#and today there was a DIFFERENT spider in steve's net
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airenyah · 2 years ago
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things that sound questionable without context
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cgunderwearstories · 6 months ago
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The Underwear Volleyball Game
It was a blistering summer afternoon, the kind of day where the sun feels like it's throwing a tantrum, making everything and everyone melt. The local adult volleyball team, "Spiked Punch," had gathered for their weekly game at the park. The sand was so hot it felt like walking on a griddle, and everyone was already sweating through their clothes before the warm-up was even finished.
"Guys," Greg, the team captain, panted as he wiped the sweat off his forehead, "I don’t know about you, but I’m cooking alive here. What do you say we make this a little more…comfortable?"
The team looked at each other, eyebrows raised.
"I’m game," said Tony, who was known for his impulsive decisions. "But let’s keep it PG. How about… underwear only?"
A few chuckles rippled through the group, but as they all stood there, feeling the sun beat down on them, the idea started to sound better and better.
"Alright, let's do it," said Mitch, always the first to jump on board with any wild idea. "It’s not like we haven’t seen each other in worse."
Soon, a chorus of agreement followed, and the players began stripping down, leaving only their underwear.
Team "Boxer Brigade," as they now called themselves, consisted of:
Greg, the team captain, who sported a pair of red boxers with little white skulls on them. A tough guy on the court, but apparently a fan of quirky designs.
Tony, always the life of the party, had on bright yellow boxers with smiley faces all over them. They practically glowed in the sunlight, much like his personality.
Mitch, the wildcard, was wearing boxers with little superheroes on them. Every time he jumped, Spider-Man, Batman, and the Hulk seemed to battle it out in mid-air.
Dave, the quiet one of the group, was full of surprises. His boxers were a deep purple with neon green dinosaurs stomping across them. No one saw that coming.
Sam, the prankster, had on boxers covered in cartoon pizza slices, complete with gooey cheese and pepperoni. It wasn’t clear if he loved pizza that much, or just wanted to mess with everyone’s concentration.
Oliver, the team’s tallest player, sported boxers with little surfing penguins riding waves. The contrast of his tall, lanky frame with the tiny penguins was enough to make everyone giggle.
On the other side of the net was Team Tighties, who had an altogether different look:
Ryan, the co-captain, was rocking classic white tighty whities. But not just any tighty whities—his had the words “Captain Underpants” embroidered on the waistband. It was a power move, really.
Mark, the team's gym buff, was in Jockey white bikini briefs, which left very little to the imagination. He flexed unnecessarily often, making sure everyone knew exactly how much time he spent at the gym.
Jake, the strategist, had on what could only be described as “vintage” tighty whities. They were a bit faded, with a slightly stretched-out waistband. He claimed they were his lucky pair from college.
Brad, the jokester, wore white briefs with little hearts on them. "They’re from Valentine’s Day," he explained, but no one asked.
Steve, the guy who always seemed to have everything in order, wore white cotton panties with the days of the week on the back. Today was “Sunday” written in glittery black cursive.
Frank, the quiet but intense player, had on tighty whities with a single, tiny, embroidered teddy bear on the left side. No one dared to ask about the teddy bear.
As they got into position, the spectators gathered around couldn’t help but laugh, but the teams were undeterred.
Despite their new attire, the game began with a fierce serve from Ryan. The ball was flying back and forth across the net, and the sight of grown men diving in colorful boxers and tighty whities was a spectacle to behold. Every time Mitch jumped, his superheros battled it out in epic slow-motion. Oliver’s penguins seemed to surf along with him as he went for spikes. And Ryan’s tighty whities, emblazoned with “Captain Underpants,” gave him an almost heroic flair, or so he liked to think.
The sun was blazing down on the park, and the game had reached a whole new level of intensity. The teams, Boxer Brigade and Team Tighties, were locked in an epic battle, both on the court and—unbeknownst to one side—off of it.
What no one knew was that Tony, the mischievous trickster of the Boxer Brigade, had secretly brought along a volleyball with a strange, mystical marking on it. Tony had picked it up from an old, dusty shop he’d stumbled upon while on vacation in the middle of nowhere. The shopkeeper had warned him that the ball was "enchanted" and would “stir the passions of any who played with it.” Tony, never one to pass up on a good prank, figured that could only mean fun for the game. He didn’t believe in magic, but he did believe in chaos, and that was just as good.
As the match went on, the ball—glowing faintly in the scorching sunlight—moved between the teams with increasing speed and intensity. The heat, exhaustion, and the competitive spirit were all getting to Team Tighties. But something else was starting to take hold too: the curse.
It began subtly. Ryan, the co-captain of Team Tighties, missed a serve by just a hair. Mark, the gym buff, rolled his eyes and muttered something about how he could’ve done it better. Ryan shot him a glare, his tighty whities (emblazoned with “Captain Underpants”) seeming to tighten as his temper flared.
