#however I am SEVERELY disappointed to not see Louis or the other guys in any trailers yet

[whatohitsonfirewelp]

YOU GUYS DONT UNDERSTAND THE ANT-MAN MOVIES HAVE NEVER BEEN TREATED LIKE THIS BEFORE

Like yeah, maybe it IS being shoved down my throat but I’m HAPPY about it!! These are my COMFORT films!! Some of the ONLY mcu movies I genuinely and fully enjoy.

[sweeetie-demon-blog]

Save Me // Clouis

❌TW❌: It’s very angsty and includes self loathing. If you don’t feel comfortable with subjects like this, please do not read! 🌿🌿

Description: Louis was having a bad day, until he meets a new girl.

I’m really proud of this, I may make it into a whole fic.

———-

A delinquent, a fuck up. Nothing but a waste of space. That’s what he’s been told his whole damn life, he’s sick of it. Nobody got to know the true him, the person he was behind all the shit he did. In all honesty, he doesn’t really know why he does what he does. Maybe making stupid jokes and flirting with whoever he wanted was a cover for his low self esteem, his confidence. And maybe smashing things and disrupting class was a cry for help. He wanted for someone to come along and ask him what the hell he’s doing. Not even his best friend knew why he does all that.

He sighed, here he was, laying in an empty room with his music turned all the way up. He hated this time of day. He would be here for hours while his best friend Marlon was out practicing football. Some may say that the teen was perfect for the theater club, but he tried that. Guess no one can take a joke in that class. So that left the seventeen year old boy alone with his thoughts for hours on end, while his loud rock music tried to drown the things he kept replaying in his head.

The teen still couldn’t believe his parents sent him to this fucking boarding school, without trying to ask him what was wrong. They were always so serious, so uptight. Always wanted to be the best. It wasn’t his fault that he liked rock music and ripped jeans, not those dumb sweater vests his father would make him wear. He wanted to break from that mold, wanted to be his own person without his parents demands and yelling. But it only made him sadder. His parents completely changed their views on him the day he said he didn’t want to wear all that fancy clothes, and wanted to dress however he liked. His father had given him the coldest stare, yelling at the boy that the only way he was going to get a good job was by dressing professional. And he snapped when the boy argued about how he didn’t want to be a lawyer, how he didn’t want to carry on his father’s work.

He still remembers the disappointment written on their faces. It wasn’t the same after that. His parents had become stricter with him, hoping to change the unacceptable behavior.

“You’re grades are slipping Louis!”

“I’m trying my best! I had to go retake several tests, then I had piano practice after that. I didn’t have time to go meet my tutor. I’m sorry.”

“Do you really think piano is necessary? You won’t go anywhere playing that dumb thing. I can’t believe we spent all that money for a top of the line tutor for you to ditch it for some stupid instrument.” His mother stormed out of the room.

“I need some fun in my life too.”

He shook his head. He hates remembering the those times. He moved to his bed, slamming his body harshly on the mattress. The teen covered his face with an arm while his other arm dangled off the bed. He layed there, singing along softly to some song that played in the background. But, then the music got lower, causing Louis to uncover his face.

“Sorry dude, I thought you were asleep.” Marlon set his football helmet on the desk next to the bed. He was still dressed in his football gear, too lazy to use the locker room.

“Turn it back up.” Louis covered his face again, not even looking at Marlon as he did. Marlon wasn’t too surprised when his friend didn’t want to talk. He’s been like this since they met. It was a little confusing for him at first. Louis was basically the class clown of every class, a flirt that seemed to have so much confidence. But when he got bunked with the boy, he realized there was much more to this guy than he thought. Marlon did what he was told and sat next to his friend.

“Wanna talk about it?” He nudged Louis’s leg. Marlon had never gotten him to truly spill his feelings, he wouldn’t be surprised if his friend didn’t want to talk about it, but he had hope.

“Do you think my parents hate me?” Woah, that was a first. Usually he would say something like “I’m just down, I’ll get over it” or “just thinking too much.” But this. Marlon was a little worried about his friend. Was he actually going to spill his feelings?

“I’m sure they don’t buddy.”

“Why did they send me here then? Why did they tell me everything I did was wrong? Why didn’t they consider my feelings? They never did! Not one fucking time!” Louis snapped, tears forming in his eyes. “Get better grades Louis! No piano, no phone, no friends Louis! Be like you’re dad Louis! Why can’t you do anything fucking right Louis!” Tears began to fall from his face as he punched the the wall on the side of his bed. Marlon got up in shock, stopping his friend from trying to hurt himself.

“Woah woah woah, hey, dude. Calm down, breathe.” Louis instantly regretted his decision of punching the wall and latched onto his friend. He wrapped his arms around Marlon tightly.

“Marlon it’s too much, I’ve held it in for too long. I’m fucking sorry I did that, I couldn’t keep it bottled up anymore.” He sniffled, leaning his head on his best friend’s shoulder. The teen sighed sympathetically and began to rub his back.

