#the rookie season 6 finale part two

[karihighman]

A few previously unreleased promo photos / photos from The Rookie IG page that we hadn’t seen before from tonight’s episode 🙂

[mv1simp]

Haunted ♥️ Part 1 of 2

Alpha!Max Verstappen x Reader (Omegaverse AU)

it’s where we go, it’s what you see (I know if i’m onto you, you must be onto me)

As Mercedes’ rookie female driver, you garner a lot of media attention, even more when you reveal you haven’t presented. You don’t care about true mates or presenting - all you wanted was the championship. You’d be a lot closer to it, if it wasn’t for the dominating Alpha Max Verstappen. But after your late presentation, you two realize there’s a lot more to your bond than competition.

Content includes: 18+ MDNI, smut, size kink, primal themes, dom!Max, Sub!Reader, enemies to lovers. WC: 5.4k

Triumphantly holding the trophy up in your hands, you beam at the sea of black and white fans who scream their approval. Winning your second race after having fought your way throughout the season as the new Mercedes driver was an unforgettable feeling - sealing in that it was your talent, not luck that got you the first. And no one had given you a harder time and held up your long overdue win than the reigning world champion - Max Verstappen. Turning to your right, you reward him with a smirk as your national anthem finally plays instead of the Dutch one.

He doesn’t hide his frustrated glare at you from his P2 podium that instinctively makes you want to sprint away and hide in your safe garage behind Toto. You’re a bit annoyed he’s still taller than you, even though you’re on the highest step. One of the downsides of being 5 foot compared to Max’s tall 6 foot frame - but that hasn’t stopped you from finally taking the win from him and proving how deserving of your seat you are, you remind yourself.

As the first female driver in decades, you’d sent shock waves through the paddock when Mercedes had pulled you out of the F4 pool and straight into their seat after the loss of their golden boy, Lewis Hamilton, to Ferrari. What had been even more shocking was the fact that you were an Unpresented female in a sport that was almost exclusively dominated by Alpha males.

Like the majority of premier athletes, most of the drivers had presented from a very young age as Alphas. Unsurprising - given the traits of ruthless competitiveness, aggression and passion that came naturally to Alphas. And out of all this group of already highly dominating drivers, Max Verstappen was the alpha, well known for his perfect instincts, the ultimate apex predator. His early career was famous because of how, at 17, his intimidating aura had been enough to make grown men racing on the same track give way to the younger alpha. This automatic submission Max was able to elicit from others was one of the many, many benefits that came with being an Alpha in society - especially for one such a powerful as Max.

So when you - who was not an Alpha, or even a Beta, but rather an Unpresented - showed up to the paddock for your first ever race and then ended up somehow going wheel to wheel with the reigning world champion by Lap 20, jaws dropped and headlines were rapidly printed. Presenting as an Alpha was rare, an Omega even rarer - with the majority of the population being Beta. However a small population also remained Unpresented, spending their whole lives without any sign they belonged to any gender. Essentially, you were like a scentless Beta - but just several rungs below on the social ladder as Alpha commands had minimal effect on you. It could be worse, you had mused when started racing - you could have been born an Omega.

Omegas were a rare breed and highly sought after. With their attributes of being sweetly nurturing and natural carers - they made the perfect match for protective Alphas. Of course, as the world had historically always been ruled by Alphas, in turn Omegas had been stereotyped as the soft, submissive, delicate ones who needed to be closely guarded in society’s eyes.

So it had been suprising to you that there were not one, but two Omega drivers on the paddock this year. Yuki Tsunoda made sense, you supposed, with his slight frame and pretty features giving him away. But he certainly swore so aggressively up and down the track he’d have the commentators asking if maybe he had been assigned the wrong group. Alex Albon had been much more surprising with his very Alpha-like build - but given his quietly confident aura and gentle nature compared to the other drivers who were always aggressively arguing, it made sense looking back. And it had been even more surprising when he announced he’d found his true mate and Alpha, his girlfriend Lily.

Really, you were grateful you didn’t have the drama that came with being assigned a presentation. Even if it meant you would never have a true mate, you could live with it if you could have a shot at being world champion. But goddamn Max Verstappen, with his intense gaze and powerful aura that even you would feel tickling the back of your neck, across the paddock, would keep getting in your way. Your first P1 though, 2 months ago in Japan, you hadn’t let him win and successfully defended him off. It was the only advantage of being Unpresented - unlike the other Alphas and Omegas on the track, you were the least affected by his suffocating presence and used that to your advantage when pulling dangerous manoeuvres that vexed the Dutch driver to no end.

And he’d certainly let you know it after your first win - after a neutral indifference to you when you approached him on your first day to greet him, unlike the majority of the drivers who’d curiously flocked to the first female one. But after you took P1 from him, he claimed angrily, with dirty fucking moves, what was that overtake on the 2nd corner- you’d formed an instant dislike of him. Just because you didn’t bend to his will like everyone else?! Just because you’d won using the same move - you pointed out to him furiously - that he’d used to overtake you on the last race?

The pair of you had become quick rivals, butting heads more and more as each race went on and providing lots of great content for the media which ate it up. Sometimes Max would confuse you into thinking you were friends - occasionally murmuring helpful advice as you watched the post race highlights in the cooldown room, or shutting down sexist questions you’re repeatedly asked in the driver interviews. You’d think this was the warm, caring Max that you’d heard existed off the grid. But then you two would have some racing incident or the other and he’d be back to the fire breathing lion he usually was.

That first P1 in Japan had been bittersweet to you - because after your argument with Max, when you’d gone back to your hotel to admire your new trophy, you’d started to becoming increasingly unwell for a few days and had high fevers. You hadn’t even realised what was going on until your Beta coach banged on the door demanding to be let in, before saying you were finally presenting, 5 years late, as an Omega.

You’d been shocked and upset, of course, leading to a very traumatic first heat in a foreign country where although the desire and lust hadn’t been intense, the longing for an Alpha to comfort and protect you as you cried and whined has been so overwhelming. You had never wanted to feel anything like that again, so disempowered - so you had sworn your manager to secrecy and after a very private meeting with you, your teammate George Russell, your managers and a very concerned Toto Wolff - you’d tearfully told them what had happened. You’d expected to be dropped from the team, but they had taken one look at your distress and instantly calmed you down. Mercedes will most certainly not be dropping their very promising rookie, who had just taken P1 at her 4th ever F1 race, Toto had reassured you firmly, exuding calm confidence as he handed you a tissue. George’s large hand rubbed warm circles on your back and within a few minutes you’re laughing at jokes the two tall Alphas made to cheer you up, unable to resist the urge to protect the small Omega in front of them and using their scents to soothe you.

Regardless of how understanding your team principal had been, the fact was it would be terrible PR for you to publically present as an Omega female and risk the loss of sponsors. Given that the first heat after the presentation was notorious for being especially painful in an effort to attract a fated mate from the very start, Toto had guided you to a discreet specialist doctor to ensure the world continued to believe you were Unpresented. You’re relieved, hating the idea of being stereotyped as something delicate and pretty to be protected when you were anything but. You literally drove like a suicidal madwoman at 300km/hr for a career! So you’d promptly been started on high strength suppressors to avoid any issues with a first heat happening in the middle of a race weekend, and a couple sprays of sweet perfume later no one would be any the wiser if they picked up on any residual Omega scent that the suppressors couldn’t block.

So here you were now, celebrating your second win in Barcelona with a few of the drivers and friends at a 3 story club downtown. Although you’d been enjoying drinking and laughing with your friends, you’d been unable to stop the shivers that ran down your bare spine from your rival’s intense gaze, still simmering with anger, across the dancefloor where he was talking to Lando. You hated the way that you still felt so affected by him, by his scent that always seemed to drift over to you, always smelling more and more heady each time you saw him. And the urge to submit to him was just stupid and desperate, you thought, rolling your eyes and taking another shot. It turns out your “slutty inner omega whore” as you had not-so-fondly dubbed her, seemed more interested in having a strong Alpha’s dick inside her, instead of hating said Alpha for trying to run her off the track. Multiple times.

And tonight, the suppressants were clearly not doing their job because you couldn’t control the way you squeezed your thighs together, panties suddenly damp with the thought of an alpha like Max keeping his eyes on you - instead of the girls who had been throwing themselves at him the second he’s entered the club. You tell your inner slut who delighted in this attention to get it together, because the attention was likely murderous rage from the competitive Dutch champion at losing a race. Forcing yourself to ignore the prickles down your spine, you take another shot instead and head back to the dance floor.

Many, many drunk dances with your girlfriends later, you found yourself safely dropped off at the hotel. Pressing the button, you waited patiently for it to come down, fanning your face because you felt strangely hot in the night chill despite having left the club. And then you feel it - that heady, dominating aura that makes you want to fall to your knees. Spinning around, you see Max standing there, dressed in a rare outfit of a fitted white tee and tight pants, accentuating his broad shoulders and thick thighs. Fuck, you had forgotten Redbull was staying in the same hotel as your team this weekend.

He smirks at you, asking if you’d had a good night celebrating, because it’ll be the last win he’ll let you have this year, Princess. You despised the nickname he’s given you over the Redbull radio one race, and how it had stuck in the media too - the pretty little Mercedes princess. You give him an unimpressed glare and tell him to fuck off, Verstappen as you get in the elevator, staying right by the front with your back purposely to him. As the doors close, you can’t help but notice through the reflective wall how Max’s dark gaze unabashedly wanders down your body, enjoying the sight of your curvy, petite form dressed in a backless halter satin minidress and stiletto heels that accentuated your thick ass. Forbidden delight curls in your abdomen from the thought of an alpha as strong as Max finding you desirable. A deeper part of you - one that you would never admit to anyone - can’t deny that you desperately wanted Max to want you, having always idolised him before you joined F1. That when you’d picked out this dress you wondered if Max was going to be out tonight, if he’d see you in this outfit…and find you pretty.

And you’d never, ever admit that recently you woke up with damp thighs and lingers of a dream of being underneath a dominating blonde Alpha, his voice deep and accented as he whispered for you to take it all for me, prinses…

Again, you promptly tell your inner slut to close her mental legs - just in time as the elevator opens before both your floors to let in a large group heading to the upstairs bar.

They’re a drunk, rowdy bunch of businessmen and you’re in no mood to be felt up - and you find yourself moving beside the protective aura of Max. You scowl at how you couldn’t seem to control yourself around the taller man then find yourself surprised when he moves to cover you from their curious gazes. His wide shoulders block out their view of how enticing you look as he crowds you into one corner, his back to them. You nervously make sure you don’t stare anywhere else but straight ahead at his toned chest, your heart beating at 200bpm as the desire that’s pulsing through you being this close to him. Especially when he’s decided to look so fucking hot tonight, that intoxicating deep scent making you light headed, like luxurious velvet running down your skin, like burnt amber, smoky and woody from the embers of a winter's night fire. That wicked inner omega of yours can’t stop purring at how your scandalous choice of dress gives Max a generous view down your cleavage.

The elevator comes to a stop with a sharp jolt on the businessmen’s floor, startling you out of your thoughts and you find you’ve placed a manicured hand on Max’s toned abs to steady yourself. And as soon as you touch him - the first time you’ve ever laid hands on him, you realise later - electricity crackles in between you both. His scent becomes all the much headier to you - as if all the same flavours had suddenly become 10 times amplified. It makes you whimper and again, your body betrays you with the fresh wetness that suddenly drenches your panties.

The change in the air is instant, tension clearly palpable as you nervously peek under Max’s arm and realise the group of businessmen aren’t leaving the lift - and instead all their eyes are turned in your direction with lustful gazes. You shiver but don’t hesitate to glare at them as you tell them to get out. They don’t move, looking entranced at you, when a low, threatening rumble from Max’s chest makes it very clear that you are not to be messed with - unless they wanted to go against the strongest Alpha in a 100 mile radius. Slightly tilting his head to look back at the group, Max’s narrowed eyes and threatening aura makes them run off with their figurative tail between their legs.

The elevator closed with neat ding, moving back up, and suddenly you realised you were in a very compromising position with your rival - who had definitely noticed the very Omega-like addictive, sweet smell you were giving off as a supposed “Unpresented” female.

Verstappen- you say anxiously, frantically thinking of what to say to convince him to keep your secret. But all thoughts are cut off when Max unexpectedly leans down and buries his face into your neck, making you gasp. Your hands grab his shoulders to push him away, to ask what the fuck he thought he was doing. But the words don’t even make it out of your mouth because your head is spinning from his lips now pressing kisses against your delicate collarbones. Somehow, you’re finding yourself winding your fingers in his blonde locks, which were just as soft as they looked.