"You think you could do better?" Ryan snapped, his face flushing red as the heat, and something more sinister, started to boil over.
"Maybe if you spent more time practicing and less time strutting around in those kiddie undies, you wouldn’t miss!" Mark shot back, flexing his biceps for emphasis.
The rest of Team Tighties watched in stunned silence as their two most level-headed players began to bicker. But soon, the curse’s influence spread like wildfire.
Jake, the strategist with the slightly faded tighty-whities, stepped in to try and cool things down, but Brad, always the jokester, saw an opportunity. With a quick motion, Brad yanked on Jake’s waistband, giving him a classic wedgie that sent Jake stumbling forward.
"Hey, what the hell, man?!" Jake yelled, his hands clawing at his back to free his underwear from the deep wedgie. But before he could retaliate, Steve, ever the organized one, piped up with a sarcastic comment about how Jake probably had his lucky vintage undies on the wrong day of the week.
That was it. The curse had fully taken hold.
Chaos erupted on the court. Ryan and Mark, who had once been the pillars of the team, were now locked in a ridiculous fight, each one trying to pants the other. Mark’s grip was strong from his hours at the gym, and he managed to yank Ryan’s underpants down to his ankles. But before Ryan could respond, Mark found his own waistband in Ryan’s grasp, and in a swift motion, Mark’s bikini briefs were down around his knees.
Brad, meanwhile, had moved on from wedgies to full-on tearing. He grabbed the waistband of Steve’s "Sunday" panties and, with a mighty pull, ripped it clean in half. Steve, horrified at the destruction of his perfectly planned outfit, lunged at Brad and managed to get his hands on Brad’s heart-patterned briefs. A rip echoed across the court as Brad’s underwear met the same fate.
Jake, who had finally freed himself from his wedgie, saw Frank standing calmly on the side, seemingly unaffected. Frank, with his tiny embroidered teddy bear on his tighty whities, had always been the quiet one, the calm one. But the curse didn’t care. Jake rushed at Frank, ready to take him down in the same ridiculous manner that was sweeping across the team.
Frank, caught off guard, tried to dodge, but Jake was quick. He grabbed Frank’s waistband and gave it a solid yank. Frank’s tighty whities stretched, but instead of tearing, they snapped back with a resounding thwack that sent Frank stumbling forward. Jake wasn’t done. Fueled by the curse, he reached out and delivered a wedgie so fierce that Frank let out a yelp of surprise.
The scene on the court was one of absolute chaos. The once-proud Team Tighties was now a mess of torn underwear, bruised egos, and sand-covered bodies. The Boxer Brigade, standing on the other side of the net, watched with a mix of horror and amusement. They hadn’t expected the curse to take things this far.
“Uh… should we stop this?” Greg asked, glancing at Tony, who was still holding the cursed volleyball, now glowing slightly in his hands.
“I didn’t think it would actually work,” Tony admitted, looking genuinely concerned for the first time.
“Well, do something!” Mitch yelled, dodging a rogue piece of torn tighty whities that flew across the net.
Tony, unsure of what to do, quickly muttered, “Uh, I reverse the curse! Take it back! Whatever!” and threw the ball to the ground. The glowing ceased immediately.
As if a switch had been flipped, the members of Team Tighties suddenly stopped in their tracks, blinking as if waking from a dream. They looked around at the destruction—torn underwear hanging off in tatters, sand stuck to sweaty, naked bodies, and a few still mid-wedgie.
Ryan was the first to speak. “What the hell just happened?”
“I… I don’t know,” Mark said, looking down at his ruined tighty whities and then at the remains of Ryan’s. “But I’m pretty sure we just ripped each other’s underwear to shreds.”
There was a moment of silence as the reality of the situation set in. Then, as if on cue, everyone burst into laughter. The sight of each other, standing there in what little was left of their underwear, was too ridiculous to take seriously.
“Nice moves there, ‘Captain Underpants,’” Mark said, slapping Ryan on the back, causing him to stumble forward, tripping over his shredded tighty whities.
“Yeah, well, I don’t think your gym buddies would’ve fared any better,” Ryan shot back, laughing so hard he had to wipe tears from his eyes.
The rest of the team was in similar states of disarray, apologizing between fits of laughter. Steve, holding the remains of his Sunday briefs, shook his head with a grin. “Guess I’m gonna need a new pair for next week.”
Tony, still holding the now-normal volleyball, sheepishly approached the group. “Uh, guys? About that… I might have brought a cursed volleyball. Sorry about that.”
The looks he got were a mix of disbelief and amusement.
“Tony, you’re an idiot,” Jake said, still trying to pull the last of the sand out of his tattered briefs.
“Yeah, but we’re idiots too, for going along with it,” Brad added, giving Tony a playful shove.
