#it was like my 30th attempt? first time getting past the third area

[xtruss]

Olympics Loss to Canada Could Mean End of Era For Carli Lloyd and USWNT

U.S. forward Carli Lloyd walks on the field after the team’s semifinal loss to Canada at the Tokyo Olympics at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium on Monday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

— BY KEVIN BAXTERSTAFF WRITER | August 2, 2021 | Los Angeles Times

KASHIMA, Japan — Carli Lloyd didn’t want to leave the field Monday.

Her dream of another championship had ended in a 1-0 U.S. loss to Canada in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics. And if that meant the end of an era for Lloyd and the women’s national team — which it certainly did — Lloyd wasn’t going to go until she had one long, last look around.

So she grabbed a soccer ball, dropped it on the grass near midfield and sat alone, in the middle of the hot, steamy and empty stadium, long after everyone else had left the field.

“I’m not going to lie. I miss having a normal life,” said Lloyd, one of 11 players on the U.S. team older than 30. “I miss home, my family, friends. This is what you sacrifice every four years, every five years. It’s all part of it.”

The decision she’s been dreading, her words suggested, has already been made.

“Eventually, it comes to an end,” she said. “So just try to savor every moment.”

Not just for Lloyd, who turned 39 in Japan, but for the heart of the most successful women’s soccer team in history. Kelley O’Hara will turn 33 the day before the U.S. finishes the tournament against Australia in the bronze-medal game Thursday. Alex Morgan and Christen Press are both 32; Tobin Heath’s a year older.

How many of them will still be playing when the next Olympics open in three years?

“We don’t really have the luxury of going one year at a time. We kind of have to think in four-year blocks,” said Megan Rapinoe, who turned 36 last month. “And I haven’t thought about that.”

Canada players swarm midfielder Jessie Fleming after she scored on a penalty kick against the U.S. on Monday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Nor has Becky Sauerbrunn, 36.

“It’s way, way too early for the reflection question,” she said.

But that question won’t go away, not with the way the Americans played in Japan.

They came to the Olympics riding a 44-game unbeaten streak, then lost twice in less than two weeks.

They rolled through the last two Women’s World Cups without a loss, becoming the third team of either gender to win consecutive world championships since World War II. But an aging core melted in the punishing heat and humidity of the Japanese summer.

U.S. defender Kelley O’Hara tries to move the ball past Canada midfielder Julia Grosso during Monday’s match. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“Football always needs joy. That’s when the game is really played at its best,” Rapinoe said with a forced smile. “I feel like we haven’t been able to do that; everything has just been a little bit of a struggle.

“I certainly love playing with a big smile on my face much more than the opposite. I think everybody else does as well.”

Instead, the team stumbled, grim-faced, through the worst group stage ever by a U.S. women’s squad in a major world championship, then needed a superb effort by goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who saved three penalty kicks — and, briefly, her team’s tournament — to get past the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

Naeher wasn’t around to face the penalty shot that decided Monday’s game, leaving in the 30th minute with a hyperextended right knee. Her replacement, Adrianna Franch, was playing in just her seventh game for the U.S., her first in a championship. And while her teammates did their best to protect her — Franch faced just one shot from open play — she was on her own when Jessie Fleming strode to the spot in the 75th minute.

U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher makes a save and collides with teammate Julie Ertz during the first half. Naeher landed awkwardly and left the game a short time later. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Canada’s Deanne Rose had tripped after running up the back of U.S. defender Tierna Davidson just inside the right edge of the penalty area moments earlier. Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul waved for play to continue before being stopped by the replay official, who urged her to look at video of the collision.

When she did, she overruled her own call and awarded the penalty.

Christine Sinclair, the only woman on either team who was in uniform the last time Canada beat the U.S., in 2001, walked the ball to the spot but rather than shooting against Franch, her club teammate with the Portland Thorns, she handed it to Fleming, a former UCLA standout, who calmly slotted it inside the right post.

U.S. players try to hold back a Canada scoring attempt late in Monday’s Olympic semifinal match. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

It was a dreadful way to lose. “Heartbreaking,” Lloyd said.

But then no one argued that the U.S., which was dreadfully sloppy throughout the Olympic tournament, deserved any better.

In 2012, Canada lost an equally painful Olympic semifinal to the U.S. on Morgan’s goal in the final second of the second overtime. Canada went on to win the first of consecutive bronze medals while the U.S. played in the gold-medal game for the last time.

