#Years ago I went on a few dates with a former college basketball player

[i-like-turkey]

What my mom says: “your furniture is 10 years old. I’d rather we leave it and buy new stuff. Finish your cost estimates, but that’s my preference.”

What my mom means: you have the most uncomfortable couch I’ve ever had the misfortune of sitting on. I hated it when you bought it for your first post grad school year in that tiny studio apartment and I hated it when you bought an identical one following your move West. I want to take an axe to it when I arrive in August.

Jokes on her though cause I’m just going to buy something similar if we leave it.

Tbh it’s a bad couch. More of love seat. I’m tiny—height wise at least cause 💪🏼—and I can’t fully stretch out on it. But I like it because my feet can hit the ground when I sit down, it doesn’t hurt my back (fucked that up playing sports), and it leaves me more room in my small apartment for home gym activities and playing with my pup. My new place is smaller. No way I get a full size couch.

[nicodigiovanni]

DOMENICO DI GIOVANNI ( CODY CHRISTIAN ) is a 17 year old JUNIOR student at Broadripple Academy. HE is originally from LOS ANGELES but moved to Broadripple A YEAR ago. HE is DRIVEN and RESOURCEFUL but can also be ENVIOUS and DECEITFUL.

BASICS

Name: Domenico Di Giovanni

Age: 17

Grade: Junior

House: Malleray

Cabin Room: 2, Junior Cabin

How long have they been at Broadripple: a bit more than a year

Where are they from originally: Los Angeles

Extra curricular: Soccer Team Captain, Swim Team member, Buddy Program

CHARACTER AESTHETICS

Untucked shirts and loose ties, worn sneakers, board shorts and athletic shirts, hair that are ‘fashionably’ messy, a fake rolex, sunglasses to hide bloodshot eyes, sundown on the ocean, an eagle as a coat of arm, a whisper in your ears, an old camera, handwriting that looks a lot more like hieroglyphs than actual English, the sweet exhaustion after intense training, an adrenaline rush, the roar of a Ducati, the tension of sneaking out at night, a golden cross necklace, a swiss-army knife as a keychain, a bonfire on the beach, a room that looks like a tornado has just been there, a tangle of athletic medals, a stack of movie posters, a zippo lighter because, come on everyone knows they are cool.

TRAITS

Positive Personality Traits: ambitious, driven, resourceful, playful, friendly, brave, loyal to his friends, passionate, open minded,

Neutral Personality Traits: competitive, nostalgic, emotional, stubborn, guarded, prideful, materialistic

Negative Personality Traits: envious, jealous, deceitful, selfish, vulnerable to peer pressure, reckless, boastful

FACTS

Domenico is the firstborn scion of an impoverished Italo-american family, he actually has some noble blood in his veins and is proud of his ancestry. His family migrated to the states after WW2 and had actually enjoyed a luxurious existence for a few generations, when Nico himself was a little kid they still had money, but a string of misfortune and bad business deals had left them with little

His parents are obsessed with the idea of social status and have drilled its importance into him, to the point that Domenico dedicates his life in its pursuit. No matter the cost, personal or otherwise.

Failure is not an option.

He grew up with the expectation of royalty and the wealth of a lower middle class kid

He has always lived on the periphery of wealth though, frequently doing odd jobs from rich family friends and looking for afar at the glamorous life of movie stars and socialites in his native Los Angeles. Craving for the ability to join him himself. Unable to see that hanging around with the friends he actually had made him way happier. In fact he has a lot of fond memories of the time spent back home, but pretends to himself that he had moved on and doesn’t care anymore.

He had pushed himself hard during high school to get an athletic scholarship and finally earned his ticket to Broadripple. The young man is legacy, but his family could definitely no longer afford to send him there.

While Domenico is extremely loyal to his friends, he has a very ‘the end justifies the means’ mentality, he plays dirty when he believes that his strength alone is not enough to ‘win’ and lies to get what he wants or just to make himself look more ‘important’ in the eyes of others.

He loves the spotlight and does what he can to get noticed. After his first year at Broadripple he had started to take up more responsibility at the school, mostly to increase his own standing

He is always on the lookout for college recruiters and will definitely use whatever trick he can in the books to up his chances of being selected

He constantly puts up a show of confidence.

He is passionate, he falls in love very quickly, but he is also pretty jealous and his pride tends to get in the way of things

He craves for true companionship, but so far he had been too blinded by his desire to ‘climb’ up.

Truth is, the pressure of his lifestyle is starting to get to him, but Nico is pretty good at lying to himself and is pretending that ‘everything is fine’ even as he keeps daydreaming about just dropping everything and go follow his passions

HEADCANONS

He has two younger siblings, Alessandra, a spirited 11 years old, that is very much loved by her big brother and Gabriele, who is only eight years old. Despite considering the latter annoying, he actually misses both of them. He dreads when his little sis will start dating

He is a huge horror movie buff and dreams to direct one eventually, but of course, his life has a more ‘serious’ path ahead so…

He loves the ocean and is very nostalgic about his home in California. 

He is a bit of an adrenaline junkie, but he tries to stay focused

He actually enjoys playing sports and if he wasn’t as focused on his endgame he would much likely derive much more pleasure from them

He had sneaked out at the pool during the night for a swim more than once

He is pretty handy, had done a lot of odd jobs in his life and knows among other things how to pick a lock.

He is very boastful and is prone to hugely exaggerate his skills and wealth.

His best subject is history, math is meh… 

He worships his Ducati and constantly tinkers with it, the motorbike is a birthday present from a family friend that greatly helped Nico while he was in LA. The two had spent the year before Nico went to Broadripple fixing it and it has an huge sentimental value to him. Nico doesn’t drive after drinking mostly out of fear of ruining it (rather than himself) in case of an accident. He had brought it straight from California driving halfway through the states and he would do it again

He has a family signet ring, but pretty much never wears it in public

He own a lot of expensive looking stuff that are actually knock off 

He wears his shirts religiously ‘half-tucked’

He enjoys playing board games (but deem them too nerdy) and is a very competitive player

He is proud of his legacy status

He isn’t proud of being a scholarship student and keeps that detail for himself

He deals MJ among the students to boost his income, but himself he doesn’t smoke frequently

Domenico is fully bilingual English\Italian and he swears (and thinks) in his family native language despite never having been in Italy himself

He has a small youtube channel where he comments the Italian soccer championship and other soccer trivia, he is not however a regular poster of content and keeps it mostly as an hobby (and an extra space to advertise himself to potential recruiters)

He isn’t bad in the kitchen and can make a few Italian dishes

Espresso for life (and made in the ‘right way’) the rest isn’t real coffee.

Sport = religion. To skip training is sin.

He jogs very early every morning

A previous roommate of his has left the school last year, Nico kinda believe that he had scared him off

He loves the Rolling Stones (coincidentally his dad is more of a Beatles type) 

He dreams about taking a sabbatical and making a road trip after graduation

Has ran from home a couple of times as a kid.

While he keeps it very well buried, Domenico has a bit of a playful, goofy side that emerges when he feels like he is free to be himself

He is also a bit of a prankster

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RETREAT

What do they think about The Retreat?

“This is supposed to be an exclusive and expensive academy right?” Turns to check if no one else is listening and then lowers his voice. “On the other side… thanks God right? At least they haven’t sent us back home…” 

Domenico doesn’t care about the retreat per-se, but he is worried that all the strange events might tarnish the school reputation, putting his own college future in jeopardy, or worse, ending up shutting down the Academy as he doesn’t exactly have many alternatives. He does miss a bit of privacy though and the lack of wi-fi frustrates him. While outwardly he pretends that he cares about the lack of amenities, it’s more of a show.

Do they have any previous experience with camping or other outdoors?

“Of course I do.”

Domenico is outdoorsy, but has never gone camping in his life, plus he is accustomed to a much warmer climate than Massachusetts and while he does his best to soldier through it, the experience definitely sucks. While he has no idea about how to build a tent or anything on the like at least he knows how to light a fire and can make a decent grilled meat if the need arises. 

What does their cabin bunk look like? How will they decorate their space?

“It’s not my room and let’s leave it at that.”

Domenico’s dorm room was adorned with movie posters (mostly horror B-movies), some of them hiding pictures underneath that a catholic school might not exactly approve (but that strike the fancy of a seventeen years old boy), piled up trophies, a small basketball hoop, random sport gear and clothes scattered here and there. He couldn’t bring much to his bunk and had packed most of his things in cardboard boxes to pick up for later. He keeps a picture of his siblings cheering at his birthday before he left for Broadripple and one with his former high-school team celebrating after a match.

Do they believe in the supernatural? To what degree?

“Nah... That’s all crap. It makes for a good movie though.”

Nico is fascinated by the supernatural, but he is not a believer, they are cool stories though and he likes the dash of adrenaline of a well told tale of horror. Besides, Broadripple might be a good subject for a movie right? In theory Domenico is Catholic and was kinda of observant as a kid, by now though, religion isn’t in his mind.

Are they easily spooked?

“Nop. Ehi what is that noise?”

Domenico likes to think of himself as brave and tends to worry about more mundane problems rather than supernatural or existential one. That said, sometimes the aerie atmosphere of the Academy actually gets to him and strikes the darkest corners of his imagination. Showing fear though, is embarrassing and Domenico keeps the feeling for himself, doing his best to crack a joke or put up a mask of courage.

AND FINALLY, 

A very dumb but (hopefully) fun quiz made by your admins, please share what result you got

you're the real danger

everyone talks about what they hear and see out in the woods but what about what's in the room with them? if everyone already thinks they're hearing things, it wouldn't be that hard to cover everything up

I must admit that I cheated a bit to get there, but Nico would definitely have done that himself, so I’m not ashamed to admit it. Besides, it’s kinda fitting of him :p

[auburnfamilynews]

https://twitter.com/GaQMcK1/status/1261105277983690755/photo/1

Breaking down the most important targets left on the board.

The Tigers started June with a ton of momentum and are looking to keep it going over the summer months. Today, I am going to offer my take on what remaining top targets are the most important left on Auburn’s board. By “most important” I took a few things into consideration. First, whether or not that player can have an immediate impact at a crucial position of need. Second, what winning that race would mean in the larger perception of Auburn’s recruiting class. Finally, how likely that prospect is to actually pick Auburn. Here’s my breakdown of who would mean the most to Auburn if they were to sign with the Tigers in 2021.

1.) 5-star CB GaQuincy McKinstry | 5’11” | 172 lbs | Pinson, AL

Auburn has never signed a five star defensive back in the modern recruiting era. They have not signed the top player in the state of Alabama since Nick Saban’s arrival in Tuscaloosa. They could end both of those droughts this cycle if Auburn can reel in the nation’s 2nd ranked cornerback Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry.

There’s a lot of reasons to be hopeful in this race. McKinstry wants to play both football and basketball in college which Auburn is selling hard. Auburn has been after McKinstry longer than most other top programs plus he’s close with his former high school teammate, now Auburn’s starting quarterback Bo Nix. But it’s hard to be optimistic given the history of elite cornerbacks in the state of Alabama rarely choosing the Tigers over the Tide. LSU also lurks as a legitimate threat in this race and Clemson can never be discounted. I expect a commitment to come by the end of July though he’s yet to publicly set a date.

2.) 4-star BUCK Jeremiah Williams | 6’3” | 224 lbs | Birmingham, AL

The Tigers need pass rushers. You would be hard pressed to find a better one in this class than Jeremiah Williams. A childhood fan of the Tigers, Williams has emerged as Auburn’s #1 Buck target in the 2021 class. Alabama, Florida and Oklahoma are also hard after the Ramsay standout with the Tide likely being the Tigers top competitor. But Williams is reportedly very close with Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn and there seems to be some confidence on the Tigers’ side that they are the team to beat in this race. Like McKinstry, I would not be surprised to see him commit by the end of next month even though he’s stated he plans to wait until December. Another important note, Williams and McKinstry are good friends and would like to play with each other at the next level. If the Tigers could get Williams on board it might help them land McKinstry.

3.) 5-star LB Smael Mondon | 6’3” | 220 lbs | Dallas, GA

Auburn’s linebacker corps returns in tact in 2020 and the Tigers just signed a loaded three man class last recruiting cycle. So in 2021, Auburn is swinging for the fences and looking to land one, at max two, elite linebacker signees. Mondon appears to be the top target.

Mondon is reportedly extremely close with Auburn linebackers coach Travis Williams and that relationship is what has the Tigers likely sitting at #2 in this race. But the Dawgs are always hard to beat for elite talent and there’s a ton of confidence he will soon be joining their 2021 class. The longer this plays out the better for Auburn in my opinion. Mondon has hinted that a commit could come this month.

4.) 4-star WR Christian Leary | 5’9” | 180 lbs | Orlando, FL

This has been a fascinating recruitment that will likely remain so until signing day. Leary is one of the most coveted wideouts in this class and arguably the fastest. Auburn offered the nation’s 130rd ranked prospect before his other two finalists Alabama and Florida. As I wrote during my preview series, Auburn actually felt like they might be the team to beat at the time. But Alabama and Oklahoma came on strong during the spring. The Sooners thought he would soon join their class before the Tide seemed to have surged ahead. Leary had a commit date set for June 6th. If he had kept to that date the pick likely would have been Alabama.

