#vs taking Tim's as it was (completely smashed)

[horsechestnut]

There is something so juicy about both Tim and Jason getting Bruce watches as presents.

[celaenaeiln]

Am I interested in Dick Grayson's innovativeness and how that makes him a terrifying opponent?

Nah, not really, no, it's no- EXCEPT THAT I AM!

I love your analysis and honestly, I always surf through the dick Grayson tag once a day to see if u have posted. Pls drop the innovatiness wala analysis. I would absolutely eat it up

ADSAJHFGAJLHADJLHA YOU CAN'T SEDUCE ME LIKE THAT-MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT!

But I am here to deliver *bows*

Let's start this off with a bang

Dick is completely naked except for a towel and with one (well defined) leg he hooks the handle of the beer bucket and sends it smashing into Midnighter to stop him from using the knife on another person.

Pure. Fucking. Platinum.

That move was so delicious, there's an ease-fluidity-grace-to that split second movement. Also notice how accurate his aim is despite swinging it with the arc of his toes. The bucket slammed right into the medulla oblongata, or more specifically the pyramidal tracts which are crucial for controlling voluntary muscular movements. Nerves from the brain cross over at that area as they go down and then synapse onto other nerves that are responsible for controlling muscles when they leave the spinal cord. The precision at which he aimed the bucket is glorious. And with what? His feet.

The only reason Midnighter wasn't injured is because he is a meta which is the point. Otherwise Dick wouldn't have aimed there unless he was fighting an enemy.

Oh that brings me to my next point.

Dick has extraordinary control of his actions

He's so right though. Nightwing doesn't need to kill because fighting is too easy for him. I swear he has some kind of messed up idea (aside from his need to be absolutely good) that killing someone with a gun would take the joy out of fighting. He loves to live life on the hardest mode only.

The rapid fire throw of the gun, calculating the distance, time, velocity of return, and angle? I mean I studied physics and calculating even half of that on paper is a headache. The fact that he did it in one second? It's extraordinary. Things that are pure, dumb luck to literally everyone else is carefully calculated at a speed faster than light, making it look like luck. Damn.

Yeah.

Forget Slade. Midnighter is my new favorite nemesister.

DO YOU SEE WHAT HE FOUGHT WITH?! WHILE DEATHSTROKE AND BLACK ADAM WERE FIGHTING WITH META POWERS AND A CURSED SWORD, HE FUCKING WRAPPED CHAINS AROUND HIMSELF LIKE A BOSS AND WHIPPED THE SHIT OUT OF THAT MAN.

Please take a moment of silence to relish in this sight.

Dick's innovativeness is a formidable skill when fighting allies.

Dick and Ras are evenly matched in sword fighting.

Wait, wait. I don't need any doubts about Dick's strength in sword fighting so I'm going to include a couple panels here:

Dick fights Azrael to a standstill which is absolutely incredible because Azrael solos. He's gone through many upgrades and skills and is one of the best fighters ever. He's even defeated Bruce.

He also defeated Jason and Tim together in Batman and Robin Eternal.

This is just another point towards the fact that Dick actually won in his fight against Bruce before going into Spyral. They weren't holding back.

Oh yeah. Ra's vs Dick panel, Dick and Ra's aren't going anywhere because Dick is a swordsman equivalent to one of the best in the world. So how do you win a draw? By one upping the opponent. He swings his foot up in midair and completely defeats him. "But that isn't a defeat...Ra's just stopped fighting!" It was complete defeat because Ra's is intelligent and knows when he can't win. Also they have been fighting for a while until they reached the breaking point in the battle. This move is a show of how Dick has that just one inch more that will lead him to be a victor.

Ra's honors Dick so much he tried to give the sword he used to fight with Batman because he thinks Dick is worthy of it. Can anyone receive a higher honor than this from that man?

He'll also use the broken glass of a car window to take down his opponent. If that's not innovation, then what is?

But one last thing since a car door cannot be considered innovative these days.

sticks. He literally took two twigs off the ground to use as weapons against his highly skilled, one of the best assassins, great-grandfather who is fighting with daggers in his hands and all over his body.

But you know the best part?

He draws his opponent to a tie. A tie? Not a win? No it was win after, considering he used his relative's falling body as a launching pad in the middle of the air when they were falling off the bridge to grab onto the bridge with the help of his friend. So it was his win but it's insane how incredible Dick's skills are.

It's really innovative because who thinks of using twigs and winning? Let me also clarify another point. Dick could've used the knives he'd gotten from his talon suit and thoroughly won because when he was brain washed he almost killed Red Condor from how skilled he was but he conscientiously chose to use twigs. In a sword fight. This man.

His improvisation is an asset that many have come to know him for and classify him as dangerous because he can fight with anything, anywhere, and win.

Something I want to end with. Dick only fights people who are stronger than him. I know he's fought mob characters and stuff but his enemies? They are all metas, assassins, skilled fighters, Russian Black Ops, and more. Essentially, people who are the top of the class in their categories and him defeating them equally and fairly is the reason why he has the respect of his enemies. He's just that good.

[woodchoc-magnum]

L*ne St*r Hate Watch 3x07

I nearly completely forgot about this show 😅

Disclaimer: you love the show, I hate it! Don't read this, move on with your life and have a great day.

Eddie Diaz because he's beautiful sunshine:

Surprised with this show that they didn't actually show us the dude splattering on the road sign

Loving this cop with a chip on his shoulder about firefighters

Imagine rolling up and demanding they move a fucking firetruck

HE'S WRITING THEM A TICKET! A TICKET??? NUISANCE OBSTRUCTION?????

Hilarious 10/10 for comedy

A man is sitting in Grace's seat

Of course his name is Dave

I've seen this dude in something but I cannot place him, I'm getting What We Do in the Shadows vibes but I know that's not right (side note - that'll be back on TV soon!!)

Carlos is going to give himself an ulcer one day I swear to god

"red vs blue" kind of like Queensland vs New South Wales but like, with emergency personnel (that's just a little Australian rugby league State of Origin reference for all you Americans reading this)

I genuinely don't care about this

In this scenario, even though it's LS, I am team firefighter because who the fuck wants to be team police? Like honestly

This man HAS EATEN GRACE'S FOOD

Who the fuck goes into a communal fridge and just takes food that's not theirs

Grace hates Dave, this is the only rivalry I care about

Quick life update – I baked a chocolate cake today, absolutely fucking crushing it you guys

THE COP TOWED THE FUCKING FIRE TRUCK????

I feel like this would never happen in real life, but I appreciate how bonkers it is

Oh no Dave's going to jump in on Grace's call and she's going to kill him

Oh wait maybe Dave's proving himself to Grace?

He did still steal her potato salad though so like, he's going to have to make up for that

I hate that we see the 126 bunk room but never the one at the 118

Because you just know Buck and Eddie sleep right next to each other, like, 100%

Judd and Grace make this show worth watching

So they're having a baseball game against the cops which I think is dumb

I have been sitting here eating a bag of chips and not really paying attention

But I can tell you what's going to happen – someone, probably Owen Strand, is going to hit a home run and win the game

Because there's no way the 126 is losing this

Man I really thought they were going to bring in Billy to help them play baseball and I'm so annoyed it's this random medic from last season (remember when Tim got smashed by a lava rock? Good times)

The random medic seems to have stood them up for the baseball game

The song they're using in this scene is the "Mahna Mahna" song from The Muppets -> https://youtu.be/QTXyXuqfBLA

Also it was used in a sunscreen commercial in Australia - "banana boat, it's 30+, banana boat, it lasts for hours and hours and hours, banana boat!"

Anyway what I'm saying is that I think it's a weird song choice

Yo I think the cops are winning

Also I don't care about this baseball plotline but I'm annoyed they did it on LS and not the OG so we could see Ryan in baseball gear

Damn I was hoping TK would get hit in the face with a baseball

They called Nancy "the big whiff" in high school, in Australia that means something very different

Oh the cops temporarily arrested the new medic

Wow baseball is fucking boring

I just know that Owen is going to score the winning home run or something

Oh maybe it'll be Nancy? That'd be a plot twist

Owen is being very supportive of her and not completely terrible so that's a good thing

Oh she did it

And wow the 126 win

Amazing

What a triumph of the human SPIRIT – OH WAIT SOMEONE TRIPPED HER

I think this might turn into a rumble

"You hose jockeys" all right calm down you big turd

Owen threw a punch and now they're fighting, and when I said "this might turn into a rumble" earlier, I didn't actually think it would

The new medic is displeased

His name is Pearce and he is not a team player and he's quit so it literally does not matter

Such a missed opportunity for Eddie Diaz to show off his baseball prowess on the OG, honestly

Dave's either going to prove himself in this scene or not

Oh yeah he's proving himself

Dave's got some issues

Dave's having a heart attack

Dave might die and I kind of hope he doesn't

This has been a literal rollercoaster of emotions

Oh no he's fine, we're all good, everyone can chill

"There's like, a fire, man, but don't worry, it's cool" – hilarious (there's a fire at a marijuana grow house)

Okay so now the 126 is going to prove themselves to the dickhead cop and he and Owen are going to shake hands with a newfound grudging respect for each other

HA THE COPS ARE ALL STONED

Owen is going to rescue the dickhead cop, and then there'll be a handshake and grudging respect, mark my words

Okay so the dickhead cop is stoned off his fucking tits

I was wrong about the handshake, it was a hug instead

Pretty gay, you guys. Pretty gay

This episode feels weird to me, like it's cop rehabilitation or something. The cops were being fucking dicks this whole episode

Oh wait here's the stoned dickhead now

Here comes the handshake, and now he's having dinner with them. I think he and Owen might fuck later

L*ne St*r: After Dark

Oh, Grace is visiting Dave in the hospital and she brought him kale. I'd kick her the fuck out

Oh shit DAVE LIED TO THE SUICIDAL GUY ON THE PHONE ABOUT HIS FATHER COMMITTING SUICIDE? That's ice cold Dave

Dave's joining the day shift, good for him

Grace may murder him yet

Oh they're having a party at TK and Carlos' house

A trophy ceremony ugh this is so fucking dumb

"It's my Mom," TK says in a monotone. "She's dead."

I was spoiled for this so it's not a shock, but fuck do I have some feelings about it – like, she's barely in the fucking show, she's just had a baby at like, 50 years old, and they fucking killed her? They've fucking KILLED HER?

It just pisses me off because I don't care about TK and Owen, and the whole next episode is going to be about this and you know it's going to be a total fucking shitshow. If they wanted to have a relapse storyline for TK – which I feel like this is where it's going – then they could've done it with the breakup? Or like, his near death experience, or something?

Unless the plan is that they're going to give the baby to TK to raise because the father is dead as well, but honestly, whatever the plan is, I think it's dumb as all fuck and I'm mad about it.

Lisa Edelstein deserves better and this reminds me why I hate this fucking show.

Sure, it has moments, and I'm invested in Grace and Judd's storyline, but they pull this Grey's Anatomy shit and I'm like, first of all, fuck you. Fuck you for randomly killing off a character who is barely even relevant to the show just to give TK and Owen some man pain; just because you were too lazy to come up with some other storyline for them.

Killing characters willy nilly is lazy fucking writing and this show has been guilty of that before (hello, zombie Tim) and they're doing it again. It just smacks to me that they have no fucking idea what they're doing, where the show is going or how to write for any of the other characters except the two white male leads.

It's fucking bullshit.

This has been a rant.

Eddie Diaz to CLEANSE:

THE MAN LOVES BASEBALL, THIS IS SUCH A MISSED OPPORTUNUITY

[iamanartichoke]

[please blacklist spoiler tags: #loki tv series spoilers, #loki series spoilers, #loki spoilers]

Yes, I did just watch episode 2 at 5:30 in the morning.

No, I am not sorry. Not at the moment, although when I inevitably crash later this afternoon, I will be.

Just some very, very quick - and scattered and messy - thoughts: That is a straight up lie; they’re definitely scattered and messy but not very quick at all.

Under the cut for spoilers and length.

I’m going to start with Loki’s characterization. My honest opinion is that Loki’s overall characterization feels like a fic characterization. He definitely is not Avengers Loki, like, at all. I don't know if Tom just, like, forgot how to play that Loki or ...?? That, or Loki was so much more mind-controlled than we realized and getting hulk-smashed just completely reset him back to zero but also fucked him up a little bit and affected his personality, kind of like how some people completely develop weird new personality quirks after a traumatic brain injury.

… yeah, I think that’s where I’m gonna land for now. TV series!Loki feels like a more-or-less canon version of Loki, but if that Loki got hit in the head really hard and now he’s just a little bit fucked up but overall no worse for the wear. Which - it may be that it’s so early in the morning, but that’s actually really fucking funny to me, lmao. God, I kill me. It’s not funny.

No, but, that’s pretty much how I feel. He’s ooc but he’s also ic, and the reason I’m not particularly bothered by the inconsistency, for lack of a better word, is because that’s what pretty much every fic Loki already feels like to me? (Including my own, so I’m not, like, saying that in a derogatory way.) Which is why I say Loki feels like a fic!Loki and to try to explain it better - there is always, for me, a little suspension of disbelief that I employ when I read fic. The reason for that is because the context, the plot, and the dynamics of the fic are usually pretty different than what we ever get in canon, so it becomes a matter of taking film!Loki and, like, bending him a bit in order to fit him into the perimeters of the fic.

The result ends up being that I don’t see the exact Avengers!Loki or TDW!Loki, and thus by definition the portrayal is ooc, but the version that I do see feels like a genuine extension of the canon version, possessing enough of Loki’s overall traits and characteristics that he feels authentic, albeit a bit pretzeled for the new context.

I honestly think that’s something that’s unavoidable, just due to the fact that in fic - and now, in this series - there are a lot more variables at play than there are in the films, wherein Loki is not just a supporting character but also the villain/antagonist and is therefore very limited in what he does/what the narrative allows him to do. When those limitations are taken away, what are we going to see? Probably a lot of different things, and yeah, a lot of them are going to feel a little ooc. And, like in fic, even if the characterization mostly lands, there are definitely bits and pieces (some fics more than others lean this way) where the author didn’t stick the landing or got carried away or otherwise probably forgot for a while that they were writing Loki, not their own OC.

That’s the point where it strays into cringe territory for me (and where the ‘heh, he’s Loki but with a brain injury’ aspect comes in), but while I had to consciously decide to just ignore those moments, overall the tone in this episode felt a bit more balanced between the new, the old, and the cringe, and less whiplash-y from the beginning of the episode to the end.

… I have no idea if that makes sense, but what I’m basically saying is that while I am enjoying this version of Loki, I do recognize all of the ways he’s ooc but, unlike how I feel about Ragnarok!Loki, the ooc-ness feels genuine and unavoidable rather than just a fundamental and careless misunderstanding of the character altogether. In other words, I feel like any ooc-ness here is happening despite the writers taking care to do their best, and isn’t just a result of Loki being lazily written by a person or persons who just doesn’t want to bother with him at all.

Again, I don’t know if that makes sense, but fuck it, there we are and I’m moving on.

I liked all of the little details, including again, things that felt straight out of fic, like Loki asking Mobius why he has the jetski magazine. (Also, if any of my thorki friends read this, was I the only one who noticed that when we see Loki reading the magazine, it just happens to be open to a page with a picture featuring a jet skier who looks like Thor? l.m.a.o.)

Loki interrupting things to explain the difference between illusions vs the other power (I can’t remember which one, off hand, and if I stop writing to go look it up I will lose my train of thought and not finish this) was great, but his overall input and contributions to the missions inspired very mixed feelings for me. On the one hand, I loved that the narrative, via Loki, is reminding us of all these things that he’s capable of that the films generally left out or brushed aside or ignored - but, every time he spoke, he was met with eye rolls and sighs and just a general feeling of “someone please shut this guy up” and I didn’t like the narrative treating him that way.

But also, it’s understandable bc none of the people on his team are actually on his team. None of them want him there (story of Loki’s fucking life), none of them trust him, and none of them are particularly interested in hearing what he has to say. So it’s like, I understand why they reacted the way they did, and I don’t think their reactions are meant to support an overall narrative undermining of Loki’s skills and input - but, the tone is hard to read for me bc I am very defensive and protective of Loki. I can’t quite determine the line between the TVA agents being unreliable narrators (ie, they’re annoyed by Loki bc of who he is to them, but that doesn’t mean the audience is supposed to feel the same) and the TVA agents validating that Loki is just being a nuisance (and, thus, the audience is supposed to feel the same).

