#major league shoutouts to my mom

[bonescribes]

vent in the tags sowwee :(

[ceristhehedgehog2]

DamiOlive: A Kindred Dynamic.

⚔ Damian Wayne X Olive Grace ✝ (OC)

Theme: Colorblind. Rachel Grae.

So… DamiOlive. Yeah. It sounds like just another shipping of self-inserts with a canon character, right? Essentially, yes. OCs tends to be self-inserts in some cases, whether they are Mary-sues or just a rip-off of the creator themselves, projecting onto a cartoon character they adore most. I don't take offense to non-completely original characters, no, no. Far from it. I get inspired by them CONSTANTLY when I make OCs of my own—like my Olive Grace displayed on the board above!

I also get inspired by the love of cartoon characters too. Damian Wayne, is a prime example. I LOVED this spoiled brat despite how controversial he was. My adoration for him came around on the DC: Animated Movie Universe, which is how I got onto DC to begin with. Since then, I have become INSPIRED by Damian's story. Sure, he was an asshole on numerous occasions, a troll, an entitled brat, arrogant and prideful, but most of all: A kid. He's a kid who struggles with his identity. I think this quote resonated with ME and possibly others too, if you're a detailed geek as I am, "You! Talia! Ra's! You're all in here! (...) But where am I?" I felt resonated with him here! He resembled me as my former 13 year-old self in the center of family problems, trying to figure, "What do I want to be when I grow up? What will be my job in the future? Will I make it? Will I make my family happy?" Plus! He has been given high expectations since he was born! Damian Wayne was gonna be the next leader of the League of Assassins, trained by Ra's Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul; his villainous mom and grandfather. He was raised to be a leader and a killer. When he's taken in by Batman/Bruce Wayne, the greatest detective, he learns between the lines, "Justice, not vengeance", that killing threats to help the world is only as bad as those threats too.

His growth has been my motivation and I think he, along with other characters got me to OC making to begin with. As a character creator I am. 😉 And I happened to find how fun it was!

Shoutout to @chrry-blvssom , as she helped me out while I was working on Olive Grace, especially toward her character design and major traits. So Chrry, if you're reading this, you are the most creative bestie in my heart. Thank you so much!! 💕 🙇 🙇 🙇

Olive Grace happened to be a… difficult case. Mostly because at the start, I hardly got much information on DC itself to construct ideas for her character. I shipped her with Damian, not just because I adored him, but because I felt it would be fun to explore, especially how he is as a character. Problem is, I struggled to figure out these issues: What would their dynamic be? How can it work?

I've seen Damian with other characters before and went through their dynamics. Notably, these two; Raven from the DC: Animated Movie Universe, which felt like a beautiful soulmate romance and Flatline from the Robin comic series, which felt like enemies-to-lovers, ripping-your-heart-out story. Literally. Nightstar doesn't count. For some odd reason they're paired even when they're… basically relatives? ⚠

I always try to make my shippings unique in its own form, and have traits that compliment the other:

Shadow the Hedgehog and Lunar Andhera the Wolf, are deeply intertwined mobians with their similar histories. The Ultimate Lifeform. The Moon Deity Reincarnated. They had responsibilities for their existence and lost what they loved as a price. They're equally mature, while one is cool-headed and motherly and the other is easy to retaliate and tempered. A sun/moon dynamic! 🐺 🌙 ☀ 🦔 💕

Sonic the Hedgehog and Solana An-Nur the Lion, are pure opposites; Sonic is laidback and hyper while Solana is utmost responsible and mature. The Fastest Thing Alive. The Strongest Warrior Existing. But they compliment each other through her encouragement to lighten up and the other to consider his responsibility as a hero. Together, they're adventurous Twin Flames that work proudly side by side. 🔥 🦁 🦔 🍃

Damian is intelligent, arrogant, entitled, a troll, aggressive but extremely loyal and kind at heart. He just needed the time to acknowledge his own good part of him to recognize this. He's also stern and all-out business oriented when a situation of importance is at hand. Heck! He puts the people he cares about first before himself! He did so for the Teen Titans in Rebirth! He did so for Dick Grayson! He did so for his father! Jonathan Kent! Even Tim, despite how much they don't get along! Maya too! But sadly, because it's DC, she hardly seems to exist anymore! ☠ RIP Maya Ducard.

All in all, he's an experienced force, despite his rather young age.

Then I thought: Opposites of nature, romantic dynamics by the ✨ INTERNET ✨ Brought to you as… Demons & Angels.

___________________________________

Yep. I've gone for the Angels & Demons route!

It can also be considered as Fallen Angels & Demons, because of how deep (at least, I see how deep) their stories are.

If you want to learn Olive's origins, you can find it on this link: https://www.tumblr.com/ceristhehedgehog2/723404300830883840/remake?source=share

ANYWAYS. I've even looked at the 16 MBTI Personalities to see if I can forge the characters and how they behave; namely the ISFP + ENTJ. Damian is an ENTJ. ENTJs are known to be very confident, arrogant, critical, insensitive, logical and decisive, which fits Damian pretty well, as it is the "Commander", which he was groomed to become.

Olive Grace as an ISFP, better known as the "Artist" means she's very much the opposite of Damian; artistic, creative, principled, curious, carefree, considerate, sensitive, emotional and spontaneous, which fits how she grew up to be the person she is.

Their natures will clash at the beginning. Damian is an arrogant, entitled kid who thinks he's better than everyone else. Olive quickly becomes tense by his behavior and will leave him alone. Though. Olive is not afraid to speak her mind if Damian does happen to be in the wrong and will call him out for it. She's honest and quick to call him out but she is considerate of how she'll act because truly, she does want to befriend him. It's just difficult how to be THAT with his abrasive nature. But, thanks to her virtuous demeanor, she has the patience to try again and again with time. She's usually laid-back and observant, which helps whenever he needs to vent or explode in a fit of rage and/or annoyance from the blue, also allowing him to gain her trust as it goes on.

