what I knew was coming.

It didn’t. And Evan Cabnet’s direction of the horrific and disturbing incident that unfolds felt whatever the opposite of cathartic is. It felt like surrender. Like Dean, played by Ryan Spahn, there was nothing I could do in that moment but beg for it to be over. And just as it is, the audience is swept out of the scene, the black coming in from all sides. We’re out. We’re safe.

Sometimes that sense for plot design and story craft can prevent me from being swept up. What Branden Jacobs Jenkins does however is so calculated and so purposeful that I while I don’t think most of the audience will catch the foreshadowing, he isn’t hiding it. When real life tragedy occurs, we often point to the signs and say “How could we have missed this?”. Jenkins is asking the same question. Even though I knew what was going to happen, there’s one major aspect I didn’t see.

The endgame I had foreseen? That’s just the first act.

What follows after a fifteen minute intermission is a meditation on tragedy and ownership, on ambition and honesty. It’s reflection that we as Americans tend to avoid, especially since the events of Gloria can feel too ripped from the headlines for comfort. It’s statements on the profiteering of tragedy, the give and take between ambition and decency, and even violence itself perfectly encapsulate why Braden Jacobs Jenkins is one of the most relevant American playwrights today. Like my first experience with him, An Octaroon at SoHo Rep, Gloria uses shock and humor to foster a greater conversation about the darker sides of the human (and in the case of Gloria uniquely American) experience.

The cast, some of whom inhabit a variety of roles, are so measured and precise that it boarders on science. Gloria isn’t play where you’re expecting to see actors transform and chameleon their way through it, but lo and behold, that’s exactly what Kyle Beltran, Catherine Combs, and Jeanine Seralles do. Ryan Spahn, Jennifer Kim, and Michael Crane anchor the characters with the strongest view points, the voices you’ll be hearing long after the play has ended. Crane’s Lorin in particular feels like most of us, shouting into space, begging for the world to have some semblance of justice in it. It’s a uniformly wonderfully acted play, some of which must be attributed to Evan Cabnet’s direction (this guy is directing everything in America at any given time, I’m convinced of it). This might be my favorite thing on his resume, and TECHNICALLY I worked on one of them (Off the Main Road, Williamstown ’15). It’s play that balances a lot of hats - it’s a comedy, it has some very complicated special effects, it’s borderline Normal Heart levels of monologue porn - and it does them all seamlessly.  

Even though I’m trying to remain as spoiler free as possible, it must be said the design efforts that go into Gloria’s climax are some I’ve never seen handled so well. I’ve seen similar effects attempted in other plays, but how they’re done here is another level of achievement. Maybe I just don’t get out enough, but I will one day corner someone in a conversation and have them walk me through how they did it, step by step. It’s that uncomfortably real.

Gloria is a play that is all too relevant to not live past this stellar production at the Goodman. I’m sure it will, but consider this my plea for you to seek it out. If it’s near you, see it. If it’s not, read it. If you have the power to produce it, do it. I haven’t been this moved or excited to talk about a play since Whorl Inside a Loop or Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo or An Octaroon.

It’s a play I’m gonna look back on and say “I’m acting so one day I get to do a play like THAT”.

[rotoworld-yahoopartner]

Thomas wins Sony in a romp

Sony Open in Hawaii:

First- second- and third-round leader Justin Thomas spun a 5-under-par 34-31=65 in today's final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii to finish off his third appearance on 27-under 253, good for a 7-shot win over Justin Rose.

This is his fourth PGA TOUR title in 74 career events (70 pro), second straight, and third this season in five starts. The 23-year-old’s 72-hole aggregate sets a new scoring record on TOUR, besting Tommy Armour III at the 2003 Valero Texas Open (254). He also eclipses the tournament record as well, eclipsing Russell Henley’s 2013 winning total by three.

Thomas is the fourth player to win the Sony in wire-to-wire fashion (no ties) and first since K.J. Choi in 2008. Chasing last week’s 3-shot win at the SBS Tournament of Champions on Maui, where he was a 36-hole co-leader and 54-hole leader, he is also the first player since Ernie Els in 2003 to win the Aloha double.

The Kentuckian opened the week with a hole-out eagle-2 en route to a career-low course-record 59, the youngest player ever to shoot sub-60, and chased with 64 to lead by five at the halfway point. His 17-under 123 was the lowest 36-hole score in TOUR history, previously 124 by three players, most recently Jason Day at the 2015 BMW Championship.

The University of Alabama product tacked on a bogey-free 65 to reach the three-quarter pole on 22-under 188, matching the low 54-hole score in TOUR history (Steve Stricker, 2010 John Deere Classic).

He began the finale with a 7-shot lead over 2009 champ Zach Johnson, the largest 54-hole lead in tournament history, previously six by Jack Nicklaus in 1974, and eight clear of three others, including Justin Rose, who completed the final threesome.

Thomas squared a lone bogey-4 at the fourth (3-putt from 46’6”), converted a sand save at the sixth with a 7’11” par-saver, before breaking the ice with a 21-footer for birdie-3 at the eighth.

After a two-putt birdie at the par-5 ninth, he reached the turn leading by six over three players, Johnson, Rose and Kevin Kisner. Thomas came to the house in 4-under, circling back-to-backs at 11 and 12, from 18’1” and 30 inches, respectively, and birdieing the 14th and 18th, both from inside of four feet. He also saved par from 11’7” at 15.

In the end, Thomas never led by less than five shots in the finale and has now been tied or atop the leaderboard in each of the last seven rounds on TOUR. He’s a cumulative 49-under in his last eight laps. Thomas was also an 18-hole co-leader and 36-hole leader at his win in October at the CIMB Classic, which he won by three at 23-under 265.

For a second week in a row, he was No. 1 in SG: Tee-to-Green (12.698) and par-4 scoring (3.69). Thomas was also No. 1 in SG: Off-the-Tee (5.328), driving distance (all drives) at 309.0 yards, birdies (26), and putts per GIR (1.589) after being T1 last week.

He was T1 in par-5 scoring (3.75) and T1 in eagles (3). See Thomas’ full stats and more tournament info below.

Justin Rose: The World No. 16 twirled a 6-under-par 32-32=64 in the final round for a four-day tally of 20-under 260, good for solo 2nd, seven in arrears.

This was his fifth appearance, first since T13 in 2011, and supplants a previous-best T12 in 2010, where he also closed with 64. The 36-year-old, who was making his first start of the season, fulfilled the new TOUR requirement to add a tourney that he hadn't played in the last four years, and he's glad he did.

The Olympic gold medalist began the final frame in a three-way T3 on 14-under, eight adrift. He squared a lone bogey-4 at 11 (failed scramble), but silenced it with six conventional birdies at Nos. 3, 4, 8 (14'4"), 10, 16 and 18, adding a 47-footer from off the green at the par-4 15th (using the flat stick). For the week, he carded 25 birdies versus five bogeys and posted rounds of 66-64-66-64. It's his 10th runner-up in 288 career events, first since T2 at the 2015 TOUR Championship, and bumps to World No. 13.

Jordan Spieth (65-67-66-63) finished in solo 3rd, eight back, while Kevin Kisner (70-67-60-65) and Jamie Lovemark (64-68-65-65) finished in a two-way T4, nine shy. Kisner and Lovemark posted consecutive top-10 finishes at the Sony, as did 2009 champ Zach Johnson, who finished in a two-way T6 (69-61-65-68), 10 adrift.

This was the 52nd playing of the Sony with all 52 being contested at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii. The 7,044-yard par-70 layout (35-35) played under-par in all four rounds with a cumulative scoring average of 68.309.

Thomas posted rounds of 59-64-65-65 for 20.238 SG: Total.

This was Thomas’ third appearance. He missed the cut last year and was T6 on debut in 2015. At the 2015 edition, he was a 36-hole co-leader on 12-under (67-61), but closed with 70-70. Before this week’s opening 59, that second-round 61 was his previous low on TOUR, also posting 61 in R2 at the 2016 CIMB, site of his first TOUR title.

In five starts this season, Thomas has five top 25s, four of which are top 10s. He’s already won $3.8M, after having earned $4.1M last season in 28 starts. Dating back to a T6 at the TOUR Championship and tossing in a T4 on the Japan Tour (Dunlop Phoenix Tournament), he now has six top 10s in his last seven worldwide starts.

As mentioned, it’s Thomas’ fourth career TOUR title, but first in a full-field event. His previous three were in no-cut events, winning the 2016 CIMB as a 54-hole leader, the 2017 CIMB in come-from-behind fashion, and last week’s SBS TOC as the 54-hole leader.

Thomas has won all four of his titles as a 36-hole leader/co-leader, and improves to 4-for-6 in that regard, and also improves to 3-for-4 as a 54-hole leader/co-leader, including his last three consecutive.

He collects 500 FedExCup (FEC) points for the victory and moves to No. 1 in the standings, bumping Hideki Matsuyama to 2nd. Thomas entered the week trailing by 36 points, but now leads by 437 points. Despite a disappointing T69 finish on 2-under 268 (67-67-68-76) and depositing just 3.03 FEC points, Pat Perez maintained 3rd-place, 860 points behind Thomas.

Top 10 in FEC standings (points):

1. Justin Thomas (1,614)

2. Hideki Matsuyama (1,177)

3. Pat Perez (754)

4. Brendan Steele (648)

5. Mackenzie Hughes (643)

6. Rod Pampling (560)

7. Cody Gribble (481)

8. Russell Knox (449)

9. Gary Woodland (411)

10. Luke List (382)

With a Strength of Field rating of 324, Thomas banked 50.00 world-ranking points, jumping four places to a career-best 8th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). The Top 7 in OWGR remained unchanged:

1. Jason Day (idle)

2. Rory McIlroy (finished P2 on Euro Tour)

3. Dustin Johnson (idle)

4. Henrik Stenson (idle)

5. Jordan Spieth (3rd)

6. Hideki Matsuyama (T27)

7. Adam Scott (idle)

8. Justin Thomas (Won)

9. Patrick Reed (idle)

10. Alex Noren (idle)

NOTE: Bubba Watson (idle), dipped to No. 11 from No. 10, dropping out of the OWGR Top 10 for the first time since 2014. He’d been in the top 10 ever since moving from No. 12 to No. 4 after winning the 2014 Masters.

In total, eight of the Top 25 in OWGR were in the field with three finishing in the top 10:

No. 5 Jordan Spieth (finished solo 3rd); No. 6 Hideki Matsuyama (T27); No. 12 Justin Thomas (1st); No. 15 Paul Casey (CUT); No. 16 Justin Rose (2nd); No. 18 Branden Grace (T13); No. 19 Russell Knox (T11); No. 20 Jimmy Walker (CUT).

Winner’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 73 players):

Eagles: 3 (T1)

Birdies: 26 (1st)

Bogeys: 5 (T10)

Par-3 Scoring: 2.88 (T10)

Par-4 Scoring: 3.69 (1st); season-leader at 3.75

Par-5 Scoring: 3.75 (T1)

Driving Distance (all drives): 309.0 yards (1st)

Driving Accuracy: 25/66 (T66) at 44.64 percent

Greens in Regulation: 56/72 (T12) at 77.78 percent

Proximity to Hole: 29’1” (6th)

Putts per GIR: 1.589 (1st)

Total Putts: 107 (T3); by round: 23-27-28-29

Scrambling: 12/16 (T14) at 75.00 percent

SG: Off-the-Tee: 5.328 (1st)

SG: Approach-the-Green: 6.145 (4th)

SG: Around-the-Green: 1.226 (23rd)

SG: Tee-to-Green: 12.698 (1st)

SG: Putting: 7.540 (2nd)

Yahoo! Low Rounds:

R1: Justin Thomas (59)

R2: Bryce Molder; Zach Johnson (61)

R3: Kevin Kisner (60)

R4: Chez Reavie (61)

Career-low Rounds:

R1: Justin Thomas (59); Hudson Swafford (62)

R2: Bryce Molder (62)

R3: Kevin Kisner (60); Ryan Brehm (64)

Draw:

In total, 82 players from a field of 142 pros and two amateurs made the 36-hole cut of 3-under 137:

37 (of 72) EARLY/late

45 (of 72) LATE/early

Of the 10 players who finished in the top 10, it was an even split, with five emerging from each side. The top-3 finishers are listed below:

Justin Thomas (Won): EARLY/late

Justin Rose (2nd): LATE/early

Jordan Spieth: (3rd): EARLY/late

NOTE: With 82 pros making the 36-hole cut, there was a second cut of low 70 and ties after 54 holes: 73 players on 4-under 206.