That is, I know how I am consuming the narrative (that they’re unreliable narrators), but I’m not sure if that’s how tptb are intending for me to consume the narrative - and I guess it doesn’t really matter, but it’s worth mentioning.

In general, I really liked, again, Loki existing in his own space and watching the way he carried himself. I especially found it interesting that his hands were almost always in his pockets - for one thing it's a stance I tend to imagine him taking often in fic, but also it’s kind of a weird choice bc pockets don’t seem to be a thing in Asgardian clothing. It makes me feel like Loki is the kind of person who never knows what to do with his hands but is always conscious of them, as is common among anxious and self-conscious people, and I just find that relatable on a weird level.

I am really kinda torn on Mobius in this episode; when not interrogating Loki, he’s much less antagonistic toward Loki and therefore I’m more inclined to take-him-or-leave-him but I’ll go ahead and take him I guess. Yet at the same time, bc he’s not interrogating Loki he’s also not trying to put on a show for Loki and when you take that away, he really doesn’t seem to like Loki at all. It supports that Mobius only wants what Loki can do for him and doesn’t actually particularly care about him as a person, which is fine and more or less what I figured, but it contributes to me not really being able to decide how I feel about him in general. Idk, though, I kinda like their dynamic? Like I want them to end up friends?

Regardless, Tom and Owen have amazing chemistry and it’s really funny to me bc (not to be a jerk) I honestly didn’t know Owen Wilson could act. Like, I’ve never seen him in a role where he wasn’t just playing Owen Wilson. So for him to not only be playing Mobius so well but also having such chemistry and a sense of holding-his-own against Tom Hiddleston is like, color me surprised but pleasantly so.

I like B-15 a lot, even though she obviously hates Loki, so idk why I like her but I do. I like Renslayer less, but meh. (Side note - when I was in undergrad in Syracuse, I took the Amtrak from Syracuse to Boston and back more than a few times, for reasons that aren’t relevant, and that route always had a layover at Albany-Rensselaer and every single time I see Renslayer’s name, I want to call her Rensselaer instead.) Shout out to the guest appearance by Casey, sorry Loki stole your juice lmfao.

The moments from the trailer that were very cringe were less so in context (though still kinda cringe, tbh). I think we’ve seen most of the content from the trailers in the first two episodes now, though, which means going forward, it’s going to be like 95% previously unseen material (aside from the brief apocalyptic shots and so forth).

One thing I fucking loved was how Loki, reading about Ragnarok, was visibly affected and even teared up a bit, and you could tell he was in his feels about it, but then later when Mobius expresses sympathy, Loki is just like, “Uh huh, very sad, but anyway.” It was a subtle (well maybe not that subtle) but effective way to remind us that what Loki presents to other people is more often than not a mask and he keeps his true feelings close to the chest. It makes last week’s breakdown have even more of an impact, I think, bc clearly Loki was at the end of his rope to allow himself to show that much raw emotion and vulnerability, but also - for me - there’s a niggling little doubt there that wasn’t there before, in that there was probably more performance in it than I thought.

By which I mean, I think his reaction to the film of his life when he was alone was genuine but, while I previously thought his admission to Mobius later was also genuine, I now think was probably half genuine and half performative. I know others already figured that out, but I’m a little slow and, also, I don’t mind changing my opinion and interpretation from week to week.

Along the same lines, I wasn’t exactly surprised to see that Loki is “undercover” in the TVA, but it was nice to see it acknowledged fairly quickly. Not sure I buy that Loki wants to overthrow and rule the TVA - it’s still a little too “Loki only wants a throne” for me, but again, just because that’s what he told the variant doesn’t mean that’s actually what he’s after.

And, finally, I like the variant, I love Loki’s reaction to seeing her, and while I realize that the show has acknowledged Loki’s gender fluidity and we’re meant to assume that Lady Loki (I guess? Not sure if we’re going with that or not here) is Loki, I saw a theory somewhere about how this is actually not Loki-Loki, but - I wanna say her name Sophie but that’s the actress, again I can’t go look it up bc I will lose my train of thought - but it’s a character who is similar to Amora and who was created by Loki and models herself as Loki but she’s actually someone else.

Ugh I can’t remember the details of the theory, but I am kinda going with it bc I don’t think that Loki would look so - not surprised but just kind of “oh, well, I wasn’t expecting that” if he were seeing the female version of himself. Like, he doesn’t seem to recognize her the way I assume he would recognize himself, male or female. Not only does that make me feel like she’s actually someone else, but also not recognizing her as the female version of himself doesn’t necessarily mean Loki doesn’t recognize her at all. He may very well recognize her as this other Amora-similar character and, if so, I really want to see how that character fits with MCU Loki (as I think she’s a comic book character but, again, I’d have to go back and find that theory).

Edit: I found a version of it here.

Overall score, B-. Mostly solid, but needs moar Loki breakdowns and tears. (That's just me, don't fucking judge me.) Also, I really hate that we have to wait a week between episodes. I wish they were following Netflix’s method of dropping the entire season at once but, then again, if they did that, I’m not sure any of us would survive.

I gotta get ready for work and I deleted and rewrote so much of this and it still seems nonsensical to me, lmfao fml. Anyway feel free to interact/send me asks/whatever, it’s going to be a long fucking day with all of this on my mind. I’ll be working my way through my dash as best as I can.

Oh, also! Loki is so fucking pretty in this episode! The TVA suit is ugly, but he makes it work, and his hair's combed nicely and he looks like he finally got an opportunity to sleep and shower and eat something and, yknow, it's working for him.

[onenettvchannel]

THIS JUST IN: High Guardian Spice Releases a First Trailer at the V-CRX 2021 [#OneNETnewsEXCLUSIVE]

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA -- After a few years of negative controversies online from this web animated series in early 2019 onwards, High Guardian Spice has now releasing a first trailer at a Virtual Crunchyroll Expo (V-CRX) 2021. Due to a number of Corona Virus Disease-19 (CoViD19) cases in California, the entire physical Convention Expo event were decided recently for its 1-year postponement last August 2020 and transitions completely to next year by going virtual by August 6th thru 8th, 2021 as reported from the Crunchyroll News.

We teamed up with Crunchyroll to our independently-affiliated news media and broadcaster for OneNETtv Channel (ONC) and Radyo Bandera: Sweet FM Network (RBSFM) - Visayas, as the series creator named Raye Rodriguez via the exclusive Video Conferencing like Zoom to Radyo Bandera (an affiliation of OneNETnews in Negros Oriental from the Philippines).

In a latest full-hour virtual panel of "Hime Stage" last Saturday early morning at 3am in Manila (August 7th, 2021 - a day early from Friday afternoon: Pacific local time) under a "Crunchyroll Industry Panel" this year, Tim Lyu interviews with a show creator of High Guardian Spice for what does the web animated series look like in this synopsis, "The lives of 4 fierce girls converge at High Guardian Academy (HGA), the one place where they can stumble comically towards the adulthood, while becoming the heroes they've always admired. As they master the ways of battle and sorcery, the foursome form alliances, uncover legacies, face betrayals, and discover their true identities, while preparing to protect the world from an ominous unknown threat".

Lyu is presented a first trailer, as obtained exclusively to Radyo Bandera for a last presentation of Crunchyroll Originals in this year's panel.

===

One dragon was traveled outside the Lyngarth City, as 4 of the fierced girls were embarked for the adventure. A protagonist leader girl sees an unknown place below the dragon wind with a fresh air for what is new outside.

At a local town on foot, a tiny animal chases behind the two girls, while a giant person in front of a village house named Joseph (not an actual real name) are chilling in for a monitoring upon looking out for a possible enemies and/or soldiers later on.

Two girls are heading over to the High Guardian Academy (HGA) in this same city, they are about to enroll a 1st year Magical School (which is classified in relation for the Philippines' K-12 Program of Grade 7 as Junior High) with a selected interest for what is the best roles in magic per student. Whether if you're planned to have a witch to educate, potion making, magic spells or some leisure and recreational activities to do so, this academy in Lyngarth City is just for you to enroll. There is NO online classes before that.

In magical and physical practices such as a broomstick-like magical staff takes off for a ride in higher altitudes, smashing a bouldered rock with a sledgehammer, casting the spell, shooting arrows, stabbing the enemies with a sword, and more on these to learn in a magical school of Junior High.

The best experience of teachers, expertise and maybe the professors of HGA were educating the entire school year of its magical students as subjected for the approval of the Department of Education (DepEd).

Some magical students of HGA are well-trained on the spot with a sharpened dose of skills. It'll take months or years to master your magic with perfection and execute safely with your own self. This is to ensure all the magical students to play fair as possibly can and stay true to yourself without a fear. Because one day when you graduate a magical school of HGA in Lyngarth City, you are now officiated as a perfect magical guardian for life.

The best of all... Make some new friends with a quest of its adventures! Defend and protect yourself to the world, free from the enemies and monsters to save the day. You will earn yourself for a victory when defeated more of it than a darkness in a supportive way possible.

===

As mentioned from this first trailer, Rodriguez explains its web animated series takes place in the magical city of Lyngarth. 4 of its confirmed fictional protagonist characters where the HGA students are named to Rosemary, Sage, Parsley and Thyme. All of the girls from this said academy were attending a magical school upon starting for an upcoming adventure. He subsequently adds, they make friends and rivals, and they learn about some pretty huge world changing events that are happening in the shadows, and they make it their mission to help save the day.

New Key Visual for High Guardian Spice!! 🌟 #VCRX More: https://t.co/KWGCLEIHWR pic.twitter.com/fZRsf0F7aP

— Crunchyroll @ #VCRX! 🔥 (@Crunchyroll)

August 6, 2021

Key art poster of High Guardian Spice named James Betrez, a digital artwork person and his friend of Raye Rodriguez had come up with a final version of his art. He featured from a digital poster during a short online interview told Radyo Bandera, Amaryllis and Snapdragon are hanging out for a while, in front of the HGA. Based from this said poster art, there are bunch of the magical creatures that appears in this place around the Lyngarth City.

The former studio of Ellation Studios will be turned over possibly to Crunchy Onigiri, LLC in San Francisco, California, U.S.A.; as they rebranded into a regional anime-distributed office of Crunchyroll in Chinsinau, Moldova under the Consumer Division of Otter Media as Diez reported from a russian news site.

We contacted our news team for questioning to Crunchyroll via E-Mail and the Interactive Chat of V-CRX 2021 about the negative controversy issue of High Guardian Spice but, the streaming company manager deflects to decline for a comment.

However during a 'Question and Answer Feedback Panel' last Sunday early morning at 1am in Manila local time (August 8th, 2021) as Angie Hurst, Crunchyroll's Title Marketing Manager told Radyo Bandera, "It all depends on what type of kid content with your families out there that you've loved us to provide. We do have also a lot of shows that our kid-friendly in other Crunchyroll Originals' favorites, maybe we can do something around those shows in the future".

Hurst has learned the appropriate age viewing targets of High Guardian Spice, the exclusive demographics from this show will be targeted and classified as kid-friendly, almost less likely than adults this time. She clarifies about the Crunchyroll Originals from her statement during the V-CRX 2021, "Crunchyroll fans gets really excited about our current line-up. We have several original titles that are coming up onto some of them announced like Fena: Pirate Princess and others later down the pipeline. We take a look of their shows between the anime and cartoons together to be showned on stage without its confusion upon informing the fans will see it first. We're so ready to share with the world with you".

In conclusion as final, High Guardian Spice will now being classified as a web-animated cartoon show. Our research team of OneNETnews says, there is no evidence of "Anime" genre for the individuals of one-sided hate of LGBT and racism, without requiring a bad silence of Cartoons and/or Anime. This was like a Franchise Shutdown of ABS-CBN from the Philippine President named Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Whether you like it or not from this negative controversy a few years ago that no one talks about it for the dislikers, bashers, boycotters and even grave threats (under the Philippine Laws with a relation of Republic Act #10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and Article 282 & 287a or the Revised Penal Code) from the early 2019 until today in 2021, the release date of High Guardian Spice hasn't been released yet for now.

Lyu assures its animation and production team of Crunchy Onigiri, LLC & Crunchyroll Originals may subject for a final touches, post-production episodes and the distribution rights were soon publicly available in a later several months or more. Crunchyroll promises to correct the hate of its mistakes if the web animated series are supportive smoothly for a 2nd chance.

The world premiere of High Guardian Spice, streaming soon (for real this time) on Crunchyroll.

----

Radyo Bandera: Sweet FM Network and Bandera News Philippines (both in Bacolod and Palawan) is a parent affiliated firm on this internet TV station of ONC and OneNETnews.

SPECIAL THANKS to Ridley Terrance & Marco Diaz (a fictional dual characters of Glitch Techs & Star vs. The Forces of Evil) for contributing this news article.

SCREENGRAB COURTESY: Virtual Crunchyroll Expo 2021 - Hime Stage & Crunchy Onigiri

SOURCE: *https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayetoons [Profile Reference] *https://uspto.report/TM/88096914 *https://expo.crunchyroll.com/en-us/panels/panel-information.html?gtID=726846&panel-name=Crunchyroll-Industry-Panel [Panel Schedule for the Crunchyroll Industry Panel] *https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2020/06/03-1/crunchyroll-expo-2020-cancelled-2021-dates-planned-for-august-6-8 [Reference Article #1] *https://ru.diez.md/2020/04/17/ellation-luchshiy-rabotodately-2019-goda-pereimenovyvaetsya-v-crunchyroll/ [Reference Article #2] *https://4nn.cx/.159103 [Reference Article #3] *https://ched.gov.ph/k-12-project-management-unit/ *https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugx-7iDVzRPOS8FJifB4AaABCQ [Referenced YT Post, as based from the Negative Comments of HGS - Aug72021] *https://expo.crunchyroll.com/en-us/panels/panel-information.html?gtID=727128&panel-name=Virtual-Crunchyroll-Expo-Feedback-Panel-with-Live-Q-and-ampA [V-CRX 2021's Feedback Panel - Schedule Information for Aug82021] and *https://steemit.com/minnowsupportproject/@discordiant/one-sided-hate-and-some-of-it-s-consequences [Referenced Article Opinion for One-Sided Hate]

HONEST DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed from this Exclusive News Article are not necessarily those from the Crunchy Onigiri, LLC. Furthermore, the assumptions of this Exclusive News Article will NOT state, intervene or reflect those of our affiliated reporters. The show, the station, the management, interwebs and the network. Thanks for reading! Stay safe and may the Celestia blesses you. Daghang salamat, mga Ka-Bandera and everypony. Later!

-- OneNETnews Team

[mysterioussinkhole]

Stranger and Stranger

Everything Goes to Shit: Reality is wrong. Fact has flipped in on itself and nothing is as it seems.

Jon is lost and can’t find anyone. He doesn’t recognize this place. Something with the voice of Sarah Baldwin begins speaking to him. It taints him for how confused he is. It says that he is Jon and it is Tim. Jon begins trying to convince it to help him stop the Unknowing, convinced it really is Tim. He keeps losing track of names. It asks for the thing, the detonator, and he hands it over before losing track all over again.

Daisy is cornered by Breekon and Hope. She tells them to leave but they say they are Basira. Daisy threatens to kill them despite being disoriented by it all. They laugh so she starts choking one.

Tim is running away from Basira who is trying to figure out who it is. They try to pool info and get out. They have no concepts of names or places. Basira slowly works out that there are things that are not her that want to hurt her, but she doesn’t want to hurt Tim. Tim pushes her away and runs.

Jon starts fighting back and says none of it is real. Nikola says that just because it can’t be real doesn’t mean it isn’t. She says she is Tim. Then she says she is Sasha. He tells her to shut up and go away, but she persists. She taunts him over how confused he is. Jon isn’t sure how to make a fist. He’s also a bit shaky on the concept of hands. Then her voice changes to Gertrude’s. Speaking as her, she tells him he’s a failure. She shamed him for nearly becoming the Beholding’s plaything. He claims “he could have stopped it” but he can’t figure out how. She feels that he is meddling things he doesn’t understand and is going to doom everyone. If Gertrude was alive she would hate having to watch him stumble blindly. He is a complete disappointment. He tries to apologize, on the verge of tears. She keeps going on about how her work is meaningless because he’s not good enough. But Jon’s not buying it anymore. He knows he is trying as hard as he can. Nikola switches her voice to Leitner’s. He blames Jon for his death. He left alone and in danger for a cigarette. Jon begs for a moment of reprieve, but he continues to call him out for hubris to rival his own. Then Nikola pulls him off for a dance.