“This is a big revenge for them. We wanted to change the script on that,” said Canadian goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe. “It’s been a long time coming. What a time for this to finally happen.”

Now it will be Canada and Sinclair, 38, chasing gold for the first time against Sweden while the U.S. plays for the first time in the third-place game of the Summer Games. After that, it will be time for the reflection question.

Lloyd, for one, would appear to have little left to accomplish. The two-time world player of the year trails one player in history in games played and her four World Cup and Olympic titles trail only Christie Rampone Pearce for most championships won by a woman.

Heath has four as well. Sauerbrunn, Morgan and Rapinoe each have three.

However, there’s still one game left to play in Japan. So after rolling the ball away, Lloyd walked slowly to the end line and, with no one watching, ran a series of wind sprints.

Team USA forward Carli Lloyd! Carli Lloyd reacts after being defeated 1-0 by Canada during the women's semifinal soccer match at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

The end may be near, but she hasn’t gotten there yet.

“We’re not going to walk away with a gold medal, but I’d like to walk away with the bronze medal, at the very least,” she said. “So that’s all the focus for me.”

After that, it will be decision time for Lloyd and many of her teammates.

[astrogeoguy]

A Southern Solar Eclipse, Earth Flees Sol, Evening Gas Giants Gleam, and Touring the Triangle!

(Above: The Total Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017 imaged by Ian Wheelband.)

Hello, Stargazers!

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of June 30th, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event. Contact me, and we’ll tour the Universe together!

Earth at Aphelion

On Thursday, July 4, Earth will reach aphelion, its maximum distance from the sun for this year. The aphelion distance of 152.1 million km is 1.67% farther from the sun than the average Earth-sun separation of 149.6 million km, which scientists call one Astronomical Unit (AU). Earth’s perihelion, our minimum distance from the sun, will occur next January 4. At that time, the sun will be 147.1 million km from Earth. As you can see, our seasonal temperatures are not produced by our distance from the sun – but by the amount of sunshine we receive in a day. And that is controlled by the amount that Earth’s axis points toward (or away from) the sun. 

(Above: Earth will be closest to the sun for the year on July 4, 2019)

The Moon and Planets

The moon will be returning to the evening sky this week, to join the two bright gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn. But first, we’ll get a new moon on Tuesday morning that will also feature a Total Solar Eclipse visible in the Southern Hemisphere! Here are the Skylights! 

Early risers on Monday morning (Oh, Canada Day!) will get one last chance to see the old crescent moon before it meets the sun. At the same time, you can look for very bright Venus sitting a palm’s width to the moon’s left (celestial northeast). Both objects will be immersed in the pre-dawn twilight. They’ll rise shortly before 5 am local time. While the moon will show a slim crescent, Venus will appear nearly fully illuminated in a telescope. This is because the moon is closer to Earth than the sun, while Venus is on the far side of the sun from Earth. 

At Tuesday morning’s new phase, the moon will be travelling between Earth and the sun. Since sunlight is only reaching the far side of the moon, and the moon is in the same region of the sky as the sun, the moon will be completely hidden from view – except when it passes directly in front of the sun! 

This new moon will feature a total solar eclipse visible inside a narrow path that crosses the southern Pacific Ocean and southern South America. A partial eclipse will be seen across most of the southern Pacific Ocean (almost reaching the coast of Antarctica) and most of South America. The period of totality will reach a maximum of 4m33s in the South Pacific, about 1,080 kilometers north of Easter Island at 19:22:57.9 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). The first landfall for the moon’s shadow will occur on the Chilean coast, 50 kilometers north of La Serena, at 20:39 GMT, when totality will last for 2m36s and the sun will be at 14° altitude. The eclipse will end near the coast of Argentina, just south of Buenos Aires. Those of us not located where we can see the partial or total eclipse, NASA TV and several YouTube channels. 

The young crescent moon will re-appear on Wednesday evening after sunset. At that time, it will share the northwestern sky with Mars and Mercury. The trio, which will fit within the field of view of binoculars, will set by 10 pm local time. Observers in the eastern tip of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, most of Asia, and Micronesia will see the moon occult Mars. 