Did You Know?

It’s been 27 events since the last pre-tourney odds-favorite(s) won. Spieth is the most recent, winning the 2016 DEAN & DELUCA as a 6/1 outright.

In fact, Spieth owns the last two wins in this regard, claiming the 2016 Hyundai TOC as a 4/1 favorite.

Spieth was the fave on Oahu at 6/1, then Matsuyama at 8/1, then Thomas at 12/1.

Jordan Spieth: The OWGR No. 5 closed out last week’s defense on Maui – his first start of the season – with a bogey-free 8-under 65 to back-door a T3 and finish six shy of Thomas.

This week, he began the finale in solo 9th, 10 adrift, and back-doored solo 3rd with a 7-under 63 to finish eight in arrears.  

For the week, the 23-year-old circled 24 birdies versus five bogeys. He was No. 1 in SG: Approach-the-Green at 10.362, but 53rd in SG: Putting (0.268), including 3.367 in R4, and 59th in SG: Around-the-Green (-1.239).

Inclusive of a T6 at the unofficial Hero World Challenge and his playoff win at the Emirates Australian Open, the 8-time TOUR winner has now posted four straight top 10s worldwide.

Hideki Matsuyama: The World No. 6 (and FEC leader entering the week), ended his streak of seven consecutive worldwide top 5s, including four wins and two runners-up, with a T27 on 11-under 269 (66-67-67-69).

While never a factor, his four rounds in the 60s extended his sub-par streak this season to 16 straight and is cumulative 73-under in those four starts. The 24-year-old did manage to complete four rounds at the Sony for the first time in five tries.

Defending Champ:

Fabian Gomez: The playoff winner from a year ago finished 72nd (of 73) players on 1-under 279 (69-66-71-73), a distant 26 shots back of Thomas and 19 shots worse than last year’s winning total.

What We Learned:

Experience matters at Waialae CC. In the last two years, only one player (of 44) first-timers has finished in the top 10, Si Woo Kim, who finished 4th last year.

First-timers on Oahu: 24

Top-10 finishes: NONE

Branden Grace (67-68-65-67) was top debutant with a T13 on 13-under 267.

TOUR rookies: 14

Playoff winner of The RSM Classic Mackenzie Hughes (68-65-68-68) and Ollie Schniederjans (66-67-66-70) shared low rookie honors with T27s on 11-under 269.

Schniederjans was in the field off his top 10 at the RSM (T6), which remains his career best on TOUR in 19 starts (16 pro).

Season Trends:

Inclusive of Thomas, EIGHT of the first NINE winners have emerged out of the FINAL group on Sunday. Only Brendan Steele bucks the trend, coming from four back with 7-under 65 to heist the season-opening Safeway out of the third-to-last threesome.

54-hole leaders/co-leaders are now 4-for-9 converting. Hideki Matsuyama (WGC-HSBC), Mackenzie Hughes (The RSM Classic), and Justin Thomas x2 (SBS TOC and Sony Open) have been successful.

Patton Kizzire (Safeway), Anirban Lahiri (CIMB), Luke List, Chris Kirk (Sanderson Farms), Lucas Glover (Shriners) and Gary Woodland (OHL), all failed to convert.

Lahiri had a 4-shot lead thru 54 holes at the CIMB but Thomas erased that with an 8-under 64 to beat Matsuyama (66) by three.

NOTE: Matsuyama also won the unofficial Hero World Challenge as the 54-hole leader.

In five of the first six tournaments this season, the 54-hole leader lost (Matsuyama converted at the WGC-HSBC), but have now won the last three (Hughes, Thomas, Thomas).

Up Next:

The TOUR heads to the mainland for this week’s three-course CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, California, with the par-72 TPC Stadium at PGA West serving as host for a second straight year.

Jason Dufner is the defending champion after prevailing over Sweden’s David Lingmerth in a two-man two-hole playoff after the pair had matched 72-hole aggregates of 25-under 263.

Dufner co-led after 18 holes and led outright after 36 and 54 holes, respectively.

Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and analysis as the TOUR plays its 10th tournament of the season (of 47).

[sandiegodjstaci]

Karla & Brandon's Bali Hai Wedding Rager

Karla & Brandon's Bali Hai Wedding Rager

Of all the San Diego wedding DJs calling America’s finest city home, Karla & Brandon  chose me to DJ and MC their Bali Hai wedding (South Pacific Room) on  June 15, 2019. The following write-up is based on San Diego DJ Staci’s crazy organized & detailed outline for this Bali Hai Restaurant wedding.

  THE BALI HAI WEDDING CEREMONY

Prelude ➔ Piano, Vitamin String Quartet Processional ➔ Latch by Simply Three Bride

Processional ➔ “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” by Haley Reinhart

Recessional ➔ Brighter Than The Sun by Colbie Caillat (cue to 30 seconds/first chorus)

  (c) San Diego DJ Staci, the Track Star

  THE COCKTAIL HOUR & DINNER MUSIC

While San Diego DJ Staci offers couples pre-set cocktail & dinner playlists to choose from, Karla & Brandon opted to hand-select their background music for their Bali Hai restaurant wedding.

Cocktail Music ➔ Forever – Chris Brown, Everything – Michael Buble, Benny And The JetsElton John, L-O-V-E – Nat King Cole, Feel It Still – Portugal, The Man, I Do – Colbie Caillat, Africa – Toto, Sweet Home Chicago –Blues Brothers, Ob La Di – The Beatles, Hurts So Good– John Mellencamp, Wouldn’t It Be Nice – The Beach Boys, The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson, Build Me Up Buttercup – The Foundations, Sweet Child O’Mine – Guns N Roses, We Are Young – Fun, You Can’t Hurry Love – Phil Collins, Run-Around – Blues Travelers, Saturday In The Park – Chicago, Let’s Stay Together – Al Green

Dinner Music ➔ The Way I Am – Ingrid Michaelson, Cheek to Cheek – Fred Astaire, Feeling Good – Michael Buble, It Had To be You – Harry Connick Jr, The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra, Shh Boom – The Crew Cuts, Because You Loved Me – Celine Dion, Singin’ In The Rain – Gene Kelly, When I Fall In Love – Nat King Cole, Tiny Dancer – Elton John, Sea  Of Love – Cat Power, That’s Amore – Dean Martin, The Luckiest – Ben Folds, Somewhere Beyond The Sea – Bobby Darin, Fade Into You – Scarlett O’Connor & Gunnar Scott, Roses And Violets – Alexander Jean, Unforgettable – Nat King Cole, Fly Me To The Moon / Lucky – Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, In Your Eyes – Peter Gabriel, Iris – Goo Goo Dolls, Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You – Frankie Valli, My Kind of Town (Chicago Is) – Frank Sinatra

  (c) San Diego DJ Staci, the Track Star

  THE BILINGUAL BALI HAI WEDDING RECEPTION

MC Welcome ➔ Good evening! Welcome to Karla & Brandon  wedding reception!!! I am the  Master of Ceremonies, DJ Staci. Please take your seats so we can officially welcome our  guests of honor. Be sure to post your photos today with #MatchMadeInSabin. If you need to charge your devices, I do have a mini charging station up here including some universal  chargers. Let&  also take a minute to acknowledge a few noteworthy guests today. If you have traveled here from out of state, let me hear you. Out of the country? Quien esta aqui de afuera los estados unidos hoy?”

“Tonight I’m going to be sharing a lot of stories about Karla & Brandon with you. To get rolling,  lets tackle the first & I love you.& About 8 months after they had started dating, Karla & Brandon were chilling in his kitchen. There may have been a bottle of wine involved. Brandon suddenly said those three little words…Karla was overjoyed & she said them back.”

“Buenas tardes! Bienvenidos a la recepción de la boda de Daniela y Brandon! Yo soy la Maestra de Ceremonias, DJ Staci. Por favor tomen asiento para darle la bienvenida oficialmente a nuestros invitados de honor.”

“Ladies & gentlemen, put your hands together for the introduction of the wedding party!!!”

Grand Entrance

1. Mighty Wings – Cheap Trick ➔ “Brandon met him in 2010 while playing ice hockey and, to this day, this groomsman still can  &  handle a puck to save his life. Karla met this bridesmaid when they both attended SDSU…and Karla still can & decide whether she is more beautiful on  the inside or the outside. Give it up for Groomsman/Padrino Will & Bridesmaid/Dama Gaby!!!”

2. Danger Zone – Kenny Loggins ➔ “Brandon met this groomsman at Navy boot camp in 2013. He is known on the golf course as & Shank-Opotamus  &  and has yet to beat Brandon in a single round. Karla met this bridesmaid during their first year of high school. They were later roommates in college. Aztecs for life! She would still be in California if Joe had not stolen her away! Show some love to Groomsman/Padrino Alex & Bridesmaid/Dama Laura!!!”

3. Walking on sunshine – Katrina & The Waves ➔ “This groomsman met Brandon during his first year in the Navy. They were roommates together for two years in Washington D.C.  Brandon has never beaten him on the golf course. Several years ago, this bridesmaid was looking for a roommate on Craigslist–yep–and found her soul twin, Karla. Please welcome  Groomsman/Padrino Zach &  Bridesmaid/Dama Ny-Vee!!!”

4. Uptown Funk – Bruno Mars ➔  “Brandon met him many years ago while playing ice hockey. We”ll see if he can dance tonight, considering he shattered his what bone 4 months ago. Karla is proudly related to the next bridesmaid. She is a total bad ass, a world traveler, a star dancer and she just got accepted into Georgetown University for a Masters in Nursing! Brace yourself Washington, D.C.! Give it up for Groomsman/Padrino Branden & Bridesmaid/Dama Melissa!!!”

5. Shut up and Dance – Walk the Moon ➔ “He   the groom go back 26 years and share the same parents—oh snap! Brandon taught him how to skate, golf, and be awesome. Karla and this bridesmaid have been friends since high school. She has a country soul with a city girl drive. From LA to New York to Michigan, their friendship will be strong no matter where they go. Show some love to Groomsman/Padrino Ryan and Bridesmaid/Dama Bianca!!!”

6. Macarena – Bayside Boys Remix ➔ “Brandon met the Best Man his first year of hockey. Initially, he didn  &  like Brandon, in fact, he probably still doesn  & but all it took was a case of bud light to get him to be the Best Man today. Karla and the Maid of Honor share the same dad, but they became true sisters in 2013. They are forever opposites but forever inseparable. Please welcome Best Man/Padrino Tory & Maid of Honor/Dama de Honor Dulce!!!”

➔ Best day of my life – American Authors ➔ “They met in February of 2016. Together they enjoy drinking wine & spoiling their fur baby, Odin. She puts up with his golf &  hockey. He puts up with her inability to sit still and never ending trips. She’s confident that Brandon will one day be bilingual. For their honeymoon, they are planning a cruise around Europe. Ladies &  gentlemen, damas y caballeros, get on your feet, ponganse de pie, to welcome, por la primera vez—for the FIRST   TIME   EVER—Mr. and Mrs. S—-!!!”

➔ First Dance ➔ Come Kiss Me – Tryon ➔ fade early: at the 2:40 ➔ On July 8, 2017, Brandon & Karla were at a winery in Traverse City, overlooking Lake Michigan. They were spending a lovely day at the winery, and Brandon had mentioned that he had a gift for her but had forgotten it. Later that afternoon, Brandon asked a waiter to snap a photo of them. As they were posing for the photo, Brandon said, & Remember I had a gift for you? & and he pulled a ring box out of his pocket. The waiter snapped the pic as Brandon asked her a very important question. I think we know how she answered because we are about to Mr. and Mrs. S—– to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife. Y ahora recibamos al Senor y la Senora S—- en la pista para su primer baile como marido y mujer.”

