#almost 70 pitches in the top of the 3rd

[dinosaurwithablog]

How many walks and runs have to be allowed before Boone takes Clarke Schmidt out of the game or at least gives him a mound visit to calm him down and get his head straight? His two walks have led to 3 runs. Help him!! Buy a clue, Boone. PLEASE. 🙏🏼 another walk loaded the bases. See ya, Clarke. It's about time. Sorry. The truth sucks sometimes. Almost 70 pitchers in 2.2 innings is way too many. Boone used the clue that i sent him. 😁 Please, don't put Holmes in 🙏🏼 Let's go Yankees!!!!!

[possiblyawesometmblr]

Unus Annus: A Complete Ranked List

well, now that every single video has been released, i’ve compiled them all into a complete ranked list, from best video to worst! this took way longer than it had any right to.  (also, please note this is just my opinion, and in all honesty, this list was really hard because so many of these videos are fantastic. you could tell me that you’d rearrange anything in the 50-250 range and i’d probably agree with you.) 

And if you don’t feel like going through the whole list, here’s Unus Annus ranked by month!

If the video is in: Top 50: 5 points 51 - 100: 4 points 101 - 150: 3 points 151 - 200: 2 points 201 - 250: 1 point 251 - 300: 0 points 300 or below: -1 point (Any ties settled by which month had the highest ranking video overall.)

November: 93 October: 72 December:70 September: 66 February: 66 August: 63 June: 60 January: 59 July: 53 May: 43 March: 37 April: 1

The Truth of Unus Annus (Oct. 31st)

Ethan Finally Becomes a MAN (Jan. 10th)

Phasmophobia in Real Life (Oct. 25th)

Mark and Ethan Attempt an Escape Room (Dec. 6th)

Hunting HeeHoo (Aug. 29th)

DIY Geriatric Simulator (Jan. 18th)

Recreating Every Single Unus Annus Video (Nov. 4th)

Mark Teaches Ethan to Read with Hooked On Phonics (Jun 6th)

Ethan Gives Mark a Viking Funeral (Dec. 9th)

Cooking with Sex Toys (Nov. 15th)

Mark Reviews the Impossible Burger But There’s a Looming Sense of Impending Doom (Dec. 13th)

Helium Therapy (Nov. 29th)

2 Truths and 1 Lie -- Waxing Edition (Nov. 26th)

Ethan Will Be Kicked in the Balls (Nov. 22nd)

Being Brutally Honest With Each Other (Nov. 3rd)

Would Chica Save Us From Drowning? (Jul. 24th)

Mark and Ethan are Now Fathers (Mar. 22)

Ethan Kidnapped Mark (Oct. 30th)

Mark’s Outdoor Escape Room (Aug. 28th)

The Unus Annus Last Supper (Nov. 2nd)

Mark and Ethan Go Casket Shopping (Jan. 11th)

The Sensory Overload Tank (Jan. 7th)

Mark and Ethan Summon a Ghost (Nov. 25th)

Mark Knows What Ethan Did… (Sep. 22nd)

Pee Sauna (Jun 17th)

We Made Nude Paintings of Each Other (Dec. 14th)

All of Our Video Ideas that Never Happened (Nov. 5th)

Mark Teaches Ethan How to March in a Marching Band (Sep. 4th)

Hiding Our Sins From Amy’s Holy Peepers (Jan. 2nd)

Our Perfect (and last) Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14th)

The Barrel - Official Music Video (Mar. 9th)

Edward Pumpkin Hands (Oct. 26th)

This Video Is Completely Unedited (Oct. 17th)

Ethan Teaches Mark How to Swim (Jun. 28th)

The Unus Annus Annual Sleepover (Nov. 12th)

Everything’s Legal if You’re Dead (Nov. 10th)

Harnessing Our Dogs’ Unlimited Energy (Dec. 23rd)

2 Grown Men Attempt the Presidential Fitness Test (Dec. 31st)

Learning to Breathe Underwater (Jan. 13th)

Playing Children’s Games in Total Darkness (Aug. 17th)

The Unus Annus Annual Costume Contest (Oct. 28th)

Saying Goodbye to All Our Guests (Nov. 9th)

We Got Pepper Sprayed (Mar. 10th)

The Cryptid Olympics (Oct. 24th)

Mark and Ethan Get Into a Fight (Mar. 8th)

Mark Punishes Ethan (Jan. 27th)

Ethan Watches as Mark Achieves the Impossible (Sep. 29th)

Drunk College Party Simulator (Feb. 15th)

God’s Fitness Test (Nov. 8th)

3 Big Boys Attempt the King’s Royal Fitness Test (Feb. 18th)

The Beginning of the End (Jul. 26th)

Mark Cooks Blindfolded While Ethan Guides Him Through FaceTime (May 22nd)

Pitching a Tent in the Woods But There’s a Bear 15 Feet Away (Aug. 22nd)

We Forced James Charles to Run a Military Obstacle Course (Mar. 23rd)

We Tried a Labor Pain Simulator (Mar. 20th)

The Bad Kind of Cupping (Nov. 20th)

Ethan Destroys Mark’s Van with a Bat (Dec. 7th)

Duct Tape Crucifixion (Amy, Please Don’t Watch This Video) (Dec. 29th)

A Bear Attacked Us in the Middle of the Night (Aug. 24th)

Mark and Ethan Look at a Puppy for 10 Minutes (Jul 7th)

Building the World’s First IKEA Boat (Jun 27th)

Goat Yoga (Feb. 22nd)

10 Strange Amazon Products Ethan Bought Mark Because He Doesn’t Know How To Spend Money Responsibly (Feb. 16th)

Top 10 Worst Things Your Friend Could Possibly Spend Their Money On (Feb 29th)

Fixing Mark’s Hole with Ramen But Every Time We Add Glue We Get 5% Closer to God (Jan. 14th)

Being Attacked By a Fully Trained Bodyguard Dog (Feb. 19th)

Preserving Ourselves in Wax (Dec. 26th)

Santa’s Mukbang (Drinking 1 Gallon of Eggnog) (Dec. 24th)

The Unus Annus Space Program (Jul 11th)

Ethan Explores Mark’s Haunted Basement (Dec. 17th)

Dummy THICC for Dummies | A Tale of Two Butts | Pushing Our Butts Even Further Beyond (Jul. 4th)

DIY Bungee Jump (please don’t try this) (Jan. 4th)

Unregulated Axe Throwing (Feb. 7th)

Making the Ultimate Unus Annus Burger (Sep. 15th)

How to Rescue a Cat from a Tree (Aug. 23rd)

Beer Sauna: Turning a Portable Sauna Into a Portable Hell (Mar. 16th)

The End of Unus Annus Is Almost Here… (May 15th)

We Accidentally Made an SCP While Amy Was Away (Sep. 13th)

We Play The Newlywed Game While Consuming That Which Will Kill the Other (May 23rd)

Building IKEA’s Hardest Piece of Furniture Without Instructions (Jun 18th)

Recharging Our Phones Using Only Brute Strength (Jul. 30th)

Eating Only Onions for 24 Hours: How Many Onions Does It Take to Kill a Man? (May 8th)

The Candy Bra Challenge (Jul 6th)

We Bought Every Grinch Costume on Ebay (Oct. 13th)

Only UNUS-es/ANNUS-es May Watch This Video (May 28th)

Only Watch From 2:25-6:11 --- DO NOT WATCH ANY OTHER PART OF THIS VIDEO (May 29th)

We Force Mark to Swim in the Ocean (HIS GREATEST FEAR) (Oct. 22nd)

Recreating The Miracle of Childbirth (Mar. 21st)

Making Our Own Sensory Deprivation Tank (Nov. 18th)

Turning Mark into an E-Boy (Feb. 2nd)

The First Annual Unus Annus Roast (Nov. 7th)

Reacting to Your Hilarious Green Screen Memes (Jun 5th)

The Ultimate Trolley Problem (Feb. 21st)

We Looked at Unus Annus Memes (Apr. 30th)

Exploring the Unus Annus Subreddit for Your Delicious Memes (May 16th)

BLACK LIVES MATTER: Resources and How You Can Help In The Description (Jun 2nd)

The Chubby Gummy Challenge (Dec. 4th)

Who Can Teach Their Dog a Trick the Fastest? (Mar. 5th)

Taped and Afraid (Dec. 20th)

We Played Strip Poker (May 20th)

Consuming the World’s Hottest Chip (Sep. 30th)

Mark and Ethan Learn About the Human Body (Jan. 26th)

1 Man 100 Accents (Dec. 1st)

Mark Steals Ethan’s Face (Jan. 15th)

Chickens Teach Us About Life and Death (Feb. 17th)

We Lubed Our Floor for a Sliding Competition (Aug. 3rd)

Mark Conquers His Fear of Night Swimming (Oct. 11th)

The Ultimate Paper Airplane Showdown (Jun 20th)

We Pierced Each Other’s Ears (Sep. 11th)

Crushing Watermelons Betwixt Our Mighty Thighs (Jun 3rd)

7 Minutes in Heaven | 7 Minutes in Hell (Nov. 11th)

Two Men in a Trench Coat Teach You How to Save Money at the Movies (Jun 26th)

Having an Adventure in VRChat Because We Can’t Go Outside (Mar. 27th)

Preparing a 5-Star Meal for Our YouTube Famous Dogs (Jul. 16th)

Mark and Ethan Shave Chica (Aug. 8th)

The Wubble (Aug. 7th)

How to Start a Fire (except don’t…) (Aug. 27th)

Unus Annus (Nov. 15th)

This Is Goodbye (Aug. 5th)

Puberty Simulator (Aug. 13th)

This Video Went Completely Out of Control (Oct. 1st)

This Video Will Never Make Sense (Sep. 23rd)

Blowing Our Souls into Some Hot Glass (Feb. 28th)

We Attempted to Create THICC Water (May 10th)

Brick Soccer (Sep. 19th)

Accepting the Truth (Nov. 1st)

Drinking Real THICC Water...How Bad Does It Taste? (May 19th)

How Far Can We Chuck a 16lbs Rock? (Sep. 10th)

Recreating Ourselves as a Cursed Mannequin (Jan. 8th)

Recreating Childhood Photos (Jun 13th)

Nutball: The Most Dangerous Game (Feb. 10th)

Mark Teaches Ethan How to Play the Trumpet (Aug. 1st)

How to Safely Bury Your Friend (Aug. 25th)

Mark Breaks His Nose on an Aerial Hoop (Oct. 4th)

DIY Bed of Nails: OH GOD, PLEASE DON’T EVER TRY THIS (Jul. 20th)

Pee Soda (Sep. 17th)

We Had to Drink Each Other’s Pee (Dec. 16th)

Creating Mark FISHbach (Jun 21st)

Making Our Own Gravestones to Prepare for Our Inevitable Demise (May 11th)

We Made Fanart for Each Other (Jun 11th)

Bear Trapping 101: An Elegant Knot for an Elegant Beast (Jun 25th)

Pressure Washing Our Sins Away (Oct. 21st)

Literally Finding a Needle in a Haystack (Oct. 8th)

We Ate Dog Treats so You Don’t Have To (Sept. 12th)

Giving Away Our 1,000,000 Subscriber Gold Play Button (Dec. 18th)

2 Idiots Get Crushed By 18-Ft Giant Snakes (Mar. 15th)

We Cryogenically Freeze Ourselves (Jan. 20th)

DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 2080 (May 27th)

Fighting Fish to the Death in the Deep Blue Sea (Oct. 23rd)

DIY Teeth (Jul. 17th)

We Attempt to Make UNHOLY Water (Sep. 24th)

We Attempt to Make Holy Water (Sep. 20th)

DIY Cheese (Jan. 29th)

Making an Indoor Tornado to Flex on Mother Nature (Feb. 9th)

Literally Eating Fire (Feb. 6th)

2 Absolute Beginners Experience the Dancing Glory that is Salsa (Jan. 17th)

Team Building for 2: Trust Fall, Tug-of-War, and More! (Aug. 26th)

The Great Ice Cream Cake Race (Sep. 27th)

The Unus Annus Confessional Booth (May 26th)

Blood Bath (Oct. 27th)

2 Dirty Boys Wash Their Filthy Mouths Out With Soap (Jun. 30th)

Who Can Make Themselves Taller? (Jan. 6th)

Mark and Ethan Share a Drink (Aug. 6th)

2 Adults Take a 4th Grade Math Test  (Sep. 6th)

Bobbing for Literally Anything But Apples (Oct. 16th)

Momiplier Teaches Self Defense (Aug. 15th)

The Human Mop (Jul. 21st)

We Attempt Pottery Without Amy’s Help (Sep. 8th)

Becoming One With the Horse (Jun 19th)

Wikifeet: A Tale of Two Tootsies (Apr. 4th)

We Found Websites That the World Forgot About (Apr. 11th)

1 Gallon of Jello Nearly Broke Us (Aug. 20th)

We Finally Drank Our DIY Wine (Sep. 5th)

We Do It Better Than Icarus Ever Could (Jul. 25th)

We Turned Our Bodies Into Art (Jan. 25th)

You Blink, You Lose (Dec. 30th)

Can You Bake a Cookie from Cookie Dough Ice Cream? (Jul. 13th)

Mark Turns Ethan into a Mummy to Prepare Him for the Great Beyond (Dec. 3rd)

Ethan Turns Mark Into a Werewolf (Oct. 29th)

Making Soda with Literally Anything But Soda (Sep. 16th)

Dunking Oreos in Literally Anything But Milk (Jul. 15th)

Making Snow Cones With Literally Anything But Normal Flavors (Sep. 7th)

How Many Slaps Does it Take to Cook a Chicken? (Sep. 2nd)

Play Doh Thanksgiving (Nov. 28th)

Hot Dog’d to Death (Nov. 17th)

Mark and Ethan Build a Scarecrow (Oct. 20th)

Transforming Mark into the Eighth Wonder of the World (Aug. 16th)

Unus Annus Try Pole Dancing (Jul 8th)

Mark Teaches Ethan to Wrestle (Sep. 28th)

Ethan Teaches Mark Gymnastics (Sep. 26th)

Who’s Cutting Onions in Here? (Nov. 6th)

How to Escape from a Hostage Situation (Jul. 18th)

Are We Already Dead? (Feb. 13th)

Bored? Press This Button (Apr. 27th)

Judging Your Terrible Unus Annus Ideas (Aug. 10th)

This is for FUN and NOT a Fetish (Oct. 10th)

This is What Being Tased Feels Like (Jan. 21st)

Learning the Ancient Art of Chinese Archery (Feb. 20th)

Tearing a Phone Book in Half With Our Huge Manly Hands (May 31st)

Beating Inanimate Objects to Death (Dec. 27th)

Edible Slime was a Mistake. (Feb. 23rd)

We Eat Bugs (Jan. 3rd)

Amy Sent Us a Mystery Box (Sep. 21st)

Hydro Dipping a Baby (Aug. 11th)

The Egg Smashing Game (Jul. 12th)

BEYBLADE NUTBALL (Sep. 14th)

Discussing the Idea of Murdering Each Other But It’s Just a Joke and Definitely Not Serious Haha (Feb. 12th)

Mark is Guilty. Ethan Has the Proof. (Jul 1st)

Learning How to Lockpick (FBI Please Don’t Watch) (Jun 22nd)

Mark Needs to Rub Ethan and Only His Mom Can Help Him (Mar. 14th)

Learning to Use the Force (Sep. 18th)

The Secret Unus Annus No-Touchy-Touchy Hand Shake (Apr. 25th)

We Google Each Other to Find Our Darkest Forgotten Sins (Apr. 6th)

Shooting Archery ON A HORSE (Oct. 6th)

Ethan Redefines Male Beauty (Feb. 3rd)

Ethan Roasts Mark for 15 Minutes Straight (Jun 7th)

Playing Cards: The World’s Deadliest Weapon (Aug. 2nd)

Morphing Our Bodies Into Superhero Poses (Jun 4th)

Becoming a Master of Mime (Feb. 11th)

This is the Most Dangerous Children’s Toy Ever Made (Jul. 23rd)

A Serious Conversation Under the Stars (Jul. 29th)

Is Mark a Masochist? (May 1st)

Literally Laying On Literal Broken Glass (Feb. 8th)

Bad, Bad Beans (Jan. 23rd)

DIY Wine (May 30th)

2 Men 200 Accents (Apr. 18th)

DIY Boob (May 24th)

Mark and Ethan Go On a Drum Date (Feb. 27th)

10 Miracle Products to Give YOU the Thiccest Jaw On Planet Earth (Jun. 29th)

Ultimate Horseshoes (Jul. 28th)

Mark and Ethan Get a Full Body Scan to See What Secrets Lay Hidden Within (and learn their body fat) (Mar. 13th)

Acupuncture is NOT Painful (Dec. 11th)

What the Hell is a Pink Trombone? (May 2nd)

Donating Toys to Charity w/ Jacksepticeye (Dec. 22nd)

Poopsie Sparkly Critters (a slime surprise…) (Nov. 27th)

The Great Meat Mistake (Dec. 10th)

DIY Minesweeper (Oct. 7th)

Popping Popcorn with a High Powered Laser (Aug. 12th)

Bobbing for Apples but the Water Keeps Getting Thiccer (Oct. 3rd)

We Buy a Professional Hypnosis Video and React to It (Dec. 5th)

Long Hair, Do We Dare? (Feb. 25th)

Recreating Mark’s Childhood (Jul. 2nd)

Professional Fire Cupping (Going Even Further Beyond) (Feb. 4th)

An Extremely Sour, Not-at-All Sour Meal (Feb. 5th)

Purging Our Sins with a Neti Pot (Nov. 16th)

Attempting to Build IKEA Furniture Without Instructions (Jun 9th)

The Annual Unus Annus Dunk Contest (Jul. 27th)

Our Fans Try to Scare Us With Their Homemade Creepypasta (Jun 12th)

There’s Something Horribly Wrong With This Picture… (June 8th)

Too Many Pickles (Aug. 21st)

5 Products to Grow Your Patchy Beard (Jul. 31st)

What is the Least Viewed Video on YouTube? (Apr. 10th)

Baby Hands Operation (Nov. 24th)

Mark Builds a Pillow Fort for the Very First Time (Apr. 2nd)

Are Reptilian Humanoids Living Among Us? (May 6th)

Mark and Ethan Bet Everything on a Wikipedia Race (Apr. 15th)

We Will Churn Thy Butter (Sep. 25th)

We Take a Lie Detector Test to Uncover Our Darkest Sins (Jan. 12th)

Drawing on Each Other’s Backs in Total Darkness (Oct. 9th)

Drawing Memes from Memory (Nov. 30th)

We Made Every YouTuber Battle in the Hunger Games (Apr. 5th)

Ultimate YouTuber Boxing Showdown (Mar. 30th)

Tasting Weird Food Combos: Pickles and Chocolate? Ice Cream and Soy Sauce? (Jul 10th)

How to NOT be the Perfect Boyfriend (Apr. 13th)

Help Us Break a YouTube World Record (Apr. 17th)

Momiplier Tells Us True Scary Stories from Korea (Oct. 18th)

DO NOT TRY THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES (Aug. 9th)

The Most Dangerous Shave (Jun 23rd)

We Took the Polar Plunge (Jan. 1st)

2 Complete Amateurs Enter a Body Building Competition (Jun 1st)

Does This Magnetic Skincare Routine Really Work? (Jul. 19th)

Mark and Ethan Milk a Goat (Oct. 5th)

Pumpkin Spice “Challenge” (Oct. 19th)

Doing Each Other’s Makeup in the Dark (Nov. 23rd)

We’re Better Than Dogs (Aug. 18th)

We Have the Best Bellies on YouTube (May 25th)

The Good Kind of Cupping  (Nov. 19th)

