#history of canadian sports

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"THREE-YEAR TERM FOR YOUTH WHO STOLE LETTERS," Toronto Star. October 15, 1912. Page 1 & 6. ---- Judge Denton Gave William Albon the Smallest Sentence Possible. --- SENTENCE DAY IN THE SESSIONS ---- Italian Who Used Razor on Fellow-Countryman Also Given Three Years. --- SOME WERE LET OFF --- Verney Pennoch Was Given Four Months for Burglary - Many Were Disposed Of. ---

Wm. Albon, theft, 3 years.

Dominic Rosso, wounding, 3 years.

Wm. J. Cottrell, perjury, 6 months.

John Gowans, assault, 6 months.

Verney Pennoch, burglar, 4 months.

Joseph Davis, assault, 3 months.

Arthur Scholes, housebreaking, 3 months.

Charles Hall, assault, $50 fine or 1 months.

Frank McCarron, theft, 30 days.

Wilfrid Walcyn, theft, suspended sentence.

David Applebaum, theft, suspended sentence.

Abraham Manhan, theft, suspended sentence.

David Reece, theft, suspended sentence.

Joseph Re, theft, suspended sentence.

John J. Foley, theft, suspended sentence.

Ernest McRae, theft, suspended sentence.

Clinton Shaw, theft, suspended sentence.

Thomas A. Bruce, theft, suspended sentence.

"These people have got to learn that they must keep their razors off other people's throats."

With this remark Judge Denton this morning sentenced Dominic Rosso, an Italian, [[pictured, top] charged with wounding with intent, to spend three years in Kingston Penitentiary. Rosso was the first of about thirty persons, found guilty in the Sessions and in sittings of the County Criminal Court, to come up for sentence.

"I hope the sentence will be a warning to his fellow countrymen."

John Gowans goes to the Central Prison for six months for a serious offence. 'I am told that he is feeble-minded," pleaded T. C. Robinette, K.C., but Judge Denton declared that his long record was against him. He served two years in 1899, terms for theft in 1894-97-99, and one this year. [Gowans would later be sentenced to the penitentiary in 1918...]

Harry Rollings, also up on a serious offence, was remanded for sentence. His Honor wanted to enquire into his case further.

Long Term for Theft. On two charges of the theft of registered letters, William Albon, a clean-cut, looking young man, was given three years in Kingston Penitentiary - the least possible under the code. It is said that the young fellow, who was employed as a clerk in the post office, received only about $4 in money.

Verney Pennock, convicted of burglary and assault, was sent down for four months. He broke into Alexander Cameron's livery stable on Keele street and stole five books of Exhibition tickets.

Sentence was suspended for two weeks in the case of David W. Ross and Morley Wilson, charged with taking W. E. Radcliffe's automobile from In front of the Grand Union Hotel. The young men, who were somewhat the worse for liquor, went for a "joy ride," which ended at an early hour in the morning. The motor car was damaged to the extent of $60. Mr. Robinette pleaded for leniency on the score of youth and good character, specially in the case of Wilson.

Three Months For Theft. "He pays too much attention to athletics and has not been well. The trouble is that he is overstrained," was the plea of T. C. Robinette in the case of Arthur Scholes, champion mile runner of Canada, and who came third at the Ward Marathon games last Saturday. He had pleaded guilty to the theft of two diamond rings from No. 190 Garden avenue, where he had gone to do papering.

"The man who was with me told me that the rings were lying there. First I said not to take them, and then I picked them up on the impulse of the moment as we were leaving. I gave one to him, and gave the other to a friend."

"A woman friend?" asked his Honor. "Yes."

The young man's father and mother both pleaded hard.

"What happened to the other man?" was asked. "He turned King's evidence."

"I can't afford to let you go," said his Honor, "you will spend three months in jail."

A fine of $50 and costs or two months in jall was the sentence given Charles Hall for assaulting Evelyn Ferris.

His Honor started to read a list of previous convictions when Hall declared: "You must have me mixed up with somebody else. I didn't do those things."

"That must be another case," suggested Crown Attorney Greer. "Why don't they do things right in the Police Court?" said his Honor with some heat, then turning to the prisoner he asked: "What terms have you served?"

"I was in jail once for six months and once for eight months."

"Both for assault?"

"No, just one of them."

Six Months For Perjury. William J. Cottrell, found guilty of perjury in a damage suit against the Toronto Railway Company, stood up quite calmly to receive sentence. He was chewing gum. He wanted to call witnesses to testify to his good character.

"You are found guilty on a very serious charge," said Judge Denton, "Perjury is one of the worst of crimes, and

"I could send you to the penitentiary for a very long time. You probably didn't realize what you were doing."

"It was all a mistake your Worship." broke in the prisoner eagerly.

"The evidence showed it was much more than a mistake. You probably, when you found yourself in that suit against the street railway, thought that you could win by stretching your statements a little. I have spoken to a number of people about you and they all speak highly of your character."

"If your Worship will let me go on suspended sentence I promise" interrupted Cottrell.

"I cannot do that" said the judge gravely. "You will be sent to the Central Prison for six months."

Was Allowed to Go. Wilfrid B. Watclyn, guilty of the theft of an automobile from the Shaw Overland Sales Company was allowed to go on suspended sentence. "He is making reparation," his Honor was told.

George Westman was remanded for sentence on the charge against him of stealing oil waste from the Simpson Wool and Knitting Company. Mr. Greer was told to investigate his story.

Three months was the sentence meted out to Joseph Davis, convicted of a serious offence. The girl, who was his second cousin, was feeble-minded. Davis' reputation in the past was excellent, and Judge Denton was lenient.

Rev. J. D. Morrow bore testimony to the good character of Albert Copley. convicted of hitting Walter Dwyer over the head after having consumed several bottles of beer. "I have every hope of reforming him," said the athletic parson. "He is a member of my church." The judge remanded him for two weeks for sentence.

G. B. Cates, for false pretences, was remanded for two weeks. He sold $210 worth of stock to Mrs. G. B. Thomas in the Artificial Ice and Distilled Water Company, a concern which was not in existence, and was given a chance to make good to Mrs. Thomas. Because Julius Bachrack is away on business, he and his brother, Emanuel, will come up again for sentence for conspiring to procure an illegal operation, in two weeks, as will David W. Ross and Morley Wilson, theft. The cases of Estella Smith, theft; Norman Tansley, indecent assault; F. A. Mansell, false pretences, were all stood over.

Remanded For Sentence. Harol Harold McKee, convicted of obtaining money under false pretences from his employers was remanded for sentence till the December Sessions. He was anxious to make restitution and was gradually doing so out of his wages.

The same treatment was accorded to Arthur Doyle, convicted of criminal negligence, who took a motor-car from in front of Shea's Theatre last July, and went for a joy ride. His sentence will depend on the efforts he makes to make good the damage.

Sixty days is the sentence on Frank McCarron for horse stealing. He hired a horse and later, together with another man, sold it. "It's cost me $200 now. I got all the blame, while the other man was discharged," exclaimed the prisoner, but he was sent down, nevertheless.

David Applebaum, Abraham Manhan, David Reece, ranging in ages from 16 to 20 years, employed at Hanlan's Point, where they stole amounts of from 70 cents to $10, were allowed to go on suspended sentence. Joseph Re, who got two $5 instead of one in making a sale also had sentence suspended.

Clinton Shaw and Ernest McRae, found guilty of stealing solder from J. C. McFadden, were allowed to go on suspended sentence. Both are of youthful appearance.

[AL: Albon was 17, born in Toronto, a first time offender, and was convict #F-485 at Kingston Penitentiary. He worked as a clerical assistant in a workshop, had no reports against him for breaking the prison rules, and was paroled in late 1913. Rosso was 29, born in Italy, a labourer on the docks, and had never been in the penitentiary before - he was convict #F-486 and worked in the quarry. He had no reports and was released in early 1915.]

[rabbitcruiser]

Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope ended in Thunder Bay on September 1, 1980. 

[manisha999]

#True_Spiritual_Knowledge

Supreme God Kabir Ji is a doctor who cures all illnesses.

- Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj Ji

[icedbatik]

When I saw the post on IG, it had 64 comments. Of those, out of all the moments in Canadian sports history, 15 of them cited Sid's golden goal. )))

[allbeendonebefore]

heheheh the vindication of reading about a cross country tour for a montreal magazine in the early 70s passing edmonton’s queer scene off as just for “swishy queens and hard drinking butches” and the collective eyeroll of edmontonian queer community completely used to this kind of perception of edmonton, paralleled with me in toronto a few years ago with the torontonians telling me that they heard that drinking is like the only thing to do here like. listen i am the boring hermit shut-in teetotaller and even i know better, lol

[lindaseccaspina]

Canadian Cafe Clippings-- Sports and Story

1970 The regular season has been completed in the Town League play and the play-offs are in full swing. The final standings in the Town League are: Canadian Cafe …. Bob and Margs … Almonte Hotel …. Superior ..In the playoffs, Canadian Cafe have a 1-0 lead in games against Almonte Hotel. Bob and Margs and Superior are all lied up, one game each. The play-offs will continue on Thursdays and…

[wearebarca]

Captured // Alexia Putellas x Original character

Part 1 part 2 part 3

synopsis: Rosalie has never stayed too long at the same place. When the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself critical moment in her life, the photographer decides to once again leave behind what she knows and joins the staff of Europe's best football team.

word count: 3,5K

18 + (eventually)

A/N: Hello, Spanish is from google translate so please be nice. French is my first language so all should be good on that part. Enjoy.

Her fingers were hovering over the multitudes of cameras lined up in the bookcase of her small living room. The balcony doors were opened and the cool night air filtered in the little apartment, along with the chants and cheers of the sea of supporters passing in the streets below. Nights like these had quickly become her favourite since moving to the heart of Barcelona. She would usually sit on the balcony and watch as the supporters would celebrate their club's win, filling the night air with happiness and excitement but tonight was slightly different though. An important match was currently being disputed at the Johan Cruyff Estadi, one that all the Barcelona Femini fans were looking forward to all year. El Classico was always an electric night and Rosalie had decided to experience this night out in the streets, instead of the comfort of her balcony chair.

Once out in the streets, She was immediately hit by a wave of excitement. She was instantly  swept in a sea of chanting people, all wearing jerseys and scarves with their team's logo. The crowd was so dense that all you could see were flashes of red and blue making the task of focusing on one subject a difficult one. She finally managed to exit the crowd and find a bench near a bus stop, high enough to have a clear view of the scene unfolding in front of her. This new vantage point allowed you to take numerous portraits of fans, capturing groups of friends in the middle of drunken laughs and barça chants. She instantly knew when the final whistle was blown and Barcelona had won the match. Excited screams could be heard all around and the ground was slightly shaking from the people jumping around in an ecstatic frenzy. Rosalie lowered her camera and took a moment to soak it all in. These were the moments that reminded her of why she had chosen sports photography as her career. This feeling of unity between fans, the shared excitement and hope as well as the solidarity displayed among the supporters even during darker times. Sports was something that brought people together, made them temporarily forget about their lives. She considered herself lucky to have a job that allowed her to capture such moments. 

Once back in the safety of her apartment, she plugged her camera to her computer and while the shots she took were transferring into her laptop. She pulled out the wine bottle that was already opened and sat on her couch. Next to her was a pile of clothes that consisted of her vintage oversized brown leather jacket, a tight black t-shirt and dark brown pleated pants. She had specifically picked out this outfit for her first day in her new job. Her camera bag sat next to the pile, only her laptop missing. Everything was ready, perfectly organized, almost obsessively. The stress of this new beginning was keeping her up which led the young woman to work on the shots she had taken during the night until she fell asleep in her living room. 

The drive to the training stadium wasn’t too long. She had left incredibly early to avoid traffic and ended up parking her car at the stadium and walking around the block. It wasn’t long until she stumbled upon a small cafe, not too far from the training center. The place looked cosy and inviting with all the plants and the picture frames. Upon a closer look, she noticed that they were all pictures of what she guest was regulars enjoying their coffees. The thought of so much history hanging on these walls made the French-Canadian smile as she went to stand in line to order. 

 Her Spanish was rather shaky which made the barista and the woman behind her chuckle lightly. But nonetheless she managed to order and pay without going completely red from embarrassment.  

“Americano para Rosalie” The french name sounds so foreign when spoken in the language and Rosalie almost felt bad for the barista and made a note to herself to use her spanish nickname when ordering in the future. 

 She picked up her coffee and as she was turning around to exit the small shop, her body collided with a solid one, making her spill half of her own coffee on herself. 

“oh Déu, ho sento, estàs bé?”

A tattooed had grabbed her elbow in an attempt to stabilize her, but the damage was done. The cup that was previously secured in her hand had spilled more than half of its content on her shirt and bag.  the tattooed woman turn to her partner “ Ingrid can you grab napkins please” 

She immediately took the napkins that were handed to her and started to dab at her bag in an attempt to prevent the liquid from seeping in and mess with her equipment. Busy trying to dry the coffee that had fallen on her work bag, Rosalie had failed to notice who exactly had bumped into her, but the names mentioned during her short encounter were oddly familiar. “ Are you ok? Did any get in your bag?” A tall dark haired woman was standing right in front of you with a worried smile and Rosalie could not believe her luck. She simply shook her head and smiled at the Norwegian while throwing the napkins away. 

“ I’m Ingrid, we’re very sorry about this, Maria’s a little clumsy.” She laughed at her own statement, knowing very well that “ a little” was a bit of an understatement. 

“ It’s ok, I can’t say that I was really looking where I was going” Rosalie said as she followed Ingrid outside the cafe to a small table near the entrance.  The Spanish woman exited the shop shortly after them with a tray with four cups of coffee. 

“ Asked the barista for your order, here you go.” The Spanish woman said with an apologetic smile on her lips. 

“ Thank you, you didn’t have to do that”

“ It was only fair since this one can’t be bothered to be aware of the world around her” she said, giving a playful glare to her partner. 

“ I’m Mapi, .” . 

“Oh I know who you are,” she said with a smile on her face. She wasn’t new to the football world, having played all the way to her college years. After graduation, she had gotten herself a job as an assistant photographer in  the  NWSL in America. She had travelled all around the United-States and became one of the best known sports photographers. Three years into the job, Rosalie received a call that would change her career forever.

Arsenal W.F.C was desperately looking to revamp its image and put the club on the map. Management had come across some of Rosalie’s dynamic shots and had contacted her to offer her a spot in the new media team that would follow the girls around during the season. Seeing this as the opportunity of a lifetime, she moved across the ocean. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and she absolutely loved it. She had built her strongest friendships over there, had fallen even more in love with job and football, but also experienced her most gut wrenching heartbreak. After her breakup, she had stayed with the team to finish her contract and then packed her flat without knowing what she would do next. She knew that going back toArsenal would not be a good idea since she would have to see the face of the woman that had broken her trust everyday, so she gave her notice and left a month to go hiking in Andalucia. It would be during this trip that she would get the call from FC Barcelona Femini. She would accept on the spot and after a quick apartment search she would have all her belongings shipped to her new address and fly straight to Barcelona, without anyone knowing about her new beginning. 

“ Sorry that came out a little strong,  I’m Rosalie Marineau, Barça’s new photographer.” She shook both their hands and started the few blocks walk towards the training facility.

“ Oh it is a pleasure to meet you, we were wondering when the new photographer would start. We were all excited after seeing some of your work with Arsenal, very impressive.” 

“Thank you so much but I should be the one who’s excited, it truly is an honour to work with such a strong and dedicated team Like Barça, I really can’t wait to start.” the woman said with a beaming smile. The walk back to the stadium was filled with conversation about the upcoming season, Rosalie's career and even strayed to her college football career. As the group reached the entrance of the training grounds, a voice made itself heard in the hallway. 

“ustedes chicas llegan tarde” A tall blond was leaning against the wall right next to the locker room door. She was wearing the gray half zip training shirt with matching shorts and her hair loose, fanning over her shoulders. Her arms were crossed, her boots in one hand and a stern expression was plastered on her face. In her mind, there was no way that this woman was not the captain of this team and indeed, a few moments later, Rosalie was standing face to face with Alexia Putellas. 

“ Quince minutos antes no significa tarde, Ale” The sigh that left the Catalonian’s lips was long and the look that came with the sound would make anyone shrink right on the spot. She propped herself up and with even sparing a glance in the direction of the photographer, she turned around and entered the locker room. 

“Maria, you might want to follow her, you don’t want her getting worse.” Ingrid said, pushing her girlfriend towards the same door the blond had previously disappeared in. The Spanish woman let out a sigh of her own before also disappearing into the room. “ Come with me, I’ll show you to the management's office.”

As Rosalie had predicted, her morning was all about paperwork officializing her new position as the head of the photography department. Ingrid ended up staying the whole time and even offered to show her to her new office. The office was located on the second floor of the building, which seemed a lot calmer than the lower level. Upon entering the office, Rosalie was surprised by how spacious the place was. The space was divided into two sections. The first had all the proper equipment at her disposal to hold photoshoots. Everything was brand new and of the highest quality, with some of the equipment still wrapped in their boxes. The second was closest to the windows, which gave a perfect view of the pitch, and was  half hidden behind screens to give the feeling of being in a completely different room. A desk with two large screens and a laptop launchpad, a comfortable looking chair and a small sofa occupied the space. 

A big smile was playing on Rosalie’s lips as she took in the space she would now work in. “ I hope you will feel right at home here.” Jonatan ​​Giràldez said as he came to stand beside the photographer. “ You can set up if you’d like, I’ll send someone to collect you so you can meet the team before lunch.” He said, once again extending his hand for her to shake. “ Welcome to the family, Senorita Marineau.” 

After a quick hug from Ingrid and a promise to talk more later, Rosalie pulled out her laptop and took a seat at her new desk. Looking out at the pitch she found the two women she was hoping to see. During her contract with Arsenal, she was asked to follow some of the players to the Lionesses camp to capture their journey. That’s where she had met her closest friends. When she met Keira Walsh, it was like something in the universe clicked. The rest of the England squad used to joke that the two of them were the same person but in different fonts, and they might as well have been right. The two women had the same awkward sense of humour and were able to guest what the other needed or wanted with having to express anything. 

Upon meeting the younger French-Canadian woman, Lucy Bronze had immediately felt a strong feeling of protectiveness. This feeling grew even more when one night the Canadian woman had shared with their small friend group that she wasn’t close to her family.  Maybe it was because she knew that the girl had nobody to count on, in England or even in her home country, but the woman started to treat the younger brunette like she was part of her family. She was like a big sister to Rosalie and loved the girl fiercely. The couple had become Rosalie’s family during her years in London, but the distance made it hard for them to see each other outside of camps. Still the girls kept in touch regularly and had facetime movie nights on a weekly basis. They were in fact the first ones Rosalie had told about her move, and she would be lying if one of the big reasons why she accepted so fast was because she knew her two best friends were playing for this team. 

Setting up her stuff wasn’t long. She had brought a few picture frames, mainly pictures of her, Lucy and Keira, of her, Beth, Viv, Leah and Lia, her closest Arsenal friends, that she put on her desk and plugged her camera and laptop to the screens. She still had about an hour and a half before lunch so she decided to finish editing the pictures from the night before. 

She knew someone was making their way towards her office just by the sound of football boots on the hard floors. Still, too engrossed in her work, Rosalie did not lift her head until a very familiar voice spoke. 

“You know, if you missed us this much, you could’ve called instead of stalking us all the way here.” She could recognize that strong northern accent anywhere. Leaning against her door frame, in the same training kit that Alexia was wearing, Lucy was smiling brightly at her friend. The smile on Rosalie’s face lit up the whole room and warmed up the English woman’s heart. It had been a while since she had seen her friend with a genuine smile on her face. She almost tumbled over trying to catch the smaller woman who had jumped in her arms. 

“Shouldn’t you be training?” A quick look behind her showed the pitch empty. 

“Everyone is in the gym, we figured we’d come get you to meet everyone now.” She said dragging the girl out of her office.

“Wait a minute,” she made a beeline to her office to grab the usb key containing the picture she wanted to give the media team and followed the woman out in the corridor. 

“How are you settling here? You know, we feel bad about not helping you move.” Rosalie understood perfectly well why Keira and Lucy weren’t able to come give her a hand. With the away games, training and media duty, the women were swarmed and didn’t get a minute to themselves. Still, the lack of extra pairs of arms and someone to push her meant that a lot of boxes remained untouched. 

“Don’t worry, I’m good.” She said with a small smile. By the look the older woman was giving her, Rosalie knew that her little lie didn’t go through. But Lucy chose to drop the subject knowing that pestering her friend was not the way to go in this situation. 

“I'll show you around the training center but first, everyone is in the gym so we can start there.” She said walking ahead of the brunette. “ The trainers wanted you to know that you have access to it whenever you want and if you'd like they can help you with your training.” 

“ What do you mean?” The French-Canadian was confused as she caught up with the taller woman. 

“ Well… when the news of your arrival came out, people started to ask questions. They found out who you were through management and they apparently told the girls to talk to us because we knew you.” Lucy said in an apologetic tone. She knew that even though her friend was well known in her field, she liked to keep her life private. “ We didn’t say much, don't worry, but we have some grade A stalkers in this team.” 

“ Oh mon dieu ,what did they find?” The brunette said, hiding her face behind her hands. She didn’t have anything crazy on her social media, but she did have a couple pictures from her college football career that looked a little weird along with some pictures of her races, triathlons and marathons that were surely not her best angles. 

“ Everything darling,” Lucy said laughing, “ They especially loved the beach pictures and the triathlon ones, you made quite the impression, Frenchy.” 

The girl could not be more mortified. Those pictures were not bad. In fact, she was quite proud of them, but it was the fact that the whole team had seen her in her bikini or dying during a race before actually meeting her. She simply wasn’t a fan of the fact that they knew so much already.  But then, it was only fair, she thought, since their whole lives were plastered in tabloïds and discussed in social media all the time. The difference was that the photographer had never been in their position.

Lucy chose this exact moment to open the door leading to the gym and Rosalie’s ears were instantly flooded with rapid spanish banter and that freshly cut grass smell that she loved. The room was extremely bright due to the fact that it had direct access to the pitch, which meant that a slight breeze from the outside kept the gym cool and fresh. Almost every station was occupied by players, sometimes alone, but mostly in pairs. The first one to notice their arrival was none other than Mapi, who was helping a certain captain keeping her balance on a platform. She waved excitedly which caused the blond to lose balance and almost fall to her face. The look she sent the Zaragozian would have scared anyone in their right mind. When she realized that her look didn’t get the reaction it deserved she turned her gaze to the source of her training partner’s distraction,  only to lock eyes with the photographer. 

The contact didn’t not last long since the commotion had caught everyone’s attention. They quickly formed a half circle around the girl, seemingly waiting for her to say a few words. 

“ hola,” Rosalie wasn’t a shy person but she was definitely intimidated by the women in front of her. A smile from the couple that she had met in the morning was the little push she needed to continue. “ My name is Rosalie Marineau and I am Barça’s new head photographer. I am very excited to work with all of you. " she said smiling "Don’t worry, I’ll always get your best angle.” 

Smiles filled the room and everyone stepped forward to introduce themselves. The first to reach the woman was Mariona who shook her hand and welcomed her. Next were Patri and Pina who both looked like over excited children. They both gave the girl hugs and started to ask different questions only to be pulled away by Irene and Aitana. The taller woman had a warm smile and a very calm demeanor that instantly made Rosalie feel at ease with her. The smaller woman pulled her in a hug and asked her about her  move and how she was settling in this new city.  

A voice she knew all too well interrupted the conversation and arms wrapped around the photographer from behind. As soon as she smelled the familiar perfume, the Canadian spun around and wrapped her arms around her best friend. “ Hello Frenchy''

Keira didn’t let go of the woman and gave an apologetic smile to the two Spanish players who smiled and left, understanding that this was a private reunion. “ I had to fight Lucy to go get you but the old hag still has some spunk in her.” 

The comment made Rosalie laugh and pull away without letting go completely of her friend. At this moment, Lucy arrived next to the blond and gave her a small shove. “ I heard that.”

A few other players came to introduce themselves but Keira and Lucy stayed by the brunette’s side. When the last of the girls left, the photographer turned to her friends only to see them looking over her shoulders. 

“ Hola, I don’t think we have been introduced” 

The photographer turned around swiftly only to freeze on the spot at the woman before her. Words seemed to escape her as her lips parted but no words came out. Alexia Putellas was a woman with a commanding presence and piercing eyes. She towered over the photographer by a few inches  and even with a polite smile on her face, she held herself with a confidence that would make anyone shrink beside her. A sharp elbow in her ribs shook up the girl and prompted her to finally speak.

“ Oui, Bonjour mademoiselle,”

[lovinpelova]

to be continued | j. fleming

summary; jessie meets y/n at a party after ucla win the ncaa basketball championship. then again, then again and again.

🎵 a new kind of love - frou frou

whenever you told people you went to ucla their first response was always to ask what sport you played, expecting you to be there for division-one football or tennis, but when you told them you were simply just a british exchange-student looking for better educational standards their face always dropped. it's like they thought they were meeting a celebrity and found out it was only a look-alike when they got closer, you found it funny how people couldn't believe you came to the states purely for education.

being british you've obviously played football before and could even join the team if you wanted but you quit before your gcses for a reason; you didn't want any distractions. you'd promised your parents one day that you'd be able to give them a luxury lifestyle with all the money you earned from being a well-paid lawyer, aiming for the higher bracket of pay after learning your cousin was earning £78,000 annually. the number is massive and would be an immense help to your family after all the years of struggle you've gone through together, so you wanted to make sure you had the highest level of education and were definitely not wanting to go to oxford with all the snobby rich kids.

so you chose one of the top law schools in the states, of course!

"hey y/n, come over here!"

you were snapped out of your daydreams by a friend of a friend, one of your classmates taking law as a minor has a major in history, so they introduced you to hailie after you'd met at one of her games since you were dragged there. it's not like you hate football - you love it, and the atmosphere of college soccer is unmatched - but you would have rather been revising for an upcoming final that night instead.

you made your way over to hailie and noticed she was stood with her arm around a rather short brunette, the long-sleeved shirt (with the sleeves rolled up) that had 'ucla soccer' printed across it indicating you weren't going to get away from this football team any time soon - even though you were at a party to celebrate the men's basketball team winning the ncaa championship.

"y/n, this is jessie. one of our midfielders."

"hey, nice to meet you."

the canadian accent she greeted you with was striking, you weren't expecting her to be american but you definitely weren't expecting her to be canadian either.

"you're canadian?"

"i told you your accent was strong jess."

the midfielder nodded with a sheepish grin, hailie suddenly patting her on the shoulder after peering over yours and smiling at someone.

"i'll leave you to it then,"

the defender pulled you into a quick hug as you returned it, feeling her lean down into your ear to whisper something.

"jessie's been eyeing you up all night."

she winked and smiled at your blush, patting you on the back before leaving you and jessie to your own devices. you smiled at the canadian as she grinned in response, your eyes trailing down to see her fingers moving in a way that could only be described as anxiety-ridden.

"do you have social anxiety, jess?"

"er, yeah. is it that obvious?"

the canadian chuckled nervously - either at the fact that you've already given her a nickname or if it was because of her anxiety you wouldn't know.

"do you drink?"

"if it's the right drink, then yeah."

you leaned forwards with a charming smile and softly grabbed her hand, lacing your fingers together to make sure she didn't accidentally let go and lose you. within a couple moments you were back in the kitchen and by a table of alcohol, reaching beside it for two bottles of beer out of the fridge to stay safe. you turned and handed it to the canadian after opening it on the edge of the table, too impatient to look for a bottle opener and resorting to a party trick hailie had taught you the other day.

regretfully letting go of her hand, you leaned against the counter awfully close to her to make up for the loss of contact, both of you taking a swig of your drinks as jessie leaned in closer to you.

"do you play any sports then?"

"i used to play football but quit when i was about sixteen. wanted to focus on my studies instead."

the canadian nodded her head as you fell into a comfortable silence, watching people come and go from the kitchen as they pleased and giving each other knowing looks when couples walked past with drunken giggles or laughing together when someone was so drunk they couldn't even walk.

before you knew it you were both three beers in and completely focused on jessie, the alcohol in your systems making you far more confident than you were when you first met a couple hours ago. jessies hand was comfortable on your waist and yours were on her chest, tugging on the chain she wore as you drunkenly flirted inches away from each other. the canadian leaned down towards you after feeling you pull it more forcefully, your hips pushing against hers.

"you gonna kiss me, fleming?"

"what would you do if i did, y/l/n?"

you smirked up at jessie whilst looking into her eyes deeply, the moment so intense you nearly didn't hear hailie running into you and dragging you away from each other.

"president's here, we gotta go!"

the party was quickly being shut down as you all ran out the house, being caught by campus president was not something you wanted especially if the party was causing noise complaints. you found a couple people you knew and followed them to a safer space, looking behind you to check if jessie and hailie were there - only to find they weren't.

--------

working whilst studying wasn't always too bad, it was far easier if you had a part-time job. luckily for you, a local coffee shop five minutes outside of the ucla campus was hiring over the christmas season and you applied, working there happily for the past seven months. the pay wasn't bad - bi-weekly - and for an international exchange student it was keeping you able to buy the food you needed as well as luxuries when you were on the odd shopping trip with friends or out drinking.

the customers were the greatest part of the job, only regulars coming in daily for their usual orders as you recite them without a problem, the odd newcomer trying it out and either never coming back again or adding themselves to the list of regulars. today you noticed there was a newbie, the door opening at a time irregular to your memorised schedule of customers as you had your back turned to it, in the process of making a regulars order so you couldn't see who had walked in yet. you quickly served their order with a smile and walked back over to the counter whilst brushing off the coffee grounds all over your apron, looking up to see jessie grinning at you awkwardly.

"well, if it isn't the incredibly awkward canadian? haven't seen you since the party fleming."

"i know, hailie dragged me away from you and before i could try find where you'd ran off to the president found us again and started chasing us and then-"

"jess, calm down. it's fine. a party got shut down and we got split up, it happens everywhere. so, what can i get for you today then?"

you gestured towards the menu hung up behind you as the midfielder grinned at your acceptance of her unnecessary apology, looking over the choices of drink.

"erm, i'll just get a shaken espresso please."

"coming right up."

you made the drink as quickly as you possibly could, not wanting to have jessie waiting around for too long as she might have a class to get to or training to attend. you picked up a sharpie when you saw she wasn't looking in the corner of your eye, writing your number on the side of her cup with a smiley face before pouring her coffee into it and sliding it across the counter to her.

"thank you- how much?"

"on the house, jess."

you smiled brightly at her, holding your hand up when she opened her mouth to protest in a silent order for her to stay quiet and let you be nice for once.

"i'm paying next time though y/n/n."

"can't wait to see you next."

the canadian smiled gently, saying goodbye and walking out of the coffee shop whilst taking a sip, spotting a black mark underneath her nose and turning the cup to see your number written on it. without knowing, you'd just made jessies day.

--------

"so this is- like, a big game then?"

you asked hailie as she ran over to speak quickly after her warmup, the crowd you were sat in filled to the brim of ucla supporters, the other side of the pitch filled with usc supporters scowling across at you all.

"no, y/n/n. this is a big, big game. it's against a rival and it's the championship semi-final! have you not been listening to a word i've been saying the past week?"

"er, no. not really- sorry! i just zone out when you drone on about football. you know how much i don't care about sports sometimes."

hailie grunted in response as you smiled down apologetically, reaching for her hand and feeling her squeeze it in a silent acceptance of your apology.

"so how come you're here then? if you don't even know- oh my god jessie!"

"keep your fucking voice down hailie!"

you whisper-yelled whilst covering her mouth with your hand, raising your eyebrows in silent warning so she didn't blurt out jessies name again and make her come over to see why she was being yelled about. you and jessie had been texting non-stop since you gave her your number and she'd asked you to come to her game, hence why you were asking hailie about it. the defender had clicked onto the fact that you were clearly crushing on someone since your phone was making you smile with the odd notification and you suddenly had a very large interest in football- but she didn't expect it to be jessie.

"i knew you liked her! you were basically fucking in the kitchen the other night."

you flicked her on the forehead playfully as she scolded you, your chance to respond being ripped away as hailies coach called her into the changing rooms for a last minute teamtalk.

the game ran by fairly quickly, ucla absolutely hammering usc after a slow start. the first half consisted of one goal from your college rival and after half-time the scoreline just got bigger and bigger; jessie scoring one and assisting two as the end result was a massive 5-1. that meant ucla were going to the final in the ncaa championship against unc, the reigning champions, so you were definitely going to watch that game too.

"hey stargirl!"

you complimented smoothly as your arms opened wide for hailie, tears nearly running down her face as she picked you up into a bear hug.

"final two, baby!"

you cheered with the defender as she put you down and hugged you properly, spotting someone in the corner of her eye and grinning wildly.

"i'll leave you and your lovergirl to it."

you smacked her arm lightly as she walked away to celebrate with her teammates, turning around to see jessie beaming at you. not even giving her a chance to greet you, your arms went around her neck in a hug as hers went around your waist to pick you up, quickly putting you down to look at your broad smile with her usual blush across her cheeks.

"what a fucking game! i've never seen anyone play that well before jess."

"the pressure of knowing you were watching helped me a bit i guess."

the canadian scratched the back of her neck nervously, yourself scoffing at her shy nature as if she wasn't a finalist in the ncaa championship.

"nonsense, you're just amazing on the pitch no matter what. my midfield maestro."

jessie blushed even further at the new nickname you'd given her, smiling to match yours as she hugged you again tightly. when you pulled away you kissed her cheek, laughing at the way she froze up immediately.

"come on, you've got teammates to celebrate with."

--------

ucla had dominated their sports championships across the board. the mens basketball team had won the ncaa championship, as well as the mens soccer team and the womens field hockey team, the womens soccer team and womens basketball team added to that list within a week. the game was incredible, jessie had played another masterclass as usual and had a total of four goal contributions- ucla only scored four goals.

the win obviously called for another celebration, so the mens basketball team had offered to have another party the same place it occurred for their successes, meaning you and jessie were in the same kitchen as before but with a lot more people surrounding you. the amount of wins meant every supporter of each sport and player and friend and classmate (and the odd family member) had attended, so the house was packed.

you stared down at the ring jessie wore with 'ncaa champions' engraved into it, the ucla logo pressed into the middle. without thinking you grabbed jessies hand when she raised her other to take a swig of her beer, gently running your thumb over the engraved words with a proud smile.

"have i told you how proud i am of you yet jess?"

"only a million times y/n/n."

"well i'm making it a million and one. i'm so proud of you."

the canadian smiled down at you and wrapped her arm around your shoulders with your hand still holding hers, kissing the side of your head with confidence you knew she only had because of the alcohol running through her system.

"it's weird how last time we were in here we didn't even know each others last names."

jessie laughed softly with you at your statement, pulling you closer when more people began to flood into the kitchen to find any alcohol they could, everyone just wanting to get as drunk as possible since it was a friday and they had no classes to attend whilst taking care of their inevitable hangovers.

"i'm really happy hailie introduced us. i like you a lot."

the midfielder commented, looking deeply into your eyes when you turned to face her to show you she wasn't talking nonsense, it was just the alcohol letting things slip out.

"i like you a lot too, midfield maestro."

your eyes trailed down to her lips as she licked them carefully, watching the way she slowly began to lean in and torture you with her lips brushing over yours. you quickly leaned forward and closed the gap between you, kissing her passionately exactly the way you'd been wanting to for the past three weeks since you first met, your hands holding her in place so she couldn't move away faster than you wanted her to. eventually you were running out of breath and needed to pull away, smiling at each other after finally having made a move.

"glad the party wasn't shut down early this time?"

"very glad."

jessie responded immediately, pulling you into another kiss before you could even think about moving away from her.

[girlactionfigure]

Leah Goldstein seemed like a natural fit to be the keynote speaker at an International Women’s Day event in Ontario, Canada, next month. A Canadian cyclist, she made history as the first woman to win a grueling 3,000-mile bike race across the United States.⁠ ⁠ But in January, five months after accepting the invitation, Goldstein was told she was no longer invited to speak.⁠ ⁠ The cause, the event organizers said, was “a small but growing and extremely vocal group” that took issue with Goldstein’s service three decades ago in the Israeli army.⁠ ⁠ “Our focus at INSPIRE has been and will always be to create safe spaces to honour, share, and celebrate the remarkable stories of women and non-binary individuals,” the women’s empowerment group said in a statement. “In recognition of the current situation and the sensitivity of the conflict in the Middle East, the Board of INSPIRE will be changing our keynote speaker.”⁠ ⁠ The revoked invitation comes amid widespread turmoil over the Israel-Hamas war, including in local communities far from the Middle East.⁠ ⁠ Goldstein, 54, was born in Vancouver to Israeli parents and lived in Israel as a child and served in its military, as is required for most citizens. She first broke onto the international sports scene as a kickboxer, winning the 1989 World Bantamweight Kickboxing Championship. As a cyclist, Goldstein overcame a potentially career-ending crash in 2005 and shifted to ultra-endurance racing.⁠ ⁠ In 2011, she won the women’s solo category in the Race Across America. She finished second in the women’s group and fifth overall in 2019, and in 2021 made history by winning the overall solo division. Goldstein completed the 3,000-mile race in 11 days, three hours and three minutes.⁠ ⁠ Goldstein told JTA that she had planned to stick with her usual message for the March 8 event.⁠ ⁠ “I am zero political when I speak,” she said by phone from her home in Vernon, British Columbia. “Honestly, there is nothing political about my presentation. I just talk about the crap that I went through and the crap that most women go through, and they still do, and how I handled it.”⁠ ⁠

jtanews

[mythos-writes]

Olympian

Daniel Ricciardo x Gretzky! Reader

Plot: Daniel's girlfriend is an Olympian, but not in the sport that you may think... (This takes place at the end of the 2017 racing season + 2018 Winter Olympics)

Formula 1 Masterlist

Word Count: 2.1K

Warning: Swearing, Canadian slang, hockey terms, clueless Daniel and clueless drivers (except Lance)

It was the last race in Abu Dhabi. The long-awaited race was coming into place. Before the weekend started, they all decided to go out for a grid dinner at a restaurant. As the night went on, they started to talk about their winter break plans. Many go skiing in Europe, while others make stops at home to see family. 

“Danny, what are you going to get up to?” Max asked him. 

“I’m going to go home and visit the folks, and in February I’m going to PyeongChang,” he states, everyone’s eyes falling onto him. 

“Korea? What on Earth are you going there for?” Nicko asks, finishing off his Heineken.

Daniel and (Y/N) had decided very early on to keep a private and low-key relationship. With (Y/N) showing up to the Montreal and Austalia races and him going to her most important games. But he never really discussed his relationship with the young hockey star with the other drivers. They knew he was dating someone but they didn’t know who he was dating. Daniel wanted to gush about how his girlfriend is going to the Olympics and this would be the only time he would do it until they go full public with their relationship. 

“Isn’t that where the Olympics are this year?” Valtteri asks. This started to make many of the driver's mind race.

“Daniel, why are you going to the Olympics? Are you a super athlete and you never told us?” Seb asks in a joking way.

“Oh, I wish, but I’m more of a Summer athlete than a winter one. My girlfriend is taking part in the games and I’m going to support her,” he finally reveals. Many eyebrows were lifted at the revelation. 

“Oh? We didn’t even know she was an athlete. What sport does she play?” Lewis asks, him thinking he might make a change of plans to go also. 

“She’s playing for Team Canada’s women’s hockey team,” he states, catching the two Canadian driver’s attention. 

“What’s her name, I wonder if Stroll knows her,” Alsonso jokes, causing a couple of drivers to chuckle. 

“I don’t know if you would know her, but I would think you would know her father,” he says. 

“Oh yeah, and who would that be?” Lance asks, being a little cocky. 

“Wayne Gretzky,” he replies while taking a spit of his drink. Lance’s face fell like he was just told that his girlfriend was pregnant. 

“I think you broke him, mate,” Carlos says, waving a hand in front of the Canadian’s face. 

“You’re dating (Y/N) Gretzky?! As in Wayne Gretzky’s daughter,” Lance stresses, making sure he heard the Austrailian correctly. 

“Why are you so surprised that he is dating this person's daughter?” Pierre asks, not knowing much of anything about hockey. 

“Wayne Gretzky is one of the most famous hockey players of all time. He won 4 Stanley Cups, which is the trophy that the NHL plays for. He also broke every record set for points, goals, and assists. It's like him saying he is dating Pele's daughter!" he explains, blowing away many of the drivers. 

“If that is the case, how the hell did you two meet?” Seb asks the Austrailian. 

“They came to the Montreal Race a couple of years ago, and we ended up bumping into each other. We started talking and ended up exchanging numbers; the rest is history,” he explains.

“Wow, I didn’t know you had that much game,” Max says into his drink, earning a smack from the Australian. 

Race weekend came and went, and the travels of the drivers began. (Y/N) accompanied him to Australia to visit his family Australia, as a small vacation before all of her focus goes into the Olympics. It was one of the last days before she was going to fly back to Canada to get prepared for going to training camp. (Y/N) decided to take a step outside and enjoy the warm air.

As she sat on the deck, she was starting to feel the pressure that was being placed on her. She was ‘The Great Ones’ daughter, and Canada is a shoo-in to win gold this year. (Y/N) was so in her head that she didn’t hear the back door open, or notice someone sitting beside her. They pulled her into their body. Daniel’s cologne filled her nose, and she relaxed into his body.

“What’s going on in your head of yours?” he asked. She looked up at him a replied,” Everything.” Daniel lets out a breathy laugh, before placing a kiss on the crown of her head.

“Oh love, everything will work out in the end,” he replies.

“Yeah, I know, but what if people decide that I’m not as good enough? What if I can’t live up to the expectations of being Wayne Gretkzy’s daughter?” she spews out just some of the anxiety-filled questions. Daniel sat there for a moment, trying to formulate an answer. 

“Those are very common feelings to have. I know that these feelings are common for kids of sports stars,” he states while playing with her hair. “But do what I always say, Fuck ‘Em All.”

She looks up at him and smiles. “Thanks, Danny.” He leans down and kisses her lips. 

“Come on, let's get you back inside, it's starting to get cold out here,” he states, helping her up. 

“I love you, Danny,” “I love you too (Y/N/N)” he replies before placing a kiss against her lips. Before they could continue their moment, it was broken by a distinctive “EWWW” from a little boy. They turned to see Daniel's nephew standing at the slightly opened glass door. 

“Come here ya bugger,” Daniel says while he starts to chase the boy back inside, leaving (Y/N) behind, laughing at his antics.  

Time flew by, and before either of them knew it, they were in Korea for the fateful Olympics. Canada breezed through the round-robin rounds. They then fought their way through the quarters and semi-finals, leading them to the long-awaited finals. The United States of America vs. Canada. The well-known rivalry goes back decades. 

(Y/N) was listening to music while she was getting warmed up. A playlist that Daniel made for her. As she was stretching, her phone pings. She sees Daniel's picture pop up. It was a text. (Y/N) opens and smiles. 

DannyRic❤️

   You got this babe! Remember, Fuck Em All

“Awe, that’s so sweet!” a familiar French accent grounds her. She turns to see her friend Marie-Philip Poulin standing behind her.

“I see lover boy is taking the boyfriend role seriously today,” she states while sitting beside (Y/N).

“Yeah, he knows that I get in my head a lot when it comes to things like this,” (Y/N) states, fidgeting with her necklace that holds her hockey number and a little F1 charm. 

“You’ll do fine chérie. And if people start to question your skills, we’ll have your back to prove them wrong,” Marie-Philip says while wrapping an arm around (Y/N)’s shoulders.   

“Thanks, M.P. and I know that Danny would be beside you in that defence,” she says while returning the side hug. 

“Now, come on, the game is in 30min, let's start getting out gear on.” 

It was go time. (Y/N) had walked out onto this pad many times in the last two weeks, but tonight was different. It was for an Olympic gold medal. Marie-Philip Poulin was hyping the girls up, getting them ready to face the fierce rivals. As they skated out onto the International pad of ice, the cheers of Canadians and Americans shake the nerves a little. She looked up at the jumbotron and saw that the camera was on her dad. Daniel was sitting beside him, and they were talking. What shocked her was seeing some of the other drivers sitting beside them. 

Lewis Hamilton, Valtara Bottas, Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, and Lance Stroll were sitting in the stands. They looked out of place, which made her laugh a little. She knew that if she had the TSN stream, the focus would be on her and her ‘cheer squad’. Sarah Nurse tapped her shins, getting her attention to set up for the start of the game. (Y/N) moved to the center ice for the face-off. 

As the game unfolds, the rivals play each other hard. There were hard hits and solid goals. (Y/N) scored one of the two goals for the Canadian team, and she could hear Daniel from the ice level. With the 110% effort that was brought by both teams, it lead them to a shootout. 

(Y/N) was the first shooter for Team Canada. She was getting ready to go, her nerves returning as a result. She looked up to where her squad was sitting and all she thought were Daniel's words to her. Fuck ‘Em All. She looked to the refs and gave them the nod, signalling to the refs that she was ready. The whistle blew, signalling for her to go. To (Y/N), it went deadly quiet. She blocked out all the fans, all the players yelling, everything. She skated down, went left to right, and then popped it over the blocker side of the US goalie. 

When the puck hit the back of the net, she tuned back in to hear the roar of the Canadian fans. She felt that all the weight is off her shoulders. Her work in getting Canada the win is done. But it wasn’t enough. The United States ended up getting the upper hand in the shootout and earning them the gold medal. (Y/N) felt defeated. She felt numb. 

They did the award ceremony, they consoled each other on the ice and in the changeroom. She would comfort them, just trying to be there for them. Her teammates would ask her how she was feeling and she would detour the questions. She got changed into some comfy, but still presentable, to walk out of the arena and back onto the bus to the Olympic Village. When they crawled off the bus, just wanting to get into their beds for the night, she saw Daniel and Wayne standing by the unloading spot. She gave them a small smile before walking into the open arms of her father. 

“I am so proud of you,” he says. Those words made her break. Tears started to fall and her body shakes in her father's arms. Daniel wanted to take her into his arms, but he knew that she needed it. 

“But we lost,” she murmured into her father's chest. Wayne moves her off him, so he can look at her properly. 

“It doesn’t matter that you won or lost. You went out there and showed the world how great you were. Unfortunately, shootouts are awful ways to end games, and they got the puck in more times. But you guys kept them in the game and made it such a great game. That’s what makes me proud of you,” Wayne praises. More tears fall on (Y/N)’s face, but now they were happy tears. 

“I love you, Dad,” she says, bringing him back into a big hug. “I love you to kiddo,” he replies while placing a kiss on her forehead. Reminders of when she would come off the ice upset from the game and Wayne comforting her exactly like this. 

“Now, I think someone is wanting to talk to you,” Wayne says while turning her to see a fidgety Daniel standing behind them. She giggles at his antics before thanking her dad again. Wayne walked off into the village, leaving the two love birds alone. Daniel opens his arms up, and (Y/N) falls into his arms quickly. 

“Sorry for not giving you guys the best performance,” she whispers against his Team Canada jacket. 

“Are you kidding, the boys first couldn’t believe that we were dating. Then they couldn’t believe that you had moves like this. Minus Stroll of course as you both are maple leaves,” Daniel states. Giggles erupt 

“If you’re up for it, the boys invited us to a restaurant just outside of the village and they would love to meet you. But if you’re not up for it, it is totally understandable and we can arrange something during the racing season,” he word dumps. 

“You know what, I’ve avoided meeting your fellow racers for this long, why not meet some of them properly,” she says with a smile. “And I could go for some good Korean food.” This causes Daniel to laugh. 

“Well, I’ll make sure Lewis pays then, come on,” he states while walking her towards the rental he got. 

(Y/N) felt disappointed that she didn’t get Canada the gold, but Daniel and her father made her feel that she wasn’t a failure, and she felt the most confident she had ever been.

[sl-ut]

sweet cliches

THE BEGINNING

pairing: college!abby anderson x fem!preppy!reader

description: just some hcs about the early stages of abby’s relationship with preppy!reader 

warnings: swearing, mentions of drinking, probably a lot of grammar/spelling mistakes (i was really high when i wrote this)

date posted: 29/03/23

series masterlist

abby is a senior when they start dating, y/n is a sophomore

during abby’s freshman year, she became a star athlete so she was very popular by the time that y/n came into the picture

i hc that she plays either hockey or lacrosse (but that's probably just the canadian in me)

for the sake of the plot, let’s go with lacrosse

y/n doesn’t even appear on abby’s radar until the start of her senior year

they met through a mutual friend

y/n would know nora through a shared class or maybe work and got invited to some team party

she’s probably also on the cheer team, so they’ve been running in the same circles, just haven’t interacted much until this point

nora introduced her to the team at the party and abby wasn’t immediately interested

her sports career is her priority, so her dating history isn’t very long, but it didn’t mean that she didn’t get around a bit. bc of

 this, i feel like her usual type would be people similar to herself, and y/n did not fit that archetype

y/n had thought abby was attractive right off the bat. after the party she asked their mutual friends about her

she was disappointed when she was told that she wasn’t really abby’s type but pushed it to the back of her mind

abby caught interest when they bumped into each other at the campus coffee shop

she had noticed y/n standing in line behind her and started a friendly conversation, not expecting much

abby got the vibe that y/n may have been someone who was a bit full of themselves, and was genuinely surprised at the cramp that appeared from her stomach from laughing

the next time they talked was at another party, only she made an effort to talk to y/n for a bit before ducking out early

she gives me the vibe that she didn’t party very hard–she watched the amount of alcohol she consumed to keep herself in peak physical condition, and she needed to perform drug tests every once and a while to stay on the team

however, i think that she definitely still makes an effort to attend parties for the social aspect, and probably heads out around midnight every time

after winning a tournament or championship, however, abby is swimming in celebratory drinks and will definitely be a few sips past tipsy

y/n almost fainted the next day when nora told her that abby had asked her for y/n snapchat

from then on, y/n noticed how much more often she and abby would run into each other on campus, and began to wonder if it had been purposeful on abby’s part

abby finally made a move a few weeks later after she another rather casual date, probably just grabbing a coffee, going to a movie, or just hanging out at her apartment

it took her a few weeks to finally ask y/n to be her girlfriend

it was definitely asked in passing

like they went to a coffee shop or the library to study together quietly, abby was just watching y/n quietly and just asked. 

y/n smiled at her and nodded, and reached to hold her hand over the table for the rest of the time that they were there

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Wrestling Luminaries and Matchmakers,” Border Cities Star. October 26, 1932. Page 23. ---- THE success of tonight's wrestling show, the first of the season to be staged at the Empire Theatre on Pitt street, depends largely on these four huskies. Left to right: Matchmaker Jack Milo, Bull Martinson, who meets Bob Jackson in the feature bout of the evening; Carl Dumler of Regina and Johnny Shupe.

[rabbitcruiser]

Ice hockey was introduced to the Olympic Games at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. The tournament also served as the 1st World Championships. The matches were played between April 23 and April 29, 1920. Canada was represented by the Winnipeg Falcons.

[chirpingfromthebox]

I forgot to post about this back when it came out. But this was an interview with two prominent figures from the management side of the PWHL from a few days back. I was expecting it to be a bit dry, but they actually address quite a few prominent questions.

I was originally going to skip doing this one as it's somewhat long, but I've been seeing a number of things they talked about coming up in discussions here, so I thought y'all might be interested to hear what they have to say.

I'll transcribe what I personally found to be the most interesting elements that came up, but know I'll be cutting down some of the remarks and only doing some of the questions, so definitely watch the video for the full story.

Since this is already going to be a massive post I'll spare you my musings on the answers.

Transcriptions of some of the questions under the break.

At the table are Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford & Advisory Board Member Stan Kasten.

And I believe this was after Game 2 of the finals and before the start of Game 3.

For context on who these two are in a bigger picture, what little I know is:

Jayna Hefford is a HIGHLY successful and influential former Canadian hockey player who's been working in the field of women's hockey ever since she retired from playing. If I tried to sum up her career we'd be here all day, so let's just say she's in the Hockey Hall of Fame for a reason.

Stan Kasten comes from a background of running/managing large sports teams, though mostly baseball. He is even the current president of the Los Angeles Dodgers and also one of the co-owners. He seems to have had a brief foray into hockey as the president of the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers for a few years. The Thrashers no longer exist and I think they moved and became what are now the Jets? (I dunno, I shouldn't be your source for NHL history, that's for sure.)

--------------- INTRODUCTIONS ---------------

STAN KASTEN: I can’t describe the pleasure this is for me to be here [at the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota]. The last time I was here I told you that I thought that day, the 13,000*, really convinced us that we were going to make this work.

[* the first home game for Minnesota had an attendance of 13,316.]

But even then I couldn’t have imagined how the year would play out. How we would set attendance records, sponsorship records, and viewing records. So our media strategy was a success. But of course the thing that made it work, really, was what I said opening day: we got the hockey right.

And that’s because of Jayna [Hefford] and her staff. You know, we didn’t know our playoffs ‘til after the last game on the last day. Who could have imagined that we’d put together a system that would've worked out that perfectly. You see how close and competitive the playoffs have been. And as exciting as this is for all of us, we can’t wait to get started on year 2, because we know with all Summer to prepare, it’s gonna be even better.

JAYNA HEFFORD: When we kicked off this league we had a few goals and—at least on the hockey side—one of them was to create parity across the league. And through the draft and the player dispersal, the player signings that we put in place, we were able to do that.

And to Stan’s point, I don’t think we could have wrote the script any better the way it played out and came down to the last game of the regular season to decide who was in the playoffs. We certainly achieved that.

Secondly, innovation and creativity was a priority for us. We wanted to find ways to improve the game. To make it more engaging for fans, to make it fun. We didn’t want to change hockey in the traditionalism of hockey, but we wanted to do things a little bit differently.

So implementing the Jailbreak rule, implementing the pick your own opponent, the Gold Plan*. All of those things are new. But I think right now, and of course we’re going to debrief post-season, but right now the response from all of those things has been overwhelmingly positive. So we will continue to try to be creative and think outside the box and present the game in new ways to people.

[* It didn’t come into play this season, so in case anyone isn’t familiar: The Gold Plan is the system by which after a team is out of contention for the playoffs during the regular season, any wins they get would be factored into where they’d be placed in the draft order for next season. It was designed to be an incentive for teams out of the running to still play their hardest and strive for wins.]

...

So excited to be here now for the next two or three games. And really it’s been a remarkable, amazing journey this last number of years, but really this last 8 or 9 months. And as Stan said, I don’t think I could have envisioned this playing out the way it did. The excitement around this, and the response from our fans, and response from media. So we’re just thrilled with where it’s at and I know this is gonna wrap up in a really great way in the next number of days.

...

--------------- LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT ARE THE CHANGES/CHALLENGES FOR NEXT YEAR? ---------------

STAN: We didn’t have our business staff in place until about 60 days before the season started. So we have a lot we can still do.

The most obvious one was merchandise. Having, you know, the amount of inventory that we needed was a challenge for us. Getting an online business started, in two countries, that was a challenge. So all these two country problems are different than other leagues.

By the end of the season we did really well on merchandise. But we have more coming and more designs and greater inventory. The one good thing is that we sold everything that we could make. I mean, it was just flying off the shelves when we could get it to arenas. And the online business has been strong also. Those things are challenging when they’re start-ups, and as I said, they’re start-ups in two countries, so we know how to do it now. It’s gonna get a lot better going forward.

JAYNA: And I think what everybody is waiting for is names and logos. So that’s one big thing that’s coming. So I think that’ll be really exciting to be able to build those brands and make those brands significant in the markets and communities we’re in.

STAN: It’s interesting how the name thing played out. We did not start out to do that, but because the lead time required in these things, we just thought it was better to just skip that for now and just go with: PWHL and the location.

And that has had an amazing unintended consequence of anytime anyone has talked about any of our teams all year, you had to say “PWHL.” So our league has gotten more exposure in the first year of its existence than any league in history ‘cause they kept repeating our name.

Again, we didn’t plan it that way; it just worked out that way. And it was about mid-season that I started hearing from fans and players, “You know, we kinda like the name the way it is.”

We’re gonna have team names. And I invite people to adopt those names too. But you can feel free to continue to call it what you’ve always called it. And we will be selling merchandise with both of those names. So these names aren’t going away because they have become popular. But for those of you who like team names, we’ll be addressing that as well.

...

JAYNA: ...Of course we feel like we have incredible talent on the ice every night now, but putting the best on the ice is about putting the best on the ice. And we know there’s a number of incoming players. So it will get more challenging. Good players will have a hard time making this league. But when you think about the product we’re gonna put on the ice? It’s gonna continue to get significantly better every single year as we welcome in newer and younger players. Then at some point we’ll look to add teams, when that depth of talent is at the right place in our minds. But right now it’s just exciting to look at all the new and fresh talent that’s going to step in.

--------------- WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE DIVERSITY AND ATTRACT MORE BLACK FANS TO THE GAMES? ---------------

JAYNA: I think the first thing is representation. And we have some incredible athletes in our league that continue to be great role models, be active in their communities. And when you think of Sophie Jaques and Sarah Nurse and players that continue to give back and become something that young girls can look up to? I think all of our players do that for a lot of different communities of people.

And I think the one thing that’s really special about our league is- I feel it every game I’m at, it doesn’t matter what market we’re in, is that there’s a sense of inclusivity in our buildings. People are here and they’re excited and they’re happy and they feel welcome, regardless of who they are. And they feel free to be themselves. I’ve talked to many, many people that have never felt this way in a hockey rink. So we’ll continue to do that on the culture side.

I think what we want to do is continue to grow the game for young girls and I don’t think there’s any limits on who those young girls are. We want people to fall in love with the game. And I think we approach our business side and staffing side the same way. We want to bring people in who love the game and we want to bring people in that represent different communities.

--------------- WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR NEW YORK TO POSSIBLY PLAY IN ONE VENUE INSTEAD OF THE THREE OR FOUR THEY USED THIS SEASON? ---------------

STAN: When the season is over we’re gonna review everything. Every city, every venue that we’re in, and we’re going to try to improve. We’re aware of the New York situation. It wasn’t ideal this year. But we’ll see what ways we can improve the situation. We’re not ready to say here today which way we’re going to go or what we’re going to do. But I can tell you that certainly one of the things we’re going to spend a lot of time looking at.

REPORTER: What do you guys think is the ideal venue situation?

STAN: The ideal venue situation is to play in the biggest NHL venue in every city. And merit playing there. We’re not always there yet in every market. But in big markets, as you might know, the big venues are there because there are a lot of events and a lot of teams in those cities. That gets into availabilities. We don’t want to be in a big venue, but have to play on a Tuesday morning, right? We wanna play on weekend nights or nights in general.

So it’s a complicated matrix of considerations that goes into where we choose to play, when we choose to play, what’s good for the team, what’s good for the visiting team, how we travel. It’s complicated.

It’s complicated with 6, it’ll be more complicated the bigger we grow and the more games we have. Those will be good problems, but we don’t ignore it. We’re thinking about all of it. And you saw in this year when we found an opportunity that we thought would work for our fans in cities where we could go to big venues, we did it. I would call them experiments and in general I’d say those experiments were all wildly successful.

--------------- WHEN CAN WE EXPECT NAMES AND LOGOS? ---------------

STAN: Sometime this Summer. I don’t have an exact time, but you should be counting the days.

--------------- HOW DID THE GATE RECEIPT REVENUE COMPARE TO WHAT YOU EXPECTED? ---------------

STAN: I will tell you that, yes, it exceeded what we thought we were going to- it exceeded our early projections. But that’s partially because we made the strategy decision to also greatly exceed our expected expenses.

Let me give you an example. You know how women’s hockey games have been broadcast in the past, right? Single camera from upstairs. It isn’t what we chose to do. We made the conscious choice to spend a lot of money to make it a major league professional broadcast. And I think all of you who watched our games would agree. That’s what we delivered. It was expensive. But we think it’s gonna pay off for us in the long run.

Additionally we didn’t hire three people and slowly build each franchise. We went right to 120 people by opening day and now we’re over 200 people. So that was a lot of expense that we didn’t expect right away, but we said, “you know what? We’re all in. So let’s do year 4 expenses in year 1.”

So yeah, and that resulted in a lot more revenue. And that’s why we think our decision to invest in the league, which is what I call expenses, was the right one. We’re on the right track. The investments we made are paying off.

--------------- WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT NEXT SEASON’S SCHEDULE, NUMBER OF GAMES, AND POSSIBLE NEUTRAL-SITE GAMES? ---------------

JAYNA: Well, in terms of number of games the league will go up to 30. And that’s in our CBA that 24 regular games in the inaugural season will move to a minimum of 30 next year. In terms of neutral site games, we do expect that there will be more of those next season. I don’t have a timeline for our schedule to be done yet, but we do expect more games, more neutral-site games next season.

--------------- WHAT WAS THE CONSENSUS ON THE OFFICIATING THIS SEASON IN THE LEAGUE? ---------------

JAYNA: I don’t know if you’ll ever get a collection of people that all agree on officiating in any sport, in any league. So we’re actually really happy with where we’re at.

We set out initially to find the best officials we could find. We worked closely with the NHL, the AHL, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, to select the top officials. We obviously also adjusted the standard of play to this league. It’s not full body checking, but there is an increased level of physicality in the game. So I think we spent the early months of the season really trying to figure out where that line is and get people comfortable with it.

Now where we’re at I think players have figured it out to some extent. Of course not everyone’s going to agree on that. But the way I see the players playing the game now, and their awareness of positions they’re in, and to be ready for that physicality has changed. So, are we right there? We’re probably not right there yet. But we’re really happy with where we’re at, we think the officials have done an incredible job in the league this season.

--------------- ARE THERE PLANS FOR DRAFTED PLAYERS WHO MIGHT NOT MAKE THE PWHL ROSTERS? ---------------

JAYNA: I think trying to figure out what the right solution for that is in the short term is at the top of our list of things to do. You know, building one league in 9 months, but to build a whole ecosystem for hockey? It’s just not something that we can do right now. But we are thinking creatively around places that players could play if they don’t end up on our 23 or 26 player rosters next season. So it’s a bit of a work in progress. But in speaking to number of stakeholders there’s many many people that want to figure out a solution to this so that we can keep more women in playing the game at the highest level.

--------------- DO YOU LOOK AT THE LEAGUE AS A “WOMEN’S SPORTS” SUCCESS STORY OR HAS IT MOVED BEYOND THAT? ---------------

JAYNA: I think that we are very different from most men’s leagues. I think we’re very different than many women’s leagues. I’d like to see us stand on our own as a sports league. But in saying that I also believe that this time for women’s sports and the success of one feels like it’s a success for all. We’re all big fans and collaborate with folks in the WNBA and the NWSL, and it feels like we’re all working together to raise women’s sports. So I don’t know if that’s an appropriate answer, but I feel it’s a little of both.

--------------- HOW DO THE INVESTORS FEEL ABOUT THIS FIRST SEASON? ---------------

STAN: I have one investor, he is ecstatic.

...

--------------- WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL FOR DOING A BEST OF 7 GAMES SERIES IN THE FUTURE? ---------------

JAYNA: This is a little bit like getting asked about expansion 3 months in. Great question. Would I love to see a best of 7 series? We’re sitting here 1-1, you know of course I would. But I think we’re really excited about the format we have now. This is new for women’s hockey. Even the best players in the world who’ve won multiple Olympic gold medals have not played in a best of 5 series. I think we’re seeing that it’s challenging. There’s a lot of travel, there’s fatigue, the volume that they’re experiencing is huge

So I think we’re really good where we’re at right now. Somewhere along the line I could see us maybe expanding, but again, year 1? The two best of 5 series have been a really great format for us.

STAN: And that comes from someone who’s won 4 Olympic gold medals.

JAYNA: [laughing] I’ve never played in a best of 5 series either.

STAN: Exactly.

--------------- end of interview ---------------

[allbeendonebefore]

“Edmonton, the final city in this study, is really the outlier.” “If Winnipeg is one of the more cosmopolitan cities in the prairies, and Saskatoon is a well-equipped small city with culture, education, and resource wealth, Edmonton, for all its infrastructure, wealth, and population, is the toughest city.” “Calgary’s wealth, in oil, resources, and finances, skews glitzy (albeit it is a cowboy glamour) with a strong dash of entrepreneurialism. Calgary gets the glory while Edmonton’s more blue-collar ethos makes the province work”

i am howling please keep up the portrait sketching valerie you are making my day

[genderkoolaid]

Findings from a report, which was commissioned by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, clarified that biomedical factors do not pose an advantage, but suggests social factors – like nutrition and training quality – do. The new report is an in-depth review of all scientific literature published between 2011 and 2021 in English regarding trans women and their participation in elite-level sports. These studies show there is little evidence to show that factors relating to male puberty – such as lung size and bone density – produce an advantage for trans athletes. Existing rules regarding trans women in sport most often relate to the suppression of testosterone to certain low levels. The report concluded that trans women that have begun testosterone suppression have no clear biological advantage. “There is not one discrete biomarker that allows easy comparison of athletes’ bodies to each other in terms of performance,” the report reads. Trans people, especially trans women, have been unfairly targeted in the elite and grass-roots sports worlds, with some even being banned entirely from competing due to anti-trans rhetoric. The report found “strong evidence” that “elite sport policy is made within transmisogynist, misogynoir, racist, geopolitical cultural norms”. These ‘norms’ are the outcome of a long history of exclusion of women in sports, especially women whose bodies did not conform to standards of femininity.