In the end, the game was forgotten in favor of recovering their dignity—or what was left of it. They all promised to meet up again next week, but with one condition: normal volleyballs, normal clothes, and definitely no curses.
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ataoufiqmourtachou · 5 years ago
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"Look at CHALLENGES as OPPORTUNITIES!" Top 10 Rules
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if you want to be successful learn from the other people's mistakes don't learn from the successful stories don't hate your competitors respect your competitors learn from him I complain a lot when I was young because I think  Bill Gates took odd opportunities for the Microsoft and Steve Jobs all these guys there's no job there's no great big stuff left for us need motivation watch a top 10 would believe nation what's up at seven my one word is believe and I believe in you I believe you have an amazing gift inside you that I want to see explode out onto the world so let's get your motivation to attend and get you believing in you grab a snack and chew on today's lessons from a man who
went from growing up in China and giving tours to tourists for free for nine years just to learn English to becoming one of the wealthiest people in the world with a net worth of over fifty billion dollars he's Jack Ma and here's my take on his top ten R was a success vol 3 enjoy alright let's kick things off with rule number one learn from the mistakes of others my thinking is that you guys remember if you want to be successful learn from the other people's mistakes don't learn from the successful stories successful stories they make don't listen to that there are a lot of reasons behind it just like god I remember the first time Harvard Business
School came to us say J we want to write a case study for you yes years 2001 a 2000 became the spend one week and they write a report and I read no I said this is not me and this is this is you as a no this is not us is that this is you so they make IV sign and the case study go up and they start to teaching love universities the next five years they invite to need to go to the case study and they always find a competitor of my company and F after every case that case study Ali Papa would die that company will succeed all the students are Greek and actually every five year all the competitive diet ways to survive so how can you study this kind of a success of a star
learn from the mistakes the other people no matter how smart you are you will encounter these mistakes you learn from mistakes not because you will be able to avoid mistakes you were able to when these mistakes come they suffer comes you know how to deal with it how to face it I like the book I want to write if I if I want if I can is a re Bubber 1001 mistake this is the most rational things that in my life in my life is not how much we achieved is how much we go through the tough days and mistakes and this is what you speak if you start to think now would be good rule number 2 focus on quality not size last a century the bigger the better this century the good abandon do the business not because
the size it is not necessary the big size you are the more profit you are you really believe that I believe that's a different we have you know we got a fortune 500 companies you you judge because of the size how many of them are really happy how many of them profit no small companies they're very profitable they're very happy because spend time was the wife and a husband and kids traveling around and first life rule number three be the first dog tried to beat the best be the first be the first to change be the first the chap take the challenge be the first one to overcome the difficulties because the best person there's only one Olympic champion I
don't think I'm lucky enough to be bad but I can always try the new things and don't give I believe it because you you are so unique everybody's unique be yourself is always the key rule number four prepare for the future people like me I was born in a very poor family I never got a great education and I failed all the examinations for what reason I don't know but later I realize I don't have money I don't have technology I don't have a lot of good backgrounds where we have a rich uncle or something no they only that competed with my people then young people is let's compete for ten years later this is what I believe ten years later will be happening so everything I do for that
goal I know 10 years later this thing is going to happen so prepare for that because I know if I compete with him for next Mouse no chance so this is how my message it's up it's a challenge but it's opportunity and it's the opportunity for people like us this world the most difficult of thing is to convincing a successful people wait tell him this is a great opportunity to nananananana forget it right I've been doing this for 30 years but for people like us we're looking for opportunities in order to survive so we will do anything to be creative so this is the message 30 years it's opportunity for us it's a challenge
for those people who are 60 years old if they're 60 years old not discrimination but it is tough for them rule number five respect your competitors who's your most dangerous competitor is it Amazon or is it ten-second well people always think compare us with Emma's Evers a great company I respect I've been seeing them from Al tiny to that big and I think they will continue to grow but we are different we Amazon is an e-commerce company we are not ecommerce company we enable other people to do ecommerce we want to making sure everybody can be Amazon so are you saying $0.10 is the greater course they are great company and you know it's it's
not easy to be that size within only such less than 20 years so innovative and so creative are so different on social technology and they're basting certainly in attention and they are almost every way in China or respect of course we compete but compete does not mean I have to hate them don't hate your competitors respect your competitors learn from him but you know pony and I we've been doing the charity together the Nature Conservancy and protected the or but we compete each other but when we compete each other we should respect each other I respect him I respect him same rule number six see challenges as opportunities this world today's of full of challenges and opportunities 2,000
years ago full of challenges and opportunities and I'm sure 2,000 years later                                            full of challenges and opportunities there's always it's depends on how you look at somebody look at this challenge as opportunity young people we say there's no opportunity I complain a lot when I was young because I think Bill Gates took odd opportunities for the Microsoft Steve Jobs all these guys there's no job there's no great big stuff left for us but I think opportunity always lies in the challenges always lies in the complaints if you can solve the challenge you have there you will be successful