Hacking the Very Fabric of the Universe (Jan. 30th)

Where in the World is Unus Annus? (Apr. 1st)

Mark and Ethan Become United States Citizens (Jun 10th)

Mark and Ethan Desperately Attempt to Feel Something (May 4th)

We Took an IQ Test (Jan. 9th)

Mark Teaches Ethan Korean (May 13th)

Lost Omegle Video (Mar. 31st)

Finding the Most Cursed Image on the Internet (Jun 15th)

Amazon Shopping for the Apocalypse (Mar. 28th)

Desperately Trying Not to Touch Our Faces (Mar. 24th)

Going on an Internet Scavenger Hunt (Mar. 26th)

Reading YOUR Scariest True Stories (Apr. 21st)

The Scariest True Stories on the Internet (Apr. 12th)

REAL Ghost Hunting At An Abandoned Zoo (March 2nd)

Bleachus Annus (Jul. 14th)

Pumpkin Taste Tier List (Oct. 14th)

Floating in a Real Sensory Deprivation Tank (Dec. 12th)

Was 2020 a Bad Year for Unus Annus? (Aug. 30th)

Speed Reading 1000+ WPM to Gain a Complete Understanding of All Human Knowledge (Apr. 9th)

We Give Each Other Tattoos Blindfolded (Mar. 11th)

Mark’s 1 Weird Talent Leaves Ethan Absolutely Speechless (Apr. 3rd)

Learning to Jump Higher in 16 Minutes and 16 Seconds (Oct. 15th)

You Breathe You Die (Jan.16th)

Breaking Glasses With Our Screams (Aug. 4th)

The 1000 High-Five Challenge (Oct. 2nd)

Becoming the World’s Greatest DJs (Mar. 4th)

Grip Strength Test: Loser Becomes the Winner’s Butler for a Day (Aug. 14th)

Forcibly Turning Mark into Santa Claus Against His Will (Dec. 25th)

We Smell Every Smell (Sep. 1st)

We Wrote a Hit Pop Song in 30 Minutes (Feb. 26th)

Unus Annus Carves the Roast Beast (Mar. 18th)

The Painful World of Aerial Skills (Oct. 12th)

The Koala Challenge: TikTok’s Intimate Couples Trend (Aug. 19th)

Ethan Traps Mark’s Soul in the Palm of His Hand (Jun 24th)

Will We Break the Boards...Or Will They Break Us? (Jun 14th)

DIY Chiropractor (Mar. 7th)

Mark Gives Ethan a HOT (stone) Massage (Aug. 31st)

We Bought a Camera That Can Look Inside Us (Mar. 3rd)

Can Plants Feel Pain? (Sep. 9th)

This is Hiding on Your Body RIGHT NOW. (Jul 9th)

Strange (and legal) Things You Can Do With Your Body After Death (Jan. 28th)

Like It Or Not...This is What The New Human Looks Like (May 7th)

Looking at Long Lost Memes (Jan. 31st)

We Played Mad Libs and Ran It Through Google Translate (Apr. 7th)

Running Internet Drama Through Google Translate (Apr. 24th)

Mark and Ethan Desperately Try to Name a Single State in the USA (Apr. 8th)

Professional Fetish Scientists Rank the Best/Worst Fetishes of 2020 (May 3rd)

Reddit 50/50: Two Player Edition (Mar. 25th)

Mark and Ethan Find the Lost City of El Dorado (Apr. 14th)

Using Google Maps to Find the Lost City of Atlantis (Apr. 20th)

We Hired a Real Hypnotherapist to Analyze Our Darkest Dreams (Jan. 24th)

2 Boys 2 Poops (Sep. 3rd)

This is How We’ll Die... (Jan. 19th)

Nutball Extreme: Taser Edition (Mar. 1st)

You Made Beautiful Music for The Barrel...But Only One Could Win (Dec. 15th)

Can Sound Therapy Heal All Wounds? (Jul. 22nd)

Middle School Science Experiment Teaches Us About Life and Death (Mar. 6th)

Reverse Engineering a Kite to Steal the Idea of Electricity from Benjamin Franklin (Jul 5th)

Ethan’s Relaxing and Totally Normal Nail Salon (Dec. 19th)

Mark and Ethan Take a Personality Test (Apr. 22nd)

An AI Generates Our Worst Nightmare (May 5th)

Learning to Cry on Command to Increase Our YouTube Views (Jun 16th)

How Big Can a Nuke Get? (May 17th)

Granting Access Into Heaven’s Sweet Gates (Feb. 24th)

We Put an Apple Watch in a Rock Tumbler (Jul. 3rd)

Whom Would Eat Whomst First in a Zombie Apocalypse? (Mar. 29th)

Bigfoot is Real and It Ate My Friend (May 14th)

What is the Most Painful Thing We’ve Ever Endured? (Dec. 21st)

Don’t Go In The Ocean....Ever. (Apr. 28th)

An AI Predicts How We’re Going to Die (Dec. 2nd)

Harnessing Our Yodeling Power to End The World As We Know It (May 21st)

The Creepiest Videos on YouTube (Apr. 16th)

What Does Astrology Say About Our Friendship? (Mar. 12th)

Discovering the Secret to Eternal Life (Feb. 1st)

What Happens When a YouTube Channel Dies? (Jan. 22nd)

5 Weird Apps That Predicted Our Death (Mar. 19th)

Emotional Pain vs. Physical Pain...Which is Worse? (Dec. 28th)

How Tall Can a Human Get?: An Impartial Review By 2 Average Height Men (May 12th)

Will AI Soon Take Over Humanity As We Know It? (Apr. 23rd)

Mark and Ethan Hunt the World’s Most Wanted Criminals (Mar. 17th)

The Illuminati...Do They Really Exist? (Apr. 19th)

We Explore the Most MYSTERIOUS Mysteries of Our Wildly Mysterious Mystery Moon of Mystery (Apr. 29th)

Two Male Men Judge Female Women On Their Beauty (Apr. 26th)

We Have the BEST Thumbnails on YouTube and No One Can Tell Us Otherwise (Jan. 5th)

How Much Caffeine Does It Take to Kill a Man? (May 18th)

There’s Still Hope… (Dec. 8th)

Unus Annus ASMR (May 9th)

The Worst Kind of Cupping (Nov. 21st)

[itsgonnabe-brian-may]

Get Down, Make Love

// Requested by: @brianmayoucease

request - This might be a lil dirty. But a fic about Brian creating the really awesome kinda moany guitar noises in "Get Down, Make Love" based on your moans and everybody is like "Brian how'd you come up with that" and he's like "uhm-"

I hope this does your idea justice!! It’s not super smut heavy, sorry! It was a really cool idea, thanks for sharing it with me!! :)) 

wc: 1.3k+

70′s Brian May x reader 

Brian May x reader 

warnings: mentions of sex  (18+ please) 

// 

If you asked the members of Queen to tell you how they were doing, they could've described it in a million ways. Elated. Inspired. Blissful. Happy. Overjoyed. Lucky. Ecstatic. Amazing. Delighted.

In general, they felt as if they were on top of the world.

With 5 albums topping the charts, they were feeling quite good about themselves. Nothing could stop them.

Well... maybe a few months of hitting a creative wall and severe writers' block could.

Everyone was feeling it. Each having been tasked with writing songs that were new and unique, more anthem-like. Something that could get the audience and listener involved. The great idea proved to be more difficult than they thought. 

Brian felt it especially. On top of writing songs, he had to write an interesting and new guitar riff for almost every song. Which he had argued for, but now it was biting him in the ass. He was growing more frustrated and annoyed with the constant bickering between him and his other bandmates and their harsh opinions of his riffs.

It was taking a toll on him, you could especially see it. 

He had bags under his eyes and was constantly fidgeting with his hands. His shoulders tensed up and were painfully stiff. Stressed Brian wasn't a happy Brian so it made you sad that he brushed it off like it was nothing and didn't talk about it, even if he knew that you could see it eating away at him. 

Yet, he had promised himself that he would never let the frustrations of his music reach you. It was a promise he made after your 3rd date, which happened to be inviting you to one of their gigs.

He wasn't happy with how he had played and was grumpy about it. But seeing your face light up with excitement as he walked backstage made it all better and he didn't want to ruin the magic for you. 

You weren't oblivious or naive so you knew that it took a lot of work to make music and perform. Being a rockstar wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. However, it didn't stop you from worrying about Brian when he got into one of his ruts. 

These past couple of months had started out as a week of Brian's moping around. You didn't say anything because he didn't. You acted the part of bubbly Y/N and it seemed to calm him down. At least at the beginning. Days turned into weeks which turned into months and you were starting to get concerned. It felt like you didn't have much of a relationship anymore, just short conversations that ended with holding each other on the couch until one of you called it a night and you went to bed. 

That's what Brian was looking forward too at the end of today. He was still stuck but the fighting had gotten worse and the presence of non-band members at the studio made it worse. Plus the looming deadline made tensions even higher. Most of the day had been a blur and ended with all 4 of the members storming off hoping to cool their heads and attitudes before returning tomorrow. 

Slamming the car door shut Brian grabbed his guitar and bounded up the stairs to your shared apartment. He had gotten home earlier than usual and you weren't supposed to get out of work until 5, meaning he could cool down a bit and maybe make an apology dinner. However, his plans were foiled as he heard your voice singing as you made dinner from down the hall. Brian opened the door as a deep sigh slipped out. 

"Bri?" You asked switching the burner off and looking over your shoulder. 

"Yeah," he mumbled in response. 

Your brow furrowed as you knew today must have been rough. You couldn't keep quiet any longer. 

"How was the studio?" You asked sweetly walking over to him in the doorway. 

"God it was awful, I couldn't get anything figured out and the boys wouldn't shut up! I'm getting so frus-" Brian started, not having the self-control to stop the rant from flowing out of his mouth. 

It was like his mouth had a mind of its own. But he caught himself before he could get too pent up. 

"Sorry love, I didn't mean to-" he started. 

"Don't apologize for that, It's hard work, and I'd be surprised if you weren't frustrated," You said looking up at him.

"I know, I know, I just-" 

"I'm worried about you, ya know," 

"All this frustration is taking a toll on you, don't lie to me and tell me your fine," You said raising your brows at the man, knowing his next words would be those exact ones. 

Brian just huffed, he knew you were right, you always were. He was more upset that he broke his promise that he was about the day's previous emotions, but he didn't want to dwell on that.

"How can I make it up to you?" He sheepishly asked. 

You just laughed and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before pulling away. 

"You won't have to worry about that, Bri," 

Instead of responding he placed his hands on your hips pulling you to him. His lips were on yours, moving slowly. Next thing you knew he was hovering over you on the couch, your hands on his chest. The pace picked up, music frustration turned into sexual frustration quickly. Your teeth pulled at his bottom lip as he tried pulling off his own shirt. Yours was next and your hand placements became more intentional and needy. Your whimpers grew louder and turned into drawn-out moans. Matched with Brian's own moans as your hips collided. You noises were music to his ears, every time you said his name or reacted it pushed him further to his own climax.

A deep groan paired with your higher pitched moan as you both rode out your pleasure released all of the frustration in Brian's shoulders. You also relaxed. 

With round two you admitted feelings of affection and lust. Round three ended with a confession from Brian.

"God, you sound so good when we make love," he panted laying down beside you. 

You opened your mouth to respond, but Brian's excited figure leaping off the couch interrupted you. He pulled on his trousers and shirt, not bothering to button it the entire way. 

"Sorry, love, I got a brilliant idea, I'll be back soon," Brian exclaimed scrambling about picking up his keys and guitar case. 

Within a second he was out the door and bounding down the set of stairs, mirroring his actions hours earlier. Only pausing to place his guitar gently in the passenger's seat. Then with a slam of the driver's side door, he was off to the studio, while you laughed and rolled your eyes. 

It took until 8 am to perfect his ingenious idea. His guitar was all tuned and he was waiting for the boys to show up so he could play for them. 

Once they all showed up he couldn't contain his excitement and didn't let the others do anything besides listen to him play his new guitar part to accompany the lyrics of Get Down, Make Love.

As he finished the last note with an energetic strum, he hopefully looked up at John, Freddie, and Roger who were standing behind the glass. They were all impressed. 

"Brilliant," 

"Absolutely brilliant," 

"Soo, Brian, what made you come to your senses and come up with that?" Roger quipped, but he couldn't deny that it was perfect for the song. 

That was the only aspect that Brian didn't think about when he was caught up in his excitement. 

"Uhmm.... I guess it just came to me?" He coughed, trying to shrug it off. 

Roger didn't buy it and eyed him suspiciously but wasn't didn't get to say anything as he was cut off by Brian asking,

"So when are you going to come up with the drum part?" 

After that day sex might have been Brian's go to frustration release. He still tried to keep his frustrations away from you, but you didn't mind in the slightest. Especially since you were honored to have a Queen song about you. Even if it wasn't exactly about you. 

[markwatkinsreviews]

The 2022 World Cup will soon be upon us, a four-year, five-star event, and PITCH PUBLISHING has a complete set of wonderful football books available to buy right now, covering World Cups past, and World Cups present.

As well as new releases released on the Winter competition being held in Qatar itself there are several reviews, of which these five hardbacks are just some of. “Espana 82″ being covered and out next Summer.

https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/espana-82

The authors lining up (in time for the BIG kick-off) on 20 November, 2022 are, from left to write, and alphabetically, Tom Brogan, Matthew Evans, Sam Kunti, Rhys Richards and Steven Scragg.

World Cup ‘70

BRAZIL 1970 by Sam Kunti

Brazil wears bright yellow shirts and in 1970 they were solid gold. Author, Sam Kunti, describes “how the greatest team of all-time won the World Cup” and (then) for the third time - Pele included, making a Cup hat-trick echoing the achievements of his team (although Pele missed the ‘62 Final due to injury).

The line-up that beat the Italians, 4-1.

Félix

Carlos, Alberto (captain)

Brito

Piazza

Everaldo

Clodoaldo

Gérson

Jairzinho  - who writes the Foreword to the book

Rivellino'

Tostão

Pelé

Manager, Zagallo, managed Brazil a few times, importantly from 1970-1974, and previously played as a forward/winger for club sides, Flamengo and Botafogo. He’s now aged 91; Pele is 82.

Their salsa beat of sublime football continued on through the 1980s and 1990s and possibly 1982 was, with attacking talents such as Socrates and Zico, a missed opportunity to add to their current haul of (currently) being 5 x winners (’58, ‘62,’70, ‘94 & ‘02).

In world football competitions, it appears there’s been a few hotly contested and major matches against the Azure blue of Italy.

https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/brazil-1970

World Cup ‘78

BLOOD ON THE CROSSBAR by Rhys Richards

Argentina ‘78. Videla was President of Argentina, and his corrupt nation was playing in a World Cup Final, which they won, 3-1, beating the Netherlands, after extra time.

Controversially, Argentina had thrashed Peru 6-0 in Group B to qualify for the Final, going into the match knowing they had to score 4 more goals than Group A rivals, Brazil. However, there was no need to cry for Argentina, the hosts had won, covering themselves in tickertape if not glory.

Rhys Richard’s book also goes into extra time, explaining both the political field and football field as seemingly ruled over by a dictator. On the pitch, it was the long-haired, skilful Kempes for Argentina who - complete with film star looks -  scored 6 to finish overall top scorer.  

https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/blood-crossbar

World Cup ‘82  

WE MADE THEM ANGRY by Tom Brogan

The jigsaw puzzle that is the British Isles was almost completed in Spain in 1982. England, Northern Ireland and Scotland all qualified, with “Ron’s 22″ dumped out despite not losing a single game - three wins, two draws. Unfortunately, this time, Greenwood’s squad, didn’t get it right.

Scotland, according to writer Tom Brogan, made the Brazilians angry. David Narey had the audacity to fire in a wonder goal from long range on the 18th minute in a Group 6 game, which stung the Brazilians to fire back four and win outright. In the end, Italy lifted the trophy for (then) the 3rd time.

The Scottish spirit, fostered in qualifying by the strong-man tactics of Jock Stein, is fantastically depicted in a super colour photo in the book showing top players Souness, Robertson and Archibald in an embracing formation of (shirt numbers) 4-11-8, taken just after Robertson had scored against Israel, in 1981.

Scotland were destined not to win and be, as “born winner” Ally MacLeod had previously described the Argentinian summit as being in ‘78, ‘Top Of The World’, but the squad did reach No.5 on ‘Top Of The Pops’ with their football record, ‘We Have A Dream’. By World Cup ‘86, Scotland had another hit charted, a ‘Big Trip To Mexico’.

https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/we-made-them-angry

World Cup ‘86

IN THE HEAT OF THE MIDDAY SUN by Steven Scragg

“The boy Lineker” cannoned-in six goals for England (making him Top Scorer) plus “The Hand Of God” being just some highlights in the Mexico sunshine. As in ‘82, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland all qualified. This time, it was the Northern Irish who faced Brazil in their Group D and Pat Jennings wearing a blue jersey in goal, aged 41. Three were put past him, including one strike from some distance by Josimer. The match proved to be Jenning’s last international game.

Argentina defeated West Germany 3-2 in the final, leaving England manager, Bobby Robson, wondering what might have been had they got beyond the head, hands and feet of “superstar” Diego Maradona - scoring 2 to England's 1 in the Quarter-Final. Scotland finished rock bottom of Group E. Steven Scragg concludes, “Denmark still should have won it though!”

https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/heat-midday-sun

World Cup ‘94

USA’94 by Matthew Evans

Nine venues in nine host cities with “shooting” in Dallas. July 9, 1994, eventual winners, Brazil, beat the Netherlands 3-2 in The Cotton Bowl in front of 63,500.

As Matthew Evans writes in Chapter 15: “The Dutch were enjoying their second consecutive World Cup following a barren period in the 1980s after runners-up places in the 1974 and 78 tournaments. They had progressed as winners of their group despite a defeat to neighbours Belgium in Orlando and swatted the Republic Of Ireland aside in the last 16″.

No England of course, who failed to qualify (do I not LIKE that!) under Graham Taylor but record receipts meant the American’s Captains of industry were - like the theme tune - in “Gloryland”, even though Captain Dunga lifted the golden trophy for the Brazilians after beating the Italians on pens with a crowd of 94,194.

https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/usa-94

For the purposes of this review, if I must be the referee, I hope I’m not a whistle happy one! 

In fact, I really cannot separate them for quality, they are all 10 out of 10!!  

Mark Watkins, Dare radio, 14 November, 2022.

Blaze

[rifthy]

FIIL T1 Pro Vs FIIL T1XS Vs FIIL T1X : Bang For Buck Battle

Hey Lovely Peoples, I think we all know by now that fiil is killing it when it comes to budget true wireless earbuds but which of their buds gives most for the bucks. the t1x, t1xs, or the brand new t1 pro what are the differences between them and which one you should buy. We will be going to check these compete Fiil T1 pro vs Fill T1X vs Fiil T1XS in these criteria.

Get Yourself a FIIL T1 Pro Earbuds at Best Price Here

Get Yourself a FIIL T1XS Earbuds at 15% Discount Here

Get Yourself a FIIL T1X Earbuds at 10% Discount Here

Read Full review of FIIL T1 Pro

Read Full review of FIIL T1XS

Fiil T1 pro vs Fill T1X vs Fiil T1XS : Design and Build

If we look at these designs and build, the older Fiil T1X comes in the last place.

Not just because they’re larger but also because they feature a reasonably average zero frills case with no notable finish or design.

They’re still very impressive at the $40 price point but certainly not the best of all three here.

However, the Fiil T1X buds are actually on par with the other two options.

In terms of build and design being much similar, the Fiil T1XS and Fiil T1 Pro feature an identical design for the case.

Apart from the finish, the T1XS have that glossy Airpod like finish, and the t1 pro feature a matte metallic look.

I personally prefer both are insanely compact. Still, the earbuds on the Fiil T1 pro’s are noticeably more compact, meaning they just about edged the win here.

The T1X and T1XS buds, on the other hand, are actually pretty much identical in size.

But it has to be said that the original T1X does have a clear advantage in IP rating. They include an IP65 rating making them water-resistant and dust resistant too. The other two contenders here have an IPX5 rating, so they’re not dust resistant at all, so you might want to bear that in mind.

1st — Fiil T1 Pro

2nd — Fiil T1XS

3rd —��Fiil T1X

Read Full review of FIIL T1 Pro

Read Full review of FIIL T1XS

Fiil T1 pro vs Fill T1X vs Fiil T1XS : Battery

The Fiil Tt1X step into the ring with six hours of earbuds battery life and 24 hours of case battery life.

Remember, the case is larger, so they should reasonably be the overall winners here.

However, the T1XS also has 6 hours of earbuds battery life and 24 hours Case battery life.

Overall, which is pretty insane when you factor in their considerable reduction in size.

But what about the Fiil T1 Pro? You will have seven hours of earbuds battery life and 32 hours of case battery life.

Of course, these figures will reduce with ANC on.

Still, it is pretty crazy, considering the case is identical to the Fiil T1XS in size. The earbuds are the smallest of all three options.

so that’s a clear win for the Fiil T1 pro, with the last two tied in second place though of course, the Fiil T1XS should realistically come in second place for offering the same battery life from a smaller case

1st — Fiil T1 Pro

2nd — Fiil T1XS

3rd — Fiil T1X

Read Full review of FIIL T1 Pro

Read Full review of FIIL T1XS

Fit and Comfort

About fit and comfort, since all three buds have wingtips, I rate them highly for a secure fit and recommend all three of them for the most intensive workouts.

I could also get a great seal on all three buds with no problems, so that’s a three-way tie, right? Well, not entirely when it comes to comfort.

The Fiil T1 Pros is the clear winner here. Their compact size means far less pressure in your ears.

Meaning reduced ear fatigue compared to the Fiil T1X and XS, but that’s not all the T1 Pro feature an oval shaped driver, which is far more comfortable for me than the round drivers of the other two options

so it’s yet another clear win for the T1 Pros here, with the T1X and T1XS again tied in second place

1st — Fiil T1 Pro

2nd — Fiil T1XS / Fiil T1X

Fiil T1 pro vs Fill T1X vs Fiil T1XS : Mic Quality

But what about Mic quality?

We’ve compared it to the other two with Fiil T1X so let’s go over to the T1XS. The Fiil T1XS is there any noticeable improvement.

Background noise in the T1XS sounded pretty good. I have to say all three mics impressed me here, and it’s safe to say that I’ve heard a lot worse in other budget true wireless earbuds at the same price.

The Fiil T1X was slightly quieter than the other two. However, I couldn’t hear any discernible difference between the Fiil T1XS and T1 Pros.

In terms of overall clarity, ties Fiil T1XS and T1 Pro in first place for mic quality, with the T1x very close behind.

1st — Fiil T111 Pro / Fiil T1XS

2nd — Fiil T1X

Functionality

Well, about functionality and usability, and it’s a straight win again for the Fiil T1 Pro, let

The T1 Pros have Bluetooth 5.2 wireless charging and active noise cancellation. Which makes this a very easy win.

However, all three do have app support, including access to equalizer presets.

This is a lot more than I can say for 99 of other buds out there under $100 theT1XS and Pros also have a low latency mode, too isn’t this enough?

This is particularly helpful when smartphone gaming, so that’s a nice little addition considering we only have AAC and SBC audio codecs.

But despite not having the support of Apt-X, audiovisual lag when connected to my laptop was mixed and non-existent across all three models.

But there is one minor issue here.

All the voice prompts in Fiil T1 pro are in Chinese also. The Fiil app on app stores doesn’t support the T1 pros yet.

I was able to get around that by installing a Chinese app store on android.

Then download their version of the fiil app. which does support the t1 pros; however, it’s again all in Chinese.

But I’m still going to give this round to the T1 Pros despite the language barrier.

You’re not going to have to worry about Chinese voice prompts, Chinese apps, and indeed, the app will support the Fiil T1 pros eventually with the addition of a low latency mode.

The Fiil T1XS come in second place and the T1X in third despite still offering more functionality than all budget true wireless earbuds under $50.

1st — Fiil T1 Pro

2nd — Fiil T1XS

3rd — Fiil T1X

Read Full review of FIIL T1 Pro

Read Full review of FIIL T1XS

Fiil T1 pro vs Fill T1X vs Fiil T1XS : Sound Quality

let’s talk sound quality; the sound signature on the Fiil T1X has always punched well above its price point with one of the best bass boosted sound signatures I’ve heard under 50 dollars; however, as I’ve mentioned before

The overall quality is marred a little by audio hiss and a quiet yet.

Still audible high-frequency beeping sound in the left earbud, the Fiil T1XS improved on this issue quite significantly, reducing the sound of that high-pitched beep to the point where it’s almost inaudible

But theT1XS unfortunately still retains the same white noise level as the T1X, which kicks in just after hitting play and a few seconds after pausing.

The sound quality on the Fiil T1 Pro is mind-blowing for $70.

For once, we’re actually getting a more neutral sound signature in a pair of budget true wireless earbuds, something I have never come across so far. Of course, bass heads needn’t worry because you can always use the bass preset in the app.

If you want more of a bass heavy experience, the white noise is also significantly reduced in the pros though still just about the present.

If you listen for it, if this is a big deal breaker for you, then definitely check out the soundpeats h1, which I reviewed recently. The Soundpeats H1s have managed to eliminate white noise entirely while at the exact same price point.

The soundstage was very similar across all three buds again, all punching well above their price point.

But with audio hiss aside, the Fill T1 Pros most definitely come out on top in terms of overall clarity

Easily besting buds that cost double the price and winning first place here yet again the xs come in second place with a t1x in third place

But not by an enormous margin there if we’re ignoring all of the background static.

1st — Fiil T1 Pro

2nd — Fiil T1XS

3rd — Fiil T1X

Conclusion

So the big question of which buds are the best of the three that you should buy is pretty evident by now.

To be honest, I don’t know why I’m hyping up the FIIL T1 pros won almost every single round, making them the king of fiil’s budget true wireless earbuds

Title Winner — FIIL T1 Pro

Runners Up — FIIL T1XS

Get Yourself a FIIL T1 Pro Earbuds at Best Price Here

Get Yourself a FIIL T1XS Earbuds at 15% Discount Here

Get Yourself a FIIL T1X Earbuds at 10% Discount Here

Read Full review of FIIL T1 Pro

Read Full review of FIIL T1XS

[recentanimenews]

INTERVIEW: Whilce Portacio on His Naruto Cover Art, Manga's Influence on American Comics

  VIZ Media recently revealed its original cover art for a new triple feature of Naruto movies, and it certainly sparked an immediate discussion. The artist behind the illustration is none other than comics legend Whilce Portacio, a Filipino-American artist and writer who has been a staple of the industry since his work on The Punisher. Portacio would go on to handle memorable runs on X-Factor and Uncanny X-Men — in which he debuted his and John Byrne's original creation Bishop — before co-founding Image and kicking off his series Wetworks in 1994 as part of Jim Lee's Wildstorm imprint.  

  Flash forward to 2020 and Portacio is dipping his toes into the world of Naruto, but just how long has that anime and manga influence been kicking around? We got a chance to talk with him about everything from the way this influence worked its way into American comics to his thoughts on Naruto as a character and, ultimately, the reaction to his Naruto cover illustration, so dive in below for some insight from one of the most interesting creators in the field. 

  Crunchyroll News: Have you been able to stay sane and busy during lockdown? 

  Whilce Portacio: Actually, you know, I don't know if you remember, but when the whole thing started there was this meme going around with some people that, you know, this is their life? That's basically a comic book artist's life. [Before all this] there were months where the only time I'd go outside would be to a convention. For me, seriously, though, the cool thing is having [my kids] stuck here with me and, you know, movie nights and long discussions and things like that.

  I've lived here in the US for 52 years, and growing up as a kid in the ‘60s and as a teenager in the ‘70s, one of the things I kind of miss from what we now call the modern world, is there was really not that much in the way of distractions. It was, you know, you got home from school at three o'clock, you ate your snack, you watched the one hour of cartoons, and then you were all kicked out of the house with the other kids, and you had to do something together. You just hung out; there wasn't anything in particular to do, it was just, “Hey, look there's a mountain, let's go see what's at the top of it.” But in that just hanging out with no structure or anything, you actually kind of found out who you were, and who everyone else around you was. 

  Yeah, it was the same with me growing up; there was just a lot of 'We're doing nothing today.' Not in a bad way, just, like, let's see what happens. 

  Right, and you know for creative people, I would believe almost all creatives who are "commercially successful" in the market today, they had a lot of that time where they were basically the fly on the wall and could witness and see people. In order to do a story that relates to people, you gotta create characters and situations that people can understand. Especially in a superhero world. How many people do you know who were affected by gamma rays or something? But if you know enough about how people really react to certain situations, then you can really weave a little of that in there and make it believable. 

  We've got some WIP images straight from Whilce Portacio to show how the image came together.

  You've had an amazing career in American comics, but what's your relationship with manga and anime?

  You know what's really interesting, is that when I was in the X-Office [Marvel’s HQ for creating all the various X-Men books], we were kind of lauded as trying out these different techniques, like, I don't know if you're familiar with the term "Akira lines," and that's obviously directly from Akira, and I think some of the first times we were playing with expressing a borderline of a panel differently also came from manga and stuff. 

  A lot of people don't know this, but apparently, there was a big fan in the X-Office who would work half the year in Japan and half the year in America — and I'm talking about the '80s, okay — and he would then bring back VHS dupes of anime. As you know, manga and anime didn't really become anything socially conscious in the US in the ‘80s, but here we were in the X-Office because of this one person, so a lot of the X artists and writers were the first to be exposed to Macross, to Fist of the North Star; there was also Lensman, and Lupin the 3rd, Miyazaki's one (Castle of Cagliostro). And a little bit after being exposed to those videotapes, we were able to get copies of the Appleseed manga. So a lot of the experimentation that was happening at that point of time in Japan was directly being absorbed into American comics.

  It's funny, I wonder how much of that bled into the early '90s, especially with the rebirth and explosion of Jim Lee's X-Men #1 with the gatefold cover and everything.

  Oh yeah, all of that. The cyberware and stuff like that, that was directly Appleseed. 

  One of the big things we did in Wildstorm — this was in San Diego — there was this big department store called Mitsuwa. It was a Japanese store which had a Japanese bookstore to the side of it. Every Tuesday, all the boys would zoom off over to Mitsuwa to gobble up all the new art books, and it wasn't just restricted to Japanese artists. They had a bunch of the European stuff that would be hard to find. We encouraged that, because they would then get that stuff and get inspired, and absorb different things and experiment with that, so that was a very conscious thing we did in those early days. 

  You can see that experimentation a lot in those panel borders. I was obsessed with Image in the '90s; how everything exploded out of the panels. It was splash page city.

  It's interesting, again, at the time we were only thinking about creative things in terms of being exposed to that stuff. Never, never, until later on — I'm talking up to four, five, six years later, when the convention circuit is huge and anime and manga is embedded in the social structure and stuff — it's interesting that we were being exposed and engaged by certain influences that you guys were going to react to later on. It was that perfect thing of everything converging without the different parts being culturally aware that it was happening. 

  Because it was going to be a commercial property image, which they might then do different things with, the whole image is done on multiple layers.

  Can you tell me a little bit about your work on the Naruto cover for VIZ Media? Were you specifically approached for the project, or did you pitch something?

  They got in contact with me, because there was going to be this DVD, and they wanted a cover done for it and wanted my take on it. I guess it was kind of like the thought of seeing two different aspects of the same styles. One thing you gotta understand about comics is the community is very, very tiny; at Image we were influenced by manga and anime, and then introduced to European artists like Moebius. Comics has always been kind of like a big tent thing; a lot of the cover artists were European painters. Alex Ross was a classically trained painter, and now you flash forward to the later years of styles that are very far from Image, which rely on the colorist and the linework is very sparse. Go back in time to the Moebiuses, the Wrightsons, the Bisleys. So, my point is comics has always involved interpretation. 

  Whenever I got onto a new book at Marvel, I was allowed to change the costumes, and the writer was allowed to explore different avenues. So at the end of Jim and I's run on X-Men, the editor had such confidence in us and the industry standards allowed for it that, you know, almost every other issue Jim and I came up with the storyline. And if you look at even individual characters that have lasted a long time, they've been reinterpreted and reinterpreted. And if you look at the Rolling Stones, they're still the Stones from day one to today, but they adjust to the new trends. They're open to the new trends, and that's how comics were.

  So when VIZ approached me for that, that was the mind frame. My son is the real Naruto fan, and VIZ then sent me a couple of the art books, some of the manga, and three DVDs. Watching the three DVDs, I then totally fell in love with the character of Naruto. But interestingly enough from a comic book standpoint, from a hero standpoint, I then really wanted to interpret it in my way. As I'm learning now — I come from this weird thing where I was exposed to anime and manga in the '80s, but now it's become its own social phenomena — I know nothing of the current social thinking of manga and anime today. So I approached it from the point of view that I've approached every other character I've had, and my interpretation of it.

  When I first was exposed to Naruto before I got this job, I got the impression that he was just this feisty little kid, and I imagined all the feisty little Japanese kids I grew up with in Hawaii. But then when watching the DVDs and really absorbing for the first time a lot of the stories, I realized why he works. When you talk about leaders; when you talk about Scott Summers from the original X-Men, or even when Storm came in, and any other leader out there, they all have this one commonality, and Naruto has it in spades. That stubbornness, when they notice something is wrong — when they notice something just doesn't feel right for them — Naruto has that stubbornness to just keep going at it and going at it until he finally gets it right. He can't stop doing that. 

  If you look back at my work in the X-Office, every time Scott, Jean, and Bobby moved to another book, I petitioned to go to that book, so I always followed the original team. I always had the original concept of Scott Summers — he's a born leader, he knows the right thing to do in a certain situation, he knows how to solve the problems … he just hates bossing people around. That's where he got his "wimp" moniker, but for me, it's always been that he was just too nice of a guy, but he was the perfect born leader. That's what Naruto is. I really love how there are other characters that are "prettier" than he is; there are other characters who are older or who seem more "ninja" and disciplined than he is, but Naruto's in the spotlight. Because he will not stop when something is wrong, when something is bad. And another brilliant thing I love about it is he has to be a kid. Well, he's not anymore, but to start that legend he has to be a kid. 

  If he were older in the beginning he probably would have given up a long time ago.

  Right. As a kid you don't have that yet, and he's fortunate in that he's able to be in those kinds of situations where he can stubbornly have an effect. 

  The team over here (at VIZ) in San Francisco … it's one of the best commercial experiences I've had. When you deal with going across the pond — we have our pipeline, they have their pipeline — so the creatives are trying to work out the differences and coming up with a pipeline that works for everybody. I just can't be thankful enough for the VIZ crew, Alexander and all of them … they were instant communication. When I get a client that's like, "Oh the dot is usually a little further from the other two dots," or "The hair is this way or that way," I just love that. That tells me as a creative person there's a real world here, and to be invited as a guest or visitor to play, that was really great.

  It was one of the smoothest jobs outside of comics I've ever had. 

  Each character is on a separate PhotoShop layer so they can move them all around if they need to.

  I don't know if you've noticed, but the Naruto illustration has kind of taken on a life of its own since it was revealed. It's even been covered on some of the anime blogs in Japan. Have you been surprised to see it spread like it has, or have you even noticed?

  Because of what the internet is today, you know, I try not to dive in too much. I dive in a little bit, because I need to be aware, but not too much. One thing you learn as a "professional creative," especially if you've been able to last a little while, is really to have thick skin. As an artist, you can only do what you can do, you can only follow your instincts, you can only do the best you can do. That's the biggest skill set that's non-creative that you have to learn. You're pouring yourself into this and you have to let it go and go out into the ether.

  I've been applauded for the X-Men. I've also been "raked over the coals" from "X-Fans," and you know, Image … I don't know if you know, but there has been a huge backlash against Image. VIZ actually informed me like two days ago that there was, over here, a little bit of a backlash, and I checked that out a little bit. As a person, of course, that hurts me a little bit. As a creative, you can only put your best foot forward. 

  I recently saw an interview with the creator, Masashi Kishimoto. They were asking him about creating the character and developing the style, and he went on at length about creating proper human proportions, and proper action because he wanted this to be clear, and how this went against some of the norms at the time. It's interesting, then, some of the negative comments I've read over here of, you know, "he looks too realistic." Again, on the personal side, it hurts anybody. Especially on the creative side, you want to be appreciated. But I try to look at it on the macro of, maybe these are ultra fans of these things, and maybe they don't want things to go beyond … when really all that's happening here is I've been given the chance to tip my hat to what a great character and IP this is. 

  So, I try not to, but it's hard. 

  The internet very much favors instant reactions now, there's a lot of that.

  You know, the remarks that really hurt — and you can understand it because it's one of society's main themes, the white-washing mantra thing — those are the ones that most personally hurt me. It was people saying I was helping whitewash Naruto. But I created Bishop. I was known in early comics circles for doing minority faces and stuff like that, and Naruto, truth be told, himself is not a traditional Asian-looking character. Here I was trying to, you know, do Naruto and make him look like he would actually fit, and really work, so I studied Eurasian faces and stuff like that. And I know a lot of Hapa people — I grew up in Hawaii, I think that's where the term originated — Hapa, you know, half Asian, half American or whatever. It's interesting because I'm trying to be true to this. 

  As an artist, you can only do what you know and follow your instincts, and to see those kinds of remarks, you know … 

    Are there any other manga or anime titles you'd like to put your own spin on if given the chance?

  Yeah! Just given my past, from being exposed to Miyazaki taking the Lupin character and doing that with him to, of all things, Fist of the North Star. He had that line 'omae wa mou shindeiru.'

  "You're already dead!" "You're already dead!"

  (laughs) What I'm talking about is, the creatives back then being able to take such a character and make something understandable about them. In all creative fields, if you're successful in my opinion, you're able to do that. 

  Flashing forward to now, and my son being a big fan of Naruto — and I remember buying all these things at conventions for him — and VIZ exposing me to the movies and the manga and the art from the creator, and then finding out that this is a character that I would normally love; the kind of character I've been working on. I don't ever get into this usually, but I'm of the feeling that you take any manga or anime character and expose me to them, and I'll totally get into it. 

  I should totally understand that, because when anime and manga were getting popular, you know a lot of people always try to put distinctions between things. The distinction back then was that superhero comics were just about the action, whereas in anime and manga, even if they were doing a superhero-ish character, it was never about the power, it was always about the character. The only fear I have is that everything is such an epic now! I spend too much time already on the internet … I kinda don't wanna …

  You don't want to start another big commitment.

  I mean, you tell me, with Naruto, how many hours of viewing is that going to be, start to finish? (laughs).

  You've got over 700 episodes to dig into!

  To answer your original question, when I was a kid in Hawaii in the '70s — I became Japanese because all my friends were Japanese — they had this Japanese channel there … and in the early '70s, that's where I became a Kamen Rider fan. 

  I love Kamen Rider. Living in Hawaii, were you familiar with Kikaida at all? 

  Oh, that was my favorite! 

  I would love to see your take on Kamen Rider, and Fist of the North Star, too, I'd love to see that illustration.

  Again, as much as I love American superheroes, it's kind of run the gamut of getting to the four walls of where it can go. I've been involved in so many of the IPs in that light. But manga and anime seem to go into other corners we don't really see. I remember when Neal Adams and Dennis O’Niel did Green Lantern/Green Arrow and did all that social commentary, that was a big, “Whoa, what are you guys doing?” But that's forever, from what I understand, been how it's handled in anime and manga.

  That was one of the biggest appeals early on when we were exposed to Akira. All this stuff [they explored], but they handled it in that cool universe. I guess it's just part of me growing older; wanting to have that playground but have it handle some of those more substantial issues. 

    I think we're in the last hours of the #SuitsForHeroes campaign, which is a great cause. Is there anything else you'd like to get the word out about or an upcoming project you're excited for?

  There is something I'd like to talk about, but … the pandemic has really destroyed schedules. You don't want to talk about something too early and have everyone forget. But I am actually working on something more personal, it's part and parcel to the campaign you mentioned. When I was two years old I came to the United States, and so 52 years later I've absorbed all this and I've done what I can here. The last 15 years I've been going back and forth to the Philippines and learning my language, one, and two, learning about my history, and three, more importantly, learning about my culture; learning about my people. 

  I have a lot of friends back there in the Philippines now, and whether they're rich people or whether they're professionals or whether they're poor people or poor relatives, it just amazes me that in a "poor country," everybody is putting their best foot forward in helping each other out. I have a lot of professional friends who, every time they have a meal, they make extra food for the security guard in their building, or for the poor kids the block over. All my chef friends are cooking meals for hospitals and frontliners every day. It's just really great seeing everybody care about each other, everybody being connected to each other. That's what then solidified in my brain what it means to be Filipino. 

  So right now I'm working on a project that will put down my thoughts on, you know, in my self-centered brain, on what the Philippines, what the Eastern world can teach the modern world about being connected to each other. But do that in a superhero/Kamen Rider type of world. Something that's easily understandable for all audiences, but then using that opportunity for when people come in that door because it's easy to get through, to show them that personal thing. I don't know exactly how we're going to come out and do it, because I'm trying to tackle it in my own way; my version of what the medium has to evolve into. The format itself.

  A lot of people don't know, but in the very beginning of Image, we wanted to do something different. We were going to give everyone the superhero comics that made us popular in the X-Office, but we wanted to give them something different, too, something modern, something new; a shiny object. And that was PhotoShop. I was part of that small team that figured out how to use PhotoShop. And so a part of this project and the way it's going to be produced and the way it eventually, maybe next year, finally gets put out there, is going to kind of be my dissertation on what the visual language of what a comic medium should be. 

  There are definitely some people who could use a lesson on togetherness.

  Putting it into the context of the pandemic — a world event, that all countries are going through — is that if you're in a society where you don't have many connections with other people. Where you, for decades, have only said, "Okay, I'm going to pick my friends because I can relate to them and they can relate to me," and even extend that to family members. Well, if you have a small ecosystem of friends, when a major thing happens, odds are that small ecosystem of friends might not be connected to anything that's happening to them. In today's parlance, you might not know any nurses or doctors or people in politics. 

  If you don't have those little windows because your world is so small, you get scared, right? Because you don't know and you have nobody to reassure you. But if you live in a society where you're all about extended family, where, growing up, your dad's best friend isn't part of the family but you call him uncle … or there's a conscious effort to keep your friends from grade school, high school, your first job, your third job, and stay connected with them. If your world now is so huge with all those connections, when a pandemic happens, you might know a nurse, or you might know somebody who knows a nurse, or whose dad is a nurse, or a doctor, or a scientist, or a politician. So you can be exposed to that information.

  So, you're still going to be scared, but you're going to be less scared, because you're getting information. 

    Let's say someone was looking at your Naruto piece, and it inspires them seeing something in this different style. Is there a message you have for any aspiring artists out there?

  If you look at any creative thing that's successful — movies, songs, stories, comics, manga, anime — the ones that are successful are the ones that are relatable. That's the reason why, you know, you have a story of a farm kid who's told that his dad and mom were killed, and he never met them. And then he goes out into the world, and he meets his dad — he finds out he's actually alive — and it turns out his dad is the most evil person in the whole universe. The reason why that's so impactful, it's because that's a real story that real people have gone through. No, their dad wasn't Darth Vader, but they found out that their dad wasn't a very good guy. 

  All of that comes from understanding what real people are really like; understanding what you're really like. That's why all creatives are always pushed to follow their instincts. What that really means is follow what you know. If you grew up as an orphan and abused by society, those are the stories you're going to do because those are the stories you understand. So, other people who understand that are going to instantly relate to that. 

  What I really mean is, as an artist, as anything in any medium, doing anything, you have to follow your instincts. You have to be pure to who you are. Especially when people like me get the opportunity to "give my take on things," it's my experience. It's true to me, it's true to how I really feel about things. And as I've discussed with you how I really feel in this specific case about Naruto; how I admire the character so much from different points of view. I can only do what I can do. So, that's what everybody has to do.

  Another case in point is Adventure Time. There's no way in the world that if those guys came to me and pitched Adventure Time, that me, this 50-something, would understand that story, and I probably would have rejected it, right? I would have been wrong! Because they were being true to what they know, what they feel, and there was a whole audience out there that understood that. The world needs to stay in that space of allowing creatives to do what their instincts tell them to do. It's going to take young artists just following their instincts, just putting their point of view on everything. 

  Especially in this day and age, where everything can get exposure, whether there's only 100 people who understand what you're talking about, or understand the look of your character … that's enough. Art is created to put your feelings out there and connect, and for an artist, that's the best thing. Even if it's only like two people, to connect with those two people and find that you're not the only one, you know? 

  We'd like to thank Whilce Portacio for taking the time to speak with us. Now, go read some comics and watch Naruto, folks!

  © 2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO. All Rights Reserved

      Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his webcomic, BIG DUMB FIGHTING IDIOTS at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox. 

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[sportsnewsss]

Top facts you need to know about Mohamed Salah

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly, born in Gharbia Egypt on 15th June 1992, is the talk of the football world as his magical performances throughout the season got him many awards. In 2017, he was named the ‘African Footballer of the Year’ after scoring a ton of goals.

The Premier League Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner finished the campaign with a surprising 32 league goals for the Reds, including one astounding goal against Brighton on the last day of the season.

Plenty of airtime has been dedicated to the Egyptian, who even had a Channel 4 documentary broadcasted about his success; however, there are still plenty of things about the forward that a lot of people aren’t aware of.

Salah’s nicknames

The most interesting fact about Salah is that he has several nicknames in both Egypt and the UK. Salah is fondly known as ‘The Pharaoh,’ while few call him ‘The Egyptian Messi.’ Moreover, Liverpool fans call Salah ‘The Egyptian King.’ Some other nicknames are Muslim Messi, Pyramid Pele, Desert Dalglish, Cairo Cristiano, Halal Hazard, Ramadan Robben, Sand Suarez, and Bearded Maradona!

Salah’s favorite food

Salah loves to eat and when in Egypt, he makes sure the first thing he does is to eat Kushari, a traditional dish of Egyptian cuisine consisting of a base of rice, lentils, and pasta mixed together with garlic vinegar and a spiced tomato sauce. It is then topped with crispy fried onions and chickpeas!

“When I go back to Egypt, I call my friend from the airport to buy Kushari for us to eat in the car. I pull my hoodie over my head, jump into the car and then I’m eating it straight away,” Salah said.

Salah’s favorite actors

Salah likes to watch movies and is a huge fan of Leonardo Dicaprio and Egyptian actor Khaled El Nabawy. He probably wants a career in movies after his retirement!

Moreover, he is a fan of the American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist, Muhammad Ali Clay. Like Ali, he keeps fighting back against all the odds and has emerged incredibly in the football world. It appears that the commitment to greatness is a feature they both have in common.

Young Salah had to make a nine-hour round journey from his hometown to Cairo, using 10 different buses in total, in order to get to training. He did this five days a week for almost four years!

Open Wedding

As one of the most prominent footballers ever, Salah married his long-term girlfriend Magi Mohamed, inviting the entire village to his wedding party. Many people joined the couple to celebrate their special day; he even asked Egyptian singers to entertain the people.

This invitation showed how gold-hearted he is welcoming his people and keeping the doors open for his fans to attend instead of inviting a limited number of guests with security guards.

Makkah

Salah is a very religious man, devoted to his Muslim religion and this is shown by how he always bows down to thank God every time he scores a goal at any match he plays. He also named his Daughter Mecca Mohammed after the Holy site in Saudi Arabia called Mecca but later changed the name to Makkah to distinguish it from the name Mecca Bingo which is the world’s biggest gambling Casino!

Controversial award

Salah was named as the Swiss League Player of the Year while he was at FC Basel. At the awards show, the hostess of the event kissed Salah to congratulate him. The forward was heavily criticized on social networking sites by his Egyptian fans.

“They have spoiled my joy,” Salah told to reporters. “They forgot the prize and concentrated on the lady kissing me.”

Saleh added, “Anywhere I go here in Switzerland people applaud, while my native fans criticize me.”

Elections

In the 2018 presidential elections in Egypt, more than one million people crossed out the names of the two candidates Sisi and Moussa to cast their ballot for Mohamed Salah and wrote Salah’s name on their ballot paper. Had they been counted as legal votes, Salah would have finished in second place in the electoral race!

Compassion to a thief

In December 2017, his family got robbed when he was away playing in a game. Egyptian police caught the thief a couple of days later. His father wanted to press charges but Salah convinced his Dad not to press charges. Instead, Salah gave the thief some money and tried to help find him a job in order to turn his life around.

Salah’s salary and net worth

The forward who has spent his youth career with Ittihad Basyoun, Othmason Tanta, and El Mokawloon has a net worth of $70 million.

Mo Salah joined El Mokawloon's senior team from 2010 to 2012 where he scored 11 goals in 38 appearances. He played for Basel from 2012 to 2014 and scored 9 goals in 47 games.

Salah played for Chelsea from 2014 to 2016 and was loaned to Fiorentina in 2015 and Roma from 2015 to 2016. He joined Roma full time from 2016 to 2017 and scored 15 goals in 31 caps.

Salah joined Liverpool in 2017 and scored more goals there than with any other club. He has also represented Egypt at the under-20, under-23, and senior levels.

Salah has won several awards including the Premier League Player of the Month. He finished 3rd for the Best FIFA Men's Player in 2018 and has set several records.

In July 2018 Mohamed signed a 5-year deal with Liverpool that pays $15 million per year. With endorsements, he easily earns $25-30 million per year.

Salah is a quick player

When Real Madrid took on Roma in the Champions League, Salah constantly gave the Frenchman problems with his pace. Although Varane is a very fast player, he was often seen catching shadows when chasing the former Basel star.

According to the Premier League statistics for the 2013-14 season, the former Fiorentina wizard was the quickest player in the league with an average top speed of 20.7 kilometers-per-hour. Now, this might not sound much, but the average means that his collective movements in a game were used to make the calculation.

It means that it took into consideration the time he took standing idle or jogging as well, so that is pretty impressive. Pretty sure that Barry Allen isn’t the fastest man alive, it could just be Mohamed Salah.

The best disciplinary record in the Premier League

Salah’s moral virtues extend onto the pitch too. In 31 league games, he has committed only 14 fouls and has not been booked or sent off even once. This, however, might have something to do with him being too quick for others to catch up.

Salah is a philanthropist

Mo Salah donates a lot of his money to projects in his home village of Nagrig. The forward has invested money into building a new school in the area and he also helped kit out the region’s hospital with the latest medical equipment. Salah also donated $681,500 to a Children’s Cancer Hospital in Cairo so they could buy a bone marrow transplant machine.

After Salah scored the penalty that saw Egypt qualify for this summer’s World Cup, the governor of Gharbiya renamed the forward’s former school the ‘Mohamed Salah Industrial High School’.

Mohamed Salah has inspired many people not just his football fans but every person who desires to succeed in life to overcome obstacles faced and to achieve their goals.

From nothing, he has become the talk of football; his hard work, passion, and dedication have taken him to stratospheric heights in his career, and his simplicity and humility have propelled his popularity.

[itsgoutham]

HOWZZAT?

The annual inter-school cricket tournament in our town is so famous that it gets mentioned even in the local newspapers. For the last 3 years, there has been only one champion - St. Peters school. That’s the school where all the rich kids go to study. They’ve a dedicated cricket ground, full cricket kits, multiple coaches and all that shebang. You would also be interested to know that St. Peters had the most number of irresistibly beautiful girls of our city. I maintain strongly that that’s a big incentive for the guys in their cricket team to keep winning. Seriously.

This year, there has been a miracle - we reached the finals to play against St. Peters in the inter-school cricket tournament. My school is the exact opposite of St. Peters - no ground, no kits, no coach and no irresistibly beautiful girls. So one may wonder how did we even made it to the final two! Don’t get the wrong impression; we’re a pretty decent bunch who are really passionate about the game but not the material you would find in the finals of the inter-school cricket tournament. In fact, our school Principal said this was the first time in my school’s history this happened. He even allowed us to take the day off before the Judgement day to “practice” (which simply translated to “play” for us).

Judgement Day -

While riding doubles to the cricket ground on our bicycles we started discussing our game plan (which simply translates to batting and bowling order).

Rajesh said “My dad got me this new pair of Power brand shoes for the game. They’re awesome.”

I looked at his shoes and marveled at their color.

Subbu added “My dad gave me 500 Rupees to buy my favorite bat. I’m sure our team can get the most out of it” He displayed the new bat to us. It was a BDM brand bat supposedly had the best seasoning, you just touch the ball and the ball will fly. Everyone got excited to play with it.

“Guys, you won’t believe what my father did during this entire week. He let me watch cricket on TV whenever and for as much time as I wanted. His exact words were ‘Anything that will help you perform good’ “, Phani boasted.

“Dude, that’s exactly what my father said too. He also got me this new sports model tee-shirt. Apparently, this tee has some aero-dynamics that will help me run faster”, Sridhar exhibited himself. All of us felt Sridhar’s tee. I don’t know much about a tee-shirt’s skill that’ll make its bearer run faster but the material did feel top notch.

Our entire journey to the ground consisted of several such stories where each player’s dad went out of his way last week to help his son win. Praveen’s mother even did a “special pooja” that will increase our winning chances tremendously. By the time we reached our destination I managed to muster a bit of anger towards my dad for not doing anything special for me that could have complemented my chances.

Just as we parked our bicycles, St. Peters school bus also parked. We saw 11 perfectly dressed players wearing white caps carrying their individual cricket kits get down from the bus and gave us a really-you-guys? look. We are used to that look, so that did not really bother us much.

Toss -

I was the chosen captain at the last minute for my “communication” skills. I called tails and it came down tails. As per our strategic plan we chose to field first. The gist of our strategy is that we want to play longer. If we bat first, there are good chances we won’t last the entire 20 overs.

Weather -

Cloudy. The pitch has a bit wetness due to last week’s rain.

Match -

St. Peters were expected to score somewhere between 150 to 175 runs against us given their batting and our bowling prowesses. They scored 122. Except us everyone in the ground has been pointing out the wetness in the pitch and so how difficult it is to bat on such surface. We did not understand what they’re talking about. Wetness? What wetness? I guess one advantage if you play on streets and random places is that almost always the ball will be wet, courtesy of a nearby water body of some sort. I wondered how could St. Peters players not be used to it?

I remember our team’s best chase ever was 108 runs, that too was against a much weaker team. Against the bowling attack of St. Peters it would be supernatural to chase 122. There is this guy named Zakir in St. Peters who bowls so fast that most of the time the batsman has to just guess where he’s going to bowl and play. Now given the pitch wetness that everyone has been talking about we wondered if we can defend against his bowling attack even if we guess correctly.

In the 15-minute innings break we quickly sorted our two best bats and reiterated the batting order. I am an opening batsman and my technique is alright but I have not been tested against the likes of Zakir et al. As expected Zakir opened the bowling for St. Peters and took a wicket in the first over itself. Over the course next five overs, Zakir took down 3 wickets and we scored 24 runs. To my surprise, I was able to handle Zakir comfortably. I even scored few boundaries of him. Yes, the ball was skidding but that’s hardly a surprise if you know how to compensate for it.

Until the first 10 overs, no one in the ground thought our team had a sliver of hope. Actually, even I thought we would probably get all out by now. We scored 58 runs and lost 5 wickets. At the end of 15 overs we scored 90 runs for 7 wickets. I’m still playing on 48 runs. The captain of the St. Peters team, Rohit, who is a leg spinner, observed that my partner Subbu is not very quick with his footwork and so he decided to bowl the 16th over himself. As anticipated Subbu looked like an inexperienced unicyclist when facing Rohit and got out on the 3rd ball of the over. There was a lot of anticipation in the crowd when I took my stance to face Rohit and am very close to reach the half-century mark. Rohit bowled his typical flighted ball, I moved my feet quickly down the track and hit the ball right behind him out of the ground. I forgot to mention - I never cared for spin bowling.

After 18 overs, we managed to stay alive with just 1 wicket in hand and still needed to score 13 runs. By this time, I started seeing the ball like a foot ball, so scoring 13 runs is not too hard given that we have 12 balls but my partner Rajesh has to keep himself at the crease. That’s the real challenge. Rajesh is a fast bowler and I never seen him last more than 2 balls. Zakir came to bowl the 19th over.

First ball - I flicked it off my pads for a boundary.

Second ball - Yorker. Dot ball.

Third ball - Yorker. Dot ball.

Fourth ball - Over pitched. Easy. I drove it for a boundary.

Fifth ball - Short pitched. I anticipated this compensation. I marched down the pitch and drove it straight past the umpire.

The match is a tie. I could not believe what was happening. We need just 1 more run to win. I told my self it’s now or never; Rajesh is not going to survive the next over. I walked over to Rajesh and told him that he has to run the next ball no matter what.

Sixth ball -  Perfect length ball. I could not do much except to guide it directly to a very nearby fielder. Change of plan - I shouted a big NO to Rajesh. He screamed an even louder YES overriding me. I saw him running towards me like a deer running for its life when chased by a tiger. I had no option but to reciprocate and run to his end. The fielder took the ball and threw it towards the wicket keeper where Rajesh was running to. Since I’m away from danger now I turned around to see the state of affairs. I saw Rajesh doing his fastest ever sprint and longest ever dive to try and reach the crease with his bat. It was a slightly wide throw by the fielder, so the wicket keeper had to stretch his hand to catch the ball and then he took the bails off. The entire St. Peters team shouted towards the leg umpire “HOWZZAT?”. The leg umpire was contemplating. Rohit screamed “HOWZZAT?” again. Rajesh recovered from his dive with a bleeding knee and elbow. Everyone in the ground are staring at the leg umpire for his decision who is still trying to replay in his mind what he saw. St. Peters team asked again “HOWZZAT?”. The umpire finally said “not out”. Rajesh was laughing pointing towards his new Power brand shoes.

For the first time ever, our school team lifted the inter-school cricket tournament trophy. I was awarded the “man of the match” for my 70* not out innings.

During our return ride home, amongst all the cheers and noise, I said to myself quietly - my dad may not have gotten me a new pair of shoes or a new bat or a new tee-shirt or did anything special for me this week but he did spend a hell of a lot of time teaching me the proper technique from the first day I picked up a cricket bat.

[stevecanmakeanythingnerdy]

RANDOM RECORD WORKOUT SEASON 4 Battle 29 The Carpenters : Album (side 2) Vs. Less Than Jake: Hello Rockview (Side A) The Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. Richard did the composing and played most of the instruments, while sister Karen too front and center stage, as the voice that breathed life into the tunes. I mean that almost literally, as one of the unique features that the Carpenters brought to their music was Karen's ability to make you "feel something" not necessarily by shouting into a mic. You see at this time , hard rock and classic rock were kings of the airwaves. The louder the better. the Carpenters were just the opposite. Karen's often quiet, mousy and breathy vocals, were still just as powerful, and to top it all off, she was very nearly naturally pitch perfect every time. Their career ended somewhat abruptly in 1983 by Karen's death from heart failure brought on by complications of anorexia. One positive of the Extensive news coverage surrounding the circumstances of her death was that it increased public awareness of eating disorders. Karen was actually an accomplished drummer, and initially playing drums was her sole role in her musical performances with her brother. When it became apparent to Richard that she had a beautiful and distinctive singing voice, she began to sing for the group in addition to playing the drums. Before 1974, Karen played the drums for all their songs. According to Richard, she considered herself a "drummer who sang". The Phil Collins f the 70's. However, while Karen's vocals soon became the centerpiece of the group's performances, at only 5'4" tall, performing behind her drum kit made it difficult for the audiences to see her. It was soon apparent to Richard and their manager that the audience wanted to see more of Karen, so...somewhat reluctantly, up front she went. The Carpenters are also one of the first acts to use the medium of a music video as promotion for singles. Just another piece of ingeniousness in Richard's nearly perfect master plan. This is a compilation of sorts of The Carpenters greatest hits. "Good bye to Love" has a great guitar lead, and "Top of the World" of course has those famous dreamy slide guitar and dreamy pop keyboards. "Sing" has children singing the chorus la-la-la-la-la. You also get the short and sweet "For All We Know". But the biggest tune on here is the signature "We've Only Just Begun". Everybody knows that Carpenters song. I won't even put up a yellow card for the horn offenses, they seem appropriate. Basically, this is The Carpenters doing the lite brand air rock they are famous for. You know, all the wood working hits. They are good, but whenever I hear their music, I always get the impression that I am at a high school music recital or that I am running through a field of flowers in slo motion. Less Than Jake: Hello Rockview (Side A) Florida's own little ray of sunshine, Less Than Jake return for this season as a contender. This time around offering up their masterful 3rd studio effort (2nd on Capitol records, contributing in a major way (#seewhatididthere) to their exposure and success). Very rarely do you ever get to see a band as they "grow up" and mature, but I feel like this album is a perfect document of just that. Not to insinuate that LTJ have ever done anything poorly, quite the contrary...but when you compare this to earlier recordings, and even to the precursory Losing Streak, you can literally see/hear the more mature song structure. Lyrical development, and timing click, even the artwork is level up stuff. The band hit their stride on this one my friends. From the very first notes of "Last one out of Liberty City" to the "History of a Boring Town" it is a blazing, breakneck speed, barn burner. There simply is not a throwaway track on this album. Less Than Jake prove why they are icons with this effort. There are a lot of positive and strong personal themes on this record too, another reason it has stuck with me all these years. The very first track is almost a personal anthem of mine. In fact, the first three tunes, up to and including "All My Best Friends are Metalheads" is almost a perfect trilogy of middle finger response songs. Also, let's give some credit to the song titles themselves...creative if nothing else. "Five State Drive" could be considered a throwback to the heavy ska influence of earlier LTJ. Drummer, Vinnie Fiorello (yes another unique thing about this band is the DRUMMER writes all the songs) just has the knack for taking a mundane or seemingly meaningless encounter and turning it into a great song. They are like little stories, and that is what makes a good song, Into a GREAT song. For examples, see "Nervous In The Alley", Motto", or "History of a Boring Town". One if the last notable things about this album is the top shelf production! Holy crap is is pitch perfect and beefed up. The mastering is amazing. Also, because I am sure you were wondering: The band's name comes from Fiorello's dog, Jake, who was treated better than the rest of the household, so everything was considered "less than Jake". So, it is a battle of wood workers vs. Ska berserkers. Who wins? The Carpenters took 15 minutes to burn through 112 calories in 5 songs. That measured out to 22.40 calories per song and 7.46 calories per minute. Less Than Jake took their 21 minutes to bust out 7 songs and burn 167 calories. They burned 23.86 calories per song and 7.95 calories per minute. So it looks like Less Than Jake was more than willing to walk away as today's champs! LTJ FTW! The Carpenters: "We've Only Just Begun" https://youtu.be/__VQX2Xn7tI Less Than Jake: "Last One out of Liberty City" https://youtu.be/Qsq43qzEIlA #randomrecordworkout #randomrecordworkoutseason4

[toyou-forme]

Too Much On My Plate

October 3rd, 2019

It’s been way too long but I’m finally feeling so overwhelmed that I feel like I need to write this in order to keep my sanity. 

For whatever reason, I thought I was capable of dong two senior projects this year. One will be publishing a novel & selling it while the other will be an art installment in my school. Both require lots of effort & time, as well as motivation. On top of this, I will be doing a ~70 page portfolio & organize a state workshop to end my senior year. Though I’m taking fairly easy classes, I still take on this workload that I don’t know if I can handle.

I’ve made multiple of calendars in order to keep myself organize but at this point, I’m getting really overwhelmed with deadlines. Not only are my projects starting but applying to colleges just adds to my stress. Early action applications deadline is in less than a month which sends me straight to panic mode. Though I’m on top of my application, I can’t help but stress over the fact that I feel unprepared.

My projects have kept me up several nights in a row & with constant meetings where I need to get approval, I lose up to 5 hours of sleep: allowing my anxiety to get the best of me. I toss & turn for literal hours before working up to a migraine. Honestly these past two weeks have felt like years.

I’ve gotten my novel project approved which I’m excited but also scared about. I’m excited that I’m a step closer to publishing a book, but also scared that I won’t meet deadlines or have too much writer’s block. Not only that but after meetings discussing this project, my mentor reminded me how soon my deadlines are & how I can’t afford to fall behind.

But that also goes to my art installment. I have received 2/3 required approvals from staff & administrators which is really nerve wrecking. I’ve pitched my idea to several people but the last approval I need is an administrative district board. Though I’m scared shitless, I’ve spent several days & hours researching about this project which has slowly build up my excitement.

I can’t help but feel so exhausted by the end of the day. I no longer sleep at night, but instead, my body seems to pass out as I mentally can’t process anything anymore. Because my body keeps passing out, I keep forgetting to take my medication which has made my daily life harder. My emotions are no longer regulated & seem to burst in the moment. I try really hard to not think about my depression or the life it causes me to have, & honestly by taking on so many projects, I don’t have time to think about my depression. Instead I’m slowly stressing about almost everything in life but when I look at it in other perspectives, I’m almost thankful that I’m able to occupy myself.

I no longer have time to overthink situations or feelings because of how much I have going on. I’m beginning to revert back to my workaholic state & honestly, I’m partially okay with that. It gives me something to do & forces me to be productive & genuinely get shit done.

The thing that frustrates me the most is that I can’t tell my worries & stress to others. I’d get comments saying that it’s my fault for taking too much on or that this is what I get for doing so much, when in all honesty, these are the projects I want to do. These aren’t some random things I signed up for & wanting to complain about. These projects that I’m throwing myself & time in are things I want to see come to life.

I want to see a physical copy of my novel that I’ve been working on for the last 4 years in my hand. I want to be able to open it and have it in my bookshelf. I want to return to my high school & see a mural I spent nearly an entire year painting, hung in the hallways for new classes to see. I want to organize & host a workshop to help minorities apply & get into colleges & even receive scholarships. All these things are things I want to do- things that I stand for & want to acknowledge. I’m not doing these things because “I hate myself”, I’m doing these things because I want to feel accomplished & proud of my work. I will complain about the work & progress because of how much work it’ll be & how frustrate it I will get but that’s just because I’m human. In all, I’m just frustrated that if I were to talk about the negative parts of all these projects to my peers, they’ll just remind me how it’s all my fault.

The worst part is that as frustrated as I am, they’re not wrong. I am the one who signed up for everything, nobody forced me to so it is all on my behalf. I just validate my actions because I signed up for these things because I want to, not because I need to.

That’s my biggest takeaway on the workload I have. No matter the blood, sweat, or tears I go through during these many projects, writer’s/artist’s block, meetings, & everything else in between- I will finish these projects & be able to say “I did that” and some-fucken-how that makes it all worth it.

By the end of every exhausting day, I’m still me & though I’m stressing myself out of my God damn mind, I’m still me. So here she is, signing out once again!

- Kunthea

[365footballorg-blog]

Armchair Analyst: Your complete guide to the Week 32 MLS slate

October 5, 20181:01PM EDT

Only three full weekends (and one partial weekend) left in the 2018 regular season. Here we go:

Saturday Slate

Montreal Impact vs. Columbus Crew SC 3 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Montreal are going to bunker – it’s what they do, and it’s what they’re best at. But their bunker can be blown up by clever attackers working between the (wildly compressed) lines, as Toronto FC showed last month and as D.C. United showed last week:

Federico Higuain is a much different type of No. 10 than Lucho Acosta. Acosta’s an almost pure attacker who has little to do with organizing the game, while Higuain’s role is about 180 degrees from that. He moves and organizes and is in charge of system maintenance rather than pure chance creation.

That means it comes down to the Columbus wingers, both of whom dive inside and hit gaps that the passing of Higuain and Wil Trapp create.

So once again, it comes down to this: If Justin Meram and Pedro Santos produce, Crew SC are among the best of the best in this league. If they don’t, they’re a fourth place team in the conference.

As for Montreal, if the defense holds and they pick up the full three points, they buy themselves another week of life against D.C. United’s resurgence. But they need that win – a draw won’t do.

Atlanta United vs. New England Revolution 3:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

The “flat-track bullies” question has come roaring back to life for Atlanta United, and the numbers make it easy to see why:

Against teams with 50 or more points this season: #RBNY 6-1-1 (18 GF, 5 GA)#ATLUND 1-4-2 (11 GF, 13 GA) #MLS

— Dylan Butler (@Dylan_Butler) October 1, 2018

That question won’t be answered this week. What will be answered – at least in part – is “how will the Five Stripes handle another super-intense, super-physical pressing team?” The Revs have been a horror show for months in terms of actually going out there and getting results, but they still try to play hard, fast and relentless pressing soccer. They commit a ton of fouls and accrue a ton of yellows. They try to make every single play into a 50/50.

Atlanta couldn’t handle that last week (against a much better team, but still). In a lot of ways it’s probably a good thing to just get back on that horse.

Toronto FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps 5 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

The only real question in this one is whether TFC will give Sebastian Giovinco the weekend off ahead of his Italy return (they should, even if he wants to play). There are no playoff implications here – there’s no realistic path into the postseason for either of these teams.

Philadelphia Union vs. Minnesota United FC 7:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

What Philly did last weekend in Columbus remains one of the most underappreciated outings of the year by anyone:

Fifth game in 15 days

Second road game that week

Three days after losing a final

At an Eastern Conference team above them in the standings

Playing a rotated squad

All of that and they got themselves a lockdown scoreless draw that keeps open the real, honest-to-goodness hope of a home Knockout Round game to start the playoffs. Hell, if the Union take care of business in these next two home games, then their Decision Day trip to the Bronx could end up being for third place in the East.

But they have to take care of business, and against Minnesota that means keeping track of Darwin Quintero. More than anything, you can’t let him get on the ball and drive through the middle of the field, because when he does that, your defense gets compressed:

Philly have been really good this year at not allowing opposing playmakers to rearrange them like that (Higuain couldn’t do it last week). It’s a fundamental thing that’s a big part of their identity, and it’s unlikely they’ll forget about it at this point in the season. But it’s probably a good reminder to have about what the field’s most valuable real estate is.

FC Dallas vs. Orlando City 8 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Dallas are still top of the Western Conference, but it’s been a month since they scored a goal from open play. New No. 10 Maxi Urruti has created three chances from open play in that time, and it seems pretty clear that the rest of 2018, from an FC Dallas point of view, is going to be about efforting the opposition into some sort of submission. They have a ton of guys who will run themselves into the ground and haven’t really been using the guys that can pass – at least, not the attacking guys – and so far, so good.

There is a new question up top, of course, as Cristian Colman tore his ACL this week and is done until 2019. That could open the door for Dom Badji, who had a promising first 45 minutes with FCD but hasn’t really been the same since Ozzie Alonso stomped his foot, or perhaps Tesho Akindele will get another shot at being a No. 9. Both of them put the ball in the net more than Colman, so there’s at least some positives to the trade-off.

But really, the overall point is that the Orlando City defense is where teams with questions have gone to get answers all season long. Dallas should be fine here (and if they’re not, then they will hear about it in my Sunday night column). 

Sporting KC vs. LA Galaxy 8:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Here’s my colleague Bobby Warshaw on SKC:

I think SKC is the best team in the West, and the 3rd best in the league. The way they move the ball, the way they create chances, their ability to lock down defensively (when they’re focused). They are one of a few teams in the league that consistently control games. But they’ve been dropping points, specifically against playoff teams. They play well, they look like the better team, then they end up tying or losing. And I don’t know how to explain it, or whether they will stop doing it.

Sporting have fallen relatively flat over the past two weeks after an unusually torrid August and early September. That’s typically when SKC’s season falls apart, but instead in 2018 they won six of seven – five by shutout – before hitting a couple of bumps in the road the last two weeks.

The last 20 minutes against RSL last weekend, though, looked better. And I’ll point to an obvious reason why:

Nemeth (70 mins.) – 1 SOG, 0 key passes, 14 touches Rubio (20 mins.) – 2 SOG, 1 key pass, 12 touches #SportingKC

— Nathan Martin (@NMthenoise) October 1, 2018

Diego Rubio’s not going to keep up his insane scoring rate, which is unsustainable. But he’s been lively and precise in the final third pretty much every time he’s been on the field since May. They looked something much more like their old selves once he got out there, and while it wasn’t enough to get the win, it’s enough to remind the rest of the West of just how good this SKC attack has been when it’s whole.

And that will likely be the test for the newly reconstituted Galaxy backline. Forget all the Zlatan stuff – he’s remarkable and that should be well understood by now. What really matters for LA is that they’ve gone out and pitched two straight shutouts, and done so by exhibiting a collective buy-in when out of possession.

What I mean by that is simple and uncomplicated, as is their scheme: When they lose possession, they push up and get as close as possible to the nearest opponent. It’s not a “high press” in the same way that we see the Red Bulls high pressing, but the principle is the same.

Bobby, however, sees potential issues:

I’m not sure what to make of the Galaxy. The Seattle win was impressive, but the Vancouver victory was tough to gauge. They scored on two penalties and a horrible defensive mistake(s), and didn’t exactly carry the game. The defensive intensity has been nice to see, but it’s unclear whether it will work on SKC – they have one of the most composed center backs under pressure (Besler) and maybe the most composed defensive mid under pressure (Ilie) so SKC might find a lot of space beyond Galaxy’s first wave of pressure.

If SKC are going to punish LA, that’s where and when it will happen.

This is the keystone game for a lot of the weekend, by the way. If LA somehow get a win, it makes things much, much more interesting for RSL, Portland and Seattle.

Colorado Rapids vs. LAFC 9 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Things are bleak in Commerce City:

Last 6 games, #Rapids96 have lost every game & have been outscored 19 to 1. Similar Rapids six game runs: 2014: 0-4-2, outscored 19 to 6. 2007: 1-5-0, outscored 11 to 3. 2001: 0-4-2, outscored 14 to 8. … In other words, by GF-GA, this is the worst 6 gm run in team history.

— Mark Asher Goodman (@soccer_rabbi) October 1, 2018

This is another chance for Bob Bradley to figure out if Carlos Vela and Adama Diomande can develop any sort of chemistry in attack.

Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers 9:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

And here is the other truly ginormous game of the weekend – provided that the Galaxy win (again: not a result I’d bet on, but still). If RSL lose at home here, and the Galaxy win, RSL are suddenly in seventh place and below the playoff line. If Portland lose, they stay above the line – but only by a single point, and given how they’re playing, the abyss probably awaits.

So this one’s big. And the result will hinge upon one big thing:

Portland still rely upon their fullbacks in order to get width into the attack. That makes sense – lots of teams do this. Their best chance in last week’s dour scoreless home draw against Dallas came from right back Zarek Valentin pushing up:

But it also leaves them vulnerable when the ball’s turned over in bad spots, and means they have a hard time cutting crosses out. Teams have gotten tons of good looks against the Timbers from the wings lately.

Now, RSL are not a get-it-wide-and-cross-a-ton team, but they are a team that nonetheless generates a bunch of their attacks from their wide play. If the Portland fullbacks push too far upfield, look for the RSL wingers to run this game.

The other area to focus on is (duh) central midfield. Sporting didn’t get the win last week, but they put RSL under constant pressure and forced more than just a few dangerous turnovers out of Kyle Beckerman and Sunny. Those types of midfield turnovers are what gave the Timbers the runway they needed back in spring and summer when they went on a 15-game unbeaten run (which now seems very long ago indeed). 

San Jose Earthquakes vs. New York Red Bulls 10:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

If this past weekend’s huge result over Atlanta is going to matter at all in the grand scheme of things, RBNY need to fly across the country and win this game. The Quakes have been better under Steve Ralston – they’ve played some pretty, effective soccer, using the ball through the midfield and getting their wingers into positions where they can make plays. But many of the same problems that doomed Mikael Stahre have cropped up over Ralston’s 270 minutes, and RBNY should be well-equipped to punish any sort of carelessness at the back and in goal.

Look for San Jose’s deeper-lying midfielders to try to play a lot of long diagonals over the RBNY press. If the Quakes are going to find room, that’s where it will be.

Sunday Matinee

D.C. United vs. Chicago Fire 1 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Let’s take a minute to appreciate the work Wayne Rooney and Acosta have been doing together for United:

That’s what the Fire have to stop. Period.

Monday Night Special

Seattle Sounders vs. Houston Dynamo 10:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

Seattle had one of their best performances of the season last weekend, and much of it ran through Nicolas Lodeiro:

The build up to the Sounders first goal on Saturday was something else. Lodeiro had six touches on the goal, five passes, a shot and the assist…oh, and he also managed to take out @CristianRoldan pic.twitter.com/6d371hVu4e

— Sounder At Heart (@sounderatheart) October 2, 2018

His ability to pop up anywhere when Seattle are on the ball is what gives the Sounders their shape, and what makes him so hard to stop. Watch that clip again, and imagine you’re the defensive midfielder whose job it is to organize against all of that. What do you do?

We’ll find out what Juan David Cabezas’s answer is on Monday night. Do not sleep on the Dynamo – their season’s over, but they’re a much better team with him on the field, and they’d be only too happy to ruin Seattle’s year given what happened in 2017’s playoffs.

One More Thing to Ponder

You hear that? That is the sound of inevitability.

Happy weekending, everybody.

Series: 

Topics: 

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Armchair Analyst: Your complete guide to the Week 32 MLS slate was originally published on 365 Football

[thegloober]

2018 Wild Card Game Preview: Oakland Athletics

Yankees, Athletics announce 2018 Wild Card Game rosters

(Joseph Garnett Jr./Getty)

The playoffs are here! This win or go home match-up features the third and fourth best teams in baseball by record (or fourth and sixth by run differential), and, if prior Wild Card Games are any indication, it’s poised to be extraordinarily exciting.

So who’s ready for a night of stressful baseball? I know I am.

The Season Series

The Yankees and A’s met six times this year, splitting the season series three games apiece; both teams took two of their three home games. The A’s outscored the Yankees 33 to 28, with that edge coming from their last meeting of the regular season, which the A’s won 8-2. Four of the six games were decided by at least four runs, with the only close game coming way back on May 12; it was an extra innings affair that the Yankees won 7-6 thanks to a Neil Walker walk-off single.

Luis Severino faced the A’s in both series. The first time, at Yankee Stadium, he pitched quite well – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K. The next time around, things didn’t go quite so well, as he surrendered 6 runs (5 earned) in 2.2 IP. It was, by Game Score, his worst start of the season. Here’s hoping for more of the former than the latter.

Injury Report

Not much has changed since these teams met a month ago; the A’s are essentially at full strength.

Their 2018 Season

The A’s finished 97-65 with a +139 run differential, and it was basically a tale of two seasons for them. They sat at 29-28 with a -7 run differential heading into June, which was in-line with most of the projection systems out there. From June 1 forward, however, they went 68-37 with a +146 run differential – and looked downright unbeatable at times.

Painting in broad strokes, the A’s were a well-rounded team this year, finishing tied for second in wRC+ (110 as a team), 10th in ERA+ (109), and 10th in defensive runs saved (+25).

The Lineup We Might See

Manager Bob Melvin settled on a rough draft of a lineup over the last dozen or so games of the season, and it looks something like this:

Nick Martini, LF – .296/.397/.414, 1 HR, 0 SB, 129 wRC+ (179 PA)

Matt Chapman, 3B – .278/.356/.508, 24 HR, 1 SB, 137 wRC+ (616 PA)

Jed Lowrie, 2B – .267/.353/.448, 23 HR, 0 SB, 122 wRC+ (680 PA)

Khris Davis, DH – .247/.326/.549, 48 HR, 0 SB, 135 wRC+ (654 PA)

Matt Olson, 1B – .247/.335/.453, 29 HR, 2 SB, 117 wRC+ (660 PA)

Stephen Piscotty, RF – .267/.331/.491, 27 HR, 2 SB, 125 wRC+ (605 PA)

Ramon Laureano, CF – .288/.358/.474, 5 HR, 7 SB, 129 wRC+ (176 PA)

Marcus Semien, SS – .255/.318/.388, 15 HR, 14 SB, 95 wRC+ (703 PA)

Jonathan Lucroy, C – .241/.291/.325, 4 HR, 0 SB, 70 wRC+ (454 PA)

Mark Canha (113 wRC+ in 411 PA) is their lefty-masher off the bench, and Chad Pinder (113 wRC+ in 333 PA) can play almost every position. I reckon that we’ll see both tonight.

The Starting Pitcher We Will See

Liam Hendriks will be starting – or ‘opening’ – for the A’s tonight. He pitched to a 4.13 ERA (102 ERA+) in 24.0 innings in what was a fairly crazy year. He underwent surgery to remove a cyst earlier this year, needed a platelet-rich plasma injection for a torn hip tendon, and was designated for assignment back in June – at which point he had a 7.36 ERA. He didn’t return to the A’s until September 1, but from that point forward he had a 1.38 ERA in 13.0 IP. And his performance was enough for the A’s to trot him out there to kick things off in the Wild Card game.

The 29-year-old righty primarily throws three pitches – a mid-90s four-seamer, a low-to-mid 90s sinker, and a high-80s slider. He’ll mix in a change-up and curve at times, but I don’t think that we’ll see many of those in what should be an ‘air it out’ sort of appearance.

Treinen. (Ezra Shaw/Getty)

The Bullpen

A’s beat writer Jane Lee believes the team’s game plan for the bullpen may be as follows:

The second through fifth innings will likely call for some combination of Lou Trivino, Shawn Kelley, Yusmeiro Petit and Ryan Buchter. From there, Oakland would roll out setup men Fernando Rodney and Jeurys Familia for one inning apiece ahead of Treinen’s entrance.

Oakland’s bullpen has been a strength throughout the season, but let’s focus on those seven names. These are their numbers solely with the A’s:

Trivino – 74.0 IP, 10.0 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 2.92 ERA

Kelley – 16.2 IP, 9.7 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 2.16 ERA

Petit – 93.0 IP, 7.4 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 3.00 ERA

Buchter – 39.1 IP, 9.4 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 2.75 ERA

Rodney – 20.2 IP, 8.7 K/9, 5.7 BB/9, 3.92 ERA

Familia – 31.1 IP, 11.5 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 3.45 ERA

Treinen – 80.1 IP, 11.2 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 0.78 ERA

That’s a heck of a bullpen, with several dominant arms. Treinen was arguably the best reliever in baseball this year, and the options in front of him vary from solid to great. By WPA this was the best bullpen in baseball, and by fWAR it was fifth – and this is the best sample of that group.

Who (Or What) To Watch

This section feels kind of meaningless, doesn’t it? You’re watching a winner take all game between two well-matched teams – and, if you’re reading this, you’re a big-time fan of one of those teams. That won’t stop me from pointing out a few things, though.

These are two juggernaut bullpens. The Yankees were 1st in fWAR and 3rd in WPA, and match-up well with the A’s from top to bottom. How Melvin and Boone deploy their relievers may well be the determining factor in this game.

These are also two of the most prolific power-hitting teams in baseball, too. The Yankees finished first in home runs and ISO, and the A’s finished third in both – and the A’s play in a park that’s not terribly conducive to power. The Yankees have six players with 20-plus home runs, and the A’s have five.

And there’s a ton of history between these teams, to boot.

Yankees, Athletics announce 2018 Wild Card Game rosters

Source: https://bloghyped.com/2018-wild-card-game-preview-oakland-athletics/

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If you have your driving permit in Illinois and your parents have insurance do you need insurance ?

If you have your driving permit in Illinois and your parents have insurance do you need insurance ?

HELP! Car Insurance!!?

I know theres no cheap car Insurance... but anyone know any Insurance that an 17 year old can aford.. ill be 18 in a week... but some people want up to 5,000 every SIX months! i have no one 2 help me out, or to put me on their Insurance.... and ive been going nuts for the past 2 weeks and i need a car for work... PLEASE HELP!!!""

""Would you shop for insurance online? If not, why?

Will having an insurance makes a difference to our lives?

What do you pay for your motorcycle?

I'm a 23 year old guy in FL and looking to buy a sportbike. Probably a used GSX-R 600 or a ZX-6R. My question is what are you guys paying for your bikes? I'm looking to put about $1000 down on the bike itself. So financing probably $5-7,000. I know things will vary with interest rates and all that. But what are you paying total monthly for your bike payment (amount financed/interest) plus insurance. Trying to get my budget together. Thanks.""

Would a 1972 Monte Carlo be expensive to insure?

Someone said it may be expensive to insure this kind of car. Could he be referring to just this one particular car or all muscle cars from the early 70's? keep in mind i am 18 years old if that makes any difference.

How much does your credit rating affect your car insurance premium?

The CSR from my company just told me that continuous coverage is much more of a discount than a good credit rating gives you. So, overall, about what percent do folks in the know think that the credit rating matters?""

""Could $5,000 cover the healthcare insurance premium for a family?""

If McCain's credit becomes reality, doesn't it seem logical that a major healthcare provider would put together an affordable health insurance package for the credit amount and market the heck out of it? Obviously, it won't have all the bells and whistles, but people would be covered. There is the issue of the tax on the premium, but it still seems like a good idea. This link was interesting - it describes both plans clearly: http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/10/news/economy/tully_healthcare.fortune/""

Car insurance help plz?

Hi. I am under 25yrs old every insurance company i have spoken to quoted me a very high price for a 1.4litre. does anyone know any cheap insurers for under 25's. had no accidents, no claims, clean license also what price range is reasonable for fully comp/3rd party F&T. (United Kingdom) Thankyou very Much.""

Is it legal to be declined health insurance for this reason?

I applied with a major insurance company in California, am a single vegetarian in my mid/late 30s no children, extremely healthy never been diagnosed with anything, exercise regularly. I guess they dug up that I had taken a fertility drug in the past - I was never even diagnosed as infertile - it's a really cheap common drug that stimulates your ovaries to produce more eggs but I had no partner to get pregnant with so to was just something I got from a fertility doctor if I wanted to get pregnant with donor sperm. That's not even covered by insurance if I ever want to do that again and the drug's like $20 you can practically get it over the counter it's so common I know tons of women who use it. I didn't even apply for maternity care to be included in my insurance, just a basic policy. Is it legal for them to decline me because of this? So if a woman has a baby they are no longer eligible for insurance? Most women who get pregnant take this drug (including both my sisters) yet they still have insurance. Was it legal for the pharmacy to give them this info? I don't know how else they found out.""

What medical tests should a 53-year-old man have?

I know there's tests that men should have when they're around the age of 50. My dad hasn't been to the doctor for years because he doesn't have health insurance or a job(he's living with my grandma who's 76). He's resisted going to the doctor and says I'll go once I get a job but he's not really been trying. My brothers and I are worried and some have even offered to pay for a doctor's visit but he's just said no and that he can wait. I'd like to know what tests he should have and how much they cost on average. He's been a generally healthy man, but skin cancer runs in our family and when he was around 40 he had a thing growing on his neck that was some sort of cancer. He had it removed and it hasn't come back but it there some sort of test for things like that? All three of my brothers and I are either English or History teachers and if what my dad needs is affordable we'd all like to pitch in. I know this is sort of scatterbrained- I'm in a rush, so thank you if you can answer this in advance.

Am I covered under my father's car insurance policy?

I live in center city Chicago and I don't need a car, so I don't have my own car insurance policy. When I visit home and drive my father's car, am I covered under his policy even though I am not a minor?""

""If i get cheap insurance on my leased car, can the bank find out and reposess it?""

i believe i am supposed to have comprehensive coverage on the car, however its just way to expensive to do that as well as the ridiclous payment i have. I heard somewhere that if you get the cheaper insurance, that the bank can find out and take the car back, which i would obviously like to avoid.""

""Monthly Insurance for a 16 year old, if he were to get a G37 Coupe? IS250? IS250c? TL 2010?""

How much would it cost? an estimate? I heard grades, colors of the car, and other things like that affect the insurance cost? Well if it does, he gets 4.0 and he wants a Black. We live in CA. And our insurance company is Farmers, but I would just want a monthly insurance cost. thank you!""

I need some Insurance Help?

My father, just yesterday tried to commit suicide by slitting his wrist, luckily he had called the cops, but he also had to take an ambulance ride and another ambulance ride to the county hospital where he will be held for 72 hours. He does not have insurance due to his work laying him off, and him not being able to afford it. Is there any kind of insurance that will cover this kind stuff. He has been suffering from depression and high blood pressure for quite sometime, so I don't know if those are pre existing things that would stop insurance...but him and my mother cant afford this at all right now. They live in southern california, if anyone knows of some kind of insurance, please please respond!""

Currently paying for braces no insurance?

If I get dental insurance could I use it to pay the remaining amount of money I have toward the bill? Or is it to late? Also if it is possible what dental insurance should I go with or orphadontist insurance if it makes a difference

What is a fast economical car for a low insurance group?

I have been driving for a nearly and year now and would like to upgrade my car, I have a 1.6 16v VW Golf and was looking for something faster, economical for a low insurance group, thanks. Around insurance group 4 - 7. Nothing any higher.""

What kind of insurance would i get for a honda cbr 600 (im 16)?

im moving out to california after highschool to pursue the music industry so i figured it might pay for itself in gas money, but then i started to think about insurance...""

How much is car insurance in CA?

My family is planning to move to CA because my dad got a better job. We have 4 drives in the house. How much would it cost a mouth for one car?

Do i need to have a insurance to get my car inspection?

do i need to have a insurance to get my car inspection?

Would insurance on a small pickup truck be more than a small compact car?

I am thinking about getting a small pickup truck (Toyota Tacoma, Chevy S-10 type truck). Would the insurance on it be higher than a Small car like a Honda Civic or Hundi Access? I am 18 years old so my rates are already high and have a clean record and I live in New York.""

Which life insurance company is the best.?

Which life insurance company is the best?

How much did your car insurance drop once you turned 25 yrs old?

Did you save 50%? 25%? Less? I noticed a significant drop when I turned 21 and saved about 40% then. What can I expect next year when I turn 25? Obviously it varies and will depend on if my driving record remains clean....just wanted to get some idea

""Buying car insurance(GEICO) for the first time ,?""

Okay so in approximately 9 months I will be purchasing my first car , now I know the smartest and safest thing you can do first is get insurance .. what I need to know is how does it work , like do i get the insurance first ? How does buying geico insurance work ? what's the prices for first time buyers ? Do I pay buy the month , every other month ? .""

Teen Driving Insurance?

I am wondering how much the type of car will affect the price of car insurance for a 16 year old. Which if the following cars will the insurance cost the most? and the least? 00 BMW 323ci, 04 Mazda 3s, 2001 audi a4 1.8t, 04 acura rsx base, 04 mitsubishi eclipse gs""

How can you find out a property owner's insurance company?

Can you sue the owner for violent acts of a minor who lives on their property as well as the violent act physically occuring on their property? My daughter was jumped from behind and beat violently in the head. The girl recieved a ticket yet my daughter had to go to the hospital. Now she is afraid to go to school. The attacker is in her class.

Whats the insurance rate for a dui person in california?

25 years old,07 dodge charger.. i live in pomona ca. 1st dui what am i looking at for monthly insurance payments?""

Insurance for a 2nd hand two wheeler.?

Recently purchased a second hand 2wheeler. Changed RC to my name already. Regarding insurance, which one is good?? 1) renewing existing with my name or 2) purchase a new insurance. which one is best?? do we have any difference for the above options?? Approximately how much it costs for both options??? Please guide me.""

How to choose a Life Insurance?

All the insurance companies sound like they're trying to sell us on the product. We're married in our thirties with two babies. Thanks!

Car insurance advice needed for a 17 year old?

As I said in my previous question. I recently bought a Citroen AX 988cc for 500 and paid 2800 insurance for a year. I thought It was really good as all of my mates had paid well over 3000 for their Fiestas etc. I got alot of answers saying I had been ripped off. I would be so happy if you could tell me of a better deal. I called a total of 46 insurance companies, and used comparison websites on a variety of insurance group 1 cars. And this was the very cheapest I could find. Initially Iwanted a VW Golf. (Not the GTI Version) But I was quoted 9000 a year, not bad but I dont earn that much yet. I have 3 jobs but all are minumum wage. (6-10am, 10am-6pm, 7pm-11.20pm). Could you give me a better deal. Where to go, what other car would be cheaper, and general advice on getting it as cheap as olot of people in my previous question told me they got it. Thanks.""

Do you know how to find a cheap auto insurance online out there?

Where can I get the cheapest online auto insurance?

Health insurance in Michigan for low income person?

Health insurance in Michigan for low income person I live in Chicago, but my mom lives in Northern Michigan. I am reaching out to the Yahoo Answers community for help. My mom is 55 and my dad is 65. My dad gets some health benefits because he is on Social Security, but my mom has nothing. My mom runs a foster care home for abused and mentally handicap kids. I dont know for sure what their income is, but I have to believe it would be in the high 20s to low 30s (nothing). I say foster home, but she really adopted these kids. Because she adopted them, I guess she is technically not employed by the State of Michigan and therefore gets no insurance. My mom is really sick and has no health insurance. She refuses to visit the hospital or a doctor because of the bills. My brother and I have offered time and again to pay for this, but she feels like she is being a burden. This time she finally agreed because she is really really hurting. Does anything here know of low cost assistance she would qualify for? I doubt any traditional health insurance would pick her up because of her age, and general bill of health. Even if they did, I bet the premiums would be too much, and the co-pays would be outrageous. Any direction you can point me in will be helpful for a starting point.""

I have a question about my insurance for...?

ok i am 16 years old...17 in September and i am wanting a motorcycle sometime before i go to college...i have farm bureau insurance and i've not had a wreck before...so what would my insurance cost me to be driving a motorcycle at the age of 17 with no wrecks or tickets or anything?

What will happen because my auto insurance lapsed 2 months in Virginia?

We accidentally let our car insurance lapse for 2 months in Virginia. We paid the insurance company to get coverage again. What should we do with VA DMV? What kind of fine should we expect? Should I contact them? I'm mainly concerned about avoiding a suspended license.

What is the best life insurance policy for people 65?

need life insurance

Cheap car insurance florida?

Looking for cheap company for auto insurance in Florida?

What medical tests should a 53-year-old man have?

I know there's tests that men should have when they're around the age of 50. My dad hasn't been to the doctor for years because he doesn't have health insurance or a job(he's living with my grandma who's 76). He's resisted going to the doctor and says I'll go once I get a job but he's not really been trying. My brothers and I are worried and some have even offered to pay for a doctor's visit but he's just said no and that he can wait. I'd like to know what tests he should have and how much they cost on average. He's been a generally healthy man, but skin cancer runs in our family and when he was around 40 he had a thing growing on his neck that was some sort of cancer. He had it removed and it hasn't come back but it there some sort of test for things like that? All three of my brothers and I are either English or History teachers and if what my dad needs is affordable we'd all like to pitch in. I know this is sort of scatterbrained- I'm in a rush, so thank you if you can answer this in advance.

Paying a full year of homeowners insurance up front out of pocket?

I'm closing next week on my first house and the mortgage guy just informed me that i have to pre pay a full yr of homeowner insurance up front out of pocket. Others are telling me that this is usually included in the closing costs. In my case the owners are paying all closing costs. This was never disclosed to me and now I have to come up with an additional $1,000 that could have went towards new appliances that the home needs. Anyone else have any idea if I can include in the closing costs?""

How much MORE can you expect to pay on insurance for this car?

I know every person will have there own prices, but if i purchase a g35 coupe rather than a sedan, will the insurance skyrocket? I'm 20 yrs old, like 2 tickets, you think i should just go with the sedan?""

False car insurance report?

Me and my boyfriend were in an accident on New Year's Eve in his father's car. Our car was totaled, and since the accident was entirely the other party's fault and their insurance had to cover everything. My family made me go to the emergency room to make sure nothing was wrong with me, and I was told that if I sent the bill to the other lady's insurance they would have to cover it. Well the bill came and when we sent it to his father to send it to the other insurance company he said that he claimed only his son was in the car. Now I'm stuck with a huge bill that I'm trying to find a way out of, but since he lied to the insurance I don't think I can send it to them. There were witnesses and the lady knew I was in the car. Is him lying on the report considered fraud?""

How much do I have to pay for insurance for a 17 year old and still in HS still in highschool?

and going to drive a dodge neon 2002 and 40k miles, with driver's ed., and a B,C average student and I live in Henderson,Nevada....?""

How much would my insurance cost?

hi i am 18 and looking for a vauxhall corsa the old one or a ka the old version i wanted to know from my age and the car on average how much would my insurance cost a month i am from england so could you tell me in pounds please p.s. i know it depends on a lot more things but it will be my 1st car could anyone please give me an average thank you

Cheap auto insurance?

Where is a good place to get cheap auto insurance? Im a 22 y/o female that lives in CA. I need full coverage (liability, collission and comprehensive) on my 2003 Honda Civic. My driving record isnt too bad. Thanks in advance.""

Whats the cheapest insurance company you could find?

I'm 18 years old, just passed my test, and the cheapest quote I could find is LV at 2600 on a 1.2 litre 06 reg corsa.. Help guys??? D:""

What type of lawyer do I need to sue my insurance company to fix my car after a car/deer accident? no injuries?

My insurance company wants to use reconditioned parts, and they are pressuring us to accept a check made out to us and the finance company. Not enough to pay it off or fix it. My vehicle is a loaded Suzuki Grand Vitara with all kinds of electronic stuff. Which were mostly scattered across the road after the deer committed suicide. They (the insurance company) had it towed to my home after the accident because there were no dealers in the area and my home was about 100 miles closer than Dallas. Now they are saying we have to pay to have it towed the 100 miles to the nearest dealer, or use someone local. They are also saying that we contacted the towing company and they are the ones who arranged the tow. There is no one local (car repair shop) who can work on it and get it right. I am afraid if we use someone local it won't be fixed right. The estimate they gave us has parts coming from a salvage and reconditioned parts dealers. I need to find a lawyer who can make them fix it right. If it can't be fixed right then I need them to total it. I have looked in the yellow pages and all of the accident attorneys want injuries. What kind of attorney do I need for just auto damage? I have never sued anyone before. HELP!!!""

