#the new coach is a wild card and he’d be on edge all the time trying to learn the rules

[st7rns]

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐀 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓, c. sturniolo

✿ IN WHICH, chris takes his spoiled!gf on her third shopping spree of the month and she finds a way to thank him…

✿ WARNINGS, smut, oral (male!receiving), use of curse words, semi-proof read

✿ RORA SPEAKS, guys this is my first story so it might be a lil bad but i js KNOW chris would spoil his gf so i had to write this 🙏🙏

i love my man.

he’s always buying me things. if i even smile at something i see while shopping, he’s already picking it up and putting it in our cart. the amount of times he swipes his card when he’s with me is insane.

i have all the new clothes, shoes, purses, etc. but it’s not like i ask him to buy me all these things, he does it on his own!

so far this month, he’d already taken me on two shopping sprees. one at target (who knew self care items were so expensive?) and the other for an online clothing store.

but i reallyyyy want a new purse. so, of course, after he saw me eyeing it for a few weeks, he asked me something like “what brand is that purse you wanted again?” and i practically screamed in excitement, “coach!”

and that explains why we’re at the mall, four shopping bags around my dainty wrists and my new purse around the other. “have i told you how much i love you?” i say sweetly, standing on my tippy toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. my lip gloss made a mark and i smiled at it on his fine ass face.

“not enough” he says lowly, pressing the buttons on the vending machine. at the last store we were in, he practically begged for me to hurry the fuck up so he could get a pepsi or else ‘he’d die.’

he licked his lips in concentration as he watched the soda fall from its row in the vending machine, and it made my legs weak.

“well, i can show you” i whispered seductively in his ear, my hand shaking up his chest to the side of his neck. i inhaled his dior sauvage cologne and it only made me wetter.

“we’re in public, baby” he whispers back, looking around as if someone could hear us. i raised my eyebrows in a “so?” expression which only made him smile and shake his head. “you wanna fuck in the bathroom?”

i knew he was saying it jokingly but my lips form a pout, “what about all my stuff?” i hold up all my shopping bags. he looks down at the multiple bags and groans, “let’s get the fuck home, then”

as soon as he unlocked the door, i jumped on him like a wild fucking animal. i kissed and licked on his neck, earning me a squeeze on my ass and a groan from his lips.

“can’t wait. want you so bad” i whimpered in between kisses, reaching my hand down to palm his hard dick. he broke away to yell “NICK? MATT?” after a few minutes of no reply he picked me up, my legs wrapping around his waist, and sat me on the kitchen counter.

“so needy, yeah?” he says breathlessly, pulling his pants and boxers down in one go. i slowly stroke his dick, sweetly kissing him on the lips at the same time “only for you”

he gave me a cocky grin as he slipped his hands up my shirt, groping and squeezing my boobs. i moaned and threw my head back.

after a few seconds of that, i pulled his hands away. i shook my head, my hair sticking to my lip gloss, “i wanna make you feel good, baby” i slowly got off the counter and dropped to my knees in front of him.

“gonna make me feel good?” he says teasingly. i kiss only the tip of his dick, his pre cum layering over my lip gloss, before looking up at him through my long lashes, and taking all of him in my mouth. or most of him.

he groans and grabs the back of my head, pushing him farther down my throat. “so fucking good, ma. take that shit” i bob my head up and down on his dick, tears filling the edges of my eyes.

the only sounds in the room are chris’ noises of pleasure and the wetness of my mouth around his lubricated dick. i can tell chris is close to reaching his high by the way he starts to sloppily stroke the back of my head.

“fuck- keep going, baby. i’m so close-“ before he can even finish his sentence, warm cum shoots down my throat. i swallow every last drop before popping his dick out my mouth.

“stick that tongue out, mama” he instructs and i do as i’m told, sticking my pink tongue out to show that i swallowed. “that’s my girl” he praises, cupping the side of my face and placing a gentle kiss on the top of my forehead.

“you’re gonna have to show me how much you love me way more often” he chuckles, pulling his drawers and pants up. i smile before gasping, suddenly remembering how he bought me a new purse, and sprinting to where we dropped all of my shopping bags.

i put the purse on, twirling in a circle to give chris the full picture. he licks his lips as he looks me up and down, “you’re so fucking beautiful. did you know that?”

[jamietarttsdaddyissues]

Thinking about the original Richmond coach that Rebecca fired in Season 1. We obviously got very little information about him since he left so quickly, but in rewatching I realized that he did seem to potentially share some surface-level qualities with James Tartt Sr. Mostly because he just seemed like a dick. Taunting, condescending, laughing while saying shitty things, quickly descending into anger when he feels disrespected or wronged.

I wonder how that was for Jamie before Ted arrived. Could it have contributed further to why Jamie didn’t trust male authority figures if this guy was a dick just like his father? More confirmation that most coaches/men are the same? Based on the few minutes we saw that guy in S1E1 I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the type to pull a player into a separate room to berate them - adding to my theory that Jamie gets triggered when male authority figures do this like when Ted did it to practice positive reinforcement (and Jamie remained fidgety/visibly shocked the entire time). And we can certainly see why after the scene with his father in the S1 finale.

So yeah this is me (yet again) taking like 2 minutes of the show and wildly speculating but I just really hate how much that guy reminds me of James Tartt Sr and I’m sure Jamie picked up on that too.

[fandom-puff]

could you please do a oliver wood smut alphabet if you haven’t already

Hey! Thank you for requesting! I hope you enjoy :)

Oliver Wood Smut Alphabet

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

He holds you close afterwards, makes sure you’re okay and encourages you to drink water- this often results in you saying ‘yes coach’

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He loves his biceps and shoulders- they’re so strong from quidditch and you grip onto them so prettily

On you, he loves your waist and hips- no matter the shape or size, if he has access, he can and will grab and stroke and kiss them :)

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

It doesn’t bother him where it is so long as it’s on or in you- and if you taste him... that’s enough to get him going all over again

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He loves seeing you in his quidditch jersey and nothing else? Maybe some knee high socks too??? Really gets him hot under the collar

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

He’s had a few partners, so he knows what he is doing- he’s open to trying new things also

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Cowgirl- especially when you lean over and push your chest into his face :p

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

No. He’s very serious I’m the moment, though he will tease and be playful with foreplay

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

He’s rather well groomed, and the carpets do match the drapes.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Oliver gets VERY into it. He cradles your body with his own, pressing kisses to every inch of skin he can reach...

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He does it more than he’d like to, but he’s more than willing to wait because he knows it’ll feel much better with you

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Oliver is rather vanilla I reckon, though I imagine he is big on praise and loves hearing you beg

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

The. SHOWER.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Seeing you after being apart for a long time, or knowing you have all the time in the world to be together

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He doesn’t partake in ‘locker-room banter’ like his teammates do. One of his teammates made a lewd comment about you once, and he ended up with his tongue magically glued to the roof of his mouth.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

This man’s TONGUE!! He varies perfectly between teasing flicks and long licks, keeping you teetering on edge for ages, always movie JUST before you can release

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Oliver is slow and sensual all the way- unless you ask nicely 😈

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Due to his career as a quidditch player, he doesn’t really like quickies. He would much prefer to enjoy you all to himself for as long as he wants

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Sure. He won’t do something he knows will be too dangerous (“not on my BROOM, YN!”) but is more than willing to have a go

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Oliver is FIT. He has excellent stamina, and, with enough time to breathe in between, is up and running for another go if you fancy it

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Nope- likes to do it all himself (or with magic of nerd be)

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

If you’re okay with it, he’ll tease like mad, often with sly little comments while you’re with your friends that make you blush. He’s very cocky like that.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

Oliver is relatively quiet, muffling his noises by biting your shoulder, though he makes the loveliest, shuddery sound when he’s on edge

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

He really likes massages. Your hands work wonders on the knots in his shoulders and arms and back... these massages very rarely end at just that, especially with you straddling his hips the way you do

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

When Oliver’s got wood ( I am SO sorry I couldn’t resist) he’s fairly average in thickness, but is rather long, with a slight curve.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Oliver spends so much time on the pitch and he misses you a LOT... he would like to have you much more than he does, but, alas. Quidditch.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Unless it’s late at night, Oliver doesn’t really conk out straightaway

Tag list: @obsessedwithrandomthings @haphazardhufflepuff @diksy1112 @zodiyack @axriel @hiddensapphic @samnblack @tinylumpiaa @in-slytherin-we-trust @thatoneasrastan @emmaloo21 @kyn-lyn54-blog @eleven-times-lively @summer-writes

[ears-awake-eyes-opened]

Cracked

(Hayffie ❤️. After rereading the first half of Mockingjay, I recognize book-Haymitch in 13 as the saddest, most tragic muffin in this or any universe, and he needs so much more of Effie there than the three District 13 fics I wrote in the summer. So here’s another one for my sweethearts.)

“People of Panem, we fight, we dare, we end this hunger for justice!” Plutarch had been the one to compose the line on the card in Effie’s hands. Less than a year before, she’d held other cards, on which she’d inserted Capitol propaganda into the children’s Victory Tour speeches. That kind of writing was within her skill set. Creating propaganda for a rebellion — correction, a revolution — was not.

That said, Effie was confident in her ability to coach anyone entrusted with presenting content to a public audience. ...Well, almost anyone. Historically, Katniss had been hopelessly uncoachable. Even still, even out of her element, Effie was determined do her best to guide her girl into embodying Cinna’s vision of the Mockingjay.

Effie stood in the studio, rehearsing the line in her mind as she experimented with different body positions and different speeds of the circular fans which were brought in to simulate wind.

“Let’s have her start down on one knee then stand up and wave the flag, symbolically pledging to the people of Panem and rising with them into battle.” Plutarch announced from the sound booth. “By the way, Haymitch has been discharged from the detox unit. He’s scheduled to be here later when we shoot the propo.”

Effie shifted into uncharacteristic silence. She hadn’t seen Haymitch since before she was brusquely ushered onto a hovercraft and taken to 13. That was weeks ago. Against her will now, her heart beat into her throat. For an instant, she brushed her lips with her fingertips, remembering the night before the Quell.

“This is good news,” Plutarch said, “He’ll be able to anticipate how far Katniss can be pushed without breaking.”

“Good news...” Effie echoed the words but they didn’t register because she was still caught up in the ones he’d said just before.

She fiddled with the edge of the cloth covering her hair, with the frame of her sunglasses, with the neckline of her shirt, with the bracelet on her wrist. Her hands refused to stop moving.

Plutarch noticed her restlessness and let it go on without mention. “It’s probably best if one of us brings him up to speed beforehand.”

“I’ll do it.” As soon as she said it, Effie chastised herself for her eagerness. “The prep team is working to build Katniss up now from Beauty Base Zero. With that tragic scar on her arm and the lack of proper resources in this cavern, she will not be camera ready for some time.”

“Fine. He’s been issued Compartment 307, vacated by the Everdeens. According to his schedule, he’s there now ‘acclimating.’”

“Well, that is convenient.” Effie relentlessly folded and unfolded and refolded the cue card in her hand. She steadied her voice. “...I suppose I shall go do that now.”

“I think that would be best,” Plutarch agreed, “Before you’ve folded Katniss’s lines into an origami crane or perhaps... a valentine?”

Effie glared in the direction of the sound booth, irritated with Plutarch for perceiving more than a *decent* person should. His chuckle brought her to her senses. She slipped the cue card into her pocket and made her way to Compartment 307 with deliberate slowness.

She took the stairs partway, sliding her fingers along the cold metal rails as she walked. Their yellow paint was one of the few bright colors in this cement and steel dungeon. She’d developed an appreciation for the handrails for no other reason than because they were something besides dingy gray or lackluster white.

She paused outside his door. Awash with self-doubt, she checked her intentions. Her eagerness to see Haymitch had nothing to do with the propo, of course, and everything to do with curiosity and concern about his mile-deep drop into forced sobriety. She knocked with the feeling of wild bird in her chest.

“He isn’t home!” Haymitch hollered in a hoarse voice, “The purple crap on his arm says he’s ACCLIMATING.”

“Haymitch... it’s me.”

Effie. Her voice was without its usual trill, like a canary in a coal mine singing softly at the edge of stopping. The *air* must be okay enough, because here she was at his door.

He slid it open and took in the sight of her dressed all in gray with a turban on her head and a pair of sunglasses covering her eyes. Not a speck of sunlight would reach this place, except the glimmer that squeezed through the cracks in him just then and lit him up. For the first time in weeks, months, years maybe... he laughed. The laughter was so genuine that it moved through his body like a stranger.

She furrowed her brow and pursed her lips in annoyance. “I think I liked you better before you were sober!” She huffed.

“It’s good to see you too, sweetheart. Do you want to come in? This sure as hell ain’t the penthouse.”

She slid the dark glasses down the bridge of her nose and tucked them into her pocket with the cue card. That was when she really saw him. The fine details of his face tugged the flapping bird from her heart into her gut. She sucked in a breath and held it.

Weeks before, his body had been strong, prepared for battle. The muscles he’d built up during the months in between the Victory Tour and the Quell had wasted away during his stint in detox. She stepped into the room and caressed his yellowed cheek. Then she breathed again. “What have they done to you?”

He closed the door behind her. “If I said torture would you believe me?”

She heard teasing in his voice and a sharp edge of truth. “Yes,” she answered without hesitation. She brushed her fingers over his jaw and down his neck. It was the path tears might take if she ever saw him cry. She smoothed the collar of the shirt that 13 had issued him.

He refused to call it HIS shirt even while it was on his body. For a moment Effie made him forget that the collar choked him and that the walls were closing in. Her touch felt so good that he joked a bit in order to hold onto reality. “I got the standard District 13 makeover for a drunk. I had my own prep team and everything. That explains the unparalleled beauty you see before you.”

Then her arms were around him, and the sensations of her were filling him up. She smelled different. No coffee or cinnamon gum. No vanilla perfume or orange shampoo. ...Just Effie, so slight with no 5-inch heels, no layers of chiffon, almost no makeup, no corset...

He held her loosely with his hands on the small of her back. He said nothing else and asked her no questions. He slowly lifted the tail of her shirt, learning again the feeling of her skin as he slid his palms up to the strap of the bra she wore. It was probably no more hers than their government-issued everything else.

He wanted it off. He wanted to get rid of everything unrecognizable.

As if reading his mind, she pulled off the knitted hat he was wearing, and she ran her fingers up the nape of his neck into his hair. Her nails were short, and he felt the tips of her fingers naked along his scalp, sending warm shivers to each appendage of his body.

“What are you doing to me?” His voice was ragged as if cut by a serrated knife.

“Plutarch suggested I bring you up to speed.”

“Plutarch authorized this, did he?”

“I had to see for myself.”

“See what?”

Effie had closed her eyes as she held him, but she opened them again and pulled back far enough to see the dark circles below his. So much gray. “I needed to see what your *prep team* did to you.” She masked her sympathy, knowing he would detest it. She plucked a kiss at the corner of his chapped lips.

It was the kind of kiss he’d seen her give a thousand times in the Capitol. The kind that meant nothing. Only it didn’t feel like nothing. Her mouth was naked too, warm and wet like a bottle of something that could slip inside him and burn on the way down.

She brushed her fingertips across his forehead, sweeping the hair away from his eyes. Her breath lingered at the corner of his mouth. “I just... I need—“

“Oh, hell—“ He caught her lips and drank her in. The feeling of her spead through him like wildfire. When they’d kissed weeks ago in comfort, it hadn’t been like this. Yet here this was.

“Ohh...” Surprised by the suddenness of arousal, she was drinking him in too. “Oh, my God.”

He perceived *need* as a dangerous thing. If he didn’t need anyone, then he hurt less when he lost them — and he always lost them. He felt it then with Effie, that dangerous thing creeping up on him. He heard it too in the sound that came from the back of her throat. A whimper, almost pleading.

He yanked his hands out from under her shirt and stepped backward, catching his breath. “I shouldn’t be bringing you into this.”

“Why ever not? And what do you mean by THIS?” She knew what this was for her, and she wanted his answer.

“I don’t know. ...I just know you need to leave.”

“But the propo...”

“I’ll wing it.”

She held her ground, searching his face, trying to understand.

He focused on the concrete between their feet. He didn’t dare look at her eyes. In his mind, he saw them filling with tears. He was barely holding himself together, and if he saw her like that, then he’d be gone... and so would their clothes.

“Get out of here, Effie.” He refrained from screaming, refusing to make this degenerate into something resembling a nightmare. “...Just go.”

In all the years of moments that came before this one, he’d never looked so afraid. He was right in front of her, but he’d retreated to a place within himself that she wasn’t sure how to reach.

She pulled the repeatedly folded cue card from her pocket, slapped it against his chest, and let go. He caught it before it fell to the floor. “Consider yourself *brought up to speed!*”

She slid the door open. “And by the way, you did not BRING me into this. Push me away all you want, but I’m IN this. I’ve been in this longer than you probably realize. And that will NOT be changing!”

He looked up, and her eyes were dry, like sapphires set in bone.

“If you want me out of this, honey, you’re going to have to kill me yourself, so consider carefully what you want.” Before sliding the door shut, she added, “I’ll see you in the studio when you’re done... ‘acclimating.’”

He stared in shock at the door slammed in his face. Then laughter erupted again from those cracks in him where she’d slipped inside and lit him up. Maybe the *psych ward* had misjudged his readiness to handle this place without liquor. But there was no way he was going back down now, not with Effie up here making him feel alive again.

