#cause the team playing this series is not exactly our world cup winning team

[partybarty]

five of the longest win streaks in odi history belong to australia

meg lanning's golden girls with 26 matches from 2018-2021

ricky pointing's greats with 21 matches from 2002-2004

belinda clarke's pioneers with 17 matches from 1997-1999

belinda clarke's legends with 16 matches from 1999-2000

india's badass women with 16 matches from 2016-2017

whatever you call this current aus men's team with 14 matches from 2023-present

[thora-jane]

Twin-Way Mirror pt iii

Series Summary: You've been friends with the Weasley twins since your first train to Hogwarts, but as the three of you start your 6th year, you start to question if your feelings go beyond friendship.

Summary for Pt 3: The twins help you to get settled and together you catch up on how your summers have been

Warnings: none!

Word count: 2,321

female!reader, 2nd person POV

Series Summary: You've been friends with the Weasley twins since your first train to Hogwarts, but as the three of you start your 6th year, you start to question if your feelings go beyond friendship.

Summary for Pt 1: After recalling how you first met Fred and George, you finally arrive at the burrow and reunite with your favorite twins.

Warnings: none!

Word count: 2,196

female!reader, 2nd person POV

***

The three soon-to-be fourth years had brought in your things, and as you carried the owl cage and your yarn bag, Fred and George Carried your trunk, navigating up around the narrow bends of the staircases that wove their way through the burrow.

“Ginny offered to have you stay in her room-”

“But Hermione’s already there.”

“Harry’s sharing Ron’s room-”

“And ickle Percykins is too big headed and busy with important ministry work to share his room.”

The two let their conversation bounce back and forth before finishing in unison.

“So you’re staying in our room!”

“Don’t worry,” George nodded seriously as he kicked their door open, “All explosions shall be kept to a minimum, particularly during the wee hours of the night.”

“We understand that beauty sleep is very important to a lady at this stage in life. And we would not want to be the cause of you being any uglier than you already are,” Fred added, mirroring George’s tone as they set down your trunk in their room. After which George promptly smacked him on the head.

“How dare you insult our lovely guest. You foul git, no wonder you’re not her favorite!” You smiled to yourself, placing the cage on the windowsill and your bag on the cot. The two were still shoving each other, but as you turned around you were able to get the first good look at them that you’ve had in months.

They had both shot up so much in the past few months. And their hair, it was even longer than Harry or Ron’s.

It didn’t look too bad, either.

“Careful there, Eros might come back and fly straight into your mouth if you leave it hanging open like that,” George cracked, “Why the open drawbridge?”

You realized you might have been staring for a second, not only that, but your mouth wasn’t exactly closed. You clamped your jaw shut, then opened your mouth again to stammer out, “Your hair’s so...so tall.” You could feel your voice crack at the last word, and you immediately regretted it.

The two boys nearly fell on each other with laughter, gathering up a handful each of their hair and holding it up so it stood on end. Between laughs they both gasped out, “Your HAIR! So TALL!”

You sighed and rubbed a hand over your face. Grabbing a pillow off of one of the twin’s beds, you smacked them both with it. But your beating left no impact on their fits of giggles and instead they grabbed you hands and pulled you into a group hug, messing up your hair before you shoved their arms off with a grin and exasperated sigh.

“Shouldn’t we go wash up? I’m starving,” You said, trying to squeeze in between the twins and out the doorway. You paused, turning to the twin nearest to you and leaning up to their face, staring rather closely.

“Urm…(y/n)? What are you doing?” They hesitated, not breaking eye contact, but freezing up when you tucked their hair behind their ear. Your hand lingered slightly as you searched for a cluster of freckles but came up empty.

“Just trying to figure out which one you are. It’s a bit difficult with all that hair. Nice to see you again, Freddie.” You smiled, patting him on the head before heading off to the bathroom to wash up. You couldn’t hear exactly what had happened, but you figured one of them had smacked the other on the head again. It was a wonder no one had ever gotten a concussion with all the smacking and hitting that happened.

***

Dinner with the Weasleys was never a dull moment. Hardly anything was a dull moment with the Weasleys around. Soon enough, the nine of you retired to the living room, where you and Molly sat working on your projects while everyone else buzzed with excitement that you’d be off to the Quidditch World Cup in the morning.

“(y/n), you’re going to love it. It’s Ireland against Bulgaria and for sure Ireland is going to win!” One of the twins exclaimed from their spot behind you. Ron started to argue, going on about how Viktor Krum was far better than all of Ireland put together.

“He’s a fine example of what the true art of Quidditch can be! You of all people would appreciate that, right (y/n)?” Ron pleaded, ignoring Fred and George’s show of swoons and sighs and Ginny’s giggles from her spot on the couch. It was true, you were a fan of Quidditch, but you weren’t quite that great at it, something about it just didn’t quite stick with you.

But in no way were you bad at flying. You were actually fantastic at flying, and you loved it. In your first year of flying courses at Hogwarts, not only had you managed to exceed at flying, but you were also the only one to successfully dabble in broom tricks when Madame Hooch wasn’t looking. Flying wasn’t a game for you, it was more of a dance.

But of course, Quidditch was no dance.

“I’d like to see (y/n) try and play quidditch,” a twin laughed, sitting down next to your spot on the floor, laying back so his head was resting in your lap, “Artfulness only gets you so far, Ronald, but you need more than cool tricks to be good at Quidditch,” He looked up at you, an apologetic grin on his face, “no offense, of course.”

You looked down at him, his hair spread out on your yarn as he smiled up at you, eyes scanning your face for a moment. For a second, everything seemed to go quiet. Of course, it didn’t actually fall quiet, the other Weasleys continued on with the conversation. But you and Fred (your best guess, at least) didn’t say a word as you sat there, looking down at his head in your lap. It was the quietest he had been since before dinner. His face seemed so patient, like he wasn’t going to say anything until you said something first, like he was waiting for you to do something, or come up with some sort of response.

You felt your face get warmer, and your mind quickly made the excuse that the cause was from his breath. After all, his face was close enough to yours that you could feel him breathing on you.

You shrugged off the thought that this interaction held any particular meaning as you stuck out your tongue and poked him in the nose with your hook, “Get outta my face, Fred,” you retorted, biting back a smile.

He shot back to sitting in front of you, turning around so he could face you again as he leaned in with a frown, “Come now, I’m sorry I hurt your feelings but there’s no need to call me ugly! We both know you could make it onto the team if Oliver wasn’t such a stiff and Harry wasn’t an insufferable golden boy.”

You paused, setting down your yarn and hook. In the background you thought you heard Harry object to the twin’s comment, but you paid more attention to the face of the boy in front of you, tucking his long hair behind his ear and tilting his head in order to get a good look behind his ear. Freckles.

“My apologies, George,” you answered, not moving your hand from the side of his face.

“None taken, my fine lady friend,” He smiled, keeping his head still, “After all, noticing the subtle differences and nuanced signs of beauty is a skill that is only acquired through rigorous practice.”

You smirked, debating whether to move your hand or not. You could almost swear he was leaning into your touch, but you ignored the thought, “I take it you’ve had the practice?”

“Oh, years of it,” he winked. He opened his mouth again to say something else, but before he had the chance, Mr. and Mrs. Weasely stood up, announcing that they were off to bed.

“You kids ought to get some rest too, we leave bright and early tomorrow morning,” Mr. Weasely said, glancing over at all of you, “We’re meeting up with the Diggorys and it’s best not to keep Amos waiting.”

Shortly after, Ginny and Hermione got up and said their goodnights. Then Harry and Ron. After that, it was just you and the twins sitting around in the living room, with George had draped himself across the couch, Fred sitting on the floor leaning against the chair, and you sitting in the middle of the floor, lying on your back with your arms tucked behind your head.

“What about your summer, (y/n)? You’ve been awfully quiet about what you’ve been up to the past few months,” George asked lazily, his hand tucked under his chin as he watched you work at the lion's hat.

“Oh, not much. A bit of reading, a bit of yarn work, letter writing. Also having my parents pester me about studying traditional school subjects, but that’s nothing new,” You sighed, craning your neck to look back at him, “I don’t lead as exhilarating a life as you guys think I do.”

But George didn’t really seem to hear that last bit, “I don’t get it. You’re a witch. You’ve spent the past five years learning magic, wouldn’t those be your traditional subjects? That doesn’t really make sense. And besides, what if you decide to live fully in our world? Muggle University wouldn’t do you that much good, would it?” He rolled off the couch and laid down next to you, “I mean, say you were to live with us for the rest of your life. It wouldn’t matter much how in depth you know the muggle world, right?”

You paused, setting your project down on your chest, “I suppose you’re right,” you sighed, stretching your arms in front of you before placing them at your side, “But good luck explaining that to my mum and dad.”

“And what if we did?” Fred piped up, crawling over to be with the two of you, “What would they do? Not charm us with their lack of magic? How threatening! Oh, hold me (y/n) I’m quivering in my socks!” He declared, grabbing your hand and hugging it to his chest, “Will they dare recite their ‘traditional muggle subjects’ at me? How terrible!”

You laughed not pulling away as you waved your free hand dramatically in front of the three of you, “Traffic regulations! Basic laws of parliament! Analysis of English literature! Taxes! Maths!”

“Oh! I’m so scared!” he cried in a high-pitched voice, holding your hand tighter as he curled up into your side, “Don’t let them take me, (y/n)!” he mumbled into your shoulder. You couldn’t tell if he was laughing, or fake crying. Either way, you chuckled a bit before leaning your head against his with a sigh.

“I mean it though,” George started again as he rolled onto his front and stared up at the empty fireplace, “If you stayed with us in the wizarding world, would they still make you go to a muggle university?”

You looked at him thoughtfully before reaching up and ruffling his hair, “I’m not sure, Georgie. I suppose we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, yeah?” He looked down at you and stuck out his tongue, which you took as an agreement, before looking back to the clock.

“It is rather late, isn’t it?” you asked. Before he could respond, Fred started fake-snoring into your shirt sleeve, having not moved from when he curled up in the first place.

“Oh shut up, you big baby,” George rolled his eyes, nudging his brother’s head with his foot, “I’m going to bed. If this menace gives you any heartache just holler for your knight in shining armor and I’ll send mum to get his arse.” Fred mumbled something into your shoulder, hugging you close as George lightly kicked him again.

After George had started upstairs, you tilted your head to face Fred, “Do you plan on moving anytime soon, Freddie?” You smiled as he pulled you closer, mumbling something again before looking up at you.

“What if I’m already asleep?’’ he asked, a stupid grin on his face, “What would you do then? Awake a sleeping beauty? You wouldn’t. Would you?” he leaned up and kissed your forehead, “that would be a crime.”

For a second you could have sworn your heart stopped. You guys didn’t do kisses, did you? Mrs. Weasley did, and you once kissed Ron and Percy on the cheek as a joke. But you and the twins never did kisses. Was this a new thing? It might be. Part of you hoped it was.

You paused, several questions bubbling up in your mind. It was then that you noticed the look on Fred’s face, his brow furrowed and his eyes were scanning your face, “You alright, (y/n)?” He seemed nervous, and you could feel his arms pull back slightly.

After a moment, you smiled and sat up, “Never better. I am a bit tired though, and we have to get up early. We ought to go to bed, right?” You stood up, brushing back your hair before gathering up your project and stuffing it into your bag.

The two of you quietly began your way upstairs, his arm over your shoulder. You opened the door as quietly as you could, tip-toeing past George’s bed and over to your trunk, rifling through the dark to find a t-shirt and some sweatpants and heading off to the bathroom to change.

You were nearly out the door when a tired voice yawned from under blankets, “Goodnight, (y/n). Sweet dreams.”

You turned back, smiling, though you were sure he couldn’t see you. “Goodnight, Georgie. I’ll see you in the morning.”

[astrovian]

Richard Armitage interviews Harlan Coben for the Win audiobook (released 18/03/21)

Full transcript under cut

RA: Hi, I’m Richard Armitage. I played Adam Price in the Netflix series The Stranger, which was adapted from Harlan Coben’s novel of the same name. With me is the man himself, Harlan Coben, number one New York Times bestseller, the author of over thirty novels, including the one you’ve just listened to. I’m delighted to be talking to Harlan about his book, Win.

Okay Harlan, thanks for taking the time to chat about your audiobook and thanks for sending me a copy of the book. Um, it was so nice I ended up wrapping it up and giving it to my brother for Christmas.

HC: *laugh* You’re supposed to read it first, but okay, thanks Richard.

RA: No, I got the electronic version so uh, so I’ve had a good read. Congratulations, a great story. Brilliant, brilliant central character. I mean the first question I’m gonna ask is – because people listening to this have just been listening to the audiobook – are you, um, a big audiobook listener yourself?

HC: I – I go through stages, um, because my mind wanders, I sometimes have trouble focusing. But when I’m in a car, um, that’s most of the time that I’m- that I really love to use the audiobooks because it does make the ride just fly by. However, I’ve set up my life that I don’t have to commute to work every day, so I don’t have it steadily – it’s usually when I’m doing a nice long ride, I get a really good audiobook and time just flies by.

RA: And have you- have you got any favourite audiobooks that you’ve listened to recently, or any podcasts or what is it that floats your boat?

HC: You know, it’s funny. I still remember when I was a working man, way back when, when audiobooks were really first starting out and we had them on cassette tapes, I listened to the entire Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, um, it was about thirty hours long, going back and forth to work for almost a month. And I still have memories of that experience, and it’s probably, well god, it’s probably 1990 I did that, 1989, something like that.

RA: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean I’ve got a- I’ve got a few journeys up and back from Manchester this year, we’re about to start working on Stay Close, so I’ll happily – I’m happy to take any recommendations of any good books, so maybe I’ll listen to Bonfire of the Vanitites.

HC: Well I tell ya, a lot of people – first of all, it’s a brilliant book, it’s maybe a bit dated, but I doubt that, um. I think Richard, I get more people telling me to listen to any book that you read.

RA: *laugh*

HC: I said, “Hey, I spend a lot of time with this guy, I’m about to do my second television show that stars Richard Armitage. No one I think has starred in two shows that I’ve done ever, so I get a lot of him anyway.” *laugh*

RA: You don’t need my voice in your head when you’re driving, that’s – that’s torture.

HC: That’s right, I’ll be hearing notes on, on scripts in my head if I hear you going. For those who don’t know who are listening, y’know, Richard starred in The Stranger, um, and now is going to be starring in Stay Close, uh, based off two of my novels which I’m sure you can get on audiobook.

RA: And on that note, what um, you’ve had so many adaptations now that have moved from page to screen – what is it like when you go through that process? When you’re – ‘cause you’re very hands on in the way that you kind of collaborate with not just the actors, but with the producers and y’know, the writers. I mean, you’re – you’re writing it yourself. Um, what is it like through, through that whole process, from starting to developing to seeing it kind of realised on screen?

HC: I think the key for me is not to be slavishly devoted to the novel. I think that’s a mistake that a lot of people who are trying to make an adaptation make. So, I go into it, ‘what is the best TV series we can make?’, if it’s true to the book, great. If it’s not true to the book, also great. Um, so I move my stories to various countries, we’ve changed characters around, we’ve changed motivations. Because they’re two very different mediums – a book is a book, and a TV series is a TV series. They should not be the same. One is a visual medium, one is not. Even, even um, audiobooks are slightly different um, than what you read. And they should be. Um, y’know, there’s a performance involved. 

Also, because I’ve spent most of my life alone in a room coming up with writing a book, um, where I am just everything – I’m writer, director, actor, key grip. I don’t even know what a key grip is, but I’m that. Um, it’s really nice to collaborate. So um, you’ve worked with me, I hope you agree – I like to collaborate, I like to hear the opinions of other people and um, I really enjoy that aspect of it. I look at it like I’m – like I get to be captain of a World Cup football team, rather than being a tennis player where I’m standing there on my own, which is what happens with a novel.

RA: Yeah, and actually it’s the same when I get to narrate an audiobook, like you say – you get to be director, you get to be the cinematographer to an extent ‘cause you’re setting the scene, but one thing that I’ve – I really appreciated about working with you was having read your, your books and sometimes you’ll pass by a character that is useful to the, to the narrative that you’re telling, but when that comes to developed for TV or film you’ll take a bit more time to investigate that character, and you’re very open to treading those paths, which makes for a very kind of dense narrative with the screenwriter.

HC: Well that’s what I think we’re trying to do. If you think about The Stranger, um, y’know in the book the Stranger is a sort of nerdy teenage male.

RA: Mm-hmm.

HC: And that just – we even tried out some people, and that just didn’t work. And it was really my idea – and I don’t say it in a bragging way, I say it as a way to show how open we all are – to change the character from being male to being female. And once I saw Hannah John-Kamen do it, then I pictured her in a room with you in that first great scene in the bar, um, or at the club when she tells you the big secret, it just worked. Um, you have to be willing to, to sort of stretch your imagination all over again and re-think your story. Which is also fun.

RA: Yeah, and also I suppose because y’know, as much as we love a faithful adaptation of a novel, um what you don’t wanna do is just deliver the novel in screenplay. You want to, for everyone that has read it it’s a new and exciting surprise, and for everyone that hasn’t it’s, y’know, it’s gonna be the same. So, um, it’s nice to kind of have a, to have your audience ready for people who have read a lot of your work, and there were, y’know, a guaranteed audience of people that had, had looked at The Stranger but what you gave them was something really surprising.

HC: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. A lot of fun. And Stay Close, there’s a change in the ending to that which will hopefully shock everybody but especially the people who have already read the book, who will smugly think they know exactly what’s going on.

RA: *laugh* And me, probably. I haven’t read it yet. Um, so when you’re writing – I’m gonna double up on this question now, so when you’re writing, do you write in silence? Do you have any music playing in the background or are you – do you have like a, a kind of sacred writing space?

HC: Um, my routine is not to have a routine. Uh I, I do whatever works until it stops working and then I change up. It’s like I’m riding a horse really fast, and then the horse dies so I gotta find a new horse. So most writers will tell you ‘yes, I use this space, I do it at this time’. Um in the days before Covid, I would go to different coffee shops all the time, I would try out different… any place. Y’know, my favourite example is the end of – when I was writing The Stranger, um with about three weeks left to finish it, I had to take an Uber for the first time. This was a number of years ago. I had to take an Uber in New York City, and I felt really guilty about spending the money on an Uber and trying to justify it, so I was sitting in the back of the Uber and I was writing down notes, and I start writing really well. So for three weeks, I took Ubers wherever I went just so I could finish the book *laugh*

RA: ‘Cause that was the magic formula.

HC: Yeah, that worked! Then that stops working and then I have to find the new, a new place. So my routine is not to have a routine. If you’re trying to write out there, the key to anything is ‘does it make me write more?’ – if the answer is yes, it’s good. If the answer is no, it’s bad. It really is that simple.

RA: I’m gonna make a note of that for when I start writing myself. Um, do you – do you speak any of your characters out loud, your dialogue or your prose passages, do you say it out loud?

HC: The very last stage um, of editing. Okay first of all, no writer gets it right the first time. I know a million writers, I don’t know any writer who doesn’t re-write and re-write a lot. Well, I know one but he’s the guy none of us wanna hang out with, you know what I mean?

RA: *laugh*

HC: So um, the last stage that I do, and it’s usually after I’ve done all the editing with my editor and everything like that, we’re ready to go. I will sit in a room and I read the entire novel out loud to myself. Um, because what happens is, it’s a little bit like a musical score. Where you can – if you read it out loud, I can detect false notes that I may have missed along the way. Um, I can hear them. So the last step is that. I rarely y’know, I’m not – I’m not crazy, I’m not sitting there maybe talking out loud to myself, I’m maybe testing out lines by doing that, and I do that a lot when I’m helping with the screenplays on our shows. But um, for the most part that’s how I do it.

RA: So, in that case, would you ever narrate one of your own audiobooks?

HC: I did narrate one, uh, many years ago called Promise Me. What had happened is we had -  my Myron Bolitar series we did seven with the same reader and he retired. I hadn’t written um, I didn’t write Myron for about five or six years it was. And so they said, ‘hey, why don’t you do it?’ which was a huge mistake in many ways. One, I’m not a professional. But two, the people who were fans of Myron Bolitar liked the first guy, and it felt to them liked they had tuned into their favourite TV show and every actor had changed.