I thought over as I developed these two, how they have interesting parallels I managed to decipher as a pairing alone, while looking back on the character's stories separate;

Olive is a virtuous, principled, clever, daring, carefree soul who got into her own cruel world too young. All she wanted was to live her current life, experience the beauty of her home and encounter new experiences while mastering her dual-natured gifts. But she had to face the trauma her fallen-mother caused from the brink she was born to the rest of her life, which caused her holy-mother, her adopted-father, even her humanity. She was forced into this lonely responsibility of becoming her own hero who'd fight and defend from her own world destruction, fighting for her survival from greedy people who seek her power, being faced with constant mental torment of her insecurities and sins, while keeping herself in check from being corruptible and succumbing to sin while constantly feeling like an abomination to all around her and to herself. This drove her to a point, where she attempted to kill herself at roughly nine years old, in her fleet of guilt and depression. She lost so much so young. But in her story, she'd eventually learn that life was most beautiful if she didn't focus on the bad things in the world; She gained faith, friends, human experiences, love, forgiveness, happiness, a hope to finally sleep without worrying of the horrors she'd face alone.

Damian is an intelligent, arrogant, entitled, confident, lethal boy who was raised in a cycle of violence and grooming. He was raised to become the ultimate warrior. He would lead the League of Assassins side by side with his grandfather without question. He'd kill any threat to his family's cause. That is, until he met his father, Batman. He hated the ideal rules his father upheld. They were against what he learned in the league. He'd disobey orders, he'd be violent and utterly disrespectful, but in the end: He was a boy who sincerely wanted to prove himself. He was raised in a world of a kill or be killed mindset. He's determined and haste to make his family proud but he becomes insecure of his high expectations being given to him. Worse, he had a difficult sense of identity between the morals his family gave him. He never got to be his own person and he's plagued by this. When he took on the role of Robin, he found morals more beyond killing, he found friends, a family he can commit to, a purpose to fight, love, confidence, hope, experience being a kid, while all in all: An opportunity to be his own person. Not just a dictator or the sidekick, the demon or the bat: but a boy who redeemed himself.

They both grew up in ill-destined backgrounds but they fought against it all for their own bright futures. They're opposites but their parallels eventually connect them into a friendship of direct communication, teasing, sincerity, and fun to a romance of deep understanding with acceptance for each other and themselves.

______________________________________

WHEW! That took awhile! In fact, I don't understand why I didn't do this sooner, lmao! But. This was just all for fun and creativity, plus I love going into detail of ideas and concepts. Hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think!

— Have a lovely day/night! 😉

[plaidbooks]

Nicknames and Slumps - “The Big Leagues” baseball AU

(moodboard by @witches-unruly-heart​)

A/N: Here’s chapter 2 of the Baseball AU! I know I mentioned some chapters going towards the Summer Bingo--and they will--but I wanted to establish Sonny in this universe a little bit, first. This chapter takes place in the off season, and the beginning to Sonny’s second season of pitching for the Mets. Like before, feel free to DM me any questions you have about baseball/the AU!

Also, shoutout to @thatesqcrush and her husband for answering my arbitrary Mets questions!

P.S. Aquafresh is a brand of toothpaste

Tags: yelling, otherwise none

Words: 1803

Taglist: @witches-unruly-heart  @beccabarba @thatesqcrush @itsjustmyfantasyroom @permanentlydizzy  @ben-c-group-therapy @infiniteoddball @glowingmess @whimsicallymad @lv7867  @storiesofsvu @cycat4077 @alwaysachorusgirl @glimmerglittergirl @joanofarkansass  @redlipstickandblacktea  @reading--mermaid  @averyhotchner  @mrsrafaelbarba @detective-giggles @crowleysqueenofhell @dreamlover31

Sonny’s first year in the majors was almost flawless. Outside of his perfect game in his sixth start, he was dominate; he kept his ERA hovering around the low 1.00’s, and he was still undefeated. He did, however, have a few no decisions, only two of which were his fault. But besides that, he was the star everyone talked about. He even won the Rookie of the Year award; something almost unheard of with pitchers. The Cy Young award shocked no one, and the Mets were frantically offering him more money, trying to keep him. As if he’d go anywhere else.

Even with his spectacular pitching, the Mets didn’t make it to the post-season. But as the Mets watched the World Series from their homes, all anyone could talk about was the kid, Sonny Carisi.

He had gained notoriety among sportscasters and journalists for his outstanding performance on the field. But the fans adored him for his off days, and for how he conducted himself off the field. Not only did Sonny donate most of his time in the off season—not to mention his money—to multiple volunteer organizations, but he also offered to do signings at small, struggling mom and pop shops for free. He’d bring in huge crowds, spending hours at these events, taking pictures, signing autographs, talking to kids and adults alike.

While in the ballpark, on days he pitched, he would do his workouts in the trainer’s room, coming out of the dugout just to throw in the bullpen. He was focused, working on his mechanics. But on days he didn’t pitch, he was one of the first out on the field. Sonny had a penchant for hanging out right next to the dugout, signing autographs and taking pictures. He never declined—unless the umpire was yelling at him to get off the field so they could start the game—and he had a blast. And when he was in the outfield, shagging balls during batting practice, he’d toss them up to the crowd, or give them to kids with a huge smile.

Sonny’s trademark smile earned him his first nickname: Aquafresh. He threw his head back and laughed when he first heard it, loving it. He wasn’t as fond of his other nicknames that sprung up afterwards: Stringbean and Earthworm Jim being his least favorites. But there was one that apparently was going around that he didn’t hear from the crowd.

