Cody giffords college

I know the existance of this Sub reddit proves me wrong. But I've never got to meet the chad people like on this sub reddit irl. So hear me out.
I guess I can find Valorant and BGMI players, but where are the real gamers? The ones who know the past, present, and future of gaming? Everywhere I go, I see the same thing: "Wanna do a TDM, bro?", "What's better, SCAR-L or Groza?" I get the competitive spirit, but it's so hard to come by Indian people who are well-versed in gaming culture.
The other day, I was talking to my friends (who play video games) and one of them asked what my favorite game of all time was. I said Dark Souls 1. They didn't even know that game existed. They all said GTA: San Andreas and Vice City. I know those are great games, but seriously, come on. If you like open-world games, you would've explored more and found out that there are better ones, like RDR and The Witcher games.
When someone found me playing Ace Attorney and Pokémon Emerald on an emulator in college, they made fun of me for playing "lame old games." I thought when I got to college, I'd find a buddy who would try out League of Legends with me because I didn't want to solo queue, but they called it stupid when I showed them clips. The only guy I found was a Dota player, and he's too deep in that game to know other stuff exists.
I do have friends who know video games well, but they're not Indian. I tried to experiment as well. I showed my Australian friend, let's call him Cody, Undertale. He never knew about the game, but he tried it out and loved it. He loved it so much he made everything Undertale-themed. He loved the game so much he had the Undertale OST playlist on his Spotify rewind. Next, I played the game with my Indian friend, let's call him Raj. Raj said it was lame. He said it was girly and that the music was kinda 'meh.' MEH? Really, Raj?
Has anyone experienced this?
P.S. I'm not saying Valorant, BGMI, and other mainstream games are bad. I love Valorant. I don't like that I suck at it, but I still play it.

Round 1, Pick 26 - Graham Barton, C, Duke:
NFL: The Buccaneers fortify the offensive line with an experienced player who offers position flexibility. His elite presence on the interior should help elevate the run game and keep Baker Mayfield upright.
CBS Sports: A. This is a great pick. They have major issues at center and a question at left guard and he can play both. I love this pick. Barton will move inside from tackle, but he can play there in a pinch too.
ESPN: The Bucs got their top pick of an interior offensive lineman in Barton, who can immediately step in to fill the void left by center Ryan Jensen's retirement. While all but four of Barton's offensive snaps over the last three seasons have come at left tackle -- where he allowed just one sack in 2023 and two in 2022 -- he played 446 snaps at center as a freshman, which is his most natural fit and what caught the Bucs' eye. He plays with a great base, a good anchor and a "nasty temperament" that the Bucs' front office covets.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Likes his coffee hot and water cold which is actually reasonable.
Round 2, Pick 57 - Chris Braswell, DE, Alabama:
NFL: It's not often that a player with two college starts lands inside the top 60 picks, but Braswell did emerge last season as a jack of all trades for the Crimson Tide. At the very least, he could be a terrific special-teamer, but the Bucs likely hope to develop Braswell's pass-rush arsenal and squeeze even more out of his terrific athletic profile.
CBS Sports: A+. Had early RD2 grade on this outside rusher. Length, methodical pass-rush moves, deceptive power. Very productive generating pressure at Alabama. Sets a sturdy edge. A need in the post Shaq Barrett era.
ESPN: While the Bucs did sign Randy Gregory in free agency, he'll likely wind up being more of a rotational player opposite second-year edge YaYa Diaby. What they've needed is a replacement for Shaquil Barrett, who departed for the Miami Dolphins in free agency. Braswell's three forced fumbles in 2023 were tied for the most in the SEC, while his 42 pressures were the third most in the SEC. His eight sacks were tied for the fifth most in the SEC after having 2.5 sacks from 2020 to 2022. He also had 53 coverage snaps in 2023, which Todd Bowles does ask of his edge rushers. Braswell played 41 games with Crimson Tide but only made two starts, both of which came last season.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: He only likes the yellow part of the gummy worm.
Round 3, Pick 89 - Tykee Smith, S, Georgia:
NFL: Smith has a Mike Edwards-like projection, so it's easy to see why the Bucs took Smith here, in the same range they drafted Edwards in 2019. Although Smith is undersized and not an elite athlete, he has the nose for the ball and enough special-teams value to be a contributor in Year 1.
CBS Sports: B-. Slot defender / safety hybrid closer to slot CB size but doesn’t have those quicks. Surprisingly powerful hitter at his size and plays with a lot of conviction when tracking the football. Super-smart in coverage. Reads QB’s in a flash which helps him play faster than his timed speed.
ESPN: The Bucs see Smith as a nickel, and he played 80% of snaps in the slot with Bowles keeping a close watch on the UGA program, where his son, Troy, plays. They started undrafted free agent rookie Christian Izien last year and signed Tavierre Thomas in free agency, but their secondary as a whole needs more takeaways, which is where Smith comes in. His four interceptions in 2023 were tied for the third most in the SEC. He was also one of three FBS players with four or more interceptions and two or more sacks in 2023 alongside Michigan's Mike Sainristil and UNLV's Cameron Oliver.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Ribs. This man loves ribs. Cannot get enough ribs!
Round 3, Pick 92 - Jalen McMillan, WR, Washington:
NFL: A smooth-moving slot or outside receiver, McMillan returned from injury to help the Huskies make it all the way to the national title game. He has big mitts, good hands and more juice than he's sometimes given credit for. This is a really nice weapon to add to the Bucs' WR room.
CBS Sports: B+. Crafty, complete wideout with a trademark trait. Runs quality routes. Adequate separation. Not a burner. Not slow. Tracks it with good concentrations. Not a huge YAC type nor someone who thrives when leaping for the football in traffic. Robert Woods type with a bit more juice.
ESPN: The Bucs declined No. 3 wide receiver Russell Gage's option this year, and he was released. Mike Evans will also be 31 and Chris Godwin enters the third and final year of his contract, worth $20 million per year. McMillan can line up inside or outside but 33 of his 45 receptions came out of the slot in 2023, and he caught six passes out of the backfield. He's also a master of the post route. His six touchdown catches on post routes since 2022 are tied for the most in the FBS, while his 253 receiving yards on post route concepts since 2022 are the 10th most in the FBS.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Still willing to try and get the band back together.
Round 4, Pick 125 - Bucky Irving, RB, Oregon:
NFL: Bucky to the Bucs keeps the run on Ducks going. He's not terribly fast but can get up to max speed quickly and might end up as a decent complement to Rachaad White, even if they do similar things well.
CBS Sports: A. Bad testing figures - - despite reasonable speed - - but one of the most elusive, hard-to-corral RBs over the last few drafts. Smaller stature. Decent contact balance too. Weapon in the receiving game, and of course, out in space. Fun addition.
ESPN: The Bucs have had the league's worst rushing attack over the last two seasons (82.9 yards per game) and wanted to bolster competition. Irving is 5-9 and 192 pounds and ran a 4.55 40-yard dash at the NFL combine -- 14th among 20 running backs. While his testing was not great, the tape shows production. He topped 1,000 rushing yards in each of his two seasons at Oregon, including 1,180 with 11 touchdowns in 2023. He broke or evaded an FBS-high 144 tackles since 2022, and he had 896 rushing yards between the tackles in 2023, averaging 7.1 yards per rush. His 56 receptions last season led all FBS running backs.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: He once ate an 8 layer peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Round 6, Pick 220 - Elijah Klein, OG, UTEP:
NFL: With 55 college starts and good length, Klein has a chance to make it in Tampa. He's stiff and might be an inside-only blocker, however.
CBS Sports: C. Smooth operator at guard. Quality run-blocking abilities. Opens the gate too soon in pass pro and not ultra experienced there. Not many true sets in college.
ESPN: The Bucs didn't re-sign Matt Feiler or Aaron Stinnie, who both started at left guard last season. Along with Cody Mauch, they finished with a combined 70.2% run blocking win rate among guards -- 16th in the league last year. None of them finished in the top 50 in pass block win rate either. The Bucs did sign free agent Sua Opeta from the Philadelphia Eagles, and Klein will compete with those two. Klein allowed 1.3% pressures at UTEP and in 45 games, he allowed four sacks with a 1.6% blown run block rate. In 2023, he allowed one sack all season.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Always wondered how Raymans hands worked if he doesn’t have arms.
Round 7, Pick 246 - Devin Culp, TE, Washington:
NFL: Culp shocked a few people when he ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash, but his 230-pound frame figures to limit his role quite a bit. Even so, Culp improved each college season and has some unrealized potential as an H-back.
CBS Sports: B+. Smaller, speedster H-back TE type. Was very underutilized at Washington but flashed when given the opportunity. Made some impressive snags in traffic. Not much YAC-wise but can run away from second-level defenders if given space.
ESPN: The Bucs' 502 combined yards from tight ends last year was third worst, and they needed to bolster competition at the position. At 6-3 and 231 pounds, Culp ran a 4.47s 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, which was the fastest among tight ends this year. But he'll need to improve as an in-line blocker, which is where his size is a concern. He's also had some drops with six (8.8% drop rate) in 28 games.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Has soft hands… both ON and OFF the field.

From what I’ve seen, there are very few examples of players who are below-average rebounders in college becoming average-to-good rebounders in the NBA. It seems to be a directly translatable skill- either you’re good at it or you’re not.
Obviously I’m brushing over a lot of nuance, so I’m curious if there are any examples of guys drastically improving as a rebounder (or the inverse).
Is a guy like Cody Williams likely always going to be a very poor rebounder for his size? He certainly could stand to gain some weight, but does that necessarily change his rebounding outlook drastically?

This is my current Top 8, and why I think the Spurs would or wouldn’t draft each of them:
Zaccharie Risacher
Why?
We need shooting, and we need defense, and he probably brings the best combination of those things in this draft.
Why not?
He doesn't bring much playmaking, which is arguably the biggest need of ours. I am pretty confident we can fill that need elsewhere, but it is a concern.
He also had a really cold stretch about a month ago, it's hard to say how real that was.
Stephon Castle
Why?
Rim protectors like Wemby benefit a lot from defenders that can at least put up resistance on the perimeter, Gobert on the Jazz vs on the Timberwolves, and the Bucks with and without Jrue Holiday being pretty clear recent examples. Castle is a special defender who can guard multiple position, and he's got great feel for the game on both ends, making him a good connective player who should fit in extremely well.
Why not?
His shot is a major question mark. He moves well off ball to hide this, but college teams still tried to sag off of him, he will need to improve his shot a lot to be a good NBA player.
Reed Sheppard
Why?
Sheppard is a special shooter, converting 52% of his 3s last season. That's...absurd. His advanced stats show he leverages his gravity to generate advantages really well, he's a smart player who has impact beyond the stats.
Why not?
He is a 6'3 guard who probably can't play PG on offense since he isn't a great on-ball playmaker or facilitator, but also can't play next to another small guard. He's a smart defender with good hands, but still a really weak on-ball defender.
Nikola Topic
Why?
Arguably the best playmaker in the draft, which is probably our biggest need. He also has things that show he can improve the rest of his game, specifically good 3PA and FT% numbers suggesting he can eventually become a good shooter, and good size for a PG suggesting he can eventually become a passable defender.
Why not?
He is currently a reeeeally bad defender, and perimeter defense was a major concern last year. His 3 point shot is also bad right now and needs to improve a lot for it to not be a liability. He also struggles a bit at creating advantage against really good defenders, that's probably just a byproduct of being a teenager in a professional league, but it's a yellow flag.
Alexander Sarr
Why?
Good luck ever scoring in the paint when you have both Sarr and Wemby in there. He has enough mobility to guard most 4s, and might be able to shoot well enough to space the floor (this is still a little iffy by put definitely has intriguing upside).
Why not?
He's almost definitely going Top 2, so he's likely not available. If he is...something went wrong. Also, he's not #1 on my Spurs' board just because he is best in spots Wemby already fills, so he's pretty redundant.
Rob Dillingham
Why?
Probably the best overall offensive player in the draft. Solid 3-level scorer, can play on or off ball, and is definitely a good passer, even if he's not elite.
Why not?
Probably the worst defensive prospect in the lottery, and that's saying something. He's small, can't navigate screens, often gets lost, he's just bad at pretty much everything, and some of those problems aren't fixable. His defense clearly limits his ceiling.
Ron Holland
Why?
He was the #1 prospect coming into this season. A great combination of size, athleticism, and skill that is hard to find. He had a rough season in the G League, but much of that can be attributed to him being asked to be a primary playmaker when his skillset would look much better as a wing. In a system that doesn't ask him to do too much, and gives him time to keep working on things like his defense and shot making (both of which showed flashes but weren't consistent), he could live up to his earlier hype.
Why not?
The G League exposed a lot of his weaknesses. Most notably, he shot just 28% from 3. That needs to get better for him to function as a real NBA player.
Cody Williams
Why?
Highest ceiling left on the board imo. Great physical tools for a forward, before his injury he looked like a Top 5 Pick with his defense and interior scoring.
Why not?
After his injury, he looked shook. We'd need to check how much he's recovered from that. He's also a really questionable shooter, rarely taking the shot unless he's wide open. This makes him a really iffy fit next to Sochan if he can't fix that.

Amazingly did not start on time ( 820 ish) . The first hour they talked about the state of the show.. they talked about the haters and the Reddit, Facebook forums.
They are still blaming Don for a lot of trauma.yes folks 13 years plus since the don and Mike show ended! They tossed Oscar under the bus a little.
Josh admitted he hadn't listened to show recently, mostly because of Oscar. We also learned he quit a job , too take the tmos job, so I assume he is getting paid. (?).
Mike admitted he has been. Lazy concerning show prep and general effort and he will do better on the Future.
Mike absolutely hates it when Mike jr is referred to as bart or Bart jr ... At least we are not calling him Cody Gifford.
And of course a derm Glow skin ad!

“I still can’t believe it.” My head spun. I pressed clammy hands against my cheeks and looked up at him.
He smiled. “Believe it.” Then he drained the last of his Modelo.
“It’s like looking into a mirror. I mean – down to the exact same type of beer I like.”
“You know it’s weird for me, too, right?” he asked, scratching his neck the same way I always do.
“Actually, I’ve never been more certain that I know what someone else is feeling,” I laughed. “I didn’t feel lonely for the first nineteen years of my life, but after Mom and Dad died, the next…” I shook my head. “Who gets a twin brother at 32?”
He cleared his throat. “Well, me. You know we have the same birthday, right?”
My head spun faster. “Shit. Yeah. You know that we’re going to have to find out exactly who’s older, right?”
He downed the last of the Modelo. “There’s no way you’re as competitive as I am.”
“Did you also run track in college?”
“Football and track,” he answered, his smile widening. “Too bad you couldn’t handle two sports, because I sure as shit wouldn’t let you forget that I was stronger.”
Damn. Cocky and almost arrogant in a charming way. So this is what it’s like for people to meet me.
I clearly make good impressions.
The waiter dropped off a bill as he was passing by, so I reached for my pocket. “Ah, shit,” I mumbled. “I left my wallet in the car.”
“Dan, wait!” he called, but I was already out the door.
*
“You move just like he does. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
I turned around to see a pale bald man smiling like we were both sharing a joke. “What?” I asked, slipping the wallet in my pocket and closing the car door.
He wrinkled his brow. “Your movements. No one will be able to tell that you’ve replaced him, and he genuinely thinks you’re his long-lost twin.”
A very uncomfortable chill ran up my spine as I balled my fist. “What the hell are you talking about?” I whispered.
“HEY!”
We both turned to see Cody racing to where my car was parked at the far corner of the lot.
“Oh, shit,” the bald man breathed.
Cody skittered to a halt, panting. “Dan,” he started, grabbing my shoulder, “look – he probably thought you were me!” He breathed hard before staring at the pale man. “He probably revealed something that he shouldn’t have.”
The man swallowed.
Cody grabbed the man and put him in a headlock. I stared, frozen, as an extremely dramatic event unfolded as though the world didn’t care who was hurting. Cody was much stronger: the man pawed at his thick arm, his efforts dwindling rapidly as I remained dumbfounded. Then, with a flex, a pop, and a twitch, the man’s arm went limp. Cody dropped him to the ground. His leg twitched.
Then Cody looked at me and rested his hands on his hips. “Well, shit. Did he reveal that we weren’t secretly separated at birth?”
I tried to speak, but my throat was dry as a tortoise rectum in the Sahara. I nodded instead.
Cody winced. “And the part where I’m a genetic experiment that’s going to replace you, you fine specimen?”
My jaw fell. I shook my head.
“Ah. Shit. Well, this is awkward.” He rubbed his hands together. “Say, if you help me stuff his body into the trunk, would you believe my promise to let you go unharmed?”
Fear has a way of clarifying things, and this was my Zen moment. I knew that we had the exact same physical strength – but he had lied about spending four years making psychological preparations for track meets.
I’d put an insurmountable gap on him before he started running. I thought I was in the clear.
Then the first bullets hit the ground at my feet.
I slipped between two cars at the edge of the parking lot and dove into the forest on the other side. I didn’t stop sprinting at full speed as I dodged the branches, only slowing when the gunshots were too far away to be heard.
*
I almost went home.
But I decided to stand outside the window and look in first. My instincts were right: he’d beaten me there and was sitting on the couch with my girlfriend. Daisy had his arms wrapped around him just like she always did to me. My blood felt like it was going to boil over.
Then I saw him reach for a pistol before turning toward the window. I ducked away at the last second.
“What is it?” Daisy’s barely audible voice squeaked through the cracked window.
“Nothing,” ‘Cody’ answered in my voice. “Don’t worry. No one would be dumb enough to break in.”
For a moment, my lungs were paralyzed.
I knew that he was talking directly to me.
That was two hours ago. My cell service and all my credit cards have since been cancelled. I’m writing this from the public library, but I’m not going to stay in place much longer.
I’ve noticed three pale, bald men in here with me. I swear that they look like genetic clones. They’re hanging out by the exits, and they keep glancing at me when they think I’m not paying attention.
I don’t think they’re aware that my genetic makeup can easily beat theirs in a fight.
That’s about the only thing I have going for me. One way or another, I’m getting out of this library.
After that, I have no idea.
I’ll update if I’m alive.
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“I still can’t believe it.” My head spun. I pressed clammy hands against my cheeks and looked up at him.
He smiled. “Believe it.” Then he drained the last of his Modelo.
“It’s like looking into a mirror. I mean – down to the exact same type of beer I like.”
“You know it’s weird for me, too, right?” he asked, scratching his neck the same way I always do.
“Actually, I’ve never been more certain that I know what someone else is feeling,” I laughed. “I didn’t feel lonely for the first nineteen years of my life, but after Mom and Dad died, the next…” I shook my head. “Who gets a twin brother at 32?”
He cleared his throat. “Well, me. You know we have the same birthday, right?”
My head spun faster. “Shit. Yeah. You know that we’re going to have to find out exactly who’s older, right?”
He downed the last of the Modelo. “There’s no way you’re as competitive as I am.”
“Did you also run track in college?”
“Football and track,” he answered, his smile widening. “Too bad you couldn’t handle two sports, because I sure as shit wouldn’t let you forget that I was stronger.”
Damn. Cocky and almost arrogant in a charming way. So this is what it’s like for people to meet me.
I clearly make good impressions.
The waiter dropped off a bill as he was passing by, so I reached for my pocket. “Ah, shit,” I mumbled. “I left my wallet in the car.”
“Dan, wait!” he called, but I was already out the door.
*
“You move just like he does. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
I turned around to see a pale bald man smiling like we were both sharing a joke. “What?” I asked, slipping the wallet in my pocket and closing the car door.
He wrinkled his brow. “Your movements. No one will be able to tell that you’ve replaced him, and he genuinely thinks you’re his long-lost twin.”
A very uncomfortable chill ran up my spine as I balled my fist. “What the hell are you talking about?” I whispered.
“HEY!”
We both turned to see Cody racing to where my car was parked at the far corner of the lot.
“Oh, shit,” the bald man breathed.
Cody skittered to a halt, panting. “Dan,” he started, grabbing my shoulder, “look – he probably thought you were me!” He breathed hard before staring at the pale man. “He probably revealed something that he shouldn’t have.”
The man swallowed.
Cody grabbed the man and put him in a headlock. I stared, frozen, as an extremely dramatic event unfolded as though the world didn’t care who was hurting. Cody was much stronger: the man pawed at his thick arm, his efforts dwindling rapidly as I remained dumbfounded. Then, with a flex, a pop, and a twitch, the man’s arm went limp. Cody dropped him to the ground. His leg twitched.
Then Cody looked at me and rested his hands on his hips. “Well, shit. Did he reveal that we weren’t secretly separated at birth?”
I tried to speak, but my throat was dry as a tortoise rectum in the Sahara. I nodded instead.
Cody winced. “And the part where I’m a genetic experiment that’s going to replace you, you fine specimen?”
My jaw fell. I shook my head.
“Ah. Shit. Well, this is awkward.” He rubbed his hands together. “Say, if you help me stuff his body into the trunk, would you believe my promise to let you go unharmed?”
Fear has a way of clarifying things, and this was my Zen moment. I knew that we had the exact same physical strength – but he had lied about spending four years making psychological preparations for track meets.
I’d put an insurmountable gap on him before he started running. I thought I was in the clear.
Then the first bullets hit the ground at my feet.
I slipped between two cars at the edge of the parking lot and dove into the forest on the other side. I didn’t stop sprinting at full speed as I dodged the branches, only slowing when the gunshots were too far away to be heard.
*
I almost went home.
But I decided to stand outside the window and look in first. My instincts were right: he’d beaten me there and was sitting on the couch with my girlfriend. Daisy had his arms wrapped around him just like she always did to me. My blood felt like it was going to boil over.
Then I saw him reach for a pistol before turning toward the window. I ducked away at the last second.
“What is it?” Daisy’s barely audible voice squeaked through the cracked window.
“Nothing,” ‘Cody’ answered in my voice. “Don’t worry. No one would be dumb enough to break in.”
For a moment, my lungs were paralyzed.
I knew that he was talking directly to me.
That was two hours ago. My cell service and all my credit cards have since been cancelled. I’m writing this from the public library, but I’m not going to stay in place much longer.
I’ve noticed three pale, bald men in here with me. I swear that they look like genetic clones. They’re hanging out by the exits, and they keep glancing at me when they think I’m not paying attention.
I don’t think they’re aware that my genetic makeup can easily beat theirs in a fight.
That’s about the only thing I have going for me. One way or another, I’m getting out of this library.
After that, I have no idea.
I’ll update if I’m alive.

I never thought it was weird. It was the same as Dad going to work every day and Mom cooking dinner every night. Just, Matty always ate upstairs.
Mom made sure everyone at the table had a full serving before she got to work on Matty's plate. She would load it with supersized portions of whatever was for dinner plus leftovers from last night. By the time it was ready, the mountain of food would put Dad's appetite to shame.
The night after my 8th birthday, Mom's arms shook carrying Matty's dinner. She teetered across the kitchen with a serving plate. The one we use for appetizers when we have guests; Three hamburgers, two chicken breasts, egg salad, at least a half dozen corn dogs, and a pile of potatoes. Squeezed next to that were pork chops, meatballs, shrimp fried rice in a Tupperware, and a full mixing bowl of Mac 'N Cheese.
"Do you need help, honey?"
Mom shook her head, finding her balance on the stairs.
"Oh no, mama's got it. Matty's not feeling well today."
"Don't stuff him now."
I turned to Dad.
Frankly, I was in a bad mood. Matty hadn't wished me a happy birthday yet. In fact, he hadn't come out of his room all day yesterday. He was two years older than me, and our sibling rivalry ran deep.
"Why does Matty need that much food, what if I'm still hungry? Why doesn't he just come down and eat it here?"
"He's a growing boy you know. Puberty's hitting him. That's a time when every kid undergoes remarkable changes. You'll see."
He ignored my other question, so I asked again.
Dad put his fork down.
"Your brother is self conscious. I know, we've told him it's silly. But we're respecting his decision, giving him time. And you should too. He's your big brother but he doesn't have one... What he's going through can be scary."
I crossed my arms.
"Sounds like a big baby."
"Enough." His voice cut through me. He spoke through his teeth. "Apologize."
I mumbled under my breath.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry."
Dad nodded. Mom came down a minute later and we finished our dinner in silence.
In bed, I began to plot a nasty trick.
The next day after the bus dropped me off, Mom told me she was going for groceries and to stay in the house in case Matty needed anything. I went up to his room and knocked on the door.
"Matty?"
There was no response.
"Some of my friends from school are coming over today. Do you wanna play with us?"
Again, nothing. I made a face, and started down the steps. He wasn't making this easy.
Halfway down the stairs, there was a sound from behind his door.
"Matty?"
Something dragged a short distance before stopping. I held my breath, straining to hear more.
A few seconds passed before I hopped the rest of the way down; confused but eager for my friends to arrive.
Mom was in the kitchen preparing dinner when Hunter and Cody got dropped off. They popped out of an SUV Hunter's mom drove and waved, running towards the house.
We played for a little in the yard while I explained my plan.
Cody looked like he couldn't wait.
"That doesn't sound nice...", Hunter mumbled.
"Matty's never nice to me! Remember my birthday party? He didn't even go on the bouncy house!"
Cody piped up, "Yea. We're not gonna hurt him, Hunter."
A few more minutes was all it took to convince him. Then, dinner was ready.
Mom tiptoed around the table, dispensing slices of brisket and spoonfuls of pasta with gravy and Italian bread.
Cody and Hunter dug in immediately, in a few seconds vaporizing half their plate. I made sure to eat fast too but kept an eye on Mom. She always put a lot of care into Matty's plate.
After she was finished, up she went. When she returned to the kitchen, there was nothing on our plates.
"Wow, you boys are hungry."
"Not anymore," I said patting my stomach.
"Careful," Dad laughed. "If you eat like that you'll get sick."
"Hmph," I crossed my arms and scooted off my chair. "Come on guys, lets play in my room."
"Alright, just don't bother Matty while he's eating."
We hid our smiles.
We made sure our footsteps could be heard from downstairs walking into my room and loudly closed the door. Then, tiptoeing, we crept. Out of my room, down the hallway, until we were in front of Matty's door.
"I'm still hungry," Cody giggled through his hands.
"SHHH."
I knocked quietly.
"Hello? Matty?"
Silence.
"Can I come in?"
Hunter began pointing insistently, back towards my room.
I waved him off.
"Matty, it's just me. My friends left."
Ten seconds trudged by. Cody looked disappointed. Something hot began to well up in my chest. It wasn't anger; maybe jealousy?
I put my hand on the doorknob.
I got As in all my classes and Mom and Dad would pat me on the head before mentioning how Matty used to get A+s. Every day at school the teachers always asked, "How's Matty doing?"
I was the one who loved our dog, Archie. The one we had to give away because he never stopped barking at Matty's door. He doesn't play sports, he doesn't have any friends, he doesn't even go to school. He never comes out of his room! He was a good for nothing older brother.
No, it was hate. I hated Matty.
I pushed the door open.
Immediately, a vile smell hit our nose causing Hunter to gag. The curtains were drawn tight around the windows casting a gloom over the mess inside. Broken toys, shredded notebooks, overturned chairs, and even some broken glass. A cooking program for children played on a small T.V., its volume just loud enough to hear over a rickety desk fan.
"Who's ready to welcome our guests for this episode?"
The fan could only do so much, though. Remains of food stained everything in the room. You couldn't step anywhere to avoid the mold covering the floor. Bits of meat clung to the screen of the television, red sauce smeared the wall, and there was a large stain on the sheets of the bed.
Hunter tapped my shoulder.
"This is gross. I want to go back."
"Your brother is nasty," Cody proclaimed. He stepped meticulously into the room leaving Hunter and I by the door, using the toys like you would stones to cross a river. He jumped onto the bed and recoiled.
"Ewwww, its wet."
"We should leave," Hunter begged.
"And what's your name sweetie?" The T.V. whispered.
I searched the room with my eyes. It was my first time inside in years. I remember when me and Matty used to be inseparable. I may have hated him, but it'd been so long since I'd seen him.
"I'm Emily!"
Cody bounced on a dry part of the bed, laughing.
"So, where's the good food."
"Hold on," I said. "Matty?"
"Why, Emily. You look good enough to eat!"
It was just unfortunate when Matty's accident happened. When I thought about it, I don't think I've actually seen him since that field trip. Mom and Dad would show me 'recent' pictures and videos of him but I can't tell if he looks older or not. It was partly my fault. I was distracted with all the gifts Mom and Dad got me afterward. They treated me with some of the money they got from the stem cell lab in court. Mattie's accident was all their fault, Mom and Dad said.
Something shifted from the far side of the room. Cody's face lost its color.
"Cody, lets go."
When his feet hit the ground a pale hand darted from beneath the bed. Cody tumbled to the floor, shrieking.
"HELP!" Cody squealed. There was a clattering from the the kitchen and footsteps hurrying up the stairs.
Hunter ran out of the room wailing. I was glued in place by a morbid fixation. The hand that was clamped tightly around Cody's ankle. Was that Matty's? That thing, impossibly tall, clambering out from underneath the bed. That couldn't be my ten-year-old brother, right?
I felt my Dad's arms scoop me up and rush me into the hall. Before he shut the door I could see Mom with her arms raised in front of a monster. It was holding Cody upside down. Its swollen belly dragged along the floor, as if it'd swallowed a boulder.
I blacked out.
The reason I'm writing this is because I didn't remember Matty until a few days ago. I'm in my 30s. For the past month my wife has encouraged me to go to a specialist due to night terrors that began last year. They had started infrequent, but recently its been every other night that my cries disturb our sleep.
I met with a woman who put me under some sort of hypnosis to help remember trauma. I woke up with those terrible memories. She told me the event could have been rejected from my memory naturally due to the severity of it. Or, another specialist had induced amnesia on me.
I had even forgot about Hunter and Cody. I looked for them both on social media and was able to get in contact with Hunter. He wasn't very receptive at first but he agreed to meet after hearing my situation.
We sat at a bar. He gulped down his liquor before speaking.
"My memory is a bit funky too. I was in a mental hospital for a couple months. We moved and I learned how to push it away. The memory. In college I found out it was labeled a kidnapping."
"What do you mean?"
"Cody never made it out of the house. That, I remember. Your parents did a damn good job. I don't know what hoops they jumped through or whose pockets they filled."
He paid for his tab.
"Don't contact me again."
On the way back to my car I tried calling my mom. She hasn't answered her phone all day. My dad passed away last year but my mom still lives at my childhood home. I need to talk with her. In person. And maybe I'll burn that house down on my way out.

Quick review of the biggest projected camp battles (IMO), including the probability of UFA signings:
CB3-CB6
2023 LVR had a final roster of five CBs. Based on the kickoff changes and draft class, I believe they roll out with a six CBs. Here is list of signed and unsigned CB players:
Jack Jones, Nate Hobbs, Brandon Facyson, Jakorian Bennett, Cornell Armstrong (signed)
Decamerion Richardson (R) MJ Devonshire (R), Ja’Quan Sheppard (R), Rayshad Williams (R), Demarcus Governor (R) (unsigned)
Probability of a vet UFA signing: Most likely
I think LVR has a glaring need of a vet CB here and LVR knows this! Adoree Jackons, Xaiver Howard, Steven Gilmore, and Steven Nelson are vets signings that would easily elevate this group. Overall, this can be the most volatile camp battle as it looks like only two players (Jones/Hobbs) are locks for this season.
​
Right side of the O-Line (RT and RG)
Where LVR didn't address OL issues in UFA, they addressed this in the draft. However, is LVR really going to consider putting the entire right side of the OL in these rookie's hands or a blend of vet and rookie? Here is list of signed and unsigned OL players:
Cody Whitehair (G/C), Thayer Munford Jr. (RT), Jordan Meredith (G/C), Dalton Wagner (T) (signed)
Jackson Powers-Johnson (RG (R)), DJ Glaze (T/G (R), Jalen McKenzie (T), Will Putnam (C/G (R)), Ben Brown (G), Clark Barrington (C/G (R)), Jake Johanning (C/G(R)) (unsigned)
Probability of a vet UFA signing: Less likely, barring injury
You don't draft JPJ in the 2nd rd to put him on the bench and (imo) he's going to win that starting spot in TC. However, if something goes awry, then WhitehaiMeredith can slide in. So, in theory, lets say JPJ is confirmed starting RG, does that automatically put Mumford at RT? What if Mumford has a bad camp? Start Glaze with two rookies on the right side? I feel this will be the most significant camp battle out of all of them, just by the mere fact that it can affect the whole OL and offensive philosophy going forward. Overall, Mumford is no longer a rookie, he's a vet now and should take that spot, but this is what TC is for: best man for the job!
​
RB depth behind Zeus (RB2-RB4)
LVR did not retain Jacobs and will be handing the "rock" to Zeus. The question is: who will be behind Zeus in our new run-heavy offense? Here is list of signed and unsigned RB players:
Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah, Brittan Brown, Sincere McCormick, Tyreik McAllister (signed)
Dylan Laube (R) (unsigned)
Probability for vet UFA signing: Neutral, performance based in TC
IMO, I think this is the weakest depth area out of the skilled players. Mattison has had is set of problems and issues with power runs. LVR may be doing more zone run schemes, so this could help Mattison. Ameer is always a nice 3rd down option/ST and has been for several seasons, yet can he maintain this? LVR did draft a guy with similar profile (Laube), so they could choose this route? I Overall, I wouldn't be shocked if LVR adds a player late in the pre-season or wait on a camp cut. There's a bit of uneasiness going forward with this position (IMO).
​
Smaller camp battles:
WR3:
After Bowers was drafted, I feel that we will see more 12-personell and WR3 will be dictated on the opponent and offensive gameplan. I like this idea of a flexible WR3 instead a set one.
Safety Depth:
Trey Taylor's RAS and numbers in college look good! Pao and Chris Smith better be ready! He's a sleeper to get more snaps sooner than later. I project him making the roster over Chris Smith.
​
All this is opinionated and what I think will be big battles for LVR. Overall, I do see a few more depth signings, but nothing significant (other than CB). If you see another camp battle, then post it! Lets discuss!

Stinger is a my childhood Hero, I remember being a Sting Fan for Life, Steve Borden aka Sting and Blade Runner, I've seen him fight Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan in TNA, Rick Flair in TNA, Bully Ray, Bobby Roode, both Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy), Scott Steiner, Booker T, Jeff Jarrett, Abyss and Even More
His short WWE Run where he won against Triple H Lackeys but lost to Triple H and Seth Rollins, we all thought that injury Seth Rollins gave to Sting made him retire and I was busy with School & College, attending Private Tuitions for Mathematics and spending half a day in College, barely getting time, my dog which was a German Shephard lived his life and left us, we got a Female Golden Labrador and I did abuse her 6 or 7 times, elbowing and head butting an innocent dog and giving her a big bread later and she licked my hands and pushed me down.
All In happened & All Elite Wrestling started as Tony Khan met Kenny Omega & The Elite (Cody Rhodes, Young Bucks & Hangman Adam Page) and began hiring people, Tony Khan met Sting and gave him the real retirement Sting wanted as Sting entered AEW and feuded with Team Taz, The Office, House of Black, Mogul Embassy, The Patriarchy & Young Bucks, who Sting chose to be his last opponents.
Sting may come back and may be seen in New Japan Professional Wrestling and my favourite AEW Moment of Sting were - 1. AEW Debut / TNT Return 2. Retirement / Final Victory 3. Sting meets Tetsuya Naito for Forbidden Door 4. Great Muta helps Sting and Darby Allin 5. Sting and Allin become Tag Team Champion 6. Teaming with Adam Copeland 7. Sting and Darby Allin with Jeff Hardy save Matt Hardy 8. Sting saving Darby Allin from Andrade El Idolo or Andrade Ilmas 9. Sting and Darby Allin team with Jericho and Guevara defeat Ricky Starks & Bill with Hobbs and Takeshita 10. Final Victory over The Young Bucks and having his sons and Rick Flair in his corner while winning and having all of AEW celebrating his win

https://www.espn.com/nba/insidestory/_/id/38788364/2024-nba-draft-rankings-espn-top-25-prospects

1. Zaccharie Risacher SF JL Bourg
   
2. Alex Sarr PF/C Perth
   
3. Donovan Clingan C Connecticut
   

Clingan has started his pre-draft process in Florida but will surely be selective with what teams he visits as his outstanding play this season has rocketed him into the top five on NBA teams' draft boards.

1. Rob Dillingham PG Kentucky
   
2. Nikola Topic PG Red Star
   

Topic made a pair of 3s and showed his vision with intelligent pick-and-roll reads, but his rhythm looked off -- as is expected following his prolonged absence. He got his shot blocked on a few occasions and struggled to move laterally out of a stance, as well. His coming games will be closely scrutinized, but he'll likely have plenty of games coming this month that give him a chance to regain some of the momentum he lost because of his injury.

1. Matas Buzelis SF G League Ignite
   
2. Reed Sheppard PG/SG Kentucky
   

Sheppard entered the draft after receiving feedback indicating he has a very strong case to be a top-five pick, possibly even a top-three pick -- an opportunity that is hard to pass on.

1. Dalton Knecht SG/SF Tennessee
   
2. Stephon Castle PG/SG Connecticut
   
3. Cody Williams SG/SF Colorado
   

Front offices will be particularly interested to assess his comfort level shooting both off the catch and dribble in drill situations as they try to better project his future offensive role and impact. Williams' size, playmaking ability and defensive potential have always signaled intriguing long-term upside, but there's a variance of opinion among scouts on his floor and ceiling as a prospect.

1. Isaiah Collier PG USC

Collier is viewed as a polarizing prospect, with a wide draft range starting around the mid-lottery and extending throughout the first round.

1. Ja'Kobe Walter SG/SF Baylor

Walter's shot-making ability, length and intangibles have given him a secure pathway into the later lottery, as teams feel pretty comfortable with what he brings to the table.

1. Ron Holland SF G League Ignite
   
2. Zach Edey C Purdue
   
3. Tidjane Salaun PF Cholet
   
4. Kyle Filipowski PF/C Duke
   
5. Devin Carter PG/SG Providence
   
6. Tristan Da Silva SF/PF Colorado
   
7. Jared McCain PG/SG Duke
   

He improved his shot creation, rebounding and defense as the season moved on and now has an easy niche he can fill in the NBA with his scoring instincts, competitiveness and smarts.

1. Yves Missi C Baylor

While still a ways from being able to positively impact an NBA floor on a nightly basis, Missi's physical ability and size make him an interesting development selection in a draft that's otherwise a bit light on rim-running centers in his mold. His range still seems wide going into May as the pre-draft process nears.

1. Tyler Smith SF/PF G League Ignite
   
2. Kevin McCullar Jr. SG/SF Kansas
   
3. Bobi Klintman SF/PF Cairns
   

It's hard to find an NBA team that isn't looking for 6-10 players in his mold, despite theoretical qualities to his game that he'll still need to answer for during the pre-draft process, namely his consistency on both ends of the floor.

1. Kyshawn George SG/SF Miami

There are real questions about his ability to get into the paint and handle physicality, but his mix of skills is inherently valuable if he puts it together. He could be a real riser in the spring, but he could also be better off developing in college another year.

1. Carlton Carrington PG Pitt

Carrington will need time to be ready to play meaningful NBA minutes, but his youth, versatility and feel for the game give him a high ceiling in a draft lacking in that department.
Notables:

• Their Top 25 remains the same as the previous one outside of 9-14 range.
  
• Dillingham, Collier, Missi and Kyshawn seems to have a wide draft range.
  
• Reed opted to remain in the draft because of high possibility to be a top 3-5 pick.
  

“The narrative changed a lot about my contributions to AEW," Cody told Peter Rosenberg on Cheap Heat when asked if he still finds himself pulling for AEW to do well.
"That was very disappointing. There were some people, I'm not going to say their names, they know who they were, who kind of tried to put some propaganda out when I left. There's a quote in the Young Bucks book about how I was last to the signing. Me, Matt, and Nick are as close as ever. So glad I had them in my career and my life. If we are being honest, AEW does not happen without me. It doesn't. With that in mind, I could never root against them. It's like having a kid and they go off to college and they get a DUI or they get in trouble. I'll always have that in my heart for them.
"It was certainly a wound that is more gaping and painful than people realize because now they look at the situation, 'oh man, you're on top of the world, you have everything.' They don't understand that I really gave everything I could. I did. I could never see a day where I was rooting against them. From a completely outside-of-me perspective, my relationship to AEW, my friends, the kids I signed, and the people from my school. From outside of that, it's very important that they hang in there because if that were to go away, I don't think anybody in the locker room has any clue of the financial repercussions that would have on the wrestling business. The trickle-down effect that would have on independent wrestling. We've created a really comfortable environment in sports entertainment for men and women to feed their families and to do well and be treated on a level that their global penetration ask for. I would hate to see that bubble burst. That's a random fear I have when they're down or if they're up or whatever it may be. I would never root against them, in any case. That's not always easy because random things said about you at press conferences, and that's a big no no, you should never say me or my wife's name, Tony should have told you that. I'll never root against them, I really won't."

Should college athletes be paid?
By Diana Cardenas
My intended audience: I am writing this for current high school senior athletes who are thinking about playing for their future college / university.
My purpose for writing: To inform my readers on a variety of points of view regarding the compensation of student athletes.
My stance toward my topic: I am neutral towards this topic.
​
I decided to conduct research about the compensation of student-athletes by their college and by the National Collegiate Athletic Association since athletes bring a significant portion of the revenue earned by these institutions. Currently, there are various points of view regarding this issue; some people believe that providing college athletes with a salary might be beneficial for both their institutions and athletes themselves, while others believe that they should not get any type of compensation. As a former high school athlete who once wanted to play in college, I gained interest in this issue after seeing classmates who were student-athletes getting more rewarded than those who were artists, musicians, and academically excelling students. I could not understand why being able to throw a football or run a 400-meter track would bring athletes more benefits than someone talented in a less popular field. This sparked my curiosity to learn what would be the best and most ethical option to give athletes a fair compensation. It is difficult for people to agree whether student athletes should be compensated or not.
The debate regarding the compensation of student-athletes has generated a wide variety of opinions throughout time. Although many people agree with reforms established by the NCAA opposing student-athlete compensation, others strongly believe that these reforms should be modified, as athletes put their maximum effort, time, and dedication into their sports without getting anything in return. For example, Colin Houston, an opinion columnist from Trinitonian, a student-lead newspaper, explained her view about this controversial topic in her article “The NCAA Should Pay Its Athletes.” She believes that student-athletes should get more benefits due to the long periods of time and effort students put into their sport. As she stated in her article: "While a scholarship can be a huge benefit to being a student-athlete, it can be hard to take advantage of the education that this opportunity elicits when your sport, as it often is for student-athletes, is essentially a full-time job." Many people defend the point that student-athletes often face the challenge of balancing a rigorous class schedule with games and daily practices. On the other hand, some people hold the belief that paying student-athletes would ruin college athletics and decrease the funding of less popular sports exponentially. For instance, Alexandra Laurence, a journalism student from Baylor University, explained that "If a university starts paying student-athletes, it could negatively affect other sports programs. There would not be enough funds to pay every single student-athlete equally and to be able to keep every single sport." If the NCAA required athletic programs to provide a salary to student-athletes, institutions would have to pay those who participate in revenue sports, thus cutting back sports that audiences do not pay as much attention to. Likewise, Cody McDavis (Figure 1), a former Division 1 basketball student athlete, argues that paying college athletes might be financially detrimental for small colleges. He explains that most small institutions cannot afford providing a salary to football and basketball players, and that to do so these institutions would need to cut funding for most sports since they do not provide as much revenue as the two sports mentioned before. As college athletics might change over time, people’s perceptions about this issue might also change drastically. 365 words.
Figure 1
📷
Cody McDavis playing for the University of Northern Colorado. 2012 – 2014
(Source: Greely Tribune, November 30, 2014)
Some people believe that student-athletes should be able to get compensation based on their name, image, and likeness. Even though the NCAA opposes direct payment to its athletes, its representatives have approved NIL policies that allow student-athletes to profit from merchandise, TV broadcasts, advertisements, or anything that conveys messages using their names. Despite the variety of beliefs on this controversial topic, most people believe that student- athletes deserve to get a portion of their institutions’ income due to the popularity they bring to their athletic programs. Daniel Libit, a sports investigative reporter, and Lev Akabas, a data reporter, cite in their article the findings of a survey conducted by Sportico, a digital sports platform, and The Harris Poll, one of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., which indicates that “While largely advocating for the deregulation of the NCAA’s college athlete earning restrictions, 80% of Americans agree that college sports need to have uniform NIL standards.” The results of the survey showcase the long for fairness and equity that many people would like athletic programs to provide to their athletes. In addition, the survey illustrates that people’s opinions on this issue keep changing over time due to changes in NCAA reforms. As the authors of the article explain: “More Americans today (74%) support athletes’ right of publicity than did in November 2020 (62%), when Sportico and The Harris Poll last surveyed the question, about eight months before the NCAA’s interim NIL policy took effect. Strikingly, however, more respondents this time around said they are in favor of pay-to-play than supported NIL in the previous one.” The approval of NIL reforms has had an impact in people’s perception on this topic. However, some people believe that providing athletes with performance-based salaries would be a better solution. Even though the results above show that many people agree with the compensation of student-athletes, many others are still against the recent changes regarding athletes’ earnings. Different opinions on this controversial topic might have a meaningful impact on the future of compensation of student-athletes. 338 words.
Many people debate on whether student athletes should get salaries despite being already compensated with scholarships and other benefits. Most Division 1 athletes tend to obtain thousands of dollars in scholarships and free housing right after committing to a college / university they are going to play for while getting their degree. John Vukmirovich, a writer and book reviewer, believes that student-athletes should not be compensated due to already being rewarded for their talent. In his article: “No, colleges should not pay student-athletes,” he states: “As it stands, here is what the average student-athlete commonly earns. He or she is awarded a scholarship that invariably includes free tuition and housing. In addition, they have access to special academic advisors and tutoring services. And if they stick it out, they'll be able to 'walk in May,' and leave with a degree. That's quite a haul, but apparently, that's not enough for some folks.” He emphasizes the fact that the benefits student-athletes receive throughout their career fully cover services that other students would have to pay high amounts of money for. In addition, Vukmirovich thinks that providing student-athletes with a salary would make them employees instead of students. As he illustrates: "If they are to be paid employees, and not students, there is also no reason for them to be provided with room and board. They can find housing and pay their way like any other worker in any other job." Lastly, the debate over whether student-athletes should be paid or not brings broader discussions about amateurism, equity, and the constant changing dynamics of college sports. 264 words.
Many college athletes struggle with basic expenses despite their contributions to the revenue of their colleges / universities. Even though student athletes bring a significant part of their institutions’ revenue and the attention of future students interested in their college’s athletic program, student athletes do not get any type of compensation. Colin Houston, author mentioned previously, highlighted in her article the persistent lack of resources that athletes face despite their contribution to million-dollar athletic programs by citing a recent survey. As she showcases, “The lack of compensation for student-athletes is even more infuriating in light of the fact that, according to a survey conducted by the Hope Center at Temple University in 2019, nearly a quarter of NCAA athletes reported experiencing food insecurity and roughly 15% reported being homeless.” This evidence clearly explains the current need of student-athletes for a fair salary to cover basic expenses that they are not able to afford due to NCAA’s opposition. Moreover, Tim Nevius, a former NCAA investigator, does not agree with those that oppose to the payment of student athletes. He believes that the fact that student-athletes might lose scholarships due to an injury is not fair. Nevius states that "there is nothing free about risking health and safety while working 40 to 50 hours per week as you fight to keep your scholarship...this is unacceptable for a 15-billion-dollar industry run by institutions whose mission is to educate young people." This shows the current need of student-athletes for the NCAA to revise reforms that actively cause financial difficulties. Nevius also illustrates that the success brought by student-athletes to college sports programs is a big factor that prospective college students consider when choosing which institution they want to attend. He demonstrates his point as he explains that after a win in a football game with the rival team, the number of applicants of Boston College increased exponentially. As he explains, "After the dramatic win undergraduate application rates at Boston College shot up by 30 percent revealing to universities the enormous marketing value of building high-profile sports programs." Nevius tries to explain that paying student athletes deserve to earn part of their institutions’ revenue since their success has a great impact in the academic decisions of future college students. 374 words.
Works Cited
Akabas, Lev and Libit, Daniel. “67% of Americans Favor Paying College Athletes: Sportico / Harris Poll.” Sportico.com, 17 Aug. 2023, www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2023/americans-favor-college-athletes-pay-harris-poll-1234734402/.
CNN. “Ex-College Basketball Player: NCAA Shouldn’t Pay Players.” YouTube, 6 Apr. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKU-wC2SoIc.
Houston, Colin. “The NCAA Should Pay Its Athletes.” Trinitonian. 27 Apr. 2023, trinitonian.com/2023/04/27/the-ncaa-should-pay-its-athletes/.
Laurence, Alexandra. “Student-Athletes Shouldn’t Be Paid by Their Universities,” Baylor Lariat, 31 Aug. 2021, baylorlariat.com/2021/08/31/student-athletes-shouldnt-be-paid-by-their- universities/.
Nevius, Tim. “The Exploitation of College Athletes.” YouTube, 28 Jan. 2021,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm78fSqbdYA&t=3s

https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/sports/college/tiger-extra/2024/04/27/undrafted-free-agent-tracker-where-will-cody-schrader-missouri-football-standouts-go/73486600007/

Had a date with a crush on Monday, first time directly sharing dessert with a girl off the same plate Grandma in hospital that same night thanks to a stroke Edited a solid six minutes out of my movie, that changes the script but somehow makes it better Been skipping virtually almost all normal mealtimes in order to save money, using credit to pay for food when I do get it Saw an action figure in person that I’ve wanted for a minute, didn’t buy it for sake of saving money Got graduation gift card from my aunt, more reminders that my time is up in two weeks Cody Rhodes is getting drafted to SmackDown Grandma dies this morning, right before I go work on an episode of the college news show I’ve worked on for two years After said news show, cried in front of people who aren’t my parents or immediate family, which is a first. Heard words of encouragement I never thought I’d hear from people and peers my age
How’s everyone’s weeks going? I have a formal tomorrow night I’m looking forward to, and helping a friend’s film set tomorrow during the day.

< < Next Chapter>>
Craig
“Craig? Where are you, Craig?”
He heard his mom calling him from the front yard. He knew she’d be sticking her head out the front door any moment now. And if she saw him out here, well that would be all she wrote.
Literally, sometimes.
The last thing he wanted was for his mom to catch him out front when he was supposed to be doing whatever it was she just told him to do. He couldn’t remember. Sometimes it felt like everything went in one ear and out the other.
He wasn’t sure if that was because he’d gotten really good at ignoring her, or if there was something else going on there.
It was the same feeling he got whenever he was trying to do an assignment for school. Reading the same paragraph over and over, and only getting more and more frustrated knowing he should be able to absorb this shit, but he couldn’t.
He wished he was tossing a football around right now. He’d just gotten home from practice a little while ago. It would be nice to have some down time when he got home, but of course his mom would never have that. Not when there were chores to do.
It didn’t help that Coach had been all sorts of intense with him at practice today. He was excited at the opportunity, terrified at the pressure being put on him, and guilty because he knew the only reason he got this opportunity was because somebody had torn Brad and Carrie to shreds.
At least that was the story he heard. He wasn’t quite sure he believed that. Sure there were all the stories of the Beast that had been going around for as long as he could remember, but it seemed like every time somebody died it got attributed to the Beast.
Little old lady had a heart attack late last night? The Beast clearly walked past her window and gave her that heart attack. Someone had their lungs ripped out while they were waiting outside the Chinese restaurant to get some beef chow mein? Totally the Beast.
Okay. So that last one sounded like the kind of thing that would be the Beast. Not that he thought that one had actually happened. Still. The point was everybody blamed everything on that monster, and he was pretty sure it was just an urban legend.
There was a fancy word he’d learned from Josh.
Speaking of. Already he was wishing he hadn’t invited Josh over, for all that it would be a reprieve from his mom. Only it was tradition. It wasn’t like he was going to abandon his friend. Not when they only had a month and some change before school started.
Still. Better to do it on a Saturday. He didn’t have as much to do on a Saturday. He didn’t have the twitches in his muscles as he remembered everything from practice, for all that he’d have to go straight to practice the next day.
Yet another reason why it was better for Josh to come over on a Saturday night. He didn’t have practice the next day. The Lord’s day was the one day of the week Coach thought was sacrosanct.
Only Josh was weird about coming over on Saturdays. Probably because he had to go to church with them the next day. Which wasn’t something Craig could blame him for.
He wished he could get out of going to church. He almost wished Coach would have practices on Sundays. That would be the one thing that would get him a pass from church. Maybe.
Jesus was number one in his mom’s book, sure, but it was a question of whether it was Jesus or football as far as his dad was concerned.
“Craig? Where are you, young man!”
He looked around. There was just the one street that ran down to the end of their cul-de-sac. There was the wider neighborhood off in the distance in the other direction, but he wouldn’t be able to get down there in time to avoid whatever it was his mom wanted.
Was it taking out the trash? Was he supposed to take something out of the laundry? He couldn’t remember, and he knew he’d catch hell for not remembering what she wanted him to do as much as he’d catch hell for not doing it in the first place.
So instead he ducked around the side of the house. He glanced in his bedroom window for a moment, peering through the thin crack.
His dad liked to keep the blinds closed during the day. He was always going on about how he wasn’t paying to air condition the sunlight streaming in through the windows, but Craig always tried to leave at least a small sliver open.
The better to look in through that window and make sure his parents weren’t in his room looking through his stuff. He knew a spot inspection could happen any time. Which was why he’d learned to hide his good stuff.
And why he always left his blinds cracked open just a little so he could look at what they were doing without them knowing he could see what they were doing.
There was nobody in there right now. He froze as he thought he heard the front door open. Almost as though she could sense he was outside trying to avoid her. There were times when he thought his mother had a tracking device on him or something. Like the kind of thing you saw in the movies.
Only those things were always really big, and he didn’t think she had some futuristic thing that could be used to track him.
He froze, his fight or flight response going into staying as still as possible. It irritated him that he reacted like this whenever he was worried about his mom catching him, but he also knew the slightest hint of a noise would be enough to have her turn around the side of the house so she could lay into him.
He really didn’t want to have another incident where he could see the curtains and blinds moving ever so slightly on all the other houses on their cul-de-sac. That let him know everybody else was watching. Probably enjoying the show.
Craig shivered. The last thing he wanted was to give the neighbors a show. So he held still, worried she might decide to come around the side of the house anyway.
Then again, the woman could be surprisingly lazy. As lazy as she was overwhelmingly sweet whenever he had someone over. Which was another reason he was always sure to invite Josh over on the weekends, for all that another part of him didn’t want to bother with it.
She transformed into the kind of mom anybody would be lucky to have when there was company over. Not so much any other time.
“Craig! Where have you gotten to?”
The voice was syrupy sweet now. Oh yes. It was always syrupy sweet when she thought somebody might be listening in. Except for the times when she let the anger get the best of her, and then there were those shifting blinds. Those curtains moving.
Everybody watching. Everybody knowing. Everybody tsking and talking about how horrible it was that Craig had pushed his dear sweet mother over the edge, and why couldn’t he try to be a better son? Why did he have to always make things so difficult for his poor long-suffering mother?
He shook his head. The front door slammed. He waited for the space of another couple of breaths, wondering if it was a trap. If she was going to come around the side of the house anyway.
That didn’t happen. He thought he heard somebody moving through the house. She’d be over in the garage now, if she kept to her usual search pattern. He had no intention of letting her know he wasn’t in the house.
He ducked low as he went along the fence. There was a time when it was easier to duck low and avoid being seen. Now he was so big that he felt ridiculous trying to hide, but some concealment was better than none.
He glanced over to Mrs. Miller’s house, but he didn’t see her staring out the sliding glass door on the back of her house. She did that sometimes when she heard his mom looking for him, but she’d never ratted him out.
She’d also never done anything about it. Never said anything to his mom. Never said anything to anyone who could help. So he was ambivalent about Mrs. Miller.
She didn’t matter anyway. She wouldn’t rat him out even if she was looking. Which she wasn’t. He could make his escape. Maybe.
If he just stayed out of the house long enough for Josh to get there everything would be okay. His mom would be that syrupy sweet woman inside the house and outside, and if he was lucky she’d forget whatever it was she was upset about right now.
She’d tell him he forgot to take the laundry out of the washer and put it into the dryer with a smile and a glance to Josh and a tightness around her eyes, and everything would be fine. Maybe.
There’d been times when she remembered to yell at him after Josh went home, after all.
“Just a few more years,” he muttered to himself. “A few more years and you’re out of here.”
Realistically getting out of here looked like joining the army or something like that. Be all that he could be. Sure there was always a part of him that fantasized about getting a college scholarship. He’d heard of schools where they put a rubber stamp on your degree as long as you were good at football.
He figured he needed one of those schools. After all, it’s not like he was going to get a college degree with his academic skills. Josh was the one who was always good at that book learning shit.
He reached the back of the fence line and paused to look back at the house. A part of him was terrified of looking back. As though that would somehow summon his mother.
He imagined seeing her face staring out the back window at him. Or maybe through the kitchen window. It would be every bit as terrifying as catching a glimpse of the Beast who he never really believed existed, for all that there were all those rumors.
That hadn’t stopped his dad from yelling at him about being a pussy when he was little and came into their room afraid. Yelling about how he needed to toughen up and stop jumping at shadows. Be a real man. Like him.
Craig shivered as he opened the gate behind the house, oh so slowly to keep it from creaking, and moved into the cornfield beyond. He slipped in between the stalks that only came up to about his waist and breathed a sigh of relief.
She wouldn’t come after him out here. There’d been a time when he’d been terrified of this place. When he’d been small enough that a run in with a coyote might’ve been dangerous. Or, more realistically, a run in with one of the coydogs that bred with the coyotes and didn’t have a fear of humans.
He wasn’t afraid of any of that shit now. Let a pack of the little yipping fuckers come at him. He’d smash them.
He felt like smashing something. There was an anger building inside him. An anger that was always there when he had to deal with his parents.
Of course dealing with his mom was better than dealing with his dad.
He shivered again. He could hear the old asshole now. Though he’d been a whole hell of a lot more tolerable since Craig started doing football. Especially after he got the quarterback position.
The old man had been bragging about it all over town. Which got some odd looks since everyone knew the only reason Craig was getting that chance as a junior was because Brad had been ripped to pieces.
“Nobody in town can stand that asshole,” he muttered.
He looked up to the sky above. He could still see over the cornstalks. There was a time when they would’ve been coming up almost to his head at this time of year, but a few big growth spurts had taken care of that.
To be honest those growth spurts had probably done more for keeping his dad’s hands off him than playing football, for that matter.
He felt at home here now. The field had gone from being a place where he was afraid to a place where he knew he’d be safe because neither one of his parents would bother to come after him out here.
Sure they’d be waiting with disapproval when he eventually decided to come home, but whatever.
He started walking. He figured Josh would want to come out here later tonight. He smiled as he thought of the spears they’d made. That had been fun. An excuse to get out of the house and go hang out with Josh’s crazy Uncle Cody for a little while. And the man really was crazy.
There were times when he looked at that spear resting on the special stand they’d created for them and thought about how he could grab that when his dad was yelling at him and…
He pushed those thoughts down. He might be angry, but that was a terrifying thought. He didn’t know where it came from, and he smashed down on it as aggressively as he wanted to smash down on a coydog’s head right about now.
He kept walking. He glanced at his watch. He still had a little while until Josh was supposed to be over.
He lost track of time as he walked. He usually did when he was lost in his thoughts and feeling sorry for himself.
Eventually he found himself at the small woods on the other side of the cornfield. The countryside was dotted with small little woods that farmers kept around because they marked a property boundary, or they covered a train track that ran through somebody’s property, or there was a river or creek that couldn’t be diverted.
There were a lot of reasons why the trees might’ve survived being on prime farmland. There were times when he felt like somebody could move across the entire county by sticking to those wooded areas, though he wasn’t sure how realistic that was.
He looked up at those trees now. They were more than familiar to him. He’d been in here plenty of times playing with Josh. Sure that kind of shit seemed a little silly now, but whatever. It was fun.
Even if Josh was always going on about elves and other bullshit like that. The kind of stuff he never would’ve been interested in himself, but Josh was fascinated by that shit, and always made it seem fun. He stopped and looked at the woods. Then he looked up to the skies again. It was starting to get dark, but it was still mid-July. That meant it wouldn’t be getting too dark too early.
Then he turned and looked off in the distance, and frowned again. Because the moon was hanging there. It seemed to call to him as he stared up at it. His mouth fell open and he took a step towards it, then thought about how ridiculous that was.
It’s not like he could walk to the moon. No, he’d have to get on a rocket or something, and they’d stopped sending rockets to the moon a few years before he was born.
He thought he heard something snap, and he turned to look at the trees. It was thick enough in the little woods that it was hard to see too far. There were some really big trees in there. Like the kind of stuff that made him think this maybe went back to the days when Indians had roamed the land.
He’d found arrowheads in there a couple of times. Josh always got really excited about that. Hell, he always got really excited about it. Even if his dad told him it was stupid for him to get excited about a bunch of “Injun bullshit.”
Which felt vaguely wrong to him, though he couldn’t put his finger on why. Probably because if his old man was saying it then he was being an asshole about something.
His head moved on a swivel, searching for the source of that snap. He wasn’t afraid so much as he was curious. He was a big guy, after all. He figured he could handle anything that came at him.
“Hello?” he called out.
There was no response.
He did feel a tingle on the back of his neck. He thought about how Brad and Carrie bought the big one.
The stories said they’d been torn to pieces. That the inside of Brad’s ancient boat of a car had been coated with blood.
He wasn’t sure how much he believed that. Most of it was small town gossip, and he knew talk was cheap. That people loved to play the telephone game where they tried to make things sound way more horrible than they were in reality.
Still…
“Is anyone out there?” he called out.
Which was ridiculous. It had to be an animal of some sort. Maybe a bobcat. Maybe a coyote. It’s not like there was anything out there that could actually hurt him.
Even all that shit about the Beast was probably a cover-up. That’s what Coach said, at least. The local cops couldn’t handle some serial killer or something who’d been stalking the county for decades, and so they made up a bunch of bullshit about a fucking monster that ripped people’s lungs out for fun to cover up their incompetence.
Yeah. That sounded a whole hell of a lot more likely than some monster roaming the countryside killing people.
There was no more sound. No sound at all. Not from insects. Not from animals. Not from anything.
That had the tingling on the back of his neck going all over again. He backed away. Back into the corn. Though as he did so he never took his eyes off the woods. He was backed up a good twenty feet or so before he lost that prickling sensation on the back of his neck.
He waited for another moment, wondering if there was really something out there or if it was just his imagination. But then slowly the insects started chattering again. Making the same noises that had been the backdrop to every good night of his childhood.
He chuckled, wondering why he was jumping at shadows. Probably because of practice and Coach yelling about how Brad could’ve done it better, which inevitably led to thoughts of what had happened to Brad and wondering how much of that was the truth, and how much of it was small town bullshit.
He shrugged, then turned and made his way back towards the house. It was a little darker overhead, but still not quite twilight.
Though as he turned and looked back towards the trees he had that strange feeling again. The same as when he looked at the moon. Like there was something back there calling to him. Something that sent a shiver running through him.
And not necessarily a bad shiver.
He turned and made his way back to the house. Where he could hear his mom calling. Like she was pissed off that he’d disappeared. It was almost enough to make him turn back to the scary woods. Running into the Beast might be preferable to getting into it with his mom.
But then he heard something else that made him feel better. The unmistakable sound of a station wagon engine revving.
Josh was here. Which meant whatever his mom was pissed off about, it would have to wait until tomorrow after football practice. And maybe that would be enough time that she forgot whatever the fuck it was she was mad about.
If he was lucky. He wasn’t always that lucky, after all.
< < Next Chapter>>
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Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and this is just from my internet research and opinions; therefore, constructive criticism is appreciated. I’d love to hear y’all’s thoughts on this.
Also note that this is only for laws pertaining to the carrying of firearms and not gun ownership laws in general otherwise y’all can visit the 2024 rankings from Every Town for Gun Control or Giffords’ Law Center for Gun Violence. The main goal here is to rank the states that have the least gun-free-zones to make it easy as possible to carry a handgun without having to disarm at certain locations. My requirements for a state to make this list is that it must: - Not enforce no-weapons-signs - Allow carry in public or commonly visited locations such as recreational areas (e.g., state or national forests/parks/WMA’s), churches, and bars/restaurants, etc. - possess stand-your-ground and castle-doctrine laws - Enact Constitutional/Permitless Carry and Campus Carry (It may not be illegal to carry a handgun on college campuses in some states but without campus carry laws, public schools are allowed to penalize students and employees for breaking school policy through termination, expulsion, suspension, or revocation of scholarships/financial aid.
The Honorable Mentions are just some permitless/constitutional carry states that did not make the list but that I thought had a unique fun fact distinguishing it from the rest.
Many loud and proud states like the “Gun Shine State” of Florida and the Lone Star State of Texas boast gun rights and gun ownership, but they do not have as lenient carry laws as many other states. Lots of Redditers also claim Wyoming, Arizona, Alaska, Indiana, or Pennsylvania should take the list but like all other excluded states, they do not check off all of the requirements.
Ranking List: 1. Utah 2. Idaho 3. Kansas 4. West Virginia 5. Georgia
Honorable Mentions: - New Hampshire - Montana - Texas
1-Utah:

• This is the only state that has true Campus Carry, a valid regular Utah Concealed Firearms Permit allows all those eligible that are 21 and up to carry in all areas of campuses of higher education/learning as well as K-12 schools. However, colleges and universities are allowed to create only one secured area on campus that prohibits weapons as a “hearing room.” Private educational institutions may designate other areas or even the entire school property as a gun-free-zone but this would only be policy and not law.
  
• By law, Utah only prohibits carry in secured areas, specifically the secured areas of airports, courts, law enforcement, corrections, mental hospitals, and the single designated hearing room of a educational institution of higher learning.
  
• secure areas are legally state-enforced gun-free-zones but they “may not include any area normally accessible to the public)” and must have appropriate signage.
  
• The one major disadvantage to Utah’s carry laws is that no-gun-signs have force of law when placed on houses of worship, such as a church or temple. Religious institutions may also prohibit weapons without posting signs by uploading their policy to the Utah BCI where it is then enforced by law. However, it’s still legal to carry in these religious spaces if there is no indication of prohibition or if permission is explicitly granted. Ignoring these notices is also only a Trespassing charge, which is classified as an infraction. Infractions are equivalent to a speeding ticket, which includes no jail time and only a fine. It’s also known that Utah churches are lenient towards this so being caught carrying there is usually not a big deal according to forums on UtahConcealedCarry and “Reddit.”
  

2- Idaho:

• This state beats Utah in that the state statutes don’t mention any prohibitions for carry in religious institutions.
  
• Idaho also bans carry in jails/prisons/correctional facilities and in courts like Utah does except it does not explicitly mention that only sterile areas are off-limits.
  
• Idaho’s strictly limited Campus Carry law is one drawback to the state’s lenient carry laws. Firearms are prohibited on K-12 school campuses, events, and buses, while no-gun-signs have strict force of law on college/university campuses. The state prohibits concealed carry in many areas of institutions of higher learning/education, such as stadiums and dormitories/residence halls. Carry in prohibited areas of campus is risking arrest and jail time. An Enhanced Idaho Concealed Weapons License is required to legally carry on campuses of higher education.
  
• Idaho also prohibits carry in several odd but specific places including children’s residential care facilities, children’s outdoor programs, and the state veteran’s home.
  

3- Kansas:

• Kansas allows licensed carry on K-12 school campuses and is the only state that allows Permitless Carry on college/university campuses.
  
• However, a substantial disadvantage of Kansas’ carry laws is the long and disorganized list of locations where no-gun-signs may have force of law.
  
• These signs are not legally enforced if placed on private property such as businesses but if it is an attorney general approved sign that is placed on public buildings with adequate security measures in place, it becomes a crime to attempt to carry there. Colleges/universities in Kansas can also lawfully prohibit weapons in certain public areas but only if they provide “adequate security measure(s),” which includes things like standardized signage, armed security, and metal detectors. Institutions of higher learning in Kansas can also require students to only carry on an empty chamber while on campus.
  
• Meanwhile, K-12 schools can simply prohibit carry with any sign, they do not need to post standardized signage or have any safety measures in place to do so. Same goes for the State School for the Deaf and Blind, private employers, county courthouses, community mental health centers, state race tracks, indigent healthcare clinics, and public medical care facilities, adult nursing homes, and “any building owned or leased by the authority created under the university of Kansas hospital authority act, any building located within the health care district, as defined in the unified government of Wyandotte county and Kansas City, Kansas City-wide master plan, Rosedale master plan and traffic study or similar master plan or comprehensive planning or zoning document approved by the unified government of Wyandotte”
  
• also similar to Utah, Kansas prohibits carry in secure areas of correctional facility, jail facility or law enforcement agency.
  
• All prohibited places must post signage to enforce the prohibition.
  

4- West Virginia:

• This state does not have many places listed as off limits to carry since the state statutes only specifically prohibit carry in jails/prisons/detention centers, K-12 school functions/grounds/buses, and the state capitol.
  
• However, West Virginia has shortcomings in its preemption and Campus Carry laws. Although the state has preemptive gun laws, municipalities are allowed to limit where guns can be carried. Since municipal codes in West Virginia may ban the possession of firearms in certain buildings and areas, “it is recommended that you inquire as to such laws with the appropriate city attorney’s office [W. Va. Code §8-12-5a(c)(1)];” before carrying there. As for Campus Carry, the state outlaws the possession of firearms in many areas such as dorms, arenas, daycare facilities, non-college related functions, and much more.
  

5- Georgia:

• In Georgia, civilians can never have a gun in school property/functions, courts, government buildings, jails/prisons/correctional facilities, state mental health facilities, nuclear power facilities, restricted areas in airports, and in polling places during elections.
  
• It is illegal to carry in houses of worship unless the house permits it. However, licensed carry without permission is only a $100 dollar fine if caught.
  
• The state limits Campus Carry by disallowing carry in student housing, sporting events, childcare spaces, spaces used for college/career academy or other specialized schools, spaces containing high schoolers, and spaces where disciplinary meetings are being conducted.
  
• Georgia finishes last on this list because of a couple odd gun-free-zones, restricted Church Carry, and limited Campus Carry. Some might also consider the state’s purple status as a imminent threat to gun rights. However, due to Georgia’s guns everywhere law checking off the necessary criterion for carry, it was able to make this list.
  

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• New Hampshire: Although a swing state, NH has the highest rate of registered machine guns and the fewest state enforced prohibited locations for carry. It’s only illegal to have a firearm in courts, correctional/detention facilities, Residential Child Care and Child Day Care Centers. Unfortunately New Hampshire does not make the cut because it lacks Campus Carry while forbidding the use of firearms to defend childcare facilities. It’s not illegal to carry a weapon on New Hampshire college/university campuses but school policy allows faculty to trespass carriers and to take disciplinary action against students violating the policy. New Hampshire would be included on this list if it enacted Campus Carry.
  
• Montana: This state has the highest rate of gun ownership in the country. Montana would make top five best carry states if it had Campus Carry and allowed carry in state game preserves.
  
• Texas: This state is surrounded by the myth that it is a Wild West pimp style cowboy state that is a haven for gun rights. This state enforces 30.05/30.06/30.07 signs with many locations that have different severity of consequences while completely outlawing carry in a wide range of locations. And unlike any other state listed in this post, Texas is a Duty-to-Inform state. However, it is true that Texas has more guns than any other state and has the most lenient deadly self defense laws in America. To this day, Texas has been lacking in a lot of gun rights but it has made great improvements in recent years; for example, the penalty for not informing was removed even though it’s still a state law.
  

Hello all,
Happy Thursday! I hope you all are having a great end to this spring semester. My name is Cody Griffin and I am an Upperclassmen Senator at Large. Today was the last SGA meeting for the semester and I just want to give you guys a final update before the summer. While I am a senator, I do not speak for SGA as a whole or the university. I just want to give some of my thoughts as well as notes I took from tonight's meeting.
Public Speakers: I just want to start this post by thanking everyone who came to speak at tonight's meeting. It truly is amazing to see students show up for their cause and speak for what they believe in. No matter what side of the issue you were on tonight please know that I appreciate all of you showing up and speaking.
New Senators: Before considering any legislation tonight, SGA had 4 new senators join the body and I would like to congratulate them:
Alex Donaldson, College of Science Senator
Sanjana Holla, College of Computing and Informatics Senator
AJ Hollingsworth, Belk College of Business Senator
Josh Mills, Underclassman At-Large Senator
Atkins Library Construction: At the start of tonight's meeting we heard from Stephen Weiter, Interim Dean of the J. Murray Atkins Library. Mr. Weiter gave an update to the senate regarding the upcoming construction of the Atkins Library elevators. For those that do not know, Atkins Library in the fall is renovating the tower elevators to make them handicapped and stretcher accessible. Students need to know that once this project starts the library will not be open for 24 hours on the weekdays like it is right now. The library hours will change to close at midnight and open the next morning. I believe that the Friday and Saturday hours will remain the same. Students should also note that once this project starts, it is projected to last about 18 months. The only time the library will be open 24 hours during this 18th-month process is the week before and the week during finals. The interim dean also notes that much of the tower floors will be inaccessible during this time. This will affect anyone needing to access Special Collections and Archives. Dean Weiter stated that a lot of the Special Collections and Archives will be moved to the ground floor but not everything can be moved. He said that if you have any specific questions or concerns please reach out to the Special Collection librarian.
Divestment Resolution: Again I just want to thank everyone who came out tonight and gave an opinion on the resolution. While the resolution itself was not voted on tonight it did go on to the next phase. SGA voted to advance the bill to two committees, internal affairs and leadership, where it will be discussed and then sent back to the general assembly for a final vote. Since this was the last legislative session, the final vote on the resolution will not take place until the fall semester. I will be sure to update the thread if anything changes.
I hope you all finish the semester strong and have an amazing summer break! If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out.
Cody Griffin
[cgriff87@uncc.edu](mailto:cgriff87@uncc.edu)
​

< < Next Chapter>>
Josh
“Come on, Josh. I have to be over at the church in a half hour, and it’s going to take me at least fifteen minutes to drive out to Craig’s house. We’re pushing it.”
“Working on it, Mom,” he shouted over his shoulder.
“Well work on it faster, Mister,” she shouted right back at him.
He glanced around his room. He hadn’t done any prep work. No, he’d been sitting reading. He was stuck on this amazing new book that was continuing the Star Wars story. Finally.
Not that he was one of those older nerds who’d been left in the lurch. No. He felt like he was lucky to get to watch the movies on VHS and then turn around and immediately get to read these books which were totally fucking amazing and the only sequel he felt like the trilogy ever needed.
“It’s not like George Lucas is ever going to get around to giving us what we really want,” he muttered, reluctantly closing the book and looking around the room.
The place was a mess. Or at least it was a mess as his mom defined it. Which meant he was probably going to get a talking to as soon as he got back from Craig’s house.
Only that was tomorrow. He’d have that sense of dread hanging over him the whole time he was over at his friend’s house. He didn’t like that, but…
Well. It’s not like there was anything he could do about it. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a shirt, shorts, and a couple of changes of underwear and socks. He figured you could never be too sure when it came to underwear and socks.
At least he was going on a Friday night. That meant he wouldn’t be dragged to Craig’s church the next morning.
The first time he’d gone there they tried their best to save his eternal soul. Or Craig’s mom had been really annoyingly intense about it.
Which felt a little weird for his Presbyterian ass where the most heated they ever got was debating whether they should use grape juice or wine for communion. Not that he ever got anything but the grape juice.
The kids who went to the Catholic Church said they got the wine. He wasn’t sure he believed that. It sounded like bullshit.
“Josh! I don’t have time for this!” his mom shouted.
“Coming, Mom!”
He glanced around his room one final time, and his eyes settled on it. The spear.
The thing had been born in a school project about the middle ages back in middle school. They were supposed to take an aspect of life in the middle ages and tell their fellow students all about it. Admittedly he and Craig had gone a little overboard with the project. Mostly with the help of Uncle Cody and his metal shop.
He stared at the thing and then reached out and touched it with reverence. As he did, he felt a tingle running through him.
The thing was a work of art. That was for damn sure. The kind of spear the six fingered man would kill his father over, sending him on a lifelong quest for revenge. Even though it was a spear and not a sword.
The thing had a massive spear tip. The better to go after big nasty things that might want to kill a hunter back before guns took all the sport out of hunting. There was a cross piece right under the spearhead. The better to keep any hypothetical giant angry creatures from trying to kill the human trying to kill it by keeping it at a distance.
There was a long shaft, designed just for Josh and his body. Or at least what he’d been back in middle school, though it still worked pretty damn well. Uncle Cody had made the thing a little oversized, saying he might get some use out of it someday.
He was pretty sure that was Uncle Cody joking around. The man didn’t have a serious bone in his body unless it came to drinking or chasing women.
But there’d also been an odd gleam in his eyes as he said that. Something that had Josh taking him seriously, despite the man’s reputation for never taking anything seriously.
The spear had been polished to a bright finish, and it was made out of wood from an ancient oak tree on Uncle Cody’s property that had been struck by lightning the year before their project.
Cody had been looking for an excuse to take the tree down, and Craig and Josh “helping” with it, which amounted mostly to standing around useless since Cody didn’t trust them with a chainsaw, had been both an experience and part of the payment.
“Oh no.”
Josh turned around, pulling his hands away from the spear. His mom stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips in that way only she could. A way that said he was about to be in trouble.
“There’s no way you’re bringing that thing to Craig’s house. What would his mom think?”
“She’d probably think Craig already has one in his house, and she doesn’t mind as long as we’re going out and playing in the woods rather than playing Nintendo all night long.”
His mom stared at him for a long moment where he wondered if she’d buy his bullshit.
He recognized that look. It was the same look Mr. Thompson, their eighth grade history teacher who’d been more interested in coaching football than teaching history, had when he saw them bring those spears in. Like he hadn’t expected them to be quite so realistic, or to go quite so overboard with the project.
Though there’d also been a gleam in Mr. Thompson’s eyes. Like he approved, even if he had to have some special considerations put in place because they were bringing a weapon into the school for their presentation.
Thankfully there were already similar procedures in place for kids who brought in hunting rifles to talk about going out and sitting in a tree stand covered in fake deer piss so they could blow Bambi’s brains out from a safe distance, so it’s not like it was all that hard to turn things around and apply those rules to spears rather than guns.
That slightly worried gleam in his eye had been nothing compared to how he looked when Uncle Cody showed up with a giant stuffed bear they’d created for the demonstration. The thing was stuffed full of straw, and it looked ridiculous.
Still. It was pretty damn big. So what if the fur was a deer hide from uncle Cody’s private selection? Killed with a bow and arrow. Not a gun.
Uncle Cody also had feelings on that sort of thing. Feelings that had rubbed off on Josh.
They’d even gotten a big laugh from the class when they put a big sign over the thing and hastily painted “The Beast” on it. Well, mostly they’d gotten some laughs. The laughter had been slightly nervous.
Everyone knew the stories, after all. Even if Josh always dismissed them as just that: stories.
The point was, the “bear” looked real enough to everyone in that classroom that day. And everyone had laughed when they put their spears against the “forest floor” which had actually been some fake grass from an old putting game his dad hadn’t used in years, and Uncle Cody had thrown the bear at them with a loud roar.
They’d speared it right there in class, demonstrating how the cross piece kept the angry animal from going down far enough on the spear to claw the person to death before they could enjoy the fruits of their hunting victory.
“Fine,” his mom finally said, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know why I let Cody talk me into letting you do that project in the first place.”
“We got an A+ on it,” Josh pointed out.
“Yeah, and that goes a long way towards explaining why I don’t have a problem with it,” she said, rolling her eyes again. “But you’re really pushing it tonight, Mister.”
“Come on, Mom,” he said, shouldering his backpack that had his spare clothes in it.
He packed lightly these days. He could remember a time when he’d filled his suitcase with everything he thought he might need. Everything from toys to video games to cassette tapes he wanted to share with his friends.
Now, though, he didn’t worry about all that. No. He knew they were going to have a good time, and it’d probably involve playing with the spears out in the woods behind Craig’s house.
Maybe they’d even stay out after it got dark. There was always a creepy ambience in the forest right after dark that sent a thrill running through him. It reminded him of how he imagined Mirkwood would’ve felt when Bilbo and the dwarves were making their way through the place and running from spiders and wood elves.
Or maybe the neighborhood kids would play flashlight tag or sardines. Which would involve Lisa coming over. He shivered thinking of the last time he played tag with her out in Craig’s neighborhood. It was a good shiver.
He reached out and grabbed the spear, and again that electric tingle ran through him. Something that felt just as primal as the tingle he got thinking of Lisa, only pinging a different ancient instinct.
He looked out the window and blinked. He was surprised to see the full moon already hanging low in the sky even though it was still broad daylight out.
For some reason that sent another shiver running through him. A shiver he couldn’t explain. It was a sense of anticipation.
The idea of running through the woods on a full moon in pitch darkness should’ve terrified him, but instead it filled him with a sense of excitement he couldn’t explain.
“Josh? Josh!”
He jumped and turned to face his mom. She looked even more annoyed.
“Sorry,” he said, blushing. “I guess I got distracted.”
“Yeah, and you’ve wasted so much time we only have twenty-five minutes now. That means I’m going to have to haul ass and hope there isn’t a Smokey Bear out there jerking off with his radar gun hanging out the window.”
Josh laughed at the mental image. His mom always did have a way with words that was more coarse than the other moms. He knew Craig’s mom would have a conniption fit if she heard someone talking like that.
She’d always been way more straight laced. Almost to the point of having a stick up her ass. Even if Josh had discovered he enjoyed looking at that ass as he got older. Though he tried not to be obvious about it, because he figured that wasn’t the sort of thing a holy roller would appreciate.
“Fine. I’m coming,” he said.
He walked through the house quickly, careful to keep the spear from the walls and the woodwork. The last thing he needed was to put a scratch on the dark wood paneling and really give his mom something to be upset about.
He also made sure to keep it away from the carpet. The last thing he wanted was to cut even a piece of that loose, even though he always thought the shaggy carpeting was disgusting and prone to getting shit stuck in it.
Literally, sometimes, when Mr. Whiskers didn’t feel like going to his litter box in a timely manner.
They stepped out the front door and he paused again. The moon was doing that weird thing where it hung so low that he had a good idea of its actual size. He’d read in a book that it was something about perspective. When the moon hung high in the sky it was difficult for the mind to compare to anything, so it was hard to determine its actual size.
When it hung low over the horizon like this it was a lot easier for the mind to compare it to things people knew the size of. Like power lines and trees and houses off in the distance. So it looked bigger even though it never actually changed size.
The moon was an orange red color tonight. Almost like it was covered in blood. He shivered in anticipation staring at it, and licked his lips.
In his mind he ran through the woods in darkness. There was something in those woods with him, though he didn’t know what it was. But it was big.
His friends had gone hunting plenty before. Uncle Cody went hunting plenty. Though he’d never gone on one of those expeditions.
No. The idea of obliterating Bambi’s brains had never appealed to him. There was something unfair about sitting in a tree stand waiting for the deer to come along so he could ice it from a distance.
And he’d never been interested in doing more than target practice with the bows Uncle Cody preferred.
He hefted his spear. That was hunting. It felt more fair than using a gun or a bow. For all that his friends had disagreed and asked him why he bothered with a stupid spear when they had guns that could do the job from a distance.
Whatever. They’d also seemed a little more respectful after he showed off how the thing worked against a bear. Even if the “bear” in this case was Uncle Cody hamming it up.
“Josh? What’s with you tonight?”
He blinked and turned to look at his mom. She stood by the station wagon looking even more irritated than before, if that was possible. He knew he was walking a thin line where he might end up going to the church with her rather than going out to Craig’s house.
That would ruin the evening.
Okay. So it wouldn’t be totally ruined. She’d probably drop him off after she was done socializing with all her church friends. But they wouldn’t have any time to play Craig’s new Super Nintendo, and he might miss out on some of the good home cooking.
Craig’s mom might be uptight thanks to her idea of what Jesus thought about things, usually those thoughts were suspiciously close to how she looked at the world, but the woman could cook. There was no doubt about that.
“I’m coming,” he said, pulling out the back door on the station wagon and carefully putting the spear down so it faced towards the back door and not towards the front.
He knew he was probably being paranoid, but the last thing he wanted was to have the spear fly through the car and hit one of them in the back if they got in an accident.
He’d seen what the thing could do to a fake bear, after all, and Uncle Cody didn’t pull any punches when he helped them make the things.
No. The weapon was as real as could be, and he didn’t want to be on the business end of it, thank you very much.
“So do you want to tell me what’s got you so distracted?” his mom asked when he climbed into the front seat. “Thinking of a lady friend or something?”
“What?” he asked, his eyes going wide as he turned to look at her.
“What? You’re getting older. You’re going to be a junior next year. Not even next year. In a month. Hell. When Cody finishes fixing up that old rust bucket you won’t need me to drive you around like this anymore.”
Josh thought he detected a hint of sadness there. Like maybe she wasn’t looking forward to the day he wouldn’t need her to drive him around, for all that she complained about being his taxi an awful lot. “Yeah, time marches on,” he said with a shrug.
“Time marches on,” she said, sounding a little sad again as she said it. “And my little baby keeps getting a thousand yard stare. I remember what that was like. I was the same way when I met your dad.”
“Gross, Mom,” he muttered.
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and someday you’re going to have kids you make with some pretty lady you made eyes at, and those kids are going to think it’s gross you were attracted to your future wife. Heaven forbid.”
“Can we stop talking about this?”
“Of course,” she said, grinning at him. “I wouldn’t want to embarrass you by bringing up Lisa Connors, after all.”
The absolute last thing he wanted was to have a conversation with his mother about Lisa Connors. He wasn’t even sure how he felt about her.
Okay. So maybe he was pretty sure how he felt about her. He felt pretty damn good when he looked at her. Even then, he wasn’t sure if he was head over heels in love, or if he just liked the way she looked in those tight T-shirts and jeans she wore that always pushed the limits of the school dress code.
Sure she was fun to talk to. Sure they hung out sometimes when he was over at Craig’s. Sure they spent a couple of days together at the county fair this summer. Her outfits then had been something to behold outside school and oppressive dress codes. Wearing a tank top that barely covered anything. And when she leaned over…
A snapping in front of his face brought him back to reality. He shook his head and turned, seeing his mom sitting there in the car staring at him.
Though he couldn’t help thinking about the county fair, and how much he was looking forward to next summer if he could look forward to spending more time with Lisa. Even if he was looking forward to going back to school, too. Fall was one of his favorite times of year, after all.
Football season was starting up, and there would be games and dances and all kinds of fun. Not to mention the fall festival, and the haunted corn maze the school always put on every year to raise money.
Craig would also be close to getting his day in the sun. Maybe a little closer than before after… His mind slid around that. He didn’t want to think about what happened out in the countryside back in June. A counterpoint to the fun at the county fair. And there were all the rumors. People saying it was the Beast, though in his opinion it was probably just some maniac or serial killer passing through and the local cops were too incompetent to find who did it so they blamed the very fictional local urban legend.
Either way they finally wouldn’t be the low men on the totem pole. Sure they wouldn’t rule the school like the seniors, but they were close.
He even found himself hoping maybe Lisa would be part of the fall fun, though he was a little surprised at that thought. Maybe he’d see how things went tonight if they played flashlight tag “Are you okay?” his mom asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, though he didn’t feel fine.
“Because you got that thousand yard stare again. Were you thinking about Lisa?”
“I wasn’t thinking about anything,” he muttered, really not wanting to get into this.
“Sure you weren’t,” she said, hitting him with a thin smile that said she knew exactly what he was thinking. Which had him blushing. The last thing he needed was his mom knowing what he was thinking about Lisa and her tank top.
“Anyway,” she said, turning the car on and backing out of the driveway. “I really am going to be late to church, and I know you don’t want to be stuck there all night.”
“Hey,” he said, staring out the window and up at the full moon just rising over the neighbor’s house across the street. “You’re the one sitting here talking about my nonexistent love life. I figure if we’re late now that’s totally on you.”
“My kid the lawyer,” she said, rolling her eyes. Then she reached out and tousled his hair. Which he’d always hated. “But don’t sell yourself short. You might not have a nonexistent love life for long. You’re a cute kid.”
“Yeah, I’m sure the women at the school want to date a cute kid, Mom,” he said, rolling his eyes. “All the girls my age go for older guys, and the older girls are all with guys who have jobs or went off to college.”
Though Lisa wasn’t with anyone. And she seemed to go out of her way to hang out with him, for all that he didn’t understand why. And there was the way she smiled at him.
For all that he knew a lot of guys who talked about the one time she smiled at them. Even if it was back in like seventh grade. He didn’t want to be that guy.
“You might be surprised, kiddo,” she said, grinning at him. “Those guys who go off to college are going to find their own temptations out there, and not all the girls go for the older guys.”
“Whatever,” he muttered.
His mom gunned the engine on their station wagon. Which couldn’t go all that fast to begin with, but she made it seem plenty peppy today. He was pressed back into his seat, and he quickly scrambled to pull his seat belt on.
The station wagon was new enough that it started digging at you if you didn’t have your seat belt on. Which was annoying, but he figured it saved lives. Maybe.
“Damn, Mom,” he hissed as he watched the houses zip past. “Are you trying to win the Indy 500 or something?”
“Or something,” she said, a look of grim determination on her face. “Now let’s just hope we don’t run into any cops on the way out to Craig’s, right?”
“Right.”
He turned and looked out the window again. Maybe the houses were rushing past fast enough they were turning into a blur, but he could still see the moon hanging there in the sky.
It didn’t quite call to him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling there was something off about tonight. Something very wrong lurking out there.
Something out there that would be coming for him. Maybe they’d run into the Beast tonight, and he wasn’t thing about the bitching roller coaster over in Ohio.
Then he shook his head and dismissed those thoughts. It was ridiculous. It’s not like the Beast was real, for all that he’d grown up with the same stories as everyone else.
For all that he’d heard the same rumors about what had happened at that old abandoned barn in June. That was a few weeks before the county fair, for all that Lisa and her tank tops had distracted him from the grisly rumors swirling around back when it happened.
The football team already wasn’t supposed to do so great this year, but now they were in even worse shape. For all that Craig seemed to love the idea. Brad’s misfortune was his fortune, and the two of them had never gotten along.
It didn’t help that Craig always seemed to be hanging out near Tracy Talbot, which never struck Josh as a good idea since she was dating Brad. And Brad had a temper. Not that he’d ever done anything to Craig.
Craig was even bigger than Brad, which probably helped. Not that being big saved Brad from being ripped to shreds if the rumors were to be believed.
Which put Craig in line to be the big man on campus this year no that Brad was dead. Whenever a door closes another one opens, even if the door is a grisly murder.
Josh pushed those thoughts away. He was in high school now, damn it. He’d be able to drive soon enough, and he wasn’t going to let some silly old legend scare him.
Though as he stared out the window, he realized he wasn’t scared when he thought of the Beast. Not really. No, there was that tingle of anticipation again. Like he wanted to run into the thing with his spear in hand.
That would be a hell of a lot more exciting than blowing Bambi’s brains out from the safety of a tree stand covered in fake deer piss, that was for damn sure.
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