Pelican Press

Rafael Nadal’s tennis career: A king of clay who should be remembered as so much more Rafael Nadal’s tennis career: A king of clay who should be remembered as so much more Rafael Nadal retired from tennis on Tuesday night. He won 22 Grand Slam titles in 23 years across all three tennis surfaces, with an Olympic gold medal and 92 ATP titles in all. He was most dominant on clay, winning 63 percent of his titles on the surface and compiling an 81-match win streak between April 2005 and May 2007, which ******** the longest single-surface streak in the Open era of men’s tennis. He also spent his entire career battling his own body, with Nadal’s injuries both acute and chronic carving the trajectory of his career and to an extent the way he played tennis. King of clay. Warrior. Spanish bull. Nadal embodied all these things, and tributes written so are not ill-fitting. But describing Nadal only in such terms does one of the greatest men’s tennis players of all time a catastrophic disservice. A tennis player in constant evolution, Nadal — and his rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic that constituted the ‘Big Three’ era — refigured the sport. Nadal possessed shotmaking talent, tennis IQ, finesse and flair too often lost in the brick-red dust. Rafael Nadal’s greatness on clay has sometimes overshadowed the extent of that greatness. (Julian Finney / Getty Images) The world tends to define athletes and sometimes people in general in absolute terms. It’s a way of making sense of complex personalities and performers — whittling them down to a single characteristic like a superhero. It also creates easy archetypes for comparison: in Nadal’s case, he was the ferocious physicality to Federer’s effortless elegance and Djokovic’s rubber-limbed flexibility. All three suffered for their superheroism. Federer was so aesthetically pleasing that his supreme fitness and remarkable defensive abilities were glossed over. Djokovic was cast as reactive, which doesn’t do justice to his point construction or his extra gear in pressure moments (the all-or-nothing cross-court forehand against Federer in the semifinal of the 2011 U.S. Open just one example of many). Djokovic’s three French Open titles barely register because of the 10 he has won in Melbourne, and who cares about a hat-trick of wins when your biggest rival has won 11 more times? Well, as so many players told The Athletic in June, Djokovic is very possibly the second-best male player on clay of all time. Nadal still suffered most for his greatness on one surface. He was perhaps the second-most complete male baseliner to ever play the sport after Djokovic, with an all-round game good enough to deliver four U.S. Opens (tied with Djokovic and just one shy of the Open-era record held by Federer, Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors), and two Wimbledons from five final appearances at the All England Club. As he evolved his game to meet his body’s limitations and started to shorten points more concertedly, he become one of the best volleyers on the ATP Tour. Subtract Nadal’s 14 Roland Garros titles and his eight remaining majors give him more than tennis legends like John McEnroe and Boris Becker, and tie him with Andre Agassi, Connors and Ivan Lendl. It’s true that some surface homogenization in the early 2000s helped him do more than his clay-court specialist compatriots like Sergi Bruguera, Carlos Moya, Albert Costa and Juan Carlos Ferrero — who all won the French Open but not a major more — but Nadal’s mastery of every surface came from the way he reconfigured tennis itself alongside Djokovic and to an important but lesser extent Federer. Nadal changed the sport in myriad ways. His shotmaking ability, on the slide and on the run, and the unseen revs and kick of his forehand helped redefine the mechanics of tennis (as with the surfaces changing, equipment changing helped too). Even that shot, which he splintered beautifully into the inside-out thrash, the banana whip, the cross-court ***** and so many more variations, is normally figured in terms of brute force as opposed to David Foster Wallace’s “liquid whip” description of Federer’s own devastating groundstroke. Rafael Nadal retires from tennis Rafael Nadal’s return position blunted his opponents’ strengths and allowed him to impose his own. (Jason Heidrich / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Nadal’s initially belittled deep return position neutralized opponents with ******* serves. It allowed him to start rallies where he could be favorite while knowing that his opponents would do little to counter it. That position, which Dominic Thiem also adopted early, has now become fundamental to men’s tennis. What all these evolutions have in common is movement, and that is where Nadal remade tennis most of all alongside Djokovic. The return strategy, the baseline missiles launched with margin and the deftness in the forecourt were underpinned by staggering court coverage, whether running round his backhand time and again or sliding a lost position into a winning one, transposing clay-court movement onto new surfaces. While Djokovic was and ******** the true master of sliding, it was the collective strength of their innovations tipped the scales away from servers, and forced up-and-coming players who ran into them to not just dominate on serve, but scramble and rally too. Daniil Medvedev is perhaps the most direct descendant by force. That’s before considering how the Nadal-Djokovic-Federer-Andy Murray nexus, who contested so many semifinals and finals, made each other better while making everybody else look worse. None of this means that Nadal is as naturally talented as Federer nor as elastic as Djokovic. Nadal himself felt Federer was more blessed. His team agreed: his uncle and first coach Toni said in an interview by phone this week that Nadal “had a very good volley, but not a nice volley like Federer”. Nadal was king of clay. His power and will to win were hard to ignore. But to watch Nadal finding seemingly impossible angles or leaning into his backhands mid-match was to see a master of his craft at work. A fighter yes, but a genius too. (Top photo: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images) Source link #Rafael #Nadals #tennis #career #king #clay #remembered Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

New season of Welcome to ****** School, Iruma-kun is in production New season of Welcome to ****** School, Iruma-kun is in production While not as popular as other mainstream shonen titles, Welcome to ****** School, Iruma-kun is still quite well-received among anime fans. Well, get ready for some good news because a new season has been greenlit. Screen Rant reported that the anime’s official X account announced that a fourth season of Osamu Nishi’s Welcome to ****** School, Iruma-kun has been confirmed. In the tweet announcing the sequel, a short announcement video was also uploaded. More info from Anime News Network states that the announcement was made coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the anime. The video features Iruma and the mysterious 13th member of the Misfit Class, Purson Soi, who is seen in the background standing on a small roof holding a trumpet. This officially means that Season 4 will be adapting the Music Festival Arc. アニメ「魔入りました！入間くん」 ／ 第４シリーズ制作決定スペシャル映像公開 ＼ 夕暮れの屋上で誰かを探す入間と 13人目のクラスメイト プルソン・ソイの姿が…！[Hidden Content] pic.twitter.com/PLzQ1NwDdy — アニメ『魔入りました！入間くん』【NEP公式】 (@nep_irumakun) November 17, 2024 It’s still undecided when Season 4 of Iruma-kun will be released or how many episodes the sequel will have. Considering the previous seasons have all been 20 plus episodes long, it’s highly likely that the anime will follow the same path. As mentioned earlier, it might not garner the same amount of viewers compared to other popular shonen titles, but Iruma-kun is still releasing more seasons and it’s pretty evident that it will finish the whole source material when it’s completed. Source link #season #****** #School #Irumakun #production Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

DC Area ******* Starts Support Group for Parents With Trans-Identifying Children DC Area ******* Starts Support Group for Parents With Trans-Identifying Children BURKE, Virginia – The transgender issue reaches far and wide and affects hundreds of thousands of Americans, and now churches are starting to address it. One in northern Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C., has started a support group for parents with trans-identifying children. It’s an issue almost no one discussed five years ago but today is impossible to ignore. The transgender crisis affects an estimated 1.6 million Americans and is now so common that pastors are weighing in. Marty Baker is the senior pastor at Burke Community ******* in Burke, Virginia. “As gender ideology began to surface in 2017-2018, began to be infiltrated into the school systems, taught to children, that type of thing, well by definition, you started having parents wondering, ‘what is this?'” Baker said in an interview with CBN News. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on transgenderism and consistently teaches on it from the pulpit. “We’ve taught [the congregation] a lot about the information, the apologetics of it, how to defend, how to push truth as opposed to error, those types of things, so they’re very educated on that, but what do you do with all of the life stories? And there’s lots of those,” Baker explained. He says those life stories came up during a women’s retreat at the *******. More than 100 women had questions and needed wisdom. Ed Stetzer, the dean at Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology, told CBN News, “I think a lot of churches five years ago weren’t talking about this. But the last five years has seen such an acceleration, I think it’s time for churches to be teaching more on the topic.” Stetzer says Christians need to speak on this issue in a biblical way that’s filled with grace. He sees a big opportunity for the *******. “I think this is an opportunity for the ******* of ****** ******* to actually put forth a beautiful image of sexuality and gender that I think will actually call to people who are living in a confused – and we’re all in a broken world – but just unsure about those things,” he explained. “Let’s say, ‘The ****** gives us a path. We want to walk with you on that path.'” Burke Community ******* member Dr. Susan Ashton-Lazaroae deals directly with teens on this path as a pediatrician. “Thankfully the number of children presenting with gender dysphoria has decreased in the past couple of years, which is truly encouraging,” Ashton-Lazaroae told CBN News. On a recent plane trip, she says she saw ****’s hands at work when she happened to sit next to the head of the ********** Post, and the issue of transgenderism came up. “Once we started talking about that, the CEO, Christopher Chou, said, ‘Oh we’re trying to have an event in northern Virginia but we can’t find a ******* that’s brave enough to host this event for us.’ And that’s when we started chatting about the fact that I thought our pastor, Pastor Marty, would most likely be interested in hosting an event in conjunction with the ********** Post,” Ashton-Lazaroae explained. And it happened. She and other experts gathered at Burke Community ******* in October for a conference. During the event, leaders announced the formation of a new support group. “Wonderfully Made” is a ministry for parents with children who identify as trans and refuse to bow to the pressure of society to socially and surgically transition them. “The group is for parents whose children are struggling with their identity,” said Ashton-Lazaroae. “Our aim is to walk in prayer and support and grace with these families, to help them feel that they’re not alone.” The group has no pastoral leadership or curriculum. It’s simply parents leaning on parents. “It’s caring for each other,” said Baker. “And that’s getting down into the mess of other people’s lives, crying with them, being concerned about them, because a lot of these people feel alone.” “Wonderfully Made” had its first meeting at the beginning of November. The ******* tells CBN News 12 people showed up, a mix of people wanting to help launch the group and others needing support. ***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly ********** perspective.*** Source link #Area #******* #Starts #Support #Group #Parents #TransIdentifying #Children Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ravens say they aren’t pondering a kicking change, but Justin Tucker is cause for concern Ravens say they aren’t pondering a kicking change, but Justin Tucker is cause for concern Citing a lack of consistency in the kicking game, Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome announced that the team was releasing young kicker Stephen Hauschka, who hours earlier missed a 36-yard attempt against the Cleveland Browns on “Monday Night Football.” Hauschka was just 9-of-13 on field goal attempts through nine games, and all of his misses were from under 50 yards. The Ravens replaced him by signing free agent Billy Cundiff, who was working at a venture capital firm at the time. That transaction occurred in November 2009. That’s the last time the Ravens made an in-season, performance-based change at typically one of the most volatile positions in the sport. Ravens coach John Harbaugh made clear Monday that he has no plans on making another one, even as his longtime kicker, Justin Tucker, is mired in the most difficult stretch of his 13-year career. “There’s no thought to that,” Harbaugh said. “You have to find that competition first if you’re going to be blunt about it. Where is that competition? That would be one thing. The best option right now is to get Justin back on point, because he’s fully capable of doing it. (We) certainly haven’t lost any confidence in Justin Tucker.” Harbaugh’s comments came a day after Tucker missed two kicks in an 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. After entering the season as the most statistically accurate kicker in NFL history, Tucker has missed 6 of 22 attempts this year, along with a point-after try. Two of the misses came from inside 50 yards, where Tucker had made 90 percent of his kicks over his first 12 NFL seasons. His extra-point miss was just the seventh of his career. GO DEEPER ‘They’ve had our number’: Ravens again unable to overcome themselves in loss to Steelers “It’s certainly frustrating, especially when we know that these games come down to the wire, like this one did, that I let a couple get away,” Tucker said after Sunday’s game. “But, like I’ve said before, the only thing that we can do is just get right back to work and focus on making the most out of our next opportunity.” Considered one of the most unique weapons in the league for over a decade and the Ravens’ most reliable performer since he entered the league in 2012, Tucker — and by extension, the team’s field goal operation — has suddenly become one of the reasons Baltimore is losing games. It’s harsh and it feels uncomfortable to say or write about a guy who has been the gold standard in the sport at his position for many years, but the numbers are hard to ignore. The Ravens’ four losses have come by a total of 17 points, and Tucker missed a field goal in each of them that factored prominently in the defeats. Tucker “needs to make kicks,” Harbaugh said after Sunday’s frustrating loss in Pittsburgh. “He knows that. He makes them in practice, and he made the long one (54-yarder) later, which was good to see. He’s still very capable. Kick them straight, we’ll be good.” Missing seven total kicks through 11 games would get plenty of other kickers a pink slip. That’s just the nature of the position in the NFL and the fine line between winning and losing. Kicking issues are omnipresent around the league, and Tucker is hardly alone among proven veterans having a tough time this season. The New York Jets have had four different kickers in as many weeks. GO DEEPER Normally ‘automatic’ kickers like Justin Tucker, Younghoe Koo are struggling in 2024 For the Ravens, however, kicking stability has been a constant. Matt Stover, nicknamed “Money Matt” for his accuracy, was the team’s kicker from 1996 to 2008. Cundiff replaced Hauschka in 2009 and was the team’s kicker for three seasons before his crushing late miss in the AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots in January 2012. Tucker arrived on the scene as an undrafted free agent several months later, beat out Cundiff for the job and hasn’t missed a game in 13 seasons. Just the idea of making a kicking change in Baltimore seems blasphemous, given Tucker’s well-earned status. Before the two misses in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Tucker’s career field goal percentage (89.7) made him the most accurate kicker in NFL history and put him on a Hall of Fame track. His clutch kicking as a rookie in 2012 was instrumental in the Ravens winning their last Super Bowl. He’s been selected to seven Pro Bowl teams and named an All-Pro on eight occasions. Time and time again when the Ravens needed points, particularly late in games, Tucker stepped up, performed his tried-and-true pre-kick ritual and calmly delivered. He’s previously been the highest-paid kicker in the sport, and for good reason. Tucker’s kicking brilliance, along with his charisma, outgoing personality and multitude of talents, made him one of the faces of the team and one of the most popular and recognizable athletes in Baltimore. Tucker’s No. 9 jerseys are not hard to find when you’re scanning the seating bowl at Ravens games. But this season has brought long-avoided angst in Baltimore about the performance of the kicker and led to a small but growing segment of Baltimore’s fan base to question why the organization hasn’t moved on, or at least brought in competition, for its longtime star. “Knowing the team, knowing the character of Justin, yes, his performance in the past does warrant him the benefit of the doubt, for sure,” Stover said. “But this is the NFL. It is a very immediate performance you have to have. With an objective job like being a kicker, it becomes a quick response for people to say, ‘Hey, man, what’s wrong with you? Do we need to make a change?’” Yet, Stover said, “He’s one of the best who has ever done it. Who are you going to get who you can guarantee will be better?” Justin Tucker has missed a field goal in each of the Ravens’ four losses this season. (David Eulitt / Getty Images) Bringing in another kicker in mid-November likely means either signing a well-traveled veteran who hasn’t been able to land another job or plucking someone off another team’s practice squad. It’s inconceivable at the moment that the Ravens would trust one of those options more than Tucker at a time when they fancy themselves as Super Bowl contenders. “He’s definitely our best option, and he’s going to make a lot of kicks — I really believe that,” Harbaugh said. “But it’s up to him and the guys he works with every day to make those ****** go straight. Competition right now, at this time, no that’s not something we’d want for Justin.” Stover, who is in the Ravens’ Ring of Honor, still lives in the Baltimore area and has relationships with many people in the building, including Tucker. He also understands what Tucker is going through. There were times early in his career with Cleveland when he struggled and the Browns brought in competition for his job. In 1999, the Ravens claimed kicker Joe Nedney on waivers while Stover remained on the roster. “That was brutal. He wasn’t on the practice squad. He wasn’t on IR. He was on the roster,” Stover said. “It really just comes down to performance. There’s no subjectivity. I got through it. “Justin is going through a little blip. He’s mentally strong. He’s got a great support staff around him. He’s got a head coach who totally gets it. To do it for 12 years as well as he’s done it says a lot about who he is and his character. It’s the first time he’s ever had to deal with this. I dealt with it three or four times. It was hard and it sucks. He’ll get through it.” Stover, who trains young kickers, acknowledged that he hasn’t broken down Tucker’s mechanics, but he maintains the fact that Tucker has missed all seven kicks wide left is a “good thing,” because that often points to a fixable issue. It doesn’t appear to be a leg strength issue with Tucker. Almost all of his kicks, except one, have had the necessary distance. Scoop City Newsletter Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign Up There has been plenty of speculation about whether his issues are being caused by snapping and/or holding problems, but Tucker and others at the Ravens’ facility have continued to say snapper Nick Moore and holder Jordan Stout, who aren’t new at this or to the team, are doing their jobs. After Sunday’s misses, Tucker retreated to the locker room to address reporters and insisted his struggles are not a confidence issue, either. “I’m still confident I’m going to go out there and nail every single kick,” Tucker said. “Part of the way we stay confident is by continuing to work and trust the process, and I know I might sound like a broken record, but it’s a part of what brings us success — just trusting the process and then taking it one kick at a time.” Harbaugh, a former special teams coach, has a very close relationship with the kicker. Senior special teams coach ****** Brown has been with Tucker every step of his career and is considered one of the top kicking gurus in the league. Ravens assistant special teams coach Sam Koch is a former holder for Tucker and one of his closest confidants. Stout has been holding for Tucker for three seasons, and Moore has been in the Ravens organization since 2020. The kicking battery and coaching staff have an established routine that has yielded very strong results for many years. “You try to ******* everything to the utmost that we can, across the board,” Harbaugh said. “Justin is one of the aspects that we’re looking at. He’s going to get it figured out. We have coaches. We have technique. We look at the tape. He’s practicing well. He’s got to kick it straight.” (Top photo: Barry Reeger / Imagn Images) Source link #Ravens #arent #pondering #kicking #change #Justin #Tucker #concern Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Dragon Age Veilguard and Silent Hill 2 launch sales ‘relatively slow’ in Europe Dragon Age Veilguard and Silent Hill 2 launch sales ‘relatively slow’ in Europe Launch month sales for Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Silent Hill 2 were reportedly relatively slow in Europe. That’s according to GSD data shared by GamesIndustry.biz’s Chris Dring, which covers physical sales from major markets and digital sales from most leading publishers, excluding Nintendo and 505 Games. Compared with other high profile RPGs released this year, Dragon Age: The Veilguard sales are tracking 18% below Dragon’s Dogma 2 and almost 21% behind PS5 exclusive Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Dring said on Bluesky. The new Dragon Age title was the seventh best-selling game across Europe in October, one spot behind Silent Hill 2 on the monthly chart. Launch sales for Konami’s survival horror remake are 57% lower than Resident Evil 4 remake and 31% behind the ***** Space remake, both of which came out last year. Despite launching on Game Pass for Xbox and PC, the release of ****** Ops 6 helped drive a 12.4% rise in game sales across Europe in October. Sales of the new Call of Duty were 5% higher than last year’s disappointing Modern Warfare 3 launch, but down 28% compared with 2022’s Modern Warfare 2. Sales of the PlayStation versions of the game were up 26% compared to Modern Warfare 3, and 2% higher than they were for Modern Warfare 2. Super Mario Party Jamboree debuted at No.5 on the monthly chart. Its launch was down 6% compared to 2021’s Mario Party Superstars. Source link #Dragon #Age #Veilguard #Silent #Hill #launch #sales #slow #Europe Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Tiger Lils Perth to reopen as Lil’s, a two-level bar and rooftop oasis on Murray Street Tiger Lils Perth to reopen as Lil’s, a two-level bar and rooftop oasis on Murray Street Long-closed Perth CBD venue Tiger Lil’s is to reopen as a bar and rooftop venue this summer, with a ‘fresh, grown-up atmosphere for work and play’. Source link #Tiger #Lils #Perth #reopen #Lils #twolevel #bar #rooftop #oasis #Murray #Street Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Disney, ESPN to air Mickey Mouse alt-cast for Knicks-Spurs on Christmas Disney, ESPN to air Mickey Mouse alt-cast for Knicks-Spurs on Christmas It will be a Mickey Mouse production for the NBA on ESPN. On Christmas Day, the network and the league will continue the trend of presenting alternative broadcasts when the New York Knicks face the San Antonio Spurs at noon, Disney announced Wednesday. While the traditional broadcast will be available on places like ESPN and ABC, ESPN2 will have what is being dubbed as “Dunk The Halls,” the first animated game in NBA history. Both versions will be available on the streaming services, ESPN+ and Disney+. The presentation will utilize Sony’s “Beyond Sports Technology” by recreating the game action of stars like Victor Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson on Magic Kingdom’s “Main Street USA.” Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy and Chip and Dale will cheer on the players and deliver pretend pre-game and half-time speeches. At intermission, the Disney characters will compete in a slam dunk contest. The Pulse Newsletter Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign Up After a long night of work, Santa’s helpers have been contracted to operate the cameras, while Santa, himself, will work ESPN’s “SkyCam” during the game. Drew Carter, Monica McNutt and sideline reporter Daisy Duck will be the trio on the broadcast. The traditional telecast will feature Ryan Ruocco and Corey Alexander with Cassidy Hubbarth on the sideline. ESPN said in its release that fans will also find out if snow will fall on “Main Street,” though it is doubtful any ******** sites will take wagers (a white Christmas is a strong favorite, nonetheless). If that is not enough to entice viewers, Goofy will see how many churros he can eat. The telecast continues the trend of alternative broadcasts. In 2021, the NBA and ESPN teamed up with Disney Marvel characters for an alt-cast. Required reading (Photo: Courtesy of ESPN) Source link #Disney #ESPN #air #Mickey #Mouse #altcast #KnicksSpurs #Christmas Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Real Reason Valorant Shot Itself in the Foot by Destroying its Most Balanced Controller Real Reason Valorant Shot Itself in the Foot by Destroying its Most Balanced Controller The latest patch for Valorant is here and it seems like Riot Games decided to make some huge changes to the game. In the latest patch 9.10, the studio has rolled out various gameplay changes, the new Regen Shield, and balancing changes for Cypher, Sage, Deadlock, Omen, Clove, Phoenix, and Jett. One-way smokes allowed Valorant players to place smokes on small structures above the ground level (Image via Riot Games) While some changes are appreciated, fans are not happy with the changes Riot Games made to Omen. The agent has been a part of the game since day one and even today, it stands as one of the best Controller agents in the game, however, Riot Games tweaked the agent’s Dark Cover ability to stop players from placing one-way smokes. This has left the community wondering if Riot Games ever thinks about the casual players. In competitive games, this smoke would certainly give players an unfair advantage but this was hurting no one in casual games. Omen’s Dark Cover Ability Has Been Nerfed In Valorant The latest patch 9.10 for Valorant includes a nerf to Omen’s Dark Cover ability. Omen players were able to place one-way smokes, which Riot Games believes provides “defensive power with low counterplay.” As a result, Dark Cover will now always fall to the level geometry where players can stand, and will not allow players to place one-way smokes on “small ornamental pieces of Geometry.” Several other agents also received balancing updates, check out the complete list on Valorant‘s official website. Omen is a very popular pick mainly because of how strong his smoke abilities are. Players are able to smoke halfway across the map, plus it has a low cooldown that allows for quick smokes. Riot Games hasn’t touched the number of smokes or the cooldown, it is just that players will no longer be able to place unfair one-way smokes. Was The Omen Nerf Necessary? Several other agents received balancing updates (Image via Riot Games) Players who don’t play as Omen will find this nerf fair and valid, however, Omen mains have pointed out how taking away this ability from Omen takes away his “unique identity.” As a player explained on Reddit, other Controllers have unique identities. Clove has smokes after ******, Brimstone has long smokes, Astra has global smokes, and Viper has decay. Similarly, Omen had one-way smokes. Comment byu/no1mustardseed from discussion inVALORANT Comment byu/no1mustardseed from discussion inVALORANT Comment byu/no1mustardseed from discussion inVALORANT Comment byu/no1mustardseed from discussion inVALORANT This is another change that Riot Games has rolled out just to satisfy the pro players. It’s clear that the studio often ignores its large fanbase of casual players. This change will directly affect their gameplay. Riot Games has pointed out that it will be keeping an eye out here for how these changes affect the overall controller ecosystem, so it all depends on how players respond to it. This nerf could be revoked in the future but for now, it will stay. Along with the agent changes, Riot Games also rolled out a brand new armor called Regen Shield. This shield gives players an immediate 25 HP to the player in armor while also maintaining a 50 HP regeneration pool. When 25 HP base armor is damaged, the pool can fully regenerate twice. Source link #Real #Reason #Valorant #Shot #Foot #Destroying #Balanced #Controller Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nvidia beats, but fails to provide spark Nvidia beats, but fails to provide spark By Jamie McGeever (Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in ****** markets. Investors hoping that Nvidia’s eagerly-awaited earnings after the U.S. close on Wednesday would inject renewed vigor into world markets will be disappointed, heralding the prospect of a lukewarm open in Asia on Thursday. Wall Street spent all day Wednesday firmly in the red before a late rally, bond yields and the dollar were higher, and a weak 20-year U.S. Treasury bond auction was a reminder of how deep Washington’s fiscal deficit runs and the strain on investors to fund it. The global picture wasn’t particularly reassuring either. ********* stocks fell for a fourth day – their worst run in over two months – China’s yuan slipped to a three and a half month low on the spot market, and volatility ticked higher. Then came Nvidia. The world’s most valuable company reported a beat on third-quarter earnings per share and forecast fourth-quarter revenue slightly above estimates. But shares immediately fell in after-hours trading by as much as 5% before recovering, and Nikkei and Wall Street futures are pointing to a lower open in Japan and the US on Thursday. Is the AI darling’s shine beginning to fade? Thursday’s economic calendar in Asia is relatively light, with South Korean export, Indonesian current account and Hong Kong inflation data the main releases. Annual inflation in Hong Kong is seen slowing to a 1.7% pace in October from 2.2% in September, which would mark the steepest decline since April and heighten concern that deflationary pressures on the ******** mainland could be spreading. There may be more market fireworks from Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda, who is scheduled to speak at a financial forum in Paris. Investors and traders will be trying to determine if his tone and signals differ from his fairly balanced remarks earlier this week that kept the door open to a December rate hike but also cautioned against moving too fast. Judging by the yen’s behavior recently, whatever markets think the BOJ will do is being completely overwhelmed by renewed hawkishness surrounding the Fed outlook. The yen has only appreciated in one out of the last eight trading sessions, and finds itself back below 155.00 per dollar. It might need a notably hawkish signal from Ueda to engineer a sustainable recovery or get September’s 140.00 per dollar back into view. But right now, the ********* swaps market is pointing to less than 50 bps of BOJ tightening by the end of next year. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is moving closer to a historic break above $100,000, boosted by increasing confidence that President Donald Trump’s administration will be a crypto-friendly regime. Story Continues Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday: – Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda speaks in Paris – Hong Kong inflation (October) – South Korea exports (October) (Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Deepa Babington) Source link #Nvidia #beats #fails #provide #spark Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will be impacted by ***** Martino’s exit How Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will be impacted by ***** Martino’s exit As Inter Miami closed in on a record-setting 74-point season and a Supporters’ Shield trophy, much of the credit was given to Lionel Messi. When healthy, the 37-year-old Argentina national team captain was dominant. Messi played in just 19 of Miami’s 36 league matches but was still performing at MVP level, even if this was perhaps unsurprising for an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. Messi, though, has attributed Miami’s rise from a last-place club to the league’s standard to head coach ***** Martino. “The team has grown so much with Martino’s arrival,” Messi told reporters on the eve of the Leagues Cup final in August 2023. He repeated that on October 2 this year in a post-match interview with Apple TV after scoring two goals against the Columbus Crew to secure the Supporters’ Shield. On Tuesday, The Athletic reported Martino had resigned as Miami’s head coach due to personal reasons. The club announced that Martino, club co-owner Jorge Mas and president of football operations Raul Sanllehi will address the media on Friday. The reasons for Martino’s abrupt departure from Miami, who were eliminated from the MLS playoffs on November 9, will become more clear. But it may not answer every pending question regarding the future of the club and how this change will affect Messi. The World Cup winner has a contract through the 2025 season and a reported option for 2026. Messi is much more than a star player at the club. His contract includes a purchase option that would make him a partial owner in the future. He’s an influential figure. Martino speaking to Messi in training (Megan Briggs/Getty Images) In June 2023, cameras in Argentina captured Martino leaving Messi’s gated community in Rosario. The unconfirmed meeting took place two weeks after Messi told the world that he would end his ********* career and head to the ******* States. It preempted the third iteration of a Messi-Martino partnership. Martino coached Messi for one season at Barcelona in 2014 then again in 2015-2016 with the Argentina national team. Former Barcelona director of football Andoni Zubizarreta claimed in 2020 that Martino had voiced concerns about Messi’s authority at the Catalan club during a Barcelona training session a decade ago. According to Zubizarreta, Martino told Messi, “I know you can call the president and he’ll ***** me, but *****, you don’t have to demonstrate that every day. I already know.” “Those words never came out of my mouth,” Martino said shortly after. Their relationship has been overanalyzed. The fact that Martino could not win a major trophy alongside Messi fueled the hypothesis that a lack of success had created fissures between the two. The evidence at hand, though, doesn’t add up. Messi and Martino shared an embrace during last summer’s hype-filled Leagues Cup run which seemingly put an end to that theory. Messi’s public support of Martino this season carries weight as well. A stinging loss can change everything in professional sport. But Martino’s resignation coincides with a shift in dynamics inside the walls of Miami’s facility in Fort Lauderdale. To begin with, there is no shortage of decision makers at the club. There’s Mas, the outspoken billionaire executive who personally recruited Luis Suarez. His brother Jose Mas is also a club adjudicator. Co-owner David Beckham has a say across multiple departments, too. Martino himself had significant authority on player signings early in his short tenure. Things get complicated when it comes to the club’s sporting department. It was originally led by chief soccer officer Chris Henderson until Mas hired Sanllehi to oversee that division. It will be Sanllehi, not Henderson, who will flank Martino and Jorge Mas during Friday’s press conference. Sanllehi has twice held the position of director of football, first at Barcelona and then at Arsenal. He and Martino crossed paths during the Argentine’s lone year in La Liga. Before joining Miami, Sanllehi was the director general of Real Zaragoza in Spain — where Mas is part of the ownership group. Shortly after Sanllehi arrived in Zaragoza, the club’s owners replaced head coach Juan Ignacio Martinez with Juan Carlos Carcedo, a former assistant of Unai Emery at Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla, among other clubs. Sanllehi described Carcedo, the current head coach of Cypriot team Pafos FC, as “hard-working, knowledgeable and modern” in an interview with The Athletic in 2022. By hiring Sanllehi, Mas sent a clear message. He has experience in key administrative positions in Europe and will help shape Miami’s sporting strategy. But there are major differences between managing a top-tier ********* side and maneuvering the convoluted squad and financial restrictions of an MLS club. Sanllehi (left) is a key figure at Miami (Inter Miami) Sanllehi was instrumental in the highly-publicized deal that saw Neymar move from Santos to Barcelona in 2013. Neymar has been the latest superstar to be linked to a move to Miami. But Messi also has allies within the club in important roles. One is Guillermo Hoyos, Miami’s director of player development and methodology. Hoyos, an Argentine, was a youth coach of Messi’s at Barcelona. In 2010, Messi referred to Hoyos as “my footballing godfather.” Henderson is one of just a few professionals within the organization who has vast experience as an MLS executive. The club’s director of player personnel and compliance, Meghan Cameron, is a former MLS league office employee who was hired in 2021 after Miami were sanctioned for the MLS salary budget and roster guidelines. Henderson has thus far survived the ongoing shakeup. Miami’s vice president of soccer operations Niki Budalic, who works closely with Henderson, ******** at the club. Others do not. Former first team director of scouting and recruitment Mark Prizant, a former Manchester ******* scout, left the club over the summer for new MLS expansion side San Diego FC. He was named assistant sporting director. After Miami’s 2-1 win over Atlanta ******* on October 25, Martino credited Henderson, Budalic and others for identifying midfielder Yannick Bright in the 2023 college draft. Bright, 23, was a revelation in 2024. Martino clearly respected their opinions. With so many important voices in some of Miami’s most prominent positions, Martino had limited sway. In the end, Martino, who took Miami from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to the league’s best-ever point total, is just a coach. Never mind that his eye for talent identification has resulted in two of MLS’ most prolific teams. Atlanta ******* in 2018 and the 2024 version of Inter Miami have Martino’s fingerprints throughout both teams. But as Martino told reporters two weeks ago, Miami fell well short of their objectives this season. The bar was high when he was hired shortly after Messi announced his decision to join. The standard, now, is even higher. Martino’s successor will have to manage up and appease the club’s most powerful voices. Miami’s next head coach must find common ground with Messi immediately, and outperform the team’s 2024 exploits. Carcedo could be a dark horse candidate based on his previous history with Mas and Sanllehi. Former Barcelona midfielder and manager Xavi, currently unemployed, checks the most boxes. Together with Messi and Sergio Busquets, Xavi was an integral part of Barcelona’s glorious run from the mid 2000s. Mas admires the Barcelona DNA. His successful courtship of Messi, Suarez, Busquets and Jordi Alba have been a boon for the club and for MLS. Mascherano could be an option for Miami (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images) Then there’s Javier Mascherano, another former Barcelona midfielder and a legend with the Argentina national team. Mascherano and Messi have a long history together. Mascherano, 40, is the head coach of Argentina’s U-20 and U-23 teams. He talks openly about his friendship with Messi. He also tried to include Messi in his squad for the Paris Olympics as an overage player. The Miami job is a desirable one from the outside. Thanks to Messi, the club’s brand is well known around the world. But whoever is hired as Miami’s next manager will have the unenviable task of coaching an aging Miami team with limited depth at next summer’s Club World Cup. Martino’s exit has been put down to personal reasons — but what Martino says on Friday, in what will be a highly visible news conference, could be telling. (Top photo: AFP via Getty Images) Source link #Lionel #Messi #Inter #Miami #impacted #***** #Martinos #exit Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Fellows Heres What We Know About the Doggos of The First Descendant So Far Fellows Heres What We Know About the Doggos of The First Descendant So Far During the official Season 2 announcement video, Nexon confirmed that companions, or Fellows as is their in-game name, are indeed dogs and will be coming to The First Descendant with Season 2. Source link #Fellows #Heres #Doggos #Descendant Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Snowflake (SNOW) Q3 earnings report 2025 Snowflake (SNOW) Q3 earnings report 2025 The New York Stock Exchange welcomes Snowflake to usher in the first day of winter on Dec. 21, 2021. NYSE Snowflake shares on Wednesday spiked 19% in extended trading after the data analytics software maker reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat estimates. Here’s how the company did, compared to LSEG analyst expectations: Earnings per share: 20 cents, adjusted vs. 15 cents expected Revenue: $942 million vs. $897 million expected Snowflake’s total revenue rose 28% year over year in the quarter, which ended on Oct. 31, according to a statement. The company’s net loss of $324.3 million, or 98 cents per share, widened from $214.3 million, or 65 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Product revenue, at $900.3 million, represented around 96% of total revenue. Snowflake called for $3.43 billion in fiscal 2025 product revenue, implying 29% growth. That’s up from the $3.36 billion forecast management gave three months ago, which suggested 26% growth. The full-year view also includes an adjusted operating margin of 5%, up from the 3% guidance in August. Snowflake is focusing more on saving money, CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy told analysts on a conference call. “We’ve been creating centralized, more efficient teams for some areas and removing redundant management layers, which enables us to make decisions faster,” he said. But the company isn’t doing a major round of layoffs, finance chief Mike Scarpelli said. Snowflake had 10,618 customers at the end of October, having added 369 in the fiscal third quarter. Analysts polled by StreetAccount had expected 10,601. For years, Snowflake has put up with competition from cloud providers such as Amazon and Microsoft, but they also are key partners that provide the company with underlying computing resources. “Through our collaboration with AWS, we have booked over $3.9 billion over the past four quarters,” Ramaswamy said. Also on Wednesday, Snowflake announced a multi-year partnership with Anthropic, the Amazon-backed artificial intelligence startup and OpenAI competitor. And it said it had agreed to buy startup Datavolo for undisclosed terms. As of Wednesday’s close, the stock was down 35% so far in 2024, while the S&P 500 index was up 24%. Executives will discuss the results with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates. WATCH: Q3 is one of Snowflake’s ‘best quarters we’ve seen in a long time’, says Jefferies Brent Thill Source link #Snowflake #SNOW #earnings #report Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) earnings show mixed performance Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) earnings show mixed performance Target’s stock tumbled to a 52-week low on Wednesday, a day after Walmart shares soared to an all-time high — as the rival retailers’ earnings reports again underscored how their performance has diverged. Target posted its biggest earnings miss in two years and cut its forecast. The company spoke about a “deceleration in discretionary demand” and blamed higher costs caused by the rush to move inventory ahead of the short-lived port strike in October. On the company’s earnings call, CEO Brian Cornell described U.S. consumers who are “shopping carefully as they work to overcome the cumulative impact of multiple years of price inflation” and holding out for the best possible deal. Walmart, on the other hand, hiked its full-year forecast. It said it’s gaining upper-income shoppers and seeing better trends for sales of merchandise outside of the grocery department, even as consumers look for value. Customer traffic gains were similar at the two stores, yet Walmart’s sales trends looked much better than Target’s. Walmart’s traffic growth edged out its rival’s, with a gain of 3.1% at Walmart U.S. versus 2.4% at Target. Walmart’s same-store sales rose 5.3%, while Target’s increased only 0.3% year over year. Walmart’s e-commerce sales in the U.S. rose 22%, a ******* increase than the nearly 11% at Target. The sharp differences between the two big-box retailers — and how their businesses are executing in the same economic backdrop — illustrate where consumers are willing to spend money and where they are pulling back as they remain selective about spending. That sharp divergence of the winners and losers in the industry could become even starker as retailers enter their most crucial sales season of the year. Michael Baker, a retail analyst at D.A. Davidson, said Target’s disappointing results reflect the company’s performance rather than the health of consumers. “It’s as simple as this: They are losing share,” Baker said. “They are losing share to Walmart, Amazon and Costco.” He said Target’s inconsistent results over the past year are a warning sign about **********. The company has missed Wall Street’s quarterly sales and earnings expectations in two quarters and beat on them in two other quarters. “That kind of back and forth makes you wonder if there’s something going on internally,” he said. Several equity research analysts, including Citi Research, Deutsche Bank and HSBC Global Research, downgraded Target’s stock Wednesday, citing concerns that the Minneapolis-based retailer has lost shoppers and sales to competitors. Its stock dropped more than 20% in trading Wednesday. In a research note, Paul Lejuez, a retail analyst for Citi, said the company’s poor results and weak outlook show Target is “likely losing share” to Walmart and risks losing more of the market unless it steps up promotions. One of the roots of Target’s troubles is the company’s merchandise mix, said Kate McShane, a retail analyst for Goldman Sachs. About 60% of Target’s sales come from discretionary items, such as home goods and clothing. That’s the opposite of Walmart, which draws about 60% of its sales from everyday necessities, such as groceries and household items such as paper towels. Those discretionary categories, which customers sometimes splurge or pull back on, explain “some of the volatility and the bumpiness you are seeing that is more specific to Target,” she said. Both Walmart and Target mentioned the negative impact of the port strike, but Target appeared to put a major share of the blame for its weak quarter on the stoppage. D.A. Davidson’s Baker said weak sales can “make those kinds of cost increases stand out more.” Target has other questions that will factor into its future, including who will lead the company. Cornell, who has been chief executive since 2014, agreed in September 2022 to stay on as the company’s leader for three more years. On a call with investors Wednesday, Cornell pointed to “green shoots” in the business, even as sales results disappointed. He spoke about customer traffic growth, online sales gains and relative strength in apparel sales, even as unseasonably warm weather kept shoppers from buying clothes for cooler temperatures. Yet on that same call, several analysts posed questions about Target’s plans for the future. UBS equity research analyst Michael Lasser asked if Target needs to make changes or invest more in its business. Cornell said the company will stick with what it already does: offering unique items and national brands, opening new stores, expanding its advertising business and offering more ways for shoppers to buy online. “We’ll continue on our current strategy, stay in step with the consumer and make sure Target’s doing the things that consumers across America expect from us,” he said. Source link #Walmart #WMT #Target #TGT #earnings #show #mixed #performance Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Inside F1 Las Vegas’ plans for a successful sequel — and no drain cover drama Inside F1 Las Vegas’ plans for a successful sequel — and no drain cover drama LAS VEGAS — The start of Formula One’s Las Vegas residency last November was a major moment in the 73-year history of the sport. F1 spent over half a billion dollars to put on one of the most-hyped races in its history, taking over the reins of promoting and organizing the entire grand prix. Despite a bumpy start — a loose water valve cover canceled first practice and severely delayed FP2 on a lousy opening night — the event was a huge success. On the track, the ****** for the win went down to the closing laps as Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc scrapped back and forth for position. The fast-flowing layout, incorporating a long straight down the Strip, proved a hit with the drivers and made for the most entertaining race of the year. The grand prix was a money-spinner, even with locals’ frustrations resulting from the disruption of having F1 in town. November is typically the city’s eighth-best month of the year. In 2023, it was the second-best month in its history. “We knew it would be big, but the attention … frankly, F1 did a fantastic job of building up that race,” said Steve Hill, the CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). “It was two or three times more marketing value than we would have expected going in. We would have been happy with a third of what we got. “We were going to be thrilled with what we expected, but what we got was eye-opening.” As F1 returns for its second shot in Las Vegas, there is a new dynamic. The novelty factor has diminished, but in its place comes experience and, for the organizers, a playbook to work from. There is a bar to try and meet once again. The spotlight on the race action in Las Vegas has only increased thanks to the closer competitive picture through 2024. By this point last year, Verstappen had already long been crowned champion; now, there is a chance he could clinch his fourth title Saturday night, so long as he finishes ahead of Lando Norris. The potential of F1 crowning a champion at its glitziest event is appealing for the sport and something the race organizers know would offer a unique chance to put a Las Vegas twist on the celebrations. “I’m sure that we would be able to pull some ideas out of our hat, maybe pre-arrange some pretty exciting opportunities,” Renee Wilm, CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, said of a potential coronation, noting the high-end hospitality options at the properties along the Strip. “There’s so many opportunities to highlight the drivers, and particularly if we actually do have the benefit of being able to get a champion.” While the organizers of the race may not be able to influence the sporting spectacle, the success of last year’s Saturday night race was enough reassurance that no changes were needed for 2024. The circuit ******** unchanged, but they anticipate heightened fan interest with a late-season championship ****** underway. “In the U.S., we love to see good competition, and it’s less about who the particular team or driver is,” Wilm said. “So to know that there is still so much on the line and that the championship is going to be up for grabs, and the fact you’ve had so many different drivers on the podium is itself creating a lot of excitement and buzz.” A different approach has been taken to appeal to fans for the second running of the race. In the lead-up to the 2023 grand prix, there was scrutiny of high ticket prices and how unaffordable it would be for people to attend. This year, over 10,000 extra general admission tickets have been made available across three fan zones as part of rejigging the ticket inventory. The hope is to make it a race that can cater to everybody, not just those chasing high-end experiences. The Las Vegas Grand Prix also changed how it marketed the race, starting the build-up around 100 days out instead of over a year in advance. Wilm said in October that ticket sales had been “pretty consistent with what we did expect” and that she anticipated a surge closer to the race due to Las Vegas’ reputation as a last-minute town. She also believed many fans would wait until after the U.S. presidential election, which may have left some “a little hesitant to know what their November is going to look like.” According to a statement issued by the race last week, 300,000 attendees are expected “based on calculated data from ticket sales and bookings for race-related programming.” A more concerted effort has also been made to connect with the local community ahead of the second year. A free fan festival will take place Friday and Saturday, giving attendees a chance to get a flavor of what F1 brings to Las Vegas, with tickets quickly being fully reserved. Hill thought it would help “build both goodwill in the community and an additional fan base in the southwest” of the ******* States. Race organizers have taken efforts to inform the public about traffic around the race. (Dan Istitene / Formula 1 via Getty Images) Developing goodwill with the community was particularly important after the frustration many locals in Las Vegas felt about the level of disruption last year. The requirements of repaving the sections of the road for the circuit — taking 10 inches off the surface and replacing it with one suitable for F1 cars — led to significant road closures and traffic issues. With so much of the construction work already completed last year, there wasn’t a need to repeat it this year. “This year, the community knows more about what to expect, and what we’re doing is not building the circuit,” Hill said. “We really didn’t start any kind of lane disruption until the first week of October, where last year, that started in the middle of April. It just wears you out after a while.” Wilm said they were “just light years ahead of where we were October of last year, in terms of local sentiment. This is the Las Vegas Grand Prix. It’s also Liberty and Formula One’s grand prix. So it is so important to us that everyone embraces this event as much as we do.” Communication with locals is one area the organizers of the race felt there was room for improvement. “We communicated, but we didn’t communicate with the level of sophistication that this race demands,” Terry Miller, the general manager who oversees the track construction, told The Athletic. In 2024, the race improved a bespoke, interactive website to provide all the information about road closures and any possible disruption. It introduced a texting program, giving locals a “week ahead” view, and met with over 900 stakeholders to ensure no surprises. Another surprise from 2023 that F1 will be keen to avoid is the disruption caused by the loose water valve cover Thursday night that destroyed Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, caused FP1 to be canceled after eight minutes and delayed FP2 so long that police asked fans to leave the track by that point. While it was hardly the first time a utility cover had come up at an F1 street track, it was by far the most infamous incident. Miller explained that new protocols are in place for this year. “Due to what occurred last year, we do have, in fact, a protocol and a process that we’ve gone through over the last five months to secure the lids, even to the point where we will do three or four visual checks of what’s going on in the roadway before and after a race event,” he said, confirming there were extra checks after what happened last year. “You can never guarantee that nothing is going to happen,” he said. “But you can certainly have the mitigating efforts in place to reduce the risk, and that’s what we’ve done.” Even with the frustration felt by some in Las Vegas, the commercial success of the race was significant. A report by Clark County estimated the total economic impact of the grand prix to be $1.5 billion, $884 million of which came through visitor spending. It raised $77 million in tax revenue and turned what is normally the second-worst weekend of the year into “one of the best weekends we’ve ever had,” according to Hill, surpassing all expectations. Matching that in 2024 is going to be a big ask, nor is there an expectation it can be repeated in quite such spectacular fashion. “We’re not probably going to be able to compete with year one numbers again, and (we) don’t need to in order for it to be successful,” Hill said. “If the numbers were half that, it would still be a game changer.” It means a successful second running of the Las Vegas Grand Prix is more about sustainability — putting on another spectacular show with fewer issues or frustrations. Not everything will be to everyone’s liking. The start time of 10 p.m. PT Saturday ******** unchanged, and it will inevitably bother drivers and their team personnel; a fresh dose of time zone confusion to kick off a tripleheader that continues with two weeks in the Middle East to see out the season. While there is a ******* to reduce the demands placed on drivers for the “spectacle” around the grand prix, the show versus sport debate will also likely reignite when they get to the paddock Wednesday. But now it’s about reaching what Hill thought was “an equilibrium point” between excitement over something new and the uncertainty or concern it could cause locally, proving this can be an event for the long term. “That kind of sustainability matters a lot,” Hill said. “It’s a tough race to put on, it’s down one of the busiest streets in the world and putting that on is not an easy thing to do. But it’s going to be a fantastic week.” (Top photo: Bob Kupbens / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Source link #Las #Vegas #plans #successful #sequel #drain #cover #drama Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Xbox Cloud Gaming’s beta now lets you play your own games, even outside the catalogue Xbox Cloud Gaming’s beta now lets you play your own games, even outside the catalogue Xbox Game Pass has moved to let players stream releases from outside their catalogue It means titles not in the Game Pass catalogue can be streamed via your phone or tablet Witcher 3, Space Marine 3, Baldur’s Gate 3 and more are all available Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will soon be able to stream titles they own, even ones that are not included in the usual Game Pass catalogue, via a number of new devices. The newest update to the Xbox Cloud Gaming beta currently supports 28 countries, and the addition of 50 new releases means you can stream even more via your chosen device. Previously only regular Game Pass releases that were available through their catalogue were available for the cloud gaming feature, which has itself been in beta for a while. So the move to allow you to play your own catalogue is a key one in expanding the available releases on streaming. It also means that some amazing titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, Space Marine 2, Balatro and more will be available to stream via your phone or tablet! A pretty amazing, if not totally unprecedented new feature for streaming like this. The Cloud’s the limit Personally speaking, I feel like as a feature this is long overdue. One of the many issues with cloud gaming for me is the amount of hoops you have to go through to play through titles outside of a very limited selection in a service. So the ability to actually stream games that would otherwise be unavailable just makes sense. I also reckon it’ll be very crucial to see how well streaming can do competing with classic mobile gaming. After all, this is something that’s been bouncing around for a long time, but a new feature like this is sure to push the envelope even further. If you need some basic pointers on how to get set up for console streaming, we’ve got a guide for just that. Not to mention another guide for streaming from your PC to boot! So you can play wherever and whenever you want. Source link #Xbox #Cloud #Gamings #beta #lets #play #games #catalogue Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Mayors are the leaders we need to help ****** climate change Mayors are the leaders we need to help ****** climate change It hasn’t been a good year for people who care about climate change. A hoped-for peak in carbon emissions has ******* to emerge, meaning we continue to warm the planet at an accelerating rate (see “Humanity has warmed the planet by 1.5°C since 1700”). Meanwhile, the election of Donald Trump for a second term as US president is likely to see the country retreat on climate action, with his pledge to “drill, baby, drill” for new oil and gas supplies. Similar sentiments towards fossil fuels come from Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, who has called the natural resources of his oil-rich nation a “gift from ****”. Aliyev made the comments at the COP29 climate summit, hosted in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku. Ironically, this “gift” will become increasingly inaccessible as the Caspian Sea dries up in a warming world, stranding billions of dollars of fossil fuel infrastructure (see “COP29 host Azerbaijan faces climate disaster as Caspian Sea dries up”). In light of this ******** by politicians on the international stage to get to grips with the reality of climate change, other leaders need to step up – and, surprisingly, city mayors may be best placed to do so. Adapting cities to cope with the specific effects of urban heat will be essential While mayors can’t be expected to influence the global climate, they oversee the well-being of the more than 50 per cent of the world’s population who live in urban centres – a figure expected to grow to 70 per cent by 2050, at which point temperatures will have risen by 2.5°C under current projections. Adapting cities to cope with the specific effects of urban heat will be essential, from promoting green spaces to investing in buildings that can be cooled without air conditioning (see “Extreme heat is now making cities unlivable. How can we survive it?”). The good news is many mayors are already aware of their responsibilities. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, is aiming for the city to reach net zero by 2030. Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, France, has planted trees and banned cars in certain areas. And Karen Bass, mayor of Los Angeles, has promised a green transformation ahead of the city hosting the Olympics in 2028. Organisations like C40 and Climate Mayors are helping unite local politicians across the world in action. This won’t solve climate change, but it will make living in a warming world more bearable for many. Topics: Source link #Mayors #leaders #****** #climate #change Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Snowflake (SNOW) Q3 earnings report 2025 Snowflake (SNOW) Q3 earnings report 2025 The New York Stock Exchange welcomes Snowflake to usher in the first day of winter on Dec. 21, 2021. NYSE Snowflake shares on Wednesday spiked 19% in extended trading after the data analytics software maker reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat estimates. Here’s how the company did, compared to LSEG analyst expectations: Earnings per share: 20 cents, adjusted vs. 15 cents expectedRevenue: $942 million vs. $897 million expected Snowflake’s total revenue rose 28% year over year in the quarter, which ended on Oct. 31, according to a statement. The company’s net loss of $324.3 million, or 98 cents per share, widened from $214.3 million, or 65 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Product revenue, at $900.3 million, represented around 96% of total revenue. Snowflake called for $3.43 billion in fiscal 2025 product revenue, implying 29% growth. That’s up from the $3.36 billion forecast management gave three months ago, which suggested 26% growth. The full-year view also includes an adjusted operating margin of 5%, up from the 3% guidance in August. Snowflake is focusing more on saving money, CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy told analysts on a conference call. “We’ve been creating centralized, more efficient teams for some areas and removing redundant management layers, which enables us to make decisions faster,” he said. Snowflake had 10,618 customers at the end of October, having added 369 in the fiscal third quarter. Analysts polled by StreetAccount had expected 10,601. Separately, Snowflake announced a multi-year partnership with Anthropic, the Amazon-backed artificial intelligence startup and OpenAI competitor. And it said it had agreed to buy startup Datavolo for undisclosed terms. As of Wednesday’s close, the stock was down 35% so far in 2024, while the S&P 500 index was up 24%. Executives will discuss the results with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates. WATCH: Q3 is one of Snowflake’s ‘best quarters we’ve seen in a long time’, says Jefferies Brent Thill Source link #Snowflake #SNOW #earnings #report Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ray Lewis wants FAU head-coaching job, but Charlie Weis Jr. still the frontrunner: Sources Ray Lewis wants FAU head-coaching job, but Charlie Weis Jr. still the frontrunner: Sources FAU football, which rose to national relevance under Lane Kiffin, has backslid over the last five seasons under ******* Taggart and the recently fired Tom Herman. The Owls’ new coaching search, though, might be the most interesting one of this year’s coaching carousel. And it got a little more interesting this week, as Miami great Ray Lewis has made it known that he really wants to be the Owls’ next coach, a source briefed on Lewis’ thinking said Wednesday. The 49-year-old Lewis, a 13-time Pro Bowl linebacker, has observed the model of what Deion Sanders has done transforming Colorado football in the past two years and is expected to present a plan to the Owls’ leadership in the next week for how he’d do something similar at FAU. Lewis’ old buddy, fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter, is the Owls’ executive director of player engagement and is expected to be a good resource for Lewis. A big hurdle for Lewis is, unlike Sanders, he doesn’t have any previous college coaching experience. “Ray wants it bad,” the source briefed on Lewis’ thinking said. Lewis lives five minutes from the FAU campus. “He really wants it.” Lewis, however, is not considered a serious candidate at this point, according to a source involved in the coaching search. The frontrunner for the FAU vacancy, according to multiple sources involved in the search, is Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. The 31-year-old son of former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, who lives a half-hour from Boca ******, is the play caller at a hot Rebels program and runs the nation’s No. 2 offense, putting up 7.58 yards per play. GO DEEPER FAU coaching job profile: What will Tom Herman’s replacement inherit? The younger Weis was Kiffin’s former offensive coordinator at FAU and knows the program well. He has a lot of support from some key FAU people, according to sources involved in the search. Kiffin has strong influence back at FAU and will push Weis for the job, those sources said. Financially, Weis — who makes $1.65 million at Ole Miss — might have to take a pay cut to go back to FAU but a source briefed on the matter said he doubted that would stop Weis from wanting this job. Other expected candidates for the FAU job Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner might make more sense for the Owls. The 43-year-old helped turn Tech from the ACC’s No. 11 offense to No. 3 last year. In 2022, the year before he was hired in Atlanta, Georgia Tech ranked last in the ACC in red zone offense. His offense is No. 2 in the ACC in red zone TD percentage. Penn State assistant head coach/co-OC Ja’Juan Seider is a well-regarded coach with deep local ties and is expected to get some consideration. The 47-year-old Belle Glade, Fla., product was a star quarterback at Florida A&M and is well-connected around South Florida. Players really respond to him. He also has been a key assistant in Happy Valley, at Marshall and West Virginia. UCF offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. has spent his whole coaching career in the state. He was a four-time NCAA All-********* in track at Miami and then spent five years as a successful high school coach in South Florida at Miami’s Booker T. Washington High before spending seven seasons at FIU. Since then, he’s coached at Miami and UCF, where he has produced the Big 12’s most prolific offense at 6.76 yards per play. UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, a former Miami Dolphins wideout who lived in Boynton Beach, not far from the Owls’ campus, might be an intriguing option. He has proven to be a terrific offensive coordinator in two stops at the FCS level before an excellent two-season run of transforming the Rebels into a winning program. Last year he led the Rebels to No. 6 in the country in third down offense and No. 8 in red zone offense despite his starting QB going down early and having to turn to an unproven freshman in Jayden Maiava, who went on to win Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors. This year, the Rebels, with Maiava having left for USC, are No. 6 in the nation in scoring at 39.9 points per game. GO DEEPER What’s on Feldman’s radar: Everyone’s terrified of Ole Miss, and everyone wants an old coach FSU defensive backs coach Pat Surtain could be in play at his alma mater Southern Miss, but he also has strong ties here. He played a decade in the NFL before becoming a top high school coach in South Florida. The 48-year-old spent one season with the Miami Dolphins as an NFL assistant before joining FSU’s staff in 2023. Georgia assistant head coach Todd Hartley, 39, spent three years coaching in South Florida on the Canes’ staff. He is someone Kirby Smart has leaned on in elevating the program since Hartley’s return to Athens in 2019. Southern Miss also has a lot of interest in Hartley for its head coaching vacancy. Duke defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke, a Manny Diaz protege who was on the staff at Miami, is a rising star at defensive coordinator. He’s had a strong debut season in Durham and also could be in play. Miami defensive ends coach Jason Taylor. The Pro Football Hall of Famer, who had been a high school assistant for five seasons at powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas, is a legendary figure around South Florida. In 2007, Taylor won the NFL’s prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year honors and has been an excellent addition to the Canes staff the past two seasons. — Chris Vannini contributed to this report Required reading (Photo: Rob Carr / Getty Images) Source link #Ray #Lewis #FAU #headcoaching #job #Charlie #Weis #frontrunner #Sources Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Threads rolls out its custom feeds tool after a quick testing phase Threads rolls out its custom feeds tool after a quick testing phase The battle over who will get all of X’s users now that it’s an utter cesspool continues. Threads just began rolling out its own custom feeds feature to compete with rival Bluesky. Custom feeds have long been a hallmark of Bluesky and now Threads users can get in on the action. Meta announced it was testing custom feeds just last week, so those tests must have been successful. It’s either that or they want to stall Bluesky’s continuing momentum. Simply put, the feature allows users to pin topic-based feeds to the home screen of the app. This gives people the option to scroll through additional feeds beyond the algorithmic “for you” feed. This is a very good thing, as Thread’s current “for you” algorithm can be easily manipulated by just posting stuff like “who likes cats?” I have seen quite literally 400 posts like that in my feed, all looking for engagement. I like cats but, come on. In any event, users can create a custom feed by searching for keywords and taping the “…” menu to get started. A feed will be created based on the keyword, though the toolset allows for more granular adjustments. For instance, users can add specific profiles to customize each feed. Threads aficionados can create up to 128 custom feeds. Threads has one significant advantage over Bluesky when it comes to custom feeds. Making one on Bluesky is something of a process. It took me around two seconds to make a Star Trek feed on Threads. Lawrence Bonk / Threads Despite Bluesky’s continued growth, it’s still a minor player when compared to Threads. Bluesky just announced 20 million users, which is great, but Threads has more than 275 million users. Threads has also been growing by around a million users a day, according to a recent post from Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. Source link #Threads #rolls #custom #feeds #tool #quick #testing #phase Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

US blocks Security Council ceasefire resolution US blocks Security Council ceasefire resolution The US has blocked a Gaza ceasefire draft resolution at the ******* Nations Security Council – the fourth time it has used its veto power during the conflict to shield its ally, *******. Fourteen of the 15 Council members voted in favour of the draft, which demanded that the war in Gaza “must end immediately, unconditionally and permanently and all remaining hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released”. Deputy US ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, said the document “abandoned” the necessity for there to be “a linkage between a ceasefire and the release of hostages”. Wood said the proposed resolution would have sent a “dangerous message” to ******. The UNSC is composed of five permanent members which have veto power – and 10 which are elected. This group proposed the draft resolution which also “rejected any effort to starve Palestinians”. The vote was held as the UN warned that Palestinians were “facing diminishing conditions for survival” in parts of northern Gaza under siege by ******** forces because virtually no aid has been delivered in 40 days. Earlier this month, a UN-backed assessment said there was a strong likelihood that famine was imminent in areas of northern Gaza. The ******** military has said its six-week-long offensive targets regrouping ****** fighters, and that it is facilitating civilian evacuations and supply deliveries to hospitals. After the US veto, China’s ambassador said people could not help but ask: “Do ************ lives mean nothing?” France said international humanitarian law was being trampled and the only response should have been an immediate and permanent ceasefire. The *** said it wanted to end the war, stop the suffering in Gaza and secure the immediate release of all hostages. But the harshest criticism of the US came from outside the Council doors. Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) UN director, Louis Charbonneau, accused Washington of “once again” using its veto power “to ensure impunity for ******* as its forces continue to commit ******* against Palestinians in Gaza”. ******* rejects the accusations. It says it has substantially increased the amount of aid getting into Gaza, and accuses aid agencies of failing to adequately distribute it. The current war broke out after ****** gunmen burst through the border and attacked ******** communities, ******** about 1,200 people, according to ******** tallies, and taking 253 into Gaza as hostages. More than 43,920 people have been ******* in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry. Source link #blocks #Security #Council #ceasefire #resolution Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Cyberpunk 2077 PS5 Pro Patch Not Happening, Dev Confirms Cyberpunk 2077 PS5 Pro Patch Not Happening, Dev Confirms A lot of big games are getting patches to take advantage of the PS5 Pro’s power, but CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 is not among them. The Polish developer confirmed this on social media in response to a question from a fan. “We currently have no plans for [a] PS5 Pro patch,” the studio said (via Eurogamer). The wording here leaves the door open for these plans to change at some point down the line, but for now, no one should expect a PS5 Pro patch. CD Projekt Red did not go into any further detail as to why it won’t release a PS5 Pro patch for Cyberpunk 2077. However, it might have something to do with how there is no one at CD Projekt Red working on Cyberpunk 2077, and that’s been the case for months now. These staffers have moved on to other projects, including the next Cyberpunk and Witcher games. When the PS5 Pro launched in early November, a number of high-profile games were patched to support the console, including Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6, Hogwarts Legacy, and Spider-Man 2. However, some PS5 Pro users reported that for games like Silent Hill 2, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, the PS5 Pro patches actually made these games look worse. For its part, EA acknowledged the issues with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and said its teams were investigating the issue. The PS5 Pro is available now, priced at $700 USD. It’s still early days, but Sony reported that the system’s price tag didn’t negatively impact sales. In other PlayStation news, the next wave of the 30th-anniversary limited-edition slim PS5 model goes on ***** via PlayStation Direct on November 21, starting at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET. Source link #Cyberpunk #PS5 #Pro #Patch #Happening #Dev #Confirms Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ukraine fires ***-made Storm Shadow missiles at Russia for first time Ukraine fires ***-made Storm Shadow missiles at Russia for first time Getty Images Kyiv has previously only been able to use the missiles within its own borders Ukraine has fired ***-supplied Storm Shadow missiles at targets inside Russia for the first time, the BBC understands. The war-torn country was previously restricted to using the long-range missiles within its own borders. Reports of the strikes come after Ukraine was given permission from Washington to ***** US-supplied missiles at Russian territory. The government has refused to comment on the reports for operational reasons, but officials confirmed Defence Secretary John Healey spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart on Tuesday night. Ministers are likely to exercise caution in their response to the reports due to concerns over Russia’s reaction, as well as to ensure the move is not seen as being led by the ***. In the Commons earlier, Healey said: “Ukraine’s action on the battlefield speaks for itself.” Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has also declined to confirm that his country has used the Storm Shadow missiles within Russian territory, but said it was “using all the means to defend our country”. Matthew Miller, the US State Department’s spokesman, would also not comment on the use of the ***-supplied missile or whether the US was providing navigational assistance for their use. When asked by the BBC if Ukraine was consulting with or informing the US about the use of missiles provided by the ***, Mr Miller said he would not “speak publicly to the use of another country’s weapons”. President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on Kyiv’s western allies to authorise the use of long-range missiles against targets inside Russia, saying it is the only way to bring about an end to the war. Storm Shadow is considered an ideal ******* for penetrating hardened bunkers and ammunition stores, such as those used by Russia in its war against Ukraine. The US and *** had previously not given permission, with suggestions this was related to not wanting to escalate the war. But at the weekend, US President Joe Biden gave the green light for Ukraine to use the Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) supplied by the US to strike Russia. On Sunday Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to the news – which came via briefings from US officials – saying “such things are not announced, missiles speak for themselves”. The Atacms was then used by Ukraine to target the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine on Tuesday. The US has also approved sending landmines to Ukraine, in an attempt to slow down Russian troops. Speaking at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, *** Prime Minister Sir Starmer said the *** would “ensure Ukraine has what is needed for as long as needed”. Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French cruise missile with a maximum range of around 250km (155 miles). The French call it Scalp. It is launched from aircraft then flies at close to the speed of sound, hugging the terrain, before dropping down and detonating its high explosive warhead. BBC Verify showed images on Telegram claiming to show fragments of a Storm Shadow missile in Kursk to weapons experts. Amael Kotlarski, Weapons Team manager at Janes, said: “We can confirm that the large, rectangular piece of debris, featuring a ***** in the centre, does indeed match part of the mounting interface of the Storm Shadow / SCALP EG missile.” Another expert could not reach a judgement based on the images. Additional reporting by Rebecca Hartmann in Washington and Rupert Carey in London. Source link #Ukraine #fires #UKmade #Storm #Shadow #missiles #Russia #time Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Xbox Cloud Streaming Of Own Games Launches Today Xbox Cloud Streaming Of Own Games Launches Today · · November 20, 2024 Xbox has officially launched, in beta form at least, its Cloud Streaming feature the lets players stream the games they own on a variety of devices. Before the update, cloud gaming was only available for games included in the Xbox Game Pass library. This new feature expands that option to games that may not be a part of the service. The feature is launching with 50 games available with more to come as the weeks and months continue. For the game’s listed, players are able to stream any version of the game they own. Microsoft used the example of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can access the feature in a number of ways such as through a browser at Xbox.com/Play or via the Xbox app on supported TV’s and the Meta Quest headset. The full list of owned games you can now stream via the Xbox Cloud are: Animal Well *********’s Creed Mirage Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Balatro Baldur’s Gate 3 Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II The Casting of Frank Stone Cyberpunk 2077 Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Dredge Dying Light 2 Stay Human Farming Simulator 25 ***** the Spotlight Final Fantasy XIV Online Final Fantasy Final Fantasy II Final Fantasy III Final Fantasy IV Final Fantasy V Final Fantasy VI Hades Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions High On Life Hitman World of ************** Hogwarts Legacy House Flipper 2 Kena: Bridge of Spirits Lego Harry Potter Collection Life is Strange: Double Exposure Metro Exodus Mortal Kombat 1 NBA 2K25 PGA TOUR 2K23 Phasmaphobia Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Rust Console Edition 7 Days to **** Star Wars Outlaws Stray The Crew Motorfest The Outlast Trials The Plucky Squire The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 TopSpin 2K25 Undertale Visions of Mana Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 WWE 2K24 For more Insider Gaming, check out our in-depth review of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl. And don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #Xbox #Cloud #Streaming #Games #Launches #Today Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Shoppers face ‘bare shelves’ as Woolworths warehouse strike begins Shoppers face ‘bare shelves’ as Woolworths warehouse strike begins More than 1500 Woolworths warehouse workers will walk off the job on Thursday over a pay dispute, threatening bare shelves for shoppers. Source link #Shoppers #face #bare #shelves #Woolworths #warehouse #strike #begins Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary console restock is coming in the US this Thursday PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary console restock is coming in the US this Thursday Sony will be selling another batch of PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary Limited Edition console bundles in the US this week. Fresh stock will be made available on Thursday morning through the company’s online store, PlayStation Direct. “Not in stock? Please check back on Thursday 21st November from 9am PST,” reads an update on the bundle’s store page. The 30th Anniversary Edition Bundle comes with a grey PS5 Slim Digital Edition console and DualSense controller, as well as various extras also designed to pay homage to the original PlayStation. Price at $499.99, it’s set for release on November 21. There’s currently no official word on plans for a restock in Europe. PlayStation’s 30th Anniversary Collection, which also includes a grey PS5 Pro console, was announced in September. Initial pre-orders for the sought-after consoles were snapped up quickly, and many are now being listed by resellers at huge mark-ups ahead of their launch tomorrow. PS5 Pro launched on November 7 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $699.99 / £699.99. PlayStation’s ****** Friday ***** will run from November 22 until December 2, Sony announced today. It will include savings on hardware, games and subscriptions across PlayStation Store, PlayStation Direct, PlayStation Gear and participating retailers. Source link #PS5 #Slim #30th #Anniversary #console #restock #coming #Thursday Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]