*************************

It was early morning, and he was watching the postgame wrap from the night before while he ate breakfast. Normally, Sonny didn’t watch the pre- or postgame commentary. But since he started dating you, he made it a point to watch if you were on. He smiled as he saw you wearing his jersey, thinking you were too damn cute, and wanting to cuddle with you on the couch.

The conversation slowly shifted from the game that happened to Sonny, as it normally did…not because you forced them to talk about him. In fact, you did your job as normal; it was your cohosts that would change the subject to him. And now that they knew—the world knew—that you two were dating, he almost wondered if it was on purpose, to see if you slip up on some personal info about him, or you two together.

“Speaking of Carisi, have you heard the new nickname? I heard the Staten Island Little Leaguers came up with it,” one of the guys said.

Sonny watched your face light up. “I have! They call him Peanut Butter Cup, right?” you asked, though he knew you didn’t need to; you never said anything that you couldn’t back up.

“Peanut Butter Cup? Where did they get that from?” another of your colleagues wondered out loud.

You smiled, and Sonny felt a swell of pride at your knowledge. “From his last name. They went from Carisi to Risi, then to Reese, then Reese’s and bam! Peanut Butter Cup,” you explained.

Sonny laughed, flushing with embarrassment, his heart warm. Children called him Peanut Butter Cup. Not for the first time, he felt an intense longing; Sonny wanted children, wanted a family. He was only 22, but he had known most of his life that he wanted to be a father. He made a mental note to bring up the prospect of children with you. It was still early in your relationship; you’ve been dating about five months, but with your jobs, you rarely saw each other. Hell, you saw each other more at work than off the field. Your relationship was mostly over text or phone calls, but he still felt deeply about you. He wasn’t sure if it was love yet, but he was hoping to get to know you more in person in the off season.

Once he finished breakfast, Sonny sent you a text: I saw your show from last night.

You responded almost instantly, unsurprising to him; your whole livelihood was on your phone. And? Did I do well?

He smiled, heart fluttering; he liked that you valued his opinion. Fantastic. Just one thing.

What??

I hate peanut butter.

 ***********************

Sonny Carisi was named the Opening Day starter for the Mets, shocking absolutely no one. He had just turned 23 and was already the best pitcher for the club, maybe even in baseball at the moment. Or so he, and everyone who watched him, thought. But that first game, the Cubs lit him up. Sonny gave up more runs in that game than he had in any other start combined. His manager took him out in the 4th, something that’s never happened to him before. When Sonny pitched, he was normally a shoo-in for at least 7 innings.

Frustrated, Sonny sat hard on the bench, not letting anyone outside the pitching coach talk to him.

“It happens to everyone eventually, Carisi. Just gotta let this roll off your back, come back strong your next outing.”

But that next outing, he did worse. He didn’t know what was happening to him. His command was perfect, his stuff great. It’s like everyone he faced suddenly could see right through him, knew every pitch he was going to throw before he threw it. It was infuriating. His ERA ballooned up to the 5.00’s, and he wondered dimly if the Mets would trade him.

Sonny eventually started shutting everyone out. He even stopped watching the pre- and postgame shows, whether you were on it or not. He stopped reading the articles you wrote, and he stopped reaching out. He even stopped being the first out of the dugout, stopped signing things by the dugout. On his days off, he spent it hiding in the locker room until game time. He didn’t want to field the questions about what was wrong with him; he didn’t have an answer, for them or himself.

 ************************

“Sonny, please open the door,” you called, knocking on the front door to his loft. He’d been avoiding you, and you worried about him.

You heard the latch unlock and took a step back. Sonny opened the door, looking annoyed. “What do you want?”

“I want to make sure my boyfriend is okay. Can I come in, please?” you asked. You knew he was frustrated, and that this may be something you’d have to deal with while dating. And you planned to force yourself into his life, to help him as best you could, whether he wanted to shut you out or not.

Sonny scoffed, turning and walking into his home. But he left the door open, and you followed, closing it behind you. “Of course, I’m not okay! Haven’t you been watching?”

“You know I have been. So, you’re in a slump; it happens—”

“Not to me!” he yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

You took a breath, staying calm. “It was bound to happen, babe.” You tried to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged you off.

“So, what? You’re going to side with those other analysts? Calling me a fluke and writing shitty articles about me?”

You flinched at the accusatory tone in his voice. “Of course, not—”

“Why not? Everyone else is doing it; I’m sure your bosses would eat it up.”

You sighed, trying to shove down your own defensiveness. “Would you please just listen to me for a moment?” He shot you a glare but didn’t speak up. “You know I analyze pitching for a living, right?”

“So? I’ve tried to make my fastball faster, tried to make my curve drop more, but I can’t—”

“Sonny,” you said softly, making him stop his rant. “Instead of trying to blow pitches passed batters, you should be working more on your mechanics and command. If batters are making contact, then make that work for you. Force grounders or popups, trust your defense to back you up; they’re there for a reason.”

His eyes scanned yours as he took in your words. “Th-that’s a great idea, actually….”

“I’m glad you think so,” you replied, smiling.

Sonny returned your grin. “I—I’m sorry for snapping at you,” he sighed heavily. “I just…I don’t know what’s changed between last season and now—”

“You’re not new anymore; teams can break down your pitching style. You won a Cy Young and Rookie of the Year; they’re all so threatened by you that they all probably studied the hell out of you.”

He nodded, feeling a little better with your praise. “Y-yeah….”

You reached up, cupping his face, making him look at you. “There’s nothing wrong with you or your pitching. The batters just stepped up their game. So now, you have to answer back, okay?”

