#also remember Jon was hired around 2011

[an-internet-goblin]

alright. so. my head won't stop yelling at me so I'm pleased to announce that I am currently in the process of writing this!! There are a few complications with timelines and stuff so the barebones of the pre-hiring timeline skeleton, and also a few other things are under the cut if you want to hear the explanations on why some things are

ASSISTANTS!!

Michael Shelley

Oliver Banks

(not an assistant but will pop up a few times) Gerry Keay!!

^^ and now I explain why this is

Now, there are going to be a bit of timeline fuckery to make things fit right, because Mike found Ex Altiora around 1997-1998, which is way too early to be hired and become archivist (I would have had had get hired around 1996, just after he found The Bone Turners Tale), so I'm pushing his entire timeline/history forward 10 years so he'd be hired around 2006 as an Archival Assistant. Another reason I'm doing this is because Michael Shelley is said to have died around 2009-2011, so the Michaels would have apt time to bond. (I also think it'd be funny if they had a conversation like 'hey! I'm Michael!' 'no but I'm Michael!') (I also picture them both as blond so it makes it funnier to me. moral of the story don't be blond and don't be called Michael or else you'll get hired at the magnus institute and forced to witness The HorrorsTM)

"but wouldn't Michael have died??" you may ask, and to that I say yes he would've IN THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE but I want him in so I'm going to say another person got sacrificed to the Spiral. Specifically Sarah. Why? Because she is one of the only ones who didn't get sacrificed to stop a ritual, instead having been killed by Emma. On her trip to Sannikov land, she could've finally complained about Emma, and how she made her do everything. Gertrude could put together dots about this, and learn about Emma's constant experiments and how she had killed poor Fiona before. After sacrificing Sarah, she could have made the move on Emma and killed her still, leaving her with only Michael left. Also, Michael would've been alive around 2013 because of this. That means that he could've met Gerry, because muahaha Doorkeay that's right. sideplot. It would also give Gerry reason to come back and visit the archives, and eventually meet Mike Crew and fight with him about Leitners, because I NEED them to be frenemies. Now then, since I have explained Michael and Gerry, it's time for Oliver!! Oliver and Mike could've met when Oliver went to warn Gertrude of her death, and because of Terminal Velocity reasons Oliver could've visited the archive to 'check up on gertrude' (meet up with Mike again), and finding out that he was getting promoted to Archivist. Mike could offer him a job because they need more archival assistants, and Oliver could accept because he hadn't visited point Nemo yet. Now, I haven't quite decided if I want Mike to have been kept in the dark just like Michael had so he could have a season 1 moment, but I'll figure that out later. BONUS: this is what I have to go through to write this 😔

Okay but why is Mike Crew literally the PERFECT archivist candidate

He already has been marked by several different entities like The Spiral ( Lichtenberg scar ), The Flesh ( boneturners tale ), and The Corruption ( A journal of The Plague Year ). He also mentioned other Leitners I don’t remember right now, but that’s not the point. I’m disregarding Ex Altiora because it is the book that freed him from the spiral, so he wouldn’t have needed any use for the Magnus Institute. It also is the thing that turned him into a vast avatar so that makes the whole ‘archivist’ thing impossible. Therefore, this would’ve had to happen before the bookshop.

Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that he already got marked by multiple entities and he would’ve caught Elias’s eye the moment he walked into the institute as a possible archivist, and I’m willing to bet he would’ve offered Mike a job when he made his statement. He could persuade Mike by saying he could learn more about the figure, and possibly free him. This is Mikes entire goal so I’m pretty sure he would’ve accepted. In conclusion, MIKE WOULD’VE BEEN THE PERFECT ARCHIVIST AND I NEED THIS AU PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE-

[cuttlefishkitch]

I figured I’d actually make a post about this instead of burying it in the replies of some other post but I did some math about Micheal, Eric, Gertrude, Mary, and Gerry. This is mostly using the wiki and a couple quotes cause I don’t feel like digging through all the transcripts right now. Before getting into it though I did this b/c I was curious about what if any relationship Gerard and Micheal could have had, how old Micheal was when he got Spiraled, and how old Gerry was when he died. I’ll put the conclusions at the end.

Okay so

Gerry was born in the (probably late) 80s: I don’t think we get anything more concrete than that but he’s a teenager in 2002 and is old enough to be tried as an adult in 2008, and described as a young man in 2009, so my guess is he was probably around  22-23 around then so he’d be 15-16 in 2002 and be born in late 80s, like 1987 or 88.

Eric is working at the institute when Gerry is born: So from the way Eric says it, “ You know, you were never actually all that nice to me when I worked for you, Gertrude. Not like Michael, or Emma.” it does really sound like he probably worked with Micheal, cause how else would Micheal be nice to him if they hadn’t met in person. So Micheal was working as an archival assistant at least at the same time as Eric, which will be important later.

Eric quits the institute and Mary kills him: This is where there’s some wiggle room in the timeline. So Gerry says he never knew his dad, and that Eric quit once he was born. What could have happened is a phenomena called childhood amnesia, which basically means that as your brain is developing it stores memories differently than it does when growing up, so most people can’t recall memories from when they were very young because they’re encoded differently. The feelings of those memories are still there, even if you can’t remember the actual events. This phenomena usually lasts until about 5 or 6 so technically Gerry could have been up to 6 years old when Eric was killed and still “never know him” especially if Mary lied to him or didn’t talk about Eric at all. So story wise it would make sense if Eric quit within a year after Gerry was born, putting that in either 1988 or 89, BUT timeline wise it makes more sense to me if he got to know Gerry a little bit as he was growing up and decided to quit and help out later, when Gerry was about 5 or so, lets say 1993 or 4.

Micheal is working as Gertrude’s assistant at least a little before Eric quits: So, depending on what you think about when Mary killed Eric the farthest back Micheal could have been brought on as an assistant is 1988 or 89, and the earliest is 1993 or 4. We know Martin and Jon were in their late 20s early 30s when they started working in the archives, and we assume Tim and Sasha were as well. It seems like most hiring into the archives is probably done from other departments in the institute, which would make sense, as Jonah/James/Elias would want to watch and get a feel for his people before sticking them in his precious archives (gross ass man that he is). So assuming Micheal is probably a fresh hire when Eric is on his way out, let’s say he’s like 27-33.

Nothing relevant happens for a while.

Micheal is heard on Gertrude’s tape in 2007: And he doesn’t really sound that old. The youngest he could be by my calculations is 40, which like, good for him, long time to last in the archives. But the oldest he could be is like 52, which is really doesn’t jive with how he’s most often described or how he sounds both on the tape and as the distortion. When I took a first pass at this I got him down to like 34 but I’m pretty sure I screwed up some math and I was REALLY PUSHING IT.

Oh boy a lot went down in 2008: 2008 is the earliest Micheal could be Spiraled. It’s also when Mary gave Eric’s page to Gertrude before attempting to bind herself to the book and subsequently getting Gerry arrested and then unarrested. He’s probably around 22 or 23, but if you wanna push it he could be as young as 19.

2011: The latest Micheal could be Spiraled, making it possible that, by my (incredibly shaky) math he could have been anywhere from 41 in 2008 to 56 in 2011. Hardly the young twink everyone pictures him as. Also Gerry would be around 25 to 26 but could be as young as 22.

Gertrude frees Gerry from Mary in 2013: So unless you think Mary would share her son with the Institute, which I suppose is up to your own headcannon, but I have a hard time believing considering her “one last screw you to the eye” and hatred of “ivory tower idiots.” This is when Gerry actually has any chance to interact with the institute.

Gerry dies in 2014: This isn’t relevant to anything I just realized poor Gerry only had about a year to enjoy a life without his mother, and most of that time was probably spent being at least subtlety manipulated by Gertrude, and that makes me really sad. :( He was probably in his late 20s by now, the age where it would have been reasonable for him to become a proper archival assistant.

In conclusion: Micheal’s probably AT LEAST 41 at the time of being Spiraled, but if you REALLY PUSHED IT you could probably put him in his mid to late 30s, but that would make Gerry REALLY YOUNG, like younger than Jon by a couple years, so he’d be in early 20s when Micheal’s that age. Also Gerry probably never met Micheal, and even if he did it was while he was being actively haunted by his mom. Idk what to do with this information, especially since I also can’t really see Spiral Micheal being any older than like mid 30s so wtf jonny??