For the rest of the week, the moon will continue to wax fuller and climb away from the sun, landing on Friday evening just a few finger widths to the right (northwest) of the bright, white star Regulus in Leo (the Lion). The moon will end next weekend approaching its first quarter phase, among the stars of Virgo (the Maiden). The weekend evenings will be particularly good times to look at the moon while its terrain is dramatically lit by slanting rays of sunlight!

(Above: Mars and Mercury will appear together for a short time after sunset this week, as shown here at 9:45 pm local time.)

Dim, reddish Mars and brighter Mercury are still hanging out together just above the northwestern horizon after sunset this week. The best time to look for them falls between 9:30 and 9:45 pm local time. They’ll set by about 10:15 pm local time. Look for dimmer Mars sitting four finger widths to the right of brighter Mercury. (Take care that the sun has set before attempting to view them using binoculars or a telescope.) You can also look for the bright stars Castor and Pollux of Gemini (the Twins) sitting to the right of the two planets. 

The blazingly-bright object that you’ve been seeing in the southeastern evening sky recently is mighty Jupiter. We are recently past Jupiter’s biggest and brightest appearance for 2019. This week Jupiter will be visible from dusk to almost 4 am local time. 

From time to time, the small, round black shadows cast by Jupiter’s four Galilean moons become visible in amateur telescopes as they cross (or transit) Jupiter’s disk. On Thursday, July 4 from 10:36 pm to 12:48 am EDT, observers in the Eastern half of North America can watch Io’s shadow transit Jupiter. As a bonus, the Great Red Spot will be crossing the planet from dusk until approximately 11 pm. 

Due to Jupiter’s rapid 10-hour rotation period, the Great Red Spot (or GRS) is only observable from Earth every 2nd or 3rd night, and only during a predictable three-hour window. The GRS will be easiest to see using a medium-sized, or larger, aperture telescope on an evening of good seeing (steady air). If you’d like to see the Great Red Spot in your telescope, it will be crossing the planet on Monday evening from 10 pm until 2 am EDT. More GRS viewing opportunities will occur on Thursday from dusk to 11 pm EDT, and on Saturday night from 10 pm to 1 am EDT. 

(Above: The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn as in the southern sky, as shown here at 10:45 pm local time.)

This week, yellowish Saturn will be rising in the east-southeast before dusk and remaining visible all night long. Its position in the sky is just to the left (east) of the stars that form the teapot-shaped constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). Saturn is quite a bit dimmer than Jupiter. To find it, look about 3 fist diameters to the lower left (east) of Jupiter. 

Dust off your telescope! Once the sky is dark, even a small telescope will show Saturn's rings and several of its brighter moons, especially Titan!  Because Saturn’s axis of rotation is tipped about 27° from vertical (a bit more than Earth’s is), we can see the top surface of its rings, and its moons can appear above, below, or to either side of the planet. During this week, Titan will migrate counter-clockwise around Saturn, moving from Saturn’s lower left tonight (Sunday) to the right of the planet next Sunday. (Remember that your telescope will flip the view around.) 

For night owls, distant and dim, blue Neptune is in the southeastern pre-dawn sky, among the stars of Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). The planet will be rising shortly after midnight local time this week. You’ll find the magnitude 7.9 planet sitting a thumb’s width to the left (east) of a medium-bright star named Phi (φ) Aquarii. 

Blue-green Uranus will be rising at about 2 am local time this week. It is sitting among the stars of Aries (the Ram) and is just a palm’s width above the head of Cetus. The large main-belt asteroid Vesta is nearby - a palm’s width below Uranus. Look for Vesta sitting only half a finger’s width below the modest star Xi (ξ) Ceti (and also named Al Kaff al Jidhmah). They will appear together in the field of view of a backyard telescope.

(Above: Venus is visible for a short time before dawn this week, as shown here at 5:15 am local time on Monday July 1, when the old crescent moon will be nearby.) 

Venus is bright enough to see within the pre-dawn twilight sky that surrounds it, but it is sitting very low in the northeast - sinking ever-closer to the rising sun. Venus will be rising at about 4:40 am local time all week.  

The Summer Triangle

When you are out on the next clear night, be sure to look for the three bright and beautiful blue-white stars of the Summer Triangle asterism, which shine high in the eastern sky every July. Once you have it identified, you can find some treasures within it, and follow its progress across the night sky until late fall.

(Above: The Summer Triangle asterism, shown at 10:45 pm local time, rides the July evening sky, but remains visible until November annually.) 

