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papermoonloveslucy · 4 years ago

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HUMILIATED & UNHAPPY

July 16, 1960

TV Guide ~ July 16-22, 1960 (Vol.8, No.29 & Issue #381) Cover photo by Sherm Weisberg, Fashions by Sacks Fifth Avenue

This was Lucille Ball’s tenth (of 39) TV Guide covers.

“A VISIT WITH LUCILLE BALL” by Dan Jenkins

On January 19, 1953, Desi Arnaz rushed exultantly into the Hollywood Brown Derby, grinning that wide, idiotic grin common to new fathers for the past several eons. Striding down a side isle, he threw his arms excitedly in the air and shouted, "Now we got everythin'!" By "everythin'," Arnaz was encompassing quite a bit of territory - an eight-pound son born that morning, the birth of the Ricardo son on ‘I Love Lucy’ that same night and a gold-plated peak of popularity for a television series which, in all probability, will never again be approached. On May 4, 1960, just seven years later, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, quite possibly the most widely known couple in show-business history, were divorced. She had sued for divorce once before (she didn't complete the proceedings), but that was back in 1944 when Desi was a corporal in the Army, Lucy was a star at MGM and World War II was getting all the headlines. By 1960, the Lucy-Desi combine had made so many headlines that no one even bothered to look at the press-clipping scrapbooks any more, or the countless awards that had rolled in on them from all over the country. On an overcast spring afternoon, just 10 days after the divorce, Lucille Ball was sitting in her small but tastefully decorated dressing room on the Desilu lot. That morning, during a short drive over to the neighboring Paramount lot to confer with the producers of her upcoming picture with Bob Hope, she had stuck her head out the window of her chauffeur-driven car and shouted to a friend, "Hi! Remember me? I used to work at Desilu." The remark was not only typical of Lucy Ball but an unwitting reflection of her character and a classic off-the-cuff example of the laugh-clown-laugh tradition. Like most true clowns, Lucy is not a jovial, outgoing person. Her devastating sense of humor, often with a cutting edge, is reserved for her friends. In her dealings with the press she is precise, truthful - and sparing with words. A newsman asked her recently if she had plans to marry again. Lucy stared at him for a few seconds and said simply, "No." (1) The newsman felt that Lucy had missed her calling and should be rushed into the negotiations with Khrushchev forthwith. Relaxing (which is to say, at least sitting down for a few minutes) with an old friend in her dressing room that spring afternoon, Lucy alternated between abrupt sentences and spilled-over paragraphs. On the subject of her immediate plans, she talked almost as though by rote. "I start rehearsals this week for a picture with Bob Hope. It's called 'The Facts of Life.' [She did not wince at the title.] I liked it the minute I read the script and said I'd do it if Bob would. It's written and produced by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank. We have a 10-week shooting schedule. "Then I go to New York with the two children, my mother and two maids. We have a seven-room apartment on 69th Street at Lexington. I'll start rehearsals right away for a Broadway show, 'Wildcat.' It's a comedy with music, not a musical comedy, but the music is important. I play a girl wildcatter in the Southwestern oil fields around the turn of the century. It was written by N. Richard Nash, who wrote 'The Rainmaker.' He is co-producer with Michael Kidd, the director. We're still looking for a leading man. I want an unknown. He has to be big, husky, around 40. He has to be able to throw me around, and I'm a pretty big girl. He has to be able to sing, at least a little. (2) I have to sing, too. It's pretty bad. When I practice, I hold my hands over my ears. We open out of town - I don't know where - and come to New York in December. [Ed. Note: ‘Wildcat’ is now scheduled to make its debut in Philadelphia in November.] (3) "I'm terrified. I've never been on the stage before, except in 'Dream Girl' years ago. But we always filmed ‘I Love Lucy’ before a live audience. I knew a long time ago that I was eventually going to go to Broadway and that's one reason why we shot Lucy that way. But I'm still terrified. The contract for the play runs 18 months. Maybe it will last that long. Maybe longer. And maybe it will last three days." (4) The phone rang. A man's voice, the resonant kind which a telephone seems to make louder, wanted to know if Lucy would like to go out that night. Lucy's expression indicated that the whole idea was a bore but the man prattled on. He apparently had a commitment to attend a young night-club singer's act. "I've seen him twice already," Lucy said into the phone, "and his press agent is now saying I've been there eight times. If I go again the kid will be saying I'm in love with him. He's 2-feet-6 and nine years old. I don't want any part of it." The voice on the phone turned to a tone of urgent pleading. Lucy held the phone away from her at arms length and looked to the ceiling for advice and guidance. She finally hung up. "I go out because people ask me to," she said. "I have no love for night clubs, unless there's an act I especially want to see. And I don't especially want to see this kid's again." She lit another cigarette. "Nervous habit," she said. "I don't inhale, never did. Just nerves.” "I get tired too easily. The reaction is beginning to set in. I've had pneumonia twice in a year. That's not good." There was a long silence. Even for old friends, Lucy is not an easy person to talk to. "I filed for the divorce the day after I finished my last piece of film under the Westinghouse contract," she said suddenly. "I should have done it long ago." Would there ever be any more Lucy-Desi specials like those Westinghouse had sponsored? (5) She stared. "No," she said abruptly. She paused. "Even if everything were alright, we'd never work together again. We had six years of a pretty successful series and two years of specials. Why try to top it? That would be foolish. We always knew that when the time came to quit, we'd quit. We were lucky. We quit while we were still ahead." Was she happy?

Another stare. "Am I happy? No. Not yet. I will be. I've been humiliated. That's not easy for a woman." She started to talk about the recent years with Desi. She talked in a quiet, factual monotone, a voice that had been all through bitterness and was now beyond it. She talked with an implicit faith that what she was saying was off the record. It was. Some day, it was suggested to her, somebody was going to write the story. She stared. "Who would want to?" (6) She looked over at the framed picture of Desi that stood on a small table. "Look at him," she said. "That's the way he looked 10 years ago. He doesn't look like that now. He'll never look like that again." The door was opened and a spring breeze began drawing some of the heavy cigarette smoke out of the room. Lucy smiled a little and turned to her desk. "Try to write," she said finally, "more than I said but not as much as I said."

FOOTNOTES

(1) Lucille Ball did indeed marry again - to Gary Morton (born Morton Goldaper) on November 21, 1961. They remained married until her death.

(2) Gordon MacRae, Jock Mahoney, and Gene Barry were considered before Lucille selected Keith Andes to play the role of Joe Dynamite. He was indeed 40 years old at the time of casting. He committed suicide in 2005.

(3) 'Wildcat’s’ Philadelphia tryout opened on October 29, 1960. The Broadway opening had to be postponed when trucks hauling the sets and costumes to New York were stranded on the New Jersey Turnpike by a major blizzard. After two previews, the show opened on December 16th at Broadway’s Alvin (now Neil Simon) Theatre.

(4) ‘Wildcat’ ran for 171 regular performances. The show was on hiatus from February 5, 1961 through February 9, 1961 during Lucille Ball's illness. The production was to take a 9-week hiatus after June 3rd, 1961 and re-open August 7, 1961, to complete Ball’s contract, but the show closed and did not return due to Ball’s physical exhaustion.

(5) Jenkins is referring to the 13 “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours” which were part of the “Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” which continued the adventures of the Ricardos and the Mertzes, including guest stars, musical numbers, and travel-themed episodes.

(6) Lucy and Desi’s tempestuous marriage has been the subject of several books, two television movies, an award-winning documentary, and at least one stage musical!

TV Guide columnist Dan Jenkins had his name used by “I Love Lucy” in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) in 1952 for the used furniture salesman played by Hans Conried. His name was also mentioned in “Lucy and Ethel Buy The Same Dress” (S3;E3) as a possible emcee for their television show. His qualifications? He plays tissue paper and comb!

In 1953, when Lucille Ball was accused of being a Communist, the real Dan Jenkins stood up at a press conference and said “Well, I think we all owe Lucy a vote of thanks, and I think a lot of us owe her an apology.” Lucy and Desi walked over to where Jenkins was standing and gave him a huge hug. Jenkins later said, “From that time on, we were very good friends.” His last interview with Lucy was in 1986 during “Life with Lucy.”

OTHER ARTICLES

“Shari Lewis and her Puppets” - Lewis was a ventriloquist who’s main character was the sock puppet Lambchop. In 1960, after years of guest-starring on television, Lewis got her own show, which lasted three years on NBC.

“Ty Hardin’s Whirlwind Career” - Ty Hardin and his western show “Bronco” (1958-63) was ABC TV’s answer to Clint Walker’s “Cheyenne”.

“From the Mouth’s of Babes Comes Happy’s Gimmick” - “Happy” (1960-61) was the nickname of a baby, who’s thoughts could be heard by the viewers in this one-season sitcom. It was filmed at Desilu Studios.

“The Untouchables - Fact and Fiction: Part 2″ - “The Untouchables” (1959-63) was a series that began on “The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” and turned into a hit weekly show by Desilu.

PHOTO FEATURES

“Linkletter’s Packing Tips” - Art Linkletter was one of television’s most popular hosts and presenters. Lucille Ball appeared on his show “House Party” in 1965 as well as a 1966 episode of “The Lucy Show” and a 1970 episode of “Here’s Lucy,” both times playing himself.

“Connie Stevens’ Calorie Counter” - Connie Stevens was a singer and actress then playing Cricket Blake on “Hawaiian Eye” (1959-63).

REVIEW

“Mystery Show” - was a mystery anthology series broadcast on NBC from May 1960 to September 1960 as a summer replacement for “The Dinah Shore Chevy Show” with Walter Slezak as host, except for the last three episodes, which had Vincent Price as host.

At the time Evelyn Bigsby was the Associate Managing Editor for Women’s Features at TV Guide’s Hollywood Bureau. Her name was given to the new mother (played by Mary Jane Croft) who sits next to Lucy on the plane in “Return Home From Europe” (ILL S5;E26) in 1956.

Depending on the time zone, “I Love Lucy” was re-run every morning at 10 or 11am. Here it competed with “The Price Is Right” which was broadcast in color! NBC (RCA) was the leader in color television and staked its claim far soon than CBS. “The Lucy Show” didn’t air in color until the fall of 1965.

In another market, “I Love Lucy” ran weekdays at 10am. This edition (same cover and feature articles, different listings) included “Lucy” episode descriptions, while others did not. Notice that an hour earlier the same channel re-ran Desilu’s series “December Bride”. On Monday, July 18, 1960, the re-run was “Second Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14). From this we can logically assume that this week, in this particular TV market, channel 2 and 8 presented:

TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1960 - “Lucy Meets the Queen (ILL S5;E15)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1960 - “The Fox Hunt” (ILL S5;E16)

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 1960 - “Lucy Goes To Scotland” (ILL S5;E17)

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1960 - “Paris at Last” (ILL S5;E18)

On Tuesday, July 19, 1960, at 8:30pm, CBS aired the unsold pilot for "Head of the Family". The pilot had Carl Reiner as TV writer Rob Petrie, Barbara Britton as Rob's wife Laura, Sylvia Miles as Sally Rogers, and Morty Gunty as Buddy Sorrell. In 1961, CBS would score a hit with a new name and a new cast of Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, and Morey Amsterdam, filmed at Desilu Studios.

For American TV viewers, this was the week between the Democratic National Convention (July 11-15) and the Republican National Convention (July 25-28). Both parties affirmed their November presidential candidates: John F. Kennedy (D) and Richard M. Nixon (R). Kennedy would prove the victor on Election Day.

Eight years earlier, in July 1952, an estimated 70 million voters watched the broadcasts, which ended with the nominations of Adlai Stevenson II and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although the conventions were also televised in 1948, few Americans owned a TV set to watch them. There was a popular myth that Stevenson lost the election because of backlash from interrupting airings of “I Love Lucy” with hour-long campaign ads. Another story has Stevenson receiving a telegram from a Lucy fan that read: “I love Lucy, but I hate you.” The situation was paralleled on “I Love Lucy” in “The Club Election” (ILL S2;E19). By 1956, the conventions were less a novelty on television, and drew smaller ratings and less attention. In the summer of 1956, Lucy and Desi were preparing their sixth and final season of “I Love Lucy” and storylines had to revolve around big name guest stars (Orson Welles and Bob Hope) and the move to Connecticut.

Lucille Ball’s last appearance as Lucy Ricardo was on April 1, 1960, just four and a half months before this issue of TV Guide hit the stands. She wouldn’t return to series television until September 1962, by which time Lucille will be back on the cover of TV Guide once again. She remained a yearly fixture on the Guide cover until 1974 and then made only one more original appearance to mark her return with “Life With Lucy.”

After this article comes out, the next time TV viewers see Lucille Ball on their home screens is to promote her film with Bob Hope, The Facts of Life, on “The Garry Moore Show” on September 27, 1960. The film opened in November 1960.

For more about TV Guide and “I Love Lucy” click here!