By the time the elevator reaches your floor, you’re almost falling to the ground from the sensation but Max easily supports your weight against him. He’s guiding you out of the lift and trapping you against the nearest wall - and following immediately with his hard body pressed right up against your soft one. You’re whining that he needs to stop, what is he doing, you’re in a hallway for anyone to see, but he cuts you off again with his husky voice as he breathes out that this scent, your scent, princess…fuck, I’d thought it was perfume or something but it’s all you, isn’t it? I can’t get enough of how intoxicating you are.

Tilting your head back with his strong hands, he bends down to the opposite side now and shuts up your half hearted protests by licking a line straight up the column of your throat. Oh my god, your inner omega was having the time of her life right now. Max, you murmur weakly, and he sharply inhales as your gazes meet. The dark hunger in his eyes is clear when he tells you to say that again.

And when you sweetly call his name again, he’s kissing you, still leaning against the wall in the dimly lit hallway, and you automatically moan into the passionate kiss because it feels so good, so right as his lips moved against yours with a gentleness you hadn’t expected.

But when the lift dings, signalling another arrival to your floor, Max turns to look with narrowed eyes at the potential threat and you’re reminded of how wrong wrong wrong this is and how you’d lose all your sponsors if the media found out about this scandal. So you use his second of distraction to use your small frame and slip under his arms, hastily swiping your card and slamming the door behind you when you enter.

Heart beating, you lean back against the door as your replay what just happened over and over, your hands running over your tingling lips where Max’s - your rival - has just been a second ago. Across the other side, Max leans against your door just the same. He’d let you escape his hold - for now - but he wouldn’t next time, because he knew what it meant to smell a scent so divine it made him want to destroy anything that so much as glanced in your direction. That made him lose all inhibition and pin you against a wall as he desperately resisted the urge to bury his fangs in you right there. You were his fated mate, he thinks with relief, pure joy and warmth spreading across him with the idea of having you as his mate. The one who he’d not thought he’d find at age 26 after meeting countless women. And yet here you’d been the whole time, right in front of him, the only driver who drove him so wild on the track. He'd never thought about why the pretty little Unpresented driver was able to generate such strong responses from his Alpha unusually quickly. With a backwards glance to your room where you safely hid, Max wandered away, contemplating how he was going to claim his Omega who hated him.

Meanwhile, the kiss has sent you into an absolute flurry of panic, trying to come up with ways of convincing your rival to keep your secret, having no idea why he suddenly found your scent irresistible. Your half baked plans came to an end when Max texted you the next day to meet him in the hotel lobby to talk. No fucking way, you texted back furiously, so you can get me alone and kiss me again without my permission?

You’d flown back to Monaco an hour later, ignoring Max’s replies. Clearly, he seemed as troubled by this…situation as you were, and judging by the fact you hadn’t woken up to headlines about you secretly being an Omega, it seems Max was keeping your secret - for now, at least. And you were terribly confused by how good his kiss had made you feel, even though you were furious with how he’d done it without asking, as if you belonged to him.

So you decide to ignore Max for the whole week, but when he shows up at your apartment door unexpectedly, you couldn’t hold him off. We need to talk, he’d said tersely, and that’s how you found yourself on the apartment rooftop - surprised that Max hadn’t barged his way into your apartment. In fact, he stood well away from you, leaning against the railing and looking out towards the setting Monaco sun over the pristine Mediterranean waters as you watched his back uncertainly. Just when you were going to ask him what he wanted, he began telling you the story of how his Alpha father, Jos, had claimed his Omega mother, Sophie before she had been ready. You tilted your head, confused. You were very familiar with that particular media scandal - where Jos had deliberately performed the claiming, the ancient ritualistic tradition of an Alpha marking an Omega as theirs - in the peak of Sophie’s career, and had illegally used their mating bond to manipulate her into early retirement and focus on the family instead. It left a bitter taste in your mouth, of how no court or laws could protect an Omega fully from the abuse of a controlling Alpha.

I- I know about your parent’s story, it was quite…anyways, why are you bringing it up now? Max didn’t answer your question, turning around instead to face you. You felt that same fluttering beating of your heart as his intense blue gaze locked in on your doe eyed brown one. After she was able to get the divorce, he continued, she finally found her true mate. And she told me about the difference she’d felt, in how my father and her mate had treated her, how one had made her into the wife he wanted and the other had protected her as she chose to life she wanted for herself.

You’re truly confused now about why he’s still on this topic, and tell him that you’d even spoken with his mother when you began racing about her advice as a female on the track, and you’d expressed your sympathies for how hard it must have been to have her career tarnished so early by an abusive Alpha. Being her son was one of the few things you actually respected about him. Thinking he was foreshadowing what he was going to ask of you, your scent became sour with anger. So, out with it, Verstappen, you demanded, what’s your blackmail plan, I know you know about me being an Omega, are you going to make me promise not to try for P1 because you can forget it-

Max cut you off then, stepping forward and making you tilt your head back to look up at him. You wanted to step back so desperately, knowing what happened last time he was so close - but that inner omega vixen of yours was far too satisfied with the reassuring, soft spicy scent Max was now gently emitting. You hadn’t even known he was capable of anything other than the intense scent he used to dominate on the track.

No, schat, Max says softly. I’m not going to tell anyone anything you don’t want shared. Or use it against you. I wanted to tell you my parents story…to show you my father is the kind of Alpha I don’t want to become. I don’t want anyone to go through what my mother did. You can literally feel your body relaxing from his reassuring words, with the way he had called you darling in Dutch for the first time, from his soft look and scent. And it pisses you off to no end, that he can use his biology to make you feel like this - you’d had no idea the effect from an Alpha could be this strong on you. You realize you’ve involuntarily said that out loud when he tells you it isn’t normal for you to react this intensely to an Alpha, but it’s because it’s him that you’re reacting to. At your perplexed look, he’s reminded that your parents are both Betas and you had very limited knowledge of presentations, compared to his own family which were exclusively Alpha-Omega mates for generations.

Because…because we’re rivals? You ask, those sweet doe eyes of yours blinking up at him and making the urge to protect you bloom deep in his chest. Unfortunately for his inner alpha, he was about to cause you a lot of distress with his next words.

Because - Max swallowed, because, schat, we’re true mates. I’m your Alpha, if you’ll have me.

The distress that comes off you is instant and makes Max want to jump off the balcony railing, if it means ending your despair. You’re stammering out your shock, confusion, and then just straight denial at his claim, insisting it can’t be true - but he watches you with an apologetic expression, only speaking after a long time once you’ve let out all your conflicting emotions. He softly explains why it was true, that you might not know because your own parents weren’t a true match but what happened in the elevator, the reaction to each other’s scents - it was the first step to prime you two for the claiming.

He can see the colour drain from your face, flushed caramel skin now going pale as your distress turns to pure rage, steeped with fear - of him, Max realises. So that's why you're pretending to be so nice, isn't it? you question hotly, so that I say yes to your claiming just for you to use it order me to leave racing? And you'll act like its so different to your parents-

Max can't bear this foreign pain in his chest any longer, each furious word from you twisting a knife into his heart. His inner alpha is screaming at him to comfort and console you, so he does just that by stepping forward again and taking your small form into his large arms, forming a secure hold around you. Your annoyed shriek is muffled against his toned chest, but after a few seconds you calm down once he says, sounding so unusually desperate, he will never do the claiming until you ask him too, even if that's well after your racing career finishes. You pause, hearing the genuine sincerity in his words, and somehow deep within you a sense tells you that Max is telling the truth. As his warm, large hands soothingly rub circles on your back, you find yourself closing your eyes and lean into him, your french manicured hands pressing against his firm muscles and hearing his strong heartbeat through his chest.

You stay like that for a long time, slowly processing everything he's told you, until the sunset disappears over the Monaco horizon and the bright city lights emerge. At some point his arms have wrapped around your soft waist, one hand firmly on your hip and the other cradling your head against him, softly stroking your dark curls. If anyone had told you a month ago that you'd find yourself in this position with goddamn Max Verstappen you'd have laughed them off the track. But here you are, your inner omega purring with satisfaction at the secure embrace of your strong Alpha. You find yourself returning his comforting embrace by tentatively moving your small palms up over his pecs and across his ridiculously broad shoulders, looping around his wide neck. You hear Max's breathing hitch as he feels your shy touch, and then he’s hit with your delicious scent as your new position exposes your neck. It's the same as in the lift - so sweet, like exotic Indian jasmine on a hot summer night, like burnt sticky vanilla in the stroopwafels he adored as a kid, on the rare days he was allowed to go to the park instead of karting. But this time, your scent is even more inviting as your desire for him is stronger, and he doesn't fight his instincts and buries his face into your delicate neck again. He inhales deeply and leaves you gasping when he starts leaving lazy, soft kisses in the hollow of your throat. This time, you can't bring yourself to pull away, your fingers gently threading into his hair as you tentatively call out V-Verstappen, this is-

That's not my name, prinses he rumbles lowly, Dutch accent slipping through as he continues moving up your neck, leaving hickeys with flicks of his tongue and gentle, teasing nips of his sharp fangs - teasing, but not puncturing your tantalising caramel skin. And when you sweetly moan Max for him, looking up at him with those wide brown doe eyes, heady with desire, and a pretty red flush across your full cheeks, he meets your plush lips with his own. There's no hesitation this time, your fingers tangling into his messy blonde locks as you kiss deeply. His large hands running across your body make you feel like you're on fire. And when he grabs a hold of your thick ass, squeezing it like he owned it and and pulling you even closer to him, you're gasping and moaning sweetly into his mouth. He doesn't hesitate to slide inside your parted lips, completely dominating the kiss as he easily takes control over your tongue despite your efforts to battle against his.

Max, this is so wrong you say breathlessly, eyes fluttering closed in pleasure as his large thigh parts yours, your skirt sliding up as thick muscles come into contact with your aching core. You're certain he's going to be able to feel the wetness rapidly pooling between your own legs. Then why does it feel so right, prinses? He cockily responds, squeezing your ass greedily again and moaning himself when you start grinding against his leg, your wetness dripping past your soaked panties and ruining his pants. Fuck, he was never going to take these off, so he would always have the intoxicating scent of how sweet you smelled when you were so desperate for him, hmm?

The harsh ringing of your phone you'd set on a nearby table startles you. Max ignores it, flexing his thighs up against you to tempt your self control again as your inner Omega begs you to let the Alpha - your Alpha - claim you right here, right now, for all the world to see. But through the haze you see your boss's face flash on the screen and suddenly you're reminded of what's at stake. Snapping to your senses, you stumble away from Max's strong hold, making him growl in annoyance as he reluctantly releases you from his arms. This is why I didn't want to talk, you hiss at him, but he can tell from your scent you’re more conflicted than angry. Because you- you cutely flush, -we can't control ourselves for more than 5 minutes without something like this happening. You gesture to the space between you two as he watches you inquisitively, taking in every small movement with a tilt of his head like he was a lion stalking a deer. Stay away from me from now on, Verstappen you say with a scowl on your pretty face, pointing right at him, his sharp blue eyes not missing the slight tremor that gives away how affected you feel by him. I need to focus on winning this championship and not your…slutty Alpha seduction techniques.

He lets you go, smirking as you practically sprint away down the stairs to avoid any further temptation, enjoying the view of your generous ass from behind. Using his thumb to brush the dampness you left on his pants, he licks it away, chest lowly rumbling in approval as he confirms you’ll taste just as sweet as you looked, as you smelled. Next time, he promises his disgruntled inner Alpha.

After all, it was only a matter of time before he claimed you - it was a question of when, not if. The dark, controlling parts of him wanted to lay his claim on you right now, knowing that you desired him and would be unable to resist if he wanted to have his way with you. But you’d be so much sweeter, more pliable, more eager for him if he waited until you came begging.

He’d have his fun in the meantime.

[apollosdaydreams]

I would like a request with Max Verstappen and Y/N are siblings. She is his younger sister and she is MotoGP driver and…

Im sorry, I wasn't better.

Max Verstappen x Sister!Reader

Warnings: Angst, fluff, adult language 

Author's Note: Sorry if this isn’t 100% accurate. I don’t know much or really anything about MotoGP, but I will try my best. 

