#i did not mean my post in a “you are all watching the WNBA because its a social justice issue” im sorry if i made it sound like that 😭😭😭 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pbandjesse · 1 year

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Me and James are in the car on our way home from watching some professional wrestling and it was so fun! Today has been such a good day.

I didn't sleep great. Sweetp stepped on my face last night and I pushed him off me and so he was upset with me this morning. And James slept on the couch when they woke up at 3 am and couldn't sleep. And the blanket being there this morning startled me because it was very lumpy. I thought there was a person under it. But no. I was safe.

I got dressed and felt good. I had the rest of our cereal. Tried to make it up to Sweetp. Did a few last minute things for the workshop. And at 915 I headed to the armory.

The security guard seemed confused if she was allowed to let me in. But everything was fine and soon Jessica was there. We had to work around a birthday party that was set up in the space for an event later in the day. But that was fine.

We got our tables set up with some help from the security guard. And then we waited.

We ended up with 4 kids and a few parents participating. And honestly it was a blast. They were all so creative. I was particularly impressed by the dad who made a helicopter! He would also make a guitar but I didn't get a picture of that. They all did a wonderful job and we're really into the project and that was just so nice to see. I made a little little tiles. And I spent some time with our teen volunteer organizing all the shapes of Legos into the different boxes I have.

We were all having so much fun that the two hours flew by. And soon everyone was helping clean up. I brought a bag to collect all the dirty stuff. And soon we were saying goodbye.

I walked down with Jessica and the other women in her department. And then we figured out that the person who was supposed to pay was expecting me to call so she could pay with a credit card. I was not prepared for this. Because square takes a percent and at that large of a payment it would be significantly more then I was comfortable with.

So I went home and would solve it there. They are going to pay the difference when I come back in April on that invoice. So even though it caused me a lot of stress to talk on the phone and negotiate for myself I did it and I got paid and everything is good.

When I got home our post lady was there and I asked her where she though ups might have ment by rear door. She said that usually means they put it over the fence but it wouldn't make sense for our building because we only have a side yard. She said it was good I opened a claim and she also said she would keep and eye out at the other buildings in case it was left somewhere else. Thank you nice post lady.

I had a little sandwich and got cozy in bed to do my knitting. I had 7 rows to do. And that would take a while. But it was nice to have something to work on. I thought about sleeping after but instead I had a piece of cake and watched videos until James came home.

They cuddled with me for a little. I slept for like a half hour. But then we had to go!

I got up and fixed my makeup and put earrings in. And then we were on the road.

We went out to Bel Air Maryland and went to a diner before we went to see their friend Jamie wrestle. I used to love wrestling so I was looking forward to it.

And the drive out was nice. The sunset was pretty and the nature we drove through was pretty. And when we got to the diner it was a good old one where the wait staff wears white shirts and tiny black bow ties. Chrome everywhere. We got sandwiches and I worked on my crochet while James told me about the WNBA.

The wrestling wasn't far from where we ate. We got parking and walked over. Some of the other end guys and their girlfriends/partners were there to support Jamie too. He was a heel/bad guy named Jagger Bomb. And it was fun to yell a lot. The wrestling got better. Throughout the night. The tag team ones were my favorite. I also liked when we didn't know the other guys name in the tag team but we did know one. And so we were all cheering for "Cory's friends" and "Jesse's friend". Like literally the whole crowd was cheering. It was really funny.

And while all of this was happening I was crocheting. My circle became a basket again. I don't know why this consistently happens but whatever. I tried to lean in. And I am almost done my whole scrap yarn ball!

I got the best move of the night on video. It was all cage matches but the cage was questionable. So when Jesse O'Brien climbed to the top to jump we were all very nervous but it was great. And once the last belt match happened we all headed out.

We walked back to the parking garage with one of the guys, he is the friend that also has a prosthetic leg and spoke to my dad after the surgery. I hope him and my dad can connect again. He is a very nice guy. And we wished him safety on his drive home.

And we are almost home now. I am glad I have off tomorrow. But man do we have a busy weekend. Tomorrow is James's Godbrotjer Julien's debut concert in Baltimore. So we have that at ottobar. And so I'm going to try to just really enjoy my Sunday and Monday. Because I am working Tuesday the 31st to the 9th with no days off. Why do I do this to myself. But it will be okay. I have faith I will hold it together.

Sleep well everyone. Be safe and take care! Goodnight!

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rory-aradia · 4 years

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I've been having a rough week as the celebration of Kobe Bryant as a hero when he was a rapist is very triggering for me as a rape survivor. What's worse for me personally is the fact that people who are aware of my trauma, friends and family, are also defending him, denying what he did, or at the very least saying that he's dead now so we should all just move on and respect his memory. If you care about me, and especially if you are one of these people, please bear with me, and read my whole post.

Naturally, I would like to say my heart is broken for the families of the deceased and I wish no ill-will towards them. However, I'm not a subscriber to the idea "we can't speak ill of the dead" bevause it's "disrespectful", particularly when we are discussing rapists. It's disrespectful to survivors of assault to not acknowledge how they must feel when they watch their rapist be celebrated, and someone always ends up celebrating the rapist - famous or not. It is a painful reminder that rapists often get to move on and live their lives after having ruined, or at the very least violated, the life of someone else in one of the worst ways. For Kobe Bryant's victim, it is especially worse because he was as famous as he was.

I also disagree with the sentiment that we should not call Kobe out on this because he was a black role model. All rapists should be criticized/called out for their behavior regardless of race. This does not mean that I do not acknowledge that it's absolutely true that black men in particular are disproportionately falsely accused of many crimes and imprisoned, and that this country has a huge problem when it comes to racial inequity in convicting black people v. convicting white people. For example, David Bowie, a queer icon (and we know how much I love my queer icons), also deserve to be called out for his statutory rape of two underaged girls (but that's not who we are talking about today). Racism and it's prevalence in the judicial system does not absolve anyone, regardless of their race, from being held accountable. Also, as a feminist, it does not matter to me how he had daughters or that he worked towards helping the WNBA. He's still a rapist.

What is also greatly upsetting to me is the arguments against the victim because Kobe wasn't convicted/she didn't testify. Many victims do not report at all, much less testify. This country's legal system is flawed and he had the power and privelege to ensure he would not go to prison for this. This specific victim's case was also particularly awful, as her mental health history and sexuality were used against her in a smear campaign by Kobe's legal team, fans, and the media, when her name was conveniently "accidentally" leaked. She was threatened with death and her reputation destroyed. People she thought she could trust turned on her and sold false information and stories to tabloids and small newspapers.

The next big argument is then "why did she sue him civilly?". A huge benefit to suing him civilly was that it is unlikely she would have to see him or interact with him very much, as civil cases are less involved than criminal cases, often mostly involving the attorneys more than the plaintiff and defendant. There's also rarely jury involvement in these cases, so it is more likely to get a truly impartial result as you are primarily answering to a judge, who would care less about how many people a victim has had sex with and more about the facts and the law. While often money is involved, there is literally no proof that money exchanged hands in this instance. Though it is estimated she received 2.5 million dollars, this estimation is completely based on the fact that that was the highest amount the court would have allowed her to receive. This estimation is also discredited by the fact that she came from a rich family, giving her no reason to extort anyone, and that in Kobe's own public statement he noted she did not receive money. However even if she had received money as people guessed, I don't personally feel that would have been extortion. She pursued a civil case when the criminal system would have failed her. What many of you fail to acknowledge is that... he chose to settle rather than be found "not at fault" . That being said, receiving money in a civil case also doesn't mean by default that it was all a lie for a cash grab at all, so this argument is moot anyway.

The reason that these elements matter so much to me, and should to those who care about me, is because I, too, did not pursue criminal charges against my rapist. While I did not pursue a civil case either, I did not even report him to the police. I did not have faith in the legal system to hold him accountable the same way the legal system likely would not have held Kobe accountable. I did not want to subject myself to the scrutiny that victims face during trial. My rapist was someone known to me and therefore he knew intimate details about my life without having the money and resources to investigate as Kobe and his team did his victim. I, too, am someone with a mental health history that would work against me. I, too, am someone whose active sexual history would have been called into question in a courtroom. For protection of my self and my reputation I also avoided a criminal testimony against my rapist, and he, like Kobe, walks free.

To those of you who knew this - do you see how your dismissals, denials, and "moving on" is harmful to survivors now, that you can relate it to the feelings of someone you know? To those of you who did not know - can you? I have felt so dismissed, questioned, and alone this week, even from those who claimed to support me after what happened to me. The reason it is important to talk about the "worst thing" a dead person has done is that it allows survivors to understand they are not alone, as I felt. Rapists must be held accountable, even in death, even if they were role models, even if they did charity work... or else you will make every survivor of sexual assault feel as if their trauma is worth less than the reputation and legacy of their attacker. Allowing or perpetuating that is unacceptable.

#kobe bryant #rip kobe #tw rape #rape discourse #rape #rape culture #personal #lakers

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sublimateradiate · 3 years

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🖤 🖤 tag game! get to know me 🖤 🖤

tagged by: theamazing @thetaoofbetty

1. what is the color of your hairbrush? Plain black, with a red rubber inside. Do hairbrushes usually come in exciting colors?

2. name a food you never eat- BANANAS. They are my nemesis. Don't tell me how delicious they are. They're the devil's fruit. Interestingly enough, I love plantains.

3. are you typically too warm or too cold? Too cold, but mostly because of that bullshit in the office where the temp is prioritized to men in suits. Also because whenever my mother visits, she goes through my apartment and opens all the windows, no matter the season.

4. what were you doing 45 minutes ago? Finally getting around to working on my LinkedIn profile, and cringing all the while. The employment world changes a lot while you're working for the same company for 11 years...

5. what’s your favorite candy bar? If we're talking regular gas station candy, probably the dark chocolate Twix. If we're getting fancy, any bar of dark chocolate 90% or above.

6. have you ever been to a professional sports game? Yup, baseball games when I was little and then purposely to the WNBA because have you seen them???? Sigh.

7. what is the last thing you said out loud? Singing along with the music I have playing. So based on what the last song was probably "I have to carry the cross" whispered dramatically.

8. what is your favorite ice cream? The original Breyer's Vanilla Fudge Twirl, which doesn't exist anymore. (the current version is "frozen dessert" and has all these fillers in it that make it mushy and foamy, so gross)

9. what was the last thing you had to drink? Tea from the goth con called "Black Tea #1" which is a play on a Type O Negative song. 10. do you like your wallet? My wallet is serviceable. I don't like getting rid of things until they break, so consequently I've had the same black leather wallet on a chain since 8th grade. When I bought it, it has a silver dragon stamped on it, but it's so old you can't see it anymore.

11. what is the last thing you ate? Chocolate chip pumpkins muffins that I recently made. And I still have so much pumpkin left, I have to figure out what to do with it.

12. did you buy any new clothes last weekend? Nope. Thankfully. I'm trying not to do that. But shein has so much crazy shit dirt cheap I often go through it, put 30 things in the cart, then close the browser.

13. what’s the last sporting event you watched? Fencing in the last Olympics, whenever that was.

14. what is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Cheddar or caramel.

15. who is the last person you sent a text message to? A friend to figure out what a group watch is gonna be.

16. ever been camping? Yup, used to go all the time when I was little as a family vacation. I miss it.

17. do you take vitamins? Yup, I have iron and vitamin D deficiencies, because I am an actual vampire.

18. do you regularly attend a place of worship? Nope!

19. do you have a tan? No, I stay out of the sun and/or wear sunscreen because skin cancer. .

20. do you prefer chinese or pizza? Pizza for sure. I mean, it has cheese.

21. do you drink your soda through a straw? only if you

22. what color socks do you usually wear? I have a collection of weirdly patterned socks that I wear when I'm going out, for the last couple of months I've just been wearing black non-skid toeless yoga socks so I don't fall on my ass while creeping around the apartment.

23. do you ever drive above the speed limit? Not unless I'm goaded to "go at the speed of traffic" by a companion and even then I only do it grudgingly. I stay out of the left lane though, so no one should care.

24. what terrifies you? Facism. Also waterbugs, but I'm working on it.

25. look to your left, what do you see? My dining room and fish tank.

26. what chore do you hate most? Washing dishes without gloves (with gloves totally fine) or changing the sheets because it's always an ordeal. Oh, and I'd add folding fitted sheets, but that would imply that implies it actually happens instead of me just getting frustrated and balling it up.

27. what do you think of when you hear an australian accent? @lucivar , an absolutely delightful person with a delightful accent.

28. what’s your favorite soda? Does ginger beer count?

29. do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Drive through, as I'm usually only in them if I'm traveling.

30. what’s your favorite number? 8. Dunno why.

31. who’s the last person you talked to? my mother.

32. favorite meat? I'm a vegetarian, but quail, based entirely on an experience I had at Medieval Times as a child.

33. last song you listened to? "Sober Up" by Lizette Lizette

34. last book you read? @strangenightsofdaydreams got me into reading romance novels this month and I just finished "The Governess Game" by Tessa Dare.

35. favorite day of the week? Saturday. Does anyone actually put a weekday as this answer?

36. can you say the alphabet backwards? Very slowly, tortuously, and it would involve me reciting the alphabet in my head multiple times.

37. how do you like your coffee? Not a coffee person, but I can tolerate mochas.

38. favorite pair of shoes? That I wear regularly? My one pair of knee high lace up boots with no zipper, because I am a stereotype. Otherwise I have several lovely pair of heels I fall over in.

39. time you normally get up? Reader, I wish I knew.

40. what do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? Sunrises.

41. how many blankets are on your bed? 2

42. describe your kitchen plates? White rounded squares with a black accent. One of those standard corelle sets.

43. describe your kitchen at the moment: Well stocked and chilly.

44. do you have a favorite alcoholic drink? Limoncello, Irish Cream over ice, peach Lambic. I also have a fondness anything with a particularly weird flavor, like Birkir, which comes with an actual twig in it.

45. do you play cards? That involves other people, so the last time was a long time ago.

46. what color is your car? Don't have one. My old car was mint green.

47. can you change a tire? Nope. I'm lucky I even know how to drive, most people in my city don't.

48. your favorite state or province? I don't really have feelings about states? I guess Ohio, because I went to school there.

49. favorite job you’ve had? Creating a handbook for a program that had been running for years but never had one. If @lucivar , @a-true-janian-reply , @meditationonbaaal, or @strangenightsofdaydreams, feel like doing this, go ahead. But don't feel compelled to, it's long. long post

#memes #about me #long post

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goldenbloodorange · 5 years

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excerpt - The Windup and The Pitch

a sample from my NaNoWriMo project, completed December 2018 - it is currently being beta’d by a friend of mine, but here are two sample chapters introducing two main characters - if you read I am absolutely open to feedback!!

JENKINS

“You’re one of those lady ballplayers, huh?” The Uber driver, Jed, says with a lower respiratory punctuation as Justina gets in the car.

“Uh, yeah, I am,” Justina says, nodding and smiling.

She pulls out her phone and checks for any new messages. None yet.

Fuck, she curses mentally, and looks out the window. The car is going over the Hoan Bridge on 794, heading towards Downtown Milwaukee and Justina sees the gray stretch of Lake Michigan reaching to her right. There are a few boats bobbing aimlessly in the distance and they make a temporary distraction from checking her phone incessantly,.

“What a season you all had this year, oh boy. Now, I wish I would have gone to one of the games!”

“Uh, heh, yeah.” Usually Justina would love to chat with anyone who just wanted to talk baseball, but she is admittedly preoccupied.

She checks her phone a second time. Nothing.

Jed clears his throat and continues to externalize his thought process. “So uh….you’re...um...I know you, I know who you are. You’re...you’re…” Justina’s 25-foot tall Nike ad is pasted on the side of the building as they drive past; you see her name boldly emblazoned on her Belles uniform as she’s swinging, her side profile looking strong.

Jed means well. He is really trying. Justina doesn’t feel as bad about ignoring him as...he’s not an actual fan.

Justina’s phone finally buzzes. She’s waiting for a text from her agent (and teammate’s sister) Lenore Valenzuela, a lawyer turned sports agent who was almost scarily manipulative and good to have on your side, especially when it came to contract negotiations.

LV: Rumors of buyout are no longer rumors. Want to post for selection? Many MLB teams in the market for a spray hitting outfielder like you.

Justina’s heart stops. If she posts for selection, from the rumors she’s heard she could be drafted by any MLB team. Then what? Marinade in the minor leagues for a few years until the league decides she’s ready?

The pay bump, though. The pay bump.

The highest paid AAGPBL player wasn’t even making nearly what the league minimum in MLB was making - which, in Justina’s opinion, is both sad and to be expected. $535,000 was nothing to sneeze at - plus the luxury of being considered a pro ballplayer in a sport that had denied her participation all her life, and one of the first to finally make baseball a coed sport.

Minor leaguers in the MLB system were still paid like crap; not to mention the prospects of a player from this league posting were admittedly not great. Going from making not-so-great money...to not-so-great money...to possibly making the big bucks was not necessarily guaranteed.

“I played baseball as a kid,” Jed interjects. “They never let girls play with us.”

Justina nods politely at him through the rear view mirror. Though she always had a natural quick reflex when it came to fielding and hitting, Justina grew up being turned away from countless Little League teams. She eventually found a team that accepted her, but her family had to move from Mississippi to the Milwaukee suburbs as her father became unemployed and needed to move for work; he had a connection working in the food processing industry.

Jed rambles on. “My old man always said I’d get a college scholarship if I just practiced more.”

The more time Justina’s dad spent making sausage (he still works at the Klements factory off I-94), the less time he had to help Justina develop her swing. So she watched highlight reels and clinic videos on YouTube on the computers at the Milwaukee Public Library. Emulated the swings of some of her favorite hitters. Frank Thomas. Chipper Jones. Derek Jeter.

And she’d visit the cages after school to put her theories into test.

She’d get weird looks since it was mostly packs of mostly white teenage boys trying to put in cage time for high school ball, but once they saw her hit, they’d ask who she was played for, and the answer was always the same:

Myself.

It was the same deal in college; denied entry on the baseball team, Justina found herself at the cages, again with the same questions being asked. She found acceptance on the UW-Milwaukee intramural baseball team, which is where she met Quinn Braxton.

“But anyway, it’s awesome that you girls are playing ball. Always thought Milwaukee would get a WNBA team before a women’s baseball team, but hey, whatever.”

Justina’s phone buzzes again, and her head jerks from the polite smiling to her lap.

LV: You ready to make history??????

The Uber rounds the corner of Water Street. A couple of the girls are already on the corner, punching each other’s shoulders and acting like the inseparable group this team really was. Bridget McAfee. Quinn Braxton. CJ Willis. Maddie McCarthy.

Her sisters in arms, runs, hits, and errors. She’d miss them, yes, but there was a whole other frontier to explore, and she was just learning what exactly she was capable of.

Hell yes, Justina types, and immediately hits send.

BRAXTON

Last season’s Defensive Player of the Year, (with a 13-vote-margin) Quinn Braxton punches pitcher Maddie McCarthy in the arm for making the twelfth deez nuts joke in the course of ten minutes. Quinn messes with her equilibrium and Maddie nearly falls over.

“Fuck, Quinn, I’ll stop,” she says, laughing, grabbing onto a parking meter. It feels like they haven’t been apart for a month. It feels like no one’s ever left Milwaukee.

Before anything else can transpire, Justina Jenkins gets out of the backseat of what might be an Uber or Lyft Cadillac Escalade, dripping from head to toe as usual, sneaking a few salon appointments in between the last out of the Women’s World Series and this meeting. Her second or third Balenciaga bag rests on her right arm.

Willis snorts a bit. “We put the reservation in under your name, that okay? It’s $10 a minute for every minute you’re late.”

“Hi mom,” Quinn says, shoving her hands into her Nordstrom Rack camo jeans.

“Hello, darling,” Justina replies. She looks at her three teammates. “Well? I didn’t mean to interrupt what y’all were doing?”

“You’re never interrupting,” McAfee comes rushing towards Justina, crushing her in a giant hug. She smells distinctly like fabric softener and dry shampoo. McAfee is 6’1” barefoot and gives some of the best embraces in all of baseball. Willis and McCarthy follow suit, and before everyone knows it, the Belles superstar outfielder and team captain is wrapped in a crushing hug.

Quinn stands, pretending to be annoyed, arms folded and rolls her eyes. “Like y’all ain’t hug enough during the damn season.”

Justina pushes the other girls away and pulls Quinn into her own personal hug. “Bitch,” she says.

Quinn holds her at arm’s length away. “No Cabo for you, slugger? If it were up to me, my ass would be out of….here.”

It’s not that Quinn hates Milwaukee. She’s actually grown to love it. She grew up here, not far away in a modest home with her mom and twin brother Quincy, off National Avenue.

Quinn and Quincy both played on the high school baseball team, until he had a seizure and died right there in the gymnasium of their high school, in the middle of a warm up before practice. Heart failure, they said. Quinn had heart surgery as a child due to arrhythmia, only to see her brother’s own heart fail right in front of her.

It was too much for Quinn; even with the support from coaches and incessant counseling, she eventually resigned from the team. She didn’t dare pick up a baseball bat again until she met Justina Jenkins whom she met in an Early American Literature class at UW-Milwaukee, three years later.

Justina noticed the Ken Griffey Jr. Trapper Keeper Quinn must have found on eBay, because it was in perfect condition, and no one their age even knew what the hell a Trapper Keeper was. And she struck up a conversation, and their friendship blossomed over a mutual love of baseball. Justina grew up watching the Brewers and Quinn grew up watching the Braves, who used to be a Milwaukee team, and yeah yeah, Quinn was well aware of that and loved Hank Aaron and Chipper Jones and even Brandon McCarthy. Justina rued the year 2011 like no other but will recall it as one of the most enthralling in Brewers history, and was ambivalent when Craig Counsell took the helm as manager, but she’s grown to like him.

Quinn enjoyed her baseball chats with Justina, but never imagined playing by her side until she mentioned being thrown off a little league team and the inevitable “wait, you play too?” exchange happened.

You wanna toss a ball after class? Justina asked her one fateful day. I don’t have a glove, Quinn answered. They were all in storage or packed away where she could never reach them, not long after Quincy’s passing. Gotcha covered. I brought one for you, Justina replied. So we throwing or what?

“Nah, where else can I hang with ladies as fine as this?” Justina was always inclusive, inspiring, iridescent.

If Justina ever had a bad day, Quinn didn’t know about it. Quinn did, however, know how quickly they both loved baseball and shared a commonality in that the sport they loved so much never seemed to love them back. When throwing the ball around after class wasn’t enough anymore, they were rejected from trying out for rec leagues, often told apologetically that they had no more open spots, met by the questioning glances of men who probably wore business suits in the daytime.

Then the Milwaukee Belles announced open tryouts, and nothing could have made Quinn happier when they both made the roster.

They also met a few other people who’d develop into the best friends and teammates she could ask for: Bridge, a young mom of three who was part Amazon part golden retriever; Valenzuela, a skittish, deceptively strong olive-skinned girl from Texas with a wicked left hand delivery; Robles, a fearless, rough round the edges pitcher drafted from the Mexican leagues who had experience pitching to men, and Muramoto, a deeply heralded Japanese baseball legend, who had an enthusiastic and ever growing fanbase at every game.

“What’s Mel up to today?” Justina asks. “She browsing the rumor mill?”

“Funny you should ask. She thinks this emergency meeting is news that we signed Hamasaki, who posted for draft last season but she didn’t like any of the offers she got. Must be nice being the top ranked female baseball player in the world.”

“Should be the top ranked baseball player in the world if we’re being honest,” CJ says. “I’d hold out for a nice contract, especially if it means I’d have to move outta Japan.”

Quinn remembers her hands shaking as she signed her contract with the team, and not seeing that much money before in her life. Not long ago she moved into a sunny converted-loft convo in Walker’s Point with her girlfriend, Melia, a lifelong baseball fan who especially loves Korean and Japanese ball.

Melia’s job is painting watercolor portraits of people’s pets, but the paintings she does at home for fun are always Quinn playing baseball. Melia once used Quinn’s roster photo as a reference and the portrait hangs awkwardly in their bathroom, right above the toilet. Quinn doesn’t have the heart to tell Melia that it really doesn’t belong there. It’s what she has to look forward to after every road trip.

The neighborhood is vibrant and welcoming and fun and all full of enough life to sustain a professional athlete and an artist, and on game days, Mel and Quinn wake up early, but stay in bed, giggling and staying warm on those early April mornings and sharing whatever is on each other’s mind, until Quinn really has to leave for the ballpark.

Before signing with the Belles, Quinn had never been to any of the cities the Women’s League is in, not counting Chicago, where her mom decided to settle off with a boyfriend she met off some dating site. They still see each other and get lunch here and then; Quinn leaves tickets for her at every visiting game in Chicago but never sees her mom in the stands.

Valenzuela, bless her heart, would always try to distract Quinn when she’d notice her looking at the seats. “You know I might need to throw at you with runners on if you’re covering, right?” She’d say in the dugout between innings, followed by a gentle hug.

Chicago might be her least favorite city to play in, but she still looks at the seats before every at-bat, to see if someone may be in them.

On days when Quinn is especially bad, she expects to see Quincy, yelling at her to pay attention to who’s on second.

But the seats are always empty.

She knows her father lives in Atlanta and she has branches upon branches of cousins sprouting all through the South but she’s never thought about reaching out. She knows she probably shouldn’t for a few reasons.

Quinn is the kind of shortstop that does not know what hesitation is. She goes for what she wants without thinking, almost reflexively. She sees line drives and her glove raises instinctually.

There is no time better than now, and this has always been her motto. It’s gotten her this far in life.

Her future is already written. There will be empty seats in visiting stadiums and blowout games and maybe a defensive error or two, but this is all part of the plan.

The plan is to be the greatest there ever was.

It’s the most she can give Quincy.

He is certainly worth it.

“So we going inside to meet, eat, or both?” It’s Valenzuela, late to the party as usual, wearing a slick black bomber jacket with a rose gold tiger embroidered on the chest.

The rest of the girls fall around her, and with the clouds and fog, they seem like a badass girl gang set on world domination, and once again, the Milwaukee Belles are together again.

#windup and the pitch #this story started as a half baked idea and it's fuckin nuts now #anyway if you actually read this i am very open to feedback!!#hope you liked meeting justina and quinn - they're great #let's go go milwaukee belles

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your-dietician · 3 years

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Best Day 4 sales at Walmart Deals for Days event 2021

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/lifestyle/best-day-4-sales-at-walmart-deals-for-days-event-2021/

Best Day 4 sales at Walmart Deals for Days event 2021

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Prime Day might be over, but that certainly doesn’t mean the deals have run dry — in fact, they’re just as big as ever. Walmart’s Anti-Prime day sale, called Deals for Days, is chock full of discounts across the board. Here’s what’s in store for Day 4 of the sale, which btw ends…tonight!

The retail behemoth has slashed prices across categories. So whether you’re focused on a wardrobe refresh, a better work-from-home setup, tech to take along as you ramp up your workouts, kitchen appliances in need of replacement or more, Walmart has got you covered — with discounts as deep as 90 percent! There are still so many deals you can save big on.

Walmart will give you free shipping on orders of $35 or more. To score free shipping on all orders, plus lots more benefits including speedy delivery, sign up for Walmart+. Get a free 15-day trial here (a quick three-question survey will add on an additional two weeks for a solid 30 days of use).

Here are the best deals from Walmart’s Anti-Prime Day — Day 4 sale.

TVs

A 40-inch TV for $178? We’ll take it! (Photo: Walmart)

On sale for $178, down from $228, the Hisense 40-inch Class Full HD Roku Smart LED TV is undeniably sleek — with a near edge-to-edge 43-inch display (more picture, less frame). With an HD resolution at 1080p and DTS True Surround Sound, you’ll essentially have a movie theater-like experience at home, with colors that pop.

The built-in Roku streamer gives you instant access to thousands of video streaming channels, including Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, HBO Max, Prime Video, Hulu and ESPN+. It also has a few smart home features like voice search for hands-free navigation. That’s right: You can find your favorite TV shows and movies, just by speaking them into existence.

“Great TV. Once I selected ‘theater sound’ the clouds parted and there was entertainment bliss — OK, maybe that’s a bit extra, however, the sound did vastly improved,” shared a delighted five-star reviewer. “Perfect size for me. Easy setup and operation.”

Story continues

Check out more TV deals below:

Sony 32-inch Class HD LED Smart TV, $298 (was $350), walmart.com

TCL 32-inch 3-Series Class HD LED Roku Smart TV, $145 (was $200), walmart.com

Sceptre 40-inch Class Full HD LED TV, $155 (was $200), walmart.com

Samsung 43-inch Class 4K Ultra HD Smart QLED TV, $898 (was $1,000), walmart.com

Samsung 50-inch Class 4K The Frame QLED Smart TV, $1,198 (was $1,700), walmart.com

TCL 50-inch Class 5-Series 4K Ultra HD QLED Roku Smart TV, $528 (was $600), walmart.com

LG 55-inch Class 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED C1 Series TV, $1,497 (was $2,000), walmart.com

Sony 55-inch Class XBR55X800H Bravia 4K Ultra HD LED Android Smart TV, $798 (was $1,000), walmart.com

LG 65-inch Class 4K Ultra HD NanoCell Smart TV, $997 (was $1,200), walmart.com

Samsung 65-inch TU8300 Crystal Ultra HD 4K Smart TV, $648 (was $700), walmart.com

Headphones and earbuds

These Philips wireless earbuds are half price! (Photo: Walmart)

These Philips Wireless In-Ear Headphones are a handsome, waterproof option with a price that belies their high-performance quality: They’re on sale for just $30, down from $60. Yep, half price.

Walmart shoppers love everything about these cans: the sound, the comfy fit, the sturdy charging case. “I have had challenges finding in-ear phones that fit me well for a long time,” reported one fan. “I grabbed the chance to try these Philips Wireless In-Ear Headphones and I can say these are perfect! First off, I like the charging case, so you have power on the go when you need it. The headphones are super easy to pair both with my PC and my phone, and the sound is very good: The highs are not tinny and the bass is smooth…. Another quality product from Philips!”

What he said! You’ll never be juiceless with these Philips Wireless In-Ear Headphones — they offer up to 12 hours of playback. Impressive.

Check out more headphone and earbud deals below:

Beats Solo Pro Wireless Noise Canceling On-Ear Headphones, $149 (was $300), walmart.com

Apple AirPods Pro, $197 (was $249), walmart.com

Bietrun Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds, $26 (was $130), walmart.com

Philips Bass+ BH305 Wireless Active Noise Canceling Headphones, $40 (was $120), walmart.com

Meidong Bluetooth Noise-Canceling Over-Ear Headphones, $35 (was $70), walmart.com

Luxmo Bluetooth Headphones, $18 (was $36), walmart.com

Jelly Comb On Ear Headphones, $17 (was $50), walmart.com

Gaming

Save nearly a whopping 80 percent! (Photo: Walmart)

The NBA Playoffs are in full swing, so get all the basketball action your heart desires with NBA2K21 for PlayStation 4 — on sale for just $13, or $48 off at Walmart. That’s nearly a whopping 80 percent off! The game features all 30 NBA teams and your favorite players, including Damian Lillard, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Steph Curry, James Harden, Gordon Hayward and more.

NBA 2K21 has all the gameplay you want, from multi-player online to one-on-one with you versus the game itself. It features all WNBA teams and players—such as Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne, Liz Cambag, and Nneka Ogwumike — for the first time ever!

“This is one of my favorites, and I couldn’t wait,” raved a delighted gamer. “…The storyline is dope for my character, graphics are dope as always. Just an overall great game .”

Check out more gaming deals below:

Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Nintendo Switch), $40 (was $50), walmart.com

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Nintendo Switch), $40 (was $50), walmart.com

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Nintendo Switch), $40 (was $60), walmart.com

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 (Nintendo Switch), $39 (was $60), walmart.com

Outriders: Day One Edition (PS4), $40 (was $60), walmart.com

Madden NFL 21 (Xbox One), $20 (was $60), walmart.com

The Last of Us Part II (PS4), $30 (was $60), walmart.com

Liphom Gaming Headset, $29 (was $50), walmart.com

Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Edition (PS4), $15 (was $60), walmart.com

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox One), $20 (was $60), walmart.com

The Pillars of The Earth (PS4), $29 (was $45), walmart.com

Smart home

A “smart” way to wake up, in more ways than one: Save nearly 40 percent! (Photo: Walmart)

The Lenovo Smart Clock is powered with Google Assistant for seamless syncing to a smartphone. It can rouse you from your slumber with your favorite tunes, the weather, calendar reminders and events, and that podcast you love. Because, really, who couldn’t use some help getting out of bed?

“I have trouble waking up in the mornings and this alarm clock doesn’t disappoint,” raved a satisfied shopper. “I like the wake-up feature that gradually wakes you up and then gives you a morning update of the weather and all the morning news. I’m able to connect it to all my Google devices too.”

At nearly 40 percent off during Walmart’s Deals for Days shopping event — the Lenovo Smart Clock is down to $49 from $80.

Check out more smart-home deals below:

Google Nest Mini (second generation), $35 (was $49), walmart.com

Apple TV 4K (2020), $99 (was $169), walmart.com

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 (44mm), $150 (was $279), walmart.com

Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS, 38mm), $169 (was $199), walmart.com

Razor Power A5 Electric-Powered Scooter, $119 (was $179), walmart.com

XODO Smart Home Security Surveillance Kit, $60 (was $80), walmart.com

XODO Smart Wi-Fi Video Doorbell Wireless Security Camera, $90 (was $150), walmart.com

TSV Smart Plug (two-pack), $18 (was $26), walmart.com

Defender Ultra HD 4K Wired Outdoor Security System (1TB), $260 (was $450), walmart.com

Anself Wireless Burglar Alarm, $20 (was $28), walmart.com

Fymall Wi-Fi Smart Color LED Light Bulb, $11 (was $24), walmart.com

Home office

Take note of this Lenovo Chromebook — save $80! (Photo: Walmart)

Just need a product that will reliably, consistently do what you need it to, without all the exotic (and expensive) bells and whistles? If you’re one of those people and you’re in the market for an entry-level machine that’ll get you, or a loved one, through a day of work, look to the Lenovo Chromebook S330. On sale for $159, or $80 off, at Walmart, it boots up quick, has a quad core processor, 32 GB of storage and a glorious 14-inch HD display. It’s great for watching YouTube and Netflix, and is powerful enough for Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides and more. It’s ultra-portable too, weighing in at a svelte 3.3 lbs. and less than an inch thick.

And have we mentioned its 10-hour battery life? This guy will. “I decided to give it a try. I am not sorry I did! I’m very impressed,” raved a delighted five-star reviewer. “I still have a desktop PC for my main computer but for the things that I need a laptop for, this fits the bill perfectly! It does everything I need and doesn’t do the things that I disliked about my previous laptops. It boots quickly, runs cool (without a fan!) and gives me amazing battery life! I’m very pleased!”

Check out more home office deals below:

Gateway Ultra Slim Notebook, $399 (was $749), walmart.com

Samsung CB4 Chromebook, $159 (was $199), walmart.com

Canon Pixma G4210 Wireless MegaTank All-In-One InkJet Printer, $300 (was $400), walmart.com

Cabina HD USB Desktop Webcam, $60 (was $70), walmart.com

Ousgar 47-inch White Desk, $80 (was $300), walmart.com

Kuku Mobile Call Center Telephone USB Headset, $28 (was $40), walmart.com

Beyerdynamic MMX 300 2nd Gen Conference Call Headset, $282 (was $422), walmart.com

Gamma Ray Optics 010 Slim Vintage Computer Readers, $18 (was $25), walmart.com

Hemu Fashion Bamboo Laptop Lap Tray, $38 (was $102), walmart.com

Vacuums

Get this robovac for half price! (Photo: Walmart)

An eye-opening 50 percent off, the Anker Eufy RoboVac 35C Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum’s BoostIQ technology helps navigate your home’s surfaces, including hardwood floors to rugs and beyond, with smooth transitions. And while it never loses suction, when it senses the need for extra oomph — like when crumbs are overtaking the kitchen floor or pet hair is embedded in the rug — it’ll amp up its power to get the job done.

“Albuquerque dust is a pernicious beast. I also have two dogs and a slew of resident dust bunnies, so this is a big help,” shared a Walmart shopper. “It gets the dog hair and dust up easily — slightly appalled at how much dust came up after a regular broom sweeping. The edging function works great — clears out stuff from the bottom of the walls with ease. I have concrete floors and it scoots over it fine; has gotten itself successfully untangled from under the kitchen table…I talk to it like one of the dogs: ‘Oh, don’t forget that speck in the hall.’ ‘Good job.’ At least I haven’t named it (yet).”

The Eufy RoboVac 35C is super slim, so it’s a ninja when it comes to getting into every crevice and corner — and it has an infrared sensor for identifying things in its way, like stairs.

Check out more vacuum deals below:

BISSELL Crosswave Pet Pro Wet Dry Vacuum, $229 (was $299), walmart.com

Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Slim Corded, $99 (was $199), walmart.com

Shark ION Robot Vacuum RV750, $148 (was $299), walmart.com

iHome AutoVac Eclipse G 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop, $179 (was $400), walmart.com

Eureka Groove 4-Way Control Robotic Vacuum, $129 (was $199), walmart.com

iHome AutoVac Nova Self Empty Robot Vacuum and Mop, $299 (was $599), walmart.com

ILife A4s Robot Vacuum Cleaner, $119 (was $180), walmart.com

Mighty Rock Robot Vacuum and Mop, $73 (was $130), walmart.com

ionvac SmartClean 2000 Robovac, $99 (was $180), walmart.com

ILife V5s Pro Robot Vacuum and Mop, $135 (was $180), walmart.com

EcoVacs DeeBot 711 Robot Vacuum Cleaner, $144 (was $550), walmart.com

Style

Reduced to $8 from $98. Get it in all three colors! (Photo: Walmart)

No, you’re not seeing things: This gorgeous Max Studio frock is on sale for 8 bucks! It has a billowy tiered skirt and a peasant-inspired tassel-tie neckline. It’s available in chambray and bright yellow shade, but of course, we’re partial to this fun poppy red hue. Note: Some shoppers say it’s a little short, but you can wear it with biker shorts or leggings underneath — or just as a bikini coverup.

Did we mention it’s $90 off?!

“Comfortable,” a shopper reported. “Like the bright color. I’m wearing it in Mexico in a few weeks!”

Check out more style deals below:

Scoop Women’s Espadrille Wedge Sandal, $20 (was $35), walmart.com

Zanea Womens Polka Dot Short Sleeve Long Dress, $24 (was $48), walmart.com

KOGMO Womens Premium Cotton Full Length Leggings, $12 (was $18), walmart.com

Status by Chenault Women’s Cotton Slub Jersey with Cotton Eyelet Dress, $26 (was $78), walmart.com

Cate & Chloe McKenzie 18k White Gold Dangling Earrings, $18 (was $136), walmart.com

Melrose Ave Vegan Leather Toe Loop Strappy Flat Sandal, $22 (was $29), walmart.com

Free Assembly Women’s Sleeveless Square Neck Fit & Flare Dress, $21 (was $36), walmart.com

Kitchen

Save $26 on this incredible indoor grill. (Photo: Walmart)

Summertime is the season of grilling, but if you don’t want to mess around with your charcoal and lighter fluid every time you want a juicy steak or burger, try this indoor grill for size. This Gotham Steel grill has a titanium and ceramic surface which helps distribute heat evenly, plus four temperature settings so you can easily adjust how you want your meats and veggies cooked. Plus, it’s super easy to store, too.

“I just made hamburgers on this grill and it worked like a charm!” a shopper declared. “The burgers didn’t stick and it was truly smokeless as it cooked. Cleanup was also a breeze. Although it is dishwasher safe, it was just as easy to clean it up by hand with some soapy water. Definitely recommend!”

Check out more kitchen deals below:

Tramontina Primaware 18 Piece Non-stick Cookware Set, Steel Gray, $40 (was $50), walmart.com

Instant Pot Viva Black Multi-Use 9-in-1 6 Quart Pressure Cooker, $59 (was $99), walmart.com

The Pioneer Woman Cowboy Rustic 14-Piece Forged Cutlery Knife Block Set, $39 (was $70), walmart.com

Chefman TurboFry Air Fryer, $69 (was $99), walmart.com

The Pioneer Woman Mazie 2-Piece Ceramic Red Rectangle Baker Set, $20 (was $25), walmart.com

Farberware 3.2 Quart Oil-Less Multi-Functional Air Fryer, $60 (was $99), walmart.com

Ninja 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Brewer, $69 (was $79), walmart.com

Best Choice Products 16.9qt 1800W 10-in-1 Family Size Air Fryer, $115 (was $255), walmart.com

Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Digital Automatic LCD Programmable Coffeemaker Brewer, $73 (was $105), walmart.com

Beauty

Get over half off off this heavenly Marc Jacobs fragrance. (Photo: Walmart)

Few scents are quite as universal — or as beloved — as Marc Jacobs Daisy. It’s light, frothy and fun, with notes of grapefruit, raspberry and pear mingling with jasmine, rose, lychee and apple blossom, and base notes of musk, cedar and plum. Despite the abundance of fruity notes, it still feels fresh and playful — and whether you want to try it out for the first time or pick up an extra bottle to keep in your drawer, this price simply can’t be beat.

“One of my favorite scents and I definitely will be buying it again,” a shopper reported. “I’ve always wanted a Marc Jacobs fragrance and the price was perfect. It smells amazing and the top to the bottle is too cute.”

Check out more beauty deals below:

BylissPRO Nano Titanium Lightweight Ionic Hair Dryer, $65 (was $85), walmart.com

Burberry Classic Eau De Parfum, $33 (was $98), walmart.com

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules Daily Youth Restoring Face Serum, $64.50 (was $100),walmart.com

Remington Anti-Static Flat Iron, $16 (was $20), walmart.com

Artnaturals Anti-Aging Retinol, $12 (was $16), walmart.com

Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron, $12 (was $23), walmart.com

Glycolic Acid 20% Resurfacing Pads, $25 (was $50), walmart.com

IMAGE Skincare Ageless Total Eye Lift Creme, $34 (was $50), walmart.com

Mattresses and bedding

Save $300 and get the greatest sleep of your life. (Photo: Walmart)

If you’ve had your mattress for longer than you can remember, it’s high time to replace it — and, lucky you, this one is on sale! It’s made with 12 inches of plush memory foam supported by coils, and it’s just the right balance between soft and firm. The only drawback? Getting out of bed in the morning will be that much harder.

“I was surprised at how soft and comfy this mattress was,” a shopper reported. “I took it out of the box and plastic and it opened right up to the 12-inch size. It is supposed to take 24 hours to expand but it expanded a lot right away. It’s super thick and so far feels very comfortable. I am surprised at how great a mattress in a box could be!”

Check out more bedding deals below:

Noble Linens 8-Piece Bed in a Bag Bedding Set, Twin, White, $45 (was $65), walmart.com

Mattress Topper Queen, 2-Inch Cool Swirl Gel Memory Foam Mattress Topper, Blue, $70 (was $105), walmart.com

Simply Soft 3 Piece Ribbon Pattern Duvet Cover Set, $23 for queen (was $28), walmart.com

Hatch Embroidered Stripe 7-Piece Comforter Set, $30 (was $70), walmart.com

Zeny Weighted Blanket, $47 (was $78), walmart.com

Simply Soft 3 Piece Vine Pattern Duvet Cover Set, $24 (was $28), walmart.com

Wenzel 70″ x 60″ Camp Quilt – Red Brick Geo Print, $21 (was $29.50), walmart.com

Better Homes & Gardens Flowing Floral Comforter Set, $45 (was $65), walmart.com

Pets

Make bathtime for your pooch a little more fun. (Photo: Walmart)

If your pooch refuses to sit still for baths, nail trims, grooms, or, well, just about anything, try this trick on for size. Fill this lick pad with peanut butter, then stick it on a wall. It’ll keep him occupied for as long as you need. It has 37 suction cups, so it stays in place, and it’s even dishwasher safe.

“I have an obsessive border collie and try to always make him work for meals with Kongs or slow feeders,” a shopper shared. “This is a GREAT little treat for him that he gets very excited about! It holds just a couple spoonfuls and keeps him focused for about 20 minutes.”

Check out more pets deals below:

Oster Super Duty Dog Clippers, $35 (was $40), walmart.com

Portable Pet Dog Cat Outdoor Travel Water Bowl Bottle, $8.50 (was $11), walmart.com

Omega Paw Large Elite Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Black, $53 (was $78), walmart.com

Amgra Laser Pointer for Cats, $14 (was $16), walmart.com

Zimtown Pets Stairs with Cover, Small, Beige, $26 (was $51), walmart.com

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tempestshakes01 · 4 years

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8/8/20

oh no.

i’ve had another dream where a man tries to kiss me despite having a partner. what is my subconscious trying to say?

last time it was br*d from b/a (but in the dream I was also Claire? I think.)

this time I was at a climbing gym (it smelled and vaguely looked like the old Y I used to go to for gymnastics...yellow lighting, pinesol scent, echo-y) and we were climbing for the first time in forever. alex was in the dream. anyway, we came upon a group and it turned out to be the bould/ering b/obat boys just goofing around with some locals. they were helping out and teaching as well.

anyway, alex got in on it cause it was vert and i nervously wandered away to find an overhand or an easier slab, and to get away from people who might watch me climb.

so then the evening is coming to a close and i make my way to the set the boys were teaching alex and locals. it was a red v2, lol. no one is around. i touch it, and suddenly jake (from bb) comes up behind me and encourages me to try it out. i do. he’s a very nice and patient coach cause i keep placing my feet wrong (my issue irl), but i correct myself quickly and it’s actually a really easy problem. i jump down and jake claps, kindly excited for me, and then...

...this is where my memory gets fuzzy, but basically all I remember is *snap* he’s into me and I know it, and i’m obviously into him, and he goes to kiss, but i turn away like, no, no, you have di who is on the other side of this wall. and he’s like, we’re poly. and i tell him i have to hear that from her first. he agrees and we walk off. the end.

lmao.

and then still in ~dream state~ i’m like, damn another dream where someone almost cheats with me? what does that mean?

that’s a rhetorical question, ofc, because even a ninny like me can tell that’s a can of worms i don’t want to open without a licensed professional on call.

p.s. i am back to hating **** and no i will not elaborate.

p.p.s. i said i’d elaborate about jdemps looking like my dad if you lose your glasses, get lemon in your eye, and you squint, but i don’t think i will--mostly cause i want to forget i even i had that notion.

p.p.p.s. i think a lot of people look alike when they don’t now that i think about it. i’m that one person that sees a someone’s new wedding photos on facebook or whatever, and my first thought maybe 75% of the time is...wow, they look like siblings.

no lie.

i’d post some examples but i won’t invade people’s privacy like that or embarrass them when i am proven RIGHT and they DO look like they married their sibling. it truly creeps me out, but i think i’ve read that people are attracted to faces that look like theirs?

i mean:

which is a quote from an article called:

anyway, i know i’m very in love with long faces/jaws because my own long face. i hate how it’s becoming more crooked though. trying to embrace, but i’m like 🥴. literally. if i were a man i could pull it off a la rya/n gos/ling, but as a woman...🥴.

what else...

started a new job. like a very serious job with a good (enough) salary and it’s sort of in my field. i don’t want to say what it is and i will continue to keep it vague even if i write a blog post to rant--mainly because of legal reasons and staying ethical, or whatever. plus, i feel like i’m in enemy territory and i don’t know how i’ll stomach some of the choices i’ll have to make.

ugh.

i’m getting very nervous. but i’m excited about how it’ll test my skills in a lot of areas and i think it’s a great opportunity to learn and grow. originally i put a 3 year goal on this job (out by the time i’m about 30 and go to grad school), but i might drop that to 1.5 years, lmao. depend on if i like it. i just...can’t give myself to things i’m not 100% about, ya know.

it’s why i left sp/okane.

i really liked it and last summer was such a lovely time with L and N being in my life and climbing and just hanging with M and the fam, but times were going to start changin’, and i didn’t feel tethered to that place anymore. i felt like i had learned and earned my growth.

i also felt like i had things to do and fix with my family here in san an, but i’ve come to figure out that while i may love them...i can’t “fix” the things that i thought i could. overall, the greatest surprise is the love and warmth i feel for my dad that i haven’t felt in years, and just the ease i feel when i’m around him.

for YEARS i felt on edge when i was in a room with him--for reasons i didn’t even know!!! all i knew was that he hurt my mom and broke my family...but honestly, the whole story is probably kinder to his side of things because my mom...god love her, but she’s. she’s...prideful and stubborn, i guess is one way to put it. which is why our relationship is not the same and why she keeps hurting me with her words and perception of me.

the kids are teens now and...with that comes all the moody new qualities of teens, lol, so they’re not as keen to hang out with their weird auntie anymore, but i’ve discovered new love for hanging out with my big sis, and i love that for us.

anyway, back to this new job. yeah. i just can’t fathom sticking to something i’m not all about--which might be unhealthy, lmao. at some point i’m going to have to “settle” into something. a job. a relationship. a city. maybe? or maybe not. maybe i can continue to flutter around and get what i want to get out of things and move on. i dunno. i just dunno.

tbh, i’m done with san an. i thought i’d stay at least until the kids are out of high school, teach resource, and figure out what path i wanted to go down for grad school in the meantime, but this job was me grasping at this life here. like, i love living my brother, but he’s only here for another year. i’ll probably find a place with alex next year (that was an option this year and we looked for a bit) and i love getting to have her as a best friend. i love having lilz close by (even if i haven’t seen her in months!).

but, nothing feels right, and i knew that when i started getting serious about this job and knowing this is a multi-year commitment, and again, this is an invaluable experience for all the different avenues i debate between (career wise) and it’s a step in the right direction...especially with schools down and i can’t go back to subbing until i find the campus/open position i like. there’s no guarantee with the pandemic. that being said, if a vaccine is quickly available and schools open up safely and things go back to normal...maybe i’d switch back...but tbh, i don’t think it looks good moving around so much.

this year (job wise) looks terrible on paper because i didn’t spend more than three months at any job, lol--though to be fair, i was committing myself to subbing before the pandemic hit. went on spring break though...and we never came back.

i’m not trying to talk myself out of committing to this job and what it entails (despite...again...it being an utterly sober position) but this is just what i feel.

it’s funny to see half my peers settle down with a career and marriage and babies, but i also love that i see plenty of people more on my side of the scale, and mostly i see people in between. i get the vibe that we’re, as a whole, more accepting of alternative lifestyles and crossing social barriers and being friends with people outside of our own norms. like, it’s not sad that some people don’t want kids!

(actually, i’ve been thinking about that the older i get and i get really lonely thinking about how it’s kind of a small island to be one the people who don’t want bio kids, but *do* want to foster and adopt children--and it’s not a medical reason. it makes me lean toward wanting to find a female partner vs a man because i read and hear so much toxic shit from men about wanting their kids to come from their own seed, lmao. and i just don’t relate to child-free folks. i want kids! i just don’t want to birth them! like, at all! lol. i remember alex saying how every time she sleeps with a man, she imagines what their hypothetical baby would look like, and i just could not relate. i mean, i’ve only had 3 partners, but not once did that ever come up in my thoughts...except to think, if i get pregnant, i’m abor/ting.)

i’d also be cool running a foster home for dogs (any kind! medically recovering, disabled, senior!). it’s what i dreamed about as a kid (lol on a ranch in seattle after retiring from the wnba).

anyway, lil cup of joe has worm butt again :/ tapeworms so he’s going to get some meds on monday and get updated on shots as well. i love him so much. i cry thinking about him leaving me, but he’s a small dog so he probably has like 17 more years in him and THAT makes me cry because i’ll be in my 40s and he’ll be an old man and still my sweetest bean.

i’m putting in the comparison photos:

i said if you squint!!! rub a lil salt in your eye and then you will See what i mean.

#miranda this is your life

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winbratech · 4 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://winningbrain.com.ng/sports-are-sort-of-back-lets-keep-it-that-way/

Sports Are (Sort Of) Back. Let’s Keep It That Way

Last night, I experienced something I haven’t felt in what seems like forever. In the span of 30 minutes, I watched Aaron Judge crush a 3-run home run in the 9th inning as well as admired an entertaining Lakers vs. Clippers game that came down to the final shot. I witnessed the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Sports are back… sort of.

2020 has been an unpredictable and unprecedented year. Between a global pandemic, a looming election, and a cesspool of arguments on social media that make me want to bash my head into a wall, sports are far from the most important thing to be discussing. However, I speak for a lot of people when I say sports are a much-needed distraction.

I’ve been living in New York City throughout this pandemic. Besides a few weekend trips to my parents’ house this summer, I’ve been in the city 85% of the time. It’s hard to put into words how different NYC was in March and April. When I’m telling you I was afraid to go outside, I truly mean it. For the first few weeks, the only times I went outside of my apartment were for trips to the grocery store once a week. I also left my apartment for my weekly Friday night pizza and each day, I would stand outside for a few minutes for some fresh hair. That’s all I did for about eight weeks. Even though I was in NYC, I’ll be the first to tell you that I had it easier than most. All I had to do was stay inside and watch a lot of television and movies. For a guy who adores pop culture and entertainment, staying inside was easy. I’m not a first responder or healthcare hero that risked their lives to save others. My neighborhood wasn’t hit as hard as certain areas in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. Many families had it far worse. So once again, I’m extremely fortunate and lucky to be in the situation that I was in.

We all need a distraction. When I say, “we,” I speak for all of Americans and even all humans by saying we need a distraction from what’s going on in 2020. That’s where sports come in. Just because I want a distraction doesn’t mean I’m forgetting about the virus. The virus is still here and it’s still a threat to civilization. However, watching a few basketball and baseball games was a feeling that I want to replicate for the rest of the year. It was so refreshing to see Twitter make memes about a picture with LeBron and Kawhi. After seeing 325 Twitter videos of random people with no medical background telling me how to protect myself from a virus they’ve never studied, an NBA joke could not have come at a better time.

an all-time no context moment pic.twitter.com/G4wIaKxtDU

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) July 31, 2020

Sports are the best. They unite people of different backgrounds, races, genders, and religions. We may not be able to agree on if we should or shouldn’t be wearing a mask (lol), but at least we can all agree that the Clippers missed Montrezl Harrell on the glass last night.

LEBRON GAME WINNER 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eWSOOxZIb0

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 31, 2020

Sports aren’t perfect. They have problems, too. The NBA, MLS, WNBA (Sabrina Ionescu is the Queen of NY), PLL, NHL, and UFC are all competing in bubbles, but that doesn’t guarantee safety. Players can still make questionable decisions involving strip clubs that could potentially put the entire bubble in jeopardy. The MLB has a big COVID problem and it’s called the Miami Marlins. The NFL, who has had the most time to develop a course of action, still does not have a definitive plan for dealing with the virus. College football may have to play in the spring. There is still an ongoing battle for social justice in this country. Plus, the NBA is in hot water after an ESPN investigation revealed abuse complaints and mistreatment of players in NBA training academies in China.

Kenny Smith clowning Lou Williams on Inside The NBA “He didn’t go in there for the wings, he went for the legs and the thighs” pic.twitter.com/GJ5wkoROR5

— gifdsports (@gifdsports) July 30, 2020

I apologize for beating a dead horse, but sports are not the most important issue at hand. That being said, for a few hours a day, sports provide a much-needed escape from reality. Is that such a bad thing? We can only hope that every league takes the necessary precautions to keep their sport up and running for the remainder of the year. I feel like I’m the overprotective dad telling his daughter to make good decisions before she goes off to her first school dance. But if players, coaches, owners, managers, and commissioners need a reminder, here it is: Be smart and make good decisions. If you need me, I’ll be on my couch all weekend.

Excited for sports to come back? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us, @unafraidshow.

The post Sports Are (Sort Of) Back. Let’s Keep It That Way appeared first on UNAFRAID SHOW.

#Sports

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celebritylive · 4 years

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Gianna Bryant‘s dreams of being drafted into the WNBA came true on Friday, nearly three months after the tragic helicopter crash that killed the 13-year-old, her father Kobe Bryant and seven others.

During the WNBA draft on Friday, commissioner Cathy Englebert named Gianna and her Mamba Academy teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester, who also died in the crash, honorary draftees.

Englebert read out the three girls’ names just as she would announce any other draftee in a touching moment at the top of the draft.

“These athletes represented the future of the WNBA,” Englebert said of the three teenagers. “Players who were following their passion, acquiring knowledge of the game, strengthening skills that were way beyond their years. They represent the next generation of stars in our league.”

“Maybe, what might have been called the ‘Mambacita’ generation,” she added, referencing Kobe’s nickname for his daughter.

“While it brings us pain not to see their dreams come to fruition, I’m grateful and proud to announce them tonight as honorary draft picks,” Englebert said, before announcing the three girls in alphabetical order as jerseys with their names were displayed on the screen.

The WNBA pays tribute to the lives of Alyssa Altobelli, Gianna Bryant and Payton Chester by selecting them as honorary draftees in the #WNBADraft 2020. pic.twitter.com/AqpZnc4xfo

— WNBA (@WNBA) April 17, 2020

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Family members then took the screen, giving emotional at-home tributes to each young athlete.

“On behalf of my family, I’d like to thank the WNBA for honoring Peyton and her teammates,” Chris Chester, Payton’s dad, said in a video message. “She exemplified the Mamba mentality and was a fierce competitor. Her skill and determination to play in the WNBA was something that I have no doubt she would have achieved but was only surpassed by her joy for life and the game.”

“We will always have fond memories of her sinking a three or a big steal and training back on defense with that beautiful smile,” Chris added. “Thank you.”

View this post on Instagram Gianna Maria-Onor’e Bryant #GigiBryant #Mambacita #Wings

You did it!

Mommy’s proud and happy for you mamacita! We love you Gigi!

@wnba

A post shared by Vanessa Bryant

(@vanessabryant) on Apr 17, 2020 at 4:47pm PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

“We just wanted to say thank you to the WNBA for honoring our sister Alyssa and her two teammates, Gigi and Peyton. Alyssa loved the game of basketball and she worked extremely hard at her craft,” Alyssa’s brother J.J. Altobelli said as sister Lexi sat beside him.

“There’s no doubt in our mind that she would have made it to the WNBA after her years at Oregon,” J.J. added. “Thank you again for honoring our sister, it truly means a lot to us.”

“Thank you so much for honoring my Gigi and selecting her to be an honorary draft pick this year,” Vanessa Bryant said in a video message. “It would have been a dream come true for her. She worked tirelessly every single day. She wanted to be one of the greatest athletes of all time just like her daddy. So thank you, thank you for honoring my little girl.” RELATED: Vanessa Bryant ‘Extremely Proud’ of Late Husband Kobe Bryant’s Basketball Hall of Fame Induction

“Kobe and Gigi loved the WNBA,” Vanessa continued, offering her congratulations to this year’s draft picks. “Work hard. Never settle. Use that Mamba mentality.

Englebert also remembered Kobe as a “legendary” NBA star as well as a “devoted youth coach.” The commissioner remembered Kobe’s passion for the women’s league as “unparalleled.”

Later in the draft, Engelbert announced a new award in honor of the star Los Angeles Lakers player and his daughter, titled the Kobe and Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award, “which will recognize an individual or group who has made significant contributions to the visibility, perception and advancement of women’s and girls’ basketball at all levels.”

The first recipient is expected to be announced during the NBA All-Star Weekend in 2021, Englebert said.

Nine people lost their lives in the Jan. 26 helicopter crash, including Alyssa’s parents John Altobelli and Keri Altobelli as well as Payton’s mother Sarah Chester, their coach Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan.

Gianna, who was nicknamed Mambacita by her father, dreamed of playing college basketball at the University of Connecticut and to be drafted to the WNBA.

No. 1 draft pick Sabrina Ionescu previously spoke about Kobe’s basketball legacy and Gianna’s bright future at their Staples Center memorial on Feb. 24.

“I remember Gigi, excited and smiling in the locker room. I’d always watched a ton of film of her playing basketball. She had a fadeaway better than mine. I asked her where she wanted to play ball in college and she said UConn. She had the will and determination to be able to play wherever she wanted, and if she wanted to go there, I wanted her there as well,” Ionescu, 22, said in her speech.

RELATED: WNBA’s Skylar Diggins-Smith Tears Up Remembering Kobe Bryant’s Death: ‘I Won’t Accept That Yet’

“Whichever school she would come to choose, it didn’t matter. If I represented the present of the women’s game, Gigi was the future, and Kobe knew it,” shared Ionescu, whose name was called first by the New York Liberty on Friday.

“Gigi had so much of her dad’s skill set. You could tell the amount of hours they spent in the gym, practicing her moves. She smiled all the time, but when it was game time, she was ready to kill. Her demeanor changed almost instantly when the whistle blew,” she said.

“I loved watching how hard she worked and how much her teammates loved her, but also her own desire to be great. She always wanted to learn, to go to every game she could — college, NBA, WNBA. Kobe was happy with that. Because he saw it in her, just like he saw it in me. His vision for others was always bigger than what they imagined for themselves. His vision for me was way bigger than my own,” Ionescu continued.

RELATED VIDEO: Hundreds Attend Memorial Service for the Altobelli Family Who Died in the Kobe Bryant Crash

Ionescu was selected No. 1 overall by the New York Liberty in the draft on Friday.

The late Los Angeles Lakers star championed the WNBA not only by supporting Gianna’s love for the game, but also by appearing at WNBA and women’s college games and bringing much-needed attention to the female programs.

“The WNBA mourns the sudden and tragic loss of NBA Great Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. Kobe’s support for the WNBA and women’s basketball along with his passion for helping young girls and boys follow their dreams made him a true legend for our sport,” Engelbert said in a statement following news of Kobe and Gianna’s deaths.

RELATED: Kobe Bryant’s Mentee Sabrina Ionescu Makes History After Speaking at Staples Center Memorial

“We admired him not just as a legendary basketball player, but as a father, a youth coach, and a role model for future generations of athletes. On behalf of the WNBA, it is an incredibly sad day for all of us and we send our deepest condolences to his family and all those who mourn his passing,” Engelbert said.

Bryant, who will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in August, founded the Mamba Sports Academy, a training facility dedicated to providing girls and other children with access to sports.

from PEOPLE.com https://ift.tt/2VgWTaF

#Celebrity

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thetalesalchemist · 7 years

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The media, feminism, and me. A post for International Women’s Day 2017

While I consider myself a supporter of feminism and an ally to its cause, I find that virtually none of my favorite creators, authors, artists, scientists, etc. are female or, more importantly, identify as women. I believe that I can be an ally despite that fact but I have to ask myself if I am truly a supporter for the cause of gender equality.

If I don’t support a woman singer her songs and her albums am I a feminist? If I don’t watch women led films or television can I be a feminist? If the anime I like has weak female leads used primarily for fan service or has an overwhelmingly male cast am I supporting the feminist cause?

I find that few of the games I play have female playable characters. Even fewer with female leads. I watch several hours of wrestling a week and rarely, if ever, pay attention to women wrestlers. I watch several all male promotions: ROH, NJPW, and NOAH and I could not care less that there are no women on the roster. I used to be a sports guy but have since fallen out of watching SportsCenter every morning years ago. Still none of the athletes that I care about are women. I don’t watch any sports for them. As if women’s sports are for women.

In every genre of entertainment and in any expressive medium, I seem to avoid anything that has women in a central role. So, perhaps, my claim that I am a feminist is just that, a claim.

The question I must ask myself is “Do I avoid female-centric art?” If I think that I don’t and that I only am predisposed to liking male-centric things or that male focused art is better, does it matter?

I find that rappers like Killer Mike, Jay Z, Slug, etc. are better than Trina, Remy Ma, and Nicki. I prefer singers like Julian Casablancas, Chris Cornell, R. Kelly to Beyonce, Alicia Keys, and Lily Allen (who is my fav woman singer), There is no female directer that I follow or whose style I recognize like Snyder, Tarantino, Abrams, Nolan. The Ava DuVernay’s and Katheryn Bigelow’s of the world are award winning visionaries but I couldn’t describe their style or bodies of work. I had to Google other women directors because I’m simply not familair with any who wasn’t an actor first. There’s no actress that I prefer to my favorite actors. Amy Adams is in a few of my favorite recent films but she wouldn’t crack my top 20 for on screen performers. I’ve seen the majority of several actresses’ entire bodies of work and it doesn’t seem to matter to me. I find it hard to fathom that I would see a movie because an actress was in it. For some actors, I would.

In this scenario I’d have to ask myself why is this? Is it because of the subject matter or their work? Or is it something like the quality or my perception of it? Do I believe that their works are inferior to their male colleagues? Perhaps, the roles women are given in Hollywood and the music industry are typecast. Or I just avoid these women’s work because I am sexist? Idk.

In games I think my issue with supporting women and female leads has definite room for improvement. I never create a woman as my avatar. I’m male, identify as a man, so I’ve never, when given an option, chose to play as a woman over in a man when you could create a character. In Dishonored 2 I did choose to play as Emily instead of Corvo but you don’t create either character. I don’t think I know any game creators, directors, art leads, writers, etc. other than Amy Hennig (the writer and director of the first few Uncharted games) and Jade Raymond (of Assassin’s Creed). I will play a game with a female protagonist but I’m not sure if I avoided a game because it had a woman.

Thinking critically of myself I don’t think I would play Final Fantasy XV, my favorite game of last year, if it had a cast of four women. I’m not sure the marketing would capture me in that case. I would hope that having a female lead cast would not have prevented me from playing FFXV. I like Nathan Drake more than Lara Croft. I can’t tell if that’s because of the writing, Nolan North’s performance, or sexism. In Resident Evil 6 there were four campaigns with only one with a woman as the lead. Some campaigns had women characters but the driving focus of the narrative was on the men in them. Ada’s campaign was my favorite but that may be due to the execution and style of the others. In Overwatch my mains are split 50/50 which is a credit to Blizzard for diversifying its cast and the roles they play to encourage its players to be a different hero. In gaming I can’t tell with certainty why I seemingly don’t play games with women playable characters. It could be the style of the game-indie title skew more towards equality (not yet equal though) of female leads than AAA games. Maybe the genre of game is part of it. I prefer action oriented games and those overwhelmingly have guys as the protagonist.

In anime, none of my favorites have a woman lead. In some cases, like Bleach, the girls are there as fan service or damsels in distress. While they all have characters and motivations, their purpose within the story isn’t as important as the fellas that move the story along. I especially love Shonen style battle anime and there will seemingly always be a focus on men as it’s target audience in Japan is young boys. My favorite anime series is Full Metal Alchemist, a series with male leads yet is written by Hiromu Arakawa, a woman (Arakawa’s name is Hiromi but she uses a male pen name).

When it comes to wrestling and (real) sports I, simply, prefer watching the men. When I was a teenager I would watch women’s tennis cus upskirts hehe now that I’m (less im)mature I know now how silly and wrong that was. When I was that age professional wrestling in the US overly sexualized women and that’s the reason why I would watch it then. I would outgrow that behavior too because promotions focused on aesthetics and the women that they hired were trash performers. It’s only recently with NXT generation of women wrestlers (and Natalya too) that I care about women’s wrestling in the US. I love the Japanese style of wrestling, puroresu, but I don’t watch Joshi (female) promotions. I will seek out Joshi matches but at the time, I haven’t yet done the research and the promotions aren’t as easily available as New Japan Pro Wrestling. Back to real sports, now that I, more or less, know what I like. I do not watch any competition between women when there is a male alternative. With MMA I kind of luck into watching women fight as they’re on the same card as the men. I watch only World Cup for women’s soccer. I don’t think I’ve seen a high level soccer game on television other than WC. When I attended UAB, I never watched women’s basketball but went to a few men’s, I only went to one women’s soccer game and I didn’t support any other women’s sport on campus at all. I don’t follow the WNBA at all. I can only name a few players and can’t name a champion team. In women’s NCAA I only know about UConn because they’ve been so dominant. But even without watching ESPN regularly, I can tell you who’s hot and what the teams are doing in the NBA and men’s NCAA.

TLDR:

The crux of my problem is that I don’t know how much fault I bear in having an aversion to women’s artistic pursuits. While I feel like I am a feminist and am all for equal rights and pay, I do not seem to care much or at all about the creative work that women produce. I think it has to do with the exposure of their work. There are very few works of art that have a female lead that are marketed towards me. But I recognize that I should seek these things out as well. I should support women’s work because that, presumably, would help get more women hired in the fields and mediums that I enjoy consuming. In sports I can see clearly that I’m biased toward male competition and I don’t know how to fix that issue. Watching women’s sports would help a bit, sure, but I’m not a huge sports guy and so I’ll generally watch only the “major” events. Those events are, of course, overwhelmingly male. For the arts, literature (which I didn’t touch), film, music, tv, anime, games, etc. I need to consume more works by women featuring women to send a messages to labels, publishers, channels, and studios that there is a demand for their products. The thing is I’ve done things like this before every summer I look for new artists and try to find their work and I regularly seek out new anime. So I think I need to try to find new news sources as well and, perhaps, that would help alleviate the problem I have of not being exposed to what’s popular, critically acclaimed, and highlights women. There’s a lot of work that I have to do to be more inclusive in my hobbies. I’ve tried to do so in the past and while I think I tried to do so sincerely there was little to no impact on diversifying the types of art and its creators that I consume. In order to call myself a feminist and mean it, I NEED to try more works by women. What do you recommend?

#international women's day #feminism #the media

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womenofcolor15 · 4 years

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WNBA Stars Brittney Griner & Brianna Turner Call On The League To Stop Playing The National Anthem After Two Teams Stayed In Locker Rooms

WNBA stars Brittney Griner and her teammate Brianna Turner are calling on the league to stop playing the National Anthem before games. They’re speaking out days after two WNBA teams stayed in their locker rooms during the National Anthem over the weekend. More inside…

Some WNBA players want the National Anthem cut from their games and making it known they want it axed as soon as possible.

Phoenix Mercury star Britney Griner and her teammate Brianna Turner both made comments in favor of the WNBA to no longer play the National Anthem before games, or at any before any sports/games.

"I honestly feel we should not play the National Anthem during our season," Brittney said during a teleconference with Arizona Republic. "I think we should take that much of a stand.”

The six-time WNBA All-Star and the 2019 runner-up MVP said will NOT be on the floor when the “Star Bangled Banner” is played before the game. Over the weekend, Brittney wasn’t on the court during the anthem after the Mercury’s opening game at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

"I don't mean that in any disrespect to our country. My dad was in Vietnam and a law officer for 30 years. I wanted to be a cop before basketball. I do have pride for my country."

On Instagram, Brittney shared a picture of her father while fighting in Vietnam:

View this post on Instagram

Pops on the far right! Ok daddy I see you looking good! Need get like him on the lifting lol! But them short ass shorts though lol! Vietnam 1968-1969

A post shared by Brittney Griner (@brittneyyevettegriner) on Jan 23, 2017 at 9:07am PST

"I'm going to protest regardless," the 29-year-old said. "I'm not going to be out there for the National Anthem. If the league continues to want to play it, that's fine. It will be all season long, I'll not be out there. I feel like more are going to probably do the same thing. I can only speak for myself. "At the Olympics, I understand, you're playing for your country at that point."

Brittney will likely play for the Tokyo Olympics (which was rescheduled) next summer after playing on a gold-medal winning U.S. Team in 2016.

Mercury forward Brianna Turner said the National Anthem shouldn't have a place in sports at all and questioned why it's played in the first place.

"I personally don't think it belongs in sports," she said. "When the National Anthem deemed the National Anthem (in 1931), Black people didn't have rights at that point. It's hard disrespecting a song that didn't even represent all Americans when it was first made. It's not played at Walmart, it's not played when you go to Six Flags. Why is it played before sporting events?"

The players' comments come days after the New York Liberty and Seattle Storm players stayed in their locker rooms during the National Anthem. In addition to their protest, the players held a 26-second moment of silence for Breonna Taylor, a Black EMT who was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police officers inside her home on March 13th. Her killers have not been arrested or charged.

"We are dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor, an outstanding EMT who was murdered over 130 days ago in her home,” Liberty point guard Layshia Clarendon said alongside Storm star Breanna Stewart. “Breonna Taylor was dedicated and committed to uplifting everyone around here."

The WNBA players dedicated this season to Breonna.

View this post on Instagram

The WNBA season tipped off this weekend. We knew if this season was going to happen it was an opportunity to have a huge impact. I cannot tell you the hours spent to get all of this off the ground. We worked with Breonna Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer to approve and consult on EVERYTHING we did involving her daughter. The words I used to describe Breonna came directly from a call with Tamika. We are not only activists but we are slowly becoming organizers. From the CBA, to this moment and so much more coming this season. We refuse to be silenced, we refuse to be told Black Lives Matter is too political, we refuse every lie and myth about respecting the flag and anthem, and we will continue to lead. My heart breaks because people are being murdered. Literal lives are being stolen! True justice would be for every victims name we have had to say to be walking this earth. We will not stop until we have some f*cking accountability! #BlackLivesMatter #SayHerName

A post shared by Layshia Clarendon (@layshiac) on Jul 26, 2020 at 6:27pm PDT

"We are also dedicating this season to ‘Say Her Name’ campaign, a campaign committed to saying the names and fighting for justice of black women – black women are so often forgotten in this fight for justice, who don’t have people marching in the streets for them," she continued.

Peep the clip above.

View this post on Instagram

@nnemkadi and @candaceparker use their voices to raise awareness on Breonna Taylor, #SayHerName and #BLM

A post shared by WNBA (@wnba) on Jul 25, 2020 at 6:52pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

“We just hope we make her family proud and do her justice this year.” - @skydigg4

A post shared by WNBA (@wnba) on Jul 25, 2020 at 2:05pm PDT

Sparks players Nneka Ogwumike and Candace Parker as well as Mercury's Skylar Diggins-Smith also used their voices to raise awareness about Breonna Taylor's story.

By the way, the Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Phoenix Mercury in their season opener, 99 - 76. According to ESPN, the Mercury vs. Los Angeles game on ABC was the most watched WNBA opener since 2012, 63% over the 2019 WNBA regular season average on ESPN’s Networks. Nice! ESPN aired airing every WNBA game on its two main networks and it paid off.

The Seattle Storm defeated the New York Liberty, 87 - 71.

Also...

WATCH: Sen. @KLoeffler stands by her assertion that "Black Lives Matter" doesn't belong in the @WNBA. I'll have the full story tonight on @FOX5Atlanta. #gapol pic.twitter.com/54VLmYnNzR

— Claire Simms (@Claire_FOX5) July 8, 2020

Earlier this month, the WNBA announced that “Black Lives Matter” would be displayed on its courts during games this season. Meanwhile, Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler - who is a co-owner of Atlanta's WNBA team - said the league should drop its support of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Kelly reportedly published a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, denouncing the league’s plan to dedicate its season to social justice. She doubled down on her stance during media appearances and interviews.

“What I see is politics coming into sports,” Kelly said. “No one has asked politics to come into sports. Sports are about unifying people. People from all walks of life from all political views should be welcomed in sports and to cancel someone because they want to protect innocent life; because they are fighting for the unborn; because they support the Second Amendment; because I support the constitutional rights that have been given to us by God? Why would that not fit as part of American sports culture? That should be a tenet of sports, is to welcome all views.”

My message is simple: we should unite around the American flag. We should keep politics out of sports. We shouldn’t promote movements that encourage violence.

And I will not be silent about it. Watch my full interview with @IngrahamAngle here. #gapol #gasen pic.twitter.com/yVNz7IqFuU

— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) July 9, 2020

The league’s player association (WNBAPA) said they want Kelly removed as an owner. Individual players have also expressed their feelings about her and want her removed as an owner.

Kelly obviously doesn't care the WNBA is made up of 80% black women, and it shows.

In other news, NBA star Kyrie Irving recently gave a major assist when he committed to donating $1.5 million to help support WNBA players who opted not to play the rest of the season either due to the Coronavirus pandemic or social justice work.

Photo: Keeton Gale/Shutterstock.com

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/07/28/wnba-stars-brittney-griner-brianna-turner-call-on-the-league-to-stop-playing-the-national

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flauntpage · 7 years

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The Minnesota Lynx Are Becoming the Golden State Warriors of the WNBA

The Minnesota Lynx are not supposed to be getting better.

This is not a knock on the team. The Lynx have reached the WNBA Finals five times since 2011 and won three of them—a run that no team in league history can match save for the 1997-2000 Houston Comets. They have kept largely the same core of players, all future Hall of Famers—Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore, to which they added Olympic gold medalist Sylvia Fowles midway through the 2015 season.

Last year, Minnesota finished atop the league in both offensive and defensive rating. Fowles, who had won Finals MVP in 2015, was even better. They reached the Finals yet again, only to lose to the Los Angeles Sparks in the final three seconds of a hard-fought and decisive Game 5.

At the same time, it was reasonable to expect the Lynx had peaked last year. Fowles entered the 2017 season already 31 years old. Augustus is 33. Brunson and Whalen are 35. Some attrition seemed possible, even likely, around the 27-year-old Moore.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve saw something else, too: a league where more and more players were taking and making threes. Her roster, however, finished 11th in a 12-team league in both made threes and attempted threes, and had only one player, Moore, shooting above 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

In essence, that's how the Sparks caught up to the Lynx last season: flooding the basket area to neutralize Fowles and Brunson, two of the four best rebounders in the history of the league, and sinking threes while playing Minnesota to a standstill.

So Reeve's marching orders to her team this off-season revolved around one thing: get comfortable shooting the three. And come into camp ready to take them and make them.

"It's something I went into the off-season working on, it's something that I'm continuing to work on," Brunson said. "Last year was the 15-footer, this year it's branching out from that. It's something [Reeve] told us all she wanted us to work on, so it's something we've embraced collectively."

Rather than add another player with the new dimension, Reeve trusted her group to diversify themselves and through ten games so far, the results are clear: the Lynx improved from 33.7 percent from three last year to 37 percent, which ranks second in the WNBA. Nine different players have already attempted at least five threes, compared to eight who reached that mark over the entire 2016 season. Those who already were shooting it have greatly increased their attempts as well. Whalen, who took 11 all of last season, has already attempted 14.

"I watch a lot of basketball, whether it's WNBA, NBA, or college," Whalen said in a phone interview. "You can sense that's where the game is going. And those are things people are really focusing on. I only took 11 threes last year, so first thing was, I wanted to take more. And of course you want to make them."

And so far she has, at a 50 percent clip.

Augustus, too, is making 47.1 percent of her threes, while on pace to easily eclipse her attempts from 2016. Moore is steady as ever—above 40 percent from deep again, taking more than five per game, suffering from an attention gap because she's simply played at an unmatched level, consistently, since arriving in the league in 2011 (you know, when all the Lynx championships started).

But the real paradigm-changer in Minnesota has been Rebekkah Brunson.

Brunson entered the 2017 season, her 14th in the league, with 12 career three-point attempts and two makes. The 35-year-old made a living under the basket, and only recently extended her range to help with spacing once Fowles arrived. Somehow, Reeve saw a stretch four in her veteran prototypical power forward, and Brunson spent the off-season, first in Turkey and then back in Minnesota, working on her shot daily with Whalen and the coaching staff in order to become that player.

Brunson took more than one three only once in Minnesota's first four games, but she's gotten more comfortable on the perimeter as the season has progressed, taking multiple threes in four of the next six games. Heading into Friday's game against the Washington Mystics, she has attempted 17 threes on the season, averaging more than one attempt per game for the first time in her career.

The change is reflected in every possession. Before, having Brunson by the basket in conjunction with Fowles overwhelmed opponents with physicality, but the setup didn't maximize Fowles as a finisher around the basket, nor her world-class ability to rebound herself. The focus on the three-point line has not cost the Lynx on the boards—their 53.4 rebounding percentage is just off the league lead, and now Brunson is free to utilize her newfound versatility.

Reeve pointed out that none of Brunson's four threes against Washington came on sets designed to get her that shot—it was simply cycling through options until it was her turn to shoot.

"It's also the evolution of where the game is going," Whalen added. "You look at the Houston Rockets this year, and other teams—you want to get high-percentage twos and threes. Rebekkah and I have always gotten two of those three: we get to the free-throw line because we're aggressive going to the basket, and then get high-percentage twos. We've worked on our midrange game through the years. And so now, it's the three-point line. Coach saw this was the way the game is going, and this is a way we could get even better. And we've really embraced it."

When you embrace change. Photo by Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Much like their counterparts in the NBA, the Lynx being able to put four or five legitimate perimeter threats on the court at a time makes their offense nearly impossible to stop. Opponents can single-cover players like Fowles, who has made a career of scoring almost at will through double-teams, sometimes triple-teams, or they can send help defenders, but at a higher risk than ever before with Brunson feeling so comfortable outside.

The Lynx are not the only team to try this; most notably, the Mystics have embraced a similar setup with the acquisition of Elena Delle Donne, often deployed at the four, along with Emma Meesseman at the five and a host of other wings. But it is the personnel that truly sets Minnesota apart. To punish spread-out defenses is one thing. To do it with the league's best center and the best small forward is quite another.

"I call it the doubleheader factor," Fowles said. "Either I'm going to score or my teammates are going to score. So I can finish, or I can pass it out to them, out of a double, triple team, and make it easier for them. So we start it inside, but it's a team effort."

Fowles has the highest usage rate of her career (25.6, up from 20.1 last year), but also easily the highest assist percentage (11.6, up from 7.0 last season). Her player efficiency rating is 35, which is within shouting distance of the league all-time record of 35.04, set by Lauren Jackson in 2007. Earlier this month against the Seattle Storm, she scored 26 points in the first half, due in large part to how Brunson has changed the calculus for opposing teams—seeing Brunson's transition, Storm coach Jenny Boucek elected to keep a defender out on her, leaving the hyper-efficient Fowles single-covered.

"I can say honestly that I've never felt in the groove like I did that first half in Seattle," Fowles said. "But I'm getting the opportunities, and the spots to score, because my teammates are getting me the ball in spots where I can score. So there was definitely a wow factor that night."

Once Seattle made a halftime adjustment, bringing help defenders on Fowles, Brunson went off, finishing the night with 17 points, shooting 9-for-10 from the field as the Lynx went on to a 100-77 victory. The Storm have a versatile frontcourt on the defensive end led by Breanna Stewart, but even they have no answer to the dilemma posed by this Lynx squad: either leave a Hall of Fame center to feast on a single defender, or give Brunson all the time and room she needs to sink the shots she keeps furiously practicing every day.

Teams have the option of putting their more athletic wing defender on Brunson, but that leaves their less effective wing defender on Moore, who is well on her way to making a case for best player in the history of the league. (Fun sneak peak of the future Moore vs. Diana Taurasi debate: Taurasi posted 32.6 wins above replacement in her first six WNBA seasons. Moore? Around 20 percent more valuable: 41.7 in her first six campaigns.)

Even if teams have a backcourt defender with size to rotate up into the matchup against Moore, that leaves Augustus or Whalen with a mismatch, or both. That would be one of the best iso scorers in league history and a Hall of Fame scoring point guard, for the record. Nor has And the Lynx remain the best defensive team in the league, well ahead of second-place Phoenix in defensive efficiency.

The Lynx are 9-1 so far this season, with other emphatic wins coming against elite teams like Washington (by 25 points), and New York (by 19). They also remain the best defensive team in the league, well ahead of second-place Phoenix in defensive efficiency. While it's premature to give the Lynx another WNBA championship trophy, few coaches around the league have many answers for how to confront their new attack.

"That's the fun part, for coaches, for me as a point guard, the game-within-a-game," Whalen said. "And when they try to take something away, we go to the next play, the next pass. And everybody's willing to do both, and everybody can do it."

For her part, Whalen doesn't seem all that surprised that there is another level for her team to reach.

"We're always improving, so I hope every year is our best," she said. "I mean, why not?"

The Minnesota Lynx Are Becoming the Golden State Warriors of the WNBA published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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ralphmorgan-blog1 · 7 years

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In coach’s rant, a lesson for parents and athletes

(CNN)If you've been on Facebook this week, chances are you've seen someone share comments made by Geno Auriemma, coach of the University of Connecticut women's basketball team. UConn hasn't lost a game in more than two years and is in play for a fifth consecutive national title.

Even after more than 30 years as head coach at UConn, Auriemma said that recruiting "enthusiastic kids is harder than it's ever been."

In the video, he said that today's kids are so influenced by professional athletes who they see as "just being really cool" -- athletes they then try to imitate when they play.

"They haven't even figured out which foot to use as a pivot foot, and they're going to act like they're really good players," Auriemma said. Forget about playing for the love of the game or to support teammates, he said; too many players are focused on themselves.

"They're allowed to get away with just whatever, and they're always thinking about themselves," he said. "Me, me, me, me, me. 'I didn't score, so why should I be happy?' 'I'm not getting enough minutes; why should I be happy?' That's the world we live in today, unfortunately. Kids check the scoreboard sometimes because they're going to get yelled at by their parents if they don't score enough points. Don't get me started."

Auriemma made the comments at a news conference during the NCAA women's Final Four in 2016, but Matt Lisle, a professional hitting coach, shared them on Facebook on Monday. The video has been viewed more than 35 million times on Facebook.

Why did year-old comments strike such a chord?

I put that question to some prominent voices in the sports world and to my Facebook community. The response was quick and universal: There is too much of a "me" culture in youth sports, too much involvement by parents, too many coaches concerned only with winning and too little focus on just playing the game.

'Life is not a highlight film'

"What Coach Auriemma is addressing is accountability and responsibility for who you are and how you interact with others," said Donna Orender, former president of the WNBA. "We hear so much and see so much of the coddled generation these days and especially in youth sports, where there is a focus on the 'me' culture in the scramble to be seen and earn a scholarship."

Orender -- founder of Generation W, an annual women's leadership conference in Jacksonville, Florida -- said Auriemma's comments get to the heart of what it takes to excel today: to work really hard and really embrace the power of being a teammate.

"Life is not a highlight film," said Orender, who played college and professional basketball.

John O'Sullivan is a former college and professional soccer player who started the Changing the Game Project. His organization aims to return youth sports to children and "put the 'play' back in 'play ball.' "

He said it makes him sad when he sees youth coaches allow the type of behavior described by Auriemma. "It is our responsibility as coaches to teach kids to be humble, to be hungry and to be a great teammates. It amazes me how many coaches ignore this responsibility because a player's talent might lead to a win."

What then happens, O'Sullivan said, is that the player's talent takes them to a higher level where "character matters" -- but they lack the character needed to sustain themselves.

"That's when it all falls apart, and it didn't start in college," said O'Sullivan, who has coached on every level from children to college. "It started with parents and coaches at age 12 looking the other way because a kid happened to be a good player. That is our outcome-driven youth sports system in a nutshell."

Auriemma said that when he and his fellow coaches watch game films, they're checking what's going on on the bench. "If somebody's asleep over there, somebody doesn't care, somebody's not engaged in the game, they will never get in the game. Ever. And they know that. They know I'm not kidding," he said.

Lisle, who shared Auriemma's comments, works with professional and college baseball players and is the founder of TheHittingVault.com. A former collegiate hitting coach, Lisle believes that the video resonated with so many people because it speaks to coaches, players and parents.

"For parents, they want to hear that effort and attitude get rewarded at the highest levels, not just talent," he said. "For coaches, they have a coach of the highest authority giving them permission to do the same and to remind them that coaching isn't just about winning."

A mother of two who didn't want me to use her name said Auriemma's comments reminded her of one of her daughter's coaches. Her two daughters aren't the greatest athletes, but they pour their hearts and souls into the game, she said. Last year, one of her daughters was pulled up from the junior varsity to the varsity team.

"To be honest, I was surprised, as there were other players who were better, and I could hear those other parents complaining," the mother said. "The coach said to me that (my daughter) is what he is looking for in a player. She shows up for every practice on time. She is a team player on and off the field and will get the ball to the person in the best position to score versus going for the glory herself. And she is as excited, if not more so, when others score."

Sharing coach's wisdom with the kids

Lisle said Auriemma's words should also motivate young athletes as they realize that some of the top coaches in sports are paying attention to their attitude, their effort and whether they are playing with passion and excitement, not just their talent.

"In my 17 years of coaching, I come across a lot of younger kids who are 'too cool' to show emotion and passion on the field, and hopefully, this video inspires the athletes who have been holding it in to let it shine," he said.

Lisle's post has been shared more 650,000 times, and more than 25,000 people have commented.

Said one commenter, "Best place to teach them is when they are young! Teaching them to love the sport and have respect for the sport and each other as teammates should be a coach's number one priority."

Plenty of people spoke about how parents are causing a lot of the problems in the game. "Parents living vicariously through their kids, pushing them too hard, too soon. Too many games, too much pressure and not enough fun," one commenter on Facebook said. "The best athletes of prior generations didn't specialize until high school or college. They didn't play the same sport year round for half of their lives because their parents thought they'd 'get left behind.' "

Larry Robin, a father of two in Westfield, New Jersey, said he watched the video on Facebook and immediately called his 9-year-old daughter to watch it with him.

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"I thought his comments were amazing. I think it's a great thing to teach your kids at an early age that attitude is everything and a good, willing-to-work, positive attitude means everything," said Robin, who is chief financial officer for an apparel company.

Robin says he's seen the same power of attitude in the workplace. "While I can't 'bench' people at work, I can tell you that the people who move up in my world are almost always the people who are smart and have really good attitudes. Those are my all-stars as well!"