#TV Guide #Lucille Ball #I Love Lucy #Dan Jenkins #1960 #Garry Moore Show #The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse #The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour #TV #Desilu #Eveyln Bigsby #Art Linkletter #Shari Lewis #Ty Hardin #Mary Jane Croft #Untouchables #Connie Stevens #Hans Conried #Wildcat

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stillunusual · 6 years ago

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LEEDS UNITED 2 ROTHERHAM UNITED 0 Leeds United: Peacock-Farrell, Ayling, Cooper, Berardi, Phillips, Douglas, Klich (Jansson 88), Alioski, Saiz (Baker 80), Hernandez, Roofe (Bamford 86). Subs not used: Blackman, Pearce, Harrison, Shackleton. My first visit to Elland Road of the 2018/19 season was a very positive one - second half goals from Luke Ayling and Kemar Roofe handed Leeds United a 2-0 victory over Rotherham United. There's been another summer of change at LUFC following the disappointments of last season.... In May, owner Andrea Radrizzani sold a 10% stake in the club to 49ers Enterprises, the investment entity behind American football giants San Francisco 49ers, and promised that their cash injection would be used to "improve results on the pitch". To underline just how much that extra investment is needed, Leeds United received £6.8M for finishing thirteenth in the Championship in 2017/18 and our 20 televised matches earned us a mere £914,000 - a total of £7.7M. In contrast, the three clubs that were relegated from the Premiership last season - West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Swansea - received about £100M from the Premier League and will each get a parachute payment of £42M this season. Radrizzani is a rich man, but doesn't possess the kind of wealth that would allow us to compete in the transfer market with these clubs (the stark reality is that about half the teams currently in the Championship can outspend us).... Not surprisingly, Paul Heckingbottom was sacked at the beginning of June, after a fruitless 5 months as our head coach. However, his replacement was a big surprise. On 15th June, Leeds United announced the appointment of the vastly experienced Marcelo Bielsa, who has previously enjoyed success as head coach of the Argentina and Chile national teams, as well as at club level with the likes of Newell's Old Boys, Athletic Bilbao and Marseille. When you think of the never ending conveyor belt of non-entities that we've hired and fired every few months since our exit from the Premiership all those years ago, it's incredible that we've managed to make such a high profile appointment. Bielsa officially took up his role on 25th June and immediately made sweeping changes to the coaching staff, bringing in his own assistants as well as translator Salim Lamrani (Bielsa doesn't speak English). As soon as last season ended, social media was awash with rumours about Leeds signing any number of players who in reality were way out of our reach. It took a long time for any incoming transfer activity to materialise, and there have been many more departures than arrivals over the summer. Matthew Pennington and Pierre-Michel Lasogga returned to their clubs after their loan spells came to an end. Madger Gomes, Felix Wiedwald, Andy Lonergan, Marcus Antonsson, Luke Murphy and Ronaldo Vieira have all left on a permanent basis (the latter joined Sampdoria for a fee of around £7M), and Lewie Coyle, Pawel Cibicki, Jay-Roy Grot, Tyler Denton, Paudie O’Connor, Mallik Wilks and Hadi Sacko have all been sent out on loan. Several other senior players - Vurnon Anita, Eunan O’Kane, Caleb Ekuban, Ouasim Bouy and Yosuke Ideguchi - are still at the club even though they've been told that they're surplus to requirements. On 30th June, Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker became Leeds United's first signing of the summer transfer window on a season-long loan. Four more players arrived in July - goalkeeper Jamal Blackman (also from Chelsea on a season-long loan), left-back Barry Douglas (a permanent signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers), midfielder Jack Harrison (a season-long loan from Manchester City) and striker Patrick Bamford (signed from Middlesbrough for £7M - the most we've spent on a player since our Premiership days). Our squad was also boosted by the return of Mateusz Klich, who was written off and loaned out last season, but featured prominently in our pre-season games. Tyler Roberts is also finally available after recovering from an injury sustained in training almost immediately after signing for Leeds in January. The new season began with a home fixture against promotion favourites Stoke City - a team that's been on the Premiership gravy train for the last decade and has a squad that, on paper, is infinitely superior to ours. The Leeds team included only one of the new signings - Barry Douglas - and lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Kalvin Phillips playing in a new role in front of the back four, which included Gaetano Berardi also in a new role at centre-back. Klich started in midfield because Adam Forshaw was injured and Roofe was preferred to Bamford up front. Bielsa announced before the game that Bailey Peacock-Farrell would be his first-choice goalkeeper.... To say we surprised Stoke with Bielsa's brand of high tempo, high pressure pass and move football would be an understatement. Leeds ended up winning the game 3-1, with goals from Klich, Pablo Hernandez and Liam Cooper (Stoke's goal was a dodgy penalty that should never have been awarded). It was a fantastic start and a magnificent performance that the same players would not have been capable of last season.... We continued the momentum with an even more impressive 4-1 victory over Derby County away from home. A much-changed Leeds line-up then beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the first round of the Carabao Cup, and we've been drawn against Preston North End in the next round. Rotherham came to Elland Road aiming to contain us, kept everyone behind the ball and wasted as much time as possible right from the start. Bielsa began the game with the same players that had dispatched Stoke and Derby. We dominated possession throughout but found it difficult to break Rotherham down in the first half. Although our passing is way better than last season, we did still make the odd mistake that could have been costly - including a suicidal ball from Cooper across his own area to Peacock-Farrell, which was easily intercepted by a Rotherham player who would have scored but for a brilliant block by our young goalkeeper, who looked very assured and fully deserved his clean sheet. A long range shot from Rotherham also hit the post. At the other end Ayling, Klich and Berardi all came close for Leeds.... United began the second half very much on the front foot and were noticeably quicker about getting the ball upfield. Ayling soon put Leeds ahead with a diving header from a Douglas corner, following up efforts from Roofe and Cooper. There was some debate about whether the ball had crossed the line before being cleared by a Rotherham defender (who appeared to use his hand) but after several seconds of deliberation the ref pointed to the centre circle - thumbs up for goal line technology! After that it was a much more open game in which we created several goal-scoring chances but had to settle for only one more goal, which came in the 68th minute. Some lovely passing at the edge of our area led to Phillips launching a long ball over the top which was picked up by Roofe, who beat a defender and finished powerfully from a tight angle. In summary, another excellent performance - the players look 100% fitter than last season, their work rate on and off the ball was impressive and they all seemed much more comfortable on the ball. Roofe is starting to look like the finished article as a striker, with great support from Samuel Saiz, Gjanni Alioski, Hernandez and Klich (who has been a revelation). Berardi and Phillips also seem to have grown as players in their new roles. I don't want to get carried away, given that we also started last season very well before sliding down to our usual position in mid-table, but the Bielsa era already looks like it could be very exciting. In 2019 Leeds United FC celebrates its centenary, and it would be awesome to finally get back to the top flight in our 100th year. However, there's a long way to go and - as we're talking about LUFC - plenty of opportunity for things to go wrong between now and the end of the season...

#leeds united #soccer #football #championship #marcelo bielsa #elland road #leeds #united #ticket #2018

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axiomsofice · 3 years ago

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Breakout Candidates: Pacific

Anaheim: a young team with many applicable potentialities, the most prominent of which are their last 3 first round picks. Zegras and Drysdale both played a handful of games in the NHL last season, and have clear paths to both prominent 5v5 roles and PP1 minutes. Personally, I would be tempted to exercise more caution with inserting the younger Drysdale in too soon, but Zegras is at a point where there is not really a reason to delay his arrival. Recent 3rd overall pick Mason McTavish plays a physical and pro style game, but as with every other pick in the 2021 entry draft, the pandemic year that it is, McTavish is best served with at least another year before having a serious shot at making the NHL. Beyond that the Ducks have a large amount of young players who should have more to give, as reflected by Anaheim’s recent results in draft lottery contention. Forwards such as Steel, Comtois, Lundestrom are complimentary pieces that will look much stronger as the team’s performance improves, so it would be hard for them to garner as much attention or credit if say, Comtois has a strong 20-goal season playing on Zegras’ wing. On defence there are similar complimentary options. I have been a fan of Mahura’s game but his time might be now or never to break into the league. Larsson is a bit younger but hopes of him being an impact defender lay farther into the future. In net the Ducks are set with the underappreciated Gibson, but prospect Dostal has been building his resume nicely. In general the Ducks, under GM Murray, have done a really good job at drafting and developing.

Calgary: a new coach represents a power vacuum, a chance for all players to drastically change their position on the depth chart. We saw the beginnings of that during their disappointing season in the North division, and this uncertainty is spilling into this offseason. Rumours surrounding Monahan, Gaudreau, and Tkachuk. Giordano gone already, but not much change has actually occurred. Perhaps the best chance of a breakout lies with defenders Kylington and Valimaki, who have both already played well for the Flames. Valimaki was probably a strong candidate for such a title 2 seasons ago, before tearing a knee ligament that sidelined him for quite some time. Especially with Giordano gone, and a decently strong defence group around them, these 2 might be the biggest x-factors for the Flames success this season. Up front there are some prospects looking to make the jump, first rounders Peltier and Zary both present skilled players who bring a certain tenacity that could endear them to coach Suter. Matthew Philips has some fans and provides some play making ability that could compliment this group nicely should he get the chance, personally I’d say this is less likely than some of the younger forwards I’ve highlighted here.

Edmonton: Holland did a lot this offseason, and I wasn’t a huge fan of a lot of his moves. That being said the Oilers are in a good spot, perhaps their best in several year heading into 21/22. A huge part of it is a potential youth movement dawning underneath the RNH-McDavid lottery crew. The first prospect to point to would be forward Dylan Holloway, who posted a really strong sophomore season at Wisconsin. Holloway is big and strong, plays centre or wing, gets to dirty areas, wins battles, is a great forechecker, and might even find his way into fitting very nicely alongside either McDavid or Drasaitl. He’s not exactly Zach Hyman, but adding those two to this forward group should work out really well. McLeod and Benson have done enough in the AHL to have every chance to make this roster as well. It’s not out of the question that we see Puljujarvi reach another level of play this year, whether it’s somewhere in this lineup, but honestly now that he’s bounced back and adjusted to the NHL (recouped value) it might not be with the Oilers. I do hope that he gets a shot at a big role, but as we’ve mentioned the forward group is getting crowded. On defence Bouchard is the point of intrigue, especially with the likes of Jones and Bear shipped out. I don’t think he’ll be as good as Dougie Hamilton, but it’s not unreasonable to hope he eclipses fellow offensive defenceman Tyson Barrie in the next 2-3 years. Holland’s track record of slow development from Detroit, as well as the acquisitions of Keith and Ceci tell us all we need to know about Broberg or Samorukov having a chance at cracking this years roster.

Los Angeles: poised to be one of the most exciting, or at least surprising, teams LA has a plethora of candidates for this breakout player discussion. Primarily is the eventuality of Quinton Byfield, who had a strong underage rookie AHL campaign. It’s not too much to think that he could lead this team in points this season, especially with fellow centres Kopitar and Danault taking on the heavy lifting defensively. Outside of that predicting what this lineup might look like is near impossible, and the reason the Kings are often atop any prospect ranking. Kupari, Thomas, Kaliyev, and Turcotte could each make a strong case for making the opening night roster, but based on how crowded the forward group is to start will most likely continue their work in the AHL. On defence there are at least 2 candidates for breakout player, depending on your definition. Mikey Anderson was one of the Kings’ best defenders last season, so the only breakout would be in recognition. Bjornfot played well for the 20-odd games he was in the lineup and will look to continue impressing. Clague is the oldest and has played the least NHL games of these 3 defenders, but with strong skating skill, a large frame, and some offensive abilities might catch a lot of people’s eyes. In a division where the 3 seed is anyone’s game, LA will be a young, fun team that many will be paying attention to and rooting for.

San Jose: The Sharks could really use some breakout players, as some new skill and energy would go a long way towards reinvigorating this franchise. It’s probably at least another year until some offensive options in Gushchin or Wiesblatt are pushing for a spot. There are some forwards like Chmelevski, Blichfeld, and Gregor who could be NHL regulars, but probably not enough to get national attention. The most critical spot will be in net, an area of great concern for the past few seasons. Aiden Hill and James Reimer isn’t exactly a world beating tandem, but could easily give the Sharks their best performance in years. They have Ben Gaudreau (many years away), but much closer are a pit of 23 year olds in Melnichuk and Sawchenko. Neither have played a large volume of games in a season to this point, but specifically Sawchenko has posted really promising results, leading the AHL Barracuda in save percentage the last 2 seasons, yet still splitting time in the ECHL.

Seattle: the Kraken don’t have years of development to fall back on here, but nonetheless found a way to acquire some options for breakouts thru the expansion draft. On defence the most likely is Cale Fleury, as Dunn probably shouldn’t qualify for such a distinction, even after a tough 2021. Up front lies perhaps the biggest x-factor for the team in Morgan Geekie. He’s scored at every level, including his limited amount of games in the NHL despite being used sparingly. That, and the Kraken’s scarcity of young players, centres, and goal scorers make a Geekie breakout a potentially franchise altering development. Alex True might also benefit from a change in scenery under similar criteria, although less likely.

Vancouver: outside of Demko, the biggest reason for a strong Canucks’ season is their top 9 forward group, among which depends on the strong play of a young trio. Dickinson is less of a breakout candidate and more so continuing his good play in a Canadian market, after a few years of playing a role with Dallas that saw him move throughout the lineup. Hoglander was quite good last season, but we should expect his growing influence on play and higher offensive numbers. Podkolzin is similarly well insulated and should have a chance to find a synergous role with good linemates. On defence we will see if Rafferty delivers on promising hype and if Chatfield can continue improving. Although he’s not as young or skilled as many in this conversation Tucker Poolman has an interesting possibility of fitting into this lineup partnered with Quinn Hughes. Personally I’ve liked his play, a good defender with smart enough support pass abilities, and it’s not out of the question he beats out Travis Hamonic for the high leverage opportunity.

Vegas: clearly in a different competitive level than the rest of their division, Vegas’ breakouts will mostly be concerning existing NHLers. Because of their centre group and his draft pedigree Nolan Patrick is a good place to start. He’s missed a lot of time due to injuries, so naturally staying healthy is a big part of it. He’s been effective so far, perhaps lacking in the dynamic qualities you’d expect from a potential 1st overall pick. The Knights have been famously effective at getting the most from their centres, and it’s not rare that a change in scenery can push a players play in a positive direction. Another highly drafted centre will have similar opportunities, as Peyton Krebs tries to make the roster. He has been practicing with Vegas as far back as the 2020 bubble, and posted really promising results in 24 WHL games and 5 AHL games before a 4 game preview in the NHL. Keegan Kolesar played really well last season, and with Tuch out to start the year he might have a good chance to run with an even greater role this season. On defence Hague and Whitecloud have already been performing at a high level, but the longer they stick around the more people will understand that. Brossoit will be in net more often than he was in Winnipeg, and I agree he has a good chance to deliver on those hopes as Vegas gave him a contract the going rate NHL backup, but there’s no reason to think he won’t continue improving and might be in line for a raise at the end of his current deal.

#nhl #pacific division #anaheim ducks #calgary flames #edmonton oilers #los angeles kings #san jose sharks #seattle kraken #vancouver canucks #vegas golden knights

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junker-town · 5 years ago

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How 36-year-old Frank Gore is still thriving in the NFL

Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images

We take a look at some of Gore’s best runs this season and the evidence is as expected: he still does what he does extremely well.

Frank Gore doesn’t break every run for a big gain, but the threat is always there. At 36 years old. he’s a breed of running back we rarely see in the NFL, one that may not surface again. His longevity and productivity is almost in defiance of the rest of the league.

On Sunday, Gore made it to 15,000 career rushing yards, becoming only the fourth player in NFL history to hit the mark. He joins Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders — all of whom are in the Hall of Fame. Barring several incredibly unlikely mistakes by those voting on the process, Gore will join them one day.

Gore’s vision going through the hole and his determination to scrap for every inch before being brought down make him an important piece for the Buffalo Bills, the latest team to embrace his particular brand of hard-nosed running. After looking at the film, it’s pretty clear that he hasn’t lost a step where it counts: between the tackles.

This is why Gore is still a valuable asset, and why you’ll certainly see more big runs from him this season (and beyond, maybe?).

This is what “ball carrier vision” means

Gore is as good as any back when it comes to reading a defense and picking where to make his cuts. His awareness of everything that happens around him is unmatched. That’s why he’s able to make so many subtle moves that cause defenders to just miss getting a hand on him.

Gore had a great game against the Patriots in Week 4, and it started with the run above. It’s an example of a play where the blocking in front of him was particularly good — the Bills ran the wham block to perfection and Gore had no trouble cutting through the hole opened up for him. The big takeaway here is how easily Gore shifted his body from side to side while not altering the direction he’s running. The little bits of shiftiness on this play earned him a few extra yards, at least.

But that play was a bit too ... clean. Gore is even better when things get a little more messy.

That play above is the quintessential Gore run. His offensive line was kind of pushed around to start, but Gore was patient, slipped through, and was touched by four different Patriots before he got into the open field. I’m reminded of a pinball going off the bumpers — he basically just lurched from one potential arm tackle to the next, before he was finally caught in the open field.

How about something a little shorter?

Kyle Van Noy got a hold of Gore behind the line of scrimmage and spun him into a tackle, but not only did Gore make him work for it — picking up yards while his momentum was being impeded by a grown man hanging from him — he got the first down with that extra effort at the end. When I say he scraps for every inch, I mean it.

It’s not just that he’s producing against the Patriots, either. Though to be clear: producing against the Patriots, who entered Week 4 with the league’s top-ranked run defense, is extremely tough (Gore put up 109 yards against them — or one fewer than the Patriots had given up all season.)

This was one of Gore’s better runs of the day from the Bills’ Week 3 win over the Bengals. The first thing you’ll notice is the great decision to cut across to his right (as the arrow from the broadcast shows) and grab an extra 10 yards or so, getting the Bengals moving sideline-to-sideline.

More important than that is how Gore handled the initial steps of the play. A lesser running back would have looked at the mess of bodies in front of him and bailed. Instead, Gore’s patience paid off as he slipped through the small gap for a big gain.

Gore was signed this offseason to be a change-of-pace back to rookie Devin Singletary, who missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. That adds even more value to Gore’s success against both the Patriots and Bengals. The Bills now know that Gore can still handle a heavy workload, and that he will grind out the tough yardage even once Singletary returns.

Before the regular season, I somewhat jokingly referred to the Bills as Gore’s “biggest test yet,” but he’s already done a lot to help them to their 3-1 record and will likely continue to get meaningful carries throughout the season. He’s flourishing in Buffalo, same as he would virtually anywhere, because his style is so dependent on personal perfection. If the blocking is there, Gore will find the hole. If it isn’t, he’ll make one.

This offseason, Gore didn’t even consider retirement, opting instead to join the Bills, the fourth team in his career. I said about seven years ago that I thought Gore wasn’t ever going to experience a period of rapid decline — that he would eventually just retire one day, still at the top. Maybe he’s not quite “at the top” right now, but I think the spirit of that prediction lives on.

Gore does what he does incredibly well, and all signs point to him doing just that until he’s ready to hang up the cleats.

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thecollegefootballguy · 8 years ago

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The Real Champions: Some Final Thoughts and Analysis

Hey everybody, I want to thank those of you who took the time to read my series “The Real Champions” which set out to decide which teams actually deserved to claim national championships every year from 1900 to 2015. This was definitely one of my longest projects, certainly in the top two with the Realignment Rivalry Graveyard Countdown. Now that it’s over there’s a lot of information to parse through so I’m going to try to make a (relatively) condensed analysis of everything and find a few takeaways here and there.

This is the final part of a long series I’ve been writing, I would strongly suggest getting familiar with at least the rules that I’ve used to govern this project before beginning, and if you wanna start reading my decade by decade analysis you can start in the 2010′s or the 1900′s.

Before we start I want to announce two changes have been made to the list of champions. The first is because I started this project before the 2016 season began so it didn’t initially take into account Clemson’s championship. Second: I want to amend the 1978 season. At first I had only awarded Oklahoma a championship over Alabama and USC, but now I want to move the Trojans into a co-championship situation with the Sooners. I still won’t award the Tide a title since they got smoked by SC early in the season.

Now, on to the analysis!

The Raw Data

Here is the full list of every team I awarded a championship and for which seasons:

Alabama: 14 (1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1975, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015)

Arkansas: 1 (1964)

Army: 5 (1914, 1916, 1944, 1945, 1946)

Auburn: 3 (1957, 1983, 2010)

California: 4 (1920, 1921, 1922, 1937)

Chicago: 2 (1905, 1913)

Clemson: 2 (1981, 2016)

Colgate: 1 (1932)

Cornell: 4 (1915, 1921, 1922, 1939)

Florida: 3 (1995, 2006, 2008)

Florida State: 3 (1993, 1999, 2013)

Georgia: 2 (1942, 1980)

Georgia Tech: 4 (1917, 1928, 1952, 1990)

Harvard: 4 (1901, 1908, 1912, 1913)

Illinois: 3 (1914, 1923, 1927)

LSU: 3 (1958, 2003, 2007)

Maryland: 1 (1951)

Miami: 5 (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001)

Michigan: 10 (1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1923, 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, 1997)

Michigan State: 3 (1951, 1952, 1966)

Minnesota: 7 (1903, 1904, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941)

Nebraska: 5 (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997)

Notre Dame: 13 (1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988, 1993)

Ohio State: 5 (1942, 1954, 1968, 2002, 2014)

Oklahoma: 10 (1949, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1985, 2000)

Ole Miss: 3 (1959, 1960, 1962)

Penn State: 5 (1911, 1969, 1982, 1986, 1994)

Pennsylvania: 2 (1904, 1908)

Pittsburgh: 6 (1910, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1937, 1976)

Princeton: 3 (1906, 1922, 1933)

SMU: 1 (1982)

Stanford: 2 (1926, 1940)

Syracuse: 1 (1959)

Tennessee: 3 (1938, 1950, 1998)

TCU: 1 (1938)

Texas: 3 (1963, 1969, 2005)

Texas A&M: 3 (1919, 1927, 1939)

UCLA: 1 (1954)

USC: 8 (1931, 1932, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1978, 2003, 2004)

Washington: 2 (1984, 1991)

Washington & Jefferson: 1 (1921)

Yale: 5 (1900, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1909)

There we have it. Every national championship from 1900 to 2016 based on the criteria I used to judge who was most worthy. Now clearly these titles don’t feel equally relevant anymore. Scrolling down to see Chicago’s two national championships and then Clemson’s doesn’t mean both teams have equal standing in the modern game. I’ll break down each of the champions by categories that roughly put them among peers.

The Breakdown of the Champions

The All-Time Best Programs in College Football

There are modern day powers, the blue bloods of the sport, and then there are absolute best. These few programs have set themselves apart more than any other in the sport and are probably what immediately comes to mind when you think of college football’s very best teams.

Alabama Crimson Tide: 14 national championships (1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1975, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015)

Alabama has been the most successful winner in the entire sport since the South became relevant in the game starting in the 1920′s. The Crimson Tide rode an initial wave of success under Wallace Wade and Frank Thomas in the 1920′s and 1930′s to mark themselves as the best team in the South. Bear Bryant’s record setting pace in the 1960′s and 70′s put them among the best of the best. Just for added measure, Nick Saban’s current dynasty has pushed Bama past Notre Dame as the top program based on championship numbers.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 13 (1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988, 1993)

Perhaps the most classic name associated with college football. Notre Dame was the most successful program in the 20th Century. The Fighting Irish burst on to the scene with Knute Rockne in the 1920′s. Frank Leahy guided the Irish to their greatest success in the 1940′s. Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine, and Lou Holtz join the ranks as the head men who made sure that ND won national championships in every decade from the 1920′s to the 1990′s, easily the longest run any team has had.

Oklahoma Sooners: 10 (1949, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1985, 2000)

Oklahoma dominated the last half of the 20th Century more than any other school. The Sooners spotted their fellow all-timers about 20 years then raced out to a similar pace. Bud Wilkinson’s big run through the 50′s and Barry Switzer’s tenure in the 70′s and 80′s provided OU with most of their championships.

USC Trojans: 8 (1931, 1932, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1978, 2003, 2004)

I have trouble placing USC. They are a cut above the other blue blood programs in terms of championships, but they have nearly half as many titles as Alabama, the highest of the all-timers, so they feel somewhat out of place there as well. You could put them in either category, but I’m choosing to put them with the all-timers based on their three periods of huge success that matches up with the other schools on here. Howard Jones in the 30′s, John McKay and John Robinson in the 60′s and 70′s, as well as Pete Carroll in the 2000′s ran out of the tunnel with some of the best teams football has ever witnessed.

Michigan

I have to create a special category for Michigan. They do and do not fall into several of the categories I already made and stand apart somewhat.

Michigan Wolverines: 10 (1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1923, 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, 1997)

By number of championships, Michigan belongs in the All-Time Best conversation, however they’ve only won a single title since 1950 which absolutely DOES NOT put them in similar company as Alabama, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and USC, who’ve won 31 in the same time frame. Their championship profile resembles a Pittsburgh, Minnesota, or other diminished former powers that have waned in importance. But unlike the Panthers or Gophers, the Wolverines are the definition of a blue blood program. UM is #1 in all-time wins and in win percentage and they’ve had success throughout the entire modern history of the sport. Michigan has the wins and the dominance of an Alabama or Notre Dame, they just could never win the right games to get them a championship ever since they truly fell off the pace in the 1940′s. The Wolverines exist separately from these of the other programs so I’ll give them this special area.

True Blue Bloods

The Blue Bloods are the teams with success both past and present. They’re what we consider traditional powers in the sport of college football. Make no mistake, even though I set a few above them, these are the tier 1 schools just the same.

Ohio State Buckeyes: 5 (1942, 1954, 1968, 2002, 2014)

The definition of a blue blood program, Ohio State has been a consistent winner for decades. The Buckeyes are the most successful modern Big Ten team since Michigan and Minnesota stopped regularly winning championships in the 1940′s.

Nebraska Cornhuskers: 5 (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997)

Depending on which dates you actually use, Nebraska is the winningest program of the last 60 or so years. The Cornhuskers had stretches of success before the 1960′s, but the arrival of Bob Devaney put them on top. The program prospered further under Devaney’s successor Tom Osborne. From the 60′s until about 2000, Nebraska was easily one of the best teams in the country. They did well for themselves in winning five championships, but they had close calls seemingly every year, and it feels like they could have won 15 if the breaks had gone their way.

Penn State: 5 (1911, 1969, 1982, 1986, 1994)

The Nittany Lions were also one of the most successful programs in the last 50 years under Joe Paterno. Penn State was a big winner in my own system, but in reality they only claim two championships in their long history though they deserved at least four. I’m sure some of you will think that there’s some kind of retroactive karmic justice to that. I won’t dispute it.

Texas Longhorns: 3 (1963, 1969, 2005)

They don’t have as many championships as a USC or an Ohio State, but boy don’t they act like it? I don’t want to take away anything from Texas’ great stints in the 40′s, the 60′s and 70′s, and the 2000′s under Dana Bible, Darrell Royal, and Mack Brown respectively. Those Longhorns teams were world beaters. Overall, UT was a dominant force that has more or less Michigan-ed things because they’ve been about as good as the rest of these teams in the Blue Bloods category, they just won a few fewer championships.

Tennessee Volunteers: 3 (1938, 1950, 1998)

Alright, Tennessee sorta doesn’t fit here. They have a low number of championships and don’t have the super high win percentage and dominance that Texas can fall back on. Yet, the Volunteers stand out from those in the next tier by virtue of long periods of success, particularly under Robert Neyland, Johnny Majors, and Phillip Fulmer. Also, I think I took at least two championships from them that they would otherwise claim to bolster their case. They can be a blue blood, but they’re on the fringe compared to the others.

Modern Powerhouses

These teams may have a checkered past, but their recent success has been undeniable. Modern powerhouses act like blue blood programs, though usually they only starting winning national championships in the past 20 or 30 years, separating them from the much longer history of the traditional powers. You’ll notice a certain pattern with these schools if you look close enough.

Miami Hurricanes: 5 (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001)

Before 1983, Miami was a small time program that had never distinguished itself in college football. Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, and Dennis Erickson built the Hurricanes into the most successful modern college football program this side of Tuscaloosa. The U as it came to be known dominated the game in the 80′s and the early 90′s. A shorter period of success in the late 90′s and early 2000′s added the most recent championship to Miami’s display cases. Unfortunately, the Canes haven’t seen their dominance sustain itself in the past decade, but their incredible run has made them a virtual overnight success in the longer gaze of football history.

Florida State: 3 (1993, 1999, 2013)

Bobby Bowden built Florida State into one of the most consistently dominating teams in the last quarter of the 20th Century. FSU was in the championship hunt every year for nearly 15 years. That they only won two championships in his tenure is somewhat remarkable in and of itself, they certainly left many on the table. The Seminoles have seen their success return under Jimbo Fisher, and are a great example of the modern football powerhouse.

Florida Gators: 3 (1995, 2006, 2008)

The Sunshine State has led the charge in college football since the 1980′s. Steve Spurrier built up the Florida Gators to a similar success that their rivals FSU and Miami saw in the 90′s. In his short tenure, Urban Meyer won two titles in three seasons to elevate Florida to the level of their in-state peers.

Regional Powers

Regional Powers are interesting programs. They are always relevant in their conference and when they’re playing at their peak they act like blue blood programs. They just haven’t seen as much success as their well-heeled brethren, though they can find their place in the sun if they work for it.

Auburn Tigers: 3 (1957, 1983, 2010)

They certainly have played second fiddle to arch-rival Alabama for most of their history, but Auburn is usually a good program and occasionally a great one. When the right man uses the right system, the Tigers can strike out and out-compete anybody, including the hated Crimson Tide.

LSU Tigers: 3 (1958, 2003, 2007)

LSU’s history has featured more ups and downs than many power programs. The Tigers had a period of success in the 1950′s and 60′s, but were unremarkable for a long time until Nick Saban revived the program and Les Miles carried the water for a good decade. Currently LSU is regarded as one of the best teams in the best conference and it’s hoped that they can keep things that way.

Michigan State Spartans: 3 (1951, 1952, 1966)

For a good two decades, Michigan State was a powerhouse in the Big Ten. The Spartans thrived under Biggie Munn and his successor Duffy Daugherty. They occasionally rise out of mediocrity to become a national contender for some years. Very recently under Mark Dantonio, MSU threatened to break through and start claiming national championships once again.

Texas A&M Aggies: 3 (1919, 1927, 1939)

Texas A&M has had an interesting history. The Aggies are consistently good, and as a result have very high standards for a team that hasn’t won a national championship since the 1930′s. They are a solid performer that has success very frequently, but they have trouble getting over the hump and actually winning titles.

Clemson Tigers: 2 (1981, 2016)

The most recent champs have just doubled their overall title count. Clemson had long streaks of success under Frank Howard and Danny Ford, and Dabo Swinney has started the ball rolling once more. They were the traditional power in the ACC until Florida State joined the conference, but currently both programs are competing at a very high level and are leading the league.