Wordcount: 1476 (kinda got carried away) 

DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to hurt Max Verstappen and the Verstappen family! This is just an imagine. Again this is in no way meant to harm the Verstappen family!

Racing. Racing is something that you loved, something you lived for. Your family however always would put Max above you. Their reason to not care about your racing was that you are a girl, and girls don’t belong in racing, girls don’t belong to have a seat. No matter what you did, it wasn’t good enough for Jos, your father. You used to have a great relationship with your other siblings, especially Max. The bond you and Max had was something that couldn’t be explained. You two were closer to each other than you and your twin, Victoria. But as you two both got older, that bond broke. You both started to snap at each other easier, say nasty things to each other and never say sorry. You couldn’t take it anymore. The hate coming from your father, mother and your brother. You left. Moved out, when you turned 18. You cut off contact completely. Blocking their numbers and their social media accounts. You thought you were never going to see them again, oh how wrong you were.

Today was your 24th birthday. Today was also your home race. You were a part of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, ironic. Everyone knew you were a Verstappen, they also knew you didnt talk to your family. People would ask, you wouldn't give them an answer no matter how much they begged. Everyone knew that the Verstappen kids were strong, powerful drivers. You were often being compared to your older brother, Max. When compared to him you would always tell the interviewer that you are your own person and you don't need to be compared to your older brother. 

You quickly pulled on your race suit, shoes and gloves. Trying to shake off the fact that today was your 24th, you haven’t spent a birthday with your family in 6 years. You didn’t care though, they had torn you down, thinking you couldn’t do anything in life. That this dream you had was impossible. Oh how you proved them wrong. You were making history. You were the first female rider in MotoGP, and you were amazing, this was your rookie year and you have already won three races. You dealt with contestant hate, with MotoGP being male dominated. They thought that you definitely had to sleep your way up to the top. Which was something that was just a lie. Something to make them feel better about themselves. 

You walked over to your bike, you shook your hands in a way to calm your nerves. You stretched out one more time. Then you climbed on to your bike. You then drove to your starting point. P3. You stopped your bike and put your feet down beside you. You were taking deep slow breaths to calm your nerves. As this was your home race you had felt a lot of pressure on you. Once you heard the final beep, and the lights turned green you started to move. 

You drove over to the number 1 spot, and got off your bike. You quickly put your hands up in the air and then ran to your team. You quickly hugged your team principal. As you hugged him you quickly thanked him. You then had to run off to the cool down room. Once it was time for you to go on the podium you walked out of the room and walked over to this lift, where they would lift you and your bike on to the podium. As you were being lifted you couldn't contain your smile, this was your first win at your home race. You have won a couple races in this season, but winning at home would always be a different feeling. You felt on top of the world. No one could wipe that smile off your face. Right? Once you got handed your trophy you raised it high in the air, with the biggest smile on your face. Once everyone else got their trophy you all three quickly put them down and grabbed the champagne. You then all started to spray each other, you ran over to your team principal to spray some on him as well. Eventually they stopped spraying. You wiped the champagne off your face and set the bottle down and picked your trophy backup. 

You were now back in your team paddock, you were talking to one of your teammates when you looked up and you saw someone you thought you would never see, see in person ever again. Your father, mother, brother and sister all stood in front of you. Your teammate knew that you didn't have the best relationship with your family. Before he left, he patted your back and told you that he would be over in his room if you needed him. You didn't know what to do so you just nodded. You just stared at them, not knowing what to do or what to say. 

“Y/n, sweety. You did amazing.” Your mother said. 

“Yeah… thank you..” You said. You were starting to feel overwhelmed. 

“Mom, dad, we should let her breathe, let Max talk to her.” Victoria whispered. 

You were starting to tear up, but once the other three left and it was just you and Max you couldn't stop the tears from falling. You were both angry and sad.

“Why are you guys here?” You had asked Max.

“y/n- I, we wanted to apologize.” 

“Well don't you think you are about 6 years too late.” You said. You were starting to get more angry than sad. 

“I know y/n and I'm sorry, we shouldn't have ever treated you like that. We should have apologized years ago.” he said while taking a few steps closer to you. You didn't move.

“Why?! Max, why?” you said. “I wanted a family, a brother who loved me, but all you guys did was tear me down.” You started to cry even more. Your anger is now turning into sadness. “What did I do to make you guys hate me so much?” 

Max’s heart broke at what you were saying. He quickly moved over to you and hugged you. He was expecting you to push him back or hit him. He wasn't expecting you to hug him back. “I'm so sorry y/n I'm so sorry.” He kept repeating. You started to take a deep breath. Trying to calm yourself down.

“Max, I want to forgive you guys, or at least you and Victoria.” You started to say. “You guys were also just kids, mom and dad on the other hand, i think it's going to take a while to forgive them.” 

This was the last thing Max had expected. He was not expecting you to forgive him so easily. “I promise y/n I’ll do better, I'm the big brother. I'm sorry I wasn't better at it until now.” He told you, tears now falling down his face. You smiled up at him and wiped his tears away. “It's ok, I trust you to change Max.” He smiled back at you.

“Can you bring in Victoria? I want to be able to talk to her as well.” He told Max. He quickly nodded and ran to go get Victoria. Once you saw her you both ran to each other and gave each other a hug. You couldn't remember the last time you two have hugged, all you knew is that it's been way too long.  

“Y/n im so sorry, I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you, i'm your big sister that's my job.” She told you. You couldn't help yourself. “You are only 7 minutes older than me V.” You had told her. She couldn't help but smile more, and she hugged you tighter. You saw Max standing awkwardly at the door. You motioned for him to come closer. You then all hugged each other. After a few minutes of silence you started to speak.

“I think I'm ready to talk to mom and dad.” You said. “But I want both of you to be here.” They both looked at each other and nodded. Max then went to get your parents. You then saw both your parents walk through the door. You didn't know what to do. You haven't seen or spoke to your parents in years. Victoria sat down on the couch with you, you heard hushed whispers behind the door. The door then opened, Max was at the front and you could see your mom, Sophie and your dad, Jos standing behind Max. You didn't know what to do, your parents stood in front of you. They tore you down, made you believe you aren't worth anything, that women couldn't be in moto sports. You saw your mom walk towards you. You didn't know what to do, you didn't know what she was going to do. Your dad stayed a few steps behind her. Max was on the side waiting just in case anything would happen. 

“Oh sweety, you look amazing. You did a great job on the race! I'm so proud.” You never thought that you would hear those words come out of her mouth. All you wanted as a little girl was to hear that your parents were proud of you. She went to sit down next to you, but you moved away. You weren't ready to be this close to her yet. Your father looked like he didn't want to be here, that he would rather be somewhere else. Typical Jos. You thought to yourself. Sophie understood why you wouldn't want to be close to her, that it would be hard for you to forgive her and Jos. 

“Mom, dad….. I don’t think I'm ready to forgive you just yet. I think that you have to prove that you changed, or are willing to change.” You said, while looking down at your hands picking at your nails. 

‘Of course honey, I promise that we have changed.” Your mother quickly said. Jos was still standing, with his arms crossed over his chest. “Can we go to dinner tonight?” she suggested. 

“We can do that.” you said, while looking up at Jos, waiting for what he would say. 

“I would love to.” Jos said. You looked next to you at Victoria and then up at Max and smiled. Maybe they were going to change. Maybe now my family is going to be my safe place. 

I hoped you guys liked this! If you did please let me know! Sorry if everything doesn't make sense. I don’t know much about MotoGp, but I tried my best!!

It would be greatly appreciated if you would like, comment and repost!! 

© 2023 on tumblr apollosdaydreams do not translate/remake/repost my works in any platform without authorized permission.

[chenfordspiral]

First Sentence Game

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

Thank you for the tag, @yourenotdonefighting & @queseraone!!

1.treacherous For twelve years, Tim Bradford had now proudly worn the navy blue uniform of the LAPD and served his city. Eight of those he had spent training new rookies so they could become the best cops they could be before they hit the streets on their own after the 13 months of field training. Some of them had excelled and become superb officers, others had failed within the first week. He never knew how a rookie year would go, and that was part of the fun for him because there was never a dull moment. It’s why he loved his job so much. 

2. it's brighter now (i only see daylight) The first time they had slept together, Lucy had a stronger than anticipated emotional reaction to it. Even with the initial awkwardness of figuring out how to actually have sex, she’d had to fight tears of relief of finally having him that way. Months, years worth of fantasies and hopes and longings had led them there, and it was so worth it but equally as overwhelming to finally feel him inside of her.

So, she’s no stranger to strong reactions during sex. But she still hadn’t expected she’d react similarly when they had their second first time.

3. in sweetness It all starts on a random Wednesday night in October when Lucy is 24 weeks pregnant.

He’s used to her… let’s say interesting snack requests by now, but he’s not prepared for the insanity that starts that night. And that’s saying something because so far, her cravings have included peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with potato chips mixed in, and chocolate cake with pickles and ketchup, among other things. She’s had in-the-middle-of-the-night snacks before, but they have only happened sporadically here and there. So when she requests mushrooms again one night, he doesn’t think much of it at first.

4. I move through the world with the heartbroken (my longings stay unspoken) The first time Tim spoke to Lucy again after the parking lot was six days later. Somehow, they had managed to avoid each other until today, and he wasn’t sure if he should love or hate it. But he couldn’t dwell on that too much right now, not when he knew she’d just come back from an intense standoff with a suspect that left said suspect dead and her with a bullet in the vest. Again. 

And even though he wanted, hell, needed to keep his distance from her because he didn’t deserve to be in her presence anymore, he couldn’t stop himself from checking in with her anyway. Because he would always care and worry about her and love her with everything he had. It’s why he walked away in the first place.

5. cause I know that it's delicate “You know you’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met, right?”

Tim turned his head when he heard Angela’s voice beside him as she slid into the booth next to him.

“What?”

“You’re an idiot!”

“Thanks.”

“She was happiest with you, you know?”

6. two hearts that beat as one (our lives have just begun) It wasn’t Tim and Lucy’s first New Years together, but it was the first since their wedding in July, and to celebrate the special occasion they had decided to invite their friends over to their place to ring in the new year together. They’d celebrated with Tamara, and Genny and her boys the year before, but this year seemed like the perfect time to summon all their friends over to Casa Bradford.

They’d been hustling and bustling around all day in preparation for the party. They’d cleaned and tidied up, which, to be fair, only took like a fraction of a second because this was Tim’s house after all, and then spent countless hours in the kitchen, working side by side and in perfect tandem to get dinner ready.

7 'tis the first of many seasons It’s a few days after Thanksgiving and Lucy has fully embraced the holiday spirit. It’s her first real Christmas with Tim, and since they’d agreed to go away over the holidays two weeks ago, she’d been downright giddy with excitement. Because it is not only their first holiday season they’ll actually be spending together, but it will also be the first time they’ll be going away together.

But while Lucy’s a ball of excitement as she flies into Tim’s house, armed with boxes full of Christmas decor, he’s not as happy. Not yet at least.

8. warm with you, safe with you, in love with you He notices something is off the second he wakes up next to her.

She takes longer than usual to properly wake up and turn toward him to snuggle, something that’s become somewhat of a tradition when they can spare a few minutes before getting ready for work. She’s always been a bit grumpy in the morning, so that’s not necessarily concerning. What he doesn’t expect, however, is the clammy feel of her skin when he presses his lips to her temple, or the way her voice sounds hoarse and rough when she whispers a good morning greeting into his chest.

9. Little bit of Love (ch. 41) Before they know it, Evie is a week old. Thanks to sleep deprivation and just sheer and utter exhaustion, the week has flown by and simultaneously felt like two months had passed — time has already lost all meaning. They had their one week checkup at the doctor the day before, who had declared Evie to be a perfectly healthy little newborn.

10. Little bit of Lust (ch. 4) She feels the tug on her hair about halfway through the third episode of the night, and it takes Tim apologizing for her to realize what he’s doing. And if that wasn’t enough to make her heart burst, his reasoning behind it takes her breath away. Because as much as she knows that it’s a when and not an if, hearing him so easily talk about their future children with such certainty, knowing that it was still on his mind even hours later… she’s never loved him more. 

tagging: @sisterofficerlucychen, @thisnightissparkling089, @roguetwelve, @makeitastrength, @imperiumwife, @cfr749, @girlintotv, @mamadoc, @thesassywitchofthenortheast, @romantashas

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

Tim Richmond

Timothy Lee Richmond (June 7, 1955 – August 13, 1989) was an American race car driver from Ashland, Ohio. He competed in IndyCar racing before transferring to NASCAR's Winston Cup Series. Richmond was one of the first drivers to change from open wheel racing to NASCAR stock cars full-time, which later became an industry trend. He won the 1980 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award and had 13 victories during eight NASCAR seasons.

