#atlantic sun conference

[bongaboi]

Stetson: 2023-24 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

DELAND — DeLand is a basketball town. At least for the time being.

ASUN Conference leading scorer Jalen Blackmon erupted for 43 points, 34 of which came in the second half, and the Hatters hit just enough free throws down the stretch to preserve a 94-91 win over Austin Peay in the ASUN Championship game on Sunday afternoon in the Edmunds Center.

With the win, Stetson earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history and will await its first-round matchup next Sunday in the NCAA Selection Show.

Stetson trailed by as many as 10 in the first half but Blackmon caught fire in the second, scoring 16 straight Hatter points to keep Stetson afloat and hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds to preserve the win. A last-ditch heave from the hash for the Governors went begging as the horn sounded and a near-capacity crowd exploded, rushing the court to celebrate.

Aubin Gateretse and Stephan Swenson each had 13 points for Stetson with Alec Ogleby adding 10. Sai Witt led Austin Peay with 28 points to go with 10 rebounds. Dezi Jones (17), Demarcus Sharp (16), Isaac Haney (13) and Ja'Monta Black (11) each hit double figures for the Governors as well.

[majorhortonisonleaveinlondon]

An updated (December 20, 2024 9:02pm pst) list of WW2 movies and TV shows in chronological order

thought out WW2 -(Imitation Game 2014) -(The Book Thief 2013) -(The Zookeeper’s Wife 2017) -(The Pianist 2002)

1937

October 26, 1937 Defence of Sihang Warehouse (The Eight Hundred 2020)

December 13, 1937 Nanjing Massacre - (John Rabe 2009) - (The Flowers of War 2011)

1938

Fall of 1938 (Munich – The Edge of War 2022)

1939

Summer 1939 (Six Minutes to Midnight 2020)

September 3, 1939 King George VI first wartime speech (King’s Speech 2010)

September 17, 1939, Soviet Union Invitation of Poland (The Way Back 2010)

November 30, 1939 Soviet Union invades Finland (The Winter War 1989)

1940

April 9, 1940 Operation Weserübung -(April 9th [movie] 2015) -(King’s Choice 2016) -(Narvik 2022) -(War Sailors 2023)

April 27, 1940 (Into the White 2011)

June 4, 1940 -Churchill gives “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech (Darkest Hour 2017) -Dunkirk Evaluation (Dunkirk 2017)

July 10-October 31, 1940 Battle of Britain (Battle of Britain 1969)

1941

May 1941 (Call to Spy 2019)

June 22, 1941 Operation Barbarossa -(Fortress of War [The Brest Fortres 2010) -(Defiance 2008)

September 8, 1941, Siege of Leningrad begins. -(Battle of Leningrad [Saving Leningrad] 2019) -(Leningrad 2009)

October 1941 Battle of Moscow (The Last Frontier [The Final Stand] 2020)

October 1941 Battle of Sevastopol (Battle for Sevastopol 2015)

December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacks Pearl Harbor (Tora! Tora! Tora! 1970)

December 8, 1941 Japan invades Shanghai International Settlement (Empire of the Sun 1987)

1942

January 20, 1942, Wannsee Conference (Conspiracy 2001)

February 1942 Battle of the Atlantic (Greyhound 2020)

February 1942 (The Railway Man 2013)

February 19, 1942, Bombing of Darwin (Australia 2008)

Spring 1942 (U-571 2000)

April 18, 1942 The Doolittle Raid (In Harm’s Way 2018)

June 4, 1942 Battle of Midway (Midway 2019)

1942 Summer Occupation of Jersey Island (Another Mother’s Son 2017 Prime)

July, 10 1942 Easy Company Trains in Camp Tocca (Band of Brothers 01x10 Currahee 2001)

July 21, 1942, Kokoda Track Campaign (Kokoda: 39th Battalion 2006)

August 7, 1942, 1st Marine Division land on Guadalcanal (The Pacific Ep. 1 Guadalcanal/Leckie 2010)

August 19, 1942, Dieppe Raid (Dieppe 1993)

August 23, 1942 Battle of Stalingrad begins (Stalingrad 1993)

September 1942 Formation of Troop 30 (Age of Heroes 2011)

September 18, 1942, 7th Marines Land on Guadalcanal (The Pacific Ep. 2 Basilone 2010)

Autumn of 1942 Battle of the Atlantic (Das Boot 1981)

October 18, 1942, Operation Grouse (Heavy Water War Ep. 2 2015)

November 8, 1942, Operation Torch (The Big Red One 1980)

November 10-17 1942 Vasily Zaytsev kills 225 German Soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad (Enemy at the Gates 2001)

December 1942 The 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal is relieved (The Pacific Ep. 3 Melbourne 2010)

December 15, 1942, Battle of Mount Austen (Thin Red Line 1998)

1943

March 13-14 1943, liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto -(Schindler’s List 1993)

April 17, 1943 Operation Mincemeat (Operation Mincemeat 2021)

April 19, 1943, beginning of the Warsaw Uprising (Uprising 2001)

May 4, 1943, Final Mission of The Memphis Bell (Memphis Bell 1990)

May 15, 1943, Salamo Arouch and his family arrive in Auschwitz Concentration Camp (Triumph of the Spirit 1989)

May 27, 1943 Louis Zamperini plane crashes on a search and rescue mission (Unbroken 2014)

May 30, 1943 first All-American Girls Professional Baseball League game played (A League of Their Own 1992)

June 25, 1943, 100th Bomb Group flew its first 8th Air Force combat mission (Master of the Air: Part One 2024)

July 1943 -(The Tuskegee Airmen 1995) -(The Liberator Ep. 1 2020) -(Heavy Water War Ep. 5 2015)

July 16, 1943, The 100th Bomb Group bombed U-Boats in Tronbhdim (Masters of the Air: Part Two 2024)

August 17, 1943 the 4th Bomb Wing of the 100th Bomb Group bombed Regenberg (Masters of the Air: Part Three 2024)

September 16, 1943, William Quinn and Charles Bailey leave Belgium (Masters of the Air: Part Four 2024)

September 18, 1943 John ��Bucky’ Egan returns from leave to join the mission to bomb Munster (Master of the Air: Part Five 2024

October 14, 1943, John ‘Bucky’ Egan interrogated at Dulag Lut, Frankfurt Germany (Masters of the Air: Part Six 2024)

December 26, 1943, 1st Marine Division lands on Cape Gloucester (The Pacific Ep. 4 Gloucester/Pavuvu/Banika 2010)

1944

January 22, 1944, Battle of Anzio -(The Liberator Ep. 2 2020) -(Red Tails 2012) -(Anzio 1968)

February 20, 1944, Hydro Ferry bombing (Heavy Water War Ep. 6 2015)

March 7, 1944, Stalag Luft III Sagan, Germany, Germans find the concealed radio Bucky was using to learn news of the War (Master of the Air: Part Seven 2024)

March 24/25, 1944 Allied Mass Escape of Stalag Luft III (The Great Escape 1963)

June 1944 (Cross of Iron 1977)

June 6, 1944, 00:48 & 01:40 First airborne troops begin to land on Normandy (Band of Brothers 02x10 Day of Days 2001)

June 6, 1944, 06:30 D-Day landings -(Storming Juno 2010)

-(Saving Private Ryan 1998)

June 10, 1944, Easy Company Takes Carentan (Band of Brothers 03x10 Carentan 2001)

June 15-July 9, 1944 Battle of Saipan

-(Windtalkers 2002)

-(Oba: The Last Samurai 2011)

July, 1944 The Monuments Men land in Normandy (The Monuments Men 2014)

July 20, 1944 Operation Valkyrie (Valkyrie 2008)

August 12, 1944, The 332nd Fighter Group attack Radar stations in Southern France (Masters of the Air: Part Eight 2024)

September 15, 1944, U.S. Marines landed on Peleliu at 08:32 (the Pacific Ep. 5 2010)

September 16, 1944, U.S Marines take Peleliu Airfield (the Pacific Ep. 5 2010)

September 17, 1944, Operation Market Garden

-(Band of Brothers 04x10 Replacements 2001)

-(A Bridge Too Far 1977)

October 2, 1944 Battle of Scheldt (Forgotten Battle 2021)

October 12, 1944, Battle of Peleliu, Assault on Bloody Nose Ridge (the Pacific Ep. 7 Peleliu Hills 2010)

October 13, 1944, Rovaniemi public buildings were destroyed (Sisu 2022)

October 14, 1944, Erwin Rommel is arrested (Rommel 2012 Prime)

October 22/23, 1944, 2100 – 0200 Operation Pegasus (Band of Brothers 05x10 Crossroads 2001)

November 1944 middle of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest (When Trumpets Fade 1998)

December 16, 1944, Battle of the Bulge (Band of Brothers 06x10 Bastogne 2001)

December 1944 (Hart’s War 2002)

1945

January 2, 1945 (The Liberator Ep 3 2020)

January 10, 1945 (Attack Force Z)

January 13, 1945, Battle of Foy (Band of Brothers 07x10 The Breaking Point 2001)

January 30, 1945 The Raid at Cabanatuan (The Great Raid 2002)

February 14, 1945, David Webb rejoins the 506th in Haguenau (Band of Brothers 08x10 The Last Patrol 2001)

February 19, 1945, Battle of Iwo Jima starts. - (Letters from Iwo Jima 2006) - (The Pacific Ep. 8 Iwo Jima 2010) - (Flags of our Fathers 2006)

February 15, 1945, 6888 Battalion was inspected and marched in review before Major General John C. H. Lee (Six Triple Eight 2024)

March 21, 1945, Operation Carthage (The Bombardment 2021)

April, 1945 (Fury 2014)

April 5, 1945, 506th Finds abandoned Concentration Camp (Band of Brothers 09x10 Why We Fight 2001)

April 17, 1945 Lee Miller arrives at Concentration Camp Buchenwald (Lee 2023)

April 26, 1945, near the end of the war in Europe (A Woman in Berlin 2008)

April 29, 1945, 45th Infantry Division liberated Dachau Concentration camp (The Liberator Ep. 4 2020)

May 2, 1945, Fall of Berlin -(Downfall 2004) -(Jojo Rabbit 2019)

May 1945 Battle of Okinawa -(Hacksaw Ridge 2016) -(The Pacific Ep. 9 Okinawa 2010)

May 7, 1945, Germany Surrenders V-E Day - (Master of the Air: Part Nine 2024) - (Band of Brothers 10x10 Points 2001)

July 30, 1945, USS Indianapolis sank. (USS Indianapolis 2016)

August 15, 1945, The Empire of Japan surrenders end of the War. -(Oppenheimer 2023) -(The Pacific Part Ten: Home 2010)

September 11, 1945 US Military search and Arrest Japanese Leaders for war crimes (Emperor 2012)

1946 April 29, 1946 Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal (Tokyo Trial 2016)

[liaromancewriter]

It Happened One Miami Night (4/5)

Series Premise: A work trip to Miami means finally accepting that some risks are worth taking. Or are they?