He lifted a hand, placing it on top of yours, and turned his face in your hold, pressing his lips to your palm. “Thank you, doll. And again, I’m sorry for yelling—”

“It’s fine, Sonny. I understand that you’re frustrated,” you said, smiling.

He squeezed your hand. “It’s not fine; you’re just trying to help. I should listen to you more; you’re so smart, and not to mention beautiful. I promise to never snap at you again.”

Your smile grew, and you lifted to your tiptoes, giving him a tender kiss. He leaned down, deepening the kiss. He wrapped his arms around your back, pulling you flush against him, and you hummed into his mouth. Slowly, he pulled back, leaning his forehead against yours, rubbing his nose with yours.

“Just so you know, I’ve never, and will never, write a shitty article about you, or call you a fluke, Stringbean,” you muttered against his lips.

Sonny let out a chuckle. “You know, you’re the only person who can call me that to my face, and not have me get annoyed.”

You giggled, pressing your lips to his once more. And sure enough, his next start had him looking back to normal, except instead of striking out double digits, he forced grounders for eight scoreless innings.

[notyourpapashockey]

Hispanic Heritage Month Fan Highlight: Elan Lozano

NOTE FROM NOT YOUR PAPA’S HOCKEY: SOME PEOPLE DECLINED TO SHARE LAST NAMES, TWITTER HANDLES AND/OR PERSONAL PICTURES. WE RESPECT THEIR RIGHT TO PRIVACY, AND WE HOPE OUR READERS DO AS WELL. WE HAVE NOT EDITED ANSWERS ASIDE FROM SLIGHT SPELLING ERRORS AND ADDED CLARIFICATION.

Not Your Papa’s (NYP): Tell me a little about yourself - name, pronouns, where you're from, fun fact if you want, etc!

Elan (E): My name is Elan Lozano, I am a 29 year old Mexican-American male from Saint Paul, Minnesota. I am not only an extremely huge hockey fan, but I am a musician as well. I play the drums, a little bit of guitar and work at a music shop as well. I have a hockey jersey collection that is currently up to 20, but most likely will be more by the time this article will come out.

NYP: Who is your team (or teams)?

E: Minnesota Wild all the way!

NYP: Who is your favorite player and why? 

E: Matt Dumba, no question. He’s the definition of a true leader in my opinion. He is always the first guy to help the younger guys get acclimated to the team. He is always there to pick up his teammates when they are hurt and the first to stick up for his teammates in a scrum or a fight. He is also finally getting recognized for it with his King Clancy Award this year, but he is an extremely huge community leader. He is always donating his time to multiple programs, charities and even strangers since the first day he arrived in Minnesota. He has done a ton of work with the ACES program and it is amazing to see. He has also donated money to help rebuild Minneapolis and for Black Lives Matter. It still boggles my mind that he has not been considered an option as a potential team captain when Mikko Koivu retires.

As a player, when he is on, the Wild are on as well. He’s a player that very much can dictate where the team can go. Plus, he has one of the best one timers I have ever seen. He has an absolute bomb of a slapshot! I honestly think if he did not get hurt halfway through last season, we would be talking about Matt Dumba across the league a lot more as one of the top offensive defenseman in the NHL. I have all the confidence that he will be able to turn back around and become the 20-30 goal scorer he looked like he was going to be before he was injured.

NYP: How long have you been a hockey fan and how did you get into hockey?

E: For as long as I can remember. I would guess around 6 or 7, so 22 or 23 years. All I remember was seeing The Mighty Ducks as a kid and being hooked! I mean, it was a movie that was filmed in my hometown. It was like it was meant to be. As far as NHL hockey, it easily has to be the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals. I just remember Dominik Hasek being an absolute madman in the net and making some of the craziest saves I have ever seen. Still, to this day, it amazes me how he made some of the saves he did. In my opinion, Dominik Hasek in his prime was the best goaltender to ever play the game. He almost single handedly won the Sabers a Cup. Shoutout to The Dominator. Still is one of my favorite players of all time.

NYP: What do you like the most about hockey? 

E: This is [a] tough question. I do not know if I can pick just one, but one of the things I love most about the sport is the fact that an underdog can win on any given night, and I do not think you can say that about any other sport really. Especially, in the playoffs. How many other sports leagues can say that an 8th seed has a shot at winning their league’s championship if they are able to make the playoffs and get hot at the right time? Not many, if any at all. The feeling of anything can happen is just pure amazing.

Another thing I love about the sport is the passion of anyone who is involved or surrounded by the game itself. The players, the announcers, the writers and the fans. We all live and die with our teams. The players leave it all out on the ice. The fact that a player can get as big of a cheer for blocking a shot as they can for scoring a goal tells you all you need to know about the passion the players and the fans have for the game and for each other.

NYP: How has being Hispanic/Latinx in a white-male centric fan community affected your relationship with the sport?

E: My experience with the sport has been positive for the most part, but there are moments where things have not been so positive. I remember growing up and saying my favorite sport is hockey. You would have kids make comments like, “But, you’re Mexican.” I never took those kids as meaning anything hurtful by it. Most of the time, they thought it was cool that I was Mexican and liked hockey, but I learned quickly at a very young age that there was not a lot of Latinx representation in the sport and that has always disappointed me.

It is growing. Slowly, but it is growing. I always looked up to Scott Gomez and would do reports in school on him as much as I could because he was an inspiration to me. It is amazing to see that we have a Latinx GM for the Minnesota Wild in Bill Guerin. It is amazing to see Alex Meruelo as the first Latinx owner in the NHL. I cannot tell you how exciting it was to see Auston Matthews go First Overall in the NHL Draft. There was such a high sense of pride for me seeing a Latinx player go first overall and especially to arguably the biggest hockey market in the world AND be their star player. 