Richmond achieved his top NASCAR season in 1986 when he finished third in points. He won seven races that season, more than any other driver on the tour. When he missed the season-opening Daytona 500 in February 1987, media reported that he had pneumonia. The infection most likely resulted from his compromised immune system, which was weakened by AIDS. Despite the state of his health, Richmond competed in eight races in 1987, winning two events and one pole position before his final race in August of that year. He attempted a comeback in 1988 before NASCAR banned him for testing positive for excessive over-the-counter drugs, ibuprofen and pseudoephedrine; NASCAR later announced it gave Richmond a new test and tested negative. Richmond filed a lawsuit against NASCAR after the organization insisted it wanted access to his entire medical record before it would reinstate him. After losing the lawsuit, Richmond withdrew from racing. NASCAR later stated its original test was a "bad test."

Richmond grew up in a wealthy family and lived a freewheeling lifestyle, earning him the nickname "Hollywood". In describing Richmond's influence in racing, Charlotte Motor Speedway president Humpy Wheeler said, "We've never had a race driver like Tim in stock car racing. He was almost a James Dean-like character." When Richmond was cast for a bit part in the 1983 movie Stroker Ace,[6]"He fell right in with the group working on the film," said director Hal Needham. Cole Trickle, the main character in the movie Days of Thunder, played by Tom Cruise, was loosely based on Richmond and his interaction with Harry Hyde and Rick Hendrick.

[3416]

How John Tavares is helping Matthew Knies prepare for his first Maple Leafs playoff run

By Joshua Kloke | Apr 16, 2023 | The Athletic

Matthew Knies looked around the Leafs dressing room and shook his head. It wasn’t long after the Leafs had finished an optional practice on Saturday afternoon, and many of his teammates were already nowhere to be seen. The highly-touted NHL rookie questioned a few Leafs staff members as to how the room gets so vacant so soon. Quickly, Knies threw on a Leafs ball cap, one he is still working in to fit just right, and realized he should probably hit the road too: his new roommate was probably waiting for him in the parking lot, having finished practice about 20 minutes earlier: John Tavares.

Almost immediately after Knies signed with the Leafs on Sunday, Apr. 9, the 20-year-old received a flurry of text messages from Leafs stars, all offering up a spare room in their house for the highly-touted Leafs prospect to stay in for the duration of the playoffs. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner texted Knies, but Tavares’ text came first. Knies happily jumped at the opportunity to live in Tavares’ basement.

And for what could be a roller coaster ride for Knies, having Tavares to lean on could help him understand the new life he’s now a part of.

“It makes me feel way more like part of the family,” Knies said.

Knies spent the majority of his first week with the Leafs on the road, playing in Florida, Tampa Bay and New York. He kept his head above water, registering his first NHL point and playing effective, physical hockey in tight spaces and showing impressive smarts with the puck in the neutral zone. Once he finally arrived in Toronto late last week and had a chance to breathe, he did so in Tavares’ basement.

In short, Knies has looked like a player who could be trusted to jump into an NHL playoff game if necessary. And maybe even become an X-factor.

But even Knies will admit there’s more to surviving in the NHL as a rookie than just making smart reads with the puck: with the intensity and physicality of games having ramped up, he knows he needs to treat his body better and improve his eating and sleeping habits.

He’s learning from one of the best in that regard. Tavares’ preparation and efforts to eat well have become renowned around the Leafs.

“Taking notes from a guy with such experience, I couldn’t pass that up,” Knies told The Athletic.

Knies said Tavares’ alarm goes off around 6:15 AM so the Leafs captain can tend to his two young children, with a third child on the way.

“He lets me sleep in a bit,” Knies joked.

The pair were among the first to arrive at the Leafs practice rink at 9:30 AM for an 11:45 AM practice on Sunday.

Tavares will drive Knies to practice, another chance for Knies to open his ears to Tavares’ experience. One thing Knies told The Athletic he’s gleaned from Tavares is how to balance the increased travel in the short amount of time he’s about to face, with multiple upcoming trips to Tampa Bay. Perhaps a few tips like leaving his window open on flights if a time zone change is coming to keep his circadian rhythm intact.

“He’s not cutting corners,” Knies said.

The two new teammates have had a few meals together, and Knies has spent a little time with Tavares’ children. But hey, it’s worth remembering here that Knies is essentially a child himself.

“I don’t know if I’d be the first one he’d ask to babysit,” Knies said.

There is precedent for what the Leafs captain is doing: a then 19-year-old Tavares lived with then New York Islanders forward Doug Weight when Tavares was a rookie.

“All year, he’s been there for me whenever I’ve needed him,” Tavares said in 2010.

Tavares is paying it forward, if you will, and ensuring that if Knies needs someone, he’ll be there for him. Knies’ parents are in Arizona. The new city Knies is living in is one he has only spent a few days in here and there during last summer’s development camp.

Assimilation at a stressful time of the season can be, well stressful, for a young player. But it feels less so for Knies.

“I didn’t want to be stuck in a hotel in my own bubble,” Knies said. “It’s made me feel more comfortable in Toronto.”

That sense of comfort could soon matter. Knies dressed as an extra forward during his first full Leafs practice on Sunday. Yet if the Leafs need some offensive pop, it feels likely he will be the first forward to draw in against the Lightning. He’ll need to keep up with the faster pace of play should he draw into the playoffs. But Sheldon Keefe has never been afraid to tinker with his lineup in search of a better solution.

“Every experience he gets is gonna help him,” Keefe said of Knies on Sunday. “Obviously the talent that he’s shown — he’s a guy that can help us and is another great option for us to have.”

Should that happen, Knies could feel more ready than he would have anticipated when he first signed with the Leafs. And he’ll have the captain.

“That’s going to help my experience,” Knies said, “and help me get accustomed to the NHL lifestyle.”

[makeste]

update part two: THE SPOILERING

~*~THIS POST IS ENTIRELY ABOUT BNHA MANGA SPOILERS.~*~ IF YOU ARE NOT CAUGHT UP WITH THE CURRENT EVENTS OF THE BNHA MANGA, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS POST. I do have a separate "hey guys I'm back" update post here which is spoiler-free!

THIS POST, THOUGH, IS NOT SPOILER-FREE. IT IS THE OPPOSITE OF SPOILER-FREE. IT EXISTS SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSING THE BIGGEST, MOST SPOILERLY SPOILERS EVER. IF THAT IS NOT YOUR DESIRE, PLEASE PROCEED AWAY FROM THIS POST WITH ALL HASTE.

I am, however, assuming that something like 90% of this blog's readership does, in fact, know exactly what this post is about, which is why we are going to TALK ABOUT IT right here and right now underneath this tidy read-more.

okay, so! gonna stick with the random imaginary Q&A format from my other post just to make things easier.

1. "wow makeste, way to randomly go on spoiler lockdown hiatus for NINE WHOLE MONTHS only to MAGNIFICENTLY DROP THE BALL by running smack dab into THE BIGGEST BNHA SPOILER OF ALL TIME."

I know right??

2. "so what do you have to say for yourself."

short version: I made the critical tactical error of existing as a human being in the general vicinity of the internet in early August 2022. very poor move on my part. rookie mistake.

long version: so there I was, minding my own business, watching the trailer for BnHA season 6, as one does. when out of nowhere, YouTube's algorithm decided to be all "OH? THIS PERSON LIKES MY HERO ACADEMIA? BOY DO I HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR THEM." next thing I know, I'm scrolling through my YT home page and ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE'S A DETAILED PICTURE OF MY SON'S MANGLED BLOODY CORPSE, RIGHT NEXT TO AN ALL-CAPS DESCRIPTION READING -- I SHIT YOU NOT -- "BAKUGOU REALLY JUST DIED!!! THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!"

seriously though. that is word-for-word verbatim what it said. the internet literally got right up in my face and said "OHOHO!! LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY FORGOT TO DELETE LITERALLY ONE SINGLE MHA-RELATED VIDEO FROM THEIR WATCH HISTORY! TIME TO DESTROY HALF A YEAR'S WORTH OF PAINSTAKINGLY DILIGENT SPOILER AVOIDANCE IN ONE EARTH-SHATTERING BLOW!" and just like that, my miraculous fate-tempting seven month spoiler-free streak came to an end. the sequel to blah blah SIXQUIRKS. something something BAKUGOU DIED. JUST THOUGHT WE'D SHARE THAT LITTLE UPDATE WITH YOU. HAVE A GOOD ONE, AND DRIVE SAFE!

so naturally my first reaction was basically just. looooooool :) :) :) what the fuck.

here I am. a working mom. who left her seventeen-year-old fictional son in the care of a 36-year-old Japanese man for the better part of a year because HE SAID he would take good care of him. Jump Festa 2022!! quote unquote!! "I’ve said this to Okamoto [Nobuhiko]-kun in LINE, but Katsuki will be having his greatest scene in the manga in future developments. I hope people who like Katsuki and hate Katsuki will look forward to it." bruh. we have the receipts right here! "greatest scene," he said! oh, goody, I said! something to look forward to when I finally have the time to catch up! "yes," Horikoshi smiles evilly. "something to look forward to, indeed." this fucking guy. can you even believe.

and just to be clear, when I say that I was otherwise 100% not-spoiled up until this point, I mean it. one hundred percent. I had absolutely ZERO knowledge of anything past chapter 339. the last I saw of Bakugou, he was hanging out with the rest his class showing off his cool new moves to Deku and being blindsided by Aoyama's betrayal and stuff. then bam. seven months later, fate mails me a postcard of him lying on the ground with a bloody hole in his chest. like WOW, OKAY. ZERO CHILL. OF COURSE THIS WOULD HAPPEN THE ONE TIME I DECIDE TO GO ON HIATUS FOR TWO HUNDRED DAYS, SMDH.

anyway so that's my story.

3. "so exactly how spoiled are you?"

lol I'm not even sure. I guess my best answer would be, "SOMEWHAT?"

or, if you don't mind reading more words, I can tell you exactly how spoiled I am by summarizing the Things That I Do Know in a bullet list.

THINGS THAT I KNOW

all of this apparently takes place between chapters 359 and 362, with 362 being the big "oh he DEAD dead" chapter. I think. based on all the fics that have since cropped up on AO3 with ominous chapter 362 spoiler tags.

I am pretty sure Bakugou was fighting either Tomura or AFO when it happened.

I have this vague idea that somehow his heart exploded or something?? like I don't really know the details, but that's what I've been able to glean.

apparently Jeanist and Edgeshot were involved in some sort of effort to save him?? but apparently that didn't work out too well I guess. OR DID IT? I actually do not know.