“Dude, that was, uh, that was something else. I didn’t think you were hurting that much.” He hugged him tighter. “I’m glad to know that you got it all out though.” Marlon held Louis in a tight embrace. They never hugged, which made this a little weird, but his best friend needed this right now. The blonde teen was the first one to let go. “Hey why don’t we go for for a walk? You can show me that song you’re writing. Yeah?” He smiled hopefully.

“Fuck it. Beats sitting here and crying right?” Louis chuckled weaking, not wanting to meet Marlon’s gaze.

“Cool, let me change outta this shit and we’ll get going.”

———-

The two teens walked around the campus of their school. It was mid-November, the breeze making trees sway and leaves dance in the wind. Marlon had gotten rid of his dirty uniform, settling for simple dark blue jeans and his letterman jacket with the schools logo. Louis was dressed in black ripped jeans with a dark green bomber jacket. They sat at a nearby bench in the middle of an grassy field, just people watching.

The dreaded hair teen spotted a girl walking by. Her face was carved into an angry expression. Guess someone pissed her off. The blonde saw him eyeing the girl, nudging his friend slightly.

“Ooh, checking her out?” Marlon wiggled his eyebrows. Louis huffed.

“Uh, yeah man. Who is that anyways. Never seen that face before.”

“She’s new. I saw her during practice, think she has anger issues.”

“Hm.”

They both made their way to the music room. This was always a happy place for Louis, music never failed to sooth his soul. Louis sat at the bench while Marlon leaned against the grand piano.

“And here we have the music room- oh! I’m sorry.” Both Louis and Marlon turned at the sudden voice. “Sorry, didn’t know someone was in here. I’m just showing our new student around the school.” It was a brunette girl, her personality too cheerful, and next to her was that girl Louis had saw outside.

“It’s cool, was just gonna play something.” Louis cracked his knuckles before playing the soft tune. The piano echoing off the walls of the empty room. The two girls left the room, most likely continuing with the rest of the tour. Marlon looked back at his friend, he could see tears forming in his eyes again. He loved seeing the passion coursing through him when he played. There was always so much love and feeling in his music. The blonde hated seeing his friend so broken. He never realized how much he bottled up until today, when he poured his soul out. The song ended. Louis was sadly smiling as he wiped a few stray tears away.

“Dude, you’re awesome. I always loved hearing you play.”

“Thanks man, I am the greatest aren’t I? Marlon smirked.

"Hey there’s my buddy, I was wondering when he’d get back.”

“Oh ya know, he was crying his eyes out, like a true man.”

“You weirdo.”

Marlon pulled up a chair next to the piano. He watched as Louis played a number of songs. He cracked a few bad jokes everytime he missed a key, which made Marlon chuckle everytime. It was nearing sunset time, the golden rays shining through the window and into the room. All the students had a set curfew which was 9:00, which meant they had about 4 hours left before bed.

Louis had stopped playing for a bit to relax his fingers, and that’s when they heard squeaky footsteps from the hall. Marlon raised a brow in confusion. Usually the arts building was empty at this time. The blonde saw a head poke in the room.

It was that girl from earlier.

“Uh hey, I’m Clementine. Sorry to interrupt, I kinda wanted to wander around and heard the piano.”

“No problem Clementine, I’m Marlon. Come sit.” The short girl made her way to the boys on the other side of the room.

“Why hello there Clementine, I’m Louis. The one playing the amazing music. So pleased to meet you.” Louis winked, turning on his flirtatious side. She rolled her eyes but giggled anyways. She took the moment to study his person. Clementine was a little confused at the teen. He seemed to look like a tough guy, his ripped jeans and messily tied converse. His bomber jacket with various rude looking patches, yet he was playing the piano with such grace.

“Can’t stop looking at my handsome face already? Wow.” Marlon snorted as Louis tried to work his charm with this girl.

“You’re just confusing.” She huffed. This guy was kinda getting on her nerves. “You look like this super tough guy, but here you are playing the piano. At first glance, I’d assume you’d like playing the electric guitar or something.” Clementine said.

“Well you’re wrong. I love piano more than anything.”

Louis began to play the ivory keys again, Clementine watched as he played without missing any notes. Marlon smiled, looks like his friend’s day was getting a bit better.

“Hey Lou, I’m heading out. I think I forgot something in my locker.” The blonde get up but not before winking to his friend.

“Oh you did huh.”

“Yeah, actually why don’t you stay here and give Clementine some company?”

“Mar-”

“Great! See ya buddy.” And with that he walked off. Louis sighed. He may be a flirt, but he had zero self confidence. He had no idea what was going to happen.

“What was that about?” Clementine had a stone faced look, one Louis couldn’t really read.

“No idea.” He began playing a random tune. The teen closed his eyes, feeling the sound echo through his soul. God how he loved this dear instrument. He began to feel the passion in his veins as he played the unknown tune, his fingers moving to the low keys before dramatically stopping and playing a new chord. He could go on for hours playing this random thing he came up with, until he was startled out of his trance by a hand running up his sleeve.

