#and that little dog even won over pete who was very adamant about not liking dogs. she's a good dog. a very good dog.

[beaversatemygrandma]

I want to share what has to be the funniest scene from my story. It’s something from an early chapter and doesn’t involve enough to give the whole story or require much of the story itself to understand. So, have it. Quick intro to the point in the plot: They’re hunting an oligarch. That’s all you really need to know.

I call it the Birdwatching Stakeout. Click the read more. You know you’re curious. ;)

The day was so dry and hot. The car’s air conditioning could hardly keep up with the sunlight bearing down on it. Pete and Ayla were right back in the same spot on the street from the week before in front of Skylights Company building.

“I swear to god, if you put the AC down to sixty-eight again when we get home…” Ayla grumbled as Pete reached for the air conditioning on the dashboard again.

He leaned back before turning it cooler yet again. “I miss the cold already. This is excruciating,” he said.

“You know you’ll get used to it.”

“I wasn’t used to it when I lived here and I’m still not now,” he laughed. “I want snow.”

“It’s May.”

“That hasn’t stopped it before.”

“Okay, I’ll admit I miss that too. I haven’t seen it since I left New York… And that’s been, what? Thirteen years now?”

“Maybe I do want to eventually get back into Canada. Out in Virginia is okay, but it’s not that.”

Ayla sighed, shaking her head, “Maybe one day you will. But please stop freezing me out at night.”

“What about now?”

“Now is fine, but don’t kill the car battery. I don’t want to ask somebody for a jump out here.”

“I can do that.”

They fell into another silence. Pete reached for his energy drink in the cupholder beside him and watched the building’s gate closely. There was far less traffic than there was last weekend.

“I wonder if he’s even here today,” he said. “…I should go in there.”

Ayla abruptly reached over and laid her fingers over his wrist. “I think that’s the caffeine talking. Your heart rate is ridiculously fast. Don’t do something stupid.”

He leaned closer to the window, looking down the street. “There’s that ‘park’ next door that reaches past the building. I could go through there to get behind it and check around back for a potential entrance.”

“I just said not to do something stupid,” Ayla muttered.

He didn’t seem to hear her. “There’s got to be a second-floor window that’s unlocked. Maybe it’s calm enough in there that I could slip in unnoticed. Then I can find out if Walford is even here today. Maybe even find my way to the top floor,” he pondered, looking over the building. “That or find the parking lot and see if there’s some high value car sitting out there. I doubt any of his workers could afford something nice. There’s no way he’s paying them well with how much he’s got. Maybe the old bastard has a Rolls Royce or something. That would be obvious.”

Ayla silently stared at him. “Are you done now?”

He questioningly glanced back at her.

“You should go out there and search around but don’t go inside. You’re just asking to get into trouble,” she said critically. “Searching the parking lot could be a good idea. But who knows if he’s one of those rich guys with a regular economy car? Some of them are like that.”

“Fair point…” he breathed out.

Pete then reached behind him and pulled a backpack from the backseat. He started going through it, pulling out various things.

“Alright, I’m going to bring the IR camera, a regular one, and…” he trailed off, pulling the IR camera from the bag. “…Though there’s likely cameras in there… Hmm.”

Ayla leaned over and opened the center console. “I don’t want to go through the hassle of figuring out how to dye hair that’s as dark as yours,” she said, pulling out a beanie from the stacks of junk she had already accumulated in there. She held it out to him and as soon as he took it, she pulled a hair tie off from around her wrist, handing it to him as well.

“…Oh,” he breathed out, looking to the hair tie.

“It’s long enough to do that now.”

“No way,” he said, just wanting to prove her wrong. He pushed the bag off his lap and down in front of his feet. He put the hair tie on his wrist and began a long struggle of gathering his hair up.

“Don’t forget the back too,” she pointed out.

He sighed, finally getting it together. Once it was up, it was obviously tight and barely long enough to stay held. He flicked down the visor for the mirror for a brief second. “I hate this. This is going to give me such a fucking headache,” he said, flipping it back up.

“Yeah, you’ll be fine,” Ayla said, motioning to the beanie as well.

He put that on as well. The hair was out of the question for an identifier. That paired with a high-collared button up hid the tattoo on his collarbone and the usual odd contouring Ayla had done, he wasn’t the same person visually.

“Okay, if I get caught near around the back of the building, I’m going with the ‘confused birdwatcher’ for this one,” he said, grabbing the cameras again. “And you should pull around the corner to the front of the park. Not near the entrance though. Don’t want to be suspicious.”

“Oh, yeah, of course. I swear I’ve got the same damn security guard from last weekend eying the car,” Ayla said.

“He can’t do shit unless you’re on the property. It’s fine. But I’m more worried about what’s out back,” he said, closing the bag again.

“…Hold on, ‘confused birdwatcher’?” she asked as he reached for the door handle.

He stopped and looked back to her to quickly explain, “Okay, back in Montana, I was at that national park after hours again and got stopped by a park ranger. He of course was there to kick me out for being there and I didn’t want to be brought home by the police again for sneaking out again. So, I ended up coming up with this really enthusiastic lie about how I was trying to find a certain bird that only appeared during those hours. The guy tried to give me advice about it and let me off with a warning about how he saw a bear around. Then I, of course, ended up still meeting up with Logan on the trails.”

“…I both envy and worry about your childhood,” Ayla said after a moment.

He nodded slightly, unsure how to respond. He grabbed the camera and said, “This is what sells it.”

She furrowed her brows. “Why did you have a camera when you were sneaking out to meet your boyfriend?”

“It wasn’t anything bad, I swear,” he said quickly. “We found a ravine off the path, and it looked fucking amazing at night. It was a full moon; the lighting was great. That was why.”

She doubtfully tilted her head towards him. “Okay… Sounds cool, I guess… Uh, go find the parking lot.”

He nodded and quickly got out of the car. As soon as he shut the door, Ayla was already preparing to pull into the street to go around the corner.

Pete headed down the street, towards the park entrance, carefully looking around for further security and cameras. The only camera should be set in the large tree towards the center of the garden. Everywhere but the entrance should be invisible to it. The cameras on the opposite side of the fence in the back were the ones to worry about.

He kept his hand on the camera, only now noticing just how much he was involuntarily shaking. Maybe today was the one day where so much caffeine wasn’t a good idea. It’s been so long since he had gotten proper rest that he had forgotten how caffeine affected him.

He walked around the small garden path into the back where he could visibly see the cameras mounted on the wall outside the building. There was no way around those. He was going to be seen no matter what he could do.

Birdwatcher. It’s perfect. This is a park. There’s got to be a bird around here. He thought, looking over the park, seeing if there were any around.

There weren’t.

This is a shitty excuse for a park. It has only one tree. He then noticed a pigeon on the opposite side of the fence. I would prefer the courtyard to this too, bud. He had to stifle a laugh about how ironic this was for his excuse as he carefully stepped over the flowers to press against the fence.

He peered over the top, keeping an eye on the bird and the cameras just above it. The courtyard was empty. This was perfect timing. Pete reached up and pulled himself over the fence in one quick motion.

As he started across the courtyard, he looked back at the pigeon. It only looked back at him. This was a bird that was very used to people around. He squatted down barely a foot away from the bird and it stayed in place.

I wish I had something to give him. Bread maybe. He thought, laying the camera on the ground, and taking a picture of it just to help his case of being the ‘birdwatcher’. It was just a pigeon and if anybody knew anything about birds, this might not work. The picture came out super well. The bird was looking right at the camera as if it had been posing.

“Yeah, I’m calling you Jacques. You’re cute as all hell, bud,” he whispered, barely reaching out towards the bird. It was then that it finally hopped away from him.

He stood back up, knowing that he couldn’t let Jacques distract him. Even if he knew that if he reached fast enough, he could easily catch it. But then what? He has a pigeon. No matter how badly he wants to do that, now is not the time.

“Alright, bud, where’s the parking lot?” he asked quietly, glancing back to the bird.

To his surprise, Jacques flapped up to a nearby picnic table, looking back to him. He followed the bird as it hopped from table to table and up onto the canopy covering the courtyard. The bird seemed to be pointing towards the back of the building.

Behind the building, there was a short private road leading from the opposite side. A line of hazard markers lined the edge of the courtyard and led into a parking garage tunnelling below the building.

There’s no way that bird just pointed me where to go. Pete thought, looking back to the pigeon. It was still on the top of the canopy, looking towards the private road to the parking lot. Pete then spotted a brightly colored food truck parked in the street just on the other side. Oh. Jacques wants food. Can’t blame him. A taco truck right there is tempting… Okay, focus. Where’s the security back here?

Pete looked around carefully for any cameras that weren’t accounted for. There was one right at the entrance of the garage and one by the gate at the end of the road. Both looked to be the larger cameras like on the sides of the building and at the secret factory in the next town over.

He took a breath before heading into the garage, ducking down near the wall to avoid the camera. The garage went further into the ground than expected. It was starkly dark, and cars were lined up in an organized manner. It was so organized that it could be necessary to get around any valets working.

There were bright lights towards the back. That spot should be avoided. He continued down the lines, looking over everything inside. There were mostly cheap cars in there, assumably all employees.

It wasn’t until he got to the second floor lower, that he saw something that could be a higher-class worker. He crouched behind an expensive electric car and took a quick picture of the license plate and what it was. This way, he might be able to confirm the owner. It’s possible this might be the car they’ll have to follow later. Upon further investigation, there were three other cars of this type. He took note of every license plate number and model.

Abruptly, the lights on the bottom floor turned on. Pete ducked between the cars and knelt in front of one, just behind the tire. This was as invisible as he could get.

“I can’t believe that old bastard took a damn taxi last night. And he has the balls to call in and order me to drive his damn car home today! He was the one drinking on the clock!” a gruff voice sounded from the other side of the floor.

“He’s the boss. We gotta listen to the boss man,” another said.

“What’s stopping him from doing this himself? Had he just lost himself in his privilege?” the first asked. He then softened his voice in a mocking tone, “Like, ‘Oh, my driver can handle this. No, he won’t get any extra pay or bonus from taking time out of his workday to help me. I own this man.’ Fuck him.”

“I get it. I know. It’s fucking annoying, but it is our job.”

“This isn’t part of the job description. I’m here to park for the employees and keep their cars safe down here, not run errands for this asshole.”

I hope they’re talking about Walford. Pete thought, slowly creeping towards one of the less extravagant cars to hide.

The two men stepped up to the last car he had taken information from, barely five feet away from him. He slid behind the tire of car just beside them as they continued to argue about their plans on getting back. They eventually landed on one of them driving their personal car to follow so they could get back to work.

Pete stayed put, silently listening to every move. He couldn’t make any movements until the lights were off again. It didn’t take much longer for the two valets to drive the car out and the lights to shut off behind them. He pulled out the camera and looked over the pictures, making a mental note of which one it was. Now to get out of here.

Pete slowly made his way out the same way he got in. He made sure to hang back from the exit as he carefully watched the valet get his personal car to follow their boss’s. He ducked back behind another car and waited a few minutes for them to be gone.

Once they were, he came back out and headed for the exit. He dodged the garage camera again and headed back to the courtyard. Jacques was still there, sitting on a picnic table. It looked to him and cooed, flying back up to the canopy, looking towards the nearby taco truck.

Sorry, bud, I’m broke. I’d buy you some chips if I could. He thought, looking to the pigeon disappointedly.

“Hey, you! The courtyard is closed to tours today!” A yell came from across the courtyard.

…Oh fuck. Think of something. Pete turned to the voice and called back, “Sorry, I was out at that park looking for birds! One ended up coming over here and I followed it. I’ll leave!”

“Birds? There’s nothing but pigeons out here!” the guard yelled back, still approaching him quickly.

“Pigeons?” Pete gasped, acting offended. “You can’t tell the difference between a common pigeon and a gorgeous Jacques’s Dove?”

The guard stopped barely five feet away from him. He looked up to the pigeon on the canopy. “…I don’t know enough about birds to say, but I’m pretty sure that’s a pigeon, man,” he said, looking to him questioningly.

Pete scoffed; he was having fun with it at this point. “That’s no pigeon. You can tell he’s a Jacques’s Dove by his blue beak and pinkish plumage! That thin neck just further points to being a dove! Besides, I have no idea why such a rare bird would be out here. The forums online made it seem like this was a real park where they could be seen, not some tiny ass garden! I can’t blame the bird for going elsewhere. That’s a shit excuse for a park.”

The guard was visibly confused. “…That—That’s a fat dove… Uh… Yeah… The park sucks…” he took a step back, glancing over at the small park over the fence. “Well, you saw the dove, right? So, can you… can you go now?”

Pete raised up his hands and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I got my pics. I was already on my way out. Sorry for causing trouble.”

“Yeah, no problem. Just… Don’t do it again. Stay in the park,” the guard said.

He stayed in place, watching Pete carefully as he headed out towards the street. There was no point in climbing the fence again when there’s a guard already closely watching. He headed around the corner and started down the street towards where Ayla had parked in front of the park.

He got into the car as soon as he found it. He pointed forward, telling her to get moving. She immediately did.

“So, there’s two valets heading towards Walford’s house right now to bring him his car. I got the license plate number and I think they shouldn’t be too far from here,” he said. “Thought I did get held up a little by a guard.”

“How’d you get away from that one so easily?” she asked.