I have the vague impression Edgeshot may have also died, somehow, as a result of those heroic efforts. OR DID HE? again, I actually do not know at all. this is basically the knowledge equivalent of me overhearing half of a phone conversation between two people who were trying to recollect half of a phone conversation that they in turn overheard, several months earlier.

lastly, I know that Bakugou was apparently carrying around his All Might trading card from waaaay back in his chapter 118 flashbacks, in his pocket or something. because he's a giant fanboy nerd. who wanted All Might to sign it. but was too shy to ask I guess. "WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THIS SENSITIVE SIDE OF HIM COMING?? BAKUGOU CARES ABOUT THINGS??? HE REALLY DID LOOK UP TO ALL MIGHT JUST AS MUCH AS DEKU THE ENTIRE TIME??? WHAT A DEVASTATING REVEAL?!?" is how we were supposed to react to this, I'm guessing, lol. but I'll have you know that SOME of us have already written approximately 1200 essays on how much of a secretly sensitive All Might weeb Bakugou is, and so WERE ACTUALLY NOT SURPRISED AT ALL! yeah that's right! TAKE THAT HORIKOSHI. TRYING TO CATCH ME OFF GUARD AND MAKE ME CRY. WELL YOU WASTED YOUR GODDAMN TIME, because I would have cried anyway! and I did cry! and I will cry again!

anyway so yeah. and I think the card got blown up and/or otherwise destroyed somehow, just to add insult to injury. which, don't tell anyone, but between you and me, I'm not sure what he expected. "let me just take my precious limited edition All Might trading card, my most prized possession, along with me into the intense final battle with the final villain. for good luck or whatever. there's no way this could possibly end badly." did he even bother to put it in a zipper pocket. wtf were you thinking Katsuki. again I do not actually have the slightest idea since I have not actually read this chapter lol.

anyway! so that's everything I know! and let me just add to that a quick summary of things which I in turn do NOT know, the short version of which is: Literally Everything Other Than What I Just Typed Above. including but not limited to:

whether Bakugou actually was fighting Tomura, or AFO, or both. ??

who was fighting with him (except that for some reason or another Deku wasn't there, because I guess he fucked off to go do something else?? you and I fell into the exact same trap there, Deku. "surely Kacchan will be fine and dandy for the next five minutes or hours or days or however long while I go take care of this Other Important Business." yeah, you would think so, wouldn't you? BUT WE LEARNED OUR LESSON, DIDN'T WE.)

what Deku’s reaction was (but I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say: PISSED)

literally anything else about the context of this fight, including where, when, and why it took place.

literally everything else that has happened in the manga since chapter 339. for real you guys. I just have to stress again how utterly out of the blue this was for me. to read this spoiler completely without context. WHAT HAVE THESE CHILDREN BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST NINE MONTHS. I'm terrified to learn the answers lol.

anyways but moving on now to the most important section of this post, starting with the one question which I think is by far the most pressing and important, and which I can thankfully answer with a single sentence.

4. "so... do you think he actually is dead?"

no lol.

but since you insist, here is my list of Reasons Why I Don't Think Bakugou Is Actually Dead, based on my nonexistent knowledge of the events of the past 40 chapters, and the actual context and details of his death. and I guarantee there is not a single point here which has not already been discussed to death on thousands of other blogs, but dammit I've been stuck without an outlet for all these thoughts since August, so the hell with it:

so for starters, in my experience, characters whose older selves narrate the story From The Future ("in that moment, there were no thoughts in my head... my body just moved on its own") tend to be pretty immune from dying, overall. just throwing that out there.

from day one, the series has made it very clear that this is the story of how Izuku becomes "the greatest hero" (more recently retconned/updated to become a pluralized "this is the story of how we ALL became the greatest heroes").

also from day one, Katsuki's narrative arc has been set up as a (first contrasting, and then later evolving to be more complementary) parallel to Izuku's, down to them having the same goal.

as the series has progressed, that concept of "becoming the greatest hero" has been further defined as "becoming a hero who always wins no matter what, and always saves everyone no matter what."

Katsuki in particular has expanded on this idea to emphasize that the greatest heroes are the ones who save EVERYONE, no matter what. "I made a pledge! I will achieve absolute victory, every time! we're taking this 4-0, no casualties! the strong don't settle for anything less!" and more recently, "because to live up to those ideals and surpass All Might... we gotta save you, the civilians at U.A., and the people on the streets. because saving people is how we win."

therefore, any victory in which either Katsuki or Izuku dies in order to defeat AFO is not a perfect victory, and will not result in them becoming the greatest heroes.

this is also a flagship Shounen Jump manga and the spiritual successor to the Big Three, meaning this would basically be the equivalent of killing off Sasuke or Zoro or Rukia. a.k.a. not gonna happen ever lol.

on top of that, it's also Horikoshi's tribute to Western comics, particularly those produced by Marvel, a.k.a. the guys who practically invented the No One Ever Stays Dead trope.

and last (actually not last but this really is getting too long) but not least, the number one reason why Katsuki cannot and will not actually die: because AFO does not get to win. seriously. he just doesn't. he got to kill All Might's important person and be all smug and cruel about it. he killed Nana's family and was all smug and cruel about it. he's tormented generations of heroes by deliberately targeting the people they love most. and so even without me knowing the actual context or circumstances of Katsuki's supposed "death", I have no doubt that's why it happened, because that's what AFO does. and that's who Deku loves. and so of course AFO would try it, yet again. that's his fucking modus operandi

but, because he is the final villain, we know he is going to lose in the end. and so this, imo, is the biggest and simplest reason why Katsuki isn't dead: because if he is actually dead, then AFO wins. even if he himself dies in the end. he gets to go down knowing that he took a part of the hero with him. he gets to hold on to that one last triumph. even though he loses, he keeps the hero from winning and saving, and he gets to savor that.

so, since we know that he's NOT going to win, because this is a "good guys win" type of story and not an "evil prevails, sorry, it's called REAL LIFE, bitches, enjoy your tears" type of story, that means that Katsuki is not actually dead. or will not stay dead. either way. period.

anyway so yeah! that's basically the gist, though by no means are these all of my comprehensive thoughts, and I can safely promise you many more rants to come, especially as I prepare to take on the challenge of reading through 39 new BnHA chapters with the foreknowledge of my son's untimely not-death looming in the back of my mind the whole time! looking forward to that! both ironically and unironically! should be interesting to say the least lol.

so on that note, one final q&a before we conclude:

5. "is it cool to discuss other manga spoilers with you?"

I would prefer not to, mainly in the hopes of trying to preserve as much of the "pure" unspoiled liveblog experience as possible, both for myself and for anyone else who cares to actually read said liveblogs. I do already feel bad for depriving people of the experience of watching me naively frolic my way through the upcoming arc(s) all BLISSFULLY UNAWARES lol. instead you'll have to settle for watching me timidly cry my way through while yelling at every single character who blindly tempts fate with their stupid foreshadowing comments. and don't even try to tell me there won't be foreshadowing comments. I know what type of story I'm reading. and more importantly, I know exactly the type of person who's writing it. ~*~gReAtEsT sCeNe~*~. you son of a bitch. THIS ISN'T OVER, HORIKOSHI.

anyway, so basically I would prefer to be as spoiler-free as possible, same as always. but I also no longer have the time or frankly the will to police every potential spoiler out there, so at the end of the day I'm pretty much just going to leave it up to you guys! also because I figure that at this point, WHAT'S THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN lol. (but for real there's probably a ton of important stuff that could easily be ruined still, so yeah if you don't mind let's just try to steer clear of all that lol.)

[seedlessmuffins]

hello party people! the stanley cup playoffs start right now, so in an attempt to tempt y’all to watch, i have compiled a list of playoff moments that altered my brain chemistry (as someone who has watched the playoffs every year since 2010)! even if you don’t want to watch hockey, the sport is pretty ridiculous so here is just a small sample of the extent of the craziness!

washington capitals vs. pittsburgh penguins 2009 (round 2 game 2): hockey’s messi and ronaldo, sidney crosby and alex ovechkin put on a show for the washington crowd as they each score hattys in the same game. the capitals would go on to win the game, but the penguins would win the series (and later the cup), but this game has some of the best highlights as the two best players in hockey at their peaks showed off their skills for sexy, sexy hockey! 

chicago blackhawks vs. philadelphia flyers 2010 (round 4 game 6): in overtime of game 6 of the stanley cup finals, a chicago player scored the game winner to win the hawks the cup. the weird part? nobody saw it go in except the player and his teammates. the crowd, flyers, and broadcasters didn’t see it go in. known as the “phantom goal” this goal won the hawks their first cup in almost 50 years.

 vancouver canucks vs. chicago blackhawks 2011 (round 1 game 7): this is the game that made me fall in love with hockey. little 7-year-old me was glued to my television screen all night watching this game. the blackhawks and canucks had matched up in the playoffs for three years in a row, and the blackhawks (at the time the reigning cup champions) had beat the canucks every time. this series had gone the full 7 games, with the canucks winning the first 3 and the blackhawks coming from behind to win the next 3. earlier in game 7, hero alex burrows had opened the scoring then missed a penalty shot. with the game tied at 1, just over 5 minutes into overtime, burrows gets the puck and scores, defeating the blackhawks to send the canucks to the next round. they would go on to lose the cup in the final, but this was the golden generation of canucks games and the vibe in vancouver? unmatched. it gave birth to two of the most iconic radio calls: “they slayed the dragon” by john shorthouse, and “its a wonderful day for an exorcism” from jim hughston. this defined my childhood fr

boston bruins vs. toronto maple leafs 2013 (round 1 game 7): mere weeks after the tragedy at the boston marathon, the bruins were down 4-1 with just over 14 minutes to play in the 3rd period. they were down 4-2 with 9 minutes left. with two goals in 30 seconds, with less than 90 seconds remaining, the bruins tied the game and patrice bergeron won the game for the bruins in overtime. the maple leafs, having blown a 3 goal lead, ended their season. as of right now, they have not won a round of the playoffs since 2004.

tampa bay lightning vs. boston bruins 2018 (round 2 game 4): the playoffs can get quite scrappy! in order to get an advantage over his opponent after a little scrum, noted league rat brad marchand licked a man. yes fully licked. previously in the playoffs he had kissed and licked another man, and this caused the league to outlaw licking. the bruins would go on to lose the series, even though marchand continued his ridiculous antics

vegas golden knights vs. vancouver canucks 2020 (round 2 games 5-7): in 2020, the playoffs were played in a bubble at one arena with no spectators. after game 4, that the knights won, it was discovered that the canucks goalie jacob markstrom had an injury. with the knights leading the series 3-1, the canucks needed to win 3 games in a row to move on to the next round. enter thatcher demko, a rookie goalie who had never played a playoff game before. over games 5, 6 and 7, demko made 123 saves, including a 48 save shutout in game 6, to keep the canucks in until game 7. he stood on his head, he was incredible, and he went over 100 minutes without the knights scoring a goal. unfortunately, with a knights shutout in game 7, the canucks wouldn’t move on, but “bubble demko” would live in infamy as thatcher demko’s intro to playoff hockey. hes my favourite goalie 

pittsburgh penguins vs. new york rangers 2022 (round 1 game 1): as both teams were ready to fight it out in the playoffs, this game was tied at the end of three periods. in the playoffs, overtime lasts 20 minutes with 15 minute breaks between them. in the 3rd period of overtime, and the 6th period of hockey evgeni malkin scored for the penguins after over 90 minutes of hockey. it was midnight at madison square garden. the rangers goalie, igor shesterkin, made 79 saves in the loss, and the penguins goalie louis domingue, who came on in the second overtime to replace an injured casey desmith, went viral for reports that he ate spicy pork and broccoli between periods to keep up his energy. this is one of the longest games in nhl history, and the rangers would go on to win the series in 7 games. 

edmonton oilers vs. calgary flames 2022 (round 2 game 1): the battle of alberta is one of the classic rivalries of the nhl, and the first game of last year’s round 2 delivered. the goalies seemed to be unable to keep the puck out of the net, and flames and oilers fans both watched as the two teams combined for 15 goals, with the flames winning 9-6. the oilers would go on to win the series, but the sloppy, goal-heavy hockey has stuck in my mind ever since last may

these are some of my highlights! i hope you all enjoy the playoffs (because i know i will), and all the beard-growing and towel-twirling that comes along with them. happy stanley cup season everyone!