Daisy has killed one of the set and the other wants revenge. She laughs. Before she can kill him, he shuts her away in the Do Not Open coffin.

Basira has managed to ground herself enough to ignore her surroundings. Through rationalization she figures out that there must be a way out so she realizes she just has to leave. She manages to keep moving until she gets out.

The ritual is almost complete and Nikola is gloating. But Jon sees her. He says the clown, Grimaldi most likely, being torn and remade by the circus into something that wears the skin of others. Without the detonator he is still in trouble. Sarah comes by and says the explosion was probably “the Hunter’s idea”. She pushes Nikola to finish up but she wants to enjoy it a bit longer. Tim comes out of nowhere and smashes into Jon. He tries to calm him down but Tim knows exactly who he is when he punches him. Tim also knows that Nikola is the same thing that took his brother. There is something in Tim’s hand. Jon helps him see that it’s the detonator. He threatens Nikola with it. To Jon he says, “I don’t forgive you, but thank you for this.” And as Nikola and Sarah taunt him he pushes the button.

Who Did It: The Stranger vs. The Beholding

Spooky Rating: 10/10, Y I K E S

Stray Thoughts: Kudos to the editors on this one, the sound is absolutely fantastic. It does a lot of the heavy lifting in conveying how fucking bonkers the whole event is. The best way I can describe it is like a demented carousel made out of static interference. They even replaced the intro music!!! Everyone’s reactions to the chaos intrigue me. Basira is the most level headed and manages to get some clarity without supernatural abilities. Daisy goes full on feral, reduced to her Hunt nature. Jon is confronted by his failings and manages to take it in stride. Tim, I think, gained clarity through close proximity to Jon. Judging by how everyone introduced themselves to Jon as Tim he must have been looking for him. So he was fully aware thanks to his help. Tim’s death is painful but he gets the justice he wanted by destroying the things that killed his brother (whose skin may very well have been worn during the dance). The detail that interests me is what “Gertrude” says about Jon almost falling prey to the Beholding. Is there something we don’t know about? Jonny says that Leitner and Gertrude were meant to humble the Archivist but I kind of heard as Jon overcoming some self-loathing and thinking critically. He realizes that he’s fucked up but he also has the potential to do good and that’s worth something.

[closetofanxiety]

Show Review: Constitution State Wrestling

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

National Anthem

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

Public Venue

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

Advertising and Local Celebs

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

At Least One Wrestler Who’s in the Military

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

Event Name That is Not a Cool Pop Culture Reference

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

Random Ex-WWE/F Guy

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

Local Wrestling Academy Students’ Match

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

A Comedy Match That Isn’t Funny

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

Excitable Fans

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

A “Ladies’ Match”

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

One National Indie-Caliber Match

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

[bigyack-com]

NZ vs IND, 3rd ODI Preview: India Play For Pride As New Zealand Eye Clean Sweep

The New Zealand team has been struck down by injuries to their squad, so much so that assistant coach Luke Ronchi had to take the field during the second ODI at Eden Park, Auckland after Tim Southee had left the field after bowling his quota of 10 overs. Though there was some good news for the hosts ahead of the final ODI with captain Kane Williamson set to return to the playing XI after missing the opening two matches. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and pacer Blair Tickner have also been added to the squad ahead of the final ODI. Coach Shane Jurgensen confirmed that Williamson came through training well and is on track to play in Tuesday's third ODI. Jurgensen said that they will have one final look at Williamson on the morning of the match. "He had a full workout and he is on track for tomorrow. He is looking good to be ready to play, just have one final look at him in the morning and make sure that nothing happens overnight. So, all on track to be playing tomorrow," said Jurgensen in a video posted on the Black Caps official Twitter handle. Positive news for captain Kane Williamson Coach Shane Jurgensen confirms he's come through training well & is set for tomorrow's third ODI at the Mount#NZvIND #cricketnation pic.twitter.com/aA5GiEdvco — BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 10, 2020 India, on the other hand, will be looking to quickly forget their disappointment from the first two matches. The bowling was found wanting in the opening ODI in Hamilton as New Zealand managed to chase the 348-run target with 11 balls to spare. In the second match, India's famed batting line-up failed to rise to the occasion and kept completely under wraps by a disciplined New Zealand outfit. However, there were some bright performances for India with the bat. Shreyas Iyer continued his good form, adding to his century in the first ODI, by scoring a gritty 52 in the second. Ravindra Jadeja nearly pulled off the impossible with a fine batting display, scoring a 73-ball 55 to take India tantalisingly close to the target, which at one time in the match had looked insurmountable. But the surprise package was Navdeep Saini, who smashed 45 off 49 balls. Virat Kohli registered a rare failure while in-form KL Rahul too fell cheaply and both will be gunning to right the wrongs and make a strong statement ahead of the two-match Test series, beginning on February 21. SQUADS: India: Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli (capt), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Manish Pandey, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube. New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (capt), Ross Taylor, Tom Blundell, Tom Latham (wk), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mark Chapman, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, Hamish Bennett, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Scott Kuggeleijn. Match starts at 7.30am IST. Read the full article

[littlesouthblog]

July 30th - August 2nd 2020 | Lulworth Castle, Dorset

Family friendly Camp Bestival announce huge line up for their 2020 festival within the beautiful grounds of Lulworth Castle. Headlining artists include Fatboy Slim, Groove Armada, Friendly Fires, Becky Hill & Sophie Ellis Bextor.

Event info

What the promoter says

we are over the moon with excitement to announce our momentous and mighty line-up appearing across all the stages of your favourite stages at Camp Bestival 2020. Step into the world of the silver screen with marvellous entertainment for all the family, including headline sets from music favourites Fatboy Slim, Liam Payne and Groove Armada, as well as a special guest set from indie rock legends, Friendly Fires.

“We can’t think of a style of music that isn't on the bill this year - from rave to grime, classical to pop, guitars and reggae. From the original party-starter Fatboy Sim and indie royalty Friendly Fires through pop stars Liam Payne and Becky Hill to Groove Armada and a special Sophie Ellis-Bextor show with Sink The Pink, not forgetting our new and breaking acts like Georgia, Biig Piig and Self Esteem. It's not just about music - it's all going off from CBeebies to skate ramps, an outdoor cinema, tree climbing, Wild Tribe screen-free adventures into nature, yoga, meditation and explosive science shows! Get ready for Camp Bestival 2020!” - Josie and Rob da Bank

Other smash-hit stars taking to the stage include Becky Hill and rising star, Georgia, pop royalty Sophie Ellis-Bextor, radio legends Sara Cox and Jo Whiley, as well as YouTube sensations and 2019 X Factor Finalists, Max & Harvey. 

“This year at Camp Bestival will be special one for me as I am bringing my daughter for her first festival. Infantile grown-ups, watch our children grow and glow as we attempt to teach them about the festi-love, dancing and laughter…” -Fatboy Slim 

"I've heard amazing things about Camp Bestival and I can't wait to head down to Lulworth Castle to join the party." - Liam Payne

“Camp Bestival is absolutely me and my family’s favourite weekend of the year...can’t wait to return & put on another cracking 80s party. Last year the tent was bouncing with all ages, love seeing kids on their parent’s shoulders raving along to Wham! - this year’s gonna be even bigger & better.” - Sara Cox 

"I’ve had so much fun at Camp Bestival over the years. It’s an incredibly fun, beautiful and vibrant festival and I couldn’t be happier to be bringing my 90’s Anthems show to all the party people who’ll be there. See you down the front!" - Jo Whiley

The party doesn’t stop there – Camp Bestival are proud to welcome back CBeebies with appearances from Kids’ TV faves Mr Tumble, Mister Maker and the Shapes, and Rebecca Keatley with much more to be revealed soon. Youngsters can also get down and dance with a back-to-back line-up from the likes of the legendary Dick & Dom, Britain’s Got Talent superstars Boogie Storm, CBBC’s Sam & Mark and not forgetting a rave with the UK’s favourite family ravers Big Fish Little Fish. Why not channel your inner artist with Aardman Model Making Workshops or put on your science goggles and get ready for the weird and wonderful with live science shows by Brainiac Live and TheDadLab.

Go back to nature and discover Wild Tribe, the screen-free field returning for its second year with Spinney Hollow’s Craft Village, bushcrafts and bivouac building, drumming circles, immersive theatre from Mossy Crow, water slides, zip lines, tree climbing, campfires, calm spaces and Hortisculpture. What’s more, young environmentalists will be able to join in activities with Youth Strike 4 Climate, founded by climate change activist Greta Thunberg. 

Encompassing the glamour of Hollywood, Camp Bestival will transform into the most enchanting film set for the weekend. New to 2020, festivalgoers will enter the world of magical movie mania with AV shows featuring well-loved cult movie classics remixed by DJ Yoda, acting workshops from Stagecoach and The BRIT School and a Sunday finale like no other with Son et Lumière fireworks and projections on Lulworth Castle. Be sure to also not miss the Full Moon Cinema, an out-of-this-world outdoor cinema to celebrate the full moon on Saturday, plus who better to talk through his career in screenwriting than Irvine Welsh.

Get ready for some belly laughing comedy from comedian and best-selling author of ‘This is Going to Hurt’, Adam Kay, and side-splitting stand-up from the Scummy Mummies. Wide Awake Club/Wacaday TV legend Timmy Mallett brings his hilarious live show to Lulworth, and there will be readings on the chaos and comedy of real-life parenting from Man Vs. Baby.

The Magic Meadow will come alive on Saturday evening with Camp Bestival’s biggest ever circus performance with a huge High Wire Spectacular featuring dazzling displays of balance and circus feats complete with a live choir providing musical accompaniment. Then step into the Pink Flamingo for evening flamboyant cabaret featuring Cheryl Hole, Madame Galina and Her Only Friend(s) and Witt ’n’ Camp.

Adding to the spectacular entertainment for all the family, treat your taste buds to an array of award-winning food and drink. Tuck into the delectable offerings from The Feast Collective and DJ BBQ and become a foodie aficionado with Mother Earth’s Open Kitchen, Live Fire Cooking Demos, Temper barbecue chef Neil Rankin and hear from Omari McQueen, the UK’s youngest Vegan food entrepreneur and chef. Watch this space with lots more mouth-watering delights to be revealed… 

Fancy a detox? Head to Slow Motion and unwind with a series of relaxing and rejuvenating experiences on offer for all ages. Leave the outside world behind and opt for Ayurvedic workshops, meditation, sound healing and gong baths. Don’t forget to also take part in two genuine festival firsts: a Holistic Triathlon, consisting of meditation, 5k run and a session calming yoga to finish, and make sure to pop on the gloves and sign up for a Family Boxing session!

Line Up

Fatboy Slim

Groove Armada

Liam Payne

Friendly Fires

Sophie Ellis Bextor ft. Sink The Pink

Becky Hill

The Sugarhill Gang

Grandmaster

Melle

Mel & Scorpio

Dick and Dom

Sara Cox

Jo Whiley's 90s Anthems

Adam Kay

Irvine Welsh

Brainiac [live]

Son et Lumière 

Castle Fireworks Spectacular

Max & Harvey

Level 42

The Sherlocks

BRIT School

TheDadLab

Heather Small

Full Moon Cinema

Stagecoach Performing Arts School

David Rodigan

The Selecter

All Hail Kale Presents: Hypochondria [live]

DJ Yoda Presents: Filmstock

Reef

Space

Mr. Tumble

Norman Jay MBE

LTJ Bukem

The Sol Cinema

Mister Maker & Rebecca

Cheryl Hole

Gengahr

Spinney Hollow Craft

Self Esteem

Georgia

Sam & Mark

Holistic Triathalon

Scummy Mummies

Tim Burgess

Mr. Motivator

Glowie

Goldierocks

The Cuban Brothers

KIDS FLY

Adamski

DJ BBQ

SamSam Bubbleman

Klaus Blatter

Jaguar Skills

Bushcraft

Dub Pistols

Big Fish Little Fish

The Wurzels

Junior Jungle

Man vs. Baby

Blingo

Aardman Amazing Scene Machine

Bowie Disco

London Stage Orchestra

Plastic Mermaids

Thrill Collins

Cirque Bijou

Deptford Northern Soul

via littlesouth

[tomk4e]

Premier League Week 26 Review (Part Two)

The second half of matchday 26 certainly didn’t disappoint in producing thrilling games. Aside from the boring 0-0 draw between Leicester City and Wolves on Friday, every other game played this past weekend was entertaining. Outside of the games being played there was also the news that Manchester City were fined and banned from all European competitions for the next two years due to breaking UEFA’s financial fair play rules. This alone has huge implications on the race for the Champions and Europa League places.

Thoughts on Manchester City’s ban

Manchester City have not played their 26th game yet. The Citizen’s game against West Ham was postponed to this Wednesday due to last week’s Storm Ciara. However, Man City still managed to find themselves in the headlines this weekend. On Friday, UEFA announced that the defending Premier League champions would be suspended from all European competitions for two years, and be fined €30 million (roughly $32.5 million).

This suspension comes in the wake of an investigation by UEFA’s Adjudicatory Chamber finding Man City guilty of “overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016.”

UEFA’s financial fair play rules state that clubs are only allowed to spend as much money as they make. It is a rule that makes sure that clubs have actually paid what they owe. So, however much Man City spent on transfer fees and player and manager wages must somehow be balanced by an equal amount of income.

To put it simply, Man City didn’t. They falsely reported the amount of sponsorship money they earned, and also falsely reported who they got the sponsorship money from. This type of financial behaviour was enough for UEFA to ban Man City. Now City have the opportunity to appeal the ban, but if the ban is upheld, there will be some interesting repercussions in the Premier League.

Man City are currently second in the Premier League, and will likely finish in the top four by the end of this season. However, a potential ban from European competitions means that their Champions League qualification place will go to the team that finished fifth place in the Premier League.

Currently, the Premier League’s fifth place team is Tottenham Hotspur with 40 points. But below Tottenham are six teams that are separated by six points or less. Sheffield United, Manchester United, Wolves, Everton and Arsenal have all been given new life in their pursuit for European soccer.

Aston Villa suffer a heartbreaking loss against Tottenham

In soccer you are awarded a point for drawing a game. For a team challenging for the title a draw is seen as two points dropped, but for a team fighting off relegation it’s seen a one point earned.

Aston Villa are in the latter category. Entering their game against Tottenham, the Villans were in 17th place with 25 points, just one point above the relegation zone. After a brutal 3-2 loss, Villa remain dangerously close to the drop with a third of the season remaining.

What makes this loss for Villa even worse is that they had fought back to earn what they thought would be a crucial point. After Toby Alderweireld scored an own-goal in the ninth minute, Tottenham turned around the one goal deficit to a 2-1 lead. It was Alderweireld who scored in the correct goal in the 27th minute and then Son Heung-Min in the 47th minute that gave Tottenham a first half lead.

Villa’s equalizing goal would come in 53rd minute when centerback Björn Engels finished a Jack Grealish cross. However, the game had one more twist. Engels, who scored the vital second goal, was involved in Villa’s collapse. A simple lapse of concentration and poor touch from Engels gave Son a clean path on goal in the 96th minute. The South Korean finished the chance and Tottenham stole all three points.  

Meanwhile, Tottenham find themselves in a great run of form. Spurs have won three Premier League games in a row. January signing Steven Bergwijn has added another dimension to Tottenham’s attack. And Son has done an excellent job replacing the injured Harry Kane as Tottenham’s main striker. The South Korean is naturally a winger, but he has scored four goals during Tottenham’s winning streak.

Arsenal put it all together against Newcastle

Mikel Arteta hasn’t had the glamourous results that fans might have expected since becoming Arsenal manager. His largest margin of victory was two after a 2-0 victory over Manchester United back on New Year’s Day.

In fact Arteta hasn’t won much as Arsenal manager. In his seven Premier League games Arteta has won one (the Man United game), drawn five and lost one. However, Arteta and the Gunners put it all together against Newcastle on Sunday after they comprehensively beat the Magpies 4-0.

But that scoreline didn’t look likely after the first 45 minutes. Heading into halftime, the game was still scoreless. Newcastle did little to threaten Arsenal’s goal, aside from a few corner kicks early in the half. Meanwhile, Arsenal spurned the few scoring chances that they did create.

However, the second half was completely different for Arsenal. The hosts took just nine minutes after the restart to score their first goal when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang headed in a lazy Nicolas Pepe cross. After that it took just three minutes for Arsenal to double their lead. This time it was Pepe who got on the end of a Bakary Saka cross after the young Englishman skillfully beat two Newcastle defenders.

With a two-goal lead, Arsenal went into cruise control for the remainder of the game. There was just enough time for two more goals, the third by Mesut Özil in the 90th minute, and the fourth by Alexander Lacazette in the 95th. It was an impressive win for Arsenal who still sit in 10th place with 34 points. Up next for Arsenal is another home game, this time against Everton, who are directly above the Gunners in the table.

Chelsea vs. Manchester United was a mess

The headliner at the end of this matchday took place at Stamford Bridge as fourth place Chelsea hosted ninth place Manchester United. Both teams have had rough recent games in the Premier League. Chelsea’s last win came on Jan. 11 against Burnley, but since then the Blues had drawn twice and lost once. Meanwhile, Man United had been held scoreless in their last three games, leading to two losses and one draw.

Also, with both teams still fighting to earn Champions League qualification for next season, this should have been an excellent game. However it devolved into another discussion on VAR and how inconsistent it has been thanks to two instances that went against Chelsea.

The first was in the 21st minute when there was a coming together between Man United defender Harry Maguire and Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi. Both players challenged for a loose ball in front of the Chelsea bench, and their momentum carried them off the field with Maguire sliding on his back. While on the ground, Maguire kicked out at Batshuayi and struck him in the groin.

The immediate reaction from the Chelsea bench and Batshuayi was that Maguire should be given a red card for his transgression. After a video review, referee Anthony Taylor was told that there wasn’t enough in the coming together to send Maguire off. What makes this VAR decision even more confusing is that there was already a precedent established earlier in the season.

On Dec. 22 in a game between Tottenham and Chelsea, Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min employed a similar maneuver on Chelsea’s Antonio Rüdiger. In that instance Son was given a straight red card after a video review. So with that established, Maguire should have been sent off.

The second incident came in the 56th minute with Man United already leading 1-0. Kurt Zouma smashed in a close range-effort after Man United failed to clear a corner. With a little over half an hour remaining, we were heading for a grandstand finish at Stamford Bridge. But once again VAR was summoned. The goal was ruled out due to what seemed like a push from Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta on Man United’s Luke Shaw. This push stopped Shaw from attempting to clear the ball which allowed Zouma to connect with the unimpeded flight of the ball and score.

But upon reviewing it further, it seemed that Azpilicueta was actually shoved by Man United’s Fred. From that shove, Azilicueta’s momentum carried him into the back of Shaw. That explanation might be a stretch, but if Azpilicueta didn’t have control of himself when he was sent forward into Shaw, then it wasn’t a foul. It should be viewed as two players coming together with no intention to foul from Azpiicueta. These are all things that VAR can see and take the time to figure out.  

Chelsea will obviously feel hard done by due to the decisions not going their way. But the Blues still had plenty of other opportunities to score throughout the game. Batshuayi had two golden chances in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize. Mason Mount hit the post in the second half, and Pedro had multiple shots on target that were blocked by Man United defenders. At the other end of the field Chelse even failed to keep Man United from scoring a second time when Maguire towered over everyone to score from a corner in the 66th minute.

However, credit should be given to Man United for going on the road and getting all three points. It’s something that they haven't done too often this year. Aside from this game, Man United have only taken four points on the road off of teams currently above them in the table.

Goal of the (half) week: TIE Sadio Mane vs. Norwich City or Matej Vydra vs. Southampton

Two similar goals for the goal of the (half) week. Both winning goals, both showed excellent ball-control and both were on the respective players’ weak foot. Sadio Mane’s goal came in the 78th minute after Jordan Henderson lofted a ball in towards the Senegalese winger. After an acrobatic first touch with his right foot, Mane fired the ball past Norwich keeper Tim Krul at his near post with the second. It was the only goal of the game, and Liverpool left Carrow Road with all three points.

Meanwhile, Matej Vydra’s goal was a little less acrobatic, but equally as impressive. Burnley’s Jef Hendrick served a deep cross toward Vydra in the 60th minute, and from there Czech striker did the rest. Vydra chested the ball down towards his right, took another touch over a Southampton defender’s leg and rifled a venomous half-volley into the roof of the net.

[vsplusonline]

India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I Live Score Updates: India need 18 runs to win the match and series - Times of India

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/india-vs-new-zealand-3rd-t20i-live-score-updates-india-need-18-runs-to-win-the-match-and-series-times-of-india/

India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I Live Score Updates: India need 18 runs to win the match and series - Times of India

LIVE BLOG | LIVE SCORECARD

INDIA need 18 runs to win the 3rd T20I and the series

NEW ZEALAND score 17 runs in SUPER OVER.

BALL 6: Bumrah to Guptill – 4 runs BALL 5: Bumrah to Williamson – 1 BYE

BALL 4: Bumrah to Williamson – 4 runs

BALL 3: Bumrah to Williamson – 6 runs

BALL 2: Bumrah to Guptill – 1 run

BALL 1: Bumrah to Williamson – 1 run

Bumrah is ready with the ball. He is having a conversation with captain Kohli.

Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill making their way to the middle.

SUPER OVER coming up. OVERS 20: WICKET! Shami castles Ross Taylor for 17. The match will be decided via Super Over.

NZ need 1 off 1 ball. OVERS 19.5: Seifert misses the ball but runs for a single. Taylor is on the strike now.

NZ need 2 in 2 balls. OVERS 19.4: Dot ball from Shami.

Tim Seifert comes to the crease.

NZ need 2 in 3 balls. OVERS 19.3: WICKET! Shami ends Williamson’s stay at 95. Is this a twist in the match?

NZ need 3 in 5 balls.

OVERS 19.1: SIX! Full toss from Shami. Taylor dispatches Shami over deep square leg fence.

Shami to bowl the last over.

Kiwis need 9 runs in 6 balls.

End of OVER 19: 11 runs off Bumrah’s over. NZ 171/4, need 9 in 6 balls.

OVERS 18.4: FOUR! Yorker from Bumrah. Williamson flicks the ball towards fine leg for a boundary. Bumrah isn’t happy with this. NZ need 11 in 8 balls.

NZ need 16 in 10 balls.

OVERS 18.2: FOUR! Ross Taylor shuffles this across towards deep mid wicket. What a shot from Taylor. That’s Taylor’s special.

Bumrah starts his fourth and last over.

End of OVER 18: 9 runs off Chahal’s over. NZ 160/4, need 20 in 12 balls.

OVERS 17.4: Excellent running between the wickets from Williamson and Taylor. 2,1,2,2 so far in the over.

Highest score for Kane Williamson in T20Is 85*vs India, Hamilton 2020 73*vs Bangladesh, Napier 2017 72*vs Pakistan, Hamilton 2016 72 vs England Wellington 2018 Chahal starts his fourth and last over.

End of OVER 17: 12 runs off Bumrah’s over. NZ 151/4, need 29 in 18 balls. OVERS 16.4: FOUR! Wow! Three in a row for Williamson. Williamson plays this beautifully towards deep extra cover. NZ 149/4, need 31 in 20 balls.

NZ need 35 in 21 balls

OVERS 16.3: FOUR! Williamson once again. He smashes Bumrah towards backward square leg for another boundary.

OVERS 16.2: FOUR! Williamson plays this beautifully towards deep extra cover.

Bumrah starts his third over.

End of OVER 16: WICKET! Shardul Thakur dismisses Grandhomme for 5. Good catch from Dube. NZ 137/4

OVERS 15.1: SIX! Sizzling six. Williamson sends the ball over Shardul’s head. NZ 134/3

Shardul starts his third over.

End of OVER 15: 14 runs off Jadeja’s over. NZ 128/3, need 52 in 30 balls.

OVERS 14.5: SIX! Williamson hits Jadeja for back-to-back sixes. What an innings from the NZ skipper today.

Jadeja starts his fourth over. End of OVER 14: FOUR! What a way bring up half century. Williamson hits Shami towards backward square leg for a boundary. 14 runs off Shami’s over. NZ 114/3

OVERS 13.3: SIX! Williamson makes room and cuts the ball over deep backward point for a six. What a shot from him. NZ 108/3

OVERS 13.1: Back of a length delivery from Shami. Williamson pushes the ball towards on side. He will get two quick runs.

Shami starts his third over. End of OVER 13: 9 runs off Chahal’s over. NZ 100/3

OVERS 12.3: SIX! Williamson takes a big stride and smashes Chahal over deep mid wicket fence. NZ 99/3

Chahal starts his third over.

End of OVER 12: Another superb over from Jadeja. Just 3 runs off it. NZ 91/3, need 89 in 48 balls.

OVERS 11.4: A loud stumping call from KL Rahul against Williamson. Brilliant work from KL Rahul. It’s very close. NOT OUT is the call.

Jadeja starts his third over.

End of OVER 11: 9 runs and a wicket off Chahal’s over. NZ 88/3 , need 92 off 54 balls.

Colin de Grandhomme comes to the crease

OVERS 10.4: WICKET! Chahal at his best. He castles Santner for 9. Brilliant bowling from the leg-spinner. NZ 88/3, need 92 in 56 balls.

OVERS 10.2: FOUR! Poor fielding from Dube at the boundary ropes. Another boundary for Williamson.

OVERS 10.1: FOUR! Williamson sends Chhaal towards deep backward square leg for a boundary.

Chahal starts his second over.

10 overs gone! NZ 79/2, need 101 in 60 balls

OVERS 9.3: DROPPED! Bumrah is disappointed. Jadeja drops Santner.

Bumrah is back into the attack. This is his second over. End of OVER 9: Another good over from Jadeja. Just 5 runs off it. NZ 72/2

Jadeja starts his second over.

End of OVER 8: 14 runs off Dube’s over. NZ 67/2

OVERS 7.5: SIX! What a shot from Williamson. The NZ skipper leans forward and pulls this over fine leg fence. Crowd loves it. NZ 67/2

Shivam Dube comes into the attck

End of OVER 7: Just 2 runs off Jadeja’s over. NZ 53/2

Mitchell Santner comes to the crease.

OVERS 6.2: WICKET! Jadeja does the magic. He sends back Munro for 14. Munro comes down the track but misses the ball completely. KL collects the ball and does rest of the job. Jadeja celebrates in his own style. NZ 52/2

Bowling change for India. Ravindra Jadeja comes into the attack.

End of OVER 6: 8 runs off Shardul’s over. NZ 51/1

OVERS 5.4: WICKET! Shardul Thakur ends Martin Guptill’s stay at 31. Shardul excults in celebration. He knows he has got the big fish. Brilliant ctahc from Sanju samson (sub).

OVERS 5.3: FOUR! That’s a powerful pull from Guptill through deep mid wicket.

Shardul starts his second over.

End of OVER 5: 10 runs off Chahal’s over. NZ 43/0

OVERS 4.3: FOUR! Guptill gets a thick edge and the ball races past Kohli. Tough chance for the Indian skipper. NZ 42/0

OVERS 4.1: FOUR! Munro welcomes Chahal with a superb boundary. NZ 37/0

Virat Kohli brings Yuzvendra Chahal into the attack.

End of OVER 4: 7 runs off Shami’s over. NZ 33/0

Munro is fine and resumes the innings.

OVERS 3.5: OUCH! Short from Shami. Munro tries to pull but misses this completely. The ball hits Munro on the chest. Munro is down and is in pain and is being assisted by physio.

OVERS 3.3: FOUR! Munro sends Shami between backward point and third man for a boundary. NZ 32/0

Shami starts his second over. End of OVER 3: 13 runs off Bumrah’s over. NZ 26/0

OVERS 2.5: SIX! Clever shot from Guptill. Short from Bumrah. Guptill uses the pace and plays a superb upper cut. ‘Smart batting from Guptill’ – Laxman says while commentating.

OVERS 2.3: SIX! Guptill smashes Bumrah for a huge one. NZ 20/1

Bowling change for India. Jasprit Bumrah comes into the attack.

End of OVER 2: 5 runs off Shami’s over. NZ 13/0.

OVERS 1.4: Four singles off first four deliveries from Shami. NZ openers are playing cautiously and rotating the strike well.

Kohli is having a discussion with Shami. Game plans against the NZ openers?

Mohammed Shami comes into the attack.

End of OVER 1: 8 runs off Shardul’s over. NZ 8/0

OVER 0.2: SIX! Guptill smashes Shardul straight down the ground for a huge one. NZ 6/0

Welcome back! New Zealand need 180 to win the match. Martin Guptill and Colin Munro are in the middle. Shardul Thakur will open the attack for India.

OVERS 20: INDIA post 179/5 against NEW ZEALAND at Seddon Park in Hamilton

Innings Break! #TeamIndia post a total of 179/5 on the board. Over to the bowlers now. Updates -… https://t.co/MGby3d04pt

— BCCI (@BCCI) 1580286829000

OVERS 19.4: SIX! What a shot from Jadeja. He uses the pace and sends Southee towards square of the wicket.

OVERS 19.2: SIX! Oh boy! What a shot from Pandey. He takes a big stride and swings his bat to send the ball over long on fence.

Ravindra Jadeja comes to the crease.

OVERS 18.5: WICKET! Bennett takes his third wicket. Kohli departs for 38 runs. Brilliant catch from Southee. INDIA 160/5

OVERS 18.3: Kohli smashes this full power towards long on. Brilliant fielding at boundary ropes. Kohli will get a couple.

OVERS 18.1: FOUR! Pandey smashes Bennett towards deep extra cover for a beautiful boundary.

2 overs to go! End of OVER 18: 9 runs off Southee’s over. INDIA 151/4

OVERS 18.1: Kohli glances tis towards fine leg. He will get two runs. Brilliant running between the wickets from Kohli and Pandey.

Tim Southee is back into the attack.

Manish Pandey joins Virat Kohli in the middle.

End of OVER 17: 11 runs off Santner’s over. INDIA 142/4

OVERS 16.6: WICKET! Iyer throws his wicket away. He comes down the track but fails to connect. Saifert collects the ball and dislodges the bails comfortable. INDIA 142/4

OVERS 16.2: SIX! Half volley from Santner. Iyer smokes the ball over long off fence. What a confident shot from Iyer. INDIA 138/3

STAT ATTACK: Virat Kohli surpasses Dhoni’s record for most runs as a captain in T20Is End of OVER 15: FOUR! Kohli smashes Santner for a boundary. 13 runs off Santner’s over. INDIA 127/3

OVERS 14.2: SIX! What a shot from King Kohli. He comes forward and smokes this over long off.

Santner is back into the attack.

End of OVER 14: 8 runs off Sodhi’s over. INDIA 114/3

OVERS 13.1: FOUR! Kohli sweeps this beautifully towards fine leg. INDIA 110/3

Ish Sodhi starts his third over. End of OVER 13: Another good over for New Zealand. Just 7 runs off Grandhomme’s over. INDIA 106/3

Grandhomme starts his second over.

End of OVER 12: 3 runs off Sodhi’s over. INDIA 99/3

Ish Sodhi is back into the attack. This is his second over.

Shreyas Iyer joins Virat Kohli in the middle.

End of OVER 11: Just 4 runs and 2 wickets off Bennett’s over. INDIA 96/3

OVERS 10.6: WICKET! Second wicket for Bennett. Dube has thrown his wicket away. Excellent comeback from Kiwis. INDIA 96/3

OVERS 10.4: WICKET! Bennett ends Rohit Sharma’s stay at 65. INDIA 94/2

Bennett starts his third over.

10 overs gone! Just 3 runs off Kuggeleijn’s over. INDIA 92/1

Kuggeleijn is back into the attack. This is his second over.

Shivam Dube comes to the crease. The left-hander has been promoted ahead of his captain Virat Kohli. Will Kohli’s experiment work in India’s favour today?

OVERS 8.6: WICKET! Grandhomme gets the breakthrough. KL Rahul departs for 27 runs. INDIA 89/1

OVERS 8.4: FOUR! Wonderfully played by Rohit. He leans forward and guides Grandhomme towards third man for a boundary.

Colin de Grandhomme comes into the attack.

End of OVER 8: Brilliant over from Santner. 5 runs off his over. INDIA 82/0

Santner starts his second over.

Fewest balls to 50 for Rohit Sharma (T20I)

22 vs WI Lauderhill 2016 23 vs Ban Rajkot 2019 23 vs WI Mumbai WS 23 vs NZ Hamilton End of OVER 7: FOUR! Rahul smashes Sodhi straight down the ground for a boundary. 8 runs off Sodhi’s over. INDIA 77/0

Ish Sodhi comes into the attack.

That’s FIFTY for Rohit Sharma off just 23 balls.

He is on a roll today as @ImRo45 brings up his 20th T20I FIFTY off 23 deliveries. His first half-century of the se… https://t.co/veQs3dp2t2

— BCCI (@BCCI) 1580283028000

End of OVER 6: SIX! What a way to end the over. Rohit hits the ball straight down the ground this time. 27 runs off Bennett’s over. INDIA 69/0

OVERS 5.5: FOUR! No stopping Rohit Sharma right now. Brilliant delivery from Bennett but cleverly played by Rohit. 6,6,4,4 for Rohit in this over so far.

OVERS 5.4: FOUR! Rohit is on fire. The right-hander sends Bennett towards deep backward point.

OVERS 5.3: SIX! Rohit picks the length and dispatches Bennett over long off fence. 50 comes up for INDIA

OVERS 5.2: SIX! Rohit stays back and pulls this over backward square leg. What a shot from middle of the bat.

Bennett starts his second over.

End of OVER 5: 8 runs off Santner’s over. INDIA 42/0

OVERS 4.1: FOUR! Rohit welcomes the left-arm spinner with a superb boundary towards square of the wicket. INDIA 38/0

Another bowling change for New Zealand. Mitchell Santner comes into the attack. End of OVER 4: 8 runs off Kuggeleijn’s over. INDIA 34/0

OVERS 3.2: FOUR! Rohit gets lucky here. Extra pace and bounce from Kuggeleijn. Rohit gets a thick outside edge and the ball races towards the third man boundary. INDIA 31/0

Bowling change for NZ. Scott Kuggeleijn comes into the attack

End of OVER 3: 9 runs off Southee’s over. INDIA 26/0

OVERS 2.5: FOUR! Another cleaver shot from Rahul. He uses the pace and plays a superb upper cut. One bounce and a boundary. INDIA 25/0

OVERS 2.3: Rohit plays this beautifully towards square of the wicket. Is this four? No. Brilliant fielding at the boundary ropes. 2 runs for Rohit.

Southee starts his second over.

End of OVER 2: 13 runs off Bennett’s over. INDIA 17/0

OVERS 1.3: SIX! You will love to see this shot again and again. Rahul goes on backfoot and sends the ball over third man fence. Stupendous shot from KL. INDIA 12/0

Hamish Bennett comes into the attack

End of OVER 1: 4 runs off Southee’s over. INDIA 4/0

OVER 0.3: FOUR! What a shot from Rohit. Rohit stays back and slaps the ball towards deep backward point. INDIA 4/0

India openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are in the middle. Tim Southee will open the attack for New Zealand.

CAPTAINS’ TAKE:

Virat Kohli (INDIA) I reckon (we would have bowled). Looks like a nice track, it’s pretty hard, nice grass cover, the weather might have a say in the second innings, but toss isn’t in our control. Just put a clinical performance, carry forward the momentum and grab the chances that comes. Don’t worry about too many changes, just go out there and do the job. No changes once again, the boys did a good job with both bat and ball, no need to make any changes at all. Kane Williamson (NEW ZEALAND) We will bowl first. A new surface, hopefully, we will get something from it. Need to follow our plans, we are playing a strong side, a new ground, a new surface, do the job with the ball. One change, Scott Kuggeleijn is in, for Blair Tickner. Both offer pretty much the same, both bowl heavy balls, perhaps, Scott is a bit better batsman.

A toss win for Kane Williamson and we will bowl at Seddon Park in T20I 3. #NZvIND https://t.co/1UzfnUWD1Z

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) 1580279782000

PLAYING XIs: NEW ZEALAND: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (captain), Colin de Grandhomme, Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert (wk), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ish Sodhi, Hamish Bennett

INDIA: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul(w), Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

TOSS: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson wins toss, opts to field against India

New Zealand have won the toss and they will bowl first in the 3rd T20I. #NZvIND https://t.co/l9nS0lK4PU

— BCCI (@BCCI) 1580279561000

It’s TOSS time, folks.

A third successive win at Seddon Park will give India their first ever T20I series win on New Zealand soil, a feat they were unable to achieve on two occasions previously.

India lost 0-2 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni back in 2008-09, and last year, they went down 1-2. Hello and welcome to the Live coverage of 3rd T20I between India and New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

#TeamIndia will take on the @BLACKCAPS in the 3rd T20I at the Seddon Park. Will the men in blue seal the series?… https://t.co/arjism72yg

— BCCI (@BCCI) 1580268494000

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Dapper Dio, campus ragers and basement escapees: What you missed in Week 18

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July 2, 201810:23AM EDT

Couldn’t catch every minute of a hectic weekend across MLS? Here are some angles to consider.

Barnburner on The Farm

What is it about Stanford Stadium that makes the San Jose Earthquakes and LA Galaxy go buck-wild? The Cali Clasico rivals enacted their latest “Old School”-esque on-campus freakout Saturday night, a 3-3 draw that earns this week’s MLS app must-see condensed match seal of approval. Amid all the riveting action, I was particularly intrigued by Chris Wondolowski barking at his former teammate David Bingham after beating him for the Quakes’ first goal.

I didn’t know Wondo had this in his soul but I blame Twitter for it. pic.twitter.com/eaKUAMdeIE

— Bobby Warshaw (@bwarshaw14) July 1, 2018

Darkest before the dawn in Orlando?

With their former coach penning a public farewell and the new man still on his way in, Orlando City SC were not in a great spot to visit league-leading Atlanta United, and it showed in a 4-0 thumping that keeps this budding Southern rivalry a one-sided affair for now. At least no one can bluff about the extent of the work to be done when Lions coach James O’Connor takes charge.

Impact the free radicals

Rod Fanni and Ignacio Piatti | USA Today Sports Images

Written off weeks ago thanks to some woeful spring losing streaks, the Montreal Impact are suddenly on a three-game winning streak (and winners of four in five) after ambushing West leaders Sporting KC 2-0. I have my doubts about their ability to clamber back into the East’s playoff race, yet be warned just the same: The Quebecois look like this year’s free radicals, a proud team eager to wreak chaos on the postseason prospects of anyone they play.

Washington is Wayne’s World

D.C. United are hoping to pull off a summer revival similar to Montreal’s. This week’s long-awaited arrival of the biggest, most expensive signing in club history, English star Wayne Rooney, should help. But the Black-and-Red also carry some obvious vulnerabilities at the back, as shown by some dodgy decision-making from Frederic Brillant and Oniel Fisher in their wobbly 3-2 road loss at New England revealed.

Speechless in Seattle

Another team staring at some harsh standings mathematics are defending West champions the Seattle Sounders, who lost at home to their bitter rivals the Portland Timbers for the first time in MLS league play on Saturday afternoon, a back-and-forth Cascadia Cup encounter dominated by set pieces. Even the unveiling of prolific Peruvian Designated Player signing Raul Ruidiaz couldn’t put a shine on this one.

“This is a really, really tough loss,” said Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer afterwards as local outlets shoveled dirt on their postseason prospects. “This is going to sting for a long time … to disappoint the people certainly will wear on us.

“We have to be realistic; it’s not good,” he added of Seattle’s current situation. “We’ve really put ourselves in a hole.”

The Katai conundrum

Things are looking up in Chicago, where the Fire pulled off a 3-2 comeback win over New York City FC, fueled by Aleksandar Katai’s brace. It marked the last game of the Serbian winger’s loan stint from Spanish side Alaves, and there’s still no word as to whether the Men in Red will extend that deal or sign him permanently. With eight goals and three assists, it might seem like a no-brainer, but Katai has been streaky and may carry a lofty price tag. Still, this game-winner in transition was nasty:

To live and score in LA

On the roster sheet, he’s Adama Diomande. Yet in true Hollywood fashion, LAFC’s Norwegian frontrunner splashed a catchy nickname on the back of his jersey on his SoCal arrival – and the fans are getting to know and like this “Dio” guy in the wake of a tour-de-force hat trick (the first in LAFC history) in Saturday’s 4-1 thrashing of Philadelphia:

[embedded content]

’Keepers crash Canada Day

Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps hosted big, festive crowds on Sunday to commemorate Canada Day. The visitors’ goalkeepers stole the show in both cities, though, as Luis Robles backstopped a smash-and-grab victory for the New York Red Bulls over TFC and Tim Howard inspired the Colorado Rapids to a similar feat. For Howard, it was the best possible way to commemorate the fourth anniversary of his epic “Secretary of Defense” performance for the US vs. Belgium in the 2014 World Cup:

🔟 big saves and a shutout for @TimHowardGK tonight 😏 pic.twitter.com/PV3l6cCyGh

— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) July 2, 2018

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Dapper Dio, campus ragers and basement escapees: What you missed in Week 18 was originally published on 365 Football

[authoramandawilson]

I screwed up.

Severely.

I committed the biggest, most horrendous crime as a writer and mental health advocate.

I forgot to update my blog over the last month.

*Cue Psycho violin screech music*

In my defence, most of September and October have been a whirlwind of non-stop hustling and bustling, and it was only my birthday weekend past that I realized how much I put my blog on the back burner in an attempt to keep up with other writing demands.

And let’s be realistic, being a stay-at-home, freelance writer doesn’t mean I get lots of free time. Most days I’m barred up in my writing den with my cats and dog, smashing my keyboard as I try to get projects done while fuelled by one too many ice caps and chai lattes.

Should I have been paying more attention to my blog? Yes. Am I an idiot for putting off this recent post? Oh, yeah! Could I have been more attentive? Hell yes, but sometimes life has a way of drifting to more pressing matters, and sometimes you gotta sacrifice in one area in exchange for something else.

In lieu of putting Fighting the Good Fight on a brief hiatus, I spent the last six weeks focusing on promoting Lemonade Stand and travelling for my unofficial (and very underpaid) book tour. I spent over two weeks travelling around Newfoundland, personally delivering books to fans, friends, and family. I racked up km’s on my Rav, I spent way too much money at Tim Hortons (on ice caps and blueberry muffins, of course) and took a few days here and there to spend time with long-lost friends and family.

How I kept up with everything over the last six weeks is beyond me, and the thought that after Tuesday we’re heading into the Christmas season, I’ll be lucky if I keep up with all the demands and expectations. (Lets hope I do!)

That’s not to say I didn’t have fun over the last few weeks either. I get to spend every day doing something I love – writing and more writing. I get to lose myself in my manuscripts and recently, I’m really into writing a lot of poetry. (Thanks Rupi Kaur!) At the end of the day, it’s a lot of pain and fun, but I couldn’t be happier.

(Now if only I could stick to a better sleep schedule.)

So in ode to a crazy, fun, busy, and overwhelming six weeks, I decided to compile a list of all the adventures I have been losing myself in. So settle in, grab an ice cap, and enjoy the highlight reel.

Getting to Play Band Groupie to Rough Hands

What’s better than best friends and great local music?

When they’re together of course!

I was lucky enough to have my friends from the band Rough Hands on the west coast, lending them a place to crash and spending time together toward the end of their Eastern Canada tour. It was a very impromptu stay, but we had fun and I was thankful to get to see some faces I haven’t seen in a while. Their show was absolutely fantastic and I was giddy to play band groupie for the weekend.

Seriously, check them out. Luke and this band mates are making some great music. They’re 100% gonna make it to the big leagues – no doubt about it!

(Just remember who offered you a bed and shower when you’re rich and famous some day. 😉 )

Check them out here and here!

*Out of the Dark is available on iTunes!*

Book Launch and Unofficial Province Book Tour

Mid-September, after I spent several days personally signing books and writing messages to all the 110 wonderful people who personally bought Lemonade Stand off of me, I packed up my Rav4 and headed across NL to promote and deliver my book to masses.

Through my book tour, I got to meet a lot of new people, listen to other people’s struggles with mental health issues, and talk book writing. It was a great and exhausting two weeks travelling around (and getting lost a few times!). Don’t worry, I plan to honour this experience in a future blog post. (Coming soon!)

Chris de Burg Concert and St. John’s Adventures

In all fairness, I had other motives besides my book tour to head across the province. I had tickets booked to Chris de Burg’s concert with my mama. Having Mom raise me on the right kind of music, I have only been waiting to see him live since I was thirteen. With the launch of his new cd A Better World, it didn’t take much begging and pleading for Mom to agree to come with me.

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I was excited beyond belief when he walked out on stage. I laughed. I cried. I sang at the top of my lungs. (Sorry Mom.) I danced wildly around in my seat. (Sorry Mom.) I clapped a lot and cheered super loud (Again, sorry Mom.), but I had the time of my life. One of the best concerts I’ve been to at Mile One (and that includes The Backstreet Boys). And lets just say, I wasn’t the only one losing my cool when he ended the show with “Patricia the Stripper”. (Right, Mom? 😉 )

 I also planned things for my wedding and finally got to say Yes to the Dress! It took a few hours, a mild panic attack and a few happy tears later, but I’m glad to finally have another item checked off the Thomas Wedding list.

In addition to all the wedding fun, I curbed my adventures back to book research and with the help of my best friend, I spent some time exploring St. John’s, making sure that I was getting details and descriptions right for my upcoming NL novel.

Besides I got to spend a lot of time on Signal Hill, taking in the view (despite the cold) and I finally got to see the Canada 150 sign while getting to pose for some pictures with my bestie at the historic site. I also got to see Quidi Vidi for the first time ever, which was a real treat. (It’s pretty bad I lived here my whole life and I’m only now seeing great land marks. Fail.)

Despite acting like a tourist, I did get a lot of information for my manuscript and I know it will all pay off in the long run when my NL novel is finally complete.

You’re welcome in advance.

    Working on my NL Novel

Once I concluded my book tour, and book research, and my mini vacation home, I finally mucked back to Corner Brook and remained held up in my writing den for weeks on end. While still trying to working on getting We Were Fighters published (and exploring self-publishing options as well), I’ve been spending a lot of time on my new manuscript, a fiction novel based in my home province of Newfoundland.

Knowing that only publishing houses here on The Rock will only take on NL content manuscripts, I’m hoping that this could be my first foot in the door to getting my novels out there. Within three weeks I had banged out over a hundred plus pages, turning my eyes and brain to absolute mush. As I mentioned before, being a writer is lots of pain and fun, and despite being hooked on caffeine and severely sleep deprived, I’m having a lot of fun writing this novel and creating a small taste of NL culture.

But with the goal to have the manuscript finished before Christmas, I still have a long way to go! Writer’s block had me stuck a few times and as a haphazard writer who doesn’t write in linear fashion, I find myself getting caught up in wanting to write the exciting parts vs. “the middle”. A terrible flaw on my behalf.

But don’t worry, I’m a pretty disciplined writer and with less than a hundred pages to go, I’m hoping that by 2018, this could be a potential published work.

Wish me luck.

  Hiking and Halloween Birthday

Of course, October isn’t my favourite month just because CB is absolutely one of the most beautiful places in the world during the fall. I also get to look forward to a string of friends’ birthdays (including my own) and of course, Halloween and lots of horror movies!

While admittedly, October brought about a brief depression episode, I still managed to trudge through most of my writing duties, even if it felt like pulling teeth some days (and bouts of relentless anxiety). A week leading up to my birthday, I could barely pull myself out of bed, and tragically, I lost one of my childhood pets. My dear cat Sam, who was lucky to have eighteen long years of life. He made his journey over the Rainbow Bridge the day before my birthday, so celebrating this year was followed with fleeting moments of sadness and mourning.

Rest peacefully, old man. ❤

But despite losing one of my oldest pals, I did get to spend a wonderful weekend in Gros Morne, hiking with the crowd to celebrate one of my friend’s birthdays. While it was cold, we were severely hungover, and it snowed, we managed to hike Green Gardens without coming across any bears and barely escaping the obvious signs of a huge-ass bull moose. All in all, a successful trip up the Coast.

Thankfully though, I got to end October on a high note. Not only did my birthday fall on a Friday this year, I also got to have a Halloween birthday party with my best friends. Following a week of bad anxiety and fatigue, and the death of my kitty cat, my birthday turned out to be a great night of friends, fun, and laughter – and really how could I ask for more? 

Considering I spent the last two Halloweens either working or stuck on the couch with the stomach flu, I was glad I finally got to put my Phoenix costume to good use. After a few weeks of practicing cosplay makeup and putting finishing touches on my costume, I was able to bring one of my favourite X-Men characters to life. Of course, Zack gave Hugh Jackman a run for his money as a Logan/Wolverine look-a-like.

Besides, we had fun putting off a very funny – and very drunk – photo shoot. We had comic book heroes from all universes, we had some crossover hybrid characters, and witches. But hey, having Lego Batman there was definitely the most fun – especially when trying to watch your bestie struggle to drink through that face mask.

My birthday was a great end to a fast-paced month. Despite all the chaos, and work loads, and the threats of approaching deadlines, it was nice to take a few nights just to enjoy company with those I care about most. Sometimes we get lost in the mundane of every day life, and sometimes we get too caught up in our own lives to remember to spend time with others. So I was grateful for the few moments of peace and hilarity in a busy schedule. ❤

Even though I had lost track of time and let six weeks zip by without realizing how much I had been neglecting my duties to my blog, I am thankful for the chaos and havoc that has been my life for the last several weeks.

Autumn has come and gone before I realized it, and give it a few more day, there will likely be snow on the ground. While I am no where near ready for winter, and even less prepared for the enclosing Christmas season, I’ve been reflecting lately on how lucky I have been this last year – getting to spend my time perusing my writing career. It’s far from perfect, and I’m making nickels compared to the dollars I was making serving tables, but I’m the happiest I’ve been in months, and that’s all that matters. Happiness is all that matters – it’s that hard and that simple.

So what if it means cutting back on ice caps and lattes or spending more nights eating in than out? Being “poor” doesn’t mean being unhappy. I had a great fall and instead of ending this blog post on a big sappy metaphor – how my life is changing like the colour of the leaves (See what I did there?), I’m getting one more season closer to my dreams.

So sometimes life gets hectic and I ignore my duty to my blog.

Sometimes I fall behind on writing duties at the expense of other writing projects, and sometimes I forget to reach out to friends and family more often than not – but that’s life. I’ve been on a wild ride these last two months and I can only wait with anxious breath about the impending winter adventures that I’m sure are in store.

Worst comes to shove, I can always write an apology blog post to make up for it all.

So here’s to next season, and the next blog post. I’ll see you guys soon.

And as always,

Fight the good fight.

-A xo

Adventures, (Unofficial) Book Tour, Endless Ice Caps, Manuscript Writing, and Blog Fails I screwed up. Severely. I committed the biggest, most horrendous crime as a writer and mental health advocate.

[watchingthesuperbowl]

Notes taken during Super Bowl XXXVII

PREGAME

This recording appears to include the entire ABC pregame show. They've added Kid Rock to the Hank Williams Jr. intro song. Gross.

81 degrees and sunny in San Diego.

Al Michaels and John Madden! I'd forgotten that Madden ever worked for ABC.

Michaels: Raiders feature 37 year old Rod Woodson, 40 year old Jerry Rice, and 37 year old Rich Gannon.

Michaels: Raiders called one running play in first three quarters of AFC championship game. Can they do that today? Madden: They can and I think they have to.

Madden: Rich Gannon has to make some plays with his feet.

Raiders Pro-Bowl center Barrett Robbins won't play today. What's the story? Melissa Stark: He disappeared, nobody could find him. Eventually they did find him. It's not clear where he is - maybe went home, but some reports say he's in the hospital. (He was in the hospital with a manic episode as a result of previously undiagnosed bipolar disorder.)

Terminator-style into starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

ABC shows preproduced season wraps for the Buccaneers and Raiders - this is how the two teams got here. It seems like maybe they played them in the stadium? Can't tell. Either way, neither team has its players introduced individually.

Lynn Swann to John Lynch: What's it like to play in the Super Bowl in your hometown? Lynch: It's a dream come true. Extra special.

Celine Dion performs God Bless America. They got a Canadian to do this?!? What the hell?

Now the Dixie Chicks perform the Star Spangled Banner. If someone took a knee while the Dixie Chicks sang this song, the American right would spontaneously combust.

Coin toss. Hall of Famers from the '72 Dolphins. Don Shula tosses it. Raiders call heads. It's tails. Buccaneers will receive.

FIRST QUARTER

Buccaneers have never returned a kickoff for a touchdown, in the regular season or postseason.

And they still haven't. Aaron Stecker takes it to the 26.

First play, play-action pass to Alstott. Charles Woodson smashes into him with his helmet. Gain of 3.

“Charles Woodson. Fremont Ross Little Giants.”

Third down, an absolutely horrendous throw from Brad Johnson. Ah, he got hit as he threw it. Not Johnson's fault. It floats tantalizingly through the air until Woodson picks it off. Raiders take over at the Tampa Bay 36.

Raider drive stalls when Simeon Rice goes almost entirely unblocked on third down. Sacks Gannon. Forces a 40 yard field goal attempt by Janikowski. It's good. 3-0 Oakland.

Stecker "fumbles" during the tackle on the ensuing kickoff return. Oakland recovers. It didn't even look close to me. He was down for days before the ball came out. What a horrible call. Tampa is challenging the call, which...yeah. Replay shows I'm not blind or crazy. He could have grilled up some burgers in the time between the tackle and the "fumble".

Teams only got two challenges at this point, even if they were correct in challenging. That's unbelievably stupid. You're punishing teams for calling you on your incompetence.

Brad Johnson pass hits Michael Pittman in the hands, bounces, rolls on his helmet, and falls incomplete.

Madden: Buccaneers seem nervous. Jon Gruden wants this to be a high-speed game, but maybe his team isn't ready for that yet.

A couple of throws from Johnson to Joe Jurevicius underneath and the Bucs are across midfield. Oakland's defensive coordinator was worried about Jurevicius in the leadup to this game.

Now a huge run from Michael Pittman. A pitch left and Mike Alstott throws a great block to spring him. Alstott took out the contain guy. Bucs now on the Oakland 14.

Michaels: Commissioner says there might not be another Super Bowl here if they don't build a new stadium. They should have the Super Bowl in San Diego every year. Yeah, well, about that, Al...

Bucs stall at the 14. Martin Gramatica does the honors and it's a tie game.

Bump in from commercial: Bill Romanowski on how hard it is to win a Super Bowl ring. Yeah, Bill, it's tough. You've only won four of them.

Coming up at halftime: Shania Twain, No Doubt, and Sting.

Madden: Oakland center Adam Treu is a good player. Maybe not as big or strong as the mysteriously missing Barret Robbins, but it's not a big dropoff between the two.

Raiders go three-and-out. Greg Spires sacks him on third down. Shane Lechler will boot it away. Great kick, fair caught at the 15.

Michaels: Both teams are trying to run a hurry up, but it's been awkwardly paced. Offenses are trying to go up-tempo but not able to move the ball.

Johnson pass hits Alstott in the hands and it bounces away. Lands in the middle of four Raiders. A very fortunate incomplete pass.

Michaels: We've played nine minutes and had 22 minutes. It's like we're in mud here.

Now the Bucs go three and out. We've got some very fast-paced punts.

Madden: These quick possessions will hurt Tampa defense, which is undersized and can be worn down if it's not able to rest.

ABC has a microphone on Jerry Rice. They play a conversation between Rice and Jerry Porter (a Raiders WR) on the bench saying they'd like to see if the Bucs can stop a power run game. They can rush the passer, but can they stop the run?

The Buccaneers defense does well enough against the run. Another three and out. Two runs up the middle for six yards and an incomplete pass on third down. Another Lechler punt, another fair catch near the Tampa Bay 15.

Michaels: If this game was a script, it would be a pilot that never made it to air. They'll have to go off script and start ad-libbing soon.

A quick slant from Brad Johnson to Keyshawn Johnson. They give him the damn ball for 15 or so.

Next play, Johnson lofts a ball downfield that's nearly picked off by Woodson. He's had some shaky throws early. Probably should have been intercepted.

Brad Johnson: 4-12, 50 yards, 1 INT

Cutaway: Buccaneers backup QB Rob Johnson. As a Bills fan, I begin to twitch a bit.

*shudder*

Buccaneers punt once again. Tom Tupa. So that's neat. Nice return from Darrien Gordon to the Raider 49.

Madden: Buccaneers are as good at tackling as anybody in football.

Madden: Gruden emphasized to defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin that they absolutely have to stop RB Charlie Garner.

Third down, Gannon scrambling and it's picked off by Dexter Jackson. He read the quarterback's eyes. One play later, the first quarter ends. 3-3 tie.

SECOND QUARTER

Third and 9, Raiders jump offside but it doesn't matter. Brad Johnson to Keyshawn for a first down. Bucs nearing field goal range.

Brad to Keyshawn again underneath. Bucs running a bunch formation and Keyshawn sits in between linebackers in a zone. Now Alstott carries to the 22. Tampa Bay is moving the ball nicely now.

Bucs stall again. Brad Johnson throws to the end zone on 3rd and 8 and isn't close. It's field goal time. Gramatica from 43 yards away. Got it. 6-3 Buccaneers.

Gannon pumps left and throws deep right. Picked off again by Dexter Jackson! Returns it to the Raiders' 45 yards line. Once again, he just read the quarterback's eyes.

Madden: Cornerback Ronde Barber blitzed on the interception. Gannon probably thought he had man defense with no safety. He thought wrong.

Brad Johnson: You'd love to be in a disco with Jon Gruden as the DJ. Oooohkay.

Buccaneers don't do anything and will punt from the Oakland 40. Tim Brown fair catches at the Oakland 10.

ABC graphic: Opposing quarterbacks vs. Tampa have a 48.4 QB rating.

Incomplete pass, Raiders go three and out. Karl Williams returns the punt inside the Oakland 30.

Big run for Pittman on Second and 4, gets inside the 5. It's now first and goal.

Warren Sapp in the game, playing on the left side of the offensive line.

Mike Alstott plows his way into the end zone on second and goal. Blasts right through the middle of the line. 13-3 Buccaneers.

Bump-in from commercial: Warren Sapp talking about winning the Super Bowl.

Madden: You have to be able to tackle to play for the Bucs. If you're a "cover" cornerback, you can't play for this team.

Charlie Garner drops an easy pass on first down.

Michaels: Raiders are on their seventh possession of the day. Have gained a total of 39 yards. Have had five straight three-and-outs.

And they break that streak. Complete a pass on third down.

But the Raiders can't get across midfield. Tim Brown drops a third down pass and Lechler will boot it away again.

Michaels: Buccaneers tried to hire Bill Parcells, then he said no, so they worked on getting Gruden from the Raiders, but the Raiders wanted too much, so they tried Nick Saban and Ralph Friedgen and Steve Mariucci, but couldn't hire them, so finally went and did the deal for Gruden. If Gruden doesn't get the job, what do they do? Do they hire a coach on Monster dot com? Madden: That's why the Glazer family had to do the deal. They'd have been embarrassed.

To get Gruden, Bucs sent Raiders 2002 first and second round picks, 2003 first round pick, 2004 second round pick, and $8 million. Looking it up, those draft picks were used on Daniel Graham, Langston Walker, Tyler Brayton, and Jake Grove. Not a huge haul, though the Buccaneers wouldn't have drafted the exact same players.

Big run for Pittman up the middle. They pick up a Raiders blitz and Pittman has a massive hole. He gains 9 yards. Now a quick pass to Mike Alstott, who gets out near midfield as we reach the two minute warning.

Pittman has 72 yards in the first half. Fourth-best first half of all time in terms of rushing yardage.

Second down, Keyshawn Johnson makes a nice sliding catch at the 20. Third and 1, well inside field goal range. 0:46 left in the half.

Alstott picks up the first down on the Bucs' 42nd play of the first half. That's a ton in the NFL, particularly for a ball control team.

Michaels: Warren Sapp says the first guy he'll go visit if he wins the Super Bowl is Tony Dungy.

A quick pass outside to Mike Alstott. Gets the first down and stops the clock. First and goal from the 5. 0:34 left and one timeout.

They won't need that timeout. Johnson to McCardell, a great back-shoulder throw in the end zone. Charles Woodson had no chance. 20-3 Buccaneers. 0:30 left in the first half.

Zero chance for Woodson to do anything but watch.

Total yards: 198-58 in favor of Tampa Bay.

Madden: Bucs are having end-of-game type celebrations, not end-of-half.

Great kick return coverage again. Three yard kickoff return for the Raiders on a bouncing kickoff.

Bucs DB John Lynch to assistant coach Mike Tomlin: "Every play they've run, we ran in practice. It's unreal." Michaels: That's what happens when your coach was their coach.

Buccaneers call a timeout. It's third down with 0:13 left in the half. Gruden is going to make the Raiders either run out the clock or pass the ball.

Madden: Gruden is trying to set up a free kick after the punt, but he'll need the Raiders to throw an incomplete pass. That does not happen. They run up the middle and it's halftime. Tampa Bay 20, Oakland 3.

Raiders coach Bill Callahan: "We've hurt ourself in the first half with the sacks and the turnovers...it's a matter of composure right now."

Bucs coach Jon Gruden: "This is who we are...this is the kind of football we play...we've gotta do what we've been doing."

HALFTIME

Chris Berman, Steve Young, Michael Strahan, Brian Billick.

Billick: Raiders couldn't have expected this kind of pass rush. They're having to keep tight ends and backs in to block. Messing up their offense.

Young: Raiders have tried just about everything, but they don't have the speed to deal with this defense.

Berman: Is it out of reach for Oakland? What does Bill Callahan tell them? Billick: You tell them they're the best offense in football and they can do this. Strahan: Raiders can't give up, have to go hard on every play. Young: It's going to take a freak play or something to get Oakland into the game.

Halftime show. Another Canadian. Shania Twain. Obviously lip synching. I mean, I guess it's fine if you want to watch Shania Twain dance around and act like she's singing. I'm watching it because I watch these recordings from start to finish, but this ain't my thing, man. Not for me. Now she's being followed by a dude with a keytar and a guy with one of those, like, double guitars. That's fun. Oh,. neat, now she's not even moving her mouth. She can't be bothered to fake it, at least for a few seconds.

Dude. You cannot look cool with a keytar, no matter how hard you try. So don’t try.

Okay, here's No Doubt. This might not be lip synched. It sounds noticeably different from the album. "Just A Girl". Now Sting is here to perform. He does a Police song (Message in a Bottle), which means that Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers are probably throwing stuff at their TV. Gwen Stefani takes the second verse. Now it's a duet. If this is lip synched, it's a terrible recording. Their voices absolutely do not work together.

Scoreboard is flashing "SOS" during the "Sending out an SOS" ending of the song. Ooooohkay. I guess you can do that. If you want. I wouldn't. But you do you.

Berman: "The sting has been on the Raiders' offense." No, Chris. Stop it.

Raiders had three first downs in the first half. Three. This was the number one offense in football.

Michaels: How does Oakland get into this game? Madden: They need a big play. Maybe their offense, could be their defense or special teams. Doesn't really matter. But they need something to change the momentum.

Michaels: Bengals lost Super Bowl after Stanley Wilson went AWOL, Falcons lost Super Bowl after Eugene Robinson was arrested. Raiders are missing Barret Robbins. Does that affect them psychologically? Madden: No, I don't think so. People will say that if Tampa Bay wins this game, but they have Jerry Rice and Tim Brown and Rod Woodson and Charles Woodson. These guys are pros. They aren't losing because Adam Treu is at center, I'll tell you that much. In the first half, the Bucs just whipped themselves.

Melissa Stark: Raiders are going to open their playbook. Will double-team Warren Sapp more and help out left tackle Frank Middleton.

Lynn Swann: Gruden says more of the same in the second half. Will pound the football. Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin says they have to continue to get pressure on Rich Gannon.

THIRD QUARTER

Raiders get the ball. Decent enough kickoff return, out to the Oakland 27.

Madden: Callahan likes to start games with confidence-builder passes for Rich Gannon. The problem is, they didn't work in the first half.

Three and out. Again. Lechler to punt. Again.

Bucs get called for an illegal block in the back on a fair catch. Oof.

Michaels: There's a no-fly zone for miles around the stadium. John, this is your dream come true! Madden, laughing: You're right! People shouldn't be up there in those things. (Madden famously refuses to fly. He has an extreme phobia of airplanes.)

Madden: Raiders look lethargic and slow. You get the feeling the Buccaneers are out there fighting for a world championship and I don't get that feeling from the Raiders.

Third and 2. Brad Johnson, who is not a fast guy, scrambles for 10. Nifty run. Matches his longest run of the season.

Bucs convert third and 7, Johnson to Jurevicius underneath, but there's a flag. It's on the Raiders. Declined. First down.

Madden: Jurevicius has a lot of stuff going on right now - his wife just had a baby and the baby is not doing well, in the hospital. He's got a lot happening inside his helmet.

Now Johnson downfield to Jurevicius for around 35 yards. First and 10 from the Oakland 14 yard line. Bucs have a chance to twist the knife here, and go up four scores (or three TDs and three successful two-point conversions) in the middle of the third quarter.

Madden: If this were a heavyweight fight: Tampa Bay would be landing a lot of body blows.

There's another. Johnson to Ken Dilger for around 13, down to the 1. First and goal.

Madden: Brad Johnson's beginning to have a lot of fun out there now.

After a holding penalty, the Bucs have first and goal from the 11. They're pounding the ball now. Under 6:00 left in the third quarter.

Another touchdown from McCardell. Johnson finds him wide open down the middle and it's an easy score. Buccaneers up 27-3 with 5:30 left in the third quarter. Barring a miracle, and soon, this game is over.

Bump-in from commercial: Keyshawn Johnson talking about winning a Super Bowl. Doesn't want to retire as a guy with a bunch of statistics and no rings. Wants to be great, not just good.

Next Sunday: NHL All-Star game and Pro Bowl. Madden won't be at the Pro Bowl because that requires air travel. He noped out of that.

Second down, Gannon looks for a short outside pass to Jerry Rice, and that does not fool Dwight Smith. 44 yard pick six. If the Raiders needed a miracle before, now a miracle might not even be enough. 34-3 Tampa Bay, 4:47 left in the third quarter. Gannon's third interception of the game.

Bill Callahan looked like this all day.

Great kick coverage again. Marcus Knight tackled inside the 20. Buccaneers had been very concerned about their kickoff coverage.

The domination continues. Gannon sacked on the first play of the next drive.

First downs: Buccaneers 20, Raiders 3

Oakland gets its first first down of the second half as the clock ticks below 4:00. Gannon to his tight end Jolley down the middle to the Oakland 41..

Madden: Both teams were throwing early, didn't work. Tampa went to the running game, Oakland didn't.

Michaels: Gruden's face is like a living caricature. Madden: Yeah, you wonder how one face can get in so many positions.

Third and 3, Jerry Porter goes deep and gets behind the Tampa Bay secondary, but makes the catch out the back of the end zone. Raiders challenge the call. It looks like maybe he got both feet in bounds. I expect this to be overturned. Now, watching the replay again...I dunno. The ball is rolling between his hands as he has his feet down. Michaels says it won't be overturned. Madden says it will be. Michaels: "Anything to hold an audience at this point."

It's overturned. Touchdown. That's a judgment call. I don't think there was a wrong call there. Raiders look like they're going for 2, which...okay. I guess. I'm not sure how you're better off at 34-11 than you are at 34-10. You're definitely not better with the score 34-9, which is how it turns out. Simeon Rice sacks Gannon on the convert attempt. Probably doesn't matter either way, but I'd have just kicked the extra point. I don't like to start chasing points until I have to.

Even the extra point net guy was confused.

Michaels: Jerry Rice was mic'ed up for this game, but Jerry took his mic off. Madden: Yeah, on the losing sideline they're not going to want you to hear them.

Michaels: What would Tony Dungy, Bill Parcells, original Bucs coach John McKay be thinking? Madden: McKay would be proud. Parcells would probably rather be here than anywhere. Dungy is thinking it could have been him.

Third quarter ends. Tampa Bay 34, Oakland 9.

FOURTH QUARTER

I guess they have to play the fourth quarter and I guess I have to watch it. Buccaneers run on third and long, keep the clock rolling, and punt on fourth down. 

The punt is blocked! Tim Johnson blocks the punt, Eric Johnson picks it out of the air, and takes it around 20 yards to the end zone.

They'll go for two again in order to cut the Bucs lead to 17 points. If they'd just kicked the extra point last time, they wouldn't need to do this. Rich Gannon chucks the pigskin out the back of the end zone. It's 34-15. Callahan has left two points on the table.

Be sure not to use the space in Super Bowl.com.

Michaels: Do the Raiders onside kick? Madden: No, that plays into Tampa's hands. You kick it deep, try to get a three and out, and have field position.

They don't get the three and out. Brad Johnson to a wide open Keyshawn Johnson. There was absolutely nobody covering him because the cornerback blitzed. First down.

Raiders give away a dumb defensive offside penalty on third and 8. It doesn't matter. Johnson throws it out of bounds on third down. But there's a flag?!? Pass interference?! That ball was five yards out of bounds. Totally uncatchable. Raiders got hosed on that call. First down, Bucs, at the 35.

Michael Pittman gets a pitch left and gains 24 yards. First and 10 at the Oakland 11.

Michaels: This is a nightmarish series for the Raiders. Penalties, failed blitzes, the big run from Pittman. Madden: Right after the momentum change, too. The momentum has changed back.

Bucs stall inside the 20, but as Madden points out, this is all about clock right now. He'll burn as much time as he can, kick a field goal, and go up by 22. Welp. Not today. The holder (Tom Tupa) drops the snap, Gramatica picks it up, and runs sideways for a bit before wisely falling over. 9:02 left, Raiders down 19.

It is never a good thing when your kicker has the ball and is running backwards. There’s no good outcome.

Hey, Tyrone Wheatley! It's a middle screen to the big fella. Raiders slowly moving downfield. 8:00 or so left, they're approaching midfield.

Madden and Michaels discuss the fact that the city is named Tampa and the area is "Tampa Bay". This needed to be explained?

Bump in from commercial: John Lynch talking about being a Buccaneer in the "Yuckaneer" seasons.

Bucs just keeping the Raiders in front of them, forcing them to run clock. 7:30 and counting, still haven't reached midfield.

A complete pass underneath converts a third down for the Raiders. Now we're below 7:00, still a 19-point deficit, still 45 yards from the end zone.

Third and 13, Gannon to Rice on a post pattern. Splits the seam against a two-deep zone. That's a touchdown. 34-21 now, Raiders going for two (again) and failing (again). It would be 34-24 if Callahan weren't a dummy. Raiders challenge the call - they say Porter would have landed in bounds but was pushed out. Problem is, that's not reviewable. They're reviewing it anyway. This is dumb. The review takes about two seconds. The Raiders lose a challenge and a timeout.

I don’t care how old Jerry Rice is, this is a touchdown 100 times out of 100 for him.

Why, Rich? To what end? What’s with all the two-point conversions?

No onside kick. Janikowski boots it to the end zone. Karl Williams downs it.

Michaels points out how dumb the two-point conversions were. Yes. They're super-dumb.

Michaels and Madden have no idea why Callahan challenged the two-point conversion call. Burned a timeout.

Bucs get a big first down, Johnson to Alstott. Under 5:00 left, Raiders still need two touchdowns.

Raiders burned a timeout on a second down run. Weird. Michaels and Madden hate the decision. Now they use their final timeout in the same situation - after second down. Announcers have no clue what Callahan is doing. Nor do I. 4:00 left.

Ah, there was an injury. Raiders get the timeout back. Clock rolling. 3:45 left.

Bucs will punt at around 3:00. Oakland still needs two touchdowns.

Raiders take over at their own 26. 2:46 left.

Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin to his players: Get a pass rush and don't let Gannon complete anything deep.

Two minute warning. Raiders at their own 39 or so, down 13 points.

Live performance from Bon Jovi coming up after the game.

Madden: Just voted for the MVP. Not going to say who I voted for. Probably not going to be the guy I voted for.

Third and 18, Gannon throws deep, picked off by linebacker Derrick Brooks, who takes it to the house. Game, set, match. 40-21, 1:18 left. 

Madden: Hey, lemme have that ballot back! (Says he voted for Simeon Rice, that it has to be a defensive guy.)

Cutaway: Keyshawn Johnson on the sideline, hugging his son.

Preproduced Gruden segment: We're here with one mission. To be number one and hoist that trophy.

ABC graphic: Gruden will become the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl, breaking the record held by...John Madden.

Gannon throws with 0:10 left on the clock. It's tipped, picked by Dwight Smith, who takes it to the end zone for his second pick six of the day. His second INT and second score takes place just as Dexter Jackson is named the MVP with two interceptions and zero touchdowns.

Madden: Can't complain about Jackson as MVP, but I think this game was dominated and won by the Buccaneers' defensive line.

That was Gannon's fifth interception of the game, a Super Bowl record.

Extra point is good. 48-21 with two seconds left.

That's the final score. Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21.

POSTGAME

Madden: You just had the feeling the Buccaneers came here to play a World Championship game, and for whatever reason, the Raiders couldn't get up to match them.

Warren Sapp: It's unbelievable. We had a focus and a goal and we were gonna get it done tonight.

Shot of the Horse Trailer, where ABC puts a picture of the player of the game. Crew members covering the entire trailer with pictures of everyone on the Tampa Bay defense.

Bon Jovi performs before the trophy presentation, which is hella weird.

Malcolm Glazer: Want to thank Coach Gruden. He came from heaven and brought us to heaven. Want to thank our players, the greatest players in the world. "THEY'RE THE TAMPA BUCCANEERS! IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD ABOUT 'EM, YOU HEARD ABOUT 'EM TODAY!" The Tampa Buccaneers?

Tirico to Gruden: Did your familiarity with the Raiders help in this game? Gruden: That's all overrated. I stayed away from the defense [and let Monte Kiffin do his job].

Tirico: What turned the offense around this year. Gruden: Just time. We're still gonna get a lot better.

Gruden: Tony Dungy did a lot of great work and I'm reaping the benefits of that tonight.

Steve Young: Michael Pittman got this team started in the second quarter.

MVP Dexter Jackson: Watching coverage before the game, they were picking the MVP. I saw that and said I was going to go out and make a difference. I told some people I would be the MVP.

Jackson's wife is watching on TV at the hotel, 8.5 months pregnant.

Sapp: No greater feeling than to be getting it done with my teammates.

Keyshawn Johnson: Can't say enough about Brad Johnson. Nobody gave him credit all season long and here we are.

[junker-town]

If Charlie Strong had this USF roster at Texas, he'd still be there

Strong inherits one of the best offenses in the country. That defense is a work in progress, however.

This preview originally published April 26 and has since been updated.

Even hires that feel right don’t necessarily work out. I’m saying this as much to remind myself as to remind you. USF swooping in to hire former Louisville and Texas head coach Charlie Strong after losing Willie Taggart to Oregon feels like a great hire in about every possible way, but things can always go wrong.

For one thing, Strong is still figuring himself out as he enters his eighth season as a head coach. Despite an incredible résumé as a defensive assistant, in seven years as head man he has only twice fielded a defense that ranks better than 39th in Def. S&P+. Meanwhile, he has only once had an offense that ranked better than 47th in Off. S&P+.

Last year, in attempt to save his job at Texas, he finally embraced the move to an up-tempo spread. It resulted in what was, per S&P+, his best offense as a head coach, but it wasn’t enough to save his job in Austin. Still, it represented a continued evolution process that probably should have begun years earlier.

By 2003, as a successful assistant coach under both Steve Spurrier and Lou Holtz, Strong had already interviewed for positions at Vanderbilt, Kansas, California, ECU, and Tulsa. Louisville considered him but went with Bobby Petrino (the first time). Georgia Tech would consider him before going with with Paul Johnson. Minnesota would consider him before going with Tim Brewster.

Strong finally got a chance at age 49. He inherited a 4-8 Louisville team and went 7-6 in each of his first two years. In his next two years, he went 23-3. But he was still evolving. His offense wasn’t all that impressive, but he had quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to paper over some weaknesses.

This run earned him a shot at UT. The insular Strong always felt like a strange fit in media-intense Austin. He waited too long to undergo an offensive overhaul and in the meantime lost control of his defense, but the hire never felt quite right.

USF hiring him, on the other hand, feels very, very right. Because if one thing is certain about Strong’s career, it’s that always comes back to Florida.

He was a Florida graduate assistant in 1983-84, then left for Texas A&M and Southern Illinois.

He returned to Gainesville to serve as Galen Hall’s linebackers coach in 1988, then left for Ole Miss in 1990.

He returned again to coach defensive ends for Steve Spurrier in 1991, then jetted off to coach for Lou Holtz at Notre Dame and South Carolina.

Ron Zook brought him back to town to serve as defensive coordinator in 2003, and he remained there until he finally got a head coaching gig in 2010, nearly three decades into his career.

In Strong's 34-season college coaching career, 15 of those were spent in the Sunshine State. The 16th will take place this fall. Strong gets to rekindle his legion of Florida recruiting ties and inherits a team loaded with experience and speed and coming off of its best ever FBS season.

More importantly, he inherits a set of personnel that has already proven it can do a lot of what he probably wants to do.

Willie Taggart wasn’t originally a proponent of a spread or hurried-up style either. But his USF personnel swayed him.

On a bye three years ago, Taggart set aside his strict observance of smash-mouth, West Coast, power football.

He embraced what he saw in his Floridian roster: raw athleticism, as fast as possible.

“That’s so important to us. That’s why we have the respect. Because you don’t normally see coaches do that,” senior running back Marlon Mack said after the win vs. UCF. ... “We said, ‘Please, let’s go fast, let us go and we’ll show you,’ and he did.”

“At first it was, well, let’s just run West Coast, but see how it looks in the ’gun,” Taggart said. “And then it got intriguing, because we started seeing all the options available that we didn’t have under center. And then we started running all the practice reps, Quinton [Flowers] in the ’gun, spread out, but with the shifts and motions. And it was like … wow.”

Taggart’s a-ha moment came a year before Strong’s. Moving to the gun and committing to moving more quickly between snaps resulted in staggering improvement: USF rose from 111th in Off. S&P+ in 2014 to 51st in 2015 and eighth in 2016. The win total moved from four to eight to 11. Quinton Flowers rushed for more than 1,600 yards (not including sacks) and threw for nearly 3,000. The scheme fit the personnel beautifully, and it should be the same story for Strong and offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert.

The defense? We’ll see. It fell apart last year for Taggart just as it did for Strong. But in this story of evolution, Strong might come up with just the right answer soon enough. Regardless, he’s where it feels like he belongs. Hires that feel right may not be guaranteed to succeed, but you figure the odds are pretty good.

2016 in review

2016 USF statistical profile.

Technically, even more was expected of USF in 2016 than what the Bulls actually delivered. Taggart’s squad was projected 41st in S&P+ and finished only 55th; the offense was far better than anticipated, but the defense plummeted to 110th in Def. S&P+. The Bulls played four teams that ranked 52nd or better overall and allowed an average of 47 points in those games.

Of course, they also scored 42 points per game in those contests and won two of the four. USF was adept in the art of the shootout.

USF benefited from the fact that most of its opponents also failed to live up to expectations. UCF and Temple overachieved, but Syracuse (projected 44th, finished 76th), Cincinnati (70th, 85th), ECU (78th, 100th), all UConn (81st, 123rd) underachieved, and even at 55th, the Bulls had too much athleticism for most of the teams on the schedule.