“I made him to think a pigeon was a rare dove,” he chuckled. He pulled up the recent photos on the camera and showed her the picture of the pigeon in question. “This is Jacques. He’s a pigeon.”

She glanced at the picture and laughed. “I can’t believe that worked.”

#its the gaslighting about a pigeon scene #its like a 15 min read not too long i couldn't tell you how many words tho #and honestly a good intro scene for one of the protags #even tho this one is a little bit of an outlier for him bc he's usually tired and angry but its a good tell of character #bc it's a good day when you've gotten proper sleep. have an energy drink. and have been spending time sitting in a car with a friend #taks speaks #out west #(btw new tag for when i decide to ramble about this stuff its the current title which may honestly get changed) #btw jaques' dove isn't a real species i did the research to make sure it wasn't lmao #another small thing i was realizing while rereading this part #is Pete is the same person who picked up a stray cat at one point and couldn't think of a name At All #so he ended up taking it to the vet to get neutered and such bc male cats spray and ew #and he's there at the vet staring at this little black cat entirely unable to form a name and just writes 'Shadow' on the paper #bc the cat is hiding in the shadows of the carrier. the name stuck. that cat is shadow #but yet. he manages to pull out a proper name for a random ass pigeon he finds #he's definitely the guy who picks up animals he finds. free cat in the street. friendly pigeons. #all except dogs. he's a cat person. but his current bf has managed to gather three whole dogs at one point #he's not in this scene at all but through the entire story he is never without a dog. specifically this little gray pitbull #and that little dog even won over pete who was very adamant about not liking dogs. she's a good dog. a very good dog. #also most of the gathering of dogs was revenge for bringing home Shadow bc his bf is allergic to cats and that's a whole damn thing #these are just random background points that have literally nothing to do with the plot tbh #but yeah. all this. I have years into these characters and they're finally formed into their own complex people #they are also now to the point of essentially moving the story themselves. they're just taking me along for the ride at this point #and this scene was very much one of those scenes

[sunkissedspider]

Complicated | Peter Parker

Complicated | Peter Parker

Complicated | Peter Parker

MASTERLIST

***taglist is open!!! just send an ask or message me and i’ll add you :)***

***requests are open!!! just send an ask or message me your request if you have one :)***

pairing: Peter Parker x reader

summary: your and Peter's relationship is strictly physical... but what happens when feelings get in the way?

warnings: angst, smut, unprotected sex (please wrap it before you tap it), making out, language, fluff, etc.

listen to: i love you, bitches broken hearts, wish you were gay, and my boy by Billie Eilish (get ready for some Sad Vibes™ and some Angry Vibes™)

word count: 5.9k+ (👀👀)

a/n: parts of this are super angsty and sad. does it have a happy ending?... we'll see 👀. sorry for any spelling and/or grammar errors!!

     You and Peter had a... complicated relationship, to say the least. Not only had you two been best friends since the third grade, but you had also been sleeping with each other for a year and a half. You guys had make the decision to lose your virginities to each other, and since it went really well, you both thought "why not do this for a while?".

    No, you and Peter weren't dating, you were strictly friends with benefits. Honestly, you sometimes didn't understand why you guys weren't official, but then you remembered the conversation that you two had had with each other after the first few times you guys had sex. The conversation about how if sleeping with each other didn't ruin your friendship, dating probably would. Sure, you two still did the same things that you did before you guys had first slept together. Movie nights every Friday after school, hours spent at the carnival with Ned, MJ, and Betty, drives to the diner at 3 am whenever you got bored... only now, they were followed by absolutely mind-blowing sex. It was never awkward after though, like how you originally thought it would be.

    You found it funny how you could always tell whenever Peter was horny; the way he would squirm in his seat, how he would move his textbooks to cover the bulge in his jeans, how needy he was, and no many other countless things. You couldn't even remember how many times you'd be watching t.v. on his couch, and he'd just lean over and kiss your neck in the way that drove you crazy, and then you'd end up having fucking incredible sex on every surface of his apartment.

    But the times weren't always happy. Sometimes you'd fight. And when you cough, you fought. Yelling, screaming, doors slamming, the whole shebang. You two fought like you were a couple, but you knew you'd never be an actual one, and you kind of liked it that way, if you were being honest. You got all of the sex and the talking and (most) of the good things, all without the commitment (even though you both weren't sleeping or dating other people). And you always had thought that Peter liked it that way too.

***

    "Petey!" You exclaimed, sitting down in front of him at the cafeteria, his eyes moving to look up at you from his phone. "I've got an idea."

    "What is it?" He asked, with raised suspicion in his voice, noticing your wicked smile.

    "Can we please, please, please go to that abandoned building that we drove past that one time?" You whisper-scream, your eyes darting all around Peter's face, trying to guess his response.

    "Absolutely not," He breathes out, laughing quietly. "That place looks haunted as fuck. There's no way in hell I'm going in there."

    "But I love scary shit! Please, Peter?" You plead, giving him the best puppy dog eyes you could, but he just looks away from you.

    "No way, Y/N L/N." He elaborates, taking a sip of your water that he had stolen from you.

    "Come on, Pete." You whined, before lowering your voice, reaching to race small circles on one of his forearms and hands. "I'll do that thing that you like so much." You bit your lip softly, looking up at him through your long eyelashes, knowing that it drives him crazy.

    He clenches his jaw, a slight blush covering his cheeks, looking up at the ceiling in thought for a moment before looking back at you, his eyes darkened with lust. "Fine. But only because you're my best friend and you're really good at it."

***

    It was about two hours after Peter dropped you off at your apartment that he knocked on your door, his "adventure bag" in his hands.

    "Ready?" He asked, holding up two flash lights, an excited smile on his face.

    You nodded eagerly, saying goodbye to your parents before grabbing your own bag, meeting Peter out in the hallway. He grabbed onto your hand softly, both of you walking out of your apartment building, matching goofy grins on your faces.

***

    "Here you go," Peter laughed, opening the passenger side door for you, shutting it when you were buckled in. "You excited?" He asked after sliding into the car, buckling his won seatbelt.

    "Very," You said, laughing slightly as you looked through all of the personal mix CDs that you and Peter had made together, perfectly fitting your matching taste in music. "I can't believe I actually convinced you to go with me."

    "I get to spend, like... Wait, three hour drive there, we'll spend, like, two hours there, and then three hour drive back... Yeah, I get to spend eight extra hours with you, so, really, it's awesome either way." He breathed out, looking over at your as you continued flipping through the CDs, looking up at him briefly to smile at him.

"I, uh, I bought some extra stuff from Mr. Delmar's too." He said, reaching into the back seat of his car, grabbing his, what you two called it, adventure bag. "Two sandwiches with pickle, a couple packs of gum, two Cokes, a few waters, and another CD." He says, smiling at you, reaching over to do your handshake, but you just ignored it. Instead, you leaned over the center console, hugging Peter tightly.

    He just smiled, hugging you back even tighter, moving his head to kiss you on the cheek before you two smiled even wider, pulling away before starting the radio, Peter pulling out of the parking lot, the GPS on his phone already coming on, telling him to turn left in six miles.

***

    "Okay, okay. Uhm... Jennifer Aniston?" You asked, taking a sip of your water.

    "Oh, hell yeah. I'd do her in a heartbeat." He says almost immediately, causing you both to laugh loudly.

    "Harry Styles?" He asks, switches lanes on the highway as you smile widely.

    "Abso-fuckin'-lutely! How could anyone not wanna fuck him?" You both laugh, before Peter's face suddenly turns serious.

    "Are you, uh... Are you, ya know, sleeping with anyone else?" He asks, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulps nervously.

    You scoff, slapping Peter playfully on the chest. "No, Pete. I'm shocked that someone as hot as you wants to sleep with me. Besides, I like having sex with you. You're fucking amazing in bed." You giggle quietly, looking at the way Peter's cheeks are flushed a bright red at your praise.

    Peter tries his best to not let a cocky smile take over his face. Obviously he knows how good he is in bed. The noises that you make and the praises that you give him are more than enough for him to know what he's doing is good.

    "Are- Are you?" You ask, butterflies flying around deep in your stomach. You knew that you and Peter weren't official. But, for some reason, the thought of him sleeping with another girl made you sick to your stomach.

    "Nope. I've never even come close to it. I'm comfortable with you, and sleeping with you is always nice. I don't trust anyone as much as I trust you, and you know how important trust is to me." He breathes out, laughing nervously.

    You let out a breath that you were holding. If Peter had been sleeping with another person, he would've told you, and you would've been able to tell even before that. You two were best friends, after all. You knew Peter better than you knew yourself, and vise versa.

***

    You and Peter had a blast at the old building, and he ended up being glad that you could convince him to go. Well, he would be gone either way just to spend time with you, but it was cute seeing how much you wanted him to join you.

    It's never awkward hanging out with Peter even though you two are sleeping together. Well, it's usually never awkward. If it is, it's only ever when he's dropping you back off at your apartment. You never know whether you two should kiss or if you should just do your secret handshake. That was the one thing you could never figure out about Peter; "Does he wanna kiss me? Does he not wanna kiss me? Do I wanna kiss him?" were the thoughts that ran through your brain constantly, and most of the time you couldn't even look into Peter's eyes when he dropped you off at your place.

    He was always gentleman though. Especially when you two were having sex. He would always make sure that you were okay, constantly reminding you of how beautiful you were, how good you felt, how much he was enjoying it, while still making sure you were, etc.

    Along with the incredible sex, you and Peter had a nearly unbreakable bond... and you weren't sure if you wanted to test how it could break. Peter is the best friend you've ever had. He was always there to listen, to talk, to be your shoulder to cry on, and so many other things. He was your partner in crime, your ride or die, your boyfriend that wasn't a boyfriend... but who knows, maybe you did want to be with Peter. Even you didn't know the answer to that. And you didn't know if you ever would.

***

    "I've got some news!" You squealed, sitting down across from Peter at the lunch table, where you always sat. It had been a few days since you and Peter had gone on your little road trip together, and you had already planned to go back again the following weekend.

    "What is it?" He asked, smiling when he saw how happy you were.

    "Alright... guess who just asked me out to the movies on Friday..." You said, you're eyes blowing wide with excitement.

    It took Peter everything in him to not clench his jaw in anger, trying his best to keep a happy smile on his face. "Who?" He asked, one of his hands holding yours and he rubbed his thumb over the smooth skin.

    "Brennan fucking Daniels!" You exclaimed, your smile even wider.

    "Oh shit! That's awesome!" Peter said, lying to you for the first time in years.

    He hated Brennan. Not just because he liked you and you liked him, or the fact that you and Peter were sleeping with each other, but because he was an asshole. Sure, he seemed nice on the outside, but Peter knew just how cruel he could be. Brennan used to live in the apartment next to Peter's, and even though you lived in the apartment right below Peter's, you never really saw Brennan. But Peter saw, and heard, everything. He saw how in the mornings girls would leave Brennan's apartment with tears in their eyes, their sneakers in their hands as they sped down the hallways, not wanting anyone to know that they were crying. He would date another beautiful girl every two weeks, and then he would throw them away just like they were nothing. Brennan Daniels was a player, he always had been and he always would be, and Peter was shocked that someone as incredible as you was going after an asshole like that.

    "I'm sorry that I'm missing movie nigh for the first time in... what? Six years? Seven years? But I promise you that I'll stop by your apartment as soon as my date is over. How about we watch The Notebook this time?" You asked, your eyes turning sad slightly, feeling bad that you would miss hanging out with Peter for a few hours.

    "It's fine, don't worry about it. Just have fun and enjoy the movie. I'll stop by Mr. Delmar's and grab some snacks, but just take your time." Peter said, putting on his best fake smile. Here he was again, as always, being the supportive best friend that he always was, putting you happiness ahead of his.

    "Are you sure, Pete? Because I can reschedule, it's not a problem." You ask, making sure that Peter was really okay with it.

    "Positive, just have fun." He fake smiled at you again, trying his best to convince you.

    You just smiled, squeezing his hand before turning to talk to Ned, Betty, and MJ, not noticing the small, single tear sliding slowly down the smooth skin of his face, before he wiped it away quickly, leaning forward to join the conversation that you were having with everyone else.

***

    "Fuck, Brennan! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" You moaned, your back slamming against Brennan's toned chest as his grip on your waist tightened quickly as his pounded into you at a harsh, rough speed, hitting a spot so deep inside of you that your eyes rolled back as you let out a loud, choked out moan.

    "Holy fucking shit. Fuck, are you gonna cum?" He groaned into your ear, his thrusts starting to become sloppier and sloppier as you both came closer to your highs each time he hit deep inside of you.

    "Fuck, yes!" You moaned loudly, squealing loudly when he flipped you both, now pounding into even quicker as he looked into your eyes before dipping his head down, biting hard onto your collar bone, the force of his hips slapping against yours was enough for your bed to slam against the wall repeatedly, making you even gladder that your parents were on a date.

    "Fucking cum for me, Y/N. Shit!" He groaned, his words only spurring you on further until, with one specifically deep thrust, you came undone underneath him, your walls squeezing him tightly as you moaned loudly, causing him to reach his own orgasm as he quickly pulled out of you, pumping hi cock harshly before he released onto your stomach, moaning out you name loudly as his head went back, before he collapsed onto your bed beside you.

    "Fuck," You breathed out, your chest heaving up and down quickly as you tried quickly to regulate your breathing. "That was fucking incredible."

