#because stanley went no contact/minimum contact right | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

csykora · 6 years ago

Note

Generally, do we take Oshie coming back out at the end of the game (or any similar sitch of an athlete returning to the ice after a potentially injury-causing incident) as a good sign (presumably he passed a concussion test so even if he does somehow have one, it's probably not as serious as it could be), a bad sign (there's a good chance he's playing through something that will be/could be made worse by playing through it), or just like a neutral "who knows" non-sign?

It’s a neutral sign about Oshie’s wellbeing, because being cleared to return to play simply isn’t the same as that.

I think it’s a rough sign about us.

Oshie went through the League’s concussion protocol. The League has pulled out certain symptoms (subjective information that has to be reported by the patient) and signs (objective information that can be seen by the healthcare provider) which it holds to be the most reliable clues. If a player shows some combination of these, they’re sent off the ice to be tested:

Symptoms:

Headache

Dizziness

Balance or coordination difficulties

Nausea

Amnesia for the circumstances surrounding the injury (i.e., retrograde/anterograde amnesia)

Cognitive slowness

Light/sound sensitivity

Disorientation

Visual disturbance

Tinnitus

Sign “Lying Motionless on the Ice”: A Player lies motionless on the ice or falls to the ice in an unprotected manner (i.e., without stretching out his hands or arms to lessen or minimize his fall).

Sign “Motor Incoordination/Balance Problems”: A Player staggers, struggles to get up or skate properly, appears to lose his balance, trips or falls, or stumbles while getting up, trying to get up, or skating.

Sign “Blank or Vacant Look”: A player has a blank or vacant look.

If you also thought, “But wouldn’t TJ always qualify?” you’re a bit of a dick, but you’re not wrong

Sign “Slow to Get Up” or “Clutches his Head”: A player is slow to get up or clutches his head (including any part of his face) 2 following any of these mechanisms of injury:

a blow to the Player’s head or upper torso from another player’s shoulder;

the Player’s head makes secondary contact with the ice; or,

the Player is punched in the head (including any part of his face) by an ungloved fist during a fight

Exceptions: If a player is Slow to Get Up or Clutches his Head following a mechanism of injury other than the three listed above, removal from play is not mandatory and Club medical staff shall exercise their medical judgment as to whether to remove the Player for an acute evaluation.

That last bit means that the NHL has done some math and determined that those three impacts cause most concussions. They’ve found that fewer concussions come from ‘head makes secondary contact with the boards’ than from ‘contact with the ice’, so they say a player who hit the ice needs to be tested and a player who hit the boards doesn’t. He can still be sent for testing, but the call falls to the trainer, and that’s a problem because we can’t diagnose a concussion by looking at you.

Does Oshie have a concussion? I don’t know. Not ‘I don’t know I’m only friendly bone witch’ like I say when I think somebody sprained their wrist but don’t want to get in trouble, I mean I cannot tell you shit. I cannot see concussions. I can see those signs that often appear with a concussion, but seeing them does not mean my patient for sure has a concussion. If I don’t see them, it doesn’t mean he does not.

We have to assess the damn patient.

The NHL uses it’s own version of the Standardized/Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3).

The SCAT3 combines aspects of several concussion tools…into eight components designed to assess concussion symptoms, cognition, and neurological signs. Each of the eight components is scored and recorded The test consists of the Glasgow Coma Scale [you conscious?], Maddocks score [are you aware you’re a hockey player?], symptom evaluation, cognitive evaluation using SAC [can you solve my puzzles?], neck examination, balance examination, coordination examination, and a follow-up of the SAC delayed recall task.

The SCAT3 is not meant to replace comprehensive neuropsychological testing. It should not be used as a stand-alone method to diagnose concussion, measure recovery, or make decisions about an athlete’s readiness to return to competition after a concussion.”

What you need to know from that is that the SAC is a timed paper-and-pencil quiz that takes 5 to 10 minutes. It’s a pretty reliable indicator. You do it twice in the SCAT.

When the SCAT was introduced Dr. Ruben Echemendia, chair of the NHL’s Concussion Working Group, denied that players have to be in the quiet room for a minimum of 15 minutes. “The 15 minutes that has been talked about in the media is a fallacy….It really is the amount of time that’s necessary to conduct a thorough evaluation.” x That’s interesting.

Oshie left the ice with 16 and a half minutes left in the 3rd. He returned with 3 and a bit to go. It is physically impossible that he completed just one of the eight parts of the NHL’s own tool properly.

Using just one tool may give you almost 50% error, compared to 80-100% accuracy when you use the SCAT and other tools to get a more complete picture. Reasonable medical care for concussions does exist, this just…isn’t it.

I’m not saying a word about the medical staff. I’m saying that this system means being cleared to play has as much to do with your concussion status as a coin flip.

Kariya shows character in Game 6

Jun 8, 2003

Sherry Skalko

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Paul Kariya wasn’t going to stay down.

It was Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals and there was more work to do.

At 6:26 of the second period Saturday night with the Mighty Ducks leading the Devils 3-1, Kariya joined the list of players who have fallen victim to a Scott Stevens check. An instant after dishing the puck off to his left before the Devils’ blueline, Kariya, with his head down, turned to his right – full-speed, face-first into the white No. 4 on the New Jersey captain’s shoulder.

Kariya fell to the ice and lay motionless. The capacity crowd that he had whipped into a frenzy with two assists in the first period fell silent.

…

So at the most crucial of moments, with his young Mighty Ducks facing elimination in the playoffs for the first time, Kariya got up. And less than four minutes later, he made a surprising return.

Later in the period, it was Kariya who provided the nicest lift of all by beating Martin Brodeur high glove side with a slapshot off the left wing at 17:15.

“He was able to come back, and that really inspired every player in our room,” Ducks veteran winger Steve Thomas said.

“I was impressed with that,” coach Mike Babcock said. “It was impressive for him. When you’re stretched and people are calling you out, you get a chance to respond. When you respond, that’s the best feeling. That’s why they pay you the money.”

They pay him the money because they know what other people don’t.

“That’s just a sign of leadership, right there, to come back after that and score that goal,” Rucchin said. “I expect the same from him in Game 7.”

Because Paul Kariya won’t stay down.

Paul Kariya can’t remember that goal.

He had anterograde amnesia: like we talked about with Kempný this season, his brain couldn’t record any new information. His muscle memory was out there, and it did okay without the rest of him, because you truly don’t need judgement or personality to be a hockey player.

Seeing TJ return to the ice last night and score was the nightmare scenario. It’s what we can’t seem to get away from. We keep cheering when they go back on the ice. We keep saying see? He’s okay!

And that’s pretty damn awkward fifteen years later.

I don’t think Oshie has a concussion. I don’t know! We don’t. We cheered anyway.

I’ve been trying to get this, reading posts praising what Oshie did. Because I know you all want him to be well. And you want him to get a victory. We want the story to end with the good guy safe and sound and still good at hockey. It feels right.

But a player being well and being good at hockey are not the same thing. Sometimes wanting him to be well means acknowledging that he can’t do this right now, because doing this is hurting him.

Dessy, A. M., Yuk, F. J., Maniya, A. Y., Gometz, A., Rasouli, J. J., Lovell, M. R., & Choudhri, T. F. (2017). Review of Assessment Scales for Diagnosing and Monitoring Sports-related Concussion. Cureus, 9(12), e1922.

Resch JE, Brown CN, Schmidt J, et alThe sensitivity and specificity of clinical measures of sport concussion: three tests are better than oneBMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2016

50 notes · View notes

ladywinchester1967 · 7 years ago

Text

His Good Girl: Part II

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Alaina (formerly known as Female Character)

Characters: Dean Winchester, Alaina (OFC), Laura (OFC), Lisa (mentioned)

Warnings: Feels, fluff, angst, swearing. Dean being a sweetheart 💜

A/N: I wasn’t done with the first part for some reason and decided just to roll with it! Hope you guys like this wrap up. To the first part (if you missed it, I’ll link it.) Unbeta’d, all mistakes are mine, mine, mine but the pictures AREN’T. I found them on Pinterest.

PART 1 IS HERE

“Oh fuck.” She said, clapping her hand over her mouth as she stared at the pregnancy test.

“Alaina,” Laura said “what happened?”

“I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with how babies are made!” Alaina exclaimed, a tear escaping her eye.

“You didn’t use a condom?” Laura asked “you’re not on birth control?”

“Good job,” Laura mock applauded “you’re every trope in every teen soap opera ever.”

“Shut up Laura.” Alaina said and raked a hand through her hair “Oh fuck, Dean. Oh god, he’s gonna blow a fucking gasket when I tell him.” She took a few deep breaths and said “If I tell him that is.”

Laura shook her head

“Alaina, you can’t do that.” She said

“It’s my body!” Alaina yelled “I can do what I want!”

“Whoa,” Laura sad and rubbed her hands up and down Alaina’s arms “you’re in shock. I need you to take a few deep breaths. This is Dean remember? Your best friend? The only man you’d ever take a bullet for?”

“Oh fuck, you’re right.” Alaina said and slumped to the floor “If he doesn’t die of shock first that is.”

Laura shushed Alaina, smoothing her hair out of her face. Laura hugged her friend tightly and rocked her.

“You can do this,” Laura said and then shifted Alaina’s face up to hers “worst case, WE can do this.”

“You’re cute and all,” Alaina said “but you’re not my type.”

“You bitch!” Laura exclaimed and ruffled Alaina’s hair.

The next week, Alaina met Dean for burgers at their favorite diner.

“So what’s kept you away so long?” Dean asked as they sat down “That lawyer thing can’t be that hard.” He chided

“You dick!” She exclaimed “Do you have any idea how many cases come across my desk a DAY?!”

“I don’t,” he said as he grabbed his menu “enlighten me.”

“Forty five,” Alaina told him “per day. At minimum.”

Dean’s green eyes went wide

“No shit,” he breathed and she nodded “well damn, I’m wrong.”

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” She asked, cupping a hand around her ear and leaning into him.

