#don’t realize just how big they are / how strong they are compared to sb

[mvnces]

thinking about mr. john sobieski now & just how Big he is

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Alabasta (Part Two)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

crocodile is one of my favorite villains in one piece for a number of reasons, and one of them is because he’s such a threat, the first real one faced in the grand line and one of the toughest in all of paradise. the villains from the arcs before this, like wapol or the agents from little garden, could barely even land a hit on luffy in actual combat. so crocodile is introduced here as an absolute force of nature, a complete contrast to recent villains and a very tangible threat. 

it’s an impression he very much lives up to later in the arc by crushing luffy not once but twice, which only makes luffy’s ultimate hard-won triumph feel all the better. luffy closes a huge gap over the course of alabasta in order to be able to beat crocodile, and giving us a sense of just how strong he is from the very start gives luffy clawing his way up to that level a lot more weight. 

the successive reveals of luffy’s family never fail to absolutely delight me, because in any other series they would almost certainly feel contrived, but knowing luffy, it is absolutely unsurprising he just never happened to mention his relatives. nobody asked! luffy’s unique brand of honesty is one of my favorite character quirks, because he’s very straightforward and in fact can’t lie for shit, but his priorities are so completely off the wall that he winds up omitting highly relevant information completely by accident. 

ace’s scene in alabasta really does impress me. oda’s said in an sbs that he knew ace’s fate from his introduction, which i find absolutely unsurprising given the intricacy of his story planning. that means he needed ace’s introduction to make him both likable and memorable enough in the space of just a couple chapters that the audience would be engaged when he became the focus of the story a couple hundred chapters on despite barely appearing at all in the intervening time, and he really succeeded. 

kohza is one of my favorite minor characters in the whole series, and i think he’s a big part of why alabasta’s civil war plotline works so well and feels so real. nobody on either side of the war actually wants to fight, but everyone has been driven to such desperation that they feel they have no other choice in order to save their country; and kohza exemplifies that. he's a good person who loves his country a lot, and who genuinely likes and cares about the royal family and vivi especially, and the only option he can see to save alabasta is terrible, but there’s nothing else he can do. 

it’s just fun for me to think about the fact that if crocodile was literally anything other than a very skilled logia, vivi would have ended the whole entire arc right here. 

i really like civil war storylines when they’re well-done, and i think alabasta is one of the best ones i’ve seen in media. most of it is down to what i mentioned earlier, about how nobody on either side actually wants to fight but feels like they have no choice but to. nobody here is actually in the wrong except for crocodile, and so until crocodile is defeated, nothing can be fixed- which is what luffy, of all people, is the one to realize. 

sanji’s mr. prince gambit is probably my single favorite part of alabasta, and i think one of the reasons i like it so much is because he basically beats crocodile at his own game. crocodile is terrifying in battle, but before anything else he’s a manipulator. he’s always working from the shadows, always deceiving people doing what he wants, and sanji manages to turn the tables on him and do the exact same back to him, twice. 

also sanji looks great in glasses

smoker and tashigi both get kind of unfortunately sidelined after this saga, but they’re both really great characters in alabasta. (tashigi especially; i’ll get to her later.) much like the rebel army, they’re good people trying to do the right thing in the tangled mess of tension and politics and resentment that is alabasta- and when that means working with pirates, they’ll buckle down and do it, despite how much it might contradict their worldviews. 

i love when events align in one piece so that people who don’t particularly like the strawhats wind up working with them for some common goal (as seen most prominently in impel down), and smoker and tashigi in alabasta are the first and still one of the best examples of that. 

the entirety of luffy versus crocodile round one is so well done. we’re a hundred and fifty chapters in, and although luffy has struggled in fights before now and then, we get the sense he hasn’t ever really been pushed to the brink, and he’s certainly never lost.

and then he does, completely and absolutely, without ever even landing a hit on his opponent, and it hits like a punch. 

oda seems to be a fan of characters just barely missing each other- the similar panel of robin and olvia running past each other from robin’s flashback comes to mind.

i’ve always liked that of all the strawhats, it’s usopp who gets the first “luffy is going to be king of the pirates” moment. they’ve all said it by the current chapters in wano (with the sole exception of robin, i believe), but usopp said it first, and that feels significant to me. he’s always been the one who feels the least secure in his place on the crew, but even so, he has so much faith in luffy. 

nami’s fight with miss doublefinger is pretty silly in places and i think it gets frequently (understandably, it must be said) overshadowed by zoro’s fight with mr. 1 directly afterwards, but i really like it nonetheless. it’s nami’s first real solo fight in the whole series, and once she finds her feet she kicks ass, and i really like that. it feels like a very satisfying development for her, to stand up and risk her life in direct combat for vivi’s sake. 

we’re now almost a thousand chapters in and its my firm belief that zoro versus mr. 1 is still one of the best fights in the entire series. i definitely think it’s probably zoro’s best fight- only his match with kaku compares. the narrative build over the course of the fight, from zoro struggling just to match mr. 1 (and getting shredded to pieces in the process) to cutting him down in one final stroke, is incredibly cool and satisfying to watch. it feels like a very tangible step forward for zoro in terms of ability, like a massive obstacle has been surmounted and, as he himself says, he’s now stronger for it. 

its also very cool that this is, i believe, the first appearance of what is probably observation haki, though it isn’t named or recognized as such. i’m always endlessly impressed by all the little moments of internal consistency that oda manages to sprinkle into his story. 

there’s barely any dialogue on these entire two pages, from crocodile dropping vivi to luffy and pell swooping in- the story is briefly told entirely through visuals- and i love that. it gives the impression of a single tense, frozen moment as vivi falls, which is then broken in spectacular fashion when luffy catches her. 

i really, really like the progression that runs through all three of luffy’s fights with crocodile. the gap between them goes from being impossible, with luffy unable to even land a hit and crocodile basically toying with him; to surmountable but still huge, with luffy able to land some hits but still outclassed; to finally putting them on basically even ground. and every inch of that growth on luffy’s part is hard-fought and hard-won and well-deserved. 

crocodile’s confidence in his abilities isn’t misplaced- he genuinely is that powerful. but if there’s anything we know about luffy by now, it’s that he doesn’t ever give up. it’s very fun to watch crocodile’s dismissiveness turn into disbelief turn into rage and frustration when luffy just won’t die. 

luffy is, additionally, pretty clearly a better brawler than crocodile (which makes sense, crocodile is clearly used to devastating long-range attacks with his powers while luffy grew up fighting giant wildlife with his bare hands), which means that by the time of their last fight, where they’re just whaling on each other in the catacombs and crocodile is starting to get sloppy and desperate and lose control, if anything it’s luffy who has the upper hand. 

zoro and sanji’s dynamic is always a favorite of mine, and one of the things i like best about them is how perfectly in sync they always manage to be when it comes to things that actually matter, despite fighting like cats and dogs pretty much every other time. i’ll never understand people who think they genuinely aren’t friends. 

tashigi is really good in alabasta, okay. she essentially has her own entire character growth arc. she goes from her stance in loguetown, where she isn’t even tolerant of (fully legal!) bounty hunters, to here, where she’s forced to confront that the world isn’t nearly as black and white as she’s always believed it to be, that sometimes pirates are good and allies of the government are bad, and ultimately makes the right choice to help the strawhats even though it clearly pains and frustrates her that she can’t do anything more herself. 

i’ll be forever mad that her only really significant appearance after this in punk hazard didn’t really live up to what her character deserved. 

i really like how the countdown sequence is done. the tension is ratcheting up and up and up as the clock ticks down in the final seconds, panels cutting all over the city to show all the different characters, everyone who’s caught up in this conflict and everyone who’ll die if the cannon fires-

and then the clock hits zero, and we get this panel that’s just... quiet, after all the madness, as we see how vivi stopped the detonation. i think oda is very good at setting up his pages so they have a flow to them, so no matter how quickly you actually read sometimes things feel like they’re going very fast and all happening at once and then it slows down and gives the reader a chance to breathe, if only to speed up again later. i think oda is really good at pacing in general, really, both on a micro level like this and on a larger scale. 

luffy’s greatest strength isn’t really his strength. he’s strong, absolutely, but that’s not really why he wins the fights he shouldn’t win. he wins because he just doesn’t fucking stay down. his fight with katakuri is probably the best example of this, because katakuri has him beat in pretty much every category except sheer endurance, and there as here, it’s that endurance that winds up getting luffy the win in the end. 

i do love that it’s the rain that ends the war. not the explosion and pell’s sacrifice, not vivi’s pleading, not even luffy kicking crocodile into the stratosphere, but the rain, the thing alabasta’s been missing for too long, the thing crocodile stole, the only thing all these people are fighting over. 

it’s crocodile’s symbolic defeat- at the same moment his power is broken by luffy, the stranglehold of dehydration he’s been using to foment war and rebellion is all at once gone, and he’s left with nothing at all, and alabasta can finally find peace and start to heal again. 

i always love the little moments that show, usually without words, just how much the strawhats love each other, and all of them unanimously waiting until vivi is out of sight to collapse so that she won’t worry, won’t see how ragged they ran themselves for their sake, is definitely one of them. 

i adore vivi’s sendoff, because while its sad she has to go, the certainty that someday they’ll meet again and that even if not they’ll always be crew manages to make this scene endlessly hopeful instead (which, i think, is also a good summary of one piece’s tone as a whole, at least in its more serious moments). luffy never says goodbye, after all, and nobody ever really leaves the strawhat pirates. 

i’m really looking forward to vivi’s re-entry to the story. i really, really want to see her reunion with the strawhats. 

hey look, it’s the panel my profile picture is from! 

the mystery surrounding robin and her past is built up in little ways long before enies lobby, from her harsh reaction when confronted with by tashigi to her aversion to being called by her given name to this flashback, of her talking to cobra about her dream. of them, the latter is my favorite, because i think it’s probably the most sincere she is until enies lobby- which makes sense, given she thinks she’s about to die. 

like many things about robin in alabasta, this gets cast in a new light by her backstory. if she dies here, so too does the entire legacy of ohara- but she’s so beaten down and hopeless that she really doesn’t see any light ahead to strive for. there’s no hope left, for her, and the whole world against her. 

and then there’s luffy, who creates hope everywhere he goes, who makes her live anyways. 

this is a hell of a spread to hook us very effectively right into the sky island saga. it’s a perfect reminder of just how much we still don’t know about all the endless mysteries of the grand line, and just how many adventures are still yet to be had.

[junker-town]

Stefanie Dolson on winning gold in Tokyo, the challenges of 3x3 basketball, and more

Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images

Sometimes overshadowed on the Chicago Sky, Stefanie Dolson stepped out onto the international stage this summer, winning a gold medal in Tokyo.

The debut of 3x3 basketball at the Summer Olympics was a rousing success, especially for the United States women’s team composed of Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young. The Americans went 8-1 and came home with the event’s inaugural gold medal.

The pace of the game seems suited for quicker guards, and yet 6’5 Dolson — known as Big Mama Stef — played some of the finest basketball of her career en route to the gold, making 72.3 percent of her field-goal attempts and just being a general nuisance for any opponent trying to get to the basket.

Dolson spoke to SB Nation about what it took to winning gold and the role her UCAN energy products played in getting her to her physical peak.

Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

SB Nation: How does it feel to be an Olympic gold medalist? Has it sunk in yet, do you call yourself that when you answer the phone? How does it work?

Stefanie Dolson: I don’t. I got to see Allisha (Gray) yesterday, we played Dallas. And I said, “What’s up Gold Medal Lish?” cuz she said she only wanted to be referred to as that. I did not, but it’s been really great. I mean, my family, friends, my teammates, it’s just, I don’t know, just overwhelming with how much love and support and excitement everyone’s given me. So it’s definitely set in. I think at this point now it’s like, I almost have to put it to the side because now I’m focused on just our Chicago games, but I mean it’s pretty amazing. I still look at it, I’m like, wow, that really happened.