“Woah dude, don’t do that.” Louis shook his head.

“Sorry, I was looking at your patches.” Clementine said, eyeing the ones on his sleeve.

“You don’t have to touch them ya know.” She ignored his comment. “You like iron maiden?” The girl poked the patch near his shoulder. “Doesn’t that seem a little too metal for you?”

Louis snorted. “As if! I can handle metal music, thank you. In fact I should be the one surprised here. How do you even know it’s a metal band?” The dreaded haired teen crossed his arms and had an eyebrow raised.

“Uh I don’t know genius, maybe cause I listen to the same type of stuff?” She rolled her eyes in his direction again.

“Wow, a sweet looking girl like you? Wearing pink and sporting pigtails. Who knew?” Louis winked, causing her to blush. It was strange for her to blush at something a boy had said to her. Maybe that could change, she thought.

“Well maybe we can listen to metal music together some time.” Clementine blushed even more.

“I’d like that.”

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON'S CORNER: THERE'S STILL HOCKEY NEWS AND NOTES EVEN UNDER QUARANTINE - VOLUME 3

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Even with the world principally under quarantine, hockey business still moves forward. At this time of the year, Cheshire-native, Rob Malloy, usually is ramping up his workouts in preparation for what's coming up in three weeks, skating for Australia at the IIHF Division II Group A World Championship tournament. The championship, played in Zagreb, Croatia, near the Mediterranean Sea, would have been Malloy's sixth of his career. But now, that's all changed. The Mighty Roos, the Aussie’s national team name that would have been competing against China, host Croatia, Israel, the Netherlands, and Spain, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak that started in China, has taken that away from him and his Aussie teammates. In addition, the start of his 10th season of AIHL (Australian Ice Hockey League) hockey scheduled for April 18th is on hold as well. “We were obviously disappointed worlds were canceled, but nobody disagreed. At this stage, I don’t think there will be a competition until 2021. I also don’t see the feasibility of the AIHL season going ahead either. The teams rely on ticket sales and sponsorships to survive flying 25 guys around the country multiple times. Most rinks have shut for the time being. I don’t know, I don’t see anything happening in the near future,” Malloy said via e-mail. It's not the only calamity that has befallen him in the Land Down Under. He, his wife, and his two young children were in the heart of the Australian apocalyptic-looking brushfires several months ago, near their home in New South Wales. “The fires were pretty crazy! There was one about 15 miles from us that was burning for months. We lived in a blanket of smoke for a while. The air quality was awful. We couldn’t really even go outside. They are all extinguished at this point, but the recovery will be felt for years to come.” Now he and his family are back at home, unable to leave home, yet again. “We've been sitting in isolation for a few weeks now. They haven’t locked everything down yet here, let’s see what happens.” XL CENTER As of Wednesday, the home of the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, UCONN hockey and men’s and women’s basketball is closed. The last of its staff was furloughed, both office and building workers. This now leaves just one office employee in the Wolf Pack offices and building security in the structure on a daily basis. WEBSTER BANK ARENA Currently, there aren't any AHL Sound Tigers hockey going on in the building, but plenty of saves are still going on. The arena is being converted to an emergency triage center for handling the overflow of coronavirus patients from various Fairfield County facilities. Fairfield County has been the hardest hit county in the state. Fairfield County is followed by New Haven County. Up to 118 beds have been assembled and hopefully never used are now available. Hats off to OVG and the arena staff for helping facilitate this. PRO SIGNINGS Ex-Sound Tiger, Cory Conacher, is the likely first AHL’er from this year to sign a European contract. The 30-year-old played in 44 games with the Syracuse Crunch as well as four games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, according to a Swiss hockey website. Conacher has signed with HC Lausanne (Switzerland-LNA), but the team didn’t comment on the rumor. Montreal signed winger Laurent Dauphin to a one-year, two-way deal. Dauphin was acquired on January 7th from the Nashville Predators for Michael McCarron going from Milwaukee to Laval. It was the first of several trades to change Laval. COLLEGE PRO SIGNINGS The New York Rangers added one more forward to the mix for the 2020-21 Wolf Pack season. Justin Richards, a center from the defending national champion University Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC), is leaving school a year early. In 34 gamers he had 14 goals and 25 points and was plus-14. In 120 career games for the Bulldogs, he's amassed 26 goals and 66 points. His father is Todd Richards, the ex-Hartford Whaler. His uncle Travis played for eight years with Grand Rapids (AHL). The number of signees is increasing a little each day and for UCONN next year some of the top teams in Hockey East have lost some big guns. Northeastern saw Tyler Madden leave after two years for a standard three-year, entry-level deal with the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings acquired his rights in a trade deadline deal with the Vancouver Canucks, who originally drafted Madden in 2017. The nation’s leading collegiate goalscorer, John Leonard, leaves the UMASS-Amherst Minutemen (HE) and heads for San Jose. His teammate Jake McLaughlin signs with the Chicago Wolves and Max Gildon leaves New Hampshire early for the Florida Panthers. One of the bigger college free agents, Brinson Pasichnuk, of Division I's independent program, Arizona State Sun Devils signed not with the Coyotes, but with the San Jose Sharks. Currently, that makes 68 Division I players that have