#1.) Kevin nicking Ben’s watch like i said | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

santiagonex · 5 years

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As 2020 is nearing, it’s time to see what 2019 has brought us when it comes to gay representation in tv shows and movies. Below ‘read more’, there’s a whole list of tv shows/ships/movies (with pictures and basic description) which include/are about gay (used as an umbrella term) men and couples (so basically have gay storylines and at least one gay person is a main character of the show/movie).

Since I’m a gay man, I keep up mostly with mlm, if I included wlw as well, I don’t think the list would be complete with my lack of knowledge, so sorry about that. I’m pretty sure there are more competent people who can do that instead of me.

Total Count of TV Shows in the list: 65 Total Count of Movies in the list: 27

Anyways, here we go.

TV SHOWS

TV SHOWS WITH TITULAR/CENTRAL GAY CHARACTERS/SHIPS

The Other Two: the funniest most-relatable show centered around three siblings – one of them is gay (left). A must-watch for sure. He’s pretty much the hugest part of the show, there are some love storyline (...and they were roomates), some self-loving moments and iconic lines. Just watch it, you won’t regret it.

Sex Education: show about two best friends, one of them (right) is gay. His name is Eric and he gets involved with his enemy Adam (left). Amazing show.

Special: show about a gay man Ryan (right) with mild cerebral palsy, who wants to live his life as an independent person to the fullest. Easy and short show to watch.

Druck (German SKAM Remake): if you don’t know SKAM, it’s pretty much a show where each season is devoted to one character. Third season of German SKAM aired this year and it was revolved around a gay guy (left). For the first time in SKAM history, the main character’s love interest is a trans guy (right).

Skam France (French SKAM Remake): the French version of SKAM had a gay season this year as well.

WTFock (Belgian SKAM Remake): Belgium has a season focused on the main gay character this year as well.

El corazón nunca se equivoca: I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of Aristemo from ‘Mi marido tiene más familia’. Well, they’d already aired the first season of the new spin-off centered around their lives in college (I think).

Merlí: Sapere Aude: Bruno (left) and Pol (right) fans, it’s time to make some noise. Brunol is coming back because Pol is getting a spin-off which will be taking place in university. Bruno will be in it as well. First episode airs on 5th of December this year.

Pose: second season of Ryan Murphy’s popular show with main transgender and gay characters has aired this year.

The Politician: another show from Ryan Murphy was created. The main protagonist of the show (right) is played by Ben Platt and he’s gay. The show contains many LGBT+ main characters.

Tales of the City: the revival of the Tales of the City sequence of miniseries aired this year. The show includes many LGBT+ storylines.

The L Word: Generation Q: the revival of The L Word show will air on 8th of December this year. The show is mainly about lesbians, but based on trailer, there will be a gay couple included as well.

Years and Years: very futuristic show with a political message. Includes both mlm and wlw as main characters.

The Red Line: the plot of this show involves a white cop in Chicago who mistakenly shoots and kills a black doctor named Harrison. Harrison had a husband (left) and daughter (right). The show deals with the consequences of the event.

Now Apocalypse: all I’m gonna say is that Beck from Victorious got to make out with Scott from Teen Wolf, Matty from Awkward and Jake from Glee. The show was renewed for second season and later this statement was taken back and it got cancelled – which I guess says enough about the show.

This Close: the show is about two best friends who are deaf. One of them (left) is gay and has a storyline and spicy scenes with the guy on the right and some other guys as well.

Schitt’s Creek: David (right) and Patrick (left) aka the cutest softest couple of all time. The last season of the show will air next air. Watch the show if you wanna laugh and watch the healthiest gay couple on tv. They also got engaged this year, which was beautiful.

NEW TV SHOWS (1 SEASON) WITH MAIN GAY CHARACTERS/SHIPS

Daybreak: both main characters and basically on different sides of the battles. Who wouldn’t want to watch enemies being in love Romeo & Juliet style.

El Juego de las Llaves (The Game of Keys): very interesting and fun show to follow, the one on the right is the main character. He’s closeted, has a girlfriend and gradually realizes there’s something else out there. Nice kissing scenes, plus one very spicy scene. Doesn’t hurt that the guy on the left he will be involved with looks like a dollar store Chris Evans if you squint hard enough.

Five Bedrooms: 5 strangers moves in. The guy in the middle is gay. His mom is a very traditional Indian woman who just wants grandchildren. The whole show is heart-warming and sad at times. The guy gets fair share of screentime and some love interests including a cop from the neighbourhood.

Made In Heaven: Indian show that follows the lives of Tara and Karan (left), two wedding planners in Delhi running an agency named Made in Heaven. Karan is gay. Very progressive show with spicy gay scenes.

What/If: haven’t seen the show yet but friends said these two have a nice storyline in the show. Threesome included.

Bonding: show about two best friends Pete (left) and Tiff (right). Pete is gay. They basically... do freaky shit for work... umm. Just watch trailer or something.

Osmosis: I have no idea what the show is about but the guy on the left is set to betrying to find a soulmate or something. I think I remember seeing some spicy scenes.

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists: basically some gay romance with the guy on the right and someone else. The one on the left dies the first episode so I did not even bother after that. But you can be the judge of it.

Doom Patrol: Larry (left) is a superhero, kinda. There’s something haunting his past, though. Something that involves being gay.

The Umbrella Academy: Klaus (left) my favorite character. He’s kind of a hero along with his other siblings. There’s a deep gay storyling along the way.

Weird City: anyways... all I’m gonna say is that Dylan O’Brien played a gay for one episode in a show. Wish there wasn’t this huge ugly age difference.

Roswell, New Mexico: cowboys, aliens, bisexuality, homosexuality and all that. Didn’t really see the show but there’s a lot of content with these two.

Good Trouble: never saw the sow but the guy on the picture is a main bisexual characters. There are some mlm scenes.

The Society: Grizz (right) and Sam (left) literally the highlight of the show. Just watch it, it is worth to see it for both of them. Sam is also deaf. The show is basically about a bunch of teenagers getting stuck in a town with no one else in or around.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The High School Musical tv show has just started airing on Disney+. Carlos (left) is confirmed to be gay and to be getting a nice development this season which will probably involve Seb (right) as well.

The Heights: Australian tv show. Sully (left) is gay. Got a thing for Ash (right) at the start. Then things were messy. Then they suddenly kissed. And the things are messy again.

El Club (The Club): very interesting show. The gave these two really (like REALLY) spicy scenes. Some romantic stuff. But there’s really not much depth in my option. Check and see.

Volevo fare la rockstar: didn’t see it but it’s an Italian show and there’s a romantic storyline between these two.

No Good Nick: Jeremy (right) came out this year on this sitcom. Nice and very weid sitcom. Unfortunately it was cancelled, but the way they handled his gay storyline was rather nice.

World on Fire: follows lives of ordinary people from Britain, Poland, France, Germany and the USA during World War II. Two of them are gay. And yeah one of those two is Will from sense8.

TV SHOWS (1 SEASON+) WITH MAIN GAY CHARACTERS/SHIPS

Andi Mack: the show that made history. Andi Mack is a Disney Channel show and for the first time in Disney Channel history, Cyrus (right) came out using the word ‘gay’ and made it official with the recurring character TJ (left) this year. The two-season slow-burn was really worth it.

Shadowhunters: Malec got married this year. Yay.

Grey’s Anatomy: Levi and Nico still going strong.

La Casa de las Flores (The House of Flowers): despite the first season making it seem like it was the end for Diego and Julián, that’s not the case. In season 2, they’re stronger than ever, the scenes are spicier than ever and the show is gayer than ever.

Baby: first season was mostly focused on Fabio (face on right) realizing he’s gay. The second season has shockingly showed us that Brando (face on left) is gay as well. Very toxic ship so if you enjoy Gallavich this is probably for you.

Élite: Omar and Ander continuing their journey.

Shameless: Ian (up) and Mickey (down) came back to Shameless season 10 as main characters. About time.

Station 19: new love interest (left, a deaf character portrayed by a deaf actor) was introduced for Travis (right) in the season 2 finale. Let’s see what happens in season 3, which airs in 2020.

Ackley Bridge: they pretty much baited us with Cory (left) and Naveed (right) this season. They stayed just friends, but Naveed found a love interest, so that’s nice.

Find Me In Paris: Never saw the show, but Jeff (on the picture) is gay and his love interest Isaac gets introduced in second season that aired this year.

13 Reasons Why: Tony and Caleb going strong. It was also revealed that Monty (right) is a closeted gay and had a storyline with Winston (left). There’s probably more to come with them in next season.

Insatiable: unfortunately they didn’t serve much Bob (right) & Bob this year. But they introduced detective Rudy (left) and there were some scenes and twists and turns. Whatever.

Riverdale: I don’t care. Kevin (left) is still there. There are some gay charcters based on wiki, but yeah. Crumbs, I bet. Whatever.

Charité: second season (which has the two main gay characters) takes place in Berlin in 1943. You don’t need to watch the first season at all, to understand the second one with them, it’s basically a stand-alone.

Animal Kingdom: Deran and Adrian’s story coming to an end?

The Magicians: Well, they killed off the central bi character Quentin (on the picture), so fuck them.

How to Get Away With Murder: Connor (left) and Oliver (right) still there.

Dear White People: haven’t seen it, but Lionel (on the picture) is still there and he’s gay.

Zoe Valentine: there’s this web series and these two have a storyline in second season that aired this year.

SOAP OPERAS AND TELENOVELAS

Sturm der Liebe: Boris (left) and Tobias (right) are married and lived happily ever after. Really cute and sometimes dramatic storyline overall. Check it out.

Malhação: Vidas Brasileiras: Santiago (left) and Michael (right) had a gay storyline but the show ended this year.

Malhação: Toda Forma de Amar: Guga (right) and Serginho (left) have a gay storyline in the show.

Eastenders: Ben (left) and Callum’s (right) storyline has begun this year.

Neighbours: David (right) and Aaron (left) aka husbands still in the soap.

REALITY SHOWS

Queer Eye: five gay guys helping others. Season 3, 4 and a special have aired this year.

Are You the One?: for the first time in the show’s history, season 8 of this dating reality show had an all-sexually fluid cast this year. Which means mlm and wlw and anything else. Really fun show.

MOVIES

Benjamin: don’t even remember what the movie was about but I rec because it was cute and I mean hello Merlin.

Boy Erased: homosexuality and religion. Has a Troye Sivan in it. Very decent movie.

And Then We Danced: my favorite gay movie of this year. All the things they had to do to be able to film this in homophobic Georgia (the country)... just wow. It’s a must-watch.

Who Would You Take to a Deserted Island?: didn’t know what to expect from this movie. It is based on a play and it shows. Watch and be the judge of it. The acting was really highlight of the movie.

This Is Not Berlin: hasn’t seen it yet since it was just officially released. But it is included in an LGBT+ section so... hopefully they didn’ lie.

Rocketman: movie about Elton John with Taron Egerton and Richard Madden... I mean, phew.

Un Rubio (The Blonde One): gonna watch this, apparently it’s amazing based on what some of my mutuals have said.

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan: Jon Snow being gay and kissing Chris Zylka. Made by Xavier Dolan. A literal tripple threat. Genuinely enjoyed the movie and the soundtrack.

Ranchlands: haven’t seen this but my friend said it’s amazing.

Steam Room Stories: this movie was something... Eating Out levels of ‘I-’ but without all the sex. I guess watch this if you are bored.

Posledice (Consequences): very spicy and intriguing movie. Slovenia snapped with this one.

Papi Chulo: didn’t like this movie and the concept of it but... you can check out and see for yourself.

Dolor y gloria (Pain and Glory): Antonio Banderas kissing a man. Hopefully it really is a gay-related movie because I haven’t seen it yet.

Die Stropers (The Harvesters): brilliant cinematography but I expected much more from the movie.

Giant Little Ones: what happens when you’re into your best friend’s sister but the best friend gives you a BJ. Well... watch and see.

Kanarie (Canary): a war musical about a small town boy who gets chosen to serve his compulsory two year military training in the South African Defence Force Choir and Concert. Loved the involvement of the Boy George music, aesthetic and story. One of my favorites this year.

Luciérnagas (Fireflies): haven’t seen it yet but the description says that the main gay character (right) “flees from persecution in Iran and ends up living in the tropical town of Veracruz.”

El Angel: haven’t seen it but apparently there are some implications it was lowkey gay... so yeah.

Dear Ex: from wiki “San Lian was devastated when she discovered her late ex-husband left his insurance payout to his male partner Ah Jie. She decided to bring her son to fight for their rights, but her son instead chose to stand on the other person's side.” Will watch this soon, sounds interesting.

Sauvage: one of the best gay movies this year. Don’t know how to describe it so let me copy paste the description “ Léo is a sex worker who uses drugs whilst longing for love.”

Sócrates: haven’t seen it yet as it was just released.

Marilyn: story about a farm worker who discovers his sexuality in a hostile environment. Didn’t see it since someone has told me there are some scenes that are really HARD to stomach and I ain’t about that life.

Les Crevettes pailletées (The Shiny Shrimps): the movie is about an Olympic swimming champion who makes a homophobic comment in a television interview, and is disciplined by the national swim team with the responsibility of coaching a gay water polo team who aspire to compete in the Gay Games. Sounds and looks like an amazing comedy and can’t wait to watch it when I will be able to.

Fin de siglo (End of the Century): it’s not out yet as far as I know, but it’s about two men who meet in Barcelona and realize they have met already 20 years ago.

Matthias et Maxime: another excellence by Xavier Dolan. Story about life-long friends who question their sexual identities after they kiss. Looks amazing and I can’t wait for it to get released finally.

The Goldfinch: not a gay movie, but I’ve seen many people considering it as LGBT+ cinema because of the book and you know what, they kissed after all so you can perceive it beyond friendship if you want. If not, then just skip it. I feel like it is worth mentioning it tho.

Mapplethorpe: movie is about the life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Didn’t see it but Doctor Who plays him so there’s that.

UPCOMING

TV SHOWS

9-1-1: Lone Star: The spin-off of a popular show 9-1-1 by Ryan Murphy is premiering 19th of January 2020. It’s confirmed that the main character TK (a firefighter, left) will be romantically involved with the main character Carlos (a police officer, right). The show will also have a main trans man.

Love, Simon: The Series: A Disney+ Love, Simon spin-off is on its way and will premiere in 2020. The series will follow Victor (right) and his coming-out story at the same high school where Love, Simon took place. Didn’t find a photo with his love interest. The guy on the left will most likely be his enemy.

#lgbtcinema #gallavich #tyrus #ballum #lgbtedit #love simon #the goldfinch #hsmtmts #brunol #wtfock #lgbt #gay #text #*#gay rec

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shelby-love · 5 years

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♔ MY NAVIGATION ♔

0.5 TYPES OF REQUESTS I WRITE:

One-shots (1k words or more)

Drabbles (below 1k words)

Headcanons (bullet point fics)

Blurbs (below 500 words)

Imagines (gif + a little blurb, around 500 words)

1.0 RULES:

Request via ask.

Always include what type of request you want me to write.

Specify because specification is very important as it helps me make your request as pleasing as possible, but try not to be too specific as I like the element of surprise.

If you want me to write something from my prompt list (click here): include the name of said character, category of the prompt and the prompt’s respective number (e.g. Jay Halstead, fluff 7).

1.1 Note: If you don't include what type of request it is that you want me to cook up, I will choose the type myself so don't come at me if you wanted a 2K worded piece of work and instead got an imagine with 200 words!

1.2 Note: Mixing the prompt with a plot line of your own is allowed, just make sure to follow the rules (1-3).

1.5 THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:

Unless asked for, I will be writing with the Female!reader in mind (I like to exclude any gender relation and make it so that both genders could read and enjoy).

I respond to asks when the request has been qued to post and released on Ao3.

The maximum number of request you can send is 2. I know there is an option to send them in anonymously, but I really hope you will stick to this rule. Give others a chance to submit their wishes, and don’t make the line too big with by mass requesting (I close requests after I get around 30 requests).

Requests sent during seasons I have not watched or for characters that have yet to make an appearance in the show will not be written (exceptions exist).

I write one-shots but not a whole series unless I can see/want a continuation.

Themed requests (Christmas, Valentine's Day, New Year etc.) can be only sent during that time. I don’t accept Christmas requests during the month of May. The same goes for the rest.

I have every right to delete every request that does not fit within the rules stated above, or I feel uncomfortable writing. Also, it’s important to note that I don’t have inspiration to write every request that’s sent. It’s normal to not have inspiration, and because I prefer quality to quantity, if I see that I don’t have inspiration for a request then I will not write it.

Requests will be deleted if sent while my request box is closed. I won’t answer them as I feel like there is no need. On almost every informative post (+my bio, and if you’re on PC my theme under ‘blog status’) it will say whether the request box is closed or not.

English is not my first language but without digging myself my own grave this early on I want to say that I'm proud of how much I know, given that I never speak English unless in school.

Be nice because only constructive criticism is allowed. If you spot a grammatical error or a paragraph/sentence/word etc. that doesn't make sense, let me know. But be nice!

2.0 THINGS I DON’T WRITE:

LGBTQ+ topics/relationships (because I feel like I wouldn’t do a good job)

Real people, send only requests for characters in my writing list

Ships or OC, send only reader inserts

NSFW (mature content stories)

Noncon

Dark!fics

Romanticized mental illnesses

S*icide scenes

R*pe scenes

Racism/slurs

2.1 Note: P*dophilia, r*pe, s*icide might be mentioned in my Chicago P.D, Fire, Med shots (or other), but I will never explicitly write about those subjects or write about anything that is about/centered around them.

2.2 Note: Explicitly written smut is a no, I will not write that. Try to refrain from requesting steamy scenes too, as I will only put them in myself were I to deem it necessary for the WIP.

2.5 THINGS I DO WRITE:

Angst

Fluff/ WAFF

Fusion/ Crossover

Daughter/Wife/Sister!Reader

Here is me trying to explain what kind of requests I also take [x]

2.6 Note: It’s hard to list but to make it easier for you guys, I will write about almost anything as long as it’s not on my 2.0 bullet.