RA: *laugh*

HC: It’s really difficult to re-do or start a series, uh, when people know the- the old reader. So um, I also figure- it was also, Richard you know this of course, so for people who don’t know, it’s a lot of work. I’m a guy from New Jersey. I speak very quickly, which does not go over well in audio. I don’t do voices. I would have to sit with a pillow on my stomach because uh, my stomach would sometimes grumble and that would be picked up- *laugh*

RA: Oh, yeah!

HC: By the microphone. And it took me um, a week to record it because – and I don’t know if this is still the case – but back then, the abridged version wasn’t just a cut up version of the unabridged, I had to do a whole different reading for it. So um, it was – it was a lot of work. Um, and it’s a skill that I’m not sure I’m best to do.

RA: Yeah, it does take a lot of stamina. I mean what’s interesting is, having gotten to know you, and when I, when I now read your work, I can hear your delivery, I can hear your voice. And there’s humour in the dialogue, and there’s humour in the as well, and I – it’s an instant ‘in’ for me, so I – ‘cause, ‘cause often I read and I speak aloud when I’m reading alone in the dark, I say things out loud but I think people approach it differently. But I definitely hear your voice in, in these characters. And I think particularly in Windsor Horne Lockwood.

HC: That’s so interesting because Win, I think of my heroes that I’ve had, Win is probably the least like me. I mean um, when you think about Adam-

RA: *laughing* You have to say that! You have to say that because he’s such a badly behaved person, isn’t he?

HC: *laughing* Yeah! ‘Cause I usually like to think of myself as more of like Adam in The Stranger, who you played, or some of the other characters that – the ‘I’m a father or four’ or those kind of guys. What I love about getting into Win of course is that Win is something of an anti-hero. Um, he sort of says and does things that are not necessarily prudent or appropriate, and he can get away with that. Um, so I really loved – I loved getting in his head, it was really an interesting experience. But on the surface anyway, he’s probably the least like me of any uh, main character that I’ve ever written.

RA: Yeah, I mean I- I relate to that totally. It’s a little bit like- it’s probably a side of you, you daren’t investigate, but- but when you get the chance to do it in a fiction um, you can tap into those things that we’re not allowed to do or say in your, in your regular day. But um, where did that character spring from? What was the seed that germinated into his story do you think?

HC: Rarely is this the case, but um, Win is actually – y’know, he’s the sidekick in my Myron Bolitar series but um, when I first created him I based him off my best friend in college roommate, who has a name equally obnoxious as Windsor Horne Lockwood the Third-

RA: *laugh*

HC: Very good looking, blonde guy who used to say before he would go out to parties when we were in college, he would look in the mirror and say, “It must suck to be ugly”. And so I took him and I tweaked him and made him more dangerous, uh and that’s how I, I kind of came up with Win.

RA: And does this person know that you’ve based this character on him?

HC: Oh yes! In fact, some people know who he is, he uses it. He’s still a-

RA: Oh, really?

HC: Owner of all these fancy golf clubs, he’s president of one of the most famous golf clubs, um, in the world right now. He looks the part. In fact, he one time came to one of my books signings years ago and um, he’s sitting in the back, and I tell people the story of how I created Win, and I say, “I’m not gonna tell you who, but Win is actually in this room right now”. It took the crowd about four seconds to figure out who he was, and he had a longer line to sign books that I did *laugh*

RA: Amazing. I mean I have to say, it’s- you, you start reading the story and thinking, ‘I don’t know if I’m gonna like this guy’ but he really grows on you, warts and all. I wonder how many people are gonna go into Saks on Fifth Avenue and go looking for the vault.

HC: *laugh* Yeah, no, I made that up. But there is place in Saks-

RA: I know, so brilliant!

HC: -but the rest of it is completely made up, this involves an app that you’ll read about when you- hopefully when you, when you read book. But yeah, it was fun to do an anti-hero where he makes decisions and does things that you don’t like, and yet you still wanna hang around with him. I always think the key to a fascinating character is not um, that he’s likeable necessarily, but that you wanna spend time with him. Not that he’s a nice guy, but if you were at a bar and you could sit with somebody and have a conversation with them and learn about their life, would this be a person you’d wanna do that with? And that’s sort of the test whenever I do a character. And Win, I think, passes that with flying colours. There are people who love Win and wanna be just like him and there are people who loathe him! But everybody, or I hope many people, are fascinated by him and his life.

RA: Well, also you’ve given him such an incredible kind of tool kit, like a skill set. I mean, I think everybody would look at that character and wish they could do the things he does, maybe not in the way that he does them, but I mean he’s- he’s exactly the kind of character that you’d hone in on, certainly from an acting point of view. I look at that and if I was, y’know, like fifteen years younger, I’d be leaping on that character to play. Which is, it means – it means he’s sort of relatable or aspirational in a kind of anti-hero way.

HC: I’ve heard this a lot, and I think it’s one of the most flattering things that I hear from my actor friends – I think everybody would want to play Win. I mean, I think the- it’s an interesting challenge, um, for a lot of actors. More so than even Myron Bolitar who is my lead series character. Um, everybody kind of wants to play win and kind of wonders who would play Win. Uh, and I take that as a – as a compliment.

RA: Are we gonna see more of him? Is he ge- are you writing more stories for him?

HC: My guess is the answer’s yes. I plan each book as it comes, so I never know until I’ve started. Is it gonna be a stand alone? Is it going to be a Myron Bolitar? Is it gonna be a young adult? Mickey Bolitar is now going to be a Win, and I don’t know until I – each book, y’know when I finish a book, I’m like a boxer who’s just gone fifteen rounds and can’t even lift my, my arms anymore, I gave it everything I had, I can’t even imagine fighting again or writing another novel. So I don’t know is the answer. Probably? I do wanna see Win again, separately or at least back with Myron, so I do think we will see Win again. But the book I’m writing right now is a sequel to The Boy From the Woods, which is the book that came out in 2020, so that’s what I’m writing now. Will I return to Win? Maybe. Maybe. We’ll see how- we’ll also see how people react. Not that I would work necessarily off of commercial interest, but it people really love this book, y’know, we don’t live in vacuum, that would probably somewhat influence what I do.

RA: Right. I mean, because so many of your- your books are being developed and being snapped up to be turned into film or television – I mean, Myron Bolitar is, is a recurring series waiting to happen, and then you’ve got your spin off of Win – I, I- I wonder if, y’know when your first ever, uh novel, did you write with kind of cinema television in your head? Is that something that as modern storytellers we can even avoid? Um, did you ever dream that these would ever turn into sort of film and TV?

HC: Well, everybody dreams, but there’s sort of two answers to it. The first answer is when I’m writing a book, I never ever, ever, not for one second do I think ‘Ooh, this would make a really good movie’ or ‘Ooh, this would make a really good TV series’ because that’s the kiss of death for a book. It really is. It’s, it’s- it’s just a disastrous thought, and if you’re out there writing really don’t try it, because it’s, it’s a big mistake. At the same time, to be realistic and honest, I grew up watching TV. Who didn’t? That’s my – I mean this is what we grew up with. To pretend you’re only influences – y’know you ask a writer ‘What’s your influences?’ “Oh, Shakespeare and Proust and Yeats” – come on. You watched TV growing up. And so that’s an influence on how you tell a story. To deny that is silly. So writers today do think in terms of cinema more just because they grew up with it. Where writers of a different generation did not, so they wouldn’t have that influence.

RA: Yeah, I mean I- I think this all the time – it’s impossible to even de-program your brain not to imagine scenarios in terms of cinema. I mean I- I often think about sort of Victorian novelists that didn’t have y’know TV, and their trying to describe something that they’ve never seen or experienced. And we have references for so many things – I mean it’s almost impossible not to, we’re- we are and will always be influenced by one or the other, especially in the written word. But I- I find that it means that you can kind of uh, put aside the investigation and just get on with the storytelling. And maybe go even a little bit further. It’s like instant access. Y’know, I know exactly the world that you’re talking about when you’re y’know at the beginning of Win, but- but y’know at the same time I felt there was something very Agatha Christie like about the um, the backstory of uh, of this book, I really liked the fact that there was a historic event that was really informing what was happening right now.

HC: Well, y’know when I start a book, there’s- I’m always- I have a bunch of ideas and I’m trying to think which ones are going to go in the story, and it ends up being several. So for example, in this book, I wanted – I’ve always wanted to do an art heist. Y’know, like the Gardner Museum Heist, where they still haven’t found the paintings that were stolen, the Vermeers and the Picassos that were stolen in that particular – I can’t remember if it’s Picasso now, I know it was a Vermeer – um, stolen in that- that, heist in Boston years ago, I wanted to write a book about 60’s radicals – the Weather Underground and what would happen to people who were involved in that so many years later. I also wanted to write something about a kind of Patty Hearst-type character who was a famous kidnapping here in the 70s. So those were like three of the things that I wanted to like – to delve into. And I ended up delving into all three *laugh* which sometimes happens. 

Oh, and the last one I wanted to do – I always wanted to do um, a hoarder that was actually someone famous. There was actually um, something of a case of this in New York City where somebody died who was living in a top floor of an Upper West Side building, and it ended up being the missing son – not really missing, but had just kind of gone off the rails – of a very famous American war hero. And so, I took all of these aspects, which would seem to make three or four different novels, and I make it into one novel if I can. It’s not that different from – again, I’m referencing um, um – The Stranger y’know, because you’re here and provably a number of the people listening to us have seen The Stranger on Netflix, but it’s the same thing with The Stranger a little bit, where I had a lot of ideas for secrets that could be revealed by the Stranger, and each one could have been a separate novel. And instead, the challenge is put them all in one story and find a way to hook them together.

RA: Yeah. I mean, it’s rich in a way that when I- I’m reading it and the producer head in me is saying ‘gosh, this is gonna be a great TV show’ ‘cause you know, you’ve got the present day, you’ve got the near-past and the um, the heist story, which uh, is kind of crying out for – you just want more of it, which is brilliant in a book. When you’re – you’re leaving the reader wanting to know more and wanting to, to know more about that family and what happens to them. It’s – it’s the perfect recipe, really.

HC: And so much of it does come from your life in ways that you don’t expect – right now, maybe a lot of people are watching this uh, the Aaron Sorkin movie about the Chicago Trials from the 70s, Abbie Hoffman, who is played by uh, I think Sacha Baron Cohen played him in, in the movie. When I was in college at Amherst, Abbie Hoffman was on the run, um, but he still showed up one day at our college and gave a speech, then disappeared again. And boy, that stuck in my head always. Man, I’d love to write a character that’s kind of like Abbie Hoffman. ‘Cause he had that charisma even then, y’know on stage he was funny as heck, I must have been eighteen or nineteen um, when I – when I heard him speak. And so that – I never consciously back then, I didn’t think that, but every once in a while those experiences come to head and you wanna write about it.

RA: Mm-hmm. You’ve been writing for quite a few years now-

HC: *Laugh*

RA: -you’re – I don’t know if you can even remember what it was like when you first stated your very first book. Um, and some people have said that books are like children in a way, you sort of rear them and then the more you do, the more familiar you are with that process. But would you – I mean, it’s difficult for you to answer this, but would you say you have a favourite book that you’ve written?

HC: I don’t have a favourite book that I’ve written. Um, this – this sounds self-serving, but it’s usually the book, the most recent book, that I like the best. Um, it’s a little bit like – and the way I try to explain this is – maybe you wrote a paper, an essay when you were in college which you thought was brilliant. You remember that moment in school and you wrote a paper and you thought it was brilliant and you find it now and you re-read it and you go, ‘wow, this wasn’t good after all’. It’s not that it’s not very good, it’s just that you have sort of moved on and you’re not that sort of person and so you see all the flaws. So in the older books, which I don’t re-read, I see all of the flaws. I always think, y’know even if you think of yourself, what you thought ten or fifteen years ago – you sort of go ‘ugh, what did I know back then, I’m so much smarter now’. So the same thing a little bit with books, where I think I’m learning more and the current book is better. One of the interesting experiences of working on these adaptation is having to go back and read a book – in some cases we’re doing one, the next one I think uh comes out in France for example, is Gone for Good, which I think was released in 2002! Or 2003. So I wrote it twenty years ago. And to have to go back and read it now, I’m always kind of cringing at some of the stuff-

RA: Mm-hmm.

HC: -some of the stuff I’m kind of thrilled with, like ‘wow, that’s an interesting twist. You don’t have that kind of ending anymore’ and some of it I’m like, ‘wow, why’d you go there?’ so it’s an interesting experience.

RA: Yeah, I feel the same. I very – I, uh, very early on in my career I would watch my work back in quite a lot of detail, thinking ‘I’m gonna learn something’ and then as I got older it was – it was almost unbearable to just do that. And I actually haven’t been able to do that, but it’s because when you’re – when you’re first starting out you throw everything you’ve got into that first breakout role that you do, and then your realise that you’re always in danger of repeating yourself and you think – ‘gosh, people are gonna suss me out that I’m only capable of doing one or two things’, but you live in hope that you can, y’know, find that one thing that you can completely reinvent. Y’know I still hope for that.

HC: I still think that everyone who I’ve ever met who is successful at what they do has imposter syndrome. If you don’t um, you’re prob- you have a false bravado and you’re in trouble. I always say, “only bad writers think they’re good”. The rest of us really suffer with that, and really questioning and always think we’re gonna be sussed out. And I can tell you, um, Stephen King sent me a book not that long ago because he’d nicely put my name in it and wanted my reaction. But even Steve, after all his success and whatever else, he still worries about the reaction, that he’s as good as he used to be, that people will still like it, he’s – I know him. He still worries about it. And when you stop, that’s when you’re in trouble I think as an artist, when you’re starting to doubt what it- when you don’t have the doubts, you start having an overconfidence that you sort of got this. It’s a little bit like my golf game, frankly.

RA: *laugh*

HC: There’s moment’s when I’m about to swing, y’know, I’m gonna be okay and then you get out there and you stink all over again. So-

RA: Yep

HC: -you’re constantly trying to get better and so I imagine it must be difficult to look at your old roles and you – you’re kinda cringing, right? You see all the mistakes you’re making. You see through you so to speak, right?

RA: Yep. Absolutely.

HC: And then someone will come up to you, right, and they’ll say, “Oh, my favourite thing you ever did was-“ and then they’ll list something you did twenty years ago, and you want them to pay attention to what you’re doing now *laugh*

RA: Yep. Yep. Seeing through you is, is one of the things that is quite haunting because I do, I see through me. I can’t shake myself off, if you know what I mean.

HC: Well, you are very cool, you don’t watch any of it until it’s all over. Uh, that’s correct right? You never watched any of our rushes or I remember trying to tell you that you’re doing great and all that-

RA: No, I watched, I watched the first shot-

HC: -and you had not seen any of it and I watch you every day when you’re on set working on our shows and I’ll comment if I see something or whatever, to either you directly or the director, uh, and most of the time I’m – I’m complimenting you, but you don’t – you don’t know either, because you’re not watching, you’re not getting lost in that.

RA: Yeah, I don’t like to watch or be somebody that studies myself to much, I don’t think that’s my job. I think my job is to be inside the character looking out, rather than the other way around. I leave that to the experts like you and the director.

HC: Also, I think it’s- I think if you start worrying about what – you’re right – and also you don’t have the distance. This is always an issue when I – I first start watching the cuts of the first episodes, and I read the book while I’m editing it, while I try to take time between my writing it and then seeing it, I have to sort of put myself in the position of being somebody who knows nothing about this, and doesn’t come in knowing the story already that I’ve already read or seen a thousand time. How do I keep it fresh in my head when I’m trying to be objective and watching it so we can make edits. Uh, both on the screen or on the page.

RA: Mm-hmm. What draws you to crime/thriller? What – I mean is that – I, I can’t often imagine you writing a romantic novel, but what is it that draws you to this particular genre?

HC: Well, y’know to me it’s uh, not really a genre. It’s more like – it’s a form. It’s more like saying it’s a haiku or a sonata.

RA: Mm-hmm.

HC: And within that form I can, and hopefully have, done everything. Um, I think The Stranger for example is more a story about family, uh, and the secrets we try to hide, rather than it is about who killed who – y’know, the mystery angle of it.

RA: Yeah.

HC: One of my most, uh well-known books, my first bestseller, was a book called Tell No One which was made into a French film starring François Cluze, and that’s really a love story, it’s about a man who’s madly in love with his wife and eight years earlier, she was murdered. And then eight years passed, he gets an email, he clicks the hyperlink, he sees a webcam and his dead wife walks by, still alive., And the pursuit, the wanting to get back, the hope for full redemption is really what drives the story more than ‘who killed who’.

RA: Mmm-hmm.

HC: So different stories do different things. But the great thing about the form of crime fiction is that it compels me to tell a story. I’m not getting lost in the beauty of my own genius, my own kind of navel-gazing. I have to continue to tell a story and entertain you. So any of the themes that I wanna tell, any of the things I wanna discuss, has to be slave to that story. And I think that’s probably a rich tradition. If you think about Dumas really, wasn’t that all crime fiction? Even Shakespeare is mostly crime fiction.

RA: Yeah.

HC: Most great stories, if I ask you to name a favourite novel that’s over a hundred years old, Dostoevsky, whoever, you will find that there’s almost always a crime in it. There’s almost always a crime story.

RA: I mean it’s one of the things that I get very excited about, um, I mean obviously I haven’t read your entire canon but I – there’s a signature, or a theme that you love to play on which is this idea that – that um, the people you know aren’t telling you everything about themselves, or that there’s something to hide and that in our modern world, with technology, we have this sort of ability to – to sort of lead multiple lives of truths or lies. And it’s something which I think we immediately recognise. ‘Cause I think we – we’re living that, that reality, and it’s a theme that I really enjoy about your writing.

HC: Well, first of all, thanks. Second, um, there’s a lot of things we’ve heard about the human condition. One of my favourites about the human condition that I used to write, is that we all believe that we are uniquely complex and no one knows the inside of us. And yet we think we read everybody else pretty well. We all think we are uniquely complex and the person across from us, we can kind of figure out. They’re not quite like us. Um, and that’s something I love to play with when I write. Because you’ve gotta remember that everybody is uniquely complex and on a humanity level, and on an empathy level, I raise my kids and I’m always teaching them that every person you see, the richest, the poorest, the happiest, the saddest – everybody has hopes and dreams. Just think that, when you see a stranger on the street, when you’re going to interact with somebody, when you’re getting angry at somebody, whatever it is – just remember, they have hope and dreams. Um, small little thought, but it helps me create a character as well.

RA: There’s also a- a kind of very strong level of self-deception involved, which I think can be quite surprising. Because you always read a character and go, ‘I’m not like that’ or ‘I would never do that’ and then if you really think about it, we – there’s a truth we tell ourselves about ourselves which isn’t always honest.

HC: Well, exactly. It’s really come to fruition in the world the last few years, where I kind of joked that I’ve been working too hard on making my villains sympathetic, the villains in today’s world don’t seem to be very – very complex at all.

RA: *laugh*

HC: But for the most part, people don’t think they’re bad guys. Even the bad guys don’t think they’re bad guys.

RA: Yeah.

HC: They have some way of, of justifying. It’s one of the great things about human beings, or one of the most prevailing thing about a human being, is we all have the ability to self-rationalise, to self-justify. Um, and so I’ve always tried with my villains, and I hope that I did it in everything that we’ve done together, to try to make even the villain – you may not like the villain, but you get them. I don’t really write books – I don’t write books where the serial killer is hacking up people for no reason, that doesn’t really interest me. I prefer the crimes where you can say, ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t have done it maybe, but I can see why that happened. I can see if I was put in that position, um, where I may have done something similar’. That to me is a much more interesting villain than somebody who’s just cruel and evil.

RA: Yeah. Um, final question actually, is – I mean, as a listener/reader yourself – are there any other authors whose books you love and just go back – I mean, you’ve mentioned Stephen King, um I’m with you on that one – but are there any other authors who really kind of inspire you and, and y’know, like a little guilty pleasure reading for yourself and not for work?

HC: Yeah, well the problem always is that I start listing authors, and then someone will say, ‘well, what about so-and-so who’s a friend of mine’, and then I say ‘oh shoot, I forgot – I forgot that one’.