The more negative experiences I have had have more come from looks or getting the feeling someone is talking about you because you are different. When I have been at the local bars surrounding Xcel Energy Center grabbing food and beer before a game, there are a few times I will get looks or get the feeling someone has been talking about me. It has happened at the arena a few times as well. I never let it bother me much because I am not going to allow someone to ruin my good time and waste the hard earned money I spent on my ticket to the game, but at the same time, I am human.

I can only deal with so much before I want to say something. I usually never do because, for one, I am usually alone and two, I am a Person of Color by myself at a hockey game. I would like to think a majority of the fans would have my back in helping defend me against racism, but I always get the feeling security or the cops at the arena would take the other person’s side if I did ever speak up. The worst part is I am a Season Ticket Holder and I still feel like very few people would have my back to support me. 

NYP: What do you wish you could see from teams or players when it comes to Hispanic Heritage - especially teams in areas with large Hispanic/Latinx populations?

E: Simple. Outreach, outreach, outreach. Most of the time, the teams will go to the suburbs of the city they play in, but where the outreach is needed most is usually a lot closer to the arenas these teams play in. It would be as simple as taking the time to go to a local rec center and play some floor hockey in the gym with the kids. If you did that once a week or even once a month, you would get so many more eyes on the sport and get kids interested at a much younger age.

Outreach is the first step. The second would have to be donating not only time, but money and/or gear. The game is extremely expensive. From my personal experience, my mom did not have the money to get me the gear I needed to play hockey when I was younger. A few years ago, I was able to get myself skates and a helmet and started to trying to learn how to skate on my own. There was no way my single mom could have afforded to buy the gear and ice time I would have needed to be able to play.

NYP: In relation to the question above, what would you like to see your favorite team, specifically, do for Hispanic/Latinx fans?

E: I would give the two same answers as before, but I will specify it more to my city and to the Minnesota Wild. I live on the West Side of Saint Paul, which has a very large Latinx population, more specifically, Mexican and Mexican-American. I live literally 5 minutes from the Xcel Energy Center and in the near 20 years of the team’s existence, there has been no or hardly any outreach to this side of town. We could not live any closer to not only the arena, but to the practice facilities as well. There is no excuse the team has to not have more of an outreach in our neighborhood. We have a new rec center in the area, an indoor ice rink and the rec center also makes two outdoor rinks every year. There are plenty of opportunities for the Wild to outreach to the neighborhood I live in, but I have seen more outreach in the suburbs who are 30 to 45 minutes away from the arena. Even the Minnesota Twins rebuilt the baseball fields that are attached to the rec center and they are based out of Minneapolis, not Saint Paul like the Minnesota Wild are. It is extremely disappointing.

NYP: What is your favorite thing a team or player has done for Hispanic Heritage? 

E: It almost feels disappointing that this is my answer because I feel like it should be something on a bigger scale to talk about, but it has to be an interview/YouTube video that SportsNet’s Donnovan Bennett did with Auston Matthews about his Latinx heritage that was released back in February this year. It was great to hear him talk about his family and his culture. It shows where he comes from. Sadly, the video has under 100,000 views at the time of me writing this. It is crazy to me that the Leafs, or the NHL for that matter, did not promote this more for one of its Superstars players in the league.

[Note from NYPH: the video has since surpassed 100k views but barely, it sits at 100,684 as of Sept. 23, 2020.]

NYP: Tell me about a favorite hockey memory.

E: Hands down, my favorite hockey moment is Andrew Brunette’s OT Game 7 winner against the Colorado Avalanche in 2003. I was 12 and I remember it was one of the rare times my mom let me stay up late to let me watch the game. No matter how late it could have gone, she was going to let me stay up and watch the entire game. She knew what it meant to me. Quick shoutout to my amazing mom for always being supportive of my passion for the sport of hockey. My mom even let me watch the game on the big TV in the living room.

I remember Brunette getting a break to the net and when he scored, it is a feeling I will never forget. I just remember jumping up and down, screaming and crying out of pure joy. The emotions came over me. To this day, whenever I see this goal, I get a chill down my spine. No one gave us a chance and we took down the mighty Avalanche. We were the underdog, and we fought so hard to get a chance. To get respect. That is why I connect with the game so much. I am that person in my everyday life. I have to fight for every inch and you have to do that exact same thing in hockey.

NYP: What is something you wish people knew as a Hispanic/Latinx hockey fan? 

E: I think from a cultural standpoint, we have so much to offer to the game to make it better. We are passionate. We love hard! We dive headfirst into the things we love. We will fight, scratch, claw and defend our team to no end. Imagine having more players with that fire and passion on a team or in a front office. We have so much to offer the sport. We just need the opportunities to do so.

You can find Elan on Twitter: @MapexDrummer26.