But things change. Auburn continued to stay after Leary and have built strong relationships with the explosive playmaker. Dematrius Davis’s commitment and subsequent recruitment efforts to get Leary to join Auburn has had a major impact. Leary is also sold on Chad Morris being able to get the most out of his talent. The Tigers now appear to be the team to beat once again and a decision could come soon. My hunch is this is the 2nd commit Davis was hinting at on Twitter last week but we will see. There’s already been a lot of movement in this race so I wouldn’t count this as a lock by any means. Even if the Tigers can land Leary this month they will have to fight hard to keep teams like Alabama and Florida at bay come signing day.

5.) 4-Star CB Nyland Green | 6’2” | 183 lbs | Covington, GA

As I mentioned during my preview series, I believe Green is the #1 cornerback in this class. That’s no shot at McKinstry who is a stud but I think Green has everything you want in a lockdown corner in the SEC. I also didn’t think Auburn had much of a shot just a few months ago but it appears things have changed in a good way for the Tigers.

Clemson has been viewed as the team to beat and might still be but per AuburnUndercover’s Keith Niebuhr, Auburn has made a serious push in this race. Green is close with former high school teammate and recent Auburn signee Deandre Butler. He’s also been to the Plains numerous times and is being sold on Auburn’s recent success putting corners in the league. Landing either Green or McKinstry likely means Auburn ends their five star cornerback drought. It’s also not out of the realm of possibility they snag both. That would be a historic haul if Auburn could pull it off. Still a long ways to go though in both of those races.

6.) 5-Star OT Tommy Brockermeyer / 5-Star OT Amarius Mims / 4-star OT Savion Byrd

I would have put Dylan Fairchild on this and probably in the #2 or #3 spot before his commitment to the Dawgs. I saw him as the most likely elite offensive tackle prospect left on Auburn’s board to sign with the Tigers. But with Fairchild committed to UGA, Auburn’s focus will likely now be on this trio of elite tackles.

Auburn appears to be running #3 for Brockermeyer behind Alabama and Texas. I personally think it’s a distant third but at least they are still in the race. The Tigers have shown the ability to make up ground in a hurry this offseason despite the visiting restrictions so maybe Chad Morris and Jack Bicknell can work their magic here. The bonus with signing Tommy is Auburn would likely also snag his twin brother and the nation’s #1 center prospect James Brockermeyer. Those two plus Auburn’s four current OL commits would be a heck of a job by Auburn’s new offensive line coach.

I continue to be skeptical that Auburn is a legit contender for Amarius Mims. Personally, I view the nation’s #2 ranked offensive tackle as an UGA commit despite his public statements that Alabama is the team to beat. Still, Mims has been to Auburn multiple times this spring and there’s some confidence on the Plains they are a legit contender. Mims wants to wait to make a decision which is good news for the Tigers. Maybe a strong performance on the field paired with a home run official visit could swing this thing to the good guys.

Finally, Savion Byrd is the wildcard on Auburn’s recruiting board. The Texas native is viewed as a virtual lock to SMU due in large part to his former high school coach being on the Mustangs staff. But I doubt he ends up signing with SMU in the end. LSU and Texas are believed to be the biggest threats to SMU but don’t count out Auburn. Byrd was at Auburn’s 2019 season opener vs Oregon and visited campus this spring. He reportedly recently had a virtual visit with the Tigers that went well. The Tigers shocked a lot of folks signing his former teammate Chris Thompson Jr last cycle. Can they do it again with Byrd?

7.) 4-Star S Kamren Kinchens | 5’11” | 190 lbs | Miami, FL

I am a big fan of Kamren Kinchens. The Miami native has quickly risen to the top of Auburn’s safety board. Wesley McGriff has made him a priority and he’s good friends with Auburn commit Phillip O’Brien Jr. A commitment is coming on July 11th and I like where Auburn sits. Don’t count out the hometown Canes though in this race. There’s confidence in Coral Gables they will keep Kinchens home. Auburn has had some success in recent cycles beating Miami on the trail, let’s hope that continues in July.

8.) 4-Star DT Marquis Robinson | 6’3” | 300 lbs | Milton, FL

Rodney Garner never stops looking for talent. After signing an absolutely loaded class in 2020, Coach G is looking to keep the cupboard well stocked up front in 2021. He already has a pledge from one of the nation’s best defensive tackle prospects in Lee Hunter. He could soon be adding another in Marquis Robinson.

Auburn was one of the first teams to offer Robinson and make him a priority. Florida State has emerged as the Tigers top competitor and are working hard to keep him in state. But as of today, Auburn looks tough to beat in this race. I wouldn’t be shocked if a commitment came by the end of July though Robinson has yet to set a public date. He fits the mold of a Dontavius Russell or Tyrone Truesdell in my opinion. A big, powerful, athletic interior force that could free up guys like Hunter to make some big plays.

9.) 4-Star WR Shadrach Banks | 6’0” | 210 lbs | Houston, TX

As of today, Banks appears to be firmly committed to Texas A&M. He grew up an Aggie fan and committed to Jimbo almost a year ago. But now two of his teammates, Dematrius Davis and Jaeden Roberts, are committed to the Tigers. They will undoubtedly be in his ear all year trying to get him to flip to the good guys. I think Auburn is going to have to show this fall that their passing game has taken a major step forward. If that happens, I think Auburn has a great shot at flipping the nation’s 14th ranked wideout.

10.) 4-Star DE Dylan Brooks | 6’5” | 240 lbs | Roanoke, AL

Finally, I don’t think the race to land Dylan Brooks’s pledge is over. He surprised many committing to Tennessee earlier this year and seems locked in right now. But this is a kid that was on Auburn’s campus for almost every home game the past two seasons and who comes from an Auburn family. If the Tigers can get him back for an official visit this fall, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility they could pull off the flip.

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/6/11/21280433/2021-auburn-football-recruiting-10-most-important-remaining-targets

[junker-town]

How retired NBA players are helping each other survive the coronavirus

Spencer Haywood, Thurl Bailey, Dave Cowens are members of the National Basketball Retired Players Association.

Retired NBA players are more vulnerable to the coronavirus than active ones. Here’s what they’re doing about it.

Moments before the NBA suspended its season, Thurl Bailey was at Chesapeake Energy Arena preparing to call a game between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder that would never happen. It was a night like any other, until it wasn’t.

After Jazz all-star Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus and the 18,000-plus person crowd was calmly instructed to exit the building, Bailey, who played in Utah for 10 seasons, was whisked off the court behind Jazz players and broadcast colleagues.

The 58-year-old recalls being led with about seven others into a lounge near the visitor’s locker room. There they sat, eyes glued to a television that was reporting their own surreal experience in real time. Jazz head coach Quin Snyder settled some of Bailey’s nerves when he walked in the room to brief everyone on the situation, as serious as it was. Eventually Bailey was led from that room to another, where medical professionals in protective gear, gloves, and facemasks collected his personal information so he could be tested for Covid-19.

A doctor braced him for the process by letting him know what to expect and how uncomfortable it might be, before a cotton swab was inserted into his nose and mouth. According to Bailey, it was painless and simple. Waiting for results was anything but. After they quarantined at the arena for over four hours, the Jazz spent the night in an Oklahoma City hotel. Bailey sat in his room, concern mounting as he thought about his wife and children.

“What if my test is positive?” he remembers. “Was I next to Rudy? How long was I next to him? Can you receive it if you’re on the same plane as people? All those things you start replaying in your mind.”

In the morning a Jazz employee called Bailey with good news: his results were negative. Soon after, the team flew back to Salt Lake City where they met with Angela Dunn, a state epidemiologist at Utah’s Department of Health. She went over different risk factors, explained the meaning of asymptomatic, and made strong suggestions on how they (and everyone around them) should act through the life-changing days and weeks and months that loomed ahead.

Before the season was suspended, Bailey’s daily responsibilities were not limited to his job as a broadcast analyst for the Jazz. Earlier this month, he was elected as a board of director for the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA), a 1,000-plus member organization that includes some of the sport’s most integral historic figures — former players from the NBA, WNBA, ABA, and Harlem Globetrotters.

“No one’s immune to [Covid-19], but it is a greater concern for our demographics, if you will,” Bailey says. “A lot of our players are the older generation,” Bailey said.

Right now, in the face of a crippling global pandemic, its members also represent an increasingly vulnerable and shaken segment of society that needs all the security, support, and accurate information they can find. The average member is 55 years old and over 200 of them are at least 70. All are impacted by the coronavirus, stressed over their own future, from a physical, emotional, and financial perspective.

In addition to Bailey — who previously served before he was termed out of the role due to appointment related rules — other recently elected directors include Shawn Marion, Sheryl Swoopes, and Dave Cowens. (Cowens helped found the association in 1992 with Oscar Robertson, Dave Bing, Archie Clark, and Dave DeBusschere.) Johnny Davis was named chairman of the board after spending 34 seasons as an NBA player and coach, while Jerome Williams and Grant Hill were elevated into different roles on the executive committee.

Normally, the association serves multiple functions. It’s a helping hand to members in search of new professional and/or educational opportunities. It reminds them of their own value as walking brand names, and encourages them to engage with the public in different ways. But unfortunately, our current timeline is anything but normal. The NBRPA has always expressed solicitude for its own, but right now its first, second, and third priority is to ensure the health and wellness of every member who feels susceptible.

“No one’s immune to [Covid-19], but it is a greater concern for our demographics, if you will,” Bailey says. “A lot of our players are the older generation.”

The NBRPA has been in front of the issue as best it can. All former players with at least three years service have healthcare coverage, while counseling services, scholarships, grants, and a rainy day fund for any members who are struggling to cope are in place. General awareness of these resources has been spread via email and phone calls, but this pandemic’s unpredictable scale will test mechanisms that have never been burdened by a threat this widespread and relentless.

Many members work part time and are unsure of how they’ll pay their next bill or make future house payments. Dozens have contacted the organization for assistance, which tells NBRPA President and CEO Scott Rochelle that many more may want to. “There’s probably another hundred who need to reach out or haven’t reached out but need the information,” he tells me. “So that’s guiding our efforts to date.”

Spencer Haywood, who just termed out after two straight three-year stints as the NBRPA’s chairman of the board, can’t stop thinking about his fellow members, former teammates, and friends who were suffering even before the globe was blanketed by coronavirus.

“I love them,” Haywood says. “Everybody just calls, ‘Hey can you help me with $300. I need $400, $500. I need this to make my rent. I need this to get food ... We don’t have a revenue stream. All of our guys have to work. They’re doing basketball camps. They’re traveling. They do groups. That’s how they make money ... We’re at the very beginning [of this pandemic], so I know our family, the NBA retired family, we’re gonna have some drama. I’m hoping that it’s not me. But who knows?”

Now 70 and living in Las Vegas, Haywood has done his best to stay as safe as he possibly can, stopping just short of hoarding Purell and essential groceries several weeks ago when his brother, who lives in France, first told him how deadly the virus can be. His four daughters teased him about being overly cautious, but now admit he was right to be so proactive.

Aside from his inability to resist two concerts at the House of Blues, put on by Arrested Development and Leslie Odom Jr. before everything shut down — “I couldn’t help myself!” Haywood laughs. “I went out against orders” — he’s replaced daily trips to the gym with morning yoga and five-mile walks at a nearby park.

While shuttered at home last Saturday afternoon, Haywood — a four-time NBA All-Star and ABA MVP as a 20-year-old rookie — let a few hours pass in front of ESPN’s panoramic Basketball: A Love Story documentary series, which featured his own 1971 Supreme Court case brought against the NBA that essentially allowed amateurs to bypass college and enter the NBA Draft straight out of high school. “I’m sitting there watching,” he laughs. “And I’m like ‘Damn. Pretty nice. I did some deep shit.”

As it rolled across his television, Hayward says a few friends who were also cooped up watching the same thing decided to call him: “They were like, ‘Man, I didn’t know you went through that kind of hell’. And I said ‘You were in the league!’ Man, oh man.”

But the pandemic has also emphasized a few general frustrations Haywood wants to air: “We wasted so much time in fake news and fake this, like shit, dude, if you didn’t want to be president, why did you run?”

He praises the donations made by current players to arena employees who, without NBA games, no longer have a job to do, and appreciates the players union’s unanimous vote that gave healthcare coverage to retired players back in 2016 “[NBPA President] Chris Paul has been a champion,” Haywood says. “I mean truly life saving.”

But in the midst of a broad crisis that will be felt by more former players than are currently under the NBRPA’s umbrella, Haywood also believes today’s stars should make additional contributions. “It’s a survival thing.” he says. “Think about the ones who built it for you. Who built this big conglomerate for you. I think they just don’t know. They never think about us.”

“The thing that bothers me so bad is they don’t know when it’s gonna end,” Cowens says, “Or is it?”

For the NBRPA, spring is typically a busy time of year, with college conference tournaments, the NCAA tournament, the McDonald’s All-American game, and Full Court Press, a nationwide youth clinic launched through the Jr. NBA. In the coming months, members lined up to earn between $250-500k in appearances alone. Instead, thanks to a wave of cancellations, revenue is at zero. There are still engagement opportunities being explored through NBA2K, Twitch, and social media, but the ramifications are undeniable.

Speaking appearances are another source of income for those who can leverage their name and life experience to travel across the country and meet with different people. That includes Haywood’s successor, Davis, the NBRPA’s newly elected chairman. The 64-year-old lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and normally spends his time giving talks at different colleges and universities in the area. He also sits on the foundation board at UNC-Asheville, where he’s heavily involved.

But with those opportunities no longer an option for the foreseeable future, Davis is instead staying put at his home up in the Blue Ridge mountains with his wife and son, where they’ve lived since 2009. “The warning bell has been sounded,” he tells me. “You can see the presence of what this virus has done. You can see it here in terms of how people are moving in their day to day lives. It’s different. It feels different.”

Davis is also spending some time acclimating to his new role with the NBRPA, going through the bylaws with Cowens, who lives in Maine for most of the year but has been down in Ft. Lauderdale since Jan. 10. Despite not having a full-time job, Cowens tries to keep himself busy. Last week he signed and mailed 800 basketball cards for Panini, the memorabilia company, that compensated him for the service. “It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to pay a few bills,” he says.

The Hall of Famer currently lives two blocks from the beach in a 19-story building, with 12 units on each floor. He’s neighborly, but most of the residents are on the older side, and over the past couple weeks everybody has kept to themselves.

Nights are spent out on his balcony, drinking an occasional glass of wine. When asked about the NBA deciding to suspend its season, Cowens says he would’ve liked to see at least one game played without any fans in the stands. The sound of squeaking shoes, shouting coaches, grunting players, and a natural silence that would otherwise be filled by the Jumbotron reminds him of old exhibition games that his Celtics used to play against the Knicks in upstate New York. Only 1,500 people were in the stands.

But there are more pressing matters on his mind. Now 71, Cowens is troubled by everything we don’t know about the coronavirus, how there’s no vaccine or direct word from the inflicted about how it made them actually feel. He worries about his wife. He checks up on old college buddies from Florida State, and recently phoned former Celtics teammate Don Chaney, who’s dealing with a heart condition and is likely at a higher risk than most.

“There’s so much uncertainty. If you’re feeling fine, but all of a sudden you start feeling sick, you then say ‘Am I gonna die from this?’ And so you don’t know. Young people don’t care because they’re already immune to everything in the world anyway. They’re gonna live forever. But they’re young, that’s how they think, and for the most part they’re in pretty good shape for dealing with this,” Cowens starts to chuckle. “So I don’t hang out at the clubs anymore. That’s not part of the schedule.”

No one interviewed for this story can compare such active worldwide disruption to anything they’ve witnessed or experienced firsthand. None can think of anything that comes close. It’s an unknown anxiety, like walking a plank while blindfolded from an unknown height. The future grows more murky by the day. “The thing that bothers me so bad is they don’t know when it’s gonna end,” Cowens says, “Or is it?”

He reminisces about his childhood in Newport, Kentucky. Cowens’ grandparents and aunt lived upstairs, in the same house as his parents and brother. His aunt would entertain with stories about getting to see Jim Thorpe (the only sports hero Cowens ever had) race with her own two eyes.

Cowens thinks about that time; how his grandfather lived to see his 60s despite serving in World War I and then enduring the Spanish Flu, which killed as many as 50 million people across the world. “People are going to survive,” Cowens says. That’s true. But the coronavirus will still crash into so many different lives, and so far the mortality rate for those it infects is substantially higher in seniors with underlying health issues.

Preparing for a disease that will infect and bankrupt thousands of people everyday was never in the NBRPA‘s sight line, and, frankly, it’d be a little silly if it was. Very few organizations in this country, if any, were prepared. But that hasn’t stopped them from doing whatever they can to steady the emotional wave so many are flailing through.

Right now, the organization’s primary motivation is to keep a bad situation from getting worse, and so far most retired players are doing whatever they can to limit the damage. Social distancing and self-quarantining are two examples of individual responsibility each person must take seriously. Most retired players are. The NBRPA can’t help those who won’t help themselves, but they can spread facts and manageable tactics that will save lives. The minefield of misinformation can in many ways be as dangerous as an errant cough.

Towards the end of his career, Bailey spent four seasons playing overseas. Three of them were in Italy, where he formed lifelong friendships. For the last five summers, he’s gone back to put on a basketball camp. Over the past couple weeks, Bailey has been texting with those who know firsthand what the coronavirus is capable of. They beg him to take it seriously. Given his position with the NBRPA, those around him are fortunate that he is.

“Our organization is staying on top of our members and their families to make sure they’re getting through it,” Bailey says. “It’s something that will always be etched in history. I was there. I was there the day the dominoes started to fall in Oklahoma City. In the sports world, anyway.”

[mubal4]

Sharing Our Childhood

 When I was a kid my dad took me to baseball games. It may have been a dozen times but looking back, it felt like hundreds.  Growing up in Northeastern PA, we were fortunate to be about 90 minutes from Veterans Stadium, where the Phillies played, and about the same from Yankee Stadium. This gave us the chance to go see both teams.  I liked both and cheered for both over the years.  In college, living in Philadelphia, I really didn’t follow the Yankees all that much because I was intrenched in Phillyland but as the Yankees when on their run in the late 90’s and early 2000’s I followed them, and rooted for them closely.  As I look back on those years as a kid, growing up in that era, baseball meant a lot to me, and to us as a family.  Hell, being a young boy in the 80’s that is much of what we did as kids, play, watch, and follow baseball.  Going to games was typically a luxury but we did get to a bunch and I remember eating hotdogs and my dad catching foul balls for us.  They were a number of great memories and wonderful experiences.  

 Being a father of two girls, as they grew up, they didn’t have much of an appreciation for baseball.  We took a number of trips when they were young to see the Phillies play in different parts of the east coast, but baseball was “boring,” but they did enjoy the little getaway vacations.  We did have season tickets for a few years in Philly and they both actually sang the National Anthem at games for their 3rd grade chorus. Still, with that exposure to the sport, they really had no interest and to their credit, they were involved in so many other sports.  That said, baseball really didn’t do much to market to the 6-12-year-old female demographic 😊.  

 That story told, things have changed to a degree; well, Bella, our oldest, still thinks baseball is boring but seeing the games in person is much more fun now.  Over the last few weeks, Bella has been to 2 games live, Phillies at the Dodgers and San Francisco at the Diamondbacks.  At each of those games, the entire family went, and we really had a great time at both games. The Diamondback’s game was really cool because it went into extra innings and they ended up pulling it out. Bonus baseball is always fun.  It also helped that we got hooked up with some primetime tickets too 😊.  Although Bella does enjoy going to games live, I don’t see a tremendous amount of daddy/daughter trips to the ballpark.  However, Alaina on the other hand, I can see many. In the last month, her and I have been to 4!!  One of them just the two of us, and it has been a blast.  She cheers, gets excited, not just for the food but the game too 😊, and she asks questions throughout.  She is 13 but obviously has not been exposed to baseball except most recently, so she isn’t too knowledgeable of it.  I think it is fantastic though because we get engaged in conversations throughout and she really seems to get excited, and seems very interested, in learning about it. For me, as a former player and dad, it gets me jazzed up.  It has also helped me fall back in love with the sport again. Just on Sunday at the Diamondback’s game, even though they aren’t “our team” (the Phillies will always be #1 😊), it was super exciting to see them have a walk off win; & they also have a kid playing for them from Norristown, PA, the town right next to where the girls grew up. It is starting to become very fun and enjoyable to go to games.  Yes, when the Phillies made their run to the playoffs and ultimately winning the World Series it was mucho exciting but over the years the passion and that excitement dwindled because of the product that was out on the field.  

 It seems as though the whole process of being a fan of baseball has gone in cycles.  When I was a kid, it was fun, exciting, and incredibly important to me; it was very close to my heart.  Then those feelings reduced as I went through high school.  In college, as the Phillies when to the World Series it was again high on the radar then went back down.  As the Yankees made their run, again up there and that one lasted because it migrated into the beginning of my relationship with Robin; at which time we went to many baseball games as we were dating.  Then that started the whole vacation and weekend getaways to see the Phillies play somewhere and then to their run to the World Series.  However, as the girls got older and gravitated to other hobbies and sports, my interest waned, and baseball took a backseat.  Up until now when I am really having fun again, enjoying games with Robin and the girls. Not just going either and no paying attention; we are engaged and talking about certain plays, where players are playing, why certain things are happening and absorbing the experience.  The last few weeks have been incredibly fun with our family and baseball has been a cool part of that connection.  Will we go through another downturn?  Possibly but who knows, maybe the Phillies will make another run, or the Diamondbacks will do their part in our new city to keep us entertained.  Whatever the case, getting to experience these moments and memories, brings back many of those similar feelings I had when I was a kid. Being able to share those and pass them on to my girls, it is, well, pretty cool and I am grateful for it.  

 Wherever your interests lie and whatever your spouse or kids may be interested in, we can share them all with one another. Yes, there will be those that we don’t like and not all of them will work.  You may go to a dance recital or a Broadway show and have not connection at all. Sports may not be your cup of tea and your kids may think a concert with their parents is the least thing they would ever want to do because “parents aren’t cool.” I can say, from experience, we’ve been fortunate enough to take our kids to Broadway shows, a couple Zac Brown Band concerts, baseball, basketball, and football games, and most movies, and each time, for the most part, we have been blessed with a great experience AND, they have wanted to do it again.  Having similar interests and likes helps, of course, and again, not all experiences have been super amazing, some have not been ideal.  My point is, that when I look back at those moments, memories, and experiences, it is not necessarily what it is that we were doing, it is that we were doing it together.  To close this out I will circle back to an entry from a few weeks ago, our girls are going to be leaving the house at some point soon to start their own journey, I want to enjoy as many experiences as possible before they go. Hopefully, over the next few years, we will create many more of those great ones.

[datinglove07-blog-blog-blog]

Kendall Jenner Dating History | Who Is She Dating? | StyleCaster

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Kendall Jenner Dating History | Who Is She Dating? | StyleCaster

Kendall Jenner’s dating history is somewhat of a mystery. Unlike her sisters, who have been in longterm relationships for most of their lives, the 23-year-old model has never confirmed any of her boyfriends, which makes fans wonder even more about who she’s dating. And though the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star has never been insta-official with any of her beaus, there are countless news articles about who she may or may not be hooking up with.

The speculation around Jenner’s dating life has been so intense that in 2017, the E! personality shut down longtime rumors that she’s gay. “I think it’s because I’m not like all my other sisters, who are like, ‘Here’s me and my boyfriend!’” she said. “So it was a thing for a minute because no one ever saw me with a guy. I would always go that extra mile to be low-key with guys, sneaking around all the time. You don’t want to, like, look crazy.”

So, who has Jenner dated? There are a few NBA players and, of course, Gigi and Bella Hadid’s younger brother, Anwar Hadid, but who else has made it to her list of exes? We did the hard work and found out.

Julian Brooks (2012 – 2013)

A post shared by Julian Brooks (@julianbrooks) on Jan 5, 2016 at 3:00pm PST

Fans of Keeping Up with the Kardashians may recognize Brooks, Jenner’s high school boyfriend who she dated for a year when she was 17. The couple, who met at Los Angeles’s Sierra Canyon School, broke up in 2013 after Brooks moved away to college and Jenner suspected he was cheating. Brooks went on to become a wide receiver for the University of Nevada’s Nevada Wolf Pack. “He would disappear for days and not answer Kendall’s text messages,” a source told Star magazine. “[She] couldn’t live with the doubt.”

Young Jinsu (~October 2013)

Rumor has it that Jenner moved on to rapper Young Jinsu soon after her breakup with Brooks. The rumored relationship, which lasted a “few months,” was controversial because of Jenner and Jinsu’s age difference. Jenner was 17, while Jinsu was 21. Rumors started after Jinsu posted an Instagram of what fans believe to be his and Jenner’s hands making a heart. Jenner’s sister Kylie Jenner posted the same picture on her Instagram. “They have that spark right now—they’re just really feeling each other,” a source told People. “They’re not putting it out there yet.”

However, it looks like Jenner didn’t see the relationship as official. Soon after the news broke that she and Jinsu were dating, the E! personality took to her Twitter to deny that she was in a relationship with anyone. “Enough with the rumors! I’m single, people,” Jenner  tweeted.

Harry Styles (2013 – 2014; 2016)

A post shared by @ harrystyles on Jun 19, 2018 at 2:45pm PDT

Jenner and Styles were rumored to be in an on-again, off-again relationship, which started in winter of 2013. Rumors started when the two were seen leaving a restaurant together in November 2013. A couple months later, they were seen together again at California’s Mammoth Mountain, where they were spotted skiing and snowboarding. “Kendall snowboarded and Harry skied. They were very cute together. There was a lot of flirting and smiling going on,” a source told People. “Harry was a gentleman and even offered to carry Kendall’s snowboard to the ski lift.” However, a few months into their relationship, the young romance seemed to fizzle out. (“Things never got serious,” a source told People.)

Rumors started again in December 2015 when the two were seen having dinner and kissing on a yacht in Anguilla—then St. Barts. Jenner’s sister Khloé Kardashian even confirmed that the two were casually seeing each other. “They were hanging out together. Do I think they’re dating? Yes. I don’t know if they’re like boyfriend-girlfriend. Nowadays, I don’t know, people are weird with stuff. So I don’t know their ‘title,’” she told Entertainment Tonight. But I mean, they were in St. Barts together hanging out, so to me that’s dating. I would call that dating.”

The two were seen together several times in 2017 before their romance ended again. It’s also rumored that , which he released in 2017, is about his model ex. “Sometimes you want to tip the hat, and sometimes you just want to give them the whole cap … and hope they know it’s just for them,” he told Rolling Stone.

Chandler Parsons (August 2014)

A post shared by ChandlerParsons (@chandlerparsons) on Dec 28, 2018 at 3:40pm PST

In the time that Jenner and Styles were broken up, rumors circled that she was dating NBA player Chandler Parsons. Rumor has it that they dated in the summer of 2014 after Jenner’s mom, Kris Jenner, set the two up. “Mama Kris met Chandler a few weeks ago and was blown away by not only his good looks, but his promising B-ball future,” a source told the Daily Mail.

However, Parsons, a player for the Dallas Mavericks, denied the rumors, telling Chelsea Handler that the two simply share the same personal trainer and went to eat once with a group. “It’s kind of a long story. I train with Gunnar Peterson here in L.A. She works out before me, so I kind of just got to know her, and then we had dinner. And the next thing I know I was on TMZ,” Parsons said. “It was more of a group activity.” (Fun fact: Parsons was also rumored to have dated Jenner’s best friend, Hailey Baldwin.)

Lewis Hamilton (May – September 2015)

A post shared by Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton) on Dec 23, 2018 at 1:39pm PST

Jenner sparked rumors that she was dating British race car driver Lewis Hamilton in the summer of 2015 after she was seen wearing the driver’s chain in a group picture with Lewis at one of his races. Hamilton, who considers Jenner’s mom, Kris Jenner, a close friend, was seen again with the model later that year at New York Fashion Week—though he denies that they were dating. “Me and Kendall have been friends for a while, so we’re just friends,” Hamilton told E! News.

Orlando Bloom (Summer 2015)

A post shared by Orlando Bloom (@orlandobloom) on Dec 17, 2018 at 6:19pm PST

Jenner was also linked to the Pirates of the Caribbean star in summer 2015. Two years after his divorce from Miranda Kerr, Bloom moved onto another model after he and Jenner were seen on a string of dates, including movies and sushi, in Los Angeles. Jenner was 19 at the time, while Bloom was 38. “The age difference doesn’t seem to bother them although it’s far too early for either to tell if it’s going to develop into something serious,” a source told The Sun.

While accepting the Britannia Humanitarian Award in October 2015, Bloom addressed the rumors, denying that he has dated—or even knows—Jenner. “And I don’t know Kendall Jenner, but if anyone has her number I would love it,” he said.

Jordan Clarkson (~ April 2016)

A post shared by Jordan Clarkson (@jordanclarksons) on Nov 13, 2018 at 8:11pm PST

Before she rekindled her romance with Styles, Jenner was rumored to be dating NBA player Jordan Clarkson (who plays on the Cleveland Cavaliers with Khloé Kardashian’s boyfriend Tristan Thompson) in the spring of 2016. Rumors of the model and basketball player’s romance started in April 2016 when Jenner and Clarkson posted videos of each other at Coachella together on Snapchat. “They keep things low-key when they’re in public, but in private they’re very much together and affectionate,” a source told People. “He’s really into her.” Their romance ended after the summer, a few months before Jenner reunited with Styles.

A$ap Rocky (July 2016 – September 2017)

A post shared by PRETTY FLACKO (@asaprocky) on Oct 5, 2018 at 4:46pm PDT

Jenner’s longest and most confirmed relationship was with rapper A$ap Rocky. The couple first started seeing each other in July 2016 when they were seen on a date in Paris, which involved them eating dinner, walking the City of Light’s streets and going out dancing. However, their romance didn’t become more serious until about a year later, when Jenner and Rocky were seen getting cozy at the 2017 Met Gala. Jenner’s sister Kim Kardashian even shared a Snapchat of Rocky grabbing Jenner’s butt as her younger sister Kylie Jenner laughed and watched.

Because of their busy schedules, couple stopped seeing each other in September 2017, though a source maintains that their relationship was never serious.. “Kendall and ASAP weren’t seeing each other a lot. They weren’t really official, but were obviously dating,” a source told Us Weekly. “Their schedules are really hard.”

Blake Griffin (August 2017 – February 2018)

A post shared by Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin23) on May 7, 2018 at 4:12pm PDT

Jenner and Griffin first started seeing each other in August 2017—around the same time that her flirtmance with Rocky was winding down—when they were seen leaving a Travis Scott concert together. A few weeks later, Jenner and Griffin were seen together again on a double date with Hailey Baldwin and Jenner’s rumored ex Chandler Parsons. In October, the couple went on another double date at Universal Studios’ Hollywood Horror Nights with Jenner’s sister Kylie Jenner and her boyfriend, Travis Scott.

At the end of November, around the time Jenner ended things with Rocky, she and Griffin made their relationship more serious. The couple’s relationship was trouble-free until February 2017 when Griffin was sued by his former girlfriend Brynn Cameron, whom he shares two young children with, for palimony. In the suit, Cameron alleged that Griffin “had no problem” trading her, “his former fiancée and mother of his two children, for reality television star Kendall Jenner.” She also claimed that Griffin “cared more about the glamour of dating a Hollywood celebrity than the day-to-day responsibilities of being a father and a family man.”

It was around this time that the two ended their relationship, though a source told People it was because their romance had run its course—not because of any particular drama. “They’ve definitely cooled off and are taking things at a slower pace, but not because of any particular drama,” the source said.

Anwar Hadid (June 2018 – November 2018)

A post shared by Anwar (@anwarhadid) on Dec 3, 2018 at 1:49am PST

Rumors that Jenner and Hadid, the younger brother of Gigi and Bella Hadid, were dating started in June 2018 when they were caught making out by TMZ. Soon after, Jenner Instagrammed a photo of Hadid’s hands, which has the phrase, “I love you, my angel” on his hand. The two continued dating for several months, and in September, Anwar was even seen with a hickey on his neck. “They all hang out together and Gigi and Bella actually think they’re good together. Their friends think it’s a little weird, but it works,” a source told People.

Their relationship seemed to end in November when Jenner was seen with NBA player Ben Simmons. After the news that Jenner had moved on, Hadid took to his Instagram with a cryptic note about love: “I used to be afraid to feel things deeply cuz I felt as if the feeling of abundant happiness couldn’t be obtained forever, but openly feeling is now my only source of inspiration. And now that I’m not afraid to express my thoughts and feelings, I kinda feel like everything’s pretty mellow.”

Ben Simmons (November 2018 – Present)

A post shared by Benjamin Simmons (@bensimmons) on Dec 11, 2018 at 7:00am PST

In November 2018, People reported that Jenner was dating Philadelphia 76ers player Ben Simmons after her breakup with Anwar Hadid. “Kendall was spending time with Anwar [Hadid], but that ended and she started hanging out with Ben again. She hasn’t seen Anwar recently,” a source told People “When she’s not working, she’s been focusing her free time on Ben and flying to Philadelphia.” The source added, “They’re still not exclusive though.”

That same month, Simmons played against Tristan Thompson’s Cleveland Cavaliers, for which Khloé Kardashian’s boyfriend Tristan Thompson plays. After Jenner caught some heat for booing Thompson’s team, her sister took to Twitter to defend her behavior. “My sister was watching HER man Play against my man … So of course she’s going to heckle the opposing team,” Kardashian tweeted to a fan who questioned why she didn’t seem bothered by her sister’s actions.

Source

Kendall Jenner’s Complete Dating History, from NBA Players to Gigi Hadid’s Brother

[jillmckenzie1]

Silver Linings: Let’s Talk About Boundaries

Let’s talk about boundaries.

I have spent the last month in a state of increased awareness about my absolutely terrible ability to set boundaries. Or, maybe the problem is that I’m really good at setting them, or knowing what they should be if I were to set them, and I have an absolutely terrible time of following through with them. Whichever the case, I am currently hypersensitive to the fact that boundaries are a necessary part of respecting my self-worth, and on a traditional grading scale, I’d over-generously give myself a D+ in this category.

Before I expand on this reflection, I feel it necessary to describe myself from a third-person perspective. Most of my friends (and by most, I mean all) would say that I am overtly outspoken (to a fault). I have a tendency to say exactly what I am thinking, and I do not shy away from tough face-to-face conversations. I am a sucker for a good debate. I yearn for relationships that challenge me to question. And, I can haggle a vehicle trade-in with any used car salesman. Short story, you would be hard-pressed to ever hear my name and the word “intimidated” in the same sentence.

Without going into too much detail, I think it’s important to also unpack my previous lives (I’m currently on number nine, in case you were wondering). I grew up an athlete. If you were to ask any of my high school coaches to describe my playing style, they would tell you about my undeniable aggression and my constant communication. This passion spurred me to become a high school teacher and varsity basketball coach for nearly the first decade of my professional career. If you were to ask any of my former students or players to describe my respective teaching and coaching styles, they would most certainly tell you about my desire to always keep it one hundred (also known as, keeping it real, for any of you who are not on trend with current high school lingo).

This confidence, however, never translated into my personal life. More specifically, my romantic life (or lives). I spent a lot of time convincing men that I was worthy of their love. And, please read that statement exactly as it is written: a lot of time, not a lot of men. Not because I care about your perception of me and my number of romantic partners, but because I actually see my abysmal dating roster from my teens and early twenties as a detriment to my adult self (you can’t know what you want or need until you’ve been witness to a lot of what you don’t want and don’t need).

I grew up in a divorced home, and I think it is extremely difficult (maybe even impossible) for single-parent children to conceptualize the idea of love. You are constantly battling this picturesque movie version that lies just beyond the edge of your fingertips in direct contrast to the one example that you know as being real, which ultimately ended in brokenness (for lack of a better term). So, I will speak for myself by saying that, because I did not have this model of love day in and day out, it allowed for me to create my own version of a word that requires far greater introspection than a 16-year-old Stephanie could cognitively comprehend.

On top of all of these layers is my nature, my being, the Stephanie that exists when no one is watching (granted, I’ve spent the last two years in a die-hard pursuit for the Stephanie that exists when no one is watching to be synonymous with the Stephanie that exists when everyone is watching). And, wow, I am relentless (not so different from the athlete of old). If I love you, I will go to the ends of the earth for you. I will give to you until my bones are sucked dry. I will sacrifice my heart for the sake of your safety or your selfishness. I will, beyond any shadow of a doubt, ride or die with you by my side (bonus points if we can carpool karaoke).

But, lie to me. Step outside of integrity. And, we are done. Termination. Abort. Over. Finished.

One or the other. Hot or cold. And, it’s actually a much finer line than you might imagine. The crux is in finding the boundary. The crux is in knowing my limit. The crux is in respecting other people’s truths while also respecting my own.

To clarify, let’s revisit exhibit B (he made a cameo a few short weeks ago in a blog I wrote about online dating on the road, which you can read here). Let’s just hypothetically say I didn’t stop hanging out with him (and by hypothetically, I mean real life, of course). After he admitted to liking me, but being unsure. After he admitted to being a tease. After he bro’ed me for the first, second, and third times. Yep, hi, hello, my name is Stephanie, and I don’t like listening. Because he took me to a college football game. And then a comedy show. He introduced me to his parents. And his sister. And his roommates. Basically, all of my favorite things. Before I finally resorted to the most grueling 48 hours of silent treatment in an effort to get more clarity on (yet another) romance that was quickly spiraling deep into the abyss of friend-zone-dom. Little did I know that this guy would proceed to use every form of modern-day communication to contact me in those 48 hours: voicemail, text message, Instagram DM, SnapChat, email. You name it.

So, of course, I finally picked up the phone. And, of course, I went and grilled steaks at his friend’s house. And, of course, I helped him move. And, of course, I went to IKEA with him. And, of course, I cooked him dinner. And, of course, I spent the night at his house three nights in a row. In his bed (with all of my clothes on).

Because I care. Because I love so damn hard. Because I don’t want a lifetime with a boyfriend. I want a lifetime with a best friend (just, please, touch me as much as humanly possible). Because we could talk. Really talk. Even when it was hard. And, because he opened himself up to being vulnerable. He chose to articulate his own thought processes and feelings – even when the answer had the potential to be contrary to my heart’s desires, which I could see that he desperately wanted to protect (as my friend). So, I made a choice. I chose to hold that soft space for him. I wanted to give his words a place to breathe. Without a backlash. Or an ultimatum. Or a time clock that was merely a product of society’s manipulation (mind you, I don’t pay much attention to clocks these days). Because, at the end of the day, I’d want someone that I care about to hold that soft space for me.

So, back to boundaries. And, the crux. He spoke his truth. He exposed himself. He was honest. But, that honesty as it pertained to me was nothing short of confusing. So, then, I inserted my own truth. I evaluated the weakness of my own self while standing inside a vacuum of both ultimate confusion and vulnerability, and the odds of a heartbreak seemed altogether inevitable.

Because, when or how or why does one mysteriously wake up with the answers to combat that confusion? Does it happen one morning when your teeth are unbrushed and your hair is a mess and you roll over and see the shape of her neck nestled into the pillow on the other side of your bed? Or, is it when she’s giving the dogs a bath? Or plating your dinner? Or when you’re sitting on the couch just three feet away from her at 11:07pm and watching episode three of “Ozark” with her eyes glued to the screen? Or, does it happen when she’s gone? When you’re yearning for her laugh in your passenger seat? Or her hug when you walk through your front door? Or the way she looks at you like you’re the only one in the world? Does it happen fast? Or, slow? And, then, is there permanence in the knowing?

Meanwhile, the ultimate question, my ultimate question, is how do you hold that soft space for someone and simultaneously hold yourself?

And, here I am, doing it again. I’m justifying my need to stay, my innate desire to give to one person, inside an experience that could quite possibly be beckoning me to leave. I’m hearing that he is not ready, and yet I’m taking his actions at my own evaluation and creating a story that maybe he is, in fact, ready. I’m hoping that I know more about him than he knows about himself. I’m hoping that if I do just one more thing right, then the confusion will dissipate, that he will see me like I see him, that we can live inside of that picturesque movie romance that is (clearly) still living just outside of my fingertips.

Sidebar: I want to be clear that I have the utmost respect for him and for his honesty. I’m not going into a lot of detail on his end here because, really, this isn’t about him. It’s about me. Plus, I don’t have a right to articulate his story. I only have the right to articulate mine. But, the hyperbolic crashing of our two worlds has (obviously) raised in me a lot of probing questions about my own personal development.

Because, wow. I just voluntarily sacrificed everything I want in this life on a hope. I lowered my bar to justify someone else’s state of unknowing. I also arrogantly decided that I know him better than he knows him. Hi. Stephanie, here. Present. This is me. Not setting boundaries. Because I wanted it to be right. Even if it was wrong (in a romantic sense). And, dammit, Stephanie, have you learned nothing?

Because I have stayed in far too many relationships to date because I thought that I could force an exponential shift in being. I thought that if I just did more, then I would have everything that I wanted. I thought it was about effort (because, athlete).

And, what I now believe about love is that it is not about it being hard. It is about it being easy. It is about finding someone who helps to carry the weight of the world when you are too tired or weak or scared to carry it yourself. It’s about falling into the person who sees your heart without its skin, an acknowledgement that you are more than just a body. The person who will jokingly roll his eyes and slyly smile when you ask him to push you on the cart in the grocery store. The person who shares your equal hatred for top sheets. The person who extends his hand in a crowded room in the effort to lead and never lose you.

Hear me. Relationship is work. Doing life with someone on such a grandiose scale as every day, that most certainly has its fair share of hardship. But, love. Love is not hard. We make love hard by forcing relationship.

I repeat, we make love hard by forcing relationship.

So, hi, hello, Stephanie here. Struggling to set boundaries. Because, it feels good to have a person. But, it also feels good to effortlessly fall into that space of togetherness. Without having to convince another soul that you are right. Without relying on effort as the barometer of your worth. So, yep, I’m still here. Still committed to my voice. Still committed to my story. Still committed to the belief that the right people for us exist in our lives because of our mutual choice for one another. And, that choice means we are ready and willing to do the work, the relationship work, the boundary work. Because, love, love is the easy part.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/silver-linings-the-finest-line/

[skerbango-blog]

A Medical History - Starting Point

by Scripty

He learned the disease had been festering inside him, masked for over a year and a half.  Exhausted, he would later tell his son that he was just happy to know what was finally wrong with him.  There’s no changing the diagnosis.  But looking back, he knew much of his medical mysteries predated to a late summer afternoon in 1980.   

The firefighter was 36-years old and had been on the force for ten years.   His city’s department – one of the largest in Ohio, had negotiated to give their firefighters new paramedic training to blend with their fireman duties.  So the types of calls the firemen were dispatched to resolve had began to vary.  But he and his peers were prepared.  

Most of the department had served in some capacity of Vietnam, Korea, or for the oldest officers - World War II.  His first captain was a cantankerous man who had helped defeat the Axis.  His wartime duty was driving burros up and down the Italian Alps on supply runs.  The stories of his abuse towards the firehouse’s last Dalmatians, well – the men could only shake their heads at with uneasiness and feign smiles.

The late afternoon thunderstorm rolled in, as they do in these dog days of summer.  As the storm clouds arrived from the west, the day had gone from sweltering to cool. The fringes of the storm clouds were grey, bringing the respite of breeze with them.  The nasty cobalt and charcoal clouds sat on the horizon.  When these come in, a local man might say “Glad I’m not on the lake right now.”

            These days a fishing boat is practically a luxury item, but at this time wages were steady, boats and insurance didn’t bludgeon a man’s wallet, and a sporting man had the free time to go and catch his limit of walleye not to far from the port of Cleveland.  Yes, Lake Erie’s waters were cloudy and still just starting to recover from over a century of industrial sabotage, but fishing was swell for the everyman.  The churning lake waters diminished the crisp vision of a walleye, and the anglers’ lines dangling Dipsy Diver lures were obscured long enough to latch onto these dinner meal tickets.  A fisherman didn’t have to go far out in the waters to find the fish, and was smart enough to know which ones to keep and what needed to be thrown back, bellies full of Mercury.

            But there was no amount of fish worth staying on the lake when one of these storms rolled in.  In fact, there really was no place to be anywhere outdoors when a storm like this passed through.  Just a few miles from the lake, the fireman saw the rain start, and they all knew the dispatch calls would come immediately.

            The call came after the first storm cell dumped its holdings on the town.  The city was one of the first true inner ring suburbs in the state, people who expressly wanted out of the city but not to be away from the nerve center of their region. The mad rush of storm water would funnel from the concrete suburbia, down through storm drains and into a creek that took this overflow.  This storm’s release was immense and the creek’s water level quickly rose several feet. 

            This was not necessarily an issue.  The creek meandered behind subdivisions and off secondary roads behind apartment complexes until it fed into a larger creek that was part of the Lake Erie water basin.  The storm water was diverted exactly as the city’s fledgling urban planning had devised.  The water would be off the roads and not ruining people’s basements.  At this time - things went as planned.

The two teenage boys were thrilled to find some isolation near the creek, minus the old Slovak woman who yelled at them.  The start of school was around the corner and they had decided to celebrate these last days of summer vacation with a little grass.  High school had given them access to the best supplies, which today also included some acid.  When the dog-walking lady in the babushka noticed the two longhairs laying down aside the creek, she was neither surprised nor enthralled.  Her dog was nervous about the storms, but managed to briefly yap at the teens.  The woman had no words for the pair, but had used her native tongue to threaten her the dog to get moving before the storm came.  She was aged, but not naïve.  For years she’d seen kids going in and out of the creek bed all summer, knowing they were up to some mischief.  Teenagers often sat in the dry drainage pipes that sat below the roads, 6 feet wide. These tunnels were rarely wet and they offered shade and discretion.  

These two boys just seemed particularly off kilter.  

The first storm burst came and went.  From her window above her kitchen, she peered across a few of her neighbor’s backyards down to where the duo entered the creek.  The storm had just pounded the area, and she noticed only one of these hoodlums emerge from the tree line.  She decided to make the call.  Burnouts or not, a young man likely needed to be kept from drowning.  They were young and dumb - and she certainly couldn’t do much to help them.

The truck was dispatched with four men.  While the firefighter would go on to drive the fire engine for over a decade, on this date he was still a junior man on this shift – which meant being the first off the truck.  They were told two teenage boys went into the creek to smoke pot, and only one came out. They knew the creek was now raging with several feet of water, and it could sweep a person swiftly downstream.  Before merging with some more natural floodplains, the storm basin took some of the nearby office park runoff in a narrow runoff drain.  The concrete shoulders could impose blunt trauma on anything carried in the current, and foot entrapment from one of the overhanging willow trees was always possible. Saving the young man from drowning was paramount, or else a cadaver sweep would be their work until found. Neither was going to be easy.

The firemen knew the boys’ point of entry and began to scurry down both sides, all senses engaged.  The rain was down to a mist but storms like this rolled through in several cells, with the next burst on the horizon.  As they scampered down the creek side, they saw one disheveled teen skittering down the bank away from them.  He looked mangy and detached.  Had he been in the creek in or just been outside too long?

They motioned and yelled.  He would not stop.  The firefighter wanted to know if the missing boy was in the water.  This rogue seemed like one of the potential troublemakers. Where was the other?

The teen was still high, and now scared.  He’s not sure when he began to run, but he wanted no trouble.  Escape seemed his best option.  But he was no match for the firefighter.  

A former infantryman, and before that, a college basketball player, running down the teen was not that difficult, even across the creek’s shoulders. 

“WHERE IS YOUR FRIEND?

WHERE IS HE?  ANSWER ME.

            The teen wanted no trouble, but was not prepared to answer.  He didn’t want trouble; he wasn’t sure where his friend ran off to when they heard the sirens.  But he sure didn’t want to account for the drugs he’d taken.  His rain-soaked arms thrashed and he briefly escaped the wristlock of the fireman.

            “HEY!”

            The teen attempted his second getaway.  But his threadbare tennis shoes lacked the traction to run in this slop, and he spilled to the ground. 

            The fireman had his fill of this delinquent.  Running in his dress shoes, as was required then, and being pelted by rain and debris had exhausted his patience.  Where was the other boy?  Even on calm days he was a stern man, and in this moment he came off quite brusquely to the teen, whose mental state was increasingly deteriorating.

            The teen looked at the firefighter, in his official light blue short-sleeved collared shirt soaked in sweat.  The boy was nervous, high and didn’t want to talk to anybody about this disaster.  Escape still seemed plausible.

            On the ground, he shifted his weight to his side to deal with the rain-slicked mud.  The fireman had grabbed his one wrist, still demanding answers.  The only answer he got was a swift kick to the throat. 

            CRACK.  

            The fireman lost his wind immediately.  The fate of the two boys became secondary for him. He’d dealt with teargas and other disorientation from his Army training.  But this seemed worse.  He got to his feet but still couldn’t breathe.  He decided to walk back to the ambulance, but couldn’t make it.  The sirens, the rain, the worries, he was overcome. He’d been in an ambulance hundreds if not thousands of times this past decade.  But today he rode as the patient.  Many friends were killed on the Tet Offensive, was this how they felt? Hours would pass before he’d awaken at the hospital.

            Months later, the throat still ached.  The swelling in his throat refused to subside. Initial x-rays showed that all the injuries had healed, but while his bruising and discoloration waned the swelling would not.  New tests would be done.

            A tumor had grown on his throat.  The placement of the tumor was problematic, against his thyroid, carotid artery and vocal chords.  There was debate if his injury had sparked the growth, as it hadn’t shown on initial x-rays.  The fireman had smoked for the years of his Army service, 1967-1968, but not since his daughter was born in 1970.  The doctors felt it was trauma induced.  The fireman had also been once blasted by a tennis ball in the neck, and also grabbed in the throat by a passenger in the back of an ambulance.

Whatever the true cause, that discussion was secondary as the cancer was real.  His doctor decided he would need surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.  Removing a modest-sized cancer in the thoracic region is not simple now, nor was it almost 40 years ago.  

            The doctors feared that the blood vessel could be opened when removing the cancer.  Laser surgery was not yet applicable, so this would be done with a scalpel.   He was told he might lose his speech, and that it’s possible he would die.  He was given Last Rites.  I remember visiting him at this large hospital, but only briefly.

            The surgery was successful, but he would sport a scar across the throat that was consistently noticeable.  In movies, drug kingpins threaten to perform Columbian neckties on their enemies.  The firefighter’s scar made him appear as he was one such victim that improbably survived. 

He was out of the hospital in a week and back on the force within a month. 

Over the span of decades, the scar would diminish to about an inch long, but it was prominent for many years.  In the summer when his face and neck would bronze with a summertime tan, the scar would remain white, and stood out even more.

The firefighter knew the scar was striking, but he had no qualms discussing it when he saw people stare.  He would joke about it to disarm their concerns.  The stress from it he bottled within, and along with the occupation he internalized much stress.  And so his decline began.   The subsequent medications would imbalance him until the present.  But this was just another in a life’s worth of episodes.  

[auburnfamilynews]

Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images

Four commits in three days ain’t bad at all.

Auburn’s 2021 class entered Friday with 4 commits and ranked #50 overall by 247 Composite. By noon on Sunday, it had doubled in number and moved up 29 spots to #21 overall. Not a bad weekend at all.

Commit Recap

It all got started Friday morning when speedy athlete Tar’varish Dawson announced his commitment to the Tigers.

1000%Committed #WDE @AuburnFootball @AuburnTigers @Lehigh_football pic.twitter.com/yFu0W7lRfc

— Tarvarish Dawson5️⃣ (@TarvarishD) May 15, 2020

Dawson is rated a 4* by both 247 and ESPN but Rivals is much lower on him which is why he sits just outside of blue chip status on 247 Composite. He’s a fascinating prospect whose position of the future is still to be determined. When initially watching his tape I assumed he would end up at defensive back, which is still completely possibly, but his lead recruiter was actually new Auburn offensive coordinator Chad Morris who wants to give him a look on offense as well. After signing a wide receiver class loaded with size in 2020, Auburn is hard after some speedsters this cycle and got one in Dawson. I still think long term his future is at cornerback but he will at least get a look at wideout when he gets to campus.

