#canada sports betting

[priceperplayer]

Ontario Sports Betting Registers Double its Quarterly Handle

In the latest sports betting news, we are taking a look at the Ontario sports betting market as it continues to grow even more successful than last quarter. Bookies use the PricePerPlayer.com software to monitor the wagers coming in their sportsbooks, and governments do the same. In the US, each state monitors local activity, and in Canada, they do the same for their provinces. Ontario is one of…

[blusical]

just watched thg's video on fans accusing florida of purposefully throwing the game, and i'm reminded of how much of a plague these theories are.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"LONG BRANCH OPENING ATTRACTS GOOD CROWD," Toronto Globe. October 5, 1933. Page 9. ---- One of the best crowds to attend the opening day of the fall meet at Long Branch Track was present yesterday afternoon for the day's program of racing, the dull, threatening weather apparently having little effect on the attendance at the popular West End establishment. Illustration, above shows one section of the gathering, snapped early in the afternoon.

[msclaritea]

It's very simple. Are Americans prepared to be dragged into another prolonged war? If you are not, you need to vote against it. Putin and his allies in Israel and at the WEF have been trying to push us into a world war. They're already causing lots of problems in Canada under Justin Trudeau. Russia already had a strong grip on Britain and that goes for any of its territories. No surprise to hear that gambling has become a widespread epidemic in Australia.

[mykaussie]

My 2022 CFL #GoElks Year was so much fun! ___________________ "This 80 min mykaussie.tv/ CFL show is my "2022 CFL Year". Includes part or all of the #GoElks Pick SIX shows I hosted, the highlights from the CFL talk Fridays on New York based @SportsGridTV formerly FNTSY Sports Network, Sirius XM Ch 159 etc and fan interviews Watch on YouTube : https://youtu.be/DeWkzx7ZT5Y

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How to shatter the class solidarity of the ruling class

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me WEDNESDAY (Apr 11) at UCLA, then Chicago (Apr 17), Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

Audre Lorde counsels us that "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House," while MLK said "the law cannot make a man love me, but it can restrain him from lynching me." Somewhere between replacing the system and using the system lies a pragmatic – if easily derailed – course.

Lorde is telling us that a rotten system can't be redeemed by using its own chosen reform mechanisms. King's telling us that unless we live, we can't fight – so anything within the system that makes it easier for your comrades to fight on can hasten the end of the system.

Take the problems of journalism. One old model of journalism funding involved wealthy newspaper families profiting handsomely by selling local appliance store owners the right to reach the townspeople who wanted to read sports-scores. These families expressed their patrician love of their town by peeling off some of those profits to pay reporters to sit through municipal council meetings or even travel overseas and get shot at.

In retrospect, this wasn't ever going to be a stable arrangement. It relied on both the inconstant generosity of newspaper barons and the absence of a superior way to show washing-machine ads to people who might want to buy washing machines. Neither of these were good long-term bets. Not only were newspaper barons easily distracted from their sense of patrician duty (especially when their own power was called into question), but there were lots of better ways to connect buyers and sellers lurking in potentia.

All of this was grossly exacerbated by tech monopolies. Tech barons aren't smarter or more evil than newspaper barons, but they have better tools, and so now they take 51 cents out of every ad dollar and 30 cents out of ever subscriber dollar and they refuse to deliver the news to users who explicitly requested it, unless the news company pays them a bribe to "boost" their posts:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/saving-news-big-tech

The news is important, and people sign up to make, digest, and discuss the news for many non-economic reasons, which means that the news continues to struggle along, despite all the economic impediments and the vulture capitalists and tech monopolists who fight one another for which one will get to take the biggest bite out of the press. We've got outstanding nonprofit news outlets like Propublica, journalist-owned outlets like 404 Media, and crowdfunded reporters like Molly White (and winner-take-all outlets like the New York Times).

But as Hamilton Nolan points out, "that pot of money…is only large enough to produce a small fraction of the journalism that was being produced in past generations":

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/what-will-replace-advertising-revenue

For Nolan, "public funding of journalism is the only way to fix this…If we accept that journalism is not just a business or a form of entertainment but a public good, then funding it with public money makes perfect sense":

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/public-funding-of-journalism-is-the

Having grown up in Canada – under the CBC – and then lived for a quarter of my life in the UK – under the BBC – I am very enthusiastic about Nolan's solution. There are obvious problems with publicly funded journalism, like the politicization of news coverage:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jan/24/panel-approving-richard-sharp-as-bbc-chair-included-tory-party-donor

And the transformation of the funding into a cheap political football:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-defund-cbc-change-law-1.6810434

But the worst version of those problems is still better than the best version of the private-equity-funded model of news production.

But Nolan notes the emergence of a new form of hedge fund news, one that is awfully promising, and also terribly fraught: Hunterbrook Media, an investigative news outlet owned by short-sellers who pay journalists to research and publish damning reports on companies they hold a short position on:

https://hntrbrk.com/

For those of you who are blissfully distant from the machinations of the financial markets, "short selling" is a wager that a company's stock price will go down. A gambler who takes a short position on a company's stock can make a lot of money if the company stumbles or fails altogether (but if the company does well, the short can suffer literally unlimited losses).

Shorts have historically paid analysts to dig into companies and uncover the sins hidden on their balance-sheets, but as Matt Levine points out, journalists work for a fraction of the price of analysts and are at least as good at uncovering dirt as MBAs are:

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-04-02/a-hedge-fund-that-s-also-a-newspaper

What's more, shorts who discover dirt on a company still need to convince journalists to publicize their findings and trigger the sell-off that makes their short position pay off. Shorts who own a muckraking journalistic operation can skip this step: they are the journalists.

There's a way in which this is sheer genius. Well-funded shorts who don't care about the news per se can still be motivated into funding freely available, high-quality investigative journalism about corporate malfeasance (notoriously, one of the least attractive forms of journalism for advertisers). They can pay journalists top dollar – even bid against each other for the most talented journalists – and supply them with all the tools they need to ply their trade. A short won't ever try the kind of bullshit the owners of Vice pulled, paying themselves millions while their journalists lose access to Lexisnexis or the PACER database:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/24/anti-posse/#when-you-absolutely-positively-dont-give-a-solitary-single-fuck

The shorts whose journalists are best equipped stand to make the most money. What's not to like?

Well, the issue here is whether the ruling class's sense of solidarity is stronger than its greed. The wealthy have historically oscillated between real solidarity (think of the ultrawealthy lobbying to support bipartisan votes for tax cuts and bailouts) and "war of all against all" (as when wealthy colonizers dragged their countries into WWI after the supply of countries to steal ran out).

After all, the reason companies engage in the scams that shorts reveal is that they are profitable. "Behind every great fortune is a great crime," and that's just great. You don't win the game when you get into heaven, you win it when you get into the Forbes Rich List.

Take monopolies: investors like the upside of backing an upstart company that gobbles up some staid industry's margins – Amazon vs publishing, say, or Uber vs taxis. But while there's a lot of upside in that move, there's also a lot of risk: most companies that set out to "disrupt" an industry sink, taking their investors' capital down with them.

Contrast that with monopolies: backing a company that merges with its rivals and buys every small company that might someday grow large is a sure thing. Shriven of "wasteful competition," a company can lower quality, raise prices, capture its regulators, screw its workers and suppliers and laugh all the way to Davos. A big enough company can ignore the complaints of those workers, customers and regulators. They're not just too big to fail. They're not just too big to jail. They're too big to care:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

Would-be monopolists are stuck in a high-stakes Prisoner's Dilemma. If they cooperate, they can screw over everyone else and get unimaginably rich. But if one party defects, they can raid the monopolist's margins, short its stock, and snitch to its regulators.

It's true that there's a clear incentive for hedge-fund managers to fund investigative journalism into other hedge-fund managers' portfolio companies. But it would be even more profitable for both of those hedgies to join forces and collude to screw the rest of us over. So long as they mistrust each other, we might see some benefit from that adversarial relationship. But the point of the 0.1% is that there aren't very many of them. The Aspen Institute can rent a hall that will hold an appreciable fraction of that crowd. They buy their private jets and bespoke suits and powdered rhino horn from the same exclusive sellers. Their kids go to the same elite schools. They know each other, and they have every opportunity to get drunk together at a charity ball or a society wedding and cook up a plan to join forces.

This is the problem at the core of "mechanism design" grounded in "rational self-interest." If you try to create a system where people do the right thing because they're selfish assholes, you normalize being a selfish asshole. Eventually, the selfish assholes form a cozy little League of Selfish Assholes and turn on the rest of us.

Appeals to morality don't work on unethical people, but appeals to immorality crowds out ethics. Take the ancient split between "free software" (software that is designed to maximize the freedom of the people who use it) and "open source software" (identical to free software, but promoted as a better way to make robust code through transparency and peer review).

