Any bike suggestions for someone 5'5" living in Houston Texas!? I'm looking for a something that has enough power to get around the Houston traffic but also take on trails or the beach with some friends on the weekends..I'm fairly new to street riding so I would like to stay somewhat budget conscious.

Enjoy your weekend Houston!
If you find value in these posts please sign up for my email list. I send the list out on Thursday by email and every new signup is appreciated.

THURSDAY- JUNE 8th 🌦

boygenius @ White Oak Music Hall @ 6PM
MYOA @ Warehouse Live @ 8PM
Junior Brown @ The Heights Theater @ 8PM
​

FRIDAY- JUNE 9th 🌦

SaberCats vs Old Glory DC @ SaberCats Stadium @ 8PM
Max Roach Documentary Screening @ MFAH @ 7PM This new documentary is a profound and expansive portrait of legendary jazz drummer, composer, bandleader, and activist Max Roach.
Mixers & Elixirs @ HMNS @ 7PM Make friends with like-minded brainiacs on this special event where science meets dancing, music, food, and drinks!
Contemporary Dance Performance @ Miller Outdoor Theatre @ 8:30PM ‘Restore’ dance performance features new signature works by the nationally acclaimed Houston Contemporary Dance Company.
Duran Duran @ Woodlands Pavilion @ 7PM *With Nile Rodgers & Chic + Bastille
Inlovingmemory @ Bayou Music Center @ 8PM *With Bones, Xavier Wulf, Eddy Baker
Muscadine Bloodline @ House of Blues @ 7PM
Gimme Gimme Disco @ White Oak Music Hall @ 9PM
Luci @ Stereo Live @ 10PM
Otep @ Warehouse Live @ 8PM
​

SATURDAY- JUNE 10th 🌦

Dynamo vs LAFC @ Shell Energy Stadium @ 7:30PM
Art Beyond Sight @ MFAH @ 11AM Trained educators use verbal description and hands-on materials to engage bling or partially sighted visitors with museum art.
‘The Cool World’ Screening @ MFAH @ 7PM This landmark film directed by Shirley Clarke reflects the harsh realities of Harlem street life through the story of 15-year-old Duke and his gang.
Dance & Movement Workshop @ DeLUXE Theater @ 10AM Join artist Donna Crump for a community dance and movement workshop at the historic DeLUXE Theater.
Ongoing - Saturday Stargazing @ George Observatory in Needville
Ongoing - Arte en el Parque / Art in the Park @ Discovery Green @ 12PM Students, ages 3 to 12 will create a unique art piece while improving their speaking and listening skills en español!
Summer Neighborhood Concert @ Austin High School @ 7:30PM Join your friends, family, and community members for a FREE evening of family fun and music performed by the Houston Symphony.
DJ Sun & Aperio @ Miller Outdoor Theatre @ 8:30PM Enjoy a warm summer evening of Lo-Fi jams by Aperio and live orchestral performance of DJ Sun’s soulful ‘Loveletter.’
Mika Singh - Bollywood @ NRG Arena @ 8PM
Koe Wetzel @ Woodlands Pavilion @ 7PM *With Huser Brothers
Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlán @ Bayou Music Center @ 8PM
The Tontons @ The Heights Theater @ 8PM
An Orchestra Rendition of Dr. Dre 2001 @ House of Blues @ 8PM *Presented by Alternative Symphony
Modestep @ Stereo Live @ 10PM
​

SUNDAY - JUNE 11th 🌞

Dash vs NJ/NY Gotham FC @ Shell Energy Stadium @ 6PM
Bilingual Zumba @ MFAH @ 11AM FiTMiX instructors get you up and moving with a free zumba class.
'Dancing the Twist in Bamako' Screening @ MFAH @ 5PM This is a romantic story set against the backdrop of post-colonial Mali in 1960s on the cusp of dramatic political change.
Becky Robinson Comedy Show @ House of Blues @ 8PM
Weston Estate @ Warehouse Live @ 8PM
DJ Pauly D @ Clé Pool @ 2PM
​

All weekend

SATURDAY & SUNDAY - The Texas Tenors @ The Grand Opera House @ 8PM / 3PM The Texas Tenors are the most successful music group and third highest selling artist in the history of America’s Got Talent!
All weekend - Arnez J Stand Up @ Houston Improv
All weekend - ‘Servan of Two Masters’ Play @ Hubbard Theatre Presented by Alley Theatre, this new adaptation of the classic Carlo Goldoni comedic masterpiece will have you laughing like nothing else!
All weekend - ‘Swan Lake’ Ballet @ Brown Theater Houston Ballet’s season comes to an end with one of ballet world’s greatest love stories, ‘Swan Lake.’
All weekend - 'Wicked' Musical @ The Hobby Center A Broadway sensation, this musical looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle.

Ongoing

Ongoing - Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces Exhibition @ MFAH NEW - See outstanding works by art stars including Cezanne, Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Manet, and Modigliani presented within the context of their experiences.
Ongoing - 'Where Do We Go From here' Exhibition @ CAMH Contemporary Arts Museum Houston’s (CAMH) Teen Council presents their 13th biennial exhibition featuring work from Houston-area teen artists.
Ongoing - 'Ming Smith: Feeling the Future' Exhibition @ CAMH NEW - the exhibition explores artist Ming Smith’s unique, multi-layered work in various formats.
Ongoing - Si Lewen ‘The Parade’ Exhibition @ Menil Menil’s latest exhibition features 63 drawings by Polish-American artist Si Lewen, which compromise a graphic novel depicting WWII and the liberation of Poland.
Ongoing - ‘Hyperreal: Gray Foy’ Exhibition @ Menil The exhibition features American artists Gray Foy’s most important and celebrated works.
Ongoing - ‘The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps’ Exhibition @ Menil The exhibition explores the influential vision of one of the most distinguished curators - Walter Hopps, and features artwork by Warhol, Kienholz, Gilliam, and many others.
Ongoing - 'Art of the Cameroon Grassfields' Exhibition @ Menil This exhibition celebrates the enduring artistic traditions from Cameroon and its global diaspora.
Ongoing - Wall Drawing Series: Mel Bochner @ Menil Drawing Institute The Menil Drawing Institute is proud to work with artist Mel Bochner on the fourth installment of the museum’s ephemeral wall drawing series.

Enjoy your weekend Houston!
If you find value in these posts please sign up for my email list. I send the list out on Thursday by email and every new signup is appreciated.

THURSDAY- JUNE 8th 🌦

boygenius @ White Oak Music Hall @ 6PM
MYOA @ Warehouse Live @ 8PM
Junior Brown @ The Heights Theater @ 8PM

FRIDAY- JUNE 9th 🌦

SaberCats vs Old Glory DC @ SaberCats Stadium @ 8PM
Max Roach Documentary Screening @ MFAH @ 7PM This new documentary is a profound and expansive portrait of legendary jazz drummer, composer, bandleader, and activist Max Roach.
Mixers & Elixirs @ HMNS @ 7PM Make friends with like-minded brainiacs on this special event where science meets dancing, music, food, and drinks!
Contemporary Dance Performance @ Miller Outdoor Theatre @ 8:30PM ‘Restore’ dance performance features new signature works by the nationally acclaimed Houston Contemporary Dance Company.
Duran Duran @ Woodlands Pavilion @ 7PM *With Nile Rodgers & Chic + Bastille
Inlovingmemory @ Bayou Music Center @ 8PM *With Bones, Xavier Wulf, Eddy Baker
Muscadine Bloodline @ House of Blues @ 7PM
Gimme Gimme Disco @ White Oak Music Hall @ 9PM
Luci @ Stereo Live @ 10PM
Otep @ Warehouse Live @ 8PM

SATURDAY- JUNE 10th 🌦

Dynamo vs LAFC @ Shell Energy Stadium @ 7:30PM
Art Beyond Sight @ MFAH @ 11AM Trained educators use verbal description and hands-on materials to engage bling or partially sighted visitors with museum art.
‘The Cool World’ Screening @ MFAH @ 7PM This landmark film directed by Shirley Clarke reflects the harsh realities of Harlem street life through the story of 15-year-old Duke and his gang.
Dance & Movement Workshop @ DeLUXE Theater @ 10AM Join artist Donna Crump for a community dance and movement workshop at the historic DeLUXE Theater.
Ongoing - Saturday Stargazing @ George Observatory in Needville
Ongoing - Arte en el Parque / Art in the Park @ Discovery Green @ 12PM Students, ages 3 to 12 will create a unique art piece while improving their speaking and listening skills en español!
Summer Neighborhood Concert @ Austin High School @ 7:30PM Join your friends, family, and community members for a FREE evening of family fun and music performed by the Houston Symphony.
DJ Sun & Aperio @ Miller Outdoor Theatre @ 8:30PM Enjoy a warm summer evening of Lo-Fi jams by Aperio and live orchestral performance of DJ Sun’s soulful ‘Loveletter.’
Mika Singh - Bollywood @ NRG Arena @ 8PM
Koe Wetzel @ Woodlands Pavilion @ 7PM *With Huser Brothers
Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlán @ Bayou Music Center @ 8PM
The Tontons @ The Heights Theater @ 8PM
An Orchestra Rendition of Dr. Dre 2001 @ House of Blues @ 8PM *Presented by Alternative Symphony
Modestep @ Stereo Live @ 10PM

SUNDAY - JUNE 11th 🌞

Dash vs NJ/NY Gotham FC @ Shell Energy Stadium @ 6PM
Bilingual Zumba @ MFAH @ 11AM FiTMiX instructors get you up and moving with a free zumba class.
'Dancing the Twist in Bamako' Screening @ MFAH @ 5PM This is a romantic story set against the backdrop of post-colonial Mali in 1960s on the cusp of dramatic political change.
Becky Robinson Comedy Show @ House of Blues @ 8PM
Weston Estate @ Warehouse Live @ 8PM
DJ Pauly D @ Clé Pool @ 2PM

All weekend

SATURDAY & SUNDAY - The Texas Tenors @ The Grand Opera House @ 8PM / 3PM The Texas Tenors are the most successful music group and third highest selling artist in the history of America’s Got Talent!
All weekend - Arnez J Stand Up @ Houston Improv
All weekend - ‘Servan of Two Masters’ Play @ Hubbard Theatre Presented by Alley Theatre, this new adaptation of the classic Carlo Goldoni comedic masterpiece will have you laughing like nothing else!
All weekend - ‘Swan Lake’ Ballet @ Brown Theater Houston Ballet’s season comes to an end with one of ballet world’s greatest love stories, ‘Swan Lake.’
All weekend - 'Wicked' Musical @ The Hobby Center A Broadway sensation, this musical looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle.

Ongoing

Ongoing - Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces Exhibition @ MFAH NEW - See outstanding works by art stars including Cezanne, Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Manet, and Modigliani presented within the context of their experiences.
Ongoing - 'Where Do We Go From here' Exhibition @ CAMH Contemporary Arts Museum Houston’s (CAMH) Teen Council presents their 13th biennial exhibition featuring work from Houston-area teen artists.
Ongoing - 'Ming Smith: Feeling the Future' Exhibition @ CAMH NEW - the exhibition explores artist Ming Smith’s unique, multi-layered work in various formats.
Ongoing - Si Lewen ‘The Parade’ Exhibition @ Menil Menil’s latest exhibition features 63 drawings by Polish-American artist Si Lewen, which compromise a graphic novel depicting WWII and the liberation of Poland.
Ongoing - ‘Hyperreal: Gray Foy’ Exhibition @ Menil The exhibition features American artists Gray Foy’s most important and celebrated works.
Ongoing - ‘The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps’ Exhibition @ Menil The exhibition explores the influential vision of one of the most distinguished curators - Walter Hopps, and features artwork by Warhol, Kienholz, Gilliam, and many others.
Ongoing - 'Art of the Cameroon Grassfields' Exhibition @ Menil This exhibition celebrates the enduring artistic traditions from Cameroon and its global diaspora.
Ongoing - Wall Drawing Series: Mel Bochner @ Menil Drawing Institute The Menil Drawing Institute is proud to work with artist Mel Bochner on the fourth installment of the museum’s ephemeral wall drawing series.

