#who had 30 points in the game on 11-of-15 shooting Friday

[nba24highlights]

Book & KD combined for the most points by a duo in their first 5 games as Teammates since 1962-63!

[mitchbeck]

HARTFORD WOLF PACK DESTROY SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS IN GAME ONE

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings SPRINGFIELD, MA - The Hartford Wolf Pack received three-point games from Ty Emberson and Tanner Fritz, two goals from Lauri Pajuniemi, 24 saves from Dylan Garand, and put forth a total sixty-minute effort in a 6-1 win in Game One over the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Wolf Pack, who picked the right time for their best game of the season, can wrap up the series at the XL Center on Friday. Puck drop is at 7:05 PM. In the third period, the Pack closed out Game 1 with an early tally to make it 5-0. Will Cullye was at the left side of the net and shuffled a pass out to Ryan Carpenter, who was down on his left knee in a shooter's position. Carpenter popped his first postseason goal this season and 12th career AHL playoff goal at 3:35. Carpenter's exuberance at the goal prompted a strong fist pump. Defensively, the Wolf Pack quickly extinguished any thought Springfield may have had thought of making a comeback with their foot firmly on the gas pedal. The only Thunderbirds tally in the contest came on the power play. It ended a PK kill streak of 29 straight for the Pack. Righthanded shooting Adam Gaudette put a shot off his back foot and put it past Garand at 11:44. BEST DEFENSE IS A STRONG OFFENSE The Pack kept the offensive pressure on with a hat trick bid by Pajuniemi that Hofer stopped with his blocker before Adam Clendening had a drive stopped. Garand faced spaced-out activity in the first two periods but was tested in the third with the expected pushback as Nikita Alexandrov was stopped. Then down the stretch, Garland stopped Matt Peca, Gaudette twice, and then Martin Frk. Springfield Head Coach Drew Bannister pulled Hofer with 4:21 left. The Wolf Pack did everything incredibly well. Garand tried for the empty net goal but came up short. The Pack finally tacked on the sixth and final goal as Emberson launched a 200-foot flip shot that found the back of the empty net at 18:38. It clinched his third point of the night for both he and Fritz and the final score. SECOND PERIOD The second period saw the Pack control the pace of the game. Coming out of the penalty box, Zac Jones was wide open. He took a backhanded pass on the left wing from Will Lockwood, went to the forehand, and tucked it around Hofer's right pad at 6:02. It gave the Pack a 2-0 lead. The Pack penalty kill held Springfield without a shot, and the MassMutual crowd was audibly groaning and irritated with their Thunderbirds. The Pack played quality defense and were counter-attacking at will. FIRST PERIOD Frk was stopped early, followed at 1:20 by Anton Blidh, who fed Blake Hillman. He was stopped. Blidh had a solid chance on a turnaround just off an offensive zone draw. The Pack made it 3-0 as Pajuniemi registered his second goal of the night, the second time that a player had just exited the penalty box. The whole play came off a Blidh block shot that left him prone on the ice. The puck caromed off him right to Pajuniemi. The shot hurt Blidh, who went down the runway back to the locker room afterward. He returned 15 minutes later. On the next shift, Springfield’s Tyler Tucker tried some rabbit punches on Pajuniemi, earning him a minor. Springfield’s Matt Highmore was left enraged, and the crowd was confused by an odd delay of game call, but the Pack was not about to turn down the five-on-three power play, confusing as it might have been. Carpenter went wide with a backhander. Another strange call for hooking to Turner Elson left him bewildered and frustrated. Referees Jim Curtin and Mike Dietrich gave him four minutes for the hooking call and then tacked on unsportsmanlike conduct. With 13:30 left, Hugh McGing was stopped by Garand, but Blake Hillman was cross-checked from behind into the net. It earned Will Bitten a penalty, and a small scrum ensued. FIRST PERIOD In the first period, during the first five minutes, forechecked the Thunderbirds hard. They outshot them and scored first to level an early dent in Hofer’s armor. Pajuniemi was the recipient of a perfect tape-to-tape pass from the left-wing boards by Emberson. He moved in and from thirty-feet out, fired it over Hofer on the blocker side, ending his personal shutout streak of 206 minutes against the Wolf Pack. The perfect road period began with strong forechecking from Bobby Trivigno and Karl Henriksson. Eight minutes in, Trivigno went down the right wing was stopped. A sterling opening 20 minutes for the Pack included 11 shots and they held the Thunderbirds to just two shots, equaling a season-low mark in Bridgeport in a 9-0 win.  LINES: Cullye-Carpenter-Elson Gettinger-Edström-Lockwood Henriksson-Sýkora-Trivigno Fritz-Pajuniemi-Blidh Jones-Emberson Hillman-Scanlin Clendening-Kalynuk Garand Gahagen #35 SCRATCHES: -Talyn Boyko #40 -Matt Rempe (upper body, day-to-day) -Louie Roehl #4 (healthy) -Bryce McConnell-Barker #8 (healthy) -Brett Berard #27 (healthy) -Cooper Zech #37 (healthy) -Matt Robertson (upper body, out for the first round of the playoffs) -Patrick Khordorenko (season-ending shoulder surgery). -C.J. Smith (hip area surgery done for the season) NOTES: The USA U-18 Team is about to embark on the World U-18 championships in Basel and Ajoie, Switzerland, on April 20-23. Finland named their roster. The team is coached by former Yale assistant Dan Muse and one of his assistants is ex-Pack, Chad Kolarik. Players include former Mid-Fairfield U-16 team players Sal Guzzo and Ryan Fine, who played together at Don Bosco Prep (NJPREP). The Canadian U-18 squad coaches are ex-Springfield Falcon coach Jeff Truitt (Prince Albert-WHL), and one of his assistants is an ex-Danbury Trasher, Bruce Richardson (Blaineville-Boisbrand-QMJHL). The XL Center had a tough day today, despite the Wolf Pack playoff appearance.  On Monday, the long-time supervisor of the night cleaning crew, Pat Rudolph, passed away after a brief illness. Pat was always polite and kind. Sadly, she joins a sad club of  XL employees over 50 years of age to suffer from or pass from some form of cancer. RIP to Pat, and may God comfort your family during this difficult and painful time. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME   Read the full article

[bongaboi]

Texas Southern: 2022-23 Southwestern Athletic Men's Basketball Champions

Texas Southern has that championship DNA.

When it comes to the SWAC basketball tournament, it’s time to shine for the Tigers.

On Saturday night, TSU won the conference tournament for the third straight season, earning their third straight NCAA tournament automatic berth in the process. It was a rousing three-game run at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama for the Tigers.

Victory wasn’t easy after a fast start. The Tigers led consistently but were defeated by Grambling State 61-58 and denied GSU their first NCAA tournament.

The Tigers (14-20) led by as much as 17 points – 22-5 – and were only tied once late 43-43 with 7:15 remaining in the game. But TSU derailed GSU’s comeback attempt in a Tigers meeting.

Losing their last three games of the regular season, TSU turned up the heat in Birmingham under coach Johnny Jones.

And Tigers guard PJ Henry turned it on late in a game he was struggling with shooting. After starting 1-of-13 from the field, TSU’s spark hit two late 3-pointers and scored seven crucial points in the remaining three minutes and 18 seconds.

TSU won its 11th conference tournament championship in its sixth straight title game appearance. The 2020 championship game was not played due to COVID-19. The Tigers are 11-7 in SWAC championship games.

Grambling missed 11 of his first 12 field goals and had to make up the rest of the game.

Second-place Grambling (24-9) set a program record for most wins in a season. The G-Men have had victories over Vanderbilt (64-62) and Colorado (83-74) this season.

Henry was 5-of-18 off the field. But when the Tigers needed him most, he delivered. The 5-10 point guard made four of his last five field goal attempts, ending with 19 points.

John Walker III added 14 points and Von Barnes amassed 13 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers, who overtook their opponent 46-35 and led 31-18 at halftime.

Jonathan Aku accumulated 11 points and 10 rebounds for Grambling.

Selected to finish first in SWAC last season, eighth-seeded TSU defeated Alcorn State (66-62) and Alabama A&M (74-61) to reach the tournament finals. TSU is 10-2 against Grambling in the postseason, with GSU’s last tournament win coming over the Tigers in 1988.

Grambling, who shared the regular season title with Alcorn State, won the season series with the Tigers, winning 85-72 at the H&PE Arena and 65-46 at Grambling. The G-Men defeated Bethune-Cookman (87-72) and Jackson State (78-69) to advance to the finals.

TSU had the benefit of the extra rest. The Tigers finished their semifinal game at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Grambling’s semifinal game didn’t start until six hours later.

In his fifth season at TSU, Jones has a 26-8 record in games played in March. Donte’ Jackson was aiming for his 100th coaching win at Grambling.

Though Henry missed 11 of 12 shots in the first half, TSU led 31-18 at the break and passed GSU 28-13 in the first 20 minutes.

TSU started quickly, taking advantage of Grambling’s bad shooting and bad troubles. After less than three minutes, the Tigers were 8-1 up with Walker scoring six of the points.

Shortly thereafter, the Tigers had their largest lead at 17 points. Conference Player of the Year Cameron Christon conceded his third foul at 9:29 before halftime. A couple of free throws from Henry gave TSU a 22-5 lead at the 9:29 mark.

Christon was on the bench for a full nine minutes of the half and only scored four points. Christon scored his team’s first field goal at 13:23, giving it a 13-4 score. Aku, a 6-11 post, was called out for his second foul less than four minutes into the contest. Joshua Phillips, who started as a forward, also faced early fouls, amassing three in the first half.

[jrgsportsbuzz]

Kettle Moraine Lutheran girls hit big threes late, advance

TOWN OF JACKSON – Seniors are often called upon to make big shots in state tournament games, and Emma Thistle was money for Kettle Moraine Lutheran.

The Chargers, the second-seeded team in Sectional 4 of the WIAA Division 2 Girls Basketball Tournament, knocked down four massive 3-pointers in the final six minutes of their 57-41 home regional semifinal victory over No. 3 seed Grafton on Friday night. Thistle knocked down two of the shots and led all scorers with 15 points.

“I think it was a case of needing good players to make plays at key times,” Kettle Moraine Lutheran coach Jason Walz said. “That’s what happened tonight. Emma was able to hit two 3-point shots from deep and that gave us a little breathing room. From there, we were able to defend well enough and rebound well enough that the lead could hold.”

“They hit some shots and we didn’t,” Black Hawks’ coach Matt D’Amato said. “Their execution was excellent. They came out and moved the ball around and got the open looks. They put us into rotations. It was textbook on how to run an offense and get the looks they were going for. We did have it down to four and Thistle had some ice water running in her veins.”

Thistle then knocked down her critical triples from the top of the key to begin the clinching 11-0 run. Senior wing Elle Truckenbrod hit another three from the same spot before Thistle converted a driving layup on the right side to give Kettle Moraine Lutheran its largest advantage at 15.

“We just freed the defense,” Thistle said. “On that ball screen, they were both sinking. They were sinking every time and leaving the 3-point open. We tried to drive a couple of times and force the post and it didn’t work. The top of the key 3-pointer was open, so why not just take it?”

The Chargers will travel to face top-seeded East Central Conference foe Kewaskum in the regional final on Saturday night. Kettle Moraine Lutheran split with the Indians in their two regular season meetings.

The home squad used a methodical approach to build a 15-4 lead in the first nine-plus minutes. Senior forward Avery Knoll and junior guard Alexa Schwalenberg each had four points during the early stretch. Schwalenberg’s second basket came following a steal by Thistle, who converted a driving floater to end the run.

“I thought we defended really well out of the gate,” Walz said. “We were able to stay in front of their penetration and were able to help when they did get a step on their defender. When you have a team that shoots from the outside at an effective rate the way Grafton can, it helps to be able to have the hand up on shooters.”

Grafton scored six of the next eight points, including a 3-pointer by freshman guard Savannah James to cut the lead to 17-10. Kettle Moraine Lutheran responded with a 6-0 spurt consisting of a 3-point play by senior wing Haley Ott and a triple from Schwalenberg. Ott scored 10 points in the first half and finished second for the Chargers with 12.

The Black Hawks fought their way back in the last four-and-one-half minutes. Grisar hit another 3-pointer and freshman forward Sarah Aleknavicius gave Grafton a big momentum boost at the end of the half. She knocked down two free throws before canning a triple at the buzzer to cut the Chargers’ lead to 30-23 at the break.

Kettle Moraine Lutheran increased its lead back to double digits with just under 11 minutes to play after both teams played evenly to begin the second half. Grafton then went on a 7-0 run that started with James’ second 3-pointer to cut the Chargers’ lead to 38-34.

“They (the Black Hawks) don’t ever give up,” D’Amato said. “Throughout the whole season, they’ve always never thought that they were out of the game. They certainly weren’t going to throw in the towel in the first half. Being that they knew it’s a win or go home, I give them credit because they were determined to not have any regrets.”

The Chargers struggled from the free throw line down the stretch, but the team’s advantage, combined with the Black Hawks’ shooting struggles late, rendered the charity stripe issues moot.

Junior wing Ashley Weir led Grafton with 10 points.

[lockdownuk]

Lockdown Diary Part 1

A personal account during the lockdown in the UK due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

23/03/2020 8:30pm Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, gives a live address to the nation to, effectively, put the country on lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain, Covid-19.

Many of us have been self-isolating for days but this latest development within the UK in reaction to the pandemic feels very serious and very scary. I decided to keep a simple diary and where better but online.

Day 1: Last night Boris called it, today we’re doing it. I had started working from home (wfh) yesterday as had most people at my work (RCI)..last week I had been preparing laptops as fast as poss for everyone. Even just today, the idea of going into work seems alien and dangerous. Now lockdown (ld) means that it would soon be illegal to do so unless utterly necessary.

Online, FaceBook (fb) especially, is awash with reaction…a lot of calling out people who are out and about in greater numbers than 2, which is against ld rules.

Day 2: Just trying to let work occupy my thoughts and time which is easy enough ‘cos everyone I support (IT engineer) is new to wfh and is having teething problems with all the new laptops. Meanwhile, I keep abreast of comings and goings online…actually socially interacting more than I might otherwise, weirdly

Day 3: Highlight of the day is an online quiz organised by a chap called Jay Flynn on fb…a bunch of us took it as individuals while chatting on Messenger while Jay streamed quiz over fb live and YouTube. It was a good crack and I had two cans of Coors Light which got me pissed!

Day 4: Work is still mad - so many people with IT issues wfh…it’s challenging trying resolve all these probelms remotely but I am rising to it. I actually enjoy it. It satisfies my want for problem-solving.

The ld is in full swing but it’s very early days. The news is dominated, obviously, by Covid-19 and the ever changing stats of infections and deaths. Today, for example, the USA took over, from China, as the country with the most infections. I know there will be an end to all this and I am determined to be there, going out, getting pissed down the pub, gigging, shaking hands with my mates, hugging anyone and everyone who’ll let me - it’ll be a proper party. But I am filled with a dread that it’s going to be a fucking long time coming.

This evening was spent virtually with Foggy, Ham and Andy P…doing a quiz - a rehearsal for Foggy in the hope of doing one to a wider audience next week. It was good fun and great to have a few beers chatting with everyone, Later I video called Fog and we drank ‘til gone midnight, putting the world to rights. I was well pissed.

Day 5: First non-work day of the ld. Housework, daily walk, out for supplies (drop a script order off…queuing outside boots for 15 minues!, bread, baccy and booze). This evening, I’m listening to the next album in NME list of 1985 albums I’m working through - Grace Jones Slave to the Rhythm…fucking pain in the arse ‘cos it’s not on Spotify so I am searching for each song, in order, on YouTube. Plus eating and drinking, of course. Quick video chat with karen and Grace, Dan in the background. I wanted a tin of kidney beans for chilli but Karen hasn’t got one ffs. Burger it is. They are all playing scrabble - I’d love to join in…

Day 6: A quiet day…housework, cooking, daily walk. Highlight was a half hour chinwag with dad who, as I would expect, despite his 84 years, is coping and doing just fine. Most other people with a dad that age would have, on top of their own concerns, something more to worry about during this crisis….for me, it feels like I’ve got someone to turn to, should I need to.

Day 7: Work is starting to feel more routine but it’s a long way off being in the office, which is never routine anyway. That may seem surprising since I do IT support but it’s a varied role, especially at the modern dinosaur of an organisation that is RCI. I try to be as disciplined as possible but I miss not dressing for work, not driving to work, not needing to actually prepare lunch (until lunchtime). I don’t actually need to shower every morning. I don’t think I have to ordinarily but do because I’m mixing with others in the office. I certainly don;t need to now. I only mix with me, so showering becomes a chore but I’m doing it every other morning in the name of the aforementioned discipline. I am worried how long RCI can keep going before laying staff off. I dread being out of work full stop, let alone during this ld, or even thereafter. I think the economies of the world will need time to recover so finding work will be tough à la 2008. I think, if lay-offs were to occur, I’d be in real danger. Last in first out and all that. But, I’ll cross that bridge if and when I come to it.

Day 8: At work there was a large online meeting whereby the MD told us that RCI are going to furlough some staff. The UK, and Ireland staff will be consulted this coming Thursday and Friday (it’s Tuesday today). I shall be reading up on what the furlough arrangements are in the UK due to Covid-19. I know the government have set aside some money, I need to know what I might get paid and how to claim it. In the past, when I’ve been out of work, I’ve been entitled to jack shit other than JSA, This time around, should I be laid off as I expect, I might not have to eat into my savings, fingers crossed. Meanwhile, I have decided to knock up another blog with a photo of myself each day of the ld (from now on) - it’s a sister to this diary.

Day 9: Actually typing this on day 10. Yesterday was a strange day as I contemplate being furloughed (hope for the best, expect the worst)…I’d be paid 80% of my wage according to what the government have said to assist in the Covid-19 crisis…so, were that to be true, I’d be OK money-wise, although still earning way less than I want to prepared for retirement (I am currently still waiting for feedback on a pay increase request I put in at work last year!) I’m more worried about how I would fill my day if I wasn’t working. So, that being said, I flopped and moped about all yesterday evening after my daily walk and, without achieving much at all, didn’t find time to write this entry on the right day…so maybe I can fill my days without much effort!

Day 10: I was furloughed today, starting 5pm tomorrow (Friday 3rd April) and it’s fucked me off. I know it’s not personal but, actually, do I? They’re cutting back the Kettering Desktop team by one, redacted It seems obvious to do this by the ‘last in, first out’ maxim but what about money? others are on more than me (redacted). What about offering it voluntarily - others might go for 80% pay for fuck all - others have family at home to occupy the day  (redacted) . A little bit of me thinks it might be preferable furlough me  (redacted) …others seems to be a favourite and that annoys me. It annoys me because I think I shoot myself in the foot too often. I’m too vocal about some of the (redacted) decisions and practices at work, plus other reasons that I know but can’t be bothered to type. But, my point, is I don’t play the politically correct, corporate game and therefore forget to look out for my own best interests. FUCK.

So, as of tomorrrow evening, I’ve no work to do. The challenge will be to find a way to occupy my day. I’ve already registered to volunteer for the NHS during the ld…let’s see what becomes of that. And I’ve signed up for web development course. I’m going to get fucking pissed this w/e, starting early tomorrow evening.

Day 11: It’s day 12 as I am writing this entry…that might tell any reader, and remind me, that I did as I promised and got pretty drunk. I spent the day geting my work affairs in order i.e. clearing down support tickets assigned to me. I did a good job, nothing left to handover to the remaining team (Jim, Cristina and Mark) and onky one ticket put into the assigned pool. Some nice converstaions were had with associates, many of whom are, too, being furloughed. Nice words were said and Jim and Mark both were supportive in conversations and messages - they both know I don’t wnat this and, I think, they are both relieved it’s not happening to them. 5 pm arrives and I shutdown my work laptop for the last time for at least 12 weeks. After my daily walk, I video chat with Karen, crack open a beer, make Chinese chicken curry (fucking loads, fucking tasty), finish watching The National Theatre stream of One Man, Two Guvnors (really good, see twoinchreview) and the caught up with, and talked bollocks with Andy, Marc and Ham - we tried getting Rog in on it, no dice. I then watched The Heat (I fucking love that film), ate some more, smoked several single-skinners, drank, in total, three cans, seven bottles. I went to bed shortly after 4am. I felt resigned to my furlough and pleasantly wasted.

Day 12: A subdued day…didn’t wake until gone 1:30pm. Jaded but not really suffering. Mooched about, social media, listening to music, watching telly, farting about on the iPad. My daily walk, over the last fews days, has taken a twist…I am trying to run parts of it. Mainly short distances, 80-100m (I estimate) three, maybe four times. It’s fucking knackering me out. I used to run everywhere when I was a teen. Attempting to run now just makes me feel fucking old. Well, I am, so that’s about right.

Day 13: Another day like yesterday except I got up at 10:30 and didn’t feel jaded. The subdued feeling comes from the realsiation that the ld isn’t being treated as seriously as it should be across the board. The news and even posts by locals on FB (Oundle chatter group) suggest groups still meeting up. The weather this w/e has been a factor - 17°c today. I think a total ld will be enforced soon and that would fuck me off. My daily walk is pretty essential for me nowadays not least for the ‘good for your soul’ benefits that dad has always mentioned. Even today’s walk saw a car parked at the gates to the field on the way to Ashton and people on a blanket soaking up the sun, dogs off their leads and people (looked like a family) playing footy on South Road field. Individually they are not presenting any danger, what with the fact they are either living together or far away from others. But they are flaunting the rules and the more that happens the less likely they’ll carry on getting away with it, which will mean total ld for all! I finished the 50 1985 albums today. It mostly confirms to me that I only listened to two albums released that year (Kate Bush, The Waterboys) any other vinyl I spun would have already been in my collection pre-85.

The sausage casserole I made for tea was fucking lush - 4 birdeye chillies. I saw and spoke with Dan and Grace this morning, they were just coming back from a walk. I am pleased to fuck they are together and sorted out the issues they had earlier this year.

Day 14: My first day proper of furlough. Finished my two inch review of the NME 50 albums. Long chat with Rita, quick one with dad. Messaged Sam about Romiley’s present - she’s 10 on the 9th April (Thursday) - ordered some Lego thing from Amazon. Turned the car engine over (reminded myself the driver-side wing mirror is fucked) and moved it to another spot in the Co-op car park - bumped into Matt T. He’s struggling - no work coming in and he can’t claim any of the money on offer ‘cos he’s not being totally honest about his circumstances - made me realise I’m not that bad off…..but I feel depressed about it all, especially with the news that Boris has gone into intensive care.

Day 15: I began a diploma (?) course on web design with Shaw Academy (it was free). They have actual classes (which are recorded) which you schedule yourself. The first one was, I have to say, really interesting - I look forward to continuing. On my walk today, I saw a car parked at the gate to the field at the bottom of Riverside Close; it was branded with Cunninghams Estate Agent with a 01536 number. I am pretty sure I saw the driver walking her dog (unleashed) on the field. I took a photo and rang the number. Yes, I ratted the culprit out…fucking annoys me that I had to. Better than reporting to the police, all round. Hopefully her work will put a stop to her doing it and, the more people that adhere to the rules without the police getting wind of infractions, the more likely we’ll be able to continue to exercise away from home.

Day16: More online learning including checking out other sites (pluralsight) for more learning opportunities. Coded my first web page, basic but mine, in HTML and CSS. A few beers & smokes and watching White Boy Rick in the evening, interspersed with the usual social media / messaging shit, incuding this entry, of course!

Day 17: Typing this on Day 18. After a few beers last night while chatting with Fog (twice - the first chat ended with him ‘having’ to go to bed. Later, I noticed he was commenting on FB, so I video called him…round two of chatting!). I got quite fucking pissed. Bed around 4am.

Day18: Up at 1pm. Long walk today, 7 km. Anything over 40 minutes, I’ve realised, results in a hypo.

Day19: Well, having gone to bed at gone 5am I got up at nearly 1pm feeling far better than I should have. Breakfast followed by a walk, spoke with Karen (mowing her front lawn) and Dan. He and Grace have split up which is sad news but he seems OK. Went shopping (milk and sweets) and ended up with a shit load of booze, the post of which on FB was quite amusing. Homemade burgers for tea (they’re in the fridge as I type) - gonna try and make Five Guys…

Day20: The Five Guys burger attempt didn’t go as well as I wanted. I think less than 5% fat mince just doesn’t bind that well. However, I managed to get something resembling a burger into the bun and, with cheese, hot sauce and jalapeños, it was tasty enough. More of the same when I finish typing this entry. Strange Easter Day today, as I knew it would be. The best thing I saw today was a video Tom posted on FB of him and Molly doing a mashup of Starsailor and George Michael - Tom on guitar singing the former, Molly singing the latter. It was fucking fantatstic.

Day 21: Easter Monday. Surreal…it’s feeling very surreal now, this lockdown.

Two things that bother me right now:

i) The political point scoring on FB. I get it, I really do…people like to bring up ‘obvious’ failings in the party’s mistakes. For example, Marc posting comparisons between UK and Germany’s figures of cases and deaths due to Covid-19. I doesn’t make impressive reading for the government and it should be held accountable. But not fucking now!

ii) Will they introduce rotational furloughing at RCI? It’s only been a week, 11 to go. And, it bothers me that I was furloughed rather than Mark. Pathetic of me, I know! But, should it last the 12 week stretch, I want to go back to work and let someone else have the chance to have fuck all to do all day! That being said, I’m still learning web design through Shaw Academy. Even today, bank holiday, I revised Lesson 2.

Day22: Nice catchup with Dad today - he and Rita seem to be more than OK with lockdown. I actually cannot wait until we can meet up at The Farmers again!

Day 23: While I had a Corvee engineer come to the house today to do a gas safety check (I waited upstairs while he was here, self-isolation and all that), and had the fourth online web design lesson, had a trip to Boots to pick up insulin, got milk from Tesco’s, saw American Rachel and had a chat (while we both queued to get into Tesco’s) and had a very nice walk along a different route from the norm, in the pleasant sunshine and watched Contagion on Netflix - all today - I AM STILL BORED AS FUCK!

Day 24: I had plans for today - revise the last two lessons of Shaw Academy’s web design course, investigate a ethical hacking course, do some washing, clean upstairs (or at least the bathroom) plus all the usual stuff. Then, as a reward, have some beers. Well, guess what. I am not having beers this evening. I managed the laundry. Plus I manged to subtitle my YouTube perfect snabby video (something I have been meaning to do for a while, but, come on!) It took me fucking ages. But it is funny! So, a fucking far from fruitful day. Plus the government announced at least 3 more weeks of lockdown. There’ll be loads more, I reckon. Tomorrow…I promise I’ll be better tomorrow…

Day 25: I did do better! Firstly the Corveee man fucked the boiler which I only noticed late yesterday but still managed to get sorted today. I did some excellent revision and learning of HTML (tags) and CSS. I cleaned the bathroom and hall. And I discovered TikTok (fucking excellent dancing and funny vids) plus discovered a new FaceBook word game (Sam sent me an invite) called WordBlitz and I am pretty good. Having beers now (nearly 11pm).

Day 26: Today I found myself calling 111. I had a pain in my side last night, I thought it might be constipation! That not being the case (!), today I went to 111.nhs.uk and, following their questions, it recommended I seek out a GP straightaway. Once I let the website know that is not possible, it directed me to visit walk in centres. I spoke with Karen thereafter - for advice about whether it’s a good idea to enter such an establishment - I really don’t want to increase me chances of catching the Covid-19 virus. Karen recommended ringing 111 since the website does not take into account my diabetes (so bloody sensible a suggestion!)

After ringing and answering many questions, the lady said she’d get an OOHS GP to call. The doctor called soon after and it seems most likely I have a grumbling appendix (chronic appendicitis) and to ring again (well, 999) if the pain becomes unbearable.

I now have a bag at the ready for hospital which I really hope I don’t have to use. Today, I  have, therefore, done fuck all - not even a walk - but I am having a beer now (midnight) and shall attempt to sleep as well as possible and hope this pain subsides naturally…

It occurs to me that I turn to Karen when things become flumoxing - my excuse, this time, is she works at the surgery but that was mere convenience.

Day 27: My ‘appendicitis pain was the same when I woke up (10:20) but no worse. I managed to change bed clothes and clean my bedroom but didn’t risk a walk (in case something drastic happens when I’m in a fucking field).

People’s responses and questions online have been heartening (Rachel Harris, Susie Grange, Bethan, Jo, Tracey Weber, Debbie De Prisco and, not least Dan). As the day progresses, I feel better but not right. I spoke with Dad about it and, as I told him, I shall ring Oundle GP tomorrow. Meanwhile, I did Sam Clew’s FB Live quiz, which was good, and am now having a beer or two.

Day 28: The pain in my side has definitley diminished. I called the Oundle surgery today to talk about what treatment I should have for ‘grumbling appendicitis’. The reseptionist organised a call back from a GP - Dr. Cash. Basically, he said he didn’t believe the condition existed, that acute appendicitis doesn’t happen after the age of 35, and ‘his gut felling’ is it will all just clear up.

I shall seek a more sensible diagnosis after lockdown and hope it doesn’t flare up again before then.

Day 29: I sent an email to the team at work today (Jim, Mark, Cristina and Sueanne). I hadn’t heard from them and I wanted to check in and, also, make a point that I will be posing the ‘rotational furlough’ question to HR at some point. It was as I wrote the email that I realised it’s only been two weeks and two days of furlough, and that includes Easter! Seems so much fucking longer. Anyway, everyone replied and it was good to hear from them….Mark came off his bike and broke ribs and collarbone! Lesson 5 of the Web Design course with Shaw Academy. It’s becoming apparent that, if you don’t pay for the course ‘toolkit’ it’s all rather patchy! The instructor dives into lines of code (HTML, CSS and Java) with no explanation….I feel like I did on the ifrst lesson of further maths ate Stamford School! I shall soldier on and beef up the missing parts with W3Schools (a great website and learning aid for coding). Two quick points. I am no longer running any part of my daily walk; hurts too much. I am addicted to Wordblitz and TikTok. Day30: I am writing this on day 31, I just forgot yesterday! It was a non eventful day. I did watch Midnight Run (again!) and had a couple of midweek beers though.

[famedexclusivearchive]

[ARTICLE] GOLD STAR MEDIA TO HOST GOLD STAR NATION CONCERTS

Gold Star Media will be hosting two company concerts at the end of August at Seoul Olympic Stadium. The company’s entire roster of artists will be in attendance to perform their hits and special stages have been teased as well. Tickets sold out shortly after going on sale a few months ago, and buzz for the event has only increased as hype as been built through social media. The schedule for this event is as follows:

August 30: Gold Star Nation at Seoul Olympic Stadium @ 6PM  - 10PM

August 31: Gold Star Nation at Seoul Olympic Stadium @ 6PM  - 10PM

September 1: “Wrap” Party at private residence @ 6PM - (roughly) 12AM.

ADMIN NOTES:

Like both of the company concert events we’ve had previously, this event is one that’s part concert event and part standard event. All artists under the other companies will be invited to all nights of the Gold Star Nations concerts for publicity and will be strongly encouraged by management to attend at least one night and show up backstage to get supportive shots of them for the concert DVD to show a strong presence as the oligarchical powers of the industry (and to slip some BC and Dimensions promo into another company’s show). Attendance is obviously required for Gold Star Media idols, but attendance to at least one night is also considered a schedule for BC and Dimensions idols in return for Gold Star idols’ presence at their own company concerts and they aren’t likely to be able to get out of going at least one night without extreme circumstances to avoid causing tension between companies for falling short on their end of the unspoken deal.

The pool party on September 1st is semi-official schedule acknowledged, but not organized, by the companies due to the host’s trustworthy reputation and acquaintanceship with all three CEOs. It is not and will not become public knowledge. It is considered a gift to the Gold Star idols for their hard work, but BC and Dimensions idols have been invited by the host as well in the spirit of a true A-List industry gathering and are expected to attend to keep good relations between their companies and the host (and her husband, who is a stockholder in several major industry staples). Managers will be willing to drive idols to the concert wrap party in order to avoid any driving incidents, but will not attend the party itself unless they’re given a reason to such as reports of behavior by an idol they need to monitor.

The Concerts:

Idols from all companies will be given backstage-access passes by their managers and may be backstage up until 45 minutes before the concert begins, save for idols performing as special guests for collab stages, who may be backstage (some may be permitted to sit in the audience for some time before and/or after their stage) during the show, but must be on their best behavior. Idols from BC and Dimensions may return backstage after the concert, but will be given private seats on the upper level at the back of the stadium during any concerts they attend to sit in during the show.

Gold Star idols must be at the venue by 11AM on both days for pre-show preparation and soundcheck. Idols from other companies may begin arriving at 3PM. They will be given a private entrance to the event so they are not mobbed by fans. There will be a photo op for the press each day of the concerts an hour and a half before starting time that all Gold Star artists are required to be present for.

The setlist for both concerts can be found here.

The "Wrap Party”:

While not a wrap party in the traditional sense of celebrating the wrap of a film or television shooting, the pool party on the day following the concerts has been organized as an equivalent to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Gold Star Nation concerts and the nearing end of summer. The party on September 1 will be hosted at a large private mansion residence outside of Seoul owned by former idol and popular variety star Park Namjoo and her husband. She’s known for her wide social circle, which includes all three CEOs and many executives from each company, and her love of hosting social events. Idols from the three companies may have met her in the past as well through industry events and variety appearances (though major connections with her should be avoided, please!).

The party is largely a free form and casual house party without a formal dress code or itinerary. There will be a vast supply of catered food and drinks (including a hired bartender) plus a meat grilling area, music, plenty of rooms for socializing, partying, and playing games like pool, foosball, or beer pong, and other party activities, in addition to full access to the mansion’s large outdoor pool. The party begins not long before sunset, so the outdoor pool and jacuzzi area will be  illuminated once night falls for those who wish to remain outside. Though there is no formal dress code, the event is specifically a pool party so attendees are expected to wear swimwear under casual summer wear or other casual summer wear without a swimsuit should they not plan to partake in the pool aspect of the party.

The general atmosphere will be much more free and relaxing than idols normally get, but keep in mind the party has been allowed by the companies, so it won’t be able to get too wild without being shut down. The location is secluded enough and has a strict enough guest list to keep away the eyes of the media.

Overall:

In game, this event takes place Friday, August 30, through Sunday, September 1, but threads and other posts for this event may be started from Monday, August 26 at 12AM EDT (the time this post goes up), to Sunday, September 15, 2019 at 11:59PM EDT. Threads may be continued past the end date, but must be started before then. Non-event related interactions set outside of this time period may be conducted during this time as well.

NOTE: All posts related to the event should be tagged #fmdgsr2019. Remember to use #fmdcall if you want to post a plot or starter call for the event, which I encourage everyone to do!

POINTS AVAILABLE:

As with all events, there are special points up for grabs.

INTERACTIONS: Having an event thread with a starter and at least three replies (starter ▻ partner reply  ▻ op reply  ▻ partner reply) by the end of the event is worth 2 points. This is valid for up to ten threads this time and the threads can take place during any part of the event.

INTERACTIONS: Having an event thread going with someone your muse has never had a thread with before is worth 1 additional point for each thread.

INTERACTIONS: Posting an open starter for the event is worth 2 points. This counts for up to one open thread starter (not a text/sms post) per character. 

INTERVIEW: Answering this short interview in-character is worth 2 points. Select clips from certain interviews will be included throughout the Gold Star Nation 10th Anniversary Concert DVD.

You can also earn the normal amount of points through writing self-paras, making aesthetics, etc. related to the event!

If anything in this post is unclear or you have any questions, please feel free to contact the admin. Please like this post to let me know you read it.

[bearterritory]

A Golden Upset

Cal Takes Down #20 Arkansas Behind Brown's Career Day

BERKELEY – "We stuck with it and just refused to lose." Head coach Charmin Smith and the Cal women's basketball team made a statement on Sunday, upsetting No. 20 Arkansas, 84-80, in a thriller at Haas Pavilion. The Golden Bears (3-2, 0-0 Pac-12) extended their winning streak to three in a row, led by a stellar showing on both ends of the floor from senior Jaelyn Brown. The 6'1" guard/forward went off for a career-high 30 points and added a career-best 12 rebounds to power the Golden Bears to their first Top-25 victory of the year. Brown – who surpassed her season-high with 19 points at the half and had an eye-popping 15 points in the second quarter alone – becomes just the 23rd player in program history to score 30 or more points in a game, and joins All-Americans Ashley Walker, Reshanda Gray, and Kristine Anigwe as the only Golden Bears in the last 20 seasons to post at least 30 points and 12 rebounds in a single game. Cal also saw CJ West (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Eveliene Lutje Schipholt (11 points, 10 rebounds) record double-doubles, as the Bears outrebounded Arkansas, 49-32. Cal held a 19-8 advantage on the offensive glass, led by 10 offensive rebounds from Brown. "Charmin is always on us to box out and crash hard," said West, whose 14 points marked a season-high. "We had inspiration and help from all our teammates. Everyone was crashing hard and brought a lot of energy. That just inspires you to work hard every possession." Four different players scored in double-figures for Arkansas, led by 24 points from guard Chelsea Dungee, a preseason candidate for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. Dungee and the Razorbacks got off to a strong start, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. However, Cal quickly found its scoring touch and trailed by only five after the first quarter. The second quarter proved pivotal, as Cal outscored Arkansas in the frame, 27-14, to take a 47-39 lead into halftime. The Bears closed the quarter on a 7-0 run and outscored the Razorbacks 15-4 over the final 3:47 of the half. Brown and West powered the Golden Bears' second quarter surge, scoring or assisting on 24 of Cal's 27 points. Brown – who entered the day averaging 10.5 points per game on the season – scored 15 points in the second quarter on 6-10 shooting from the floor and knocked down a pair of free throws with 0.1 left of the clock to give the Bears an eight-point lead at the break. Cal withstood a 13-4 Arkansas run to open the second half and extended their lead to back to eight late in the third quarter after a finish in the paint by Lutje Schipholt off an assist from junior Alaysia Styles. The Bears dished out a season-high 20 assists in the win, led by a career-high seven assists from freshman point guard Leilani McIntosh. The back-and-forth battle continued into the fourth quarter and Arkansas reclaimed the lead after a score inside by Alexis Tolefree put the Hogs up 78-77. However, Cal responded right away with a basket inside by West and Brown drilled her fourth three-pointer of the night shortly after to make it a two-possession game. Arkansas got back within two after another score by Tolefree but Cal freshman Cailyn Crocker sunk a pair of free throws with two seconds left to ice the game. Croker finished with nine points and a career-high seven rebounds, as Cal's bench outscored the Razorbacks' reserves, 25-6. The Bears' also held an 18-8 advantage on second-chance points and picked up the program's first win over a ranked opponent since knocking off No. 22 Arizona State on February 22, 2019. "This was a great win for the program," said Smith, in the midst of her first season as head coach. "I think this is a big confidence booster for us moving forward." Cal continues its nine-game home stand after Thanksgiving, hosting the semi-annual Cal Classic. The 2019 edition of the tournament features North Carolina Central, Penn State, and Long Beach State. Cal and NC Central (1-3, 0-0 MEAC) will meet in the opening game, a 1 p.m. PT tip-off on Friday, November 29, followed by Long Beach State (1-4, 0-0 Big West) vs Penn State (3-3, 0-0 Big Ten) at 3:15 p.m. The consolation game of the Cal Classic will be held at 1:00 p.m. PT on Saturday, November 30, with the championship game to follow at 3:15 p.m. PT. Friday's opening game between the Golden Bears and Eagles marks the return of a familiar face to Haas Pavilion. North Carolina Central head coach Trisha Stafford-Odom graduated from Cal in 1992 after an All-American playing career for the Golden Bears. Stafford-Odom led the Golden Bears to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1990 and 1992 and was inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.

[infinitesolarflare]

10-1-0: An Incarnate’s Tale

Oh, forgive me, I see there is some information you'd need for this, well my name is Sullivan Koji. I am the one who has taken over the quest of saving our lives, in our world man has been turning a blind eye for too long. There are few selected humans to be one of the "World Walkers". Being a World Walker means you have achieved the highest level of concentration, determination, and compassion.

I guess you should understand, the common conception of time, and the universe as we know it are wrong. Long ago mages, like us humans were created, there purpose was to save the earth from certain destruction. They lived long lives, and as the mages grew old, they became corrupt. This is when man truly entered the dark ages. As the mages battled one another they discovered that after killing a mage he would burn a bright red, then dissolve. The particles of what once made up the mages were thrown farther than any human could ever imagine. These particles are what humans know as stars. Gazing at stars is a human activity with a far greater importance than they know. The mages attempt to communicate with the World Walkers through this, to find if there are any left.

Now, this is where things fall into place. There were 10 mages each holding a section of the Portal. The Portal is the one thing given to the mages so they can infinitely travel in all directions. My mission, embody the mages, become the one and only Mage left. I have been chosen because what the common man takes as a dream, or nightmare is actually a tool. A tool so useful it takes years before one can even view another world.

The one goal for man is to reach the year, ZERO. Once there man can live at peace, without war, death, poverty, hunger, and hatreds. The ones who the mages see fit to achieve peace are reincarnated every 400 years or so, these souls have purpose, they are meant to reach ZERO. Common people are pawns in the world games of chess. Those souls are reincarnated almost every second of every day. Useless people, unworthy of the true paradise, some call it heaven, others don't believe in it. I have not been there, but I've seen it. My goal for now is to build the portal, show humans what life is supposed to be....

This is almost the end of our lesson together, I Sullivan Koji, have been reincarnated only 3 times so far. This is my story, these are my trials, my tests, and my tears. To reach ZERO I must concentrate once within each universe of the infinite universes. The Old Mages War took place on an open plain, which was the only universe at one time. When the High Mage Geishino was murdered his energy, not only burned a hole into time itself but also exploded into all directions, which we know as The Big Bang. Now there were 7 mages after the High Mage. They traveled throughout all universes, battling one another, the 10 portal pieces are somewhere within them, I WILL find them....

The radio in Sullivan's room is playing Good Times Bad Times by Led Zeppelin. He has been awake for 3 days, his eyes are bloodshot, his eyes water as he sits up. "where do I go today?" his thoughts seem as though they were talking to him aloud. Sullivan has only a few friends who understand his destiny. His life long friends, and blood brothers, James Blackard and Micheal Himaru. Sullivan, from an early age displayed signs of being the World Walker this universe needed. His friends thought he was short a few screws. As we entered highschool, I stared to understand what I was...who I was. I confided in them all that I discovered and they wanted to join me in my quest. Before they could do this I needed to explore how to travel through universes.

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

Friday, 06:17

"Its already time to start, ugh this will be a long day." I focused harder and with more energy than the day before, I attempted to complete my first Walk. I sat in complete silence, in a dark room. Which was located in the basement of my parents house, I was only 17 still. As my breathing slowed, and my pulse crawled to almost a complete stop, the very first visible portal appeared in front of me. And just as quickly as it came, it was gone...vanished into the abyss. "All that fucking work, just to have it amount to nothing" I was beyond frustrated at my poor performance at keeping my cool.

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

09:14

I walked out of the basement room, my eyes squinted almost completely shut from the glow of the sun. It was an abnormally warm and sunny day, usually the frozen tundra of which was once new England was gloomy, and around 10* at all times and just a terrible place to be. This is where I called home, this depressing wasteland of no bodies. Today the sun was in full force and it was a scorching 47*. It reminded me of when I was younger, in 2013 there were swimming pools, beach days, and ice cream trucks. That all became history in 2016, the poles reversed their magnetic fields and plunged the northern hemisphere into an ice age, at the same time causing uncontrollable droughts in the southern hemisphere. With scientific advances skyrocketing in the previous years, we genetically enhanced the human races' ability to adapt to changing environments. 22% of Earths population took to the adaptations well, the other 78% died. They all just died, deteriorating to unknown people of what seemed like a time long ago. These are the most important people to my research, proving most humans are just pawns in a war they could never comprehend.

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

11:43

"uh, I am stuffed" there was no response from my abandoned kitchen. Everyone I know, everyone I loved, gone, they never made it through the treatments. There was no known location of James or Michael, or even if they were alive... I thought of them everyday, they were my drive, the reason I kept myself from killing myself. "Today is the day I find my location for my new home, a research lab, something I can control completely. Underground, deep, safe from the environment, somewhere I can keep myself and others I find alive. I gather my gear, put on my jacket, and leave.

FEBRUARY 13

13:17

I walk through the wasteland and look at the building that were once stores, shops, restaurants, and malls. " I wonder which of these will be my lab? These all were places I used to go as a kid, I even worked at a few of them. I can't believe this was all destroyed in just 3 years.. I miss my old life." I came upon the WalMart near what used to be Springfield Massachusetts. I searched for an entrance, everything was locked, boarded up, and chained together. I wander around, coming across the outdoor section of the garden center. I look through the prison like gate, which once housed flowers, lawn mowers, and all the things you could ever need for gardening. "this is how I'm gonna do it!" I pry the gate open at one of the sliding sections of gate. I squeeze through and the gate, clashes against itself as I stand up. I walk to the door and discover a door, no chains, no boards...no locks. I back up about 30 yards, sprint full force into the door. It crashes open, when I readjust to the new surrounding, I am overcome with joy, hope, and a feeling of accomplishment. The abandoned WalMart was lit up, it had power! "Finally, I have found a suitable place to get started on my lab!" The shelves were still stocked with tools, electronics, food (which was mostly useless at this point), and clothing! I wander the empty store, looking for tools to aid my needs. I go to gardening and grab a pickaxe, shovel, and a wheel barrel. I go to the shoes section of the store, rip the shelves down and throw the shoes aside. After I clear myself a space of about 30ft by 30ft I begin my tunneling.

FEBRUARY 13

15:25

"Wow, this is harder than I expected" I had only accomplished a depth of about one foot on the square area. I knew I needed help...but from who? No one was around, I hadn't talked to a human in 743 days. "Fuck this, it'll never work, its not worth it!" I through down my shovel, stormed out of WalMart and hiked home.

I was tired from my failed excavation, I felt disappointed, like I had just failed my drivers test. "SULLIVAN!?" said a familiar sounding voice as I walked down my dirt road. I snapped around with intent to shoot whoever it was, as I drew my gun I smiled, shed a tear, and dropped it. "Michael? I have been searching for you since the day the world froze over...is it really you?" "yes sully, its me. I left my home in Florida to come see if you lived through this nightmare." "wow, I can't believe it, your actually here, you came back..." "well believe it, I'm here and I know James is around still, he told me he was going to his vacation house for a few years, I knew we would all meet up one day." well we need to find him! I hope he's alive.." as we entered my house, Micheal stopped at the front door, and he removed his shoes, just as my mother always wanted. "so where are your parents?" Michael said with a caring tone. "dead. They died once the ice appeared." Michael's face dropped to one of guilt, "I'm sorry Sull..." "Don't, its fine." I just

finished making tea, I went to the cabinet and grabbed the sugar. "still drink yours with 3 sugars mike?" "I see you haven't forgotten a damn thing sully, sharp as always."

CHAPTER 2

A SUCCESSFUL ENDEAVOR

As the sun rose from what seemed to be an unending night, Mike and I unbolted the lock's from our shelter, which had finally been w q the week before, the WalMart was now the number one safezone for surviving. Or so I thought, as we entered the isles of rundown old equipment, the smell of stale food and the sound of mice filled the store. Everything that was once civilization has been turned to rubble, the common man no longer has beliefs, morals, or

[canaryatlaw]

today was decent. I had my alarm go off at 11 and I think I ended up getting out of bed at 12, though I don’t remember exactly what took place. I got some food and went on the computer for a bit then started working. I was starting the argument and ended up writing about 5 1/2 pages in a little under 4 hours, quickly realizing that I was going to have to cut a lot of this because despite my constant fear that I won’t be able to write enough for something, I always overshoot the limit by a mile. I finished up the first issue, but it’s at like 13 1/2 pages when the page limit is 15, lol, and I still have two more issues to do. so that’s gonna require some cutting down, but I’m gonna write out the whole thing and then do edits so I can see where the best place to cut is. Around 4:30 I got ready for the chiropractor and then walked over there. the exercises were totally kicking my ass because I’ve been doing good with the other ones so they’re making them harder and it’s killing me lol. but it was a good session. Afterwards I walked back home and chilled out for a while icing my back and eating a little food before heading to my soccer game. For once the public transit system was working for me, so that was a nice change. Got to the field and we started kicking the ball around a bit, normal warm up stuff. I ended up getting kinda pissed about things even though I know it’s stupid. There’s this guy, the one who thought he may have re-tore his ACL in the first game so he wasn’t at the second but then I missed the third last week. And he’s like, kinda pushing to be in charge which I’m like okay that’s fine whatever I don’t really care, but I was talking to him about field placement and he was basically like “well I know you don’t like to run” and I was like “I CAN’T run” and then he went on to say he thought I should play midfield which didn’t make a lot of sense to me because midfielders generally are the ones who have to do the most running as they’re both simultaneously a forward and a defender, but he was saying they needed their defense to be fast and I wouldn’t have to run too much, just kinda stay in the same general area and pass the ball on to the forwards, which seemed kinda odd but I was like okay whatever, we can try it. So I was set to sub for the girl who was starting as midfield. we basically had it set so since we had 6 girls and we need at least 3 on the field at any given time, we’d each be have a partner that we’d switch off with. So the game is going and the girl I’m supposed to sub in for just like, isn’t coming off the field even after all the other girls had subbed, and she finally did it with like five minutes left in the half. So I play those five minutes, and then since I just got on the field we agreed I’d start and sub out for her in a little bit. So I get on the field and as the game is about to restart the guy, who’s been playing goalie yells to the other girl I was switching with and was like “why aren’t you on the field???” when he knew that we were paired or whatever and I was just like.....dude we’re obviously switching off it doesn’t really matter, but it bothered me. So I played, and at one point I intercepted the ball on a pass like, directly in front of the other teams goal, but there was so much force already on the ball when it was coming at me that me just touching it basically sent it flying right back off the field away from the goal, so I was pissed about that even though I knew there wasn’t really anything I could do, I just started feeling really inadequate and upset with myself which is stupid really being that I haven’t played in any formal fashion in like ten years, but I just hate that not everything is going like how it had in the past. So in a little bit longer I switched back out. The clouds had been super ominous before we started playing and we knew it was gonna start raining at some point, and it finally started around then. they were supposed to call the game for lightning, not just rain, and there was DEFINITELY a lot of lightning and the ref’s looked pretty concerned, but I guess they thought the game was almost over anyway so they might as well let us finish. I was already pretty sweaty so I didn’t really care if I got more wet with the rain. The team we were playing had definitely been playing together for a good amount of time and so they got a few goals pretty easily, I think it ended up being 4-1, which I mean at least we scored again, even though it was the same guy who scored last game, making him the only person on the team who’s scored lol. but we’re definitely playing better together as a team so that’s good. I just kinda left feeling really shitty about myself and my soccer skills and I knew it was really stupid and I shouldn’t be letting dumb shit like this bother me, but that’s always just really been how my brain works and there’s not much I can do about it at this point. So now I like, definitely have a dislike for the guy and the way he seems to want to control everything and his opinion is the only one that matters, which I’m probably overstating but that’s how it feels right now. but whatever, I left not in the best mood. I took the bus home, and then got in the shower right away because I was already soaked so I just got straight into my pajamas. I grabbed some clothes that I’d set aside because I needed to fix some random things with them, so I took them into the living room and turned on the tv, planning on going to netflix, but it turned to the democratic presidential debate which caught my attention for a minute so I decided to keep watching that while I was fixing the clothes. I managed to not get too frustrated at them all not stopping talking while the moderators are trying to get them to shut up, and the questions were definitely illuminating. Kamala Harris fucking came for Biden and it was pretty epic, and Biden definitely needs to work on his poker face because when she was criticizing him the camera was splitscreen on the two of them and he just looked absolutely devastated, and it was not a good look like. So Kamala definitely did good. I thought Buttigeg did really well too, he handled the question about the recent police shooting in his city pretty well I thought and he was definitely engaging. I’ve decided that my ground rule for deciding who I’m voting for in the primary is that straight white guys are off limits 😂which shouldn’t be too hard because I’m not terribly keen on any of them at the moment. we just need to get some fresh blood into politics, not old white men who have been there their whole lives already. After the debate finished I watched the news and then into Jimmy Fallon who I decided to stay on because he was talking about the debate stuff which was pretty funny. I stayed until Seth Myers was about to start and then started getting ready for bed, and now I am here. It just turned 1 am and I’d at least like to be up by 11 so I should probably get to bed now, especially because I just switched to a new kind of melatonin and who knows if that’s going to work. So I’m going to bed now. Goodnight friends. Happy Friday.

[tysonbearie]

this weeks newsletter is here!! this week the spotlight shines on the underdogs

Weekly Recap:

Last Man In voting has concluded, and the winners are forward Jeff Skinner (Atlantic), forward Gabriel Landeskog (Central), defenceman Kris Letang (Metropolitan), and forward Leon Draisaitl (Pacific).

The IIHF World Junior Championship ended with a 3-2 regulation gold medal victory for Team Finland. Team USA was awarded silver; Team Russia took home bronze.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Kings hosted “90’s Night,” during which they used glowing pucks. The glowing pucks originally debuted in 1996, but were later discontinued at the end of the 1997-98 season.

The Montreal Canadiens announced on Monday that goalie Carey Price would be opting out of All-Star Weekend. Price is currently recovering from a lower-body injury and the organization felt he should take the time to rest instead. He will be replaced by goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

All-Star Weekend will be hosted by the San Jose Sharks January 25-26. The NHL has partnered with Adidas to produce eco-friendly jerseys made from marine plastic waste materials. The jerseys will feature team logos for the first time.  

On Tuesday, Mike McKenna became the seventh goaltender to start for the Philadelphia Flyers this season. McKenna was claimed from waivers last week from the Ottawa Senators, after being previously acquired (by Ottawa) in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks.

The Blue Jackets have issued a statement as to why they opted to sit goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky; Bobrovsky apparently acted in a way that the organization did not agree with that is unrelated to his upcoming free agent status and they will not be saying anymore about the incident. Bobrovsky and the organization have since ‘cleared the air,’ and Bobrovsky may start against the Capitals on Saturday.

Rick Nash will be retiring from professional hockey after 15 seasons. Nash’s agent released a statement on Friday that cited lingering concussion symptoms and post-concussion syndrome as the reason for his sudden departure.  

Play of the Week:

On Sunday, forward Jesse Puljujarvi of the Edmonton Oilers beat out goaltender John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks with an absolutely astounding no-look backhand pass. It was by no means a pretty play, but it was impressive in its execution. The Oilers went on to shutout the Ducks 4-0 in their own arena.

Players to Watch:

Goalie Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings recently became the 5th American born goalie to tally his 300th career win. Quick has 300 wins and 58 overtime (OT) losses in 576 games played so far in his career. He has started in 30 games this season, winning 7.

Defenceman Robert Bortuzzo of the St. Louis Blues has tallied 1 goal and 5 points in 24 games played this season. He has a career total of 13 goals and 47 points in 300 games played. Bortuzzo recently signed a three-year contract extension with the Blues.

Forward Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers has 11 goals and 24 points in 44 games played this season. He has a career total of 46 goals and 99 points in 195 games played. He was selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft (24th overall). In his rookie season (2015-16) Konecny was awarded the E.J. McGuire Award of excellence by the NHL; this award goes to the prospect who “best exemplifies the commitment to excellence.” He is the first recipient of this award.

Prospect Watch:

Forward Alexandre Fortin, who went undrafted in 2015, has 2 goals and 5 points in 14 games played this season with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League; he has 3 goals and 6 points in 24 games played this season with the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL. Fortin played for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2014-17, during which he accumulated 52 goals and 135 points in 173 games played.

Defenceman Philippe Myers, who went undrafted in 2015, has 7 goals and 24 points in 36 games played this season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. Myers played for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2013-17, during which he accumulated 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games played. Myers was also a part of Team Canada during the 2016-17 World Junior Championship, though he was taken out early due to a concussion; the team went on to place second and bring home silver.

Defenceman Jeremy Lauzon, drafted 52nd overall by the Boston Bruins, has 1 goal and 6 points in 18 games played with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League this season; he has 1 goal in 15 games with the Boston Bruins of the NHL. Lauzon played for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2013-17, during which he accumulated 35 goals and 130 points in 200 games played. Lauzon was also a member of Team Canada during the 2016-17 World Junior Championship; he tallied 2 goals and 1 assist in 7 games played.

Team of the Week:

The Detroit Red Wings, an Original Six team founded in 1926, who are currently 8th overall in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference and play out of Little Caesars Arena. The team was originally known as the Detroit Cougars form 1926-30; they were the Detroit Falcons from 1930-32. In 1932, they changed their name to the Red Wings. The Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cups (11) of any NHL franchise in the United States, most recently in 2008. The Wings previously played in the historic Joe Louis Arena from 1979-2017. They have the very distinct and recognizable tradition of throwing an octopus on the ice for luck during playoff games. The NHL has yet to successfully prevent this from occurring. Notable alumni include Brett Hull, Steve Yzerman, Ted Lindsay, Sergei Fedorov, Gordie Howe, and Nicklas Lidstrom.

Outside the NHL:

The National Women’s Hockey League All-Star Weekend will take place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville February 9-10.

The Canadian Women’s Hockey League All-Star Game will take place at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on January 20.

The American Hockey League All-Star Classic will be hosted by the Springfield Thunderbirds January 27-28.

Weekly Thoughts:

From fistfights between teammates, to frankly dangerous slashes aimed at opposing players, to players yelling at coaching staff during games, to CEOs taking cheap shots at top performers, frustrations are piling up this season. Perhaps after All-Star Weekend teams will be rested and ready to go.

The St. Louis Blues can’t seem to catch a break this season. The Blues are currently 6th in the Central Division of the Western Conference and it’s taken its toll on the team. On December 10, defenceman Robert Bortuzzo and forward Zach Sanford exchanged blows at practice.

On January 11, Florida’s Keith Yandle delivered a horrifying slash to the stick of Calgary’s Sean Monahan, barely missing his arm/hand. Monahan had just released the puck for what became the game winning empty net goal.

On January 9, forward Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche took his frustration out on coach Jared Bednar on the bench. MacKinnon later apologized and Bednar said that it hadn’t bothered him at all.

In December, Dallas Stars CEO Jim Lites had some choice words about the Stars top scorers Tyler Seguin and captain Jamie Benn. Lites called their performance ‘f-cking horsesh-t.’ When asked Benn responded “I don’t play for him. I play for every player in this room, the coaching staff.”

It’s clear that struggling teams are becoming increasingly frustrated as the season continues. Every team wants to compete for the Stanley Cup, but not every team has had the season they hoped for. With the trade deadline fast approaching, we might see some big moves from the teams at the bottom of the league. There have already been some big names appearing in trade rumors this season, and it’s going to be interesting to see how accurate those rumors are. It’s also going to be fun watching teams start to prepare for next year with new acquisitions.

Hopefully these teams will hit their stride and start performing better this season, but if they don’t there’s always next year.

Weekly Vocabulary:

Man-Advantage: When one team is penalized, and one of its players is sent to the penalty box, the second team maintains a man advantage for the duration of the penalty (major penalty) or until a goal is scored (minor penalty). If two penalties are called on one team there will be a two-man advantage. If more than two penalties are called on one team the man advantage is limited to two men. If both teams are penalized, there is no man advantage; it becomes a four-on-four.

Empty Net: When a team pulls their goalie in order to have six skaters (a man advantage).

Extra Attacker: A player who has been substituted for the team's goaltender on the ice.

Too Many Men: When one team has too many men on the ice during a shift change.

Own Goal: The act of a team unintentionally shooting the puck into their own net instead of their opponent's. For statistical purposes, the last player on the opposing team to touch the puck is awarded the goal.

Scrum: When players from both teams are piled up against the boards/goal posts, shoving and hitting at each other.

Delay of Game: Deliberately causing a stoppage of play; player is penalized with a minor penalty.

Coach’s Challenge: If a coach disagrees with a call on ice, he is able to challenge the call. This results in a video review of the play; if the coach was right and the call on ice was wrong, the goal is overturned, if the coach is wrong and the goal stands, that coach loses the ability to call a time-out.

Turnover: When the team in possession of the puck gives it up to the opponent; alternatively, the team who does not control the puck can force a turnover by ‘stealing’ the puck mid pass, or by taking it directly from the opposing player’s stick.

Face-Off: The two teams line up in opposition to each other. One player from each team attempts to gain control of the puck after it is dropped by an official between their sticks onto a face-off spot on the ice. A face-off starts every game and occurs throughout the game after every stoppage of play.

Weekly Trivia:

The Calder Memorial Trophy (not to be confused with Calder Cup of the American Hockey League) is awarded annually to "the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League." The winner is selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association at the end of the regular season. Players are eligible for the Calder only if they are no more than 26 years old by September 15 of their rookie (first) season. The Calder Memorial is dedicated in memory of former NHL President Frank Calder, who bought a trophy every year to present permanently to the outstanding rookie of the season. The award is now kept in perpetuity. The Toronto Maple Leafs lead all teams with 10 players who have won the Calder.

Weekly Standings:

Eastern Conference

Metropolitan Division

Washington Capitals -- 58 points

Pittsburgh Penguins -- 56 points

Columbus Blue Jackets -- 53 points

Atlantic Division

Tampa Bay Lightning -- 70 points

Toronto Maple Leafs -- 58 points

Boston Bruins -- 54 points

Western Conference

Central Division

Winnipeg Jets -- 58 points

Nashville Predators -- 58 points

Dallas Stars -- 50 points

Pacific Division

Calgary Flames -- 62 points

San Jose Sharks -- 59 points

Las Vegas Golden Knights -- 58 points

*Note: Information was obtained prior to 12pm on Saturday January 12. Information occurring after the 12pm deadline will feature next week.

[extremelytiredincrediblyconfused]

the melodramatic beginning of my climactic end

There are, quite honestly, about a million other ways I had hoped to gain notoriety... and by a million I mean, like, five. Six, tops. Looking back, avoiding my own inevitable would’ve been easy – a literal push; a click, a tap, the fucking pushing of a fucking button (sorry, potty mouth). All I had to do was keep my mouth shut; keep my shit private just as I always had. I had worked so hard to get where I was – where I hopefully still am – and while some people may have deserved at least some part of what they got, some were just the worst kind of collateral damage. To the latter: you will never know the extent of my regret, nor the level at which I now self-loathe. To the former: I’m still sorry, even if you do suck a little.. I know, I know I’m getting ahead of myself. On that note, I suppose I should start from the melodramatic beginning of my climactic end – my self-imposed downfall, my very clumsy swan dive into public humiliation. Here goes; try not to hate me too much.

Oh, I’ve changed the names of people and places, but the rest is - unfortunately - the truth. 

“Well, it’s over! It’s done!” Judy, very melodramatically, intoned while frantically waving her arms, “Edgewood has officially gone to hell in a handbasket!” I have only just walked into the back door of the bakery and tea house the two of us own together, but I can already tell it’s going to be one of those days – to be fair, most of them are. “Well, don’t stop now, give me all the dirt!” I know I’m baiting her, but it never stops being fun. “They robbed my silverware tree!” she offered by way of explanation – the “silverware tree” as we now call it, is the tree that we are forced by the town of Clydesville to have blocking our front door because we live in Tree City USA. We decided to make it festive by hanging all of our gold-plated silverware that was too pitted for use (we are fancy, after all) and everyone had already come to terms with the simple fact that we might as well just throw that silverware in the trash, because once it was out there it likely wouldn’t stay very long. “Well, don’t let them ever say we don’t give back to our community.” Being flippant probably isn’t the best approach to the situation, but we are nothing if not sassy here. “Thanks for taking their attack on my decoration seriously” she sighed “I guess I should just be thankful they were careful not to trample my english garden while they robbed me blind.” “You’re right, I’m sorry, I should’ve taken this more seriously” I held up my hands in a placating gesture, “more importantly – who had bets on it lasting less than a month?” Before she even had time to feign offense, the victor was ready to claim their spoils. “That would be me!” the victor in question being my friend, and co-worker, Lawrence; or as we all prefer to call him, Law, “E-e-easiest five bucks I eva made!” he took the time to not only grab his prize, but do a somewhat embarrassing dance while doing it, “Ooh, wait, give it to me in singles – I WANNA MAKE IT RAIN.” “Five singles isn’t enough to make it rain, Law.” I retorted knowingly – honestly because we have tried to do it countless times, and failed miserably. We have the slow-motion videos to prove it. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was your personal mission to rain on EVERYBODY’S parade today, Kat. Don’t let me stop you, want me to tell you about my hopes and dreams so you can shoot them all down while you’re at it? Yeesh.” He and I have been friends for so long, this type of back-and-forth is just par for the course. As a matter of fact, if I’m not mistaken, we are actually cousins. It is Wayneswood County, after all, literally everyone is related. “As long as your so-called hopes and dreams don’t involve proposing to yet another girlfriend, I’m pretty sure I’ll be supportive of them” I know it’s a low blow to hit so early in our little game, but I really do have a reason for coming in to the store today. You see, Law is what we call a ‘habitual proposer’ – he’s been engaged to four different women (only married to one) in his ripe, young age of twenty-eight. “aye-aye-aye, kick a man when he’s down, why don’tcha?” he pounded a closed fist over his heart in an attempt to make me feel bad. “I’m not saying I didn’t know it wouldn’t happen, but I just thought people would be nicer. I should know better than to place any expectations on humanity anymore. Oh, well – at least I’ve got more silverware to hang up. No more soup ladles, though, the dredges of society apparently needed to serve some broth.” Judy interjected, still trying desperately to hide her disappointment. “That or prepare a whole lot of crack!” I jovially added, making a show of shrugging my shoulders and forcing a tight smile. “Prepare. Prepare?” oh, here he goes “Uh, excuse me, yes Geeves” Law was getting into it now, affecting a posh accept and holding his pinky in the air “prepare us crack, good sir, make it our finest vintage!” “Soooorrrrryyyyy I don’t know all the hip drug lingo, friendo. I must’ve missed that issue of Street Youth Monthly.” Admittedly, my joke’s weren’t always the cream of the crop. After receiving looks of pity for my attempt at being pithy, we fell into our daily routine of treading water and getting through the daily deluge of afternoon teas, ladies having lunch, hipster parents trying to force their kids into liking fancy things and the general public needing sweets to keep calm and carry on. “Our 2:00 afternoon pushed to Wednesday, and changed their reservation time to 1:30.” Judy explained – at the end of the day we all sit down and compare calendars, make notes on scheduling, and make sure we haven’t over-booked ourselves too terribly much. “Okay, perfect. I got a form submission for a 12:00 highest on the 26th.” I added, looking over my most recent crop of e-mails. “Hmmm” Judy furrowed her brow in concentration, “No, that won’t work, we’ve got a party of 15 at 12:00 for a Bridal Shower Tea, see if they can move to either 11:00 am or 2:00 pm. Those are the only availabilities.” “I’ll go ahead and e-mail them.” I responded, tapping a few keys to bring that promise to life. “We will need someone on June 9th, we have that big pastry order for the store anniversary at Belk.” Judy flipped her calendar, and for the first time I truly realized how close to the end of May we were. “I also have a wedding that Friday, so we will definitely need to schedule a lot of help because I’ll be down for the count just filling those two orders.” I’m the Pastry Chef, so I shoulder most of the actual baking responsibility, but I always make sure that only I do the wedding cakes. I’m very, very particular about the wedding cakes. “Can do. Law, can you make yourself available?” “Already planning on it, boss.”  My friend was nothing if not dependable. “Y’all know I ain’t got shit going on otherwise.” “Thanks, my dude. Did you buy your tickets for the Front Bottoms yet?!” we had only been talking about going to see them for, oh I don’t know, a million years now. I needed him to stop dragging his feet and commit to going with me already. I hate going places by myself, especially Asheville. “ohmagod, do you want me to buy the tickets in front of you? Do you want me to purchase the gahdang tickets right frickin now so you can watch and make sure I do it, MOM?” like I said, the back and forth never stops with us. “actually that would bring me great pleasure.” I said, a smug smile taking over. “FINE.” He yelled, while pulling out his phone with more dramatic flourish than I probably deserved. After a few enunciated taps, he announced he had indeed purchased the ticket (showing me the text for proof) “You’re driving my ass there I hope you know. And buying me a beer – Wicked Weed is right next door and I’m not about to take on a buncha teenage FB fans without some liquid assistance.” “I’ll do you one better – I’ll buy you a PRETZEL to go with your beer.” I’m feeling very magnanimous, obviously. The day ended as does every other – with our tiny crew barely holding it together, and counting down the last five minutes like we were in Time’s Square watching the ball drop. Unfortunately for me, though, keeping up morale until 5:00 wasn’t going to be my biggest problem of the day.

The drive home was especially short for me, considering I lived less than a block away from the shop. Yes, I choose to drive - you haven’t been on these mean streets at 3:00 am. I put my little Honda in park, and tried to get all the groceries in one go, something at which I seemed to be failing miserably. Reaching for my key, usually hanging from the tiny cupcake keychain my boyfriend’s niece got me for Christmas a few years ago, I was shocked to look down and see nothing more than a broken bead chain. Sonofa – “NOOOOOOO not again!!!!” I whined, loudly. Cute it may be, practical it was not – I had lost my house key more times than I could count at this point during our five-year stint in our little Edgewood home. Micah’s car was here, though, so I could at least just bang on the door until he let me in. “MICAH! MICAH I KNOW YOU’RE HERE, LET ME IN YOU PUNK.” -bang bang bang- -bang bang bang- “I SWEAR TO CHRIST IF YOUR’E SLEEPING THROUGH THIS I’M GOING TO MURDER YOU. YOU JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET THIS DOOR OPEN” -bang bang bang- At this point, my hand was starting to hurt desperately, so I decided that –naturally- the best course of action was to begin kicking the door. However, one can only punch and kick a door for so long before one decides one looks like a crazy person and the neighbors start peeking out their windows. I pulled out my phone to begin the task of calling him until he answered, but after the fifth call of incessant ringing, it started going straight to voicemail. Huh. I mean, that’s probably nothing right? “Hey, it’s Micah, I’m either busy or just can’t get to the phone right now – either way, leave me a message and I’ll call you back… or I won’t. Later. Beeeeeeeep” “Micah, what the hell? I’m sitting outside, freezing, alone, getting really shitty looks from our very terrible neighbors, I lost my key – again. Yes, I know. Your car is here, so I don’t know why you’re not, but I guess just let me know whenever you can. I love you.” A knot began twisting in the pit of my stomach – our relationship would never be described as “stable” or “healthy”, a fact that my friend who was currently going to school to be a therapist (whatever that’s called – therapy school? Therapist school? How-does-that-make-you-feel school?) was always very quick to point out. “If someone really loved you, they wouldn’t make you feel this way.” “If he really loved you, he would make you a priority.” “People in healthy relationships don’t end up crying on their friends’ couches this much.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. We started dating when I was young – honestly, no frontal lobe development whatsoever – and we got way too serious way too quickly. What would you do if you were 19 and your boyfriend’s mom made you promise to take care of him on her deathbed? Yeah, that’s right, don’t judge me; maybe I should’ve left years earlier, but sometimes the hardest thing is to do is scream for help when your lungs have filled with water. So, I sat there. I sat on that porch for five hours and twenty-seven minutes and you can bet your ass if my watch counted seconds I would know those, too. Finally, the darkness was punctured by a harrowing halogen beacon, said beacon not being attached to any car I immediately recognized, but at this point a literal prostitute could’ve been driving him home and I wouldn’t have cared – the need to urinate was all encompassing and entirely overbearing. A slow roll, the sound of the door opening and quickly closing, a decidedly female voice offering promises of meeting again soon; the soft crunch of glass-flecked grass from when he accidentally broke two of my solar lights but never bothered to clean it up, the rattle of keys being removed from the same front, left pocket in which they always rested. “’bout time.” I slurred – admittedly, at some point during my wait I had decided to crack into the beers I had purchased earlier. And by “crack into” I mean “drink all of”. “jesus!” micah whispered, jumping back and assuming what I can only imagine was meant to be a defensive position, “Kat? What are you doing out here? Christ, you scared the SHIT outta me!” “Oh, no… are you slightly inconvenienced? Oh, oh, no… I would hate for your date to end on a sour note.” “Date? Oh, seriously, Kat? Really? You’re gonna get mad about me for hanging out with an old friend?” Micah’s mood immediately turned, and I knew it could only be headed in one direction. “Don’t bring him up.” I warned “For fuck’s sake” he huffed “so you’re free to throw my female friends in my face whenever you want, but I can’t bring up your so-called… what is it that you call him?” he asked in a mocking tone “best friend forever? Your little bestie? Bestie Bitch?” “Seriously, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, that’s different.” I argued – the same argument we’ve had time and time again. “Oh, I do know what I’m talking about. I don’t give a shit that you guys have been friends since you were in diapers or whatever you want to claim – that guy is in love with you; he would be at the front of your line, and you know it.” He sneered “God, Micah, when are you finally going to admit that you’re unhappy? When will you stop trying so desperately to make ‘us’ work?” I pleaded, practically on my knees – because, damn, I was druuunk. “When will you?” I can’t explain what happened next, because never in my life have I been that person – the one who is strong enough to walk away, the one who can say no. I can only thank the Stella gods for giving me the distinguished courage to stand up – for, arguably, the first time in my life – and have the self-respect to finally walk away. “Now.” I blinked, suddenly realizing what I was saying, gathered what remained of my groceries (that I hadn’t eaten or drank) and stood up, ready to take the first step. Ready to make a move solely for myself, without worrying about someone who had never spent a day worrying about me. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Back up… what?” Micah kept doing this ‘I can’t believe this is happening’ blinking and head shaking combination, probably unsure what to do in a situation where I wasn’t a complete pushover, “say that again? I had to hear you wrong.” “Now.” I said again, much more forcefully, “I’m done. You’re done. We’re done, that simple. I’m leaving – I’ll, uh, come back sometime to get my stuff. I’m taking Penelope and MacGyver.” “You’re serious? Oh, you sweet, simple little bunny… just like that? Just… done? Where do you think you’re gonna go?” he had turned condescending, and I was not there for that. At. All. “I told you to stop calling me that, you ass. I’ll find somewhere to stay – so many people have been begging me to leave you and offering their homes as shelter, it’s not me I’m worried about.” “Well leave your key, I don’t want you sneaking back in here and taking my shit.” Oh, Micah, you always were unnecessarily paranoid. Looking back, it was probably the drugs I didn’t know you were taking. “I lost my key – if you answered your phone, you’d know that.” “Are you sure you can’t stay – we can talk this out?” “There’s nothing to talk about, Micah. We’re done. Now, get the hell out of my way, I’m leaving.” “You can’t drive, you’ve been drinking… you have to stay.” He had a point, and I’m honestly super terrified of breaking the law, but before he had even finished his sentence, I had my phone out and was halfway to dialing the only person I could consistently rely on. “Kat, baby? What’s wrong?” he answered – he always answers. “I’m sorry, Phoenix, I know it’s late… I just” oh, no, the tears. The tears started happening. “I don’t give a shit what time it is – you can call me day or night, you know that – you just never call.” His voice had taken on a tender quality, probably in response to my sobs. “I, uh, I… ah, fuck, can you come get me? Please?” “Absolutely, where are you?” “Ho-“ Micah cast a harsh glare in my direction, “… um, Micah’s house.” I corrected myself – this place hadn’t ever really been my home, anyway. “… is that a new place, or a new name for an old place?” I could hear his hesitancy – I didn’t know how to approach this situation, how could I expect him to? “It’s the same address… just a different situation.” I didn’t really want to get into it, considering Mr. Glarey McGlareson was still shooting eye-daggers at me. “Give me ten minutes.” “Don’t speed.” I attempted to sound stern “Kitkat, I’m coming to pick you up from what I can only assume to be your now ex-boyfriend’s house, I’ll be there in ten minutes or I owe you a bag of chips.” “I’m timing you.” “You’d better.” “Well isn’t that just precious – you’re moving on mighty fast there, Kitkat.” Micah sneered as soon as I hung up on Phoenix. “Seriously? Don’t. Just, don’t. I’m not the one who got dropped off by another woman.” I warned, but it was hollow – honestly, whoever she was, call that bitch up and I’ll thank her myself for being the impetus for this conversation. Micah decided it would be better to not wait with me, and I couldn’t have agreed more. He told me he would call me when he felt comfortable with me getting my stuff – I told him I would be by to get my cats by the end of the following week. He snorted some semblance of an agreement, walked up the two-steps to the small porch, stalked through the front door and ended the entire conversation with a slam. Nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, Phoenix’s truck pulled up in front of the 1940s bungalow I wouldn’t sleep another night in. How magnificent. “Jesus, P, how fast did you go?” “What do I need to load? What’s the game plan?” he clapped his hands, rubbing them together like he was either about to do some manual labor or concoct a dastardly plot to take down that do-gooder, Dudley. “I’m sorry, game plan?” I asked, still pretty tipsy, considering. “Yeah – let’s get this done, move you out. Why wait?” “Well, for one, it’s like three in the morning. For two, this wasn’t planned and I haven’t even packed a single shred of anything. I’m not ready, I’ll just come back.” “What’s in your hands?” confusion echoed across his handsome features. I mean, sure we’re only friends, but I can appreciate a good lookin’ guy, you feel me? “What?” I looked down, because honestly I had kind of forgotten, “Oh, groceries.” I shrugged. “That bastard let you go to the grocery store before he broke up with you?” “Hey! Who says he broke up with me?” “Kat, girl, it’s you…” head cocked, twinge of guilt, but ultimately not a wrongful assessment “Yeah, well, ya girl grew a pair tonight. My bitch ass left his bitch ass.” Sassy really isn’t my forte, but I gave it a go. “Oh, now I need to hear the full story.” Behind my head I heard a window crank open, that particular window was in the kitchen which looked directly out over the portion of the front yard in which we were currently standing. Phoenix and I both turned from the intruding noise. “Seriously, guys?” Micah deadpanned from the window – his hair was askew, his eyes red, and a cigarette was hanging from his lips “DON’T SMOKE INSIDE” Phoenix and I yelled in unison, looking at each other and giggling like schoolgirls “Yeah, my house, my rules, now seriously fuck off.” And with that little nugget, he stalked off to probably watch porn right in the living room because apparently the house was now a lawless land. “I really hate that guy” Phoenix noted “I really know you do.” “What were you thinking?” he whined “I have asked myself that every day for the past 5 years.”

The drive to Phoenix’s house took decidedly longer than nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds, probably because we took back roads so we could listen to music longer – something we had always done. There was always singing, usually dancing, and more than a few times there were tears. After minor protest, he helped me carry in my groceries. Unlocking the door, he flicked on the light to reveal the home he had been pouring his heart into renovating for the past two years. The coffee table was new – he built it. “Just put the groceries on the counter and I’ll help you put them up.” He whispered “Thanks – I would say we could just toss them and start over, but these are kind of my only worldly possessions right now, and I’m a little attached.” I whispered back, because duh. “I understand – it’s hard to not get attached to…” plucking a random box out of my bags, “tender whites popcorn.” He said, still whispering. “Hey, P, did you get a roommate?” “Hell, naw, why?” “Why are we whispering?” “Ha!” he laughed, louder now, “in my head we were sneaking into one of our parents’ houses. God, sometimes in my head we’re still teenagers.” He was clearly reminiscing. “I wish things were still that simple.” I released on a sigh “Well, do you wanna sleep or talk?” he was never one to tiptoe around the delicate “Honestly? Sleep. I promise I’ll give you the full story over the coffee you make me in the morning “God” he snorted “you will never change, huh?” “Here’s hoping.” “Wouldn’t want you any other way. The guest room is made up, you know the way, I’m hitting the hay. If you need anything, keep it to your damn self because I’m sleepy. Love you, bestie.” He gave me a quick hug – because even after being friends for most of our lives, neither of us was particularly physically demanding “I love you, too, P. I’ll see you in the morning. Thanks for saving my ass, again.” “Anytime, KK.” We parted ways, him walking to his master bedroom, and me walking to the guest bedroom situated directly across the short hallway. He paused at his door, and looked back at me “Kat?” I paused, and turned as well, “yeah, Phoenix?” “…welcome back.” “Where had I gone?” “Nowhere good.” The pain was obvious on his face “You’re not wrong, bestie. You’re not wrong.” “You’ll get through this.” “I always do.” “I’ll be right here.” “… you always are” I added before finally closing my door. I guess, in a way, I was back. Like waking up after a deep sleep riddled with nightmares, full of monsters and shadows holding you down and filling you with a sense of inferiority. I suppose, in some small measure, this was one of the first monumental moments of clarity in my fog-riddled existence. I only wish I had stayed up my upward trajectory, stayed full of hope and happiness, kept the lightness of losing a boyfriend-sized weight. Ah, well, I wouldn’t have much of a story to tell then, now would I?

[andrebearakovsky]

This Week in Caps: Week 3

Welcome to This Week in Caps, a weekly newsletter where I recap everything important that’s been going on in the world of the Washington Capitals this past week.

This Week’s Games

10/17/18 vs New York Rangers, W 4-3 (OT)

I hope you like the Caps on Wednesday Night Hockey, because the Caps have hosted that particular nationally televised game for three straight weeks. The Caps took on an old rival in the rebuilding Rangers, and Alex Ovechkin faced Henrik Lundqvist, the goalie he’s beaten more than any other.

The first period was fast-moving, with not a lot of stoppages and little to no shenanigans. Brett Connolly was robbed by Lundqvist, and Mika Zibanejad scored on a rebound in front about six minutes into the game. 1-0 Rangers. The action got going with about seven minutes left in the period; the Rangers had a mad scrum in front of the Caps’ net, and Christian Djoos made a huge save by sweeping the puck off the goalline, keeping a goal off the scoresheet. The defensive efforts paid off about a minute later, when John Carlson scored a booming slap shot goal directly off a Nicklas Backstrom faceoff win, trying the game 1-1.

Shortly into the second period, Ovechkin was back at it again against Lundqvist. On a power play, Carlson kept the puck in the zone and flipped it over to Ovechkin, who slapped a one-timer from the very back of the Ovi Office and caught Lundqvist off guard, giving the Caps a 2-1 lead. But the Rangers would be quick to tie the score, with them getting their own power play and Jimmy Vesey tapping in a goal to make it 2-2. Ovechkin made sure to have the last laugh of the period, scoring yet another one-timer power play goal, eerily similar to the first one, to make it 3-2 Caps.

But the lead wouldn’t last, and Chris Kreider scored a tip-in goal on a power play for the Rangers that tied the score 3-3. And despite everyone’s best efforts, this game would go to overtime.

Evgeny Kuznetsov drove play when he had the puck in overtime, eventually faking at shooting the puck at the net. Matt Niskanen, hovering nearby, dunked home the rebound to score the overtime winner, giving the Caps the 4-3 win.

The Caps outshot the Rangers 38-32 and had the advantage on faceoffs at 53%. Each team went 2/4 on the power play, and Braden Holtby saved 29/32 shots. This game was closer than the Caps probably would have liked, but it’s a win all the same, and the Caps will be happy to take it.

10/19/18 vs Florida Panthers, L 5-6 (SO)

The Panthers came into this one winles on the season, and the Caps were looking for two in a row. And when all was said and done, this game ended up being a wild one.

Joe Beninati described the Caps’ first period as “sleepy,” and that’s how it felt. Defense was not good, and they just did not look good in the first at all. Vincent Trocheck scored halfway through the period. The Caps responded five minutes later on a John Carlson goal, throwing home a puck in front of the net to make it 1-1. But the Panthers pounded the Caps the rest of the period, scoring the next goal just thirty seconds later. Florida got goals from Evgenii Dadonov, Colton Sceviour, and Jared McCann to make it 4-1 Panthers by the end of the first.

Things changed for the Caps between the first and second periods — Braden Holtby was taken out of the game in favor of Pheonix Copley, and the lines were put in a blender. It seemed to work, as the Caps were completely revitalized and were dominating play, with the defense especially looking a lot better (the Panthers did not get their first shot on Copley until halfway through the period).

They got the comeback rolling with just under two minutes in the frame — Brett Connolly scored on a sharp angle to make it 2-4. Later, the Caps got an odd-man rush and Jakub Vrana scored from his knees to make it 3-4. And just a few minutes later, Devante Smith-Pelly took advantage on a bad bounce off the Panther goalie, and scored on the second shot to complete the comeback and tie the game at 4. The Panthers were also forced to make a goalie change, pulling James Reimer and replacing him with Michael Hutchinson.

However, the Caps were a bit undone by all the penalties at the end of the period. Alex Ovechkin was called for interference against Aaron Ekblad at 17:18 and the Caps were called for too many men at 18:03, giving the Panthers a two-man advantage for 1:15. Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, and Nicklas Backstrom put up a great defensive showing, but the Panthers capitalized and Jonathan Huberdeau scored at 19:09 to make it 5-4 Panthers, and they still had about fifty seconds of power play time. Then the refs didn’t like what Evgeny Kuznetsov said to them and sent him to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct with eight seconds left in the period. The Panthers would start the third with three seconds of five-on-three, and then 1:45 of power play time, which the Caps killed.

The Caps got a power play at 16:52 of the third, and they pulled Copley for the extra attacker halfway through the power play, and Backstrom scored the tying goal, tapping one into the net at 18:35, trying the game at 5. But then Niskanen took a penalty with 23 seconds left in the game, and there was no more scoring in regulation, so the Panthers had just over 1:30 of four-on-three power play time to start overtime. The Caps killed that, and there were no more whistles in overtime and the rest of it was played four-on-four. The Caps had many chances in overtime, particularly a Dmitry Orlov shot off the post, but this game would be decided in a shootout.

The shootout went thus: T.J. Oshie goal, Aleksander Barkov goal, Kuznetsov goal, Nick Bjugstad no goal, Ovechkin no goal, Trocheck goal, Backstrom no goal, Huberdeau goal. The Caps lose the shootout 2-3 and the game 5-6.

The Caps outshot the Panthers 31-30 and were barely beaten on faceoffs, winning 49.2%. They went 1/3 on the power play, while the Panthers went 2/7. Holtby saved just 7/11 shots in his short start, and Copley saved 18/19.

The new third line (Vrana, Connolly, and Lars Eller) looked excellent tonight, and was the most prominent forward line. Orlov also had a couple of very strong looks. Copley was excellent in relief and kept the Caps in the game, even though the Panthers shooters made the rookie look a little silly in the shootout. Were it not for the shootout, he might have gotten his first NHL win.

The game was wildly entertaining, and even though the Caps got down and looked bad early, they showed great resilience in making that three-goal comeback and then tying it yet again late in regulation. This looked like it was going to be a horrible loss, and ending this game with a point is something they’ll gladly take.

Current record: 3-2-2

What’s Going on in the World of the Caps

Wilson Appeal

Tom Wilson met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on October 18th to discuss the appeal of his twenty-game suspension. The hearing lasted seven hours, and Bettman’s decision is expected sometime midweek.

Brett Connolly Leaves Yet Another Teammate Hanging

[gif by @faceoffs]

Remember last year when Kuzy was looking for a fist bump from Brett Connolly, and Connolly left him hanging, resulting in Kuzy fist bumping himself? Well, Friday against the Panthers, Conno left another teammate in the dust, and the victim this time, Jakub Vrana, was left to fist bump himself. This seems to be becoming a trend for Connolly, and if history repeats itself, we may already have the winner of gif of the year. (x)

Special Teams

The Capitals’ power play this season has been absolutely deadly. They’re currently cashing in on an unreal 38.5% of power play opportunities, which is best in the league. The big guns have been doing their job. The penalty kill, however, is stuck near the other end of the spectrum. They’re killing 72.4% of penalties, which is 24th in the league. Ideally, you’d like to be somewhere around 80%, or maybe even 85%, to have a really effective penalty kill. They’ve been letting in too many chances and need to tighten it up a bit. Maybe the loss of Jay Beagle or the absence of Tom Wilson, both excellent penalty killers, is really hurting them, but they’re going to have to do something about it and get better.

Faceoffs

Winning faceoffs? Never heard of her. Overall, the Capitals have won 46.0% of faceoffs, which is 29th in the league. Not good. The funny thing is that not everyone is doing horribly; Nicklas Backstrom is winning 54.5%, which is quite good, and Lars Eller is winning 51.2%, which is not shabby. But Nic Dowd is winning 43.8% and Evgeny Kuznetsov is winning only 36.2%, which is very bad, especially because he has taken the second most draws on the team (after Backstrom). The loss of Jay Beagle certainly hurts in this department, but the centers, especially Kuznetsov and Dowd, need to pick it up. Winning faceoffs can really help possession and even lead directly to goals.

Other Miscellaneous Happenings

Ovi repaired one of his teeth, which was broken in the Stanley Cup Final

Ovi doesn’t need pants

Brooks Orpik was inducted into his high school’s Hall of Fame

Wanna see pics from Casino Night? Here ya go

Player of the Week

John Carlson is putting up his very early case for the Norris Trophy and reminding people how much of a mistake it was he wasn’t an All-Star and Norris finalist last season. In two games this week, he tallied two goals and two assists for four points. He is second on the Caps in goals, assists, and points, trailing Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Kuznetsov respectively. He is currently the second-highest-scoring defenseman in the league, trailing only Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Social Media Post of the Week

nastyashubskaya: 2 месяца ❤️two months! #happybirthdayson #weloveyou

The Ovechkins posted an adorable family photo on the day baby Sergei turned two months old.

Stars of the Night Season Leaderboard

Over the course of the season, I will be keeping track of the Caps stars of the night, translating them into points, and organizing them into a leaderboard.

1st star = 5 pts, 2nd star = 3 pts, 3rd star = 1 pt

1. Kuznetsov — 13 2. Ovechkin — 8 3. Backstrom — 4 4. Carlson — 3 T-5. Eller — 1 T-5. Holtby — 1 T-5. Oshie — 1

Achieved and Upcoming Milestones

Jakub Vrana played in his 100th career NHL game on 10/17/18 vs the New York Rangers With two power play goals on 10/17/18 vs the New York Rangers, Alex Ovechkin advanced to 9th on the all-time NHL power play goals list, tied with Dino Ciccarelli (232). With one more, he can stand in 9th place alone, and with two more, he can be tied for 8th with Marcel Dionne (234). Nicklas Backstrom is 2 assists away from 600 career NHL assists Nicklas Backstrom is 1 power play goal away from being tied for 5th in Caps history in power play goals (67) John Carlson is 2 points away from being tied for 6th in Caps history in points among defensemen (345) John Carlson is 2 power play goals away from being tied for 7th in Caps history in power play goals among defensemen (25) Evgeny Kuznetsov is 7 assists away from 200 career NHL assists Dmitry Orlov is 5 assists away from 100 career NHL assists T.J. Oshie is 9 goals away from 200 career NHL goals Devante Smith-Pelly is 6 points away from 100 career NHL points Madison Bowey is searching for his first NHL goal Nic Dowd is searching for his first assist as a Capital

Next Week’s Upcoming Games

10/22/18 @ Vancouver Canucks (10 PM) 10/25/18 @ Edmonton Oilers (9 PM) 10/27/18 @ Calgary Flames (4 PM)

[snowpatrolfanclubbrazil]

“The best piece of advice anyone ever gave me,” Gary Lightbody recalls in his soft Belfast burr, “is that the only way to beat writers block – is by writing.”

Well, yeah.

“Five different songwriters, over the years, all gave me that exact same tip. Write. Even if it’s terrible. Even if you’re scared. You need to get the shit songs out before you reach the good stuff. Like drawing poison from a wound.”

Exactly who on earth those five songwriters think they bloody are, lecturing Gary Lightbody – who can boast comfortably over 15 million album sales and a billion streams to his name – is beyond me.

But whatever; after a crippling seven-year bout of writers block the poison’s finally banished, and praise be – Snow Patrol’s new LP is actually (whisper it) really good.

Wildness, released last month, is a melodic, hook-laden affair pitched squarely at punters with a sneaky soft-spot for dependable, unpretentious meat-and-potatoes indie. Which is everyone, surely.

“I still don’t feel I’ve got songwriting down to a fine art,” reckons Lightbody, who to date has five Platinum discs on his mantlepiece and roughly a gazillion streams chalked up thanks to collaborations with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.

“All I care about with the Snow Patrol stuff, our remit if you like, is that the songs have melody and heart. Or melody and honesty.”

The new LP certainly isn’t short on candour, with much of the emotional torque deriving from Lightbody’s recent battle with alcoholism.

“You know when friends are telling you you might be drinking too much – that’s usually a good indication,” he recalls “Especially when it’s my friends saying that. Because they’ve been known to enjoy a drink or four.

“I was drinking every single day. Come 5 o’clock I would crack open my first beer and go from there.”

Simplicity has always been Snow Patrol’s hallmark, to the delight of fans and snarky derision of haters. And here, on album tracks like ‘A Dark Switch’ and especially ’A Youth Written In Fire’, he really spells it out for us.

“This isn't like the first time anymore / And I've been chasing after all / Digging for the lost memories / Of a youth lived in fire.”

His lowest ebb, aside from the health issues that always crop up after prolonged periods of alcohol abuse, was when he saw himself through the eyes of a young couple at a bar one evening.

“I was sitting in a bar, drinking on my own again, as I’d always promised myself I never would. This couple came in and sat down at the table beside me.

“They hadn’t seen me until now. This all happened wordlessly by the way. Anyway, they looked at me, glanced at each other, nodded… then silently got up, walked across to the other side of the room, and sat down at a different table. That’s the state I was in.

“As of the third of June this year, it’s two years since my last drink.”

Good on you buddy. Elsewhere on the record he tackles forlorn lost love on the uncannily sweet ballad ‘What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get?’

“Quite a few of my friends over these past couple of years have gone through divorces,” he explains. “That song is me trying to reach out. I haven’t been divorced, right enough, but I’ve had longterm relationships come to an end. You know how it feels.

“I want to say ‘Come here. Come over. I’m in the room, I know the way, we can help each other.

“But the real point of the song is – why don’t you treat the love you have like it’s the only love you’ll ever get? You may as well. Love can be extremely hard to come by, and life is very fucking short.”

This latter theme is tackled on ‘Soon’, a gut-wrenching slow-burner that deals with Lightbody’s father’s encroaching dementia.

“One of my favourite days ever with dad was shooting the video for ‘Soon’.

“It’s just me and him watching home movies over at my house. It was a beautiful day.

“Making a music video you hear the same song 20-30 times, but I still don’t know if the meaning of the lyrics sunk in. He’s in and out. There are still good days though.”

Nonetheless, far from wallowing in sadness, Gary Lightbody is infectiously upbeat. This Friday (Jun 22) his old university, in Dundee, is presenting him with an honorary doctorate (“I scraped my degree by the skin of my teeth, they’re certainly not giving it to me for academic work”) and a while back he even blagged his way onto an episode of Game Of Thrones, “singing a song on horseback”.

Moreover he’s excited about Snow Patrol’s forthcoming tour, and the opportunity to revisit some old haunts, for the first time, with a clear head.

“We’ve been away for seven years. You just can’t expect people to want to come see you, to be excited about your return. You shouldn’t be arrogant enough to think it will happen like it did. But to play arenas again, and for them to be selling really well, it’s amazing.”

And lest you think Lightbody is dreading the fact that – while his new material is bang on point – the biggest crowd reactions will inevitably be for old hits ‘Run’ and ‘Chasing Cars’, think again:

“I’m still extraordinarily proud of those songs. 'Run' was the first hit we had, after being together for ten years, so it means an awful lot. It changed everything, put us into bigger rooms, in front of more people. We sold more albums, got to play new places. Then 'Chasing Cars' blew the roof off and we got to play the whole world. And we still get to do that.

“When we play 'Run' or 'Chasing Cars' live and everybody sings along, jesus... it’s impossible not to be moved – and we always are. Every single time. It’s a fucking privilege.”

Snow Patrol tour dates:

DEC

5 - Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena

7 - Belfast, The SSE Arena

11 - Dublin, 3Arena

JAN

25 - Birmingham, Birmingham Arena

26 - London, O2 Arena

29 - Leeds, First Direct Arena

30 - Manchester, Manchester Arena

31 - Glasgow, The SSE Hydro

[freenewstoday]

New Post has been published on https://freenews.today/2021/04/02/key-womens-college-basketball-prospects-to-watch-at-2021-geico-nationals/

Key women's college basketball prospects to watch at 2021 GEICO Nationals

Four undefeated girls’ high school basketball teams will play in GEICO Nationals this weekend at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.

Lake Highland Prep (Florida) will take on Paul VI (Virginia) in the first semifinal on Friday at 10:30 a.m. ET, while Westlake (Georgia) will face Fremont (Utah) in the second semifinal at 12:30 p.m. ET, both games on ESPNU. The winners will face off in the championship game on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2.

The coronavirus pandemic resulted in a change in how the tournament is formatted; there are only four teams in this year’s tournament compared to eight in 2019. (The boys’ tournament will feature 10 teams.) Different states have had different policies with regards to high school sports, so not all teams had a full slate of games.

Lake Highland Prep, the No. 3 team in the espnW 25 Power Rankings, went 19-0 in the regular season, while No. 4 Paul VI went 10-0. Second-ranked Westlake was 20-0, while No. 15 Fremont was 26-0.

2 Related

While each team has had a relatively significant break since last playing, this weekend’s event will not only pit four of the top high school programs against each other, but also be a showcase for some of the top prospects in the country.

“In an event like GEICO, every possession matters,” Paul VI coach Scott Allen said. “We will make the best of it.”

Here are some key players to watch for each team entering this weekend’s tournament.

PG Raven Johnson Westlake High School (Georgia) 2021 espnW 100 ranking: 2 Signed with: South Carolina

Johnson was named the Naismith High School Player of the Year. The doi-it-all point guard averaged 15.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this season.

Westlake had an historical season, as it won its fourth straight state championship. Johnson and fellow senior Brianna Turnage, a Virginia Tech signee who is ranked No. 61 overall in the Class of 2021, are the only two players who were on all four teams. They were also on the last Westlake team that participated in GEICO Nationals when they were freshmen.

They also boast junior Ta’Niya Latson, the 39th-ranked junior in the country. Latson, a dynamic combo guard who brings a defensive pressure to the floor, has improved her shooting and finishing skills, and she has averaged 23.2 points per game this year.

But make no mistake: Johnson is Westlake’s leader. She is a three-level scorer who can get to the rim, pull up or burn her opponent from downtown. She sets the tone defensively with her ball pressure and leadership. And as she has proven time and again, she is a winner.

Westlake High School point guard Raven Johnson, the No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2021, signed with South Carolina. Brittany Graham

F Nyla Harris Lake Highland Prep (Florida) 2022 espnW 60 ranking: 11 Committed to: Louisville

Harris is an active and agile forward who owns the glass for Lake Highland Prep. She averaged 11.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. She made her pledge to Louisville mid-season.

She is not the only top prospect on the roster. Harris and Alabama signee Kayla Blackshear, the No. 75 prospect in the Class of 2021, complement each other. Blackshear is a strong inside presence who can stretch the defense out to the high post area while she patrols the glass on both ends. The Highlanders also boast junior point guard Stefanie Ingram, a UCF commit who sets the tone.

Lake Highland Prep won the United Bank Holiday Invitational in December and the Florida 4A state championship thanks in large part to its frontcourt. Blackshear and Harris are a dynamic duo, and that makes them difficult to match up against.

W Lee Volker Paul VI (Virginia) 2021 espnW 100 ranking: Three stars Signed with: Duke

Of all of the teams in the GEICO bracket, Paul VI might have had the most unusual year. Thee Panthers did not play an official WCAC schedule and essentially had to piece together a schedule. They hosted several home games and even played 40-minute games knowing they would be limited. They haven’t played since Feb. 9.

Senior guard Isabella Perkins, who is currently unsigned, leads the team in scoring with 16.8 points, and she also averages 3.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. But she can’t do it alone.

Enter the 6-foot-1 Volker, a knock-down shooter from the perimeter with strong fundamentals. The future Duke Blue Devil averaged 16.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this season. She also has strong decision-making abilities on the floor and is versatile.

P Emma Calvert Fremont High School (Utah) 2021 espnW 100 ranking: 74 Signed with: BYU

Fremont will be missing Oregon State commit Timea Gardiner, the fourth-ranked prospect in the Class of 2022 in the country, due to an injury.

However, Fremont will still have the biggest front line in the event in the 6-foot-4 Calvert and 6-foot-6 sophomore Maggie Mendelson, the 21st-ranked sophomore in the country.

Calvert is a skilled post player who is comfortable as both high-post passer and scorer down low with her notable footwork. She led the team in scoring this season with 17.3 points to go along with 7.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.

Mendelson is a mobile post who runs the rim well and also excels in the high-low game. She led the team in rebounding (8.9 per game) to go along with her 14.3 points and 1.9 blocks. Senior point guard Halle Duft recently committed to UM Kansas City and leads the team with 5.7 assists per game.

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