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wrestlingisfake · 2 years

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AEW Fake Rankings, 7/9/2022

Men's singles division - babyfaces

Jon Moxley (AEW interim men's world champion, GCW world champion)

Adam Page

Eddie Kingston

Claudio Castagnoli

Wardlow (AEW TNT champion)

PAC (AEW all-Atlantic champion)

Orange Cassidy

Wheeler YUTA (ROH pure champion)

Matt Hardy

HOOK

Men's singles division - heels

Chris Jericho

Miro

Sammy Guevara (AAA mixed tag team champion)

Scorpio Sky

Andrade El Idolo

Lance Archer

Rush*

Daniel Garcia (PWG world champion)

Luchasaurus

Jonathan Gresham (ROH men's world champion)

Unranked: Danhausen, Dante Martin, Dustin Rhodes, Ethan Page, Frankie Kazarian, Fuego Del Sol, Jay Lethal, Jake Hager, John Silver, Konosuke Takeshita*, Lee Moriarty, Leon Ruffin*, Satnam Singh, Serpentico, Silas Young*, Tony Nese, Trent Beretta

*Not listed on AEW's official roster

It's getting a lot tougher to keep track of everybody who wrestles for AEW. That's great for me as a fan, since I just want to see a wide variety of wrestlers popping in and out to keep the shows lively. It's pretty rough for me as someone who tries to keep track of the roster, but I can live with that. It's disastrous if you're specifically a superfan of any particular wrestler who's been lost in the shuffle, although I've personally never understood that approach to watching wrestling. Like, I don't get enough Dark Order for my tastes, but until Tony Khan figures out what he's doing with them, I can easily make do watching Eddie Kingston, Miro, Wardlow, and the Blackpool Combat Club.

The next pay-per-view is a Ring of Honor show on 7/23, which should give us a good idea which wrestlers are earmarked for that brand. The key programs so far include Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal, Wheeler Yuta vs. Daniel Garcia, and presumably Jonathan Gresham vs. Lee Moriarty. Those names barely crack the top 20 in AEW, which suggests that ROH's midcard will primarily feature talent from AEW Dark.

As for AEW All Out on 9/4, it's still early to figure out what the major programs will be. Moxley vs. CM Punk (to unify the world title) makes sense, but that all depends on when Punk is medically cleared. I'd prefer for Kingston vs. Jericho to end well before September, but I could easily see them saving the final blowoff for PPV. Death Triangle vs. La Faccione Ingobernable and Jungle Boy vs. Luchasaurs and/or Christian Cage seem inevitable. Other than that, everything feels up in the air right now.

Men's tag team division - babyfaces

FTR - Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (ROH, AAA, IWGP tag team champions)

Sting & Darby Allin

Swerve In Our Glory - Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland

Santana & Ortiz

Lucha Bros - Penta Oscuro & Rey Fenix

The Acclaimed - Anthony Bowens & Max Caster

Bear Country - Bear Bronson* & Bear Boulder*

Men's tag team division - heels

The Young Bucks - Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW tag team champions)

Kings of the Black Throne - Malakai Black & Brody King (PWG tag team champions)

Ricky Starks (FTW champion) & Powerhouse Hobbs

2point0 - Matt Menard & Angelo Parker

The Gunn Glubb - Billy Gunn & Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn

The Butcher & The Blade

Gates of Agony - Kaun* & Toa Liona*

The Factory - QT Marshall & Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto

Unranked: Davey Vega* & Mat Fitchett*

*Not listed on AEW's official roster

FTR are scheduled to defend the ROH tag title against the Briscoes on 7/23, but I think everyone expects FTR to win that match and cruise to a showdown with the Young Bucks with four sets of tag belts on the line. (Seems to me that AEW should get the Impact and PWG tag titles in there while they're at it.)

Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus have split, and Sweve & Keith Lee seem like they can't stay together much longer. The Acclaimed should be bayfaces coming out of their breakup with the Gunn Club, so things won't be too lopsided. It'll get worse, though, once Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly are back in action, and Rush & Andrade start teaming together. The Bucks are teasing a face turn but I don't think that'll come soon enough. This is where they really need to get the Best Friends and Dark Order back in the mix, even if it's just to feed them to the top heel teams.

Women's division - babyfaces

Thunder Rosa (AEW women's world champion)

Toni Storm

Kris Statlander

Mercedes Martinez (ROH women's world champion)

Willow Nightingale*

Women's division - heels

Jade Cargill (AEW TBS champion)

Britt Baker

Nyla Rose

Serena Deeb

Marina Shafir*

Unranked: Christina Marie*, Kayla Sparks*, Laynie Luck*, Leila Grey*, Sierra*

*Not listed on AEW's official roster

Fans are buzzing about Rosa & Storm forming a team against Rose & Shafir, not to mention Deeb & Martinez squashing teams on Dark. Hikaru Shida and Yuka Sakazaki also teamed together recently, and there are obvious teams in Baker & Jamie Hayter, Statlander & Athena, and any two from Cargill's stable.

It certainly feels like AEW is setting up to introduce a women's tag title. But this has happened before, in AEW and other promotions, where a few women's tag matches happen and WOMEN'S TAG TEAM WRESTLING IS BACK~! until it just goes nowhere. I'd take this more seriously if there was any sign of them expanding the women's roster. But with just ten wrestlers active on TV (plus some jobbers), an AEW women's tag division would quickly run into the same problems we've seen in WWE and Impact.

Assuming a tag tournament doesn't happen, I expect the top women's programs this summer to be Cargill vs. Athena and/or Statlancer, Martinez vs. Deeb, Ruby Soho vs. Tay Conti, and Rosa vs....somebody. Baker needs something to do as well, but rematching Rosa/Baker feels too soon right now. Both of them need fresh opponents that aren't getting built up right now. I'm a broken record about this, but AEW has a much bigger "not enough women" problem than a "not enough women's belts" problem.

No AEW matches aired on TV/PPV in over 30 days: Ariya Daivari*, Alex Reynolds, Anthony Ogogo, Anna Jay, AQA, Athena, Brock Anderson, Brian Pillman Jr., Cezar Bononi*, Chuck Taylor, Diamante, Emi Sakura, Griff Garrison, Hikaru Shida, Isiah Kassidy, JD Drake*, Josh Woods*, Julia Hart*, Marq Quen, Matt Sydal, Peter Avalon, Ryan Nemeth*, Ruby Soho, Sonny Kiss, Evil Uno, Preston Vance, Yuka Sakazaki

*Not listed on AEW's official roster; at least one victory on AEW/ROH programming

Athena, Soho, Quen & Kassidy, Shida, and Julia Hart all feel like they're on Dark to heat back up for a new program soon. Everybody else feels like AEW's Jobbers To The Stars. When you go to a live show you don't think about it, because these guys are still getting their entrances and crowd reaction and victories. But then you turn on the TV shows and never see any of them around. It's particularly frustrating with Dark Order (now down to just Uno, Reynolds, Silver, Vance, Anna, and Colt Cabana), because they come on TV to act like they're stepping up but then it never really happens. How many times can Dark Order beat up the Wingmen and the Factory on Youtube, TK?

No AEW or ROH matches aired anywhere in over 30 days: Abadon, Angelico, Brian Cage, Brandon Cutler, Christian Cage, Colt Cabana, Dalton Castle*, Danielle Kamela*, Jamie Hayter, Johnny Elite*, Jora Johl, Kiera Hogan, Leva Bates, Michael Nakazawa, Riho, Robyn Renegade*, Rohit Raju*, Samoa Joe (ROH television champion), Shawn Dean, Shawn Spears, Skye Blue, Tay Conti (AAA mixed tag team champion)

*Not listed on AEW's official roster; at least one victory on AEW/ROH programming

Christian Cage may be going part-time at this point, and Joe is probably recovering from a concussion, so I wouldn't worry about them not getting ring time lately. Hayter, Hogan, and Conti should be wrestling more often, but at least they're on TV due to being in key stables. Also, there's no telling how many AEW wrestlers have unreported injuries right now--for whatever reason it's much harder to track that stuff here than in WWE.

Fightful just ran a story about how Cabana was on the bubble but many people went to bat for him, so he's apparently staying in some capacity. Judging by the wrestlers AEW declined to re-sign this year, I'm a bit concerned for the likes of Johl, Dean, Spears, and (one of my personal faves) Abadon. Then again, everyone figured Brian Cage was on his way out until we learned AEW optioned him for another year--they haven't done dick-all with him ever since, but he sure ain't leaving.

Part-time/semi-retired: Christopher Daniels, Maki Itoh, Mark Henry, Mark Sterling, Paul Wight, Paige Vanzant, Rebel

Inactive

Adam Cole (possible concussion)

Bobby Fish (undisclosed injury)

Bryan Danielson (undisclosed injury)

Buddy Matthews (shoulder - unspecified injury)

CM Punk (AEW men's world champion) (left lower leg - unspecified injury)

Darius Martin (car accident - unspecified injuries)

Jeff Hardy (suspension - driving under the influence of alcohol)

Jungle Boy (shoulder - unspecified injury)

Kenny Omega (various injuries)

Kip Sabian (shoulder - unspecified injury)

Lee Johnson (knee - unspecified injury)

Leyla Hirsch (right knee - ACL tear)

Luther (undisclosed injury)

Kyle O'Reilly (undisclosed injury)

MJF (storyline - or not, who the hell knows)

Penelope Ford (undisclosed injury)

Red Velvet (undisclosed injury)

The Bunny (undisclosed injury)

I've been doing these things for a long time, and this may be the longest inactive list I've ever compiled. The lack of specifics is telling--I suspect that 5-10 years ago fans just wouldn't have heard about some of these cases until each wrestler just came back to TV.

Much has been made lately about AEW suffering "the injury bug," which I kind of hate because it makes it sound like wrestlers are getting hurt because other wrestlers are already hurt. I also don't think this is disrupting AEW as much as critics would have you believe. Yes, it's a pain that Cm Punk missed the United Center show, and the Sabre-Danielson dream match got scrapped, and the story with Kenny Omega and the Undisputed Elite is indefinitely on ice, and the Hardys and Top Flight reunions were cut short. But I think AEW has done a nimble job pivoting around these problems.

The key here is that these injuries are up and down the pecking order, but they still have plenty of headliners, tag teams, and prelim acts to fill the voids at each level. In comparison I think WWE has struggled far more from losing Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Sasha Banks, and Naomi. Hell, WWE knew months ago that Roman Reigns was starting a reduced a schedule, and they still seems unprepared for how to move tickets without their top draw. To put AEW in that situation you'd really have to take away about seven or eight more key people, on top of the ones that are already benched.

#aew #fake rankings

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slapshot-to-the-heart · 4 years

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Flatbush & Atlantic: part vi

Part vi is here! As always, I love hearing any kind of feedback, so reblogs and inboxes are so welcome!

part i part ii part iii part iv part v

part vi

January 30

Cass was distracted as she walked into the arena, distracted as she found Mat’s family, and distracted as she sat down. Fiona’s words were weighing on her, and she didn’t know what to do about them. It didn’t help that she hadn’t seen Mat since that morning, he had press and practice and some fan stuff with the league. It was maybe ten minutes before puck drop, and Cass didn’t know where her head was at. She was picking at a loose thread on the hem of her jersey when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she was surprised to see that it was his mom.

“Are you okay, love? You look distracted.” She asked, concern clear on her face.

“Yeah?” Cass responded, almost like a question.

Nadia gave her the “mom” look, the kind that pierces through your soul and knows all of your secrets. “I know you don’t know me all that well and I won’t make you talk about it if you don’t want to, but I can tell something’s on your mind, Cassidy. And I have a feeling it has to do with my son.”

Cass let out a defeated sigh. “Yeah. It’s just...everything’s piling on top of each other, and it’s hard to sort out what’s important and what’s just...static, if that makes sense.”

She nodded wisely. “What kind of things?”

“Outside opinions on us, on Mat and I’s relationship. People thinking that they have a right to make a judgement one way or another. People thinking that I don’t belong here, or with him, because of who I am, and how I look, and what I do.” Cass paused from her monologuing for a moment. “And it’s not always done out of spite. I’ve got a friend at school who just texted me basically asking if I’m sure that my priorities are in the right place. And I know she means well, she’s a wonderful person, but it’s just…” She trailed off.

“Tiring,” Nadia supplied. Cass nodded. “Well,” she began, “Obviously I’m not an expert. I’ve never been in a relationship with a professional athlete, and I’m not you. But I know what pressure feels like, and I know Mat.” Cass gave a watery chuckle. “And I know that my son is head over heels for you. He thinks the world of you, he really does.”

“But, all due respect, it’s not like I’m his first girlfriend or anything.”

“True,” she started carefully, “but I’ve also never seen him like this. I won’t insult your intelligence and say that there haven’t been other girls, because there have, but he’s never been this wholeheartedly invested in someone before. Did you know that you’re the first one he’s introduced us to since he moved to New York?”

Cass shook her head. “No, I didn’t. He never told me.”

“And why would he? Mat’s a good man and he’s got a good heart, but sometimes he can be remarkably dense. Doesn’t always notice what’s right in front of him.”

“Believe me, I’ve noticed that much,” Cass said, laughing.

Her thumb ran across Cass’s shoulder. “I guess this all just goes to say that you’ve got to talk to him. He cares about you, a lot. He’ll listen. And if he doesn’t, you send him to me, okay?”

Cass smiled. “I will.” The players had just come out, and the anthems were about to start. Cass rose from her seat, hand over her heart and Mat on her mind.

The score at the ten-minute mark was 3-3, and Cass had to constantly stop herself from chewing her nails down to nubs. The 3-on-3 format made it easier to keep track of the puck, but there was so much open space on the ice it was sometimes impossible to tell where the players were trying to go in the first place. There were three minutes left, and Mat had just nabbed a pass from Konecny. Skating down the ice, he caught a breakaway. Faked to his left, skated to the right, and poked it right past Vasilevsky in the far corner. Half of the arena exploded, half sunk to their seats and groaned. Cass cheered loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth and hugging the rest of the family. He skated over to the side, hi-fiving the guys on the bench before taking his seat for the next shift.

Metro division ended up winning 8-6, and Cass shot off a quick congratulations text to Mat, knowing that he probably wouldn’t be able to read it until after the final. She half-payed attention to the Western conference semifinal, only enough to know that the Pacific division won. She couldn’t even say by how much.

The final was close, much closer than the first game had seemed, with no more than a single goal separating the two teams at any time. Late in the game, it looked like the Metro team would be able to run away with it, but Tkachuk sniped from the blue line, pulling Pacific ahead and giving them the win. She followed his family down to the hall where everyone was waiting, internally cringing at the thought of how Mat might be taking the loss. He had gotten better, a lot better, after they had made it clear that communication was a priority and something that needed to be worked on in their relationship, but he wasn’t perfect, and neither was she.

So needless to say, she was more than a little surprised when he came out of the locker room with a smile on his face, embracing his family and giving her a kiss on the head. The group walked outside as they said their goodbyes — Mat’s family had an early flight back, Miami to Vancouver wasn’t exactly an in-demand route — and Mat’s sister hugged Cass, turning to her brother after and sternly telling him “don’t screw this up. She’s way too good for you.”

It was pretty late, and a beautiful night, and most of the fans had left, so Cass and Mat walked hand-in-hand back to the hotel. “What’s on your mind, pretty girl?” Mat murmured. So I guess we’re going to have this conversation now, Cass thought, on the sidewalk in an Islanders jersey in the middle of Sunset, Florida.

“You really can read me like a book, can’t you?” Cass asked softly.

Mat shrugged. “That, and the fact that you keep glancing between me and the street. Might have been a little bit of a giveaway.”

“The interview from the other day’s been on my mind. I know it seems kind of stupid and childish, but it’s getting to me. What he said about me not being a ‘typical’ hockey girlfriend.”

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Mat said dismissively.

“I know that, you know that, but it’s the perception, Mat. Either that I don’t support you or your career because I have my own things to deal with sometimes, or that I don’t occupy the ‘place’ I should by pursuing education and a career. By pursuing a male-dominated career, especially. I’m worried I don’t…” She took a breath. “I’m worried I don’t live up to the expectations everyone’s setting for me.” Cass was annoyed, not at Mat or at the interviewer, even, but at the situation. At the thought that she had to continually prove to people that she was enough and she had earned her place.

“Fuck expectations,” Mat said abruptly. “I want you. All of you.” He stopped for a moment. “I’m so, so proud of you. I know I’ve said it already, and I hope you don’t get tired of hearing it, because it’s true. You have this incredible future ahead of you, and you’ve worked so hard to get to where you are. Everyone sees it. You’re going to do such good work, whether it’s bailing dumbass hockey players out or defending immigrant kids. You’re made for this.” Cass had gone into law school thinking she wanted to go into immigration law, motivated in no small part by the fact that Alejandra, her best friend down in Texas, was a DACA recipient. She had legal status for the time being, but it broke her heart to think that she could be forced out of the only country she had ever known. And when Cass was pissed off about something, she wasn’t the type to keep her mouth shut.

“People will want to write you off,” he continued, “because maybe they’ve never seen anyone do what you do, but that just makes it all the more incredible and impressive that you are able to do it. To have it all.”

Cass let out a humorless laugh. “Have it all, sure.”

“What else happened?” Mat asked, getting the sense that there was still something she was holding back. And he was right.

“Fiona sent this text checking up on me,” Cass said, not quite sure where to start.

Mat’s eyebrows furrowed. “But isn’t that good? That she wanted to catch up?”

“I mean, it would be,” Cass sighed, “but she was saying without saying it that she’s not sure my priorities are in the right place since I’ve started seeing you. Almost like you’re...I don’t know. Distracting me from school or something.”

“But—” She cut him off.

“Don’t be mad at her. She means well, I know she does,” Cass replied sharply. Even frustrated, she was still protective of her friends. “And she’s right in the fact that I’ve had more things taking up my time now, and maybe I’m not spending quite as much time at school or the library or wherever as I used to. But that’s fine. Right? Because I’ve been working hard, and I’m still getting good grades but this is making me worried that everything I’m working so hard for isn’t going to pan out—”

“Are you happier?” Mat asked abruptly.

Cass turned to him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Are you happier now than you were before we met?” She could see his Adam’s apple bobbing. He was nervous. Mat had taken a gamble asking her the question, and he wasn’t sure of the answer.

“I am,” she said softly.

Mat squeezed her hand. “Then what else really matters?”

They arrived back at the hotel some twenty minutes later, dropping their bags on the floor and grabbing a change of clothes. There was a party at a bar downtown, and everyone was invited. By everyone, that meant all the players and whoever they decided to bring along. “I don’t actually know who booked the place,” Mat said, pulling one leg through a pair of black jeans. “Segs, maybe?” Out of anyone she had met that weekend, Tyler Seguin renting out a bar would surprise her the least. It was kind of sweet, she thought, zipping up her ankle boots, that the teams could check each other on the ice and then go celebrate together after. Being in the hockey world was really just like having a weird, dysfunctional family.

“You ready to go?” Cass asked, grabbing a jacket.

“After you,” Mat said, opening the door. They met a handful of others in the lobby, and the group grabbed a pair of Ubers over to the venue. It was packed by the time they got there, most of the players hanging out in the roped-off section towards the back. Mat helped her up, grabbing them a pair of what she’s pretty sure were whiskey sours, and introducing her to everyone they ran into. She couldn’t keep track of all the names, there was Nathan MacKinnon and Seth Jones and the Tkachuk brothers and a half dozen other players she didn’t recognize. “Please, for the love of God, shave the mustache,” she said to Auston, sipping her drink and staring at him judgily. “It’s not a good look.” He waved her off good-naturedly, and she smacked his shoulder as she walked back to Mat, wrapping her free arm around his front and kissing his shoulder.

“Let’s dance, chou,” Cass said, shucking off her jacket and leaving it on a spare chair. Mat smiled, taking her hand and guiding her out to the dance floor, where a mix of hockey and decidedly-not-hockey couples were gathered under the bright lights. Ah, sweat, the great equalizer.

“Do you think any of these Florida men are, you know, Florida Men?” Mat asked over the noise. Cass threw her head back laughing, remembering their first real conversation.

“Absolutely. We’re going to get pulled into their gator cult.”

It was Mat’s turn to laugh. “I’ll protect you.”

“I’m swooning,” Cass replied. “You’re my knight in shining armor, Mathew.”

Cass sat down her second drink of the night onto a nearby table, draping her arms around his neck. His hands snaked around her to the back of her waist, pulling her up against him, pulling her closer. She couldn’t even say what song was playing, some dance remix of a top-40 hit that the DJ in the corner was more than likely butchering, but she didn’t care. All she could think about was Mat’s hands on her and how he made her feel. For once in her life, Cass felt like she didn’t have any pressing responsibilities. For one night, she didn’t have the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was 24, and she was going to party like she was 24.

Cass leaned up to Mat, kissing him, whimpering when his tongue slipped between her lips. In a normal context, Cass never would have done something like that in public, and maybe it was the alcohol talking, but she finally couldn’t care less what people thought of them. “I don’t think the girls behind us know I speak Spanish,” she murmured, his face still so close she could feel him breathing, “because they’re all talking about how hot you are.” Mat laughed, letting his hands down a little more than was respectable. “Soy mexicana, hablo español,” she said over her shoulder, raising one eyebrow as the girls blushed and hurried off. “Now where were we?”

They kissed for what felt like hours, until her lips were starting to get puffy and she needed to come up for air. “I’m going to get another drink. You want anything?”

“Gimlet?” Mat asked hopefully, giving Cass a peck on the cheek as she made her way to the bar. Waiting among the throngs of people vying for the bartender’s attention, she threw her hair up in a high pony. It may have been January, but it was still Miami and they were still in a club — it was hot as hell. Five minutes later, she had finally shoved her way to the front, ordering Mat’s gimlet and a mojito for herself. Cass scrolled through her Instagram feed as she waited, sensing someone who she assumed was Mat off to her right side.

“Hey,” she said, looking up, expecting to see her boyfriend. It wasn’t her boyfriend. The men was a little taller than Mat, blond instead of brunet, and any other time, she probably would have been all over him. She wished she hadn’t started a conversation.

“Hey,” he said, resting an elbow on the bar. “What’s your name?”

“Cassidy,” she said, flashing him a tight smile. He didn’t deserve the nickname.

He nodded. “Cool, cool. That’s a beautiful name. I’m Justin. Can I buy you a drink?” He was clearly a few in himself, not enough to be drunk but more than enough to engage in a spectacularly poor decision-making process.

“I’ve already ordered one, thanks.” Cass was trying to negotiate, walking the fine line between politeness and interest, hating that she had to talk to someone she didn’t want to just in the interest of safety.

“You from the area?”

She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes, willing the bartender to come back with the drinks. “No, not really. Just visiting. Leaving tomorrow,” she said, hoping that that would be enough of a hint to get him off of her back. As it turned out, that would be simply too big of an ask.

“Then I guess we’ve got to make the most of tonight, huh?” Gross, she thought. She wasn’t leading him on, wasn’t doing anything more than making polite conversation so he wouldn’t get even more pissed at her, so what gave him the right?

“Listen, Justin,” she said, finally turning and facing him. “That’s not my style. And I have a boyfriend.”

He cracked a smile, clearly not buying it. As subtly as she could, she tried to find Mat, but she couldn’t. Maybe he had gone to the bathroom? And she didn’t want to leave without having gotten their drinks, cocktails didn’t come cheap and she didn’t want to throw her money away. “It’s okay, babe, you don’t have to play that game with me. He’s not here.”

“I’m not interested.”

“Hey, come on,” Justin said, inching closer and growing more aggressive by the second. “I was just trying to be nice. Don’t have to be such a bitch about it.” She took a deep breath, about to flag down the bouncer and tell her that this guy just wasn’t taking no for an answer, but she didn’t have to.

“What’s going on here?” That voice, she recognized. That voice was Mat. Cass let out a sign of relief, gladly moving to the side and letting Mat step in between them.

“This the boyfriend?” Justin asked with disdain.

Mat arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m ‘the boyfriend,’ but it shouldn’t matter. She’s not interested, and you’re having trouble respecting that.”

Justin huffed. “Fine, She wouldn’t have been worth it anyway.” Cass had to grab Mat’s wrist to stop him from going after the guy.

“God, I wanted to punch that guy,” Mat said, running a hand through his hair and visually inspecting her. “You okay? Did he do anything?”

She shook her head. “No, thank God. A little shook up, but nothing serious. He just didn’t know how to take no for an answer.”

He kissed the top of her head, grabbing the drinks from the bartender, who had just slid them over. “You good to stay?” He wouldn’t have blamed her if she wanted to leave.

Cass shook her head. “No, I’m good. Liquor me up.”

“As you wish,” Mat said, handing her the glass.

The two made their way back to the cordoned-off section, where Cass downed the entirety of her mojito in under 10 minutes. She wasn’t in a sipping mood. Then someone from the Pacific Division — maybe they were on the Sharks? — bought the whole room a round, then she finished half of Mat’s Whiteclaw. Then somehow, she was goaded into body shots.

“You cool with this?” Mat asked as she scrambled up onto the table. Cass nodded quickly, trying to control her giggles.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m good,” Cass said, scrunching the bottom of her shirt up, trying not to think about what her mom would think if she saw her right now.

Someone had obviously made a run to one of the bars, returning with a bowl of limes and a saltshaker. She tried not to think of how good it felt when his tongue ran over her stomach, licking up the salt, tried to distract herself when his head was ducked just above where her shirt barely covered her bra, throwing back the tequila, and definitely didn’t want to think about his lips just barely touching hers to grab the lime wedge. He threw away the wedge and bro-hugged a few of his onlooking friends, collapsing over Cass in laughter and kisses while he helped her off of the table.

A little under an hour and a few more drinks later, most of the group had finally decided to call it quits. To put it technically, everyone was shitfaced. A few people luckily still had the wherewithal to call Ubers, and they split up with Instagram handles written in eyeliner on hands to cars grouped by hotel. It was her, Mat, Seguin, and someone’s little sister packed into a white Honda Civic, Mat lazily kissing Cass’s neck, shoulder, anywhere he could reach. They tipped the driver — very well — before stumbling into the elevators, saying goodbye to Tyler, who was the floor below them. She barely managed to wipe off her makeup and brush her teeth before falling into bed with Mat, who immediately draped his arm over her waist and pulled her into his chest. Even drunk, she wasn’t complaining.

---

Jan. 31 (sun)

Cass groaned, her head pounding as she looked she rolled over in bed to grab her phone, looking at the time. 9:22. Great, their flight was at noon, so there wasn’t any time for self-pity before they needed to leave. Mat was up too, rubbing his eyes with a grump look on his face. He leaned over, giving her a kiss good morning. “How are you feeling, babe?” He asked. Mat’s head wasn’t hurting too bad — he knew he could hold his liquor just fine — but he had never seen Cass drink as much as she had last night.

“Ugh,” Cass moaned, pressing the heels of her hands to her temples. “It was so much fun, but I’m never doing that again. I don’t think I’ve been this hungover since the SAE color party junior year.”

“Oh yeah,” Mat mused, “I forgot you were a sorority girl,” he said in sing-song.

Cass huffed. “I was president, thank you very much.”

“Does my sorority girl need an Advil?” Mat asked.

“Your sorority girl will punch you if you keep saying that, but yes. Advil would be much appreciated.”

Mat padded away, returning from the bathroom a moment later with the bottle in his hand. He shook two out, grabbing her water bottle from the nightstand and unscrewing the cap. “Here you are.”

“Thank you,” Cass said, flashing him a small, begrudged, but genuine smile. “You’re really too good to me, Mat.”

He kissed her shoulder, pulling a t-shirt over his head. “You deserve it.”

---

Feb 13 (sat)

Cass’s hair was thrown up in a messy bun as she padded through the aisle of the grocery store. Shopping duties rotated every week, and it was her turn for errands. She handed her card over to the cashier, pulling out her bag-of-bags and beginning to separate. Fridge. Fridge. Pantry. Freezer. Pantry. Errands had always been somewhat of a soothing activity for her; Cass liked just being able to listen to her music and drive around and go into stores for a reason, not just to kill time. As much as she loved spending time with Mat and her roommates and her friends at law school, the constant human interaction could get draining sometimes, and the precious few free hours were alone time she craved. Loading all the bags into her trunk, she set off for the CVS. The bathroom was running out of soap, she needed a box of tampons, and she had gotten a call that the refill on her birth control was ready.

It was also the day before Valentine’s, which hadn’t always been the best time of year for Cass. It seemed like most of her Valentine’s Days had been filled with sitting alone in her room or binge-watching Bachelor reruns with friends. Or, in the case of her junior year of college, it was crying in her bedroom at the sorority house over the fact that Alex, her boyfriend of a year, had broken up with her two days prior because a relationship was just “too much work.” And Cass was all in favor of self-reflection, but that didn’t mean the rejection stung any less. They had been together for almost a year, and even though she had had other boyfriends before, he was the first one she loved, the first one she really saw a future with. So, needless to say, her track record wasn’t the best. Which she told Mat, that she didn’t want anything elaborate or extravagant, especially since he was leaving for a roadie the day after and would have to get up early.

But they say love makes people do crazy things. And Mat didn’t want her memories of a day that, commercialized as it was, was supposed to be about celebrating love and commitment and admiration for your partner. And anyone who knew Mathew Barzal knew that he was stubborn as hell with a heart of gold. But if Cass didn’t want anything big, he wasn’t going to do anything big; as much as he would have been absolutely willing to rent out the entire damn Empire State Building just to shout from the rooftops that he was absolutely, unequivocally in love with Cassidy María Cabrera Shaw, but her comfort came before anything. He’d bend over backwards to make her know how much he cared. But this was also Mat Barzal, and Mat Barzal never did anything halfway.

So it really wasn’t a surprise at all when, just as Cass pulled into her parking spot and killed the gas on her car that her phone lit up with a text from Mat. Picking you up at 5:30 tomorrow. Dress like you’re going to a diner.

#hockey imagine #hockey writing #nhl imagine #nhl writing #mat barzal #mat barzal imagine #mathew barzal #islanders #new york islanders #islanders imagines #islanders writing #nhl imagines #nhl #nhl fluff #hockey fluff #hockey imagines #hockey smut #nhl smut

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airmanisr · 3 years

Video

N73544 1955 L1049F Super Constellation Breitling Duxford 10.06.04 by Phil Rawlings Via Flickr: Delivered to USAF MATS Atlantic Division in November 1955 as a Lockheed C-121C serial 54-156. Transferred to the Mississippi ANG in October 1962 and on to the West Virginia ANG March 1967. She was retired and stored at Davis Monthan AFB by April 1972 and on to the Smithsonian NASM in June 1972. She was exchanged for a Boeing S307 Stratoliner N19903 with Aviation Specialities Inc in August 1972 and ferried to Mesa Falcon Field, Arizona where she was registered as N73544 followed by modification into a crop sprayer in 1973 just for that year. Stored at Mesa, Arizona from 1976 to November 1978 and in 1979 was made airworthy and flown to Chandler Memorial Airport, Arizona, in early 1980. Sold on to Globe Air Inc in February 1981 and then to Benny Younesi and Mehrdad Khoramian in January 1982 before being leased to Classic Air, Van Nuys in December 1982 for a sightseeing flight venture which never materialized. She then ferried to Chino in California in March 1983 and on to Camarillo also in California in January 1984. The Constellation Historical Society (CHS) formed in 1992 to restore the aircraft with the restoration being performed at Camarillo from 1992 to 1994. The FAA grounded the aircraft mid-2001 for maintenance irregularities and she was offered for sale via e-Bay in 2002. CHS and Super Constellation Flyers Association (SCFA) signed a lease-purchase agreement on December 17, 2003 and she departed from Camarillo on April 26, 2004 destined for Basel-Mulhouse Airport in Switzerland where it arrived safely on May 8, 2004. Joint operation of the aircraft by CHS/SCFA followed on for five years after which time SCFA purchased the aircraft in April 2007 and re-registered her as HB-RSC. Based at Basel, Switzerland and flown on the European airshow circuit, HB-RSC flew until grounded by wing corrosion issues in January 2010 whereupon repairs in the region of $600,000 were funded and carried out with completion in April 2011. Mechanical issues unfortunately forced the 2012, 2017 and 2018 airshow seasons to be cancelled and at this time Breitling, the major sponsor of the aircraft, withdrew most of its aviation sponsorships including those for the Super Constellation. The repair costs were in the region of CHF20 million and this plus future flight restrictions on older aircraft led the SCFA Directors to sadly disband the organisation in late April 2019. A group of German investors purchased the aircraft and spares on July 1, 2019 and their aim is to restore this magnificent machine to flight. The aircraft was dismantled in late summer 2019 and moved by road transport to Eschbach-Bremgarten in southwest Germany arriving November 27, 2019. Meirer Motors leads the restoration.

#Lockheed Constellation #C-121 #aircraft

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bordeleaubeau · 4 years

Text

my season predictions: RECAP

italicized = season prediction

bold = what actually happened

the metropolitan division.

the flyers will shock most people, pulling a surprisingly decent cup run, possibly making eastern conference finals or the stanley cup final. if they go to the cup final, they will win. since the cup final hasn’t happened yet, we don’t know if the flyers won obviously! but they definitely shocked a LOT of people this season (including myself.) and i’m really confident in my boys and that they’ll go far in the playoffs.

there will be a huge trade within the division that causes an uproar i mean, taylor hall?

kaapo kakko will have more goals than jack hughes - but jack hughes will have more points overall yeah. this didn’t happen but i thought it did. kakko had 10-13-23, meanwhile hughes had 7-14-21. (format goals-assists-total points)

jack hughes will win the calder. lol wishful thinking! still between q. hughes and makar, will definitely end up being makar.

a team expected to be extremely good this year will do the complete opposite and tank. (possibly team that makes big trade?) say it with me: THE NEW JERSEY DEVILS!

columbus will fall to the bottom of the ranks after suffering the loss of duchene and bobrovsky. john tortorello? not happy. columbus didn’t fall to the bottom of the ranks, but they were in the bottom half of the division.

the flyers new young core will start to make an early impact. one of the defensemen will suffer a long-term injury, allowing one of the phantoms to come up and make an instant impact shocking fans. sam morin suffered an injury riiiight after coming back from a torn acl, and tore it again! he wasn’t up with the flyers, he was still in the minors, but he was on the official roster at the start of the season.

joel farabee will make the flyers lineup and be in the calder cup running. (bold. i know.) wishful thinking, again.

sidney crosby will suffer an injury, but it will not be expressed until after the season is over. tba

ovechkin will retire the end of this season or the next. tba

the new york rangers will suffer from the loss of kevin hayes and mats zuccarello – kakko will not be able to fulfill their space. yup! hayes and zucc both thrived on their new teams and the rangers were at a .564 point percentage

standings predictions. (bold prediction is where that team placed and their points)

1st: washington capitals - 94 points 1st - 90 points

2nd: philadelphia flyers - 89 points 2nd - 89 points (spot freaking on)

3rd: pittsburgh penguins - 88 points 3rd - 86 points

4th: new jersey devils - 86 points 8th - 68 points

5th: carolina hurricanes - 81 points 4th - 81 points

6th: new york islanders - 79 points 5th - 80 points

7th: new york rangers - 75 points 7th - 79 points

8th: columbus blue jackets - 72 points 6th - 81 points

the atlantic division.

the florida panthers? yeah, they’re gonna explode. with bobby luo out of there and bob in, they’re gonna be a serious threat. however, bob might suffer a few injuries here and there. i mean, yeah. this happened. but i don’t recall bob having any injuries!

spencer knight will sign his elc at the end of his first year at boston college, starting next season and so forth in the minor league. wishful thinking

this will be a tough division this year! usually the metro is the really close division, the one that you never really know whos playoff bound until the end, but the atlantic might be giving the metro a run for their money. nope! not one bit!

THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS WILL MAKE IT OUT OF THE SECOND ROUND. there, i said it. tba!

the leafs will finally break the curse - however, they do not play boston in the first round and will lose to the b’s in the second round. tba... we shall see.

boston will go onto the eastern conference finals but will lose to the philadelphia flyers in game 7. tba... obviously i didnt predict a pandemic happening

tampa bay will be a powerhouse like they were the previous regular season, but once again will fail to show up in the playoffs. they will not be swept. powerhouse indeed... but not best in their division.

ottawa will have a (slight!) comeback season! they will not be amazing, but they will not be as awful as they have been. i think i just felt bad and said this. this did not happen.

buffalo will have a MUCH better season this year. ummmm kinda?

montreal will have an above mediocre season. carey price will sustain another injury, leaving montreal to rely on one of their prospects. pretty much mediocre. i think i remember price being injured.

cole caufield will sign with the canadiens the end of this season, or will sign if wisconsin loses early in the playoffs and the canadiens make it. wishful thinking... caufield to wisconsin for one more year.

detroit will fall to the bottom of the standings. yes. very much so. #getlarkinout

john tavares will have the c in toronto. auston matthews will have an a. toronto will be set on fire. not literally lmao yup! this happened and i’m proud of it:)

standings predictions. (i am VERY proud of this)

1st: tampa bay lightning - 115 points 2nd - 92 points

2nd: boston bruins - 108 points 1st - 100 points

3rd: toronto maple leafs - 103 points 3rd - 81 points

4th: florida panthers - 99 points 4th - 78 points

5th: montreal canadiens - 94 points 5th - 71 points

6th: buffalo sabres - 89 points 6th - 68 points

7th: ottawa senators - 86 points 7th - 62 points

8th: detriot red wings - 79 points 8th - 39 points

the pacific division:

honestly the pacific is really iffy for me. i dont really like any of these teams besides the flames and the ‘nucks. this is a really mediocre division overall. yes, they were mediocre.

matthew tkachuk will sign with the calgary flames. will suffer an injury early on in the season. he did sign, but no injury for tkachuky early in the season. it was in december.

edmonton will be mediocre. #getmcdavidoutofedmonton connor and leon will carry the team once more, the team will start off weak but make their way up in the standings as the season progresses. by the time they make their way up the ranks it will be too late. nope! edmonton shocked us ALL this year, and even before the pandemic they were on track to make the post season.

phil kessel will have almost no impact on the arizona coyotes whatsoever. he will have a horrible season without crosby. yeeaaahhh. kessel had 14-24-38 this season, but last season while playing in pittsburgh he had 27-55-82.

the vancouver canucks will be significantly better, however, quinn hughes will sustain an injury midway through the season, causing the canucks to suffer. the canucks were actually doing really well! quinn hughes did sustain an injury, but at the beginning of march.

los angeles will still suffer to rebuild their franchise. jonathan quick will be injury plagued. with the signing of turcotte, who really knows however quick did not sustain any injuries this season.

anaheim will be a little bit better than they have been! not amazing, but not bottom of the league rankings. i’m saying they could end up being from 22nd - 18th ish nope! anaheim finished 27th.

viva las vegas! vegas will have a bit of a comeback season similar to their inaugural season. yup!

san jose will fall in the rankings ever so slightly. they will make a decent trade at some point in the season. san jose fell HARD in the standings.

standings predictions.

1st: calgary flames - 103 points 4th - 79 points

2nd: vegas golden knights - 99 points 1st - 86 points

3rd: vancouver canucks - 92 points 3rd - 78 points

4th: san jose sharks - 89 points 8th - 63 points

5th: edmonton oilers - 80 points 2nd - 83 points

6th: anaheim ducks - 73 points 6th - 67 points

7th: los angeles kings - 70 points 7th - 64 points

8th: arizona coyotes - 68 points 5th - 74 points

the central division.

dylan strome and alex debrincat will light the league up again once more - but this time, even more so than last season. they are the toews and kane 2.0 and will certainly be able to hold the fort down in chicago when the two retire. dylan strome had 12-26-38 and alex debrincat had 18-27-45. not awful.

dylan strome will have a 65+ point season. keep in mind strome was traded a few months into the season, imagine what his stats would look like if he had been with chicago the entire season? wishful thinking. but if we had played a full season i believe he would’ve at least made 50.

patrik laine will be traded from the winnipeg jets, but the jets will pull a new york islanders. they lose one of their franchise players but will still manage to kill it. nope! this did not happen, however there were many rumors of laine being traded. fortnite legend.

colorado will be a powerhouse this season. with the addition of andre burakovsky, burky will find himself in denver and will be back to his normal self. yup! colorado managed to surprise everyone with their run.

the reigning 2019 stanley cup champions will suffer the post-cup summer. they will not make it past the second round of the playoffs. well, we shall see.

minnesota will have a slightly better season - they will start to make their comeback. with a new general manager hopefully they will be able to start conspiring a new plan to get their team back up. hopefully they will be better at drafting players they really need. umm... no. but they did make the playoffs with the formatting.

the wild and the flyers will make a trade. nope!

dallas will pretty much stay the same. they wont be much better, wont be much worse. not a lot will happen with the stars this year. pretty much! the stars finished 4th last season and 3rd this season.

nashville will possibly make the playoffs but will have an early first round exit. duchene will be a problem. tba, but dont think duchene is a problem.

standing predictions.

1st: winnipeg jets - 104 points 5th - 80 points

2nd: chicago blackhawks - 96 points 7th - 72 points

3rd: colorado avalanche - 93 points 2nd - 92 points

4th: nashville predators - 90 points 4th - 78 points

5th: st. louis blues - 85 points 1st - 94 points

6th: dallas stars - 83 points 3rd - 82 points

7th: minnesota wild - 80 points 6th - 77 points

final predictions.

eastern conference finals champions: philadelphia flyers

western conference finals champions: colorado avalanche (bold)

stanley cup final champions: philadelphia flyers

i’ll update after the post season:)

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goalcaufield · 5 years

Text

i figured this would be really fun! and whenever i say something and it comes true no one believes me that i called it, so this is documented proof.

my season predictions:

the metropolitan division.

the flyers will shock most people, pulling a surprisingly decent cup run, possibly making eastern conference finals or the stanley cup final. if they go to the cup final, they will win.

there will be a huge trade within the division that causes an uproar

kaapo kakko will have more goals than jack hughes - but jack hughes will have more points overall

jack hughes will win the calder.

a team expected to be extremely good this year will do the complete opposite and tank. (possibly team that makes big trade?)

columbus will fall to the bottom of the ranks after suffering the loss of duchene and bobrovsky. john tortorello? not happy.

the flyers new young core will start to make an early impact. one of the defensemen will suffer a long-term injury, allowing one of the phantoms to come up and make an instant impact shocking fans.

joel farabee will make the flyers lineup and be in the calder cup running. (bold. i know.)

sidney crosby will suffer an injury, but it will not be expressed until after the season is over.

ovechkin will retire the end of this season or the next.

the new york rangers will suffer from the loss of kevin hayes and mats zuccarello -- kakko will not be able to fulfill their space.

standings predictions.

1st: washington capitals - 94 points

2nd: philadelphia flyers - 89 points

3rd: pittsburgh penguins - 88 points

4th: new jersey devils - 86 points

5th: carolina hurricanes - 81 points

6th: new york islanders - 79 points

7th: new york rangers - 75 points

8th: columbus blue jackets - 72 points

the atlantic division.

the florida panthers? yeah, they’re gonna explode. with bobby luo out of there and bob in, they’re gonna be a serious threat. however, bob might suffer a few injuries here and there.

spencer knight will sign his elc at the end of his first year at boston college, starting next season and so forth in the minor league.

THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS WILL MAKE IT OUT OF THE SECOND ROUND. there, i said it.

the leafs will finally break the curse - however, they do not play boston in the first round and will lose to the b’s in the second round.

boston will go onto the eastern conference finals but will lose to the philadelphia flyers in game 7.

tampa bay will be a powerhouse like they were the previous regular season, but once again will fail to show up in the playoffs. they will not be swept.

ottawa will have a (slight!) comeback season! they will not be amazing, but they will not be as awful as they have been.

buffalo will have a MUCH better season this year.

montreal will have an above mediocre season. carey price will sustain another injury, leaving montreal to rely on one of their prospects.

cole caufield will sign with the canadiens the end of this season, or will sign if wisconsin loses early in the playoffs and the canadiens make it.

detroit will fall to the bottom of the standings.

john tavares will have the c in toronto. auston matthews will have an a. toronto will be set on fire. not literally lmao

standings predictions.

1st: tampa bay lightning - 115 points

2nd: boston bruins - 108 points

3rd: toronto maple leafs - 103 points

4th: florida panthers - 99 points

5th: montreal canadiens - 94 points

6th: buffalo sabres - 89 points

7th: ottawa senators - 86 points

8th: detriot red wings - 79 points

the pacific division:

honestly the pacific is really iffy for me. i dont really like any of these teams besides the flames and the ‘nucks. this is a really mediocre division overall.

matthew tkachuk will sign with the calgary flames. will suffer an injury early on in the season.

phil kessel will have almost no impact on the arizona coyotes whatsoever. he will have a horrible season without crosby.

the vancouver canucks will be significantly better, however, quinn hughes will sustain an injury midway through the season, causing the canucks to suffer.

los angeles will still suffer to rebuild their franchise. jonathan quick will be injury plagued.

anaheim will be a little bit better than they have been! not amazing, but not bottom of the league rankings. i’m saying they could end up being from 22nd - 18th ish

viva las vegas! vegas will have a bit of a comeback season similar to their inaugural season.

san jose will fall in the rankings ever so slightly. they will make a decent trade at some point in the season.

standings predictions.

1st: calgary flames - 103 points

2nd: vegas golden knights - 99 points

3rd: vancouver canucks - 92 points

4th: san jose sharks - 89 points

5th: edmonton oilers - 80 points

6th: anaheim ducks - 73 points

7th: los angeles kings - 70 points

8th: arizona coyotes - 68 points

the central division.

dylan strome will have a 65+ point season. keep in mind strome was traded a few months into the season, imagine what his stats would look like if he had been with chicago the entire season?

patrik laine will be traded from the winnipeg jets, but the jets will pull a new york islanders. they lose one of their franchise players but will still manage to kill it.

colorado will be a powerhouse this season. with the addition of andre burakovsky, burky will find himself in denver and will be back to his normal self.

the reigning 2019 stanley cup champions will suffer the post-cup summer. they will not make it past the second round of the playoffs.

the wild and the flyers will make a trade.

dallas will pretty much stay the same. they wont be much better, wont be much worse. not a lot will happen with the stars this year.

nashville will possibly make the playoffs but will have an early first round exit. duchene will be a problem.

standing predictions.

1st: winnipeg jets - 104 points

2nd: chicago blackhawks - 96 points

3rd: colorado avalanche - 93 points

4th: nashville predators - 90 points

5th: st. louis blues - 85 points

6th: dallas stars - 83 points

7th: minnesota wild - 80 points

final predictions.

eastern conference finals champions: philadelphia flyers

western conference finals champions: colorado avalanche (bold)

stanley cup final champions: philadelphia flyers

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kny111 · 5 years

Photo

I know I haven’t really updated on here. Fatherhood can be really tiring and time consuming as it is a blessing and will change who you are for the better, at least for me. I’ve been away from a lot of the subjects I used to normally post about until recently, that’s because I picked up the energy and interest for science journalism again. To say I went off to have a long waited talk with nature is to minimize greatly the kind of transformations I’ve undergone. The mysteries she’s shown me far greater than any cosmic unknown that I could have ever imagined of. I know a lot of the folks who used to follow this blog might be surprised to know that within that journey I’ve seen, experienced and have been in communion with some really influential spirits of old. Nature’s hidden variables. Whatever you want to call it. Something occurred when I decided to take more seriously the religions and spirituality of my ancestors. Something that only reinvigorated my love for science and the unknown, physics, art, and expression of these things for beneficial communal use. I’m from Quisqueya, the first testing grounds for colonialism and subsequently the evolution of neo-colonialism. Not too long after and we become one of the first pit stop for the trans-Atlantic slave trading markets to proliferate and spin the rest of the world off into the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy hell branch of a reality we know of today. Our little island has undergone so many transformations and inclusion of peoples, cultures, so many I only recently found out of like how Haitians took in Jewish refugees during the time of Hitler’s nazism. Because I still deal with mental health issues and depression being one I’ve had since childhood, I sometimes don’t have near enough energy to convey how have things been going since my last big update here. My spiritual and religious journey, finding comfort in myself and closure in ways I no longer adhere to. That said I found it beyond amazing how earlier today on October the 14th ‘Indigenous Peoples Day‘ I was drumming away to Tainx music without realizing what day today was without looking at my social media feeds yet. Here I was normally thinking I’m so tired, down and out of trying to keep these cultures alive and I was already doing so instinctively in the truest way I know how.

Like I mentioned, I decided to take more seriously my Afro-Indigenous roots and what it meant to be a Black Dominican Haitian Taino American. It took me on the wildest ride with the unlikeliest subject ranging from seeing quantum entanglement examples right before my eyes, seeing living breathing afrofuturism through my Vodun, Catholic, Christian roots and the functionality of Vodun to incorporate so many ancient parts of being Black into what intuitively led me down a road of self and outward knowledge on the cosmos around me. To then blend these epigenetically installed formulas of spirituality embededd in me by history and nature, incorporate them into my expression of art and self which is one has been like achieving a life long dream I didn’t even know I had. I did so much intuitive shit that was so clearly linked to my identity as an Afro-Indigenx American immigrant along the way that I had erected an altar without knowing it was an altar. I would section and compartmentalize this prototype altar so beautifully and had no clue I was paying respects to my ancestors and spirits of the world until more recently a few months back. When I realized this, it was like a Cambrian explosion occurred in me. I don’t want to get into the details of the abilities it brought out that I already had in me due to prying eyes (ahem surveillance capitalist patriarchy is still outchea at large) but to simply meditate and think on my folks has given me such a renewed and strengthened sense of intuition and appreciation for the past and future that I never knew existed. Sometimes I’ll legit write and prophesize shit out the ass like it’s a normal day it’s wild, shit I never believed in but the science seems to check out with quantum physics and what not. That’d be an explanation for another time. The altar has now evolved to a place I can really go to and express but at the same time it’s something I’ve learned to keep within my own self so that it’s not the altar that’s important, rather the changes I’ve gone through to get to such a place. I write, dream, visualize, laugh, act, improvise, predict based on science, meditate, heal, rehabilitate myself there. But conversely the world speaks to me there, the spirits of old, new, those to be. I know it sounds type wild but it’s gotten normal for me to experience something my old science nerd ass self woulda made fun of me for. But when you get into a connection with ya ancestors like I have and reach the conclusions and deductions I have on the systems that control the planet it gets clearer to see that the Indigenous were right all along on colonialism, it’s gotto go. There’s no place for it in the future if we’re to survive a planet seemingly becoming another Venus. I’d like to think we not gone be fighting each other while some catastrophe bop our asses one time like they did the dinos. That’s one of the main messages they keep tellin me and it’s hard to refute. I’ll try and continue this update on another day as there’s so much in between and concepts and ideas I wanna share about how to move forward on activism and using art to get our ideas about those movements across. The above images span from months, just small droplets of the cool ass journey I been on just trying to maintain some normalcy while playing my part in not helping oppressors of any kind continue proliferating their systems of domination and subjugation. So this first image is from the week not too long ago when I had 2 honey bees flying in and checking out the altar. Then I left an old jar of honey that still had some and they’d return and eat some for like a good week or so. At one point, this matrix-like moment happens when one of them goes into the jar and makes this cool sound I never heard before. The bee had gone in there before many times and never made that specific sound, it was like a lower frequency conch shell or something. When I checked the time it was like 1:23pm or 1:11pm one of those. I was like..... get Neo!! shit was so cool. This next image is really a culmination of my search to learn more about my Afro-Indigenousness which led me to learn more about my Haitianness and the spirituality and religion. From painting Papa Legba paintings before I even knew him, to giving respects to all types of 21 division spirits and Vodun loa before ever even knowing of them. It was as if each part of these religions was trying to show me how much of them was in me in how intuitively I’d gravitate towards these religions despite being still very devoted to science and scientific literacy worldwide. Idk it’s just been a really cool blending of a lot of things I never thought could come together. I found this moth around the time I was reading and thinking deeply on the creator entity in Vodun and some African religions, Gran Maitrex. I’ve always had an interest in creator stories and beings so when this Golden Moth popped up in the altar (right on the mat I have laid in front of it, facing it, as if it came there to spend its last moments) I was like a little kid. To me it reminds me of those mysteries we’ve yet to discover that can help us in our path to heal ourselves and others if we chose to. The following two are from my walking meditating sessions by the river. They have slightly deeper stories to em about relaxation, overcoming obstacles, predictions I made that day about the sky that I wont get into on here cause it’s exhausting lol. The next image with the wooden branch I brought in from a forest walk is of one of the bees I spoke of flying around the Afro-Indigenx/ Ancient Egypt/ West Africa section of the altar. It did this several times enough for me to note that it liked that particular area. Following non repeating image is of the portrait I did a while back for the Heath Gallery in Harlem on Rein-visioning Brown and Black Bodies in Scifi: Story of 4 Tainx sisters calling for their descendants to help them from the demonic wrath of colonialism. This picture I took when I finally got to take my ass out to jog after a whole day of being a dad. I found a neat tree to try and climb at night and found this beautiful bright green grasshopper right by the branch I picked. Grasshoppers always remind me of giant leaps I could be taking forward. The following image I took during another forest walk when I looked up and saw this cool cross shape juxstapositioned among the trees. Last image I took during the Medieval festival they hold at Fort Tryon every year. It’s where I sold my awesome Medieval chicken paintings (which have now taken place at altar where I give em much love) last year dressed as Obi Wan Kenobi. This year I decided to just enjoy it with bae and did so dressed as Jedi Jesus posing as a Dominican Fryer. More pics on that to come. Just wanted to update yall on the spiritual in case anyone could use these words to benefit em. Yall take care. - Ken

#personal #update #hiatus #dadiatus

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louandhazaf · 5 years

Note

Out of pride Tomlinshaw ?

Hi Anon,

Sadly, someone else had already picked ‘out of pride’ for another pairing, and I so I picked something similar for your tomlinshaw. Hope that was okay!

This is for # 11 - in joy.

They had done it.

Somehow, despite all the injuries and last minute changes to the routine, they had won their division at the National Cheer Association Championships. Nick had lost Louis the moment their team walked off the stage in a moving mass of whooping and hollering and crying and celebrating. Not that it particularly mattered where Louis was, but they were best friends, roommates, team mates, and Nick’s natural reaction in every situation was to turn to Louis. He was always there to offer a snarky comment to back Nick up or a reassuring nod and quick back rub when Nick needed it, or the loud mat talk Nick needed to stay amped during their routines. Nick liked to think he was able to provide the same support to Louis, but he was so damn hard to read sometimes.

As the countdown to Daytona had come nearer, they had laid in bed, exhausted from mufti-practice days on top of their college coursework but too adrenaline fueled up to fall asleep easily, and had dreamed about running into the ocean, together, once they had won.

Nick hoisted the trophy above his head. “The better to see it from afar!” someone had crowed at him. He was nervous about dropping it on the sand, even though he’d be walking into the Atlantic Ocean with it in a matter of seconds. Nick let out another whoop of excitement. All of those months of dedication and preparation had been worth it; for the first time in Nick’s life, he was a fucking champion.

Liam took the trophy out of Nick’s hands, and Nick stood there, warm water soaking his pants and shoes, and took in the chaos of his friends and teammates celebrating all around him. He knew it was real, but it felt like a dream.

Then, like all of Nick’s furtive wet dreams, Louis appeared, soaking wet and with total joy spread across his face. It was a slow run, the sand and the waist-deep tide holding him back, but Louis came straight at Nick, eventually crashing into his open arms.

“Nick!” Louis shouted. “What the fuck!”

“I know!” Nick shouted right back, over everything that was happening all around them. “I still can’t believe it.”

Louis launched himself into Nick’s arms. He was heavier, dripping wet, but Nick still held him steady. “I love you!” Louis said, squeezing his arms around Nick’s neck.

“You too,” Nick said. He had loved Louis since their first week as teammates, the previous year.

“No.” Louis pulled back and looked into Nick’s eyes, serious. “I’m in love with you.”

Nick didn’t think it was possible to feel this amount of joy at one time. His heart was going to burst with how full it was; his cheeks already burned from all the smiling. He simply didn’t have any more words to say how perfect the moment was, so he did the next best thing: he gripped Louis by the back of the neck and brought him in for a kiss.

It was salty and wet, and Louis was all his brain could process. Feeling him pressed tight against Nick, and tasting him under the layer of salt water, feeling the hair curled around his fingers, and the slid of their tongues against each other. If this was a dream, he was going to be so pissed when he woke up. But then Louis was slowing down and gently pulling away, looking Nick straight in the eye, the question why, unspoken.

“I’m in love with you too, you idiot,” Nick said, before booping a kiss on the end of Louis’ nose. He was pretty sure he was allowed to do that now, which was amazing.

“Liam said you were. Said if we won I had to tell you. That’s where I’ve been, getting a pep talk from him.”

“Remind me to thank him later,” Nick said, already going in for another kiss, while the sounds of the rest of team surrounding them, cheering them on, came into focus.

#kissing meme #Anon #Nic Answers Stuff

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aletdownsquid · 4 years

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Comprehensive Exam Readings

My research “question”:

Many writers of U.S. fiction insert nonfiction documents into their narratives to critique how marginalized citizens are excluded from their rights to equal protection granted by the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. I’m interested in how African American authors and other writers of color have employed these strategies since the end of World War II; for example, the inclusion of real warrants for runaway slaves in Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, or passages from U.S. treaties with Native American tribes featured in Watershed by Percival Everrett. In the essay, I will identify, historicize, and examine some of these conventions, and drawing upon Assemblage Theory and Third Space theory, explore how these subversions of the fiction genre might allow authors of color to highlight historical truths, erase some of the distance between literary and political realms, and possibly affect political change.

To be completed by September 2020. (note: Strikethrough is complete / Bold means I intend to cite them in my comprehensive exam)

U.S. Fiction (Post ‘45): Major List

Guiding Questions:

How do works of geopolitical American fiction since the end of WWII explore the ways in which American exceptionalism has subjugated people of color? Specifically, how do these works examine the ways American colonial rule define U.S.–indigenous relations; and how do these works continue to engage with race in America since the Civil Rights movement?

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Americanah. Anchor, 2014.

Akwaeke, Emezi. Freshwater. Grove, 2018.

Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Algonquin, 2010.

Aswany, Alaa Al. Chicago. Harper, 2008

Baldwin, James. Giovanni’s Room. Vintage, 2013.

Barthleme, Donald. “Concerning the Bodyguard,” Sixty Stories. Penguin, 2003.

Beatty, Paul. The White Boy Shuffle. Picador, 2001.

Chabon, Michael. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Random House, 2012.

Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. Vintage, 1991.

Clemmons, Zinzi. What We Lose. Viking, 2017.

Currie Jr., Ron. God is Dead: Stories. Penguin, 2008.

Diaz, Junot. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Riverhead, 2006.

Egan, Jennifer. A Visit from the Goon Squad. Anchor, 2010.

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. Vintage, 1995.

Everett, Percival. Watershed. Beacon Press, 2003.

Gay, Roxane. Ayiti. Grove Press, 2018.

Gibson, William. Pattern Recognition. Berkley, 2005.

Greene, Graham. The Quiet American. Penguin, 1980.

Habila, Helon. Travelers. W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.

Hagedorn, Jessica. Dogeaters. Pantheon, 1990.

Hamid, Mohsin. The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Harvest, 2008.

Herrera, Yuri. Signs Preceding the End of the World. And Other Stories, 2015.

James, Marlon. A Brief History of Seven Killings. Riverhead, 2015.

Jarrar, Randa. A Map of Home. Other Press, 2008.

Jen, Gish. Typical American. Harcourt, 2014.

Johnson, Adam. The Orphan Master’s Son. Random House, 2013.

Johnson, Mat. Pym. Spiegel & Grau, 2011.

Kaulfus, Ken. A Disorder Peculiar to the Country. Harper Perennial, 2006.

Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior. Vintage, 1989.

Kushner, Rachel. The Strange Case of Rachel K. New Directions, 2016.

Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter of Maladies: Stories. Mariner, 1999.

Lapcharoensap, Rattawut. Sightseeing: Stories. Grove Press, 2005.

Le Nam. The Boat: Stories. Vintage, 2009.

Lee, Chang-rae. Native Speaker. Riverhead Books, 1996.

Luiselli, Valeria. The Story of My Teeth. Coffee House Press, 2015.

Mathews, John Joseph. Sundown. University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.

Mbue, Imbolo. Behold the Dreamers. Random House, 2017.

Mengetsu, Dinaw. How to Read the Air. Riverhead, 2011.

Momaday, N. Scott. House Made of Dawn. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2010.

Ng, Celeste. Everything I Never Told You. Penguin Books, 2015.

Nguyen, Viet Thanh. The Sympathizer. Grove Press, 2015.

Nguyen, Viet Thanh. The Refugees: Stories. Grove Press, 2018.

Okada, John. No-No Boy. University of Washington Press, 2014.

Orange, Tommy. There There. Vintage, 2018.

Otsuka, Julie. The Buddha in the Attic. Anchor, 2012.

Ozeki, Ruth. A Tale for the Time Being. Penguin Books, 2013.

Packer, ZZ. Drinking Coffee Elsewhere: Stories. Riverhead, 2004.

Pena, Daniel. Bang. Arte Publico, 2018.

Reed, Ishmael. Japanese by Spring. Scribner, 1993.

Reed, Ishmael. Mumbo Jumbo. Scribner, 1972.

Rekdal, Paisley. Intimate: An American Family Photo Album. Tupelo Press, 2012.

Salesses, Matthew. The Hundred-Year Flood. Little A, 2015.

Sebald, W.G. The Emigrants. New Directions, 2016.

Shamsie, Kamila. Burnt Shadows. Picador, 2009.

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. Penguin Books, 2006.

Washington, Bryan. Lot: Stories. Riverhead, 2019.

Williams, John Alfred. The Man Who Cried I Am. Harry N. Abrams, 2004.

Wright, Richard. Native Son.Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005.

Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse Five. Dial Press, 1999.

Vonnegut, Kurt. Breakfast of Champions. Dial Press, 1999.

African-American Iconoclast Fictions: Minor List

Guiding Questions:

What methods do African-American fiction writers use to interrogate racial subjugation for people of color in the United States and across the Global South?

Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame. Friday Black. Mariner Books, 2018

Baldwin, James. Go Tell it On the Mountain. Everyman’s Library, 2016.

Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” Going to Meet the Man. Vintage, 1995.

Beatty, Paul. The Sellout. Picador, 2016.

Bell, Derrick. “Space Traders”

Brooks, Gwendolyn. Maud Martha. Third World Press, 1992.

Butler, Octavia. Dawn. Aspect, 1997.

Butler, Octavia. Kindred. Beacon Press, 2009.

Cole, Teju. Open City. Random House, 2012.

DuBois, W.E.B., “On Being Crazy.”

Dumas, Henry. Goodbye Sweetwater.

Ellis, Trey. Platitudes. Vintage, 1988.

Everett, Percival. Erasure. Graywolf Press, 2001.

Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. Knopf, 1993.

Hannaham, James. Delicious Foods. Back Bay Books, 2016.

Hopkinson, Nalo. Falling in Love with Hominids: Stories. Tachyon Publications, 2015.

Hopkinson, Nalo. Midnight Robber. Grand Central Publishing, 2000.

Hughes, Langston. “One Friday Morning”

Hughes, Langston. “Salvation.”

Hurston, Zora Neale. “Sweat”

James, Marlon. The Book of Night Women. Riverhead, 2010.

Jones, Edward P. The Known World. Amistad, 2006.

Keene, John. Counternarratives: Stories and Novella. New Directions, 2015.

Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl”

Larsen, Nella. The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen: Passing, Quicksand and The Stories. Anchor, 2001.

Laymon, Kiese. Long Division. Agate Bolden, 2013.

Mackey, Nathaniel. Late Arcade. New Directions, 2017.

MacPherson, James Alan. Hue and Cry: Short Stories. Harper Collins, 1969.

McFarland, Jeni. The House of Deep Water. Putnam, 2020.

Miller, Keith D., Joyce Lausch and Kevin Everod Quashie. New Bones: Contemporary Black Writers in America. Prentice Hall, 2001.

Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Vintage, 2004.

Morrison, Toni. Jazz. Vintage, 2004.

Morrison, Toni. Paradise. Vintage, 2004.

Reed, Ishmael. Flight to Canada. Penguin, 1976.

Ross, Fran. Oreo. New Directions, 2015.

Scott, Rion Amilcar. The World Doesn’t Require You: Stories. Liverlight, 2018.

Senna, Danzy. New People. Riverhead, 2017.

Shuyler, George. Black No More. Penguin Classics, 2018.

Thompson-Spires, Nafissa. Heads of Colored People: Stories. 37 Ink, 2018.

Toomer, Jean. Cane. W.W. Norton & Company, 1988.

Toure. The Portable Promise Land. Back Bay Books, 2003.

Whitehead, Colson. Sag Harbor. Anchor, 2010.

Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. Doubleday, 2016.

Widerman, John Edgar. American Histories: Stories. Scribner, 2018.

Wideman, John Edgar. Phildelphia Fire. Vintage, 1991

Wideman, John Edgar. Fanon. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008.

Theory: Assemblage & Third Space Theory

Guiding Questions:

Can fiction be used as a tool to engender a new sense of belonging while rejecting a stable state of being? If so, how can this framework of assemblage be applied in fiction to highlight the ways local identities intersect with shared global perspectives? Can an assemblage approach to fiction encourage accountability for civil rights without state sanctioned legal status?

Agamben, G., 1998. Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Translated by D. Heller-Roazen. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

Anzaldua, Gloria. Borderlands / La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books, 2012.

Anzaldua, Gloria. Light in the Dark/Luz en lo Oscuro: Rewriting Identity, Spirituality, Reality (Latin America Otherwise). Duke University Press Books, 2015.

Appiah, Kwame Anthony. “The Case for Contamination." The New York Times Jan. 2006. 5 Nov. 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/01/magazine/01cosmopolitan.html

Bakshi, Sandeep, Jivraj Suhraiya and Silvia Posocco. Decolonizing Sexualities: Transnational Perspectives, Critical Interventions. Counterpress, 2016.

Belletto, Steven and Joseph Keith. Neocolonial Fictions of the Global Cold War, University of Iowa Press, 2019.

Bhabha, Homi K. Nation and Narration. Routledge, 1990.

Bruynell, Kevin. Third Space of Sovereignty. University Of Minnesota Press, 2007.

DeLanda, Manuel. Assemblage Theory. Edinburgh University Press, 2016.

DeLanda, Manuel. A New Philosophy of Society: Assemblage Theory and Social Complexity. Continuum, 2006.

Dubey, Madhu. Signs and Cities: Black Literary Postmodernism. University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. Grove Press, 2005.

Gates, Henry Louis. The Signifying Monkey. Oxford University Press, 1988.

Gwaltney, John Langston. Drylongso: A Self-Portrait of Black America. The New Press, 1993.

Goyal, Yogita. The Cambridge Companion to Transnational American Literature. Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Goyal, Yogita. Romance, Diaspora, and Black Atlantic Literature. Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Goyal, Yogita. Runaway Genres: The Global Afterlives of Slavery. NYU Press, 2019.

Knadler, Stephen. Remapping Citizenship and the Nation in African Literature. Routledge, 2010.

Lorde, Audre. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name: A Biomythology. The Crossing Press, 1982.

Lorde, Audre. Sister Outsider. The Crossing Press, 1984.

Machado, Carmen Maria. In the Dream House: A Memoir. Graywolf, 2019.

Madsen, Deborah L. Beyond Borders: American Literature and Post-Colonial Theory. Pluto Press, 2008.

Munoz, Jose Estaban, Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics. University of Minnesota, 1999.

Okker, Patricia. Transnationalism and American Serial Fiction. Routledge, 2012.

Omi, Michael and Howard Winant. Racial Formation in the United States from the 1960s to the 1990s. Routledge, 1994.

Puar, Jasbir. “I would rather be a cyborg than a goddess: Becoming intersectional in Assemblage Theory.” philoSOPHIA, vol. 2, no. 1, 2012, pp. 49-66.

Puar, Jasbir. The Right to Maim. Duke University Press, 2017.

Puar, Jasbir. Terrorist Assemblages. Duke University Press Books, 2007.

Rosen, Jeremy. “Literary Fiction and the Genres of Genre Fiction.” Post45, Aug. 2018. http://post45.research.yale.edu/2018/08/literary-fiction-and-the-genres-of-genre-fiction/

Rutherford, Johnathan. "The Third Space Interview with Homi Bhabha." Identity: Community, Culture, Difference, Lawrence and Wishart, 1990, pp. 207-221.

Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. Vintage, 1994.

Scott, James C. Weapons of the Weak. Yale University Press, 1987.

Shackleton, Mark. Diasporic Literature and Theory – Where Now? Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008.

Shamsie, Kamila. “The Storytellers of the Empire.” Guernica, Feb. 2012. <http://www.guernicamag.com/features/3458/shamsie…>

Sharpe, Christina. In the Wake On Blackness and Being. Duke University Press. 2016

Shklovsky, Viktor. “Art, as a Device.”

Soja, Edward. Thirdspaces: Journeys to Los Angeles and Other-Real-and-Imagined Places. Blackwell Publishers, 1996.

#compslist #Readings #CurrentlyReading

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gourdeous-vladdy3790 · 5 years

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RP Idea!!!

I've been in the mood recently for Role-Play writing... However, I wanted to take a twist of sorts on the RP adventure. With the aid and advice from @art-and-the-hockeys I'm gonna just see who all I can get based around a plot I already generated and the characters and their personalities involved who will be in this RP:

Short Summary: 37 players join a Group Chat app game called Circumstances. Little do they know that a few of them has teamed up for mal-intentions.

Extended Summary: There’s a new app game out for iPhone and Android users. Similar to Fortnite, a bunch of NHL players find it and begin playing around. When trouble in the Atlantic Division ignites, Division leaders host meetings to discuss the boundaries and rules. But there are a few players defiant and with malicious intentions. When the targeted player goes missing, the rest turn to the game to find clues and figure out where the player is before there are more victims.

Characters: Eastern Atlantic Boston Bruins: Patrice Bergeron — leaderly and fatherly Buffalo Sabres: Jimmy Vesey — kinda arrogant and sassy not quite evil yet Detroit Red Wings: Dylan Larkin — arrogant at times, not afraid to speak his mind Florida Panthers: Vincent Trocheck — pompous and arrogant in a dick way, hates being told what to do Montreal Canadiens: Jesperi Kotkaniemi — giggly baby just wanting to have fun Ottawa Senators: Vladdy Namestnikov — all about his appearance and flirts with everyone Tampa Bay Lightning: Yanni Gourde — protective white tiger with the common catchphrase “butterflies” (because of his ADD) Toronto Maple Leafs: William Nylander — must not damage just prettiness and no one looks at HIS Kasperi! Other 1: Kasperi Kapanen — loves Nyla and would do anything to protect him Other 2: Brayden Point — leaderly, team-oriented, people look up to him all the time

Metro Carolina Hurricanes: Janne Kuokkanen — wants to impress the hell out of everyone, sucks up to leaders in a good way tho Columbus Blue Jackets: Alexandre Texier — baby who just enjoys playing, a bit clumsy New Jersey Devils: Jack Hughes — baby who loves life and is always smiling New York Islanders: Mathew Barzal — thinks he’s hot af and tries to persuade everyone he can New York Rangers: Lias Andersson — prankster, underrated, looks pretty but isn’t afraid to get dirty and punch anyone giving him a look he doesn’t approve of Philadelphia Flyers: Claude Giroux — sly, sneaky villain player, thrives off his cunning ways Pittsburgh Penguins: Evgeny Malkin — hates anyone not Russian and will give traitors hell to pay Washington Capitals: Tom Wilson — very physical and mean, loves to bully others cause it’s fun to see them squirm Other 3: Brett Howden — loves himself and carries around a mirror just to see himself, hates blood and is jumpy but man if you mess his hair up you’re gonna get hell on Earth!!

Western Central Chicago Blackhawks: Alex DeBrincat — small feisty sweetheart Colorado Avalanche: Nikita Zadorov — prankster like Lias only he’s a pest! Dallas Stars: Roope Hintz — cowboy who loves his flow (yeehaw) Minnesota Wild: Mats Zuccarello — analytical, goofy Nashville Predators: Rocco Grimaldi -- constantly annoyed St Louis Blues: Colton Parayko -- joking Babysitter type, similar to Burkie Winnipeg Jets: Neal Pionk -- manchild, depending on his mood and the circumstance, he’ll either act like a kid speaking in third person or he’ll be more of an older brother

Pacific Anaheim Ducks: Trevor Zegras -- kid, most of the time goofy, he flirts around the league but he’s a kid at heart Arizona Coyotes: Clayton Keller -- kid, who is easy to cry Calgary Flames: Matthew Tkachuk -- annoyed at the world, dark humor Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid -- leaderly Los Angeles Kings: Tobias Bjornfot -- child, easily to cry if others cry, often questions things San Jose Sharks: Timo Meier -- protective white tiger, who doesn’t play around and defends the “kids” all the time Vancouver Canucks: Elias Pettersson -- child, who is often the subject of Tkachuk’s dark humor/jokes and “dislike” Vegas Golden Knights: Marc-Andre Fleury -- a shy prankster

AHL Syracuse and Orlando: Syracuse Crunch: Jimmy Huntington -- flirtatious sweetheart who will battle back if provoked but he’s a little ignorant toward danger Orlando Solar Bear: Colby McAuley -- easily spooked but thinks he’s tougher than he is, isn’t afraid to fight back with his sharp tongue Other 4: Boris Katchouk -- ignorant towards sarcasm and dry humor, kinda clumsy but man don’t mess with him or his friends

Comment (or reblog) if interested!! And also select a player (you may RP up to 3)!

#Hockey RP

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sofisadisaster · 6 years

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Well that’s it for the Toronto maple leafs Atlantic division but I’ll keep watching it for mat barzal

#mat barzal #asg lb #toronto maple leafs #tml

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thecollegefootballguy · 5 years

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Bizarro Football: An Alternate History of College Football in 2018

Welcome one and all to the FINAL installment of Bizarro Football! It’s the alternate reality imagining what would have happened if the 2010 realignment cycle had never happened.

Check out the previous seasons first if you’d like to catch up: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

This post is an amalgamation of the various other conference posts I’ve made throughout this (and part of last) off season. Check those out here:

ACC: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Big East: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Big Ten: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Big 12: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 PAC-10: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 SEC: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

I’ve made some adjustments for games that were never played as well as incorporating the G5 and Notre Dame, but otherwise things haven’t changed from these earlier posts.

Clearly certain things would have changed each year if each conference’s membership was altered. However, most of the Playoff era has remained remarkably consistent, with only 2014 drastically changing. Let’s see if that holds true for 2018.

ACC

Atlantic Division

Clemson 13-0 (8-0) NC State 10-2 (6-2) Boston College 7-5 (5-3) Maryland 6-6 (3-5) Wake Forest 7-5 (3-5) Florida State 5-7 (2-6)

Coastal Division

Georgia Tech 7-6 (5-3) Virginia Tech 7-4 (5-3) Miami FL 7-5 (4-4) Virginia 7-5 (4-4) Duke 7-5 (3-5) North Carolina 1-10 (0-8)

ACC Championship Game: Clemson over Georgia Tech

Clemson towers over the ACC. The Tigers are so far ahead of the rest of the conference that there essentially was no race. NC State, technically the second best squad in the league, was a fringe top 30 program. Without Pittsburgh winning the Coastal, Georgia Tech pulls one last trick out of the bag in Paul Johnson’s final season. The Yellow Jackets earn another pummeling at the hands of Clemson as the Tigers skip on into the Playoff for the fourth straight year.

Big East

West Virginia 11-0 (7-0) Cincinnati 11-1 (6-1) Syracuse 9-3 (5-2) Pittsburgh 7-5 (4-3) South Florida 6-6 (2-5) Louisville 4-8 (2-5) Rutgers 3-9 (2-5) Connecticut 1-11 (0-7)

West Virginia pulls off an undefeated season, securing a spot in the Playoff so long as the Committee sees fit to put the Mountaineers into the top 4. I wonder if Dana Holgorsen leaves if he had this much success in Morgantown. Cincinnati and Syracuse were both pretty good, but the rest of the league was varying shades of awful. Conference stalwart Louisville cratered in a bad way after losing Lamar Jackson and Connecticut had one of the worst defenses ever seen in FBS football.

Big Ten

Michigan 10-2 (7-1) Northwestern 8-4 (7-1) Ohio State 10-2 (6-2) Iowa 9-3 (5-3) Michigan State 8-4 (5-3) Penn State 8-4 (4-4) Minnesota 6-6 (3-5) Wisconsin 6-6 (3-5) Purdue 4-8 (3-5) Indiana 5-7 (1-7) Illinois 3-9 (1-7)

Michigan again almost made the Playoff, but were again thwarted by Ohio State in The Game. The Buckeyes were again the best team in the conference, and again they blew a few games they should have won to fall out of the Playoff race. Northwestern managed to tie for the league championship by missing both UM and OSU, so that’s nice for them. Iowa was actually really good but they’re relegated to being an afterthought for losing too many games. Penn State and Wisconsin suffered some serious bad luck in this universe.

Big 12

North

Iowa State 8-5 (5-3) Missouri 9-3 (5-3) Colorado 6-6 (3-5) Kansas State 6-6 (3-5) Nebraska 4-8 (2-6) Kansas 5-7 (2-6)

South

Texas 12-1 (8-0) Oklahoma 10-2 (6-2) Oklahoma State 9-3 (5-3) Texas A&M 8-4 (5-3) Baylor 6-6 (3-5) Texas Tech 4-8 (1-7)

Big 12 Championship Game: Texas over Iowa State

Texas is unironically back in Bizarro Football. The Longhorns manage to somehow lose to Maryland and still make a strong case for the College Football Playoff. I didn’t think that was possible. Oklahoma, the best team in the conference in actuality, loses in Red River and to Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The Big 12 schedule played right into Texas’ hands, getting to host the Cowboys as well as A&M. I’m not sure I trust them to win this many big games, but hey, stranger things have happened.

PAC-10

Washington 9-3 (7-2) Washington State 10-2 (7-2) Stanford 9-3 (7-2) Arizona State 8-4 (6-3) Oregon 7-5 (4-5) UCLA 4-8 (4-5) California 7-5 (4-5) USC 4-8 (3-6) Arizona 4-8 (3-6) Oregon State 1-11 (0-9)

The PAC-10 once again didn’t even get close to the College Football Playoff. Washington was once again the league’s strongest team, but the Huskies just could not act like it for more than a few games in a row before losing some kind of upset. Washington State once again reached for the stars, but a loss in the Apple Cup keeps the Cougars on the outside once again. A three-way tie between UW, WSU, and Stanford mucks up the top of the league, but Washington holds tiebreaking wins over both teams to earn their trip to Pasadena.

SEC

East

Georgia 11-2 (7-1) Florida 10-2 (6-2) Kentucky 9-3 (5-3) South Carolina 7-5 (4-4) Tennessee 5-7 (2-6) Vanderbilt 4-8 (1-7)

West

Alabama 12-1 (7-1) LSU 10-2 (6-2) Mississippi State 9-3 (5-3) Auburn 7-5 (3-5) Ole Miss 6-6 (2-6) Arkansas 2-10 (0-8)

SEC Championship Game: Alabama over Georgia

The SEC more or less looks the same as it did in real life. Alabama and Georgia were two of best teams in the conference and in the country. The Crimson Tide lost in Athens in the regular season but paid the Bulldogs back in Atlanta with a win in the SEC Championship Game. The SEC East showed life for the first time in a long while thanks to a rebound from Florida and a feel-good season coming from Kentucky. LSU and Mississippi State also turned in very good campaigns out in the West. Poor Auburn was overshadowed by a brutal schedule.

Notable non-BCS Conference Teams

UCF 12-0 (8-0)* Utah 12-0 (8-0)* Boise State 11-1 (8-0)* Army 10-2 Notre Dame 11-1

*conference champions

UCF and Utah both go undefeated in the C-USA and Mountain West respectively. Boise State also turned in a great season but the Broncos are gonna have to sit the NY6 out with better options on the table. Notre Dame does not run the table in Bizarro Football, the Irish lose early on in East Lansing to blemish their otherwise perfect resume. That’ll make the Playoff section much more interesting.

Projected CFP Rankings

#1. Clemson 13-0 (8-0) #2. Alabama 12-1 (7-1) #3. Texas 12-1 (8-0) #4. Notre Dame 11-1 #5. Georgia 11-2 (7-1) #6. West Virginia 11-0 (7-0) #7. LSU 10-2 (6-2) #8. Ohio State 10-2 (6-2) #9. Florida 10-2 (6-2) #10. Michigan 10-2 (7-1) #11. Oklahoma 10-2 (6-2) #12. Utah 12-0 (8-0) #13. Washington State 10-2 (7-2) #14. Cincinnati 11-1 (6-1) #15. UCF 12-0 (8-0)

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume that the Committee treats the Big East like the glorified G5 that they are. West Virginia just should not be anywhere near the Playoff despite the undefeated record and it would have been the right thing to do to keep the Mountaineers out of the top four. I’m not positive it would have played out this way, but I think Alabama and Texas have slam dunk cases, and Notre Dame probably make it over WVU, so I’m running with it.

With the Rose and Sugar not hosting semifinals, there are not very many at-large bids this year.

Projected NY6 Games

Peach Bowl: #6 West Virginia vs #7 LSU

LSU pulls one of the two at-large bids and gives West Virginia the real top fifteen opponent they were missing in the Big East. Both of these teams were probably overrated, so I’m not gonna go ahead and declare the Tigers the winner outright. If the Mountaineers manage to win this one, the Committee is gonna take some flak for their decision to stonewall unbeaten WVU.

Fiesta Bowl: #8 Ohio State vs #12 Utah

I'm actually not sure Utah would get ranked ahead of UCF if the Knights had a two year win streak, but that C-USA bias is hard to wash off compared to a Mountain West that still has BYU and TCU. The Utes were about as good as Central Florida in 2018 anyway, so either one can show up to take a beating from Ohio State. The Buckeyes have missed the last few Playoffs despite being the best team in the Big Ten each year, so I assume they’re gonna smack around whichever upstart they can and send Urban Meyer off right.

Rose Bowl: #10 Michigan vs #16 Washington

I’ll say this: the game might be unwatchable, but I’m sure the stadium is packed because Michigan and Washington fans would show up to this even if both teams were 8-4. I’d favor the Wolverines, but not with too much confidence.

Sugar Bowl: #5 Georgia vs #11 Oklahoma

The best game in the non-Playoff slate. Maybe. I mean, did you see what Texas did to Georgia in real life? Then sub in Oklahoma, the real best team in the Big 12, for the Longhorns. This is an even matchup on paper, maybe even favoring the Bulldogs, but they really must have been gutted by losing to Alabama again cause they laid down a stinker.

Cotton Bowl (semifinal): #2 Alabama vs #3 Texas

Aren’t you a little curious what would have happened if this game gets played? An overachieving Texas team probably gets slammed to the mat by a far better Alabama. I’m not sure it’d be a 30-0 type deal, but I’m not seeing any kind of Longhorn win here. The computers put UT somewhere between 10th and 20th in most projections. I know they beat Georgia, but come on, only one team in the Playoff can beat Bama here.

Orange Bowl (semifinal): #1 Clemson vs #4 Notre Dame

Notre Dame gets exposed, again. At least they weren’t undefeated going into the game, so it probably doesn’t sting as much as 2012.

So uhhhh, Clemson wins the national championship! I was at the real life National Championship Game so I’m definitely not gonna entertain any kind of scenario that doesn’t give Dabo Swinney’s Tigers a second ring.

So that’s it for Bizzarro Football, it actually wasn’t that different most years. I’m not sure what that says about the system or conference realignment, but we’re doing a decent job crowning champions. Clearly it’s not perfect, but a good football team will win in any conference.

#college football #Clemson Tigers #Alabama Crimson Tide #Texas Longhorns #Notre Dame Fighting Irish #Georgia Bulldogs #Oklahoma Sooners #West Virginia Mountaineers #LSU Tigers #Ohio State Buckeyes #Utah Utes #Michigan Wolverines #Washington Huskies

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tysonbearie · 6 years

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this weeks newsletter is late and for that i apologize

Weekly Recap:

Two days after announcing his retirement, Rick Nash and his family dropped the ceremonial puck at the January 13 matchup between the visiting New York Rangers and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Nash had previously played for both teams.

Montreal Canadiens mascot Youppi! celebrated his 40th birthday at the Bell Centre on Saturday. The party was attended by some of his friends and fellow mascots. Youppi! originally debuted in 1979 as the mascot for the now defunct Montreal Expos, a baseball team who became the Washington Nationals in 2005. The Montreal Canadiens adopted Youppi! after his team relocated.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Kings hosted special guest announcer and longtime hockey fan, Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg also provided a play-by-play as the first period winded down. Prior to the game, Snoop Dogg spent some time DJing from the crowd and even dropped the ceremonial puck. Snoop Dogg was the unofficial host of All-Star Weekend in 2017.

On Wednesday, the NHL and NHLPA released a joint statement announcing that there will not be a 2020 World Cup of Hockey. The statement claims that it is just not feasible within the schedule.

Harrison Browne dropped the ceremonial puck at Madison Square Garden for the New York Rangers Pride Night on Tuesday. Browne played three seasons in the NWHL with the Metropolitan Riveters and the Buffalo Beauts before retiring after last season. He now works with the You Can Play Project as a consultant.

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has allegedly waived his no move clause with the Columbus Blue Jackets; since this report was made public, he has refused to comment. Bobrovsky is eligible for unrestricted free agency on July 1 and many experts and analysts think the Blue Jackets are considering trading him before the February 25 trade deadline.

Taylor Hall of the New Jersey Devils will miss All-Star Weekend due to an lower-body injury. He will be replaced by teammate Kyle Palmieri.

Play of the Week:

Goaltender Carter Hart stopped a shot from forward Ryan Donato by stealing the puck straight off the blade of his stick during the January 16 meeting between the Philadelphia Flyers and the visiting Boston Bruins.

Players to Watch:

Defenceman Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs currently has 13 goals and 48 points in 47 games played this season. Rielly has a career total of 44 goals and 219 points in 435 games.

Forward Kevin Hayes of the New York Rangers currently has 10 goals and 33 points in 39 games played this season. Hayes has a career total of 83 goals and 207 points in 349 games played.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury of the Las Vegas Golden Knights currently leads the league in Wins (27) and Shutouts (6). In addition to his 27 wins, he also has 4 overtime, OT, losses this season. He has a career total of 431 wins, 74 OT losses, and 54 shutouts.

Prospect Watch:

Defenceman Jake Bean, drafted 13th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016, has 5 goals and 25 points in 41 games played this season. Bean had a very successful career in the Western Hockey League with the Calgary Hitmen and the Tri-City Americans, tallying 49 goals and 196 points in 219 games played. Bean was also a member of Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship two years in a row, winning silver in 2016-17 and gold in 2017-18. Bean currently plays for the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League.

Defenceman Kale Clague, drafted 51st overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2016, has 3 goals and 18 points in 34 games played this season. Clague previously played in the Western Hockey League with the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Moose Jaw Warriors where he tallied 26 goals and 167 points in 195 games played. Clague also participated in the IIHF World Junior Championship two years in a row, winning silver in 2016-17 and gold in 2017-18. Clague currently plays for the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League.

Forward Taylor Raddysh, drafted 58th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016, has 11 goals and 25 points in 37 games played this season. Raddysh had a very successful career in the Ontario Hockey League with the Erie Otters and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds where he tallied 120 goals and 292 points in 241 games played. Raddysh also participated in the IIHF World Junior Championship two years in a row, winning silver in 2016-17 and gold in 2017-18. Raddysh currently plays for the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.

Team of the Week:

The Toronto Maple Leafs, founded in 1917 as the Toronto Arenas, currently play from Scotiabank Arena and are 2nd in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The Maple Leafs were the Arenas until 1919 when the name was changed to the St. Patricks; when Conn Smythe bought the franchise in 1927, he rebranded the team as the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs played out of Maple Leaf Gardens, called ‘Canada’s Cathedral of Hockey’, from 1931-99. The Maple Leafs have won 13 Stanley Cups, most recently in 1966-67. Notable alumni include King Clancy, Tim Horton, Mats Sundin, Doug Gilmour, Joe Primeau, and Curtis Joseph.

Outside the NHL:

The National Women’s Hockey League All-Star Weekend will take place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville February 9-10.

The Canadian Women’s Hockey League All-Star Game took place at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on January 20. Team Gold beat Team Purple 8-4.

The American Hockey League All-Star Classic will be hosted by the Springfield Thunderbirds January 27-28.

The East Coast Hockey League All-Star Game and Skills Competition will take place on January 21 in Toledo, hosted by the Toledo Walleye.

Weekly Thoughts:

*** There are no Weekly Thoughts this week. I’ve been sick and haven’t had time to write anything for this section. I might try to do a special post at some point this week to make up for it, though.

Weekly Vocabulary:

Fight Strap: A strap that anchors a player’s jersey to his pads so that his jersey cannot be removed during on-ice fights. If a player does not anchor his jersey and it comes off in a fight, he incurs a penalty.

Forechecking: Checking in the offensive zone in order to gain control of the puck and set up a scoring opportunity.

Backchecking: Rushing back to the defensive zone in response to an opposing team's attack.

Hat Trick: When a single player scores three goals in one game. A hat trick is considered a ‘natural’ hat trick if all three goals are scored successively.

Gordie Howe Hat Trick: Named after the great Gordie Howe, a Gordie Howe Hat Trick is when a player scores a goal, tallies an assist, and gets into a fight all in one game. (I do have to note that Gordie Howe himself only ever had two Gordie Howe Hat Tricks throughout his career.) A ‘natural’ Gordie Howe Hat Trick occurs when all three happen in a single period.

Line Brawl: When most, if not all, of the players currently on ice are engaged in some form of scuffle.

Weekly Trivia:

The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is awarded to the “player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community." The winner is selected by the NHLPA and the NHL Broadcasters’ Association. Most recently the trophy was awarded to Daniel and Henrik Sedin; this was the first time to trophy was awarded to more than one player.

Weekly Standings**:

Eastern Conference

Metropolitan Division

New York Islanders -- 62 pts

Columbus Blue Jackets -- 59 pts

Washington Capitals -- 59 pts

Atlantic Division

Tampa Bay Lightning -- 76 pts

Toronto Maple Leafs -- 60 pts

Boston Bruins -- 59 pts

Western Conference

Central Division

Winnipeg Jets -- 64 pts

Nashville Predators -- 60 pts

Colorado Avalanche -- 52 pts

Pacific Division

Calgary Flames -- 69 pts

San Jose Sharks -- 63 pts

Las Vegas Golden Knights -- 62 pts

*Note: Information was obtained prior to 12pm on Sunday January 20. Information occurring after the 12pm deadline will feature next week.

** Weekly Standings are current as of 6pm on Sunday January 20.

#nates nhl newsletter #nhl #toronto maple leafs #maple leafs #new york rangers #carolina hurricanes #tampa bay lightning #los angeles kings #la kings

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