Our Face had to leave the game because of work issues. I'm looking for someone willing to play a Face in my SR campaign. The group could also use a Street Samurai. The group is currently in Houston, Texas. The group is currently composed of a Hacker, a Rigger, and a Magician. We have a Mercenary from Israel, but she barely plays.
We play on Discord.

Yesterday as i was driving home, i got pulled over doing 45 in a 35. (not a residential area or a school zone just a regular street.) I genuinely didn’t realize i was speeding and was just paying attention to the road which i told the officer, but he still ticketed me. I heard that if i pay the ticket it makes my insurance rates go up for years? What would be the best thing to do in this situation? Hire a traffic lawyer? Go to court alone and plead no contest? Any advice is greatly appreciated. I’m located in Houston Texas.

Judgment Day 2007
Date: 20/5/07
Location: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Two-out-of-Three Falls Match for the United States Championship:
MVP (c) vs Chris Benoit (2-0)
Women’s Championship:
Melina (c) vs Mickie James
Intercontinental Championship:
Bobby Lashley (c) vs Carlito
(Carlito hosts the Carlito Cabana and his guest is Bobby Lashley. Carlito says the way Bobby Lashley has disrespected Mr. McMahon is not cool but what will be cool is him winning the Intercontinental Championship. Lashley says Carlito just like Umaga can kiss Vince’s ass as much as he wants, it’s not going to result in him losing to a little punk like him.)
WWE World Tag Team Championship:
The Hardy Boyz (c) vs Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
(After the match, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas attack The Hardy’s and it’s revealed they’ve reunited!)
Extreme Rules Match for the ECW Championship:
CM Punk (c) vs Elijah Burke
(Elijah Burke attacks CM Punk on ECW and says he’s not finished with him just because he pinned Marcus Cor Von at Backlash. Burke says he’s going to clean up ECW for Vince McMahon by getting the ECW Championship off him because Vince is right, Punk is a misfit who’ll never succeed in the WWE and is only the ECW champion through pure luck. Punk says not only is ECW the land of extreme but it’s also the land of misfits and it makes him and the ECW Championship the perfect marriage. Punk promises to not lose his title to a shameless ass kisser like Elijah Burke.)
World Heavyweight Championship:
Edge (c) vs Mark Henry vs Batista
(After winning the World Heavyweight Championship, Edge says once again he’s proved he’s not only the best wrestler in the company but he’s also the smartest as he watched The Undertaker take the ultimate beating before cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Batista interrupts and tells Edge that he might think he’s smart but the reality is, he’s nothing but a coward who stole the World Heavyweight Championship and it won’t be long till he takes back what’s his. Mark Henry says not only is he back and took out The Undertaker, he’s going to destroy Batista again like he has before and will have no issue taking out Edge too because he has the one thing he really wants an opportunity at, the World Heavyweight Championship. Edge says both men have nothing to do with him and can stay away from his World Heavyweight Championship. However, Teddy Long disagrees and tells Edge that Batista and Mark Henry both have a case so Edge will defend his title against both men at Judgment Day. Edge is furious, already feels like Teddy Long has an agenda against him and demands to be traded back to Raw but Long denies Edge his request. During the match, Batista and Henry are so focused on beating the hell out of each other that it costs them as Edge hits a Spear out of nowhere on Batista and pins him to retain his championship.)
60 Minute Iron Man Match for the WWE Championship:
John Cena (c) vs Shawn Michaels (6-5)
(Shawn Michaels says he had John Cena beat at Backlash and if he wasn’t lucky, he’d be the WWE Champion. Michaels then challenges Cena to defend the WWE Championship against him one more time at Judgment Day. Cena accepts the challenge because he’s a fighting champion. Michaels says he doesn’t want this to be an ordinary match and tells Cena he wants it to a match he won his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 12, an Iron Man Match! Cena says that’s fine because Shawn Michaels is about to find out he isn’t the only iron man in the WWE. Cena also proposes for it to be for a full hour which Michaels accepts. This is essentially the match they had on Raw in London in real life but with a different outcome. John Cena wins 6-5 to retain the WWE Championship in all time classic. After the match as Shawn Michaels gets up and receives a standing ovation from the fans, Randy Orton from out of nowhere hits him with an RKO, beats the hell out of The Showstopper in front of his wife to the point he bleeds and punts him in the skull. This writes Michaels off TV.)
Notes:
(The WWE Draft takes place on the May 28th 2007 episode of Raw. The same picks as in real life occur apart from the fact Bobby Lashley doesn’t need to be drafted to Raw because he’s already a Raw superstar 😅.)
One Night Stand 2007
Date: 3/6/07
Location: Jackson Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match for the WWE World Tag Team Championship:
The Hardy Boyz (c) vs The World’s Greatest Tag Team
Women’s Championship:
Mickie James (c) vs Candice Michelle
Intercontinental Championship:
Bobby Lashley (c) vs Carlito vs Umaga w/Armando Estrada
(Umaga wins the championship after pinning Carlito thanks to Shane McMahon attacking Bobby Lashley who was on verge of retaining his title.)
Street Fight:
Kane vs Mark Henry
(Kane goes after Mark Henry and promises there will be vengeance after what he did to his brother The Undertaker. Henry says Kane doesn’t intimidate him just like The Undertaker doesn’t and he’s just another man on his path of destruction.)
Stretcher Match:
Rob Van Dam vs Randy Orton
(This is Van Dam’s last match in the company for a while as he leaves for TNA.)
Extreme Rules Match for the ECW Championship:
CM Punk (c) vs Chris Benoit
(Vince McMahon says he’s confident for sure that CM Punk’s days as ECW champion are rightfully numbered because he’ll be defending his title against the new draft pick… Chris Benoit! Benoit says Punk’s a talented wrestler but he’s no Chris Benoit, the greatest technical wrestler on the planet. Punk says he has a huge level of respect for what Benoit’s accomplished in his wrestling career but he sees this as a massive opportunity to prove doubters like Vince McMahon wrong and he’ll ensure he does in what’s no doubt his biggest challenge since winning the ECW Championship. CM Punk wins clean to retain.)
Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship:
Edge (c) vs Batista
(Batista says that weasel Edge being the World Champion makes him sick and promises he’ll destroy him and take back the title. Edge says Batista doesn’t deserve another chance at the World Championship but Theodore Long disagrees and says Batista’s two one on one rematches for the title never had a definitive finish so he announces Edge will face Batista at One Night Stand and the match will be… a Steel Cage Match! Edge tries to convince Long to change the stipulation but Long isn’t having it and tells him he’s giving the fans what they want. Edge sneaks a chain into the match, smashes Batista over the head with it and escapes the cage to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.)
Falls Count Anywhere Match for the WWE Championship:
John Cena (c) vs Booker T w/Sharmell
(After being drafted to Raw, Booker T immediately sets his sights on becoming the WWE Champion. Booker T says Raw is a far fairer run place with Jonathan Coachman in charge compared to SmackDown with Teddy Long. Booker T basically kissing the ass of Coachman is why he grants him the opportunity and Coachman also announces it’ll be a Falls Count Anywhere Match. Cena says he’ll punch Booker T’s teeth down his throat while still proving he’s the top dog in the company while Booker T promises to win the 1 title that’s eluded him in his legendary career.)
Note:
(Sadly, the Chris Benoit tragedy happens between the 22nd-24th of June 2007.)
My opinion on Chris Benoit:
(So, now we’re finally here in the timeline 😬. First of all I just want to say to those who may ask “why have you pushed a murderer?” In the timeline, I’m booking as if I’m in all these years. As a booker, how would I know in 2004 for example what’s going to unfold in 2007? That’s why Benoit is pushed. I’m not going to utterly bury him while he’s alive in the timeline. Now what I’m going to do here is bury him now the tragic events have unfolded. Chris Benoit in my opinion is one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time, I will never dispute that. I was a huge fan of his and when he won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 20, it was an unbelievable moment and the fact he celebrated with Eddie Guerrero topped it all off. However, what he did was unforgivable and anyone who has any conspiracy theories like he was framed, I’m sorry it’s just not true and the police investigated it properly. The facts are, Chris Benoit did murder his wife Nancy and his son Daniel. I don’t care about CTE or the fact he apparently had a year to live with an enlarged heart. As Paul Heyman said an interview once, f*ck him. The facts are that Chris Benoit murdered his wife, murdered his son and then proceeded to kill himself. The WWE will absolutely never put him in the Hall of Fame and that’s the correct decision because Benoit lost that respect when he did what he did. I personally hope he rots and this is the last he’ll ever be mentioned in this timeline. I want to lastly say to finish this off, my heart goes out to those affected by this tragedy back in 2007 and Rest in Peace to Nancy and Daniel Benoit ❤️.)
Vengeance: Night of Champions 2007
Date: 24/6/07
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
United States Championship:
MVP (c) vs Ric Flair
Cruiserweight Championship:
Chavo Guerrero (c) vs Jamie Noble
WWE World Tag Team Championship:
The World’s Greatest Tag Team (c) vs The Hardy Boyz
Women’s Championship:
Candice Michelle (c) vs Mickie James
Intercontinental Championship:
Umaga (c) vs Santino Marella
Extreme Rules Match for the ECW Championship:
CM Punk (c) vs Johnny Nitro
(Johnny Nitro surprisingly replaces The Invisible Man and challenges CM Punk for the ECW Championship when he wasn’t prepared for him. Nitro cheats to win the championship off of Punk, much to the satisfaction of Mr. McMahon.)
WWE Tag Team Championship:
Deuce ‘n Domino (c) w/Cherry vs Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore
Last Chance Match for the World Heavyweight Championship - If Edge is counted out of disqualified, he’ll lose the World Heavyweight Championship:
Edge (c) vs Batista
(After One Night Stand, Batista asks Teddy Long for one more opportunity after Edge’s cowardly acts at One Night Stand. Edge tells Teddy to give Batista the match on one condition, if Batista loses he can never challenge for the title as long as he’s champion. Teddy Long grants Edge his request but also tells him if he gets counted out or disqualified, he’ll lose the World Heavyweight Championship to Batista. During the match, there’s a referee bump and Batista is getting ready to finish this until The Great Khali appears and lays out The Animal! Edge capitalises when the referee regains consciousness and pins Batista to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.)
Six-Pack Challenge Match for the WWE Championship:
John Cena (c) vs Carlito vs Mr.Kennedy vs Randy Orton vs Booker T w/Sharmell vs Bobby Lashley
(All 5 men make a case to be the #1 Contender for the WWE Championship. John Cena says he’ll welcome all comers to prove he’s the man. Jonathan Coachman tells Cena to be careful what he wishes for because at Night of Champions, he’ll be defending the WWE Title against all of them! John Cena retains the WWE Championship after pinning Carlito. After the match, Bobby Lashley stares down Cena as Night of Champions draws to a close.)
Notes:
(Edge tears his pectoral muscle, is put on the shelf for a while and is forced to surrender the World Heavyweight Championship.)
(Mark Henry wins a Battle Royal on the July 20th, 2007 episode of SmackDown to win the World Heavyweight Championship!)
The Great American Bash 2007
Date: 22/7/07
Location: HP Pavilion San Jose, California
WWE Tag Team Championship:
Deuce ‘n Domino (c) vs Matt Hardy & MVP
(Matt Hardy hates MVP and wants his United States Championship but they get paired as partners and are told to co-exist by Mr. McMahon who also rewards them with a Tag Team Championship match at The Great American Bash. Hardy and MVP win the titles.)
Cruiserweight Championship:
Chavo Guerrero (c) vs Super Crazy
Intercontinental Championship:
Umaga (c) vs Jeff Hardy
Batista vs The Great Khali w/Ranjin Singh
Women’s Championship:
Candice Michelle (c) vs Melina
Extreme Rules Match for the ECW Championship:
John Morrison (c) vs CM Punk
(CM Punk invokes his rematch clause for the ECW Championship. Vince McMahon tries to deny Punk the opportunity to win the title back but CM Punk tells him if he even dares to deny him his rematch then he’ll sue him because it’s a contractual obligation meaning McMahon has no choice but to let Punk compete for the ECW Championship. The newly named John Morrison who’s leaving Johnny Nitro behind tells Vince to not worry, he’ll take care of business for him which Vince gives him the vote of confidence. Punk says this time he’s ready for Morrison unlike at Night of Champions and will become a 2 time ECW Champion. Morrison says even prepared, he’s just too good for Punk. John Morrison cheats to retain the title after hitting Punk with brass knuckles when the referee isn’t looking.)
World Heavyweight Championship:
Mark Henry (c) vs Kane
(Teddy Long announces that Mark Henry will defend his title against Kane at The Great American Bash because Kane had earned an opportunity to fight for the World Championship when Edge was champion. Kane says that he’s got unfinished business with Henry and revenge will be sweeter when he wins the World Heavyweight Championship. Henry says Kane will once again feel his wrath just like his brother The Undertaker and Batista have.)
WWE Championship:
John Cena (c) vs Bobby Lashley
(Bobby Lashley wins a Fatal 4-Way match against Booker T, Randy Orton and Mr.Kennedy in order to face John Cena at The Great American Bash. Lashley tells Cena that he respects his dedication and desire but when push comes to shove, he has no hesitation breaking him in half if it means he wins the WWE Championship. Cena says Lashley is an incredible athlete who’s unbelievably gifted but he’s going to show the whole world that Lashley’s time isn’t now the way a lot of people think it is. John Cena retains after delivering an FU from the top rope and both men shake hands after the match. When Cena’s alone in the ring, Randy Orton from out of nowhere delivers an RKO to Cena and holds up the WWE Championship as the show draws to a close.)
Note:
(Bobby Lashley gets injured not long after this event and leaves the company in early 2008.)
SummerSlam 2007
Date: 26/8/07
Location: Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Ladder Match for the ECW Championship:
John Morrison (c) vs CM Punk
(CM Punk demands one more match for the ECW Championship against John Morrison which Morrison insists to Vince McMahon to allow his request. Morrison gives Vince an idea for what type of match it should be. Vince likes the idea and announces that CM Punk will face John Morrison at SummerSlam in… A Ladder Match! John Morrison says he’s the prince of parkour and CM Punk's ambition of being the ECW Champion again will be crushed by him for good. Punk promises to become and 2 time ECW champion while also ensuring Morrison has no teeth after the match. CM Punk wins to become a 2 time ECW Champion.)
WWE World Tag Team Championship:
World’s Greatest Tag Team (c) vs Paul London & Brian Kendrick
Cruiserweight Championship:
Chavo Guerrero (c) vs Rey Mysterio
(Teddy Long tells Chavo Guerrero he’ll defend his Cruiserweight Championship at SummerSlam against… Rey Mysterio! Chavo says he’s been waiting for Rey’s return and at the event he cost him the World Heavyweight Championship the year before, he’s going to make sure he puts Rey back on the shelf again but this time for good. Rey Mysterio wins the title and retires the Cruiserweight Championship on the SmackDown after SummerSlam.)
Intercontinental Championship:
Umaga (c) vs Jeff Hardy
Women’s Championship:
Candice Michelle (c) vs Melina vs Mickie James vs Beth Phoenix
Triple H vs Booker T w/Sharmell
(Vignettes start to show that Triple H is returning to the WWE after another Quad injury. Booker T being aware of this challenges Triple H to a match at SummerSlam. Booker T’s motives are simple, Triple H once made his life a living hell and he wants to get revenge he never truly got. Booker T promises to put Triple H back on the shelf and embarrass him on his return. Triple H wins in a 10 minute match and Booker T leaves the company after this match.)
World Heavyweight Championship:
Mark Henry (c) vs Batista
(A one on one match that’s a long time in the making. Batista wins a #1 Contender’s Match against Kane and says this is a match he’s wanted for a while because he’s never fully gotten revenge on Mark Henry for putting him out of action which forced him to surrender the World Heavyweight Championship. Henry says he’s also been waiting for full revenge after Batista also cost him a year of his career when he came back and assaulted him. Both men brawl whenever they see each other in the build up. During the match when Henry’s on top… GONG! The lights come back on but Taker doesn’t appear. Henry then receives a Spinebuster from Batista and The Animal pins him to win the World Heavyweight Championship!)
WWE Championship:
John Cena (c) vs Randy Orton
(First time ever in a one on one capacity. Randy Orton says while Cena has been on top for the last few years, he’s always avoided facing him one on one and tells him the reason he does is because he knows The Legend Killer is better than him! Cena tells Orton to stop talking out of his ass and if he wants to fight him, he’s ready for the challenge and just like the others, Randy Orton will be on his list of guys he beat. Randy Orton cheats when the referee isn’t looking by hitting Cena with a low blow. Orton then delivers an RKO and pins John Cena to win the WWE Championship!)
Notes:
(Batista beats Mark Henry in a Street Fight on SmackDown to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in Henry’s rematch clause. The Undertaker’s Gong once again provides a distraction to Henry and there’s also a message on the titantron that reads “The dead will rise, September 16th 2007… RIP Mark Henry!”)
And that’s part 45! I hope you guys enjoyed this part. I’d like to add that I hope you don’t mind my passionate opinion on the man who shall not be named from now on. Anyways, enough of me dwelling about that! I’ll be back very soon to cover the rest of 2007 where we’ll see a few stars return, The Age of Orton begin on Raw and John Cena go down with an injury. Stay safe and stay tuned!