“You bitch.” He said with a laugh and their waitress came by. Dean ordered a beer while Alaina ordered sweet tea. “You’re making me drink by myself?” He teased “I’m losing a little bit of respect for you.”

“I will gut you.” She shot back, holding up a butter knife. He laughed and took a swig of his beer.

“Watch out, we got a bad ass over here.” He said and they both grinned, then skimmed over the menu. After a few moments of comfortable silence, the waitress came by and took their orders and collected their menus before leaving them alone.

“So,” Alaina said “I have news; two pieces of news actually.”

“Oh?” Dean asked and took another sip of beer “Good news?”

“Yes,” she said, she was beaming “first is that I have a job interview.”

His eyebrows shot up

“The public defender not working out?” He asked

“No,” she said “well, I mean it is working out, but I know a guy who knows a guy that owes another guy a favor or something. Anyway, this law firm downtown, Stanley and Corey, is looking for another lawyer and my contact handed in my resume and they liked what they saw.”

Dean’s face split into a huge grin

“That’s fantastic sweetheart!” He exclaimed “Congratulations, I mean that. I’m so happy for you!”

Her grin mirrored his as her heart began to pound, he may not be as excited about her next piece of news.

“A toast to you,” Dean said holding up his beer bottle “my favorite lawyer and best friend in the world.”

“Deeeeean,” She said, her face blushing “stop!”

“One, I’m happy for you and I can do what I want.” Dean quipped “two, you say my name like that again, we may not make it to the main course.” His eyes were lit up with mischief. She let out a laugh and they clinked their drinks together and took a sip.

“What’s the other piece of news?” He asked after finishing his sip.

Alaina set her cup down, her hands shaking and her breath quickening.

“Well, it relates to the job interview,” she said “kind of anyway.” He raised an eyebrow and she went on “Okay, it has to deal with why I submitted my resume in the first place.”

“Okay, so?” Dean asked, his hands clasped together in front of him on the table. Alaina looked down at her lap, her foot jiggling under the table. She looked up at him.

“When I tell you this, I need you not to give me a knee jerk reaction okay? I want you to think before you talk.” She insisted “Can you do that for me? Please?”

“Alaina, you’re shaking.” He pointed out, suddenly looking concerned “What’s wrong?”

She looked away, then back at him, then away again before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Once she had let it out, she opened her eyes and faced him, her heart pounding at a painful level.

“Dean, I’m pregnant.” She said.

Dean stared at her blankly for a few seconds and then blinked; no emotion registering on his face.

“Um, what?” He asked, stunned.

“I’m-I’m,” She stammered and looked around before saying “I’m pregnant.”

“With what? A food baby?” He asked, the gravity of her words not registering in his mind.

She scrunched up her eyebrows, floored.

“No,” she said slowly “with an actual baby.”

He blinked again and the words finally sunk in and he sat back in the booth. Now it was his turn for his heart rate to speed up and his palms to sweat.

“You’re-“ he started “you’re-on my god.” He said and placed his hands over his face.

“Dean, I need you to listen to me.” She said steadily “Are you listening?”

“No.” He said through his hands, his voice muffled by his rough palms.

“Please, just listen.” She begged him.

After a few moments of her revelation sinking in, he moved his hands away from his face.

“How long have you known?” He asked and sat up

“For sure? Only a few hours.” She told him “I had an inkling two weeks ago when I took a pregnancy test and it was positive.”

“Why didn’t you call me then?!” He asked, stunned.

“I wanted to make SURE,” she told him “I wanted to know beyond a shadow of a doubt before I told you. I went to my doctor, got a blood test and she confirmed it.”

“But, how far along are you?” He asked, he could barely remember what he had for lunch that day, let alone how many times they had done it without a condom.

“Doctor says I'm about eight to ten weeks.” She told him.

“Shit,” he cursed under his breath, a million and a half thoughts racing through his head as he struggled to regain his composure “What the fuck?”

“My honest reaction if you want the truth.” She said and whipped her hair into her hand, playing with the ends of it and avoiding his gaze. They were both silent for a few more seconds and she took a deep breath.

“I know you’re scared and all kinds of other crazy shit.” She said

“Yeah, that’s one expression for it.” He said as the waitress returned with their food.

“Another beer for you?” She asked Dean and he nodded. She left and Alaina went on.

“But I don’t want you to worry okay?” She asked and his expression morphed into the bitchiest face.

“I’m sorry, have you MET me?” He asked “How am I not supposed to worry?”

“Because,” She said “I’m not expecting anything from you.”

He raised his eyebrows

“What’s THAT supposed to mean?” He asked

“Look,” She said and grabbed some French fries, then shoved them in her mouth. When she was done chewing, she went on “we didn’t plan this. I’m not holding you to any obligation that you don’t want.” He continued to stare and she kept talking “I’m not going to MAKE you be involved, if you want nothing to do with me or the baby, I totally understand. I won’t be mad or hate you.”

“What about you?” He asked “What do you want?”

“From you?” She asked

“No; what do you want to do with the baby?” He asked, chewing on his lower lip.

She sighed and said

“I’ve given it a lot of thought and I want to keep it. It’s the reason I’m even considering leaving my job and taking a different one.”

He suddenly looked angry

“You want to raise this baby by yourself?” He asked

“No, I don’t WANT to,” She told him “but I’m not going to force you to be a parent if you don’t want to be.”

He laughed humorlessly

“Alaina, you have got to be kidding me.” He said

“What? You think I can’t raise a baby by myself?” She challenged.

“I know you can,” he said “you’re Wonder Woman if we’re being honest here. But I want to help. I’ll take you to your doctor’s appointments, I’ll be there when the baby is born. I want to be a father; don’t take that away from me.”

“I’m not trying to take anything from you,” She told him “I’m giving you an out if you want one.”

He shook his head and took her hand

“I don’t want one,” he said and looked up at her “I mean that.”

She smiled, her heart thumping in her chest. She knew he wouldn’t abandon her; she knew him as well as her own family. However, that didn’t stop her from feeling bad.

“Have you raised a baby Dean?” She asked “They’re a lot of work.”

“I didn’t RAISE Sam,” he said “but I remember what it was like when he was a baby, and when him and Jess had Morgan.” He was referring to his three year old niece “I know some stuff.”

Tears welled up in her eyes

“But they cry and they poop, pee and scream and it’s A LOT,” she told him “I’m scared.”

He shushed her and got up. He sat on her side of the booth and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she sobbed into him. He stroked her hair and held her while she cried. When her tears finally subsided he said

“I’m scared too, but we can do this. You and me.”

She looked up at him and nodded

“We can.” She said.

That night, Dean took Alaina home and made sure she got into her house safely.

“So, I didn't know how to bring this up at dinner,” he said as he scratched the back of his head “but I started seeing someone.”

“Oh?” Alaina asked as she shut and locked the door behind them “Who?”

“Lisa,” Dean said “her name is Lisa.”

Alaina nodded and then shrugged

“Well, do you like her?” Alaina asked

“Yeah,” he said with a smile “I do, but I'm gonna break it off with her.”

“But you like her,” Alaina pointed out “does she have some terrible personality or something?”

Dean shook his head

“No, she's great. Really, but after your news today, I don't think it'd be right to keep seeing her.” he told her.

“No,” Alaina said firmly “Dean, I didn't tell you this so that you would be with me. You're the father and I wanted you to know so that you could make your decision if you wanted to be involved. You want to be involved, so I'll tell you when things are going on.”

“Such as?” he asked

“I'll give you plenty of notice for my doctor's appointments,” she told him “if you want to come to birthing classes with me, you can. If you wanna help pick a hospital or paint colors for the nursery, you can. When baby furniture needs to be assembled, I'll call you. If there's an emergency, I'll call you.”

Dean studied her face, he knew she wasn't lying. She'd never lie about something that she knew was so important to him. He finally bit his lip and nodded.

“Okay,” he conceded “I know you will.”

She smiled at him and asked

“See? Settled.”

A silence stretched between them as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“One question before I go.” He said

“Only one?” she teased and he smirked

“Are you showing yet?” he asked and she shook her head

“No, not yet. That won't be for a little while longer.” she told him. He looked like he was struggling to ask his next question and she gave him a tender smile “What? You wanna see my belly and touch it or something?”

“When there's something to see, yeah.” he said “If you don't mind.”

She laughed

“Again, you're the dad, you can see and touch my belly as much as you want.”

This made him chuckle as he walked toward her. He wrapped her into a hug, his arms around her neck. She folded her arms around his midsection and returned the hug, laying her head on his chest. His heart beat was faster than normal, but she chalked it up to nerves.

“Thank you.” he said in her ear.

She pulled back and looked up at him

“For what?” she asked

“Giving me a chance,” he said “this could have gone in so many different directions. I'm so fucking happy.”

She smiled at him

“Dean; you're my best friend, if I can't give you a chance, who can?” she asked him

He tenderly kissed her forehead and told her

“I gotta get going, early day tomorrow.”

“Me too.” she told him and they broke apart. He headed for the door and unlocked it.

“Be safe okay?” he asked “You need anything, call me.”

She nodded

“I will.” she told him.

With one last legendary smirk, he was gone. She locked the door behind him and watched through the window next to the door as he got in his car and fired it up.

“That's your Dad and he's,” she paused as she placed a hand over her belly, talking to the baby as the engine in Dean's Impala roared to life “and he's my everything.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

SOOOOOOOO; what did ya’ll think?! I’m feeling this as a 5 part series.....mostly because 5 parts have been written and I’m enjoying it! I’m not sure when parts 3-5 will be up, I’m in the process of editing them right now. As always, leave your KIND feedback below, share, like and maybe follow?

