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sanoiro · 4 years ago

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Lucifer 5x04 - The Mega Meta

This episode, the one all the cast and writers praised turned out to be the most challenging for the audience. Several hated it mainly for interrupting the flow of S5P1 whilst introducing a ‘weak’ story for Lucifer’s ring. Others loved it for all the meta, the concealed trivia and details that exist in that episode.

In my opinion 5x04 took it’s time to warm up to my heart and therefore today it’s time to write a meta on it. I’ll try to cover all the bases and if I miss something I apologise!

This meta will analyse, lines, settings, songs hopefully with the order they appear in the episode, as well as hints that it gives us for P2, the end of the series and many more things.

The credits open to Lucifer whistling as per Netflix’s subtitles ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’

A song of about a man waiting for his train as he gets a shoe shine. The lyrics reveal at the end that a girl is waiting him at his destination and that he intents to marry her and settle... A good foreshadowing about Lucifer no? Especially after the S3 game night fiasco...

There's gonna be a certain party at the station Satin and lace, I used to call funny face She's gonna cry until I tell her that I'll never roam

By the way what’s this obsession over daggers and them killing people? Didn’t we have enough with the Flaming Sword in S2?

Trixie: Has it ever killed anyone?

Let’s keep it that way kid... Although I doubt it.

Now take a moment to realise that Lucifer was in Hell for thousands of years. He hasn’t had sex since his relationship with Eve and for his last night on Earth he prefers to play a game of Monopoly with Trixie and only when she turns him down Lucifer suggests getting a drink at LUX always in her company. That’s progress...

It also busts all claims of Lucifer being a sex obsessed maniac.

The year is 1946...

WW2 is over and we find Lucifer in a new setting, a familiar one where through the episode we see that he has not just visited again but he is frequent visitor around that time. Just a few years later after all he was seen through Kinley’s photos in Nazi Germany. Now we know it was because apparently he owns a castle there, in the Austrian Alps... Not exactly in mint condition after the war though...

By the way the castle that corresponds to that 22 bedroom description Lucifer gives is Schloss Ernegg Castle which belongs to the same family since the 17th century and it’s in great condition. Actually it operates as a hotel!

The Hurry plays as we see Ellis strolling the WB New York area of the lot. Great old ones were shot there.. Like The Big Sleep (1946) staring Bogart and Bacall which was shot in 1944, reshot some parts in 1945 but was released after all the ‘proper’ war time movies were released first.

A bit like this episode The Big Sleep carries ‘process of a criminal investigation, not its results’. Also around that time we have The Killers coming out, The Killers is important to mention as aside from being based on a story by Hemingway who was in Cuba in 1946 not in New York as Lucifer claims, it was directed by Robert :. Siodmak made most of the Hollywood’s noir classics and was always faithful to the doomed attraction which would always resolve to a nihilistic conclusion... (Thank you wiki! :P)

The connection to Lucifer, between the lines and the off hand comments like Hemingway is that noir films were based on the German Expressionism in cinema, and one of the most prominent figure for the US was that one German director Robert Siodmak.

The purpose of the above information is in order to tell you that a black & whte effect and a crime story is not what makes a noir episode. The writers were faithful to the core of noir. Entrapment, flashbacks, narration. The tropes of murder, jealousy, backstabbing and crime is also there, easy to replicate after all for sure. A dead man walking and ‘selective’ amnesia is also convenient...

Triumph and tragedy can be found and lost in the maze of the cities and in questionable establishments... Like in bars...

Moving on!

The credits open and we listen to The Hurry Up played by The Heath And His Orchestra. Dear Heath was British not an American. A subtle nod to Ellis probably as the leading man. But here is the thing Heath was the performer not the composer of that piece. The composer was Kenny Graham (Again British) and probably that piece was written after 1958 but anyways it’s an inconsistency we (-I-) can certainly live with!

Lucifer and Lilith last meeting was at around 1770 (Marie Antoinette was born in 1755) now whether in Austria or France who knows.... I would assume that Lucifer stayed in Austria until WW2 as aside from the wars and other issues it had a great cultural field for him to explore such as literature, music and lacked the brashness of the new-founded then US (1776).

Tiny issue here... Moctezuma (The 2nd) who Lilith claims to have met died in 1520, a bit after Cortés arrived in what we know today as Mexico so we can assume that Lilith travelled between the New World and Europe until Lucifer found her in New York in 1946.

Lilith in a relationship with Tommy Stomponato who owned the club, she probably influenced him enough to name it ‘The Garden’ as se admits to Gertie later in the episode, she really loved that Garden hence why she took a small part of it with her.

Now the name Tommy Stomponato is directly influenced by Johnny Stomponato part and bodyguard of the Cohen Mafia boss Mickey Cohen. Now funny thing he was stabbed by Lana Turner’s (Hollywood star) daughter Cheryl Crane... That remind us a bit of Gertie as she yes both were stabbed by a woman but both were not prosecuted. The first as Lilith didn’t want Gertie to lose the limited time she had with her husband and Cheryl because she claimed self-defense.

The first time we see Lesley Ann as Lilith she sings ‘I want to be evil’ originally performed at the debut of Eartha Kitt and first released in 1953. It is considered brilliant for it��s feminism and ‘video clip’ starring Kitt...

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It’s a song that carries Lilith’s agony which even Eve carried. The need for freedom, the need to break the chains of what they should be and what we see that even Maze carries throughout the series. It’s a song that reaffirms that betrayal towards God, Adam and Lucifer in Maze’s case is not an act of evilness but the need of these women to re-sculpture themselves without aid or instructions. In Kitt’s case it was social conformity. Also Johnnie Ray was the ‘guy who cries’ aside from his hit song in 1951 ‘Cry’ him crying after his wedding was received with mixed feelings I believe from the press and his fans.

Now we see that crime for Lucifer was fun and again he wanted to Laugh with Hemingway who again in 1946 was not in New York but had just starting to write his novel ‘Garden of Eden (published posthumously in 1986) and it explored the reversal of gender roles a bit like this Lucifer episode does.

So Lucifer accepts the case of finding the ring but needs help. Jack Monroe is the one that can help him and the name is inspired probably by Iowa’s born Jack Monroe Marvel character who lived in New York, fought the Nazi (See Jack talking about the Battle of the Bulge), sidekick to Captain America - in a way - and ended up shot and killed. The character had many cliche detective phrases. But that’s mostly a likely speculation :P

Now as Jack goes to talk to the ‘rat’ Lucifer comments on Gertie serving him a drink ‘Just what the doctor ordered’ an obvious connection to Harris playing Dr Linda.

A nice prop is the machine gun over the bar an alleged gift from Al Capone who had been arrested 17 years earlier and died in 1947.

Thanks for listening, XOXO A. Capone

Now Lucky Larry who ends up dead is wearing an eyepatch probably a nod to another great director of noir films and of german expressionism in cinematography Fritz Lang.

At that point we have the talk between Lucifer and Jack concerning the laters problem with his wife. The story as everyone has noticed is a parallel with the issue that Lucifer and Chloe never begun on an equal ground. Someone had manipulated them and in both cases both parties suffered. Both men were manipulated by someone over them in hierarchy and both stood on a dilemma on how to proceed. It took Lucifer over 60 years to realise how difficult it was to leave and even then in 2x14 he returned.

As Jack and Lucifer get to Willy’s mansion all the paintings depict him as a great warrior in all possible eras. As Napoleon, Fritz of Austro-Hungarian Empire, Henry the 8th, Ivan, and that armour I believe it was from Carlomagne?

Also Hannibal crossing the Alps?

The little sausages are self-explenatory for the character and perhaps the lilies in his house a connection to the episode and the P1′s plot.

Lucifer checking the armour’s genital protector? Priceless :P As was Willy’s connection to Dan.

Now something that always make me wonder is why Lilith calls God Adam’s father as if she never considered him her own. At the same time she gives us a big hint there. She never walked away she was ‘sent’ away.

Gertie reveals there that her husband was wounded at the Guadalcanal campaign which ended in 1943 meaning that Bill was unresponsive for about three years at that point. The good news is that Bill seems to have been inspired by Bill Lentsch. Lentsch wrote a memoir called My Story and then adapted under the Title Hope For Wounded Warriors.

As a wounded warrior, Bill Lentsch knows the frustrating feelings of apparent helplessness and hopelessness. A sea-going Marine on the cruiser USS Vincennes at the beginning of World War II, he was a "hot shell catcher". The story of Bill's survival when the Vincennes sank is a story of miracles. In contrast, the story of his post-war rehabilitation and readjustment to civilian life, including a bad marriage {Sanoiro: At this point we have a differentiation but you never know}, contains more than its share of dark pages and the consequences of poor choices. Contemplating the option of murder, then suicide, was a vivid reality. Thankfully, the story of his later years brings hope and inspiration as Bill shares his personal journey of discovery.

Meanwhile the investigation continues. In the apartment we see pigeon cages a rather popular hobby back then in New York and not just for the messages they transported. Also do notice the WB water tower in the back. Iconic!

Lucifer finds a cuban cigar. Romeo y Juliet. The meta here obvious bit nonetheless important to our main love story.

With Stomponato dead we have a chance to delve a bit to Egyptian mythology.

First the missing heart. The main organ that according to ancient Egyptians held the answer of how well you had done while you lived and what you deserved after death. It was measured and a conclusion sent you to afterlife or to damnation.

Second the Anubis mask. He was the God of Death who oversaw the heart weighting process. The colour black symbolised the Nile’s sand and thus regeneration as the river was a symbol of life. Anubis was adopted by Isis

Third the Eye of Horus. The Eye of Horus was used as a sign of prosperity and protection, derived from the myth of Isis and Osiris. This symbol has an astonishing connection between neuroanatomical structure and function.

That’s the basics but you can go further from there if you want to just remember that Egyptian deities hold an Ankh the symbol and work of life.

In 504 we learn that death is final, there is no eternal life. It cannot be given as a commodity, the ring cannot help so I would focus more on the stone itself and if Lilith’s immortality is used then it will not be used as it is in my opinion but more about that later on.

The shop sacred eye and the high priest take us back to two episodes of S1. First in 1x07 - Wingman where the high priest parallels the auctioner who was ready to sell everything of ‘supernatural’ worth knowing they were mostly garbage to make money. Second 1x12 - #TeamLucifer the satanic high priest who had said ‘-the Devil ain't gonna buy me an Aston Martin’. In 504 the High Priest wanted a Pontiac.

Lucifer comment on Tutankhamun loving the pre-sacrificed bloody heart might have to do with the Egyptian mythology that If a heart during the scaling was judged to be not pure, Ammit (female demon/god) would devour it, and the person undergoing judgment would not allowed to continue their afterlife journey.

One of the best lines delivered in this episode is also foreshadowing P2 in my opinion and why not some bts but not clear or definite ones.

In the modern age, we are taught to fear death. But the ancients understood that death... is power. - High Priest (Lucifer 5x04)

It is why I always say that death is not the last frontier in our series and as such it should be taken neither as the final chapter to an individual’s story nor as irreversible (with the right collaterals always) somehow. Although you cannot cheat death forever, this is the beauty of our story. Death is valued just as much as life.

As such as we are in the High Priest ‘office’ it is not accidental we see the Tree of Life (See my Tree of Life Meta *Here*). The designs are Celtic around the mirroring tree of Life in what we can assume is in Life and Death is as vibrant and ‘alive’ in both sides.

1) triskelion: meaning the three legs, is an ancient pre-celtic symbol that can be traced to the bronze era. It symbolises the holy trinity in Christianism but also the inner and outer world of spirits. As you can tell it holds a variety of meanings and even if it is just there, picked in random from the WB prop house we should note that it also symbolises the trinity of life, death and rebirth as well as the trinity of the transition of womanhood. The Triple Goddess: maiden, mother and the (older?) wise woman.

For this meta we will take the trinity of life, death and rebirth as well as elevate it to the transition of our lead characters. Chloe as a young woman, a mother and now a ‘wise’ older and more mature woman. Lucifer as the young rebel, a struggling with maturity and responsibility man and what he may become by the end of S5 without shedding any of his prior roles and identities. Only this time his identities no longer ‘stain’ him.

2) Knotted symbol - Eternal knot: We see them in many cultures and religions in Buddhism they represent birth, death and rebirth. In the inside we see Solmon’s Knot a symbol of immortality and eternity but some also parallel it to Lover’s Knot (See True Lover’s Knot), an ancient symbol of commitment and love. From this keep the eternal part of the symbolism which is often depicted in jewish cemeteries.

3) Celtic Cross: They are said to be based on some cases to the Egyptian Ankh (See Coptic Crosses), some also allege the design in the combination of the Christian cross and the pagan sun disk.

4) The Celtic Tree of Life: For this I take what is written in this site

The tree represents rebirth. Trees were said to guard the land and acted as a doorway into the spirit world.

The Tree of Life connects the lower and upper worlds as its roots grow far down while its branches reach high. The tree trunk connects both of these worlds to the Earth’s plane. It was with this connection of worlds, that it was said that people are able communicate with the gods in the heavens using the Tree of Life.

Tree of Life knots symbolize the branches and roots of a tree which are woven together with no end to show how the cycle of life is continuous.

Through the second part of the episode I was always looking at Lucifer’s tie. I might be wrong but it reminded me a lot of gears, with a heart and clocks on it. Essentially the clock is ticking... in more ways that one as well as for Lilith but give me some more lines before I return to this meta point.

As Lucifer asks how humans believe her ring makes her immortal she ends her story with the line:

“I survive, and... somebody writes it on a stone tablet. You know how these things start.”

For me that was always a direct reference to the Favourite Son deal we had with the book in episode 2x17. As Lucifer said in 2x18 when Chloe asked whether his Dad said that Amenadiel was His favourite, Lucifer replies:

In so many Sumerian words.

Later on in S3 (3x14) Lucifer tells to Cain that Amenadiel is the favourite when he asks him as:

But the quick version: a book said it, so it must be true.

To be honest this re-occurring mentioning makes me hold to my belief that something was translated wrong there...

As the 5x04 sceheme to get the ring back is underway Lilith looks at Jack & Shirley’s interaction which is interesting not because it’s when Lilith starts to perhaps thinking of retiring her immortality but because a very special question comes to mind.

Michael knew the ring’s story. He claimed that he was the one who manipulated Lucifer into having his vacation, but his vacation just ‘happened’ to be at the same time Chloe was on Earth?

Here is a speculative meta.

Lilith asks Lucifer if he ever connected with anyone emotionally to which he replies:

Absolutely not. It would take a literal miracle for me to want something like that, and I'm fairly certain my father's not handing those out anymore.

It makes you wonder whether Michael was around listening, planning carefully his next moves. That that’s how he knew the ring’s story, or how he may have plotted Chloe’s miraculous birth by manipulating God.

At this point everything is possible but we should never forget that God at that point is still powerful and omniscience so Michael might be only alf of the explanation why Chloe is on Earth as a key for Michael to take down his brother and materialise his other plans. The other half is only known by God but will he be willing to share in P2 or even in S6 if he appears there?

Lesley-Ann as Lilith starts to sing ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ a song written over the songwritter’s (Ira Gershwin) wedding anniversary, a true love song on many levels written in 1926 and featured in the Brodway Musical ‘Hey, Kay!’.

The musical’s plot is about an engaged womaniser falls in love with Kay and the song after lots of thought was placed to reveal to the audience of Kay’s realising that she is in love with the male lead, womaniser Jimmy.

We will never perhaps know if by imminence to Lilith’s first song lyrics, Lilith to a point was in love with Lucifer and held on to hope until she surrendered everything for a normal life not wanting to wait for the impossible. Of course that’s just one interpretation not a hard conviction of mine.

An analysis of the song writes:

When first composing this piece, the Gershwin brothers tried to capture the feeling of safety (and love) that everybody longs to have. The addition of the doll (a doll was added as the listener of the song in the rehearsals and stayed in the show) only enhanced the childlike, vulnerable side of the song that was being hinted at in lyrics such as, “I’m a little lamb who’s lost in the woods.”

Although many artists sing this like a love song, its first performance, directed at a doll, gave the piece an aura of safety not usually present in romantic songs.

Perhaps that safety should be also attributed here. Lilith still has her safety still holding on to her immortality knowing though that she will surrender it. Lucifer is unaware he one day will surrender his willingly because he fell in love.

In the end they both carry the vulnerability of needing someone to understand and love them. No matter how cynical we find both Lilith and Lucifer with his brutal Caligula orgy comments, they both crave about someone. Both have lost hope to their Shepard aka God/Dad.

Perhaps I’m wrong on my first impression with Lilith and her affection towards Lucifer. Perhaps they both are the prodigal children, lost in the woods wishing for someone to finally take care of them but no longer hoping for one, until Lilith takes the leap. Lucifer will need almost 80 more years and Chloe Decker to let someone take care of him.

Perhaps that’s why they do a duet on the lyrics:

Someone who'll watch over me

I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood I know I could, always be good To one who'll watch over me

And the case is back to move the episode forward and enter the present Lucifer Trixie interlude and ‘Forget it Trix. It’s Chinatown!’

That line was the most obvious one as it comes from the more recent noir movie with Bogart and Chinatown (1974). In the movie aside from the mystery plot Evelyn - the mother eventually dies, the twist is that of an abuse which led to her daughter/sister’s birth and although that does not fit our serie’s plot the death of the main lady might. All a speculation so do not be dishearten remember all the above and this is not an S&S it’s a meta :P

After all Lucifer’s line goes back to the complex dealings in Chinatown and how understanding something fully is not always feasible.