the big challenge you solve the big problem of the the big opportunity you have rule number seven my personal favorite belief in the past 18 years when I do internet in China we got a criticism every day you know something will you believe it a lot of people criticize it but if you really believe continue to do it improve it we were rejected by more than 30 venture capitalists but we are very optimistic we believe in the future we believe in Internet and we believe that if we do not succeed somebody will rule number eight surround yourself with greatness how do I emote to by incentive unlock by by our colleagues you have to find the people
they can mobilize themselves it's impossible to find two to encourage an active person so the people your high that people work together they they have to be oh you cannot we have a 65,000 in price now you cannot hire all of them that positive but at least the people work with me my management leadership several areas they have to be positive they have to know the incentive the others because I cannot accept everybody and making sure the culture so I think it would be very painful for me to talk to my vice president and he need to be incentivized and mobilized every time right this won't work if he is not if he does not know how to incentivize or mobilize his people it's better I
don't think he will be the vice president they should be a good engineer good designer but not good leader a good leader should know how but not by only money                                        most of people incentive lies or move on not because you give them a lot of money you give the respect just appreciation and correct hard to fool advice when it come to my meetings internal meetings you have your shop because we we're not like a lot of other Chinese company the boss they ever listen take notes and going down we are like a war room we make this issue based on whose voice is louder early days you know spider the talk and then making sure everybody speak up right so this is also a way of
mobile life and incentives there are a lot of ways and different people have a different way to send incentive rule number nine live healthy I think life is a journey you come to this world is to enjoy the life to be happy and healthy so the day when you leave the world and say I'm happy in my life my health in this life because if you're not healthy you will not be happy so I believe happy and healthy are the things the human being always looking for and I think next to 30 years because of the technology people the life size is gonna change a lot and people is gonna live longer but we can live longer does not necessarily live healthy so if you're not healthy how can you be happy
if you live longer if you're not happy why you live there and we'll number 10 the last one before the bonus clips have fun                                                now I've got some special jakmob bonus clips for you but before that the  question of the day is do you have enough fun in your business should entrepreneurs have fun in their business yes or no and why I'd love to hear from you leave it down the comments below thank you guys so much for watching I believe in you I hope we continue to believe in yourself and whatever you're one where it is much love I'll see you soon and enjoy the bonus clips I found some great leaders in the world they are always positive they never
complained others and never complain and they they look at the things in a different view like normal people so I think people a my company they at the beginning they don't like me because I'll always think about ten years five years and then after we working together for three or five years they find out who you are right then we got the credit rating and as a CEO one of the jobs  where everybody's happy you have to see the unhappy things when everybody's unhappy you have to see the happy things so leadership is nature but you have to have a train and learn and I got my leadership sub upgraded in Davos I see so many well you know on the end to financing how many people here know
about Ally pay Thank You Ally pace decision was made here I was thinking about Ally paid you know but I was not a dare to launch a leap it because in China if you do financing with unlicensed you were being jailed at that time so I say I went to the banks can't help us do the e-commerce of transaction no no no no banks would accept it so if there will be no a leap in no financing the e-commerce to go nowhere so I was year 2004 I was here listen to a speech by two state leaders about leadership and this guy's leadership is about responsibility you believe it but don't be that people don't believe it but if you think is so critical you should pay any price to do it so that day change to
my mind I had a call back to my team say let's launch it within one month if somebody else go to the Jill I go to the gym who would be the second we'll follow me if I go you continue and you go to the Jill you go continue that was the called the leadership determination and year 2004 I made a decision here I called back and now today the a leap a launched and it's so big over you know 800 million people today using a leap a bullet this is called I was born a very normal family and poor family six people sure $7 a mouth we can only eat one chicken a year was terrible Nixon visit to my city 1972 China USA signed Mao Zedong Nixon signed the
agreement so China become opened oh my city Hauser was one of the first cities that opened to the west we got a lot of American tourists to visit my city what he would do is he would befriend foreign visitors who came to Hangzhou to walk around the west lake there and I learned English by being the free guide for tour guide you know more than the language Jack was learning about the culture the things I learned from books from China are so different from the things I learned from the American visitors so I start to think differently raise your standard Apple at the core its core value is that we believe that people need passion not one drop of myself work depends on
your it's suppose to mean I don't ever give up I'd have to be dead or completely incapacitated hey believe nation if you want to see my all-time favorite top ten most of success I have a very special secret video for you these are the individual clips that I have personally learned the most from and applied to my life and my business.
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junker-town · 5 years ago
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Bracketology 2020: The Selection Committee’s preview bracket goes up in smoke
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Kansas was the Selection Committee’s No. 2 team on Saturday. The Jayhawks remain in place in Tuesday’s revised bracket. | Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Five of the committee’s top 16 teams lost over the weekend, so today’s bracket projection differs significantly from what you saw Saturday.