    "Yeah. Shit, I thought that you'd be good in bed, but I didn't think you'd be that good." He laughed, looking over at you as he lifted one of his muscular arms above his head, looking over at you before asking you a questions that made butterflies appear in your stomach again. "How many people have you slept with. I know you couldn't have been a virgin before that, you were too good."

    "Only one, but I've slept with him a lot before." You breathe out, laughing quietly, before you looked over at Brennan, seeing him start to stand up, gathering his clothes that were scattered all over the floor. "What are you doing?" You ask, trying not to sound nervous.

    "I have football practice tomorrow and I need to go home and sleep, but could I see you again sometime soon? I, uh, I had a lot of fun tonight, and I really wanna see you again." He said, slipping his shirt on over his head, pulling his boxers on before he went to your desk, grabbing a towel before walking over to you, wiping his seed off of your stomach for you.

    "I'd like that." You said, reaching a hand softly around one side of his neck, pulling his head down to yours, your lips meeting in a soft kiss.

    After he got dressed and you threw on a pair of sweats and one of your (Peter's) hoodies, you walked Brennan to your front door, stepping into the hallway before kissing him deeply, your arms wrapped around his neck as you stood on your tippy toes, him leaning down to reach your lips, your figure seeming small compared to his 6'5 height.

    "Bye." He said, smiling against your lips before pulling away, clearing his throat loudly when he saw Peter standing at the end of the hallway, his eyes blown wide at the sight of you two kissing in such an intimate way. It made his blood boil and his jaw clench when he saw how you smiled and how happy you seemed when you kissed him.

    "Peter? What are you doing here?" You said, raised alarm in your voice. "I'll see you soon, Brennan." You said, waving him goodbye as Peter walked over to you, your body leaning against your front door frame.

    "What was all of that about?" Peter asks, watching Brennan as he walked away, only turning to look at you when he saw him turn down the hallway.

    "It's nothing, Pete. I thought I was meeting you at your place?" You ask, smiling at Peter, trying to ignore how awkward it was that the guy you were sleeping with caught you with a guy you had just slept with.

    "It's late, I didn't want something bad to happen to you." He smiles back, trying his best to cover the pain he felt.

***

    "Did you guys have sex?" Peter asked, causing you to turn your head away from his t.v., his tone a serious one, a large contrast to the funny, happy scene that was going on during the movie.

    "What?" You ask, laughing, assuming he was joking as you took some popcorn into your hand, your eyes back on the screen as you snacked.

    "Did you sleep with Brennan?" He asked, butterflies flying all around his stomach, nervous about the answer.

    "Yeah," You shrugged, eyes still following the characters around on the screen. "It doesn't really mean anything though."

    "Are you kidding? God, Jesus Christ, please tell me that you're joking." He said, causing you to look at him deeply in the eyes.

    "What's wrong, Pete-" You start, before getting interrupted.

    "'What's wrong?'?... 'What's wrong?'?! Gee, I don't know, Y/N. Maybe the fact that you fucked goddamn Brennan Daniels. You know he's just gonna leave you, right? He does that with every girl he fucks! And maybe its the fact that you didn't even ask me if you could sleep with him?!" Peter yelled, the first time he's ever yelled at you, his jaw clenched tightly, as he talked with his hands, his leg bouncing up and down, a sign that he was angry.

    "Why does it matter so much? It's not like you're my boyfriend!" you snapped back, your body turned to face Peter's.

    "What if I want to be? Have you ever though about that?" He shot back, his eyes darkened with anger.

    "What are you talking about, Peter?" You said, your voice now back to normal, your eyes blown wide as you tried to make sense of what Peter was telling you.

    "Nothing... It's nothing. Get out." He said, his hands going to cover his eyes.

    "What?" You asked, your voice breaking at the harsh words coming from your best friend. From the one person that you trusted the most in this world.

    "Just get out! Get the fuck out!" Peter screamed at you even louder than before, his hands moving from his face to his sides as he stood up, looking at you right in your eyes.

    "Fine." You said, standing up, moving to his front door, slowly opening it, before turning around to look at him again. "Goodbye, Peter." And with that, you left his apartment, quietly closing door, constant streams of tears falling down your face as you desperately tried to wipe them away with the sleeve of Peter's hoodie, his scent that was imprinted on it only making you cry harder.

***

    Peter tried to come by your apartment, climbing down the fire escape from his apartment down to yours. He was about to tap on your window until he saw you on your bed; you sat there, crumpled up in a little ball, wrapped in Peter's sweatshirt and your blankets, only your bedside table light on as you cried, your cheeks stained red from your tears.

    "Fuck," Peter breathed out. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He muttered before walking back up the fire escape again. His eyes stung as tears pricked up in his waterlines, realizing how bad he had fucked up... realizing that he had lost you.

***

    You sat with Brennan the next day at lunch, trying to avoid Peter as much as you could, which was hard since you had almost all of the same classes. Of course, the awkward eye contact happened a few time in the following weeks of not speaking to him.

    By the third week, both you and Peter had cut everyone off. Even though you were happy with Brennan, and you believed that he truly liked you, you were sluggish and quieter than you usually were. Unless you and Brennan were having sex, you were always bored. You missed the excitement that Peter brought into your life. He was Spider-Man, for Christ's sake, and you missed the way that he would explain his adventures of the day to you, even if most of them were very eventful. You missed the way that his eyes would light up whenever he saw you, or the way his grin would turn cheesy whenever you said a bad, corny dad joke. You missed the way that he made you feel special. Not just durning sex, but whenever you questioned yourself. Whenever you thought  that you looked bad, or whenever you thought that you were stupid because you got a bad grade on a test.

    Peter had always been there for you. Ever since you were nine years old. But now you didn't know if you would ever talk to him again. You tried not to think about it much, but whenever a teacher would say something that you could turn into a "That's what she said" joke, you would always curse yourself for looking next to you at Peter, forgetting for just a brief moment that he wasn't your best friend anymore. That he wasn't even your acquaintance anymore. That he was now just some guy that sat next to you in almost all of your classes. In a few months, you knew that Peter wouldn't even exist to you anymore, and that right now, you probably didn't even exist to Peter at all.

***

    By this point, it had been two months since you had talked to the only person you had ever trusted with everything in you. You and Brennan had broken up a few weeks after the first time you slept together, and everyone was shocked when they found out that you had broken up with him, not the other way around like everyone had expected, Peter was especially surprised. He thought that you had really liked Brennan. Even if you had liked Brennan as much as Peter and everyone had thought, you knew that you couldn't be with him. Other than the fact that he was obviously cheating on you, you did want to stay with the person that had prompted the fight that had ended your friendship with Peter. Part of Peter wanted you to come back and be his friend again immediately, but the other part of Peter knew that that kind of situation wasn't going to happen. He had shut you out and yelled at you for doing something that he couldn't even really control. After all, he had told you that it was fine for you to go on a date with Brennan. And he had known that you probably were going to sleep with him. You were teenagers, that's what teenagers do.

    Peter at this point wasn't even talking to May. It first started when he had quit smiling when they would go get Thai, remembering that it was something you used to join in on. Whenever May would bring you up, Peter's jaw would clench and he'd try and change the subject as quickly as possible. May knew that something was up with your and Peter's friendship after she hadn't seen you for a week. You were either always at Peter's place, he was always at your place, or you guys were always driving around somewhere upstate.

    "Peter," May started, walking in front of him as he was seated on the couch, typing away on his laptop as he worked on an assignment for physics. "What happened to Y/N? I haven't seen her in months."

    "It's nothing. She's just busy." He dismissed as he continued typing quickly.

    "Even when you're both busy, you always find a way to see each other. This is the longest I've seen you be without her since the third grade, Pe-" She said before getting interrupted by Peter.

    "I said it's nothing." He said sternly, his voice turning cold.

    "Peter-"

    "I said it's nothing, May! Jesus Christ, it's fucking nothing!" He yelled, slamming his laptop closed as he got off of the couch, making his way into his bedroom.

    "Peter, you have to tel, me what's going on here. I've never seen you like this. What the hell is wrong?" May asked, concern filling her voice.

    "Shit! I love her. God, I love her, May. I can’t stop thinking about her. I can’t do anything. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can’t concentrate. Please… just tell me what to do.” Peter begged, hot tears beginning to stream down his face, his eyes and cheeks turning red from the overload of emotions he was feeling.

    "I'm sorry to say it, but you can’t do anything when you love someone like that, Peter. But you have to tell her or you’ll go crazy." She said, her eyes turning soft. She felt sympathy for Peter, she knew exactly what he was going through.

    "I don’t want mess up what her and I have. I can’t lose her, May. I can't." Peter chokes out through tears.

    "Just tell her how you feel, Peter. And pray that it’ll work out well."

    "It’s not that simple, May! It’s more complicated than that! I’m sorry that I’m yelling, but I’m suffocating in my own feelings over here! Either I’m numb or I’m feeling everything, May… I can’t do this, it’s too much." Peter said, sinking onto the floor as he let his emotions take over him. May immediately ran over to him, sitting down next to him on the floor, hugging him tightly as he sobbed into May's neck, his hot tears soaking her striped shirt.

    "You need to go talk to her, Peter. As soon as you possibly can, or you're gonna lose it before you can even say her name." ay said, kissing the top of his head as she pulled away, looking at Peter with sadness in her eyes as he tried to wipe some of is tears away with his hoodie, the one that you had given back to him by leaving it in a brown paper bag my his window on the fire escape.

***

    You sat on your bed, trying your best to read one of your favorite books in a desperate attempted to make yourself feel better as one of your and Peter's favorite playlists played quietly in the background.

    You jumped sightly when you heard the tapping on your window... it had been a while since you had heard it. Butterflies swarmed your stomach when you saw Peter, and you tried your best to wipe away the tears that filled your eyes and that trailed down your face slowly.

    You and Peter looked at each other for the longest time you had in two months, both of you not breathing when you unlocked and opened your window, stepping back to let Peter climb through.

    "Can I hug you?" He asked, more tears forming in your eyes as you heard him speak to you for the first time in two months.

    "Y-yeah." You managed to choke out.

    That was all Peter needed to hear before he wrapped his arms tightly around you, both of you immediately sobbing loudly into each other's embrace.

    "Fuck, Y/N. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Peter said over and over again, your head buried in his chest.

    "I'm sorry, Peter. I should've talked to you, I should've asked you. God, I'm so sorry, Pete." You cried, both of your grips tightening around each other.

    "No, it's my fault. I overreacted. It's just that... I- I..." Peter stuttered out, his grip around you loosening as you stepped only a few feet away to get a good look at his face.

    "What is it, Peter?" You asked, one of your hands going up to cup one of his cheeks, rubbing your thumb around the skin, remembering how much you had missed the smoothness of it.

    "I-, I'm just gonna say it because I can't think of any other way to put it... Y/N L/N, I'm in love with you. I'm so in love with you that it hurts. I've been in love with you since we were nine years old, and that's the reason I freaked out about Brennan. I love you so fucking much, Y/N. Jesus Christ, I can't breathe without you, I can't sleep, I can barely even do my fucking homework without you being around me. And I know that yo probably don't feel the same way about me, and that's okay, but-" He breathed out, a weight visibly lifting from is shoulders and he continued rambling, before you interrupted him.

    "Peter, shut the fuck up." You laughed, causing him to top dead in his tracks.

    "W-what?" He asked, his eyes widening with fear.

    "I'm in love with you too, Peter. God, how could I not be? You're the sweetest, smartest, funniest guy I know. And I am so in love with you that I can't even read my favorite fucking book!" You said before stepping closer to him, your arms slowly starting to wrap themselves softly around his neck.

    "Can I kiss you?" He asked, his arms starting wrap around your waist, pulling you closer to each other.

    "Please." You breathe out quietly.

    And with that, you and Peter kissed for the first time in what felt like forever. Just two dumb and in love kids. You stood up on your tippy toes to deepen the kiss. It was one of those movie kisses... the total sparks flying, butterflies in the stomach kisses. It was one of the main things that you had missed. You missed how perfectly his lips molded to your, like they were two puzzle pieces that could only fit together with the other.

    "Peter," You moaned when he started to kiss down your neck, his hands quickly lifting your sweatshirt off of you, you crawling onto the bed when you felt the backs of your legs hit your bed. "Please." You said, Peter's body situated between yours as he kissed your neck, his sweatshirt already discarded somewhere on your floor, your bare chests pressed against each other's.

    "Please what?" He smirked against your chest, nipping on your bare breasts lightly.

    "Fuck, make love to me, Peter." You begged, your back arching and a moan escaping your lips from the love bites Peter was giving you.

    He looked up at you for a few seconds, your eyes meeting his, a soft smile covering your face as you ran your hands through Peter's curly brown locks, missing how they felt against your fingers.

    You met your lips with Peter's, telling hi that you wanted him, and he kissed you back, a way of him showing you that it wanted you back.

    Peter pulled away after a few minutes, his fingers going to the waistband of your sweatpants, pulling them down, along with your underwear, before sitting back to take his own off. You licked your lips when his member sprung up against his lower stomach. If you both weren't so needy right now, you would've taken your time. But you two needed each other now more than ever.

    Peter hovered over you again, his body between yours, is hard length in his hand.

    "Ready?" He asked. The things that boy did to you... he always made you feel special, you didn't understand how he did it... it just came natural to him.