[wendynerdwrites]

Interview With Jonathon Burkhardt AKA ChaosD1

Jon Burkhardt AKA ChaosD1 is a video game reviewer specializing in MMO’s. He’s found himself embroiled in the controversy surrounding his old not-quite-employers, Channel Awesome, with the rise of the Change the Channel hashtag and the publication of the Google Doc Not So Awesome, which he contributed to. Having been a long time contributor to the Video Aggregate, he personally witnessed much of the mismanagement and poor treatment committed by the site’s management, culminating in his own abrupt termination. 

He was nice enough to talk to me in some more detail about the controversy, the fallout, and his plans going forward.

First, can you go into, in your own words, who you are, and what you do?

I go by ChaosD1 online, but most people know me as Jon. I’ve been doing video game related content on YouTube for nearly 10 years, but focused specifically on MMOs with my show “MMO Grinder” as well as have livestreams on Twitch.tv most weekdays.

How did you come to work for Channel Awesome?

I was fairly involved with the site as a fan, as I think a lot of us were, back early [during] its inception back in 2008. Funnily enough I had a manager from my job at the time mention [the Nostalgia Critic] NC specifically, but I didn’t end up checking it out until watching Noah’s announcement that he was posting on there.

Early on there was a flash game arcade that kept track of overall points in each game, and I gained recognition when gaining the top rank overall in the arcade. I was contacted by the wiki team, who hired me on to work on the wiki with them.

Far later after meeting and talking with a few friends who started out as people I was just a major fan of, like Phelous, I decided to start making videos of my own. One of them won the Transmission Awesome contest to have me featured and interviewed on the podcast.

It wasn’t until I started my show “MMO Grinder” that I felt I had any content worthy of placing onto the site, and after Julien (Sad Panda) used up one of his schedule spots to give me a trial run, I was well enough received to earn a spot on Blistered Thumbs in October of 2011. I posted there and on TGWTG.com and after the site merger when BT was shut down, until May of 2017 when the incident I wrote about occurred.

How did you get involved in Change The Channel?

I never figured my story was important or interesting enough to provide any fuel to the fire that was quickly becoming #ChangeTheChannel, to the point I didn’t even make a big deal about what happened when I was let go, though I did have forward enough thinking to save the conversation, just in case something like this even came up. People involved as well as curious fans, still asked to tell my story through the Twitter thread, as well as some anon asks on Tumblr. It happened more after I reblogged Allison’s post from years ago describing the incident after she once again received a ton of people asking her why she didn’t watch or work with Doug anymore. Despite my thinking I didn’t really have a great story to add, I figured it was more a cautionary tale for those who still remained, as well as at least symptomatic of what was an overarching problem we all had for years.

There have been rumors and statements flying kind of under the radar for some time about the channel. What do you think sparked this movement now? What about this period in time led all these people to contribute to a mass document like this?

I think with the current climate on social media, as well as less and less people holding onto those idyllic ideas of a peaceful online utopia that was the internet equivalent of making it big in Hollywood, people were just more accepting now. Also with less and less producers being on the site, more were willing to finally let loose with the stories rather than rock the boat for those who were willing to put up with it. Just another case of straws breaking the camel’s back and what not. As you said, these rumors have been around for years… and honestly it’s nice to finally be able to come clean about a lot of them, rather than just let speculation fester and have contributors thrown under the bus for CA’s policies of silence and non-involvement for any form of bad press.

Can you talk about your personal aims in contributing, as well as what you think the general intent of the document was?

If anything, to show support for those that have, and give my take, regardless of how seemingly insignificant it was. The document’s intent is pretty outlined in the opening paragraph, but some people want an apology for their mistreatment, while others just want people to know why we don’t enjoy being questioned about what CA’s been up to, like we’re forced to be lifelong fans just because we were involved with them once. At least that’s my reasoning. I don’t expect an apology. I know how they do. I just remember feeling more disrespected, like every one of us not in the main studio were a burden upon the website they deeply regretted bringing along in the first place.

Something that’s become a hot button topic over the last few years and has been a major point in the Change The Channel complaints is the concept of being paid “in exposure”. What are your feelings about that whole idea and it’s validity?

I understand it to a certain degree. In the event of an aggregate site, it does help when the community is being fostered. Where fans can potentially become contributors, which is exactly what CA USED to be. There’s a slight validity to the claims that people on CA would be NOWHERE without Doug, but that’s not the case for everyone who was involved. People like Smarty [For Smarty’s story, click here], Mike J and myself didn’t really see any level of channel growth directly from CA. In fact, both Mike J and I’ve made mention of how shockingly LOW the metrics coming from CA were. We’re talking a percentage of a percent. 

But if that site gains popularity because of you, it’s only fair to share some of that success with the people who helped you reach that point.

And if you’re only there to host people and pay them in “exposure” it’s not fair to make complete demands of them for how they post their content, or what content they post, especially if you were fine with everything they did beforehand.

There’s benefits to the aggregate site, but I don’t think anyone’s willing to put in the work for that kind of thing anymore.

What means do you think an online media worker has to protect themselves, and what measures and protections would you like to see become a reality?

Honestly that’s something I should be looking into myself. It’s still pretty much a Wild West right now, with so many people at the mercy of any company’s whim. If anything it would be nice to see a more hands on approach and clear communication between all parties involved, instead of leaving everything up to an experimental AI. Get some PEOPLE involved and create some jobs. Don’t just shut down channels or delete videos for having footage if they aren’t going to check the context that footage was placed in. I dunno. I’m not really an expert here.

What was your experience fresh off of your split from the Channel?

It was a non-starter all around. As I’d mentioned in my Tumblr post (I would have added more detail to my section of the doc, but figured I’d just keep things concise.) views from CA were next to nothing at the time of my departure. I’m not joking when I say a percent of a percent. 10k views? About 20 from CA. 100k in a month overall? Less than 200 from CA. It just wasn’t worth the effort, but staying just felt like some kind of principle you know? Phelan, Allison and Julien were all wondering why I bothered to stay on as long as I did, but I figured as long as I didn’t get any flak either way, I’d stick around. In a way I knew I was going to get canned for posting just one video that month. I didn’t ever really want to bother asking to get back on until I was encouraged to do so by the producer chat. It felt like I was freeing myself from a needless burden after they let me know, but the whole thing still felt really shitty. They never really did much of anything to promote me. In turn, I never bothered to promote them. Notice how I never included the Channel Awesome logo bumper, nor mentioned them in my credits scrawl after Blistered Thumbs was shut down? That was on purpose.

If anything did surprise me, it was how upset a lot of the producers were after they let me go in such a… and let me use this word correctly here, “callous” manner. In fact I think at least two producers quit in solidarity shortly afterward. For the producers, they all seemed to care about me. For the management? I was a fly on the wall they just shooed out the window. Out of sight, out of mind. They just never asked the fly how much information it gathered beforehand.

Do you think workers at online companies - particularly in online media, are particularly vulnerable given how unregulated the medium is? After all, as we’ve seen with cases involving everything from fair use and “revenge porn” cases, it seems the law is far behind properly addressing how to handle the internet?

I think cases like this, regardless of how important this whole thing might seem to the average viewer, or online atmosphere are steps in the right direction. A lot of these companies did just start out as a group of friends deciding to do a thing, and spiraled into unexpected popularity they weren’t ready to handle. You can say the same about a lot of online producers. Hopefully we just keep moving forward with all of this and perhaps in time we’ll see some protections for new media. As long as old media isn’t still trying to completely invalidate it out of fear of being replaced.

A lot of people have taken notice of this over the last couple of weeks. What do you want to say to people who wish to support you?

To support me, or anyone you choose to support, visit their shows directly. Share their videos. Leave feedback and engage with their communities. Follow them on social media. If they have a Patreon, contribute if you can. Even a dollar makes up for literally HUNDREDS of views worth of ad revenue. Just continue to recognize what they do, as long as you enjoy what they do.

And what actions should they avoid?

Don’t be a sycophant or a zealot. You don’t need to directly “attack” anyone on our behalf, and plenty of innocents tend to get caught in the crossfire around that kind of behavior. Be mindful of those upset by the information, as for a lot of people, it’s very tough to deal with the news. I tend to forget just how long the site’s been around, and some people literally grew up with our videos. That dose of reality is a lot harder to deal with than some.

Also, for the love of God, do NOT speculate on things that have been kept vague. I’m seeing a whole bunch of people trying to piece together parts of the puzzle left by a few anon contributions, and several people I know were NOT involved were thrown under the bus as a convenient scapegoat. Sometimes it’s easy to want to hate someone for a certain reason, and use them to blame all those mysterious stories, but the truth is far darker than you can imagine, and there are none who come out of top by trying to decode the message. If they decide they want to add more information to their stories, they will. Until then, respect their decision to remain anonymous and vague when they feel they need to be.

How have you found the response so far?

I’m genuinely appreciative and shocked for the outpour of support I’ve seen. Yeah, there have been more than a few “hell no we won’t go” die hard fans with some disturbingly zealous responses, or attempts to dismiss our stories as whining or revenge, but far more are willing to accept this kind of thing as reality now. If you’d have asked me years ago if I’d ever wanted this day to come, I would have honestly said no, as we were all starry-eyed hopefuls once, but I think the writing on the wall’s been there for years, and only now are people starting to read it. I’m not hoping to see any one particular outcome from all of this. I’m just glad people are finally reading that writing.

What are your plans going forward professionally?

Having nothing to do with Channel Awesome, the market situation of MMOs has forced my hand into a defacto hiatus, but we’ve been going fairly steady with the side content, and I plan on doing a new show focused on my new gaming passion Indie Games. As much as I’d like to talk about my favorite Switch or AAA games, too, I think it helps to carve out a niche.

Going into #Change the Channel, was there any fear or anxiety about possible legal retaliation by CA?

For me? No. Someone on Tumblr asked why I wasn’t on CA and I answered.

Others might have concerns, but I think many more fans have been concerned, or defenders of CA outright teased producers, that legal action would head their way, but so few things were under contract. I never even got a welcome package. That kinda works both ways.

After leaving CA, did you keep in contact with your old co-workers prior to the Change the Channel collaboration? What was the general atmosphere among ex-CA members before this?

Considering I only really ever spoke with them, and never really the management, yeah I did, and most of us usually did. There were plenty of times collabs would have ex-members pair up with current At that point, most of us were disillusioned with the concept of CA being some kind of exclusive club. It was never a "member vs non-member" mentality. Friends we made there tended to remain friends. There is even a group Skype most of us have remained in just to chat and collaborate. This is far from the first time any of us had grievances with the management, but it's definitely the first time it's been this public.

There's been a lot of talk about how the sense of camaraderie was what compelled a lot of people to put up with the mismanagement and mistreatment. Can you speak to that?

That's, from my perspective, an unquestionable truth. Many of us didn't share stories just as we didn't feel it necessary. (Again, my reason for being let go is basically nothing in the grand scheme. It fits more for the "They don't care about non-studio producers." side of the story than the "Here are some generally horrifying practices." portion. I learned about many of these from the doc, just like the rest of you.)There are plenty of people who wanted the status and recognition they perceived they would get from joining the site, two of who I warned personally about, but really, we mostly stayed for the sense of community with each other. That's why so many, past and present, left in small groups of solidarity.  It's when we realized that it wasn't the site keeping us together. It was just us.

You can follow ChaosD1 on his youtube page, his Twitch stream, on twitter, and at his tumblr page @chaosd1. You can also find his work on his website, MMOGrinder.net. Also, please consider supporting his Patreon!

Art by Andrew Dickman.

[tkmedia]

Ranking the defensive play-caller for each NFL team

Calling defensive plays is tougher than ever in the NFL with talented quarterbacks and rules that favor offense, but someone has to do it. Here's our ranking of the top defensive play-callers heading into the 2021 season.  

Vincent Carchietta / USA Today Sports Images Few would argue with the claim is the best head coach and defensive mind in NFL history. Even before winning six Super Bowls with one of the most consistently strong defenses of the last two decades in New England, Belichick helped the Giants win two Super Bowls as defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells.   2 of 32

2. Don Martindale, Ravens defensive coordinator

Kirby Lee / USA Today Sports Images After a one-year stint as Broncos defensive coordinator in 2010, Martindale has reemerged as one of the best coordinators in the league with Baltimore since 2018. His defense has plenty of talent, but Martindale's scheme and disguise have helped the Ravens finish third place or better in points allowed in three consecutive seasons. Even nearing age 60, he's a possible head coaching candidate in the near future for good reason.   Robin Alam / Icon Sportswire Butler has served as Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator since 2015, and over that time the unit has been consistently elite. He deserves praise for the unit's stability despite a shuffling linebacker corps and secondary, and the Steelers peaked at third in points and yards allowed last season.   4 of 32

4. Todd Bowles, Buccaneers defensive coordinator

Kim Klement / USA Today Sports Images Bowles' time as head coach of the Jets from 2015-2018 wasn't as successful as hoped, but he's re-established himself as an elite coordinator under Bruce Arians. He architected an elite defense under Arians in Arizona during 2013-2014 before going to New York, and the Bucs improved more than 20 points in points allowed from 2019 to 2020 with an influx of young talent.   5 of 32

5. Dennis Allen, Saints defensive coordinator

Kirby Lee / USA Today Sports Images Allen struggled in two-plus years as head coach of the Raiders from 2012-2014, but he's likely to get another opportunity due to his success as a coordinator in his next act. the Saints defense has shown consistent improvement since he took over in 2015, going from worst in the league to fifth-best in points allowed last year.   Brace Hemmelgarn / USA Today Sports Images Zimmer had an accomplished and proven career as an NFL defensive coordinator and play-caller with Dallas, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and the Vikings before Minnesota's decline last year. He deserves a mulligan due to the bevy of injuries, ending the team's streak of five consecutive seasons finishing top 10 in points allowed. He likely needs a full rebound in 2021 to keep his standing.   Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today Sports Images Fangio was an accomplished defensive coordinator with nearly 20 years of NFL experience before getting a head coaching job in 2019. That experience likely encouraged him to keep calling plays while wearing the head coach headset. After a good year in 2019, Denver's defense regress last season with a bevy of major injuries, but there are few defenses in recent memory better than the one Fangio orchestrated with the Bears in 2018. The return of Von Miller and a further influx of talent gives Fangio the chance to approach that level this season.   8 of 32

8. Dean Pees, Falcons defensive coordinator

Dale Zanine / USA Today Sports Images Pees' coaching resume is long and accomplished, serving as a defensive coordinator for the 14th season with his fourth team. He's led elite defenses with the Patriots, Ravens, and Titans, and has come out of retirement for the difficult task of leading the Falcons. He should be the right man for the job, with eight top 10 finishes in points allowed.   Darren Yamashita / USA Today Sports Images While Spagnuolo failed as a head coach with the Rams from 2009-2011, there are few more accomplished defensive coordinators in the history of the league. He's won the Super Bowl with two different organizations, helping halt the Patriots' perfect season in 2007 and turning around the Chiefs defense in 2019. Spags has overseen a successful transition to the 4-3 in KC, helping the defense rank in the top 10 in points scored in consecutive seasons.   Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today Sports Images So far, Staley has been NFL coaching look easy. After only one year as the defensive coordinator with the Rams in 2020, he was hired as Chargers head coach. The hype was for good reason, as the Rams were No. 1 in yards and points after years as a college coach and NFL outside linebackers coach. Time will tell if he's able to wear multiple hats successfully in his new role.   11 of 32

11. Matt Eberflus, Colts defensive coordinator

Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today Sports Images Eberflus has regularly been a head coaching candidate due to the performance of Indy's defense since he was hired in 2018. He was retained by Frank Reich after Josh McDaniels backed out of the head coaching position, and has been one of the team's greatest assets, finishing 10th in points allowed in two of three seasons with the Cover 2 scheme.   12 of 32

12. Jack Del Rio, Washington defensive coordinator

Scott Taetsch / USA Today Sports Images Del Rio has a wealth of head coaching experience between the Jaguars and Raiders, but he also led a strong defense in Denver from 2012-2014. His current unit in Washington could be his most talented, and it showed last season finishing fourth in points and second in yards allowed.   Rich Barnes / USA Today Sports Images Frazier has been an NFL coach since 1999, with stints as a defensive backs coach, coordinator, and head coach. He was hired in 2017 to coordinate the Bills defense when Sean McDermott took over, and although inconsistent, the Buffalo defense has remained a strength. The unit finished in the middle of the pack last season after allowing the second-fewest points in the league in 2019.   14 of 32

14. Gus Bradley, Raiders defensive coordinator

Kirby Lee / USA Today Sports Images Bradley's dominant Seahawks defense in 2011-2012 earned him a head coaching opportunity with the Jaguars. After an up and down four-year stint in Jacksonville, he's coordinated defense with the Chargers and now rival Raiders. His defenses have featured four top 10 finishes in points allowed over eight seasons, but he has a tall task with a Raiders defense that has been consistently bad in recent years.   15 of 32

15. Dan Quinn, Cowboys defensive coordinator

Jason Parkhurst / USA Today Sports Images Quinn is well known as the Falcons head coach from 2015-2020, leading the team to a Super Bowl in 2016. Before that time, he led an elite Seahawks defense in 2013-2014, and Dallas is optimistic that he can help a defense that was historically bad last year. He will have his hands full with a team that's still developing at all three levels, and Atlanta's defense was in the bottom half of the league over the last four seasons.   16 of 32

16. Vance Joseph, Cardinals defensive coordinator

David Wallace / USA Today Sports Images Joseph saw a quick ascent from defensive coordinator in Miami in 2016 to a two-year tenure as a head coach in Denver. After struggling there, he's entering his third season with Arizona. The Cardinals defense has been in a rebuild with talent deficiencies, especially on the backend, but saw rapid improvement from fifth worst in points allowed last season to 12th best. He still faces obstacles this season with a terrible secondary, but the tandem of Chandler Jones and J.J. Watt on the edges could offset the weaknesses.   17 of 32

17. Joe Woods, Browns defensive coordinator

Jeff Lange / USA Today Sports Images After serving as Denver's defensive coordinator in 2017-2018, Woods received a second chance under Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland last year. The Browns defense ranked in the middle of the pack in points (21st) and yards (17th), but expect improvement this year after improvements in the secondary.   Matthew Emmons / USA Today Sports Images Smith is best remembered serving as Bears head coach from 2004-2012 and Buccaneers head coach in 2014-2015, but before that time helped fix a Rams defense as coordinator from 2001-2003 with the Tampa 2 scheme he learned under Tony Dungy. After some time as a college head coach at Illinois, he could face tough sledding with a talent-deficient Texans squad.   19 of 32

19. Ken Norton Jr., Seahawks defensive coordinator

Joe Nicholson / USA Today Sports Images After an excellent NFL career, Norton has had a nice run as defensive coordinator of the Raiders and Seahawks. He deserves credit for keeping Seattle's defense stable in spite of nearly a full rebuild, though the unit has finished no better than 11th in points allowed.   20 of 32

20. Josh Boyer, Dolphins defensive coordinator

Jon Durr / USA Today Sports Images Boyer has strong results to show for his one season as defensive coordinator in Miami, as the Dolphins improved rapidly and finished sixth in points allowed. His previous experience was as a defensive assistant in New England and Miami.   Chris Pedota / USA Today Sports Images After paying his dues as an NFL defensive assistant, Graham got his first coordinator job with Miami in 2019 before going north to New York last season. While Miami's defense finished last in the league in a season in which they arguably tanked, New York's defense showed improvement last year, ranking ninth-best in points allowed. A product of the Bill Belichick coaching tree, Graham is on a clear head coaching track.   Kirby Lee / USA Today Sports Images Morris has big shoes to fill replacing Brandon Staley, who led the Rams to be ranked No. 1 last year. While he was head coach in Tampa Bay from 2007-2011, Morris got only his first opportunity as an NFL defensive coordinator in Atlanta last year before being promoted to interim head coach in the middle of the season.   23 of 32

23. Jeff Ulbrich, Jets defensive coordinator

Vincent Carchietta / USA Today Sports Images Ulbrich got his feet wet as a coordinator with the Falcons last year after Dan Quinn was fired. He previously had experience coaching the team's linebackers but has a great opportunity to call plays under former 49ers defensive mastermind Robert Saleh with the Jets.   24 of 32

24. Joe Barry, Packers defensive coordinator

Mark Hoffman / USA Today Sports Images Barry is replacing Mike Pettine as the Packers defensive coordinator and has high expectations on a team with Super Bowl aspirations. He has previous experience in the role with Detroit in 2007-2008 and Washington in 2015-2016 but has never led a defense that finished in the top half of the league in points allowed.   25 of 32

25. Phil Snow, Panthers defensive coordinator

Kirby Lee / USA Today Sports Images After an extensive career as a college coordinator, Snow got his first opportunity to coordinate an NFL defense last season under Matt Rhule. Read the full article

[junker-town]

Dorktown: The god-awful drive that changed NFL history

Now that the new episode of Dorktown has dropped, Jon Bois and Alex Rubenstein to discuss Mark Sanchez, dynasties, and whether or not Jon is stupid.

Thanks to everyone who watched our latest episode of Dorktown! This one was a little different than any other Dorktown episode we’ve ever made: rather than simply telling a story, we made an argument that has proven to be a little controversial: that one disastrous drive in 2011 changed the course of a franchise and, in turn, NFL history.

Below, Alex and I chatted about some odds and ends surrounding the episode. Hope you enjoy. And hey, if you haven’t already, remember to subscribe to Secret Base on YouTube.

Jon: This video stars the Jets in the years before and after 2010, and I gotta say, I found this team really endearing at the time. Darrelle Revis was incredible to watch, Rex Ryan was prone to popping off and saying whatever, and Mark Sanchez was a guy I found myself pulling for. I really wanted him to be able to put it all together, but his numbers with the Jets indicate he, uh, didn’t.

I find it pretty difficult to evaluate quarterback talent. Part of that is because I’m just bad at it, but part of it is that I feel like it’s so context-dependent and the sample is so small. So I guess my question for you is, do you think a world could exist in which Sanchez emerged as a good quarterback? Do you think maybe he was in a sub-optimal system, and that he would have thrived on a different team? Or do you think we saw the best Mark Sanchez we were ever gonna see?

Alex: I think Mark Sanchez was certainly in a sub-optimal offensive ecosystem that was coordinated by Brian Schottenheimer and that didn’t necessarily have an abundance of threatening downfield targets.

However, to me the biggest problem with Sanchez is that even playing behind a strong offensive line led by stalwarts D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, he just couldn’t function once he got hit.

He could look great in practice or throwing against air, but when the bullets were flying and he got clobbered a couple times, he’d get way too easily rattled. That’s why someone like Eli Manning was able to carve out a 16-year career and a couple Super Bowl MVPs despite hardly having the same kind of talent as top-end quarterbacks such as his brother.

The man could get smacked in the mouth time after time after time and he’d get up every time. It never affected his subsequent plays. Sanchez would get knocked to the ground and then his passes would practically sail to the Hudson River. It is impossible to succeed as an NFL quarterback if you can’t shake off hits, so I really don’t think Sanchez would’ve lived up to his draft status regardless of which team selected him.

Jon: Ouch, man. It’s sort of fascinating to consider how we perceive this kind of stuff. Like, ask your average football fan what they think of Mark Sanchez, and odds are they’ll tell you that on the field he was a baby idiot loser. Whereas in reality, he was perhaps in the 99.94th percentile of toughest human beings instead of the 99.994th. Do percentiles go to 100 or stop at 99? Don’t care, I’m sticking with it.

Speaking of baby idiot losers, I think that’s what I might be after my declaration in the video that the Chiefs are a possible dynasty in the making. Gettin’ a little bit of shit for that one, which I think is fair. “What is a dynasty?” is up there with “what is a sport?” on the list of most tedious sports debates, but since I brought it up, I’ve kind of doomed myself to having this argument. If you had to peg what constitutes a dynasty, what would you consider the requisite qualities? Multiple Super Bowl wins? One Super Bowl win with a couple more appearances peppered in? If the ‘90s Bills had won one of their four Super Bowls, you think they’d qualify as a dynasty?

Alex: But is Joe Flacco elite? Those Bills squads would be tough to classify as a dynasty even had they hit their last-second field goal in Super Bowl XXV just because, while they did win their conference each of the next three years, they were so thoroughly out-classed in each of those ensuing Super Bowls. The AFC during that time was basically like the NBA’s Eastern Conference for about a half-decade following Mike Jordan’s middle retirement. You only get so much credit for winning that conference.

I would loosely consider any team that wins multiple titles in a window of time that’s less than twice that in years to be a dynasty. For example, winning two titles in three or fewer years, three in five or fewer years, etc. But there can also be hard-to-quantify exceptions; I don’t know if I’d consider those late-90s Broncos a dynasty after back-to-back titles and then their precipitous 1999 decline, but it’s certainly debatable.

