#like. when you have an athlete of that caliber on your team you actually do kind of have to structure your strategy around them

[eugeniedanglars]

unpopular opinion but the zava hate on this website is fucking insane. i get that jamie is everyone’s poor little meow meow but him being unhappy about zava throwing off the team dynamic does not make zava secretly evil when his worst crime we’ve seen so far is being self-centered. please get a grip

[wttcsms]

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖࣪ do it softly now, baby !!

ᝰ.ᐟ if there's one thing every celebrity needs to master, it's the art of the soft launch. building up the anticipation by teasing your fans, leaving little easter eggs that only the two of you could possibly pick up on, playing coy whenever questioned about your relationship status... looks like you and him could write the how-to guide on this art form. alternatively: a headcanon post on how the two of you soft launch your relationship. ( sfw + fem!reader )

featuring sae itoshi, shuto sendou, shouei barou, rensuke kunigami, yoichi isagi author's notes haikyuu version here!

౨ৎ SAE ITOSHI. you are: a 2x gold medalist for olympic figure skating. just like how sae is the jewel of japanese soccer, you're the star of japanese figure skating. no one quite understands the pressure of having to carry an entire sport, to represent an entire country, on your back — except for sae. you're known to be a very serious athlete; you rarely cheat on your diet, you keep up with a strict training regimen even during the off-season, and you've never been in a relationship ever. you're stunning, but a little bit scary. something about you just feels so out of reach — like, no normal human being could ever match your caliber. you posted: a mirror selfie. for once in your life, you actually look fairly casual; no elaborate skating costume or athleisure in sight. instead, you're sporting a re al jersey. normally, this wouldn't be enough to spark too much speculation. the team's world famous, after all. what really gets people talking is the fact that sae itoshi, who infamously doesn't run his own social media, can be seen liking all your instagram posts. (little do your followers know [but the extra nosy ones will be able to find out], he's the one behind the camera for some of your posts 🤭)

you can't hold back your laugh as you stare at the notification that just popped up on your screen. itoshisae just reacted 😍 to your story! itoshisae: Nice jersey you: thanks, my boyfriend got it for me xx itoshisae: Do your little fans know that? you: they will soon 🤭 "what's got you smiling so hard, love?" your hairstylist is respectful enough to not look over your shoulder to take a peek at your screen, but you still hold your phone close to your chest, catching the dopey grin on your face reflected on the vanity mirror. "something silly." you tell her, feeling the gentle vibration of your phone signaling that you've got another notification. out of curiosity, you look down, and your smile only grows wider. namesofficialfanpage just tagged you in a post! namesofficialfanpage [name] just posted this on her story!! do we know anyone on re al who isn't in a confirmed relationship yet?

౨ৎ SHUTO SENDOU. you are: japan's favorite actress, even though you've quickly moved on from starring in j-dramas to gracing the big screen in america. you're hollywood's current favorite leading lady, and you're known for being the romcom starlet. when interviewed on why you haven't been in any public relationships yet, you've stated, "i guess i'm so used to all these perfectly written male leads that real life romance is harder to enjoy. when i meet a man who sweeps me off my feet, i promise, you will all know about it." you posted: a photo dump from your trip back home to japan; the pictures start off fairly innocuous. there's you posing with petals from cherry blossom trees flowing by you, you wearing a traditional dress and visiting a shrine, scenic photos... but the last photo is you being carried bridal style by a mysterious pink-haired man. your head is thrown back in laughter, and he's looking down, strands of his hair falling in his face so your followers can't clearly see him. your caption is telling — he sweeps me off my feet 🤍

"shuto!" your laughter is uncontrollable, and you squeal as he picks you up, sneakily giving the thumbs up for the old grandmother you two ran into to take the photo. "put me down!" "no way. i'm never letting you go." he's staring down at you, his smile infectious, and you can't help but think you are in so much trouble. somehow, shuto sendou has given you a romance that's even better than the movies.

౨ৎ SHOUEI BAROU. you are: barou's sisters' babysitter. you're literally the girl next door, and growing up, barou actually walked you to and from school. from the minute he joined blue lock, you've always been cheering for him wholeheartedly. watching him perform at the u-20 game was a bit of a reality check for you; barou is going outgrow you and this whole neighborhood. you never realized your crush on him was returned until he comes back from that game, cheeks flushed, forcing himself to "man up" and look you in the eyes as he tells you he'd like to see you again, once he's allowed a free day from the blue lock facility. ever since his confession, you two have been together ever since, even during his pro days. he posted: a picture of when he returned home during the off-season of the pro league. barou's not known to be a cute and cuddly type of person, either on or off the field. this post humanizes him greatly in the eyes of everyone. it's a picture of his sisters playing with your hair and makeup. your eyes are shut so his youngest sister can messily apply eyeshadow to your eyelids, and she's blocking more than half your face from the frame. his caption has everyone wondering who you are, though. My favorite girls. — that's what he said.

"how do i look?" you bat your eyelashes (which are coated with nearly three thick, messily applied layers of clumpy mascara, applied by his youngest sister). your hair looks a mess, courtesy of his other sister. the tennis bracelet he got you for your anniversary stands out against the beaded friendship bracelets you've made with his sisters. even with unblended foundation and lipgloss from a children's toy set, barou still thinks he's the luckiest man alive right now. "beautiful." he leans down to plant a kiss on your lips, effectively coating his own lips in the tacky, glittery gloss. his sisters shriek when they see the display of affection, but they're giggling, too. they love you just as much as he loves you. "you're always beautiful."

౨ৎ RENSUKE KUNIGAMI. you are: a lifestyle influencer. everybody loves your attitude, they're obsessed with your routine, and they want to live your life. you're recognizable by your signature stack of bracelets that you rarely take off, probably because the stack roughly costs about the same as a nice house. who said those tiktok grwm's wouldn't pay off? he posted: a gym challenge video. kunigami's not too active on social media, but his management team wants him to start posting the occasional tiktok in order to generate more hype and interest in him. this challenge is him curling dumbbells, but he starts at the weight where you stopped. as hot as it is to watch a shirtless kunigami curl 110lbs per arm, the girlies online can't help but recognize that bracelet stack on the wrist of the faceless "gym buddy" kunigami is featuring in his video.

"c'mon, baby, i know you can do more than that." kunigami's massive arms are crossed against his chest, and that damn smirk of his would make you shoot a glare his way; if only every muscle in your body wasn't already preoccupied with not collapsing. your arms are shaking, and you shake your head, letting the dumbbells clang to the gym floor. "this is torture. you do this for fun?" you point to the rack of dumbbells. "gotta keep up with the strength training, baby. and after i'm done with this, we can do some cardio together." the look he sends your way lets you know that the cardio he has in mind is one that you won't want to quit.

౨ৎ YOICHI ISAGI. you are: a popular idol, but in this country and this day and age, it's hard for some hardcore fans to understand that you would want your own life. frightened of how your fanbase will react, you beg isagi to let you keep your relationship a secret, at least until you're able to mentally prepare for the backlash. you've seen other girls in your group get ripped to shreds over dating rumors, and the last thing you want is to have your relationship with isagi being scrutinized by people who want to see you two break up. his friend accidentally posted: a video of you two. bachira genuinely means no harm! the video is quick, and you and isagi cuddled up together on the couch is barely seen for a millisecond until bachira flips the camera to his own face, with the caption "Thirdwheeling again 😔" your insane fans are quick to screenshot the one, singular frame you're barely visible in, but surprisingly enough, a majority of them are supportive of you being in a relationship.

"bachira, are you sure you're okay with me joining boys' night?" you're tucking your cold feet underneath isagi's body, and he's a good sport about it, so he doesn't complain. he actually pulls you closer to him, wanting no space to be between you two. he does correct you, though. "this was not a boys' night. bachira is lying. he invited himself over." bachira sticks his tongue out. "i can't hang out with my favorite people?" "you can hang out with us any time." you tell him, pleased that your boyfriend's friend actually likes you. no, he genuinely does like you. he's been streaming your latest single on repeat for the past two weeks since it released, to the point where his teammates are complaining about having to listen to it on the pregame playlist.

[ateriblewriter]

"You can't just lose your temper like this every time you get a little bit upset!" With Luke Hughes please

😊 I hope this is okay, i feel as though i could have done better. its kinda messy. idk. sorry. first time really writing for luke. it's longer than the others blurbs for the celly but I was challenging myself. 😅

A Broken Glass

he was supposed to be better this season. better than the child he felt he was in the few games he played in at the end of the prior season. he made sure to put in the work over the summer, improving upon an already impressive skill set. but it still wasn't good enough.

luke was having a bit of a hard time recently, making mistakes that were in his words stupid and should never have happened. getting himself into trouble on the ice, uncharacteristic actions set off by the littlest things. he had been putting a lot of pressure on himself and instead of being better he was getting worse.

everything came to a head on a tuesday evening after the devils had lost again and luke gave another lackluster performance. once again on the brink of being benched for someone else who could perform at the caliber they were looking for.

jack had decided to seek the comfort of another human being, having gone over to their place for the evening. this left the whole place to just you and luke. which was great because you finally wanted to pick your boyfriends mind about how he was feeling about everything recently.

“are you okay?” you inquire watching him.

"i'm fine." he scowled.

"do you want to talk about it?" you ask starting to ramble. of course you didn't believe him and just because he shut you down right away didn't mean you were going to stop trying to get him to say more than a few words to you. "because you really should at some point. im worried about you. you don't even have to talk to me. is it the team? is it something im doing? is it-"

"just go away." luke interrupted you. he was so in his head, he didn't notice the glass he had been holding, slip from his hand and crashing to the ground. luke wasn't necessarily mad. he was mainly just frustrated with his situation and really didn't like talking about it. the way he showed it may not have been the best way.

you're too shocked for words at the glass on the floor, opting to crouch down to clean up the little pieces of glass from the broken cup instead of using your words. you tried to be as careful as you but while brushing the tiny bits together with the back of your hand, a little piece embedded itself in between you index finger and middle, causing it to bleed a lot.

you could feel luke rolling his eyes, frustration still radiating off of him. he was looking for an argument. you heard him mumbling something but couldn't really tell what was said.

"what was that? you need to speak up."

"i said that you don't understand the pressure i am under. i am supposed to be better. and i'm not. you wouldn't understand that. I'm not like you I just don't give up on my dreams."

"that's not true and you know it." you clench your teeth together, trying your hardest not to give into what he wanted, a fight. because luke knew you were an athlete and that you had big dreams of making it big. only to have them crushed by a devastating injury, that led you to pursue other dreams.

"you know what? call me when you want to actually talk and not start a fight." you grab your set of house keys to leave, the small cut in between your fingers still dripping little droplets of red stuff on the floor. you didn't want to be around him if he was going to act like that.

you didn’t go far that night. instead of going somewhere like a bar, you opted to go over to the neighboring apartment. where it just so happened that your best friend, since moving to jersey, lived. Of course she wasn’t home, but you still had a key and helped yourself to her couch for the rest of the night.

it wasn’t until the next morning that you started getting messages from jack. you hadn’t intended on responding to him but he seemed instant on talking, worried about his little brother and the girl who had become like a sister to him.

jack- where are you

jack- why is there glass on the floor and is that blood

jack- what happened dot

y/n- ask your brother

jack- he said you left

jack- what’s going on

you could have responded more to jack or you could just walked the few feet home and talk to him yourself. the later would most likely include seeing luke. you knew you'd have to talk to him eventually, why not rip the band-aid off now.

jack practically tackled you when you re-entered the apartment and luke was no where to be seen at that time. once he let you go, you told him all about what had happened the night before. he tried to reassure you that his brother was an idiot and that he didn't mean what he said.

"y/n? can we talk?” nodding you guide him over to the couch. "i'm sorry about last night. i shouldn't have said that. it wasn't nice."

"i know luke. but you can't just lose your temper like that every time your get a little bit upset." you cradled his head in your lap. you ran your fingers through the longer curls. "they are going to keep eating you alive if you do. and it'll only get worse."

"i know. it's just." it was hard for him to be this vulnerable, especially with you. but if he wanted to get past this bump in the road he was going to need to at times. "everyone is comparing me to them. and i try and be like them and im not."

"exactly. you're not like your brothers. you're luke. not quinn. not jack. you are luke. you need to play like luke. you need to be luke."

“how do i do that?” he turned his face to look up at yours. he still regretted his words and decisions from the night before. but he needed to find a way to find himself again and stop comparing himself to his family.

“i don’t know exactly lu. but we’ll figure it out together yeah?” you boop the tip of his nose with your finger eliciting a slight smirk and a head nod from him.

[lunar-years]

Roy’s kind of insane for never taking the offer to be stretchered off during his entire career… but you know he’d freak out if it were Jamie who had a serious injury on the pitch and refused. But the fact that the show presented it as this very like admirable and “positively masculine” thing is so funny. Like, hey, he’s soooo brave for needing medical attention but refusing any kind of help from others. Well, I guess that reflects Roy’s character arc.

Ohhh I am SUCH a sucker for any and all fics where Jamie gets hurt on the pitch and Roy flips. The ongoing one that just got updated yesterday where it happens because Roy makes the team train in the rain and then Jamie is in coma and Roy is blaming himself…that’s my current bread and butter I love it soooo much. PERFECT angst.

But back to the actual point of your ask, lol… I think a lot of athletes would feel the same as Roy in terms of viewing going out on a stretcher as some sort of “weakness” and generally thinking the idea that they’ve got to just push past tough injuries for the sake of their careers and sport. Obviously it’s not actually a good thing, but there IS that mentality out there in professional sports, and I think it was very fitting to include that as part of Roy’s characterization. I do not actually agree with you that it’s presented by the SHOW as something admirable/positively masculine, though. Certainly Roy sees it that way, but as you say, it’s all part of Roy’s arc and the mixed up way he views himself and forces himself to present to others.

The show actually makes a point of showing that it’s not actually a productive attitude to have. The scene that best illustrates it is when Jamie is hurt in Mom City and Roy wants him to keep playing because he pushed through injuries all the time, and Beard says “yes well, you can’t walk up stairs.” 😅 But the same idea is presented even in season one, when Roy tries to shove off Keeley’s help/mere presence after his big injury and she refuses, and he’s better off for it. I think a consistent theme on the show is “it’s always better to accept help than to force yourself to go it alone,” but it’s a lesson Roy has to learn over time, and it’s all part of his larger growth!

Also I think it’s super fascinating how, as you say, Roy would definitely flip if Jamie was seriously hurt and making it worse for himself by refusing a stretcher/help, but at the same time, he canonically DOES want Jamie to keep playing injured, because he still holds that athlete’s mentality that’s been drilled into him, and because he knows Jamie is the same caliber of player, he pushes him just as hard as he would himself. It’s basically engrained. But then if it visibly went immediately wrong he’d never forgive himself even as he continues to do the pushing. Navigating that balance between the two parts of Roy’s brain is sooo interesting and is something I think the aforementioned fic does super well. Really scratches that itch!!