Fandom: Choices Book: Open Heart Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine) Rating/Category: Teen. Angsty Fluff Words: 1,750

Series Masterlist

A/N: I'm using Prompt #269 from @creativepromptsforwriting. Tagging for reblog to @creativepromptfills. Submission to @choicesmaychallenge24 prompt "stormy eyes"

Ethan Ramsey let himself into the hotel room with a sigh of relief, the mask of professionalism falling in the privacy of the suite overlooking the gentle waves of the Atlantic Ocean outside.

He had tried to lose himself in intellectually stimulating conversations with colleagues and prepping for the panel. But the urge to march down to the exhibit hall and shake Declan Nash until the smug bastard spilled his secrets never entirely went away.

He needed a break from everything.

For just one night, he wanted to lose himself in the company of a woman who had plagued his lust-filled dreams for months. To pretend they were just two people, dressed to the nines, enjoying passable wine and canapes, and hitting the casino for lighthearted fun.

He deserved to put himself first, even if it was just for a few hours. Naveen wouldn’t begrudge him that. The older man would likely cheer from the sidelines at seeing his mentee let loose.

He walked into the bedroom, noting signs of occupancy. Cassie must have dropped by the room earlier. Her suitcase lay on the luggage rack, closed but unzipped. A makeup bag and hairbrush were on the vanity table, and a phone charging cable was unplugged on the bedside table.

He picked up a tube of hand cream, flicked open the cap and squeezed a dollop on his finger. Rubbing the cream between his index finger and thumb, he inhaled as the subtle scent hit his scenes.

Her.

One night, he thought, taking out his phone to text her. A few hours when he wasn’t Dr. Ramsey, the attending, and she wasn’t Dr. Valentine, the intern.

A momentary game of let’s pretend couldn’t hurt, could it?

Cassie Valentine sipped the fruity concoction and hummed as delicious flavors exploded on her tongue. Wearing a red swimsuit and a white sundress that doubled as a cover-up, she sunk into a beach lounger and adjusted the floppy hat to shade her face and eyes from the sharp rays of the late afternoon sun.

The conference sessions had been engaging, but she deserved some downtime after a long day of travel and running around. And Miami, with its perfect weather and beautiful vistas, was ideal for relaxation. The resort’s pool area, one of two, overlooked the beach below, and this section, with its infinity pool and Tiki bar, was designed for unwinding.

She was loathe to leave but knew she was cutting it close for the casino-themed cocktail reception. Ethan had forwarded her an email about it late last night.

She remembered thinking the man could’ve told her earlier so she wouldn’t have struggled so much with her wardrobe choices. It was fortuitous that she had packed the formal gown before getting his email.

It would be nice to leave the hotel, though. Maybe partake in the nightlife in South Beach or head to Calle Ocho for Cuban food. Should she invite Ethan? It would be strange not to since they were here together.

Would he even want to come, or would his mask of indifference descend again, keeping her at a distance?

Her phone signaled a text before she could (once again) ponder the mystery of Ethan Ramsey’s moods.

Meet me in the suite.

Rolling her eyes at his on-brand brevity, she unlocked the phone screen to reply but stopped. She stared as three dots disappeared and reappeared several times. She waited for those three dots to turn into something, anything, but her screen remained stubbornly blank.

Pursing her lips in disappointment, Cassie finished her drink. She gathered her things and shoved her feet into matching flip-flops.

Time to get back to work.

—

Ethan was about to shower when he heard the beep and click of the door unlatching, and Cassie called his name. The ensuite door was open a crack to let out steam, and now they could also talk.

“In here,” he called back.

He adjusted the temperature and stepped into the tub, letting the warm water from the showerhead batter his tired muscles. He cursed wordlessly when he realized his tux was on the bed instead of hanging on the hooks behind the bathroom door.

He’d have to ask her to step into the other room while he changed. Stripping in front of a subordinate was grounds for sexual harassment, no matter how innocent the reason.

“Dr. Valentine, reporting for duty,” Cassie said from outside the door, raising her voice over the sound of the shower.

Ethan rolled his eyes at the cheeky tone, not realizing a smile hovered on his lips in response. He absently glanced at the bathroom mirror and caught her reflection in the tall mirror overlooking the bedroom area. She leaned over the bed, ass in the air, digging through her travel bag.

“Tonight is not about Nash,” he said, looking away to squirt body wash into his palm. “The reception is about making a good impression. So, dress appropriately.”

“Why didn’t you tell me there was a reception?” Cassie said worriedly.

He narrowed his eyes in concentration as he washed the suds off. He’d been distracted this week but was positive he’d told her.

“I know I emailed you about the reception tonight.” Ethan shut off the shower and reached for the towel. “Naveen always said socializing at these events is essential for young doctors. You’ll make connections that help you advance in your career and secure jobs and funding.”

Cassie swiped mascara over her lashes, smiling at the put-upon tone in Ethan’s voice. She recognized it as one he used when he wanted to exercise restraint but was too impatient to bother. He was either gritting his teeth or pinching the bridge of his nose.

She thought it was most likely the latter. She noticed Ethan doing that during rounds whenever one of them messed up.

Unable to help herself from needling him, she anxiously said, “But it’s a casino theme! I have to look nice!”

“Do you honestly believe I give a damn what you have on?” Ethan growled.

Cassie bit back a grin. It was so easy to rile him up. She finished her makeup by dabbing a shimmering bronze along the lids, the smokey look making her green eyes sparkle.

She looked up at the bathroom mirror's reflection, fully prepared to keep chiding him. But the words got stuck in her throat as he climbed out of the shower, a towel hitched around his hips. She swallowed loudly as lust shot straight to her belly.

Cassie had seen him shirtless before when they tested the fMRI machine. But that had been in a clinical setting with harsh fluorescent lights, not in the intimacy of a romantic couples’ suite, with the soft glow of the setting sun and bedroom lighting enveloping them.

Before she could look away, Ethan glanced up and caught her staring.

“Just throw on whatever you brought with you,” he said, breaking the awkward silence between them.

He entered the bedroom, and Cassie rushed past him into the bathroom, a garment bag clutched in her hand.

Relieved at avoiding further discomfort, he quickly donned his tuxedo, knotting the bow tie with practiced moves. He slipped his feet into dress shoes, bending down to tie his laces.

When the bathroom door opened behind him, he straightened and turned to face her. He did a double take at the sight of her looking so elegant, and his heart stopped for a second.

His eyes trailed over her, unable or perhaps unwilling to look away, drawn to the mysteries in her smokey eyes. The neckline hugged her breasts, the lines of the midnight blue gown accentuated the curve of her hips, and the shimmering cape framed her bare arms.

His hands ached to touch, but he shoved them in his pant pockets instead.

“You, uh, found something.” His mouth was dry, and he tripped over the words.

“Yeah. I always come prepared.” Cassie smiled as she slipped on a pair of high heels.

“Lucky for me.” The words slipped out before he could stop himself. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat, frowning for good measure. “I mean, lucky for you. You look… very… appropriate.”

Cassie spied the splash of red coloring his cheeks and turned away before he noticed her scrutiny. Ethan could pretend he was indifferent, but she’d seen the attraction in his blue eyes.

Feeling vindicated at his reaction, she fiddled with the tiny clutch, checking that her keycard, conference ID and cell phone were tucked inside.

He walked over to stand behind her, and they stared at their reflection in the mirror. They looked like a couple ready to head out on the town.

Cassie thought Ethan in a tux was a sight to behold, and she was glad he was hers, even if it was only for one night. She itched for her phone to take a selfie to capture this moment, but she didn’t want to break the spell cast over them.

A storm was brewing between them, static electricity shooting off tiny, invisible sparks as thunder gathered in the calm before the lightning strike.

“I would say we look ready, wouldn’t you?” he grinned.

Cassie met his eyes in the mirror and grinned back. “Absolutely.”

For tonight, she was Cinderella, and he was her Prince Charming. She was ready to be swept away in the fairytale that was theirs alone.

—

There is a common saying about the calm before the storm, but no one ever talks about the deafening silence after the storm hits.

Later that night, Cassie lay in bed staring at the dark ceiling, the oppressive silence muffling the tears trailing unchecked past her cheeks. Texting with Max had helped calm her down, but now she was morose again, lost in memories of what was.

The thundering of their hearts as their lips met, finally after months of longing. The crackle of electricity in the wake of Ethan’s hands touched her all over. Their palms rested on each other’s hearts, feeling them beat in tandem with their breathless pants.

Her boldness. His vulnerability.

She closed her eyes, willing herself to forget the last few hours. But all she saw was the tortured expression on Ethan’s face and the storm raging in his eyes as she beckoned him to their bed.

He was right to stop things before they went too far. Cassie’s head knew that. But her heart wasn’t as understanding.

How could her fairytale evening have turned into a nightmare?

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

All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @coffeeheartaddict2 @crazy-loca-blog @jerzwriter

@lady-calypso @mainstreetreader @peonierose @potionsprefect @queencarb

@quixoticdreamer16 @justyourusualash @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction

Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Ethan & Cassie only: @cariantha @custaroonie @youlookappropriate

[fleckcmscott]

Pillow Talk

Summary: While Y/N spends some time away, she and Arthur find a way to play.

Words: 3,992

Warnings: Smut, Swearing

A/N: This story stems from a request made by @jokerownsmysoul​. I really hope I got it right. 😂 Please enjoy, everyone! And thank you for reading! 💜

If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment, feel free to message me, or send me an ask. Requests for Arthur and WWH are open!

Y/N's happiness at attending the Atlantic Legal Society's conference had rubbed off on Arthur. Made her upcoming absence worth it.