[callonb]

GYBurst of Inspiration/Motivation

Where does inspiration come from? - Snacks I recorded a song with Samuel Hawkins recently and that was the first line of his verse. Lately thats been on my mind more and more. Where does my inspiration come from and why cant I always bask in its motivational energies? Seems that my drive comes and goes with the moon phases or as planets enter and leave our orbit. Could be the skys dictating my moods and movements (which i think it does have an effect) or it could be the mass amount of coffee and tea i drink a day. Definitely important factors but not quite the source. My mom definitely motivates me, she believes in everything Im doing and helps every way that she can. Its not financially but sometimes emotional support is more important. Shouts out to Momma B you the realist. Same for my homies and not homies as in people i force myself to be around, cuz having friends is what you do. Actual family that i grew up with and have developed a relationship with, the GYB family. The ones who sat me down years ago and was like dude...... you need to take this rap shit seriously. The ones who are now getting more and more involved with the movement every day, pushing everything to the side and riding along with my dream and making them their own. Everyday the homies are pushing to help me create this vision for you guys as they've adopted it as their own. Like minds on the prize, Shouts out the Layer homies. That only seems to be half of it tho, and Ive never felt this type of fire burning inside me before so what is it? Magazine drama and BS doesn't motivate me, Music doesn't seem to hit me the same way anymore. I used to listen to music constantly, new rap definitely doesn't do it for me.....makes me feel lower. New tv shows dont do it for me im bored with most of the popular shows out. Same for games or just typical activities that people partake in. Partys, drugs, random hook ups...It all seems so blah to me and im completely uninterested. I learned I have to stop feeding my lower self and focus on my higher self and what that part of my being truly wants and thats to CREATE!!! Whenever im around an environment that drives me to create and push myself i perform better. So i guess i just realized what really inspires me, and thats a creative environment. Who is responsible for this? Well I saw the Rotunda Project last weekend at Maiden Alley, a collaborative piece by Fairseas. The Fairseas are a group of musicians named Jeran Simmons, Bobby Dowell, Codie Franklin and Shanden Simmons. I watched them plant this seed years ago and now its a giant tree that you can sit back and marvel in its greatness. The main theme of the film was collaborating with your community. I cant lie ive had many many thoughts of leaving my community to collaborate elsewhere but ive came to a realization recently that it isnt necessary. To my surprise and probably a lot of people around here, there is a bubbling hip hop scene around here that is about to explode. Ive started to invest my time and efforts into this scene now and received nothing but results. Shanden has been a major influence in my artistry because he is always honest, encouraging and persistent....three very important characteristics to have in a creative environment and on top of that has become one of what i would consider my best friends. I look at him as one of my GYBrothers. On to the hip hop scene around here tho..... mysterious person named "A" aka the Hollow Man and he is one of the most promising producers/writers around. His solo stuff is outstanding and the collaboration effort we are working on "A & B: The Empire" is next level. Its been well over a year in the making and will shock most people when they hear the new styles i bring to the tape compared to my previous work. A always challenges me to be very intelligent when I piece together my verses and I like that. He makes me want to grab a dictionary and start reading so I can match his extensive vocabulary.....and maybe I have done that lol. Im the ONLY artist that the mystery man works with at the moment and that hits me now in a way it never has before. Like why me, do I really have something in my music that would make this beyond talented artist spend his time and efforts to make beats for us to collab on and want to include me in everything he does? His beats are above any producer Ive ever heard even in the big leagues of the rap game its crazy but he will prolly have his own GYBlog entry about him eventually. I have to move on before i make this to long lol. Next is JSkrilla, I have met the Skrilla a few times in passing but i dont think we realized what each other really could offer the other. Until i ran into him at the damn ROTUNDA PROJECT.....back around full circle. After that we decided to get together. We showed each other some of our music. I didnt know he made dope beats as well as spit hot fucking fire but he does. We shared our philosophies for our craft and talked hip hop and all sorts of other randomness. Then we picked a beat and wrote a song on the spot. Bar for bar back and forth. J stressed to me it had been a LONG time since he had been able to just sit down and write with another emcee that wasnt intimidated by his ability to write on the spot, or to match his caliber of wordplay and rhyme schemes. To both mine and his delight I delivered. Skrilla really challenged me tho, most artist get so caught up in the main stream BS or conforming to certain concepts and topics in their verses that it had been a while since I had felt pressure when writing to make sure my bars are up to par. Felt good to feel that energy again i had been missing the want to become better and that leads me to the main cause of my motivation and my improvments or just overall attitude change whatever you want to call it. the TRYBE!!!! Snacks, B. James, and Waun D. are the Cerberus of this rap shit. I have a lot to owe to them. GYB and Trybe share the same values as far as what we hope to contribute to the culture of arts and musics and how we hope to impact the hip hop community as well as the communities we all live in. I have done one show with them and have multiple other ones lined up with them. As a matter a fact i cant see myself doing a show with anyone but them from here on out. Once again them as well as JSkrilla could have their own full length blog entry but i digress for the sake of your attention lol. The Trybe challenges me to be a better emcee by making me freestyle. Which if you have been around me doing music ive never been a good freestyler.....UNTIL NOW!!! They have cracked that shell and brought me out of it. Making me partake in their cyphers everytime we get together. Soon Ill be as smooth off the top as i am with the writtens then its over for everyone! Sharpening my skills is not something that other rappers really push you to do. Rap is very competitive and braggadocios so pushing someone to improve and possible be better than you is unheard of. The Trybe doesnt see it that way though, they want us all to grow together. With a shared love for hip hop and me and Snacks shared love for Anime we can talk for hours and hours before we realize we havent done any music lol. Everytime I hear a new Trybe song i feel my artistry being challenged. The message in their music makes me want to really focus on the concepts i present in my music and start challenging my self to pretty much step my game up. Between Skrilla, "A", and TrYbe, everything new I hear makes me question my latest bars which is exactly what I need. Hip Hop is my life and my love and above any amount of money i can potentially make off this art is the desire to be the best emcee to ever grab a mic and thats the same mindset i had when i originally picked up the pen and decided i would be a rapper. Before i saw 8 mile and realized that being a white rapper wasnt necessarily accepted, before all the laughs, all the hate and just general shade i received for my dreams. Being white in this game is a roadblock but for the first time these guys made me realize that i have overcame that hurdle 100 times over. I had a long talk with the Trybe last night and they gave me a boost of confidence that finally fully ignited that fire i had lit but tried to conceal. Im no longer worried about what is cool or what people want. I just want to create and you will more than likely like it because I do have skills that i myself had been sleeping on. I hear these artist like A, Skrilla, and Trybe and i felt underneath them but now i see my self as an equal. We all have different things we bring to the table that compliment each other and its time to put it all together and make it happen. Plus we all just fucking dope and there is no denying. This is my new goal. No more time wasted on what i "think" is the right move. Im going to follow what i KNOW to be the right path and follow my heart. Thats challenging myself with these artist and like minded individuals to always be better. Also as Snacks has said before "move at LIGHT SPEED" thats just what Ill do with my light brothers here. We like some damn warriors of this rap shit waging war against a evil corrupt entity but thats also for a whole separate entry lol But no war of this caliber is complete without a general so shoutout to SirDuke. Ive also recently became friends with this crazy dude and he has shown me in just the short time ive known him more love and support than some people ive known my whole life. He also inspires me because he has dedicated his life to serve and protect (literally) and most importantly LEAD. He has an army of pretty much every hood and every rapper in each of them just waiting for his call. and he is not leading them astray, Shoutout the Kollektiv. Duke is also a talented singer and emcee. He has a show with me tomorrow at the Hangover in Murray MAKE SURE YOU COME TO THAT AND SEE MY NEW ALBUM CONSCIOUS TRAP PERFORMED LIVE starting at 9pm. but yeah Duke is dope and I can appreciate his leadership skills and what he hopes to accomplish in his community by cleaning it up through music. He is rubbing off on my and motivating me to hold that same position with my Layer army of GYB homies ive assembled. Most of them are clueless about the industry and music so its up to me to guide and lead them so they can be their own selves and make it in this world without the middle man down your neck. Im going to wrap this up because it ended up being way longer than i intended but i wanted to also say to my fellow collaborators and friends above all. Wolf, Golden Wrist Banks, Trevell, Dope, Simple, Benji and Angel Mascato. You guys have MAD SKILLS. You guys inspire me too because I hear something different in your music than i hear from most. I want you all to continue to grow and expand your creativity to new levels. Tell YOUR story. The same story is constantly told but how will you tell YOURS in the true challenge. So i encourage you guys like i have been recently, step outside of the norm and do what you truly feel in your heart that you need to, fuck what everyone else wants from you just create the way you feel appropriate. A lot of you are working with Duke regularly and I think he will tell you the same thing I am now. Even if its certain people in your lives holding you back, they gotta go. Surround yourself with positive people that want to grow with you instead of out grow you and you will see the same results. Probably why you guys were all on my latest album, except Trevell im sorry and you should have been but you know the deal homie its all love. Frank.....dammit man just rap lol but anyways ill end it on this note. Getting in touch with that child like mind state and that pureness of love in my heart again. Losing all my intentions to want to be better and out do someone but rather COLLABORATE with like minds in my community has already in return pushed me forward in a lot of ways. Seems almost as if they had been waiting on me this whole time. Its certain that my actions are now speaking louder than my words and everyone is starting to catch on. including myself finally. If you read this far thank you and I love you. Youre more than likely part of the reason why i typed this or why i even continue to do what i do. I trust you guys just as much as you trust ill deliver. Have a great day, maybe you can draw inspiration from this or some of the same people or things that i do! So put down that magazine full of empty content and read something meaningful that you are interested in, turn off the news and watch some anime, stop playing shooter games and play final fantasy, stop eating out and prepare your own meals, dont listen to music just play instrumentals and freestlye every day or just make your own, quit scrolling on facebook and take a stroll around the block, only spend time with those that help you grow rather than keep you low. So much inspiration out there sometimes we just have to break away from what we are used to in order to pull from the experience. Now im really done. and excuse my poor grammer and probably a shit load of spelling errors. That wont ever change, these blog post are run on sentences of my thoughts that pass through my head every day. Sometimes i just take the time to jot them out as they pass. PEACE LOVE AND GYB!!

[dreamsaretangiblegoals]

Questions to my Former self w/ Tyler Morris (Weston) Div 3 All American (Colby) @colby_tf_xc

I started the Questions to my former self series for the importance of the future generation and the audience to learn about Self reflection. For the last four years I watched this young man, worked diligently to improve his running mechanics. You can't teach relentless, you can't purchase courage. A student of the sport he would do what all us track junkies do and ask the "RIGHT" questions to learn more about the nuances in the racing. Besides training hard, "My main man" Tyler Morris a member of the Weston High School XC & Track & Field Class of 2019. Tyler has now taken his talents to Colby College and as freshmen was a Div 3 All-American in XC

DATG: When did you start running?

Tyler Morris: I started running in sixth grade because our soccer coach forced us to get in shape. I was the slowest one on the team by far but by the end of the season I ended up becoming the fastest one on the roster. Spring of 7th grade is when I met and started working with Weston High coaches John Monz and Kathleen Vinciullo.

DATG: What was the race or the moment in your career you realized that you could be pretty good at the sport of running?

Tyler Morris:The moment I realized there was some true potential was at the Wayland XC Invite in 8th grade. It was my first club and highly competitive cross country race ever. My father and I laugh to this day because when we arrived at the meet he said to me "I can't wait for you to get beat". He was so excited that I was participating in such a highly competitive field. He and my mom were even more excited after I went on to win the race and set a course record. Following that my young self realized that I really had a bright future in running and continued training with Monz and Vinciullo.

DATG: Is there a pre-race meal ?

Tyler Morris: A go to Cereal ? Always love this question because I am your stereotypical distance runner. Pasta with a little protein the night before each meet and morning of a bagel and a banana.

DATG: Weston XC/TF is part of the Dual County League, arguably one of the toughest leagues here in Ma$$, How was it to be trained and coached under legendary Coach Monz?