[talictries]

my take on daniel/alpha tauri situation

I MEAN IM HAPPY BUT IM ALSO ????

ok lemme think

-if this is really what daniel wants, then I'm all for it. however, due to the concerns about his mental health/own admittance of wanting to take the year of in his original statements, it makes me a bit worried that daniel has just said yes over-eagarly. like,,, i can't imagine the heartbreak of working for something your whole life, making one poor business decision and having a shit car/team (not lando my boy could never) and feeling 'bad' at what you've spend our childhood chasing. especially after his successes at red bull and then only getting one win in 4 years compared to like 7 in 2 years. i feel like truly retiring is so hard for ANY driver, we can see many return to racing even after calling it quits (Fernando, nico hulkenberg, romain grosjean after the huge almost fatal accident where he lowkey promised his wife he's walk away is now doing feeder series). really in modern times, the only two main drivers that can come to mind and left the sport willingly without returning are rosberg and vettel, but they left because they achieved what they wanted (rosberg finally beating hamilton/ vettel 4 time WDC loved driving but decided it was time to move on to be with his family).

like,,, even in my FICTIONAL strollonso fic idea it details why he came back to racing, and a part of that was because he didn't have a wife/kids to fill his time with. it was everything he wanted his whole life and then after retirement he has... nothing. and tbh i feel it may be the same for daniel??? especially as unlike fernando in 2018, nico in 2016 and vettel 2022, daniel did not leave by his own volition.

anyway basically i'm a bit nervous he's rushing back into a seat, that is under the same management he (lowkey ruined) his career and reputation on, and in a worse car. like it's a shit car. i think it might depress him more???? and him moving back is to put pressure on checo who has been underperforming. which is smart in a sense, but ughhhh. i think daniel's looking back at redbull times with rose coloured glasses, just a little bit. however, i think he is in a better place mentally and physically compared to mclaren and as long as he performs well (so like gets points almost every race - I'm sure red bull is expecting him to be better than tsunoda who is getting approx p11) the team will be on his side.

now for the other side of this equation... nyck.

damn red bull kinda cruel. 6 months to prove himself and nope, he's fucked. in fairness he was underperforming, but lowkey its almost like in an AU timeline (LMAO) if he didn't race in 2022 and cause such high expectations for himself with points on debut, i BET he'd at least make it through the season. and what about that $20 million dollar debt or something he owes to somebody??? without red bull racing legal team he's so fucked :((( but yeah idk his 'step up' from alphatauri (ie redbull) was unlikely due to late joining age and other shit. like he's on the same amount of points as logan, no? piastri is a god, but I'm sure red bull is comparing all the rookies.

hmmm for me i'm just more sad about his future endeavours lowkey,,,, like he was champion in Formula E, but now i think everyone will look at him like the 'dude who couldn't make one season of f1' ya know???

idk, sport is cruel and business is cruel and money is on the line and helmut terrifies me, blah blah blah.

final thoughts: nyck's very bad not good horrible day, and daniel's very good, not bad, terrific day that i pray doesn't end up becoming a nightmare for himself, physically and mentally.

[lgcmanager]

LGC STUDIOS ( Q4 2023: PART 2 )

SCHEDULE TYPE: BI-WEEKLY GIG SCHEDULE RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE REFER TO THE NOTES BELOW.

a few weeks ago, we gave the trainees a chance to host their own youtube show/podcast. today, we will announce the shows that will be aired this term!

master scout: follow the rookie!, a pre-recorded youtube show hosted by HAN NOEUL ( @lgcxnoeul )

noraebattle, a pre-recorded youtube show hosted by PARK SEOJIN ( @lgcseojin ) - third and final season

what a childish cheory!, a pre-recorded podcast hosted by KIM CHERRY ( @cherrylgc ) - second season

we will give them the pleasure to introduce their shows themselves. due to the limited slots we have plus everyone’s schedules, only one new show was accepted for this term!

listed below is a reminder of certain rules from the original post for both hosts and guests.

HOSTS

management of the calendar and guests will be up to you; however, keep the main updated quickly for us to post your content on the lgcmedia account (submit the names of your FOUR guests as soon as possible).

to assure fairness for next term, there are no waiting list allowed. furthermore, we discourage any prior plot calls off dash to ensure fairness and inclusivity towards everyone who might be interested in participating.

duration of the gig is from OCTOBER to DECEMBER. this could be extended if your muse is interested and if requirements are met.

there will be 4 EPISODES of 50 MINUTES EACH.

for YOUTUBE SHOWS, you may write up to THREE threads of FOUR replies minimum each to collect +3 MCING/HOSTING, +3 VARIETY, and +3 NOTORIETY per THREAD SUBMITTED (maximum points you can get from this is +9 MCING/HOSTING, +9 VARIETY, and +9 NOTORIETY). for PODCASTS, you may write up to THREE threads of FOUR replies minimum each to collect +4 MCING/HOSTING, +4 VARIETY, and +4 NOTORIETY per THREAD SUBMITTED (maximum points you can get from this is +12 MCING/HOSTING,+12 VARIETY, and +12 NOTORIETY).

to be eligible to keep your show another trimester, you must complete at least TWO threads.

GUESTS

trainees and any MODELS, ACTORS, or IDOLS with less than 200 notoriety can participate as a guest. trainees who are a part of LGC GIRLS JAPAN are not eligible to participate.

if there is more than one show ongoing — since open slots are limited (4 per show) — your muse may only guest on one show OR podcast during a trimester. they cannot be in both to allow other people to participate as well.

to avoid overwhelming hosts, they aren’t obligated to thread with their FOUR guests and may only collect points for THREE threads.

hosts CANNOT guest on another show or podcast.

a muse cannot guest two seasons in a row on the same show. there’s a one trimester cooldown period before a muse can return to a show. they may guest on other ongoing show.

GUESTS WITHOUT THREADS will be rewarded 1 hosting, 1 variety and 1 notoriety.

GUESTS WITH THREADS will be rewarded 2 hosting, 2 variety, 2 notoriety.

POINTS FORM

( IMPORTANT NOTE: for hosts, please send your points once. as a reminder, the content of the posts must be what will be AIRED during the episodes!  )

you have until JANUARY 6, 2024 11:59PM EST to finish your threads and submit your form to the points blog. for the YOUTUBE SHOWS, all posts must use the hashtag lgc:youtubeshow, while for PODCASTS, all posts must use the hashtag lgc:podcasts.

MUSE NAME ∙ SHOW NAME ∙ Q4 2023 NO THREAD (GUESTS ONLY) - NO THREAD: +1 HOSTING; +1 VARIETY ; +1 NOTORIETY [ LINK ] THREAD (HOSTS & GUESTS) - THREAD: +(2, 3, OR 4) HOSTING; +(2, 3, OR 4) VARIETY ; +(2, 3, or 4) NOTORIETY [ LINK ]

[karihighman]

The Rookie 6x10 “Escape Plan” promotional photos ©️DGE Press / ABC. {s6 finale part 2}

[lboogie1906]

Adriel Jeremiah Green (July 31, 1988) was a football wide receiver who played in the NFL for twelve seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was drafted by the Bengals fourth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft, where he spent ten seasons before joining the Arizona Cardinals for his final two years.

In his first season with the Bengals, he made the 2012 Pro Bowl becoming the first rookie receiver to make a Pro Bowl appearance in eight years, and went on to accumulate a total of seven Pro Bowl appearances throughout his career. He caught more passes (260) than any other player in NFL history during their first three seasons, a record that was later broken. He had six seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards.

He signed with the Cardinals in 2021, having finished his Bengals career ranked second in franchise history, in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and receptions.

He is the son of Woodrow and Dora Green; Woodrow was a steelworker and truck driver and Dora, was a clerk at a Walmart. He was on his elementary school’s juggling team, telling The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he learned to juggle as early as second grade.

He verbally committed to attend the University of Georgia in October 2006 and made his commitment official by signing a letter of intent to play at Georgia on February 6, 2008. He played for the Georgia Bulldogs football team.

He finished his three seasons at the University of Georgia with 166 receptions for 2,619 yards and 23 touchdowns.

He married actress and singer Miranda Brooke (2015), his college sweetheart. They have two sons together.

He endowed three separate scholarships designed to assist one student-athlete on the Georgia football team and two needs-based students attending Georgia.

He took part in the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign. His choice was “Hope Road Nicaragua,” which is an organization that assists with improving the lives of children in Nicaragua.

He donated money to elementary school teachers in his hometown of Summerville. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[tvrundownusa]

tvrundown USA 2024.05.21

Tuesday, May 21st:

(exclusive): "Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza" (Para+, docuseries, all 3 parts), Rachel Feinstein: "Big Guy" (netflix, comedy special), "Event of the Season: A Bridgerton Wedding" (netflix, reality special)

(streaming weekly): The Veil (hulu, penultimate)

(specials): "Stax: Soulsville U.S.A." (HBO, music documentary, night two, 2hrs+)

(hour 1): Will Trent (ABC, season 2 finale), FBI (CBS, season 6 finale), The Cleaning Lady (FOX, 2hrs), The Voice (NBC, 3hrs), Police 24/7 (theCW)

(hour 2): The Rookie (ABC, season 6 finale), FBI: International (CBS, season 3 finale), The Cleaning Lady (FOX, contd, season 3 finale), The Voice (NBC, contd), Hostage Rescue (theCW)

(hour 3): The Good Doctor (ABC, series finale), FBI: Most Wanted (CBS, season 5 finale), The Voice (NBC, contd, season 25 finale)

[preempted, returning next week: Password (NBC) ]

[mitchbeck]

WOLF PACK WEEKEND RECAP: APRIL 22nd, 2024

By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack HARTFORD, CT – The 2023-24 regular season has ended. The Hartford Wolf Pack wrapped up the campaign with three games over the weekend, their final preparation for the upcoming 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Pack are enjoying a well-deserved day off on Monday. On-ice preparation will begin tomorrow for the First Round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Friday, April 19th, 2024, Vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (3-2 W): The Wolf Pack ended the home portion of their season with a sweep of a three-game homestand on Friday night. Bryan Yoon scored his second goal of the season 17:26 into the second period, burying a rebound after Joel Blomqvist denied a Bobby Trivigno shot from the right-wing circle. Nikolas Brouillard made it 2-0 Wolf Pack 43 seconds into the third period, snapping a shot by Blomqvist's glove for his fifth goal of the season. The Penguins responded with two goals in 39 seconds, stunning the crowd and tying the game 2-2. Jack Rathbone waited out a sliding defender before snapping his ninth goal of the season by Louis Domingue at 7:58, making it a 2-1 game. Thirty-nine seconds later, at 8:37, Austin Rueschhoff poked home a rebound for his 15th season goal to tie the game 2-2. The Penguins got into penalty trouble late, however, taking slashing minors at 12:04 and 12:59. With Taylor Fedun and Dmitri Samorukov in the penalty box, the Wolf Pack took advantage of the ensuing five-on-three. Nic Petan blasted a one-timer from the right-wing circle that snuck by Blomqvist at 13:22. The goal, PetaPetPetaPetan'shh, proved to be the game-winner. The Wolf Pack wrapped up their head-to-head series with the Penguins with two straight wins, finishing with a record of 3-3-0-0. The Penguins went 3-2-1-0 in the series. The home team dominated the season slate, going a perfect 6-0-0-0. Saturday, April 20th, 2024, @ Springfield Thunderbirds (6-4 W): The Wolf Pack earned a split of the "-R'val'y''y' Sa'uon'Saturdayday battling back on four separate occasions to knock off the Thunderbirds 6-4. Springfield held leads of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 but was unable to pull away in the season finale. SahPanwPanPanwPanwar'sstsst AHL goal at 9:58 of the third period tied the game 4-4, as the rookie forward tipped in a shot from Blake Hillman to quiet the crowd once again. 2:06 later, at 12:04, Brennan Othmann gave the Wolf Pack their first lead of the night when he weaved into the slot sniped his 21st goal of the seasoOthmOthOthmOthmann'slssls second of the night and completed a three-point outing (2 g, 1 a). Adam Sýkora hit the empty net at 18:36, completing the comeback for the Wolf Pack. Defenseman Mac Hollowell picked up his 40th season assist as part of a two-point (1 g, 1 a) performance. He became the first Wolf Pack player since Taylor Beck in 2016-17 to record 40 assists in a single season. He was also a +5 in the game, which tied the franchise record for best single-game +/-. Victor Mancini recorded the first two assists of his professional career in the victory. He finished the night with a career-high +4 rating. Goaltender Hugo Ollas, who made his professional debut in the game, made 14 saves to collect his first career victory. Sunday, April 21st, 2024, @ Providence Bruins (4-2 L): Jake Leschyshyn and Blake Hillman each scored SundSunSundSunday'ssonson, but a third-period goal by the Bruins would give Providence the last laugh in the ten-game season series. Nick Zabaneh, who had signed an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) earlier in the day, converted a feed from Patrick Brown at 11:11 of the third period. The goaZabaZabZabaZabaneh'sstrofessionalnal, proved to be the game-winner. Georgii Merkulov hit the empty net at 18:38, earning his first career 30-goal season and the first by a Bruin since Frank Vatrano in 2015-16. Quick Hit's ssists was the first by a Wolf Pack defenseman since Andrew Hutchinson in 2007-08. He finished second in the league among defensemen in assists withManiManManiManitoba'seancoeanco led the league with 42. - Berard's goal season ason was the second most by a rookie, trailing only Josh Doan of the Tucson Roadrunners (26). It is the first time since Ryan Callahan in 2006-07 that a Wolf Pack rookie finished in the top three in goal scoring. - The Wolf Pack finished the 2023-24 season with a record of 34-28-7-3, good for 78 points and a fifth-place finish in the Atlantic Division. - Forward Alex Belzile led the Wolf Pack in scoring in his first year with the club. He finished with 50 points (19 g, 31 a). The Week Ahead: - Thursday, April 25th, 2024, @ Charlotte Checkers (Game 1, 7:00 p.m., Bojangles Coliseum) - Saturday, April 27th, 2024, @ Charlotte Checkers (Game 2, 4:00 p.m., Bojangles Coliseum) - Sunday, April 28th, 2024, @ Charlotte Checkers (Game 3*, 4:00 p.m., Bojangles Coliseum) * If nec. About OVG360: OVG360, a division of Oak View Group, is a full-service venue management and hospitality company that helps client-partners reimagine the sports, live entertainment, and convention industries for the betterment of the venue, employees, artists, athletes, and surrounding communities. With a portfolio of more than 200 client-partners spanning arenas, stadiums, convention centers, performing arts centers, cultural institutions, and state fairs around the globe, OVG360 provides a set of services, resources and expertise designed to elevate every aspect of business that matters to venue operators. Service-oriented and driven by social responsibility, OVG360 helps facilities drive value through excellence and innovation in food services, booking and content development, sustainable operations, public health and safety, and more. ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team's selection. It is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL and plays at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of Ranger's newest faces, including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. #BackThePack The Wolf Pack are on the Hunt for the Calder Cup. Click here to view our Playoff Central. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

[unclescurvy]

2024 NFL MOCK DRAFT

FINAL - Thursday, April 25

ROUND ONE

1 CHICAGO (FROM CAR) - QB Caleb Williams (USC)

Caleb is going #1 regardless of which team drafts him. Teams in the top-10 like Washington and New England are sure to make juicy offers. Williams is the most prized QB prospect since Andrew Luck, and once the Bears shed themselves of Justin Fields, this was a done deal.