Over the years, open source – an appeal to your own selfish need for better code – triumphed over free software, and its appeal to the ethics of a world of "software freedom." But it turns out that while the difference between "open" and "free" was once mere semantics, it's fully possible to decouple the two. Today, we have lots of "open source": you can see the code that Google, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook uses, and even contribute your labor to it for free. But you can't actually decide how the software you write works, because it all takes a loop through Google, Microsoft, Apple or Facebook's servers, and only those trillion-dollar tech monopolists have the software freedom to determine how those servers work:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/04/which-side-are-you-on/#tivoization-and-beyond

That's ruling class solidarity. The Big Tech firms have hidden a myriad of sins beneath their bafflegab and balance-sheets. These (as yet) undiscovered scams constitute a "bezzle," which JK Galbraith defined as "the magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it."

The purpose of Hunterbrook is to discover and destroy bezzles, hastening the moment of realization that the wealth we all feel in a world of seemingly orderly technology is really an illusion. Hunterbrook certainly has its pick of bezzles to choose from, because we are living in a Golden Age of the Bezzle.

Which is why I titled my new novel The Bezzle. It's a tale of high-tech finance scams, starring my two-fisted forensic accountant Marty Hench, and in this volume, Hench is called upon to unwind a predatory prison-tech scam that victimizes the most vulnerable people in America – our army of prisoners – and their families:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

The scheme I fictionalize in The Bezzle is very real. Prison-tech monopolists like Securus and Viapath bribe prison officials to abolish calls, in-person visits, mail and parcels, then they supply prisoners with "free" tablets where they pay hugely inflated rates to receive mail, speak to their families, and access ebooks, distance education and other electronic media:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/02/captive-customers/#guillotine-watch

But a group of activists have cornered these high-tech predators, run them to ground and driven them to the brink of extinction, and they've done it using "the master's tools" – with appeals to regulators and the finance sector itself.

Writing for The Appeal, Dana Floberg and Morgan Duckett describe the campaign they waged with Worth Rises to bankrupt the prison-tech sector:

https://theappeal.org/securus-bankruptcy-prison-telecom-industry/

Here's the headline figure: Securus is $1.8 billion in debt, and it has eight months to find a financier or it will go bust. What's more, all the creditors it might reasonably approach have rejected its overtures, and its bonds have been downrated to junk status. It's a dead duck.

Even better is how this happened. Securus's debt problems started with its acquisition, a leveraged buyout by Platinum Equity, who borrowed heavily against the firm and then looted it with bogus "management fees" that meant that the debt continued to grow, despite Securus's $700m in annual revenue from America's prisoners. Platinum was just the last in a long line of PE companies that loaded up Securus with debt and merged it with its competitors, who were also mortgaged to make profits for other private equity funds.

For years, Securus and Platinum were able to service their debt and roll it over when it came due. But after Worth Rises got NYC to pass a law making jail calls free, creditors started to back away from Securus. It's one thing for Securus to charge $18 for a local call from a prison when it's splitting the money with the city jail system. But when that $18 needs to be paid by the city, they're going to demand much lower prices. To make things worse for Securus, prison reformers got similar laws passed in San Francisco and in Connecticut.

Securus tried to outrun its problems by gobbling up one of its major rivals, Icsolutions, but Worth Rises and its coalition convinced regulators at the FCC to block the merger. Securus abandoned the deal:

https://worthrises.org/blogpost/securusmerger

Then, Worth Rises targeted Platinum Equity, going after the pension funds and other investors whose capital Platinum used to keep Securus going. The massive negative press campaign led to eight-figure disinvestments:

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-09-05/la-fi-tom-gores-securus-prison-phone-mass-incarceration

Now, Securus's debt became "distressed," trading at $0.47 on the dollar. A brief, covid-fueled reprieve gave Securus a temporary lifeline, as prisoners' families were barred from in-person visits and had to pay Securus's rates to talk to their incarcerated loved ones. But after lockdown, Securus's troubles picked up right where they left off.

They targeted Platinum's founder, Tom Gores, who papered over his bloody fortune by styling himself as a philanthropist and sports-team owner. After a campaign by Worth Rises and Color of Change, Gores was kicked off the Los Angeles County Museum of Art board. When Gores tried to flip Securus to a SPAC – the same scam Trump pulled with Truth Social – the negative publicity about Securus's unsound morals and financials killed the deal:

https://twitter.com/WorthRises/status/1578034977828384769

Meanwhile, more states and cities are making prisoners' communications free, further worsening Securus's finances:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/14/minnesota-nice/#shitty-technology-adoption-curve

Congress passed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, giving the FCC the power to regulate the price of federal prisoners' communications. Securus's debt prices tumbled further:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1541

Securus's debts were coming due: it owes $1.3b in 2024, and hundreds of millions more in 2025. Platinum has promised a $400m cash infusion, but that didn't sway S&P Global, a bond-rating agency that re-rated Securus's bonds as "CCC" (compare with "AAA"). Moody's concurred. Now, Securus is stuck selling junk-bonds:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1541

The company's creditors have given Securus an eight-month runway to find a new lender before they force it into bankruptcy. The company's debt is trading at $0.08 on the dollar.

Securus's major competitor is Viapath (prison tech is a duopoly). Viapath is also debt-burdened and desperate, thanks to a parallel campaign by Worth Rises, and has tried all of Securus's tricks, and failed:

https://pestakeholder.org/news/american-securities-fails-to-sell-prison-telecom-company-viapath/

Viapath's debts are due next year, and if Securus tanks, no one in their right mind will give Viapath a dime. They're the walking dead.

Worth Rise's brilliant guerrilla warfare against prison-tech and its private equity backers are a master class in using the master's tools to dismantle the master's house. The finance sector isn't a friend of justice or working people, but sometimes it can be used tactically against financialization itself. To paraphrase MLK, "finance can't make a corporation love you, but it can stop a corporation from destroying you."

Yes, the ruling class finds solidarity at the most unexpected moments, and yes, it's easy for appeals to greed to institutionalize greediness. But whether it's funding unbezzling journalism through short selling, or freeing prisons by brandishing their cooked balance-sheets in the faces of bond-rating agencies, there's a lot of good we can do on the way to dismantling the system.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/08/money-talks/#bullshit-walks

Image: KMJ (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boerse_01_KMJ.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[thirstywoso]

Roses have thorns // Jessie Fleming x reader | part one

Preseason meetings

A/N this will probably have multiple parts to it, soft, fluffy, angst maybe smut depends where it goes

Warning: none for this one

This is only short and introductory next parts will get more into it, wc: 1.5k

Part two

The first session of preseason was a struggle considering you'd only landed late last night after spending the off season back in your hometown. Like any professional athlete you had kept up with your fitness regime and was active even though you didn't have training, still you wasn't expecting to get so much of a sweat on. Then again it was always tough coming back into such physical training, you never did understand why the coaches went straight into the hard stuff instead of some prehab and gentle exercises.

Something you had missed about being at Portland was the amazing food that the team chef made. There was always an array of different choices and all of them were good. Delicious in fact. The other thing you liked about lunch was sitting with your teammates and catching up. Today you were particularly excited for as you hadn't seen much of your friends being back in London the last few months, not to say you didn't keep in touch it was just better in person. You were sat on your usual table when Janine walked up to the table to sit down.

Janine was your best friend at Portland, she took you under her wing and showed you around when you'd made the move over from Man City. She was a familiar face and your bond became even stronger once in the States. As she joined you, you saw a small figure behind her who shyly sat down.

"This is Jessie" Janine hummed as she picked up her fork putting some scrambled eggs into her mouth.

"She's on the Canadian National team with me" she carried on as she swallowed.

You let out a short laugh "I know who she is Becks, I've played her enough times when she was at Chelsea."

"And even if I didn't know her from back then she's the captain of Canada and a midfield prodigy, plus Rob did introduce her to the team this morning"

Janine rolled her eyes "I know I was just introducing you to each other, I don't know if you've ever officially met. With it being her first day I thought she could sit with us"

"You know I'm right here" Jessie mocked as she stuck her hand in your direction

"Nice to officially meet you y/n"

You shook her hand and exchanged pleasantries, Janine had told you that Jessie hadn't found a place since making the move from Chelsea and that she was staying in the spare room of her apartment.

By the end of lunch you had planned to grab coffee with both of them after training and head to Janine's place to relax and catch up.

Jessie seemed easy enough to get on with and you found yourself looking at her a few times during lunch noticing how her dark curls were swept up out of her face and her cheeks were freckled with a slight pink tint to them. Something about her made it hard to tear your eyes away.

After lunch you had filed into the gym with the other girls, as soon as you saw the cones set out you internally groaned knowing what was coming.

The dreaded beep test, looking around the room you could see the other girls having a similar reaction. All but one, Jessie was sporting a wide grin.