Trying to make a decision:
Location: Houston (heights area - very desirable for foreseeable future)
Paid 410K Last April and only put down 5% 15 yr term- Rate for my mortgage is 3.9%; monthly mortgage ~3700$/month.
Agent just came in on Friday and suspects property would sell/should sell "high 4s low 5s". Rent value according to comps and agent valuation show to be ~$2700-3000/month.
Property Tax Value came in at 465K and comps show property (similar sq/ft) down the street just sold for 509k).
I have to move into an apartment seeing that gf moving down and doesn't want to live in this house because she wants to be in a more desirable area (coming from Manhattan). That said we are moving to an upscale apartment and will be splitting rent.
I'm struggling to see if there's enough "meet" in holding on to the house long term. I have no doubt property value in next 5-7 years would very well double. Texas real estate has not slowed down and if anything is increasing day by day even at national avg interest rates of ~6-7%. Having said that, having only putting down 5% and realistically it not being a time to re-finance finally I don't have a chunk of liquid cash to put down to re-cast my mortgage, at least not yet (could in maybe 18-24 months).
I don't mind being a landlord, but given the current economy with rates and personally not being able to recast my mortgage, not sure if it's worth taking a 1K$ monthly hit -> ~$25K loss for difference and taxes in 2 years. This is one of the hottest most desirable locations in Houston (centrally located and almost the edge of the heights area for what's left in a decent price range for homes).
House condition is amazing. Roof, Plumbing, Heating/AC all just redone in 2020 & 2021. Beautiful 5K sq/ft lot and 1670 sq/ft is the house size.
All said, is it worth renting out? or selling and likely just profiting maybe $15-20K (worst case) after closing costs etc. If I were to rent I would likely re-cast or refinance in about 2 years. Which that would be "losing" $25K but long term obviously profiting.
Definitely at a crossroads here. Thanks for the replies! Cheers.

URGENT PLEA to pet lovers and super pet sleuths from a sullen family who misses their dog. We are pleading for help with finding our beloved missing angel named Anastasia. She disappeared on 5/23/2023 at approximately 7:30 pm CST from Vernon and Upton Street intersection in Houston, Texas, 77020. She got lost while attempting to look for her mom.
Description: Anna is a 3-4 pound tan and white chihuahua over ten years old. She is wearing a turquoise floral collar.
Personality traits: She is skittish but affectionate. Loud noises startle her. However, she loves sunsets and the cacophony of singing birds. She has NEVER been away from her human or dog family. So, she is more than likely scared and anxious. She wants to be with her family, who love her immensely.
Medical information: She takes daily medicine for Arthritis. She gets cold easily and suffers from hypoglycemia after long periods without food.
Important Clues: She has not been seen since 5/23/2023. Thus, we suspect she is being held against her will in someone's house. So, if you know someone who recently got an older chihuahua, please contact us immediately. We are miserable without her.
Message to her captor(s): Please return Anastasia to her family. She needs her medication, and more importantly, she needs our love. We pray that God convicts you and you will have no rest until you return her to us. Please do the right thing. We are offering a substantial monetary reward for her return.
Message to Anastasia: Dearest Anastasia, we will continue to look for you relentlessly. You are our precious gift from God. We WANT you home with us. Paris (your mother) is grieving for you. We are ALL sad and heartbroken. We pray that God will send you back to us. By faith, we are anticipating our glorious reunion with you. Loving you always...
Contact information: Please call 713- 496-2562 anytime, day or night, to be a modern-day superhero in the lives of those who love Anastasia.

Some offseason drivel.
Simple ratio of number of instances of an FBS school's flair (including any alternate flairs) divided by the school's enrollment.
Note: This is a count of flair, not users. Example: If a user has [UCF] primary flair and [UCF alternate (the Citronaut)] secondary flair, that counts as 2 in the Flair column rather than 1. In other words, users who double up on their school's flair offerings count twice. There certainly are users who double up, but I feel like it does not affect the numbers much. This method makes sure to capture users who do not use their school's standard flair and instead use their school's alternate flair. (Note: Not every school has alternate flair. * Bearcat tears 😿 *)
Data sources:

• Enrollment (Some of these are out of date by a few years. This was the easiest source to pull from. I am not going to track down current official enrollment numbers for 133 separate institutions.)
• Flair count (Accessed 05/31/2023)

 