➔ Newlywed Brief Welcome/Thank You Speech ➔ “And now a few words from the bride & groom. Y ahora algunas palabras de los novios.”

➔ Dinner Blessing ➔ “Now lets & welcome the mother of the bride, Maricela, who will give a dinner blessing. Y ahora la mama de la novia, Maricela, va a dar un bendicion sobre la cena.” 7:30 pm

7:45 / 8:00 +/- PM ➔ Shoe Game ➔  “Ladies &  gentlemen, I hope you are enjoying your meals. Right now, Brandon &  Karla are going to play a sort of Newlywed Game…they will sit back-to-back on the dance floor, each holding one of their own shoes & one of the other  person & shoes. I will ask them some questions, like & Who is taller? & and they would both presumably hold up Brandon’s shoe.”

“Brandon y Daniela van a jugar un juego para los recién casados. Cada uno va a tener un zapato suyo y el otro un zapato del otro. Voy a prejuntarles cosas como,& Quién es más alto & y los dos levantar el zapato de Brandon…porque el es mas alto.”

“Ready? Listos?”

Who has the craziest family? Quien tiene la familia mas loca?

Who is the biggest baby when they get sick? Quien es un llorona cuando se enferma?

Who loves Odin more? Quien quiere mas a Odin?

Who is most likely to eat their dessert first? Quien es mas probable a comer su postre primero?  Who is the safest driver? Quien maneja lo mas seguro?

Who is most argumentative? A quien le gusta pelear mas?

Who apologizes first after an argument? Quien dice una disculpa primera despues un argumento?

Who is in charge of the remote control? Quien esta en cargado de el control por la television?

Who is a better dancer? Quien es el mejor bailador?

Quien probablemente no entiende esta prejunta?

Toasts ➔ champagne ➔  Ladies & gentlemen, I hope you are enjoying your meals. May I  have your attention please for the toasts. Damas y caballeros, Me permiten su atención por favor para el brindis? Welcome our first speaker… Recibamos a nuestra primera oradora:”

➔ Maid of Honor, Dama de Honor, Dulce

➔ Best Man, Padrino, Tory

➔  Father-Daughter Dance ➔ “My Wish” Rascal Flatts ➔ fade early: yes ➔ “Now lets welcome Karla and her dad, Bernardo, to the dance floor. Y ahora recibamos a Daniela y su papa, Bernardo, a la pista para un baile especial.”

➔ Mother-Son Dance ➔ “Mother Like Mine,” The Band Perry ➔ fade early: yes ➔ “Brandon says:  I could always talk to my mom about anything. She was always there to hear me, no matter what I had to say. She was the anchor of our family that, still to this day, holds everything together. I admire her love for family and that there is always a place in her home for a good laugh or an occasional cry. Now lets  welcome Brandon & his mother, Melanie, to the dance floor to share a special dance. Y ahora recibamos a Brandon y su madre, Melanie, a la pista.”

➔ Group Photo on Dance Floor

➔ Open Dancing

9:30 +/- ➔ Garter Removal/Liga ➔ “Rico Suave,” Gerardo

➔ Garter Toss/Liga ➔ “Bad Boys  Cops Theme; Inner Circle ➔ Braveheart Quote: yes

➔ Bouquet Toss/Rama ➔ “Labels or Love” Fergie

➔ Vibora de la Mar ➔ Al La Vibora de la Mar, Grupo I ➔  Now were going to do a Mexican wedding tradition, known in English as the Snake of the Sea. I need all the men in the room to line up on the dance floor. If this is your first time doing this, hold on to your hats because you in for a wild ride! Ahora la Vibora de la Mar!”

➔ Money Dance/Baile de Billete ➔ regular dance music, pass out the glowsticks ➔ & Please join us on the dance floor for the Money Dance. This is another Mexican wedding tradition where guests pay to dance with tonight’s guests of honor. Ahora el baile de billete con musica moderna.”

11:25 PM ➔  Last Dance

  (c) San Diego DJ Staci, the Track Star

  KARLA & BRANDON’S DANCE MUSIC RECIPE

Dance Music Rating ➔ PG-13 early on then some R/X-rated as it gets later

Priority During Dancing ➔ maximum dancing/use my expertise to read the crowd

50% English, 50% Spanish

Play A Lot – Top 40/Pop, 80s, 90s, 2000s, Hip Hop/RB, Electronic Dance Music Cumbias, Salsa

Play A Few – Oldies, 70s/Classic Rock, Motown/Funk, Slow Dances Banda, Merengue, Rock en Espanol, Zapateados, Nortenos, Bachata, Reggaeton, Corridos

♥ M U S T – P L A Y S ♥

Danza Kuduro Don Omar, Amor prohibido by Selena, La Flor by Selena, La Chona Los Tucanes, Caballo Dorado Line Dance, Cha Cha Slide Line Dance, Cupid Shuffle Line Dance, “1999” Prince, Shout- Isley Bros

♥ P L A Y   I F   Y O U   C A N ♥

El Coco No Roberto Junior, Pasame La Botella By letra, Sonidito Banda MS, Vivir Mi Vida Marc Anthony, El Sinaloense Recodo, Mambo #5 Lou Vega, Despacito Justin Bieber version Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond, Se Me Olvido Otra Vez By Mana, LaPuerta Negra Los Tigres, “La Cintura” Alvaro Soler, “Livin &  la Vida Loca” Ricky Martin, “I Like It” Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull, “Party Rock Anthem” LMFAO, Suavemente Elvis Crespo, Inolvidable by Jenni Rivera, Si yo fuera lardon- el chapo slow dance, Ven Bailalo By Angel y Khriz

♥ D O  N O T   P L A Y S ♥

Rap, Big Band/Rat Pack, Trap, Tween/Childrens, heavy metal, rap, disco, country, kids/tween

  BALI HAI  (SOUTH PACIFIC ROOM) WEDDING FLOOR PLAN

  SAN DIEGO WEDDING VENDOR LIST

Here is the amazing team of San Diego wedding vendors I had the pleasure of working with on this Bali Hai wedding (South Pacific Room):

Venue/Catering ➔ Bali Hai Restaurant

DJ/MC/Lighting ➔ DJ Staci, the Track Star

Band ➔ Francisco Astudillo from Tiku Records

Photographer/Videographer ➔ Jennie Edwards, Guided by Imagination

Cake Bakery ➔ Bride’s Mother

Florist ➔ DIY

Again, I was honored to be the one and only San Diego wedding DJ Karla & Brandon trusted with their Bali Hai restaurant wedding. Thank you!

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  Like DJ Staci's vibe? Stalk her wedding DJ services below! shshsh...

  GIVE IT TO ME BABY

[topmixtrends]

“SOUNDS GREAT on paper.” That’s a phrase I heard a lot as a kid in the late ’70s, usually when my parents and their friends were talking about communism. Certainly an earthly paradise as depicted in the writings of Trotsky or Lenin, but — shame, isn’t it? — communism did not seem to actually work in real life.

The notion that something could sound smart in theory and not work out in practice applies just as well to another product of early 20th-century Russian thought: the individual-over-the-masses, market-worshipping libertarianism philosophy that comes from Ayn Rand. It’s been carried on, after Rand’s 1982 passing, by American acolytes including Alan Greenspan, Ron Paul, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and, probably, someone you went to high school with.

The fact that the libertarian wonderland of absolute sexual and economic freedom only ever worked in Rand’s melodramatic novels and helium-voiced Rush songs — that her philosophy of “Objectivism” has never been successfully applied to actual governance — does not seem to cross the minds of libertarian true-believers. And to many of them, it seems not to matter: a fealty to Rand, to heroic ideas of intellectual superiority and capitalism’s grandeur, is more important than what puny mortals consider political or intellectual reality. If you try arguing sense with them, you’ll quickly wish you hadn’t.

Why should we care, then, about a discredited goofball ideology from deep within the last century? Because Ayn Rand–style libertarianism has probably never been more assertive in American politics than it is today.

What once seemed like the golden age of Rand turned out only to be a warm-up. In the 1950s, you could go to Objectivist salons in New York, where sycophants like Greenspan and future self-esteem guru Nathaniel Branden would gather round the goddess to luxuriate in every word (in some cases, the connection was more than purely intellectual: Branden was one of the polyamorous Rand’s numerous younger boyfriends). In the ’60s and ’70s, you could attend vaguely countercultural conventions across the nation where men would shout conspiracy theories and women would emulate their heroine by wearing broaches shaped like dollar signs. For a while, the Christianity-and-Cold-War strand of the American right headed by William F. Buckley Jr. marginalized the libertarians for their atheism and noninterventionist stance. From the evidence of 1971’s inside-the-whale memoir, Jerome Tuccille’s It Usually Begins With Ayn Rand, this movement was hardly built on solid intellectual ground. The abundance of selfish children driving the ship, part–Veruca Salt, part–Mike Teavee, made this seem like the kind of cult sure to wither of its own ridiculousness.

But with the Reagan Revolution, libertarianism was brought indoors, and the direct-mail New Right that accompanied the movement relied heavily on anti-government dogma. In many parts of the United States — the Sun Belt, the boys’ club of billionaires who fancy themselves self-made heroes, and various enclaves in the capital — Rand’s vision established its second beachhead.

¤

And gradually, the discredited movement that tended to attract nerds and know-it-alls became part of the political mainstream.

“I give out Atlas Shrugged as Christmas presents,” outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan told the Weekly Standard, “and I make all my interns read it.” He only backed away from Rand when her atheism caused him image problems with God-fearing Republicans, who, if they looked closely, would see that Objectivism is almost exactly the opposite of what’s preached by the Biblical Jesus.

In fact, several of the key Republican young guns are Fountainhead-adjacent. Senator Rand Paul is not only the son of longtime libertarian crank and Texas Congressman Ron Paul (he of the racist newsletters). The younger Paul is such an Atlas Shrugged–pounder that a rumor flourished for years that his first name came from the family’s favorite author.

In Silicon Valley, billionaires are working to put the “liberal” back into libertarian — at least, the 18th-century “classical liberalism” cooked up before industrialization, widespread racial tension, and modern finance capitalism. For all their quoting of Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill, it makes their retro version of Objectivism about as useful for 21st-century life as an 18th-century telescope. The Randed-out Peter Thiel, whose commitment to free speech did not keep him from suing a major media company into oblivion, is perhaps the most prominent Valley libertarian. But he’s hardly alone: if you wondered why Elon Musk was selling flamethrowers, just remember he’s another guy who loves freedom.

Besides the true-believers, reactionary wackjobs often stop over at Galt’s Gulch on their way to even scarier neighborhoods. Mike Enoch — born Mike Peinovich — is a racist and anti-Semite beloved on the alt-right for his The Right Stuff blog and the popular podcast The Daily Shoah. On his journey from leftist extremism to far-right derangement, he was energized by the work of Rand, Murray Rothbard, and economist Ludwig von Mises; his libertarian blog sported posts like “Socialist is Selfish” and “Taxation is Theft.”

Similarly, the polite Midwestern Nazi profiled by The New York Times, Tony Hovater, was a vaguely leftish heavy-metal drummer until he discovered libertarianism. He was, in fact, radicalized by what he considers the Republican Party’s perfidious treatment of libertarian hero Ron Paul; today he reads numerous Rand-y academics for intellectual guidance.

Then there’s Robert Mercer, one of the invisible rich people who has more influence on world affairs than just about everyone you know put together. Mercer, who helped fund Brexit and Donald Trump’s presidential race, and, for years, Breitbart News, is also the father of Rebekah Mercer. A toxic rich girl par excellence, Rebekah is known to Politico as “the most powerful woman in GOP politics” and to others as the first lady of the alt-right. (She recently sowed a rift on the right by cutting off Steve Bannon’s paychecks following his tussle with President Trump.)

Even in this charmless crowd, Robert Mercer’s obnoxiousness stands out. The Citizens United decision has unleashed people like Mercer — secretive gazillionaires whose expenditures are often untraceable despite the way they remake our shared reality. “In my view, Trump wouldn’t be President if not for Bob,” an old colleague of Mercer’s told The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer.