[misawa-exchange-blog]

Swing, Swing - For Dane/yopeppy

College!au? Check. Baseball uniforms? Check. Locker room shenanigans + some good old nsfw? Check and check. Hope you enjoy! -Stella

////////////

It hits Kazuya like a train that Sawamura has somehow become sexy since entering college. He hasn’t seen his old high school pitcher in months, so when his team wanders onto the field for a practice match against Sawamura’s university, he’s stunned by the man he sees on the mound.

Sawamura had been cute back in their Seidou days. He had a boyish charm with his round cheeks and wide eyes, the kind of guy that high school girls giggle over.

But now, now Sawamura is all grown up. Gone is the baby fat in his cheeks, and there’s something older about his eyes. Still large and gorgeous, framed by dark lashes and glowing golden from under the brim of his cap, but looking more self-assured and calm. His hair is still thick and shaggy, with dark strands curling around his ears and brushing his brows. He must’ve gained a few centimeters since graduating, because he looks longer as he stands on the mound. Longer and more defined, if the hard lines of muscles visible from under his compression shirt and baseball pants were anything to go by.

Sawamura is suddenly sexy, and it’s going to make today’s game really, really difficult. Especially as Sawamura notices the arrival of Kazuya’s team and grins.

“Miyuki Kazuya!” He calls, waving from the mound. As if Kazuya hasn’t been ogling him for the past few minutes. Sawamura drops the ball in his hand to the dirt and quickly jogs over to where Kazuya has distanced himself from his teammates.

“It’s weird seeing you out of your Seido uniform,” Sawamura comments with a smile. Kazuya knows his uniform isn’t all that different from his one in high school. He’s in white and black now instead of white and blue, and the difference is even harder to spot when he’s bogged down by his catcher’s gear.

“You’re one to talk,” Kazuya laughs. Sawamura’s uniform is a bold, bright red. His cap, his jersey, his compression shirt, his socks; they’re all a vibrant scarlet. It makes the white of his pants stand out even more, as well as the lovely tan of his skin.

Sawamura beams proudly and adjusts the brim of his hat.

“I look good in your rival colors, don’t I senpai?” Sawamura’s grin has an edge to it that reminds Kazuya all too much of his own.

“You’ll look better in your colors once we rightfully defeat you,” Kazuya slings back. Sawamura laughs and thumps his glove to Kazuya’s chest, leaning closer.

“We won’t lose to you Miyuki.” Oh, Sawamura must be doing this on purpose. His face is closer than it needed to be, his tone edging on flirtatious. If Kazuya wasn’t so well rehearsed in hiding his emotions, he’d definitely be blushing right now.

“Whatever you say, Number Sixteen. If you’re the one starting then I have even more confidence in our victory.” Kazuya smirks as Sawamura scowls. No matter how old Sawamura gets, he’ll still be the same pitcher lusting after the ace number. Getting knocked back down after holding the ace title his entire third year must be annoying. And if it’s annoying, it means Kazuya can use it to torture Sawamura.

“Like we would use our ace in a game against our biggest rivals,” Sawamura shoots back, instead of yelling about becoming the ace like he probably wants to. The boy really has grown. “We’ll show you we can win even without our best pitcher.”

Kazuya sniffles and pretends to wipe a tear away from under his glasses. “Sawamura-kun, you’ve grown so much.”

Sawamura sputters, he’s cheeks growing rosier. He glares, his mouth twisting into a grimace.

“You haven’t at all,” he huffs. Kazuya grins.

“Oh? I like to think I have. My new coach is definitely pushy with weight training more than Coach Kataoka.”

Sawamura tries to hide it, but his eyes flicker down Kazuya’s torso, as if checking his muscle process for himself.

“Hm, maybe he should be more pushy,” Sawamura hums, fighting a smile. Kazuya huffs.

“Watch it brat, I can bench press you now,” Kazuya teases. Sawamura’s eyes flash, his eyebrows quirking beneath the brim of his baseball cap.

“I’ll need to see that to believe it,” Sawamura laughs. There’s a shout of Sawamura’s name from across the field, and Sawamura sighs. “Looks like it’s gametime. Find me after?”

Kazuya nods. He wants to continue this sort-of-flirting with Sawamura as much as he can. With a final blinding smile, Sawamura jogs back to his own dugout. Kazuya lingers long enough to watch Sawamura as he goes. His tight baseball pants really do a great job of showing off the perky curve of his ass.

But Kazuya can’t afford to be distracted by Sawamura any longer. There’s a game to play, and nothing gets his blood racing like baseball, not even hot pitchers who look ridiculously attractive in their uniform.

So Kazuya gives himself a mental kick in the ass and goes back to his teammates as well. His coach gives him a stern look that clearly shows just how he feels about Kazuya getting buddy-buddy with the enemy before the game, but Kazuya just shoots him an unapologetic grin and the subject is dropped before it begins. They’re just gathering to discuss the other team’s play style, which Kazuya has studied meticulously leading up to the game, so he’s allowed to let his attention wander.

Sawamura’s college is one with explosive offensive power. Each batter in the lineup is capable of sending the ball into the outfield. But with that power means their speed on the bases isn’t anything impressive, and their defense is passable but not impenetrable. Kazuya’s team is driven more by carefully constructed plays than flashy batting. Each batter knows how to connect to the next, and their defensive power is one of the best in the league. The teams couldn’t be anymore different, which is what made them such fun rivals.

Kazuya has the perfect game plan to counteract Sawamura’s team, especially using their ace for the entire game. Of course he’s not going to reveal all of their cards, but sometimes facing the ace and losing is better than hiding the ace for a real game. Once it gets into a team’s head that they don’t have the skills to overcome the pitcher, it only shakes their confidence in tournaments. So yes, Sawamura’s team can hide their ace away all they like. Kazuya’s team is still going to win.

And they do, though it’s not by the landslide victory that Kazuya had hoped for. They held the lead for most of the beginning, but in the sixth inning Sawamura’s team got a series of lucky hits that put them over. Kazuya’s team managed to recover the deficit in the bottom of the game, but by the end Sawamura’s team is still in high spirits even after losing.

When the teams line up, Sawamura not so subtly positions himself across from Kazuya. He grins, wide and wild as their hands meet.

“We’ll win next time,” Sawamura promises as he grips Kazuya’s hand.

“Isn’t that what you said would happen before this game? Your word means nothing Sawamura.”

“You’re such a bastard,” Sawamura groans.

Their hands drop reluctantly, and the teams start to filter back to their respective locker rooms. Since it’s Friday, the coaches of both teams decided to let the teams out of practice after their joint game. With the whole night free, most players are in a hurry to change and enjoy their rare time off.

Sawamura shifts, and there’s a nervous energy in his eyes. It’s like he’s having a hard time looking Kazuya in the eyes.

“Do you have to go back with your team on the bus?” He asks, attempting a casual tone.

“Technically, no. We’re free for the rest of the day just like you.” Kazuya’s eager to see where Sawamura’s leading. He looks almost bashful, it’s adorable.

“We should grab dinner or something and catch up. I haven’t seen you since my graduation, which was ages ago,” Sawamura proposes. “You can always catch the train back after, or sleep at my place. I’ve heard my futon is super comfortable.”

Kazuya taps his finger against his chin contemplatively, just to watch Sawamura squirm as the silence stretches on.

“I guess I could spare a night for one of my precious kouhai,” Kazuya sighs. Sawamura beams in response.

“Great! Let’s grab your stuff from your locker room and we can leave from mine.”

Sawamura starts heading in the direction of Kazuya’s dugout, but his pace is suspiciously leisurely. He’s stalling, Kazuya can tell. But why, he can only guess.

Most of his team is packed and ready to leave by the time they catch up. Most have opted to shower when they get back to campus, making Kazuya even more glad he’s not getting on the bus with them. As he grabs his things from his borrowed locker he informs the manager that he’s not heading back with them and finds someone to pawn his heavy catcher’s gear onto.

Once he’s set, he and Sawamura cross the field once again to Sawamura’s dugout. When they enter into the locker room, they find it completely empty. There’s a hint of steam heating the air from hasty showers, but other than that it’s like a ghost town.

“Your team sure cleared out fast.” Kazuya looks to Sawamura, but Sawamura’s refusing to look at him again. He looks nervous again, but determined. He’s got something planned, there’s no doubting it now.

Kazuya rolls his eyes and steps further into the locker room. If Sawamura is up to something, Kazuya isn’t going to stop him. He just sets his bag down by one of the benches and drops his hat down. He’s about to reach for the buttons of his jersey when Sawamura steps closer.

“Miyuki.” Sawamura’s gaze bores right into him, so fierce that Kazuya’s breath hitches. It’s the only warning he gets before Sawamura’s grabbing the front of his jersey and pushing up to kiss him.

There’s something hungry about the way Sawamura kisses him that Kazuya is all too happy to match. God, he’s been thinking about this ever since he laid eyes on the pitcher. And now that it’s happening, it’s even hotter than he imagined. Sawamura’s skilled, confident and demanding as he presses his parted lips to Kazuya’s.

“How long have you been waiting to do that?” Kazuya asks as they separate. They’re both panting and smiling. Sawamura’s fist doesn’t leave Kazuya’s shirt, so Miyuki sneaks his arms around Sawamura’s waist and pulls him closer.

“Since high school,” Sawamura admits without shame. “But I’ve been planning to do that ever since you started giving me bedroom eyes from across the field.”

So maybe Kazuya wasn’t being as subtle as he thought he was. Sawamura is an idiot, but there’s no way even he would be able to misinterpret Miyuki’s open staring.

“You can’t blame me Sawamura,” Kazuya reasons. “You’re gone for three months and turn into some pretty boy. I’m only human.”

Sawamura snorts and loosens his fingers from the fabric of Kazuya’s jersey, only to move them up to Kazuya’s hair.

“You’ve always been a pretty boy, yet you’ve gotten even hotter. I need to write a thank you letter to your coach for the weight training.”

Sawamura’s eyes take in Kazuya’s broad shoulders and chest appreciatively. Well, if they’re both objectifying each other, Kazuya doesn’t feel so guilty. Not that he’s ever had enough shame to feel guilt.

“You’ve gained some muscle as well,” Kazuya hums, his hands sliding down to cup Sawamura’s ass in his calloused hands. It’s meant as a joke, but the gasp that’s drawn from Sawamura makes Kazuya’s stomach lurch with lust. He tightens his grip, feeling the firm shape in his palms as he draws their hips together.

“Miyuki,” Sawamura pleads, then kisses him roughly. There are way too many layers in the way for Kazuya to fully appreciate the press of Sawamura’s front against his own. His compression shirt is damp with sweat and clinging to his skin. His cleats are tight, and his cup is starting to get uncomfortable.

“Sawamura, we’re either getting naked or stopping, because this is driving me nuts,” Kazuya pants. Sawamura pulls back and smiles shyly.

“There’s lube and condoms in my locker, so if you want to get naked let’s get naked.”

Kazuya’s mouth drops in surprise. Sawamura was never so self-assured outside of baseball when they were in high school. What happened to the boy who cried over romance mangas?

“It was wishful thinking, I don’t always carry it around,” Sawamura adds with a blush. The fact that he brought it specifically for Kazuya sits pleasantly in his chest.

“Let’s get naked then,” Kazuya murmurs, saying the words right into Sawamura’s ear. He can feel the shiver that runs through Sawamura’s body where he’s still pressed against him. Sawamura pulls back and takes it into his own hands to undo Kazuya’s jersey. He shoves it down Kazuya’s shoulders, and it slides to the floor.

“You too idiot,” Kazuya grins, tugging at Sawamura’s belt. He slides the buckle open with ease, and the force he pulls it out of the loops in Sawamura’s pants sends the boy’s hips jerking forward.

“Asshole.” Sawamura blushes, pushing away to give them distance. He looks flustered by the forceful undressing, his eyes glossier than before. Kazuya wants to eat him alive.

“Bakamura, you promised me we’d be getting naked. Let’s hurry that up a little,” Kazuya insists. Sawamura just shoots him a look and pushes him towards the bench.

“Get undressed, I’m grabbing the stuff before you get too handsy.”

Sawamura moves to his locker, leaving Kazuya to undress himself. He moves efficiently, toeing out of his cleats and shedding every layer of his uniform until he’s left in nothing but his boxers. Kazuya sits down on the bench, his fingers curling along the edge to suppress the urge to palm his growing erection.

“Here.” Sawamura returns, tossing a travel-sized bottle of lube and a singular condom at his chest. Kazuya catches the items easily and sets them down on the bench next to him.

“Come here Sawamura.” Kazuya spreads his thighs, his eyes set determinedly on the pitcher. He’s still dressed, though his jersey is untucked from his pants. Sawamura steps between Kazuya’s legs, his lips pressed tight together.

“Don’t look so nervous,” Kazuya says softly. He works open the buttons of Sawamura’s jersey slowly, letting his palms run against the taught muscles underneath his compression shirt as he goes.

“I’m not nervous,” Sawamura says stubbornly. He shifts his shoulders so his unbuttoned jersey falls off his arms. As he pulls off his undershirt, Kazuya undoes his fly and pulls his baseball pants down his hips.

“Fuck.”

Kazuya’s mouth turns dry in an instant. Since when did Sawamura start wearing jock straps? Kazuya immediately peeks around Sawamura’s hips to see the view from the back.

If his ass looked good in baseball pants, it looks downright sinful in this sorry excuse for underwear. His cheeks are bare, and the elastic underneath supports their perky shape. Kazuya groans and digs his fingers into the firm flesh.

“I visited Chris-senpai in America over the summer to train at his dad’s facility. The guys there converted me to ‘em,” Sawamura explains, his voice low and teasing. His fingers slide under the elastic, and he pulls it back only to let it ‘thwack!’ against his tan skin.

“I’m sure you picked up a lot of things in America,” Kazuya mutters, pressing his face into Sawamura’s stomach. His tongue laps against salty skin, tasting him as he traces the shape of his muscles. All while his hands grope at his ass.

“Miyuki, c’mon,” Sawamura groans. He tugs sharp at Kazuya’s hair, pulling his head back to look up at him. Sawamura’s cheeks are red, and his bottom lip looks swollen from biting at it.

Kazuya huffs and drops his hands back to Sawamura’s pants.

“Kick your shoes off,” Kazuya instructs. With some shuffling, he manages to nudge them off. With his feet free Kazuya helps push his pants down low enough for him to step out of. Reluctantly, Kazuya pushes Sawamura’s underwear down too.

“Kneel up here babe.” Kazuya guides Sawamura into his lap, helping him onto the bench. It’s a bit of a balancing act, Kazuya scooting as far back onto the bench as he can and Sawamura settling on either side of Kazuya’s hips. Kneeling like this, his torso is eye-level with Kazuya’s face.

“You good?” Kazuya asks as he reaches for the lube. Sawamura hums happily, pressing his lips to the top of Kazuya’s head.

“I’m doin’ great,” Sawamura purrs. “Do want you want with me Miyuki.”

Kazuya doesn’t need to be told twice. He pops open the lube and spreads it generously over his hand. He warms it in his palm before spreading it onto his fingers.

He brings his fingers between Sawamura’s cheeks to trace around his entrance. Sawamura’s thighs tense, so Kazuya just teases the muscle to relax him. When Sawamura’s muscles settle, Miyuki slips the first knuckle of his middle finger in.

“‘M not that delicate you know,” Sawamura huffs. “Put it in.”

“Patience,” Kazuya sings. But he complies, letting the digit slip fully inside. Sawamura grunts, his fingers scrambling to Kazuya’s shoulders. His grip is tight as Kazuya eases in and out of him in shallow little thrusts.

“Hm, more.” Sawamura’s voice is breathy as he speaks, with no hint of pain.

“Hold on.” Kazuya brings his hand to steady Sawamura’s hip and slumps down. The angle isn’t the most comfortable, but he’s just able to bring the tip of Sawamura’s cock into his mouth.

“Oh!” Sawamura curls in, his hips doing a little aborted thrust that brings his length further into his parted lips.

It’s easier for Kazuya to lose himself like this. His mouth works to suck and tease at Sawamura’s cock as he introduces a second finger into Sawamura’s hole. He focuses more on stretching him than finding his prostate and lets his mouth do the pleasuring instead. He wants to prepare Sawamura, not make him come.

“That’s so good senpai, you feel amazing,” Sawamura groans. His body moves with each shuttering breath he draws into his lungs.

Kazuya curls his fingers and Sawamura whines. He does it again, the pads of his fingers teasing at Sawamura’s bundle of nerves as his cheeks hollow around Sawamura’s cock.

“Haah, careful,” Sawamura squeaks. His nails curl into Miyuki’s shoulders. Kazuya wants to keep him like this for hours, but his hard cock in his underwear demands attention.

With a slick popping sound, Kazuya slides off. “One more.”

He straightens up to kiss along Sawamura’s chest as he fits in a third finger. Sawamura hisses quietly, so Kazuya distracts him with a series of playful nips along his collarbone. He’s meticulous with his prepping. With every little thrust into Sawamura, the pitcher relaxes more and more around him.

“I’m ready,” Sawamura whines. “If you keep it up this is going to be over before you even get the chance to fuck me.”

“That’s not happening,” Kazuya laughs, but the sound sticks in his throat. He wants to be in Sawamura so, so bad.

The pitcher bends down and bites at the shell of Kazuya’s ear.

