#we want this so bad but being a philly sports fan means knowing there’s always a chance that we’ll blow it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

smolwritingchick · 10 months

Text

Forced to Believe Chapter 6- Total Divas Season 1 Episode 1

Author's Note: Usually for the Total Divas episodes, I just put in the scenes that I wanted Melanie to be in. These are going to be pretty short chapters. But once in a while it'll be long

Just so there isn't any confusion This in bold and parenthesis: Melanie (hey guys! I'm Melanie) This means talking in the confessional. You know when they are on the green screen discussing what happened on the show. That's what I meant.

if it is in italics then that means it is showing what is happening on TV.

If it is in normal font then that means it is happening in real time, right now. Hope that helps.

Chapter Summary: Melanie stars in the first season of Total Divas and prepares for Wrestlemania while befriending the new girls, Jojo and Eva Marie

Words: 3,000+

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'10 days before WrestleMania, Tampa, FL'

Melanie walks into the gym, wearing gray sweatpants, sneakers, a sports bra, and a gray hoodie with her gym bag over her shoulder.

Melanie (Hey guys! I'm Melanie Laurer, better known as the violent and wild Morgan Lopez. I'm more nicer than my character and am sometimes laid back. But when I bite my tongue for too long, I keep it real. When it comes to being a WWE diva, all I want to do is entertain you. That's it, no being jealous of anyone being in the spotlight, like, I will find a way to entertain you. If I gotta get put through a table for entertainment, haha, then I will do it)

"There she is," Jon greeted with a grin, wearing shorts. Melanie laughed and hugged him.

Melanie (Ever since I started the storyline with The Shield, we all got to hang out more, so it was a win win situation. We all go way back. Especially Jon and I. Way, way back.)

"How was Philly and your flight?" Colby asked

"Not that bad. The fam are coming to support me. So, I have to manage Randy's team and have a match. Stress..." Melanie sighed, hoping everything goes well. She really wanted to give it her all.

"Yeah, I see some grey hairs." Colby pointed out.

"You fucking serious!?" Melanie exclaimed as she looked at her hair in the mirror.

Colby laughed. "Nah. Just fucking with you."

Melanie hit him on the shoulder. "Jerk..."

Joe walked over to the gang with a water bottle. "Hey Mel."

"Joe!" Melanie happily yelled and ran to hug him.

Melanie (Joe is...like my teddy bear. He's super sweet. Colby is the guy who always likes to have a good laugh with me and mess with me. And Jon is my best friend. We helped each other out in the ring, practiced our storyline, talked about our memories in the indies, and we really got closer. I am grateful for my boys. They are the best.)

"Hey! I didn't get a hug!" Colby playfully pouted.

"You have to earn one." Melanie pointed

"Bull, come here." Colby gave her a bear hug as she laughed

Melanie (When I met the three of them, we all clicked. We've known each other for years and to do this storyline and stuff, it's so fun. I did...a lot of damage to The Shield. But I liked it because it was a challenge to be able to act out a very violent, feisty, personality like Morgan so it took me a while to adjust to the character. I hope I'm doing a good job. If it wasn't for the fans, I wouldn't be here today. Right now, I cannot wait for WrestleMania. I have to manage Randy Orton's team to decide my fate at WrestleMania and I go up against Alicia Fox. It's going to be off the chain!)

"Can we practice the pose? How do you do it?" Melanie asked.

"You stick your fist out like this," Jon demonstrated

"Cool, but I'll be doing it my own way."

"Already being a rebel," Joe said with a low chuckle.

"See?" She looked for approval as she had her fist up in the air and looked up.

"You know, I like it." Jon nodded.

"Yeah." Joe agreed

Colby nodded. "Awesome."

Melanie (I haven't been in divas matches in a while so I can prepare for WrestleMania. I have been training a lot. I can't wait for my first match at the PPV. This is going to be awesome.)

After their workout, Colby tried to hug Melanie while he was sweaty. "Who wants a hug?"

"Ew, get away!" Melanie exclaimed and he chased her around the gym with Jon and Joe laughing.

"Fine, I'll take your grapes in your bag," Colby said and went through her gym bag.

"No! Not my grapes!" Melanie yelled but Colby grabbed a handful and started eating some. "Colby! You jerk!" she threw a water bottle at him but he ducked and it hit Jon in the face.

"Wow!" Colby laughed out loud with Joe.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Melanie covered her mouth, looking shocked while Jon playfully glared at her.

'7 days till WrestleMania, Newark, NJ'

Melanie walks in to see Jane (Head of talent relations) and Mark talking to Nattie.

Melanie (So I get a call from Jane about some new girls that we're getting. New girls, huh? Interesting.)

"Hi, is this a bad time?" Melanie asked.

"Oh no, I'm glad you're here." Jane greeted.

Nattie smiled and hugged her. "Melanie!"

"Hey Nattie!"

Nattie (Melanie is one of the sweetest, most down-to-earth women I know. Completely different from her in-ring character. She really has potential in the WWE and I am looking forward to watching her match to prove it at WrestleMania.)

"So there are two new girls coming here. Nattie will be showing them around." Jane informed

"Awesome." Melanie said with a grin.

"You seem excited."

"Yeah, I actually wouldn't mind showing them around too if that would be okay."

"You want to show them around with Nattie?"

"Why not? Nice to know new people. Well, if you're okay with it."

Melanie (Sometimes I can have a bad habit of putting myself into situations without people's say in it. I should stop that...but hey, it'll be cool to help them out, why not?)

Jane chuckled. "It's alright. You can show them around too."

Melanie (When I looked into Nattie's eyes, all I see is pain and disappointment.)

"Are you okay?" Melanie asked her.

"I um, won't be wrestling in a match at WrestleMania." Nattie revealed with a frown.

"Oh man..."

"There will be two divas matches. You and Alicia Fox, to prove you should stay here, and the Bellas..." Jane began.

Melanie (Well, once I heard the Bellas I was like, go figure.)

"...with Cody and Damien against The Funkadactyls, Brodus and Tensai." Jane continued

Melanie (I'm glad Trinity and Ariane have a match. They really deserve it.)

"Mark." Brie greeted, walking over to them.

"There she is." Mark smiled and gave her a hug.

Brie (Oh look...it's Melanie...icing on the cake...)

"Hey!" Melanie greeted politely

"Melanie, hi. Nattie." Brie greeted with a fake smile.

"Brie," Nattie said with a smile.

Melanie (Yeah the vibes are weird. I know her and sister don't like me. But I don't care, I'm going to keep it cordial)

"We're getting new girls," Melanie announced with excitement.

"Really?" Brie raised a brow.

"Yeah. So I heard you will have a WrestleMania match."

"Yeah, I'm so excited."

Brie (Newbies...first we got to deal with Melanie who is a high rising diva because she feuds with The Shield and is among the top superstars to go against them and now we have to deal with two more? Newbies are not divas, they're trying to be.)

JoJo and Eva Marie arrive. "Hi!" They both excitedly greet with a smile.

"You're JoJo and Eva Marie, the new girls right?" Mark asked.

"Yes." JoJo responded.

Eva Marie (When we meet Jane, I'm already freaking out. Like, this is a dream)

While JoJo and Eva Marie talk to Jane, Nattie and Melanie sit down.

"I really want to be in a storyline with you one day. Maybe I could be a heel and you a face or something. I just really do wish that you had a match." Melanie told Nattie.

"Melanie, this match is for you to prove that you should be here. There's always next year. But you earned your match. It's just unfair how the Bellas get to be the center of attention and be on all these shows. That is what I'm upset about." Nattie frowned.

"Yeah, I kind of agree."

Jane walked up to them with Brie, and the new girls. "Come meet the new girls."

Brie and Nattie introduce themselves.

"Hi, I'm Melanie!"

"Hi, I'm Eva Marie."

JoJo smiled. "I'm JoJo."

JoJo (There is something about Melanie that just made me feel back at home and just reminded me that everything is okay. I can see her as a sister figure to me.)

"Nattie will be your guide along with Melanie who will keep a lookout for you." Jane informed them.

"So excited. Like, if you guys need anything, we're here for you. Like if you have hair problems or a midlife crisis." Nattie added.

"I'm glad you said that. Eva here will be a blond." Jane announced

"I think you look nice like that. I mean, there's only room for one blond." Nattie said as everyone laughed. "I'm just kidding."

Nattie (WWE wants the divas to stand out. Eva can't have brown hair because she'll look like a Bella twin. But Hello! Heh, heh, Natalya's blond. I'm right here, you have a blond girl already.)

Melanie (Whoa, whoa, whoa, what? Blond? What the heck? I'm sorry but I can't imagine her as a blond. I would do a hair color that will really make her stand out and look different. Do blue or purple or something. Make her really stand out instead of it always being a blonde, brunette or a raven-colored diva)

"What do you think about that?" Melanie asked.

"Freaking out." Eva Marie replied

"Welcome to WWE." Brie replied as everyone chuckled.

'5 days till WrestleMania, WrestleMania Dress Rehearsal'

Melanie (I have been working on a nice entrance for WrestleMania, in honor of my cousin Chyna. So, I got permission and everything is going well)

Melanie walked backstage in her WrestleMania ring attire with The Shield.

"So can somebody drag or carry me out the ring? When The Shield win the match? And I can try to struggle and stuff?" Melanie thought of some ideas for the match.

"Dibs." Jon raised his hand with a grin.

"I'm not surprised."

"This is going to be funny at WrestleMania." Colby said as Melanie and The Shield agreed.

All of a sudden, they see Vincent (Ariane's boyfriend) getting angry.

"I'll talk to his ass. Fuck this job. He shouldn't talk to you like that. I'll kick his ass. I'll go to the locker room right now and fuck his ass up." Vincent exclaimed angrily

Trinity (Me and Ariane are like in a marriage. If something happens to her, it happens to me. You can get fired over stuff like this.)

"I don't care who you are. You can be the President of The United States. I don't give a fuck." Vincent went on.

"I'm just gonna get dressed," Ariane said and walked away, upset.

Jon (Jimmy Uso) said to Vincent, "You're not going to do anything."

"No, I'm gonna fuck his ass up." Vincent huffedd

"No, just try to relax. Just step outside and go." Nattie replied, trying to calm him down.

Nattie (Luckily I was able to calm him down and prevent him from getting his ass kicked.)

"I hope everything is okay," Melanie murmured.

"They'll handle it." Colby patted her on the shoulder.

Melanie (I'm just going to mind my business and hope that everything will get settled.)

'2 days till WrestleMania'

Jon, wearing jeans, a shirt and a cap meets Melanie in her hotel room.

"Knock knock." Jon announced, opening the door.

"Hey." Melanie greeted with a grin and hugged him.

"You looked stressed."

"Why is everyone saying that? I'm all right."

"It's WrestleMania. You're not all right." Jon let out a laugh. Melanie stuck her tongue out at him and sat down on her bed. "So what are your plans tonight?"

"Well, I'm going to the Sandy Relief Party. Wanna come with me?"

"Oh boy..."

Melanie laughed. "I have no problem dragging you there. Come on. And plus, you can help me pick out a dress."

"Mel, you're going to be the death of me. I'll be with the boys tonight, was wondering if you wanted to hang with us. But since you'll be at the party, maybe next time."

"You know who I want you to be for Halloween?"

"What?"

"A wild guess."

"The Joker?"

"Yes! That'll be awesome. Have the makeup and stuff."

"How did our conversation change from the party to Halloween? You're goofy."

Melanie hit him with a pillow. "I am not."

Melanie (You know, ever since me and Jon started to work together in the WWE, we've gotten closer and our friendship has gotten even more random. Haha. We sometimes talk in random conversations and say random words. This started a few years ago actually)

"Bananas." Jon said.

"Grapes!"

"Sweet."

"Sour!"

"Why are you yelling?"

"I'm not yelling!"

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes-" Jon began but got attacked multiple times by Melanie's pillow. Jon laughed and started to tickle her as Melanie laughed.

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Melanie exclaimed.

'WWE Sandy Relief Party'

Melanie wears a nice black dress and has her hair up into a bun with hair on the side. She gets out of the limo and sees white flashes as people take pictures.

"Wow." Melanie looked around in amazement.

Melanie (This is my first red carpet. So it was really cool.)

"Morgan! Morgan! Over here!" Paparazzi yelled as she smiled and waved

"Hey!" Melanie said and then walked in as she saw Eva Marie and JoJo. "Hey guys! I love your hair." She hugged them.

Melanie (Eva Marie's hair looks awesome. She really stands out. Red suits her really well.)

"Jane was okay with it?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah, but she gave me a warning," Eva replied.

"It looks really good." The Bellas come by.

"Wow." Brie said.

Nikki (I thought Eva Marie was supposed to be this blond bombshell.)

Later on, Melanie gets ready to go out to the red carpet but Jon walks up to her in dress clothes. Melanie laughed and clapped her hands. "You have got to be kidding me! Why is it that you like to surprise me and prank me?"

Jon laughed and hugged her. "Couldn't resist." They walk to the red carpet.

Melanie (I feel bad for Nattie and how she has to work. I thought Renee Young was supposed to do this.)

Nattie (It sucks working while the divas have fun. Once again, I'm on the sidelines looking in.)

After taking photos with some divas, Melanie takes some photos with Jon which sparked interest in the crowd and then they all go inside.

Let the dating rumors begin.

"We are here with Dean Ambrose and Morgan Lopez, how are you two?" The interviewer asked

"We're loving every second of it, it's just so awesome to be here," Melanie replied with a smile.

"Yeah, supporting charities, it's been a hectic week so far," Jon added.

"So are you two dating or whatnot?" The interviewer asked abruptly.

"Um..." Jon and Melanie look at each other.

Melanie (I dunno, something about that question made me think more about Jon. It's like...when people ask you questions about if you're dating your best friend, it sometimes gives you thoughts in your head.)

"You'll find out pretty soon," Jon smirked and put his arm around Melanie's shoulders.

Melanie (Huh?)

"Interesting. Well, enjoy your night, thank you for your time."

"What was that about?" Melanie asked as Jon shrugged. "I'm gonna go hang with the new girls for a few, you cool?"

"Yeah, Colby and Joe are here, I'll be fine."

"Okay," Melanie said and walked over to the new girls. "How do you like it so far?"

"It's my first red carpet." Eva Marie happily said.

"It's my first too. Isn't it awesome?"

"Yeah." Eva Marie replied as they all laughed.

Meanwhile, Steve Tisch, the owner of the NY Giants, talked with the Bellas.

"You see the three newbies over there?" Nikki asked.

"Well, two of them." Brie corrected

"Actually it's the three of them." Nikki pointed to Melanie as well. "Look how comfortable they are."

Nikki (We need to get our intimidation on. We are veterans)

Melanie walked over to Jon, Colby and Joe to hang out with them. Eva Marie and JoJo were taking pictures with one of the celebrities but then Nikki came over.

"I don't mean to be a photo bomb but I need some more champagne." Nikki gave a glass to Eva. "Oh, and Brie needs a glass too. She's really thirsty."

Melanie (Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. I'm not going to just sit here and let you do this. Are you kidding me right now? No one is your maid, get your own freaking drink. Seriously? Who does that?)

Eva Marie (Are you kidding me right now? Like bitch, please.)

Eva Marie and JoJo come back with the Bella's drinks. "Wait a minute," Nikki said as she took some photos with Brie.

Melanie walked over to the Bellas. "That was uncalled for." She said with disapproval while Nikki shrugged and smiled. "No for real, grow up,"

Eva Marie (That will only happen one time. One.)

Melanie (Shit like that makes my blood boil...)

JoJo and Eva give them their drinks. "Thank you!" Nikki replied.

"So much!" Brie added

Melanie (Jeez, it's like they are full of themselves because they are dating big time superstars and think they have power over the divas division. It's corny. They need to cut it out)

Melanie walked with the new girls. "Don't let them walk all over you just because you're new. And JoJo, don't let them manipulate you because you're young. I'm here for you girls."

Eva Marie and JoJo thanked her and hugged her. "That will only happen one time though." Eva Marie declared as Melanie noddded

'1 day before WrestleMania'

Melanie (Well, after I got done talking to the Technical producer, he said there was a problem with the bazooka gun. So there's a chance I might not do the entrance I want to do. I'm worried and have my fingers crossed that everything will be okay. I really just want to rock this entrance.)

'WrestleMania day'

Melanie (Today is the biggest day of my life! It's WrestleMania! Everything is alright with the match with The Shield, but I still have to see if the firework gun is working. I hope they'll still let me use it.)

Melanie is backstage with the technical producer. "The bazooka had some kinks in it but it's fixed now and you'll be using it for your entrance."

"Yes!" Melanie shouted happily. "Thank you so much!"

Melanie (We are in business baby!!)

'Later'

Melanie has her casual attire on as WrestleMania starts.

Nattie (We get to see Melanie in action.)

"You think she's nervous?" Eva Marie asked as she watched the TV with the others.

'In The Ring'

The Shield go to ringside and get together as they look at Randy and his team. Dean stares at Morgan and smirks. He blows her a kiss and Morgan starts to have a worried look on her face and looks away from him.

"Oh wowwww, he blew her a kiss!" Jojo exclaimed.

"That's hot." Eva Marie grinned

"Who do think is going to win?" JoJo asked.

"I'm rooting for Orton." Nattie said

"The Shield." Eva Marie replied with a grin.

"Spear by Reigns!" Cole exclaimed as Ambrose covered Orton.

"I think he has it," JBL said.

"1! 2!" The ref began.

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" King exclaims.

"3!" The ref said as Morgan screamed "No!"

"Here are your winners! The Shield!" Lilian announced.

"Oh my gosh!" Eva Marie exclaims. "Awesome!"

"Oh no, they won." JoJo says.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Moments later'

Melanie goes to meet up with the new girls. "That was an adrenaline rush. Over 80,000 people. It's crazy." She said with a grin and hugged Nattie.

Melanie (My night isn't over yet, I still have a match.)

She puts on her ring attire. She goes to sit on one of the storage boxes and listens to music to calm herself down.

Melanie (I'm shaking, my body has butterflies all over. I'm so nervous...)

"Melanie is up next!" Nattie announced with a grin.

Morgan's theme comes on and the crowd screams

"Do you hear how loudly the fans are cheering?" JoJo asked in amazement.

"That's insane." Eva looked impressed.

Morgan walks out with a bazooka gun just like Chyna and looks at the crowd with a smirk. She shoots it as the crowd goes wild.

Nikki (That entrance was too explosive for a WWE diva. Period.)

Alicia picks Morgan up and throws her to the turnbuckle. She walks over and picks her up onto the top and then prepares for a suplex.

"Oh no no no!" Eva Marie exclaimed and looked away as Alicia hits Morgan with a suplex.

"I hope she's okay." JoJo looked on with worry.

"She is. She's been through worse. She got triple powerbombed by The Shield once." Nattie mentioned.

"What!?" JoJo yelled while Nattie nodded in response.

Morgan starts to fight back and gain momentum. She kicks Alicia and runs to the ropes to do a hurricanrana but Alicia counters with a powerbomb as the crowd yells 'Oh!' Morgan holds her head.

"Oh my god, she looks really hurt." Nattie said with worry.

"I hope she's okay. She did take a hard fall." Eva Marie looked on.

Morgan sits on her back as she is lying face down on the mat. She grabs hold of Alicia's wrists and crosses her arms under her chin and pulls back on her arms to cause pressure, like a straight jacket as she yells a long and loud battle cry.

"What kind of submission is this?!" King exclaimed.

"Oh my god, that looks so awesome!" JoJo cheered.

"Wow." Eva Marie said in amazement.

"That submission looks painful, I would never want that on me." Nikki shook her head.

"Do you submit!?" The ref asks.

"Yes!" Alicia choked out and the ref signaled to ring the bell.

After Melanie's match, she walks backstage to get hugged by Nattie, Eva Marie and JoJo. Melanie laughed as she had tears of joy in her eyes.

"Congrats on the match! You did so good!" JoJo said with a smile.

"Thanks guys." Melanie sniffed

"Aw, come here." Nattie pulled her in for another hug

Melanie (I have never felt so electrified besides going to a wrestling event to watch The Rock in action. I can't believe that I just had my match. My body is aching but it was all worth the pain.)

Melanie hung out with Nattie and the new girls. "The Bellas are up! The Bellas are up!" Nattie exclaimed as Undertaker's match ended.

"Awesome!" Melanie cheered. "I can't wait to see Trin and Ariane!"

Melanie (I really can't wait to see them all in action. I'm curious to see who will win.)

All of a sudden, Cena's theme comes on. "What?" Melanie asked in confusion.

Nattie (I know something's not right here because all of a sudden, I see John Cena out in the ring. The girls were supposed to be before this match.)

"Weren't they supposed to be up before this?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah. Let's see what's going on." Nattie said and they walked to where the Bellas were.

"What happened? You guys should be up." Melanie said.

"When are you coming out?" Nattie asked.

"Uh, never," Ariane replied in disappointment.

"We got cut." The Bellas, Trinity and Ariane say in a disappointed tone.

"Why?" Melanie asked.

"The match before us went way over." Nikki replied as Melanie, Nattie and the new girls looked shocked.

Nikki (This was supposed to be me and Brie's first WrestleMania match. For it to be taken away like that, it hurts. And it sucks that Melanie gets to have a match and she hasn't even been here for a year.)

"I feel like if I show any emotion, I'm going to flip." Nikki huffed.

"I'm so sorry you guys," Nattie frowned.

"I gotta take a second." Trinity said and walked out. Ariane and Melanie walk after her to hug her.

Nattie (I'm just glad we had at least one divas match.)

"Are you okay...?" Melanie asked.

"Just so...disappointed." Trinity sniffed as they walked into the diva's locker room. "I only have a couple more years here. I want kids and stuff. Four more years, I'm gonna be 30. Am I still gonna be chasing for WrestleMania?"

"Yeah, we're gonna get to Mania." Ariane said as they all laugh

"We'll try again next year. Phew, I need a drink or two."

"Drinks are on me tonight," Melanie suggested with a grin.

#forced to believe #total divas #the shield 4th member #dean ambrose x oc

6 notes · View notes

shinymooncolor · 4 years

Note

hey! you don’t have to answer this, but i know close to nothing about hockey and my family and i have never really watched it and i’m starting to get very interested, but i have no idea where to start 😅 what do you think i should focus on first, as a newbie? what should i absolutely know as a fan? what teams are pretty good in your opinion? again, thanks for your help if ever you see this p.s: i really love your posts and they bring a smile to me face, so thank you for your hard work! <3

Hi!

Ohhh well. First of all. Welcome to the nerve wracking, nail biting, jaw clenching, gut wrenching, heartbreaking and utterly incredible world of (ice) hockey. Angry muscle machines on skates chasing a tiny rubber puck in the nhl and their goddess equivalents in wnhl - what’s not to love?

You’ve decided on a hell of a year to join. Due to Covid, the normal system was paused and a recent bubble playoffs series played and later won by Tampa Bay Lightning a few weeks ago. The new season would’ve begun last week but is currently expected to start around December.

I’d say the best starting point would be to watch some games - YouTube has a lot of highlights, game compilations etc. and browse hockey tumblr. Hockey tumblr is a great combination of hockey gossip, game reviews, fans sharing their love, passion and (hateful) opinions about players, clubs and the sport in general.

My personal team faves are a handful - you see, the league is “split” into two conferences - east and west and within here a few other divisions dictating who the teams will play on a more recent basis. The clubs in the nhl being split over North America and Canada means a lot of ground to cover and therefore it’s split like this - time zones, distance and whatever. So maybe decide on a conference first? East or west.

I’m an eastern conference gal meself, but the west sure has its merits too.

So. Teams. You’re about to start a rumble here 😂

I am a personal fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins 🐧 they play good hockey, in spite of their idiot general manager (I’ve got posts detailing why he’s an ass hat extraordinarie). They’re captained by Canada’s hockey savior, Sidney Crosby: hockey robot, yellow crocs enthusiast , triple gold member (youngest captain to get all three?) and the goodest boy in the league. He’s been heralded as the next great one yada yada since he was about 5? And shot pucks into a dryer back in Canada - with that came a lot of shit for the poor guy who, in his own words, just wants to play hockey. And he’s good. He’s got his team of French Canadian d-men (letang, dumo), a whole lot of goalie drama which seems to be a pattern and his Russian (husband) assistant captain Evgeni Malkin who’s got the cutest kid, a really cool wifey (seriously her insta is 10000 better than geno’s own) and a wicked sense of humor which he conviently hides behind his “English big bad today” excuse to avoid media on a daily basis (he’s played this card since his wild escape and temporary defection from Russia back in 2006) seriously google it. It’s wild. They’ve won three cups since 2009, they’re contenders in the playoffs most years and their pr department provides some hilarious videos of captain Canada and his Russian (husband) A. It’s a true love story. Sue me. We’ve got an intense rivalry with philly and the caps. Seriously. That orange flyers jersey is intense - even if philly’s mascot is the next president.

Funnily enough, my strange obsession with Russian hockey players have led to the most disturbing but developing club crush on the Washington capitals who are the penguins’ nemesis.

I mean, this club led by the one and only gr8 8 mr Alexander Ovechkin is a rollercoaster of emotion and hot daddies in skates armed with sticks and a murder Swede.

So. Washington caps used to be a joke in the league until they went and drafted mr ovechkin first overall, brought him to the capital and let him do his thing. He’s got a rep for being a hell of a lot of fun on the ice (if you’re on his team) and one of those players that people love to hate (even if they can’t take away how freakishly good he is at hockey) - look up his impossible goal(s)! He’s an exuberant, fun loving Russian with a heart of gold and a missing tooth. In 2007, the caps went shopping for a center just for ovi who needed a playmaker and a slap shot feeeder - they went and drafted the Swedish angel (maybe assassin) (Lars) Nicklas Backstrom - and the purest hockey marriage was forged. The actual words (we needed a center for ovi and ovi wanted backstrom) have been said. Yes, these two Are now famously the mama and papa of the caps and they have a roster of unruly (and handsome) hockey babies with the fighting menace Tom Wilson, bird impersonator and Russian cat Evgeni Kuznetzov and a whole army of other adorable (albeit hockey playing menaces) babies. Most recently they had the leagues daddiest daddy goalie Mr Holtbeast as the fun and handsome canadien cowboy uncle but he’s ventured to Vancouver to adopt a new group of hockey babies. To compensate, the caps went shopping in New York and brought the one and only king Henrik from the crease in msg to be the goalie mentor for baby Russian caps goalie and to keep the daddy energy flowing.

(Seriously why are Swedish players part time models? Their national team strategy is to be so handsome the other teams are distracted. It’s a thing. Look it up)

I also love a handful of other players on other teams (I really don’t dislike any team in particular - but you’ll meet some dedicated and strong minded fans here)

Erik Horse Johnson, Cale Makar and Nikita Zadorov (Colorado Avs - zad have recently been traded to the blackhawks (not sure how I feel about that). Phwucking fun team. Who needs teeth anyways.

Marc Andre Fleury (Vegas now but hell always be a penguin to me)

The Russian gang in Tampa - and giant Swede victor Hedman (seriously he’s massive)

The canes (Carolina) and their collective of Finnish and Russian babies (aho, svech) with chaotic Marty and former penguin Baby Staal as captain

And a whole lot of others too. It’s hard to choose.

The Dallas stars and the most precious bean of them all (Russian) dobby - Anton khudobin their backup goalie turned playoffs hero and fashion icon. The man said we’re not going home and threw the entire team on his back and dragged them to the final. And their homoerotically charged captain and his alt captain and their Hollywood epic soap worthy relationship. Stallions, people, Stallions...

Btw we like to project our brash queerness onto this league. You’ll learn why quickly. There’s only so much talks about hot hands, slick moves, eternal love for teammates and quite frankly obscene (sexy) amounts of kneeling, roughing (let’s face its it’s just aggressive cuddling) and teammates honorably defending teammates.

Anyways. I love hockey. He. Sorry.

Fun fact I’ve dragged @canesinthecrease kicking and screaming into the hellhole that is the caps and I’m working on convincing @dontpuckwithme about the incredibly sexy thing that is Russians and Canadians being secretly married in Pittsburgh.

Great, sexy, amazing, cool, smart and wonderful hockey ladies to follow for even more amazing content on more clubs (the hurricanes - also a team I’m starting to love). They’re my queer sherpas and emotional support network.

Hope you can use this dear (new) hockey friend and mutual 💖🐧

53 notes · View notes

mychemicalimagines · 5 years

Text

Happens Like That-Jim Halpert-Chapter 2

Summary: Jim Halpert and Melissa Ford have been best friends since he started at Dunder Mifflin in 1999. Now that a camera crew is following the employees around so they can film a documentary, do they finally tell each other their feelings? Or do they just let them go? Either way, what will become of these two best friends?

Warnings: Cussing and Smut in later chapters.

Words: 4890

Tag List: @you-a-southpaw-doll @elskinner45 @imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl

A/N: I love that you guys are liking this. Please leave comments on what you think. If you guys don’t want me to finish this, I won’t continue. If you would like to be tagged please message or submit an ask.

Melissa’s POV - Same Day, Just Later in the Evening

By the time I get home, half an hour has already passed since I clocked out and left work. I’m still going to Jim’s house but I wanted to change into something more comfortable. I walk upstairs to my room and change into a tank top and a pair of jeans before I look in the mirror. I brush my hair quickly before putting on a pair of sneakers.

I smile when I see how good I look, and feel proud of myself. I make sure everything is in place and that I look comfortable and ready to hang out, but also making sure I don’t look like I tried too hard. This isn’t the first time I’m going to Jim’s house. About a year after he started at DM, we started hanging out almost every day of the week.

We have our routine, doing things we both enjoy. And, most of the time, as long as we’re hanging out, we’re doing something we enjoy. He’s just about the only person I hang out with. Mondays, we sit together and watch basketball, nine times outta ten, it’s at his place since he has the DVR and the bigger TV.

I’m not a huge basketball fan, but I watch the Philly 76ers with him so we have a chance to hang out. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve come to understand certain things about the sport and appreciate it ‘cause it means I get to spend time with Jim. Since I’ve started getting more into basketball, Jim has offered and has been teaching me how to play for going on three and a half months now.

It’s been fun, and I might’ve not been the best at the beginning, but I’m getting better! Tuesdays...well, those are our taco nights. We get together at my house and make tacos, usually watching a movie afterwards. Sometimes, we try new types of tacos, or we stick to the good old fashioned ones, like beef tacos, which just so happen to be my favorite, with some guacamole on the side.

One time, Jim suggested that we try shrimp tacos...let’s just say that didn’t turn out too well and we ended up going to taco bell that night. It was a learning experience, to say the least. Fridays are our movie and dinner nights, with us switching houses every other week. One week it’ll be my place and I pick the movie while he picks what we’re having for dinner.

The next week, it’ll be at his place and he picks the movie, leaving dinner up to me. This week just so happens to be a little different. I couldn’t make up my mind on what I wanted for dinner, so we agreed I’d pick the movie and he’d get dinner, but we’d still have it at his place. After our movie ends and dinner has been cleaned up, we usually spend the night at the other’s house, just sleeping, nothing more...yet... hopefully one day.

If I stay at his place, he offers me his bed while he sleeps on the couch. I felt bad the first few times, but he assured me it’s ok. At my place, he insisted I keep my bed and he sleeps on the couch. We do this every Friday night because on Saturdays we go to the local bar and have a few drinks. And it’s better to go to one destination and be safe than go to two and possibly get hurt in one way or another.

So, I guess technically, we spend two nights a week together, but we don’t ever cross that line. Yet. The other days of the week are random. Usually, it just depends on how tired or busy we are after work. Sometimes, we’ll hang out, and other times, we’ll just part ways at our cars and go home or run errands or whatever it is we need to do.

To be honest, if I’m not with him, I usually just stop by McDonald’s or something, grab a bite to eat and go home to take a nap. I have no idea what he does when we’re not hanging out, but it’s ok. I stop at BlockBuster and grab the last copy of the movie he talked about wanting to see today. As I drive toward his house, I see a flower stand on the side of the road.

I smirk to myself and pull over. Last week, Jim came over for Taco Tuesday and brought me some flowers. It was a really sweet gesture and made me smile. Now it’s my turn to return the favor. I turn off my car and step out, making sure I grab my keys and wallet. Walking right up to the stand, I take a look at the different types of arrangements, colors, and floral designs.

After a few minutes, I pick up a little thing of cute flowers and walk over to the sweet looking, little old woman running the stand.

“Oh what’s the occasion?” She asks as she rings up my flowers.

“Just getting a friend some flowers.”

I smile, and hand her a slightly faded, and worn, ten dollar bill that’s more than enough to cover the cost. She nods, takes the money and hands me my change. I put it in my wallet before grabbing the flowers. Getting inside my car, I make sure the flowers are safe in my passenger’s seat, not before starting my car.

I drive for ten more minutes to get to Jim’s house, before I carefully pull into his driveway since there’s a big dip at the end of it. The city says it’s to help with water runoff when it rains so it lessens the chance for the roads to flood. His car is usually parked on the left and my car will be parked on the right, just like it is today.

He joked the other day that this was my parking spot and no one is allowed to park here. And I mean, no one. It doesn’t matter who they are. If they’re not me, then they can’t park here. Jim’s rules, not mine. Last year, Jim had a small BBQ and invited everyone from work. Michael showed up a little earlier than I did and Jim made him move his car before I got there.

No one understood why it was such a big deal. The big deal was 1) it was my spot, and 2) because I was more than likely sleeping over that night. I did sleep over, but I made sure to help him clean everything up since I helped him cook the night before. That was what kind of, officially, started us staying at each other’s house on a somewhat regular basis.

I turn off my car and grab the flowers from the seat next to me. I step out and grab my ‘Sleepover at Jim’s’ duffle bag that I keep in my back seat. I hold the flowers behind my back and walk toward his front door. I have no idea why I am so nervous.

I’ve been here a million times in the last 5 years! I put my duffle bag down and knock on the door. A few seconds later, Jim answers.

“Mel!” He smiles, seeming to be almost shocked it’s me and not someone else.

“Who else?” I giggle and all the nervousness washed away, just like that. I lean against the doorway and ask, “Who else could it have been?”

“The delivery guy. I was hoping the food would get here before you.” He says. He notices my hand behind my back and looks a little confused. “Umm, what is that?” He points.

I smile widely and pull them out. “Daisies.”

He chuckles. “Is this because I brought you sunflowers?”

I shrug and giggle as he lets me in. He grabs my duffle bag for me and I walk straight into his kitchen. Reaching into one of his cabinets, I grab one of the small vases that I know his mom has probably given him over the years. She has a habit of giving him flowers at least twice a year - Valentine’s Day, ‘cause she feels everyone deserves flowers and she knows he’s been single for a while, and his birthday.

The flowers on his birthday have been a tradition since Jim’s grandma died when he was little. She’d always give him a couple flowers on his birthday and his mom kept the tradition up. I fill it up with water and put the daisies inside. He walks in right as I set the vase on the counter and turn around to face him.

***

Diversity Day

Monday morning, I’m the first one in the office. This isn’t necessarily rare but being here before Dwight got in was. Dwight is usually always the first person in the office. Yesterday, though, Michael called me and asked for me to be in the office at eight instead of nine. At first, I had no idea why he’d have me come in an hour earlier, but I didn’t question it.

I now know it is because a gentleman, from corporate, by the man of ‘Mr. Brown’, is going to be coaching us through what Diversity really is. He’s also gonna tell us what we can and can’t say about races and such while we are in the office. We all know the reason is because Michael can say some things that are counted as racist, sexist, and even homophobic at times, and not even realize it.

I sigh to myself and hang up my jacket. I go into the conference room and start putting the chairs out for everyone. Should I put one out for Jim or is he going to stand today? I decide to put one out for him just so he has a chance to sit this time. I hear the door to the office open so I glance out the door.

When I see Jim, I grin from ear to ear and wave him over to where I’m at. He drapes his jacket over the back of his chair and walks to me.

“Hi.” He says, his voice still laced with sleep, as he flashes me a smile.

“Hey, sleepyhead. Late night?” I tease, knowing we both stayed up late last night, texting about random stuff. Mainly about me having to get up early in the morning and that’s why I couldn’t go watch the new Star Wars movie.

He chuckles slightly and nods. “I thought you could use some help.”

He puts his hands in his pockets and leans against the doorway.

“Well...I could use the help moving the table.” I point over my shoulder at the table in the middle of the room.

“You got it!” He says, walking over and grabbing one side of said table.

I grab the other side and we lift the table. We walk it over to the side of the room toward the windows and set it down slowly.

“Thanks. I didn’t wanna have to drag it over.” I giggle slightly.

He smiles. “It’s no problem, Mel. What else do you have to do?”

After another half hour of moving things around the room, and getting everything set up, he helps me put up a banner that Mr. Brown sent over. The banner says ‘Diversity Day’. Hopefully the room is the way he wants. Just as Jim helps me down from a chair, the front door opens. Jim and I walk out into office around to see who it is.

A middle-aged, nice looking, in the sense he seems nice, African American gentleman walks in.

“Hello.” I say, sweetly. “How can I help you?”

“I’m Mr. Brown. I’m doing a lesson today?”

“Yes! Hi, I’m Melissa. I’m Michael’s Assistant!” I put my hand out and he shakes it, smiling.

He looks at Jim. “And you are..?”

“I’m Jim Halpert. I’m one of the Salesmen here.” Jim says, putting his hand out for Mr. Brown to shake.

“Nice to meet you,” He says, and looks in the conference room where Jim and I just finished everything.

“Wow. You guys did that?”

“Yeah. We came in early to make sure you had room and-” I start saying.

“It’s wonderful. Thank you.”

No One’s P.O.V.

He walks into the conference room and starts setting up the items he brought. About an hour later, everyone arrives at the office, and Michael walks up to Mr. Brown.

“Hey, uh, can I help you in here?” He asks, clearly not really interested in helping.

Mr. Brown looks up, “I’m all set, thanks.”

Michael nods, “Gotcha, good. I’d go with the rows. Good idea.”

“Oh, Melissa and Jim set that up. I’m setting up the papers and the rest of the stuff I brought.” Mr. Brown says, before turning back to the table.

Michael nods and walks out. He pats Jim on the back and gives Melissa a thumbs up. They both smile and Jim continues his sales call.

“That's the thing. It's very sturdy paper and on the back it says, ‘100% post-consumer content.’ What?” The sound of a shredder is heard throughout the office, making Mel look up. “Hello? Uh-huh. Wait. What? I'm sorry, Mr. Decker. I think I'm losing you.” Dwight is shredding all his old paperwork he doesn’t need, at a most inconvenient time nonetheless. “Hello? Hello? Yeah. Hold on one second. I don't know. Hold on one second.” Jim puts the gentleman on the other end of the phone on hold and looks at Dwight. “Do you really have to do that now?”

“Yes I do! I should have done this weeks ago.” Dwight says, putting another piece of paper into the shredder.

Jim takes the gentleman off hold. “Mr. Decker, I'm sorry about that. What were you…” Dwight puts another paper in the shredder. “Can you hold on one second? Yeah, just one second. Thanks.” Jim reaches over and flips the switch on the power supply, making the shredder shut down. “Hello? That's it. Perfect. So what I was saying…”

Dwight reaches over and pushes a button to end the phone call. Mel’s eyes widen, not actually believing that Dwight just did that to a customer, or to Jim for that matter.

“Hello? Thanks, Dwight.” Jim sighs as he puts the phone down.

“Retaliation. Tit for tit.” Dwight says, smirking a little.

“That’s not the expression.” Jim says, sighs.

The roaring of the shredder starts once more as Dwight pushes the button on the power supply again.

“Well... it should be.” Dwight comments, as he continues to shred his papers.

Jim sighs and looks up when the camera guy pats his shoulder.

“Hey, come do an interview.” He says.

Jim nods and stands up, pushing in his chair. He glances up at Mel and rolls his eyes. She giggles and looks at Pam.

Melissa’s POV

“I’m going to go talk with Michael about what is gonna happen with my wedding and stuff, okay?” She asks.

“That’s fine. I’ll be here. Checking emails.” I smirk, pulling up Solitaire on the computer.

She giggles, walking around me, toward Michaels office. I start playing Solitaire and when I’m halfway done, Jim walks out of the conference room and straight over to my desk. He leans down, resting his cheek against his hand.

“Solitaire?” He asks.

I nod. “Freecell.”

He watches for a second and then points. “Six on seven.

“I know. I saw that.” I tease but don’t move the cards.

“So...then...why didn’t you do it?”

“I’m saving that ‘cause I like it when the cards go ‘t-ts-ts-tch-tch-tch’.” I giggle as I move another card on the computer.

“Who doesn’t love that?” Jim chuckles slightly.

I blush and continues to play my game when Pam walks back. Jim hears his phone rings, he runs over and answers the phone call.

“Mr. Decker! Hello!”

Michael walks out of his office, a few minutes later, with Mr. Brown walking out of the conference room. Michael walks right over to Oscar and starts to talk. Mr. Brown tells Michael he’s ready for us.

“Oh hey, well, diversity, everybody. Let’s do it. Oscar works in...umm Jim? Could you wrap it up please?”

I look confused as I grab my usual notebook. Doesn’t he want Jim to get this sale? This is one of Jim’s biggest sales. He should be able to finish it. I stand up and walk over to Jim’s desk as Michael goes walks toward the conference room but stops and turns back.

“Yeah, uh, Mr. Decker, please.” Jim says, glancing up.

Michael glances at the camera as he speaks to Jim. “It’s diversity day, Jim. I wish every day was diversity day.” He flashes a smile at the camera.

Jim sighs. “You know what? I’m actually going to have to call you back. Thank you. Sorry about that.” He hangs up and stands.

I whisper. “I’m sorry, Jim.”

He just puts his hand on my lower back and ushers me toward the conference room. I smile a little at the feeling of his hand on my back. When we get to the conference room, we head to where we normally sit, closer to the back corner and by the windows that look into the main office area. I sit down and Jim sits to my left.

A few minutes later, Mr. Brown collects the cards he had us fill out.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Great.” He murmurs, politely, as he collects the cards from each of us.

“Come on, people! Let’s get ‘em in! Get in the cards! Get in the cards!” Michael says, clapping his hands together in an attempt to hurry us along.

Mr. Brown on the other hand is soft spoken, and very patiently with us. Once he has all the cards collected, he puts them together and then tucks them in with his stuff. He turns to face us, addressing us in a still much softer tone than Michael’s.

“Thanks for filling these out and I promise this’ll be quick. At Diversity Today, our philosophy is about honesty and positive expectations. We believe that 99% of the problems in the workplace arise simply out of ignorance.” Mr. Brown starts.

Michael cuts him off from the rest of his speech.

“You know what? This is a color-free-zone here. Stanley, I don’t look at you as another race.” He points to the only other African American in the room.

“Uh, see this is what I’m talking about. We don’t have to pretend we’re color-blind.” Mr. Brown says, looking over at Michael.

They start arguing over ignorance of the situation and I glance over at Jim. He leans back in his chair and puts his arm around me, resting it on the top of my chair. I open my notebook to a blank page. I reach and grab a pen I have attached to the notebook when a hang reaches out. I look and see Jim grabbing the pen before I could.

Because he is right handed his lines are messy, but he draws a tic-tac-toe board. He puts a messy X in the middle of the board. I giggle quietly and takes the pen from him. I put an O in the top right corner. He stares at the board before taking the pen and putting an X in the middle left box. I smirk to myself and takes the pen.

I put an O under my last one, cutting off Jim from winning. He breathes hard from his nose and stares at the board. He grabs the pen and puts an X in the top middle box. His eyes widen after realizing what he has done. I giggle again quietly and takes the pen before putting an O in the bottom left corner, marking me as the winner.

I glance up and sighs when I hear Kevin citing something. I realize he’s horribly butchering the Chris Rock skit that Michael tried to impersonate the other day. I shake my head and sigh. This is going to get bad quick! Michael cuts off Kevin from the Chris Rock skit, and tried to recite it himself. Mr. Brown tries to stop him.

He does so by trying to cut him off. Jim’s desk phone starts ringing and he quickly looks over. I look over at him.

“That better not be Mr. Decker,” I whisper.

He glances at me and nods.

He whispers, “It is more than likely.”

“Now, this is a simple acronym. HERO. Uh, at Diversity Today, we believe it is very easy to be a HERO. All you need is honesty, empathy, respect and open-mindedness.” Mr. Brown continues.

“Excuse me.” Dwight cuts in. “I’m sorry, but that’s not all it takes to be a hero.”

Mr. Brown raises an eyebrow. “Oh great. Well, what is a hero to you?”

“A hero kills people, people that wish him harm.” Dwight says, as if it is obvious.

“Ok.” Mr. Brown stares at him for a minute.

“A hero is part-human and part-supernatural. A hero is born out of a childhood trauma or out of a disaster that must be avenged.” Dwight continues.

“Oh, you’re thinking of a superhero.” Mr. Brown says.

“We all have a hero in our heart.”

Mr. Brown doesn’t acknowledge Dwight’s comment, but instead picks up a stack of papers from the podium and starts handing them out, while explaining, “Now, I need you to take these forms. This kind of expresses the joint experience we had today. And I need you to look 'em over and sign them as kind of a group pledge.”

I stand up, reaching forward to take a few so Jim and I can get out of here. Michael walks over to Mr. Brown and starts whispering. I grab two pieces of paper and hands Jim one. I sit back down and uses the pen from my notebook to sign my name. I hand the pen over to Jim and he quickly signs his name.

Standing up, he takes the paper from my hand and walks over to Mr. Brown. I stand and walk out of the room. Jim runs out of the room and quickly over to his desk phone. He picks it up and listens to his voicemail. He sighs and nods at me. It was Mr. Decker. He quickly calls him back.

“Yeah, hi. Is Mr. Decker around? Oh. Well, could you just have him call me after lunch? Thank you.” He hangs up and sighs, leaning back into his chair.

I reach over and moves his hair from his eyes.

“It’s okay Jim. You’ll talk to him after lunch and you’ll get the sale.” I smile slightly.

“You think so?” He looks up at me.

I nod and sighs when I hear the receptionist phone start ringing. Pam walks quickly out of the conference room and to our desk.

***

About an hour later I’m talking with Pam about her wedding plans when Michael walks out of the conference room. He calls us over so everyone in the room stands up and walks into the office. Jim waits for me. I walk up behind Toby and Jim steps into line behind me.

“All right? Everyone pretty? Come on. Here we go. It’s time. Let’s do some good.” Michael says, ushering us into the conference room.

“Hey, we’re not all going to sit in a circle Indian Style are we?” Toby says, laughing.

Michael says, with a straight face, “Get out.”

Toby’s eyes widen, “I’m sorry.”

“No this is not a joke, okay? That was offensive and lame. So double offensive. This is an environment of welcoming and you should just get the hell out of here.” Michael says, pointing out the door.

Toby sighs and turns, gently pushing past me and Jim. He walks out of the room and back over to his desk.

“Let’s go! Let’s do it. Come on. Let’s have some fun, everybody. Here we go. Take a seat. Cop a squat.” Michael says energetically.

Jim and I sit next to each other once again, but I didn’t bring my notebook this time. I am instantly regretting this. I lean back in my chair and cross my arms.

“Uh, thanks for coming in. Um Diversity...is the cornerstone of progress as I’ve always said. But don’t take my word for it. Let’s take a look at the tape.” Michael says leaning against a tv that was rolled in the room.

He starts the tape and he comes onto the screen, standing in front of our Dunder Mifflin sign. I roll my eyes discreetly and watch tv. I tone out some of video because I know it was going to be boring but I look up when I hear something about Abe Lincoln.

“Abraham Lincoln once said that, ‘If you’re a racist, I will attack you with the North.’ And those are the principles that I carry with me in the workplace.” the video says.

Michael turns off the tv and looks at us.

“Ok. Questions? Comments? Anybody?” Jim raises his hand. “Jim?”

“Uh, is that it?” He asks.

Michael nods, “Yes. I only had an hour to put it together but I’m going to add on to it later on.”

As time goes on, Kelly leaves, and Michael tries to get us to explain what race and nationality we are. I look over at Jim and sighs. He nods and uncrosses his arms. He puts an arm behind me resting on my chair as we watch everything that is going on in the office. After Oscar and Michael fight over nationalities, we hear Jim’s phone go off.

He quickly stands up and runs out of the room.

“Jim! Jim!” Michael sighs and holds up a board with note cards on it. “I have something here. I want you to take a card and put it on your fore-” He notices someone going to look at the card. “Don’t look at the card! I want you to take the card and put it on your forehead. Take a card, any card.”

I stand up from my seat when Michael walks over to me.

“Take your card.”

I stare at him for a second. “No.”

I walk out of the room to Jim’s desk. I hear Michael say something like, ‘Okay..I knew that was coming’. I lean against his desk as he puts down the phone.

“Was it him?”

He shakes his head no. “Nope. Someone trying to get prices on paper.” He sighs and leans back in his seat again.

“It’s okay Jim. He’ll call.” I smile. “Come on. Lets listen to how stupid Michaels Diveristy Day is going.” He smiles a little and stands up.

We walk the few steps to the door and listens in. I notice that Stanley has the card ‘Black’. Dwight has ‘Asian’. Pam has ‘Jewish’. I overhear Michael talking to Pam, who just tried to explain Dwight’s to him. She didn’t do a very good job.

I look at Jim confused. He just shrugs and we continue to watch. After a few minutes, Jim’s phone starts to ring again. He turns and quickly sits down, picking up the phone.

He talks for a few minutes.

“Mr. Decker, we didn’t lose your sale today, did we? Excellent. Ok Let me just get your..what’s that?” He pauses. I bite my lip in anticipation. “No, we didn’t close last time. I just need your...Oh...W-what code were you given? Oh, ok. That’s actually another salesman here. I can redo it if you want that. Oh, he gave you a discount? No I don’t blame you.” He says goodbye and hangs up.

I sigh and rub his back. “I’m sorry, Jim.”

He looks up at me. He opens his mouth to speak but looks down. He stands up, opening his drawer where he kept the champagne bottle and puts it on Dwight’s desk.

“No...” I say, sadly. He just nods and pulls me in for a hug, laying his head on mine.

I rub his back and whisper. “Today’s Monday so I’ll grab dinner and swing by your house so we can watch basketball, okay?”

He just nods against me. After a few minutes, he pulls away and smiles slightly. He then puts his hand on my lower back and ushers me into the conference room. We sit in the chairs against the window to the office and just listen to the discussion Michael is having. I lay my head against his shoulder.

Next thing I know Jim is gently moving his shoulder. I look up.

“Hey.” He whispers, smiling.

“Oh, sorry. Hey.” I giggle slightly, moving off his shoulder.

“We can go.” He says.

“Great.” I smile as I stand up, “I’ll grab dinner and go to your house?”

“Great.” He stands up.

I smile and walk out, going straight for my desk. I grab my bag and my jacket, walking with Jim to our cars. He waves to me as I get into my car. I close my car door and grab my cell phone. I call the closest Seafood restaurant.

“Hello? Hi, I would like to make an order for Soft Shelled Crab?”

#jim halpert #jim halpert x oc #jim halpert imagine #jim halpert x reader #jim halpert the office #jim Halpert x oc reader #james halpert imagine #james halpert x oc #james halpert x reader #james halpert love story #james halpert the office #james Halpert x oc reader #james Halpert #jim Halpert love story

143 notes · View notes

joybooth · 5 years

Text

Vogue 73 questions with Mike Lawson and Ginny Baker

“Hey Mike, what’s going on?”

“Not much, lookin’ forward to doing this interview.”

“I am too. Are you guys ready to answer 73 questions?”

“Sure, let’s go find Ginny.”

It turned out they found her sitting on a lounge by the pool in leggings and a t-shirt.

“So, you guys just finished playing in the World Series, any regrets?”

“No, we were excited to get there again this year,” Mike answered sitting next to Ginny.

“I mean, I hate to lose, but we played hard and that’s all you can do.”

“How many baseball games do you think you’ve played in your life?”

“For me? I have no idea. I’ve been playing since I was 5. That’s 35 years, between little league, AA, AAA and the majors? Let’s just say a lot,” Mike laughed.

“Same, minus 10 years,” Ginny added.

“Which of your competitors has helped you improve your game the most?”

“I would say Aaron Judge, a great hitter always makes me work that much harder for a strike.”

“Nolan, Nolan Arenado. I like to steal, but he keeps me honest.”

“If you could play any other sport, what would it be?”

“Tennis?” Ginny shrugged.

“I’ve always liked hockey.”

“Past or present who would you love to play with?”

“I gotta say Babe Ruth,” Mike said.

“For me, Cy Young or Yogi Berra.”

“What’s are you superstitious about?”

“I like a certain practice cage. I don’t know if it is a superstition, but I always go for that one if it’s available, and Mike used to sleep with his bat on game days.”

“Where do you go when you need to relax?”

“If I told you that, it wouldn’t be relaxing anymore,” Mike joked.

“We spend a lot of time at home, but we just took a vacation to Baja and that was really nice.”

“What is your nickname?”

“I call him old man.”

“And I call her rookie.”

“Who is the funniest person you know?”

“Dwayne,” Ginny answered after a moment of thought.

Mike nodded. “He is great. We were at a fundraiser for his foundation the other day, and everyone at the table was laughing crying.”

“Wait, do you mean Dwayne Johnson?” the interviewer asked.

“Yeah, we met at the Espys and get together every now and then. He throws a great BBQ every year.”

“OK, what is your go to karaoke song?”

“Baker loves anything by Beyoncé or Katy Perry. I stick to the Eagles and Duran Duran.”

“What song always makes you want to dance?”

“He is right. I love Katy Perry and Beyoncé, but Uptown Funk is my jam.”

“I don’t dance much, but no one can resist Love Shack.”

“What is your walk out song?”

“I have a mix I listen to, it’s mostly instrumentals to help me clear my head.”

“I go for the classic, eye of the tiger.”

“If you could only read one book from now on, what would it be?”

“Treasure Island has been my favorite for a long time. I’ve read it 5-6 times, and I wouldn’t mind reading it again.”

“That is really hard for me, because I don’t read things more than once very often, but… I’m going to say Esperanza Rising. I know it is a kid’s book, but I still have the copy I read in 5th grade. Someday I want to be able to share it with my kid.”

“Most absurd rule in baseball?”

“It’s not really a written rule, but there is this thing where everyone must be involved in am on-field fight. When Gin went after the Mountain, our assistant coach had to walk out there and hold onto the other coach. These guys are in their 60’s hugging on the field so it is nice and even numbers. I mean I get it, but it can look pretty silly.”

“Describe your style in one word?”

“Comfy?” Ginny ventured.

“If you could raid anyone’s closet who would it be?”

“David Beckham,” Mike answered quickly.

“Serena Williams.”

“Any hidden talents?”

“I love to knit.”

“No kidding. I can’t tell you how many times she got me with one of her needles on the bus.”

“On purpose?”

“No, he is just clumsy and doesn’t look before he sits down.”

“I did get some cute hats and that blanket over there out of it, though.” He gestured to a knit blue and white blanket with a Padre’s logo on it draped over a leather chair.

“Looks nice, now for a hard one. What is love?”

“Baby don’t hurt me?” Mike joked, Ginny batted his arm. “No, seriously, love is different for different for different people but for me, it is a commitment to something that you care deeply about.”

“That and finding someone to see the best in you even when you can’t see it in yourself.”

“What is the most romantic thing you’ve done for each other?”

“He leaves me notes in my locker on days when we don’t work together.”

“She rubs my back.”

“Best or worst pick up line someone has ever used with you?”

“I thought it was funny when this guy said, I was so distracted by you that I ran into that wall over there. So, I am going to need you name and phone number for insurance purposes.”

“Who said that?” Mike asked.

“Never mind, what’s yours?”

“A girl just walked up, put her hand out and asked me I could hold it while she went for a walk.”

“Did you?” the interviewer asked.

“I did,” Mike smiled, then he reached out and squeezed Ginny’s hand.

“Who was your childhood crush?”

“This guy.”

“She finally admits it. She had my poster on her wall, but now I have hers too.”

“What was the last show you binged?”

“We just got done rewatching all of Brooklyn 99.”

“He was a thing for Rosa.”

“She does too.”

“I mean, doesn’t everyone?”

“Name one thing you can’t live without.”

“Air?” Mike joked.

“A good wifi network,” Ginny groaned. “I hate when I’m on the road and we finally get to a hotel and they have super slow internet. I just want to relax and watch Youtube or scroll tumblr.”

“Name something you are terrible at.”

“Bowling,” Ginny answered.

“I suck at word games, scrabble, boggle, all that stuff. She usually beats me by at least 100 points.”

“What is the most nervous you’ve ever been?”

“My first game in the majors.”

“Same. Mine, not hers. I wasn’t really nervous for her because we didn’t know each other, but I remember almost blacking out the first time I walked onto the field.”

“Name one bad habit you just can’t break.”

“I bite my fingernails, so I have to keep them super short, but that’s fine, because I would have to for pitching anyway.”

“I am an emotional shopper. When things aren’t going well in life, I use retail therapy way too much.”

“He is not kidding. The good thing is he cleans his closet out once every six months and donates a lot of impulse buys to charity.”

“Craziest fan moment?” “A lady told me she named her baby after me and asked me to sign her. I signed her little shirt, but it was a little weird.”

“What is one phrase you use too much?”

“I’m just sayin’. She keeps reminding me how much it annoys her, but it just rolls off my tongue.”

“That’s ok, I always say my bad, and he hates that, so we are even.”

“If you could be any animal, what would it be?”

“I want to say something bad ass, but really I’m a house cat.”

“I can totally see that. I am a… a bear, but mostly because I just want to sleep and be left alone sometimes.”

“Can you say something in a different language?”

“Que bola? Its Cuban for what’s up. I picked it up from Livan.”

“I speak some Indonesian, from my mom. Tidak apa apa is no worries, which is what I use most in like everyday conversation.”

“What is one cause you care deeply about?”

“It is hard to name one, but I work a lot with our local children’s hospital,” Mike answered.

“I support NAACP legal defense fund, Equal justice initiative and the African wildlife foundation.”

“How do you celebrate your wins?”

“Ice cream or beer depending on the day.”

“How do you deal with loses?”

“I try to figure out what went wrong, so I can do it differently next time,” Ginny said thoughtfully.

“How do you deal with haters?”

Ginny laughed, “You just gotta block’em out.”

“If you could redo one game which would it be?”

“The game where I messed up my knee the first time.”

“Yeah, when I almost got the no hitter and instead messed up my arm, that was pretty bad.”

“Besides baseball what would you like to be remembered for?”

“Being a good person.”

“If you weren’t baseball players, what else would you be?”

“I would do something with cars.”

“I would do something with history? Teaching or maybe be an anthropologist?”

“Do you have a pregame ritual?”

“I have a pump mix but mostly I like to meditate and mentally prepare. I usually go over the lineup one last time with Mike.”

“How many MLB teams can you name in ten seconds?”

“The Padres, the Braves, the Dodgers, the A’s, the Rockies, the Yankees, Sox, Cubs, Phillies, Astros, Mariners…”

Mike took over, “Jays, Giants, Angels, Brewers…”

“And that’s time, good job. Name the best baseball player who ever lived.” “Babe Ruth.”

“Willie Mays.”

“If you could only eat one thing forever, what would it be?”

“Pizza?” Mike answered.

“Burgers, but they have to come with fries,” Ginny chimed in.

“What movie always makes you cry?”

“Field of dreams.”

“The Lion King.”

“What movie makes you scream in terror?”

“My friends dragged me to the Omen once, which was pretty scary, but mostly I don’t watch scary movies.”

“I watched the exorcist way too young, and that pretty much put me off scary movies for life.”

“What is the most inspirational sports film of all time?”

“I always liked Cinderella Man with Russel Crow.”

“I really liked the Life of Pi.”

“Who do you want to play you in the movie of your life?”

“I don’t know that they would make a movie of my life, but when they make hers I think Ryan Gossling is a good choice, or Ryan Reynolds, or any of the Marvel Chrises.”

“If they made a movie… I would say… Letitia Wright maybe?”

“What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done?”

“As a kid I broke my ankle trying to do a skate board trick,” Mike scratched the back of his neck and flushed slightly.

“What is one skill you wish you had but you don’t?”

“I am trying to learn to cook, but Mike still does it most of the time.”

“If you were a super hero, what would your name be?”

“Black Diamond.”

“Beard-Man.”

“Who’s your most famous follower on twitter?”

“I don’t have a twitter.”

“A lot of people follow me to hear about Ginny, I would say Anna Kendrick is the most famous.”

“You travel a lot for work, what are three things you take with you everywhere?”

“My headphones, a neck pillow, and my phone charger.” “Same.”

“Do you have an pets?”

“We have a dog,” Ginny whistled, and a mini pie ball dachshund call running out. “This is Chip. I named her after the cup from beauty and the beast. She is a super sweet girl.”

“What’s your zodiac sign?”

“I am a Libra and Ginny is a Leo.”

“What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?”

“He likes coffee or half-baked and I like Cherry Garcia.”

“What’s one household chore you hate to do?”

“We both hate the dishes, so we do them together, so we can get it over with quickly.”

“Do you have any collections?”

“I have a snow globe collection, and Mike collects baseball memorabilia.”

“Who is more competitive?“

“Me!” they both said quickly, then looked at the other and laughed.

“What is your go to date night?”

“We like to go see comedians.”

“He just got us tickets to see Ali Wong for our anniversary.”

“If you could go anywhere on vacation where would it be?”

“We are going to Kenya next month, and I am really excited about that,” Ginny answered.

“Me too.”

“What is your love language?”

“I like acts of service and words of affirmation,” Mike answered seriously for once.

“and for me, it is quality time.”

“Sleep in or rise early?”

“Sleep in!” Mike grinned.

“Read a book or watch TV?”

“Watch tv,” they agreed.

“Kiss or hug?”

“Kiss,” they both snapped.

“Strength training or cardio?”

“Cardio,” Ginny answered automatically

“I like strength training,” Mike added.

“You guys recently got married, what was the biggest change?”

“Not really anything? We already lived together.”

“Calling him my husband, is weird sometimes.”

“What was your favorite part of the wedding?”

“When we left?” Ginny laughed.

“What kind of cake did you have?”

“Just plain yellow cake with chocolate frosting,” Mike answered.

“Who caught the bouquet?”

“My agent, Amelia.”

“What song was your first dance to?”

“Unforgettable.”

“What are you doing today?”

“We’re going to the farmer’s market, then coming home for dinner with some friends.” Ginny answered, walking toward the door.

“Can I come along?”

Ginny made a face. “No, thanks for stopping by though.”

#and my homegirl Ginny B #Ginny Baker #ginsanity #pitch #pitch rewatch #pitchwithdrawls #pitch fic #bawson #bawson fanfic #bawson fic #mike lawson #missing mike Lawson

55 notes · View notes

livehealthynewsusa · 3 years

Text

What’s behind ben Simmons epic playoff meltdown?

It’s a defining moment in a close Game 7, but instead of throwing it off, Simmons fits in with teammate Matisse Thybulle in traffic.

Thybulle is fouled and goes to the line, taking only one free throw instead of the almost certain two points and one that would have come if Simmons had been fouled.

A collective moan echoes through the Wells Fargo Center. Sixers’ center Joel Embiid lowers his shoulders in frustration. The moment becomes an instant meme. The Sixers lose momentum and ultimately the game and the series. Simmons becomes a persona non grata in Philadelphia. His name is now directly on the trading block. There are reports that he won’t play for the Boomers in the Olympics.

The moment provides a snapshot of Simmons’ four year run in Philly where his failure to develop his offensive play and lack of chemistry on the court with teammate Embiid have been a constant source of frustration for fans and led to constant speculation that one the two ‘trial’ stars have to get away. After the meltdown on Monday, the calls for the dispatch of Simmons have reached fever. The problem for the Sixers is that from his chaotic performance on this series, his value may have fallen so far that they will find it difficult to make a decent return.

After the game it got ugly. Embiid tossed his teammate under the bus and found that Simmons had given up the open dunk the moment the game was lost, despite having made eight turnovers himself – to be fair, Embiid was playing on a partially torn meniscus. Coach Doc Rivers, who had defended Simmons all season, joined in, saying he didn’t know if Simmons had what it takes to be point guard on a championship team. Experts like Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson piled up, all stressing the fact that the Sixers are paralyzed because they have a star with a $ 217 million contract who is out of the game due to his lack of shooting skills Can play crunch time. O’Neal even went so far as to say that if he were Simmons’ teammate he would have “knocked out his butt”.

Yes, it could be called a rough week for Australia’s biggest basketball star.

I interviewed Simmons for a cover story in Philadelphia in 2018 and have followed his career closely ever since. As a fan, Simmons’ mental breakdown and the subsequent media and internet gathering was brutal. But I have to say I share the frustrations. Simmons is the kind of enigmatic star who teases you with glimpses of his otherworldly talent in one game, only to vanish completely the next. It’s annoying, which only makes Simmons’ cool demeanor and disapproval of criticism worse.

When we showed Simmons on our cover from May 2018, he was very popular. As the next LeBron touted James, his rookie stats were gaudy – 16, 8, and 8. The problem is, Simmons has been offensive since then. That season, he logged 14, 7, and 7. To his credit, he has made himself an elite defender, joining the All-NBA Defensive First Team for the second year in a row, and second this year to Utah’s Rudy Gobert took place in the choice of Defensive Player of the Year.

I have a theory that Simmons deliberately worked on this side of his game to divert attention from his offensive stagnation. He remains an electrifying force in flux, with an amazing court vision that enables him to find teammates for open looks. It works well enough in the regular season, but in play-off time when the game slows down to a half-field chess game decided by “knights” like Devin Booker, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant who take their own shot can create, Simmons becomes a burden, giving up the ball like a hot potato and lurking aimlessly in the spot of the dark. It forces Embiid to come off the post and play an open game if he should dominate on the block. It basically means the Sixers are a man on the offensive.

Simmons’ refusal to take outside shots was now compounded by his refusal to go into the basket for fear of being fouled. First the Wizards and then the Hawks employed a successful “hack-a-Simmons” strategy that took him to a record low of 34 percent in this year’s play-offs – even worse than Shaq!

Theories about Simmons’ struggles are online all over the place right now, and I’ve developed a few myself. Back when Simmons headed our cover, everyone expected his offensive play to develop, assuming he eventually started shooting threesomes. At the time, Simmons told me he was working on his jump shot and if it got better, watch out. “The thing about the shooting is that once I get it where I want it, nobody can stop me,” he said. And so we waited. Every year during the off-season, Simmons posted videos filming from the outside in training, which raised the hopes of Sixers fans only to be dashed once the season started and he was stuck. Teammates talked about how he shot the ball free in practice, hoping it would start shooting in games, but it never happened. Instead, it may have created a dichotomy between exercise and play that has become a gaping mental chasm that Simmons cannot cross.

That’s when he actually does the work. Simmons’ lack of progress on the offensive has led many to speculate (and point to his Instagram account as evidence) that he cares more about his flashy cars, dogs, and game than going to the gym and busting his Repair sweater.

ESPN’s Stephen A Smith said this week he received a text message through Simmons from someone close to the Philadelphia situation:Quote, he doesn’t work, he doesn’t listen, and everyone around him is a family and he is becoming babies all the time. “

Smith then added on SportsCenter: “They asked him for four years to improve his jump shot. He ignored coaches, he ignored assistant coaches, he ignored teammates, he ignored his agent, he ignored family members because he loved being in LA, in South Beach likes to say he went to the gym to play instead of the gym to go to work on my game. And it came back to bite him – because the only thing you can say about Ben Simmons is that he can’t shoot. “

Who knows if that’s true, but it seems likely that it was always a little too easy for Simmons. He grew up a supernaturally gifted player with absurd abilities for someone six feet tall and is the best player on any team he has ever played on. He never really had to fight, which resulted in complacency about his game and possibly a shaky work ethic. Compare him to Hawks’ point guard Trae Young, who is similarly gifted but only 6’1 inches tall. Young was told he was too small since he was a child. He had to fight every step of the way. As a result, as he showed first against the Knicks, then against the Sixers and now in Game 1 of the European Championship final against the Bucks, he is an ice-cold killer on the pitch.

Sometimes Simmons seemed a little too pleased with his game. During our interview he was defensive about his shooting and cited his stats as evidence that his game was in good shape. He seemed to be saying there was no need for improvement. “I don’t worry that much because my average is 17, 8 and 8,” he said at the time. “Boys haven’t done this in their entire careers, so if I do that in 50 games I think I’ll play well.”

But while the mental side of Simmons’ game seems to be in free fall at the moment, it’s possible that the ultimate source of his struggles lies in a mechanical problem that has evolved into a psychological problem over time. One theory popularized by The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor is that Simmons shoots with the wrong hand. The statistics prove it: Simmons dropped the ball 67 shots with his right hand this postseason, compared to just nine shots with his left hand. That rate coincides with his career rate using his right hand, which dates back to his time at LSU, writes O’Connor.

Simmons told The New York Daily News in 2016 that his father encouraged him to photograph left-handed as an adult. “I think I should be right. But now everything is natural ”. I asked Simmons about it right away. He scoffed, then sighed in annoyance as if I’d asked him if the world was flat. “People like to make up shit,” he said. “Maybe I’m writing with the wrong hand?” There are reports that the Sixers are finally trying to address this and get Simmons to shoot with his right hand. They can do that too, because it can hardly get worse.

It is also reported there that he will use the off-season to work on “skill development” instead of representing the Boomers at the Olympics. It reminded me of what Simmons told me in 2018 when I asked him about his goals. He replied that you should win a championship, win a gold medal in the Olympics and be “the greatest player of all time”. “You have to set the bar high,” he said. Back then, those goals seemed lofty; today, they seem like pipe dreams.

The problem is, when it comes to his offensive play, I think Simmons may have set the bar too high. So high that he was afraid he would fail. Whatever your sport, once that particular seed takes root in your head, you are in mental quicksand. Simmons fired a total of four shots in Game 7 against the Hawks. You have to shoot to score. You have to take risks to progress and sometimes you have to fail to build the chip on your shoulder and the mental resilience you need to succeed. Now that he has failed on the biggest stage of all, we hope that Simmons is finally ready to overcome his physical and mental blockages. He may be in a bad position right now, but the chances are that after falling this deep, Simmons is right where he needs to be: a player with nothing to lose.

source https://livehealthynews.com/whats-behind-ben-simmons-epic-playoff-meltdown/

0 notes

dailyhealthynews · 3 years

Text

What’s behind ben Simmons epic playoff meltdown?

It’s a defining moment in a close Game 7, but instead of throwing it off, Simmons fits in with teammate Matisse Thybulle in traffic.

Thybulle is fouled and goes to the line, taking only one free throw instead of the almost certain two points and one that would have come if Simmons had been fouled.

Yes, it could be called a rough week for Australia’s biggest basketball star.

source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/whats-behind-ben-simmons-epic-playoff-meltdown/

0 notes

brido · 6 years

Text

Your Opening Week Baseball Guide

Well, March Madness is over. Your bracket probably sucked anyway. So you probably need to get caught up on the first week of baseball. I’m here to help you. And while it’s probably way too early to draw any real conclusions from the first week, I don’t want you wandering around looking as clueless as Gabe Kapler. EARLY SEASON BURN. It’s okay if you don’t get that joke yet. You will. Let’s start...

AL East

Current Playoff Team: Red Sox

Projected Playoff Teams: Yankees, Red Sox

See, what did I tell you last week? Winky smile. After the Red Sox blew a comfortable lead on Opening Day, I’m guessing that every psychotic Boston fan wanted Alex Cora run out of town. Now they’ve rattled off 5 wins in a row and we’re contemplating whether or not the Red Sox might have the best rotation in baseball. I mean, probz not. But a week in they sure do.

You think Giancarlo Stanton is under a microscope in New York? Dude already got booed. It’s all fun and games in New York when you’re crushing two home runs on Opening Day, and it’s a lot harder four games later when you’re 0-for-5 with 5 K’s in football weather in the Bronx. I think he’ll be fine. Maybe Yankees fans should worry more about Dellin Betances.

AL Cy Young: Dylan Bundy, Orioles.

For all the deserved accolades of Boston’s starting pitching, the best in the AL so far as been Bundy, whose WAR leads the league, accompanied with a 1.35 FIP and a 0.69 ERA. That being said, the rest of the conversations surrounding division are a guessing game about where the Blue Jays will be before the trade deadline and whether or not they should trade Josh Donaldson. Right now, FanGraphs has them a game off the second wild card spot and FiveThirtyEight has them at 26% to make the playoffs. That’s a tough call if that happens. It’ll probably be a much easier decision for the Orioles, so we’ll see who gets to slobber all over the chance to land Manny Machado for the postseason.

AL Central

Current Playoff Teams: White Sox, Twins

Projected Playoff Teams: Indians, Twins (FiveThirtyEight only)

If you’re a Twins fan, you’ve got to be loving this early start from Brian Dozier. And Jose Berrios. And Eduardo Escobar. Right now I’m feeling confident in their chances. I’m probably even more excited if I’m a White Sox fan, since projections have them around 68-73 wins and they’re currently on pace to crush that. Yeah, they’re only 5 games in. I don’t want to get too excited. But the Sox have homered in every game. Matt Davidson’s 3 home runs on Opening Day were just a blip on the radar compared to the attention Stanton got. And this is a young team already headed in the right direction. The national sports media is still waiting around for the Indians to get hot before they care about any of this.

AL West

Current Playoff Teams: Astros, Angels

Projected Playoff Teams: Astros, Angels (FanGraphs only)

Did you see all the fancy Astros ring and banner celebrations? It’s looking like that’s gonna happen a lot down in Houston. George Springer led off the season with a home run for the second year in a row. They’re widely considered to have the best staff in the Majors (sorry Boston... and I guess everyone else). They’ve got four guys playing the outfield. And if the Division wasn’t looking so tough, we might be able to project the Astros at a billion wins this year. Speaking of which...

AL MVP: Carlos Correa, Astros.

This Opening Week shit can probably get eye rolls for most things, but Correa wouldn’t be a bad pick to be MVP, anyway. Right now, Correa leads the League in WAR and he’s been the second-best hitter, so I’m giving him the early lead over Mitch Haniger of the Mariners and Didi Gregorius of the Yankees.

AL Rookie of the Year: Shohei Ohtani, Angels.

Remember when this guy fucking sucked in Spring Training? That was kind of fun. Now the Babe Ruth comparisons aren’t actually that insane. Ohtani might be the hardest-throwing starter in baseball. His hitting is starting to resemble the power exhibition he puts on in batting practice. And maybe we don’t need BREAKING NEWS every time this guy gets a hit, but this is one of the only over-hyped stories of the young season that actually has my full attention. Oh yeah, and he’s only 22.

NL East

Current Playoff Teams: Mets, Braves, Nationals

Projected Playoff Teams: Nationals, Mets (FanGraphs only)

I think there might be an East Coast bias when Derek Jeter sitting in the stands in Miami gets more attention than actual games in the Midwest. But a lot of the attention is actually warranted so far. The Mets are going to be interesting this year. They only won 70 games last year, which made me skeptical of picking them for a Wild Card. Right now, they’re projected anywhere from 81-88 wins. Maybe Mickey Callaway is changing the culture there. I don’t know. But after the first week, I’m actually going to say...

NL Cy Young: Matt Harvey, Mets.

He’s back, baby! Or not. Like I said, nobody knows. But I’ll take that 0.00 ERA and 1.56 FIP as a good sign. Plus, it’s not like he has to be ‘the man’ in Queens anymore.

NL MVP: Freddie Freeman, Braves.

He’s been the best hitter in the League so far. And he’s probably the best player in baseball that America and your girlfriend have never heard of. The Braves have had the best offense in baseball early on. Freeman is a big reason why. Because he always is.

The Nationals always seem to have fifteen different compelling storylines over the course of a season. There’s the lingering fact that they’ve never advanced in the playoffs. They have the impending free agency of Bryce Harper to talk about over and over and over again. I’m sure Nats fans love that shit. And since Harper always seems to be amazing in April, it’s not going to slow anything of those talks down. How anticlimactic will it be when he re-signs with Washington? Anyway, Adam Eaton has also made a big splash in his return from injury. So there hasn’t even really been much attention on their non-Dusty-Baker manager just yet. It’s just a matter of time to see who they’re gonna lose to in the first round. HUGE BURN to their zero fans that I know of.

You know which new manager is getting scrutiny? Gabe Kapler of the Phillies. It seems like every team has a new manager, but only one pulled their starter when he was dealing on Opening Day and then blew a 5-run lead. And only one called to the pen with nobody warming up. And only one looks like he’s not gonna be done reigning down destruction on Philadelphia until every one of their relievers have Tommy John surgery. That’s probably harsh. But it’s also probably funnier to me because he also looks incompetent anywhere outside of a cross fit box or a gym that only plays butt rock. I’m guessing he figures it out eventually.

Hey, look! Derek Jeter is sitting in the stands with Papi and Posada!

NL Central

Current Playoff Teams: Pirates, Brewers

Projected Playoff Teams: Cubs, Cardinals.

Is it ever too early to start freaking out about the Cubs? I mean, Ian Happ was great in Spring Training. Then he homered on the first pitch of the season and after that, it’s basically been suck city. The Cubs offense is setting all-time records for striking out. They’re 2-3 after playing the Marlins and Reds, who are projected to win a combined ZERO games this year. Maybe we can blame the 17-inning game against the Marlins on Day 2. Maybe it’s way too early to be worried about anything. Maybe I should take solace in the fact that their bullpen has looked dope AF and that was a huge problem last year. They’re fine, right?

As far as the rest of the division goes, you’ve got a fast start from the Pirates, who have only played in frigid weather. The Cardinals picked up Greg Holland, which could be huge for their chances at the Wild Card... or the Division, I guess. The Cardinals and Brewers played in a game that started and ended with back-to-back home runs. And Paul DeJong has probably been the most interesting story for STL. He’d be my second pick for MVP, after Freeman. He also hit .257 last year so whatever.

NL West

Current Playoff Team: Diamondbacks

Projected Playoff Teams: Dodgers, Diamondbacks (FiveThirtyEight only)

If you’re a Dodgers fan, what’s freaking you out more; bad outings and decreased velocity from Clayton Kershaw or bad outings and decreased velocity from Kenley Jansen? Because both things are happening. Kershaw is 0-2 and you can hear the whispers about whether or not he’s past his prime, even though everyone was blowing him in Spring Training. Jansen has an 18.00 ERA. Is this the dreaded World Series hangover that is obviously not happening in Houston? I’m looking at the rest of that staff and thinking they’re probably going to be fine. The moral of this post is that everything is fine. Probably because as a Cubs fan, I’m trying to convince myself that everything is fine.

As far as the rest of the Division goes, Nick Ahmed has had a hot start in Arizona. Joe Panik’s solo home runs in the first two games led to two 1-0 games for the Giants, which was super fucking weird. And Charlie Blackmon actually hit on the road for the Rockies... where he’s staying put. And just for fun...

NL Rookie of the Year: Christian Villanueva, Padres.

Maybe the Phillies should call up Hunter Greene to make anyone give a shit about NL rookies this year. But Villanueva is tied for the NL rookie lead in WAR and he’s mashing for the shitty Padres. The Cubs actually got Villanueva with Kyle Hendricks in the Ryan Dempster trade. But they decided they probably didn’t have room for him in the infield, since he doesn't strike out every time at bat. Oh man. SELF BURN.

So this is a good place to start. Everything will look completely different in a week. But that’s part of the fun. Baseball is fucking awesome.

1 note · View note

junker-town · 5 years

Text

Full list of Week 1 point spreads following 2019 NFL schedule release

We have all the early point spreads, and some thoughts on where we might see some line movement.

The NFL announced the complete 2019 schedule, and that means two things. Fans can begin figuring out road trips and homestands they want to attend, and sports bettors can begin assessing the lines. As soon as every Week 1 game was leaked by respected sources, sportsbooks hustled to get a line up for each game.

Below is a complete list of Week 1 odds, courtesy of the Westgate SuperBook. There are a host of sportsbooks to consider when deciding where to place your wagers, and you are guaranteed to find different lines that might be more appealing.

Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears (-3.5, 46) Atlanta Falcons @ Minnesota Vikings (-4.5, 47.5) Washington @ Philadelphia Eagles (-8, 46.5) Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets (-3.5, 38.5) Baltimore Ravens @ Miami Dolphins (+3.5, 37) San Francisco 49ers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2.5, 49) Kansas City Chiefs @ Jacksonville Jaguars (+5.5, 52.5) Tennessee Titans @ Cleveland Browns (-5, 45) Los Angeles Rams @ Carolina Panthers (+2.5, 51) Detroit Lions @ Arizona Cardinals (Pk, 49) Cincinnati Bengals @ Seattle Seahawks (-7.5, 43.5) Indianapolis Colts @ Los Angeles Chargers (-3.5, 48) New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys (-7.5, 46.5) Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots (-6, 53) Houston Texans @ New Orleans Saints (-7.5, 53.5) Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders (-2.5, 43)

We have three home underdogs right out of the gate. Miami is getting 3.5 points against Baltimore, Jacksonville is getting 5.5 points against Kansas City, and Carolina is getting 2.5 points against the Rams. Home dogs are always intriguing to bet, and that’s especially the case in Week 1. We might know who is on each roster, and we’ll hear plenty of projections, but oddsmakers need at least two or three weeks to settle into their groove with understanding how good or bad each team really is.

People will start betting on Week 1 lines immediately (I already did!), and we have nearly five months for money to push these lines around. From those three games with home dogs, the public likely won’t push those lines down. The Jaguars seem like a team that the public will oppose in Week 1, but sharp money will keep the line at 5.5 points or maybe even bring it down a little bit. We’ll see what kind of action Nick Foles can draw outside of Philly.

The biggest line of Week 1 has Philadelphia laying eight points to Washington. Considering Washington’s quarterback depth chart currently includes Colt McCoy and Case Keenum ahead of an uninjured and likely out for 2019 Alex Smith, it’s hard to get excited about them. If Washington is going to be competitive this season, the upcoming draft will be key. They don’t have a long-term answer at quarterback and they’ve lost considerable defensive depth. That being said, the betting public is probably going to hammer the Eagles heading into Week 1. I’m inclined to stay away for now, but Washington could develop into a value play if you want to fade the public.

I put some money on the 49ers right out of the gate, and while I got them as two-point underdogs instead of 2.5, I would be surprised if the line stuck at two all offseason. If Jimmy Garoppolo is back in time for training camp, as reports suggest he will be, I suspect we see public money move that line down closer to pick ‘em. Bruce Arians could be an upgrade in the coaching department, but I really would not be surprised to see the 49ers as slim favorites by the time Week 1 rolls around.

There is so much that can happen between now and the start of the season. We still have the entire draft to get through and there are going to be season-ending injuries between now and Week 1. The wise course of action is to wait, but if you think you can find an edge, it could be worth the gamble. I see an edge for now in the 49ers-Bucs game, and while it could go sideways with a significant injury, I’m prepared to roll the dice for the time being.

Who do you like in Week 1?

0 notes

rafterzebra · 6 years

Text

Theory: The NBA is the New ‘Attitude Era’ of Pop Culture

There are few spaces in time that evoke more gleeful nostalgia for people my age than the Attitude Era of Wrestling. The era began around the time I was starting high school, an age where young people such as myself were finished with the boiler plate simplicity of childhood cartoons and simple narratives of “good guy versus bad guy”. We wanted heroes that were compelling and villains that had an edge to them. More than anything, we wanted antiheroes that shunned tradition and freely expressed themselves. The WWE (then the WWF) gave that to us. Whether it was completely by design or not, the characters and plot lines that emerged from that era of wrestling gave the audience what it craved: dramatic theater that seemed real and relatable. When the era ended, wrestling was never quite the same. The advent of social media, and a new breed of NBA superstar has achieved the remarkable and recreated an attitude era of its own. The void that was left in pop culture by the tamping down of the WWE’s delivery became filled by the storylines and characters we see competing on the court, and smack-talking in the media for the time in-between. It has led to immense popularity of the league and the high-level interest in its athletes that you simply do not get in any other sport.

By the early to mid 90s, I was done with wrestling. As a child in the 80s, I loved watching Hulk Hogan and all the others and then having fake matches with some friends on the playground at recess. By the time adolescence was taking hold, I found myself drifting away from that world and gravitating full-time to sports. It was more entertaining to see the competition unfold in real time, with no “assistance” from people running out of the back, or a referee getting knocked unconscious only to be revived at a determined time. The “good guy”, which was usually depended on what team you rooted for, did not always win. Michael Jordan emerged as the most popular athlete in the country, the Buffalo Bills failed to win their “title match” four times in a row, and I dare say the 1993 Phillies were an incredible group of athletes to observe.

It wasn’t until a high school friend convinced me in class one day that wrestling had a new face that I began to pay attention once again. He began explaining to me the evolution of Stone Cold Steve Austin. When he told me that Austin gained his new bad guy persona by saying he whipped Jake the Snake’s ass, I was immediately intrigued. Jake the Snake had been one of those wrestlers from the era when I watched as a kid, generally a good guy. When I was told that they allowed that to happen, I felt compelled to begin to tune in. It was just as the Monday Night Wars were heating up, with rival WCW showing on TNT Monday Nights as well. WCW had lured away much of WWE’s older talent that had name recognition. They also turned Hulk Hogan into a bad guy (RIP Mean Gene). Hogan led the new group of wrestling in WCW called the “nWo” which stood for the New World Order, signifying that the old ways of doing business were dead. Every Monday night I began to tune in to see what would happen next.

As I watched, I noticed it wasn’t the same old storylines, wrestling had evolved. Stone Cold was supposed to be a heel, but the crowds could not get enough of him. The supposed bad guys who were supposed to be booed were so charismatic and so refreshing in the face of the babyfaces that the crowds made their choice. The Rock encountered the same thing, in an arc that molded his career into what it is today. The Rock was first presented as WWE’s first third generation wrestler and came in fresh-faced and in, shall we say, colorful attire. The audience, bored by another wholesome, fresh-faced upstart began to boo him, chanting “Rocky sucks” over and over again (he was known as Rocky Maivia then). The powers that be had no choice but to turn him heel, and had him join the group The Nation of Domination, which was a play on a black militant group (the world was in a different place in the 90s). He started off by going down the checklist of what bad guys should do; he interfered in matches, he cheated to win, he clashed with supposed fan favorites. However, something else happened during this time, and that was his work on the microphone began to increase his popularity. His slick delivery and insults were not the traditional “the audience sucks, I’m gonna smash this wrestler in the cage” type of rhetoric. Much like Austin, The Rock came with a slick delivery and insults that made the crowd laugh instead of boo. It got to the point where the crowd started chanting “Rocky, Rocky” when he was speaking and yelling out his catchphrases. The rest is movie box office history.

It wasn’t just the bad guys that were turning good, the good guys where riding the edge of being bad. The group Degeneration X were headlined by fan favorite Shawn Michaels, one of the few wrestlers that could be described as a bad guy fan favorite before the Attitude Era began. The rise of DX became almost a battlecry for young people in that time; the very words of their theme song indicated they stood for counterculture and were directly against the stuffy traditions their parents and the boomer generation were trying to hold them too. The world had changed, the President of the United States was on trial for getting a blowjob in the Oval Office (a moment which DX hilariously mocked), OJ Simpson’s trial had permeated all manner of media, there was no disputing a new day had dawned in how Americans consumed and craved entertainment. There was no more wool being pulled over the eyes of the audience, they knew, they were in on the stories, they just wanted the stories to raise their eyebrows.

For many reasons.the Attitude Era eventually ended in 2002. After WWE acquired WCW, and the Rock and Austin began to fade away, the company rebranded. The company moved toward a more “PG” style of entertainment and while it retained many of its fans and still remains a popular entity today, it lost many casual fans that had been drawn in by the extreme stories and characters that had liberty to do and say just about anything.

The NBA was struggling from a period I call The Jordan Hangover during this time. With MJ retired, the league began chasing the next MJ instead of rebranding itself. Was it Kobe? Was it Allen Iverson? It became obvious that no one could fill those shoes (pun somewhat intended). Subsequently, the NBA went through a few phases of title runs with the Lakers and Spurs, and LeBron James ultimately entered the fray. While he was and always will be compared to Jordan, LeBron was a different type of superstar. His high school games had been broadcast on ESPN. He was allowed to join the league right from high school and began scoring 20 a night right off the bat. He was anointed and self-aware, but at the same time he had detractors and a long line of critics that would jump on any move he made. I think he became who he is today because he could handle all of that weight. Talk to any NBA fan and they can recite their list of players that came in with the hype of a freight train, but left the league with the whimper of a pushcart. LeBron had the hype and delivered. His performance in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals heralded his true arrival. However, his inability to win a title ultimately drove him to the tipping point that changed the game in more ways than one.

There were certainly moments that evoke the Attitude Era between the end of the WWE version and the NBA version, I don’t know if I would call them precursors but I think they were the tremors that foreshadowed the quake. The Shaq-Kobe split, Ron Artest and along with him the Malice at the Palace, the Stoudemire suspension in the Suns-Spurs series. More than anything, these moments that sports is always entertainment, and unscripted, which always delivers the potential for stand alone moments. There were moments, however, July 2010 was when it really all began. While LeBron had plenty of detractors, he had never done anything that was worthy of a good deal of backlash. He performed well on the court, stayed out of trouble off of it. He faced criticism for not bring his team a title but he had plenty of defenders. When he entered free agency in the summer of 2010, many knew he would most likely not return to Cleveland. The Decision was met with extreme hostility outside of South Florida. Similar to Hulk Hogan’s heel turn, many became devoted to not only cheering against LeBron, but writing him off forever. On July 9th, 2010, LeBron was introduced, along with Chris Bosh, joining Dwyane Wade in MIami for a truly over-the-top press conference. It was so ostentatious that videos have been made with the nWo theme playing over it. The NBA was truly never the same.

youtube

LeBron has had quite a journey since then. He faced immediate backlash and ultimately expressed regret over the way he announced his decision, but the joining together of the “Big Three” in Miami was a success. LeBron floundered in the first of four straight NBA Finals the team would reach, losing to the Mavericks, but they went on to win two titles. LeBron ultimately went back to Clevaland and did the impossible, gaining them a title in 2016. His free agency departure from Cleveland was with less commotion the second time around, but still sent ripples across the league because he’s LeBron James.

While LeBron remains a central figure in the league, and expands his influence outside of it, his decision and arrival in Miami in July of 2010 was the next stage of evolution for the league. The maneuvering around of star players in free agency is only half the story, the other competent are the athletes themselves finding their way in this new league. There are only a handful of veterans, most riding the bench for teams, that were in the league during the Jordan Hangover (props to Vince Carter for being in the league in the 90s and still playing). The new NBA athletes grew up when LeBron entered the league, they know who Michael Jordan, many wear his shoes, but they were young or not even alive when Jordan was at his peak. The internet was around from their youth, and they’ve had social media accounts for a significant amount of time. The NBA players today know the value of “brands”, and they also know that particularly in their sport players that are valuable hold a considerable amount of leverage, and can maximize that leverage through the media. The NBA superstars of today parallel the Attitude Era wrestling superstars of yesterday in many ways.

Stone Cold Steve Austin’s gimmick was that he didn’t like his boss and would stop at nothing to piss him off and humiliate him. Nowadays when an NBA star is not happy with his coach or his contract, he makes it well known. Jimmy Butler essentially worked his trade out of Minnesota by using the media. The Rock became popular off his quips and catchphrases, often insulting his opponents. Smack talk, often through social media, is commonplace in the NBA between athletes now. One of wrestling’s staples were their superstars cutting “promos” in which they would set up storylines or attempt to verbally take down opponents. This past offseason Kevin Durant went on CJ McCollum’s podcast and basically told him that he could not beat the Warriors. This led to a social media spat with McCollum calling Durant soft for his decision to join the Warriors. The valuable angle to these types of back-and-forth is that it is out there on social media for everyone to see and react to. It’s a promo that is interactive, and unfolding in real time.

The other great element to what the NBA has going is that much like the Attitude Era there are no clear lines for heels and babyfaces. If you like Joel Embiid’s taunting of the Timberwolves, you love Joel Embiid. If you don’t like him, you’ll tune in to see him fall in the playoffs. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant’s split leaves the decision up to you; there is no good side or bad side, it all comes down to whose game you respect.

Above all else, it is the drama that sustained the Attitude Era and that has lifted the NBA to new heights. Off-season and free agency speculation has become it’s own entity, dominating sports discussions in the summer. Fans cannot get enough of stories of in-fighting and social media moments where players are caught showing their true feelings on their team, management, or other players. The empowerment and recognition of this power by the players has been telling. Kawhi Leonard went the Sting route last season by sitting quietly in the rafters and moved to Toronto, causing huge waves without saying a word. The Spurs were thought to be a buttoned-up organization, but even they could not prevent a player defecting out of their system. This ability to craft their own story and generate so much content that #NBATwitter is thing, just has not permeated to other sports. Athletes in those sports do make statements and get into arguments on social media, but it doesn’t have the personality that the NBA superstars bring to it. While some sports fans lament of how the NBA used to be, with players giving generic answers to media questions and being content to wallow on a team for years while collecting top dollar but never winning many games, that era is over for players that want to control their brand. Judging by the popularity of the sport in its current form, the league is right where it wants to be.

The NBA may not be an exact replica of the Attitude Era. For one there were storylines and phrases said back then that are not appropriate for this day and time. However, the same desire for unfiltered content and ambiguous heroes in those stories exist. The superstars are young and brash, and are not afraid to express their discontent with management. They are loud and express themselves in a variety of ways, including their dress. They have developed cult followings and fans that will ride with them no matter what, going to great lengths to counter attacks on their performance. They in-fight, smack talk and bicker with each other, reaching to petty levels of back-and-forth. They take any slight against them extremely personal. These elements made the Attitude Era ascend to the heights of pop culture, and it’s making the NBA as popular as ever.

#NBA #SportsMedia #attitudeera #nbatwitter

0 notes

forcewindow85-blog · 5 years

Text

I Love My Job: Beneficial Bank Exec Joanne Ryder

I Love My Job

The financial leader talks mergers, why she reads a book a week, and what it means to be one of the region's highest-paid women.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 06: Beneficial Bank executive vice president & chief administrative officer Joanne Ryder speaks onstage during the Pennsylvania Conference for Women 2016 at Pennsylvania Convention Center on October 6, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Pennsylvania Conference for Women)

Joanne Ryder joined Beneficial Bank 11 years ago in July 2007 as the institution’s director of marketing, and it didn’t take long for the leader to swiftly advance at the company. By January of 2012, Ryder was named executive vice president and director of brand and strategy. Now, at 43, she’s been executive vice president and chief administration officer at the bank since April 2015.

It’s been quite the ride, Ryder explains, and with her company undergoing a major shift, the EVP says it’s important, particularly for women, to always be resilient. In her spare time, she sits on the board of the PA Conference for Women, which is back this year on Friday. Ryder explains why she reads a book a week and what it means to be one of the region’s highest-paid women.

I grew up in… the Northeast in Oxford Circle.

Growing up, the role models I had were… Dorothy Hamill and Mary Lou Retton. I had sports figures as role models for women. Madonna was popular in the music world at the time. But there weren’t that many women.

I knew I wanted to go into finance when… I never really wanted to go into finance. I just happened to get a job out of college because I was a communications major at Penn State. When I joined Commerce Bank and got exposed to that brand, that’ when I wanted to stay in finance. So I was never really interested in finance. It just kind of found me.

The best piece of advice I’ve ever got is… from a woman I worked for early on. She always told me, “Don’t ever ask for permission.” I’ve kept that in the back of my mind. I never ask for permission.

My first day on the job at Beneficial was… a very crazy day. I walked in, and they had just gone through a merger and were doubling in size. They just threw me into the fire. I had to hop on the telephone since the call center was blowing up at the time with customers calling with questions. I had to put customers on hold or transfer them to a branch. It was all hands on deck. That was 11 years ago.

Joanne Ryder (L) with Beneficial Bank colleagues. Courtesy photo.

I found my voice at Beneficial when… I decided that it was okay to have a different opinion than my peers. The one thing I find that I do much differently is, not only am I a woman, but I’m also a creative thinker and they are very analytical thinkers. I would find myself often thinking there was something wrong with me and my opinion. Once I embraced my diversity of thought, I stepped into my place here and my voice.

The last book I read was… Principles by Ray Dalio. I’m constantly reading. I read a book a week because I like to read about people who have been in the business world and are sharing their thoughts on their experience.

A TV show I’m watching right now is… HBO’s Succession.

My favorite place to relax in the region is… my Shore house in Margate that I love to go to.

On the weekends I… am a chauffeur…for my son. I take him around from sporting event to sporting event. He’s very active whether on the soccer or baseball field.

My favorite snack is… peanut M&Ms.

One thing I can’t live without is… Google. I can search anything on Google and get the answer.

My go-to power outfit is… anything Tory Burch. Huge fan!

The most difficult part of my job is… managing my CEO.

Something most people might incorrectly assume about me is… that I’m shy. I’m very quiet at first until I get very comfortable with people.

I balance the many different roles I play by… on the business side of things, I have a strong team. I believe in hiring the best people and getting out of their way. I have people I can trust and can rely on. In my personal life, I have a great relationship with my husband. We tag team all of our chores.

Thinking creatively means… thinking without limits. Anything is possible. No idea is a bad idea. The more obscure an idea, the better it can be.

A Beneficial project I’m really proud of is… our campuses. They’re a different take on the branch store. We call them campuses because they’re a cross between an apple store, library and Starbucks. We have 14 campuses total and none of them have teller lines. There are seminars and other fun things going on. They’re open to the public.

One thing I wish I were better at is… being more patient. I’ve gotten better over the years, but it’s still not where I need to be.

Mergers are… good because it gives you a chance to take the best of both companies and create one dominant player in the market.

The future of banking will be… payments, like Apple Pay. Everything is going digital. Physical money may go away as we move to the payments space and people will adopt that.

Courtesy photo.

Chase’s entry into the Philly region means… more opportunity for local banks to serve the local market because we know it best.

Something more companies should do to address the gender wage gap is… pay people what they’re worth now instead of waiting till it’s mandated. Be proactive in making sure women and minorities are paid fairly.

Being one of the highest paid women in the Philly region means… it’s possible for any woman to be in the same spot as I am.

My role in advocating for female leaders is… never done.

The PA Women’s Conference is necessary now, more than ever, because… of the conversation taking place across the nation. The more we can talk about it and bring people together to find solutions, the better off we will be.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 06: The sponsors attend the Pennsylvania Conference for Women 2016 at Pennsylvania Convention Center on October 6, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Pennsylvania Conference for Women)

My favorite memory from the PA Women’s Conference is… meeting and introducing Michelle Obama last year. The minute I met her, it felt like she was my best girlfriend.

My advice to all women is… you need to be resilient in fighting for what you believe in and what you’re trying to accomplish. You can’t stop at “no.” You have to keep pushing. With all of us pushing and pushing, eventually, and you can see it now, starting, you’ll get there. The inertia is natural. You have to have a tough skin and be resilient.

In five years, I see myself… running my own business. I’m not sure what kind yet. Something in retail. I’m fascinated by startups, and I’m trying to figure out what my idea will be. I’d like to get more involved with the startup scene here.

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/business/2018/10/10/joanne-ryder-beneficial-bank-wsfs/

0 notes

pastordorry-blog · 5 years

Text

Be A Bucket Filler

Easter Season Series on Discipleship Week 4

John 13:1-17

May 26, 2019

During baseball season, every time I turn on the television, it’s always on Sports Philadelphia (formerly Comcast Sportsnet), because while I was upstairs the night before getting ready for bed, Phil took a few minutes to listen to the Phillies post game show. What amazes me is, the next day when I turn on the tv at lunch time or in the late afternoon, people are still talking about the game! And, having been married to Phil for almost 31 years now, I know that when something really unusual happens, baseball fans still talk about it, even years and decades later!

So I think it’s a reasonable guess that in between Easter and Pentecost, the disciples spent a lot of time talking about their many experiences with Jesus. My guess is they rehashed and analyzed and replayed every moment with him. They sure did see him do some unusual things! He walked on water. He fed thousands of people with tiny amounts of food. He healed the sick, cured the blind. Even raised the dead. These events are so unusual, we are still talking about them!

But what about the things they saw Jesus do on his last night on earth? Do you think they spent much time talking about how, during the Passover seder, he took the bread and the cup, and imparted new meaning to these symbols? I bet they did talk about that, because we are still talking about that! But what about how, during that same dinner, Jesus took the role of a servant, and washed the disciples’ feet? It was the custom in Jesus’ day for a servant to wash the feet of dinner guests, because the roads were dusty and dirty, and the typical foot covering of the time was a leather sole attached to the feet with simple straps. They provided protection for the bottom of the feet from hot or pointy. But they did not keep out the dirt!

Since Jesus and his disciples did not have any servants, when they gathered for the Passover meal, they followed the custom of eating without footwashing. It never occurred to them to wash each other’s feet, because none of them were “servants”. But servanthood is at the heart of what it means to be a disciple.

Jesus opened his public ministry by telling everyone that he had come to bring good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19). All of those things sound pretty important, things only a powerful and noble person could accomplish. But Jesus’ power and nobility were not like that of other kings. Jesus’ power and nobility came from his willingness to serve, to serve even those who were dead set against him, to serve even those who would desert him and disappoint him and had no real way of paying him back. Jesus closes his ministry by showing us a different king of power: the power of servanthood.

As he washed their feet, at least one disciple seriously questioned Jesus’ actions. Peter asked him, Jesus, what on earth are you doing? Jesus said, “You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.” He went on to say, “ I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you.” I wonder if, at every meal the disciples shared between Easter and Pentecost, if they thought about Jesus washing their feet, and if they in fact performed that task for each other. As far as I know there’s no account of that in scripture. Perhaps the disciples realized Jesus gave those instructions to them, not to be taken literally, but as a model for how they were to live in the future.

I have been part of foot-washing services on Maundy Thursday at several churches now, and, this still amazes me, but hardly anyone likes it. Everyone seems to agree that the meaning is powerful, but the execution is just kind of weird. This is especially true when we’re dressed up, like we usually are for church. Most Christians I know, agree that footwashing is very meaningful in theory, but it is complicated in practice! So we go beyond the literal interpretation. Just like the original disciples, we are left to figure out what Jesus meant when he said we would understand later. What are we supposed to learn from this remarkable, “play at the plate” if you will?

One of my favorite authors, Joan Chittister, tells this story:

Once upon a time some disciples begged their old and ailing master not to die. “But if I do not go, how will you ever see?”, the master said to them.

“But what can we possibly see with you gone?”, they insisted.

With a twinkle in his eye, the holy one answered, “All I ever did in my entire life was to sit on the riverbank handing out river water. After I’m gone, I trust that you will notice the river.”

Truly great teachers don’t just give their students lessons while they are living. Truly great teachers plant within us lessons we can only learn after we are no longer together. When we reflect on Jesus washing his disciples’ feet, and then going on to serve them in an even more sacrificial and humbling way by going to the cross, we realize we are in the presence of a lesson, a teacher, than cannot be grasped all at once. We find ourselves at the river of life.

For three years, the disciples worked and lived with Jesus. Any information they needed, and guidance or help they wanted, they just held out their cups, and Jesus filled them. What an adjustment it must have been for the disciples, to have to make decisions and judgment calls without Jesus right there to guide them anymore. They knew he was alive, they knew he would always be with them in a mystical sense, but they could no longer go to their teacher with every little thing and get an answer on the spot. They would need to rely on their own experiences, their own judgment, and most importantly, their own spirituality now. No longer able to touch and see and feel Jesus with their physical senses, they would have to develop the same skills required of us, and learn how to connect to Jesus using their souls.

You know, for all the times we mention the word “soul” in church, I am not sure we do a very good job of defining it, let alone teaching about how to care for it and utilize it. It always seemed to me that knowing about souls was an innate ability you either had or you didn’t have. Like being athletic, or artistic, some people are just spiritual. At least that’s what I thought. I remember in third grade my parents went out somewhere, and they asked a 12th grade girl who rode my school bus to babysit. Rita and her family went to the Baptist church in town, which meant they went to church on Sunday mornings AND Wednesday nights. I thought that meant Rita knew all there is to know about God. While she was babysitting me, I asked her all my questions about souls. Does everyone have a soul? Where is it? What does it do? How do I know if my soul is okay? Poor Rita. I hope my parents paid her extra for having to deal with my questions!

I don’t remember anything Rita said, but I do remember has being patient and kind, which is probably all the evidence needed to conclude that Rita had a pretty good understanding of souls! I had picked a good person to ask. But many years would pass before I felt like I was starting to understand what having a soul is all about. I was cleaning the bathtub the way my mom taught me to—with Comet and scrub brush, and then wiping it down with a sponge. Since I never liked cleaning the bathtub, it had been a long time since I used the sponge, and it was totally dried out. Dried out sponges are not good for wiping! If you want the sponge to absorb anything, it has to already be wet. Seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? But that’s the way sponges work.

And I think that is the way souls work. Every person has a soul and has the capacity to be “spiritual”. But dried out souls cannot absorb God. Our souls are a body part we cannot see, that have receptors. Like our tongues have taste buds, and our hands have nerve endings, souls have God receptors. Special sensory equipment to help us detect and absorb God’s presence and action in our lives. We are born with our souls pre-moistened. At baptism they get moistened some more. But if we do not engage in the practices that keep our souls supple, we gradually lose our ability to connect to the good things God has for us.

I think that is part of why Jesus told his disciples to become foot washers. Kneeling down to wash someone else’s feet is good for the soul! It requires flexibility, it requires getting wet. It squeezes the sponges of our souls and allows us to absorb God’s presence. It reminds us of our baptism, and fills us with living water, even as we share that water with someone else.

Several months ago one of our church members gave me this children’s book, “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” by Carol McCloud. The book is intended for use in schools, so it’s not explicitly Christian. But I think it captures some of what we’re talking about today.

The thesis of the book is that everyone has a bucket—an invisible repository for love and good feelings. We might call this invisible body part our souls. The book calls it a bucket. When people treat others will kindness and respect, we call them “bucket fillers”. The book teaches children that even they can be bucket fillers when they express caring. And, by filling other people’s buckets, you fill your own, too! Bucket filling makes everyone feel good.

The converse is also true. When we’re unkind and disrespectful, that’s called bucket dipping. Sometimes we think being mean will take good things from the other person’s bucket and fill up our own, but bucket dipping never fills up our own buckets. Bucket dipping in the end always makes everyone feel bad. It could be that the person who is hardest to love, the person who we see doing a lot of bucket dipping and mean stuff, is the person most in need of love.

Jesus lowered himself and embraced the dirtiest, grimiest, dung covered parts of the disciples’ bodies, and he asks us to follow his example. He had compassion on the empty buckets in his midst, and did what he could to fill them with love. What he did for us, we can do for each other! “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Amen. May it be so. Amen.

0 notes

stepchain46-blog · 6 years

Text

You won't want to miss this Cubs series

It is not too early -- it is never too early -- to start combing through the 2019 MLB schedule. We are, after all, exactly two months, today, away from the start of the season. It is so close now.

So, today we're going to help you out with your travel schedule. We're going to look at the spotlight series for each team this year, the one you won't want to miss. The one parameter: Each individual series can only be picked once, even though there are two teams playing in it. All games on a 162-game schedule are equal. But these are more equal than others.

American League East

Blue Jays: vs. Yankees, June 4-6 Can you believe Rogers Centre -- originally known as SkyDome -- is 30 years old? It's true, the first game at the venue was on June 5, 1989, with the Brewers (then in the AL East) beating the Blue Jays, 5-3. What was once the future of ballparks is now the seventh-oldest stadium in the sport. Here's a chance to appreciate it.

Orioles: vs. Yankees, April 4-7 It's going to be a long year in Baltimore, but one thing Orioles faithful need to do is show up for the home opener against the Yanks. The last thing you want is an invading fan base to take over your stadium on Opening Day. If Manny Machado signs with a team that the O's play this year, that probably becomes the answer here. Who knows? Maybe it will be the Yankees.

Rays: at Giants, April 5-7 Any Rays fan still adjusting to the sight of Evan Longoria in a Giants uniform will get a reunion in San Francisco's home opener, the first time Longoria will face the team he played with for 10 years.

Red Sox: vs. Dodgers, July 12-14 The rare World Series rematch. Plus, hey, Joe Kelly's back!

Yankees: vs. Red Sox in London, June 29-30 The most American of all sports rivalries takes place overseas, in the first London Series. The first game starts at 1:10 p.m. ET, so you don't even have to get up early!

Video: Bradley Jr. joins Hot Stove to discuss London Series

AL Central

Indians: vs. Phillies, Sept. 20-22 The All-Star Game is in Cleveland in July, but keep an eye on this late-season series against the Phillies, the final home games for the Tribe during the season.

Royals: vs. Mets, Aug. 16-18 The Royals won the World Series not that long ago, though it doesn't feel that way. They and the Mets are both dramatically different squads since the 2015 Fall Classic, but the memories remain.

Tigers: vs. Royals in Omaha, June 13 This is the first MLB game to be played in Nebraska, and it will precede this year's College World Series. The Tigers' lineup might be only a little bit older than the college lineups.

Video: Manfred, Moore and Avila on playing in Omaha

Twins: vs. Nationals, Sept. 10-12 It's always nice to see Washingtons, both old and current, face off. Next year, it will be 60 years since the Twins left Washington.

White Sox: vs. Cubs, July 6-7 July 4 is on a Thursday this year, which means most of the United States will, essentially, have a four-day weekend. Perfect time for a Crosstown Series.

AL West

Angels: vs. Astros in Monterrey, Mexico, May 4-5 How nice of the schedule-makers to share a Mike Trout series with Mexico. This is actually one of three series being played in Monterrey this year (Rockies-Diamondbacks on March 9-10 during Spring Training and Cardinals-Reds on April 13-14).

Astros: vs. Cubs, May 27-29 The teams are similarly constructed, recent World Series champions, and, oh yeah, were once NL Central rivals.

A's: vs. Mariners in Tokyo, March 20-21 It's the season opener, and though the Mariners have a more traditional Japanese connection, the A's are the home team. Get up early for that 5:35 a.m. ET start. These could be the last two chances that baseball fans get to see Ichiro Suzuki on the field, and that's reason enough for anyone to tune in.

Video: Dipoto discusses Ichiro's roster spot in 2019

Mariners: at Cubs, Sept. 2-3 Seattle has two different series with the Cubs this year, one in Seattle and one in Chicago. There's never a bad time to see Wrigley Field.

Rangers: vs. Yankees, Sept. 27-29 If the Rangers don't make the postseason, these are the final three games at Globe Life Park before the new Globe Life Field opens in 2020.

National League East

Braves: at Mets, Sept. 27-29 This is the final series of the season in a highly competitive division. It seems fitting to end it in Queens, the site of so many big Braves moments.

Marlins: at Nationals, July 2-4 A few teams are off for July 4 this year, but not only do the Marlins play, they get to play in the nation's capital.

Mets: vs. Braves, June 28-30 This is the big "Miracle Mets" celebration weekend, honoring the 50th anniversary of the 1969 World Series champions. (You may remember them from "Mad Men.")

Nationals: vs. D-backs, June 13-16 The real answer here is: The first series against Bryce Harper's new team if he signs elsewhere. Until we know if that's happening, we'll go with Patrick Corbin's first chance to pitch against his former team. It's a four-game set with a day off before it starts, so it's likely he'll take the mound.

Video: Corbin on excitement to join Nationals' rotation

Phillies: vs. Braves, March 28-30 The Phillies open the season against the rival Braves, but even though the teams play 19 games in 2019, they won't meet again after this until June 14.

NL Central

Brewers: at Reds, Sept. 24-26 These are the final NL Central games of the year, against a team that has really improved and yet still might be the least talented in the division. In this tightly contested division, Milwaukee will need every one of these wins.

Cardinals: vs. Angels, June 21-23 Amazingly, Albert Pujols has still not played a game at Busch Stadium since signing with the Angels after the 2011 season. If he's healthy in June, that will finally change in one of the most highly anticipated regular-season Cardinals series in recent memory.

Cubs: at Cardinals, Sept. 27-29 A heated series between hated rivals on the last weekend of the season at Busch Stadium? Yes, please.

Pirates: vs. Cubs Aug. 16-17 and in Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 18 The Pirates are back in Williamsport for the Little League Classic. And the Pirates' Players Weekend jerseys always look great.

Reds: vs. Angels, Aug. 5-6 How often do the Reds get to see Trout in town? For that matter, how about their old tormentor Pujols?

NL West

D-backs: vs. Cardinals, Sept. 23-25 It'll take most of the season, but eventually, D-backs fans will get the opportunity to see Paul Goldschmidt at their park again.

Video: Lovullo says D-backs can still compete without Goldy

Dodgers: at Yankees, Aug. 23-25 It has been nearly 40 years since a Yankees-Dodgers World Series. It'll always still feel like the default World Series to many.

Giants: vs. Dodgers, Sept. 27-29 We'll see where the Giants are when the season ends, but no matter what, they'll enjoy trying to knock the Dodgers around on the final weekend.

Padres: at Yankees, May 27-29 The Padres haven't been to the new Yankee Stadium yet, but their fans remember playing in their most recent World Series at the old one back in 1998.

Rockies: vs. Red Sox, Aug. 27-28 The Rockies get the defending champs, a team that has won two more World Series since they clinched the 2007 title in Colorado.

Will Leitch is a columnist for MLB.com.

Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-series-to-look-forward-to-in-2019-season/c-303223596

0 notes

yahoo-shutdown-corner-blog · 6 years

Text

Report: 'Alternate' NFL cheerleaders aren't treated any better than regular ones

yahoo

While it’s become more and more clear in recent months and years how poorly NFL cheerleaders are treated by teams, New York Times reporter Juliet Macur continues to show just how bad things are.

On Thursday, the Times published Macur’s latest story on the often-seedy side of cheerleaders with a little-known category of women: “alternate” cheerleaders, who are effectively scantily clad team ambassadors on gamedays.

What are alternate cheerleaders?

By definition, a cheerleader dances and chants in support of a team; in the NFL, that means being on the field during the game, performing during timeouts and after touchdowns.

It also means that if they’re on the field, there’s – gasp! – no one for fans in the suites to ogle and leer at up close during the game.

Washington is one of several NFL teams that uses alternate cheerleaders, or ambassadors, to mingle with customers or convince deep-monied fans to get luxury suites. (AP)

So some NFL teams created a secondary group of women for that purpose, ones that don’t have to have the dance talent of cheerleaders, but are scantily-clad models to mingle with deep-pocketed, often-inebriated male customers.

Macur interviewed a dozen women who worked as non-cheering cheerleaders and a half-dozen others who have knowledge of these groups, and they described jobs with low wages and high incidences of harassment and groping.

‘Alternates’ are meant to blend in

The alternate cheerleaders are almost always dressed the same as on-field cheerleaders; they’re not supposed to give the impression that they aren’t cheerleaders.

“It’s a really big secret, and now you know about it,” said Jackie Chambers, a model who was part of the Houston Texans’ non-cheerleader group last year. “But teams don’t want fans to know about it. All of the cheerleaders are supposed to blend in with each other.”

The Texans, Washington, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints are among the teams that have alternate cheerleaders.

In the Patriots’ case, the team holds auditions for cheerleader promotional models; while they don’t dance, both groups of women are grouped together, and the models and cheerleaders are both part of the team’s annual calendar.

Washington uses its “cheerleader ambassadors” in promotional materials meant to convince monied fans to invest in a luxury suite. In the team’s online suite sales video, there are photos of suite-holders posing with the cheerleader ambassadors; at another point in the video a voice says, “membership has its privileges,” as a bikini-clad woman is shown on screen.

The Baltimore Ravens aren’t secretive about their non-cheerleading group, calling them the Playmakers and treating them like marketers — but marketers whose job application asks for bust size.

Poor treatment for cheerleaders and non-cheerleaders

Earlier this month, Macur detailed a trip Washington cheerleaders took to Costa Rica in 2013 for the swimsuit calendar shoot in which women described the surprising – and unwelcome – presence of male sponsors at a photo shoot in which they were required to be topless. Team officials took women’s passports upon arrival at the resort, and later in the trip, women were chosen as “personal escorts” for a trip to a nightclub with sponsors.

For women who aren’t official cheerleaders, the treatment isn’t much better.

Six women who were ambassadors for Washington described the gig as a sexualized saleswoman. Some had to go to team tailgate parties, where attendees were encouraged to drink, and men would grab them and hug them or make inappropriate comments.

“The Redskins wanted to come up with extra ways to make money, so they dreamed up the idea of the ambassadors,” said one woman who worked as an ambassador. “We were made to look almost exactly like cheerleaders, but we weren’t a member of that society. We didn’t get the perks of dancing. We were just low-paid, underappreciated, exploited moneymakers in a huge moneymaking scheme.”

“We wore low-cut tops with cutouts and your butt cheeks would be sticking out the back. That’s how they sell the suites,” she added.

Dennis Greene, who was Washington’s longtime head of business operations (he was recently replaced) and remains in charge of hospitality and suites, treated the women like cattle, they said. Greene had women line up on to examine them, then chose two to work with him on gamedays, visiting suites.

“He would look each of us up and down and say, I want that one and that one, and everyone hated when you got selected for that,” a former ambassador said. “It was humiliating.”

Washington convinced women who hadn’t been chosen as cheerleaders to accept the ambassador role as a way to prepare for the next year’s auditions and get into the good graces of cheerleading team director Stephanie Jojokian.

They were encouraged to take classes at Jojokian’s dance company, Capitol Movement, or to either donate to the non-profit organization or attend fundraisers, and steered to the hair salon and tanning salon that sponsored the groups, where they got the look the team wanted.

Another former Washington ambassador said: “It was like, if you want to make the cheerleading team, you’d better do all this stuff, and that included going to parties where there was a lot of drinking and there were definitely underage ambassadors. It might not be the best experience for the ladies, but you just shut up and do it because you want to be a cheerleader.”

Despite the degrading conditions, women focused on the thing they enjoyed: cheering on the sidelines, in front of the crowds. Many women didn’t give their name for Macur’s story because of confidentiality agreements signed with clubs.

Lots of requirements, little respect

Chambers had no dance experience when she was chosen as a Texans “appearance-only cheerleader,” and believed she’d be getting to do some good, like visiting with military members or attending events with children.

That wasn’t the reality.

As the team earned thousands per event and per cheerleader, the women themselves were required to work at least 50 promotional events per year and earned just $7.25 an hour.

Chambers said the team’s coach, Alto Gary, was verbally and emotionally abusive of women, which was confirmed by three other members. Their contract forbade “arguing or showing disrespect” to Gary, whom Chambers said used thick tape to constrict a woman’s midsection before one game, making it appear flatter under her costume.

Chambers often had to go into the stands for giveaways, and once a man ran his hands over her crotch. She told team officials and police, but nothing was done about the incident.

Earlier this month, three of Chambers’ former teammates filed a class-action suit against the Texans and Gary; Chambers will join the suit if it is certified.

And here’s a kicker: Last month, at the team’s year-end meeting, Chambers said women were given Starbucks gift cards as a token of appreciation.

When Chambers went to use her card, the barista handed it back to her, saying it had a zero balance. Some women had $5 on their cards.

“All of us said, wow, the Texans must have really appreciated us,” Chambers said. “We were laughing, but crying.”

More from Yahoo Sports: • NFL player plays hero for ‘crying’ woman at airport • Phillies player breaks jaw in bizarre play • Zidane stuns Real Madrid with ‘strange’ resignation • Trump’s clear message to NFL owners: ‘You can’t win’

#_author:Shalise Manza Young #_uuid:c4e4882e-d553-3f36-999d-e8330bc83d18 #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_revsp:99add987-dcd1-48ae-b801-e4aa58e4ebd0

0 notes

tylerarltunl · 6 years

Text

Tyler’s Takes 6.0

April 7th, 2018

Welcome one welcome all to a late night early morning addition of my steaming hot takes on this week in sports. My good friend Cade Webb who has plenty of hot takes as well you should give him a follow on twitter if you do not already. His takes get even better during college football too! But anyway he gave me the idea to have two editions this week so this will be the general what has happened in the week and tomorrow I will release a half edition that focuses on the Masters and how it played out through my eyes so without further ado I will start supplying the takes.

College Basketball

The masses are declaring for the draft there were a few surprises and a few kids I wish would stay but I cannot blame them for wanting to cash in a big payday. I think their game would develop with another year at the college level but I would never tell anyone to turn down money. Also I am going to pat myself on the back for my bracket. Bet yall didnt think I would do that well now did ya!

-Trevon Duval (Point Guard, Duke) is a kid I think could increase his draft position by 10 spots if he were to stay another year at Duke. I know when he signed at Duke he was intending to be a one and done but could you imagine a summer where he doesnt have the pressure to get ready for the draft and can focus on his weaknesses. IE his shooting. A summer and another season to work on his jump-shot would do wonders for him.

-Malik Newman (Guard, Kansas) made himself some serious cash with the finish to his season. Apparently his plan and Self’s plan was for him to leave after this season regardless of how he performed. He is counting his dollars because he went from not even being talked about to putting himself on the map with his late flourish. A position less player in the NBA who benefited from having Davante bring the ball up will find it comforting that teams like guys who can shoot which makes him a better prospect than Duval in my eyes.

-Landry Shamet (Point Guard, Wichita State) Here is a guy I thought would stay solely based on how the season ended for him and I thought he would want to come back and get the bad taste out of his mouth. This might be an indictment on what the Shockers are going to be next year but I never blame a kid for leaving. I think he is the best NBA ready prospect of the three guys mentioned here as he can do a little bit of everything. I am concerned about his speed on defense but if Fred Van Vleet can guard NBA talent Landry Shamet can learn to do the same.

-Nebraska has two guys that have not signed an agent yet and I think should come back and make a run next year. Neither guy excels at what they do (Issac Copeland and Jordan Palmer Jr.). If they come back Nebraska will be picked in the top 5 of the Big Ten in preseason polls because the Big 10 is losing a lot of its elite talent this year. I think both guys would be better served rounding their game into form in their senior campaigns but if they both go Issac has a better NBA future.

College Football

-Not a lot here just Spring games will be happening around the country in the coming weeks so I hope you enjoy your teams game! I am in the minority here but I think Spring games are a whole lot to do about nothing. Tanner Lee threw some pretty passes in the Spring game and look how that turned out. Just know your team is never as good or bad as you think it is in April and you will be for the better.

-My quick take on the Huskers... their spring game is April 21st so lets hope the QB position has a direction by then. If there is no separation from someone in that group that usually means they are all BAD. What are the odds you are going to have three studs in the same room. Scott Frost does have a plethora of talent at the skill positions. Morgan, Lindsey, and Speilman could be a special trio at receiver and please please please dont make me suffer through another season of Devine Ozigbo and Mikale Wilbon as the primary running backs. Please let Greg Bell and Jaylen Bradley separate from the group. Maurice Washington could be a factor as a true freshman as well when he arrives on campus in the fall. I think Tre Bryant might not play football at all or successfully again. (You heard that here first)

Major League Baseball

-The Red Sox are hot!!! The temperature outside may be cold but they are clicking right now. The starting pitching has been the story for this team. Rick Porcello pitched a great game today and it was the worst start by a starter this season. 7.1 IP and 3 earned runs. That is crazy. The Sox also have not committed and error yet this season and since I typed that sentence Sunday they will commit one you can bet on it. The Red Sox played 162 games without a grand slam last year they got that out of the way before game 10 this year.

-CC Sabathia is headed to the DL and so the Yankees weak rotation gets even weaker. They are going to win games by scoring 10 runs but I honestly do not think they have the horses in the rotation to be taken seriously. The bullpen has surprisingly cost the Yankees wins so far this year dont look for that to continue.

-The Phillies scored 20 runs today as a WTH stat of the week. Interested to see which team.... the Phillies or the Braves rise out of the ashes first. I think both are a year away but the NL East is about to be loaded.

-The Royals are bad. They could have had a jump start on the rebuild and I am guessing management is feeling they should have taken that path. How about Danny Duffy being spotted a 4 run lead in the first on Opening Day then getting shelled and the loss then getting spotted a 2 run lead in the first to Cleveland on Friday and giving up 3 in the bottom half of the inning as they went on to lose 3-2.

National Football League

Not a whole lot here this week just a signing and a trade

-The Cowboys added Kony Early to the roster. He averaged 4 sacks a year with Carolina Panthers and New York Jets. Dont know if that moves the needle at all. Randy Gregory is said to be asking for reinstatement into league as well. The league would be foolish to grant that. I dont blame the Cowboys for drafting the former Husker but dude has issues LAY OFF THE WEED.

-The Rams traded for Brandin Cooks. The Patriots got a first round pick and a 6th round pick. The Rams are all in while Jared Goff is young. Am I the only one that thinks he could take a step back this year? Todd Gurley is a beast and the defense appears to be insanely good on paper with all the pieces they added. If those pieces mesh is a completely different story.

-Any guesses as to what the hoodie has up his sleeve in New England? I really wish he and Tom Brady had left on top after their historic comeback against the Falcons. That would have made such a better story then quietly going into the night.

National Basketball Association

-Very concerned Warriors fan here. I am not saying a first round exit but man they look bad right now and the west is as good as ever since the Warriors made their run. Happy for Quinn Cook to be playing so well and earning himself a nice contract. He is the perfect backup to Steph Curry.

-I hope you have been taking my advice and watching the western conference standings! The west is a crazy fun mess right now with 6 teams vying for 5 spots. Give me the Spurs, Jazz, Thunder, Pelicans, and Nuggets not in that order.

-Are the Sixers putting the East on notice? They look scary good right now for a conference that does not have an elite team. Lebron is Lebron but I do not think the Cavs are elite and this is the worst team personnel wise he is taking to the playoffs since his return to Cleveland.

-Can the Bucks play competently in a playoff series? Right now they are 7 to the Celtics 2. That will be the hot upset pick of the playoffs but it really should not be all that surprising after the injuries the Celtics have been dealt.

Last one and I am gone

Golf

-Man I love the Masters and I will go in depth in 6.5 edition but seeing the best play at their best is great television. I think it should be a four horse race tomorrow because Reed just put so much distance between himself and the meat of the pack. Reed, Rory, Rickie and Rahm are the four horses their but I would not be shocked if Bubba or JT threw a 64 on the board and put themselves in the mix. Rory is my favorite international golfer the emotion he shows is good for the game in my opinion but I will be cheering for Fowler to break through. I hope it is tight late and someone makes a putt or hits a shot that we will remember.

As always thanks for reading and for your support. Enjoy your Sunday folks!

0 notes

garconsworld · 7 years

Text

Wei Tsay is the founder of APOLOGUE, a brand consulting practice that counts Marc Fisher and Sigerson Morrison among clients. Wei’s experience in advertising and fashion is vast, with experiences working with Tiffany & Co., sports giant Nike, renowned skincare brand Erno Lazlo.

Outside of his expertise with branding, Wei is also co-founder of Avantur, a womenswear line based in New York.

We’ve been ogling his Instagram to get an inside look at his cityscape shots and skincare rotation. We are excited to have gotten the opportunity to learn more about Wei and think you’ll enjoy this interview!

“I was born to Taiwanese immigrants but was adopted when I was an infant. I grew up in a small, southern town in North Carolina. Imagine large fields, lots of cattle, too many BBQ restaurants for any one city, and a Taiwanese-American with a very southern accent… that was my childhood. There very few minorities in my town, so any sort of ethnic influence was minimal. I knew I had to get to a bigger city and at the time, Charlotte felt like the biggest city accessible to me, so that’s where I went to college. Charlotte was a great home but it felt too small and at the time it didn’t offer enough diversity.

I got to New York by way of Philadelphia. Although I didn’t study finance in college, I landed a finance job that planned to bring me to Philadelphia for a year and then back to Charlotte – I loved this setup because I was in a relationship at the time. We broke up right before I moved back, and even though I had already signed the lease for a new apartment in Charlotte, I chose to stay in Philly. The breakup offered a lot of freedom and liberation to focus on my career and self-exploration. I came out in Philly, and I have many great memories there, so the city will always be very special. After two years or so in Philly, I decided to focus on advertising, and I knew I’d have to move to New York to take it seriously.

My first job in advertising was very stressful – I forgot to eat, couldn’t sleep, worked late hours. It was the typical New York intro. I had no idea what I was doing but thankfully my survival skills kicked in. I ended up working for some amazing clients – Marriott, Tiffany & Co., Rachel Roy, Nike, United Airlines, Lifetime, History, A&E, to name a few. I was happy with my job but I wanted something more – I wanted to create something. I come from a family of entrepreneurs – both my biological and my adoptive parents started their own companies. Starting my own company felt natural, and I was already familiar with many of the challenges.

I started my first company while I was working full-time at a social media agency. Avantūr, a women’s outerwear line, was started with one of my very close friends, Gina Principato. We met while we were both living in Philly and working at the same financial firm – and we both ended up moving to New York. We started the brand with no experience and no relationships in the Garment District but somehow we made it work. Our coats and scarves are all designed and made in New York, which comes with its pros and cons. We love being a Made in NY brand but it’s very costly to source materials and to manufacture goods in New York. Our line is small batch, meaning we don’t keep a lot of inventory, and we only produce a few items each season. Since founding Avantūr, I’ve decided to become a full-time entrepreneur, so I founded my second company which helps to diversify my income.

I quit my job at a global media firm and started Apologue, a social and digital consulting practice. Some of my current clients are Marc Fisher, Easy Spirit, and Sigerson Morrison. My company focuses on developing social and digital strategy, community management, influencer campaigns, creative strategy, content distribution, etc. It’s a great time to be in the industry because brands big and small rely on social media to connect with their audiences, from awareness to advocacy. Many brands are missing a huge opportunity to connect with current and prospective fans because they only use social and digital for sales. My goal with Apologue is to help brands create a holistic strategy with social and digital so that they can create real relationships with their fans.

A typical day for me is usually dictated by what my clients need. I start the day by making a cup of pour-over coffee, usually around 7a, and then I walk our dog – my partner and I are lucky to be the parents of an adorable Frenchie.

On my snooze button days, I’m up by 8a. I immediately jump into the day’s work, which typically warrants a few conference calls or in-person client meetings. Daily tasks include working on my client’s content calendars, strategy for upcoming campaigns, writing analytical performance reports, creative ideation, etc. I also try to go to a networking event at least once each week. My workday usually ends around 10/11p, depending on the day. Then, I like to end the evening at the gym. My favorite time at the gym is after 10p because there’s no one there and I sleep better after a good workout. I go to sleep around 1a… staying up late is a bad habit that I can’t quit.

Other than work, I’m really interested in skincare trends, specifically Korean beauty and clean/natural skincare. American retailers are really starting to pay attention and are supporting k-beauty and natural products like never before. You see big retailers like Target, CVS, Bergdorfs, and Barneys curating these brands. Consumers are responding well because they’re more knowledgeable about ingredients and want to avoid the harsh additives many American brands are known for. My skincare routine is really explorative – I do my best to educate myself about all the ingredients in a product before I buy it, and I’m constantly going from one product to the next. I’m chasing that glow!

Over the next few years, I’ll continue to focus on Apologue – business is going well, and I know there’s a lot of opportunity in this market. I also have some new business ideas that I’ll eventually want to work on… passion projects that I’m hoping to turn into real businesses.

As told to Garçon’s World

Wei Tsay, Entrepreneur: Co-Founder Avantūr & Founder of Apologue Wei Tsay is the founder of APOLOGUE, a brand consulting practice that counts Marc Fisher and Sigerson Morrison among clients.

#Entrepreneur #fashion #interview #pro

0 notes