Oh, and then there are Charles and David Koch. “Suddenly, a random billionaire can change politics and public policy,” election watchdog and registered Republican Trevor Potter told Mayer, “to sweep everything else off the table — even if they don’t speak publicly, and even if there’s almost no public awareness of his or her views.” And, as of this fall, the Kochs now effectively own Time magazine as well as a bunch of other publications ranging from Sports Illustrated to the retro British rock magazine Uncut.

And Charles Koch’s foundation has given something like $200 million to colleges and universities, in many cases to appoint pro-business, anti-government scholars to institutions like Chapman University.

The Kochs’ defenders talk about libertarians as some kind of oppressed minority. But unlike most other right-of-center subcultures, libertarians are woven into the nation’s intellectual and cultural mainstream. If you went to a liberal arts college, live in a big city and read The New York Times or Washington Post, follow indie-rock bands and watch trendy shows on HBO, you probably don’t know many evangelical Christians. You could very well spend your days with very little contact with war-mongering neoconservatives. The rural/working-class/NRA side of Caucasian conservatism is likely something you experience mostly through Hillbilly Elegy or reruns of the now-cancelled Roseanne. Libertarians, by contrast, are everywhere. Go on Facebook, and some former friend from childhood is lecturing you about the free market.

We are now, many decades after the germination of Rand’s cult of personality, in a world where a Library of Congress survey deems Atlas Shrugged the most influential book next to the Bible. As the GOP, Wall Street, the intellectual plutocracy of think tanks and foundations, and Silicon Valley grow in coming years, expect to see the influence of this group and its ideas grow and stretch.

Despite numerous parallels with Scientology, Objectivism is not just sitting still, getting weirder while remaining confined to a few thousand worshippers. We have not yet reached Peak Libertarian. So where do these goofy ideas come from, and what effect might they have?

¤

A partial answer — both rigorously told and incomplete — comes from a recent book, How Bad Writing Destroyed the World, by Wellesley College comp-lit professor Adam Weiner.

Weiner’s key insight is connecting Rand’s ideas — and the Russian literary intellectual lineage she emerged from — with the 2008 financial collapse. “By programming Alan Greenspan with objectivism and, literally, walking him into the highest circles of government, Rand had effectively chucked a ticking time bomb into the boiler room of the US economy,” he writes in the book’s introduction. “I am choosing my metaphor deliberately: as I will show, infiltration and bomb-throwing were revolutionary methods that shaped the tradition on which Rand was consciously or unconsciously drawing.”

Most historical changes have some kind of intellectual root, for better and worse; kudos to Weiner for tracing how a series of bad ideas and clumsy prose led the nation to the Great Recession. But Weiner, a scholar of Russian literature, appears to be far more interested in one of Rand’s antecedents than Rand herself. Nikolai Chernyshevsky, the revolutionary socialist best known for his 1863 novel What Is To Be Done?, written while its author was imprisoned in a St. Petersburg fortress, is his true subject. The book famously inspired Lenin’s world-shaking pamphlet of the same name.

There’s one small problem with this premise, and one large one. Weiner shrewdly anticipates the first: how could a man of the extreme left — who helped inspire the terrorists who coalesced around the Russian Revolution — simultaneously provide the intellectual foundation for the godmother of the market-worshipping right? He finds the common denominator in Chernyshevsky’s notion of “rational egoism,” which Weiner describes as the idea that “the rational pursuit of selfish gain on the part of each individual must give rise to the ideal form of society.”

Sound familiar? This chimes almost exactly with Rand’s “virtue of selfishness” — the bedrock of her pseudo-philosophy of unchecked capitalism, minimalist government, and rugged individualism pursued by übermensch heroes. “The main heirs of Chernyshevsky’s bumbling, illogical aesthetic,” Weiner writes, “were the Soviet-mandated novels of socialist realism and the ‘capitalist realism’ of Ayn Rand.”

Weiner deftly handled the contradiction here: a bad novel could not only become ideologically potent, but it could also inspire people who would not recognize each other as fellow travelers.

Yet Weiner’s book lives up to neither its title nor its subtitle, “Ayn Rand and the Literary Origins of the Financial Crisis.” Weiner’s final chapter, “In the graveyard of bad ideas,” returns to Rand’s biography — she grew up in St. Petersburg and watched as the Bolsheviks looted her family’s possessions — and intellectual roots. But it feels like an addendum, however skillfully told, to a reasonably lucid and well-researched book about an influential but not very good 19th-century Russian novelist.

In connecting Rand — and contemporary American libertarianism — to an extremist strain of pre-revolutionary Russian thought, Weiner does help clarify this bizarre lineage, its combination of heartland America Firstism with something clearly alien to our Constitution and its mostly British political origins. Ayn Rand is not just Adam Smith in a screenwriter’s bungalow — she’s coming from somewhere different from classical liberalism.

The book Weiner seemed to be delivering — offering the intellectual history of either kook libertarianism, or the 2008 crash, or both — still needs to be written. Until then, the second edition of Corey Robin’s The Reactionary Mind — released in November, this time under the subtitle “Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump” — does a skillful job connecting philosophers, historians, and economists of the past with our recent rightward turn. His chapter on Ayn Rand and libertarianism, in specific, offers much of what Weiner’s volume promises and fails to provide.

“Saint Petersburg in revolt gave us Vladimir Nabobov, Isaiah Berlin, and Ayn Rand,” Robin begins. “The first was a novelist, the second a philosopher. The third was neither but thought she was both.” Robin, a political professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, starts with pre-revolutionary Russia, but considers Rand’s real birthplace to be Hollywood, where she landed in 1926 and was quickly recruited by Cecil B. DeMille. “For where else but in the dream factory could Rand have learned how to make dreams — about America, capitalism, and herself?”

And Rand’s us-versus-them formulation of the stalwart genius against the “moochers” and “looters” — revived by Mitt Romney in his “makers” versus “takers” speech — is textbook vulgar Nietzscheanism. It also helps explain the appeal of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead to misunderstood adolescents who dream themselves the übermensch.

Rand’s novels heroize — in the same campy way she learned from Russian operettas and Hollywood movies — defiant, comically masculine builders like architect Howard Roark and engineer/inventor John Galt. It feels somehow inevitable that the recent libertarian, anti-government, pro-business strain on the American right would lead us to a man who seems right out of her pages: the defiant, comically masculine real estate developer Donald Trump.

The real history of Ayn Rand’s bad ideas — their roots, their trajectory, their collateral damage — can’t be contained in any book, however good or bad. It’s all unfolding around us, as her zombie devours the Republican Party and soon, the rest of us, with no sign of abating.

¤

Scott Timberg is the editor of The Misread City: New Literary Los Angeles and author of Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class.

¤

Banner image by Erik Fitzpatrick.

The post The Bad Idea That Keeps on Giving appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

from Los Angeles Review of Books https://ift.tt/2uScwIk

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: (1/5/19) PACK CLIP PHANTOMS 3-1

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack Wolf Pack won their fifth in a row edging out the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-1. The Pack rode a goal and an assist from Peter Holland and Matt Beleskey, a very strong team defensive performance, and a sterling 25-save performance from Dustin Tokarski to get the win. With the lead after two periods, the Wolf Pack are 11-2-1-2. They sit in sixth place and raised their record to 17-15-2-2 (38 pts), but remain one point behind the Springfield Thunderbirds who defeated the Providence Bruins, 5-3. “Scoring the first goal was big," a measured winning coach Keith McCambridge said. "When they did score, we did a good job of not getting down. We were able to limit their amount of scoring chances overall. We were pleased with the win." In the third period, the Wolf Pack played very strong team defense and got timely stops from Tokarski especially late in the game. Mark Friedman and Mikhail Vorobyev had Grade A chances, but Tokarski offered no rebounds as the Pack netminder got pucks to the corners or his defense came in to clear it away as the team worked in their own zone as a five-man unit. “One of the things I like was he (Tokarski) didn’t give anything away. There were no rebounds lying around the front. He did a good job managing the game,“ remarked McCambridge. The Wolf Pack scored early in the third to get the two-goal cushion. Cole Schneider in front snared a rebound of Steven Fogarty’s right point shot and tapped in the rolling puck. “It deflates teams when you get that two-goal lead. That was a huge goal by Schneider’s line.” Holland said of his team captain’s tally. Closing out the game was an early season nightmare now this group has found a way to shut the door on their opponents. “At the beginning of the year we struggled when we had the lead,” Holland said, “and now we’re finding a lot more consistency and getting better when playing up.” The Wolf Pack grabbed the lead back at 2-1 early in the second period. Rob O’Gara sent Matt Beleskey up the right wing and just after crossing the blue line he launched a backhand pass to Peter Holland on the left wing. Holland used the Phantom’s Reece Willcox as a screen and whipped his eleventh goal of the season off the post and into the net at the six-minute mark even for the lead an eventual game-winner. “I knew we had numbers (coming in),“ Beleskey said. “I saw him coming in late so I just got it to him and that’s his patent shot these days and he put in the right spot.” The line picked up another four points on the night. Holland has seven points over his last three games and should be an AHL Player of the Week candidate The Wolf Pack reversed the first period by changing the shots on goal in their favor 13-5. They were able to keep the Phantoms at bay with strong one-on-one battle wins like John Gilmour on Mark Vecchione and then using his stick to blunt another Phantoms offensive foray. Bobby Butler and Gabriel Fontaine converged nicely in front, but couldn’t jam the biscuit home and then later, Ville Meskanen shot first from the right wing and then Vinni Lettieri had a whack at a loose puck, but it just bounced on him as he took a swipe at it with just under minute left in the period. Science says for every reaction you can get an equal reaction and that is what happened for the Wolf Pack in scoring the game’s first goal. Just seven seconds after Dustin Tokarski handled the game’s first quality scoring chance as Greg Carey picked off a bad clearing and fired his slap shot from the top of the right circle. “He’s been playing great, you need everyone playing their best right now, and you can see what this team is capable of,” Holland noted about a rejuvenated Wolf Pack squad. The ensuing faceoff Holland cleanly won the draw from Phantoms Mikhail Vorobyev and got the puck back to John Gilmour. Then 7:15 Acela Gilmour left from behind the net train and raced up the right wing side and fed Ville Meskanen as they hit the Phantoms blue line. Meskanen then led the Wolf Pack break in a quick developing three on two he caught Peter Holland perfectly in stride on the left wing who in turn feathered a perfect soft pass for Matt Beleskey going straight down the middle that he redirected top shelf over the left shoulder of Phantoms starting goalie Branden Komm making his first AHL start for his fourth goal of the year at 5:07. “That was perfect who could ask for anything better,” smiled Beleskey with four points his last three games. Meskanen has seven points in his last six games. The rest of the period the Phantoms were able to finally get around the Pack defense with 15 more shots and the better quality shots came just before and after the goal. “He’s been solid back there, he has brought a calming influence. He’s a pillar we have a lot of confidence with him back there,” remarked Holland. The Phantoms tied the game as a cross-ice pass from the right wing boards by Mike Vecchione who initially kept the puck in the zone put it across the crease area and it hit off the back of Libor Hajek's skate who was turned around facing the net and Nicolas Aube-Kubel with a wide open net to shoot and put his 10th of the season into open cage at 17:52. The Phantoms had a glorious late chance with 58 seconds to go with some poor puck handling by Lias Andersson at the right point Connor Bunnamen to get a breakaway that thankfully his poor shooting skills, he missed the net by 10 feet stick side on Tokarski. WOLF PACK LINES: Fontaine-Butler-Leedahl Andersson-Gropp-Lettieri Holland-Meskanen-Beleskey Fogarty-Schneider-Gettinger Gilmour-Hajak Bigras-O’ Gara Day-Lindgren SCRATCHES: Shawn O’Donnell (Flu/Injury) Brandon Crawley (Healthy) Shawn St. Amant (Healthy) Terrence Wallin (Healthy) NOTES: On bring your dog night Cole Schneider’s bulldog terrier Chase came out with Holland for the interview. The Wolf Pack booster club named Vinni Lettieri their Player of Month and gave him an award in a pre-game presentation. The Wolf Pack defenseman Vince Pedrie who was reassigned a second time this year to Maine earlier in the week his time with the Rangers has come to an end. Pedrie, from Penn State, was placed on unconditional waivers with the purpose of terminating his contract. No other info on his next destination is available. Congrats to ex-Wolf Pack Ryan Graves of the Colorado Avalanche who scored his first NHL goal ironically in New York against the Rangers on Friday. The goal put the cap on a 6-1 win came unassisted out in front of the Rangers net. He spent three years with the Wolf Pack and never once was recalled. His smile could be seen back in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island where he lives and in Quebec City where he played his junior hockey. The US World Junior team beat Russia yesterday 2-1 in Vancouver to advance for the second time in three years to the gold medal game however lost to Finland 3-2 wh won their 5th title, but first one outside of Europe. Kappo Kakko on the doorstep lifted a backhander to the top half of the net with 1:32 remaining to give the Finns victory The loss came in part because a US goal by Sasha Chmelevski in the first period was disallowed ruled goalie interference that would have given the US a 1-0 lead. This isn’t US bias here it was one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen! I mean Dean Morton, Francois St. Laurent bad. Cayden Primeau, son of ex-Whaler Keith made 32 saves in the win over Russia and was a standout in the final four minutes in helping to hand the Russians their only loss of the WJC tournament. Russia secured the bronze with a 5-2 win over Russia. -Several AHL players have returned to the league from their various World Junior teams Martin Necas (Charlotte/Czech Republic) Tobias Geisser (Hershey/Switzerland), Erik Brannstrom (Chicago/Sweden) and Timothy Lilejgren (Toronto/Sweden) and Klim Kostin (San Antonio/Russia). -UCONN lost the first game of their two-game tourney in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile arena to the #17th ranked nationally Western Michigan Broncos 5-1. The Broncos are 10-6-1 overall were led by Cam Lee and Austin Rueschhoff each had a goal and an assist. UCONN did have freshmen center Jachym Kondelik back from the Czech Republic WJC team and he picked up an assist on the lone Huskies goal. Goalie Adam Huska stopped 36 of 41 shots in the loss for the Huskies now 6-12-1 overall. The Huskies beat St. Lawrence Saturday 6-3 in the consolation game of the tournament. UCONN built a 4-0 lead in the first 10 minutes as Max Kalter got things started at 2:25 into the game and Marc Gatcomb tallied his first collegiate goal, Kale Howarth, Jachym Konedelik, Karl El-Mir, and Sasha Paysuov would help the Huskies with six different scorers and up their record to 7-12-1. Read the full article