3.0 POSTING SCHEDULE:

Posts are usually posted between 01:00 A.M. and 05:00 A.M. CET (Central European Time).

Check schedule to see what's been qued to post.

3.1 Note: This account is NOT my work place. Everything here is written when I have time and I feel like writing. Requests that I find more interesting will most likely be written and qued to post sooner. I advise you to follow my blog, check regularly and sit tight until you see that it's qued. You can always check my navigation page and click on 'schedule'. Or simply click here.

3.2 Note: I am not a doctor nor a firefighter nor a policeman. I research whatever I can before I start writing and sometimes that takes hours. Nothing is 100% accurate (especially for events set in Chicago Med) although I hope it is.

3.5 WRITING LIST:

3.6 Note: Requests are currently OPEN for all fandoms!!!

3.7 Note: Your requests do not have to be strictly romantic (Sibling!Reader or other are also (obviously) allowed).

---More shows and characters will be added through time

✏ TV SHOWS (alphabetical order)

9-1-1 (✓)

Evan Buckley

Eddie Diaz

Bobby Nash

Howard "Chimney" Han

BRIDGERTON (✓)

Simon Basset

Anthony Bridgerton

Benedict Bridgerton

Colin Bridgerton

Prince Friedrich

CHICAGO FIRE (S01-S06)

Kelly Severide

Matt Casey

Peter Mills

Jimmy Borelli

Christopher Herrmann

Brian “Otis” Zvonecek

Joe Cruz

CHICAGO PD (S01-SO2)

Antonio Dawson

Adam Ruzek

Kevin Atwater

Jay Halstead

Hank Voight

Alvin Olinsky

CHICAGO MED (✓)

Connor Rhodes

Will Halstead

Ethan Choi

Noah Sexton

Crockett Marcel

James Lanik

DYNASTY (S01-S02)

Blake Carrington

Jeff Colby

Liam Ridley

Michael Culhane

ELITE (✓)

Guzmán Nunier Osuna

Samuel García Domínguez

Christian Varela Expósito

Leopoldo Benavent Villada (Polo)

PEAKY BLINDERS (✓)

Thomas Shelby

Arthur Shelby

John Shelby

Finn Shelby

Ada Shelby

Polly Gray

Alfie Solomons

Michael Gray (I currently cannot stand this dude)

TEEN WOLF (✓)

Scott Mcall

Stiles Stilinski

Isaac Lahey

Liam Dunbar

Derek Hale

THE ORIGINALS (✓)

Klaus Mikaelson

Elijah Mikaelson

Kol Mikaelson

Finn Mikaelson

Marcel Gerard

Rebekah Mikaelson

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY (✓)

Number Five

Diego Hargreeves

Luther Hargreeves

Klaus Hargreeves

Ben Hargreeves

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (✓)

Stefan Salvatore

Damon Salvatore (hate him)

Alaric Saltzman

Lorenzo St. John

Tyler Lockwood

Matt Donovan

Jeremy Gilbert

Katherine Pierce

Elena Gilbert (hate her even more)

Caroline Forbes

Bonnie Bennett

THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT (✓)

Benny Watts

Townes

Harry Beltik

THE WITCHER (✓)

Geralt of Rivia

Jaskier

WANDAVISION (✓)

See under ‘Marvel Universe’.

✏ MOVIES

HARRY POTTER

Oliver Wood

Harry Potter

Hermione Granger

Draco Malfoy

Ron Weasley

Fred Weasley

George Weasley

Percy Weasley

Bill Weasley

Charlie Weasley

Neville Longbottom

Cedric Diggory

The Marauders era

James Potter

Sirius Black

Peter Pettigrew

Remus Lupin

Severus Snape

MARVEL UNIVERSE

Tony Stark / Iron Man

Bruce Banner / Hulk

Thor

Loki

Steve Rogers / Captain America

Natasha Romanoff

Clint Barton / Hawkeye

Nick Fury

James Rhodes / War Machine / Iron Patriot

Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier / White Wolf

Sam Wilson / Falcon

Vision

Scott Lang / Ant-Man

T'Challa / Black Panther

Peter Parker / Spider-Man

Stephen Strange

Peter Quill / Star-Lord

Pietro Maximoff

TWILIGHT

Edward Cullen

Carlisle Cullen

Emmett Cullen

Alice Cullen

Jasper Hale

Rosalie Hale

Alec

Benjamin

Jacob Black

Seth Clearwater

Embry Call

EXPENDABLES

Lee Christmas

Barney Ross

Billy The Kid

Smilee

Mars

Thorn

Hale Caesar

Yin Yang

Toll Road

Gunnar Jensen

Booker

#imagine requests #Chicago pd #Chicago med #Chicago fire #Peaky blinders #Breaking bad #Fanfiction #Imagines #Drabbles #Fluff #elite #Netflix elite #elite imagine #elite fanfiction #rules #guidelines #masterlist

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thebachelordiaries · 5 years

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Judging the sh*t out of ‘The Bachelorette’ conestants

The first time I saw these men, I was rightfully disappointed. Their cast photos were so terrible that ABC took new pictures of them. That is unprecedented.

I would never wish for a person’s unemployment, but I hope that ABC photographer got a good severance package.

Luckily for everyone involved, none of these guys are actually that ugly. I mean, some of them still kind of are, but they will go home night one. The ugly ones are always eliminated first. It’s called Darwinism.

Oppositely, some of these guys have trouble written all over them. [Clarification: good trouble] I’m talking about you, Mike and Tyler C.

This season, we have not one, but two commercial airline pilots, a bad Nick Viall impersonator, some poor soul named Matt Donald, and a guy who refers to himself by his first, middle and last name. And no, his name isn’t John Wayne Gacy.

I’m just mostly looking forward to one of them replacing Blake as the “most loved guy in Bachelor Nation.” He’s old news, and I’m over everyone being obsessed with him. I need some young bucks to join the mix.

Ok, let’s get to know these idiots:

Brian, 30, Math Teacher

Brian + math puns = creepy.

Cam, 30, Software Sales

I just swiped left on Cam so fast I threw my phone out my building. I just know I will be pressing the mute button every time he comes on my screen.

Chasen, 27, Pilot

Do you know how to tell if a guy is a pilot right away? He’ll tell you.

Connor J., 28, Sales Manager

Connor is so boring that ABC described him as “the kind of guy your dad wants you to end up with.” I don’t read spoilers, but SPOILER ALERT: he’s going home night one.

Connor S., 24, Investment Analyst

I can look past the fact he’s one of those “i like to travel” guys. I can’t, however, look past the fact he was a college swimmer. Burn him at the stake.

Daron, 25, IT Consultant

Daron is scared of spiders and likes a woman who can take charge. In short, he’s a little b*tch.

Devin, 27, Talent Manager

Devin is best friends with Wills so I guess I'll be nice to him. As they say: “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Dustin, 30, Real Estate Broker

Personally, I’d rather eat the ashes of everyone I’ve ever loved than date someone who loves Tony Robbins.

Dylan, 24, Tech Entrepreneur

I’m pretty sure his occupation is code for “unemployed.”

Garrett, 27, Golf Pro

Garrett is from Birmingham, which is Hannah G.’s hometown. I’m assuming they know each other. All hot people who live in the same city flock together. It’s science.

Grant, 30, Unemployed

From his bio: “Grant is the real-life ‘The Dude.’" Say no more, fam. I’m ready to kick him straight in the nuts, which sucks for him because he obviously has no health insurance.

Hunter, 24, Pro Surfer

YOU SURF. WE GET IT. NEXT.

Jed, 25, Singer/Songwriter

Jed is the bobble head, Kmart version of Thomas Rhett.

Joe, 30, The Box King

The “working man” from Chicago aesthetic ONLY works for attractive men with great smiles, aka Grocery Store Joe. The Box King needs to find a new slant.

Joey, 33, Finance Manager

Joey’s barber...you’re fired.

John Paul Jones, 24, Financial Analyst

Do you know the kind of people we reference using their first, middle and last names? Serial killers.

Jonathan, 27, Server

Jonathan is the perfect guy for you if you want someone who likes to masturbate in front of a full-length mirror.

Kevin, 27, Behavioral Health Specialist

Kevin has muscles. Kevin helps veterans. Kevin loves Harry Potter. Kevin “loves too hard.” Kevin has a small penis, probably.

Luke P., 24, Import/Export Manager

On a scale of 1-10 for having a punchable face, Luke is Ben Affleck.

Luke S., 29, Political Consultant

The highlight of Luke’s life is hitting on Em Rata and making her blush. Actually, that would be the highlight of my life too.

Matt Donald, 26, Medical Device Salesman

His name is Matt Donald. He’s been through enough in life. I don’t feel like making it worse.

Matteo, 25, Management Consultant

Where to begin. I guess I’ll start with the fact he allegedly helped create 114 children as a sperm donor. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that’s not true.

Matthew, 23, Car Bid Spotter

Matthew is in the family business of auctioning, but hopes to one day join his family’s winery business. What is the truth?

Mike, 31, Portfolio Manager

ABC just HAD to put that Mike has a lot of “swag” in his bio. He sounds like the perfect guy. Also this isn’t really a spoiler, but I saw his intro video and...his ass is pretty perfect too. Just sayin’.

Peter, 27, Pilot

Well, look what we have here: another pilot. Unfortunately, there can be only one. They must fight to the death.

Ryan, 25, Roller Boy

He was a roller boy. She said get a better hobby, boy.

Scott, 28, Software Sales Executive

“Scott is an admirer of Kris Jenner.” I mean, same. His picture still creeps me out, though.

Thomas, 27, International Pro Basketball Player

Ball is life.

Tyler C., 26, General Contractor

“Tyler LOVES to dance. He says his friends get embarrassed by how intense he gets on the dance floor, but he doesn't care.“ I love Tyler. He’s also like, the hotter version of Miles Teller. And I’m insanely attracted to Miles Teller, so I don’t know what to do with my feelings right now.

Tyler G. ,38, Psychology Graduate Student

Tyler follows a keto diet and likes to go to Soul Cycle. He’s essentially a 40-year-old trophy wife.

Prediction corner:

First impression rose: I already watched the first episode, so I’m skipping this one.

Final Rose: Garrett (Alabama birds flock together)

My pick [for me]: Tyler C.

The Next Bachelor: Mike

This season’s villain: Luke. He has a very punchable face.

Most likely to get engaged on Bachelor In Paradise: John Paul Jones

#The bachelorette #alabama hannah #chris harrison #bachelorette contestants #abc #photo credit: ABC

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tkmedia · 3 years

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Nick Mullins' Premiership preview - part two Leicester to Northampton

9:24am, 13 September 2021 BT Sport’s Nick Mullins has over the last decade become the instantly recognisable voice of rugby union in the British Isles.ADVERTISEMENTOver the course of around 40 matches per season – and upwards of 100 preparatory training ground visits – BT’s leading match commentator sees more Gallagher Premiership action than most.As such he is ideally placed to assess the hopes of the 13 teams for whom the road to Twickenham next June gets underway this weekend.

Matt Dawson and Mike BrownHere is the second part of his club-by-club preview.Leicester TigersLast season: Sixth with 54 points (W11, D0, L11)Top scorer: Zack Henry (98)ADVERTISEMENTTop try scorer: Julian Montoya (5)Head coach: Steve Borthwick (appointed 2020)Arrivals: 14 including Freddie Burns, Marco van Staden and Bryce HegartyDepartures: 17 including Tomas Lavanini, Zack Henry and Joaquin Diaz BonillaADVERTISEMENTMost recent play-off season: 2016/17Title wins: TenNick’s verdict:“Clearing out the attic feels the best way to describe last season when they had the most major of overhauls. It felt like I was getting an email every day telling me another player had left.“At times it felt brutal looking from the outside but clearly it was needed because by the end of last season they were looking like their old selves.“I think I said in commentary at one point that they were starting to look, smell and play like Steve Borthwick and if ever a team needed to be remodelled in the image of its head coach than Leicester were that club.“Borthwick has come in and taken them back to the old days. I think the signings are really clever – as we saw with the Lions van Staden is impressive. They’re getting some old-fashioned grunt back in the pack and with the likes of Freddie Burns and Bryce Hegarty there will be plenty to smile about.“Although we seem to talk a lot about coaches and the standards they set these days Kevin Sinfield is going to be a really interesting story this season, as will Richard Wigglesworth and Matt Smith coming together to look after the attack. I’ll be surprised if they’re not pushing hard for the top four.”Part 1 of 3 from @andNickMullins covers Bath to Harlequins "Lots of neutrals looked at them last season and wondered how a team with so many impressive backs could not be more consistent?"https://t.co/UX1qpmMACY— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 13, 2021London IrishLast season: Ninth with 48 points (W6, D2, L14)Top scorer: Paddy Jackson (177)Top try scorer: Curtis Rona (8)Head coach: Declan Kidney (appointed 2018)Arrivals: 14 including Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Marcel van der MerweDepartures: 10 including Blair Cowan, Waisake Naholo and Tom HomerMost recent play-off season: 2008/9Title wins: NoneNick’s verdict:“Speaking personally their new stadium is one of the go-to places in the Premiership. The walk to the ground past the riverside pubs then the value for money from a season ticket at Brentford is tremendous.“They are thrilling to watch at times, but I suspect because Declan Kidney is more pragmatic than me that he would swap some of the excitement for a bit more consistency.“There’s no Blair Cowan or Theo Brophy-Clews this season but with a good crop of ex-academy players let’s see Irish not having to come back from 30 points down to win thrillingly quite so often, and instead winning a few dull games.”

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)Newcastle FalconsLast season: Tenth with 45 points (W9, D0, L13)Top scorer: Brett Connon (81)Top try scorer: Adam Radwan/George McGuigan (7)Head coach: Dean Richards (appointed 2012)Arrivals: 13 including Mike Brown and Nathan EarleDepartures: 14 including Toby Flood and Cooper VunaMost recent play-off season: 2017/18Title wins: OneNick’s verdict: “Newcastle Brown has become the phrase and there’s been plenty of chat about Mike Brown.“I think the move has come at a good time for him and despite leaving the champion club he’ll enjoy what they’re doing at Newcastle.“He’ll have some familiar faces around him in Nathan Earle, Ollie Lindsay-Hague, Nick Easter and Dean Richards and I think he’ll like the playing surface.“Can they make the top six…I don’t know. But Newcastle will be well worth watching, they’ve signed cleverly and I like the coaching team Dean Richards has put round him.”Local politicians promised otherwise…https://t.co/wjkNj2n1KS— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 13, 2021Northampton SaintsLast season: Fifth with 57 points (W11, D0, L11)Top scorer: James Grayson (83)Top try scorer: Ollie Sleightholme (7)Head coach: Chris Boyd (appointed 2018)Arrivals: Six including Juarno Augustus and Brandon NansenDepartures: 11 including Ben Franks, Harry Mallinder and Samson Ma’asiMost recent play-off season: 2018/19Title wins: OneNick’s verdict:“I always got the sense last season that for all the promise and despite them finishing fifth there was still a huge sense of frustration amongst the players and coaches.“When you consider they finished three or four wins off Quins, they can look back at plenty of matches they should have won if they’d had a bit more composure close to the try-line.“That will be a big work-on for them again this season – but I like the fact that Lewis Ludlam is in charge and he’ll have a lot of experience around him.“If Saints can find some consistency when their noses are around the try-line they will be pushing for the play-offs, and there’s no reason to think they can’t turn that frustration into winning a few more games.”"It's probably time they started putting in some really consistent performances"– Franklin's Gardens is an excellent breeding ground to help get talent into the international conversation, but taking it to the next level is a puzzle that needs solving https://t.co/nlrAY58zQ9— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 12, 2021

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theantisocialcritic · 4 years

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Archive Project - September 11, 2014 - Upcoming Fall 2014 Films