Rank	Program	Conf.	Flair	Enrollment	Ratio
1	Notre Dame	FBS Independents	7,745	13,139	58.9%
2	Michigan	Big Ten	17,127	50,278	34.1%
3	Oregon	Pac-12	6,789	22,257	30.5%
4	Alabama	SEC	11,674	38,316	30.5%
5	Ohio State	Big Ten	18,118	61,677	29.4%
6	Nebraska	Big Ten	6,963	24,431	28.5%
7	Navy	American	1,249	4,528	27.6%
8	Oklahoma	Big 12	7,349	28,042	26.2%
9	Georgia	SEC	10,467	40,118	26.1%
10	Army	FBS Independents	1,189	4,594	25.9%
11	Clemson	ACC	6,127	27,341	22.4%
12	Tennessee	SEC	6,856	31,701	21.6%
13	Auburn	SEC	6,349	31,526	20.1%
14	LSU	SEC	7,170	35,912	20.0%
15	Texas	Big 12	10,325	51,991	19.9%
16	Miami	ACC	3,307	19,096	17.3%
17	Florida	SEC	9,042	55,781	16.2%
18	TCU	Big 12	1,932	11,938	16.2%
19	Penn State	Big Ten	7,297	47,560	15.3%
20	Iowa	Big Ten	4,447	29,909	14.9%
21	Air Force	Mountain West	613	4,181	14.7%
22	Florida State	ACC	6,392	45,130	14.2%
23	Wisconsin	Big Ten	6,543	47,932	13.7%
24	Michigan State	Big Ten	6,394	49,659	12.9%
25	Arkansas	SEC	3,675	29,068	12.6%
26	South Carolina	SEC	4,455	35,471	12.6%
27	Virginia Tech	ACC	4,615	37,279	12.4%
28	Stanford	Pac-12	2,132	17,680	12.1%
29	Texas A&M	SEC	8,597	72,530	11.9%
30	West Virginia	Big 12	2,996	25,474	11.8%
31	Oklahoma State	Big 12	2,770	24,660	11.2%
32	Baylor	Big 12	2,238	20,626	10.9%
33	USC	Pac-12	4,995	49,318	10.1%
34	Georgia Tech	ACC	4,426	43,844	10.1%
35	Tulsa	American	384	3,832	10.0%
36	Kansas State	Big 12	1,940	20,229	9.6%
37	Iowa State	Big 12	2,895	30,708	9.4%
38	Ole Miss	SEC	1,957	21,203	9.2%
39	Kentucky	SEC	2,782	30,390	9.2%
40	Washington	Pac-12	4,721	52,439	9.0%
41	Vanderbilt	SEC	1,178	13,796	8.5%
42	Missouri	SEC	2,640	31,412	8.4%
43	Washington State	Pac-12	2,361	29,843	7.9%
44	Wake Forest	ACC	703	8,947	7.9%
45	Mississippi State	SEC	1,775	23,086	7.7%
46	Kansas	Big 12	2,035	26,780	7.6%
47	North Carolina	ACC	2,377	31,733	7.5%
48	Utah	Pac-12	2,535	34,464	7.4%
49	Pittsburgh	ACC	2,134	29,238	7.3%
50	Texas Tech	Big 12	2,927	40,542	7.2%
51	Northwestern	Big Ten	1,631	22,933	7.1%
52	Minnesota	Big Ten	3,474	52,376	6.6%
53	Boston College	ACC	991	15,046	6.6%
54	Louisville	ACC	1,441	22,140	6.5%
55	Appalachian State	Sun Belt	1,309	20,641	6.3%
56	Syracuse	ACC	1,364	21,772	6.3%
57	Virginia	ACC	1,616	26,026	6.2%
58	Colorado	Pac-12	2,280	37,956	6.0%
59	Boise State	Mountain West	1,545	25,830	6.0%
60	NC State	ACC	2,189	36,831	5.9%
61	Duke	ACC	1,047	17,620	5.9%
62	Cincinnati	Big 12	2,370	40,281	5.9%
63	SMU	American	728	12,385	5.9%
64	UCLA	Pac-12	2,737	47,516	5.8%
65	Oregon State	Pac-12	1,892	33,193	5.7%
66	Tulane	American	746	13,127	5.7%
67	California	Pac-12	2,563	45,435	5.6%
68	Purdue	Big Ten	2,688	49,639	5.4%
69	Maryland	Big Ten	2,149	41,272	5.2%
70	UCF	Big 12	3,619	70,406	5.1%
71	Wyoming	Mountain West	588	11,479	5.1%
72	BYU	Big 12	1,592	34,802	4.6%
73	Indiana	Big Ten	2,043	45,328	4.5%
74	Rice	American	373	8,285	4.5%
75	UAB	American	998	22,289	4.5%
76	Marshall	Sun Belt	484	11,125	4.4%
77	Illinois	Big Ten	2,450	56,607	4.3%
78	Western Michigan	MAC	741	19,038	3.9%
79	Houston	Big 12	1,828	47,031	3.9%
80	Coastal Carolina	Sun Belt	406	10,473	3.9%
81	Central Michigan	MAC	597	15,465	3.9%
82	Toledo	MAC	653	17,045	3.8%
83	Memphis	American	768	21,622	3.6%
84	Rutgers	Big Ten	1,790	50,804	3.5%
85	Arizona State	Pac-12	2,715	77,881	3.5%
86	Georgia Southern	Sun Belt	913	27,091	3.4%
87	Hawai'i	Mountain West	640	19,097	3.4%
88	Northern Illinois	MAC	534	16,234	3.3%
89	South Alabama	Sun Belt	452	13,992	3.2%
90	Louisiana Tech	Conference USA	355	11,037	3.2%
91	Arizona	Pac-12	1,551	49,471	3.1%
92	Ohio	MAC	753	24,429	3.1%
93	James Madison	Sun Belt	659	22,166	3.0%
94	Jacksonville State	Conference USA	269	9,238	2.9%
95	Troy	Sun Belt	416	14,901	2.8%
96	USF	American	1,232	44,322	2.8%
97	Louisiana	Sun Belt	426	16,225	2.6%
98	Miami (OH)	MAC	502	19,216	2.6%
99	Bowling Green	MAC	457	17,645	2.6%
100	Temple	American	897	35,626	2.5%
101	Connecticut	FBS Independents	800	32,146	2.5%
102	Southern Miss	Sun Belt	343	14,146	2.4%
103	San Diego State	Mountain West	778	35,732	2.2%
104	ECU	American	602	28,021	2.1%
105	Colorado State	Mountain West	702	32,777	2.1%
106	Eastern Michigan	MAC	328	15,370	2.1%
107	Fresno State	Mountain West	492	24,585	2.0%
108	UTSA	American	688	34,734	2.0%
109	Akron	MAC	274	14,516	1.9%
110	WKU	Conference USA	292	16,750	1.7%
111	Middle Tennessee	Conference USA	359	20,857	1.7%
112	North Texas	American	724	42,454	1.7%
113	Nevada	Mountain West	348	21,034	1.7%
114	Utah State	Mountain West	429	27,426	1.6%
115	Texas State	Sun Belt	576	37,864	1.5%
116	Old Dominion	Sun Belt	345	23,494	1.5%
117	Arkansas State	Sun Belt	188	12,863	1.5%
118	Ball State	MAC	270	19,337	1.4%
119	Buffalo	MAC	447	32,332	1.4%
120	ULM	Sun Belt	114	8,565	1.3%
121	Kent State	MAC	338	26,597	1.3%
122	FAU	American	374	30,155	1.2%
123	Charlotte	American	376	30,448	1.2%
124	UMass	FBS Independents	389	32,045	1.2%
125	Sam Houston	Conference USA	247	21,679	1.1%
126	New Mexico State	Conference USA	148	13,904	1.1%
127	New Mexico	Mountain West	228	21,738	1.0%
128	UNLV	Mountain West	313	30,679	1.0%
129	San José State	Mountain West	330	37,133	0.9%
130	Georgia State	Sun Belt	478	55,466	0.9%
131	UTEP	Conference USA	184	24,003	0.8%
132	FIU	Conference USA	217	56,732	0.4%
133	Liberty	Conference USA	225	95,148	0.2%

 
 
Here's conference summaries:
 

Rank	Conf.	Flair	Enrollment	Ratio
1	SEC	78,617	490,310	16.0%
2	Big Ten	83,114	630,405	13.2%
3	FBS Independents	10,123	81,924	12.4%
4	ACC	38,729	382,043	10.1%
5	Big 12	46,816	473,510	9.9%
6	Pac-12	37,271	497,453	7.5%
7	American	10,139	331,828	3.1%
8	MAC	5,894	237,224	2.5%
9	Sun Belt	7,109	289,012	2.5%
10	Mountain West	7,006	291,691	2.4%
11	Conference USA	2,296	269,348	0.9%

The title itself embodies the way in which Travis describes his rise to fame, as well as the lifestyle that got him there; rebellious, chaotic, wild. Not only this, the word ‘rodeo’ is an homage to Travis’s home city of Houston Texas, and is used to personify the out of control nature of Travis and his journey.
Pornography:
The opener describes Travis’s mindset before the fame, “A young rebel against the system, refusing to conform or comply to the ways of authority”. In this track we see how ambitious and determined Travis is to make it to the top, however, he is still young, naive, and immature, as connoted by the title, ‘Pornography’.
Oh My Dis Side/3500:
‘Oh My Dis Side’ and ‘3500’ are both bona fide trap songs that portray the setting in which Travis grew up in. He recounts the “late nights” and “street life” in H-Town as drugs, violence, and partying become more and more heavily involved in his life.
Wasted:
Throughout the 4th track ‘Wasted’, Travis continues to describe his immature, irresponsible lifestyle. He also notably emphasises how much he is willing to sacrifice in order to achieve his goal, “I‘ve been grinding, slaving overtime since I was a fan”.
90210:
‘90210’ acts extremely importantly as the turning point of the album. In this track, Travis depicts his transition from life in Houston Texas, to his new life in LA. He has taken the biggest risk yet in search for wealth and fame, and finds himself in an unfamiliar setting with no idea what the future holds. This atmosphere is captured perfectly by Kacy Hill’s eerie vocals. Travis in the first half of the track talks about feeling home sick and being lost, in the second half however, he basks in the glory of finally making it and realising his dreams, “She love me I done made it”. Beverly Hills, area code 90210, is an estate in LA known for it’s wealthy inhabitants.
Pray 4 Love:
On the sixth track, ‘Pray 4 Love’, we see Travis beginning to settle into this new lifestyle, he is still feeling homesick and feels somewhat over his head but recognises the sacrifices he has made to get to this point and must carry on. The title shows that Travis is hoping the industry and those around him act in his favour instead of against him as he becomes more successful, “They don’t wanna see us win”.
Nightcrawler:
By ‘Nightcrawler’, Travis has fully indulged himself. His dreams of partying, fame, and the lavish LA lifestyle have become reality, and he has fully embraced it with no holding back, “Order more bottles, order more models”.
Piss On Your Grave:
On the heavily rock influenced ‘Piss On Your Grave’, Travis, together with his mentor Kanye West, go all out telling the world, and everyone who doubted them, that there is nothing that can stop them now. Travis also makes it very clear that he is done with scumbag executives who try to hold him back, or any fake people trying to use him as he starts to make a name for himself in the rap game.
Antidote:
In ‘Antidote’, Travis finally feels entirely immersed and part of the culture, the lifestyle, and the area, “Poppin’ pills is all we know, in the hills is all we know”. He also starts to establish a trustworthy inner circle as he relentlessly parties in LA, “It’s low-key at the night show”, “It’s lit at the night show”, “Everything can happen at the night show”.
Impossible:
Now living the highlife, Travis touches on the downside of fame and success on ‘Impossible’. He describes feeling alone, longing for true love, and escaping fake friends. Use of the word ‘impossible’, is widely considered to be referring to Travis’s yearning for a girl. However, it could be alluding to his desire to change the world with the music he makes, which feels to him like an impossible task at times.
Maria I’m Drunk:
Following a similar theme, on ‘Maria I’m Drunk’ Travis craves the real, genuine pleasures he experienced in his earlier life, while using the juxtaposition of weed and alcohol to display the disparity within the lifestyle he has adopted. In part 1, ‘Maria’, he searches for affection and lust, “Calling for Maria, Lost without Maria”. In part 2 however, ‘Drunk’, Travis, with features from Young Thug and Justin Bieber, talks about taboo pleasures such as alcohol and girls that he enjoys otherwise, displaying the contrast within his lifestyle, “Drinkin’, sippin’, slow”.
Flying High:
On ‘Flying High’, Travis puts these feelings behind to savour what he has achieved by chasing his dreams of stardom as he enjoys the glory that comes with it. He feels on top of the world as he cements his name at the top, “If you ain’t up on my level, disappear, please don’t reply”.
I Can Tell:
‘I Can Tell’ is Travis reflecting on his come up, and career thus far. This shows how much he has matured on his way up through the music industry. He recounts how he started making music as a kid, “It all started in the basement”, and everything he had to go through to get to where he is now. In other words, he’s had the experiences, and has come out on top to “tell the tales”.
Apple Pie:
The last track ‘Apple Pie’ shows Travis letting go of everyone/everything he used to depend on. He has escaped the shackles of his humble Houston beginnings, “Made it from the spot straight to Quintana”, created a name for himself, and is in the process of leaving behind a legacy. He is somewhat nostalgic about this as he remembers the comfort and simplicity of his old lifestyle, but recognises he is on the right path now, he is taking things into his own control and writing his own destiny, “I need my own pepper please, my own legacy, my own remedy”. T.I’s final spoken word contribution encompasses the concept of the boundary breaking debut album, “Will he make it? Was it worth it? Did he win? Will he survive? The Rodeo”.
‘Rodeo’ sees Travis Scott approach the trap genre with abundant creativity and innovation. This album changed hip hop forever, and is to this day one of the most progressive and groundbreaking pieces of concept art ever made that continues to inspire and influence all of hip hop today. The End.
P.S. Some of this is probably/definitely complete bs lol so don’t take too seriously. I highly doubt Trav put this much thought into the story of Rodeo but still a cool way to think about it imo.

Nine more Top 25 matchups are on the offering this week. But this time, we're going to preview a matchup between two teams that got major upsets over Top 25 teams in the past. One has been rewarded with a Top 25 ranking of their own, while the other is on the cusp of it. Who will step up in this battle of power conference teams?
*****
Arkansas Razorbacks at #23 Iowa Hawkeyes.
Two teams unafraid of the daunting schedule ahead of them in conference play square off as Arkansas faces Iowa in a battle of 7-2 squads late in non-conference play.
Arkansas has already collected one Top 25 scalp this season, having just bumped off then-#19 Houston 100-85. However, the voters more punished Houston than rewarded Arkansas, with the Cougars losing their Top 25 spot while the Razorbacks remained on the fringes.
"We know we're better than that," coach Nolan Richardson said. "We can beat anyone. We have an up-tempo game plan and we're going to execute it."
Iowa, meanwhile, earned their Top 25 spot with a 7-1 start. Even though they come into the game having lost to #4 Duke in their last outing, coach Bucky O'Connor is optimistic.
"There's a lot of spots available in the tournament," he said. "We've shown we can beat teams that make it and can make a run, so if we can take care of business, we'll win enough games to get into the NIBL championships. But it starts by protecting your home court and getting this great Iowa crowd something to smile about."
ROSTER
​

Arkansas Razorbacks (7-2)	#	#23 Iowa Hawkeyes (7-2)
Patrick BEVERLEY	0	B.J. ARMSTRONG
Ron BREWER Sr	1	Ryan BOWEN
Ron BREWER Jr	2	Fred BROWN
Tony BROWN	3	Ricky DAVIS
Daniel GAFFORD	4	Reggie EVANS
Scott HASTINGS	5	Kevin GAMBLE
Joe JOHNSON	6	Bob HANSEN
Joe KLEINE	7	Connie HAWKINS
Andrew LANG	8	John JOHNSON
Oliver MILLER	9	Kevin KUNNERT
Sidney MONCREIF	10	Ronnie LESTER
Bobby PORTIS	11	Brad LOHAUS
Alvin ROBERTSON	12	Don NELSON
Darrell WALKER	13	George PEEPLES
Corliss WILLIAMSON	14	Chris STREET

LINE: Iowa by 5 1/2
*****
TOP 25 GAMES
#1 UCLA (9-0) at #7 Syracuse (8-1)
#4 Duke (8-1) at #8 Michigan (8-1)
#3 Kentucky (8-1) at #2 North Carolina (8-1)
#5 Kansas (8-1) at #14 Arizona (7-2)
Arkansas (7-2) at #23 Iowa (7-2)
#12 Connecticut (7-2) at #21 Alabama (7-2)
#17 DePaul (7-2) at #9 Notre Dame (7-2)
#22 Florida (7-2) at California (7-2)
#19 Georgetown (7-2) at #25 Illinois (7-2)
Louisiana Tech (7-2) at #10 Indiana (7-2)
#18 LSU (7-2) at Cincinnati (7-2)
#16 Maryland (7-2) at #15 Southern Cal (7-2)
#6 Michigan State (7-2) at #13 Texas (7-2)
NC State (7-2) at #20 Minnesota (7-2)
Saint John's (7-2) at #11 Ohio State (7-2)
Villanova (7-2) at #24 UNLV (6-3)

Roughly 7 years ago u/TheGreatZiegfeld did an experiment of a post to determine what the best films of each year would be from 1940 to 2011 (before the 2012 S&S polls).
With the recently updated TSPDT and the 2022 S&S list, I decided to do the same from 1940 to 2021 regarding what critics thought were the best of each year.
Keep in mind this is all from a critics' poll, not from one specific critic's list. Also no short films or miniseries (meaning no Twin Peaks or Meshes of the Afternoon), as well as those from 2022 and beyond because of the last S&S poll.
With all that in mind, let's begin.
1940
Winner: His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks)
Other nominees: The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin), The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford), The Shop Around The Corner (Ernst Lubitsch), The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor)
1941
Winner: Citizen Kane (Orson Welles)
Other nominees: The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges), Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges), The Maltese Falcon (John Houston), How Green Was My Valley (John Ford)
1942
Winner: Casablanca (Michael Curtiz)
Other nominees: The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles), To Be Or Not To Be (Ernst Lubitsch), The Palm Springs Story (Preston Sturges), Cat People (Jacques Tourneur)
1943
Winner: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Powell and Pressburger)
Other nominees: Day of Wrath (Carl Theodor Dreyer), Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock), I Walked with a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur), Ossessione (Luchino Visconti)
1944
Winner: Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder)
Other nominees: Ivan the Terrible, Part I (Sergei Eisenstein), Meet Me in St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli), A Canterbury Tale (Powell and Pressburger), To Have and Have Not (Howard Hawks)
1945
Winner: Children of Paradise (Marcel Carné)
Other nominees: Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini), Brief Encounter (David Lean), I Know Where I'm Going (Powell and Pressburger) Les Dames du bois de Boulogne (Robert Bresson)
1946
Winner: It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra)
Other nominees: A Matter of Life and Death (Powell and Pressburger), Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock), My Darling Clementine (John Ford), Paisan (Roberto Rossellini)
1947
Winner: Black Narcissus (Powell and Pressburger)
Other nominees: Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur), Monsieur Verdoux (Charlie Chaplin), The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
1948
Winner: Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica)
Other nominees: The Red Shoes (Powell and Pressburger), Letters from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls), Spring in a Small Town (Mu Fei), Germany Year Zero (Roberto Rossellini)
1949
Winner: The Third Man (Carol Reed)
Other nominees: Late Spring (Yasujirō Ozu), Kind Hearts and Coronets (Robert Hamer), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (John Ford), White Heat (Raoul Walsh)
1950
Winner Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa)
Other nominees; Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder), All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz), Los Olvidados (Luis Buñuel), In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray)
1951
Winner: The River (Jean Renoir)
Other nominees: Diary of a Country Priest (Robert Bresson), Miracle in Milan (Vittorio De Sica), Early Summer (Yasujirō Ozu), Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock)
1952
Winner: Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly)
Other nominees: Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa), Umberto D. (Vittorio De Sica), The Life of Oharu (Kenji Mizoguchi), The Quiet Man (John Ford)
1953
Winner: Tokyo Story (Yasujirō Ozu)
Other nominees: Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi), The Earrings of Madame de (Max Ophüls), The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli), Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (Jacques Tati)
1954
Winner: Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa)
Other nominees: Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock), Journey to Italy (Roberto Rossellini), La Strada (Federico Fellini), Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi)
1955
Winner: Ordet (Carl Theodor Dreyer)
Other nominees: The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton), Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray), All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Kirk), Floating Clouds (Mikio Naruse)
1956
Winner: The Searchers (John Ford)
Other nominees: A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson), Written on the Wind (Douglas Sirk), Aparajito (Satyajit Ray), Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray)
1957
Winner: Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman)
Other nominees: The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman), Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini), Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa), Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick)
1958
Winner Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock)
Other nominees: Touch of Evil (Orson Welles), Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda), Ivan the Terrible, Part II (Sergei Eisenstein), The Music Room (Satyajit Ray)
1959
Winner: The 400 Blows (François Truffaut)
Other nominees: Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder), North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock), Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks), Pickpocket (Robert Bresson)
1960
Winner: Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard)
Other nominees: Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock), La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini), L'Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni), The Apartment (Billy Wilder)
1961
Winner: Viridiana (Luis Buñuel)
Other nominees: Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais), La Notte (Michelangelo Antonioni), West Side Story (Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins), Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa)
1962
Winner: Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean)
Other nominees: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford), Jules and Jim (François Truffaut), Cléo from 5 to 7 (Agnes Varda), L'Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni)
1963
Winner 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini)
Other nominees: Le Mepris (Jean-Luc Godard), The Leopard (Luchino Visconti), The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock), The Executioner (Luis García Berlanga)
1964
Winner: Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick)
Other nominees: Gertrud (Carl Theodor Dreyer), The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy), Black God, White Devil (Glauber Rocha)
1965
Winner: Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard)
Other nominees: Chimes at Midnight (Orson Welles), Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Sergei Parajanov), Le Bonheur (Agnes Varda), Doctor Zhivago (David Lean)
1966
Winner: Persona (Ingmar Bergman)
Other nominees: Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky), Au Hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson), The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo), Blow-Up (Michelangelo Antonioni)
1967
Winner: Playtime (Jacques Tati)
Other nominees: Mouchette (Robert Bresson), Le Samouraï (Jean-Pierre Melville), Belle de Jour (Luis Buñuel), The Graduate (Mike Nichols)
1968
Winner: 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick)
Other nominees: Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone), Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski), Memories of Underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea), Faces (John Cassavetes)
1969
Winner: The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah)
Other nominees: The Color of Pomegranates (Sergei Parajanov), Kes (Ken Loach), My Night at Maud's (Eric Rohmer), Army of Shadows (Jean-Pierre Melville)
1970
Winner: The Conformist (Bernado Bertolucci)
Other nominees: Wanda (Barbara Loden), Performance (Nicholas Roeg), Husbands (John Cassavetes), Tristana (Luis Buñuel)
1971
Winner: A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick)
Other nominees: Death in Venice (Luchino Visconti), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman), A Touch of Zen (King Hu), Out 1 (Jacques Rivette)
1972
Winner: The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola)
Other nominees: Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Werner Herzog), Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Luis Buñuel), Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky)
1973
Winner: Amarcord (Federico Fellini)
Other nominees: The Mother and the Whore (Jean Eustache), The Spirit of the Beehive (Victor Erice), Don't Look Now (Nicholas Roeg), Badlands (Terrence Malick)
1974
Winner: The Godfather: Part II (Francis Ford Coppola)
Other nominees: Chinatown (Roman Polanski), A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes), Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder), Celine and Julie Go Boating (Jacques Rivette)
1975
Winner: Jeanne Dielman (Chantal Akerman)
Other nominees: Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky), Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick), Nashville (Robert Altman), Jaws (Steven Spielberg)
1976
Winner: Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese)
Other nominees: News from Home (Chantal Akerman), Kings of the Road (Wim Wenders), In the Realm of Senses (Nagisa Oshima), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (John Cassavetes)
1977
Winner: Annie Hall (Woody Allen)
Other nominees: Star Wars (George Lucas), Close Encounter of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg), Eraserhead (David Lynch), The Ascent (Larisa Shepitko)
1978
Winner: Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett)
Other nominees: Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick), The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino), The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Ermanno Olmi), In a Year with 13 Moons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
1979
Winner: Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola)
Other nominees: Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky), Alien (Ridley Scott), Manhattan (Woody Allen), All That Jazz (Bob Fosse)
1980
Winner: Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese)
Other nominees: The Shining (Stanley Kubrick), The Empire Strike Back (Irvin Kershner), Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino), The Elephant Man (David Lynch)
1981
Winner: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg)
Other nominees: Possession (Andrzej Żuławski), Blow Out (Brian de Palma), Mad Max 2 (George Miller), An American Werewolf in London (John Landis)
1982
Winner: Blade Runner (Ridley Scott)
Other nominees: Fanny and Alexander (Ingmar Bergman), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg), The Thing (John Carpenter), The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese)
1983
Winner: Sans Soleil (Chris Marker)
Other nominees: L'Argent (Robert Bresson), Videodrome (David Cronenberg), Nostalgia (Andrei Tarkovsky), A Nos Amours (Maurice Pialat)
1984
Winner: Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone)
Other nominees: Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders), Love Streams (John Cassavetes), Amadeus (Milos Forman), Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch)
1985
Winner: Shoah (Claude Lanzmann)
Other nominees: Come and See (Elem Klimov), Ran (Akira Kurosawa), Vagabond (Agnes Varda), Brazil (Terry Gilliam)
1986
Winner: Blue Velvet (David Lynch)
Other nominees: The Green Ray (Eric Rohmer), The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky), Aliens (James Cameron), Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen)
1987
Winner: Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders)
Other nominees: Where is the Friend's House (Abbas Kiarostami), The Dead (John Huston), Withnail and I (Bruce Robinson), Yeelen (Souleymanne Cisse)
1988
Winner: My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki)
Other nominees: Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore), Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies), The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris), Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata)
1989
Winner: Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee)
Other nominees: A City of Sadness (Hou Hsiao-hsien), Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen), When Harry Met Sally (Rob Reiner), The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway)
1990
Winner: Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami)
Other nominees: Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese), Days of Being Wild (Wong Kar-wai), An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion), Paris is Burning (Jessie Livingston)
1991
Winner: A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang)
Other nominees: Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash), The Double Life of Veronique (Krzysztof Kieslowski), The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme), Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou)
1992
Winner: Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)
Other nominees: The Quince Tree Sun (Victor Erice), Orlando (Sally Potter), Life, and Nothing More (Abbas Kiarostami), Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)
1993
Winner: The Piano (Jane Campion)
Other nominees: Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg), Three Colors: Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski), Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis), The Puppetmaster (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
1994
Winner: Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
Other nominees: Satantango (Bela Tarr), Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai), Three Colors: Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski), Through the Olive Tree (Abbas Kiarostami)
1995
Winner: Heat (Michael Mann)
Other nominees: Underground (Emir Kusturica), Safe (Todd Haynes), Casino (Martin Scorsese), Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch)
1996
Winner: Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)
Other nominees: Fargo (Joel Coen), A Moment of Innocence (Mohsen Makhmalbaf), Secrets and Lies (Mike Leigh), Crash (David Cronenberg)
1997
Winner: Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami)
Other nominees: Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai), Lost Highway (David Lynch), Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson), Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki)
1998
Winner: Histoire(s) du Cinema (Jean-Luc Godard)
Other nominees: The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick), The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen), The Celebration (Thomas Vinterberg), Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
1999
Winner: Beau Travail (Claire Denis)
Other nominees: Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson), The Matrix (Wachowskis), Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick), All About My Mother (Pedro Almodovar)
2000
Winner: In The Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai)
Other nominees: Yi Yi (Edward Yang), The Gleaners and I (Agnes Varda), Werckmeister Harmonies (Bela Tarr), In Vanda's Room (Pedro Costa)
2001
Winner: Mulholland Drive (David Lynch)
Other nominees: Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki), La Ciénaga (Lucrecia Martel), A.I: Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg), The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson)
2002
Winner: City of God (Fernando Meirelles)
Other nominees: Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (Wang Bing), Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar), Russian Ark (Aleksandr Sukurov), Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay)
2003
Winner: Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang)
Other nominees: Dogville (Lars von Trier), Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola), Elephant (Gus van Sant), Oldboy (Park Chan-wook)
2004
Winner: Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Other nominees: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry), The Intruder (Claire Denis), Before Sunset (Richard Linklater), Sideways (Alexander Payne)
2005
Winner: Caché (Michael Haneke)
Other nominees: The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu), Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee), The New World (Terrence Malick), Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog)
2006
Winner: Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Other nominees: Inland Empire (David Lynch), Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro), The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck), Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)
2007
Winner: There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Other nominees: No Country for Old Men (Coens), Zodiac (David Fincher), Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas), 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu)
2008
Winner: The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel)
Other nominees: WALL-E (Andrew Stanton), Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman), The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan), Hunger (Steve McQueen)
2009
Winner: The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke)
Other nominees: A Prophet (Jacques Audiard), Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold), Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino), Avatar (James Cameron)
2010
Winner: Uncle Boonmee (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Other nominees: Nostalgia for the Light (Patricio Guzman), The Social Network (David Fincher), Mysteries of Lisbon (Raul Ruiz), Meek's Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt)
2011
Winner: The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)
Other nominees: A Separation (Asghar Farhadi), Melancholia (Lars von Trier), The Turin Horse (Bela Tarr), Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
2012
Winner: Holy Motors (Leos Carax)
Other nominees: The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer), The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson), Amour (Michael Haneke), Tabu (Miguel Gomes)
2013
Winner: Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer)
Other nominees: The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino), Blue is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche), Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski), 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
2014
Winner: Boyhood (Richard Linklater)
Other nominees: Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard), The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson), Girlhood (Celine Sciamma), Interstellar (Christopher Nolan)
2015
Winner: Mad Max; Fury Road (George Miller)
Other nominees: Carol (Todd Haynes), Cemetery of Splendor (Apichatpong Weerasethakul), The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-hsien), No Home Movie (Chantal Akerman)
2016
Winner: Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)
Other nominees: Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade), American Honey (Andrea Arnold), Arrival (Denis Villeneuve), Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt)
2017
Winner: Get Out (Jordan Peele)
Other nominees: Zama (Lucrecia Martel), Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson), You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay), Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
2018
Winner: Roma (Alfonso Cuaron)
Other nominees: Happy as Lazzaro (Alice Rohrwacher), Burning (Lee Chang-dong), An Elephant Sitting Still (Hu Bo), Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
2019
Winner: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Celine Sciamma)
Other nominees: Parasite (Bong Joon-ho), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino), Atlantics (Mati Diop), First Cow (Kelly Reichardt)
2020
Winner: Nomadland (Chloe Zhao)
Other nominees: Time (Garrett Bradley), Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hitman), Days (Tsai Ming-liang), Quo Vadis, Aida? (Jasmila Zbanic)
2021
Winner: Petite Maman (Celine Sciamma)
Other nominees: The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion), Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi), Titane (Julia Docournau), Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