[jodyedgarus]

The Most Promising Players In The NBA Draft According To My Computer

We usually don’t release our CARMELO NBA projections until after the NBA draft. But this year, in an effort to procrastinate from other modelling-related tasks,9 I finished them a little early. We’ll publish the complete set of CARMELO projections later this month, but with the draft scheduled for Thursday night, I wanted to share the system’s take on the best NCAA prospects.

Our methodology for CARMELO is pretty much the same as last year, with only minor tweaks. It works by identifying statistically comparable players — for instance, John Wall is currently similar to Detroit Pistons Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas and to Deron Williams. For NBA veterans, we use a database of player statistics since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976, and for rookies, we use a database of NCAA statistics since 2002, adjusted for pace and opponent strength, as provided to us by ESPN Stats & Information Group. The rookie projections also account for — indeed, heavily emphasize — where in the draft each player was selected. Because the 2018 draft hasn’t taken place yet, we can’t use that variable to evaluate this year’s prospects, so for now I’ve used scouting rankings for both current and historical players.10

As I said, the changes from last year’s model are pretty minor, but one of them is potentially relevant in the context of this year’s draft, which is heavy on big men, including traditional centers such as Arizona’s Deandre Ayton. As ESPN’s Kevin Pelton has found, it’s become easier in recent seasons for teams to find once-desirable big men on the waiver wire or available for the minimum salary; the former All-Star center Roy Hibbert, who didn’t play at all in the NBA last year, is one perfect example. After evaluating the performance of players on minimum salaries over the past four years, we now use position-based replacement levels,11 which reflect that it takes a little bit more for big men to generate surplus value in the NBA than it does for guards and wings.

One last important warning: This list does not include projections for European players (so no Luka Doncic) or for other players who did not play NCAA basketball for some reason. Also, since Michael Porter Jr. played in only three NCAA games as a result of injury, we don’t project him on the basis of his NCAA statistics.12

At any rate, here goes: The top prospects as projected by CARMELO, non-Doncic, non-Porter edition. Players are ranked by their projected wins above replacement over their first seven NBA seasons:

‘Stats + Scouts’ CARMELO projections for 2018 NBA draft

Not including European players or Michael Porter Jr.

Player Scout Rank Age on 2/1/19 Pos. WAR THRU 2025 Top Comps 1 Deandre Ayton 1 20.5 C 24.6 Jahlil Okafor, Greg Oden, Anthony Davis 2 Marvin Bagley III 5 19.9 C 19.0 Lauri Markkanen, Kevin Love, Derrick Favors 3 Jaren Jackson Jr. 4 19.4 C 18.6 Marquese Chriss, Derrick Favors, Noah Vonleh 4 Mohamed Bamba 3 20.7 C 15.8 Nerlens Noel, Ben Simmons, Michael Beasley 5 Wendell Carter Jr. 7 19.8 C 14.9 Noah Vonleh, Marquese Chriss, Derrick Favors 6 Trae Young 8 20.4 PG 14.3 Dennis Smith Jr., Brandon Knight, Mike Conley 7 Kevin Knox 9 19.5 PF 12.8 Tobias Harris, Thaddeus Young, Julius Randle 8 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 10 20.6 SG 11.9 DeMar DeRozan, Jamal Murray, Alec Burks 9 Collin Sexton 11 20.1 PG 11.8 Tyus Jones, Dennis Smith Jr., Malik Monk 10 Zhaire Smith 16 19.7 SF 11.5 Malik Beasley, Xavier Henry, Justise Winslow 11 Mikal Bridges 14 22.4 SF 10.8 Jimmy Butler, Nik Stauskas, John Jenkins 12 Kevin Huerter 20 20.4 SG 9.8 Jeremy Lamb, Alec Burks, Gary Harris 13 Miles Bridges 15 20.9 PF 8.6 TJ Warren, Ryan Anderson, Bobby Portis 14 Robert Williams 12 21.3 C 8.3 Cole Aldrich, Bobby Portis, Marreese Speights 15 Lonnie Walker IV 13 20.1 SG 7.2 Jrue Holiday, Austin Rivers, Avery Bradley 16 Troy Brown 18 19.5 SG 7.1 James Young, Archie Goodwin, Austin Rivers 17 Josh Okogie 25 20.4 SG 6.8 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Gary Harris, Jordan Adams 18 Jerome Robinson 17 21.9 PG 6.2 R.J. Hunter, Dominique Jones, Allen Crabbe 19 Aaron Holiday 22 22.3 PG 5.2 Demetrius Jackson, Reggie Jackson, Jimmer Fredette 20 Jalen Brunson 35 22.4 PG 4.7 John Jenkins, Michael Frazier II, Ty Lawson 21 Donte DiVincenzo 26 22.0 PG 4.5 Willie Warren, Tyler Dorsey, Doron Lamb 22 Gary Trent Jr. 39 20.0 SG 4.3 Rashad Vaughn, James Young, Javaris Crittenton 23 De’Anthony Melton 24 20.7 SG 4.1 Javaris Crittenton, Eric Bledsoe, Zach LaVine 24 Jacob Evans 30 21.6 SF 3.6 Dillon Brooks, Tim Hardaway Jr., Gerald Henderson 25 Grayson Allen 27 23.3 SG 3.6 Jimmer Fredette, Denzel Valentine, Nolan Smith 26 Moritz Wagner 36 21.8 C 3.4 Derrick Brown, Thomas Bryant, Marreese Speights 27 Khyri Thomas 31 22.7 SG 3.2 Jodie Meeks, Wayne Ellington, L.J. Peak 28 Landry Shamet 49 21.9 PG 3.1 Tyler Dorsey, Michael Frazier II, John Jenkins 29 Shake Milton 40 22.3 SG 3.0 Olivier Hanlan, Tyler Harvey, Allen Crabbe 30 Melvin Frazier 32 22.4 SF 2.2 Tony Snell, Dillon Brooks, Jordan Crawford 31 Chimezie Metu 45 21.9 C 2.2 Richaun Holmes, Justin Harper, Drew Gordon 32 Rawle Alkins 48 21.3 SG 2.2 Travis Leslie, Jared Cunningham, Aaron Harrison 33 Keita Bates-Diop 29 23.0 PF 2.0 Justin Harper, Quincy Pondexter, Trevor Booker 34 Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk 59 21.6 SG 1.9 L.J. Peak, Jared Cunningham, Andre Roberson 35 Bruce Brown Jr. 28 22.5 SG 1.9 Jamaal Franklin, Marcus Thornton, Will Barton 36 Malik Newman 47 21.9 SG 1.8 Jordan Crawford, Jared Cunningham, Edmond Sumner 37 Jevon Carter 34 23.4 PG 1.8 Demetri McCamey, Deonte Burton, Ben Uzoh 38 Omari Spellman 43 21.5 PF 1.7 Ben Bentil, Jarell Martin, Samardo Samuels 39 Devonte’ Graham 44 23.9 PG 1.6 Frank Mason III, Joe Young, Yogi Ferrell 40 Tony Carr 54 21.3 PG 1.6 Nick Calathes, Terrico White, Andrew Harrison 41 Ray Spalding 52 21.9 PF 1.6 Hollis Thompson, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ashley 42 Hamidou Diallo 37 20.5 SG 1.5 Avery Bradley, Josh Selby, Kobi Simmons 43 Chandler Hutchison 33 22.8 SF 1.5 Glen Rice Jr., C.J. Leslie, Jermaine Taylor 44 Vince Edwards 65 22.8 PF 1.3 Solomon Hill, Matt Howard, Jake Layman 45 Trevon Duval 53 20.5 PG 1.2 Cory Joseph, Dejounte Murray, Avery Bradley 46 Allonzo Trier 62 23.0 SG 1.2 Tyler Harvey, James Blackmon Jr., Khalif Wyatt 47 Keenan Evans 72 22.4 PG 1.1 Marcus Denmon, Derrick Marks, Rasheed Sulaimon 48 Bonzie Colson 68 23.1 PF 1.0 Perry Ellis, Branden Dawson, Matt Howard 49 Justin Jackson 41 22.0 PF 1.0 Ben Bentil, Vince Hunter, Tony Mitchell 50 Kevin Hervey 46 22.6 SF 1.0 Draymond Green, C.J. Leslie, Akil Mitchell 51 Brandon McCoy 64 20.6 C 0.7 Greg Smith, Kosta Koufos, Jordan Williams 52 Dakota Mathias 75 23.6 SG 0.7 Dez Wells, Thomas Walkup, Ron Baker 53 Yante Maten 88 22.5 PF 0.7 Brandon Costner, Rick Jackson, Marqus Blakely 54 Gary Clark 57 24.2 PF 0.6 Arsalan Kazemi, Melvin Ejim, Jaron Blossomgame 55 Kostas Antetokounmpo 58 20.7 SF 0.4 Chris Walker, Grant Jerrett, Derrick Jones Jr. 56 Devon Hall 51 23.6 SG 0.4 Jermaine Taylor, Lamar Patterson, MarShon Brooks 57 Alize Johnson 61 22.8 PF 0.4 Malcolm Thomas, Eric Griffin, Khem Birch 58 Kenrich Williams 63 24.2 PF 0.3 Jaron Blossomgame, Michael Gbinije, Kris Joseph 59 DJ Hogg 60 22.4 PF 0.3 DeAndre Daniels, Cameron Moore, J.P. Tokoto 60 Isaac Haas 73 23.3 C 0.3 Dexter Pittman, Justin Hamilton, Trevor Thompson 61 Jarred Vanderbilt 56 19.8 SF 0.3 Grant Jerrett, Jereme Richmond, Ioannis Papapetrou 62 Theo Pinson 70 23.2 SG 0.2 Durrell Summers, Jajuan Johnson, Peter Jok 63 Doral Moore 86 22.0 C 0.2 Dexter Pittman, Chinemelu Elonu, Josh Harrellson 64 Jaylen Barford 92 23.0 SG 0.2 Dwayne Bacon, James Blackmon Jr., Sonny Weems 65 George King 71 25.0 SF 0.1 Elgin Cook, Jamel Artis, Andy Rautins 66 MiKyle McIntosh 81 24.5 PF -0.2 Herb Pope, Taylor Griffin, Robert Dozier

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One thing you see is that CARMELO is extremely deferential to the scout rankings — more so than other systems that use similar data, such as Pelton’s system or the Stats & Info system. Both CARMELO and the scouts have Ayton as the No. 1 pick, for example. The order of the big men listed just after Ayton is slightly different — CARMELO prefers Duke’s Marvin Bagley III and Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson Jr. to Texas’s Mohamed Bamba — but these differences are minor. As both an empirical and a philosophical matter, we think it’s hard to beat the consensus rankings of NBA scouts and franchises. NBA teams are smart these days: Many of them have projection systems that are at least as sophisticated as CARMELO, plus they have lots of other information that we can’t possibly account for. So if CARMELO disagrees with the consensus of NBA teams, we don’t necessarily want to take CARMELO’s side of the bet.