Often he'd tag along, see the sights while she worked. Check out clubs, sign up for open mics where no one would ever see him again. Low-risk refinement. But this week's jobs were too good to pass up, and Amusement Mile's opening day meant lots of families and plenty of tips.

He could hold down the apartment. Hell, maybe he'd even enjoy it. Pour condensed milk over frozen strawberries, smoke as much as he wanted, catch a movie on Gothamvision. (When their rabbit ears had required aluminum foil to get a TV signal, he'd convinced her cable was a dire need.)

He wrapped an apple in a paper towel, tore a banana from the bunch, and stuck both in her purse. A breakfast that'd tide her over for the three-hour ride to Baltimore. Stirring milk into her coffee, he side-eyed the oven clock. When the java was halfway cold, he made his way to the bathroom.

Toes flexed in annoyance, Y/N grumbled around her toothbrush. "I can't believe I overslept."

"You'll get there," he said, and took the hairbrush from the shelf. "Here, let me." He drew horsehair bristles through her untamed mane.

"Thanks." The foam in her mouth made it sound more like fankhs. She spat into the sink, rinsed and spat again. "I don't want to buy another ticket."

A soft scowl crossed his brow. "You shouldn't've had to buy the first."

"Well, you know my boss. He didn't think it was necessary, which is silly with the WARN act being passed. That kind of ridiculousness makes me want Phil to come out of retirement." She hung her robe on the door hook and jogged to the bedroom, calling over her shoulder. "At least they're paying me!"

Minutes later Y/N emerged, frazzled around the edges but smart. She straightened a ruffle at her collar, tugged the corner of her blazer. She wore her age and era with pride. She guzzled her coffee like an engine on empty, poured herself another and skipped the dairy. "I'll regret this on the train."

They dashed to the elevator, vinyl suitcase in his grasp, her hand hooked at his elbow. As the steel doors parted, he made a show of holding them open with his foot. A beam to rival the rising sun crossed her face. 

"Thank you, sir," she said, and curtsied. The gesture made him want to lift her, spin around. They were running late - and she'd still taken a spare second to be playful.

God, how he loved her.

At this early hour, only a handful of Gothamites rode the subway. A guy sat in a corner seat. Sixty, gray stubble, wearing a flat leather cap. His outstretched arm held a wrinkled centerfold. Ms. December, judging by the Santa Hat, the sole fabric in the photo. A familiar friend that must've been in his pocket for a while.  

Y/N grasped the stanchion at the other end of the car. Arthur moved to stand behind her, a protective arm at her waist.

At every stop she inched towards him. Her round bottom nudged his thighs, her back grazed his chest. She smelled good, like the strawberries he'd eat tonight. He pressed his nose to the crown of her head, filled his veins with her scent.

A scarlet stripe bloomed from collarbone to temple, her ear a crimson shell. The corner of her mouth threatened to curl. Pink tongue darting to wet satin lips.

He squeezed her hip. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," she said. An obvious untruth given how her neck tightened.

Suspicion slanted his stare. But he let it lie. For now.

Wayne Central Station was a Beaux-Arts beauty smack dab in the middle of modernization and commercialization. And it had far too many flights of stairs. After the ups and downs of finding the right track, they landed on thirty-seven, the platform for the commuter line.

"You know," Y/N said, steps slowing to an amble. "I bet there are clown conferences. You could learn to juggle."

His days of working with other clowns were long behind him. But the suggestion was sweet, so he smiled. "My hands are already busy. You're a handful."

She stopped at a concrete column and riffled through her purse. "I'll call you when I check-in and give you the room number. There'll be a direct line." Then her riffling escalated to a frantic search. Patting her coat, the inner breast pocket. Checking her bag one more time. Taking advantage of her distraction, Arthur reached into his jacket. Anticipation tickled his shoulders into a shrug.

"Oh no," she said. "I could've sworn I put my ticket with my credit card."

He reached as if to tuck her hair back. Pulled a green card from behind her ear. "Is this it?" A relieved huff as she snatched her prize. She swatted his chest, wound her arms about his neck.

The squeal of metal on metal bounced off tile walls, announcing the oncoming train. A gust of wind whirled her silvery brown locks. Despite the mundanity of it all, the thousands of people about to step onto public transportation, the moment felt like a movie. A bona fide blockbuster. The ordinary suddenly extraordinary.