RA: *laugh*

HC: Y’know I saw recently that it’s the eleventh anniversary of the death of Robert B. Parker, who wrote the Spencer novels, if by any chance you haven’t found the Spencer novels, and I don’t know how popular they are overseas – they’re fantastic, wonderful detective series. Um, so that’s one guy I would go back in time and try to find for audio. But I actually like Philip Roth a lot on audio, even though he doesn’t do crime fiction. I’m a big Michael Connelly fan and I like Lee Child, um and Laura Lippman. Y’know, I could sit here just naming um, people all day. I’m always curious also – who is reading – who does it because of the reader and who does it because of the writer. I know there’s a number of people who will listen to anything you read, Richard, because it’s you. Um, which is really quite nice, but it’s interesting the combination of the audio reader. I have Steven Weber, he’s been reading most of my novels, though I’ve had a female lead – a woman named January LaVoy who’s fantastic – and I think Weber captures my voice. He sounds a little bit like me, we both have a similar background, similar sense of humour, so part of it with the audio is also the match you end up making.

RA: Yeah. It’s interesting, isn’t it? Because I certainly find I don’t often get to read something which is purely my choice, I have a stack of things that are work-related, or that I’m about to record. So I don’t think I’ve – I’ve chosen a book recently which is just been- I don’t know how I would pick something, it’s usually a recommendation, so I’ll certainly have a look at the Spencer novels, they sound – they sound brilliant.

HC: Yeah, and they’re fun – there was a TV series in America for a while called ‘Spencer for Hire’ – this is s or going back to the, I guess the 70s or 80s I think. Um, those were not great, but the novels themselves were sort of – Raymond Chandler to Robert B. Parker to the guys who are working now. So he’s a huge – he was a tremendous influence on most of your favourite crime writers. I said in his obituary eleven years ago, I said, “90% of writers admit that Robert B. Parker was an influence and 10% lie about it”. So um, if you can find Robert B. Parker Spencer novels that would be a good clue for everybody out there.

RA: Brilliant. Well, that just about wraps it up. And uh, thanks for talking to me. I really enjoyed the book and no doubt it will be another best-seller and fingers crossed it ends up as a TV series.

HC: Well, thanks Richard, and I look forward to seeing you work on uh, Stay Close. I know that uh, Armitage Army out there *laugh* that – your, your loud uh supporters and fans who just adore you are going to go gaga cause you get to play somebody quite different from Adam in The Stranger. Um, it’s-

RA: Yeah. Looking forward to it.

HC: Yeah, it’ll be a lot of fun. Thanks very much.

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

Four Times Nathan Proposed and One Time He Meant it

Hi! This is my humble contribution to @nolypats and @hockeyboysiguess campaign for Nathan MacKinnon for Hockey Boy of the Month. Please see their blogs for more info, also just because they’re amazing writers. This is my first time trying a 4+1, I thought it would be nice to put something out before the next chapter of Flatbush & Atlantic. It was genuinely so much fun writing this, so please let me know what you think!

Wine pairing: Rotari rosé. @hockeyboysiguess and I have started to pair all of our writings with their own wine, bearing in mind that neither of us knows anything about wine. It’s all about the VIBES. 

4 times Nathan proposed and 1 time he meant it

The first time (February)

Jordan knocked on the door, a glass dish balanced precariously on her hip. She and Nathan tried to have a standing date night every week, something that wasn’t grabbing lunch when they were both free or meeting for coffee before she had to head to work and he went to practice. That was, unless there was a game. Or a roadie. Or a team event. So needless to say, the two had been a little strapped for “couple time” recently, and they were both feeling it. She had an article due the next day, a co-write about the use of illegal dark money in a recently-elected congressman’s campaign. Nathan had a long practice that morning and wasn’t feeling too up to anything that would require him to move too far from his couch. 

He opened the door, giving her a quick kiss. “I pulled up a few movies I thought you might be into, but didn’t want to pick anything until you got here.”

“You’re so considerate, I think I’m going to swoon,” Jordan said.

Nathan shrugged. “I’ll catch you if you fall.” Deep down, he really was a romantic, though the boys would chirp him endlessly if they knew. 

Jordan padded into the kitchen, setting the dish onto the counter and opening up the cabinet right above the toaster oven, grabbing two plates. Even apart from date night, it wasn’t uncommon for them to eat in; partly due to the fact that there were few things in this world Nathan loved more than being able to fly under the radar, something that was a little bit difficult to do when you wore the A for the Colorado Avalanche, but partly because in his own way, it was letting Jordan into his life. “What movies were you looking at?”

“Depends what you’re feeling,” Nathan replied. “We’ve got...Star Wars, Captain Marvel, and 10 Things I Hate About You.”

Her ears perked up. “The one with Heath Ledger?”

“That’s the one. Sound good to you?” 

Jordan had always had a penchant for movies of the late-90s and early 2000s, especially if they were romcoms, and especially if said romcoms starred Julia Stiles. As a little girl, there was definitely more than once where she had herself entirely convinced that her life would turn out exactly like The Prince and Me. Minus, of course, the fact that the beginning of Paige and Edvard’s entire relationship was built on lies. Mainly, she was just really into crowns and big poofy dresses as a little girl. “Sounds good to me!” She said brightly. “You want a brownie?”

Nate craned his neck to look at her in the kitchen, looking expectantly at him with one hand holding a spatula. “You made brownies?”

Jordan giggled. “I did. I take it that’s a yes?”

“That’s a definitely, please, my God give me one right this second or I might combust.” She slid the plate onto the side table a minute later, grabbing two napkins. “Are these normal brownies?” Nathan asked, picking one up and inspecting it with a semi-confused look on his face. 

“They’re triple-layer, it’s an old recipe for slutty brownies from when I was in college. Bottom’s cookie dough, then Oreos, then fudge brownie on top of that.”

Nate raised an eyebrow. “Slutty brownies?”

Jordan swatted at his shoulder. “I know it’s a weird name, just give them a chance. I know you’ve been feeling a little down with the losing streak, and thought you could use a pick-me-up. They were my go-to for breakups, always seemed to help the girls feel better, so I thought it might work for you too.”

He wouldn’t admit it, but Nathan’s heart skipped a beat with Jordan’s words. “Guess I’ll have to see,” he said, taking a bite out the corner. His face melted. “This is...literally the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Seriously, it’s so good. So good. Oh my God, marry me.”

Jordan flushed, turning to take a sip of water so he wouldn’t see. “I’m glad you like them.”

The second time (May)

It was 11:38 on a Friday night, and Jordan and Nathan were at a bar. To be precise, Jordan, Nathan, and pretty much the whole team were at a bar, plus what seemed like the entire population of Denver. Springtime meant playoff season for the NHL, and winning a series meant going out. Jordan normally had to pass whenever the team decided to hit up a bar or club after a win; as much as she would have liked to go, she was a journalist who kept a 9-5 job, which meant that she had to at least get some modicum of sleep if she was going to be able to function in the newsroom without an injection of caffeine straight into her veins. But it was the weekend, and she’d be damned if she was going to miss out on this. 

For the most part, the fans weren’t making a fuss; there was the occasional picture taken or pat on the back for winning the conference semifinals for the first time in twenty years, but nothing out of hand. Sipping her Dark & Stormy, she looked fondly over at Nate, who was having what looked to be a very animated conversation with Burky. Already two and a half drinks in, Nathan was starting to act a little tipsy; while he was normally more reserved about public displays of affection, he kissed Jordan more than one as the night went on. Not like she was complaining. Picking up a refill from the bar, she scooted back into the booth next to Nate. He planted a messy kiss on her cheek. “Where’d you go, Jo?”

Jordan rolled her eyes. “Unlike some of us, I can’t just snap my fingers and have alcohol appear at will. I had to actually go to the bar for another drink,” she teased. 

Nathan threw his head back laughing. “‘S’pose you’ve got a point there, babe.” He slung one arm over her shoulders. Jordan unconsciously leaned into his touch. “What’d you think of the game?” She wasn’t able to make it to every game, but was lucky that she could get down to the Pepsi Center more often than not. The Avalanche had beaten the Flames in 6, after dropping the first two games in Calgary and being pegged as another likely sweep, they had come back to win the next four and the series. 

“Just trying to stroke your own ego, eh, MacKinnon?”

“Picking up some Canadian slang, eh, Murphy?”

She tilted her head. “Maybe, maybe not. But the game was amazing. You know that. You did amazing, Nate.” In the 3-1 win, Nathan had scored two points, an assist and an absolute beauty of a power-play goal that just barely squeaked into the top left corner above Rittich’s shoulder. 

“Sure, maybe I do know,” Nathan admitted, “but it’s one thing hearing it from fans and the media and even my teammates. It’s another hearing it from you.” Jordan loved Nathan, but he wasn’t always the best at expressing his feelings out loud. She was the first one to say “I love you, to introduce him to her parents, to take just about any step forward in their relationship. It was something he was getting better at, slowly but surely, and it meant the world to Jordan that he was trying so hard. Maybe it was the liquor, or the atmosphere, or the excitement of the night, but it meant just as much to her to hear it as it probably did for him to say it. 

Half an hour and several drinks later, the last few people left were trickling out. Most had carpooled to the bar, leaving their cars back at the arena to get the next day. Jordan would have ordered Nate an Uber and then just hitched a ride with someone else back towards her apartment west of downtown, but Nate was pretty far gone. And he was a cute drunk, all things considered, but she was on her way to sobering up and felt an obligation to at least get him in bed safe. Their car pulled up, Nathan clumsily ducking in ahead of her as she shut the door behind him, buckling first his seat belt then her own. They walked through his front door fifteen minutes later, Jordan dropping him off in his bedroom to get undressed before grabbing a glass of water and a bottle of Advil. Nathan was in his boxers when she walked in, struggling to pull a t-shirt over his head. Jordan laughed, walking to his side of the bed before gently tugging it, handing him the water and two Advil. “If you take it now, it’ll help with the hangover later.” Kissing his forehead gently, she turned to leave.

“Where are you going, Jo?”

She stopped at the door. “Home?”

“I want you to stay.” 

She sighed gently, smiling at him. “Okay, I’ll spend the night.” 

“No,” Nathan interrupted, grabbing her wrist lightly as she turned to grab one of his old World Cup shirts to sleep in. “Forever. I want you to stay forever.”

The third time (August)

It was the middle of August, and Jordan and Nathan were in Canada. He had invited her earlier in the summer to visit for a few weeks, and as soon as she got the time off approved, she booked her flight. Getting to Springhill wasn’t the easiest — she flew to Toronto, had a layover, flew to Halifax, then got picked up by Nate for the two hour drive to his hometown. He had flown out in June, about a month after the Avs lost to the Kings in the conference finals, so the couple hadn’t seen each other in nearly two months. Jordan wasn’t about to complain about a few more hours. His parents had been so generous letting her stay for two weeks, and hadn’t batted an eye when Nathan had moved her into his old room. “Just don’t wake us up,” his mom had said, causing Nathan’s cheeks to turn scarlet. 

Jordan had met them a few times before; they had flown out for the All-Star game the previous January and had gotten together during the team Moms’ and Dads’ trips. And if she was around when Nathan was FaceTiming them, she always popped in for a few minutes to say hi. But she still hadn’t quite expected the ceaseless hospitality she had been offered over the past week. Maybe Canadians really were just that nice. 

Halfway through Jordan’s trip, they decided to throw a barbeque. And by they, that meant it was Nate’s idea and he roped them all into helping. Jordan had already been introduced to a few of his old friends, they had gone out for drinks to the one bar in town on her second night, but she was excited to meet everyone else. His dad Graham was keeping an eye on the grill, Nathan had filled the cooler with drinks, and Jordan was helping his mom carry out the fruit bowl and salad to the backyard. Nathan ran up to his room to change right as people started trickling in, and came back to a yard full of family and friends. He craned his neck, trying to figure out where Jordan had wandered off too, before his sister pointed to where she sat with a few of his cousins. 

Nathan opened his mouth, about to ask her something, when Jordan quietly brought a finger up to her lips. “She’s sleeping,” she whispered, gesturing to her arms, where a tiny baby was nestled, eyes firmly shut. 

He remembered that his cousin Rachel had had a baby not too long ago, but didn’t realize she’d be old enough to travel yet. “Is this Natalie?” he asked quietly, sitting in the chair next to Jordan. Rachel nodded. For a few moments, Nathan was lost in the scene, lost in how damn perfect Jordan looked with a baby in her arms. They had spoken about those sorts of things — future things — enough to know that marriage and kids were something they both wanted, but this was the first time it had hit him, like really hit him, that that could be them down the line. Over by the fire pit, his mom watched, a soft smile on her face.

Nathan stood in the kitchen with his mom a few hours later, drying off dishes from the party. Handing a plate to him, Kathy shot a curious glance at her son, as if a thought had just popped into her mind that hadn’t been there before. Nate looked back at her, confused. “What is it, mom?

Kathy nodded out the window, where Jordan was laughing at a joke his dad had just made, balancing the last round of dirty plates to bring in on her arm. “When are you going to put a ring on it, Nathan?

Nathan wasn’t particularly prone to blushing, but he had been doing a lot of it lately. “I—uh—” His mom rested a hand on his shoulder with a knowing smile. “Okay, I’ll admit that I’ve been thinking about it.”

Kathy was beaming. “I knew it. When?”

“When am I going to propose?” She nodded. He shrugged. “I don’t know when it’s going to happen, Mom, but it’s going to. I’m going to marry that girl.”

The fourth time (November)

Jordan grimaced, breathing in sharply as she braced her elbows on her desk. Elisa, her friend who worked in the cubicle beside her, looked over, a concerned expression on her face. “You good, hun?” 

Jordan nodded mechanically, opening a drawer and pulling out a bottle of ibuprofen, swallowing three with a gulp of water. “Yeah, I should be fine. I should be starting my period in the next day or two, so I’m pretty sure it’s just cramps.”

“Are they usually this bad though?” Elisa had always been a worrier.

She shook her head. “No, not since I went on birth control a few years ago, but who knows. The ibuprofen will help, and it’s probably normal anyways. I’m sure it’ll go away.”

It didn’t go away. Two hours later, when Elisa was finishing up the last paragraph of her analysis of the Broncos’ new coaching hire, Jordan suddenly shot up from her desk, running at breakneck speed towards the women’s bathroom with a queasy look on her face. Elisa followed, bursting through the door to the unmistakable sharpness of vomit. She knelt down next to Jordan, pulling her hair back with the spare scrunchie she kept on her wrist. “Jordan? Are you okay?”

Jordan shook her head. “I feel awful, El.”

Eliss touched the back of her hand to Jordan’s forehead. “You’re warm. Have the cramps gotten better.”

“Worse,” Jordan admitted, wiping at the beads of sweat that had started to accumulate on her forehead. 

Elisa pulled out her phone from her back pocket. “I’m calling an ambulance. I don’t think this is cramps, Jo.” 

Jordan didn’t have the strength to argue, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to anyways. The ambulance arrived ten minutes later, carting Jordan off to Denver Health Medical Center. “Any chance you could be pregnant?” one EMT asked. 

“I could be, but I shouldn’t. I’m on birth control and my boyfriend always uses protection,” Jordan said weakly. The EMT made a scribble on her paper. She barely registered pulling into the hospital, nurses pulling her into the ER, or a doctor wheeling in an ultrasound machine. She was conscious enough to recite her name, date of birth, and insurance number before being taken into the operating room, and then a mask was placed over her nose and her world went dark.

The first thing Jordan did when she woke up was check the clock in her room. It was 3; from what little she remembered, she had been taken to the hospital sometime a little after noon. “Oh, thank God,” she heard from her left side. She recognized that voice. It was Nathan’s voice. He grabbed her hand — the one that didn’t have an IV drip in it — and kissed it quickly, smoothing back the pieces of her hair that had come out of the hair tie. “Elisa called during practice, and she told me what happened, but she didn’t even know what happened, and then I left and drove over here, but then—”

Jordan laughed softly, feeling a dull pain in her lower abdomen. “It’s fine, Nate, I’m fine. What happened, anyways? I don’t remember anything after I went into surgery, I have no idea what it was even for.”

“You had appendicitis, your appendix was about two seconds away from bursting.”

Jordan let out a low whistle. “Glad that didn’t happen. Hey,” she added as an afterthought, “I thought visiting hours here didn’t start until 4?” Jordan had visited a college friend of hers who had had a baby a few weeks prior, and could have sworn that she wasn’t let in until later. 

Nate smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, they do. I couldn’t even figure out what room you were in at first. They wouldn’t tell me anything, so I told them I was your fiancé.”

“Oh, did you now?”

Nathan rubbed his thumb over her finger. Her ring finger. “I mean, it’s pretty much true. All I’ve got left to do now is ask you.”

“And get the ring,” Jordan added. 

“Nope.”

+1 (January) 

Family skates had quickly grown to be one of Jordan’s favorite parts of the season. She had loved the first one, but had felt just a tiny bit out of place; her and Nathan had only been dating for a little over six months, and it seemed like almost everyone else had known each other for years. But she’d forged some amazing friendships with other WAGs over the past year, trading babysitting duties for pies and meeting to watch the game while the boys were on a road trip, sharing new Spotify playlists and learning how to support each other along the way. The team had become her second family, even though her parents only lived an hour and a half away. 

Jordan had been a competitive figure skater throughout high school and into college, so she was no stranger to the ice. She obviously couldn’t get out nearly as often as she had before, but her skates still fit and she could still land a triple salchow after warming up. She and Nate had been skating around for an hour or so, taking a break after some “friendly competition” where Josty had made the mistake of challenging Jordan to a race around the rink. She beat him by two seconds. 

Jordan unscrewed the top of her water bottle, taking a few grateful sips before putting it back in her bag. “Babe!” Nate called from a few rows away, where some of the younger kids were gathered next to what looked like pastels. “Want to face paint?” 

She smiled, raising her eyes playfully as she popped on her blade guards and walked over towards the bench. “You sure about that one, MacKinnon? I’m not much of an artist.”

He nodded enthusiastically. “It’s okay, I bet you’ll be great!” He was so sweet for believing in her. 

“Alright,” Jordan said, straddling the bench and picking up the box. “What would his highness like for the design? Bear in mind you’re working with a beginner here.”

“Butterfly!” He chirped excitedly. “There’s been a whole bird and insect theme going on here,” he pointed at the kids’ cheeks, covered in bees, ladybugs, and one demonic-looking...crow? Was it a crow? Did they even get crows at this time of year? “and I wouldn’t want to break the trend.”

“We couldn’t have that,” Jordan agreed. Ten minutes later Nathan had a very blue, barely-acceptable-looking butterfly on his right cheek, but he was beaming like the sun as soon as he pulled up his camera to look at it. “I love it, Jo. Thank you,” Nate said, giving her a quick kiss. 

Activities wrapped up not too long after, and Jordan and Nathan walked out of the rink hand-in-hand towards his car. They had moved in together two months earlier, and Jordan had been more than happy to move out of her tiny studio into Nate’s giant apartment, where you could see the Rockies from the rooftop on clear days. Plus, his building allowed dogs. As Nathan drove home, one hand on the steering wheel and the other tangled with hers by the center console, Jordan looked over at him, with the little blue butterfly on his cheek, and she suddenly felt so unbelievably happy. So unbelievably full. It went without saying that she loved Nate. She loved him like she had never loved anyone before, and never would again. 

At the same time, Nate’s heart was beating faster than it ever had in his life. He wasn’t scared, he wasn’t surprised, but he had just realized something. He already knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jordan. Nathan had realized that months ago. And he hadn’t been lying at the hospital, he had already bought the ring. But Nathan wanted everything to be perfect when he proposed; it couldn’t be rainy outside, because what if she wanted pictures? It couldn’t be too soon after her older brother’s wedding, because then she might think that was the reason why. It couldn’t be in the summer, because then he’d go back to Nova Scotia for the summer and his mom might scalp him for leaving his fiancée in another country. But, Nathan realized as they pulled into the underground lot, there never was going to be a perfect time. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wanted to be Jordan’s husband. There shouldn’t be anything stopping him. There wasn’t anything stopping him. 

“I’m going to run to the bathroom,” Nate said as Jordan slipped off her shoes. She nodded. Nathan went up the stairs, but past the bathroom. He walked into their bedroom, into his closet, to the shoebox that had his old atom league medals. He grabbed the velvet box, opening it and taking one last look before taking a deep breath and putting it in his pocket. 

“You want to watch SVU reruns?” Jordan asked as he ambled back into the living room. 