Yay! Its fall movie season! Blockbuster season is over and its time for Oscar Bait to rise! There is a lot of stuff coming out in the next 4 months, a lot of which I won't get around to reviewing. Lets take a look at what we're in for! September A Walk Among the Tombstones: Everybody loves Liam Neeson! The fall's first interesting movie stars him in something of a film noir murder mystery. The latter part of September tends to be when a lot of really underrated movies come out like Dredd, Looper, Prisoners and Rush. I have a good feeling about this one! Maze Runner: Hollywood will, for the fiftieth time this year, attempt to make the Hunger Games lighting strike again with another book adaption… This looks terrible… Tusk: If your a fan of the works of Kevin Smith your probably already dying for this one! Human Centipede with a Walrus! If your not familiar with the works of Kevin Smith… Go out and watch Clerks right now!! The Equalizer: Despite some early low reviews, film geeks are all clamming to see this movie! Hopes are high that Denzel Washington can create his own action series. Will it…? Probably not but hope so! October Annabelle: Fans of The Conjuring have been ranting about this too me for months now and i;ll take their word for it! I'm not a horror fan but this should be interesting! Gone Girl: The director of Fight Club, Seven, The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo brings us a Ben Affleck film! Theres a lot of hype around this! Should be a good movie! Alexander and the No Good, etc: This looks lame… Automata: Some critics in high places have been mentioning this a lot. I haven't seen much promotional material for it but its supposed to be a decent Sci-Fi movie! We'll see! The Judge: Robert Downey Jr. plays a Judge that must defend his estranged father in court. Sounds good to me! Crimson Peak: Guillermo Del Toro fans have been collectively flipping out about this new horror movie. Del Toro is one of the best directs of horror in Hollywood and has a strong grasp of subtlety and a morbid sense of creativity. Might be something brilliant here! Dracula Untold: This movie reminds me of I, Frankenstein… thats a baaaaaad sign…. Book of Life: Topping the list of my most anticipated movies right now is Book of Life! A Disney movie filtered through the cultural sensibilities of El Tigre with all the racism beaten out of it by Guillermo Del Toro! This movie is visually gorgeous and looks fiercely creative! I'm super excited! BoxTrolls: Have you seen Coraline and ParaNorman? YOU NEED TO SEE CORALINE AND PARANORMAN!! Also see this! A fun, creative stop motion movie by an incredibly talented team! ParaNorman flopped in theaters and BoxTrolls needs to succeed! KingsMan: The Secret Service: Matthew Vaughn's newest pick starts British SS agents in training that have to stop some sort of plot from happening! Vaughn brought us Kick-A** and X-Men: First Class! Both excellent action movies! KingsMan should be interesting! Rifftrax LIVE Anaconda: The last two live shows by Rifftrax have been amazing! The live roasts of Sharknado and Godzilla (98) were absolutely hilarious! Their next roast should be really great! November Big Hero 6: Disney is on a freakin roll!! Frozen, Wreck it Ralph and Tangled were all great animated films that managed to go beyond just being cynically made animated films. They were all genuinely great pieces of film and now they look to be about to make light night strike again! Adapting the barely known Marvel comic series the same way they approach classic fairy tales might be a stroke of genius and seeing it play out with the same energy and style of Wreck it Ralph and Guardians of the Galaxy. This is my most anticipated movie of the fall! Intersteller: Someone once said that if Nolan ever made a forth Batman movie it would have to goto space to be bigger than the Dark Knight Rises. At least part of that was true. In his first movie since the completion of the Dark Knight Trilogy, Nolan presents a high caliper Science Fiction movie about man's last attempt to stave off extinction, looking beyond into the stars for a new home. This movie might be great! Dumb and Dumber Too: sooo… This is a thing…. Theory of Everything: I haven't heard much on this but its an art house romance movie about Steven Hawking. Should be fascinating if nothing else. Fox catcher: Why am I imagining Channing Tatum as Cinderella Man here..? Fury: Brad Pit plays a WWII tank driver, fighting on the front lines with a rookie crew member after the loss of his best soldier. These men must survive the war. Should be fascinating. MockingJay Part 1: I'm not sure how to feel about Hunger Games now that Catching Fire has passed. The first movie was extremely boring but the followup was a vast improvement I rather enjoyed. From here though I don't know where the series is going to go and how well the characters work within the formula of the first two movies is beyond me.. well see.. The Penguins of Madagascar: I generally hate spinoff animated movies. They aren't always bad but they feel terribly cynical and i'd rather they don't exist. Penguins feels like a rather good idea though, simply because there is proof of concept that has me thinking this might be well thought through. The animated cartoon on Nick Penguins of Madagascar has been an intermitedly interesting exercise in cynicism but managed a few really great episodes that I enjoyed as a teenager. It helps of course that the Penguins were the best part of the Madagascar movies. This might be something great! December Paddington: A wacky British bear goes on wacky misadventures! I… don't know how to feel... Exodus: With the rampant success of movies like Son of God and Noah, Biblical epics are becoming popular again in Hollywood. Now Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner) is throwing his hat into the ring with a retelling of the story of Moses. Despite the weird casting and crappy promotional materials, Exodus has a lot of potential and might be one of the year's cinematic highlights! Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies: What is the Hobbit Trilogy? A cynical, forced production? A party to celebrate the Lord of the Rings? Whatever it is, these movies have been fun if nothing else. Finally the newest run through Middle-Earth will come to a conclusion. Can John Wattson defeat the voice of Khan…? Well clearly, he survives because he is in Fellowship… It'll still be cool though! Annie: I hate Annie… No amount of gimmicks and stunt casting will make me like it… Night at the Museum 3: I actually liked the first movie. It came out when I was young enough to find some enjoyment in it. The second one sucked… Now we have a long awaited by nobody third one which is anybody's guess. At this point the most interesting thing about it is that it is Robin William's last post-mortem performance so that will be fascinating. Into the Woods: This might be quietly brilliant. With Disney currently in the works on producing a full line of live action adaptions like Maleficient and Cinderella, a big production of the famed musical Into the Woods seems.. interesting… I'm not a huge fan to the musical but this might be what it takes for me to really get into it, depending on how they pull it off. The stage production is in my opinion a very disjointed story that only really gets by on its more anachronistic and surprisingly dark comedic moments. Seeing Disney try to pull it off however might be what it takes to elevate the story if they take it somewhere interesting! In any case, the cast is interesting and interested to see it. Unbroken: Angelina Jolie's directorial debut tells the story of an Olympic runner that is drafted to WWII, captured and forced into a prison camp. I don't know how good this is going to be, but at the very least it will be a strange, different sort of movie. The Interview: And to finish off the year, whats likely the thing that will finally spark WW3 with the North Koreans! Seth Rogen and James Franco are spies that infiltrate N. Korea and attempt to kill Kim Jong Un. Given Rogen's incredible recent filmography of This is the End and Neighbors, I think we are in for something special! This will be an interesting season! Thank you for reading! Live long and prosper!

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crystalracing · 7 years

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Under the skin of the enigmatic Raikkonen

KIMI RAIKKONEN IS ONE OF THOSE BLOKES WHO polarises opinion, that people seem to either love or hate. Ironic really, considering he is the epitome of getting on with doing his own thing, not manipulating anything, staying clear of boring politics and not worrying about things he has no control over. As a private man who can be diﬃcult to read – not to mention one who a proportion of Formula 1 followers think has passed his best –he is, as our cover suggests, F1’s enigma. Which is why Ben Anderson’sin-depth 14-page feature, beginning on page 14, is probably the best and most-balanced thing you’ll ever read about him. Based on interviews with Raikkonen himself and those around him, it properly assesses his role on the F1 grid, and in the paddock. Ferrari announced a one-year contract extension for Raikkonen on Tuesday – after the last page of our feature had gone to press – but one thing for sure is that he is closer to the end of his F1 career than the beginning, and this week’s Autosport also provides a study of a talent at the opposite end of the spectrum. There hasn’t been a buzz this big about a young British prospect since Lewis Hamilton was rising the ranks, and Kevin Turner’s chat with Lando Norris (p28)tells us all about his cracking recent F1 test with McLaren. It was good timing that the interview coincides with two more wins in the Formula 3 European Championship at Zandvoort (p40). Funny to think that Norris hadn’t even been born when Raikkonen made his Formula Renault UK debut in 1999, and was only a toddler when Kimi ﬁrst raced a Formula 1 car…

“IF YOU STRUGGLE, PEOPLE SLAG YOU OFF, BUT IT DOESN’T BOTHER ME”

It is very rare that a driver comes along who challenges preconceived notions of what it takes to be a Formula 1 driver. But when a true prodigy breaks through into grand prix racing through sheer force of talent, they often create a sort of butterﬂy eﬀect.The world we thought we knew before is suddenly changed, and will never be the same again. Kimi Raikkonen should go down in F1 history as one such driver. It has taken Max Verstappen’s remarkable recent ascension to motorsport’s pinnacle to further redeﬁne the boundaries of possibility – so successful in one season of junior single-seater racing that he simply must be in F1 immediately. Since 2015, Verstappen has been thrilling fans, threatening reputations, and rewriting rules with his fearless and superlative brand of racing. Fourteen years earlier, Raikkonen laid the template –arriving with Peter Sauber’s eponymous team after a brief but highly successful stint in Formula Renault. Raikkonen had competed in fewer than 25 car races; surely he couldn’t be ready for such a monumental leap.Yet there he was – 13th on the grid for his debut in Australia, within four tenths of a second of sophomore team-mate Nick Heidfeld, scoring a point in his ﬁrst GP, ﬁnishing not much more than 12 seconds behind his team-mate. Raikkonen looked immediately like he belonged – a driver so naturally gifted he could bypass F3 and F3000 completely, turn convention on its head, yet be immediately and properly competitive in F1. Truly astounding. The question with all prodigies, in any sport, is what next? Will they fully harness that ability, show the necessary will and dedication to ally proper craft to their genius, and transform themselves into a truly unstoppable force? It is this unique blend that tends to deﬁne the ultimate greatness of an athlete – whether they burn out early and fade away in the Wayne Rooney style, or evolve into an era-deﬁning machine in the mould of Cristiano Ronaldo. Raikkonen’s stats suggest he’s something of an underachiever. This weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix will mark his 263rd grand prix start; only four drivers – Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso – have started more. For a driver of Raikkonen’s ability and longevity to have scored ‘only’ 20 wins and 17 pole positions, plus a single world championship achieved in fortuitous circumstances in 2007, seems out of kilter. Damon Hill would not consider himself to be the most naturally gifted driver ever to grace F1. Raikkonen could make that claim, yet Hill achieved more wins and poles than Raikkonen has, in much less than half the number of starts. And yet Raikkonen is still good enough that he is still racing for Ferrari – F1’s grandest team – at the ripe old age of 37, and Tuesday’s announcement that he will remain for 2018 means he will continue doing so for another season at least. That shows Raikkonen still has something serious to oﬀer in the eyes of those who make the biggest decisions in Maranello. Sport is always about much more than pure numbers. Personality and style also count for as much sometimes. Raikkonen commands a strong and loyal fan base, energised by his ‘Iceman’ reputation, one he says he’s done nothing conscious to cultivate. Publicly, Raikkonen comes oﬀ as a cool, aloof, anti-hero character – a no-nonsense antidote to the clean-cut corporate image of modern racing. His ‘wild-child’ early years curry him huge favour with those followers of F1 who pine for the era of James Hunt, when drivers partied away the nights and drove by the seat of their pants in the day. But even lovable rogues like Hunt and Raikkonen are driven by a ﬁerce competitive instinct that belies their devil-may-care reputations.We are left with a confusing picture. How to reconcile the incredible natural ability that once redrew boundaries at Sauber and McLaren, and claimed a historic post-Schumacher world championship for Ferrari, with the later seasons of struggle: bettered by Felipe Massa, outpaced by Romain Grosjean, destroyed by Alonso, now playing second ﬁddle to Sebastian Vettel? Herein lies the enigma of Kimi Raikkonen.

BLAZING A TRAIL AT SAUBER

Raikkonen’s first season in F1 was very strong by conventional standards for a rookie, but when you consider his fundamental lack of experience in car racing it was truly exceptional. His results were very good – four points finishes in total, twice finishing fourth (in Austria and Canada) and placing inside the top 10 in the world championship. Raikkonen made a vital contribution to what then constituted Sauber’s best F1 season, but it was his raw speed that caught the eye. Third time out, Raikkonen qualified only a tenth behind Heidfeld in Brazil, and thereafter matched his more experienced team-mate 7-7 on Saturdays. Not only that, Raikkonen performed with a calm assuredness that belied his lack of experience. “Kimi was very young [21] and not experienced at all – it was very risky,” says Sauber driver trainer Josef Leberer, who worked with Ayrton Senna at McLaren and recalls his season alongside Raikkonen with fondness. “A lot of people said, ‘I don’t understand why Sauber were doing this’. But it worked. “He’s not the kind of guy who sits days and hours on the computer. Such an intuitive driver, his instinct is incredible. This way I would say he’s one of the best. It comes naturally. No bullshit. Just wanna be fast, no excuses. “He was not spoiled, so you could talk with him and be straightforward, and he was an incredible, cool guy. Doing the massage in the morning we had to wake him up and he said, ‘Let me get an extra five minutes of sleep before the race’. I’d never seen this – the second race in Malaysia and he wanted to sleep an extra few minutes! Can you imagine being like this in your second race? “He made such an impact. We had a feeling and he was fast immediately. You could see he had the requirements to be a top driver.” Raikkonen’s extraordinary ability to drive an F1 car quickly without the educational foundation enjoyed by his peers left a lasting impression on the paddock. Renowned motor racing journalist and author David Tremayne was Sauber’s press release writer during Raikkonen’s rookie campaign. He recalls a driver aloof and reserved in public, but completely different when hidden from the glare of a camera lens. “He was very quiet, like he is now,” explains Tremayne. “You thought, ‘What is this kid like, is he going to be another Mika [Hakkinen]?’ But he clearly wasn’t in terms of the way he conducted himself – he wasn’t forthcoming. Kimi didn’t want to do any of the other bollocks. He wanted to get in the car and get on with it. “[But] at Monza I heard all this raucous laughter on top of the media bus at Sauber. I went downstairs and it was Kimi, Peter Collins, and a guy who turned out to be Kimi’s kart mechanic – and it was Kimi doing all the laughing. “It was the only time I ever saw what you might call ‘the real Kimi’– with mates, completely relaxed, no need to be protective of anything.

I think he has the ability to compartmentalise. There was a lot of fire in him but you didn’t get to see it. He’s very self-reliant. I don’t think he needs an entourage. “As a driver, he was wonderful to watch. Felipe came in the following year and he was quick but always on a different line. Kimi was just cool and calm with it – not pushing the car or wrestling with it.”So many drivers dream of being world champion, work hard to achieve that dream, but never even make it onto the grid. Others carve out opportunity but become overwhelmed by expectation or consumed by pressure. It seems Raikkonen benefited not only from exceptional natural ability behind the wheel – after all there are many drivers who share that sort of skill – but also a mental resilience and confidence that helped strip away the extra burdens that might have destroyed someone of a different character. Raikkonen never dreamed big or got carried away by the prospect of fame and fortune. It seems it was this aloof attitude, bordering on indifference, that made him so perfectly suited to thrive in F1. “It was a good team to be in; nice people – I still have lunch there,” Raikkonen tells Autosport, relaxing into his seat as we discuss the first stage of his long career in F1. “For me, it was very easy in someways because I didn’t really expect anything.“I didn’t know anything about F1. I never went to see a race. The first time I saw it live was when I was in a test myself. So for me it was like if you just go to Formula Renault [for the first time]. I had nothing to worry about – what’s the point? It either goes well or it goes bad. What can you do?” Ultimately, it went very well indeed for Raikkonen, who made such an impression that he was poached by Ron Dennis to replace retiring double world champion Hakkinen at McLaren for 2002. Even a wunderkind like Verstappen had to wait four races into his second season before earning promotion to one of F1’s biggest teams…

McLAREN: WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

Some paddock insiders consider Raikkonen’s five-year stint at McLaren to be his absolute peak. His first grand prix victory at Malaysia in 2003 briefly made him F1’s youngest winner since team founder Bruce McLaren. Raikkonen won eight more times for McLaren in those five seasons, as well as taking 11 pole positions and 36 podiums from 87 starts. He quickly established himself as one of grand prix racing’s most exciting stars, but a world championship title eluded him. He was second to Alonso in 2005, but came closest to breaking through two years earlier, when Raikkonen lost out to Schumacher by just two points. “Back in those days he was massively quick,” recalls Pat Fry, McLaren’s chief engineer during Raikkonen’s stint with the team. “It’s a shame car reliability and engine reliability didn’t work for him really. If you look at him through the early 2000s, he was right up there with the best, wasn’t he? He was absolutely outstanding driving the McLaren through 2003, 2005. He should’ve won the championship in 2005.” Raikkonen was unfortunate in that his time at McLaren coincided with Schumacher’s most dominant seasons at Ferrari and latterly the brief but potent rise of Alonso at Renault. Only once during that period, in ’05, could McLaren be considered to have produced the absolute quickest car on the grid, and senior personnel admit it was too unreliable to ultimately get the job done. In this context, Raikkonen achieved much of his success against the odds. Apart from his first year with the team in 2002 – when he was paired alongside stalwart David Coulthard – Raikkonen was never beaten by his McLaren team-mate across a season. He won many admirers inside the squad for his fearless style of racing. “He was blindingly quick – sometimes the circuit wasn’t big enough to contain him in those early days, but he was pushing to the max and everyone liked it,” remembers McLaren’s chief operating oﬀicer Jonathan Neale. “He used to scare me. He scared me because he was so completely fearless. You just knew there was no way he was going to give anything less than 110%, and I don’t mean that lightly. He was just a force of nature.” Out of the car, McLaren found a “completely uncompromising” driver, whose “maverick” style didn’t always sit well with the team’s clean-cut corporate image. “We struggled to find out who he was as he didn’t say very much,” adds Neale. “[But] everybody underestimates him at their peril. He did have a fantastic sense of humour. If there were two drivers going on stage, to do a presentation or a question-and-answer session, he’d be sitting in the back and he’d do an amazing mimic. He had the voices and the phrases, all of that, so he was a sharp observer. “There was never a dull moment, but he was a great racer –somebody who is still spoken of highly in the team for what did with us, for us, and the style in which he did it, which was uncompromising. It was uncompromising in the car, it was uncompromising in the set-up, he was uncompromising on whether he wanted to be with a sponsor. It’s not always easy, but isn’t it refreshing when you find somebody who is brave enough to be candid and frank and not prepared to cower to conformity?

“He wouldn’t suﬀer fools. Everyone was taken at face value, no airs, no graces, nobody standing on ceremony, what you see is what get, very grounded, but enormous following with the mechanics and engineers – real loyalty. “Because that fire burns very intensely, it was kind of polarising –either you got it or you didn’t. It is quite diﬀicult getting engineers close to him – to be able to have that rapport and reach him without being too much, too little, not a fool. “Any whiﬀ of bullshit and you were toast! But [race engineer] Mark Slade was very good with Kimi and they had an understanding. Mark knew when to leave him alone, and when to push him and there were occasions when Mark was quite assertive with him, but because he built up that trust he could be. It is easy to be intimidated by somebody of that temperament.” Slade has worked with Raikkonen twice through the Finn’s F1 career – first at McLaren and later at Lotus. Slade responded well to Raikkonen’s no-nonsense attitude and fussiness for precision. He says the Raikkonen that drove for McLaren arrived at Woking “well-rounded” and was “massively impressive”. “He knew how to manage tyres, he knew how to set up the car – it was like working with someone who’d done it for five years,” Slade recalls. “He knew exactly what he wanted. It was not like working with a new driver. “The only aspect that was a little bit ragged early on was in qualifying, when we had to put the fuel in the car for the race, so 2003. He had a little bit of a tendency to want to be on pole regardless of the amount of fuel in the car. And there were a couple of races where he went oﬀ trying to achieve too much. “We basically banned him from watching the other drivers’qualifying laps. We just told him, ‘Go out and drive the car as quickly as it will go’. We did that for the rest of this season and he didn’t do any more mistakes.” Raikkonen is often portrayed as a lazy driver – someone who simply relies on his natural feel for the car but isn’t particularly interested in doing anything other than driving. Slade argues that’s a misunderstanding of Raikkonen’s approach. It’s not that he is uninterested, rather that he sees clear delineation in responsibilities within teams, and wants to trust those around him to do their jobs properly without interference. Slade admits this approach can compromise Raikkonen when internal politics arise.