With that said, there are a few differences. CARMELO puts a lot of emphasis on a player’s age; it’s relevant, for instance, that Jackson is more than a full year younger than fellow freshman Bamba. The counterpoint to this is that older players can sometimes help a team now, even if they have less upside. For instance, Mikal Bridges, who played three seasons at Villanova, is one of just three players who project to have a positive WAR in 2018-19. (The others are Ayton and Bamba; Doncic would probably also qualify if we projected him.) And Duke senior Grayson Allen has the fifth-best projection for 2018-19 even though he rates as just the 25th-best long-term prospect.

We can get a better sense for where CARMELO differs from the scouts by taking the scouting rankings out of the system and running “pure stats” projections instead. (Note that these projections still account for a player’s height, weight, position and age, in addition to his NCAA statistics.) Again, we would not recommend that NBA teams draft players on the basis of the list, but it helps to reveal how CARMELO “thinks”:

‘Pure stats’ CARMELO projections for 2018 NBA draft

Not including European players or Michael Porter Jr.

Player Scout Rank Age on 2/1/19 Pos. WAR THRU 2025 Top Comps 1 Marvin Bagley III 5 19.9 C 15.0 Anthony Davis, Lauri Markkanen, Kevin Love 2 Zhaire Smith 16 19.7 SF 14.2 Justise Winslow, Malik Beasley, Malik Monk 3 Jaren Jackson Jr. 4 19.4 C 12.5 Diamond Stone, Karl-Anthony Towns, Marquese Chriss 4 Wendell Carter Jr. 7 19.8 C 12.3 Derrick Favors, Diamond Stone, Greg Oden 5 Deandre Ayton 1 20.5 C 11.6 Jahlil Okafor, Kevin Love, Lauri Markkanen 6 Kevin Huerter 20 20.4 SG 11.5 Alec Burks, Jeremy Lamb, Gary Harris 7 Kevin Knox 9 19.5 PF 11.5 James Young, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kevon Looney 8 Trae Young 8 20.4 PG 11.0 Dennis Smith Jr., Mike Conley, Brandon Knight 9 Collin Sexton 11 20.1 PG 11.0 Derrick Rose, De’Aaron Fox, Mike Conley 10 Gary Trent Jr. 39 20.0 SG 10.3 DeMar DeRozan, Bradley Beal, Andrew Wiggins 11 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 10 20.6 SG 9.8 D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, John Wall 12 Troy Brown 18 19.5 SG 9.6 Rashad Vaughn, James Young, Thaddeus Young 13 Josh Okogie 25 20.4 SG 9.3 Gary Harris, Marcus Smart, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 14 Miles Bridges 15 20.9 PF 7.6 Caleb Swanigan, Ivan Rabb, Gordon Hayward 15 Mohamed Bamba 3 20.7 C 7.3 Meyers Leonard, JJ Hickson, Lauri Markkanen 16 Landry Shamet 49 21.9 PG 7.2 Tyler Dorsey, Luke Kennard, Doron Lamb 17 Lonnie Walker IV 13 20.1 SG 6.9 Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, Russell Westbrook 18 Mikal Bridges 14 22.4 SF 6.7 Quincy Acy, Derrick Brown, John Jenkins 19 Jalen Brunson 35 22.4 PG 6.3 Ty Lawson, Demetrius Jackson, John Jenkins 20 De’Anthony Melton 24 20.7 SG 5.9 Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans 21 Robert Williams 12 21.3 C 5.9 Marreese Speights, Caleb Swanigan, Cole Aldrich 22 Moritz Wagner 36 21.8 C 5.5 Jakob Poeltl, Cole Aldrich, Derrick Brown 23 Brandon McCoy 64 20.6 C 5.5 Meyers Leonard, Brook Lopez, Kosta Koufos 24 Rawle Alkins 48 21.3 SG 5.3 Donovan Mitchell, Aaron Harrison, Elliot Williams 25 Donte DiVincenzo 26 22.0 PG 5.3 Tyler Dorsey, Jodie Meeks, Victor Oladipo 26 Trevon Duval 53 20.5 PG 5.2 Avery Bradley, Cory Joseph, Marquis Teague 27 Shake Milton 40 22.3 SG 5.0 Tyler Harvey, Olivier Hanlan, James Anderson 28 Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk 59 21.6 SG 4.9 L.J. Peak, Jared Cunningham, Wayne Ellington 29 Tony Carr 54 21.3 PG 4.9 Darius Morris, Malcolm Lee, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 30 Jerome Robinson 17 21.9 PG 4.8 Armon Johnson, Allen Crabbe, R.J. Hunter 31 Aaron Holiday 22 22.3 PG 4.8 Demetrius Jackson, Stephen Curry, Isaiah Canaan 32 Jacob Evans 30 21.6 SF 4.6 Andre Roberson, L.J. Peak, Jared Cunningham 33 Omari Spellman 43 21.5 PF 4.4 Anthony Bennett, Samardo Samuels, Ben Bentil 34 Chimezie Metu 45 21.9 C 4.4 Damian Jones, Richaun Holmes, Brandon Ashley 35 Jarred Vanderbilt 56 19.8 SF 4.2 Grant Jerrett, Jereme Richmond, Daequan Cook 36 Malik Newman 47 21.9 SG 4.2 Jordan Crawford, Jeff Teague, Jared Cunningham 37 Hamidou Diallo 37 20.5 SG 4.0 Kobi Simmons, Lance Stephenson, Avery Bradley 38 Khyri Thomas 31 22.7 SG 3.9 Khalif Wyatt, James Blackmon Jr., Jodie Meeks 39 Keenan Evans 72 22.4 PG 3.8 Tyshawn Taylor, Marcus Denmon, Derrick Marks 40 Ray Spalding 52 21.9 PF 3.8 Brandon Ashley, Marcus Morris, Ed Davis 41 Allonzo Trier 62 23.0 SG 3.6 James Blackmon Jr., Tyler Harvey, Khalif Wyatt 42 Doral Moore 86 22.0 C 3.5 Dexter Pittman, Byron Mullens, Mitch McGary 43 Vince Edwards 65 22.8 PF 3.4 Matt Howard, Solomon Hill, Trevor Booker 44 Kostas Antetokounmpo 58 20.7 SF 3.4 Chris Walker, Grant Jerrett, Skal Labissiere 45 Grayson Allen 27 23.3 SG 3.3 Buddy Hield, Pat Connaughton, Joe Harris 46 Yante Maten 88 22.5 PF 3.2 Rick Jackson, Brandon Costner, Joel Bolomboy 47 Bonzie Colson 68 23.1 PF 3.1 Matt Howard, Perry Ellis, Branden Dawson 48 Melvin Frazier 32 22.4 SF 2.9 Andre Roberson, K.J. McDaniels, Tony Snell 49 Dakota Mathias 75 23.6 SG 2.6 Dez Wells, Thomas Walkup, Marcus Denmon 50 Devonte’ Graham 44 23.9 PG 2.5 Kendall Williams, Aaron Craft, Yogi Ferrell 51 Justin Jackson 41 22.0 PF 2.4 Vince Hunter, Ben Bentil, Tony Mitchell 52 Bruce Brown Jr. 28 22.5 SG 2.4 Jamaal Franklin, Sonny Weems, Marcus Thornton 53 Jevon Carter 34 23.4 PG 2.1 Demetri McCamey, T.J. Williams, Keith Appling 54 Kevin Hervey 46 22.6 SF 2.0 Stanley Robinson, Rodney Williams, Draymond Green 55 Keita Bates-Diop 29 23.0 PF 2.0 Brandon Costner, Robert Carter Jr., Branden Dawson 56 Jaylen Barford 92 23.0 SG 2.0 Marcus Thornton, Jordan Crawford, Jodie Meeks 57 Chandler Hutchison 33 22.8 SF 1.9 Scotty Hopson, Landry Fields, Stanley Robinson 58 Alize Johnson 61 22.8 PF 1.7 Eric Griffin, Malcolm Thomas, Khem Birch 59 DJ Hogg 60 22.4 PF 1.6 Cameron Moore, John Henson, Joe Alexander 60 Gary Clark 57 24.2 PF 1.5 Arsalan Kazemi, Melvin Ejim, Elias Harris 61 Isaac Haas 73 23.3 C 1.4 Dexter Pittman, Brian Zoubek, Festus Ezeli 62 Theo Pinson 70 23.2 SG 1.3 Durrell Summers, Jajuan Johnson, Peter Jok 63 Kenrich Williams 63 24.2 PF 1.3 Jaron Blossomgame, Taj Gibson, Michael Gbinije 64 Devon Hall 51 23.6 SG 1.2 Peter Jok, Jermaine Taylor, Lamar Patterson 65 George King 71 25.0 SF 0.5 Jamel Artis, Elgin Cook, Gilbert Brown 66 MiKyle McIntosh 81 24.5 PF 0.2 Jackie Carmichael, Herb Pope, Lazar Hayward

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On a pure stats basis, Bagley rates as the top pick, somewhat ahead of Ayton. CARMELO sees the two players as being highly similar — they share many of the same comparables — but Bagley is half a year younger, and he posted his stats against tougher competition at Duke than Ayton did at Arizona. College statistics don’t do a good job of accounting for defense, and there are concerns about Bagley’s defense, but the same is true for Ayton. My point is not necessarily that teams should draft Bagley over Ayton — I’d defer to the scouts who say Ayton has more upside. But I do think it’s probably more of a crapshoot than most fans assume.

There’s a similar dynamic between the top point guards in the draft, Oklahoma’s Trae Young and Alabama’s Collin Sexton. The scouts have Young ranked slightly higher, but CARMELO sees them has very comparable players on the basis of their statistics. It’s true that Young scored more points per game than Sexton (27.4 versus 19.2), but that’s because the Sooners played at a faster pace, and Young played more minutes and used a larger share of his team’s possessions — all factors that aren’t particularly predictive of success at an NBA level.

CARMELO also sometimes like guys who played non-starring roles on good teams, such as Kentucky’s Kevin Knox and Duke’s Gary Trent Jr. These players don’t necessarily post hugely impressive raw statistics, in part because they have to share the ball with a lot of other talented players. But they look better when evaluated on an efficiency basis and adjusted for strength of competition.

Finally, there are a few true “computer picks” — guys who didn’t have great scouting pedigrees coming out of high school but who had impressive NCAA seasons. These include Texas Tech’s Zhaire Smith and Maryland’s Kevin Huerter, both of whom are reportedly rising on NBA teams’ draft boards.

from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-most-promising-players-in-the-nba-draft-according-to-my-computer/

[junker-town]

Tiger heads out early on Thursday at Muirfield

Tiger returns to the PGA Tour in a state and at a tournament where he’s piled up wins.