Tyler Morris: Coach Monz is truly an incredible coach and an even better person. I consider myself so lucky to be able to call him my coach and mentor. I would not be where I am today without Monz and all our other coaches at Weston. As you said Monz truly is a legend he has been at Weston for over 40 years and has molded both Weston and MA track into what it is today. I am so lucky to have been a part of such a great team there are so many people on that team that I miss and it was truly the highlight of my high school experience.

DATG: What was considering the Low during your running career in HS and how did you bounce back from adversity ?

Tyler Morris: The low in my running career was facing an injury going into junior year. I know now it was muscle compensation and lack of glute activation but it took far to long to combat this. At one point going into my Junior year I thought I may never run again, but I kept fighting. There were plenty of inconsistent races, which were incredibly frustrating for myself and Monz but he was always there for me. I will forever be thankful to my mom for finding me the right physical therapy team that brought me back from this major setback. I want to say a major thank you to Nicole Downin, Doctor Andrew Fiola, and Katie Adams for keeping me healthy and helping me bounce back from the lowest point in my running career.

DATG: Wow times flies, I can't believe you are in college, how is that going? How is the dorm life?

Tyler Morris: I absolutely love Colby I have some truly incredible friends and classes have been great. Major shoutout to my Colby family (Katherine Brown, Robbie Graham, Nick Peterson, and Lila Saligman) thank you for making my adjustment to Colby so special. Additionally, the cross country/track team is so close here and I again I feel so lucky to be a part of such a great group of people. My coach Jared Beers is a pure genius when it comes to muscle activation and writing training plans for each individual runner. The entire Colby team loves him and we are all so thankful.

DATG: You have an amazing story i really wanted to share it thanks for participating. When we first met it was three summers at the bostonxc.com day camp with Coach Broe. Why did you feel it was imperative to attend BXC ? I had known Coach Broe for a short time before BXC. He was always talking about getting a training camp together and once he started Boston XC I was super excited to be a part of it. I really wanted to train with a group of people during those lonely summer months and BXC was perfect. I met some truly incredible people at BXC and I am so happy to see so many Weston runners continuing to run at BXC.

DATG: I am so proud of you i remember watching the NCAA Div 3 XC Championship meet, I saw a silhouette of a runner who had similar running mechanics, getting out with a good charge with the leaders, I said to myself is that " My Main" Tyler Morris and sure enough it was. Please share the audience the feeling of finishing your XC freshmen year as an All-American ?

Tyler Morris: It is an incredible feeling, I am amazed by how much I have improved in such a short amount of time. It is a huge testament to Jared Beers and the Colby Cross team. I am so thankful for my training partners Eli Decker and Ewan Frick. Both Eli and Ewan pushed me to new limits I didn't know I could achieve. Eli, a Concord Carlisle Alumni took me under his wing this past summer and I was so lucky to be able to race side by side with him each meet. At nationals, we finished one place apart and it was an incredible feeling being able to share that success with him. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

DATG: What's next for Tyler Morris only a freshmen at Colby College, what's your short term and long term goals ?

Tyler Morris: My main goal is to continue training and racing with Eli and Ewan and see where it takes us because it has certainly been working thus far. We are hoping to put our top 6 cross country runners under 15 minutes in the 5K this track season. All of which will be returning next fall.

DATG: Your off to an amazing Collegiate career, I know you work hard, did you ever think All-American? Why Colby College?

Tyler Morris: When I started training this past summer my main goal was to make the top 7 on the Colby roster. So to answer your question no All-American never even crossed my mind. But being pushed by Eli and placing very well all season long by the end of the season All-American was the goal for both Eli and myself. I picked Colby because I wanted to go to a small liberal arts school that I could run for and pursue a degree in economics. Additionally, Monz recommended that I also consider picturing myself running for a coach for the next four years. When I met Coach Jared Beers and walked around Colby's campus with him I knew this was the place and the person that I would want study and run for the next four years.

DATG: What would you tell the Tyler Morris who was a freshmen at Weston ? What would you tell him about your journey ?

Tyler Morris: I would tell my freshman self that running definitely has some hurdles but the process is so rewarding. The hard times make the good ones taste so much sweeter that is something Coach Vinciullo and Coach Montrose of Weston both taught me well. The biggest thing I would tell my freshman self that if you truly love something then you will fight for it no matter how much it may hurt. That is the biggest lesson I learned in high school and I am stronger because of it.

A major thank you, Coach H, it has been an absolute privilege getting to know you these last few years and I feel honored to be mentioned here. Please continue to be yourself because you have helped and influenced so many great runners. I

DATG: I cannot accept the compliment but I will say Iron sharpens Iron.. Thank you for believing in Me

Previously on DATG: Questions to my former self w/ Rishab Prakash

Previously on DATG: Questions to my former self w/ Aaron Lucci

Previously on DATG: Questions to my former self/ Catarina Rocha

[hundredtenpercent-blog]

"What motivates me is my dad, mom, brothers and sister. I go hundredtenpercent in order to accomplish one day playing in the Mayor leagues. I love baseball it is my life, my everything after God. My name is Rafael Jimenez, i'm 17 years old I play right field for the Arizona Diamondbacks Dominican Summer League Team! Thank you and God bless !" @_jimenez_elgrande #htpbaseball X #RootsHTP . . . . Make your mark on the movement & USE HASHTAG "#ROOTSHTP" on your next action video for a ROOTS WATERMARK, REPOST & SHOUTOUT!. . . . "Roots" Documentary OUT NOW Exclusively on "HTP Sports TV"! LINK IN BIO ! #ROOTSHTP . . . . www.hundred10percent.com (at Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball)