#won our first super bowl in DECADES and then and THEN got there again that was even a possibility 8 years ago

[robertsbarbie]

it’s just funny that mahomes breaks multiple league wide records (some even his own) a season yet everyone is obsessed with blonde ohio boi and how well he can beat mahomes like it’s ridiculous

[babyboibucky]

Charming (Part 2 of Charm)

Pairing: TFATWS!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky has everything planned out for his date with you.

Word Count: 2,566

Warnings: No TFATWS spoilers here, Bucky being charming (hence the title) is a warning in itself

A/N: Ahhh you guys, thank you for all the love for Charm! I didn’t expect for that oneshot to receive so much love from everyone. Can’t thank y’all enough!!! For those who haven’t read it yet, make sure to do so before reading this!

Charm (Part 1) || MAIN MASTERLIST

Bucky nervously waited outside of your apartment building. He made sure to plan really well for this date, he didn’t want to mess up. He really liked talking to you and he wanted you to enjoy this day.

“Okay, I’m ready!” You announced as you stepped out of the building, jogging downstairs to approach him.

You looked excited, Bucky noticed. Okay, that’s good. He’s off to a good start. He found himself smiling at you, admiring this light and bright aura that radiated off of you. He could use a little light in his life and it might be too soon for Bucky to even consider it, but you seemed like the perfect girl to him.

“Hi.” Bucky greeted. “You look beautiful.” He said, eyeing you from head to toe.

Bucky’s confidence grew when your cheeks turned pink at his compliment. You thanked him and let your eyes fall to his left arm, making Bucky instantly regret his decision to forego the gloves. He should’ve worn his jacket on top of his blue henley. All his worries though eventually dissipated when you reassured him.

“Glad you aren’t wearing your gloves, it looked really uncomfortable.” You told him genuinely.

Bucky shyly let out a chuckle, “Yeah.”

“So, to the park?” You asked excitedly.

Bucky made a face, “Actually, I thought of changing our plans a bit. Hope that’s alright?” He asked hopefully.

You narrowed your eyes at him as you nodded, “Hmm, that sounds interesting. Alright then, what do you got?”

Embarrassment filled Bucky’s entire being when he whipped out a folded piece of paper from his back pocket. He glanced at you and watched your expression as he unfolded it, revealing it to be the size of a bond paper where he had written down his agenda for the day.

“Oh wow, that’s...very interesting.” You pointed out but with no malice. In fact, you were impressed.

Who would’ve thought that guys nowadays came to a date prepared? But then again, Bucky wasn’t from this time but truly appreciated how old-fashioned he still was.

Bucky rubbed his neck, “I made an itinerary but saying that out loud, it actually sounds terrible.”

“Not at all!” You were quick to defend. “I like a well-planned day. I’m not really the spontaneous type so this really works well for me.” You chuckled.

Bucky bit his lip to stop himself from smiling too wide. It seemed like the date would go pretty well, he hoped it’d last the entire day though. He couldn’t help but worry that something might happen that would throw you off. Or that he might end up saying things that you’d find offensive.

“What’s first on the itinerary?” You asked.

-

“I got a strike!” You squealed in excitement and pumped your first in the air.

Bucky took you to a bowling place and honestly, he didn’t expect for you to be so excited about it. He felt silly for outdoing himself for this first date. In fact, he researched about dating in the modern day the moment he got home after meeting you. The tips were very different, some of which he wasn’t comfortable doing. So instead of adjusting to the present, Bucky stayed true to himself.

He was going to do it his own way, no matter how traditional it seemed. This led him to writing down his ideas on a piece of paper and planning everything out properly.

“Looks like I won.” You smirked, seeing the scores flash on the television hanging on the ceiling. “Did you go easy on me? Tell me the truth, Bucky.” You warned as you looked at him suspiciously.

Bucky chortled and shook his head, “I didn’t. It’s been decades since the last time I did this so I got pretty rusty at it.” He explained.

“You ready to grab something to eat?” He asked, checking the time and seeing that it was close to three in the afternoon.

You nodded enthusiastically, “I’m starving! I mean, beating a super soldier at bowling can be really exhausting.” You teased.

Bucky smiled, “Great, but can we stop by somewhere first?”

-

Bucky felt proud at himself when he saw the astonished look in your face.

“Oh my god, is this...?” You asked, eyeing the car that Bucky drove out of a car rental shop.

“A 1942 Pontiac Torpedo.” Bucky boasted before stepping out of the car and leading you towards the front seat.

Bucky waited for you to slip in, your expression still that of utter disbelief, before closing the door and walking around to ride back inside.

“And it’s the convertible one.” He said proudly and laughed at your reaction when he brought down the roof.

“I have no words for this, Bucky. This is amazing!” You exclaimed, running your hands on the compartment and just taking in the beautiful interiors of the vintage car.

Bucky watched you with a soft look in his eyes. He felt kind of selfish for gloating at the fact that this date only proved to himself that he still is James Buchanan Barnes. Despite decades of torture and brainwashing as the Winter Soldier, he still had pieces of himself left.

But seeing you so giddy at the date that he poured so much effort in? Maybe he wasn’t so selfish after all.

“And where will you be taking us next for you to rent this lovely vehicle? I honestly don’t know what to expect after this. I’m just...I love it!” You laughed, unable to hide your excitement.

“We’re having burgers and milkshakes.” Bucky announced.

-

Bucky wanted you to experience what it was like dating in his time, so it was only right that he took you to a diner. But it wasn’t just the regular one, he took you to a drive-in diner where waitresses even wore roller derby skates.

“You just keep on outdoing yourself, Bucky. I’m speechless!” You laughed.

The waitress rolled by your car and took your orders. After she left, there was finally a moment of peace which allowed you and Bucky to have an actual conversation.

“Did you often hang out in one of these places then?” You asked.

Bucky smiled at the memories, “Yeah, used to take Steve with me. He always ended up getting mad whenever he realized that it was a set-up for a double date.”

You hummed in amusement. “You seemed really popular with the ladies, huh?”

Bucky chuckled timidly before letting out a sigh. He turned to you curiously and creased his forehead, “Why didn’t you tell me you knew who I was?” He finally asked.

You seemed surprised at his question but your features softened up almost immediately. Shrugging as if it was no big deal, you told him that you really didn’t feel the need to do so.

“Would it change anything if I told you I knew who you were?” You curiously asked.

Bucky thought for a brief moment, “I probably would’ve excused myself and left.”

“That’s what I thought.” You said. “You seemed comfortable then, I didn’t want to overwhelm you by bringing it up. Besides, I really don’t care about it. I mean, I had fun talking to you and that’s all that matters to me. Superhero or not, I do enjoy your company.”

Bucky snickered, “I don’t think superhero is the right word.”

“You’ll be surprised that a lot of people call you that.” You said, placing a hand on Bucky’s arm, squeezing it to offer him comfort.

Bucky loosened up at your touch and kept his gaze lingering on how your fingers were wrapped around his arm.

“There’s this one kid at the orphanage I volunteer at,” you said, letting go of Bucky’s arm as you adjusted your position in the car so you could turn to him. Bucky almost missed the warmth from your hand on his skin.

“I asked them to draw someone they looked up to and this is his work.” You said, bringing out your phone to show Bucky a photo of the drawing.

Bucky’s breath hitched when you handed him your phone, revealing that the kid drew a man with long brown hair and a metal arm. He used black and gold to color the metal arm, not silver. It didn’t even have the red star on it. When Bucky looked up at you, he saw the most genuine smile he had ever seen.

“I asked him why he chose you and he said that he liked how Captain America’s best friend fought alongside him. For a kid his age, he knew a lot about your history too. He’s a huge fan.” You laughed.

Bucky’s eyes almost brimmed with tears. He was unable to believe that a kid would look up to him, consider him a superhero. All this time he had been seeing himself as a villain still, the bad guy. Someone who would have a hard time redeeming himself. You made him think twice about it, that maybe he had been too harsh on himself.

“You should come with me to the orphanage some time. The kids will love you, Bucky. It’s not that hard to do so.” You said softly, lifting your hand up to fix a strand of Bucky’s hair that was out of place.

It was a beautiful moment between the two of you. Bucky felt vulnerable but safe, like you’d keep him safe. Not from danger but from his very own destructive thoughts. Whenever he loses control of his mind, whenever it wanders into the darkest parts of his past, Bucky tends to self-destruct. And he almost wandered there but you were quick to pull him back to the surface.

“What are you thinking of?” You asked when you noticed that Bucky was just staring at you.

Bucky’s gaze fell onto your lips and then back at your eyes, “Thinking about whether I should just go for it now.”

“Go for what?” You blinked.

Bucky slowly leaned in but was immediately startled when the waitress arrived with your orders.

-

After the diner, Bucky drove to the park where the two of you walked around while talking about well, anything. He learned more about you and this time, he didn’t have to lie about anything whenever you asked him. In fact, Bucky got really comfortable opening up about his life in the 40’s, he even talked about his family.

The two of you talked more until the sun set and the next thing you knew was that Bucky brought you to a drive-in theater and bought pizza to cap off the date.

-

It was a little past ten in the evening when Bucky drove you home. He opened the car door for you and nervously fidgeted with the piece of paper in his back pocket.

“So did you tick off everything on the itinerary?” You asked.

Bucky let out the fakest laugh because no, he hasn’t ticked off everything on his list. There was one more thing that he planned to do at the very end of the date. He had been confident about it, especially after how much you enjoyed the date in its entirety. But, now standing outside your apartment building and staring at you nervously, he wasn’t sure whether he had enough courage to pull this off.

“I uhh...well...” Bucky stammered. “Did you enjoy?” He asked again, just to be sure.

“I am offended that you had to ask because I thought my face was unable to hide at how much I did!” You laughed.

“Thank you for giving me the 1940s experience. I love it. I really do, it’s...it’s been a while since I last went on a date that I really enjoyed.” You shyly admitted, biting your lip and looking up at Bucky through your lashes.

Bucky’s breath got caught in his throat as he gazed down at you. You looked really beautiful, no matter how simple you looked. He wanted to take you out to another date, maybe tomorrow. Or the next day perhaps, actually, Bucky wanted to be with you every single day.

You were so kind and bubbly, you offered so much light to his darkness. He loved how your hopeful attitude rubbed off on him, he badly needed it. And he loved how you made him feel...himself. He was just Bucky Barnes, a guy navigating through the modern times and finding his place in this world. And it would seem like an easy task with you by his side.

“Well, I guess this is it.” You said. “Thanks again, Bucky. I really did enjoy.”

Bucky was surprised when you stepped closer to him for a hug. Feeling your arms wrap around his waist and your hair brush against his chin gave him the boost of confidence he needed to finally check off the last on his date itinerary.

By the time he convinced himself to do it, you already stepped back and bid Bucky good night.

Bucky proved to himself the other night that he still has his charm from back then. And tonight, he was going to prove that his charm was going to sweep you off of your feet.

“Wait, one last thing.” Bucky said, reaching out for your wrist.

He tugged you forward making you squeal, and then wrapped his metal arm around your waist before swooping you down for a kiss.

Bucky wasn’t sure how you would react to his kiss but he could no longer hold himself back. It could either make or break his friendship with you, but Bucky just had to. And it wasn’t just to prove something to himself, he’d been wanting to kiss you all throughout the day. He would have already, at the diner, if only the waitress didn’t interrupt his little moment with you.

He almost panicked when your lips remained still, but it all went away when he felt your hands wrap around his shoulders before finally kissing him back. Bucky’s lips curled into a smile against yours as he slowly straightened, bringing you back up before pulling away.

You panted against his lips, your hands sliding down to rest on Bucky’s chest as his landed on your hips.

“Was that...was that a part of your list?” You breathlessly asked.

“Yes. Almost went for it at the diner but I guess the universe wanted for me to stick to the schedule.” He grinned.

You threw your head back in laughter, “So that’s what you meant by that!”

Bucky laughed in agreement and held your face in his metal hand, noticing how you weren’t thrown off. Instead, you turned your face to even press a kiss on his palm.

“Was I too fast? Kissing you on the first date?” He asked, caressing your face.

You shook your head, “You did wait until the end of the date to do so, I guess your timing was just right.”

“And...how was it?” Bucky meekly asked, almost afraid that he might have sucked given that this was his first kiss in decades.

Smiling, you leaned in again to give him a quick peck on the lips. A reassurance, something to melt Bucky’s worries away.

“What can I say? James Bucky Barnes, you are one charming man.”

Now, Bucky was a hundred percent sure that he still has it in him. And he made a mental note to boast to Yori how his first date with you went.

-

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Some tags aren’t walking ugh I’m so sorry to all those that tumblr failed to tag!

[australian-desi]

Rest In Peace ~ Sushant Singh Rajput

Hey guys, I was going into a spiral thinking about SSR and everything he went through and I needed somewhere to write my feelings down. There’s so much noise about this on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, I didn’t want to add to the noise, bashing and overall negativity, so found this to be the best place. I’m sorry in advance if I offend anyone. This is going to be very long. 

Sushant Singh Rajput the Actor and Human:

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t his biggest fan, not by a long shot. I watched him in Pavitra Rishta every now and then because my mum was obsessed with that show and I used to be confused as to why everyone was obsessed with Manav and Archana - I was 12 years old when the show started and just felt it was another saas-bahu serial. However, to this day it amazes me how Manav and Archana were able to capture their audience for three consecutive years when their story was another saas-bahu serial. It was obviously the actors portraying them, and it takes a lot to grab someone’s attention and keep it on yourself. SSR had that energy. I remember then he came onto Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa, I watched that show quite religiously because of my love for dance, and was bowled over by how good of a dancer he was. He had perfect lines, and his posture was amazing, I was in awe every time he danced. I remember that in that show he proposed to his then-gf in the cutest way possible, a proposal that is etched into my mind till this day. 

He then left his daily soap, for a career in Bollywood, it was a very risky, bold move because it is a well known fact - Tellywood actors, are rarely able to make good careers in Bollywood. Most of them become irrelevant after their first or second movie. But man was everyone wrong about Sushant. I didn’t watch Kai Po Che, but I remember the buzz around it at the time, everyone was talking about it, and it was one of the biggest movies of that year. He then did Shuddh Desi Romance - a movie I was inclined to watch because he was in it, I was slowly turning into a fan, but I didn’t get the chance to watch it. Then came PK. When PK’s trailer was launched, SSR’s cameo was kept a secret, I remember I was in the theatre and he came onto the screen and absolutely owned it. His performance as Sarfaraz won me over, and a smile still comes to my face when I remember him in the song “chaar kadam”. SSR had an amazing screen presence, he knew how to keep the audience’s attention on himself and a lot of the time you would forget this Sushant Singh Rajput, in fact you would only think of him as his character. The brilliance in his craft was the ability to become his characters completely, to the point you think of them as a real person. The next movie I watched of his was MS Dhoni - a movie that became a sensation. Everyone who went to the movie as Dhoni fans, came back as Sushant’s fan. He deserved that and more. You could see his hardwork, his passion and his dedication in everything he did. I remember when the trailer for Raabta dropped, I was super excited two of my favourite actors - Sushant and Kriti had come together. At that point I started watching more interviews of him and got to know him a little from what he portrayed as a person. Raabta flopped at the box office, however, personally I enjoyed it and I was amazed at the chemistry he had with Kriti Sanon. In Kedarnath, I was so excited that Sara Ali Khan was doing her debut with him, and man both did not disappoint. Kedarnath was an amazing movie and Sushant portrayed his character with utmost conviction. Chichore was the last movie I watched of his and I absolutely loved the movie and him in it. The themes and overall message of that movie hit deep, and it was intelligently made, with comedy mixed with the darker themes, but not taking away from the main message they were trying to convey. Overall, even though I wasn’t a fan of him at the start of his career, he had won me over. 

I also started adoring him as a person. His love for physics and astronomy; his eyes full of curiosity and enthusiasm towards the great unknowns. He didn’t finish his engineering degree, but the childlike wonder he had towards science made me excited as a scientist myself. He showed everyone that he had a brilliant mind and I’ve said this before and I’ll said it again, actors who are educated and well-spoken make me respect them more, they have a different way of thinking, they are eloquent and they show how much education can do for a person. SSR had all of these qualities. I could hear him speak for hours at a time. His instagram posts were always so deep and meaningful, it would make me thing differently, and his 50 things bucket list inspired me to no end. Especially how much he wanted to do for other people and how much he wanted to grow as a person. He also had an infectious smile, his smile used to make his fans smile and it takes a big person to do that. 

SSR’s Death: 

I was doing an assignment when one of my friend’s had sent me the news. I thought it was a hoax at first, but then I googled him, and it was true - Sushant Singh Rajput had committed suicide. Honestly, I’ve been distraught since then, I cried multiple times, and I can’t stop thinking about him, the pain he must’ve felt in order to take this decision, and whenever I saw his sisters or dad I cried even more, the sadness and despair I felt would be nothing compared to theirs, especially because his death was preventable. I’ve never been depressed, I’ve had my fair share of panic attacks and anxiety but I don’t know what depression is. I only know what I’ve studied, that people who are depressed have physiologically different brains to people who are not, they have decreased levels of oxytocin and serotonin, and that they have less grey matter. I’ve also been told that this causes them to not be able to function, they sleep too much, become unable to socialise, and their brain starts to turn them against themselves. However, I believe that there is always an underlying cause of depression. There are triggers for depression, a person doesn’t become depressed over nothing. I know everyone wants to know the trigger; why did he take such a drastic step, but he didn’t leave a note. He left with silence. I know it is difficult, but I feel that we should respect that, however, we should not let him die in vain. 

But I’m going to be real here IT IS NOT OUR PLACE AS THE GENERAL PUBLIC/AUDIENCE OR FANS TO GO ONTO OTHER CELEBRITIES TWITTERS/FB/IG AND CALL THEM MURDERERS. How dare we think that we can blame other people for someone’s death. I don’t care how these people treated him while he was alive, let them mourn him in peace. His death has taught me one thing, not one person is toxic, not one industry is toxic, all of us are. The person who is now checking up on every single person that they usually would not care for because of guilt, the girl shouting all over my timeline that Karan Johar, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt murdered SSR, the boy screaming that x person didn’t post about his death they wouldn’t be affected by this or they don’t care. Every single person. Everyone needs to stop with raging on social media. They need to take a step back and breathe, and mourn and let others mourn. 

My take on Nepotism and Bollywood: 

Here’s the crux of the issue. Bollywood. I’m your average desi girl, I’ve grown up watching bollywood, being obsessed with it. To the point that at a certain time I only watched Bollywood. Then the whole nepotism scandal hit. I remember thinking to myself then, what’s the big deal? Also did people really not think about this until an actress had to come speak about it on national television? Did no one realise that Bollywood has been preferring starkids over other talents for decades? I used to think that yeah, Bollywood has nepotism, but where does nepotism not exist. The truth is nepotism exists everywhere. A doctor’s child becomes a doctor. A business man’s child becomes a businessman etc. But here’s the thing, the doctor’s child has to work towards becoming a doctor, he/she has to go through the same steps that other non-doctor children have to do. The only advantage they get is, that their parents might be able to help prepare them for what’s coming, and it’s not like every doctor has doctor parents, both people get equal opportunity. The child of a doctor just has more insight. However, in Bollywood, there is no equal ground, it isn’t as if a starkid only has it easy to get their first movie. Nope, they sign their second or third movie before their first one releases. Take Sara Ali Khan for example, she had already signed Simmba, before Kedarnath had released. Now take Anushka Sharma, she didn’t get her second movie two years after the release of her first one. Nepotism does exist, it will exist, but in other industries, the people who aren’t a product of it are still able to get promoted, to do good work and receive equal opportunity. However, in Bollywood this is not the case. It has never been the case. This needs to change. This needs to desperately change. Especially because nepotism didn’t use to be as bad, as the products of nepotism were still talented, but now, they are not, and SSR’s death can bring this change, because Bollywood is losing it’s credibility, and as I consider Bollywood my own, my home, I want it to do better. Actors who come from non-film backgrounds and television deserve to share space in mainstream cinema with those who do come from film backgrounds. 

Where From Here

In the past couple of years, we’ve become a horrible society. We pretend to like people when we meet them, and then bitch about them behind their back. We also think that whatever comes to our heads we can say to whatever celebrity the way we want because them being public figures is an open invitation for us to say hurtful things to them which normally we would not say if we meet them in person. We are the people who cry about nepotism, and then when a movie doesn’t have a big star in it we go “we’ll watch it at home, if we have time, why waste money going to the cinema”. We are the same people who cry about mental health issues and to raise awareness, when we think its absolutely fine to give a celebrity death threats because of a comment they made. We are also those people who cry about how SSR was treated unfairly, when we had a chance to go see his movies but didn’t. Who gave us this authority to be able to judge? Who gave us the right? If we won’t talk to other people with such disrespect in real life, why can we over the internet? WE. NEED. TO. DO. BETTER. AS. A. SOCIETY. 

We need to stop shaming people, we need to support artists that aren’t star kids, but also support star kids. They don’t deserve the hate they get either. It isn’t completely their fault that they are given more opportunity. It’s our fault too. We are the ones who make them successful. Directors know that they could sell more tickets with Ranbir Kapoor on the poster than Sushant Singh Rajput, even if Sushant Singh Rajput is a better artist. We need to support both talents. We need to show filmmakers as an audience, that both artists should be given equal opportunity. That the only thing nepotism should do for a starkid is just give them insight on what a life of an actor is like. That is all. They should also go to auditions, they should also be accepted or rejected based on talent. And for the love of god, we need to stop getting celebrities to judge other celebrities based on acting skills and sex appeal. it’s 2020, we can do better. 

Also to anyone who’s having any sort of dark thoughts. Please, I beg of you talk to someone. There is someone who loves you; your parents, siblings, teachers, friends, family, that brown guy in your dms. And if you truly don’t know anyone that you can talk to, talk to a therapist on a free hotline. My inbox is also always open if you want to chat. 

To Sushant Singh Rajput - I will miss seeing you at the movies, your smile and your interviews, and how much of an inspiration you were to me. I hope you are at peace now, and finally found happiness. 

For anyone who read this - thank you for reading my absolute ramble and I hope I made sense 

Here’s a dumb joke to make you hopefully smile a little, or at least roll your eyes: What do you call bacteria found in Agra? Agraculture - does this even make sense. IDK. All I want to say is, that I’ve been an absolute dukhi aatma for the past couple of days, and now its time to smile, and look at some positives. 

[rpf-bat]

When You Wanna Be A Movie Star

Pairing: Ray Toro x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Summary: Written for Gothtober 2020, Day 13. Prompt: “Stigmata.” 

You’re a struggling actress, living in Los Angeles. When an audition doesn’t go the way you hoped, your friend Ray, tries to cheer you up, with a movie night. You tell him he can pick the film - and he immediately chooses Stigmata (1999). 

You jumped up when the phone rang. The caller ID, told you it was the producer of the television series that you’d auditioned for last week.

“H-Hello?” you said hopefully, trying not to sound like you were out of breath, from running across the room. 

“Hi, Y/N,” the Hollywood producer said jovially. “I just wanted to give you a courtesy call today, to let you know that we’ve selected another actress for the part.”

“.....Oh.” Your face fell. 

“Thanks so much for answering our casting call, though,” the man said politely. “We’ll be sure to give you a call, next time we’re seeking new talent.” 

“....Thanks,” you replied, tears welling up in your eyes, as you disconnected the call. You resisted the urge, to throw the phone across the room. 

I didn’t get the part, you thought miserably. I worked so hard to get my audition monologue just right, and it still wasn’t enough. 

You knew that if you stayed home tonight, you’d do nothing but cry about it. It was better to go out, and try and take your mind off it. Feeling in need of emotional support, you called your best friend, Ray. 

You two had known each other, since your second year of film school. But, rather than graduate alongside you, Ray had dropped out, in order to go on the road with his band. His gamble had more than paid off - The Black Parade had recently been certified platinum.

Despite his newfound fame, Ray still always managed to make time for those that knew him before he got ‘big’. He picked up on the second ring. 

“Hey, Y/N,” he said warmly. “How are you doing today?”

“Not so good, Toro,” you confessed. “Would it be alright with you, if I came over, and hung out tonight?”

“Sure, I didn’t have any plans,” Ray replied. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, it’s almost Halloween,” you pointed out. “How about a horror movie night? You can pick whichever movie you want, I don’t care.”

“In that case,” Ray suggested, “how about Stigmata?”

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

You showed up on his doorstep, later that night, a few bags of microwave popcorn in hand. 

“Hi, Y/N,” Ray smiled, opening his door for you. “Thanks for bringing the snacks! Come on in.” 

You walked into his spacious living room. His television was twice the size of yours. You couldn’t wait to see Patricia Arquette’s hands bleed in super-high-definition. 

“Out of all the horror films you have on tape,” you asked, raising an eyebrow, “you really want to watch Stigmata?”

Compared to other titles in Ray’s vast collection, like Friday The 13th or Dawn Of The Dead, you thought that Stigmata was kind of obscure. It had done decently well at the box office, when it first came out, but critics had panned it. 

“Well, I’ll always have a soft spot for Stigmata,” Ray confessed, “because you were in it.”

“I was barely in it,” you recalled. “I was just an extra, in the background. I didn’t even have any dialogue.”

“Still, it was your first role ever,” Ray remembered fondly. “You were so proud of yourself, when it first came out, you made everybody from school, go to the theater, and see it.” 

“Yeah,” you laughed. You’d thought, at the time, that it would be the beginning of your success story. Instead, over half a decade later, you were still struggling to get gigs. You’d had no choice, but to supplement your income, with a stereotypical barista job. 

It was Ray, who had actually become someone important. 

He sat down on the couch, patting the seat beside him. 

“Are you ready to get spooked?” he grinned. “I’ll go pop the popcorn, if you get the VCR started.” 

“Sure,” you nodded, taking the VHS tape, from his outstretched hand. You were surprised that he still had a VCR. Over the last few years, DVD had quickly become the primary format for new film releases. Then again, Ray was an old-fashioned guy - most of the films he liked were classics.

You popped the tape into the VCR slot, and sat back down on the couch. He sat down beside you, a bowl of freshly popped corn in his hand. You dug your hand into the bowl, and dumped a handful of salty, buttery comfort food in your mouth, as Ray pressed play. 

The film opened with Gabriel Bryne’s character, watching a statue of the Virgin Mary, cry tears of blood. 

“Did you know he won a Razzie Award, for Worst Supporting Actor, for this film?” you scoffed. 

“Aw, did he really?” Ray laughed. “Poor dude. He tried.” 

“He was actually a decent guy,” you recalled. “He wasn’t too snooty, to talk to all the extras, who were filming this scene with him.” 

“Oh, look, there you are!” Ray said excitedly. He hit the pause button, freezing the frame. Bryne’s character, Father Andrew, was walking through a bustling Brazilian marketplace. The you of six years ago, stood behind him, playing the role of a nameless shopper. You were looking down, scrutinizing a piece of fruit that was for sale. 

“Yeah, blink, and you’ll miss me,” you said, rolling your eyes. “I was in this movie, for a whole thirty seconds.” 

“Every time I watch this movie with the guys,” Ray confessed, “I point those thirty seconds out.”

“Do you really?” you blinked.

“Yeah,” Ray chuckled. “I’m like, look, there’s my friend! Isn’t she cool?”

“I’m not cool,” you frowned. “Ray, I’m not even cool enough, to get a part, on some stupid daytime soap opera.”

“Is that what you were upset about, when you called me earlier?” Ray realized, frowning. 

“Yeah,” you sighed. “I thought I did really good, at my audition. But, I guess I blew it.” 

“It’s okay,” Ray assured you, giving you a supportive pat on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll knock your next audition, out of the park.” 

“No, I won’t!” you said glumly. “Ray, I’ve been trying to get famous for years now, and I’m no closer to my goal, than I was the day I started.” 

“Fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, okay?” Ray grumbled. “Last week, I was super sick. Like, coughing up a lung….” 

“Oh, no,” you interrupted, “are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine now,” Ray assured you. “My point was - I was feeling like absolute crap, and I just wanted to get some NyQuil, take it, and go to sleep. So, I’m standing in the cold and flu aisle, at the drugstore, and of course, this girl in a My Chemical Romance shirt comes up to me.” 

“Yikes,” you groaned. “She wanted an autograph?”

“Yeah!” Ray nodded. “I was like - really? Right now?!” 

“Did you tell her no?” you wondered. 

“Nah, I signed her thing,” Ray confessed. “But, honestly, I hate getting recognized in public like that, when I’m just trying to go about my business.” 

“You could have paid somebody to go to the store, and get the NyQuil for you,” you pointed out. 

“I mean, I could afford to,” Ray admitted. “But, I really don’t want to do that. I just want to be….a normal guy. Like I used to be, when we lived in New Jersey together.” 

“You’re not that guy anymore,” you frowned. “You’re the guitarist of one of the most popular bands on the planet.” 

“I don’t care about popularity,” Ray shrugged. “I just like making music.” 

“It’s not fair!” you snapped. “You have all this notoriety, and you don’t even want it! Meanwhile, I’ve always dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star - a household name. But, my biggest claim to fame, so far, is some shitty Pizza Hut commercial!” 

“I...I actually really liked that commercial,” Ray said softly. “Every time I saw it on TV, it put a smile on my face.”

“Really?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. “My line in it, wasn’t even that funny.”

“I didn’t like it because of the script,” Ray confessed. “I liked it, because seeing your face, made me happy.” 

“What’s so special about my face?” you asked.

“Well…..it’s a very pretty face,” Ray mumbled, blushing. 

“Wh-What?” you stammered, your ears turning red. “You think that I’m pretty?” 

“I’ve always thought that, Y/N,” Ray whispered, his brown eyes, staring softly into yours. “I don’t love Stigmata, because of the script, or the cinematography, either. I don’t even care, that Billy Corgan did the soundtrack for it. I loved it, just because….I love you.” 

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Could Ray actually return, the feelings you’d been keeping secret?

“You mean, you love me….like you love all your friends?” you guessed, trying not to get your hopes up. 

“No,” Ray shook his head, looking away from you, shyly. “Y/N… I mean, I love you, like a man loves a woman. I want you. Like...how Frankie wanted Father Andrew, in the second act of the movie.”

“Doesn’t he reject her advances, because he’s a priest?” you asked, recalling the film’s plot. 

“.....Are you gonna reject mine, too?” Ray breathed, eyes downcast.

“No,” you shook your head. “I sure as hell didn’t take any vow of celibacy, Toro. I want you right back.” 

You leaned over on the couch, and kissed him. He tasted salty, like popcorn. But, his touch, as he gently pulled you closer, was oh so sweet. 

“....I’ve wanted you all along,” Ray confessed, gently kissing you a second time. “I just didn’t know how to ask you, to be mine.” 

“Well, if you’re asking me now,” you smiled, pushing him backwards, into the couch cushions, “then I’m yours.” 