“So fuck me, Ka~ zu~ ya~”

That’s all it takes. Kazuya pulls his fingers out and shoves his underwear down his legs the best he can. He fumbles for the condom, tearing through the foil roughly and sliding it down his straining cock. He arms himself with more lube, letting his hand bring him some relief as he spreads it over his length.

“Of course even your dick is pretty,” Sawamura giggles as he watches Kazuya’s hand.

“Never underestimate me,” Kazuya grits back. With his cock properly lubed, he’s ready to finally bury himself inside of Sawamura.

With one hand he holds himself steady, and with the other he starts to guide Sawamura’s hips down. Sawamura’s eyebrows furrow in concentration and his legs spread even further apart as he slowly sinks down.

They both moan as Sawamura carefully seats himself onto Kazuya’s length. He works himself slowly down, the tight pressure of his hole making Kazuya tremble with every inch he engulfs.

With a triumphant grunt Sawamura settles fully into Kazuya’s lap.

“You alright?” Kazuya asks, pressing his lips to Sawamura’s sweaty forehead. Now that he’s fully inside the pitcher he brings his hand to the back of Sawamura’s neck. His thumb presses comforting circles into the base of his skull.

Sawamura takes a trembling breath, then nods.

“You’re… hm… thicker than your fingers,” Sawamura pants. The pitcher gives an experimental roll of his hips, sending sparks shooting up Kazuya’s spine.

“I can fuck you better like this than with my fingers too,” Kazuya promises. With his feet planted firmly against the tile floor, Kazuya thrusts up into Sawamura. He sets a steady, slow pace. He knows the angle’s not the best, and he could’ve spent more time working him open. But he’s dizzy from the feeling of finally getting to move.

“Yes,” Sawamura gasps. He starts really moving, lifting his hips to fall heavily back into Kazuya’s lap. They find a rhythm, Kazuya rocking up  just as Sawamura sinks. They slowly work each other faster, filling the locker room with the sound of wet skin slapping together.

“Miyuki,” Sawamura moans, pressing his forehead against Kazuya’s. His face is scrunched with pleasure, his red lips parted as he draws in breaths.

“Weren’t you just calling me by my first name?” Kazuya taunts.

“Ngh, who cares,” Sawamura groans. Kazuya forcefully holds his hips still and slows his thrusts to a torturously slow drag in and out. Sawamura’s entire body twitches in protest.

“Fine, Kazuya,” he whines. “Kazuya, please. I’m so, so, so close.”

With a pleased smirk, Kazuya tightens his grip to steadily fuck into him. Sawamura’s cries echo in the empty room.

“Then come, Eijun,” Kazuya breathes. Sawamura nods, and his face twists in concentration. He moves frantically against Kazuya, driving Kazuya inside again and again.

All it takes is Kazuya’s hand wrapping around Sawamura’s length and giving a few rough tugs before the younger man is coming. His voice breaks as he cries out, his length twitching as he spills all over Kazuya’s stomach and down his fist.

Kazuya takes the opportunity to change their positions. With his arm wrapped tight around Sawamura’s back, he presses the other man against the bench. Now that he’s on top, Kazuya can fuck into him easier.

It doesn’t take long until Kazuya finishes too. It hits him hard in the gut, painful pleasure radiating into his thighs and cock. His thrusts become sloppy, and he buries all noises into the crook of Sawamura’s neck.

Both spent, the two of them lay in a gross heap on the bench, breathing hard.

“Heavy,” Sawamura grunts.

“Deal with it,” Kazuya counters. Hands shove at Kazuya’s chest, so he leans up. He’s careful when he pulls out of Sawamura, and quickly takes care of the condom. Once they’re both sitting up, Sawamura leans heavily into his side.

“I wish I waited to jump you when we got to my apartment. That would’ve been a lot more comfortable in my bed.” Sawamura looks content, pushing his damp bangs off of his forehead. His cheeks and chest are still flushes, and there are beads of sweat traveling down the curves of his body.

“I did stay I had the whole day off. If you want to have sex in your bed we still can,” Kazuya counters with a grin. Sawamura laughs weakly and leans up to kiss Kazuya softly.

“I’d like that,” Sawamura hums. “I like you.”

Kazuya rubs his hand against Sawamura’s lower back.

“I don’t hate you,” Kazuya supplies. That earns him a glare, so Kazuya relents. “I like you too Eijun.”

“That means we can do this more often,” Sawamura supplies. Kazuya grins and stands up from the bench.

“Shower first, and then we can talk about our future sex life.”

When they’re under the warm spray of the water, Sawamura tucked under Kazuya’s chin, does he finally let the day’s actions sink in. He curls his arms tighter around Sawamura’s waist and draws him in.

Who knew all it takes is a few months apart and some growing up for Kazuya to admit that Sawamura was more than just his pitcher.

[junker-town]

NBA mock draft 2021: Latest rumors and buzz for final first round projection

Here’s the latest on the 2021 NBA Draft.

The 2021 NBA Draft is finally here. After a full year of evaluating this class, the next generation of NBA players are about to learn where they will begin their careers. You can watch the 2021 NBA Draft at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN and the ESPN App.

We did our first mock draft for this class the day after the 2020 NBA Draft. There have been some big risers and fallers since then. International players like Josh Giddey and Alperen Şengün have emerged as likely lottery picks after great seasons in pro leagues overseas. Certain college players didn’t quite meet expectations. The end result is a 2021 draft class that feels extremely talented within the top-four and then becomes something of a grab bag throughout the rest of the lottery.

This mock draft is based off what we’re hearing ahead of draft night. We have already published our top-30 big board player rankings, and in-depth profiles of first round picks Sharife Cooper, Ayo Dosunmu, and Giddey. We also profiled Cade Cunningham almost two years ago to the day as he started his journey to become the No. 1 overall pick.

Here’s how we see the first round playing out:

The top four of the NBA draft appears to be locked in

Cade Cunningham was widely projected to be the No. 1 pick coming into the year. He maintained that status with a tremendous freshman season at Oklahoma State. While there have been rumors the Rockets and Thunder tried to trade up to No. 1 — as well as rumors Detroit has yet to fully commit to Cunningham — he’s obvious choice at the top. Anything else would be shocking.

While we have a preference for Evan Mobley as the No. 2 overall pick in this draft (more on our top-30 big board here), the Rockets seem zeroed in on Jalen Green. There’s certainly an argument for Green as the safer pick. He could flirt with being a 30-point-per-game scorer at his peak.

The Cavaliers should be doing backflips that Mobley is still available at No. 3. He’s a wonderful fit next to Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, and (if he isn’t traded) Collin Sexton. We think he can play the four next to Jarrett Allen early in his career while also unlocking lineup flexibility when he slides to the five. Mobley has the highest defensive ceiling of any player in this class, and while he’s not hardwired to score, his passing skill and shooting potential will make him an effective offensive player.

The Raptors have reportedly been considering Scottie Barnes at No. 4, but it’s hard to imagine them passing on Jalen Suggs. Suggs is less of a heliocentric star and more of an overqualified complementary piece in the backcourt, but he’s a well-rounded player who should be a plus on both ends of the floor. He’s the last player in this draft class who feels likely to one day compete for All-Star bids.

The Magic appear to be settled on Scottie Barnes at No. 5

The level of talent in this draft drops another tier starting with the fifth pick. The Magic were seen to have two options when they landed at this spot in the lottery: G League Ignite forward Jonathan Kuminga and Florida State forward Scottie Barnes. It appears Barnes will win out.

Barnes is a Florida kid who played his entire high school career in the state. He fits the Magic’s longstanding history of favoring players who are, well, long. Barnes’ 7’3 wingspan and elite motor help make him one of the best defensive prospects in this class. His creation ability as a passer is the most enticing part of his offensive game, but he’ll have to improve as an outside shooter. Barnes feels more likely than Kuminga to make an immediate contribution.

The Thunder are a true wild card at No. 6

The Thunder reportedly made a strong offer for the Pistons No. 1 pick, with some speculating they included star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the package. It wasn’t enough for Detroit. If they stick at No. 6, the Thunder will have a ton of interesting options. Given their history of favoring players with impressive physical tools who are still raw, Kuminga feels like the most likely option.

The Thunder appear to have no interest in winning until they get a shot at drafting 7’3 French phenom Victor Wembanyama in 2023. By that time, Kuminga could be ready to contribute at a high level. One of the youngest players in this class, Kuminga is a big 6’8 wing who showed off poor shooting touch in the G League, but has all the tools to eventually be the type of two-way foward teams covet. He just feels more likely to be OKC’s selection given their history than someone like UConn sophomore James Bouknight, who has also been getting buzz.

The Warriors have two lottery picks and plenty of options

Golden State picks at No. 7 and No. 14 in the lottery. Their top option should be a trade for immediate help with Steph Curry coming off a near MVP season, Draymond Green still playing at an All-Defense level, and Klay Thompson finally returning after two years missed because of injury. It’s just hard to find a deal out there that feels worth it for both sides.

The most likely option is the Warriors making two picks on draft night. We would have a preference for two players in this spot: Franz Wagner and and Josh Giddey. Wagner feels like the most overall talent on the board (we have him ranked No. 5 in this class) because he’s the best bet to shoot of the big forwards while still offering potentially elite defense. Giddey is a 6’8 Australian playmaker who could offer redemption after the Warriors foolishly decided to pass on LaMelo Ball last year.

Golden State could also consider Baylor’s Davion Mitchell, Kuminga, and UConn’s James Bouknight. We’ll give Bouknight the edge here given the recent buzz. His scoring ability is seen as a known quantity in a draft that doesn’t offer many outside of the top-four. It’s not our favorite pick personally, but Bouknight’s instant offense and endless motion in the halfcourt could be a nice fit in Steve Kerr’s offense.

The Memphis Grizzlies are reportedly looking to trade up again

The Grizzlies already made a move from No. 17 to No. 10 after completing their deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. They reportedly want to move up again. Memphis is said to have two targets: Giddey and Wagner. It’s likely they need to move up to get Wagner, who is widely projected to go No. 9 overall to the Sacramento Kings.

We’ll guess Wagner doesn’t make it to the Kings’ pick. The Grizzlies may trade up to No. 7 with Golden State or No. 8 with Orlando to get their guy. It’s also possible the Warriors or Magic just take Wagner with their own pick.

Where will Alperen Şengün get drafted?

The big man put up incredible production in the Turkish league at 18 years old to force his way into the lottery conversation. He doesn’t have ideal tools for an NBA center, lacking ideal measurables, quickness on the perimeter defensively, and three-point range on his jump shot. At a certain point, though, Şengün’s production will be too tempting to pass on.

Sacramento at No. 9, Charlotte at No. 11, and San Antonio at No. 12 feel like the most likely options. He’d also be a solid pick for the Warriors if he slides all the way to No. 14.

3 ‘old,’ tall shooters could crash the top-15

Corey Kispert is well known to basketball fans after a starring role on a Gonzaga team that fell one win short of an undefeated season in the national championship game. Virginia’s Trey Murphy III and Oregon’s Chris Duarte were lesser known names during the college season who have gotten plenty of buzz in the pre-draft process. All three are on the older side in a draft class largely filled with freshmen. All three have a chance to go in the top-15 of this draft because of their skill as three-point shooters.

Kispert or Duarte feel like an obvious selection for the Warriors at No. 14. Murphy is getting buzz at No. 15 to the Washington Wizards. The back-end of the lottery is still anyone’s guess, but at this point it would be a surprise if any of the three slipped out of the top-20.

2 big sleepers in the 2021 NBA Draft

Sharife Cooper is the best playmaker in the draft after Cade Cunningham. He has an ultra-quick first step, an endless combination of dribble moves, and the best vision and passing ability in this class. Cooper is held back by his lack of size (6’1, 180 pounds) and unrefined three-point shot, but we think he’s a top-10 overall talent in this class. The Knicks at No. 19 or No. 21, and the Houston Rockets at No. 23 and No. 24 feel like wonderful landing spots.

Jaden Springer is the youngest American player in the draft. He’s also one of the best on-ball defenders. While didn’t get to show everything he could do offensively on a Tennessee team that provided little spacing around him, it feels wild that he’s projected to slip outside of the top-20. The Knicks, Rockets, Suns, and Jazz would be nice fits for Springer late in the draft, but we’d take him much earlier than that.

The Knicks could trade up in the 2021 NBA Draft

New York picks at No. 19 and No. 21 coming off a surprising season that saw them grab the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference in their first year under Tom Thibodeau. The prevailing logic is the Knicks will take a guard and a shooting wing with these two selections.

In our mock, the Knicks take the ‘best available player’ with their first pick with mega-athletic guard Keon Johnson dropping. They also take Kentucky big man Isaiah Jackson, who is a CAA client and has ties to assistant coach Kenny Payne, who used to work for John Calipari and the Wildcats.

It also wouldn’t be a surprise if the Knicks moved up, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported. The Hornets could be an option at No. 11. It makes sense after Chicago Thibodeau’s Bulls once traded the No. 16 and No. 19 picks to move up for Doug McDermott. Kispert, Murphy, or Durate feel like targets for New York if they trade up.

2021 NBA Draft date, time, and channel

Here’s how you can watch the 2021 NBA Draft.

Date: Thursday, July 29

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Channel: ABC, ESPN

Stream: ESPN App.

[gadgetsrevv]

Juventus vs. Napoli suggests Serie A will be fun, wide-open and wild this season after epic seven-goal battle

TURIN, Italy — Maurizio Sarri’s predecessor at Juventus, Massimiliano Allegri, liked to say “if you want to be entertained, go to the circus.” To him, the result tended to be all that mattered. How Juventus arrived at it obviously held an importance. Allegri never wanted the team to put in a bad performance as they catch up with you in the end, but winning ugly never bothered him.

By contrast, Sarri goes into games wanting to experience exactly what many supporters buy tickets to see. He demands that his team excite and captivate. Saturday’s 4-3 win against Napoli certainly delivered in that regard. It will live long in the memory, as this rivalry hadn’t seen a game like it in more than a quarter of a century. The last seven-goal thriller between Juventus and Napoli came in 1993.

Still recovering from pneumonia, you’d think Sarri left the Allianz Stadium content with what he saw. But Sarri and Allegri are more alike than people think. The 60-year-old is not a wild card manager like Zdenek Zeman. He likes to attack, attack, attack, but balance and control figure more highly on his agenda than they ever did to the Czech. That much became clear when Sarri’s assistant Giovanni Martusciello revealed what his boss thought of the game. “He says you lot will be pleased with the seven goals. He wasn’t at all, though. He would have preferred to win 4-0.”

– Report: Roma, Lazio split points in derby – Where it went wrong for Alexis Sanchez at Man United – The untold stories of Maurizio Sarri

Sarri’s opposite number Carlo Ancelotti did not give the impression he’d had much fun either despite watching his team come back from 3-0 down to be level at 3-3 in a stunning 15-minute spell in the second half. Losing in stoppage time did not explain his glum demeanour. “I would have been disappointed even if we’d drawn,” he said afterwards.

The reactions of both coaches offered a reminder that what we find pleasurable to watch isn’t always a joy to them.

Juve’s dramatic win over Napoli, thanks to the Koulibaly own goal, was a fortunate conclusion for a tired champion that’s still working into peak fitness.

Sarri was “ticked off” last week because Juventus should have taken more than a 1-0 lead into the break in Parma, and the same was true on Saturday. The Old Lady could have been 4-0 up at the interval. Sami Khedira failed to take advantage in a 1-on-1 with Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret and hit the bar shortly afterwards. As at the Ennio Tardini, Juventus faded fast after an hour. For some it’s a concern, but it’s still early in the season and not everyone is up to speed yet from a physical perspective. The heat is a factor despite the late kick-offs and besides, Martusciello also put it down to Juve’s new approach.

“The initial idea we had of this team [from last season] was one based on defending deep and then hitting teammates on the break while also having the ball. It’s one thing playing a possession game in your opponent’s half, and another in your own. We’re shifting towards pushing up and defending [not backing off]. It’s not something that catches on in a month.”

The team is pressing higher for longer than under Allegri. Lasting 90 minutes at this stage of the season at that intensity is not easy, and so tiredness and a sense the game was over allowed Napoli back into the game.

Unusually for them, Juventus conceded twice from set-pieces. Matthijs de Ligt, Juventus’ €75m signing from Ajax, also had a debut to forget as he stood in for the team’s captain and last week’s match winner Giorgio Chiellini who tore his ACL on Friday. In consolation, the Dutchman was not the only highly regarded centre-back to suffer.

Two years after scoring a dramatic stoppage-time winner at the Allianz Stadium, Kalidou Koulibaly was at it again. Unfortunately for him, the outcome was different this time around as the reigning Serie A Defender of the Year quite incredibly scuffed a routine clearance, under no pressure, into his own net. Turned inside out by former teammate Gonzalo Higuain for Juve’s second goal, the Senegal international’s uncharacteristically poor display was excused by Ancelotti, who alluded to the little time-off Koulibaly had had over the summer and the difficulties he is experiencing after missing and losing the African Cup of Nations final.

On paper, Napoli have two of the best defenders in the league now that Kostas Manolas, the €34m summer signing, is partnering Koulibaly. In practice, though, it hasn’t shaken out quite as expected. So far the team has leaked seven goals in two outings, making it Napoli’s worst start to a season from a defensive point of view in 57 years.

