I have looked at this throughout the entire season and we seriously have some internal management problems I want to talk about. We desperately need to get rid of those, otherwise we won't even win a trophy with favorable conditons.
​

• Our Staffing

Our staffing has been the absolute worst, a horrible physio and medical team, a coaching staff that still does conditional training at the end of the season and keeps focusing on Cardio without implementing any sort of mandatory strength workouts. This is not even remotely close to the training schedule that other clubs across the globe implement. When we lost against Olympiakos, there have been news popping up that the squad had 0 penalty shootout training. Hard to believe, because penalty trainings are always done, but if true it doesn't surprise me at all given how messed up our training schedule already is. This is probably currently the worst form of internal self-sabotage that we have.
​

• Philosophy

Our philosophies vary way too much, Koc and Kartal seem to never agree on anything. Kartal already said in an interview at the very very beginning of his employment that he would like the UECL but that the league will ALWAYS come first. After the Terrorzonspor incident, Koc of course wanted to shift onto the UECL, something Kartal is reluctant to do. Do not get me wrong I do not think Koc is a bad president, but it speaks a lot when literally ALL of our other divisions (Youth football, women's football, Basketball, women's volleyball) reel in trophy after trophy while the men's senior football division got only one in the last decade. There's also Mario Branco. Mario and Kartal NEVER agree on anything and both of them keep telling Ali to do exactly opposite of what the other wants. Branco wants new staff, Kartal wants to keep his staff, if you ask me I personally trust Branco more, waaaaay more. I think he is currently our most valuable background staff member and the last thing I want to happen is for us to piss him off to the point he leaves. However this kind of internal turmoil is killing us.
​

• Presidential election

Last week I made a poll about whom the people here would vote for to be the next club president. And while the majority favors Sadettin Saran (Me included) it is not even by that much with many people also favoring to keep Koc (which I can understand because all our other divisions are really successful rn) and Aziz Yildirim (which I do not understand). But the core issue is lots of people asking for someone else entirely or think nobody rn is an option. That's bad, we need a plan for the future and we need someone who can confidently step up and tell us where to go. I am a member of an official Fenerbahce Dernek, we are officially recognized by the club, with a letter signed by Mr. Ram on our wall. The people there are for the most part boomers who mainly want Aziz Yildirim back. So I do not think that Sadettin Saran will win the vote. I think this election shows us best that we as a club have absolutely no idea or at least are way too split on where to head next, nobody agrees with anyone on something in a time where we need to stick together more than ever.

Well, I know we all have reviewed the experts views on our teams draft and are either pumped for the future or writing letters to have the GM fired.
How accurate are these grades? If you'd like to jump back to 2017 with me, and see what some of these experts had to say about the number 10 overall pick, a QB out of Texas Tech by the name of Patrick Mahomes.
Chad Reuter gave the Chiefs a B+ for Day 1, and the same overall score.
"Chiefs GM John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid saw Brett Favre in Green Bay, and they have to see some of that gunslinger attitude in Mahomes. There is a risk factor here given his penchant for throwing the ball anywhere and from any arm angle (which will turn into interceptions in the NFL), and they have up a future first-round pick to get him."
Bleacher Report gave the Mahomes pick a B for fit and C for value
"Mahomes lacks discipline and consistency — both when it comes to playing within the constructs of the offense and with his accuracy and decision-making."
They did call pick 2, Trubisky a C- value, but gave an A+ to Solomun Thomas.
Mel Kiper gave KC a C+. He did acknowledge Mahomes potential and say " This is a pick -- and grade -- that could look like great or silly in five or six years."
Well he was right about one thing, Mahomes did make all doubters look silly.
To be fair, the overall view of Mahomes pre and post draft was that he had huge upside but was raw. Probably the worst grade mentioned above the was B for fit - KC ended up being perfect, the chance to learn for a year, a coach he really connects with. And it's really hard to sit back and imagine anyone having the success Mahomes had to date, even if he came with the hype of a once-a-generation talent like Manning/Luck/Lawrence, he would have exceeded those lofty expectations.
Anyways, as much fun as you have reviewing draft analysis, do yourself a favor and see what was said at the time about a draft pick/class 3 or 4 years ago, or more, it's highly amusing.

TL;DR: My first relationship ended after 2 years, filled with family drama, mental health struggles, and constant fights. Despite my efforts to make things work, including sacrificing friendships and financial stability, my partner became distant, compared me to others, and eventually admitted to hanging out with someone else. I made mistakes too, struggling with bipolar disorder and inadvertently causing harm by involving others. Now, I'm devastated, experiencing panic attacks, and desperate for advice on coping with this heartbreak.
This a long rant and just want to let my heart out.
My partner (F20) of 2 years broke up with me and it was my very first relationship. Things were rocky for us due to various factors including horrifying incidents like we both come for conservative families and were caught being alone at my house, also had serious fights over various issues. I am clinically tested for Bipolar Disorder (mild) and she for ADHD (severe). We were from same high school, even lived near and used to go for same coaching. At first she hated me but eventually fell in love and asked me out. I was already in love with her and it was dream come true. We had a fairytale story for about 8-9 months when the caught incident happened resulting in fights between both families who btw were extremely good with each other before finding out about us. We both were strictly warned never to contact each other ever again but we still did. We both moved for college in same city. I had opportunity to go another prestigious college in far away city, but me being a fool opted for subpar college close to hers. It was traumatic for us both so 2-3 months went in recovering from family fights and we were again having good time. She befriended a girl who was extremely toxic and used to give her ill advices, my partner being immature used to blindly listen and cause issues between us. I also have a female best friend from school as well whic we have completely platonic relationship but she hated the fact that I had her as a best friend as there were rumors of us being a couple in middle school. For my partner's sake I cut off with the best friend and almost everyone she had issues with, I was in deep love and didn't wanted to make her upset and lose her. She always has been a extreme introvert with minimal to no friends and very toxic abusive family. I was with her when she was having the worst time including mental and physical abuse by her parents over studies, college and future. I always encouraged her to make friends, no matter gender and spend time with them.
Almost a year later on my bday she had a dress up party at her college and I had exams. She wished me at midnight, again in morning and that's it. Whole day there were no texts, no calls, no nothing. I was highly upset as I was expecting a surprise as I previously mentioned I had cut off everyone so only one I had was her. Way past 7 PM I got text from her she is leaving from college campus to go to her private hostel, which had path from a slum area infamous for mugging, rapes, etc. I advised her to take another longer but safer route and go in group. She said yes and didn't had any contact upto 9 PM. I contacted her another friend who told me my partner had left at 7 itself... It's been 2hrs no contact with her, also she had not taken the long route and went the infamous one. I sent numerous texts and dozens of calls only to get a text message at 9 - 930 that she was busy having shower and later had a call with her mother. I scolded her for being so irresponsible. She got upset, wished me happy birthday once again and went to sleep. I cried all night and next day decided to end things with her and sent a text addressing the same. She cried whole day and I got call from her various friends and I explained them the situation. Later I agreed to talk to her. I was expecting a apology but she didn't say anything and was making puppy sad faces. It really pissed me off and I started raging out. Also the dress up she wore for the event in college was little revealing (office formals but very tight ones) and in fit of rage said "You went dressed like a w***e", I agree it was way out of line and I regretted instantly. Said sorry multiple times but it offended her a lot.
We fit rough patch after that and had tough 2-3 months. I was confused, I blocked her but used to end up unblocking and talk with her. She had suicidal tendencies and one day ended up drinking entire bottle of cough syrup. Also she revealed to me about her past, where one of her family member had tried to touching her inappropriately. Although I was very angry, I immediately went to meet her and comfort her. But still we had tough time for a month. Then I got a call one day from her friends saying she hasn't been eating much and fainted. I had food poisoning with extreme painful stomach, but I still went h to her traveling 2 hrs on 2 buses and took her out to eat. Where she just had teary eyes and no words were spoken. I left like that but I realised I can't live without her, can't see her sad, can't let anything happen to her and her being so much sad is proof she feels bad, she won't be able to express in words but she feels it, we reconciled following day. After that things started getting normal. Even her toxic friend started showing her true colors and my partner cut her off. All was well and good until she befriended a new friend who has a rich boyfriend who used to pamper her in materialistic as well as other ways. She started comparing me with him.
We used to meet at my home and it being 40-45 min travelling time I used to drop or pick her up, and she used to use cab for one way travel. She used to complain how I don't do both, pick up as well as drop. We used to meet only on weekends and were physically active. She had a high sex drive resulting in 1hr to 1.5 hrs of lovemaking which would drain me out and was too tirying to drop her and come back. But I always used to pay for her cab as well as her other needs like clothes, food ordering etc etc. Her family used to send mere money and I used to spend on her being myself not buying anything or at times skipping meals, just for her happiness. Even send medicines, buy heating bag for period cramps as well as paying off her credit which overall used to consume 30-40% of my monthly budget. Which I never complained or felt bad, seeing her happy made me happy.
But in Jan of this year I got really depressed regarding studies, her fighting behavior as well as family issues. It led to affect my body physically as well and I got IBS. I was admitted in hospital for 3 weeks at my hometown and resting for next 2 weeks. Almost 1.5 months I was away. I was back for my midterms and went to pick her up from the station as she was home as well. She embedded up paying 100x times more to cab for just dropping her from main area to little out. I was upset and scolded her for being so irresponsible and wasting money. She didn't talk with me all the way to home and was silent as well when we reached home. Later we talked and had lovely time but while dropping her off the morning issue came up again and she was quite the whole time. Despite having pain in stomach I had gone to pick her up as well as drop and she being silent bothered me. I dropped her half way to her dorm and booked her a cab to go. Please note it was a populated metropolitan square with 500-600 people passing by and not some dark road. Also I made sure she sat in her cab and went home. I came back and didn't wanted to talk with her. I had to go back to my hometown for further treatment, but it had gotten worse and was admitted again. She had her exams so I never bothered her with details but I had to take high dose multi vitamin injections which were painful as bullet and of wrongly administered can cause extreme pain. And unfortunately one time it got wrongly administered and I had screaming pain, also it was her last day of exams so I just messaged her call immediately after exam which was approx at 3-4 PM. She said ok but didn't text until 7-8 PM. I asked where she was, she just said she was hanging out with friends and came back now and I being in pain said things like, when you will suffer same and your loved one will ignore you, you will understand and blocked her. After a few days I contacted back and never ever I had seen her talk the way she was talking. Extreme rude, careless and right up saying I don't want you. Your illness causes all pain.
I was devastated and tried apologising and making up. She was firm and wasn't budging. This went for few days and she ended up telling she has been going out with some guy, just 2 of them. She admitted it's just friends and nothing else. It was hurtful and cause my IBS to worsen, I was admitted back at 3 AM crying and crying.
I remember , on her birthday I had planned whole day out. Movies, parks, restaurant and various surprises, but she being introvert and lazy chose to stay home with me and order in. And now being so excited to go out with him was shocking for me. Also she started playing video games which she never had interest when I used to tell her to join me.
Also she used to waste a lot of time on social media and YouTube resulting in no studies. I advised her to delete social media to focus on studies. Which used to cause fights. I myself never had any social media except Reddit.
A few things to consider:
She has extreme high temper
She does extreme overthinking
Also always assumes I blame her for everything
And most importantantly, she thinks she is the only one with problems in whole world and other's problems are menial
I got back to the city and tried visiting her, calling her but she didn't wanted to meet. I literally felt my soul leaving my body. Shivering, crying, sleepless nights, and when slept, nightmares. Even had panic attacks and everything. I texted her million times apologising, begging her, literally*
But she just was straight up rude.
I finally planned a big surprise. I cooked burgers for her and her friends from scratch. Drew a drawing of her. Sang her favorite song as well as a self written song begging her to dont let me go or else I will die. Letter explaining my love to her, as well as promise to change according to her. Follow everything she says, never say hurtful stuff, and never do anything she doesn't like. Completely change myself. Also added a bouquet and some care stuff and sent to her yesterday. She said all this was mental torture for her. And she didn't wanted to meet at all. I was deeply upset and just ended up saying suicidal things and went away. Even ended up cutting myself on hand a bit. But she ended up coming to meet me but straight up said I don't want her. She has lost all love for me and never ever want me in my life ever again. And left.
I have been crying all night and even had 2 panic attacks.
Please note:
My behavior was main reason as well:
As I mention I am Bipolar, I used to end up blocking her for days on end just to avoid me saying anything hurtful to her.
I once in my depressive episodes ended up contacting her toxic friend and telling her some of the things, which she ended up telling everyone in their college completely destroying my partner's image which I regret a lot.
Also my female best friend, I used to tell her everything (nothing intimate... But sharing appropriate things) and my partner used to hate it. I stopped doing that immediately but she held a grudge till now.
And I ended up involving a lot of people in this because she had blocked me everywhere and I was desperate for someone to convince to meet me in person and talk it out.
This has been like a truck smashing my out of nowhere and I can't recover at all. Especially with no one to talk and just crying and crying.
People who went through first heartbreaks, or whom you thought was your the one, literally planned entire life with that person, please help me get through this.

The biggest knock on why XFL/USFL/UFL/Areana/Insert any non NFL pro league fail is no allegiance to brands. It’s new teams. Why would anyone care about a football game between the Amarillo Armadillos and the Boston Chowdaheads?
You know what they would care about? How about a July 4th college football spectacular in Texas with the Longhorns facing the Aggies? How about instead of the Coca Cola 600 or some meaningless regular season baseball game we get The Ohio State Buckeyes vs the Wolverines?
This alumnia league season would take place week after the super bowl and end in July. Same teams but the players eligible graduated from the colleges and they are trying to make it in the NFL. Alumnia coaches too. Jim Tressell back with Ohio State. Scott Frost back with UFC.
Summer shouldn’t be about baseball and nascar it should be about college football.

So I got one more “fuck you” letter from this disgusting company denying my unemployment benefits for the 3 weeks I went being unemployed. The letter was rather disgusting in nature with how it was worded, which isn’t surprising because that’s what this company is: disgusting.
Yes, unfortunately I was termed. First time in my whole working career that this has ever happened to me. Was what I did wrong? Hindsight is 20/20, so with that said, I would say yes it was. However, I was never put on any sort of PIP, warning, written up, coached on anything, and so on. Never had any of that against me in the decade I was there. It was just straight to “your employment is under review” which lasted a month followed by being termed. Let’s also not forget to also point out that I was never told that what I was doing (along with basically everyone else who did it and probably still does it) was wrong nor was/is it in their stupid “claims code of conduct” or anything like that. All I know is: if this happened maybe 5-7 years ago, I’d still have my job at this terrible company. I got termed because this is the kinda company Todd Combs wants for all those poor souls who still work there.
My other question here is: what would you do? Fight the power based on principle? Or just bitterly walk away? I feel like I have a strong case for an appeal argument to be heard and it’s one I think I can win, but I’m very torn about what exactly to do.
In 3 weeks time, yes I did find a new job that I’m absolutely beyond happy at. Yes my wife makes a very good salary to the point where I didn’t really have to worry financially during that time. But I’m torn on what to do. I’m a big believer in “if you don’t stand for something, you can fall for anything” yet I also realize that it might be child’s play that I’m fighting for 60% of my gross for 3 weeks.

My son recently moved up to 10u. He expressed interest in pitching this season, and started off as the most consistent pitcher and seemed kind of a natural (neither my husband nor I ever played baseball/softball).
Lately, he’s hit a bit of a slump; his pitching coach’s feedback today was that his shoulders were opening too early (before his front foot was planted).
Does anyone have suggestions for drills that might help fix this problem? He was really looking forward to this lesson after a disappointing game on the mound last weekend, and the lesson helped him specify what to work on. Still, he left feeling bummed because he didn’t throw the higher percentage of strikes like he used to. My husband is deployed right now, so it’ll be just me trying to finish out baseball season with him this year. Thank you so much!

It probably been like 30 years ago but I am trying to locate a small tiny town that had a stage coach inn and in front of it is a road with steps and sidewalk in the middle of it. There a baseball field on bottom of that sidewalk.
I like to travel in old town to explore and I wanted to visit that town. I wrote it in my notebook which is long lost so I been trying to locate that town to visit it again.
It had to be either between Stockton, Mo and Springfield, Mo or between Sedila, Mo and Springfield, Mo. I did check all the towns along the Butterfield Overland routes but didn't find that town. I am not sure if it was part of the Butterfield Overland route but that one building you could clearly see it was a saloon and hotel building back in stage coach route days.
Anyone remember seeing town like this and remember the name?
​

Demographics
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: East Asian
Residence: Ontario, Canada
Income Bracket: 125k~ USD/yr (need financial aid, and i'm international)
Type of School: Public School
Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None rly, Potential walk-on athlete?
Intended Major(s): Biology
Academics
GPA (UW/W): 3.25 UW/3.9 W (unofficial GPA, school doesn't calculate or send GPA)
Rank (or percentile): School doesn't rank

of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: Full IBDP, AP Calculus BC (5), AP Stats (5)

Senior Year Course Load:

1. IB2 English HL
2. IB2 Chemistry HL
3. IB2 Biology HL
4. IB2 Math AA HL
   
5. IB2 History SL
   
6. IB2 French B SL
   
7. Grade 12 Physics
   

Standardized Testing
SAT: 1550 (760 English, 790 Math)
June 2023 (1st attempt, didn't retake)
Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.

1 - Senior Boys Basketball Team Member for 3 years, Regional All-star sr year

(Only received recruiting interest from Canadian Schools)

2 - Biochem Research Assistant at Local University (presented a portion of the research I completed at science fair)

3 - Local Gym Club Founder

4 - Gym Tiktok (if yk me don't dox me) (20k~ followers)

5 - Family Responsibilities

6 - Local Basketball Youth team Coach

7 - Investing

8 - Hospital Volunteer

9 - Paid Math tutor (not for long)

10 - Math Circle Member (Community)

Awards/Honors

1 - CMO Qualifier (2023) - {top quartile in 2023, invited to write IMO TST, did not go tho}

• Documented in my Rec letter from math teacher
  
• also qualified for 2024 CMO, not in app tho, did worst than last year
  

2 - AMC Distinction (2022) - {AIME Qualifier in 2023}

• also qualified for AIME in 2024 and barely qualified for USAMO (120 AMC, 13 AIME 250 index), updated unis following qualification and sent AIME I '24 score of 13 in February 2024.

3 - Regional Science Fair Bronze Medalist (2023) - Qualified for National Science Fair

4 - Canadian Chemistry Contest Distinction (2023)

5 - USACO Gold

(Updated Schools with USAMO Qualification + some other smaller Math/CS contests results in February of this admissions cycle)
++ included some lesser known math/cs contest results in additional information section
Letters of Recommendation
IB French B teacher (9/10) - super chill she let me write it, wrote a lot about me being funny and actually caring about the class a bit despite nobody gaf about french at my school
IB Math teacher (10/10) - wrote about my strength in math and problem solving, how I made the class hella fun to be in, and how im a person everyone likes to be around. Bro blessed me tf up, but tbf i was prolly the best student he ever has had in terms of math strength. I also talk to him about the NBA regularly and he talked about that too. Really well written was acc super happy he wrote me such a good letter. He showed me it and I was pre surprised that he blessed up like that.
School Basketball Coach (9/10) - wrote this myself. Short and sweet stating im a hardworking player and great teammate/leader. pre well written tbh, some anecdotes too
Research Mentor (8/10) - wrote about my professionalism and strong logic/reasoning abilities combined with my aptitude/passion for science
Interviews
Dartmouth (6/10) - 25 mins, cool interviewer but short and just asked scripted questions lmao
UPenn (8/10) - 1 hr, pre cool guy, he was an athlete and we talked about a bunch of diff things
Princeton (4/10) - 25 mins, interviewer just asked scripted questions, didn't even smile or anything so robotic and lame
Harvard (9/10) - 3 hours, Investment banker dude who loves basketball, talked about a bunch of stuff esp basketball and he told me he would put in a superb note for me
Essays
Personal Statement (9/10): Spent a lot of time on this mofo, at least 50 hours (idk why I was such a perfectionist). Topic is deeply personal but reflected my growth as a human. Semi trauma dump, but also one that showcased lots of intellect id say.
Supplements (8/10): Friends/teachers helped me edit these, i'd say they were very unique. Wrote about biotech, the basketball community and a bunch more topics. I always told a story through these. My english teacher said they were very pleasing to read.
Decisions (all RD, was super busy in the beginning of the year)
Acceptances:
Harvard
Waterloo CS (Canada)
UofT CS (Canada)
UBC CS (Canada)
some other safeties in Canada
Waitlists:
UPenn
Rejections:
Brown (applied for need as intl)
Columbia (applied for need as intl)
Dartmouth
Princeton
Yale
MIT
Amherst (LAC)
Bowdoin (LAC)
Additional Information:
Didn't care about grades in freshman year and had all barely passing grades except for math/science so like equivalent to a 1.7~ something GPA in grade 9.
but yeah. got harvard with my shitty ass transcript. IG USAMO + breadth in ECs + not applying for CS/math helped. good interview + sat also played into my favour. 21 people from my school applied and a lot of them have lame ass personalities and im sure that reflected in their essays. even though my grades sucked in grade 9, they were roughly equal to everyone elses in my school for grade 11 who applied which is the most important year i hear so yeah thats that.
got decent finaid so i will be attending.
At a certain point in February even after scoring highly on AIME, I thought I'd have no chance so I was just ready to commit to a Canadian school which is cheap and provides a strong education (i got into waterloo early bc i did rly good on all their math/cs contests and had a decent top 6 course average) Waterloo CS is like roughly equal to t5 cs in the US and is crazy for industry placements.

I am a currently a sophomore on my schools varsity team. We have won multiple state titles/awards, and 87% of our players go on to play college ball. I have been playing flag football since I was 9 and have been playing tackle since 8th grade.
I am currently a varsity starting running back. I am the first and only female in my district to letter in football. And I have been approached by multiple different colleges looking to have a conversation with me.
I am only 5'0 and 120 pounds so it can get a little rough sometimes. But that's not what I am upset about.
I love this sport more than anything in the whole wide world. But I am thinking about quitting due to the social issues that come with it. Because god forbid a girl wants to do something that is considered to be more masculine.
I am pretty chill with some of my teammates. But definitely not all of them. Some just want to get in my pants. And they don't hide it either. I will usually be minding my own business and my ass just gets randomly slapped.
Which I cant say I enjoy. But I put up with a lot. So I don't really care at this point. It's just another thing I have to deal with.
However the other group of teammates just absolutely hates me. Because I am starting and they aren't. And honestly I don't even know why I am starting. They genuinely deserve it a lot more than I do.
Some of my coaches don't want me there either. Which hurts a lot more then the players not wanting me there. Because i've looked up to a lot of my coaches over the years. But I guess not these ones.
In the past I have had teams forfeit entire games because the coaches "didn't want to teach their boys to hit women." Which I guess isn't wrong. But this is football. Not domestic violence. And then my whole team gets upset at me. When it's not even my fault.
If I could play with and against only girls, I definitely would. I wouldn't be at an automatic disadvantage lol.
But it just feels like all of the players, coaches, opposing teams, and people at school just don't like what I am doing. And it's honestly starting to get to me.
To the point where I am considering quitting everything because it genuinely hurts playing a team sport and not feeling like you are a part of a team.
What do I do?

I am a currently a sophomore on my schools varsity team. We have won multiple state titles/awards, and 87% of our players go on to play college ball. I have been playing flag football since I was 9 and have been playing tackle since 8th grade.
I am currently a varsity starting running back. I am the first and only female in my district to letter in football. And I have been approached by multiple different colleges looking to have a conversation with me.
I am only 5'0 and 120 pounds so it can get a little rough sometimes. But that's not what I am upset about.
I love this sport more than anything in the whole wide world. But I am thinking about quitting due to the social issues that come with it. Because god forbid a girl wants to do something that is considered to be more masculine.
I am pretty chill with some of my teammates. But definitely not all of them. Some just want to get in my pants. And they don't hide it either. I will usually be minding my own business and my ass just gets randomly slapped.
Which I cant say I enjoy. But I put up with a lot. So I don't really care at this point. It's just another thing I have to deal with.
However the other group of teammates just absolutely hates me. Because I am starting and they aren't. And honestly I don't even know why I am starting. They genuinely deserve it a lot more than I do.
Some of my coaches don't want me there either. Which hurts a lot more then the players not wanting me there. Because i've looked up to a lot of my coaches over the years. But I guess not these ones.
In the past I have had teams forfeit entire games because the coaches "didn't want to teach their boys to hit women." Which I guess isn't wrong. But this is football. Not domestic violence. And then my whole team gets upset at me. When it's not even my fault.
If I could play with and against only girls, I definitely would. I wouldn't be at an automatic disadvantage lol.
But it just feels like all of the players, coaches, opposing teams, and people at school just don't like what I am doing. And it's honestly starting to get to me.
To the point where I am considering quitting everything because it genuinely hurts playing a team sport and not feeling like you are a part of a team.
What do I do?

I am a currently a sophomore on my schools varsity team. We have won multiple state titles/awards, and 87% of our players go on to play college ball. I have been playing flag football since I was 9 and have been playing tackle since 8th grade.
I am currently a varsity starting running back. I am the first and only female in my district to letter in football. And I have been approached by multiple different colleges looking to have a conversation with me.
I am only 5'0 and 120 pounds so it can get a little rough sometimes. But that's not what I am upset about.
I love this sport more than anything in the whole wide world. But I am thinking about quitting due to the social issues that come with it. Because god forbid a girl wants to do something that is considered to be more masculine.
I am pretty chill with some of my teammates. But definitely not all of them. Some just want to get in my pants. And they don't hide it either. I will usually be minding my own business and my ass just gets randomly slapped.
Which I cant say I enjoy. But I put up with a lot. So I don't really care at this point. It's just another thing I have to deal with.
However the other group of teammates just absolutely hates me. Because I am starting and they aren't. And honestly I don't even know why I am starting. They genuinely deserve it a lot more than I do.
Some of my coaches don't want me there either. Which hurts a lot more then the players not wanting me there. Because i've looked up to a lot of my coaches over the years. But I guess not these ones.
In the past I have had teams forfeit entire games because the coaches "didn't want to teach their boys to hit women." Which I guess isn't wrong. But this is football. Not domestic violence. And then my whole team gets upset at me. When it's not even my fault.
If I could play with and against only girls, I definitely would. I wouldn't be at an automatic disadvantage lol.
But it just feels like all of the players, coaches, opposing teams, and people at school just don't like what I am doing. And it's honestly starting to get to me.
To the point where I am considering quitting everything because it genuinely hurts playing a team sport and not feeling like you are a part of a team.
What do I do?

Due to a shortage of volunteers, i was recruited to be an assistant/volunteer coach. I am typically the bench coach and run gamechanger, but have ocassionally called on to be 1st base coach when there is no one else availble. The problem is that I have never played or even a really watched baseball before. I have a basic knowledge that I've picked up from watching my kids play the past few seasons and I have helped coach my younger kid in the minors and I tell them to steal whenever there was a passed ball, an error or tell them when to take 2nd on a big hit.
The problem is that they are now 11/12u playing 46/60 and the league is getting much more aggressive and stealing bases, are there any rules of thumb for when they should or shouldn't steal for example at specific counts or outs. Thry can't lead until the ball crosses home plate on a pitch.

Not sure if this belongs here but whatever. I started football in 8th grade so I was quite a bit behind. The coaches and the other kids on the team helped me out a lot and they were always giving me pointers and supporting me. This wasn't just my team though, when I went to camps and even in highschool the coaches would be giving the new guys a lot of extra attention. Before I started football I wanted to try both baseball and basketball (this was in like 5th-7th grade) but the coaches kinda just threw me to the wolves and expected me to be like everyone else. Why aren't other sports more like football?

As a fun project, beginning in 2021, I decided to keep track of the best albums I listened to during that year. The rules are; it must be the first time I’ve heard that album, and I must have liked it very much. That’s it! Just thought I’d share. 2024 is incomplete obviously, but I’m posting it anyway. I’d love to hear what people think. I feel as though my music taste has really evolved over these last 4ish years alone.
2021
Almost Free - FIDLAR
Self Titled - Better Oblivion Community Center
Moveys - Slow Pulp
Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers
When Jamie Went to London… - Park Ave.
Four of Arrows - Great Grandpa
Humanz - Gorillaz
Rhombithian - Sincere Engineer
Kind of Blah - Frog
Brutalist - IDLES
Sore - DILLY DALLY
Tough Love - Forth Wanderers
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride - The Black Ryder
Lotta Sea Lice - Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile
Water - Dehd
Adult Summers - Prince Daddy and the Hyena
Slow Buzz - Remember Sports
Things Take Time, Take Time - Courtney Barnett
Flower of Devotion - Dehd
Painted Shut - Hop Along
Show Me The Blueprints - Days N’ Daze
Morningside - Fazerdaze
Blue Weekend - Wolf Alice
2022
I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams - Diarrhea Planet
Hurry Up and Wait - Dune Rats
Break - Slingshot Dakota
Self - Titled - Camp Cope
How to Socialize and Make Friends - Camp Cope
Survival Pop - Worriers
Sports - Modern Baseball
Riff Hard - Thin Lips
Dancing on the Wind - The Sloppy Boys
Our House on the Hill - The Babies
Read Music/ Speak Spanish - Desaparecidos
This City Isn’t Big Enough - Apes of State
Pipedream - Apes of State
My Own Mess - Skeggs
Rehearsal- Skeggs
Self - Titled - Swearin’
Shallow + Throbbing Organ - Pissed Jeans
Paracosm - Washed Out
Everything - BNNY
Now That The Party’s Over - The Lazy Susans
Twin Fantasy - Car Seat Headrest
Caprisongs - FKA Twigs
The Baby - Samia
The Courtneys II - The Courtneys
Get Better - Lemuria
Recreational Hate - Lemuria
Shrines - Purity Ring
Running with the Hurricane - Camp Cope
(Self-Titled) - Upset
Almost Famous - Slutever
Rhonert Park - Ceremony
Gone Troppo - Drunk Mums
Coupla Couplas - Dumb Punts
Childhood Trauma (I Wanna Be Normal) - Neighborhood Void
Sundays - Tanukichan
Blue Skies - Dehd
Flaneur - Verge Collection
Bad Luck Party - Miss June
No New World - Mass of the Fermenting Dregs
One Stop Shop - Twen
Yoncalla - Yumi Zouma
Truth and Consequences - Yumi Zouma
Talk Tight - Rolling Blackout Coastal Fever
The Jacket - Widowspeak
Bubblegum - Mark Lanegan
Sleepyhead - Lala Lala
Music to Go Nuts - Judy and the Jerks
Modern Performance Art - Horsegirl
Broadcasting from Home - Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Whip Smart - Liz Phair
Letters from Home - Get Dead
Sleep - Sad Park
Everything Seems Like Yesterday - The Frights
Self Titled - Luby Sparks
Self Titled - Sept
Real Stories of True People Who Kinda Look Like Monsters - Oso Oso
Self-Titled - Warpaint
2023
Trouble the Water - Show Me the Body
Death Spells - Holy Fawn
Toumani and Sidiki - Toumani Diabaté
I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone - Chastity Belt
Food for Worms - shame
Endless Scroll - BODEGA
Five Easy Hot Dogs - Mac Demarco
Self - Titled - Purple Mountains
Hit to Hit - 2nd Grade
Desire, I Want To Turn Into You - Caroline Polachek
Local Valley - José Gonzaléz
Common Blah - Weakened Friends
Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) - Digable Planets
Where the Heart Is - Sweet Pill
WASTEISOLATION - Black Dresses
Self - Titled - Amyl and the Sniffers
Tracey Denim - bar italia
Stadium Cake - Oh Pep!
In Times New Roman - Queens of the Stoneage
Race Car Blues (Extended Version) - Slowly Slowly
Casino - Mini Skirt
The Overload - Yard Act
Piss~up - C.O.F.F.I.N.
Ashen Eidolon - Gallowbraid
Echoes of Battle - Caladan Brood
Cauldron of the Wild - Witch Mountain
The Force of the Ancient Land - Eldamar
Science Fiction - Brand New
IX - Rent Strike
HELLMODE - Jeff Rosenstock
Plantasia - Mort Garson
Industry Connections - Hideous Sun Demon
Bright Green Field - Squid
Australia Stops - C.O.F.F.I.N.
Wallsocket - underscores
Self - Titled - Phantastic Pherniture
Spending Eternity in a Japanese Convenient Store - Forests
Benji - Sun Kil Moon
Unison Life - Brutus
I Love to Lie - Lowertown
2024
Gnosis - Russian Circles
Couples Therapy - Modern Baseball/Marietta
An Beach - Aborted Tortoise
My Own Private Rodeo - Wagging
El Bueno y El Malo - Hermanos Gutiérrez
Third - Nathan Salsburg
Yard - Slow Pulp
Wall of Eyes - The Smile
I Got Heaven - Mannequin Pussy
Eye on the Bat - Palehound
Crispy Crunchy Nothing - PACKS
Mordechai - Khruangbin
Mahal - Glass Beams
Live, Laugh, Love - Chastity Belt
A LA SALA - Khruangbin
Super Liminal - Penya
Mount Matsu - Yin Yin
Raíz - Wiki Chavez
Tao Fire - Mong Tong
Tonkori in the Moonlight - OKI
Matchowé - Momo Wandel Soumah
Conflict - John Carroll Kirby
Magnolia - Okonski

Checkmate Foundation is actively looking for Chess Coach Volunteers!
Who are we? We are a provincially registered non-profit organization dedicated to providing opportunities for diverse communities to foster development and inclusion through chess education. checkmatefoundation.ca
Requirements: - Must be at least 14 years of age (certain events have restrictions on age based on participant demographic) - Must show up to events that you have signed up for, unless given valid reason for cancellation - Be able to encourage positivity and a fun learning environment - Experience in chess is required (specifically knowing the rules)
What to Expect: As a volunteer, you will play a vital role in creating a positive and inclusive chess environment. Your tasks may include setting up chess sets and tables, assisting with event logistics, cleaning up after the sessions, and, most importantly, playing chess with our participants to make the experience enjoyable for everyone. As volunteers progress, they can take on leadership roles, such as running events and teaching lessons. This is your chance to make a difference by joining our team of dedicated volunteers. We are seeking enthusiastic individuals to help us with various tasks, including setting up chess sets and tables, cleaning up, and engaging in friendly chess matches with our participants.
Location: Calgary, Alberta Most of our events are in-person and around the city.
‍�� Become a Program Director: After volunteering for a certain amount of time, we may ask if you would be interested becoming a program director. How to Sign Up: Fill out the form below to apply to be a volunteer. We appreciate your commitment to this wonderful cause. You will receive an email back from us within 9 days. Contact Information: Have questions? Please don't hesitate to contact us at: [info@checkmatefoundation.ca](mailto:info@checkmatefoundation.ca)
Benefits - Foster a fun chess community - Be part of a mission to promote equality - Receive a certificate for your volunteering efforts - Receive a stunning reference letter for your work with the organization after select amount of hours 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: We are always looking for new coaches, apply now!
Apply Here: https://forms.gle/J6CsKXr23k3kYQNE9
𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 : Instagram - u/checkmatefoundation Facebook - u/checkmatefoundationcanada

To whom it may concern,
I, Jennifer O’Donnell, am tendering my formal resignation on this day, 4/24/2024 in the form of a three-day notice. My final day will be 4/26/2024. I apologize for the shorter than two-week notice; however, it is clear that this is not a healthy company to work for on a physical, mental, and emotional level. As such, for my own well-being it is prudent that I step down and relinquish my employment at this craft store as soon as possible.
Over the last couple of years working for this company I have faced pressure and stress from corporate and upper management to meet metric goals that I have never experienced working for any other company. I was never fully trained for my position. Yet, I was responsible for maintaining goals within certain Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) metrics. I have been bullied and told that “it is my job to meet these metrics for the store, and if I cannot meet them, then I do not want my job” by my District Manager (DM). Moreover, I was instructed to inflict mental and emotional stress on my associates by my DM to meet their personal goals with these KPIs. I inquired about resources to set myself and my associates up for success in these metrics, with little to no support provided by DM.
During this last year additional aspects of working for this company were added to my job description without fair compensation for the increase in job responsibilities. Which provided additional stress to my already stressful position with the company. I can honestly say that I did everything I could think of to support my associates with positive reinforcement, and coaching. I created trackers to pinpoint areas of improvement, as well as areas where associates seemed to struggle. Moreover, I worked 1:1 with every associate to help build their confidence and skills. However, when goals were not met, I was told by my DM that “it is my associates’ job to meet those goals, and if they are not meeting them, then they must not want their jobs” as well. Despite the limited resources provided by corporate, when observed, my associates were doing all the things they needed to do to meet their goals. Yet, I was still instructed to use fear tactics to get results. Which I found despicable, because these KPI metric goals required our customers’ free will to meet.
Eventually, I went so far as to send out a company-wide S.O.S email that highlighted the mental and emotional strain this company and management position had on myself and the rest of the management team in the store. Moreover, I addressed the stressors my associates face each day working for this company under the supervision of our DM. I sent that email out as a plea for help. We had no work/life balance, and some of us were working ourselves to death. The only thing upper management seemed to care about was meeting goals, and not the people who were working themselves to the bone for the company. The demands of working for this company had us disregarding health and family on a regular basis. The first time anyone checked in on us as individuals from the company was in an investigation after I sent out the email.
In my S.O.S, I included an email address where people could share their experiences working for the corporation. I have received hundreds of emails and messages from individuals all over the country and from Canada. Numerous employees were in the same boat as us. We all faced a lot of struggles each day, that we would work to overcome- taxing as it was. Meanwhile, there were many others who were facing far worse working conditions. I am appalled by the experiences that have been shared with me and find it hard to comprehend how the employees of this company were and are still being treated.
What I once thought was an amazing company has turned into the worst work experience of my life. Moreover, there is compelling evidence to support how toxic this company is and areas that need addressed and improved that would benefit all. I will continue to work on a presentation of what associates (past and current) have shared. Additionally, I will also include methods and resources for the company to work towards improvement to create better working conditions for the individuals employed. I have every intention of submitting the findings, testimonials, and suggestions for improvement to HR once I have completed my presentation. I truly hope this company can do better for the people who work for them.
I have loved working with the individuals in my store, and I think that they all deserved better. The people I worked with are the only reason I stayed with the company for as long as I did. We all came in to support each other, as we had little support elsewhere from this company. Now, all of the management team and many of the lower-level associates are gone or leaving due to the working environment. I find it hard to continue working under the conditions upper management and corporate have created without the support from my coworkers. Especially knowing what I now know from what has been shared with me by the masses.
I cannot work for a DM who sees the employees under him, not as people, but as a paycheck. This is something that my DM has openly said to several people who work in their district. I find it repulsive and vulgar. Moreover, I cannot condone working for a company that, not only willingly continues to employ such a person (despite being told what working with them is like), but also willingly continues the employment of many other people with that same or worse mindset in their upper management teams throughout the corporation. The blatant disregard for employee wellbeing is shameful, especially when one considers the company’s claims to be there for the creative individuals of this nation, yet so many of them work for the company. Believe me, I have the receipts to show how much of my paycheck I gave back to the corporation each month.
I appreciate the effort put into my store following my company-wide email. Moreover, the increase in HR representatives and the utilization of an anonymous talk therapy platform is commendable. However, it is highly unlikely that any of that would have come about had I not sent that email and it had not gone public. Action was taken when deleting my letter from all store emails wasn’t enough to prevent word from getting out and too many people seeing it. I do not believe the efforts put forth by the company were made solely to help the employees. These actions were also taken to improve the company’s reputation. Working for a corporation that struggles to see employees as more than disposable assets and only steps up when there is a public spectacle is a hard company to work for. Moreover, when one has to work under such toxic individuals as our DM it is not an ideal working environment for anyone.
It’s with all of this in mind that I say thank you for your time and the friends I have made along the way. I am sorry if my leaving causes any further stress to the already taxing situation in the store. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors, Jennifer O’Donnell CEM- Bend, OR

Ohtani’s been great, hard to complain about him so far with how he has been swinging it. But the elephant in the room is that despite how good he’s been, he has been awful with RISP.
There’s nothing wrong with getting out with RISP, even the best hit only .300 in those spots. It’s just the way he’s been getting out that is frustrating, swinging at pitches out of the zone and being overly aggressive. His approach with RISP versus the bases empty is clearly different. If he had gotten out after seeing some pitches and battling, you are fine with that because that’s baseball.
The team signed Ohtani to get us over the hump in October, and the playoffs are all about high pressure at-bats. And so far, the way he has handled these pressure at-bats is not what you like to see. Again, I am not asking him to bat over .300 with RISP. A better approach is all you can ask for, not just trying to send the ball into the stands every pitch.
Still early and he can figure it out, but 6/34 is not great. Hope the hitting coaches address it with him because as good as he is, he can still get better.

(This is a real story and I dont wany any worries)
I am a f(16) and my brother is m(9) both parents female (43) and male (39). My mom is what I would consider, the real parent. My mom cares about feelings and doesnt shut me down like my dad. My dad was abused as a kid. And I completely understand the trauma, and the pain, but why put it on to me. I grew up playing softball. I loved softball, but I also loved having my dad as a coach. When I would have a bad game, their wouldnt be a pep talk, or a lecture, or being grounded, i was forced, to run. To run sometimes until I threw up. A couple of times I soiled myself because I wasnt allowed to go to the bathroom. One time this elderely couple stopped my dad in his tracks of forcing me to run. He took me to a church parking lot, and made me run. It had almost been two hours when a car pulled up. The car was talking to my dad and this older woman held me, I passed out from dehydration and the running. My feet were swollen and my body was over 104 degrees. They didnt do anything, but my dad saw me and "rushed" me to the house. Nothing special. I took a cold shower, than went to my room and drank a fuck ton of water. I was about 10 at the time. My mom never said anything because they would get into little fights all the time. Always bickering about something or how I was a fuck up. I quit softball around middle school. Right before covid started, I only quit because of the punishments I would get for the smallest stuff. I was first base. I never missed a ball and always got kids out. All the time. The one time this girl chunked her bat at me and hit me so I didnt get her out. That was when I got punished for being incompetent. Whatever, it happened. Same punishment, but different reasons for over the years. Extended time, extended yelling and beating. My brother has played baseball for years. He is horrible. He only cares about the food after and the praise. He has never caught, or hit a ball. He really could if he tried, even a little bit. But even during his worst games, he gets told he is an amazing person and he could never do anything wrong. He usually gets rewarded with vbucks. A currency for a game I taught my brother how to play. Mind you I am active, i am not lazy, i go to the gym every single day. I weigh 180, with an 11% body fat, and an amazing diet. I am 5'7. I dont know if maybe its just me as a person. But I rarely get into trouble, and when I do it is for the little things. I have come to the conclusion that my dad does not like me. He makes me so depressed, and when he comes around, I run to my room and just read a book or play games with my brother from my room. Please help with opinions. Cps is a piece of shit, so is everyone else who has tried to help but they cant. Why? Because my dad is a master manipulator, and is the most amazing person ever when he hides the alcohol. Sorry for the rant/vent. First time i am trying this.