signed pro deals and 78 in total. Two college players have signed for Europe one in Division I and one from Division III and 16 underclassmen have left early in Division I. According to veteran Rhode Island hockey reporter, Mark Divver, forward Tim Doherty of the University of Maine (HE) is transferring to Penn State (Big 10) in the fall is the latest grad transfer. Defenseman Milan Alishlalov (Westminster Prep) comes to UCONN in the fall. He has been playing for the Johnstown (PA) Tomahawks and was named to the NAHL East Division All-Rookie team and to the NAHL second-team, All-Rookie squad The three Hobey Baker finalists were announced and the award winner will be announced April 11th at an odd time 11 PM on ESPN Sportscenter. Junior Jordan Kawaguchi of North Dakota (NCHC), Junior Scott Perunovich of Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC) who just signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the defending Stanley Cup champions St. Louis Blues. Junior goalie, Jeremy Swayman of Maine (HE) signed an entry-level deal with Boston last month and are vying for the title. HOCKEY NEWS Cooper Moore (Greenwich/Brunswick School) was named to the BCHL All-Rookie team. The British Columbia Hockey League is one of the 10 Junior A Leagues in Canada that college-bound players are sent to prepare for a year or two before playing Division I hockey. Moore will be skating for North Dakota (NCHC) in the fall. The Chicago Steel (USHL) was awarded the leagues Anderson Cup as regular season champions with a 41-7-1-0 for 83 points. The head coach to start the year was ex-Wolf Pack captain and Sound Tiger, Greg Moore, who left December 1st to take the head coaching job with the Toronto Marlies (AHL). The OHL Priority Draft will be held remotely this Saturday starting at 9 AM for 300 players to be selected. Vinny Borgesi, from the Selects Academy at South Kent Prep, will play for the Tri-City Storm (USHL) in the fall and is a Northeastern (HE) commit in 2022-23. Another player from the Selects Academy U-16 team defenseman  Conor Shortall (St. John’s) returns to Canada and will play for the Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) in the fall. Ex-Wolf Pack, Wojtek Wolski, and ex-Sound Tiger, Tomas Malec, were released from HC Ocelari Trinec and HC Brno (Czech Republic-CEL) respectively. Ex-Pack, Petr Zamorsky, has signed an extension with HK Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic-CEL). Ex-Wolf Pack, Adam Tambellini, stays in Sweden going from MODO (Sweden-SHL) to Rogle BK (Sweden-SHL). Ex-Sound Tiger, Dustin Friesen, stays in Germany going from ERC Ingolstadt (Germany-DEL) to Iserlohn (Germany-DEL). A trio of ex-Wolf Pack/CT Whale did not have their contracts renewed by SC Rapperswil-Jona (Switzerland-LNA) in Tom Pyatt, Casey Wellman, and Danny Kristo. Philip Samuelsson, the eldest son of former Whaler great, Rangers player, and assistant coach, ex-Wolf Pack, and Avon Old Farms assistant coach, Ulf Samuelsson is being pursued by Dynamo Riga (Latvia-KHL). Defenseman Mike Little (Enfield) signs a two-year extension with SonderjyskE (Denmark-DHL). ARENA NEWS The expansion NHL Seattle completion date on the Key Arena known temporarily as the “New Arena at Seattle Center” has been pushed to June 2021, four months before their first puck is scheduled to be drop. The original date was January 2021 date in part because of the coronavirus mandated shutdown. Declared as a public-private project, the $930-million-project was restarted this past Monday. The temporary posts holding its historic 44 million pound roof are being transitioned from temporary posts to permanent ones, now that the extra excavation has been completed, the concrete for the posts has been poured. Construction on its brand new state-of-the-art training at old Northgate Mall location, however, it's still just started two weeks ago remains closed. NHL Seattle was very close to unveiling its team name,  color scheme, season ticket packages, and likely building naming rights, but it has been postponed till the COVID-19 pandemic is under control and the stay at home measures in place in Washington state are lifted. OVG (Oak View Group) overseeing construction, has two other major arena projects nationally that have been paused. In New York, at Belmont Park in Long Island, the future $1.3 billion 17,113 seat new home for the New York Islanders was halted by executive order of Governor Andrew Cuomo in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in NYC and the immediate need to build several new hospitals, freeing up building supplies. This could affect the original October 2021 opening date. The other arena project is in Palm Springs, California to house its yet named AHL farm team of the expansion NHL Seattle team postponed its February 18th groundbreaking of the $250 million dollar arena, what was described at the time was called, “unexplained circumstances”. Now with California, one of the COVID-19 hot spots, its original September 2021 opening seems in jeopardy for the 10,000 seats for hockey (11,000 for concerts and shows) in a collaboration between OVG Group and the  Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. No new groundbreaking date has yet been set. The proposed new arena in Suffolk County Long Island in Ronkonkoma part of a $1 billion dual-use project was given a second extension in mid-December for April, there has been no word on the project's future or status. The project was to feature a 7,500-seat hockey arena, 6,000-seat outdoor stadium, hotel and office building on a 40-acre site that also has an LIRR station. The pandemic situation has forced the Chicago-based JLL (Jones, Lang, Lasalle) Group to likely seek another extension next month. The group hired NHL Hall of Famer former Islander and Ranger Pat LaFontaine, last year to secure letters of commitment from an AHL team, college or junior teams to be the primary tenants in the proposed new arena. Once those commitments are secured, then the Suffolk County council was expected to then get a summary of the bid to develop a Master Builder plan and to start construction. Read the full article

[junker-town]

Josh Sargent is unlike any player in USMNT history

*We know you’ve been burnt before, but trust us.

You’ve probably heard less about Josh Sargent than several other young United States men’s national team players since the squad started undergoing its post-Trinidad & Tobago overhaul. Sargent has six caps and a pair of USMNT goals, but unlike Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, he hasn’t been installed as a first-choice starter for club or country. Yet.

All signs point to the 18-year-old Sargent being the USMNT’s breakout star over the next year. He looks more polished with each passing month, and he has a set of skills that no American male has ever shown before. He’s much more likely to become his country’s best ever center forward than he is to fail at making an impact with the national team.

But before I go any further, I have to ask myself: should I even be saying this?

American soccer fans have been scarred for life by Freddy Adu, who failed to maximize his potential after becoming the youngest American ever signed to a professional contract at 14 years old. Whenever a young male American player shows exceptional talent, a large contingent of USMNT fans do a strange thing where they warn others not to get too excited because he might never get good. This is a bonkers exercise given that players like Pulisic and McKennie have already proven that they are good enough to play in the Champions League, and thus are definitively Not Freddy Adu.

Still, Sargent by comparison has only played 56 minutes for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga, so hyping him up as the next big thing is a bit more ... let’s say, emotionally risky. We don’t have a body of hard evidence that Sargent can consistently perform at the top professional level. Getting attached to the idea of him as the USMNT’s star striker for the next decade could end in serious heartbreak for you, the USMNT fan.

I am here to advocate for you doing that anyway, because holy shit y’all, Josh Sargent rules. I invite you to watch a seven-minute and 28-second highlight video to get you excited about him. I understand that is a pretty long time out here on the 2019 Internet, but I respect you, and I swear I wouldn’t present such a thing if I didn’t think it was worthwhile.

There are some nice goals in these clips, but more impressive are the turns and first-touch passes. The USMNT has never had a striker with this kind of brain and touch as a teenager. Hell, they might not have had a grown adult striker this good.

Sargent hails from St. Louis, where he was a dominant player in the Development Academy and on youth national teams before he started his professional career. After a three-year stint with the Under-17 national squad, culminating in a three-goal performance in the U-17 World Cup, he got an early promotion to the Under-20s. Sargent hit the ground running there too, scoring four goals in five games and becoming the youngest American man to score in a U-20 World Cup. He had the opportunity to sign a homegrown deal with Sporting Kansas City, but turned it down to sign for Werder Bremen on his 18th birthday.

“I believe in life you have to do what is hard for you in order to build yourself as a person.” —Josh Sargent

And admittedly, there has been a bit of a learning curve for Sargent at Werder. “They’re very strict and when they want it one way, they want it that way,” Sargent told me in October. “You definitely have to come ready for training every day. And the speed of play, of course, is very fast, so you have to be ready for that, too.”

He wasn’t placed in the first team right away, but was instead asked to prove himself with Werder Bremen II, in the fourth division of German soccer. However, it only took him 12 games and just over 1000 minutes — a short time period in which he scored seven goals — to convince the club he was ready for the senior team.

And in four substitute appearances with the big-boy squad, Sargent has scored twice. His equalizer against RB Leipzig was particularly impressive. Sargent got involved in the build-up before arriving late in the box to finish.

That play in particular highlights something Sargent can bring to the USMNT that has been missing for its entire history. Managers have always been forced to choose between two different kinds of limited strikers:

1. Guys who offered up excellent non-scoring skills like work rate, hold-up play, and passing vision, but lacked explosiveness.

2. Strikers who were a threat to score a goal from nothing, but didn’t offer much else to the team.

All of the top strikers in USMNT history have been severely limited in some way. Eric Wynalda busted his ass and had good finishing instincts, but he was squeezing every last goal he could out of limited physical talents and the inadequate technical instruction of his time. Brian McBride, beloved for his toughness and unselfishness, couldn’t create chances for himself against top opposition. Jozy Altidore is maligned by fans for his inability to play without a strike partner, his poor stints in England, and his role in the 2017 USMNT’s collapse, but he is, despite those things, by far the most efficient scoring striker in USMNT history.

