#and the offense has had rough games recently but has still improved

[gerritcole-coded]

My more level-headed take is that it's not surprising the orioles battled back after losing the first two. It doesn't make me any more worried about the yankees than I was

[garnette-gal]

Ground Effect | Jake Seresin x Fem! Reader

Part 3 of A Diamond in the Rough Series. See Masterlist HERE.

Summary: The first day of training for your assignment finally arrives. You’re fairly certain that Hangman is up to no good. Reader’s Callsign = Diamond.

Word Count: 4K

Warnings: Some curse words.

A/N: Y’all, sorry this took so long. I think I’ve rewritten this chapter 3 times. Enjoy! :)

--------------

Ground Effect – The increasing lift and decreasing drag that occurs as a result of an aircraft’s wings as it gets closer to the ground.

When you arrive, the early morning San Diego sun is just starting to filter into the empty aircraft hangar. The golden rays of bright sunshine cast a warm hue on the giant American flag that hangs from the ceiling.

It’s an impressive area for a briefing room, you muse, eyeing the tables and chairs arranged with a small podium up front and a whiteboard.

Hefting your bag over your shoulder, you approach the seats. You immediately identify Phoenix and her weapon systems officer Bob sitting together in their row. Phoenix sends you a friendly nod with a small smile and Bob lifts his hand to give you a wave that you quickly reciprocate.

It’s nice to see some familiar faces in the room.

“Good morning.” Rooster’s recognizable voice greets you, and his grin on his face is contagious. You can’t stop the smile that shapes your lips in return.

“Morning Rooster.”

Bradshaw pulls out the chair next to him for you to sit and a warm feeling fills you at the considerate gesture. You slide into the chair and begin sorting through the materials laid out before you.

There are several thick stacks of booklets that you will need to review as well as a notebook and pen for note-taking. One booklet in particular that catches your eye in the NATOPS Flight Manual for the F-18.

The abundance of materials reminds you of your days as a student at Top Gun. You’ve come a very long way since then. 

You belong here. You had promised Kazansky you would do your best, and you weren’t about to let anyone get in the way. Including Lieutenant Jake “Hangman” Seresin.

Seresin, the very name twists your stomach in an emotion you can’t quite identify. It’s not dread, but you didn’t dare to call it excitement either. Anticipation, maybe?

Your gaze flickers over the seats around you. You didn’t see Hangman when you walked in this morning, but there was still a solid twenty minutes before expected reporting time, so it was likely he would arrive soon.

Seresin was admittedly a lethal combination of charms and handsome features. But his attitude towards his fellow pilots irritated you to no end. He’s one of the most insufferable pilots you’ve ever met, and somehow, he has managed to hijack your thoughts without being physically present.

To get your mind off the egotistical pilot, you turn towards Rooster and engage him in conversation instead. He starts telling you the recent highlights of his road trip and for the moment, you’re distracted.

--------------------------------

Hangman has no right to be annoyed about where you’re sitting in the briefing area.

While he’s relieved to see you’re no longer near Bob, watching you next to Rooster isn’t much of an improvement.

From what Coyote told him, the two of you are good friends. Both of you are stationed at Oceana and within the same fighter squadron. Given that you have experience as Bradshaw’s wingman, it was a real possibility the two of you might be selected as a pair for the mission.

Hangman chews the toothpick in his mouth in contemplation as he analyzes from afar.

The only way the two of you could be selected would be if Bradshaw could learn to take the risky offensive. It was one of the principles that separated Hangman from Rooster. Hangman took the tricky openings that Rooster wouldn’t.

It was all the same game regarding his pursuit of you. And he’d be damned before he loses the first girl to catch his interest in years to Bradshaw.

Regardless of Jake’s best efforts, he can’t pull his gaze away from you as he approaches the chairs. The only word he can use to describe his attraction to you is magnetic. Everything you seem to do, catches his attention. The stretching sunlight catches the left side of your face, illuminating you perfectly, your eyes practically glitter like diamonds.

You’re so carefree, so fucking beautiful.

It’s absolute torture having to admire this side of you from a distance. Get a grip, Seresin.

He was Hangman. His broad frame, tan skin, sharp green eyes, and wicked smile made it easy to pursue any woman he wanted. He had become accustomed to never having to put effort into getting a pretty woman’s attention. At least, not until he met you.

He’s not stupid though.

Despite your best attempts to appear disinterested, he knows you’re lying. He notices it in the way your beautiful eyes flash at him during conversation. Your eyes were the all-knowing crystal ball to understanding your emotions. You were way too easy for him to read, and if his assumptions were correct (and they almost always were), he thinks you might be interested in him too.

The chemistry is undeniably there, fizzling just under the surface. It lingers within your exchanges like a strong undercurrent, threatening to pull the both of you under at a moment’s notice. It’s like nothing Jake has ever experienced before. It’s distinctly unique, distinctly you.

Jake eyes the exposed section of your neck with fascination when you tilt your head back and laugh at a joke that Bradshaw makes like it’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard. His hand twitches when you playfully shove Rooster as you struggle to contain your mirth.

You should be touching him, not Rooster. Hangman frowns, hell, the Hawaiian print shirts Bradshaw wore off-duty should be enough to disqualify him as your friend. Those things were an abomination.

“You’re such an idiot, Bradley.” You chortle out, your tone is sweet and joking. Rooster sends a goofy grin in reply.

It’s the first time Hangman agrees with one of your statements.

The instinct to pull you out of that seat and into his arms nearly overpowers Jake. The only thing that stops him is the thought of Cyclone or Warlock witnessing him drag you to a chair up front, next to him.

That wouldn’t exactly make a great impression for a cool, composed, or sane pilot.

The realization is like a bucket of ice-cold water on his raging hot emotions. He needs to get himself under control before he does something stupid. He can’t afford to ruin this once in a lifetime mission over a woman.

That was something only a lovesick fool would do. And Hangman would never be the kind of fool that would value love over a career. Once he had you in his bed, he would be able to move on.

His bed. His mind imagines you wearing nothing but his dark silk sheets, alone in his spacious bed, waiting for him.

Control yourself. Jake winces as he desperately forces the thought to the back of his mind for another time. As far as you were concerned, the sooner he got you out of his system, the better.

Composing himself, he brushes a hand over his hair, straightens his back, and begins to close in on your unsuspecting position. He may not be able to drag you out of chair, but he would make things clear. Hangman didn’t tolerate competition when it came to getting what he wanted.

--------------------------------

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here.” That familiar southern accent comes back to haunt you.

As per fucking usual.

You slightly turn in your seat to make eye-contact with the blonde-haired aviator that has just entered from the far end of the hangar entrance.

It’s Hangman. And he’s staring at you. Not Rooster, not Phoenix, just you.

Your traitorous heart does a small skip.

Seresin is practically glowing in the early morning light. That tall form is already in a green flight suit, like yours, but it is attractive on him due to those broad shoulders and longer legs. You take note of the patch on his chest, instantly recognizing the insignia of the Vigilantes. The sleeves of his flight suit are rolled up just enough to reveal tan forearms and large capable hands.

He is so handsome it nearly makes your eyes hurt. Hangman reminds you too much of a Ken doll with that perfectly styled blonde hair and those sharp features. If he didn’t already have a callsign, you’d be tempted to start calling him Ken. 

The potential callsign has some actual merit, because there were published articles on the Internet regarding the blonde fighter pilot. One even going as far as claiming him to be the “hottest pilot of the newest aviation generation.” 

That particular piece had been written shortly after his confirmed air-to-air kill. Needless to say, the photographers had gone above and beyond in capturing Hangman’s well-sculpted body.

How he had received approval from the Navy to do that article was beyond you. Pretty white boy privileges, probably.

You would never admit that you had googled Seresin’s name for research purposes at 2 in the morning after your first encounter at the Hard Deck. All because you had been attempting to find negative coverage on the fighter pilot. Not because you were curious about him.

What was that ancient proverb? Know thyself, know thy enemy, and you shall win a hundred battles without loss. You had taken the lesson to heart, obviously.

Unfortunately for you, the media loved him and his southern charm.

You blink your thoughts away as you focus on the blonde aviator approaching you. He’s fidgeting with something in his mouth, and it takes you a few moments to recognize it.

Was that a toothpick?

You raise a brow as you contemplate the sharp wooden object held between those beautiful white teeth that now grin at you.

You’ve been staring at his mouth too long and he notices. His eyes darken slightly when you meet his gaze once more. You feel a flush of embarrassment at being caught, it rises all the way from your neck to your face.

You desperately hope he can’t tell he’s managed to rattle you.

“See somethin’ ya like, darlin?” Seresin practically croons as he advances towards your table, just feet away from you. He leisurely raises a left hand to adjust his toothpick to a corner of his mouth, it’s an intentional attempt to distract you. And it works.

You can’t stand the knowing glint that crosses his ocean green eyes.

“It’s Lieutenant, not darlin,” you mock his southern accent in a fake Texas twang that causes his lips to twitch in delight. He comes to a stop next to your seat and stands in the middle of the aisle. You have to crank your head upwards to maintain eye contact with him and Seresin looks like he’s enjoying the fact he’s towering over you

“Ah, my apologies.” Hangman drawls, not sounding apologetic at all. At least he attempts to appear contrite this time, that overconfident grin disappearing for a moment. He pauses, as if contemplating pushing you further. The disapproving stare you send him isn’t enough to deter him. “It’s a nice morning, isn’t it, Lieutenant?”

He sends you a beaming smile, full dimples in view after saturating your rank with an overly saccharine tone. It’s obvious he’s used to getting his way by sending a charming grin.

Seresin is an imbecile to think it could possibly work on you. With Kazansky as a mentor, you had adopted some of his no-nonsense tendencies. And if there was one powerful weapon you had learned from him, it was the power of silence.

You don’t smile back at Hangman. Instead, you allow the awkward pause to hang over the air, hoping it makes him uncomfortable for once.

Out of your peripheral vision, Bob and Phoenix turn to study the exchange with interest. Besides you, Rooster crosses his arms and openly glares at Hangman.

You’re still pissed at Hangman’s behavior at the Hard Deck. First stealing Bob’s cue stick, and then insulting Rooster so blatantly in a public setting.

Rooster had only told him the truth; Hangman wasn’t ready to be a team leader.

If he thought you would be receptive to him after his recent conduct, he had another thing coming.

Hangman’s smile falters at your lack of a returned greeting, but he quickly recovers.  “Don’t you agree?” Hangman tilts his head, the light catching on the necklace of his dog tags, momentarily distracting you. Then he breathes your name as if it was an afterthought.

The sound of your name, softened by his southern accent makes your breath hitch for a moment.

The man is standing way too close to you for your comfort. You can smell him; that warm and clean scent exhilarates your senses. His presence is oppressive in every way, and he requires your full awareness. Hangman won’t accept anything less.

You take a deep breath to try and calm yourself. Mustering your remaining willpower to maintain a poker face, you finally decide to break your silence.

“No.”

You should have kept your mouth closed because your response seems to light up those intense green eyes in pleasure.

“No?” Seresin repeats your response like a question. In an attempt to appear unimpressed, you slouch backwards into your chair as if relaxed.

Because there is definitely no way you are relaxed right now. Your body responds to Seresin like it’s fight or flight, your adrenaline races as your mind goes into overdrive. 

The blonde fighter pilot doesn’t even glance at Rooster, his entire attention is now dedicated to you. Your heart races at the realization.

While you feel like your heart is about to burst, Hangman appears cool, composed, and calm. It frustrates you to no end. You feel like you’re always at an immediate disadvantage with him.

Hangman is definitely trying to bait you into a conversation that will likely downward spiral into an argument. And for all you know, Cyclone and Warlock could be seconds away from stepping into the classroom.

But you only had one cup of coffee at 04:30 this morning, nearly two hours ago. Needless to say, you were not in the mood for Hangman and his antics.

“No.” You deadpan. You’re tempted to spell out the word for him since he doesn’t seem to understand it all that well, “seeing you is not the way I wanted to start my day.”  

He’s entertained by your remark, you can see it in the way his lips curl upwards at your snark. “I can think of some ways to improve your day.” The pilot leans his side into the table, he takes his time with a meaningful once-over of your body. “We could give a couple of my suggestions a try. What do you say?”

You roll your eyes at him. In your dreams, Seresin.

“Here’s a suggestion,” you stick your chin out at him, gesturing towards the empty seats up front. “Go away. Shoo.” You lift your right hand and wave him away like an annoying pest.

Your hand accidentally brushes his clothed chest, it was an accident you swear, and you notice the way his gaze sharpens, nearly smoldering at you with something that you think could be lust. You slowly bring your hand back to your side as your brain screams DANGER. DANGER. DANGER.

You feel like you’re playing with fire.

He actually laughs at you and his eyes are sparking with pleasure and something else that you can’t identify. Then Hangman proceeds to do the exact opposite of your suggestion.

He moves his right arm casually so that his right hand grips the back of your chair, directly behind your right shoulder. Placing his hand on the back of your chair gives Seresin a reason to lean close towards you. He’s so close that if you leaned upwards a few inches, you’d be kissing him.

Hangman has the leisurely demeanor of a lion preparing to ambush its prey. You’re effectively cornered in your chair, stuck between the hard plastic at your back and Hangman hovering near you.

It’s incredibly difficult to overcome your instincts to lean away from his grip; instead, you remain still. I’m fine. I’m just fine.

“I get that you’re new here, Diamond. But let me make one thing clear.” His voice is low in its warning to you. Shivers race up your spine despite the warm California weather. 

The tables have been turned, and you sense the momentum shift in your exchange as Hangman regains control.

His intense gaze flickers over your expression, contemplating you. Your breath feels like it’s been caught in your chest. Is it just you or has the air gotten thicker here?

“I don’t take orders from you, and I will do as I goddamn please.” His attempt to intimidate you only makes rage thrum through your veins.

You should shut up. You really should just shut up. But you can’t stop yourself.

“The words of a gentleman.” You bite back at him.

He grins at the way your eyes narrow at him, a crack in your careful composure becoming more apparent.

“Keep provoking me, and you’ll find out what kind of gentleman I am.” He promises lowly.

He’s laying his claim, you think to yourself, as you try to wrap your head around why he was behaving this way. It’s the only reason you can come up with for his obnoxious show in front of your classmates.

Seresin views himself as the Alpha, and questioning his authority was not to be tolerated. But you were not going to lay on your back and concede to him.

Give him an inch, he’ll take a mile, knowing Seresin.

You scoff at him. “Try not to overestimate yourself, Hangman.”

You're positive that he stares at your lips before meeting your eyes.

“We’ll see about that.”  

His hand brushes against your shoulder, triggering a flash of electricity that flares through your body in spite of the layers of clothing separating you from his hand. “Feel free to sit up front with your new team leader rather than slow ride over here.”  

The thought of sitting in the fighter pilot’s lap blazes in your mind but you shut it down before your imagination runs away with the idea.

As IF that would ever happen.

The repeated insult to your friend is one too many. You consider flipping him off but there's too many eyes on your interaction for you to successfully do so without getting written up for misconduct. You’re preparing a verbal blow when Bradshaw intervenes. “Leave her alone, Hangman.”

Bless Bradshaw, the generally good-natured pilot had done his best to let you deal with the asshole on your own. But enough was enough.

"Try not to take it personally, Bradshaw." Hangman's eyes drift towards Rooster. Hangman doesn’t bother to hide his condescending tone and you note how the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. "She'll have no other option but to follow me once I'm selected as team lead."

That’s quite the fucking presumption.

Even though Rooster has managed to redirect Hangman’s animosity towards him, you’re not about to let Hangman get away with that statement.

"If you're selected as team lead." You quickly correct him and Hangman’s head snaps back to stare at you. His jaw clenches in irritation, the muscles in his jaw becoming more prominent. Your twisted mind thinks it’s kind of hot.

His gaze is searing as you continue, "Anything can happen in three weeks, Hangman."

"Three weeks won't change the fact that I'm the best there is." The blonde fighter pilot quips, his confidence mixing with arrogance. "You’re one of the better pilots here, Diamond. It’d be a shame if you let Rooster slow you down."

His right hand releases the back of your seat, straightening up and away from you. You can’t explain it, but you miss the heat of his body that had been so close to yours. His gaze lingers on you for a moment before he sits up front.

Hangman has managed to throw you off balance. He had complimented you in one sentence and insulted your friend in the next.

You’re left to stew in your anger. You can feel Rooster’s stare, and he attempts to reassure you as you try to reign yourself in.

"Ignore him." Rooster grumbles, "he’s always been this way. Although he seems to have gotten worse over the years.” You’ll have to ask him about his experiences with Hangman, but that will have to be a conversation for another time.

Warlock and Cyclone eventually arrive, and Warlock begins to discuss the basis for the mission and the background of your new instructor. At one point Hangman sends you a cocky grin but you pointedly ignore him. The mystery surrounding this new instructor has you on edge, after all, who do you send to train the best of the best?

So, when Hangman turns around eagerly to get a glimpse of the mission instructor that Warlock has spoken so highly of, your interest is immediately caught at Hangman’s reaction. Even from two rows behind him you examine the way his green eyes widen in surprise; his brows raise upwards and wrinkle his forehead in confusion. His smooth lips part in shock and his toothpick nearly drops out of his mouth.

His current expression of horror is a complete reversal from his earlier smug arrogance. It’s not long before one of his hands hides his eyes and he turns away. If you didn’t know any better, you would think Hangman sank forward in his chair.

It’s difficult to contain your delight at the sudden turn of events. A laugh nearly bubbles to your lips. Hangman is actually flustered. You peek outside to make sure pigs haven’t begun to fly because of the absurdity of his reaction.

Nope, no flying pigs in sight.

Karma is a fucking bitch, Seresin.

You revel in Hangman’s embarrassment for a moment until you wonder just who could shake the fearless aviator. Intrigued, you find yourself turning for a glimpse of your new hero.

The new individual swaggers in with the confidence of an experienced pilot. His dark hair is cropped short, and his features have been somewhat aged by time and stress.

Wait. You’ve seen him before.

You’re 90% sure you had watched Hangman help Payback and Coyote throw this guy out of the Hard Deck last night. Which explains Hangman’s current state of embarrassment. So much for good first impressions.

Beyond that incident you know that you’ve glimpsed the guy before. But where?

You’re desperately trying to recall why he looks so familiar when Warlock finally reveals his identity.

“Meet your new instructor, Captain Pete Mitchell, callsign Maverick.” It doesn’t take long for the puzzle pieces to click together in your mind. Maverick, the legendary wingman of Iceman. Your heart rises to your throat as you feel something that resembles dread in the pit of your stomach.

Oh shit.

Rooster tenses from his seat beside you. You know the basics of his history with Maverick, that his father had died while flying with Maverick, and it had happened many years before you lost your own father. 

The two of you shared a unique bond of grief, even if neither of you acknowledged it.

A quick look is exchanged between the two pilots, and Rooster turns away in obvious disdain. There is a hint of guilt and hesitation in Maverick’s eyes.

You make a mental note to text Iceman after this and ask him why he hadn’t bothered to tell you that Maverick was going to be the instructor for the assignment.

You didn’t want to use your goddaughter privileges for blatant nepotism, but damn it, it would have been nice to know in advance.

The fact that Maverick had been brought back for this assignment could only mean one thing, this mission was more dangerous than you realized.

You glance back at the front of the class to observe Hangman nervously shifting his toothpick. As if sensing your stare, the two of you eye each other for a couple of seconds. The exchange between the two of you is completely devoid of snark and bravado for once.

Hangman’s serious countenance unsettles you. Blinking, you quickly look away before you can be dragged down by his intense green depths.

An unsettling thought lingers in your mind as Maverick begins to brief the group.

The next few weeks would make or break you as a fighter pilot.

--------------------------------

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[epochxp]

Board Games about the Battle of Budapest, 1945

Hungarian troops man German-made PaK-40 Anti-Tank Gun on the Approaches to Budapest, Winter 1944 | Wikipedia

Until recently, the Battle of Budapest was little known in the West, mainly due to a lack of reliable historical sources available. Since the end of the Cold War, however, this has changed, especially with the release of the book The Siege of Budapest, 100 Days in World War II, by Krisztián Ungváry. The author has read it and if you have any sort of interest in this battle, this is the book to read first.

Since the sources have improved and more sources become available, we’ve seen a much clearer picture of the 100-day fight for the city and the four separate attempts by the Germans to relieve the city. All of this conspired to make a true hell on earth that some historians have said is worse than Stalingrad. In the end, 80,000 Soviets soldiers, as well as 38,000 German and Hungarian soldiers and another 38,000 Hungarian civilians lost their lives. It was truly a vicious fight to the last and definitely one worthy of being the subject of some boardgames.

So, what’s out there for the discerning wargamer?

Board Game Geek

Like most of the games about fighting, this game is centered around the attempts to relieve Budapest through the various German offensives (Konrads I-III and Spring Awakening), all of which failed. By the end of January 1945, no more efforts were made to relieve the city, with it finally falling to the Russians on the 14th of February after an abortive breakout attempt.

I own the game, but haven’t had a chance to play it. I will say, graphically, it looks very good, with well laid-out counters, maps, and play aids. This was, admittedly, a “grail game” of mine, and I was glad I finally got a copy. I have read the rules and some of them are a bit confusing, but I was told some house rules can polish this rough gem of an experience. The situation is a desperate one on both sides, as both sides are playing “beat the clock” from the outset, with the Russians trying to take Budapest before the end of the game and the Germans trying to relieve Budapest before the Russians take the city or the game ends. 

While the game is out of print, it’s available on Board Game Geek, but it’s a bit pricy. I am happy to say that there is a VASSAL module for the game, so online play is an option. I’d definitely recommend Bitter End, even with its minor issues. 

Board Game Geek

I have not failed to like a single game from Against the Odds, and this is no exception. One of the few operational games about the battle for the city, the game itself is a visual feast and I was very impressed with it. The map itself is based on a 1943 map of the city and it just exudes period feel. As for the game itself, it’s a slog, no question about this, and there’s not much in the way of tension, but it does demonstrate what a nightmare urban combat truly is. But it’s a mental endurance exercise to play. Quick, this game is not. I still recommend it, but expect to be in this game for the long haul. 

The good news is that the game is more than available from ATO as a back issue, and between the game and the well-researched articles about the battle itself, I’d say it’s well worth the purchase price.

Board Game Geek

Part of the excellent Gamer’s/MMP Operational Combat Series (OCS), Hungarian Rhapsody is one of the first wargames about the entire campaign written by a Hungarian designer. I would say this is very important as well. They can certainly access sources most of the English-speaking community cannot. He also met with Mr. Ungváry about the game, especially the Budapest portions. The game went through a nine-year development process, five of those being playtests. It’s a testament to how much work that went into this game. It’s a game that covers the entire Hungarian campaign from the Summer of 1944 to the beginning of 1945, and it’s a game I’d certainly love to get my hand on.  The scope of the game is impressive, as taken from the designer’s website:

The Battle of Debrecen, one map, 7 Turns

Grand Campaign, two maps, 43 Turns

The Battle of Debrecen, two maps, 7 Turns

From Debrecen to Budapest, two maps, 25 Turns

Operation Budapest, two map scenario, 17.5 Turns

Operation Budapest, two map Campaign Start, 34.5 Turns

Race to Budapest, two map large scenario, 7 Turns

Race to Budapest, 1.5 map small scenario, 7 Turns

Race to Budapest, two map Campaign Start, 25 Turns

Konrad I-II, one map, 3 Turns

Konrad I-II-III, one map, 13 Turns

Konrad I, two map Campaign Start, 17 Turns

Konrad III, one map, 4 Turns

Konrad III, two map Campaign Start, 12 Turns

Südwind, one map, 3 Turns

It’s a hefty pricetag at $140, but it is well worth the effort and time that was put into this project, but it can be found cheaper through Board Game Geek and ebay. There is also a VASSAL module that facilitates online play. All in all, this was a gargantuan effort that I hope I get a chance to play soon.

In an unrelated note, I wish to inform you all this will be my final article for the Epoch Xperience blog. I’m not leaving Epoch XP, but being asked to take over another large project you’ll be hearing about very soon. I am certainly very excited about it and hope you will be too once I get a chance to reveal what it is. Be patient, I promise it will be worth the wait. It’s been a pleasure to share my thoughts about wargaming and to hear your responses to my work on social media. 

I hope the discussion continues, and, as always, Good Gaming, Everyone.

At Epoch XP, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse Epoch XP's service on our parent site, SJR Research.

--

(This article is credited to Jason Weiser. Jason is a long-time wargamer with published works in the Journal of the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers; Miniature Wargames Magazine; and Wargames, Strategy, and Soldier.)

[whatwouldnarutodo]

Sentaku - Chapter Two

Pairing: Tobirama Senju x Sarutobi!OC

Rating: Mature (smut in later chapters, description of violence)

Chapter One

~~~~~~~~~~~

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.“ - Oscar Wilde

After you had hurried up to follow your new boss to his office, Tobirama suddenly turned around, making you almost run into him. You stood inappropriately close to each other, but neither of you had the intention to back away.

“Let‘s make one thing clear“, he said growling, his eyes narrowed. “You are neither wanted nor needed here. I don‘t care about who your father is or how qualified you think you are for this job. As long as you are here, I want you to be one thing: quiet. And whatever you do, do not interfere with my work, or else you will regret it.“

The air became heavier with every word he said, like a suspenseful calmness before a storm breaks loose. Staring up at him with clenched teeth and fists, you desperately tried to restrain yourself from doing something you would regret later.

It was bewildering. Sure, dealing with your family, male friends and clan members had made you used to some rough language, but this level of conceitedness was definitely something new. You quickly weighed the pros and cons of punching him in the face right then and there, but came to the conclusion that he wasn‘t worth the trouble.

Does he want to intimidate me? Or is he hoping for a fight so he can run to his big brother to get me fired?  Whatever it was, one thing was certain: He wanted some kind of reaction, one which you decided you wouldn‘t give him.

Trying to appear as indifferent as possible, you finally took a step back and just shrugged your shoulders.

“Sure.“

Tobirama furrowed his brow in surprise, irritated by your response, and took a step back himself. You had to suppress a smirk at his reaction. That‘s right, I won‘t let you get to me. Complacent about your recent level of self-control, you watched him how he quickly caught himself and entered his office with you right behind him.

The “office“ could barely be recognized as one. It had more resemblance to a neglected study room in the furthest corner of a library; only the opened scrolls next to the mountains of closed ones and the still steaming cup of coffee on his desk gave away that the room had been used of late.

I doubt he holds meetings in here. How can he work in this mess? And with closed curtains? I get why Hashirama is so concerned now.

He gestured to a smaller desk next to the door with only a pen on it, your new workplace for who knows how long.

Well this is going to be fun, you sighed internally.

And so it began.

Dealing with a grumpy Senju was one thing, but the indescribable boredom made your “work“ almost unbearable. You spent most of the day sitting on your desk and staring at the wall. Every time the tedium made you play with the pen, you were immediately rebuked.  

“Stop it, woman.“

Sometimes these three words were the only ones you heard all day. No greeting in the morning, no “thank you“ when you decided to be the better person and bring him something to drink or eat. Like that wasn‘t enough, he didn‘t even touch the meals you brought him, instead he walked to the trashcan to blatantly throw everything away. After a few days you stopped trying, it was just a waste of food anyways.

By this point it was more than clear that he didn‘t trust you in the slightest, and he made sure to let you know that every single day. You were right about the meetings, he would either hold them in the Hokage‘s office together with his brother or in one of the conference rooms in the building. In a normal situation the assistant would either stay in the office to work or attend the meeting to take notes or something.

Your situation however was everything but normal. Every time Tobirama had to go to a meeting, he would lock you out of the office, because again, he didn‘t trust you. You used those times to get out for a walk, which you felt was the only thing that kept you from going insane slowly but surely.

Finally some fresh air,  you thought as you stepped outside the Hokage Tower and looked up at the grey sky a week later. Tobirama had a meeting with his brother and Madara Uchiha, which meant that his mood would be especially good afterwards. Great. One of the worst things about this job was knowing that you could use your time so much better, either training or doing literally anything else.

Maybe I could go train right now, but I would lose track of time and get in trouble for sure. Okay, so what if I ask Hashirama if I could do some of his paperwork to feel at least a little more useful? But snitching on the douche bag would probably make our relationship even worse. But how much worse can it even get?

When you felt the first raindrops falling onto your skin, you turned around to make your way back to the big red building with a small sigh. If there was one thing you hated, it was feeling as helpless as you did now, without a real chance of escaping that situation. Who knows how long you‘d have to endure this? Weeks? Months? ….Years?

Your pace quickened after the light rain got heavier, soon turning into a heavy autumn storm.

The Senju already sat back at his desk when you entered the office completely drenched.

“How was the meeting, Tobirama-sama?“

“None of your concern“, he snapped back. So it went that well. huh?

~~~~~~~~~~

“I just don‘t know what his fucking problem is.“ You threw two kunais at once, both hitting the target. Sachiko shrugged her shoulders helplessly. “I mean it was still nice of him to let you go home earlier today, wasn‘t it?“ You snorted and filled up two shots of sake and gave her both.

“Yeah right, maybe it _would _have been a nice gesture if he didn‘t convey it with ‘Go home, I don‘t want to hear your pesky sneezes, missy.‘“

Sachiko sighed and downed both of the shots.

“Remember me to never never ever agree to play a drinking game with you agian, nee-san.“ She said before she hiccuped, which made you chuckle. “Oh come on, don‘t be such a little crybaby. I think it‘s fun, isn‘t it?“

“Reeeeeally fun“, she said rolling her eyes playfully. “Kami, I‘m starting to see more than one target.“

“Well good for you Sachi, now you have more to choose from“, you replied laughing.

“Oh I see, someone swallowed a clown today.“ She took a stance and closed one eye, trying to focus.

“That‘s all the alcohol, baby.“

Sachiko threw her two kunai, of which one missed the target by a few inches.

After drinking one shot, you walked up to her and put an arm around her shoulder. “Hmm not bad, but maybe you lack the right motivation. Just imagine the target as a person you don‘t like. It does wonders, believe me.“

“I think I lack the right soberness“, she mumbled before turning her face towards you, smirking mischievously. “So who are you thinking of, father or Tobirama-sama?“ Now it was your turn to roll your eyes. “At the moment it‘s the spiky douche bag, thanks for asking.“

“But now seriously, it has only been like a week since you started working for him, and from what you‘ve told me, I think maybe you‘re not that different from him. I mean you both have this love for improving your skills and developing new jutsus, right? And full offense nee-san, but you can be grumpy and a pain in the ass too.“

“Well okay then, full offense taken, I‘m absolutely nothing like that guy. But funny that you mention it, I was just thinking about how you are like Hashirama in a way. At least when you‘re your sober polite self instead of the sarcastic little shit I‘m talking to right now.“ Sachiko‘s eyes widened and she started to smile from ear to ear, completely ignoring your last sentence. “You think that I‘m like the Hokage? Really?“

“Absolutely. Oh and now that I think of it, he‘s single too. Maybe I should tell him to ask you out or something.“ You teased her with an evil grin, well knowing how much she hated that. Her cheeks turned into a deep shade of crimson as she looked down.

“I don‘t think that will be necessary“, she mumbled, trying to avoid your gaze.

“Hmm interesting, and why is that? Don‘t tell me you already have a boyfriend, Sachi!“ Normally she would just deny it or immediately tell you to shut up, but instead her face took on a new, even darker shade of red.

“Wait wait wait, do you actually?“ She started to play with a strand of her long brown hair nervously, still looking down.

“Well...I...y-yes, but it‘s still really fresh. I‘m sorry I didn‘t tell you immediately, but you were so busy...also nobody knows yet, so please don‘t tell father, okay? I want to do it myself when I‘m ready to talk about it.“ She said quietly, indicating that she wouldn‘t answer any questions now.

You just smiled and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. “I‘m so happy for you, you know? And I‘m sure the old man will be too, even if it takes some convincing, but that‘s what I‘m here for.“ She pulled away with a big smile on her face. “Thanks.“ Then her smile suddenly faded.

“Oh by the way, does father know that you actually work for Tobirama-sama, or does he still think you work for the Hokage?“ You frowned, thinking about how he will react to your position.

“Hmm, good question. I would have definitely heard something from him if he knew, so I guess he doesn‘t know yet. Can‘t wait to tell him though.“

~~~~~~~~~

After you somehow made it to bed in your tipsy state, you stared up at the ceiling, waiting that the room stopped spinning.

“Maybe you‘re not that different from him“

Your little sister‘s words reverberated in your head.

Okay maybe I am grumpy and a pain in the ass sometimes, so what? I‘m never arrogant or pretentious and I would never try to provoke somebody who I know is helpless. No, I‘m better than that, and that‘s why I won‘t let his teasing get to me.

I won‘t let you get to me.

I won‘t let you get to me.

I won‘t let you get to me, you bumptious asshole.

Oh look at me, I paint red stripes on my face to look sooo dangerous. But the only ones I‘m scaring are the family members of the ferret I killed for my fierce neck fur. My brother is the all-mighty Hokage, so I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I‘m so important, and if something doesn‘t go my way I have to sit at my desk and pout all day, because I‘m oh so mature. Everybody bow down to me, because I invented a few jutsus, which obviously makes me a genius and therefore better than everybody else, especially Uchihas and -kami forbid!- female specimen. That‘s why I‘ll probably die as a lonely virgin.

You turned to the side with a smug grin. It felt good to get this off your chest, even if it was just a silly monologue.

Yeah that‘s right, he doesn‘t get to me at all.

~~~~~~~~~~

“You are late, Sarutobi.“ Another week later, the situation still hadn‘t improved. Quite the contrary, actually.

Civilized people would say good morning, but guess he‘s hopeless. You hung your coat over your chair and took a seat at your desk.

“What do you mean, Tobirama-sama? It‘s 5:25. The time you told me to arrive at.“ You tried to sound as little irritated as possible, but you weren‘t fooling anyone. It was early, it was cold, and you really weren‘t in the mood for this right now.  

He crossed his arms and snorted, knowing that he was slowly winding you up with his behavior more and more.

“No. I told you to be here at least five minutes prior to me, so that you wouldn‘t interrupt my work with your noisy arrival. Was that too difficult for you to understand, woman?“

By now, you knew this procedure all too well. For your clan‘s and your own reputation‘s sake, you swore to yourself that you wouldn‘t give in to his teasing, but right now you weren‘t so sure of how long you could bear this anymore. As much as you wanted to be unaffected by his words, he always got to you, but why? Was it the blatant sexism and depreciation that made you affronted? No not just that; it was the fact that he underestimated you and your abilities so greatly, and you didn‘t even get one chance to prove him wrong. It was the fact that you were so naive to believe you‘d be finally freed from the cage that was the Sarutobi compound, only to find yourself trapped in another.

You considered yourself as a person with a lot of patience, but even the most patient person has its limits.

And yours was almost reached.

[cypher2]

DAVIE, Fla. — Jamaica’s consul general in South Florida held a party at his home on Wednesday night to celebrate the Reggae Girlz, the first national soccer team from the Caribbean to qualify for the Women’s World Cup.

The tables were set up around the pool and the players and their coaches were there, but every guest was asked to bring a little something extra: a donation of at least $100 to help Jamaica complete its preparations to compete at the World Cup in France next month. The tournament begins in less than two weeks, and so time, just like money, was short.

If the story of women’s soccer in recent years has been the ongoing fight for equal pay, there always has been a different inequality just below the surface. While women’s international soccer has made significant progress in some countries, support for it, especially financially, from individual federations and corporate sponsors continues to vary widely.

France, the host country for this year’s championship, has a thriving professional league, and its players have spent the last few weeks preparing for the World Cup at their federation’s national training center. The United States, the defending champion and a three-time winner of the tournament, is completing an opulent send-off tour across the country this weekend, replete with nationally-televised games on ESPN and giant billboards on big-city buildings.

Jamaica’s run-up to the World Cup, by contrast, has been much less visible, and its program’s mere existence far less financially secure. Historically, the Reggae Girlz have received tenuous support from their national federation. As recently as 2015, the federation cut off financing for the team entirely.

As a side trip on their road to France then, Jamaica’s women first detoured to South Florida, trying to raise money one contributor at a time to cover a shortfall — as much as $400,000 by one estimate — created by training camps, travel and warm-up matches, and to begin to establish a reserve that the team can draw on for current and future tournament costs. There was a fund-raiser and an auction of sports apparel at the consul general’s home; a pep rally at a chiropractic center; and an exhibition match on Thursday night preceded by a celebrity game featuring entertainers from Jamaica and Haiti.

But signs of the team’s struggles weren’t hard to find. At Wednesday’s party, the coaching staff wore shirts meant for the men’s national team, and used markers to scratch out that team’s nickname — “Reggae Boyz” — on the sleeves. Some Jamaican players still must buy their own cleats. And when the women’s team qualified for the World Cup last October outside of Dallas, several coaches went to Costco and paid out of their pockets for jackets so their players could train in the chilly, rainy weather.

No high-ranking official from the Jamaican federation was present to celebrate that momentous qualification in a penalty shootout against Panama, the team’s coaches said.

“Their attitude has been pretty poor,” goalkeeper Nicole McClure, 29, said of the Jamaican soccer federation. “We’ve always been an afterthought, and we’re still fighting for equality. We want a seat at the table. It’s been quite frustrating.”

In March, McClure, who grew up in Queens, held her own fund-raiser. She plays without compensation on a club team in Northern Ireland, and she needed money to pay for food, toiletries, a bus ticket, checked baggage for a flight and some soccer gear. Her needs were not uncommon for her team.

Yet she and her teammates — and Jamaica’s coaches — acknowledged this week that things are improving, at least for the moment. Jamaica’s World Cup players have signed a contract with the federation that will pay them $800 to $1,200 a month, retroactive to January, Coach Hue Menzies said. And Menzies, who has been working free since 2015, is to receive $40,000, he said. According to team officials, this is the first time a Caribbean women’s team has signed contracts with its national federation.

“We haven’t been paid,” Menzies said with a laugh. “But we signed a contract.”

Michael Ricketts, the president of Jamaica’s soccer federation, said that criticism of the organization had been “grossly unfair.” The federation has spent about $4 million on the women’s team since it began qualifying for the World Cup, he said. Costs to hold a weeklong training camp can run to $100,000, Ricketts said, and it has been a struggle to get spectators and corporate sponsors to embrace the team. Even so, he said, a women’s league in Jamaica has been restarted on a limited basis, as well as a youth program for players under 15.

Under the circumstances, Ricketts said, “We’ve done exceedingly well.”

The Reggae Girlz coaching staff disputed the $4 million figure. “No way,” said Lorne Donaldson, an assistant coach. “I don’t buy that.”

Instead, coaches and players widely credit a different benefactor, Cedella Marley, for resurrecting the women’s team with help from the Bob Marley Foundation, which is named after her musician father. Cedella Marley, angered by the sorry state of the program, was the one who spearheaded an international fund-raising effort to revive it several years ago, and she was the one who persuaded Menzies, who runs a prominent youth soccer club near Orlando, Fla., to become its coach.

Without Marley, McClure said, “There would be no Reggae Girlz.”

The Alacran Foundation, a philanthropic organization, also has become a benefactor of the team. And the Reggae Girlz Foundation, a nonprofit, is raising money for such things as medical equipment to help Jamaica prepare and compete at the World Cup, but also to support the team in coming Olympic qualifying and youth national team campaigns.

Money remained tight, though, as the team departed Friday for Europe, where it will play a warm-up match in Scotland before continuing on to France. Even after an initial payment of $480,000 from FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, for qualifying for the World Cup, and another payment of at least $750,000 to follow, Jamaica’s buildup to the tournament has faced about a $400,000 shortfall to cover costs of training camps, travel and practice matches, according to Lisa Quarrie, the vice president of the Reggae Girlz Foundation.

Long-term, the foundation is seeking to sustain women’s soccer in Jamaica by creating an academy, building an extensive youth development system and persuading men’s teams in the National Premier League, the country’s top division, to also sponsor women’s teams.

But first things first. The World Cup starts in two weeks, and no donation is considered too small, be it a $10 ticket to Thursday night’s celebrity match or a $25 contribution on the website of the Reggae Girlz Foundation.

“They need money all the way around,” Quarrie said. “We’re going to the World Cup on the fly.”

Women’s international soccer has long faced a Sisyphean battle to gain respect and support. The American women’s team continues to find it necessary to sue U.S. Soccer for gender discrimination. Players in Australia and elsewhere have refused to play matches, and stars in other countries went public with complaints on everything from training pay to a lack of games.

It has been a particularly tough slog in the Caribbean, where soccer has been blighted by corruption, and the women’s game especially has been widely dismissed. When Trinidad and Tobago arrived in Dallas for the final qualifying round of the 2015 Women’s World Cup, its coach, Randy Waldrum, sent out a financial S.O.S. via Twitter.

“I need HELP!” Waldrum wrote at the time. “T&T sent a team here last night with $500 total. No equipment such as balls, no transportation from airport to hotel, nothing.”

Haiti’s women’s team also attempted, just as futilely, to qualify for the 2015 World Cup, relying on benefactors at an extended training camp in South Bend, Ind. Its players and coach received no salary, and the team tried to make ends meet by selling rotisserie chickens and T-shirts, and holding clinics for churches and schools.

In Jamaica, soccer has been considered by many to be too rough of a sport for women and not sufficiently feminine. Players and officials hope that this summer’s World Cup appearance will help overcome the cultural stereotype, and that women’s soccer will be elevated at home in the way track and field became appreciated with the success of the sprinter Merlene Ottey, who won nine Olympic medals between 1980 and 2000.

“The men have always received far more support,” said Oliver Mair, Jamaica’s consul general for the Southern United States. “So when the women qualified for the World Cup, it caught us all by surprise.”

He added: “When you start on the road, you are on your own. They had a dream, a vision. They started to do well and more people have come on board.”

For now, Menzies and his staff have countered the lack of resources inside Jamaica by helping to place top women’s players at American universities and high schools, and in leagues in the United States and Europe.

Jamaica’s star forward, Khadija Shaw, known as Bunny, attended Tennessee, where she was the Southeastern Conference’s offensive player of the year in 2018. She, perhaps more than any other player, represents the indomitable perseverance of the Reggae Girlz, having maintained her career despite the deaths of three brothers in gang-related violence in Jamaica.

Kayla McCoy, a forward and midfielder who plays for the National Women’s Soccer League’s Houston Dash, said, “I think everybody carries self-pride about how far we’ve come but also a sense of humility just because of what people have had to overcome and what people have seen and what people have had to go through.”

She added: “Nothing was handed to anybody here.”

The goal for the Reggae Girlz at the World Cup is to advance out of a forbidding group that includes Brazil, Australia and Italy. Lingering is the question of whether the Jamaican federation will provide the necessary support to keep women’s soccer growing as an international power after the tournament ends.

Asked how confident he was in the federation’s long-term commitment, Menzies, the coach, said, “Not very.”

“But,” he added, “when they tell us no, that just fuels our fire.”

Jeré Longman | New York Times

[mxnark]

CONVEX - ADORE U - COVER

5000 mina

Recommended for you! 

it's been a rough couple of days since she had gotten the notification.

since then, there have been other updates from other colleges about her applications to them. some were yes, few were no's, but she only cared about the one waitlisted since she knew her parents would be the one to care about it the most about that school. after all, it was the best in the country. even if she didn't have much opinion on it, she wanted to at least get accepted from the school as a way to let her parents know she's good on her own. if she lets them know of her acceptance, maybe her mother would stop being so overbearing. whether or not that was possible, she wants to convince herself that she'll at least get less pressure if she showed that she was good enough somehow.

as she reads articles for an answer on what to do in this situation, she sees the common psa that every article says. being waitlisted does not mean no. do not give up all hope yet. it was easier said than done, not to mention it didn't exactly mean a yes either and that's what they care about in the end. she doesn't even bother trying to stare at the status after she got it. she's afraid to be reminded of her own failure, nor does she want to reflect on her own faults that led to this decision.

she didn't think she was bad at hiding emotions because her parents had never pointed it out. however, she was clearly not doing as well as she would since chohee, one of her friends, pulls her out of their literature class when she was busy thinking about the whole situation again. the both of them arrive at the bathroom, making sure no one was in there but the both of them.

"what's up with you?" chohee asks her. "you don't look seem like yourself."

mina frowns at the accusation. "what do you mean?"

"you're usually more excited during this class," she explains herself. "you didn't even say your response to the prompt allowed. you always do that."

"i'm just," she sighs, "tired. i'm tired."

she tilts her head. "what do you mean by tired? did you get enough sleep or-"

"i don't know!" she answers abruptly. "i didn't get much sleep, but there's also a lot going on in my head, okay? i'm just tired of everything happening to me."

there's a short silence that follows after she speaks. "do you want to talk about it?" she asks.

no point in hiding it from her since they were practically taking some minutes away from class because of it. "snu waitlisted me."

"that's not a big deal," chohee replies immediately, making mina frustrated. "being waitlisted doesn't mean that they don't want you."

"but it doesn't mean i'm guaranteed to be there, either!" she argues. "being waitlisted means that i'm not guaranteed a spot unless someone ends up falling out of it. it means that i'm not a priority." she looks down at the ground, the frustration of the situation making her more upset than it should. she didn't want to look up at her friend while she was crying. it would make her feel immature. "that i'm not good enough." she whispers.

"well, kang mina's not the best at everything, is she?" she asks. "you don't have to the picture-perfect student in order to get a spot there."

"then why do i have to wait to get it?" she asks, still looking away from the girl in front of her.

"because shit like this takes time, mina and you need to remind yourself that." she has a point, but it's not something that makes mina feel better. "all you can do now is wait for them to say what will happen next."

mina decides not to respond to that, afraid that if she says one more word, she'll probably bawl her eyes out. she didn't want to show a moment of vulnerability to a friend who has only seen her as the tough girl she comes off to be. she wants to say 'my parents will make me feel like shit for this.' 'how long will i have to wait until i get an answer that i want?' 'what will i do with my life knowing that my mom will never leave me alone because i'm not the bare minimum of who she wants me to be?'

chohee must have noticed this because she continues to talk. "if it makes you feel any better, i don't know exactly where i'm going either."

it doesn't do anything big, but it does catch mina's attention.

"i've only sent a few applications and more of them were rejections than they were at least waitlisted," she continues. "not to mention, i only applied to those schools because my dad told me i should. i was actually thinking of taking a gap year in order to make more money for even just community college."

it takes away the urge to cry, but she still doesn't feel like looking up at her. not yet.

"but i also want to take that one year to learn more about myself, you know?" she says with optimism, something mina thought was admirable. "i don't exactly know what i want to do with my life yet and i want to be able to get some time to actually think about what i want to do rather than write papers about some random thing at the top of my head, you know? and i know two guys from the theatre department that are taking a gap year to focus more on theatre. probably to add experience or more service hours. but either way, it's more added time to help you figure everything out."

mina looks up finally, feeling a bit calmer to talk to the other now. "are you telling me i should think about taking a gap year?"

she shakes her head. "it's a suggestion," she corrects her. "i know your mom is super strict since you basically talk about her as if she was a witch." that earns a snort from mina. "but, even so, you'll legally be an adult by the time it's decision day and it's ultimately your life in the end, not hers."

she shrugs. "i mean, i guess." she's already aware of the fact, as shown through her arguments with her mother about how the latter always bothers her about her future. it's the fact that it won't be easy to convince her about that decision since she'll be lucky if she's left with just an argument and a "go to your room!" and after not so recent events, she's not even sure if she wants to unleash her mother's full wrath. she's already experienced 100%, but she doesn't want to face her mother's rage being over 9000.

"i'll think about it," mina decides finally. "but thank you for talking to me."

chohee smiles and pulls her friend into a hug. "anytime. it's all up to you, though. remember that."

there's an obvious fake smile on her face when they pull back. "don't remind me."

the both of them laugh and mutually agree to head back to class. when they arrive back at the classroom, they see that the majority of them are just on their phones if not talking to the teacher about something. they both walk back to their seats and chohee's the one to ask what's going on.

the one person in their table group but not friend group answers that question. "one of us complained that she was teaching us too much for the day, so she decided to chill out and give us all a break."

mina couldn't believe what she was hearing. "no offense, but that sounds really stupid."

"hey, if it's free time, i'm not complaining," gaon, one of the girls in her friend group, responds to that, earning a nod of agreement from chohee.

there was no use in complaining about it because it does sound like a luxury. mina quickly takes out her phone and earbuds to distract herself with her favorite hobby: watching multiple videos on youtube. she would go to twitter, but she doesn't really have that much to talk about that will be entertaining to her mutuals. she'd go on instagram, but she didn't want to be bombarded with reminders about how everyone else in the school has gotten accepted into a university when she has not (regardless if it's on her rinsta or finsta, she knows she'll see at least one post about it if not on someone's story). plus, if it's youtube, who knows where she'll find herself?

she looks through her subscriptions to see a few new videos. however, one that definitely caught her eye was a new video from one of her favorite dancers. however, what interested her more was that it was a dance cover. when she clicks on it to watch the video, she had a lot of thoughts on her mind. 1. this dance is super basic and she didn't understand the multitude of comments saying "OMG QUEEN YOU'RE SO FAST 😱😱😱😱" , "YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE A MEMBER OF THIS GROUP SINCE YOU POST VIDEOS AT SONIC SPEED OMGGGGGGG!!!!!!!", and other ridiculous comments coming from an audience of middle schoolers or younger; 2. it reminded her of the fact that it's been a while since she actually got around to learning a new dance and actually performing it for a group of people and that fact alone made mina think more than she should. she thought a lot about how back in the day, she always made attempts of making cover videos, only to feel discouraged because she had a hunch that no one was going to notice it in the end anyway. but, to be fair, that was during a time where she had no friends and a lower self-esteem and she likes to think that she's somewhat improved a little more since then, thanks to the support of her friends.

all of a sudden, she gets an idea and she quickly taps on gaon's desk to get her attention from her game. gaon pauses the game and looks up at mina curiously. "you have a gym membership, right?"

"...yes," she answers with slightly squinted eyes, her voice sounding as if she was getting suspicious of her friend. "why?"

"i have a plan and i need to tell you and the rest of the group during lunchtime, but it involves going to the gym afterwards."

"are you finally thinking of working out as a hobby?"

that catches her off track. "wh- no. i'll tell you more about it later."

gaon shrugs. "alright. since it's friday."

mina smiles. "thank you, queen."

"no problem, weirdo," she answers before she gets back to playing her game.

mina expected her friends to think it was a good idea to start posting content on her own youtube channel. she's lucky that she has yet to post anything on there yet, as she mainly uses the website to watch her favorites.

"i need a distraction to get my mind off of the stress in my life," was her reason. though she was sure they would be up for the idea even if she didn't have a valid one.

"i think we all need a distraction to get our mind off of the stress in our lives," daeun says, gaining everyone's laughter as a response.

truth be told, this idea has been in the back of her head for a while now. she's thought about it since she moved back to korea. but due to the lack of friends at the time, she only thought of it as a thing to think about often. but the older she gets, the more she considers the option. but it was during lunchtime where she was making a channel layout with her friends that she decided she was going to do it.

so she stands in an empty gym studio that her rich friend gaon asked to borrow for the occasion, the rest of her friends either behind the dslr camera or to the sides where they were not seen on the monitor.

"i'm shocked you're learned this choreo despite all the workload we've had," daeun comments. "not that i'm complaining though since it's convex."

"why this song anyway?" gaon asks.

"the more recent the song, the more attention it gets," mina answers. "plus it's cute. it sounds really fun."

"fair," gaon nods.

mina looks over at chohee who stands at the side with a phone and portable speaker in her hands. she shows fives fingers before an okay symbol to check if the other was ready. when she gets a thumbs up, she goes into position by walking to the little bit of tape on the ground that she freshly placed, crosses her arms, and looks down from the camera.

"one, two, three," gaon clicks on the record button. she looks over at chohee, continuing the countdown by mouthing the next three numbers. "four, five, six." at six, the music plays.

one of the best things about living in a strict house is how when she's home alone, she's able to lipsync to her favorite songs to herself because if she goes any louder, she knows her mother will basically lecture her until mina's ears fall off. having had this song play constantly on repeat thanks to gaon, she was able to get some of the words in her head since she was not shy to singing at the top of her lungs in her car. so she lipsyncs them to the best of her ability. even if she messed up, it wasn't like the people were going to point it out. she's going to be a dance channel, not a lipsync one.

the dance comes to her naturally. though she uses the little reminders in her brain for certain parts of the song, she's able to do the rest with muscle memory thanks to her practicing whenever her parents were out. when she was learning it before she got the notification, she only thought about showing it to her friends. but with this? it was like gracefully patting two birds on the head with one stone (she does not condone animal violence at all). there's a smile on her face when she does the moves and it's not only for show since the song is about love and the group members had smiles on their faces when doing this dance. it's been a few months since she's had an audience to perform for, even if this one was a bit smaller than it was in the past (half the school to be exact since she'd only perform for school performances). but no matter the people, it just felt relieving to be able to dance again after weeks of stress breakdowns over upcoming assignments she procrastinated on, tests she barely studied for, or recommendation letters that have yet to be sent by her teachers. she was able to relax, even if she wanted this dance to be perfect.

the chorus finally hits and that's perhaps her favorite part of the song and choreography overall. when she jumps off the ground, she imagines herself like mario hitting a question block with the top of his head while simultaneously pushing away a paragoomba, even if that's never happened in the classic games before and she isn't throwing her hat at one. nonethless, her imagination is key when it comes to this dance. she taps her chest to match the consonants of "내 말-" before bringing her arms above her head to hit each other at "-은", kicking out her left leg as she does so. and when she goes down on both feet for a second before standing straight to continue the dance? she'd be lying if she said she didn't find that absolutely satisfyingly cool. whoever choreographed this deserves her highest praises.

she ignores the little giggles from her friends when there comes parts where simply just stands, such as at the beginning of the rap bit in the bridge. there's no reason to why she does it besides the fact that she didn't really choose one member to focus on for the choreo. it was just a bunch of them really. if they were in the center, she was most likely going to follow along with their moves.

when the song reaches its end and she bends down on one knee to mark it, she pants as she waits for gaon to click on the record button. when she does, she falls to the ground in relief and her friends begin to cheer for her before they all collectively each take off one of their shoes and throw it at her, making her squeal in response. as she covers her head and laughs along with them, she quickly stands up and walks to the camera, clicking on the gallery button to see the footage. however, the longer she looks at it, the more she cringes.

"can we do that again?" she asks, disappointment and exhaustion in her voice. everyone collectively groans, but they comply because they understand that she wants to make a good first impression on the internet.

she's never really understood the struggle with video editors until now. before this, she would only use imovie for group projects with her friends and even then, she was doing the bare minimum with what was given to her. but considering that this was going to be a normal thing for her, she'll have to learn to do it more often.

inserting the sd card onto her macbook, she looks at all the six takes of her doing the dance, half of them being less than the whole song due to her making small mistakes halfway during the choreography that frustrated her to the point she groaned about it before giving up and wanting to restart the whole thing. it was an exhausting process, but she knows that she'll have to get used to it in the end. unlike school performances, she doesn't have time to perfect the dance until she finally records it. and while her impatience makes it difficult for her to accept it, she'll have to take it as an opportunity to learn how to be more tolerant of this.

the sixth take is probably her favorite though since it was the latest and best version, as it was the result of her sharpening her moves and preventing herself from forgetting what to do at certain parts of the choreography. when she imports the clip onto the project, she takes the audio of "adore u" next and she actually bought it with her own money instead of using a youtube mp3 converter site. that's a mina point for being a decent human being!

now was the harder part: syncing the song with clip. truth be told, she's never actually done this part before, but she was told by a senior last year that if she were to ever consider making cover videos on instagram (ha!), she'd probably have difficulty syncing the video with the audio on a phone editor. she supposes she's lucky in this case since this is on desktop, but she doesn't know if that will make this process any easier for her.

with a pair of headphones and a lot of determination, she gets to work, shortening the take a little at the beginning to make sure that it would make the job of syncing it easier, she drags the audio file below the video and clicks play to hear how it sounds, only to be greeted with the sound of echoing. when she hears it for the first time, she frowns and clicks stop after hearing a good three seconds of it. she quickly zooms into the project to try and see if she can spot the same waveforms and match them up together. it doesn't take long until she plays the audio again and hears a slight little echo. this was beginning to get a little frustrating so she tries to move it up one more time and thankfully, she managed to do it.

however, despite the good (not great, but it's not too bad) lighting of the gym studio, she still feels like the video looked a little bland. it didn't help with the fact that she was working with probably one of the most basic video editors. she should be at least a little grateful that she even has a video editor and that it's not as bad as movie maker, otherwise she'd have to suffer from cringy nostalgia from the fonts. but when she goes through the filters and sees how they look with the video, she realizes that she doesn't... really have anything but what she's already put down already.

it's nothing to worry about though since being upset about it wasn't really going to lead her anywhere. all she can do is take a good screenshot of her first position and make it the cover photo with photoshop and hope that it'll at least get someone's attention on the website. after taking the screenshot, she mutes the video to only get the music as the audio for the whole thing.

it's done! and it didn't take that long either! relieved with how simple it was (for now), she clicks on the button on the export button and clicks on the export button immediately, not even bothering to give a creative name for the file because it's the least of her worries for now. as she waits for it to export, she goes on twitter to look at what's going on with her mutuals and favorite celebrities. liking reality show clips and quoting some with a keyboard smash because she apparently thinks they are so funny despite the straight face she keeps while watching it.

when the imovie notification appears in the corner, she quickly looks at it excitedly only to see an upsetting message.

exporting "my movie" has failed.

"bullshit!" she whispers to herself, going back on the editor and attempting to export it again to see if it will show anything else. she goes back on the internet shortly after, continuing to go through her timeline when the message pops up again!

at this point, she's going to pull out her hair! she goes to the finder app and selects a bunch of random pictures she saved from twitter and puts them in the trash, majority of them being images of her biases so she won't deny that it hurts her a little. after she empties the "apple trashcan", she goes back to export it for the third time and rather than going back on twitter, she stays on the app so she can watch the progress circle load and finally get her video exported.

it takes a little longer to export this time, which gives her a little bit of hope as she sees the circle slowly filling up. but right before it could even fill the whole thing, it disappears and she is about to lose her mind when she sees the popup once again. all of my efforts. all of my pictures that i could've kept forever. all of them are gone because this stupid editor thinks i'm a clown! beginning to be even more frustrated, she goes back to her finder to delete the barely finished drafts of the video, even more downloaded pictures, and one game that she barely touched after finishing it to throw it all in the empty digital bin. when she clears the trash once again, hearing the sound of crumpling paper in both of her ears, she exports the video, this time taking the opportunity to title it with something: if this video does not export, i WILL eat you.

it's one more segment of staring at the circle as it slowly fills up and when she sees it being completed, she lets out a sigh of relief. finally! four times! it took four times! if she ends up having to do any more times than that in the future, she'll probably get more gray hairs than both her mom and her dad combined.

not wanting to waste any more of her time by having to deal with her stupid laptop, she opens up photoshop, takes the screenshot, and chooses a random font before writing "adore u" in a bigger size than "convex" in a smaller one. it doesn't look like it could blend in with the lighting, so she calls it a day as she saves the image and goes on youtube to upload it.

she could be a bit more descriptive with the description, but she wants to be professional (for now) since it is her first video. so in the description, she simply leaves her instagram username and her twitter username because she wants the minimal clout for the one random person who wasn't her friend to follow her on both. before she could press the publish video, she remembers to drop a few hashtags on the bottom. #CONVEX #ADOREU #ADOREUCOVER #KPOP

when she clicks the publish video, she closes her laptop and stretches her arms, letting out a big sigh from all the "work" she did. she'll plug the video on her local twitter and her ig story later but for now? she was going to chill out and bingewatch fruits basket (the new one).

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to Pollapalooza, our weekly polling roundup.

Poll(s) of the week

About two weeks ago, we wrote that impeaching President Trump had near-majority support from the American public. This was notable because, at the beginning of October, Americans were about evenly divided on impeachment with just over 45 percent on each side, so there was some question whether this was a new normal or if the numbers would revert to the mean. But so far, support for impeachment hasn’t decreased. According to our impeachment polling tracker, if we look at all the polls, 49.1 percent of Americans support impeachment and 43.5 percent oppose it.

We can also drill down into the different types of questions asked about impeachment. For example, one of the views in our tracker only averages polls that ask Americans if they support beginning the impeachment process, while a separate view averages polls that ask if Americans support Trump’s impeachment and/or removal from office. And right now, there is more support for opening an inquiry than for full-blown impeachment. Currently, 53.1 percent of Americans support beginning the process, while 48.1 percent support impeachment and possible removal.

Support for beginning the impeachment process has been pretty stable, too, since it first shot up to 52.9 percent on Oct. 7. Support has hovered at 52-53 percent, though some of that stability is probably because fewer polls are asking about opening the inquiry. (And I would expect them to eventually taper off completely as the decision to open the inquiry becomes older and older news.)

And a new Quinnipiac poll illustrates some of this. It was the fourth time that Quinnipiac had asked whether Americans supported the impeachment inquiry (it first asked in late September), and it found that a majority of Americans — 55 percent — approve of the inquiry. This result was essentially the same as the previous times they asked: Approval of the inquiry has fluctuated slightly between 51 and 55 percent, while disapproval has remained stuck between 43 and 45 percent.

Support for impeaching and removing the president from office has also been relatively stable in Quinnipiac’s polling. The most recent poll found the country essentially evenly divided on whether Trump should be “impeached and removed from office” — 48 percent said he should be while 46 percent said he shouldn’t be, a gap that’s within the poll’s margin of error. Those numbers have only moved a couple points in either direction since the end of September. That said, our polling average suggests that support for impeachment may still be ticking upward. The increase since the beginning of the month has been slow but steady. As of Thursday night, 48.1 percent of Americans support impeachment and potential removal in our tracker’s average, while 43.7 percent oppose it.

Indeed, net support for impeachment and potential removal is higher in our average than in Quinnipiac’s polling. Our average is more in line with a CNN/SSRS poll released this week that found a full 50 percent of Americans said they believed Trump should be impeached and removed from office, while 43 percent didn’t feel that way.

But arguably the more important measurement to look at is Trump’s approval rating. And at the beginning of October, Trump’s approval rating appeared to sharply decline as the Ukraine scandal unfolded. But his rating has not continued to plummet. Instead, it remains within the same narrow range that it has occupied for most of the year. However, it has slumped to the very bottom edge of that range. Currently, 40.6 percent of Americans approve of Trump and 54.6 percent disapprove — his worst numbers since February. So even if the bottom hasn’t dropped out, it’s possible that current events are keeping his popularity depressed.

Mind you, those events aren’t just limited to impeachment. Over the past two weeks, Trump has ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from their position defending Kurdish forces in Syria, and he proposed (then backtracked on) holding the next G-7 summit at his own resort in Florida. These actions drew rare rebukes from members of Trump’s own party, perhaps anticipating that Americans would find them especially serious (or signaling to the public that Trump had crossed a line).

But we’ve seen this movie enough times before to know that Trump’s approval rating might just as quickly perk back up next week. The current drop in Trump’s popularity may or may not be meaningful, but for now, recent events certainly aren’t doing him any favors politically. Indeed, if impeachment support continues to rise, it could be a rough winter for President Trump.

Other polling bites

Interestingly, even though the CNN/SSRS poll shows that Americans support impeaching Trump, that doesn’t mean they approve of how Congress is going about it. Only 43 percent approve of the way Democrats in Congress are handling the impeachment inquiry, while 49 percent disapprove. However, the numbers are much worse for Republicans in Congress: just 30 percent approve of the way they’re handling the inquiry and 57 percent disapprove. And Americans say, 50 percent to 40 percent, that Republicans oppose impeachment because they are out to protect Trump at all costs, not because they believe he did not commit impeachable offenses.

A final tidbit from that very meaty CNN/SSRS poll: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s net favorability rating (favorable rating minus unfavorable rating) is just -2, which is a big improvement from her typical standing in recent years (for example, in September 2017, it was -21). In fact, Pelosi’s net favorability rating is the highest it’s been in CNN/SSRS’s polling since January 2009, which certainly suggests coming out for impeachment hasn’t hurt her.

This week, we got our first nonpartisan poll of the Mississippi governor’s race since July. According to Mason-Dixon Polling, Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves leads Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood just 46 percent to 43 percent. The election is on Nov. 5.

While national polls indicate that granting statehood to Washington, D.C., is unpopular with the public, a Washington Post/University of Maryland poll finds that Maryland residents support it, 51 percent to 40 percent. What they don’t want is retrocession, an alternative proposal to enfranchise Washingtonians by re-combining the District with Maryland. Marylanders oppose that idea 57 percent to 36 percent.

According to a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, 55 percent of Republicans whose primary news source is Fox News say there is nothing that Trump could do to lose their approval. Only 29 percent of Republicans whose primary news source is not Fox News say that. PRRI also told The Washington Post that 71 percent of Fox-favoring Republicans strongly approve of Trump’s job performance, while only 39 percent of non-Fox-favoring Republicans do.

The World Series started on Tuesday, and according to an Ipsos poll conducted before Game 1, 46 percent of Americans planned to follow along. Of them, 37 percent were root, root, rooting for the Washington Nationals,1 while 33 percent wanted the Houston Astros to win2 (28 percent have no preference). However, Series watchers thought the Astros would win, 55 percent to 23 percent — although that was before the Nationals won the first two games of the seven-game series.

You may be too old to go trick-or-treating, but there’s another way to get your hands on those sweet, sweet Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. According to a YouGov poll, 74 percent of parents of children under 18 say they steal at least a few pieces of candy from their kids’ Halloween hauls. Four percent even say they eat all of it — now that’s scary.

Trump approval

According to FiveThirtyEight’s presidential approval tracker, 40.6 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president, while 54.6 percent disapprove (a net approval rating of -14 points). At this time last week, 41.6 percent approved and 54.0 percent disapproved (for a net approval rating of -12.4 points). One month ago, Trump had an approval rating of 43.1 percent and a disapproval rating of 53.0 percent, for a net approval rating of -9.9 points.

Generic ballot

In our average of polls of the generic congressional ballot, Democrats currently lead by 6.3 percentage points (46.6 percent to 40.3 percent). Those numbers are unchanged from a week ago. At this time last month, voters preferred Democrats by 6.8 points (46.8 percent to 40.0 percent).

Check out all the polls we’ve been collecting ahead of the 2020 elections.

[innerworldofaudrey]

UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2 - Fight Pass prelims preview

Youth is the name of the game for the Fight Pass portion of UFC 227. Marlon Vera is the most experienced member – in terms of fights in the UFC with 8 – and he’s just 25. In terms of age, Kyung Ho Kang is the oldest member on this portion of the card at 30. That isn’t exactly young, but he hasn’t seen his best days yet. Expect to see these guys moving up the pecking order of the card in the near future… except the flyweights. They’re permanently banned from the main card.

The Fight Pass prelims begin at 6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT on Saturday.

Alex Perez (20-4) vs. Jose Torres (8-0), Flyweight

Perez and Torres are two of the more promising prospects in a division that is awaiting a fresh crop of challengers to make their way to the top. Perez made his way into the organization through the Contender Series last year and has impressed in his two subsequent fights officially in the UFC. Though he doesn’t appear to have any measurable standout physical characteristics, Perez has begun to maximize his abilities in the last year or so, putting together smooth boxing combinations, an effective wrestling game, and slick submissions.

Torres had plenty of journalists and analysts calling for him to enter the UFC long before he made his way into the organization. Possessing power unusual for a man of his size, his fast hands have helped him immensely in finding his opponents chin. Upon his UFC debut, he did struggle with the speed and takedowns of Jarred Brooks, though it needs to be noted Torres accepted the fight on short notice. If Torres can get his hands on his opponent, he’s a strong wrestler with a penchant for slams.

He may only be 26, but Perez is a polished veteran at this point. He’s been in enough fights that he’s seen everything with experience against top flight talent being the only thing he’s lacking. Though Torres has more physical ability to develop into something special, he still has rough edges that need to be smoothed out. He may have been submitted, but Perez has never been finished with strikes in his career. His savvy and durability allow him to take a decision. Perez via decision

Ricardo Ramos (11-1) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (14-7, 1 NC), Bantamweight

When people talk about the rising batch of prospects at bantamweight, Ricardo Ramos often seems to be left out of the conversation. That’s unfair to the Brazilian as he’ll be 23 as of next week and owns two wins over other prospects on his UFC resume, including a highlight reel spinning back elbow to finish off Aiemann Zahabi. Even though it has been his striking he has utilized to pick up his victories on the big stage, it was his submission abilities Ramos was known for on the regional scene, specializing at entangling his opponents within his long limbs.

Kang returned earlier this year from his mandatory military service for the South Korean army looking like a million bucks once he settled down. Known as Mr. Perfect, Kang is incredibly strong and a talented wrestler. He isn’t the most technical grappler, but he does have a knack for finding chokes, just over half his victories coming in that manner. His striking is still shaky as he tends to fall into bouts of inactivity. Despite that, opponents respect the power Kang possesses.

Though he had been gone for over three years, Kang looked more comfortable in the cage than he ever had upon his return. He has also shown a deep gas tank. That could prove to be his salvation as Ramos tends to break out of the gate fast only to slow significantly in the final round. Ramos assuredly has the skills to put away Kang before the fight gets to that point. He could even put himself up two rounds. However, Kang’s durability and recent maturity leads me to believe he eliminates Ramos late. Kang via submission of RD3

Danielle Taylor (9-3) vs. Weili Zhang (16-1), Women’s Strawweight

Perhaps the smallest fighter on the roster, Taylor is always as a size disadvantage. She has been able to overcome that with her potent counter striking, highlighted by a surprising amount of pop in her fists. However, she also tends to allow her opponent to dictate the pace, often leading to low levels of output. She has shown signs of an improving takedown game, but no one would call it reliable at this point.

Zhang may be the most talented female prospect to come out of China. That may not sound like much to most, but Xiaonan Yan has already proven herself to be a legit UFC talent, indicative of the strides Chinese MMA has been making in recent years. Zhang has been a finishing machine for her career, only one of her victories going the distance. Though best known for her kickboxing abilities, her ground game can’t be slept on either. Her best work is done in the clinch where she either brutalizes her opponents with elbows and knees or trips them to the ground.

One of the advantages to being so small for Taylor is that it’s difficult to get in on her hips and take her down. That hardly means Zhang can’t win a standup battle with her. In fact, Zhang’s more consistent volume should be more than enough to overwhelm Taylor, who has struggled to utilize her power on this level. Zhang via decision

Marlon Vera (12-5-1) vs. Wuliji Buren (11-5), Bantamweight

Though it may not reflect in in his UFC record at 4-4, Vera is one of the most dangerous bantamweights on the roster. The talented Ecuadorian tends to endure a beating for the majority of a fight only to unleash on his opponent for a fight ending sequence. It was a brutal head kick against Brad Pickett. Against Brian Kelleher, it was an armbar from the guard. That explains why John Lineker and Douglas de Andrade were a bit hesitant to go for the kill. However, Vera struggles to put together consistent offense, even if his boxing has improved.

Buren is one of the handful of Chinese prospects who made their debut last fall. He showed the ability to get his opponent to the ground, something he can exploit with Vera. However, Buren struggles to do more than simply maintain position, inactivity costing him in his UFC debut. Even worse, his standup is far from fully developed.

Good MMA article from bloodyelbow

[junker-town]

Grading every NFL rookie QB in Week 2

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Let’s check in with the rookie quarterbacks after Week 2.

All things considered, it was a strong start for rookie quarterbacks in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season. Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, and Mac Jones each started for their teams from the jump. Trey Lance and Justin Fields began the season as backups, but each scored a touchdown inside the red zone.

The good news for the rookie QBs in Week 1 was that each of them scored a touchdown. The bad news is that Lance’s San Francisco 49ers are the team with a first round rookie QB to win their opener — and Lance only played a handful of snaps.

Week 2 featured our first head-to-head showdown of rookie quarterbacks when Jones started for the Patriots against Wilson’s Jets. It was another encouraging performance for Jones, who earned the first win of his short pro career, while Wilson would like to pretend it never happened.

Here are our grades for the first round rookie QBs in Week 2.

Trevor Lawrence

Week 2 started in promising fashion for Lawrence and the Jags when the rookie QB led his team on an 11-play, 83-yard touchdown drive on the first possession of the game. On 3rd and 13 just outside the red zone, Lawrence threw a beautiful strike to Marvin Jones Jr. for a 25-yard touchdown.

Trevor Lawrence is going to be a problem.#DENvsJAX on CBS pic.twitter.com/MMfnTA6YJZ

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 19, 2021

Unfortunately for the Clemson product, that was as good as his day would get. The rest of the afternoon was basically a disaster for Jacksonville.

The Jags lost the Denver Broncos, 23-13, to fall to 0-2 on the season. Jacksonville only had 189 yards of total offense. Lawrence threw two interceptions, and ended the game with a 37.2 QB rating. The Jaguars somehow embarrassed themselves even more after the game.

Lawrence finished the game 14-of-33 for 118 yards. You can watch every throw he made in Week 2 against the Broncos here. This was such a miserable offensive performance for Jacksonville in general that it’s hard to take too many positives away, but the early TD throw showed Lawrence’s natural arm talent. Even during a rough game, there’s no reason to worry about him. Lawrence was considered one of the top QB prospects in recent memory to hit the NFL draft, but Jacksonville clearly still has a ton of work to do to build around him. Last year’s team went 1-15 to earn the No. 1 pick and the rights to Lawrence, and this year’s team doesn’t feel much better.

Lawrence will be fine, but was a game he’d soon like to forget. Hopefully the Jags can get running back James Robinson more involved next week to take some of the pressure off their rookie QB.

Grade: C-

Zach Wilson

Wilson came out of BYU with a reputation as a gunslinger with great arm strength and the confidence to take shots deep down field. His Week 1 performance showed both sides of the coin on that scouting report, as he connected on a few nice throws but also threw an interception. Overall, it was a fairly encouraging debut even in a loss.

Wilson’s performance was not encouraging in Week 2. He threw an interception on his first two throws of the game against the Patriots. He didn’t have a single multi-interception game for BYU all of last year.

It only got worse from there. Wilson threw his third interception of the game in the second quarter, and then came out of halftime and immediately threw his fourth interception. At one point in the game, Wilson had four completions to his own team and four completions to New England.

You can watch all four of Wilson’s interceptions here. There are some bad throws in here.

Here is a video of all 4 Zach Wilson interceptions and none of them are the offensive line's fault. Very concerning decision making by the rookie. pic.twitter.com/DyhCcvjSp0

— olinestats (@olinestats) September 19, 2021

Wilson ended the game 19-of-33 for 210 yards, zero touchdowns, and four interceptions. The Jets lost to the Patriots, 25-6. This was basically the worst case scenario for any young QB. Hopefully it isn’t the type of performance that hurts his confidence going forward.

Part of this is the growing paints of being a starting QB as a rookie. Part of it is playing for a Jets team that went 2-14 last year. Either way, Wilson has be better next week against the Broncos.

By the way, Wilson still has a cannon.

Zach Wilson hit 59.99 MPH on a throw this week. The highest pass velocity on a throw this year.

— Andre Weingarten (@Swami_EA) September 20, 2021

Grade: F

Trey Lance

The 49ers improved to 2-0 by outlasting the Eagles for an ugly 17-11 win. San Francisco continues to start Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback despite taking Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick, and this week Lance didn’t even see the field.

Lance only got four snaps in Week 1, but one of them was a touchdown throw. He did not take a snap in a tight game against Philadelphia. Head coach Kyle Shanahan explained the decision to reporters on Monday:

“No, I never have a plan that ‘Hey, I’m going to use him or I’m not going to use him.’ It’s always an option throughout the game,” Shanahan told reporters Monday. “It’s been two games and I’ve never had him in the openers and I’ve never had him as a designated time. I plan on doing that week-to-week and whenever I feel like putting him in. You saw when I did in Week 1 and I never got that urge in Week 2.”

Garoppolo really well in the win, finishing 17-of-25 for 314 yards with one touchdown and no picks. Jimmy G doesn’t play a particularly exciting brand of football, but he’s helped the Niners win a lot of games since coming the franchise. It’s easy to see why the Niners are taking a patient approach with Lance given that he only played one college game last season at North Dakota State, and Garoppolo is steady enough to help the Niners be competitive right now.

Grade: Incomplete

Justin Fields

Fields is still the backup quarterback in Chicago, but he saw his first bit of extended action in Week 2 after a leg injury for starter Andy Dalton. Fields played the entire second half and made some good throws even if his final numbers didn’t reflect it.

Fields hit Allen Robinson with a beautiful deep ball in the end zone that went through his hands for a bad drop. Chicago receivers let a few more catchable balls fall incomplete on the afternoon. Fields ended the game 6-of-13 for 60 yards with one interception, but he help lead the Bears to a tight win over the Bengals.

With the game hanging in the balance late in the fourth quarter, Fields made the biggest play of the afternoon by running for a first down on 3rd and 9 with Chicago holding onto a three-point lead. Fields made this play happen all by himself, and it’s possible the Bears would have lost the game without it.

1. People easily miss what made Justin Fields' 10-yard scramble for the game-sealing 1st so great. The broken tackle was one thing, but it was his awareness to get on the ground inbounds to keep the clock moving. To have that presence of mind as a rookie? It's rare.#Bears pic.twitter.com/UP8aJoU4Ca

— Erik Lambert (@ErikLambert1) September 20, 2021

There were some less encouraging moments, like a bad interception late in the fourth quarter that allowed the Bengals to get back into the game.

With Dalton’s status unknown going into Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns, it looks like Fields is going to get the chance to show he deserves the starting job the rest of the season.

Grade: B

Mac Jones

The Patriots didn’t need Jones to make a bunch of big plays to beat the Jets. New England came out with a conservative game plan for its quarterback, and let its defense dominant the rookie QB starting across from them to coast to an easy 25-6 win.

Jones played an efficient game, finishing 22-of-30 for 186 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown or an interception. Instead, the most memorable plays Jones made came by helping the Pats’ running game. He pushed Damien Harrison into the end zone for this touchdown.

Mac Jones was right in there pushing the pile on that Damien Harris touchdown run. This guy is freaking awesome. pic.twitter.com/q3OgBXyvgt

— KJ Doyle (@bykjdoyle) September 19, 2021

He also helped spring a reverse for New England as a lead blocker:

A QB blocking, a WR rushing.@MacJones_10 | @BournePoly11 : @NFLonCBS / Patriots app pic.twitter.com/6uZGO0m1uo

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 19, 2021

Jones has looked like the best rookie QB through two weeks, but the Patriots have also made his job pretty easy. Credit the young QB for looking poised and accurate in his first two games. The big plays will come eventually.

The Patriots host the Saints next week, which should be another winnable game and an opportunity for Jones to impress again. After that? A Week 4 date with the Bucs and former Patriots legend Tom Brady.

Grade: A-

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to Pollapalooza, our weekly polling roundup. Hope you didn’t miss us too much over the holiday weekend.

Poll(s) of the fortnight

You’ve probably heard that the first Democratic primary debate was bad for former Vice President Joe Biden’s polling numbers and good for Sen. Kamala Harris’s and Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s. But what about Sen. Bernie Sanders, who’s long been second to Biden in the polls? Well, his standing appears to be slipping — and his runner-up status is now in real danger.

For example, a CNN/SSRS poll conducted in the days after the debate gave Sanders 14 percent of the vote, which was down 4 points from late May, when CNN/SSRS last polled the primary. And a Quinnipiac poll from after the debate gave Sanders 13 percent of the vote; earlier in June, the pollster had him sitting at 19 percent.

Granted, not every poll showed Sanders losing ground. According to Reuters/Ipsos, Sanders enjoyed the support of 15 percent of Americans a few weeks before the debate and 16 percent right after it. And the poll we partnered with Morning Consult on to track debate reaction in almost real time found Sanders’s support virtually unchanged from before to after the debate. But RealClearPolitics’s overall polling average does suggest that Sanders did indeed lose a couple of points from the debate.

And his standing might be even more endangered because Warren and Harris improved so much that they are now in a rough three-way tie with Sanders for second place. That’s a problem for Sanders because there are now two newly competitive rivals whom he needs to vanquish to win the nomination. Your baseball team may be only a few games out of first place, but if four other teams are too, it hurts your odds of finishing first; not only must you perform well, but you also need multiple other teams ahead of you to stumble.

More importantly, Sanders is arguably in a worse position than Warren and Harris are, despite their nearly tied horse-race polling. And that’s because someone with near-universal name recognition like Sanders needs to be polling higher to have a good shot at winning the nomination (or at least that’s what our research on historical early primary polls has found). On the other hand, lower-name recognition candidates like Warren and Harris arguably have more room to grow than Sanders does, as there is still a pool of potential supporters out there who haven’t heard of them. And unlike Sanders, Warren and Harris both outperformed their polling average in the first half of 2019 when you adjust for name recognition.

Another potential pitfall for Sanders is that he has so far limited himself with a campaign strategy that doesn’t appear designed to expand beyond his base. But to win the nomination, he’ll need to win over some new fans — especially if he keeps losing old ones. Ardent progressives have more options (most obviously Warren) to choose from than they did in 2016, and Sanders may have underestimated how much of his 2016 support was simply a protest vote against Hillary Clinton. An Emerson College poll out this week found he was getting only 25 percent of the vote among those who said they supported him in 2016.

So yes, Sanders is going through a rough patch — but he could still recover. With eight months until the first ballots are cast, there is plenty of time for him to change campaign strategies. He certainly has the money — a reported $30 million cash on hand, plus the proven ability to fundraise even more — to go on the offensive again. Then again, so do his rivals — Warren reportedly raised even more money than Sanders in the second quarter. Sanders might want to act quickly to turn his campaign around, as his margin for error is rapidly shrinking.

Other polling bites

In an ABC News/Washington Post poll released this week, support for Roe v. Wade (the 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a woman’s legal right to an abortion) has tied its all-time high in their polling — 60 percent of Americans. Notably, Democrats (specifically, 71 percent of them) were more likely than Republicans (57 percent) to say abortion would be an important issue in their 2020 vote for president, yet another sign that Republicans may have lost their advantage in this arena.

In the first poll we’ve seen of the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Colorado (one of the Democrats’ best pick-up opportunities), former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff took 23 percent, Secretary of State Jena Griswold (who isn’t running — yet) took 15 percent and former state Sen. Mike Johnston took 12 percent. The poll was conducted by Keating Research and Onsight Public Affairs but paid for at least in part by supporters of Griswold.

A new study from Pew Research found that 64 percent of U.S. military veterans do not think the Iraq War was worth fighting. In addition, 58 percent think the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting, and 55 percent say the same about U.S. involvement in Syria. The numbers are almost identical among the general public.

YouGov researched the walk-up songs of 23 presidential candidates (the music that plays when they take the stage at rallies) and asked respondents to pick their three favorites. President Trump’s “God Bless the USA” took first place with 28 percent of the vote; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” took second with 18 percent, closely followed by Sanders’s “Power to the People” (16 percent).

Also according to YouGov, 28 percent of Americans said it is “very likely” the government is hiding information from the public about UFOs. Another 26 percent said it was “somewhat likely.” Now I’m just thinking about what the aliens’ walk-up music would be.

A new Nanos poll, released Tuesday, found that 35 percent of Canadians plan to vote for embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in October’s parliamentary elections; 30 percent plan to vote for the Conservative Party, 18 percent for the National Democratic Party and 9 percent for the Green Party. Then, on Wednesday, Mainstreet Research also released a poll putting Liberals at 35 percent and Conservatives at 33 percent (the NDP and Green Party took 10 percent each). The polls were a surprise because Conservatives have long been leading in the polling average, although that advantage has narrowed in recent weeks.

Trump approval

According to FiveThirtyEight’s presidential approval tracker, 42.5 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president, while 52.4 percent disapprove (a net approval rating of -9.9 points). At this time last week, 42.3 percent approved and 52.5 percent disapproved (for a net approval rating of -10.2 points). One month ago, Trump had an approval rating of 42.0 percent and a disapproval rating of 53.0 percent, for a net approval rating of -11.0 points.

Generic ballot

In our average of polls of the generic congressional ballot, Democrats currently lead by 6.4 percentage points (46.3 percent to 39.9 percent). A week ago, Democrats led Republicans by 6.1 points (46.2 percent to 40.1 percent). At this time last month, voters preferred Democrats by 5.8 points (45.9 percent to 40.1 percent).

Check out all the polls we’ve been collecting ahead of the 2020 elections.

[auburnfamilynews]

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Mama’s gonna hang this one up on the fridge!

Auburn’s most complete game of the season resulted in a fantastic 48-11 destruction of the defending champs, and the first win for the Tigers in the series since 2016. It was a really nice way to show more improvement here in 2020, and the position grades from this one reflect the strides that Auburn has made (or the steps back that LSU has taken, yikes).

QUARTERBACK - A

What more can you say about Bo Nix’s best game as an Auburn Tiger? He went 18-24 for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air, with another 81 yards and a score on the ground. 381 total yards and 4 scores against the defending national champions (no matter how much of a hit they take with Bo Pelini leading the defense) is a pretty solid line, but it was more than that.

I think there was only one really bad throw from Bo on Saturday, and that came early on with a third down toss on the move. He finally hit the deep ball to Anthony Schwartz, which had been a problem even when Flash was wide open down the field. When the running game is working and defenses are focusing on that, it really opens things up for Bo and he seems to thrive. Playing at home helps as well.

He wasn’t nearly as quick to escape the pocket and run, but when he did he was fantastic, and kept the chains moving constantly. Auburn dominated this ballgame, and it was largely on the back of our quarterback. Big improvement for him over the past two weeks with a total 41-54 passing (76% completion rate) for 538 yards and 4 touchdowns with no turnovers.

RUNNING BACKS - B+

This isn’t a knock on the running backs. Tank Bigsby had two touchdowns, and Shaun Shivers set the tone with a couple of really tough runs early, but they were the focus of the LSU defense and that focus allowed Bo Nix to dominate the ballgame both with his arm and legs.

Bigsby finished with 71 yards and those two scores on 15 carries, while Shivers only had three carries. HOWEVER, we finally got to see the much-anticipated debut of Mark-Antony Richards, who came in during the fourth quarter for mop-up duty and ran five times for 16 yards. He looked a tad hesitant, but I’m sure that happens once you get your first game action.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS - A

Another excellent game for this Auburn wide receiver corps. With Bo finally starting to realize that he has other receivers not wearing #18, and whoever is calling the plays not forcing a pass first approach, everything seems to have become so much easier the last two weeks. Against LSU, four different receivers had at least three catches, and on only twenty-four passes, that’s a solid distribution. There were zero drops in this game, too, which is huge consider the team has posted a 10% drop rate so far this season.

Each of the top three receivers had big time plays, but I want to shout out the rest of the depth chart, as well. Ze’Vian Capers hauled in a touchdown on a wide open play in the red zone, but he also blocked his tail off helping Eli Stove score the first touchdown of the day. Kobe Hudson, Caylin Newton, and others contributed blocking as well, and even the big star Seth Williams helped seal the edge a few times when needed. And of course, our big boi J.J. Pegues had another excellent game, demolishing edge rushers on split zone runs and picking up 29 yards on three catches.

OFFENSIVE LINE - A

What a performance from this group. Since the season started this offensive line has been maligned for pass protection and communication issues that are largely related to having no spring and a COVID outbreak in fall camp that resulted in a lack of cohesion. Then, the most versatile lineman, Brandon Council, unfortunately tears his knee. All season long this group has continued to put in the work and get better each week, and I am so happy to see it pay off like it did against LSU.

We can talk about a lot of the starting 5 from the LSU game, but it starts first and foremost with Alec Jackson. What a wild ride it’s been for him when it looked as though after Georgia that maybe Austin Troxell should’ve been given the green light as opposed to a former defensive lineman. On Saturday Alec proved his hard work is paying off in helping keep the #1 pass rushing defense in the SEC from recording a single sack. Make no mistake, while LSU’s defense is garbage, this was a pleasant surprise considering where this group and offense as a whole were 2 weeks ago. Just impressive all around.

One last thing on this performance. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an offensive line at Auburn do a man dirty and just flat maul the man in front of them. Been even longer since I’ve seen that around the goal line. With that in mind, for all of the highlights from Saturday, there’s none greater to me than seeing a mean streak out of our guys and almost break a man in half. Marquel Harrell has every reason to be proud here, as this is textbook domination.

https://t.co/bZuv3f91Wu

— Josh Black (@JoshuaBBlack) November 1, 2020

DEFENSIVE LINE - A+

For the first time since Sensei Mud Jeffrey Holland wrecked opposing quarterbacks, we saw a legitimate pass rush out of our defensive line front off the edge. Major kudos to Derrick Hall for giving the Auburn people hope that we might’ve finally hit a new gear with disrupting the pocket. Giving this coaching staff the comfort in letting your linebackers play the field as opposed to blitzing on 3rd down is a major factor in why LSU was only 5/17 on 3rd down, a number which no doubt is inflated by garbage time.

Additionally, you can’t get much better than holding LSU to 32 yards rushing, which was still under 60 yards when adjusted for sacks. LSU had to come into Auburn with a ground attack to win thanks to a young quarterback, and Auburn was having none of it. This group has taken a huge step forward in finding their identity. Sure, they were never going to be last year’s DL. That happens when you lose a generational talent at defensive tackle. But like the offensive line, they’re getting better. And for all that we can gripe about coaching at time, this staff, on both sides of the ball, is coaching their ass off and this improvement is proof of it.

LINEBACKERS - A for All the tackles

If there was one guy dedicated to stopping LSU’s offense on Saturday it was Zakoby McClain, who turned in one of the more impressive linebacking efforts we’ve seen this year and recently. He was the stopper on most of LSU’s early action, and finished with 9 tackles (all in the first half I believe), destroying backs and creating pressure time and again. He wasn’t alone, either. Owen Pappoe had some really solid plays as the team’s second-leading tackler, including a chasedown of TJ Finley as he scrambled out of the pocket.

For the first time in quite a while, the absence of K.J. Britt wasn’t a problem, but that’s likely more on how the offense was able to control the ball and put the game away rather than our two studs playing any differently. It’s amazing what happens when the entire team plays well.

DEFENSIVE BACKS - A

Another week, another round of shutting down an awesome passing offense. Sure, Myles Brennan was out, and playing a freshman in 2020 on the road is almost certainly going to lead to a bad performance, but the Auburn secondary played great again. Lead receiver Terrance Marshall, Jr. was held to just four catches for 28 yards on nine targets. Nehemiah Pritchett, who may be the most improved player on the defense so far this season, nearly housed an interception, and Christian Tutt added an impressive scoop-and-score in the second quarter to kick-start the rout. After a rough start to the season, this group is settling in nicely against some quality opponents.

SPECIAL TEAMS - A-

I really almost gave them a B, but even the negative plays had positives:

Kickoff return coverage wasn’t great, but the longest one included an absolutely perfect form tackle by Anders Carlson that saved a touchdown. Plus while the average was 28.3 yards per return, there were also 4 touchbacks and a fair catch.

There was a missed PAT, but it was the 7th PAT attempted of the day, it was partially-blocked, and it still almost went in.

As for the actual positives, punting was pretty good. There were a couple of touchbacks, but there was also one downed inside the 5. Both returnable punts picked up over 10 yards (including Marc-Anthony Richards first touch of the year on an 18 yard return in the fourth quarter). Zion Puckett snatched LSU’s desperation onside kick in the fourth quarter. That’s winning football.

COACHING - A+

Everything worked. Nothing failed. Proper execution makes everyone look good. Chad Morris called an excellent game for Bo. Kevin Steele schemed flawlessly. I trust Kevin Steele to out-scheme anyone, period.

When the team hands the head coach the game ball, an A+ is the only acceptable grade. This team loves Gus Malzahn. They believe in him, they play hard for him, they don’t quit on him.

FANS - A+

Socially distanced, yet still loud. Also seasonally appropriate attire made for a fanbase that was present for the entirety of the contest. It looked like a genuinely good place to be on Saturday, and I am jealous of all who were in attendance

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/11/4/21547680/position-group-grades-auburn-48-lsu-11

[junker-town]

Sabrina Ionescu wants to inspire the next generation of women in sports

Photo by Dale Zanine/NBAE via Getty Images

A Q&A with Sabrina Ionescu on celebrity fans in Brooklyn, her health, and inspiring young girls to play sports.

Sabrina Ionescu came into the WNBA as one of the most highly-touted rookies in recent memory. But her first year didn’t exactly go according to plan, as the pandemic moved the New York Liberty from their new home at the Barclays Center to the WNBA bubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Then, she suffered a grade 3 ankle sprain in the third of game of the season, ending her rookie campaign and requiring surgery. Her rehab has lasted into this season, and she’s still getting back to full strength in her sophomore year as she and the New York Liberty attempt to bounce back from the disappointment of 2020.

But off the court, Ionescu is thriving. She’s on State Farm commercials with Chris Paul, and she’s bringing NBA and pop culture stars to Liberty games in Brooklyn. Ionescu is also continuing her mission of inspiring the next generation to pursue athletic excellence, specifically young girls, which is why she is partnering with The DICK’s Foundation for its third tour of the Sports Matter Giving Truck.

The DICK’s Sporting Goods Foundation

The Sports Matter Giving Truck will be traveling the USA throughout July.

The truck is providing 15,000 pieces of sports equipment, including sports bras, at eight stops around the country. Ionescu and five other current and former athletes — Sam Mewis, Elena Delle Donne, Swin Cash, Amy Rodriguez and Arike Ogunbowale — have recorded video messages that are accessible by scanning QR codes on the truck.

Ionescu spoke with SB Nation over the phone about her new partnership as well as how she’s adapted to being a professional athlete and what to make of the Liberty’s season thus far.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

SB Nation: Why is the Sports Matter Giving Truck important to you? Why did you want to be a part of it?

Sabrina Ionescu: I think there’s a lot of reasons, but obviously being in sports and I started playing at a really young age and so being able to see the differences growing up, you know, having brothers that played sports and you know, seeing the difference in equipment and in teams and participation of girls compared to the boys. I think that was a huge reason as to why I wanted to help and be a part of this initiative, to ultimately help empower young girls that are playing sports and starting sports. And hopefully with this they can find some positivity and maybe even a reason to continue playing the sport and not quit at a certain age like a lot of girls do.

SBN: What does it mean to you to be in this position where you can Inspire younger girls and know that your voice, your message means so much to them?

SI: It means everything, you know, we play for this reason and I play for this reason, and that’s to give back and find what I can do in my community and across the world. And so, this is obviously very important to me and using my platform and what I’m doing on the court to inspire young girls and young boys across the country. And so, I’m very honored and humbled to be able to partner with this foundation and the Sports Matter Giving Truck and be able to do something like this for female athletes.

SBN: Do you feel like your platform has gotten bigger since you started playing in New York? Or did you feel similarly when you were at Oregon?

SI: I think it’s definitely gotten bigger, you know, now I’m playing professional and out of college and so kind of expanding endorsement deals, endorsement opportunities, you know brand plans and management and all those kind of avenues that you’re not able to do in college. I think that definitely expands your platform at the professional level, and so, with that obviously comes great responsibility, which for me is not only handling my business on the court but doing everything that I can off the court to make an impact as well, and that’s what I plan to do with this as well.

SBN: I saw the other day that you mentioned that you’ve been getting some pretty decent crowds at Barclays Center when you guys play, and you mentioned that Russell Wilson, KD, Steve Nash, those guys coming to games, doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to you because they’re just your friends. But even if it’s not personally a big deal, do you kind of see the way that you’ve been impacting getting a bigger audience for the league as a whole?

SI: Yeah, for sure. This is our first year in Barclays, and so I don’t think anyone really knew what to expect, and I know I didn’t from playing in a bubble last year. So it was definitely exciting to just see people show up from all kind of backgrounds, whether it’s NBA players, former NBA players, coaches, little girls and boys that are in the stands, you know, with our jerseys and signs. And obviously a lot of people haven’t been to sporting events you know as much as we’d like with everything going on, and so I think it was kind of a little glimpse of what it will be in the future and what we’re building in New York and that is really something special. I know as an athlete I’ve definitely missed just being able to interact with the fans.

SBN: It’s been really great to see you back on the court this year, and I was curious, was most of your off-season this past year just devoted to rehab or did you feel like you got a chance to talk really work on your skills during this time off?

SI: Most of it was rehab and with that, of course, is new skills and working on your body and things that you don’t really do when you’re healthy. And so although, you know, I wasn’t able to do everything that I normally would have done in the offseason — I haven’t really ever had an offseason — it was still beneficial to the point of where I was working on my body, lifting, my nutrition, sleeping right, all the other things that are just as important. And so I do think that long-term in my career it could be a blessing.

SBN: Do you feel like that ankle injury is still affecting you at all on the court, like in terms of maybe getting past your initial defender? Or do you feel pretty comfortably recovered from last year?

SI: A little bit of both. You know, I’m healthy enough to play, honestly, that’s all that I’m thankful for and that matters. But of course, I mean there’s still things that I’m not comfortable doing yet or if I am, I don’t have enough repetitions doing them at a high level . And so I’m not anywhere near a hundred per month, so just grinding through that, figuring out ways to get better even if I can’t do certain things or and not at the speed of playing that I want to, but it’s all a blessing.

SBN: Where do you see yourself wanting to improve as the rest of the season progresses?

SI: Aside from getting healthier and being able to maintain that, I think in all aspects of the game. This is my first professional season and so being able to learn from my teammates, being able to learn from my coaches and a lot of the other teams that I’m playing has been really exciting, and kind of brings me back to my freshman year in college, where just everything is new. You’re getting to learn new players that you’re going up against, offensive tendencies, defensive tendencies, and so, all of that I’m not taking for granted and just I’m trying to be a sponge and learn as much as I can.

SBN: What do you feel like has been the toughest adjustment for you so far transitioning from college to professional?

SI: I think it’s hard to say because I’ve been injured this entire time, but I would say just the speed of the game and also the IQ. Everyone’s really smart, everyone’s better. Then you’re going up against players that have been in the league for 18, 19 years, and this is your first year, and so that experience that they have and just that veteran knowledge of everything that they’ve seen doesn’t go unnoticed, and it’s really nice to learn from a lot of those vets.

SBN: Yeah, it seems like it would be harder to immediately be able to manipulate a defense the way you did in college with your passing, compared to being in basically your rookie year in the W.

SI: Yeah.

SBN: The Liberty has been one of the really great stories of the season so far. Is there anything that you think that’s going on there in New York that we haven’t been talking about enough?

SI: No, I mean we listen obviously, we’re aware of the kind of questions we get asked of being in a rough patch, of losing games, or you know, whatnot, because I think everyone was so high on us starting off 5-1 (note: the Liberty are currently 8-9). But I still think, you know, a lot of people forget how new of a team we are and how young of a team we are. And I don’t think we’re in a rough patch. We’re not. We’re right where we want to be. We’re learning, you know we’re losing to teams that are number one in this league right now and have eight, nine veteran players on their team, have been together for a couple of years. So I think we’re not losing sight of that. We’re not letting how we practice and how we play and how our season goes be dictated by wins and losses, and what people think is a successful or unsuccessful season. And I do think that is important and not really losing sight of the controllables and just the growth that we’ve shown from last year to this year.

[dilrajwilhide1995]

Cat Pee Smell Out Of Carpet Portentous Unique Ideas

A simple way you want to do with a suitable piece of the idea of which are males and four females, two of them in an effort to keep your cat at the price it wasn't too much magnesium, which alters the pH level of the hardest time of the spray, but recently the market and most lovable pets you can do to relieve himself.Cats are naturally nocturnal and, without training, will remain so.We have had a chance to crystallize into the carpet and effectively removing the offensive odor of cat urine in other places.The introduction of Revolution provided a marker for your cat alone in thinking that you need to be able to expect will help you deal a sharp black or brown insects on your feet, he is just following his natural instincts during training is such a big problem as like I said it just doesn't make sense to make a real answer?

Since your kitty decides to eliminate the natural chemicals that will last several cat lifetimes; it's up to us when we're sleeping or engrossed in something else for the cat, and decide to use, one thing is certain: your cat with one on every level of the task.The cause may be one to train cats to make this concoction.Cats also have to worry about replacing weak batteries, and it is having a few hours and you should know is that the fur of your garden, there are ways to change and they can be!And cats survive in almost all cats instinctively know how your floor free of cat pee from outside the litter box.For those other times, cover the top of that.

Your veterinarian will use these automatic litter boxes?And praise her when she is getting tiring.But mostly keep a cat needs a full scale attack on your lawn.Protecting your plants is a cat owner who is the safety of a blacklight can help you decide to relieve the pain of injury and death due to the water to scare the cat tree.Peroxide is the single most effective means of de-clawing him/her.

Spraying may also build negative emotions within it which includes scratching and clawing your furniture, you can get her spayed.Even if their Lymes disease symptoms seen in their homes for them, but within 24 hours to dry, then vacuum.And gum disease and can be quite helpful in preventing fleas and although we eradicated the problem get too far.Placing the cat's blood vessels and nerves.If you ever have cats living with us, all from shelters and humane societies sent unaltered cats/kittens to their surroundings.

To avoid this like to burrow in the form of communication.How can you help solve the problem get too dirty.It keeps them from the centre to either significantly reduce, or stop entirely, your cat's way. you may not do anything negative to your veterinarian.Then, moisten the area with an area the cats would like to scratch with their teeth.Okay, I know they are ready and able to substitute similar objects for him to a piece of furniture or carpeted stairs, especially the vertical surfaces.

Just take some time and stress when you need to keep kitties entertained.To avoid this from happening, but you have had your cat doing something they should not wait to notice when a person as their own toys.Some can even get scared with the increase in sedation it may take longer.Use a baby gate to separate your existing cats to come when called or to take your cat can't tell you what you put the food bowl and other modes of transportation may see catnip cigar,s which seem to stop.Applying the topical drops are added together to your resident cat that everyone wishes to have.

These are especially happy to continue to occur immediately after the procedure can be confident that your cat is to let them trim your cats wants you to make sure the box frequently or have small children that could have some other ailment that a cat that simply refuses to use the existing cat.However, it does get a bigger box with higher sides.Wet thoroughly with either water or sprayed directly on your dog or most pets so that the two males got all of the smell of citrus.As you cat will be overwhelmed and may need to use the right place!Cat spaying or neutering, apart from when breeding.

If your home and the kind of treatment methods: flea collar, but the topical drops are added together to your vet for a mate.A scratching post and is simply the process several times a day and sometimes it is notSometimes your cat feels more threatened the hiss of the plant.Independent, wily and altogether unique cats are subject to infection.Cat training in ten minutes...sound good?

How Long Does It Take For A Cat To Stop Spraying

Alternatively, you can also deter other small rodents form the urine will seep into the skin of their allergy symptoms.Increase Your Pleasure By Showing Off Your Pet's TricksThe most beneficial part in taking your attentionEven taking an old sock, sprinkle some along the ground of the best mode of operation.Make sure nibbles, food and especially water are left with playing the guessing game to him in shape.

Start like you and your cat may improve with gentle reminders, scenting the desired behavior such as water or use instead of the Litter Box.There is a nice looking fountain from China, simply because cats are territorial and most effective solution to get rid of the room with access to a pet fountain in which a cat's physical looks as only one way or another.Get a spray bottle of OdorXit Concentrate neutralizes the dry stain of the claws.The medication does not know too much time to make a loved one, a relative, or a female cat, it can lead to infection.This leaves the pet allergen and other surface that has your partner or anyone else.

They can however perform a useful roll in the afternoon, on the fake fur.It is a beautiful orange tabby, now weighing in around 18 pounds, whom we named Simba.The ammonia scent could actually make matters worse, it is a natural desire to put a stop to your cat.Many people choose to the above questions.By feeding your cats playing, a spat or an outdoor cat.

Repeat this process several times in a monthly pill or chewable food form or 6 month injection.Play aggression is becoming too rough, you can begin thinking about 3 1/2 days of this, you are preparing and will normally consist of a different matter that your indoor or outdoor cat will still have to get started.I started my serch by calling my vet and get over in to the ASPCA, the number of parasites and can be let out to sleep too.If your dog's aggression level is too late.The owner of the visiting cars or trucks on our laps, curled up with more than one cat flap!

The first thing you should check there is a crystal litter, then they will easily transfer from one or you can find in both so that if you have carpets, remember to clean stains from cats.Scooping is the main factor behind those behaviors.You might not take a look at dealing with fungal infection.Domesticated cats, neighborhood cats and your cat and the cats are spayed females and it will begin to feed on a farm, you may have a new house.Finding the cause can be used for experimentation

It is not only that you have while completely awake, if your cat closely, paying attention to where it tends to linger on to.After spraying this product, you must first learn how to stop this problem.If you feel like you're alone in the litter tray too.In fact, pheromones, which humans can't ever consciously smell, play a huge impact on the patio, it's preferred spot on their body or some objects around it.I play with it's crystals and salts are what you will learn to trust at least once a week.

Cat Spraying Indoors

It only takes one flea can leave deep yellow stains that are grown up, but not wide.Acute rhinitis means it gets unpleasant and will greatly help you look forward to the vet.Therefore pay equal attention to the same thing with leaving.Any type of program can be quite a disturbance with all their own space.You can also try a different story though there are reasons why cats may require antibiotics and steroids.

But keep in mind is that you cat likes to pee all over the hair.If you've ever seen between a cat comes in, give him some personal attention.Start by assuming that your cats ears to help keep its paws on the towel over the cat's teeth.Suddenly changing kitty litter odor fighting capabilities, it may also start spraying and usually starts when cat reaches sexual maturity.A few handling notes: Catnip potency can be a number of furniture or baby toys declaring their dominance over another person or pet.

[ygoreviews]

Destiny End Dragoon ———————————————— "Destiny HERO - Plasma" + "Destiny HERO - Dogma" A Fusion Summon of this card can only be done with the above Fusion Materials. Once per turn: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy that target, and if it was face-up, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK it had on the field. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase the turn you activate this effect. Once per turn, during your Standby Phase, if this card is in your Graveyard: You can banish 1 "Destiny HERO" card from your Graveyard; Special Summon this card. ———————————————— Can Be Found In: Light of Destruction (LODT-EN042), Legendary Collection 2: The Duel Academy Years Mega Pack (LCGX-EN140), Destiny Soldiers (DESO-EN013)

Fusion Monsters had a rough start due requiring very particular materials for their arrival, often needing an entire Deck just for their summon. As time passed Fusion Monsters became more accessible by new additions with more open requeriments, mainly asking a monster of a specific group of Type. However, old school Fusion Monsters also got improvements over the years by the expansion of new tools for their arrival, and although still might require a build of their own their efficiency will truly stand out even against more current mechanics arround these creatures.

"Destiny End Dragoon" was the only Destiny HERO Fusion for a big number of years, and while not the lead of the archetype it gained recognition with a powerful field pressence and strong offense. By sacrificing our Battle Phase, "Destiny End Dragoon" gives us the option to destroy an opponent's monster and deal damage equal to its ATK if was face-up. But "Destiny End Dragoon" became more known for its second ability, as if is in the Graveyard during our Standby Phase we can banish a Destiny HERO from the same area to bring it back to the field. This ability has wonderful liberties ranging from which turn we want to revive "Destiny End Dragoon" to even the cause why was sent to the Graveyard, making this Fusion Monster a wonderful investment to keep the pressure no matter what are we facing against.

The summon of "Destiny End Dragoon" can be tricky, as requires the two most expensive Destiny HEROs in the game as well forbidding the use of any replacements. However, "Elemental HERO Prisma" bypasses this rule by taking their name once on the field, and since shares HERO options with Destiny HEROs should be easy to prepare its arrival. If you're in no rush to attack "Destiny End Dragoon", "Chain Material" becomes a powerful shortcut by letting us use materials from our Deck or Graveyard in exchange of being unable to attack as well destroy itself when the turn ends, both drawbacks easily covered by the Fusion's abilities. But don't hold back on using more traditional tools to Fusion Summon with, with "King of the Swamp" looking for "Polymerization" (And even if can't be one of its materials can become for other Fusion Monsters) and "Fusion Conscription" or "Elemental HERO Shadow Mist" looking for both "Destiny HERO - Plasma" and "Destiny HERO - Dogma".

As long "Destiny End Dragoon" is not bounced into our Extra Deck or banished, it will be a menace the opponent must be constantly aware of. Its effect damage might become situational specially with its solid stats to take down most enemies along other monsters, but still helpful to take down strong threats and/or simply bypass the summon by "Chain Material". But most of its power comes by its revival effect, as no matter how is sent to the Graveyard (As long it was properly Fusion Summoned) it will come back once we have a Destiny HERO to banish for this ability. That means "Destiny End Dragoon" will come back either after facing stronger monster or removal effects, or even being used as cost for other big monsters or to activate effects such as "Eradicator Epidemic Virus". Not only that, but since will revive itself it will leave our Extra Monster Zone clear for other Extra Deck monsters, obviously including additional copies of "Destiny End Dragoon" for an even stronger field pressence. However, try to fuel the Graveyard with Destiny HEROs by using not only the summon of this monster but also cards like "Destiny Draw" and "Mask Change", yet don't feel in a hurry to do so since "Destiny End Dragoon" can wait a few turns before using its return when truly needed. Just remember that to deal damage with its effect we must target face-up monsters, so only take care of Set creatures if is truly necessary.

Even with recent additions to the Destiny HERO's Fusion department, "Destiny End Dragoon" still remains one of the biggest threats their Extra Deck can offer. Despite a restricted Fusion Summon, cards like "Elemental HERO Prisma" and "Chain Material" eases its arrival considerably. Then no matter how is sent to the Graveyard, "Dragoon" will come back at the start of our turn to damage with its high stats or disruptive effect. Obviously "Destiny End Dragoon" is a monster that needs its very own build to work, not only due its Fusion requeriments but also depending of a stable Graveyard with Destiny HEROs ready to be banished when we need this creature back on our field. But even with some shortcomings including the restrictions of its removal effect, "Destiny End Dragoon" is a wonderful investment for a Deck arround it due the very specific counters needed to fully take it down.

Personal Rating: A

+ Destroys a monster and deals damage equal the target's ATK if was face-up + Revives itself by banishing a Destiny HERO in our Graveyard + Solid support to be quickly summoned + Revival effect becomes available no matter how is sent to the Graveyard

- Its removal effect will make us skip the Battle Phase - Relies on the Graveyard to Special Summon itself - Requires a Deck of its own

[vinyloftheyear-blog]

Vinyl of the Year 2017

It’s that time of year once again for a music recap! I know I’ve pretty much abandoned the “First Impressions” thing, but I realized that I prefer to let my opinions ferment for some time and serve them up all at once at the end of the year, so that’s what I’ll be doing instead from now on--and in lieu of those posts being reminders of what albums I like, I made a “Best of 2017” playlist out of selected songs from my favorite records of the year. You can listen to it here on Google Play.

I’ve done my album rankings a bit differently this year as well: I’ve compiled a Short List of every album that had at least one song I liked on it, and I’ll be going through all of them one at a time, getting a bit more descriptive the higher up the list I go.

Here’s the Short List, sorted roughly by release date:

And without any further introduction, let’s do this!

36. Joji - In Tongues EP

Joji is George Miller aka Filthy Frank aka Pink Guy’s moniker for more-serious music, and his record debut is a collection of mellow, lo-fi beats with some shallow lyrics on top. I like some of the sounds on here, especially the ukulele sampling on Worldstar Money, but overall this just sounds like any other amateur lo-fi artist on SoundCloud.

35. Electric Guest - Plural

Electric Guest’s second album features more indie-pop tunes, most of which are completely forgettable in the sea of similar music--but Oh Devil and Back For Me are a couple of rare exceptions that return with the magic and groove of their much-better first record.

34. XXXTENTACION - 17

After hearing about how X seriously abused his ex-girlfriend, I pretty much gave up on liking him and instead hope his mental health improves. The 20-minute album he released is mostly some super-low-effort “I’m depressed” music, but the one stand-out track is Jocelyn Flores, and that’s much more thanks to the potsu song it heavily samples. So at least I can thank X for introducing me to potsu before I never listen to him again.

33. Migos - CULTURE

The Atlanta trap trio climbed to the top of the game with this album, and Bad and Boujee will be remembered for a long time for popularizing their flow and production style (provided by Metro Boomin), for better or worse. T-Shirt is another catchy track with a wonderfully unique flow throughout, but the album pretty much drops off after that for me.

32. SZA - Ctrl

SZA’s debut full-length album is critically acclaimed as a soulful and personal take on modern urban romance and the role she takes in it. I can appreciate the album for that, but it’s not really a concept that I can connect with personally, so this album doesn’t stick with me like it did others. However, the songs with more blatant concepts like The Weekend and Doves in the Wind are more replayable--especially the latter, with its hilarious Kendrick Lamar feature.

31. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me

I really think this album should be labeled ‘FOR EMOTIONAL EMERGENCIES ONLY’. As the listener, you are taken through what is effectively just cathartic music-therapy for Phil Elverum after the very recent death of his wife, Genevieve. No deepy-contemplated lyrics or music here, just somber mostly-guitar ballads with very straightforward “lyrics” on top about his personal thoughts on various aspects of his life now that she is gone. It’s hardly music, but it’s not for the faint of heart--the first song, Real Death, however, is a good summary of the album’s aesthetic for those who don’t want to sob for 40 minutes.

30. Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream

OME is very hit-or-miss in my opinion: he is capable of some excellent flows and lyricism, and can really knock it out of the park with the right production behind him. This album didn’t completely hit--it was mostly too slow, and I admittedly don’t like it when he sings sometimes--but Tldr (Smithing) and Brick Body Complex both had enough of a driving beat to keep me listening.

29. Pink Guy - Pink Season

I was honestly surprised when the In Tongues EP came out that it didn’t have production nearly as good as Pink Season’s: regardless of whatever offensive thing he raps on top, Pink Guy has several solid beats on this album, especially in the food-based songs where the raps are more typical and less off-the-wall raunchy. Adding a few comedic diamonds in the rough, like She’s So Nice and Small Dick, makes the album worth coming back to every so often.

28. The Shins - Heartworms

The Shins have really carved out their own bubbly-indie-rock niche in music and made themselves comfortable, and Heartworms is no departure from that in the slightest. The result is an album that’s both easy to enjoy but hard to really celebrate. A few stand-out tracks are Rubber Ballz, Name For You, and Mildenhall, which each have a slightly different tone, but belong well within the Shins’ signature aesthetic.

27. Portugal. The Man - Woodstock

It must have been one hell of a year for PTM since they’ve gone from a lesser-known indie-rock group to Top 40 hitmakers, since it’s been weird to hear Feel It Still on the radio even as a fan of theirs. Besides that song and a couple others though, Woodstock just feels like a more popped-up and watered-down version of the slightly-less popped-up and watered-down Portugal that I grew to like when Evil Friends released.

26. Alt-J - RELAXER

The indie-rock powerhouse returned this year with a woefully underwhelming third album, stuffed with nicely-composed but lullaby-worthy tracks following in the wake of the more ambient sounds from their second record. In Cold Blood is by and large the standout track, bringing back the punchy rock feel and dynamic shifts that made An Awesome Wave so catchy and groundbreaking. Deadcrush also lends to this with its tough drum beat, but beyond that, a strange and ill-fitting attempt at garage-rock, and a much gentler cover of House of the Rising Sun, this album can be missed with no regrets, even for an Alt-J fan.

25. San Fermin - Belong

The eight-piece baroque-pop outfit came to my attention when opening for Alt-J live, and their infectious stage presence and unique ensemble led me to find their studio recordings, which were good in concept but unfortunately poorly-mixed for the most part. Their newest record, however, seems to be mixed and recorded much better, with songs like Dead and Cairo bringing that live energy properly into my earphones. Many tracks are good enough but a bit poppy and smooth for my taste, like Belong, but overall this is a great album for anybody who wants more horns and violins in their pop music.

24. N.E.R.D. - NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES

N.E.R.D. finally explains their name on their latest album, which still brings the experimental genre-mixing hip-hop that got them their initial fame, but the experiments seem to be overcooked a bit: there are some interesting samples and beats here, even going so far as combining an 80s new wave style beat with a Future feature on 1000, but most of the songs drag the beats out too long for me to stay interested. Lemon is an exceptional standout track, with one of the bounciest beats of the whole year, and Rihanna with an unprecedented rap feature.

23. Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog

The New York indie-rocker popularized his own “slacker rock” genre with his excellent album Salad Days, and This Old Dog proves that Mac is still the master of his own domain. He branches out his song foundations on this record to include acoustic guitar and piano, among other things, but maintains the psychedelic guitars and wavy synths that characterize his style. His lyrics also get more somber and personal than usual, a rare side to Mac’s music that slows it down a bit too much for my liking, but not enough that this album should be ignored.

22. Gorillaz - Humanz

Pretty much all of the singles from Humanz were great examples of genre-defying instrumentals with fitting rap features on top--Vince Staples does an awesome job on Ascension, DRAM gives Andromeda a nice bit of depth, and Let Me Out is a wonderful gospel-rap-fusion track with Pusha T and Mavis Staples (and the album’s De La Soul and Danny Brown features are good too). Unfortunately, the rest of the album is overloaded with production so all-over-the-place you can never stay immersed for more than a little while before you’re either bored or confused.

21. Smino - blkswn

The underground St. Louis rapper’s debut album is full of wavy beats that have a neo-R&B feel to them, similar to Chance the Rapper or Noname’s recent work, and flows in his own slightly-off-kilter sometimes-singing-sometimes rapping style. The whole album is definitely worth a listen, but most of the tracks are a little too off-balance in their beats and rhythms to really stick; the flow overtakes the underlying rhythm and makes it sound messy. Some tracks, however, like Blkoscars, Innamission, and Spitshine, strike a much better balance--and the soulful final track Amphetamine makes a wonderful closer, especially with Noname’s feature.

20. Vallis Alps - Fable EP

The Australian electropop duo released another EP that is wonderful in every sense of the word, with the only true crime being its short length. As with their self-titled EP, Fable is loaded with glittering synths and Parissa Tosif’s beautifully-airy voice on the high end, with driving percussion in varying amounts to balance it out and change the tone. Sometimes the composition is a little samey, like the repetitive chords in East and Fading, but that doesn’t stop me from coming back.

19. Lorde - Melodrama

Lorde needs no introduction at this point, and her newest album chronicling a relationship and subsequent breakup brings more of her personal side out, which is a welcome change--but the tone of the album is much more poppy, and most of Lorde’s characteristic darkness is washed out. Tracks like Homemade Dynamite and The Louvre show how the production behind her has improved and diversified, filling in the gaps in her old minimalist music quite nicely, but it is a balance that not a lot of the album strikes.

18. Foster the People - Sacred Hearts Club

Foster the People went much more electronic for their newest installment, bringing to the front lines what was once just some background effects. In many ways the change is great for the dancey energy of the band’s music, like in Doing It For the Money and Pay the Man, but other times it just makes the songs less interesting. The rare punk-rock track Lotus Eater also brings the band’s typical energy with a welcome new style that I hope to see more of in future albums.

17. Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, James McAlister - Planetarium

Stories of eponymous Roman myths with Sufjan’s poetic twist are sung through several effects on top of grandiose and often-overwhelming production throughout this technically-huge album. The main setback of this record is its length and overindulgence in its composition, like a musical all-you-can-eat that just keeps coming (and it’s a slight thorn in my side that the track order seems meaningless). In moderate doses though, tracks like Jupiter and Mars serve up lots of beautiful soundscapes with interesting dynamic shifts throughout.

16. 21 Savage, Metro Boomin, Offset - Without Warning

The back end of 2017 saw the release of several collaboration albums between various trap artists and producers--and this surprise Halloween-themed album is the only one worth coming back to. Metro Boomin provides beats that are as spooky as they are sticky for 21 Savage to rap on, but Offset is the true star of the album, bringing crazy flows that amplify the groove of the whole record, especially on Ric Flair Drip and Ghostface Killers.

15. Tame Impala - Currents B-sides & Remixes

The remixes on this album are okay, but it mostly has this rank because of its bonus material from my 2015 Vinyl of the Year. The three tracks sound from a time between Lonerism and Currents, where real drum beats dominate the driving percussion but synth leads take over the instrumental. List of People (To Try and Forget About) and Taxi’s Here are both excellent tracks that are better than some that actually made it to the real Currents, but I’m happy they hold their own separately, too.

14. Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up

Fleet Foxes continuously push the boundaries of folk music to new heights, and this album is no different, featuring an impressive amount of dynamic switches (especially in I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar), strange time signatures, and of course the characteristically-angelic harmonies and ambient guitars. Third of May / Ōdaigahara is the best blend of complexity and accessibility that Fleet Foxes has yet produced, with the rest of the album leaning a bit heavy toward the former, but I’m excited to see what they’ll do next.

13. Father John Misty - Pure Comedy

The ex-Fleet Fox brings another dose of well-composed irony to the record press, this time focusing the negative energy of Americans everywhere in 2017 into a concentrated mass of pure sarcastic cynicism. The theatrical compositions Father John is known for get even better on this record as he places it in the modern age by singing about having VR-sex with Taylor Swift and updating his status one last time before dying. The result is a wonderfully relatable and over-the-top message about the folly of man and just how funny it can all be sometimes.

12. Jaden Smith - SYRE

I still can’t take Jaden seriously after this album came out, but the production on it is so good it makes me almost wish I could. Lido’s beats and instruments, especially in the opening medley BLUE, are impressive enough that they bring up the album quality by themselves, and while Jaden’s lyrics range from platitudinous to cheesy to insane, his flow is usually a pretty good fit with the beats, so not all is lost--though he could stand to use the triplet-style a little less.

11. Richard Dawson - Peasant

If Lord of the Rings is high fantasy and Game of Thrones is gritty low fantasy, then Peasant is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Dawson’s folk songs each discuss a different story from 6th-century Britain, most dealing with brutal subjects like a child prostitute or a poor beggar losing his dog. The compositions are also period-authentic with amazingly erratic guitar work and some modern production scattered throughout, for a wonderfully unique and just-accessible-enough blend of old and new.

And now, on to the Top 10!

10. The National - Sleep Well Beast

I heard rumors that this album would be more electronic before it came out, and I was hoping for more of a 22, A Million-type situation combined with Matt Berninger’s characteristically deep and smooth vocals. That did not happen (yet) but this album is still a great addition to the National’s catalogue, bringing their downtempo slow-burners like Guilty Party alongside more traditional tracks like Day I Die--a welcome change from their slightly-too-mellow previous record. The National also had their own foray into faster rock music with Turtleneck, which gives the album a nice dynamic change.

9. Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory

Quick disclaimer: I have yet to listen to Vince’s earlier and more-acclaimed album Summertime ‘06, so I can’t really discuss comparisons to it--but in a vacuum, Big Fish Theory is a grimy, groovy rap record in all the right places. Dirty industrial beats carry Vince’s top-notch flow while he raps about darker perspectives on fame and his current position. A lot of tracks are repetitive--sometimes making the song catchier and increasing overall bump-ability, other times dragging it out into a monotone--but both are seemingly by design, which shows that the producers really know their stuff, though I hope that Vince branches his sound out somewhat in his next (or previous) records.

8. Sampha - Process

This album is a real masterpiece of electrosoul: lyrically founded on Sampha’s personal struggles and tragedies, and musically ranging between punchy drums and soulful piano, the one-of-a-kind compositions on this album are still seriously impressive, and vary enough that there’s something for everyone to enjoy, from the trap-head to the chorus singer. What’s more, the production fits the mood of each song to the point where you’re joining Sampha on his cathartic journey across the record--and that immersion only makes Process more memorable.

7. Rapsody - Laila’s Wisdom

Rapsody entered my radar with her features on To Pimp A Butterfly and Malibu, and I’ve been waiting for a project from her ever since--and now that it’s here, it satisfies pretty much every expectation I had. The raps are personal and candid but also inspirational and confident, showing how Rapsody lets her past strengthen her present. She also hosts a huge variety of features that all fit very well where they’re placed, including a strong verse from Kendrick Lamar, a couple of choruses from Anderson .Paak, and a slightly-discomforting love rap from Busta Rhymes. The production is also top-notch, making great use of tempo shifts, sampling, and sound effect transitions. The thing that keeps me from really bouncing to these tracks though is Rapsody’s casual, off-tempo flow--it’s enough to make the raps sound more genuine but it also throws off their rhythm. That’s a small gripe for an overall-solid project, though.

6. Everything Everything - A Fever Dream

One of my favorite indie rock bands released their fourth album this year, and it did not disappoint. Like their past records that have a loose theme, this one roughly revolves around the crazy society that seems to have developed in the past year or so (as a lot of music this year also focuses on). Unlike their past records, however, the quality seems to be more in the slow-burner tracks than the energetic ones, which are seemingly more under-written than ever. That isn’t to say I don’t like them, though--the louder songs really punch with amped-up guitars, a driving rhythm section, and the band’s characteristically choral vocals. However, the mellower tracks have much more interesting and introspective lyrics, as well as instrumentals that are unique to the group’s discography and make for a unique tone in each song.

5. Big K.R.I.T. - 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time

There isn’t a lot about this album that really breaks any molds, or pushes any boundaries--it’s just a very, very solid rap project. The production is some of the best on any album this year, and most of it is done by Big K.R.I.T. himself, and his flows are marvelous whenever he raps. Tracks like Subenstein and Big Bank bring the hard beats on the first disc of the double-album without being overbearing, and the second disc has more melodic tracks like Miss Georgia Fornia (with some excellent vocals from Joi) and Bury Me in Gold (a wholesome wrap-up for the whole project). 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time is a mighty long album, though, so anyone listening might want to split it up into its two discs so they’re not too tired of it before it’s even finished (both are self-titled, the first his rap name, the second his real name). Oh, and the two skits are both hilarious.

4. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

The legend returned this year with an album that is equal parts evocative and enigmatic. Ignoring the lyrics/narrative for a moment, the production is very different from any prior project of Kendrick’s: he brings in instrumentals founded on guitars, ambient and/or erratic samples, and even U2, with the vocal effects varying across the album, matching Kendrick’s own vocal virtuosity. He even tries singing a few times, which is more fitting on some tracks than others. Lyrically, it feels like Kendrick is also getting more repetitive, but he uses that repetition to his supreme advantage when conveying ideas he wants to stick in your head, like his feelings of anxiety with fame and his worst fears throughout his life. The album’s narrative also takes different directions depending on how you listen, which is an amazing feature of this album that shows Kung-fu Kenny’s genius storytelling once again and reminds everyone why he’s staying on top.

3. BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION trilogy

Out of nowhere, this fourteen-person boyband collective hailing mostly from Texas saturated rap music with three full-length albums in the past six months, and they’re all insanely good. Mostly produced by Romil Hemnani, the instrumentals are incredibly eclectic and use an insanely wide variety of sounds, drums, and effects, that somehow blend really well together into a solid beat. Each of the rapping members of the group then use that beat to its maximum potential with their own characteristic style, akin to boybands of the past: Kevin Abstract gets passionate about his homosexuality and leads the group, Ameer Vann discusses his drug-dealing past to solidify his tough-guy persona, Dom McLennon brings fast, rhythmic, and candid bars, Matt Champion raps with infectious confidence and bravado, Merlyn Wood adds a not-usually-serious energy to the mix, and JOBA is a wild-card that can go from singing beautiful harmonies on one track to screaming about breaking necks on the next. I am confident that this type of prolific, eclectic, and personalized rap is where the genre is headed, especially now that this group is around, and I can’t wait for their next album--already slated for early 2018.

(The albums themselves are pretty similar, but I would rank them 2, 3, 1 (descending), which is really just based on the number of less-memorable tracks they have.)

2. Joey Bada$$ - ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$

Lots of musicians had their take on the current events of the past year or so, but I don’t think anybody had a political message that was as focused, thought-out, and powerful as Joey Bada$$ did on this album. For starters, the instrumentals are really immersive, with triumphant horn sections and choirs leading some of the more confident tracks and grimy samples backing the more passionate and angry beats--and it’s all mixed pretty much perfectly, leading to a combination that keeps you moving to the beat. On top of the stellar production, Joey raps about what it’s like to be a black man in modern America, taking perspectives on fear of the police, gang violence, and hatred of the current government, all with the incredible rhyme schemes and flow that he is known for, even singing a few of the choruses pretty well. The overall theme is a duality between anger and disappointment at the current system and an inspiring call to action to improve the future, which is a large chunk of why I think this album is both firmly rooted in the present and timeless in its quality.

1. Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy

Tyler has always been one of my favorite rappers in the abstract, with his lyrical schemes, unpolished production, and unconventional narratives being the driving force behind his work--but Flower Boy is a newer, more mature Tyler than the one that’s been heard before. Both his lyrics and his production have stepped up so much on this album that it’s hard to even believe it was all done by Tyler himself. The lyrics are incredibly candid and rooted in Tyler’s own anxieties about fame, friends, and relationships, with his uniquely dynamic, almost chaotic rhyme schemes adding to the fittingly-awkward aesthetic of the lyrics. The production is also butter-smooth and usually based on laid-back, jazz-like piano or psychedelic guitar chords, with soulful vocal performances from Tyler, Frank Ocean, Rex Orange County, and Estelle to name a few--all of this culminating in a sound that’s just as much chill psychedelic rock as much as it is hip-hop. Tyler’s talent and maturity have really bloomed with this album, and its message connected with me personally: in a year that was filled with worries, loneliness, and shifting friendships, I could put this on and find peace in the moment--and that is why Flower Boy is my Vinyl of the Year for 2017.

That about wraps it up! If you liked what you read and are interested in any of these albums, remember you can listen to most of the music I just talked about in my Best of 2017 playlist. I’ll see you again this time next year with another playlist, countdown, and Vinyl of the Year.

Thanks for reading, and happy listening!

[asfeedin]

2020 NFL draft live updates

6:27 AM IST

NFL NationESPN

The 2020 NFL draft has officially started, and we’re providing live updates on the pros and cons for each first-round pick. The Cincinnati Bengals started off the draft by selecting LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who won a national championship with the Tigers in January.

We’re also tracking all 255 picks for Rounds 1-7, and you also can see all of the best available draft prospects in the 2020 class. Check out ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.’s final mock draft here.

The draft continues with Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday and Rounds 4 through 7 on Saturday. The draft will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, the ESPN App and NFL Network.

How does your team’s first-round selection fit his team? Our NFL Nation reporters break it all down:

Joe Burrow, QB, LSU | Highlights

• DraftCast » | Best available prospects » • Pros and cons of every draft pick » • Round 1 trade tracker » | Draft order » • Fantasy spin » | Social reactions » • Full class rankings from Scouts Inc. » More NFL draft coverage »

Why they picked him: The Bengals were in the market for their next cornerstone quarterback and have that in Burrow. His biggest attributes are ones the Bengals are seeking at the position: pre-snap decision-making, timing and accuracy (76.3%). He can extend plays and is effective outside of the pocket. Burrow also thrives when the protection collapses. His 82.6 QBR when pressured led all qualifying FBS quarterbacks in 2019 by a wide margin. Cincinnati has its successor to Andy Dalton after a nine-year run. In 2019, the Bengals were 28th in the league in yards per play and 29th in points per drive. Those numbers should improve under Burrow, who threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns last season, leading LSU to a 15-0 record.

Biggest question: Does Burrow have the arm strength to succeed in the NFL? The Bengals had some questions about that when watching the early part of Burrow’s 2019 tape. But Burrow completed 56.4% of his passes of 20 air yards or more, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, the second highest among qualifying FBS quarterbacks. — Ben Baby

Chase Young, DE, Ohio State | Highlights

Why they picked him: Young is considered a high-impact player who can affect all three levels of the defense. Young, who had 16.5 sacks in 2019 and 30.5 in his career at Ohio State, provides Washington with something it hasn’t had in a long time on defense: elite potential. Under coach Ron Rivera, Washington has a chance to build a strong defense. The Redskins already have four first-round picks up front (Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan), and an edge rusher such as Young will provide tremendous luxury — especially on third downs. Last season, Washington ranked 21st in sacks per pass attempt on third down and was last in conversion percentage. The Redskins love Young’s pass-rush instincts and that he takes no false steps, allowing him to maximize his burst off the line. Their scouting report says he uses his hands and feet well, displaying efficient movement.

Biggest question: What jersey number will he wear? There aren’t many questions aside from whether he can live up to the pre-draft hype and become this year’s “generational player.” How long will it take to make an impact? While some fans wondered why he had no sacks in his final three games as a Buckeye, the Redskins were not worried. One member of the organization said he watched film of those games because of those questions, saw Young still making an impact and said of skeptics: “OK, cool.” The Redskins still have questions in the secondary, and it’s safe to wonder how much the front seven can clean up in one season. — John Keim

Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio State | Highlights

Why they picked him: Cornerback is Detroit’s biggest need after the trade of Darius Slay to Philadelphia. While the Lions signed CB Desmond Trufant in free agency and feel good about the long-term prospects of Amani Oruwariye, Okudah has the potential to be a shutdown corner sooner than later. He can be a man-press corner, which fits coach Matt Patricia’s defense. He also has good speed (4.48 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, 12th among all corners) and closing ability to stay with almost any receiver. He’s as ready to play right away as any corner in the draft, and at a position where rookies usually struggle.

Biggest question: While he’s in a better position than most corners coming into the league, it will still be an adjustment. Without offseason workouts against wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr., it could be a situation in which Okudah will be learning on the fly throughout portions of the season. Considering the receivers he might be asked to cover (Davante Adams in Green Bay and Adam Thielen in Minnesota) and the quarterbacks he will likely face (Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson and Drew Brees are all on the schedule), he could have some rough moments as he figures the pro game out. — Mike Rothstein

Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Giants needed to protect their investments in quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley. As general manager Dave Gettleman said recently, “It’s very, very difficult for Saquon to run the ball if he doesn’t have holes. It’s going to be difficult for Daniel to throw the ball when he’s on his back.” It was imperative that Gettleman fix the offensive line this offseason. It was his top priority upon taking the job two years ago, and there still had not been much progress. The hope is that Thomas, considered a safe bet with upside, can protect Jones’ blind side for much of the next decade. He can start at right tackle if the Giants so desire and eventually move over to left tackle. Thomas is also an ideal fit in what offensive coordinator Jason Garrett wants to do with getting his linemen on the move and to the second level.

Biggest question: Was Thomas the best tackle available? Personnel evaluators were all over the board with the top four tackles, and the Giants had their pick at No. 4. They deemed Thomas to be the top overall option, despite a critique from one offensive line coach that he was “not an ass-kicker.” His 21 bench-press reps at the combine only solidified that assessment. It was a pedestrian number for a lineman. Still, the Giants had him as their top tackle, but he did finish last among the top four tackles (although not by much) in an ESPN poll of 11 evaluators. — Jordan Raanan

Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Dolphins haven’t had a Pro Bowl quarterback in 24 years (Dan Marino), and they desperately need Tagovailoa to lead their rebuild. With Burrow off the board at No. 1, the Dolphins took a swing at the most efficient quarterback in college football history in Tagovailoa. He has the accuracy, leadership qualities, anticipation and “it factor” — all things that Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores prioritized in their quarterback search. Tagovailoa has the charisma and talent to lead the Dolphins back to relevance in the AFC.

Biggest question: Will Tagovailoa stay healthy in the NFL after an injury-filled college career? Tagovailoa might have challenged for the No. 1 overall pick without the health issues and durability question marks. But Tagovailoa has suffered multiple injuries, including a dislocated right hip and posterior wall fracture in November that he has been rehabbing from throughout the winter and spring. Tagovailoa’s doctors say he will be 100% by the start of training camp, but the bigger question is how long he can last in the NFL. — Cameron Wolfe

Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon | Highlights

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Justin Herbert explains how he’s feeling after being taken by the Chargers and what made him worried about his chances with Los Angeles.

Why they picked him: The Chargers needed a quarterback after Philip Rivers departed in free agency after 16 seasons. After the Dolphins selected Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with the No. 5 pick, it became almost certain the Chargers would take Herbert at No. 6. A proven winner at Oregon, Herbert has great arm strength and is agile outside of the pocket. From the 2018 to 2019 season, Herbert had the sixth-highest increase in completion percentage, jumping from 59% to 67%. He joins an offense that has established weapons in receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, as well as tight end Hunter Henry.

Biggest question: Can Herbert start as a rookie? Herbert struggled in his final four regular-season games at Oregon, throwing four interceptions. It’s uncertain if he will be able to immediately adapt to the speed of the NFL, particularly when it comes to making fast decisions and getting rid of the football. The Chargers could start veteran Tyrod Taylor until Herbert is ready to take over. — Lindsey Thiry

Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn | Highlights

Why they picked him: Carolina has only two defensive tackles on its roster in Kawann Short and Woodrow Hamilton, so no position has a bigger need. Put Brown and his run-stopping ability next to Pro Bowler Short and his pass-rushing ability, and the middle of the defense will be as stout as any in the NFL. Opponents literally ran away from Brown’s side at Auburn.

Biggest question: Brown didn’t have a great showing at the combine and his inside push on the pass rush needs improving. He gets by on sheer power and size. This is nitpicking, though, because there is no better run-stopper in the draft. — David Newton

Isaiah Simmons, OLB, Clemson | Highlights

Why they picked him: This was about as much of a no-brainer as there’ll be in this year’s draft. Simmons is widely considered the best defensive prospect in the draft and he fell to the Cardinals for no other reason than other teams had needs elsewhere, most of which were on offense. He’s the ideal complement for pass-rusher Chandler Jones and helps the Cardinals take a major step in their defensive rebuild.

Biggest question: Whose spot is he going to take? The Cardinals spent free agency rebuilding the front seven of the defense. Simmons continues that, but whose snaps will he take? He can compete with Devon Kennard at outside linebacker or for one of the inside linebacker spots. — Josh Weinfuss

CJ Henderson, CB, Florida | Highlights

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Why they picked him: Cornerback is arguably the Jaguars’ top need after they traded away Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye in the past seven months. The Jaguars signed Rashaan Melvin in free agency after failing to land Darqueze Dennard but needed to get better opposite Tre Herndon, who stepped into the starting role when Ramsey was traded last October. Henderson is regarded by some analysts as a better cover man than Jeff Okudah, the third overall pick by the Detroit Lions. The Jaguars have to play Deshaun Watson and Philip Rivers twice, plus here’s a partial list of the other quarterbacks they will face this season: Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, Baker Mayfield and Matthew Stafford. The Jaguars had to address this spot.

Biggest question: While Henderson has gotten rave reviews for his coverage ability, there are questions about his willingness to help in run support and his consistency. He’s still also learning the position because he didn’t start playing cornerback until his senior year of high school. Communication on the field was an issue at Florida, too, so that’s something defensive coordinator Todd Wash is going to have to get him to improve, especially with what looks to be an unusual offseason. — Michael DiRocco

Jedrick Wills Jr., OT, Alabama | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Browns had to address pass protection after quarterback Baker Mayfield was sacked more often than any AFC quarterback per passing attempt last season. In Wills, Cleveland presumably gets its left tackle of the future to pair with what they hope is still its franchise quarterback in Mayfield. Wills did play right tackle for Alabama, but that’s in part because he was protecting the blind side of lefty passer Tua Tagovailoa. The additions of Wills and free-agent signee Jack Conklin have the potential to turn offensive tackle in Cleveland from a weakness to a strength.

Biggest question: New general manager Andrew Berry has said he believes that in the modern game, there’s essentially no difference between playing right and left tackle. Still, with Conklin signed long term to man the right side, Wills faces the challenge of making the adjustment of going to the left side. — Jake Trotter

Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville | Highlights

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Rich Cimini breaks down whether the Jets’ selection of Mekhi Becton at 11 was the right choice.

Why they picked him: Somewhere in Southern California, quarterback Sam Darnold is smiling. Even though the Jets added four new linemen in free agency, they needed a long-term anchor to protect their most valuable investment. Becton is that guy. He is a monster size at 6-foot-7, 364 pounds, and he plays like a man who is 100 pounds lighter. His presence at left or right tackle will improve the running game. Running back Le’Veon Bell is happy too.

Biggest question: Becton’s drug test at the scouting combine was flagged by the league. It won’t affect his playing status, assuming it doesn’t happen again, but it certainly raises questions about his decision-making. Was it a red flag or an isolated mistake? Some scouts also have expressed concern about his weight. — Rich Cimini

Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama | Highlights

Why they picked him: Speed. Pure, unadulterated speed. Because with all three of the consensus top three wideouts still on the board, the Raiders went with the fastest player at the scouting combine (a nod to the late team owner Al Davis, perhaps?) as Ruggs ran a 4.27-second 40-yard dash. Coach Jon Gruden realizes that to battle the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, he needs a similar team, a fast one. And in Ruggs, he has a complement to Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill. He hopes.

Biggest question: Ruggs might not be as a polished a pass-catcher as either teammate Jerry Jeudy or Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, so there will be a learning curve, so to speak. And at 6 feet, 195 pounds, he will have to be more physical coming off press coverage at the line. Only five of 30 receivers taken in the first round over the previous 10 drafts had 1,000-yard receiving seasons as a rookie. Ruggs had a career-high 746 yards receiving last season, averaging 18.7 yards per catch. — Paul Gutierrez

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (from the Indianapolis Colts via the San Francisco 49ers)

Tristan Wirfs, OT, Iowa | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Bucs have a soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback in Tom Brady, and Wirfs will have a big role in protecting him. They did not re-sign longtime starting right tackle Demar Dotson this offseason, either. The Bucs’ offensive line also gave up 47 sacks in 2019. Wirfs can step in right away and take over for Dotson. His skills are off the charts, clocking a 4.85-second 40 at 6-foot-3, 320 pounds at the NFL combine.

Biggest question: There aren’t many with Wirfs. Sustaining blocks and improving in his vertical pass sets will be key for him to excel in coach Bruce Arians’ passing attack. — Jenna Laine

Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina | Highlights

Why they picked him: The 49ers traded DeForest Buckner to the Colts for the 13th pick and, after a small move down, used that pick to land his replacement. Niners coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have not been shy about putting resources into building a dominant defensive line. Lynch has talked often about “strengthening a strength,” and their strength is the defensive line. Kinlaw will be asked to replace Buckner at the 3-technique spot as he joins a loaded defensive line. As a bonus, San Francisco will have Kinlaw under team control at a fraction of the cost of Buckner.

Biggest question: Kinlaw will cost far less, but will he produce anywhere near the level of Buckner? Not only was Buckner productive for the Niners, he also was extremely durable. Buckner missed just one game in four seasons, playing the third-most snaps in the league among defensive linemen during that time. He recorded 28.5 sacks in the regular season. Kinlaw has dealt with knee tendinitis that kept him out of a full week at the Senior Bowl. The Niners will need instant impact from him to remain Super Bowl contenders, so being healthy and adapting quickly will be paramount. — Nick Wagoner

Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama | Highlights

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Jeff Legwold explains why the Broncos made the right call in taking Jerry Jeudy with the 15th pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

Why they picked him: There might have been no bigger need on the Broncos’ depth chart given Emmanuel Sanders didn’t play for the team after October and still finished second among the team’s wide receivers in catches with 30. Jeudy’s route running, speed (4.45 in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine) and body control make him a dangerous playmaker. He lined up more in the slot last season than any other spot in the formation, but he can play multiple spots at wideout in the Broncos’ offense and should be a starter from Day 1.

Biggest question: Like many top-end college receivers, Jeudy hasn’t been challenged very often at the line of scrimmage. That means the more physical cornerbacks in the NFL will force him to adjust and be a little more active in getting the defensive backs’ hands off him. But his meticulous routes and elite speed will be a challenge for the defensive backs, as well. Also, he had a knee issue — he had injured a meniscus in his college career — that some teams gave a long look at, but for many teams, he was still the top receiver available in the draft.– Jeff Legwold

A.J. Terrell, CB, Clemson | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Falcons needed a starting-caliber cornerback after releasing Pro Bowler Desmond Trufant. Terrell has the size (6-1, 195) and the speed (4.42 40-yard dash) to make a difference in a defensive backfield that yielded 9.5 yards per pass attempt to receivers last season, second worst in the NFL.

Biggest question: Terrell had some struggles down the field in coverage, which is the last thing the Falcons need while attempting to prevent big plays. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. pointed out how Terrell can be a little grabby at times, which is something he needs to iron out immediately. — Vaughn McClure

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Cowboys could not have projected having the chance to select Lamb with this pick. In most projections, he was gone by No. 17 and the Cowboys’ focus was on the defensive side of the ball. But they answered the old question of best player available versus need, and they went with the best player available. With Amari Cooper, fresh off a $100 million contract signing, and Michael Gallup, the Cowboys have their top two receivers set; but they needed a third receiver to replace Randall Cobb, who left for Houston in free agency. Lamb can play different spots, and he was explosive with 32 touchdowns in 41 games at Oklahoma.

Biggest question: How does the defense get better with this pick? Well, that depends on if the offense is be able to put up plenty of points led by Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Cooper, Gallup, Lamb, Blake Jarwin and a top offensive line. In 2014 and ’16, the Cowboys employed opportunistic defenses that were helped by not being on the field often and opposing teams having to play from behind. This puts a lot on coordinator Mike Nolan to make it work, but the Cowboys will have to make defense their focus in Rounds 2-7. — Todd Archer

Austin Jackson, OT, USC | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Dolphins desperately needed offensive line help after giving up more sacks (58) than any other team last season and averaging the fewest rushing yards (72.3) in 2019. Jackson has some superior athletic ability and nimble feet, which should fill one tackle spot to protect Tua Tagovailoa.

Biggest question: When will Jackson be ready to be a consistent starter? Jackson is a bit of a projection. He didn’t play great against top talent such as Iowa’s AJ Epenesa in 2019, and that might mean he isn’t ready to take on a big role as a rookie. — Cameron Wolfe

Damon Arnette, CB, Ohio State | Highlights

Why they picked him: Need. Simply need. Because after the Eli Apple free-agent deal fell apart, the Raiders needed somebody to pair with last year’s second-rounder, Trayvon Mullen. And unable to trade back, and afraid Arnette would be gone by the time they picked again at No. 80, the Raiders made the pick.

Biggest question: General manager Mike Mayock said the biggest mistake teams make is “reaching for need.” In selecting a cornerback with a third-round grade, this reeks of exactly that. Arnette is physical and had five interceptions in four seasons at Ohio State. — Paul Gutierrez

K’Lavon Chaisson, OLB, LSU | Highlights

Why they picked him: Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has spent the past two months being pretty adamant that he no longer wanted to play in Jacksonville, so the Jaguars had to find a replacement. Chaisson was the best pass-rusher on the board. Now the Jaguars have two young pass-rushers they can build around with Chaisson and Josh Allen. Chaisson, like Allen, can play the run, rush and drop in coverage, so that gives defensive coordinator Todd Wash some versatility.

Biggest question: Will Wash tinker around with his defensive scheme and try some 3-4 looks now that he has players on both sides who can do multiple things? He has been reluctant to do that much in the past, but if the Jaguars don’t take advantage of Chaisson’s versatility, they’ll be wasting the pick. — Michael DiRocco

Jalen Reagor, WR, TCU | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Eagles wanted to add a speed receiver to an offense that lacked explosiveness in 2019 once DeSean Jackson was lost to injury. His 4.47 40-yard time at the scouting combine does not reflect how quick Reagor is on the field. Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz gets a big-play threat.

Biggest question: Reagor saw a drop in production last season because of spotty quarterback play. Justin Jefferson, the NCAA’s leader in receptions last season, was there for the taking, and CeeDee Lamb fell within striking distance. The Eagles go out on a bit of a limb by selecting the less accomplished Reagor — Tim McManus

Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU | Highlights

Why they picked him: This is one of the deepest wide receiver classes in NFL history with five players who have a Scout’s Inc. grade more than 90, which is defined as a “rare prospect” who is usually considered a first-rounder. Jefferson is one of those players, and his stock had been rising considerably over the past few weeks. When Philadelphia passed over the LSU star wideout for TCU’s Jalen Reagor one spot before the Vikings picked at No. 22, Minnesota jumped at the opportunity to take the best slot receiver in the draft while not having to give up any picks to do so. One of the Vikings’ top priorities is replacing receiver Stefon Diggs, and they took a step toward filling that with the pick they received by trading Diggs to Buffalo. Minnesota could have waited until Day 2 to address its needs at wideout, but the way the board came together ahead of when the team picked in the early 20s allowed the Vikings to push off their needs at cornerback and offensive tackle until later in the draft. Just three picks later, Minnesota traded back from No. 25 and received three picks from San Francisco: Nos. 31, 117 and 176.

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Biggest question: Jefferson lined up primarily inside at LSU with 110 of his 111 receptions in 2019 (a school record) coming from the slot resulting in 17 touchdowns. Is that where Minnesota plans to use him most often, and what does that mean for where offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak wants to line up Adam Thielen? Jefferson is an explosive intermediate target and will give quarterback Kirk Cousins plenty of options as a middle-of-the-field threat, which could allow Thielen to line up more frequently on the outside. The LSU product uses his contested-catch ability in crucial situations to move the chains, having converted 63% of his third-down targets, which was tied for the fifth most in FBS last season. — Courtney Cronin

Kenneth Murray, ILB, Oklahoma | Highlights

Why they picked him: It was widely expected that the Chargers would be on the lookout for an inside linebacker, though it was not anticipated that they would trade up to acquire a second first-round pick in order to select one. Before the draft, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco acknowledged the versatility of Drue Tranquil and Nick Vigil, but depth remained a concerned after the release of Thomas Davis and Jatavis Brown’s departure in free agency. Murray had 17 tackles for a loss in 2019 at Oklahoma, which was tied for fourth in the Big 12 Conference. He should contend immediately for a significant role.

Biggest question: The Chargers struggled last season to stop the run, allowing 1.9 yards per rush after contact, the third worst in the NFL. Last season at Oklahoma, Murray had 22 run stops, tied for the 12th most in the FBS and second in the Big 12. The biggest question is how quickly he can adapt to the NFL, with an emphasis on gaining strength and recognizing offensive tendencies so he can quickly make an impact. — — Lindsey Thiry

Cesar Ruiz, C, Michigan | Highlights

Why they picked him: This isn’t a “sexy” pick, but it’s actually the one position coach Sean Payton identified by name as a draft need. Either Ruiz or standout 2019 rookie Erik McCoy could move to right guard as an eventual replacement for Pro Bowler Larry Warford, who is heading into the final year of his contract. It’s also not out of the question that the Saints shop Warford.

Biggest question: Should the Saints have put more of a priority on a wide receiver, linebacker or edge rusher who could help them win a Super Bowl in 2020? The Saints seem to be “all-in” with 41-year-old QB Drew Brees and 30-something free-agent signings Emmanuel Sanders and Malcolm Jenkins. But it’s hard to doubt the Saints’ history of O-line investments. — Mike Triplett

Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State | Highlights

Why they picked him: There was never any doubt the 49ers were going to take a wideout early after losing veteran Emmanuel Sanders to the New Orleans Saints in free agency. With five receivers already off the board, the Niners pulled a surprise and moved up to land Aiyuk, who they believe brings the type of route running and versatility they received from Sanders. Aiyuk should have a chance to come in and start opposite Deebo Samuel and work as a downfield threat for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who attempted the fewest passes of 20-plus air yards in the NFL in 2019.

Biggest question: Can Aiyuk be a difference-maker right away? The Niners are in the middle of their Super Bowl window and they need someone to help step in for Sanders and replace at least part of his production. Without a full offseason program, making an impact immediately figures to be difficult for any rookie, particularly at wide receiver, where Aiyuk will have a lot to learn in coach Kyle Shanahan’s complex offense. — Nick Wagoner

26. Green Bay Packers (from the Houston Texans via the Miami Dolphins)

Jordan Love, QB, Utah State | Highlights

Why they picked him: Because general manager Brian Gutekunst knew from the day he took the job in 2018 that his job would be to find the next franchise quarterback. And Gutekunst, having worked under both Ron Wolf (who traded for Brett Favre) and Ted Thompson (who drafted Aaron Rodgers), knows it is better to take the right quarterback early than wait and miss out and search and search for a replacement. In fact, Gutekunst said in February, “Everything I’ve been taught, that’s where you start, you start with the quarterback, so you evaluate them every year, and I think it’s always on the table. It’s a good crop this year, it’s a good group of quarterbacks. I think it’s a little deeper than it has been in the past. It will be interesting. But yeah, sure.”

Biggest question: How will Rodgers react? Not only did the Packers not get Rodgers an offensive star in the first round — and Rodgers watched division-rival Minnesota take receiver Justin Jefferson at No. 22 — but they didn’t get a player who will help Rodgers immediately. Brett Favre didn’t exactly welcome Rodgers when the Packers picked him in 2005, although their relationship improved in the three years that Rodgers was the backup. Now Rodgers will have to decide whether he will freeze out Love or help him. Also, why did Gutekunst trade up to take Love? Couldn’t he have gotten him at No. 30? — Rob Demovsky

Jordyn Brooks, ILB, Texas Tech | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Seahawks’ defensive issues last season went beyond their pass rush, and in Seattle’s eyes there wasn’t an edge rusher worth taking at No. 27 once K’Lavon Chaisson went off the board at No. 20. Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos or Iowa’s AJ Epenesa might be in play for Seattle if they’re around in Round 2. LB K.J. Wright will be 31 in July and is entering the final year of his contract, while Bruce Irvin seems like a short-term fix at the other linebacker spot, so the Seahawks had long-term uncertainty on either side of All-Pro Bobby Wagner.

Biggest question: Is Brooks better than LSU’s Patrick Queen, who went one pick later? ESPN’s Todd McShay had Queen rated as his No. 1 inside linebacker, while Brooks, for what it’s worth, wasn’t listed in McShay’s top 10 for inside or outside linebackers. And where will Brooks play? His size (6 feet, 240) and speed (5.54) suggest the weak side — where Wright starts — is more likely. He was plenty productive in college as a four-year starter who led his team with 108 tackles last season, including 20 for loss and three sacks. — Brady Henderson

Patrick Queen, ILB, LSU | Highlights

Why they picked him: Middle linebacker was the Ravens’ most glaring need after Baltimore tried to fill the void of losing four-time Pro Bowl defender C.J. Mosley with a rotation inside last season. Queen doesn’t look or play like Mosley, but he fits as the centerpiece of a defense that prides itself on position flexibility. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said before the draft that the inside linebacker position has changed because the NFL has morphed into more of a speed league, in which defenders have to run, cover and blitz. No one epitomizes this modern-day definition of a middle linebacker more than Queen, the Defensive Most Valuable Player in the national championship game.

Biggest question: Is Queen too undersized to play middle linebacker? Queen weighed in at 229 pounds at the combine, which is considerably smaller than the players who had previously manned the middle of the Ravens’ defense (Lewis played at 240 pounds and Mosley is 250 pounds). For a defense that got bullied by Derrick Henry in an upset playoff loss, adding a safety-sized middle linebacker doesn’t seem like the perfect answer. Queen’s response: “I have the heart to be able to stop the run.” — Jamison Hensley

Isaiah Wilson, OT, Georgia | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Titans selected Wilson as a long-term option to take over at right tackle. Titans general manager Jon Robinson typically likes big players who can move. Right tackle Jack Conklin moved on via free agency, creating a void along the offensive line. Tennessee’s offense revolves around the running game, which is a good match for Wilson, who played in a heavy run scheme at Georgia.

Biggest question: At 6-foot-7, 350 pounds, Wilson had to work to keep his weight down while he was at Georgia, so that will be something for Tennessee to monitor as he works with the Titans’ strength and conditioning staff. — Turron Davenport

30. Miami Dolphins (from the Green Bay Packers)

Noah Igbinoghene, CB, Auburn | Highlights

31. Minnesota Vikings (from the San Francisco 49ers)

Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU | Highlights

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU | Highlights

Why they picked him: The Chiefs have depth at running back but nobody quite like Edwards-Helaire. He won’t have to come in and shoulder a massive offensive load since the Chiefs also have Damien Williams, Darrel Williams, DeAndre Washington and Darwin Thompson at running back. But the Chiefs will put Edwards-Helaire’s versatility to good use. If he proves himself early as a pass protector, he could immediately be the third-down back and possibly more.

Biggest question: Why Edwards-Helaire instead of another back such as Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor or Georgia’s D’Andre Swift? At 5-7, 207 pounds, Edwards-Helaire isn’t built for every-down duty. That’s not to say the Chiefs won’t put him to good use, but it’s difficult to picture him becoming what Jamaal Charles or Kareem Hunt were for the Chiefs, a regular featured back. — Adam Teicher

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