[jaspersspx040]

Exactly How We  Enhanced Our Top Soccer Prediction Sites In One Week(Month, Day)

Seattle Seahawks Squeeze Past The Washington Football Team To Clinch Playoff Berth

The winners of each continental competitors contest the FIFA Club Globe Cup. As opposed to stopping play, the umpire might allow play to proceed if doing so will certainly benefit the group versus which an offense has actually been devoted. The referee might "recall" play and punish the initial offence if the anticipated benefit does not follow within "a few secs". Also if an offense is not punished due to benefit being played, the wrongdoer might still be approved for misbehavior at the next standstill of play. The umpire might punish a player's or replacement's misconduct by a care or dismissal. A 2nd yellow card in the very same video game leads to a red card, which leads to a dismissal. A player given a yellow card is said to have actually been "booked", the referee composing the gamer's name in their main note pad.

the sphere made use of in this game, a filled with air oval with a bladder consisted of in a casing usually made from natural leather. Haskins got the start, as well as threw for 295 lawns with one touchdown as well as two interceptions, because Smith was recouping from a calf injury experienced the previous week in Washington's sway the San Francisco 49ers. The final four groups vying for a championship game have actually been established. Texas A&M missed out on making the College Football Playoff despite only losing one video game during the season. Covering university sporting activities for the Early morning Information for more than a decade plus a great deal of various other things in previous lives.

Released in 2018, the Healthy and balanced Sport Index incorporates the very best available information and professional evaluation while permitting customers to tailor sport-by-sport outcomes via their own health and wellness top priorities for engagement.

It's a source to help youth sporting activities coaches develop individual development in their players.

The device aids moms and dads, kids and other stakeholders make informed decisions based on their priorities to make sporting activities a healthy and balanced as well as positive experience for youngsters.

Healthy Sporting Activity Index For the first time, the general public can determine in one area the family member advantages as well as threats of taking part in the 10 most prominent high school children as well as ladies sports.

See as.pn/ coaching to view panel conversations on the worth of trains advertising social and also emotional skills.

Oklahoma Secondary School Football: The Oklahoman's Champion, Semifinal Choices

If a player has been disregarded, no alternative can be prompted in their area as well as the gamer may not join additional play. Misbehavior might happen at any moment, and also while the offences that constitute misconduct are noted, the interpretations are wide. Particularly, the offence of "unsporting behaviour" might be used to handle the majority of events that breach the spirit of the game, even if they are not noted as specific offences.

WR DeAndre Hopkins goes in depth concerning his touchdown catch and also clarifies the value of this win for the group. LAFC eliminated the 3rd Mexican Club in the 2020 edition of the Concacaf Champions Organization as well as they will certainly attempt to finish the prominence from Liga MX groups in the competition as they head to the final to face Tigres UANL.

" We delight in that moms and dads and also loved ones will currently have the ability to see their students play in the game. QB Sam Darnold called the win "an impressive sensation." He was reliable, avoiding turnovers and also tossing the round away when under pressure. As Adam Gase said, "There was no panic." If the Jets choose to trade Darnold, this was the sort of performance that will appeal to suitors. Inquired about the Trevor Lawrence speculation, Darnold said, "It does not influence us." Russell Wilson balanced just 4.6 air backyards per effort Sunday as the Seahawks again focused on fast passes to battle Washington's strong defensive front. Per ESPN Statistics & Info, that was Wilson's cheapest standard given that the 2015 opener as well as third-lowest of his career. Wilson balanced 7.3 air backyards per attempt last week against the Jets after balancing 8.2 over the first 13 weeks, 10th-highest in the league because period.

What's the oldest football team?

The Arizona Cardinals, formed in Chicago in 1898, are the oldest team in the National Football League.

gallery Arrivals Before Giants Dec 13, 2020 Cardinals players show up to MetLife Arena prior to the Week 14 match against the Giants offered by Bose. gallery Arrivals Before Eagles Dec 20, 2020 Cardinals gamers get here to State Farm Stadium before the Week 15 match against the Eagles offered by Bose.

Much like the Big 12, I have actually improbably survived two bouts of realignment. Don't bother the 24-point blowout loss that the Combating Irish experienced in the ACC title game versus Clemson. The board offered Notre Dame approval based upon earlier sway Clemson as well as North Carolina. When the CFP option board unveiled its final rankings Sunday early morning from Grapevine, Notre Dame (10-1) got approval for the fourth and also last playoff area, simply ahead of the Aggies (8-1). Texas A&M and train Jimbo Fisher made an enthusiastic College Football Playoff instance Saturday by winning its regular season ending over Tennessee.

Several of the leading potential customers in the country have yet to introduce their destination. Saturday's scores, paired with the absence of nonconference video games this year, are mosting likely to cultivate unmatched reactions to the Playoff choices. Alabama completed 11-0 in SEC have fun with a championship win, led by Heisman candidates Najee Harris, Mac Jones and also DeVonta Smith. The University Football Playoff board showed it will never ever give Group of 5 groups like the Bearcats, Chanticleers a fair shake. Smith is attempting to become the very first WR to win the Heisman given that 1991, but he needs to beat teammates Mac Jones and Najee Harris. Military was the first team to approve a bowl quote, to the Self-reliance Dish in October, however opt-outs as well as linkups left it without an opponent. Points will remain the same for as lengthy as individuals keep imitating only the big bettingloupe.com/ leagues issue and like the kids are an adjunct.

On the 15th Sunday of the NFL's 2020 period, 33 Alabama graduates hopped on the field. As wintertime climate embed in around the country, the Chargers-Raiders competition in a dome in Las Vegas can enable unusual names such as limited end Darren Waller to bring your fantasy group to the champion round. Smith saw at least three targets in all 9 of his beginnings, yet he managed to allow under 30 yards in every one of his video games this year. Surtain might have given up a 50-yard touchdown in the 2020 SEC Championship Game, yet that was truly one of minority poor plays he had all period long. He is a physical corner that trails just Hodges-Tomlinson for the majority of forced incompletions amongst Power 5 outside corners. As you might have seen in the 2021 PFF NFL Draft Overview, Surtain's best quality is his press abilities, and also this year has actually verified that. He comes in at No. 1 among all FBS cornerbacks in press-coverage quality.

Sheriff Strategies To Proceed Search For Seekers On Xmases Day If Required.

Who is the ref who blew Saints?

These fans didn't care. Referee Bill Vinovich looks on during the NFC Championship game between the Rams and New Orleans Saints on Jan. 20.

The Rule currently express measurements with approximate metric matchings, though use royal units remains popular in English-speaking countries with a reasonably recent history of metrication, such as Britain. The ball is spherical with an area of in between 68 as well as 70 cm, a weight in the series of 410 to 450 g, as well as a stress in between 0.6 and 1.1 conventional ambiences (8.5 as well as 15.6 pounds per square inch) at sea level. In the previous the round was comprised of leather panels stitched, with a latex bladder for pressurisation but modern balls in all degrees of the game are now artificial. A game is officiated by an umpire, who has "complete authority to implement the Laws of the Game about the match to which he has actually been appointed", as well as whose decisions are final. In many high-level video games there is also a fourth authorities who helps the referee as well as might change another official must the demand arise. The fundamental equipment or kit players are needed to wear includes a t shirt, shorts, socks, shoes and sufficient shin guards.

The Pitt side protector racked up 20 total stress in his video games against Notre Dame, Clemson, Virginia Technology and also Boston College, the 4 ideal collections of deals with in the ACC this year. McNeil played 87% of his complete snaps at heads-up nose tackle this year, making his manufacturing nothing except incredible. Only one player considering that 2014 has actually produced a greater PFF grade at 0-technique than McNeil's 90.5 this period. Kinnard preserved his status as one of the leading takes on in the run game this year, raising his run-block grade from 89.1 in 2019 to 92.3 this period.

Who hasn't won a Superbowl?

There are now 12 NFL franchises that have not won a Super Bowl after the Eagles earned their first title in 2018. The Bengals, Bills, Browns, Cardinals, Chargers, Falcons, Jaguars, Lions, Panthers, Texans, Titans and Vikings have not won a Super Bowl in their history.

The Crimson Tide and Battling Irish will certainly meet for the 8th time in the background of the collection that dates back to 1973. Alabama trails, 2-5, in the previous pairings but came away with a victory in the most recent matchup between both teams at the 2013 BCS National Championship in Miami, Fla . Discover resources and possibilities to get included as well as play football. There's no Michigan-Ohio State to highlight the normal period's final complete weekend, yet high risks and negative blood aren't difficult to locate. Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill is being a lot more proactive regarding making cases for his teams, with Coastal Carolina and Louisiana both ranked. A previous college quarterback, Coen concerns the Wildcats after 3 season with the Los Angeles Rams.

[polygarnstars]

part 1: 4, 12, 15, 18, and 19

If you think I’m going to have common sense and not answer all of these in a single post, I have Bad News lmao

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you? Smart, mostly. “Gifted”. This very much Did Not Last lmaoooo

12. name of your favorite playlist? I literally never make playlists I’m a stupid fuck who uses their spotify premium to skip freely through all my thousands of liked songs on shuffle until I find something I want to listen to lmaooooo (Having said that: Rey and I put together a playlist for some characters we were entering a contest to win last fall which I titled Story and Song after the TAZ arc and also because we wrote Way Too Much for it and I’m Very Proud Of That)

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment? Okay upon reading this I initially genuinely couldn’t remember any of the books I read in school because for the last several years of my schooling I just fuckin Sparknotes and TV Tropes-ed everything lmao... having said that, I do remember enjoying Maus! It was neat having a graphic novel assigned amongst all the “literary classics” that I couldn’t sit through a sitting of without falling asleep, and it may be the furry in me but the depiction of the characters/people as animals was Good :0c See, if all history was depicted with methods like this, I’d maybe actually be able to remember it ghfdjhgjfkdl

18. ideal weather? Depends on the day, but generally: Between like 65-80°F, not humid, not a lot of wind, and either sunny, partly cloudy, or drizzly but not outright storming. Basically decent temperatures without feeling like I’m walking through soup because of the humidity and weather that’s not completely gray and boring. Aka what Maine basically never is lmaoooo

19. sleeping position? I change positions every five minutes I swear to god (don’t take that out of context gfhdjbhvjd). Usually with at least one arm draped over a pillow that is Definitely Not Being Mentally Portrayed As A Character I Like To Supplement The Fact That I Did Not Get Enough Affection To Be A Functional Adult As A Child ghfdjknbhgfjdk

21. obsession from childhood? bold of you to assume i don’t still obsess over nintendo games (and just video games in general tbh)

23. strange habits? OKAY I COULDN’T THINK OF ANYTHING FOR THIS AT FIRST BUT I HAVE ONE NOW: MIDNIGHT FRIES

28. five songs to describe you? Speeding - LightsDaydreaming - ParamoreMusic - Mystery SkullsNo Lullaby - SIAMÉSLonely Dance - Set If Off+Bonus because it came up on Spotify while I was shuffling for songs for this and it’s a Mood: Pineapples Do Not Belong on a Pizza - Vargskelethor

29. best way to bond with you? I don’t know I usually just scream about ocs or video games with people and suddenly it’s been a year??? @riskreyes how has it been a year since we started talking but also how has it only been a year??? Wild bvhfdjkbhvgfjdk

30. places that you find sacred? Lmao I’ve never had anywhere like that really. Need a goddamn lock on my door :p I guess... the woods by my house? As a little kid before things got shitty my neighbor’s cousin or niece or something would go out there wandering around catching frogs and stuff in the spring or almost falling into the frozen streams during winter. When things started to go to shit in my life as a teenager I would hide out there to get away and nobody would find me. I haven’t been recently but the last time I did my friend and I walked along the train tracks and dove off into the woods by the side to avoid the amtrak coming by, it was great lmao. Uhh, other than that... I dunno, Boston and New York and New London all make me feel good to visit. Probably mostly because during those trips I don’t feel trapped in a dying land like Maine feels like bgvhfdjkhvgfjd

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names? ......my entire wardrobe is my work outfit, excessive graphic tees, and jeans. So uhh... I dunno. I guess my NWTB shirts are pretty rad, I’d kick a dude’s ass wearing Nate’s merch

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head? if i have to see another ad for some fuckin branch of the us military while i’m just out here trying to watch people play video games i swear to god-

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school? Oh boy I don’t know how weird these are but do you want a list??? I can give you a list hang on- In 4th grade we had a day of class where we all just had a party and ate chips and salsa and stuff because the pats won the super bowl and our teacher was Obsessed- In middle school my math class started working out of college textbooks, which is a bit much when you’re 11, advanced classes or no. Yet somehow none of the other students had any problems with this- Also in middle school, the school counselor really wasn’t very Good at his job so I usually just ended up playing Rock Band in his office instead of talking out any of my Many, Many Problems. I played the drums, for the record- Also in middle school, one time I straight up fell down a flight of stairs? Like, a full flight of stairs. Fuckin somersaulting down the stairs. The binder I was carrying broke open, papers went everywhere, my arm got cut open somewhere along the way and started bleeding. I get to the bottom, the other students are staring at me in horror, aforementioned counselor fuckin steps out of his office which is, of course, right at the bottom of the stairs, all concerned because what the fuck a kid just fell down the stairs, right? And so I, laying on the floor disoriented and laughing, declare, and I quote: “That was fun, let’s do it again!”- THE MOTHERFUCKING MAC AND CHEESE MUFFINS IN HIGH SCHOOL. Macaroni and cheese baked into the sweet batter of a muffin. I refused to touch the stuff but a friend of my did and it was bad enough he had to go to the trash can and fucking empty his stomach in it.- SAID FRIEND ALSO MANAGED TO GET A CARTON OF MILK THAT EXPIRED A MONTH BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED AT THE START OF ONE OF OUR YEARS IN HIGH SCHOOL and if I didn’t trust cafeteria food before that sealed the deal on me Never Trusting It Again- OH BUT SPEAKING OF CAFETERIA FOOD one time in the old school before the renovation, in like freshman year I think? I laughed so hard a piece of spicy chicken strip flew up my windpipe and got stuck in my nose and it was too big for me to snort out so I had to suck it back down and for the rest of the day all I could smell was burning- ON ANOTHER FOOD RELATED TOPIC down in the library I was on my iPad and 3DS because I had Long Since Given Up On School and some asshole dudes threw a rotting orange at me and it splattered all over the screens of both? So I picked up the remains and chucked it back at them and yelled “Do you wanna fucking NOT?” and they all ran off. The librarian heard me yell and saw me throw the orange back at them and she just didn’t give a fuck lmao- The librarians at my school were cool as shit really during one of our years we had to do x hours of volunteer work so I did some adjustments to the library catalogue for mine but the thing is I was fast enough at it that there really wasn’t enough to fill up my required hours so instead of giving me more to do they just sort of let me and my friends hang out playing Yu-Gi-Oh and called that good lmao. (For the record I only had one starter deck so I let my friend pick half of the cards and I would use the half she didn’t want. I managed to fuckin WRECK her with throwaways it was Iconicque)- OKAY ONE LAST LIBRARY STORY on the last day of finals I was hanging out in one of the smart tv rooms in the library right? My last finals weren’t for a few hours and lord knows I wasn’t gonna study, ADHD ass couldn’t do that and I’d already given up on school lmao. So I fucking... I brought my Wii U to school, hooked it up to the smart tv, and just started playing Splatoon there in the library. One of the librarians walked past to check on everyone, stopped at my room, watched me play for a minute (I noticed her and just sort of nodded and waved like ‘Sup’ so she Knew what was going on), and then just LEFT. Like, she didn’t give a fuck. Shoutout to the librarians, the Chillest- ALRIGHT LAST STORY LAST STORY I straight up never got all the credits I needed to graduate lmao. I was missing half a credit but they let me go anyway and to this day I cite the reason as being my high scores on the SAT/PSAT? I was the first student at the school in like, a decade, to have gotten an award from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for my performance on them, and I guess they must have thought that me failing to graduate on time would look bad on them because, uh, yeah, it would, if people found out their teachers couldn’t handle a ~smart kid~ to the point that they did poorly enough to not even graduate with the rest of their class nobody would be willing to send their kids there lmao. And that’s the story of how I graduated when I wasn’t technically supposed to!!!