The two best scorers that the USMNT has ever had, Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, weren’t true center forwards. Donovan never played up top on his own, and Dempsey played limited minutes in that role. Both were always utilized out wide or underneath a bigger target man.

Sargent is a different animal than all of these guys. He has the physical ability, work rate, and movement off the ball to play up top on his own, creating chances for others and himself at an equal clip. He has displayed the saucy skills of Dempsey, the hold-up play of McBride, and the poaching instincts of Wynalda in one player.

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Sargent, right, celebrates his goal for the USMNT in a friendly against Bolivia, alongside teammate (and fellow young star) Christian Pulisic.

The big “what if” questions about Sargent are the same we have about every teenager: Can he get a little bit better in all aspects of his game? And, can he adjust to the speed of top level pro soccer? But that’s it. With Altidore (and all of the other top striker prospects to come out of the U.S. youth ranks), coaches were praying he’d develop entire new skillsets as an adult. Sargent is already adequate, at the very least, at everything you look for in a striker.

There’s no precedent for a player like him in the USMNT, which puts more pressure on him than his peers. Who can we even compare him to?

Pulisic will be expected to live up to the production of Donovan, and he’s already better at the club level than Donovan ever was. McKennie will be expected to match or surpass the career of Michael Bradley, and he’s already reached a similar status at club level. Sargent will be a bitter disappointment if he ends up matching the career of McBride or Altidore. To be considered someone who lived up to his potential, Sargent will need to be the best striker to ever play for the United States.

I’m betting on him to pull it off because beyond his skill, Sargent also has the right mentality. He has been deliberate about putting himself in the right situations to develop.

“MLS was definitely an option for me at first,” Sargent told American Soccer Now in 2017. “It would have been nice. Everyone speaks English and it’s only three hours away. But I believe in life you have to do what is hard for you in order to build yourself as a person.”

Sargent also talks about creating chances for other people as much as scoring goals. “I want to score goals for them and create as many chances as I can,” he told me when I asked about his short-term goals with Werder. “It would be an amazing feeling to get a start. But to start contributing to the team, assisting, scoring, would be the best feeling.”

Sargent can be an unprecedented player in the history of the program. And as such, he could be the key to all of the other young stars truly reaching their potentials, too.

When asked about what skills he brings to the table, he reiterated: “When people watch me and see me play, they know I create chances. When I get to know players and play more and more with them, they see I can contribute assists and score goals.”

Sargent says all of these things in a very serious tone. This is entirely subjective analysis, of course, but he has a different look in his eye and expression in his voice than other young players. While his peers come off as either nervous or excited during their early senior national team call-ups, Sargent comes off as focused and determined.

It seems really obvious that the USMNT’s top striker prospect is the player worth getting most excited about — he’s the one that scores all the goals, after all. But Sargent can be an unprecedented player in the history of the program. And as such, he could be the key to all of the other young stars truly reaching their potentials, too.

And if you feel I’m going too far, stop worrying. I promise you that he isn’t listening, and if someone brings the hype to his attention, he won’t care. He will have zero reaction, then promptly spend the next day trying to get better at soccer.

So yes, it’s OK to get excited about Josh Sargent. You’ve been burnt before, but you shouldn’t distrust your eyes. And you should never let the past ruin your fantasies.

[guttersvillemayor]

Late Night Confrontations

[In the days and weeks since I’d come back home, it was a struggle to find my way. If I thought I’d find a job with my skill set easily enough, I was sadly disappointed. And one night after several drinks with Wendy and Teddy, both of whom had to leave to get sleep for work the next morning, I found myself alone at Louie’s Diner. It was a place I knew very well, in some ways too well, as I had worked there some in high school and all through college. The owner was like a loveable uncle who was close with several of his loyal employees and regular customers. That night he had been filling in as cook to help out one of those employees and saw me sitting at the bar. Even made a joke about my sad looking face. He was yet another person I couldn’t bring to tell my troubles to, no matter how much he tried to pry it out of me. Louis Doucet had been one of the first people to take a notice in my love of photography, told me I had talent. Even bought a couple of my photographs over the year which still hung in the diner. To admit that I was flat on my ass with nothing to show for it after everything would hurt almost as much as it would to do so with my parents. It was bad enough that I was paranoid about most of my brothers figuring out that something was rotten in the state of Denmark, though if any of them had they hadn't mentioned it to me or my parents yet. Louie eventually stopped pushing and instead did what he always did best, offer a port in the storm. It started out with me simply asking how things were going considering he was working the overnight shift and ended up with him mentioning that he was down a person or two. It’s hard to describe the emotion I felt when he asked if I wanted to pick up a shift or two to make extra money. He was clearly trying to save my pride and dignity by not suggesting I was unemployed while still giving me a source of income. Thankfully I’d held out on the urge to cry until I got safely into my car afterwards. I hadn’t truly felt how far I’d fallen until that moment I had to pull over into a dark parking lot during my drive home because I was crying so hard that the sobs were wracking my body. It was easy to compartmentalize and not fully acknowledge my situation except for in moments like that when it stared me so boldly in the face with nothing else to pull my attention and distract me. After that, I made sure to keep busy and occupied any moment when I wasn’t job hunting. I also slowly started to add a couple more shifts at the diner until I found myself once again working there as a full-time employee, mainly covering the overnight shift. Something about working graveyard fit me and my current emotion state better. Like tonight with the tension from another family dinner still hanging around me like a cloud of dirt circling Pig-Pen from the Peanuts comic strip. It hadn’t been as much of a production as the one held the first night I came home, but that also might have been what made it easier for my family to pick up on the things I was saying or, in some cases, not saying. I’d told my parents I was going to hang out with Teddy, when in reality I was coming to work. It was an excuse I’d already used several other times since I started at the diner. I didn’t know why I couldn’t bring myself to admit to them I had gone back to work at my college job, but it was just another thing piled onto the others that I hadn’t told them. Lying was becoming more complicated and no long the little white lies that I felt wouldn’t upset my parents too much.