A team that only wins one title but puts up a hell of a fight in an adjacent run or two to the championship round — such as the mid-90s Braves (1995 title, outscored Yankees by eight runs in 1996 World Series) or mid-00s Pistons (2004 title, one flubbed rotation from a likely repeat) — might warrant that dynastic title. Especially when acknowledging fortunes can change, it doesn’t seem ridiculous to look at the Chiefs’ body of work from 2018-20, combine that with the fact that their best player is 25 years old and under team control until the sun burns out, and extrapolate to say a dynasty is a possible end result. Defensible remark!

Jon: Right! I do think these Chiefs need one more Super Bowl win before we can call them a dynasty. Admittedly, it was dangerous of me to even suppose something like that. Things change so, so quickly. I mean, this could very easily be another Seahawks situation: they win a Super Bowl, then lose another, and it feels like they’ll inevitably be back. But even though their superstar quarterback has stayed healthy and actually improved over the years, while they’re often a tough out, they haven’t been back in any of the years since. That could just as easily end up being the Chiefs’ story.

Now, I said something else in this episode that’s understandably being scrutinized. I concluded that if the Chiefs waited until the offseason to fire Todd Haley, they probably would have made an outside hire to replace him. I could be wrong about that. Romeo Crennel was well-liked within the organization and it’s possible they would have simply promoted him. Still ... I gotta think that shocking Packers upset was the thing that sealed it for him, and if he hadn’t coached that game they would’ve looked outside the organization. And if they did, that guy would be far more likely to have a multi-year leash. So, Alex, would you care to settle this once and for all? If you disagree, you’ll be betraying your friend. If you agree, you will then by default become the person everyone is mad at instead of me. Anyway, have fun!

Alex: I’ve seen it too much first-hand with my Niners. Mike Singletary as interim coach parlayed pulling down his pants and turning around Vernon Davis’ career into getting the full-time gig. A couple years later when he was fired with one game left in 2010, Jim Tomsula took over and presided over a destruction of the Cardinals. He didn’t immediately turn that into becoming the permanent coach as the 49ers won the Jim Harbaugh sweepstakes, but that was a huge reason why he eventually got the job once CEO Jed York fired Harbaugh. Teams love overreacting to one thing an interim coach does. Although to be fair, we all know the one surefire way to get a promotion is by dropping your pants in the middle of the workplace.

That game had to have played a key role in Clark Hunt’s calculus to give Crennel the job. I’ll take the heat, Jon. No problem. Everyone can tweet their rage at me until the cows come home.

[Editor’s note: Alex does not have a Twitter account.]

[marvelloussynergy]

COMIC BOOK REFERENCES & EASTER EGGS - Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

How awesome is Spider-Man: Homecoming?! It’s funny, thrilling, and has lots and lots of Easter eggs for fans to spot! The following is a guide to all the ones I’ve spotted along with any deviations from the source material (I will update this as more come to light). Note that owing to the convoluted and complex nature of comic books, I’ve tried to include only the most essential information regarding a character’s history and backstories.

As per the source material, Damage Control is a company that repairs and cleans up areas in the wake of a fight between superheroes and villains. In both media Tony Stark is part owner of the company, with Anne Marie Hoag being the director.

The film has Peter Parker attend Midtown School of Science & Technology whereas in the comics it’s Midtown High School. The school was established in 1962, a nod to the year in which Spidey made his debut.

According to director Jon Watts, the Iron-Spider-Man suit from the source material was an indirect inspiration for the Spidey suit in the film. The red and gold costume designed by Tony Stark had audio and visual amplifiers, allowed Peter to glide, and also contained three mechanical arms with cameras on the end. Peter has Ned override the Spider-Man suit’s systems, something which we find out Peter has done to the Iron Spidey costume in The Amazing Spider-Man #536 (2006). The web wings are first seen on Steve Ditko’s original design of the suit, and can be spotted on the cover of Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962). We also see Peter use spider-tracers in the film. In the comics they’re devices Peter created to allow him to track foes as well as allies should they need his help. And while Spider-Man can’t summon an army of spiders, when Otto Octavius was in control of Peter’s body, he used a bunch of spider-bots to keep an eye on New York City. Tony asks Peter to just be a “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” which is a self-referential phrase Spidey uses in the comics. 

Spider-Man thwarting robbers wearing superhero masks comes from Ultimate Spider-Man #42 (2003), though in the issue we see the criminals sport a Captain America, Iron Man, and a Batman mask. Another moment taken from the comics is when Spidey finds that he can’t swing around suburban New York due to the lack of tall buildings—this occurring in The Amazing Spider-Man #267 (1985).

In the comics Adrian Toomes is an electronics engineer who developed an electromagnetic flying harness. Becoming a thief, he called himself the Vulture. The ruffles on Toome’s jacket in the film is a nod to the Vulture’s green comic book costume, which has a feathered collar. Though he’s usually depicted as having an exposed head while in the suit, the Vulture has on occasion worn a helmet, like the one accompanying his red and black Sinister Twelve outfit. Like the film, the comic book incarnation did indeed have a daughter, though there she’s named Valeria. A car on the Staten Island Ferry bears the number plate SM2-0563, referring to The Amazing Spider-Man #2 (cover dated May 1963), which features the Vulture’s first appearance. 

We see two incarnations of the Shocker in the film: Jackson Brice and Herman Schultz. The comic book incarnation of Brice never took on the identity of the Shocker (the character did, though, in The Spectacular Spider-Man, 2008-09, animated television series), but was a part of the Enforcers, going by the name Montana and using a lariat as his signature weapon. Schultz was a safecracker who developed two gauntlets that could produce force blasts. Both characters in the film wear an outfit with yellow arms, a signature colour from the Shocker’s comic book costume. 

The Phineas Mason/Tinkerer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is much younger than his comic book counterpart. Both are inventors who create and supply weapons to criminals. Mac Gargan is a private investigator and the first to take on the Scorpion identity, having gained superhuman strength and a full-body suit with a mechanical tail (in the film the character has a scorpion tattoo on his neck). In the mid-credits scene Mac tells Adrian Toomes that he knows people outside of prison who would love to meet Spider-Man, a possible reference to the Sinister Six.

Peter’s friend Ned could be a nod to Ned Leeds. In the comics, Leeds didn’t go to the same school as Peter, but did work as a reporter at the Daily Bugle. He would eventually take on the mantle of the Hobgoblin after being brainwashed by Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin. His appearance and personality though seem to have been modeled after Ganke—they even included the character’s love of Lego!

The character of Liz in the film brings to mind Liz Allan, another one of Peter’s classmates from the comics. Though both versions have a mother named Doris and serve as a romantic interest for Peter, in the source material the character is Caucasian with blonde hair and isn’t related to Adrian Toomes. The Flash Thompson of the MCU bullies Peter just like his comic book counterpart, though he’s not a jock and is academically gifted. This cinematic incarnation has a Guatemalan background, and instead of teasing Peter with “Puny Parker,” he uses “Penis Parker” instead! We see Betty Brandt co-host the school’s news program with Jason Ionello. In the comics Brandt worked with Peter at the Daily Bugle and was in fact his first girlfriend, while Jason is a fellow student at Midtown High School. Michelle revealing that friends call her “MJ” is an interesting nod to Mary Jane, Peter’s most well known love interest. For the record, Kevin Feige has stated that Michelle is not intended to be Mary Jane Watson. There’s also an Asian girl named Cindy, a possible reference to Cindy Moon who was bitten by the same spider that gave Peter his powers. Possessing similar abilities to Spider-Man, Cindy goes by the code name Silk.

Additionally, many of the staff members in the film have counterparts stemming from the comics. Mr Harrington could be a reference to Roger Harrington, principal of Midtown High and the one who hires Peter as a science teacher. Mr Cobbwell may be referring to Professor Cobbwell, an electronics expert whom Peter assisted. Coach Wilson could be a nod to the character of Whiz Wilson, a gym coach at Centerville Junior High School. 

In the comics Aaron Davis is a master thief from the Ultimate Universe who goes by the name the Prowler (which you can see listed as an alias of his when Spidey scans him, along with the name Brian Pichelli, referring to writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli). During his “interrogation,” Davis tells Spider-Man that he has a nephew. In the source material, Davis’ nephew is Miles Morales—who takes on the mantle of Spider-Man after the death of Peter Parker. Additionally, if you look closely you can see that Davis’ number plate reads UCS-M01, referring to Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 (2011), Miles Morales’ debut issue. 

Among other items being moved to the New Avengers facility is Thor’s magic belt, Megingjord. In the comics this item increases Thor’s strength when worn. 

Spider-Man being trapped under a pile of rubble is a moment taken from The Amazing Spider-Man #33 (1966). When Peter looks at his reflection in a puddle we see the iconic split image of Peter and Spidey, something artists would draw whenever Peter’s spider-sense was activated. 

The films ends with Aunt May finding out that Peter is Spider-Man. This is another moment taken from the comics, occurring at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man #35 (2001) when May walks in on an injured and sleeping Peter with a tattered Spidey suit next to him. 

In addition to the comic book references, we get a ton of MCU Easter eggs. The film recounts the airport battle from Captain America: Civil War (2016) told from Peter’s perspective. Damage Control takes over the cleanup in the wake of the Battle of New York. Captain America appears in several public service announcements shown at the school (with his status as a war criminal being mentioned), and students are taught about the Sokovia Accords. Bank robbers can be seen wearing Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Hulk masks. Howard Stark and Abraham Erskine can be seen on a mural at Midtown School of Science & Technology, while a photograph of Bruce Banner can be seen in Peter’s classroom (clearly Banner is one of our greatest scientists!). The Tinkerer says that the Shocker’s gauntlet came from a cleanup in Lagos, suggesting that it’s a modified version of one of the ones Crossbones used (the other was destroyed when he exploded, remember?). There’s a Korean Church of Asgard next to the Thai restaurant May and Peter visit, implying some people are worshipping Norse gods in the MCU. The answer to one of the questions the decathlon team practices with is “strontium, barium, vibranium.” Spidey pulls out an Ultron head from Vulture’s bag. Principal Morita (played by Kenneth Choi) is the grandson of Jim Morita (also played by Kenneth Choi), who was a member of the Howling Commandos; his photograph is on display in the principal’s office. Tony sells off Avengers Tower and relocates to the New Avengers facility. The Vision is mentioned (along with his habit of phasing through walls), Pepper Potts makes an appearance, and Happy Hogan mentions that he’s been carrying around Tony’s engagement ring since 2008, referring to the year Iron Man came out and the debut of the MCU. 

Other things to point out include the piece of graffiti that says “Bagley” (seen on a building when Spider-Man is eating a churro), a reference to artist Mark Bagley, known for his work on the Ultimate Spider-Man series. And though it isn’t a part of the MCU, the famous upside down kiss from Spider-Man (2002) is referenced when Karen urges Peter to kiss Liz after he rescues her.

[latestnews2018-blog]

Robin Leach, 'Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous' Host, Dead At 76

New Post has been published on https://latestnews2018.com/robin-leach-lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous-host-dead-at-76/

Robin Leach, 'Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous' Host, Dead At 76

Robin Leach, who chronicled the conspicuous consumption of the 1980s on his syndicated show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” has died.

The cause of death wasn’t announced, but the New York Daily News said Leach had been hospitalized since November, when he suffered a stroke in the Mexican resort city of Cabo San Lucas.

Leach’s sons, Steven, Gregg and Rick Leach announced the death to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which the journalist wrote for after he moved to the city in 1999.

The family’s official statement read:

Despite the past 10 months, what a beautiful life he had. Our Dad, Grandpa, Brother, Uncle and friend Robin Leach passed away peacefully last night at 1:50 a.m. Everyone’s support and love over the past, almost one year, has been incredible and we are so grateful. Memorial arrangements to follow.

Born in London on Aug. 29, 1941, Leach began his journalism career at the age of 10 when he began contributing stories about his school to the editor of the local newspaper, The Harrow Observer.

He did well enough to be hired full time at the age of 15, according to the Review-Journal. From there, he moved on to publications like the Daily Mail, the New York Daily News and Ladies’ Home Journal. He also wrote the first 11 cover stories for People magazine.

Leach moved into TV in 1980, first at CNN, then joining “Entertainment Tonight” when that show debuted in 1981.

But he became a 1980s icon in 1984 when “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” debuted in syndication.

For 11 years, Leach documented the lavish lifestyles and luxury destinations of top celebrities, ending each show with the send-off, “Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.” 

Leach moved to Las Vegas in 1999, where he continued writing about luxury, while living a relatively modest existence by his show’s standards.

He told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016:

I [live] very comfortably in Las Vegas, five minutes from The Strip. I don’t live in a mega mansion. I am not like the people I interview. I do not have a fleet of bodyguards or minders around me. I have an accountant and lawyer; I don’t have a manager. I do all my business by myself and I shop at the supermarket by myself because I enjoy it. There’s a Lincoln in the garage and a Jaguar in the garage. There aren’t 48 or 50 cars in the garage. I go to Europe once a year for vacation. It’s been a good life, and it’s always been a good life.

But while he made his name as a celebrity journalist, Leach had other interests as well, namely UFOs.

“It’s something that’s interested me from way back when in England as a newspaper reporter,” he told HuffPost in 2011. “And a good friend of mine, Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, has told me stories of astronauts coming back to Earth reporting UFOs.

“Now, UFOs don’t necessarily mean little green men in Martian suits,” he continued. “But there are things that go in space, up there in the sky, that cannot be explained.”

Leach’s celebrity friends took to Twitter on Friday to pay tribute:

Saddened to hear the news that Robin Leach has passed away. He was a thoughtful and considerate man, and a great supporter of the entertainment scene in Las Vegas. – Céline xx… 📸: Cashmanhttps://t.co/qsuWXfmxyi pic.twitter.com/NTmemdsXAq

— Celine Dion (@celinedion) August 24, 2018

Robin was my friend since ’70’s. I did the pilot of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous for him. I remember him calling and saying “I have an idea for a new show! Could you help?” A dear, dear man!! No man enjoyed life more! RIP https://t.co/0kj7CLckor

— Morgan Fairchild (@morgfair) August 24, 2018

My heart is heavy over the passing of Robin Leach. He was much more than just a journalist and a TV personality. He was an icon! He was a Las Vegas legend, having moved here full time and covering the local scene for two decades. I always looked… https://t.co/pUHvvt3Nwy pic.twitter.com/9d3FjM4S49

— Perez (@ThePerezHilton) August 24, 2018

The era of Champagne wishes and caviar dreams has come to an end with Robin Leach, ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’ host, dies at 76 – CNN https://t.co/mEzcSt0VcG

— sheryl lee ralph (@thesherylralph) August 24, 2018

I’m saddened to hear about the passing of @Robin_Leach. Robin was an amazing person and a great friend. He will be greatly missed.

— Jon Taffer (@jontaffer) August 24, 2018

Had the most amazing time on #CELEBRITY @WifeSwap with the marvelous #RobinLeach Loving thoughts from our family participants @MorganSimons @PiBakeshop @keatonsimons

— Eric Roberts (@EricRoberts) August 24, 2018

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments);if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window,document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’); fbq(‘init’, ‘1621685564716533’); // Edition specific fbq(‘init’, ‘1043018625788392’); // Partner Studio fbq(‘track’, “PageView”); fbq(‘track’, ‘ViewContent’, “content_name”:”Robin Leach, ‘Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous’ Host, Dead At 76″,”content_category”:”us.hpmgent” ); fbq(‘trackCustom’, ‘EntryPage’, “section_name”:”Entertainment”,”tags”:[“@health_gad”,”@health_depression”,”@health_models”,”@health_erectile”,”@health_ibs”,”celebrities”,”obituary”,”las-vegas-review-journal”,”lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous”,”robin-leach”],”team”:”us_huffpost_now”,”ncid”:null,”environment”:”desktop”,”render_type”:”web” ); waitForGlobal(function() return HP.modules.Tracky; , function() /* TODO do we still want this? $(‘body’).on(‘click’, function(event) HP.modules.Tracky.reportClick(event, function(data) fbq(‘trackCustom’, “Click”, data); ); ); */ );

[houstonlocalus-blog]

Can’t Stop: The Best of The Week

Red Hot Chili Peppers. Photo: Warner Bros. Records/Steve Keros

  It’s the first full week of 2017 and while it’s not the jam packed week we’ve gotten used to, there’s still plenty happening around the city.  Performances from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Bowie Elvis Fest and much more will all be on hand over the next seven days.  Houston, here’s how to spend the first week of 2017.

  On Wednesday you can get your laugh on for a good cause at Rudyard’s when the always funny Slim Bloodworth headlines the When Pussy Grabs Back fundraiser.  Slim has toured the globe, she’s one of the funniest comics in town, and the fundraiser will help get women to Washington DC for the Women’s March on Washington on January 21st.  Dusti Rhodes will open the 21 & up show with doors at 8 pm and a $10 cover.

  If that’s not your thing, then you can head to Arlo’s Ballroom for some DJ jams on the Hold On To Your Dreams show.  Sets from Andy V, DJ Record Money, Bad Bonez, and Krysten Alexandria will all be on hand.  The night gets going around 9 pm and it’s 100% FREE.

  Dead To The World. Photo: Courtesy of Artist/Facebook

  Thursday you can begin at Warehouse Live in the studio for the Benefit for Brian.  The show will feature sets from Dead To The World, Revels, Ballistics, Jason Bancroft, and Grace Ann Miller.  Alongside the performances, a silent auction with goodies from tattoos to merch from the bands playing will also be there.  The all ages show has doors at 7 pm, and while it’s a FREE show, be cool and donate some money to get in.

  Upstairs at White Oak Music Hall you could check out the alt post rock of Houston’s Bearlios.  Sounding like a mix of Balance & Composure and Title Fight, their recent single “Haunt” has the makings of something that might be worth hearing live.  The post rock of Houston’s Jonah The Runner will be on as direct support while Talking Forever goes on prior. The melodic pop punk sounds of Four Letter Language will open the all ages show with a $5 cover and doors at 7 pm.

  Over at Mucky Duck you can catch the folky goodness of Matt the Electrician.  While the roots based Austinite doesn’t come down here as much as he used to, he still drops some pretty magical live sets, and his latest release, The Bear/Never Had A Gun, is pretty solid. The sweetly voiced sounds of Austin’s John Elliott will open the 21 & up show at 9:30 pm with tickets between $20 and $22.

  Friday you could get going at the Heights Theater when the guy who kicked off the Americana revival, Dave Alvin, swings by to drop a solo set.  Alvin leads the Blasters, he’s played with X, and his solo stuff is like a road weary tune you think you’ve heard before.  His latest release is a single from 2013 called “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” but boy, what a single.  He’ll have one of the greatest Texas treasures on as direct support when Jimmie Dale Gilmore hops on to perform.  I loved Jimmie in The Big Lebowski, but his tunes are the true gem to who he is.  In 2011 he dropped an album under The Wronglers with Jimmie Dale Gilmore that’s pretty damn epic, though he might not play those songs.  The all ages show has doors at 7 pm and tickets between $22 and $34.

  Ten Pixels Tall. Photo: Courtesy of Artist/Facebook

  Notsuoh will host the first of a monthly featuring the Lazybit Collective.  This premier edition has sets from Blip Boi, Savestate Corrupted, Broken Satellite, Ten Pixels Tall, FLOAT, and Parker Luis Can’t Lose.  All of these chiptune artists are stellar and their music is definitely on point.  The all ages show has doors at 8 pm and it’s 100% FREE.

  At Improv you can catch the funny antics of Tony Roberts.  Roberts has been on Showtime, HBO, BET, and more.  He’s toured the country back and forth and his last album, 2010’s Wired! Is pretty damn funny.  As usual, two of Houston’s better comics will serve as host and feature act for the 18 & up performances.  The doors for the two Friday shows are at 7 pm and 9 pm, and there are sets throughout the weekend as well all with tickets between $17 & $30.

  You can get your instrumental post rock feels when Houston’s Alone On The Moon drops by Rudyard’s to perform.  These guys have a pretty intriguing sound, and their latest, Alone On The Moon, is full of heavy riffs.  The instrumental metal of Ominous Necro will be on as direct support and Dead Leslies will be on beforehand.  Knife Club opens the 21 & up show with doors at 9 pm and an $8 cover.

  Adam Bricks. Photo: Jessie Johnson

  At Mucky Duck, you could catch the Austin based and Tel-Aviv formed twang of Kids From Nowhere.  The band has toured the world and has become well known for their live shows and great spirits.  The always engaging sounds of Adam Bricks will be on full display as opener.  You may or may not have seen him live yet, but if you listen to his stellar album Relations from last year, then you’ll undoubtedly want to check him out.  The 21 & up show at 9:30 pm has tickets between $15 and $17.

  Saturday you can have some whole hog BBQ and some tunes when Southern Goods hosts Patrick Feges cooks a whole hog while John Egan performs as well.  Eagan makes music like a good slow roasted meat, it’s thick and smoky, full of flavor, and worth experiencing multiple times.  The all ages show gets going around 11 am and it’s free to attend.  

  Later in the day you can get all of the white boy funkiness you can handle when California’s Red Hot Chili Peppers swing by Toyota Center to get crazy.  I remember when RHCP performed with coyote masks on, I remember seeing them at the Houston Colosseum, and they’re always worth seeing no matter who’s on guitar.  Their latest release, The Getaway from last year, is pretty groovy, and even if you’re not the biggest fan of it, they’ll still play all of your favorites.  The funky jams of NOLA’s Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue will provide direct support while original RHCP drummer Jack Irons will open the all ages show with doors at 6 pm and tickets between $49 and $99.

  Chase Hamblin. Photo: Daniel Jackson

  If you were unaware, David Bowie and Elvis Presley had the same birthday, and in celebration of that, Splice Records puts on an annual festival to celebrate called Bowie Elvis Fest happening at Continental Club and Big Top Lounge.  Alongside host Mills McCoin and appearances from the Dem Damn Dames troupe will be some of your favorite acts performing tracks from both artists.  Pecos Hank, John Evans, Ancient Cat Society, Chase Hamblin, Adam Bricks and more, will all be performing.  There’s more information here for the 21 & up show with costumes encouraged with doors at 7 pm and tickets for $17.

  Walters will have the album release from shoegaze instrumental rockers Raceway.  Though the album, Strategies Against Gravity, dropped digitally in December, this will serve as the actual release event.  The electropop of Houston’s Camera Cult will be on as direct support while the shoegaze indie rock of Galveston’s El Lago opens things up.  The all ages show has doors at 8 pm and tickets between $7 and $10.

  Satellite Bar will have an intriguing show when the crazed sounds of Vockah Redu.  Possibly one of the more memorable and mesmerizing performers you can catch, this guy mixes in R&B, hip hop, and soul to create one of the craziest live shows ever, and tracks like “Shake Ya Bones Loose” don’t begin to gear you up for what you’ll experience.  Houston’s Morena Roas will be on as direct support while Shun Wes, Lucky Lou and Ja Pan will all be on to open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and a $10 cover.

  In the studio at Warehouse Live you can get your hip hop on when Blaze X Black headline the Hip Hop for Houston show.  The duo has been making moves for a good while, their live shows are getting plenty of praise, and their latest single “Say” is pretty legit.  The crazy energy and synth heavy sounds of Corbin Dallas will be on as direct support, with multiple artists on prior.  Jon Black will open the all ages show that has a $5 presale price, $10 at the door, or FREE with a canned food or toy donation.

  Funeral Horse. Photo: Jordan Asinas

  Rudyard’s will have the proggy sounds of Treehouse Project over to perform.  The three-piece has become well known for their garage meets prog rock sound, and their last single “Red Light” isn’t as stellar on recording as it is to hear live.  Not to be outdone, the stoner metal of Houston’s Funeral Horse will bring their crazed energy on as direct support.  I feel like everyone needs to see these guys tear through a set, and 2015’s Divinity For the Wicked is still one of my favorite albums from the genre.  The riff heavy doom of The Dirty Seeds will be on prior, and Cobra Kai will open the 21 & up show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $5 and $8.

  On Sunday you can get all artsy when Adam Robert Scott has a show featuring his black and white illustrations at Insomnia Video Game Culture.  The opening reception will have drinks and bits, as well as prints and tees from the artist for purchase.  The all ages event gets going around 6 pm and it’s 100% FREE.

  If you’d rather get rowdy, then the hardcore of DC’s Pure Disgust will bring their speedy punk to all at Satellite Bar.  Here in support of last year’s Pure Disgust, they sound like they’re playing from a war zone.  One of the many bands called ONE will be on as direct support while Houston’s United Races will go on beforehand.  Hired Gun will open the all ages show with doors at 7:30 pm and an $8 cover.

  Jealous Creatures. Photo: Bayou City Photography

  Walters will host San Antonio rock trio and Burger Records act The Rich Hands.  These guys are rumored to have a crazy live show, and their latest release, Cassingle, is pretty fine and full of hooks for days.  Houston’s Cleen Teens will provide direct support while the rock of Jealous Creatures will lovingly open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $7 and $10.

  Monday at The Secret Group you could get your indie rock fix when Mockingbird Brother swings by to play a set.  I feel like everyone knows Chris from Devil Killing Moth, Second Lovers and MOTHS, but you might not know this band yet, though they’re worth making it out for.  The Wiggins will be on as direct support while the trippy pop psych of Faberge opens the all ages show with a $5 cover and doors at 9 pm.

  On Tuesday the Nightingale Room will host a set from Matt Mejia.  You might know him from his old band Come See My Dead Person, though you should check out his solo stuff, as his unmistakable voice is nothing to shy away from.  There’s no word of openers for the 21 & up show with doors at 7 pm and it’s 100% FREE.

  That’s about it for this week.  No matter what you decide on doing, be mindful of everyone else so we can all get off to this new year in the safest way possible.

Can’t Stop: The Best of The Week this is a repost

[junker-town]

Jason Garrett was the Cowboys’ biggest obstacle to greatness

Garrett couldn’t change himself or his gameplan enough. Now, for the first time in a decade, Jerry Jones is looking for a new coach.

Jason Garrett is out as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. It was not for a lack of opportunity.

The sideline general of America’s Team ended his career with just one losing season, but only two playoff wins to show for nearly a decade of hard work. Under his guidance, the Cowboys won the NFC East in three of the past six seasons and held the league’s top record in 2016. Despite all that, owner Jerry Jones never got to host an NFC Championship Game in Dallas — hell, he never even made it that far in the postseason.

That was the rub with Garrett: his innate ability to coach a good football team wound up being the Cowboys’ biggest obstacle toward being a great one. The head coach was only blow-it-up bad once in his Texas tenure, and that was a season in which Tony Romo missed 12 games. One year later, he shook off another Romo injury and pushed his team, led by fourth-round rookie Dak Prescott, to a 13-win campaign.

That accomplishment bought Garrett some much-needed goodwill. It also stands as his high-water mark as an NFL head coach, and it ended with a one-and-done postseason. So how should we remember the Garrett era in Dallas?

Garrett could do more with less

If you gave Garrett the keys to the kitchen and a moderately stocked cupboard, he could turn a bunch of random supplies from the pantry into a three-star meal. An 85-67 career regular season record — the rough equivalent of a 9-7 record every year — is proof of that.

As Blogging the Boys’ Dan Rogers pointed out last spring, one of Garrett’s biggest strengths was his ability to fend off a rebuild despite overseeing a transitional era in Dallas. Garrett was able to plan around injuries and free agency losses to build a competitive team throughout his nine-plus years at the helm. He had winning records with Romo, Prescott, and (for his first eight games as the team’s head coach) Jon Kitna behind center.

He also had a knack for pulling out big performances when he needed them the most. Three straight 8-8 seasons from 2011-13 put him on the hot seat, but a 12-win 2014 put him back on the throne. He was rewarded by 2015’s 4-12 record with a draft haul that featured five different starters, including Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Jaylon Smith, and Maliek Collins. He took his Cowboys to a new level in the years that followed, but never made the leap from “intimidating on paper” to “intimidating in the playoffs.”

Why?

Garrett’s inability to adjust doomed him

Garrett was great at devising gameplans to suit the pieces he had. But when dynamic variables were added to the mix, his effectiveness nosedived. The often robotic head coach struggled to deviate from his blueprints when opponents presented unforeseen challenges that forced him into uncomfortable situations.

In 2019, that manifested in several ways. An offense that ranked second in the NFL in efficiency, per Football Outsiders DVOA metric, couldn’t find its way past the Patriots or Saints in games where those two teams were held to 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Those losses were emblematic of the Cowboys’ season. While defensive collapses often doomed Garrett’s Cowboys in the past, he found ways to lose this fall even when his ‘D’ played well. Beating the Cowboys this season was typically accomplished by limiting the offense early and daring them to adjust.

Garrett’s 2019 offense scored just 6.1 first-half points per game in its losses. Prescott, for as much as he improved this season, had more interceptions (four) than touchdowns (three) in the opening halves of those eight games. While the offense improved in the second halves of those games, averaging 10.8 points in the third and fourth quarters, it could never flip an “L” to a “W.”

Garrett’s Cowboys, with first-year offensive coordinator Kellen Moore calling the shots, were also predictable. Dallas’s commitment to “establishing the run” has become meme-worthy. Since drafting Elliott in 2016, the Cowboys have called running plays on 58.5 percent of their first downs. The rest of the NFC East, for comparison, ran on first down 49.5 percent of the time.

Sure, you can explain some of that away thanks to a winning team working to grind down clock, but the Patriots — the NFL’s winningest team from 2016-2019 — only ran the ball 54.5 percent of the time on first down in that span. Opposing defenses knew what to expect from Garrett, even when he dialed back his run-heavy tendencies to 53.5 percent of first downs this fall.

The fact that Prescott performed so well while attempting 70 more passes than his next most pass-heavy season is more evidence Garrett should have changed tacks sooner. Prescott’s 8.2 yards per attempt were a career high. He had the second-best season of his career in terms of both passer rating and QBR despite being asked to do more.

Instead of leaning on a promising young passer, the Cowboys ran themselves into a lot of second- and third-and-long situations from which they struggled to recover. A team with a Pro Bowl big three of Prescott, Cooper and Elliott only managed to go 8-8 in 2019.

The offense was especially problematic next to a defense that was better on paper that it was as a product. The Cowboys were a borderline top 10 team when it came to opponent yards gained and scoring, but by DVOA they ranked outside the top 20. The shaky passing trio of Josh Allen, Sam Darnold and Mitchell Trubisky combined to throw for six touchdowns, more than 800 yards and a 116.7 passer rating against them. All things considered, that may be the most damning statistic of the Cowboys’ season.

Except maybe this: Dallas went 1-6 against playoff teams in Garrett’s last season.

What should come next for the Cowboys?

Let’s take a look back at this team’s last coaching hire.

Jerry Jones’ reaction to good, but never great results under a defensively minded head coach in Wade Phillips (.607 winning percentage in Dallas) was to hire a rising coach with an offensive background in Garrett, who aced his interim tryout and parlayed that into nine seasons. Now Jones will try to rectify good, but never great, results under an offensively minded head coach (Garrett had a .563 win percentage).

The Cowboys are loaded with offensive talent, and could use someone who is capable of finally turning their star-studded, but inconsistent, defense into a powerhouse. That may suggest turning to a former defensive coordinator for the head coaching job, but recent NFL trends indicate Dallas will instead try to level up Prescott’s offense and bank on a dynamic DC to sort out the other side of the ball. Of the last 14 NFL head coaches hired, nine previously served as offensive assistants.

So who fits that bill? Current Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley has kept Bob Stoops’ Sooner juggernaut rolling, turning Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts into Heisman Trophy finalists along the way (Mayfield and Murray both won). Baylor head coach Matt Rhule has restored the Bears to relevance by buying in to the Big 12 Air Raid-ish tendencies that have begun to take root in the NFL.

If Jones wants someone with more NFL experience — as has been reported — Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman has a solid track record of pro success, and has, most recently, turned Lamar Jackson into the likely 2019 NFL MVP. Mike McCarthy, more than a year removed from being fired by the Packers, has a Super Bowl ring to his credit, but is tainted by his waning effectiveness in Green Bay (and the Pack’s subsequent resurgence without him).

Those are just four names that will likely crop up on Jones’ call sheet while he does his due diligence. Several more names will pop into local headlines as the league’s coaching carousel spins. Dallas will host a handful of candidates all hoping to lead the Cowboys’ renaissance on both sides of the ball. Whoever takes the job will inherit what’s likely the best available roster that a free agent coach can find.

Garrett’s near decade in charge produced few highs and few lows, and instead created a football purgatory in Dallas that wasted some MVP-caliber performances. His replacement will inherit a roster filled with young players entering their primes (and a scheduled arrival in salary cap hell when those players demand higher salaries). Coaching the Cowboys won’t be an easy task, but when the other options for a prospective head coach include the Browns, Dallas has to be considered an oasis in this winter’s coaching desert.