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Afterlove EP Review — Indie Movie Playlist | Console Creatures Afterlove EP Review — Indie Movie Playlist | Console Creatures KeenGamer: “It’s the year of the indie! These 6 indie games are shaping up to be some of the year’s best and brightest. From epic adventures across a fantasy world to story-rich narratives of music, love and grief, this year’s indie lineup is looking good so far, so why it only seems right to highlight a few of the incredible indie titles we can look forward to in 2022.” Source link #Afterlove #Review #Indie #Movie #Playlist #Console #Creatures Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

RAC questioned over funding intentions after South West Safer Speeds trial falls flat RAC questioned over funding intentions after South West Safer Speeds trial falls flat The City of Busselton’s withdrawal from a planned partnership with RAC WA has raised questions about why the insurer was forging ahead with its plan despite not seeking State Government funding. Industry sources told the Times many had questioned why the RAC had not sought funding for safety initiatives for its Safer Speeds Trial through the Road Safety Commission, given public money was available. RAC instead pledged $1 million of its own funds to the trial of lower speed limits on Capes roads at a time when consumers were hitting out over increasing premiums and charges for the insurer’s products. Those questions were amplified after Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner declined to wholeheartedly support RAC’s sole focus on speed as the biggest determining factor in crashes. “Speed management is a complex issue and there are different ways of achieving this outcome,” Mr Warner told the Times in December. “Reducing posted speed limits is only one option so long as enough people comply with the changes.” RAC external relations general manager Will Golsby pointed to multiple projects the insurer funded itself as “common practice”. He did not explain why State Government funding was not sought, and talked instead about RAC’s “support” for the trial it launched itself. “As a purpose-led member organisation, RAC has a proud history of supporting initiatives that aim to help save lives and stop serious injuries on WA roads,” he said. “These initiatives include a focus on regional WA, where 60 per cent of road fatalities tragically occur year on year. “RAC has chosen to fund the proposed Safer Speeds Trial to measure the road safety benefits of speed limit reductions and develop an evidence-based blueprint we hope will encourage governments to consider similar initiatives in future.” The RAC did not respond to criticisms it had overstepped its role at a time when consumers were unhappy with increasing premiums. Busselton residents overwhelmingly opposed the city’s participation in the trial because data showed factors including fatigue and driver inattention contributed to crashes as well as speed. That Main Roads reportedly told city of Busselton chiefs any trialled speed limit cuts were unlikely to be reversed after the three-year trial was also seen as a major blow to the project’s credibility. Busselton Mayor Phill Cronin said the city consulted residents first in 2022, but when the RAC’s “more ambitious methodology . . . looked at almost all roads within the city”, he said “the overwhelming community opposition to the ‘whole-of-network’ approach was clear”. Source link #RAC #questioned #funding #intentions #South #West #Safer #Speeds #trial #falls #flat Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The OnePlus Open 2 isn’t happening this year The OnePlus Open 2 isn’t happening this year The OnePlus Open was a surprisingly good device, especially considering that it was the company’s first attempt at making a foldable phone. Unfortunately, in a community note published today, OnePlus announced that a proper follow-up to the Open won’t be arriving in 2025. In the post, OnePlus Open product manager Vale G. said that the company has “carefully considered the timing and our next steps in foldable devices, and we have made the decision not to release a foldable this year.” That’s definitely a bummer, particularly for fans of devices with flexible displays in the US, who aren’t able to easily buy handsets from ******** brands like Huawei, Xiaomi and OnePlus’ parent company Oppo. It’s also a bit of a shock considering that the Open hit the shelves more than a year and a half ago in late 2023, so it was due for an update. The one positive takeaway from this is that while the OnePlus Open 2 isn’t happening this year, the company isn’t giving up on foldables forever, saying “This is not a step back, it’s a recalibration. Our commitment to innovation is stronger than ever, and we’re excited to bring you fresh, unique experiences that truly Never Settle.” For owners of the Open, OnePlus also noted that the phone will continue to receive regular software and security updates as scheduled. Unfortunately, this means that for the US market, there are only two main manufacturers still making big foldable phones: Samsung and Google, who we expect to announce refreshed models sometime later this summer. What’s worse is that when it comes to the Galaxy Z Fold line, the recent lack of competition feels like it has allowed Samsung to slack off, with the Z Fold 6 only offering middling improvements over previous generations. So here’s hoping OnePlus can rejoin the fray soon to help spur competition between the handful of phone makers still trying to innovate with a small but slowly growing niche. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Source link #OnePlus #Open #isnt #happening #year Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Apple Maps just got a lot better for cyclists in the *** – here’s what’s new Apple Maps just got a lot better for cyclists in the *** – here’s what’s new Apple Maps now supports full route coverage throughout the *** and Ireland Rather than the previously London-centric feature, you can plan a bike journey anywhere There’s a bunch of helpful features here including flagging up steep hills, poor road surfaces and more Apple Maps has just got better for cyclists thanks to the introduction of full bike navigation support throughout the *** and Ireland. While the app might have supported bike directions in the *** for some time – for over four years, in fact – up until now, this navigation feature has not been impressive in terms of the areas covered (it was basically London-centric). That’s very much changed, and as 9to5Mac reports, keen cyclists with Apple Maps can now plan out full journeys across the *** (albeit not multi-stage routes, it should be noted). Those directions include important information to know for cyclists, such as where very steep inclines might be present, and indeed hills that require walking your bike up – or other parts of a route where you might need to go on the pavement. You can elect to avoid any such steep hills, and also busy roads which Apple Maps can avoid for your route (as well as letting you know where dedicated bike lanes are available). Roads that don’t have a proper surface are also flagged up, in case you don’t fancy what might be a bumpy (or tyre-destroying) ride. Any route will come with an estimated time of arrival, along with distance and elevation info. A welcome move, if a long-awaited one (Image credit: Huawei) While this is clearly a welcome move for cyclists in the *** and Ireland, there are people out there who have raised eyebrows at why it took Apple so long to incorporate full directions for the ***. As mentioned, it has been a number of years where coverage has been pretty thin on the ground. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. On top of that, there are also folks who’ve levelled criticisms at the routing of Apple Maps in terms of sending bike riders down inappropriately busy roads, though maybe this update will help on that front, too. Fingers crossed that those who have complained about the navigation app lacking in this respect find an improvement with this major overhaul for cyclists. You might also like Source link #Apple #Maps #lot #cyclists #heres #whats Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The Reason Why Encyclopaedia Britannica Refuses To Rename The Gulf Of Mexico Is Going Viral The Reason Why Encyclopaedia Britannica Refuses To Rename The Gulf Of Mexico Is Going Viral Lord Jesus, here we are again talking about the “Gulf of America.” Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images In case you haven’t been caught up on the shenanigans, Google Maps has made the change. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Apple Maps has also made the change. Apple And now, one encyclopedia of note is not backing down. I’m, of course, talking about the Encyclopædia Britannica. Niall Carson – Pa Images / PA Images via Getty Images They explained their reason why in a viral thread, saying: “We serve an international audience, a majority of which is outside the U.S.. The Gulf of Mexico is an international body of water, and the U.S.’s authority to rename it is ambiguous.” “It has been called the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ for more than 425 years,” they continued. “But it’s important to note the distinction between international and domestic areas.” Then they explained what they would be doing about President Trump’s executive order to rename “Mount Denali” back to “Mount McKinley.” Arterra / Universal Images Group via Getty Images “President Trump has also signed an executive order to change the name of the Alaskan mountain called ‘Denali’ back to its former name, ‘Mount McKinley.'” “When that change is made official by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, we will also make that change. Just as we did in 2015 when President Barack Obama changed the name of ‘McKinley’ to ‘Denali.’” So, there you have it! 425 years of history and global precedent are kind of big deal. They’ll also figure out the Mount Denali thing when/if the U.S. Board on Geographic Names renames it. Kdow / Getty Images Anyway, I’m sure this isn’t the last of this! Caelestiss / Getty Images Source link #Reason #Encyclopaedia #Britannica #Refuses #Rename #Gulf #Mexico #Viral Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Jeff Bezos space firm Blue Origin to cut a tenth of jobs Jeff Bezos space firm Blue Origin to cut a tenth of jobs Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is reportedly laying off almost 1,400 employees, about 10% of its workforce. The job cuts signal a pivot for the space firm, which said it wanted to trim managerial ranks and focus its resources on ramping up launches of its giant New Glenn rocket. The rocket completed its first successful test flight last month after long delays, marking a major milestone for the company. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin has been a key player in the private space race, but it is seen as lagging behind rivals such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX. In a memo to staff about the cuts, chief executive Dave Limp said that though the company had made significant progress, it wasn’t structured for the kind of success it hoped to achieve. Blue Origin did not respond to a request for comment immediately. The company has already seen a shake-up in leadership and exodus of senior executives at the company. Amazon veteran Dave Limp took over after former boss Bob Smith stepped down in late 2023. With the launch of the New Glenn rocket, Blue Origin is moving away from research and pushing to scale up production and secure more commercial and government contracts for the heavy-lift vehicle, which is designed for orbital missions. Source link #Jeff #Bezos #space #firm #Blue #Origin #cut #tenth #jobs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

NFL’s progress with diversity in coaching ranks yet to translate to offensive coordinator NFL’s progress with diversity in coaching ranks yet to translate to offensive coordinator Chris Beatty didn’t know the number was zero. Until the Chicago Bears promoted Thomas Brown to interim offensive coordinator on Nov. 12, the NFL didn’t have a single ****** offensive coordinator. And after Brown was promoted again to interim head coach later that month following the firing of Matt Eberflus, the Bears gave Beatty the bump to take him from wide receivers coach to the league’s lone ****** offensive coordinator. “That’s kind of … sad,” Beatty said recently. “I definitely didn’t think that we were at that stage right now.” The Bears’ coaching staff wasn’t retained after the 2024 season, and Beatty was named the Las Vegas Raiders’ receivers coach. As a result, the number of ****** offensive coordinators in the NFL is back down to zero. With only the New Orleans Saints’ position left to fill, Mike Kafka of the New York Giants, who’s part Puerto Rican, is the league’s lone OC of color. Many of the NFL’s top officials believe that diversity at offensive coordinator will increase over time. Since the institution of the Rooney Rule in 2003, the league has started several programs geared toward increasing the diversity in the coaching ranks and believes they’re working even as the results lag. “I don’t think it means it’s not working,” commissioner Roger Goodell said last year when asked why the league had zero diverse offensive coordinators. “These offensive assistants are young, and they need the ability to have the exposure and the experience to grow to be able to become offensive coordinators and then head coaches. I think it’s too early to say it’s not working. I don’t accept that.” After the firings of Jerod Mayo and Antonio Pierce and the New York Jets’ hiring of Aaron Glenn, the number of ****** head coaches is down to five (Todd Bowles, Raheem Morris, DeMeco Ryans, Mike Tomlin and Glenn). Overall, there are seven head coaches of color (the aforementioned five plus Dave Canales and Mike McDaniel). That’s progress — there were no more than three ****** head coaches in the NFL from 2019 to 2023 — but it hasn’t translated to offensive coordinator. “Different opportunities aren’t afforded all the time to people of color,” Beatty said. “We’ve got so many people that have been successful. So, you hope that those stigmas go by the wayside at some point just like they did for the quarterback position. When I grew up, there were hardly any ****** quarterbacks, and now the league is full of ’em. Hopefully, those things will change in the near future. “But minds have got to change as well.” Bears wide receivers coach Chris Beatty became the offensive coordinator in Week 14 after Thomas Brown was named the interim head coach. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images) It’s no secret that the path to the offensive coordinator position runs through the quarterback room. While that has been a position that ****** individuals were historically excluded from coaching — or even playing — that has changed in recent years. There were nearly two dozen quarterbacks of color who started a game last season and a league-record nine quarterback coaches of color. “I knew coming in a few years back when I got into the NFL that there weren’t many African Americans in the quarterback room,” former Bears quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph, who is ******, said recently. “You have to be ready to embrace the challenge when you get those opportunities.” Several diverse QB coaches worked with top-16 passers this season: Charles London (Seahawks), Thad Lewis (Buccaneers), Tee Martin (Ravens), Ronald Curry (Bills), Jerrod Johnson (Texans), Israel Woolfork (Cardinals) and Tavita Pritchard (Commanders). Besides the aforementioned QB coaches, diverse assistants holding other roles who have been considered for offensive coordinator positions include Brown, Beatty, Los Angeles Rams passing game specialist Nate Scheelhaase, Detroit Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery, Commanders passing game specialist Brian Johnson, Los Angeles Chargers passing game coordinator Marcus Brady, Minnesota Vikings receivers coach Keenan McCardell and Cincinnati Bengals receivers coach Troy Walters, among others. It seemed plausible that their success could boost the number of diverse offensive coordinators this offseason, but that didn’t come to fruition. “We’re hoping that what we’re seeing right now is an anomaly,” NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane said. “It’s not a pipeline problem. There’s a lot of strong candidates that happen to be diverse (who are prepared) to go into the offensive coordinator role.” GO DEEPER Will this offseason’s gains for ****** NFL coaches last? ‘Let’s see how this plays out’ When Jon Embree played in the NFL in the late 1980s, it was commonplace for coaching staffs to have just one ****** assistant coach each on offense and defense. A ****** coordinator on either side of the ball was a rarity. So, when Embree got into coaching in the ’90s, he knew what to expect. “You understand that it’s going to be uphill,” Embree, now the Dolphins’ tight ends coach, said recently. “You just try to find a way to fight your way up that dang hill.” But while the number of ****** offensive coordinators remains low, diversity among the NFL’s defensive coordinators has steadily grown. There are currently over a dozen defensive coordinators of color. And, of the seven head coaches of color, five have defensive backgrounds. One potential reason for the discrepancy is that defenses tend to have more diverse players. In the past, ****** players faced obstacles when it came to getting opportunities to play what were deemed “thinking positions,” such as quarterback, offensive line and linebacker. While that’s no longer the case, there’s a lingering notion that offense is the more analytical or sophisticated unit. “Some people feel like it’s a more aggressive mindset on defense and a little bit more, ‘Go get ’em,’ as opposed to what people think is a thinking man’s side of the ball on offense,” Beatty said. “That’s clearly not the case, but the perception is that way. There’s a lot of smart coaches at every position, and there’s a lot of guys worthy of being head coaches at every position. But stereotypes and things like that, they still exist.” Breaking through that is dependent upon head coaches avoiding the pitfalls of those stereotypes. But, for that to happen, they need to have developed relationships with up-and-coming diverse assistants. “When you’re a head coach, you’re going to choose guys that you trust or you know,” McCardell said. “That’s in any business. They’re going to hire the people that they trust or they feel comfortable with.” GO DEEPER Why WR coach Keenan McCardell is a key, unheralded figure in Vikings’ 5-0 start It’d also help if head coaches were more willing to hire offensive coordinators who don’t directly coach quarterbacks. “There’s coaches capable of (being offensive coordinators); it’s just you’ve got to be willing to go outside the box,” Embree said. “I don’t know if it’s a race thing per se, as far as that’s concerned. I think it’s more of a copycat league, right?” A model that hasn’t been copied is the one employed by former Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians. He’s now a consultant under Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles, who succeeded him after serving as his defensive coordinator for three seasons. When the Bucs won the Super Bowl following the 2020 season, they had three ****** coordinators: Bowles, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong. “That was not by design,” Arians said recently. “Those were just the best damn coaches I knew and that I had worked with over the years. We just happened to win a Super Bowl. I would’ve thought more teams might’ve copied it.” Arians was an NFL head coach twice and largely had autonomy when it came to building out his coaching staff. He noted some owners and general managers do get involved, but he doesn’t see that as a valid excuse not to hire more diverse coaches. “If you’re going to be a head coach in the National Football League, you should have enough contacts to fill out a diverse staff,” Arians said. The disconnect between the number of diverse quarterbacks and quarterbacks coaches and diverse offensive coordinators puzzles Arians. Much like the league office, though, he’s optimistic the tide soon will turn. “Coordinator has to follow sooner or later,” Arians said. “And then that’s going to lead to head coaching opportunities.” (L to R) Former offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, head coach Bruce Arians and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong helped lead the Buccaneers to a title in Super Bowl LV. (Cliff Welch / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Following the wave of protests in 2020 stemming from the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery and the killing of Breonna Taylor, many corporations and institutions launched diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. But in the years since, DEI programming has been rolled back. The NFL says it won’t follow suit. “We didn’t get into this because it was a trend, and we’re not getting out of it because it’s a trend,” Goodell said recently. “Our rules and our policies are really designed around how do we increase the number of people that have an opportunity to have a career in the NFL, including people of color and women, and that’s something that we fully believe is going to make the NFL better.” The NFL has created several initiatives aimed at boosting diversity among offensive coaches. The Rooney Rule was expanded to include offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. And, starting last year, the league pushed back its hiring process by a week to give teams more time to decide. “I think we’ve proven to ourselves that it does make the NFL better,” Goodell said of the Rooney Rule last February. Since 2022, the league has required every team to have at least one offensive assistant coach who’s a person of color and/or a woman. It’s a one-year position sponsored by the league. The duties of the offensive assistant coach are up to the discretion of each team. Some teams, for example, have the assistant spend three weeks with each position group to give them a more varied experience. Other teams have the assistant home in on the quarterback room. Annual programs such as the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, the Quarterback Coaching Summit and the Coach Accelerator program are important steps in furthering diversity in the coaching ranks. Those vying for opportunities believe it’s imperative that those remain in place. “I’ve been through, shoot, probably all of them,” Joseph said. “It’s all about really having the intention of utilizing those programs to find the good coaches and to give those coaches that opportunity. I think that’s where the programs are really beneficial. But I think when the program is there for a year or two and then it goes away, what happens after that?” While team owners and executives are mandated to participate in the Accelerator program, it could be beneficial for more sitting head coaches to be involved as well. Some have participated over the years, but it’s not required. “It would be great to have some active head coaches at the Accelerator so they can listen to some of the guys’ presentations,” McCardell said. “They should just continue to build that program and continue to get a chance to get coaches of color in front of the right people.” K.J. ****** (left) was a Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellow and offensive assistant for the Rams in 2022 and 2023 before joining the Falcons staff last season. (Kirby Lee / USA Today) There’s also no formal opportunity for diverse assistants to network with non-diverse assistants. More of those assistant-to-assistant connections could be useful. Some teams have created initiatives of their own. The Buccaneers, for instance, started a coaching academy in 2023. During the offseason, 25 finalists are brought into Tampa Bay for a week of on-field work and classroom sessions. Afterward, five of them are selected to participate in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship during training camp. “Say I’m not familiar with a guy,” Arians said. “Well, I can bring him in and work with him for three months and get familiar with about 10-20 guys.” That type of programming goes a long way toward building familiarity between coaches and prospective candidates. For the candidates, it’s essentially a job interview. For those in hiring positions, it allows them to see how the candidates work with the rest of the staff, interact with the players and handle their various tasks. The results of the DEI initiatives have shown up at head coach and defensive coordinator, but less so at offensive coordinator. Still, the NFL feels good about its trajectory. “We’re confident that with the pipeline that we have, which is extremely strong, that progress will be made in that area,” Beane said. “We really do feel like we’re doing the right things to address that issue.” The NFL’s diversity initiatives are important, but the hiring decisions ultimately come down to team owners. Ten women have controlling ownership stakes in teams, but there are only two who are of color. One of them, Buffalo Bills co-owner Kim Pegula, a native of South Korea, hasn’t been involved in day-to-day activities since suffering a brain injury in 2022. “I mean, we’re still dealing with almost all White owners,” an NFL agent who represents coaches said. “In my opinion, if the league had the ability to have more influence over hires, it would be quite different. But we’re looking at some very, very wealthy White men, for the most part, who own every team. And they feel way more comfortable hiring people that look like them, especially with the position that is supposed to take care of the quarterback.” (Top illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Photos: Aaron M. Sprecher via AP, Ben Liebenberg via AP, David Berding / Getty Images) Source link #NFLs #progress #diversity #coaching #ranks #translate #offensive #coordinator Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Arkham Origins Nailed its Best Feature That Wasn’t Praised Enough to Push The Dark Knight to His Limit Arkham Origins Nailed its Best Feature That Wasn’t Praised Enough to Push The Dark Knight to His Limit Antagonists play a crucial role in any story. While the protagonist drives the story, the antagonists are the ones who actually give life to the hero. Batman: Arkham Origins exemplifies this certain dynamic very accurately and Rocksteady Studios ensured that the villains in the game would steal the spotlight. Batman’s identity is shaped by his villains | Image Credits: Rocksteady Studio The game introduces eight unique villains from the Batman DC universe, each one with their own stories and motivations that overlap with Batman. The game delves deeper into the early days of The Dark Knight where our protagonist starts his crusade as Gotham’s vigilante fighting petty criminals and uncovering simple mysteries. Despite the game getting a little bit of backlash from players, it still has maintained a loyal fanbase. Let’s explore why. The villains in Batman make the plot more compelling The villains have their own stories and motivations | Image Credits: Rocksteady Studio Batman: Arkham Origins is Rocksteady’s third installment in the Arkham universe and serves as a prequel to the main storyline of the series. The title follows the signature gameplay mechanics as the other Batman games in the series, though Arkham Origins is more rugged and the free-flow combat in this title is more improved than its predecessors. Comment byu/sonofloki13 from discussion inBatmanArkham The title takes place eight years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Arkham Origins follows a young Batman who is in his second year of being a Gotham’s crime-fighting vigilante. He got a bounty of $50 million on his head which eight of the main villains in the story are eager to get their hands on. With assassins looming around Batman and him being in his early years, it truly creates a compelling story that is perfect for a video game. The dynamic between Batman and his villains is the heart and soul of Batman: Arkham Origins. All the villains in the title keep pushing Gotham’s vigilante to his extreme and even beyond. The villains in this title, not only physically challenge Batman but also mentally and morally take a test of him. Bane challenges his strength and endurance, Deathstroke contests his combat skills and the Joker tests his sanity and morale, pushing him deeper into dilemmas. This relentless cat-and-mice chase between the villains and Batman makes our protagonist grow and adapt and makes him the hero we see in the other games. Antagonists shape the identity of the hero more than the story Players love the dynamic between Joke and the Batman | Image Credits: Rocksteady Studio The villains not only just oppose Batman, but they also shape his identity. They provide the obstacles that test his resolve and they complicate things that make the story compelling. Fans of the game find it the best among all the others because of this dynamic. The villains in this game are written so beautifully that it drives the narrative of the game and also makes the players fall in love with the antagonists. Comment byu/CryptidkittenUwU from discussion inarkham The reason Batman: Arkham Origins did so poorly in the gaming market is that players felt it was a modded copy of Batman: Arkham City and although the gameplay feels similar, the story and lore give more depth to the whole title in general. Arkham Origins proves that villains are as significant in the game as the protagonists. Their presence not only intensifies the conflict but also makes the protagonist’s journey more relatable and impactful. In the end, it’s the villains who define the hero, making the story richer and more memorable. Source link #Arkham #Origins #Nailed #Feature #Wasnt #Praised #Push #Dark #KnighttoHisLimit Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Google Maps is ramping up its Waze-like incident reports – and that could split opinion among users Google Maps is ramping up its Waze-like incident reports – and that could split opinion among users Google Maps is testing the rollout of more incident reports These are weather-related options such as ‘flooded road’ or ‘low visibility’ The growing library of incidents is a source of annoyance for some drivers Google Maps is introducing new incident reporting options, fresh additions that pertain to weather-related conditions. Android Police spotted these new kinds of report, and they include the likes of ‘flooded road’ for when there’s been a huge deluge of rain, or ‘low visibility’ for when it gets foggy. And indeed ‘unplowed road’ for when, well, you should probably turn around and find a plowed road that’s not wheel-deep in snow. The site noticed these new options in Google Maps for Android Auto first off, and then in the iPhone app. The not-so-great news for those keen on being able to benefit from a wider variety of untoward happenings being reported is that these new introductions have not yet made it to the Android version of Google Maps. However, it surely won’t be long before the ability to report a flooded or snowed-up road arrives on Android. Is an ever-growing library of incidents a good thing? (Image credit: Future) This is a continued expansion of the reporting of incidents in Google Maps, on top of clearly-labeled Waze reports being piped through alongside native reports since last year. There’s already a wide range of incidents that can be flagged, such as road traffic accidents, stalled cars, lanes being closed, speed traps, and so on. Sometimes, these kind of alerts can be very useful, of course, and plenty of folks are grateful to have been warned of an incoming thorny issue on the road ahead. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. However, not everyone is keen on being subject to more and more of these reports being highlighted in Google Maps – with complaints about them being too frequent only likely to multiply, as Google further expands the library of incidents that can be reported. The problem is compounded by errant reports – incidents that aren’t there, or were resolved some time back – and there being no easy way to switch off said reports. It looks like this is a road Google is insisting on driving down, though, despite the ‘stop’ signs being waved by some of the drivers who use its navigation app. You might also like Source link #Google #Maps #ramping #Wazelike #incident #reports #split #opinion #among #users Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Trump’s call with Putin will force Ukraine and allies into tough choices Trump’s call with Putin will force Ukraine and allies into tough choices Jeremy Bowen International Editor Reporting fromKyiv, UkraineReuters America is under new management. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is joining a growing list of US allies who are finding that the world according to Donald Trump is a colder, more uncertain and potentially more dangerous place for them. It must have been bad enough for Zelensky to hear Trump’s abrupt announcement that he had welcomed Russia’s President Vladimir Putin back to international diplomacy with a 90-minute phone call, to be followed by a face-to-face meeting, perhaps in Saudi Arabia. After Putin, the White House dialled up Zelensky’s number. Speaking to journalists in Ukraine the morning after, Zelensky accepted the fact that Putin received the first call, “although to be honest, it’s not very pleasant”. What stung Zelensky more was that Trump, who rang him after he spoke to Putin, seemed to regard him, at best, as a junior adjunct to any peace talks. One of Zelensky’s many nightmares must be the prospect of Trump and Putin attempting to settle Ukraine’s future without anyone else in the negotiation. He told the journalists that Ukraine “will not be able to accept any agreements” made without its involvement. It was vital, he said, that “everything does not go according to Putin’s plan, in which he wants to do everything to make his negotiations bilateral”. EPA President Zelensky is heading to the Munich security conference, starting on Friday, where he will attempt to rally Ukraine’s allies. He faces a tough meeting with Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, who was one of the sternest critics of Joe Biden’s aid to Ukraine. The argument Zelensky will hear from the Americans is that Ukraine is losing and it needs to get real about what happens next. He will argue that Ukraine can win – with the right backing. The European Union is worried too. After meeting and praising the Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov, the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas posted that Europe must have a central role in any negotiation. “Our priority now must be strengthening Ukraine and providing robust security guarantees,” Kallas said. Zelensky is painfully aware that while his European allies are sounding much more steadfast than the Americans, the US remains the world’s strongest military power. He told the Guardian last week that “security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees”. Collectively, European allies have given Ukraine more money than the US. But the Americans have weapons and air defence systems – like the Patriot missile batteries that protect Kyiv – that Europeans simply cannot provide. Putin will be delighted that he is getting a much easier ride than he had from Biden. The former US president called Putin, among other things, a “pure thug”, a “brutal tyrant” and a “murderous dictator” and cut off contact after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Just to drive home the point that everything had changed, Trump followed up yesterday’s positive assessment of his talk with Putin with an upbeat early morning post on his platform, Truth Social, reflecting on “great talks with Russia and Ukraine yesterday”. There was now a “good possibility of ending that horrible, very bloody war!!!” Putin is not just back in conversation with the most powerful country in the world. With Trump, he may now see himself as the arbiter of the endgame in the war he started when he broke international law with the all-out invasion of Ukraine almost exactly three years ago. At the White House, Trump seemed to suggest that the huge numbers of dead and wounded in the Russian military gave some kind of legitimacy to Putin’s demand to keep the land captured and annexed by Russia. “They took a lot of land and they fought for that land,” Trump said. As for Ukraine, “some of it will come back”. His defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s remarks at a Nato meeting in Brussels were more direct. He wanted Ukraine to be “sovereign and prosperous”. But “we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective”. “Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.” Trump is still at the easy end of what could become an impossibly tough diplomatic challenge. Boasting that he has the key to ending the Russo-Ukraine war is one thing. Making that happen is something else. His declaration before any talks with Russia start that Ukraine will not join Nato nor get back all its occupied land has been widely criticised as a poor start by a man who claims to be the world’s best dealmaker. The veteran Swedish diplomat and politician Carl Bildt posted an ironic rebuke on X. “It’s certainly an innovative approach to a negotiation to make very major concessions even before they have started. Not even Chamberlain went that low in 1938. That Munich ended very bad anyhow.” Bildt posted a photo of Britain’s then prime minister Neville Chamberlain on his return from Munich in 1938, waving the notorious and worthless agreement he had made with Adolf Hitler – the price of which was the capitulation and break-up of Czechoslovakia and a faster slide towards a second world war. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Vladimir Putin was widely portrayed in the west as the new threat to European peace. Trump’s approach to him is very different. He will have to try to bridge the gap between Putin and Zelensky’s positions, which are polar opposites. EPA Ukraine’s demands will not be acceptable to Moscow, and Trump has indicated he doesn’t like them either Zelensky’s declared objective is to regain Ukraine’s lost territory, which amounts to around a fifth of its total land mass. He also wants Ukraine to become a full member of Nato. Putin insists that any peace deal would require Ukraine to give up the land Russia has captured, as well as areas it has not occupied, including the city of Zaporizhzhia which has a population of more than half a million. Ukraine would also become neutral, demilitarised and would never join Nato. Ukraine’s demands will not be acceptable to Moscow, and Trump has indicated he doesn’t like them either. But Russia’s amount to an ultimatum, not a serious peace proposal. Trump, once a developer, likes deals that involve tangible real estate. But Putin wants more than land. He wants Ukraine to go back to the relationship it had with the Kremlin during the days when it was part of the Soviet Union. For that to happen, Ukraine would have to lose its independence and sovereignty. Biden offered Ukraine enough not to lose, because he took Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons if Nato intervened seriously. Trump must be aware of nuclear danger, but he also believes backing Ukraine indefinitely is a bad deal for the US, and he can do better. As for the Europeans, he might force them to face up to the gross disparity between their military promises to Ukraine and their military capabilities. Only Poland and the Baltic states are backing their public statements about the threat from Russia with qualitatively increased defence spending. With Russia grinding forward on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, this is the toughest moment Zelensky will have faced since the dark and desperate first months of the war, when Ukraine fought off Russia’s attack on Kyiv. It is also a moment of decision for his western allies. They face tough choices that cannot be put off much longer. Source link #Trumps #call #Putin #force #Ukraine #allies #tough #choices Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

With Alex Bregman signing, the Red Sox make an appropriate big-market flex With Alex Bregman signing, the Red Sox make an appropriate big-market flex Eureka! The Boston Red Sox found it. Found money. Found a right-handed hitter. Maybe even found their soul. Too dramatic? Perhaps. But the Red Sox’s agreement with free agent Alex Bregman — three years, $120 million with opt-outs after each of the first two seasons, according to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome — is a significant step forward for an organization that has been too cautious, too conservative and too cheap for too long. If this isn’t “full throttle,” the aggressive approach Sox chairman Tom Werner promised last offseason, it’s at least a marked acceleration. Adding Bregman to the Sox’s previous offseason pickups — right-hander Walker Buehler, left-handers Garrett Crochet and Patrick Sandoval and lefty relievers Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson — makes Boston a legitimate threat for a wild card and possibly a threat to the New York Yankees in the AL East. Yet, there’s a caveat. The Sox should play Bregman at third base, the position where he won his first Gold Glove last season. Such a move would reduce Rafael Devers to a designated hitter in the second year of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract. But Devers last season rated as one of the worst defensive third basemen in the game. True, Bregman might be with Boston only one season, difficult as it might be to imagine him opting out of two more years of a $40 million average annual value, which matches Aaron Judge for the sixth highest in major-league history with a yet-to-be-reported amount deferred. True, Bregman also is capable of winning a Gold Glove at second base, a position he has expressed a willingness to play. The best Red Sox defensive infield, however, would be Bregman at third, Trevor Story at short, Vaughn Grissom or top infield prospect Kristian Campbell at second and Triston Casas at first. Devers’ bat might play even better if he can focus solely on hitting. And Masataka Yoshida, the projected DH who is owed $54 million over the next three seasons? Trade him, even if it means paying a significant part of his salary. He’s a sunk cost. For big-market teams, mistakes such as the Yoshida contract are the occasional price of doing business. The Red Sox carried a top-five payroll from 2004 to ’20, but in recent years went into retreat. Their march to the League Championship Series in 2021 was a revelation. But they finished last in 2020, ’22 and ’23, and were only .500 in ’24. Earlier this offseason, the Red Sox offered Juan Soto about $700 million for 15 years, according to multiple reports. But they didn’t land Soto or either of the top two starting pitchers on the market, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried. And even after agreeing with Bregman, the six-year, $140 million signing of Story in March 2022 remains their biggest free-agent deal since the addition of left-hander David Price on a seven-year, $217 million contract in December 2015. Will Rafael Devers remain the Red Sox’s starting third baseman with Alex Bregman’s arrival? (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images) The Sox in the interim awarded two extensions with guarantees above Story’s — Devers’ contract, the largest in franchise history, and Chris *****’s five-year, $145 million deal. Story in his first three seasons with the Sox played in a total of 163 games. ***** also was injured for much of his deal and eventually was traded to the Atlanta Braves, for whom he promptly won a Cy Young. Devers’ contract was an overreaction to the ill-fated trade of Mookie Betts and loss of Xander Bogaerts in free agency. Though Devers is only 28, the mere prospect of him moving to DH indicates his deal might not age well. OK, but what are the Red Sox supposed to do, throw a hissy fit over past miscalculations and refuse to spend ever again? For a time, that seemed to be owner John Henry’s position. A better solution is to make better decisions, and perhaps the Bregman contract — chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s biggest deal since taking over in October 2023 — will be a start. Bregman’s rate stats after a six-week slump at the start of last season were pretty much in line with his career numbers, but some of his trend lines are disturbing. His .315 on-base percentage last season was the lowest of his career by 35 points, a decline Bregman attributed to “swinging too much.” His OPS against lefties, .981 from 2016 to ’21, dropped to .704 from 2022 to ’24. Playing at Fenway Park, where Bregman is a lifetime .375 hitter with a 1.240 OPS, should correct some of his ills. Bregman also offers the type of leadership that is difficult to find in today’s game. In his final season with the Houston Astros, he helped fix two pitchers, right-handers Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti. The spark he will provide almost certainly will evoke comparisons to Dustin Pedroia, who played a major role for two World Series champions in Boston. Bregman should not lack for motivation. He turned down a six-year, $171.5 million deal from the Tigers, according to a source briefed on his negotiations, a proposal $15.5 million above the Astros’ initial six-year offer. If he opts out after Year 1, he will need to sign a five-year contract for more than $131.5 million to beat the Tigers’ proposed guarantee, which like the Red Sox’s deal reportedly included deferrals. Such a number likely would be difficult for Bregman to attain entering his age-32 season. But a big year also might persuade the Red Sox to rework his deal. The Sox essentially chose Bregman over the St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado, a third baseman who is three years older. Arenado likely could have been acquired for something in the range of $45 million over three years, based on the terms of the trade he rejected to the Astros. But his offense declined sharply in each of the past two seasons. He also did not offer the positional flexibility of Bregman, who at least gives the Red Sox the option of keeping Devers at third base. Bregman at $40 million per season is a heck of a lot more expensive than Arenado at $15 million per, but no matter. The ensuing roster complications will not be easy for the Red Sox to sort through, but never mind that, either. The Sox limited their exposure by guaranteeing Bregman half as many years as two other clubs offered. His agreement, coming at a time when The Athletic’s Keith Law rates the Boston farm system as the second best in the game, is an appropriate big-market flex. Dare we say it? The Red Sox are back. (Top photo: Winslow Townson / Getty Images) Source link #Alex #Bregman #signing #Red #Sox #bigmarket #flex Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Avowed (Xbox Series X) Review – CGMagazine Avowed (Xbox Series X) Review – CGMagazine Dynisty|1h ago|Review|0| ▼ Info Add Alt Source Avowed throws you into a world where a deadly plague, political drama, and magical mayhem collide—because saving the world is never simple. Grab your sword, cast some spells, and try not to die (too much). Avowed Xbox Series X fortressofsolitude.co.za Read Full Story >> [Hidden Content] fortressofsolitude.co.za Source link #Avowed #Xbox #Series #Review #CGMagazine Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How to Convert Texts into 3D Models How to Convert Texts into 3D Models You can turn texts into 3D models using two main methods: 3D modeling software or using AI tools. With 3D modeling software, you can design any 3D model of your liking when you have the time and expertise. However, when it comes to turning texts into 3D models, it’s only limited to typing the text and extruding it into a 3D shape. For anything beyond simple text manipulation, you must do much manual work, including sculpting, drawing, sketching, and refining, to achieve your desired results. You can also create 3D models from detailed text prompts with AI tools. To do this, you specify the attributes like the shape, size, color, and overall appearance, and then the software does the rest without manually designing it. This is a great option when you want to conceptualize your ideas in 3D quickly or even create simple 3D models and print them with one of the best 3D printers. You can also download and import them to CAD software and customize it further. Using AI-powered tools to convert text to 3D models is not perfect. They can struggle with more complex 3D models and have inaccuracies, especially in geometry, and you will need to do a lot of work correcting them using 3D modeling software. However, they excel in creating basic 3D designs without taking much time. We will look at how to use 3D modeling software to extrude text and AI tools to enter text prompts and generate 3D models from them. Let’s begin with the one for extruding texts. 1. Converting text to a 3D Model in Blender Blender is a free 3D modeling software with 3D modeling, sculpting, rendering, and texturing features. It also comes with text-to-3D conversion features. You can add the text object in Blender, customize the font and size, and extrude it to give it depth. There is an option to further refine the 3D text by applying bevels and adjusting geometry. You can also turn it into a 3D mesh for more detailed modifications. Follow the steps below to turn text into a 3D model in Blender. 1. Download Blender, install, and launch it. It supports Windows, macOS, and Linux. 2. Delete the default cube by selecting it and then clicking on the delete key on your keyboard. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. 3. Go to Add > Text to add the text. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) 4. Change from Object mode to Edit mode in the menu bar, then start writing your text. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) You can adjust the position, rotate, and even scale the design from the Transform section based on your requirements. 5. Change the text case by selecting it, then right-click and choose To Upper Case or To Lower Case in the Text option. 6. Change the font from the Font section found on the right section of the workspace. You can also choose to make it bold or italic. 7. To extrude the text, go to Geometry, which you can find from the text tab on the right side, then increase the number for Extrude. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) 8. Convert the text to a mesh by going to Object > Convert > Mesh once your 3D text looks exactly as intended. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) You have now created an object from the text. You can also add materials, change the background color, and even create a 3D render, then save the project. 9. If you want to 3D print the model, go to File > Export > STL (.stl) and send it to your 3D slicer. 2. Extruding the Text in SelfCAD SelfCAD is another tool that you can use to turn text to 3D models. It is easy to use, and it has an online version as well as a downloadable version for Windows and Mac. To use to extrude text: 1. Visit SelfCAD, then register an account. You can also download the one that is appropriate for your operating system. 2. Create a new project and then go to Generators in the menu bar and select Text. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) 3. Type in the text in the Text section. Choose the appropriate font to use in the Font section, and you can also adjust the settings depth, smoothness, and spacing settings. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) 4. Click 3D print to access SelfCAD slicer to slice the file if you would like to 3D print, or you can go to File > Export and then choose the appropriate 3D file format to save your file. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) We have now looked at how to type text, extrude it, and convert it into a 3D model using Blender and SelfCAD. We will now look at how to use simple text prompts to generate 3D models. The tools that we are going to use are Meshy and 3Dfy. 3. Converting text prompts to 3D Models in Meshy Meshy is an online tool that uses generative AI to create 3D models from text and image inputs. The interface is simple, and it provides options to adjust key parameters like depth, scaling, and even textures to customize your 3D models based on your requirements without requiring advanced design skills. It also supports different file formats, like STL, which is compatible with most CAD software and 3D printers. The steps below will guide you through the process of turning texts into 3D models in Meshy. 1. Visit Meshy website then click Start for free to start a free trial. You can also sign up for the pro version, which costs $16/m. There is also max version that costs $48/m and the max unlimited for $96/m. 2. Click Get Started. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) 3. Start typing your text in the Prompt section. Ensure you provide an elaborate description, as shown below. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) 4. Click Generate, and the software will start creating your 3D model. When it finishes processing, you will see four versions of your 3D model appearing. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) You can continue to edit and refine it based on your requirements. In Meshy, you can also apply textures and animate the design. 5. Click Download when you finish editing to download the file. You will see several file formats to choose from. That is, fbx, obj, glb, usdz, stl, or blend. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) In addition to being useful for text-to-3D model generation, you can also use it to convert images to 3D models. 4. Converting text prompts to 3D Models Using Alpha3D Like Meshy, Alpha3d uses generative AI to transform text commands into 3D models. You simply describe what you want in detail, and the software does the rest. It caters to both individuals and businesses who require mass generation of 3D designs. Follow the steps below to use it. 1. Visit Alpha3D website and register an account, then click Add new project to start a new project. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) 2. Enter the name of the project, and description in the Asset section. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) You can add more descriptions to your 3D model by clicking on the plus sign below the asset section. 3. Click Generate to generate your 3D model. It takes a few seconds for simple models and a few minutes for complex models. Once it’s processed, download it. 5. Using Luma AI to Create 3D Models from Luma AI interprets the text description provided by the user and generates photorealistic 3D models using AI. It can handle complex prompts, and users can specify attributes like color, material, and shape, and the software will generate the model corresponding to that. While it might not be as detailed as CAD software, it provides a quick way to generate and preview 3D designs and concepts before further refinement in other programs. Follow the steps below to use it. 1. Visit Lumablabs and create an account. 2. Enter your text prompt, then click Create. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) The software will generate four versions of the 3D model. If you are not satisfied with the results, click Retry and it will generate four new ones. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) 3. Choose the best among the four, and you will see a new window launching, which you can continue refining the design. Choose the file format, then click Download. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) While AI tools can turn text prompts into 3D models, they are limited and may not achieve the same level of perfection as traditional 3D modeling software. For detailed and highly customized 3D models, you need to use 3D software. Source link #Convert #Texts #Models Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Clive Myrie finds corridors filled with patients at London hospital Clive Myrie finds corridors filled with patients at London hospital The BBC has spent a day inside the Royal Free Hospital in north London to find out how the NHS is coping after intense, annual winter pressures. At the hospital, Clive Myrie found corridors filled with beds, and patients waiting to be treated. ‘It’s going to be a long night’, he said. Source link #Clive #Myrie #finds #corridors #filled #patients #London #hospital Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Has U.S. hockey caught Canada? Why the Americans are no longer the underdog Has U.S. hockey caught Canada? Why the Americans are no longer the underdog Few in the sport have experienced the rapid evolution of American hockey as up close and personally as Mike Modano. Growing up just outside Detroit, Modano was a minor hockey star. He spent his junior years in the WHL in Prince Albert, Sask., which was at that time the highest level available to American teenagers. Picked first in the 1988 NHL Draft, Modano played four years with the Minnesota North Stars before relocation in 1993-94 led him to Dallas. There, he led the Stars to the first-ever Stanley Cup title for a team from the U.S. Sunbelt. Modano saw how hockey quickly exploded in Texas from that 1999 championship on and how it spread into other non-traditional markets after the NHL expanded across the country throughout the decade. Twenty-five years later, more American kids are playing hockey than ever. More Americans are playing in the NHL than ever, too. It’s all built up to this: Team USA, with a captain in Auston Matthews from Scottsdale, Ariz., enters the 4 Nations Face-Off — the sport’s first best-on-best event in nine years — as the favorite. Modano, 54, retired in 2011 as the NHL’s all-time leading scorer among U.S.-born players. He won gold at the 1996 World Cup and silver at the 2002 Olympics but admits it feels different watching this next generation of Team USA compete internationally. The Americans are no longer the underdogs, as was often the case throughout his career. He credits not only the rapid increase in talent from new sources but also the development work in the trenches by USA Hockey over the last two decades for getting them there. GO DEEPER The curious case of the ********* goalie: Inside the freefall Americans aren’t going to the ********* junior leagues anymore to excel. They stay close to home and they’re better than ever. “You just have so much to select from,” Modano said of the breadth of talent available to the Americans at the 4 Nations event, where the U.S. opens play against Finland on Thursday in Montreal. “Now there’s a little bit of pressure and expectation level, which is nice for the players to have. “There’s a little stress going into it before these tournaments. It’s not ‘We hope to do OK, but we’re not up to Canada’s or Russia’s speed.’ Now (we’re) mentioned in the same breath as these top teams.” When Modano won the Stanley Cup in Texas in 1999, the number of Americans in the NHL was actually on the decline. European players had begun to flood the league, to the point that Americans only played 17 percent of the NHL’s games that season. Canada, long the sport’s dominant power, led the way at 54 percent. By this season, however, the U.S. had nearly doubled its NHL participation to 30 percent, an all-time high. It has gained considerable ground on the Canadians the past 20 years. The previously farfetched notion that the Americans could surpass Canada — both internationally and in representation in the world’s top league — has become a very real possibility. Based on recent trends, it could happen in a little more than a decade. “Throughout the lineup, man alive, they’ve got great puck-moving defensemen,” Modano said of Team USA’s 4 Nations roster. “They’ve got great goaltending. Up front, there’s some high-end skill. “If anything, they’re just going to keep getting better. You have this changing of the guard, with Canada, that’s slowly kind of tilting the needle the other way a little bit.” What follows is a breakdown of the four biggest reasons the U.S. may soon take over as the top hockey power in the world — if it hasn’t already. GO DEEPER Ranking the 4 Nations Face-Off rosters: America’s golden era is here The NTDP model By the middle of the 1990s, USA Hockey knew it had a problem — at least as it related to high-end talent with the men’s national team. Sure, there were Hall of Famers at the top of the list; Modano, Brian Leetch, Brett Hull, Chris Chelios, Phil Housley and Jeremy Roenick were, to varying degrees, still in their primes. Beyond those guys and a few others, such as Keith Tkachuk and Tony Amonte, the player pool for international tournaments got shallow very quickly. Example A: The 1994 World Championships in Italy, where the U.S. was smoked 8-0 by Finland in the semifinals, then lost to Sweden in the bronze-medal game. Craig Janney, a productive, play-making center who never made an NHL All-Star team, led that group in scoring with seven points. Behind him in scoring were Tim Sweeney, who played 291 NHL games over eight seasons, and Bill Lindsay, a solid bottom-sixer for the Florida Panthers. Canada’s top scorers? Paul Kariya, Brendan Shanahan, Joe Sakic and Luc Robitaille, all Hall of Famers. After another quarterfinal loss at the 1995 Worlds (to Canada), the U.S. was ready for a change. “We weren’t winning internationally. We weren’t producing enough NHL players and elite level NHL players as we thought we could, based on the volume of players in our country,” USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said. “So we did something different and something better.” USA Hockey’s first step was hiring Jeff Jackson, a two-time NCAA championship-winning coach at Lake Superior State, and Bob Mancini, the head coach at Michigan Tech, and giving them carte blanche. Literally. The two sat down with a pad of paper, filling it with their ideas on what the best American players needed in order to develop into world-beaters, and how best to get it to them. Thus, in 1996, the U.S. National Team Development Program was born. USA Hockey would build two teams — an under-18 team and an under-17 one — out of the best players in their birth years, house them in Ann Arbor, Mich., centralize their training and solve the country’s foremost hockey problem. The plan was to create, as Kelleher called it, “a finishing school for those high-end kids.” Jackson was the head coach of the U18 team and senior director; Mancini led the U17 team and acted as director of player personnel. Both teams started playing games in the fall of 1997 against squads from the NCAA, USHL and NAHL, a Tier II junior hockey league. Jackson and Mancini had the support of their big bosses, but not every important stakeholder was initially on board. The prospect of USA Hockey swooping in and picking off a region’s best players, as one would expect, did not go over well with the locals. “(Concerns about taking players) got right down to the grassroots,” Mancini said. “I was physically accosted in a rink. I was chased out of rinks by coaches and people who couldn’t see the benefit of what USA Hockey was trying to do.” There were, of course, less dramatic forces at play. In some cases, parents needed to be convinced that shipping their sons off to Michigan, away from their homes and relatively proven pathways to college and pro hockey, was the right move — and some couldn’t be swayed. In Year 1, Mancini said, about 70 percent of the players the USNTDP recruited wound up signing. “We were losing really, really good players who were choosing other pathways,” Mancini said, “Those weren’t just legitimate concerns. They were legitimate reasons.” At the start, there was no set schedule or completed facilities. Players who did join would need to be placed with billet families and enroll in high-school classes. Mancini compared the job to “building the plane and flying it at the same time.” By Year 2, though, the number was closer to 80 percent. By Year 3, it was close to 90. “All of a sudden,” Mancini said, “you were fielding calls from parents and agents saying, ‘Hey, you need to watch my kid. You need to come here.'” By 2000, the program had produced a No. 1 NHL pick, goalie Rick DiPietro. Since, it has produced four more: Erik Johnson in 2006, Patrick Kane in 2007, Matthews in 2016 and Jack Hughes in 2019. In all, 99 NTDP alums have gone on to become first-round picks. That’s elite talent. In 2004, with a roster built primarily from NTDP players, the U.S. won its first-ever gold medal at the World Junior Championships. It has won six more, including in 2024 and 2025, and the program’s presence on the roster has only grown. That’s high-end international success. “It used to be we (hoped) to compete for a gold medal in events. Now the expectations are there,” Kelleher said. “That’s a great thing.” And now, at the first international best-on-best competition featuring NHL players since 2016, the U.S. roster will feature 15 NTDP alums, including the captain (Matthews), alternate captains (Matthew Tkachuk and Charlie McAvoy) and starting goaltender (Connor Hellebuyck). “It was everything I needed,” said Matt Boldy, a winger for the Minnesota Wild, member of the 4 Nations team and part of the program from 2017-19. “Skates, skill work, everything. Strength, conditioning, the whole thing. So going there at 16, it meant everything.” Rapid growth from outside traditional hubs You don’t need to look much further than the 4 Nations roster for proof the Americans can now draw from throughout the country better than in the past. While Team USA’s best-on-best clubs have traditionally been made up exclusively of players from the Three M states — Michigan, Minnesota and Massachusetts — this year’s team features players born all over the country: Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. That’s the result of a demographic shift that includes 100,000 more players in the U.S. in the years between 2000 and 2015, including more than 50 percent growth in states as widespread as California, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington. In many states, having an NHL team has been a key factor — especially with teams in those regions winning the Stanley Cup in nine of the last 20 seasons (2004, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2024). “The NHL clubs and the NHL itself, their support and their focus and the way they dig in with their communities has been a tremendous benefit for us,” Kelleher said. “Collectively, there’s just been more access to the game for these kids,” Modano added. “You have a deeper talent pool as the years have gone on, more kids have progressed in the game, and now you’re seeing a lot of high-end skill and major players in the NHL and junior and college. It’s amazing to see now that those numbers have gone up dramatically.” In the last three years alone, Mancini said, USA Hockey has added 36 spots at national player development camps, bringing the total to 216, “because we looked around and we realized, ‘My gosh, we’re leaving players in their districts (who need this opportunity).’” That next wave of talent is only just beginning to make inroads into the highest levels, too. Some of the NHL’s newest rising stars are coming from these next-gen U.S. markets, such as Flames rookie of the year candidate Dustin Wolf (from California), Maple Leafs power forward Matthew Knies (Arizona), and Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson (Montana). USA Hockey’s other development paths In 2009, with the NTDP cooking as a pipeline for turning elite 16-year-olds into elite NHL players, USA Hockey launched what it called “the American Development Model (ADM),” a framework for helping players reach their full potential, whatever it might be, starting with “learn to skate” programs for children under 6. It boils down to age-appropriate training for players and ongoing, research-based education for USA Hockey’s 60,000 registered coaches. Some of the principles, Kelleher said, were developed at the NTDP. “We said, ‘Hey, now let’s have a better system of development across the country that everyone can point to as the best way to do this,'” Kelleher said. “And at the same time, let’s make sure we bring more kids into the system that can be exposed to our game, to have an opportunity to be developed — (whether as) a rec league player, a high school player, a Division-I college player or Olympic or Paralympic athletes.” The goal isn’t specifically to build out a group of rank-and-file American NHL players — but that is something of a byproduct. What has been created, to use a favored USA Hockey term, are “multiple player pathways.” Making the NTDP might be the straightest line to the NHL. It’s certainly not the only one. On any given day this NHL season, Mancini said, there are close to 300 American players in the NHL. Of those, about 100 came through the NTDP. Two hundred, in other words, did not — they played for NCAA teams, or in the USHL, or at prep schools or at Minnesota high schools. “The depth of our player pool at the elite level,” Kelleher said, “is due to the fact that we have a number of different options and number of different places for players to go to be developed.” The 4 Nations roster is a testament to that; of the 23 players on the initial roster, eight took an alternate route, including Jets winger Kyle Connor. He was cut from the U17 team and played three seasons in the USHL. As an 18-year-old, after leading that league in scoring, he committed to the University of Michigan, where he spent one season before Winnipeg drafted him 15th. He was with the Jets by the time he was 19. Eight years later, he leads the league in goals among American players. “Kyle Connor didn’t necessarily come through the front door,” Kelleher said, “and now he’s a superstar in the NHL.” The impact of the ADM as it relates to the national teams is clear during tryouts, said Mancini, now USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey development. In the earliest days of the NTDP, he said, there might have only been 20 players good enough for him, Jackson, and the rest of the staff to target. “Now you go to the NTDP tryout camp, they’re bringing 40 players,” Mancini said, “and after the first few, where we all say, ‘These kids (are locks),’ it’s hard to choose because that’s how many good players we have. “We’re not just producing more players. We’re producing better players.” A new goalie factory The other main improvement that has helped make the Americans favorites entering the 4 Nations is the talent they have in net. With Russia not taking part in international events and the Canadians continuing to struggle to develop stars in the crease, the U.S. has a clear advantage on paper when it comes to stopping pucks. It’s a group led by Hellebuyck, a Hart Trophy candidate with the Jets and the consensus best goaltender in the world right now. The Americans also have top netminders Jake Oettinger of the Stars and Jeremy Swayman of the Bruins on the roster. Those three rank first, second and 13th in NHL wins, respectively, over the past four seasons. The U.S. also left a deep bench at home, with a group of goaltenders that would have been in the running for roles on any other country’s roster: Wolf, Thatcher Demko, Joey Daccord, Joseph Woll, Anthony Stolarz, John Gibson, Jonathan Quick and Spencer Knight. The U.S. has historically produced some quality netminders — led by Ryan Miller, Mike Richter, Tom Barrasso, Tim Thomas and John Vanbiesbrouck — but never with this level of depth in a single generation. The Americans have experienced a sharp rise at the position the past five years, in particular, an improvement at least partly due to the NTDP and an increased focus on goalie development at younger ages. Like some European nations, USA Hockey has made increasing the number of goalie coaches in minor hockey a central focus. It also has set an internal goal to have more than 10 percent of all players be goaltenders by 2030 and getting more kids trying the position instead of specializing young. Their most ambitious goal is for American goalies to play 50 percent of the minutes in the NHL in the not-so-distant future. (They’re at 23 percent this season.) According to USA Hockey’s director of goalie development Steve Thompson, having an improved minor hockey and junior system that feeds into the NCAA has worked wonders, giving their goalies additional time in the crease before turning pro. All three of the U.S.’s goalies at the 4 Nations came through the U.S. junior system before playing two or three years in college. Canada’s three goalies, in contrast, all went directly from junior to pro at a younger age. “Just having that extra three years that the college game has provided has given some of our goalies a little bit longer to work on their game,” Thompson said. “And then when they do get to pro hockey, they’re a little bit more mature, they’re a little bit stronger, they’ve been through the ringer a little bit longer to be maybe a little bit mentally stronger. I think that’s been a real big success story for our American goaltenders.” And it’s given them a sizable advantage on hockey’s biggest stage with the 4 Nations here and the next Winter Olympics only 12 months away. “It’ll be fun to watch,” Modano said. (Photo: Vitor Munhoz / 4NFO / World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images) Source link #U.S #hockey #caught #Canada #Americans #longer #underdog Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Avowed – Captain Henqua’s Spoils Treasure Map Location Avowed – Captain Henqua’s Spoils Treasure Map Location Captain Henqua’s Spoils is a treasure map found in Dawnshore, the first area of Avowed. This treasure map can be found on top of the lighthouse, which is located just west of Calviger’s Landing, which is in the southern part of the map and where you first arrive in The Living Lands. To reach the top of the Lighthouse, head to the base of the building and use ledges and scaffolding to climb to the top of the tower, moving in a spiral around the building. Tracking down this treasure will reward you with a Superb quality shield far earlier than you can normally get one. Where to find Captain Henqua’s Spoils Henqua’s Spoils are found in an underwater cave at the location shown above. After obtaining the treasure map from the top of the lighthouse, follow the river north until you reach a broken archway over the river, just next to the Western Pargrun Wall Beacon fast travel point. From here, jump into the river and swim underwater towards the shore you jumped from. On the southern side of the arch, go to the river bed and look for a large amount of roots. Swim through the hole shown above. Jump into the water and look for a small opening heading west, which leads to a cave with the shield and a treasure chest inside. The shield is the quest item, while the chest contains additional loot. Collecting the shield will mark the quest as complete. Your reward for finding this treasure is the Wind and Wave Superb Quality shield. This unique item has two boosts, 10% movement speed and 20% resistance to Frost Accumulation. This is also a much higher quality shield than you have access to in Dawnshore, allowing you to withstand damage. Unique weapons and armor sets, including shields, can have one of their passive stats upgraded at camp using monster materials. Obsidian is no stranger to crafting compelling RPGs. For more help on the team’s latest effort, use our Avowed guides hub. Source link #Avowed #Captain #Henquas #Spoils #Treasure #Map #Location Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Teddi Mellencamp of ‘Real Housewives’ Says She Has Brain Tumors Teddi Mellencamp of ‘Real Housewives’ Says She Has Brain Tumors Teddi Mellencamp, a podcast host and television personality from the “Real Housewives” franchise, announced on Wednesday that she had multiple brain tumors that would be treated with surgery and radiation. Mellencamp, 43, said on her social media account that she had experienced “severe and debilitating” headaches in recent weeks that had become so painful that she required hospitalization. After a CT scan and an M.R.I., doctors found “multiple tumors on my brain, which they believe have been growing for at least six months,” she wrote in a post. Two of the tumors were being surgically removed, and smaller ones would be treated with radiation at a later date, she wrote. Mellencamp was on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” for 72 episodes, from 2017 to January 2024, according to her IMDB page. She has previously spoken publicly on social media and on podcasts about her personal life, including filing for divorce from Edwin Arroyave, as well as her medical history, which has included melanoma and IVF treatment. She and Arroyave have three children, and Mellencamp has a stepdaughter, Isabella Arroyave. Mellencamp, the daughter of the rock musician John Mellencamp, also hosts the iHeartRadio podcast “Two Ts in a Pod” with Tamra Judge of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” Source link #Teddi #Mellencamp #Real #Housewives #Brain #Tumors Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Shell ‘destroyed our way of life’, ********* activist says ahead *** trial Shell ‘destroyed our way of life’, ********* activist says ahead *** trial STORY: Protesters gathered outside London’s High Court on Thursday said Shell should take responsibility for environmental pollution in Nigeria as a pivotal hearing in lawsuits brought against the British oil major began. Thousands are suing Shell and its ********* subsidiary SPDC over oil spills in the ****** Delta, a region blighted by pollution, conflict and corruption related to the oil and gas industry. Godwin Bebe Okpabi, leader of the Ogale community in the ****** Delta, spoke outside the court. “Shell, Royal Dutch Shell have polluted our land, destroyed our way of life, and the two basic rights that we are supposed to have, rights to life, and then rights to clean environment, they are saying we don’t have it and that’s why we are here in the courts.” In Nigeria, hundreds of indigenes barricaded a Shell manifold where a recent oil spill overflowed from a saver pit. Here’s a Ogale community leader Kagima Igwe-Benjamin. ‘’Our crops are not coming out, we don’t have drinking water mostly, the underground water is seriously affected, even when you dig a borehole now you cannot get good water to drink, the whole of Ogale.” :: File Decades of oil spills caused widespread environmental damage, destroying the livelihood of millions in communities near the ****** Delta, and impacted their health. Shell, however, says the vast majority of spills were caused by ******** third-party interference, such as pipeline sabotage and theft. Shell’s lawyers said in court filings that SPDC recognizes it is obliged to compensate those harmed even if it is not at fault. But Okpabi said Shell had made billions of dollars in Nigeria and had a moral responsibility to prevent and remediate oil spills. “That money is blood money.” Parts of the case began nearly a decade ago. In 2021, the ***’s Supreme Court ruled that the case should be heard in the English courts. The lawsuit is the latest example of multinationals being sued in London for the acts of overseas subsidiaries. Source link #Shell #destroyed #life #********* #activist #ahead #trial Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How Payton Pritchard became Celtics’ long-shot maestro: ‘He’s a f—— legend’ How Payton Pritchard became Celtics’ long-shot maestro: ‘He’s a f—— legend’ Shortly after the NBA Finals ended in June, Payton Pritchard sat with a pen and paper to write down his lessons from the series. Pritchard’s father, Terry, had long ago suggested journaling to organize his ideas. These days, Payton has five or six notepads, all filled with various thoughts. After grabbing the closest one, he will jot workout plans. He will note how his body feels. He will map out routines and regimens to use. Later, he will return to the pages and reflect on his progress. “It’s easier to write down your thoughts than to keep it up here,” Pritchard said, pointing to his head. Pritchard said he sometimes uses a journal as a “burn book,” referencing the movie “Mean Girls.” In that film, a group of high school girls create such a book to write hurtful rumors and gossip about other students. Unlike the girls in that movie, Pritchard doesn’t write cruel things about others, but he does register criticism he hears from certain people. As far back as middle school, he said, he tracked other parents, players or coaches who doubted him. Back then, most people thought he was foolish to dream about playing Division I or reaching the NBA. “I knew the people who said that s—,” Pritchard said. “And I wrote their names down. I have everything in the book.” Pritchard’s best NBA season had ended unforgettably. After years of frustrating competitions for playing time, he had seized his most consistent minutes off the bench for the Boston Celtics. During a 4-1 NBA Finals win against the Dallas Mavericks, he had stamped himself as the “heave god” with two of the biggest shots in the series. The second, a 49-foot first-half buzzer-beater in Game 5, had all but sealed Boston’s first championship since 2008. It was the culmination of Pritchard’s long journey to becoming the Celtics’ master of hopeless situations. They weren’t hopeless for him. “That dude,” Jaylen Brown said of Pritchard’s Game 5 heroics. “He’s a f—— legend, man.” On the night Pritchard cemented his team’s championship, he sat on the bench until the final four seconds of the first half. The previous 23 minutes and 56 seconds stuck with him. He believed he defended well throughout the playoffs but noticed his offense dried up. As a result, his playing time dwindled late in the series. Never again would he give his coaching staff a reason to sit him. On a piece of paper, Pritchard detailed the parts of his game he would need to change. “I never wanted to have that feeling again of not playing,” Pritchard said. “Having to get better in every area so there’s never a game where they feel like I shouldn’t be on the court.” Some details of “The Alchemist” have escaped Pritchard since he first read the book in high school, but one theme spoke loudest to him. In the quest for treasure, only giving up promises failure. “You’ll always get to where you’re going as long as you don’t quit,” Pritchard said. “So that’s my mindset.” Known for his elite work ethic, he said he pushed himself harder over the summer. After returning from the Olympic training camp, where he was a member of the U.S. select team, he organized a daily basketball version of “Squid Game.” Four or five times per week, Pritchard welcomed two, or preferably three, college or professional players who would do nothing but defend him for roughly two hours a day. Even when traveling, Pritchard said he would find capable players to guard him and hit the gym. Though he couldn’t always find the positions he wanted, Pritchard sought to have one guard, one wing and one center to defend him during each session. He wanted players of different sizes, armed with different strengths, to simulate the scenarios he would encounter in a real game. He didn’t want anyone he could beat with pure quickness — only athletes he would need to out-fox with skill. He wanted competitors. “That’s one of his non-negotiables,” said Brooks DeBisschop, a 6-foot-10 professional center in Spain, one of Pritchard’s closest friends and a workout regular. “He doesn’t want people that aren’t competitive around him because if you get people who don’t really care about winning and losing, he feels like you’re losing your edge.” At each training session, the 6-1 Pritchard would play one-on-one with the defenders at seven spots, according to his brother Anthony Mathis. A 6-3 guard who played pro in the G League and overseas, Mathis often lined up against Pritchard in drills. At each spot, Pritchard would place two cones to restrict the space he had to move. If he scored on at least three of five possessions, he would win. For each win by one of the defenders, Pritchard would put money into a pot. When he shut out one of the defenders at a spot, Pritchard would take money out. Some days, DeBisschop said, the pot would grow as big as $500. The three defenders of the day cycled in for one another, ensuring they could rest. Even so, DeBisschop said he’d be exhausted late in a session. Pritchard stayed on the court the entire time. The defenders would be physical and the competition was heated. Pritchard never stopped. “His conditioning, that might be his best trait,” said DeBisschop, who met Prichard when he was 9. “I mean, people look at Payton and go, ‘Oh, well, he doesn’t have typical NBA size or athleticism and some of these things.’ But what he does have is an uncanny ability to perform work at a high level repetitively.” Even as a child, Pritchard regularly worked out several times a day. He said he would wake up 30 minutes before Mathis, who lived with the family after Pritchard’s parents became his legal guardians. Pritchard wanted to do a ballhandling workout before Mathis had opened his eyes. With his work, Pritchard wanted to send a message to his older brother. “I didn’t need to say it, but just so he knew that I already had a leg up on him,” Pritchard said. “I don’t know if it’s crazy of me to think that way, but I just wanted him to know that I was always going to be a step above.” Pritchard said he doesn’t want to win every game but every day, every drill, every second. “I looked at it instead of just winning the games, I was going to win by outworking people,” Pritchard said. “That was considered a win to me.” Pritchard first started working out against full-time defenders in the summer after the 2022-23 season. He said he got the idea after reading that Kobe Bryant used to compete against players lower on the roster in games up to 100. In the 2009 book, “The Art of the Beautiful Game,” Chris Ballard wrote that Bryant, while at Lower Merion High School, used to square off in such one-on-one games against a benchwarmer on the team. Pritchard tweaked the idea to fit his vision. “It can be boring playing one-on-zero,” Pritchard said, “but having somebody there that’s trying to stop you every time keeps me hungry to bust they **** every day.” During his second year of such workouts, Pritchard carried motivation from the finals. Other than his two long heaves during the series, he entered the offseason disappointed by his performance. He shot 7 of 28 from the field in the series, including 3 of 16 from behind the arc. “It lit a fire under me,” Pritchard said. “Am I willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team? Of course. But I never want the reason why I’m not playing to be the way I was playing. I wanted to get better (over the) summer and show that I’m capable of playing at the highest levels.” Pritchard focused on improving his off-the-dribble jump shot. He searched for new ways to create extra space off the bounce. He added more movement 3-point shooting to his game. He pushed his conditioning, so he could run at top speed longer than his opponents. “It’s just putting myself in different situations,” Pritchard said. “It’s not necessarily doing a certain drill, it’s certain situations where they’re guarding me, what’s the right shot to get to here? If they play it a certain way, if I’m on this side of the court and they guard me at this angle, then I should get to this shot, these shots. Just having an arsenal for those different things.” At the end of a session, Pritchard and the defenders would compete in a free-throw contest to determine who won the cash. If the contest finished in a tie, the players would move to half court to determine the winner. While Pritchard shot free throws, Mathis and DeBisschop said the defenders would try their best to force him into misses. An 85.4 percent career free-throw shooter, Pritchard usually won the free-throw contest. That meant no matter how long his competitors defended him, they normally left without any money to show for it. But most defenders weren’t there for the cash. Mathis said he did it for the opportunity to grow as a defender by guarding Pritchard daily. DeBisschop also wanted to push his defense and pick up as much of Pritchard’s edge as possible. At West Linn High School in Oregon, where the teammates won four straight state championships, DeBisschop said the entire program began following Pritchard to the gym in the early mornings. His habits became theirs. “It’s almost like through osmosis,” DeBisschop said, “you get some of that from him. “Just being around him every day makes me better.” Pritchard improved, too. Mathis said the Celtics guard’s shot-making ability “skyrocketed” as a result of the competition. “I took that (finals disappointment) into the summer and went to work,” Pritchard said. “And I think it’s allowed me to make a jump this year.” Payton Pritchard and his older brother Anthony Mathis at Oregon in 2020. (Soobum Im / Imagn Images) According to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, Pritchard’s tenure as a late-clock specialist began more than a year before the heaves in the NBA Finals. Ironically, the role was born out of disaster. After missing a left-handed layup that would have beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers at the end of regulation on March 6, 2023, Pritchard fell to the court with a damaged heel. On the play, Pritchard streaked the length of the court to create a good look in the final 5.8 seconds. The injury forced Pritchard to miss the next three weeks, but Mazzulla had discovered a pair of aces up his sleeve. “You could tell that his speed was going to be a weapon in those full-court situations,” Mazzulla said. “And then his willingness to want to shoot those. It just gives us (another) weapon.” The Celtics began looking to Pritchard more frequently late in quarters. Mazzulla trusted the guard would never fear to release a shot before the final buzzer. No matter the circumstance, Pritchard will shoot. When players try to preserve their shooting percentages by intentionally waiting for the clock to run out, Pritchard sees only cowardice. “Soft mentally,” Pritchard said. “Worrying about a shooting percentage. It’s very weak. You care about your individual shooting percentage more than winning. That’s so soft.” Nobody describes Pritchard that way. Since the beginning of the 2023-24 season, he has had 33 field goal attempts during possessions that begin with 10 seconds or fewer left in any quarter. Outside of Jayson Tatum, who has 25 such shot attempts, and Brown, who has 19, nobody else on the Celtics has even tried more than Derrick White’s 11. Across the NBA, only Anthony Edwards and De’Aaron Fox have more attempts than Pritchard in such situations during that time. Naturally, because of the difficulty of such tries, Pritchard misses desperation shots more often than he makes them. He has drained eight out of 33 such attempts, including four of 22 3-point attempts, since the beginning of last season. Still, the makes all represent momentum swings. Pritchard delivered two blows to the Mavericks in the finals. The first one came in Game 2. With 3.3 seconds left in the third quarter, the Celtics inbounded the ball to Pritchard. He dribbled past half court, created a few feet of separation from defender Derrick Jones Jr. and banked home a 34-footer that increased the Boston to nine points. On the court, some Mavericks players were hanging their heads before walking into their huddle. After the game, in the locker room, Mazzulla thanked Pritchard for taking the shot. “The humility and the toughness to go in and take that shot with three seconds,” Mazzulla told the Celtics players, “that’s the difference between winning and losing.” In Game 5, when he checked in with four seconds left in the first half, the Celtics were instructed to give him the ball on their next touch. It came after Luka Dončić missed a free-throw attempt. Al Horford grabbed the rebound and immediately looked to throw an outlet pass to Pritchard. He saw Dončić approaching to contest but knew the All-Star would not close the gap quickly enough. Pritchard told himself to put the ball up in the air and give it a chance. At first, he was oblivious to the chaos building around him. “You’re just so into the moment,” Pritchard said. “I’m not watching it; I’m doing it. Everybody else was watching it.” Payton Pritchard has become a fearless 3-point shooter for Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. (Maddie Meyer / Getty Images) Some of the doubters have faded over time, but Pritchard said he occasionally still finds content to put in his burn book. “Definitely, there’s still people that doubt how far I can make it,” Pritchard said. “I know for sure they think that. There’s people who will always put limitations on me.” Pritchard declined to divulge names he has written down during his NBA career but confirmed one old entry. In high school, ESPN ranked Pritchard below a guard from Washington, JaQuori McLaughlin, who went on to play college basketball at Oregon State and UC-Santa Barbara before spending some time on a two-way contract with the Mavericks. As DeBisschop recalled, he and Pritchard were scheduled to play against McLaughlin in a summer game at a University of Oregon team camp shortly after the rankings came out. “It literally didn’t mean anything,” DeBisschop said of the run-of-the-mill game. It meant something to Pritchard. “He was like, ‘This guy thinks he’s better than me,’” DeBisschop said. “And he went and dropped 45 (points) just because he felt disrespected.” Oregon has no official record of the game, and years later, DeBisschop could be misremembering the details. Still, to him, the tale illustrates Pritchard’s determination to prove others wrong. “I had to go put 40 or 50 on his ****,” Pritchard said. Pritchard still hears the critics for extra motivation but rarely needs much. He has good days and bad days, and he said he needs both. Pritchard has found resiliency in every setback. His mindset allowed him to win a competition for playing time at Oregon. It carried him through seasons when the Celtics didn’t play him much, including during the 2022-23 season, when he grew frustrated enough to publicly discuss his desire to land on a team with more opportunities. Pritchard believes his journey would have broken some weaker players. “I’m not going to sit here and say it’s always easy,” Pritchard said. “At times, I think for everybody, the thought of giving up or quitting always creeps into people’s heads. You’re so frustrated, you don’t know if you can do it, you think, ‘F—, am I capable of doing this?’ But I always look at it like just get to the next day and keep grinding away at it.” Pritchard has experienced more good days this season. Entering Wednesday’s game against the Spurs, he’s averaging 13.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists and has established himself as one of the league’s premier bench scorers. His statistics show how much his offseason work has paid off. Even while increasing his 3-point volume by more than two attempts per 36 minutes, Pritchard is on pace to set a career high in 3-point percentage (41.6). Pritchard ranks eighth leaguewide in made 3-pointers and 23rd in 3-point shooting percentage. Considering how many 3-pointers he takes and the difficulty of those attempts, the latter rank is even more impressive. Only one player, Edwards, has made more 3-pointers than Pritchard with a higher percentage. Pritchard’s average 3-point shot distance of 27.06 feet shows he is regularly firing from well beyond the arc. He has established himself as one of the front-runners for Sixth Man of the Year. Brown said he thinks Pritchard is “pretty clear ahead of the pack” in the race. Pritchard has improved in all the areas the finals showed him he needed to develop. Ironically, his success in end-of-clock situations has evaporated, but that’s likely in part because of how closely opponents focus on him in such situations. After allowing Pritchard to sink a buzzer-beater on Oct. 28, Doc Rivers was furious the Bucks disregarded the scouting report on how to limit him late in the clock. PAYTON PRITCHARD DOES IT AGAIN pic.twitter.com/FgIO7vCZ67 — NBA TV (@NBATV) October 29, 2024 The next time the Celtics played Milwaukee, Rivers’ team aggressively sent multiple defenders toward Pritchard on the final possession of the first quarter. Even with just 2.7 seconds left in the quarter, the Bucks worried about Pritchard’s ability to convert a heave from beyond half court. Increased attention from defenses isn’t the only reason Pritchard’s desperation shots have missed lately. “They’re just not easy,” Pritchard said of those shots. “I don’t practice them. Yeah, I haven’t even really been close. But I feel like, in the moment, when we need one, you can always trust that I’ll be able to get it close at least and give it a chance.” Regardless of whether the heaves go in, Pritchard will keep launching them. The same competitiveness that guided him in those moments drove him to dig deeper in the offseason. As much as his game has evolved since he first entered the NBA, he said his ambitions haven’t changed. “I have no goals that involve people having to vote for me,” Pritchard said. “My goals just involve me becoming the best version of myself. And the only way I could get there is by continuously working and being able to perform at the highest of levels. And competing. And obviously, that comes with winning.” Pritchard sees the journals as an important part of his process. Whatever he writes down about this season, expect next summer’s dreams to be even larger. “I talked to him the other day,” DeBisschop said, “and he’s already talking about plans for this summer, what we’re going to do and how we’re going to turn it up another notch. He’s never resting on his laurels or content with where he’s at. And I don’t think he ever will be.” (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Elsa/Getty Images, Winslow Townson/Getty Images, AP Photo / Michael Dwyer) Source link #Payton #Pritchard #Celtics #longshot #maestro #Hes #legend Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Birth control ring and patch linked to higher clot, stroke risk, study says – National Birth control ring and patch linked to higher clot, stroke risk, study says – National Some hormonal birth control products, including the ******** ring and skin patch, may increase the risk of a blood clot, heart attack or stroke, new research suggests. A peer-reviewed study published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday showed that the use of contraceptives containing estrogen and progestin, which are female hormones, was linked with an increased risk of blood clot, stroke and, in some cases, heart attack compared to women not using hormonal birth control. “We know that estrogen-based contraceptives, for example, can increase a woman’s risk of having blood clots, so that’s where that risk of heart attack and stroke can happen,” said Katie White, director of health systems with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. “For women in particular, we know that their risk changes across their life span and that depends a little bit on the protective effects of estrogen, which change of course, through a woman’s life course,” she told Global News in an interview. Story continues below advertisement Age also has a role to play, with those over the age of 35 at a “higher risk, especially if they have other risk factors,” such as smoking, pre-existing medical conditions, previous stroke or heart condition, high blood pressure or medical complications from pregnancy. This new study adds to growing evidence linking hormonal contraceptives with the rare but present risks of blood clots and cardiovascular diseases, though the risks remain significantly lower than the risks of blood clots that come with pregnancy and the postpartum *******. 1:42 U.S. approves 1st nonprescription birth control. Is the same thing possible in Canada? Danish researchers found that the associated risk for blood clots was highest for estrogen-containing products, particularly the ******** ring and skin patch. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. The associated risk of stroke increased two- to three -fold with the use of combined estrogen-progestin ******** ring and patch. Story continues below advertisement The combined estrogen-progestin pill was also linked with double the risk of stroke and heart attack, but no cardiovascular risks were associated with the use of a progestin-only intrauterine device (IUD), the study said. “Although absolute risks were low, clinicians should include the potential risk of arterial thrombosis in their assessment of the benefits and risks when prescribing a hormonal contraceptive method,” the authors concluded. More than two million women in Denmark aged 15-49 years were included in this observational research that looked at data from 1996 to 2021. 1:33 Canada approves app for birth control, but experts urge caution Trending Now Trump set to impose sweeping reciprocal tariffs within hours: ‘The big one’ Trolling Trump, Illinois governor declares Lake Michigan is now Lake Illinois A 2019 systematic review published in the Frontiers in Neurology journal found that higher estrogen dosage in birth control pills “significantly increased” the risks of stroke. Another 2003 study in Jama Network said estrogen plus progestin “increases the risk of ischemic stroke in generally healthy post-menopausal women.” Story continues below advertisement HealthLink BC information about the birth control patch notes that it “delivers more estrogen than the low-dose birth control pills do” and that “women who use the patch are slightly more likely to get dangerous blood clots in the legs and lungs than women who use birth control pills.” The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada advises that all women with congenital heart disease should discuss contraception and pregnancy options with a health-care expert who specializes in their risk factors. More on Health More videos “Hormonal forms of birth control and implanted devices may not be recommended for some women with [congenital heart disease] because of their individual risk factors,” the foundation says on its website. White said other risk factors include age, diet and blood pressure management. The most common signs of stroke can be spotted with the acronym FAST. This includes face dropping, arm weakness and speech difficulty — all of which indicate that it’s time to call 911 immediately. Story continues below advertisement Chest pain, light-headedness, feeling out of breath, leg tenderness and leg swelling are the most common symptoms for blood clots, according to Thrombosis Canada. &copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Source link #Birth #control #ring #patch #linked #higher #clot #stroke #risk #study #National Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Monster Energy Supercross 25 Release Date Announced Monster Energy Supercross 25 Release Date Announced · · February 13, 2025 Milestone has announced the official release date for Monster Energy Supercross 25. Available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, the game is scheduled to launch on April 10, 2025. It’s been two years since the last game in the franchise, and the developers at Milestone have been “re-inventing” the franchise “from the ground up.” Monster Energy Supercross 25 sees the franchise make the move to Unreal Engine 5 and leave the last-gen systems behind. “[With] Unreal Engine 5, the game delivers a graphical overhaul with a cutting-edge physics system for precise control over riders and bikes, both in the air and on the ground, as well as the integration of neural AI for increased immersion,” Milestone said. “This package of novelties will result in a more realistic and simulative gameplay which all fans will get to master through dedicated tutorials.” Along with the release date, a short gameplay showcase trailer was released to give players a look at the gameplay changes coming with the new game. You also get a look at the Anaheim 1 and Glendale circuits with their 2025 layouts as well as a custom-built Motocross course exclusive to the game. Monster Energy Supercross 25 launches April 10. Those who pre-order the game will get access starting April 7. Now that there’s a release date, are you excited for Monster Energy Supercross 25? Let us know down below, and join more discussions in the official Insider Gaming forums. For more Insider Gaming, read exclusive details on the recent layoffs at Funko Fusion developer 10:10 Games. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter. SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #Monster #Energy #Supercross #Release #Date #Announced Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

*** accused of political ‘foreign cyberattack’ on US after serving secret snooping order on Apple *** accused of political ‘foreign cyberattack’ on US after serving secret snooping order on Apple An unprecedented letter from the US Congress, released today, accuses the *** of “a foreign cyberattack waged through political means”. The claim refers to a Home Office secret demand last month (reported by CW here, here and here) that Apple break the security protecting its Advanced Data Protection cloud security system to let British spies into anyone’s secure files. In a letter to the recently appointed US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, Senator Ron Wyden of Colorada and Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona bluntly ask the administration to kick the *** out of the 65-year-old ***-USA signals intelligence sharing agreement, commonly known as “Five Eyes” if they do not now withdraw the demand to Apple. ”If the U.K. does not immediately reverse this dangerous effort, we urge you to reevaluate U.S.-U.K. cybersecurity arrangements and programs as well as U.S. intelligence sharing with the U.K,” the new DNI is advised. Politically, on other issues, the signatories are on opposed sides of US politics. Wyden is a liberal democrat who has campaigned for healthcare and the environment; Biggs is a loud Trump supporter and a noted organiser of the “MAGA squad”. Wyden, from Oregon, serves on the Senate Intelligence and Finance Committee; Biggs, from Arizona, chairs the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance. Their unified complaint against British tactics and conduct is potentially a unique event in the turbulent political ******* since Donald Trump’s accession. Damage to information sharing with US The letter was also copied to incoming British Ambassador Peter Mandelson. The British Embassy, Home Office and DNI have not made any official comment on the letter at the time of writing. The representatives have asked the DNI to tell Congress if the administration accepts British claims that it can impose “gag orders” on demands to American companies to provide user data, or to make technical changes to their systems and software. They also demand to know if the Home Office warned the US Government about the January notice, before it was revealed in the press. The British move against Apple also threatens to prejudice recent valuable gains in co-operative information sharing. It took four years for the US and Britain to agree a Data Access Agreement in 2022 that does allow Apple to provide data and files from *** iCloud Accounts, provided that the user has not turned on advanced security. This arrangement was authorised under the “CLOUD” Act (“Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data”) and was, according to the Department of Justice, “the first agreement of its kind, allowing each country’s investigators to gain better access to vital data to combat serious crime in a way that is consistent with privacy and civil liberties standards.” The data flows both aways, allowing US agents automatic access to British controlled data. “Under the Data Access Agreement, service providers in one country may respond to qualifying, lawful orders for electronic data issued by the other country, without fear of running afoul of restrictions on cross-border disclosures “, the DoJ noted. Home office ‘greedy for everything’ According to *** academic and industry sources, the recent better level of access to some iCloud data may have caused the Home Office to get “impatient and greedy for everything”, and to proceed without legally required technical caution. According to reliable industry sources, the recent notice was not first scrutinised by the statutory Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), which includes vetted outside cryptosecurity and computer science experts. If this is correct, then the *** “Judicial Commissioner” who authorised the Notice to Apple and the Home Secretary may both have been misled, requiring the procedure for issuing the Notice to be reviewed. The representatives reminded DNI Gabbard that at her confirmation hearing she stated that “backdoors lead down a dangerous path that can undermine Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights and civil liberties”, warning later that compulsory “mechanisms to bypass encryption or privacy technologies undermines user security, privacy, and trust and poses significant risks of exploitation by malicious actors.” “We urge you to put those words into action by giving the U.K. an ultimatum”, their letter concludes. “Back down from this dangerous attack on U.S. cybersecurity or face serious consequences.” Beijing could exploit *** ‘*********’ American cryptographers and cryptosecurity experts back the demand and have warned that “Beijing would quickly exploit the British order to allow access to encrypted data”. “The U.S. should pass laws that forbid U.S. companies from installing encryption backdoors at the request of foreign countries”, according to Matt Green, a leading cryptographer and professor of computer science at John Hopkins University. “This would put companies like Apple in a bind. But it would be a good bind!” Source link #accused #political #foreign #cyberattack #serving #secret #snooping #order #Apple Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Love Like the Ancient Greeks: The Six Types of Love Love Like the Ancient Greeks: The Six Types of Love “The Victory of Eros,” by Angelica Kauffmann, 1750-1775. Credit: Wikimedia Commons From passionate desire and romantic intimacy to family emotional closeness, there are many definitions of the relative concept of love. What is love? In all truth, there is not one single answer to this question and this is why the ancient Greeks had six different words to describe love. Knowing them can change your life. Looking for an antidote to our modern culture’s emphasis on romantic love? Perhaps we can learn from the diverse forms of emotional attachment prized by the ancient Greeks. Today’s coffee culture has an incredibly sophisticated vocabulary. Do you want a cappuccino, an espresso, a skinny latte, or maybe an iced caramel macchiato? The ancient Greeks were just as sophisticated in the way they spoke about love, recognizing six different varieties of this most important human emotion. They would have been shocked by our crudeness in using a single word both to whisper “l love you” over a candlelit meal and to casually sign an email with the words “lots of love.” What were the six types of love known to the ancient Greeks? How can the ancient Greeks inspire us to move beyond our current addiction to romantic love, which has 94 percent of young people hoping—and often failing—to find a unique soul mate who can satisfy all their emotional needs? 1. Eros, or ******* passion The first kind of love was eros, named after the Greek god of fertility, and it represented the idea of ******* passion and desire. But the Greeks didn’t always think of it as something positive, as we tend to do today. In fact, eros was viewed as a dangerous, fiery, and irrational form of love which could take hold of you and possess you—an attitude shared by many later spiritual thinkers, such as the Christian writer C.S. Lewis. Eros involved a loss of control that frightened the Greeks, which is odd, because losing control is precisely what many people now seek in a relationship. Don’t we all hope to fall “madly” in love? 2. Philia, or deep friendship The second variety of love was philia or friendship, which the Greeks valued far more than the base sexuality of eros. Philia concerned the deep comradely friendship which developed between brothers in arms who had fought side by side on the battlefield. It was about showing loyalty to your friends, being willing to sacrifice for them, as well as sharing your emotions with them. (Another kind of philia, sometimes called storge, embodied the love between parents and their children.) We can all ask ourselves how much of this comradely philia we have in our lives. It’s an important question in an age when we attempt to amass “friends” on Facebook or “followers” on Twitter—achievements that would have hardly impressed the Greeks. 3. Agape, or love for everyone The fourth love, and perhaps the most radical, was agape, or selfless love. This was a love that you extended to all people, whether they were family members or distant strangers. Agape was later translated into Latin as “caritas,” which is the origin of our word “charity.” C.S. Lewis referred to it as “gift love,” the highest form of Christian love. But it also appears in other religious traditions, such as the idea of mettā or “universal loving kindness” in Theravāda Buddhism. There is growing evidence that agape is in a dangerous decline in many countries. Empathy levels in the US have declined sharply over the past forty years with the steepest fall occurring in the past decade. I believe that we urgently need to revive our capacity to care about strangers. 4. Pragma, or longstanding love Another Greek love was the mature love known as pragma. This was the deep understanding that developed between long-married couples. Pragma was about making compromises to help the relationship work over time and showing patience and tolerance. The psychoanalyst Erich Fromm said that we spend too much energy on “falling in love” and need to learn more how to “stand in love.” Pragma is precisely about standing in love—making an effort to give love rather than just receive it. With about a third of first marriages in the US ending in divorce or separation in the first ten years, the Greeks would surely think we should bring a serious dose of pragma into our relationships. 5. Philautia, or love of the self The Greek’s sixth variety of love was philautia or self-love. And the clever Greeks realized there were two types. One was an unhealthy variety associated with narcissism in which you became self-obsessed and focused on personal fame and fortune. A much healthier version of philautia enhances your wider capacity to love. The idea was that if you like yourself and feel secure in yourself, you will have plenty of love to give others (as is reflected in the Buddhist-inspired concept of “self-compassion”). Alternatively, as Aristotle put it, “All friendly feelings for others are an extension of a man’s feelings for himself.” 6. Playful love (Ludus) This was the Greeks’ idea of playful love, which referred to the affection between children or young lovers. We’ve all had a taste of it in the flirting and teasing in the early stages of a relationship. But we also live out our Ludus (as the Latins call it) when we sit around in a bar bantering and laughing with friends or when we go out dancing. Dancing with strangers may be the ultimate ludic activity, almost a playful substitute for sex itself. Social norms may frown on this kind of adult frivolity, but a little more ludus might be just what we need to spice up our love lives. The ancient Greeks found diverse kinds of love in relationships with a wide range of people— friends, family, spouses, strangers, and even themselves. This contrasts with our typical focus on one single romantic relationship in which we hope to find all the different loves we could possibly experience wrapped up into a single person or soul mate. The message from the Greeks is to nurture the different varieties of love and tap into the many sources. Don’t just seek eros, but cultivate philia by spending more time with old friends, or develop ludus by dancing the night away. Moreover, we should abandon our obsession with perfection. Don’t expect your partner to offer you all the varieties of love all of the time. This can easily lead to you tossing aside a partner who fails to live up to your desires. Recognize that a relationship may begin with plenty of eros and ludus, then evolve toward embodying more pragma or agape. The diverse Greek understanding of types of human love can also provide consolation. By taking the time to map out the extent to which all six loves are present in your life, you might discover you’ve got a lot more love than you had ever imagined—even if you feel the absence of a physical lover. It’s time we reintroduced the six varieties of Greek love into our everyday way of speaking and thinking. If even the art of coffee deserves its own sophisticated vocabulary, then why not the art of love? By Roman Krznaric Roman Krznaric is an *********** cultural thinker. This article is based on his book “How should we live? Great ideas from the past for everyday life.” His website can be found at romankrznaric.com Source link #Love #Ancient #Greeks #Types #Love Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump Renamed the Gulf of Mexico, but Who Controls It? Trump Renamed the Gulf of Mexico, but Who Controls It? The Trump administration has renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, but most of the body of water lies outside maritime regions controlled by the United States. Maritime claims in the Gulf of Mexico Source: Sovereign Limits By Zach Levitt According to calculations by Sovereign Limits, a database of international boundaries, the United States lays claim to 46 percent of the gulf, while Mexico lays claim to 49 percent. Maritime zones are divided into categories based on distance from the coast. Territorial seas lie closest to a nation’s shore, and the laws of a country apply within and below those waters the way they do on land, for the most part. Farther beyond the shore, a country’s exclusive economic zone is where it controls what is in the water, like fish, as well as what is in and below the seabed, like oil and gas. Additionally, the gulf contains sections of so-called high seas, where a country might also retain rights only to the natural resources of the seabed and subsoil. Mexico 292,400 49% Territorial Seas 23,700 4% Economic zones 262,800 44% High seas 5,800 1% United States 273,200 46% Territorial Seas 36,300 6% Economic zones 232,300 39% High seas 4,600 1% Cuba 31,600 6% Territorial Seas 3,400 1% Economic zones 27,700 5% High seas 500 <1% Source: Sovereign Limits Note: Figures may not add up to 100 percent because of rounding. The gulf, like many regions around the world, has maritime boundaries that are mutually agreed upon by the countries along its coast. According to Kevin Danaher and Marissa Wood at Sovereign Limits, the gulf is “covered fully by established maritime boundaries.” The Gulf of Mexico has appeared on maps for centuries, but geographic name changes are common throughout history. This name change has an immediate impact on U.S. federal agencies that map or refer to the gulf. Some companies such as Google and Apple now display Gulf of America for users in the United States. For others, the name change is optional. Source link #Trump #Renamed #Gulf #Mexico #Controls Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Champions League: Bayern drown out the noise, and was this the worst penalty award ever? Champions League: Bayern drown out the noise, and was this the worst penalty award ever? Football very rarely goes to plan. AC Milan’s new strike force were supposed to quickly start scoring a lot of goals. Feyenoord selling their best player was supposed to mean their season was over. Bayern Munich were supposed to crumble away from home again. Oh, and VAR was supposed to eradicate horrendous refereeing decisions. As you can see from last night’s Champions League play-off knockout clashes, the sport rarely fails to disappoint when it comes to predictability. Here Tim Spiers analyses the key talking points from Wednesday evening’s matches. That penalty decision… “Football is becoming a completely different sport. Football is now going in a direction that has nothing to do with the game… I don’t know the rules anymore and I certainly don’t like it.” What on earth could have happened to leave one of European football’s most highly respected managers so utterly dismayed? Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini was rendered angry and bereft by the decision to award Club Brugge a 91st minute penalty in the first leg of their play-off in Belgium. You could understand why. Behold, one of the worst penalty decisions you are ever likely to witness… Video for *** readers The controversial penalty awarded to Club Brugge in the 91st minute The Atalanta players are fuming with the referee @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/GpBydqZnB0 — Football on **** Sports (@footballontnt) February 12, 2025 “Listening to footballers and coaches, they all have a completely different idea of ​​fouls,” an exasperated Gasperini added. “The tragedy is the contacts: everyone dives to steal and win a yellow or a penalty.” To recap, a decent tie was winding down to a 1-1 draw, probably a satisfactory result for both sides, when the clocked ticked over 90 minutes and into three minutes of stoppage time. A seemingly harmless pass went into the box, which Atalanta defender Isak Hien had under control, chased by Brugge striker and Swedish compatriot Gustaf Nilsson. As Hien jostled for position, his arm appeared to slightly catch Nilsson, who went to ground. There was barely an appeal from the home fans or any Brugge players, but a penalty was given. Hien was in disbelief, kneeling on the ground, head in hands. Six Atalanta players surrounded the referee in protest, while Gasperini gestured with not one but two hands, in a manner only Italians can reasonably pull off. Incensed Atalanta players confront referee Halil Umut Meler (Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images) VAR Pol van Boekel (from the Netherlands) somehow upheld the decision made by Turkish referee Halil Umut Meler who, after not showing a card all match, booked three Atalanta players (Hien, plus Rafael Toloi and Juan Cuadrado for arguing) in the confusion that followed. Nilsson got up and scored the penalty, at which point Gasperini whipped off his jacket and stormed down the tunnel before the match had even finished. Atalanta’s incensed players continued their protests after full-time and security had to ******* some of them off the field. Gasperini addresses the media after the game (Lars Baron – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images) “Those who follow football know that it is not a penalty,” midfielder Marten De Roon said, while even Brugge player Hans Vanaken conceded they were “a bit lucky”. “It’s just ridiculous,” added Atalanta’s Belgian attacker Charles De Ketelaere, who was returning to his old club for the first time, while calling the referee “arrogant”. “If you ask 100 people, I think out of 100 none would say that was a foul.” Well, funny you should say that Charles, because one of those 100 people clearly wasn’t former referee Christina Unkel, who kept things tight in the referees’ union. Video for U.S. readers Should Brugge have been awarded that controversial 94′ penalty? @ChristinaUnkel believes YES pic.twitter.com/9FaLh9nRNf — CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 12, 2025 Next week’s return leg in Bergamo is tantalisingly poised, then, while next month’s Sweden international get-together should be pretty interesting for Nilsson and Hien, too… Fab Four flounder They have been dubbed the Fab Four — a fearsome, fantastic attack that can fire Milan up the Serie A table and deep into the Champions League knockout stages. USMNT star winger Christian Pulisic, flying wide man Rafael Leao, skilful genius Joao Felix and prolific ******** striker Santiago Gimenez, four hugely talented players who, in tandem, could prove to be one of Europe’s most electrifying strike forces. Joao Felix joined on loan from Chelsea last week while Gimenez was signed from Feyenoord, where he had scored 16 goals in 19 games this season, for £26.7million. And here the Fab Four were in Rotterdam of all places, the home of Feyenoord, unleashed as a quartet for the first time. The result? Feyenoord 1 AC Milan 0. And Milan’s expected goals (xG) tally for the night? Precisely 0.57. Fab Four? How about The Four Flops? A disappointed Pulisic departs the fray in Rotterdam (Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images) OK, it’s only one match and they will need time to gel, but this was certainly an underwhelming evening for Milan’s front players, three of whom were subbed off before the night was done. Sergio Conceicao’s struggling side could have avoided all this had they won away at Dinamo Zagreb in the final round of group games, but ended up losing 2-1 in Croatia, reflecting what has been a hugely inconsistent season for a team that lies 17 points behind leaders Napoli in Serie A. Out in Rotterdam they created precious little with an XI that included no Italian players, in what was a fairly incident-free encounter. Well, except for one that goalkeeper Mike Maignan will instantly want to forget… GO DEEPER Pulisic’s Milan suffers first-leg loss to Feyenoord in UCL playoff Who needs a manager? This was quite a result for Feyenoord, whose fans must have been fearing the worst given recent turbulent events at the club. Manager Brian Priske, who succeeded Arne Slot in the summer when the 46-year-old left to manage Liverpool, was sacked just two days before the visit of Milan. Priske had actually won his final game in charge at the weekend, a 3-0 derby victory over Sparta Rotterdam, but Feyenoord are a lowly fifth in the Dutch Eredivisie, went out of the Dutch Cup to PSV last week and were spanked 6-1 by Lille on Matchday 8 of the group stage, when a victory in France would have seen them finish in the top eight. Given recent results — and the ***** of best player Gimenez to Milan, a transfer which happened after the draw was made for the play-off round — Feyenoord’s supporters could be forgiven for thinking their club was waving a white flag for this tie. Step forward Maignan, Milan’s France international goalkeeper, with this absolute howler in the third minute of the match. Nothing much seemed to be on when Igor Paixao cut inside from the left and sent a fairly harmless-looking effort low towards the keeper’s near post, but Maignan, not helped by horribly wet conditions in the Netherlands, pushed the ball into the net. Video for *** readers Feyenoord take an early lead! Mike Maignan will not want to watch this one back @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/HFxrIoksb6 — Football on **** Sports (@footballontnt) February 12, 2025 Video for U.S. readers Milan’s Mike Maignan will want that one back pic.twitter.com/pgIKty4CdZ — CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 12, 2025 That was pretty much that for the night, other than Paixao smacking a shot off the bar in the second half, and attempting another from the half-way line. Feyenoord’s xG of 0.58 was only fractionally better than that of Milan on what was a fairly dull evening. But, after the week they just endured, that was absolutely fine with Feyenoord. Bayern hush Parkhead They may be enjoying themselves at the top of the Bundesliga, eight points clear of Bayer Leverkusen, but Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich have still shown vulnerabilities this season — especially on the road when faced with an intimidating away atmosphere. They have only dropped nine points in the league, but seven of those have been lost away from home. In the Champions League they won all four home group games but lost three of four on the road, including at Aston Villa and Feyenoord where the volume was turned up to 11. Football atmospheres don’t get much louder than Celtic Park on a big European night, so this was a serious test of Bayern’s European credentials. The pre-match noise was so ear-splitting that Celtic defender Alistair Johnston nodded his approval as the decibels went above jet engine levels when the teams lined up before kick off. When former Bayern youngster Nicolas Kuhn put Celtic in front after just 25 seconds, they could probably hear the noise in Munich. However, that was correctly ruled out for offside and Bayern slowly turned the ****** in Glasgow, establishing some dominance in the din and then clinically scoring either side of half time to take charge of the tie. Michael Olise’s strike was one to savour… Video for *** readers WHAT A ROCKET Michael Olise cuts in from the right, and rifles a left footed strike into the roof of the net to give the ******* side the lead in Glasgow @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/d23nAyqs3X — Football on **** Sports (@footballontnt) February 12, 2025 Video for U.S. readers Michael Olise hits an absolute rocket with the last kick of the first half pic.twitter.com/yNZj8L5XnE — CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 12, 2025 And then a criminally unmarked Harry Kane volleyed in from close range for his 29th goal from 29 appearances this season to quell the Celtic Park roar. That was the 19th goal he has scored beyond Kasper Schmeichel for club and country — five more than he has managed against any other goalkeeper. Brendan Rodgers’ side rallied impressively in the final stages, with Daizen Maeda’s header keeping their hopes alive, but they will need a minor miracle in Germany next week to progress to the last 16. Card appeal dashes a dream The Champions League is supposed to be a competition where dreams are made. However, for Monaco’s Libyan midfielder Moatasem Al-Musrati, his competition debut turned into a nightmare against Benfica. The 28-year-old, who is on loan from Besiktas, was on a booking when he saw team-mate Breel Embolo unceremoniously dumped to the floor by Benfica defender Alvaro Carreras. Denis Zakaria (left) comforts Al-Musrati as he departs the field (Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images) Al-Musrati thought it was a foul and Italian referee Maurizio Mariani agreed, blowing his whistle. Al-Musrati, though, wanted more than that; he wanted Carreras booked and so gently gestured the universal sign language for “show him a card, ref” in the official’s direction. Nope, can’t do that. Second booking and then a red, Al-Musrati was off. He will now miss the second leg, and with Monaco 1-0 down you have to wonder if the on-loan midfielder will play again in the Champions League this season. Or perhaps ever again. On the flip side, Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis is very much living out his Champions League dreams, scoring his sixth goal in the competition this season to give Bruno Lage’s side a crucial advantage going into the return leg in Lisbon next week. Video for *** readers A lovely chip from Vangelis Pavlidis grants Benfica the lead over Monaco! @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/bqiw5Sv6pF — Football on **** Sports (@footballontnt) February 12, 2025 Video for U.S. readers Vangelis Pavlidis chips in his sixth goal in nine matches pic.twitter.com/VPgr369wAg — CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 12, 2025 Pavlidis scored when this fixture was played in the group stage, too (Benfica won 3-2), as well as scoring a hat-trick against Barcelona and adding another against Juventus. Only six players have scored more in 2024-25 and it’s an exclusive list — Serhou Guirassy (10), Robert Lewandowski (nine), Raphinha (eight), Erling Haaland (eight), Vinicius Jr (seven) and Kane (seven). What happens next? Wednesday’s results Club Brugge 2 Atalanta 1 Celtic 1 Bayern Munich 2 Feyenoord 1 Milan 0 Monaco 0 Benfica 1 Next week’s second legs Tuesday, February 18 Atalanta (1) vs Club Bruges (2) Bayern Munich (2) vs Celtic (1) Milan (0) vs Feyenoord (1) Benfica (1) vs Monaco (0) Wednesday, February 19 Paris Saint-Germain (3) vs Brest (0) PSV Eindhoven (1) vs Juventus (2) Real Madrid (3) vs Manchester City (2) Borussia Dortmund (3) vs Sporting CP (0) Eight teams will advance to the last 16, to join Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa. The draw for the last 16, quarter-final and semi-final will take place on Friday February 21. (Top photos: Getty Images) Source link #Champions #League #Bayern #drown #noise #worst #penalty #award Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]