It was a few hours into my shift when the door opened, causing the bell to chime alerting myself and the cook we had new patrons. For the last 15 minutes we’d been sitting around doing nothing since our last customer left. Something that happen occasionally during early weeknights as most people didn’t go out late Mondays through Wednesday. Not a lot of partying left the French Quarter those days, at least not in this part of town. Sliding off the chair in the kitchen, I yell out to whoever entered the diner.] I’ll be right with you. [It wasn’t until I walked through the swinging door and looked up that I realized my newest customers were in fact my brothers, though thankfully only two of the five. The twins to be exact. With almost matching rueful looks, they slide into the bar stools in front of me. I’m not sure if the look is because their little sister is working in a diner at the age of 29 when they know I used to make a better living or because it’s almost 2am and they’re in an empty diner usually populated by college students or people who had been out late drinking… in some cases those college students had been the ones drinking. Though there were also ones who were just up late studying. Either way, I knew my brothers didn’t fit any of those descriptions and, in fact, probably had work early at the family-owned construction company. My eyebrow raises instinctively as it has done several times in the past with them.] What brings you two bozos into a respectable place like this after midnight? [I pause for a bit, momentarily thinking about ignoring the fact that they somehow found out about my late night job, but I’m more irked and curious causing me to speak again before either of them can answer my first question.] Okay, how did you find out about me working here again, do the other guys know and most importantly, did y’all tell Mom and Dad? [The Twins chuckle awkwardly, an inherited trait from both our parents. However, it’s Jackson who speaks up first. He was always the more smooth talking of them. Jonah was more of a goofball, and together they made an act growing up that caused more than its fair share of trouble. “It wasn’t hard to see that something was up at dinner tonight. Even Reba commented on it on the drive back home.” It sounded reasonable enough, but as my gaze darts from Jackson to Jonah, I realize the latter is still feeling a bit too awkward.] Wendy said something to you, didn’t she? [The look on Jonah’s face is almost comical… okay, who am I kidding, it’d be downright hilarious if I wasn’t so annoyed with both my brothers and now one of my best friends as well. Actually both best friends as I’m sure it’s Teddy who spilled the diner beans to Wendy in the first place. “Look she only told me tonight because she was worried about you after dinner.” “And Reba really did comment on it,” Jackson adds to support Jonah. “It wasn’t until I’d mentioned it to Jonah that he told me.” My head starts to shake furiously as I work out the timeline for all of this to have even occurred] Dinner ended only four hours ago. Are you telling me that you two girls text each other late into the evening? [My incredulous look and tone only serves to make my older 36-year-old brothers blush slightly.] You two are fucking ridiculous. [Throwing my hands into the air, I turn away from them and reach back for the menus before slamming them down a bit in front of the Twins.] Order something and tip heavily… [Once more, I turn away and head towards the kitchen, still shaking my head and muttering.] Fucking ridiculous.

[It takes me a couple minutes to get a hold of my emotions. To not completely freak out about what’s happening and being confronted with the reality of my situation. But eventually I do go back out to the front where the Twins are still sitting at the bar, keeping a cautious gaze on me. Not letting them control the conversation, I quickly jump to be the first to speak once again. My pad in one hand while the other hand is pointed at their menus.] So do you two know what you want? I’m sure you can interrogate, lecture or whatever it is you came to do to me once I put your orders in. [Jonah easily orders a burger, but Jackson looks like he wants to say something else until he gets a nudge in his side. Then he follows Jonah’s lead for a burger as well… Guess there’s nothing like a nice, juicy burger in the middle of the night while confronting your little sister about her poor life choices. I quickly write up their orders, pull the slip from my pad and place it on the serving window for Wayne, the cook, to make. With that out of the way and drinks finally served, I have nothing left to delay matters. My body resting back against the counter, arms crossed defensively.] So what is it that was so important to say that you guys came out here in the middle of the night instead of just waiting until tomorrow? [The twins look at one another, yet another sign of their silent communication which I’d seen over the years. As if deciding who would do the talking, though I think we all knew it would be Jackson as Jonah would end up fumbling things as he usually does. I’m still not sure how he got Wendy to date him much less agree to marry him. However, I’m pulled from that line of thinking when their gaze lands on me once more. “Look, EJ, we know you’re a grown woman.”] Yes, I know that as well. [Jackson gives me a sharp look for cutting him off. “But the reason we came down here in the middle of night instead of waiting is because we know that you’d do anything to weasel your way out of talking to us. At least this way, you’re getting paid while you do it. Besides, we should be asking you what the hell you’re doing working here again anyway. I thought Mom said you were coming back to work here at a newspaper or something.” My gaze, which had been angrily leveled at my brothers, darts away quickly. One of those white lies coming to bite me in the ass. Not that I had lied, per se. More like I didn’t correct my mother when she made that assumption and then preceded to share it with others. My living back at home was seen as a way to save up money until I found the perfect place. I don’t bother to say anything in regards to that, and Jackson decides to just keep on going. “We’re worried about you, sis. You’ve been keeping things from us all. I mean even Wendy didn’t know the truth about you working here.” “Yeah, she was clearly upset when she told me what she’d found out from Teddy. You two are supposed to be best friends, Emma Jean.” Jonah’s tone as he cuts in only serves to rile me up. Here was a clear example of how my friendship would be different with Wendy now that she was going to be married to my brother. And I know Jackson can practically read on my face that the interruption wasn’t helping the situation as he stays Jonah with his hand before continuing on again. “What happened to our little sister who at least told her best friends everything? I mean you’re living back with Mom and Dad, pretending to be working as a photographer when instead you’re back to being a waitress. You know you could come to work at the company if you needed a job until you got back on your feet if that was the case.” I roll my eyes at that suggestion. Clearly he wasn’t understanding why I was willing to go to the lengths I was… not that I could rightly say that I always understood them myself. “But I guess that would mean actually being honest with mom and dad about what was going on in your life.” Point one for Jonah. “True, look we just want to understand. Even Jasper was mentioning to me the other day that he thought something was wrong with you. He was ready to call a Mosby family meeting with the rest of guys if things went on much longer.” So apparently the other brothers didn’t know. However, I still tense up at the fact that I had so poorly hidden my problems from them. Despite my paranoia, I was sure I could go on until I found a new job, but I guess that was the denial talking.] Are you going to… [The ding of the cook bell causes me to jump a bit, and I hastily turn away to grab the twins’ food from the window. Softly thanking Wayne as he goes back deep into the kitchen to take care of his own business. The plates make a soft clank against the bar counter and I can feel the gaze of both Jackson and Jonah on me before Jackson’s hand reaches out to gently cover mine. “Only because we care and so do they. You can’t keep this hidden any more. But we won’t tell mom and dad. At least not until we can all talk some sense into you.” They both chuckle as I pull my hand back letting them dig into their food. Taking the time to allow things to settle, I go about refilling their barely touched drinks and then doing some menial tasks to keep me busy. However, it’s not long before we’re once again confronted with our paused conversation. This time Jonah doing some of the talking. “We’re not going to push you any more tonight, EJ. But we just had to let you know that you’re better than this and that we want to do what we can to help you get back on your feet. All of us.” Our eyes lock and the look in his is clearly letting me know he’s talking about Wendy. Really? Now I’m seriously not sure how I feel about their relationship and in a way it feels like another piece in the Jenga tower of my life has been removed and shifted into a new place. How I haven’t fucking toppled over yet is an absolute fucking mystery to me. Not feeling safe to speak with all the emotions once again swirling in my head and my chest, I simply nod my head in reply and then write out their ticket and place it between the two of them. My voice slightly thick when I do finally say something, pointing to the check.] Just leave some cash. I have to go help Wayne with something in the back, [Not sparing another look towards my brothers, my hands reach out to push the swinging door open as I make a quick exit. It doesn’t take long for the tears to start threatening my vision, causing it to blur more with each second. Each shaky, shuddered breath expelling slowly from my lungs before I swallow down another gulp of air. The struggle to breathe and calm myself is like a heavy rock on my chest until finally I hear the bell on the door jingle. A watery glance towards Wayne confirms that the twins left and I can once again breath a little easier, but not by much. A couple minutes pass before Wayne walks over to me, gently placing his weathered hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you go home, kid. I doubt we’re gonna get anymore customers before the early morning rush and Christy will be in by then. I can hold down the fort until then.” My head is such a mess at this point that I don’t even fight it and just nod at his suggestion. An hour later as I lay in bed emotionally exhausted, I try to remember how exactly I got home from work and then I wonder what the hell I’m going to do when I’m finally confronted by all five of my brothers… or worse, my parents.] I am so totally fucked.