2 WASHINGTON - QB Jayden Daniels (LSU)

The Commanders will make every attempt to trade up one spot for hometown hero Caleb Williams, but the more likely scenario is they get stuck with their 2nd choice at QB. LSU coach Brian Kelly intimated that this would be their pick at #2. Daniels takes way too many big hits, so he’s going to remind Washington of Robert Griffin III. Let’s hope his career lasts a little longer.

3 MINNESOTA (PROJ. TRADE W/NE) - QB J.J. McCarthy (Michigan)

I don’t get it, but apparently NFL GM’s love J.J. McCarthy’s potential. I’m trying to predict what WILL happen, not what I think SHOULD happen. The Vikings move aggressively and methodically up the board for their new signal caller.

Minnesota gives up their two first-rounders (11 & 23) and a 2nd-rounder next year. The Patriots - even without Belichick’s influence - continue their tradition of trading down.

4 ARIZONA - WR Marvin Harrison, Jr. (Ohio State)

The Cardinals would be profoundly lucky to be able to stay at #4 and still get the 2nd best player in the draft. Harrison seems to be custom made for NFL greatness. He’ll be the best in the league within three years… provided Kyler Murray gets his act together.

5 LA CHARGERS - WR Malik Nabers (LSU) !

Jim Harbaugh will certainly want to establish a run game in LA, so an offensive tackle might be the choice here. But Nabers is a tool too tempting to pass up. Mike Williams was a cap casualty and Keenan Allen was traded away, so they certainly have a need for him.

6 NY GIANTS - QB Drake Maye (North Carolina)

Maye is nobody’s first choice, and his bad tape is really bad. But the Giants are dead-set against Daniel Jones going into 2024 with no competition. They give Evan Neal a 2nd chance (which worked with Andrew Thomas after a lousy rookie year) and pass on Alt.

7 TENNESSEE - OT Joe Alt (Notre Dame)

The Titans commit to Will Levis and give him a valuable protector. 

8 ATLANTA - EDGE Dallas Turner (Alabama)

The Falcons have addressed their offense in free agency so they can turn to the defense in the draft. Turner is the edge defender they’ve needed for years.

9 CHICAGO - WR Rome Odunze (Washington)

The new-look Bears offense will need some weapons for Caleb Williams. Keenan Allen isn’t exactly “new.” This could be a potent connection for years.

10 NY JETS - TE Brock Bowers (Georgia)

Another new toy for Aaron Rodgers. Or at least one he’ll watch from the sidelines after he ruptures another body part on the first drive. The Jets have diddly at the position and Rodgers loves his TE’s.

11 NEW ENGLAND (PROJ. TRADE W/MIN) - CB Quinyon Mitchell (Toledo)

The Pats have a plan for the QB position, but it doesn’t involve passing on all the great players available at #11. They’ll take their top corner off the board and pair him with Christian Gonzalez to hopefully form the best pair of young d-backs in the league. Mitchell has wowed GM’s this post-season.

12 DENVER - QB Michael Penix, Jr. (Washington) +

The Broncos couldn’t make a deal for a veteran QB and they don’t have the muscle to trade up. They’re stuck with Jarrett Stidham and Zach WIlson as their QB options so far. They may opt to trade down and still select Penix, but in this scenario, they reach for him. 

13 LAS VEGAS - DT Byron Murphy II (Texas)

Signing Christian Wilkins will help the team’s interior greatly, but they still need some help there. Murphy says he’s guaranteed to be drafted in the top half of the first round. Could be BS; could be inside information. 

14 NEW ORLEANS - OT Olu Fashanu (Penn State)

The Saints have a long tradition of selecting offensive linemen high in the draft, and what a great time to have so many draftable candidates at #14 - at a time of great need. 

15 INDIANAPOLIS - CB Terrion Arnold (Alabama)

The Colts make the most of what they’ve got, but they really don’t got a lot. Just about every position is a position of need, and Arnold might end up being the best corner coming out this year.

16 SEATTLE - CB/S Cooper DeJean (Iowa)

DeJean may be needed at safety with the losses of Diggs and Adams, but he’s perfectly capable of playing corner. That may be his future.

17 JACKSONVILLE - OT Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State)

The Jags have been unhappy with their line play in recent years. Cam Robinson is average when he’s not on IR and Walker Little is little more than an effective back-up. Fuaga slots into RT immediately. He’s an excellent pass protector but he could benefit greatly by moving to guard eventually.

18 CINCINNATI - G/C Jackson Powers-Johnson (Oregon)

Adding Trent Brown helps fortify the outside of the Cincy o-line, but the interior still needs a hand. Ted Karras is a free agent after this season, so they draft his eventual replacement. Powers-Johnson can improve one of the guard spots until then.

19 LA RAMS - EDGE Laiatu Latu (UCLA) +

It’s been a long time since the Rams had a pick this high, so they need to make this count. They add to their youthful D-line with a boost to their pass rush.

20 PITTSBURGH - DT Jer’zhan “Johnny”  Newton (Illinois)

Cam Heyward is just about done, and Larry Ogunjobi is easily replaceable. Newton teams with Keeanu Benton and DeMarvin Leal to form the Steelers line of the future.

21 WASHINGTON (PROJ. TRADE W/MIA) - OT J.C. Latham (Alabama)

The Dolphins have very few picks in this draft - including just two in the first four rounds. So they make a deal with Washington, and the Commanders select the left tackle they’ve been missing for years. They see the OT’s disappearing fast, so they package a few of their plentiful picks to move back into the 1st.

Washington deals picks #36 and 67 to move up to this spot.

22 PHILADELPHIA - WR Brian Thomas, Jr. (LSU)

A.J. Brown might have overstayed his welcome in Philly. If he’s dealt before/during day one of the draft, they might have a hard time passing up Brian Thomas.

23 NEW ENGLAND (PROJ. TRADE W/MIN FROM HOU THRU CLE) - QB Bo Nix (Oregon)

The Pats are fine with Jacoby Brissett as their temporary starter, but they love the potential of Nix. He developed incredible accuracy during his 47-year college career.

24 DALLAS - OL Graham Barton (Duke)

The Cowboys built their dynasty on the backs of their offensive line. Now that key parts of their 2023 line are gone, they’ll focus on a rebuild. Barton can train at all 5 position, but he’ll be immediately needed at center.

25 GREEN BAY - OT Amarius Mims (Georgia)

The Packers made the most of what they had last year, but their offensive line was in tatters. David Bakhtiari was elite, but injuries sapped his strength and now he’s gone. Time to rebuild.

26 TAMPA BAY - OT/G Troy Fautanu (Washington)

The Bucs keep getting hit along the interior of their offensive line. With Baker Mayfield getting the big bucks to re-sign with the team, he’ll need the help of someone like Troy Fautanu to protect him.

27 ARIZONA (thru HOU) - EDGE Jared Verse (Florida State) 

The Cardinals need everything. Pick anyone. It’ll help.

28 BUFFALO - WR Troy Franklin (Oregon) 

With the fire sale going on in Buffalo right now, it’s possible the team already believes they’ve missed their Super Bowl window. Jordan Poyer and Tre’Davious White were released, and both of last season’s starting wide receivers are gone. The restocking can begin here with a speedy Duck.

29 DETROIT - EDGE Chop Robinson (Penn State)

Aidan Hutchinson needs lots of help. They’re out of Okwaras and John Cominsky ain’t getting to the quarterback. Chop is a little smaller than ideal but he’s got great athleticism. 

30 BALTIMORE - CB Nate Wiggins (Clemson)

The Ravens need to get younger at corner and quickly. Wiggins has outstanding instincts for the position, but his frame might not hold up.

31 SAN FRANCISCO - OT Tyler Guyton (Oklahoma)

Trent Willams says he wants to play for a few more years, but the Niners have an opportunity to train his replacement and acquire a top-tier backup. 

32 KANSAS CITY - WR/KR Xavier Worthy (Texas) 

With the legal troubles facing Rashee Rice - just about the only bright spot on the Chiefs wide receiving corps - Kansas City needs to grab one of this year’s elite WRs at #32. They might want to spend multiple picks on the position.