The Squad/ Tag Team Champions:

@waywardbaby @waywardnerd67 @familybusinesswritingbro @carryonmytardisjohn @ain-t-bovvered @kittenofdoomage @mrswhozeewhatsis @sis-tafics @xscarletxedgex @sugarprincess3 @bkp810 @bamcrux @imma-winchester-addict @charliebradbury1104 @depressed-moose-78 @dacleverfox @ellen-reincarnated1967 @pheonyxstorm @theworldiscolorful @thewaywardvalkyrie

#dean winchester #lady winchester writes #dean winchester fic #dean winchester fluff #supernatural imagine #supernatural fic

55 notes · View notes

poorquentyn · 7 years ago

Note

Considering Spielberg is your (second?) favorite director, do you have any kind of ranking of his filmography? (If so, I hope you give Empire of the Sun the high marks it deserves. It's the quintessential Spielberg film! A boy's own adventure story that gets eaten alive by a war drama!)

*rubs hands together*

Ok, so, only ones where he was in the director’s chair; none of even those producer’s credits where you can feel his indelible stamp on the final product, so no Goonies, Gremlins, Poltergeist, or Back to the Future. Even then, I’m leaving out a lot, so honorable mention to Lincoln, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me if You Can, War of the Worlds, The Color Purple, Bridge of Spies, the two worthwhile Indy sequels…

10. Jurassic Park

Start with the gaze upon himself: Jurassic Park as a $63 million self-portrait released on the exact tipping point of his career. John Hammond and Steven Spielberg’s miracles are one and the same: one brings dinosaurs back, the other convinces us they’re real. One uses DNA, the other uses CGI. When the characters stare in wonder, they’re meant to mirror our own at the imagery; when Jeff Goldblum mutters “that crazy son of a bitch actually did it,” he’s speaking for an entire industry once again forced to up its game by a Spielberg Miracle.

Our protagonist, however, is shitty with computers, so Alan Grant terrifies a child the old fashioned Jaws way: with a prop (a raptor claw) and his imagination. Hammond whisks him away from that to a world where one can press a button and make yourself appear on screen, mirroring how Spielberg has done the same with Hammond as his craft has evolved from malfunctioning sharks to CG velociraptors. The heart of the film comes when this giddy wonder in the possibilities of “we have the technology” is soured and our author avatar is left disillusioned and afraid, eating ice cream in a room full of merch he’ll never sell (but Spielberg will), telling Laura Dern about how he started off with a flea circus. That, right there, is a metaphor for moviemaking, and specifically Spielberg’s brand of it: pulling invisible strings to make us think that impossible things are real, to make belief believable.

Above all, Jurassic Park is afraid for the kids. Another perfect metaphor for the meta-tastic whole comes when the T-Rex crashes down through the car roof, only glass separating him from devouring the children; their hands are desperately keeping the monster behind the rectangular transparent plane, on the screen, even as Spielberg/Hammond’s tech is so real it threatens to burst right through. “He left us!” one kid wails about the character representing the studio weasels. “But that’s not what I’m gonna do,” Alan Grant whispers, half in shadow, blue eyes ablaze with a promise he didn’t know he was going to make. He can’t keep it. There are monsters in the kitchen. Spielberg’s next movie, released only a handful of months later, is Schindler’s List.

9. Duel

Such a seam scratches the tape; rewind, start again. Where did this begin? On TV, in the backseat of a car, backing out of the garage. Duel is the world’s most accomplished demo reel, cinema stripped down to its bare minimum to let the director’s preposterous surplus of talent shine through. It’s about a man (named Mann, both appropriate and touchingly pretentious) who pisses off a truck driver we never see, who then chases our protagonist with lethal intent, and that’s it.

And that’s all Spielberg needs. What follows is the future, a steel-shod gauntlet of precise camera angles and insidious sound design that builds the bridge between the B-movie and the blockbuster. By the end you feel spent but sated, as if every possible creative drop has been wrung out of the slim scenario. It’s nothing more nor less than the finest Roadrunner & Coyote episode imaginable, to the extent that George Miller was clearly reaching back to it for inspiration again and again in Fury Road. Indeed, while Duel is set in the modern day, Spielberg needs no trickery to make the antagonistic truck look positively apocalyptic.

It’s such a vivid example of the medium’s unique possibilities that you have to stop to remember that it was made for TV. And then you stop to think that he was only 24, same age Welles was when he made Citizen Kane. Lofty comparison, I know, but Duel proves it’s not what your movie is about, but how it’s about it that counts. Spielberg made it look easy, and so everyone followed. The road goes ever on and on…

8. Munich

…until it doesn’t. No exit.

Munich is the culmination of Spielberg’s Blue Period, his great here-comes-another-bloody-century trepidation, punctured by Stanley Kubrick’s death and 9/11. The former gave birth to A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and the movies about closing doorways and agonized faces that followed. The latter palpably haunted Spielberg’s projects in its wake: even Minority Report, a script written years earlier and adapted from a decades-old story, was uncannily timely in its portrait of overreaching security and law enforcement built to placate (and control) a population reeling from loss. Then came the director’s outright Twin Towers Trilogy: The Terminal, War of the Worlds, and Munich, addressing the event from different angles and through different filters. Of course, the intriguing and emotional setup in The Terminal’s opening minutes, framing post-9/11 bureaucracy as fluid chaos eating away at the state from within, quickly gives way to disappointing inanity. And while I maintain that War of the Worlds is absolutely perfect as an on-the-ground recreation of 9/11 as an alien attack for the first 50-60%, things go downhill fast once Tim Robbins shuffles onscreen.

Munich is the one that actually has the courage of its convictions, in large part because it’s about the director and protagonist alike breaking down in tears and admitting they don’t know what to believe anymore. Every set piece unfolds with a quiet chill and ends with you contemplating mortality. It’s a deliberately non-thrilling thriller. The ideology dissolves, not in neat bromides but in the day-to-day realities of ending human beings. Revenge fills you with fire, hot and bright, and then turns sour in your mouth. Narrative strands cross and recross, and the film’s inciting event, murder before the world’s watching eyes, sinks into that abyss known as Context.

By the end, you don’t even know what you’re fighting for anymore but your family, and you’re haunted by the knowledge that your kids will be fighting the same damn fight. The last thing to be corrupted, then, is the dinner table. Our protagonist begs to break bread with his handler, and the final word of the Blue Period is “no.” The camera tilts over to the Twin Towers, their loss contextualized as just another curl of a horrorshow helix, and the exorcism is complete. The anger and grief has largely vanished from Spielberg’s work since, as he’s settled into a comfortable John Ford mode. He left his questions here, unanswered.

7. Minority Report

If A.I. was Spielberg’s 2001, a millennia-spanning epitaph for humanity and a glimpse of what we leave behind, Minority Report (following the Kubrick trajectory) would be his Clockwork Orange, stepping down from the stars to gaze with cold horror on the things we do to one another with power. In the future, three young seers see crimes before they happen, enabling the state to lock people away for crimes they haven’t committed in the name of wiping out crime for good. Indeed, this fleet fluid fever dream makes explicit visual reference to Clockwork’s Ludovico scene (see above). In Spielberg’s memory machine, though, the image of an eye forcibly kept open by metal claws takes on a meaning beyond social and political analysis, though those are certainly still in there. It’s something more spiritual: Minority Report is about divine sight in a postmodern age.

Our protagonist’s rival went to seminary, his own men tell him they’re more priests than cops, but Tom Cruise’s John Anderton can’t bring himself to recognize the Spielberg Miracle at work here. The larger moral revelation of the “precogs,” the framing of their ability to see crimes before they happen as a techno-noir version of Biblical prophecy, is lost on Anderton because it can’t bring his son back. For him, that the future is known points to the futility of human existence. If there’s no free will, if we’re all doomed to perpetually fall in a fallen world, what’s the point?

And then one of the precogs asks him: “Do you see?” So begins the murder mystery that will see him accused of a future murder, that of the man who ostensibly killed his son. Anderton chooses mercy, only for the man to grab and pull the trigger because it’s all a setup to prevent Anderton from learning the truth about the precogs: they, too, are children stolen from their parents, all our characters trapped in a Möbius strip of loss they can only watch unfold, again and again, as if on the film’s countless screens. The images have been manipulated to hide the truth, the divine vision sullied by contact with the greedy exploitative systems of the Blue Period. But our detective finds the truth, and an existential triumph in making the right choice even if he can’t change the outcome. I’ve always taken the happy ending, a startling glimpse of green after a movie of blues and grays that look etched in stone, as just another vision. Closure is there, your family is there, in the future, in the past, just out of reach, smiling back at you. It hurts to look, but even as your eyes are torn out and replaced, you can’t look away.

6. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Well now, see, this one’s a tad criticism-proof by design, being as it is smelted and shaped to get under your defenses. “Disarming” seems like a strange choice of defining adjective for this most white-knuckled of action/adventure movies, but for all the staggering moviemaking skill on display, Raiders is ultimately a puppy shoving its nose under your hand. Given the slightest opportunity, it will make you love it. Fun is its religion, so deeply felt and communicated is the generous desire to entertain, rooted in the pulp serials that first lit the fire in its makers’ bellies to create.

And that fire again burns hot and bright, which is Raiders’ other secret magic trick: underneath all the cleverness, the jokes within jokes and setpieces spilling into ever more elaborate ones, the sense that every single moment was designed to make the rest of the genre look paltry and stingy by comparison, what happens at the end is nothing less than the very specifically Old Testament God stepping in to fry Nazis’ faces off. It’s the Ghostbusters trick of grounding helium-high hijinks in metaphysical forces that are not in any way kidding around. Our action hero, at the climax of the movie, is simply the one who (in an inverse of Minority Report) is smart enough to look away. So many Spielberg movies boil down to a shaft of divine light, and sometimes the light burns.

Then came the bizarre, hallucinogenic Temple of Doom and the sturdy, winning Last Crusade and that fourth one we don’t talk about, but they’re all in some way reactions to the nigh-flawless original. All you can do is go back, wearing the leather deep, Indy ageless, his eyes blazing shut against the light.