"Clearly you've never done this before or you're just crazy Fleming" You joked.

"Oh I've done this plenty of times, I'm just really good at it"

"Is that so?"

"Yup" she popped the p not breaking eye contact with you.

"I bet I can last longer than you!"

"What's the forfeit?" Her eyebrow raised as she asked.

"Loser buys coffee later"

"You've got yourself a deal y/l/n"

You shook hands and lined up with the other girls.

The test started and it seemed easier than usual, you smiled to yourself knowing this would be an easy win.

As it became more intense you saw more and more of your teammates dropping out and soon it was just you and Jessie left.

Your lungs began to feel that familiar burn, one that you sometimes craved when you wanted to forget about something and worked out hard to clear your mind.

After a few more rounds your vision started to blur and even though you were usually stubborn you stopped doubled over with your hands on your knees gasping for air.

Jessie swanned over placing one hand on your shoulder and her other sticking out towards you as you straightened up. You shook her hand without saying anything.

"Well played y/n, do you want my coffee order now or later?"

You just rolled your eyes still not fully catching your breath.

"I'll get you next time" you finally managed to huff out

Jessie just giggled to herself

You showered up and got changed after training. You had cycled there as did Jessie and Janine. Collectively realising it was bad idea when your legs were too heavy to ride back home.

You opted to walk to the coffee shop and get the bikes tomorrow. Fortunately your apartment that was only a few blocks from Janine's wasn't much more than a 15 minute walk.

On the corner of your block there was a coffee shop that you and Janine would frequent.

"This is Charlie's, they have the best coffee and pastries in all of downtown Portland" you stated matter of fact to Jessie as you held the door open for them both.

As promised you bought Jessie's coffee and wasn't surprised to see that it was a fairly basic coffee order other than a shot of vanilla. Yours being *your regular drinks order*. You'd also picked up some pastries, insisting that Jessie try them.

Just as you thought Jessie enjoyed her coffee and the pastries, well mostly.

"Okay so first you have a croissant" you looked at her expectantly as she took a bite and gave it a 5 out of 5

Next she tried a pain au chocolat, again that got full marks.

The final item was a cheese twist, Jessie took a bite and contemplated for a moment before giving it a 3

"A 3?! A 3!?"

"You must be out of your mind!"

"It's the best pastry they have going" You continued on.

"Oh no" Janine hid her face in her hands

"It's not bad. It's just not what I'd chose"

You held onto your chest and feigned hurt

"I can't believe you'd insult Charlie's cheese twists like that"

Janine rolled her eyes "don't worry she's alway this dramatic"

"Oh I can already tell" Jessie laughed

You'd only met Jessie properly for the first time a few hours ago but you already knew you enjoyed her little laugh and the way her soft hands felt in yours those few times she shook your hand.

On the way to Janine's you stopped at your apartment to change into some more relaxed clothing as you knew you'd probably just be sprawled on her couch the rest of the evening.

It was almost as if you hadn't been away for the last few months, you easily fell into conversation about anything and everything. Learning more about Jessie and also what your best friend had been up to on her break.

Jessie had told you about some of her hobbies and passions. One of which being photography, she had shown you some of the photos she had taken back in London and at home in Canada.

"Wow Jess, these are seriously impressive"

"Thanks" she blushed

"No honestly, it could be a career after you've finished playing" you complimented

"Have you ever been to the Japanese garden here? It's beautiful" you said after thinking for a second

"I haven't actually" Jessie stood up and opened the door to her room and you peered in after her

"As you can see by the boxes I've not been here long"

"So you've never been to Portland before?"

"Other than to sign the paper work where I was pretty much in and out" she began

"Then I got here two days ago and have been so busy sorting out my boxes and getting a new phone etc set up, you know how it is moving to the states after being in the UK" she explained

"I don't envy you, trying to sort my bank and phone plan out when I came over here was rough"

"Same when I came to Portland, yet it still hasn't made it easier to help Jessie" Janine sighed.

"Luckily I'm almost sorted now and will be able to actually see some of the city"

"Well, if you're not up to anything on Thursday we have a day off and I can give you a tour if you like?" You said thoughtfully

You remembered what it was like to be new in the city and wanted Jessie to feel welcome.

"Sounds good to me! You wanna come to J?"

"I'm actually going out with Ethan to run some errands but rain check?" She apologised

"Yeah no worries eh"

As you looked back from Janine to Jessie your eyes widened when you saw the clock.

"Oh shoot is that the time? I better get going" gathering your stuff you got up and headed towards the door

"Sorry girls but I better get back and to bed it's already late and we have training tomorrow"

"Jessie, we can talk more about plans at lunch" You excused yourself and returned to your own apartment.

Today had been long and you were finally relived to be back in your Portland bed that you'd missed so much whilst you were away.

You popped your phone on charge as you got into bed, setting your alarm. As you were about to put it down a notification popped up.

[y/n_y/l/n4] _jessflem started following you.

You smiled to yourself and followed her back before placing your phone on your bedside table and rolling over falling asleep.

[equallyshaw]

back to you | quinn hughes

✿ word count: 4.3k ✿ warnings: mention of slight body shaming and emotional/mental abuse. ✿ the early timeline is a bit sketch, ignore it pls lol ✿ french is italsized. ✿ masterlist.

cecille miller and quinn hughes met years ago at a toronto prep school for athletes, both bonding over having two other siblings and all three of them being involved in the same sport. cecille had been competing for the last 5 years in figure skating all across the world, in singles by the time they had met. while quinn was on his way two years later for team usa, back home in the states. by the time quinn had left, she was on the verge of cementing a spot on team canada for the 2018 Olympics just a few short years later. the last time they saw one another, cecille had been preparing for worlds in 2016. the olympics was the last time he had seen her - not to mention everybody.

after a coach who had abused her mentally and emotionally for years, over her physical appearance and how she was 'too' soft; she was ready to untie her skates and place them on a desolate shelf in the garage, which was a step up from the garbage can. her gold medal followed suit. after the olympics she enrolled in trinity college in toronto, which is by far the smallest college in the city with a focus on psychology with a minor in writing. hoping to one day bring an emphasis to sports psychology in the world of skating, albeit it in hockey or figure skating, and bring more awareness to how mentally exhausting it can be. and the physical aspect it has on the body. now two years out from graduation, she was on her way to new york to begin a position with the new york knicks. after completing a sports psychology internship with massachuest general hospital; which is considered one of the top hospitals in the country, all the while co-publishing a study on the stress of an athlete. she had reached the ceiling of figure skating, shattered it- and hoped to do the same in her field.

it was another hot and humid evening in the city, this early october. the season had just begun for the nba and cecille had loved and thoroughly enjoyed getting to see it up close and personal. she saw the game in a different light now, and adored seeing it through the eyes of the athletes. even through the ugly and not-so-pretty moments. as the team's junior sports psychologist, she found herself being a shoulder to lean on and vent to more than anything. she found herself becoming a confidant for the rookies and younger ones, as she could relate to the world around them in more ways than one.

as she stood off the back behind the player's bench, she saw one of those said rookies sitting down frustrated and defeatedly. the head and senior teams psychologist look towards her, and gave her a nod. as if to say, 'this is it kid.' she nodded towards the middle-aged man, before walking towards the end of the bench as the time out proceeded. she kneeled in front of him as the players head hung low with a towel on it. he had made a huge error just minutes prior and was benched because of it. although she didn't agree with the coach just pulling him out, she could understand why. her and player spoke in hushed voices for about 45 seconds before the player took off the towel and gave her a small smile. she gave him a small wink before standing up and giving a quick fist bump to another player who then bent over to talk to the younger player. cecille quickly walked back towards the players entrance to the lockerroom and stood across from her boss. he gave her a big smile before looking back at the game.

unbeknownst to her, jack was at the game with a few teammates and had seen the whole thing, along with quinn who was home in vancouver. the eldest watching as the camera panned over to her and the rookie, with the commentators speaking about how the 'golden girl' from toronto canada had come to work with them after 5 years of study. jack caught the tail end of the conversation between the two and couldn't believe she'd shown up in their lives at the oddest moment. cecille + basketball? who'd a thought! jack promised quinn that if given the opportunity, he'd find a way to see her. after all, he wanted to find out all he could on the girl, who his older brother had never stopped thinking of.

✿

jack never ended up getting the opportunity to see the now soft redhead. cecille headed back up to vancouver for a bachelorette party for a childhood friend, who too had moved to the states like cecille. she had just entered the luxury hotel - farmont pacific rim - where the party would be staying at. instead of going to her room right away, she opted for a coffee at the coffee bar and a chocolate muffin. she had had a red eye from dallas, and had gotten into vancouver around 6:47 am. quickly typing away on her phone, responding to an email about a private meeting for a player on the team - she had not realized who had walked up next to her at the bar. she pressed send, before placing her phone down and bringing her iced americano up to her pale lips. god, she was exhausted. her schedule allowed little time for rest and knew this weekend would end up biting her in the ass- but she couldn't pass up a childhood friend's weekend, that girl had been there for so much at this point. through cecilles early career, her peak, retirement, and now post-grad.

cecille sipped some more of her iced drink, before setting it back down. the young man spoke to the barista about what they wanted.

cecille's phone dinged a few times with texts and an email alert, she sighed turning off the ringer. as she did so, she took a not so subtle glance to her right, taking a peek at the man beside her. who now, sat down two seats from her. black hair - newly damp - curled right above their eyebrows, a soft spec now formed on the chin and a freshly stitched finger pushed away the hair. that only a hockey player could have, i might add.

curiosity got the best of her, and she peeked a little longer before a set of hazel eyes looked up at her.

she instantly choked on her own spit, and looked away quickly. that couldn't be who she thought it was right? she sipped some of her drink before covering her eyes with her hands, already knowing it was who it was. "you okay?" he questioned, not realizing it was her. yet. "just peachy." she hummed, feeling her cheeks turn molten, her heartbeat begin to pound and her hands becoming warm. "just fantastic." she mumbled before her phone began to ring from the other side of the coast. her mother.

"hi mum, whats up?" she questioned in a quebec accent, that she picked up years ago from when she'd visited her mom's family there. her mum wanted to check in and see how she was doing, and if she'd gotten to the hotel alright. she confirmed and then turn towards quinn who took the hot coffee from the barista, "and you wouldn't believe who sits next me." she teased in english, as quinn looked towards her. his eyes widened in confirmation, her shade of icy blue eyes and freckle right above her right eyebrow confirmed it. her mother questioned who it was, and she responded with, "remember drama quinn?" (pronounced queen) and her mum laughed. a term laced with adoration and childlike humor, a nickname jack had coined years ago back in the suburbs of toronto. cecille promised to call her when she got back to manhattan, before the two ended the call.

"cecille florence.." he murmured under his breath and she nodded with a small smile, "wha- why are you here? what have you been up to?" he questioned in disbelief sitting down in the high-top chair next to hers. her pale by-nature cheeks turned light blush as she smiled. "im here for a bachelorette party. member livie?" she questioned and he nodded in confirmation, "well she's getting married next summer and she had time off to travel here and i just so happened found time as well." cecille explained with a slight shrug. he nodded, trying to form a question while she sipped her coffee. "oh! i saw you work for the knicks, right? how'd you end up there?" he questioned in genuine curiosity. she nodded, "after spending two years at Massachusetts general - top hospital in the country, i got the opportunity to become a junior sports psychologist for them after they read the study i co oversaw and wrote a journal on. after a brief interview, they offered it to me." she said with a glint in her eye. a familiar one to quinn, and one he saw regularly when she spoke about skating.

"how long did you know you wanted to work in sports psychology?" he questioned with a hint of softness, not knowing why she retired. she shifted in her seat a bit, "it wasn't until after the olympics, and when i came home. i knew i wanted to go to college just wasn't sure in what. took a bit before the winter deadline and everything that i had gone through up to that point, and decided on psychology. in hopes that i help somebody like the little girl in me needed, if that makes sense?" she explained with a slight giggle and to which, quinn nodded. "ofcourse ofcourse..but uh, what exactly was that? if you don't mind me asking." he said trying to gauge her reaction. "i never verbalized it until i retired, but my coach was extremely toxic. him and his assistant, always made sure i felt less than, that i always had an extra pound to lose or that i was too soft for the competition world. and once i won gold, i knew i was done. everything i had worked for paid off, but was it worth all the pain? that's something ill forever think about, but i wanted to pursue a study that would give me the ability to be a positive voice in a sport. at the end of the day." she finished and quinn sat back in marvel and in thought.

"for starters..im sorry you went through that. that should have never happened, and im sorry for never recgonizing it." he began, "but im glad that skaters up and coming could possibly learn from you and lean on you as a possible support system." he said with a small smile and she mirrored it. "thankyou q, what about you? what have you been up to? im sorry, i lost track after olympics. kinda dropped off that face of the earth." she mused with a slight blush. he waved her off, "no you are fine! well after being in michigan for two years, my family all moved over and then i got drafted to the NHL before playing for michigan for two seasons. and then headed off to vancouver. and now which, im the captain of." he said with the same slow - humble tone he'd always had. so unlike his brother, jack.

"thats so exciting q!! im so happy for you, you deserve it all. but yeah, i remember my mom saying something about you guys moving back to the states, a year before the olympics. how did you all adjust?" she inquired before sipping her drink. quinn chuckled, "jack thrived. absolutely thrived, loved it. luke, had a little bit of a harder time before adjusting well, and then me? well, i missed you guys a lot. i missed school, club, and the neighborhood friends i had. but after a while, hockey took all my time." he said shrugging, and that made her smile sadly. "im sorry q. i promise we missed you too." she said placing her left hand on his right, which was resting on the counter. the two of them looked down at it before she pulled it back.

as soon as quinn was about to speak, her phone began to ring. her eyes broke away from his to see livie's name pop up. she quickly accepted and brought her phone to her ear, "ill be there shortly!" she said before hanging up. she locked her phone, took one last sip of the iced drink and then looked over at quinn, who seemed to be hanging on the edge of his seat to speak. "well, it was great seeing you quinn but i must get upstairs to see liv." she said wrapping up her chocolate muffin. quinn nodded apprehensively as she stood up, a solemn look laced his features. "wh-can i see you again?" he questioned, standing up as she was turning towards the elevators. she stopped in her spot, before looking back at him. "id really like that, q." she hummed before smiling widely. "number the same?" he questioned and she nodded, "see you soon." he said with a slight nod and smile.

as she walked out of the elevator, she was met with livie standing in front of her. "oh hi." cecille said throwing her arms around her best friend. "eeee hi!" livie returned the favor, before pulling back. "wait! was that quinn who i saw at the bar with you?" she quickly questioned and cecille nodded, giving livie a opprurtunity to laugh wickedly.

✿

december rolled around when vancouver finally visited new jersey to square off against the hughes duo. and when the infamous ellen hughes found out about quinn seeing cecille in person, she made jack foot the bill as the host to get her ticket so she could sit with the family. so now cecille found herself walking into the arena with a vancouver shirt she found off of etsy, dark washed blue jeans, white sneakers, and a winter jacket on. ellen was waiting outside of the family box the boys had gotten, and as soon as she saw cecille step out of the elevator, she quickly made her way over to the girl.

"mrs hughes!" cecille said in surprise as ellen wrapped her arms around the smaller girl, before letting out some giggles. "its so good to see you my sweet girl! how are mum and dad?" ellen spoke warmly pulling away an arms length. "they're good! they actuallymoving to quebec after new years." she responded with a small smile, "how have you been? mr hughes?" she questioned. "call us ellen and jim sweetie, but we've been good! come on, lets get to our seats and we'll catch up." ellen smiled wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulder and walked them to the box.

the two were in a deep conversation when the boys came out for the anthem and puck drop. "y'know he hasn't stopped talking about you since you guys reconnected." ellen said looking over at the girl, as cecille eyes went back and fourth trying to find quinn. "really?" cecille said turning to meet her eye, and she knew ellen was telling the truth.

"it's great you guys have been catching up, it was rather hard for q to leave toronto. let alone leave us. he really struggled in the beginning, leaving all of you guys and school behind." she began to explain as cecille looked back out to instantly find him, "he loved being there, as did we. but you were the first friend he made out there and leaving you, was the hardest thing he had to do." ellen finished, without saying the words; but they were soulmates. either platonically or not. regardless, it was the type of friendship that leaves an imprint on you and a lasting impression. "and then you disappearing was devastating for him, hun." she added and cecille could feel the tear forming in her eyes.

leave it to ellen for always telling the truth, and being 100% honest. she had always loved that about her, but this? god, she could just about die at this moment.

"oh, wow." cecille said breathlessly, still in shock.

"you didn't know?" ellen questioned softly, and cecille shook her head no.

that's why he was so gungho on taking her out to dinner after the game, ellen thought.

"well im sure he'll tell you at some point." ellen said trying to diffuse the situation a bit as she gave cecille a small shoulder squeeze, before turning towards the ice.

cecille felt hands at her shoulders, and turned to look up to see jimmy. jimmy sat down, and the two now caught up with each other.

✿

after the canucks came out on top, cecille found herself sitting off to the side of the family box; deep in her thoughts. her foot shook as she crossed her leg over the other, looking out onto the now deserted ice. truth be told, her thoughts had been eating away at her for the entirety of the game. she felt hands for the second tonight on her shoulders, jerking her out of her thoughts. cecille jumped in her seat, before turning around to jack who had the wickedest grin on his face. "jesus fuck, jack." she said bringing a hand to her chest before smiling. jack opened his arms wide for the smaller girl and as soon as they hugged he spun her around. "goldie! how have you been?" he asked setting her down, and she softly smiled. "I've been pretty good!" she said modestly, and jack shook his head. "you work for the fucking knicks, that's fucking awesome!" he said not sparing niceties, to which she only laughed. "alright jacky, let me hug her." luke said walking over and cecilles eyes widened at how tall he was. he bent over and gave her a tight hug, before pulling away.

"who allowed you to get so tall?!" she said laughing with jack, "oh believe me, im pissed!" jack said pushing luke's shoulder. luke could only laugh, before turning around at hearing quinn's name.

"sorry about the game guys, you guys played wonderful." she said as they looked towards her, but they waved her off. "we all know why he was on his a - game tonight, don't we moose?" jack spoke turning towards luke, who took a second to register his comments but then profusely nodded. quinn quickly scanned the room of friends and family for the golden girl, and as soon as his eyes landed on her short self - a smile appeared on his face.

he made his way over and stopped in between his brothers, who were conversing with her. "q!" cecille said with a wide smile, "congrats on the win." but quinn couldn't hear her over the fact that she was wearing a vancouver canuck shirt. "quinnie." jack said under his breathe, alerting the eldest one. "oh yeah, thanks!" quinn said a bit flustered before looking up at cecille. "ofcourse! i was uh just telling the boys that i was actually on my way out for the evening. i have to be at the practice gym early tomorrow." she said a bit sad. quinn nodded not registering her words fully, "you sure you don't want to come to dinner with us?" luke asked and she gave him a small frown. "i wish i could, but i cannot. besides, i gotta get back to feed my cat her meds." she said with a slight shrug, "what if you and i go grab something quick?" quinn suggested quickly, and cecille knew she could not pass this up. "something quick, alright?" she confirmed and quinn nodded.

✿

the night ended rather too quickly for quinn, and without explaining his full feelings for the girl. leaving her rather confused and ponderd on where they stood. as the seasons winded down for the both of them, cecille got a text from jack asking if she wanted to visit the lake house for memorial day weekend. cecille accepted the invitation and was now just getting out of the uber.

"cecille!" she heard ellen's unmistakable voice from the front door, as she thanked the driver for the ride. "so good to have you with us!" ellen said jogging down the driveway to give her a hug. "who all is here?" cecille asked, as the two turned to walk up. "a lot of the boys friends from the program, college and their teams. you remember the tckachuk boys?" ellen questioned and cecille laughed whole heartedly, "how could i forget them? they're very hard to forget." she mused as jimmy opened the front door. "hi!" cecille beamed, giving jimmy a quick hug before he took her suitcase and carry on bag.

"i think the boys are all outside on the deck coo-" ellen was cut off by who walked in through the back door, and cecille turned to see who walked in. "cecille?" quinn asked as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion before he looked back at jack who was in the middle of telling a very animated story. "let me guess." quinn stated causing cecille to laugh, as she realized what jack had done. he invited her without quinn knowing, as a surprise.

"when is he not up to something?" she teased as he set down his drink before pulling her in for a hug.

they pulled apart, and turned away from one another as ellen walked up. "dad and i are gonna run to the store to grab some things, ok? please text us if you want anything, cecille!" ellen said walking past them with her purse. cecille nodded giving them both a small wave, before turning back towards quinn.

"you two get out here!" jack yelled, as she popped his head through the sliding door. quinn rolled his eyes, before jack shut the door.

quinn sighed turning back towards cecille with a smile, "would you wanna i don't know, hang out later? just the two of us?" he asked a bit nervously, and cecille nodded. "i could take you out on the boat?" he clarified and she smiled, "that'd be really nice q."

✿

later on in the evening nearing 11 o'clock, after hours of stolen glances and private smiles, the two found themselves out on the boat. cecille stood up at the front of the boat, as quinn watched on from the drivers seat. the night sky clear of fog and any clouds, allowed for the stars to be out in full force tonight. cecille turned a bit back towards quinn and smiled, in which he mirrored.

"watcha thinking about?" he questioned as she walked back towards him and sat down on the couch across from the drivers seat. truth be told, ellen's words from 5 months ago had been circulating all night. and now, they were even worse. she shook her head, bringing her knee to rest her chin on. quinn watched her body begin to tense, something he'd always been able to do back in their early teen years. "you can tell me anything, cille." he offered softly and she nodded in acknowledgment. as she toyed with how she wanted to approach the subject, she sighed.

"when i came to the game, your mom was very honest and open about you and your...feelings." she paused turning her lips inward as she bit the inside of her cheeks. "how..honest?" he asked full of anxiety before she could finish. cecille looked up and met his gaze, "forget i said anything." she said standing up and walking to the back end of the boat, with her arms crossed. "no, don't do that cecille. just tell me, please." he pleaded following her. she shook her head, as he turned her around to face him. "cille, what did my mom say?" he asked placing hands on both sides of her face and making her look up at him. "she spoke of how-how difficult it was for you to leave, and that it was even harder watching me disappear from the world. trust me! i didn't want to disappear but i had to, i wanted to close that chapter of pain and trauma and in turn, i shut you and everybody else completely." she began as tears began to form in her eyes. quinn shook his head as he wiped his thumb softly against her cheek, as he sniffled. she shook her head, "it was hard for me as well, watching you leave and then life got in the way. but i had planned and hoped to reconnect after the olympics but things just didn't work out as i had planned. i didn't feel like myself and didn't want to put myself through any unnecessary pain." she explained, before sniffling.

he shook his head, "i would have never said or done anything to make you feel any less than cille - i promise....but my mom is such a blabber mouth my god." he said pausing to chuckle, and in turn made her giggle.

on the verge of tears, he spoke, "my god, it was so hard to leave you. you were right behind my family, i almost didn't go because i didn't want to leave them. but i knew i was supposed to leave, and through it all- through everything I've always kept the belief that we'd meet again, somewhere in life we'd come together again. i always knew i'd come back to you, cille." he said through tears of his own now.

cecille felt herself on the verge of tears as she pulled him in for a kiss, one they'd thought about for years at that point, and how it would feel.

it felt even sweeter than originally anticipated.

quinn lifted her up and twirled her around, before breaking the kiss. the two looked at one another before quinn broke out into laughter, and it was contagious.

"i just know jacks about to have a field day." he said and that made cecille laugh loudly as well.

she knew it to be true.

im sorry it was so long lol

but i hope you enjoyed!!!

please like and reblog if you liked (:

[goaliekisses]

oh 🥺

and flower was there too:

The Pittsburgh Penguins are supposed to be home with their families now, getting some rest following a 10-day road trip, preparing for the Canucks at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.

They are not.

Instead, they traveled through the middle of the night to Montreal, arriving at 4 a.m. Then, they slept for a brief period of time before attending the funeral of Claude Fouquet, father of Kris Letang.

While the Penguins were on the Western swing of the road trip that took them through Las Vegas and Phoenix, some of the team’s veterans came together with the coaching staff to discuss a mutual desire to attend Fouquet’s funeral in Quebec.

Mike Sullivan was not only on board with the plan but was one of the people who spearheaded the decision.

The Penguins were then set to return home later today, where they won’t have much time to prepare for Tuesday’s game.

But then, for this group, taking care of teammates is more important than obtaining a certain amount of rest before a game.

This is a particularly vivid illustration of how much Letang means to everyone on this team.

“Such a good kid,” former general manager Jim Rutherford said. “He really is. Life seems to hit him harder than most. But he’s tough. He’ll be OK.”

In case Letang needed their support, his teammates made the decision to sacrifice time with their families to be with him in Montreal.

It wasn’t an easy logistical matter for the organization. A high-ranking member of the Penguins’ front office had to fly to Phoenix on Sunday with a box of necessities: the Penguins’ passports. Their road trip had taken them to Boston, Las Vegas and Phoenix. To enter Canada, however, passports are required.

So, with the documents in hand following Sunday’s game, the Penguins ultimately made the decision to attend the funeral. It wasn’t a choice that came lightly. The Penguins had to consider that funerals are private, emotionally charged experiences. They wanted to be there, yes, but they also wanted to respect the privacy of Letang and his family.

Letang has been teammates with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin since 2006. For 17 years, these three players have been the foundation of the mighty Penguins and, along the way, it’s become clear the friendship these three share is even more powerful than the on-ice magic they still regularly showcase.

They are best friends. When Crosby was honored for playing in 1,000 career NHL games a couple of years back, he remained composed during the ceremony.

Then, the faces of Letang and Malkin flashed on the scoreboard, with each delivering a message. Suddenly, the tears flowed from Crosby’s face.

These are franchise icons, the three players most responsible for a magical time in Pittsburgh sports history. Along the way, they’ve become so close that the idea of playing for any other franchise last summer suddenly seemed absurd. They were brothers for life, on and off the ice.

There were tears in Montreal today, too.

But I’d bet, in what is a horribly sad day for Letang and his family, that the defenseman who has been through so much this season felt a little better, a little more supported, a little more loved and a little more at ease knowing Crosby and Malkin — along with 20 other teammates — were on hand.

Good for the Penguins. Good for ownership for handling the finances of this move. Good for Sullivan and his staff for putting the love of a teammate before previous plans. Good for the players who pushed to be there for their brother.

Good for Letang, too. He lives his life the right way, which is why he is so beloved in that locker room. He lost a member of his family that he loved, and that is a terribly difficult thing to overcome.

But he was surrounded by family in Montreal on Monday. A couple dozen weren’t blood relatives, but are family nonetheless.

from the athletic

[why4anne]

Racing Hearts

Part: 1

Pairing: Jack Hughes x Reader

Word-count: 2k

Summary: F1 prodigy Y/N L/N finds herself with an unexpected crush on NHL sensation Jack Hughes.

Face claim: Madison Beer + others

Masterlist

“Do I have to do this interview?” I asked my media manager. I had just arrived at my hotel in Canada and apparently I had been scheduled for an Interview in an hour. “Yes, Y/N, you have to do this interview. The other guest has already flown out early to do this interview before the race-weekend starts and it will look really bad if you don’t show up” Sarah has been my media manager since I moved to F1 at the age of 19, which was 3 years ago and she was more than used to my antics by now.

“What is it even about?” I asked as I switched my attention from my phone to fully look at her.

“It’s something about 2 stars at the age of 22 or something. The other guest is Jack Hughes, a hockey player in the NHL” Sarah looked at her notes as she said this.

“Hockey player?” I asked, exasperated.”Sarah, I know nothing about hockey! What are we even going to talk about?” 

“Don’t worry, the interviewer will make sure everything goes smoothly. You just have to sit there, smile and answer the questions.” It was obvious that she was fed up with my whining at this point so I decided to shut my mouth.

An hour and a half later I found myself in a white room with three mics standing on a table. I greeted a guy named Evan who was the host of the podcast that the interview was for and sat down in my seat, waiting for this other guy to show up. 

Five minutes later I was making small talk with the host as the door opened and a man with light brown hair walked in and fuck was he hot. I found myself staring at him as he shook hands with Evan. I could clearly see his biceps under his white t-shirt and I would be lying if I said that they were small. But, before I could look for longer I found him in front of me with his hand outstretched. I quickly pulled myself out of my daydream and stood up to greet him.

“What’s up, I’m Jack” He introduced himself, his mannerisms and way of talking all screamed cool boy, which was very different from the pampered rich boys who were the majority of the people in racing.

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you” I answered with a polite smile and shook his hand, locking eyes with him as I did so. I noticed how blue they were.

“Alright, if you both feel up for it I think we should get going” Evan interrupted our moment. 

“Sounds good” Jack agreed and we both took our seats.

“Welcome back to the Sport podcast, today we are joined by not one, but two special guests. We have hockey superstar Jack Hughes, a 22 year old center of the New Jersey Devils. He was drafted first overall in 2019 and has just come off a career high season with 99 points and a playoff run.” Evan introduced Jack to the podcast and I couldn’t help but be impressed with his stats. My knowledge in hockey may be limited but the way that Evan was describing him made him sound like a really good player

“Hey” Jack said into the mic. I couldn’t help but smile at his awkwardness .

“And we also have F1 protege Y/N L/N. She is currently the youngest driver on the grid but don’t be fooled, she’d been tearing up the grid for 3 years now and is currently looking like she might become the youngest World Champion in Formula 1 history, bringing the championship back to Ferrari for the first time since 2007.” Evan moved on to me.

“Ah, Evan, don’t jinx it” I smiled, all of my media training on the forefront of my mind and after years of this I would say that I’m quite skilled at the media game. 

“Just keeping it real,” Evan chuckled. “Now, how much do you guys know about each other?” 

Both me and Jack looked at each other, seeing who was going to answer first.

“Well, to be completely honest, I don’t know a lot about hockey so I’m kind of going into this interview completely blind, sorry” I admitted, feeling kind of bad for my lack of knowledge.

“No worries, I bet that you’re busy, " Jack reassured me. “I would say I’m a casual F1 fan, like I know the top teams and drivers”

"That's fair," I replied with a friendly smile. "I'm sure we can still have an interesting conversation, even if we're not experts in each other's fields."

Evan nodded in agreement and continued, "Absolutely, it's all about getting to know each other better and sharing some insights from your respective worlds. So, Jack, tell us, what's it like being a professional hockey player in the NHL?"

Jack leaned forward, his easygoing smile making him even more charming. "Being in the NHL has been a dream come true for me. It's intense, the competition is fierce, and the fans are incredibly passionate. There's nothing quite like stepping onto the ice in front of a packed arena. You feel the energy and the pressure, but that's what makes it all so exciting."

I listened to Jack's response with genuine interest, even though I had limited knowledge about hockey. He spoke with such passion and enthusiasm that it was easy to understand why he had such a successful career in the sport.

Evan then turned to me and asked, "Y/N, can you share with us what it's like being an F1 driver, especially at such a young age?"

I took a moment to gather my thoughts before responding, "Well, Formula 1 is an incredibly challenging and fast-paced sport with high pressure on the drivers and teams. As a driver, you have to be physically and mentally prepared for each race and you have to put up the results if you want to stay. I mean, there are only 20 seats in the entire world and if you’re not performing there is always another driver who will. I think going into it so young was both a blessing and a curse. It definitely put more attention on me as a driver, but at the same time I kind of got a head start.”

Jack nodded in understanding as I spoke. "Yeah, I can imagine the pressure, especially at such a young age. I mean, you're literally racing against some of the best drivers in the world. It must be quite the experience."

I appreciated his understanding, and I was starting to feel more at ease with the conversation. "Absolutely, and it's a constant learning process. But it's also incredibly rewarding when you have those moments of success and achieve your goals."

Evan jumped in, keeping the conversation flowing smoothly. "It's clear that both of you have a deep passion for your respective sports. What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced in your careers so far?"

Jack took a moment to reflect before answering, "One of the biggest challenges in my career has been dealing with injuries. Hockey can be a rough sport, and I've had my fair share of injuries that required a lot of rehab and patience. But it's part of the game, and it's made me stronger both physically and mentally."

I nodded in agreement, "In F1, the physical and mental demands are also immense. The travel schedule, the constant competition, and the pressure to perform can take a toll. Plus, adapting to different tracks and conditions is a unique challenge in itself. And, of course, there's the challenge of dealing with the media and public expectations."

Evan acknowledged our responses, "It's clear that both of your careers come with their own set of challenges, and yet you've managed to rise to the top of your respective sports. What advice would you give to young athletes aspiring to reach the level of success that you've achieved?"

Jack leaned in and said, "I'd say that dedication and hard work are essential. You have to be willing to put in the hours, stay committed to your training, and never give up, no matter how tough it gets. Surround yourself with a supportive team and use setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow."

I added, "I completely agree with Jack. In addition, I'd say it's important to keep a clear vision of your goals and stay focused. Stay true to your passion and love for the sport because that's what will drive you to overcome the challenges. And never forget that setbacks are part of the journey; they make the successes even more rewarding."

Jack nodded in agreement with my response. "That's some great advice, Y/N. Having a clear vision and staying passionate about what you do is crucial in any career, especially in sports."

Evan smiled and continued, "Thank you both for sharing your insights and experiences. It's clear that you're both dedicated and passionate individuals in your respective fields, and your advice is valuable for anyone striving for success. Now, before we wrap up, let's have a little fun. How about a rapid-fire round of questions for each of you?"

Jack and I exchanged amused glances, ready for the challenge. Evan fired off a series of questions, alternating between us.

"Favorite pre-game ritual?"

Jack answered first, "Listening to music that gets me pumped up."

I followed, "Visualizing the entire race, corner by corner, in my mind."

"Favorite post-game or post-race meal?"

Jack grinned, "Pizza, no doubt."

I chuckled, "A plate of pasta."

"Most memorable career moment so far?"

Jack's eyes lit up, "Scoring my first NHL goal. It was a dream come true."

I shared, "Winning my first F1 race. It was an unforgettable feeling."

As the rapid-fire questions continued, Jack and I found ourselves sharing more personal insights and even some lighthearted stories. We learned about our favorite travel destinations, hobbies outside of our respective sports, and our sources of inspiration.

The interview had transitioned from a professional exchange to a more relaxed and friendly conversation. Jack's charismatic and easygoing personality made it easy to connect, and I found myself genuinely enjoying our interaction. We even exchanged a few friendly jokes along the way, creating a comfortable atmosphere in the studio.

Evan, our host, couldn't help but smile as he witnessed the chemistry between us. "It's clear that you two are getting along great."

Jack nodded with a playful grin, "Yeah! Maybe we'll see Y/N at a hockey game one day."

I laughed, "Well, my media manager told me you’re attending the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend. Maybe I will see you in the Ferrari garage."

Jack chuckled, "I'll be sure to swing by the Ferrari garage and show some support. Maybe you can give me a crash course in F1"

I grinned at the idea. "Deal! And I'll make sure to catch a New Jersey Devils game when the opportunity arises. Maybe you can teach me a thing or two about hockey."

The interview wrapped up and Jack and I exchanged one last friendly smile.

"It was a pleasure, Jack. I’ll see you at the Grand Prix this weekend, I’ll be the one in red" I joked as we said goodbye.

Jack chuckled, "I'm looking forward to it. And if you ever want to catch a hockey game, just give me a call."

I chuckled, "I might just take you up on that offer. Best of luck with your season, Jack."

Jack flashed a warm smile as he nodded. "You too, Y/N. Good luck this weekend."

We both exchanged contact information and made plans to meet up during the Grand Prix this weekend. It was unexpected, but I had enjoyed our conversation, and I was genuinely looking forward to seeing Jack again. 

yourusername

liked by pierregasly, jackhughes and 1 242 635 others

yourusername: I had a blast on @/Sports_People today. Go check out their latest episode "Two stars under 22", where @/jackhughes and I delve into our experiences in sports.

view comments:

Sports_People: Such a great episode, thanks for joining us!

liked by yourusername

jackhughes: I had a great time! See you this weekend

- yourusername: I'll be the one in red!😜

holly_hockey: My two faves together? Yes please!

ferrarimorris: I'll be at the race on Sunday, hope you win! Forza Ferrari!

jackhugheswifeyyy: Of course she's pretty aswell, my chances are getting slimmer by the minute🤧

- caufieldsonfire: she's a brunette, don't worry

curiousgeorge: Move to McLaren please! We need youuuu!!🙏💀

[flour-is-a-spice]

Hobbies I think the trio would take up after the revolution

Markus

- Painting, of course! I think he’s the “artsy” one of the three. I think painting would be his favorite, but he’d enjoy drawing and even sculpture/ceramics

- Acting!!! Can’t you imagine him delivering soliloquies? He would be a GREAT actor, get this man on a stage STAT

- Writing. I think this man has a lot of thoughts and would find comfort in writing them out. I bet he’d be a published author eventually. A book written by the man who led the android rebellion? That would fly off the shelves

Kara

- Knitting/crochet. I think she’d love sitting with Alice and Luther and knitting while they talk. I think she’d make them all matching hats and scarves. Perfect for Canada!

- Martial arts of some kind. This woman needs an outlet for her emotions and a way to feel like she can protect herself and her loved ones

- Home improvement/woodworking. Give her a miter saw, a drill and some sandpaper and watch her go. I like to think they bought a little fixer upper and she spends her free time turning it into a home :)

Connor

- Cooking. Gotta make sure Hank is eating properly! I just think he’d enjoy the process.

- Card games, specifically poker. Any way for him to (ethically!!) analyze the way other people act and try to trick them is something he would have a good time doing

- Sports! Anything that requires hand-eye coordination and has him playing against one other person or a team. Perhaps there would be new sports made by androids for androids?

If you’d like, let me know your opinions, or if you believe they’d enjoy any other hobbies! I like to think about stuff like this instead of doing my assignments

[forthegothicheroine]

Boxing is bad news in noir- the life of the boxer is shown to be in the hands of mobsters and exploitative managers, their final fate being a career-ending injury or a life-ending concussion. Some, like the Humphrey Bogart film The Harder They Fall, even call for the abolition of the sport. I suppose today the sport that gathers this criticism is pro football, but with teams and establishments and schools behind any given player, it's a lot less claustrophobic and individualistic, and therefor much less noir.

In Body and Soul, the cute and scrappy Charlie Davis is a great fighter, and to go to the top he's had to get mobbed up, breaking the heart of his mother and his girlfriend. He's always known he may have to take a dive someday, but when he knows the local Jewish community have all bet on him, can he really let them down? (Let's give John Garfield as producer the credit for making one of the few noirs willing to say the J-word.)

Unlike, for instance, The Set Up, Body and Soul isn't a capital-B Boxing movie; the sport itself is mostly relegated to one scene, with all the real focus being on the human drama playing out offstage. You can almost see Barton Fink typing out "We'll be hearing from that boxer, and I don't mean a postcard." You can see Garfield's fingerprints all over this, highlighting his own ethnicity, providing plenty of method-actor moments, and casting a black costar (Canada Lee) in a role that doesn't require him to humiliate himself. Garfield's own fate as martyr of the blacklist lurks over the film; Charlie's decision over whether to risk death in favor of not taking the mob's blood money feels unhappily prescient.

Get that title, Charlie Davis. Get that Oscar, John Garfield. You've got that to show for it in the end.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Alleged Bet Slips Jig-Saw Puzzlers,” Toronto Globe. October 22, 1932. Page 13. ---- Police Claim Records Pieced Together Following Raid ---- Forcing an apartment door of a suite on the top floor of 114 Eglinton Avenue, yesterday afternoon, Morality Officers Sunderland, Eagleson and Jackson arrested Arthur Vaughan on a charge of keeping a common betting place.

Police charge that Vaughan refused to open the door, and they kicked it in. They found two telephones on a desk and several long sheets of paper which were torn. Piercing the torn parts together, police claim to have secured evidence of a daily betting play of $200. Vaughan was taken to North Toronto Police Station.

[sequestering]

Disney's ESPN moves into US sports betting with $2bn Penn Entertainment deal by Sara Germano (Financial Times) | All-in on sports betting, Disney is making ESPN earn its keep by Diego Lasarte (Quartz) | Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid Star in Newest BetMGM Television Spot (BetMGM) | BetMGM | Gambling ads and the NHL: should Gretzky and McDavid do better? by Colin Horgan (The Guardian) | The Washington Capitals | Hockey Night in Canada wants to know why you're not gambling by Chris Selley (National Post) | The dark side of the US sports betting boom by Oliver Barnes (Financial Times) | Sports Interaction: East vs West (Sports Interaction) | Gambling ads are changing how we view hockey by Cathal Kelly (Globe and Mail)

[the-moral-of-the-rose]

If anybody wanted to write a crossover between L.M. Montgomery's books, here is a little help with the ages of the characters (@no-where-near-hero maybe it will be a tiny help for your fanfic):

Anne Shirley - born on 5th of March 1865

Gilbert Blythe - born in 1862 or 1863

James Matthew "Jem" Blythe - born in July 1893

Walter Cuthbert Blythe - born in 1894

Anne "Nan" and Diana "Di" Blythe - born in 1896

Shirley Blythe - born in 1888*

Bertha Marilla "Rilla" Blythe - born in 1900*

Gerald "Jerry" Meredith - born 1894

Faith Meredith - born 1895

Una Meredith - born 1896

Thomas Carlyle "Carl" Meredith - born 1897

Jims Anderson - born in August of 1914

Emily Byrd Starr - born on 19th of May 1888

Ilse Burnley - born in 1888 (probably)

Perry Miller - born in 1887

Frederick "Teddy" Kent - 1887 or 1888

Dean Priest - born in 1865

Patricia "Pat" Gardiner - born in 1913

Rachel "Rue" Gardiner - born in 1919

Winnifred "Winnie" Gardiner - born in 1910

Sidney "Sid" Gardiner - born in 1912

Joseph"Joe" Gardiner - born in 1908

Hilary Gordon - born in 1911

Elizabeth "Bets" Wilcox - born in 1913

David Kirk - born around 1893

Jane Stuart - born in May 1918 or 1919

Valancy Stirling* - born 1883**

Barney Snaith - born 1877**

Cecilia "Cissy" - born 1886**

Olive Stirling - born 1884**

Gay Penhallow - born in 1904***

Nan Penhallow - born in 1904***

Roger Dark - born in 1890***

Donna Dark - born between 1894 and 1896***

Virginia Powell - born between 1894 and 1896***

Peter Penhallow - born between 1888 and 1890***

Margaret Penhallow - born 1872***

Brian Dark - born 1916***

Hugh Dark - born in 1887***

Joscelyn Penhallow: born between 1889-1892***

*In both Anne of Ingleside and Rainbow Valley Shirley is two years older than Rilla. But in Rilla of Ingleside, he turns eighteen few months before Rilla... it is pure chaos. Rilla was supposed to be nearly fourteen, according to the RV, in 1914, but she is nearly fifteen in RoI. So I apologize, but I had a lot of trouble here...

**The Blue Castle is the most difficult to place in time. It is set several years before it was published, and in my own opinion: before Tangled Web and Pat of Silver Bush. Why? Because of this reference: "This was before the day of bobs and was regarded as a wild, unheard-of proceeding—unless you had typhoid." (The Blue Castle). Bobs were already "in fashion" at the beginning of Pat of Silver Bush (so, in 1919, when Pat was six years old: it was said that Winnie wanted to have her hair bobbed) and in Tangled Web (which is set in 1922). Yet, the cars, motorboats and movie theaters were a rather common occurence in The Blue Castle's times. But... there might be an explanation. Valancy doesn't live on PEI, which might have been a little "behind" the rest of Canada, as far as modern technology went. It is my own personal opinion, but I think that it might be set just before the war, at the same time as the end Emily's Quest. I know that the clothes seem more "modern" in TBC, but Emily wore "a little sport suit" and dress that was described as followed "there was so little of it". Teddy and Perry both had cars, as sone of Ilse's cousins. I would say that the Blue Castle book might be set around 1912-1913. Still, the timeline is extremely elusive. Please, let me know, dear Blue Castle Book Club's members, what is your opinion? I think I have read some amazing discussion about TBC's timeline a long time ago, but if I remember correctly, everyone was certain that this novel was set post WWI (me included, until this very moment when I tried to place Pat and Tangled Web and remembered the "bob" quote). So I choose 1912 as the beginning of TBC, when Valancy was twenty-nine.

*** the ages of characters in Tangled Web:

"They were first cousins, who were born the same day and married the same day,--Donna to her own second cousin, Barry Dark, and Virginia to Edmond Powell--two weeks before they had left for Valcartier. Edmond Powell had died of pneumonia in the training camp, but Barry Dark had his crowded hour of glorious life somewhere in France." (Tangled Web).

"Virginia Powell, whose husband had been dead eight years and who was young and tolerably beautiful" (Tangled Web).

"Valcartier, Quebec was the primary training base for the First Canadian Contingent in 1914."

- from: https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/going-to-war/canada-enters-the-war/training-at-valcartier/

So, from this I assumed that Virginia's husband died in 1914 (so Tangled Web is set in 1922-23). Gay is 18 at the beginning, so she would be born in 1904. If Donna and Virginia were 18-20 when they got married, they would be 26-28 (so still "young"). at the beginning. Peter was 14 when Donna was 8, so he'd be 32-34 at the beginning of the book (same age or a bit older than Roger). Hugh was 35 at the beginning. I guess Joscelyn was a bit younger- most of LMM's heroines are at least two years younger than their love interest. I'd say she might have been 20-23 when she got married, so she'd be around 30-33 at the beginning of the book. I would say Brian is about six years old - he doesn't seem to attend school yet, but is big enough to be sent to the harbour. Margaret Penhallow was about fifty at the beginning of the book.

So sorry that this post was rather long, but it was a great fun to write (even if it took me A LOT of time). Thank you for reading. Please, let me know if you agree. Any feedback will be very welcome!

[gorogues]

Fictober 2024

Prompt number #4 Fanfiction Fandom: Flash Rogues Rating: T – Teen and up Warnings: Profanity, general miscreant behaviour

Day Four: “No, we’re not doing that”

The Rogues had piled into the van for a road trip to Chicago to see the Cubs play, as they did every year or so, but things quickly seemed strange to anyone paying attention.

“Hey, why aren’t we heading to the interstate?” Mark called from the back seat, and Len tightened his grip on the wheel.

“We ain’t going to Chicago,” Len replied calmly.  “We’re going to Keystone.”

“What!  What about the Cubbies?!” Mick demanded.  “You said we were going to Wrigley to watch `em play the Cards!”

“Nope, we’re not doin’ that.  We’re gonna go watch the Combines play, because somebody set off a stink bomb in my bed and now we’re gonna do what I want to do.”

Axel’s cheeks reddened a bit, but he figured the best defence was a good offence.  “Hockey totally sucks, and this isn’t Canada!  The rest of us don’t like it and you’re outnumbered six to one!”

“I don’t care one way or another, mate, they’re all shit Yank sports to me,” Digger shrugged, and Evan nodded enthusiastic agreement.

“It’s nae fitba.”

Len took his attention away from the road to grin aggressively at the others.  “Funny you should mention Canada, `cause we’re gonna watch the Combines play the Leafs and it’ll be one hell of a bloodbath.  I get to see my team stomp another, and you dickheads get to watch a team embarrass itself by choking in the clutch every single time.”

Roscoe began fumbling with the van’s side door, intending to make a speedy exit, but the doors were locked from the driver’s controls.

“Oh no, Dillon, you aren’t going anywhere.  Trickster told me the bomb was your idea.”

Roscoe’s eyes flashed with an angry green glow.  “I should have known there was a reason you insisted I go to the ballgame!”

Len just laughed, and the van soon approached the river-spanning bridge to Keystone.

+++

One hour later found the Rogues seated in the arena, watching the start of the game with varying levels of interest.

“This sport is so dumb.  Why the skates?” Axel complained as Len swigged some beer and enjoyed the misery of the idiots around him.

“It’s cold in here,” Mick whispered, shivering.  Mark surreptitiously draped Len’s coat around their suffering comrade’s shoulders, having observed that Dear Leader was absorbed in the action on the ice.

“The brawling’s not bad,” Digger observed appreciatively as several players exchanged punches and one guy tripped another with his stick when the ref wasn’t looking.

“Aye, I’ve watched the ice hockey before in Glesga.  Bu’ it’s nae all that popular with the local lads except for all the doin’,” Evan replied, moderately bored by the game.  His eyes were on another patron’s expensive watch which was located three rows in front of them, seductively glinting under the overhead lights.

Roscoe sat silently and tried to hide his annoyance to deprive Len of any satisfaction, though with only middling success because Len knew him better than he knew himself.  He paid most of his attention to the other Rogues, finding their behaviour more interesting than the mediocre game itself.

But Len was having a blast.  “Fuck yeah!” he jeered when the Combines scored yet another goal over the hapless Maple Leafs, inadvertently drenching Mark with beer.

“God, Len, could you not?” Mark grumbled, dabbing at his favourite Cubs jersey with a greasy napkin.  “I didn’t set off any stink bomb.”

“S-so c-cold…” Mick murmured, and Evan was getting a distinct gleam in his eyes as he stared at the fancy watch.

“Say, have you noticed that gentleman’s beautiful watch?” Roscoe conversationally observed to his fellows.  “Who wants to bet that I can lift it from his wrist without him noticing?”

Evan glared at him; he was determined that the prize should only be his.  He stood up, claiming to need the washroom, so Roscoe sat back and relaxed.  Time to wait for things to blow up.

Soon there was a scuffle a few rows in front of them, involving lots of shouting and shoving.  “Hey, this guy tried to steal my watch!” shouted an indignant voice amidst the melee.

“Fight!  Fight!” Digger cheered from his seat, simply enjoying the drama and not caring who was involved.

Len got up with a sinking feeling, trying to see what was happening.  “Dammit, McCulloch…”  He pushed his way to the aisle with the faint hope of retrieving his idiot before the police were called and the game was potentially ruined.

“I think Mick would appreciate it if you raised the temperature in here,” Roscoe said to Mark in that same conversational tone, and the Weather Wizard knew exactly what he was doing but was only too happy to oblige.

“Y’know, you’re right,” Mark muttered, seeing an opportunity to go home without the boss finding out.  He waved his wand, and the interior of the building began to slowly heat up.  Not enough to make anyone ill, but enough for the ice to start melting in ways the players didn’t like, and they left the rink soon after.

“Your attention, please,” the arena’s announcer droned over the public address system. “The game is temporarily on hold due to unforeseen conditions on the ice, and your patience is appreciated while the matter is investigated.”

“What the hell’s going on?” Len demanded when he returned to the group with a shame-faced Evan in tow.

“No clue.  Something’s gone wrong, I guess,” Mark said smoothly, and the Rogues who’d caught on to the scheme had the common sense not to chuckle.

Len snorted with extreme annoyance.  “We can’t wait around here for things to maybe continue, because this dipshit tried and failed to steal some rich guy’s watch.  McCulloch, I don’t want you to get snatched by the cops on the way home, so you head back right away via your mirror.”

“Aye,” Evan mumbled, and prepared to exit the building via a small mirror from his pocket.  Most of the other Rogues eagerly tried to follow, but Len narrowed his eyes at them, already suspicious about the evening’s various misfortunes.

“Nope, the rest of you jerks are with me, and we’re all gonna drive home together.  And we’re gonna take the scenic route too.”

The heavy sighs Roscoe and Mark uttered were an incredible balm to Len’s soul.