His mouth opened and closed like a fish. “Uh—can I say something?”

Jordan looked over. “Yeah, go ahead? We can totally watch something else if you’re not feeling Law & Order, I think I saw Chopped on the Food Network, or Jurassic Park is halfway through…” She trailed off. 

Nathan shoved his hands in his pockets, turning the ring box over and over. He bit his lip. “You know how much you mean to me, right?” Jordan nodded slowly. “When I met you, I wasn’t looking for anything. I had just had my heart broken by someone who I thought would be my forever, but then you came into my life and suddenly...suddenly, it all made sense. I thought I knew love, I thought I knew what it was to be in love, but I didn’t, really. Not until you. You bring me down to earth, Jordan, when I’m too far in my head. I know you’re on my team even when we’re losing, even when it seems like nothing in my life is going right I know you’ll always be there to pick me up when I fall. And I don’t ever want to take that for granted. You challenge me in the best way, you always push me to be a better partner, a better teammate, and a better man. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for you.” Jordan was tearing up, starting to figure out where his whole speech was going and hoping beyond hope that she was right.

“I know I’m not always physically here, but I promise to always be there for you, Jordan. I’ll hold you when you’re crying, I’ll buy your favorite chips when we’re out, I’ll pay the utility bills because I know you’re terrible with remembering dates. It was eight months in when I realized you were the one.” Nathan bent down on one knee. One of Jordan’s hands was over her mouth, the remote having long since been abandoned on the couch. “I can’t wait to see where we go, Jordan. I can’t wait to get a nice house with a big backyard, go down to the animal shelter saying we’re only going to adopt one dog but come back with three. I can’t wait for the day you tell me you’re pregnant, and we get to hold our child for the first time and I get to see you be a mother. I can’t wait for us to start our lives together. I can’t wait for you to be Jordan MacKinnon.” He opened up the ring box. “Will you marry me?”

Jordan fell on her knees, hands on both sides of Nathan’s face. “Yes.”

[puckngrind]

Skating Lessons part 19

Summary: Mason’s skating party

Warning: super soft and maybe swearing...

Word count: 2142

Series Masterlist

You feel the familiar weight of Josh’s arm around your waist. He didn’t wake you when he climbed into bed after his game. You don’t open your eyes just yet while your mind takes in the last few days. Josh executed the perfect birthday for Mason with birthday pancakes, class cupcakes, skating at Ice Haus, lunch at his favorite cafe, and taco night at home with Seth. 

You had not talked about the car but you knew you were going to have you. You know Josh can afford it but his money is not why you loved him and taking care of yourself is something you were use to doing. You sleepy state is interrupted by feet in your stomach. Your eyes fly open and take in your bed. Josh had his right arm over you and his body was contorted so he was holding Mason in his left arm. Mason would crawl into bed with you super early in the morning sometimes but days Josh was there the two would make breakfast instead because Josh would get up.

“Good morning babe.” Josh’s deep gravelly voice almost startled you.

“How long has he been here?” You nudge Mason’s feet off of your stomach.

“He followed me in when I got here. Didn’t have the heart to put him back to bed.” Josh’s smirk flashed before he leaned over Mason to kiss your forehead.

“And you don’t find this...weird?” Your puzzled look is met by a small laugh from Josh.

“Do you want me to? I mean I’m not naked or that would be a little awkward.” Josh wasn’t letting go of Mace and his little face sleeping on Josh’s big chest made you swoon.

“No...no. I just...I mean...nevermind. So the party today?” You fumbled out your words and rubbed your hand through Josh’s hair then down to Mason’s back.

“Yeah. I’ve got morning skate only and then we will be over. Beth is picking you two up and your parents have his presents.” Josh moves his hand to cup your face and leans in to kiss you softly.

“Who is we?” You pull back and look at him realizing didn’t say I but we.

“Adults are free you said since we have skates soooo...I invited Seth.” Josh’s face says it all. He knows Seth is like a giant present himself.

“You really did?” You look deep into Josh’s eyes.

“Of course. No need for actual presents. I’m pretty sure it will be Mace’s favorite babe.” Josh starts to chuckle but stops as he sees Mason’s face move.

- - - -

Mason is zooming up and down the hall waiting for Beth. To say you son was excited about his birthday party may be the understatement of the world and he doesn’t even know about Seth coming. The doorbell rings and Mason is grabbing the handle before you can even get over there.

“There’s my birthday boy!” Beth has her hands wide open and Mason jumps into them almost knocking your very petite friend off her feet. “So, is this okay to wear for a skating party? I’ve never been to one.” Beth puts Mason down and motions to her jeans and sweater that are under her coat.

“Yup. Mace wanted me to wear my jersey so...” you motion to your Anderson sweatshirt, “We compromised.” You wink at Beth who turns her attention back to Mason.

“And I see you have on your special 5 year old Blue Jacket sweatshirt from Josh?” She grabs Mason’s coat and puts it on. “We ready?” Mason’s response wasn’t really words more audible excitement.

The ice rink had everything set up in the party room. You rolled back and forth from there to main lobby directing Mason’s friends towards the room. You are talking to a preschool mom worried about her son skating when you hear the employee.

“Oh, hello gentleman. We don’t have anything booked for you today.” Her voice is shaky but you keep talking to the other mom. That’s when you hear Josh.

“Oh, we are here for the party but not with the organization. Thank you though.”  Josh is at your side and kisses your temple. You glance over to see the flustered employee’s eyes go wide. You never thought about it but there was an added package that included Stinger and players. You did not need to pay for that added bonus.

“Glad you could make it.” You finish your conversation with the mom you were talking to before she heads into the party room and you turn your attention to Josh. Then you see the group behind him. “Josh?” Your eyebrows go up and your attention shots towards the group.

Not only is Seth standing behind him but Boone, Luc, and Ryan. All in their Blue Jacket team issued gear just like Josh and skates in hand.

“Well when Seth and I were talking about it the other three wanted to come. Hope that’s okay?” Josh kisses your lips softly and you feel his grin.

“I mean clearly you win in the gift giving.” This makes the men laugh as you wheeled over to greet them too. “Let’s go. We have pizza and cake before skating.” You eye Luc’s hand and you stop. “You all coming is a gift enough, what’s that?” You point and Luc’s grin says it all.

“Oh just something from the team.” Boone chimes in with a chuckle.

“Geez.” Your hands go in the air. “Maybe I should just take the bike back....and we can forget about Christmas.” This causes an uproar of laughter with the boys and Josh’s arm finds your waist.

“He’s going to love the bike because it’s from you plus it’s all he talks about in the morning.” Josh whispers in your ear and you feel the warmth spread through your body. “Now let’s get this party started.”

“I’ve heard you say that in a different context Andy.” You hear Seth murmur as you make your way to the party room.

You took in the room during the party. Josh and his teammates mixed seamlessly into your world. There were a few selfies and a star struck parent or two but the focus was on Mason. Josh helped you light the candles and Ryan even offered to record him blowing out the candles. He made you and Josh pose with Mason before Mace started opening up presents.

Mason tore through his presents and got to the bag from the team. Your present was carefully hidden away and your dad was stepping away to grab it.

“This is the coolest thing ever!” Mason yelled as he pulled out a Stinger stuffed animal with a helmet. You notice the sharpie all over the mini helmet. The boys got the entire team to sign it. Your heart sinks a little knowing your present may not get the same reaction.

“Hey Mace, ready for Momma’s present?” Josh grabs the Stinger and bends down to Mason’s level. Mason nods in excitement and Josh points towards where your dad is carrying the odd shaped package his way. Mason’s eye get wide as your dad opens it up. Josh stands up and has his camera out as he pulls you into his side slightly. The joy on Mason’s faces were exactly what you were hoping for. You looked up at Josh to thank him and his face matched. This man loved you son more than you could ever hope for. Your daze was broken up by the nervous employee who came in to explain how skate rental will go.

“Are you ready to get in the ice?” Josh wraps his arms around you and looks deep into your eyes.

“How J?” You look down at your boot.

“Do you trust me?” He smirks at you and lessens his hold.

“Always.” You breathe out almost forgetting you were in public.

Josh pulls out your skates from his bag and bends down to place your right skate on. You look puzzled as he goes back into his bag. Josh’s face lights up as he pulls out what looks like a tiny sled with straps.

“What the....what is that? Where did you get it?” Your face contours as Josh’s tongue slips between his lips as he straps it on your boot.

“I may have had our skate guys make this so you can get on the ice.” Josh looks up at you and out to the ice where Mason is already racing Luc, Seth and Ryan. “Ready?” He stands up and pulls you up in one swift movement. You are unsteady and Josh holds you up. He stands behind you as you hobble keeping you up with his strength. The fact that he doesn’t seem to be struggling baffles you.

“Momma!” You hear Mason mid ice and look up to see your boy racing over to you. Stopping just short of running into you.

“See, I told you Josh would figure it out.” You run your hand over his tiny face and he skates backwards as Josh pulls you along.

“You good (y/n)?” Josh checks once you went around half way. He gracefully skates backwards and you feel someone skating slowly behind you. “I’m pretty sure this is just karma for bragging about your lessons.” Josh chuckles and so does the person behind you. Chancing your luck of balance, you glance behind and see Boone not far behind you. He’s clearly the security if Josh loses his grip.

“Skating lessons?” You look up at Josh and he starts to move behind you. Legs spread on either side of yours, he pulls your body towards his. “Watch it.” You look up at him and he smirks. “We are you know...around my parents.” Josh laughs at loudly.

“it’s only because Boone needs to go race the kids.” Josh pulls his fans from your body long enough to point towards center ice where the entire party is lined up including Josh’s teammates, your dad and a few of the fathers.

“Can we sit on the bench to watch?”

“Hold on Babe.” Josh doesn’t even let you brace before he scoops you up and quickly skates to the bench.  He looks over at the kids and adults racing and puts you on down so you can sit.  

“Go J.”  You look at him.  “Mason deserves having time skating with you too.”  You shoo him and he leans down kisses you gently and skates faster than he had to the center.  Wrapping his arms around Mason and gets right into the competition.  

“Wow!”  You hear Beth approach from behind you as she comes to sit on the bench.  “Like...he’s so amazing with Mason.  It’s....”

“Perfect.” You finish her sentence as you watch the two boys you love play around doing the one thing both love doing...skating.

Mason’s party was exactly what you were hoping.  You thanked Josh’s teammates as they loaded the last of Mason’s presents in the car and said their goodbyes to Mason already in his seat.

“Thank you.” You whisper as you run your hands through Josh’s hair and down his neck.  “Like, really, I don’t know how to thank you?” You see Josh’s eyes shoot to the mirror to see Mason passes out and then he looks quickly at you.

“I mean, I have some ideas?”  He smirks and you smack his arm.

“Hey, I’m driving some precious cargo plus we only have one car right now.”  He laughs and interlaces his fingers in yours then brings up your hands to his lips kissing the back of your hand sweetly.  “And you don’t have to thank me.  It was fun.  I should have invited my parents down early to come.  Maybe next year.”  Josh starts humming to the song on the radio still with his hand in yours.

“Wait...what?  When are your parents coming?”  Your pitch was higher than normal and not on purpose.  You liked Josh’s parents but he hadn’t mentioned them coming.

“Is that okay?  I mean Thanksgiving is coming up and they usually come down when we have a few home games in a row.  Maybe I should have asked.”  You hear the worry in Josh’s voice from your response and your heart sinks a bit.

“Babe, it’s great.  You haven’t seen them in awhile.”  You take the pause to kiss the back of Josh’s hand.

“I did just go to Toronto, (y/n).” He chuckles.

“Right, right.  I saw the pictures.  I guess your universe doesn’t revolve around just Columbus, Ohio.”  You laugh too.

“I mean, it does...but yeah.  I can’t want to get you two to Burlington.”  Josh pulls the car into park.  “I think you will love it.”

“Yeah.”  You stare at Josh as he shifts to cup your face.

“Maybe I’ll convince you to come home for the whole summer too.”  Josh kisses you gently and slides out of the car.

[fanficnewbie]

“Fighting for Forever” - Chapter Ten: Open Heart Fanfic

This is my first story/series. The first 5 chapters are adaptations from the first 4 parts of “A Weekend with Dr. Ramsey” series with permission from @alwaysmychoices and then I continue my own original work in chapters 6-14.

I start this adapted storyline during Chapter 15 of the original OH series. There is a bit of AU, where I play around with the storyline a bit and insert two days between MC leaving the country club and returning to her apartment to find Landry packing. Some situations have been changed to keep with the original vision of @alwaysmychoices and make the story work in the direction I wanted it to go. However, I find my way back to the original in Chapters 6-8 and then move on past the ending of Book One during chapters 9-14.

My MC is female, Francesca Houseman, who has only had eyes for Ethan Ramsey from day one.

@msjpuddleduck I hope you don’t mind me tagging you for this one. If anyone else would like to be tagged, just let me know.

FULL SERIES

Chapter Ten: “Midnight Confessions” 3284 words

This entry finds Ethan and Francesca 6 months into the relationship and gives some background on Francesca and why she made some of the decisions she did in OH. It also sets Ethan up for a surprise.

(Mature)

He tried to think about how long they’d been together, counting back to the day of the Ethics hearing, he was shocked to realize they were almost six months in. Half a year since Naveen took over as Chief of Medicine, a role that Ethan had to admit, was the perfect fit for him. For that same amount of time, he’d been leading the Diagnostics Team and maintaining their status as one of the best in the world. It made him proud. It was everything he had worked his whole life for, and yet, he also knew he wouldn’t cherish it half as much without her at his side. Ethan still struggled to understand how one person could come into his life and suddenly make everything about the world better. He used to scoff at romance movies and love stories as pure exaggerations sprinkled with a heavy dose of make-believe. But somehow, she made all of it suddenly plausible. 

They sat on his living room couch, Jenner snoozing at their feet while classical music played through Ethan’s sound system. Francesca sat across the length of the cushions, her feet perched against Ethan’s thigh while he sat upright, his feet propped up on an ottoman, utterly absorbed in a novel. A partially eaten pizza was left forgotten on the kitchen counter while half-filled glasses of red wine sat on the coffee table. Francesca shrugged out of her sweatshirt, suddenly feeling warm. She was supposed to be researching cutting edge treatments for a patient the team had recently diagnosed, but instead, her iPad was idle on her lap, momentarily abandoned as she watched Ethan read.

“I’m all in.” Part of her could scarcely believe it had almost been six months since he had spoken those words to her. She marked that day as one of her best, it was the day she landed her dream job and the man of her dreams. They had succeeded in keeping their relationship private, the handful of people who knew about it all readily agreed to keep their secret and guarded it well. At the hospital, with the exception of that one steamy afternoon in his office, their relationship was strictly professional. It actually wasn’t even that difficult of a situation to maintain. With him leading the Diagnostics team while continuing to teach and torment interns, and with her finding her way as a Junior Fellow along with the additional duties of a Senior Resident, there was no time to do much of anything else. During their work week they rarely saw each other outside of meetings, patient consults and every once in a while, a quick bite in the cafeteria. She could easily count the number of times they had been able to steal away to “Derry Roasters” to enjoy a good cup of coffee and a short break together.

The only manner in which Ethan showed his hand in favoring her was that he always scheduled their off days together. Usually, she’d spend work nights at home, too exhausted to do much more than eat a quick meal with whichever roommates were around and go to sleep. However, her days away from work were strictly reserved for Ethan and Jenner. Francesca would spend those nights at his apartment and they started a routine where they’d take turns planning dates for each other. Every week they’d trade-off. He usually chose to take her somewhere such as the Opera, a Michelin rated restaurant or a lauded museum exhibit; whereas she would opt for an adventure at a Farmer’s Market, a local festival or a dinner from a popular food truck. 

Francesca smiled remembering the look on his face at one such truck when he was handed the greasy pastrami burger. He looked up at her, silently asking if she seriously expected him to eat it. She nodded in response because she was laughing too hard to form the word “yes”. Ethan picked it up muttering how she was trying to kill him or make them go to the hospital on their day off to get their stomachs pumped, then he took a bite. She would never forget how he tried to hide his obvious delight and instead mumbled, “I guess it’s not that bad.” He then proceeded to finish off the entire thing without pausing, even licking some of the secret sauce from his fingers.

“You’re staring.”

Ethan raised his eyes at her and she grabbed her iPad as if she was going back to her research, but he knew better. He figured she was probably online looking for some ridiculous activity to drag him to for her next date. The night before he had taken her to a private wine tasting with one of the most preeminent Sommeliers in Boston. The previous week she had taken him to a pop-up Carnival and made him get on a Ferris Wheel that he was certain hadn’t been inspected since the Reagan administration. He was still slightly surprised they had escaped the ride unscathed. For him, the best part about that night was winning her a teddy bear that she wanted at one of the Midway games. It wore a white lab coat and a stethoscope around its furry neck. He had laughed at the way her face lit up when he handed it to her. He’d given women jewelry worth thousands more than that teddy bear and their excitement hadn’t even come close. 

Arguably though, nothing could compare to the moment when two days later she had handed him a wrapped package with explicit instructions for him to deliver that same teddy bear to baby Ethan. Just when he thought he couldn’t fall any deeper...

He tried to think about how long they’d been together, counting back to the day of the Ethics hearing, he was shocked to realize they were almost six months in. Half a year since Naveen took over as Chief of Medicine, a role that Ethan had to admit, was the perfect fit for him. For that same amount of time, he’d been leading the Diagnostics Team and maintaining their status as one of the best in the world. It made him proud. It was everything he had worked his whole life for, and yet, he also knew he wouldn’t cherish it half as much without her at his side. Ethan still struggled to understand how one person could come into his life and suddenly make everything about the world better. He used to scoff at romance movies and love stories as pure exaggerations sprinkled with a heavy dose of make-believe. But somehow, she made all of it suddenly plausible.

“Okay, now you’re staring.” Francesca looked at him, meeting his gaze, thinking how sexy he looked in his reading glasses.

“You’re an easy distraction, especially in that tank top.”

She chuckled, knowing she wasn’t wearing a bra and that the thin material left little to the imagination. She placed her iPad on the coffee table and stood up, careful not to disturb Jenner. 

“It’s obvious that we’re both a bit distracted so I suggest we do something about it.” Francesca shimmied out her sweatpants and stood before him in only her skimpy top and thong. Then she stretched lazily, purposefully putting on a show as she raised her hands over her head and arched her back. The action caused her breasts to push out and allowed for her top to ride up and expose part of her abdomen. 

“I’m going to the bedroom. You may want to come with.” She gave him a mischievous grin as she turned around and walked away.

Ethan dropped his book and got up. He gingerly stepped over Jenner and followed.

Much later, they both lay on their backs, naked and sweaty in his darkened bedroom. Their breathing slowly returned to normal as they gazed at the patterns a few rays of moonlight made on the ceiling as they filtered through his bedroom windows.

Francesca took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders, allowing the last of her post-orgasm tingles to radiate throughout her body. She absolutely loved having sex with Ethan, to hold him within her body and literally become part of him, to know exactly how to make the man who prided himself on control, completely lose control, and to be able to push him to the highest peaks of ecstasy... it was intoxicating.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of doing that.”

Ethan looked her way, “I sincerely hope not.”

She giggled and then turned towards him, barely able to make out his face in the nighttime blackness. “Not to give you an even bigger ego but, I’ve actually never had it be like this before, with anyone... The last guy I seriously dated, I mean, sex was almost like getting a medical exam. It was very,” she struggled to find the right word, ”… perfunctory.”

Ethan laughed. As much as he wasn’t enthused knowing about other guys she had been with, it gave him a huge boost that she considered him to be in a league of his own. 

Suddenly curious about her past he asked, “How long were you guys together?”

She weighed how much of the story she wanted to tell him. “Just over two years. I met him towards the end of my first year of med school and broke up with him right before our senior year.”

He frowned, “Why so long? He must have been a helluva guy to put up with two years of bad sex.”

She rolled onto her back and studied the ceiling again as if the moonlit patterns held the answer to his question. “I dunno. I mean part of it was easy, we were so busy studying that it’s not like we had all of this quality time to spend together. We were both locals at UCSF, he was in my class and we had a lot of the same friends. His parents loved me and mine loved him. We both wanted our residencies on the East Coast, he was more interested in John Hopkins, but it was close enough that we had already committed to the long-distance thing if I matched with Edenbrook. It was easy to go along with, it looked great on paper and it was basically all planned out. At some point though, I realized that it just wasn’t what I wanted.”

Ethan propped himself up so he could see her face more closely in the dark. “So you finally ended it. I can completely respect making that choice for yourself.”

The memories and emotions of the past flooded her brain. “Probably one of the hardest things I’ve done. It caused the mess that I absolutely knew it would. I immediately became a villain to his family and most all of our shared friends. I was the heartbreaker, so I was automatically in the wrong, and obviously a callous person for not having strong enough feelings towards him to stay in the relationship. My own parents just couldn’t believe I would walk away from such a ‘good man’ and waited months for me to finally come to my senses, but I never did.”

She turned her head to him, earnest. “That whole experience is one of the reasons why I almost didn’t join the diagnostics competition. I already knew what it was like to lose a bunch of friends at once and I didn’t want to experience it again.” She stopped and then continued using the darkened room as the perfect concealment for her confessions.

“It’s also why I refused to let you push me away. That feeling that I never had with Christian, I felt it every single time we were together. At first I didn’t know what it was, but eventually, I recognized that it was like, like this magnetic connection, an attraction that I couldn’t escape. Then in Miami when I realized that wasn’t only me… I just couldn’t accept the idea that since it didn’t look good on paper, we couldn’t be together. I had already gone the course of what looked right and it had amounted to nothing. I needed to know what would happen if I went with what felt right.”

Ethan stroked her cheek, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not giving up on me.”

She laughed, “That was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but you were totally worth it.”

He kissed her, “Of course I was.”

She laughed again as she pushed him away. He turned on his side to face her and she turned towards him, meeting his gaze through the murky shadows that surrounded them.

“You mentioned your parents, I just realized you’ve never told me much about them.”

Francesca thought for a moment, she hadn’t. When she was in Ethan’s bubble, nobody from the outside world seemed to exist.

“Well, in case you hadn’t noticed by now, I’m biracial.”

“Biracial? I always thought you were Polish.”

She laughed as she playfully smacked his arm.

“Yes. My mom is Black, but she was adopted as a baby by a white family, so that was a bit unusual. My dad is actually Jewish. They both grew up in a small town in Idaho where residents were predominantly white, Christian and conservative. They met in grade school and bonded over being different, forming a friendship as children that turned into a love affair as adults. Once they were married they left Idaho and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. That’s where my brother and I grew up. They wanted their kids to be surrounded by diversity and cultural immersion.”

“You guys are all still close?”

“We are. I miss them but we text and I video chat with them once a week. My brother is in tech and lives relatively close to my parents, so they always Facetime me when the three of them are together for Sunday dinner. With my schedule and the time change, it’s hard some weeks, but more often than not, we manage to make it work.”

Ethan tried to visualize her in the context of her family, “It sounds very loving.”

“I hope you’ll get to meet them one day, I mean they know about you.”

He was glad that she couldn’t see the apprehension on his face, “They know about me?”

“Of course. But only that you're my boss and that we’re good friends. I think my mom suspects there’s more to it but she has never asked. They know how much I idolized you as a teen so they all think it’s rather cool that we hang out now.”

He let a sigh of relief that they didn’t know about their romantic relationship, “Okay.”

Oblivious to his hesitations, Francesca continued, “I think they’d be okay if they knew the whole story with us, I think they’d like you. It’s just so hard to explain over a 5-10 minute video chat with everyone trying to get a word in edgewise. And it’s not exactly something I want to send in a group text.”

Ethan thought about the potential trauma of meeting her parents, “How can you be so sure they’d like me?”

She giggled, “I’m not, I said I think they would. My dad respects self-made men. He’s in Sales, one of the top guys at his company for more years than I can count. He appreciates people who succeed in life by putting in hard work. He’s the one who taught me how to handle myself in almost any situation and he’s the reason that Edenbrook now receives that cardiac kickback I negotiated with Banner Health. That ‘get them right before the deal closes’ move, that’s classic Jacob Houseman.” She laughed, “I think he was prouder of me when I told him about that than when I matched with Edenbrook.”

Ethan remembered how confident she was with the health insurance executives and now understood the full picture. “Tell him we said ‘thank you’”.

“He’d appreciate how you worked hard and sacrificed to become the best.” She thought for a moment, “ My mom is a total people person. She loves helping others and is on the board of half a dozen charitable organizations. I cannot even tell you how many clothing drives and soup kitchens and other volunteer activities she’d have us at as kids. She’s the reason I care about helping people so much. She’d love the way you care for your patients.” Francesca reflected for a second, “Actually, I think I already sold her on you ages ago when I told her how we rent to rescue the toy frog for Dolores.”

He smiled wistfully, “Alma tells me baby Ethan won’t go to sleep without it.”

She reached for his hand and squeezed, “I hope he has it forever.”

Ethan paused, absorbed in her family life, one so different from his own. He was slightly surprised at how hard it was for him to ask the next question, “And your brother?” 

Francesca sensed something in his voice, a sadness, it confused her. 

“Jacob Jr. but we call him ‘Jay’. Sometimes I call him ‘Jakey’ but I’m the only one allowed to do that.” She chuckled thinking of how her brother would roll her eyes when she called him by her childhood nickname. “We grew up super close, he’s only two years older. Leaving him behind was actually harder than leaving my parents. I think that’s why I attached to Bryce so quickly, he reminds me of Jay a bit. They both have that instilled confidence that they use to be charming rather than arrogant. Jay would like you simply for the fact that there’d be another guy in the room. You know enough about sports to win him over. He doesn’t require much.”

Ethan smiled, “They all sound lovely Francesca, they really do.”

She took a deep breath, hoping that her full disclosure would get him to open up.

“And your family? You’ve never said much about them either.”

Ethan shifted uncomfortably. “Nothing to tell. I’m an only child.” He sighed, “I had a good childhood followed by a shitty adolescence and then I went to medical school. You know the rest.”

“But I don’t. Where are your parents? Do you speak with them? Do they know about me at all?”

Ethan paused, mulling over his answers before responding, “They don’t live in this country. No to the rest of it.”

He suddenly sat up, “We’re done here. I have to take a shower, feel free to join me.”

Francesca was pensive as she watched him get up and walk across the room. The light from the bathroom spilled into the bedroom and instantly shattered the illusion of their nighttime cocoon. She moved to follow him but heard her phone dinging. Grabbing it she read the text from Sienna, “Have you asked him yet?” She typed back, “Not yet, almost.”

She looked to the bathroom, knowing she had to make her move and praying that he’d accept her proposal. As much as Francesca loved her bubble with Ethan, at times it felt restrictive. She was missing the presence of her friends in this part of her life. She had tried on multiple occasions to get Ethan to join them for group activities but he was always firm in his response, “Not a chance in hell Rookie.” After a couple of months of failed attempts, she realized she was going to have to do what she did best, force the issue. 

She walked into the bathroom admiring him through the shower door. “So I’ve been thinking…”

He looked up, “You know, you always scare me when you start a sentence like that.”

She opened the door and stepped in, “Next week is my turn to plan our date and we have the actual weekend off. I want to leave town, take you somewhere.”

“Where?”

She bit her lip, “It’s a surprise. You’d have to trust me.”

He watched her thoughtfully, he could see that it was important to her that he agree but he also knew there was likely more to it than she was letting on. “I hate surprises.”

“I know, but Jenner can come too. Does that help?” She looked at him hopefully, practically holding her breath as she waited for him to respond.

He sighed and decided to appease her as recompense for not opening up about his family. “I know I’m going to end up regretting this, but okay yeah, surprise me.”

She flung her arms around him and gave him a big kiss. “Thank you! I promise it’ll be a great time.”

He kissed her back, wondering what the hell he had just gotten himself into.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

[junker-town]

9 Ben Simmons trade packages that might actually make sense for both sides

If the 76ers are really going to trade Ben Simmons soon, we have nine trade packages both sides should consider.

Ben Simmons’ days in Philadelphia have felt numbered ever since his woeful offensive performance contributed to the 76ers’ surprising second round loss to the Atlanta Hawks in 2021 NBA Playoffs. It was painful to watch Simmons at times during the series as he consistently bricked free throws and refused to attempt almost any fourth quarter shot — even a wide open dunk. As the Hawks finished off Philly in six games, head coach Doc Rivers and superstar teammate Joel Embiid essentially threw Simmons under the bus in the final postgame press conference.

The NBA waited for Simmons to be traded all summer, but it never happened. 76ers GM Daryl Morey reportedly asked for the moon for the 25-year-old All-Star, and no team was willing to meet his demands. It was easy to speculate that Morey wanted to hold on to Simmons as long as possible to see if a superstar guard like Damian Lillard would eventually hit the trade market.

Simmons has now taken matters into his own hands. He wants to be traded to a new team, and he’s threatening to hold out of training camp until it happens. With Simmons’ trade request hanging over the start of the season, we came up with nine possible deals and asked the corresponding SB Nation NBA communities how they felt about the proposed trade. These were the parameters for the deals:

I came up with each potential trade. They had to work on ESPN’s trade machine

The SB Nation communities gave their feedback on each deal. Sometimes that meant a thumbs up, sometimes it meant a thumbs down, sometimes it meant a counteroffer.

Every trade includes draft compensation of some kind. Since that’s where most of the negotiation on these deals will take place, we chose to keep it vague rather than come up with specific pick protections.

At the bottom of this story, Paul Hudrick from our 76ers community Liberty Ballers ranked his favorite proposed trade packages.

This was a fun exercise when we did it with James Harden a year ago, but the polarizing nature of Simmons’ game made this an even bigger challenge. As we learned, it isn’t easy to find a deal that satisfies the 76ers’ win-now desires while also making sense for the other side.

Here are nine deals we thought could make sense.

Pacers

Framework of the deal: Malcolm Brogdon and T.J. Warren + a pick for Simmons.

Why it might work: The Pacers finished ninth in the Eastern Conference last year, and their big addition of the offseason was head coach Rick Carlisle. This team is positioned to “win-now” with most of the rotation in its prime, but their ceiling isn’t all that high. Simmons is the type of player a franchise like the Pacers would be unlikely to land in free agency. It could be worth it to cash in a few pieces for a 25-year-old All-Star who is under contract long term, and then figure out the rest of the roster around him later. While the Pacers get a new foundational star, the 76ers get a starting point guard who can shoot and a wing bucket-getter who can immediately help Embiid in the playoffs.

What Indy Cornrows says:

This is so tough because A.) I love what this does for Philadelphia B.) Ben Simmons is the most talented player in the deal, the youngest, and on a long term contract; all things that would behoove the Pacers’ braintrust to make this trade. While I normally am talent over everything, the fit is just so wonky with a frontcourt of Sabonis/Turner/Simmons. If there were a subsequent deal with one of the bigs to bring in more perimeter talent, I think it makes sense, but the team can already struggle in halfcourt or late clock scoring situations. On top of that, Brogdon and Warren are both sub All-Star talents who the Pacers have no real replacement for. Again, it’s wonky, but worth thinking about.

As dynamic and good of a player as Ben is, he isn’t an elite driver at the moment (11.4 drives per 75) and Malcolm Brogdon is (15.2 drives per 75). We don’t talk about the rim finishing. But, in all seriousness, the Pacers would really struggle without Malcolm’s consistent ability to get to the rim. Getting there causes the defense to tilt even if you’re not finishing at an elite rate, so you’re banking a great deal on Ben and Caris LeVert getting to the cup with more consistency.

Simmons and Sabonis operate from similar spaces as high or mid post playmakers using their height and court vision to pick apart a defense. What does that look like with two players who aren’t being respected past the free throw line? Playmaking is probably the most important offensive skill in the league, you can never have enough, but the fit is certainly odd.

I would ultimately be in on this for Indiana, but admit that the team would probably not feel similarly. They view themselves as a win now team, and I think it would require a one step back two steps forward approach trying to restructure a younger team around Simmons after trading two of the three best perimeter options in the organization, while knowing more moves are happening in conjunction here.

If I could, I would counter with something involving the same players, but adding in Tyrese Maxey and a conglomeration of Pacers picks to make that trade worthwhile for the Sixers. Maxey would provide another building block towards a younger team with a brighter future and the Sixers would acquire more draft capital for subsequent moves to tweak the roster. It’s not perfect and I wouldn’t want to part with Maxey if I’m Daryl Morey, but I would certainly try and make it happen. — Mark Schindler

Spurs

Framework of the deal: Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Devin Vassell + a pick for Simmons.

Why it might work: The Spurs finished No. 10 in the Western Conference last year, and lost their best player in free agency when DeMar DeRozan went to the Bulls. San Antonio has collected some solid young pieces in recent years, but no true star. Simmons would immediately become the face of the franchise, and his long-term deal would give the Spurs a few years to try to add talent around him. In return, Philly would get a dynamic offensive guard in White, an awesome defensive wing with shooting ability in Vassell, and a capable point guard in Murray.

What Pounding the Rock says:

Parting with their presumptive starting backcourt, in addition to the promising Vassell, is a hard pill to swallow for a team that’s invested so much in their development. But the Spurs have entered asset acquisition mode this summer for a reason: the roster as constructed probably doesn’t top out as a world-beater. Simmons doesn’t get them all the way there, but he should raise their ceiling and complement many of the remaining pieces’ strengths and weaknesses. — Bruno Passos

Cavaliers

Framework of the deal: Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, and Ricky Rubio + a pick for Simmons.

Why it might work: The Cavs have been collecting top-five lottery picks ever since LeBron James bounced to LA, but the team is still far away from contention. Evan Mobley could be the face of the franchise moving forward, but it’s hard to tell exactly how good Cleveland’s other young players are. Like the Pacers, Simmons is the type of player the Cavs likely would never get in free agency. A team with Mobley and Simmons could have incredible defensive potential. The Cavs would have a log jam in the front court, but Simmons is under contract long enough for the team to reshape the rest of the roster around him in coming years. The 76ers would get an exciting young point guard in Garland who could be set for a breakout third year. Okoro is an awesome young wing defender who needs to improve offensively, and Rubio could help Philly at point guard right now.

What Fear the Sword says:

Maybe the Cavs do this as a talent play because Ben Simmons is no doubt better than anyone the Cavs currently have. But this is also a tricky deal because Garland is their best young creator and would fit well with Simmons. Okoro, meanwhile, is a standout defender just starting and they got Rubio. Simmons is also a tricky fit with a Evan Mobley-Jarrett Allen frontcourt. In reality, I think the Cavs probably do this because it’s a talent play and they have to take those. But I don’t really know why the 76ers would do this?

I also think the Cavs would want to try and move off of Kevin Love in any trade they make here, but that wouldn’t seem to fit with what the 76ers would want to do here. Simmons to Cleveland might just be too complicated to do unless a third team gets involved. — Chris Manning

Trail Blazers

Framework of the deal: C.J. McCollum and Robert Covington + a pick for Simmons and Thybulle.

Why it might work: The Sixers might dream of trading Simmons for Lillard, but it’s possible his backcourt mate is the best they can do right now. The 30-year-old McCollum would give the team a new lead guard in the backcourt who can score from all three levels and pairs well with Embiid. Covington is already a fan favorite for starting his career in Philly. Losing Thybulle in this might be a tough for the Sixers, but seems necessary for the contracts to match. From Portland’s perspective, an all-in move for Simmons could keep Lillard around long-term and give the Blazers the defensive stopper they’ve been missing.

What Blazer’s Edge says:

For the trade in question, the BE staff would accept that trade. Our only counter would be to make this trade less noisy. Let’s remove all the additional pieces and make this a straight CJ-for-Ben swap.

Simmons might not love the idea of Portland, but Klutch would unite one of their marquee players when one of their top coaching clients. With Larry Nance Jr. and Simmons in the fold, the Blazers’ defense would finally have the tools to compete with true contenders. — Steven Dewald

Grizzlies

Framework of the deal: Steven Adams, Dillon Brooks, and DeAnthony Melton + Jazz and Lakers 2022 first round picks for Simmons.

Why it might work: The Grizzlies have a great young foundation led by Ja Morant, but the team still has a long way to go before they reach contender status even after sneaking into the playoffs last year. Acquiring a blue chip talent like Simmons while keeping Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and a solid young complementary shooter in Desmond Bane would be a major boon. For the Sixers, Brooks could be an immediate starter on the wing, Melton is one of the more underrated players in the league, and Adams would be an elite backup center. The picks could come in handy for a future trade, too.

What Grizzly Bear Blues says:

If the Grizzlies could acquire a player that’s 25 years old and has been a 3-time All-Star, without giving up Ja Morant or Jaren Jackson Jr., they should pull the trigger - even for the oft-criticized Ben Simmons. Grizzlies followers would be reluctant to give up Dillon Brooks, but Simmons would serve as a defensive and playmaking upgrade. Brooks, Kyle Anderson, and De’Anthony Melton sound like a good framework for the deal, and guys like Brandon Clarke or Desmond Bane could replace one of the guys in this deal. The rest will likely revolve around draft compensation, primarily the first-round picks from the Lakers and the Jazz in 2022 and maybe one of their own.

The allure of Ben Simmons is transforming him into a super-charged Draymond Green. What better duo for him to do that with than the electric Ja Morant and the sweet-shooting Jaren Jackson Jr.? — Parker Fleming

Timberwolves

Framework of the deal: D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels + a pick for Simmons, Tybulle, and Isaiah Joe.

Why it might work: Minnesota reportedly has heavy interest in Simmons, and there are some pathways to a deal. This package would give the Sixers a starting guard in Russell, a high volume shooter in Beasley, and high-upside, young defensive forward in McDaniels. Russell may be a negative team value on his current deal, but Philly could also flip him down the line. For the Wolves, Simmons’ elite defense is a perfect match next to Karl-Anthony Towns in the front court. This trade might come down to what Philly thinks of McDaniels after a promising rookie year.

What Canis Hoopus says:

As a Wolves fan/writer, I wouldn’t do this trade. DLo and Beasly are the two best perimeter shooters on the team and Jaden McDaniels looks like the steal of the 2020 draft. I also don’t think the Sixers are interested in Russell. I think the Wolves big plan is to win with Simmons AND Russell together so I’ll propose this. The Timberwolves trade Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels, Taurean Prince, 2022 FRP, and 2024 FRP for Ben Simmons and Isaiah Joe.

The Wolves keep Russell, meanwhile the Sixers get extra pieces they can include in a trade once another star becomes available like Dame or Beal. Prince also cannot be traded until September 27th but teams could agree in principle. — Cooper Carlson

Raptors

Framework of the deal: Goran Dragic, OG Anunoby, Chris Boucher, and Malachi Flynn for Simmons, Thybulle, and Isaiah Joe.

Why it might work: The Raptors are embarking on a new era without Kyle Lowry, and it sure feels like they want a full team of big, athletic forwards with multi-dimensional skill sets. Simmons would fit. While a 1-for-1 swap with Pascal Siakam is possible, Raptors HQ chose to talk about this deal centered around OG Anunoby instead. Anunoby is a tremendous young wing who would be a plug-and-play starter for the 76ers. Boucher is a stretch big off the bench, Flynn is a promising young point guard, and Dragic could play a role right now in the last year of his deal. For the Raptors, a core of Simmons, Siakam, VanVleet, and Scottie Barnes could be the start of something big.

What Raptors HQ says:

This is definitely one of the more creative Raptors-76ers trade ideas that I’ve seen! Here, you’re moving two players who clearly want to be moved in Ben Simmons and Goran Dragic, and that’s a good starting point. The 76ers also need a point guard, and I think Dragic would quickly become a fan-favourite in Philly, assuming he hasn’t lost a step.

Beyond that? Well, OG Anunoby becomes the real sticky point here. Yes, I realize that Anunoby is more highly valued by Raptors fans, including me, than he is anywhere else. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t deserved. For an example of that, look no further than… Matisse Thybulle, who made all-defence last year over the more deserving Anunoby last season!

Still — if we remove the Klutch factor here (Anunoby is a Klutch client) — if you had to move OG to get Simmons, getting Thybulle in return to fill OG’s spot is not a bad thing. Imagine fielding a lineup of Simmons, Thybulle, Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes and Precious Achiuwa? I bet Masai Ujiri, Bobby Webster and Nick Nurse would give that one some serious thought. — Josh Kern

Kings

Framework of the deal: Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield for Simmons.

Why it might work: The Kings are already reportedly out on this deal, and it makes sense. Haliburton was awesome as a rookie. He might be the most appealing piece in any of the packages we mention in this article. Still, there’s a case for why the Kings should consider this. Simmons is a young All-Star signed long-term. Trading for arguably the best defensive player in the game is a great way to address what was the league’s worst defense last year. The Kings also have a promising rookie guard in Davion Mitchell who could take Haliburton’s place in the lineup. It’s totally fair if the Kings and their fans don’t like this deal, but it’s at least worth considering.

What Sactown Royalty says:

This is a highly-risky move for the Kings that I would not want to see come to fruition.

Tyrese Haliburton is an essential piece of the young core Sacramento is trying to build around alongside De’Aaron Fox. The Kings would essentially be trading Haliburton, who finished third in Rookie of the Year voting last season, and Buddy Hield, the best 3-point shooter in the league, in return for good defense.

The way this is set up, Kings undoubtedly lose the deal. Instead, I would offer Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III and a future pick in return for Ben Simmons. The relationship between Bagley and Kings brass isn’t quite as hostile as Simmons and the Sixers, but it’s no secret they both want out of their respective markets. Philly would acquire a young wing who wants a fresh start while Sacramento would do the same. — Marina Drab

Warriors

Framework of the deal: Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, Moses Moody + a pick for Simmons.

Why it might work: The Warriors are trying to augment their aging championship core with young, unproven talent taken at the top of the draft. It sounds like a good plan in theory, but Golden State also can’t afford to waste time while Stephen Curry is still playing at an MVP level. Trading young pieces for Simmons would be a major boost in the short-term for Golden State, and immediately improve their chances at coming out of the West this year. For the Sixers, Wiggins could contribute on the wing right away, while Moody and Wiseman are nice long-term pieces. This deal may not give the Sixers the immediate talent infusion they’re looking to add, but the young pieces could be flipped in another deal down the road.

What Golden State of Mind says:

The main concern with Simmons on the Warriors seems to be whether the team can make a non-shooter work next to Draymond Green. But the Warriors have built elite offenses in the past with frontcourts of Green and Kevon Looney, Green and JaVale McGee, Green and Zaza Pachulia, and so on and so forth. The Warriors would have to eschew having a traditional center for it to work, but Simmons is bigger than many traditional centers (including Looney). With Simmons and Green, the Warriors would have a frontcourt starring two of last year’s Defensive Player of the Year finalists, and two of the top 12 assists per game leaders, who would be passing the ball to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. You have to be mighty high on Wiggins to think this does anything but dramatically increase the team’s title odds in the next few years, and that’s before mentioning how perfect of a fit Thybulle is on the Warriors. Maximizing a title window around a 33-year old Curry is more important than hoping that two draft lottery tickets in Wiseman and Moody pan out. It’s an easy yes for me, though it’s worth noting that Golden State’s front office is reportedly split on Simmons, so it may not be an easy yes for them. — Brady Klopfer

Liberty Ballers ranks the Ben Simmons trade packages

Paul Hudrick from our 76ers community Liberty Ballers stopped by with his thoughts on his favorite potential deals.

1. San Antonio - Murray, White, Vassell + a pick

The reason I like this deal better than most is the addition of Murray. Say what you want about Simmons, but he was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year and is arguably the most versatile defender in the league. Getting a player like Murray that already has an All-Defensive Team nod would help mitigate the loss of Simmons on that end. At 25, you could talk yourself into Murray’s potential offensive upside — despite him not being a perfect fit playing next to Embiid — while also seeing a big role in helping the Sixers win now.

White would immediately become the Sixers’ sixth man and would be a damn good one. The Sixers’ bench has talent and potential but is awfully young. At 27, White adds maturity and experience. I love Vassell, but he is a tough fit here with wings like Matisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz and Isaiah Joe that fit a similar mold. You can never have enough good, young wings, but I might prefer another pick or someone like Keldon Johnson, who offers more perimeter shot-creation potential, something the Sixers desperately need. — Paul Hudrick

2. Indiana - Brogdon, Warren + a pick

You could argue this deal makes more sense with the Sixers looking to maximize Embiid’s prime. Brogdon gives the Sixers a traditional point guard that can help space the floor even more for Embiid while also providing solid defense. I love the idea of Warren — especially the bubble version that destroyed the Sixers — as either the team’s starting three or a flamethrower off the bench. Both players offer more perimeter creation than what’s on the current roster.

The reason I like the Spurs deal better is trepidation over the health of both Indiana players. Brogdon, who isn’t the most explosive player to begin with, has missed time with various injuries over the last three seasons. Warren missed all but four games last season after having foot surgery. Both players are 28 and have proven NBA track records — which aligns with what the Sixers want — but their injury histories would make me want more draft compensation. — Paul Hudrick

3. Sacramento - Hield, Haliburton

Adding more shooting in Hield makes a ton of sense. The more shooting around Embiid the better. My only concern is that I’d imagine Hield would come here with the expectation to start. That would mean one of Danny Green or Seth Curry — who were both excellent last season — would have to move to the bench, something I’m not sure Doc Rivers wants to do.

While Haliburton doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of a win-now acquisition, that’d be a strong return. Haliburton replaces Simmons as a big playmaker but with the ability to shoot. Would he be ready for the moment in the postseason? I think it’s 100 percent worth finding out … if Sacramento is willing to move him. — Paul Hudrick

[atakportal]

15 best viral videos of 2018 (so far)

New Post has been published on https://idealz.cloud/2018/07/09/15-best-viral-videos-of-2018-so-far/

15 best viral videos of 2018 (so far)

Can you believe it’s already July? 

It seems like just yesterday we were yodeling along with the Walmart yodel boy and arguing over Yanny/Laurel. This year is going by quickly — do you even remember the viral videos that you sent to all of your friends?

If not, here are 15 of this year’s most memorable videos, so far. 

1. A snowboarder raced an avalanche he caused

A snowboarder ended up causing an avalanche, and then had to race away from it in a thrilling and terrifying video. On the plus side, he escaped totally fine. 

2. It was so cold in Maine, a guy ice skated at the beach

This winter was so frigid in Maine, someone actually went ice skating at the beach. The sea water froze into a smooth, flat surface, perfect for ice skating. On Facebook, the OP joked, “Every day is a beach day in Maine.”

3. This bird photobombed a live weather report 

A beautiful view of the San Francisco Bay was abruptly interrupted by a giant bird with a mind of its own. While KTVU’s Mark Tamayo delivered his live forecast, the massive bird peered over the camera. 

4. A package thief almost got away unscathed, but karma had other plans

Karma’s a bitch. Home security footage captured a woman trying to steal a package, only to slip on the dewy front lawn and injure herself. An accomplice helped her hobble to the getaway car, and then came back for the fallen packages. The thieves definitely learned a lesson. 

5. This dog was caught riding a pony, because animal friendships are real

Yes, interspecies animal friendships are real. A video caught a pup riding a pony for a leisurely nighttime stroll. “I can’t make this stuff up!” the OP posted on Facebook. 

6. After climbing into a claw machine for a toy, a child had to be pulled out because he got stuck

This child was probably too enthusiastic about getting a toy. A Florida kid had to be rescued from inside a claw machine game after he crawled in to snag a toy. Good news: the child, the toys, and the machine are all safe. 

7. The world tuned in to watch SpaceX launch the Falcon Heavy into space

SpaceX stunned us all when it launched the Falcon Heavy into space, strapped with a Tesla. The most powerful rocket ever created was shot into space from Cape Canaveral, and hundred of thousands of people watched through the livestream. It’s pretty damn impressive. 

8. A drag queen dressed as Elsa singlehandedly rescued a police truck from the snow

There’s no damsel in distress here — Queen Elsa from Frozen was seen singlehandedly pushing a stuck police truck out of a snowbank. The drag queen managed to do it while wearing heels and a flowing gown. #Goals. 

9. This young yodeling prodigy captured our hearts in Walmart

Oh, yodel boy. A star was born in April when young Mason Ramsey was filmed yodeling to his heart’s content in Walmart. Since then, Ramsey has performed at Coachella, landed a record deal, and released a series of singles. And it’s all from this video.

10. Yanny/Laurel

This audio illusion tore apart the internet when friends argued over whether the audio said “Yanny” or “Laurel.” It’s The Dress of 2018, and people just can’t figure out how anyone could hear the other side. 

11. A super lit Hermione turned up at Hogwarts

A video of a dancing cosplay Hermione is actual magic. @KelseyEllison blew everyone away at London’s ComicCon with her incredible moves, and inspired a series of memes about the Harry Potter characters.

12. An amazing sibling blasted music every day while dropping off her little sister

Blasting music while dropping off your younger sister is peak older sibling. With a nine-minute compilation of videos mortifying her adolescent sister, the OP definitely wins award for most embarrassing sibling. 

13. A very good doggo opened the door for his owner when she got locked out

Dogs really are our best friends. A very good pup opened the door for his owner when she got locked out of the house. After dislodging a wooden rod keeping the door shut, he tried to play fetch with it. What else would you expect from dogs?

14. Mexico beat Germany, thanks to the power of this grandma’s blessings

The World Cup brings out the best in every nation. But apparently talent and training alone isn’t enough to win — a grandma gave Mexico a little bit of luck when she blessed each team member before the game. The Mexican team went on to win a surprise victory against Germany. 

15. An adorable little boy dropping a watermelon captured all of our summer moods

There is somehow nothing more relatable than this child dropping a watermelon, realizing he cracked it open, then running away. It’s exactly how summer feels, all caught in a three second video. As the identified narrator in the video says, there is only one mood for this season: “Oh my god.” 

WATCH: Driver slams police officer with car while fleeing a traffic stop

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[l8rl0ser]

Part TWO//Hate How You Made Me Feel/Ashton Irwin

A/N : Hey so a nice amount of people actually liked the first part of my FIRST series, and that makes me really happy :) I hope you guys enjoy part two of this series as much as i enjoyed writing it. if you guys have any requests or just want to chat, go ahead and ask me anything loves. But for now enjoy part twooooo.

Word Count : 3k+

Parts : one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty.

I wake up at eleven in the morning sharp, I'm sprawled out on my bed with my curtains pulled open rays of sun in my face. I groan and pull my grey blanket over my face blocking out the sun. Without thinking I quickly get up and throw on a pair of grey shorts and make my way to my vanity. I take in a sharp breath of the image before me and open the first drawer of my desk and pull out my hair brush along with a black rubber band, tying my hair into a bun. After that I then brush out my eyebrows and slide a coat of berry lip balm onto my lips.

I get up and walk to my door only poking out my head to see if any of the boys were nearby. Once I confirm that the hall is clear I walk down the stairs and go into the kitchen. I set my phone on the counter as it plays “Drive North” by SWMRS one of my favorite bands. I sway my hips while making a smoothie bowl from scratch, since it was the weekend and my parents weren't home Leslie and Henry wouldn't be coming at all due to my request from before. I didn't like them having to work around the house so I just ask them to take off however long my parents would be gone.

After adding a few cut up strawberries to my bowl I grab a spoon and turn around to see two of the four boys standing right behind me. I grab my phone and shut off the music before Calum or Michael had the chance to grab the phone. “What do you want?” I ask them holding the bowl in one hand, phone and spoon in the other.

“Nothing, but what's for breakfast? I'm starving.” Calum states only causing me to roll my eyes at him.

“Whatever you cook, there's no meat products in there though so you'll have to go buy that yourself.” I reply dryly walking out of the kitchen making my way to the ‘game room’.  It was mainly a place for Calum to hangout but since he was never around I took over.

“No meat? Why?” Calum asks following me into the room, along with Michael.

“I'm a vegetarian Calum, you would know this if you were home more.” I sigh.

“Vegetarian? What, why?” Michael butts into the conversation.

“Because I felt bad for animals, why raise them to die when we can get perfectly good energy and protein from plants ? How would you feel if someone raised you to die and you never knew ?” I ask, but his silence was the only answer I needed.

“Exactly.” I state, while pushing open the door to reveal giraffe boy and Ashton inside. Luke was sprawled on the bean bag, and Ashton was on the couch. Now I'm beyond irritated, Calum came home out of nowhere and now his friends are taking over? No thanks. I place the smoothie bowl onto the end table and yank the bean bag from under Luke causing him to fall onto the floor with a loud ‘thump’, moving over to the couch I go behind it and push it with all my might causing it to tip a bit, ending with Ashton rolling off and falling face first onto the floor.

Calum and Micheal are snickering behind me, whereas Luke and Ashton are complaining about how I could've woken them up. I shrug my shoulders and take a seat on the couch, placing the bean bag in front of me and I use it as a footrest. “Calum is the Bluetooth on or off?” I ask innocently while Luke and Ashton are glaring at me.

“There's Bluetooth in here?” He replies with a dumbfounded face. I mentally face palm myself and quickly play music on my phone, causing the speakers around the room to come to life with FIDLAR playing. I scroll through my twitter and Instagram while eating my smoothie bowl, I almost forget that the guys are in here with me until I feel the couch dip beside me. I turn to my left to see Luke leaning over my shoulder to peek at what's on my screen.

Pulling my phone away from his gaze I give him an irritated look. “Uh can I help you?”

“Nope.” He looks at me smiling widely.

“You're very annoying.” I roll my eyes and begin texting Lacey.

“Sorry not sorry princess.”

“Whatever.” I reply before scooting over to the right to put space between the both of us.

“Hey have any plans today?” I text Lacey, with hopes that she doesn't have any so I could get away from the guys.

“I heard Shawn was having a party tonight. Want to tag?” She replies, I think of my chances of possibly going. A) Calum will say no and trap me in my room like a modern Rapunzel. B) Calum's not the boss of me so I could just leave and he might not question me.

After a few minutes of thinking about my choices I finally text Lacey back before running up the stairs to get ready.

“Hell yeah.”

-

I was standing in front of my closet debating between a pair of ripped black shorts or jean shorts along with one of Calum's singlets I took a while back. I decided on the black shorts and made my way to my vanity to do my makeup, nothing too dramatic but I added winged liner with some terra-cotta lipstick. Before I left the vanity,  I replaced the clear nose piercing I had in with a cute diamond stud. By the time I was finished one of the guys threw open my room door as I was slipping on my vans.

“Hey y/n, we were wondering if pizza sounded nice ?”

With my luck of course it was Ashton. I roll my eyes and grab my wallet, keys, and phone along with a couple of sprays of my favorite perfume ‘Pure Seduction by Victoria Secrets’.

“No thanks Ash, I'm going out tonight so tell Calum he doesn't have to watch me okay ?” I question as I walk out of my room closing the door behind the both of us and smiling sweetly at him.

“Out ? Where ?” He asks. I turn to face him, scrunching up my nose.

“Does it matter?” I ask starting to get irritated by the fact that he always wants to act like he cares, but he never does. He just stares blankly at me, I turn back around and begin to walk back down the stairs before he grabs my wrist.

“Yeah it kinda does y/n, where are you going ? Especially in those shorts ?” He questions not letting go of my wrist.

“None of your business Ashton or should I say dad ?” I roll my eyes and try to tug my wrist away but he only tightens his grip. “Now let go of me because that hurts Ashton !” I shout and shove him. I stare at him for a minute and he just stands there, with a shocked look on his face.

“Y/n I'm-”

“Don't ever touch me again.” I state before going down the rest of the stairs.

-

I make my way passed the sweaty bodies rubbing on each other to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of vodka with cranberry juice. Everyone would think that Calum would be the troubled sibling but it's actually quite the opposite I did cheer and got good grades but that didn't mean I was a ‘good girl’. I take a large gulp of the drink in my hand only to lock eyes with Shawn, the soccer team's captain also the host of this party. He was in the same grade as Calum, and was only a few months older than me. He shot me an award winning smile before making his way towards me.

“Hey there, Y/n right?” He asked sweetly, beer in hand. I swear his big brown eyes could have any girl melt.

“Yeah that's me.” I smiled at him, taking another sip of my drink.

“Alright then y/n, so you're on the cheer team, and you're in grade ten?” He asks, I nod my head while sipping more of my drink, only for him to place his hand on mine. “Woah slow down there.” He chuckled. I smiled at him, he had dimples God kill me now.

“Alright Shawn, how do you see the world?” I ask while raising an eyebrow, a small smirk growing on my face.

“Well honestly the world is pretty shitty right now, it takes a long time to meet new genuinely nice people worth spending your time with. But I'm glad that I have seemed to find someone.” He replied smiling at me before stepping closer. “It's really loud, why don't we go somewhere more private ?” He questioned only earning an eager nod from me. He took my hand in his, and intertwined our fingers as he lead me to his backyard that revealed a small swing set. There weren't many people out, and it was definitely much quieter.

“So miss Hood, what's your story ?” He asked taking a seat on one of the swings.

“Story?” I ask sitting on the swing next to him.

“Yeah, who are you y/n ?”

“Well I'm y/n, my parents work in business they're never home. I have an older brother, Calum he's never home but just came back home actually. I kinda live on my own but I'm not that interesting.” I explain shrugging my shoulders in the end.

“I'm pretty sure you're very interesting.” He smiles at me.

“Yeah okay Shawn.” I giggle.

“That was adorable !” He exclaims leaning closer to me.

“What was ?”

“Your laugh, it's super cute. The way your eyes crinkle around the edges and your nose scrunched up, it was cute.” I look at him, perplexed because never once in my life someone described something so simple about myself and made it seem like a big deal.

“You're cuter.” I blurt, quickly covering my mouth after. He smiles at me and comes even closer, he moves my hands out of the way.

“Thank you, but not as cute as you. Actually you're beautiful y/n.” I can't help but smile at him, he tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear and leans in closing his eyes. I follow his motions and expect our lips to touch but instead I feel someone grab my wrist and pull me away.

“Woah, what the hell let go !” I scream trying to pull away from the person who had me in their grasp, they turned revealing Ashton's angered face.

“Hey let her go !” Shawn yells getting in Ashton's face.

“And who exactly are you ?” Ashton questions.

“I could ask the same.” Shawn rolls his eyes.

“Okay that's enough, Ashton let go of my fucking wrist, Shawn this is my ass of a brothers friend Ashton .” I roll my eyes as Ashton let's go of my wrist. Shawn looks between Ashton and I.

“Oh.” Is all he says.

“Yeah oh, now I need to get her home, say goodbye y/n.” Ashton says irritably.

“Sorry for that Shawn I didn't know that he would come, but I could give you my number and we could text later ?” I offer, trying to make the process go quick because I know Ashton gets impatient.

“Of course, and you don't have to be sorry. At least it's not your brother I'm meeting, but hopefully I could meet him later.” He laughs pulling out his phone, I look behind me to see Ashton scoffing and crossing his arms over his chest.

After typing my number into his phone and saying goodbye, I'm being led by Ashton to his car in front of Shawn's house. On our way I made eye contact with Lacey and she mouthed ‘call me’. Ashton unlocked the doors and I climbed into passenger quickly not saying anything so I don't get into even more trouble.

“Does Calum know where I am ?” I mumble as Ashton starts the car.

“I had to talk him into letting me come and get you, because if it were him to get you it'd be much worse than what I did.” He spat in anger, causing me to huff in annoyance.

“Whatever I'm not a baby, and you shouldn't be upset.”

“Who was that you were about to kiss ?” He asks ignoring what I had previously had said.

“A boy, a very nice boy. Why do you need to know ? You're not my dad or anything.” I explain,  as he smiled at that sentence. “What?”

“I may not be your dad but I could be da-”

“Okay !” I shout cutting him off by hitting the play button on the radio, it started playing “Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana. “I love this song.” I say leaning back and letting the music play. The rest of the ride was quiet, in my head I was mentally preparing myself for what was waiting at home.

-

“Is that a fucking nose piercing?” Calum asked staring at my face, fed up with his tone of voice I walked to my closet to change into something more comfortable. “I asked you a question.” He said now tapping his foot.

I turned around quickly after grabbing a random top that was also Calum's and stood in front of him. “Yes it's a fucking nose piercing, and I wanted to throw a party so I fucking did Calum! Maybe you should be nicer to me and I won't fucking leave and lie to you like you do me. Now excuse me I have to change!” I screamed pushing him out of my room to accompany Ashton who was standing in the hall with his hands in his pockets.

I quickly threw off my clothes and replaced them with new and comfy ones, after that I grabbed another makeup wipe and wiped off all the excess makeup from the night I just had experienced. I then throw my hair into a ponytail and reopened the door to see Luke and Michael accompanying Calum and Ashton in the hall. I groan, mentally preparing myself for a long night of yelling and scolding.

“You are out of your mind.” Michael said pointing a finger at me. I bit my bottom lip, partially to keep myself from laughing, and partially to make myself look upset when in reality this was the funniest thing ever.

-

After what seemed like hours of being scolded by Luke and Michael both giving me the “birds and the bees” talk, before they retreated to Calum's room to go to sleep Michael turned and threw me a condom. “Make sure you wrap it up before anything okay?” Then he disappeared down the hall.

“Alright, Ashton could you leave for a minute? I need to talk to my baby sister alone.” Calum said walking into my room from the hall. Ashton gave him a small nod and walked down the stairs. Calum shut the door, and turned to face me. I took my eyes off of him and looked everywhere in my room avoiding his gaze. I had piles of clothes on the floor that I should clean up in the morning along with the rest of the house.

“What the fuck is your problem Y/n? I leave for a couple of months and I come back to you not knowing how to act.” Calum says as he leans against my wall staring at me.

I scoff at him and climb off my bed. “Really Calum? A couple of months? You were gone for almost a year! One year Calum! I had no one but Leslie, Henry, and Lacey for crying out loud! You were never there for me!” I scream at him choking back the tears. No way I was going to cry in front of Calum and have him take hold of the situation.

“I swear you're such a child y/n! You don't know how to act and I think I need to tighten the leash.” He seethes taking a step closer to me.

I throw my hands up in rage and stomp my foot in front of him. “Do you hear yourself?! You've been here a day Calum! One day, and you're already saying you need to tighten the leash! You hold me by the fucking collar!” I scream. He opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off. “You're just like mom and dad. Never there. Get out.” I said walking back to my bed.

“What?”

“I said get out!” I yell grabbing my blanket. I hear my door open and shut. I burry my head into my pillows and cry, letting myself yell every now and then until it becomes too much. Small whimpers leaving my mouth now as I lay on my bed numb.

“Y/n?” I hear from behind my door, I quickly run any left over tears from my eyes and walk to my door to open it. Ashton's standing there his eyes looking like he had lost something precious and his lips in a straight line. He's wearing one of Calum's beanies and some of his curls leak out lightly grazing his eyebrows.

“Yes Ashton?” I ask leaning on my door frame, not really looking forward to another match of screaming, or an awkward lesson about sex that I had received from Luke and Michael earlier.

“Who was he?” Ashton asks referring to Shawn , I roll my eyes and look at him with an unamused expression.

“Nobody why ?”

He laughs at me, “Didn't seem like a nobody.”

“Ashton he's a boy that I know okay?”

Calum's door opens, loud laughs spilling from his room. Ashton's face flushes all color and he looks back at me, his eyes now filled with worry. “I'm sorry. Goodnight.” Is all he leaves me with before stepping back down the stairs. I close the door and lay on my bed staring at the ceiling.

I hate how one minute he gets so concerned, then he acts like he doesn't care whenever any of the guys are around. He doesn't care, he never cared. I roll over to my side before I hear my door open again.

“By the way princess Calum says you're grounded.” Luke says before shutting my door once again.

Great.

[rickhorrow]

15+5+5 To Watch 51319

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 13 with Jacob Aere

Ahead of the PGA Championship, the PGA of America is making a landmark investment of $2.5 million over the next five years in PGA reach to incubate and grow the PGA WORKS platform. PGA WORKS is a strategic initiative designed to diversify the golf industry’s workforce. The platform began with the PGA WORKS Fellowship and has grown to include scholarships, career exploration events, and the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship, held at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, May 9-12. These key programs inspire and engage talent from diverse backgrounds to pursue employment positions across the golf industry. “We recognize that in order to fulfill the PGA of America’s mission of serving our PGA Members and growing participation in the sport of golf, we must expand the dimensions of diversity represented in the industry’s workforce,” said PGA of America Chief People Officer Sandy Cross. “It is critical for people to see others from similar backgrounds and experiences working in the sport.” Golf is an $84 billion industry, and PGA WORKS programming generates significant awareness of careers throughout the game, while helping to diversify the workforce so that it mirrors America.

Thanks to Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka...and John Daly, fitness and longevity take center stage at this week's PGA Championship. As the PGA of America prepares to host its annual Major this week, PGA Tour veteran and former PGA Championship winner John Daly is also making headlines in New York. For the first time since pro Casey Martin, Daly has received approval to use a golf cart during the tournament, citing arthritis in his knees that prevents him from navigating the hilly Bethpage Black course. While Daly is an old school product of the Tour – he reached his peak before hitting the gym was a regular part of the pro golf regimen – “today’s crop of PGA Tour pros, led by the likes of Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka, are finely-tuned athletes, seeking out fitness and recovery techniques that will keep them healthy on the course much longer,” said Jeff Conroy, CEO of regenerative medicine leader Embody, which has developed an innovative collagen based microfiber implant designed for use in Achilles’ and rotator cuff repairs – a common affliction in golf. Between rotator cuff and Achilles injuries, Embody’s orthopedic solutions address a combined market exceeding 750,000 surgical cases in the U.S. annually. 

Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles predicted “a 3-5% uptick in attendance over last year" for Saturday's sixth edition of the Indianapolis Grand Prix, according to the Indianapolis Star. Boles "would not reveal exact numbers," but the newspaper estimated there were "around 35,000 fans in attendance for last year's race." Boles said this year's attendance may be "even bigger." He said that credit for the "anticipated increase belongs at least in part to fans and drivers' growing acceptance of the Grand Prix as the official kickoff of May." Boles added that the race could have a new entitlement sponsor "hopefully soon," but there is "nothing imminent on the horizon." Angie's List held the entitlement sponsor “mantle for the first three iterations of the race but was forced to bail” after 2016 when facing financial woes. While “having an entitlement sponsor is ideal, it's not critical to the race's long-term health.” Boles said that the Indianapolis Grand Prix, even "without Angie's List or another sponsor, is a profitable race based on ticket sales alone.” The race was also profitable for winner Simon Pagenaud, who overcame the competition and the rain for win number 12 for him and number 205 for Team Penske in its 51-year IndyCar run. 

This year’s Stanley Cup parity is the "world Commissioner Gary Bettman envisioned" when the league instituted a salary cap in 2005," according to the Associated Press. While all four division winners have been eliminated, Bettman "prefers to call it 'competitive balance,' and it's the thing he trumpets the most about the state of the league." There is "not a lot of national buzz" when teams from Raleigh and Columbus meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, and absent a potential Bruins-Sharks Stanley Cup Final, there are "some combinations that don't exactly sizzle for those who aren't avid fans." NBC Sports reported the “highest first-round ratings in the network's history." If more big markets go out, that picture "could change and interest could wane, but Bettman believes it all evens out over time.” There are many other positive factors besides ratings. In Raleigh, according to insider sources, thanks to their playoff run, the Hurricanes have already sold $3.6 million in new ticket business for next season. 

NBA League Pass nets huge subscriber surge due to overseas talent. According to Hashtag Sports, Denver Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokić was instrumental to that huge increase in subscribers in his native country throughout the 2018-19 season, evident by a 400% spike in subscriptions to the over-the-top service in Serbia. Similarly, Slovenian star Luka Dončić, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks, also spearheaded a 186% rise in League Pass subscribers in his native country. The surge in overseas viewership could also be the result of changes to the NBA’s global digital offering, which now includes an option on its International League Pass that allows fans to buy any ten-minute period in a game for .99 cents. While the Denver Nuggets were eliminated by the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday, the 2019 NBA Playoffs are showcasing more international talent than ever. When the playoffs began, 60 players from 29 countries were represented. Now, international players such as the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Mirotic and the 76ers Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving continue to draw eyeballs from abroad – and the NBA is better off for it.

ISM Connect will expand its Allegiant Airline Network with the addition of two new Minor League Baseball teams, the Salt Lake Bees and Boise Hawks, in June and by 20 more stadiums in 2020, nearly doubling the size of the existing network. ISM launched its network across 25 ballparks on the MiLB's Opening Night, officially introducing the world's first and only integrated, in-venue smart network of fan engagement technology. ISM Connect has already delivered targeted marketing and custom branded content to an engaged audience of nearly five million MiLB fans. Already, over 15 local and three national brands, including Allegiant, Applegate, and BAM, have joined the network. Across the 25 active ballparks, ISM published 400 pieces of content on Opening Night, including local and national content and advertising. Additionally, several original series went live. "Logo Love" dives into the unique world of MiLB logos and team names, while "Better Up” traces the youth baseball training evolution. Within weeks, fan engagement with the Ballpark Insider social community quickly swelled to nearly 3,000 followers.

The Minnesota Twins have seen one of the largest attendance drops in baseball. In an effort to reverse that trend, they've come up with a bold new strategy to get fans back to the ballpark: $5 tickets. The Twins launched a modest $5 ticket flash sale at the beginning of last week, then expanded the offer after the initial discounted seats quickly sold out. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “after 20,000 upper-level outfield seats were grabbed between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 2 p.m. Wednesday, an additional 12,000 standing room ‘ballpark access’ tickets were purchased” by 4 p.m. Thursday. The "ballpark access" tickets provide fans with “entry into Target Field but does not include a seat.” The no-seat strategy, which originated with the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium and morphed into the Golden State Warriors’ $100 monthly Party Passes at Oracle Arena, has now infiltrated baseball via the Mets, Cardinals, and Twins. This modest revenue generator helps fill the balance sheet blanks caused by low attendance, a problem plaguing much of baseball so far this season. Look for other MLB clubs to adopt the practice as the season progresses.

The first phase of a $450 million renovation on the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans has begun, the first major work since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Superdome’s first construction phase, according to the Times-Picayune, will include removing 80,000 square feet of interior ramps and installing more elevators and escalators. Initial costs are estimated at $100 million. All four phases are expected to be completed before Super Bowl LVIII in 2024, which the Superdome will host. The New Orleans Saints have agreed to fund a third of the project costs, reportedly $150 million. The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (LSED) will contribute $210 million through a bond issuance, pending approval this summer. Kyle France, LSED chairman, said further funds to meet the required $450 million total are still being negotiated with the state, but he hopes any request for taxpayer’s money will be minimal. With these major renovations, New Orleans officials hope to keep the Superdome an attractive option for hosting major sports events. As well as Super Bowl LVIII, the venue is set to host the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2020, and the NCAA Final Four in 2022. 

Trump looks to allow service-academy athletes to go pro. President Trump said last week that he "wants to allow top athletes from service academies to defer their military duty so they can play professional sports." Trump, while honoring the Army football team with the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, told NBC News and other media outlets, "I’m going to look at doing a waiver for service academy athletes who can get into the major leagues like the NFL, hockey, baseball." Trump added that the move would "boost recruiting for the service academy's sports teams.” USA Today noted that the Department of Defense previously "allowed athletes to defer their active-duty service requirement in order to pursue pro sports,” a policy that was implemented by the Obama administration in 2016. However, that policy was "rescinded the following year by then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis -- just four months into Trump's presidency.” This policy is a win-win for the athletes and military alike, and should be maintained regardless of who is in the White House.

A Phoenix-area poet buys out the upper deck for WNBA Mercury opener. Poet Christopher Owens, also known as Truth B. Told, recently "purchased the entire 7,000-seat upper level at Talking Stick Resort Arena" for the WNBA Phoenix Mercury's season opener on May 31, according to the Arizona Republic. Now, Owens is "selling the tickets at a discount for $2-$5 though his company Culture Phx with a goal of having a sold-out arena for a nationally televised game." The Mercury have "been among the WNBA attendance leaders since their inception but only once have they completely sold out a home game," the inaugural regular season finale in 1997. Owens said he has "never understood the disparity, but the tide seems to be turning." Owens is "seeking sponsors to buy 50-ticket packages, at a bargain of $100, so 50 girls’ basketball teams and their families can attend." He also is "selling single tickets for $5 and a 3-ticket package for $10." Owens will donate 15% of “whatever he makes to School of HipHop PHX.”

An increase in media exposure could be having a seismic impact on the business of female athletics. In the last few months, multiple big name brands have pumped significant dollars into women's sports. AT&T signed a multiyear partnership with the WNBA, becoming the first non-apparel company to have its logo featured on the front of all 12 team jerseys. Barclays made the "largest single investment in British women's sports," signing a three-year, $11 million sponsorship deal that will see the top league rebranded as the Barclays FA Women's Super League. And ahead of the Women’s World Cup, Budweiser announced its first-ever sponsorship of women's soccer, inking a deal with the English national team. Brands have historically ignored women's pro sports, as have televised news and highlight shows — two realities that go hand-in-hand. As WNBPA Director Pam Wheeler points out, this is the first time in women's pro sport history that sponsorship deals are being made as the result of "economic decisions, as opposed to emotional connections." It seems brands are finally realizing that there is serious value here. Now it's up to the leagues to ensure that this influx of sponsorship cash trickles down to the players.

MLB laid out promotional plans for the London Series 2019, with eyes to highlight the growth of baseball and softball in the United Kingdom as the Red Sox face the Yankees on June 29 and 30. Activities planned during this year’s London Series include a baseball cultural festival, known as “London Yards,” that will include music, baseball virtual reality interactives, Boston and New York cuisine, and, a live screening of the game. Additionally, PLAY BALL Park will serve as the hub for all youth-focused baseball and softball activity, and include a temporary baseball/softball diamond, pitching tunnels, batting cages, and baseball virtual reality portals. MLB and Little League International have also invited four Little League U13 baseball teams based in London to compete in a small, friendly tournament at PLAY BALL Park. By holding games “that count” in Japan and now in London, MLB has joined America’s other pro sports leagues in exporting a real product, not just a soft serve  exhibition, with the goal of attracting a real fan base.

The newest revolution taking place in high school and college sports – AI-automated production – is powered and pioneered by Pixellot. The impact to date has been tremendous and its projected growth is even bigger. In high school sports, in partnership with the NFHS Network, since 2017, Pixellot has installed over 1,500 systems across the country, producing over 100,000 live games, reaching over 25,000 live hours per month. The company is projected to install 20,000 systems over the next seven years, with a goal of broadcasting more than 1 million live high school events per year. In college sports, a new partnership with SIDEARM Sports will lead to producing 50,000+ live college events per year. How does it work? Schools within the NFHS Network or SIDEARM Sports pay an up-front fee to install a Pixellot solution. End-users then pay a one-time subscription fee to gain access to the live games and highlights. And adopting schools gain an additional marketing platform, as well as a new revenue stream for their sports programs.

Is the NFL “quietly collaborating” with the XFL? According to JohnWallStreet, the Alliance of American Football’s inability to secure a formal partnership with the NFL (beyond its relationship with the NFL Network) was a major factor in the decision financier Tom Dundon made to shutter the league after just eight weeks. The NFL’s seeming lack of interest may have a lot to do with the discussions they’re holding with a different upstart football league. JohnWallStreet shared that Vince McMahon’s XFL is “quietly collaborating with the NFL on a variety of rules and technology initiatives.” While news of a collaboration is merely speculative at this point, as the newsletter pointed out. “There’s no reason to expect the NFL to swallow up the startup league before McMahon burns through his $500 million war chest and any allocation of players between the two leagues remains ‘years away.’ But it’s becoming more and more apparent that the XFL is closer to becoming the NFL’s minor league than the AAF ever was going to be.

While most collegiate athletic departments are financial drains on their universities, the University of Nebraska’s athletic department is one of “about two dozen public D-1” schools that operate without assistance. While it’s commonplace for “institutional funding, state appropriations or student activity fees” to prop up those operating at a loss, at Nebraska, not only is the athletic department self-sufficient, it contributes to the school’s academic mission by funding scholarships for non-student-athletes. According to multiple sources, roughly 20% of the 20,000 students enrolled on NU’s Lincoln campus received Husker scholarship money within the last 12 months. In addition to funding $5 million dollars’ worth of academic scholarships, Nebraska athletics gave $5 million to the University’s chancellor to help cover university operational expenses (including support for the student rec center and additional academic support). Nebraska’s athletic department is unique in that it’s one of just a few schools to have consistently generated a net surplus over the last 20 years – the department reported $6.6 million in operating profit in 2018.

Top Five Tech

RugbyPass becomes a digital partner to Major League Rugby. The global rugby channel becomes an Official Digital Partner to MLR for the remainder of the 2019 season, with delayed streaming rights to full replays of selected games across the competition. Each match will be made available worldwide on RugbyPass TV, shortly after the end of each game. RugbyPass features highlights, player interviews, and other short clips, and delivers its content to dozens of social media pages and channels, reaching up to 30 million rugby fans every month. According to rugbypass.com, the channel’s subscription fee is just $1 a month which provides access to RugbyPass Originals, including The Rugby Pod; Beyond 80: Knocked; Insiders; The Short Ball; Late Tackle; Seven for Seven; The Pride; Kiwis Abroad; and more from the world of rugby vloggers, documentaries, and archival footage. The deal is two-fold to both add an American fan base while also drawing those from outside North America into the vibrant competition on U.S. soil.

KIT KAT has partnered with Overwatch team Los Angeles Valiant. According to Esports Insider, KIT KAT is the official candy sponsor of the team as well as the entitlement partner for KIT KAT Rivalry Weekend. The weekend esports tournament takes place August 24-25 at LA Live and will feature branded activations and events alongside competitive Overwatch League matches. The August event will feature an event called the KIT KAT Fan Fest. Outside the competitive arena, attendees of all ages will have the opportunity to interact with various activations and activities. Inside the arena, die-hard fans of the teams playing during the weekend will receive exclusive seating in the KIT KAT Team Lounges separated by team affiliation. While KIT KAT has made the odd esports related appearance, this is its first real entry into esports and represents how sponsors from all markets are plunging headfirst into the esports craze.

The XFL signs a massive TV rights deal with Fox and Disney. Vince McMahon’s dream of creating an alternative to NFL football is one step closer to becoming a reality as his football league has pinned down a deal to give weekly berths on both ABC and Fox to the XFL’s inaugural season in addition to supplementary games on the companies’ cable networks, including ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, and FS2. According to Variety, the XFL intends to air back-to-back games on Saturday afternoons at 2 p.m. along with two additional weekly games on Sunday afternoons with teams to be fielded in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Washington D.C. After a near two decade hiatus from the sports scene, McMahon will bring back the XFL with the league attempting to be the second spring football league in recent years after the Alliance of American Football folded after just one season in 2019. With knowledge of past XFL shortcomings, McMahon and the executive staff have taken their time to strategize and properly lay down the foundation for a successful football league.

Bleacher Report is channeling Instagram Stories for app downloads. According to Digiday, Bleacher Report has updated its mobile app so that people can share content from the app directly to Instagram Stories. Reversely, when people view an Instagram Story featuring content shared from Bleacher Report’s app, they will be able to tap the post either to install Bleacher Report’s app through their phone or open their already downloaded app. The app accounts for a large percentage of Bleacher Report’s audience and revenue and according to Comscore, 4.8 million people in the U.S. used Bleacher Report’s mobile app in March 2019, which is roughly a quarter of ESPN’s total app usage for the same time period. Bleacher Report is hoping that this new push onto Instagram will help others feel the need to download the app to get the latest breaking sports-news coverage. Instagram also tends to cater to a young audience, which should guarantee Bleacher Report a longer-lasting fan base than that of its competitor ESPN.

NASCAR plans to boost its attendance and ratings through sports betting. NASCAR has signed an exclusive data partnership with Genius Sports that will lead to an in-race betting product and help battle sagging attendance and television ratings. According to Bloomberg, Genius will use up-to-the-second data points like car speed and track position to build a betting product that the London-based company can sell to global sports books. The data points will allow Genius to provide traditional wagers such as winners as well as prop bets such as how many lead changes there will be or whether a Chevy will end up in Victory Lane. NASCAR’s 33 races last season averaged a record-low 3.34 million viewers, a 25% drop from the 4.47 million average two years ago while Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway, one of NASCAR’s most-prestigious tracks, drew an estimated 38,000 fans for a 150,000-seat venue that once had a wait list. NASCAR is rethinking their marketing for their waning and aging fan base. If done properly, they could find themselves back in prime time thanks to legalized sports gambling.

Power of Sports Five

A new organization is helping other social change groups with their sustainability. According to sportanddev.org, Social Enterprise Assist (SEA) is designed to support sports for social change organizations in regard to financial sustainability and increased impact. It provides an online toolkit as well as workshops, remote mentoring, and onsite consulting. The new sustainability program came together thanks to a Kick4Life co-creation with a team of streefootballworld Network Members, who have a successful track record in social enterprise development, including Football United, Tiempo de Juego, Sport 4 Life and Street Soccer USA. SEA is the push in the back for charities to help sustain change and to allow for income-generating social enterprises. Currently, SEA is supporting a number of organizations in Africa, including the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) in Kenya and Play Soccer Ghana, as well as exploring opportunities to expand delivery across the globe. The new network functions as a system of checks and balances while working to improve what is already going well with global charities – a helping hand for charities looking to better their goals.

Soon-to-retire Arsenal goalkeeper will release a charity single with Queen drummer Roger Taylor. According to BBC.com, Petr Cech is an avid drummer but is also a savvy businessman-philanthropist. His soon-to-be-released single “That's Football” will feature Queen drummer Roger Taylor and the song raise money for the Willow Foundation. The charity was set up in 1999 by former Arsenal stopper Bob Wilson, whose daughter Anna died the previous year at 31 years old from malignant schwannoma, a type of nerve cancer. The charity works with “seriously ill” young adults aged 16 to 40 to fulfill uplifting and unforgettable “Special Days,” which can either be a return to normalcy or a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream. To date, the charity has completed its mission over 15,000 times. Whether or not Cech can make a music career post soccer, at least his first single will be raising funds to help those off of the pitch who are less fortunate.

Barbasol Championship Announces its charitable arm, Caddie 127, and its 2019 Charity Partners. Amidst the hustle and bustle at Churchill Downs last week, there came a quieter announcement when Barbasol Championship tournament director Bryan Pettigrew announced the formation of the PGA Tour’s charitable arm, Caddie 127. According to LEX18, Caddie 127 will support philanthropic organizations that benefit and empower women and children and has named All God’s Children, Kentucky Children’s Hospital, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Refuge for Women, and the Woodhill Community Center as their 2019 charitable partners. The Kentucky-based event will take place July 18-21 at the Kenne Trace Golf Club and will feature hundreds of elite PGA golfers who will help give back to the local Kentucky charity scene.

The Washington Capitals raised more than $2.5 million for charity this past season. According to NHL.com, some of the many highlights include KaBOOM! Design Day which had Capitals forward Tom Wilson visit Bright Beginnings, a learning center for children and families experiencing homelessness. Just a couple of months later, the Capitals’ charitable arm, MSE Foundation, partnered with KaBOOM! to fund a new playground at Bright Beginnings. The team helped Hunter Shrauger’s Make-a-Wish dream come true as he walked the red carpet with Alexander Ovechkin in October while the team’s casino night raised over $400,000 for MSE Foundation. Ovechkin scored another goal as he skated with and taught more than 80 players from American Special Hockey Association. Beyond these highlights, the team stepped up to fight cancer, inspire young women to play hockey, aid the military, and more. MSE Foundation was hyper-involved all year with nearly 40 different charitable endeavors; this proves how athletes, staff, and owners all play a role in the philanthropic process within sports.

Patrick Mahomes spreads his arms for charity thanks to partnerships with Omaze and Madden 20. The charity utilizes video games to raise money for Mahomes’ foundation, 15 and the Mahomies, through a once-in-a-lifetime experience to play Madden 20 with Mahomes before the game is released. According to Forbes, proceeds from the campaign will go towards serving a variety of underprivileged kids, or adolescents fighting chronic illnesses or major injuries. The best part is that almost anyone can afford to make a difference, as a $10 entry fee is all of the cost for this personalized experience with the Chiefs’ MVP quarterback. After now being featured on the cover of Madden 20, the young football sensation provides fans an opportunity to meet him in a casual setting and game with potentially one of the best quarterbacks the NFL has seen. Meanwhile, Mahomes was also just announced as an ambassador for the new NFL London Academy.  

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/sports/weve-made-up-our-mind-on-core-wc-team-prasad/

We've made up our mind on core WC team: Prasad

Chief selector MSK Prasad talks to TOI about India’s World Cup plans, the importance of a proper rotation policy & the need to strike a perfect balance between youth & experience…

How do you see the team shaping up post the England tour?

The end result of that England tour was not the true picture or the right reflection of the quality of cricket we played. Having said that, the lessons we learnt from that tour were invaluable and they helped us in winning the series in Australia.

What needs to be done to keep this winning run going overseas?

The most important thing that we need to focus on is to have the right mix of players for different formats. We need to keep planning for every tour well in advance by keeping our players fit and fresh through proper rotation. Since we have created enough bench strength across formats, I have no doubt about the success of our rotation policy.

Generally, teams zero in on their World Cup squads during the last series they play before the big event. How important is the IPL in this context, since it’s a T20 tournament?

Like most other teams, we have made up our minds with regard to the core team that will figure in the World Cup. The IPL is a major tournament that throws up a variety of challenges. I’m sure the IPL will help (selected) players with their form and also keep their minds in good shape ahead of the World Cup.

There has been a lot of unease surrounding India’s middle order over the past 18 months. Do you think the debate has been settled in the last two series in Australia and New Zealand, with Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni coming good?

Yes, the performance of certain players in these series has helped us to seal those spots which were otherwise a bit of a concern.

Youngsters like Rishabh Pant, Khaleel, Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill have been handed debuts over the past six months. How cautious will you be in maintaining the right balance between youth and experience for the upcoming World Cup?

To win mega events we need to have the right mix of experience and youthful exuberance. I am sure our committee will strike that balance. Youngsters who have reached this level know exactly what is expected of them. In today’s world, players are exposed to so many pressure-filled tours and tournaments prior to getting into the national squads. They are much more seasoned and mature than earlier.

Is there a worry about the back-up pace option? Are you looking at a left-arm option?

I have absolutely no worry about our pace bowling backups. Apart from our premier five fast bowlers, we have reserve bunch of five fast bowlers who are competent enough to get into the senior team. Hardik (Pandya) lends good balance as he can chip in with ball and bat. His fielding adds that edge.

Did you see Umesh Yadav’s Ranji Trophy performance?

Umesh bowled well in the Ranji semis and final. He bowled well against West Indies in the two Test matches that we played against them at home. It’s unfortunate that he couldn’t get enough opportunities while playing abroad.

Will the Australia matches at home be a preparatory series?

Workload management has paid rich dividend. We will play our core team against Australia but will rotate our players to try out combinations.

Virat Kohli has said WC-bound pacers must get sufficient rest during the IPL. Is there a way that can be achieved?

Yes, we are trying to work on that aspect.

Playing two wrist spinners has become India’s USP. Is there room for a finger spinner as well in the shorter formats of the game?

Kuldeep and Chahal have done extremely well in the last one year or so. We (have) tried to increase the bench strength in the spin department. In T20 formats, we have also given opportunities to Washington Sundhar and Krunal Pandya apart from the four top spinners (Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep and Chahal) and they have done well in that particular format.

How do you see Kuldeep and Chahal evolving as Test spinners?

Kuldeep has bowled extremely well in the opportunities he has had. He is definitely a bright prospect across all formats. We have tried Chahal in the longer formats by putting him in India ‘A’ squads but he seems to be more comfortable with the white ball. Having said that, if he is willing to put in the hard yards in red-ball cricket, he is most welcome to do so and we will monitor his progress.

How pleasing has been the emergence of Mayank Agarwal?

We have formed a consortium of selectors and team management, consisting of Virat, Ravi Shastri and his support staff and Rahul Dravid. Because of the efforts of this consortium, we are seeing players make a smooth transition from India ‘A’ levels to the senior side. Prithvi, Mayank, Vihari, Rishabh, Vijay Shankar are some of the examples.

How do you see Virat Kohli’s captaincy evolving?

India is blessed to have a captain like Virat. He shares a healthy relationship with head coach Ravi Shastri, which is very important for the team’s success. o

KL Rahul has been struggling for runs for some time. How important is he as a third opener?

His form has become a big cause of concern. He is too good a player and I am sure he is working hard to be back among the runs. We have put him in the India ‘A’ squad to play against the England Lions so that he can spend some time in the middle and get back in some form.

How pleasing has it been to see the resurgence of pacer Mohammed Shami across formats?

It is wonderful to see Shami’ s form in both the longer and shorter formats. What was missing in him earlier was his fitness. Credit should be given to the trainer Shankar Basu and physio Patrick (Farhart), who have put him on a certain fitness programme. We can’t take anything away from Bharat Arun (bowling coach).

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

15 best viral videos of 2018 (so far)

Can you believe it's already July? 

It seems like just yesterday we were yodeling along with the Walmart yodel boy and arguing over Yanny/Laurel. This year is going by quickly — do you even remember the viral videos that you sent to all of your friends?

SEE ALSO: The best memes of 2018 so far

If not, here are 15 of this year's most memorable videos, so far. 

1. A snowboarder raced an avalanche he caused

A snowboarder ended up causing an avalanche, and then had to race away from it in a thrilling and terrifying video. On the plus side, he escaped totally fine. 

2. It was so cold in Maine, a guy ice skated at the beach

This winter was so frigid in Maine, someone actually went ice skating at the beach. The sea water froze into a smooth, flat surface, perfect for ice skating. On Facebook, the OP joked, "Every day is a beach day in Maine."

3. This bird photobombed a live weather report 

A beautiful view of the San Francisco Bay was abruptly interrupted by a giant bird with a mind of its own. While KTVU's Mark Tamayo delivered his live forecast, the massive bird peered over the camera. 

4. A package thief almost got away unscathed, but karma had other plans

Karma's a bitch. Home security footage captured a woman trying to steal a package, only to slip on the dewy front lawn and injure herself. An accomplice helped her hobble to the getaway car, and then came back for the fallen packages. The thieves definitely learned a lesson. 

5. This dog was caught riding a pony, because animal friendships are real

Yes, interspecies animal friendships are real. A video caught a pup riding a pony for a leisurely nighttime stroll. "I can't make this stuff up!" the OP posted on Facebook. 

6. After climbing into a claw machine for a toy, a child had to be pulled out because he got stuck

This child was probably too enthusiastic about getting a toy. A Florida kid had to be rescued from inside a claw machine game after he crawled in to snag a toy. Good news: the child, the toys, and the machine are all safe. 

7. The world tuned in to watch SpaceX launch the Falcon Heavy into space

SpaceX stunned us all when it launched the Falcon Heavy into space, strapped with a Tesla. The most powerful rocket ever created was shot into space from Cape Canaveral, and hundred of thousands of people watched through the livestream. It's pretty damn impressive. 

8. A drag queen dressed as Elsa singlehandedly rescued a police truck from the snow

There's no damsel in distress here — Queen Elsa from Frozen was seen singlehandedly pushing a stuck police truck out of a snowbank. The drag queen managed to do it while wearing heels and a flowing gown. #Goals. 

9. This young yodeling prodigy captured our hearts in Walmart

Oh, yodel boy. A star was born in April when young Mason Ramsey was filmed yodeling to his heart's content in Walmart. Since then, Ramsey has performed at Coachella, landed a record deal, and released a series of singles. And it's all from this video.

10. Yanny/Laurel

This audio illusion tore apart the internet when friends argued over whether the audio said "Yanny" or "Laurel." It's The Dress of 2018, and people just can't figure out how anyone could hear the other side. 

11. A super lit Hermione turned up at Hogwarts

A video of a dancing cosplay Hermione is actual magic. @KelseyEllison blew everyone away at London's ComicCon with her incredible moves, and inspired a series of memes about the Harry Potter characters.

12. An amazing sibling blasted music every day while dropping off her little sister

Blasting music while dropping off your younger sister is peak older sibling. With a nine-minute compilation of videos mortifying her adolescent sister, the OP definitely wins award for most embarrassing sibling. 

13. A very good doggo opened the door for his owner when she got locked out

Dogs really are our best friends. A very good pup opened the door for his owner when she got locked out of the house. After dislodging a wooden rod keeping the door shut, he tried to play fetch with it. What else would you expect from dogs?

14. Mexico beat Germany, thanks to the power of this grandma’s blessings

The World Cup brings out the best in every nation. But apparently talent and training alone isn't enough to win — a grandma gave Mexico a little bit of luck when she blessed each team member before the game. The Mexican team went on to win a surprise victory against Germany. 

15. An adorable little boy dropping a watermelon captured all of our summer moods

There is somehow nothing more relatable than this child dropping a watermelon, realizing he cracked it open, then running away. It's exactly how summer feels, all caught in a three second video. As the identified narrator in the video says, there is only one mood for this season: "Oh my god." 

WATCH: Driver slams police officer with car while fleeing a traffic stop

[junker-town]

Pittsburgh hockey media’s witch hunt on Alex Ovechkin is dangerous

The city’s past inconsistencies on holding Penguins players accountable renders their outrage at Ovechkin moot.

It didn’t take long for the hockey world to have a varying degree of hot takes on Sidney Crosby’s Game 3 injury. The response was swift, loud, and extremely colored by whatever fanbase colored glasses you tend to wear.

This is sports, after all. It’s to be expected from fans, especially in such a high-pressure, high-anxiety time that is the Stanley Cup playoffs.

What’s been absolutely out of left field, however, is the response from Pittsburgh media. Two pieces in particular have made their way across the Internet over the last few days, the second more incredulous, and more dangerous, than the first. I’m linking them here for the sake of journalistic integrity in sourcing your information. One of the first rules of journalism school, kids. Don’t forget it.

Before I go on, let’s talk about the facts of one Alex Ovechkin in this series:

He has four points in three games so far.

He’s still deadly from the left circle.

His shot in the third period of Game 2 hit Ron Hainsey in the head. The defenseman returned to the Penguins lineup in Game 3.

His slash to the top of Crosby’s head started the fall which eventually lead to his injury.

Now that we have you caught up, let’s flash back to the aftermath of Game 2.

Hainsey took an Ovechkin shot to the side of the head as the clock was winding down in the third period. The shot injured Hainsey, potentially splitting his ear and causing quite the stir on the ice.

Unfortunate as it is, it’s quite routine for defensemen to get nicked and bruised and even injured when blocking shots. Why they willingly put their bodies in front of speeding projectiles is beyond me, but that’s why they’re being paid to play hockey and not me.

Even still, quotes surfaced after the game that some Penguins in the room weren’t pleased with Ovechkin’s choice of shot, via DK Pittsburgh Sports.

[Hainsey] indicated following the game that his helmet absorbed the majority of the blow and that he believed he would be OK.

One got the sense from a couple of Penguins after the game that they believed Ovechkin, while not necessarily acting with intent, was pretty careless regarding how he fired the puck in Hainsey’s direction.

While DKPS got ripped for suggesting malace on Ovechkin’s part, writer Josh Yohe clarified that he was reporting on the feeling in the room. Good on him.

That didn’t stop a Pittsburgh-based ESPN radio host, however, from insinuating the very same thing.

From @JoshYohe_PGH: Exactly my reaction when I saw Ovechkin’s shot last night. To be that far off target so quickly… http://pic.twitter.com/sR1omtRi73

— David Todd (@DavidMTodd) April 30, 2017

Flash-forward to Game 3, where Ovechkin played a part in Crosby’s injury. We’ll show you a clip here, as there are a lot of moving parts around this.

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Ovechkin initiated contact with Crosby as the Pittsburgh center was heading to the crease, getting a slash in around the arm then to the top of the head. The pair’s skates also collided, sending Crosby into an awkward downward slide that sent him right into the path of Matt Niskanen’s stick as the Capitals defenseman was seemingly going for a shoulder cross-check.

We know how that play ended, with Crosby going to the locker room, Niskanen ejected, and Ovechkin back on the ice to resume play. While many argued over Niskanen’s major penalty and whether it was deserved, it’s hard to say if Ovechkin would have gotten one, but a pair of slashes likely warranted it.

Then, after the game, this little chestnut showed up on Twitter.

Alex Ovechkin shouldn't play another game in these Stanley Cup playoffs says @Real_RobRossi. https://t.co/JcRfeSCTXV

— upgrūv (@upgruv) May 2, 2017

I won’t rehash that whole article here, but one quote stands out in particular to me.

Makes you wonder what that closed-door meeting called by Capitals players was really about after their blowout defeat in Game 2, huh?

Not really.

Writer Rob Rossi, formerly of the Tribune-Review, currently of Upgruv, and a member of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, wrote those words insinuating Ovechkin and the Capitals had it out for Crosby.

The piece reads in much of the same way, but the meat of this take down is the posturing that Ovechkin specifically planned to take out Crosby to give the Capitals a better chance of winning this series.

Don’t believe me? Here’s his next line.

If they say it wasn't about eliminating Crosby, the Capitals are liars. And if that sounds like an unfair accusation to make of the Capitals, then please consider my decade of experience covering a sport I love and a league I really, really, really want to give the benefit of the doubt.

I’ll let you have a minute get over the fact that a paid writer wrote those words with seemingly complete sincerity. After all, it’s hard to distinguish someone’s tone from words alone. Good thing Rossi was on video twice on Monday talking about — and to — Capitals head coach Barry Trotz.

Now then, the pieces lie where they are. A reporter with locker room access to a team insinuated the captain of the Washington Capitals orchestrated a take down on Sidney Crosby, without evidence no less. Not only is this bad journalism, it’s inflammatory and down right dangerous to do so without anything other than opinion to back it up.

Opinions are fine and good, but to come after a star NHL player in a piece that seems to be written with serious intent without some proof of insider knowledge of what happened in the locker room is setting a horrible standard.

Other prominent Pittsburgh media members also had various takes on the entire situation.

Well, as long as we're all keeping this incident in perspective. http://pic.twitter.com/FZG1bGGZem

— Becca (@BeccaH_JR) May 2, 2017

Graves on Mario = Niskanen on Sid, according to @KGorman_Trib http://pic.twitter.com/QpaG7kyTnZ

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 2, 2017

COLUMN: Capitals come with a low blow, resort to taking out Crosby with a cheap shot: https://t.co/g6seK9iINW

— Kevin Gorman (@KGorman_Trib) May 2, 2017

If there’s one thing that Rossi’s Ovechkin piece does well, it’s getting people to talk. And talk they did. However, at what point do we step back from our hot takes? Are we really adding anything to the conversation if we’re just writing incendiary things we may not even believe to get clicks?

It’s also hard to take Pittsburgh media’s outrage seriously when they’ve stood idly by as the team employed players such as Matt Cooke in the past. That Cooke, who put into motion the NHL’s stance on headshots with this career ending one to Marc Savard.

A glowing piece on Cooke’s changed character from the same author can be found in the archives of the Pittsburgh Tribune. Our own Penguins blog wrote quite the rebuttal back in 2011. It’s a great read on the situation.

Fast-forward to March 2017, where Tom Sestito spent a minute of ice time fighting and being ejected for a late hit on Jets’ defenseman Toby Enstrom. Our site seemed like one of the few outlets questioning that whole scene, along with the Altoona Mirror’s piece echoing the disappointment. Only radio silence and news hits on Sestito’s disagreements with his four game suspension came from Pittsburgh.

Are we really adding anything to the conversation if we’re just writing incendiary things we may not even believe to get clicks?

Nothing was written either on Sestito’s reckless play in his first game back from suspension that injured Toronto goaltender Frederick Anderson.

That’s not even diving into the player’s reactions to Crosby’s injury. Chris Kunitz called Niskanen’s hit “deliberate”. Former player Tyler Kennedy offered truth about the PR behind Niskanen’s “it wasn’t intentional” statement, but seemed to imply a falseness to the words. Head coach Mike Sullivan, rationally, opted for the the no-comment route.

This is a story that will no doubt drag on through the series, and maybe even the playoffs. It’s a down-right shame that Crosby was injured, especially given his concussion history and what that’s robbed us of as fans of this sport.

Yet this vendetta the Pittsburgh hockey media holds against Ovechkin is a journalism farce. Insinuating maliciousness from an opposing player while not holding their own accountable is disrespectful, dangerous, and irresponsible as members of the media.

The outrage cycle over Ovechkin and Crosby may churn in Pittsburgh media for awhile. Just remember the inconsistencies and disingenuous clamoring they’ve made in the past.