After a two-week break, Tiger Woods returns to the PGA Tour on Thursday morning at the Memorial Tournament. It’s a friendly venue for Woods and one of those places he’s owned over the course of his career. He’s not owned it to the extent he’s owned Bay Hill or Torrey Pines or Firestone, but he still counts five career victories at Jack Nicklaus’ event. That’s a career many pros would happily take.

Woods skipped the Texas two-step, that annual back-to-back series in the Dallas-Fort Worth area following The Players. No one expected him to add those to his schedule but the Memorial was always a lock. It’s the only event he plays, usually, between The Players and the U.S. Open. So this is likely all we’ll see of Tiger before he tees it up at Shinnecock Hills in a few weeks.

Tiger will start his week in Columbus bright and early on Thursday, going off alongside Justin Rose and Jason Dufner. It’s a comfortable pairing for Woods, who plays with Duf down in South Florida and during several practice rounds. Rosie is also an easy playing partner and has been around the block with Woods before too. They tee off at 8:26 a.m. ET at Muirfield Village, which is notorious for catching horrible weather breaks the one week of the year they have this tournament. It’s supposed to rain again on Thursday, and potentially every day after that. But the morning wave does look like it could get past the worst of it so we could see Tiger come in on time Thursday afternoon.

If you want to watch Tiger, you’ll need a subscription to PGA Tour Live or ESPN+. Woods will be in the featured groups stream on those services and, barring no weather delays, play out of the TV coverage window on Golf Channel from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. ET. Here’s your tee sheet for Thursday’s opening round at the Memorial:

Off No. 1 tee:

7:20 a.m. — Martin Laird, Byeong Hun An, Tom Hoge

7:31 a.m. — J.J. Spaun, Peter Uihlein, Kiradech Aphibarnrat

7:42 a.m. — Bill Haas, Beau Hossler, Abraham Ancer

7:53 a.m. — Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Jim Furyk

8:04 a.m. — Ted Potter, Jr., Austin Cook, Grayson Murray

8:15 a.m. — Shane Lowry, David Lingmerth, Ernie Els

8:26 a.m. — Russell Henley, William McGirt, Brian Gay

8:37 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Kyle Stanley, Chris Kirk

8:48 a.m. — Rod Pampling, Nick Watney, Kenny Perry

8:59 a.m. — Yuta Ikeda, Will Zalatoris, Doc Redman

12:10 p.m. — Scott Brown, Daniel Summerhays, Keith Mitchell

12:21 p.m. — Carl Pettersson, Kevin Na, Kelly Kraft

12:32 p.m. — Lucas Glover, Jason Kokrak, Patrick Rodgers

12:43 p.m. — Wesley Bryan, James Hahn, Branden Grace

12:54 p.m. — Patton Kizzire, Hideki Matsuyama, Russel Knox

1:05 p.m. — Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson

1:16 p.m. — Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth

1:27 p.m. — Jhonattan Vegas, Cameron Smith, Emiliano Grillo

1:38 p.m. — Ryan Moore, Charley Hoffman, K.J. Choi

1:49 p.m. — Trey Mullinax, Shubhankar Sharma, Andrew Dorn

Off No. 10 tee:

7:20 a.m. — Chesson Hadley, Luke List, Martin Piller

7:31 a.m. — Sung Kang, Whee Kim, Kevin Tway

7:42 a.m. — Kevin Streelman, Jamie Lovemark, Anirban Lahiri

7:53 a.m. — Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, Brian Stuard

8:04 a.m. — Gary Woodland, Pat Perez, Stewart Cink

8:15 a.m. — Patrick Reed, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler

8:26 a.m. — Justin Rose, Jason Dufner, Tiger Woods

8:37 a.m. — Marc Leishman, Matt Kuchar, Louis Oosthuizen

8:48 a.m. — Andrew Landry, Brice Garnett, Bryson DeChambeau

8:59 a.m. — Cameron Davis, Joaquin Niemann, Sam Burns

12:10 p.m. — Danny Lee, Rory Sabbatini, Brandon Harkins

12:21 p.m. — John Senden, Bud Cauley, Ollie Schniederjan

12:32 p.m. — Alex Cejka, Robert Streb, John Huh

12:43 p.m. — Ryan Armour, Sangmoon Bae, Vijay Singh

12:54 p.m. — Xander Schauffele, Jonas Blixt, Charl Schwartzel

1:05 p.m. — Kevin Kisner, Si Woo Kim, Tony Finau

1:16 p.m. — Kevin Chappell, Zach Johnson, Charles Howell III

1:27 p.m. — Aaron Wise, Billy Horschel, Satoshi Kodaira

1:38 p.m. — J.B. Holmes, Keegan Bradley, Sean O’Hair

1:49 p.m. — Yusaku Miyazato, Julian Suri, Harry Ellis

[vioncentral-blog]

Pump the Brakes? What Jason Peters’ Loss Means for the High-Flying Eagles

https://www.vionafrica.cf/pump-the-brakes-what-jason-peters-loss-means-for-the-high-flying-eagles/

Pump the Brakes? What Jason Peters’ Loss Means for the High-Flying Eagles

The lengthy injury cart procession early in the third quarter of Monday’s win over Washington helped prepare the Eagles mentally for Tuesday morning’s news that nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters suffered both a torn MCL and ACL in his right knee, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He will not return this season.

But preparing for the practical, on-field implications may be more difficult. This injury is perhaps the only thing that could slow down the NFC’s best team.

On the Eagles’ first critical third down following Peters’ exit, Washington swapped pass rusher Ryan Kerrigan over Peters’ replacement, 24-year-old Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and the Eagles ran a zone read run out of the shotgun to the opposite side. Thankfully for Philadelphia, the defensive end on the right side collapsed on the run, allowing Carson Wentz to pocket the ball and scamper for a first down.

On the first designed run to Halapoulivaati’s side, the 2016 fifth-round pick was tossed to the ground by Washington pass rusher Junior Galette, leading to a busted play for LeGarrette Blount and a loss of seven yards. The next play, a third-and-16, Philly went to the obvious: a screen pass that invited in the pressure, which would inevitably come.

NFL Game Pass

Wentz entered his name into the MVP discussion on Monday thanks to a series of herculean moments. His 17-yard fourth quarter scramble—a play where Wentz emerged unscathed from a rugby pile forming deep in his own territory—saw the entire left side of the Eagles offensive line on their collective backsides for the stunning escape. This was a glimpse of Wentz at his best, but that cannot be expected week in and week out. Peters, like right tackle Lane Johnson, provided a sense of calm in the backfield; a mental backbone on which all of this confidence is anchored. Last year Wentz and the Eagles lost just one game when Johnson played. (He was suspended 10 games for a repeat violation of the NFL’s policy on substances of abuse.) Without Johnson on the right side, Wentz threw just six touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and his passer rating was 70.2. With Johnson, his rating was 96.6, with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Consider that in both of coach Doug Pederson’s seasons with the Eagles, the team has led the league in time of possession. The anti-Chip Kelly regime brought in Blount this offseason to help them sustain heavy-hitting drives and close out football games. Peters, who reminds me almost of an offensive Vince Wilfork (his athleticism for his a size and shape is simply remarkable) was the linchpin of this philosophy. According to NFL Game Stats & Information, the Eagles have run more plays off the left hip of the left tackle than any other team in football. On those plays, the Eagles have gained 4.45 yards per carry.

.@Eagles fans chanting Jason Peters' name as he gets carted off due to injury. 🙏#WASvsPHI #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/mOtICVwpc6

— NFL (@NFL) October 24, 2017

A player who provides this kind of lift earns the type of teamwide (and stadiumwide) acknowledgement that Peters received on Monday night. Such a player is also extremely difficult to replace mid-season. A pair of 2008 first-round picks, Branden Albert and Ryan Clady, are still on the market. Albert recently worked out for both the Giants and Seahawks while Clady formally announced his retirement in August. In his goodbye letter, he mentioned “several teams” interested in signing him and called the decision difficult. Would either be worth a quick phone call?

That’s the short term for the Eagles. The hope, long-term, is that we did not see the last of the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer.

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[buddyrabrahams]

15 biggest disappointments of NFL Week 2

Week 2 of the NFL season was filled with excellent performance, but there were also a number of players and units that simply did not live up to expectations. Be it a star who didn’t produce or a group with a solid matchup who offered pretty much nothing, there were plenty of disappointments in this slate of NFL action.

Here’s a list of 15 major disappointments to come out of Week 2 of the NFL Season.

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Cowboys

Sunday was going to be the day that Elliott, the reigning NFL rushing champion, was going to rise up and show us just how good he was against one of the NFL’s top defenses. The opposite happened. Part of it was the gameplan, but Elliott was dominated by Denver, getting an astonishingly inept eight yards on nine total carries. He had more yards receiving — 14 on four catches — than he did on the ground. One could argue that perhaps he was mentally impacted by the drama surrounding his suspension, but he rushed for 100 yards last week, so it doesn’t hold water. This was easily the worst game of Elliott’s professional career, and while it’s too soon to raise any red flags, it will be interesting to see how he bounces back from this.

The Cincinnati Bengals offense

Andy Dalton offered next to nothing, again failing to throw for a single touchdown. No running back had more than Joe Mixon’s 36 yards on nine carries. Normally mild-mannered A.J. Green was criticizing the team’s offensive gameplan. The Cincinnati offense was so bad that offensive coordinator Ken Zampese didn’t even make it to the weekend. It’s not exactly clear where they go from here, but it’s quite obvious that things aren’t working — they were stymied by a Houston team that had been eviscerated by Blake Bortles the week before.

Cleveland Browns quarterbacks

The Browns’ quarterbacks made like Andy Dalton against the Baltimore Ravens’ defense. DeShone Kizer and Kevin Hogan combined for five turnovers in the game. Kizer threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. Hogan also threw a pick during his limited action. Collectively, Cleveland’s QBs were 20 of 42 for 293 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. The completion percentage is somewhat deceptive though, as the Browns dropped several passes and didn’t really help their QBs.

Sam Bradford, QB, Vikings

Bradford remains a disappointment, mostly because of his inability to stay healthy. Coming off one of his best games ever as a pro, one in which he shredded the Saints’ defense, Bradford injured his left knee — the same one he had two ACL surgeries on in the past. The injury caused him to miss Sunday’s game against the Steelers, leaving Minnesota to start Case Keenum. Keenum predictably did very little in a 26-9 loss. Mike Zimmer says Bradford is “fine” but he’s unsure when the QB will be ready to return. The injury is just another reminder that you can’t get your hopes up about Bradford, who has played in 37 of a possible 66 games since 2013.

Cam Newton, QB, Panthers

One only needs to look back to the 2015 season to know what Cam Newton is capable of. When at his best, he can make all kinds of plays and carry a team. He has not shown that form so far this season. Newton was 20 of 32 for 228 yards and rushed for 27 yards in a 9-3 win over the Bills. He was sacked six times and hurt his ankle in the game, which may have impacted him late as he missed a very easy touchdown pass. This was the second week in a row in which Newton was not at his best. Luckily the defense has been able to carry Carolina. But with Greg Olsen out with a broken foot, you have to wonder whether things will improve for the Panthers’ offense.

Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys

The Cowboys asked a lot of Prescott, having him throw 50 times against one of the league’s elite passing defenses in Denver. Part of that was due to the fact that the Cowboys were playing from behind for much of the contest, but Prescott simply couldn’t take the heat. Though he completed 30 of his 50 attempts, he only racked up 238 yards, a rather modest 4.8 yards per completion. He was sacked twice and threw two interceptions, including a 103-yard pick six to Aqib Talib late in the fourth quarter. It was a day to forget for Prescott and the Cowboys.

LeSean McCoy, RB, Bills

Carolina’s defense has the early look of what may be one of the top units in the league. A week after holding San Francisco to three points, they similarly stymied the Bills, holding Buffalo to three as well. Shady McCoy failed to break loose against the Panthers, being held to just nine yards on 12 carries. He did lead Buffalo with six catches for 34 yards. Still, the Bills need much more from McCoy to win games. It’s also important to note that the Bills said a groin injury McCoy dealt with during the week was not a factor in his Week 2 performance.