USF vs. S&P+ top 60 (2-2): Avg. percentile performance: 42% (~top 75) | Yards per play: USF 8.1, Opp 7.6 (plus-0.5) | Plays per game: Opp 79, USF 65

USF vs. No. 61-plus (9-0): Avg. percentile performance: 64% (~top 45) | Yards per play: USF 6.8, Opp 5.1 (plus-1.7) | Plays per game: Opp 85, USF 74

The Bulls played a lot of hurry-up teams in 2016 and scored on a lot of super-quick possessions. Such is life when you have the second-most rushes of 40-plus yards in the country, as USF did. The defense didn’t have the depth or wherewithal to keep making stops, and while the Bulls were quite good at ending drives when the opponent was leveraged into passing downs, they couldn’t figure out how to leverage the opponent into passing downs.

Much of that last paragraph could be applied to Strong’s Texas team, too, though USF’s offense was better at creating big plays.

Offense

Full advanced stats glossary.

Sterlin Gilbert is a son (or maybe grandson) of the Bear Raid. He spent three years as Art Briles disciple Dino Babers’ offensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green, then filled the same role for another Briles offspring, Philip Montgomery at Tulsa. He was tasked with the impossible in 2016: saving Strong’s job and rejuvenating the offense with a true freshman quarterback.

The results were sporadic but mostly successful. Though limited and less than adept at finding Plan B, the Longhorns still improved from 64th to 29th in Off. S&P+. They spread defenses out, operated at a mach-speed tempo, and ran the ball a lot.

If Strong had been retained at Texas, he and Gilbert would have headed into 2017 with more experience at quarterback and receiver and a gaping hole in the “workhorse running back” department. But that’s what they’re looking at at USF, too.

Quinton Flowers is in many ways what Gilbert probably hoped Texas quarterback Shane Buechele would become. The senior-to-be completed 63 percent of his passes last year (Buechele: 60 percent), took half as many sacks (a 3.8 percent sack rate to Buechele’s 7.3), and threw fewer interceptions. He also proved brilliant at running the football. Not including sacks, he averaged 8.7 yards per carry, mixing steady efficiency with big-play potential.

Flowers and Marlon Mack formed maybe the most explosive backfield in the country.

USF had the second-best offensive success rate in the conference and by far the best explosiveness. The Bulls averaged under 6.3 yards per play just once all year and posted 8.2 per play against Florida State.

The return of Flowers and some key targets — receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Tyre McCants, and Ryeshene Bronson and tight ends Mitchell Wilcox and Elkanah Dillon combined to catch 77 passes for 1,442 yards and 14 touchdowns last year — should ensure that USF’s potential explosiveness is as high as ever. But big plays happen when you are efficient enough to stay on schedule and stay on the field, and there are reasons to wonder about USF’s efficiency.

Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports

Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Senior D’Ernest Johnson was actually a bit more efficient than Mack, who left for the NFL after the season. Forty-four percent of Johnson’s carries gained at least five yards as opposed to Mack’s 40 percent. But Mack’s explosiveness was off the charts, and he averaged nearly two more yards per carry than Johnson. Johnson is an incredible threat out of the backfield — he caught 28 of 30 passes last year and averaged 10.5 yards per catch to Mack’s 8.1 — but without Mack’s home run capability, USF might need to snap the ball a few more times to score. Maybe that ends up being a good thing (it could keep the defense off the field a bit longer), but maybe that means more stalled drives, too. [Update: the WR corps also added one of Rice’s best weapons, Temi Alaka.]

Meanwhile, the only loss in the receiving corps (besides Mack) is slot receiver Rodney Adams, who was targeted more than twice as much as anyone else and caught 72 percent of the passes thrown his way. Without him, Flowers’ completion rate might fall.

There is plenty of returning talent here, and it almost goes without saying that any number of younger players could emerge as exciting weapons — redshirt freshman running back Elijah Mack, freshman receivers Kevaughn Dingle and Jernard Phillips, etc. But the loss of Mack, Adams, and two all-conference linemen (tackle Kofi Amichia, guard Dominique Threatt) could mess with USF’s efficiency levels.

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

D'Ernest Johnson

Defense

Based on its offense’s own tempo and big-play ability and the propensities of its high-pace opponents, USF did its best to follow the script regarding how to account for facing a lot of snaps.

The Bulls played a ton of guys — eight linemen averaged at least 0.8 tackles per game, as did six linebackers and 11 defensive backs; that’s 25 total contributors despite a relative lack of injury. Plus, they attempted to create havoc near the ball. Seven of those eight linemen recorded at least three tackles for loss, and chief linebackers Auggie Sanchez and Nigel Harris combined for 17.5.

While USF didn’t have that many contributors to replace following the 2015 season, the Bulls did have to replace coordinator Tom Allen, now Indiana’s head coach. First-time coordinator Raymond Woodie didn’t have the same level of experience, and the product simply never came together. USF ranked a woeful 120th in Standard Downs S&P+, which is death for any defense, much less one that is dealing with so much tempo.

With ECU, Tulane, Houston, Tulsa, and UCF on the schedule, and with new coaches at SJSU, UConn, and Cincinnati all promising upgrades in the tempo department, USF is going to face a ton of snaps again in 2017, and it’s up to new coordinator Brian Jean-Mary to figure out how to deal with it better. Jean-Mary served as Strong’s linebackers coach at both Louisville and Texas, and he gets 18 of last year’s 25 defenders back. That includes:

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Auggie Sanchez (43)

senior tackle Deadrin Senat, USF’s best run defender (six non-sack tackles for loss last year) and, at 305 pounds, its biggest defender

senior tackle Bruce Hector and linebacker Auggie Sanchez, USF’s best pass rushers (six sacks each)

senior cornerback Deatrick Nichols, USF’s best ball defender (four interceptions, seven breakups)

junior safeties Jaymon Thomas and Khalid McGee, USF’s most versatile defenders (combined: 9.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, two passes defensed)

[Update: backup junior DE LaDarrius Jackson was dismissed in May, but the Bulls have since added former Boise State DL Dereck Boles and former four-star CB Jeff Farrar.]

USF didn’t get enough hands on passes and didn’t stuff the run enough, but it returns its best guys in both of those departments and brings a lot of experience to the table. And youngsters like four-star redshirt freshman safety Craig Watts, three-star redshirt freshman linebackers Mi’Carlo Stanley and Keirston Johnson, and freshman end Jabreel Stephens could certainly make a difference if they hit the ground running.

A lot was asked of this unit last year — too much, actually. We’ll see if, with a combination of defensive experience and offensive efficiency, USF can better figure out how to generate more havoc and deal with the effects of tempo.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Deatrick Nichols

Special Teams

Special teams was a mixed bag for USF. Emilio Nadelman was a tremendous kicker but suffered a quad injury late in the year; replacement Brandon Behr wasn’t nearly as consistent.

Meanwhile, D’Ernest Johnson was tremendous in the return game and created a potential field position advantage that USF’s punt and kickoff teams frequently gave away. (Punter Jonathan Hernandez didn’t offer many return opportunities, but the ones he allowed were returned quite a ways.)

Nadelman, Johnson, and Hernandez are all back, though, and that’s probably a good thing. USF ranked 55th in Special Teams S&P+ in 2016 and should improve on that, especially if Nadelman stays healthy this time.

2017 outlook

2017 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 26-Aug at San Jose State 105 11.7 75% 2-Sep Stony Brook NR 27.6 94% 9-Sep at Connecticut 125 17.5 84% 15-Sep Illinois 85 11.9 75% 21-Sep Temple 67 4.2 60% 30-Sep at East Carolina 100 10.2 72% 14-Oct Massachusetts 111 17.8 85% 21-Oct at Tulane 94 9.1 70% 28-Oct Cincinnati 75 8.2 68% 4-Nov Houston 49 1.6 54% 18-Nov Tulsa 77 8.5 69% 24-Nov at Central Florida 78 3.6 58%

Projected S&P+ Rk 56 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 10 / 107 Projected wins 8.6 Five-Year S&P+ Rk -1.6 (77) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 70 / 59 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* 9 / 3.8 2016 TO Luck/Game +2.0 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 74% (71%, 77%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 9.6 (1.4)

Maybe the most intriguing plot line in the 2016-17 coaching carousel was the way that Florida mid-majors — USF, FAU, and FIU — all made exciting, recruiting-friendly hires. Add in UCF’s hire of Scott Frost in 2016 (and his subsequent signing of the best 2017 class in the AAC), and you’ve got massive competition for three-star Floridians.

Strong’s almost certainly going to win his share of recruiting battles, and he’s probably going to have both the talent and the type of talent he needs to succeed. The experiment, and the attempt at evolution, he began in his last year in Austin will continue in Tampa. And with Temple, Houston, and Tulsa all coming to Tampa and with three of four conference road opponents projected 94th or worse in S&P+, it’s safe to say that USF has the schedule to win the AAC East, something Taggart couldn’t quite pull off.

Fit matters. The fit wasn’t right for Strong at Texas but feels very right at USF. He inherits an offense that, even without Marlon Mack, is further along than the one he left in Austin, and now the next step in his evolution will be figuring out how to account for tempo on defense. Given enough time and athletes, he might do just that.

Team preview stats

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[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/apple-pushes-amazon-google-territory-homepod/

Apple pushes into Amazon, Google territory with HomePod

It seems Apple has taken a backseat latest with innovative tech gadgets, giving Microsoft, Google and even Amazon a leading edge into home AI. Amazon had a two-year head start, but now Apple is thundering into the marketplace with their HomePod. One thing you know is that the Apple HomePod will be a huge upgrade over the Amazon Echo with a price to match it. Check out the Amazon Echo price points here. Apple is hoping a new smart home speaker will strike a chord with music lovers - the latest test of the iPhone maker's ability to redefine markets originally staked out by its rivals. The trend-setting company also is putting new twists on existing products as it delves deeper into virtual reality and a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning. The moves announced Monday escalate Apple's technological battle of wits with Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook. These giants are battling over still-emerging fields that are expected to turn into technological gold mines, much the way personal computers and smartphones became moneymaking machines in previous decades. NO PLACE LIKE HOMEPOD The "HomePod" speaker unveiled at Apple's annual developer's conference is similar to rival devices that have been released during the past two years. Like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, the HomePod will play music while also helping people to manage their lives and homes. Siri, a digital assistant that has been on Apple's iPhone since 2011, will be voice activated to respond to requests for information and other help around the house. Unlike those other smart speakers, Apple is positioning the HomePod primarily as a way to listen to and discover new songs and artists. Making the most of it will require a subscription to Apple's own music streaming service, which runs $10 to $15 per month and has attracted 27 million subscribers so far. The company is casting Siri as a music connoisseur that will learn and cater to the tastes of the HomePod's owners, as well as answer questions about the songs as they are played. "It will reinvent home audio," boasted Apple CEO Tim Cook. The speaker will sell for about $350 in December in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Amazon sells the main version of the Echo for $180; Google's Home speaker goes for $130. The Echo, released in 2015, and Google Home, released last year, were the first entrants in a promising market. The research firm eMarketer says than 35 million people in the U.S. are expected to use a voice-activated speaker at least once a month this year, more than double its estimate from last year. APPLE VS. THE DRY SPELL The HomePod is Apple's first new gadget in nearly three years, following its announcement of the Apple Watch in September 2014. Although that product came out after other smartwatches hit the market, it quickly outshone competitors, according to industry research firms. Still, the Apple Watch hasn't been a smash hit, fueling worries that the company's ability to transfix customers had waned after the 2011 death of co-founder Steve Jobs. During Jobs' last decade, Apple introduced the iPod, iPhone and iPad - all huge commercial successes that both reshaped daily life and swamped previous digital music players, smartphones and tablets. Analysts said the smart home speaker market is ripe for Apple. The company "can't afford to yield valuable real-estate in the heart of people's homes to Amazon, Google and others," said Geoff Blaber, research analyst at CCS Insight. That's especially important because people are starting to access information, entertainment and search in a more "pervasive" way that's less dependent on smartphones, he said. But it's also possible that the HomePod could expose Siri as less capable than Amazon's Alexa, Google's Assistant and Microsoft's Cortana, Blaber said. (Many reviewers have suggested that the current incarnation of Apple's assistant already trails competitors in key respects .) "This is the start of the AI wars," he said. MACS, PHONES AND PAYMENTS Apple had plenty of other announcements. New iMacs released Monday are getting better displays and graphics capabilities. Apple said that makes the Mac a great platform for developing virtual-reality "experiences," although the company didn't announce any consumer VR products. Safari, Apple's web browser, is getting new features aimed at online annoyances. It will block videos that start playing automatically, for instance, and can also prevent ads from following and profiling users. It will not actually block ads, though. Apple also introduced a new version of its business-oriented iPad Pro at an intermediate size with more storage, a better display, and an improved camera. It's part of Apple's effort to entice professionals with tablets that can handle many tasks previously reserved for laptops. New features coming to iPhones and iPads, meanwhile, include marginal improvements such as syncing messages to Apple servers in the cloud, saving storage space on phones and tablets. Apple also laid some groundwork for augmented reality, the projection of digital features onto real-world surroundings, by giving app developers tools for incorporating AR into their products. Apple is also bringing the ability to send money to friends or other people through its payment service, Apple Pay. So far, the service has limited payments to purchases of products and services from companies and other organizations. The free software update for mobile devices, iOS 11, is expected in September, when Apple typically releases new iPhones. So, just how does the Apple HomePod compare to the Amazon Echo?

APPLE HOMEPOD VS AMAZON ECHO – DESIGN

The Apple HomePod looks like a softer, smaller Mac Pro. That’s the first thing to enter my mind. It doesn’t scream for attention like some of Apple’s other designs, but that makes sense because this thing is supposed to blend into your surroundings. Apple says the material on the outside is a sort of acoustic mesh. By contrast, the Amazon Echo looks a little more striking. Its sharp cylinder shape cuts a more imposing figure, and it’s taller too – it’s over 9 inches tall while the Apple HomePod is less than 7 inches. At this stage, Apple hasn’t revealed many other physical aspects of the HomePod, so we don’t know about its connections. We know about it's touch controls, but that's about it. Hopefully, it will at least match the utility offered by the Amazon Echo, which has a volume dial, a mute button and a ‘wake up’ button for when you don’t want to shout the trigger word. A 3.5mm input and Bluetooth connection would be great too – the Amazon Echo doesn’t have that, but the smaller Amazon Echo Dot does. What we do know is that the Apple HomePod is packing some proper audio equipment, because it wants to be a viable music source. It has a 4-inch woofer and seven tweeters. Amazon’s woofer measures 2.5 inches. We can expect the Apple HomePod to shift a lot more air.

APPLE HOMEPOD VS AMAZON ECHO – FEATURES

The HomePod has an A8 processor inside, which is the same chip you’ll find inside one of the latest iPhones. What can that do? For starters, it’s smart enough to process spatial data and make acoustic adjustments for the best sound in any location. The Amazon Echo doesn’t have an equivalent function and puts out the same sound no matter where it is placed. Apple HomePod is hooked up to Apple Music. That means it has your playlists as soon as you log in, and most importantly, it knows your music tastes. Amazon Echo doesn’t have that. It offers Amazon Music and Spotify, but neither of those can boast the ‘custom’ music service that is Apple Music’s unique selling point. Spatial awareness and music tailoring aside that leaves the smart AI assistants. This is a much more even playing field, with Apple’s Siri versus Amazon’s Alexa. Both can complete basic tasks like setting timers or performing simple web searches for inane trivia. What else? Siri is integrated with Apple HomeKit, and can control elements of your smart home that way. You can tell Siri / HomePod to turn off your lights or put the heating up. Amazon doesn’t have a hub system like HomeKit, but it does have a huge selection of third party ‘Skills’, and it has had a head start in home integration. You can use your voice to turn off Philips Hue lights as easily as commanding your Neato Botvac Connected robot to vacuum up in the kitchen. Amazon Echo does have a big problem on the horizon, and it’s Apple’s big push to make Siri more intelligent and contextually aware. Siri will be able to take follow-up questions, like Google Assistant. It will also be able to translate. Currently, Alexa isn’t smart enough to do that.

APPLE HOMEPOD VS AMAZON ECHO – PRICE

This was always going to be a tough category for Apple to win since it generally makes expensive things. And the big number is… $349. That’s a lot, but Apple hopes you’ll consider the HomePod as a proper audio device rather than just a smart speaker. Amazon, meanwhile, is clearly the value proposition. The Amazon Echo costs $179, and the Amazon Echo Dot does plenty of the same things and costs just $49.

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