A few hours after Dawson’s announcement, another boom emanated from the Plains when offensive tackle Caleb Johnson went public with his commitment.

WAR EAGLE‼️@AuburnMade @AuburnFootball @AuburnU @AUAlumniAssoc @CoachBicknell @CoachGusMalzahn @LangloGarner pic.twitter.com/Fxiic6yp2f

— Caleb Johnson (@CalebJohnson70) May 15, 2020

You could make the case Johnson’s commitment Friday afternoon is the biggest to date in the 2021 class. Yes Auburn has more highly rated prospects currently committed but Johnson checks a box the Tigers have left empty for quite awhile in that he’s an offensive tackle prospect out of the high school ranks rated a 4* or higher. The Tigers haven’t signed one of those since the 2017 class when they landed a pair in Calvin Ashley and Austin Troxell. Johnson’s stock has been on the rise this spring landing offers from about everyone in the country. He’s got tremendous upside and will have a chance to compete for a starting spot pretty quickly in his career.

But it didn’t just end there. An hour later, Johnson’s teammate, Garner Langlo, decided to jump on board too giving the Tigers 3 commitments in a single day, two from offensive tackle prospects.

WAR DAMN EAGLE pic.twitter.com/G26YTp8yiO

— Garner langlo (@LangloGarner) May 15, 2020

Langlo’s recruitment has taken off in recent months with programs like Auburn, Florida State and Mississippi State all turning up the heat on the Florida native. I am interested to watch Langlo’s development over the coming years as his frame screams offensive tackle but his tape shows an SEC quality guard. That versatility will likely come in handy for Langlo as he fights for playing time down the road. It’s pretty clear Jack Bicknell has a type and that type is BIG DUDES.

The final boom happened Sunday and it was big one. After being hired as Auburn’s offensive coordinator, Chad Morris parted ways with former Auburn, turned NC State commit 4* QB Aaron McClaughlin and turned the heat up on a number of signal callers from the Lone Star State. #1 on that list? 4* Dematrius Davis who at the time was committed to Virginia Tech. But a couple of weeks ago he backed off that pledge. Sunday, Davis announced that Morris got his man.

Committed. pic.twitter.com/oWOpYOr5uk

— Dee (@Dematrius09) May 17, 2020

I plan to do a deeper dive on Davis next week but suffice to say this is a massive pickup for the Tigers. In my opinion, Davis is a perfect fit for Auburn’s scheme, which has been a struggle for the Tigers in the past when signing QB prospects from the high school ranks. Davis is a pass first, dual threat QB with a history of winning. He’s not afraid of the big moments and can do everything needed to get the most out of Malzahn and Morris’s system.

Even more important though is the impact Davis could have on the trail for the Tigers with other top prospects. He’s well known in Texas due to his success helping lead North Shore to two straight state titles. Apparently he had already begun working behind the scenes for Auburn on a number of prospects and it wouldn’t be surprising to see some booms in the not too distant because of it.

List Season

#AGTG I’m down to 6! pic.twitter.com/1GJ9ep605b

— Lake McRee (@lake_mcree) May 16, 2020

Top 8 I will be focusing on these schools moving forward. I am very grateful to every college and coach that has recruited me up to this point.@MizzouFootball @kstatefootball @HuskerFBNation @OU_Football @UKFootball @AuburnFootball @GeorgiaFootball @UMichFootball pic.twitter.com/7Q8T70Kn5p

— Tobechi Okoli (@OkoliTobechi) May 16, 2020

What’s Next?

Obviously after a weekend like this the first thought many fans have is who will commit next, so here’s a quick rundown of Auburn targets who are likely to make a decision by the end of June. This is recruiting so everything can change at any moment but these are the names to keep an eye in the coming weeks.

5* CB Ga’Quincy McKinstry - Auburn’s top cornerback target dropped a top 5 Sunday evening that featured Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and LSU. Truthfully, the man that goes by “Kool-Aid” is likely down to the trio of Auburn, Alabama and LSU all who like where they sit right now. Of those three, Auburn appears to be selling the two sport angle more than any other program. McKinstry is also an outstanding basketball player and would like to play at the next level if possible. He’s gotten the green light from Malzahn and Bruce Pearl that he will get that opportunity if he were to sign with Auburn. He hasn’t set a date for a commitment yet but there’s buzz he could be close to ending his recruitment in the not too distant future.

ᒪᗴTᔕ ᗪO IT !!! ( ) :@Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/CDBUiYg8sQ

— GaQuincy “Koolaid Glizxzy” McKinstry (@GaQMcK1) May 17, 2020

5* LB Smael Mondon - Mondon sent out a cryptic tweet last week hinting that a commitment could be coming in the month of June. For many months now, the nation’s #2 ranked OLB has appeared to be a lock to the instate Dawgs. But that could be changing. Mondon has repeatedly stated that of all the coaches recruiting him, he’s closest to Auburn’s linebacker coach Travis Williams. The buzz around this recruitment feels eerily similar to Owen Pappoe’s recruitment. UGA is unquestionably the team to beat but this is race that is still very winnable for the Tigers.

Sooner than later.. pic.twitter.com/i6k4WdhOg1

— Smael Mondon Jr (@SmaelJr) May 5, 2020

4* LB Barrett Carter - A race that does not appear winnable is Carter’s recruitment. This was at one point believed to be an Auburn-Georgia battle but the Clemson Tigers have surged ahead and it would be a shock at this point if he did not pick Dabo’s squad later today.

4* Buck Jeremiah Williams - Aubun’s Buck recruiting suffered a major setback when 5* Dylan Brooks committed to Tennessee. While I don’t think that recruitment is over, Auburn has turned the heat up in a big way on their other top Buck target, Jeremiah Williams. The state’s 5th ranked player has been a frequent visitor to the Plains in recent seasons and the Tigers reportedly feel good about where they sit right now. But they face some stiff competition. Alabama LOVES Williams as well and out of state programs Oklahoma and Florida are pursuing Williams heavily too. He hasn’t set a commit date either but there seems to be some belief that an announcement could come sooner, rather than later.

4* LB Ian Jackson - The state’s top ranked linebacker is reportedly closing in on a decision thought that’s likely bad news for the Tigers. Alabama has made the Prattville standout a top priority in recent weeks and that effort could soon pay off. I should note that while the Tigers like Jackson, spots are few in this class for that position and the Tigers have made Mondon the priority. We will see if that gamble pays off.

3* WR Latrell Neville (Virginia Tech) - This is an interesting recruitment to track in the coming days. Neville is very close with recent Auburn commit and former VT pledge Dematrius Davis. Since Auburn’s pursuit of Davis picked up so did their recruitment of Neville. Could AU steal another stud from Justin Fuente’s class?

3* TE Lake McRee - Auburn all of a sudden REALLY wants tight ends these days. After signing two talented ones in the 2020 class, Auburn has offered 17 this class. One to keep an eye on is former Longhorn commit Lake McRee. The Lake Travis standout missed his junior season due to a torn ACL but Auburn is reportedly high on his potential. He’s also good friends with Davis. He told AuburnUndercover that a decision could come soon.

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/5/19/21262221/2021-auburn-football-recruiting-big-weekend-on-the-plains-dematrius-davis-caleb-johnson

[flauntpage]

Your Friday Morning Roundup

The Phillies lost to the Dodgers 5-4. If you’ve been someone that hasn’t followed the Phillies since June, this shouldn’t be a surprise to you. The Phils lost to the best team in baseball, not a shock.

But dig deeper into that 61-92 record and you see the Phillies have actually been good since the All-Star break. They’ve gone 32-34 overall and 18-15 in their last 33. They went 29-58 in the first half.

During that stretch, the Phillies have lost their title as baseball’s worst team, which now belongs to the San Francisco Giants by a game. They’re close to leapfrogging the White Sox and Tigers as well, and are four-and-a-half games behind the Mets for fourth in the NL East.

A big reason for this surge has been the arrival of their highly-touted prospects. And throughout this Dodger series, they played a huge role in the team’s three wins.

Monday night, Aaron Altherr hit the first grand slam home run Clayton Kershaw ever gave up. Rhys Hoskins hit a bases-clearing three RBI double Tuesday night and batted in another run. Altherr was clutch once against the following game, thanks to a game-tying homer in the seventh, followed by a two RBI single.

Yesterday, Hoskins, who started at first base, and Nick Williams drove in all four runs the Phillies would score, while J.P. Crawford drew three walks.

We saw a glimpse of what the 2018 Opening Day lineup could be. No Tommy Joseph. No Maikel Franco. No Cameron Rupp. Cesar Hernandez started at second base, but that could change if Scott Kingery excels in Spring Training.

There’s still plenty of things for the Phillies to fix, especially their pitching. But it’s been a long time since the team was fun to watch. And thanks to the prospects, they’ll be fun to watch for the final nine games of the season.

That starts tonight with the team’s final road series of the season against the Atlanta Braves at 7:35. Ben Lively goes on the mound against Sean Newcomb.

The Roundup:

Sticking with the Phillies, Tommy Joseph knows his role has changed, and he’s been professional about it.

Reliever Jesen Therrien might be out for the entire 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Ryan Lawrence has five candidates who could replace Larry Andersen on the Phillies radio team next season, including Jayson Stark:

Sometimes you put a list together and you feel really good about the names on it, but you’re searching for one last one to top it off. And then you realize that it’s probably the most obvious and best fit of the bunch. Broadcasting experience? Check. Stark worked at ESPN for nearly two decades. Baseball knowledge? Check. Stark is as plugged-in as anyone in baseball and has been for nearly 40 years working at the Philadelphia Inquirer and ESPN.com. Encyclopedia-like knowledge of the Phillies? Check. Stark is a former Phillies beat writer who wrote about baseball in Philadelphia and around the league while at the Inquirer for 21 years. He still lives in the area. Like Glanville, Stark was shockingly let go during ESPN’s layoffs in April. He should still be writing somewhere, surely, but maybe in 2018 he can be like Ken Rosenthal and write for one company while broadcasting for another.

Lawrence also interviewed Joey Davis, the area scout that signed Hoskins and a few other rookies.

The Phanatic got a date with Dodgers reporter Alanna Rizzo prior to yesterday’s game.

—

The Eagles are still trying to figure out their situation at safety. Rodney McLeod, Corey Graham, and Jaylen Watkins didn’t practice yesterday with hamstring injuries. Is new arrival Trae Elston ready to play on Sunday? Les Bowen has more:

Would defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz try some sort of four-linebacker look, with [Kamu] Grugier-Hill covering in the box? Is there any way to get Elston ready, even for one specific package?

“I really don’t know,” Elston said, when asked if the Eagles’ defense was similar to what he played in with the Bills. “I’m just trying to run fast, do it full speed.”

With Jalen Mills and Rasul Douglas as the probable starters at cornerback this week, and Sidney Jones waiting to play, are the Eagles grooming their next long-term starters at the position?

Or could they go and get Malcolm Butler from the Patriots? Albert Breer thinks it’s possible:

Who would be the trade partner? The Eagles make sense. And they have a versatile front seven piece that would fill a major need for the Patriots and has been tied to trade talks in the past: linebacker Mychal Kendricks.

Speaking of Jones, Elijah Qualls thinks he’ll be a top corner when he finally plays in the NFL:

DT Elijah Qualls was a terrific guest on Pro Football Report. He's convinced his college teammate, Sidney Jones will become an elite corner.

— Merrill Reese (@mreeseeagles) September 22, 2017

In what might be a historic running back class, the Eagles failed to get an impact running back. But everything will be alright.

We’ll have game predictions later today.

—

The Flyers fell to the Bruins 2-1 in overtime last night. Travis Sanheim scored the lone Flyers goal in the third period on a shorthanded opportunity, and Brian Elliott stopped all 18 shots he faced in two periods of work. The big worry was the power play units, going 0-for-9 in the game.

The team also reduced their training camp roster by 18 players. Notables include 2016 first round pick German Rubtsov heading back to Chicoutimi of the QMJHL, Philippe Myers going to Lehigh Valley’s training camp. The roster currently sits at 36 players.

But the toughest decisions have yet to come.

—

Chris B. Haynes has a small Joel Embiid update:

chris b haynes reporting on embiid, says he's expected to do some basketball activity during camp, no one has a timetable http://pic.twitter.com/SpCQwp59LE

— Drew Corrigan (@Dcorrigan50) September 21, 2017

One of the big questions surrounding the Sixers that doesn’t involve Embiid’s health is how Brett Brown will use Markelle Fultz, according to David Murphy:

“I feel like the city and the media has to recognize that he just turned 19 a few months ago, and we all get how unforgiving the NBA is,” Brown said, “and there are weaknesses obviously that we have to address in his game, and we really want to go hard at this defense, but I think when you ask what do we see at first glance, I see a person, a real person, I see somebody that is incredibly gifted and the game comes easy offensively, I see someone who will be challenged defensively, especially as it relates to NBA point guards, and then how does he navigate NBA seasons and the rhythm of an NBA season at 19 years old, we will all learn more about.”

The team will also give center Jahlil Okafor every chance to play while he’s being shopped.

A realistic worst-case scenario from the Sixers this season. And be sure to take a listen to Kevin Love’s latest podcast, featuring Tom Moore:

Episode 6 of the Sixers Science podcast is live, featuring the ever insightful @TomMoorePhilly https://t.co/trhYu03iPh

— Kevin Love (@KevinLove_76) September 21, 2017

The team will also hold their Blue x White scrimmage at the Palestra October 1.

Kyle Neubeck of Liberty Ballers is leaving his post as Managing Editor. But he also teased he’ll continue to write about Philly sports full-time somewhere soon.

Finally, Benjamin Simmons:

—

Temple got crushed by #21 South Florida 43-7 in Tampa. The Owls recorded 89 yards in the air and -4 rushing yards. Their defense gave up 408 total yards to the Bulls, including 312 on the ground.

Speaking of the Owls, even though Matt Rhule has yet to win a game as Baylor’s head coach, he’s still the right pick to lead the Bears. I wish he never left Temple.

Tim Reilly reminds you Joe Paterno may not have been the perfect head coach at Penn State.

—

In other sports news, last night’s Thursday Night Football game between the Rams and the 49ers was…entertaining?

First play INT✅ 10 TDs✅ 80 points✅ Muffed punt✅ Fumbled kickoff✅ Missed 2pt conversion✅ Onside kick✅ Game-sealing sack✅#LARvsSF

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 22, 2017

This is some incredible football. Gotta be one of the highest effort games I've seen in a while.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 22, 2017

Amazing how all the people who complain about Thursday Night Football spend their Thursday nights tweeting about Thursday Night Football.

— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) September 22, 2017

It was the highest-scoring TNF game in the history of the series.

Former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez had a severe form of CTE in his brain when he committed suicide in April.

Jose Baez, Hernandez’s lawyer, said Hernandez’s brain showed a level of damage that was seen in players with a median age of 67 years.

Baez said he had filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Patriots and the N.F.L. on behalf of Hernandez’s daughter, Avielle. The suit seeks unspecified damages for loss of parental support. The suit alleges that the Patriots and the league were “fully aware of the damage that could be inflicted from repetitive impact injuries and failed to disclose, treat or protect him from the dangers of such damage.”

The Giants offensive line, as explained by a New York radio host.

Andre Ward, the undefeated light heavyweight boxing champion that was considered as one of the best in the world, unexpectedly announced his retirement.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said the team will discuss if they will visit the White House when they all meet later in the fall.

Screw the NCAA:

Texas A&M distance runner Ryan Trahan says that he has been ruled ineligible and warned by his university for using his name, image and likeness as an athlete on his YouTube page to promote a small company that he started. NCAA bylaw 12.4.4 rules that an athlete “may establish his or her own business, provided the student-athlete’s name, photograph, appearance or athletics reputation are not used to promote the business.”

In addition to his running, Trahan has his own YouTube channel with 14,000 subscribers and nearly one million views where he shares tips and insight into his training. He also promotes Neptune water bottles, a company that co-founded with a friend in 2016. Trahan just started his freshman year at Texas A&M after a successful high school career.

Clemson kicker Greg Huegel is out for the year after tearing his ACL on the last play of practice.

From being a running back on the Steelers to being one of the main minds behind Ballers, Rashard Mendenhall has found his dream job.

An interesting read by Nick DePaula on the race for sneaker companies to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo to a deal:

To kick things off this week, Bucks teammate (and Adidas endorser) Thon Maker walked Antetokounmpo out to the parking lot of the team’s practice facility after a Tuesday morning workout. Awaiting him was a truck full of size 16 Adidas sneakers, including everything from pairs of the coveted Yeezy Boost series to Adidas Originals staples like the Stan Smith and running models like the UltraBoost.

With his current Nike endorsement deal set to expire on September 30, Antetokounmpo is assessing his options. Rather than take brand pitches at their headquarters, as some players do, he insisted on hosting the meetings in Milwaukee, in order to not disrupt his no-frills workout schedule leading up to his fifth season — a season in which he has MVP aspirations.

Loving these new Colorado State unis:

Colorado State will wear these special State Pride uniforms Nov. 11 vs. Boise State. Love the helmet look http://pic.twitter.com/u7HeVW9IQm

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 21, 2017

LaMelo Ball got roasted and it’s beautiful:

LaVar's gotta find this clown and whoop him for disrespecting LaMelo like this. http://pic.twitter.com/OkJxqGZzNS

— Thomas Duffy (@TJDhoops) September 21, 2017

The NHL might want to let their players go to the Olympics in 2022:

—

In the news, Philadelphia police have charged a man after a pipe bomb scare Wednesday in East Oak Lane.

Two men are on the run after stealing about $2,000 worth of cigarettes at a Wawa.

North Korea could test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

Hurricane Maria left a devastating mark on Puerto Rico.

Your Friday Morning Roundup published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

[junker-town]

The NCAA’s 6 new football rules to know about, briefly explained

College football recruiting is getting shaken up in some major ways, along with some other changes.

Friday, the Division I advisory council changed the way college football is run in a few ways — some little, and some big. As explained by Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and others, it’s a landmark day for reform.

Football Oversight Committee Chair Bob Bowlsby and DI Council Chair Jim Phillips discuss today's package of football legislation. http://pic.twitter.com/MigdMUblTf

— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) April 14, 2017

1. The early signing day.

This one’s the big kahuna. It’s been debated on and toyed around with for years, but now it’s finally going to come to fruition. Barring a surprise by the Conference Commissioners Association, the early signing period will become officially official in June. It will create a three-day window for recruits to sign Letters of Intent in December right around Christmas. In 2017, the dates will be Dec. 20-23.

As always, some teams like it (small schools) while others don’t (schools that need extra time to finalize recruiting). New Mexico State coach Doug Martin told SB Nation in January that an early signing day would make it easier on his staff because they could know what they need to get for the second signing day in February and the process would be more streamlined.

Stanford coach David Shaw disagreed a few years ago.

Stanford coach David Shaw says an early signing day for football would be "catastrophic" for the sport. Wants to see date pushed back.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) November 13, 2012

But the real people to whom this will matter the most: the athletes. And because of some holes in the current proposal, it won’t be all gravy for them.

Those who have not made enough academic progress to qualify might not be able to sign early with their schools of choice and could see their spots go to less-talented players who are more certain to qualify.

Options could also be limited for prospects who are late bloomers.

Sometimes, prospects are not discovered until December or January, as programs review senior film. Under the old system, scholarships were not being filled en masse until February. With the new early date, the number of options for late bloomers could decrease.

Prospects who feel pressured to sign early could also lose out on offers from bigger schools, if they sign and foreclose the opportunity to wait for better options.

2. No more two-a-days.

Yeah, you read that right. The NCAA is banning full-contact practices twice in the same day. This was, frankly, a long time coming; they were being phased out anyway by most teams.

For instance, in 2015 Bret Bielema stopped doing them at Arkansas. Georgia Tech nixed them last offseason. And others scaled the practice back, like in 2015, when Georgia only scheduled one day of them, and it was rained out.

The paradigm has shifted to be smarter about how players train in a violent sport. You’ll never take all the contact out of the game, but reducing it is important to player safety.

Now, if teams want to have the extra session, they still can, but there cannot be any actual practice. It has to be film study or walkthrough, no conditioning can take place at the walkthrough, and players can’t be in helmets or shoulder pads.

3. Official visits moved up.

The NCAA:

It adds a period for official visits that begins April 1 of the junior year and ends the Sunday before the last Wednesday in June of that year. Official visits can’t occur in conjunction with a prospect’s participation in a school’s camp or clinic (effective Aug. 1).

This is good for athletes. Prior to this, the rule stated that high schoolers had to wait until the first day of classes their senior year to take their five expenses-paid college visits. Now they have the entire summer prior to do so. This can create more breathing room and help high schoolers and their parents make more sound decisions.

4. The 10th assistant rule.

Pretty cut and dry: college football teams can now have 10 assistant coaches instead of nine, starting Jan. 9, 2018. The main opposition was the timing. If it went into effect immediately, it would have caused a problem for schools to figure out money situations during the middle of a budget cycle.

5. Making college football a bit more like college basketball.

Schools are now not allowed to hire people close to recruits (think parents, coaches, and trainers) for off-field coaching jobs in the two-year period before or after the recruit’s enrollment at a prospective college. This has been in basketball for years.

It sounds good on its face, but digging deeper, you can see how high school coaches specifically get screwed.

You can see how the rule would hamper a distinct advantage a particular former high school would have, and therefore make someone a less desirable hire for a college job.

But the problem is some of these non-coaching positions aren’t shams. There are analyst jobs, quality control posts, and grad assistant roles that are on-ramps to the college coaching profession but will no longer be available to some people.

Some high school coaches aren’t qualified enough yet to be on the field at the college level, and now the NCAA has cut off a simple way for them to work their way into one of those positions.

6. Camp reform came in two parts.

The first was a straightforward rule that makes summer camps less about the physical aspect and a little better for athletes. The NCAA:

It allows coaches employed at a camp or clinic to have recruiting conversations with prospects participating in camps and clinics and requires educational sessions at all camps and clinics detailing initial eligibility standards, gambling rules, agent rules and drug regulations (effective immediately).

The other part is a limitation on satellite camps and partly in response to Jim Harbaugh’s satellite camp crusade. They can happen, but they can’t happen for an unchecked period of time in the summer.

It limits the time for Football Bowl Subdivision coaches to participate in camps and clinics to 10 days in June and July and requires that the camps take place on a school’s campus or in facilities regularly used by the school for practice or competition. Staff members with football-specific responsibilities are subject to the same restrictions.

Besides the early signing proposal, the last hoop these rules have to jump through will be on April 26. The Division I Board of Directors are the last rubber stamp needed.

[beverlymunoz]

Profile of a possible savior: Tim Jankovich

This guy’s been coaching for longer than Will Wade’s been alive.

Southern Methodist University hasn’t made it past the second round of the NCAA tournament since the 1960s, but that could change this spring under Tim Jankovich, who is in his first full year as head man on the Mustangs’ sidelines. Despite a gaudy 24-4 record, SMU is ranked just 17th in the AP poll thanks to the subpar competition in the American Athletic Conference (sorry, PirateWolf), but Jank’s ‘stangs have a championship résumé in KenPom’s rankings with both a top 25 offense and defense.

Jankovich’s squad has won 20 of its last 21 games, with the only defeat coming on the road by two points against fellow POAPSter Mick Cronin’s Cincinnati Bearcats. Though he’s primarily patrolled the sidelines in flyover country, could Jankovich make the leap east and replicate his AAC success for NC State in the ACC?

Important Questions, In Rough Order Of Importance:

1. Has he coached teams that have won a national title, made multiple deep NCAA tournament runs, and/or consistently been highly ranked?

Jankovich, serving in an interim capacity while Larry Brown was golfing due to an NCAA suspension, piloted the Mustangs to a 9-0 start and top 10 ranking a year ago, and, as mentioned above, what is now his team—Brown abruptly resigned over the summer—is in the top 20 now. He’s a ridiculous 33-4 at SMU, but this will be his first NCAA tournament as a head coach.

Previously, he piloted Illinois State to four 21-or-more-win seasons in five years but never made the big dance, falling in the MVC championship game three times (twice in overtime). Jankovich was also unable to make postseason play at North Texas, his first gig as a head coach. Additionally, he had a stint as the head coach at Hutchinson Community College.

The well-traveled Jankovich has had 10 different stops as an assistant, most notably a four-year stint at Kansas. He was part of Bill Self’s original staff that replaced Ol’ Roy after Ol’ Roy changed his mind and decided that he did, in fact, give a shit about Carolina.

2. Has he built a program from the ground up?

The Mean Green have a brutal basketball history. They have been ranked once in the AP poll, back in 75-76, and they have never won an NCAA tournament game (in their three whole trips) during an existence that dates to the 20s. Jankovich inherited a 5-21 North Texas team and promptly won 14 games in his first year. He went from the ground to basically .500. Unfortunately, he never did much better and decided to jettison that basketball desert after four years for Hutchison. The dude that followed him for the Mean Green managed a high of seven wins during his four-year stint.

I think of ISU as one of those sneaky mid-majors that springs Big Dance upsets, but the Redbirds actually haven’t been to the tournament since ’98 (under Kevin Stallings, whose name seems to keep coming up in my POAPSmears in some sort of Kevin Bacon degrees of separation sort of way). The Redbirds, in fact, were coming off a couple of losing seasons when Jankovich arrived, including one where it managed a brutal 55 points per game. Jank’s first team improved by 10 wins over his predecessor, Porter Moser, but he could never break through and win the MVC tournament in his time in Normal. While Dan Muller is thought of as a hot name in the “up-and-coming” ranks, ISU declined significantly in the couple years subsequent to his taking over for Jank.

3. Has he substantially improved the program from when he took over?

That’s more or less alluded to above, but heck yes. North Texas’s 9-win improvement was the second most in the NCAA that year. And he did it with…(wait for it)…defense! The Mean Green went from 298th to 99th in points allowed from pre-Jank to Jank. (Sorry, no fancy KenPom numbers from way back then.) Same story at ISU; his first team climbed from 67th before him to 26th in KenPom’s defensive metrics. That rise led to the aforementioned 10-win improvement. Last year he was undefeated at SMU; when Larry Brown came back, the ‘stangs were a still respectable but less impressive 16-5. Now, SMU is arguably the best it’s ever been.

4. Has he succeeded at more than one head coaching job?

The answer here depends on how you define success. Until now, he’s never been a head coach at a school with a genuine opportunity to make a sustained run in the tournament, but he’s been much better than the status quo wherever he’s coached. In short, I’d say yes.

5. Does he have significant high-major experience as either a head coach or an assistant?

His head coaching exploits are already well chronicled above. In chronological order, Jankovich has been an assistant at the following high-major (and high-majorish) programs: Kansas State, Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt (under Stallings!), Illinois, and Kansas. He’s got a total of 34 years under his belt as a college coach; I’d say that’s pretty significant.

6. Is his team one of the best in its conference right now?

SMU is the best in just about every measure, leading Cincinnati in KenPom, the AAC standings (by half a game), but trailing the Bearcats by a hair in RPI.

7. Do his teams actually play, what is this thing called, "defense"?

I give you this delicious quote: “If they…play their tail off on defense and rebound at a high level. If they do that, they earn more freedom on the offensive end.” Defense is first in Jankovich’s philosophy, and the numbers bear it out. The Mustangs are 20th in AdjD. If he had just said fannies, a la Chuck Amato, we’d know he’d be a perfect fit at State.

8. So how about offense?

Jankovich, unlike his predecessor, is a proponent of the three-point shot. The Mustangs are 122nd in percentage of points from the bonusphere this season, up from 275th a year ago. His teams seem to understand shot selection, taking over 70% of their total shots from either the arc or at the rim. His teams are, however, deliberate, like Virginia deliberate. It might not be fun and gun, but SMU’s offense is resulting in 1.12 points per possession this year and a KenPom AdjO ranking of 21st.

9. Any indication that he can recruit McDonald’s All-American-type players?

Jankovich’s first pledge as head coach at SMU was Elijah Landrum, a three-star point guard who also held offers from Houston, Texas Tech, and VCU. There are a couple of other three-star pledges in the class of 2017, both top 300 type guys. The top recruit is William Douglas, who is ranked 115th by 247sports. Shake Milton is the only SMU-recruited consensus four-star on the roster, though Duke transfer (and former top 30 prospect) Semi Ojeleye has blossomed into a stud after not getting much floor time for Coach K.

This is not ACC level recruiting, but it’s good enough for a 24-4 record with an experienced and competent coach. Jankovich, who was well regarded as a recruiter when an assistant at high-major programs, would likely lure better talent to Raleigh. He’s also been handcuffed a bit by scholarship reductions due to an NCAA violation that occurred under Brown’s watch. He has a slew of top 100 recruits listing SMU from the class of 2018, when scholarship levels will return to normal.

10. Does he have any connection to NC State, North Carolina, or the ACC?

He was “coach in waiting” under Brown, but his footprint is basically Texas and the Midwest.

11. Any other random red flags or positives?

The major red flag for Jankovich is his association with some pretty shady dudes, Brown chief among them. The Dean Smith protégé had numerous run-ins with the NCAA, most recently an academic fraud scandal (gasp!) that cost him nine games. It was more costly for SMU, which was given a postseason ban a year ago and a loss of scholarships. (Aside: note that this bit of justice was meted out for exactly ONE case of academic fraud that occurred before a recruit was even enrolled at SMU. Meanwhile, a decades-long, institutionalized system of academic fraud designed to keep players eligible at UNC is yet unpunished).

Eddie Sutton, who Jankovich also coached under, nearly killed Kentucky, getting the school a two-year postseason ban and one-year TV ban for a laundry list of violations that included bribing recruits, though Jank joined Sutton much later when he was at Oklahoma State.

Some of us who are getting long in the tooth might consider this a positive, but Jank has coached for longer than some POAPS candidates have been on the planet. He’ll be 58 when next season gets underway. That still gives him 7-10 years of coaching life in all likelihood, but can he relate to the kids these days? Do you want to bring in a guy that, even if he’s wildly successful, will in all likelihood have a short tenure? In just a few years, opposing whippersnapper coaches will be whispering in players ears: “You sure you want to play for a guy that might not be around to see you graduate?”

On the positive spectrum, the dude shot 91.7% from the line in his college career and over 50% from the floor from the guard position. Maybe he can teach some free throwing around here?

Another bit of intrigue is that Semi Ojeleye should be a grad transfer possibility. Could Jank bring him along?

Summary:

Would he be better than Gottfried?

I don’t think there’s any question that Jankovich could beat Gott’s players with his players, or his players with Gott’s players, and his history of immediately improving programs from year one is intriguing.

OK, so what is his ceiling?

Let’s see how far he takes the Mustangs. If he makes a run with the talent gap he’ll face perhaps as soon as the second round, then there is no ceiling on what he could accomplish with ACC talent, provided he can lure said talent to Raleigh. If he doesn’t recruit at a high level by ACC standards, he’s probably Jim Larrañaga. Hey, if that’s your floor, that’s pretty good.

Would he take the job if offered?

Probably not. Damn, I spent all this time on this for nothing. Despite the fact that he’s not a 40 or even 30-something, Jankovich should be a hot commodity for high-major schools coach shopping this offseason. An Indiana native who has spent nearly his entire career in flyover country probably has his sights sets on a Big 10 or Big 12 job. Maybe he returns to K-State, his alma mater, after we hire Bruce Weber! (I kid, I kid.)

Indiana, Ohio State, Oklahoma…those would probably be Jank’s dream jobs if he is even job hunting, and he may well have a shot at all of the above.

How would I feel if he were hired?

I can get past the age thing. I love the experience and the results he’s had as a head coach, especially this year at SMU. As the weight of losing buries my moral compass, I find the association with a who’s who in crooked coaches to be less untenable, but Larry Brown? Larry Brown??? I question the man’s judgment there.

How would the fan base as a whole feel if he were hired?

The answer here is also dependent on how SMU does in the tournament. If the Mustangs were to make the Final Four, I think the average State fan would be pretty excited to get the guy that led little old SMU to college basketball’s biggest stage for the first time since it fell to the San Francisco Dons in the 1956 Final Four. If Jank gets jerked from the tourney early, I think the response would largely be, “Who? We totally screwed this up again!”

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[junker-town]

Michael Porter Jr. is the superstar recruit the basketball world orbits around

Michael Porter Jr. can’t miss. Basketball’s next big thing has had a wild ride to get to this point.

CHICAGO — When Michael Porter Jr. was first offered a scholarship by Missouri, the idea of a top basketball recruit playing in Columbia didn’t seem completely out of the ordinary. At the time, the Tigers were on their way to a 30-5 season that would land them a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

This was the type of success Missouri had come to expect. The program was only a few years removed from a trip to the Elite Eight and in the midst of a stretch of five straight NCAA tournament appearances. It had recently produced a first round NBA draft pick in DeMarre Carroll and was watching Marcus Denmon turn in an All-American season.

So when Porter was taking jumpers in Mizzou Arena one night and was pulled aside by head coach Frank Haith, he knew he would seriously consider the scholarship that was being offered. Porter thanked the coach, but he didn’t accept it right away. That would have been entirely premature -- after all, Michael Porter Jr. was only in seventh grade.

Almost six years later, Porter finally gave Mizzou his commitment earlier this month. In the time that’s passed since, he grew to 6’10, became the No. 1 recruit in America, started dating a Disney actress and grew close with NBA stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.

So much has changed for both the player and the program over those six years, but Porter’s talent has remained the one constant.

Porter heard chants of “M-I-Z/Z-O-U” as he accepted the MVP award at the 2017 McDonald’s All-American Game on Wednesday night. He just scored 17 points to lead his West team to victory in a performance that included brief flashes of his all-world talent.

For Porter, this was just another mile marker in his long coronation as the best young basketball prospect in the world. It’s what was always supposed to happen. But for the Mizzou fans that stuck around the United Center to shower their newest recruit in praise, this moment was surreal.

The dream of Porter playing in the gym where he grew up was supposed to have died long ago. Porter had committed to Washington and moved 2,000 miles from Columbia to Seattle. He just finished a perfect 29-0 senior season at Nathan Hale High School under coach Brandon Roy, the former NBA star by way of Washington who started coaching only to coach Porter Jr. He would be off the Huskies in the fall and after one season he’d be in the running for the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

At least that was what was supposed to happen. Instead, a major shakeup at two proud programs that had fallen under tough times threw Porter’s world into flux just when everything was expected to settle down.

“The last three weeks changed my life,” Porter Jr. said before the McDonald’s All-American Game. “Whatever happened, I knew God got me. I’ll be alright. But it was an emotional time.”

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

There is never a boring story about how a top basketball recruit choses his college. The stakes are too high and the money is too big for that. But even in the weird world of college basketball recruiting, the circumstances that led Porter to Washington and then Missouri stand out as particularly convoluted.

For Michael Porter Jr., everything is a family affair, so that’s where the story starts.

Both of his parents stand 6’4 played college basketball, his father Michael Porter Sr. at New Orleans and his mother Lisa at Iowa and then professionally in Europe. Together they had eight children and at least half of them turned into big-time basketball prospects, none of them bigger than Michael Jr.

Michael Porter Sr. got into coaching off the talent of his children. In 2010, he accepted a job in the Missouri athletic department and later became an assistant coach as his two oldest daughters Bri and Cierra went on to play for the Tigers.

At the same time, Michael Jr. was blossoming into one of the country’s best young prospects. As his recruitment started to heat up, Michael Sr. accepted an assistant coaching job across the country at Washington under his long-time friend Lorenzo Romar, who happens to be Michael Jr.’s godfather.

The Porters would move out to Seattle and Michael Jr. would give his commitment to Washington shortly after. He would be homeschooled just as he was for much of his life, but he and his younger brother Jontay, a top-50 prospect in his own right in the class of 2018, decided to play at Nathan Hale, a school that was coming off a 3-18 season.

As the Porters came to Nathan Hale, so too did Roy. It was a perfect match: a former NBA star grooming a future one, and the results were undeniable. Nathan Hale went 29-0 and won a state championship as Porter Jr. was named national player of the year and Roy was named national coach of the year. It all should have seemed too good to be true for Washington fans, but it happened as the program was deteriorating on the court.

Washington finished 9-22 and missed the NCAA tournament for the sixth straight year. They did it with Markelle Fultz, the likely No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft. The administration decided it didn’t need to watch the exact same scenario unfold again and fired Romar after 15 years on the job.

Suddenly, the biggest packaged deal in college basketball was back on the market.

Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Mizzou had nowhere to go but up. During Kim Anderson’s three seasons, the Tigers had amassed a 27-68 record, never winning more than 10 games and finishing in the basement of the SEC every year.

Anderson was fired earlier this month and replaced by former Cal coach Cuonzo Martin. Martin came with the reputation of a man who knew how to get things done: he once got top recruit Jaylen Brown to pay his own way from Atlanta to Berkley to visit the Golden Bears after his five official visits were used up. Brown committed shortly after to join fellow five-star recruit Ivan Rabb.

The Bears would ultimately underachieve that season with a first round NCAA tournament loss to Hawaii, but Martin’s status has an elite recruiter was sealed. When he took the Mizzou job, his first move was to call Michael Porter Sr. and offer him a spot on his staff.

Seven days later, Michael Jr. announced he was coming home.

All of this happened so fast for the Porters, but they knew they were lucky to have family at their side. Not even a month removed from being caught in the center of a storm that would change their lives, both father and son are doing well to keep things in perspective.

“Michael is used to things going his way,” Michael Porter Sr. said at the McDonald’s Game. “When it happened, it through him for a loop. I’m just glad he’s going through some of this while he’s still at home with us so we can help him process it.”

For his part, Michael Jr. seems at peace. He handled every media request during McDonald’s week with thoughtfulness and grace. It’s clear he already carries himself like a professional.

As anyone who has watched him play knows, it’s only a matter of time before he’ll be exactly that.

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Porter’s talent would have been in demand in any era, but he feels uniquely suited for the way the game has been trending recently. He’s the type of versatile, hybrid forward every team wants but so few have.

At 6’10 and 215 pounds, Porter has the size of a big man and skill set of a wing. He was draining jumpers off of dribble pull-ups throughout the two practices that proceeded the McDonald’s Game, and he did it while flashing the elite athleticism that separates him from everyone else.

Like any 18-year-old, Porter is still growing into himself and his game. Still, it’s easy to see a future star with the training wheels on. His jump shot is pure and he gets his head to rim-level for rebounds and dunks. He said he wants to be his own player, but sees parts of Tracy McGrady and Kevin Durant in his skill set. Durant sees it, too.

Durant sponsored Porter’s grassroots team Mokan Elite ahead of last season on the EYBL. The two text often. That’s not the only famous former MVP in his phone.

Porter first met Steph Curry when he was invited to his SC Select Camp for elite guards. Porter was the tallest player there, but he quickly developed a connection with the Warriors star. For two days this past summer, Porter flew out to the Bay Area to train with Curry. He said they talk every month.

If basketball is a fraternity, Porter Jr. is already a member. His talent is undeniable and his approach to his burgeoning celebrity status is developed beyond his years. He already looks and talks like basketball’s next big thing because he’s been preparing for this for years.

In between winning state championships in high school, conquering the grassroots circuit and rising up the recruiting rankings, the basketball world has learned one thing: Michael Porter Jr. can’t miss. If the everyone else doesn’t know it yet, they will soon.