New Orleans Saints’ defense

No matter what the Saints do, it seems like their defense still remains awful. They were last in the NFL in points allowed two seasons ago, 31st in the league last season, and they’re on their way to taking up the basement yet again. After Sam Bradford dissected the Saints’ defense on Monday night, it was Tom Brady’s turn six days later. He had his way with New Orleans, going 30 of 39 for 447 yards and three touchdowns. All told the Saints allowed 36 points and 555 total yards. They’re well on their way to taking up the last place in the NFL’s defensive rankings yet again.

Haason Reddick, LB, Cardinals

Outside of Chandler Jones, who had two sacks and three hurries, not many Cardinals stood out as they sleepwalked to an overtime win over the Colts. Certainly the play of Haason Reddick was nothing to write home about. The rookie first-round pick from Temple was credited with 7 tackles in the game. He was a weak spot for Arizona’s defense in coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed four receptions for 51 yards, including three third downs. Opposing QB Jacoby Brissett had a 118.8 passer rating when throwing into Reddick’s coverage.

Russell Wilson, QB, Seahawks

One had to expect a lot more out of Wilson against the San Francisco 49ers, but ultimately, he couldn’t even push the Seahawks in front until rather late in the fourth quarter. He had the support of the running game — Chris Carson picked up 93 yards on 20 carries — and his defense more than pulled their weight, but Wilson really couldn’t drive Seattle downfield much. His fourth quarter touchdown pass was his only one of the day, and while he avoided turnovers, he was sacked three times and managed just 198 yards passing. The Niner defense just isn’t good enough to justify numbers like that.

Jimmy Graham, TE, Seahawks

What was that? Graham was only targeted twice by Russell Wilson, and the only catch he made was for one yard. He was also knocked out of the game briefly with a knee injury, which may or may not have impacted his performance. The guess here is that it wasn’t a major factor when you consider that he only caught three passes for eight yards last week, and all indications are he’s on the fringes of the Seattle offense right now. Graham isn’t going to be what he was with New Orleans, but he still reeled in 65 catches and six touchdowns last season. We’re a far cry from that now, and things didn’t look to get any better.

Los Angeles Rams wide receivers

Gerald Everett had a 69-yard reception, but otherwise, the Los Angeles Rams had to come away disappointed with the performances of their receivers, particularly the bigger names. Sammy Watkins only pulled in two catches for 30 yards, with 28 of them coming on one reception. Tavon Austin was a non-factor for a second consecutive game, with just one five-yard reception. Excluding Everett, nobody had more than 50 yards, and the only one who came close was Todd Gurley with 48 — who is, of course, a running back. The hope was probably that Watkins would be a big play target for Jared Goff, but that isn’t happening yet, and nobody else is stepping up either.

Terrelle Pryor, WR, Redskins

This is not the Pryor that Washington would have thought they were getting. After a disappointing Week 1, Pryor was even worse here, getting just four targets. He caught two of them for 31 yards, but Trumaine Johnson had him pretty much locked down for the entire day. The 66 yards he got last week look downright good right now. Washington won, but they will be looking for a lot more big plays from their free agent wide receiver in the weeks to come.

Los Angeles Chargers running backs

For the second consecutive week, Chargers backs offered nothing to take pressure off Philip Rivers. Melvin Gordon wasn’t very good last week, but he took a huge step back against Miami, accumulating just 13 yards on nine carries — 11 of them on one run. The story was the same with Branden Oliver, who got 26 of his 31 yards on one carry as well. In total, the Chargers were able to come up with just 44 rushing yards, leaving Rivers to move the offense pretty much on his own. He couldn’t do quite enough, and with that in mind, it’s no wonder Los Angeles could only manage 17 points in their loss.

Green Bay’s defense

Credit where it’s due — the Atlanta offense was and still remains an extremely dangerous unit. It’s no coincidence, though, that Green Bay’s defense — particularly the rush defense — folded quickly when Mike Daniels was knocked out with an injury. What followed was a clinic from Atlanta’s deadly Devonta Freeman/Tevin Coleman combination, as the two combined to rack up 126 yards on 25 carries. That opened things up for Matt Ryan, who threw for 252 yards and a touchdown. Green Bay’s defense offered little resistance, and hiding behind the Daniels excuse just isn’t good enough. They had problems last year, and they look like they might be prone to similar issues this season.

from Larry Brown Sports http://ift.tt/2hcHenw

[golfpga2017championship-blog]

PGA Championship 2017 Live Golf Online Coverage

The 99th edition of the PGA Championship 2017 is chock full of storylines. As the first round of the tournament plays out at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, much of the attention will be on Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama.PGA Championship 2017

Spieth, of course, is attempting to win back-to-back majors this year. He won the British Open in spectacular fashion last month, as he rallied in the final holes after losing the lead to Matt Kuchar and earned the Claret Jug. That victory gave Spieth three-fourths of the career Grand Slam, and if he can win the PGA Championship, he would join the game’s all-time greats.PGA Championship 2017 Live

Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods are the only players in the game’s history to have won all four majors, and the 24-year-old Spieth would become the youngest to achieve that goal.

Spieth believes that he has accomplished the most difficult part of winning golf’s Grand Slam.

“Getting three legs of it is much harder than PGA Championship getting the last leg, I think,” Spieth said, per Mike McAllister of PGATour.com. “Although I’ve never tried to get the last leg, so it’s easy for me to say. We’ve had three in two years and so, I mean, if we just continue with the same process, get the right breaks and driving ranges are in play then, I’ve got a good shot at No. 4.”

Spieth’s reference to the driving range was his shot on the 13th hole of the final round of the British Open. After an off-target tee shot that landed in the driving range, Spieth scrambled on that hole to an incredible bogey, and he surged to the championship after that hole.

McIlroy has won the PGA Championship twice, having PGA Championship come away with the title in 2014 when he won at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, and he was also victorious in 2012 at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

In addition to his past success in the tournament, McIlroy has done quite well at Quail Hollow. He has two tour victories there, and it would be a surprise if he were not in contention. Additionally, McIlroy played well in the final three rounds of the British Open after struggling in the opening round.

“This is a week I’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” PGA Championship McIlroy said at his Tuesday press conference (h/t Jeff Ritter of Golf.com). “I think once you go back to a place where you do have great memories, all that starts to come flooding back to you and it makes you feel good about yourself. That’s sort of how I feel around here.”

Matsuyama has played sensational golf this year, and he is the PGA Tour’s leading money winner with more than $7.7 million earned. The Japanese is also the leader in FedEx Cup points and is coming off a spectacular victory in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week, in which he shot a 61 in the final round to beat runner-up Zach Johnson by five strokes.

Matsuyama got off to an excellent start as he made a 52-foot birdie on the first hole and added another birdie on the second.

While the tournament is not going to be won in the first round, it pays to get off to an excellent start in the PGA Championship. The last 17 major winners have been under par after the first round, according to Justin Ray of the Golf Channel.

As the first round plays out, golf fans know that they have four full days of top-notch competition ahead of them.

PGA Championship 2017 live stream TV Schedule to PGA Round 2. Golf’s best are flocking to Charlotte this weekend to take part in one of the season’s most competitive tournaments. Quail Hollow Club is playing host to the 99th PGA Championship, the fourth and final major of the season. 2017 PGA Round 2 Championship

Thorbjorn Olesen and Kevin Kisner sit atop the leaderboard PGA Round 2 after firing off a pair of 4-under 67s on Thursday. Five players are tied for second at 3 under, including U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka.

Here is everything you need to know regarding coverage, along with must-watch story lines and tee times for Friday’s second round.

MUST-READ STORIES:

Jordan Spieth struggles with his putter on Thursday. Brooks Koepka “feels like crap” after clocking marshal with errant tee shot. Rickie Fowler recovers after shaky start to the PGA. Moving PGA Championship is right move for everyone not in the Midwest. Revamped Quail Hollow provides stiff test for PGA Championship. Milestone tournament: Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els set to play in 100th major.

HOW TO WATCH:

TNT: 1-7 p.m. ET

TEE TIMES (ALL TIMES ET):

Tee No. 1

7:20 a.m. — David Muttitt, Bud Cauley, Graham DeLaet 7:30 a.m. — Rod Perry, Yuta Ikeda, Emiliano Grillo 7:40 a.m. — Joost Luiten, Paul Claxton, Russell Henley 7:50 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Thongchai Jaidee, Soren Kjeldsen 8:00 a.m. — Omar Uresti, Y.E. Yang, Shaun Micheel 8:10 a.m. — Danny Lee, Marc Leishman, Anirban Lahiri 8:20 a.m. — Byeong Hun An, Kevin Chappell, Mackenzie Hughes 8:30 a.m. — Jonas Blixt, Steve Stricker, Brian Harman 8:40 a.m. — D.A. Points, Tyrrell Hatton, Adam Hadwin 8:50 a.m. — Martin Laird, Bill Haas, Graeme McDowell 9:00 a.m. — Jeunghun Wang, Alexander Levy, Jamie Broce 9:10 a.m. — J.J. Wood, Ryan Fox, Haotong Li 9:20 a.m. — Jaysen Hansen, …, Cody Gribble 12:35 p.m. — Shane Lowry, Stuart Deane, Pablo Larrazabal 12:45 p.m. — Alex Noren, Scott Hebert, Russell Knox 12:55 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Ernie Els, Ian Poulter 1:05 p.m. — Daniel Summerhays, Robert Streb, Chris Wood 1:15 p.m. — Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed 1:25 p.m. — Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel, Paul Casey 1:35 p.m. — Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth 1:45 p.m. — Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson 1:55 p.m. — Padraig Harrington, Keegan Bradley, Davis Love III 2:05 p.m. — Zach Johnson, Lee Westwood, Charley Hoffman 2:15 p.m. — David Lingmerth, Scott Brown, Nicolas Colsaerts 2:25 p.m. — Scott Hend, Kenny Pigman, Andrew Johnston 2:35 p.m. — Kelly Kraft, Brian Smock, Patrick Rodgers

Sports Pulse’s Trysta Krick checks in with Steve DiMeglio at Quail Hollow Club for an update on the PGA Championship and his thoughts on why the tournament is being moved on the golf calendar.

Tee No. 10

7:25 a.m. — Lucas Glover, Matt Dobyns, Hideto Tanihara 7:35 a.m. — Mike Small, Jason Kokrak, Satoshi Kodaira 7:45 a.m. — Thomas Bjorn, Branden Grace, Pat Perez 7:55 a.m. — Adam Scott, Luke Donald, Webb Simpson 8:05 a.m. — Billy Horschel, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Si Woo Kim 8:15 a.m. — Jimmy Walker, Phil Mickelson, Jason Dufner 8:25 a.m. — Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler 8:35 a.m. — Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker 8:45 a.m. — Daniel Berger, Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner 8:55 a.m. — Ross Fisher, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Ryan Moore 9:05 a.m. — Jhonattan Vegas, Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Smith 9:15 a.m. — Alex Beach, Sean O’Hair, Kevin Na 9:25 a.m. — Chris Moody, Luke List, Jamie Lovemark 12:30 p.m. — Grayson Murray, Rich Berberian Jr., Peter Uihlein 12:40 p.m. — Adam Rainaud, Tony Finau, Fabrizio Zanotti 12:50 p.m. — Younghan Song, Dave McNabb, Charles Howell III 1:00 p.m. — Sung Kang, Wesley Bryan, Dylan Frittelli 1:10 p.m. — William McGirt, Francesco Molinari, Jim Herman 1:20 p.m. — Gary Woodland, Andy Sullivan, Kyle Stanley 1:30 p.m. — Rich Beem, Vijay Singh, John Daly 1:40 p.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, Danny Willett, J.B. Holmes 1:50 p.m. — Thomas Pieters, Xander Schauffele, Rod Pampling 2:00 p.m. — Thorbjorn Olesen, Brendan Steele, Hudson Swafford 2:10 p.m. — Cameron Smith, Bernd Wiesberger, Brandon Stone 2:20 p.m. — K.T. Kim, Greg Gregory, James Hahn 2:30 p.m. — Richard Sterne, Ryan Vermeer, Chris Stroud