[ourladyoftheflytrap]

The fact that a member of the board said "they could not commit to calling khelif 'biologically male'" strongly implies that khelif was identified as intersex, not just as a typical xy male. Klinefelter syndrome produces people with varying sex attributes; caster semenya is an intersex athlete who has female genitalia externally, but discovered she had KS when a health check up she got as an Adult revealed that she has testicles that never descended and do Not produce the testosterone output of descended testes.

I've seen on your blog that you think women who produce too much testosterone should not be allowed to be Olympic athletes because they have an unnatural and unfair advantage over over women, despite the fact that numerous disorders specific to females can cause women to have higher than average testosterone levels.

However, I personally think that the phenotypic characteristics of a person's anatomy says more about their sex than their genetics. If a person is born with a vagina, they are going to be oppressed bc of what the vagina represents in a patriarchal society, regardless of what genetics say. Algeria is not trans friendly. Imane Khelif's parents, by all public accounts, raised her as a woman and tried to prevent her from joining boxing because it was "too masculine" for someone like her. Based on all the public information about her, it seems extremely unlikely that her parents, her primary schools, and her female boxing and football teams all spent extended time with Imane and Never noticed descended cock and balls.

Based on all the public info available, imane khelif is Most Likely an intersex person with female anatomy, who has spent her whole life dealing with misogyny and the other burdens of being female. She is also the latest in a line of black women to have her womanhood acknowledged by other black people but called into question by white people who deem it Impossible that a black woman could out perform her white counterparts without lying and cheating. She may also be the second viral case of a black, intersex Olympic athlete having their private health information involuntary broadcast to the world because no one could accept that a black woman can be the top of her field without trying to discredit her.

I will advise you like I have done to others to read menalez's tag about caster semenya, the last intersex athlete to get virally scrutinized like Imane Khelif has been. Menalez breaks down Semenya's scores, using sources, in comparison with other male and female athletes in her caliber. These posts were honestly a big reason why I began reading into klinefelter syndrome, why I believe that having it doesn't mean that the affected person will always anatomically function like a man, and why I believe that the testosterone boost Semenya receives from being intersex is not comparable to the testosterone boost a female athlete gets from doping or that a male athlete gets from functioning testicals. I believe my views on Semenya translate to my views on Khelif because Khelif does Not have the power that actual XY trans boxers have against cis women. Khelif has lost nine of forty matches in her career, and she has never seriously injured a woman the way certain TIM boxers have. How is she really comparable to a man in any way besides Allegedly sharing a chromosome with them?

[darkarfs]

My 10 Favorite WWE Matches of All Time (updated)

10: The 2001 Royal Rumble No matter how daft and stupid the product gets, I will never not stoke my head in around January. The Royal Rumble is my favorite match, but this one is my favorite favorite instance of that match. The pacing, the beautiful endurance of Kane, the hardcore interval (which Kane just decides to destroy), the Big Show returning after 4 months just to get shit-canned a minute into his run. There is so much to love about this mess. The preview of Rock and Austin that year for their Wrestlemania showdown. The fact that 4 or 5 of them (Rock, Austin, Kane, Undertaker, even Rikishi) could have been main event contenders. The best midcard in WWE history. Scotty 2 Hotty having the worst night of his life. Drew Carey just showing up. Bradshaw just cliffing everyone, because he's gotta get his shit in. Good Rumbles are like a 3 course meal, and this one is like all your courses at once, and then dessert is a treat you could die on. 9. Tyler Bate vs. WALTER - Takeover Cardiff Crowds make a lot of matches for me (thanks, 2020) but this crowd is especially electric, and for 24-year-old Tyler Bate, who is taking on a TANK, and that tank's name is WALTER, a TANK. But I will never not be a sucker for a David vs. Goliath story, and it was never better told than the boy made of thighs vs. the destroyer made of shattering palms. It is SO CARNY, so many feats of strength, so many OOOOOFS AND UUUUUURGHS that make this so great. Tyler was a hero on this night, but everyone knew he wasn't ready to win. Every feat is a magnificent reach. And it all means something to everyone. Make them what they know SHOULD happen and still surprise them with it. His "refusing to quit!" only to get shut down by a fucking chop. HE STANDS but is immediately ruined. It makes me. This shit fucking makes me. 8. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, 30-Minute Iron Woman Match - Takeover Respect Most of this is just a remix of their epic and warranted classic in Brooklyn. but then Sasha takes the headband off of Izzy. And then they both stepped it up and were *amazing*. We somehow lost Bayley's "RAAAAAH'S and that's sad for me. But then they RAMP IT UP. NOBODY LIKES YOU. FUCK YOU. WE'RE HAPPIER NOW. (WE'RE NOT.) But seriously, Sasha taking Izzy's headband and then THROWING IT AT HER started something special, something grand. THE OUTRAGE. The bastion of heel heat. And then the match got better. They hugged at the end of their encounter in Brooklyn, but then they started poisoning one another. And it all started with this amazing match. (Also, Bayley's amazing red and gold robot tights.) 7. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels, Wrestlemania 21 Listen. HBK's 'Mania outings with the Undertaker are solid "match of the decade" contenders, piss-easy. They are peerless, they are in a league of their own. But saying they're your favorite? Unless you are an actual wrestler, that's like saying "UH, MY FAVE BAND IS THE BEATLES." Ya boring, ya basic, and we can all do better. And seeing how I'm in my late 30s, I understand wrestling a little different than I did when I made this list in...2016??? Christ. I bet AJ Styles vs. John Cena was on it that year. Two of the best performers, both in their prime, and looking back on it, I just prefer the mix of character dynamics at play. Angle is easily one of the best in the world, but he has such an inferiority complex, because he's an Olympic gold medalist who is told *nightly* that he sucks, and he CAN'T best Michaels. He keeps coming back, and he's so charming, so effortlessly good at this whole "wrestling" thing, and it's slowly making Angle, who SHOULD be all of those things, absolutely *spare.* And that informs so many spots and story moments in the match itself, specifically when Angle LOSES it and starts shouting at him, only to have a superkick partied under his face. Angle is one of the best ever because his wrestling acumen served his character, never once defined it. 6. Vince McMahon vs. Shane McMahon, Wrestlemania 17 I haven't gone back to watch the whole of Vince vs. Shane THAT many times. What I have done is watch the finish about 65 times. There is something so addictive and magical about that one pop, when Linda stands up from her chair, and the ENTIRE crowd stands with her. And I'll 100% agree that Vince's comeuppance - one slap, one hoof to the balls, a Mandible Claw and a Coast-To-Coast dropkick - is not NEAR the actual comeuppance he should have gotten for some of the deplorable shit his character got up to from around the Rumble to this match (two of which they've done their very best to scrub from history, they're THAT bad.) But it's the purest example I can think of, of that pantomime aspect of wrestling. Vince McMahon is a deranged bastard. He likes dumb, cruel, crude things, but his commitment to being the world's 2nd-worst lizard man makes some of the stuff that happens to him more richly rewarding than almost any retribution in any medium, ever. The final 4 minutes of that match, the crowd is a fireworks display. They rise, they explode, they rise and explode, over and over. And again, shoutout to my boy 2020 for making me miss a crowd THAT big having THAT good a time. 5. Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano - 2 out of 3 falls - TakeOver New York Now look, I'm not saying that NXT is essentially perfect for me, in terms for what I look for in wrestling. What I will say is that when it cooks, it combines the very best of indie stamina, choreography and stunt work with something WWE sometimes gets VERY right, and that is unabashed, unironic emotion. And it's not even that the intimacy of NXT being a smaller promotion has a denser, more specifically passionate fanbase. It's just the fact that NXT understands that so often, nuance and drama in wrestling doesn't come from promos, or swerves, or endless escalations of said drama, but from getting the FUCK out of the way and letting two of the best in the world *wrestle.* NXT is so good for providing context for the acts of jealousy, pride and entitlement, and then laying out a match that touches on all of these emotions throughout. This main event, built in two weeks, after a terribly-timed Ciampa injury, is actually VERRRY clever booking...disguised to look really simple. Cole starts the match as the crowd favorite, because he's the cool tweener everyone likes (with a catchphrase) to Gargano's unironic Disney prince. Over the course of Cole going all out, making subtle references to Johnny's feud with Ciampa, Gargano fighting from underneath, total fuck-off bastardry from the Undisputed Era (making poor Mauro Ranallo yell "YOU SNAKES!!") Maybe Cole WAS the better choice, but by the end of it, you didn't care. On that night, Johnny refused to lose, and the constant, exciting, *involving* wrestling dragged you to that emotional place. Damn right, you deserve it. 4. CM Punk vs. John Cena, Money In the Bank 2011 It might be a simple choice, but also, sometimes, it's really really gratifying to see a crowd who wants something get what they fucking want for once. A hot crowd makes a good match great, and a great match THIS. A crowd united, either for one guy, and against another, and in this case, BOTH. It makes every. Move. Matter. Trying to find a new angle on this match is like trying to find a new way to say fire is warm. And this crowd created a CAUSE. The no-sold pinfall, the attempted rehash of the Screwjob. Point out the botches if you must. The angle, the promo...it got my friends back into wrestling, a reason to care until the Shield. It's not the best, but it deserves to be. There is no wrestling crowd I wish I was more a part of. And I was at King of the Ring 1998. 3. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar, 60-Minute Iron Man match, Smackdown of September 18, 2003 It MAYBE was a bit of a "hipster" choice to name this my number 1 in 2016. But you know what? Bloody holds up. Two performers who feel "destined to do this forever," like a Triple H/Shawn Michaels, or a Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn. Possessed of freakish physical charisma, could go for days if pressed. Brock Lesnar, literally at the time ONE OF THE BEST ATHLETES in the WORLD being a lazy fucker and taking DQ points, laying the foundation of what Brock Lesnar would come to be known as. And Angle, in that rare position of everyone knowing he's the best thing going. Brilliant Lazy Asshole Brock and Certified Wrestling Machine Angle are two of my unironic favorite characters in all of wrestling, and it's a buffet of THAT. Like a Royal Rumble, only it's just two dudes, being the best they've ever been. 2. DIY vs. the Revival - 2 out of 3 falls - TakeOver Toronto "Tag team wrestling?" says main roster WWE. "What is this...tag team wrestling?" Well, this is it, at its absolute best. It's up there with Rey Mysterio and Edge vs. Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle from No Mercy 2002 for just brilliant, rock-solid tag team psychology. There are more story opportunities when there are more rules to break, how can WWE *not get behind that?* In terms of chemistry, both between opponents and between teams, in terms of callbacks like Johnny muscling through the exact same inverted figure four that lost them the belts in Brooklyn. It is a perfect match. Not an ounce of fat on it. And that closing sequence, of each member of DIY locking the Revival in their signature holds, and the men now known as FTR clinging to one another. It's probably the best tag match in the history of the WWE, and considering the caliber of tag matches on TakeOvers, is FUCKING saying something. 1. Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar, Survivor Series 2018 This match is everything I always hoped for. For the longest time, after the 2015 Royal Rumble debacle, when Reigns won, when simply everything we knew about storytelling said "no, of course it should be Bryan," I wondered what that 'Mania match would look like. If it were anything like this, I would have died a happy man. But then again, what makes this match so GOOD is that Bryan had just come back from an early retirement caused by head and neck surgery, and here he is, being dropped on his head and neck by Brock Fucking Lesnar, aka what would happen if the concept of "not giving a shit" gained corporeal form and starting shilling for Jimmy John's. The match gets really ugly, really fast, and Bryan takes us to uncomfortable places with his selling. It wasn't just the retirement angle, it was also the fact that Brock had turned out some REALLY lazy shit by that point in his career, so we had all mentally prepared for another finish-spamming early night. And then. AND THEN... Bryan hoofs him in the walnuts, hits the running knee, gives us the absolute closest 2-count of the decade, and then the fight is fucking on. Bryan went, over the course of 2 minutes, from never having a chance against Brock Lesnar to it being an *absolute certainty* that he was going to BEAT BROCK LESNAR. Anytime you visibly leave your seat every few seconds during a match, you know it's a special one. Again, it took me away, had me absolutely *screaming* at my monitor, elated, invested, and I don't know what more your favorite match can ask of you. But what happens when your favorite match isn't a match at all? No. 0: The Firefly Funhouse - Wrestlemania 36 I'm not kidding, it actually might be my favorite thing. It could be just my brain latching onto the Cult of the New, but I don't think so. It's not a match, I get it. It exists in a weird null-void outside of time and space, but mostly I am floored that they would broadcast something so virulently anti-WWE. Like, we talk of CM Punk and how WWE let him get away with all his little jokes and cut his little Pipebomb promo. But then WWE signed off on Bray Wyatt tearing the soul out of their business. Burying the biggest star of this generation, skewering and laying bare all of terrible WWE's terrible priorities, and also celebrating insider knowledge, wrestling history, and I just...love it. Right now, it's my favorite thing WWE have ever put out, because it did something they've never done before, told a story I didn't think they were capable of telling. And sure, it was Bray who told it, but I still can't believe it aired. But I am endlessly thankful that it did.

[shinjukuspiritcommittee]

Health and Sports Team Building 1

Fan Event 1

Location: ???