Demographics
Gender: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White (european), black (senegal, ethiopia, egypt), asian(mongolian, indian), native american (pima), hispanic(central america region)
Residence: Texas, USA
Income Bracket: >$70k
Type of School: Public School
Hooks: None
Intended Major(s): CompE, ECE, BME
Academics
GPA: 3.2 UW, 4.2 W (3.8UW, 4.8Wwithout sophomore year included.. got a 2.75 in sophomore year, aka covid year)
Rank (or percentile): 225/777
number of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 8 APs before senior year
Senior Year Course Load: ap physics c: mechanics, ap physics c: electricity and magnetism, calc 3, ap csa, ap english lit, ap macro, ap gov, IB astronomy
Residence: Texas, USA
Income Bracket: >$70k
Type of school: public
Hooks: none really
Intended major: ece, bme, anything engineering
Academics
GPA: 3.2 UW, 4.2 W (3.8UW, 4.8Wwithout sophomore year included.. got a 2.75 in sophomore year, aka covid year)
Rank/Percentile: 225/777
APs before senior year: 8.5 (took one semester of calc AB)
Senior year courseload: ap physics c: mechanics, ap physics c: electricity and magnetism, calc 3, ap csa, ap english lit, ap macro, ap gov, IB astronomy
Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.
SAT I: 1390 (700 M, 690 EBRW) SAT II: 1440 (750 M, 690 EBRW)
AP: whap(2), chem(2), apush(3), bio(3), ap calc ab subscore(4), ap calc bc(3), ap music theory(3), ap lang (3)
Extracurriculars/Activities

1. Computer Science Honor Society (Founder, President)
2. built a laser for a quantum engineering project under seniority of mit & harvard grad students
3. Intern at clinic
4. Intern at petroleum geology company
5. Chick-fil-a Leader Academy (Founder, President)
6. Salvation Army Club (Founder, President)
7. Middle School Robotics (Mentor)
8. Local Parks Board (Organizer)
9. House of Worship green team (Youth Lead)
10. School district board for lobbying higher teacher pay

Awards/Honors

1. national cs award from cmu
2. city-wide award given by mayor for work done with house of worship
3. regional choir award
4. published in poetry book (sold by barnes and noble)
5. AP Scholar

Letters of Recommendation
CS Teacher who loved me - 9/10
English Teacher she was mid but i didn’t have anyone else that knew me well - 4/10
Interviews
didn’t get any :(
essays
Main commonapp - formatted entire essay like a chunk of python code (nothing too complex) talked about my name (12 charactered first name) and how it’s length matched my hunger for learning blah blah.
Decisions
Acceptances:

• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Houston
• TAMU (they messed up my application by accident and forced me into tamug and were just like srry xx nothing we can do lulz)
• UT Austin capped

Waitlists:

• Carnegie Mellon University RD —> rejected

Rejections:

• Columbia
• Harvey Mudd
• Rice
• Stanford
• UC Berkeley
• UIUC
• UT Austin appeal lol

Additional Information got full tuition from both Pitt and UH; committed to pitt but parents begging me to go to UH since the deadline is still open. computer engineering for both btw!

Part 1: https://www.reddit.com/fantasybooking/comments/13fbmdq/rebooking_wwe_royal_rumble_part_1_from_royal/
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Part 2: https://www.reddit.com/fantasybooking/comments/13fjt95/rebooking_wwe_royal_rumble_part_2_from_royal/
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Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/fantasybooking/comments/13gabpg/rebooking_wwe_royal_rumble_part_3_from_royal/
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Part 4: https://www.reddit.com/fantasybooking/comments/13i626d/rebooking_wwe_royal_rumble_part_4_from_royal/
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Part 5:
https://www.reddit.com/fantasybooking/comments/13ihgf3/rebooking_wwe_royal_rumble_part_5_from_royal/
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Part 6: https://www.reddit.com/fantasybooking/comments/13l8dms/rebooking_wwe_royal_rumble_part_6_from_royal/
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Royal Rumble 2019 (January 27, 2019 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona):
Charlotte Flair (SmackDown) def. Nikki Cross (NXT UK) - Winner for the Entry in the Women's Royal Rumble Match
Drew McIntyre (Raw) def. R-Truth (SmackDown) - Winner for Entry #30 in the Men's Royal Rumble Match (The loser would be entry #1)
King Gargano (c) (NXT) def. Hideo Itami (NXT) - Winner for the Entry in the Men's Royal Rumble Match
Ronda Rousey (c) (Raw) def. Nia Jax (Raw) by Submission - WWE Raw Women's Championship Match
The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) (SmackDown) def. The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) (c) (SmackDown) - WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match (TITLES CHANGE)
Andrade "Cien" Almas (c) (w/Zelina Vega) (SmackDown) def. AJ Styles (SmackDown) - WWE United States Championship Match
Becky Lynch (SmackDown) won by last eliminating Charlotte Flair (SmackDown) - 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match for a Women's Championship Match at WrestleMania 35
Daniel Bryan (c) (SmackDown) def. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown) via Submission - WWE Championship Match
Brock Lesnar (Raw) (w/Paul Heyman) (Raw) def. Roman Reigns (c) (Raw) by Submission - WWE Universal Championship Match (TITLE CHANGE)
Seth Rollins (Raw) won by last eliminating Bobby Lashley (Raw) - 30-Man Royal Rumble Match for a World Championship Match at WrestleMania 35
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Royal Rumble 2020 (January 26, 2020 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas):
Shayna Baszler (NXT) won by last eliminating Charlotte Flair (Raw) - 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match for a Women's Championship Match at WrestleMania 36
Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) (Raw) def. Kofi Kingston (c) (SmackDown) - WWE Championship Match (TITLE CHANGE)
Roman Reigns (SmackDown) def. King Corbin (SmackDown) - Last Man Standing Match
Bayley (c) (SmackDown) def. Ember Moon (SmackDown) - Texas Bullrope Match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship Match
The Miz and John Morrison (w/Maryse) (SmackDown) def. The New Day (Xavier Woods and Big E) (c) (SmackDown) - WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match (TITLES CHANGE)
"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt (SmackDown) def. Daniel Bryan (SmackDown) and Seth Rollins (c) (Raw) - Triple Threat Match for the WWE Universal Championship (TITLE CHANGE; Roman Reigns cashes in his Money in the Bank Briefcase against The Fiend and he won the match)
Becky Lynch (c) (Raw) def. Asuka (w/Kairi Sane) (Raw) - WWE Raw Women's Championship Match
Drew McIntyre (Raw) won by last eliminating Sheamus (SmackDown) - 30-Man Royal Rumble Match for a World Championship Match at WrestleMania 36
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Royal Rumble 2021 (January 31, 2021 at the WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida):
AJ Lee and Paige (c) (SmackDown) fought Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler (Raw) (1-1; Draw) by Double Knockout - Two out of Three Falls Match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
Drew McIntyre (Raw) def. Bobby Lashley (w/Montel Vontavious Porter) (Raw) and The Miz (c) (w/John Morrison and Maryse) (Raw) by Disqualification - Triple Treat Match for the WWE Championship
Ronda Rousey (Raw) def. Asuka (c) (w/Kairi Sane) (Raw) by Technical Knockout - WWE Raw Women's Championship Match
Bianca Belair (SmackDown) won by last eliminating Rhea Ripley (NXT) - 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match for a Women's Championship Match at WrestleMania 37
Roman Reigns (c) (w/Paul Heyman) (SmackDown) def. Kevin Owens (SmackDown) - Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Universal Championship
Edge (WWE Legend) won by last eliminating Randy Orton (Raw) - 30-Man Royal Rumble Match for a World Championship Match at WrestleMania 37
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Royal Rumble 2022 (January 29, 2022 at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Missouri):
Seth "Freakin" Rollins (Raw) def. Roman Reigns (c) (w/Paul Heyman) (SmackDown) by Disqualification) (Raw) - WWE Universal Championship Match
Edge and Beth Phoenix (w/Christian) (Raw/WWE Legends) def. The Miz and Maryse (w/John Morrison) (Raw) - Mixed Tag Team Falls Count Anywhere Match
Becky Lynch (Raw) and Charlotte Flair (SmackDown) def. Liv Morgan (c - Raw Women's Champion) (Raw) and Toni Storm (c - SmackDown Women's Champion) (SmackDown) - Tag Team Winner-Takes-All Match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship and WWE SmackDown Women's Championship (TITLES CHANGE)
Bianca Belair (Raw) won by last eliminating Bayley (SmackDown) - 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match for a Women's Championship Match at WrestleMania 38
Brock Lesnar (Free Agent) def. Bobby Lashley (c) (w/Montel Vontavious Porter) (Raw) - WWE Championship Match (TITLE CHANGE)
Bobby Lashley (Raw) won by last eliminating Drew McIntyre (SmackDown) - 30-Man Royal Rumble Match for a World Championship Match at WrestleMania 38
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Royal Rumble 2023 (January 28, 2023 at Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas):
Solo Sikoa (SmackDown) def. Ricochet (SmackDown), Xavier Woods (SmackDown), and Gunther (c) - Fatal Four-Way Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship (TITLE CHANGE)
Brandi Rhodes (Raw) won by last eliminating Mandy Rose (NXT) - 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match for a Women's Championship Match at WrestleMania 39
The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) (SmackDown) def. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E) (SmackDown) and The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) (c) (Raw) - Triple Threat Tag Team Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship (TITLES CHANGE)
Nia Jax (c) (w/Paul Heyman) (SmackDown) def. Charlotte Flair (SmackDown) by Countout - Singles Match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
Adam Cole (c) (Raw) def. Johnny Gargano (w/Candice LeRae) (Raw) - WWE United States Championship Match
Roman Reigns (w/Paul Heyman) (SmackDown) def. Finn Bálor (c) (Raw) - Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match (TITLE CHANGE)
Cody Rhodes (Raw) won by last eliminating Seth "Freakin" Rollins (Raw) - 30-Man Royal Rumble Match for a World Championship Match at WrestleMania 39
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THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

"He was maybe 5-6 and weighed 185 and he had no neck to speak of. His head rested on his shoulder like an apple on a tree stump. When he wore a batting helmet, he looked like the world's largest turtle." -- sportswriter Mickey Herskowitz

Of all the great baseball nicknames, one of the most memorable -- even if it is attached to a forgotten player -- is Walt "No Neck" Williams, a squat outfielder who played for the Yankees from 1974 to 1975... and whose grand nephew, Mason Williams, would be a Yankee prospect thirty-five years later!
Walt was a short, muscular guy at 5'6", and much heavier than his listed weight of 165 pounds -- sportswriters said he was 20 pounds heavier if not more. His build was often compared to a fire hydrant.

"I can see where he got that No Neck nickname. He's built like a baby bull. What surprised me about him is his weight and his apparent tremendous strength. I thought he weighed around 185, but he told me that he tips the scales at 200. And he isn't a bit fat." -- White Sox manager Ed Short

A lot of powerfully built dudes have heads that seem directly connected to their torsos, but Walt's short neck even has an origin story: as a baby, he received a typhus vaccination in the back of his neck, which he said caused him to develop a lifelong "crick".
I guess not surprisingly, at first he didn't like the nickname "No Neck", but grudgingly came to embrace it, even occasionally signing autographs with the nickname. He told sportswriter Jimmy Cannon:

“They can call me anything, as long as I’m in the big leagues.”

Given his muscular build, you'd think Walt was a power hitter, but he had just 33 career home runs. He wasn't a speed demon either, with just 34 career stolen bases in 53 attempts. Nor did he draw a lot of walks, with a career OBP of .310. But in an era where players were measured by batting averages, his career .270 was good enough for him to stick in the bigs for 10 seasons.
Williams's stand-out tool, according to The New York Times, was hustle:

Like Pete Rose, he played with a caffeinated enthusiasm, running out every batted ball, hustling to his position for the start of an inning and even sprinting to first after receiving a base on balls, although that did not happen too often.

Williams was the anti-Three True Outcomes player, the proto Willians Astudillo. He rarely hit home runs, rarely walked, and rarely struck out. In 2,555 career plate appearances, had 33 home runs, or 1.3 percent of his PAs; the league average in 1975, his last year in the majors, was 1.8 percent. (Last year, 2.9.) He walked in 4.9 percent of his plate appearances; the league average in 1975 was 9.0 percent. (Last year, 8 percent.) And he struck out just 8.3 percent of the time; the league average in 1975 was 12.9 percent. (Last year, it was 22 percent.) He was all about balls in play. It was tough to walk him or strike him out because, like Yogi Berra, he was a "bad ball" hitter, able to tomahawk balls above the letters as easily as putting a golf swing on pitches below his knees.
A fan favorite everywhere he played, Williams also was popular with his teammates and spent his off-seasons helping troubled kids.
Walter Allen Williams was born December 19, 1943, in Brownwood, Texas. At the age of 10, he was picking cotton for $2.50 a day. His family then moved to Northern California, where he graduated from Galileo High School in San Francisco. The Lions have produced 12 major leaguers... and two Hall of Famers, Joe DiMaggio and Tony Lazzeri!
Williams then attended City College of San Francisco, and in 1963 -- two years before the MLB draft -- was signed as an amateur free agent by the Houston Colt .45's, which had been founded as an expansion team a year earlier. (They would become the Astros in 1965.)
After hitting a blistering .381/.411/.530 in 321 plate appearances as a 19-year-old with the A-ball Modesto Colts in 1963, the right-handed hitter and thrower made his MLB debut on April 21, 1964. But after going 0-for-9 with a run scored in 10 games, Houston put him on waivers and he was claimed by the Cardinals. They stashed him in the minors for two years, where he tore it up. In 1965, he hit .330 in Double-A in 632 plate appearances... and the following season in Triple-A, exactly .330 again, in 639 plate appearances.
The Cardinals traded Walt to the White Sox, where he finally got a chance in the bigs. He hit .271/.314/.363 in six seasons, and then he was dealt to the Indians, hitting .289/.316/.406 in one season.
In 1974, we finally get to our part of the story: Williams was traded from the Indians to the Yankees as part of a three-team, five-player deal.
Williams was added to the Yankees with the expectation he would be, if not one of the starting outfielders, surely the top backup. The previous year the Yankee outfielders had been Roy White, Bobby Murcer, and Matty Alou, with occasional appearances from Felipe Alou, Ron Swoboda, Johnny Callison, and Otto Velez. But now the Alou brothers were gone -- Matty to St. Louis, Felipe to Montreal -- as were Swoboda and Callison. And Velez had been a September call-up and would start the 1974 season in Triple-A.
And so even with that off-season's acquisition of Lou Piniella from the Royals, it looked like there was going to be plenty of playing time in New York for No Neck.
Four days after acquiring Williams, Yankee team president Gabe Paul -- nicknamed "The Smiling Cobra" for the friendly way he killed other teams in trades -- made another deal, getting Elliott Maddox from the Texas Rangers. To this point in his career, the 26-year-old Maddox was a good glove, no bat outfielder, hitting just .239/.348/.300 (90 OPS+), and was expected to be used as a late-inning defensive replacement. But to everyone's surprise, after hitting just .174/.208/.174 in April, Maddox caught fire. He hit .371 in May, forcing his way into the everyday lineup. (Manager Bill Virdon moved Murcer to right field, a controversial move at the time as Murcer had long been seen as the centerfield heir to fellow Oklahoman Mickey Mantle.) With Maddox's hot hitting, and Murcer, White, and Piniella healthy all season, suddenly there was no playing time for Williams. After getting 22 plate appearances in April, he had just 34 the rest of the season. He had two hits in his first five plate appearances... and only four more by the end of the year. With so little playing time, it's not surprising Williams had a terrible season, hitting just .113/.127/.113 in 56 plate appearances -- a -30 OPS+. Yes, even worse than Aaron Hicks!
That year, the Yankees were battling the Orioles and Red Sox for the division lead all season long. New York was in 1st place on September 22, with only eight games to go, but dropped two out of three to the Red Sox and the Orioles went ahead. The Yankees won four of their final five games but it wasn't enough as the Orioles ended the season on a nine-game winning streak to win the A.L. East title by 2 games. It was the closest Williams would get to the post-season in his 10-year career.
The following year Walt got more playing time as Maddox, Piniella, White, Bobby Bonds -- acquired that off-season for Murcer -- and DH Ron Blomberg all went down with injuries. Williams responded by hitting .281/.320/.400 (104 OPS+) in 200 plate appearances -- by OPS+, the second-best season of his 10-year career. He also made himself a little more versatile by working at second base in spring training, a position he'd never played in the majors or minors. He played 14 innings at second base that season and did not make an error.
His biggest moment as a Yankee came on June 25, 1975, a Wednesday night game against the defending A.L. East champion Baltimore Orioles. At the time the Yankees were battling the Red Sox for the division lead, and while the Orioles were seven games under .500, they had future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer on the mound. Over the first six innings, Palmer allowed just one hit, and the Orioles had a 1-0 lead courtesy of a 1st inning RBI single by Tommy Davis off Rudy May. But then in the 7th, the Yankees tied it up on a Chris Chambliss single. In the top of the 9th, with the score still tied 1-1 and Palmer still on the mound for the Orioles, Williams led off the inning with a triple. After Ron Blomberg popped out to short, Thurman Munson then hit a fly ball to center deep enough to score Williams to give the Yankees the lead, and Sparky Lyle retired the side in the 9th to preserve the victory.
Alas, the Yankees would fade in July, going 11-18, and finish in 3rd place, 12 games out.
After the season, the Yankees released the soon-to-be 32-year-old Williams. He signed on with the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japanese League, and hit .285/.316/.466 with 23 home runs in 520 plate appearances. The following season he hit .269/.293/.476 with 21 home runs in 487 plate appearances. Nippon Ham didn't bring him back the following year, and he played the next two years in the Mexican League before hanging 'em up at age 35.
Williams was the first base coach for the White Sox in 1988, then suited up again in 1989 playing for the St. Lucie Legends in the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association. He would later manage in the minor leagues for the Texas Rangers.
After his baseball career was over, Williams returned to his boyhood hometown of Brownwood, Texas, where he became the sports director of the town community center. He died in 2016 at the age of 72.
No Neck Notes:

• Asked how he got the nickname, Williams answered bluntly: "Cause I got no neck."
  
• The nickname came when Williams arrived for his first spring training with the Houston Colt .45's. Catcher John Bateman took one look at him and shouted "No Neck!" Bateman also quipped that Williams didn't get a signing bonus from Houston GM Paul Richards, "but if he makes the team, Richards promised to buy him a neck."
  
• Some sources claim Williams got the nickname later, during his hey-day with the White Sox, but the nickname was used in print as far back as May 15, 1965, when Walt was a 21-year-old outfielder in Double-A: "Williams, known as 'No-Neck' because his head appears to be sitting right on his shoulders..."
  
• While "No Neck" was routinely used in newspaper stories about Williams, Yankee PR man Marty Appel said no one actually called him "No Neck"... at least, not to his face!
  
• Appel also reported Williams rubbed vaseline all over his body -- "top to bottom" -- before and after games, saying it was good for his skin. He said Williams would use "gallons of the stuff."
  
• While with the Indians, sportswriter Russell Schneider reported Williams's nickname with teammates was "The Good Humor Man" because of his boyish enthusiasm and infectious smile. The 5'6" Williams also was captain of the Indians' basketball team, which played against other baseball players, sportswriters, and local teams. Williams made it clear the team wasn't a Harlem Globetrotters-esque exhibition: "We're serious about this thing. We're out to win, not to make people laugh. We take a lot of pride in the way we play. We're not clowns." Williams organized a Yankee basketball team when he went to New York.
  