Interesting is also how Lucifer shots, albeit the foot not the leg, of willy to prove Willy is not immortal. Like Chloe did to him in 1x04 and to Michael in 5x02. Jewelry is not going to save anyone. Big words but you know me. I believe in other provisions or actions even if they include the ring.

We all die, Lily. And that's okay. Truth is... I'd rather die today trying to save the man I love... than live forever without him.

The past, the present and perhaps the future?

The case is resolved and Jack follows Shirley to Des Moines (Capital of Iowa). That’s an inner joke as Joe Henderson is from Iowa and graduated from the University of Iowa.

Before Jack follows her remember that Shirley had asked more from him when he told her to be careful. A bit like Chloe in the evidence room in 5x08. If some have watched unconditional love then you might remember the scene where Kathy Bates tells to her husband played by Dan Aykroyd that him telling her ‘I love you was never a condition but at that point it now was. Similar to what we saw Chloe asking from Lucifer. A foreshadowing perhaps that eventually Lucifer will follow Chloe.

Now two things. Lucifer in episode 504 prepares their game night. He is now comfortable and even enjoying their game nights, he find himself right where he wants to be without being fearful of being dull. He is a shoe and that’s fine.

When Trixie asks Lucifer whether Jack and Shirley had a happy ending he tells her probably not as they moved to Des Moines meaning it was a boring move between New York and Iowa in general. Iowa and Des Moines have been used several times in jokes by the way due to Henderson.

Now back to Lucifer, at that point he does not see that sometimes sacrifices that lead to ‘boring’ lives are the best outcome and happiness is not equal to excitement but he is a slowly maturing Devil...

That part can help us to analyse the end of the story from 1946.

Lucifer says: Once you do this, there's no going back.

This implies that whether you surrender your immortality or gain it -for the second I’m quite doubtful it can be done on the same terms - it is forever. No going back.

Lilith’s next words reveal a broken woman who gets her Hail Mary and hopes for the best. As a parent she offered her children the best place to never realise they are lacking but Lucifer by bringing Maze to earth undid that as Maze slowly reaches her potential, learning there is a different way. God’s words echo since 3x26.

So was Lucifer a kindergarten guardian for Lilith? In a way yes but Lucifer in 5x04 understood Lilith’s logic. In their distorted image of how you can break an individual, the Lilims seemed safe from Lucifer’s and Lilith’s fates. Cast out, punished, unloved, lonely and in an unspoken despair to connect but too afraid to try again until Lilith tried again. The end of 504 showed she didn’t succeed o find what she was looking for. We have no way of knowing if we will see her again in P2 but it’s probable.

Lilith kisses Lucifer goodbye, making me once again wonder if a part of her did had feelings for him and wishes him back to enjoy the rest of his life as if somehow she knew, although she couldn’t.

The story ends here and perhaps the clock starts ticking for Lucifer through Michael. Perhaps the planning started with Penelope and John that were meant to be born, get married but not have children and then Chloe came along. But that’s just a theory...

And before the screen fades to dark, Lilith walks away with Lucifer standing in the middle of the street and we listen to ‘This Is Ours’ by Peter Sivo’s Band (1946-1961).

This is Ours lyrics are the words of a man which mystify me. For me it is a song that gives us a couple together after a very long time that reconnects. It was a meant to be couple but the past had to happen. He had to get married, for both of them to live apart their own lives until one day they get back together and now they can be together. There is no sadness, there is relief, contentment.

Several say that How I Met Your Mother had an awful ending. If you have not watched it and want to please stop here but know that I believe that the ending was just right.

In How I Met Your Mother, the lead (father) marries the mother of his children but it is revealed that she eventually dies and some years later he starts telling them a story that lasts ten years as all aspects of it in his belief is about how he met their mother. His daughter interrupts him saying that no it’s about how he met the woman he wants to be together now. They all know that the Mother was loved and was the One but in this life there is more, there are second chances because life happens and it’s not a bad thing and the time in between is as joyful as the future despite of the tragedies in between.

So a part of me wonders if Deckerstar will go a bit through that to a point.

Forget the past, for this is ours...

The thing is that a bittersweet ending gives as a possibility and then we are left wondering past that.

Trixie: I bet Jack and Shirley talked the whole bus ride and fixed everything. Lucifer: Yes. Yes, perhaps they did.

After all they did move to Des Moines... After that we can only guess.

#lucifer meta #lucifer season 5 #lucifer s5p1 #lucifer speculation

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leverage-commentary · 5 years ago

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Leverage Season 2, Episode 2, The Tap-Out Job, Audio Commentary Transcript

Marc: Hi, I’m Marc Roskin, Director and Producer on Leverage.

John: Hi, I’m John Rodgers, Executive Producer and Writer on Leverage. Hold on, let me open my beer. Albert.

Albert: I’m Albert Kim, I'm the writer of this episode of Leverage.

John: I'm gonna jump straight to Marc Roskin, because we are jumping straight into the action here. Marc, this is a gym, or looks like a gym, starts with a fight scene. How hard was it to find this space, and what did you do to make it shootable?

Marc: We had a handful of gyms to choose from, but what we liked about this was the elevated ring. We were able to center it in the middle of the ring and it had a good work space and of course, as you know, Dave Connell likes a lot of windows.

John: Yeah. So you're bouncing light in through those outside windows, then.

Marc: Yes. Even when we’re playing these scenes at night, we were still streaming lights in through the blinds. And as you can see, we have vertical blinds all over. We put those up as well. It just had a- also a good, central location for us to shoot in other areas as well.

John: Cool. Now this is the most involved fight shooting we did the entire year. How did you prep for it?

Marc: Well, the gentleman- the bald gentleman on the right, is Matt Lindland, who is a high school champion wrestler, college wrestler, Olympic silver medalist, and a real mixed martial arts fighter who fought in the UFC. So when we were looking to cast someone, we wanted to cast someone who knew the sport, who knew the ability, and because later on as you see our Eliot character in the ring, we wanted someone who could be safe with Christian. Because, since Christian does all his fights, we wanted someone who wasn't gonna try and show off for the camera and end up hurting one of our stars.

John: Not that Christian doesn't get hurt on a fairly regular basis anyway, but yeah, it was a nice try. And this was a really fast start. This is- you know, we bang right into the villain, we bang right into the victim. Our- this, however, was not our usual episode. Why don’t you tell us how this got started?

Albert: Well this was our- this was essentially our fight episode, our boxing episode, and except we wanted to update it, so we set it in the world of mixed martial arts.

John: To explain to people who don't know con shows, there are certain prototype con shows and movies-

Albert: That’s right.

John: The boxing con is a big one. And so we’re constantly looking at these older cons to update them and so we landed on alternate fighting. So what sort of research did you do?

Albert: That's the first thing I did. My background is in sports journalism, and so my first instinct was to start doing a lot of research. So I read a couple of books, I interviewed fighters, I interviewed promoters and managers, I spent some days in the gym.

John: You went to a gym here in LA, right?

Albert: Yeah I went to the Legends gym here in LA and spent a couple afternoons there, and talked to a lot of the fighters there. And one of the first things I learned was that, if people know the sport at all, they know the UFC and Las Vegas and things you see in pay per view, which is kind of the upper tier of the sport, but I learned that there's also this huge grassroots level of the sport, where they’re fighting in small towns all through the Midwest and everyone is out there trying it to make it to the big time. I knew right then that that's where we had to set the story somewhere, because it’s a wilder and wollier world with less regulation and more people are being taken advantage of.

John: What sort of money they fighting for at that level?

Albert: They're fighting for- if they're lucky, they're fighting for maybe two or three thousand dollars; more like 500 dollars a gig sometimes. Sometimes they work as bouncers at a club and then after they're done with their shift, they're allowed to come in and fight. It's literally a step above amateur night.

John: And this is a really nice sequence, by the way, the spin around to reveal Nate. Was it really raining? Did you get lucky or-?

Marc: No this was- I wanted to have at least one night scene in the episode.

[Laughter]

Marc: Dean gets lots of those.

John: Dean gets the- Dean cake; we've explained the Dean cake.

Marc: This was my night episode and I thought, ‘well maybe we'll have it rain, just to have some sort of effects.’ The previous shot was a stock shot and then that one I just thought it would give a nice night look to the scene.

John: And this also takes us out of our comfort zone. Albert why- what was- yeah, we’re in- where are we, Nebraska?

Albert: Nebraska.

John: We originally didn't set it in Nebraska.

Albert: It was originally set in Iowa, except Portland doesn't look a lot like corn fields and stuff, so we moved it to a slightly- we moved it to Nebraska. It's not a huge difference.

John: It's a little more mild, a little more hilly.

Albert: A little more, yeah. It's also realistic because a lot of- both Iowa and Nebraska and a lot of the midwestern states, they're really big into the wrestling tradition and that's where a lot of the MMA fighters are coming from today. And we make a point of in the episode, that the- that's where the grassroots talent is. So- and the other thing about this episode is, you know, knowing that it was gonna be set in the world of fighting, we knew it was gonna be very Eliot centric.

John: Yeah.

Albert: So this is definitely gonna be an Eliot character episode, and I remember one of the first things I talked to you about when I started working on this was, we talked about the Eliot character, and one thing I remember you saying was that Eliot is really good at the violence, but he doesn't necessarily like it.

John: No, no, the violence- Eliot Spencer is a- considers himself a negotiator, and occasionally negotiations need to be resolved with short, sharp bursts of violence. He's not a hitter- he's not a hitter by nature; he's a hitter by choice, by job.

Albert: And that immediately suggested to me this whole theme of, sort of, self control and this had to do with episode, has to do with him being able to control the violent impulses he has, as well as, you know, externally in this story, and the bad guy is someone who sort of exerts control over all these guys.

John: I would like to say, by the way, this is the perfect locked off comedy frame. The whole idea of Nate sitting there quietly; he's not even going to dignify what the kids are doing behind him at this moment, he's busy thinking. Also a lot of interesting fan mail about being trapped in Beth’s thigh grip; really, don't ever email us about that again. But this was a ton of fun. What was it like shooting this?

Marc: It was a lot of fun, but it was also helpful to explain some of the fight scenes. And, you know, to have Matt Lindland teach Beth Riesgraf how to put Christian Kane- or to put Hardison in a triangle choke hold, was very fun. And Albert and I had the experience of having Matt put us in that hold as well.

Albert: Oh man.

Marc: And I swear to god, he must have just given me five percent of the pressure in a fight; I had a headache the rest of the day.

Albert: Oh my gosh, it was unbelievable. But Beth picked it up really fast; that was scary.

John: She's got good physical- she's got good physical memory, actually, she picked up the pickpocketing really fast.

Albert: I love this shot.

John: This is a great shot now; this is the classic golf con; this is very Rockford. This is the classic Rockford, is that Jim Garner would show up as Jimmy Joe Meeker or somebody else at your celebrity play- like your bad guys place, piss him off, and then ingratiate himself and force him to seek him out for vengeance. It's a great roping technique, actually, rather than looking like your seeking him out - force him to seek you out. Now where is this?

Marc: This is at one of the golf courses outside of Portland, the Oregon Country Club. And they just opened the doors to us and we had a really good time shooting this. And fortunately for us, Brian Goodman is, I would say, almost like a scratch golfer.

Albert: Yeah, he's single handicap.

Marc: He had a really good time doing this.

John: And Brian is the main villain.

Marc: He's our main villain.

John: He’s Jed Rucker. And now, is he from LA or from Portland?

Albert: Yeah, LA.

Marc: No he- he came from LA, but he's a Boston guy; he had a really real, rough Boston upbringing.

Albert: Oh yeah, Boston.

John: Oh that's right, yeah, he came up in like the- he came up in the less than lawful element, if I remember it correctly.

Marc: Yes he did, and he's put that energy into acting and I think he handles it very well.

Albert: But he also brought a lot of grittiness to the role which was really nice.

John: Well he's one of the few physically menacing bad guys we have. Usually the bad guy has what we call the Busey, which is your sidekick meant to inflict pain or do your dirty work. While he really looks like he would be the dude driving you to the crossroads of a shallow grave.

Albert: Definitely.

John: Now it- was it raining? I mean were shooting in Portland, so...

Marc: Not at this sequence; when we get to later parts of the con, we did have some rain.

Albert: But pretty soon after we shot this it started pouring, and because- it was cold there. It was really cold out in the morning, I remember that.

John: I love the fact that Hardison, in theory, has a way to put nanites in a golf ball, just in his luggage. Or he knows hackers in Nebraska that he can get that from. You know the Omaha hacking scene, it's really, really vibrant. Good lift. Beth, as always, doing her own lifts, and this is- this is one of our few big montage sequences.

Marc: Yes.

John: Usually they are very self contained; one, two, three beats.

Marc: No, we actually went out and shot a round of golf and were able to- and Tim, who has never really played before, picked it up really quickly and developed a really good swing, and we were actually using a lot of his shots in the actual montage.

John: Now that’s cool.

Albert: Well what's funny is that he’s you can tell he's an actor, because all of his best shots came when the camera was on. Turn the camera off and he couldn't hit the ball for his- to save his life, but then once the camera was rolling, right down the middle; he would strike it.

Marc: And Brian was nervous that we were gonna ruin his swing cause we kept telling him to shank things, cause the ball was supposed to go off.

John: Yeah once you learn, you're done. And this is where- yeah this is the beginning of the montage. Now I’m gonna jump ahead cause the montage will give us enough time to do so. When you were talking about- when you were breaking this episode as a director, you knew you were gonna do that gym. Did you reference look at any specific reference materials? Did you look at any fights? Did you look at mostly MMA footage? Or what'd you- what was your homework there?

Marc: I looked at MMA footage and I also looked at some of those fights that Albert was talking about - the grassroots fights. I- you know, I'm a fan of this sport so I have been following it, and I was looking up footage, and looking up rings, and looking at the magazines as well, and just trying to study up on it as best as I could.

Albert: And you had also done all that research previously for a feature project, right? So you had all that information as well, which helped.

Marc: Yeah, so I'd been to the UFC matches; I've been, you know, to the gyms; I've been to some of the smaller venues as well.

John: I love the choice Beth always does in these scenes, is to put on a very sort of frowning concentration? Like Parker finds human tradition fascinating. Tim sank this right?

Marc: Yes he did.

Albert: Yeah.

Marc: We kept telling him to- ‘don't worry, we'll put it in CG.’ He said, ‘no I'm gonna get it, I’m gonna get it’ and he did.

John: And that is the- I don't know what number hat that is for this season; that is a really obnoxious hat, that's nicely done. Tim- I forget where it started, probably last year Bank Shot? Where we put the cowboy hat on? It just started, the shorthand for Tim’s character, which is now which hat he's wearing. Because in it- really in this one, he really is in that tradition - that Rockford tradition that we hit again in the Lost Heir Job, and that sort of big city/city slicker, just kind of weasel, that just gets under this dude’s skin.

Albert: Well this is one of the episodes where we actually take the action out of the Boston area, or wherever our team’s headquarters is, and we went- we traveled to the midwest. So part of the idea is to take our team out of their comfort zone, so they don't exactly- so they're a little uncomfortable being out of their element, and then it actually comes to play in this story. They don't exactly- they are eventually subverted because they can't really figure out the relationships in this community.

John: Well they're- well they can't cover everything, you know. And that's a big- that was a big challenge in season two, is the fact that by the end of season one, these guys had done a lot of really amazing stuff. And how do you continue to throw obstacles in their way? And so a lot of the first half of season two was: ‘okay, let's take them out of Boston; okay, let’s constrain them in time and space; alright, let's give one of them an emotional interest that derails them’. And this is really a perfect example. This episode’s one of my favorite examples from making one season to making five. Is figuring out how to take the characters out of their comfort zone in an interesting way that's still- that still tells a character story, a really good Eliot story.

Albert: Now what’s interesting in this is also that a lot of the fighters were real MMA guys that Matt actually- Lindland has a gym in Portland.

John: Oh cool.

Albert: So he brought a lot of these guys from his gym and they were background, later on they'll be in some of the fight scenes. So that was really helpful for the reality of the of the look as well.

John: Yeah, that’s Chris showing off the fact that- I forget when we told him, but we were like, ‘you got an MMA episode.’ He was like, ‘oh I gotta go train.’ He couldn't- we couldn't find him for two months.

Marc: And he thought it was gonna be in episode six or- no it’s now episode three; he's like ‘oh no!’

John: Yeah and this now- this sort of- What'd you call this? It’s kind of a gauntlet.

Marc: Yeah this is what he calls it, and this is what something I wanted to just try and do with one shot and keep everything pushing in on him, pushing in on Christian. The cars converging, everybody just converging. Just to show how outnumbered he is.

John: And it's a good cliffhanger. And yeah, Eliot's about to fight. And now the promised fight.

Marc: Exactly.

John: You know, we have made a bargain with the audience and now we're delivering unto them.

Albert: So all these guys were real fighters.

John: No stunties? Or most of them fighters?

Albert: No, they were local fighters; all local guys.

Marc: These were all local fighters.

John: That's tough, because getting fighters to throw stunt punches is tough.

Marc: Yes. And the last guy you see him fight was someone from the ultimate fighters, this guy Ed Herman. Who unfortunately lost his last fight at the UFC cause his knee went out, but he was really great to work with and train with.

John: Yeah. There's a nice cornered- cornered dog moment here where you are fairly sure Eliot will choke this dude out if he needs to. Now why don't you explain- I just said that fairly cryptically as if everyone would know. Why is it difficult to get real fighters to look good on camera?

Marc: They did- a lot of times- they just don’t- they don’t how to sell it for television, or for film. It's just- it's really about camera trickery, and where it should be, and sometimes some of these guys, they punch too fast, or too quick, and they think it's real, but it doesn't register enough; so you're always trying to tell them- I mean, I'm even telling Christian this a lot of times, dude, take 10% off so I can really see it.

John: Yeah. That’s a lot of the thing is, you know, since he does all his own stunts, it becomes a sort of a matter of pride between him and the stunt man to move as quick and fast and hard as they can. And, you know, we do have to photograph this stuff.

Marc: Well I mean, the beauty of having Christian do his own stunts is you never have to hide a stunt person when it’s Christian and-

John: You just move the camera how you want.

Marc: And he's a very fast learner. He really learns a routine quickly; he helps choreograph them, and you never- you can always tag Christians face and that's what this is about, so it's great to have the ability to keep Christian in. This is one of my favorite shots - we craned through the actual ring all the way to Rucker and Eliot.

John: You got a crane?

Marc: We had- yeah.

John: Wow, that's really nice. Now I'm gonna ask the- the controversial chicken fried steak scene was just up. We were really trying- it's interesting, we were really trying to show that Sophie was out of place, and a lot of people took it as we were making fun of food in that part of the country. And it's just interesting that as writers, you forget that the protagonist is assumed to be speaking the truth at all times in the audience members mind. When, a lot of times, for us, they're characters that we move around the chessboard; we have no problem making the characters be jerks, or selfish, or small minded.

Albert: It was in no way meant to put down the quality of cuisine in Nebraska, in Omaha, in Lincoln.

[Laughter]

John: Really, stop your angry angry tweets and emails.

Albert: Please stop the emails.

John: The chicken fried steak in the FedEx box, stop it.

Albert: I'd like it, for the record, I've actually been to Nebraska many times for my past jobs, and I’ve had wonderful meals there, including some very good chicken fried steak.

John: There you go. This- it's interesting here, Eliot, when we were writing Eliot playing the cons, he tends to- and this is a lot of Christian’s acting choice, he tends to play the character very power negative. You know, it’s a subtle thing, but he's actually the second best- Eliot is the second best after Sophie on the cons. Parker isn't comfortable enough with people, Hardison always goes over the top, and Nate is too distracted, and to a great degree, particularly in this season, really is working through his addiction to vengeance and control. And it's interesting, you know, we write these things, and the actors always put a little spin on it, but that's the spin Chris tends to put in it. Sort of hard done by jamoke.

Marc: Well what I loved about this sequence, is we just saw him kick some serious ass on a bunch of guys in a parking lot. Now he's in the lion's den, he's showing this vulnerability; it really just felt so honest and sincere.

John: He's in over his head.

Marc: Yeah.

John: He's just a guy who’s really good at fighting. And you had that great line later in the script ‘you fight like something’s trying to get out of you’. You know, that's really the dynamic of the- this episode is ‘what is Eliot's relation to violence’? You know, where you can’t be a totally sane human being to be able to inflict that amount of pain on a regular basis. But he's someone who’s very controlled.

Albert: Yeah. It was great trying to dive into Eliot's character ‘cause it's something I haven't done before on this show, and plus the person that he ends up- who plays his foil, really, is Sophie. Because she ends up becoming the natural, I don't want to say mother hen figure, but she's the one who has the serious concern for what he's going through. So they end up having some very nice moments later on.

John: Because of her discomfort with violence.

Albert: Yes. She’s- that’s the diametric opposite of how she works. She's very physically disengaged whenever she runs her cons; it's all about the artifice and the person, the personality that she's putting on. And his job for the most part is physical. And it's sort of the cross between those two worlds which makes the interaction interesting.

John: It's also a nice speech about exploitation for the guys just running these guys out on cash.

Albert: That evil speech of evil.

John: It's our evil speech of evil for this episode. Do you know that phrase?

Marc: No.

John: The evil speech of evil is- we finally came up with a name for it in the writers room. It is the speech, every episode, the villain gives to justify his world view. Wherein this world view, he's not the bad guy, cause nobody is the bad guy in their own mind. He's just gonna explain why he does what he does. And, you know, but however, as normal sane humans, we look at that and go ‘oh my god that's evil’! And it really came about because we were researching all the Madoff variations early in the season and we were reading all these justifications by these guys who ripped off 50 million to 100 million dollars and in their heads, they weren't the bad guys.

Marc: Right.

John: You know? This is also great; Parker, while Sophie cannot get into the whole Omaha scene, Parker loves it. The -

Albert: She’s got the Nebraska cap on, got the cuisine.

John: Did that start as a wardrobe thing or-? Cause I was on the set for this one.

Albert: No, I put that in the script, and we had to clear various Nebraska logos and caps and stuff like that. But that was a fun little thing just to put in the background, sort of a grace note, with Parker’s character. This is the first Eliot/Sophie interaction where we start to see what Eliot is thinking and what Sophie’s concerns are and they were great in this scene.

Marc: Really great.

John: Yeah. This is- I remember watching the dailies on this, and even the dailies, the untreated dailies, you know, we kept flipping back and forth looking at the performances. Cause these are not characters that really rubbed up against each other in the first season a lot, and they really wound up being, kind of, the anchor pair for the first half of the season.

Albert: That's right.

John: And then, sort of, you know, there was a really interesting evolution on the Eliot/Parker relationship in the second half of the season; the sort of big brother thing really kicked in there. And the brother/sister teasing really said a lot.

Albert: The other thing Gina does great here in this scene in particular, you know, I wrote the character as a sort of LA agent, very type A personality without any real specifics in terms of how to approach it as a character. And she just nailed this accent. I think it's one of the best accents she's ever done, and it sounded so natural. Like, I swear I’ve met this person before.

John: It's so hard with Gina's accents because she studies them so meticulously. We always get one of two reactions. The people who aren't from there going, ‘That feels a little over the top’. And the people that are from there going, ‘Oh my God, that's perfect’. You know, because she- what was the name of our accent person? Our dialect coach - Mary...

Albert: Mary Mack.

John: Mary Mack. Up in Portland. So we have- we have found someone in Portland, Mary Mack, was actually the voice of Wonder Woman on Super Friends.

Albert: That's right.

Marc: That's right.

John: And she does a lot of dialect work, and she happens to live in Portland, so we had a full time Portland person out there who really made life a lot easier. And Gina insists on meticulous.

Albert: Yes.

John: It was also, now we’re getting into the nuts and bolts of how you actually make money in here with the cable bill, so I know you researched the hell out of this so-

Albert: Yeah, you know, the big money in any of these martial combat sports comes from the television contracts. And the UFC, in particular, has taken advantage of the pay per view deals they have. And it's- when they started looking at numbers, it's gigantic; they make so much money off the pay per view deals, they really don't need steady cable contracts or television contracts. So that suggested to me to build a con out of that, because in any of these cons, what you're trying to do is prey upon the greed of the bad guy.

John: The bad guy- the rule we always have is, the bad guy’s undone by his own sin.

Albert: Exactly. You can't con an honest person, that's how the saying goes. So what- the basic idea of the con is to dangle the promise of huge money in front of the bad guy and let him go after it, which is basically what we're doing here.

John: Sorry we’re totally distracted by the tracksuit here.

Albert: By the Velour tracksuit.

John: I love also- I never caught the first time around when Hardison ‘white people doing white people things’ the events they've got on the-

Marc: Drunken tractor pulls.

John: Which, by the way, there was a lot of that stuff when I worked the midwest. But it's interesting about the name Triana for the teen bopper act that we wind up hijacking the concert- we steal a concert. We tried eight names.

Albert: At least.

John: We tried the most ridiculous- maybe we tried a dozen of the most ridiculous one word names we could come up with for teen acts - they were all taken; every single ridiculous name was being used by some Disney girl. So we wound up using the first name of a character in the cartoon the Venture Brothers assuming there's no possible way anyone could be using this. And now this includes- this was great. How- do we start with we’re gonna steal the truck or we look at how they were shot and then steal the truck?

Marc: Steal the concert.

Albert: Steal a concert. And again, for this I did a fair amount of research I went to one of these production trucks here in LA at Staple Center and spent an evening watching them as they produced a Lakers game, and then just picked up the way the things moved there, the dialogue, and what was going on. And I learned- and this is all true to life, that the director and the producer of these telecasts often fly in from out of town and never meet the crew, the crews are all local. So as we do in this story, you can easily bring in two people that the crew has never met and they would just listen to every word, which is how we-

John: And it's another great thing where the research just gives us- a lot of times we have these giant mountains of crime in front of us, and the research gives us this much easier version. That, you know, any- it's amazing what you can get away with in America with a clipboard and a nametag.

Albert: Yes.

John: Yes. This is another thing, by the way, whenever we burn someone who is not central to the con, we have to take at least 30 seconds to establish they're an asshole. We, a lot of times, run into trouble when writing episodes where like, we need to con this person, but they're kind of an innocent bystander, so there's always a dial of how mean we can be, but this guy’s from LA and America hates people from LA, so...

Marc: Yes, and he's yelling at the limo driver.

John: We actually at one point had him- to really scunge him up, have him asking for the local prostitutes, but luckily we didn't really need that. Corn dog. My god, does she actually eat that?

Albert: She did, and this was probably like seven in the morning; it was the first thing she was eating in the morning.

Marc: But notice how she tosses it. That was a choice Beth made.

John: Yeah.

Marc: There it goes.

John: Just, yeah, again, this is the sort of thing that I really notice during the commentaries. Beth really dials in when Parker knows she has to act like a human being and not act like a human being when nobody's looking at her. And we actually had a Parker flashback - her first concert - which we wound up cutting where-

Albert: We didn't use.

John: Which we didn't use, but it ties into another episode. But we can tell you really quickly, everyone was talking about a first concert, and everyone had a really different band they’d gone to. And Parker- the flashback was 12 year old Parker, everyone raised their hands up with the lighters and she picked the pockets as they went through. We didn't use the sequence, but the actress wound up in the Top Hat Job, and that's the little girl we buried alive.

Marc: Yes.

John: And by buried alive, I mean we just pretended we buried her alive.

Marc: Yeah I felt like I broke her little heart, she was all ready and we decided to cut it, but she got to come back.

Albert: Yeah. This is a real truck, we rented a real production truck and those guys-

John: Was it easy to rent and build?

Albert: Yeah.

Marc: Oh yeah.

Albert: And those guys in the background are- actually work in the truck, so they were familiar with all the equipment and they were in the middle of, I think this was around the NBA playoffs time, they were on their way from here to go cover a real game.

Marc: Yeah, not a lot of room to work in these trucks, for filming.

John: What was the shoot- now that’s the great thing about the RED, though. We couldn't have shot this with the genesis that things like an engine block

Marc: We were able to just put on shorter lenses; some of the pieces do move. But you can tell just some of the blocking I had to do was a little static - besides doing steadicam to bring them in and out - but I think we got plenty of coverage that really tells the story. And it was great to just have all those monitors just come to life to keep it busy.

John: Well it's real depth- it’s real depth on the set; it makes it feel real. There's actually- the first director I ever worked with told me the most important thing to do is to make sure something's going on behind the actors. That's where everyone fails - if you're making your first little indie, be aware of that. That's where everyone fails, is you forget to put action behind your actors. And where were we on this? We were outside-

Marc: We- this is one of the other reasons we chose the gym that we worked in. This was just a few walking blocks from the gym. This was a high school that had shut down and we are using their parking lot.

John: Well that's good. The children of Portland don’t need an education - we have important filming to be doing. We just actually also, that's where Gina gives a parallel version of the evil speech of evil. About how the cable companies, or the sort of teen singer industry, is exactly like fighting; it's the girl version.

Albert: Her character views the singers as products, they're not people, just the way that our bad guy sees the fighters as products.

Marc: And there's the ladder cross; you have to have the ladder cross.

John: Is there a ladder cross?

Marc: Yeah there's a ladder cross.

John: Nicely done. Did you- you had werewolves in one, didn’t you?

Marc: Yes we did.

John: You always got interesting stuff going on in the background. Where are we here? Oh, this is where they find out they can’t hack a hick. I'm trying to remember how we wound up with that being the problem.

Albert: Now this is the complication. This is before- this is when, basically, you realize, yeah, you can't hack a hick. It's nothing that they- that our team could plan for; there's nothing on the computer networks that could do, nothing they could cut off, because it's basically the bad guys henchmen calling his cousin Jimmy and finding out these people are not who they say they are.

John: They tried to get into a network that's not- that- the data is not maintained by computers, it's maintained by people. That's actually a big challenge on the show, is that when you have a complication on a show, a lot of tv shows just have it be the characters have screwed up in some way, or just some random bad thing happens. The rule we try to maintain is either they succeed too well, or there's something specific about the setting that screws them up. You know, it drives me crazy when some sort of blind anvil falls out of the sky in the middle of a show. Or in particular the characters have been dumb and failed in that way. There's an expression in television called the idiot ball, where a character will carry the idiot ball and will act- just act stupidly in order to advance the plot.

Marc: Right.

John: You know the thing here is, we have five very smart characters. This is a creepy threatening moment particularly because Gina's pregnant here. That's if you actually know that, the look of Matt about to beat the hell out of Gina is very nasty. And also you get a really scary vibe off of Goodman there.

Albert: He's a very menacing character. Going back to the other thing here you're saying, is thematically the other thing at work in the story is the idea of family, so the twisted version of family, which is where our bad guy calls his cousin Jimmy and that's what undoes their team. On the flip side, you have the father and son who are fighting for their livelihood who are the victims. And in the end what brings- what actually allows our team to complete the con is the fact that they call on one of the members of the family.

John: Yeah.

Albert: So it's all about good family/bad family and how those relationships wind through the story and this particular community.

John: You're making it sound like we do a lot of work in the writers room.

Albert: Sometimes we actually do some work on these things.

John: Not often. A lot of times it just starts with a setting. And yeah, this is where they decide to do the bluff. And this is interesting - this is another thing we decided to address this year, which is our guys swan in, they change people’s lives, they jet off. And this is one of the times we really wanted to talk about the fact that in this situation, once they’re blown, there are repercussions.

Marc: There could be repercussions. Yeah.

John: You know they're- they live ruthless lives, and a lot of this year, is about them learning the limitations of their lives. Of how the world view it’s given them. How they relate to people. They don't always understand how other people behave.

Marc: Right.

John: For example, Eliot in Order 23, Eliot just wants to beat the hell out of this abusive dad in that episode, and he just realizes it's not gonna work

Albert: Once he leaves there- he's back to his old tricks.

John: Yeah exactly, and the same thing here once they leave- you can’t stay there forever.

Albert: Right. Well Rucker, the villain here, is actually very smart. When he finds out the truth, he doesn't threaten their team; he knows that he'll never get away with that. He threatens the victims. And he knows that that's what he has control over; that they live in his world.

John: He's one of the best villains.

Albert: He was a fun one.

John: Particularly just because you really felt there’s this series of escalating moves and counter moves. The Jury Job last year was good for that - the idea that our team makes a move, the other person makes a move not always knowing, but it's a logical counter move to whatever occured. He's actually, probably one of the smarter bad guys we've had. And this is the- our traditional roundy round.

Marc: This is our roundy round.

Albert: This is the converse shot right.

Marc: Yes, towards the end of the walkaway, but this is where the plot’s taken a turn for our team.

John: Now actually, why don’t you just describe the visual? Because if you watch the episodes on a regular basis, you'll see certain techniques used at certain times.

Marc: This is one of our moves where the tables have turned and we now have to change our plan. And at that point, I changed direction because Eliot brought up the point ‘no, I’m gonna fight,’ and it changed again. So then I changed direction and, you know, it's a timing thing, and it looks like you're doing it all in one, but there are many pieces and you just have to keep score of who gets what line and when. So you really have to trust your script supervisor.

John: And also in the writers room, we try to make a point of figuring out, like, now we've done it enough times, we know how many lines each person can have, and you’ll actually see dialogue in a lot of the episodes skip one to one one to one to one cause we know we’re gonna hang the director otherwise. That's also the last time we use the overhead shot in the season. That was our family overhead shot and it's the only time that one person has walked away from it and you used it for that to isolate him.

Marc: Yes. Yes.

Albert: This is my favorite scene of the whole episode. It's the emotional climax, really, because it's the traditional- in any of these fight scenes or movies fight stories, you have the night before the fight, which is when our champion-

John: Henry the 5th. You have the night before the fight.

Albert: Rocky. All of them have the night before the fight. So this is Eliot's night before the fight where he's girding himself for battle, and everything he and Sophie have been through up to this point comes to a head here. Plus the way Mark framed this was so gorgeous. You knew it was gonna be a beautiful shot because right before the camera started rolling, you saw all these members of the crew bringing out their cell phones and just taking pictures.

John: You know it's a good looking shot when it's like, ‘I wanna remember this one’. And there is- you know, a lot of people look at this one, and Order 23, to think that maybe Eliot had been abused or something as a child, and it’s- that’s facile. This is just a guy with a relationship with violence. He's beaten up, he's been tortured, he’s a guy who has learned bad things can happen to you and this is how he internalizes it. That's a great shot.

Marc: My lockoff transition.

John: Nice. Eliot transitioning into a girl with a bikini, that’s- was that placement intentional?

Marc: The placement- no, it just worked out. It just- we just wanted- Dave Connell wanted to come up with a cool transition, and we just locked off an XD camera and just left it there for the whole shoot.

John: Now did you have a little extra prep time on this or was this the normal?

Marc: This was the normal prep time.

John: Normal crazy Leverage-

Marc: Seven days of Leverage prep time.

John: Yeah. The- now the ring collapsed at one point, right?

Marc: Yes, the ring collapsed during Eliot's fight. And- you know, we had a lot of bodies up there. You have two camera men with big long lenses, a lot of moving around, and at one point it gave out and god bless, fortunately nobody got hurt.

Albert: That was scary. It was this huge bang right in the middle of the scene. One of our cameras was right there, and it avoided him and then it was this big crease in the middle of the ring.

Marc: And fortunately our grip department was able to just pull out some speed rail and get it ready.

Albert: Yeah.

John: Yeah, cause there's no- there's not a lot of time to waste on a Leverage shoot. Now you've got a lot of, just, wild grabbing stuff-. Oh, they were re-establishing the water. And this is another nice thing, by the way. It's a nice touch, Albert, that they're not dumb enough to fall for it again.

Albert: No.

John: You know, the tough thing with writing a con and heist show, audiences have seen a lot of con and heist shows, so they're playing by a different set of rules. And they're constantly trying to outguess you, and with a lot of stuff we do is we play with the metastructure of television, what you think a show like this would do. Yeah.

Albert: Especially with a fight con, because it is a familiar story. I mean, I think anyone who's watched any of the movies or tv shows in this genre has probably seen some variation of this, so you have to assume that people know the various tropes that go into a fight con. And then what- who’s gonna be drugged, who’s gonna be knocked out, what's gonna go on. You just have to make sure you don’t over use any of those.

John: You on the crane there?

Marc: Just for a little bit. We had a crane constantly moving. We had two handheld cameras. There was a lot of dailies on this episode. There was a lot of dalies. And we also wanted to just make sure we had all of the fight covered. We needed to get the perspective-

John: And the audience members.

Marc: -from the audience members. From our victim who we saw in the opening.

John: How long did it take to shoot this sequence?

Marc: We shot this in an evening.

Albert: It was this and the opening fight all in the same day.

Marc: Yeah, we did it all in the same day.

Albert: That was a bear of a day.

John: One 12 hour day?

Albert: Yeah.

John: Holy smokes.

Albert: It was a long day.

John: Thank God I wasn't on the set for this one - it sounded brutal. It sounded unspeakable.

Marc: You know, Matt and Christian had a routine worked out, and we were able to just pick our moments of when we needed to move the camera, and really trust our operators to make sure that they got it.

John: How many operators did you have in the ring?

Marc: Two operators. At times they were both in the ring, and sometimes one was just on the sideline getting to have some foreground ropes in it.

Albert: Yeah and all those flips that you see, Christian really took those. I mean, by the end of this scene his knees and legs were just totally banged up; he could barely stand.

Marc: And Matt, of course, who, you know, did this fight numerous times and also the opening fight numerous times.

John: Yeah.

Marc: Let’s just say there was the real odor of sweat in that gym.

John: I love the hulking out moment here.

Marc: Yes.

John: Just where he just snaps. I wish we could have done the green overlay on the eyes at that point. And what's great going back and watching this again, when you watch the episode, to see how they are putting the places in the con. How this behavior has to be read both ways. We’re not usually a closed mystery. There's two types of mystery shows - closed and open. One- like Columbo was open; we knew who the killer was and how he did it - the fun was watching Columbo finding the problem you had. And closed is, you don't know who did it. Which is most television shows. We usually show the audience how the con’s gonna run, and the fun of the audience is knowing what's supposed to happen, and it going wrong - it's one of the few times this sequence could play either way. This whole act- this whole two acts, could play either open or closed.

Albert: Yeah. That's actually the trickiest part of figuring out the- making sure that if someone goes back and watches it all again, it still makes sense knowing what you know at the end, as well as what you think you know the first time through.

John: We don't do it a lot.

Albert: Yeah, it's hard; that’s why.

John: Yeah, it’s really hard cause it’s usually only have to do one or the other. You know, entire movies have made millions and millions of dollars based around doing that well once. And we can't do it all that often. And also, to a great degree, I think a lot of the fun for the audience is watching our characters do what they do. That's really cool; a skillset they don't have. And so you want to get them invested in success, you know. And this is where it all starts to go to hell in a handbasket and the alert audience. Notice that the characters are recurring from the audience. I don't know anyone who figured it out; a couple people I know figured it out because of the metastructure. They figured Eliot couldn't have killed somebody, but haven't really figured out the con at this point.

Albert: Well the traditional fight con, the way it works is- and in con terminology they call it the Cackle Bladder. That's when someone dies - or supposedly dies - to scare off the bad guy. And this is a plan that- because normally in the fight con, the way it would work, the Eliot character would be the one who would die, but we did a little flip here and they staged the death of the bad guy, which- and the only way to do that is to get the help of the cousin.

Marc: And it's something I really wanted the actors to hold on to, is that one shot of Eliot; he really feels bad for killing this guy. And there’s a shot coming up after Rucker leaves that I really wanted to get across. And I just told ‘em there's a moment where we’re gonna release the valve, and I really want to see it on all of you. And it- and fortunately it really works.

John: Now the- it’s interesting with Eliot, because once you sort of know the character, you know he wouldn't actually feel bad about killing this guy. Eliot Spencer killed people. I mean, that's something that's kinda easy to go away, because Chris Kane is a very charming actor, and he plays the character in a very charming way. But especially in the second half of the season, you really get back to the idea that Eliot Spencer is a dude with a price on his head.

Marc: Here's the moment I was talking about, as soon as Nate gives the cue.

John: And you're lining them all up for that shot. And Albert you shot that, you were up on the roof of the building.

Albert: Yeah. It was raining, it was wet, it was cold. We were up on that roof, very slippery ladder.

John: And there's sending him across the state line with various bad stuff in his truck. Who came up with the saxophone?

Albert: Saxophone was something that actually came up in the room. I wrote the flashback of her going to the pawn shop, and in the room we were just sorta tossing around what are the funny things she might buy in the pawn shop?

John: Cause Parker just wouldn't buy the guns.

Marc: No, of course not.

John: This actually really holds together, too, because the original amount he wins in the golf game winds up being the money they use to buy the guns for the frame up later. This is- if you're gonna write a Leverage spec, this is kinda the one to look at. I mean this - I'll tell ya, this one really holds together in ways that a lot of the ones- not because we don't care, but because we're 42 minutes, that you're like ‘alright we’re just gonna assume people know that this is what's going on,’ cause you know. Or even stuff we shoot that we wind up cutting.

Albert: Well I will say this, if you are gonna write a Leverage spec, you know, we say this is the room all the time - research is your friend, because it starts from there. Because once you find that world you're gonna live in and you research the hell out of it, then a lot of the details become a lot clearer.

Marc: That was the actual pawn shop owner.

Albert: Yes.

John: Was it?

Marc: Yeah, and he donated his fee to a local charity.

John: Oh that’s great; that's really nice; that's really cool. Yeah, a lot of people were like, ‘c'mon he's not in that much trouble’. You know, you cross state lines with a bunch of cash and guns, I assure you, you're not coming back for a while. Yeah, and then we establish the whole problem Hardison seemed unprepared was because the guy was crooked, which we then used for this setup. This one came together nicely. It's also- its interesting - the pairings again. Parker and Hardison - Parker is next to Hardison in a lot of shots, and there's little bits where Beth gives- has Parker give Hardison just a little reassuring look like, you know, ‘I agree with you. Everyone else thinks you're crazy; I'm here.’ It’s a way of advancing the relationship without us having to do it textually.

Marc: Right.

John: You know, and there's a great moment- there's a great moment in the finale, which- are we actually releasing these separately? Did we decide? I don't know. If you're gonna watch the finale, there's a moment where Hardison- something happens with Hardison's van and I didn't notice it the day we shot it, but Parker kisses the van goodbye. And it was- no one asked her to do it, but it was just that little thing of Parker acknowledging this was important to Hardison, and so she was gonna, you know, she was gonna make that choice. Wow it’s- I like our actors. We’re lucky.

Marc: Yeah, we had some really good local talent here as well.

John: Yeah, cause the dad was local, the son was local.

Marc: Yeah.

John: And he did all his own fighting, too, right?

Marc: Yeah I- we were gonna- I even had in the budget a stunt person to do it, and we had a stunt person there, but it he just felt that he could do it and he actually did a really great job.

John: It's pretty hard when you’ve got one of your leads doing one of the fights to wimp out and take the stuntie; it’s a lot of pressure. And this is- a lot of people ask - we’re just handing over a business. We assure you Hardison has set up a DBA, he's taking care of all the paperwork. Don't worry - these guys aren't gonna get hit by the IRS five years from now. And it's really about them trying to- again, like you said, family- family owned business trying to rebuild the local community.

Marc: Right.

John: And, you know, one family saying goodbye to the other. The key toss. I think we should make a collection of Tim’s key tosses, cause that's a little signature bit, ‘Here you go.’ Here are the bad guy’s assets to use as your own. Good makeup on Christian, too.

Marc: Yeah, we gave him a nice shiner there.

Albert: We got a lot out of this gym. We spent a lot of time in this gym; we got a lot out of it.

John: Well that's another big thing when we’re shooting in seven days is - trying to find combination locations. The combo burrito we call it.

Marc: The combo burrito, cause once you start base camp - it’s expensive.

John: Ends on a hug. That's a great episode.

Albert: That’s the Tap Out Job.

John: Thank you very much guys. That was one of my favorites of the year; that was really great.

Marc: Thank you very much. It was a pleasure shooting .

John: Anything you wanna add?

Marc: No, I really enjoyed it. Albert and I- was the second episode that I've done with Albert. In the first season I did the Stork Job, and I really enjoy having Albert there by my side. He helps me out so much, he helps the actors out so much.

John: It's a relief to have him out of the writers room.

[Laughter]

Marc: It's really a team effort.

Albert: Thanks.

John: Thank you for watching.

#Leverage #Leverage TNT #Leverage Audio Commentary Transcripts #Audio Commentary #Transcripts #Parker #Alec Hardison #Elliot Spencer #Nate Ford #Sophie Deveraux #Season 2 #Episode 2 #The Tap-Out Job #Season 2 Episode 2

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thecollegefootballguy · 6 years ago

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14 Most Important Big Ten Rivalries in 2018

The Big Ten is home to some of the oldest and most revered rivalry games in all of college football. As with what I did with the ACC, this isn’t really looking at the stakes currently present in the rivalry, but looking at the overall vitality, fan interest, division, conference, and national stakes.

The only way to make the list is for a rivalry to be played in 2018, by the way.

Some honorable mentions before we begin:

Nebraska-Colorado Northwestern-Notre Dame

Two old rivalries that are seeing the spotlight for the first time in a few years. Nebraska and Colorado had a great series in the Big 8 and Big 12, which was unfortunately halted by the current conference realignment situation. It’s refreshing to see them take to the gridiron again, we know the fan interest hasn’t waned. Northwestern and Notre Dame have one of those interesting on and off series. A big deal at one point, the game hasn’t been played regularly since the 1970′s. Usually dominated by the Irish, the Wildcats won the last two meetings in dramatic upset fashion. With ND again expected to be pretty good, another upset bid is on the table.

14. Purdue at Indiana

One of the most played rivalries in college football, Indiana-Purdue is on the list mostly as a nod to their status as archrivals. Fan interest is obviously always high, and bragging rights as well as owning the Old Oaken Bucket are important aspects to Hoosier State fandom. The game is usually irrelevant to the conference and national picture, at least in football. However, there’s a spot for the game on this list. The Boilermakers currently own the Bucket, having beaten IU last season, thereby snapping a four game Hoosier win streak (tied for the longest in history). It’ll be the 121st playing of this old rivalry.

13. Iowa State at Iowa

The Big Ten doesn’t really have any other yearly out-of-conference games anymore now that Notre Dame isn’t regularly playing Michigan State, Purdue, and Michigan anymore. It’s nice to see these two in-state rivals square off every season. Iowa has been consistently good, and last season Iowa State took a big step forward. The Cy-Hawk Trophy is up for grabs in what is usually a closely contested affair. The Hawkeyes currently hold possession, having won three in a row. It’ll be the 66th game in this series.

12. Iowa at Minnesota

The Big Ten West has some good, old rivalries. Iowa-Minnesota usually flies under the radar because in the past decade (or five) neither team has been good at the same time. However, with the Gophers looking like they’re improving under P.J. Fleck, this one has the potential to get stronger. The Hawkeyes are usually solid and if Minnesota can get to the same level this game will be an important factor in the divisional pecking order. Iowa currently holds Floyd of Rosedale, possible the greatest rivalry game trophy in the country, having won three straight against the Golden Gophers. This will be the 112th meeting between these long-term rivals.

11. Illinois at Northwestern

I’m not sure this game will be too interesting this year, or any year until Lovie Smith resigns or gets fired. However, this is one of those archrivalry games that I have to put here as a nod to history. The Land of Lincoln Trophy currently resides with Northwestern, who have won three straight against Illinois. Like Iowa-Minnesota, this game has been played 111 times.

10. Penn State at Pittsburgh

At one time this was the most important rivalry in all the Northeast United States. The brief revival of the Penn State-Pitt rivalry has already seen a big impact on the national stage. The Panthers’ win over PSU in 2016 helped to keep the Nittany Lions out of the Playoff that year. The game will once again have high stakes, as Penn State will undoubtedly enter their visit to Heinz Field undefeated and ranked in the top ten. It’ll be the 99th game played in this storied rivalry. The first two games of this current four game home and home series have been split.

9. Minnesota at Wisconsin

The most played rivalry in all of FBS football. Wisconsin has dominated this game of late, having won a staggering 14 games in a row against Minnesota. The Badgers are again going to be favored, probably by a lot, but really one of these years the Gophers just have to win. This year the game will be Wisconsin’s last hurdle in defending their division title, if there was ever a time for an upset it would be now. This will be the 128th time these oldest of foes will meet on the gridiron.

8. Nebraska at Iowa

I feel a bit weird putting a this game ahead of Minnesota-Wisconsin but it has more potential to actually get interesting. The new Heroes Trophy has already passed many times in exciting and unexpected ways. This year, the game features prodigal son Scott Frost facing off against the longest tenured coach in the Big Ten, Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes have won three straight. This is the 49th meeting between the pair.

7. Nebraska at Wisconsin

The Freedom Trophy is up for grabs in this youngest of all the Big Ten West rivalries. Scott Frost won’t fix Nebraska in a year, and certainly won’t get them up to Wisconsin’s level anytime soon. However, this game likely has the most long-term room for growth if the Huskers regain even a semblance of their former glory. The Badges have won five straight against NU. This will only be the 13th time these two programs have met.

6. Michigan at Notre Dame

The Big Ten’s greatest out-of-conference rivalry is being played after a three year hiatus. Michigan is the only team to have ever played Notre Dame more than a handful of times and gotten the better of the Irish. The Wolverines will have to give it everything they’ve got this year, because ND looks loaded. All eyes will be on this week 1 game, which was just announced to be the first College Gameday location this season. It’s only the 43rd time these legendary rivals have played. Notre Dame won the last time they played, shutting out UM 31-0 in South Bend in 2014.

5. Wisconsin at Iowa

The most vital of the Big Ten West rivalries has to be Iowa-Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes have been a cut above Minnesota and Nebraska in the past few years, as one of the few teams in this division that can really challenge the Badgers. The game one of Wisconsin’s many challenging road dates and will be a critical factor in the Big Ten West race. Since this game was reinstated as a yearly rivalry, the Badgers have won four of five. The rivalry has been played 91 times.

4. Michigan State at Penn State

The Big Ten East is a total meat-grinder. There are four contenders this year and they all have a bone to pick with the other. The least of the major rivalries in the division is between Michigan State and Penn State, who compete for the Land Grant Trophy. Last year the Spartans upset the Nittany Lions, another death blow for a potential Playoff appearance. MSU has beaten Penn State three of four times since the new divisional alignment made them play annually again. They’ve only played 32 games.

3. Ohio State at Penn State

Getting down to brass tacks, these have been the two best teams in the Big Ten the past two seasons and their annual game has decided the conference. Ohio State and Penn State don’t consider each other archrivals, and that’s fine, but they definitely circle this game on the calendar each season as an absolute must-win, the last couple of seasons have added even more urgency to the contest. The Buckeyes have won five of six, though these past two games which decided the East have been split. It’s only the 34th game played between these teams.

2. Michigan at Michigan State

If you want the most bang for your buck in terms of entertainment per minute, this is the best rivalry in the Big Ten. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to name any rivalry game in the nation with this much importance that has had so much excitement, controversy, and intrigue in the past few years than Michigan-Michigan State. The wildest part is that the game is usually kinda boring, until something absolutely incredible (or stupid) happens which redefines the stakes. You have to watch to find out. The Spartans control the Paul Bunyan Trophy, having won 8 of the last 10 against “big brother” UM. This is the 111th time these rivals have faced off.

1. Michigan at Ohio State (The Game)

The alpha and the omega. The first and last word when it comes to rivalry games in the Big Ten. The once and future king (or kingmaker). Like Michigan-Michigan State, this game just demands to be watched. I mean, we know how it’s gonna end. Ohio State is gonna win, but the big plays, tantrums, fights, penalties, and crowd shots just give that extra atmosphere that only rivalry games provide. And it isn’t just any old rivalry. The Game has to be the biggest yearly contest between the highest achieving teams in all of college football. I’d reckon only USC-Notre Dame comes close, and without conference stakes that game just isn’t quite the same. This will always be the biggest rivalry in the Big Ten, even if OSU has won 13 of the last 14 games (lol). This will be the 115th playing of The Game.

#college football #Purdue Boilermakers #Indiana Hoosiers #Iowa State Cyclones #Iowa Hawkeyes #Minnesota Golden Gophers #Illinois Fighting Illini #Northwestern Wildcats #Penn State Nittany Lions #Pittsburgh Panthers #Wisconsin Badgers #Nebraska Cornhuskers #Michigan Wolverines #Notre Dame Fighting Irish #Michigan State Spartans #Ohio State Buckeyes

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plusorminuscongress · 5 years ago

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New story in Politics from Time: As Race Tightens, Bernie Sanders Attacks Pete Buttigieg’s Billionaire Donor Connections

After an effective tie in Iowa and heading into a nail-biter of a New Hampshire primary, Senator Bernie Sanders went on the offensive Friday against his closest rival in the race, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg.

In an address to the Politics & Eggs breakfast—a New Hampshire tradition for visiting presidential candidates—Sanders criticized Buttigieg by name and questioned why he was taking money from large donors.

“I’m reading some headlines from newspapers about Pete Buttigieg,” he said. “Pete Buttigieg has most exclusive billionaire donors of any Democrats, that was from Forbes. The Hill: Pete Buttigieg tops billionaire donor list. Fortune: Pete Buttigieg takes lead as big business candidate in 2020 field. Washington Post: Pete Buttigieg lures even closer look from Wall Street donors following strong Iowa caucus performance. Forbes magazine: here are the billionaires backing Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign.”

“I like Pete Buttigieg, nice guy,” he added. “But we are in a moment where billionaires control not only our economy but our political life.”

The Buttigieg campaign declined to comment, but pointed towards the former mayor’s recent public comments.

“There are so many issues and areas from climate to gun violence to economics where Americans want something, and Washington cannot deliver, that if you got to pick one thing to fix, it’s politics,” Buttigieg said at last night’s CNN town hall, in response to a question about his top priority as president. “It’s Washington, and there are concrete things we can do about it. Getting money out of politics.”

Buttigieg added that he supported democracy reforms similar to the H.R.1 bill currently languishing in the Senate.

On the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night, Buttigieg also defended his fundraising: “I’m not a fan of the campaign finance system we have today. I’m also a fan of beating Donald Trump,” he said.

“If somebody can give up to the legal limit, which is $2,800, and they’re willing to do that to support my vision for moving this country forward, then I really think they should help get this done,” he added. “And I will make exactly one promise to anybody, whether they’re giving three bucks online or the maximum allowable by law, and the promise is I’m going to take that contribution and I’m going to use it to build the campaign that’s going to defeat Donald Trump so that we can actually get the reforms that this country needs.”

Sanders also criticized former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, although not by name. “We got a former Mayor of New York city, who has a record, every reason in the world he’s entitled to run for President. No problem with that. Smart guy,” he said. “But he is spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to buy the election. There is something wrong with that.”

The newly aggressive posture comes just after Buttigieg and Sanders finished within a percentage point of each other in Monday’s muddled and chaotic Iowa caucus. The results confirmed Sanders’s status as the progressive frontrunner, and gave Buttigieg a significant boost as the new leader in the moderate lane. By Friday, Buttigieg was just a point behind Sanders in the latest New Hampshire poll, well within the margin of error.

At a campaign stop in St. Anselm college in Manchester, Sanders took questions after his speech. When a student asked for a specific example of how he’d adjusted his position based on what he’d heard on the road, Sanders described his evolution of understanding racial justice.

“I’ll tell you, one of the things that I have learned going around the country—Vermont and New Hampshire are primarily white states, that’s the fact,” he said. “But if you go to states in the South, you go to California, you go to Nevada, you hear different things. I could not fully appreciate until I ran for President, to be honest with you, how corrupt and racist our criminal justice system is.”

“I did not know, and I’m a little embarrassed to tell you this, because maybe many of you knew it, maybe some of you don’t, that today in America, as we speak, in this moment, there are 400,000 people behind bars, right now, who have not been convicted of anything,” he continued.

“I didn’t know that. I did not know the toll that the so-called war on drugs has done to families, primarily African-American, Latino, and Native Americans.”

By Charlotte Alter / Manchester, N.H. on February 07, 2020 at 01:06PM

#Time #politics #PlusOrMinusCongress #±Congress #Indega±#IndegaPlusOrMinus #TimeMag #TimeMagazine

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auburnfamilynews · 5 years ago

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Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-Georgia musings, if you will.

It’s really, really ingratiating when you can enjoy a weekend away from the usual heart-pounding action that is Auburn football. Watching everyone else put it on the line is a rare joy that needs to be appreciated every single time it’s experienced. When that kind of an open date coincides with what happened yesterday across the country, it’s extra nice. Let’s recap, with thoughts.

Big news out of Tuscaloosa — through a quality loss, Alabama has improved their standing for the College Football Playoff. You’ve got to have that close loss to a top team on your resume to show how battle-tested you are, and now the Tide have it. They’re in prime position to skate right on through, no need to see them test themselves against Georgia in Atlanta, and no need to penalize them for beating, you know, nobody.

It really is astonishing how quickly after the loss the rationalization began.

LSU won the game with a first down and this was CBS's immediate on-screen response, I believe every conspiracy theory y'all have ever said pic.twitter.com/wfOgzabOpU

— BUM CHILLUPS (@edsbs) November 10, 2019

CBS had this graphic ready made. DId they have one for LSU too? If you told me no, I wouldn’t be surprised at all. I’m a little mad at LSU, since they allowed Bama to come back and make it a close game. Hopefully everyone was actually watching and saw that Bama isn’t the team that they used to be and that they allowed 40+ points to the last two highly-ranked teams that they’ve played. In the end, Tua’s hurt ankle, the close nature of the game, and the eye test will be enough to get Bama into the Playoff, unless...

Good morning everyone. It’s the best time of the year. ITS BUTTS OUT AUBURN SZN. https://t.co/4C5CEVCmVt

— (try)STAN Harris (@stan_try) November 10, 2019

Here’s the situation: Gus Malzahn is once again at the ire of a large portion of the Auburn fanbase. This isn’t a black and white issue, it’s a freaking kaleidoscope.

On one hand, Auburn is absolutely undefeated with, like, 10% better offensive play this year. That’s Gus’ job. He bet on himself and made himself the play-caller, so all offensive miscues now fall directly on him. There’s no scapegoat.

On the other hand, we’ve got a true freshman quarterback that already got us one win over a now-sixth-ranked Oregon team away from home, and the two losses are on the road to the #1 and #11 teams.

On the third hand, we’re wasting the best defense in college football by not being better on offense. We lose the meat of that group for next year, and even if the offense is better, the defense will regress a bit. It has to without Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson, and company.

On another hand, are some Auburn fans looking to get rid of Gus for stagnation reasons? Or are they looking because they think that Auburn can do better? Gus has never failed to make a bowl game, unlike every previous Auburn coach since WWII. Who’s out there that we could get to replace him? First of all, Auburn isn’t getting rid of him unless he leaves. There’s a $25 million price tag on a move like that.

HOWEVER, the one job that he’s always been linked to is now open.

If you tuned in for Arkansas football yesterday, you got there just in time for the death rattle. The Pigs lost to their former quarterback Ty Storey and the WKU Hilltoppers, and it’s surprising that they didn’t pull the plug on Chad Morris on the field a la Bret Bielema. Every time the Arkansas job comes open, the rumor mill begins. Gus to Fayetteville.

Why would that happen? Let’s pretend that Gus hasn’t already pledged millions of dollars of his own money to making Auburn athletics better and more competitive, and put on our conspiracy caps. Mama’s calling, all that jazz, god to high school coaches far and wide across the Ozarks — that’s Gus Malzahn to Arkansas fans. To the rest of the country it’s the roster that Bielema couldn’t mold to his liking, and he didn’t close the lid on the Play-doh, leaving the clay hardened and unusable for Morris. To be frank, Arkansas has nothing. No players. Gus Malzahn goes there and he struggles to win five games for a couple years. Maybe he gets a win over Ole Miss or Mississippi State. Maybe there’s bowl eligibility in year three. Then where are you? Just then do you even get your head above water.

What happens if he fails? What happens if the roster is too terrible? Arkansas just lost to Western Kentucky 45-19. This isn’t a program on the brink of success, it’s one on the brink of relegation. If you go to take over that job and fail, then you’re done. It’s back to coordinator or head coach at an even lower level gig. If the pressure’s too much at Auburn, and the mumbling is audible, then it could make sense, but Gus seems too invested to take an offer like that right now.

Plus, he’s got three games left this season, and two HUGE chances to win back most of that fanbase like he did two years ago.

Something to monitor going forward in the SEC....Georgia's top two centers injured tonight vs Missouri and they face Auburn's incredible front 7 next week at Jordan-Hare. Lawrence Cager, their star WR banged up as well.

— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) November 10, 2019

Georgia shut out Missouri last night, and looked really bored/sloppy in doing it. For all of the recruiting success (possibly an even more talented team than Alabama on paper??), the Bulldogs have looked really rough since losing to South Carolina. An offense with all of that talent shouldn’t be struggling as much as they are, but Kirby seems hell-bent on recreating 2009 Alabama, which would be about the third or fourth best team in the SEC this year.

There’s a difference between what happened two years ago and what’s happening now, though. As we enter Georgia week, Auburn is rested and coming off of a close win over Ole Miss. The Tigers aren’t great on offense, and Bo Nix needs to show us something before much of the fanbase is sold on him. He’s been way better at home than on the road, so it’s really nice that we get the last few weeks at Jordan-Hare.

Two years ago, the offense was on fire. In SEC play before the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, Auburn posted 51, 49, 44, 23, 52, and 42 points. Then they dropped a 40-burger on the Dawgs. It’s not quite the same this year, but we won’t need 40 to beat Georgia.

Elsewhere around the SEC/Top 25:

Fans Are Not Eligible Receiverspic.twitter.com/uo4uKopN0i

— Derrick & Marlon for Heisman (@sheabooskyy) November 10, 2019

If Gus does leave, we’re not hiring Will Muschamp.

And with that, No. 17 Minnesota takes down No. 4 Penn State (via @GopherFootball) pic.twitter.com/lrLHi693MN

— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) November 9, 2019

But I’m sure there are some people that would like to hire P.J. Fleck. Even in his Rod Corrdry weirdness, he’s got Minnesota undefeated and in position to win the division in the Big Ten. Would he be able to recruit the south? Maybe. We’ve seen that weirdness is winning lately. Being goofy is good. Ed Orgeron and Dabo aren’t taking things too seriously, and they’re not losing.

Elsewhere Jalen Hurts and Oklahoma almost lost to Iowa State, escaping 42-41 last night. If there’s a 2-loss Big 12 champ, then Bama gets in, so we’re all massive Jalen Hurts fans right now. Also, Matt Rhule fans.

Right now there’s discord and enmity between Auburn fans for what’s been going on with the offense, but it’s all fixable this coming Saturday. Beat Georgia, and Gus’ seat temporarily cools once again. Beat Bama at the end of the month, keeping them out of the Playoff for sure, and Gus’ job temperature gets ice cold.

Big week, *$&# Georgia, y’all.

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2019/11/10/20958552/blood-bye-week-thoughts

#IFTTT #Blogger #auburn #auburn fast #wareagle #AuburnFamilyNews #war eagle #sec #football news #aubu

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racingtoaredlight · 5 years ago

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The degenerate’s guide to college football TV watch ‘em ups, 2019 season, week 7

As you read this for the first time in what seems like ages Steven Montez is not throwing an interception. Enough about that, it’s Red River Shootout Rivalry week! Kind of sucks that they stopped calling it a shootout right when every game in the Big XII became a shootout.

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This isn’t the best version of “Red River Valley” much like this year’s game isn’t the best version of the Red River Shootout but we have to love the ones we’re with.

Why am I putting so much of this post into a game I don’t give a shit about? Because Miami already played (and won!) and I haven’t actually looked at the rest of the schedule yet. We’ll find out together what’s going on this week! Schedule copied from FBSchedules, gambles copied from Vegas Insider, thoughts are intended to be original. I’m sorry.

Saturday, October 12

Matchup Time (ET) TV/Mobile

6 Oklahoma vs. 11 Texas (in Dallas, TX) 12:00pm FOX

Wait, get the fuck out of here. This is the first game listed to top it all off? Bookmakers are fucking with us to have the o/u at 75.5 but Sooners -10.5 seems smart to me. Note to theoretical new readers: nobody who writes on this site about gambling is right more than 15% of the time.

Maryland at Purdue 12:00pm BTN

B1G action! It sucks!

23 Memphis at Temple 12:00pm ESPN2

The race for the group of five BCS bid (is that what we’re still calling it?) is a madcap so far and Temple is still in it. Wild, right? Manny Diaz might have chosen the less talented team this year when he decided to leave Temple at the altar. Memphis is the favorite for this game and the AAC championship and probably #2 in line for the big bowl money among the sisters of the poor but this is an interesting game for a whole host of reasons. Go Tigers.

Miami (Ohio) at Western Michigan 12:00pm ESPNU

I think I’m doing the italics wrong for this post. I won’t go back to fix it, though.

16 Michigan at Illinois 12:00pm ABC

Michigan is pure entertainment to me but only in theory. I don’t watch their shitty games but every outcome fills me with glee. Nobody likes them, especially Michigan fans. Keep it going, Captain Clutch.

Mississippi State at Tennessee 12:00pm SECN

Miss State isn’t total trash, are they? I feel like no but I can’t tell you why. And, yet, they are only favored by 6.5 over Tennessee. I can’t believe there’s a reason beyond gambling to care about this game.

Rutgers at Indiana 12:00pm BTN

If you find yourself interested in this game for any reason whatsoever please call 800-522-4700.

South Carolina at 3 Georgia 12:00pm ESPN

Is Coach Boom on the hot seat? I really don’t know what’s expected of him. Can he say that his shitty QB that got hurt would have made a difference in this season? Will school officials believe him? Georgia -22 seems like great value to me.

Toledo at Bowling Green 12:00pm CBSSN

Bowling Green is very bad. Are they +26.5 at home against Toledo bad? Absolutely they are.

Georgia Tech at Duke 12:30pm RSN

Georgia Tech football makes me sad. Let’s not dwell too long on them.

Ball State at Eastern Michigan 2:00pm ESPN+

Ball State is not baller at all. One of life’s great quandaries.

Old Dominion at Marshall 2:30pm Stadium

This must be the first game of the year on Stadium unless I’ve just completely stopped paying attention. What a debut!

New Mexico State at Central Michigan 3:00pm ESPN3

Washington State at 18 Arizona State 3:30pm Pac-12N

Holy hell, what a shit year this is. Arizona State crept up to #18 and there is nothing interesting about their team on the field. They aren’t even undefeated. It’s just Herm Edwards yelling inspiration to some kids you’ve never heard of and it’s mostly worked out so far. This game is a pick ‘em which is probably what every Washington State game should be until Mike Leach rides off into the sunset.

Florida State at 2 Clemson 3:30pm ABC

When Cabbage exposed Jameis Winston’s pay-for-play thing a few years ago Jameis was probably taking money for point shaving, too. I kind of feel like Trevor Lawrence is doing the same thing this year but it’s more dangerous for him because he still has to play in college for another year. How off has Clemson looked so far? I’m entertaining thoughts of FSU pulling the upset here. Technically they can do that just by staying closer than 26. That’s the best kind of upset, really.

NIU at Ohio 3:30pm ESPN+

Even in the lowered expectations world of MACtion 2019 this is a sad affair.

Kent State at Akron 3:30pm ESPN3

Maybe all MAC games are particularly sad this year.

Michigan State at 8 Wisconsin 3:30pm BTN

The pain isn’t close to over for Sparty but a nice moral victory here would only mean keeping Jonathan Taylor under 200 yards and 5 TDs. Or even scoring. One out of two seems possible.

25 Cincinnati at Houston 3:30pm ESPN2

Holgo to Houston seemed so natural but things haven’t really clicked yet. Fickell at Cincinnati, on the other hand, has been perfect and immediate. Vegas has some faith in the Cougars still, though, so maybe I just haven’t caught up to the now. The Bearcats are favored by 7 but that seems low to me, even on the road. Maybe stay the fuck away from this one.

1 Alabama at 24 Texas A&M 3:30pm CBS

aTm is going to lose by 40 and somehow rank #15 on Sunday.

BYU at USF 3:30pm CBSSN

BYU is starting a black QB for the first time in school history. That’s kind of a jarring headline in 2019 for any school, isn’t it?

UConn at Tulane 3:45pm ESPNU

Let’s run away from all the uncomfortable thoughts that go with BYU and gather together to laugh at UConn. It is wild that Tulane is favored by 34 over anybody. Willie Fritz is going to get offered a lot of money to go somewhere else for 2020 and I hope he stays put. Having a good coach and the occasionally best uniforms in the country is a cool combo.

Rhode Island at Virginia Tech 4:00pm ACCN

Virginia Tech won one of the most cursed games of all time last week and it would surprise basically nobody if they turned around and lost to the Fightin’ Lamar Odoms this week. Before you ask, yes, Rhode Island is bad even for a AA team.

Texas Tech at 22 Baylor 4:00pm FS1

Baylor is ranked. Gross.

San Jose State at Nevada 4:00pm ATTSN

If you’re a fan of Last Chance U, tune in to see Malik Henry take over as Nevada’s QB. The offense has been a shambles so far this year but the Wolfpack are still 3-2 and alive in the MWC so maybe the formerly big name recruit can provide a nice jolt.

UNLV at Vanderbilt 4:00pm SECN

People like to make jokes about the SEC not playing any good non-conference games and never going on the road to play out of conference.

Middle Tennessee at Florida Atlantic 4:00pm ESPN+

FAU is going to sneak into a bowl game this year and Lane Kiffin is going to get hired by like Florida State or some dumb shit. Looking forward to it all.

Iowa State at West Virginia 4:00pm ESPN

The line opened at -7.5 for Iowa State and it’s moved up to -10. Both these teams are kind of messy and it’s being played in Morgantown. Somebody please enlighten us all in the comments.

Georgia State at Coastal Carolina 5:00pm ESPN+

This afternoon stretch is mostly pretty bleak for watchin’ ‘em up.

UAB at UTSA 6:00pm ESPN+

This game doesn’t change things much for the better. UAB should rock UTSA but this is on ESPN+ anyway, so it’s not like anybody will be watching it.

UMass at Louisiana Tech 7:00pm ESPN3

Peeking down the page a bit, the night schedule actually looks pretty good. This one won’t be in the rotation. La Tech is good this year but UMass is pure trash. The 31.5-point line is a warning sign to stay away unless the game gets way the fuck out of hand really early.

Mississippi, Oxford at Missouri 7:00pm ESPN2

Kelly Bryant is, at long last, looking pretty good. Missouri’s offense is theoretically a good training ground for the NFL, so I’m happy for Bryant on that level, but I really just want to see extra misery (npi) poured on Mississippi.

North Texas at Southern Miss 7:00pm Facebook

I swear to you the good games are on their way.

Fresno State at Air Force 7:00pm CBSSN

We aren’t quite there yet but this is at least a cool looking game. The stadium, the uniforms, the offensive schemes. This is degenerate football.

Charlotte at FIU 7:00pm ESPN+

Butch Davis’s kids finally showed some signs of life last week but it’s still for the best that this one is on ESPN+ and out of sight.

Army at WKU 7:00pm Stadium

I don’t think you’ll need it but this is some pretty nice alternative program if the brand name stuff goes sideways.

10 Penn State at 17 Iowa 7:30pm ABC

Two programs with very different histories dealing with disadvantaged kids clash in primetime. Here’s to another few years of contract for Kirk Ferentz following a minor but important upset victory.

USC at 9 Notre Dame 7:30pm NBC

USC is great because they actually have a similar amount of talent to Notre Dame but they haven’t had a coach for the last few years. Nice to see one of college football’s storied rivalries played on the first weekend of October. I’m trying to believe the Trojans can win but honestly it would feel like a miracle if they keep things within spitting distance of the 10.5-point line.

Arkansas at Kentucky 7:30pm SECN

Both of these teams are 2-3 and going nowhere but Kentucky -6.5 seems like a steal. Somebody talk Beer out of this one.

Louisville at 19 Wake Forest 7:30pm ACCN

Wake Forest is the weird secret hope that at least one ACC team can stay in the top 25 all year long to make Clemson’s schedule just good enough to make the playoffs. If I know my ACC, Louisville is going to run all over them.

Navy at Tulsa 7:30pm ESPNU

I’m still not sold on this edition of Midshipmen football but maybe I’ve been too harsh on Malcolm Perry. We’re getting into the “pound the over” part of the year for Navy and I, possibly stupidly, feel pretty good about them winning this one. Which would make them 4-1 against the spread with three straight overs.

Nebraska at Minnesota 7:30pm FS1

Undefeated and unranked Minnesota might be catching Nebraska at a bad time. The Huskers aren’t good but they have a little bit of fight in them. Which is what they hired Scott Frost for in the first place. Leaning Nebraska +7.5. Make of that what you will.

7 Florida at 5 LSU 8:00pm ESPN

What upside down version of the world are we in where Florida’s vicious defense is pitted against LSU’s unstoppable offense? This is the kind of place where the U.S. president would lay down the project of empire to let some pissant remnant of Alexander the Great’s conquests bomb American troops for the sake of... building some hotels somewhere, I think? This game is guaranteed to end well past midnight East Coast time.

15 Utah at Oregon State 8:00pm Pac-12N

Well, Herman Munster, the Utes are people of the Great Basin whose ancestral homes covered most of present day Colorado and Utah. And the Utah Utes are gonna fuck Oregon State shit all up. Utah -14.5, under 59.5. Beware, all Pac-12 After Dark prognostication is functionally useless.

Hawaii at 14 Boise State 10:15pm ESPN2

God do I want to sex this particular game. Hawaii vs. Boise on the blue turf, kicking off well after most of the country has gone to bed? This is what West Coast football is all about. Boise is the much better team but Hawaii still has the wild offense, so keep an eye on this even if the score looks one-sided at halftime.

Wyoming at San Diego State 10:30pm CBSSN

In recent years this matchup has been the key to the MWC season but for some reason it got scheduled mid-season for 2019. Both are still in contention for the conference title and one of them is likely to get serious top 25 consideration tomorrow. SDSU has my heart but an o/u of 38 makes this one sound painful.

Washington at Arizona 11:00pm FS1

Pac-12 scheduling baby! Why is it designed to make people not see their best teams and most dynamic players? Who knows but it’s a tradition now. UDub has sort of fallen apart after their preseason top 10 ranking but nobody is going to look to Arizona for consistency. The line has moved down, which suggests people are betting in decent numbers, but you have to got serious problems if you think this is a good ride to take.

#saturday post #rtarl watches tv #watch em ups #degenerate football #football #college football

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comprosedreviews-blog · 7 years ago

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Wednesday With Monica

I didn’t want to do it. I did not want to do it. I wanted to have a nice YA or popular fiction book to present y’all this week, and yet... there was this other book, and no time for the YA. :,(. I’m not even sorry though, because this other book is pretty good, if I do say so myself (and naturally, I do).

This week’s read was Jasmine by Bharti Mukherjee.

I’m going to have to give it a solid three and a half stars.

Ever heard of it? No????

Yeah, like I said, it isn’t popular fiction. But it’s GOOD fiction, which is better anyway.

Deal with it.

When Jasmine is suddenly widowed at seventeen, she seems fated to a life of quiet isolation in the small Indian village where she was born. But the force of Jasmine's desires propels her explosively into a larger, more dangerous, and ultimately more life-giving world. In just a few years, Jasmine becomes Jane Ripplemeyer, happily pregnant by a middle-aged Iowa banker and the adoptive mother of a Vietnamese refugee. Jasmine's metamorphosis, with its shocking upheavals and its slow evolutionary steps, illuminates the making of an American mind; but even more powerfully, her story depicts the shifting contours of an America being transformed by her and others like her -- our new neighbors, friends, and lovers. In Jasmine, Bharati Mukherjee has created a heroine as exotic and unexpected as the many worlds in which she lives. THIS IS FROM GOODREADS.

Sounds interesting? No? I didn’t think it did, I was forced to read it. But after I did, it was too compelling to forget about. The author uses such beautiful language to desribe such ugly things.

Let me just drop this cover:

I am NOT going to lie to you. I am not a fan of the cover. It’s a little too much, and it features a person’s face. Idk I just don't like faces on covers, okay????

But, stop with your cover judgment, okay??? I’m going to be super vague from here on out, because the best part about this book is discovery, and I will not take any of that away from you. Sorry. No spoiler section this time. This book was actually really good. And here’s why:

-It had something to say. THAT’S RIGHT! *gasp* In a novel, there were things.... said!!!! Okay, enough with the sarcasm for a second, this book actually was more than just a quick happy ending read. It was thoughtful. It brought together two cultures and revealed the weaknesses of both. It made you think about what it means to be a woman (sorry male readers) in a foreign country and in the united states. It makes you look at two completely different environments and question how it is anyone could make such a transition... and embraces the idea of it being impossible for a single identity to survive it.

-It had what I would actually call a strong female protagonist. And this isn’t because the female protagonist is perfect or physically strong, or even never needs to be helped. It’s because, like the strong people in real life, this protagonist meets struggles swinging. She doesn’t back down and she learns from her losses and the losses around her. Also, she fights for herself. Screw anyone else's expectations or wants, AGAIN AND AGAIN she chooses what battles she needs to fight and she fights them because she cares about those outcomes. I’ve heard it argued that she is too submissive in certain regards, but what people don’t understand is that she doesn’t care about those regards. She refuses to regard them! Why? Because she has better things to do with her time like worry about what she cares about. She doesn’t have time to worry about what YOU care about.

-I got a great insight into another aspect of immigration and it was so humbling. I’m not going to go too far into this element because it’s very hard to talk about without spoilers, but I will say that this book changed a big part of my understanding of Hindu culture, and probably made me want to change things the most, out of any other book I read. The main character, Jane/Jasmine/Jyoti (this is the same person), shares her story in such a sympathetic yet strong way that it really pained me to not know what it is that I can do to change things about how people enter this country and are treated upon arrival. But again, can’t go so far into that. Sorry :/

-And finally, it isn’t all sad or awful or guilt filling. It’s actually incredibly optimistic at times and leaves you a little proud and humble for different compelling reasons.

Why didn’t I like this book?:

-I don't know if you picked up on it, but there’s a huge age gap between Jasmine and her American husband, and let me just tell you, some stuff gets graphic and I could never get behind their relationship. They are both consenting adults, but it all felt weird and wrong and I hardcore imported my own biases into the story.

-The book begins with an almost magical realism approach and then this magic is lost in the pages. We don't see it again and I am left wondering about third eyes and fates and cruel stars. I WANTED that magic. I really, really did.

-It has a really slow start. You gotta dig through her present-day life in Iowa to get to the real grit of the story, and honestly, that was super boring for me. I just wanted to see the struggle, to see the happiness, to see the adventure and mystery... and I was given farms and empty fields. It was incredibly disappointing.

I would recommend this book to you if you want something to make you think. If you’re looking for an easy, happy, exciting and fast-paced novel, this might not be for you. This is something that will leave you with questions, that will leave you with ambition, and that might leave you a little angry. You will feel things, and that’s a lot to commit to with a slow starter like this.

Would I tell my past self to suck it up and read it? Absolutely. I feel I have grown a little from reading it, just because I have a better understanding of certain things now.

Have you read this book? Any comments? Questions? Feel free to leave them here or ask them.

Thanks!

~Monica

#book review #book #book reviewer #booklr #ambiguous #jasmine #mukherjee #india

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junker-town · 6 years ago

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The Texas A&M-Texas post-breakup rivalry tracker

Realignment broke up one of college football's greatest hate-relationships, but the two won't stop eying each other. Let's keep track as they work their way to meeting up again.

Texas and Texas A&M. It's a relationship that goes way back, but after an ugly conference realignment breakup, the two just can't seem to get back on the same page.

Here's a timeline of their trials and tribulations since splitting apart.

January 19, 2019

A&M president Michael Young and Texas president Greg Fenves both tell the Austin American-Statesman they support a rivalry renewal. But they don’t offer any timetable, and they’re really just leaning on their athletic directors to figure something out:

“It’s a storied rivalry of a hundred years or so,” Fenves said. “We’re supportive’ of renewing it. Young said, “Absolutely. We have been from Day One,” since A&M joined the Southeastern Conference. Added Fenves: “We’ve told our ADs (athletic directors) to figure out a plan and bring it to us.”

Then came the caveats.

“There are some real practical and contractual issues with scheduling non-conference games,” Fenves said. “The SEC is different from the Big 12. We have non-conference games scheduled 10 years out.”

THE HEAT SCALE, rating the flirtatious energy between Texas and A&M: 3. These are just two people saying they really should get together sometime.

May 30, 2018

Texas’ athletic director says the teams will reunite eventually:

Chris Del Conte on renewing UT/A&M football rivalry: "At some point and time we will pick up our rivalry. It’s important to our state and important to our fan base. I’m assuming when it’s appropriate and ready, we’ll play...We’d like to do that, it’s just matching up schedules."

— Chuck Carlton (@ChuckCarltonDMN) May 30, 2018

THE HEAT SCALE: 4. It’s nice to tell your significant other you’ll do something when you can, but this comment loses points for a lack of actual commitment.

Feb. 20, 2018

There we have Texas’ QB responding to a new Texas A&M assistant’s take-slingin’ by noting much of the SEC’s recent glory consists of riding Alabama’s coat tails.

THE HEAT SCALE: 2. Standard jawin’, but good to keep it at a steady simmer.

Oct. 25, 2017

The governor wants to get involved.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott: "My next goal as governor is to reunite the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry. Hook 'em Horns."

— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) October 25, 2017

THE HEAT SCALE: 2, because the governor isn’t in charge here. Just because an ex-couple’s parents badly want them to get back together doesn’t mean the kids will go along with it.

July 17, 2017

Texas' new head coach is on board!

Tom Herman on scheduling: "We don't play a rival at home ever. I don't know why we can't play A&M as our marquee non-conference opponent."

— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) July 18, 2017

THE HEAT SCALE: 4. Texas' old head coach was also on board, and look where that got us.

June 28, 2017

"Their AD (DeLoss Dodds) at the time came out and said we will never play Texas A&M again, and they worked along with Baylor and the conference to have no one in the (Big 12) schedule us," former A&M AD Greg Byrne said. "There were other forces at work to make sure we didn't play."

THE HEAT SCALE: 4. That story has a bunch of disheartening stuff on this rivalry and Kansas-Missouri, but that particular quote is at least hot.

June 16, 2017

"Me, personally? I think over the course of time that's going to happen," A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin said when asked, while also talking about how well he knows new Horns coach Tom Herman. "With our move to the SEC, scheduling has become a real issue."

THE HEAT SCALE: 3. Sumlin's been predicting a reunion for years now, not that we don't appreciate him doing so.

June 10, 2016

"They're trying to work something out right now where we're going to play the Aggies," Charlie Strong said at an event. A Texas spokesman said no specifics have been discussed, but we didn't even hear any of the words in this second sentence.

THE HEAT SCALE: 8. Do it.Texas and Texas A&M. It's a relationship that goes way back, but after an ugly conference realignment breakup, the two just can't seem to get back on the same page.

April 14, 2016

A&M athletic director Scott Woodward, via DailyTrib.com in Texas:

Will the Aggies play the University of Texas in football again?

"We have to really assess what is our best path to winning the (Southeastern Conference) West," Woodward said. "I don't foresee anything happening in the near future. There are a lot of opinions well above my pay grade. Rivalries, I think, are healthy for the game.

"It'll be something we'll consider," he added. "It'll be a discussion I'll have to have. I have no objection to it. It's something that has to work for us and for folks."

HEAT SCALE: 5.

March 19, 2016

The two nearly played again in March Madness, but Texas had to go and lose to Northern Iowa on a buzzer beater. Aggies everywhere were torn between laughing at rivals and lamenting the chance to square off, but the likely A&M starting QB had the definitive opinion:

lol pic.twitter.com/S95xNzXEfi

— Jake Hubenak (@hubenak_j) March 19, 2016

HEAT SCALE: Unchanged. Laughing at your fallen rival is standard human behavior.

September 30, 2015

Texas A&M regent Tony Buzbee in a Facebook post, via the Austin American-Statesman:

I am going to advocate that the Aggies play Texas again in the near future. Because of our brutal SEC West schedule [...], the Aggies need some cupcake games to rest and heal. In my view, Texas is just as weak if not weaker than the non-conference games we play, so we may as well play them.

HEAT SCALE: 5. Buzbee is, as he mentions, only one regent, and regents aren't athletic directors, but eating pastries is often an enjoyable date activity.

June 18, 2015

Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp is quoted as saying this in response to Texas selling beer at games now:

A&M chancellor Sharp on alcohol at events: "Our athletic program has not reached the point where we require the numbing effects of alcohol."

— Gabe Bock (@GabeBock) June 18, 2015

HEAT SCALE: 3. These rivals can neither imbibe nor abstain without thinking of each other, but we already knew that.

May 8, 2015

A&M chancellor John Sharp took swipes at the Longhorn Network and Texas' recent on-field struggles in an interview.

We're hopeful that sometime in the future there will be a bowl game that we're able to play in, you know, if [Texas] gets there. But the great thing about playing us is that you can get on real TV if you play us.

HEAT SCALE: 2. Sharp ended with "of course I'm just joking about all of this." Stick to your guns, John!

April 16, 2015

When asked about renewing the rivalry, Strong joked that he wasn't pushing too hard for it yet because he wanted to win some games first. Specifically, he said "I don't know if I want to go walking into College Station right now."

That has caught on at A&M, including with incoming five-star defensive tackle Daylon Mack, who signed with the Aggies over Texas.

pic.twitter.com/A7D5F0TWex

— THEE MACK TRUCK (@DaylonMack) April 16, 2015

HEAT SCALE: 7. Twitter banter's usually a 2, but that shirt's a 5 by itself.

April 14, 2015

Oh my:

Texas' Charlie Strong and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin both in the last week expressed to ESPN.com a desire to resume playing the longstanding rivalry after a three-year hiatus that coincided with the Aggies leaving the Big 12 and joining the SEC in 2012.

HEAT SCALE: 8.

July 23, 2014

Texas coach Charlie Strong on playing Texas A&M: “You would like to see us play each other"

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 23, 2014

HEAT SCALE: 7. We're cookin' now.

May 27, 2014

Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin on future games w/Texas: “Eventually I think it will happen"

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 27, 2014

HEAT SCALE: 6.

May 26, 2014

Texas and Texas A&M are playing again! In baseball. Postseason baseball, meaning they had no choice.

HEAT SCALE: 3. Baseball.

April 25, 2014

UT AD Steve Patterson told us ``unless there is a compelling reason,'' the football series between Texas and Texas A&M is dead.

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) April 25, 2014

HEAT SCALE: 2. There's no reason in love.

April 1, 2014

Texas AD Steve Patterson: Playing A&M "not at the top of my list."

HEAT SCALE: 3. /Patterson throws Strong into a cold shower

March 7, 2014

New Texas head coach Charlie Strong, sharing his thoughts on resuming the rivalry: "I'd love to play it."

HEAT SCALE: 11. Whoa, take it easy, Charlie. You can't come on so strong, that's just going to creep them out

Nov. 20, 2013

A&M president Loftin: "There's no reason why we shouldn't play each other, if we want to. I think (Texas) will at some point in time feel like it's the right thing to do as well, and we'll get there."

HEAT SCALE: 7.

Nov. 6, 2013

After Texas hires Steve Patterson as AD, Texas A&M senior associate AD Jason Cook says the Aggies are not looking to renew the annual rivalry: "We hope to play them again in a BCS bowl or Playoff game at some point."

HEAT SCALE: 3. "I mean, if we run into 'em at a bar or something and they wanna hook up, we're totally down. But we ain't looking for a long-term thing. Just wanna keep it casual, ya know?"

Sept. 11, 2013

Texas A&M DB Toney Hurd Jr. takes to Twitter, proclaiming, "Texas A&M is the university of Texas." Then-Longhorns head coach Mack Brown responds to the media: "We are the university in this state, regardless of what some kid tweets."

HEAT SCALE: 2. They just can't let each other go, but man, it's getting nasty.

May 31, 2013

Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin: "It's not relevant to us anymore, that's the whole point. It's not an important issue."

HEAT SCALE: 3. "Who? Yeah, I think I remember someone by that name."

April 1, 2013

OH MAN THEY'RE GETTING BACK TOGETHER.

HEAT SCALE: 0. Wait. Awww dammit, April Fools' got us again.

March 18, 2013

Texas AD Dodds: "They're the ones that decided not to play us. We get to decide when we play again. I think that's fair."

HEAT SCALE: 6. It's not gonna be that easy, baby.

Jan. 29, 2013

Texas State Rep. Ryan Guillen proposes law forcing A&M and Texas to play.

HEAT SCALE: 0. Will you two give it a rest and get back together already. You're all each other talks about, and we're tired of seeing you like this. Jeez.

Nov. 19, 2012

Texas DE Alex Okafor, in the buildup to the Longhorns' new year-end game against TCU: "I feel sorry for A&M. We still have a big-time game on Thanksgiving. They're missing out."

HEAT SCALE: 8. "OH. OH OK YOU FOUND SOMEONE NEW? WELL WE FOUND SOMEONE NEW TOO AND WE'RE DOING JUST FINE." /Texas quickly puts its arm around the first school it can find, which happens to be TCU

May 30, 2012

Texas A&M and LSU agree to become annual end-of-season rivals.

HEAT SCALE: 6. A&M is moving on with its new life in a new place, but one has to think it's hoping Texas will notice the Aggies' sexy new companion.

Nov. 25, 2011

In the final scheduled meeting, Texas defeats A&M, 27-25, on a game-winning field goal as time expires.

HEAT SCALE: 10. Texas just came over to get that last box of t-shirts and CDs, and of course it turned into a raucous night of love-making, just like the old times. A&M was pretty mad when the Longhorns left an upper-decker before running out laughing, though.

Oct. 15, 2011

Texas AD DeLoss Dodds: "What we have right now is a full schedule."

HEAT SCALE: 1. "I can't on Friday. Saturday's no good, either. Neither is next week. Or next month."

Sept. 26, 2011

Someone creates a "Keep the Texas vs. Texas A&M Rivalry Game Tradition Alive - Drama Free" Facebook page. It garnered only 89 likes and, as we all know, didn't get the pair back together.

HEAT SCALE: 1. This isn't really a spark between the 'Horns and Ags. It's a desperate plea from their friends to give it another shot.

Sadness scale: 10. :-(

Aug. 29, 2011

Report surfaces Texas A&M is set to announce its departure from the Big 12.

HEAT SCALE: 1. It has been a long road together, but after one last big fight over A&M wanting its own space, the Longhorns and Aggies agree that they just don't have anything in common anymore, and it's best to go their separate ways.

Any more?

We'll update this as more of these arrive over time (and they certainly will). Did we miss any from the past?

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mitchintille · 5 years ago

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2020 Mock Draft 2.0

Less than one week away from perhaps the most unusual and bizarre NFL draft we’ll ever witness. At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter how the draft happens, just as long as it does.

Fair warning, I fully expect the actual draft to look nothing like this one. I’m anticipating numerous trades and head scratching picks come next Thursday night. And while it may not be conducive for me to not include trades, it is simply too unpredictable so I’ll be selecting for each team with the order as is.

Here we go.......

1. Cincinnati Bengals - Joe Burrow, QB, LSU

Ahem.

2. Washington Redskins - Chase Young, EDGE, Ohio State

While there have been rumors speculating a possible trade down or surprise selection of a QB, they are simply just that, rumors. Young is the most talented player in this class top to bottom. He checks every box as a prospect and would bolster an already impressive front seven for the Skins.

3. Detroit Lions - Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio State

Here’s where the draft gets fun. The Lions are a team I expect to be highly active come draft night. A trade back here with a QB needy team such as LAC or Miami would not surprise me at all. However, in the case of this mock, we are assuming Detroit holds at three which would leave them the nice consolation prize of Okudah. He can fill the void left by Darius Slay and would instantly be the best DB on that roster.

4. New York Giants - Tristan Wirfs, OT, Iowa

Yet another team I expect to be clinging to their phones come draft night. But in this scenario, I’d expect them to go with either Isaiah Simmons or their highest rated tackle. The nod goes to the freaskishly athlethic Wirfs, who although shows glimpses of his high upside potential, will need to fix his footwork and inconsistent timing with his punch hand in pass pro.

5. Miami Dolphins - Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon

It pained me having to type that out. With uncertainty surrounding Tua Tagovailoa and his concerning injury history, you can’t convince me the Dolphins will spend a premier pick on a question mark like him. Instead, they opt for the safer selection in Herbert, a high Football IQ and character driven player. His arm talent on film is evident, but his erratic tendencies and failure to make any big leaps throughout his four years as a starter are worrisome to me. This feels significantly too high for a player of his caliber, but this is the Dolphins we’re dealing with so nothing shocks me anymore.

6. Los Angeles Chargers - Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama

The real QB1 finally goes off the board, Is there risk inherited with this pick? Absolutely. But for a team with a talented roster on the cusp of making a playoff run, they lack a true franchise QB to elevate them to that level. Enter Tua. One of the best short/intermediate processors to declare in years. His feel for the pocket and ability to throw wide receivers open are both translatable traits that he performs very well on a consistent basis. He isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the reward outweighs the risk to me here.

7. Carolina Panthers - Isaiah Simmons, LB/S, Clemson

After shipping off Trai Turner and Cam Newton, it is very clear that Matt Rhule and the Panthers want to rebuild starting from the ground up. After Luke Keuchly’s sudden retirement this offseason, an already depleted run defense just got even worse. Simmons is a dynamic athlete with high football character who can plug and play from day one. This pick is just as much culture based as it is talent, as they add the local product to a defense in dire need of a spark heading into 2020.

8. Arizona Cardinals - Jedrick Wills, OT, Alabama

An absolute mauler. Wills is head and shoulders the best run blocker at his position in this draft. After recently investing into Marcus Gilbert and finalizing a blockbuster trade with Houston for Deandre Hopkins, this allows Steve Keim the wiggle room to draft for talent instead of need. Adding a stalwart to the left side of that offensive line would serve as a good insurance policy for Kyler Murray.

9. Jacksonville Jaguars - CJ Henderson, CB, Florida

Hey Jags fans, remember a guy named Justin Gilbert who also went top ten a couple years ago? Well I found his brother. All jokes aside, Henderson is sticky in man coverage and adds superb athleticism to an already elite frame. The cupboard is bare for the Jags corner back depth chart, and this pick would help fill a gaping hole at corner.

10. Cleveland Browns - Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia

The best OT in the class. The three year starter at Georgia saw snaps at both left and right tackle over the course of his career. Thomas won’t wow anyone with his athleticism, but his technically sound form and plus footwork should allow for an easy transition to the league.

11. New York Jets - Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama

A bit of a conundrum here for me. I love Jeudy’s talent. It is undeniable. But I simply don’t see him being a team’s No.1 WR early in his career. Unfortunately for the Jets, they failed to resign Robby Anderson in free agency and are now left with a huge void. They opt for the best route runner in the draft and an optimal WR2 in today’s game. His ability to create separation at the line of scrimmage is already among the best at the position in the NFL. He does get into a habit of letting the ball travel into his body too much, but considering the amount of space he creates before the ball is thrown, it doesn’t worry me too much. As much as he appears to be a slam dunk prospect on tape, not having another receiver on the outside to complement his best traits could prove to be dire for Jeudy in this situation.

12. Las Vegas Raiders - Ceedee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma

Did you see the picture I used for this article? Then you understand why this makes sense. Look, Lamb just FEELS like a Raider. Given their need for a true WR1 and Gruden’s style of preferred receiver, this almost feels like an arranged marriage. Lamb's YAC skills and football IQ should be coveted by Gruden/Mayock.

13. San Francisco 49ers - Henry Ruggs, WR, Alabama

Speed. Speed. And more speed. If Kyle Shanahan showed us one thing last season, it’s that he doesn’t mess around when it comes to speed. Ruggs displays absurd play speed and athleticism. I trust Shanny’s savviness as a coach to able to get Ruggs the ball any way possible. Pair him next to Deebo Samuel and allow George Kittle to eat over the middle. Good luck, defenses.

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville

This is yet another draft slot that I anticipate should change between now and Thursday. The Bucs went out and made a big splash, signing six time super bowl winner Tom Brady. GM Jason Licht has made it very clear: we want a ring. With that being said, I can see the Bucs trading up to ensure they land the best tackle on their board. In this case, they sit tight and still late a behemoth in Mekhi Becton. The 6′9 specimen does a good job of using his freakish length to his advantage. There are occasional mental lapses, but once he gets his hands on you, it’s a wrap.

15. Denver Broncos - Derrick Brown, IDL, Auburn

Tough scenario here for Denver. The top three receivers and top four tackles are all off the board. Instead of reaching for need, the Broncos elect to go BPA, which just so happens to be Brown. Brown is an absolute hog molly who will immediately help reset the defensive interior. His presence on the inside with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb on the outside can help give offensive coordinators fits for the next five years.

16. Atlanta Falcons - Javon Kinlaw, IDL, South Carolina

The medical concerns here are real. Kinlaw raised concerns following an injury related dismissal from the senior bowl. With cloudiness surrounding his future, a Mo Hurst-esque slide wouldn’t surprise me in the least bit. With that being said, Kinlaw’s burst and explosiveness are easily the best in the class. His pure brute strength and first step allowed him to win majority of his reps at South Carolina. Once he develops a few counter moves in his arsenal, watch out.

17. Dallas Cowboys - AJ Terrell, CB, Clemson

Barring one of the top three receivers falling to this spot, i firmly believe that this will be the pick. Following the departure of Byron Jones, a sudden need has emerged at cornerback. Given the depth at the position in this draft, a reach for need at this spot feels highly likely. Terrell is infamously known for his horrible game against Jamar Chase and LSU in the national championship, but I feel the hatred for him as gotten absurd. His body of work outside that game should speak for itself. He’s an intelligent and physical player with the long speed neccessary to stay attached on routes down the field.

18. Miami Dolphins - Ezra Cleveland, OT, Boise State

A late bloomer in the draft process, Cleveland has sky rocketed up boards since the combine. He showed quality tape but his combine and high football character find himself as a top 20 pick. Brian Flores is beginning to show a tendency to target high character Football players, and Cleveland fits the billing.

19. Las Vegas Raiders - Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU

Mayock strikes again! The Raiders need for quality corners is no secret, and being that Mike Mayock and drafting college players from high profile schools are synonymous, all signs lead to this being the selection. Fulton is a smart, scheme versatile corner whose prowess in man coverage should serve immediate dividends to a team lacking players with that ability.

20. Jacksonville Jaguars - K’Lavon Chaisson, EDGE, LSU

With the impending departure of Yannick Ngakoue, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them spin the wheel with Chaisson. His lack of production for his caliber of athlete is a bit confusing, and given the lack of success from former players who tested similarly, his outlook does not bode well. However, his first step alone is worthy of the selection. He has rockets attached to his shoes, and his initial burst off the line can be mind boggling at times. He is still a work in progress, but if he can fully tap into his potential, the sky is the limit.

21. Philadelphia Eagles - Patrick Queen, LB, LSU

I know I know, it’s not a receiver. But Howie Roseman is smart, and although their depth at receiver does need to be addressed, their need at linebacker might be even more daunting. Queen, the one year starter, is a former RB who displays elite instincts. He’s a very fluid mover in coverage, and will spend his entire rookie season at age 20. Easy pick here for the Eagles.

22. Minnesota Vikings - Josh Jones, OT, Houston

A dream fit here. Jones is a light mover whose quick feet and athleticism in the open should translate nicely with the Vikings zone run scheme. He needs to get better about playing too tall at times, but Jones should plug right into that offensive line and serve as a contributor from day one.

23. New England Patriots - AJ Epenesa, EDGE, Iowa

This screams Patriots to me. Epenesa is a plus run defender who is still just tapping into his potential as a pass rusher. He offers exceptional length and plus power. His versatility on the line should prove useful to Belichick, who is notorious for targeting edge guys with the ability to work from the interior.

24. New Orleans Saints - Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU

I was very tempted to go Kenneth Murray here but I can’t pass up the opportunity to keep an LSU kid in the bayou state. Drew Brees isn’t getting any younger, and the window for a Saints super bowl with him at the helm seems to be closing by the minute. Jefferson can play both in the slot and out the outside if needed. His ability to get open and find spacing in the short/intermediate pass game is a highly coveted trait in today’s NFL. Adding him to an already stable core or Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders would finally give Brees all of the firepower needed to make a final run for glory.

25. Minnesota Vikings - Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State

A true big play threat. Aiyuk is not a perfect prospect by any means, as what he does with the ball in his hands is light years better than what he does without the ball in his hands. Aiyuk is still learning to play receiver, and his inconsistencies with getting off press coverage and catching contested passes are big knocks on his profile. With that being said, the dude is a freak of nature when he gets the ball in his hands. His big play flashes last year were mesmerizing, as he displays elite breakaway speed and rangy ball skills at times. While there is plenty to like about his YAC ability and athletic, he’s certainly a risk at this spot.

26. Miami Dolphins - Yetur Gross-Matos, EDGE, Penn State

Gross-Matos is an underrated prospect in the class in my opinion. He was highly productive at Penn State and put together a nice athletic profile in the process. The lack of pass rush in Miami is eye opening, and with three picks in the 1st round, addressing pass rush should be a priority here.

27. Seattle Seahawks - Marlon Davidson, IDL, Auburn

I don’t know what position Marlon Davidson will play in the league. He can be a penetrating 3-tech, or be a hand in the dirt pass rusher from the edge. All I know is that he is a natural disruptor, and being that Jadeveon Clowney remains unsigned and 2019 first round selection LJ Collier appears to be a bust, this mold of player also fills what now becomes a need for Seattle.

28. Baltimore Ravens - Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma

I truly wish that I could love this pick for Baltimore. The Ravens have recently shown a penchant for Oklahoma players in the draft (Hollywood Brown, Orlando Brown Jr., Mark Andrews), and given the need at linebacker, this makes a ton of sense, right? Well, sure it does. Murray is a rangy linebacker whose burst flies off the screen. Not to mention he is a plus leader and human off the field as well. But he is legally blind. Too many times did I see a rep where he filled the wrong gap or fell for a fake. His mental processing just simply isn’t there, and while he has the athleticism at times to make up for his mental errors, I just simply can’t see him sustaining success unless he makes serious leaps as a processor.