    "Yes..." You whispered, connecting your lips with his as he slid into you, both of you moaning loudly into each other's mouths.

    "Fuck!" You said in sync, your legs wrapping around Peter's waist before he started with a slow pace, wanting to make it last. He knew it probably wouldn't last as long as he would want it to, but goddamn, you felt fucking incredible around him.

    "Shit, you're so tight!" He groaned, his head dipping down to kiss your lips tenderly, your lips parting to deepen the kiss as his thrusts sped up, causing you to whimper loudly into his mouth as he groaned.

    "Fuck, Peter!" You screamed when he hit a spot so deep inside of you that it made your head spin as your back arched, your chests pressing against each other's even more, the feeling of Peter's skin on yours feeling like heaven.

    Even with all of the experience Brennan had, Peter knew how your body worked better than you did yourself. He knew just what to do to get you to come undone underneath him, to have your eyes squeeze tightly shut, to have you screaming him name in only minutes.

    "God, fuck," He groaned, his head going to suck deep purple marks into the crook of your neck, loud moans leaving the both of you. "Jesus, I'm already close, baby. I don't know how long I'm gonna last. You feel t fucking good around me."

    "Fuck, cum for me, Peter. Please." You begged, your eyes squeezing shut at the feeling of Peter hitting deep inside of you, along with the words and groans coming out of his mouth.

    He reached his hand down in between the two of you, rubbing harsh, tight circles on your clit, causing you to move your hands into his hair, tugging harshly as you came closer and closer to reaching your high.

    "Fuck, P-Peter! I'm gonna cum!" You screamed, Peter groaning into your ear only spurring you on, along with the sensations on your clit. Within seconds, you were coming undone around him, your walls clenching tightly around his length as your legs tightened around his waist, your arms hugging his body closer to your.

    And with only a few final thrusts, Peter was a complete groaning mess, his hips stilling as he came inside of you, his body collapsing on top of yours when his strength completely gave out, his head falling onto your chest.

    The next few moments were spent in a comfortable silence, your hands smoothing up and down Peter's arms and back and you both tried to get your breathing to calm down.

    "Y/N?" Peter said, looking up at you with his beautiful brown eyes. The sight would melt anybody's heart immediately, you were sure of it.

    "Yeah, Pete?" You said, kissing his forehead before meeting his eyes again.

    "God, I'm gonna sound like a little kid, but, uh... will you, ya know, be my girlfriend? Just us? No one else?" He asked, his heart rate speeding up a bit out of nervousness.

    "Of course, dummy." You laughed, Peter moving up to connect your lips in a soft kiss, both of you feeling completely safe.

    "I love you." He said, smiling between kisses.

    "I love you too, Peter."

__________

@ertherealrose​ @peter-tiingle​ @petertiingz​ @fallinfortom​

#peter parker smut #smut #peter parker x reader #peter parker x reader smut #fanfiction #peter parker x y/n #spiderman #spiderman x reader #marvel #marvel fanfiction #fanfic #mcu #peter parker angst #peter parer x reader angst #Peter parker x y/n angst #spiderman ansgt #spiderman x y/n angst #marvel angst #mcu angst

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                                                                            MARCH    2020

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 The Stones are touring the U.S. again.

*****

Paul Reubens is touring with Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.

*****

Al Franken is touring.

*****

Keenan Thompson and Hasan Minhaj are bringing comedy back to the White House Correspondents dinner on April 5.

*****

Days alert: There is some casting news but most of this won’t show up until the fall. Word is a couple of newbies will be Remington Hoffman who will play Li Shin, son of Mr. Shin and Emily O’Brien may join the cast. Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) may be on her way back. Let’s bring the original Phillip back for her!!! Brandon Barash (Stefan) will return as well as Louise Sorel ( Vivian )and Alison Sweeney ( Sami). Judi Evans is headed back. Will she play Adrienne or Bonnie?? It looks like Casey Moss (JJ), Freddie Smith (Sonny), Chandler Massey (Will) and Galen Gering (Rafe) mill head out for awhile.

*****

It looks like Friends freaks will finally get their reunion on HBO. I am glad they aren’t bringing the characters back and are just getting together to talk about their time together.

*****

Downhill hit theatres on Valentine’s Day with Will Ferrell, Julia Louis- Dreyfus and Zoe Chao. The film was written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash.

*****

The more I see of it, the more I LOVE Stumptown, the best show that nobody seems to know about. Please renew ABC!!!!!

*****

So.. Rush Limbaugh got the Medal of Freedom.  Oh my.

*****

Shadow Inc. owned by former Clinton and Obama staffers made an app that thoroughly fucked up the Iowa caucus. It was good at calculating the results but not delivering them.  And hey.. Wolf Blitzer, stay off the phone with people that are trying to get those results. Let them just do their job!!

*****

Brooklyn 99 is back and Vanessa Bayer is there!!!

*****

Rod Blagojevich is out and hitting every show that will have him. Trump pardoned him along with 10 other criminals including Ed DeBartolo Jr., Mike Milken and Bernard Kerik.

*****

Forty thousand kids won’t get free lunch because Trump threw them off food stamps. The two usually go hand in hand. Getting food stamps automatically sets a kid up for the free lunch program.

*****

Over 1000 former DOJ officials have asked Bill Barr to resign.** 70 former Senators have written an open letter to congress to tell them they are not fulfilling their congressional duties.**” Yoo Hoo! Bush, Clinton, Carter, Obama, you’re up.” –Patricia Arquette

*****

Pete Davidson and Kaia Gerber have split.

*****

Indiana Beach is closing after 94 years.

*****

Denny Hamlin won the 2020 Daytona 500.

*****

Can’t we get some real gigs for Rainn Wilson and Curtis Armstrong? Ok, so Cyrtis Armstrong was on Stumptown so thank goodness for that! They can do better than Dominoes and Little Caesars ads. And how funny is it that Dominoes, known for its very Chrustian owners use a Risky Business ( a film about prostitutes) ad for their product. Hmm.

*****Hey.. Comics, quit bringing up Trump and his former womanizing. It didn’t work with Clinton and it won’t work here. People just don’t seem to care. Focus on the real damage he is doing.

*****

Scary Clown is working on opening nearly a million acres of land in Utah for energy exploration that had been a National monument. Redford and Romney can’t be happy about that.

*****

A new animated series from a brand new production company owned by Natasha Lyonne and Maya Rudolph looks promising. Look for The Hospital.

*****

Southern Illinois University is giving Bob Odenkirk an honorary degree.

*****

Ukranian immigrants Lt. Col. Vindman and his twin brother are out. Ambassador to the EU Sonland is out.

*****

The Democrats had a debate on Feb. 7 . At Andrew Yang’s first chance to speak, he rehashed his stump speech. I mean, c’mon give us something new. There really seemed to be a restrained nervousness on the stage that night. Klobachar seemed too needy but she got great reviews. Biden called Buttigieg ‘a friend ‘ a couple of times. Mayor Pete did quite well. ** Deval Patrick is out** Andrew Yang is out.**Michael Bennet is out** Another debate was on Feb. 19.** Bloomberg/Yang? Is this true?

*****

Check out the new series, Hunters. It is awesome, funny and terrifying!

*****

Dozens of Native American women and girls have disappeared from Big Horn county, Montana over the last few years. The victims were later found dead and Trump has put a federal task force together.

*****

Grassley and Wyden are trying to get lower prescription drug prices but Moscow Mitch won’t bring the proposal to the floor. Others are looking to get some traction on HR3.

*****

JSW Steel has sued the Trump administration for refusing to exempt it from paying the levies on slabs of steel that the company imports.

*****

64 women have filed sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuits against Mike Bloomberg. I’m not a fan of the guy but it does seem sort of coincidental.  It does not seem to matter cuz all his ads seem to be working, he is picking up steam. Tom Steyer is gaining a bit of momentum as well.

*****

The corona virus has brought us Covid 19. 600 people are being held in quarantine camps that the military has set up.  Italy has new cases and the disease is spreading. Scary Clown is trying to spin it all.

*****

ICE is being sent into sanctuary cities to cause trouble for immigrants.

*****

You have to check out Horse girl with Alison Brie, Molly Shannon and Matthew Gray Gubler on Netflix .

*****

Rapper Larry Sanders AKA LV is letting us in on a miscarriage of justice he has had to live thru. LV, best known for his work on Coolio’s Gangsters Paradise, was approached by police and later put on the Calgang database. The practice put about 80,000 mostly African Americans on a sort of gang list. In a 2016 audit it was found that there were many inaccuracies including the names of babes who could not possibly be gang affiliated.

*****

Nature does not need people. People need nature. –Harrison Ford

*****

The Clark bar is back. The roll out has started in Pittsburgh and will soon spread across the country.

*****

Scientists have found some turtle fossils that are the size of a car in South America.

*****

U can donate to the Trump campaign and may win a yaqut and hunting trip with Don Jr. The Beach Boys will perform.

*****

The Oscars were held Feb. 9. Brad Pitt and the production design team won for Once upon a Time in Hollywood. Woo Hoo! Word is that Pitt has hired a speech writer to write his acceptances. JoJo Rabbit won for adapted screenplay. Little Women won for Little Women and Toy Story 4 for animated film. Laura Dern won best supporting actress. Renee Zellweger and Joaquin Phoenix too home the top actor prizes. Parasite surprised everybody and won best pic and got Bong Joon Ho a best director statue. My best dressed were Billy Porter, Antonio Banderes and his date, Janelle Monae ( her opening seemed to make some in the audience uncomfortable), Robert DeNiro, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Geena Davis, Regina King, Charlize Theron, Adam Driver, Joanne Tucker, Cynthia Erivo, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Kathy Bates, I don’t know what Kristen Wiig and Idina Menzel were thinking. Wiig always has a unique style so I have to admire that. ** The ratings were down. I have heard people saying they just don’t watch award shows or late night shows anymore because they are afraid things will get political. Funny, that is part of the reason I watch!

*****

Tom Papa was pontificating about a real dog show that should have REAL dogs. It would make a great weekly show with people bringing on their dogs.

*****

The goalies of the Hurricanes were out of commission and David Ayres, the Zamboni driver was brought in to help and the won against the Maple Leafs. Woo Hoo!!

*****

Hooray for New Hampshire and their use of paper ballots. Things in the campaign got a little shook up with Bernie taking the top followed by Pete and Amy.

*****

2 years of research in Canada has brought the announcement of a new discovery. Skull fragments  that were cleaned and collected about 10 years ago have been named Thanatotheristes or the reaper of death. The discovery helps us all learn more about the early times of Tyrannosaurids, a sub group that includes T.Rex.

*****

New Jersey has a ban on self- serve pumps and another state is talking about getting in on the action.  The gas station attendant act has been proposed in Illinois.

*****

Van Jones was right when he said we shouldn’t give Trump any press coverage for a week. He would hate it. Trump loves the old adage of bad publicity is better than none because he just must have attention. It would never work for they just can’t resist.** Joe Mcguire is out after he warned of Russian interference. If you want to keep your job in this administration, do not tell the truth. Now at the Department of National Intelligence is Johnny Mcentee , a 29 year old former football player who worked on the campaign. He immediately called department heads and said he wanted lists of never Trumpers in their offices. ** And who is in charge of weeding out the people in the government who may be disloyal to Scary Clown? Well, it is none other than Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence. She calls it the list of snakes. Trump is now saying he even wants liberal judges on the Supreme Court to recuse themselves when it comes to “Trump related cases”. It just keeps getting worse.

*****

Trump had fun in India. He should, his business has 5 projects going there right now worth 1.5 billion.

*****

Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of rape and criminal sexual assault. He was not found guilty of all the charges that included predatory behavior.

*****

Andrew Yang is a new correspondent at CNN. He tells us that he is getting word from former donors that Bloomberg is calling those big donors. Allegedly he is telling them they do not have to donate to his campaign because he can afford his own campaign but he still won’t forget them. He would like them to save their money and not give money to other democrats running either.** And I am so sick of talking heads trying to tell us to play it safe. We are not as stupid as we look, thank you!! ** Now there is a firestorm about Bernie telling the world that the education program that Castro implemented was a good thing. I understand the anger and it could not have come at a worse time and he did it to himself. BUT..  We are adults and we have to be able to talk about things as they really are, not in sound bites. Castro sucked and history teaches us that bad people do good things occasionally and good people do bad things once in a while. ** It seems that everyone was in agreement that we would all gather behind the winner of the democratic campaign to beat Trump. Suddenly when it could be Bernie, everybody is bitching.

*****

This month held 2 more Democratic debates. The Nevada debate got pretty heated. I see that Mayor Pete and Bloomberg are lefties (left handed that is). Pete always looked poised and articulate which I appreciate and he got in a good one when he mentioned that the party should choose someone who is actually a democrat.  Bernie seemed a little rattled by that. Later Pete really dressed down Amy Klobuchar and made himself look like a dick. Joe Biden jumped in with his credits occasionally but often seemed a bit lost. He slammed back that they were all talking about the health care plane he helped to create and that he himself had dealt with the Mexican President. His name came up after it was mentioned that Amy could not remember the President’s name. The gloves were off with Bloomberg as Elizabeth Warren called him out on Billionaires and NDA’s. I loved the interaction but realistically Mr. Mike can’t just release people from agreements they made in an NDA, especially if it did not involve him. Bloomberg sounded pompous and clueless about the world outside of his company. He got a moan when he said he couldn’t exactly use turbo tax and when he said he may have told a few jokes that women didn’t like. He brushed off his taxes much like Trump does. The former mayor of NY called out socialists as communists. Klobuchar had the best comeback of the night when she was told her health care plan could fit on a post it. She proclaimed that the post it was invented in her state of Minnesota. Again, there were people shouting from the audience as Joe tried to talk. C’mon give everybody an equal chance.

*****

The South Carolina debate was fiery as well. The CBS debate was hosted by Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell. Bloomberg was booed right off the bat about Russia helping Bernie but he late had many cheers. He and Biden and Steyer had some real support there. Tom Steyer was actually quite impressive and seemed well spoken.  He was the only one who brought up the impeachment. He had a great point that we all know that republicans who did not convict Trump are complicit in the Russian meddling. Then he ruined it all by being alarmist with his fear. He warned us off the former republican and the socialists. I loved Bernie’s ideas about small business’s getting in on the marijuana business and not letting big corporations taking it over. He is also the only one in debates that I have seen consistently bring up Native Americans.  Biden again kept jumping in to tell us that he did this or that. Amy disagreed about a bill he claimed to have written. Warren said “dig in” numerous times. She went for the jugular with Bloomberg when she said a former female employee of his said to “kill it” in response to her pregnancy. He denied it but it sure is memorable. She did make great points that he has given much money to Linsey Graham’s campaign as well as other republican runs including against her. BTW he also gave 2.3 mil to Rick Snyder, the Gov of Michigan after the water crisis was well known.  I love that Amy is always saying that we shouldn’t fight amongst ourselves but she just does not have the votes so she needs to go. Bernie got some boos about guns for he seems the softest in that area.

*****

Joe Biden won the South Carolina primary in a big way.

*****

Dick Van Dyke, Sarah Silverman and Public Enemy among others will be at the Bernie Sanders rally in L.A. on March 1.

*****

Just think what the 400 million that Bloomberg spent on his campaign could have done for the debt of the average American.  Instead of a campaign for a presidency that he can’t win, he could have helped so many get a leg up.

*****

I don’t understand why “respected” journalists like Chuck Todd don’t throw W H reps off the set when they disrespect him or his colleagues with fake news jabs.

*****

Bob Moore of Bob’s Red Mill is giving his company away to his employees. Now, that’s a boss!!

*****

Bone, Thugs and Harmony have made a deal with Buffalo Wild Wings to rename themselves Boneless thugs and Harmony. The publicity stunt is to promote boneless wings.

*****

NASA is hiring.

*****

Scotland has made feminine sanitary products free!!

*****

Is this true? There were pigeons in Nevada with MAGA hats glued to their heads??

*****

The final Criminal Minds has aired. CBS often aired double episodes which made it seem like they really wanted to get rid of it. Kirsten Vangsness and Erica Messer wrote the final episode which seemed to give special attention to Penelope and Reid as they were the originals. The other characters seemed a little overlooked but they all had happy endings. Where was Reid’s new girlfriend?  I was hoping to see Shemar Moore but it was great to see Reisgraf and Howell which are old favorites.

*****

Animal Kingdom returns to TNT on May 28.

*****

So there is a bit of a mess with the Roger Stone sentencing. Trump is hopping mad about the long sentence recommendation, Barr is said to be pretending to spar with the Prez, the DOJ is backing down and people are resigning.

*****

R.I.P. Shirley Jean Cade, Robert Conrad,  Katherine Johnson, Lyle Mays, B. Smith, A.E. Hotchner, Bashir Jackson, Ja’net Dubois, Pat Agee, victims of the Molson Coors shooting and Orson Bean.

[samdukewieland]

Stuck Inside Media Diary Week 8

Something that’s been nice about going back through Mad Men has been re-reading/re-visiting old Sepinwall recaps on the episodes. I read him religiously throughout high school and college, amongst others, but have since drifted from the recap on shows, for no good reason. Probably because there’s generally a podcast I can just listen to rather than read something (jock at heart-sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). This supposed to be a lesson in “go back and experience stuff from your high school years?” man, I don’t know; the venn diagram of things I did in high school and the things I do now is not small (or is it not big? What’s the best way to convey a lot of similarities with a venn diagram, size-wise). 

Sunday, May 10 (Mother’s Day)

The Third Man, Reed 1949

I was not super digging this while I was watching, it was late when I started watching it and it’s not slow exactly, but I was real curious how egg-zacktly Orson Wells was going to fit into the picture. Mysteries! I tells ya. Anyway, I’ve been stewing in it and realized, “huh, I think I actually like this movie quite a bit.” I think the Britishness, while not in your face, was secretly chipping away at my brain, already war-torn by tiredhead and then having a second wave of dry, British storytelling. Pretty good li’l picture (you could say that about movies in the 40′s-this isn’t uncommon).

Top Chef, Season 17 episode 4

This was done in an attempt to help my mom catch back up with Top Chef, which somewhat moved the needle, but I don’t think an episode (on her end) has been watched since. Mother’s Day: ruined.

Mad Men, “Tea Leaves”

My mom also watched this one with me, only because she just happened to be in the room. Her biggest hurdle with this show and her refusal to watch it is based solely on the fact that phones are ringing “all the time” and that “no one ever answers them.” Hard to refute it. She seemed mildly entertained by this episode, considering she had close to zero context for what was going on, thought that it was Ginsburg’s debut episode played some part into that. Pretty disorienting episode to be thrown into, what with the whole....Fat Betty thing (I was going to say “elephant in the room of Betty” but that just seemed cruel and trying too hard to try and be clever. An interesting, though ultimately aimless direction to take Betty this season and everyone involved kind of knows it.

The Last Dance, Parts 7 & 8

That this was the penultimate week of new Jordan doc created an unusual energy around the episodes, which were exciting in their own right as they went over his father’s murder, his baseball career and returning to basketball. But the thing that induced the most goosebumps was the “cliffhanger” (I am a moron) showdown between the Bulls and Pacers. 

Monday, May 11

Icarus, Fogel 2017 [as of now this is available on Netflix]

Kinda nice going into a documentary knowing hints of what it’s about and trying to figure out when it transitions to being about “X” but then you slowly realize you misremembered that information your friend Tommy told you and are surprised that it becomes about the Russian state (very possible I am misusing that term; just trying to sound smarter than I actually am). I don’t watch or know enough about documentaries to confidently state what’s a good one and what’s a great one-I think this one received some kind of critical backlash after it won Best Documentary, which happens. There’s definitely an intellectual superiority to saying you think less of a documentary that either wins that award or a lot of people like (in this case, both!). It’s engaging and accessible (another thing snobs hate) and has a misdirect that doesn’t blind side you; I don’t even care about the Olympics, but I felt sucked in.

Monty Python: Almost The Truth (Lawyers Cut), “The Much Funnier Second Episode - The Parrot Sketch - Flying Circus Included”

This one had more focus on the influence Flying Circus had on writers/comedians who were watching it at the time as kids (primarily). Lotta dudes. I can not stress how there are few things less appealing than hearing Russell Brand describing why Monty Python was funny (this was very much made in 2009).

Mad Men, “Mystery Date”

Some more Sopranos karaoke, though constructed a little bit better this time. This is also the episode that decides to flesh out Dawn (Don’s secretary, a joke that is never not funny) a little bit more, however Mad Men only does this when there’s “something to be said” about being black, which didn’t look great in 2012 and *flips through pages of notes* nope, still doesn’t look good here either. I suppose an argument you could bring up that is awfully flimsy is that they didn’t want to paint themselves into a Nikki and Paulo situation, in terms of never actually caring about digging deeper into Dawn’s story. I dunno man, I’m not trying to cast stones here.

Tuesday, May 12

The Taking Of Pelham One, Two, Three, Sargent 1974

What a white whale this movie’s been for me and brother, it feels good to have finally caught it. It’s insanely cool to go into a movie not knowing that it’s the 1974 version of Inside Man with a little bit of Dog Day Afternoon spliced in (pre-DDA mind you). This movie is packed with so many sarcastic assholes all working together in the same place, I loved it! I loved this movie! Cataloged in my brain as a Stop-Down-And-Watch if it’s on cable. However, my biggest gripe here is that Walter Matthau’s character is named “Zach,” a name that has never once been mistook for Walter Matthau’s; like there’s no way that they had Matthau casted before they came up with his name.

Mad Men, “Signal 30″

Beginning of the end of having any remote kind of sympathy for Pete Campbell. Hitting on high schoolers and shit. He wants so badly to be what he considers to be the best version of himself and will never be there.

Parks And Recreation, “The Set-Up”

Don’t know what it was about this particular viewing, but it landed better than it ever has this time around. Usually when I watch it, Arnett is so distracting and a much different energy than the show has created, but I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard watching this one as I did on this Tuesday morning. 

Wednesday, May 13

California Split, Altman 1974 [as of now this is available on Prime]

Hell yeh. Another movie I’ve been trying to see for a couple of years now, but feels nearly impossible to come across or find (note: to be fair, I have never checked to rent digitally, because I just don’t do that really ever, feels weird I don’t know why) and I found out on Tuesday night that it was put on Amazon Prime almost unceremoniously. I am by no means a gambler, so I have no idea if this is a good gambling movie, but it’s an incredible relationship and addiction movie. My introduction to Elliott Gould was Ocean’s Eleven where he is the opposite and still the same as the characters he played in the 70′s. The man has a debilitating incapacity to be effortlessly cool, even in a movie that he co-stars in with George Segal. I loved this movie.

Mad Men, “Far Away Places”, “At The Codfish Bowl”, “Lady Lazurus”

A great highlight of Don realizing he’s made a huge mistake marrying a 26-year-old. A great highlight of Roger Sterling is great with kids (and their grandmothers!). A great highlight of “Tomorrow Never Knows” fucking rules and uh, maybe wondering if Alexis Bledel is good? (certainly Rory Gilmore is good and it might’ve just been a “choice” to play this character so wooden, especially with what we know comes later on in the season)

Thursday, May 14

Cape Fear, Scorsese 1991

Apparently Spielberg was supposed to do this originally, but thought it was too violent and threw it over to Marty to get Schindler’s back from him (imagine trading those properties amongst yer friends-incredible). What’s real strange here is that he did’t give this to De Palma (I guess because it would’ve been in the wake of Bonfire), but it doesn’t really matter because Marty just goes and makes his version of a De Palma movie. It’s weird! However, when I wasn’t thinking about all of those things and being amazed at how much overt gore there was (overt for a Scorsese movie), I was shocked at the music I associate most with Sidewhow Bob (hold for Gilbert & Sullivan) is actually Max Cady’s music; like I knew that it was just Cape Fear but I had no idea it was just Cape Fear. 

Mad Men, “Dark Shadows”

Can’t go a season without a Don is actually Dick Whitman story/episode. That’s about it.

Friday, May 15

Becoming Mike Nichols, McGarth 2016 [as of now this is available on HBO]

This saved me a lot of time in the long run, should I ever read that new(ish) biography on Mike Nichols. It’s a pretty cut and dry interview focused purely on the prologue of Mike Nichols’s career, that’s a lot more interesting if you’re a theatre kid who doesn’t despise theatre kids (you know the type). Honestly, I was most engaged once Jack O’Brien pivoted towards his directing career outside of the theatre. Also gonna expose my ass here and say I didn’t realize Elaine May was that Elaine May-might’ve been a better interview if it was between two people who’re on equal level rather than a guy trying to kiss Mike Nichols’s and a bunch of theatre kids’ asses.

Mad Men, “Christmas Waltz”

This episode only exists to help punctuate how awful the next episode is, but damn if it’s not weirdly great. The Paul/Harry reunion was such a weird reunion, but only because it reminds you of how much time has passed since the beginning of this show (1960) to when it takes place now (1966); the total shift in aesthetic and thinking is massive, but it never feels shoehorned in.

Top Chef, Season 17 episode 9

Colicchio is pretty adamant about not having past challenges affect the decision of the current week’s choice in terms of sending someone home, but Melissa probably should’ve gone home this week if that were the case. They obviously weren’t going to after kicking Kevin off last week and Malarkey making the least offensive dish of the bottom 3. Melissa’s a front runner, same as Kevin was and you can’t have a competition where Malarkey is on but two frontrunners are kicked off back-to-back weeks (even if it was Kevin falling on his sword). Love Lee Anne, been with her since season 1 and hate to see her go, but she’s bigger than Top Chef-this is a loss that doesn’t make me think less of her.

Saturday, May 16

Notes On An American Film Director At Work, Mekas 2008 [as of now this is available on Vimeo]

I don’t know what to call this, honestly. It’s a videos of Martin Scorsese directing The Departed and it’s kind of fascinating. There are no sit down interviews, but snippets of conversations that you’re just thrown into the middle of. It could be that I just love him so much, but it was reaffirming to see that he (appears to be) is like a genuinely nice person. I don’t read about behind the scenes/making of’s, but I don’t really think he’s got any kind of reputation for being some kind of tyrant on set and this proves it (if he needs that proof for any kind of reason). It is one of those things though where watching actors, uh, act feels kina silly-apologies to Leo DiCaprio.