Find an open area and face east. Almost straight overhead is the bright star, Vega. It’s the fifth brightest star in the entire night sky and one of the first stars to appear after dusk. Now look for the other two corners. Altair is not as bright as Vega and sits about 3.5 outstretched fist diameters (34°) to the lower right of it. The third star, Deneb, is about 2.5 fist diameters (24°) to the lower left of Vega and higher up than Altair. It’s a very big triangle! 

Can you see the four fainter stars forming a small parallelogram just below Vega? It’s about a thumb’s width wide and a few finger widths long. This shape is the body of the musical harp that makes up the constellation of Lyra (the Lyre). Vega marks the top of the instrument’s neck. Vega’s visual magnitude, or brightness, is the zero reference point for the scale of star brightness values. Objects brighter than Vega have values lower than zero, and vice versa. Spica, the star near Jupiter this summer, has a value of about 1, making it 2.5 times dimmer than Vega. (It’s a logarithmic scale.) 

Vega also makes a little triangle with two other dim stars, each about a finger’s width apart. The star to Vega’s upper left is Epsilon Lyrae, also known as the Double Double. Can you tell it’s actually two stars tight together? Try using binoculars. In a telescope, each star splits again! 

The bright star Deneb marks the tail of great Cygnus (the Swan). A faint star about two fist diameters (22°) to its right, in the middle of the Summer Triangle is Albireo, a colourful double star that marks the swan’s head. A widely spaced string of modest stars running up-down traces out the swan’s wings. (Look closer to Deneb than Albireo for them – swans have long necks!) The brighter star in the middle of the wing span is Sadr, marking the swan’s belly. If you are in a dark location, you should also be able to see that the Milky Way runs right through Cygnus, as if she is about to land for a swim on that celestial river! 

The most southerly of the triangle’s corners is marked by Altair – the head of the great eagle Aquila. In fact, its name translates from “the flying eagle”. At only 16.8 light-years distance, Altair is one of the nearest bright stars – so close that its surface has been imaged! The star also seems to be spinning 100 times faster than our sun, probably generating an equatorial bulge. Like Cygnus, the Aquila the eagle is oriented with its wingtips up-down. The tail bends to the lower right. Two little stars named Terazed (above) and Alshain (below) sit on either side of Altair, like a balance. As a matter of fact, these two little stars’ names derive from an old-fashioned scale balance. 

Grab your binoculars and look about midway between Vega and Altair for a little grouping of stars called The Coathangar. (Hint: For North American observers, it’s oriented with the hook downwards to the west.) Finally, have a look for two little constellations in the area. Sagitta (the Arrow) comprises five faint stars running left-right, above Altair. The three on the right (west) end form the feathers. Below Sagitta, and about 13° to the left of Altair is cute little Delphinus (the Dolphin). Four stars form a diamond-shaped body and another star to the lower right marks the tail flukes! The star names for Delphinus include a very interesting story. Look it up! 

There’s one assitional small constellation inside the Summer Triangle, but its dim stars make it difficult to make out. It’s called Vulpecula (the Fox), and it sits about a palm’s width above and parallel to Sagitta. Two birds, a dolphin, and a fox! (And – there’s the lizard Lacerta just to the east and a little foal Equuleus below Delphinus!) Enjoy your tour of the triangle and visit to this celestial zoo! 

The Treats of Boötes

If you missed last week’s tour of the realm of Boötes (“Bow-OH-tees”), the Herdsman or Plowman, I posted it here. 

Public Astro-Themed Events

Taking advantage of dark moonless evening skies this week, astronomers with the RASC Toronto Centre will gather for dark sky stargazing at Long Sault Conservation Area, northeast of Oshawa on (only) the first clear evening (Monday to Thursday) this week. You don’t need to be a RASC member, or own any equipment, to join them. Check here for details and watch the banner on their homepage or their Facebook page for the GO or NO-GO decision around 5 pm each day. 

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here. 

At 8:30 pm on Wednesday, July 3, the High Park Nature Centre will host a free public Urban Bat Walk followed by stargazing (weather permitting). Check here for details. 

On Thursday, July 4, starting at 9 pm, U of T’s AstroTour will present Graduate Student Anna O’Grady speaking about Stargazing from Chile: Exotic Supergiants at the Magellan Telescope, followed by rooftop stargazing and a planetarium show. Find tickets and details here. 