• Due to Yankee Stadium being renovated from 1974 to 1975, Walt never played a home game in the Bronx -- his first chance to wear pinstripes at Yankee Stadium came when he returned for Old Timer's Day! He did have 90 plate appearances at the pre-renovation Stadium as a visitor, and didn't find it to his liking, going 15-for-85 with no home runs and three RBIs (.177/.222/.224). He was only a little better at Shea, hitting .252/.270/.336 in 115 plate appearances. His best ballpark was RFK, where he crushed a .403/.429/.612 line in 70 plate appearances against the Senators.
  
• Yankee Ron Blomberg said he, Gene Michael, and Williams loved to go to Burger King and wolf down 39 cent hamburgers. Blomberg claimed he once ate 28 hamburgers in one sitting -- but even he was in awe of Walt's bottomless appetite. He compared Williams's love for hamburgers to Wimpy from the "Popeye" cartoons.
  
• Walt wore #3 with the White Sox, but couldn't wear it in Cleveland -- it hadn't been issued since 1962, and in 1975 would be retired for Hall of Fame outfielder Earl Averill. So he switched to #13. When he was traded to the Yankees in 1974, #3 also was out of the question, so he stuck with #13. He was just the fifth player in Yankee history to wear #13, and the first three -- Spud Chandler, Lee Stine, and Cliff Mapes -- only wore the "unlucky" number briefly. The fourth to wear it was Curt Blefary, who had it from 1970 to 1971. Perhaps modern ballplayers are less superstitious, because after Walt it's been worn by 18 players... most notably Alex Rodriguez, who wore it from 2004 to 2016. It also was worn by Joey Gallo, Jim Leyritz, and Mike Pagliarulo.
  
• Don't confuse the 5'6" No Neck with Walt "The Wizard" Williams, a 6'8" small forward who was a 1st round pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. There also have been several football players named Walter Williams as well as a noted economist.
  
• Walt is one of four major leaguers born in Brownwood, Texas. The others were 1920s starter Slim Harriss, 1980s reliever Jerry Don Gleaton, and the last was Jim Morris, a pitcher who was actually drafted by the Yankees out of high school, but didn't sign. Instead he went to college and a year later was taken in the 1st round by the Milwaukee Brewers, but after six years in the minors, quit to become a high school teacher and baseball coach. Ten years later, at the urging of his players, he tried out for the Devil Rays, and made the team. His life story became the inspiration for the 2002 movie The Rookie starring Dennis Quaid!
  
• San Francisco's Galileo High School, now known as the Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, was founded in 1921. The school's motto is Eppure si muove ("And yet it moves"), a tribute to its namesake. Williams is one of 12 major leaguers to graduate from the school, which most notably produced Joe DiMaggio and his brothers, Dom and Vince, as well as Yankee Hall of Fame second baseman Tony Lazzeri. 1950s Yankee third baseman Bobby Brown, who became a medical doctor (and later American League president), also graduated from the high school. The only graduate who is active in MLB today is Diamondbacks reliever Kyle Nelson.
  
• City College of San Francisco has produced six major leaguers, but Williams is the only Yankee. The most notable alumnus is probably Mike Norris, who pitched for the A's from 1975 to 1990; there's also Doug Davis, who pitched for five teams between 1999 and 2011.
  
• Walt attended both Galileo High School and City College of San Francisco... as did, four years later, O.J. Simpson. (The Juice would later transfer to USC and be reunited with another Galileo H.S. grad, his best friend and white Bronco driver Al Cowlings.)
  
• During the off-seasons, Williams volunteered to speak to kids who had been arrested on drug charges as part of a pre-trial intervention program.
  
• The Houston Colt .45's had a ping-pong table in the clubhouse, and two of the top players were Joe Morgan and a rookie named Aaron Pointer. Morgan was small and quick, while Pointer was tall and graceful. But the best, according to John Paciorek's book If I Knew Then What I Know Now, was Walt Williams. Paciorek said Williams was "built like a massive hunk of granite" but despite his thickly muscled body "was as flexible as anyone, in all other areas but his neck."
  
• Prior to the 1967 season, White Sox manager Eddie Stanky praised Williams's hit tool, but said he needed to be more patient at the plate. Stanky, who had a career .410 OBP despite a .268 BA, promised to buy Williams a new suit if he drew at least 50 walks. He never got it: his highwater mark for walks in a season came in 1969, when he drew 26 walks in 507 plate appearances.
  
• With the White Sox on June 14, 1967, Williams made one of his most memorable plays -- and it came at the expense of the Red Sox! With a runner on second, Williams fielded a single to right and threw the ball home. The throw was cut-off by the first baseman, who tried to tag out the batter as he rounded first to head to second. The batter evaded the tag, so the first baseman threw the ball to second base. The batter reversed course to run back to first, and the second baseman threw the ball back to the first baseman... but way over his head. The runner turned around again and raced to second... only to be tagged out! Williams, who had started the play a moment earlier in right field, had followed the little league maxim of "follow your throw" and, Jeter like, seemingly appeared out of nowhere to intercept the bad throw and fire it to second base. The White Sox would win the game, 8-7. Williams was a rookie at the time and his hustling play made him many lifelong fans on the South Side.
  
• Another notable moment against the Red Sox came on May 21, 1970, when he had five hits (a double and four singles) in a 22-13 win at Fenway Park. He also had four hits in a game five different times.
  
• In 1969, Williams's .304 batting average was sixth-best in the American League, behind only Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Reggie Smith, Frank Robinson, and Boog Powell -- pretty good company!
  
• Walt played for Chicago's Triple-A team, the Hawaii Islanders, in 1968. Honolulu Stadium had a Columbia Inn sign over the right-field fence that had a hole in the letter "o", and a sign reading that a batter who hit a ball through the "o" would win $1,000. Walt was the first player to do it, according to the book Hawai'i Sports by Dan Cisco. That season, Walt hit an impressive .319/.344/.472, though with only six home runs in 305 plate appearances.
  
• Harry Caray, then a broadcaster with the White Sox, had a memorable line one day when Williams was playing center field and on either side of him were Carlos May, who had lost his right thumb in a mortar accident while in the Marine Reserves, and Pat Kelly, who had a famously weak throwing arm. "Tonight for the White Sox we have No Thumb in left, No Neck in center, and No Arm in right," Caray quipped.
  
• In 1973, when Williams was on the Indians, he found himself mostly on the bench or used as a pinch hitter. On June 12, he had just 71 plate appearances, and some Cleveland fans unfurled a huge banner reading "WALT IS TOO GOOD TO WASTE." Manager Ken Aspromonte started him in the outfield that day for the first time in a month, and Walt responded by hitting a two-run home run in a 5-4 win! Finally unleashed, Walt hit .301/.332/.443 in 300 plate appearances over the rest of the season, and his post-banner performance is undoubtedly what drew the Yankees' interest in a trade for him.
  
• The three-team, five-player deal that brought Williams to the Yankees was made on March 19, 1974: Jim Perry from the Tigers to the Indians; Jerry Moses from the Yankees to the Tigers; Ed Farmer from the Tigers to the Yankees; and Rick Sawyer and Walt Williams from the Indians to the Yankees. The headliner was Perry, the 1970 Cy Young Award winner, who went to the Indians to join a rotation led by his little brother, Gaylord. So from a Yankee perspective, it was Moses for Williams, Farmer, and Sawyer. Farmer would never play for the Yankees, as he was flipped two days later to the Phillies for cash. Sawyer would see just 7.2 innings with the Yankees between 1974 and 1975 before being traded to the Padres for minor league outfielder Gene Locklear.
  
• It seemed odd that the Yankees would get three players back just for Jerry Moses, Thurman Munson's little-used backup -- he had just 64 plate appearances in 1973. But Moses had been a 23-year-old All-Star with the Red Sox just three years earlier, and the Tigers wanted him as their starting catcher so they could move veteran Bill Freehan to 1B/DH. The Tigers had a new manager, Ralph Houk, who had managed Moses on the Yankees in 1973 and maybe he saw Moses as a kindred spirit: Houk had been Yogi Berra's little-used backup! Alas, Moses hurt his hand and only played in 74 games for the Tigers, hitting .237/.282/.359 (82 OPS+) in 215 plate appearances. After the season, his contract was sold to the Mets, who then traded him to the Padres, and they in turn sent him to the White Sox. Between the three teams Moses only had 23 plate appearances and he retired.
  
• Williams had a minor role in an infamous bit of Yankee history when, on September 8, 1974, Graig Nettles had a broken bat single. Tigers catcher Bill Freehan picked up the broken bat, saw it was corked, and turned it over to home plate umpire Lou DiMuro, who called Nettles out. Nettles, who had homered earlier in the game, claimed it was the first time he'd ever used that particular bat and that he'd grabbed it by mistake. "Some Yankee fan in Chicago gave it to me and said it would bring me good luck," Nettles said "with a marvelously straight face," according to sportswriter Jim Hawkins. "I had been using Walt Williams's bat and this one looked just like it. It looked the same and it felt the same. I just picked it up by mistake. As soon as the end came off, I knew something was wrong."
  
• In 1975, a former Yankee bat boy -- now a college infielder -- named Ray Negron was drafted in the 2nd Round of the January draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. That off-season, Williams spent six weeks working with Negron on hitting. Unfortunately, Negron didn't make it as a ballplayer -- but he did stay in baseball, working in the Yankee front office in community outreach for more than 40 years.
  
• Why was Williams allowed to have those awesome mutton chops as a member of the Yankees? The "no facial hair below the lip" policy didn't officially go into effect until 1976, and Williams was on the team from 1974 to 1975. However, the Yankee appearance policy specifically allows both mutton chops and sideburns. Mr. Burns obviously has a different policy.
  
• Asked who was the toughest pitcher he ever faced, Walt said Dean Chance of the California Angels. Chance had an 11-year career in the bigs, going 128-115 with a 2.92 ERA (119 ERA+) and 1.212 WHIP, but a back injury ended his career at age 30. Chance was a notorious Yankee killer, going 18-11 with a 2.34 ERA and 1.103 WHIP in 32 starts against the Yankees. "Every time I see his name on a lineup card, I feel like throwing up," Mickey Mantle once said of the right-hander. In 1964 -- when the Yankees won 99 games and went to a fifth straight World Series -- Chance was an incredible 4-0 with a microscopic 0.18 ERA against the Yankees. He allowed just one run in 50 innings against the Bombers that season!
  
• Walt had some fun baseball cards. Here's one where he's crushed what appears to be an infield pop up. Here's one where he's clubbing the photographer. There's this classic with his Topps All-Star Rookie Card. (Williams confirmed that you do, indeed, get a real trophy from Topps, it's just not an image they put on your baseball card.) And this is a great one.
  
• Walt was briefly name-checked in "The Baseball Spur," a short story by W.P. Kinsella (author of Shoeless Joe, the novel that was the basis for Field of Dreams). A character in the story says he saw the retired Williams on a street in Chicago and chased him for a block, shouting "Hey, No Neck!" until Williams stopped and agreed to sign an autograph.
  
• Williams had a heartbreaking tragedy during the 1972-1973 off-season. He was playing in the Venezuelan Winter League when his 2-year-old son, Tyrus, died in Chicago from spinal meningitis. Williams had two other sons, Deron and Walter Jr., and when he died in 2016, he had four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
  
• Walt's nephew was Derwin Williams, a wide receiver for the Patriots from 1985 to 1987. Derwin's son Mason Williams -- Walt's grand nephew -- was a 4th round pick of the Yankees in the 2010 draft. Mason was ranked Baseball America's top Yankee prospect -- and #32 overall -- after hitting .304/.359/.489 in A-ball in 2012. But he never panned out, maybe due to a shoulder injury that derailed his 2015 season and would require surgery to repair. In 289 plate appearances with four different teams spread out over seven seasons, Mason hit .265/.308/.366, and apparently is now out of baseball at the age of 31.
  

In 1970, sports columnist Jim Murray wrote of "No Neck": “He is 6 feet tall, only it doesn’t show on the outside. What you can see of Walt Williams is 5 feet 6.” He said a scout said the broad-shouldered, bow-legged Williams “looks as if somebody tried to cram him into a suitcase when they heard the cops coming.”
“He didn’t like the name much at first,” his widow, Ester Williams, said after his death. “But he was stuck with it.”
Williams wasn't blessed with a perfect body, but like the nickname, he was stuck with it... and with hard work and hustle, got everything he could out of it.