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have? That’s a good fuckin question hey shit memory what was that thing that made us laugh so hard we couldn’t breathe again?...Don’t remember? Yeah I thought so lmaoI dunno, probably a joke in some let’s play? Or... god. Now that I think about it was probably the Slicer of T’pire Weir Isles moment actually. Holy shit, that was good.

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried? That I’ve ever tried? Jesus, I dunno, I have issues with texture more than flavor. I Refuse to eat my mother’s stuffing because it’s literally just soggy ass bread. In terms of pure flavor alone? Her shepherds pie. It’s just... there is no flavor. It’s like eating cardboard. I’m begging you, De, use seasoning. If I ever have to eat shepherds pie that just tastes like tin from canned peas and vague hints of unseasoned beef again I’m going to go on a murderous rampage.That said? F in the chat to Cameron for that mac and cheese muffin. Rest in pieces

73. favorite weird flavor combo? GVFHDJBVDN JUST GONNA MAKE ME SHARE THE DILL PICKLE/CHOCOLATE PUDDING PACK COMBO FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE HUH

93. nicknames? Gar, Garn, Lane, Bill, Master, Pants, Shortpants. The first three are self-explanatory, first two are shortenings of my name and then my masc/surname. The latter four come from usernames of mine - Bill from Bill Ciforce (If you stack a Bill Cipher on top of two other Bill Ciphers, you get the Ciforce), Master, Pants, and Shortpants from MasterShortpants in reference to one of Link’s nicknames in Skyward Sword

95. favorite app on your phone? Does the internet app count? No? Lmao. Spotify I guess :p Need me some Tunes

[davidfostercomedyblog]

Dear Eli: A Thank You Letter

Dear Eli,

As we seem to approach the end of an era I find myself experiencing a combination of feelings. Most notably last Sunday, when we had 4thand goal for the go ahead score, I noticed within my heart, for the first time in my life, a subtle desire to see the Giants lose.

Sports is about competition, not only between the teams on the field, but also the fans in the stands, in the lunch rooms on Mondays, and social media for the rest of our lives. We want for our team(s) to be the best, as well as our guy(s) to be the best, and when we can discover some synchronization between statistical evidence and emotional wishes… well, it’s lovely.

It wasn’t that I wanted (or ever want) the Giants to lose last week, and the new QB seems relatively likeable, talented and promising. But we all knew what it would mean (and meant) when he crossed that goal line to take the lead. It meant I might never see one of my favorites to ever do it do it again. The player I credit with reigniting the franchise I’ve followed since childhood, then bestowing me with two of the greatest days of my life, especially 42. Now all of a sudden, some guy I never met before wins some routine game in Tampa, and on an otherwise pedestrian Sunday night I am once again faced with my own mortality: That change is inevitable, father Time is undefeated, and all of the other clichés to describe the sad reality that everything we love will one day be lost.

The other part of my disappointment was typical sports fan ego. Most of us in New York have loved you so much and appreciate all that you’ve given us, not just in bragging rights but the all too taken for granted element of weekly entertainment predicated on annual hope for potential success. For this, I guess I was rooting for one last piece of evidence to prove your critics wrong. He’s not done, he’s still great and has always been great.And who knows? This is sports. Anything’s possible; but for the meantime their chants have been apparently vindicated.

Nevertheless, I’ll always argue against the water cooler philosophy hacks (mostly fans of NFC/AFC East teams), whom over the years have criticized your lack of enthusiasm relative to other quarterbacks on the field, and idiotically misinterpreted your calm demeanor as indicative of a lack of fire or passionate leadership, ironically questioning whether you were tough enough for the league while you hold the second longest streak of consecutive starts in NFL history.

What I imagine these morons don’t realize is that we probably wouldn’t have earned our two latest rings if not for your cool demeanor. Sure, you’ve had some tough years and your share of bloopers, but in crunch time, when it matters most you’re one of the best I’ve ever seen do it. Similar to Derek Jeter, an uncanny ability to mentally tame the moment, to focus and not over-react to any isolated instance or play until the last second was off the clock. This kind of equanimity is a gift, in my opinion relegated mostly to older souls who tend to be misunderstood by the muggles and masses that mindlessly circle around cubicles and rely on the greatness of others as their sources of both entertainment and self-definition. Such calm is a personal quality I myself am envious of, as my temperament probably more closely resembles that of the quarterbacks your critics most covet. Although if given a shot, I doubt I’d achieve two consecutive starts in the league or ever record a first down. But I’d do plenty of cursing and screaming, ranting and raving… in pain.  

I grew up in New York to a father who had grown up in New York before the Jets were even a thought. My dad bled Giants’ blue and held two season tickets from the time he got his first job out of college in 1956 to when those nasty seat licenses were implemented in 2008. His disdain for the Cowboys and Jets respectively was obviously only magnified between 1969-’79 when they each had so much success and we had so much of the opposite. I started going to games as a six-year old in 1984, but my earliest clear memory of fandom was being bundled into my snowsuit by Mom in January of ’86 and staying to watch the bitter cold end of our trouncing the Washington Redskins for our first ever Super Bowl birth. I remember looking up and seeing huge leaves of toilet paper suspended in mid-windy, freezing air over the field as the 70,000 fans went ape shit with excitement, tossing beer and confetti over each other with reckless abandon. I’d never seen anything like it before. Dad kept me safe, and I loved every minute. Finally, we were the best.

That team obviously had a great run, but most of the 90’s were mostly disappointing, and it wasn’t until your arrival that we were back. Thank you for bringing us back! Thank you for at least a decade of good football, of annual hope and invested interest in cheering for my dad’s team, now my brothers’ and my team. We lost Dad two years ago, maybe appropriately just as the team was beginning to struggle; though maybe also a case of chicken or egg, as I did inherit my aforementioned temperament from the old man (he loved you, but he cursed you out a lot too), and I’m sure watching some games wasn’t always so good for his heart.  

Thank you for always doing your best – for being a class act – for being so respectful, genuine and likeable (to anyone with any I.Q. in the three digits). By the way, the reason idiots are indifferent to such sincerity of character is because they’re unable to distinguish it from its opposite. Most of all thank you for that deep-seeded, magically unflappable calm that doubled the amount of Lombardi’s on our resume and crushed Boston fans’ hope of having what would have been the greatest bragging rights in the history of any sport. It was just three years after the Red Sox broke the curse and Yankees’ fans hearts in the process, and three months after they’d won again and solidified their position as the presently superior team in the rivalry. 19-0 would have been just too much to swallow. Instead, “18-1” will forever taste like sweet buttery, delicious cake for the soul. That was one of the last games I got to truly enjoy with my father before his mind started to go, in the direction of his aching bones, heart and joints. Thank you so much.

Love, 

David

[heliosphoenix]

State of the planet: 2018 edition

Well here we are, it's time once again for my now annual review of the year we just finished up. When we take some time out of our New Year's celebrations to recognize that while it seems like we just went through 365 days of pain and frustration, there was a smattering of good things that happened as well.

Here's some of them:

Scientists in China cloned two monkeys via Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, a major development toward's the potential for this technique to be used for regenerative cloning in the future

A new drug designed to combat Ovarian Cancer has begun clinical trials. Early results show that half the patients taking the drug are now Cancer free with no sign of the Cancer returning

Chinese scientists have developed rice that will grow in drought conditions. They plan to cover about 10% of the desert in the UAE with this rice for farming use.

An effort is underway to save the Northern White Rhino from extinction, using frozen sperm implanted in eggs from Southern White Rhinos, the hope is that this process will be able to revive the species in the future

A Ukrainian company is placing Solar Panels around Chernobyl to generate Solar Power. They plan to use the existing infrastructure to eventually generate up to 100 Megawatts of energy

101 cities around the world are now getting 70% of their power from renewable energy sources. In a related story, 56 cities in the United States have committed to going 100% renewable by 2050

The World Health Organization reported that Paraguay has now completely eradicated Malaria, other Latin America nations are close to doing so as well

The Ocean Cleanup Project has begun an initiative to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. They're aiming to remove at least 50 tons of garbage from the ocean every year

The Ozone is beginning to repair itself. At current rates, the Northern Hemisphere should be fully repaired by 2030, with the Ozone Hole in Antarctica sealed by 2060

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge was opened, it's the world's longest sea crossing bridge

Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced that he's modified the DNA of twin infant girls in an attempt to make them resistant to HIV

According to a report by the International Telecommunications Union, 51.2% of the world's population is using the Internet

Qantas launched the first commercial non stop service between Australia and the United Kingdom, the route is flown by their 787 fleet

Cinemas opened in Saudi Arabia for the first time since 1983, the first movie shown is Black Panther

Diplomatic talks took place between North and South Korea, with both nations committing to the removal of land mines from the Demilitarized Zone between the nations

The Basque separatist group ETA announced its dissolution

The Supreme Court of India decriminalized homosexuality

Ireland citizens voted to repeal the nations ban on abortion in a national referendum

Voting turnout for the US Midterm elections was at a 50 year high

Michigan was the latest state to legalize recreational use of Marijuana, Canada also voted to allow sale of Marijuana.

The overall crime rate for the year is expected to have dropped by 2.9%

11% of the US Population is expected to get a boost to their credit scores

Homeownership rates for Americans under 35 are now at just over 36%, the highest since 2013

Americans gave over $400 Billion to charity this year, a record high

The 2018 Winter Olympics were held in South Korea

The 2018 World Cup was held in Russia with France claiming their second title. It was also announced that the United States, Mexico and Canada will host the 2026 World Cup

The Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl over the heavily favored New England Patriots

Tiger Woods won his first PGA tournament since 2013

The Michigan Basketball team did so much better than anyone could've expected, winning their second consecutive Big Ten tournament, and making their second Final Four appearance in 5 years

The Michigan Football team had a decent year as well, posting their third 10-3 record under Jim Harbaugh as well as winning a share of the Big Ten East division title (but because two of those losses were to Notre Dame and Ohio State, Michigan fans will be forced to spend the offseason being miserable twats again)

Justify won the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, the second horse to win the title in 3 years (rather remarkable considering the previous title drought was nearly 4 decades)

SpaceX launched 21 Falcon rockets this year, including the first Falcon Heavy rocket which sent Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster into interplanetary space

NASA had a busy year as well, launching the TESS spacecraft to search for ExoPlanets, the Parker Solar Probe to explore the Sun's atmosphere, and the InSight lander which successfully touched down on Mars in November

ESA launched the BepiColombo spacecraft to explore the planet Mercury, the first mission to the planet in over a decade

The OSIRIS-REx sample returned spacecraft arrived at the Asteroid Bennu.

Finally, the New Horizons spaceprobe will conduct a flyby of the Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule just after midnight tonight!

Remember all that? Good. Because that's where I'm at right now: December 31, 2018, with just over 11 hours left in this year.

You, dear reader, are in the future. And by the time you read this, it's very likely that for you 2018 will be over. Relegated to the books. And you've probably read a bunch of articles and blogs and tweets about how we just went through a year of infinite pain. Which is why I'm hoping that this missive finds you after you've already read all those other things.

Because our minds tend to place the most emphasis on the last thing we experienced, and I want your lasting memory of 2018 to be that all those things I listed above happened this year, and nothing can ever erase them.

Now this is the part where I say something nice and worldly to tie up the events of this last trip around the ol' Sun. I try my best to come up with some theme or other that brings it all together into a coherent picture.

I think the word I would use to describe this year is "Revelation." Because I think we can all say that this year, it's not so much that we learned things, but things were revealed to us.

We've all been in this situation before. We think that we've got everything figured out, we have all the answers. And then all of a sudden we uncover something that completely shatters our perceptions and kicks our foundation out from under us. And based on all that's happened this past year, I think it's safe to say this happened to all of us at least once in the preceding 12 months.

Perhaps someone did something you never thought they would do? Or something that seemed to be amazing turned out not to be as good as you thought? Or maybe your way of viewing the world now looks totally alien to you?

Revelation can be a very traumatic thing to deal with, and I can tell you from experience that when your entire perception of reality is challenged, you become unsure about everything else. Doubts creep into your mind, and you start wondering what else it might be that you're wrong about? It's the kind of feeling that can make you feel completely alone even in the middle of thousands of people.

But Revelation can also be a good thing.

Sometimes something turns out to be even better than you were expecting. Or you discover that you actually are much more respected and valued than you thought you were. Or maybe you look around and realize that things aren't actually as bad as they seem.

Even if you have to deal with the Revelation of a harsh truth, you can still find the positive out of that. Sure you can choose to become cynical and jaded and let it consume you, or you can choose to be proactive about it.

Sure, things weren't what you thought they were, but that's okay. The world didn't come to an end, you still have much to be thankful for, and you can now use the knowledge that you've learned to become wiser about how to live your life.

So this is the part where I usually say that there's one more awesome thing that happened this year, but you're going to tell me what it is. Tell me something good that happened to you during 2018.

This time however, I'd like to try something different.

In addition to telling me something good that happened to you this year, I'd like you to give me the biggest Revelation you've had this year. What was the most surprising thing that was revealed to you?

Now I understand that it probably won't be as pleasant of a memory as whatever awesome thing that happened to you this year was, it may even cause you distress just thinking about it.

If that's the case, embrace it, because you are distressed. But not over whatever it was that you were forced to confront, but rather the loss of what you thought the world was.

But don't let it consume you. Take the truth that was revealed to you and apply it. Learn from it and resolve to use that truth to strengthen your resolve for this next trip around the Sun.

Things aren't always what they seem, and they often don't work out how you planned, but that's not always a bad thing. Because the amazing thing about this world is that things have a way of working out anyway.

So remember the good times, but learn from the Revelations. When you do that, you'll be that much closer to being the person you want to be.

Have a good day, a great month, and an AMAZING 2019.

[auburnfamilynews]

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Day-after thoughts on the first “bye” weekend of the year for the conference.

Auburn won yesterday, but if you look around the flaming inferno that is SEC Twitter, you’d understand that what actually happened was that the final score in Oxford should’ve been

Auburn 28

Ole Miss 28

Referees 7

Barn cheatin’ agin, I tell ya. I suppose the only thing that could make Bammerham give us the benefit of the doubt is the year 2020 and all of its weird voodoo. Either way, the Tigers are 3-2 after a 35-28 win over Ole Miss and the team looks to be improving. Gus Malzahn’s game plan was the best one yet, and while there are still some things to iron out, Auburn seemed smoother on offense than they have all year. Defensively there were some issues, but Ole Miss only threw for 161 yards on the day (we’ll ignore the 283 rushing yards they posted). Bend, don’t break, right?

While we were living through the rest of a college football Saturday after a win, our friends over at Red Cup Rebellion were drowning their sorrows in food and booze. Not a bad strategy, been there.

I mean these Masters commercials aren’t even cheering us up. Might as well order $80 in takeout to see if that’ll work

— Red Cup ReBOOlion (@RedCupRebellion) October 24, 2020

Ole Miss is an entertaining, if not especially sound, football team this season, and they’ll likely win a game or two against someone later this year (the carnage in the Egg Bowl could be unrivaled). I’m just glad that Auburn escaped a Kiffin plan with a win.

With a few of the teams in the league on byes, there were only three other games on the slate yesterday, so we move along to the next one on the list, which resulted in the biggest news of the day in the conference.

Nick Saban tells @JamieErdahl that Jaylen Waddle will be out for the year after injury vs. Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/HYcExcqayo

— SEConCBS (@SEConCBS) October 24, 2020

That’s rough news for the Alabama offense and Tide fans as well. I’ve said since Saban came to Tuscaloosa that the wide receivers were the true keys to that offense’s success. Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, Henry Ruggs, Devonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, and now John Metchie. The rest of the offense is fantastic and highly-rated, but the receivers are the ones that make other teams blink. You can slow down a running game, but the one-on-one matchups on the outside are the X-factors with talent like they’ve had. We’ve seen Waddle tear Auburn up two years in a row, and in a true on-field analysis, I’m relieved we won’t have to play him again, but he is super exciting and it’ll be disappointing not seeing what he can do the rest of the year.

Thankfully for the Tide, receiver is an area where success doesn’t all depend on one player, and with Smith/Metchie still on the field, they’re better than just about anyone else at that position. It was different when Tua went down last year, but Alabama’s finally gotten the injury bug a bit over the last couple of years. They were extremely fortunate until last year when Tua and Dylan Moses went down, but they had a decade of luck in that regard while Auburn had to play Jeremy Johnson in two consecutive Iron Bowls because of injury.

As for Tennessee, man i don’t know. They looked really good up until halftime of the Georgia game a couple weeks ago, but since that time, they’ve been outscored by... a lot.

Since halftime of the Georgia game, Tennessee's offense has now scored two touchdowns and allowed opposing defenses to score four touchdowns.

— David Ubben (@davidubben) October 24, 2020

You read that right. This was right out of the half yesterday, when the Tide returned a fumble for a touchdown. Overall, the Vols have been outscored 109-24 since coming out of the locker room in Athens.

They’ve still got a solid group of talent, but Jarrett Guarantano probably won’t cut it (although his receivers will make ridiculous catches against Auburn in a few weeks, I’m sure). Up next they take on Arkansas in Fayetteville, then A&M at home, before heading to Auburn. If Jeremy Pruitt’s not careful, the Hogs could send him back to Knoxville wearing his mask the right way.

In the “I don’t know what to make of this team” category, Kentucky got shut down by Missouri pretty well yesterday in a 20-10 Tiger win. Let’s look at the Cats. Auburn beats them 29-13, then they fall to Ole Miss by a point in a thriller. Then they beat Mississippi State and Tennessee by a combined 58-9 score. Then they lose to Missouri and look lifeless doing it. But Missouri lost to Tennessee, then beat LSU, but Tennessee is bad? And now LSU started poorly and looked really bad but then exploded yesterday against South Carolina? More on that in a second.

There’s absolutely nothing that makes sense about this season, and really only Alabama is going to look good every single week.

If you want to try to make sense of what will happen to Auburn next weekend when LSU comes to town for an ultra-spooky Halloween full-moon combo matchup, you can look at last night in Death Valley. LSU met South Carolina, with Myles Brennan on the bench due to injury. In stepped TJ Finley, and he looked really good in leading the Tigers to a 52-17 victory. South Carolina, quite honestly, looked awful.

Will Muschamp has a kicker who's 1-3 and down 21 in second half, he elects for another FG. That deserved to fail.

— Connor O'Gara (@cjogara) October 25, 2020

LSU seemingly didn’t need to do much. Rely on their skill position talent and count on Will Muschamp to make mistakes. It’s what Auburn should have done last week. Maybe the Gamecocks had the classic letdown game, and maybe LSU will have one next weekend. Their team still hasn’t done much outside of last night. LSU’s wins haven’t been over anyone with a pulse (ugh, what does that say about our loss last week, blahhhhh), but they’re still going to come into Jordan-Hare next weekend with talent. And a true freshman quarterback. Our buddies over at And the Valley Shook are trying to reverse that mojo already:

The last time LSU started a true freshman QB at Auburn this happened do we really wanna go down that route again pic.twitter.com/YFk8VkaGL8

— And the Valley Screams (@ATVShook) October 25, 2020

We’ll have more on that game coming up over the next few days, because it’s going to be weird.

Halloween.

Full moon.

In this rivalry.

Oh no.

War Eagle.

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/10/25/21533061/saturday-sec-impressions

[soobypls]

Secret Facts About Colt Brennan Football Medicine That Only the Pros Know Exist

The Number One Question You Must Ask for Colt Brennan Football Medicine

A source said speed was not an element in the crash. She wanted to speak about establishing the discipline and system of support required to turn into a terrific senator. It ought to be banned because it's a system. Automation bolstered the business's capability to make lower-volume, highly complex products which would otherwise not be profitable because the business couldn't afford to employ workers to craft and manufacture devices with limited business appeal.https://www.sdrugs.com

A plus-two turnover margin within this game, then for either team might be the difference. The upcoming employee will have a combo of those skills, Brennan stated. No matter the reason, the player will have to be beyond the standard talent level you would expect at the mid-major level. The UFL throughout the last two years has maintained a respect level, and it has done a good deal of things to assist a lot of players get back to the NFL. www.cdc.gov

Colt Brennan Football Medicine - Is it a Scam?

Colt Brennan is really a native son. Money isn't my drive in any respect, Brennan explained. He's got a wonderful release. I need to play,'' Brennan stated. Brennan also told the Star-Advertiser that he plans to find another opinion from a neurologist in Hawaii as a way to establish if he is going to be in a position to play football again.

On WVU's very first possession, Aaron Colvin nearly created an interception on a very long second-and-1 pass. On the contrary, it was Andrew Friedman. He was rather conservative, and I wasn't so conservative, Feinstein states.

The Dirty Facts About Colt Brennan Football Medicine

It's simple to block out the terrible things, but it's more difficult to delight in the excellent things. It looks like a fantastic trade for each side. I was not frightened of anything. This will without doubt happen again. And now, that's a great thing, an excellent thing. Well, not a hell of a lot right now, to inform you the reality.

He said he could no longer afford to purchase the medication that she needed, and had been considering killing his longtime companion for a number of days. The wrong men and women are being punished, Kiffin stated. Quite often it is these unresolved problems that lead to disease within the human body and distortions in life. If people bother her, things have a propensity to find messy. It's possible to delight in the country lifestyle. I think people become confused.

Take into consideration the friends you'll have over. Organizations are pitching in. Details of the deal weren't disclosed.

Here are some additional fantastic questions. But I have to postpone my choice. There's something bigger I must do and I aspire to give it here in Hawaii, she explained. 50 participants without the necessity for physician referral. Hawaii's newest approach to network with friends and company contacts.

How to Choose Colt Brennan Football Medicine

Again, this is the reason you require all this. We've faced the very best, Addazio stated. That's for you to choose. It's essential to do that. But you need to be above it. You couldn't reason with her. He just wishes to understand why. I guess that's how it must be. We must find out who we are and that which we are made from.

The lack of soap was initially reported last September. It's simple to block out negativity. Our locker room has to be redone. Healthy fears, to be certain.

We'll discover this weekend if he's drafted and in that case where and by whom. This trip is on a significantly bigger scale and is being planned in only a couple weeks. Theyd have to reduce my leg off for me not to emerge and play. I caught plenty of balls going across the center. We knew how they were planning to play. You had a very long day on the job.

The Hidden Treasure of Colt Brennan Football Medicine

Liberty grad Dan Persa will get an additional opportunity to demonstrate the pro scouts he should secure a chance also. He's a guy we will need to go rehabbed.

That might be an issue, unless of course you're a quarterback in the NFL. It includes the territory,'' Funaki stated. These are what make debating any Heisman race interesting. It is the sole quarterback award which takes into account the candidates' bowl performances. Colt McCoy grades out as a quarterback that will probably need at the very least a couple of years of development at the following level as he adjusts to playing in a brand-new offense.

It turned out to be an excellent defense, and it was simple. Trent Dilfer WON A SUPER BOWL and was trying to find a new team the next calendar year. Their offense is extremely spread out.

Things You Won't Like About Colt Brennan Football Medicine and Things You Will

Concussions in football, and sports generally, are a comparatively common injury. I obviously shouldn't be a life coach for virtually any player. The underdogs of earth almost saw their odds to shine go away. There are only a few players in college football recently that possess the capacity to take it to the house at any certain moment. Therefore, when they opted to play football, it's unlikely that the players knew the complete degree of their risks. It can be seen on ESPN2. It ought to be another difficult game for my Warriors.

These 25 passers had the greatest percentages over the last ten decades of college football. He had a really good season. Seems odd in case you can't even qualify for the bowl game in your backyard. They're just a great team. Oregon's a fantastic football team with very great receivers.

[sportswik]

Harbhajan Singh Stats

Career Information

Test debut vs Australia at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Mar 25, 1998

Last Test vs Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium, Aug 12, 2015

ODI debut vs New Zealand at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Apr 17, 1998 

Last ODI vs South Africa at Wankhede Stadium, Oct 25, 2015

T20 debut vs South Africa at The Wanderers Stadium, Dec 01, 2006 

Last T20 vs United Arab Emirates at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mar 03, 2016

IPL debut vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at Wankhede Stadium, Apr 20, 2008

Last IPL vs Mumbai Indians at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, May 12, 2019

ProfileIt's

safe to say that Harbhajan's persona had as much impact as his off-spin bowling which is actually a compliment to the temperamental Indian hailing from the aggressive Ludhiana region of Punjab. Dismissal from the NCA for indiscipline during his teenage days were a sample of fire that burnt in his belly albeit not always for the right reasons. Nevertheless, he had oodles of skills which was unfortunately being buried under the hatchet of off-field dramas. It seemed like his career was going downhill after debuting in 1998. However, Sourav Ganguly, India's captain during the 2000-2005 phase was firm in his backing for getting the Sardar in the squad for the historical 2001 home series against Australia. Harbhajan didn't let his skipper down and took the series by storm with 32 wickets from three Tests including a hat-trick which was the first by an Indian.

This was during a time when Anil Kumble was at the peak of his powers and in the coming years Harbhajan formed a lethal spin duo with his senior partner, at times even outbowling the veteran. Due to his better-attacking prowess with the bat and arguably better limited-overs approach, Harbhajan soon overtook Kumble in ODIs as the lead spinner of the side. In Tests though, Kumble still was the main man although he did have to fight a battle of his own. Once Kumble retired, the onus was on Harbhajan to carry the flag of spin bowling forward in the Indian team. He did have his moments, not only at home where he was a strike force obviously but also played a good role in some of India's famous overseas Test wins.

Despite all this, there is no denying the fact that Harbhajan's career lost track once the IPL came into existence. He had notable success there but while adapting to the frenzied T20 format, he lost that loop and flight which makes a complete spinner. The trajectory had become considerably flatter which definitely made him a more economical bowler but the wickets started to dry up. Statistically, he is India's most successful off-spinner but he could have achieved a lot more in the latter half of his career. Even though he wasn't at his best, he played a pivotal role in India's 2011 World Cup glory. The 2010 and 2011 seasons were really torrid for Harbhajan and the emergence of Ashwin meant that the former's position was soon slipping away.

Since 2012, Harbhajan has been mostly in and out of the side with Ashwin and Jadeja firming up as the lead spinners in Tests while India has had surplus options in white-ball cricket. All this meant that Harbhajan was restricted to the odd comeback, notably in the 2015-16 season where he played a few Tests and a handful of ODIs apart from getting a chance in the 2016 World T20 as well. Since 2016, he hasn't played for India in any format and it's unlikely that he will ever again. Although yet to officially announce retirement, his career is all but over. Harbhajan also led Mumbai Indians to a Champions League win once.

At his best, Harbhajan was pure matchwinner - not only did he cause damage with the ball and occasionally with his big-hitting but also got into the skins of the opposition quite a lot of times. No team bore the brunt more than the Australians with whom he had many high profile battles, notably an incident with Ricky Ponting in the late 90s with both still very young. The other one is the infamous Sydney incident with Andrew Symonds where Harbhajan just about got away due to lack of evidence. Even in the IPL, he had his share of issues with the slapping incident of S Sreesanth being the highlight, resulting in him being banned for the rest of the tournament. All these dramas apart, Harbhajan was indeed an enigma in Indian cricket.

IPL through the years

In the latter half of his career, Harbhajan's success has been mostly in the IPL where he played a crucial part in the success of the Mumbai franchise who have won the title thrice. He was a regular member of the team since 2008 and even captained the side. He picked up as many as 24 wickets in the 2013 season and played a vital role in Mumbai's maiden title-winning season. He was also very handy with the bat, scoring a 24-ball 64 against Kings XI Punjab in 2015, a match he tried to win after the top-order was blown away.

With time, Harbhajan became a bowler who would be more economical than a really good wicket-taking bowler. After a decade long association, Mumbai released him and he was bought by Chennai Super Kings, for whom he played 13 games in 2018. With more favourable turning tracks at Chepauk, Harbhajan has continued to be a force to reckon with, at least in CSK's home games where he has been strangling opponents.

if anybody wants to get Stats about Harbhajan Singh IPL, Wicket, career and may more so please visit our website and click this link.  Click Here

Tags:  harbhajansinghstats,   harbhajansinghipl,   harbhajansinghwickets,   harbhajansinghcarer 

[wsmith215]

The best ATS season ever for every NFL team

9:04 AM ET

NFL NationESPN

The 2020 NFL schedule has been released, but there is still a ways to go until the season begins. So what better time to look back fondly on the best betting season for all 32 teams?

Our NFL Nation reporters give their perspective on the best individual seasons against the spread for each team, using research from ESPN Stats & Information.

Jump to: ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND JAC | KC | LV | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

AFC East

New England Patriots

2003: 13-2-1 (.867)

This was when Tom Brady the sixth-round pick was starting to become Tom Brady the star. The 2003 season was his fourth in the NFL (third as a starter), and came after a 9-7 year in which the Patriots had missed the playoffs. Bill Belichick had shockingly cut safety Lawyer Milloy before the season opener and the Patriots lost their first game 31-0 to the Bills, who had signed Milloy. But after a 2-2 start to the season, the Patriots never lost again as Brady’s star began to shine brighter en route to a second Super Bowl championship. — Mike Reiss

Miami Dolphins

1972: 11-2-1 (.846)

1 Related

Dolphins fans shouldn’t have a hard time remembering why the 1972 season is their best against the number — it is the only team to go undefeated in NFL history. Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris became the first pair of teammates to rush for more than 1,000 yards each in a given season, and the Dolphins won 11 of their 14 regular-season games by double digits. The No-Name defense never got the love that offense did but it was the best defense in football that season, securing three shutout victories (including a 52-0 win over the Patriots) and allowing opponents to score more than 17 points three times all year. This was the first Dolphins title in what ended up being a minidynasty from 1970-1974 with five division titles, three AFC championships (1971, 1972, 1973) and two Super Bowl wins. — Cameron Wolfe

Buffalo Bills

1978: 12-3-1 (.800)

In the team’s first season without star running back O.J. Simpson, the Bills turned to rookie Terry Miller — who turned in the lone 1,000-yard season of his career, as well as seven of his eight career rushing touchdowns. However, their ATS didn’t exactly translate to success on the field, as Buffalo went 5-11 in 1978. Only four of those losses, however, were by multiple scores; the Bills were able to hang around longer than their talent should have allowed. — Marcel Louis-Jacques

New York Jets

1998: 12-4 (.750)

The 1998 Jets were the best in franchise history ATS (12-4) — and arguably the best team, period, since the 1968 Super Bowl championship squad. The team was balanced, but was known mainly for its offense. Vinny Testaverde, an interception-prone quarterback for most of his career, flourished in New York and delivered a career year — 29 touchdown passes, only seven interceptions. He was surrounded by two future Hall of Famers in running back Curtis Martin and center Kevin Mawae, plus a dynamic receiving tandem in Keyshawn Johnson and Wayne Chrebet. Coach Bill Parcells, with Bill Belichick as his right-hand man, did a masterful job, leading the Jets to 10 wins in their last 11 games and the AFC East title. They fell to the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game, blowing a 10-point lead on the road. To this day, Parcells calls it the most heartbreaking loss of his Hall of Fame coaching career. — Rich Cimini

Andy Dalton was having an MVP-caliber season in 2015 before going down with an injury. Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY SportsAFC North

Cincinnati Bengals

2015: 12-3-1 (.800)

This was the season the Bengals were primed to win their first playoff game since 1991. Cincinnati started the season with eight straight wins behind a strong start from quarterback Andy Dalton. Dalton was in the midst of his best NFL season when he suffered a season-ending thumb injury against the Steelers in Week 14. Backup A.J. McCarron picked up where Dalton left off and the Bengals won the AFC North and reached the playoffs for the fifth straight season. The Bengals were 12-3-1 ATS in the regular season and finished with a 12-4 overall record. The ending — a playoff loss to the Steelers that featured that hit by Vontaze Burfict — ended the year and the franchise’s best run in nearly 30 years. — Ben Baby

Baltimore Ravens

2008: 12-4 (.750)

The 2008 season marked the start of the most successful era in Ravens history, even though many wouldn’t have anticipated it. Baltimore hired a little-known assistant (John Harbaugh) to become its coach and drafted a player with a big arm from a small school (Joe Flacco) to be its franchise quarterback. The Ravens were such an unknown that they were underdogs in half of their games (covering five of them) and were favored by more than a touchdown just twice. Baltimore relied heavily on an old-school game plan. With two Hall of Famers still in their prime (Ray Lewis and Ed Reed), the Ravens had the NFL’s second-best defense. And, with a rookie quarterback, Baltimore kept the ball in the hands of running backs Willie McGahee, Le’Ron McClain and rookie Ray Rice. The Ravens finished as one of the hotter teams in the league and ended up in the first of three AFC Championship Games under Flacco. — Jamison Hensley

Pittsburgh Steelers

1972: 11-3 (.786)

The Steelers’ 1972 season laid the foundation for the run of four Super Bowl championships in six years during the Steel Curtain era. In Chuck Noll’s fourth season, the Steelers went 11-3 and made the playoffs for the first time since 1947 to kick off a streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances. After losing two of their first four regular-season games, the Steelers went on to win nine of their final 10 games and capture their first division title. And, of course, rookie first-round pick Franco Harris delivered the playoff win against the Oakland Raiders with the Immaculate Reception on the deflected throw from Terry Bradshaw. Though the Steelers’ season ended in the AFC Championship Game to the undefeated Miami Dolphins, the play — and the 1972 season — gave the Steelers momentum through the next decade. — Brooke Pryor

Cleveland Browns

2007: 12-4 (.750)

The 2007 Browns didn’t make the playoffs, but after going 4-12 in 2006, Cleveland went 10-6 on the way to becoming one of the NFL’s biggest surprises. Among the primary reasons was quarterback Derek Anderson. A 2005 sixth-round pick who was then waived by the Baltimore Ravens, Anderson capitalized on Brady Quinn’s training-camp holdout as a first-round rookie and Charlie Frye’s flop as the Week 1 starter to propel Cleveland to — still! — its only double-digit winning record since returning to the league in 1999. Despite making the Pro Bowl in 2007, Anderson lost his starting job to Quinn the following year and never started a full season again the rest of his career. — Jake Trotter

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts

1968: 12-2 (.857)

Success for the Colts in 1968 seemed like a longshot after quarterback Johnny Unitas — league MVP in 1967 — was injured in the final preseason game. However, backup quarterback Earl Morrall stepped in and threw for 2,909 yards and 26 touchdowns while going 13-1 as a starter during the 1968 season. Don Shula, the coach at the time, had a defense that was ranked first in the league and an offense ranked No. 2 that helped the Colts get to the Super Bowl where they were double-digit favorites over the Joe Namath and the New York Jets. Namath and his “guarantee” were this team’s downfall, as the Jets upset the Colts 16-7. — Mike Wells

Houston Texans

2011: 11-5 (.688)

The 2011 Texans got hot in the middle of the season, winning seven games in a row, but during that winning streak lost quarterback Matt Schaub for the rest of the year with a foot injury. Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates took over and won two straight, but Houston lost its final three to end the regular season. The Texans won their first AFC South title and postseason game in team history, but they went on to lose to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round. — Sarah Barshop

Jacksonville Jaguars

2007: 11-5 (.688)

The Jaguars rode the one-two punch of running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew and got efficient quarterback play from David Garrard and Quinn Gray. Taylor ran for more than 1,000 yards for the fifth time in six seasons and Jones-Drew ran for nine touchdowns to help the Jaguars finish second in the league in rushing and make the playoffs. The Jaguars opened the playoffs with an upset in Pittsburgh, winning 31-29 on Josh Scobee’s 25-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining. The winning kick was set up by one of the greatest plays in franchise history: Garrard’s 32-yard scramble on fourth-and-2. The win made the Jaguars the first franchise to win two games in Pittsburgh in the same season. — Mike DiRocco

Tennessee Titans

1975: 12-2 (.857)

The 1975 Houston Oilers went 10-4 but finished one game behind the Bengals for a wild-card spot. All four of the Oilers’ losses came against the Bengals and Steelers. The Oilers’ season was highlighted by a four-game winning streak starting in Week 4 and capped by a three-game winning streak that included a victory over the Oakland Raiders. It was the franchise’s first winning season in seven years and its first season under coach Bum Phillips. Billy “White shoes” Johnson was their most dynamic player, returning three punts for touchdowns. — Turron Davenport

AFC West

Denver Broncos

1973: 10-3-1 (.769)

The 1973 Broncos didn’t make the playoffs — they finished 7-5-2 — but it still was a landmark season, the first winning season for the franchise, which began play in the AFL in 1960. And for a franchise that has since been to eight Super Bowls and had more Super Bowl appearances than losing seasons in Pat Bowlen’s tenure as owner, the ’73 season often is looked at as the year where, in some ways, the foundation was put into place. The lineup shows a Hall of Famer at running back in Floyd Little in his seventh season to go with future Ring of Fame members Tom Jackson, Charley Johnson, Billy Thompson and Haven Moses. The Broncos’ defense also had Lyle Alzado. The Broncos were second in the AFC in scoring at 25.2 PPG. — Jeff Legwold

Kansas City Chiefs

1997: 11-3-2 (.786)

The Chiefs in 1997 had one of their best teams in the 50 years between appearances in Super Bowl IV and LIV. They allowed 33 fewer points than any other NFL team that season and gave up just 43 total points over their final five games. Their one playoff game that season felt like the de facto Super Bowl involving the NFL’s two best teams. The Chiefs lost 14-10 in the divisional round to the Denver Broncos, who indeed went on to win the Super Bowl. The Chiefs lost an apparent touchdown when Tony Gonzalez was ruled out of the end zone on a catch, and in those pre-replay review days the call couldn’t be challenged. Gonzalez to this day will tell you he and the Chiefs were robbed. — Adam Teicher

Los Angeles Chargers

2004: 13-1-2 (.929)

In a stark turnaround from a 4-12 record in 2003, the 2004 San Diego Chargers finished 12-4 and won the AFC West. Rookie quarterback Philip Rivers watched from the sideline as Drew Brees set out to prove the Chargers didn’t need to take a QB in the first round. Brees passed for 27 touchdowns with seven interceptions as he — along with running back LaDainian Tomlinson and tight end Antonio Gates — earned Pro Bowl honors. Tomlinson scored a league-best 17 rushing touchdowns and Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer was named the NFL Coach of the Year as the Chargers capped the season with their first playoff appearance in nine seasons … a wild-card loss to the Jets. — Lindsey Thiry

Las Vegas Raiders

1990: 12-4 (.750)

The 1990 Los Angeles Raiders were a team on the rise, one with the power and speed of Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, Willie Gault, Mervyn Fernandez and a rehabbing Tim Brown on offense, and a stout defense that accounted for 48 sacks (second-most in the NFL) thanks to the likes of Greg Townsend (12.5 sacks), Scott Davis (10), rookie Aaron Wallace (9) and Howie Long (6). They just ran into misfortune (Jackson’s career-ending hip injury in the playoff victory over the Bengals) and, well, a buzzsaw in the high-powered Bills, who blew them out 51-3 in the AFC title game. Aside from the 1983 Super Bowl-winning season, the 1990 campaign was the Raiders’ best in Los Angeles. — Paul Gutierrez

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

1991: 13-3 (.813)

Perhaps this was a sign of things to come for the Cowboys, who went on to win three Super Bowls in four seasons from 1992-95. They went 11-5 in 1991, just two years removed from a 1-15 campaign. This was a young team, growing together and learning how to win. And they won their last four games without an injured Troy Aikman. The Cowboys found their formula with Emmitt Smith running the ball at least 25 times per game and a stifling defense allowing more than 14 points just once in Games 13-16. Jimmy Johnson won his first playoff game, a wild-card victory against Chicago as his young team started to come of age. — Todd Archer

Philadelphia Eagles

1980 and 2003: 11-5 (.688)

The 2003 season was the Eagles’ first at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the famous “4th-and-26” pass from Donovan McNabb to Freddie Mitchell that helped lift Philadelphia over the Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs and into the NFC Championship Game for a third straight year, where they were upset by Carolina.

The Eagles shook off a bad start to create a memorable season and finish 12-4. They went 0-2 out of the gate and were on the cusp of dropping to 2-4 before Brian Westbrook ripped off an 84-yard punt return in the closing moments against the Giants, sparking a nine-game winning streak. — Tim McManus

Washington Redskins

1983: 11-4-1 (.733)

The Redskins parlayed their first Super Bowl win into a dominant regular season. They scored a then-NFL record 541 points, outscoring the opposition by a league-best 209 points. Running back John Riggins rushed for 1,347 yards and 24 touchdowns at age 34 and the Redskins went 14-2. Their losses came by a combined two points, including the season-opening Monday night game in which rookie corner Darrell Green chased down Dallas running back Tony Dorsett. They lost to Green Bay 48-47 in another Monday night game where the teams combined for 1,025 yards.

Their most memorable regular-season win came in a 37-35 shootout over the Raiders at RFK Stadium. The Redskins won 11 straight games entering a Super Bowl rematch vs. the Raiders. But the Raiders blew them out 38-9 and the 1983 Redskins were left with the title of being one of the best teams to lose a Super Bowl. — John Keim

New York Giants

2008: 12-4 (.750)

This was the one that got away, with the team that Tom Coughlin said was better than the franchise’s two Super Bowl winners. It’s also the year their season was derailed by the Plaxico Burress self-inflicted gunshot wound. Before the Burress incident, the Giants were 10-1, which included wins on the road against three of the league’s best teams. Their offense was never the same after the shooting. The Giants dropped four of their last five and lost at home in their playoff opener to the Eagles. — Jordan Raanan

NFC North

Green Bay Packers

2007: 12-3-1 (.800)

In many ways, this season came out of nowhere. Two years earlier, Brett Favre had his worst season, throwing 29 interceptions on the way to a 4-12 season that ended Mike Sherman’s coaching tenure. The next season began badly, too, as the Pack started 4-8 under new coach Mike McCarthy before winning the final four games.

Still, no one could have seen coming what happened next. McCarthy transformed Favre into an effective game manager and put together one of the QB’s most efficient non-MVP seasons and led them to the NFC title game. However, it ended poorly when Favre — on his final pass as a Packer — threw an overtime interception that led to the Giants’ game-winning field goal. — Rob Demovsky

Minnesota Vikings

2015: 13-3 (.813)

Mike Zimmer’s second season in Minnesota featured a four-game improvement from his first. The Vikings finished 11-5, winning their first NFC North title since 2009 and clinching a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2012. Teddy Bridgewater showed promise in his first full season as a starter (3,231 passing yards, 14 TDs, 9 INTs, his first Pro Bowl) the same year the Vikings got Adrian Peterson back from suspension. Peterson led the NFL in rushing with 1,485 yards in his All-Pro/Pro Bowl season.

But all the excitement and hope built during the regular season came crashing down in a 10-9 wild-card loss to the Seahawks when kicker Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard game-winning field-goal attempt in the final seconds of the game. — Courtney Cronin

Teddy Bridgewater led the 2015 Vikings to the playoffs. AP Photo/Ben Margot

Detroit Lions

2010: 13-3 (.813)

The Lions were still rebuilding from their disastrous 0-16 season in 2008 and were starting to build for the future with Calvin Johnson in his prime and a first-round pick ready to take over the league in defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and a dynamic young running back in rookie Jahvid Best. Detroit also had a young starting quarterback in Matthew Stafford — and his shoulder injuries are a likely reason why the Lions were able to do so well against the spread. Stafford was limited to three games in 2010, but the combination of Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton — though not imposing as quarterbacks — could get Detroit out of a game.

The way the season unfolded — starting 2-10 before winning four straight to end the season — did two things: it set expectations low on the Lions toward the end of the year to pick up games against the spread and in a bigger picture helped set up the team’s run to the playoffs in 2011 with a healthy Stafford. The Lions played all but four games — losses to New England, Minnesota and Dallas, along with a win over St. Louis — incredibly close, again helping the spread numbers. — Michael Rothstein

Chicago Bears

1985: 12-3-1 (.800)

Led by the greatest NFL defense of all-time, the 1985 Bears struck fear in the hearts of their opponents and finished the regular season 15-1. Chicago cruised through the playoffs en route to winning the franchise’s first — and only — Super Bowl championship. The fact the Bears failed to cover the spread three times that year is a surprise, given the dominant nature of that team. — Jeff Dickerson

NFC South

Carolina Panthers

1996: 12-4 (.750)

Nobody expected the second-year expansion team to be a playoff contender in 1996, even though the Panthers won an expansion-record seven games in their first season. So a 12-4 record overall and against the spread and an NFC West title in a division with then-powerhouse San Francisco was nothing short of spectacular.

The key was the defense. First-time head coach Dom Capers was a disciple of the 3-4 zone blitz. He brought in a veteran-laden group, led by outside linebackers Kevin Greene (14.5 sacks) and Lamar Lathon (13.5 sacks), that caused opposing quarterbacks nightmares with a league-best 60 sacks. That group allowed only 13.6 points per game, the second-fewest in the NFL. It was old-school football at its best with a solid running game and shut-down defense that got this team of vagabonds to the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay. It was a true Cinderella story. — David Newton

New Orleans Saints

2011: 12-4 (.750)

This was Sean Payton, Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles at their career peaks. The 2011 Saints still hold the NFL record with 7,474 yards gained in a season. And Brees threw for 5,476 yards and 46 TDs while surrounded by a ridiculous cast of talent that also included Marques Colston, Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram, Lance Moore, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem. Many Saints fans will swear this was their best team ever, even though this 13-3 squad didn’t reach the Super Bowl. — Mike Triplett

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1999: 11-4-1 (.733)

The Bucs had a very specific formula for winning games under Tony Dungy. They relied on a stout defense led by Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber. During the regular season, that defense held opponents to 17 points or fewer in 12 games and eight times held foes to 10 points or fewer. They controlled the clock on offense, running the ball behind Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn and, at times, capitalized on the ultraconsistent kicking of Martin Gramatica, which protected rookie quarterback Shaun King, who stepped in for Trent Dilfer after he suffered a broken clavicle. — Jenna Laine

Atlanta Falcons

1980: 13-3 (.813)

Behind quarterback Steve Bartkowski and running back Williams Andrews the Falcons won the team’s first division title (NFC Western Division) with a 12-4 record. That season included a nine-game winning streak, which was a franchise best. Individual franchise records were established, too, with Bartkowski (3,544 passing yards, 31 touchdowns), Andrews (1,308 rushing yards) and receiver Alfred Jenkins (1,025 receiving yards) all hitting high-water marks at the time. Linebacker Al Richardson created a turnover in nine consecutive games out of the 3-4 scheme. And the Falcons had six Pro Bowl selections. — Vaughn McClure

The Russell Wilson-led Legion of Boom Seahawks teams were good to bettors. Jonathan Ferrey/Getty ImagesNFC West

Seattle Seahawks

2011, 2012 and 2013: 11-5 (.688)

The 2013 Seahawks were a trendy Super Bowl pick after making some marquee offseason additions (Percy Harvin, Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett) to an up-and-coming team that reached the divisional round the year before, taking advantage of the financial flexibility afforded by Russell Wilson’s cheap rookie contract.

They lived up to the hype with the best season in franchise history. Seattle won the NFC West and earned the conference’s No. 1 seed behind the NFL’s top defense, a strong running game led by Marshawn Lynch and a second-year quarterback who was more than a game manager while leading five comebacks in the fourth quarter or overtime. That included Seattle’s win in the NFC Championship Game, which was sealed by Richard Sherman’s famous end zone deflection. Harvin missed most of the regular season with a bizarre hip injury and was traded early the next season, but he contributed one of the memorable plays of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl XLVIII victory over Denver when he returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown to put the game out of reach. — Brady Henderson

San Francisco 49ers

1989: 13-3 (.813)

It should be no surprise that the 1989 team, which went 14-2, was so good against the spread given that it was one of the best and most complete teams in NFL history. That juggernaut of a squad was first in the league in points scored, third in points allowed and had a plus-189 scoring margin on its way to a 45-point victory in Super Bowl XXIV.

Quarterback Joe Montana put together one of the best seasons in history, posting a passer rating of 112.4 in the regular season before a red-hot postseason run in which he improved that passer rating to a whopping 146.4 as he collected the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards and was named Super Bowl MVP. The star-studded Niners had six Pro Bowlers and five first- or second-team All Pros. — Nick Wagoner

Los Angeles Rams

1999: 13-3 (.813)

The 1999 Rams coached by Dick Vermeil were dubbed the “Greatest Show on Turf” as they outscored opponents 526-242, produced an 8-0 record at home and finished the season 13-3 with a Super Bowl XXXIV title.

The offense was led by four future Hall of Fame players, including quarterback Kurt Warner, running back Marshall Faulk, receiver Isaac Bruce and left tackle Orlando Pace. The defense also was among the best in the NFL. It ranked first against the run, allowing only 74.3 rushing yards per game, was tied for the lead in sacks with 57 and produced seven interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. — Lindsey Thiry

Arizona Cardinals

1993, 2013 and 2014: 11-5 (.688)

When Bruce Arians came to town in 2013, he changed the Cardinals�� culture and their fortunes. A year after going 5-11, the Cardinals went 10-6, which led to one of the franchise’s three best seasons since the merger against the spread at 11-5. No one thought this team would be any good considering what had transpired the previous season, which started with four wins before a nine-game losing streak. The perception of quarterback Carson Palmer was that he was washed up and riding out the final years of his career. But Arians and Palmer proved everyone wrong and did it again the next year, going 11-5 — their same record against the spread — after starting 9-1. Their march to a Super Bowl was cut short by Palmer’s ACL injury. — Josh Weinfuss

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New top story from Time: ‘Our Work Is Not Finished.’ Nancy Pelosi Is Trying to Save America’s Economy—Again

Nancy Pelosi was getting impatient. It was mid-March, and the House Speaker and her staff were working around the clock to draft urgent legislation to address the coronavirus pandemic. But the White House was dragging its feet: she hadn’t heard back from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, her negotiating partner, in more than 12 hours.

Pelosi told Mnuchin the delay was unacceptable, and he got the message. The next morning, he boasted to Pelosi that his staff had been up until 4 a.m. putting the finishing touches on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, providing funding for free testing, paid leave and expanded food stamps.

“I’m not impressed,” Pelosi replied. “We do it all the time.”

As the pandemic takes tens of thousands of lives and tens of millions of jobs, a Congress known for dysfunction has kicked into gear. Four massive bills with a price tag of nearly $3 trillion have sought to aid the sick, shore up the health care system, and ease the burden on workers and businesses. It’s the biggest federal outlay in history, dwarfing the response to the 2008 financial crisis, and as Speaker, Pelosi is naturally at the center of it. Before the ink was dry on the latest $484 billion small-business rescue package, she was on the phone trying to make the next deal to aid state and local governments whose budgets have been ravaged by the crisis. As Representative Karen Bass, a California Democrat, told Politico recently, “Quiet as it’s kept, she’s the one leading the country right now.”

Precisely because it required a frozen government to act, the pandemic has put Pelosi’s legislative talents on urgent display. It’s a fitting capstone to her historic three-decade career. Many congressional scholars consider Pelosi the most adept lawmaker of the past half-century, measuring her record of society-shaping legislation against the backdrop of the most partisan and gridlocked Congress in decades. While Republicans accuse her of obstruction, and some on the left accuse her of giving away the store, Pelosi believes she’s maximized her leverage at a time when inaction is not an option.

The legislative prowess Pelosi has exhibited during the crisis was honed in years of negotiations, often with the fate of the economy hanging in the balance. As Speaker from 2007 to 2011, she was instrumental in the U.S. response to the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession. As minority leader from 2011 to 2017, she forged deals in the high-stakes budget battles between President Obama and congressional Republicans.

For my new biography, Pelosi, I spent more than two years researching the Speaker’s life and career. I conducted more than 100 interviews with critics and supporters, activists and operatives, current and former staff, and dozens of current and former members of Congress from across the political spectrum. It’s the first biography the Speaker has cooperated with, offering extensive access to Pelosi and her inner circle. I found her to be someone everybody has an opinion about but few really know. Republicans have spent tens of millions of dollars over the past decade caricaturing her as a “San Francisco liberal,” while Democrats who once fought for her ouster have embraced her as a Resistance queen.

The woman who ripped up Trump’s State of the Union speech and led the most partisan impeachment in history is a loyal Democrat, but deep down she’s a dealmaker–an old-school legislator whose primary focus is getting things done through negotiation and compromise. Pelosi’s lodestar is securing the votes to deliver results. “Who would have thought Congress could pass four major pieces of legislation in the span of a month with overwhelming bipartisan support?” says former Representative Donna Edwards of Maryland, a onetime Pelosi lieutenant. “You can see it both in her command of the substance and also her command of the process. She’s not a politician; she’s a lawmaker.”

Since Pelosi arrived in Congress in 1987, America has embraced and endured massive change. But no one has ever dealt with anything quite like this–a double-barreled public-health and economic crisis of unprecedented proportions. In what’s likely the twilight of Pelosi’s historic career, a lot is riding on her ability to deliver the votes once again.

Sarah Silbiger—Bloomberg/Getty Images Pelosi, addressing the media on March 27, has been at the center of a rare burst of bipartisan legislation

This is not the first time Nancy Pelosi has been called on to help a Republican President save the U.S. economy from collapse. On Sept. 18, 2008, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson called Pelosi with panic in his voice. “A very serious situation is developing,” he said. The investment bank Lehman Brothers had declared the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. The Federal Reserve and the Administration had done all they could, Paulson said. They needed help from Congress–fast.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) would allow the Fed to buy up banks’ “toxic assets,” stabilizing their debt loads so they wouldn’t go broke. The plan would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. It was odious to both parties: Republicans hated the idea of government meddling so drastically in the economy (and spending so much taxpayer money to do it), while Democrats were loath to clean up the mess they blamed President George W. Bush for causing.

Over a week of intense negotiations, Congress and the Administration hammered out a bill. Pelosi and her GOP counterpart, John Boehner, made a deal: Boehner would come up with 100 Republican votes, and the Democrats would make up the rest–at least 118. Pelosi did her part: 140 of the 235 Democrats voted yes. But on the Republican side, just 65 of 198 were in favor, and the bill went down. The Dow’s 778-point fall was the biggest one-day loss in history at the time, wiping out $1.2 trillion in wealth.

A week later, Pelosi brought a new bill to the floor, a compromise worked out in the Senate. It passed, 263-71, with 172 Democrats and 91 Republicans in favor. She had played a pivotal role in saving the U.S. economy from catastrophe–and bailed Bush out, for the good of the country, at enormous political risk.

After Barack Obama won the election a few weeks later, the economy was still reeling, shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs every month. Obama wanted the House to put together a stimulus bill he could sign on his very first day in office. The price tag would be huge. The White House sought about $800 billion in stimulus–bigger than TARP. As a share of GDP, it would be the largest public investment in U.S. history.

Obama tried to reach out to the GOP, even though Pelosi warned he was being naive. Charlie Dent, a moderate from Pennsylvania, was among the Republicans invited to watch the Super Bowl at the White House, where his wife chatted with Michelle and his kids played with Sasha and Malia Obama. In the end, Dent voted against the bill–and blamed Pelosi. “I believe the President was absolutely sincere in looking for a bipartisan outcome,” he told Newsweek. “But the White House lost control of the process when the bill was outsourced to Pelosi.”

Every single House Republican voted against the stimulus, as did 11 Democrats. But it still passed by a healthy margin. The key to Obama’s triumph had been not his ability to reach across the aisle, but Pelosi’s skill at holding her caucus together.

Over the ensuing two years, Pelosi helped Obama pass the Affordable Care Act, providing universal access to health insurance–something Democrats had been trying and failing to achieve for the better part of a century. In the 2010 midterms, Republicans cast her as the villain, spending $70 million on ads that tied Democratic candidates to her. The chairman of the Republican National Committee embarked on a 117-city “Fire Pelosi” bus tour. It worked: in November, the GOP won 63 seats and the majority.

Pelosi stayed on as minority leader as Obama and the new Speaker, Boehner, tried to figure out a way to strike a grand bargain to balance the country’s books and restore Americans’ trust in government. When Pelosi found out about the talks, she was publicly critical of Obama’s willingness to cut entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, totemic achievements of past Democratic administrations that had rescued millions from penury and sickness. Privately, she assured Obama that if he needed her, she would be there. But who, she wanted to know, was counting votes? Republicans, she suspected, were just going through the motions, waiting to blame it on the President when the deal fell apart. Within a couple of weeks, that was exactly what happened.

On the eve of a national default that could have shaken the market and sent the fragile economy spiraling, Congress took over the talks. The solution congressional leaders came up with wasn’t pretty: no entitlement reform, no new taxes, but the formation of a bipartisan “supercommittee” that would have 10 weeks to come up with more than a trillion dollars in cuts and revenue. Failure to do so would trigger automatic across-the-board cuts to the entire federal budget. Pelosi, now at the table, secured important concessions: the trigger would hit defense spending just as hard as domestic spending, and there would be no changes to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. Democrats hated the deal–Representative Emanuel Cleaver, a pastor from Kansas City, Mo., called it a “sugar-coated Satan sandwich”–but the bill passed with 95 Democratic votes.

This pattern would define the remainder of the Obama presidency: a cycle of crisis, featuring marginalized Democrats, recalcitrant Republicans, a White House unwilling or unable to strategize around them, and a government that could barely keep the lights on, much less solve any of the nation’s pressing problems. Another recurring feature of this depressing cycle: Pelosi, the congressional leader with the longest track record of reaching across the aisle, was routinely cast aside. When she forced her way into the room, problems generally got solved. But it didn’t seem to occur to the men in charge to invite her in the next time.

Pelosi’s current efforts have a political goal: as the November election nears, she wants to show that Democrats are focused on governing responsibly. It’s why she’s urged the party’s candidates to focus on kitchen-table issues and realistic plans; it’s also why she resisted impeachment for the better part of a year, then pushed for a short and simple process.

“The message has to be one that is not menacing,” she told me in December, when both impeachment and the presidential primary were in full swing. “People love change, but they also are menaced by it.” The liberal platform that resonates in her San Francisco district, she said, may not go over as well in swing states like Michigan that Democrats need to win the Electoral College. She cited single-payer health care as an example: “I think it’s menacing to say to people, in order to get this tomorrow, we’re taking away your private insurance.”

Pelosi’s political future isn’t something she talks about–when I mentioned the idea of the “twilight” of her career, she snapped at me–but in 2018, she accepted a term-limit agreement that would force her to step down in 2022. Privately, as I reveal for the first time in the book, she told confidants at the time that she expected the current term to be her last.

The legacy she leaves will be a complex one. As the first female Speaker, she shattered the “marble ceiling,” but her dreams of a woman President were dashed in 2016 and 2020, and she leaves no obvious female successor. She cites the Affordable Care Act as her greatest achievement, but Republicans have succeeded in undermining it and Democrats argue it doesn’t go far enough. Despite her willingness to deal, Congress is a gridlocked mess with dismally low approval ratings.

When I asked Pelosi what she still wants to accomplish, she pointed to the problem of income inequality and the “existential threat” of climate change. Pelosi’s House passed a cap-and-trade bill in 2009, but it never advanced in the Senate; save for a resolution last year in favor of the Paris Agreement, it remains the only major climate legislation ever to pass a house of Congress.

“Our work is not finished,” she said, “when it comes to improving the lives of the American people.”

Adapted from PELOSI by Molly Ball. Published by Henry Holt and Company May 5th 2020. Copyright © 2020 by Molly Ball. All rights reserved.

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What if Children Ran the School Lunchroom?

On a recent Tuesday, the cafeteria at KairosPDX charter school in Portland, Ore., was buzzing as students lined up to taste two freshly made butternut squash recipes. On one side of the table was roasted butternut squash. On the other side, a creamy butternut squash soup.“This one is the best,” said Mari, a fifth grader, as she gulped soup from a small cup. “It’s super delicious. I want a big bowl of it to eat at home.”The students were participating in a “Tasty Challenge” event organized by FoodCorps, a nonprofit organization that connects children to healthy food in schools. The group recently teamed up with Sweetgreen, the national salad chain, to carry out a new program that aims to improve the school food experience by letting students customize their meals, participate in taste tests and brainstorm ways to redesign their school cafeterias.As part of the initiative, called “Reimagining School Cafeterias,” the students at KairosPDX got to compare the two butternut squash recipes and then vote on their favorite one using an iPad. The soup won in a landslide, and the school is considering adding it to the cafeteria lunch menu.While there are many organizations that are working to improve school food, FoodCorps preaches that children fall in love with fruits and vegetables when they have opportunities to grow them, prepare them, and try them again and again. The group shows children how to get their hands in the dirt, encouraging them to spend time in gardens pulling carrots, beets and sweet potatoes from the ground. Then the children get to taste the fruits of their labor and learn about them through culinary and nutrition lessons.“It’s incredibly important to give kids the tools and skills they need to build their own relationship with healthy food, and our job is to support them in that,” said Curt Ellis, the group’s co-founder and chief executive officer. “It’s about helping them discover what they love to eat rather than telling them what they should eat.”Mr. Ellis started FoodCorps a decade ago after his work as a co-creator of the documentary “King Corn,” which looked at how America’s overproduction of corn impacts public health, the environment and family farms. Mr. Ellis traveled around the country showing his film on college campuses and was astonished by how many young people approached him to talk about their desire to change the food system.So in 2010, he co-founded FoodCorps to give them an outlet.The organization now has a team of 250 service members who work in 400 schools in 18 states, mostly in poor neighborhoods where obesity rates are high. The service members, many of them recent college graduates, are trained to promote wellness, whether that is building school gardens or spending time in lunchrooms introducing students to new foods.Based in Portland and New York, the group is funded by AmeriCorps, the national service program, as well as private foundations and companies such as Sweetgreen. A recent study by researchers at Teachers College, Columbia University, found that schools that partnered with the organization tended to have “measurably healthier school food environments after a year of FoodCorps presence,” and that students who had the most exposure to gardening and culinary lessons ate up to three times more fruits and vegetables at lunch.Nationwide, lifestyle related diseases have taken a toll on children’s health. Roughly one in three kids is overweight or obese, and diabetes is on the rise. Some children get about half their daily calories at school, but many schools struggle to provide nutritious meals that kids will eat: A federal study published last year found high levels of food waste, with more than a quarter of the calories and nutrients produced in elementary school cafeterias going into the garbage.But making vegetables more appealing is only half the battle. FoodCorps recently commissioned a study that involved interviewing over 400 students, school nutrition workers, teachers and other staff members at nine diverse schools around the country. It found a range of ways that schools can make their meals a more pleasant experience.Many children lamented the lack of variety and flavor in their meals. They said their meals did not reflect their cultural heritage or what they ate at home and at restaurants. Some students and staff members complained about windowless, cramped cafeterias that felt colorless and depressing, and lunch periods that were too short. In many schools, students had as little as 15 minutes to wait in line, eat their food and catch up with friends. Ultimately the students said they wished they had more control over their cafeteria experience.The findings prompted FoodCorps to start its “Reimagining School Cafeterias” program, which has several components. One is the “Tasty Challenge,” in which kids try vegetables prepared in different ways and vote on their favorites. Participating schools get a “flavor bar” where students can add special herbs and seasonings to their meals like adobo, hot sauce and garlic. Students also get to provide input to their schools about ways to revamp their cafeterias, such as adding more plants and natural lighting.Sweetgreen, which has a chain of 100 farm-to-table, fast-casual restaurants across the country, provided FoodCorps $1 million to help finance the initiative. It started in 15 schools in 2019 and will expand to 50 schools this year, reaching an estimated 22,000 students.Sweetgreen has long championed healthy eating among students through its own nutrition initiative, called Sweetgreen in Schools, which it introduced a decade ago. Jonathan Neman, a co-founder and chief executive of the company, said he realized that the chain could have a bigger impact on the food culture in schools by partnering with a nonprofit like FoodCorps.“What excited us was that we could help with our marketing and design muscle and then fund them to do this at scale,” he said.At Kairos, more than half the student population qualifies for free or reduced lunch. The school was founded in 2012 with a focus on improving educational outcomes for students of color. Kali Ladd, its co-founder and executive director, said that in the past Kairos’s students wouldn’t touch a vegetable unless it was smothered in ranch dressing or other condiments. “They never wanted to eat vegetables — they would just throw them out,” she said.But now Kairos has a full time FoodCorps service member, Sophie Rasmussen, and a FoodCorps graduate who became the school’s nutrition and garden coordinator, Graham Schreiber. Together they teach the students how to grow and harvest vegetables in a community garden and use them in recipes. “With the access to the garden we’ve seen a dramatic change in the eating habits of our kids,” said Ms. Ladd. “The first year we had a FoodCorps member, they harvested kale and made a stew with it, and that’s something we would have never seen before. In terms of helping our kids develop healthy eating habits, it’s been wonderful.”During a recent lunch period at the school, a group of fifth graders sat around a table talking about the butternut squash taste test and describing their favorite garden-inspired school meals, including sweet potato fries and yakisoba noodles with shredded cabbage and carrots. Then they rattled off a list of the crops they were growing: blueberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, peas, basil and more.Gus, 11, said that the taste test was the first time he had ever tried butternut squash and that he found the soup delicious.“I think that squash by itself is a little blandish, but the soup fixes it by adding more flavor to it,” he said. “It was a great first impression.” Read the full article

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*FOR INDIANS, CRICKET IS NOT JUST A SPORT, IT’S AN EMOTION*

*BHANDARI MARBLE GROUP- THE INDIAN CRICKET TEAM SUPPORTER! #WORLDCUP2019:*

*INDIA’S LEADING DEALERS IN MARBLE, GRANITE AND NATURAL STONE- BHANDARI MARBLE GROUP APPEALS BILLIONS OF HEARTS TO CHEER FOR TEAM INDIA.:*

*BHANDARI MARBLE GROUP applauds the spirit of 87 year old woman who cheered for team India, Virat Kohli shared her pictures on his #Twitter handle:*

Charulata Patel, an 87-year-old woman, blowing a horn in the stands to cheer for Team India against Bangladesh in the 2019 World Cup has gone viral on social media. "I have been watching cricket for last many decades...Earlier, I used to watch on TV when I was working, but now that I am retired I watch it live," she said.

*INDIA GOING STRONG:*

The Indian cricket team are two times World Champions. In addition to winning the 1983 Cricket World Cup, they triumphed over Sri Lanka in the 2011 Cricket World Cup on home soil. They were also runners-up at the 2003 Cricket World Cup, and semifinalists four times(1987, 1996, 2015 and 2019). They came last in the Super Six stage in the 1999 Cricket World Cup and have been knocked out 4 times in the Group stage (1975, 1979, 1992 and 2007). India's historical win-loss record at the cricket world cup is 46-27, with 1 match being tied and another one being abandoned due to rain.

*HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2019 WORLD CUP:*

The much-awaited India vs Pakistan clash took place at Old Trafford, Manchester on 16 June. However, this match turned out to be another no-contest in favour of India. India were made to bat first in a match which was affected by rain. Once Pakistan missed the chance to get Rohit run out in the seventh over[22], the game was over for Pakistan as Rohit went on to make a brilliant century (140 off 113 balls, 14 fours, 3 sixes), ably supported by Rahul (57 off 78 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) and Kohli (77 off 65 balls, 7 fours), however a good death-bowling performance from Mohammad Amir, who took 3/47, restricted India to 336/5 when at one stage, they were cruising towards a post-350 score. Pakistan's reply, however, had little effect. Barring a 104-run second-wicket stand between Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman, the rest of the Pakistan batting crumbled against India's bowling attack, with a combined bowling effort from Pandya (8-0-44-2), who took the wickets of veterans Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik in consecutive deliveries, Vijay Shankar (5.2-0-2-22) and Kuldeep (9-1-2-32) leaving Pakistan at 166/6 in the 35th over before the rain began to fall. After the rain, Pakistan's target was reduced to 302 which had to be scored within an impossible 5 overs by the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method, thus handing India yet another win against their arch-rivals and maintaining their all-win record against them in the World Cup. Pakistan managed to finish their innings at 212/6. India won the match by 89 runs (D/L).[23] Unfortunately for India, Bhuvneshwar sustained a hamstring niggle during the match while bowling, ruling him out for the matches against Afghanistan and the West Indies.[24]

India then played the teams who had qualified for the World Cup through the qualifying tournament, Afghanistan and the West Indies,[25] at Southampton and Old Trafford respectively. The match against Afghanistan was a thriller which India managed to win by 11 runs. On a slow pitch,the Indian batsman struggled to make runs against the Afghan bowling attack, with Afghan's spin attack of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi, as well as the medium-pace of captain Gulbadin Naib, never allowing the Indian batsmen to settle down. India limped its way to 224/8 in their 50 overs, which was their lowest total batting first and completing their 50 overs since 2010.[26] In the chase, Afghanistan played sedately, with Naib, Rahmat Shah and Nabi making significant contributions, with Nabi going on to score 52 off 55 balls. However a strong bowling performance from India, with contributions from Bumrah (10-1-2-39), Shami (9.5-1-40-4) and Chahal (10-0-36-2) and especially Bumrah and Shami's death-over bowling, kept a check on the Afghan run rate. In the final over, the Afghans needed 16 runs to win the match. Once Shami got Nabi out in the third ball of the final over, the match was over for Afghanistan as he got the wickets of tailenders Aftab Alam and Mujeeb in consecutive deliveries to achieve a hat-trick, which was only the second by an Indian bowler in a World Cup since Chetan Sharma in 1987.[27] Afghanistan was all out for 213 in 49.5 overs.[28] The match against the Caribbeans on the other hand, witnessed a clinical performance from India, with the team winning by a huge margin of 125 runs. Though India, who batted first, lost Rohit (18 off 23 balls, 1 four and 1 six) early, a good knock from Kohli (72 off 82 balls, 8 fours), supplemented from Dhoni (56 off 61 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes), which averted a potential middle-order collapse, and also a cameo from Pandya (46 off 38 balls, 5 fours), brought India to a respectable 268/7 in 50 overs. This was followed by yet another strong performance with the ball, with Shami (6.2-0-4-16) taking 4 wickets again, as the Windies were bowled out for just 143 in the 35th over.[29]

India’s first loss in the 2019 World Cup came against hosts England in the first of 2 back-to-back matches at Edgbaston, Birmingham, the other match being against Bangladesh. India, who were put to bowl first, bowled poorly for the first time in the tournament, including Shami (10-1-5-72), who was expensive despite taking a 5-wicket haul, as the English batsman, including openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, who cracked an attacking century, as well as all-rounder Ben Stokes, who scored 79 off just 54 balls, made merry of the Indian bowling attack. England posted 337/7 in their 50 overs. Chasing 338 to win, India lost Rahul early for a duck and from there, they were never able to recover, batting slowly due to a deteriorating pitch. In their first 10 overs, India was only able to score 27 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. Despite Rohit’s third century of the tournament (102 off 109 balls, 15 fours) along with Kohli’s fifth-consecutive half-century (66 off 76 balls, 7 fours), England’s total proved to be beyond India’s reach and they ended their innings at 306/5, losing by 31 runs. Dhoni (42 off 31 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) in particular was criticised by former players and fans for his inability to accelerate the scoring rate in the end overs.[30] In contrast, the match against Bangladesh which took place two days later was for the most part, a one-sided affair in favour of India, though Bangladesh put up a strong fight. India started in the strongest possible manner, with Rohit (104 off 92 balls, 7 fours, 5 sixes) scoring his fourth century in the tournament. Along with Rahul (77 off 92 balls, 6 fours, 1 six), the duo put up a partnership of 180 runs for the first wicket, which was the highest partnership by India for the first wicket in the World Cup at the time, beating the previous record of 172 by Rohit and Dhawan against Ireland in 2015. A score of 400 plus seemed likely at one stage, but once Rohit departed, there was a middle-order collapse due to pacer Mustafizur Rahman's 5/59 off his 10 overs. However cameos from Pant (48 off 41 balls, 6 fours and 1 six) and Dhoni (35 off 33 balls, 4 fours) brought India to 314/9 in their 50 overs. In response, Bangladesh fought back, with all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan scoring 66, but a spirited bowling performance from India, courtesy Bumrah (10-1-55-4) and Pandya (10-1-60-3), who also took Shakib's wicket, brought Bangladesh down to 179/6 in the 34th over. Despite a valiant rearguard action from the Bangladesh lower middle-order, with a 66-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Mohammad Saifuddin, who scored a fighting half-century, and Sabbir Rahman, Bangladesh folded for 286, India winning by 29 runs. With this win, India qualified for the semifinals of the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

*BHANDARI MARBLE GROUP- LEADING INDIA IN THE EXPORT INDUSTRY OF MARBLE, GRANITE AND NATURAL STONE:*

*#IndiaFirst*

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We are one of them. You will get full variety of Indian Marbles, Italian Marbles, Granite, sandstone and Lime stone at best price. Marble is a transformative stone made out of calcite. Due to its structure, marble can take a high clean and is an extremely prominent brightening stone for compositional and sculptural purposes.

Indian Marble itself can be of two types, one made out of calcite and the other of dolomite. The shade of marble ranges from the splendid white of calcite to dark, including blue-gray, red, yellow and green, contingent on the mineral composition.

*Typical uses:*

Marble has numerous decorative and auxiliary employments. It is utilized for outdoor sculptures and additionally for form bases; in architecture it is utilized as a part of outside dividers and finishes, flooring, decorative features, stairways and walkways.

Popular types of Indian marble:

It comes in an astonishing array of colors such as white, pink, yellow, green, red and black.

*Taj Mahal made by ivory-white marble*

BHANDARIMARBLEGROUP

There are many varieties such as Makrana marble (used in the Taj Mahal), Rajnagar Marble (the world’s largest marble-producing area, with over 2,000 gang saw units located in the nearby town of Udaipur), Andhi Marble (a dolomitic marble with intrusions of tremolite), Salumber Marble (also known as Onyx Marble), Rajasthan – Abu Black (a rare black textured marble), Madhya Pradesh – Katni Range: (famous beige coloured marble), Indian Green Marble, etc.

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*Contact Us:*

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Citizen Sports: The Sixers’ Real Draft Needs

Originally published on The Philadelphia Citizen, June 26, 2019

The narrative around last week’s NBA draft has been all about who will perform on the court. But what if the biggest question facing the 76ers this off-season has little to do with its players? What if the most important question on the team’s fate is really about the team’s ownership, and whether it will grow from a smart leadership perspective as its players develop?

A year ago, the 2018 Sixers season ended with hope. Way ahead of schedule, a young, scrappy team reached the second round of the playoffs. Those Sixers weren’t supposed to achieve so much so fast. Ben Simmons was a rookie. Joel Embiid had his first full healthy season. Top pick Markelle Fultz was a healthy scratch, but hey, he’d have next off-season to rehab his shot. One season later, the team was bumped again in the second round of the playoffs, losing to eventual champion Toronto in seven games. Yet this year’s loss felt more disappointing.

Why? The awkward public performance of Sixers owner Josh Harris.

Before the first game of the playoffs, Harris was asked about the possibility of losing to the Boston Celtics again in the playoffs. He answered: “It would be problematic. Very problematic. We’d be unhappy. I’d be unhappy. The city would be unhappy…We have enough talent on our roster that if we play the way we’re capable of playing, we can beat any team in the East…Now the pressure is on to deliver.”

Great leaders inspire. In sports, leaders set winning expectations for the front office, the athletes, and the fans. But great leaders also put people in a position to succeed; in that sense, Harris’s pre-playoff comments were leadership malpractice.

Late in the season, in the form of Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, the Sixers had acquired league-leading talent, but, due to injuries, had only given them ten games to play together. They were 8-2 in those games, but still learning how to play together. Harris’s comments set an impossible standard just before the playoffs. His comments exploded the criticism of coach Brett Brown, and reframed any ending that wasn’t the NBA finals as automatically a failure.

Let’s check Harris’s leadership scorecard. Harris over-emphasized accountability, which set the wrong vision for the team, and put the Sixers and Brown—his own employee—in a position to fail. Moreover, he changed the public perception of the team. Philadelphia is an underdog city. Before the 2008 Phillies and 2018 Eagles championships, our sports teams were losers: The Flyers last won 44 years ago; the Sixers 36 years ago; the Eagles had never won a Super Bowl before last year; and the Phillies are still the losing-est team in the history of organized sports.

Our hearts have been broken so often, we’ve learned to wait to be surprised by our teams. We love the “World Fucking Champions” 2008 Phillies, not “The Four Horsemen” 2011 Phillies. We love the “Philly Special” 2018 Eagles, not the “Dream Team” 2011 Eagles.

We find our soul reflected in teams that are hungry, scrappy, and fighting against history for a chance at glory. Harris’s playoff comments instantly transformed the Sixers from a scrappy ahead-of-schedule squad into a Finals-or-Bust mega-team.

But Harris can still redeem himself. Great leaders admit fault, and great leaders use those mistakes to learn and teach lessons. The Raptors NBA Championship win can reframe the Sixers loss. The team that looked so much better than the Warriors in the Finals needed every ounce and a miracle four-bounce shot to beat the Sixers. Doesn’t that make the Sixers arguably the second best team in the NBA? Harris should use this opportunity to reframe this season not as “problematic” but as a building block.

Since buying the franchise in 2011, Harris has turned an irrelevant Sixers team to the always interesting, often-discussed, fan-beloved team it is today. But much like the team, expectations on Harris are now at an all-time high. His lack of leadership in a key moment is alarming, considering that he will play a key role in building the workplace that retains the top talent the Sixers have “processed” over the last half-decade.

After the season, many of the   players stepped up to vouch for embattled coach Brett Brown, as if in rebuttal to the speculation their team’s owner had fueled. “Amazing coach, better person, and obviously I got a lot of love for him,” reflected Embiid. Even Butler chimed in to say: “He always thinks about how to make everybody great, which is hard to do when you have the roster that we have had.” As we enter one of the most important off seasons in Sixers’ history, let’s hope that Harris takes a few notes out of Brown’s coaching playbook.

Photo by Brian Adams