Eastern GTA sky watchers are invited to join the RASC Toronto Centre and Durham Skies for solar observing and stargazing at the edge of Lake Ontario in Millennium Square in Pickering on Friday evening, July 5, from 6 pm to 11 pm. Details are here. Before heading out, check the RASCTC home page for a Go/No-Go call in case it's too cloudy to observe. The rain date is Saturday. 

If it’s sunny on Saturday morning, July 6 from 10 am to noon, astronomers from the RASC Toronto Centre will be setting up outside the main doors of the Ontario Science Centre for Solar Observing. Come and see the Sun in detail through special equipment designed to view it safely. This is a free event (details here), but parking and admission fees inside the Science Centre will still apply. Check the RASC Toronto Centre website or their Facebook page for the Go or No-Go notification. 

The next RASC Family Night at the David Dunlap Observatory will be on Saturday, July 13. There will be sky tours in the Skylab planetarium room, space crafts, a tour of the giant 74” telescope, and viewing through lawn telescopes (weather permitting). The doors will open at 8:30 pm for a 9 pm start. Attendance is by tickets only, available here. If you are a RASC Toronto Centre member and wish to help us at DDO in the future, please fill out the volunteer form here. And to join RASC Toronto Centre, visit this page.

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

[othersportsnews-blog]

How Andrew McCutchen bought his groove back again

New Post has been published on https://othersportsnews.com/how-andrew-mccutchen-bought-his-groove-back-again/

How Andrew McCutchen bought his groove back again

Andrew McCutchen signed his initially experienced contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates at age 18. He was 24 yrs aged when he made his All-Star Sport debut and 26 when he received the Nationwide League MVP award, top the franchise to its initially playoff berth in two many years in 2013. Presented the stature he has attained in the metropolis and all the enjoy that has been shared, it can be not outlandish to assume McCutchen would be in line for a single marathon honeymoon.

It lasted right until just shy of his 30th birthday.

For an elite talent with such a stellar observe history, McCutchen has experienced a heaping dose of humility thrown his way. From the 2016 non-waiver deadline through the offseason, he was a walking trade rumor. He experienced a position transform foisted on him in early February when the Pirates identified they would be most effective served with Starling Marte in middle subject and McCutchen in suitable. And when McCutchen bought off to a gradual commence this season coming off a disappointing 2016, it was only all-natural for scouts, fans and media analysts to assume his techniques ended up deteriorating.

“You would assume I would have gotten utilised to hanging out and sucking. It devastated me every solitary time.” When Adam Dunn performed, all-or-nothing at all was not cool. Now that the recreation has changed, Dunn opens up on what’s diverse and lifestyle following baseball.

He’s experienced Tommy John and hernia surgeries and taken a liner to the head. But for Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon, a cancer prognosis in May — and the 5-7 days restoration that followed — was his toughest test.

1 Related

Now that McCutchen is spraying rockets all about the subject, it would be uncomplicated for him to harbor resentment about true or perceived slights. But you can find not a ton of diva in that 5-foot-10, 195-pound frame. McCutchen is secure ample to confess that the skepticism encompassing his overall performance strike shut to property, and real looking ample to fully grasp that his overall performance will be scrutinized because he has recognized a specific standard of overall performance.

“Very first and foremost, I’m human,” McCutchen explained. “I may possibly not go off on any one, but that will not suggest I cannot be angry. We’re guys who carry out at a really higher stage. So if things usually are not going the way you want, you’re going to be angry and upset. You will find nothing at all completely wrong with that. It just displays that you treatment.

“The way I glimpse at it, at least I’m remaining talked about. It may possibly not be a thing I want to hear. But some guys can strike .250 and everybody couldn’t treatment significantly less about it. I glimpse at it as a superior point. People today anticipate me to be superior than in which I’m at. At the stop of the working day, men and women [in the media] have a career. They have to speak. I just require to go do my career and play and give them a thing else to speak about.”

In light of what McCutchen has been through, it can be just nice to be related yet again.

“He was the face of the franchise as we arrived out of a dark part of background, and he is a exceptional person on and off the subject. He’s taken care of a ton of adversity as perfectly as any one could probably deal with it.”

Neal Huntington

In June, McCutchen summoned reminiscences of the aged dreadlock times when he logged a .411/.509/.689 slash line with 6 homers and 23 RBIs to win his fifth career Participant of the Month award. To set that accomplishment in black-and-gold viewpoint, Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla each individual captured the honor 4 instances as Pirates, and Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente claimed it three instances each individual.

In hindsight, the turning point arrived in late May, when manager Clint Hurdle sat McCutchen on the bench for two times and dropped him to sixth in the batting order from his customary third location. Then Hurdle just sat back again and watched an artist at do the job.

Hurdle was the commencing suitable fielder in Kansas City in 1980 when George Brett strike .390, and he was the hitting coach in Texas in 2010 when Josh Hamilton amassed forty nine hits and batted .454 in June on the way to an American League MVP award. He also watched Todd Helton, Dante Bichette and Larry Walker inflict some altitude-enhanced pain for yrs with the Colorado Rockies, so he is aware what a environment-course warm extend appears to be like like.

“I’ve been all-around a ton of superior hitters, but the thirty day period he threw up was superb,” Hurdle explained. “It gave me goosebumps from time to time. And when I get goosebumps, a thing particular is going on.”

The figures inform the story of McCutchen’s turnaround:

Considering that his reduced point on May 23, he has decreased his swing-and-skip rate from 23 percent to 18 percent and elevated his line travel rate from 17 percent of balls in play to 31 percent. He also has completed a superior career of preserving the ball off the floor (33 percent of balls in play, down from 45 percent).

Through May 23, McCutchen was hitting .181 with a .361 slugging proportion in opposition to balls on the interior half of the plate. Considering that then, he is batting .442 with a slugging proportion of 1.000 in opposition to those pitches.

McCutchen has been more selective early in at-bats, swinging at the initially pitch only 19 percent of the time in contrast to 33 percent throughout his early-season funks. But he is also been more effective later on in counts. Immediately after logging a .161/.257.280 slash line with two strikes in April and May, he elevated the bar to .311/.415/.444 in June.

Journeys of discovery for baseball hitters usually come with recollection of a eureka moment or adjustment that established the environment suitable yet again. It’s possible a participant regained his timing by shortening a leg kick or changing his hand positioning. And suddenly, we’re explained to, every thing clicked and the baseball “started to glimpse like a seaside ball.”

McCutchen’s personalized account demonstrates the drudgery associated in navigating the tough patches in a 162-recreation season. He just showed up at the cage, working day following working day, and tinkered with little and indiscernible alterations right until all that do the job and experimentation brought him to what he calls a “superior area.”

“You cannot say a thing is going to transform and not do the job at it,” McCutchen explained. “You have to do the job more and do more, even if it implies finding a few of blisters or your arms remaining raw. You happen to be trying to get out of a terrible routine you have developed, and the only way is by using more swings, or seeing more online video, or speaking more with the coaches and other gamers about your method. You happen to be diving deep into it because you have to.

“The only point I recognize is my thoughts is more at ease now than it was about a thirty day period in the past. In advance of, I was planning to attempt and come to feel a thing. Now I know what I require to come to feel, and I’m sticking with that and bringing it into the recreation every working day.”

“The way I glimpse at it, at least I’m remaining talked about. It may possibly not be a thing I want to hear. But some guys can strike .250 and everybody couldn’t treatment significantly less about it. I glimpse at it as a superior point. People today anticipate me to be superior than in which I’m at.”

Andrew McCutchen

As a hitter, McCutchen spends more time focusing on the mental facet of the recreation than statistical indicators or mechanics. Immediately after remaining treated to a stat-by-stat update of his June surge throughout a conversation at Citizens Bank Park, McCutchen shook his head and observed, “That made my brain hurt.”

As McCutchen concentrates on servicing instead than crisis administration, his resurgence has changed the tone of the conversation in Pittsburgh. It can be now a slam dunk that the Pirates will work out his $14.5 million club alternative for 2018. But will he even very last that very long in a Pittsburgh uniform?

The Pirates are forty-forty seven and on the fringe of competition only because the NL Central is such a forgiving division this season. Josh Harrison, David Freese, Tony Watson and even Gerrit Cole — a 26-12 months-aged warmth dispenser who would call for a monster return in spite of his so-so figures this 12 months — will be between the names bandied all-around in trade speculation following the All-Star break.

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington is aware what it implies to parlay veteran, small-phrase belongings into very long-phrase items. He did it early in his tenure when he traded All-Stars Jason Bay and Nate McLouth for potential customers, and yet again very last summer when he dealt no cost agent-in-ready Mark Melancon to Washington for younger pitchers Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn. Whilst the consideration is more stifling in McCutchen’s circumstance because he is baseball royalty in Pittsburgh, the dynamic is rather common.

Even in opposing stadiums, as he did here at Citizens Bank Park, the affable Andrew McCutchen draws a group. Monthly bill Streicher/United states Nowadays Sports

“Andrew will permanently be a substantial part of Pirates background,” Huntington explained. “He was the face of the franchise as we arrived out of a dark part of background, and he is a exceptional person on and off the subject. He’s taken care of a ton of adversity as perfectly as any one could probably deal with it. Some we have set on his plate, and some the recreation of baseball has set on plate.

“We anticipate Andrew continuing to be a Pirate right until a thing alterations — irrespective of whether it can be through no cost company or somebody coming in [with an give] that we feel can assist this group about the major image. That’s the difficult reality. We are going to pay attention on any one. We have to. It will not suggest we’re on the lookout to go him or actively interact. You will find energetic and passive engagement, and we are going to usually be open up for passive engagement if any person desires to come to us.”

McCutchen was greatly regarded as a discount when he signed a 6-12 months, $51.5 million contract extension with the Pirates in 2012. But nothing at all in the team’s modus operandi or its funds suggests the Pirates will reciprocate dependent on sentiment.

“You’ve got bought to fully grasp, I’ve been in this group considering the fact that I was 18,” McCutchen explained. “I’ve seen men and women come and go, so I’m utilised to that.

“As considerably as me remaining toward the stop of my contract, I cannot regulate that. I’m not the guy dishing out the revenue and producing the moves. People today fully grasp in which I want to be. They know I want to be here in a Pirates uniform. This is the group that’s drafted me, and I want to win here. Right now, we’re not, but we require to. That’s how you remain. You win. It can be not just the Pirates. That’s all all-around baseball. You’ve got gotta win.”

As McCutchen’s long term sorts alone out, he can relaxation easily knowing he will continue being in middle subject on Marte’s return from an 80-recreation PED suspension on July 18. He has also returned to hitting third in the order.

He and his spouse, Maria, recently announced on Twitter that they are anticipating their initially baby in December, so that’s a piece of joyous personalized news to increase to the list. If McCutchen’s latest torrid streak experienced begun a 7 days faster, possibilities are he would be heading to Miami for his sixth All-Star visual appearance. As an alternative, he’ll consider a breather early next 7 days, enable the aches from the baseball schedule subside and equipment up a second-half run.

Wherever lifestyle usually takes him throughout the All-Star festivities, he is in a superior area than he was 6 weeks in the past. It can be nice to welcome back again the aged Andrew McCutchen.

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Blog Tour: Shattering Truths by Kyrian Lyndon (Interview + Giveaway)

Shattering Truths Kyrian Lyndon (Deadly Veils, #1) Publication date: January 30th 2017 Genres: Suspense, Young Adult

She was left fighting her demons alone . . . For sixteen-year-old Danielle DeCorso, the old house in Glastonbury was an eerie place to grow up. Coping with mental health challenges exacerbated by a traumatic family dynamic, Danielle watches from the window for two men in a dusty black sedan who keep circling the house and harassing her with phone calls. The two predators drugged her and her cousin, Angie, and then lured them from Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport to a secluded cottage on Long Beach West. She remembers feeling dizzy, the room spinning. She recalls screaming, crying, fighting, and then slipping in and out of consciousness. Angie, however, has no recollection of the incident. When Danielle attempts to jog Angie’s memory and convince their best friend, Farran, that the two strangers had victimized them, no one seems to believe her. Alone in her pain, Danielle remains guarded, obsessed, and withdrawn. Soon she is sinking deeper into a tumultuous world of adolescent isolation and change. Grief, guilt, and anger send her spiraling into an even darker place. Tormented by terrifying nightmares, she fears she will lose her sanity, or possibly her soul. Is she having post-traumatic stress hallucinations, as one of her friends suggest, or are her recurring nightmares as real as they seem? Trapped in an unyielding emotional bondage, Danielle continues the fight to reclaim her power. Startling revelations awaken her newfound spirit, inspiring a once naïve girl to grow into a woman of defiance and courage.