Oh, you’re back. Why? Because you wanted to…? Or maybe… because you felt you had to? You really didn’t get much of a say in it I’m guessing. I’m in the same boat I guess. A lot of the things I know just get decided for me and I don’t ever have any control in what I do. It’s why I asked. I’m just curious if you ever felt that way, that’s all…

~~~

Location: Shinjuku Academy

After another long day of classes, it seemed a well deserved respite was in order for you and your friends. You let loose a rather loud yawn which your friends took notice to. “Finally gettin’ tired of classes?” Kengo teased. You explained that wasn’t quite the case, but rather just exhausted altogether from the lack of sleep.

This seems to have alarmed Shiro. “Oh really? I wonder what could have kept you up.” Shiro’s cold gaze pierced through your sleepiness. You panicked a bit while you responded that students from Yoyogi Academy had kept you out a bit later than normal on your way back. “Hmm, well you are quite popular so it’s no surprise.” You tried to deny you were that popular…

“I agree with Shiro.” Moritaka added. “You are quite known after all that’s happened this past year.” The comments made you a bit sheepish and you wondered aloud if they really thought so.

Ryota laughed. “Yep! There’s just something about you that draws in all sorts of folks. You’ve made a lot of friends too and get involved with all these crazy schemes.” Ryota had a point all things considered. Especially since your sports academy friends did give you a personal invitation to go to their school for their Health and Sports day event. This surprised your friends. “Are they allowed to do that?” Ryota asked with a bit of concern.

“Most cases, no.” Shiro replied. “But since we all celebrate Health and Sports day differently…”

“Whaddya mean? Don’t we all just get the day off?” Kengo asked.

“We do, but Yoyogi Academy is still one of the few prominent schools in Tokyo that still celebrate Health and Sports day. Schools all across Japan used to celebrate it but over the years it’s importance has dwindled quite a bit. At the very least Yoyogi Academy tends to draw out a bit of a crowd every year given the number of athletes that participate so it makes for a nice excuse to watch them compete.” You commented that sounded like a fun day and get a bit excited at what sort of events they might compete in. “All sorts of things like a relay race and tug of war.”

“I once heard they did a Cavalry Battle. Is it true!?” Ryota asked with an equal amount of excitement.

“It’s one of the more uncommon ones but I believe there was…” Shiro pondered. Those didn’t quite sound like normal games. Now you were more excited to see such events play out. You even suggested all your friends should go. “Well, I’m not against going to watch.”

“Lame.” Kengo replied. “If you’re gonna go to a sports school the least you could do is not act like a total bookworm!”

“And maybe you might learn a thing or two about better health habits.” Shiro quipped right back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, really. Just all those sweets are gonna catch up to you one of these days.”

“...You little-”

Ryota couldn’t help but laugh at the two’s bickering as it was commonplace for the two to act like that while Moritaka sighed. Ryota continued on through his laughter “While I’m not the biggest sports fan, I’d love to go watch and cheer too.”

“Hmm, perhaps I could hone my skills with their sports clubs.” Moritaka added. “Do you think they have Kendo students?” That actually reminded you that they do. In fact, you met one yesterday…

One day earlier

Location: Shinjuku Park

“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” A girl with her brunette hair tied up in a pony tail asked you as you were on your way back while on your guild patrol. You took a mental note of her uniform and how her hair was quite unkempt. However familiar she was not a girl you’ve interacted with before. “You sure?” You suggested she might just be mistaking you for someone else. “Hmm… not really. I couldn’t forget a face as cute as yours~.” Well- Wait, hold up. Cute? “Yep.” She chuckled as she took a comical step forward, getting close but not quite touching you. Just who was she?

“That’s enough Yui.” Durga said as a small group of three Yoyogi students jogged up to you; Kyuma, Gunzo, and Durga. “Tatsuya was right, you’re gonna scare people just running up like that.”

The girl who was apparently named Yui backed away from you laughing to herself. “C’mon, can’t I have a bit of fun? They’re totally someone who definitely looks like they need a date~.” You interjected what that was supposed to mean. “That you’re cute. You think so too, right Durga?”

“W-What does that have to do with me!?” Dura stammered out while blushing from embarrassment. “Besides, this one’s a pal of ours!”

“What a funny coincidence!” Gunzo laughed. “Guess we took our jog a bit too far up. So what brings you the way out here?” You didn’t want to burden them with your responsibilities too much so you simply said you were out for a stroll since it was Shinjuku Park. While everyone else was convinced, Yui took notice something of you. You noticed but neither of you said anything.

“Well, whatever the case it’s good to see you again!” Kyuma said. “David’s pretty happy to see you again too.” You were glad David and Kyuma were doing well. “We’d love to stay and chat but we should probably head back soon. We’ve gotta make sure everything is ready for tomorrow.” What was happening tomorrow?

“You haven’t heard? Sports Day is coming up.” Gunzo answered. “Its basically a day when we all take the time to learn more about healthy living. Well all of us in the Academy at least.”

“Yeah, it’s mandatory for us…” Durga sighed. You pointed out she didn’t sound very excited. “Yeah, well… the work’s kinda boring and we had to waste a bunch of good days for training to set up for some boring lectures! It’s definitely dreadful!”

Yui then cut in. “That’s no way to talk! We get to do as much outside as we do inside, remember? Can’t have fun without a little torture!”

“Oh, right! I almost forgot about those since I didn’t do any of that work…” She admitted bashfully.

“It’s too bad you can’t play with us.” Gunzo said to you. “It’d be great to be on the same team again!” You actually brought up your school was giving you the day off and you didn’t have much planned so a day outside sounded like a bunch of fun. “Wait, seriously!? Some people get all the luck…” He grumbled while Legion murmured to him you were still there. “Uh, I mean-! That’s great! Totally!”

Kyuma then got on board with the idea. “That sounds like a lot of fun! I hope we get to play against each other!” You told Kyuma you looked forward to it. “Alright! I’m getting pumped just thinking about it!”

“Whoa, hold up a sec!” Yui jumped in. “You can’t just invite anyone to play in these events with us… can you?”

“Well, I’m sure Mr. Arima or Mr. Avarga could get you approved.”  Kyuma suggested.

“Hmm, actually… Tatsuya’s been at the infirmary a lot lately… maybe he can help.” Yui brought up.

“Ever the reliable Den Mother.” Gunzo said. “I’m sure he’s able to convince Mr. Arima. The two are also doing that seminar together, right?”

“Yeah, I think…” You were confused by who they meant. “Oh, right. Tatsuya is a classmate of ours and a member of the Kendo club like me.” Yui explained. “I’ve known him for quite a while… hmm, maybe you two should meet sometime.” He sounds pretty nice. “Yeah…” She said that with a bit of concern in her voice.

“He really is! He’s always helping us around campus and all sorts of smaller things.” Gunzo said.

“Though his lectures…” Durga sighed. “He’s almost as bad as the coaches about studies…”

“Well, maybe if you did study a bit more and got your grades up he wouldn’t be so hard on you.” Kyuma chided.

“Let’s not talk about that! We gotta get back before curfew anyway! See ya!” Durga then bolted off without her other three friends.

“Hey wait a sec- You can’t just ditch us like that!” Gunzo cried out as he and Kyuma charged after her.

Yui looked back at you a bit nervously. “Y-You know… you really should come. I know it’ll our friend happy!” You said you would but what made her so sure Tatsuya would be happy. “He just… would, okay? I can just tell by looking at you! Anyway gotta go bye!” She then charged off after her friends too leaving you by yourself to ponder what to do.

Present Day

Location: Shinjuku Academy

Everyone remained silent as you recounted your story the whole way through. They all took a minute to process what was said until Kengo finally spoke up. “Some just have all the luck.” You asked what that meant since it didn’t seem out of the ordinary for you. “You always get invited to all the fun stuff!” I-It’s not always… was it? You were just the one who had the free time to do so. Besides there wasn’t any harm in extending your invitation out to your friends.

“Yeah, that sounds good at least!” Ryota said. “It’s too bad Toji is gonna be busy tomorrow. I’m sure he would have enjoyed that lecture they were talking about.”

“I know I’m curious.” Your advisor stated. “It’ll be nice to get a change of pace for a change too.”

“Now you’re talkin’!” Kengo whooped.

“I’ll be accompanying you as well then. I would love to test my skill against athletes of that caliber.” You were confident Moritaka could stand his ground and even beat them. “I’m not trying to be THAT impressive. But… it does sound nice.” The canine therian went on sheepishly.

Meanwhile…

Location: Yoyogi Academy Dorms

Tatsuya had wrapped up his work for the day and was ready to turn in early to get a head start on tomorrow’s preparations since he had to do that lecture on mental health with Mineaki and an upperclassmen pretty early in the morning. As he was nearing his room someone called out for him. “Tatsuyaaaa~!” You called out as she jogged over. When she reached him she panted and took a sip of her sports drink. “Man, you shoulda came on that run with us~.”

“Well I was busy.” Tatsuya pointed out while motioning to his bag.

“Oh, right uh…” Yui hesitated at her misspeaking. “Anyway, about Sports Day tomorrow I realized we hadn’t talked much about our plans after that lecture.”

“We haven’t talked much, but I’ve been making plans.”

“What kinda plans?” Yui asked. Tatsuya wordlessly pulled out a paper from his bag and before presenting it to Yui he made her promise to not tell anyone about it. Once she agreed he showed the contents to her and it was all of his approved sports for Sports Day. Yui was taken aback by how many rejections there were. “There’s no way this is real? Can Mr. Arima really pull you from this many activities!?” Tatsuya nodded. However before he could explain Yui continued speaking. “There has to be a mistake. I’m sure I can persuade Mr. Arima to give you a chance. It’s probably your grades or something right? Don’t worry we’ll get this fixed.”

“Wait a sec-” Tatsuya tried to stop her but she took off again for the main building with his paper still in her hands. He took a picture of it so he remembers what sports he was approved for but his main concern was that paper getting lost and getting loose. Tatsuya sighed to himself. “You can’t just fix things because you want to…”

Location: Yoyogi Academy

Yui raced down the halls hoping Mr. Arima hadn’t turned in for the day so she could talk about Tatsuya’s case. While she made it to the office only a student was standing there. “What’s wrong?” He asked as she came up.

“Uh… I was looking for Mr. Arima…” Yui breathed. “Is he not in?”

“You just missed him. He made his way back to the dorms.”

“Dang it, I musta just missed him…” She sighed. “Thanks anyway, er…”

The canine therian replied with “Yasuyori, third year.”

“Ah okay… Uh, you can just call me Yui! I’m a second year. Anyway, thanks again!”

“No problem.” He told her as she ran off to go find him. “Yui, huh? She seemed nice. It’s too bad she missed him…” For some reason he was rather melancholic as he spoke to himself about her.

[breakingasia-blog]

Top Streetwear Brands in Asia You Should Cop in 2020

Hypebeast. Streetwear. Fashion revolution. Skater counterculture. Style shift - Call it what you want, but it’s here to stay. Less than a decade ago, sneakers and hoodies were the go-to fashion statement of kids who are cool enough to not care about what other people think. Now, the mindset which prioritizes convenience over anything is on the loose. Thankfully, comfort and style now go hand in hand. Uniqlo isn’t the only Asian fashion giant taking over the scene. There is a handful of Asian brands that cater to the street scene that is worth checking out. Whether you are looking for hoodies, chunky shoes, or statement tees, we’ve got you covered. A Bathing Ape Considered as a fashion heavyweight, A Bathing Ape is a Japanese brand that offers pieces that centers on streetwear. This brand has made it into the mainstream so you’ll most likely see someone wearing it on the street wherever you go. Whether it’s a child starting out in skateboarding, or a style-conscious CEO, A Bathing Ape can perfectly suit their closet. This brand’s history can be traced back to the iconic ura-Harakuju era, or underground Harajuku, in the 90s. During this time, successful streetwear designers and brands such as Shin Takazama from Neighborhood, Sk8thing, Hiroshi Fujiwara, and Tetsu Nishiyama from WTaps were part of the same circle. In fact, Nigo, the visionary behind the brand, used to work for Sk8thing before opening BAPE. Because of his fascination and interest with 20th-century pop culture, you can see tons of references in their designs. BAPE is also known for its American collaborations with Stüssy Tribe. Li Ning Former Olympic gymnast Li Ning proves that there’s no better person to start a sportswear brand than an athlete. Li Ning has become a fashion powerhouse locally and internationally since it was born after Li competed for the Olympics in 1988. Li Ning is such an important sports icon in the country that he competed in the Olympic torch relay in the 2008 Olympics held in China. Of course, he wore his own tracksuit. His brand fared dramatically well in China since it lacked competition from American and European brands, which took longer to enter the Chinese market. The brand also collaborated with NBA superstar Dwayne Wade, and continues to support Chinese athletes.  One thing that sets the brand apart is its deeply rooted Chinese heritage which allowed them to break through the global barrier. With their fearless designs, Li Ning is set to trail blaze the fashion world for the next years. White Mountaineering Another favorite streetwear Japanese brand, White Mountaineering offers outdoor-inspired clothes. Despite only starting in 2006, the company has already made a name for itself in the international scene. Inspired by their commitment to giving their customers nothing but the best, the brand uses technical fabrics in their designs which include polar fleece, corduroy, and GORE-TEX. Whether or not you plan on using it outdoors, it will surely serve its purpose. The brand also continues to boast performance-focused collections.  Recently, the brand collaborated with Adidas to release a two-color-blocked Nite Joggers. The design first debuted in the White Mountaineering Paris Fashion Week FW19 show. The standout product is a must-have thanks to its rugged aesthetic that is set to complete your look.  White Mountaineering is the brand of choice of fashion-forward people who want to maintain their outdoor-inspired style. White Mountaineering’s philosophy also inspires its customers to demand fashion sustainability and connect with nature’s beauty. Clot Dedicated to bridging the East and the West, Clot is a Hong Kong-based brand that offers so much more than their amazing chunky shoes. The brand was founded by Kevin Poon and Edison Chen, and prides itself on thoughtfully designed apparel.  Clot has also made news in international fashion as it collaborated with fashion giants such as Stüssy, Converse, Adidas, Coach, and Nike. The brand even had links with Coca-Cola and Disney. Did we mention they also helped bring iconic music star Kanye West to Hong Kong for his Touch the Sky tour?  The brand is famous for its modern sportswear and street styles blended with traditional Chinese fabrics. Without question, you can expect to see more of the brand in the next years as it continues to evolve into a global brand. Inside Juice's New K11 Musea Store Hong Kong ©CLOT Team Manila A Philippines brand that started in 2001, Team Manila has cemented its status in the Philippine fashion scene thanks to its bold designs that feature nationalistic themes. Bursting with Pinoy Pride, Team Manila even uses images of the country’s national hero, Jose Rizal, with sunglasses on. The brand draws inspiration from the urban city scene and culture, and the day to day life in Manila. In fact, you can also see images of the Jeepney and popular Tagalog phrases immortalized in their shirts. Team Manila also stands out among its competitors because it’s not afraid to release political designs. Their recent West Philippine Sea shirt collection shows undying support for the country’s claim on the area. The founders of Team Manila also founded Daily Grind shortly after the mother brand became successful. Daily Grind offers fanny packs, caps, guitar picks, patches, and other accessories inspired by streetwear. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Team Manila (@teammanila) on Dec 27, 2019 at 3:00am PST Wacko Maria Its name is as attention-grabbing as its designs. The brand was founded by former J-league soccer players Atsuhiko Mori and Keiji Ishizuka in 2005. “Some time after I finished with soccer, I was drinking with my partner at the time. We weren’t thinking of doing anything big in particular, but we at least wanted to do something cultural, and that’s what we started with,” shared Mori with Hypebeast. This Japanese brand features designs that are heavily influenced by art, films, photography, music, and American culture. The owners also credited Italian architecture, and film directors such as Jean Luc Godard, and Bernardo Bertolucci, among others, as their inspiration. The clothing line is instantly recognizable thanks to its boldly embroidered designs with the text “Paradise Tokyo” or “Guilty Parties” – an ode to the Nakameguro and their offshoot brand. Wacko Maria reached cult status after its collaborations such as WTAPS, N. Hoolywood, and other brands. View this post on Instagram A post shared by WACKO MARIA FLAGSHIP SHOP (@paradisetokyo_wackomaria) on Oct 15, 2019 at 2:00am PDT View this post on Instagram A post shared by WACKO MARIA FLAGSHIP SHOP (@paradisetokyo_wackomaria) on Nov 27, 2019 at 3:48am PST Kirin This brand may be familiar to you if you love music since it’s the brainchild of rising Korean DJ Peggy Gou. The high-caliber streetwear brand takes inspiration from the style of the DJ herself, which explains the bold color blocking, Korean mythological motifs, and giraffe images (she loves them!). In fact, Kirin is the Korean translation of giraffe, which Peggy Gou refers to as her spirit animal. Even before she delved into the music scene, Gou has actually had a fashion background. She simply wanted the brand to reflect her music style which is full of energy. Kirin is a brand fit for everyone. With its playful designs and unexpected ultra-bright colors, everyone who is tired of the usual monochromatic streetwear looks will absolutely love it. One of the bestselling designs of the brand is a twisted gun print by Jae Huh, which sends a message of non-violence. Other popular designs form the labels are the baseball jersey-kimono fusions and the sliced track jackets. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kirin (@kirin_) on Sep 15, 2019 at 4:21am PDT Ready to Shop? Now that you know some of the most in-demand Asian streetwear brands, you’re finally ready to swipe your credit card. When sporting this theme, make sure to take it up a notch by staying true to your own unique style. While the Asian brands mentioned above may not be as recognizable as Supreme, Stüsssy, and other Western brands, there is no denying that Asia will soon be an epicenter of the streetwear culture. Read the full article

[anbu-legacy]

Team Six Model AU Headcanons

Because let’s face it, Konoha is 100% wasting Team Six’s spectacularly good looks by having them wear masks all day:

Genma

Probably the most versatile of all of Team Six. Can definitely do wholesome, understated clothing, like Land’s End, Brooks Brothers, and J Crew, or scale him up into a nice, classic Burberry. Doesn’t he look like an upstanding, responsible young man? One you’d feel proud to bring home to your folks, and then feel slightly resentful afterwards because they’ll all end up liking him more than you? He seems like he’d do his taxes on time and call your mom on her birthday. In fact, just looking at him makes you want to do adulting things too, like steam clean your carpets.

Alternatively, travel advertisements: have him laugh in the golden sunlight, alongside his beautiful golden-haired spouse and their beautiful golden-haired children, on the golden sands of an expensive resort. Or he could stand alone, against a backdrop of stunning scenery and impressive monuments, with just enough empty space beside him to make you wish you were there with him.

Genma’s also got a secretive, sultry side though, which would make him a prime candidate for a perfume model. Plus, that mouth and those eyes deserve all the close-ups in the world, especially if the ad is tinted gold instead of black and white. He wouldn’t do the hypermasculine ads; he’d do the sensual and unsubtly bisexual ads, where he’s smouldering into the camera, sandwiched between a beautiful man and an equally beautiful woman. This ad has no target audience. It just has an audience, and the audience is everyone.

Raidou:

In a perfect world, Raidou would do the Chris Evans truck stop hooker ad, specifically because it’s deliciously subversive, with its clear female-gaze and slightly vulnerable sensuality. Stereotypically hypermasculine power fantasies are so passé.

Which isn’t to say that Raidou wouldn’t do the Rugged Man ads, but he’d want a sensitive, gentle twist. He’d model flannel shirts and hiking boots, but also wear an apron as he makes you a delicious dinner. He’d climb a mountain and reach the top with a two-day beard and glistening muscles everywhere, and then take out art supplies to paint a beautiful landscape. He’s probably bearded in a lot of his ads, wearing cozy sweaters. Possibly holding cats, because Raidou is the kind of Farmer’s Market Hot that makes everyone swoon.

A body like Raidou’s should also do athletic wear. What sport? All the sports. Do you want Raidou dripping wet as he comes out of a pool, wearing skintight jammers? There’s an ad for that. What about Raidou in tiny rugby shorts? You bet there’s an ad for that. You think no one could possibly make wearing a parka sexy? Just wait until you see Namiashi Raidou in his winter cabin photoshoot, sitting in front of a fire, offering you a mug of hot chocolate that he probably made himself out of cocoa beans he harvested with his bare hands.

Raidou kind of meandered into modeling. He really didn’t like what the fashion industry did to people, especially women. So he made a promise with himself to never date within the industry, because that way lay drama and Raidou was so not for it. Naturally, he met Genma the next day, and his second thought (we all know what his first thought was), is "..... FUCK." Fortunately for them both, Raidou’s self-imposed boundaries didn’t last long.

Now, Genma and Raidou do joint photoshoots for The North Face or Land’s End, where they are hot, domestic husbands of such high caliber that even Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka would consider them #goals.

Ryouma:

He would do the hypermasculine perfume ads, but instead of the kind that advertise a Hot Night, he’d advertise the Morning After — smirking at the camera with an expression that could not be described as anything other than well-fucked, his hair tousled and his lips bitten. His neck’s bitten too. There might be faint rope burn around his wrists. He’s probably shirtless because his shirt is hanging off of someone’s shower rod. The message of the ad is clear: you too, could look like you've been ravished by every hot person within a 5-mile radius if you wear this perfume.

But we all know that Ryouma’s true calling is underwear. He’d be the rare underwear model who’s encouraged to show his face, because his face is a national treasure. In every ad, he’d pose with one thumb tugging down his waistband, because he doesn’t just pose for underwear, he poses for underwear that you want to take off, preferably off him, preferably with your teeth. Is it the underwear or is his ass actually that perfect? You don’t know, but you can’t stop staring at it. He has helpfully bent over to give you a better view!

He could do regular menswear stuff too, but there's probably a clause in his contract that stipulates a state of undress. So he can model a shirt, but he has to be in the process of taking off said shirt. Look, he worked for his perfect abs and he wants people to see them, okay?

Kakashi: (Now with fanart, courtesy of @kuebiko-draws) 

High-end watches. The kind that looks like something James Bond would wear, all slim and clean, but with a billion functions concealed under the deceptively simple watch face. This watch could probably drive your car for you if you pushed the right button. But why would you even look at the watch when you could look at the devastating elegance of Kakashi's hands? His fingers are the definition of hand porn. His bare wrists are so obscene that most of the time, he wears black leather gloves that reveal only a pale sliver of skin between the end of the glove and the band of the watch. But somehow, that just makes him look even sexier. How is he so erotic when he's 99% covered up? Ask the Victorians, IDK.

Formal menswear, but not for the kind of gentleman who just stands around, looking pretty. Lesser models can do the boring, leaning-against-a-wall poses. Kakashi’s ads have him fencing in a waistcoat, or crouched on a moonlit roof with his jacket billowing over his shoulders like a cape. Who would be the target audience for formal menswear that has such a great range of motion? You probably don’t want to know the answer to that.

Even in model!AU, you never see his full face. He’s only shot in black and white, for the drama, with stark shadows across the elegant planes of whatever part of his face is actually visible. Every suit he wears is slim-cut and dangerous. Every expression he makes is focused and dangerous. He looks like he could assassinate you and you’d thank him for it. No one knows if he’s actually as hot as the camera makes him look, but the general consensus is that he’s even hotter.

Kakashi and Ryouma have an ongoing rivalry thing, because Kakashi is kind of snobby about underwear models who do nothing other than stand there with their clothes off, and Ryouma is annoyed with Kakashi because anyone stupid enough to go into modelling when he can barely stand to show people his face has no right to judge anyone else. Somehow this leads to rough, passionate sex in a hotel room. No one actually knows how it happened. Least of all, Kakashi and Ryouma.

The two of them eventually do a formal menswear ad together. Kakashi had done one before, with Genma, where they both looked gorgeous (Genma with his hair up was a revelation for many people, including Raidou). Kakashi and Ryouma’s ad also looks gorgeous, but also very BDSM-y. Possibly this wasn’t the intention, but it was for Italian Vogue, and, well, Europeans. Besides, no one’s complaining.

Bonus: Kurenai

Kurenai would do lipstick ads. Why does she look like she just murdered someone in every single ad? Don't ask questions, for the love of god, just buy her fucking product and run for your life.

[lady-divine-writes]

Kurtbastian one-shot - “An Egg-cellent Disaster” (Rated PG13)

Sebastian suffers a bout of PTSD when Isabelle invites Kurt and their family to an upscale egg hunt. (3308 words)

Notes: This isn't a re-write, but I wrote one similar for K*laine.

Part 38 of Daddies.

Read on AO3.

“Ugh. Can you get PTSD from an Easter egg hunt? I’m asking for a friend,” Sebastian says, glancing over his shoulder as he leads his husband, his son, and his son’s service dog towards the swankiest gathering of New York’s elite that he’s seen in a long time. This isn’t normally how they spend Easter, and if it were up to him, they would have done what they always do – color eggs and hide them around their house, bake Kurt’s mom’s special braided Easter bread, sit on the sofa and watch their little boy eat too many jelly beans until he vibrates into another dimension. They’d run him around the yard until he passed out from exhaustion, then lock themselves in their bedroom and have some adult fun with the ears and tail of an old bunny costume Kurt’s parents sent them one year. But ever since Kurt got his promotion at Vogue, they’ve been attending more events like this over the holidays – outlandish affairs that required them to dress in more-expensive-than-usual attire and rub elbows with the upper crust.

It’s how Sebastian spent a good portion of his own childhood, so it should be old hat to him by now. But the older he gets, the more he values his quiet life. And things like this, which Kurt handles with the grace and energy of a professional socialite, have begun to wear on him.

He can’t blame Kurt for this one. He didn’t choose this. He didn’t even know egg hunts of this caliber existed.

It was his boss Isabelle’s idea.

Sebastian loves Isabelle. Kurt owes her a ton for giving him his big break right after he graduated high school, when he’d moved to New York with no other plan than to survive, which means Sebastian owes her, too.

After this, though, Sebastian might consider declaring them even.

“Having flashbacks?” Kurt teases, taking his hand as they pick their way through the grass over to a roped off area. From what he can see, it’s roughly about the size of two football fields end to end, which Kurt finds astounding since half of the children here look barely old enough to walk yet.

How are they going to cover the length of one football field, not to mention two? They’ll be huddled in one corner, whining over a dozen plastic eggs, leaving an entire section of grass completely unexplored.

“You can say that,” Sebastian says, stopping when Thomas chooses a spot and plops down in the grass. “My parents took me and my brother to one of these stupid hunts every single year. You’d think it would be fun. I mean, it was at the country club, there were other kids, eventual chocolate. But it was never fun.”

“Why not?”

“Because it wasn’t just getting together with our friends and looking for eggs. It was a competition. Our parents were pitting their kids against each other to see whose family was better. But by the end, the other kids didn’t matter. For my parents, it became me against my brother.” Sebastian stops the story there, stops short of telling Kurt exactly how far his parents’ disappointment in him went. He’ll tell Kurt one of these days. But now is not the time. Not in front of Thomas. “It was kind of traumatizing.”

Kurt puts a hand on his husband’s shoulder. “Oh, Sebastian. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me? We could have found a way to bow out.”

“Because you always get so excited when Isabelle invites you to these things. I didn’t want you to miss it. It’s important to you.”

“Yeah, but you’re more important. One of the most important.”

“You can make it up to me later,” Sebastian suggests, leaning in close so Thomas won’t hear. “You know … nakedly?”

Kurt rolls his eyes, but he didn’t expect anything less. “Look, Isabelle hasn’t seen us yet. Maybe we can …”

“Kurt! Sebastian! Oh, thank goodness you could make it! I was scared you’d get caught in the holiday traffic!”

Kurt sighs. He had always referred to Isabelle as his ‘fairy godmother’ in part because of the dreams she’d been able to help him realize, but also because of her impeccable timing.

It was close to occult.

Kurt mouths sorry to his husband for getting his hopes up while his boss is too far away to notice.

“Isabelle! We wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Kurt feels his husband grimace as he greets his boss with a hug and a kiss on each cheek. “We actually came up yesterday and rented a room not too far from here to make sure we’d get here on time.”

“Fabulous!” she says, kissing Kurt and then moving on to Sebastian. “Make sure you send me the bill!”

“You know I will.” Kurt watches Isabelle move on to Thomas and Hepburn. Thomas may not like being kissed, but he loves Isabelle as much as his parents do, so he sits still and lets her fuss over him, coo about how cute and grown up he looks, so much like his fathers in his smart grey slacks and navy blue button down. “So, what are the rules here?” Kurt asks, searching the grounds for a sign, a poster, a handout, something. “Is there a time limit? Are the kids separated by athletic ability? Or age?”

Kurt isn’t a huge fan of things like Easter egg hunts or baby races. He doesn’t have the patience to handle large congregations of kids and parents. Being a member of the PTA at his son’s school is the farthest he’ll stretch. And even though he wanted to come today, he was hoping to constrict their revelry to family members only, so if they can find their own section of the park to conduct their Easter biz without having to socialize, even with the elite, that would suit him fine.

“You’re making this too complicated!” Isabelle laughs under the assumption that Kurt is joking. “It’s just an Easter egg hunt, Kurt!”

“We usually confine our egg hunting to our house, maybe the front porch,” Sebastian says.

“Yeah. Besides, tromping through the grass in search of hard boiled eggs isn’t the way my father and I spent Easter.”

“How did you spend Easter?” Isabelle asks, realizing that after knowing Kurt for over a decade, she has no clue.

“The way many a well-rounded, musical theater inclined child did. I watched Brigadoon on AMC.”

Sebastian side-eyes his husband with a scowl that makes Isabelle snicker. “How in the hell did you and I ever get together?”

“You decided to stop being a royal idiot about pretty much everything in your life and do something smart for once.”

Isabelle guffaws so loudly at that, Hepburn’s ears prick up.

“Wow …” Sebastian says, mouth agape. “I … don’t know how to respond to that.”

“A simple you’re absolutely right, love of my life, I will never doubt your incredible wisdom in all things again will suffice.”

“Not the direction I was going to go, but okay. As long as it gets me some ass after this is over with.”

Kurt elbows his husband.

Isabelle snorts. “Come on, guys! Let’s enjoy ourselves! It’s a beautiful day! The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and I think the Easter bunny just arrived!”

“The Easter bunny!?” Thomas pipes up from his seat in the grass. “Where?”

Sebastian, Kurt, and Thomas take a gander at the festivities around them heralding the soon-to-be start of the egg hunt. Indeed, the Easter bunny had arrived. But this was not your average, human-sized, department store cottontail dressed in a pastel vest and straw top hat, carrying a basket of colorful, candy-filled plastic eggs. This Easter bunny is easily seven feet tall, dressed in what could only be described as a vintage suit of aubergine brocade with matching purple top hat; a tall, white plume tucked inside the olive green hat band; a gold monocle over his left eye; carrying a hand-carved mahogany walking stick in one hand, and a Moses basket in the other, filled to bursting with eggs, jelly beans, foil-wrapped chocolates, and trinkets and tidbits that catch the light and twinkle like gemstones. He’s surrounded by an entourage of handlers, each wearing an outfit to complement the bunny’s own and carrying baskets of the same treats to hand out to the kids. The bunny and his team walk the perimeter of the field, and a parade forms behind him – adorable little boys and girls bedecked in their Sunday best, dresses and suits that Kurt saw advertised in Vogue for close to four figures. But some of them are dressed in honest to God athletic wear.

Those boys and girls look downright intimidating.

“I don’t know.” Kurt eyes five children dressed in matching track suits and running shoes. “Some of the people here look awfully competitive.”

“That’s an understatement,” Sebastian adds. Back in his day, the kids and parents were competitive as fuck. But this – this is on a whole other level.

“Of course they are! The prizes here are outstanding! Last year, they hid a $10,000 Tiffany engagement ring in one of the eggs!”

Kurt’s eyebrows shoot up so far, they disappear somewhere in the vicinity of his hairline. “Really?”

“Sounds about right,” Sebastian mutters, shivering with the memory of having his hand stepped on by no less than three pairs of dress shoes in an effort to reach a particularly difficult to get at egg. All the kids knew that the farther the lie, the better the prize. That was something the organizers of the egg hunt used to sing as they released the children, like hounds, to sniff out the treats.

He suddenly feels queasy, stomach acids sloshing left to right as he shoves that little ditty aside. But even with it pushed out of the way, he can’t help feeling sick.

Why were they there again?

“They go all out - luxury vacations, spa packages, theater tickets … but don’t worry,” Isabelle says when she notices how pale Sebastian has become. “The emphasis here is on fun.”

“Do they know that?” Kurt asks, motioning with his chin towards a nearby family dressed entirely in Under Armour from The Rock’s latest collection – mother, father, and their five-year-old daughter staring down Thomas like a lion stares down an easy meal.

Under Armour – proud sponsor of Easter and good-natured family fun, Kurt thinks spitefully. He wonders if Isabelle has the same thought as she quickly pulls out her iPhone and starts snapping some pics.

Their attentions are directed upward by the sound of a helicopter arriving, circling the area above their heads.

“Okay, why is that here?” Kurt asks. It’d be easy to assume it’s paparazzi, but there isn’t supposed to be any here. That’s part of the appeal. There are guards posted everywhere to ensure the privacy of the families participating. But they can’t be everywhere at once. It’s possible one or two might get through.

“It’s here to drop more eggs from above! Those are the ones people really go for. Some of them are made out of solid gold!” Isabelle explains, nearly drooling after the words solid gold.

“What the---? That’s insane! Even my parents’ country club never went that far!” Sebastian envisions something the size of a chicken egg made of gold plummeting from the sky and smacking him on the head. That would definitely leave a dent in his skull, at the very least.

Could he survive that impact?

“Ouch!” Kurt kneels beside his son and covers his head protectively while keeping an eye on the sky. “Isn’t this a little excessive? I mean, we have the money to go to whatever spa we want. That’s one of the perks of being rich.”

“That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen!” Sebastian says, pointing towards the sky. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember signing a waiver!” He joins his husband, son, and Hepburn, hovering over them in an effort to protect them all when he swears he hears the copter swoop down. “What kid needs a Tiffany engagement ring anyway? This sounds like it’s going to turn into a blood bath!” He meets Kurt’s gaze, his husband’s eyes wide, unsure what to do about this, about this mess he’s gotten them into. “Maybe we should go somewhere else.”

“No!” Isabelle pleads. “Just … give it a few minutes! Please? An hour at the most? I promise we’ll have fun! I’ve been looking forward to getting you out here for this Easter egg hunt ever since I found out you’d adopted Thomas!”

Kurt shakes his head slowly. He is here for work, but that shouldn’t include putting his life, and the lives of his family, in danger! Isabelle is his friend. She won’t make him stay if they’re uncomfortable, especially considering Thomas’s history of anxiety. But there’s a look in her eyes he hasn’t seen before. Not crazy, per se, but slightly unhinged? But not in a bad way? “I don’t know …”

“We’re at a big, private park. There’s a playground and a lake not too far from here. If you don’t like the Easter egg hunt, we can go over there and Thomas can play. But can we give this a try first? Please?”

Kurt looks from a worried Sebastian, awkwardly shielding their heads, to Hepburn, instinctively on alert, back to Isabelle, and sighs. Isabelle means well. She’s from a wealthy family in Columbus, so she probably went to egg hunts like this one, same as Sebastian. Perhaps her experiences were better. With no kids of her own, she probably tries to strong arm all the employees with kids to come to this thing so she can relive her childhood.

Looking at the expression on her face, she seems nothing if not sincere.

In the end, for Kurt, it’s all about Thomas. And his son - playing in the grass, singing a song about the Easter bunny that he learned in school, without a care in the world - seems to be enjoying himself so far.

They’re already here. They drove for hours to get here. And it is a stunning location. They can stick it out for a while, collect a few eggs, dodge the helicopter, grab some punch and cookies over at the refreshment table, and then retire to the playground. They brought Hepburn’s toys with them. They can tire Thomas and his dog out in one fell swoop. It’ll be fine. It might even be fun.

If anything, the pictures will be precious.

“Alright,” Kurt says, feeling the weight of his husband deflating a bit in defeat. He knows that Sebastian was hoping this was their out, and on any given day, falling solid gold projectiles would be. But Kurt is in the unfortunate position of having to juggle the feelings of multiple people that he loves. “We’ll give it an hour.”

“Yay!” Isabelle says. “That’s all I ask.”

“But after that …”

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen! Lads and lasses! Step right up to the starting line! The 53rd Annual Hampton Bay Easter Egg Hunt is about to begin!”

“Starting line?” Sebastian repeats, looking left and right. “What starting line?”

Kurt looks around, too, in confusion. Starting line? He doesn’t remember seeing anything marked starting line. There was only the rope boundary and …

Uh oh …

While they’d been discussing staying or going, they hadn’t noticed that the parade of kids and parents following the Easter bunny had circled round and stopped about a hundred feet away … right where the rope Kurt, Sebastian, Thomas, and Hepburn passed to get in had been set up. There they stood – a mob of adults and children lined up in starting positions, brows furrowed in deep concentration, ready to charge, like a re-enactment of The Hunger Games if the eccentrically dressed inhabitants of the Capitol City were the ones on the attack.

Sebastian, Kurt, Thomas, and Isabelle didn’t know.

Nobody told them.

Nobody warned them.

Nobody seemed to care that they were sitting in the grass, dead center, in the way.

“On your marks …”

“Daddy …” Thomas grabs his father’s hand in both of his and squeezes tight.

“… get set …”

“No, no, no, no …” Sebastian springs to his feet, gearing up to drag the lot of them off the field before the announcer can get to Go!

But he never does.

And not because he’s waiting for them to vacate the field. (Who knows if the man even sees them?) But because the start of the hunt is proclaimed by a gun shot.

The sharp pop hits the air.

After that, the roar of hundreds of feet hitting the ground, along with the frantic screaming of children, is deafening. At the same time, the helicopter above releases its bounty. Plastic eggs rain down around them, exploding on contact, spreading chocolate shrapnel within a foot of where they land. One hits Sebastian on the top of his head.

“Ow! God!” he wails, rubbing an already forming bump with his fingers. He doesn’t know what the heck was inside that thing, but his head begins to throb.

No way is he going to stay there if something made of solid gold is headed his way.

“Run!” Sebastian says, pulling his husband to his feet and getting pelted by another plastic egg in the process. He sees this one where it lands, spraying jelly beans left and right, and he starts laughing.

“Sebastian!” Kurt cries. Hepburn barks once in warning and yanks Thomas the shortest distance across the field. Kurt covers the boy’s head with his jacket and bolts, leaving Sebastian behind in a mad dash for their car. “Sebastian! For God’s sake! Hurry up!”

Sebastian runs to catch up, but three steps in, a featureless gold blur hits the ground hard, and his foot gets caught in the hole it makes. He falls to his knees, laughing hysterically at the absurdity of it all. Spoiled little rich kid with daddy issues. That’s what Kurt had called him once back in high school – back when they hated one another. Little did Kurt know how close to the mark that comment hit, or how deeply the already scarred over wounds went. But the reason Kurt didn’t know, not for a long time, is because Sebastian had worked so hard to hide them, run away from them. He was going to grow up better than his upbringing. He was going to become a successful person, a successful parent, whether his own parents were proud of him or not. But all the things they did to break him down - Sebastian didn’t find a way to get rid of them. He simply carried them with him. And here he was – a husband and a father, scared of an Easter egg hunt! Granted, he was in very real danger of ending up with a concussion, but fuck the rest!

Isabelle was right! It’s a beautiful day! And regardless of the greedy horde about to trample him into the dirt, he was going to have the best day ever because he’s surrounded by people he loves!

People who will mourn him when he’s gone.

“Raise our son well, Kurt!” he chokes out over the howl of the raging onslaught. “And remember, I always loved you! Well, ninety-three percent of the time!”

Kurt turns to see his husband, red-faced with laughter, swallowed by the crowd, and despite being concerned for his safety, he can’t help laughing, too. He knows that in a few minutes the crowd will pass, and Sebastian will emerge the way he always does – cocky as hell, obnoxiously triumphant, and probably with a dozen of those golden eggs Isabelle was fiending over. “You’re a good man, Sebastian Smythe! You shall be missed!”

[closetofanxiety]

Show Review: Constitution State Wrestling

Last night,  I went down to beautiful Groton, Conn. (”The Nuclear Submarine Capital of the World”) with Mark, Mike, and Joel to see a show put on by an indie promotion that was totally new to us. It was, in many ways, a prototypical Local Indie Experience. Let’s count the ways:

National Anthem

This, in many ways, is the earliest and most significant sign that you’re attending a Local Indie as opposed to a National (For Lack of a Better Term) Indie (the national anthem might be played before a Shindie, too, but that’s another subject entirely). Local indies always make everyone stand up for the national anthem, national indies do not. The local indie maintains, at least in vestigial form, a connection to the idea that this is a sporting event, and sporting events begin with the anthem. In this case, the anthem was a pre-recorded instrumental track, but people clapped after it was over anyway.

Public Venue

Unlike a National Indie, which will be in a bar or a rock club or a private fraternal organization’s event hall or a Catholic church with an absurdly Catholic name (New York City national indies only), the Local Indie show will take place in a high school gym or a town hall or a rec center or some other building they can get with a discounted rental fee because of political connections. In this case: Ella T. Grasso Technical High School, a magnificent example of 1970s brutalist school architecture. It was an air-conditioned gym, though, which you wouldn’t expect on the Connecticut shoreline, so kudos to the Constitution State Wrestling folks for that choice.

Advertising and Local Celebs

It’s not a Local Indie without a program, and this show had a program listing the entire card, providing some detail on the two main events (there can be only one main event in reality but whatever) and listing all the local sponsors of the show. As a bonus, there were also signs leading to the venue that just said “Wrestling” with an arrow pointing vaguely in the direction of the school. I cherish these signs of Local Indiedom! There was also a woman from a rock radio station on hand, whose duties were limited to introducing herself and then, later, introducing the women’s match. It’s not a Local Indie without an appearance from a random local celeb: TV meteorologists, disc jockeys, mayors, and others are all perfectly acceptable. 

At Least One Wrestler Who’s in the Military

In our case, that was “The Soldier of God” Ronnie Ribbs, which is absolutely one of the best Local Indie names I’ve ever heard in my life. Ronnie Ribbs! “Soldier of God” is a little weird, though. Kind of a Taliban vibe there. Also, since that’s a lot of verbiage to put on your ring gear, that meant Ronnie Ribbs had the acronym “SOG” on the seat of his red, white, and blue trunks which, if you didn’t know what it stood for, could be a little embarrassing. Anyway, he was introduced as a soldier in the U.S. Army, always good for a patriotism pop at a Local Indie. Groton, though, is a Navy town, and when Ribbs was rolled up by opponent “Sensational” Scott Levesque with help from cheating heel manager “High Class” Rich Bass, a guy behind me said, “Just one more reason the Army sucks at everything.” 

Event Name That is Not a Cool Pop Culture Reference

Constitution State actually fell down on the job here, as this event did not appear to have a name at all. But a key distinction between a Local Indie and a National Indie is that the latter will usually go with some impenetrable hip pop culture reference (or, worse, just use numbers for each show, like they’re the UFC), whereas local indies are still committed to calling things, like, “Final Showdown” and “Summer Smash Up” and “Brattleboro Brawl” (Brattleboro local indies only) and, of course, “SEASON’S BEATINGS.” 

Random Ex-WWE/F Guy

In this case, that role was filled by Gangrel, who really should be getting some of the indie wrestling nerd attention being lavished on PCO. Gangrel is a blast to see live; he gets insanely into it, and takes bumps that are ridiculously bad ideas for a man of his age. He was in the main event here, and the crowd was pretty exhausted by the time it started, but he got them right back into what was really kind of a straightforward brawl with southern New England bad guy Trigga the OG, accompanied, of course, by evil schemer “High Class” Rich Bass, who I’ve never seen before. The crowd was NUTS for Gangrel. When he won, the pop was huge, although it was slightly disappointing that only Joel chanted “Fang and bang! Fang and bang!” Gangrel loved that though. He pointed to Joel and did the throat-cross-into-the-hook-’em-horns thing. 

Local Wrestling Academy Students’ Match

Often, this is a battle royal, but thank God that was not the case here. Instead, we saw Matt Taven trainees Joey Bones and Todd Harris, the latter working a “rich prick from Newport” gimmick. Both guys were decent, show real promise, and, notably, had really good gear. Invest in yourselves, aspiring wrestlers! You’ll stand out from the pack. 

A Comedy Match That Isn’t Funny

I like comedy wrestling. I know lots of people don’t, but that’s why they make different kinds of ice cream. However, there’s a Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy comedy match, and then there’s a Local Indie comedy match, which is basically like a Three Stooges short mixed with some inexplicable Attitude Era flourishes. In this case, it was the awesomely-named Necromancer (short, stout guy with Papa Shango face paint and no apparent ability to speak to the dead) vs. 2Buff w/ The Buffdad, a legitimate father and son duo whose gimmick is that they are not, in fact, buff, but that they constantly do that thing where they put their hands behind their heads and swivel their hips, kind of like a Chippendale dancer would do on an episode of “Designing Women.” Laughs were notably absent, at least from the four of us. Mercifully, this match was broken up by James Ellsworth, who was booked as a random ex-WWE guy but is now, once again, an actual WWE guy. What must he have thought, staring out at the 250 or so people in a high school gym, knowing that in three nights he’ll be facing Asuka on live national television in front of maybe 12,000 people. Anyway, Ellsworth issued an open challenge, and another classic Local Indie thing happened: some loud music hit, and a guy walked out to answer the challenge, but instead of the “Oh shit you gonna get it NOW” reaction from the crowd, there was puzzlement, as no one knew who the challenger was. It didn’t help that he looked like just A Dude in red basketball shorts and a white t-shirt. Later we would learn that he is Wildman Kongo and he would go on to have a bad match with James Ellsworth in front of a tired crowd.

Excitable Fans

Hot crowd, especially before the intermission! At the start of the lone tag team bout, which pitted Brutal Bob Evans and “Tough Tim” against two guys called Riot City’s Most Wanted who looked like indie wrestlers circa 2003, one young fan became so enraged at the heels that he jumped the rail, the first time I think I’ve ever seen that at a show. He was about 11, though, and his friends quickly pulled him back over, so we were spared the sight of Brutal Bob having to PROTECT THE BUSINESS by breaking a child’s jaw. Local indie fixture the Fogman was also there. He’s not really excitable, necessarily, but he’s a fan. We talked to him during intermission and, I mean, he’s an OK guy. He’s his own biggest fan, but what’s so bad about a little self-confidence?

A “Ladies’ Match”

Never a women’s match or just “a match,” on a Local Indie it’s always a LADEEEEES MATCH, the segregation compounded here by having the radio station woman do the only thing she did all night by announcing the competitors, Isana and Jawsolyn. The regular ring announcer was a rockabilly guy, complete with Rev. Horton Heat necktie and suede shoes. He was fine. Isana is a big lass but mobile and specializes in suplays, while Jawsolyn’s gimmick is that she is a shark. That should have gone over better in a coastal town, but people were mostly politely indifferent to this match which, in fairness, was slow and clunky. 

One National Indie-Caliber Match

Increasingly, the people who promote and book Local Indies are fans of national indie wrestling, or Japanese wrestling, or British wrestling, or what have you. In this, their tastes diverge from those of their fanbase, which mostly consists of normal, blue collar Americans who just want a fun night out instead of weirdos arguing about BOLA lineups on Reddit all night or people who will slash your tires if you so much as say a disparaging word against Kenneth Omega. To try to satisfy their own creative longings, the promoters and bookers usually put one match on the card that could be on the card of a PWG show or Beyond show or AAW show or whatever. This is normally received by the Local Indie crowd with the same quiet endurance 205 Live is received by WWE crowds, but tonight was an exception. Matt Cross and JT Dunn, meeting for only the second time ever, had a tear-down-the-house 20-minute match that had the good blue collar people of America’s Nuclear Submarine Heartland going absolutely nuts and bananas. This was, indeed, a great match, one of the best I’ve seen all year: neither guy worked heel, but both of them wrestled as though they were actually trying to win an athletic competition, which is rarer than it should be in pro wrestling. Dunn dominated the first half of the match by keeping Cross on the ground and softening him up with wear-down holds to try and create openings for hard strikes. In the second half, Cross was finally able to take to the air, and made his spectacular offense seem credible and devastating. There were, by my count, three “This is awesome” chants, a “Both these guys” chant, and a “Fight forever” chant. People LOVED this match. YOU SEE, VINCE? PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE WRESTLING WHEN ok I’m not going to start with that. But it was nice to see a normal American wrestling crowd go nuts for a match that would not be out of place in Reseda or wherever the hell PWG shows are now. 

[highschoolharrier]

Justin Wrigley is the coach of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Kansas who currently is riding an impressive state championship win streak and looks to be in contention for a bid to NXN via the Heartland region.

High School Harrier: Your teams are entering the year with recent state championship winning streaks there in Kansas. Can you say a little about how your team has attained that level of excellence?

Justin Wrigley: Our boys team has won four straight state titles and the girls finished third last year which ended a streak of five straight state titles. I definitely believe that the biggest factor for our success is the team culture. There are no magic workouts and there is no magic mileage that guarantees success. Every program is somewhat different in those areas but what has been working the best for us is the team culture.  We have had an incredible level of buy-in from the kids over the years and that has helped us achieve many of our goals. We've been blessed with large numbers of kids that are fun, positive and hard working. Because of that, Saints cross country has become a really great place to be. The cross country kids really like being around each other and even though all of the training is a great commitment of time and effort, I think that they just really like doing it together and so we are seeing the benefit of that when we race. It's really awesome that there are so many kids with the same attitude about the sport and the training process. The key is keeping it fun and positive because negativity can tear the whole thing down really fast. We are just like every other high school in the country, we have to always be on the lookout for negativity and try to change those types of behaviors before it does damage to our culture. It is a never-ending process but it's the true key to success in cross country.

HSH: State is 2 weeks before the NXR Heartland meet.  Do you think this is too far away, not far enough away or a good amount of time between the two?

JW: I think two weeks is just about perfect! I think that period of time allows kids to celebrate state and also sharpen back up physically and emotionally for NXR. When we first started making the trip to NXR, I don't think that anyone on our team managed the post-state emotions really well. We'd get too up for state and had nothing left in the emotional tank up at NXR despite being physically ready. When we started taking larger groups up to NXR and changed some of the ways we thought about the postseason, we saw our teams improve dramatically at the Heartland meet. Putting NXR on the calendar and planning to attend well before the season even starts has really helped the way our kids prepare emotionally and psychologically and that has really helped. I also think it's really important to get your sub varsity kids to the NXR open races. Those open races are more competitive than almost any state meet and so you're giving sub varsity kids a championship caliber meet to shoot for while also extending their training season by several weeks and getting them experience for when they become your varsity in the NXR championship race. I can't see any negative side to getting as many kids as possible to the NXR meet.

HSH: Do your boys and girls train together?

JW: Yes, we usually have 80-100 kids on our team in any given year and we do everything together. We split up into training groups for workouts but we'll often have girls and boys training together if they are similar in fitness and ability. Our top girl, Olivia Sovereign, trains with the boys. She has a little brother on the team and they push each other really hard in workouts. It is pretty awesome.

HSH: How does your team set their goals each year?

JW: We start each summer with goal meetings. We vote for the captains for the next season at the end of the current season and oftentimes the first official duty of the new captains is to schedule and organize our goal meetings in early June. We have separate meetings for the boys and girls teams even though we do most stuff together.  At that meeting we sit around for about an hour and try to have an open conversation about the types of things we want to accomplish. We have a follow up meeting with our kids at our team camp in mid-July. Recently, we've made our goals more about team culture rather than race outcomes and I feel like that is taking the program in a really cool direction. This season we're trying to make our season focus on being selfless in everything we do.

HSH: Is there anyone on your team that you feel is ready to have a breakout year?

JW: I sure hope so, hahaha!  We have had the type of summer that makes a coach really excited about the upcoming season. We have seen a lot of kids running very consistently and so I'm feeling pretty confident that some guys and girls will be stepping up and making a big impact this fall.  I'd love to name some names but I'd probably end up upsetting anyone I did not mention so I better just keep quiet and we will have to wait and see who goes out there and proves themselves this fall!

HSH: What regular season meet are you most looking forward to and why?

JW: The Rim Rock Classic is always one of the highlights of our season. It's a huge meet on the state meet course and in addition to most of the Kansas teams attending, we will also get to see many of the teams from around the heartland and midwest regions. We also get some teams from Colorado and Texas most years. Unfortunately, Kansas has a rule that nobody from outside of 500 miles of our border can attend our events but maybe someday that will change.  In the meantime, this meet is the biggest draw in Kansas every year and I love to get varsity, jv and c-team kids experience on our state meet course so when their time comes, they know the course very well. This year we will also be traveling up to Roy Griak in Minnesota. Usually that meet falls on Rim Rock weekend and we don't go because we don't want to pass up the chance to race on our state meet course but this year the schedule lined up a little different so we'll be going there to get a little preview of the Heartland region. There are so many good teams at Griak and it will be a great mid-season check up on how we're progressing towards our postseason goals. My buddy, Jason Druten of West Torrance, California is bringing his boys to Griak so it will be really fun to hang out with him and go toe to toe with his guys. They were the CIF D3 champs last year and we have a strong bond with their team.

HSH: For us who are not from Kansas, what is the qualifying process for state?

JW: The Kansas qualifying process is about as simple as it gets. For each classification (we have 6 of them in KS) there are four regional meets, geographically separated and the top three teams from each region qualify for state.  Classes 3A, 5A and 6A compete at Rim Rock Farm, one of the nation's most beautiful courses and classes 1A, 2A and 4A compete at the Wamego golf course. Both courses have their share of challenging hills at critical points of the race. Don't let anyone tell you that Kansas doesn't have any hills!

HSH: Do you have a motto or mantra for your program?

JW: We have two and we use them all of the time! Our cultural motto is, "Take care of each other" and our training and racing motto is, "B.A.U.," which simply means, "business as usual."  Both mottos are pretty simple but they both accomplish a great amount of good when people actually live the mottos.  Culturally, we want cross country to be something that everyone enjoys and feels good about. Running is hard and so is high school. Every day is not going to be your best day. We want people to be there for each other and help them get through the tough times. In doing so, we will all make each other better and then we'll have people with us to also celebrate the good times.  When we speak about B.A.U., we're talking about doing things the right way, every day. We want our process to become a habit. If we can accomplish that, then when we get to the postseason we can take a lot of the pressure off by reminding the kids that all they have to do is simply keep doing things the way they always have. There is no pressure to do anything special in the postseason and because of that we tend to run really well because our kids are not pressing to do anything more than usual. Both mottos are lifestyle goals and I think they are very helpful in how we approach things.  

HSH: What component of your program do you think is the biggest factor in the success of your team?

JW: Every coach probably says this but I believe that the biggest factor in our success has to be team culture. Getting the athletes to buy in to what we are trying to accomplish and how we need to go about our business is so important. On top of that, the even bigger factor is easily how much the kids grow to care about each other through the process. When we get a lot of kids sharing in the experience and working together, they develop this unbreakable bond that just seems to work wonders when they get to the toughest part of their races. They want so badly to contribute to the shared success that they'll do anything for each other.  Although only 7 boys and 7 girls get to race at the state meet, we take the entire team to the meet (usually 80-100 kids).  We bus them out to Rim Rock and they cover the course in blue and gold and give us an enormous advantage. Matt Hallauer, one of our assistant coaches, organizes that group to be the best state meet support crew around. He has laminated maps for every kid and details on the best places to cheer and how to navigate the farm so you can get to as many places as possible. We have people cheering for our kids on every step of the course and right now no one else in Kansas can match that. When we finish the state meet, we share that moment with every single kid on our team. Everyone that has worn the blue and gold in competition that year can proudly say that they helped contribute to our success. We wait until the awards ceremony is over and then we put our entire team on the podium. Kids that can't yet break 25 minutes get to stand on the podium and hold the state trophy. That's pretty powerful and I think that kind of experience for a high school cross country runner is priceless.

HSH: What was your biggest learning moment as a coach, pertaining to how you coach or the way you train your athletes?

JW: I can actually pinpoint this moment to the winter of 2011. I had been the head cross country coach for five years and finally decided to do an exact study of how much we were running in the off season. At the time we had not started logging our training yet so after investigating, it turned out that even our most dedicated athletes were only running about 55% of the days in the winter. This came as a big shock to me as I assumed the number would be much higher. So we started logging our training and pushing for greater accountability and consistency. The biggest change we had to make was getting kids to run over the weekends and switch to taking days off only when needed rather than automatically putting them on the calendar every week for no reason at all. This increase in consistency had a huge payoff for us. Starting in 2012, we won five girls team titles and four boys team titles with five girls and three boys individual champions. That winter was an epiphany that has changed our program in a major way. Consistency is the key!

HSH: What steps do you take to ensure your top athletes progress each year?

JW: I think being present and available for all of our athletes all year long is probably the most important thing I can do as a coach. Consistency and accountability are critical to progressing as a runner so if I want the kids to train with any level of consistency then I better show up as well.  For Saint Thomas Aquinas, that means having a regular off season training program for both the summer and the winter, showing up on weekends and coaching track & field in the spring. On top of that, logging our training and keeping an eye on the training logs to make sure each kid is progressing at the proper rate is also important. And finally, just planning sound training progressions for each kid based on age and experience so you can gradually push them more as they get more experience.

HSH: How much volume does your team get during the summer?

JW: We build up very gradually, perhaps too gradually compared to some but by the end of the summer we like to have our upperclassmen in the 50-70 miles per week range. Sophomores could be anywhere from 30-60 depending on the kid and freshmen are all over the place but the really dedicated ones might be in the 30-45 range. All of this, of course, depends greatly on training age and experience of the individuals. Like I said, we're just like every other team so we're also going to have our share of kids that show up on day one that have not run a step all summer.  Managing all these kids is important and you can't just expect any single kid to fit to a broad training scheme.

HSH: What do you feel helps your program buy into the team concept so effectively?

JW: That is a great question. Sometimes I wonder why all of these kids are doing this because it is hard. Cross country is simple, but it is hard. Anyone that thinks cross country is easy is doing it wrong.  My very best guess at what helps kids buy in is simply other kids.  I think that once some kids take that leap of faith with us and then they not only see some success but experience a lot of fun, then they become our best sales-people. They are the ones that go out and convince other kids to do the same. People want to have fun and they want to succeed, those are both basic ideas that appeal to all humans. So if kids see a bunch of kids doing those things, they become intrigued in doing so too, even though it require so much hard work and sacrifice of time and effort.

HSH: I am a freshman joining your cross country program.  What will my training and racing look like this fall?

JW: As a freshman, the top focus of our coaching staff would be to ensure that you are having fun and enjoying the sport. We're going to be real cautious with what we throw at you in terms of volume and intensity. The first thing we'll do when the season starts is analyze your summer and plan out the progression of the season based on what you did or did not do in the summer.  Freshmen typically race every weekend because we want to gain experience at running 5k and because most kids join a team to participate. The freshmen won't take any bye weeks like the varsity kids.  

HSH: What is your favorite workout to have your runners perform and why?

JW: Are you ready for the most boring answer of all time? Because my favorite workout to do with our runners is threshold intervals, or what Jack Daniels calls "cruise intervals."  And this is something we do almost weekly all year long with our distance runners. We create variety by adjusting the length of the intervals but we typically do a total of 20-30 minutes of total volume and always at what Daniels defines as threshold pace. I just feel really good about the adaptation that comes from this level of stress on a consistent basis. Of course, a close runner up would be regular tempo and progressive runs.  We're working really hard at improving our progressive runs and the kids are really starting to enjoy them more now.  We were pretty bad at starting too fast or progressing too much, too soon when we first started doing these runs. Now that the kids have a better handle on the pacing, they really enjoy them and gain a great deal of confidence.

Photo courtesy of Justin Wrigley.

[tkmedia]

Daily Bread Mailbag: Lomachenko, Charlo-Castano, Stevenson-Herring, More

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen "Breadman" Edwards tackling topics such as Vasilliy Lomachenko's big comeback win, the upcoming unification between Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano, the record of Artur Beterbiev, Shakur Stevenson vs. Jamel Herring, and more. I’ve asked you in the past about the best wins in boxing. You’ve gone on record stating you believe that Duran’s win over Leonard is the best win in boxing history. But I wanted to ask a slightly different question: What are some fights you think would’ve surpassed that win if it had gone the other way? I know that might be a very broad question, but I’ve been pondering it for a while. One that I can think of that might have an argument is Pryor-Arguello. If Arguello had beaten Pryor, he would’ve been the first four-division champ ever… am I remembering that correctly? Could that have been one of the best wins if it had gone the other way? I also wonder about Hopkins-Trinidad. I know Trinidad was the favorite for that fight, but what if he’d won that one? What are some other what-if big wins you think of? Greg K. Bread’s Response: If I said Duran W over Leonard was the best in history then I was typing too fast. What I meant was it could possibly be the best win in history. It’s high up there. It's among the best. As is Leonard over Hearns1. Ali over Foreman. Frazier over Ali1 and Armstrong over Ross. Along with Duran over Leonard 1, those are most likely the 5 best wins in boxing history.  If Arguello would have defeated Aaron Pryor in 1982 he would have won 4 titles before Leonard in 1988, Duran in 1989 and Hearns in 1987. It would’ve been huge. To defeat and undefeated top 10 P4P fighter the caliber of Pryor in his prime would have been amazing and no doubt a top 10 win in boxing history.  If Tito would have defeated Hopkins it would’ve been something. Tito’s “off night” vs Oscar would have dismissed as an off night. Hopkins had been champion since 1995 and considered an excellent fighter. It would’ve also been for 3 belts the WBA, WBC and IBF. I don’t know if it would’ve been bigger than Arguello over Pryor but it would’ve been huge. Because for as great as we view Hopkins now, in 2001 he had not received the respect he has today from the boxing community. Hopkins WIN over Tito is actually bigger than Tito’s hypothetical win over Hopkins. If Pernell Whitaker would have gotten the official decision over Julio Cesar Chavez then it would have simply been the best win of the 90s. It’s a shame Whitaker didn’t get the official verdict. I saw your comment about Sha’Carri Richardson and I can’t help but to think she was set up. Marijuana is legal in the state she smoked in and it shouldn’t be illegal to smoke by Olympic standards. I know you’re a fair dude Bread but we disagree on this. On another topic do fighters get tested for marijuana also? Bread’s Response: First of all yes boxers do get tested for marijuana. In fact there have been fighters who have had wins turned into NC because of positive marijuana results. Let me preface my comments about Ms. Richardson. I would love to see her compete and win. My daughter runs the 100m, 200m and 400m. Richardson is from the USA and I want to see her beat the Jamaicans who have had a strong hold on the sprints.  Now what I said is the people are using the WRONG argument to defend her. I would love to see marijuana not be on the BANNED list. But the fact is, it’s on the list and the committee has their reasons why. They believe it slows the reaction time which can be dangerous on the track. They also believe it sets a bad example for younger athletes and it can be used as a MASKING agent for more powerful substances. These aren’t my rules. These are the rules of the testing agency. Ms. Richardson was well aware.  The best argument that can be used is that marijuana should not be on the banned substance list. Period. The rule is archaic and it shouldn’t be in existence anymore. The arguments I keep hearing is “keep that same energy yall had with Michael Phelps.” And that Sha’Carri Richardson was SET UP. Those are ridiculous arguments. When you’re wrong. Ask for GRACE. Be accountable and hopefully things work out. First let’s address the Michael Phelps case. Phelps didn’t test positive for marijuana. A photo surfaced of him 6 months AFTER the Olympics smoking a BONG. Phelps was suspended for 3 months and lost sponsorship. He could’ve fought that but he didn’t. There would be no way to prove what was in the BONG despite us knowing and using common sense what it was. Remember it’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove. You can’t compare that to Richardson testing positive a month before the Olympics. It’s just not the same. Remember I want Richardson to win, but we look foolish making WRONG points. At least research before you say ridiculous stuff.  When I first read that she tested positive I said to myself maybe she used a topical solution for muscle soreness and instead of having CBD in it, it had THC in it. I was literally making excuses for her because I couldn’t believe the press head lines. To hear her say, she knows what the rules were. She did it because of the stress of her mom dying, there was nothing I or anyone else could say. This wasn’t a MISTAKE, it was poor judgment. When you use the word set up you better be careful. I have seen black athletes put through hard times or be held to a higher standard than other athletes. I have seen injustice. In this case a young lady suffered bad news and she decided to smoke marijuana, despite knowing the rules. In order for her to have been set up the committee would have had to have a hand in her mother dying and/or know that Richardson would smoke to relieve stress. Do you see how ridiculous that sounds? Also illegal and banned have two different meanings. Marijuana is a banned substance. It can be legal in Oregon but it’s banned to use during or around competition. Please stop conflating the meanings. Let’s just hope they remove the ban all together and allow her run. But no it wasn’t a set up. And no this is not the same as the Michael Phelps case. It’s ok to support Sha’Carri Richardson and still hold her accountable.  She didn’t use a steroid but unfortunately as of now, marijuana is banned.  Hi Bread, Hope you and your family are doing well. My question to you is regarding Loma and his latest fight against Nakatani. During the week leading to the fight, Loma and his team let everybody know that he had an injury in camp, 3 weeks before the Teo fight. Loma's manager said that Papachenko wanted to postpone the fight (which Loma refused), and that Loma's right shoulder popped in the 2nd round after a jab (he only really used his right hand again starting in the 7th round, supposedly when he understood that he would lose otherwise).It was obvious that Loma chose Nakatani to send a message to Teofimo and the world, and God knows that the message has been received !Besides being a "vintage Loma performance", as Tim Bradley said, I have to admit that I've never seen Loma with that big of a chip on his shoulder from the get go (we've seen glimpses of it when he was hit clean/hurt by Linares or Campbell, for example). He started letting his hands go after only half a round of assessing his opponent. It was obvious that his objectives in this fight was to show that he could takeover early (proof that he's learnt from his loss), and to hurt and stop Nakatani. What is your analysis of this fight ? And what do you think are the keys to victory for each fighter in the Loma/Lopez rematch? Thanks and greetings from North Africa. Bread’s Response: I thought Loma looked excellent. But reoccurring injuries are part of the game. This is not the first time Loma has been hurt. I honestly felt he dug so deep in the Linares fight, he hasn’t quite reached that form again since that night. This last performance was very close but Nakatani is too slow and gangly to deal with Loma, so this may be a case of the perfect style coupled with a motivated fighter coming off of a loss. I think Lopez needs to do what he did in the their first fight. Put rounds in the bank and keep the fight at long range for as long as he can. It’s not just height and reach. Lopez is not that much taller and longer than Loma. But he has a more commanding presence from Long range and he has to build points before Loma gets in his groove.  This match up could be a case of Jermaine Taylor vs Bernard Hopkins. Where as for some reason it took Hopkins time to break the range vs Taylor. Hopkins is clearly a better fighter than Taylor but Taylor who was excellent just gave him fits. We don’t know how good Lopez will be yet….but that comparison comes to mind.  Loma can say what he wants but Teofimo’s sharpness and power bothered him. It takes his body and mind time to warm up to Teofimo. He shoulder probably was hurt. I don’t doubt that. But I also know what I saw. Teofimo came out sharp, mean and forceful. Loma needed time to adjust to that. He didn’t want to get clipped. In this rematch he simply has to find a safe way to break the range earlier and get in his rhythm. It’s not as easy as everyone says of “just start earlier”. Well Teofimo has something to say about that. I think Loma has to work on his quickness in camp and find a way to get his jab working a little bit more. A jab finds rhythms and breaks rhythms.  Emile Griffith, not Griffin. Valdes was very underrated.  He lost a few early because he had mono and went back to Colombia to get better. I feared him more than I feared Monzon even though Monzon was the better fighter.  Valdes often fought to the level of his competition. Bennie matched up well with taller guys because of his jab, which was almost like a straight left and tall guys were not ready for it and had trouble getting accustomed to it. Valdes should have been in Canastota by now. There are guys in there who don't have his credentials but many of today's voters are imbeciles. Bread’s response: Thank you for the correction. The editor’s should have caught my mistake, lol. I love it when my old school readers write in to put me in my place and give me wisdom. I receive it with open arms. Let’s show some love for Rodrigo Valdes who is a top 2 or 3 middleweight of the 70s. I’ve watched a few of his fights and he could go! For some reason he had Brsicoe’s number the Philadelphia legend would have been champion if he could have figured out Valdes. Valdes beat Briscoe 3x and stopped him once. 2x with the title on the line.  Hey Bread, Love your work mate and your knowledge and insight on the mailbag each week just a couple of questions firstly on Canelo, although I admire the guy as he is a tremendous fighter, it puzzles me why he has gone on record in several interviews stating he will not face other Mexican fighters in the ring again he obviously has the star power and right to choose to face who ever he wants but I cant work out why? Do you have any ideas? If an American or British fighter said they wouldn't fight one of their own countrymen anymore they would be laughed at. Is it a case of him not wanting to spill Mexican blood on the canvas or some sort of patriotic thing I don't know  I think fights with the likes  of Gilberto Ramirez or Munguia would be absolutely huge especially on the Mexican holiday weekends! Also everyone seems to think he's going to walk right thru plant if and when the fight gets made but I have my doubts I think this will be one or if not the toughest fight of his career to steal  a quote of the first rocky movie  This man is dangerous and I think the last piece of the puzzle for Canelo at super mw will be the most risky fight for him.   Kind regards!   B from Western Sydney Australia  Bread’s Response: I never heard Canelo say that he wouldn’t fight a Mexican fighter. I know he’s fought a few in his career, Chavez Jr., Angulo etc. So I would have to read the context in how he said that. Munguia and Ramirez are nice opponents for him but the bigger opponents are Charlo, Andrade, Beterbiev and Plant. Then there is also David Benavidez who is Mexican American and wants the fight. If Benavidez beats one of the fighters I mentioned and earns a shot at Canelo, Canelo won’t be able to use that excuse. Let’s see what happens. I never read or heard Canelo say that.  I also believe that Caleb Plant will be a tough opponent for Canelo. Plant is better than Saunders. He’s taller, longer, faster and I believe he’s mentally tougher. I also see that he’s a more dedicated athlete. When you have extreme dedication you are willing to go through more to get the glory because you know you haven't cheated the grind. A fighter who gives his all at all times. A fighter who restricts his diet. A fighter who does all of the little things, will fight through those moments of crisis harder. I believe Plant is one of those fighters.  Obviously Plant will have to be better than he was vs Uzgategui and Truax. But I think he will be. Obviously he’s going to have to be stronger and not be bullied to the ropes. But I think he will be. Obviously Canelo has a serious heavybag routine where he punches THROUGH the target and Plant has to be aware of this. But I think he will be. I believe if Plant fights an ON THE MOVE fight. Oscar Valdez just fought one vs Berchelt but Plant has to be less violent than Valdez. Mayweather fought one vs Diego Corrales. Sambu Kalambay fought one vs Mike McCallum in their first fight. Muhammad Ali fought the best one in history vs Cleveland Williams.  If Plant can punch on the move he will frustrate Canelo. He’s going to score points. And most importantly, he will force Canelo to burn loads of energy by having to use his OWN legs to track him down. Canelo fights an energy efficient fight these days. His pressure is not like Joe Frazier’s or Henry Armstrong’s. It’s been said that Canelo’s stamina has improved. Well if Plant fights this type of fight, then that theory will be put to the test. This fight will come down to what style Plant decides to fight. There are fights I can see. There are fights I have to wait and see and assess later. Plant’s best chance to win is Stick and Move and not try to hit Canelo with anything big. The harder you try to punch Canelo the easier it is for him to counter. Plant has to throw fast stick punches. Sort of like how Calzaghe punches but obviously in his own form and body type. Jab Canelo's gloves, jab to distract him. Feint him. Move him around. Stay off the ropes. When Canelo presses him if he can’t hold the center, move until Canelo stops pressuring then go back to the center. Forget about the crowd. Just win baby. If he fights that fight. People will be pissed but the WIN for this fight is HUGE. I give you props for telling your truth about the fallout with Jrock. I still think you guys are better together and not apart. The young brother may be lost and it’s going to take some pride swallowing to resurrect the relationship. My question is assuming you aren’t training him, do you think he has a shot at the Charlo vs Castano winner? I’ve always been a big fan of his. I’ve watched several of his fights and that wasn’t him in the ring against Rosario. Bread’s Response: Yes I do think Jrock has a shot at the winner. It basically comes down to a few things. How engaged he is with his new trainer. Traveling to train is a load mentally and physically. If he can find someone to run a productive camp and figure out his body he has a shot. People always say he’s too small for 154lbs which is ridiculous. He’s big for the weight. He may not be the BIGGEST but he’s big for the weight. He has big quads, broad shoulders and a wide back. He’s 5’10.5” with very long arms of over 73 inches. He walks around heavy just like the rest of the guys in the division and he has to cut 25lbs-30lbs just like everyone else. If he finds someone to learn his body and know when to peak him out right, he’s right with those guys. The key is learning his body. He has very low body fat and he hasn’t made 154lbs in a year and a half. He may not even be a junior middleweight anymore.  Stylistically he matches up well with both guys. At his best he’s turned in a better performance than both ever have. So his high is higher than their highs have been. The issue is, is his low. He’s also turned in a lower performance than they ever have. The key will be his confidence and a trainer who is open to learning his body. It won’t be easy but far from impossible. Jrock would have been the favorite to beat both if the fights were made after he defeated Hurd.  I was going to bet Jermell Charlo but then you brought up how good Brian Castano was an amateur. You were right. He did beat Spence and Devrenchenko. My question is how much do you think amateur success translates to pro success? Bread’s Response: I would say 75% of the time it has a bearing. Usually the best amateurs are the best pros. Over the last 10 years it hasn’t been the case as much but it still relevant. Let’s look back. People consider Sugar Ray Robinson the best fighter ever. The Olympics weren’t as big in boxing in the 1940s. But Robinson was either 85-2 or 85-0 as an amateur.  Floyd Patterson was a great amateur. Our best in 1952. And he was one of our best fighters of the 50s. Muhammad Ali was our best amateur in 1960. Well it’s no need to get into what he was as a pro. Joe Frazier was our best amateur in 1964. We also know what he was as a pro. George Foreman was our best amateur in 1968. Again HOF as a pro. In 3 straight Olympics the Gold Medalist and the US’s best fighter turned out to be a HOF.  In 1976 we produced 5 Gold Medalist. 3 won titles. 2 became ATG in Michael Spinks and Ray Leonard. In 1980 Donald Curry was best amateur. He went on to be a HOF. In 1984 Evander Holyfield, Frank Tate, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Mark Breland and Virgil Hill were medalist and turned out to be champions and or HOF as pros. In 1988 Roy Jones, Riddick Bowe, Michael Carbajal and Ray Mercer all medalist all turned out to be champions. Carbajal, Jones and Bowe HOF. In 1992 Oscar de La Hoya was our best amateur. HOF as a pro.  In 1996 Floyd Mayweather, Antonio Tarver, David Reid all won medals. All win titles as pros. 2004 we had one Gold Medalist. Andre Ward. HOF as a pro. 2008 Gary Russell, Demetrius Andrade and Deontay Wilder were the best fighters on the Olympic team. They still remain towards the top of their games today. In almost 100 fights as pros they have 2 losses. In 2012 Errol Spence was the best fighter on that team. He’s still the best from the team.  In 2016 Shakur Stevenson, Gary Russell and Charles Conwell were the standouts. None of them have taken a loss yet. Stevenson the only medalist is the best so far as a pro. Historically domestically and internationally the very best amateurs have about 75% of the time been our best pros. You do have cases like Terence Crawford who was around the 2008 team. He’s our best fighter overall from that time. Read the full article