SBN: Do you have any special plans for the medal?

SD: I don’t think so. I’m gonna get a tattoo though, I just have to get it. But not the medal. I mean, I’m trying to figure out what to do with it, to be fair.

SBN: are you gonna get the Olympic rings tattoo?

SD: Yeah, I’m thinking about getting the rings or actually getting the Olympiad that’s on the back, like the angel-looking thing. I saw a tattoo like that, it looked really cool, so up in the air.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Stefanie Dolson (she/her) (@bigmamastef)

SBN: I wanted to ask you a little about 3x3 because I know USA, obviously when you’re part of — especially the women’s basketball program — for five on five, there’s an expectation of winning, and I was curious if you guys had that same sort of expectation going in for 3x3 given that it was a new tournament.

SD: Yeah, I think there was because, you know, not only just USA basketball, but just the WNBA, like all of basketball in the U.S., there’s an expectation of being really great at it. So for us it was just like, we’re WNBA players. We almost put on ourselves that pressure, like we need to be the best. So going into it I think I was really nervous, I mean the first game of the Olympics I was — we were all freaking out. I was thinking it’s so different compared to the qualifying tournament. So there’s definitely that pressure and expectation of wanting to be the best, wanting to win the gold. It was there.

SBN: What was the day like when you guys found out that Katie Lou Samuelson wasn’t gonna be able to come and Jackie (Young) was gonna be taking her place?

SD: That day was just a roller coaster. It all kind of happened so fast, too, you know, finding out that she tested positive and then next it was like, “okay well now what do we do?” And then an hour later, we’re like, okay Jackie Young’s on the plane right now coming, like straight from a vacation. So it was really sad, my heart just went out for (Katie Lou) and it just broke for her because I know how hard she worked to get us to that point and how much time she put into it. So it was really really hard, but Jackie was amazing to just come straight from vacation. She knew all of the plays the first day, we worked out with her and stuff, so I was just really impressed with the way that she was able to jump right into it with us.

SBN: So it doesn’t seem like there was much of an acclimation process once Jackie got there?

SD: We didn’t have time for it. She had to be acclimated quickly.

SBN: I read about all the physical transformations that you had to undergo to get ready for this. I know you said you stopped drinking and you lost all this weight — did you also have to change the way you play your game to be ready for 3x3, or was it more just like getting ready for the speed?

SD: Yeah, I think it all kind of intertwines. For me, honestly my entire career, my biggest battle has been conditioning, you know my ability to be quick on my feet and just agile. So, after quarantine and all that stuff, being at home, it was rough, and then I got injured. So I had to kind of change everything: my diet, my lifestyle. I focused so solely on basketball, I put everything aside because of 3x3, but also because of, you know, the WNBA. Either way it was for my career. And part of it was 3x3 because the way the game is played. It’s so quick. Half the time I’m guarding a guard. If I didn’t do that, I don’t know that we would have been as successful as we were.

SBN: How did the UCAN factor into your physical transformation, for lack of a better word?

SD: Yeah it’s been perfect, honestly. It goes right in with kind of that just healthy living, that healthy lifestyle, because it is natural and plant based, and it’s zero sugar. A lot of the things that I usually use are like really high in sugar and I’ll usually crash, but when I’m training, and even the last few games here in the WNBA, I’ve been using the UCAN during the games with the electrolytes and everything and it’s just like, I feel a difference because I don’t crash. And then on top of that I don’t feel kind of that guilt of like, ughhh I just had so much sugar with whether it’s like Gatorade or whatever you’re drinking or eating. So the UCAN products have been kind of that perfect product to fit into this new lifestyle, if you will.

SBN: You’d been using them for a little while before you got to Tokyo?

SD: Yeah, a couple of weeks.

SBN: And then, obviously, you must have felt the difference while you were in Tokyo because you killed it.

SD: We were training, we were doing heat training in Vegas, to kind of prepare for Tokyo because we knew how hot it would be. So I was using the products there in Vegas to kind of stay hydrated, and protein-wise because the food they had for us was pretty heavy most of the time, so I was able to use the UCAN products for protein before we were going to work out.

SBN: What was the most challenging part of that experience in Tokyo? Was it the heat or the diet or the caliber of the opposition, like what really stuck out to you?

SD: I just think it was all of it. I don’t think we all were fully prepared for it until we got there, you know, even the heat training, it was like oh it’ll be fine, and then we get there and it’s not only the heat training, but the sun is, you’re literally shooting with the sun in your eyes. So there’s like so many different elements that kind of hit you. One day we’re shooting, and we’re playing in the rain, obviously there’s some cover over us, but it’s humid, things are wet and slippery, so it’s all just the elements. And then of course the teams that we were playing. I don’t think we realized how hard playing them would be, so just the overall experience was extremely difficult.

SBN: I mean you guys only lost once, and that came after you’d already set your place in the knockout rounds, so what do you think was the the biggest key to you being so successful?

SD: I feel like it was just staying the course. We knew every team was gonna give us their best game and play as hard as they could. And for us we just focused on ourselves, like it didn’t really matter who we were playing, it was just play our game, you know, play strong, don’t get caught up with the refs, and even the games that we won, they were close. It was because we just stayed the course, we focused on what our ultimate goal was. And then we were just able to kind of pull out those games because yes, we lost one, and everyone kept saying that, but a few of them were real close, because these teams were just so incredible and it was for a gold medal, you know it’s not supposed to be easy. So, it was really tough.

SBN: Yeah, I feel like every time I checked a score, it was like 21-17 or 21-18.

SD: It was close, yeah. Real close.

SBN: Yeah, it’s so nervy because with the clock too, just everything feels so compressed and so heightened and I mean I imagine just like the experience of competing in pressure situations helps prepare you for WNBA and other leagues that you play in, but like at the same time it just felt so different, like, oh my god, things are happening so quickly.

SD: Hundred percent. Our first — the Austria qualifying tournament — that was the first time I had ever actually played 3x3 in that type of tournament. And when I tell you my anxiety and nervousness the night before a game, or like 20 minutes before a game. It’s just extremely heightened because of what you just said, everything’s so compressed and short, that you could lose the game in the first minute, compared to a 40 minute game that’s up and down. So it’s a quick game and it’s high anxiety, but very fun.

Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images

Dolson had 5 points and 4 rebounds in an 18-16 semifinal win over France, which had four of the top-5 3x3 players in the world.

SBN: How did you make that decision that you wanted to be a part of 3x3 because I’m sure you had thoughts about playing in the 5-on-5 national team pool at times in your career?

SD: Yeah well, 5-on-5 obviously, there’s so many amazing players. I’ve been in the pool and just been with USA basketball for a long time. And so I think they’ve seen how much hard work, and how much time I’ve put in with USA basketball, so it was really them giving me that opportunity. There are so many players in 5-on-5, but we have this opportunity with 3x3, would you like to try it, and I was like yeah, of course. So I tried it, I didn’t know if I would like it or if I would be good at it. But once I played, it kind of fit pretty seamlessly with the way that I play basketball. Because at UConn we were really taught like 3-on-3 and then you have 2-on-2 games, so I kind of just fit in pretty naturally and I really enjoyed playing it.

SBN: I guess we should talk about the Sky. How do you feel like you’ve become a better player like through this experience over the last year, and how does that translate to your performance with Chicago?

SD: I just think for me it’s my confidence. You know a lot of times that goes up and down with the way that I play. But I think it’s just like that confidence and knowing what I bring to the table, and what my role is on a team. And for me with the Chicago Sky it’s like, you know I may not always score, but I’m a big facilitator, I screen a lot for our players to score. So it’s really just growing into that role of what type of player they need me to be. But yeah, it’s just like that maturity of knowing what you bring to the table.

SBN: You guys have a really diverse and talented from court in Chicago, like I’m thinking about Astou (Ndour) who was just killing it in the Olympics with Spain, and obviously Candace (Parker) and Ruthy (Hebard)’s there now and Azura (Stevens). There’s just so many different pieces, what is your role fitting into all of that?

SD: Just being kind of that big body that can do anything that they need me to. If it’s screen, cool, if they need me to score, I’ll score. Facilitate, great, defense, great. Just whatever they need me to do, you know, I think that’s the best part about our team is that we’re so versatile. In different games and different teams, our matchups are going to be different because we’re all really good at different things. So it’s kind of like, you know keeping other teams on their toes with what kind of Chicago team they’ll get.

STEF SAID NAH ‍♀️@bigmamastef | #skytown pic.twitter.com/T7qjxvqpbZ

— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) August 22, 2021

SBN: Over the past couple years, I feel like the reputation of Chicago has been just this standout offensive team, the sets you guys run are so gorgeous, and then this year I think your record is about the same, but, you know, the defense has really picked up but the offense has come down a little bit. I’m curious, why do you think that has happened?

SD: I don’t know. I do feel as though we have put a higher emphasis on defense. Unfortunately, it hasn’t led to as much offense as I think we were hoping it would. Plus I think teams are just scouting us well, I mean they know that we love to be in transition, that is our bread and butter, and that has been for the past few years. So I do think that teams are doing a pretty good job of getting back on us when we do get a stop, so it’s just about finding what works for us, you know what lineups work, what matchups work, and kind of sticking with those and just kind of riding it out from there.

SBN: Is there anything in particular that you want to improve on for the last 10-11 games of the season, or for the team as a whole?

SD: I think for me, just being more aggressive. I think since I’ve been back from the Olympics I’ve become a little bit more aggressive. I don’t always — because we have a lot of scorers, or people that are capable of scoring, I usually get pretty passive with my shots. But I think it’s kinda like why not, you know? I know I can shoot the ball so I think I’m just gonna be more aggressive and more versatile in what offensively.

SBN: I have a couple of random questions before we get out of here, but you went to Connecticut with Breanna Stewart, right? I feel like we’re living in the golden age of Stewie right now and I’m curious, did you see that when you were with her in college? Did you see the start of something this special with her?

SD: 100% I mean, she was great back then at UConn, and then she just kept getting better after I graduated. I don’t think I knew it was gonna be this much, you know, gonna be this good, but I knew she was gonna be good. Really good. But I mean, she’s just incredible, and she’s an incredible person, I mean that’s what makes it even better is like getting all the accolades and awards that she’s getting and whatnot, she deserves it, you know, and she’s such a great person and humble that I’m just really happy for her.

SBN: What’s the experience like trying to guard her?

SD: I don’t know, I don’t ever guard her. If I guard her, it’s usually because we switched for some strange reason, and if it happens, I just face guard her. I just look at her, I just won’t even help anyone, because I don’t want you to get the ball because if you get the ball, you’re probably gonna score on me. That’s my way of guarding her.

SBN: And then I also wanted to ask, you know we’re at the point, 25 years of the WNBA, where people who were coming into the league now grew up with the WNBA so they had a relationship with the league ideally when they were growing up. What was your relationship like with the WNBA when you were younger? Did you like have a favorite team, were you dreaming about becoming a pro?

SD: I actually did not. So, for me, I just didn’t know I would be good at basketball like this, or even have this chance. I wasn’t expecting to go to college for basketball, I played volleyball in middle school too, so it was kind of like I always loved volleyball too, so I didn’t think I would do anything with basketball. And then scholarships started happening and I was like, oh, okay, maybe I could be pretty good. And then UConn happened, and then the league. So growing up I just never thought that was a possibility for me until I really got to college, then I was like okay, I think I can make the league and I think I can be a part of it, so. Yeah, unfortunately it was not but it’s really great to know that other girls now are growing up and seeing the league and just our game the other day against Seattle was one of the top-viewed games, so seeing things like that, it just shows how much more viewership we’re getting, which is awesome.

SBN: Where does the nickname Big Mama Stef come from?

SD: Literally nowhere. It’s just like, my friend in college, you know, he just called me Big Mama Stef one day, and it just stuck, I mean I am motherly, like I just want people to be taken care of, like I would do anything for anyone. I don’t know if I want to be a mother, so it’s kinda weird but, yeah, it’s not really much to it.

SBN: It’s funny I was talking to my brother. Yesterday I told him that I’d have a chance to talk to you and he’s like oh, Big Mama Stef, and I was like yeah, Stefanie Dolson.

SD: That’s all they called me in Tokyo and the qualifying tournament, it was like, “Big Mama!”

SBN: I guess 3x3 has a little bit more flair to it, so nicknames kind of work, right?

SD: Yeah, much more flair.

[nctinfo]

[TRANS] [Interview with male friend] NCT Taeyong “SM street casting and striving to become a “soobagsang”!

Today, we share a truthful story of Taeyong that you have not heard before. - The concept of this interview was having a casual talk with a friend -

[Interview with male friend Part 1] NCT Taeyong “SM street casting and striving to become a “soobagsang”.

Q: Taeyong! Do you usually enjoy cooking? A: I used to cook a lot but I don’t do it frequently anymore since we switched dorms. Q: You suddenly went “euheuheu” (laughing) when you were cooking just now. A I was trying to break the awkward atmosphere. I was just making a toast so I wondered why everyone was staring at me (euheuheu) Q: Have you always been shy around strangers? A: I’m extremely shy. So even when people approach me to become friends, I can’t get close to them. I have a pretty strong image, so people don’t approach me easily either. Actually, to be honest, my emotions have a lot of ups and downs. One moment I’m non-stop chattering but when something comes to mind, I can suddenly just fall silent. Q: However, isn’t Taeyongi’s strong gaze his charming point? A: Sometimes, my gaze can be pretty scary. Not nowadays, but when I used to look in the mirror of the practice room I couldn’t even look at myself. My gaze was too strong. Q: Isn’t because your eyes are dazzling (laughs). You yourself know that you are handsome, right? A: It seems like most people are attracted to somebody who has an opposite face from themselves though. I don’t really like my face shape and my gaze is too scary. I even had staring contests with myself in the mirror to overcome that. I think a person’s thoughts reflect on a person’s eyes, so when I was a trainee, I thought “NCT will definitely debut” and had that strong/venomous gaze. But now, I get to be more relaxed and my gaze has become a lot softer.

Q: You are a typical “Watermelon face (soobagsang)”. You can have pride in that.. (t/n: it’s a slang made by netizens, it means “a face that would make Lee Sooman clap his hands”, but it can directly be translated to “watermelon face”. Taeyong doesn’t know this slang and mistakes it for “watermelon prize” instead of “watermelon face” since they are similarly pronounced.) A: Watermelon face/prize (soobagsang)? Q: A face/prize that would make SM’s Lee Sooman clap his hands. A: I didn’t know that word. I am a watermelon face/prize? But since you brought up teacher Lee Sooman, I suddenly thought of a story I remember. After the SMTOWN concert in Tokyo was over, we had a company dinner and I felt quite intimidated being around many artists. Teacher Lee Sooman said at that time “A-ah, it’s been hard on you right?”. As soon as I heard those words, I felt like a new bond was formed between us. I was so moved that I cried my eyes out in the SMTown Tokyo bathroom stalls. I felt like he had been watching me going through everything. But I’m not a watermelon face/prize yet. I will work harder so that teacher Lee Sooman can happily clap his hands for me. Q: Huh? “Watermelon face” actually refers to the unique visuals SM likes, but you added a new interpretation to the phrase. Let’s work hard so you can actually receive an applause! A: Ah, that’s what it means (laughs). I not only want him to clap for my outer appearance, I want him to clap for my inner growth too.

Q: How did you get into SM Entertainment? A: I entered through a street casting. Q: Have you dreamed of becoming a singer since you were a child? A: I was just someone who liked K-Pop, and I did not know exactly which artists belonged to which agency. Frankly, when I was casted on the street, I thought SM was one of the big three like KBS, SBS and MBC. Q: So you were like a blank paper. From what age did you start the trainee-life? A: From when I was 18 years old. Compared to the average age, I started a little late. Back then, I was in a blank state. Should I say I was detached from the usual life. My parents cared a lot for me because I’m the youngest. My sister and I have a seven years age difference.

Q: You must have been pampered since you are the youngest. Still, your parents allowed you to follow this path? A: My parents actively supported me. Even so, when I had to move in the dorms they asked me “can you not go?” but I later received a scolding from the dorm-manager for this. Q: So, living in the dorms was your first experience of being independent? A: Yes. As expected, I was also a little scared of the dorm life. But now, the dorms are more comfortable than my family house and the practice room is more familiar.

Q: Every time I see you on stage I realize that you are really good at dancing. How were your skills when you first started? A: I really wasn’t good. The hyung who taught me how to dance even told the company representative “I don’t think this kid can do it”. Q: I see it was rather your hard work than your natural talent. Did you ever receive casting offers from other agencies when you were a trainee? A: When I walked around Apgujeong I was asked if I was already with a company. Also, back then when Cyworld was still popular, I uploaded a picture and received a message that said “come join, I’m debuting a group”. It was scary (laughs).  Q: What if you were never casted on the street and never became a singer? A: I would have felt sorry towards my parents because I didn’t really have anything else I knew how to do. When I became a trainee, they were very happy. If I did not follow this path, our household would not have become better. Every household has their difficulties. But everyone was happy when I became a singer.

[Interview with male friend Part 2] NCT Taeyong “Yunho sunbaenim monitored NCT while he was in the army”.

Q: It’s good to hear that you got happier when you became a dinger~ But, how did you become NCT’s leader while you were the youngest (at that time)? A: When I first entered the company, I was the youngest. I was streetcasted, so there wasn’t anyone who also started at the same time as me. However somehow, I became the sunbae. From then on, I started realizing things and that got me really fired/powered up. Q: What things do you realize? A: The realization that it won’t turn out well if I don’t work hard and that I should lead my hoobaes well. I was under a lot of pressure. Just to get recognition, I practiced so much till the ground was swaying. So, at first, I was really strict towards the hoobaes. It’s a memory I can confidently recall. Q: It seems like you are a strict leader. A: Yes. The NCT members may still resent me for it. Through NCT, I started my first experience as a leader. I would probably really hate it if I had a leader like myself. It’s something I also tell the members and then they make fun of me and say “Yes, that’s right” (laughs).

Q: Through NCT, you promote through various acts: NCT127, NCT DREAM and NCT U. Was it difficult to understand that system at first? A: I definitely understood the group system. However, not only me, the members have these concerns too. As a team.. you would want to stay as one. But, I don’t want to seem anxious in front of the members so I tell them “Let’s not mind the other teams. We are 127 and let’s just only look at our direction”. Q: That’s right. 127, DREAM and U, they are all NCT. It seems like you have a lot of burdens as a leader. A: There is a certain amount of burden. I always strive to build trust with my members. Of course, we are colleagues and teammates before I’m the leader so it would be nice if everyone can happily walk this path together.

Q: NCT is slightly different from the SM’s usual music style.  A: It does have this new vibe to it since it’s from SM, right. In our team, there’s Mark and me who are rappers. There are still things we need to learn, but we’re working on trying to find a way to make the rap look more stylish and stand out. Q: What kind of content is there in your rap lyrics notebook? A: I wrote about a lot of stories from the past, but weirdly, the lyrics are very depressing. Nowadays I have changed the topic the stories of the present. Q: Are there any diss raps that would be difficult to release through NCT? A: Of course there are. I too, sometimes want to write strong rap lyrics. There are also profanities. It’s fun to write about this and that. No matter, NCT has members who are still minors so you will have to adjust the level of the lyrics. Q: In the future, I want to listen to a strong solo rap song by you~ The performances of your team are usually very strong too. Isn’t it tiring? A: When I perform on the stage, my body aches not the next day, but actually on that day. (ㅜㅜ) I can’t control my strength, that’s what could make my body hurt. Even when you dance, you should control yourself.

Q: Do you have an artist you want to resemble performance-wise? A: I really like Rain sunbaenim. I still look up his videos. In SM, I want to resemble the performances of DBSK’s sunbaenims. I heard they had a 2.5 hour rehearsal for a fanmeeting. There are many reasons to respect them. Q: I can imagine that you communicated with your sunbaes since you were a SMROOKIE. Are there any memorable events? A: Since SMROOKIES, DBSK Yunho sunbaenim has showed a lot of interest in us and gave us a lot of advice. Even when he was in the army, he monitored NCT. He really knows everything in detail. It’s really touching. Q: Of course! A reliable sunbae! A: Yes. He always takes care of us and teaches us earnestly. Also Super Junior Yesung hyung and Heechul hyung. Especially, Heechul hyung, I play games with him. He recently gave me a really great computer as a present. Q: So you can play better? A: Can I say it’s as a gaming computer? LED light comes out of the mouse and keyboard. It must have been very expensive so I really want to thank him for it Q: What games do you enjoy? A: Overwatch or LOL (League of Legends)… I play almost everything that is popular these days. Still, I play games that require teamwork. So it can also help in NCT’s teamwork (laughs). Q: You must be good at gaming. A: I can proudly say that I’m in the upper middle class.

[Interview with male friend Part 3] NCT Taeyong “I don’t even have one female friend, it’s not the time to be dating”

Q: You release stress through playing game! A: Yes. I release my stress by gaming or by tidying up. When I’m cleaning up, it also feels like my head is getting tidied. Living in dorms suits me pretty well. I’m normally the cleaner type of person. Q: I personally relieve my stress in the karaoke bar. Perhaps, do you not like the karaoke bar? A: I think it’s been like 5 years since I went to a karaoke bar. Q: What about alcohol? How much can you drink? A: Half glass of wine is enough for me to feel tipsy~~ I get drunk easily. Alcohol doesn’t suit me. Q: We’ve been listening to you the whole time now.. when will you date? A: Really, I have not had any dating experiences during my school days. The members even make fun of me for it. Q: Really? It is possible to have no interest in dating yet. However, I think you must have been famous around for being ‘shinlim-dong’s handsome guy’ during your school days. (t/n: shinlimdong was his neighborhood) A: That never happened. (laughs) I went to an all-boys school before I transferred to SOPA. At that time, I was not interested in the opposite sex, and rather felt more comfortable with the guys? Since I could fool around with them. Anyways, there’s no such thing as being ‘shinlim-dong’s handsome guy.’

Q: So you must be shy about your appearance! But still, isn’t your fashion style that of a handsome boy? A: I like the comfortable style. Actually, I just came out of the house wearing a t-shirt today. Q: What kind of style do you like recently? A: Recently, I really like the clothes the stylists make me wear. Q: But didn’t NCT have a controversy about outfits that are out of season? The clothes seemed hard to understand. A: Honestly, it’s hard for me to say that the clothes were not hard to understand. But, NCT stands for ‘Neo Culture Technology’ and also holds the meaning of being in the forefront of trends. Unique costumes show our identity. Q: So confidence is what completes the fashion? A: Yes. Maybe the controversy came up because we have not been able to pull off the clothes perfectly yet. Even though we try to act naturally, we are rookies so it can’t be helped that we must have looked awkward. But I think we are slowly getting better at it. Rather, we were able to challenge ourselves because we are rookies. Me and the members are trying to gain interest in fashion itself, too. Q: You have started to open your eyes to fashion! A: Is that so? I suppose confidence is what completes the fashion.

Q: Let’s talk about 'shinlim-dong’s handsome guy’ again. If you are not interested in the opposite sex, it seems like you don’t have any female friends. A: Someone I can introduce you to as female friend.. I don’t think I have any. Q: So then, what’s your ideal type? A: As for an ideal type, since I don’t have any experience it would be nice if the other one could lead me. People are usually attracted to the opposite style. Contrary to my outer appearance, I’m soft on the inside. So I like somebody who’s a bit more on the strong side. Q: Is there a dating ban? A: The contract didn’t have that. In the 20s, it’s natural to think about dating… but I think dating is not something I should be doing now, I think that’s a given. Now is not the time to date.   Q: Your determination is amazing~ As NCT’s A, the goal you want to achieve must be firm. A: Yes… they tell you to dream big right? I want to receive a daesang. We received the rookies award in 2016, but with the heart of receiving a daesang we will work so much harder. We want to become idols who receive recognition and are loved by many people.

Translation:  Esmee @ FY! NCT (NCTINFO) | Source: Sports Donga [1], [2], [3]

Please take out with full credit!

[sneakyhomunculous]

RPT Phoenix Report: Back to Back!

Part 3: Crunch Time

So to recap I finished day 1 6-2

WWL WWLWW

This is a reasonably happy 6-2! 

You have the 

LLWWWWWW  Ecstatic 6-2

WWWWWWLL So tilted you may not even show up for day 2 6-2

Mine fell somewhere in the middle of the extremes.

But of course, 6-2 is 6-2. And my breakers should be pretty strong + the tournament is quite small compared to recent PTs. Multiple X-4s should make T8

Myself Jarvis Allen Knox and Mark have dinner at a nice Thai place. 

Unfortunately we waited like 90 minutes for a table, but in the end it was worth it as we just hung out at a bar next door. and the food ended up being really good.

We don’t get back to the house until pretty late, and we are greeted with Tom Ross laying out the UW Pioneer deck 

“To fix it up for the GP Tomorrow”

Instead of going to sleep I watch Tom cut multiple supreme verdicts, go up to 4 mystical disputes main, add a horribly awry to the main, sneak a tomik in the SB, along with many other hilarious changes.

He ended up registering 4 disputes main loooool IDK what his list was exactly but he ended up playing vs tons of aggro and still going 7-2. 

Not sure how he finished up day 2; some middling finish I think. Turns out mystical dispute is worse than supreme verdict against mono red and black.

I get to bed a bit late but wake up feeling good.

We get over the Breakfast Club earlier today with time to eat. 

I already know I’m in pod 3 with Oli2 Efro Cain Lauphiette Bloody Sadowsky and Murahashi.

We get to the site right at 9 again and I find myself in a decent seat. I have Oli 3 my left and Efro 4 away. I’m being fed by Joel Sadowsky with me feeding Bloody.

I don’t know a ton about these players preferences or limited abilities, but I do know that Oli and Efro are both very good and I am happy to be seated away from them.

This draft was a bit wild; I open Setessan Champion and take it over who cares i forgot.

I 2nd pick Alirios over some weaker cards i don’t remember, a pretty weak pack. I think there may have been like a red omen and something else but it was easy Alirios and I always want to be blue anyway.

3rd pick I happily take Mire’s Grasp over nothing

4th pick I am greeted with a Dryad of the Ilysian Grove. Not the best card or anything, but i have a setessan champion and love drafting 3-4 color UG decks so this got me excited.

I fill out this pack with an icthymorphosis, a satyr grovedancer, a late cling to dust, and i know a nexus wardens tabled. I also have a memory drain a brine giant and an altar of the pantheon to keep an eye on.

Going into pack 2 I’m not really sure if I’ll be UG or GB or some combo inbetween, but I really want to be green bc of Champion.

I open Thassa’s intervention in an otherwise unexciting pack so I take that. I like this card more than most people I imagine; I think it’s very good.

I am passed lots of really good cards, but I ignore them bc there is an illysian carytid.

I’ve drafted this deck enough to know how important carytid is; and my spidey senses just tell me that I need to be base green and stay as wide open as possible to playing the gooooods that I will be receiving much too late.

Unfortunately the rest of this pack is pretty weak. I pickup a nylea’s intervention like 5th and somewhere in here I get a riptide turtle a mystic repeal a relentless pursuit 2 omen of the hunts a hierophant a 2nd altar of the pantheon and a watcher of tomorrows. Nothing exciting but I’m realllllly set up to splash anything ever.

In pack 3 I open Eat to Extinction and nothing, easy pick.

I’m finally rewarded and passed Calix, Destiny’s Hand. I already have a ton of enchantments with a few of them being removal like ichthymorphosis and mire’s grasp.

Unfortunately the rest of the pack sort of fades, I get a late Drag to the underworld and tymaret, as well as a return to nature a 2nd relentless pursuit a Nyleas Huntmaster a 6/7 colossus and another brine giant.

When building my deck I end up waffling between a lot of different configurations, but in the end I realize to make my mana really good I need to cut tymaret and drag and just splash black. 

Bc I’m lacking esape and ways to deal with it I splash the cling to dust, one of my favorite cards in the set.

My final deck is like 7 forests 6 islands 2 swamps 1 plains 1 carytid 1 dryad 2 omens and nyleas intervention for fixing. I have thassas intervention, relentless pursuit, setessan champion, cling, Calix for card advantage, and then i have grasp icthymorphosis eat to extinction mystic repeal for removal. Round it out with alirios dryad wardens turtle and some big dumb creatures; I quite like my deck and I even have lots of playable sb options.

R9 Joel Sadowsky

This match was a real banger and I wish i could remember the details better.

Joel was feeding me and he has a pretty strong RG deck. He has multiple incendiary oracles and is quite aggressive overall.

He draws his Mythic Phoenix in all the games, and he also has Typhon and maybe chimera as well (i think it may have actually been rage hound not chimera) But anyway he is beating down and escaping.

In g1 I think I assemble ichthymorphosis on one of the escape creatures and I get Calix going while eat to extinctioning a different escape creature. I just survive at a low life total and bury him in Calix cards.

In g2 I feel like I am constantly fighting to get on equal footing but if I can just put my foot down I will be ahead. Unfortunately things just keep snowballing with phoenix and then wings of hubris and I ultimately can’t deploy my cards fast enough and am forced to make suboptimal plays and blocks and eventually die to the wings.

G3 was just great. 

There is a ton of back and forth and on the last turn I leave myself dead to phoenix with only a black up, and he has it and pumps it and goes to extend his hand to say GGs lol; but i cling a creature in his yard to stay at 1 life and untap and deal with phoenix. I have to fade wings for a turn or two but then I can cling again and on the last turn he ends up being able to put me to exactly 1 again after I cling for a 3rd time. 

Clinggggggoat

7-2

I’m feeling good and hoping to fade Oli2 and Efro. I find out Efro lost but Oli2 has a busted white pious wayfarer deck, thats bad news.

I see the pairings and am relieved to see it is Lauphiette and not Oli, but that relief is short lived as Lauphiette begins giving me the business.

R10 Lauphiette Kincey

G1 is a really back and forth affair where Lauphiette sticks a commanding presence on a flier for a turn, but I peel the land I need to Nylea’s intervention it away. He then lagona bands the presence back, but I am able to keep his fliers at bay mostly and he seems to be taking things slow. Turns out he has Shatter the Sky and has been sandbagging a bit.

Luckily I have too, and after drawing a card from Shatter and for my turn I rebuild quickly, and I am able to hold off his presence + leftovers.

G2 and 3 are just a lesson in what happens when your opponent knows how to sideboard and u are playing a 22 land deck or whatever.

Lauphiette boards in multiple memory drains to go with his thassas’ intervention/denial/denies and I just struggle to resolve any of my good cards.

I fight my best, but in g2 he has deny for my t3 champion and then I have pretty awkward mana and never really get much going.

In g3 we hilariously play draw go for like 8 turns when he breaks first casting a big thassas intervention, i respond with my own big intervention but he counters it. I untap and go for champion which he counters, but i stick Calix.

Unfortunately Calix is not jace the mind sculptor and he just easily beats it with a bunch of fliers. Ultimately my deck was just too much air and he has all vexing gulls and counterspells and despite me fighting like hell thru all of it; he is going to kill me with damage while I also have 0 cards in my library and nowhere close to killing him. 

7-3

I’m feeling a bit down after this loss as I know I can’t afford to lose again. It sucks that magic tie breakers work this way, but if I would’ve lost in like R12-13 instead I wouldn’t have felt as bad knowing I probably had another loss to give.

I regroup, convincing myself my deck is absolutely busted. (Deep down I know I just need to win this round bc I am not losing in constructed.)

R11 Brenton Murahashi

Brenton is also RG and his deck seems quite good as well, but it is a different kind of good. He is like multiple warbriars blessings and lots of escape creatures and he is just a RG removal plus large creatures deck. 

The lack of aggression helps me in this match as I’m able to win the 2 games I do somewhat trivially.

G1 I just have a really strong start and have Calix going on an empty board for way too long, and feel like i am 100% to win from t6 until I actually win t18.

G2 I feel ahead but I just draw a lot of timely basic lands in a row and succumb to some medium beats after losing my good cards to warbriars blessings.

G3 I feel really ahead, but he has some serious suprise burst damage with Phoenix and I think wings as well; deja vu. 

CLINGGGGOAT does not care.

As a matter of fact he actually has dreamstalker manticore with me at 3 life. Draws from no hand and smiles a bit and says go. I have cling in my hand but am just holding onto it for dear life always leaving up 5 mana and 2 black. In my upkeep he fires off an omen of the forge. I give a wince and he targets me with the dreamstalker trigger.

Trigger resolves, I am at 2. Omen resolves, targetting me. 

one second.......

CLINGGGGGOAT!

I clean up over a couple turns always leaving up cling.

8-3

I am obviously feeling really good here as I know I am just 7 wins away from the trophy and I have 6 teferi’s 3 dig thru times 4 wraths 26 lands and ~20 opts.

I am immediately suprised to see I am paired vs Sebastian Pozzo. He was in Pod 1 and I thought he was 8-0 overnight, but I was mistaken and he was 7-1 then 1-2 the draft.

R12 Sebastian Pozzo on Sultai Delerium

Sebastian’s list looks pretty stock (Similar to Joel Larson’s) and one thing I have going for me is that he cares way more about world’s and probably spent a lot of time testing standard instead of pioneer.

G1 is a real banger as he t2 scavenging ooze and I just chill out and counter lots of things that matter like a grisly salvage and some planeswalkers. But meanwhile he is exiling all my dig food and I am stuck with a dig in my hand and my life total somewhat dwindling down around 10.

I wrestle control of the game but promptly get emrakuled. The unfortunate thing is I timed a T3feri poorly and left him able to bounce his Emrakul. I don’t think I made any obvious mistakes and I was aware of emrakul and my teferi, but I couldn’t help but think I may have fucked it off somewhere as he is taking my turn.

Luckily he can’t devastate me too bad. He does get to spew some of my cards then go for a dig thru time grabbing 2 lands (He almost had to give me a spell! first 6 we flipped were 1 land and 5 bangers). And he bounces his emrakul and says go to my own turn.

I draw a supreme verdict and am able to + teferi and verdict his emrakul away on the way back down.

He can’t really do much with my turn and I am sort of home free. His deck still has 2 URO a Ballista a tracker another JVP and maybe 1-2 other relevant cards.

Over the next few turns I am just blasting castle tokens into play 2 at a time then eventually 3 at a time. I finally find a t5eferi after he has cracked 7 clues and cast 100 uro. I counted his deck at some point and he had 23 cards to my 19; but he was worried (I believe incorrectly) too much about me ultimating my t5eferi and he was just maximizing every clue and URO with no regards for milling. I never came close to ultimating t5eferi bc he resolved a ballista for 4 or so with 12ish lands. But my 15ish castle tokens were doing just fine protecting my already high life total. 

We fight over ballista with my t5eferi and other cards but he was still drawing with uro and trackers, until he finally counts his library and its 9 cards to my 12.

My deck still has 2 verdicts another t5eferi and t3feri (I have both of those in play as well with some reasonable amounts of loyalty but not really threatening ultimate t5feri bc his ballista still around with 3-4 counters)

Upon recounting his deck he gives me a big sense of relief by conceding. He checked the clock and it was getting around 15 minutes, and he knew he would just be wasting time trying to fight thru triple castle and all these tokens with no real good cards left in his deck.

I was pretty sure this was the case, but the way he had been playing really made me think I was missing something. I kept racking my brain for how he was going to get another emrakul or something but the 1 he had was already exiled to lantern and yeah, turns out he was drawing dead.

Open decklists are great, but when u are against a deck with a bunch of 1 ofs like sultai delerium, while also not having played the matchup that much, that 1 minute of review really shrivels up as u sit there wondering why the hell this man is drawing cards with NO REGARDS FOR HUMAN LIFE!

In SBing i try to go quickly as I don’t want Sebastian to feel I got him by wasting time in any way, and also bc if I get beat by a quick TS + Tracker/dispute draw I can fight to win g3 in 10 min or whatever.

G2 is quite interesting as well but the turns are complicated and despite time ticking sebastian is still having to take some time to think. The climax is with only a couple of minutes left he assembles the 4th type with fabled passage thru a lantern and is able to traverse for emrakul threatening to cast it next turn thru a castle garenbrig if he has a land. But i have a cycler plus a teferi in play and with my cycler i find a dig thru time which finds an ashiok and a counterspell and I know it’s over.

I ashiok his graveyard and he concedes (I would likely not be able to kill him in time this game, but I was up 1-0 and he just saved us all some time and conceded)

9-3

No breaks... Next round is up.

R13 Zachary Kiihne Rimrock RED

Zach is great. I don’t actually know him well, but we battled a lot on the ladder of Arena on the Mythic Invy qualifier month. He ended up making it I believe, while I couldn’t close and finished 13th. We played lots of my WW vs his GW tokens where he was inherently favored, but the games were always complex and large board states and he always played quickly and seemed to know where the games were going.

Keeping up that pace at the PT, Zach just fires everything right off!

in G1 I keep a sketchy hand and he has the exact start to punish me. He just plays creature creature creature shock and I do find my 4th land in time but the problem is I don’t have a verdict, and when i draw on t4 it is not verdict and i die. If it was verdict I would also likely die bc I was so low anyway. WTF M8??

Luckily Dream Trawler does not care what happens in g1

in G2 and G3 I use some 2 mana interaction to survive to trawler and I kill him with them. He did have to mulligan and keep a really land heavy hand in one of the games and it hurt him.

There was an interesting spot in g2 where i had both t3feri and t5feri and he had chandra torch of defiance, exiled a card and it was lightning strike. He lightning striked my t5eferi down, then plays another card. A Judge was nearby and came and stopped our game and informed us you can in fact NOT play magic cards exiled with chandra thru T3feri. What a dumb fucking card!

The judge decides we can just back up to the point of exiling, so instead I take 2. Either way I was casting Dig thru time end of turn and going to win trivially but this way I got to keep my t5eferi in play! Thanks Judge and T3feri!!

And yeah again g3 was just him flooding and me playing trawler at a really high life total.

10-3

I finally get a bit of a break as Zach played lightning speed and we got things over with quick. I get some food and get myself amped up for these next few crucial matches.

R14 Connor Cole

Connor is a local Texan who I actually met playing at I believe SCG Dallas recently. He won a PTQ and ended up joining our local Houston guys Slack team and then went on to crush the first 13 rounds of the PT!!!

Unfortunately he ran into the Buzz Saw here; and I had to show him what the last few rounds of a PT are like.

But no jokes aside, Connor is gas and plays really well. He ended up finishing 12-4 and tiebreaker stung into 9th :( But he qued for the final and I expect big things from him in the future.

Our match was a feature, but we were the backup and they had some audio issues.

I actually just threw away the first game being overconfident in my deck. It’s funny when playing a deck like UW control my instincts are to just man up and trust the shit out of my deck. By that I mean I maximize my mana and effeciency even if I am not getting the most out of my cards, bc i trust with all these teferi’s and digs and cyclers I will be able to gain some advantage/find what i need later so long as I am surviving and hitting lands.

My mistake was maximizing mana and a dig thru time where I exiled my elspeth. At the time I was at 9 life and I had already cast a dig hitting some weak sauce, so I figured I would find my absorb or 2 counters and lock the game, but instead i found opt and charm and i fluttered around with my t5eferi as well and could not beat his running burn spells putting me to exactly 0.

If I would’ve just taken 2 seconds to realize I am in no real rush (he was on E or maybe had 1 card) I should’ve just realized I was almost 0% to lose if I just didn’t exile my own Elspeth.

Moral of the story is don’t trust your stupid deck when you already have everything you need!!!

G2 is an absolute nailbiter as I play elspeth and think I’m cruising to Trawler, but chainwhirler eats it promptly.

I then have my 2nd elspeth but 2nd chainwhirler dashes that as well.

I still slam trawler and think It’s mostly very safe, as connor just has chainwhirler kari zev and soul scar mage with me at 9.

But he slams Chandra and minuses on my trawler. I count it up and thank the lord somehow he only has 8 damage. So i give my trawler hexproof keeping a dig thru time, and he puts me to 1. I untap and attack chandra draw and dig before damage, and I have a lot of combo’s that will keep me alive easily. Any  interaction should be good enough and I leave myself 5 mana. I find a verdict and something else gassy so I just go up to 6 from trawler, verdict and then untap with elspeths ready to come back from the yard and I gain 5 and am out of range and clean up shortly after.

G3 is a bit less scary. He does put up a fight but I feel miles ahead at all points having 2 mana interaction and then also hittings lands and playing cards before trawlering on 6 while still quite healthy.

11-3

Now I’m really feeling hyped as I know I have a win and in and I’m just 4 wins from the Trophy!!!

I refocus and am very confident I will win the next round.

R15 Raja Sulaiman WB Gideon Midrange

I don’t know my opponent, but I do know he has a sweet deck. I am looking at the list trying to figure out if I’m extremely happy or a bit sad and can’t really tell. I lean towards happy but could totally see getting annihilated as well.

Luckily the match is mostly uneventful. I lose g1 to double TS Heart History Gideon...

But again, 

Dream Trawler does not care what happens in g1.

12-3

We did it! Back to back PT T8s!! 

Unfortunately the next 20min were very unpleasant instead of happy, but that’s ok. 

The pairings for R16 makeup for it!

I’m at table 1, paired against my teammate Allen Wu who has enough wins to T8 this PT and the next!

I know Allen does not care much for any bullshit, so I am actually a bit worried he is going to want to play me. 

Yes we are teammates, but Allen cares [almost] solely about maximizing his chances of winning the tournaments. I respect him a lot, and I also respect this approach. 

One of 3 things happened; 

-Allen valued his time too much to battle me here for extremely minimal gains.

-Allen thinks there is some chance losing would make him the 2 seed while drawing just locks the 1 seed (I think he was locked 1 seed even if he played me and lost); 

-Allen thinks I/my deck suck and he wants me in the T8

I’m leaning towards some combination of all 3, but who cares he offered to draw and I ACCCCCCEPT!

The final standings shake out with Allen 1 Jacob 2 Me 3. I am playing the 6, Huey, and my teammate Tommy is 7 battling Jacob on my side of the bracket.

My other teammate Corey is battling PETERRR in the 4/5 match.

Our team has 4 people in the T8!!! I know we are like 7% of the tournament, but thats 50%!

Also shoutout to Mark who I believe lost a win and in R15 or so.

Our squad obviously had a really strong showing, with 4 in the T8 and Corey winning it all. But we also just had really solid winrates in limited and constructed despite playing lots of different decks.

This is getting obscenely long. 

This night was actually really annoying bc I spent it telling the same story over and over;

And also on twitter watching lots of people I’ve never met talk about how much of an asshole I am, or how much I cheat, or how bad I am, or whatever is getting the most likes.

I mostly shook it off. I got to tell the story to all the people I care about, and have dinner with a large portion of my team. I had already played my QF matchup post board a bit with Allen before the tournament, so I knew my plans.

Unfortunately it didn’t help me in the games.

I get to bed at a reasonable time and have to be at the site for like 9:15. I’m there before 9 and when I ask if I can go to starbucks I am told yes of course go ahead, but please stay around. And then immediately someone else tells me I won’t be playing until around 11 probably :0

I get starbucks and get back to battle Jacob some in his QF matchup. Mostly to just warmup and help him out, but also to get a feel for he and Tommy’s decks incase I beat Huey. 

We only get a few games in before finding out my match is actually 3rd not 4th, and these BO3 are going quick and I’m about to be up.

While the other match is finishing, we present and draw our hands and get ready to start right when the other match finishes.

I am greeted with 2 censor Opt Farmland Hallowed Fountain Glacial Fortress Supreme Verdict. Not quite the nuts, but a solid A. I’m on the play and Huey mulligans to 5.

We finally start our game and this one hurt. I opt t1 and hit a teferi and keep it, then immediately draw my 4th land so i say go with censor up ready to cycle farmland, huey goes for sylvan scrying before playing land after t1 grazer got him to 2, and i censor it and he says go missing a land drop with 3 cards in his hand.

From here I play teferi to get the jayemdae tomb one every 4 turns going; Huey draws a thespians stage but can’t muster anything else, so he now has 2 UG lands a stage and 3 cards vs my censor cycle land another land and teferi.

Over the next 3-4 turns I draw 2 cards with teferi cycle this farmland and another, opt and charm, and the only playable card I find is a mystical dispute. I draw seal away and all 4 of my verdicts lol.

Huey goes for Granted with 3 mana up, and i have no choice but to dispute and hope to censor after he pays 2 for 1ing myself. I can’t be granted for distortion without a t5eferi in play or any pressure at all.

He responds by cycling vizier to make a mana, and pays for dispute with 1 mana still up. This now means I have to cycle censor looking for a hard counter but i brick. He gets distortion.

The game weirdly goes on for like 8 more turns. He just keeps making more fields with stages but I amass narset elspeth t3feri t5feri. He finally has to go for it despite not having a way to kill me, so he goes for distortion into string strings last card granted for ugin to wipe my planeswalkers; but I’m able to make a 1/1 and chip ugin down to 2. Unfortunately I draw a land, he +s on my token and i make another then draw another land. ANd now I am dead to the fae coming into play, back to hand, finding Jace and having double walker going. I just got beat at my own game!!! He didn’t even breach me!

But yeah, I am feeling a bit frustrated to lose the game despite knowing how bad G1 is. 

When he mulled to 5 and got his scrying censored I believe I was a massive favorite, probably somewhere in the 70s or 80s at least and I just drew only the dead cards.

But now we board in 9-10 cards and regroup!

G2 was really great, and I made like 1 mistake a turn. 

I asked a lot of really good players what they would do on all these turns and almost all of them would make the same mistakes I did. 

Except for Allen; 

and Drunk Tom Ross!

Tom let me know how bad I fucked up, and I really appreciate that. 

Tom said many different things like “awww u really fucked up. U fucked it up bad. Damn u fucked it up”

The games are obviously on camera, but in G2 Huey goes for field + copy it with stage, I field of ruin the stage. 

So his board is forest untapped Lotus Field tapped with 4 cards in hand.

I have T5feri my 4th and 5th land, 2 mystical disputes and absorb.

I untap and draw Elspeth.

The question is should I play it?

Huey has 4 disenchants, 2 disputes, 1 ugin, 1 jace, 1 thought distortion and maybe 1 more card he could bring in.

For the most part his plan is still the same, build up his mana and try to find a window to either thought distortion me, or strings my lands/his lands to make sure he resolves his key card(s).

But I just felt with the 2 disputes and t5eferi I was going to be able to apply meaningful pressure fast enough to not risk tapping out here.

In my head he could just granted for distortion then sort of ignore elspeth for a few turns and fire a distortion then kill me, but that is so unrealistic. First he has to not board the distortion in (I was thinking he like 80% brings it in. Allen brought his in and we felt like that was just correct so I assumed Huey likely would) and then he also has to somehow have perfect mana to get to 6 and then distort me and kill me before dying to this SIX MACHINE elspeth? Its stupid and I shouldve just probably played elspeth.

Not doing so was playing scared/too safe. But it really isn’t that bad or that big of a deal. If huey has a natural 2nd stage into strings I can easily just be dead. But it’s really low % and this is a tough matchup of magic the gathering vs a great player where you can’t just tiptoe around making suboptimal plays bc it makes you feel safe.

Lots of people hesitated and said don’t play it. Tom would have blown like a .40 BAC minimum when I asked him, and he immediately said to play Elspeth.

Anyway Huey untaps and just plays a temple scryland and keeps the card on top, and says go.

So now he has forest lotus field untapped and 4 cards with a banger on top.

My turn.

I draw damping sphere!

I have t5eferi damping sphere elspeth 2 dispute absorb and my 5th land.

Now a a few things go thru my mind here. Huey has 2 disputes but the way he’s played this game make me feel like it’s somewhat unlikely he has one. 

However, if I go for t5feri and he does dispute it’s really ugly. I can go for elspeth with dispute up but that feels too weak.

My options I am actually considering are just jam sphere and counter a disenchant, or jam teferi and have double dispute up if he doesn’t have dispute.

I think it’s somewhat close, but in hindsight it’s actually just an easy T5feri. 

Unfortunately I go for damping sphere which is where Tom says nooooooo u fucked up bad, u really fucked it up.

And Huey immediately floats 3 GREEN? I say ok and he natural states my damping sphere.

Now this is a bit weird to me. I mean he floated 3 green immediately; but he has a forest up. And he has 2 disputes in his deck...

So now I am paranoid that he hasnt a 2nd disenchant. 

But it’s Huey, and it’s a PT T8. I start thinking maybe he is leveling me and trying to get me not to counter it bc he has no dispute and no 2nd disenchant.

Ultimately my plan when playing it was to just fire off a counterspell on disenchant bc if he does have a dispute or 2nd one he will only have 2 cards, and i can just untap t5feri with counterspell. But if he doesn’t successfully kill sphere I am just going to win easily.

So I absorb.

Huey bins the natural state and before he can cast his other one a judge intervenes.

There is a damping sphere in play when i absorb; so obviously I can’t do this bc it should cost 4. I just totally forgot that part of the card even existed. I haven’t cast it in the entire tournament, and in my mind it was just strip mine lotus fields to wastes. 

Even with the speed of everything and huey snap disenchanting I could have seen myself forgetting to count the sphere tax to itself, but I literally just forgot it even had that text for a second there.

Huey also forgot it. The judges stopped us and then asked me what I was thinking, so I just repeated a lot of what I just typed; all the shit I was thinking about him floating green instead of blue etc. then they came back and gave us warnings and said to carry on. Huey apologizes after the game bc he said he totally forgot himself but it looks bad bc he wanted me to absorb bc he had another disenchant.

Anyway, we backup and I have a dead damping sphere and 3 mana up with absorb Huey now knows about. I also have the 2 disputes.

Huey untaps and immediately taps field and forest and plays hidden strings. THen he looks at me lol. I say are you targetting your lands?? He says yes

So yeah, now I am looking at this absorb he knows about. He only has like what 3 cards behind this strings. It’s going to put him to 7 mana. What can he even do? There is no way he’s killing me thru 2 dispute. If he has breach natural i let it resolve, then i dispute strings. If he pays he has 0 mana left and i dispute again untap teferi + and have absorb gg yo

If he has the natural distortion then obviously I need to counter this. But he has ONE and i just showed him absorb. I am thinking to myself, dont be a fool! his hand is probably granteds and pore over the pages and hes trying to bait u into countering this stupid strings!

So I let it resolve, and I get distorted.

This was not a good play!

I could have just disputed the strings. This virtually counters it bc he only had 1 field. So while he couldve paid for dispute, it wouldve tapped him out, and strings resolves untapping only 4 mana. So from there i still have another dispute and he can’t reasonably do anything.

Instead I am empty handed and in dire straights. I do peel t5eferi immediately but i hit land off of it and draw only lands next turn as well, meanwhile huey sets up to kill me over 2 turns and does so.

what a tilting match :(

It really hurts to make such critical mistakes in these high stakes matches, but Magic is really hard and I forgive myself pretty quickly.

I had good reasons for making the plays that I did, but they were just a bit faulty; 

WRONG!

I feel like if I had more time to think things through, or if there were less pressure of the stakes I maybe would have just slammed T5eferi and even Elspeth t4. But i definitely don’t have a good excuse for not disputing strings. Just Huey being Huey and somehow levelling me into punting it all off after i showed him my absorb.

But yeah GG’s YO I ended up 6th for 10k bc Allen lost too :( and 18 points.

I have a really good shot at Rivals now so I am pumped for the PT final and next RPT!

Shoutout again to Corey for winning and all of team 5% for crushing and being gas.

Also shoutout to all the grinders out there still on the outside looking in. 

I see you!

Hopefully I’ll have more reports soon...

PT Finals Victory Report, RPT2 Victory Report...

Let’s get it!!!

[yeskhanzadame11]

NFL Fan or Bandwagoner

Growing up in New England as a football fan had its ups and downs. Mostly downs through the years until a glimmer of hope came in the 90's when the Patriots signed Drew Bledsoe making him a one hundred-million-dollar man. He brought us to a super bowl, but unfortunately it didn't end well. In 2000, The Patriots had a 6th. sense so to speak, to draft a quarterback in the 6th. round using their 199th. pick in a player from Michigan named Tom Brady. He became their 4th. string in the depth chart and for some reason the new coach, Bill Belichick, had the sense to hang on to him to eventually, at the right time, become the number 2 Quarterback in 2001. When Drew Bledsoe fell to injury, that unknown Michigan Wolverine stepped up. It was an up and down first few games for Tom Brady, but in the end, helped lead the team from being a 14-point underdog against the Rams, (who were known as the Greatest show on turf at the time with a Hall of Fame Quarterback named Kurt Warner through the 1999, 2000 and 2001 seasons winning the big game in 1999 and expected to win in 2001), to coming from behind to pull off a miracle victory in Super bowl XXXVI. Was it a fluke? As it turned out... hardly. With Bill Belichick as the head coach, now choosing to stick with Tom Brady over Drew Bledsoe, having 6 more Super Bowl appearances that would garner the Patriots 4 more Lombardi trophies for a total of 5 for New England with all of them at the hands of what's being called the greatest coach/QB tandem in NFL the history.

With all the teams in the NFL, no team can get away with being on top for very long stretches of seasons without fans from other teams coming up with excuses as to why that team is better than others. Like Green bay, Pittsburg, San Francisco, Dallas and now New England. All these teams found ways to be good and stay good for several years while many others had no success and some, one and done. The real fan talks about what their team did wrong and what should be done to fix it. Bandwagoners can only find excuses as to what the other team did illegally to get an advantage, or that the referees were somehow involved in the outcome of the game and who should win. Yes, I am from New England and I'm sure there is some bias here, but as a real NFL fan through the good and bad times steelers hat , I can give credit where it's due regardless of the team and how I feel about them. A real fan knows the facts that surrounded the "spy-gate" and "deflate-gate" scandals and can realize they were not the huge issues that sports networks and some others made it out to be. As far as cheating in concerned, the Patriots have a much smaller record than most other teams. In fact, their record of any disciplinary actions due to breaking the rules fall within the top 5 teams with the least number of incidents involving questionable practices. In general, all sports teams and individuals over time, since the inception of sports in our daily lives have done things to gain the edge over their opponents. In many ways by legal means, while other ways... not so much. Like the time Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin attempted to trip Baltimore Ravens Jacoby Jones while returning a kickoff. He made it 73 yards from the end zone when it could have possibly gone all the way for a touchdown if not for the interference. I talk to many in the sports world and I can spot the bandwagoners very easily compared with the real fans. Especially now that I live in the Seattle area. Most fans here seem to be mostly bandwagoners now, which is a far cry from when I first came to Seattle in 1992 when the Seahawks went 2-14 on the season and the Monday night game I went to see against the Denver Broncos had the stadium packed and the fans celebrating as if they just won the Super bowl rather than it being that they just won only their 2nd. And final game of that season. What happened to those fans? Many of the fans these days give me such a hard time about the accusations against the Patriots, finding excuses as to why the Patriots beat them in SB XLIX and never giving any credit for their accomplishments. It was all about the "bad" call made by coach Pete Carroll and not the great play in the end zone by an unknown cornerback named Malcolm Butler. Or that the Patriots are cheaters and that's why they won the game without giving any examples as to what they could have done that illegally gained them enough of an edge to win the game. When asked, they simply say, "They are cheaters" with no knowledge of anything to back up the claim.

Then some news hits the Seattle sports world with shock waves of grievance when it was announced that Seattle Seahawks former defensive tackle #96 Cortez Kennedy, a 2012 inductee to the NFL Hall of Fame, one of the greatest Seahawk and NFL players of all time in general, suddenly passed away. I had a hard time finding a single person who would share the grief-stricken sentiments with me until I talked to my brother, who also is from New England and now lives in Seattle. All the Seahawks fans I first talked with about it could only say... " Who?" This came as a big surprise to me. To me and to the rest of any real fan base and for pretty much any team in the NFL. Not knowing who Cortez Kennedy is would be the same as not knowing who Steve Largent is. Not only was Kennedy an 8-time pro bowler, but his entire 11 year NFL career was solely with the Seahawks. How can anyone call themselves a real diehard Seahawks fan and not know who Cortez Kennedy is? Unless you are a young fan to the NFL, there is no real excuse other than, you are a bandwagoner. Even some real young fans know who he is and what he meant to the city of Seattle. When you can have a conversation with a 10-year-old about the greatness of Cortez Kennedy, you know he grew up in a house raised by real Seahawks fans. Then have a conversation with someone in their 50's who does nothing but bash the Patriots about winning the Super bowl who doesn't have a clue who Kennedy is, and you know you are in the presence of a real bandwagoner.

Before Super bowl XLIX, I had many heated conversations with Seahawks fans about who would win. Some were great, typical back and forth banter, while others were down right vile and as offensive as they could be. It even went so far as to have "friends" take me off their friends list on social media sites for the simple reason that I am a Patriots fan. For one thing, I was born and raised in Massachusetts with my entire family as Boston/New England sports fans, so being a Patriots fan was inevitable. Even so, I don't, nor would I ever apologize for being a Patriots fan. I am very proud to be a Patriots fan and I enjoy wearing my Pat's attire wherever I go. By simply wearing my Patriots hats or shirts, I find it a great way to interact with other NFL fans and can easily spot the real from the bandwagoner. The real fans usually throw a jab, which is expected and usually turns to fun banter, but then moves on to compliment the team and their success under the leadership of Bill Belichick with Tom Brady at the helm. The bandwagoners can't pass up the opportunity to throw jabs, but these jabs don't end with laughs and fun followed by compliments. They usually move into pure hate for the team and insults towards me for being a Patriots fan. Looking at the Super bowl following the 2016 NFL season, I don't think anyone will forget that game any time soon, or rather ever, especially if you are Matt Ryan and the rest of the Atlanta Falcons. However, when the Patriots were down but seeming to begin a push to come from behind, there were Falcons on the sidelines commenting that "it is Tom Brady" showing the respect they have for him for all his accomplishments. I don't care who you are, the success the Patriots have had over the last 16 years, post salary cap to boot, could not possibly continue if it was some fluke or even if they did cheat at any time throughout. Think about it. Since 2001, the Patriots have been to 7 out of 16 Super bowls. It almost comes out to them going every other year. That is insane. The two losses were hard, even being to the same team. Every team has their Lex Luther team and the Giants are the Lex to the Patriots. That doesn't take anything away from the Giants success and two Super bowl victories over that Patriots by any means. They continued on after the two losses, to gain two more victories with a good chance, on paper so far, to go back and snag another after the 2017 season. In fact, they are favored to repeat based on off season acquisitions and new contract negotiations. Whether they repeat or not, it's hard to argue about the New England Dynasty and where they will land in sports history. This is all accomplished post salary cap era as well, where it was supposed to be designed to not have stacked teams like the Steelers and 49ers did during their reign of success.

It's obvious I am using the Seahawks and Patriots to make my point about real vs. bandwagon fans, but this goes on in every sports areas, however, it's more prominent in some areas compared to others. I was definitely one of the lucky ones to grow up in such a strong professional sports area with so many championships. Although it took the Red Sox 86 years to accomplish another World series title in 2004, they brought two more to Boston after that in 2007 and 2013. And with the early Bruins and Celtics, how could anyone complain? Well, real fans, that's how. Real fans will always complain, bandwagoners will just rant and rave, moan and groan while finding excuses for their team's downfalls by blaming other organizations. Real fans start looking at the rosters, coaches, management etc. and begin to look at their own teams to see what is wrong and what can be done to fix it. Being from Chicago, LA, SF, Dallas, Pittsburgh and a few other multi championship towns are fortunate areas to be from as a sports fan. Especially the recent Cubs of Chicago who finally won a world series after waiting 108 years. If Boston thought they had a long wait, talk to a Cubs fan.

Fans from the sports towns like the 49ers of San Francisco, Steelers of Pittsburgh and Cowboys of Dallas in most cases, know what Patriot fans are going through. There are definitely exceptions, but in general, they know. The Steelers of the 70's with Bradshaw, Swan, Harris etc. as well as the incredible "Steel Curtain" with the likes of Mean Joe Green and company are blamed for the start of steroids in the NFL. Some say an asterisk should be next to their titles just as they do with the Patriots. Are there any merits to those claims? Personally, I don't feel that at all steelers hat . Not because I am a Patriots fan, but because I am an NFL fan. There was no team that could have possibly gone through the Steel Curtain on a consistent basis during that period and there is a record number of players from that same time period that have gone on to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio. Can there be arguments made that some may not have been as good if not for steroid use? Sure, but the bottom line is if these players had no talent, there are not enough steroids around to give someone talent. Either you have talent or you don't. Sure it can enhance some talents in the area of endurance and strength, but if you can't throw, catch, run with a ball or watch a ball while watching the player you are designated to cover at the same time, it doesn't matter how strong you are or how fast you can run.

So, the main point here is simple. Are you a real NFL fan or are you just a bandwagoner? There is nothing wrong with being a bandwagoner in some ways. There are definitely those who can only get into their team and get excited when they are winning. Many will even admit this with no shame and it's nothing really to be ashamed about if you're willing to admit and accept it, but most won't and like to pretend to be fans while frustrating everyone around them with know it all ignorance. Personally, as a lifelong fan of Boston area sports, no real fan is a bandwagoner. If you want to support the team when they are doing good, you should have been there when they needed you the most. Sure, it's frustrating, but as a real fan, it's part of the excitement to get involved as if you actually have some influence that can help your team win. Obviously being a Boston fan, we have the privilege to be part of the greatest rivalry in sports history. The classic Red Sox / Yankees rivalry. Here it gets a bit complicated. This rivalry can get downright dirty. The language shared between these two fan bases geared towards getting the lowest you can possibly go in order to shred the opposing fans better than they can shred you. However, unlike the newly developed rivalry with the Seahawks / Patriots, in the end, New York and Boston fans know when to show respect and when to carry on. With this rivalry, it's fun, and in a strange way, respectful even at its worst. When "friends" un-friend me on social media just because I am a Red Sox fan, that borders on pathetic, but in reality, it's sad. This is a game, not some life or death situation that affects our lives.

When I meet a Yankee fan, in most cases, it's a fun exchange and I have become friends with some people because of it. When a player with the stature of those like Jeter and Ortiz, both teams honor those as if they were part of their own respective organizations. That my friends, is what real true sports fans are and should be in every city in every situation.

Now it's time to search inside yourself and ask these simple questions. Do you dislike a particular player from a rival team that is an obvious star, and treat it like that player is not that good, or do you dislike them because they are that good and don't play for your team? The obvious one is the Tom Brady debates. For any fan from any team to claim Brady isn't that good after looking at his stats and records, then you may be a bandwagoner. Sounds like something from Jeff Foxworthy but it fits. There are some who claim Peyton Manning wasn't that good. But 10-1 those are fans from teams that rival the Bronco's and/or the Colts. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is this. If you think you're a real fan as opposed to a bandwagoner, start to do some personal research on matters that you feel are things that upset you. Things such as the biggest issue these days. The controversy surrounding the Patriots. Read from as many sources as possible including the facts involving "spy-gate" and "deflate-gate". What you'll find is technicalities in spy-gate that show the Patriots didn't even break an official rule and they did what every other team has done, just at a different time, and that rule they supposedly broke to start the whole cheaters controversy wasn't even in the rule books as an official rule until the following year. As for deflate-gate, if you were to read the Wells report, you'll find no real evidence that any rules were broken and that the phone incident with Brady and throwing it away should never have come into the conversation in the first place since Brady had been informed that his phone wasn't needed by Wells himself before he destroyed it and the fact that he destroyed it is nothing more than what he does with every old phone. Like many celebrities, phones can contain delicate, private info they don't want others to gain access to and sell to some news or entertainment magazine so their private lives can be splashed all over the place. It makes sense and it wasn't something he just decided to start doing. It's something he's always done in the past and had no reason to change once he was told that his phone wasn't needed anymore for the investigation. After his phone was gone, it was then plastered all over as if it was done in an attempt to hide something.

This just shows what information can be gained by being a real fan and educating yourself while also realizing that this is only a game that is intended to be fun to watch and follow. If it consumes you with hatred towards someone or some teams as a whole steelers hat, then you should think about leaving the band, jumping off the wagon all together and just take a train instead to the loony bin for help.

[junker-town]

Cade Cunningham is made for modern basketball

Cade Cunningham is the next big, badass point guard coming for the NBA.

A gunslinger was forged under the beating Texas sun in the 1980s. Though only 6’ tall, Keith Cunningham had a rocket arm and a preternatural ability to read the field. As a senior at Arlington’s Sam Houston High, he was named District 5A-7 Offensive Player of the Year and emerged as one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. He held offers from Ken Hatfield’s powerful Arkansas program and from SMU, just as the latter was receiving its first sanctions in the legendary death penalty scandal.

Cunningham committed to Texas Tech instead. On the day he moved to Lubbock, he was at his mother’s house moving furniture when a freak accident changed his life. Cunningham lifted a bed that struck a rotating ceiling fan, causing it to fall and cut his arm. He never threw a football the same way again, leaving school after two years before pursuing a brief semi-pro career.

Nearly 30 years later, another Cunningham began to shine on the football field. While many young quarterbacks liked to make plays with their feet, Keith’s youngest son, Cade, grew up idolizing Tony Romo and preferred to do his damage from the pocket. Cade claims his junior high team never lost a game. He could have been on the same path as his father, but he felt a stronger pull from a different sport.

“I didn’t have as strong of a passion for football as my father did,” Cade Cunningham says. “Basketball brings an adrenaline rush that I didn’t get when I was playing football or anything else. I don’t know where I’d be without basketball.”

Cunningham stands now on the brink of basketball stardom. He blew up during the summer before his senior year, dominating Nike’s EYBL circuit on his way to the league MVP award. Cunningham powered USA Basketball to a gold medal against older competition in the FIBA U19 World Cup, and has positioned himself as a consensus top-three recruit in the class of 2020. He could be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Cunningham is a superstar for the modern game, following the NBA’s recent trend of oversized ball handlers. Though listed as a small forward for most of his prep career, Cunningham made the full-time transition to point guard after his sophomore year. For his size — 6’7, 230 pounds — he offers a rare combination of passing, handling, and the power to finish through contact. He may be the first player to ever be compared to Luka Doncic.

Born two weeks after 9/11 and still months away from his 18th birthday, Cunningham already carries himself like a pro. His star has risen so quickly that some recruiting analysts believe he’s the best NBA prospect in high school basketball.

“I haven’t scouted many prospects as polished, mature, and talented as Cade Cunningham,” says Jerry Meyer, director of scouting for 247 Sports. “He has that powerful, functional athleticism. It’s not going to win you a dunk contest but it is going to get you an and-one.”

Cunningham’s reputation has grown quickly, but the most amazing thing is he’s just getting started.

Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images

Cunningham was a star at Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas, from the moment he took the court, averaging 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists per game as a freshman on varsity. He believed even then that he could be one of the best players in his class in the country. His inner circle — led by his older brother Cannen, and cousin and trainer Ashton Bennings — devised a plan to make it happen.

The first step involved a daring position change.

“If you can turn into a point guard, just think about how much longer you’ll be able to play,” Cunningham recalls his brother telling him.

While Cunningham had risen into a national top-25 recruit by the end of his sophomore year at Bowie, his brother knew his future would be brighter if he could become a lead ball handler. In the summer heading into his junior year, Cannen held Cade back from the senior circuit on EYBL to develop him as a point guard on the U16 level. It didn’t take long before everyone around him realized he was a natural leading an offense.

Leaving Texas to transfer to Florida prep school Montverde Academy was Cunningham’s second step. Since head coach Kevin Boyle arrived from St. Patrick’s in New Jersey in 2011 following a successful run led by Kyrie Irving, no high school in the country has produced more elite basketball talent. Ben Simmons, D’Angelo Russell, and R.J. Barrett are some of the program’s most notable alums.

Montverde’s roster featured five other top-100 recruits including McDonald’s All-American Precious Achiwa (Memphis), guard Harlond Beverly (Miami), centers Balsa Koprivica (Florida State) and Omar Payne (Florida), and guard Moses Moody (uncommitted). Boyle gave Cunningham the keys to the offense and Cunningham noticed a sharp uptick in intensity when he arrived on campus.

“Even our light shoot-arounds always turn into a scrimmage,” Cunningham says. “And now it’s a super competitive scrimmage and it’s like another game. There are not a lot of easy buckets going around. You don’t get any time to relax. It’s always ‘Let’s get better.’”

Cunningham first hinted at his superstar turn when Montverde faced powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Tampa in February. That meant a matchup with the top-ranked senior point guard in the country, Cole Anthony. Cunningham finished the game with 26 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds in a blowout victory.

“Cade was the best player on the floor in a game full of future pros,” Boyle told SB Nation. “We knew how good he was before that game. I think that’s when the rest of the world started to figure it out.”

The performance helped take Cunningham to the fringe of a top-10 ranking by the end his junior year. Then his spring and summer on the EYBL boosted him into an even greater stratosphere.

After averaging 12 points per game for Montverde, Cunningham’s inner circle developed a new plan to improve his scoring ability on the Nike circuit. Back in Texas, Cunningham and Bennings started two-a-day training to improve his biggest weakness: outside shooting. Bennings made Cunningham hold his follow through on his jumper and focus on getting shots up with great volume even when he was tired.

“Everyone knows he’s unselfish,” Bennings says. “We heard people say he passes too much. The last checkmark on the list was him scoring.”

Cunningham was a force of nature from the moment the EYBL season began. He was too strong to contain going to the rim, and improved as a three-point shooter. He also continued to impress with his reads as a passer. Cunningham ended the year with some of the best numbers the Nike circuit has seen since its inception: 25.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game on 37.5 percent shooting from deep. He also recorded the best box score plus-minus on the circuit.

When the AAU season was over, Cunningham received a phone call to try out for USA Basketball’s U19 World Cup run despite being two grade levels below the tournament’s oldest players. Not only did he make the team, he grew into one of its most dependable players in Greece. Cunningham helped the U.S. secure a gold medal by dropping 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists against Mali in the tournament’s final game.

“Confidence was the biggest thing,” Cunningham says of his breakout summer. “Montverde is as close as you get to college at the high school level. Going from that to AAU, it’s a little more free and a faster paced game. My confidence carried over and that’s when you started to see the 25-point games.”

Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Cunningham’s star has risen so dramatically that he could be the frontrunner to be the No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick if he entered a wide-open draft next year, not in 2021. He is just barely old enough to reclassify and play college ball in the fall, which would make him 2.5 months younger than Zion Williamson when he was drafted with the first overall pick. Cunningham admits that he’s had discussions with his family about the possibility, but he’s comfortable with another year of high school ball at Montverde.

“We talked about it for a little bit,” Cunningham says. “I think I’m in the right grade right now. I never reclassified growing up. If I do make it to the league, I do want to be able to stay in the league and be ready for it. Just taking this time to get better, spending another year with coach Boyle will help me a lot.”

Oklahoma State has become the consensus favorite to win his college recruitment after hiring Cannen as an assistant last month. While Cunningham notes his brother is the biggest influence in his life, he says that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to commit to the Cowboys. Every blue blood in the country — from Duke to North Carolina to Kentucky — has also offered him.

“I’m not feeling any pressure,” Cunningham says of his college decision. “I’m still just happy to be where I’m at. just having all these elite schools and coaches coming after me.”

College will ultimately only be a small footnote in Cunningham’s story. Blessed with an immense blend of size, skill, and poise, this is a big guard who has all the tools to eventually grow into an NBA star. Perhaps the most impressive thing about him is his mindset.

“I want to be a Hall of Fame player, MVP, national champion,” Cunningham says. “But I want to be remembered more for what I’ve done off the court with the money I make with my social status and how I help people. If I can use that stage to impact other people’s lives, that’s all I can ask for.”

With so much polish, it’s easy to forget he is still just 17 years old. A generation after his father’s athletic dreams were dashed, Cade Cunningham is on the brink of fulfilling his own potential.

[junker-town]

Replacing your mentor is weird. Here’s how Nick Nurse is handling it

Dwane Casey was the person who gave Nick Nurse an NBA job. Now, the two are trying their best to overcome the awkward circumstances the Raptors thrust upon them.

On a glowing-hot day in the summer of 2012, you could wander into the Hofheinz Pavillion, the arena at the University of Houston where Great Britain was hosting a pre-Olympic warm-up, and bear witness to the origins of the modern-day Raptors for 10 dollars a pop.

It’s where former Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey first met current Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. Nurse was an assistant coach for Great Britain’s national team, back when defensive gamesmanship buttered his bread. Lithuania was invited, bringing Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas, and by proxy, Casey, into Nurse’s orbit.

Nurse and Casey bonded when Casey audited Great Britain’s practices and scrimmages, run by head coach Chris Finch (now an assistant with the New Orleans Pelicans).

“[Casey] was always a guy that liked to learn from watching other coaches and watching practices and stuff like that,” Nurse tells SB Nation in his office. “That was something he encouraged us to do.”

Nurse couldn’t have known then that by the summer of 2015, he’d be on Casey’s coaching staff, accompanying him on a practice excursion to Seattle, to watch Pete Carroll run the Seahawks by day — “the single best practice I’ve ever seen in my life by any sporting team ever,” Nurse recalls — while immersing himself in Casey’s inner life by night.

“You get to go to his home, see his family, see where he hangs out in the summer.”

At dinner, Nurse’s pre-teen son, Noah, a theater junkie, gave the toast.

“He was going on and on, probably quoting some play or film.” Just before wrapping up, he read the room. ‘Oh wait, I forgot,’ Noah added. ‘To the Raptors!’

Nor could Nurse have imagined he’d soon be taking semi-regular trips to Lithuania, conceiving of the summer regimen that turned Valanciunas’ from a prodding post-up big to an occasional offensive nucleus at the top of the key. Or that this summer, Nurse would have to explain to Valanciunas, a career starter, that he wanted him to come off the bench some games.

That last part, nobody dreamed of it even six months ago. The Raptors, at 59-23, had just finished their greatest regular season in history. Casey was a heavy favorite to win Coach of the Year. The modernized offense was humming at No. 2 in the league. The restructured defense was switchable and strong. All Star DeMar DeRozan just had a career year.

“I didn’t think it would be here,” Nurse told reporters at Tuesday’s practice prior to Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, the franchise Casey took over as head coach. “I really expected to be a head coach in this league, and I didn’t think it would be here.”

But the Raptors looked listless in a four-game sweep against the Cavs in the second round of the playoffs, always a chess-move behind LeBron James and coach Tyronn Lue. By June 25, when Casey collected his Coach of the Year award, Toronto GM Masai Ujiri had shown him the door.

Ujiri went unnamed in Casey’s acceptance speech. So did Nurse, who was named his replacement 11 days earlier, flipping from understudy to adversary. Nurse has been mum on their communication since, considering it private. Casey told Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, “I think he texted me once I got the job here, but haven’t talked to him or spoke to him since then.”

Despite the fact that the Raptors also swapped DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard, Casey felt the implicit message of the shake-up was about him.

“It’s the hardest thing to do in this league, to take a team from irrelevant to relevant, or from obscurity to big time relevancy.” -Nick Nurse on Dwane Casey

“[It was] specifically pointing the finger at me — and that’s their prerogative,” Casey told Rod Beard of the Detroit News. “They said I was the problem. I know what we did over a seven-year period there and starting from the rebuilding, developing and in the lottery to where they are now.”

“They can’t take that away,” he added. “A lot of people can take credit for all the good and put all the bad on me — and that’s fine.”

It’s true. While the Nick Nurse-era has spawned its own intricacies — looser, more collaborative practices, and an open floor with one of Valanciunas or Serge Ibaka coming off the bench nightly — Casey was the one who built the foundation with which the Raptors have glided to a 12-2 record.

He landed soft, inking a 5-year, $35 million with the Pistons, but all he has to do is peer over a bridge to see the spoils up North and the border that divides them from him.

“It’s the hardest thing to do in this league, to take a team from irrelevant to relevant, or from obscurity to big time relevancy,” Nurse says. “And he deserves a lot of credit.”

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

April 27, 2013 was a career-changing day in Nurse’s pro coaching life. He was the head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ D-League affiliate. On a damp, hazy morning in Santa Cruz, Calif., Nurse was sitting at breakfast with his staff, conspiring to steal a road victory in Game 1 of the Finals against the Santa Cruz Warriors, coached by current Raptors assistant Nate Bjorkgren.

That’s when Casey’s name flashed on Nurse’s phone. “Win the championship,” Casey said. “And then I’ll have you come up to Toronto to talk.”

Maybe it was the morning fog. Probably it was game ahead, which the Vipers won en route to a ring. But it took Nurse a few days to realize he was going to be interviewing for an NBA assistant coaching job. He was merely happy to be recognized.

“When you’re in the D-League and you ever hear from an NBA coach, it’s always an uplifting moment. A lot of times, you’re down there, people don’t really know you exist,” Nurse says.

Casey was willing to pluck him away from hinterlands of basketball, from jammed 22-seaters and cheap airfare and eery half-empty arenas.

Nurse didn’t secure the gig until just before summer league, but in the intervening months, he and Casey hit it off.

“We were watching the playoffs,” Nurse says. “Talking about the games all the way through. We were developing a relationship.”

They were both basketball lifers, dogged in their refusal to do anything but coach, with the air miles to show for it.

At 23, Grand View University in Iowa made Nurse the youngest head basketball coach in the country. He spent the next 20 years picking up acronyms and experience, as an assistant in the NCAA and United States Basketball League, and a head coach in the British Basketball League, the Polish Basketball League and the D-League. By the time Casey gave him a shot, Nurse accumulated two decades worth of head coaching experience.

In 1989, his 10th year as an NCAA assistant, Casey was the subject of an NCAA investigation that banned him from coaching for five years and sent him looking for a job in Japan. He won the defamation suit and the ban was lifted within a year, but perception haunted him. He spent five years bouncing back and forth from Japan to the NBA’s minor league, until George Karl hired him as an assistant with the SuperSonics. He spent 11 years there until getting his first head coaching gig in the NBA.

“I think we’ve both got a certain degrees of toughness because of that same scenario,” Nurse says. “It’s been kind of a long fight for both of us in a lot of scenarios and I think we coach our teams that way, with a certain level of toughness and discipline and preparation.”

That’s true. Call Casey what you want: stubborn, old-fashioned. Say his teams underperformed in the postseason. Pin some of that on his lack of in-game adjustments, for good measure. But this is a guy who had a reputation for watching more game tape than his assistants. The Raptors improved every year on his pillars of defensive tenacity and player development and never looked back.

Well, until they did.

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In an office lined with books and posters of jazz musicians, Nurse sits silently in the dark — his way of fending off unnecessary stimulation — pondering the differences between him and Casey.

“Coaching philosophy-wise…” he pauses and turns to the side, his wrinkled eyebrows lining eyes that peer down thick-framed glasses.

He wraps his hand on his closed MacBook a couple of times. Nurse comes off as a terminal thinker. When media members ask him a question he hasn’t pondered before, he’ll often turn his gaze to the ceiling and bob his head back and forth. The gears are constantly grinding.

“I don’t know. I can’t really think of what the differences are,” he says, playing into an obvious question: Why fire Casey and hire Nurse, an assistant who is presumably similar to him?

But they are different, right? Casey was a merchant of order. Nurse seems to embrace chaos.

“I wouldn’t phrase it that way either. I embrace structure, right? But I do believe in freedom of action and freedom of choice a little bit. But I’m not comparing that, that [Casey] didn’t either.”

There is truth in what Nurse is saying. Casey proved adaptable when Ujiri called for a “culture reset” last summer. The defensive architect shifted his focus to offense. Summer scrimmages featured a four-point line. Casey wrangled two stars, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, into sharing the ball and economizing their shot selection. He mandated 30 triples per game. He grinned and bore it when they clanked off the rim for weeks. He held up his end of the bargain.

In the end, it wasn’t enough.

Maybe with Leonard and Green, two shooters replacing two non-shooters in DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl, Casey’s sensibilities would have been enough. With Poeltl and Lucas Nogeiura no longer causing a log-jam at center, maybe he would have moved Valanciunas to the bench and elected to play more small-ball.

Maybe Casey would have changed the starting lineup, but he certainly wouldn’t have changed it nearly every game on the basis of matchups, like Nurse has. Casey settled into three main lineups last year: the starters, the bench mob, and the closing lineup, which featured Fred VanVleet in place of O.G. Anunoby, with an occasional mix-and-match of big men. He believes in continuity. Nurse wants the Raptors lineups to be so interchangeable by the end of the year that he’s trying to eradicate the word “unit” from his vocabulary.

In Monday’s loss against the Pelicans, Nurse tried to go super-small in the fourth quarter, playing Pascal Siakam and Anunoby at the big man slots. It didn’t work out — sometimes Jrue Holiday and E’Twaun Moore are just going to hit threes in your faces — but he was willing to try it, and it could be an option down the line. These are little things, but little things, increment by increment, can become big things in the flash of an eye.

“Our differences probably come in our backgrounds,” Nurse says. “I coached in every little league— little league, literally.” He laughs. “You can think of in the world, and was forced into having to try a lot of things.”

Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey intended for the Vipers to be a hotbed of innovation, and Nurse answered the call. After watching Russia win a national hockey championship, he fiddled around with hockey substitutions, offsetting his roster’s talent imbalance by asking his players to go all-out for a three or four-minute increments at a time and promising quick breaks. Then, there’s the fly-by closeout. Instead of contesting 3-point shots, defenders would run by the shooter and sprint to the other end of the floor, with the defensive rebounder ready to make an outlet pass on misses.

“Sometimes experimentation will lead you to things you wouldn’t necessarily see,” Nurse says. “I am still tinkering with lineups, still tinkering with offenses and defenses, and that’s probably just more my personality. It’s more fun for me and it’s more interesting just to see where our potential can go.”

The difference between Casey and Nurse is analogous to the difference between last year’s roster and this years: pieces that were straining to become modern vs. pieces that are naturally disposed to be. Casey was a stabilizing force that imbued work ethic, character, a consistency of purpose onto the Raptors.

Nurse isn’t so much a 180-degree flip as he is a pivot away from Casey. When you’re this close to the rim, sometimes all you need is a different angle.