29. Tennessee Titans - Jordan Love, QB, Utah State

Why not? Sure, they have other needs. But they just paid Ryan Tannehill $100m with no foreseeable backup plan. Love needs to go to a good team in order to succeed. His supporting cast at Utah State in 2019 was truly abysmal, and I believe was a major detriment to both his on field performance as well as his confidence. Love is an athletic, toolsy QB who personifies the new prototype of NFL quarterbacks. He has potential to be the steal of the draft, and the Titans have a good enough cast and coaching staff around him to make it possible.

30. Green Bay Packers - Laviska Shenault, WR, Colorado

This goes against everything I told myself, but here we are. It is no secret that the Packers typically avoid skill players in the first round. But, for the first time since 2002, they choose that route. Shenault is a gadget style receiver with great size and athleticism. Shenault is best when he can get the ball and let his YAC ability flourish in space. He is very raw as a route runner and still learning the nuances of the position, but he is the type of playmaker that can elevate both Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense immediately.

31. San Francisco 49ers - Cesar Ruiz, OC, Michigan

Starting center Weston Richburg is still nursing a torn patellar tendon, and the interior OL depth is dwindling. Ruiz is a highly intelligent player with tons of experience. He is not the sexiest pick, but a very smooth mover in the open field that would slide ideally into that offensive line unit.

32. Kansas City Chiefs - Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah

Chiefs take a swing at the best available corner. Johnson boasted impressive tape this season and his length and football IQ are two qualities that I’d expect GM Brett Veach to be chomping at the bit for.

Thank you guys for reading! Hope you enjoyed the content and that all of your are staying safe during the quarantine. Cheers!

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illbefinealonereads · 5 years ago

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Blog tour day! Allow me to tell you more about Husband Material by Emily Belden, as well as share an excerpt from the book.

Husband Material : A Novel Emily Belden On Sale Date: December 30, 2019 9781525805981, 1525805983 Trade Paperback $15.99 USD, $19.99 CAD Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy 304 pages

Told in Emily Belden's signature edgy voice, a novel about a young widow's discovery of her late husband's secret and her journey toward hope and second-chance love.

Twenty-nine-year-old Charlotte Rosen has a secret: she’s a widow. Ever since the fateful day that leveled her world, Charlotte has worked hard to move forward. Great job at a hot social media analytics company? Check. Roommate with no knowledge of her past? Check. Adorable dog? Check. All the while, she’s faithfully data-crunched her way through life, calculating the probability of risk—so she can avoid it.

Yet Charlotte’s algorithms could never have predicted that her late husband’s ashes would land squarely on her doorstep five years later. Stunned but determined, Charlotte sets out to find meaning in this sudden twist of fate, even if that includes facing her perfectly coiffed, and perfectly difficult, ex-mother-in-law—and her husband’s best friend, who seems to become a fixture at her side whether she likes it or not.

But soon a shocking secret surfaces, forcing Charlotte to answer questions she never knew to ask and to consider the possibility of forgiveness. And when a chance at new love arises, she’ll have to decide once and for all whether to follow the numbers or trust her heart.

Advance Praise for Husband Material

“Tackling thorny questions of widowhood and dating after trauma, Belden's second novel is witty, full of heart, and blindingly au courant. Packed with pop-culture references, it will appeal to fans of Sophie Kinsella, Rosie Walsh, and Plum Sykes. Belden writes twists and turns to keep readers hooked.” —Booklist

“Charming.” —Publishers Weekly

“Sensitive, thoughtful, and touching.” —Library Journal

“In this touching, witty, and timely book, Emily Belden deftly explores the complexities of human relationships in our increasingly tech-obsessed world. By turns heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny, Husband Material beautifully demonstrates that you can't reduce love to a bunch of 1s and 0s.”

—Kristin Rockaway, author of How To Hack a Heartbreak

Buy Links: Harlequin Amazon Barnes & Noble Indie Bound Kobo Google Books

Author Bio: EMILY BELDEN is a journalist, social media marketer, and storyteller. She is the author of the novel Hot Mess and Eightysixed: A Memoir about Unforgettable Men, Mistakes, and Meals. She lives in Chicago. Visit her website at www.emilybelden.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @emilybelden

Genre: Romance, Chick-Lit

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: This was a very fun read for me. Belden writes in a style that I really enjoy, it feels fresh and light. Though the book tackled some heavy subjects, none of it was felt in the writing. The plot was paced well, and the way it progressed felt natural. The idea behind the book was beautifully executed. The characters were well developed and set up in a way that kept the book dynamic and entertaining. Though the characters aren’t relatable, straying from most books in the romance genre, Husband Material didn’t need to rely on that to make the book as enjoyable as it was. All it needed was the wit that Belden incorporated in it, and that was enough for me.

Excerpt:

Well, that’s a first.

And I’m not talking about the fact that I brought a date to a wedding I’m pretty sure didn’t warrant me a plus-one. I’m talking about grabbing a wedding card that just so happened to say “Congrats, Mr. & Mr.” on my way to celebrate the nuptials of the most iconic heterosexual couple since George and Amal. This—and a king-sized KitKat bar from the checkout lane—is what I get for rushing through the greeting card aisle in Target while my Uber driver waited in the loading zone with his f lashers on.

It’s Monica and Danny’s big day. She’s my coworker, whose gorgeous face is constantly lining the glossy pages of Luxe LA magazine. Not only because she’s one of the leading ladies at Forbes’s new favorite company, The Influencer Firm, but because this socialite-turned-CEO is now married to Daniel Jones—head coach of the LA Galaxy, Los Angeles’s professional soccer team. If you’re thinking he must look like a derivative of an American David Beckham, you’re basicallythere. Let’s just hope their sense of humor is as good as their looks when they see the card I accidentally picked out.

Before I place it on the gift table, I stuff the envelope with a crisp hundred-dollar bill fresh from the ATM. Side note: I think wedding registries are bullshit. Everybody wants an ice cream maker until you have one and never use it, which is why I spring for cold, hard cash instead. I grab a black Sharpie marker from the guest book table, pop the cap off, and attempt to squeeze in a nondescript s after the second “Mr.,” hoping my makeshift, hand-drawn serif font letter doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. I blow on the fresh ink, then hold the pseudo Pinterest-fail an arm’s length away. That’ll do, I think to myself.

I lift a glass of red wine from a caterer’s tray as if we choreographed the move and check the time on my Apple Watch, which arguably isn’t the most fashionable accessory when dressing for a chic summer wedding. But aside from the fact that it doesn’t quite match my strapless pale yellow cocktail dress, it serves a much greater purpose for me. It keeps my data front and center, right where I want it, not on my phone buried somewhere deep in my purse. Bonus: the band, smack-dab on the middle of my wrist, also covers a tattoo I’ve been meaning to have lasered off.

Other than telling me the time, 7:30 p.m., it also serves up my most recent Tinder notifications. I’ve gotten four new matches since this morning, which isn’t bad for a) a Saturday, since most people do their Tindering while zoning out at work or bored in bed at night; and b) a pushing-thirty New York native whose most recent relationship was the love-hate one with a stubborn last ten pounds. That’s me, by the way. Charlotte Rosen.

Though present and accounted for now, the battle of Tide pen vs. toothpaste stain went on for longer than I intended back at my apartment, causing me to arrive about half an hour late to the cocktail hour. Which means I for sure missed Monica and Dan’s ceremony in its entirety. I, of all people, know that’srude. I’m someone who is hypersensitive to people’s arrival tendencies (well, to all measurable tendencies, to be honest; more on that later). But I’m sort of glad I missed the I Dos, as there is still something about witnessing the exchange of vows that makes me a little squeamish. I got married five years ago and, well, I’m not married anymore—let’s put it that way.

The good news is that with time, I can feel it’s definitely getting easier to come to things like this. To believe that the couple really will stay together through it all. To believe that there is such a thing as “the one”—even if it may actually be “the other” that I’m looking for this next go-round.

Late as I may be to the wedding party, there are some perks to my delayed arrival. Namely, the line at the bar has died down enough for me to trade up this mediocre red wine for a decent gin and tonic. Another perk? Several fresh platters of bacon-wrapped dates have just descended like UFOs onto the main floor of the venue, which happens to be a barn from the 1800s. Except this is Los Angeles, and there are no barns from the 1800s. So instead, every creaky floorboard, every corroded piece of siding, and every decrepit roof shingle has been sourced from deep in the countryside of southwest Iowa to create the sense that guests are surrounded by rolling fields, fragrant orchard blossoms, and fruiting trees. The reality being that just outside the wooden walls of the coveted, three-year-long-wait-list Oak Mill Barn stands honking, gridlocked traffic on the 405 and an accompanying smog alert.

As I continue to wait for my impromptu wedding date, Chad, to come back from the bathroom, I robotically swipe left on the first three guys who pop up on Bumble, another dating app I’m on, then finally decide to message a guy who looks like a bright-eyed Jason Bateman (you know, pre-Ozark) and is a stockbroker, according to his profile. We end up matching and he asks me for drinks. I vaguely accept. Welcome to dating in LA.

I’ve conducted some research that has shown that after the age of thirty, it becomes exponentially harder to find your future husband. What number constitutes exponentially? I’m not sure yet, but I’m working on narrowing in on that because generalities don’t really cut it for me. Thinking through things logically like this centers me, calms me, and resets me—no matter what life throws my way. All that’s to say, I’m officially in my last good year of dating (and my last year of not having to include a night serum in my skin care regimen), and I’m determined not to wind up with my dog, my roommate, and a few low-maintenance houseplants as my sole life partners.

“Sorry that took so long,” says Chad, returning from the men’s room twenty minutes after leaving. “Did you know the bathroom at this place is an actual outhouse? Thank god it was leg day at the gym—I had to squat over the pot. My quads are burning nice now.”

Confession. I didn’t just bring a date to the wedding, I brought a blind date.

No worries, though. Monica knows how serious I am about the path to Mr. Right and supports the fact that I go on my fair share of dates to get me there quicker. Plus, he isn’t a total stranger; she knows him—or, she met him, rather. He attended her work event last week at the LA County Museum of Art and is supposedly this cute, single real estate something or other. Of course he tried to hit on her and, unlike most beautiful people in Los Angeles, Monica actually copped to being in a committed relationship with Danny. (Who doesn’t like to brag they’re marrying Mr. Galaxy himself?) So she did the next best thing and gave him her single coworker’s Instagram handle and told him to slide into my DMs. It’s a bold move on her part, but I appreciate her quick thinking and commitment to my cause, Operation: Reclassify My Marital Status.

Since Chad first messaged me a week ago, I’ve done my homework on him. And I’m not talking about just your basic cyber stalking. I’m talking about procuring and sifting through real, bona fide data. It’s essentially a version of what I’m paid to do for a living—track down all the “influencers,” people with a lot of fans and followers on the internet, and match them to events we plan for our clients so they can post on social media and boost our clients’ profiles.

Some may think my side-project software, the one that computes how much of a match I am with someone, is a bit…much, but I don’t see it that way at all. I’m on the hunt for a man who is a true match for me—one who won’t just up and leave in the blink of an eye. I left things up to fate once and look how that turned out. I’ll be damned if I do it that way again.

While I studied up on Chad, I conducted a hefty “image search,” yielding about a hundred photos of him that have been uploaded across a variety of social platforms over the years. In real life, I’m pleased to say he checks out. Chad is over six feet tall, tanned, and toned, with coiffed Zac Efron hair that’s on the verge of being described as “a bit extra.” From the shoulders up, he’s an emoji. A walking, talking emoji. But as I step back and admire him in his expertly tailored suit, he looks like a contestant on The Bachelor. In retrospect, Chad is just the right amount of good-looking to complement my physical appearance, which can be described as a made-for-TV version of an otherwise good-looking actress.

“Something to drink, sir?” one of the caterers asks Chad.

“Yes. A spicy margarita. Unless… Wait. Do you make the margarita mix yourselves? Or is it, like, that sugary store-bought crap?”

Eek. I had forgotten my discovery that Chad is a bit of a…wellness guru. I guess so is everyone in LA, but I can’t help but be taken aback when I hear that there are people who actually care about the scientific makeup of margarita mix.

“Fuck it. Too many calories either way,” Chad announces before giving the waitress a chance to answer his question. “I’ll just take a whiskey.”

“Splash of Coke?”

“God, no. So many empty calories.”

With his drink order in, Chad rolls his neck around and pops bones I never knew existed. Then, one by one, the joints in his fingers. The sound makes me a bit queasy but I’m trying to focus on the positive, like his beautiful hazel eyes and the fact that cherry tomatoes and mini mozzarella balls with an injection of balsamic vinegar are the latest and greatest munchie to hit the floor.

Chad turns to me with a smile, his palm connecting with the small of my back. “Should we find our seats? What table are we at?”

Good question, I think to myself. I’m at table six. Chad is…on a fold-up chair we will have to ask a caterer to squeeze between me and Monica’s great-aunt Sally? I kind of forgot to mention to him that I didn’t really get an official okay to bring him tonight.

“Table six,” I say pleasantly with a smile.

“Six is my lucky number. Well, that, and nine, if you know what I mean,” Chad says with a wink accompanied by an actual thumbs-up.

The waitress comes back with his whiskey neat, and he proposes we clink our glasses in a toast to meeting up as we make our way to the table. Still not over the lingering effects of his immature, pervysixty-nine joke, I reluctantly concede to do the cheers with the perpetual high-schooler.

“So, what did you think of Monica’s event?” I say to break the ice as we take our seats at the luckily empty round table.

“Well, I don’t really know what she does for a living, but she is fine as hell. I mean, that’s why I hit on her last week atthe LACMA. Sure, I saw the ring on her finger, but couldn’t resist saying hi to a goddess like her. My god, that woman is something else.”

I nod in agreement. Partly because, yes, Monica Hoang needs her own beauty column in Marie Claire, stat. And partly because I’m too shocked by his crass demeanor to really do or say anything else. Did I say Chad reminded me of a contestant on The Bachelor? I think I meant he reminds me of a guy who gets sent home on night one of The Bachelor.

“She said you’re a real estate…attorney, was it?” I awkwardly segue. “What’s your favorite neighborhood in Los Angeles?”

It sounds like I’m interviewing him for a job, which in a way, I am. But had I known the conversation was going to be like forcefully wringing out a damp rag, just hoping to squeeze out something semidecent, I would have never invited him to join me at the wedding. In fact, I likely wouldn’t have gone through with a date, of any kind, at all. Conversation skills rank high on my list of preferred qualities in a mate. Looks like he’s the exception to the rule that attorneys are good linguists, because my app sure as shit didn’t predict this fail.

So how does my software work, then? Well, it’s all about compatibility. My algorithm is programmed to know what I like and what I’m looking for in the long term. So to see if a guy is a match, I comb through his online profiles, enter the facts I find out about him, and generate a report that indicates how likely he is to be my future husband or how likely we would be to get a divorce, for example. One of the most helpful stats is how likely we are to go on a second date. I’ve determined that anyone scoring above 70 percent means that chances are good we’d go out again. And, well, a second date is the first step to marriage. You get the point. Anyone below a 70, I ignore and move on. Chad pulled a 74, which is a solidC if you’re using a high school grading system. Not stellar, but certainly passable with room for improvement.

As it’s turning out, there’s a lot of room for improvement.

“Huh? I’m not in real estate,” he says with a confused look on his face.

“Oh, Monica said you were an attorney at Laird & Hutchinson?”

“Well, yes, that’s the name of our firm. The Laird side is real estate. But they acquired Hutchinson a couple years ago, and that’s the side of the practice I work on.”

“What kind of law is Hutchinson?”

“We’re the ‘Life’s too short, get a divorce!’ guys. You’ve probably seen a few of our company’s billboards.”

Chad slides his business card my way, and as soon as I see the logo, I picture those billboards slathered all over the bus stop benches down Laurel Canyon Drive and feel physically ill. Not only because he’s in the business of making divorce seem cheeky, but also because I’m wondering what other things I might have missed or gotten wrong about Chad.

“Wait. So have you ever been divorced?” The question pops off my tongue involuntarily. As soon as the words come out, I remember he reserves the right to ask me the same question in return and immediately regret posing it. I’m not ready to explain the demise of my first marriage.

“Me? Nah. Never married.”

Luckily, a server reappears to take our dinner order. But let it be known that if Chad had asked, I would have explained that I didn’t give up on my life partner because I was frustrated he failed to load a dishwasher in any sort of methodical way. I didn’t just get bored and say “screw it,” chalking the whole thing up as just a starter marriage (google it, this is a thing now). In fact, if anyone abruptly left anyone, he abandoned me out of nowhere.

“Would you like the chicken and veggies or the short rib and scalloped potatoes?” the caterer asks me.

“Short rib and potatoes,” I say, a game-time decision made entirely by my growling stomach.

At that, Chad looks at me like I rolled into the Vatican wearing a tube top. “You sure about that, Char? There are so many hidden carbs in potatoes,” he whispers with a hint of disgust.

First off, Char is reserved for people with a little more tenure in my life, thankyouverymuch. And secondly—

“Yes, I’m sure. An extra scoop of potatoes if possible,” I say, loud enough for our waitress, who jots down the special instruction.

“Chicken for me. Extra veggies,” my 74 percent match requests.

There it is. His wellness obsession flaring up again. I’m racking my brain for what to say next to a guy who screams “dead end” to me.

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