[your-dietician]

The Bucks’ path to the NBA Finals — The Undefeated

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/nba/the-bucks-path-to-the-nba-finals-the-undefeated/

The Bucks’ path to the NBA Finals — The Undefeated

There’s a well-known comment in Wisconsin when it comes to the hometown Milwaukee Bucks’ chances in a given playoff series: Bucks in six.

What started as a fool-hearted, yet enduring proclamation by then-Bucks guard Brandon Jennings ahead of a 2013 first-round series matchup with the “Big Three” Miami Heat – (“I’m sure everybody is writing us off but I see us winning the series in six,” Jennings said at that year’s Wisconsin Sports Awards) – morphed over the years into a rallying cry for a team that hasn’t made it to the NBA Finals in nearly half a century. Sometimes close, but never close enough.

But in the past eight years, starting just a few weeks after Jennings’ doomed prediction (the Heat swept the Bucks in 2013) with the drafting of a lanky kid out of Greece named Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have revamped, reconfigured, restarted and rebuilt themselves into an actual title contender that no longer lives on the fringes of the playoffs.

On Saturday night, after back-to-back years of underperforming in the postseason, the Bucks clinched the Eastern Conference title with a 118-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, fittingly reaching their first NBA Finals since 1974 in six games.

And it was all without Antetokounmpo, who has been sidelined with a hyperextended left knee since the third quarter of Game 4. For a team that prides itself on playing as a complete unit, rather than a Gladys Knight & the Pips-style one-man show, the Bucks leaned heavily on their two other stars, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton. The duo combined for 59 points, 13 rebounds and 16 assists, with Middleton overcoming a poor first half (five points and five turnovers) to drop 23 points in the third quarter.

“Khris carried us there for a lot of it, just leaving his heart out there,” Holiday said. “Just kind of like if we’re going to go down, we’re going to go down on his shoulders. I’m riding with him, riding right into the Finals.”

Making it easier for the Bucks on Saturday was that Young, who bruised a bone in his foot during Game 3, was clearly still hobbled. The third-year guard declined to attack the paint and had his passing lanes clogged up, leading to him starting the first quarter with nearly as many turnovers and personal fouls (three) as minutes played (four). At one point, Young shook 7-foot center Brook Lopez for an open look from atop the key but uncharacteristically passed the ball away.

“I still have pain. It’s going to be like this for at least a couple more days, so I knew I wasn’t going to be able to feel 100%,” Young said after the game. “So I was going to go out and at least try and try to do it again.”

As the game wore on, Young became less timid, but aside from another breakout game from guard Cam Reddish (21 points, 6-of-7 on 3s), the Hawks weren’t enough for Milwaukee. While the Bucks were failed by poor shooting, lack of energy and hustle in the two games they lost in this series, those were their keys to victory on Saturday. The Bucks outgained the Hawks in 3-pointers (17-12) and rebounds (46-43) and committed one less turnover, the type of complete performance that is needed out of a championship winner.

“We needed everybody. I think that’s the best part about it. We needed something from everybody,” P.J. Tucker said. “Our bench was amazing all series, all playoffs, everybody on our team gave something.

“Giannis goes out, Bobby [Portis] has been great, everybody came in and fought hard the entire series. It just shows our team. It just shows the guts of our team.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo (left) and Khris Middleton (right) celebrate as Eastern Conference champions.

David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Before this season, this Bucks team wasn’t able to put it all together at just the right time.

As the team’s production began to rise during the 2017-18 season, when Antetokounmpo started to show flashes of the superstar he would soon become, so did their expectations. The Bucks finished the next two seasons with the best record in the league, but were dispatched from the playoffs early by two hungrier teams that went on to win the East.

They were then, fairly or not, labeled as a “regular-season” team, meaning they could be successful during the regular season, but once the playoffs hit, they didn’t have the mental toughness and/or strategy to be championship caliber.

It also didn’t help that Milwaukee ran into players who decided to go supernova during the playoffs. In 2019, Kawhi “Cyborg” Leonard, on one good leg, snatched the heart from the Bucks as the Toronto Raptors overcame a 2-0 deficit to run off four straight wins on their way to an NBA championship. Last season, inside the Walt Disney World bubble, Jimmy Butler willed the lower-seeded Miami Heat into a second-round upset of the Bucks ahead of their own run to the Finals. Even this postseason, the Bucks had to battle the offensive brilliance of Kevin Durant and Young, at least until the latter’s series-altering ankle injury in Game 3.

In the past, when the pressure reached a precipice, everyone from the coaches to players seemed to falter. Antetokounmpo and Coach Mike Budenholzer couldn’t figure out how to scale the “wall” defenses built. Middleton, while brilliant when he’s on (particularly against the Boston Celtics), would suddenly develop a case of the yips in pivotal postseason moments. Shots that would fall for role players wouldn’t fall anymore, no matter Budenholzer’s “let it fly” mantra.

“It’s adversity,” Pat Connaughton said of losing in the playoffs the past two years. “I would say it’s unfortunate, but you learn a lot from losing. You really look yourself in the mirror and there’s two ways you can go: You can hang your head about it or you can use that as motivation to get better and fix the problems that you have and continue to work every single day and understand that it’s a process.”

But this season and its playoffs were different. The Bucks were more flexible in everything from their roster construction to their offensive sets. Those who couldn’t step up in crunch time in the past were suddenly inheritors of the clutch gene.

“Every team has a different journey and every team has to go through different things,” Budenholzer said. “… I think just like every team in the league, when this group hasn’t been able to advance, hasn’t been able to continue, it’s hurt. It’s been hard. The offseason, the guys have put the work in, the players have put the work in. And I’m impressed with what they have done, really every year, but coming into this year.

“But there’s still work to be done.”

Budenholzer has been heavily criticized over the past two years for his failure to adjust in the playoffs. According to various reports, his job was on the line if the Bucks weren’t able to make tangible progress in the playoffs. But he has made the necessary changes to get his team to the Finals. And it was general manager Jon Horst who helped construct a roster that emphasized both 3-pointers (as he had in the past) but also toughness, both the physical and mental variety.

Portis, who signed to a two-year, $7.5 million deal in November, made all the difference in Game 5 (and had the Fiserv Forum crowd in a frenzy during the blowout in Game 2). Tucker, who was traded to the Bucks in March, played strong defense on Durant in the second round. Jeff Teague, who played for Atlanta for parts of eight seasons, made three 3s in Game 6. Bryn Forbes, who cooled off in the later rounds, outscored Butler in the first round. Connaughton grabbed offensive rebounds and hit timely 3s. Lopez, Donte DiVincenzo, the list goes on.

As for the Bucks’ Big Three of Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Holiday (acquired in November from the New Orleans Pelicans), each had their mental breakdowns and struggles during both the past and these playoffs, but when the team needed them to help close out games, they showed up: Middleton’s game winner against Miami in the first round, Antetokounmpo in crunch-time minutes against Brooklyn in the second round, and Holiday in the last two games without Antetokounmpo.

The team that could start strong but never finish has finally vanquished that label. And it’s poetic that it was Middleton who led the Bucks to this Finals run.

Middleton has grown from an afterthought in the 2013 trade that shipped Jennings off to Detroit and brought Middleton, Brandon Knight and Viacheslav Kravtsov to the Bucks (Middleton was referred to as one of “two other players” at the time of the trade), to the certified closer on a team that is four wins from winning its first title since 1971.

As the Bucks tanked and rebuilt around Antetokounmpo at the beginning of last decade, Middleton was there for the rough days of sub-.500 records, missed playoffs and lottery picks. Through his game winner against Miami, his dual 38-point games against Brooklyn and Atlanta, and his second-half outburst on Saturday, Middleton sums up just how far these Bucks have come.

“Honestly, it’s been a long journey, but it’s been a great journey,” Middleton said after the game. “It’s been worth it. We put ourselves in position to be in the NBA Finals. After winning 15 games in our first year here and seven years not making the playoffs to the last two years thinking we had a chance and just didn’t do enough and now we’re here.

CC Sabathia on the pressure Black athletes face to play baseball ‘the white way’ Read now

Devin Booker’s dad pushed him to go farther, go further, go harder Read now

Olympian Michael Norman puts adversity behind him as he heads to Tokyo Read now

“This is what we’ve worked for.”

Martenzie is a writer for The Undefeated. His favorite cinematic moment is when Django said “Y’all want to see somethin?”

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[lady-divine-writes]

Kurtbastian one-shot “Privilege” (Rated PG)

An expensive gift of new skates stirs strong feelings in Kurt as he comes to terms with his newfound stardom. (1384 words)

Part 42 of Outside Edge

Read on AO3.

“Ah …” Sebastian sighs, sitting on Kurt’s bed amidst the second load of packages UPS delivered that day. That’s not to mention the letters, which the post office carts over in bags a few times a week. He sticks his hand into the closest bag of fan mail, rifling through a stack of cards, some addressed in crayon. “The perks of being a star athlete.”

“I guess …” Kurt replies, focused on a luxe-looking white card covered in gold writing. Sebastian has seen cards like that before. He’s gotten one or two. But whatever this one says has Kurt’s full attention. He sits up to get a better look. When he sees what Kurt has laid out before him, he laughs without meaning to.

“Did you seriously buy yourself three new pairs of Riedells?”

“Ha.” Kurt scoffs. “I didn’t buy anything. They were sent to me, courtesy of the kind people at Riedell for being, and I quote, ‘a highly regarded member of Team Riedell’.”

“Even better.” Sebastian climbs off the bed and joins him on the floor. “The best skates are the ones you don’t have to pay for.”

Kurt opens the first box. Wrapped carefully in white paper, the Riedell symbol printed on it in gold, are two white satin bags, holding (according to the box) a brand new pair of the skates he already owns. Though, knowing the caliber of the equipment companies send to athletes that represent their brand, these probably have crystals running up the back (to complement his signature fashion style), his initials embossed in gold on the ankle, or his name engraved on the blades. He rests a hand on one, not quite daring enough to take it out of the bag, and shakes his head. “You know, a year ago, I couldn’t even get Riedell to follow me on Instagram, no matter how many pictures I hashtagged I skate Riedell. But a week ago, I made a post hinting that I might need a new pair of skates soon and boom. Three brand new pairs of skates, along with an invitation for a fourth custom pair, right at my door.”

“And not a moment too soon,” Sebastian says, taking the invitation from Kurt’s hand when he offers it to him. “We’ve had your Arias fixed so many times, they’re looking a little sad.”

“I don’t even know how they got my size.”

“Google. Believe me, they have eyes everywhere.” Sebastian tucks the invitation into the box and puts an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. “You have to expect it, babe. You’re a star now. Everyone’s gonna want you to skate in their gear. At least you actually like Riedells. You won’t have your name associated with a company you don’t believe in.”

“Yeah.” Kurt takes his hand off the skate and sinks into Sebastian’s side. “That’s a plus.”

Sebastian looks down at his boyfriend - at his skater - bummed for no reason Sebastian can see. “Does that bother you?”

Kurt shrugs. “Yes and no. I mean, I love Riedell skates. My first pair of skates were Riedells, my last pair are going to be Riedells ...”

“But …?”

“Well, ice skating is the most expensive sport in the Olympics! Aside from equestrian sports. I’ve got sponsors, a few endorsements. I don’t have your kind of money but, at this point, I can afford my own skates. So many other kids out there with potential are struggling to excel at a sport they love using rental skates. And they’ll keep struggling with rentals because a decent pair of boots and blades cost half a paycheck, even if you buy them on eBay.”

“Some people see that as a rite of passage. If you want it bad enough, you’ll sacrifice.” Sebastian gives his boyfriend a comforting squeeze. “You sacrificed a ton to get where you are, and look at you. Look how far you’ve made it.”

“Talent and ambition only take you so far. I was in the right place at the right time,” Kurt says quietly. “I met the right person, and they believed in me.” He peeks up at Sebastian, meeting his boyfriend’s gaze with eyes already saying I’m sorry. “You’re talented. You have ambition. Did you have to sacrifice?” Kurt feels Sebastian’s arm around his shoulders tighten. “Not to be mean or insulting but I’ve seen your skate collection. You have boxes of skates you haven’t even opened, and a lot of those were just sent to you.”

“They were sent to me because I was on Elite,” Sebastian says, even though he knows he doesn’t have to clarify. And he doesn’t have to defend himself. Kurt’s not blaming him. Sebastian gets what he’s saying. Not a one of the boys on that team needed anything that their parents’ money couldn’t provide, and yet each of them received loads of gear every season that they’d never be able to use. Some of the skates Kurt is referring to don’t even fit Sebastian, but it never dawned on him to give them away. They were like trophies – a symbol of status that Kurt hasn’t enjoyed until recently. Sebastian watched Kurt struggle on his old skates for the past year, watched the soles soften and fall apart. Kurt posted about it on Instagram, and Riedell, for all of Kurt’s tagging, said nothing. They didn’t offer to replace them or fix them.

They didn’t even give him an apology.

Having those new skates show up at his door is as exciting as it is a slap in the face.

“Maybe we could start a foundation or something?” Kurt suggests. “I want to help make decent skates available to all those kids who want to pursue skating but can’t afford to. At least here in Ohio.”

“Yeah. I think my uncle could help us with that. And we could hold a drive down at the rink, get people to donate their old skates for kids who can use them. Coach Beiste will let us do it for sure. We’ll start with mine. How about that?”

“Really?” Kurt sits up, looking at his handsome boyfriend with appreciation. Kurt has always wanted to be a role model – an athlete with a mission, to help advance the future of his sport. He knows that that future could rest in the hands of kids who, because of money issues, might never get their chance on the ice. Watching them down at the rink on discount days, tripping around in rentals but never giving up, knowing that a better skate could mean the difference between recreational skater and athlete …

… it breaks his heart.

“Really.” Sebastian pulls Kurt close.

Kurt kisses him deep.

“Thank you,” he whispers. “That means a lot to me.”

“Well, keep thanking me like that, and I’ll have to find more stuff to donate.”

“So does that mean I’m a good kisser?”

Sebastian grins, eyes glued to his boyfriend’s mouth, waiting for another kiss. “Yes, sir. A very good kisser.”

“Maybe I should put those skills to good use then.”

“Maybe you should,” Sebastian agrees, inching closer.

“I could open a kissing booth!”

A breath away from his boyfriend’s mouth, Sebastian stops. “Wha---what?”

“A-ha. For a dollar a smooch. And I can use that money as the first official monetary donation to our foundation!”

Sebastian snarls. Kurt laughs out loud. “How about I get all the kisses and write you a check? That way I won’t have to kill anybody!”

“Sounds like a plan!” Kurt bombards his boyfriend’s lips with pecks. Sebastian retaliates by pulling him into his lap and tickling him.

“What do you want to do about these?” Sebastian asks his panting boyfriend, nudging the nearest skate box with his toe. “Did you want to send these back? Say thanks but no thanks, I’ll buy my own?”

Kurt snaps his head up, staring at Sebastian like he’s crazy.

“Not a chance! I mean, I recognize that they were given to me because I have a certain amount of privilege now, but they’re $900 skates, Bas! That’s twenty-seven hundred dollars sitting here alone!” Kurt swipes the gold embossed invite from the box and hugs it to his chest, including it in his sentiment. “I’m keeping the skates!”

Sebastian kisses Kurt’s forehead, smiling proudly. “That’s my boyfriend.”

Notes: JSYK, I don't know that this is the way Riedell works. I love Riedell skates. I'm only using them in this series because my daughter skates Riedell. I'm sure if the soles of her skates fell apart and we posted it on Instagram, they'd say something. I'm using them to highlight a specific issue about privilege. That's all.