Fingers brushing his, she took her bag, speaking between kisses. "I love you. We'll talk soon."

~~~~~

The McKeldin Exhibition Center seemed a blunt, bulky building for the Atlantic Legal Society's twenty-fifth conference, a number Y/N would've considered celebratory. Four stories of concrete, cold steel, muscular exterior. A once modern design that now represented an idea of the future that, if the first five months of 1990 were to go by, wasn't bound to happen.

The registration attendants were friendly and professional. But Y/N wasn't a member of the guild, so she was directed to a line at the other end of a vast, airy hall. The additional hundred dollars she'd paid to attend included extra exercise. A gilded stripe ran along the top of her name tag, like she was a flake of gold to pan for, from which extract a membership fee.

Goodie bags contained the usual swag. A pen with the organization's logo, two legal pads, a folder to hold her notes. At the bottom were a blue stress ball and a gavel pinback button, which she'd pin on Sylvia back at the office. The young intern had received so little recognition in her short life that it'd thrill her.

White tablecloths and serving trays covered the tables in the reception area. Y/N maneuvered to a buffet to the right, snapped a napkin, two cheese and pepperoni skewers, and a paper cup of goldfish crackers. Munching away, she took the temperature of the room.

Lawyers and attorneys general, magistrates and judges swarmed, chatting and laughing, giving handshakes and back slaps. Legal secretaries and paralegals circled up to chat amongst themselves. Judging by overheard introductions, their origins stretched from the Eastern Seaboard all the way to Chicago.

Y/N recognized a former Gotham District Attorney, a lawyer from one of Shaw & Associates' satellite offices. The passing years had salt and peppered his hair, too. The city's newest criminal court judge was on the premises, one Henry Jake. An upset after an affair with one of his legal aides, his promotion from magistrate had been splashed on all the front pages.

He appeared eager to continue the scandal, proceeding to flirt in the way of men who like to wield their authority. A palm on the forearm here, an unwanted compliment there. It made Y/N want to chuck a stress ball at his head.

She stirred powdered creamer and irritation into a styrofoam cup of coffee, noted the restroom sign on the left wall. A woman in a floral shower curtain of a dress approached with tiny steps. Said she'd never been to a big city before, took a sip of Lipton and pushed her plastic glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"I'm Flossie Barteux, but all my friends call me Flo." The red stripe on her nametag denoted her as a fresh recruit.

"Nice to meet you, Flossie." Though maintaining distance, Y/N spoke with warmth. "I moved from the Ozarks to Gotham ten years ago. The lobby has some brochures. I think there's an aquarium on the waterfront, a couple museums, too. You should take advantage while you're in town." Then she gave a friendly nod and excused herself to the Industry Auditorium to sign up for presentations.

Whistleblower protections sounded interesting, considering past capers; she made a note to review Gotham's statutes for the next. Tips for wage and hour investigations filled an entire notebook. The presenter droned on in one agonizingly long sentence. It was impossible to keep up, even in shorthand. Y/N's fingers grew so fatigued she dropped her pen. It took several tries to regain the ability to make a fist.

When the conference broke for the evening, Flossie hopped in the same revolving door as Y/N and suggested dinner at a chain steakhouse across the street. A good number of attendees already stood in line.

To be honest, she could've used a break from the whole thing. But she didn't want to hurt the woman who sorely needed a work friend. She put their names on the waitlist and browsed chalkboard specials. Listened to Flossie's story of how going through probate for custody of her granddaughter had led her to the legal profession.

By the time Y/N stumbled back to her hotel, she could've dozed upright. At the bar, she ordered a variation on a Sidecar, a little number called Between the Sheets. She didn't ask for permission to take it to her room. She dropped a dollar bill in the tip jar and turned towards the lobby.

It was well equipped, a fax machine and pay phone in one corner, a stand with free chocolate chip cookies to the right. In the center of the far wall stood a bookshelf, flanked by overstuffed aqua chairs. A sign was propped on the coffee table: "Please read and return!" A set worthy of Donahue's photo studio.

She stepped onto the woven rug to browse the plethora of outdated bestsellers. Self-helps with mountains on the covers, charlatans offering poor financial advice. Children's books were piled haphazardly on the bottom shelf. And right in the middle was an entire row of romance novels, the ones in which every heroine's bosom heaved and bodice ripped. Ragged covers told the tale of how popular they were, spines split from overuse. As a pre-teen, Mabel had caught her reading a few. ("Why's your face red, Y/N? Are you sick?") Amused, Y/N took the one with the deepest seams.

Forbidden Seas was a terrible if fitting title, given the coverhunk's puffy shirt. He was alarmingly muscular, as though a bee had stung him, and he desperately needed an ice bag. Long, blonde tresses brushed the careening cleavage of the woman bent over his knee. Arthur's wiry frame held a hidden strength, cleaved her tightly whenever they danced, but that position would've ended with her on the floor.

Cackling, she returned the paperback to its place, betting the hunk would be at full mast by chapter four.

When she reached her room, she stretched her arms over her head, pushed herself to her tiptoes, released a short squeal. The conference center's folding chairs had next to no padding. Soreness nagged at her tailbone, a deep-seated throb ached her rear. She could really use a bath. She checked her watch. Arthur would be calling in about fifteen minutes. Luckily, the restroom had a phone.

Pantyhose rolled down her legs, a nail caught on the reinforced toe. The star-patterned vinyl floor was cold on her feet. A claw clip kept her hair off her shoulders, spare tendrils falling to her cheeks. Steam coated the mirror as the room filled with a pleasant heat. She dabbed away her mascara and eyeliner before it could streak. She sipped her cocktail, stepped into the bath. Gave her breasts a casual squeeze and sighed out the stress of the day.

The ringer rang right on the dot.

Voice as light as a game of I Spy, she said, "This isn't reception telling me to pipe down, is it?"

On the other end, Arthur's smile sucked his teeth. "No, it's just me."

"I'm glad it's just you."

The day had gone well, he told her. One of his gigs had cancelled, but that was all right. It let him get some work done around the apartment. He'd replaced the window shade that no longer rolled up, mopped the kitchen, sorted the drawers of his desk. He'd just tuned into a movie on TMC, a screwball comedy she'd deem too silly and dislike.

When he asked how the conference was going, she told him about Flossie, how she hoped the woman's eagerness to excel wouldn't result in her being suckered into membership upgrades. That the WARN act - while a step forward - put some guardrails on the mass layoffs that'd become the norm in the last decade but didn't prevent them. And the overeager judge she was happy to never have to face in court.

"You should teach a class on how to be a gentleman." She slunk deeper into the heat. "I'm learning a lot, but I'll be happy to be home."

"You're not missing much."

"I'm missing you."

"But you saw me this morning!" His protestations didn't fool her; he was pleased as punch.  A hitched giggle, one of his many laughs she loved. "Me, too. I mean, I can't wait to see you. But don't worry. I'm fine. Talk to me more. Tell me about the hotel."

"We'll have to stay here someday. There's a bar with a player piano, and I'm having a cocktail in the bath."

"You- You're on the phone in the tub?" The sound of him puttering. A drink set on the coffee table, a middle-aged groan as he sat on the sofa. "There is one thing I can't get out of my head." Nervous tongue smacked his lips. "What were you thinking about on the subway?"

Mercury threatened to crack the thermometer. But still. She was reticent to go there. "I already told you. It was nothing."

"Come on. You were as red as my clown nose."

She pressed the cool glass to her sweaty forehead. The flight of fancy had been completely inappropriate, not to mention out of character. She knew exactly what telling him would lead to, the direction in which this conversation would race. Tacky and cheap, belonging to a $3.99 a minute hotline.

And yet. She was grateful to have a husband she could blush around, whom she could fantasize about, whom she wanted to fantasize about. Besides. It'd been a stretch since they'd last made love. Tacky and cheap might be just what the Doctor of Laughter ordered.

She let the cognac trickle down her throat. Knuckles dragged up and down her breastbone. Her forearm brushed her pebbled nipple. A drop from the faucet plopped.

"Do you want to continue this?" she asked, an eager if uncertain invitation.

"Yeah," he purred. That rasp, the one positive of his cigarette addiction. "But I'm- I'm not sure what's next."

Neither was she, not quite. The next steps felt at once natural and as if they belonged to an unread novel on a hotel bookshelf. But it was him, so it would turn out all right. They'd figured it out every time before. "Tell me what you're wearing," she said. "Or what you're thinking about. Whatever you want."

"I'm in my pajamas. Um. I found my old journal when I was cleaning. I hadn't read it for years - it has everything from when I met you. Anyway, I read what I wrote our first night together? I'd wanted to touch you so badly and-" He gave a throaty laugh. "And all I knew what to do was squeeze your breast too hard."

The recollection struck a match in all the right places. She'd wanted him, too, more than was smart after such a short acquaintanceship. There'd been something that'd set him apart immediately. Whenever he'd looked at her, her heart had skipped to a new but familiar beat. His good looks, his kindness. Passion and flair hiding beneath a surface shyness, a mask you could see through if you took an extra minute.

"You knew how to look at me. How to listen. How to be gentle." She caressed her hip absentmindedly, a movement that soon became deliberate. "And when not to be."

Her knee shifted to rest on the lip of the tub, opening herself to the warm water. "I wouldn't want you to be gentle now," she whispered, and tugged at the curls between her thighs.

"I wouldn't be." Ragged breaths tempted over three hundred miles. A muted moan that meant he was palming his shaft. Her own palm felt empty. How she hungered for him to be in her grasp. Then he asked, "What- What did you pack for bed?"

"The blue nightie you gave me. The one that ties at the neck." It was six years old but a perennial favorite for both. The approval that'd radiated from him when she'd modeled it flashed in her memory. Strokes blazed at the crease of her thigh. "I'll wear it tonight - unless you want me to sleep naked."

A husky chuckle before he pressed her. Again. "Tell me what you were thinking about on the train. I wanna know."

Fingertips dipped to where she ached for him. Lower to tease plush, squishy flesh, plump with desire. Her eyelids fluttered shut, returning to the occasions she'd pleasured herself in front of him, both when he was inside of her and out. Even on the occasions he wasn't able to get hard, he loved it, asked her to do it again. Holding her. Stealing her breath from her mouth. Covering her hand with his. His thumb taking over until she cried his name.

Fever rippling through her arteries, she tapped her slick nub, body throbbing with need. She cleared her throat. She thought she'd lost her ability to be bashful with Arthur. But dirty talk didn't come as naturally now that she was alone, not the way it did when it was foreplay. When she'd beg him to fuck her, plead for more, more, more.

Yet, she wasn't alone. Though he was afar, she was abuzz with his presence. Spreading joy and happiness to others, always entertaining his audience, he was the performer in the relationship. Tonight the performer became the audience, and she was putting on a show for one.

A show she'd drag out a bit longer. Make it worth his while. "I'm touching my clit, Arthur. Slow and soft, like your tongue. God, I wish it was your tongue. You feel so good."

He groaned. Her grip on the telephone tightened, knuckles gone white. "When we were on the train," she began. "I imagined you shushing me. Your breath was hot on my ear. I wanted you to put your hand on my skin, down my skirt." Her strokes halted while she laughed. "I don't know why. I wasn't even horny."

"You're horny now."

"All hot and bothered."

A grunt came through the copper wire, luring her along. Her foot pressed the tub's curved rim. Splashes of imagery knotted her belly. The play of light on his slender abdomen when he'd put on a shirt. How his biceps flexed when he'd wash his hair. The tightening of his brow the second he lost himself to euphoria. The musky weight of him on her tongue.

She rubbed herself a little harder. A steady, firm pace. "When I come I feel your cock at my back-"

"Keep talking."

"-and I have to bite my lip to keep from moaning, because I know you'll fuck me as soon as we walk through the door."

"Oh, fuck..."

Water licked at her labia with each flick of her wrist, awakening every nerve ending, cresting wave upon wave of sensation. She shoved the receiver under her jaw, lifted her shoulder to lock it in place. Cradled her breast, nipples just at the waterline Lapping, lapping, lapping. She circled the right with her middle finger, wishing her hand was as large as Arthur's, so that she could play with the left. Shivering, her knees drew together and upward, pelvis striving towards her wanton touch.

Splish, splash. Splish, splash.

A growl rumbled out of him. "I- I'm gonna come."

"Yes."

She was there. She was there. About to fly over the edge, her feet about to leap. Gasps caught in her throat. Half his name lost in a whimper. The peak of delight finally reached...

The phone tumbled off her shoulder and plunged into the water. Landed on the fiberglass. An unenthusiastic thud.

"Shit, shit-"

Locked in spasm, she watched air bubbles rise from the sunken plastic. It was hard to move mid-orgasm. Her legs weren't yet in the Jello stage. Hanging onto the towel bar, she stood on very shaky ankles.

She plucked the receiver from the water, shook it out over the tub. Yanked the drain and placed the handset on the rim. Fingers a blur, she dialed their home number on the bedside phone. How quickly had Arthur realized she wasn't on the line?

Had he heard any of the denouement?

Nine rings and Arthur answered, out of breath but with a laugh. "What happened?"

She covered her face. "I dropped the phone. It's ruined." It would be the one time she would pay a fee for damages.

"Oh. Well, I was just cleaning up."

The cord twined through her fingers. "Did you?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Me, too."

"I know. I heard half of it."

Giggling, she excused herself to dry off. Pulled the clip from her hair, retrieved her nightie from her bag. She crawled between cool sheets, fluffed her pillow, pressed Arthur to her ear.

"What'll you do tomorrow," he asked, scratching his cheek.

A Department of Labor inspector would give a presentation on the Severe Violators program, a list of closely monitored companies that violated labor laws like it was a talent and never lifted a finger to change their ways. The padding to their bottom lines was bigger than the fines. She'd chatted with the inspector during a break.

"ACE Chemicals being on the list isn't a surprise. But Wayne Steel?" A sharp inhale before she yawned the rest. "I hadn't even heard of them."

"You're tired.”

"No. Relaxed. Happy. But not tired." She curled up on her side, burrowed deeper into the blankets. "This bed is empty. I have no one to press up against." Another yawn betrayed her.

At her third, Arthur interrupted. "Y/N, go to sleep." A grin in his words, like he was about to call her cute. "You need your rest."

"And why is that?"

His voice lowered to the volume of secrets. "Because when you get back, I'm going to fuck you as soon as we walk through the door."

Her eyes went wide, then she burst out laughing. A wave of dizziness swept through her. She brought the heel of her hand to her forehead. "What time'll you wake up tomorrow?"

"Six, probably. Maybe 5:30?

"Let's have coffee together. I'll make a cup at 6:15."

He agreed before she'd completed the request, said how dearly he loved her. And, yes, to her consternation, called her cute. She kept the eyeroll out of her reply. "You're wonderful, too. Now take your own advice and get some sleep. No journaling until dawn. All right?"

"All right. Have a good night. And Y/N?"

She was already fading, his lilt her favorite lullaby. "Yeah?"

"Wear your blue nightie for coffee. I’ll be in my briefs."

~~~~~

Tag list (Let me know if you want to be added!): @harmonioussolve​​​​​ @ithinkimaperson​​​​​ @sweet-nothings04​​​​​ @stephieraptorr​​​​ @rommies​​​​​ @fallenstarsabyss @gruffle1​​​​​ @another-day-in-chuckletown​ @hhandley80​​​​​ @jokerownsmysoul​​​​​ @rafaelbottom @ralugraphics​​​​​ @iartsometimes​​​​​ @fleckficgirl​

[fdrlibrary]

National Dog Day!

Happy National Dog Day!

Fala was born on April 7, 1940 and given to the President by Mrs. Augustus G. Kellogg of Westport, Connecticut, through Franklin Roosevelt's cousin, Margaret "Daisy" Suckley. At first his name was Big Boy. Franklin renamed him "Murray the Outlaw of Falahill" after a Scottish ancestor. His nickname became Fala. Fala went to live in the White House on November 10, 1940. Every morning Fala had a bone that was brought up on the President's breakfast tray. At night, he slept in a special chair at the foot of the President's bed.

Fala loved to travel with the President on long and short trips by train, car, or boat. In August 1941, Fala was at the Atlantic Charter Conference in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland with the President and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of England. In September of the following year and again in April 1943, Fala went on inspection trips of defense plants and visited the President of Mexico, President Camacho. Later that year in August and then again in September 1944 he accompanied President Roosevelt to the Quebec Conferences. In 1944, Fala was with the President on a sea trip to the Aleutian Islands. Read more about that story on our blog: https://fdr.blogs.archives.gov/2017/10/12/the-adventures-of-fala-first-dog-the-case-of-the-dog-who-didnt-bark-on-the-boat/

While in the White House, Fala was so popular that he received thousands of letters from people and animals from across the country. He had a secretary appointed to him to answer all his fan his mail.

In April of 1945, President Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. Fala attended the funeral but seemed lost without his beloved master. He went to live with Mrs. Roosevelt at Val-Kill, where he spent his time running, playing and chasing squirrels and cats. On April 5, 1952, Fala passed away and was buried in the Rose Garden next to the sun dial not far from the graves of President and Mrs. Roosevelt on what would have been his twelfth birthday April 7, 1952.

Continue celebrating #NationalDogDay by exploring some of the Fala related artifacts on our Digital Artifact Collection: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/search/fala

📷: NPx 52-118 - October 22, 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt with Fala in car at Hyde Park, New York. (UPI photo)

[mvdbutler]

EA COLLEGE FOOTBALL 25 GAMEPLAY SEASON 1 THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS ACC-SMU AMERICAN-WICHITA STATE BIG EAST-UCONN BIG TEN-NEBRASKA BIG 12-BOISE STATE MOUNTAIN WEST-MONTANA SEC-ALABAMA BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 1 VS 2 ALABAMA VS BOISE STATE-WINNER ROSE BOWL 3 VS 4 NEBRASKA VS SMU-WINNER ORANGE BOWL 5 VS 6 UCONN-WINNER-OT-2 VS WICHITA STATE SUGAR BOWL 7 VS 8 COLORADO VS MICHIGAN-WINNER COTTON BOWL CLASSIC 9 VS 10 BYU-WINNER VS OREGON PEACH BOWL 11 VS 12 LIBERTY VS WEST VIRGINIA-WINNER FIESTA BOWL 13 VS 14 VILLANOVA VS GEORGIA-WINNER SUN BOWL 15 VS 16 MONTANA VS ST.JOHN'S-WINNER-OT-3 GATOR BOWL 17 VS 18 OKLAHOMA STATE-WINNER VS TEXAS CITRUS BOWL 19 VS 20 IOWA VS WISCONSIN-WINNER LIBERTY BOWL 21 VS 22 UCF-WINNER VS USC INDEPENDENCE BOWL 23 VS 24 PITTSBURGH VS SACRAMENTO STATE-WINNER-OT-3 HOLIDAY BOWL 25 VS 26 BUFFALO VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC-WINNER TAMPA BAY BOWL 27 VS 28 MARYLAND-WINNER VS TEXAS TECH PHOENIX BOWL 29 VS 30 ARIZONA VS NAVY-WINNER LAS VEGAS BOWL 31 VS 32 IOWA STATE VS LSU-WINNER ALAMO BOWL 33 VS 34 TCU-WINNER VS ARKANSAS BOISE BOWL 35 VS 36 OREGON STATE VS OLE MISS-WINNER NASHVILLE BOWL 37 VS 38 RUTGERS VS SOUTHERN MISS-WINNER MOBILE BOWL 39 VS 40 TEXAS A&M VS PURDUE-WINNER HAWAII BOWL 41 VS 42 FIU-WINNER VS MEMPHIS CHARLOTTE BOWL 43 VS 44 WASHINGTON-WINNER-OT-1 VS CLEMSON FORT WORTH BOWL 45 VS 46 OLD DOMINION VS NC STATE-WINNER HOUSTON BOWL 47 VS 48 MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS NORTH TEXAS-WINNER BIRMINGHAM BOWL 49 VS 50 LOUISIANA TECH VS VIRGINIA-WINNER ALBUQUERQUE BOWL 51 VS 52 UTAH VS TULANE-WINNER WASHINGTON DC BOWL 53 VS 54 MARQUETTE VS MARSHALL-WINNER-OT-1 NEW YORK BOWL 55 VS 56 ARMY-WINNER VS KANSAS STATE BAHAMAS BOWL 57 VS 58 FRESNO STATE VS UNLV-WINNER BOCA RATON BOWL 59 VS 60 AIR FORCE VS NEW MEXICO-WINNER MONTGOMERY BOWL 61 VS 62 UTSA VS UCLA-WINNER DETROIT BOWL 63 VS 64 VANDERBILT VS IDAHO-WINNER-OT-3 TUCSON BOWL 65 VS 66 SOUTH CAROLINA-WINNER-OT-1 VS CINCINNATI FRISCO BOWL 67 VS 68 MONTANA STATE VS LOUISVILLE-WINNER MYRTLE BEACH BOWL 69 VS 70 VIRGINIA TECH-WINNER VS NEVADA BOSTON BOWL 71 VS 72 OHIO STATE VS TENNESSEE-WINNER LOS ANGELES BOWL 73 VS 74 CREIGHTON-WINNER VS UTEP MIAMI BEACH BOWL 75 VS 76 USF VS BUTLER-WINNER SAN FRANCISCO BOWL 77 VS 78 WASHINGTON STATE-WINNER VS COLORADO STATE SEATTLE BOWL 79 VS 80 HAWAII-WINNER VS BOSTON COLLEGE SILICON VALLEY FOOTBALL CLASSIC 81 VS 82 INDIANA VS SETON HALL-WINNER NEW JERSEY BOWL 83 VS 84 SOUTH ALABAMA-WINNER-OT-1 VS NORTE DAME PICHU LONDON BOWL 85 VS 86 BAYLOR VS ILLINOIS-WINNER JOHNJAKE GAMING BOWL 87 VS 88 ECU VS PENN STATE-WINNER KTO BOWL 89 VS 90 UAB-WINNER VS TEXAS STATE DEAD MEAT BOWL 91 VS 92 MISSISSIPPI STATE-WINNER VS GEORGETOWN BUTLERLION NETWORK BOWL 93 VS 94 GEORGIA TECH-WINNER VS KANSAS OLYMPICS BOWL 95 VS 96 XAVIER-OT-9 VS NORTH CAROLINA

[pablogerbolesparrilla]

Pablo Gerboles Parrilla: A Collegiate Golfer’s Journey to Excellence

Pablo Gerboles Parrilla: A Collegiate Golfer’s Journey to Excellence

Pablo Gerboles Parrilla, a Spanish golfer hailing from León, made his mark on the American collegiate golf scene during his years as a standout athlete for Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Throughout his time at FAU, Gerboles Parrilla demonstrated not only his exceptional talent on the course but also his tenacity and commitment to improving his game in highly competitive tournaments.

Early Success and Rising Through the Ranks

Gerboles Parrilla’s college golf journey was marked by his resilience and pursuit of excellence. One of his early notable achievements came during the 2012 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Championships. In this prestigious event, he managed to stay competitive through each round, ultimately keeping himself in contention until the final holes. This tournament was a testament to his steady performance and growing reputation as a golfer to watch. His ability to handle pressure and maintain a strong presence in championship play laid the groundwork for future accomplishments.

Career Milestones: Cobra PUMA Invitational

One of Gerboles Parrilla’s career-defining moments came during the 2013 Cobra PUMA Invitational. It was here that he recorded his lowest collegiate round, an achievement that solidified his place among FAU's top golfers. His strong play in this tournament, coupled with his ability to navigate challenging courses, showcased his precision, adaptability, and mental toughness. Scoring low at this level requires not only skill but a strategic approach to the game—traits that Gerboles Parrilla consistently displayed throughout his college career.

Competing on the Big Stage: Conference USA Championship

In 2016, Gerboles Parrilla competed in one of his final collegiate events, the Conference USA (C-USA) Championship. Playing against some of the best golfers in the nation, this tournament was a fitting conclusion to his collegiate golf career. While his team’s performance was under pressure, Gerboles Parrilla's individual play remained impressive, as he faced stiff competition. His determination to perform at his best at the highest level of competition was evident in this final chapter of his college golf story.

A Legacy of Dedication

Pablo Gerboles Parrilla’s time at FAU was marked by continual growth and moments of brilliance on the golf course. From his early efforts in the SBC Championships to his record-breaking performance at the Cobra PUMA Invitational and his participation in the C-USA Championship, his career is a story of perseverance and skill. He remains an example of what it takes to thrive in collegiate sports—hard work, strategic thinking, and the ability to perform under pressure.

[sparklingsjewel]

Emeralds showcased on the IAC 2024 Gold and Diamond Conference

 Emeralds lately showcased its commitment to sustainable mining practices at the Initiatives in Art and Culture (IAC) 2024 Gold and Diamond Conference in New York. As a player of Precious Brazil, Belmont Emeralds stands proud in promoting responsible mining practices, specializing in environmental duty and social impact. Wrap your fingers in the enchanting beauty of emerald band rings, where elegance meets everlasting charm.

IAC 2024 Gold and Diamond Conference

The IAC 2024 Gold and Diamond Conference served as a extensive platform for Belmont Emeralds to talk about sustainable mining practices. The occasion featured a panel titled “Comparative Approaches to Retaining Greater Value in Producing Countries,” where Belmont Emeralds’ CEO, Marcelo Ribeiro, shared treasured insights. The dialogue emphasized revolutionary and accountable practices within the gemstone and jewellery industry, positioning Brazil as a frontrunner in sustainable mining.

Marcelo Ribeiro’s Contributions:

Emphasized the importance of environmental stewardship in mining emeralds.

Highlighted Belmont Emeralds’ initiatives in decreasing environmental impact and selling social equity.

Shared achievement stories of network engagement and empowerment thru responsible mining practices.

Mining Emeralds: A Sustainable Approach

Belmont Emeralds’ dedication to sustainable mining practices sets a excessive popular within the industry. The business enterprise’s tasks ensure that mining emeralds is performed with minimum environmental effect and most social benefits. Some key practices consist of:

Reforestation Efforts: Belmont has preserved approximately three,700 acres of the Atlantic Rain Forest and planted over 20,000 saplings, assisting nearby biodiversity and natural world.

Renewable Energy Use: The installation of a 1.5 MW sun power plant permits Belmont to satisfy a hundred% of its power wishes through self-generated energy, lowering carbon emissions.

Community Support: By sourcing a majority of its group of workers locally and prioritizing gender equity, Belmont fosters community development and empowerment. Let the radiant green of emerald rings gold band symbolize your elegance and timeless grace.

To research extra approximately Belmont Emeralds’ dedication to sustainability, visit Belmont’s Sustainability Page.

Conclusion

Belmont Emeralds’ technique to sustainable mining and its contributions to the IAC 2024 Gold and Diamond Conference show the organisation’s dedication to main by using instance in the gemstone enterprise. By that specialize in environmental duty, community help, and innovative practices, Belmont Emeralds sets a benchmark for mining emeralds ethically and sustainably.

For those interested in learning more about how to shop for emeralds or figuring out actual emeralds, Belmont Emeralds gives comprehensive resources and guidance. Visit Belmont Emeralds’ Sustainability Page, Belmont’s Education Page, and Belmont Sparkle for more information.

Belmont Emeralds maintains to polish as a beacon of sustainability and moral mining, making sure that each emerald gem tells a story of responsible sourcing and commitment to excellence.

Also Read : How to Pair Your Oval Wedding Band

Everything You Need To Know About Evil Eye Jewelry

[stubobnumbers]

CFB Promotion and Relegation - The ACC

ACC Tier One - The ACC (FBS): Maryland Virginia Virginia Tech Duke North Carolina North Carolina State Wake Forest Clemson South Carolina Georgia Tech

ACC Tier Two - Atlantic Sun (FBS): Florida State Miami (FL.) Central Florida South Florida Florida Atlantic Florida International Coastal Carolina Appalachian State East Carolina Charlotte

ACC Tier Three - Coastal Athletic Association (FBS): James Madison Old Dominion Liberty University Delaware Furman Wofford Towson University Richmond Elon University William & Mary

ACC Tier Four - Big South (FCS): The Citadel Charleston Southern Presbyterian Western Carolina Campbell University Davidson College Gardner-Webb Hampton University North Carolina Central University

ACC Tier Five - Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (FCS): Delaware State University Howard University Bethune-Cookman University Florida A&M University Stetson University Morgan State University Virginia Military Institute – VMI Norfolk State University North Carolina A&T South Carolina State University

ACC Tier Six - South Atlantic Conference (D2): Bowie State University Frostburg State University Virginia-Wise Virginia State University Virginia Union University Emory & Henry College Fayetteville State University Johnson C. Smith University Allen University Benedict College

ACC Tier Seven - North Carolina Conference (D2): Barton College Catawba College Chowan University Elizabeth City State University Lenoir-Rhyne University Livingstone College Mars Hill University UNC Pembroke Shaw University Wingate University

ACC Tier Eight - The Carolinas Conference (D2): U of Mount Olive Winston-Salem State University Anderson University (SC.) Erskine College Limestone University Newberry College North Greenville University Greensboro College Guilford College Methodist University

ACC Tier Nine - Central Coast Football Conference (D3): Saint Augustine's University Ferrum College Catholic U. Gallaudet University Johns Hopkins U. McDaniel College Salisbury University Stevenson University Brevard College North Carolina Wesleyan College

ACC Tier Ten - Old Dominion Athletic Conference (D3): Averett University Bridgewater College Christopher Newport University Hampden-Sydney College Randolph-Macon College Shenandoah University Southern Virginia University Washington & Lee University Roanoke St. Andrews University Bluefield University Louisburg College

[ramtracking]

What to watch for in WPIAL sports for April 8, 2024: Week opens with baseball, softball section showdowns [ Norwin School District ]

What to watch for in WPIAL sports for April 8, 2024: Week opens with baseball, softball section showdowns [Highlights] All that is now, all that is gone, all that’s to come and everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.” Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, Sr. speaks about a search warrant of his hone and rumors about his familyduring a press conference at… April…

[kashicloud]

[ad_1] The madness has arrived.The first men’s basketball conference tournaments start this week, led by the first round of the Atlantic Sun tournament on Monday. The first automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament will be awarded Saturday night in the Ohio Valley tournament title game. In many of these early events, the drama is as high as it gets, because only the winner will hear its name called on Selection Sunday.Here’s your guide to the 15 conference tournaments that begin between now and Sunday. Brackets are included in those leagues where they’ve already been set. New brackets will be added to this story when they become available, and we’ll be back next Monday for the other 17 conference tournaments.(Conferences are listed in alphabetical order; all times ET.)America East The bracket is set! Take your first look at the @jerseymikes Men’s #AEPlayoffs seeding! Quarterfinal action begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, with all 4️⃣ games on ESPN+! pic.twitter.com/pjGwCrwBBC — America East (@AmericaEast) March 6, 2024Link to PDF bracket When it starts: SaturdayWhere: Campus sitesTitle game: Saturday, March 16, 11 a.m, ESPN2Top seed: Vermont (25-6, 14-1 America East)The skinny: The regular season wraps up Tuesday night, Vermont is once again the No. 1 seed, as it has been for seven of the past eight AmEast tourneys. The Catamounts are seeking their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003.Atlantic Sun 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐭…👀🏆🏀 Check out the full bracket for the 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 #𝐀𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐌𝐁𝐁 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩! ⬇️ 🔗 | https://t.co/cp1j2HPYd9#ASUNBuilt pic.twitter.com/JlZYncDc8C — #ASUNBuilt (@ASUNSports) March 2, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: MondayWhere: Campus sitesTitle game: Sunday, March 10, 2 p.m., ESPN2Top seed: Eastern Kentucky (17-13, 12-4 Atlantic Sun)The skinny: Led by Isaiah Cozart, who is one of the nation’s top shot-blockers despite standing 6-foot-7, Eastern Kentucky is looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. No. 8 seed Queens is ineligible for the automatic bid as it is still transitioning to Division I.Big South 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧. The stage is officially set for the 2024 @HerculesTires Big South Basketball Championship! 🏀 ����: https://t.co/Pc4EEzvaGD#BigSouthMBB pic.twitter.com/NZ36WjiWgs — Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) March 3, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: WednesdayWhere: High Point, N.C.Title game: Sunday, March 10, Noon, ESPN2Top seed: High Point (24-7, 13-3 Big South)The skinny: High Point earned its first No. 1 seed since 2016 under first-year coach Alan Huss. The Panthers will have to hold off defending champion UNC Asheville and star big man Drew Pember, but High Point gets to host the tournament.Big Sky The Stage Is Set 🎥 🎟️ https://t.co/Eq94kpOOng 1. @EWUMBB2. @UNC_BearsMBB3. @MontanaGrizBB4. @WeberStateMBB5. @MSUBobcatsMBB6. @psuviksMBB7. @NAUBasketball8. @IdahoStateMBB9. @VandalHoops10. @SacHornetsMBB #BigSkyInBoise pic.twitter.com/eR46Qvwn6G — Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) March 5, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: SaturdayWhere: Boise, IdahoTitle game: Wednesday, March 13, 11:30 p.m., ESPN2Top seed: Eastern Washington (20-10, 14-3 Big Sky)The skinny: The league finishes its regular season on Monday night, but Eastern Washington has already clinched the regular-season title for the second straight year. Weber State has one of the best mid-major players in America in 6-foot-6 forward Dillon Jones (20.7 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 5.3 apg).Coastal Athletic Association 🚨 We have a bracket. 🚨 The matchups are set for the 2024 @jerseymikes Men’s #CAAHoops Championship in Washington, D.C. Head to Championship Central for more details:🔗 https://t.co/Lb2wcB4tHv pic.twitter.com/kTjTiCil77 — CAA Basketball (@CAABasketball) March 2, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: FridayWhere: Washington D.C.Title game: Tuesday, March 12, 7 p.m., CBS Sports NetworkTop seed: Charleston (24-7, 15-3 CAA)The skinny: Charleston won its final nine games to repeat as regular-season champs and looks to make its second straight NCAA Tournament under Pat Kelsey. There will be plenty of challengers, including No. 4 seed UNC Wilmington, which beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena this season.Horizon Our 2024 @BarbasolShave #HLMBB Championship bracket has been revealed with @OaklandMBB securing the regular season title and No. 1 seed! 🏀: https://t.co/nnyX1aAHIi#OurHorizon 🌇| #MarchStartsHere pic.twitter.com/cyniTOUERV — Horizon League (@HorizonLeague) March 3, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: TuesdayWhere: Campus sites for early rounds; title game in IndianapolisTitle game: Tuesday, March 12, 7 p.m., ESPNTop seed: Oakland (20-11, 15-5 Horizon)The skinny: Oakland is looking for its first NCAA Tournament trip since 2011 and fourth under Greg Kampe, who is in his 40th (!) season at the helm. Want a Cinderella story? No. 11 seed Detroit Mercy went 1-30 this season.Missouri Valley Seeds, Times, & Bracket set for #ARCHMADNESS. 🏆🏀👉 https://t.co/RqO5IXCURl pic.twitter.com/4TCuQ84L41 — MVC Basketball (@ValleyHoops) March 4, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: ThursdayWhere: St. LouisTitle game: Sunday, March 10, 2 p.m., CBSTop seed: Indiana State (26-5, 17-3 Missouri Valley)The skinny: Arch Madness is always a must-see but even more so this season with a pair of potential NCAA Tournament teams in Indiana State and Drake. The Sycamores have become a feel-good story this season under Josh Schertz, while No. 2 seed Drake is led by superstar Tucker DeVries. Bradley is good enough to play spoiler.GO DEEPERHe was a tennis prodigy and high school dropout. Now he's one of the hottest coaches in the countryNortheast 🚨 📰 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺 𝙽𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 #𝙽𝙴𝙲𝙼𝙱𝙱 𝚃𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝙵𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚝@CCSU_MBB Claims Top Seed & Home Court Advantage Throughout Tourneyhttps://t.co/ea2fy40hDb — Northeast Conference (@NECsports) March 3, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: WednesdayWhere: Campus sitesTitle game: Tuesday, March 12, 7 p.m., ESPN2Top seed: Central Connecticut State (19-10, 13-3 Northeast)The skinny: Central Connecticut State edged Merrimack on the final day of the season to earn its first No. 1 seed since 2007. Merrimack is eligible to play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time this year.Ohio Valley 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐄𝐓! 🏀 The 2024 OVC Men’s Basketball Championship presented by @united_fidelity is set! Complete schedule: https://t.co/eWCQKomOe3#OVCit | #OVCTourney pic.twitter.com/YgxyXoUgDR — Ohio Valley Conference (@OVCSports) March 2, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: WednesdayWhere: Evansville, Ind.Title game: Saturday, March 9, 7 p.m., ESPN2Top seed: Little Rock (20-11, 14-4 Ohio Valley)The skinny: Little Rock, UT Martin and Morehead State finished in a three-way tie at 14-4, with Little Rock earning the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed. No. 8 seed Southern Indiana is ineligible for the automatic bid as it is still transitioning to Division I.Patriot Patriot League Tournament Bracket. pic.twitter.com/NKqD4jDsNY — Mid-Major Madness (@mid_madness) March 3, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: TuesdayWhere: Campus sitesTitle game: Wednesday, March 13, 7 p.m., CBS Sports NetworkTop seed: Colgate (22-9, 16-2 Patriot)The skinny: Colgate might be the biggest favorite in any conference tournament, as it ran away with the regular-season crown by a full six games. The Raiders are looking to represent the Patriot League in the fifth straight NCAA Tournament.Southern The men’s stage is set 🏀 | #SoConHoops Click the link below for the full schedule, tickets and more⬇️ https://t.co/hsQDgSk8xm pic.twitter.com/dpEcJNzSIK — The Southern Conference (@SoConSports) March 3, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: FridayWhere: Asheville, N.C.Title game: Monday, March 11, 7 p.m., ESPNTop seed: Samford (26-5, 15-3 Southern)The skinny: Samford dominated the league and has won a school-record 26 games already. The Bulldogs are seeking their first SoCon tournament title.SouthlandWhen it starts: SundayWhere: Lake Charles, La.Title game: Wednesday, March 13, 5 p.m., ESPN2Top seed: McNeese State (26-3, 15-1 Southland)The skinny: The regular season continues until Wednesday when a bracket will be set. But Will Wade’s McNeese State Cowboys have already clinched the No. 1 seed.Summit 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐨 … The 2024 #SummitMBB Championship Bracket‼️ Sioux Falls is going to be fun 🤩 🗞️: https://t.co/od0Pp0Djcl#ReachTheSummit x #March2TheSummit pic.twitter.com/GkNTAsJbFn — The Summit League (@TheSummitLeague) March 3, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: FridayWhere: Sioux Falls, S.D.Title game: Tuesday, March 12, 9:30 p.m., CBS SportsTop seed: South Dakota State (19-12, 12-4 Summit)The skinny: South Dakota State won the league by two games, and the Jackrabbits are looking for their eighth tournament title since 2012. Kansas City, which was 10-15 on Feb. 8, closed out with six straight wins to take the No. 2 seed. The nation’s leading scorer, Tommy Bruner, plays for No. 7 seed Denver.Sun Belt 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧. Have a look at the official bracket for the 2024 @HerculesTires #SunBeltMBB Championship. ☀️🏀 📰 » https://t.co/2BTNm8yw0G pic.twitter.com/i9y7PnFFDb — Sun Belt (@SunBelt) March 2, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: TuesdayWhere: Pensacola, Fla.Title game: Monday, March 11, 6 p.m., ESPN2Top seed: Appalachian State (26-5, 16-2 Sun Belt)The skinny: James Madison got all the attention early, winning at Michigan State in the first week of the season and cracking the AP Top 25. But Appalachian State — which beat Auburn in December — swept the Dukes. There’s an outside chance both could make the NCAA Tournament.GO DEEPERInside James Madison's remarkable riseWest Coast It’s official‼️ The seeds are locked in for the @MyCreditUnion1 #WCChoops Championship 🎟️ https://t.co/ofOZIPvLBE pic.twitter.com/A16EXL2B5N — WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) March 3, 2024Link to PDF bracketWhen it starts: ThursdayWhere: Las VegasTitle game: Tuesday, March 12, 9 p.m., ESPNTop seed: Saint Mary’s (24-7, 15-1 West Coast)The skinny: Saint Mary’s claimed the regular-season title, but Gonzaga finished strong by winning on the road against the Gaels and No. 3 seed San Francisco in the final week. Saint Mary’s and the Zags should both make the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens in this event since both got byes to the semifinals. Could a surprise winner make this a three-bid league?Conference tournaments starting next week:American: March 13-17Atlantic 10: March 12-17ACC: March 12-16Big 12: March 12-16Big East: March 13-16Big Ten: March 13-17Big West: March 13-16Conference USA: March 12-16Ivy League: March 16-17MAAC: March 12-16MAC: March 14-16MEAC: March 13-16Mountain West: March 13-16Pac-12: March 13-16SEC: March 13-17SWAC: March 13-16WAC: March 13-16(Top photo of Colgate celebrating last year’s Patriot League tournament title: Adrian Kraus / AP) !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments); if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '207679059578897'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); [ad_2] Source link

[bongaboi]

Kennesaw State: 2022-23 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

The Kennesaw State men’s basketball team is going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Terrell Burden hit a free throw with 0.7 seconds remaining to lift the Owls past Liberty 67-66 on Sunday in front of a school-record announced attendance of 3,805 to win the ASUN Tournament and earn their automatic invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

Supporters wearing gold and black were crammed into every possible space of the Convocation Center to witness Kennesaw State playing in its first conference title game in arguably the most important game in school history.

Despite having little experience with success in Division I basketball – the program went 1-28 in 2019-20 – the students and others turned the arena into a hostile environment Sunday.

After the victory, players ran around the court holding up their phones to record the moment. Parents and loved ones flooded the court to exchange hugs and handshakes.

The Owls will learn where they will go and who they will play on the March 12 NCAA selection show.

The victory was secured when Burden, a senior who went to Campbell High, was fouled driving to the basket by Liberty’s Isiah Warfield. Burden hit the first and missed the second. He finished with a team-high 19 points. Chris Youngblood followed with 16 points, Brandon Stroud 12 and Demond Robinson 10.

Kennesaw State built a five-point lead with 1:34 remaining.

Liberty’s Darius McGhee, the conference player of the year and one of the best shooters in NCAA history, hit an acrobatic layup to cut the Owls’ lead to three with 1:28 left.

Stroud was fouled by Ben Southerland. Stroud hit both free throws to give the Owls a five-point lead with 1:04 remaining.

Stroud fouled McGhee on Liberty’s next possession. He hit both free throws to again cut Kennesaw State’s lead to three with 56.8 seconds remaining.

Burden turned over the ball on Kennesaw State’s next possession.

The Flames took advantage with a 3-pointer by Colin Porter to tie the game at 66 with 25 seconds remaining.

With the shot clock turned off, Burden held onto the ball until his final drive.

Making the NCAAs caps a remarkable turnaround led by coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. He was the one who was at the helm for the one-win season in which the Owls finished 352nd out of 353 teams in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings.

Rahim, who played at Wheeler High, led the team to five wins the next season, 13 the next and 26, so far, this season.

[besportpro-squad]

Lipscomb Bisons vs N. Alabama Lions: Trận đấu hấp dẫn tại hạng Atlantic Sun Conference

Lipscomb Bisons sẽ chạm trán N. Alabama Lions trong trận đấu quan trọng thuộc vòng loại hạng Atlantic Sun Conference. Lipscomb đang có phong độ cao và được đánh giá cao hơn, liệu họ có giữ vững mạch thắng trận tại nhà? Trận đấu hấp dẫn tại hạng Atlantic Sun Conference Đội bóng Lipscomb Bisons sẽ chạm trán đội bóng N. Alabama Lions trong trận đấu quan trọng thuộc vòng loại hạng Atlantic Sun…

[juarezesdeporte]

UTEP Football Opens ’23 Season, CUSA Action at Jax State Saturday on CBSSN

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP will open its 106th season at new Conference USA program Jacksonville State on Saturday, Aug. 26 with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. MT/4:30 CT in Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium in Jacksonville, Ala. The Miners and Gamecocks will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network and can be heard on 600 ESPN El Paso

The Miners are opening on week 0 for the third consecutive season, while the Aug. 26 kickoff is the earliest UTEP will open a campaign.

UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel returns for his sixth season under the helm. The Miners are looking to be bowl eligible for the second time in three years after their 2021 New Mexico Bowl appearance.

Thirteen Miners who were All-CUSA in 2022 will suit in the new adidas gear as Praise Amaewhule, Deion Hankins, Tyrice Knight, Angelo Tejada, Marcus Bellon, Steven Hubbard, Kobe Hylton, Elijah Klein, Justin Mayers, Andrew Meyer, Joshua Sloan, Keenan Stewart, and Tyrin Smith will suit up in 2023. UTEP returns seven starters on offense, six on defense and five on special teams. Overall, 41 letterwinners return with the Orange and Blue.

Jax State finished its final campaign as an FCS program with a 9-2 overall record and 5-0 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference action. The Gamecocks rushed for over 2,900 yards, while averaging 251.0 yards per game and scored 37 TDs. JSU ranked first in the ASUN and fifth in FCS in rushing. It’s scoring offense (36.2 ppg) ranked 10th in FCS and first in conference.

“Any time a team goes 9-2, they know how to win, I mean, that's a strong season for them.,” Dimel said. “They did a great job. They're very, very athletic. They have great team speed on defense. On offense, they have their version of Frank Harris, a seventh-year quarterback coming back. So, I think he's got a little bit of experience to what he does. He's a very good player and very athletic. They got a bevy of runners in the backfield. They've got a lot of depth in their backfield. They got four of their five starters coming back on the offensive line, so they have a lot of depth there.”

UTEP came up short of bowl eligibility finishing 5-7 overall and 3-5 in CUSA play. The Miners’ run defense was something to talk about last year as they allowed the least rushing yards per game (136.0) since 1967. UTEP’s rushing attack gained over 2,000 yards for the first time since the 2016 season.

For Jax State, it’s the first time playing as an FBS program, while the Gamecocks are entering their first season in the new CUSA after playing in the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2022, and the Ohio Valley Conference the previous nine seasons (2003-2021).

The Miners will not only face a nine-win team on Saturday, the late-August forecast is calling for a high of 97 degrees and 66 percent humidity.

“We've had a very warm summer, as we all know, in El Paso, and we've run and conditioned at a higher level than we ever have throughout the summer. Our guys are very well conditioned. Our guys are very prepared to handle the elements that the first game will bring,” Dimel said.

UTEP (0-0, 0-0) at Jax State (0-0, 0-0)

Date: Saturday, Aug. 26

Time: 3:30 p.m. MT/4:30 CT

Location: Jacksonville, Ala.

Venue: Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium (24,000)

Twitter Updates: @UTEPFB

TV: CBSSN

PxP: Rich Waltz

Analyst: Aaron Taylor

Sideline: Amanda Guerra

Radio: 600 ESPN El Paso

PxP: Jon Teicher

Analyst: Cole Freytag

Sideline: Mando Medina

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN

The contest will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network with Rich Waltz (play-by-play) and Aaron Taylor (analysis) calling the action, and Amanda Guerra on the sidelines. Fans can tune into 600 ESPN El Paso with “The Voice of the Miners” Jon Teicher calling play-by-play in his 43rd season. ‘Teich’ is joined by former UTEP WR Cole Freytag (2012, 2014-16) in the booth providing analysis in his second season and Mando Medina reporting from the sidelines. The action can also be heard on the UTEP Miners app.

SERIES VS. JAX STATE

The Miners and Gamecocks will square off for the first time ever on August 26, 2023.

ABOUT JAX STATE

The Gamecocks, under the direction of Rich Rodriguez in his first season at the helm, finished 9-2 overall and 5-0 in the Atlantic Sun Conference during the 2022 season. Jax State, in its first season as an FBS program, returns 22 starters and 50 letterwinners for the 2023 campaign. Last season, the Gamecocks averaged over 36 points per game, while yielding just under 23 points. JSU averaged 423.6 yards of total offensive and gave up 398.7 per game. Leading rusher RB Anwar Lewis returns after gaining 818 yards on 115 carries (7.1 avg.) and eight TDs. QB Zion Webb also returns after rushing for a team-high 13 scores and 647 yards (5.6 avg.). Webb added 10 TD passes with 1,737 yards in the air and nine interceptions. Webb completed 55.2 percent (111-210) of his passes with a long toss of 76 yards. RB Ron Wiggins also returns after rushing for 461 yards and four scores. Leading receiver WR Galban Sterling returns after hauling in team bests in receptions (28), receiving yards (433) and receiving scores (three). Four of Webb’s O-linemen are returning: LT Will O’Steen, RG Clay Webb, C Treylen Brown and LG Brock Robey. FS Jeremiah Harris returns as the team’s leading tackler with 68 (third on the team in ’22). DE Chris Hardie returns after leading the defense with 5.5 sacks. BANDIT (OLB/Nickel hybrid) J-Rock Swain tallied 5.0 sacks, ranking second on the squad. Nickel Kolbi Fuqua led the team with two INTs. Rodriguez will enter his 26th season as a head coach and has 172-career victories.

EARLY START, AGAIN

For a school-record third straight season, the Miners will kick off the year in the month of August. UTEP had previously christened the campaign in the month on consecutive seasons twice, doing so in 1985 and 1986 and 2002 and 2003. Furthermore, the start date (at Jax State, Aug. 26) is the earliest in school history, eclipsing last season’s opener (vs. North Texas, Aug. 27) by a single day.

LEAGUE PLAY TO START

For the second straight season, UTEP will be tasked with playing a conference opponent in the opener. It marks the first time that has occurred in 31 years, when the Miners had a three-year stretch (1990-92) when they were members of the WAC. The Orange and Blue will battle new league member Jax State on the road on Aug. 26, hoping for a better start than the 31-13, setback in the season opener against North Texas on Aug. 27, 2022, in the Sun Bowl.

BEEN A LONG TIME

UTEP claimed its league road opener in both 2022 (W, 41-35, at Charlotte, Oct. 1) and 2021 (W, 26-13, at Southern Miss, Oct. 9). If the Miners can pull out a victory at Jax State on Aug. 26, it will mark the first time they’ve won their first conference road contest in three straight seasons since also doing so from 1948-50.

SMITH CHASING HISTORY

Tyrin Smith reeled in 71 receptions for 1,039 yards in 2022, giving him a chance to become the first player in program history with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons if he can surpass that total again this year. He has already helped the Orange and Blue achieve something that had never happened before, teaming up with former Miner Jacob Cowing (1,354, 2021) to give UTEP 1,000-yard receivers in consecutive campaigns.

AMAEWHULE VYING TO BECOME SACK KING

Praise Amaewhule heads into the 2023 campaign with 17.5 career sacks, which is second at UTEP behind Gonzalo Floyd’s school standard (20, 1990-91, 93). He took sole possession of second place in the category last year by recording a pair of sacks, which propelled him past both Herman Whiting (16, 1979-82) and Chris Mineo (16.5, 2002-05).

SUSTAINING SUCCESS UNDER DIMEL

UTEP enters 2023 in search of a third straight season of at least five wins, something it hasn’t achieved since it did so from 2004-06. The Miners are also hoping to earn a spot to a bowl game for the second time in the past three seasons, which would make head coach Dana Dimel the first UTEP HC with multiple bowl bids since Mike Price. Prior to that, it hadn’t occurred since 1965-67.

LOTS OF ROAD GAMES EARLY ON

UTEP will play its season opener and three of the first four games of the year on the road. That’s the first time it has occurred since the 2015 campaign, which included three consecutive road contests out of the gates.

(PHOTO CREDIT: UTEP Athletics // REPORT BY: Mark Brunner)

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.20 (before 1930)

AD 14 – Agrippa Postumus, maternal grandson of the late Roman emperor Augustus, is mysteriously executed by his guards while in exile. 636 – Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of the Levant away from the Byzantine Empire, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests and the rapid advance of Islam outside Arabia. 917 – Battle of Acheloos: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria decisively defeats a Byzantine army. 1083 – Canonization of the first King of Hungary, Saint Stephen and his son Saint Emeric celebrated as a National Day in Hungary. 1191 – Richard I of England initiates the Massacre at Ayyadieh, leaving 2,600–3,000 Muslim hostages dead. 1308 – Pope Clement V pardons Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, absolving him of charges of heresy. 1391 – Konrad von Wallenrode becomes the 24th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. 1467 – The Second Battle of Olmedo takes places as part of a succession conflict between Henry IV of Castile and his half-brother Alfonso, Prince of Asturias. 1519 – Philosopher and general Wang Yangming defeats Zhu Chenhao, ending the Prince of Ning rebellion against the reign of the Ming dynasty's Zhengde Emperor. 1648 – The Battle of Lens is the last major military confrontation of the Thirty Years' War, contributing to the signing of the Peace of Westphalia in October that year. 1672 – Former Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis are lynched by a mob in The Hague. 1707 – The first Siege of Pensacola comes to an end with the failure of the British to capture Pensacola, Florida. 1710 – War of the Spanish Succession: A multinational army led by the Austrian commander Guido Starhemberg defeats the Spanish-Bourbon army commanded by Alexandre Maître, Marquis de Bay in the Battle of Saragossa. 1775 – The Spanish establish the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson in the town that became Tucson, Arizona. 1794 – Northwest Indian War: United States troops force a confederacy of Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, Wyandot, Miami, Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi warriors into a disorganized retreat at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. 1852 – Steamboat Atlantic sank on Lake Erie after a collision, with the loss of at least 150 lives. 1858 – Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory. 1864 – Bakumatsu: Kinmon incident: The Chōshū Domain attempts to expel the Satsuma and Aizu Domains from Japan's imperial court. 1866 – President Andrew Johnson formally declares the American Civil War over. 1882 – Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow, Russia. 1905 – Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others establish the Tongmenghui, a Republican, anti-Qing revolutionary organisation, in Tokyo, Japan. 1910 – Extreme fire weather in the Inland Northwest of the United States causes many small wildfires to coalesce into the Great Fire of 1910, burning approximately 3 million acres (12,000 km2) and killing 87 people. 1914 – World War I: Brussels is captured during the German invasion of Belgium. 1920 – The first commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), begins operations in Detroit. 1920 – The National Football League is organized as the American Professional Football Conference in Canton, Ohio 1926 – Japan's public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) is established.

[k12academics]

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Phoenix created and launched new national advertising and promotional initiatives for Fireball Cinnamon Whisky and Don Julio Tequila inclusive of all national print and outdoor media. Phoenix consumer branding clients also include Accenture, Amblin, American Express, Apple, Burger King, Ford, Jaguar Motor Cars, John Deere and MasterCard. Phoenix Design Works has also worked as brand forecasters as well as brand agency of record for Bill Gates global photo agency Corbis, and Corbis Green Light. Phoenix Design Works has also created multiple brand campaigns for HP, Specifically their global esports platform, Omen.

At Phoenix Design Works we distinguish ourselves from our competitors by the depth and breadth of our work experience. We combine our experience across collegiate, pro sports & entertainment and consumer branding and bring that experience to play on behalf of every client that we work with. When you hire Phoenix Design Works, you are hiring a company with a proven track record for getting results and producing branding that generates revenue and withstands the test of time. The experience we leverage on behalf of our clients serves to enhance the branding assets that will become your new program and ready it for launch. Whether it's the research process, the creative process, or the client service we deliver throughout the course of the project, it is our past experience that raises the bar on the process overall, and makes for a superior result and experience for our clients.

Phoenix Design Works has been hired to create new or refreshed logo programs, develop advertising and marketing campaigns and to create facilities branding programs for team and institutions. "Our strength is in combining sound strategic thinking with solutions that best serve our client's needs, resonate with their constituents and increase their revenue".

Branding is the way you are perceived by your audience, whether they be prospective admissions for your constituent members, conference partners, current student athletes, parents, donors, or the community at large. Communications media is the means by which you deliver your message to this audience, be it via legacy media such as newspapers and direct mail or digital media platforms such as websites, social media and email.

At Phoenix Design Works we make sure that your new brand will deliver across all these different platforms. As our Principle and Creative Director James M. Skiles says, "A brand never gets a second chance to make a first impression". At PDW we make sure a consumer's first impression builds a lifetime of brand engagement.

Phoenix Design Works has earned national & global recognition and prominence in the areas of branding, design and advertising, with awards and press coverage from American Corporate Identity, Case Awards, Graphis, How, NACDA, P.I.E., Japan and Print Magazine. Our collegiate clients have also been awarded NACDA/NACMA marketing awards.