#let your freak flag fly Leon

[leonsliga]

Many are surprised that I don’t charge money for pictures of my feet and I find that slightly disturbing… 😂

[msmargaretmurry]

idk if you’re still doing the fanfic title ask thing but if you are, mattdrai + neutral zone

i feel like this would be a sweet, funny little story where they have their bye weeks at the same time and coincidentally wind up on vacation at the same resort. big romcommy vibes. more of a @bropunzeling style joint than my own usual style, but i would do my best 😂

obviously leon's there with connor, third-wheeling with him and lauren, since they're coming straight from the all-star game. matthew, also coming straight from the asg, is flying in to meet up with some friends — maybe brady's bye week was before the asg, but robby thomas, or some florida pals, or whoever are there. mostly i just want him to be free of familial obligations so that he can let his freak flag fly.

anyway, the all-star weekend was good for everyone involved — let's say this is set this coming year, so no one was thrilled about going to cold toronto and losing out on three extra days of real vacation, not like florida, which was basically just extra vacation, but it was fun enough. neither the pacific or the atlantic won; none of our main cast here became the main character of the weekend, but there were some fun moments. matthew and leon didn't really talk during the asw, didn't really talk during last year's asw (although, to be fair, matthew was very busy playing host last year), because the thing is, they don't really have any reason to interact now that they're not in the same division.

leon didn't think he'd miss it, but he kind of misses it. the battle of alberta isn't nearly as exciting now. matthew pissed him off a lot when they were younger, yeah, but he has always been fun to play against. the 2020 asg was the first time they ever had a real conversation and it wasn't a big thing or anything, but it was kind of a turning point in the somewhat one-sided animosity, and by the time the 2022 playoffs rolled around, they had developed this kind of almost-friendly (slightly flirty?) respect. matthew still pissed him off on the ice, yeah, but they had some laughs, too, at faceoff circles, between whistles. leon started to believe the people that said, well, if he was on your team you'd love him.

and then matthew got himself traded to florida, built himself a happy new life there, became the main character of the nhl, etc. leon's not not happy for him, but maybe, when he thinks about it in certain moods, he does prickle a little at how easily matthew left the alberta of it all behind.

meanwhile matthew figures they were all just glad to be rid of him. he's been having a great time in florida. a great enough time that it's mostly healed the sting of how his last season in calgary ended and how frustrating his career there was sometimes. there was a time in his life when he would have really, really liked for leon draisaitl to like him, but he's totally past that now.

anyway, due to a series of somewhat comedic near-misses at the airport, they don't realize they're going to the same place until they get onto the plane and they're all in first class: matthew, leon, connor, lauren. everyone's like uhhhhh ?? but matthew makes a joke, retreats to his seat behind them, puts his headphones on, doesn't make conversation except to charm the flight attendants. when they land, connor asks him where he's headed, if he wants to share their cab. matthew politely declines. he's not trying to be anti-social, he's just not trying to intrude on someone else's vacation.

but, of course, the resort isn't huge. it takes, like, a day for matthew's group to run into leon again — at the tiki bar on the beach, where leon is loitering even though lauren and connor are down by the water, because he's feeling particularly third wheel-y today. matthew had the right idea, finding a whole group to glom onto after the asg. all this to say, he's kind of relieved to see other people he kind of knows, even if it all feels a little awkward. but hey, they're on vacation. everyone can be friends here.

cue a beachy vacation montage of drinking and laughing and playing volleyball on the beach and splashing into the water — leon (and often connor and lauren — i feel like there are other wags around with matthew's group of friends) gets kind of folded into the group, and here on vacation away from all the hockey stuff, past rivalries, etc, it turns out that they just kind of click. they're both super competitive, even about dumb things like beach volleyball — but that's fun when the stakes are low, when they're on the same team. matthew's always checking in to make sure leon's having a good time if he's hanging with them while connor and lauren are off doing coupley things — he's always making sure everyone's having a good time, really, and leon starts to really get why his teammates in florida talk about him the way they do. leon is surprisingly funny and surprisingly affectionate when he doesn't want to kill you, and matthew keeps getting that old familiar feeling that he'd really like for leon to like him.

it's only like two days in when they get tipsy and hook up, which is probably a good thing, because it's so mind-bogglingly hot that if they'd held out until the end of the week and just did it once at the end, they would have both gone a little crazy not getting to do it again right away. cue all sorts of sneaking off to have all sorts of gross, sweaty vacation sex, and maybe getting a little obsessed with each other in the process.

the last night of the trip, the whole combined group of them has a big dinner on the beach and everyone just hangs out until late, long after the sun goes down. matthew and leon keep not-so-subtly making eyes at each other, trying to gauge when they're gonna sneak off to go wreck each other, but matthew is also a little in his head about this being the last day of vacation, because he's 100% sure this is gonna be a "what happened in bye week stays in bye week" situation, which is how it should be, anything else would be too complicated and make no sense, but he knows that despite knowing all that logically, it's gonna do a number on him to fly home alone after this whirlwind — whatever it is, with leon, so at some point he disappears, and after a while leon finds him sitting down by the water a little ways away, looking out at the ocean.

leon goes to sit with him. kisses his shoulder, but doesn't try to make conversation. he kind of thinks he knows what matthew's thinking, but it takes him a while to figure out what to say about it in a way that won't be too embarrassing if he's wrong. eventually he settles on, "we should do this again sometime."

matthew looks over, surprised. "you'd want to?"

leon shrugs. "i mean. it's been fun, right?"

and then they make out on the beach, and then they go back to one of their rooms and have sex, and then shower sex, and then morning sex, all of it increasingly clingy in a way they will not discuss until, like, sexcation #4 at least, but leon does kiss matthew's cheek when they part ways at the airport later, and matthew's friends tease him mercilessly about it for the rest of the day.

[flauntpage]

Your Wednesday Morning Roundup

The Flyers went down three goals early, then scored five straight, just to give up three more goals in the third period to lose 6-5. How freaking lovely.

At least Nolan Patrick scored his first goal of his NHL career! But it doesn’t cancel out a stinging loss like this.

Anthony will have a recap of this game later this morning. It’s the fourth of the season, and Flyers Twitter has already reached the point of ending their existence on Earth because the Flyers blew a lead. Also, Dave Hakstol appears to not be a popular guy amongst the Flyers fan base.

The Roundup:

Check out the latest Crossing Broadcast, which discusses the Flyers loss, along with a handful of other topics.

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The Sixers made it official Tuesday, keeping Joel Embiid until 2023.

Extending Embiid was definitely worth it, as Kevin Kinkead explains:

The process wasn’t created to get the Sixers into the playoffs, it was created to compile the assets necessary to compete for a championship.

Not extending Embiid would’ve been the most risk-averse decision an NBA team could’ve made. Where else are you putting that money? Are you overpaying for Tim Mozgov or Al Horford? There’s risk in chasing high-priced mercenaries, too. Everything comes with some degree of uncertainty.

But a healthy Embiid gets you closer to a championship, and if you’re not winning it all, you’re not winning shit. The 10-72 Sixers won the same amount of trophies as the 48-34 Hawks a few years back. Philadelphians who have experienced one championship parade since 1983 should be able to appreciate that.

His contract may be good for the Sixers as well:

For the Sixers to curb the ultimate value of the extension, it would take the triggering of several severe circumstances detailed in a 35-page-plus contract. Embiid’s unique career trajectory — missing his first two NBA seasons with successive foot surgeries and playing only 31 games in the 2016-17 season — created a pathway for Philadelphia general manager Bryan Colangelo; Embiid’s agent, Leon Rose of CAA Sports; and the National Basketball Players Association to work together on creating a complicated and creative contractual agreement. The dramatic impact of Embiid’s brief but dominant debut season left him as the only rookie since Wilt Chamberlain to average at least 28.7 points per 36 minutes played.

Here’s how a perfect storm of calamity would have to unfold for Embiid to earn any less than the full $146.5 million: Across each of the final four seasons of the extension, ending with the 2022-23 season, the 76ers could waive Embiid for a financial benefit if he’s lost because of a contractually agreed-upon injury that causes him to miss 25 or more regular-season games and if he plays less than 1,650 minutes, league sources said.

Specific injuries are laid out in the contract and include only past problem areas with Embiid’s feet and back, sources said. Embiid has to miss 25 or more regular-season games because of injuries in those areas, and play less than 1,650 minutes, for Philadelphia to have the option of releasing him for cost savings.

Kinkead also has a recap of Monday night’s loss to the Celtics.

So he’s signed, Ben Simmons looks great (for the most part), and…wait for it…a Sixers top draft pick is hurt! This time, it’s Markelle Fultz and his shoulder.

Fultz is listed as doubtful for tonight’s game against the Brooklyn Nets at Nassau Coliseum. Embiid is probable. Game tips off at 7:30 and is broadcast live on 97.5 The Fanatic.

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The Eagles continue to get ready for Carolina tomorrow night. Lane Johnson will probably be out for the game with a concussion, leaving Halapoulivaati Vaitai at right tackle. Meanwhile, Fletcher Cox is still uncertain if he will play tomorrow night. He’ll decide on his game status later today:

Cox didn’t issue any declarations about playing on Thursday. Given that he just started practicing again after a two-week absence, and that the Eagles don’t play again after this until Monday, Oct. 23 against Washington, one would guess Cox and the medical staff would have to really be convinced he is 100 percent before letting him make the trip.

Cox wouldn’t say if he expected to fly with the Eagles to Charlotte Wednesday.

“It felt good out there today, just to get out to practice and move around a little bit. I haven’t been on the field in a couple of weeks,” he said. “I’m not a doctor, I’m not a trainer. Those guys have been doing a really good job of treating the injury and trying to get me ready to play a game.”

To prepare for Cam Newton, the Eagles used one of their practice squad wide receivers to mimic the dual-threat quarterback.

Sean has his Three and Out post, which includes the offense beginning to find their identity.

Doug Pederson has been making strides as a head coach in Year 2.

In a small roster move, the Eagles brought back defensive end Alex McCalister to their practice squad.

Skip Bayless: Still an idiot. Are you surprised?

Get a glimpse of what the media is saying about the Birds.

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Besides the loss last night, the Flyers hired their new in-arena host. She likes EDM, and so do I. Good fit.

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Villanova head coach Jay Wright is receiving this year’s John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching” award.

Protesters rallied on Temple’s campus against the university’s plan for a proposed stadium on their campus.

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In other sports news, the US soccer team embarrassed themselves and the entire country, losing to Trinidad and Tobago 2-1. They won’t be in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986. ESPN’s Taylor Twellman went off and tore a new one on the entire United States Soccer Federation. As he should:

Here's the full Taylor Twellman rant: http://pic.twitter.com/3YOAQrTKmY

— Max Wildstein (@MaxWildstein) October 11, 2017

Panama won thanks to this phantom goal to help kick the USA out of World Cup contention:

Esa bola nunca entró ¡Árbitro vulgar! http://pic.twitter.com/9xyrrZIzWt

— TDMás (@tdmas_cr) October 11, 2017

I’ll chip in my two cents being a moderate soccer fan and follower of the game. My dad is a huge soccer fan and was heavily involved with my township’s soccer program when I was a kid. This sucks. I’ve always been excited to watch the World Cup and watch guys like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey go out and play against some of the world’s best. When I was a camp counselor after my senior year of high school, we ended early to watch the second half of the Germany-USA game. They lost, but ended up advancing to the knockout stage.

Development in the United States is still fractured. Blame this on Klinsmann, blame this on Bruce Arena, blame this on the players looking like absolute crap last night. But you also have to blame the system. US Soccer needs to get their act together. As Twellman mentioned, they need to get a plan together with MLS, USL, the NCAA even, and their youth development programs to create one system to help the sport grow nationally for international play.

We’re the best at American football, literally because we’re the only nation that has a full-time league (Canadian football is different). When we won bronze at the ’04 Summer Olympics in basketball, there was outrage over that and a overhaul. Doesn’t this country want to be the best in everything, with the attitude of “gold or nothing”? Why is this not there in soccer? The entire world plays this sport, and we can’t beat a small island team?

I hope this creates change for the better for the sport in this country.

Elsewhere, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo out to all 32 teams discussing the national anthem protests:

Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the National Anthem. It is an important moment in our game. We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us. We also care deeply about our players and respect their opinions and concerns about critical social issues. The controversy over the Anthem is a barrier to having honest conversations and making real progress on the underlying issues. We need to move past this controversy, and we want to do that together with our players.

The Vegas Golden Knights held their home opener, which began with a moving tribute to the city after the victims of last week’s shooting.

Four games for 81 yards. That was Adrian Peterson’s career with the New Orleans Saints. He was traded to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional draft pick.

A Florida man went to the hospital Sunday night after burning a Dallas Cowboys jersey:

At the hospital, deputies spoke with a couple who admitted they were watching the NFL game and agreed to burn the losing team’s jersey. However, the man decided to wear the jersey as it was burning.

A witness told Sebastian Daily, “He was set on fire after losing a bet on the Cowboys game … Skin was hanging off his arm and back.”

A labor union has filed a complaint against the Cowboys. They believe owner Jerry Jones was violating the National Labor Relations Act.

Philip thinks ESPN should have handled the Jemele Hill situation differently.

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In the news, Eminem had some words to say about President Donald Trump:

The FULL verse that EVERYBODY is talking about! @eminem BODIED THIS! #HipHopAwards http://pic.twitter.com/zoS0wEwjQF

— BET (@BET) October 11, 2017

Drexel University placed one of their professors on administrative leave after tweeting his thoughts about the Las Vegas massacre.

North Korea hackers allegedly stole war plans from South Korea and the United States.

Britt McHenry and Joe Banner got into a Twitter war. Both had some good jabs about each other in there.

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