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ROUND TWO

33 CAROLINA - WR Keon Coleman (Florida State)

34 NEW ENGLAND - WR Adonai Mitchell (Texas)

35 ARIZONA - LB Edgerrin Cooper (Texas A&M)

36 MIAMI (PROJ. TRADE W/WAS) - C Zach Frazier (West Virginia) + 

37 LA CHARGERS - OT Jordan Morgan (Arizona) 

38 TENNESSEE - CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama) +

39 CAROLINA (FROM NYG) - S Tyler Nubin (Minnesota)

40 WASHINGTON (FM. CHI) - EDGE Darius Robinson (Missouri)

41 GREEN BAY (FM. NYJ) - CB Ennis Rakestraw, Jr. (Missouri)

42 HOUSTON (FROM ATL) - LB Junior Colson (Michigan) 

43 ATLANTA - WR Ladd McConkey (Georgia)

44 LAS VEGAS - LB Payton Wilson (NC State) +

45 NEW ORLEANS (FM. DEN) - RB Jonathon Brooks (Texas) + 

46 INDIANAPOLIS - EDGE Bralen Trice (Washington)

47 KANSAS CITY (PROJ. TRADE W/NYG THRU SEA) - OT Kingsley Suamataia (BYU) 

48 JACKSONVILLE - DT Braden Fiske (Florida State) 

49 CINCINNATI - CB Kamari Lassiter (Georgia)

50 PHILADELPHIA (FM. NO) - CB Khyree Jackson (Oregon) 

51 PITTSBURGH - WR Xavier Legette (South Carolina)

52 LA RAMS - CB Max Melton (Rutgers) 

53 PHILADELPHIA - S Kamren Kinchens (Miami)

54 CLEVELAND - EDGE Marshawn Kneeland (Western Michigan)

55 MIAMI - G Cooper Beebe (Kansas State)

56 DALLAS - RB Trey Benson (Florida State)

57 TAMPA BAY - TE Ja’Tavion Sanders (Texas)

58 GREEN BAY - EDGE Chris Braswell (Alabama)

59 HOUSTON - CB T.J. Tampa (Iowa State)

60 BUFFALO - CB Mike Sainristil (Michigan)

61 DETROIT - DT Ruke Orhorhoro (Clemson)  

62 BALTIMORE - WR Devontez Walker (North Carolina)

63 SAN FRANCISCO - WR Roman Wilson (Michigan)

64 KANSAS CITY - CB Cam Hart (Notre Dame)

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ROUND THREE

65 CAROLINA - OT Kiran Amegadjie (Yale) 

66 ARIZONA - RB Blake Corum (Michigan)

67 MIAMI (PROJ. TRADE W/WAS) - OT Patrick Paul (Houston)

68 NEW ENGLAND - C Cedric Van Pran (Georgia) 

69 LA CHARGERS - LB Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. (Clemson)

70 NY GIANTS - DT Michael Hall, Jr. (Ohio State)

71 ARIZONA (FROM TEN) - EDGE Adisa Isaac (Penn State) 

72 NY JETS - QB Spencer Rattler (South Carolina)

73 DETROIT (FROM MIN) - G Christian Haynes (Connecticut)

74 ATLANTA - S Javon Bullard (Georgia)

75 CHICAGO - TE Cade Stover (Ohio State)

76 DENVER - LB Cedric Gray (North Carolina)

77 LAS VEGAS - WR Ricky Pearsall (Florida)

78 WASHINGTON (FROM SEA) -  WR Malachi Corley (Western Kentucky) 

79 ATLANTA (FROM JAX) - LB Marist Liufau (Notre Dame)

80 CINCINNATI - S Jaden Hicks (Washington State)

81 SEATTLE (FROM NO THRU DEN) - OT/G Dominick Puni (Kansas)

82 INDIANAPOLIS - DT Kris Jenkins (Michigan) 

83 LA RAMS - CB Caelen Carson (Wake Forest)

84 PITTSBURGH - G Mason McCormick (South Dakota State)

85 CLEVELAND - DT/EDGE Brandon Dorlus (Oregon)

86 HOUSTON (FROM PHI) - G Christian Mahogany (Boston College)

87 DALLAS - S Cole Bishop (Utah)

88 GREEN BAY - TE Theo Johnson (Penn State)

89 TAMPA BAY - WR Ja’Lynn Polk (Washington)

90 ARIZONA (FROM HOU) - DT DeWayne Carter (Duke)

91 GREEN BAY (FROM BUF) - S Calen Bullock (USC)

92 DETROIT - EDGE Jonah Ellis (Utah)

93 BALTIMORE - CB Kris Abrams-Draine (Missouri) 

94 SAN FRANCISCO -  TE Ben Sinnott (Kansas State)

95 KANSAS CITY - DT Khristian Boyd (Northern Iowa)

96 JACKSONVILLE - OT/G Brandon Coleman (TCU)

97 CINCINNATI - DT Masson Smith (LSU)

98 PITTSBURGH (FROM PHI) - WR Johnny Wilson (Florida State)

99 LA RAMS - LB Trevin Wallace (Kentucky)

100 WASHINGTON (FROM SF) - CB Johnny Dixon (Penn State)

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ROUND FOUR

101 CAROLINA - CB Renardo Green (Florida State)

102 SEATTLE (FROM WAS) - WR Javon Baker (Central Florida)

103 NEW ENGLAND -  EDGE Mohamed Kamara (Colorado State)

104 ARIZONA - EDGE Austin Booker (Kansas)

105 LA CHARGERS - WR Brenden Rice (USC)

106 TENNESSEE - EDGE Gabriel Murphy (UCLA)

107 NY GIANTS - RB Will Shipley (Clemson)

108 MINNESOTA - CB Andru Phillips (Kentucky)

109 ATLANTA - LB James Williams (Miami)

110 LA CHARGERS (FROM CHI) - RB Bucky Irving (Oregon)

111 NY JETS - S Sione Vaki (Utah)

112 LAS VEGAS - WR Jalen McMillan (Washington)

113 BALTIMORE (FROM DEN VIA NYJ) - LB Tommy Eichenberg (Ohio State) 

114 JACKSONVILLE - CB Jarrian Jones (Florida State)

115 CINCINNATI - LB Curtis Jacobs (Penn State)

116 JACKSONVILLE (FROM NO) - QB Michael Pratt (Tulane)

117 INDIANAPOLIS - RB MarShawn Lloyd (USC)

118 SEATTLE - S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (Texas Tech)

119 PITTSBURGH - CB D.J. James (Auburn)

120 PHILADELPHIA (FROM LAR VIA PIT) - S Malik Mustapha (Wake Forest)

121 DENVER (FROM MIA) - WR Jacob Cowing (Arizona)

122 CHICAGO (FROM PHI) - DT McKinnley Jackson (Texas A&M)

123 HOUSTON (FROM CLE) - RB Ray Davis (Kentucky)

124 SAN FRANCISCO (FROM DAL) - CB Josh Newton (TCU)

125 TAMPA BAY - CB Jarvis Brownlee, Jr. (Louisville)

126 GREEN BAY - C Beaux Limmer (Arkansas)

127 HOUSTON - EDGE Javon Solomon (Troy)

128 BUFFALO - S Tykee Smith (Georgia)

129 MINNESOTA (FROM DET) - RB Braelon Allen (Wisconsin)

130 BALTIMORE - WR Jamari Thrash (Louisville)

131 KANSAS CITY - NT T’Vondre Sweat (Texas) !

132 SAN FRANCISCO - G Zac Zinter (Michigan)

133 BUFFALO - OT Blake Fisher (Notre Dame)

134 NY JETS (FROM BAL) - RB Jaylen Wright (Tennessee)

135 SAN FRANCISCO - WR Jermaine Burton (Alabama)

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ROUND FIVE

136 DENVER (FROM CAR VIA CLE) - DT Leonard Taylor III (Miami)

137 NEW ENGLAND - EDGE Xavier Thomas (Clemson)

138 ARIZONA - OT Javon Foster (Missouri)

139 WASHINGTON - OT Roger Rosengarten (Washington)

140 LA CHARGERS - OT Matt Goncalves (Pittsburgh)

141 CAROLINA (FROM NYG) - OT Andrew Coker (TCU)

142 CAROLINA (FROM TEN) - TE Erick All (Iowa) +

143 ATLANTA - DT Mekhi Wingo (LSU)

144 BUFFALO (FROM CHI) - CB Elijah Jones (Boston College)

145 DENVER (FROM NYJ) - CB Nehemiah Pritchett (Auburn)

146 TENNESSEE (FROM MIN VIA PHI) - WR Luke McCaffrey (Rice)

147 DENVER - RB Isaiah Davis (South Dakota State)

148 LAS VEGAS - RB Isaac Guerendo (Louisville)

149 CINCINNATI - S Beau Brade (Maryland)

150 NEW ORLEANS - P Tory Taylor (Iowa)

151 INDIANAPOLIS - OT/G Delmar Glaze (Maryland)

152 WASHINGTON (FROM SEA) - G Charles Turner III (LSU)

153 JACKSONVILLE - DT Tyler Davis (Clemson)

154 LA RAMS - G Layden Robinson (Texas A&M)

155 LA RAMS (FROM PIT) - G Tanor Bortolini (Wisconsin)

156 CLEVELAND (FROM PHI VIA ARZ) - WR Malik Washington (Virginia)

157 MINNESOTA (FROM CLE) - DT Justin Rogers (Auburn)

158 MIAMI - DT Marcus Harris (Auburn) 

159 KANSAS CITY (FROM DAL) - RB Audric Estime (Notre Dame)

160 BUFFALO (FROM GB) - TE Jared Wiley (TCU)

161 PHILADELPHIA (FROM TB) - OT Christian Jones (Texas)

162 ARIZONA (FROM HOU) - EDGE Justin Ebiogbe (Alabama)

163 BUFFALO - WR/KR Ainias Smith (Texas A&M)

164 DETROIT - EDGE Grayson Murphy (UCLA)

165 BALTIMORE - DT Keith Randolph, Jr. (Illinois)

166 NY GIANTS (FROM SF VIA CAR) - K Will Reichard (Alabama)

167 MINNESOTA (FROM KC) - EDGE Nelson Ceaser (Houston)

168 NEW ORLEANS - S Dominique Hampton (Washington) 

169 GREEN BAY - LB Ty’ron Hopper (Missouri)

170 NEW ORLEANS - EDGE Cedric Johnson (Mississippi)

171 PHILADELPHIA - C Hunter Nourzad (Penn State)

172 PHILADELPHIA - CB Kalen King (Penn State)

173 KANSAS CITY - S Kitan Oladapo (Oregon State)

174 DALLAS - RB Dylan Laube (New Hampshire)

175 NEW ORLEANS - QB Jordan Travis (Florida State) +

176 SAN FRANCISCO - CB Dwight McGlothern (Arkansas)

+ injury concerns

 ! character concerns

[dan6085]

Top 20 NBA rebounders of all time:

1. Wilt Chamberlain - Widely regarded as one of the most dominant players in NBA history, Chamberlain holds the record for most rebounds in a single game with 55.

2. Bill Russell - Russell is widely considered one of the greatest defenders in NBA history, and his 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics is a record that still stands today.

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - In addition to being one of the greatest rebounders of all time, Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA's all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points.

4. Elvin Hayes - Hayes played for 16 seasons in the NBA and was known for his dependable mid-range jump shot.

5. Moses Malone - Malone was a dominant force in the NBA during the 1980s, winning three MVP awards and leading the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA championship in 1983.

6. Karl Malone - Malone was a consistent performer throughout his 19-year career, earning 14 All-Star selections and two NBA MVP awards.

7. Robert Parish - Parish played for 21 seasons in the NBA, winning four championships with the Boston Celtics as part of the team's legendary "Big Three" with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale.

8. Tim Duncan - Duncan spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs, winning five NBA championships and earning 15 All-Star selections.

9. Kevin Garnett - Garnett was known for his fierce competitiveness and versatile skillset, earning 15 All-Star selections and winning an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008.

10. Hakeem Olajuwon - Olajuwon was a dominant center during the 1990s, winning two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets and earning two NBA MVP awards.

11. Walt Bellamy - Bellamy played for 14 seasons in the NBA, earning four All-Star selections and winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1962.

12. Wes Unseld - Unseld played for 13 seasons in the NBA, earning five All-Star selections and winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1969.

13. Shaquille O'Neal - O'Neal was one of the most dominant centers in NBA history, winning four NBA championships and earning 15 All-Star selections.

14. Charles Barkley - Barkley was a versatile power forward known for his rebounding and scoring ability, earning 11 All-Star selections and winning the NBA MVP award in 1993.

15. Buck Williams - Williams played for 17 seasons in the NBA, earning three All-Star selections and winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1982.

16. Dennis Rodman - Rodman was one of the best rebounders of his era, leading the NBA in rebounds per game for seven straight seasons from 1992 to 1998.

17. Kevin Willis - Willis played for 21 seasons in the NBA, earning one All-Star selection and winning an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003.

18. Patrick Ewing - Ewing was a dominant center during the 1980s and 1990s, earning 11 All-Star selections and leading the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals in 1994.

19. Dave Cowens - Cowens played for 10 seasons in the NBA, earning seven All-Star selections and winning the NBA MVP award in 1973.

20. Dwight Howard - Howard is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and has earned eight All-Star selections over his 17-year career.

Top 20 greatest NBA rebounders of all time, ranked by total rebounds and including their career average rebounds per game:

1. Wilt Chamberlain - Total rebounds: 23,924, Average per game: 22.9

2. Bill Russell - Total rebounds: 21,620, Average per game: 22.5

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Total rebounds: 17,440, Average per game: 11.2

4. Elvin Hayes - Total rebounds: 16,279, Average per game: 12.5

5. Moses Malone - Total rebounds: 16,212, Average per game: 12.2

6. Karl Malone - Total rebounds: 14,968, Average per game: 10.1

7. Robert Parish - Total rebounds: 14,715, Average per game: 9.1

8. Tim Duncan - Total rebounds: 15,091, Average per game: 10.8

9. Kevin Garnett - Total rebounds: 14,662, Average per game: 10.0

10. Hakeem Olajuwon - Total rebounds: 13,748, Average per game: 11.1

11. Walt Bellamy - Total rebounds: 14,241, Average per game: 13.0

12. Wes Unseld - Total rebounds: 13,769, Average per game: 14.0

13. Shaquille O'Neal - Total rebounds: 13,099, Average per game: 10.9

14. Charles Barkley - Total rebounds: 12,546, Average per game: 11.7

15. Buck Williams - Total rebounds: 13,017, Average per game: 10.0

16. Dennis Rodman - Total rebounds: 11,954, Average per game: 13.1

17. Kevin Willis - Total rebounds: 11,901, Average per game: 9.3

18. Patrick Ewing - Total rebounds: 11,607, Average per game: 9.8

19. Dave Cowens - Total rebounds: 10,444, Average per game: 10.3

20. Dwight Howard - Total rebounds: 12,631, Average per game: 12.1