Anyone know insurance companies that would cover my car while in Canada?

I'm a US citizen on a temporary work permit in Ontario. I'm trying to figure out the best way to register my car. If I can find insurance that would cover me in Canada I could maintain registration in Calif. Does anyone know about this? Is there an insurance company that will cover my car while I'm registered in Calif/driving in Ontario? Thanks!

Explain which is better to invest in insurance or mutual funds?

Explain which is better to invest in insurance or mutual funds?

Which New York insurance is high?

I've heard New York insurance is high, but which one? Car, house, etc.? And why is it so high?""

""Condo Insurance in Tampa, Florida Needed ASAP?""

Now that State Farm Insurance will no longer be providing home or condo insurance, does anyone know another company that has reasonable insurance? I am not necessarily looking for the cheapest but want a reliable one that will PAY if I actually have a claim!""

""First time driver, why is a Smart Fortwo 2002 reg third party fire and theft so expensive on insurance?!?""

I recently did an insurance quote for a Smart Fortwo, the value of it 2400, and the insurance came up third party fire and theft at 2900!!! :O why for such a small and low engine car would it be so gob smackingly expensive?! I hope someone can put my mind at rest because i really would love to know! Thanks :D""

Whats the cheapest auto insurance for California?

Whats the cheapest auto insurance for California?

Insure the box car insurance? miles question?

hi ive recently done a quote with insure the box and i got my insurance to 1600 on 2006 corsa 998c engine fully comp, i understand they give you 6000 miles standard my question is if i go over 6000 miles i need to top up how much does that cost? 250miles ? 500miles? 1000 miles ? and so on ? anyone know thanks""

Car insurance help in NC?

If your insurance is canceled will I have to pay to get the tag legal again,if so how much.Thanks in advance :)""

What is the best car insurance for a first car and someone in the early 20s?

Hey guys.. So, i'm only 22 years old and i'm looking to to buy my first car really soon but first i want to find a good and affordable insurance agency. So far i'm looking to compare the following insurance companies: Geico, State Farm, Progressive, State Farm, etc. Any other suggestions would also come in handy.. Thank You!.""

How much is car insurance?

I know it depends on a lot of things, but whenever I mention me getting my license, they have the same excuse over and over...So what's an idealistic amount for a young teen 17 w/ 3.0+gpa and a sports car be? In california.""

If your name is not on your parents car insurance?

if your name is not on your parents car insurance, are you allowed to drive it and will they cover you if you get into an accident?""

Which 5 R the best health insurance companies in India?

In terms of claim settlement ratio and efficient service

Insurance costs for two and planning for a baby?

Hello Gurus, I am getting my wife to the USA and i should buy insurance since we are planning to have a baby. Any suggestions on which insurance to go with? I need a good coverage and affordable too. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks, Raj Thanks, Raj""

Which is cheaper car insurance in newjersey?

Which is cheaper car insurance in newjersey?

Car Insurance for 17 year old? UK?

I've tried calling companies - they all say 'We cannot give you a quote' Comparison websites - 'cannot quote' How am i supposed to get insurance... i dont mind paying anything up to 7000 I've tried with 3 different cars... even a 1.0L and still no quotes.

Best Home Owners insurance for my home in allentown PA in the USA?

I am looking for good home owners insurance in allentown pa..i have a regular row home but i think im being over charged by my current insurance any suggestions for a good and affordable insurance.

Mortgage Life insurance or regular Life insurance?

My husband and I got information on Mortgage Life Insurance which basically is kind of like Life Insurance I guess and pays off your mortgage if someone dies. For example, our house is $180,000 and I die in 10 years and the mortgage balance is $80,000 then my husband still gets the original $180,000. He can use this to pay off the mortgage plus have money left over and use for whatever. This sounds like a great deal to get but I want to get other people's opinions who know information on this. It is called Forester Mortgage life insurance. Also, what is the difference between this and regular life insurance? Is regular life insurance better? Thanks!""

What medical tests should a 53-year-old man have?

I know there's tests that men should have when they're around the age of 50. My dad hasn't been to the doctor for years because he doesn't have health insurance or a job(he's living with my grandma who's 76). He's resisted going to the doctor and says I'll go once I get a job but he's not really been trying. My brothers and I are worried and some have even offered to pay for a doctor's visit but he's just said no and that he can wait. I'd like to know what tests he should have and how much they cost on average. He's been a generally healthy man, but skin cancer runs in our family and when he was around 40 he had a thing growing on his neck that was some sort of cancer. He had it removed and it hasn't come back but it there some sort of test for things like that? All three of my brothers and I are either English or History teachers and if what my dad needs is affordable we'd all like to pitch in. I know this is sort of scatterbrained- I'm in a rush, so thank you if you can answer this in advance.

UK car insurance cost for 17 year old female?

I have just past my test and don't have a car yet. Am wanting to get a small car, 1.2 engine. Could anyone give me rough price guide as to how much the insurance will cost me each year. Thanks x""

How are AARP Insurance rates?

What are their rate like compared to other auto insurance companies

Does anybody know cheap autoinsurance company????

Does anybody know cheap autoinsurance company????

Does anyone use or heard of Response.com for auto insurance?

Response.com seems to have the least expensive insurance rates at plans that are what I currently have. Going with them would save a lot of money but I've never heard of them personally.

Why is auto insurance through Geico so cheap?

Why is auto insurance through Geico so cheap?

Can anyone recommend good a rental Insurance for California?

I'm new to this country and trying to find rental insurance is proving to be a bit difficult. Along with the standard earthquake cover everyone seems to offer, I need it to cover expensive jewellery / 2 bikes and accidental damage to lap top or a pc if possible. I have tracked down one potential AAA Insurance, does anyone know if they are any good? Any help much appreciated.""

Whats a cool car with low insurance?

i passed my test in january, i'm 20 years old, what would be a cool car with low insurance, my idea of low insurance is somewhere around 1000 to 2000""

Can I use medicaid as a secondary insurance?

Hello. I live in the state of florida. I just found out im still covered under my mother's health insurance because Im under 24 and I am a full time student. I also qualify for and have pregnancy medicaid, but I want to go to a doctor with my moms insurance because I used this specific doctor for my last pregnancy. My question is, could I still use my medicaid to cover my co-pays with this ob/gyn?I called the office and they said they could send the bills to medicaid for what my mom's insurance doesnt cover. I dont have a job and can't afford to pay the co-pays/lab fees/hopsital fees. thanks""

""I only have liability insurance, how much would my car repair bill come out to be?""

I have a 2004 Nissan maxima and was in an accident this morning. Long story short, it was my fault and fortunately there were no injuries on either side. However, my insurance covers plenty for the other party, but none for me. The damages are in the front right side which includes, the headlight, part of the hood, front bumper, the side panel(but not the door) to be smashed in a bit. Further damages include windshield wiper fluid is leaking, for it was hit too. But the tire and allignment is completely fine, allowing the cop to let me drive it home. Any help?""

About car insurance what will happen?

okay so a few days ago i was driving my breaks dident stop in time it was very slow and i wasent going that fast at all my breaks dident stop in time and i left a very very lil scrab on a guys car and he said if i cant get 220 dollars by tomorow he will call my moms car insurance will that make the price higher?

Will my car insurance rates go up?

A year ago, I got into an accident that was my fault. My insurance rates went up. Recently they dropped but at school, I was pulling out of a parking space and I ran into another girl's car. Will my insurance rates go up if she put in a claim? If so, how much. Any thoughts? What should I do?""

How to get insurance without licence?

can i get insurance if i dont have a licence

How do you put someone on your insurance policy?

I have been insured for 3 years. My bf wants to get a car but with no no claims bonus he is getting quotes in excess of 3000 on the most basic insurance. I've tried to get quotes online to have him on my insurance but driving seperate cars and it seems I can't do this online. Do you have to actually phone them up? I'd prefer to do it online as it's less hassle.

Which is the cheapest and best ( best value) auto insurance in the US?

GEICO sux

Is my life insurance cheap or expensive?

I pay $4 a week and I get $30,000 insurance and I'm 22 years old, male, is this a good or bad deal?""

""After what age in the UK is drivers insurance, cheaper?""

im 20, i passed when i was 18. at what age is insurance cheaper, i know it depends on where you live, car, model, engine etc but at what age?""

What is The Cheapest Auto Insurance for A Beginner?

....

Car insurance switching cars after 2months?

Bought a car from auction and got it insured ( my first car) but not liking it so looking to re-sell at auction. Just wondering how the insurance will work if i wan tto change it to a new car after such a short time??? willl it cost me alot to change ] thanks

Where can i find cheap car insurance?

Im 18 and male and all the quotes i've looked at are coming back from 3000 to 7000, does anyone know where i can get it under 3000?""

Car Insurance Question?

Hello- I was involved in a really bad car accident, where I was the stationary vehicle in my lane and the other driver was completely at fault, texting, speeding at 60+ over, lost control of his car and ended up horizontal in the road- needless to say my car is totaled and the other driver lost his life. He was really close to have taken mine as well. Anyways, my question is how long does it take for the insurance to cut a check so that I can go out and buy a car?""

Car insurance?

i hold a foreign ( non EU ) drive license , and all insurance companies ask for ( claim bonus certificate ) and i explained for them that insurance is completly different in our country than the irish system, but no one listen, and i dont know what should i do if i need to drive a car in Ireland ...can any one help ?""

Does anyone have either Geico or Progressive car insurance.? Or any of the smaller national companies?

I need to change from State Farm. They are charging me an arm and a leg after 10+ yrs as a customer, and a good driving record. But the past year I have been 'dinged' several times. Which has cost me a very considerable raise- 75%- in premiums. I am getting good rates from Geico and Progressive. But I do not know of anyone in my family or circle of friends who have either of the 'new guys'. I would like some feedback. Thanks""

Do you have to pay motorcycle insurance all year round?

or just during the summer?

Would it really cost me a lot more insurance?

I have a 93 camry and I'm trying to look for a new car to replace it. I asked my insurance company about the cost of insurance for a 2009 honda civic EX sedan 4 door and it was 536 every 6 months. Researched that car more to find out it was in an accident so scratched that car out of the picture. I found a 2007 honda civic EX coupe 2 door and no accidents and i see nothing wrong with it. They are both EX but the coupe is older. Would the insurance be much of a difference?

Life insurance for my parents?

Hi i am interested in taking out a life insurance policy on my parents in the UK just wondering if this is possible and whether it can be shared between me and my siblings many thanks.

What medical tests should a 53-year-old man have?

I know there's tests that men should have when they're around the age of 50. My dad hasn't been to the doctor for years because he doesn't have health insurance or a job(he's living with my grandma who's 76). He's resisted going to the doctor and says I'll go once I get a job but he's not really been trying. My brothers and I are worried and some have even offered to pay for a doctor's visit but he's just said no and that he can wait. I'd like to know what tests he should have and how much they cost on average. He's been a generally healthy man, but skin cancer runs in our family and when he was around 40 he had a thing growing on his neck that was some sort of cancer. He had it removed and it hasn't come back but it there some sort of test for things like that? All three of my brothers and I are either English or History teachers and if what my dad needs is affordable we'd all like to pitch in. I know this is sort of scatterbrained- I'm in a rush, so thank you if you can answer this in advance.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/does-insurance-cost-more-you-have-sporty-car-versus-truck-wynkoop"

[sirivsblvckiii-blog]

OUT OF CHARACTER:

– Name: Dani

– Pronouns: She/Her

– Age: 25

– Timezone/Country: EST in the USA

– Triggers: Self-Harm, Suicide, Suicide Ideation, Eating Disorders, Panic Attacks, Domestic Abuse, images of spiders

– Activity Level: Through the holidays it’ll probably be like a 5/10, tbh. I’m working a lot and I’ll have family coming into town at the end of the month for a couple weeks. But once it hits like the middle of January, I’ll probably be a solid 7 or 8/10

– Anything Else?: I LIVE for AU’s. Any and all AU’s. They give me life, and I’ve been wanting to join a really great AU Harry Potter RP. I love building worlds and characters, and I love throwing characters into new situations and seeing how they react. I really love getting into a character’s head and pushing them to their limits, into really dark places. The concept of the First War and the plethora of secrets and mistrust among friends, the never knowing who you can trust, how that changes people and relationships amidst the already paranoia-driven atmosphere of war; nothing gives me more muse than the First War.

DESIRED CHARACTER:

– Desired Character: Sirius Orion Black III

– Why This Character?: OKAY SO, this is going to be long-winded, and I apologize for that! Sirius Black has been one of my favorite literary characters since I was in 3rd grade and first read Prisoner of Azkaban. There was just always something about him, and I don’t even know how to put into words how much I love Sirius Black. I remember the moment I fell in love with him, though, was when I was reading PoA and this man who had just spent the last twelve years wrongly imprisoned for an horrific crime he didn’t commit, and who had just spent the last year on the run with his godson thinking him responsible for betraying James and Lily, offers for Harry to leave the Dursley’s and move in with him. Even after everything he had been through, he was still willing to immediately take in Harry and take his place as his rightful guardian. It breaks my heart that they were never able to be a proper family, but that’s discourse for another time! Sirius was really the first character I ever really roleplayed, and he’s been living and growing in my head for like seven years now, as silly as that sounds. His personality has developed a lot since the early days. I think it’s easy to get sucked into fanon interpretation early on, especially with characters that have a really strong fandom presence. But I’m really proud of the character he’s become, and I think he strays from a lot of typical fanon stereotypes. One of the biggest stereotypes - and one that really bothers - is that Sirius is some kind of Don Juan-Lothario-playboy-heartbreaker-type. “With another shock of excitement, Harry saw Sirius give James the thumbs-up….a girl sitting behind him was eyeing him hopefully, though he didn’t seem to have noticed.” Sirius’ main concern has always been, and will always be, his friends. He cares far more for his Marauders and their pranks than he does for ladies and sleeping around. He’s a flirt, yes, but only because he’s charming and needs to grace everyone with that charm. It’s harmless flirting, and it’s not his fault if anyone takes it as anything other than that. I also love dabbling in the Black side of Sirius. While Sirius is a very good person, I think a lot of that is due to him being sorted in Gryffindor and befriending James Potter. Without his influence, I think Sirius would be a very different person. Not all of that is inherent, but Sirius definitely has a cruel, cunning streak in him (i.e. that time he almost killed Snape). A lot of it is in his nature, and some remains from his upbringing; our early years and development have a huge impact on the people we become. So, I think it’s interesting, especially in the state of the world as it currently is, to play with just what parts of Sirius’ personality become more dominant. Especially in regards to the war’s influence and the harsher actions that are sometimes required, I think it’s a really great opportunity to combine together his ruthless, cunning cruelty and the person the Marauders helped him become to create something totally new.

My Sirius muse is always active and talkative and ready for action, and I love being able to put him out there and develop him further and still learn new things about him even after all this time (reference, yuss!). I’ve always just felt a real connection with him. Maybe it’s because I see parts of myself in him, or maybe it’s because it’s just always been really natural and easy for me to get into his head and way of thinking. He’s always been more than just a character to me.

Ships/Anti-ships: I am complete trash for Sirius/Remus tbh, but Sirius/Chemistry is the most important thing ever. The only thing is that he isn’t always into serious relationships unless he’s good friends with the person first. In my headcanon, he’s never had a real, serious relationship (although every relationship is most certainly a Sirius one, badum-tss!), but he doesn’t feel wanting, necessarily. Relationships aren’t exactly a priority right now when there are bigger things to worry about. // Sirius/No Chemistry, Sirius/Snape

Headcanons: (tw: mania, depression, alcohol, slurs, mentions of dysphoria, mentions of abuse)

    &——–Little Lion Man He is named for the Dog Star, the most brilliant star in the sky, visible from anywhere on Earth - an actuality he embraces and carries with him from the moment he is able to understand its meaning. Ancient namings signify he is scorching, sparkling, bringing destruction and rebirth. He is important, and his name informs everyone of such. But he is the point of Canis Major, a hunting dog, ever looking towards his master, Orion. Later, he would think it ironic that he was intended to obediently follow the hunter across the sky. When he was young, though, he did follow his father, his master, with wide eyes and a thirst to learn, to emulate. He did, after all, carry his father’s name as one of his own. He thought it only right that he be his hunter. He learned quickly enough to leave Orion Black be. His name embraces the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black - a reality he despises when he is older. He is taught to believe that to be a Black, to be a Pureblood is to be royalty. He believes it. He spends the majority of his childhood being trained to be the perfect Pureblood heir, to be the perfect Black. He attends many Pureblood-only balls and events, and is taught the proper way to mingle with other Purebloods. He learns manners and etiquette, and he is expected to be a proper child. There are never many other children at the balls, but he is reminded that it is improper to run about and make a fool of oneself like ordinary children; he is, after all, anything but ordinary. How could he be? His name attests to his brilliance.     &——–My Manic & I Sirius is living with undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder. It won’t ever be diagnosed or named in-game since they’re living in the 70s (it’s still fairly misunderstood now), but it definitely affects him. I feel like his upswings are pretty intense, and it usually results in him wanting to be out all the time and doing things, and he feels infallible and invincible, and he’s a lot more likely to be reckless (even more so than what is typical for him) and make snap decisions. He definitely has a tendency towards dangerous ideas that he thinks are absolutely brilliant (see: the Prank with Snape). On the other end of it, though, Sirius’ lows are very low, and he self-medicates with alcohol when he’s suffering from the worst of his depression (see: pretty much all of Order of the Phoenix). But I don’t think that Sirius recognizes the depression as such. It’s a lot easier for him to acknowledge when he’s feeling great and on top of the world as opposed to when he’s feeling like shit and struggles with getting out of bed in the morning. He’s a lot more likely to hide that side of himself, too, and play it off with a smirk and light-hearted joke at someone else’s expense. He became an expert at hiding his emotions at a young age, after all.

    &——–I Want to Break Free If someone were to ask Sirius his gender and sexuality, though, he would quirk a brow and scoff and let out a bark of laughter because, obviously, he has a cock and he’s not a queer, what sort of daft question is that? But his closest friends know that he enjoys the company of both men and women, although lately he’s sought out men more often than not. Sirius doesn’t remember the exact moment when he realized that he was attracted to men. Maybe it was sometime in his third year, when he had accompanied James to watch the Quidditch team practice. Maybe he had caught himself staring at one of the seventh years - a boy with shaggy brown hair and a strong jaw - as he flew around the Pitch. Maybe he had felt the distinct swoop in his stomach as he had watched, and maybe he had imagined what it would be like to kiss the older boy. But Sirius only really remembers being too afraid to say anything to James, Remus, and Peter, being afraid that it would change everything and they would think him a freak, a faggot they didn’t want to be friends with, anymore. James found out, though, and nothing changed between them, and soon after so did Remus and Peter. It became much easier after that to accept that part of himself. He doesn’t hide that amongst his friends or the Order; although the muggle world is less accepting of his sexuality, he doesn’t pay much attention to anyone who gives him shit. He flips them the bird and continues on his way. What he would never admit to, however, is the many times he has passed frilly shop windows and imagined being able to wear whatever clothes he wants that he sees, or wished he could be as comfortable in his own skin as David Bowie, or Freddie Mercury. Sirius doesn’t always feel exactly right in the body he has, and he doesn’t understand it even a little bit. After all, it’s hard enough to deal with the war; he doesn’t want to even begin to focus on the whole gender bit. The other thing he would never, ever admit to is the feelings he has harbored for Remus since they were realized in roughly fifth year. He remembers it was an ordinary moment; Remus had been working on an essay and nibbling on the end of his quill, and Sirius had been watching him, entirely too distracted, and it had just…hit him. But, of course, he wasn’t deserving of Remus. He would never be deserving of Remus. Sirius wrestled with the feelings for a good year or so, but he has long since accepted them without hope for it ever changing. In modern terminology, he would identify as a gender-fluid demiromantic pansexual, but that’s too fancy and way ahead of his time, so all he knows is that he’s queer - just another way in which he would have disappointed his family.     &——–The best thing that has ever happened:   “I know that you will make us proud, Sirius.”

No one ever expected Sirius to be a Gryffindor; he certainly hadn’t when he had stepped up to the stool to be sorted his first year at Hogwarts. His entire family had come from Slytherin. He even knew that, somewhere in his lineage, he was related to Salazar Slytherin himself. But as Sirius’ attention had drifted to the far table of green and silver, he had felt a tug in his stomach that he hadn’t really understood. ….“GRYFFINDOR!” He ignored the shouts and jests coming from the Slytherin table to rightfully take his place amongst the lions of Hogwarts. He was joined, thankfully, by James and the redhead he had met with the greasy boy (he was grateful - and always would be - that the greasy one ended up in Slytherin). It wasn’t before he was whisked away to his dorm and he got to know his fellow dormmates: one sickly-looking boy named Remus and a short, ordinary boy named Peter. Sirius thought he could do without Remus and Peter. Who needed them when he had James, his best friend? But Remus and Peter did prove themselves when they turned the greasy boy’s hair a bright shade of pink for a week. That, Sirius decided, was enough to earn his respect. The four of them quickly became inseparable, and Sirius decided that being a Lion was worth the consequent Howlers he received, even if meant returning from the Christmas hols with bruises hidden beneath scratchy sweaters.     &——–And the worst:  “Blood traitor! Filth! Scum!“ He tried not to cry out as his mother punished him one final time for being an insolent disgrace; he wouldn’t give her the pleasure. He was worse for the wear, however, when she finished with him and sent him off to think about his disobedience. Again. Sirius sat, on the edge of his bed, trembling; it was out of his control. He thought, but it didn’t take long for him to realize what he must do. He needed to leave. He hastily threw what belongings he could into his school trunk, gathering up anything he deemed important. He was able to perform a simple expansion and levitation charm - he decided he could deal with the Ministry later - and led his trunk out of his room. But he knew he needed to stop at his brother’s room before he left. Sirius loved his brother and he has always loved his brother, but Regulus was not like him. He was weak-minded and bent to the wishes of their parents. Sirius always wanted to keep Regulus safe from them, from Mother, but he went to school and was sorted into Gryffindor and it changed. He became the disgrace, and it had been up to Regulus to be the perfect son. Sirius never wanted that for him, and he didn’t want that for him now. So he tried to bring Regulus with him. He wanted to ask, wanted him to leave and escape the hell they had grown up in. But Regulus didn’t leave with him. He wasn’t like Sirius. He was an idiot, and he didn’t leave. So Sirius goes. But not before he watched as his mother blasted his name from the family tree. (Sirius will always regret not making Regulus leave with him.)

Please Provide At Least One:

✓ Humor ——- “Did you like question ten, Moony?”

He is barking laughter and poorly timed jokes, puns upon puns - seriously. A grin as wide as the day is long, carefree and easy. Light in the black of war; white sheep in the Black family. His good humor has covered him and carried him through all that he’s seen. It’s as much a shield for himself as it is those with whom he surrounds himself. ✓ Loyal ——- “Died rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you!”

He is fierce, heart full for those he holds dear. Not many are kept that close, but there is no hesitation when asked to give his life. Warmth and comfort, in the crook of his smile and the corners of his eyes. Brilliance and steadfast companionship: a dog is man’s best friend. ✓/✕  Strong | Judgemental ——- “Besides, the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters. We’ve all got both light and dark inside us.”

He is a tree rooted to the earth, tall and proud. Unmoving and firm against the hailing storm. Beliefs, unwavering, unwilling to hear. Opposition is wrong, and he knows it as well as he knows the stories written in the night sky. He is strong-willed and stubborn; a brick wall would be more receptive. He thinks himself open-minded, but it is only another belief. ✕ Impulsive ——- “What is life without a little risk?”

He is snap decisions made in the heat of the moment. Turbulent and emotional, judgement shifts as easily as debris caught in the tide. Words, biting, leaving scars as easily as laughter erases them from his mind. Passing thoughts in an endless stream of chaos - why waste time paying mind to outcomes when you can just act? ✕ Rebellious ——- “There are things worth dying for!”

He is 2 am, leather, and a mess of discarded liquor bottles scattered about the floor. Blood-kissed knuckles and knuckle-kissed jaw. Smirks and sighs toppling from carved lips. Caught in a tempest, winds whipping his hair about his face, unable to see, blindly stumbling along, deafening roars threaten to consume him - one foot in front of the other. Raw magic crackling in the air, electricity against your skin; a beautiful sight when it implodes. Mock Blog & inspiration can be found here

Aesthetics: [x] [x] [x]

Playlist:      -Some Nights (Intro) - fun.     - Rebel, Rebel - David Bowie     - Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons     - Killer Queen - Queen     - Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time - Panic! At The Disco     - Bad Kids - Black Lips     - The World Is Black - Good Charlotte     - Sinister Kid - The Black Keys     - Green Light - Lorde     - Young And Menace - Fall Out Boy     - My Shot - The Roots, Busta Rhymes     - Death And All His Friends - Coldplay     - This Is Gospel - Panic! At The Disco

CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE :

Patronus: It’s commonplace that a Patronus will match a witch or wizard’s Animagus form, if they happen to be such, and Sirius is no exception. His Patronus takes the form of a dog, matching that of his Animagus counterpart: a bear-like German Shepherd. German Shepherds are known for being intelligent, loyal, and fiercely over-protective. Any close friend of his would attest to the fact that Sirius exemplifies those qualities. He is a bright wizard, and he would do anything for those he cares about. Wand: As badly as Sirius sometimes wishes his wand was made from Dogwood (think of the irony! the puns! the beauty of the universe!), he was chosen by a Cypress wood wand with a Dragon Heartstring core, 15 inches, rigid. “Cypress wands are associated with nobility. The great medieval wandmaker, Geraint Ollivander, wrote that he was always honoured to match a cypress wand, for he knew he was meeting a witch or wizard who would die a heroic death. Fortunately, in these less blood-thirsty times, the possessors of cypress wands are rarely called upon to lay down their lives, though doubtless many of them would do so if required. Wands of cypress find their soul mates among the brave, the bold and the self-sacrificing: those who are unafraid to confront the shadows in their own and others’ natures.” Sirius won’t think about the wandlore behind cypress wands and their masters dying a heroic death until the fleeting, infinite moment in which he begins to fall in the Department of Mysteries. He will think it ironic, then, that his death is hardly heroic at all; that, naturally, James and Lily had far more heroic deaths than him. (He will also think about finally, finally reuniting with them again, and he will think of how sorry he is for leaving Remus and Harry behind, but James, here I come.) “As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.” It is of interest to note that dragon wands tend to be easily swayed towards the Dark Arts. Sirius thinks it should be noted, and then he will tell it to fuck right off, thank you very much. He knows that, had things gone just a little differently, he wouldn’t have had any difficulty using Dark Magic; in fact, he’d have been rather adept at it. Sirius laughs at the notion - and would like to tell the Dark Lord that he can fuck right off, too. Sirius is a very quick learner. He is intelligent and, when he puts his mind to a task, he is able to stay determined and focused. Magic runs strong in his veins, so it’s only natural he be paired with a wand that is able to keep up with him and his raw power. That being said, however, Sirius’ magic is - too often - unpredictable. It has been since he was a child, and he still experiences outbursts of unintentional magic when his emotions get the better of him; the dragon wand nurtures his accidental magic, at times.

[flauntpage]

Taking Down PFF’s Von Miller Evaluation

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  In Sunday’s 51-23 blowout loss, Broncos edge rusher Von Miller scored the game’s highest grade at Pro Football Focus.

Here’s what they wrote:

“Miller had five total pressures, including a forced fumble on a sack on 27 pass-rushes, and was one of two Broncos defenders with multiple pressures. He was even better against the run, where he had six run-defense stops, tied for the most in a single game this season among edge defenders.”

National NFL Twitter used the PFF analysis to dispute assertions that right tackle Lane Johnson did a really nice job on the Denver Pro Bowler, but if you watched even five minutes of the game, you know that matchup wasn’t even much of a storyline.

PFF rated Von Miller as best edge rusher this week with 5 pressures and a sack. Some philly pundits talking about how great Johnson played ?

— Joe Banner (@JoeBanner13) November 6, 2017

First of all, Lane Johnson wasn’t even in the game when Miller forced the fumble. Isaac Seumalo was playing right tackle and Carson Wentz had already been pulled. It was 44-16 in the 4th quarter when Miller did this:

#DENvsPHI Nick foles entra por Wentz, sack, fumble y regreso a touchdown, los @Broncos abajo 44-23 http://pic.twitter.com/JrdE8Q3zRS

— NFL México (@nflmx) November 5, 2017

Miller beat a backup tackle to strip a backup quarterback, and he may have been offside on the play:

Man, I swear Von Miller was offside on that play where he strip-sacked Foles. #Eagles http://pic.twitter.com/ts4ocwxCOb

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) November 6, 2017

In this morning’s post, I mentioned how the Eagles watched the Kansas City game film and had a lot of success emulating some of the things Alex Smith did last week. The Birds used the run/pass option, moved Wentz out of the pocket, and got rid of the ball quickly.

On two touchdowns, they left Miller completely unblocked, instead optioning off of him and making plays elsewhere on the field.

This was the Corey Clement speed option, where Miller correctly takes the quarterback away to force the pitch but doesn’t have any help on the backside, because Seumalo simply ignores him to engage the linebacker and Mack Hollins has Aqib Talib locked up:

It was the same thing on the Alshon Jeffery touchdown pass.

The Eagles go run/pass option and Lane Johnson doesn’t even acknowledge Miller, instead blocking down on Philly native Will Parks to sell the play-action. Wentz rolls out and Jeffery beats Talib before Miller can get in the quarterback’s face:

Similar concept on the Clement screen pass touchdown.

Here Miller thinks he’s clean through on Wentz after shrugging off the lightest of chips, but Wentz releases this ball at the perfect time, again right before Miller can influence the play:

Another @eagles TD!

It's @CJ_Wentz to @CoreyClement_6! #FlyEaglesFly http://pic.twitter.com/0uxKf4NDca

— NFL (@NFL) November 5, 2017

It’s just really a nice design from the Eagles.

Parks is pulled wide by Trey Burton, who lines up as a fullback and runs a short flat route. That leaves Brandon Marshall in a 1v3 against Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, and Brandon Brooks.

Good luck fighting through this:

So that was a big part of the game plan against Von Miller – just ignore him! Put him on an island. Force his teammates to make plays behind him. The Broncos have 10 other guys on the field who didn’t do much to help their superstar, who was pretty much schemed out of the game.

Looking at it from a Bronco perspective, I think #58 did have some nice moments in this game when the Birds actually bothered to engage him.

We have access to the coaches film now, so here’s a good shot of a bull rush that forces Wentz to spin out of pressure and throw the ball away:

Even then, Miller ends up on his back. Clement may actually save a sack there by putting a shoulder on Shane Ray, who beat Halipoulivaati Vaitai to the inside.

On this play, Miller lines up against Brent Celek on the edge with Johnson getting a late hand on his shoulder, but Wentz is already releasing the ball by the time he’s in his face:

Again, that was part of the game plan. Roll Wentz, throw on the run, early release. It’s the exact same thing Alex Smith did last week with success.

This clip is going around on social media, too, but rag dolling aside, you again see Wentz throw the ball before Miller and Johnson even engage:

Here's that Lane Johnson Von Miller toss one more time. http://pic.twitter.com/748GfrfJOA

— James Simpson (@JS_Football) November 7, 2017

Go through the film and you’ll find all sorts of intricacies in how the Birds planned for Miller. They chipped him at times, they let Johnson handle him 1v1, and they completely stranded him on a bunch of scores. There was even one sequence where Hollins locked him up on a roll out and another where LeGarrette Blount lined up in the slot to engage him.

Statistically, here’s how Miller finished the game:

1 sack

5 hurries

1 QB hit

6 run stops

8 tackles (all solo)

3 tackles for loss

So the numbers aren’t bad, not at all, but again, the sack took place against a pair of backups in the fourth quarter. Four of his eight tackles happened after the Eagles had already scored 38 points. Two of his TFL took place after the 9:52 mark in the 3rd quarter. And how many QB pressures came from unblocked designs?

If anything, Miller’s presence in run defense was probably more influential than the near-misses he had in pass rush.

Look, PFF puts out some interesting stuff, but you have to add context to every single graphic they publish. That’s the same for any media outlet.

Here’s an example:

Two Jet RBs finished among the top 3 in yards after contact per attempt this week http://pic.twitter.com/raYJYMWYvu

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) November 7, 2017

Not a bad graphic, right? Just consider that “contact” can be different on every run. There’s a difference between breaking an Asante Samuel arm tackle and trucking an outside linebacker.

Here’s an image with some basic cornerback numbers:

Lions CB Quandre Diggs was impressive

✈️ http://pic.twitter.com/Jb7zKUSN1U

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) November 7, 2017

Who was he matched up against? Who was the opposing quarterback? Is that QB good? Does that QB suck? (spoiler, it was Brett Hundley)

Every number comes with context, or a lack thereof. Some are less arbitrary than others. No shit.

Where PFF goes off the rails is with the grading system they use, which somehow judged Von Miller, a guy who wasn’t even involved in most key plays on Sunday, as the highest rated player on both teams. And hey, maybe there’s a science to it, and maybe he was good based on their criteria, but I think we understand why the optics look goofy, considering the fact that his team allowed 44 points to the Birds’ starters and 7 points to Nick Foles and company.

On the other hand, PFF published a good story yesterday evaluating the sophomore seasons of Carson Wentz and Jared Goff:

Wentz has also benefitted (sic) hugely from the scheme being tailored to suit his play. The Eagles run more run-pass option plays than anybody else in the league. They have run almost 100 RPOs (98) over the season, and no other side has more than 65.

There ya go. I learned something.

Some good and some bad from PFF, which is par for the course for pretty much every site that does what they do.

  Taking Down PFF’s Von Miller Evaluation published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

[boloorsportsmania]

#491 Indian womens hockey team produce a CHAK DE moment, win Asian championship after 13 years; Munro century and Boult stunners is too much for India to handle; Karnataka keep winning in Ranji; Sock wins Paris Masters which is historic moment for USA tennis; Barcelona and City continue to impress in La Liga and EPL respectively and more..:-)

Indian Women team never won Asian championship in Hockey since 2004.India won in Delhi that year beating Japan.India faced China in finals this year. Navjot Kaur gave India lead in 25th minute. China later equalized in 47th minute. Match went to shootout. Score was tied at 4-4 there as well. In final sudden death, rani scored. Savita saved China's attempt. India won the championship in Chak De style . It was double celebration as India qualified for 2018 world cup too. 

In 2nd T20, NZ opted to bat. India made 1 change. Siraj came in for Nehra. So India had 2 rookies Shreyas Iyer and Siraj. That was the risk India took. Indian main strike bowlers had to do well and same applied to Indian top order as middle order was a bit weak. Bhuvi just gave 5 runs of first over. Siraj bolwed the 2nd over. He started poorly. He bowled down the leg where Guptill made full use of it to score a boundary. 10 runs came of his first over. NZ never looked back. Munro was dropped twice including one by Chahal. He made good use of it. He and Guptill scored boundary almost of every over. 105 runs came of first 11 overs without losing a wicket. Munor was in his zone. NZ kept hitting the boundaries and it looked like 220 was on cards. 146 came of first 15. 176 came of 17. But Bhuvi and Bumrah bowled brilliantly in last 3 to give away just 20 runs. 196 was still a massive score but they looked like getting 220 at one stage. Munro scored his 2nd T20 century and it was clearn hitting. India needed a big start. Boult ensured India was on backfoot right from start. He dismissed Dhawan and Rohit both in 2nd over. India were 11-2. Shreyas hit a few lusty blows. Kohli joined him in the acceleration. India were 65-2 by start of 9th over. Munro was introduced and he couldnt nothing wrong. He dismissed Shreyas with a slower delivery. Sodhi then dismissed Pandya with a googly. Dhoni came in and struggled to rotate the strike. Sodhi kept him under control. It was a bit surprising NZ didnt give SOdhi a chance in ODI. He is a better wicket taking bowler than Santner. Between 9th and 14th over, India just managed 4o odd runs when more 70 was needed. India were beind the run rate by big margin. Kohli hardly got strike in this phase and that frustration showed. 75 was needed of last 4 overs. He tried going after Santner only to be caught behind. He played well for 65 of 42 balls. But he needed support from other end. DHoni had just hit 24 of 22 at this stage. Though he later made 49 of 37 balls, it was too late. India lost by 40 runs. With Dhoni not being as good as he was 3 years back in T20, India need to play extra batsman or give Manish Pandey extended run instead of SHreyas Iyer. Manish is better T20 player than Shreyas. It makes sense for Dhoni to play ODI as that is his best format and he fits to the bill there. EIther Pant or Uthappa need to be given extended run in T20. 

In Paris open QF, Benneteau shocked 3rd seed Cilic in straight sets 76 75. Sock beat Verdasco in a 3 set thriller. In SF, Krajinovic who was a qualifier shocked Isner in 3 sets. Krajonovic who was given walkover in QF as Nadal withdrew due to injury made most of his oppurtunity. Isner needed to win Paris open to conform final spot for ATP finale. He lost 46  76 67. It was an intense match but Isner was favorite to win especially with the form he showed against Del Potro. Krajinovic would now face Sock in finals . Sock outclasses Benneteau  in straight sets. If Sock wins, he would be first American to win super series event since Roddick in 2008. In finals, things went on serve till 12th game when Krajinovic upped the ante to win the first set 7-5. Sock bounced back to win 2nd set 6-4. That took the steam of Krajinovic. Sock won it 6-1. This is a huge moment for Sock and American tennis. They have waited for this moment for 9 years now. Not since Roddick, anybody has won masters series event from USA.

In La Liga, 2 goals by Alcacer and brilliant game plan by Messi ensured Barcelona extended their unbeaten run in La Liga. They beat Sevilla 2-1. They have now played 11 and drew 1 and won 10 matches. They are 4 point ahead of Valendcia and 8 points ahead of Athletico MAdrid. They lead by 11 points over Real Madrid though defending champions have 1 game extra in hand.  In EPL, Liverpool thrashed west Ham 4-1 in probably their best game of 2017-18 season. In most awaited game of the weekend, City faced Arsenal. De Bruyne showed just why City is winning so many matches this season. He gave City the lead in 19th minute. They maintained  lead till half time. Post break City got a penalty which Aguero converted. Lacazette reduced lead to 1 goal for Arsenal. But minutes later Jesus doubled the lead again for CIty. They are playing like champions this season.  Spurs beat Crystal Palace 1-0. They were not in same form though which enabled them to beat Real Madrid. 

In Ranji, Karnataka beat Maharashtra by an innings and 136 runs and with that grabbed bonus point too. This is their 3rd straight win in Ranji. They are playing like champions now. Hope they keep the momentum. Minthun starred with five fer in 2nd innings. In UP vs Delhi, Up had gained important 22 runs lead in first innings. But delhi bounced back to dismiss UP for just 229. Raina disappointed again.Delhi needed 252 in final innings on pitch which was crumbling. Unmukt Chand and Rana ensured Delhi had the momentum . They mixed caution with aggression to win the match by  4 wickets. Delhi have been impressive this season. Rana, Gambhir and Ishant have been stars.