Guilty of starting slow in Florence last week, Ancelotti lamented the absence of “ferocity” in his side when Juventus were on the attack. He questioned his players’ sacrifice. Napoli could and should have made it harder for Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo‘s goal: they had enough bodies back and around them to shackle and block. Instead, it was too easy and the passivity Napoli showed while Khedira set himself to fashion a shot against the crossbar was damning. The electric Douglas Costa would also have an effort tipped onto the woodwork by Meret, an exceptional save, which was more or less Juve’s final attempt on goal until Koulibaly’s miscue.

That final goal was one of a host of jaw-dropping moments that turned this game into an instant classic and The opener serves as a case in point. Napoli thought they had scored, only for Wojciech Szczesny to turn Allan‘s curling attempt brilliantly around the post. Mattia de Sciglio hobbled off before the corner was taken, replaced by Danilo. A routine that Ancelotti had worked on in training came off insofar as it was supposed to lead to an open shot from the edge of the box, which it did, only for Leonardo Bonucci‘s face to get in the way. Pouncing on the loose ball, Danilo started and finished a counter-attack, scoring his first goal for Juventus just 29 seconds into his debut.

In a blink of an eye, Napoli were 2-0 down. The trickery from Higuain to get around Koulibaly and create an angle for a shot showed him at his very best. A bigger story than Pipita scoring against his old team though is how much we had become used to thinking of Juventus as his old team too.

Juventus got a lot of production out of formerly maligned squad players like Douglas Costa, left, and Blaise Matuidi. Sarri’s style is still taking root, too.

The same goes for Costa. Last weekend was his first start since February. Suspensions, car wrecks and partying with Neymar all seemed to spell the end for him in Turin. And yet Costa has been Juventus’ most creative and decisive player under Sarri.

World Cup winners Blaise Matuidi and Khedira didn’t strike observers as natural fits for the new manager, either. It looked like their time at Juventus was up but rather than sidelining them, Sarri and his staff have decided to coach them.

“There were preconceived ideas about some of the players and we’ve been working on their game,” Martusciello revealed. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well three or four of them have done in doing what we’ve asked of them.”

Matuidi, for instance, spent the end of warm-up working apart from everyone else, polishing up quick one-touch passes — a shortcoming of his game — while his teammates ran through a shooting drill. Ancelotti identified him as the key to Juve’s win, particularly in the first half. The combination of his energetic pressing and the spaces he kept dashing into behind Fabian Ruiz caused the visitors no end of problems.

For Napoli, there were positives too. As in Florence, they showed character to come back from so far behind. Hirving Lozano came on and made a double impact. Not only did Napoli’s record signing continue his remarkable record of scoring in every debut he’s ever made, he allowed Dries Mertens to get into the game by drawing attention away from him.

On the eve of the match, Ancelotti argued that no matter what happened in Turin, definitive conclusions cannot be drawn at this stage. Even so, he believed it would still be “indicative.” The biggest indication the league has given us over the first couple of weekends though is that this season could be be pure, crazy fun.

//due to VPPA compliance we can not send keywords through URLs implicitly in the US var countryValue = $.cookie("country"); if(!!countryValue && countryValue !== "us") {

(function() { var _fbq = window._fbq || (window._fbq = []); if (!_fbq.loaded) { var fbds = document.createElement('script'); fbds.async = true; fbds.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbds.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(fbds, s); _fbq.loaded = true; } _fbq.push(['addPixelId', '1587432981493230']); })(); window._fbq = window._fbq || []; window._fbq.push(['track', 'PixelInitialized', {}]);

$.ajax({ url: '//pixel.mathtag.com/event/js?mt_id=694557&mt_adid=137010&v1=&v2=&v3=&s1=&s2=&s3=', dataType: 'script', cache: true }); } (function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=116656161708917";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, "script", "facebook-jssdk")); Source link

via wordpress https://ift.tt/2ZDGIY2

[jrsechelon]

A Glimpse Into The Future

The lights of Hardrock Stadium in Miami, Flordia stay on, the buzz of the excitement gone from the stadium - fans of this legendary game gone home awaiting celebrating and grieving, but waiting for next season. The 2020 Football season is months away and the 2019 Football season has now come to a suspenseful end. The confetti of blue and orange fills the stadium as custodian workers blow the confetti into piles from the crisp green grass with their leaf blowers. The field is pretty much worn down with clumps of grass missing and mud in other areas smeared all over. The heavy tropical storm blowing in during the 3rd Quarter, the perpetrator. Super Bowl XIII over, the new Elite Fantasy League Super Bowl Champions reign supreme enjoying this moment being interviewed by multiple news agencies and sport television channels. This is their first Super Bowl Championship. Years after not being able to get out of the Wild Card round the now Super Bowl XIII Champions had a remarkable year riding high all season and dominating opponent after opponent. Von Miller Super Bowl MVP interviews from the Elite Fantasy League table reviewing plays and moments that occurred just a little over an hour ago. The losing team mourns their loss and knows that they let one slip by in what was a very close defensive affair. Patrick Mahomes had struggled much of the game with the opponent's defense getting the best of him but Mahomes was leading what we all thought was going to be a Super Bowl-winning drive in the late minutes of the 4th Quarter when Von Miller came up with a masterful strip-sack locking up the 'W' for BroncosTillDeath. So what's next? Well, we first got to rewind - rewind to the EFL Draft and rewind to Mini Camp and Pre-Season. The 2019 season hasn't occurred, yet. This scenario above comes from the prediction of Mr. Sanders. In his prediction, he has BroncosTillDeath defeating The Busy Killers in a very tight game that will show why BroncosTillDeath's defense is by far the strength of their team and the best group of men on the opposite side of the offense in the entire league.

The atmosphere is different now in the EFL. The change of divisions is a major thing to consider going into this season. Travel times within the divisions will be greater which can mean more wear and tear on the players' bodies and mentally draining for the coaching staff. Focusing in on Mr. Sanders Super Bowl XIII Champions, BroncosTillDeath their travel time within their division totals to 3,333.26 miles and that is just within the division! In the first two weeks of the regular season BroncosTillDeath will have to travel to Santa Clara, California to face off against Hyrule Empire and then week 2 travel across the country and up into Canada to play The Canadian Cripplers. 1,909.97 miles alone in those two games. Although BroncosTillDeath has the 9th easiest/hardest strength of schedule this season they have to travel almost more than anyone. This random draw of divisions really pins some teams against the eight ball. BroncosTillDeath, Black Hole Son, and Evolution all have the longest length to travel. Prior to MegaWatt Warriors owner selling their team, the divisions were decided by a geographical factor, now with a random draw, we see a various challenge for all teams. Not only do they have to adjust to travel, but they are also going to have to adjust to getting used to new division rivals. Six of the sixteen teams will be renewed with old division rivalries from previous seasons. Thunderbuddy4Life the defending two time Super Bowl Champions will have familiarity with Hyrule Empire in the Shula division, while PURPLEHAZE and LilShupeScoresBIGPoints will continue their onesided rivalry in the Walsh division. Then there is The Canadian Cripplers and HellbentKronik who will continue to square off in their own respected division. The rest of the teams are in somewhat unfamiliar territory. No one more so than Balls Deep who is entering their expansion year.

Luckily for Balls Deep the Shula division has the shortest distance of travel time within their division. Three of the four teams reside in the Bay Area of California while the other team resides on the Northside of Chicago. Balls Deep has a .521 strength of schedule emerging as the 10th easiest schedule in the league. The schedule makers gave them an advantage in giving them four straight home games to begin their franchise and with only one of those four teams holding a winning record last year (Rainelo Hawks) Balls Deep should feel confident they can win a few of those four home games. The EFL hasn't had an expansion franchise for quite some years now so it will be exciting to see what this team can do. The division they are in is pretty favorable, although Thunderbuddy4Life is in their division the rest of the Shula division is subpar at best so we're interested to see what transpires here. Another division which catches interest is the Lombardi division where Rainelo Hawks, Buds Bums, The Busy Killers, and Yuba City Sultans all find themselves in. Hard to say what will happen here. None of these teams really played each other much and now being thrown in a division together it spells a lot of storylines. Can Rainelo Hawks continue their dominance in the regular season? Buds Bums and The Busy Killers were in the Postseason and Yuba City Sultans although has fallen off the last few years has the tools and coaching staff to always contend. I think this division is going to be the tightest one as we find ourselves late into the season. What can we expect this year? Looking into a crystal ball Mr. Sanders once again gives us his thoughts on how the season will play out.

"Over the course of the football season we see a mountain of storylines that cover each team. We enter into a world where we are able to witness the spectacle of what sports are all about. We're all a witness to the highs and lows of each player, coach, and fan. We feel the joy of our teams winning and the heartache of our teams losing, with football we all share a common bond and once again I am here to dive deep into ranking each teams draft and giving my thoughts on the teams who will rise to the top and fall to the basement."

"Opening up to look at the EFL teams quickly you can associate who is a contender and who is a pretender. Over and over we see a very small change of who makes the playoffs and who doesn't. This is because the smart general managers make the decisions they need in order to get back into contention. With that, I want to open up my grade talking about Evolution. A team that has made it to the playoffs for eleven straight seasons! Holding a 109/59/0 regular-season record this team exemplifies what an elite franchise is all about. Evolution every year proves me wrong, every year I give them a low grade and say they won't make it to the postseason but this year, this year is different. I love Christian McCaffery! The 2nd best running back this year, I think Mitchell Tribunsky should be great at quarterback. This team loves to throw enough and overall has a very solid offense. The projections show Evolution winning a lot, so I’ll say a B grade and will once again make the playoffs marking their twelfth straight postseason appearance."

"PURPLEHAZE, on the other hand, has too many question marks. They are entering the season with Kirk Cousins who is still trying to learn the offense and Delvin Cook who is coming off a major injury. Cook has been injury prone since his college days and with Aaron Jones assisting him in the backfield I don't see PURPLEHAZE doing much on the ground. Their receivers have a chance to break out but it is going to be depending on how well they can establish the run. Without a great running game, PURPLEHAZE's opponents will eat their offense up. The one bright spot on this team is their defense. Their defense is very strong and has the ability to save their season if they are planning on contending. I give PURPLEHAZE a C- because the offense doesn't excitement enough to feel like they have any chance at challenging other teams."

"Just like PURPLEHAZE, LilShupeScoresBIGPoints the loser of Super Bowl XII will not be finding their way back into the postseason. LilShupe is a very average team. A lot of players getting long in the tooth and with a bench full of questions it's hard to get behind this team. There aren't too many giant holes as long as the starters can stay healthy but that is a big challenge for a lot of these guys. Andrew Luck, James White, TY Hilton, and Jack Doyle can't seem to get healthy. LilShupeScoresBIGPoints is going to need Andrew Luck to be lucky this season, because even with Julio Jones who guaranteed he'd get 3,000 receiving yards this season - I don't see this team getting back to the postseason or contending against anyone. Bottom four for LilShupe this year, C-."

"BroncosTillDeath excites me. I kind of wish I had this team Juju is a stud who is going to have a MONSTER year! This defense is grossly underrated but playing Evolution twice will be a challenge and allow us to see how this team can handle a contender year-in-and-year-out. I believe Von Miller finds himself as defensive player of the year when all is said and done. Deshaun Watson is a cerebral assassin, he kills you in the air and on the ground. With Fournette in the back, you've got an excellent chance to not have to rely on Watson all the time. With Brady as the backup or starter depending on how this team goes you have two quarterbacks that can lead you to a victory every single week. This team doesn't play Straight Edge Society this year too so they won't have to face off against their long-time rival and league kryptonite. Will Fuller is a sleeper and is going to have a big campaign, mark my words. BroncosTillDeath is the overall best team in this division and my Super Bowl XIII Champions, A+."

"No disrespect to Thunderbuddy4Life who has been on a tear the last several years. Appearing in three Super Bowls in a row and winning back-to-back Super Bowls this team is always a threat. I see them making noise again this year but I just don't think they have what it takes to put together a three-peat. It has never been done and I don't see it happening. They've got a very decent team, but no crazy point scorers. I don't understand the thought process of making Jimmy Garoppolo the starting quarterback when you've got trusty ole Ben Roethlisberger on the bench. Taylor Gabriel is a great addition to the team as is Mixon who should see a lot of touches. But Golden Tate serving a four-game suspension and an uncertain defense who has the star power to make noise but has yet to put it together on the field, I can't say Thunderbuddy4Life is going to be the dynasty they are hoping to be. They'll make the playoffs but be booted early, B-."

"Balls Deep a rookie franchise this year, let me be the first to welcome you to one of the most interesting leagues out there. You are going to find out real quick how difficult this league is and how hard it is to win. No team is willing to give an inch and every single owner is cutthroat in their approach to building a winning franchise. There aren't a lot of trade talks and if you aren't going full throttle you are in the wrong league. With that out of the way, at first glance, this looks like a pretty good team with Goff, Coleman, Alvin Kamara and even Cole Beasley in a new spot. Jimmy Graham looking to have a bounce-back year this team is riddled with a lot of sleepers on their bench and in my opinion Balls, Deep is the dark horse to surprise the league. The only alarming thing is Trent Williams holding out. They will need him in order to create holes for the running game. I give this team a B- I see a few surprises here and a challenge to Thunderbuddy4Life for the division."

"Speaking of dark horses, Hyrule Empire has a real chance to finally emerge as a contender. The team is centered around a lot of players that can produce. Cris Carson and Saquan Barkley may be the best two backs in the league and a two-headed monster like that is a scary sight for opposing defenses. I like Russell Wilson and see him having an MVP type season, I love Nick Foles as the backup quarterback and DK Metcalf is the steal of the draft. This team has an amazing core group on both the offense and the defensive side of things. The defense is very underrated and has a real shot at being a top 5 defense by years end. Hyrule Empire will contend, they will be in the Championship game and even possibly the Super Bowl. I give them an A."

"VanillaGorillas a team of unknowns seems like most of the team is just too young and unpredictable. IF this young group of guys can get things together though I do see them having a good season and turning some heads. Baker Mayfield is a brash talker who has confidence through the roof. He is a leader and going into his Sophomore year. I don't know if he will suffer through a slump but with the players around him, he should strive and push himself to the next level in this league. OBJ has a fire in his heart and wants to prove the doubters wrong, landing here with Mayfield is going to help both of them succeed. The running game on this team is up in the air. Can these players produce the way we expect them too? The offensive line should give them enough of a hole to gain a strong amount of yards but with multiple timeshares, it is going to hurt production value. Travis Kelce is the one for sure thing on this team and you know Baker loves his tight ends. Look for Kelce to once again have a big year even with him finding himself in a new location. This team has a lot of room to grow and has a massive upside it is just whether or not they can take those steps toward success. D for now."

"Straight Edge Society has the hardest schedule this season, and missing the playoffs in the fashion they did last year has still got to sting them. If you all have forgotten - Straight Edge Society had led the Central division all year until the final week last year when The Busy Killers leapfrogged them taking that division and leaving Straight Edge Society to wonder why they couldn't put it together against MegaWatt Warriors who were already on their way out. With that said, I am not sold on this squad really at all. Two times Super Bowl Champion might be finding their way out of the league next year, this team has always had a history of struggles in the regular season and with the way, things ended last year don't be surprised if they up and sell the team after this dismal year. The general manager is not seeing Lamar Jackson and his struggles last year, the offensive line isn't that strong here in Ohio and the running game isn't established enough with these two players. They are not strong enough players to place my confidence in them. Watching this team draft I wondered what they were doing. Cam Newton and Tom Brady sitting on the board and they take Lamar Jackson, maybe they know something I don't? I just can't get behind this team this year. I see Antonio Brown looking like trade bait to me, this team is going to be selling and selling hard before the trade deadline. They are going to need to make a lot of moves or a huge miracle in order to contend. F."

"Straight Edge Society has a hard division to contend in - every team has an elite quarterback beside Straight Edge Society and with that, we turn our attention to The Canadian Cripplers. Bringing in Brees is a beautiful thing for this team. Drew Brees will be Brees for The Canadian Cripplers. He is always on fire and this is what The Cripplers needed to finally get some positive recognition. This was the hardest team to rank with studs everywhere but a guy in Le'Veon Bell who missed the whole year last season and now another running back in Melvin Gordon who is holding out it is really unsure how the running game is going to go. They have two stud tight end and Brees absolutely LOVES his tight ends. Great defense with Aaron Donald leading the way and finally got smart and put Cam Newton on the bench. Amari Cooper will be a big playmaker, as will Devin Funchess in the slot. The recently signed Michael Crabtree can be a steal if they can get him going early and often. I love this team it has a lot of potential but they have got to address the running back situation. Pay Gordon or trade him for some value, I hear your division rival Black Hole Son is dealing with their own holdout, maybe a swap at running backs? I’m going with an A grade just on the potential of this team, see you in the final four!"

"Black Hole Son, our boy! The coach with the most! The man with the plan! The team with the grit! Last year they finally made the playoffs, although it was short-lived and they were booted in the Wild Card round they look to be very much in contention once again. They are stacked! They've got the best rookie running back in Josh Jacobs, Zeke Elliot who was, in my opinion, the best running back last year - but with the recent news of him looking to holdout through the season it'll be up to Alfred Morris and Latavius Murray to shoulder the load as you can't rely on the rookie back. Matty Ice should have a stellar year and throwing the ball to Golladay who will have a huge year and the one hundred million dollar man Michael Thomas, Matt Ryan should have no problem getting the ball out. Edelman is always instore for a great year no matter what. He keeps focused and drives for success. Even without Ezekiel Elliot holding out it won’t matter much, this is a healthy team with a health B grade. Another playoff appearance for Black Hole Son before moving from Oakland to Vegas."

"HellbentKronik is a curious team. I love their wide receiving core but other than that they don't have anything that stands out. The Hot Boys as they like to be called on the defensive side of the ball intrigues me a bit and they will need their defense to play a big role to contend this year. Kyler Murray starting is a gamble, and it doesn't get much better with Josh Allen. This team doesn't have a great offensive line. Pro Football Focus rates their offensive like a D- giving up an average 4.5 sacks a game which will equal to 63 sacks in 14 games. Ouch! You have got to be kidding me!? This isn't looking good for a team that is used to winning. The Super Bowl X Champion is a long way from their glory days this coming 2019 season. This is a rebuilding year in New England unless they can deal a receiver or two and land some solid quarterback and offensive line play. Don't expect Kyler Murray or Josh Allen to save this team from what is looking to be a 5-11 season. C- better luck next year."

"This last division has three teams that were in the postseason last year. One from the former Pacific division, the former Great Lakes division, and the former Central division. So before we jump into those teams lets first focus on the team who has missed the playoffs the last two seasons. Yuba City Sultans. Aaron Rodgers has new coach new wide receivers and a very stable running game. This is a good opportunity for Rodgers and coach Haight, neither hasn't had much success so the change I think will be a good thing for them and will be a strength for them to take it to the next level. David Johnson and Marlon Mack I feel will have a studly year Roby Anderson is a sleeper to produce big numbers. Yuba City Sultans has what it takes to finally find themselves back in the playoffs, great potential here, B."

"Buds Bums who has been building each year and almost made it to the Super Bowl last season has a very deep team lots of unknowns like Montgomery at running back, Booker, and Miller. Marvin Jones Jr always can light it up and that defense led by Khalil Mack will win a few but this is a very tough division. I don't see any of these teams losing many games but one less loss than wins here for Buds Bums will make them be the odd one out. I’d give B but because of how difficult this division is and having to play Hawks, Sultans, and Killers twice I'll say C, without the playoffs."

"Rainelo Hawks are always in the mix, they are stable and continue to impress each year. Much like Evolution, these Hawks are a strong candidate to continue their success. This team is older but are they wiser and with that wisdom, they will have what it takes to propel them into another postseason appearance. Philip Rivers can give them easily 3 touchdowns a game, James Conner looked great last year and now will shine as the number one running back while Freeman heals from his prior injury. I suspect Freeman to start a little cold but come on very hot in the middle of the year, look toward week 6 when Freeman comes on. Eric Ebron will be top 3 tight ends at years end and they've got such a solid bench. The main concern for Rainelo Hawks will be The Busy Killers and if the Hawks want to win the Lombardi division they'll have to beat The Busy Killers twice. In my opinion, it'll be a tough task but I give Rainelo Hawks an A- with a possible chance to be an A if they can win the division."

"Last but not least are The Busy Killers, I love Patrick Mahomes and Philip Lindsay. Kenyan Drake is a stout back and has some miracle magic in his feet. Grabbing Sterling Sheppard very late in the draft is going to pay dividends because what we all thought was going to be a long injury is going to be nothing to be concerned. This will be big for Mahomes because the other receivers are average. Jason Witten refreshed and coming out of retirement is under the radar, expect him to be a big factor in this offense. Solid kicker, kickers never get enough credit and just like Rainelo Hawks, The Busy Killers have a for sure thing at kicker. The top defense led by JJ Watt and Bobby Wagner, unstoppable on both sides of the ball. Mahomes has to stay healthy and not allow the Madden curse to hit him - I believe he will be fine and with that being said I suspect The Busy Killers will appear in the Super Bowl. The Busy Killers are getting a grade A, they have been on the brink of being a perennial contender and finally will be. Pat Mahomes and company will be seeing BroncosTillDeath in Super Bowl XIII."

"The Super Bowl will be BroncosTillDeath vs. The Busy Killers with BroncosTillDeath winning a very tight affair. The division champions will be The Busy Killers (Lombardi), Black Hole Son (Null), Hyrule Empire (Shula), and BroncosTillDeath (Walsh). The teams who make the Wild Card will be Evolution, Rainelo Hawks, Thunderbuddy4Life, and The Canadian Cripplers. Yuba City Sultans, Balls Deep, and Buds Bums just fall short in making the playoffs. VanillaGorilla goes .500 while LilShupeScoresBIGPoints, PURPLEHAZE, HellbentKronik, and Straight Edge Society have dismal years. Straight Edge Society or LilShupeScoresBIGPoints will end up with the 1st overall pick in 2020. I suspect blowback from these grades and predictions but have I ever been wrong? See you in a few weeks for our Off The Wall Football Podcast and in the meantime enjoy Pre-Season as a lot can happen from now until the season."

CLICK TO VOTE ON POLL

[redsdesktop]

September 14: Sports.

Characters: Splendid, Shifty, Lifty, Flippy, Flaky.

AU: Splendad AU again.

Warnings: None. Except for hot dads?

Getting to the practice fields was a hassle and a half, why had he thought it was a good idea to put the twins in a sport? It was the typical parenting thing to do, kids liked to play and run around with other kids. It was a great way for the little high energy rascals to burn off that rambunctiousness and, boy, did these twins have a lot of that. They were mischievous little pranksters and Splendid was their number one victim for all their pranks. The jokes were harmless, but Splendid would like a little peace every once in a while and soccer seemed like a great way for them to all get out of the house.

The only problem was, his car keys were missing, no amount of threatening seemed to get either one of the coons to talk, not even Lifty, who was usually the 'good' one. And he used the term 'good' very loosely in this matter.So he had to forego the car like a normal parent and fly there, which thrilled the twins to bits, it was probably their plan all along as he had one under each arm, both squealing with laughter and waving their arms wildly. All the squirming with really making it difficult to keep a hold on the two, but he powered through it, refusing to let his two new sons fall, even if they were little troublemakers. Finally, he touched down in his casual red sneakers, by now everyone knew who he was, so he didn't bother putting on the whole suit. He couldn't let the twins get out of eyesight long enough to change more or less.

Setting the breathless Shifty and Lifty on the grass, he then straightened his blue jacket and red shirt. Since he wasn't working today, he left his glasses at home, on a high shelf. Out of reach from sticky fingers. Shifty seemed to be taking in the kids running around, playing, Splendid knew it was usually up to Shifty to decide what the two did so he let the twins take their time and see if they wanted to join the other kids. "Alright, you two, you know the rules. But first, let's talk to the coach and order your uniforms, then you two can go play." He reached down, putting a hand on their heads and ruffling their dark green hair, causing Shifty to grumble stubbornly but Lifty seemed happy about it. Splendid began to move towards the man in a baseball cap and whistle around his neck. It wasn't the bright orange hair that caught his attention but the fact the guy only had stumps for arms.

Splendid made sure not to stare or offer the hand he wanted to extend in a handshake, instead he swerved it back into the pocket of his jeans. "Hey there, you're the couch right? I'm Splendid and these are my two boys, Shifty and Lifty. Sorry we're a bit late, we had a few..." He glanced down at Shifty, who was trying to hold in his laughter. "...Issues trying to get here."

The man turned to look at them, then down at the twins, who were putting on their best innocent face that could fool anyone but Splendid. By now, he was quite immune to it and every time they tried to pull that card, he grew suspicious of their motives. "Its no problem, the first day is mostly just to get the kids acquainted with each other. You can call me Coach Handy, the forms for the jerseys are over there on the table and help yourself to the drinks if any of you get thirsty." He nodded his head in the direction to the fold out table where there was a pretty blue haired girl sorting the papers, she looked a little younger than him but past her teenage years.

"Thanks, nice to meet you, do you need a hand with anything?" Splendid offered, he didn't want to be just a dead weight dad, he wanted to get involved in the activities he sons were in. That's what parents were supposed to do, right? He was still knew and only had self-help guides and the internet to give him advice, but it was nothing compared to being a real parent. However, the coach only scowled and glared at him, making Splendid wonder what he'd done to suddenly upset the man. "Uh, nevermind then, I'll just get the forms." The twins were shaking with suppressed laughter, making Splendid worried if they did something to upset their new coach.

With a sigh and a sag of his shoulders, he ushered Lifty and Shifty towards the table so they could get their forms, both of them instantly put their hands on the edge so they could peer up on the surface, likely in search of something not nailed down to steal no doubt. Splendid gave an awkward smile at the girl at the table who returned it with a bright smile that made his falter a little. Splendid was a naturally happy and optimistic guy but this girl had cheer. "Hi there, ready to get your uniforms ordered?"

"If I take one form, would you call it a uniform?" Splendid offered, dad's did puns. It was like some sort of universal rule, but maybe he should work on them as he heard the twins groan, but at least it made the young woman laugh. "Since I've got twins, I'll need two though. I'm Splendid and this is Lifty and Shifty." He pointed at the tops of their heads respectively when he said their names.

"I'm not Shifty, he is!" "Yeah, dad, he's Lifty!"

"You can't fool me again this time, you little devils. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twenty times, well, shame on me." He frowned and looked back to the forms the woman handed to him, taking the offered pen and he leaned over to begin to write. "I'm Petunia, its nice to see such cute twins, its not every day I get to see a pair!" Splendid glanced from left to right, both of the coons seemed to preen themselves, looking cuter than they were, the two could charm food from a starving man at this rate.Once he was done filling out the forms, which was easy since both Shifty and Lifty wore the same sizes, he handed the forms back to Petunia.

"Thanks! You can join the other parents by the cooler and get to know each other!"

"Will do, Miss Petunia." He nodded, reaching down to snag the pen Shifty was trying to slide into his pocket away from him and hand it back to the woman. He was starting to get used to stopping his little thieves, it was becoming almost pure reflex at this point. He was about to walk away when he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes landed on a familiar figure heading in his direction. It was the green haired guy from the clothing store, he'd recognize that face from anywhere. He was dumbstruck, standing their watching the man in a camo jacket strolling closer, his steps confident and smooth and Splendid could've sworn his heart was beating at the same pace.

"Gross, close you mouth, dad, you're going to start drooling." Shifty interrupted him, causing Splendid to snap his jaw closed, Lifty was snickering and definitely not helping ease Splendid's embarrassment. What was that all about?By the time he got his brain to work, the green haired guy was already moving closer, spotting him and that smile on his face grew. He stopped right before Splendid, a timid red headed little boy holding onto his hand and sticking close. The kid instantly got the twins attention, they were used to wild and rebellious kids at the orphanage, so seeing a nervous one peaked their interest.

"Looks like we've bumped into each other again, at least not literally this time." The green haired man teased, making Splendid's cheeks burn as he laughed sheepishly as he was reminded of that whole fiasco, luckily the guy didn't seem mad about it. Now was his chance though, a good reason to ask for his name since he was likely here to sign his kid up for soccer too.

"I didn't catch your name last time. I'm Splendid and these little mischief makers are my sons, Lifty and Shifty." He looked down to show them off, only to find them missing.They were already next to the little boy, trying to pry for some answers, but the kid turned his head and hide his face into the older male's jacket. "Lifty! Shifty! C'mon, give the kid some space." The twins' ears perked before they sulked reluctantly back to Splendid's sides, at least the followed orders. On occasion.

"Its fine. I'm Flippy and this is my daughter Flaky, she's really good at sports just... she's really shy." Daughter? Splendid looked down at Flaky again, the baggy shirt and basketball shorts, along with the short red hair made her look like a boy. He was glad he didn't fumble and actually call her a 'him' outloud. That would've embarrassed him to no end.Dodged a bullet on that one and he finally got the name of the mystery man who he'd fallen on top of on accident.Since Flaky was going to be in soccer too, that meant he'd get more chances to talk to Flippy, to get to know him a little more.

"Why don't you go hang out with Shifty and Lifty for a little bit, Flaky. If you feel comfortable, you can go join the rest of the kids, okay?" Flippy had crouched down to talk to the shy girl, giving her a hug and rubbing her back to help comfort his daughter. Splendid watched, he had hugged the twins on more than one occasion, but they tended not to be the cuddling type. More of the clingy-steal-your-very-heart type with their professional puppy-dog eyes type. Once Flippy let his daughter go, it was to Splendid's surprise that it was Lifty who reached out to take Flaky's hand first, giving it a tug while Shifty was already beginning to make his way to one of the spare soccer balls to play with. "C'mon! We'll take it easy on you since you're a girl."

Splendid sighed a little, but let it go, letting the kids be kids, he knew while Shifty and Lifty liked to steal things, they weren't bullies, especially not Lifty. He motioned towards the small bleachers where the rest of the parents were along with the cooler. "Wanna' sit down? Practice is going to last a while and I'll be glad to get off my feet for a while." Splendid offered, though Flippy looked a little unsure himself when he looked at the group but nodded anyways. "Sure, I could go for a drink, we pretty much walked here. I misplaced my keys to the jeep." Splendid let out a small laugh and ran his fingers through his fluffy blue hair. "I understand how that feels all too well."

By the end of the day, Splendid felt more relaxed, being able to socialize and actually make a friend in Flippy. The twins, however, were fast asleep in his arms on the way home. Completely defeated by their own new friend, Flaky, who had proved that they should've never taken it easy on the girl.

[peachligers]

Really sloppy Yuri Drugs AU

YOI Yuri spiral AU

Section 1 outline

Otabek and Yuri become the best biffles that have ever friended, and start a crazy life of shenanigans.

Otabek introduces Yuri to his friends, and the partying that comes with those friends. Lines of coke and alcoholism becomes a trend whenever they hang out.

Yuri turns 16, and Otabek and his bros throw him a raging party in some of the seedier parts of Moscow, Yuri’s hometown. A prostitute may, or may not be involved, but either way, Yuri loses his V-card in a blaze of glory, and LSD.

Viktor retires at the end of the official skating season, competing in Russian Nationals and Europeans. He, unsurprisingly, sweeps the competition, but ends up taking a hard fall in World’s, and loses out to Yuri for Gold. He’s quite pleased to make Silver though, and ends his career on a high note; bracketed by both his Yu/uri boys. One is his future, the other is the future of Russia.

Viktor continues to coach Yuuri in Russia, and Yuri spends the off-season barely home enough to train. Most of the spring/summer is spent with Otabek. The boys have all sorts of fun, of various types, and then Otabek gets back to the grind and starts to prep for the new skate season.

Yuri doesn’t ‘get back on the wagon’ as well as his bro does, and now with one less supplier, and other various groupies/friends out of his reach more often than not, he turns to other methods to get that same sort of invincible high.

Viktor takes pretty strong pain meds for the knee injury he took the last season, but he’s weening himself off of them. He doesn’t notice that more than he takes goes missing.

Neither does Yakov notice how often Yuri isn’t in the rink dorms. Mila is much more focused on a new boyfriend, but she still makes time in her life to help Yuri get to places. She doesn’t make enough time, though, to realise that Yuri doesn’t stay in those places.

Section 2 outline?

The new season starts, and Yuri is taller, and not quite as even as he remembers being. He wrecks the GPF. 4th place, not even podium. He’s devastated. Yakov is disappointed. Yuuri tries to be supportive, but Yuri wants none of it.

Mila’s now ex-boyfriend is another hockey player (She has a type), and Yuri is pretty willing to do things most wouldn’t, in order to get something to help him bulk his body up, quickly, and finish his growth.

He’s not fond of sucking dick, but he’ll do it on the regular if he gets a steady supply of steroids out of it.

Yuri kills it in Russian Nationals, and goes on to get Silver in Europeans, losing out to Chris just barely. It’s still not enough.

Yuri starts to be hyper aware of his failure. He punishes himself with strict eating regimens, copious amounts of drugs, and not saying no when various rinkmates/friends/friends-of-friends/and sometimes even strangers, press him for sexual favours for the things he wants.

He doesn’t think he deserves better, anyways.

He finishes out World’s behind Yuuri. Even worse, behind JJ.

Otabek scraped into fourth this season, for World’s. Better than last, and he’s more than excited to celebrate with recently turned 17 Yuri.

Another off-season of bro-fun commences. Otabek doesn’t notice how self-destructive Yuri has become, he just thinks maybe his younger friend is on a bit of a binge with the sex and drugs. Maybe he doesn’t have many people he likes in Russia? Maybe he only feels comfortable being himself around Otabek? Beka doesn’t think too heavily into it.

Section 3 outline

The next year continues in a similar vein. Yuri gets progressively worse. He’s more anti-social than normal, and if anyone brings up his shitty appearance, he rages on them like a tiger, so they drop it.

He fails to cut before a drug test, and gets caught for doping just before World’s.

The media goes wild.

Yuuri is infuriated, but also deeply concerned. Viktor doesn’t know what to do; he was sort of the golden son, and never got to do things like rage all weekend.

Yuuri packs Yuri and Viktor up, and heads home to Japan. Away from all the shitty people that have been abusing the soon to be 18-year old’s lack of self-love.

Otabek gives Yuri a call, asks him how it got so bad. Wonders if he is a shitty friend. Yuri tries to assure him that it’s all his own fault.

Beka feels worse. He also resigns from World’s. Decides he needs some rehab for his own substance use. Checks himself into a facility.

Media has another raging storm over it. Two young skaters, friends from various news stories, both dealing with drug/alcohol problems?? Scandal.

Yuuri and Viktor have to go to World’s as competitor and coach, but Yuuri asks a favour of countryman Minami Kenjirou, and the young skater comes to Yuuri’s family’s home to watch the younger boy.

Yuri spends his 18th birthday with tremors, and vomiting, as he comes off the drugs with serious withdrawals. Kenjirou stays up with him during the nights, strokes his back as he sicks up, and washes and combs his hair when he’s too weak with shakes to even crawl out of bed.

Kenjirou talks about being a second son, and coming from a family that values intelligence over athleticism. That his parents are still hoping the 19-year-old will give up the skating, and go to college to become a doctor. He talks about how much he regrets spending so much of his childhood trying to make his parents proud, when he could have been making himself happy. That he picked up figure skating ‘too late’, and he’s worried he’ll never be as high level a competitor as Yuri and Yuuri are. That even though he’s competed and won in Nationals, and made it to podium even, for 4CCs, that he’ll never make it to Olympics.

Yuri tells him he’s stupid. Everyone knows that Minami Kenjirou is the rapidly rising star of Japan; a sun going supernova as he blasts everyone’s expectations of him. Yuri assures him that he’ll be in the GPF far before Yuuri had gotten in. That if the dyed blond isn’t in this upcoming season, it will be for sure the next one. That the Japanese would be idiots if they don’t key a spot for Kenjirou in the upcoming Olympics.

His voice catches; he’s almost assured to not make it for the Russian team, what with this doping scandal. His dreams are crushed, and he goes into a deep depression.

Kenjirou watches, not sure how to draw the younger skater out of the pit. By the time Yuuri and Viktor come back, 6 days after they left, Kenjirou and Yuri both are quieter boys.

Section 4 for sure starts here

Competing for Olympics does come up. Yuri is not to compete for placement. Russia doesn’t want him the way he is, currently.

Yakov tells him if he can clean up his act, he can get back into skating the next season. It won’t be an Olympic showcase, but he’s young yet. He can wait 4 more years for the next go.

Kenjirou does make it into the Grand Prix series. This is excellent, since it’s an Olympic season. Yuri is both smug, and a little sad, as he watches Kenjirou skate from Japan, on the same floor Kenjirou had watched Yuri skate, two seasons prior.

Yuri wishes he’d have been able to be there, to skate against the Japanese Youth.

Kenjirou sweeps the podium. He makes Gold for his first Grand Prix, and even better, he beats out the front runner, JJ Leroy, by more than 3 points. Yuuri trails behind at Bronze, and he knows that next year, if Yuri comes back, he’s almost guaranteed to not make podium again. Otabek, released from rehab with just barely enough time to spare, nips his heels with less than a point, in fourth place, and Michele behind him with only another point to spare. Even Phichit, pushed to sixth place again for the third year in a row, is so close to over-taking Michele for fifth, that some of his fans are calling a foul on the judges for his deductions.

Yuri spends time with Yuuko and Yuuri’s families. Learns that the people hardest on themselves probably deserve it the least.

The Japanese families adopt the lanky blond as their pseudo baby, and go to the effort to remind him that he doesn’t have to get better right away, that he can take his time, and that nobody expects anything from him.

It’s a hard lesson to swallow for a boy that has always carried the weight of his family on his back. To know that he doesn’t have to, and that he can choose to carry as little or as much of it as he wants.

  Moar later? Watching Olympics? Otabek is a total straight edge meow? I dunno’. Flesh out top part, first. Jfc.

Feel free to run away with this idea, if you guys want. I love angsty shit like this.

[timclymer]

And redzone body you can join assembly the conversation throttle

TRANSACTIONS: Signed by Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent, May 3…Waived by Ravens, Aug. Yes, no sacks, but more and more of the national media is talking about how well he plays the run, and there were also double-digit pressures despite constant double-teams. 2016 : Started in all 16 contests for the first time of his career…Had a career year, logging a career-best 56 tackles and nine passes defensed…Also tallied one tackle on special teams… at Ind.: Totaled four tackles … vs. He attended Waubonsie Valley High School outside of Chicago, lettering in baseball and helping to lead the team to the state championship game his senior year. A beta version was launched in September 2002, and released officially in January 2006.

The have very good players, they have a sound running game and their offense is good. They play – they’re a true 3 defense. I think he did a heck of a job managing us, McCaffrey said of Allen. I’ve had the pleasure of being associated with Coach Joe DeCamillis dating back to 1994 when he was with the Giants and came to the University of Idaho to work me out.

He will next be seen in the horror thriller Windfall . That’s where this huge Sunday afternoon game in Philadelphia comes into play. Paradis may not be the most glamorous of John Elway’s picks, but he’s been the most consistent offensive lineman of the previous few seasons. 25 as an Ike type of player. Keenum had a career-year as he went 11 as a starter following Bradford’s injury.

Plus, Mina chats with former Washington safety Taylor Rapp about his preparation for the draft. So this would mean that the back left tire would be in the front right side. Daniels was particularly effective in the postseason, catching a pair of touchdowns in Denver’s win against New England in the AFC Championship Game. Through three exhibition games, Backes has compiled a goal and two assists, which is tied with for the team lead during the preseason.

However, its other drawbacks make it risky enough that you should avoid it. 16: Georgia scored with 1 left to take a 38 lead and it looked like the dream was over. We have only played 17 games, we have a long ways to go this year, and strange things happen.

‘I’ll leave it up to you to take him further. But after a game in Toronto on Feb. Video: Flooded areas FIITGCUSTOM Michael Thomas Custom Jersey B082F8NCJ8 north of England braced for more rainfall The heaviest of the rain is expected to hit the area between 9am and 10am and continue throughout the day. Entering year three of the build with Sean McDermott and year two-and-a-half with Beane, there have already been improvements in weeding out players that wouldn’t fit the Bills mold before it even gets to the interview process, as the personnel staff is wholly familiar with what Buffalo’s brass wants in a player.

2016 Subbed and saw extended action at LT in his NFL debut vs. That gives Ben a little clear picture of what is going on. PERSONAL: Given name Forrest Noah Lamp…Born in Venice, Fla. Neonicotinoids, commonly called neonics, were first produced on a large scale in the 1990s. Sir Philip Hampton, the chairman of the Hampton-Alexander Review, said yesterday: The strength of representation of women in top executive positions is the surest way of sustaining an improved gender balance.

25 at Detroit, completed over 70% of his passes for 316 yards and a 118 rating. The Lakers made 69% of their shots in the quarter to establish a 38 lead. Now in his second stint in New Orleans, Dennis Allen enters his fourth full season as the team’s defensive coordinator in his tenth campaign with the club after he was re-hired by Saints Head Coach Sean Payton in 2015. It was the first of the badge-engineered BMC 1100 cars based on the front-wheel-drive design by Alex Issigonis, creator of the Morris Minor, Mini and later the 1800 ‘Land crab’ and the Maxi. Wickenheiser went on to accomplish so much, winning five Olympic and 13 IIHF World Championship medals. The line on this game has moved quite a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Golden Flashes as an 11-point favorite.

intercepted a clearing attempt and put in motion an offensive attack that ended when Werenski’s shot from the top of the left circle hopped over Francouz’s pad and crossed the line despite the goalie’s desperate attempt to keep it out. Introduced in 1957, the Whopper seems simple with a beef patty, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, ketchup and a sesame seed bun, but the fluffy, soft bun has a sweetness to it that complements the perfectly sour pickles and juicy burger. Bottom line is we need to find some energy and get back to our game. 22 Every Raiders fan in the nation, from Las Vegas to Las Colinas and even the outer edges of Nova Scotia, couldn’t stop talking about fourth-round tight end Foster Moreau.

I am not surprised by his production. New York was eliminated from the NL wild-card race when Milwaukee secured the league’s final postseason berth by completing a 9 victory in Cincinnati as the Mets batted in the eighth. Gallery: Ranked! We would recommend a slice of their original creamy New York cheesecake. Cook had rolled into the game with an NFL-best 823 yards rushing, and he’d been a big part of the Vikings offense out of the backfield.

And make sure you give your car FIITGCUSTOM Zach Ertz Custom Jersey B082FB7KMQ wash and wax before you cover it up — that’s like adding another cover underneath the cover.

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/and-redzone-body-you-can-join-assembly-the-conversation-throttle/ via Home Solutions on WordPress from Home Solutions FOREV https://homesolutionsforev.tumblr.com/post/615557670056935424 via Tim Clymer on Wordpress

[homesolutionsforev]

And redzone body you can join assembly the conversation throttle

TRANSACTIONS: Signed by Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent, May 3…Waived by Ravens, Aug. Yes, no sacks, but more and more of the national media is talking about how well he plays the run, and there were also double-digit pressures despite constant double-teams. 2016 : Started in all 16 contests for the first time of his career…Had a career year, logging a career-best 56 tackles and nine passes defensed…Also tallied one tackle on special teams… at Ind.: Totaled four tackles … vs. He attended Waubonsie Valley High School outside of Chicago, lettering in baseball and helping to lead the team to the state championship game his senior year. A beta version was launched in September 2002, and released officially in January 2006.

The have very good players, they have a sound running game and their offense is good. They play – they’re a true 3 defense. I think he did a heck of a job managing us, McCaffrey said of Allen. I’ve had the pleasure of being associated with Coach Joe DeCamillis dating back to 1994 when he was with the Giants and came to the University of Idaho to work me out.

He will next be seen in the horror thriller Windfall . That’s where this huge Sunday afternoon game in Philadelphia comes into play. Paradis may not be the most glamorous of John Elway’s picks, but he’s been the most consistent offensive lineman of the previous few seasons. 25 as an Ike type of player. Keenum had a career-year as he went 11 as a starter following Bradford’s injury.

Plus, Mina chats with former Washington safety Taylor Rapp about his preparation for the draft. So this would mean that the back left tire would be in the front right side. Daniels was particularly effective in the postseason, catching a pair of touchdowns in Denver’s win against New England in the AFC Championship Game. Through three exhibition games, Backes has compiled a goal and two assists, which is tied with for the team lead during the preseason.

However, its other drawbacks make it risky enough that you should avoid it. 16: Georgia scored with 1 left to take a 38 lead and it looked like the dream was over. We have only played 17 games, we have a long ways to go this year, and strange things happen.

‘I’ll leave it up to you to take him further. But after a game in Toronto on Feb. Video: Flooded areas FIITGCUSTOM Michael Thomas Custom Jersey B082F8NCJ8 north of England braced for more rainfall The heaviest of the rain is expected to hit the area between 9am and 10am and continue throughout the day. Entering year three of the build with Sean McDermott and year two-and-a-half with Beane, there have already been improvements in weeding out players that wouldn’t fit the Bills mold before it even gets to the interview process, as the personnel staff is wholly familiar with what Buffalo’s brass wants in a player.

2016 Subbed and saw extended action at LT in his NFL debut vs. That gives Ben a little clear picture of what is going on. PERSONAL: Given name Forrest Noah Lamp…Born in Venice, Fla. Neonicotinoids, commonly called neonics, were first produced on a large scale in the 1990s. Sir Philip Hampton, the chairman of the Hampton-Alexander Review, said yesterday: The strength of representation of women in top executive positions is the surest way of sustaining an improved gender balance.

25 at Detroit, completed over 70% of his passes for 316 yards and a 118 rating. The Lakers made 69% of their shots in the quarter to establish a 38 lead. Now in his second stint in New Orleans, Dennis Allen enters his fourth full season as the team’s defensive coordinator in his tenth campaign with the club after he was re-hired by Saints Head Coach Sean Payton in 2015. It was the first of the badge-engineered BMC 1100 cars based on the front-wheel-drive design by Alex Issigonis, creator of the Morris Minor, Mini and later the 1800 ‘Land crab’ and the Maxi. Wickenheiser went on to accomplish so much, winning five Olympic and 13 IIHF World Championship medals. The line on this game has moved quite a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Golden Flashes as an 11-point favorite.

intercepted a clearing attempt and put in motion an offensive attack that ended when Werenski’s shot from the top of the left circle hopped over Francouz’s pad and crossed the line despite the goalie’s desperate attempt to keep it out. Introduced in 1957, the Whopper seems simple with a beef patty, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, ketchup and a sesame seed bun, but the fluffy, soft bun has a sweetness to it that complements the perfectly sour pickles and juicy burger. Bottom line is we need to find some energy and get back to our game. 22 Every Raiders fan in the nation, from Las Vegas to Las Colinas and even the outer edges of Nova Scotia, couldn’t stop talking about fourth-round tight end Foster Moreau.

I am not surprised by his production. New York was eliminated from the NL wild-card race when Milwaukee secured the league’s final postseason berth by completing a 9 victory in Cincinnati as the Mets batted in the eighth. Gallery: Ranked! We would recommend a slice of their original creamy New York cheesecake. Cook had rolled into the game with an NFL-best 823 yards rushing, and he’d been a big part of the Vikings offense out of the backfield.

And make sure you give your car FIITGCUSTOM Zach Ertz Custom Jersey B082FB7KMQ wash and wax before you cover it up — that’s like adding another cover underneath the cover.

from Home Solutions Forev https://homesolutionsforev.com/and-redzone-body-you-can-join-assembly-the-conversation-throttle/ via Home Solutions on WordPress

[altusfl]

78. The 1990 season

The arrival of the 1990 USFL season was, by most USFL fan and media accounts, the most eagerly awaited USFL season of them all.

What would the league look like without Hershel Walker?

Would the 14 game season eliminate some teams’ late playoff pushes?

How would Tom Landry fare?  Would he have a losing season?

How many Yards would Barry Sanders run for this year?......

Final regular season standings

Season Breakdowns

Dick Coury’s team would see everything come together after several seasons of seeming misfires.  Doug Flutie and the league’s 4th ranked offense were seamless in their execution and the defense finally seemed to really jell. The Breakers would lead the league in turnover margin.  Even their failures worked out great.  Fighting back to achieve an inexplicable tie with the last place Generals would actually give the Breakers the division.

Barry Sanders and the league’s #3 offense would prove just as tough to stop in year two, generating a league best 1753 yards on the ground.  While the Knights’ defense was nothing to write home about, few teams could outscore them.

Martyball really started to take hold in Philadelphia under new QB Todd Blackledge.  The former Steeler Blackledge had won his fair share of games in the NFL, but his stats were generally poor.  Martyball called for him to just manage the passing game and only make passes as required. Hiring former Penn State offensive Coordinator Dick Anderson as Blackledge’s QB coach also helped unleashed a better Blackledge than was seen in the NFL. The team focused on what Blackledge did well.  A rash of retirements and defections had removed most of the players from the Mora era, but the new Stars played the same kind of smashmouth, never-concede-an-inch, style of play.

Solid Veteran QB play and dynamic running by small college find Chris Warren had Ted Marchibroda’s plucky Thoroughbreds in most games. Marchibroda’s positivity and toughness bled over to the team. The late season acquisition of Perry Tuttle from Carolina gave fans hope for the following season.

Steve Young got knocked out for the year in the General’s second game and things went downhill from there.  The team would lose several veteran defenders as well from a thin roster, leading the team to finish dead last on offense and defense. Team owner Stephen Ross would own the collapse stating the team simply had not spent enough on depth and would promise to rectify the situation, but Michaels, after years of pushing for player acquisitions, took the season personally and would retire at the season’s end.

The Southeastern Division would be a dogfight all year with the 0-2 last place Orlando team (after two blowout losses by a combined 15-86 total in the first two weeks) rallying to rip the division away from Tampa Bay in the season’s final game. The resilience of the “frozen 15″ (15 CFL veterans recruited by head coach/GM Don Matthews), the tough running of Emmitt Smith, the emergence of the Orlando defensive line, the clutch leadership and crunch time play of QB Steve Walsh would take Orlando to it’s first playoff trip and division title.

Fred Bullard’s Bulls were also finally able to exorcise some demons.  Finally having fixed the troublesome defensive end positions, Coach John Mackovic’s team was a handful for opposing teams. They would close the season with an easy win over New York to claim a wild card spot.

The Bandits would lead the division until the season’s last game when 8 point underdog Orlando would come back in the last 2 minutes to beat them 20-18 and knock the Bandits out of the playoffs.  After the game an enraged Chuck Long would have a private conversation with Steve Spurrier.  Two days later Spurrier would have confirmed season long speculation that he would take the University of Florida job, a position he refused to close the door on all season long.

Tampa Bay would not be the only south Division team looking for a new coach. Carolina’s Roman Gabriel would have spent the season under a “playoffs or you are gone” ultimatum and have done a yoeman’s job to get close, even winning the last three games with essentially no QB after Mike Hohenesee went down. Gabriel had won the fans back, but the ownership considered it a matter of protecting their credibility with the fans, so Gabriel was let go after the season. On the positive side, rookie WR Clarkston Hines was a sensation.  Initially viewed as a high profile but cost effective potential replacement for Perry Tuttle, Hines proved an upgrade opposite Sterling Sharpe. The rookie showed the same competitiveness he had in college in emerging as a full fledged star.

Last year’s division champs, the Spirits of Miami would enter the last game of the season in control of their destiny.  “Win and you are in!” A sign would read in the stadium, as they hosted the desperate and gutted Skyhawks.  60 minutes of game time later, an enraged Michael Irvin would storm off the field, telling anyone who would listen, “This is never going to happen again!” after Vinny Testaverde threw 5 interceptions in a 9-0 shutout home loss.  This cap on a very uneven season would be the last game QB Vinny Testaverde would play for Coach Howard Schnellenberger’s team.

With realignment came a new kind of beatdown for the teams of the Deep South division.  Having built for years to control the veer running offense of the New Orleans Jazz, no team in the division could begin to compete with pass happy Warren Moon’s “Comets” receiving corps.  The Showboats would not only go undefeated in the division, they would outscore division opponents by an average score of 35-15 on their way to a league best 15-3 record.

Leeman Bennett’s Tribe would recover nicely from the week 3 loss of “Zombie Steve” Bartkowski to a career ending shoulder injury.  The team had tried hard to sign first round pick Richmond Webb to protect Bartkowski, but after Bartkowski’s loss, Bennett pulled the offer.  After a couple of games, longtime backup QB Walter Lewis found his game.  He showed he could still scramble and throw but displayed hard gained maturity to his decision making in leading the team to 5 wins in their last 8 games. “Walter has really made me proud this year,” Bennett would confide to the media after the season. “...His career hasn’t gone like he’d hoped and sometimes when a player falls into a backup role they let go of the edge to start.  He didn’t. As a coach, those are the players you covet having on your team.”

“How the hell did Charlie Pell win 7 games with this team?” was a constant refrain among local media in Birmingham.  The sentiment was shared nationally as Pell would win the coach of the year award, narrowly defeating Ted Marchibroda.  With no proven QB and an injured starting running back, Birmingham fans really couldn’t ask for more.

The unfortunate turn of events with Reggie Collier’s off the field troubles would force the team to release him after the team’s second game.  An injury to Marcus Dupree a week later would doom the Jazz’s season.  The ownership was ready to commit to rookie QB Tommy Hodson of LSU as their new QB.  Hodson was not a Veer QB, so Bobby Collins was released after the team’s final game.  Collins could see the writing on the wall when the team released veteran RB Buford Jordan.

With Memphis gone to the east, the assumption was Mike White’s Blitz would literally run away with the division.  While they did win the division, it wasn’t easy.  White’s team seemed to grow into a mature team this season, but the resurgent Mauler and Panther squads and the shockingly well coached Visogoth team refused to let the Blitz pull away.

For the first time since Jim Stanley was in town, the Panthers seemed on point. The offense, while still not producing at a level the talent would suggest, was consistent and the defense was, frankly, a little mean.  Percy Snow brought a toughness the league had not seen since Sam Mills left.  The new Panthers played a lot more like the old Jim Mora Stars.

What happens when you mix an upbeat QB whispering head coach in Hayden Fry with a small school star QB with textbook talent and a relentless runner with a deep gear?  You go .500 in your first season.  John Freisz would have a great rookie year, but Anthony Thompson would be the team’s featured player on ESPN with several very long runs.

White the Visogoths and the Blitz were some of the showiest teams in the league, Al Saunders worked to put his own stamp on the Maulers.  Primadonnas were shipped out. Saunders wanted a team as tough as the city and you could seen that thinking in the evolution of the team.   Like the team, QB Vince Evans wasn’t the best QB in the league, but he competed each week. The Maulers weren’t going to blow anyone out, but they weren’t ceding an inch anymore that the opponent didn’t earn.

Jack Pardee would be delighted to see Tom Landry in the division. “Rivalries sell”  He would tell minority owner Jerry Argovitz when asked about Landry. “ I am going to enjoy beating San Antonio a lot more this year.”  The season opener against the Gunslingers would feature a hard fought first half with the teams going in to the lockerroom tied at 10, but the Gamblers would roll in the second half beating Landry’s team 45-10 after throwing deep to score with 30 seconds left.  The rematch in the season’s final week would have Landry’s team controlling the clock and grinding out a 32-27 win to finish at 500. That was probably the most drama Houston had this season, winning the division by one game rather than two.  Todd Fowler would be a welcome replacement for Ickey Woods.

Division newcomer Arizona was able to use their new rivals’ unfamiliarity with their personnel and schemes to earn the division’s second playoff spot.  The strengths of the team were the clutch play of Alan Riser and their defense led by a strong secondary.  The 5 back secondary was not that great of an asset in their old division, but in this pass heavy one, it threw off a lot of their opponents.

Tom Landry had been pidgeonholed as being predictable in Dallas, but his Gunslingers were an explosive mix of the familiar and the bizarre and new.  Offense coordinator Danny White brought back all of the Cowboys’ pre-snap motion and mixed it with elements from consultant Marv Levy’s old Chicago offense. Given the team’s personnel, it was trying as on each play you didn’t know if you were facing a split backfield, an I formation, or an ace spread set.  With the cerebral White calling plays proven veteran WRs Anthony Carter and Ray Alexander outside, dangerous TEs Dan Sharp and Doug Cosbie inside and Eric Metcalf, James Grey, and Johnny Bailey, three of the fastest, most explosive backs in the league all able to run from the backfield or shift to the slot, the Gunslingers were impossible to consistently thwart.  Defensively, Chris Speilman and James Frances were dominant. They were so instinctive that playing 3 CBs on most plays never hurt the team vs. the run.  Under tackle John Randle was as dominant as Randy White and the secondary was constantly aware of what their opponents were trying to do.  If only their QB’s were more accurate... Billy Joe Tolliver was a hard throwing deep ball man, which worked great at times with Carter, but his inability to consistent make the plays in short yardage was the team’s glaring weakness.  The team went with Veteran QB Craig Penrose for the most part.  He was still solid, but there was a general perception that his play was somewhat conservative and with it’s deep speed, the team was leaving points on the field.

June Jones coached the season under a “playoffs or you are gone” ultimatum.  Doug Spedding had no desire to do that, but his fans were starting to tune out.  Spedding believed in the Run and Shoot and had no desire to rebuild his roster for a new coach’s sets, but it was high past time the team should make the playoffs.   Spedding felt Jones had maintained the offense and his staff was building a surprisingly tough defense, but at the end of the season the Gold had once more missed the playoffs.  Jones was fired.  A week later Spedding called his minority owners in the Gold and offered them controlling interest of the team.  That would be the end of the Run and Shoot in Denver.

Doug Williams went down in week 4 with the Outlaws tied for first in the division with Houston at 3-1. Rookie backup Mike Gundy had a solid rookie year but the league’s toughest schedule cut the Outlaws no breaks.

The Hawaiians would capture their first division title behind a relentless pass rush and nearly error-free ball by QB Robbie Bosco.  “Lorch’s Torches”, the fans’ name for the Hawaii front four, would again lead the league, this time with 56 sacks, 4 more than the runner up. Jason Buck and Al Noga would combine for 32.  Some would point to the fact that division foes Sacramento and Portland both had suspect offensive lines, but no one could argue with the results.  Bosco’s play was reminiscent of his play in college as he would chip away at opponents with pinpoint passing.

Oakland had thought they would win the title, but as usual with George Allen teams, they were statistically dominant (sporting the league’s best defense and 10th ranked offense) but would lose games they shouldn’t from time to time in the regular season.  “George Allen teams say ‘Wake us when the playoffs start’” an Oakland sports reporter wrote to calm distraught Bay Area fans. “Don’t panic.”

Don Coryell would miss the playoffs largely due to his own failures.  Sure Christian Okoye did miss 5 games, but that’s football.  The real story in LA was the downgrade at QB.  Coryell had decided Rick Neuheisel would never be happy with the money the team should pay him and that Neuheisel was not significantly better than his backup Rodney Peete anyway.  So to eliminate that disruption and save some cap space he shipped Neuheisel to Baltimore. Peete was ok, but the pass rush of Hawaii got him off his game as well.  He wasn’t intimidated, but after a few shots, his mechanics and decision making atrophed. NFL Vet Marc Wilson was looked at as a much more talented player, and he was statistically better, but didn’t do well under pressure.  The team had gone 0-2 vs. Hawaii and that was the division. Coryell had hoped to just win a title and walk away vindicated for his struggles in San Diego.  Now he was haunted by the thought that he had duplicated the trade that had skunked his Chargers team---he had traded away an irreplaceable part of his machine.  He decided he could not walk away until he fixed the problem.

Year one in Sacramento was rough on the field.  The defense was undermanned.  Well...so was the offense...but at least there were bright spots.  The team played well together. While teams like Houston, Denver, and Memphis destroyed them, less potent offenses did not.  David Archer flashed leadership and rookie Mike Pringle appeared to be a legitimate feature back.

Portland also had a rough season. Gary Hogeboom looked great in Norv Turner’s Air Coryell Variant, but he still missed a few games due to his reckless style of play.  Still, he had by far his best season as a pro.  Dennis Brown and Junior Seau were a great 1-2 punch in the pass rush. While Portland didn’t have the personnel to cover anyone yet, the team unleashed Seau as a passrusher and he lead the league in QB hurries by a large margin. Rookie Derek Loville out of Oregon surprised as the team’s leading rusher.

Playoffs

Wild card Weekend

It was a disappointing day for fans in New Jersey as Philadelphia bottled up the league’s leading rusher, Barry Sanders.  Sanders would only run for 97 yards on 30 carries. “They were so displined, man...there were just no lanes today.  They did a great job controlling our offense.” Sanders would say after the game.

The Bulls exploded in Orlando scoring 2 defensive TDs on their way to a hanging 60 points on the division champion Thunder.  After the game coach Don Matthews could only speculate. “I worried a little that we kind of were treating it like we accomplished our big goal in making the playoffs. I guess I was right to be worried.”

Oakland would be the third home team to lose in the playoffs opening run as Alan Risher threw a 6 yard pass with no time left. George Allen, Risher’s former coach, spoke to Risher after the game in an episode that the media caught. Risher laughed exuberantly. The press would later ask Allen wha he told Risher. “I told him, ‘This is why we don’t invite you to the playoffs.’ “ Allen would later say. “That kid has a little Joe Montana in him.”

Hawaii would have no trouble with Michigan.  Their defensive line would harass Jim Harbaugh and control the Michigan running game.

Divisional round

Jim Kelly would face all cameras after yet another close loss in the teams’s opening playoff game. A reporter would ask if Kelly was surprised by the fact Alan Risher engineered the winning drive and Kelly would immediately shoot that down. “Alan is one of the best in the league in close games. No one likes playing Alan.  Arizona had a great gameplan for us.  Credit to them.”

Another week, another Hawaii playoff win.  The Hawaiians defensive line lead by Al Noga simply dominated the the Blitz offense.

Warren Moon was ready for a shootout.  “I watched the game last week and saw what Ed Luther did to Orlando.  That defense is loaded with veterans and he just carved them up.  There is no quarterback hotter than Ed right now. I told my guys that this will be a shootout and if we don’t play our best we were going to lose.  Luckily we came to play.”

Boston’s defense totally shut down the Stars offense as the Breakers rolled to a 28-0 win.

Conference Round

The matchup between the league’s best two regular season teams would live up to it’s billing as the lead would change five times before Doug Flutie would put the game away with 3 minutes to go.

Hawaii would have no answer for Alan Risher’s short passing attack or for Arizona’s defensive scheme.

Championship Game

With 2:18 seconds to go it appeared that Boston had put away Arizona, going up 17-10...but Alan Risher had other ideas.  In front of a decidedly Pro-Wrangler crowd in Anaheim Stadium, He lead his team 62 yards in 131 seconds to tie the game up.

Arizona received the opening kickoff  in OT and Devine caught the Breakers napping.  Risher unleashed a bomb to a streaking RB Kevin Nelson for a 72 yard TD on his first play to win the game.

After the game Risher finally spoke to the media after about the controversy about the merits of his play after being silent on the matter throughout the playoffs. 

“Alan after all the criticism that has been levied against you, how does it feel to be the league’s only two-time championship game MVP?”  

“You know, I do have something to say on that.” A jubilant Risher said, “My wife asked me to tell her co-worker Ed Zimmerman that I am....NOT.... the 24th best starting QB in the league.  ...I am at least 23rd!”

With that controversy resolved, the grinning  QB returned to his teammates to celebrate the win.

Click here to continue to the next post

Click here for previous post

[junker-town]

Chiefs-49ers is a head vs. heart Super Bowl

Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images

Retired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz breaks down who has the edge in Chiefs vs. 49ers and gives a final score prediction.

I’ve been in Miami since Monday, soaking in all the sights and sounds of Super Bowl 54. I’ve had the week to discuss, ponder, and study for the big game on Sunday between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. I’ve identified how each team will win this game, and then I’ll give you my prediction at the end.

Let’s get to it.

What the 49ers do well

The 49ers have a balanced team. On offense, Kyle Shanahan is the master at adapting his offense to attack the defense. He understands better than any offensive coach what reaction he will get from a defense to his formation and play concept.

Shanahan’s offense is more traditional than most. He uses a fullback and tight end, and enjoys rushing the football. Shanahan schemes his run game for success by formations, shifts, and motions, which allow his linemen to have good leverage before the ball is snapped. A staple of their run game is outside zone. However, the Niners do mix in gap schemes, like trap and some power, plus they’ll pull a tackle on a toss play. It’s truly a diverse scheme.

In the pass game, they’d prefer to use the run action to set up play-action pass and the screen game. According to the fine folks at Football Outsiders, San Francisco’s pass game DVOA is eighth, while the rushing attack is only 13th. Even though the Niners would prefer to major in the play-action pass game, Jimmy Garoppolo has shown the ability to throw the ball well in the dropback pass game. Look no further than their wins over the Saints, Seahawks, and Rams. He was great in those contests. He’s not a liability.

The 49ers’ defense is outstanding. Their overall DVOA is second in the league.

The Niners play a majority of zone coverage, Cover 3, and some two-high looks. They prefer to rush four and play with zone behind it. Then on third down, they add an extra defender to the rush. They are second against the pass with this formula. Their run defense is solid, coming in at 11th.

This is a defense that can be beaten with speed, so it’s been important for them to get home with their four pass rushers. They struggled at times this season as their schedule got tougher, but they also dealt with injuries. They’ve been healthy of late, and it showed in the playoffs when they shut down the Vikings and Packers.

What the Chiefs do well

The Chiefs are an offensive juggernaut. Led by gunslinger Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs love to pass the ball with their speedy wide receiver corps and future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce. Unlike the 49ers, the Chiefs have their staples they run each week. They will tweak formations and concepts slightly, but they are going to run their vertical concepts.

The Chiefs’ offensive line has been terrific at protecting Mahomes in the playoffs, and that will be critical on Sunday. Their rushing attack is middle of the pack, but I think it’s been much better recently. Above all else, though, they are a passing team.

Their defense has improved mightily over the course of the season. When you have a new offense, it takes 8-10 games for that offense to get rolling. It appears the Chiefs’ defense has followed this theory as well in Steve Spagnuolo’s first year as the defensive coordinator.

Their pass defense has taken a huge jump in just one season, led by safety Tyrann Mathieu, who can do it all for their defense. He will play in the box, in space, over a tight end of receiver. He’s the engine of their sixth-ranked pass defense. The Chiefs can rush the passer well, but they still struggle to stop the run, a weakness that will need to be strong this Sunday.

Who has the edge in the 49ers’ offense vs. Chiefs’ defense matchup?

The 49ers are going to attack the Kansas City linebackers, and probably right away. I think the 49ers will start the game with multiple play-action pass attempts, finding ways to get their speedy receivers into areas of the field where linebackers have vacated because of the run threat.

Throughout the game, expect the Niners to find mismatches with their running backs on linebackers, including using their fullback Kyle Juszczyk out of the backfield on screens or vertical concepts. The Chiefs have been known to bite hard on play-action fakes, which lets the tight ends or backs be matched up on slow-footed linebackers.

The Chiefs’ defense will need to be stout against the run, because no matter how much Shanahan wants to pass the ball, he will get back to the rushing attack. The Chiefs will need huge games from Chris Jones and Mike Pennel inside, and Frank Clark will need to set the edge. I’d look for the Niners to use some gap scheme, including trap and wham plays, to get after Jones. This would make him a step slower in the run game, as he’d be looking for that next trap block.

If the Chiefs do stop the run, Jones will need to be huge in pass rush. The 49ers’ weakness on their offensive line is their interior, and that is where the Chiefs have an advantage. A wild card for the KC defense, and someone who the Niners will need a plan for, is Mathieu. He’s going to be impactful in the game, but I’m not sure where on the field that will happen. It could be anywhere.

In the end, I think the 49ers’ offense has an advantage over the Chiefs’ defense in both playcalling and execution.

Who has the edge in the Chiefs’ offense vs. 49ers’ defense matchup?

The Chiefs are going to do what they always do on offense. They will use their speed down the field to create issues for the defense. Most expect the San Francisco defense to mimic the Chargers and attempt to take away the middle of the field.

The Chiefs will line up in a 1x3 formation, with Kelce being the 1 alone into the boundary. Most often, with the route concepts the Chiefs use, Kelce ends up facing man coverage. I think Kelce will be a huge part of the game, because like most defenses that face the Chiefs, they’d rather let Kelce get smaller chuck plays than Tyreek Hill get large ones.

The Chiefs will be creative with finding ways to get Hill the ball anyway, like — as suggested by Greg Cosell to me — using him as a running back and putting him up the seam to take advantage of a linebacker mismatch.

The most important part of the Chiefs’ offense is their pass protection. The Niners’ sole focus will be getting to Mahomes, as their secondary won’t be able to handle the Chiefs’ passing attack if Mahomes is given too much time. The 49ers prefer to rush four, and if they can get home with those four, they will win the game.

People have asked me all week how I expect the Chiefs’ offensive line to scheme against the Niners’ pass rush. It’s simple: win your one-on-one matchups. That’s what makes the 49ers pass rush so tough. Their four top rushers can all win their individual matchups. Outside of Mitch Schwartz at right tackle, this would be a concern for the Chiefs’ offense.

The 49ers’ ultimate goal is making Mahomes uncomfortable in the pocket, via any pressure they can generate. But, and almost more importantly, they need to keep Mahomes in the pocket. As a defense, you can live with Mahomes throwing darts from the pocket. It’s hard to deny those are going to happen. The throws that are backbreakers for the defense are the ones where Mahomes is out of the pocket, often hitting a receiver for a big gain. The 49ers must not let Mahomes do that.

There are two ways the 49ers can rush the passer. The first is the “patient” rush. They constrict the pocket from the inside, while the edge rushers go high, then back inside to the level of the quarterback. This rush keeps Mahomes in the pocket, and it allows for secondary reaction by the defensive linemen to get to Mahomes. It also requires the defensive backs in zone coverage to hold up, which is the weakness for the 49ers against the Chiefs’ speed out wide.

The second way is to attempt to win now, and whoever doesn’t win understands they need to clean up if Mahomes is missed and heads into the space vacated by the rush. I believe this will be the 49ers’ preferred method to rush the passer, because it’s the best way to avoid having the secondary protect for a while. When the 49ers rush this way, I’d watch for middle linebacker Fred Warner to sit in the middle of the field and spy Mahomes, making sure to add late to the rush to keep Mahomes from making out-of-the-pocket plays.

For the Chiefs, who will be trying to slow a pass rush, running screens and draws is useful. I’d expect Andy Reid, who’s always got screen tricks up his sleeve, to get creative.

My final prediction

Assuming turnovers don’t become a theme of this game for one team, my head tells me that the 49ers are better equipped for this matchup. They are better on defense and control the line of scrimmage. However, my heart is screaming Chiefs, who have the best player on the planet right now in Mahomes under center.

Since the first three drives of the Texans, the Chiefs have scored on 13 of 16 drives, if you exclude kneeldowns to end the games. That’s amazing.

Mahomes is locked in right now and the Chiefs are excellent off a bye with Reid. They will leave Miami as the Super Bowl winner.

Score prediction: Chiefs 38, 49ers 34

[mystlnewsonline]

New Post has been published on https://www.stl.news/vikings-put-faith-forbaths-leg-lutz-satisfies-saints/65388/

Vikings put faith in Forbath's leg, as Lutz satisfies Saints

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn./January 10, 2018 (AP)(STL.News) — Kai Forbath was planning to move into an apartment in New Orleans the week of the 2016 season opener, when a phone call from the Saints quickly turned his day upside down.

The players were off from practice, so Forbath had no doubt about why he’d been summoned to team headquarters five days before the first game.

Coach Sean Payton delivered the disappointing news that the Saints had decided to sign rookie Wil Lutz and release Forbath to make room.

“Coach Payton said he just had a gut feeling that he had to go with him,” Forbath said, “so they gave him a shot.”

Saints punter Thomas Morstead, who has been the holder for both of them, recalled Lutz making every kick in his tryout the day before the move was made.

“He came in and just killed his workout,” Morstead said, “and if Coach Payton gets a gut feeling on something, he’ll trust himself over what anybody thinks.”

Forbath had just returned from a weekend out of town to celebrate his birthday, after beating out Connor Barth for the job in training camp.

“It was kind of shocking, but you know it’s not the first time something shocking’s happened to me in this league,” Forbath said. “It’s a business, and everything happens for a reason.”

Lutz, who spent the 2016 preseason with Baltimore after coming out of college at Georgia State, has performed well enough to match Payton’s hunch.

He finished fifth in the NFL in points in 2016 and seventh in his second season. Lutz has missed his share, ranking 13th in the league this season in field goal accuracy (86.1 percent) and 19th as a rookie (82.4), but there he was last weekend knocking a 57-yard kick through the uprights late in the third quarter of the wild-card round playoff game.

“You’ve got to feel confident, and confidence comes from behavior demonstrated. Then you have to have that routine, and although it seems to focus around one swing, I think it’s that mentality that, man, you’re going to go out there and friggin’ put an arrow through them, you know?” Payton said.

“Sometimes that breaks guys, but in his case, it’s definitely an asset.”

That field goal helped the Saints hold off Carolina’s late surge and hang on for a 31-26 victory that sent them to the divisional round to play at Minnesota on Sunday.

That’s where the 30-year-old Forbath has been since the middle of last season, when the Vikings cut Blair Walsh and turned to him to stabilize this critical specialty role that can determine whether or not a team reaches the Super Bowl.

Walsh, of course, hooked his last-second 27-yard try to the left two years ago in the subzero cold at the University of Minnesota’s stadium to let Seattle advance in the wild-card round with a 10-9 victory.

He wasn’t able to shake the shank the following season, when the Vikings signed Forbath for the final seven games.

If Vikings fans, at least the adults old enough to remember, wince at the memory of Walsh’s miss then they might start weeping when thinking about the wide left from 17 years earlier by Gary Anderson .

That kick, Anderson’s first miss of the entire season, helped keep the Vikings from advancing to the Super Bowl in an overtime NFC championship game loss to Atlanta.

Mike Zimmer, who like so many head coaches grow weary of unreliable kickers, was asked this week about his confidence level in Forbath.

“Good,” he said. “We’ve got the crystal ball on our side.”

Forbath made all 15 of his field-goal tries in 2016 and missed only one 3-pointer over the first nine games of 2017, until tailing off a bit down the stretch. He went 3 for 3 at Green Bay on a Dec. 23 night game with single-digit temperatures to help get back on track.

Forbath has missed eight extra points in 23 games for the Vikings, and his touchback rate (44 of 88, 50 percent) lagged behind Lutz (54 of 98, 61.7 percent), but he won’t have to carry the burden of that career-defining wide left into the most important game of his life that Walsh would have.

“You can’t try to put extra pressure on it,” said Forbath, the Lou Groza Award winner at UCLA for the nation’s best place kicker as a junior in 2009. “That’s when bad things happen.”

For Forbath, the Vikings are his favorite team of all those he’s kicked for. He only appeared in 10 regular-season games for the Saints, so he dismissed the notion of a point to prove in this game even if Lutz didn’t necessarily buy that.

“I think he kind of uses it as an edge. All of us have that edge we kind of keep on our shoulder, and I think that’s his thing,” Lutz said. “He’s done really well this year for those guys.”

By DAVE CAMPBELL by Associated Press, published on STL.NEWS by St. Louis Media, LLC (US)

[altusfl]

63.  The 1989 Season

The USFL’s 1989 season would be the last season the league would play 18 regular season games. 

The loss of one of the league’s two superstars, Jim Kelly, to an jury that most thought would keep him out all season and many thought might be career ending sent shivers through the league.  The previous years had been tough on the league’s 5-6 signature QBs.  The league had seen Doug Flutie and Doug Williams miss several games and Fred Besana’s career come to and end.

The owners started to wonder if maybe they were risking killing their golden gooses by playing such a long season each year.  Beyond the ethics, were they destroying their product?  

Ted Turner was surprisingly one of the leading advocates of looking at the finances of a shorter season. 

Options discussed were a 16, 14, 12 and even a 10 game season.

The league planned to discuss it after the championship game.

Team by Team Breakdown

The arrival of Barry Sanders right before the second half of the divisional slate shuffled the deck in the Northeastern Division. Behind the Knights strong offensive line, in an offense that forced defenses into sets with 6 defensive backs, Sanders averaged an unheard of 7 yards a carry.  The Knights would only lose to Oakland 18-14 and Houston in a 46-44 shootout in the last eight weeks as the fans fell in love with New Jersey’s “Knight Show”.  The teams of the USFL would have little film on Sanders and no experience dealing with a back with such astounding cutback ability and breakaway speed.

The Generals had a strong start but again a lack depth slowed them late in the year.  Hershel Walker seemed to fade late in the season as Barry Sanders emerged.  Some Generals speculated that Walker let Sanders’ emergence distract him as many in New York had begun to call Sanders the league’s best RB…not Waker.

The Breakers came on late with only a late loss to New Jersey keeping the Breakers from winning the Division.

The Stars rebounded strongly under Marty Schottenheimer.  The defensive pride returned and the offensive mistakes diminished, but the division was just slightly too strong for the resurgent Stars.  On a more concerning note more and more of Fusinsa’s passes were intercepted as the season passed.  It seemed like Fusina lost a noticeable amount of velocity on his passes.

The Spirits finally passed the Bandits to capture their first division title.  The Spirits’ attendance surged as fans of the Miami Hurricanes came out to see the Spirits play.

The Bandits and their QB Chuck Long would have something of an off-year.  Some would refer to it as a playoff hangover, but in reality the team would begin to show its age.

Year 2 of the John Mackovic era would be quite similar to year 1.  Missing on Trace Armstrong would really hurt the development of the team.

Don Matthews’ offseason moves transformed Orlando into a playoff contender.  They didn’t have quite enough firepower to make the playoffs but a competent veteran defense would keeps scores close and Steve Walsh would steal several games late.

Bobby Collins’ exceptional defense and  “The Gumbo Express” running game would deliver yet another divisional title with New Orleans again going 6-0 in division, but the off the field issues of Reggie Collier would come to a head during the season effectively killing all chances for the team to make a run in the playoffs.

The Tribe would take another step forward in terms of team development, even as they lost a game in the standings. “Zombie Steve” Bartkowski would yet again hold off father time…and backup QB Walter Lewis. Cleveland Gary would take over as the team’s feature back.  Barry Redden would retire at season’s end.

Roman Gabriel would survive another year as an injury to starting QB Mike Hohensee would turn a promising 6-7 start into a 6-12 finish.  The strong start combined with the new “1 beer per stub” compromise would have Carolina with a per game attendance average over 20,000.

A QB controversy would doom Birmingham as the players split their allegiances between Mike Shula and Bob Lane.  Chan Gailey would be fired at season’s end.

The story of the season would be the dominance of Derek Holloway, who would take his game up a notch to the point where most media source started asking whether he was the best receiver in the league.  The rest of the team would seem a little off the high level of previous seasons.

Bo and Keith would finally carry the Blitz back into the playoffs.  The shocking emergence of former Dallas Cowboys first round draft pick bust CB Rod Hill as an all-league performer would help a lot.

Michigan season ticket sales would lag running into the season as fans took a wait and see approach to year two of the Earl Bruce era.  When the team started out 2-4, gameday ticket sales nose dived.  Earl Bruce would be fired at season’s end.

Lingering injuries to Mike Rozier would doom the Maulers. As the running game sputtered, Glen Carano would take a greater role in the offense.  The Veteran Carano’s arm would be conspicuously off from prior seasons. A disaterous game in Week three vs. Oakland where Carano threw 6 picks and was booed endlessly by Pittsburgh fans in a manner that recalled the last days of Cliff Stoudt in Pittsburgh would shatter his confidence.  With a marginal running game and a suddenly subpar passing game, even a solid defense could not keep the Maulers in games.  Turner would be fired at midseason with the Maulers at 2-7.

The arrival of Texas All American LB Britt Hager would key a dramatic improvement vs. the run.  The Outlaws were already among the league’s best vs. the pass. They would edge out Houston for the title. Ernest Anderson would struggle all year to keep backup Thurman Thomas from stealing carries.

Jim Kelly would suffer a badly separated shoulder prior to the season and there would be talk that Kelly might be out all season, but he’d miraculously be back in the starting lineup in week 9 because….well…Jim Kelly was a badass.  The team would struggle mightily with a  2-7 start without him.  The slow start would be too much for the league champions to overcome.

Denver’s offense would slide backwards a bit as Todd Dillon proved to be a lesser QB than Doug Flutie.  On the positive side, Denver’s defense would have some very salty games at times as their annual investment in defensive help began to pay off.

On the surface, San Antonio would appear to be a team on the rise in spite of inconsistency at QB. Rookie Billy Joe Tolliver showed a tremendous arm, but threw himself in and out of games.  There was a lack of precision there that drove the coaching staff nuts and lead to veteran Craig Penrose holding the starting job.  Still the future looked bright. Anthony Carter, James Maness, and Tyrone Thurman would stretch the field opening space for elusive rookie Eric Metcalf  and TE Dan Sharp while the defense would hold most teams under 24 points, but behind closed doors the coaching staff would be unravelling. The team would go 0-7 vs. Houston, Oklahoma, Denver, and Memphis surrendering an average of 40 points a game to those high powered offenses.  Being non-competitive with the best in the west would drive Stanley nuts. Polian would insist that the team was just a DB or two away from solving their pass defense woes, but it would bring to the fore the fact that Stanley, a longtime defensive coordinator, was a 3-4 advocate, while Bates ran a 4-2 but came out of a 4-3 background.  Stanley would want to replace Bates but owner Clinton Magnes would insist that he was not going to fire Bates. Stanley would resign at season’s end.

Air Coryell would struggle early as an annoyed Rick Neuheisel would hold out for a raise after the teams off-season romance with Troy Aikman.  The team would still charge back to win the division.

The Invaders would prove to be another George Allen-like team.  They would slow most offenses and control the clock with their running game.  They would win most games on the stat sheet, but end up losing a disproportionate share of games. Their defense would lead the league in both minimum passing yards allowed and interceptions --- a tough feat when teams don’t want to throw against you.

The Wranglers would be in the playoff hunt until a season ending 9-7 loss to the Invaders.

The Hawaiians would similarly be in the playoff hunt until the season finale, a 28-24 loss to LA. Former BYU star Jason Buck would emerge, recording 15 sacks from his end spot as the Hawaiians would record a lead leading 73 sacks.

Playoffs

Wild card weekend

The George Allen Invaders would upset the Blitz in Chicago in front of 44,000 fans.  Allen would famously tell his team before the game, “Where the Hell were theses fans when I coached here?!?!?!”

New York would go up 43-41 with 1:46 seconds left on a 37 yard Barry Sanders run, but with Doug Flutie, Boston would always have a shot late.  Flutie would march the Breakers down the field to setup a 21 yard field goal with 4 seconds left, but the FG was tipped at the line and took a hard right angle.  Sanders would be the story of the game as the game was the highest rated non-championship game in league history.  Boston had only given up 92 yards on the ground per game during the regular season.  Sanders would go for over 207 yards and 5 TDs in the game as Boston’s defenders consistently overran the plays trying to corral the rookie.

Divisional Round

Doug Williams would hit Keith Jackson with 7 minutes to go in the game to put the travelling Outlaws up 28-24 and the Outlaw defense would stop the Express on 3 straight drives to close out the scoring.

Memphis would suffer a typical George Allen vs. the run and shoot game.  Rookie CB Deion Sanders would lock down the league’s best receiver Derek Holloway for most of the game, allowing him only 3 catches for 62 yards and no TDs.  Brad Muster would score three TDs and extend several drives.

Miami’s Defense would sack Steve Young 8 times and control Hershel Walker for most of the game, but Vinny Testaverde would be unprepared for Walt Michael’s game plan and would throw 4 picks and keep the game in reach.

Another week, another top defense destroyed by the Sanders threat.  The game was a textbook explanation of how the run and shoot was impossibly hard to stop when executed properly with quality personnel.  The Jazz opened the game with their base set and the Knights took them right down the field using short passes.  The next series the Jazz pulled two of their elite LB unit off the field only to see Barry Sanders cut through the first two layers of their defense and then outrun the #4 defensive back they brought in on a 52 yard scamper. They would go back to a three LB set for most of the game, but New Jersey’s passing game would eat the Jazz’s safeties alive. It was just that kind of day for New Orleans. Offensively they hung in, but as was the case all season, if New Orleans allowed 30 points, they usually could not score enough to win.

Conference Championship Round

In a matchup of top defenses, Oklahoma escaped with a 2 point home win.  Doug Williams would run for one TD and hit Keith Jackson for a second TD.  Luckily that was all the scoring the Outlaws needed as their defense was able to consistently control Brad Muster in short yardage plays.

The Knights would upset Miami in a game that accurately summed up both teams.   The Knights defense would be the same middling defense it had been all year, giving up 28 points, but the Knights would run the exact same schemes New York ran the previous week against Miami.  Testaverde would make the same mistakes even after a week of practice against those defenses.   He would throw 3 picks in this game, two of which were returned for TDs. Sanders would score two TDs and run for 147 yards as the young Miami defenders would consistently overpersue.

Championship Game

A surprisingly strong crowd  would turn out for the League title game.  As the game proceded it became apparent that while a lot of people wanted to see Barry Sanders, a majority of the crowd was pulling of Oklahoma QB Doug Williams.

Doug Williams would be much more comfortable in his second appearance in the USFL Championship game.   He would methodically pick apart the New Jersey defense throwing for 330 yards and 5 TDs on his way to game MVP honors.

The Oklahoma defense would hold Sanders to 95 yards on 17 carries.  Casual fans tuning in to see what all the hub-bub was about this Barry Sanders kid would come away with the opinion that Ernest Anderson was the best former Oklahoma State Cowboy running back on the field that day, as evidenced by his 167 yards rushing. 

With no disrespect to Anderson, a very solid pro to borderline star with a nice style,  that was just not the case. Anderson would profit from backup Thurman Thomas’s twisted ankle and New Jersey’s lousy defense. (Anderson’s performance would earn him a lucrative 3 year deal with the NFL’s Lions...)

The Outlaw defense would do what no one else had been able to do and play extremely disciplined defense, consistently cutting off Sanders’ cutback lanes.  

After the game Outlaw Coach Chuck Fairbanks would admit he was a huge admirer of Barry Sanders in college and had watched him so much, he was able to gameplan against Sanders quite effectively.

Fairbanks would announce his retirement after the game.

Click here to continue to the next post

Click here for previous post