In both 2018 and 2019, the top four seed lines in my post-preview bracket were identical to those revealed by the Selection Committee over the previous weekend.
It’s a different story in 2020, as six of the committee’s top 16 teams lost after Saturday afternoon’s show ended. Just two of those defeats, Villanova Wildcats’ home loss to Seton Hall Pirates and the Florida State Seminoles‘ at Duke on Monday, came against a fellow top team.
Considering the committee’s picks for seed lines three and four already differed significantly from what I forecast Saturday morning, that made this projection just a little more difficult to build than I anticipated.
Sure, the top of the bracket was easy, as seven of the top committee’s top eight teams, remain in place, though their order now reflects the panel’s ranking. Plus, these squads comprised the top seven of last Tuesday’s bracket, That means the Baylor Bears (South) and Kansas Jayhawks (Midwest) are a Big 12 one-two punch, with the Gonzaga Bulldogs (West) and San Diego State Aztecs (East) completing the top line. While Duke, the Dayton Flyers and Louisville Cardinals continue to lead off seed line No. 2, the committee’s eighth-ranked team, the West Virginia Mountaineers, lost to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday afternoon. Their replacement is a Maryland Terrapins squad I suspected would get the nod in the preview special, particularly after they recorded an impressive Friday win at Illinois Fighting Illini.
West Virginia finds itself among a reshuffled quartet of three seeds, ahead of Florida State, Seton Hall and the Auburn Tigers. The new SEC co-leader, who were the committee’s top No. 4 seed, replaces Villanova. As for the Wildcats, they lead off a four line that’s quite different than what the committee offered up on Saturday. The Kentucky Wildcats and Iowa Hawkeyes, considered for the final spots in the preview top 16 along with an LSU Tigers squad that lost a thriller at Auburn, find themselves on line No. 4 today. They replace the Oregon Ducks, losers at Oregon State, and the Michigan State Spartans, an odd choice for the final protected seed after consecutive losses. The Spartans are definitely out now, as they dropped a third straight game on Saturday — to arch-rival Michigan. On the other hand, the Butler Bulldogs remain a four even after Sunday’s loss at Marquette.
Thanks to some hellacious cable and internet issues, I was unable to write a bubble post on Friday as planned. That was probably for the best because it seems like things have settled down a bit since then. I’ll have more on the cut line picture after today’s full bracket and rundown.
Note: New entrants are marked with an asterisk (*) and arrows indicate a team’s movement up or down the bracket.
Full seed list
1. South Region (Houston)
St. Louis (Thu./Sat.)
1. Baylor (Big 12) vs. 16. Robert Morris (NEC)/NC Central (MEAC) 8. Michigan vs. 9. Arkansas
Sacramento, California (Fri./Sun.)
↓5. Creighton vs. 12. Stephen F. Austin (Southland) ↑4. Iowa vs. 13. New Mexico State (WAC)
Albany, New York (Thu./Sat.)
↓6. LSU vs. ↑11. Virginia 3. Seton Hall (Big East) vs. 14. Wright State (Horizon)
St. Louis (Thu./Sat.)
↓7. Illinois vs. ↑10. Oklahoma 2. Louisville (ACC) vs. ↓15. Bowling Green (MAC)
4. East Region (New York)
Sacramento (Fri./Sun.)
1. San Diego State (MW) vs. 16. North Florida (ASUN) *8. Purdue vs. ↑9. Saint Mary’s
Spokane, Washington (Thu./Sat.)
↑5. Colorado (Pac-12) vs. 12. Furman (SoCon) 4. Butler vs. 13. UC Irvine (Big West)
Cleveland (Fri./Sun.)
6. Marquette vs. ↓11. Florida/Indiana ↓3. West Virginia vs. 14. Colgate (Patriot)
Greensboro, North Carolina (Fri./Sun.)
7. Ohio State vs. ↓10. USC 2. Duke vs. 15. Little Rock (Sun Belt)
2. Midwest Region (Indianapolis)
Omaha, Nebraska (Fri./Sun.)
1. Kansas vs. *16. Prairie View A&M (SWAC)/Rider (MAAC) 8. Houston (American) vs. 9. Rutgers
Omaha (Fri./Sun.)
↓5. Oregon vs. *12. Yale (Ivy) ↑4. Kentucky vs. 13. North Texas (C-USA)
Tampa, Florida (Thu./Sat.)
↑6. BYU vs. 11. Northern Iowa (MVC) 3. Florida State vs. 14. Winthrop (Big South)
Cleveland (Fri./Sun.)
7. Wisconsin vs. ��10. Stanford 2. Dayton (A 10) vs. 15. South Dakota State (Summit)
3. West Region (Los Angeles)
Spokane (Thu./Sat.)
1. Gonzaga (WCC) vs. *16. Montana (Big Sky) ↑8. Texas Tech vs. ↑9. Rhode Island
Albany (Thu./Sat.)
5. Penn State vs. ↓*12. Wichita State/Arizona State ↓4. Villanova vs. 13. Vermont (Amer. East)
Tampa (Thu./Sat.)
↓6. Michigan State vs. *11. VCU ↑3. Auburn (SEC) vs. *14. Hofstra (CAA)
Greensboro (Fri./Sun.)
↓7. Arizona vs. ↑10. Xavier ↑2. Maryland (Big Ten) vs. 15. Murray State (OVC)
Rundown
Note that I had to shift BYU up to a six seed and Illinois down to a seven seed to ensure the Cougars were placed in both a Thursday/Saturday regional and first weekend site.
Bids by Conference: 11 Big Ten, 6 Big East, 6 Pac-12, 5 Big 12, 5 SEC, 4 ACC, 3 A 10, 3 WCC, 2 AAC, 23 one-bid conferences
Last Four Byes: Xavier, Stanford, VCU, Virginia Last Four IN: Florida, Indiana, Wichita State, Arizona State First Four OUT: ETSU, Cincinnati, Alabama, Mississippi State Next Four OUT: Utah State, Georgetown, Richmond, Minnesota
Lowest-Ranked NET At-Large: Indiana (61) Highest-Ranked NET Exclusion: Minnesota (40)
New Today (7/68): Arizona State, Hofstra, Montana, NC Central, Purdue, Rider, VCU Leaving Today: Eastern Washington, Memphis, Mississippi State, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, Tulsa, William & Mary
Three new at-large teams
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Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Purdue dominated Iowa on Wednesday, and that 104-68 romp contributed to their return to the field. Saturday’s big win at Indiana sealed the deal.
The Purdue Boilermakers return to the field, and they’re safely in as an eight seed after winning four of their last five. The VCU Rams also snuck back in, though their at-large hopes are likely to come down to a three-game stretch that begins with Saturday’s crosstown rematch with the Richmond Spiders, who have their own bid hopes to worry about. But it’s the Arizona State Sun Devils who claimed today’s final at-large spot, thanks in no small part to a thrilling last-minute home win over the USC Trojans on Saturday night.
Two of the three departures are from the American Athletic Conference. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane dropped from first to third following back-to-back defeats, first to the UConn Huskies at home, then to the UCF Knights in Orlando. The Memphis Tigers also picked up a loss to a Sunshine State squad, as they followed a midweek win over the Temple Owls with a disappointing home loss to the South Florida Bulls. The third team leaving today’s bracket, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, managed to beat the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, but Ben Howland’s club really needed to record an unlikely win at Kentucky to remain.
The shape-shifting bubble
With a little less than five weeks to go before Selection Sunday, the bubble hasn’t exactly shrunk, though there are currently three teams in the NET top 75 that are at or below .500 and, therefore, out of the picture for now. But many of the names have changed. Gone are the DePaul Blue Demons and Virginia Tech Hokies, thanks to serious struggles in conference play. The same can almost be said for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are the highest-ranked NET exclusion. They’re currently 40th in the metric with a 12-11 record that needs a few more wins to get them into the field.
But a few teams, long thought of as NIT material, suddenly have new life. We’ll start with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who now rank 50th in the NET. Theoretically, that ranking means they’ll get a look in the committee room. However, Mike Brey’s squad has just one Quad 1 victory, which came against 65th-ranked Syracuse Orange. That means the Irish don’t yet have a win over a team in the field, and that deficiency means Notre Dame is not quite in true bubble territory yet.
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Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Oregon State has a better record in Quad 1 games than many current at-large teams.
Then you have Oregon State, now 66th in the NET. The Beavers had fallen completely off the radar thanks to a 1-5 stretch. But Saturday’s home win over arch-rival Oregon was their fourth Quad 1 win and third victory over a team in the NET top 25. So why isn’t Wayne Tinkle’s squad among the “First Eight Out?” Well, Oregon State also has four losses to teams ranked 99th or worse, which is problematic. Still, with six straight games against Pac-12 contenders, the Beavers are very much alive.
So are the Utah Utes, the first of those opponents. Last week, the Utes swept the Bay Area teams at home, Thursday’s victory over the enigmatic Stanford Cardinal being the most vital. The Utes have three Quad 1 wins and a quartet of top 40 ones — and, troublingly, two losses to teams ranked 185th or worse. In other words, Larry Krsytkowiak’s team still has a lot of work to do, but they’ll play five of their final seven over contenders, so don’t write them off either.