Interview With The Author, Kyrian Lyndon 1. Where did the idea for Shattering Truths come from? Shattering Truths is about one young woman’s path to healing from trauma—inspired by things I’d witnessed in life. I believe that until we fully heal from whatever we need to recover from, we remain in bondage to something or another and prone to all kinds of obsession. I’ve seen this happen over and over again. I’ve seen, too, that even though disentangling from all that is a painful process, it’s where the path to healing begins. I want readers to see the progression of the protagonist’s journey, but I also want to tell some of the stories of other interesting characters, those that have a deep connection with her. 2. Do you have a place you reserve just for writing, if so, why? I have a desk in my bedroom, and I always write there. It’s sort of my happy place. I especially like it in the very early hours of the morning when it’s dark and no one else is awake. I just put the lamp on, grab my coffee, and get to work. My desk is by the window, so I can see the sunrises and sunsets and the moon in various phases. It’s perfect. 3. What is your advice for those suffering trauma? It’s important for us to talk about what happened, and we need to find that safe space where we can do that. If we open up to someone, and that person seems skeptical, dismissive, or lacking in empathy, that’s a good indication that this is not a safe space. You want to talk to someone who believes you, who’s willing to listen, and who will provide the comfort and support you need. Therapy is another solution when a person is ready, although it is important to find the right therapist. Ideally, you want someone who works with trauma survivors, and if there is any other affliction, you will want someone who knows enough about those issues to give you the proper feedback. For example, if you’re suffering from PTSD or anxiety, you want someone who has experience with that. I might suggest, too, if you are a female, speak to a female therapist. I have had incidents where male therapists have been inappropriate while listening to details about the sexual assault. Other times, a male therapist may be thoroughly appropriate but unintentionally triggering, especially because victims sometimes transfer unconscious feelings, needs, and desires onto him. I do understand that they have the training to deal with that, but in my experience, the situation can create unnecessary obstacles to healing. Unfortunately, a lot of people can’t afford therapy. The good news, however, is, there’s so much information out there now about trauma and abuse and the disorders that may stem from those traumas. You can find it in books or even by following certain Facebook pages whose admins do proper research and post regularly. Find blogs, groups, and websites that deal with these subjects. Awareness is key here, and the accumulating knowledge in these areas will help tremendously! 4. When it comes to envisioning your characters, do you use images as a guideline for their appearance? There may have been a couple of times when I Googled for specific types of images to inspire me, but I usually pick someone I knew in the past who had a look that was interesting to me, one I thought worth describing! Other times I just make it up as I go. 5. Poetry or novels? Even though I am a poet, and I was a poet before I became a novelist, I’d have to say novels. (I’m not sure if you mean writing or reading, but the same answer applies either way.) 6. Sad music or happy music? Both! Sad music helps me process things. It makes me want to sing. Happy music makes me want to dance and sing. 7. Do you prefer to work in a quiet room or a room with background noise such as music or a tv? I work in a quiet room. I’m easily distracted, so I can’t have anything going on in the background. 8. Would you rather live in this world or fairytale? I wouldn’t want to live in a fairytale. Either they don’t turn out very well, or the ending is too predictable. This world can be harsh, but it’s fascinating. It’s exciting. I like how we can sometimes turn the tide and change outcomes. I may opt for a third choice—to live in a parallel universe where I don’t have to suffer any permanent consequences, kind of like roleplaying. ;) 9. Who inspires you? My son inspires me more than anything or anyone. He’s just an amazing human being, and he’s always been that way, since birth, really, so I take no credit. 10. Would you rather live with your family, or be adopted into a fictional family of your choice (if so, who would you choose)? I’ll keep the family I have.

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Author Bio: Kyrian Lyndon is the author of Shattering Truths, the first book in her Deadly Veils series. She has also published two poetry collections, A Dark Rose Blooms, and Remnants of Severed Chains. Kyrian began writing short stories and fairy tales when she was just eight years old. In her adolescence, she moved on to poetry. At sixteen, while working as an editor for her high school newspaper, she wrote her first novel, and then completed two more novels at the ages of nineteen and twenty-five.

Born and raised in Woodside, Queens, New York, Kyrian was the middle of three daughters born to immigrants —her father from Campochiaro, Italy; her mother from Havana, Cuba. She has worked primarily in executive-level administrative positions with major New York publishing companies. She resides on Long Island in New York.

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made it to the final boss