“There were times at McLaren when things didn’t go the way they should have for Kimi and if he had been just a little bit more involved, that could have swapped things around a bit,” Slade says. “In the middle of 2005 there were certain things happening with the design direction of the car that didn’t suit Kimi and there was a lot of tension and pressure. I was having to fight Kimi’s corner, because he wasn’t really doing much himself. That was quite stressful. “He didn’t like hanging around in the oﬀice for very long. His debriefs were very short, but he gave us the important points and that was almost perfect for me, because it meant we didn’t spend lots of time talking about what was not relevant. He won’t rant about it. It’s just, ‘That’s what we need to fix’. Simple as that. “If people try to push him in a diﬀerent direction, it’s not going to work because you need him on board. You need to be on board with him and he needs to be on board with you. For me, it was enjoyable to work with him, because it was logical and straightforward. “One of the biggest diﬀiculties with drivers who are less consistent with their approach is trying to filter out this inconsistency. It becomes very diﬀicult very quickly. If he came in saying there’s something wrong with the car, the chances are there’s something wrong with the car – even if you can’t see that on data. Ninety-nine percent of the time he’s right. “When we were doing Michelin tyre testing, they desperately wanted him to do the testing. They told us at one point that he was the best test driver that they worked with. They used to give a little array of tick boxes for diﬀerent characteristics of the tyre – what the tyres were doing, what the characteristics of the diﬀerent compounds were. They said there were some drivers who got most of the points correct, but he always got them all correct. “And his consistency of lap time when we tested eight diﬀerent compounds – his baselines would be within one tenth, and that meant that they could properly analyse the lap time data as well as the driver’s comments.” Slade says he’s never seen anything else like Raikkonen’s “extraordinary level of sensitivity” to the car, to the point where Raikkonen could detect problems with McLaren’s traction control so aware the engineers couldn’t see in their trackside data. The chase for a ‘perfect car’ can be a real curse when too many things aren’t working correctly, but this degree of feel made Raikkonen a formidable weapon during F1’s tyre war between Bridgestone and Michelin. “That played a big part of how it went,” says Raikkonen. “I was very happy to do the tyre tests. We could test 20 diﬀerent sets of tyres and choose exactly what you wanted, whatever you feel is best for you. It was one extra thing that you could use.” Raikkonen does not agree with those, such as Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe, who would say his McLaren years represent Raikkonen at his peak. But he was certainly unfortunate not to win at least one world title with McLaren, and Slade recalls some truly stunning drives by Raikkonen during that period. “No doubt Michael, Fernando and Kimi were the three guys,” argues Slade, who feels Raikkonen could have won “15 straight races” in 2005 with better reliability. “Then, just slightly behind, DC, [Juan Pablo] Montoya and a few others. When it came to the driving and his racecraft, Kimi was right up there.“In the middle part of the [2005] season the car was phenomenal and he was driving phenomenally well. At Monza, he qualified fastest with the full tank of fuel [before a grid penalty]; at Silverstone, he was half a second per lap quicker than Montoya, who won the race; in France he started 13th and finished second. Japan was awesome because he came from the back and won. “One of the best races he ever did was Indianapolis in 2003, when we were on the Michelin wets and the Michelin wets were rubbish. He finished second. It was fantastic. He just drove his heart out. He didn’t win the race, but it was an absolutely phenomenal drive. “Nurburgring 2006 – the engine was terrible that year and he finished fourth. I remember him coming to the bus afterwards, sweat pouring oﬀ him, and he said, ‘I just drove 60 qualifying laps’, and you could see he had. We knew he had to drive phenomenally well to achieve that with the car we had then.” By now Raikkonen had grown increasingly frustrated with life at McLaren and reputedly made an agreement with Ferrari as early as late-2005 to join the Scuderia for 2007. “He signed with Ferrari two years before he moved to Ferrari,” confirms his then-Ferrari team-mate Massa. “I remember when I signed for Ferrari, Kimi already has his contract; the only way I stay in Ferrari is if Michael stops.” Schumacher announced his first retirement from F1 after winning the 2006 Italian GP at Monza. Thus, the way was clear for Raikkonen and Massa to usher in a new era at Maranello.

MARK SLADE RAIKKONEN’S ENGINEER AT McLAREN AND LOTUS

Does Kimi have particular traits in his driving? He’s very, very smooth, very gentle, very precise – minimal inputs into the car. He wants the car to do the work. Most drivers tend to be a bit more aggressive with inputs, which can have beneﬁts when the tyres are hard and difficult to get into the working window. The other thing is power steering. He came to us and complained about power steering. We spent a lot of time ﬁxing it. Then he went to Ferrari and apparently complained about power steering there. Then he came back to Lotus and complained about power steering. So the feel of the steering is very, very important. He doesn’t want any friction in it. He doesn’t want any play on the brake pedal. Also, Mark [Arnall] always carried a special cloth to clean the windscreen, because if there was a slightest ﬁnger print or scratch, we had to change it.

He says he hates understeer and you often hear him complain about the front… Even at McLaren there were occasions where we did have issues. Canada was a good one in 2005. We were slower on new tyres than on used tyres because he couldn’t get the new tyre temperature to work. The start of the lap can be a real problem if he just hasn’t got the front grip that he needs to get the car into corners. I would say that’s probably the only real weakness. There were times also that was an advantage, because he was a lot more gentle on tyres. When we won the race with Lotus in 2013 in Melbourne, he just walked away with it because he could do one stop. Those tyres were absolutely perfect for him, then Pirelli changed the tyres and that disadvantaged him unfortunately.

Why does he often seem to make mistakes in qualifying? He takes a high-risk approach to qualifying. It’s all about corner entry speed. And if you get the corner wrong you tend to drop a lot of time. Other drivers probably prioritise the exit a little bit more. He’s trying to carry speed through; that is high risk.

WORLD CHAMPION THEN DITCHED BY FERRARI

Raikkonen’s Ferrari career got off to a dream start – pole position and victory in his first race in Melbourne, and of course he went on to claim the championship as Ferrari backed his bid to overhaul the McLarens of Alonso and rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton. Raikkonen succeeded in this mission by a solitary point when team-mate Massa moved aside for him to win the season finale in Brazil.“For me it counts much more than any others – if I had won with McLaren or with somebody else,” Raikkonen says. “Ferrari is Ferrari.I got close a few times in the McLaren. I mean yes in some people’s eyes I [could] have won three championships. I didn’t deserve it.In the end, whoever gets the most points deserves it. “Would I be happier with three championships? It makes no diﬀerence. I am happy with what I have achieved.” It felt as though F1 almost owed Raikkonen that championship– regardless of the peculiar circumstances – as payback for the disappointment and near-misses at McLaren. But although he finally conquered the world in his first season as a Ferrari driver, Raikkonen never fully established himself as the team’s number one. Raikkonen says his biggest concern before coming to Ferrari was having to adjust to Bridgestone tyres after years spent honing his car on Michelin rubber, but according to Rob Smedley – Massa’s race engineer throughout Raikkonen’s first stint at Ferrari – the tyres were “never the limiting factor” for Raikkonen during this period.“In terms of raw talent he definitely was one of the best drivers on the grid when he came to us,” Smedley says. “[But] he very much needs a particular set-up. He needs the front to work for him very positively. He turns the car in very early, a little bit like Michael, like Fernando, like Valtteri [Bottas]. They turn very early in the corner, and due to that he’s very demanding on the front-end in that phase of the corner.“He needs to start sending the car into the apex almost immediately when he starts thinking about the corner, especially in medium-speed corners. When he first came to us, it took us a longtime to understand what he wanted. “He’s the driver who, probably the most I’ve ever seen of anyone, is absolutely and entirely unfazed by rear locking at the start of heavy braking. To be able to deal with that and not to be fazed by that is something quite incredible. “We spent a lot of our time in that winter of 2007 attempting to understand how on earth he was putting the brake balance so far rearward. He was running probably 8% more rearward than Felipe and the other drivers – that’s another planet. “We were quite surprised by that, but actually what he was trying to do, in his own way, was to make the car turn as soon as he asked for it.As soon as he asked for response out of the steering, he wanted the car to turn. He had a particular way of driving the car and I think it took us a little bit of time to understand that. Once we did, we got performance from him.” But not consistently. Raikkonen was closely matched with Massa through most of 2007, but would likely have been asked to support his team-mate’s own bid for the championship had Massa not suffered a damper failure while running ahead of Raikkonen in that year’s Italian GP – and narrowly leading Raikkonen in the standings. Massa, who describes Raikkonen as “for sure one of the strangest people I’ve met”, was a fan of the Finn’s honesty as a team-mate, but rates Schumacher and Alonso higher: “Definitely Michael and Fernando were stronger – not quicker, but more complete.” The following year Raikkonen was cast into the supporting role, as his title defence fell apart amid a run of four consecutive non-scoring races in the second half of the season. Massa was unlucky not to become world champion in ’08 and was Ferrari’s leading driver through the first part of a difficult 2009 campaign too, before he suffered a terrible head injury during qualifying for the Hungarian GP. “We never were really comfortable – like if you drive and you have to try and do things that are not normal,” says Raikkonen of his first stint at Ferrari. “We never really found it and put things together. We changed the cars a little bit, but we just struggled compared to what we did in the first bit.” Raikkonen showed flashes of form in a very difficult 2009 Ferrari, which was not a strong answer to the regulatory upheaval of the previous winter. He qualified on the front row and finished third at Monaco, but he wasn’t proving so relentlessly impressive as he had done in his McLaren years– against a team-mate not rated as one of the absolute best on the grid.

“In ’08 Felipe was still in the stage of rapid improvement and overall Felipe was pretty much quicker than him, definitely in qualifying,” adds Smedley, who reckons Raikkonen’s “pure natural talent” made him better than Massa at looking after the rear tyres in races.“That was one of the things that really surprised me, because I expected him to come in and be blisteringly quick but not really manage things in such a mechanically sympathetic way, and in fact the opposite was true. One of the strengths he’s always got is that he can take the tyres further than anybody else and, wherever he goes, the team tries to exploit that.“It’s never a matter of application with Kimi – you just plug him in and he just does it. You often wonder [what would happen] if he had the level of application of others with his level of natural skill and tenacity, [but] one thing you can say about him is that he doesn’t bring any politics. The guy is absolutely apolitical.“I think that comes a little bit from not being interested in this world. The thing that is really important to him is going racing on a Sunday afternoon, qualifying, trying to be better than anybody else. And all the other periphery bits do not interest him. “And that’s kind of where he probably differs to 99.9% of the rest of us in F1. You wake up thinking about it, you go to sleep thinking about it – much to the annoyance of my wife! But that’s how we are– constantly striving to do better and be the best. I don’t think Kimi has that. I mean, he likes it here, he comes and drives his car, then he goes home, and doesn’t think about it a great deal after that.” The feeling inside Ferrari was that Massa was establishing himself as the quicker driver, and that messed with Raikkonen’s head. Raikkonen’s form certainly picked up following Massa’s accident. Kimi was on the podium at Budapest, Valencia and Monza, and beat Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India to victory at Spa. His performances were made to look all the more remarkable by how badly Massa’s stand-ins Luca Badoer (who qualified slowest of all at Valencia and Spa) and Fisichella (who took over after Spa) struggled. But it wasn’t enough for Ferrari, which elected to pay Raikkonen out of the final two years of his contract to bring Alonso on board for 2010. Raikkonen is still guarded about the events that unfolded behind closed doors at Maranello, but says he was keen to get out of F1 in any case. “I have nothing to hide really,” says Raikkonen, who originally never planned for a long career in F1. “That’s how it played out and I was happy at that point to say, ‘OK, that’s fine and I’ll go’. Honestly, somethings happen in life and I didn’t feel bad about it. Obviously, I had a contract, but that got dealt with. They obviously wanted something else at that point, and for me that’s how it goes sometimes. I wanted to do something else anyhow.”

RETURN FROM THE WILDERNESS

Raikkonen was temporarily done with F1, but F1 wasn’t done with him. Throughout his two-year stint experimenting in the World Rally Championship, proposals were made for his return. Eventually, Raikkonen realised he missed the joy of wheel-to-wheel competition so began thinking seriously about a comeback. He held talks with Williams – “I had a meeting with Toto [Wolﬀ]; he came to my home” – and Lotus, before opting to make his comeback with the Enstone outfit.“The year before I got people asking me if I wanted to come back– there was a lot of talk but I felt if I want to come back I needed to have a current team that people will at least try to put the money into,” Raikkonen explains. “I didn’t need the money, but I wanted a car and a team that actually had some chances to do something good, rather than just being there.”Raikkonen enjoyed a superb first season with Lotus. He finished every one of the 20 races held in 2012, was on the podium seven times, and claimed a victory in Abu Dhabi – the infamous GP where he told the team to “leave me alone I know what I’m doing” over the radio while preparing for a safety car restart.Then-Lotus team principal Eric Boullier recalls a driver who was“a bit rusty over one lap” at first, but “brilliant” in the races, despite spending two seasons out of the game.“His capability and racecraft was amazing,” recalls Boullier.“The good thing for him [was] he had Grosjean near to him, and he [Grosjean] was very fast on one lap but not as good [overall].The most amazing thing about Kimi is he has a great understanding.He has a GPS in his head. He’s doing his own strategy, it’s amazing. ”Boullier recalls the 2012 Hungarian GP as the perfect example of Raikkonen’s craft, where the Finn came from the third row of the grid to beat Grosjean (who qualified on the front row) to second by saving his tyres and running longer in each stint. “You just have to guess sometimes what he wants, because he’snot the best communicator in the world,” Boullier adds. “Kimi gets quite stressed sometimes; he needs people who understand him and can handle him.“He is charismatic – actually, his charisma is strong enough to make people fans of him. What would be better would be to have more motivation to push people around him. He’s not as complete as maybe a Vettel, but he is a great driver. Some drivers need support. He’s one of the guys who can do it on his own. He’s incredibly talented.“He’s quite easy [to work with] to be honest – as long as you give him space to breathe and you’re not on his back all the time.

That was key – to let him live his life. ”Reuniting Raikkonen with Slade (who came across from Mercedes to work with Kimi again) also proved crucial in helping Raikkonen get the most from his comeback, and Lotus get the best out of Raikkonen. “When he first came back, he was really enthusiastic,” remembers Slade. “Unfortunately, he got messed around a bit on the salary side of things. That was an annoyance, but in terms of the driving, I felt he was still exactly the same. I don’t think it’s any secret that he’snot a big fan of the F1 paddock scene and the stuﬀ that goes with it.”It seemed those two seasons of F1, racing on the most extremely fragile rubber of the Pirelli control tyre era, also suited Raikkonen’s particular skillset. Often he would score a big result by making fewer pitstops than his rivals, but Raikkonen himself reckons the design of that generation of Lotus – conceived by James Allison’s team around the Renault V8 engine and exhaust-blown downforce – made more of a difference, giving him the “pure front-end” grip he needs to drive well. Whatever, the combination gelled superbly. Raikkonen added eight more podiums to his tally in 2013, winning the first race of the season in Melbourne and finishing second six times. An unfortunate retirement at Spa that year (thanks to a visor tear-off blocking a brake duct) broke an incredible run of 27 consecutive points finishes stretching back to the Bahrain GP of 2012. “He’s relentless,” says Slade. “I’d say Fernando is the closest in terms of achieving consistent results.” But into the latter part of 2013, Grosjean began to establish himself as the stronger and generally faster of the two Lotus drivers,even though he was twice defeated by Raikkonen overall in the championship. Grosjean describes Raikkonen as “the perfect benchmark” and says he learned a lot from racing alongside the Finn. “As team-mates we didn’t talk much – maybe three times in two years!” Grosjean says. “Everybody thinks he doesn’t give a shit; he actually does. He works. Same as Fernando – the only thing he thinks on Sunday is 2pm, how to get the car to where he wants it to go.“Once I had a rear soft spring for a race and Kimi tried it and liked it. He was pushing to get the springs. He was trying even though you think he doesn’t [care]. It was interesting that everybody thinks he [just] comes and drives the car and goes. He actually works. ”Their head-to-head record as team-mates is also skewed slightly by the fact Raikkonen skipped the final two races of 2013 – quitting the team over a financial dispute and electing to have surgery on a long-standing back injury, legacy of a testing accident during his first season in F1 at Sauber. “Unfortunately the whole thing [was] destroyed by people that, in my mind, were just stupid to be honest,” Raikkonen says. “They had a great thing on their hands. “It’s not my business, but I left there purely because I didn’t get paid. Without it, who knows? But then obviously I got the oﬀer from Ferrari. I never had a bad feeling with them when I left, despite people thinking that. You know how people always think it will end in a mess, but they oﬀered me a new deal and I went back.”

WHY RAIKKONEN OWES HIS SECOND F1 CAREER TO RALLYING AND NASCAR

Kimi Raikkonen’s two-year sabbatical from F1 in 2010-2011 led him to try his hand at other forms of motorsport he’d long wished to dabble in but never had the time to do so while fully absorbed into grand prix racing’s goldﬁsh bowl. Having sampled Rally Finland in the summer of 2009, Raikkonen contested most of the 2010 World Rally Championship as part of the Citroen Junior Team, and nine rounds of the 2011 championship with a DS 3 run under his own ‘Ice 1 Racing’ banner. There were many incidents, but also many top 10s. “I always wanted to try the rally stuff, because it looks so difficult,”says Raikkonen. “I wanted to see how it would go and I was happy to have the help from Red Bull to do it. I still think it’s a great sport, it’s so difficult. The problem is that it needs time – experience counts a lot more in rallying than in circuit racing.“In rallying you have to put the same effort in driving, but you [also] have to listen to your co-driver. The most difficult thing is that you have to think about what he says and then react. That takes too much time. When that starts to happen automatically then you can go faster, then it gets easier.I was close to getting to that point,then things happened and I ended up back in F1. ”Raikkonen also travelled Stateside in 2011, to try his hand at NASCAR. He contested the lower-tier Nationwide and Truck series races at Charlotte, qualifying mid-pack for his Nationwide outing.It was this experience that reﬁred Raikkonen’s enthusiasm for circuit racing and accelerated his F1 return. “Without that happening then I would deﬁnitely not be here today,”he says. “I would never have lasted this long if I hadn’t had a few years doing something else, trying things.

MARANELLO COMEBACK

It was during Raikkonen’s financial dispute with Lotus that he agreed a two-year deal to return to Maranello. Initially, it looked as though signing Raikkonen was the perfect insurance policy for Ferrari,which seemed in danger of losing Alonso after failing to carry the fight to Vettel and Red Bull in 2013. But despite publicly criticising the team and being admonished by company president Luca di Montezemolo, Alonso stayed put (for the moment) and he and Raikkonen became team-mates for 2014, as Massa departed for a fresh start at Williams. Raikkonen’s first season back at the Scuderia was a real struggle.The first year of F1’s current V6 hybrid turbo era was Ferrari’s least competitive since 1993. The car was bad, Raikkonen couldn’t adapt it to his driving style, and was demolished in the championship by Alonso, 161 points to 55. Jonathan Neale recalls how McLaren found its suspension development pulled “in two different directions” owing to Raikkonen’s demand for instant steering response from its cars, and Pat Fry, who was Ferrari’s chief engineer when Raikkonen returned in 2014, found his team coming up against an age-old problem – one exacerbated by stiff and hard Pirelli tyres that Raikkonen often struggled to get working for a single flying lap in qualifying. “He has a very smooth driving style – you’ve got to get rid of the understeer in the car,” says Fry. “You can obviously play around with suspension geometries and stuff like that to try and give him the feel,and sort out power-steering and all that stuff. ”The process was made trickier by Alonso’s long-standing presence as Ferrari’s number one driver, which inevitably led the team in a development direction that suited Alonso, before he departed for the ill-fated McLaren-Honda project.“In all the years I’ve worked with Kimi, the year I saw him struggle the most was that first year back at Ferrari,” says his long-time trainer Mark Arnall. “Coming from Lotus, where he had a good front-end on the car and had podium after podium after podium, it’s not like he suddenly forgot how to drive – he just couldn’t get a balance with that 2014 car.” But Raikkonen commanded the faith of technical director James Allison, with whom he worked at Lotus previously, and knew that he would have to play the long game at Ferrari to get back to where he needed to be.“I knew what I was getting into,” Raikkonen says. “With the engineers, I wouldn’t say they were bad – maybe the fit wasn’t what I wanted. It just didn’t work, I suppose, and our car was not very good.

“The front end has to be right there. If it’s not right, it’s not right,unfortunately. When it’s right things are very easy. Even when you have a good year, it’s a little percentage that’s perfect. There’s always something. There’s so many things that you have no control over.“Some days everything goes perfectly fine, and some days whatever you do it seems to be against you, but I’ve been long enough in the sport to know it. People look at you in one race and if you struggle they slag you off, but I’m used to it so it doesn’t bother me too much.“I want myself to do well and I know what I can do. That’s more important for me. Obviously, it’s not nice when you are in a team like Ferrari and the results are not coming, [but] I had no issues with them and I knew that things would turn out to be just fine with time. It just took some patience.” Raikkonen’s form has gradually improved since that annus horribilis, during which time the Ferrari senior management has changed, the technical structure has changed, the identity of his team-mate has changed, and so has his engineering group. Drafting in Dave Greenwood as his race engineer at the end of 2014 has made a massive difference for Raikkonen. “The car has been getting better and better every year, and a big part for me has been the people,” Raikkonen explains. “Dave is for sure one of the greatest guys that I have ever worked with. I would compare him with Slade – I very highly rate them. “For me it’s important that when we do something, everything has to be exactly like it should be. A very easy example: the ride height,if it’s [supposed] to be 20mm, it has to be 20mm; it can’t be 21mm or 19mm.“When everything is ‘close enough’, and you have five or six things like that, we all know in F1 how much difference small things make,then suddenly the lap time is not so perfect anymore.”Vettel has generally outperformed Raikkonen since arriving at Maranello in 2015, but their similar set-up demands and harmonious working relationship is helping drive Ferrari’s development in a single direction, and the Scuderia is now finally carrying the fight to Mercedes in the world championship – though it is Vettel leading the charge rather than Raikkonen. “Of all F1 drivers, he is probably closer to him [Vettel] than any of the others,” says Arnall, who arranged for Vettel to travel with Raikkonen on a private jet when Vettel was first in F1, and recalls Vettel’s rapid progression playing badminton against Raikkonen. “Kimi always liked Seb and I think Seb always liked Kimi. They are good friends – as much as you can be in this sort of environment. “The thing about Kimi is that he is not political at all, so I think to be a team-mate of, he is actually very easy as he doesn’t stir up any shit in the background – he is very transparent. Harmony in the team is something that is massively underrated. It makes a huge difference.”Paired alongside Vettel, Raikkonen’s own performances have steadily improved too, to the point where he has earned three contract extensions, which will keep him in F1 until after his 39th birthday.Questions about his ultimate speed and consistency remain, though, stoked further by occasional criticism from Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne, who has described Raikkonen as an occasional “laggard” in races. But Raikkonen’s pole position in Monaco proves he can still be faster than anyone when things are right, and his pernickety obsession with car set-up and tyre behaviour, plus the deep levels of valuable experience from F1’s tyre war era he can bring to bear in an age of severely limited testing, make him a valuable commodity, even if the price is the odd lacklustre performance.“I think Kimi is one of those guys that if he thought, ‘I just can’t drive one of these cars as quick as I used to’, he would stop,” reckons Arnall. “Kimi brings a shit load of experience,he’s very good with the development of the car, very non-political, an easy team-mate for people to have, so I think as an overall package,he is [still] very good.“I think his belief is that he can still compete near the top. He is very honest with himself – if he didn’t think that was the case, he’d stop.”Many would argue that he should have stopped a while ago, that his continuing presence on the grid, in such a coveted seat, is baﬀling when you consider he hasn’t been definitively quicker than any of his last four team-mates in F1. But what does Raikkonen himself think – does he believe he is as good a driver now as he ever was? “That’s so hard to say,” he replies. “I feel that I can drive as well as 2007 and 2001, or whatever people think has been my best ever [year]. For me, if I didn’t feel that I can drive well, or couldn’t win races or championships, I wouldn’t be here, because I don’t have interest to waste my own time and everyone else’s time. “I value my own time too much to use it on something that I wouldn’t be happy with, or that I wouldn’t think that I can actually do well. Plus, all the other people who would waste their time and money or on something that I just want to be part of. It’s not the most friendly place to be if you don’t really want to be…” That Ferrari continues to place its faith in Raikkonen suggests it feels, beyond the headline results and numbers, that he is still fundamentally among the very best drivers in the world, and that it recognises those deeper layers of style, character, substance and ability that make Raikkonen something more than the sum of his parts. He is enigmatic and mercurial, hasn’t been world champion for a decade, but clearly possesses extra qualities that F1’s biggest team finds are still worth investing in. He may lack the single-minded dedication of some of his peers,he may not be the out-and-out fastest driver on the grid anymore, he may well be too Button-esque in his over-reliance on particular car characteristics to drive quickly. He may not be as adaptable as some of his rivals, and F1 may only be a job to him, rather than an all-consuming obsession – but what’s wrong with being naturally gifted enough at your job that you don’t feel the need to take your work home with you every day?His critics will argue that’s not good enough, that Raikkonen has long outstayed his welcome. If Ferrari hands him another contract extension, they will no doubt be outraged if this enigma is given yet another lease of life. But one thing is for sure, Raikkonen will not care what they think. “I can live my life very happy,” Raikkonen says. “Obviously, my aim is to win races and I’m not happy when I’m not doing well. My biggest issue when I’m getting older is that I care too much. In the past, I didn’t care much. Now, when I have a bad weekend it’s more painful because I care more. Before it was still painful, but I got over it very quickly. “I never tried to be anything else than myself. If people like it, that’s good; if people don’t like it, that’s fine. As long as I’m happy what I’m doing, that’s my only interest. I’m not trying to please people because then I don’t live my life as I should. I live my life for myself. “I always said I have a life and that F1 is just a part of that. It’s not like F1 is all your life and then you have nothing. In my mind, I have the opposite. I mean F1, yes I love it and I enjoy doing it, but it’s not my life. My life is outside of it, and that’s how it should be.”

MARK ARNALL- RAIKKONEN’S LONG-TIME PERSONAL TRAINER

How does the Kimi of now compare to the Kimi you ﬁrst knew back in 2001?

He didn’t really care too much about the PR stuff, he wasn’t interested in that glamour side of it, being famous, I think he would much rather be anonymous! Every time he got in the car all he wanted to do was drive the crap out of it. When I started working with him, I could never imagine him being a father. Now seeing him with two kids is a phenomenal transformation. He is fantastic dad. I think all drivers, everyone learns, go through life and grow; experience teaches a lot. If you look at Kimi, the PR stuff he does now and what the sponsors say, everyone is super happy with him, and he’s got a global following of fans.

He doesn’t give much away in public; is he a shy character?

I think that mysterious side to him is intriguing for people. I don’t think he is particularly shy – the whole fan side of things,he obviously understands Formula 1, knows he is a popular driver, but it is not something he deliberately tries to play to, he just tries to get on with the job and what comes with it comes with it. One area he is very good is with kids. There was a guy who come up to me in Spa once, with this charity, to say this girl has cancer and she’d just love a picture with him or to say ‘hi’, and he spent 25 minutes sitting down and talking to her.

Is he quite a diﬃcult character to work with? He polarises opinion – some people get him and say he is brilliant,others say he is completely closed oﬀ, diﬃcult to work with…

The nicest thing I’d say about Kimi is what you see is what you get. Zero bullshit, zero politics. Kimi’s always been his own character and will always make his own decisions. He’s got a very strong head on those shoulders, so if he doesn’t want to do something, it is really difficult to get him to do it.

It sounds like he is not too demanding, quite independent and knows his own mind.

That is quite an accurate description of what he is like. I think he is probably the opposite to what most people think. If I was to describe Kimi, it would be ‘Mr 110%’. Goes into the gym and goes 110%. If he is lying on his sofa, he’ll go 110% horizontal! When he drives anything, it would be 110%, if he goes out it is 110%. I think that is just the way he lives his life.

The public persona is the ‘Iceman’: cool, disinterested, closed-off. Is he really like that?

In most situations, he is like that, but Kimi is actually a very warm, big-hearted character, and he has got a phenomenal sense of humour, but that is not really something people see. He needs to like people as well. If he doesn’t particularly like being with someone, he doesn’t do anything other than just ignore them.There is no bullshit, if he doesn’t like someone, he is quite straight about it. I think I’ve seen all the different versions of him, but I wouldn’t carry on working with him if I thought he was an arse. I actually really like him. I think he is super genuine, superkind. That is something people don’t really see so much.

#Kimi Raikkonen #raikkonen #f1 humor #F1 News #F1 #Formula One #Formula 1 #sauber #mclaren #Scuderia Ferrari #ferrari #mark arnall #mark slade

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junker-town · 5 years

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What to know about Mason Rudolph, the Steelers’ new quarterback

Mason Rudolph is taking over for veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who suffered a season-ending injury.

Before arriving in Pittsburgh, the Steelers’ third-round draft pick put up some big numbers at Oklahoma State.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have to play the rest of their 2019 season without veteran Ben Roethlisberger under center due to an elbow injury he suffered in Week 2. Now, the Steelers’ immediate future lies in the hands of second-year quarterback Mason Rudolph.

The Steelers drafted Rudolph in the third round in 2018. Although Rudolph hadn’t played in the regular season before, he had a strong debut coming in for the injured Roethlisberger, throwing for 112 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception (one that dropped out of his receiver’s hands) in a 28-26 loss to the Seahawks.

2️⃣➡️8️⃣9️⃣ pic.twitter.com/sbyMHGWuPJ

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 15, 2019

With the Steelers trading third-string quarterback Joshua Dobbs to Jacksonville, Rudolph is Pittsburgh’s quarterback for the remainder of the 2019 season.

Rudolph might be a new name to NFL fans, but the Steelers drafted a player who put up monster numbers at Oklahoma State for three seasons.

He finished as Oklahoma State’s winningest quarterback in school history, compiling a 32-9 record as a starter and leading the Cowboys to three 10-win seasons. Rudolph also set 54 school records, both single-season and career marks for passing yards, touchdowns, and pass efficiency.

Even though Rudolph worked in a spread offense under Mike Gundy, there were pro-style elements involved. Via Ian Boyd:

The Oklahoma State offense often worked in a “pro-style” fashion, in that Rudolph would approach the line of scrimmage with a menu of options, based on the look the defense was giving. Then he might check the play to one of a few alternatives if he saw an opportunity to hit a big play or smelled a negative play coming.

In his final season in Stillwater in 2017, he led the country with 4,904 yards through the air, a full 277 yards ahead of some guy named Baker Mayfield. As my colleague Christian D’Andrea points out, Rudolph didn’t have as much hype as the likes of Mayfield, Patrick Mahomes, and Kyler Murray coming out of college, but Big 12 quarterbacks have found success recently in the NFL.

Before he entered the league, Rudolph was optimistic his game would translate to the next level.

“I think you’ve seen spread quarterbacks come to the league the last five years and they’ve ended up being pretty successful at the next level,” Rudolph said during the 2018 combine. “And I think you’re definitely starting to see a lot more of those concepts, and the high-tempo type offenses, NFL teams adopting more of that philosophy.”

Later that year, Rudolph was the sixth quarterback off the board in the draft. The five before him were all selected in the first round. But here’s something pretty cool: Rudolph will get to go up against all five of the quarterbacks drafted ahead of him this season. The Steelers will face Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen, and Sam Darnold during the regular season.

In particular, the Steelers-Browns games on Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 might have some added juice with Rudolph and Mayfield, who by the way played for bitter rival teams in college, too.

Rudolph may not be as interesting off the field as fellow new QB starter Gardner Minshew, but a few fun facts:

One of Rudolph’s best Oklahoma State highlights was him throwing a perfect pass to this dude on a jet-ski, joining the trend of aquatic trick shots by college QBs during the summer of 2017:

#okstate QB Mason Rudolph, ladies and gentlemen! He's consistent in any environment. (Video courtesy @Rudolph2Mason) pic.twitter.com/z7PQHqkNft

— Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) May 29, 2016

He also did yoga, which he incorporated into his workout routine in Stillwater, with ESPN’s Jeannine Edwards:

He also once met Backstreet Boys members Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson in Israel! He has smartly since-deleted old tweets, including the photo he tweeted of the three — likely a good idea since he @’ed Paris Hilton in it, too. Good thinking, Rudolph!

2018’s loaded quarterback class put Rudolph as a projected second- or third-rounder, which is right where Pittsburgh drafted him.

But Rudolph didn’t win the backup job right away — he was beaten out by Dobbs for the position in 2018. Rudolph said that being the third-string QB motivated him during the offseason and preseason camp.

“It was a change, but I think I will be better for it down the road,” Rudolph said in March. “It was a year I could focus on helping our team, being a guy behind the scenes, trying to raise my football IQ. I met with Coach [Mike] Tomlin once a week to find out his keys to the game and his insight onto what we need to attack on their defense. That really helped.”

During the preseason, Rudolph showed a lot of growth from Year 1 to 2, which allowed him to win the No. 2 job pretty handily:

Getting thrown into the fire isn’t easy, but there were a lot of bright spots in Rudolph’s debut.

After entering in the third quarter against the Seahawks, Rudolph’s first three passes, including the interception, were off the mark. He then found his stride under center and finished with a 92.4 passer rating. Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner even dialed up some trickeration for Rudolph with this 45-yard flea-flicker to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Who doesn't like a good flea flicker? Could this be the future look of the Pittsburgh Steelers? #SEAvsPIT cc: @NFL pic.twitter.com/QIjjSiK4oP

— DraftZar (@draftzar) September 16, 2019

It certainly helps that Rudolph’s college teammate, James Washington, is with him in Pittsburgh, too. Throughout their years playing together at OSU, the Cowboys’ offense relied on Washington being able to slip past cornerbacks on post routes:

Rudolph found his college go-to receiver on a screen last Sunday, and there will likely be more where that came from. Pittsburgh’s offense will look different with Rudolph instead of Roethlisberger under center, and he should open up the Steelers’ play-action pass game, like he did with this touchdown to tight end Vance McDonald:

From All-22: Rudolph off play action touchdown pass to McDonald. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/W8Lq5JInSn

— SteelVideos (@SteelBlitzburgh) September 19, 2019

Even if Rudolph wasn’t expected to be pressed into duty, he impressed his teammates with his poise.

“He handled himself really well,” Steelers guard David DeCastro said via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Really proud of him, how he came in ready to go. He knew the playbook, had a big command, and he mixed some of the cadences, too.”

“He’s thrown the ball and made his reads, and he’s very deliberate about that,” McDonald added. “It’s something we can look forward to on offense. I think him and (offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner) have a great connection. He’s come a long way since last year. If he’s our guy, he’s our guy. We’ve got to move forward with him.”

The moment wasn’t too big for Rudolph, who Steelers guard Ramon Foster said prepares “like a mad man” before games.

“He steps in and does what he is told,” Washington told reporters. “He puts in film work. When his number is called, he is ready to go. What he does in practice he takes to the game. He watches film and studies and studies. What he sees from that week of preparation you see him doing that in the game.”

While the loss at home dropped the Steelers to 0-2, Rudolph still received overwhelming support from his teammates.

Rudolph has a chance to set himself up as Roethlisberger’s successor down the road, too.

After this season, the 37-year-old Roethlisberger has two more years remaining on his current contract with the Steelers. No one knows how he’ll come back from this injury, but he’s made it clear he still wants to keep playing.

The Steelers appear to be confident in both Rudolph and Roethlisberger, too — they traded next year’s first-round pick to Miami for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, which means they likely won’t be taking a quarterback high in next year’s draft, if at all.

The Steelers haven’t had to look for a franchise quarterback in 15 years. With his performance this season, Rudolph is hoping to prove their next one is already here.

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smokeybrandreviews · 6 years

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Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Just a Girl

So i saw Captain Marvel opening day. I was part of that rush, yes. Cap was one of my most anticipated films of the year for me. She’s actually my fifth favorite Marvel character, second favorite female character. When i heard she was getting a film, i was apprehensive. No one knows who Cap is. They don’t know how powerful she is. Hell, how would that power-set translate to the MCU? When they announced Brie Larson was going to play Carol, i was concerned. Not because Brie is a feminist or man-hater as the less intelligent parts of the internet would like to focus on, but more she didn’t fit the bill for an MCU hero. Larson is an excellent actress, one of my favorite working today. What she ain’t, is charismatic. There’s a different type of energy you need to carry an MCU film and Marvel has done an excellent job of finding people who capture that spirit. Brie has never demonstrated, in any of her roles, an ability to do that. I was super on the fence about this entire situation. I want this film to succeed. I want it to be good. I want Captain Marvel to get he shine she deserves. My fingers were crossed this would be good. And then the less intelligent parts of the internet got to it.

I wrote about this at length in my Captain Controversy post. The thing about Captain Marvel, the thing that i love about her, is the small moments. When she interacts with other characters, she's super on point. In a team dynamic, Carol is amazing. On her own? Not so much. This stems from the fact that the origins of her character are from that whole women lib movement of the 70s. She's a rule 63 of the original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell. She-Hulk kind of has the same issues but, given proper writing and development, they both shine. Carol, however, has not had the same luck in that department as Jessica and it shows. Throughout the years, as a comic entity, Carol's had, like, three stories that have been dope - all of them occurring in the late 00s until now. Bendis has done a great service in developing Carol into her own, independent, personality and the recent revelations in her new origin, The Life of Captain Marvel, have gone a long way to establishing a future where Captain Marvel can be great. She has a ton of potential to be excellent and I think, as a creator, I am drawn to that aspect of her. Plus, she has had some really dope costumes over the years. Now, I said three good stories because the bulk of Captain Marvel in modern Marvel comics, has, more or less, become a poster child for gender politics and THAT sh*t is whack! That sh*t is why none of the fanboys want to have anything to do with this character. And casting Brie Larson, a very vocal feminist, does not help in any capacity. All of that White Male Outrage has review bombed the f*ck out of this film and I don't think it deserves any of it. I think, removed from all of the butt-hurt Menisists and fragile male egos, there are very real issues with this film. Issues that hinder but never detract. This is why I took so much time before writing this review. I actually wanted to digest what I saw on the screen and try to distance myself from my admitted bias and this weird, sad, unwarranted hate, this flick has been getting. So, with a properly digested understanding of what I saw, here is what I thought about Captain Marvel.

The Good

They changed the opening Marvel title card from MCU events, to all of Stan Lee's cameos and that sh*t hurt, man. They ended it with “Thank You, Stan.” The entire theater lost it. It's been a few months, but that loss still hurts, man. Marvel Comics means a lot to me and Stan is one of the principal architects. Say what you will about the quality of his character, the strength of his work will stand the test of time.

Speaking of Stan Lee cameos, this is easily his second best after the one he had in Spider-Verse. If you're a 90s kid, or someone who grew up during the 90s, you'll know why. It's f*cking brilliant and I loved it. I bet Kevin Smith did, too.

Sam Jackson knocks it out of the park as usual. His Nick Fury has been the linchpin of the MCU since way back in the Iron Man stinger. You see a lot of who he was before all of the responsibility and SHIELD clout, which was mad refreshing. If we loose RDJ, I think we'll be alright if we can keep Sam around for the occasional pop-in.

I think Brie Larson did fantastic in her first stint as Carol. I mean, with the exception of RDJ and Tom Holland, who f*cking knocked it out of the park as Pete, every other MCU hero needed time to grow and figure out HOW to be those characters. We had, what? Three different Hulks before they hit that sweet spot with Ruffalo? It took Hemsworth four movies before he cracked Thor? Hell, Cummerbund had to have two films and an end credits stinger to get Strange right. What I'm saying is, a lot of what cats are dinging Larson for, will work itself out over time. Especially when she gets into the think of it with everyone else in Endgame. Also, a better script and director would go a long way to helping that growth, as well.

The chemistry between Carol and Nick was wonderful. His movie is a buddy cop flick more so than any other in the MCU so far. I think Carol needs that to play off and, in the comics, she usually has Jessica Drew, Spider-Woman, to do a lot of that with. Considering it looks like the MCU is going in another direction with that, which is a shame because that dynamic would be awesome to see onscreen, what we got with Fury and Danvers was great.

This guy Ben Medelshon? How great of an actor is he? Dude is almost always the best part of any film he's in, even if they're trash. Like, he was the best thing but Ready Player One and that movie was a right clusterf*ck. Mendelsohn in this, is just as brilliant as he was in that, pulling off what no other villain in the MCU forced to wear such heavy face make-up has been able to do; Act. Mendelsohn's Talos, even caked with an inch of green paint, was never not charismatic and human. Dude was amazing and it kind of paints the MCU into a corner as to how to make these cats terrorists later which is messed up. I was kind of looking forward to Veranke...

The soundtrack for this thing s probably the best since Black Panther. Personally, being of negro descent, I think THAT soundtrack is the best of the MCU. Kendrick created a goddamn masterpiece, man. But I would imagine the more accessible Awesome Mix vol 1 is more the masses speed and, I agree. That sh*t is awesome. I haven't heard all of Vol 2 so I can't comment on that one but, what we got in Captain Marvel, was absolutely wonderful. There's a scene where No Doubt's Just a girl starts playing and it made me smile. It's a little on the nose but still, a great time.

Goose was awesome. I kind of hate that they changed her name from Chewie to Goose, but I get why. Air Force. Top Gun. Danger Zone. Clever. Flerkens and Feminism, man.

Speaking of, the message this movie sends for little girls is amazing. Wonder Woman had kind of the same effect but I think Captain Marvel is the superior film, overall. That and Carol is literally the nuclear deterrent of the MCU. She is, by far, the most powerful hero on the Avengers roster. For it to be a woman? Fantastic! I've seen so many positive affirmations and uplifting testimonials from women about how this movie made them feel. That sh*t is important, man. I'm all about representation in media so to have such a monumental moment being taken in like it should, in spite of such... immature hostility, was great. When I was walking out of the theater, I saw a little girl absolutely gushing about how cool Captain Marvel was and that sh*t legit made me smile. She's a fan for life and might grow up to be the next great creator who makes some pretty cool stuff because she went to see a movie, about a girl who can do some pretty cool stuff. If that sh*t doesn't make you feel good, you're an asshole and need to get off my page, post-haste.

This movie is f*cking gorgeous. Cap's powers translated to the screen brilliantly and even her Binary mode was something to behold. Like, if we ever get a proper, live action, DBZ, they should take note because watching her go super saiyan was f*cking amazing. It kind of sucks she had no one to go super saiyan against. I'd loved to have seen her go up against Ronan and his hammer but nope. Maybe next time? Even more than that, the de-aging effect of Fury was kind of miraculous. Sam Jackson looked younger than his stint as Jules in Pulp Fiction, which is suppose to be out around that time in the film. I was shocked.

The Meh

The supporting cast in this was a little flaccid. They felt more like meat targets than viable characters in this flick. Everyone touted Gemma Chan's Min'Erva as someone to watch but, nope. She didn't do much but sit on a rock/platform and shoot things from distance. The return of Son of Coal? Nope. Like, 4 minutes of Clark Gregg, which sucked. Annette Bening? One of the greatest actresses to ever grace Hollywood? Pulling double duty as a gender swapped Mar-Vell and The Great Intelligence? Nope. She literally just stood or laid around in every one of her scenes. Lee Pace? Man, this didn't even bother giving Ronan the face makeup. Jude Law was Yon-Rogg was completely underused. I think, though, that everyone except Jackson and Brie were underused.

Kind of in that same vein, the overall character development In this was... underwhelming? You never get a feel for who Carol is. Even when she commits to one personae over another, you don't really care. She's dope, overall, but that's more because of her interactions with Fury than any semblance of self realization on her part. Essentially, the weakest part of this film stems from how the writing let the main character down. This thing doesn't look like there was a lot of Marvel Films edicts to bog it down so there should have be a wealth of free range to develop this character. We did not get any of that. Maybe in future films but this one? Nah.

This thing has no idea what it wants to be, where it wants to go, or how it wants to get there. The tonal whiplash in this movie is crazy jarring. The performances and effects do a great job of distracting you from most of that but, if you're paying attention to the structure of this film, you can see it clearly. There was no path, no consensus, on how to introduce this character and her story. In that regard, this is one of the weakest of the MCU films, for sure.

There are hints of a grander scope in this flick. We saw a bit of Hala. We saw a bit of the Accusers. We learned a bit more about the Kree. The Starforce interactions were awesome. The second we get to earth? All of that out the window. That could be forgiven if what we witnessed on earth was more fleshed-out, more organic, but this was kind of a paint-by-numbers tale. I think that has a lot to do with the direction. Speaking of which...

The Bad

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were the wrong people to make this movie. You needed someone with the vision to deliver a massive space opera but focus in on the character struggle and inner conflict of Carol Danvers. You had a great actress to help pull of that vision but the ones trying to guide that performance were out of their depth I think. The pair do a lot of low budget, character driven, indie flicks, and that's fine. Those films have a very specific tone, a very specific line of execution. That type of storytelling does not lend itself to a tent pole MCU film. Sure, Marvel has been great as finding diamonds in the rough to make masterworks out of the mundane (The Russos, James Gunn, Ryan Coogler) but they have also had a lot of misses. Whoever did the first two Thor films, letting Edgar Wright go over creative differences, and now these two cats. I'm not saying they are bad directors but, for this type of film? Horrible choice, I think.

Kind of in that same discussion has to be the mediocrity of the overall writing. The dialogue in some of these interactions was outright awful. Like, anytime Ronan was on screen, I kind of groaned. Anytime Bening had airtime, I rolled my eyes. These excellent actors that I've seen give much better performances in other flicks, had next to nothing to work with in this flick. That can be said about everyone in this movie. I feel like there should have been much more care given to this script considering it's going to be Carol who carries the next Phase of Marvel films.

While I loves the Grrrl power message laced throughout this flick, the way it was delivered seems a little heavy handed at times. That scene where Just A Girl playing? I love that sh*t. But, at the same time, I can see how it could alienate a vast swath of fans. It's ill to me because why shouldn't we celebrate a powerful woman coming into her own? I, personally, don't see anything wrong with it but I'd be considered a cuck by men less than myself and that's who will have an issue with this. Unfortunately, they make up a massive portion of the fanbase who see capeflicks. That being said, even with all of the tirades, tantrums, and review bombs, Cap might break 100 mil, which is great for the franchise and the MCU overall.

There is a real lack of imagination in this movie and I think it goes back to the the choice in directors. I touched on it a little before, but, I mean, you have a galactic space opera, taking place on two planets, with a ludicrously OP, female, protagonist who has amnesia so is an absolute clean slate, and the best you can do is a sun-of-the-mill, fish out of water tale? F*cking really? There are little moments of brilliance here and there but overall, this was underwhelming for 9ne of the most powerful character in Marvel comics.

The Verdict

I really enjoyed Captain Marvel. I thought it was a decent introduction to a character that had, up until very recently, no direction in the lore of the Marvel mythos. This movie has it's issues, for sure, but I think these things can be fixed with a different director, a better script, and much, much, more imagination. I think the biggest issue with this thing is the utter lack of Marvel. It doesn't feel like a Marvel film. It feels like a Marvel film by way of Fox or Sony. This is, more or less, because the character of Captain Marvel is also so wayward. There are a lot of good ideas here and I am convinced Brie Larson can develop into something special, but it's going to take a while. It's going to take someone with a clear vision for spectacle and respect for character. Thor took a while and Taika Waititi to be great. Strange took a while and the Russos to feel organic. Lang took a while but, I mean, Paul Rudd was awesome from the get. He just shines much. Much better when alongside others. I think going forward, if Feige can find that right balance of creativity and vision in the creatives behind the camera, Captain Marvel will be great. As she is now, just like this movie, she's fun but hollow. Marvel hasn't cracked Captain Marvel just yet but when they do, she'll be absolutely Marvelous. Ultimately, I'd say check it out. It's beautiful, entertaining, and Sam Jackson is always awesome. For a weekend distraction, you can do much worse.

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smokeybrand · 6 years

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Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Just a Girl

The Good

Goose was awesome. I kind of hate that they changed her name from Chewie to Goose, but I get why. Air Force. Top Gun. Danger Zone. Clever. Flerkens and Feminism, man.

The Meh

The Bad

The Verdict

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gibsonsflowofthoughts · 6 years

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Quicken Loans National 2018: Tee times, pairings for Tiger Woods, field on Sunday

Tiger Woods was living under par again on Saturday at the Quicken Loans National, but he still left TPC Potomac saying it was a “frustrating” round. Woods posted a 2-under 68 that could have been much more. At the start of the day, he thought he needed to post another 65 to get to 10-under for the tournament to really have his best shot going into the final round. Instead, Tiger is at 7-under for the week and six shots off the pace set by Francesco Molinari and Abraham Ancer.

Woods is still within range, although it’s much tougher task with just 18 holes to play. Six shots is definitely doable with 36 more to play, but Tiger is running out of time now. After the round, he said he’d prefer if the course played difficult on Sunday. Often, you will hear chasers say they want a gettable course to at least have a chance to pull off a chasedown. But Woods has always been of the preference to pull off a comeback on a harder course, and Sunday’s conditions at TPC Potomac should be firm and fast.

Tiger will go at 1:20 p.m. ET alongside Bronson Burgoon, who most viewers will have never heard of when they tune in on Sunday. The guy has a funny name, but he’s got plenty of game and can compete on the highest tour in the world. Playing with Tiger, however, is a totally different world and one that I watched Bill Haas and Marc Leishman battle through the first two days at this event. There’s really no circus like it and if you’re second to play or putt out after Tiger has finished up, you’re kinda screwed and just going to have to accept the chaos around you.

Joel Dahmen, another player who doesn’t have a ton of reps out there, played well enough with Tiger on Saturday. But he said it was nothing like he’d seen before, telling Golf Channel, “The wildest thing was walking to the tee, and I looked at my caddie like, ‘Holy cow, this is unbelievable.’ I played with DJ last year. I’ve been around 16 at the Phoenix Open. But it was nothing like this.”

8:30 a.m.: Bill Haas, Kevin Tway

8:39 a.m.: Doc Redman, Xinjun Zhang

8:48 a.m.: Dominic Bozzelli, Scott Brown

8:57 a.m.: Kevin Na, David Hearn

9:06 a.m.: Jimmy Walker, Doug Ghim

9:15 a.m.: Tom Lovelady, Gary Woodland

9:24 a.m.: Martin Flores, David Lingmerth

9:33 a.m.: Jamie Lovemark, Nick Watney

9:42 a.m.: Chris Stroud, James Hahn

9:51 a.m.: J.J. Spaun, Joaquin Niemann

10 a.m.: Harold Varner III, Jonas Blixt

10:09 a.m.: Patrick Rodgers, Corey Conners

10:18 a.m.: Lanto Griffin, Adam Hadwin

10:27 a.m.: Adam Schenk, Seamus Power

10:36 a.m.: Derek Fathauer, Fabian Gomez

10:45 a.m.: Blayne Barber, J.T. Poston

10:54 a.m.: Johnson Wagner, Billy Horschel

11:03 a.m.: Charles Howell III, Cameron Percy

11:12 a.m.: Alex Cejka, Dylan Meyer

11:21 a.m.: Robert Garrigus, Kiradech Aphibarnrat

11:30 a.m.: Sam Ryder, Brandon Harkins

11:40 a.m.: Roberto Diaz, Ollie Schniederjans

11:50 a.m.: Ted Potter Jr., Stewart Cink

12 p.m.: Tyler Duncan, Ethan Tracy

12:10 p.m.: Anirban Lahiri, Byeong Hun An

12:20 p.m.: Rickie Fowler, John Huh

12:30 p.m.: Andrew Putnam, Stephan Jaeger

12:40 p.m.: Sung Kang, Joel Dahmen

12:50 p.m.: Ben Crane, Ryan Palmer

1 p.m.: Brian Gay, Kyle Stanley

1:10 p.m.: Chesson Hadley, Marc Leishman

1:20 p.m.: Bronson Burgoon, Tiger Woods

1:30 p.m.: Beau Hossler, Ryan Blaum

1:40 p.m.: Troy Merritt, C.T. Pan

1:50 p.m.: Andrew Landry, Kevin Streelman

2 p.m.: Zac Blair, Ryan Armour

2:10 p.m.: Abraham Ancer, Francesco Molinari

Dope article from sbnation.com

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flauntpage · 6 years

Text

Your Tuesday Morning Roundup

That is one scary-ass picture of Nick Williams staring deep into your soul (and also JP Crawford, who can’t hit).

Despite another game where he didn’t start, his bat provided the big difference. Williams hit a pinch-hit solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to provide the Phillies a 6-5 win over the Reds. It was a victory for the Phils, Gabe Kapler, and the computers.

Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery, who replaced a struggling Crawford, each hit dingers in the win. Kingery’s home run was the first of his career. Ben Lively went 5 2/3 innings and gave up all five runs on nine hits and struck out seven.

A very good win for the Phillies and probably their best victory of the season. Beating Miami 20-1 was fantastic, but last night showed what the Phillies have the potential of doing against a decent team like Cincy. Miami’s just really bad.

Aaron Nola takes the mound tonight against Homer Bailey, one of the top baseball names in the game. First pitch is set for 7:05 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia +. But the bigger question might be how many people go to the game? Last night looked like “Dress Like a Seat Night” in the ballpark.

Another question to ask: Will Joey Votto be a jerk again?

True to form, Joey Votto's having a little fun with the Philly fans.

pic.twitter.com/UXJ30kjsl1

— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) April 9, 2018

The Roundup:

The Worst of Philadelphia is down to its Final Four. Two #1 seeds advanced in the bracket.

Ben Simmons isn’t shy to pick himself as Rookie of the Year:

“Who would I pick? Me, 100 percent,” Simmons told ESPN at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Philadelphia on Saturday.

“I think I have been playing solid all year,” he continued. “If you look at the numbers, you will see. People who know the game know.”

When the 6-foot-10 point guard was told the Rookie of the Year race appears to be a two-man show, he buried his head down and proceeded to chuckle. Asked what rookies have caught his attention this year, he didn’t mince words.

“None,” Simmons responded promptly. “I want to be where the greats are. So, for me, I watch the guys like [Kevin Durant], [LeBron James], [Stephen] Curry, Russell [Westbrook]. Guys like that. That’s where I want to be. I think for me, that’s what I love to watch.”

With Markelle Fultz getting more and more minutes, what does that mean for T.J. McConnell?

“I’m not going to cry over spilled milk,” McConnell said. “Markelle and Ben (Simmons) are special players and they need to be out there for us to win. I’ve just got to stay ready. If my number’s called, I’ve just got to go out there and be a pro and help this team win.”

With the playoffs beginning Saturday, let’s take some time to look at the team’s possible postseason opponents.

Later today, you might see two Cleveland-centric billboards go up on I-95 regarding LeBron to Philly.

They suck:

Check out this video from our friends at RushOrderTees featuring the t-shirts made for Franklin’s birthday on Sunday:

The Sixers play the first of their final two regular season games tonight as they visit the Hawks at 7:30 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia. They’ll need to win their final two games for the #3 seed, as Cleveland beat the Knicks last night in New York.

Here’s a look at the Eastern Conference right now. Wednesday’s game against the Bucks could be a preview of the Quarterfinals:

We are one day away from Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs between the Flyers and the Penguins:

The Fight continues. #EarnTomorrow pic.twitter.com/08raNvyBbK

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 9, 2018

Just like many of us, Ivan Provorov is excited about playoff hockey:

“This is basically what you play all 82 games for,” the intense second-year Flyers defenseman said after practice Monday in Voorhees, where the Flyers were preparing to open their first-round playoff series Wednesday in Pittsburgh. “I mean, it’s hard not to be excited. … To be honest, I couldn’t even sleep the last two nights.”

It had nothing to do with the two-time defending Stanley Cup Penguins, though they can make it difficult to get a good night’s sleep. Especially Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, superstar centers who combined for 14 points as the Penguins swept the four-game, regular-season series against the Flyers, including two overtime wins.

Provorov, whose third-place team finished just two points behind the Penguins in the Metropolitan Division, downplayed the regular-season series against Pittsburgh.

“I know we didn’t get the points that we wanted in the games against them, but I think out of the four games, in three of them we played really well and kind of let a few games get away,” he said. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s a clean sheet now in the playoffs and all our focus is on getting the first win.”

It might be a tall task for the Flyers to provide an upset, but it is possible. They’ll have to stop or limit the league’s best power play unit.

But who is Lil B rooting for?

What's your pick @LILBTHEBASEDGOD they both play each other!?!? pic.twitter.com/YlRj6Wx5Uo

— Chris Jastrzembski (@CFJastrzembski) April 10, 2018

(Kinkead: I don’t get the Lil B thing)

Aussie rugby player Jordan Mailata is slated to visit the Eagles tomorrow as part of his tour of NFL teams. The others include Washington, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and the LA Chargers.

This is a ridiculous, yet knowing Howie Roseman possible, trade scenario:

Ready for a blockbuster @NFLDraft trade idea? Jets would receive: QB Nick Foles Eagles would receive:

(via @GMFB) pic.twitter.com/n1frJGylV1

— NFL (@NFL) April 9, 2018

SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton will visit the Eagles. He’s regarded as one of the best wide receivers in this year’s NFL Draft class.

Sometimes, the best Eagles players were never even drafted.

As expected, Villanova small forward Mikal Bridges will enter the NBA Draft.

La Salle officially introduced former Villanova assistant Ashley Howard as their new head coach. This is a big hire for the school and will certainly impact Philly hoops, especially at the high school level:

Sitting in his office at Imhotep, latest state championship trophy and net just outside on the front counter, Brother Andre Noble talked early Monday afternoon about the significance of Howard getting the La Salle job. Not about just Howard’s deep roots, but his connections to the scene as it exists today.

“I think that Ashley Howard, it could change the order for young people — I think it’s that big,’’ Noble said of the hire.

He’d gone down there, Noble said, but thought the introduction was at 10, not 11. He’d had to get back up to school.

Down in South Philadelphia, Neumann-Goretti coach Carl Arrigale, who has sent top players to La Salle, difference-makers, answered his phone and agreed the hire just makes sense.

“It’s probably more important that he’s from Philadelphia than Villanova,’’ Arrigale said. “But the combination gives him a shot.”

The Union unveiled a new way for fans to get to games called U-Ride. This bus program will pick up fans at four different locations, including XFINITY Live!, for a $15 roundtrip ticket. The buses leave Philly two hours before the match and the service will begin in two weeks for the D.C. United game.

We know Matt Gelb’s replacement at the Inquirer and Daily News. He’s a familiar face for some:

A personal note: This week is my last at ESPN. After eight amazing years writing about the Red Sox, the past two for ESPN, I am returning to Philadelphia to cover the Phillies for @PhillyInquirer, @PhillyDailyNews and @PhillyDotCom.

— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) April 9, 2018

The NBC Sports Philadelphia simulcast of The Mike Missanelli Show will finally begin on Monday.

In other sports news,

Three unnamed Michigan State basketball players were accused of raping a female student back in 2015.

Andrew Luck hasn’t even picked up a football yet.

The Cavs will sign Kendrick Perkins for the playoffs. He played in 27 games for the Canton Charge of the G-League.

What is Ray Lewis even saying?

This is how Tony Finau’s ankle looked after playing at The Masters this weekend and dislocating and relocating his ankle:

.@tonyfinaugolf played on this ankle all weekend and still managed a T-10 finish at 7-under.

pic.twitter.com/sULhJpPK2E

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) April 9, 2018

Rest up.

Bill Belichick is not a fan of Rob Gronkowski using the TB12 diet.

At one point early last season, the Hoodie chastised Gronk in front of the players for being a TB12 client, according to a source. So maybe that was Belichick’s not-so-subtle way of trying to keep everyone from jumping ship on the team’s training staff.

Two Brewers TV reporters got into a fight. One of them got arrested. TV WARS?

In the news, a prosecutor revealed Bill Cosby paid the accuser in his retrial $3.4 million. There was also a topless protester who appeared as a child on multiple episodes of “The Cosby Show.”

Fleetwood Mac has fired singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. Looks like the band told him “you can go your own way.”

Today is Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day.

Your Tuesday Morning Roundup published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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fat-lisa · 8 years

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2016 reading challenge - or how I came the closest ever and failed thanks to Harry Potter

2016 was my third attempt at the 50 book reading challenge, and the closest I had ever come to actually doing it. With a couple of weeks to go I still had to read 3 books, so I bought the All for the Game trilogy by Nora Sakavic (thanks for the rec random Tumblr I stumbled across the other day) and settled in.

Christmas wasn’t a great time for reading thanks to all the family stuff I had to do, but in the few days between Christmas and New Year I motored through the end of the first one and the whole of the second one. I started the third on New Years Eve, thinking that I didn’t actually have anything to do that day, so I could do this.

I soon realised it was going to be slightly more of a challenge than first thought - the first book had been 260 pages, the second 328. The third? 418 pages. According to Goodreads the average reading time was about 7 hours - it should definitely have been doable. I settled in and started reading, having a short break to make some lunch, and I had to pop out for a little bit as I had been putting off buying new running shoes for the last two months, and I knew I needed them now or I’d end up running a marathon in shoes that hurt like a biz-atch.

Long story short, I was still reading into the evening. Cooked dinner with the Hubs, watched The Last Dragon Slayer whilst we ate, then picked the book back up. This was when Harry Potter de-railed me. ITV had been showing a film every day over Christmas, and New Years Eve was the night of The Deathly Hallows Part 2. It somehow ended up on the TV, and really, how was I supposed to concentrate on a book when HP was on TV?

So, I didn’t quite make it, but 49 wasn’t a bad attempt, and I’ve set the bar the same again this year. And in truth, I’ve read so much fic as well during the year, I reckon I must have read approximately 100 books all told.

List and thoughts below the cut:

Here’s the final list:

1. Roberson, Allred - iZombie: Reposession

2. Sarah J Maas - Queen of Shadows

3. Patrick Ness - The Rest of Us Just Live Here

4. Brian Katcher - The Improbable Theory of Ana & Zak

5. Ben Aaronovitch - Foxglove Summer

6. Ernest Cline - Armada

7. Jenn Bennett - Night Owls

8. Rainbow Rowell - Kindred Spirits

9. Moira Fowley-Doyle - The Accident Season

10. Veronica Roth - Divergent (re-read)

11. Veronica Roth - Insurgent (re-read)

12. Veronica Roth - Allegiant (re-read)

13. Kevin Sands - The Blackthorn Key

14. Joe Hill - Horns

15. Andy Weir - The Martian

16. Maggie Stiefvater - The Raven Boys

17. Maggie Stiefvater - The Dream Thieves

18. Maggie Stiefvater - Blue Lily, Lily Blue

19. Maggie Stiefvater - The Raven King

20. Rob Thomas - Rats Saw God

21. David Lagercrantz - The Girl in the Spider’s Web

22. V.E. Schwab - A Darker Shade of Magic

23. Madeleine Roux - Asylum

24. Madeleine Roux - Sanctum

25. Madeleine Roux - Catacomb

26. Leigh Bardugo - Shadow and Bone

27. Leigh Bardugo - Siege and Storm

28. Leigh Bardugo - Ruin and Rising

29. Stephanie Perkins - Summer Days and Summer Nights

30. J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

31. Jeff Noon & Steve Beard - Mappalujo

32. Nick Lake - There Will be Lies

33. Paige Toon - The One We Fell in Love With

34. Jesse Eisenberg - Bream Gives Me Hiccups

35. Paula Hawkins - The Girl on the Train

36. Sarah J Maas - Empire of Storms

37. Huntley Fitzpatrick - Boy Most Likely To

38. April Genevieve Tucholke - Slasher Girls and Monster Boys

39. Jennifer Niven - Holding Up the Universe

40. Sabaa Tahir - An Ember in the Ashes

41. Danielle Vega - The Merciless

42. Megan Abbot - The End of Everything

43. Susan Ee - Angelfall

44. Susan Ee - World After

45. Susan Ee - End of Days

46. Fraction, Aja, Pulido - Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon

47. Adrian J Walker - The End of the World Running Club

48. Nora Sakavic - The Foxhole Court

49. Nora Sakavic - The Raven King

So, favourites - I read a lot of books/series I had been meaning to read for a while this year, and they were mostly as good as I had been lead to believe (The Raven Cycle and The Grisha Trilogy were both amazing). I also really liked The Martian, more than I was expecting to be honest. Although I then watched the film and was thoroughly put out at how much they left out/changed. No change there. After All the Bright Places, I was really looking forward to Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven, and it did not disappoint. I also loved the most recent in the Throne of Glass series - I totally cried at the end! The Accident Season was incredible and have been recommending it to anyone who will listen since. And who doesn’t love a bit of Rainbow Rowell to brighten up any reading list?

Least favourites - Mappalujo took me a long time to get through, and I’m still not entirely sure what happened in it. According to my Goodreads yearly summary, only 16 other people have read it. I was also somewhat let down by The Girl on the Train after having it recommended to me, and then figuring out who the bad guy was on about page 47. I also wasn’t the greatest lover of Horns by Joe Hill - another friend has been telling me to read his books for ages, and I got Horns on a Kindle daily deal so I thought I’d give it a go. When I mentioned it to her afterwards, she said that it’s one of her least favourite ones as well, and I was left wondering why she hadn’t warned me of that in the first place!

Here’s to another great reading year in 2017 - I’m aiming for 50 again, and am already onto my second (having finished the final book in he All For the Game trilogy and calling that number 1). Fingers crossed I can make it this year!

#reading #books #reading challenge 2016 #50 books in a year #i am a failure #damn you harry potter!#me

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paradoxicalca · 5 years

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(OC) Covertly Tanking the Minnesota Wild (An Alternate Reality)

(This is the sequel to this thread.)It's August 2019. The Minnesota Wild, following a tumultuous season, have fired their GM and hired Penguins Assistant GM Bill Guerin. The ownership have made something very clear to Billy G: "We want to compete for a playoff spot and under no circumstances do we want to rebuild. Fenton left us in a bad spot and we want big changes to this roster too."Guerin looks at the lineup he's got and realizes that this squad is gonna compete for nothing but the 13th overall pick. How can he turn this team into a champion within a cycle of mediocrity? This team needs a superstar and it can't get one without a high draft pick.Then he remembers something. When his old team signed Jack Johnson last summer, everyone in the front office thought it was a home run: a top 4 defenceman at under 4 million dollars who's tough in front of the net? The local media loved it too. But the analytics department and those damn nerd bloggers said it would be a disaster, and they were right. He and JR had spent the past summer trying to dump that contract.Suddenly it hits him: "What if I were to purchase bad players and disguise them as good moves? Oh ho ho ho ho... delightfully devilish, Billy!"The mission: Conduct a covert one-season tank of the Minnesota Wild to get a top draft pick without the owner or old guard hockey media realizing it.Guerin hires a staff of analytics gurus to general applause from Hockey Twitter. He gets these excited stats geeks and their laptops in a room and tells them the plan. They have 3-year contracts and will not be let go if the results of the season are poor, and once June 2020 hits they can sign all the Pirris and Fransons their hearts desire.The roster they have to start from is below; bolded are the players they know they can't move without arousing suspicion:Parise - Staal - ZuccarelloZucker - Koivu - FialaDonato - Eriksson Ek - KuninFoligno - Rask - HartmanSuter - DumbaBrodin - SpurgeonSeeler - PaterynDubnykStalockThe staff tells Guerin that their WAR model projects that team at 81 points. Unacceptable. The target is 65, which will leave some room for error. The analytics guys regret not having been there earlier, where they could have grabbed guys like Justin Braun and Gustav Forsling. But no matter. There's a lot of work to be done.Signing #1 - Wild sign Derick Brassard for 1 year at $2.5M(Eriksson Ek and Kunin just aren't ready to play 3rd line centre - betting on a centre on a down year worked for Eric Staal, why couldn't it work again? 2 years ago this guy was a stud 2C, there's no way he's fallen off that fast)Signing #2 - Wild sign Tobias Rieder for 1 year at $1M(Rieder will add speed to our third line, plus he'll have a chip on his shoulder after a tough year in Edmonton. Smart low-risk signing for the Wild.)Signing #3 - Wild sign Ben Hutton for 1 year at 1M(A 26 year old 20-point defenceman available as a cheap UFA? Real smart pickup for the Wild. He should flourish in a better situation.)Trade #1 - Wild trade a 6th round pick to the Penguins for Jack Johnson and a 2nd(Guerin knows Johnson - who played in Shattuck by the way - and it must be a good sign if he's bringing him back! He'll bounce back, Pens beat reporters I've talked to say he was way better when he was put on his left side late in the season for the Pens anyway.)Trade #2 - Wild trade Marcus Foligno to the Canucks for Jay Beagle(Victor Rask wasn't cutting it and will slide to LW. Beagle has championship pedigree! Foligno is fine but the Wild have really solidified their centre position in the bottom six with this move, getting one of the best 4th line centres in the league.)Trade #3 - Wild trade Jason Zucker and Jonas Brodin to the Sabres for Rasmus Ristolainen, Tage Thompson, Kyle Okposo, and a 2020 2nd(What a blockbuster! Wild pick up a bona fide #1 right defenceman, a local boy and alternate captain coming off an off-season, a gritty and talented American prospect, and a draft pick. It hurts to lose Brodin, but you have to give to get, and the Wild got a lot. Welcome home Kyle!)Trade #4 - Wild trade Jared Spurgeon to Edmonton for Adam Larsson(Great fit for both teams - Wild needed a more defensive-minded presence on the back end who can kill penalties and play tough minutes that Ristolainen and Dumba can't. Larsson may get heat for being traded for Hall but he's worn the "A" for three seasons and is an absolute warrior.)Trade #5 - Wild trade Nick Seeler, Alex Stalock, and a 2021 4th to San Jose for Aaron Dell(Sure Dell had a difficult season last year but just a season ago we were talking about this guy as a future starter! Real keen move here by Guerin to shore up the net with a guy who can be a capable 1B in this league.)The 2019-20 Minnesota WildZach Parise - Eric Staal - Mats Zuccarello (+7.7 WAR)Kevin Fiala - Derick Brassard - Kyle Okposo (-3.9 WAR)Joel Eriksson Ek - Mikko Koivu - Ryan Hartman (+1.3 WAR)Victor Rask - Jay Beagle - Tobias Rieder (-1.8 WAR)Tage Thompson (-1.1 WAR)Ryan Suter - Matt Dumba (+2.7 WAR)Jack Johnson - Rasmus Ristolainen (-0.3 WAR)Ben Hutton - Adam Larsson (-1.4 WAR)Greg Pateryn (+0.7 WAR)Devan DubnykAaron Dell (+1.32 WAR)Projected WAR Standings Points: 59The analytics crew are extremely shaken and one of them has already quit citing feelings of dissociation. To make them feel better, Guerin lets them watch the Simpsons at work and calculate Jack Johnson's June 2020 buyout.The Hockey News, October 3rd, 2019WILD PRIMED FOR A PLAYOFF PUSH by Ken CampbellST. PAUL, MN - Bill Guerin's tenure with the Minnesota Wild has been short, but he's already made a huge impact on the roster. This is a team that's ready to get back to the playoffs.Adding Derick Brassard and Jay Beagle down the middle gives the Wild centre depth to rival any team in the division. Kyle Okposo is a perfect fit on the second line, a local product ready to put injuries behind him and lead his hometown team to a Stanley Cup. Role players like Ryan Hartman and Tobias Rieder give the team a solid and dependable bottom six. On defence, well, Guerin's done some magic there. Bringing in two top-pairing right-handed defencemen is not an easy task. Ristolainen will flourish now that he's finally away from those tough minutes on a bad team in Buffalo - the Wild might even have found a new #1 defenceman. Adam Larsson will be Dubnyk's new best friend, a defensive beast who will play tough playoff minutes for sure. And talk about toughness - Jack Johnson was miscast on his off-side in Pittsburgh but he's been a top four defenceman his whole career. He'll give Risto the freedom to do what he does best. And good luck scoring on a penalty kill unit that can throw out Suter, Larsson, and Johnson. Dubnyk's an elite goaltender for sure, but Dell is a guy who can step in and get the job done if called upon - maybe even as the team's starting goalie of the future?"The Central is a tough division - maybe even the league's toughest - but the Wild look to be right in the thick of it," says NBC's Pierre McGuire. "This team isn't ready to go away yet."Guerin reads that article, sighs, and goes back to discreetly watching a Rimouski Oceanic game on his phone while his team gets pounded by Nashville on opening night. (OC) Covertly Tanking the Minnesota Wild (An Alternate Reality) Source

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years

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New York Red Bulls vs. Toronto FC | 2018 MLS Match Preview

September 20, 20181:45PM EDT

New York Red Bulls vs. Toronto FC 2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 30 Red Bull Arena — Harrison Sept. 22 — 5 pm ET WATCH: TSN2, ESPN+

The New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC renew their rivalry as the Eastern Conference foes clash at Red Bull Arena Saturday.

The Red Bulls will need a win to keep pace with Atlanta United in the Supporters’ Shield race, while Toronto FC are desperate for three points just to keep a flicker of hope for a playoff berth alive.

This is the second meeting this season, with the Red Bulls pulling out a 1-0 win at BMO Field on July 1 with Kemar Lawrence scoring the lone goal in the 4th minute.

New York Red Bulls

The New York Red Bulls spent most of the season as the team with the most stout defense. That’s no longer the case statistically after conceding three goals in consecutive games, including a 3-3 draw against D.C. United Sunday at Audi Field.

Three times Bradley Wright-Phillips pulled the Red Bulls (17-7-5) back to level, completing his hat trick in the 90th minute three minutes after Luciano Acosta scored for United.

“I feel a little bit disappointed,” Wright-Phillips said. “I don’t feel we really looked like ourselves defensively. It is obviously good to score but we were always coming back, it was always we had to score to get back into the game. We are fighting too hard to get these wins the last two games and I don’t really like the feeling of that. We came away with a point but it doesn’t really feel good right now to me.”

Suspended: None

Suspended after next caution: F – Bradley Wright-Phillips, M – Kaku

International duty: None

Injury Report: OUT: M – Florian Valot (torn left ACL), D – Kyle Duncan (torn right ACL), M – Vincent Bezecourt (right MCL surgery), D – Tommy Redding (shoulder surgery), M – Ben Mines (broken left clavicle surgery)

Projected Starting XI (4-2-3-1, right to left) GK: Luis Robles — Michael Murillo, Aaron Long, Tim Parker, Kemar Lawrence — Tyler Adams, Sean Davis — Marc Rzatkowski, Kaku, Danny Royer — Bradley Wright-Phillips

Toronto FC

After an emotional — and wild — 5-3 win over the LA Galaxy, Toronto FC (8-14-6) fell to Tigres UANL in the inaugural Campeones Cup, 3-1, Wednesday night at BMO Field.

Jesus Dueñas struck for a brace, his second goal coming two minutes before an Eriq Zavaleta own goal gave Tigres a commanding 3-0 lead. Lucas Janson pulled the defending MLS Cup champions back a goal four minutes from full time from the penalty spot. As stinging as the home loss was, Sebastian Giovinco withdrawing with calf cramps before halftime was more concerning.

“The guys are frustrated because they wanted to win the game, but at the same time they understand the importance of what’s in front of them,” Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney said. “We knew coming into this week our priorities, but we decided that if we’re going to play this game that we need to play this game the right way. But we also understood that we have a very important match on Saturday that is probably going to go a long way toward determining what our future is in the league.”

Suspended: None

Suspended after next caution: M – Michael Bradley, F – Jozy Altidore

International duty: None

Injury Report: OUT: D – Chris Mavinga (hamstring strain); QUESTIONABLE: D – Drew Moor (calf strain), F – Sebastian Giovinco (calf cramps), M – Victor Vazquez (undisclosed injury)

Projected Starting XI (3-5-2, right to left) GK: Alex Bono — Eriq Zavaleta, Michael Bradley, Nick Hagglund — Gregory van der Wiel, Marky Delgado, Jonathan Osorio, Victor Vazquez, Justin Morrow — Jozy Altidore, Sebastian Giovinco

All-Time Series

Overall: New York Red Bulls 14 wins, 55 goals … Toronto FC 8 wins, 33 goals … 7 draws

At New York: Red Bulls 10 wins, 35 goals … Toronto FC 2 wins, 10 goals … 2 draws

Last meeting at New York: New York Red Bulls 1, Toronto FC 1 (May 19, 2017)

Officials

Referee: Kevin Stott Assistant Referees: Brian Poeschel, Kathryn Nesbitt 4th Official: Chris Penso VAR: Caleb Mendez

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New York Red Bulls vs. Toronto FC | 2018 MLS Match Preview was originally published on 365 Football

#2018 #Bulls #match #Preview #Toronto #York

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placetobenation · 6 years

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With the midpoint of the 2018 season upon us, it’s time to check back in with our July Power Rankings.

Teams now are clearly contenders, pretenders, or non-tenders. As the contending group looks at the also-rans to pick their bones and acquire some stretch-drive talent, the fun of the MLB trade deadline looms.

While we wait to see what shakeups await our favorite teams and players, let’s dive into another round of rankings!

All records and stats as of Tuesday July 9, 2018.

With an OPS+ of 199, Mike Trout is basically having TWO good seasons at the same time, making him beyond great.

1. Houston Astros (Last month: 3; 56-31) — Really, any team listed in the top six could have a decent case for a No. 1 ranking, but the Astros have reeled off a 12-game winning streak this month. They also have not lost more than three games in a row all year and have five winning streaks of five games or more. And the reigning MVP Jose Altuve (.334/.398/.472) is still incredible, while Justin Verlander is marching toward another Cy Young (9-4, 2.12 ERA, 178 ERA+). His closest competition is maybe rotation-mates Gerrit Cole (9-2, 2.50, 151) and Charlie Morton (10-2, 2.55, 148). Also, Alex Bregman has become another star for the ‘Stros (16 homers, 27 doubles, 152 OPS+).

2. Boston Red Sox (LM: 2; 58-29) — The Sox have such an interesting offense — five everyday betters with great numbers (Mookie Betts, JD Martinez, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts, and Mitch Moreland) and four that are just putrid (Christian Vazquez, Eduardo Nunez, Rafael Devers, and Jackie Bradley, Jr.). The starting staff is mostly solid, with Chris Sale and Rick Porcello leading the way, with the bullpen doing a fine job. That said, they’ll probably acquire Manny Machado and Bryce Harper while Dave Dombrowski burns the farm to the ground…/sarcasm/

3. New York Yankees (LM: 1; 55-28) — Despite anticipated pitching woes, the lineup is so up-and-down good that this team is still mashing — 5.16 runs per game is second only to Boston and 141 homers is tops in MLB. Can the offense and crazy-great bullpen carry them into October?

4. Seattle Mariners (LM:4; 55-31) — If the Mariners go .500 in their remaining 76 games, they finish with 93 wins. This is a sneaky-good offense despite sitting mid-pack in runs per game (4.38) and a good-not-great staff (11th in MLB at 4.09 runs per game). All this with a down year from icon Felix Hernandez and missing arguably their best player Robbie Cano.

5. Milwaukee Brewers (LM: 5; 50-35) — We all knew Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain, Travis Shaw, and Christian Yelich would be contributors to a strong Brew Crew offense this year, but where did Jesus Aguilar (team-best 19 home runs and 55 RBIs, 159 OPS+) come from? Wow.

6. Cleveland Indians (LM: 13; 47-37) — The Tribe still has not fully broken out, but in June the team outscored its opponents 113-91 and has firmly taken the lead in the weak AL Central. The season-ending shoulder injury to Danny Salazar hurts, but with a front three of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Mike Clevinger, the Indians are still a playoff threat. Not to mention the crazy-good years Jose Ramirez (24 doubles, 24 homers) and Francisco Lindor (27 doubles, 23 homers) are having. They just need some relief aid, which should be plentiful in July deals.

7. Chicago Cubs (LM: 6; 48-35) — No. 4 starter Tyler Chatwood has issued 66 walks in 73 ⅓ innings. Yu Darvish (4.95 ERA in 40 innings) has been a bust as well. But the bullpen is excellent — a third-in-NL 3.19 ERA for the unit — and every single regular in the lineup, including semi-regulars Ben Zobrist and Ian Happ, has an OPS+ north of 100. A very good team, despite a few weak spots.

8. Atlanta Braves (LM: 8; 49-35) — Much like the team right below, the Braves seem to have arrived a year early. Freddie Freeman’s excellence (153 OPS+) is expected, but the strong showings of Johan Camargo (120) and, in particular, Nick Markakis (143), are pleasant surprises in the Peach State. On the mound, Mike Foltynewicz (2.02 ERA) and Sean Newcomb (3.10 ERA) look great, too. As a Tigers fan, I have to ask: What the f***, Anibal (2.89)? What the f***?

9. Philadelphia Phillies (LM: 11; 46-37) — In our preseason predictions, young arm Aaron Nola (2.48) was lauded, but the breakout of Zach Elfin (2.97, 137 ERA+) has been a nice surprise, especially as Jake Arrieta (3.54, 115) slides into mediocrity. The bullpen will need some help for the Phils to hang in there, though.

10. Arizona Diamondbacks (LM: 12; 48-38) — After his craptacular April/May, Paul Goldschmidt has blasted a line of .379/.478/.789 over the last 28 days. His season line now sits at .277/.385/.538 with 19 homers. That’s more like the Goldy we know and love. Hope is that the return of center fielder A.J. Pollock (141 OPS+) can help the Snakes fight off the coming Dodgers.

Will the return of center fielder A.J. Pollock help Arizona fend off the Dodgers?

11. Los Angeles Dodgers (LM: 15; 46-39) — If your preseason picks had Max Muncy (2.9 bWAR) as the Dodgers’ best hitter, Ross Stripling (2.7 bWAR) as their best pitcher, and Matt Kemp (.318, 15 homers, 145 OPS+) playing like it was 2011 again, then stop reading and get on the next flight to Vegas.

12. Oakland Athletics (LM: 18; 47-39) — Matts Olson (18 homers) and Chapman (119 OPS+) look like cornerstones of Billy Beane’s next Frankenstein’s monster, while Jed Lowrie (.293/.355/.502) has apparently morphed into Ponce de Leon. And that bullpen looks full of trade bait. Sweet, sweet trade bait…

13. Los Angeles Angels (LM: 9; 43-43) — Wunderkind Shohei Ohtani is back as a hitter (.280/.361/.517, 142 OPS+), and Mike Trout is still insane (.310/.454/.626, 199 OPS+). Yes, that OPS+ means Trout is essentially twice as good as an average hitter. Mercy! As for the rest of the team? Well…

Actual photo of the 2018 Angels training room.

14. San Francisco Giants (LM: 16; 45-42) — The Giants have hung around while Bumgarner, Cueto, and Samardzija have battled injuries. If they can get healthy, the G-Men could still make a nice push later this summer. Also, Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria still look weird in those cream and orange unis.

15. Colorado Rockies (LM: 14; 43-43) — Nolan Arenado, defensive wizard, hitting machine, and 2019 free agent, has recently stated he is tired of losing. Arenado made his MLB debut on April 28, 2013. Since then, Colorado has run up a 398-474 record, good for a .456 winning percentage. If Arenado is sick of losing, he should either learn to pitch or start packing his bags.

16. St. Louis Cardinals (LM: 10; 43-41) — Marcell Ozuna (.277/.321/.406) has been decent, while Dexter Fowler (.171/.276/.278) has been swallowed up by injuries. It’s the bats of Jose Martinez (131 OPS+) and Matt Carpenter (133) carrying the offense, while pitchers Jack Flaherty (3.19 ERA), Miles Mikolas (2.61), and Michael Wacha (3.20) have been very good. This team, on paper, is much better than the results have shown. Maybe they have a run in them yet?

17. Washington Nationals (LM: 7; 42-42) — When preseason predictions are made, a lot of things are assumed. Good health, consistent production, everything going just right. Maybe it’s a function of us missing the game over the winter. Maybe it’s the eternal optimism that comes with being a fan. Whatever the case, we have pooped the bed on this one.

18. Tampa Bay Rays (LM: 23; 40-45) — I still think it’s weird that, as much of an amateur baseball haven the state of Florida is, it cannot sustain ANY type of decent MLB team. At least the Rays appear to be trying, unlike those jokes further south. Blake Snell (11-4, 2.24) is pretty amazing. Watch him, damn it! Watch him!

19. Toronto Blue Jays (LM: 21; 40-45) — Kevin Pillar is still amazing on defense, and Teoscar Hernandez is having a nice season too. But outside of those two, there isn’t much worth crowing about north of the border. Oh, someone seems to have kidnapped Marcus Stroman and replaced him with an inferior version (1-5, 6.02 ERA, 56 hits in just 49 ⅓ innings). He’s gotta be hurt more than he’s letting on, right?

20. Pittsburgh Pirates (LM: 20; 40-45) — The Pirates have a lot of slightly-above-average talent, and a lot of slight-below-talent. You know what that adds up to? An average team having an average season.

A great hitter on a bad team…please watch some Votto ABs and appreciate him, people!

21. Minnesota Twins (LM: 19; 35-47) — Offseason adds Jake Odorizzi (4.57 ERA, 91 ERA+) and Lance Lynn (5.49, 76) have been awful, while the homegrown talents of Jose Berrios (3.52, 118) and Kyle Gibson (3.58, 116) have done fine. Overhyped by most at the start of the year, myself included, we often forget that injuries cannot be predicted and development, such as that of Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, is not linear.

22. Detroit Tigers (LM: 17; 38-49) — An 11-game losing streak sunk the Tigers down to where we all thought they’d be coming into the year. Detroit has fashioned a bottom-tier offense, an adequate defense, a mid-tier starting staff, and a still crappy bullpen. Hope for a few trades to keep building the system, Tigers fans.

23. Cincinnati Reds (LM: 26; 37-49) — One day in the future, we may look back on Joey Votto (.291/.425/.440) as one of the greatest players to never win a ring. Because the Reds have no pitching. We often talk of how the Angels are “wasting” Mike Trout’s greatness. No, they’re not. They have actively spent money to contend with him on the roster; they’ve just spent poorly (see Pujols, Albert and Hamilton, Josh). The Reds, on the other hand, have not made a real stab at contention for the bulk of Votto’s career. It’s just been one long circle-jerk rebuild with no pitching.

24. Texas Rangers (LM: 25; 38-48) — These guys are bad, but they’re not unsightly bad. Well, except for Joey Gallo (98 OPS+), Robinson Chirinos (97), Ronald “Who?” Guzman (92), the entire bench (led by Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s 81), and garbage person Rougned Odor (77). Remember, 100 OPS+ is average. So, maybe this team is unsightly bad after all.

25. San Diego Padres (LM: 22; 37-50) — This season, the Padres’ top player, according to Baseball Reference’s WAR is reliever Kirby Yates at 1.7. As for the rest of the team, well, it’s a bonafide “Who’s That?” of baseball. That said, off the final 10 teams in these rankings, the Padres probably the brightest future coming soonest.

Note: Hold your nose, kids, it’s about to get nasty…

26. Chicago White Sox (LM: 27; 30-55) — Irrepressible toad Bruce Rondon has an ERA of 8.00 with 22 walks in 27 innings. A million-dollar arm with no clue or care what to do with it. A complete and utter waste of talent.

27. Kansas City Royals (LM: 28; 25-60) — And the Royals’ GM is “publicly musing” about signing a sex offender under some bullshit guise of morality. F*** off, Dayton.

28. New York Mets (LM: 24; 33-49) — A dumpster fire that the ownership seems to more than happy to douse with gasoline. Here’s hoping Thor and deGrom get traded somewhere better.

29. Miami Marlins (LM: 30; 35-52) — Here’s how forgettable wretched this team is. Each time I compile these rankings, I write out a checklist of all 30 teams to make sure each is included. When scribbling out the five NL East teams, I wrote “Phillies” down twice.

30. Baltimore Orioles (LM: 29; 24-60) — The Birds are 5-14 in one-run games, 14-40 against righties, 7-23 in their last 30 games. The only thing interesting about them is wondering what they get for Manny Machado and any other veterans they trade away.

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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