However, the weirder this season gets, the better the chances get for a surprise on Selection Sunday. Last season, the Southern Conference’s UNC Greensboro Spartans ended up as the first team out of the field. In today’s bracket, one of UNCG’s conference rivals, the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, find themselves in the same spot. Steve Forbes’ squad recorded an impressive 74-63 victory at LSU on Dec. 18, a result that boosts its profile significantly. However, a pair of sub-100 losses, including a shocking home setback against the 220th-ranked Mercer Bears, weigh the Bucs’ profile down a bit. And while ETSU shares the SoCon lead, a 65-56 loss to the Furman Paladins means they currently hold the league’s auto bid over the Buccaneers. They’ll meet again in Johnson City, Tennessee, on Feb. 19 and perhaps for a third time in the SoCon final on Monday, March 9.
I’ll be back on Friday with a full bubble update. In the meantime, you can check out my nightly TV previews on Blogging the Bracket and listen to my bracketology interviews on the College Basketball Coast to Coast podcast.
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mesonishashank · 7 years ago
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From Star Wars To Super Mario: 22 Crazy Cereals Based on Movies, TV, And Video Games
The most utterly ridiculous cereals ever based on movies, TV shows, video games, and more
The 1980s and 1990s were a great time to be a kid if you loved cereal. Every trip to the grocery store would find a new offering on the breakfast cereal aisle, taking a movie, TV show, video game, or celebrity and turning it into a sugary morning treat.
While themed cereal can still be found in stores--we're looking at you, Fruity Pebbles--the glory days that saw practically every title getting its own special blend of marshmallows, corn, rice, and oats have come to an end. Ralston, the company behind many of the best-remembered offerings, no longer dabbles in licensed foods. In fact, based on their website, the company now specializes in cereal that looks similar to name brands like Fruit Loops and Cocoa Puffs, while being different enough to be marketed as a different product.How the might have fallen. Then again, in its heyday, Ralston was actually known as Ralston Purina and dedicated a sizable chunk of its business into making pet food, so perhaps its better off now.
How important is taste and originality in these cereals anyway? After all, one of the biggest reasons anyone bought these was due to the characters emblazoned on the boxes and the prizes that were included with the cereal. Who cares what Batman cereal tastes like when it comes with a bank in the shape of the Caped Crusader? Thankfully, there were still some colorful and tasty cereals to be found back then, right Spider-Man?
Take a trip back in time with GameSpot as we revisit 22 of those cereals--both good and bad. How many of these do you remember sitting down with at breakfast?
Image: Sony Entertainment
1. Urkel-Os
There was a time when nothing in pop culture was hotter than Steve Urkel, the nerdy character on Family Matters. In an age where the TGIF programming block ruled the world, Urkel was its king. This cereal that was first released in 1991--and remained in production until 2000--is proof of that.
Image: Ralston
2. Nintendo Cereal System
When it came to video games, nothing was hotter in the late '80s than the Nintendo Entertainment System. It permeated pop culture in such a way that it spawned merchandise, cartoons, and even the movie The Wizard. Naturally, like many popular properties, it also got a cereal--two if you want to get technical. In each box were two bags, one a Super Mario Bros. cereal and one for The Legend of Zelda. What a time to be alive.
Image: Ralston
3. Bill and Ted's Excellent Cereal
Excellent! A Bill & Ted cereal not only existed, but it wasn't based on the movies. Instead, this cereal followed the cartoon and featured the animated versions of Bill and Ted emblazoned on the box. The real joy of this breakfast wasn't the marshmallows, though. Instead, it was the prize that came with the cereal--a cassette tape holder shaped like Bill and Ted's phone booth time machine.
Image: Ralston
4. Smurfberry Crunch
For many, Smurfberry Crunch is the gold standard for sugary cereals based on TV shows and movies. The fruity corn and wheat cereal first debuted in 1981 and lasted for years before an addition to the Smurf's cereal line--Magic Berries--that added marshmallows to the mix in 1987.
Image: Post Cereals
5. The Addams Family
Addams Family cereal sounds like a great idea, in theory. However, its pieces were made to resemble skulls, dismembered hands, and headless dolls--all things very familiar to this particular family. Serving a bowl of that to a kid could be pretty traumatic, though. However, there was a period of the time where the "toy" it included was a flashlight made to resemble a character from the movie. That's pretty exciting for a kid.
Image: Ralston
6. Donkey Kong
Mario and Zelda had to share a cereal. Before that, though, Donkey Kong got a box all to himself. According to the box, it was "crunchy barrels of fun." While that doesn't exactly found appetizing, what's not to love about a video game-themed cereal with a taste similar to Captain Crunch?
Image: Ralston
7. E.T. Cereal
While the E.T. Atari game may have been a colossal bomb, the cereal was not the same case. Taking a note from E.T.'s love of Reese's Pieces in the movie, the cereal was flavored like peanut butter and chocolate. Among the bonus prizes included in the box were trading cards, as well as a picture of Michael Jackson and E.T.--because why not?
Image: General Mills
8. The Real Ghostbusters
This is another cereal based on a cartoon that's based on a movie. This particular cereal was released three times under three different names and was incredibly simple, in terms of design. Marshmallow ghosts mixed with fruity Os, to create the Ghostbusters logo in your cereal bowl. The best part of this cereal, though, was the prizes that came in the box--from glow-in-the-dark door hangers to buttons to frisbees.
Image: Ralston
9. Batman
Like many Ralston cereals, Batman essentially consisted of themed corn pieces--bats in this instance--and a standard sweet flavor. The prizes were where Batman was able to shine. Honestly, the only reason to get this cereal was for the Batman bank that came attached to the front. Who's going to keep your change safer than the Dark Knight?
Image: Ralston
10. Gremlins
This sweetened cereal may not be all that exciting--its pieces are meant to look like Gizmo but they don't--but it's hard to resist something as adorable as the mogwai on its box. Inside the box with the cereal was a sticker, which is a decent bonus. However, the big prize was something you had to actually mail away for--a plush Gizmo.
Image: Ralston
11. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
It's essentially Rice Chex ("ninja nets") with marshmallows. The marshmallows in question are shaped like ninja weapons and pizzas, everything needed for a radically tasty breakfast. None of that matters, though, without what is perhaps the most beloved prize of all time-- a Ninja Turtle-shaped cereal bowl. You could eat your Ninja Turtles cereal out of a Ninja Turtles bowl.
Image: Ralston
12. Fruity Pebbles/Cocoa Pebbles
Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles are undeniably the most successful licensed cereal of all time. They were first released in 1971 and can still be found in stores today, almost 50 years later. Clearly, Post stumbled onto something good when it came to The Flintstones.
Image: Post Cereals
13. Spider-Man
The Spider-Man cereal from 1995 is very similar to Ralston's Ninja Turtles offering. This time, though, the "ninja nets" were spiderwebs and the marshmallows were supposed to be pumpkin bombs, "spider symbols," Peter Parker's camera, and Kingpin. In reality, they were essentially blobs of various colors.
Image: Ralston
14. GI Joe Action Stars
This cereal arrived in stores in 1985--the same year the cartoon premiered. It wasn't colorful or flashy, but it was part of a complete breakfast to help create a real American hero… probably. What's most important is the mini-comic books that came packaged in the box. Cereal and comics, what more do you need?
Image: Ralston
15. C-3PO's
And you thought the Star Wars Christmas Special was the most shameless cash-in on this franchise. These were essentially Honey Nut Cheerios in a figure-eight shape. As for prizes, they varied from trading cards to a Rebel Rocket toy.
Image: Kellogg's
16. Mr. T
We pity the fool that never got to try Mr. T's cereal. Why did Mr. T have a cereal, you ask? Between his appearance in Rocky III and his role on The A-Team, Mr. T was a pop culture sensation in the early 1980s and that got him his own breakfast. If only they'd come up with a better idea than pieces shaped like T and literally nothing else, though.
Image: Quaker
17. Pac-Man
Following the success of Donkey Kong's cereal, it was Pac-Man's turn. This cereal features Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and ghost marshmallows, along with sweet balls of corn. Among the prizes offered inside was bubblegum. There was also the possibility of winning a full-size Pac-Man arcade game.
Image: General Mills
18. Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong cereal was a little too basic--thankfully, Donkey Kong Jr. righted the wrongs of his father. Out are the crunchy barrels. Instead, this cereal is made up of pieces shaped and flavored like bananas and berries, putting a fruity twist on breakfast.
Image: Ralston
19. Rainbow Brite
Of course, the Rainbow Brite cereal--based on the cartoon and movie--is rainbow-colored and shaped. It's essentially Fruit Loops, but with half-circles instead of full loops. The only notable prize, really, was a colorful chain necklace you could mail away for. What's the point of buying cereal without a toy in it?
Image: Ralston
20. Morning Funnies
With so many cereals based on well-known cartoons and movies, opting to create one based on newspaper comic strips might not seem like a cutting-edge idea. What's even more bizarre is the cereal itself had nothing to do with the various comic strips it licensed. It was simply made up of smiling faces in a variety of colors.
Image: Ralston
21. Booty O's
Where do you start with Booty O's? What started as an on-screen joke made by the trio known as New Day became an actual breakfast cereal you could buy in stores and a never-ending string of merchandise. The oat-based breakfast comes packed with marshmallows that look like trombones and booties, to name a few shapes. If only Ralston was still a cereal giant that could mass produce it.
Image: WWE
22. Pro Stars
Not every cereal can be based on a fictional character, right? That's where Pro Stars, which puts the spotlight on sports celebrities, comes in. We know what you're thinking: That's what Wheaties are for, right? Thankfully, Pro Stars added funny to the mix and included a contest to win breakfast with Wayne Gretzky. Top that, Wheaties.
Image: General Mills
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