Mad Men, “The Other Woman”, “Commissions And Fees”, “The Phantom” [season 5 finale], “The Doorway” [season 6 premier], “Collaborators”

An incredibly harrowing stretch of episodes for Mad Men, maybe the best set-up for a finale the show has. The awfulness of the position they thrust Joan into and that Don is the only clear objector to this, be it that he only cares enough about the company is heartbreaking. Christina Hendricks wears so much disappointment and contempt on her face so well and that what happens is sandwiched between those interactions with Don is incredible. And awful. As is Lane’s suicide in the office (I still remember watching this episode for the first time when it aired and it’s as depressing now all these years later as it was back then; Lane and Bodie are probably my top-2 most upsetting television deaths that come to mind). Though it all seems worth it, despite how depressing it might be, for that scene between Peggy and Don where she resigns, an incredible parallel to Megan’s. I’m glad it wasn’t, but if they wanted to series wrap on Peggy there, they could’ve and it would’ve felt so incredibly earned, which you can see through both of those characters trying their hardest to choke down tears through a conversation smothered in so much understood in the unsaid. Now welcome, Bob Benson! (for the life of me, I can’t figure out if they introduce Bob like this intentionally, because it’s so fucking funny in how out of synch it is with everything else going on in the show)

Apocalypse Now, Coppola 1979 [as of now this is available on HBO]

It was either during my sophomore or junior year of high school when I became absolutely enamored with trying to watch this movie. I had built it up to such great heights in my head for whatever reason (I was very concerned with appearing knowledgeable about things like “important movies” and that this didn’t win best picture whatever year it was nominated fueled that fire even more ((I was also very concerned with being outraged over something like this)). I vaguely remember squeezing it in on a school night, but didn’t try and sneak it upstairs to my room to watch, like I tried to get this almost 3½ hour movie in under a reasonable bed time for a high schooler (I definitely didn’t have one, but I remember getting kind of dirty looks around the house if I was still hanging out past 10:30). So it was basically self-inflicted homework at that point, so I remember saying that I liked it, but I don’t know if I honestly believed it. And then that just gets all shaken up in your dumb high school brain that’s already trying it’s best to be super contrarian that you start believing that Apocalypse Now maybe sucks or at the very least isn’t as good as Hearts Of Darkness (a movie you won’t see for another 8 years). I had not watched this movie in its entirety since high school, and I knew all the big beats going into re-watching this, but it might as well have been that I had never seen it before. Man. I was a dumb as hell high schooler. This movie is electric and looks beautiful and I’m so glad that I never watched it all before this and decided to revisit it and I’m now furious at myself for letting the opportunity pass to not see it in theatres when it was remastered last year. 

The Adventures Of Tintin, Spielberg 2011 [as of now this is available on Netflix]

I was reading the oral history of Fury Road earlier that day and it got me really jonsing to watch Fury Road. For my mental health’s sake, I decided to not double feature Apocalypse Now and Fury Road, but rather Apocalypse Now and The Adventures Of Tintin. People of a certain generation really hate this movie and I kind of get it, but this movie rules. There’s maybe two sequences in it that I’d feel unashamed for putting up in the Spielberg Hall Of Fame.

[placetobenation]

“The revolutionary force for over 50 years in sports entertainment” was a clever tag line used in the mid 90s before every WWF show. For most United States wrestling fans that are still alive, it is a way of life. Greater by the day is the lack of variance in the answer of what wrestling an individual grew up on. For better or worse, WWE has been the standard bearer. Throughout that rich history, performers ranging from Nature Boys to Undertakers have graced the squared circle. Foreign legends have had extended runs and some of the most iconic figures in pro wrestling history have been aces of the promotion reaching unequivocal mainstream pop culture heights in the world of wrestling.

With such a large history to play with, discovering the beauty of Bob Backlund’s charisma or the connection of Bruno Sammartino to the MSG crowd was a new development throughout this project similar to rewatching The Godfather and On the Waterfront to rediscover the genius of Marlon Brando. WWE may not have always been YOUR promotion but for the better part of 50 years, it was THE promotion in the United States and transformed the pro wrestling landscape. This project serves to praise the individuals that best helped shape the vision of Vince McMahon Sr. and Jr. Place to be Nation is proud to present to you a ranking of the Greatest WWE Wrestlers Ever.

– Chad Campbell

Note: Results of this list are based on 118 ballots received between May and December 2017. Voters were asked to submit their list of the 100 Greatest WWE Wrestlers of all time and consider only their WWWF/WWF/WWE career. Ties were broken based on 1) number of ballots a wrestler appeared on and 2) high vote. 

Every wrestler who received at least one vote will be recognized in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned to Place to Be Nation as we reveal all of the honorable mentions right through the cream of the crop. Read the other installments, both written and audio, of this project here.

249. Rick Steiner Total Points: 68 Total Ballots: 4 Average Rank: 84 High Vote: 71 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: Vince Male

Key Matches & Moments: Solid match with the Headshrinkers at WrestleMania IX; Won the WWF Tag Titles with Scott, ending the national nightmare that was Money, Inc.; Classic match with Brother Scott against Bret and Owen Hart that is worth every minute of your time to hunt down; His sister/old mother destroyed the business by calling him Rob live on PPV, good thing Vince had Joe Fowler to take out his rage on

Staff Thoughts: No one brutalized jobbers or ruined lives like the Steiner Brothers. They had no regard or respect for their opponents and the results were AMAZING. The Steiners were only in the company a year or so and they’re still one of the better teams they’ve ever had. Does he think he’s a dog?

From the Voters: “I’d argue that in their one year the Steiners were more entertaining than 90% of the tag teams in WWF/E history. Good matches with the Heavenly Bodies, Headshrinkers, Money Inc., and the Quebecers. And, of course, the classic against Bret and Owen. They’re in consideration for me, even with the N and P concerns.” – Greg Phillips, June 2, 2017

248. Spike Dudley Total Points: 71 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 65.5 High Vote: 57 Low Vote: 74 High Voter: El Groino

Key Matches & Moments: Helped his brothers Bubba and D-Von to, well not victory, in the TLC match at Wrestlemania X-7, before they turned on him due to his relationship with Molly Holly; Formed a short statured and short-lived team with Tazz capturing the Tag Team titles from his brothers; Held the Hardcore Championship eight times and also won the European Championship from William Regal before losing it back to him; Had a run with the Cruiserweight title as “The Boss” character receiving copious amounts of help from Bubba and D-Von

Staff Thoughts: Decent character work, particularly during his angle with Molly Holly. I also remember thinking his “Boss” character was something different for the Cruiserweight division. And his poor head after La Resistance got done trying to throw him through a table.

From the Voters: “The Legit Boss. Has a lot of fun to solid stuff. I might try to go out and watch more. But, he was that Raw Roulette TLC and one of the best entrance videos.” – Henry Rivers, October 7, 2017

247. Barry Horowitz Total Points: 77 Total Ballots: 6 Average Rank: 88.2 High Vote: 78 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: Pete Schirmacher

Key Matches & Moments: Beat Skip and ran around the ring like he won the World Title; Mr. Perfect called him “The Nerd”

Staff Thoughts: The Skip moment was legit huge after nearly a decade of jobbing… HUGE. His subsequent run was a lot of fun but in the end didn’t amount to a hill of beans. Sure, he’d say but this is OUR hill and these are OUR beans but that would be Barry Horowitz just patting himself on the back. For a time was the most famous Jewish athlete on the planet. Until that no good son of a bitch Bill Goldberg came along.  

From the Voters: “He can pat himself on the back right out of contention.” – Jason Sherman, May 28, 2017

“If this was just based on work, as in-ring talent, he would definitely be under consideration. But when you factor everything else into the equation, he just gets overtaken by too many other guys. Sorry, Barry.” – Adam Russell, July 20, 2017

(Ed. note: The Barry Horowitz discussion on the PTBN GWWE Facebook group is some of the best discussion through this entire project, with posts that were too long to summarize here. Well worth checking out.)

246. Lanny Poffo Total Points: 77 Total Ballots: 9 Average Rank: 92.4 High Vote: 83 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: David Carli

Key Matches & Moments: Lanny Poffo Vs. Bret Hart, Lanny Poffo Vs. Terry Funk, The Genius Vs. Hulk Hogan, Mr. Perfect & The Genius vs. Ultimate Warrior & Hulk Hogan; Got massacred and busted open by Andre the Giant in the SNME battle Royale before WrestleMania III solidifying Andre as an absolute killer

Staff Thoughts:

Lanny leapt into our hearts to captivate us all, His opponents looked like champions, when Lanny took the fall.

One of the first I remember that could do a sault of moon, A dazzling aerial maneuver that would make the ladies swoon.

And when comparing records, it’s true that losses were the bulk, But the Main Event of Saturday Night saw victory o’er the Hulk.

His frisbee flippin’ poetry seldom could be beat, But perhaps his greatest talent was getting Perfect heat.

The Genius of Leapin’ Lanny made him beloved like no other, Except perhaps his somewhat more Macho and famous brother.

From the Voters: “I’m not a huge fan by any means, but as a kid his athleticism stood out. I loved The Genius character and thought it added a lot to Mr. Perfect. There is a novelty factor to him that makes him charming.” – Dylan Hales, June 29, 2017

“Had a shocking amount of good matches.” – Pete Schirmacher, June 1, 2017

245. Michelle McCool Total Points: 79 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 74.7 High Vote: 57 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: Stacey O’Laughlin

Key Matches & Moments: A solid match versus Melina at Night of Champions 2009; A solid as hell Lumberjack match with Beth Phoenix on Smackdown in 2008; Was the first woman to win both the WWE Women’s and Divas titles; Fat shamed Mickie James for MONTHS with out a shred of backlash from the mainstream media

Staff Thoughts: Stacey O’Loughlin wrote at length about her love of Michelle McCool and her deserving to be on this list, while it is one of the most compelling cases of any wrestler involved in this project, she unfortunately only garnered three votes. Stacey’s article is a must-read, though – even outside of this project. Read Stacey’s article “Making the Case for Michelle McCool” here.

From the Voters: “Another one of the shining beacons of hope during the Diva dark ages, but several notches below the likes of Beth Phoenix. Got better over time as a worker, but never learned any promo style but being annoying.” – Ben Morse, June 1, 2017

“No shot. Is she the one married to Taker or is that the other one?” – Good Ol’ Will From Texas, May 31, 2017

244. David Schultz Total Points: 79 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 74.7 High Vote: 56 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Jesse

Key Matches & Moments: “Dr. D” David Schultz was best known for assaulting 20/20 reporter John Stossel to defend the validity of wrestling; Faced Hulk Hogan in Minneapolis; Was a good talker, giving off the impression he was crazy, possibly because he was really crazy; Was part of a memorable skit on TNT where he gave us a glimpse of his home life

Staff Thoughts: The fact that he may have been a little off led to believable heel promos. The match against Hulk Hogan is well regarded, but his house show matches are not. He’ll forever be remembered for the assault on the 20/20 reporter, which led to his WWF stay being shortened.

From the Voters: “If only he didn’t slap Stossel.” – Will Gertler, May 29, 2017

“An amazing character but his run was short and his work was not very good. They could never have a character like this now days, but being such an outspoken racist made him so easy to hate. Doctor D seemed real and identifiable. They eventually would have had to soften the character or fire him anyway.” – Michael DeDamos, December 23, 2017

243. Peter Maivia Total Points: 80 Total Ballots: 4 Average Rank: 81 High Vote: 30 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Scott Herrin

Key Matches & Moments: Had title shots against both Billy Graham and Bob Backlund at MSG; Fathered Rocky Johnson who fathered the Rock

Staff Thoughts: Let’s be honest here, without that Kid Rock video no one under the age of 50 would be able to give you a physical description of the man.

From the Voters: “The little I have seen didn’t excite me. His grandson is in. His son in law is on the bubble. He is neither.” – Good Ol’ Will from Texas, June 1, 2017

“We need some links” – Lee Wes, October 7, 2017

242. Rhyno Total Points: 80 Total Ballots: 5 Average Rank: 85 High Vote: 70 Low Vote: 93 High Voter: Ash

Key Matches & Moments: Fought Raven in an excellent hardcore match involving a shopping cart at Backlash 2001; Part of the Inaugural Brawl at the Invasion 2001 PPV; Participated in the first ECW One Night Stand losing to Sabu; Returned to the company in 2016 and formed a fun team with Heath Slater which got so over they were given the first Smackdown Tag Team Titles.

Staff Thoughts: Rhyno had a solid if not stellar career. If he built on the potential of his first year we’d be talking higher, unfortunately the company seemed to lose faith in him after he got hurt. His matches with Chris Jericho disappointed and his team with Chris Benoit was uninspired. He began the recession of the spear, which started STRONG with Goldberg, was fine with him, suffered under Edge and was finally rendered a useless husk with Christian.  

From the Voters: “I like Rhyno a fair bit. He was having a really killer 2001 until he got hurt. Had, and maintained, an air of legitimacy as a beast, despite the fact that he didn’t stand out as being that big in the land of the giants. Was never quite the same after coming back from injury. I’m happy he’s having this current run, and there have been fun moments, but it isn’t tipping the scale for him. A good career, but not a top 100 career.” – Adam Russell, July 15, 2017

241. Jim Brunzell Total Points: 83 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 73.3 High Vote: 60 Low Vote: 88 High Voter: Vince Male

Key Matches & Moments: Best known for being one half of the Killer Bees with B. Brian Blair and also for his top-notch dropkick; Fueded with the Hart Foundation and the Funks during the mid-to-late 1980s; Appeared at WrestleMania 2, III and IV and numerous Saturday Night’s Main Events; Continued to work as a singles performer for company until 1993.

Staff Thoughts: Damn that was a pretty dropkick. The Bees were a fine mid-level babyface team, residing on the lower end of the first “Golden Age” teams, but their matches were always enjoyable. Also gets bonus points for NOT drawing the old country wrath of the Iron Shiek.

From the Voters: “He bought me a bud light. I have to keep him under consideration.” – Steve Williams, May 30, 2017

“Anyone with the nickname ‘Jumpin’ should be considered for lists like these. He won’t make mine though.” – Greg Phillips, June 21, 2017

240. Ronnie Garvin Total Points: 83 Total Ballots: 5 Average Rank: 84.4 High Vote: 75 Low Vote: 95 High Voter: Martin Boulevard

Key Matches & Moments: Feud with Greg Valentine highlighted with an excellent match at The 1990 Royal Rumble; Didn’t know whether he was COMING or GOING in his sole appearance as a ring announcer; Stomped the shit out of Frenchy Martin at WrestleMania V

Staff Thoughts: He had hands of stone, a square head and an orange tan… and yet he connected with a large portion of the audience. His feud with Greg Valentine was great, his outings with Dino Bravo, not so much. And for the love of GOD keep him away from the microphone; not only was he unfunny and horribly awkward but he was clearly stuffed into a tuxedo a size too small. Also originated the term “little Jimmy” in wrestling. Thanks for that Ron.

From the Voters: “Garvin Vs. Valentine is just a couple a Carolina Boys do Carolina Boy things in a ring in New York. That means hitting each other really fucking hard. Easy make for the this list. If you want variety, he also has a great match with Mr. Perfect in 1990.” – Martin Boulevard, November 19, 2017

239. Johnny Valentine Total Points: 85 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 58.5 High Vote: 17 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: TheBestThereNeverWillBe

Key Matches & Moments: Take us home Lee Wes! “Capitol Television champion, four-time US Tag Champ (w/ Buddy Rogers, Cowboy Bob Ellis, Dr. Jerry Graham & Antonio Pugliese). Two-Time World Champ in Pittsburgh. Valentine faced Bruno 13 times and tagged against him 9, teamed with him 19 times as a face.”

Staff Thoughts: Johnny Valentine was a throwback wrestler during a time when wrestling was already thrown back. Like his son after him, Valentine didn’t excel at being flashy, but rather exuded a certain toughness and mean-ness that was easy to respect and hard to root for. He teamed with Bruno Sammartino and turned on him, like all his partners, filling the role of a puncher that could really put Bruno on the ropes. A lot of his best and most notable stuff happened outside of Capitol/WWWF/WWF, but he still had a respectable career up North that would likely be bolstered if more footage existed.

From the Voters: “Who’s putting all these jobbers up?” – Aaron George, September 6, 2017

“Considering the rather small crew that WWWF ran for over decade when they first started, the hot angles really should get more attention” – Lee Wes, September 7, 2017

238. Tatanka Total Points: 86 Total Ballots: 5 Average Rank: 83.8 High Vote: 62 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: Trust Issues

Key Matches & Moments: Had a nearly two-year long undefeated streak to start his career; Defeated Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels twice in non-title matches; Respectable six man tag while partnered with the Smoking Gunns at SummerSlam 1993;  Said “You sold out, Lex” about 3,000 times in the summer of 1994

Staff Thoughts: Tatanka was a solid mid-card act without a great match to his name. Insanely memorable though for his energy and red streak of fucking courage in his hair. He has a fun return in the mid 2000s where his tag team work surely was the beginning of Matt Hardy’s descent into madness. Also: Buffalo.

From the Voters: “Was good when he came back as a grizzled old vet, and well established and pushed during the first run. Was insanely over with the kids I knew growing up. I wouldn’t vote for him, but he’s an interesting case of a guy who checks some boxes that seem to be getting other guys traction.” – Dylan Hales, August 18, 2017

“His squashes were very good. It’s a weird compliment to give a wrestler, but I’d put him in the same conversation as Midnight Express, LOD & maybe one or two others for greatest squash acts ever.” – James Proffitt, September 30, 2017

237. Tommaso Ciampa Total Points: 87 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 57.5 High Vote: 41 Low Vote: 74 High Voter: Henry Rivers

Key Matches & Moments: Had some of the best tag team matches in company history against the Revival with partner Johnny Gargano; His subsequent turn on Gargano was the best pure heel turn in years

Staff Thoughts: Injured at the worst possible time, as the hottest feud of his career was just getting started. Ciampa is a tremendous professional wrestler who, if given the chance, can have great matches with just about anyone. His portfolio just isn’t big enough yet to get his the votes to be higher.

From the Voters: “No one was quoted as making a case for Ciampa in the Facebook group, one could assume people would talk about amazing tag matches, but the lack of longevity.” – Andy LaBar, January 9, 2018

236. Sting Total Points: 87 Total Ballots: 5 Average Rank: 83.6 High Vote: 53 Low Vote: 95 High Voter: Scott Shifflett

Key Matches & Moments: Interfered at the 2014 Survivor Series to help banish the Authority FOREVER; Pretended to be a statue to again scare the Authority when they returned three weeks later; Fought a Terminator at WrestleMania 31; Was one of the names added to the Seth Rollins injury world tour

Staff Thoughts: It was great to see Sting get his moment in the WWE, sadly it may have come a little too late in his career to be truly meaningful. That being said he was fortunate enough to lay down for Triple H in his big WrestleMania match; going as far as to shake the man’s hand after being hit in the head with a sledgehammer. Because you know… storytelling. Of all the music he’s ever had in his run the WWE decided to go with Caaaw!

From the Voters: “His way short cameo run was fun, I thought. Won’t make my list, but he’s still mother fucking Sting.” – Taylor Keahey, June 3, 2017

“No, but good on him getting two DVD releases and a bunch of $$$ out of the WWE (I also liked the Rollins match).” – Brad Warren, June 6, 2017

235. Miguel Perez, Sr. Total Points: 91 Total Ballots: 2 Average Rank: 55.5 High Vote: 46 Low Vote: 65 High Voter: Robert Silva

Key Matches & Moments: We defer to Alexis Beaded: “He had a great three and half years (1957 to June 1960) in the main event as the tag partner of Antonino Rocca. They headlined 28 of 34 cards at Madison Square Garden in that time period. When he came back in late 61, he was more of an upper midcarder and had few shots against Buddy Rogers (never in MSG). Between 1965 and 1968, he fell into the middle of the card.”

Staff Thoughts: Great mustache, fantastic chest hair awesome wood panelling in his home. Miguel Perez, Sr. had it ALL.

From the Voters: “So one of the greatest draws in the history of MSG with little footage. What to do with that info?” – Steven Graham, June 5, 2017

234. Nikki Bella Total Points: 91 Total Ballots: 8 Average Rank: 89.6 High Vote: 79 Low Vote: 94 High Voter: Scott Shifflett

Key Matches & Moments: Left the company in 2011; Came back… enhanced; Was spitefully given the longest Diva Championship run in company history; Guilted and nagged John Cena into marrying her; Became a solid in ring worker by the end

Staff Thoughts: Potentially the most annoying and obnoxious character to ever grace our television sets. In a world with four McMahons and the cast of Fuller House that is quite the accomplishment. As if being annoying in-ring wasn’t enough we get to see her machinations on no less than two reality shows! Her feud with her sister is an all time low and… you know what… Fuck it… she ruins everything she touches. Like some sort of reverse Midas monster with false bosoms and a baseball cap. It’s no wonder she disappeared as soon as the real women’s wrestlers got there. And all the while we were commending her for getting better in the ring, which she did do, she worked hard at it anyway. Sure she didn’t have some nonsensical thing called BRIE MODE but was she truly fearless? How can you walk around with that slogan on your chest when you are being portrayed to be terrified of dying alone???

From the Voters: “DAT ELBOW DOE~!” – Martin Boulevard, November 14, 2017

“Took too long to really make an effort to improve in the ring. Although I do find her to be great NOW, she sucked for like, 7 years.” – Jason Sherman, June 1, 2017

233. Baron Mikel Scicluna Total Points: 92 Total Ballots: 4 Average Rank: 78 High Vote: 37 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: Grady Blount

Key Matches & Moments: Had title matches against both Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales for the WWWF Championship; Defeated Waldo Von Erich in Madison Square Garden; made wearing bedsheets great again

Staff Thoughts: After he reached a certain age the Baron became a fun jobber for a plethora of guys in the late 70s and early 80s. Could wager that version being the Michael Scicluna that most people remember, hence his inability to crack the top 200. While that may sadden some, take solace in the fact that a good majority of the audience at the time only knew of the country of Malta because of him.

From the Voters: “I remember him as an early 80s jobber, which is when I first started watching wrestling. Those were the days when jobbers looked like your middle-aged, out of shape, drunk uncle. To me, Scicluna looked tougher than guys like Frank Williams or Steve King. Reminded me of a dock worker that could hold his own in a barroom brawl but would end up getting knocked out with one punch. Doesn’t make the 100, but it’s fun thinking about those old squash match days.” – Tim Tetreault, May 31, 2017

232. Bobby Roode Total Points: 94 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 69.7 High Vote: 34 Low Vote: 90 High Voter: Scott Herrin

Key Matches & Moments: One of the greatest debut entrances in company history at NXT Takeover Brooklyn II; Defeated Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT championship in a well lauded match at NXT Takeover San Antonio; Debuted on the main roster in the early summer of 2017 to much acclaim; Actually took a beating from Hideo Itami

Staff Thoughts: Personal feelings about Bobby Roode aside; has there ever been a guy who benefited more from his entrance music than the Glorious One? He has the match with Nakamura but in most other cases the in-ring portion of his work falls short of his intro. That being said there’s still lots of time and things will surely improve when he’s not feuding with an unmotivated Dolph Ziggler or a motivated Baron Corbin Scicluna.

From the Voters: “Huge fan of The Glorious One but sadly not enough mileage yet to make my list.” – Jay Hinchey, November 26, 2017

231. Mr. T Total Points: 94 Total Ballots: 4 Average Rank: 77.5 High Vote: 45 Low Vote: 93 High Voter: Scott Butler

Key Matches & Moments: Helped make WrestleMania work by main-eventing the first outing, teaming with Hulk Hogan; Won a boxing match with Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 2 with a little person in his corner; Sustained more racial abuse while in the WWF than Muhammad Hassan

Staff Thoughts: Mr. T’s value to the company can’t be understated. He was a HUGE mainstream star that they leaned on to help build the WrestleMania brand. In-ring he was no Sami Zayn but he held his own all while looking positively awesome in those snug red tights. Without him, there’s no Saturday Night Live appearance for Hulk Hogan, less eyes on the product and perhaps 32 less WrestleManias. And boy does he love his mother!

From the Voters: “While his tenure was short, his legacy was cemented years later when his son Booker won the World Heavyweight Title” – Aaron George, January 9, 2018

230. Kerry Von Erich Total Points: 101 Total Ballots: 7 Average Rank: 86.6 High Vote: 72 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Lou Spadone

Key Matches & Moments: Won the Intercontinental Championship from Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam 1990; Part of the awesome ‘Warriors” team at Survivor Series 1990; Participated in the Ric Flair pummeling in January 1992

Staff Thoughts: When you try to think of his accomplishments in WWF,  it’s SHOCKING that he was in the company for almost two years. His PPV outings were fine for the most part and you’d never guess he was missing a foot. As a kid, we thought the Tornado Punch was just about the coolest thing ever. Now we realize how insensitive that maneuver is to the people of South Florida. #hurricaneandrew, #thoughtsandprayers, #youseethis? #thisisfromthepost, #whatamaneuver

From the Voters: “Poor Kerry. All-time great who sucked in WWF.” – Good Ol’ Will from Texas, May 30, 2017

“That man was recognized as a champion of at LEAST two continents, and he was the second of the weather events to invade the WWF.” – Steve Williams, May 30, 2017

229. Raven Total Points: 102 Total Ballots: 8 Average Rank: 88.3 High Vote: 72 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Andy Halleen

Key Matches & Moments: As Johnny Polo succeeded as a comedy wrestler with only a handful of matches to his name; As Raven he banked on his name and a Hardcore division that was failing to evolve, but had memorable matches with Rhyno at Backlash 2001 and a three-way with Big Show and Kane at WrestleMania X-7

Staff Thoughts: Johnny Polo was a character that had legs, but not nearly as much as his Raven character had in ECW and WCW. When Raven came back to WWF in 2000, it was almost too late for him as he had really began to lose steam in WCW. He revitalized the Hardcore division for a bit with his bins of weapons, but the “attitude” that made Raven so vital in the 90s was out of place in the 2000s and Raven was never able to recapture the stardom he had. Still – some fun segments and matches here and there.

From the Voters: “Good in ECW. Ok in WCW. Bad in WWF. I don’t even like Johnny Polo much. He had a handful of fun Hardcore Title matches in 2001. That’s not going to put him on my list.” – Devon Hales, June 2, 2017

228. Marc Mero Total Points: 106 Total Ballots: 9 Average Rank: 89.2 High Vote: 81 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: Chris Jordan

Key Matches & Moments: Coming into the company in 1996 after a half-decade with WCW, “The Wildman” was thrust into the IC title scene, winning a tournament over Farooq for the vacant title, having memorable feuds with Goldust as a face (and later as a heel), having solid matches with Steve Austin during his as ascendance and an excellent feud with Hunter Hearst Helmsley; After a devastating knee injury, Marc returned as “Marvelous” – a shit-talking, boxer gimmick who treated his wife poorly and was able to garner real and true heat from fans

Staff Thoughts: Marc Mero was obviously overshadowed by his wife, Sable, who it could be argued was one of the most popular characters in the Attitude Era. Mero’s “true” heel persona as “Marvelous” came just a little too late, as it was a bit more traditional than people like Stone Cold, Goldust, the Nation of Domination and DX. Always a solid worker in the ring and usually an excellent promo, Mero is one of those “What if…?” type guys. Plus he was doing a tucked-Shooting Star Press that blew our minds.

From the Voters: “Come on, his Marvelous stuff all through 1998 was great character work…a true heel when heels were edging away from being heels.” – JT Rozzero, May 31, 2017

“It’s tough because his best matches were when he had no character (96-97) and his best character work was when his matches were weaker (97-98). He’s on the bubble, but I’m a big fan of his in-ring work and his Marvelous character.” – Greg Phillips, June 1, 2017

227. Chris Masters Total Points: 109 Total Ballots: 6 Average Rank: 82.8 High Vote: 55 Low Vote: 94 High Voter: Stacey O’Loughlin

Key Matches & Moments: The Masterpiece was known for his Masterlock Challenge giving people the chance to break his full-nelson; Very good match with Shawn Michaels at Unforgiven 2005; Teamed with Carlito and challenged for the tag team straps; Challenged for John Cena’s WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber of New Year’s Revolution; Became a “C show superstar” upon his return to the company in 2009, putting on very good matches in a lower profile position

Staff Thoughts: Chris Masters is a sad tale of being pushed too hard too fast when he was still green and relying too much on his bodybuilder physique. Once he got more seasoned and returned to the company he put on really good matches on the C-shows to a much smaller audience. His match with Shawn Michaels in 2005 is a bit of a hidden gem.

From the Voters: “The funny thing about The Masterpiece is that the better he got in the ring the worse push he received. He started out with a good push, the Masterlock Challenge and what not, but looked pretty green in the ring. By the time he left the company he was a great worker that I had forgot was still on the roster.” – Michael DeDamos, December 10, 2017

226. Pete Dunne Total Points: 109 Total Ballots: 6 Average Rank: 82.8 High Vote: 52 Low Vote: 95 High Voter: David Carli

Key Matches & Moments: Though he didn’t win the 2017 WWE UK Championship Tournament, he was certainly the start; Had excellent matches with Mark Andrews, a bunch with Tyler Bate (including two of the best WWE-ish matches of 2017), has excelled in tag team work, worked with Johnny Gargano, and destroyed Enzo Amore; If Pete Dunne is on your WWE programming – you should be watching.

Staff Thoughts: To date, Dunne has worked 40 matches under the WWE umbrella, all in 2017. While longevity is obviously not on his side, it is hard to find another wrestler in the history of WWE who had a debut year as strong as his. Pete Dunne feels like a star in a company that continually struggles to make them. He jumps off the page – and he’s just getting started. Listen to Timothy argue for Pete Dunne HERE

From the Voters: “There is an argument for him even if very low, based on the average quality of his matches. I’d be willing to say he’s had more 4*+ matches in his short time in WWE than many past workers had over the course of 10+ year-long careers.” – Timothy Buechner, July 19, 2017

225. Savio Vega Total Points: 116 Total Ballots: 6 Average Rank: 81.7 High Vote: 41 Low Vote: 97 High Voter: David Carli

Key Matches & Moments: Has a legit great strap match with Steve Austin at In Your House 8; Key member of the early Nation of Domination and later got his own stable spun out of it called Los Boricuas, which put more people of Latin descent on WWF television than almost any time in history; Reached the King of the Ring finals in 1995; Solid mid-card worker with lots of good matches, but few great

Staff Thoughts: Savio Vega was never bound to get over the hump into the world of being a true superstar, but was a solid stepping stone or ally for people who went on to become stars in the company of elsewhere (Razor Ramon, Goldust, Steve Austin); One of the more stiff workers of the New Generation, once Savio was able to shuck the Kwang gimmick, he was free to work with just about anyone in the ring; Revisiting Savio nowadays reveals someone who could have had a successful short IC title run

From the Voters: “I think it’s easy to forget how hugely over he was as a babyface in 95 and 96. Has some very fun performances under his belt. Kwang and Los Boricuas don’t really help his case, but he was capable of being a heel so there’s that.” – Dylan Hales, July 11, 2017

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

[flauntpage]

Your Wednesday Morning Roundup

Jay Ajayi is in Philadelphia:

Two days in a row for #JohnnyAirport @JClarkNBCS!

Here's your first look at Jay Ajayi in Philadelphia as a member of the Eagles. http://pic.twitter.com/QW1yiJ52Be

— NBC Sports Philly (@NBCSPhilly) October 31, 2017

The trade that altered most of our day yesterday came as a pleasant surprise. There were thoughts, concerns, questions, bragging about how we will win the NFC (we will), and enjoying other people’s misery. Is it what the Eagles desperately needed? Not really. You could say linebacker or an offensive lineman were bigger needs, but the Eagles got a pretty good running back with a low risk, high reward price.

To make room for Ajayi, the Eagles officially put linebacker Jordan Hicks on Injured Reserve. This was expected.

I was at Eagles Training Camp when the Dolphins came to practice and play in the third preseason game. He had nine carries for 53 yards and two TDs from two yards out. To me, he looked like a top 15 running back. But Miami has a poor offensive line and is a mess right now. He hasn’t scored a touchdown this season. Hopefully that changes Sunday against Denver.

Ajayi will wear No. 36 when he practices today, if he passes his physical.

Speaking of Denver:

Reading Joseph's presser, it would be huge surprise if Brock Osweiler is not Broncos QB vs. Eagles. #9sports

— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) October 31, 2017

This will be fun.

The Roundup:

A big fear when adding Ajayi was if it may disrupt the locker room chemistry. Initially, it hasn’t:

Asked Blount’s reaction to the news, Roseman said: “LeGarrette’s awesome. He wants to win. He’s won. He’s all about winning. He’s been in situations before where there have been [other] productive backs on the team. He’s been a tremendous team guy since he’s walked in the building and a leader for this football team. Nothing changed today.”

Even if nothing changed regarding Blount’s focus, something did change – the Eagles added a prime weapon for Carson Wentz, and that weapon was available to them at least partly because Miami coach Adam Gase hasn’t been happy with Ajayi’s attitude. The Miami Herald cited “locker room chemistry and player buy-in” as reasons why the Dolphins were so willing to part with a 24-year-old lead back coming off a Pro Bowl season.

Ajayi, left off a team flight early last season, reportedly was unhappy when he didn’t get the ball enough, even in wins. A few days ago, in the aftermath of a 40-0 loss to the Ravens, Gase ripped players he said weren’t doing enough studying away from the practice facility. Gase didn’t name names, but the Herald said Ajayi was among those being criticized.

“We’ve got to find guys that will actually put forth effort to actually remember this stuff, and really, it starts with our best players,” Gase said.

How does Ajayi look on film?

Meanwhile, Fletcher Cox won’t get suspended for his hit on Joe Staley.

The Eagles top nearly every major outlet’s power ranking.

—

It was kind of good that the Jay Ajayi trade happened. Pretty much nothing else happened with the other four pro teams (I’m including the Union, you can debate that all you want).

The Sixers decided not to pick up Jahlil Okafor’s fourth-year rookie option. He’ll be a free agent in the offseason. Unless…

Philadelphia had been exploring trade possibilities with Jahlil Okafor until declining option today. He could still be moved this season. https://t.co/ofC5KpG6l8

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 31, 2017

Or:

The Sixers’ decision to bypass Jahlil Okafor’s fourth-year option could lead Okafor to press for a contract buyout, league sources say

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 31, 2017

Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, TLC, and Justin Anderson had their options picked up.

Kevin Kinkead recaps Monday’s big win in Houston against the Rockets.

T.J. McConnell is thriving in his role as the team’s backup point guard:

Opponents are learning that he’s a gritty player, who won’t back down from anyone. McConnell is a solid defender with an improved three-point shot. He’s also the Sixers’ best pure point guard.

The 25-year-old is averaging 6.4 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.6 steals in 21 minutes per game. He’s shooting 55.6 percent (5-for-9) on three-pointers.

“We can’t dismiss him because we have some healthier players and veterans and so on,” coach Brett Brown said. “He just always makes you pay attention.”

The expectation this season was for McConnell to get limited minutes, if minutes at all.

Sixers return home tonight to host the Atlanta Hawks at 7. That’ll be on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

—

Rookie Nolan Patrick has landed on Injured Reserve for hopefully a short period of time. Meanwhile, defenseman Will O’Neill has been recalled and will be the team’s seventh defenseman for their upcoming road trip. Shayne Gostisbehere won’t travel with the team.

Anthony recaps the pretty bad overtime loss to the Coyotes from Monday night.

With defenseman beginning to get injured, Ivan Provorov is starting to blossom in his second year in the NHL:

“I think overall, I’ve started to make better plays with the puck, and looking a little more confident and doing things more like what my game’s all about,” he said. “But obviously there’s going to be little things we go over with the coaching staff that I need to build on and work into my game.”

Because of injuries to Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrew MacDonald, Sanheim is one of four Flyers defensemen who are rookies after playing last season with the AHL’s Phantoms. The others: Robert Hagg, Mark Alt, and Will O’Neill, 29, a journeyman minor-leaguer who was recalled Tuesday and is expected to be an extra player on the road trip that has stops in Chicago and St. Louis on consecutive nights.

“There are some familiar faces and it’s nice to see those guys around,” Sanheim said. “It just goes to show the good group we had down there last season, and the guys who are capable of coming up and providing depth here.”

The Flyers take on the Blackhawks, who are better than the Coyotes, tonight in Chicago at 8 pm on NBCSN.

—

Even though he didn’t get the Phillies’ managerial job, Dusty Wathan remains committed to the team:

“I’m a very positive guy,” Wathan said Tuesday morning, the day after the Phillies officially announced that Kapler had been hired as the 54th manager in club history, succeeding Pete Mackanin, who had been reassigned to the front office last month. “I feel like this organization is on the cusp of big things. I feel like I’ve been a part of that and I’m looking forward to continuing to be a part of it.

“Matt and I had some good talks. Obviously, he thought Gabe was the right guy and I’m all-in. I want to see these kids do well and I’m going to do everything I can to see them have success. I’m good with this. I respect the decision and hope it works out for our organization.”

—

For you Union fans, Dutch midfielder Roland Alberg is on his way out. He was announced by CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria as their newest acquisition after signing a two-year deal with the club.

—

In other sports news, the Los Angeles Dodgers, thanks to the help of Chase Utley getting hit by a pitch, defeated the Houston Astros 3-1 to force a Game 7 tonight in LA. That game gets started around 8:20. Yu Darvish goes to the mound for the Dodgers, while Lance McCullers opposes him for Houston. He was warming up after last night’s game:

Lance McCullers is starting Game 7.

He's getting ready. Now. #WorldSeries https://t.co/m3On1hL6a8

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 1, 2017

The other big NFL trade of the day came three minutes before the 4 pm trade deadline. Buffalo dealt a third and seventh round pick to Carolina for wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin.

Cleveland also got Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron for a second and third round pick. But there was a problem: The Browns didn’t turn in trade paperwork to the NFL by 4 pm. AJ McCarron’s career is saved thanks to the Browns browning. They’re idiots.

Jeremy Lane failed his physical with the Houston Texas. He goes back to Seattle in the Duane Brown deal. Here’s the revised version:

Jeremy Lane failed his physical with Houston, per source. Trade now amended: Duane Brown and a 2018 5th for Seattle’s 2018 3rd and 2019 2nd.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 31, 2017

The first College Football Playoff rankings came out. Georgia is tops:

First Rankings: Top 2️⃣5️⃣ http://pic.twitter.com/2nefOfDhyV

— CFBPlayoff (@CFBPlayoff) October 31, 2017

Oh look, more Ezekiel Elliott suspension news! Elliott and the NFLPA have filed an appeal to the Second Circuit. They’re also the court that ruled in favor of the NFL in the Deflategate scandal.

The Giants have suspended cornerback Janoris Jenkins indefinitely for failing to return on time from the team’s bye week.

I find it interesting that this hasn’t gotten any traction:

Brady camp 3 days ago felt privately TB could be traded by Bill after 17. This was a Kraft decision to make it clear Brady finishes as a Pat

— Ryan Burr (@RyanBurr) October 31, 2017

Told TB relationship with BB not great and all his loyalty is too Mr Kraft. https://t.co/VWKT0CzixD

— Ryan Burr (@RyanBurr) October 31, 2017

Former 97.5 The Fanatic program director Matt Nahigian has been named program director at 95.7 The Game in San Francisco.

—

In the news, eight people were killed and 11 others were hurt after a truck rammed through pedestrians in NY.

A New Jersey law that raises the smoking age from 19 to 21 takes effect today.

Paul Manafort has three passports and traveled to three countries this year under a fake name.

‘House of Cards’ production has halted after the Kevin Spacey allegations.

Sony has released a new robot dog.

Your Wednesday Morning Roundup published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv