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Successful return may take Djokovic to hallowed floor at Wimbledon | Wimbledon

As Wimbledon returns after a tragic season with out grass-court tennis, the query surrounding the lads’s draw is easy: can anybody cease Novak Djokovic? Over the previous 10 years of his dominance and destruction, related questions have been requested earlier than a serious event, however not often have there been so few potential disruptors ready within the wings.Grass has been a specialist floor with a fleeting competitors season for a while, however the prime eight seeds at Wimbledon are as unproven and inexperienced on the turf as any main pack in a long time. Except for Djokovic, 5 occasions the champion there, and the eight-times champion Roger Federer, who remains to be looking for to rediscover consistency after two knee operations, the remainder have one Wimbledon quarter-final between them.Two years with out competing on grass appears prone to reward those that are already snug on it. However such is the dearth of distinguished younger gamers who're (Stefanos Tsitsipas boasts a modest 8-7 file on the floor) that even the Queen’s champion, Matteo Berrettini, has been elevated into the circle of potential challengers.After the launch of his Skilled Tennis Gamers’ Affiliation, Djokovic is a person of prominence in some ways, however his personal consolation is just not doubtful. He has gained the primary two majors of the 12 months and is on the verge of becoming a member of Federer and Rafael Nadal on a record-equalling 20 main titles. After beginning his profession as a grass-court novice, Djokovic is chasing a sixth Wimbledon triumph.This Wimbledon is one other alternative to absorb one of many nice returners of the period. Along with his quick reactions, timing, flexibility and hand-eye coordination, Djokovic is ready to attain and neutralise the most important serves within the sport, touchdown forehand and backhand returns persistently deep, central and steered in the direction of the weaker wing of his opponent. From there, he can form factors in his favour.Whereas it's turning into more and more widespread for gamers equivalent to Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem to return successfully from metres behind the baseline on all surfaces, providing them extra time within the face of service bombs, Djokovic distinguishes himself in the way in which he suffocates his opponents. He often stays nearer to the baseline and strikes ahead into the ball, stealing time from the server and forcing them to gather the second shot behind a few of their finest serves from their laces.On this 12 months’s Australian Open last, Medvedev’s serve was victimised by Djokovic all through. “Novak is returning unbelievable, so it all the time places stress on your self,” he mentioned. “You attempt to go for a bit bit extra, whereas if you hit aces you are feeling such as you’re within the zone.”As a substitute of discovering the zone, Djokovic’s stress means his opponents’ serving typically turns into worse. Medvedev was damaged seven occasions in three units and swiftly disposed of.

Djokovic made it 19 main titles with victory on the Australian Open this 12 months. {Photograph}: Kelly Defina/ReutersThe complexity of Djokovic’s return of serve is such that everybody has their favorite element. Nick Horvat, a tour coach and advisor for Yonex, has coined the time period “hit and fly” to explain how Djokovic launches ahead in the direction of the ball, a way Horvat teaches to his expenses: “Many gamers are doing it however not persistently. Novak is doing it nearly each single serve.”Whereas Horvat believes Djokovic’s return approach may be emulated to an extent, he says his timing is unlearnable. Mert Ertunga, one other tour coach, highlights Djokovic’s flexibility and his huge return stance after his cut up step as a element he shares with many different nice returners, permitting him to manoeuvre to both facet and to evade physique serves in a single step.The return of serve might be probably the most underrated shot within the sport. It's far simpler for informal followers to understand a 150mph serve than the gamers who can persistently return them to a neural a part of the courtroom, significantly since tennis on tv doesn't do justice to the speed.Amongst skilled gamers the serve is king. A lot of the sport’s technique relies on taking good care of service video games, one-two punches stemming from the serve and capitalising on the primary 4 pictures of every level. Federer as soon as admitted he doesn't practise his return in any respect.For Ertunga, broadcasters don't do sufficient to emphasize the significance and spectacle of returns. “It’s nearly like a man like Novak has to hit loopy good returns for them to say one thing, whereas he hits 30 different returns which might be a extremely excessive customary by different gamers and we don’t get a replay. I’m positive that if Novak hit 35 aces, that will be the headline.” Source link Read the full article

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Everybody for tennis? TikTok sparks trend

In some quarters tennis type conveys heritage, custom and maybe a little bit stuffiness. However thanks partially to TikTok, a youthful era are discovering credibility and funky in its pleats

no matter whether or not they have ever picked up a racket or plan to observe Wimbledon when it begins on Monday. The pattern has been well-liked on the social media community for months, the place persons are teaming conventional tennis skirts that wouldn’t have seemed misplaced on Billie Jean King with Nirvana hoodies and crop tops. This abundance of TikTokers carrying court-friendly outfits – not simply skirts but additionally Venus Williams-approved skorts and polo shirts – has led to the rise of an aesthetic referred to as tenniscore.

Naomi Osaka on the duvet of Vogue Japan {Photograph}: @naomiosaka Instagram account A large number of manufacturers are producing tennis-inspired clothes, equivalent to Paris-based Casablanca’s retro silk shorts and observe tops. On the purchasing platform Lyst, demand for tennis skirts has tripled this month in contrast with a 12 months in the past, searches for silk polo shirts have elevated 21% and searches for classic “tennis membership” emblem sweatshirts have gone up 12%. The rise in gross sales has coincided with a brand new era of feminine tennis stars crossing over into trend. Naomi Osaka, the reigning US and Australian Open champion, appeared on the most recent cowl of Japan Vogue, having final 12 months appeared on the US version. In January she became a Louis Vuitton ambassador and in Could launched a swimwear collaboration with Frankies Bikinis. In the meantime, 17-year-old Coco Gauff not too long ago featured within the marketing campaign for New Steadiness and Casablanca’s newest designs. Each gamers’ Instagrams really feel as very similar to the feeds of an influencer as a prime athlete, full with mirror selfies and trend advertisements.

Anne White raised hackles at Wimbledon in 1985 along with her catsuit. {Photograph}: Getty Photos These gamers, says Anne White, a former skilled tennis participant and now a coach in Los Angeles, are “in a position to cross-market that and likewise categorical themselves. And since tennis isn’t fairly as conventional because it was, persons are in a position to incorporate much more color and artistic concepts. It makes it thrilling and positively attracts extra consideration to the gamers and intrigues the followers as properly.” White has an fascinating perspective on tennis type, having worn a white catsuit to play at Wimbledon in 1985 and been told in no uncertain terms not to wear it again. Whereas primarily her sartorial alternative was, she says, about operate, she was additionally “a maverick, I used to be 24 and I wished to get up the institution a little bit bit.” How does she really feel about tennis’s present fashion-forwardness? “I believe the TikTokers assume it’s form of retro-cool,” she says. Plus, “when you have a look at the general scope of what’s happening on the earth, we went from Informal Fridays to principally all people working at dwelling.” With this got here a casualisation of trend and what White calls “hybrid dressing”: “folks put on issues to work out, have conferences after which to go and play tennis”. Plus the game itself has, she says, “been on an actual increase since Covid”. Tennis didn’t simply all of the sudden turn into trendy. From the American tennis participant Stan Smith, who received the Wimbledon males’s singles in 1972 and went on to offer his identify to the Adidas coach that outlined sneaker tradition within the 2010s, to René Lacoste who received Wimbledon twice within the Nineteen Twenties however has gone on to turn into maybe a fair larger identify within the trend world due to his crocodile-logo polo-shirts, tennis and trend have a protracted historical past. Tennis gamers by way of the ages have proven prowess each by way of their mastery of baseline photographs and hemlines, from Arthur Ashe’s Nineteen Seventies short-shorts and excessive white socks to the Italian participant Lea Pericoli’s mini-dresses. Plus, as the style historian Tony Glenville factors out, tennis has a “designer pedigree”, with Ralph Lauren and André Courrèges followers of the sport, and the US Vogue editor and business figurehead Anna Wintour hardly ever lacking from the Centre Court docket crowd.   Read the full article

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Wimbledon’s bars and eateries court docket public in hope of web acquire | Wimbledon

Wimbledon Village is festooned within the inexperienced and purple colors of the All England Garden Tennis and Croquet Membership as anticipation hangs within the air.On Sunday, with lower than 24 hours to go earlier than the match begins, eating places and bars had been hoping Wimbledon fortnight would assist replenish takings after the pandemic saved clients away, with hundreds of followers set to descend on London SW19.Although the AELTC will probably be limiting spectators to half capability till the finals, there may be nonetheless the potential for brisk enterprise for eateries and hostelries.No effort has been spared to entice the general public, with extravagant tennis-themed window shows incorporating balls, rackets, flowers, strawberries – every little thing “Wimbledon”, even Wombles.The Thai Tho restaurant has one of the vital eye-catching shows, with an enormous tennis ball as its window centrepiece, whereas – inside – pictures of tennis gamers cowl the partitions. “We do it yearly. We're actually hoping for good enterprise,” mentioned workers member Ploy Hennessy. Prior to now, well-known gamers have been recognized to drop in.

Max and Ploy on the Thai Tho restaurant. {Photograph}: Linda Nylind/The GuardianHowever, whereas celebrity-spotting is likely one of the annual highlights for followers, this 12 months they are going to be more durable to seek out.The strict AELTC guidelines stipulate that gamers – and their lowered entourages – should keep in a bio-secure lodge in central London, journey to the grounds in non-public transport, and stay in bubbles.The foundations apply even when gamers stay close by, like Johanna Konta, the British No 1. “We’re staying in the midst of London, so it’s going to be fairly fascinating how that’s going to look going from Westminster to Wimbledon,” she instructed PA Media this week.“I’m undecided anybody who booked the place the lodge is knew the commute. Will probably be fascinating driving previous my residence every single day on the way in which to Wimbledon however the principle factor is Wimbledon goes to be on and followers are going to have the ability to come and persons are going to have the ability to get pleasure from it once more, each in particular person and on TV.”Joanna Doniger of the Tennis London company, which rents out Wimbledon properties to stars as their house owners quickly transfer out to money in on profitable leases, mentioned: “There received’t be any celeb recognizing. They are going to all be in blacked-out automobiles.”As for leases, she mentioned: “We're down by two-thirds. It’s not nice. However final 12 months it was nothing. Roll on 2022.”No huge properties have been rented this 12 months, although worldwide media have taken up smaller properties, with social distancing that means there may be typically only one particular person in a property, she mentioned.Gone, too, is the queue, the place followers camp out to safe last-minute tickets, – changed by a digital queue.Ticket-holders should now show vaccination or Covid-free standing, which can curtail the ticket touts who often line the routes from rail and tube stations to the membership.On the Rose and Crown, a reasonably Seventeenth-century former teaching inn on the coronary heart of Wimbledon Village, the tennis will probably be screened, meals and cocktails will probably be served in its bars and spacious backyard, and landlady Nicky Inexperienced is holding her fingers crossed.“We'll see what occurs. Let’s say will probably be higher than final 12 months. We nonetheless have desk reservations. No vertical ingesting, however we could have walk-in so long as individuals verify in on the NHS app.”The cocktail menu features a particular strawberry gin spritz, with gin distilled by Wimbledon sponsors Sipsmith from strawberries grown for final 12 months’s Wimbledon, which might in any other case have gone to waste when the match was cancelled. “We will probably be serving that. Hopefully plenty of them,” she mentioned.

Tennis-themed shows are a characteristic of Wimbledon village. {Photograph}: Linda Nylind/The GuardianJacopo Filippone, supervisor of Sticks’n’Sushi, a Japanese-Danish restaurant close to Wimbledon station, mentioned: “Hopefully, we could have good enterprise. Let’s see.” In addition to dine-in, followers can choose up a takeaway en path to the AELTC. “Fish on the grass,” reads the restaurant’s promotional window show. “Wimbledon is all the time a giant factor for us,” Filippone mentioned. “So, sure. We're excited.”With restrictions nonetheless in place, it's not but recognized what this implies for “Henman Hill” contained in the grounds. Followers, nonetheless, can get pleasure from their very own digital hill from the consolation of their residing rooms as a part of the net Wimbledon at Residence expertise.A Wimbledon Virtual Hill permits followers across the globe to seize a spot, create and costume their avatar, and compete for prizes all through the fortnight. “The aspiration is to increase the distinctive feeling of camaraderie that exists on the hill at Wimbledon past the borders of our grounds, and in so doing assist to draw an viewers past tennis,” the membership mentioned. Source link Read the full article

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Stefanos Tsitsipas: ‘This may very well be a special 12 months for me at Wimbledon’ | Wimbledon

Shortly earlier than Stefanos Tsitsipas stepped out to play Novak Djokovic in his first Grand Slam remaining on the French Open earlier this month, the information he had been dreading filtered via.The loss of life of his paternal grandmother, Stavroula, a lady who had helped form him and who adopted his tennis as intently as anybody, was a bitter blow. Within the few hours that adopted, the 22-year-old got here inside a set of successful his first Grand Slam title, ultimately worn down by Djokovic in 5 units.As he prepares to start his quest for glory on the grass at Wimbledon, world No 4 Tsitsipas sounds robust and assured. And although his grandmother will not be there to cheer him, he feels he's taking part in with a better function.“She performed an essential half in my life,” Tsitsipas says of the lady who died 5 minutes earlier than the ultimate. “She was actually concerned, my father . Not too long ago, she wasn’t feeling very nicely and I’m actually unhappy what occurred to her.“You recognize, there’s a motive behind all the pieces, and I’m certain she’s with us each single day, regardless of her absence from life. However I’m actually excited for the subsequent a part of the journey. I actually need to make her proud and I actually need to dedicate most of my future success to her. She had an essential and a giant position in my upbringing and the particular person I'm at this time.”That particular person is a proud younger man, a superb athlete and a participant many really feel may very well be the one to lastly break the domination of the massive three – Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.At all times a prodigious expertise, Tsitsipas has additionally matured. Whereas as soon as a defeat just like the one he suffered in Paris, the place he led by two units to like, would have left him a damaged man, his perspective within the hours after, his means to have a look at the larger image, suggests he'll bounce again sooner slightly than later.Of the method gamers endure after a troublesome loss, he says: “I believe with time, it will get higher. Being youthful, I obsessed each single day as if nothing else issues and my life was simply round it 24/7. I believe having discovered methods to sort of go away for a little bit bit once I’m not on the court docket and simply be out of it for a little bit bit helps me have a clearer image and dwell life with extra which means.“For me, each single event counts the identical. Making factors is essential for me and for me to not have a burnout. It is necessary for me to get these factors that I’m searching for that may ultimately assist me get higher within the rankings and be a part of the unique prime three that I’m actually aiming for.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas has spent over two years on the earth’s prime 10 and appears able to breaking the longstanding dominance of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. {Photograph}: John Berry/Getty PhotosBreaking that domination of the massive three has been a bridge too far for everybody over the previous decade, with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer having received 59 of the previous 71 grand slam occasions. Tsitsipas, along with his all-court sport, has had a style of what it’s prefer to be in a grand slam remaining and he feels able to make the subsequent step up.“Persistence is energy, that's one thing for certain that I realized,” he provides of the teachings from Paris. “On clay particularly it's a completely different sort of sport, it requires a little bit persistence, dedication and fixed perception that you may overpower your opponents.“I felt very shut. I used to be actually shut. However I’m optimistic. I see ends in what I’m making an attempt to do. For subsequent 12 months’s version of the French Open, there’s loads of positives to take and maybe develop and I’ll method it in a extra mature and even higher method. Why not? I’ve seen enhancements and I'm a proud particular person, once I see myself creating.”To recover from the frustration of what occurred at Roland Garros and little question to assist take care of the loss of life of his grandmother, Tsitsipas determined to not play a grass-court occasion instantly after Paris. As a substitute, he headed to Buckinghamshire, the place he took the time he wanted to recharge.“I felt like that was the fitting place as I didn’t need to go someplace that was too heat, or be on the seaside,” he mentioned. “For certain it was a sensible resolution. I don’t assume it will have been very sensible to play the subsequent week on the grass court docket, contemplating that I had a very lengthy, exhausting run on the French. I needed to keep away from damage or any sort of psychological exhaustion in order that was resolution. I wasn’t prepared but to play. I've no regrets. It was the way it was.”Signal as much as The Recap, our weekly e-mail of editors’ picks.Going into Wimbledon with none aggressive tennis on grass is a calculated danger however Tsitsipas has performed sufficient tennis this 12 months to be assured. He's additionally wanting ahead to taking part in alongside his brother, Petros, within the males’s doubles, one other proud second for the household. A fourth-round run in 2018 stays his greatest effort at Wimbledon to this point however he feels prepared to interrupt new floor.“I’m really excited,” he says. “I haven’t actually had the outcomes I’m searching for. I believe this 12 months may very well be a special one. I’ve grown. I’ve witnessed a few various things, I've extra expertise. And I might additionally say barely extra assured than I used to be earlier than.“Wimbledon has been all the time my favorite event. I haven’t fairly had the consequence I needed for but however it's one thing that I’m actually working in the direction of. It's going to imply so much, if I'm able to pull one thing out.” Source link Read the full article

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Serena Williams adapts to age and remains to be a risk

Three quick weeks in the past, Serena Williams sat down for her press convention on the French Open after a bitter straight-sets loss within the fourth spherical to the younger Kazakh Elena Rybakina.

Throughout most different phases of Williams’s illustrious profession, a defeat so early in any main match after a efficiency thus far beneath her potential would have understandably elicited ample frustration. Not this time. As she dissected her 90 minutes on court docket, Williams’s tone was optimistic. She defined that she had, at the least, gained extra matches below her belt and confirmed clear enchancment from a pair of early losses throughout the clay season, her least efficient floor. “I’m in a significantly better place than after I bought right here,” she concluded. “, simply actually attempting to win a match, as a result of it had been a extremely tough season for me on the clay.” Her response, in public at the least, spoke to the truth of being 39 years previous in a person sport largely populated by adversaries aged a decade or extra youthful. Regardless of how a lot of a perfectionist she is and the way a lot she has received, age is unavoidable. A part of the rationale why she and her fellow 39-year-old, Roger Federer, have been capable of play at such a excessive stage for thus lengthy is as a result of they've accepted and tailored to its challenges. In Williams’s case, her schedule is much more succinct than her already abbreviated timetable throughout her peak. She has prioritised her objectives and though her requirements are nonetheless stratospheric, nonetheless anticipating herself to win each single match is unrealistic. Moreover, she has maintained a wholesome relationship in direction of her profession by maintaining her rising household in thoughts: on Sunday she introduced she is not going to take part within the Olympics. Though she declined to present a cause, Williams beforehand made it clear that she had no real interest in leaving her daughter at house, per the Worldwide Olympic Committee guidelines, with a view to chase sporting success. It was at all times clear that what adopted the French Open was most essential, and now it's right here. Wimbledon stays Williams’s greatest probability to win her open period record-extending twenty fourth main title this yr. For a seven-times Wimbledon champion, she doesn’t at all times sound solely enthusiastic when speaking about grass, however it's definitely the floor the place her sport most thrives. She has additionally reached 4 different Wimbledon finals, together with two finals on her final two appearances and the grass, even because it has modified over time, suits snugly into her sport. The pace of the court docket aids her serve and permits her to shorten the factors, remaining environment friendly and in command of most exchanges.

Seven-times Wimbledon champion Serena Williams returns the ball to Angelique Kerber in 2018 – the primary of two successive straight-sets last defeats at SW19. {Photograph}: Ben Curtis/AP The 2 consecutive finals Williams has misplaced additionally present how tough will probably be. Gamers nonetheless drastically worth the achievement of beating her, however they're usually emboldened by the information that she is way extra weak than up to now. In some unspecified time in the future, Williams at all times meets somebody who produces their finest tennis towards her. In her final Wimbledon outing in 2019, she was ravaged 6-2, 6-2 by Simona Halep who dedicated simply three unforced errors within the last. “I’ve had an enormous X on my again since ’99, since I received the US Open,” Williams mentioned. “When gamers play me that tough each single match, each single match, each single grand slam, it simply doesn’t matter the place, you simply get higher so … Yeah, it’s been tough mentally when somebody would possibly beat you they usually lose immediately within the subsequent spherical virtually each time. On the finish of the day that’s why I’m Serena. So thanks.”   Whether or not or not this outing is profitable, her continued presence is spectacular alone. It has been 23 years since Williams’s first look in 1998 and 5 years since her most up-to-date victory. Not like in soccer, the place essentially the most proficient older gamers can gracefully age into retirement and adapt their roles throughout the group, there isn't a hiding place in tennis. You might be both the perfect within the draw otherwise you lose. Right here Williams is once more, as is Federer within the males’s draw, digesting her losses and placing herself on the road within the hope that her perseverance will repay and she or he can be adequate to carry a serious trophy once more.   Read the full article

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Tiffany Franco and Ronald Smith: It's Over and It's MESSY!

90 Day Fiance viewers have watched Tiffany and Ronald struggle on Happily Ever After? this season. Despite their many issues, evidence showed that Tiffany and Ronald were still together. That was happy news for many fans who had rooted for the couple, despite their troubles. But now it appears that they have broken up.

Tiffany Franco and Ronald Smith share a child and a lot of love. But they have also struggled with interpersonal issues and some harsh political realities. Even so, most fans watching this season have expected to see Ronald's visa get approval.

On Thursday, May 27, Tiffany took to her Instagram Stories with a vague message. "I feel like I can breathe again," she wrote, with a butterfly emoji. "No more pretending," Tiffany announced.

Now, that certainly looks like a vaguepost about breaking up. However, some overly optimistic fans wondered if it was some sort of good news. We ... honestly don't understand how they could think that but, hey, it's nice to dream.

90 Day Fiance John Yates was, if you'll forgive the pun, Johnny-on-the-spot with this story. Even after Tiffany deleted her Instagram Story, he preserved and posted it.  And he also checked and confirmed that Tiffany and Ronald were no longer following each other.

In most cases, it is not a healthy sign for a relationship if a married couple abruptly unfollow each other. Sometimes, it even means that one spouse unfollowed and unilterally blocked the other. And that is just the tip of the iceberg with this breakup.

Tiffany's Instagram Story was vague. Her comment under John Yates' post on the topic was not. "I’m tired of being the idiot honestly," she began.

"Always trying for nothing just to be told I’m playing victim," Tiffany wrote. "Maybe he’s right and I don’t see what a huge asshole I am," she added. "But," Tiffany expressed, "I’m a tired of trying asshole at this point."

Ronald also wrote a reply, deleted it because it was "not worth" hashing out, and then wrote more. He confirmed that Tiffany had blocked him on everything except for Daniel's Skype. "She just wants to keep the kids from me," Ronald accused. "That's why the visa isn't done yet, also."

That is a lot of mess, including confirmation that no matter how this season ends, it's not with a marital visa. Everything that we are seeing on screen was filmed months and months ago. But clearly, they did not magically resolve all of their issues because if they had, this mess would not be playing out.

Additionally, also screenshotted and shared by John Yates, Ronald took to his own Instagram Stories. He shared an Instagram Story post suggesting that he was constantly "put down" and describing this as emotional abuse. "Lol now I'm emotionally abusive," Tiffany replied. "Oh lord, okay Ronald."

Obviously, there is a lot going on. This is a family with two children that we're talking about. Regardless of how people feel about Tiffany or Ronald or their marriage, there are sad elements to this.

Of course, fans are already recalling how many other ugly, messy, contempt-filled, and very public breakups they've had. While that's not the sign of a healthy relationship, it does remind fans that not every breakup is forever. It is likely that the public side of the "mess" will die down after angry phone calls from producers. NDAs don't end with the marriage. Edit Delete Source link Read the full article

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Ryan Reynolds Talks Candidly About His ‘Lifelong Pal, Anxiety’—See the Post

Ryan Reynolds shared some candid details about what his life with anxiety is like. The Deadpool actor explained in an Instagram post that he frequently overschedules to cope with his anxiety, and he hopes that speaking about it publicly will help chip away at the stigma surrounding mental health conditions.“May is almost over. It's also Mental Health Awareness Month, which brings me to this,” Reynolds wrote in an Instagram post. “One of the reasons I'm posting this so late is I overschedule myself and important things slip. And one of the reasons I overschedule myself is my lifelong pal, anxiety. I know I'm not alone and more importantly, to all those like me who overschedule, overthink, overwork, over-worry, and over-everything, please know you're not alone.” Everyone gets anxious at some point in their life. But the type of clinical anxiety that Reynolds and many others deal with comes with symptoms such as overwhelming and/or long-lasting fears or stress, trouble sleeping, and panic attacks, depending on the specific anxiety disorder. For people with anxiety disorders, those symptoms are typically severe enough to interfere with their relationships, career, or ability to go about their daily life. In addition to his tendency to overschedule, Reynolds said previously that acting can be a coping mechanism for him—especially when portraying Deadpool. “When the curtain opens, I turn on this knucklehead, and he kind of takes over and goes away again once I walk off set,” he said. His anxiety is often triggered by big public appearances and events, he explained, but staying in character allows him to redirect “the energy of just wanting to throw up.”Although Reynolds's post comes near the tail end of Mental Health Awareness Month, he hopes it will help make it easier for others to feel okay talking about their mental health challenges. “We don't talk enough about mental health and don't do enough to destigmatize talking about it,” Reynolds wrote. “But, as with this post, better late than never, I hope…”Related: Source link Read the full article

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Second round times for Friday

By: Jessica Marksbury May 27, 2021

Jordan Spieth's resurgence continued at the first round of the 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge, where he's a co-leader with Sergio Garcia. Getty Images The 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge continues on Friday at Colonial CC in Texas. You can find full second-round tee times at the bottom of this post. Notable groupings for Charles Schwab Challenge Round 2 Jordan Spieth signed for a tidy, bogey-free round of seven-under 63 on Thursday to co-lead the tournament after the opening round. Spieth’s group mates — PGA champ Phil Mickelson and defending Charles Schwab champ Daniel Berger — will have some work to do on Friday to catch him, with Mickelson posting an opening round of three-over 73 and Berger carding a two-under 68. The star-studded trio will tee it up together again on Friday at 2:06 p.m. ET. Spieth’s co-leader is another familiar name: Sergio Garcia, who also turned in a clean card that included five birdies, an eagle and zero bogeys, joined Spieth at the top of the leaderboard late in the afternoon on Thursday. Fun fact: Garcia won his very first PGA Tour event at Colonial 20 years ago. He’ll play the second round alongside Ryan Palmer and Kevin Kisner at 9:05 a.m. ET. Other notable groupings for the second round include Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Billy Horschel (9:16 a.m. ET); Patrick Reed, Joaquin Niemann and Justin Rose (1:55 p.m. ET); and Cameron Champ, Gary Woodland and Adam Long (8:43 a.m. ET). 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge tee times: Round 2 (ET) Tee No. 1 8:10 a.m. – Talor Gooch, Maverick McNealy, Doug Ghim 8:21 a.m. – Brian Harman, Mark Hubbard, Doc Redman 8:32 a.m. – Rory Sabbatini, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Matthew NeSmith 8:43 a.m. – Robert Streb, Matt Kuchar, Brice Garnett 8:54 a.m. – Sebastián Muñoz, Andrew Putnam, Abraham Ancer 9:05 a.m. – Carlos Ortiz, Graeme McDowell, Russell Knox 9:16 a.m. – Hudson Swafford, Brandt Snedeker, Troy Merritt 9:27 a.m. – Michael Thompson, J.T. Poston, Mackenzie Hughes 9:38 a.m. – Charley Hoffman, Scott Brown, Cameron Percy 9:49 a.m. – Keith Clearwater, Michael Visacki, John Augenstein 1:00 p.m. – Harold Varner III, Robby Shelton 1:11 p.m. – Brian Stuard, Peter Uihlein, Tyler McCumber 1:22 p.m. – Chris Kirk, Brandon Hagy, Xinjun Zhang 1:33 p.m. – Si Woo Kim, Dylan Frittelli, Kevin Streelman 1:44 p.m. – Branden Grace, Kevin Na, Brian Gay 1:55 p.m. – Patrick Reed, Joaquin Niemann, Justin Rose 2:06 p.m. – Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Daniel Berger 2:17 p.m. – Joel Dahmen, Nick Taylor, Zach Johnson 2:28 p.m. – Peter Malnati, Cam Davis, Will Zalatoris 2:39 p.m. – Tom Hoge, Sepp Straka, Michael Gligic Tee No. 10 8:10 a.m. – James Hahn, Matt Wallace, Adam Schenk 8:21 a.m. – Scott Stallings, Tom Lewis, Will Gordon 8:32 a.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Danny Lee, Denny McCarthy 8:43 a.m. – Cameron Champ, Gary Woodland, Adam Long 8:54 a.m. – Jason Kokrak, Henrik Stenson, Tony Finau 9:05 a.m. – Sergio Garcia, Ryan Palmer, Kevin Kisner 9:16 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa 9:27 a.m. – Andrew Landry, Nate Lashley, Jimmy Walker 9:38 a.m. – Byeong Hun An, Sam Ryder, Wyndham Clark 9:49 a.m. – Joseph Bramlett, Kramer Hickok, Sahith Theegala 1:00 p.m. – Lucas Glover, Anirban Lahiri 1:11 p.m. – Adam Hadwin, Camilo Villegas, Scottie Scheffler 1:22 p.m. – J.J. Henry, Patrick Rodgers, Henrik Norlander 1:33 p.m. – C.T. Pan, Austin Cook, Jason Dufner 1:44 p.m. – Matt Jones, Corey Conners, Patton Kizzire 1:55 p.m. – Scott Piercy, Ian Poulter, D.A. Points 2:06 p.m. – Sungjae Im, Brendon Todd, Pat Perez 2:17 p.m. – Richy Werenski, Sung Kang, Keith Mitchell 2:28 p.m. – Kyle Stanley, Lee Westwood, Harry Higgs 2:39 p.m. – Cameron Tringale, Luke List, Chase Seiffert 2:50 p.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Vincent Whaley, Erik Compton How to bet on the Charles Schwab Challenge — risk-free! Chirp is a new golf-gaming platform that allows users to place live bets using fake money to win amazing, real-life prizes. The app, which is owned by GOLF.com’s parent company, 8AM Golf, is designed to inject the adrenaline of live gambling into a fun, risk-free contest. For more on Chirp, click here.

Golf.com As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com. Source link Read the full article

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Berlin Summer Special to Present One-Off Audience Award –

  To celebrate its one-off summer event next month, the Berlin International Film Festival is introducing a one-off award. For the first, and presumably last, time, Berlin audiences will get to vote on their favorite film of the Berlinale competition lineup. Berlin’s international jury in March, in an online-only version of the festival, picked Radu Jude’s Romanian satire Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn as the best film of the 2021 lineup. The regular Berlin audience will get their say during the Berlinale’s in-person summer event, which runs June 9-20. The 15 competition titles will screen at a series of outdoor venues, alongside winners from the festival’s other sections. The Berlin fans can then vote for the 2021 Berlinale Competition Audience Award. Berlin has had an audience award for its Panorama sidebar since 1999, but never for its main competition. “Our stalwart audiences had to wait a long time for the news that they would be able to enjoy the Berlinale films this year. That’s why we wanted to give viewers an additional way to participate in the Berlinale and created the 2021 Berlinale Competition Audience Award,” said Berlinale co-directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian. “We’re looking forward to strong participation and we’re curious to see which film wins.” Both the Competition and Panorama Audience Awards will be presented June 20 and followed by screenings of the two winners. Other awards that will be announced during this year’s summer festival included the Berlinale Documentary Awards for best documentary film, which comes with $49,000 (40,000 euros) in prize money, and the best first feature award for this year’s outstanding directorial debut, which is endowed with a $61,000 (50,000 euro) bursary.     Read the full article

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Amazon Unveils Italian Originals Slate –

  Any news out of Amazon Studios this week was bound to be overshadowed by Amazon’s $8.45 billion mega-deal to acquire MGM Holdings but, undaunted, the company’s European operation on Thursday unveiled a new slate of scripted original series and films from Italy. The virtual showcase, presented online, included the announcement of new local-language series The Bad Guy and Prisma, as well as cast reveals for Amazon’s new Italian dramas Bang Bang Baby, Monterossi and Everybody Loves Diamonds. The Bad Guy, a dark crime comedy, revolves around Nino Scotellaro, a Sicilian public prosecutor famous for fighting the mafia, who is accused of being a mafioso himself. With nothing left to lose, Nino decides to play “the bad guy” and take revenge on those who have smeared his reputation. Ludovica Rampoldi, Davide Serino and Giuseppe G. Stasi created the original series, which Giancarlo Fontana and Giuseppe G. Stasi will direct. Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima and Carlotta Calori are producing through their Indigo Film banner. The Bad Guy will launch exclusively on Prime Video in Italy and around the world in 2022. Prisma is a coming-of-age drama series focused on self-image and identity that tells the story of Marco and Andrea, two identical twin brothers who are both challenging gender norms in different ways. Created by Ludovico Bessegato and Alice Urciuolo, directed by Bessegato, and produced by Rosario Rinaldo of Cross Productions, Prisma will launch across Amazon’s global footprint next year. Among its cast reveals, Amazon said Arianna Becheroni, Adriano Giannini, Lucia Mascino and Dora Romano will star in the upcoming series Bang Bang Baby, a crime drama set in late 1980s Milan which tells the story of a shy, insecure teenager who becomes the youngest member of a criminal organization. Lorenzo Mieli is producing the series for Fremantle companies The Apartment and Wildside. It launches on Amazon worldwide in 2022. Kim Rossi Stuart has signed on to star as Leonardo Notarbartolo in Amazon’s Italian heist series Everybody Loves Diamonds. The show, inspired by the real-life 2003 Antwerp Diamond Heist, follows a gang of small-time crooks who succeed in pulling off one of the biggest robberies of all time. Gianluca Maria Tavarelli directs, with Wildside’s Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Gangarossa producing. The show is set to premiere on Amazon in 2023. Aurora Giovinazzo confirmed in the starring role of Stella in the young adult comedy Anni da cane, Amazon’s first original Italian-language feature film, alongside Isabella Mottinelli, Federico Cesari, Luca Vannuccini, Sabrina Impacciatore, and Achille Lauro. Stella And veteran Italian star Fabrizio Bentivoglio will play the lead in Monterossi, a six-episode detective thriller series based on Alessandro Robecchi’s best-selling crime novels Questa non è una Canzone d’Amore and Di Rabbia e di Vento. Anni da cane is directed by Fabio Mollo, and produced by Notorious Pictures, and will launch exclusively on Amazon Prime this autumn. Monterossi, produced by Palomar, will launch on Amazon Prime in Italy in 2022. “We are building a curated slate of exceptional and distinctive Original Italian productions,” said Georgia Brown, head of European Amazon originals, Amazon Studios. “Our approach is to work with the most innovative Italian creators and talent to create captivating and ambitious local stories for our customers, bringing to life characters and worlds in a way they will not have seen before. Today’s announcements are the results of that ambition and we look forward to bringing these compelling stories to our viewers not only in Italy, but also to over 200 million Prime members around the world.” The new drama slate follows Amazon’s lineup of mostly unscripted Italian originals unveiled earlier this year.     Read the full article

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Kaleh Marley: Is the Seeking Sister Wife Star Pregnant?

On the latest season oof Seeking Sister Wife, Kaleh Marley made the very healthy decision to walk away from Jarod and Vanessa.

The reality star realized that she needed to get the heck out of that terrible situation and start a new life. Now, however? Many social media users are wondering of Kaleh has started a different kind of new life... inside of her womb!

Could Kaleh Marley really be pregnant? We have a couple powerful reasons to think so. FIRST, there's the following piece of apparent evidence. It's a photo Marley uploaded a short while ago to Instagram, only to eventually take down. But it sure looks like the former TLC personality is rocking a baby bump, doesn't it?

SECOND, while this revealing snapshot has been deleted, Kaley has left up on her same official Instagram page a link to a baby registry on Amazon. The registry lists an arrival date on an impending child as August 30, 2021, which would mean Kaley is pretty far along in her pregnancy and which would jibe with the snapshot above. Because, let's face it, that's the look of a woman in her third and final trimester, wouldn't you say? Or at least a woman very close to that stage.

IF Kaley is expecting, the obvious follow-up question would be whether or not Jarrod is the baby's father. IF we're also to assume that Marley really is due at the end of August, this would mean she conceived the boy or girl some time in December, a time frame that probably rules Jarrod out. But you never know, of course. We're speculating a bit here overall and jumping to a decent number of conclusions.

The last photos of Kaleh posted by Jarod, Vanessa, or their joint Polygamy social media accounts were in November of 2019. Jarod met his first wife, Vanessa, while he was still in the military. He suggested they try polygamy about six-and-a-half years into the relationship, prompting a disgusting response at first from his spouse. "The response that I received from her was a flat, pure, unadulterated no," Jarod previously said.

"I thought it was more for you than it was for me. That was the biggest stigma that I had to get over," Vanessa told Jarod on air at one point in reference to her understandable initial objection, adding: "I knew absolutely nothing about polygamy. It took me a lot of learning, background, history, everything, to actually understand the benefits of it. "I realized I would have somebody who has my back with not only my children, with my husband, with my house, with everything." We guess that's true, to some unusual extent.

The agreement led the couple to track down Kaleh and invite her into their home and life. By all accounts, the plural marriage lasted approximately three years -- until Kaleh decided to quarantine on her own during the COVID-19 pandemic and then realized she was happier on her own, as documented on the season of Seeking Sister Wife that premiered in late March. But is she really on her own these days? Or might she soon be welcoming a tiny son or daughter to keep her very close company in the many years ahead?   Read the full article

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Here are the next 9 PGA Championship host courses

Olympic Club will host the PGA Championship for the first time in 2028.

Patrick Koenig Days removed from a historic Phil Mickelson PGA Championship victory, we can now officially put Kiawah Island in the books. And now it’s time to look ahead. The 2022 PGA Championship is headed to Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla. It was originally slated for Trump Bedminster in New Jersey but those plans were canceled in the wake of the January storming of the United States capital. Southern Hills has hosted the PGA Championship four times before, most recently in 2007 when Tiger Woods triumphed over Woody Austin in the sweltering heat. High temperatures for the tournament that week hung right around 100 degrees. Get excited, folks! From there, the PGA heads up to what will surely be a chillier location: Rochester, N.Y., and Oak Hill Country Club. From New York, it heads to Kentucky, and then to North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, California and so on. No major championship gets around better than the PGA. For the full slate of nine future host courses, locations and years, check out the listing below. 2022 PGA Championship: Southern Hills Country Club — Tulsa, Oklahoma 2023 PGA Championship: Oak Hill Country Club — Rochester, New York 2024 PGA Championship: Valhalla Golf Club — Louisville, Kentucky

Rory McIlroy at the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. Getty Images 2025 PGA Championship: Quail Hollow Club — Charlotte, North Carolina 2026 PGA Championship: Aronimink Golf Club — Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 2027 PGA Championship: PGA Frisco — Frisco, Texas 2028 PGA Championship: Olympic Club — San Francisco, California

The 2nd green at Olympic Club’s Lake course. Patrick Koenig 2029 PGA Championship: Baltusrol Golf Club — Springfield, New Jersey 2031 PGA Championship: Congressional Country Club — Bethesda, Maryland 2034 PGA Championship: PGA Frisco — Frisco, Texas

  A senior editor for GOLF.com, Zak joined the GOLF staff three weeks after college graduation. He is the utility infielder of the brand, spanning digital, print and video. His main duty is as a host for various GOLF.com video properties and its award-winning podcasts. When the Masters comes around, be sure to tune in to hear him and fellow staffers recount the most memorable tournaments in Augusta National history on A Pod Unlike Any Other.     Read the full article

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Kevin Clark, School of Rock Drummer, Dead at 32 After Cycling Accident

Kevin Clark, a child actor best known for playing Freddy Jones in the 2003 comedy School of Rock, was killed on Wednesday in Chicago after being involved in a cycling accident. He was 32 years old. The tragic death has been confirmed to multiple outlets by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

The musician had reportedly been riding his bicycle early yesterday when a motorist struck him. He was rushed to a hospital after the crash, but was pronounced dead a short time later, at 2:04 a.m. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the driver of the vehicle was a 20-year-old woman who was issued citations by police following the incident. According to police, the crash remains under investigation.

Clark grew up in Highland Park and started playing drums at age three by “hitting pots and pans in the basement,” his mother, Allison, told the aforementioned newspaper. He started private lessons at age five and could also play guitar, piano and violin. Just this past weekend, Clark performed live for the first time with a new band. “He told his bandmates just yesterday: You know, this is finally the life I want to live. And we’re going to make it. You’re my musical family -- my family -- and we’re all going to make it,” Allison Clark told The Chicago Sun-Times.

Clark had not acted since his turn as Freddy, a.k.a. “Spazzy McGee,” in School of Rock. However, he had continued his musical career as a drummer. During a 2018 concert with his band Tenacious D, School of Rock lead Jack Black reunited with his younger costar, who presented him with a t-shirt for his Dreadwolf project. In a photo obtained by TMZ, Black even posed with Clark while wearing the merchandise.

Reflecting on her son's short-lived yet memorable time in show business, Allison Clark said: "He just kind of shined. He took it on right away, but he never really acted afterward." In 2013, the cast reunited for a performance in Austin, Texas, to celebrate the film's 10th anniversary. C lark reprised his role as the band’s drummer for a one-time-only rendition of the group’s signature song, also titled “School of Rock.”

Wrote Black on Instagram after learning of this awful news: Devastating news. Kevin is gone. Way too soon. Beautiful soul. So many great memories. Heartbroken. Sending love to his family and the whole School of Rock community. We send our condolences to the friends, family members and loved ones of Kevin Clark. May he rest in peace. Edit Delete Source link Read the full article

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Sony Pictures Not For Sale, Says CEO Yoshida Kenichiro –

Sony Pictures is not for sale, nor will it be spun off as a standalone company anytime soon, says Sony Group CEO Yoshida Kenichiro.

The rapid consolidation is seen across the screen sector — such as Amazon’s $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM and WarnerMedia’s high-profile merger with Discovery — has fueled industry speculation about Sony Pictures’ future. And the company’s strategic decision to act as a content supplier to established streamers rather than launching a flagship direct-to-consumer service of its own has made it something of an outlier in the streaming era. Meanwhile, the high price tag Amazon paid for MGM, which is a significantly smaller operation than Sony Pictures, underscored the enormous value Sony Group could potentially command for its film and television operations should it be open to parting with them. “There is a drastic realignment in the media industry, but I think our strategy of creating content as an independent studio while working with various partners will work,” Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida told the Financial Times Wednesday. Yoshida also was adamant that Sony Pictures should remain part of the Sony Group, rather than being spun off as some activists investors have advocated in the past. During Yoshida’s tenure, Sony instead has pursued a strategy of linking and leveraging its various entertainment services across gaming, anime, music, and film. Blockbuster PlayStation games like Uncharted and Twisted Metal are being developed into feature films, while anime properties like the blockbuster Demon Slayer franchise have proved money spinners across TV, film, and music. “The PlayStation project has tremendous momentum with the establishment of PlayStation productions and ten projects already in development,” said Sony Pictures Entertainment chief Tony Vinciquerra during an investor day presentation Thursday. Central to Sony’s strategy are the two recently unveiled licensing deals with Netflix and Disney+. Beginning in 2022, Netflix will have exclusive first-pay-window rights to all Sony Pictures films following their theatrical and home entertainment windows. For their next window, the films will then shift to Disney-owned streaming services Disney+ and Hulu, as well as to Disney’s linear TV networks, including ABC, Disney Channels, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic. Both deals cover Sony’s entire 2022-26 theatrical slate. “I think the reason we were able to sign good deals with Netflix and Disney is that they were attracted to our PlayStation Productions pipeline. We can strengthen our ability to create content through such group-wide collaboration,” Yoshida said. Vinciquerra added Friday that Sony has the capability to develop and produce far more films than the 12-15 theatrical titles that it typically releases annually. The SPE chief said the studio plans to exploit the streamers’ ravenous demand for content by producing a significant additional number of mid-budget titles for direct release over streaming platforms. In all cases, Sony will retain ownership to the films, licensing them for limited windows to its streaming partners.     Read the full article

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Tony Awards Sets Date for Show Honoring 2019-20 Season –

The 2019-20 Broadway season is finally getting its Tony Awards.

CBS and Tony Award Productions said Wednesday that the ceremony will air as a four-hour “event” across CBS, Paramount+, and the CBS app on Sunday, Sept. 26. The news about the special, The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back, comes three weeks after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sept. 14 as the reopening date for Broadway, with theaters to be open at 100 percent capacity. After that announcement, several shows were quick to reveal reopening dates, including Hamilton, The Lion King, and Wicked.  The Tony Awards originally had been scheduled for June 7, 2020, but they were initially postponed indefinitely after the Broadway closure, with industry insiders mulling over how best to honor the work from the truncated 2019-2020 season. Even though the last night of Broadway theater was March 11, the Tony Awards committee determined that the abbreviated 2019-20 season ran from April 26, 2019, to Feb. 19, 2020, ending the season roughly a month before what ended up being the final Broadway performances of the year. Only 18 shows were eligible this year, roughly half the usual field. Nominations were announced in October, but there was no mention of a date for the awards to be handed out. Now, the show is set to take place nearly a year after those norms were unveiled and months after the close of voting on March 15. The Sept. 26 event will kick off with the presentation of the 74th Annual Tony Awards at 7 p.m, ET/4 p.m. PT live exclusively on Paramount+. The streaming presentation will “honor the outstanding shows, performances, and artistry of the 2019-20 Broadway season, which was brought to a halt by the COVID-19 pandemic.” (The Tony Awards are presented by the Broadway League and The American Theatre Wing.) The CBS and Tony Award Productions will present a two-hour special starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS that also will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ and on the CBS app. That special will consist of a live concert event featuring Broadway entertainers and Tony winners, along with special performances by the three Tony-nominated best musical contenders: Jagged Little Pill, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Tina – The Tina Turner Musical. It also will include the live presentation of three Tony Awards: best play, best revival of a play, and best musical. Other winners will be “celebrated” throughout the broadcast, producers said but did not offer further details, including the venue for the show. “We are thrilled to bring the best of Broadway to television viewers who have been through so much without the joys, comfort, and excitement that live theatre provides,” said Jack Sussman, executive vp specials, music, live events and alternative programming at CBS Entertainment. “With the combined power of CBS and Paramount+, the show will honor this year’s Tony Award nominees and winners in a new format unlike any other, and celebrate the iconic music, memorable performances and unique personalities that make Broadway so special.” Said Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing, in a joint statement: “After this devastating past year and a half for our industry, our city and for the entire world, we are excited to finally be able to celebrate the return of Broadway, our Tony Award nominees and winners in this new and exciting format. There is nothing that compares to the magic of live theater — and we are thrilled to be able to share its celebratory return and the incredible talent and artistry of the abbreviated 2019-2020 season with theatre fans everywhere.” Additional information about the special will be available in the coming months.     Read the full article

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Inert, fearful Manchester United miss chance to escape their suspended reality | Manchester United

In the end it all came down to this: goalkeeper against goalkeeper, winner takes all. For more than two hours Manchester United and Villarreal had circled each other like staggering boxers: tired limbs throwing tired punches and running through thick mud. The 61st game of Manchester United’s season and the 57th game of Villarreal’s unfolded in a manner we should probably have predicted. But as of 12.54am in Gdansk, as David de Gea stood over his fateful kick, all possibilities remained ridiculously open.It was a game in which United began as favourites, went into half-time as underdogs, looked to have it in the bag by the hour and ended up losing in flabbergasting circumstances. In many ways it was an evening that summed up their season: oscillating wildly between extreme competence and extreme lethargy, sometimes in the same game, occasionally even in the same attack. By the end, it felt as if United were grateful simply to still be there. For Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team, the means justified the soul-crushing end.Ultimately, this wasn’t about who wanted it more. They both wanted it plenty. For United, this wasn’t a test of mettle or character or those myriad indefinable qualities television pundits like to talk about. It was a test of ingenuity too: a measure of their ability to create and innovate and find solutions on the pitch, particularly with no obvious bench option and Solskjær waiting until the 100th minute to make his first change. It was a test of initiative, particularly for a team that has often preferred to play the reactive part in big games. Instead, inert and fearful, they left their fate in the hands of blind chance.At half-time, things were already getting weird. Villarreal were playing their game while preventing United from getting anywhere near theirs. As soon as United remotely threatened, Villarreal’s two banks of four would collapse on to each other like deckchairs, squeezing United’s space, funnelling the ball to their least threatening players. Bruno Fernandes was simply being squeezed out of the game, smothered in sheets of yellow, like a man trapped in a cheese sandwich. United were trying to win a European trophy through the playmaking skills of Scott McTominay and the crossing ability of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with predictable results.Enter Edinson Cavani, a restless heartthrob of a striker whose desire and work rate often overshadow his immense cleverness. He poached nine minutes into the second half after Marcus Rashford’s hopeful long-range shot. It had the feel of a capricious goal, but the Uruguayan’s skill is in reading the unreadable, priming himself for these moments: the anticipation, the positioning, the clever little shuffle to get back onside just as Rashford was lining up the shot, which given the marginal VAR call required afterwards was almost certainly the difference between goal and no goal.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær congratulates Villarreal on their victory. Photograph: Rafal Oleksiewicz/PAThat was it, or so we thought. Villarreal had lost three times in recent weeks after going ahead; United had won 12 times this season after falling behind. At one point, a flagging Villarreal brought the ball out of midfield on the counterattack, only for Francis Coquelin to simply turn his back, reject the pass and retreat into his own half at a jog. It was the point at which it felt like they had nothing left to offer. As it turned out, we were barely halfway done.The evening began to take on an epic quality, even as both sides seemed to shrink from the fight. There were misplaced passes, ugly grapples, runs to nowhere and long balls to nobody. Rashford missed a golden chance. Villarreal howled for a handball penalty in the dying minutes. Solskjær hurriedly made the rest of his substitutions in extra time, like a man frantically using up the rest of his Clubcard vouchers before they expired. How might Juan Mata have influenced this slow-burning game? Sadly, we had to wait until the 123rd minute to find out.The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.And so to penalties. And really, what did it matter in the end? What could anybody, least of all United, possibly have learned from all this? If De Gea had saved one of his penalties, would it have served as evidence of their indomitable champion mentality? Of course not, no more than his miss encapsulated their frailty. The telling decisions had already been made, or perhaps not made.Against the seventh-best team in La Liga, the second-best team in the Premier League simply blundered on in the hope that fate would reward them for being Manchester United. Instead, they remain trapped in a sort of suspended reality, a team of big moments who weirdly never seem to win the big moments, a club in eternal transition, convinced that this is the group, these are the players, this is the coach, but that next year is always the year. Source link Read the full article

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Karine Jean-Pierre Makes History As Second Black Woman to Give a White House Briefing

After Judy Smith became the first Black woman to brief the White House press corps in 1991, Karine Jean-Pierre makes history as the second Black woman to do so. While the moment comes as much-needed good news, Jean-Pierre would have people think that it is just another day, as she sought to downplay the historic nature of Wednesday’s press briefing (May 26), saying the Biden administration has embarked on a broad effort to ensure representation.“I appreciate the historic nature,” Jean-Pierre said when prompted by a reporter. “I really do, but I believe that being behind this podium, being in this room, being in this building is not about one person. It’s about what we do on behalf of the American people.” For those unaware, Jean-Pierre is the principal deputy press secretary within the Biden administration and also the first openly gay spokeswoman to field questions in the briefing room. “The president believes representation matters,” Jean-Pierre said. “This is not about me, this is not about any of us.” Love to see @KJP46 @K_JeanPierre make history🤎🤎Judy Smith was the first Black woman to brief the White House press corps in 1991, when she worked as Dep Press Sec for President George H.W. Bush.  Karine Jean-Pierre today became the second ever.Queens & crowns👇🏽It’s handled. pic.twitter.com/tXxJ1nHymZ — @tiffanydcross (@TiffanyDCross) May 26, 2021 This isn’t the first time that Jean-Pierre has been with the White House press corp, as she has done off-camera briefings aboard Air Force One on numerous occasions and can be seen frequently in the briefing room whenever White House press secretary Jen Psaki stands at the podium.  The hype about Karine Jean-Pierre’s appearance isn’t just tied to the history-making person she is, but also as a possible candidate to take over Jen Psaki’s seat when she eventually steps down. Psaki said on a recent podcast episode with David Axelrod that someone else will likely succeed her at some point next year, making the intrigue over the not-yet-open position highly anticipated. Prior to this role, Jean-Pierre was an organizer and activist, plus former lecturer in international and public affairs at Columbia University. She also served as senior advisor and national spokeswoman for MoveOn.org and as the chief of staff for Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris during the 2020 presidential campaign with Joe Biden. TOPICS:  Joe Biden kamala harris Karine Jean-Pierre White House and the press Source link Read the full article