5. Empire of the Sun

Equally criticism-proof, but for the exact opposite reasons. This is the one no one can quite explain. Spielberg isn’t telling; he might not have any more idea than the rest of us. It shares certain themes with the rest of his work, especially regarding how children process the collapse and change of their world, but the similarities are strictly on paper. It feels different. I don’t what it…is. What it’s for. What it means. These sound like bad things, but they’re not. Empire of the Sun is utterly arresting, every bit as much as those canonized Spielberg classics of which anyone can explain the appeal. It’s just that it unfolds like a dream, and I’m left grasping after it in the same way. It might be one of the more accurate adaptations put to film in only that it feels so much more novelistic in its thrust and tone than most.

What can be pinned down is a series of images and sounds about the fall and occupation of Shanghai by Japan in WWII, told from the perspective of the naive sheltered son of a British emissary. Our hero is played by Christian Bale, in what might be my favorite child performance. To the extent that Empire of the Sun is about anything beyond the experience of watching it, it’s about his breakdown, and that’s what grounds the dreamlike style: we’re watching a bubble burst. Death and decay unfold out of the corner of his eye, like a memory he can’t quite bear to fully recall. His childhood vanishes when he shrieks surrender at anyone who will listen, trusting the rules to snap back into place and the world to make sense again, only for the collapse to continue unabated.

It’s made out of smoke and corners and quiet sadnesses. It’s runny, like an egg. I dream about it sometimes. You should watch it if you haven’t.

4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

*harrumphs, wipes eyes* so um uh my name is Emmett, you see, and it begins with a….an ends with a….shut up.

That’s the point, though, of the movie: identification so strong that it almost kills you. E.T. is love, that’s all. All of it is here, from pure warm glow to heart stopping loss, swept up in imagery and sound that seem to positively hum with rich rueful feeling. Much has been made of how much of the movie is shot from a child’s POV, but everything about the movie operates on kid-logic. ET himself, for example: botanist or pet? Both. The connection he forges with Elliott swirls all such categories together. Elliott needs this, is yearning for love so badly, and even when it hurts, he’s more alive than he was before, with Dad gone.

But what makes E.T. different from, say, Star Wars and Harry Potter is that our hero only gets a taste of this other world, his fingertips brushing against magic as he passes it in the night. The gold-and-purple-brushed cinematography and the ecstatic, eternally swelling score sweep the profound and mundane together as one, bike rides and trick-or-treating and a psychic connection with an alien, yet the narrative eventually teases them apart like a sad parent forced to tell their kid that the dog is dead, and what “dead” means. ET returns to life, the definitive Spielberg Miracle…and then he leaves. Elliott will go home to his melancholy, frustrating life. School is still hard. His emotions still confuse him. Dad is still gone. The final shot of his face is not one of wonder, but maturation. It’s the moment Elliott grows up, and it’s the very definition of bittersweet.

What do you do, when you’ve loved and lost? You go home, you play with your toys, you send letters into Weird Things and Such SF Monthly, you make movies in your backyard, and you watch the skies….

….until they come back.

All of them.

3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

I smiled just typing the words. I whispered them to myself, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This movie is a lil shining red ball dancing in my eyes; it is glee given form, a rainbow-colored pony ridden by a Willy Wonka-suited Care Bear on twenty tabs of LSD. The last half-hour, all glowing light and warm noise, earns the cliche: it makes you feel like a kid again, in the best possible way. After a movie’s buildup of wonder and terror, the sight and sound of a colossal lit-up mothership cheerfully BWAMMing out a melody is so cathartic that it’s impossible to sit still.

As with Raiders, though, it’s worth digging into the movie’s layers to understand where that light is coming from, and what it costs you to look at it. Close Encounters is a movie about communication, of course, from the alien lights to the translator forever accompanying Francois Truffaut (a filmmaker who knows a thing or two about capturing kid-logic on screen). It’s a movie about the fragility of family life in the face of the unknown, hence that devastating scene around the dinner table: something’s wrong with Dad, a subject near and dear to the director’s heart.

But above all else, it’s a religious movie, the religious movie. It’s about rushing upwards, and leaving all else behind. Roy Neary sees a divine light in the sky, and can’t reconcile it with the life he was living. He obsessively recreates his vision in idols, chases it across the country, driving his wife and children away in favor of his fellow prophets: here are my mother and my brothers. And the sting in that gorgeous symphonic ending’s tail is that it’s so good that Roy sheds this mortal coil to join them in the heavens. Spielberg has said that if he made it now, he wouldn’t have let Roy get on that ship. And when you look at E.T. or the movies he made from Schindler forward, it’s clear why: in joining the interstellar flock, the man-child left his family to the wolves. By the time Roy/Eliot came home, his skin had sagged, his hair had gone white, and his children were waiting for him with eyes that cut.

And what do their movies look like?

2. A.I. Artificial Intelligence

The ultimate deconstructed fairytale; a honeyvelvetacid-glazed gaze into a heart-shaped abyss; Kubrick a darkwinged angel looming over ET’s crib, brushing a final tear away from his metallic eye…

So does Steven Spielberg, our flesh and blood Peter Pan, grow old and tell the children he lied. The monster is inside the house, inside your head, and inside the stories. At the core is a child’s innocent love for his mother…programmed in him, by her, a debt she cannot and will not repay. “His love is real, but he is not.” Pinocchio but for robots, A.I. takes its sci-fi trappings as a launching pad for a guiding philosophical question: “if a robot could genuinely love a human, what responsibility would that person hold towards that mecha in return?” The boardroom exec who poses that question pauses, almost bashful to ask the next one in a room full of people who treat the abuse of robots like a joke or a PowerPoint presentation, and then proceeds: “it’s a moral question, isn’t it?”

It is indeed, and for David’s adoptive family, the answer is none. He is abandoned, and chases his Blue Fairy and his happy ending across the apocalypse. As his fellow robots are torn apart to the cheers of the crowd in front of him, as his entire environment upends his hardwired fairytale logic into a sleazy neon-and-smoke nightmare, as his companion Gigolo Joe warns him presciently that “they made us too smart, too quick, and too many…they hate us because they know that when they’re gone, all that will be left is us,” David keeps looking for the Blue Fairy to turn him into a real boy so Mommy will love him again. He has no choice. His brain literally will not let him do otherwise. There is no will to power here, no core he can call upon to upend his puppet masters’ plan and prove himself Human After All. All he has is love, and they’ve used it to enslave him: at journey’s end, he finds his maker, who reveals that everything post-abandonment was staged to test if his love held. It did, and as such that love is now a corporate-approved field-tested quality-assured Feature that can be passed onto the hungry customer. This is not a Hero’s Journey, because you are not a person. You are a thing, and this is a product launch. David sees a dozen faces like his, stretched on a rack and ready. There is a row of boxes. They have David’s silhouette on them. All of a sudden, one starts to rattle and shake…

In the face of this existential horror (“my brain is falling out”) David promptly chooses suicide, whispering “Mommy” as he jumps from the statue he saw in his first moments. Down in the void, he finds the Blue Fairy and prays to her for millennia, but she cannot answer his eternal plea. She is a statue. An image, nothing more. She crumbles into a thousand pieces in his arms. He finds his mother, too. She is a fake, a digital mirage. Future robots create a simulacrum of her, as David himself was a simulacrum to replace her comatose son, designed in the image of his creator’s dead son…and of course, he cannot tell the difference. He gets his happy ending, on the surface. Underneath, what’s actually happening is that he’s an orphan who will never grow up being shown a movie and told everything is going to be all right. He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts…

…but it doesn’t matter how much he wants it, that is not his mother and his mother never loved him. We know these things even if he doesn’t. He claps because he believes in fairies, forever, eyes and smile frozen, waiting for them to appear, any second now. This is Spielberg showing you a brain on Spielberg. David followed Story over the waterfall’s edge, and now has only time’s vasty deep into which to shout “I love you” and convince himself the echoes are his make-believe savior and his long-dead mom. There is only the water that swallowed up Manhattan, and then the world, and him with it…

Wait.

There’s something in the water.

1. Jaws

To borrow from Alien, the closest thing it has to a peer: Jaws’ structural perfection is matched only by its hostility. You could just call it the perfect movie and walk away, except that if you try the floor tilts up beneath you and down you go into the mouth, the most abyssal maw in imagination’s history, and those black eyes roll over to white and you beg for more.

Run down the pedestals at the Movie Museum: Citizen Kane wants you to breathe in a life. Rashomon wants you to question how storytelling works and what Truth actually is, or if it exists at all. Jaws wants to eat you. Not the characters, you. That’s what Spielberg figured out how to do, and the entire industry reshaped itself around copying him: tonal immersion so absolute that he could make the audience feel anything he wanted, on a dime. Hitchcock played your spine like the devil on a fiddle; Spielberg is a rainbow-wigged mad scientist strapping you on a rocket to the sun. He created his own genre, and it’s the one that still dominates the medium in every corner of the globe. With a shark. A shark that, as a prop, did not fucking work.

Details? How do you pull one strand out of a web like this one? I can only say “perfect” so many times, but I mean it. Shot for shot, line by line, beat by beat. Every domino falls. The calm moments and the funny ones and the frantic blood-soaked ones, everything is earned. As with Raiders, the highest compliment I can pay is that other movies taste like shit for a month afterwards. When I hear the word “craftsmanship” I do not think of cars or cabinets, I think of Jaws. It feels hewn.

The numbers came later. The myth, the legend, the pale imitations, the bad sequels, the ripple effects, all secondary. What Jaws is, is sensation. It cannot have been made, surely, it hatched. It was never launched. It will never fall. Smile, you son of a–

#steven spielberg

77 notes · View notes

viraljournalist · 5 years ago

Text

Biggest Week 10 injury questions for all 32 NFL teams

New Post has been published on https://viraljournalist.com/biggest-week-10-injury-questions-for-all-32-nfl-teams/

Biggest Week 10 injury questions for all 32 NFL teams

7:48 PM ET

NFL NationESPN

After missing recent action, Patrick Mahomes and David Johnson could be back in their respective teams’ active lineups this weekend, and A.J. Green could finally make his 2019 debut.

Our NFL Nation reporters update the top injury question for every team heading into Week 10, with intel gathered directly from the source:

Jump to: ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN | NE NO | NYG | NYJ | OAK | PHI | PIT | SF SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

AFC EAST

The Bills are in a better position than most in terms of overall team health. Cornerback Kevin Johnson was limited in Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury but did not don a red “non-contact” jersey; this bodes well for his availability Sunday. He’s one of three outside corners on Buffalo’s 53-man roster and his depth is needed as the team prepares for Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. — Marcel Louis-Jacques

Two key veteran starters — center Daniel Kilgore (knee) and safety Reshad Jones — (chest) have missed the past three games, but each could be nearing a return this Sunday; both are practicing for the second consecutive week, and coach Brian Flores deemed them close to a return. It could signal the return of the Dolphins’ best active defensive back in Jones and offensive captain in Kilgore. — Cameron Wolfe

The Patriots held their lone practice of the bye week, and starting safety Patrick Chung (heel/chest) was one of just two players not spotted at the beginning of the full-pads workout (tight end Benjamin Watson was the other). So the bye comes at a good time for Chung, whose ability to match up with opposing tight ends and help in run support makes him a key cog to the defense. — Mike Reiss

Running back Le’Veon Bell (knee) didn’t practice Wednesday (his first miss of the season), but the team is cautiously optimistic that he will be able to play against the Giants. Even if he plays, it could mean more carries for Bilal Powell and Ty Montgomery. Tight end Chris Herndon (hamstring) is probably 50-50. He’s practicing on a limited basis, but he hasn’t been able to cut loose yet. — Rich Cimini

AFC NORTH

There really isn’t much of an injury question for the Ravens this week. Ronnie Stanley, the Ravens’ starting left tackle, missed Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury but is expected to play Sunday against the Bengals. If Stanley surprisingly can’t suit up, James Hurst would fill in for him. The only other Baltimore player who missed practice because of an injury is guard Marshal Yanda, who is dealing with a cold he picked up from his children. — Jamison Hensley

Before Wednesday, A.J. Green (ankle) appeared on track to make his season debut this weekend. But after he missed practice Wednesday, that appears up in the air. If he doesn’t have a full practice Thursday, Green could be in jeopardy of missing another game. This is already the longest injury absence of his NFL career. — Ben Baby

Defensive end Olivier Vernon did not practice while nursing a knee injury suffered Sunday. Coach Freddie Kitchens has called him day-to-day. The good news is that safety Damarious Randall has returned from a hamstring injury, while left tackle Greg Robinson was practicing despite an ankle injury. Tight end Ricky Seals-Jones (knee) was limited to the side, which means for the moment Cleveland has only two healthy TEs, Demetrius Harris and former practice-squad member Stephen Carlson. — Jake Trotter

Will running back James Conner play Sunday? Still recovering from an AC injury to his shoulder suffered in the final minutes of the victory against the Dolphins, Conner didn’t play against the Colts. Conner is expected to be limited in practice this week, but “perk up” in later practices, per coach Mike Tomlin. If Conner can’t go, the Steelers will again lean heavily on Jaylen Samuels and Trey Edmunds — who were ineffective in the red zone in the Week 9 win. — Brooke Pryor

play

0:57

Field Yates and Stephania Bell give an update on James Conner’s shoulder injury and how fantasy managers should handle him.

AFC SOUTH

The Texans hope their secondary will benefit from the bye week. On Tuesday, coach Bill O’Brien said cornerbacks Bradley Roby (hamstring) and Lonnie Johnson (concussion) as well as safety Tashaun Gipson (back/wrist) are trending in the right direction to be ready to play against Baltimore in Week 11. — Sarah Barshop

2 Related

A possible positive sign for the Colts: Quarterback Jacoby Brissett (knee) was a limited participant in practice Wednesday just days after suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee in the first half against Pittsburgh. However, coach Frank Reich said it’s not a “slam dunk” that Brissett plays Sunday against the Dolphins. “This guy is as tough as they come, but we’ve got to do the right thing for him and for our team,” Reich said. “We will just see how it plays out. He is our quarterback. We want him to play and if he’s ready to play, then he will be the starter.” Brian Hoyer will start if Brissett doesn’t play. — Mike Wells

The bye week is coming at the perfect time for wide receiver Dede Westbrook and cornerback D.J. Hayden, both of whom missed Sunday’s game with shoulder/neck injuries. Coach Doug Marrone said both should return to practice Monday, and would be on track to play the following Sunday. In fact, Marrone said he anticipates linebackers Leon Jacobs (hamstring) and Quincy Williams (hamstring) will return to practice Monday as well. That’s three starters and a key reserve the Jaguars will have back for the Colts. — Mike DiRocco

Center Ben Jones missed last weekend’s game against the Panthers due to a concussion, and reserve swing lineman Jamil Douglas started in Jones’ place. Jones was on the field for the individual period Wednesday, and coach Mike Vrabel said Jones is progressing but still not cleared from concussion protocol. — Turron Davenport

AFC WEST

To celebrate 100 years of pro football, Peyton Manning travels the country to see the people and places that made the NFL the NFL. Watch on ESPN+ » More »

With the Broncos on their bye week, the health of right tackle Ja’Wuan James continues to be a question that affects the team’s offense. Essentially, the Broncos would like, at minimum, to rotate Elijah Wilkinson and Garett Bolles at left tackle because Bolles continues to struggle to avoid, and then rebound from, penalties in games. But they can’t use Wilkinson to do that when James is not in the lineup, because Wilkinson is starting at right tackle. James played 10 snaps in the season opener when he suffered a knee injury. He injured the same knee 22 plays into the next game he played — Week 8 against the Colts. So with James having been in the lineup just 32 plays all season, Denver continues to try to make do on the offensive line. As Broncos players adjourned for their bye-week break, coach Vic Fangio said, “I don’t know that yet” when asked if James would be able to play Week 11 against Minnesota. — Jeff Legwold

The starting quarterback spot for Sunday’s game against the Titans looks to be Patrick Mahomes’ to lose. The Chiefs increased his workload in practice Wednesday as they began preparations for the Titans. If his knee holds up, there’s a good chance he will play. But Chiefs haven’t committed to that yet, so this could again come down to the end of the week. — Adam Teicher

Linebacker Denzel Perryman is dealing with a knee injury he suffered during last weekend’s victory over the Packers. Perryman did not practice this week, and is questionable for Thursday’s road game against the Raiders. Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said Perryman will be a game-time decision. Perryman has recorded 20 combined tackles over the past three games, so the Chargers could use the Miami product in the lineup. — Eric D. Williams

Center Rodney Hudson missed the win against the Lions after suffering an ankle injury 10 plays into the Raiders’ loss in Houston on Oct. 27. And right tackle Trent Brown went down three plays into the Lions game with a knee injury, though he tried, unsuccessfully, to return while wearing a knee brace. On such a short week, it’s hard to see either O-lineman returning to face the Chargers on Thursday. Which would mean more snaps for center Andre James and tackle David Sharpe, who have both acquitted themselves well in replacing Hudson and Brown thus far. — Paul Gutierrez

NFC EAST

Embracing the fun spirit of fantasy sports, ESPN senior fantasy analyst Matthew Berry and his unconventional cast of characters aim to make fantasy football players smarter and help them win their leagues. Watch the latest episode

With a quick turnaround following Monday’s road game, the Cowboys did not have a padded practice Wednesday, and Amari Cooper was a spectator. Cooper hurt his knee in practice last week and banged it into the turf against the Giants, but continued to play. The hope is that rest will help him play Sunday. Leighton Vander Esch (stinger) was on the field for the workout and the belief is he will be able to return after sitting out Monday. If he can’t, then Sean Lee will continue to see action. Safety Jeff Heath has 12 stitches on his knee that could affect his status this weekend, but the expectation is he will be able to play against Minnesota. — Todd Archer

Tight end Evan Engram ruled himself out this weekend against the Jets with what the Giants are calling a “mid-foot sprain.” He wore a boot Wednesday on his left foot. The MRIs were sent to foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson, but Engram said the belief is that it’s not the dreaded Lisfranc injury. He “dodged a bullet,” as the TE put it. Engram’s hope is that he can return after the Week 11 bye for the game against Chicago. — Jordan Raanan

Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery suffered an ankle injury late in Sunday’s victory against the Bears, but he didn’t seem overly concerned about it after the game. However, couple this latest ailment with the calf strain that hindered Jeffery for much of the first half of the season, and this becomes a much-needed bye week for the veteran, who will have to carry the load now that DeSean Jackson is sidelined for the remainder of the season. “I’m going to take care of my body, that’s about it,” Jeffery said of his plans this week. “I’m not doing too much. Just treatment.” — Tim McManus

Quarterback Case Keenum is still in the concussion protocol, but it might be a moot point because there’s a good chance Dwayne Haskins will continue to start. The bye week will be good for running back Derrius Guice, who is expected to come off the injured reserve list after spraining his left knee. The Redskins hope having an extra week — he would have been eligible to return this week — will help Guice. The week off should also benefit right tackle Morgan Moses (pectoral injury), who should be fine, and defensive lineman Tim Settle, who underwent platelet-rich plasma treatment for a hamstring injury. His status remains uncertain. — John Keim

NFC NORTH

The Bears made it out of Philadelphia with only one noteworthy injury: Nose tackle Eddie Goldman is dealing with a thigh issue. Goldman has just 16 total tackles on the season, but he’s a large body who clogs running lanes up the middle. The Eagles rushed for 146 yards against the Bears in Week 9. Ex-Bear Jordan Howard ran for 82 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries. Goldman played only 11 of 89 defensive snaps in that loss. — Jeff Dickerson

Matthew Stafford (hip/back) was limited in practice, and at this point it doesn’t seem that concerning. But considering the quarterback has had issues with the hip and back over the past season-plus, it’s going to be worth monitoring as the week progresses. Starting guard Joe Dahl (ankle) missed practice as well, which likely means Kenny Wiggins and Graham Glasgow will start for the second consecutive game. Tracy Walker (knee) missed practice again Wednesday, too. But the main one to watch, for now, is Stafford. — Michael Rothstein

Yes, Davante Adams returned last weekend from a four-game absence due to turf toe. And yes, he caught seven passes Sunday against the Chargers, but he still didn’t look like the Adams of old. And here’s why: “I’m obviously healed at this point but as far as being a thousand percent back to myself, I wouldn’t quite say I’m quite there yet,” Adams said. “But I’m able to do a lot of things right now and do what I can to contribute.” — Rob Demovsky

The Vikings are considerably more banged up entering Week 10 than they’ve been at any point this season. Adam Thielen (hamstring), C.J. Ham (ankle) and Ifeadi Odenigbo (shoulder) were held out of practice Wednesday, while Trae Waynes (ankle) and Stephen Weatherly (groin) were limited participants. Thielen aggravating the hamstring injury he initially sustained in Week 7 could put him at risk of missing more time while he heals. When Dalvin Cook dealt with a similar injury last season, Minnesota eventually shut the running back down for several weeks to let him recover instead of allowing him to practice on a limited basis and testing out his hamstring ahead of several games to determine whether he could go. It feels like this could be the course of action Minnesota takes with Thielen to get him back fully healthy as the Vikings look to make a push for the playoffs down the stretch. — Courtney Cronin

NFC SOUTH

Quarterback Matt Ryan, who missed the Falcons’ Week 8 game against Seattle with a sprained right ankle, was limited in practice Wednesday. Coach Dan Quinn stopped short of declaring Ryan ready to play against the Saints on Sunday, but Quinn said during last week’s bye he was optimistic about Ryan’s return. “Feel good,” Ryan said after practice. “Feeling a little bit better every day. That’s what you do when you have something like this. You just try and focus on daily improvement, try to get back to yourself as fast as possible.” Ryan said he always prepares to start, so his mindset hasn’t changed going into this week. He hadn’t missed a game since December 2009 before he was inactive for the loss to the Seahawks. — Vaughn McClure

Defensive end Vernon Butler was having back issues and went for an evaluation Wednesday, so the Panthers signed Wes Horton, who had been with the team previously. Horton knows the system, so it should be an easy adjustment if Butler can’t play Sunday at Green Bay. Butler had stepped up since the loss of Pro Bowl defensive end/tackle Kawann Short. — David Newton

The bye week served the Saints well. They had every player on the practice field Wednesday, including running back Alvin Kamara (ankle/knee), tight end Jared Cook (ankle) and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith (ankle). Kamara was listed as limited, so it’s possible the Saints might lighten his workload a bit to keep him fresh. But he should still be a big part of the offense. — Mike Triplett

play

0:50

Stephania Bell expects RB Alvin Kamara will be active Sunday coming off the Saints’ bye week.

Coach Bruce Arians said tight end O.J. Howard (hamstring) would be good to go this weekend after missing the past two games with a hamstring injury, and Cameron Brate continues to play through sore ribs. On the defensive side of the ball, Arians said “there’s a chance” outside linebacker Carl Nassib (groin) will play, but it’s unlikely backup Anthony Nelson (hamstring) will. Cornerback Carlton Davis, who suffered a hip injury during warmups against the Seahawks, is also a question mark at this point. — Jenna Laine

NFC WEST

Right tackle Justin Murray (knee) did not practice again Wednesday, putting his status for Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay in doubt. If he can’t play, Justin Pugh will likely line up at right tackle again and Mason Cole, whom coach Kliff Kingsbury called Arizona’s most valuable lineman because of his versatility, will play left tackle for a second consecutive game. Meanwhile, running back David Johnson (ankle), who missed the past two games and most of the Week 7 game against the Giants, declared that he’s “definitely playing” this weekend, though Kingsbury wasn’t dealing in absolutes. “Hopefully we see what we want this week and we can get him back out there,” the coach said. — Josh Weinfuss

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks has been ruled out against the Steelers as he continues to recover and seek opinions from specialists for the two concussions he suffered last month. In Cooks’ absence, Josh Reynolds is expected to start. Sean McVay also said outside linebacker Clay Matthews, who was sidelined after Week 5 after breaking his jaw, and running back Malcolm Brown, who was inactive the past two games because of an ankle injury, were on track to play. — Lindsey Thiry

play

1:42

Stephania Bell contemplates how fantasy managers should handle Brandin Cooks due to the uncertainty of his return from his latest concussion.

Reinforcements are on the way for the 49ers’ offense in the form of left tackle Joe Staley (fibula) and fullback Kyle Juszczyk (sprained MCL), both of whom are expecting to play Monday night against Seattle. The question is whether right tackle Mike McGlinchey will also be back from his knee injury. McGlinchey is hopeful that he will return, and said it’s not so much about healing as getting his wind back. “I think I’m just about through the rehab process and it’s about becoming a football player again,” McGlinchey said. — Nick Wagoner

Wide receiver Josh Gordon passed his physical and will practice Thursday when the Seahawks get back to work ahead of their Monday night game against the 49ers. Gordon still has a new offense to learn, and the Seahawks have to figure out where he might fit within it. But coach Pete Carroll said Gordon is “ready to go” physically after dealing with a minor knee injury that landed him on injured reserve with the Patriots. — Brady Henderson

Source link

0 notes

crookedlyfoultheorist-blog · 7 years ago

Text

The money Prompt Money In Your Hand

The money Instant Cash In Your Hand

The Payoneer MasterCard is a debit card service that permits you to obtain ACH / Direct Deposit transfers out of your shoppers. Above this emergency reserve level, you'll be able to earmark money for massive expenses comparable to a automobile or the deposit on a flat. I bought my first automobile from my parents. There is no motive to go to a car dealer as of late. Is there any catalyst to that closing anytime soon? In case you are asking your self what will occur to the Canadian mortgage curiosity rates over the course of the next quarter or so, get anxious now not because there is zero solution to this specific. Whereas some will let you select what you are able to do with the money given in type of loans, most of them will likely be strict and solely give loans for particular functions. The trick is utilizing evaluation sites in specific niches that convert effectively. If attainable, avoid utilizing one altogether.

In instances like this you'll instinctively help out.

Anyway, I have been using online banking for years now. It’s develop into so accepted that brick and mortar banks now provide most of the identical features - online account access, invoice pay, and even mobile banking to appease clients. He actually seems to have plenty of objects to supply for a very long time. However, it's sill doable to have problems after you open the account. Shoplifters purpose at these properties to rob issues like lighting programs and different treasured belongings like an open invitation. These free business checking accounts from common online banks gives you access to fellow enterprise minds who assume digitally—just like you do. In circumstances like this you will instinctively assist out. These options also assist our youngsters to construct good character. Apart from IRAs, you'll be able to put money into different areas comparable to stocks, mutual funds, equities, shares, and many others. Even investing in properties and actual estate is an efficient choice if you would like higher returns so as to add to your retirement savings.

Just be certain canadian mortgage broker that you simply take your time, at all times be sensible and assess along with earlier than you understand it, you'll bear in mind what exactly different could also be the very best possibility obtainable for you. It is you, who must be proactive and take the final step. You'll find these loans over the Web, which helps you, get cash inside 24 hours. Yow will discover an inventory of state unclaimed-property offices and speak to data at a website on The Unclaimed Property Page. In the occasion that be determined by the whole style of a property what will definitely improve your current look. How will you contact me? A brand new Savings Bond can be issued month-to-month. The minimum amount you must contribute every month varies, but be aware of this and guarantee which you could fulfill the principles before signing up for an internet financial savings account that has this function. Therefore, purchasing through these platforms can allow you to make an knowledgeable choice. Whereas no-where close to as prohibitively costly as merchant account processors, fees still do differ, so make sure you analysis the bank card processing charges for non-earnings before you signal - some are, certainly, very reasonable.

Your bank might even have services for you to make use of for merchant accounts. After that, the mortgage (Accounts) officer decides as to how much mortgage has to be sanctioned even if one is dealing with a bad credit score in market. It’s changing into increasingly difficult to seek out really free checking accounts. On the subject of trying to find out bad credit score loans guaranteed approval, unsecured personal loans are probably the most glorious choice. Considered one of belongings you need to pay attention to about Credit Unions is that they aren't FDIC insured. That is one of the most typical direct investments that business banks go into. With just this one settlement, you possibly can completely transform your life. These financial loans help a lot to an individual in coming out of the credit crises of the life he or she is in. You can easily turn out to be a private shopper and help to get all of the purchasing done on your purchasers. Let me share in detail what I do to make the most effective out of my money which you'll too to make one of the best out of yours!

@singandinspire @metrobank just had amazing singing experience. Price tag & where is the love. Harmonies. Learnt from scratch . #inspiresing

— Paul Richardson (@bumpituplbm) April 28, 2016

These easy ideas can prevent money, as well as saving electricity. As non-public banks are saddled with non-performing company loans, they are actually looking at retail lending to shore up income and microfinance institutions match them effectively due to the rural reach and low default of repayments. Web search traffic and other components; the nation's largest credit score unions, based on deposits in addition to broad-based membership requirements; and different notable and/or emerging gamers within the trade. Trial deposits are used for verification; though these are withdrawn. Chase Bank Foreclosure properties are these properties which are foreclosed either by authorities or banks because of poor monetary conditions of homeowners. Could the terrorists have been trying both occasions to actually deliver down the World Trade Middle towers on the new York Inventory Change and Wall Street? Nothing Down" really work! But still the experts and skeptics refused to be satisfied. I then appeared on a tv present in Houston. Bank Of The West on facebook After explaining my story, the host mentioned with a sneer, "Yeah, you proved you possibly can do it.

By September 14, the weekend when Lehman went bankrupt, John Mack, of Morgan Stanley, and John Thain, by then the C.E.O. Funds planning - The precise bank account will make budget planning a breeze. Ensure you clear out the filters within the dryer and test for any blockages in the vent. Plus, Wells Fargo means that you can combine your QuickBooks account to maintain every little thing on-line. Is setting up a payment account at your bank something to be thought-about? Financial savings: Once more, examine-cashing services, money orders, payday loans, and pre-paid debit cards cost cash to use. For such ladies, money lower is as a present a wonderful thought. That isn't too dangerous contemplating the options on-ground right this moment. The owner had the following thing to say to me “I know nothing about the rest (enterprise). I suppose I simply wished to leap again to the IoT business. And no society ought to return as a substitute of going ahead over a period of forty-some years.

0 notes

myupdatesystems-blog · 8 years ago

Text

An SEO Primer for Entrepreneurs

New Post has been published on https://myupdatesystems.com/an-seo-primer-for-entrepreneurs/

An SEO Primer for Entrepreneurs

So, two weeks ago you realized that your company was missing out completely on online business. You were struggling to make your minimum sales quotas month to month, and you certainly weren’t moving forward. For the past two to three years now you’ve watched your profit margins get slashed, your ROI drop precipitously, and your bottom line bottom out. You’ve been wracking your brain to figure out what to do, how to reinvigorate your struggling business.

Your kids were your first inspiration – day after day for several years you’ve come home weary from worry, to find them plunked in front of the family desktop, staring, laughing, and telling you to watch the latest video online. You always hated computers, even from the start of the personal computer revolution. You found them intimidating, confusing, and beyond comprehension, but as time has gone by you’ve gotten used to the notion that they seem to be here to stay. All your business associates, friends, family, and neighbors seem to have embraced them with gusto, but you alone have held out. You felt yourself to be the last bastion of normalcy in a world a swim in electronics.

Ah, those kids… they drive you crazy, don’t they? You wonder, “How much time per week do those kids spend staring at that screen, while they might better use their time on more constructive things?” “What a waste of time,” you harp.

You’re bothered, annoyed, worried about your company, as well. “How can we get back on top of the market?” you wonder. You’re watching those teenage maniacs glibly speeding through their paces, page after page, photo after photo, clicking this and that. You stand amazed at the amount of attention and time they devote to this meaningless pursuit.

Suddenly, something caught your eye as you are peeking over young Courtney’s shoulder. There, in the right column of the page was a small advertisement for a company that offers self-publishing of books. Your jaw muscles clenched and then went slack. Your children heard a strange “clunk” as your jaw made contact with your collarbone. Drool began to stream from your pendulous, quivering lower lip as you stared incredulously at that little, “insignificant” ad.

“What,” you may ask, dear reader, “is the cause of the above graphic description?”

Our captain of industry had just had an epiphany regarding internet marketing platforms. Namely, that of finding that his main competitor is the source for the ad that he was gazing at right at that moment with incredulity. Our hero had just found the source of his frustrations, he’d finally realized how stuck in the mud and out of sync with the rest of the business world he truly was. As I mentioned before, he’d had an epiphany.

So, getting back to our hero… You met a man who owns a specialty fabrication company. He told you of how his company was on the rocks. He talked about how he and his partners were beside themselves, not knowing how to proceed or what to do to overcome the multifaceted impediments that were preventing them from prospering. Your new friend said he was about to throw in the towel when he heard from a business acquaintance about a certain marketing company. Your friend said that he made the decision, after hearing about the complete turnaround that occurred with his friend’s company, that he had nothing to lose and that he’d better give it a shot, or spend the next several weeks and months watching his business go down the tubes.

Your friend conveyed to you how, despite his misgivings, he watched in awe as, just a few weeks later the orders started to trickle, then flow, and finally to pour in. After awhile, it became clear to him that he needed to expand in order to handle all the business!

Convinced, mostly, you contacted the same marketing consultancy, looking for answers, solutions to the mire you found yourself trapped in.

Shift ahead one month. You hooked up with that marketing consultancy, a Cincinnati marketing firm, and watched things miraculously come together. The consultancy created a new logo that describes your company in a bright, new way. A website took shape, sporting the latest advances in technology. The next conversation you had with the marketing rep went as such, “We need to optimize your website for search engine marketing.” You blankly looked at him and said, “Okay.” He explained to you that SEO is an ongoing project, a moving target, but that it was totally necessary to commit to sticking with it and even increasing the scope and breadth of the overall program into the future. That took you aback a bit. Your face betrayed the fact that you still had some doubts about the whole thing, “After all, this isn’t what we always did in the past,” you complained. “And look where that got you,” the marketing rep replied gently. He assured you, again, that the times have changed and there are much more options than in the old days. You no longer needed a dedicated bank of secretaries, operators, a back room full of high schoolers and college kids folding, stuffing, licking and stamping direct mail pieces, and more, to make your business hum. In fact, that route was a waste of money.

“What we’ve seen, using our four-step marketing method, is unprecedented growth, up to 300% for some clients,” the marketing rep continued. “We are making an SEO marketing plan that, if followed, will drastically grow the traffic of your small business. Being a marketing consultant, what I’m sharing with my clients isn’t a theory. These suggestions are strategies that have proven to provide explosive growth for much small business client’s revenues, some 200% or 300% annually. A large part of our focus and work involves the marketing arsenal weapon, SEO, which directs prospects to your main website.”

“Okay. Let’s talk about 6 key concepts that have the potential to greatly help your company grow,” says I.

SEO Tip #1

On-site Optimization – With going into great detail, by optimizing, or changing, the code, the content, your keyword density, as well as the linking structure of your website in certain ways, the top search engines will end up approving and promoting your site. We make sure that we fix your broken links, checking that the metadata is clean on the entire website. Eliminating duplicate content on your website is very important, as well. So basically, the first step is to make sure that your site has all the attributes that will make search engines like it”

SEO Tip #2

Microsite Marketing – “This next technique might seem like I’m just saying this to make myself more money. Don’t believe it, my motives are pure, although I will make myself more money by doing this for you, and so will you…

Imagine the effect that having 60 small websites all selling exactly what your main site sells, but using different keywords, original content, and images. Now 60 is just a number that I grabbed out of the air. It could be any number, as there’s no magic number. The point is creating a whole bunch of exposure, right? By creating, let’s say, 60 small, even 1 page sites, you are weaving a web of notoriety for the advancement of your agenda – sales!

a. Use an SEO-friendly Platform – To get optimum results, we mostly use a certain well-known website platform. We typically create a custom theme, or customize an existing one, with SEO as the focus. Once that theme is completed, and signed off on by our client, we use the same theme, with some minor changes for each of the additional micro-sites, maintaining a uniform look throughout. Think of it as a unified campaign.

b. Make Sure Your Domain Name is SEO Friendly – Let’s say that we have a client come to us who owns an HVAC company. “Stan,Webpages” says to me, “Frank, we are only five miles away from Kenwood and Montgomery, but we can’t seem to get any business in those two areas. They are, as you know, high-dollar areas, and it would be great to get a foothold in the region. What can you do for me?” “Stanley my friend, I think we can help. We’ll build some sites for you with keywords written into the domain name, the URL. So then, when people search those keywords, for those areas of Cincinnati, your company will come up at the top, they’ll call you, and you can close the sale! The keywords might look like this:

Keyword – Kenwood Ohio HVAC Company

Keyword – Montgomery Ohio HVAC Company

While your domain names might be:

Domains – www dot Kenwood Ohio HVAC dot com or www dot Montgomery Ohio HVAC dot com

Of course, we’re not talking about your main website! These would be microsites for SEO purposes only, for the generation of traffic in those areas. We could just make one site, and then clone it many times, changing the verbiage of each.

c. Ya Gotta Have Unique Content – Just as the maxim in real estate is “Location. Location. Location.”, the maxim when dealing with search engines, and especially the big one, is “Original. Original. Original.” – content, that is. The biggest search engines couldn’t care less about the number of sites a company has, they just want each one to be UNIQUE, text-wise. They can have the same theme, looking very similar, but they have to have unique content.

SEOWeb pages

which Convert – By fixing your on-site SEO, and working on creating multiple micro-sites, a small business can be fairly sure of good results. The thing to avoid is whipping out a bunch of low quality, schlock-type sites. Good quality content, useful information, good design, and a focus on closing the deal, tactfully, will give a good return on your marketing investment.

How do you know whether what you paid for is actually having the desired results? Measurement! Because you have multiple microsites, you are able to do much A/B testing. Change one aspect on one site to differentiate it from the next, and you’re on your way. Not only is such testing a good idea, but it is critical to your success.

a. Analyze – To quickly find out about traffic coming to your micro-sites and what they’re up to, we use analytics software from the major search engines, as well as other proprietary software. Imagine yourself receiving a report in your email on a set schedule that tells you your traffic is up 25% or 50% from the last month! Do you think you’d be jazzed about that?

b. Individual Phone Numbers – Lining up unique phone numbers for each micro-site is another method by which we can track who’s going where, how often, for how long, and what they look at. All those numbers just go on to the company’s principal phone number, of course, letting us inform the client further.

c. Opt-in Forms – We like to include an opt-in form on each page of your micro-sites to be sure to involve your prospects to the highest degree. Offering something for free, if it is worth your prospects taking the time and bother, makes a great impact on the eventual sale.

These things will help greatly to give you webpages which convert prospects into paying customers.

SEO Tip #4

Continue to build content – This could be accomplished through an individual website, the thing is it’s been proven to work vastly better through many microsites. The way to go about it is to load lots of new content each month, till by the end of one year you have many pages, or blog posts, and you no longer have 60 microsites, but 60 unique macrosites with very high rankings in searches.

Thankfully, we have some excellent writers on our team of experts, with experience writing for several fortune 500 companies. You have a very good chance of doubling your traffic by doubling your content. It’s not as simple as that, exactly, but it REALLY helps. It’s important to add fresh, interesting, helpful content each week to get things really moving.

SEO Tip #5

Glacial Link Building Campaigns – Do I love the big G? Yes… and no. Over the course of the last few years, our gigantic friend has sought to dominate the internet, with quite a bit of success, I might add. As a result of that success, the company has found that it has lots of influence in mandating protocol, methodology, and “rules”. It’s these rules against which I chafe. Link building was a standard part of the package of all internet marketers, and indeed it still is. But the ease with which we could use it has come to an end. The big G knows what has been happening, that it has been manipulated into assigning high page ranks through aggressive link building campaigns. The largest search engine has managed to write software code that is very intelligent, able to see when such activity is occurring and penalizing the perpetrator soundly. At present, the route of avoidance of retribution is to set your links to trickling out at a snails pace. If all your code is clean, your content unique and of high value, and you have many high PR pages with links pointing back at you, things should go well with you.

SEO Tip #6

Time For a Little Magic – Finally, I’d like to tell you a story about the value of creating multitudinous links (a link wheel) and social site usage. “What kind of wheel?” you say, “What is that, some kind of artifact that fell off a Conestoga wagon?” In a word, no. It is an awesome notion worth knowing about. In a sense, I’ve already spoken about them, just not by name. Imagine your main, money-making website hovering in a white expanse, alone. Kind of sad, isn’t it? You’re looking at that lonely place and thinking “Nothing’s happening, and I’m getting depressed.” Then, up pops an article site off to the right, which surprises you, but pleasantly. “Pop,” you hear as a blog page arrives on the scene. “Where did that come from?” you ask. “Pop,” you see the logo of one social media company, then another, and another, and another. Then a micro-site pops into view. It’s only 2 pages long and is focused on the same thing your main site promotes, but with different wording and pictures. It’s starting to sound like popcorn in here. You now have a cheerful, if confused, look on your face, and a thought is forming in your mind. You watch as one after another all the available spots surrounding your main website are filled in. You think to your self that it looks kind of like a wheel, and there you are – a link wheel. You see connecting lines from each of these parts of the hub, like the spokes on a bicycle. There are also lines and arrows extending from some of the hub sites to others around them. “Pop, pop, pop, pop.” You can almost taste the popcorn now. It goes on and on like this, ever faster, ever widening, and you wonder whether there is an end to it all. Stepping back a long way, because it’s getting hard to see the entire thing, you think to yourself that it looks more like a donut now. But it just keeps growing, expanding, and luckily, you can see that there is infinite space and this thing could never fill the entire cyber-sphere. You see connectors running out into seemingly nowhere, but when you gaze fixedly out, your eyes somehow are able to focus, and you see another, unfamiliar website with a similar shape. It goes on like this until finally you understand – the visibility of your site has increased exponentially, till it is very hard, or impossible to ignore. At that moment, you see a giant spider-bot thing crawling along a length of web from that website out in the distance. You’re amazed at the speed at which it advances and before you can even blink, it’s here. The thing glances over at you with a look that makes you think it isn’t really impressed and quickly looks away. At first you were intimidated and thought it was going to suck your brain dry, but then you realize it has absolutely no interest in you. “Whew,” you snort, relieved. The spider moves at a blinding speed, analyzing, assessing, considering, measuring, and then stops. Out of a panel in it’s lower abdomen proceeds a tube, or rod. This rod quickly enters a hole that you hadn’t noticed till now in the side of your main website. The spider shakes and jerks a few times and then back goes the tube, the panel in the thing’s abdomen closes and something catches your eye. Your website has now changed, shining, bright, pulsating. You wonder about this, a look of glee on your face. Then all of a sudden, you hear whooshing sounds coming from all sides. You have to duck to avoid getting hit by one or the other connector as they race toward your main site. Connections, they seem to be, from other sites. They are arriving by the dozen, by the hundreds, by the thousands. Then the vision is over.

0 notes

yahoo-puck-daddy-blog · 8 years ago

Text

RIP, Detroit Red Wings playoff streak

It began on April 4, 1991, in St. Louis against the Detroit Red Wings’ Norris Division rival Blues.

It was a victory, as so many playoff games over the next 25 seasons would be for Detroit. Steve Yzerman had a hat trick. Brett Hull had three points for the Blues.

And Dylan Larkin was over five years away from being born.

I thought a lot about Larkin this week, as the Red Wings’ 25-year playoff streak officially ended on Tuesday night when their tragic number hit zero, via a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Larkin is 20 years old. He grew up in Waterford, Michigan. The only Detroit Red Wings he knows are the Detroit Red Wings of annual playoff appearances and four Stanley Cups. Not ones that had two playoff appearance in 17 years from 1966-1983, featuring 15 different head coaches. The ones that had 25 straight playoff appearances from 1991-2016, and had a grand total of six coaches during the stretch, if you count Barry Smith’s five games in the interim in 1998-99.

So this is new to Larkin, this notion that the Stanley Cup Playoffs are sometimes held without the Detroit Red Wings in them.

It’s new to a lot of us.

But of course it had to happen now.

The narrative is as obvious as the coffee stains on any hack writer’s pants, this one included: We lost Gordie. We lost Mike Ilitch. The Joe closes its doors on decades of Hockeytown history.

All of this happens as the Red Wings’ historic streak comes skidding to a halt, thanks to a porous defense (2.95 GAA) and a generation of potential Next Great Red Wings that are either still too green or, in some cases, may never achieve that greatness. So, in the grand scheme, there’s no other time the streak could end than now.

That’s underscored by the fact that the Red Wings are down to their last living legend on the roster: Henrik Zetterberg, who did everything his 36-year-old body allowed him to do in an effort to carry this team to the playoffs. But after Pavel Datsyuk went back to Russia (while his contract enjoys the weather in Glendale), Zetterberg was alone among a generation of underwhelming talents, desperate free-agent signings and guys like Larkin who just weren’t read to lift Mjolnir yet.

Datsyuk was just the latest piece of the team’s heart to wither away. From that 2008 Stanley Cup team you had Nicklas Lidstrom, the backbone of the streak from 1991-2012; Tomas Holmstrom and Johan Franzen, Zetterberg’s countrymen who were immovable objects in the offensive zone; Chris Osgood, whose legacy can be debated but whose results aren’t debatable; and the grunts that lingered from the Yzerman years in Kris Draper, Darren McCarty and Kirk Maltby.

The 2016-17 Red Wings, in no way, felt like those teams. It didn’t feel like there was a heart to the roster, outside of Zetterberg’s. It felt like a prestige drama that fails to get an Emmy nomination for the first time in a decade because all its stars have gone on to other projects, and then gets cancelled the following season because Anthony Anderson is no Chris Noth.

But enough about the end of the streak.

The streak itself is one of the most remarkable feats in the history of hockey. It’s a streak that spans different scoring eras, different financial eras and dramatic power shifts in the hockey landscape. It’s not the longest consecutive playoff appearance streak in NHL history, but it’s the most impressive.

And they weren’t just one-and-done appearances. (*COUGH* St. Louis Blues *COUGH*) Take out the last three seasons, and the Wings made it past the opening round in 15 of those 22 straight seasons.

It began in the Norris Division, in the Campbell Conference. It began in a 21-team league, with the Whalers and Nordiques but a year before the Sharks. It began in a divisional playoff format. It began when Gary Bettman was still working in the NBA.

It ends in the Atlantic Division, in the Eastern Conference. It ends in a 30-team league, with the Hurricanes and Avalanche and soon the Golden Knights. It ends with the Red Wings having qualified for the playoffs under four different postseason formats, with and without a salary cap that former NBA executive Gary Bettman installed in 2005.

It thrived through the best two decades of “win and reload” the NHL has ever witnessed, post-expansion.

Consider this about the streak, and reloading: From 1991-2016, the Red Wings made a pick inside the top 15 twice. There was Martin Lapointe at No. 10 in 1991, and then Larkin at No. 15 in 2014. That’s it. Everyone else was a diamond in the rough or, in the case of Zetterberg, the seventh round.

The rest of the time it was genius-level general managers like Bryan Murray, Jim Devellano, Scotty Bowman and Ken Holland – along with a braintrust that’s produced several general managers and team execs, like Yzerman in Tampa – that drafted smartly, if not highly.

Lidstrom, without whom this streak never happens, was a third-round pick in 1989. The defenseman taken before him? Veli-Pekka Kautonen. The defenseman taken after him? Jim Mathieson. (Yeah, we have no idea either…) This happened constantly.

They also played their hands brilliantly, while taking advantage of the economics of the NHL before the cap. It’s inconceivable that the 2002 Red Wings could exist if there were a salary ceiling, but there wasn’t. So this roster existed. And it was glorious.

The streak doesn’t happen if they trade Yzerman, coming close a few times in the 1990s. One wonders if it lingers as long as it did without Mike Babcock, whom they convinced to join the team in 2005 in what was considered a transitional period for the Wings. So much could go wrong, as it did for 29 other franchises over those 25 years, who looked over at the Red Wings through jealous eyes and wondered how to replicate their standards for excellence.

That’s what we lose when we lose this streak: That excellence, in a formal way.

That sense that beating the Red Wings meant making a statement. And while we’ve all had known this had been missing from the franchise since Lidstrom left, it’s now official with the streak dead.

Now comes the downswing, the kind that costs coaches and general managers their jobs until a new heart can be transplanted into the roster and the body springs to life again. It’ll happen to Detroit. But it make take a while.

But what a ride.

“We’ve given the fans wonderful hockey for a quarter of a century,” said Devellano to NHL.com, which wouldn’t exist until the Red Wings were five years into their streak and looked like this:

Some streaks you don’t want to end because you bathe yourself in the tears they create, like the New York Rangers’ ‘1940’ chants that died in 1994 or the Toronto Maple Leafs’ ‘1967’ jokes that will end when Babcock brings the Cup back to the city.

This streak? It was different.

It was a constant reminder that in an era of tanking and draft lottery balls and ownership doing the bare minimum to stay in the playoff hunt while qualifying for revenue sharing, the Red Wings did it right, did it with class and did it more successfully than any franchise in the last 30 years.

We’ll miss that.

—

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.