Washington Huskies: 2 (1984, 1991)

Under Don James, the Washington Huskies finally broke through and won a poll national title in 1991. But to say that Washington only had a peak in the last 80′s and early 90′s ignores their status as the far and away most successful program in the Pacific Northwest.

Georgia Bulldogs: 2 (1942, 1980)

Georgia is usually one of the solid programs in the SEC, but they rarely have achieved the heights of a national championship contender. Still, they are a quality program and a huge presence in that region of the country.

Arkansas Razorbacks: 1 (1964)

There was the high water mark under Frank Broyles that won the Razorbacks their only national championship. While Arkansas is usually a strong team, they just usually aren’t the very best.

UCLA Bruins: 1 (1954)

The Auburn to USC’s Alabama, so to speak. UCLA is almost always a competitive program, but they’ve been unable to leverage success in a talent-laden region for any long period of time because their next-door neighbor does it so much better.

Fallen Powers

In a certain age, these programs were college football royalty, with as much clout and name recognition as a Michigan or a Notre Dame. Sustaining success is difficult, especially for schools that are somewhat more demographically challenged or restricted by other means. These are the teams that used to be among the very best, but they’ve been unable to keep it up.

Minnesota Golden Gophers: (1903, 1904, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941)

One of the most successful college football programs in the first half of the 20th Century. Minnesota had multiple football dynasties and a tradition of victory, but recruiting out to Minneapolis has always proved a challenge. The Golden Gophers haven’t seen any kind of real relevance since the 1960′s and it seems very unlikely that they’ll be able to reclaim their former glory.

Pittsburgh Panthers: 6 (1910, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1937, 1976)

Pitt was a dominant force in college football in the era of Pop Warner and Jock Sutherland from the 1910′s to the 1930′s. They slid into irrelevance until Johnny Majors revived the tradition of winning in the 1970′s. There was a time when Western Pennsylvania was considered the #1 recruiting hotbed in the country, but that hasn’t been the case in a while. The Panthers haven’t seen any kind of national prominence since the 80′s.

Army Black Knights: 5 (1914, 1916, 1944, 1945, 1946)

I guess if we have another kind of full-scale war that would allow Army to take the best players across the nation and put them on the team the Black Knights could conceivably win championships again. Outside of that horrible possibility it doesn’t seem likely that Army can regularly be a good team, let alone a great one, in this day and age. The demands of being a full time college athlete and a full time officer in the US military makes it nigh impossible for someone to do both. But let’s acknowledge Army’s stellar period of dominance in the 1910′s and especially in the 1940′s.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: 4 (1917, 1928, 1952, 1990)

Georgia Tech was one of the very solid programs in college football for much of the early 1900′s. From John Heisman to William Alexander to Bobby Dodd the Yellow Jackets occasionally challenged for and won national championships. However, GA Tech hasn’t been nearly as successful since the 1960′s. Bobby Ross’ 1990 squad seemed to catch lightning in a bottle for one season, but for the most part it seems as though Georgia Tech has trouble maintaining a team that’s competitive at the highest level. Especially when they’re surrounded by so many other successful Southeastern schools with administrations that are more willing to take on players with more modest academic achievements.

California Golden Bears: 4 (1920, 1921, 1922, 1937)

Andy Smith’s 1920-23 dynasty was the first nationally competitive team to emerge from the West Coast. Building off that, the Cal Bears were one of the best teams in the PCC until the 1950′s. Ever since, and for not too obvious of reasons, Cal hasn’t been able to field nationally competitive teams outside of having Aaron Rodgers under center.

Illinois Fighting Illini: 3 (1914, 1923, 1927)

Illinois was a Big Ten power in its own right for a couple of decades around the 1920′s. The teams of Red Grange and Bob Zuppke regularly competed for and claimed championships. However, the Illini were just unable to keep pace with schools like Michigan and Ohio State. Like Minnesota, they were slowly edged out of national relevance as the Wolverines and Buckeyes came to increasingly dominate the league.

Been to the Mountaintop

These are programs that have won national championships but haven’t had too much time in the spotlight otherwise. Some of them have a long list of great moments, but something keeps them from breaking into the higher levels of the college football universe.

Ole Miss Rebels: 3 (1959, 1960, 1962)

Outside of an incredible run under Johnny Vaught, Ole Miss has been a rather unremarkable program for most of its existence.

Stanford Cardinal: 2 (1926, 1940)

Every once in a while, Stanford is good, and sometimes even great. But the Cardinal have had trouble being successful for long periods of time.

SMU Mustangs: 1 (1982)

SMU had some high points in the 1930′s and the 1980′s, but as a small private school in the middle of much larger company, it’s difficult for the Mustangs to build real success. The last time they were good was because they paid players to attend.

Syracuse Orange: 1 (1959)

Another demographically challenged school, Syracuse has had some good runs in the past, but they haven’t been great in a long while.

Maryland Terrapins: 1 (1951)

They’ve had more success than almost all of the old-school ACC programs, but that doesn’t say much. Maryland had a flash of brilliance under Jim Tatum in the 50′s, but otherwise they’ve had trouble not being mediocre.

TCU Horned Frogs: 1 (1938)

A more successful iteration of SMU, TCU had runs of success in the 30′s and they’re currently in the middle of one today.

Myths and Legends

The ancient ones, those who won in college football’s hazy early days but don’t play at the highest level any longer. All of them are smaller private schools that either don’t have the resources, can’t stand the sausage-making to be good at modern college football, or both.

Yale Bulldogs: (1900, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1909)

They started out the 1900′s very strong. In terms of total national championships, Yale is still one of the most decorated programs ever.

Cornell Big Red: 4 (1915, 1921, 1922, 1939)

The last of the nationally successful Ivy League schools. Cornell won championships into the 1930′s but they still had to bow out as the game changed around them.

Harvard Crimson: 4 (1901, 1908, 1912, 1913)

Another name that screams old-time college football. Harvard was a national power for decades until they slowly faded from relevance starting in the 1910′s.

Princeton Tigers: 3 (1906, 1922, 1933)

By some measures you could still claim that Princeton is the most successful college football program of all time, they’ve been awarded championships for 28 different seasons by various selectors. Though obviously nearly all of this success came in the very early days of the sport.

Chicago Maroons: 2 (1905, 1913)

One of the early powers outside of the Northeast, Amos Alonzo Stagg’s Chicago Maroons regularly competed with Michigan for supremacy of the Big Ten. Due to their small size, they struggled to compete with the much larger state institutions and eventually bowed out of the league. They are now a D-III program.

Penn Quakers: 2 (1904, 1908)

Slightly less successful than some of the other Ivy League programs, Penn still had their moments of glory.

Colgate Red Raiders: 1 (1932)

Colgate had an amazing season in 1932 but otherwise haven’t made much of a mark on major college football.

Washington & Jefferson Presidents: 1 (1921)

Probably the smallest and most unassuming schools to win a national championship. A great trivia answer.

Geographic Shifts

One of the things that comes pretty obvious if you’ve tracked this project is that the center of the college football universe has shifted throughout the sport’s history. Obviously the South is currently dominates college football, but it wasn’t always this way. The geographic center of the game has moved a couple of times since the 1869.

The Northeast was the original seat of college football power. Before 1901, no team outside of that region EVER claimed a national championship. The Northeast was still a very important arena in the sport for the first half of the 20th Century. From 1900 to 1919, schools in the Northeast claimed 22 national titles compared to 11 for the entire rest of the country, two thirds of the total championships won in that time span. It was mostly thanks to the Ivy League, Pittsburgh, and Army. From 1900 to 1946, the end of Army’s dynasty, the Northeast claimed 31 of the 76 total football titles I’ve assigned, a bit over 40% of the total. However, they haven’t been nearly as successful since. Only six or seven championships have been awarded to schools in the Northeast region since 1946 depending on if you count Maryland as a Northeast team, with four going to Penn State and one each to Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The relegation of the Ivy League along with the irrelevance of the service academies has made the Northeast a backwater in college football. Pittsburgh and Syracuse themselves haven’t done much on the national stage in nearly 30 years, so it feels even more unlikely that the region can win titles regularly ever again.

The Midwest, South, and West all claimed a piece of the pie from the Northeast, but the Midwest was arguably the most dominant region in the 20th Century. We’re gonna consider the Midwest to constitute the Big Ten, Big 8, and Notre Dame. Oklahoma is a bit of a strange case, they’re considered a Southern state but in college football they were always culturally Midwestern until they joined themselves to Texas when the Big 12 was formed. Once Michigan and Minnesota burst on the scene in the 1900′s it was on. From 1900 to 1909 those two schools claimed 8 out of 18 national titles awarded. In the 1940′s the success of Notre Dame, Minnesota, and Michigan meant that the Midwest claimed 10 of 15 total national championships, a full two-thirds of the total. Oklahoma led the charge in the 50′s, where the region won 7 national titles compared to 8 for the entire rest of the country. The last truly dominant period in the Midwest was in the 1970′s, when Oklahoma and Nebraska helped the region claim 7 titles when everyone else only took home 5. In the 1990′s, the Midwest still claimed 5 championships mostly due to Nebraska’s last dynasty, the rest of the nation took home 9 titles. Due to demographic shifts, the Midwest is struggling to keep pace with the South for supremacy in college football. Oklahoma won a title in 2000 and Ohio State won in 2002 and 2014, but otherwise there’s been an uncomfortable drought. Outside of the blue blood schools who can recruit based on reputation, it’s been difficult for the Midwest to claim some of the best talent the nation has to offer in this new millennium.

The South is completely in control of college football right now. It seems like basically every year a Southern team wins a national championship. From Texas to Florida the region contains nearly all of the top talent coming in from high school. The South had always been reasonably competitive starting in the 1920′s, but the region really started taking off with the emergence of the Florida schools in the 1980′s. In that decade, the South claimed 7 championship compared to 4 from the rest of the country, mostly thanks to Miami’s incredible run. In the 90′s, six different Southern schools won seven championships compared to seven from everywhere else. Since the turn of the century, the gap has become quite large. Depending on if you count Oklahoma as a Southern school or not, the South has claimed 13 or 14 of the 18 championships awarded since 2000. Alabama, Florida, and LSU have all claimed multiple championships in the past 17 years. It doesn’t look like this dominance will end anytime soon either. Unless something drastic changes in the culture of this sport, the South is going to dominate college football for the foreseeable future.

The West has never dominated college football like the other regions of the country, but they’ve always had some kind of success. There have always been strong teams to come from the region ever since Cal won their first title in 1920. Indeed, California as a state has won more titles than any other state in the nation, with 18 total championships compared to 17 for Alabama. Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Indiana (all by Notre Dame) tie for third with 13. The problem is that the region is simply still rather underpopulated outside of large urban centers. The rural populations that make up large swaths of college football fandoms elsewhere are just much smaller in most Western states. Since I stripped titles from BYU and Colorado, the only states in the whole Western US to be awarded ANY championships have been California and Washington. Considering the inherent demographic challenges of the region, they’ve done well for themselves, though it also means they’ll probably be unable to compete with the South in the near future.

So there you have it. Those are some of the patterns I’ve noticed after writing what has amounted to a novella on this subject. I want to once again thank anybody who actually has been generous enough with their time to read all of this. I of course want to give a shoutout to my footblr pals @collegefootball128, @thechlostertalkssports, and @saturdaystars. I think they’ll be happy with my assessment of their favorite teams. If anybody has any questions about the process or any feedback, please don’t hesitate to write in, I always try to respond to any fan mail about my projects.

I might take a short little break, this project has taken me a very long time to complete so I need to recharge a bit. But don’t worry, I’ll be back, I’ve already got a number of ideas for my next long-form project!

Thanks once again!

-thecfbg

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timclymer · 5 years ago

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Top Ten Weight Loss Tips

There are thousands of diet books published each year on weight loss. You see the late night television infomercials with their pills, equipment and programs. They all promise fast and sometimes incredible weight loss results. The truth is that you can lose weight on any diet, well at least for awhile. The problem is in keeping the weight off. I have come up with my top 10 weight loss tips that if followed will result not only in weight loss but permanent weight loss.

1> Make a list of the reasons why you want to lose weight

There is a saying “If you don’t know where your going then any road will take you there”. A goals list helps you focus on your reasons to do it along with what weight you want to be at in the end. Review this list daily to always keep it fresh in your mind of exactly why you are doing it.

2> Cut your calorie intake by at least 500 calories per day

Here is the hidden secret: 3500 calories equals 1 pound. To lose one pound of fat per week your body needs to burn 500 more calories per day then it consumes. If you cut your caloric intake by 250 calories and burn 250 calories exercising per day then you could easily lose weight with these two techniques alone. Cutting just 500 calories a day would result in a 52 lb weight loss in one year.

3> Get at least 7-8 hours sleep each night

Some amazing things happen when you sleep. Your body goes into repair mode and recharges itself. Muscles don’t grow when your working out. They grow when you sleep to repair the damage down to the muscle during the workout. I also believe that this is when the miracle of weight loss has it’s greatest advantage so don’t neglect it.

4> Take a multi vitamin daily

Multi vitamin supplements are needed to help boost your general health. When you gained weight, you were probably not eating the best foods available. It is my opinion that a multi vitamin will help aide your body in processing food better and in muscle development.

5> Limit Sodas to diet and drink more water

This was a very hard one for me but if you can switch to diet or preferably water you can cut an additional 100 or more calories per bottle. For example: If you drank 5 bottles of soda every day and at as usual that would amount to a 3500 calorie deficit per week resulting in a 1 pound weight loss in and all by itself. That would add up to a 52 pound weight loss in one year just by getting rid of the soda pop.

6> Increase natural food intake, reduce processed foods

Natural foods such as vegetables and fruits are for the most part already low calorie choices. Processed foods add tons of sugar and other ingredients that you can’t even pronounce. Do your body a favor a stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Processed foods are high calorie, non-nutrient foods for the most part.

7> Exercise at least 3-4 times per week

Depending on several factors such as weight, age, type of exercise and frequency; you can burn several hundred calories in just 30 minutes while at the same time building muscle. Muscle burns more calories thus it’s a win – win situation. The more muscle you build the more calories you will burn. Exercising also helps increase your metabolism which is a calorie eater.

8> Keep A Food Diary, Journal Or Blog

Keeping track of what you eat, why you eat and what’s going on with your body is important in weight loss success. First, it keeps you focused on your goal. Second, if you stop losing weight then you can review your journal to see if there is something that you are eating or exercise that you are not doing.

9> Find A Weight Loss Partner

Finding another person to help each of you lose weight. It can help greatly in weight loss by keeping you focused on your goals and making you accountable for your weight loss. When things make not be going the way you want they can be a great person for inspiration, advice and a sounding board.

10> Create A Plan And Stick With It

Layout exactly how and what you will eat. There are thousands of diet plans on the market. Everything from “The South Beach Diet, The Zone, Atkins, Weight Watchers, Nutra System, Jenny Craig” etc. The list is endless. Which ever plan you choose – stick with it and plan an end date to achieve your goal. Doctors suggest not to lose more than 2 pounds per week so for example; if you have 50 pounds to lose then your goal would be to reach your weight loss no sooner than 25 weeks from the day you start. It is however very important to have some date in mind to give you something to strive for.

Reward yourself as you lose the weight. Give yourself little gifts along your weight loss journey to reward your efforts. See you lighter, later.

Source by Barry Hughes

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/top-ten-weight-loss-tips/ via Home Solutions on WordPress from Home Solutions FOREV https://homesolutionsforev.tumblr.com/post/187530256535 via Tim Clymer on Wordpress

#Home Solutions FOREV

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homesolutionsforev · 5 years ago

Text

Top Ten Weight Loss Tips

1> Make a list of the reasons why you want to lose weight

2> Cut your calorie intake by at least 500 calories per day

3> Get at least 7-8 hours sleep each night

4> Take a multi vitamin daily

5> Limit Sodas to diet and drink more water

6> Increase natural food intake, reduce processed foods

7> Exercise at least 3-4 times per week

8> Keep A Food Diary, Journal Or Blog

9> Find A Weight Loss Partner

10> Create A Plan And Stick With It

Reward yourself as you lose the weight. Give yourself little gifts along your weight loss journey to reward your efforts. See you lighter, later.

Source by Barry Hughes

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/top-ten-weight-loss-tips/ via Home Solutions on WordPress

#Home Solutions Forev

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villarreallopez5-blog · 6 years ago

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Situs Poker Online Terpercaya | How To Stay Away From Brown Fruit And Maintain Lettuce Clean

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thrashermaxey · 6 years ago

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Ramblings: Yzerman Back In Motown, Flames Doused, Advantage Leafs (Apr 20)

There were two playoff games on Good Friday. As we like to say in Canada, both of them involved Canadian teams. One team had a good night. The other, not so much.

Leafs/Bruins

Both teams played a very conservative style through the first two periods, as each team had barely reached double digits in shots on goal midway through the second period.

Auston Matthews opened the scoring over halfway through the third period on a goal that the Bruins contested was goalie interference. It looked to me like the Bruins had a case, but in any event the call stood and it was a good goal.

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A week ago I discussed how Matthews was having a hard time scoring goals. Since then, Matthews has scored four goals over his past three games while taking 16 shots over that span. That matters because your best players have to be your best players in order to win. Now the Leafs have two chances to exorcise the Bruins demon, starting on Sunday afternoon.

Just over two minutes later, Kasperi Kapanen scored his first goal of the playoffs. He had also assisted on Matthews’ goal. The two points are his first points of the series.

David Krejci made it close, scoring with just 43 seconds left in regulation. It wasn’t enough for the Bruins, who will try to force a Game 7 on Tuesday night.

Don Cherry and Dobber agree on at least one point: Frederik Andersen is the best goalie in hockey. Andersen stopped 28 of 29 shots he faced to backstop the Leafs to the Game 5 victory.

Sean Kuraly was back in Bruins’ lineup after missing past four weeks with a broken hand. He was back on the fourth line with Noel Acciari and Chris Wagner.

Avalanche/Flames

The Avalanche are the third team that you I didn’t pick to advance to the second round, eliminating the Flames in just five games with a 5-1 win. With the addition of Cale Makar in this series and a high first-round pick via Ottawa as early as next season, the Avs are only going to climb the standings from here. If Philipp Grubauer can sustain his late-season success, this result could be a sign of things to come for Colorado next season and beyond.

Once the damage was done, Colin Wilson and Mikko Rantanen each scored two goals and added an assist. Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie each added three assists. Rantanen has racked up nine points (5g-4a) in this five-game series, while MacKinnon has eight points.

#Flames & #GoBolts are both eliminated.

This marks the first time in NHL history that the regular season champions from each respective conference have been eliminated in Round 1

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) April 20, 2019

In addition, the Flames and the Lightning combined for just one win. It’s not as if these series were even close. This might be shaping up to be the most unpredictable Stanley Cup Playoffs in league history. Keep reading, because later on I’ve got something for you if your bracket is busted.

After Game 1 the Flames appeared to be a team that would roll all over the Avalanche, but since then the Avs have clearly been the better team, even though they had to go to overtime in Games 2 and 4. The Flames’ big guns were snuffed out in this series, in particular Johnny Gaudreau (1 point in 5 games) and Sean Monahan (2 points in 5 games). It was simply not Gaudreau’s night.

Wow. This has been some game for Johnny Gaudreau. Misses penalty shot, misses net on breakaway, scores but goal is disallowed for interference.

— David Satriano (@davidsatriano) April 20, 2019

In fact, Sam Bennett led the Flames in scoring in this series with five points in five games. He was rewarded with a spot on the top line in this game, so this could even be a case of his playoff performance improving his stock for next season. Better line deployment could be what is needed to push his career back on the upswing. After scoring 36 points in his rookie season, the 2014 fourth overall pick has failed to reach 30 points in each of his last three seasons.

James Neal was a healthy scratch for Game 5. As you might expect, he had no points in four games. Neal has quite simply been a bust for the Flames since signing a five-year contract worth $5.75 million per season last summer. His 19 points in 63 games is his lowest point total in his 11-year NHL career, and he doesn’t seem to fit into the Flames’ younger core going forward. Hopefully you didn’t draft him hoping he’d play on the Flames’ top line. We could now be seeing why Nashville left him unprotected in the expansion draft.

The Flames have a major decision coming up with respect to their goaltending. The series result is by no means entirely on Mike Smith (his 188 saves leads all playoff goalies), but he was easily considered the biggest question mark for the Flames entering this series. You’d have to think that the 37-year-old Smith won’t be returning and that the Flames would instead turn to a tandem with RFA David Rittich and a goalie that they find as a UFA (maybe they circle back to Smith?) There doesn’t appear to be anything waiting in the system, as the numbers for both Jon Gillies and Tyler Parsons don’t suggest that they’re NHL ready. Maybe a trade?

Stevie Y is coming home. To nearly no one’s surprise, the Red Wings are bringing their former captain back as general manager, with current GM Ken Holland moving to the role of senior vice president.

This move is a home run for the Wings, both from a hockey and a PR perspective. During his time in Tampa, Yzerman has taken a relatively unstable team in a non-traditional market and turned it into a Cup contender. In fact, the Lightning are perceived by many to be the NHL’s model franchise for its ability to develop players through its minor-league system, a trait that was associated with the Red Wings during their run as one of the league’s top teams.

Sure, the Lightning haven’t won a Stanley Cup with the current core group, and the recent four-game sweep at the hands of the Blue Jackets is still raw. However, Yzerman has left the Lightning in a position in which they should be one of the league’s top teams for at least several more years to come. I’d expect the Wings to be back in the playoffs within 2-3 seasons, although the 2019-20 playoffs are probably a reach with this group as it stands today.

Current head coach Jeff Blashill was signed to a two-year extension earlier this month, so his job for at least next season is secure. However, I’d think that Yzerman would immediately raise the bar for a former contender that has now missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. The Wings have some nice pieces centering around Dylan Larkin, but Stevie Y will need to add more in the way of draft picks. With some cap space, Yzerman could even dip into the free agent pool as early as this summer. Optimism abound in the Motor City.

For more detailed analysis, see Mike Clifford’s fantasy take.

As for Holland, there have been rumors abound that he is being considered for the GM jobs in both Edmonton and Seattle. But according to Darren Dreger, Holland has withdrawn his name from the Oilers’ GM search.

The Blue Jackets’ four-game sweep of the Lightning has easily been the surprise story of the NHL playoffs so far. The Islanders’ four-game sweep of the Penguins will come in as a not-too-distant second in that department. As of tonight, there’s the Flames as well. That isn’t good news if you’d built your fantasy playoff roster around the likes of Nikita Kucherov and Sidney Crosby.

There’s the old expression “when you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” So can fantasy owners learn anything from these surprise quick exits of the Lightning and Penguins, two teams that have been on the short list of Stanley Cup contenders over the last few years? I can think of at least three takeaways.

The playoffs aren’t fair

Tampa Bay’s record-setting regular season of 62 wins didn’t matter in the end, as they failed to post even a single win in a season that they were picked by many to win the Stanley Cup. This is a problem not unlike that in head-to-head fantasy leagues, where a team with a strong regular season can be eliminated quickly because of a down week, an unusually strong week by the opponent, or a combination of both.

To ensure fairness, some fantasy leagues give first-place teams a bye in the first round. That is something that probably won’t be made possible in the NHL unless the league decides to adopt a one-game playoff similar to what MLB currently uses. A complete first-round bye might make a team more well-rested than they should be, but the real reason the league will probably never use it is that it would generate less playoff revenue for teams than simply playing the games.

So what can fantasy owners do about this? Even first-round byes don’t ensure deserving first-place teams win championships, although they make the path a little easier. You can look at your fantasy league’s playoff schedule to confirm that you don’t have key players on one- or two-game weeks (the Dobber Midseason Guide has an article on this topic). Even if you examine the schedule, it doesn’t guarantee against trades or injuries changing the course. It doesn’t hurt to draft with your playoff schedule in mind, although your first priority should still be to get to your league’s fantasy playoffs.

If the whole idea of a successful regular season going up in smoke in one week bothers you, perhaps rotisserie scoring is for you. Like the English Premier League, the team with the most points at the end of the season wins the title. Fair and square.

You won’t be the only one

Like many, I was hit with the losses of Tampa Bay players from my playoff pool (6 of the 25 players I picked were from the Lightning). However, note that I said “like many.” In spite of this loss, I’m still in fifth place among 70 teams in my playoff pool (pick any 25). All the teams in front of me also lost players with Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay being eliminated.

Not all playoff pools are constructed the same way, but many use the “pick any X number of players” model. If you play in a smaller group and perhaps use a draft, then you’re okay to diversify with players from different teams. So the key to winning might be not to miss on some of your other playoff picks. Regardless, the net effect for individual fantasy owners might not be as disastrous as you might assume.

By the way, did you know that you will be able to submit a second-chance playoff bracket over at NHL.com? Just call this the “Tampa Bay rule”, as this is the first time that the league has created this do-over bracket.

Zig when the others zag

The one writer on the Experts Panel who picked Columbus over Tampa Bay looks like a genius right now. (That was Capped writer Alexander MacLean, in case you were wondering.) It’s a high-risk strategy, but one that can pay off if the expected result doesn’t happen. Just because everyone is doing something doesn’t mean you have to. This strategy makes a little more sense in a larger pool, where picking a similar team to others won’t help you stand out. Or you could simply be the contrarian to challenge your friend’s wisdom.

The Islanders will be without a significant top-4 defenseman for their second-round playoff series. Johnny Boychuk is expected to miss the next 3-4 weeks with a lower-body injury, which resulted from a blocked shot during the Isles’ first-round series against Pittsburgh. Boychuk was third among Isles’ defensemen in total icetime (18:50) during the regular season. Thomas Hickey is expected to enter the Isles’ lineup to replace Boychuk.

Cam Robinson’s 2019 NHL Draft Rankings for the month of April are out. Is Jack Hughes still projected to go first overall? Which player is projected to be picked when your favorite team steps up to the podium? Cam has the answers to these and more.

For more fantasy hockey information, or to reach out to me directly, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-yzerman-back-in-motown-flames-doused-advantage-leafs-apr-20/

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optimisticheartbarbarian-blog · 6 years ago

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Dating site experiment. Write only if you are serious! Evgenia. Age 25 My new photos and sexy videos here >>>

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#dating site experiment

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ultralifehackerguru-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on http://www.lifehacker.guru/2018-emmy-nominations-predictions-for-every-major-category/

2018 Emmy Nominations: Predictions for Every Major Category

Game of Thrones, The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Atlanta, and more of the shows that can expect to have a very good day when the nominations are announced.

From left: courtesy of Amazon, courtesy of FX, courtesy of HBO, and courtesy of Netflix.

Right now, there’s more television than there’s ever been before—which also means there’s more good TV than perhaps any other time in history. That, in turn, could make for an unpredictable Emmys class when the nominations for 2018’s awards are announced July 12 by Handmaid’s Tale star Samira Wiley and Ryan Eggold, who will star on the NBC series New Amsterdam this fall.

Even so, V.F.’s experts have taken a stab at predicting which series, TV movies, and actors will end up going the distance, from proven favorites like, well, The Handmaid’s Tale to newer entries like Killing Eve and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.Look below for our best guesses at who and what will get a nod come Thursday morning.

DRAMA SERIES

The Americans The Crown Game of Thrones The Handmaid’s Tale Killing Eve Stranger Things This Is Us

Last year—with Game of Thrones ineligible—the so-relevant-it-hurts Handmaid’s Tale dominated the Emmys, earning 13 nominations total and winning prizes including the night’s top honors. One year later, is America still embracing this tough-to-watch political dystopia—or has some post-election fatigue set in? The show will certainly be nominated for its second season—but with Game of Thronesback on the menu, it’s possible escapism will once again rule the day at the awards themselves. This is also why the popular Netflix streamer Stranger Things, with its throwback vibe and vanquished monsters, feels like another shoo-in. Meanwhile, This Is Us—which presents a sentimental, unified vision of the American family—is sure to pull down plenty of nominations, as will the fascinating interrogation of power that is The Crown. The final spots in this category could be used to say goodbye to the old and hello to the new, with one last nomination for the final season of The Americans and an anointing of the critically beloved first season of Killing Eve.

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LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us Freddie Highmore, The Good Doctor Matthew Rhys, The Americans Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

If anyone feels like a safe bet here, it’s Sterling K. Brown—who came out of thin air two years ago to make an unforgettable impression on The People v. O.J. Simpson,and doubled down with a 2017 win for This Is Us. He may see the stiffest competition from his own on-screen dad, Milo Ventimiglia, who was at the center of the show’s most powerful second-season story line. Perennial nominee Liev Schreiber will likely continue his three-year streak for his work on Television Academy favorite Ray Donovan, with Westworld star Jeffrey Wright getting a promotion from the supporting category to lead thanks to his work as Season 2’s befuddled narrator. Once again, there’s also room in the category for both hellos and goodbyes as Matthew Rhys takes a victory lap for his shape-shifting turn on The Americans and Emmys newcomer Freddie Highmore gets acknowledged for carrying one of fall’s only bona fide new ratings hits, The Good Doctor, on his narrow shoulders.

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA

Claire Foy, The Crown Mandy Moore, This Is Us Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale Sandra Oh, Killing Eve Keri Russell, The Americans Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld

No actor here feels like a more invigorating potential shot in the arm than Sandra Oh, who—after five nominations in the supporting category for her work on Grey’s Anatomy—is back with some serious muscle in a leading role. She’ll face some stiff competition from Claire Foy in her last year of eligibility for The Crown and Keri Russell in her last chance to be acknowledged for The Americans. Two fellow supporting-category graduates, Elisabeth Moss and Mandy Moore, also present a threat, with Moss the most likely to repeat her win from last year. Finally, though Evan Rachel Wood’s performance in Westworld was, at times, hard to access, there’s no doubt her searing portrayal of post-traumatic pain will hit home in 2018.

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Game of Thrones Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones Joseph Fiennes, The Handmaid’s Tale David Harbour, Stranger Things Justin Hartley, This Is Us Mandy Patinkin, Homeland

A few Game of Thrones heavy hitters submitted in the lead-acting categories for the first time this year, and while it’s possible they’ll make it in, the show still feels like enough of an ensemble that the supporting category may be where it’s at. That means there’s more room for on-screen brothers Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Peter Dinklage to fight it out for the crown. Their likeliest competition is Stranger Thingssuper-dad David Harbour, while Homeland’s steadfast father figure, Mandy Patinkin, could land his fourth nomination for the show. Throw in the tender-hearted Justin Hartley from This Is Us and the villain-turned-quasi-victim Joseph Fiennes from The Handmaid’s Tale, and you have the spectrum of what TV drama had to offer over the past year.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA

Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things Lena Headey, Game of Thrones Vanessa Kirby, The Crown Chrissy Metz, This Is Us Thandie Newton, Westworld

If both her fictional brothers land a nomination in the supporting-actor category, Game of Thrones star Lena Headey could make it a hat trick for House Lannister. But she’ll have competition from Chrissy Metz of House Pearson over on This Is Us.Last year’s guest-actress winner, Alexis Bledel, feels like a lock for her traumatized turn in Handmaid’s Tale Season 2, while it would be a shame for Thandie Newton, the most emotionally accessible regular of Westworld’s second year, to be overlooked. Though it’s a bit of category fraud, Stranger Things’ young star Millie Bobby Brown feels like a must-have here as well—and after Princess Margaret’s devastating romantic roller coaster on The Crown, this is the Academy’s last chance to acknowledge Vanessa Kirby before her role is re-cast for Season 3.

COMEDY SERIES

Atlanta Black-ish Barry GLOW The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Will & Grace

Expect a showdown between two awards-season favorites: the second season of Donald Glover’s acclaimed Atlanta and the debut season of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. (Our money’s on Maisel for the ultimate win, but the Academy can be fickle.) Then again, HBO’s Barry could end up surpassing both—given both the premium network’s typical success at the Emmys and the appealing inside-baseball comedy of its industry setting. The rest of the nomination slots offer the Television Academy a bit of room to champion the types of efforts it likes to see repeated—and to reward those shows that managed to stand out amidst the noise, in a moment of more TV than ever before. Netflix’s GLOW has been pushing hard for Emmys, and heavily promoting Season 2 during the Academy’s voting period likely reminded many of the eligible Season 1’s charms. Because the soul of TV is still rooted in broadcast, expect a network show or two to make the cut as well. Black-ish, which has nabbed nominations in the past but never an actual statuette, is a likely choice for another round of nods. And with TV’s most successful reboot, Roseanne, ending in spectacular conflagration, don’t be surprised if miffed Emmy voters rally around that other successful reboot, Will & Grace—which, even more so than Roseanne, was an Emmy favorite back in its day.

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY

Ted Danson, The Good Place Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm Donald Glover, Atlanta Bill Hader, Barry William H. Macy, Shameless Eric McCormack, Will & Grace

For the last several years, William H. Macy has been nominated every season for Shameless, like some kind of bizarre, malfunctioning clockwork. This year, though, he might not make that annual shoo-in. This category has to make space for two longtime Emmy favorites: Ted Danson and Larry David, who both emerged from semi-retirement for new work over the course of the past two years. For Academy voters, Danson and David aren’t just beloved performers, but colleagues and friends; it helps that both Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Good Place are making bigger Emmy pushes as well. They’ll go up against younger stars Donald Glover (already a winner in this category) and Bill Hader, whose breakout performance as a struggling actor will likely be an industry favorite. Broadcast sitcoms might see another nominee in Will & Grace’s Eric McCormack—another familiar name in an industry with a long memory.

LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY

Pamela Adlon, Better Things Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie Allison Janney, Mom Issa Rae, Insecure Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

This is easily the most difficult category for comedy—but also, possibly, the most exciting. The half hour has become a wonderful proving ground for female talent, and streaming services have doubled down on shows led by women. But that means a stacked category; twice in the last decade, seven women were nominated, which is typically an indication of very close votes. And the plot thickens because perennial winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus is out of the running, for a change, as Veep didn’t air new episodes this season. That opens up room for a new winner. Assume Grace and Frankie’s Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda will both be nominated; repeat winner Allison Janney, fresh off an Oscar win, is likely to be honored again, too. That leaves only a few slots left for the relative newcomers in the category. Tracee Ellis Ross, now a two-time nominee, should be in the running—as should Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star and Golden Globe winner Rachel Brosnahan. If the votes are close enough to warrant seven nominees again this year, two underrated female auteurs could squeak by as well: HBO star Issa Rae for her show Insecure, and FX’s Pamela Adlon for the chronically overlooked Better Things.

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY

Louie Anderson, Baskets Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Sean Hayes, Will & Grace Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Henry Winkler, Barry

Aside from a few possible dark horses amongst newer series—Marc Maron in GLOW or Brian Tyree Henry in Atlanta—supporting actor should be flooded with favorites. Louie Anderson surprised everyone with a win last year for his role in Baskets, which suggests he’ll be at least nominated again. And many of the other eligible performers are Academy favorites—veterans Henry Winkler and Tony Shalhoub in new roles, and Sean Hayes in a reboot of his best-known role. Anti-Trump sentiment might very well boost Alec Baldwin to another nomination for his work on Saturday Night Live, even though he’s not even a regular cast member; with political tensions running high, Academy voters will be keen to voice their opposition however they can. That leaves room for one more nomination, perhaps for perennial favorite Tituss Burgess—who has never won an Emmy, but has been nominated over the last three seasons for his work on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY

Leslie Jones, Saturday Night Live Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live Laurie Metcalf, Roseanne Rita Moreno, One Day at a Time Megan Mullally, Will & Grace Jessica Walter, Arrested Development

The only Arrested Development acting nomination that’s even possible is for grande dame Jessica Walter, who has the distinction of being one of the best performers on the show—as well as having been dismissed by her male cast members in a highly publicized New York Times interview with most of the Netflix reboot’s cast. That combination of factors ought to be enough to secure her a nomination; it helps that in the years since Arrested Development debuted, the show has attained cult status, with Walter’s Lucille Bluth among the perennial fan favorites. Walter will be competing with two-time winner Kate McKinnon, whose work on Saturday Night Live continues to be stellar, but whose relevance has faded a bit now that she doesn’t have Hillary Clinton to parody. They may both face contention from two strong performers in two very different broadcast reboots: Will & Grace’s Megan Mullally, who has won two Emmys for this role, and Oscar nominee Laurie Metcalf in her reprise of Aunt Jackie on ABC’s axed political lightning rod, Roseanne. But new blood might shake up the category, too. Veteran performer Rita Moreno—who nabbed a couple of Emmy statuettes back in the 70s—certainly ought to be in the running for her bravura work on Netflix’s One Day at a Time, which features highly relevant political story lines about undocumented immigration, veterans’ rights, and queer coming-of-age. And firecracker Leslie Jones could sneak her way into the category too, as fans continue to be taken with her brazen persona on Saturday Night Live.

TV MOVIE

Fahrenheit 451 Flint Paterno The Tale “U.S.S. Callister,” Black Mirror

Actual, honest-to-goodness TV movies are rare these days. Hence the presence of “U.S.S. Callister,” which is technically an installment in Netflix’s Black Mirroranthology. (It could win, too.) More traditional, based-on-true-story TV movies like Lifetime’s Flint and HBO’s Paterno will likely appear here, as will HBO’s not terribly well-received literary adaptation Fahrenheit 451—which premiered at Cannes but, despite a starry, well-regarded cast, fizzled on arrival. That paves the way for The Tale, Jennifer Fox’s harrowing memoir drama, which premiered at Sundance to raves. The movie may prove alienating for some viewers, but there’s no denying its singular power in an otherwise lukewarm year.

LIMITED SERIES

The Assassination of Gianni Versace Godless Howards End The Looming Tower Twin Peaks

A once-moribund Emmy category, the miniseries has been renewed under its new title—and by changing appetites in television consumption. This year, FX’s thorough, devastating portrait of late fashion designer Gianni Versace and his killer is likely to get a nod for its sprawl, ambition, and dazzling ensemble of actors. Hulu’s The Looming Tower, about nothing more sacrosanct than 9/11—well, the bungled events leading up to it, anyway—will probably get on the shortlist for the same reasons. We’d like to assume that David Lynch’s lauded, befuddling return to television is a lock, but who knows how many Emmy voters will groove on Twink Peaks’ grim, erratic wavelength. People love a good Western, which is why we’ve put Netflix’s solid Godless on here. And few awards voters can resist the pull of a well-reviewed literary adaptation period piece; hence, Starz’s Howards End. Potential spoilers could be Top of the Lake: China Girl and, we hope against hope, the brilliant American Vandal.

LEAD ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Hayley Atwell, Howards End Jessica Biel, The Sinner Laura Dern, The Tale Michelle Dockery, Godless Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake: China Girl

The question here is, really, who’s going to run alongside Laura Dern before she wins? Jessica Biel, already a Golden Globe nominee, seems likely. So does Hayley Atwell, who shines in Howards End in a way she’s not often allowed to shine. Past them, things get a bit murkier. We’re guessing that Michelle Dockery will ride with Godless (and residual Downton affection) into the nominees corral (sorry), and that Elisabeth Moss’s Handmaid’s Tale mojo will swing her into this category as well. But Sarah Paulson’s turn as a horrified anti-Trumper on American Horror Story: Cult could bump either of them out, as could Regina King in Seven Seconds,Sarah Gadon in Alias Grace, Edie Falco in The Menendez Murders, or Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror’s “U.S.S. Callister.”

LEAD ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Melrose Jeff Daniels, The Looming Tower Michael B. Jordan, Fahrenheit 451 Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks Al Pacino, Paterno

Darren Criss was the centerpiece of his series, as was Kyle MacLachlan, so they are likely to be recognized here. Benedict Cumberbatch is no stranger to Emmy nominations, and he’s been heaped with praise for his addled turn on Melrose—but are enough voters aware of it? Jeff Daniels and Al Pacino are big names in big projects, so we’re putting them down here, while Michael B. Jordan, riding high on Black Panther esteem, could edge his way in despite Fahrenheit’s tepid reviews. Antonio Banderas as an intense artist in Genius: Picasso could upset in that sixth slot, though.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Penélope Cruz, The Assassination of Gianni Versace Laura Dern, Twin Peaks Judith Light, The Assassination of Gianni Versace Sharon Stone, Mosaic Merritt Wever, Godless

Emmy voters likely won’t forego a chance to nominate Penélope Cruz, so we’re assuming she’ll be here. And her co-star Judith Light is beloved—let’s put her in, too. We’re predicting big things for Godless overall, which means Merritt Wever will likely get recognized for her idiosyncratic work as a gay frontierswoman. Laura Dern might even have a double-nomination year if enough voters appreciated her on Twin Peaks. Though many prognosticators are putting Angela Lansbury in that last spot, for a Little Women adaptation that didn’t get much traction, we’re gonna try to put some proactive energy out into the universe and predict Sharon Stone for her terrific work in Steven Soderbergh’s criminally under-appreciated mystery series. Following your heart instead of your head is a foolish game to play during awards season, but sometimes, you just have to do it.

SUPPORTING ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Jeff Daniels, Godless Bill Camp, The Looming Tower Edgar Ramírez, The Assassination of Gianni Versace Michael Shannon, Fahrenheit 451 Michael Stuhlbarg, The Looming Tower

All of these guys, minus maybe Jeff Daniels, have other contenders closely nipping at their heels. Brandon Victor Dixon could find his way into the mix for his Judas in the live Jesus Christ Superstar, as could any of the other approx. 8 billion men in The Looming Tower. But we think the biggest surprise nomination could be Ricky Martin for The Assassination of Gianni Versace. His part was small, but c’mon: it’s Ricky Martin.

VARIETY TALK SERIES

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Jimmy Kimmel Live! Last Week Tonight with John Oliver The Late Late Show with James Corden Late Night with Seth Meyers The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

In the three years since late-night talk shows got their very own category at the Emmys—a spin-off from the old outstanding-variety-series umbrella—there’s been an enormous boom in the genre, with new ones popping up on a near-daily basis, everywhere from BET to Comedy Central to Netflix. It’ll be tough for any of those newcomers to sneak into this category, though, which will already be stuffed enough that several old favorites will likely be left out in the cold—including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, still struggling to find its footing in the Trump era, and Real Time with Bill Maher, which just might not have enough oomph to beat out Seth Meyers’s more urgent, timely production. (Sorry, Bill.)

VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

At Home with Amy Sedaris Drunk History I Love You, America Portlandia Saturday Night Live Tracey Ullman’s Show

This category feels a little less buzzy than it was a few years ago, when Amy Schumer, Jordan Peele, and Keegan-Michael Key were breathing new life into sketch with their sharply observed Comedy Central shows. Still, there’s a decent pool of options here—particularly Sarah Silverman’s Hulu hybrid, I Love You, America, which carries a message of unity despite troubled political times that might appeal to the Academy, and the cheerfully deranged At Home with Amy Sedaris.Both deserve nods, even if they’ll inevitably lose to S.N.L. come Emmy time in September.

(C)

#2018 #Emmy Awards #Lifestyle #Movie #Nominations

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makeitwithmike · 7 years ago

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12 Steps To Build A Successful Employee Advocacy Program

By Barry Feldman

It’s common knowledge that people don’t trust brands – they trust other people. All too often, digital marketing can come across as cold and lifeless. But it’s not hard to warm up your digital marketing, and win the trust of prospects and customers.

Why? Because your company consists of people: people who probably have a healthy appetite for sharing their thoughts via social media.

At the risk of lowering the temperature, I shall now introduce one of those frigid-sounding marketing terms: employee advocacy.

But really, it’s a term with a lot more warmth and appeal than you might imagine.

In a nutshell, employee advocacy is the promotion of a company by its people. It involves them talking your business or brand up on social networks because they want to… and it helps boost your company’s visibility and credibility by showing you have a strong relationship with your employees.

Many brands don’t encourage employee advocacy, but they should. If you’re not empowering employees to advocate for your company, you’re missing out on a huge PR opportunity. The conversion, retention and engagement potential is huge.

Check out just some of the benefits companies claim they’ve experienced from employee advocacy, courtesy of a study conducted by Hinge Marketing and Social Media Today.

Data from Smarp, an employee advocacy software company, indicates the average employee advocate has approximately 420 Facebook friends, 400 LinkedIn contacts, and 360 Twitter followers. It’s easy to see how getting them to give you a shout-out on social media has the potential to dramatically amplify the reach of your company’s messaging.

Here is Smarp’s formula for estimating potential reach boost via employee advocacy. It makes a compelling argument.

“Employees who share company content on social media… and spread the good word around can do wonders for your employer brand,” notes Smarp’s Content Manager, Annika Rautakoura. “Employees who feel empowered and in charge of their work will gladly advocate their work and the employer to their social networks.”

Smarp’s platform helps marketers promote internal communication and employee-driven content sharing with features such as a gamified leaderboard and data-rich analytics that can help calculate advocacy-based ROI.

Employee advocacy also overlaps a great deal with employee engagement. “When employees become brand ambassadors, they feel a vested interest in the company’s success and are therefore engaged in exceeding the stated requirements of their job,” writes Sapir Segal on the Oktopost blog. “And the more employees feel engaged, the more they want to continue talking and promoting the company’s brand.”

Providing an end-to-end solution for enterprising B2B social media marketing, Oktopost’s employee advocacy tools enable marketers to post content to themed sharing boards which aggregate to dedicated mobile apps as well as the employee’s web browser. Marketers can easily browse through the platform’s content curation and social listening modules to find the most relevant and fresh content to push to these boards.

Oktopost’s “Social Advocacy” mobile apps make it easy for employees to find relevant suggested content to share, which marketers can organize by topic.

But team members aren’t necessarily going to share content about their employers without a dedicated employment advocacy program to encourage them to do so. “[Employment advocacy] requires proper training, a significant time investment, and the appropriate software tools,” the authors of Understanding Employee Advocacy on Social Media point out.

“The most effective way to motivate employees to advocate the brand on social media is to explain why they are being asked to do so. Both managers and advocates agree that this communication is the biggest motivator, more so than gifts, monetary incentives, or public recognition of performance.”

So what’s a marketing organization to do to foster participation in its employee advocacy program? The following 12 steps are bound to give it wings.

1. Gain buy-in from the top

You want to begin by securing organizational buy-in from C-level executives. LinkedIn’s Sean Callahan recommends that you:

Convey the importance of employee advocacy and emphasize the low up-front costs and increased ROI.

Present how employee advocacy can increase engagement resulting in higher productivity and customer satisfaction.

Show how it will lead to increased revenue.

2. Create a strategy

You need to create a program with some degree of structure. That is, you want to document your goals and a framework for measuring them. One of the best things about employee advocacy is that it’s scaleable. Goals might include:

Increased website traffic

Increased social shares

Lead generation

Event registrations

However, you don’t want to dictate exactly what, when, where and how your employees share content on social media. Just give them encouragement and a healthy dose of latitude.

3. Create a policy

Obviously, there are risks involved with employee advocacy. As such, you’ll want to document a policy outlining acceptable protocol. The idea is to provide direction regarding social etiquette and tone, not iron-clad rules.

4. Appoint a leader

Designate an employee advocacy leader who you believe can help generate favorable results. The leader might be given specific responsibilities such as:

Generating interest in the program

Sharing ideas with employees

Helping you understand the employees’ point of view

Collaborating with employees to come up with new ideas for employee advocacy and ways to improve the program

The ideal person will encourage and guide employees, not boss them around. Employee advocacy relies on goodwill and trust.

5. Use alphas as guinea pigs

Rather than roll out the program to every employee at once, start with specific employees who have demonstrated that they are interested in participating and in providing feedback.

“Our research found that 77% of those employees who do advocate is a manager or above, so clearly brands have not yet figured out how to tap their broader base of individual contributors.” ~ Ed Terpening and Aubrey Littleton, Altimeter

6. Incorporate social media training

Don’t assume your employees know how to use social media effectively for business purposes. Deliver training and learning resources. Make them engaging and fun.

Potential topics to address in training may include:

Reasons to participate

Social media guidelines, and do’s and don’t’s for your company

How to use a specific social media dashboard

How to engage on specific social media networks

Tips and tactics to build relationships on social media

Techniques for personal branding and influencer marketing

Best practices for effective copywriting in digital media

Success stories and testimonials

7. Support personal development

Your employees may enjoy positioning themselves as subject matter experts. Support this idea. Serve employees by helping them raise the status of their personal brands and/or development.

8. Recognize achievement

Reward participants in your employee advocacy program with the recognition they crave. Create programs to showcase and reward the accomplishments of your leading advocates. Consider running contests. Top participants can be rewarded with money, gift cards or a day off.

9. Provide top content to share

Obviously, sharing useful content is central to your employee advocacy program. You want your employees to spread the word about your company’s blog posts, eBooks, infographics, videos, podcasts and more.

Marketers can work toward encouraging the sharing of relevant content in a variety of ways:

Create an employee advocacy hub where approved content can be easily discovered and shared.

Provide employees with a link, image, and suggestions regarding what to write.

Share examples.

Recruit key employees to participate in the content planning and creation process.

The list of content types you can use in your employee engagement program is long. Need ideas? Here you go:

Company blog posts

Company news

Media mentions

Promotional offers

Industry developments

Industry research

Behind-the-scenes photos

Client work and success stories

News about specific employees or company leaders

The company’s community activities

These are the most common types of posts shared by employees, as reported by Altimeter in Social Media Employee Advocacy: Tapping into the power of an engaged social workforce.

10. Get the right tools

There are several social sharing tools you may want to consider equipping your employees with. Consider free and/or subscription-based platforms such as AgoraPulse. Highly effective tools that are dedicated to employee advocacy include the aforementioned Oktopost and Smarp, as well as GaggleAMP, LinkedIn Elevate and Social Chorus.

Smarp’s analytics reporting can demonstrate impact per content item or per team member.

11. Host events

Give employees something fun to share with their followers and they will, so take them out to the ballgame! Host theme parties! Bring in speakers or entertainers! Do whatever you can to make sure they are quite literally a part of the party.

12. Offer cool swag

Give employees some cool branded swag such as shirts, water bottles, backpacks, etc. You might want to throw a custom hashtag for sharing it on social media as well. Just sit back and watch what happens.

In conclusion

Your employees are the human face of your brand and they have valuable connections across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Plus, because they’re real people rather than a faceless brand, they’re more trusted than anyone in your C-suite or marketing department.

Marketing leaders should no longer think of social at the department level only, and recognize the company’s workforce as a tremendous asset for social media marketing.

Reaching new levels of achievement in employee advocacy comes with numerous challenges, including: winning buy-in from leaders and the workforce; managing risk; building skills; making content available; and using metrics to prove value.

Overcoming these challenges takes a systematic approach to employee advocacy. And now is the time to take action, build a strong employee advocacy program, and inspire employees to share content regularly.

Guest Author: Barry is the author of The Road to Recognition and SEO Simplified for Short Attention Spans. Barry operates Feldman Creative and provides content marketing consulting, copywriting, and creative direction services. He contributes to top marketing sites and was named one of the 25 Social Media Marketing Experts You Need to Know by LinkedIn. To get a piece of his mind, visit his blog, The Point.

The post 12 Steps To Build A Successful Employee Advocacy Program appeared first on Jeffbullas’s Blog.

The post 12 Steps To Build A Successful Employee Advocacy Program appeared first on Make It With Michael.

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#12 Steps To Build A Successful Employee Advocacy Program

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itsworn · 7 years ago

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Pavement History of Setups

Over the 35 years that Circle Track has been reporting on the technical aspects of short track racing, we have seen a lot of change take place. It is our duty and honor to present those changes in a timely manner and in a way that helps the racer understand it and make use of all of that information. And we think we have done a very good job of that.

As I look back in short track history, I learned that there was a common ancestry. In the years prior to the first issue of Circle Track in 1982, the cars were built to run on both surfaces. Basically, back then, a circle track car was just that no matter where you drove it.

For our 35th Anniversary celebration, I think would be interesting to look back over those years and analyze how setups were developed and how technology evolved for stock car racing. We can easily go back to the late 1960’s and early 1970’s by talking with early racers who reflect the mindset of the teams on that subject.

This early photo showing Ed Howe leading Dick Anderson somewhere in south Florida in the 1970’s demonstrates the early Late Models designs. The Camaro body was thought to be more aerodynamic. Ed could be the first dedicated car builder in the U.S. by necessity. He had so many requests for building cars like the one he was winning with, that it turned into a very successful business.

How Modern “Factory” Chassis Started – Prior to 1971, every circle track race car was a transformed street car originally built by one of the major manufacturers. Teams stripped out all of the un-necessary components, added roll bars, strengthened the suspension pieces, maybe used truck spindles and brakes, and worked on the motors to get more power. There were no dedicated car building companies before that time.

During the late 1960’s, one racer from Michigan named Ed Howe began to dominate short track racing and won everywhere he went. When he came down to Florida to race during the winter months, he again dominated. Dick Anderson sought out his expertise and a friendship soon developed to the point that Dick would drive the Howe cars during testing and then get to keep the car for that seasons racing, paying for it at the end of the year with the winnings.

According to a recent discussion with Dick, Ed was working near General Motors and somehow had access to the automotive engineers working there. He developed very advanced methods of setups and geometry that no one was working with in the short track industry at that time. I saw for myself the notes Ed had made and that Dick has kept over all these years and the information was cutting edge.

Since the cars Ed Howe was winning with were his own out of his garage, many teams began asking him to build cars for them. Out of that demand grew probably the very first full time short track race car manufacturing businesses in 1971. Many more would soon follow like Port City Race Cars, Lefthander, CJ Rayburn, MastersBilt, Barry Wright race cars, Rocket Chassis, etc.

Before the advent of the new area Dirt Late Model, the cars teams raced on both asphalt and dirt were the same cars. And, many teams did race the same car on dirt one night and asphalt the next. This example is from the Dirt Late Model HOF located at Florence Motor Speedway. It is very similar to the number 3 car of Ed Howe shown in the lead photo racing on asphalt.

Dirt or Asphalt One Race Car – Back in the day before the split, a short track car could and would be raced on either dirt or asphalt, sometimes in the same week. There was no dedicated one or the other and the setups would probably have been different, but the chassis were the same.

It would not be until the late 1970’s that the dirt teams would seek out different designs for their cars due to the much different needs.

Early Setups On Asphalt – Most race cars then were setup up tight. That was to say they didn’t turn well, abused the right front tire, and ended up with a severe push or went tight/loose eventually. Even the Grand National cars running at Daytona were setup tight to where the right front carried most of the front load and so we saw what were referred to as freight train springs of upwards of 2400 ppi rates.

In the mid-1970’s, Ed Howe ran his cars with mostly even up rear spring rates when many teams were running softer right rear springs. I saw one of his early setup sheets that showed the spring rates for “low banked”, medium, medium-high, high bank, extreme banking. In the first two, the rear spring rates were the same going from 175 to 185ppi rates. But for the high banked tracks, the right rear spring rate was always less by 25ppi going from 250/225ppi to 325/300ppi for the extreme high banking.

We believe this was because at higher banked tracks, the transition off the turns caused the cars to go loose. Running the softer right rear spring would have helped solve that problem.

In the first issue of CT, we did a story on the Chrysler Kit Car offered by the manufacturer. This was very advanced thinking on their part and this concept would work very well today. Most modern teams basically build their cars in a sort of kit form. But offering a complete kit would guarantee that the parts all fit and were right for the application.

During the mid to late 1990’s, the Monte Carlo started being popular and is arguably the most popular short track car on both dirt and asphalt. These cars take us back to the day when circle track cars were build up from stock chassis.

Later on in the early to mid-1990’s, teams were fooling around with their front geometry and finding that locating the roll center in a certain area helped the front to gain grip and to help turn the car. Wayne Lensing, founder of Lefthander, was an early supporter of proper front geometry.

In the Midwest, the Late Model team owned by John Beale and driven by Brian Hoppe completely bucked the system with their setups in 1998 and won the Re/Max Challenge Series. After finishing second in that series twice they finally came out on top in a classic battle with Steve Carlson.

In the Southeast, the father and sons team of Jim, Jon and Jeff Craig made changes that balanced their Goody’s Dash car using even rear spring rates and won four races in a row going on to win not only the championship in that division of Nascar, but also the late model touring division numerous times later on.

Out west Craig Raudman, then owner of Victory Circle race cars, won the NASCAR touring division there with this new concept. And I began writing for CT in 1998 with much the same message for the readership. The car builders were curious as to why certain teams running their cars were winning on a consistent basis. It was because they were changing the cars designs themselves.

This team seen running in the late 1990’s was like all of the other teams in that they were using conventional setups. The softer spring setups had not taken hold just yet. Now the number 54 JCR3 team is four and are racing with the grandson of the founder, Jim and his name is Mathew Craig. They are now on and learning the soft spring and bump setup, like everyone else.

Mid to Late 2000’s – In what we can now call the modern era of stock car racing, we see a gradual change associated with the way setups were developed and the goals associated with development of the asphalt setups.

What happened, I think, is that a small percentage of teams were truly working the balanced setup deal and they were dominating. When other teams could not find out how that was happening, it became easier to just bolt on parts to try to go fast.

So, we saw in Cup racing, as a direct result of the aero engineers taking over the lead in developing setups for those teams, that the teams made all of the setup decisions based on improving the aero efficiency of the cars and damned be the handling. The drivers would just have to adapt. It was a tough road, but one every team pursued because, hey, they were all doing it. Nice logic.

Many short track teams were paying attention to what the Cup teams were doing and began to copy them. Before you know it, we saw very large sway bars, very soft front springs and much stiffer right rear springs. The body shapes changed too and the newer designs would produce more aero down-force at the front.

Now the teams who couldn’t decipher how to create a balanced setup before merely had to bolt on parts and hit the track to go fast. The problem with that involves several areas of science.

When you radically change the mechanics of the suspension in this way, you lose control of the fine tuning. It was soon discovered in all asphalt divisions including Cup, that finding the handling balance was like walking on a knife edge. It was hard to find and harder to maintain.

What resulted from that was a full circle trip back to the early ‘90’s where, as we have stated before, teams sought out the fastest lap time and disregarded the pursuit of longevity, or the goal of being fast at the end of the race, where it counts.

Probably the first short track class of cars to adapt to big sway bars and soft front springs were the Hooters Pro Cup cars of the early 2000’s. They were copying the Cup car teams who were striving to lower the front ends and maintain a better aero package. As we have now seen, the transition has come a long way and we are seeing soft front springs, smaller sway bars and bumps that include high rate springs. With those high rates, we are now officially back to the 1980’s, only better.

Fast Forward To The Present – Now that we have this overview, and admittedly it is my personal account and others may differ on the exact progression, we need to look at where all of this is ended up.

I wrote the following in 2010. “The asphalt teams will need to back off on the big bars to a more reasonable size. They will need to get off the bump rubbers and coil binding and get back to running on a suspension like race cars are supposed to do, not like a kart.”

What has happened since then is that most teams are now using much smaller sway bars in the 7/8” to 1 ¼” diameter range and using bump springs, a much higher rate spring like the “old” days. Aero is still at the forefront of thinking, but teams are concentrating on balance through the middle of the turns, with a transition to more bite off the turns through mechanical manipulation in the rear suspension.

The new thinking about pavement setups puts the teams in a much happier place. There is a return to consistency for many of the teams and in due time, more teams will follow suit. They just need to follow the simple rules we have outlined in countless articles over the past 35 years success will come, I promise.

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junker-town · 8 years ago

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In 2017, Memphis’ full football potential might finally be realized

After 27 wins in three years, the Tigers still look like they’re just getting started.

We're located close to and easily accessible to good football locations. Mississippi's been very good to us, and we have a bunch of guys with ties in Texas, which isn't very far away. Texas kids understand the offseason part of it; it's so strong there. It's pretty easy to access several states with our location. We've tried to draw a big circle. But I think, first and foremost, you have to do a great job servicing the city we live in, doing a great job with the coaches in Memphis, evaluating those kids and getting them to stay in town. There's a lot of talent in the city.

— Justin Fuente, Memphis head coach (2012-15)

Memphis’ last head coach identified the upside of the job. You are in a talent-heavy city, and you don’t have to drive far to find even more. Recruiting is lifeblood, and the Tigers should always succeed at it.

Granted, you still need a program to sell to recruits. For large swaths of its history, Memphis has not had that. And while certain programs are known for hiring up-and-coming head coaches, UM hasn't had the same luck.

Over the last 60 years, Memphis has hired only two coaches who succeeded enough to move on to bigger jobs. Fred Pancoast did in the mid-1970s, winning 22 games in three years before moving down I-40 to Vanderbilt.

Fuente was the second. He took over in 2012 with the Tigers having won just five games in the previous three seasons. They won seven combined games in Fuente's first two years, then won 19 in his next two. Administrators and boosters had reinvested, and there was nothing that seemed particularly unsustainable about the way Fuente had built the program. But when he left for Virginia Tech, there had to be unease.

Memphis didn’t end up hiring a Fuente assistant in the name of lineage. Instead, the program ended up betting on itself. Instead of pretending that Fuente’s recipe was the only one that could work in the River City, UM hired another up-and-comer: Todd Graham protege Norvell.

So far, so good. With a new quarterback and new coaching, Memphis went 8-5 in 2016, actually improving its S&P+ ranking by 11 spots (from 55th to 44th). There were missteps — a 29-point home loss to Tulsa, a 20-point bowl loss to WKU — but the Tigers demonstrated remarkable upside. They beat Kansas and Bowling Green by a combined 120-10. They beat Temple and Houston. A week after the Tulsa humbling, they went to SMU and won by 44.

One season is not a referendum, but this becomes even more encouraging when you realize Memphis returns a lot of last year’s upside. The Tigers bring back their quarterback (Riley Ferguson), top four running backs, top three receiving targets, four starting offensive linemen, five of six defensive linemen, four of five linebackers, an incredible punter, and incredible return man.

Turnover in the secondary is a concern and, depending on the replacements, could lead to regression. But with the AAC undergoing its annual transition from one set of up-and-coming coaches to another — Temple, Houston, USF, and Cincinnati are breaking in new leaders — the Tigers might be the most known quantity this side of Navy, only with more upside.

We could be witnessing the birth of a fully realized Memphis football program. According to the 247Sports Composite, Norvell just signed the second-best class in the conference, a year after signing the third-best. He inherited a large base of athleticism, and he’s building on it. And in his first year in succeeding Memphis’ most successful coach in a generation, he maybe have improved the product.

Fuente will always be known as the guy who got Memphis off the ground, but there’s a chance Fuente’s success was only the beginning. If Norvell continues to build, he, too, will move on — it’s the AAC circle of life — but he might leave behind a program even more attractive than the one he inherited. This is a good time to be a Memphis Tigers fan.

2016 in review

2016 Memphis statistical profile.

On average, Memphis was an exciting, high-upside team, one of the best in AAC. But that was the average; from week to week, the plot twisted.

First 3 games (3-0): Avg. percentile performance: 77% (~top 30) | Avg. score: UM 52, Opp 9 | Avg. yards per play: UM 6.5, Opp 4.1

Next 5 games (2-3): Avg. percentile performance: 36% (~top 80) | Avg. score: Opp 38, UM 29 | Avg. yards per play: Opp 6.3, UM 6.0

Last 5 games (3-2): Avg. percentile performance: 68% (~top 40) | Avg. score: UM 41, Opp 32 | Avg. yards per play: UM 6.4, Opp 6.1

Memphis began by playing awesome defense against bad teams, then finding an offensive groove in a 77-3 humiliation of Bowling Green. From that point, the offense was steady, but the defense experienced drastic ups and downs.

The Tigers finished having allowed 5.8 yards per play; that’s an accomplishment considering they didn’t allow between 4.5 and 5.9 per play in any one game all year. It was either 4.4 or fewer or 6.0 or greater. They allowed 40-plus points five times and held six opponents to 17 or fewer. The Tigers’ bend-don’t-break approach either completely worked or comprehensively failed, and it was partially determined by whether or not an opponent could run the football.

Memphis’s defense ranked 104th in Rushing S&P+ and 58th in Passing S&P+ and now has to replace a good portion of its secondary. Strength and weakness could flip, and how well the Tigers defend the pass could determine whether we’re looking at the best team in the AAC or a team dependent on winning shootouts.

With this offense, by the way, the Tigers could win plenty of shootouts. At least, that will be the case as long as a new/old coordinator hire pays off.

Offense

Full advanced stats glossary.

Norvell’s first offensive coordinator hire was inspired. Chip Long, a member of both the Todd Graham and Bobby Petrino trees, crafted a fast, pass-heavy system that relied on efficient passing and big rushes, and after a slow rushing start, everything clicked.

Leading rusher Doroland Dorceus rushed 21 times for just 61 yards (2.9 per carry) in early wins over SEMO and Kansas. From that point forward, he averaged 6.7 per carry. Meanwhile, backups Patrick Taylor Jr., Darrell Henderson, and Tony Pollard — all freshmen — combined to average 5.6 yards per carry while splitting about 16 carries per game.

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Doroland Dorceus

That was more than enough help for Riley Ferguson. After some early ups and downs of his own, he found one hell of a cruising altitude.

Riley Ferguson, first 3 games: 67% completion rate, 13.8 yards per completion, 2.2% INT rate, 180.3 passer rating

Ferguson, next 3 games: 64% completion rate, 11.1 yards per completion, 3.8% INT rate, 119.4 passer rating

Ferguson, last 7 games: 61% completion rate, 13.9 yards per completion, 1.6% INT rate, 156.7 passer rating

Ferguson threw three interceptions in a 48-28 loss to Ole Miss, then played things safe against Temple and Tulane. He was mostly awesome from that point forward.

Either the run or the pass worked in basically every game, and Memphis was never held below 24 points. It was an impressive enough performance that Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, looking to bring in new energy, hired Long away from UM.

Norvell stayed in house for Long’s replacement. Darrell Dickey served as Memphis’ offensive coordinator in 1988-89 before moving on and eventually becoming North Texas head coach from 1998-2006. Fuente brought him back to town to serve as the resident old hand and offensive coordinator.

Dickey stayed on as co-coordinator in 2016, then took back the solo OC job this offseason. Assuming continuity in philosophy, there should be plenty of continuity on the field.

Ferguson brings back last year’s top three targets, including the incredibly underrated Anthony Miller. The AAC had plenty of offensive standouts in 2016, and the diminutive Miller got overshadowed a bit. Still, his raw numbers — 95 catches for 1,434 yards and 14 touchdowns, 10.7 yards per target, 52 percent success rate — were incredible. He had eight 100-yard receiving yards, including a 250-yarder against Tulsa. In his last two games of the year, he caught 26 passes for 320 yards and five scores. Damn.

Senior Phil Mayhue and sophomore utility man Pollard also return, and while tight end Daniel Montiel does not, sophomore returnees Kedarian Jones and Sean Dykes combined to catch 12 of 20 passes for a decent 122 yards. Throw in other youngsters like sophomores Pop Williams, Mechane Slade, and Damonte Coxie, plus maybe 2017 star recruit Nick Robinson, and you’ve got a hell of a receiving corps.

Memphis will likely pass to set up the run once more, and it will probably work. The run, then, should also thrive. Dorceus and the sophomores all return, as do six players with starting experience. The ground attack was volatile last year — 120th in stuff rate, 37th in rushes of 20-plus yards — but experience should smooth that out.

Losing a star coordinator can frequently lead to a change in fortunes, but it’s not hard to see Norvell’s attempt at continuity paying off. Dickey knows the job and the personnel, and that personnel could do big things.

Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Riley Ferguson (4) and Phil Mayhue (89)

Defense

The defense was the first thing to click for Fuente’s Memphis. Fuente hired Barry Odom, who oversaw rapid improvement; the Tigers ranked 117th in Def. S&P+ in 2011, then improved to 61st, 40th, and 20th over the next three years. Following the departure of both Odom and a lot of starters, however, it fell back to 79th in 2015. And in 2016, an attempt at havoc resulted in drastic ups and downs.

Defensive coordinator Chris Ball also comes from the Todd Graham tree, which means he believes in speed and aggression. Memphis ranked sixth in DB havoc rate last year in 29th in PDs-to-INCs, the percentage of opponent incompletions that were the result of an interception or breakup. Ten Tigers defensed at least three passes, and four DBs defensed at least eight.

This would have resulted in more success had the run defense been better. Memphis allowed a 48 percent rushing success rate, 110th in the country, and couldn’t come up with enough stuffs (85th in stuff rate) to make that work. This became a bend-don’t-break defense of sorts, much better at preventing big plays than making them but not really all that great at either.

There’s an optimistic and a pessimistic way of looking at Memphis’ defense in 2016.

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Genard Avery

Pessimistic: The run defense stunk, and now the secondary has to replace five of last year’s top seven. One of the returnees is a sophomore (Austin Hall). Corner Arthur Maulet was by far the best play-maker on the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and 15 passes defensed, and he’s gone. The pass defense will definitely regress, and there’s not enough talent up front to make up the difference.

Optimistic: Yes, there’s turnover in the back, but there’s still talent and experience. And the front seven does boast some play-makers in guys like linebacker Genard Avery (11 TFLs, five sacks), end Ernest Suttles (5.5 TFLs), tackle Jonathan Wilson (six TFLs), and linebacker Jackson Dillon (6 TFLs in 2015). Experience up front could counter turnover in the back.

The defensive front should indeed be better, but Memphis’ fate is pretty closely tied to how quickly the secondary can rebuild. And there’s an old-versus-new vibe here.

Senior Shaun Rupert (a Missouri transfer) was solid in a backup role, and seniors Christian Slaughter, Jamil Collins, and Caelon Harden could play a role. And they’ll be challenged by a lot of high-upside newcomers — redshirt freshman safeties Josh Perry and Thomas PIckens, JUCO transfers Tito Windham and Marcus Green, mid-three-star freshmen Terrell Carter and Quindon Lewis, etc. Find a decent rotation, and the defense should make enough stops to serve the offense well. That’s obviously not a given, though.

Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Jonathan Cook (14)

Special Teams

Memphis had one other thing going for it in 2016: maybe the best special teams unit in the country. The Tigers ranked second in kick return success rate (Tony Pollard averaged 28.1 yards per return with two scores), fourth in kickoff success rate (68 percent of Jake Elliott’s kicks were touchbacks), fifth in punt success rate (Spencer Smith averaged a booming 45.1 yards per kick), and 16th in field goal efficiency (Elliott made an incredible 12 of 15 field goals longer than 40 yards). And the relative weakness (punt returns) wasn’t all that weak — Memphis still ranked 42nd there.

Pollard and Smith should ensure that Memphis still has strong special teams, but the loss of Elliott hurts. Maybe this is only a top-15 or 20 unit instead of top-1. Regardless, Smith and Pollard ensure it’s a strength.

2017 outlook

2017 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 31-Aug UL-Monroe 121 20.8 89% 9-Sep at Central Florida 78 3.1 57% 16-Sep UCLA 34 -2.0 45% 23-Sep Southern Illinois NR 25.1 93% 30-Sep at Georgia State 113 12.9 77% 6-Oct at Connecticut 125 17.0 84% 14-Oct Navy 71 6.5 65% 19-Oct at Houston 49 -3.9 41% 27-Oct Tulane 94 13.6 78% 3-Nov at Tulsa 77 3.0 57% 18-Nov SMU 81 10.4 73% 25-Nov East Carolina 100 14.8 80%

Projected S&P+ Rk 61 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 27 / 97 Projected wins 8.4 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 2.2 (58) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 65 / 75 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* 8 / -0.4 2016 TO Luck/Game +3.2 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 69% (87%, 51%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 7.1 (0.9)

If the secondary avoids the type of regression typically associated with turnover, Memphis will be awesome.

That’s it. That’s the whole list of “ifs” separating the Tigers from being a top-40 team this year.

That’s a hell of an “if,” though. Turnover in the secondary is strongly correlated with regression, and because of it, Memphis is projected just 61st in S&P+ — 27th on offense but 97th on defense.

Even with this projected regression, though, S&P+ sees Memphis as a favorite in 10 of 12 games and as an under-four-point underdog in the other two. Even with a few relative tossups (five games between 41 and 65 percent win probability), the Tigers should be looking at a minimum of seven regular wins this season and a maximum of ... 12, I guess? And that’s with a pretty bad defense. Imagine if the defensive backfield is stable.

This should be a really fun season at the Liberty Bowl. Trips to UCF, Houston, and Tulsa make Memphis anything but a slam-dunk favorite in the AAC West, but every game is winnable, and the Tigers should take their fair share.

Five years ago, Memphis was coming off of 32 losses in 37 games and hoping that, in Fuente, it had found its program savior. It had. And now, in Norvell, the Tigers may have found the guy who can top Fuente.

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