Let me give an example. ALWAYS in gun control arguments i constant see comments saying “well I’m a veteran and I’ve used many firearms in war and I think that….” Or “I’m a police officer and I use firearms daily and I think that…”
It immediately turns me off from your opinion. Just give your opinion. Your occupation really doesn’t matter. I’ve seen dudes in the military point a gun at their own face when it jammed. Just because you’re in the military doesn’t mean you know it all. So just give your opinion without telling us your occupation.
This is just the most common example I see but people do this with every form of opinion on many different topics. “I’m a teacher and I think…” “im an electrician and I think” “im a professional football player and I think” etc etc.
Obviously sometimes it actually does directly pertain to the subject matter that’s being discussed but a lot of times it comes off as this person is being a know it all. Especially when it comes to political debates.
Edit: and on Reddit WE DONT EVEN KNOW IF YOU’RE TELLING THE TRUTH. How do I know you’re even what you say you are ??

UEFA Champions League Final Live Stream Reddit - Soccer Streams Free-2023 Soccer Live Stream-Football
​
The 2023 UEFA Champions League Final will be a clash of two of Europe’s most exciting teams, Manchester City vs. Inter Milan, at Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium on Saturday, June 10. Inter Milan beat crosstown rival AC Milan 3-0 on aggregate to reach its first Champions League final appearance since winning the competition in 2010, while City had a statement 5-1 aggregate victory over current holder Real Madrid to progress to the final in its quest to win the trophy for the first time. City’s embarrassment of attacking riches includes Premier League golden boot-winner Erling Haaland, midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne, and English winger Phil Foden, and will aim to outmaneuver and outscore the Italians. Simone Inzaghi’s Inter side, recent winners of the Coppa Italia, are more known for their canny defensive nous and Argentinian Lautaro Martinez’s electric pace on the counter-attack. Read on to learn how to watch UEFA Champions League live streams securely with a VPN.
​
How to live stream the 2022–23 Champions League from your country
You can watch a UEFA Champions League Final live stream with a VPN by following a few simple steps:
​
Get ExpressVPN.
Connect to the VPN server location that matches the broadcaster you want to watch. For example, if you’d like to stream a British broadcaster, connect to a secure server in London.
Check the schedule of the broadcaster you want to watch, such as BT Sport (UK), and find the match you want to stream.
Tune in and enjoy!
Watching on a computer? For the best streaming experience, use the ExpressVPN browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.
​
​
When is the UEFA Champions League Final?
Manchester City vs. Inter Milan – Saturday, June 10, 8 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET
​
Watch Champions League Final live streams in Ireland for free
RTÉ Player
Price: Free
Channels: RTÉ 2
​
You can watch the English commentary of select Champions League football matches on Tuesdays through Ireland’s RTÉ Player—including Inter Milan vs. AC Milan on May 16, 2023.
​
Note: Only select games are available to live stream. Check the broadcast schedule here for RTÉ 2 on match day.
​
How to watch Champions League Final live streams for free in Austria
ServusTV
Price: Free
Channels: ServusTV

​
​
Stream Man City vs. Inter in the final on June 10!
​
The 2023 UEFA Champions League Final will be a clash of two of Europe’s most exciting teams, Manchester City vs. Inter Milan, at Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium on Saturday, June 10. Inter Milan beat crosstown rival AC Milan 3-0 on aggregate to reach its first Champions League final appearance since winning the competition in 2010, while City had a statement 5-1 aggregate victory over current holder Real Madrid to progress to the final in its quest to win the trophy for the first time. City’s embarrassment of attacking riches includes Premier League golden boot-winner Erling Haaland, midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne, and English winger Phil Foden, and will aim to outmaneuver and outscore the Italians. Simone Inzaghi’s Inter side, recent winners of the Coppa Italia, are more known for their canny defensive nous and Argentinian Lautaro Martinez’s electric pace on the counter-attack. Read on to learn how to watch UEFA Champions League live streams securely with a VPN.
​
How to live stream the 2022–23 Champions League from your country
You can watch a UEFA Champions League Final live stream with a VPN by following a few simple steps:
​
Get ExpressVPN.
Connect to the VPN server location that matches the broadcaster you want to watch. For example, if you’d like to stream a British broadcaster, connect to a secure server in London.
Check the schedule of the broadcaster you want to watch, such as BT Sport (UK), and find the match you want to stream.
Tune in and enjoy!
Watching on a computer? For the best streaming experience, use the ExpressVPN browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.
​
​
When is the UEFA Champions League Final?
Manchester City vs. Inter Milan – Saturday, June 10, 8 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET
​
Watch Champions League Final live streams in Ireland for free
RTÉ Player
Price: Free
Channels: RTÉ 2
​
You can watch the English commentary of select Champions League football matches on Tuesdays through Ireland’s RTÉ Player—including Inter Milan vs. AC Milan on May 16, 2023.
​
Note: Only select games are available to live stream. Check the broadcast schedule here for RTÉ 2 on match day.
​
How to watch Champions League Final live streams for free in Austria
ServusTV
Price: Free
Channels: ServusTV
​
The Austrian broadcaster ServusTV carries select Champions League football matches with commentary in German—including Manchester City vs. Real Madrid on May 17, 2023.
​
How to live stream the UEFA Champions League Final in the U.S.
Paramount Plus
Price: 6 USD/month and up
Channels: CBS and CBS Sports Network
​
CBS holds broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League in the U.S. Every match is available live via Paramount Plus, while select matches will air on CBS and the CBS Sports Network. Paramount Plus offers a seven-day free trial.
​
YouTube TV
Price: 73 USD/month and up
Channels: CBS and CBS Sports Network
​
YouTube TV will show select matches on CBS and the CBS Sports Network. YouTube TV also offers a free trial if you only want to watch a specific game.
​
Note: You will need a US credit card to subscribe to YouTube TV. If you don’t have one, subscribe through Google Pay instead.
​
Fubo
Price: 70 USD/month
Channels: CBS and CBS Sports Network
​
Live stream Champions League games throughout the season with Fubo, which carries both CBS and CBS Sports Network to watch the games.
​
Note: You will need a US credit card to subscribe to fuboTV.
​
DirectTV Stream
Price: 95 USD/month and up
Channels: CBS and CBS Sports Network
​
Live stream UEFA Champions League games with DirecTV Stream by subscribing to its “Ultimate” package, which includes CBS and CBS Sports Network, showing games throughout the tournament. If you only want to watch a specific game, try the five-day free trial.
​
Note: You may need a U.S. credit/debit card to subscribe to DirecTV Stream.
​
How to watch a 2022–23 Champions League Final live stream in Canada
DAZN
Price: 25 CAD/month or 200 CAD/year
​
DAZN Canada is a great way to live stream UEFA Champions League games throughout the competition, including the final on June 10, 2023. However, bear in mind that DAZN no longer offers a free trial.
​
Note: You may need a Canadian credit/debit card and postal code (e.g., G1X 2W1, V9N 9C5) to subscribe to DAZN Canada. If you don’t have one, subscribe via PayPal instead. Keep in mind that your DAZN subscription will be locked to Canada and cannot be changed to another country, even when traveling.
​
How to watch a Champions League live stream in the UK
BT Sport
Price: 25 GBP/month and up
​
If you live in the UK, BT Sport is your best bet for watching UEFA Champions League live streams. You don’t need BT broadband to stream sports online: simply choose a Monthly Pass instead to get access to all BT Sport contract-free. You can get set up with the BT Sport app or web player within 15 minutes.
​
Note: This service is available to UK and Ireland residents only. You’ll need a BT ID to watch the stream online. To get a BT ID, you will need a TV license, a valid postal code, and a UK credit/debit card.
​
Live stream the Champions League Final online in India
SonyLIV
Price: 300 INmonth or 1,000 INyear
​
SonyLIV has the rights to broadcast UEFA Champions League matches in India. Matches are available to stream via the SonyLIV app and website.
​
Note: You need an Indian credit card to subscribe to SonyLIV.

https://www.lotro.com/update-notes/lotro-update-36-release-notes-en
​

Update 36 Release Notes

Here are the release notes for Update 36: Gondor Renewed, released on Wednesday, May 31st, 2023.

Of Special Note:

A New Story Begins in A Renewed King's Gondor!

After the defeat of Sauron, King Elessar and Queen Arwen seek to bring peace to their kingdom, but the danger is not gone and new foes seek to threaten Gondor. Adventure awaits in the new zone of King's Gondor East, set after the War of the Ring when fresh breezes have dispersed the fumes of the Dawnless Day and allowed the sun to shine again! Discover the beginning of a new Epic-style storyline, 'The Song of Waves and Wind,' and team up with Legolas, Gimli, and friends both old and new to investigate the continuing threat of the Heirs of Castamir!
The Song of Waves and Wind
A new story debuts with Gondor Renewed called "The Song of Waves and Wind"! For characters level 140. Start the first chapter by speaking to Glindor in Minas Tirith (Midsummer)! This new story is available to anyone who is VIP, purchases the "Gondor Renewed" quest pack, or who purchases quest packs associated with the story that are released in the future.
King's Gondor Awaits
Gone are the gloomy dark skies, replaced with bright and sunny fields and hills. Players familiar with the original Central and Eastern Gondor regions will be familiar with King's Gondor from a navigation standpoint, but there are new additions, and places players previously could not go are now open to allow for further exploration!
The Quest Pack "Gondor Renewed" unlocks more than 80 quests and Deeds for level 140 characters. Includes King's Gondor East and The Song of Waves and Wind. Free to VIPs!
How do I get to King's Gondor?
Go to Minas Tirith (After Battle) and head South through the Pelennor Fields. Where there once stood an impassable is no more! Questing begins in this area of the Pelennor Fields and in the under-construction version of The Harlond. From there, you can explore Gondor up to Linhir, where the gates are currently closed.​

Landscape Difficulty: The Paths of Valour!

We have reworked the Landscape Difficulty setting system introduced with Treebeard and are now opening it to the general game worlds as an option! Read full details about this new Landscape Difficulty option in the release notes below.​ A new Faction and new rewards are now available by playing these higher difficulties. Activate your difficulty and adjust it in the future by speaking with a Hardened Traveller, which can be found in major hubs and new player zones throughout Middle-earth:
​

• Outside of the Prancing Pony in Bree
• Near the Stable Masters outside of the 21st Hall
• Just inside of the exit of Post-Raid Archet
• Just outside of Mossward
• Along the road Northward out of Celondim
• Just outside the door to Thorin's Hall
• Down the road from the Hobbit starter area exit waypoint

There are titles available for activating a difficulty of 3 or higher and keeping it there from level 10 to level 50, and then to level 130 respectively. The title granted depends on the class you play, but can be used by any character on your account. Make sure to select your Landscape Difficulty prior to achieving level 10 to be eligible for these titles! In order to earn these titles, you must keep the difficulty system active for the entire leveling span from level 10 thru 50/130. Entering areas of the game world where it is temporarily suppressed will not invalidate your title attempt, however turning it down or off via the Hardened Traveller will.

More Delvings!

More Delvings are now available! The Annúminas instances Glinghant, Haudh Valandil, and the Great Barrows instances Sambrog, Thadûr and The Maze have been converted to be playable as Delvings! Find them in the Instance Finder (Control+J by default).​

News and Notes

Classes

​

• Several player stun-removal skills were inappropriately flagged as 'Immediate' causing them to occasionally cancel themselves and fail to free you from stuns. These skills are now correctly 'Fast' rather than 'Immediate' skills.
• High Elf, Beorning, and Stout Axe Dwarf racial recall skills can now be used while mounted on any steed.
• Beorning
  
  • The Beorning Trait "Battle Born" now correctly gives additional critical damage for off-hand weapons.
• Brawler
  
  • The Brawler mounted combat skill "Take Breath" will now properly update the incoming healing rating when active.
  • Innate Strength: Raw Power
    • Fixed description of the trait to state that it grants +2.5/+5/+7.5/+10%.
    • No change was made to the actual bonus granted by the trait, This is purely a tooltip change to have it reflect real values.
  • Tracery Innate Strength: Damage/Threat
    • Skill bonus has been modified [+10%->+5%], but is now added directly to the value of Innate Strength: Raw Power buff, which makes it considerably more effective than it was previously.
• Burglar
  
  • Aim skill now works with 'Throw Knife'.
• Captain
  
  • Fighting Withdrawal can now be used while rooted to free yourself.
  • The class deed "Fear the Darkness" should now properly advance even if "Courageous Convocation" is traited.
  • Captain skill "Defensive Strike" is now properly affected by the tracery "Single Target Attack Damage".
  • The buff from Inspire: Self-motivation should now correctly overwrite itself rather than failing to apply when you still have a few seconds of duration remaining from your previous skill use.
• Champion
  
  • Blood Rage and Continuous Blood Rage are now both correctly labeled Fast, rather than Immediate, skills. This prevents you from accidentally double-clicking the skill and putting it on cooldown without gaining the CC-removal effect.
  • Tracery Swift Strike: Damage & Power Cost
    • Renamed to Swift Strike/Blade: Damage & Power Restore
    • Tracery now increases the Power restored by Swift Strike rather than reducing the (now non-existent) Power cost. Magnitude changed from [-33%->+20%].
• Guardian
  
  • The Cardolan Essence of Retaliation effects' durations no longer benefit from the War-chant duration legacy.
• Lore-master
  
  • Clever Escape is now a Fast skill. This prevents you from accidentally double-clicking the skill and putting it on cooldown without gaining the CC-removal effect.
• Rune-keeper
  
  • The skill "Do Not Fall this Day" no longer breaks the target of the skill out of Stealth.
• Warden
  
  • "Forced March" will no longer be toggled off when you enter combat. It still only applies a bonus to your out of combat Run Speed.
  • Seared Flesh now appropriately benefits from bonuses to your Fire Damage.
  • Readied Blade's buff now provides Disarm Immunity for its duration.
  • The trait 'Movement Training' now correctly increases Mitigation ratings from the Conviction and Dance of War buffs.
  • Damage dealt by the trait 'Taking Advantage' increased.

Crafting

​

• The crafting ingredients "Tuft of Torahammas' Fur", "Great Hoary Aurochs Hide" and "Speckled Shell Fragment" can now all be stored in crafting carryalls.
• Beasts in the Ettenmoors that drop crafting hides will now correctly drop Gundabad Hides instead of Eorlingas Hides.
• Crafters can now make two new tiers of selectable craftable essence boxes.
• Gundabad Skarn Deposits have been renamed to Brilliant Skarn Deposits.
• Frost-rimed Black Ash Branches have been renamed to Heavy Wind-swept Black Ash Branches.

Items & Rewards

​

• The Homestead Steed can now be correctly placed on a hitching post by hobbit, dwarf, and Stout-axe dwarf characters.
• Might-based selection boxes no longer reference or contain medium armour.
• Many medium Might-based armour pieces obtained from quests from levels 1-75 have been updated from medium to heavy armour.
• Enemies in Moria no longer drop obsolete Legendary Item rewards.
• The Distillation set now properly identifies itself as a Distillation set and not a Crock Pot.
• Incomparable Earrings received from the 3-stack instances from Return to Carn Dûm have had the names of their set bonuses changed to reflect the stats given by the items in their groups.
• The "Dwarf-make Helm" cosmetic has been renamed to "Dwarf-make Circlet".
• The Champion Legendary Item Tracery "Brutal Strikes Damage" now only appears in The Berserker barter profiles.
• The decorative band on the Sightseer's Straw Hat will now correctly display dye colors.
• The weapon Candelleth's Hammer is now categorized correctly in the Auction House.
• The Veteran of Helm's Deep Quartermaster now offers items for Beornings and Brawlers.
• The Homestead Steed can now be used in Zirakzigil as well as in Caras Galadhon and other appropriate areas in Lothlórien.

Landscape Difficulty

​

• We have reworked the Landscape Difficulty setting system introduced originally to Treebeard and made it available as an option to the general game worlds!
• We've added a new Faction and reward structure called The Paths of Valour that can be advanced by playing on higher difficulties.
• You can activate your difficulty setting by speaking with the Hardened Traveller that can be found in major hubs and new player zones who will offer you an array of quests representing the different difficulty levels.
  • Upon accepting and completing one of these quests, your challenges on the roads of Middle-earth will increase substantially.
  • The difficulty system turns itself off in group instances (3+), in the Ettenmoors, and any time the Delving system is activated. It will reactivate when you leave any of these areas.
• There are titles available for activating a difficulty of 3 or higher and keeping it there from level 10 to level 50, and then to level 130 respectively. The title granted depends on the class you play through with, but can be used by any character on your account.
  • In order to earn these titles, you must keep the difficulty system active for the entire leveling span from level 10 thru 50/130. Entering areas of the game world where it is temporarily suppressed will not invalidate your title attempt, however turning it down or off via the Hardened Traveller will.
  • Existing characters above level 10 will not be able to earn the titles themselves, but will be able to use those titles if they are earned by another character on your account.
• When playing at Fearless or higher, enemies of your own level or higher may drop Tokens of Heroism.
  • These can be turned in to complete weekly tasks from the Hardened Traveller, which will increase your reputation with the Paths of Valour faction.
  • At Fearless difficulty (3-6), these tokens can drop for up to 3 members in a Fellowship.
  • At Heroic difficulty (7+) they can drop for up to 6 members in a Fellowship.
  • The drop rate of these tokens increases somewhat with higher difficulties.
• The difficulty settings and effects are pretty much the same as they were on Treebeard, though we've changed up the names a bit, and added a few variations to the hotspot effects you can encounter under the Eye of Sauron.
• The Hardened Traveller has a menu of barter rewards that include a small set of Reputation accelerators for the faction and Morale/Power potions. More importantly, he also offers an array of 8 new Epic variations of familiar emotes which you will be able to find on the Collections panel.

General Landscape Changes:

​

• Court of Celeborn now has a map.
• Floating objects in the Allegiance Halls and in Mordor have been grounded.
• Incorrect textures in Minas Tirith has been resolved.

Localization

​

• Stablemaster map text has been updated for the German game client.

Missions and Delvings

​

• Delving Barter Vendors and Mission Givers have also been added to all our Skirmish Camps. We did this to make it easier to turn in delving quests no matter where players are. Delving Mission Givers have also been given that title as a role to make it easy to spot them.
• Created a Selectable Delving Extraordinary Box that only drops in instances at tiers 7+. While still rare, new instances have a significantly higher drop rate for this item.
• The Delving Tracery Archive Travel Skill no longer has any reputation requirements.
• Mission: Jorthkyn and the Hounds
  • The Mission now appropriately identifies that you need to kill 8 wargs along with the 8 Jorthkyn to advance the quest.
  • The Mission had some pesky low-level monsters that really wanted to get in on the fight. They have been reprimanded to stay in their lanes.
• Fixed an issue with the mission "Dangerous Deliveries" where the player would pick the pie up twice upon completing the induction to pick up the pie.
• The bridge in the mission Patrol the Township that was bereft of physics has found its physics and will now support your character as it should.
• Before the Shadow missions that referred to previous mission givers have been updated with references to current mission givers.
• The mission "The Nettinglade" had a single cocoon that decided it didn't want to sparkle. The spider responsible has been admonished and though it pledged to swallow all Light in the world, it relented and allowed it's cocoon to sparkle once again.
• Delving Reward Changes:
  • Delving Selectable Crafting Boxes that drop at tier 7 and above can now be disenchanted instead for 20 Delvings Writs. These boxes now have a six hour expiration timer on them. These changes do not affect existing Crafting Boxes.
  • Changed how many writs completing Delving quests give. Tier 1-3 now give 10 writs, Tier 4-6 give 20 writs, Tier 7-9 give 30 writs and Tier 10-12 give 40 writs.
  • Two new cosmetic pets added to Delving Barter.
  • Delving armour will now be disenchantable for more Delving Writs. Common armour will disenchant for 10 writs, rare armour will disenchant for 20 writs, incomparable armour for 30 writs.
  • Added Tier 1 and Tier 2 Essence Boxes to the Delving Barter for Writs, and removed Tier 0.
  • Added Morale and Power Potions to the Delving Barter for Writs. Morale and Power potions also drop as rewards from high tier instance Delving Chests.
• Delving Mission Givers in Skirmish Camps now give Weekly Delving Quests.
• Mission - Defilers in the Dale - Corrected a visual bug where the cauldron's contents and bubbles could become visibly offset after being destroyed.
• Rewards that drop from Delvings have been updated with new Delving-specific icons.

PvMP

​

• We have adjusted the distribution of Infamy/Renown while grouped. In the past, there was a modifier that increased the value of player kills when more than 6 kill contributors were involved. This resulted in the value of a single kill, while in a raid, to be valued over 2x what the kill should have been worth.
  • We have adjusted this modifier to make these values - in the absence of any other modifiers - equivalent to equal distribution of the infamy value of the kill.
  • We have adjusted the bonus modifier to infamy/renown gains when killing ranked players. This change rewards a higher contribution bonus for killing players of a higher rank.
• The War-spoils Carry-all icons have been updated and no longer display a bottle of liquid
• Lootboxes found by monster players now always drop 3 items from three specific tables:
  • Table 1 includes potions, barter lockboxes, and the potential for 500 commendations with weighting toward the barter box, and then equivalent draws for the remaining items.
  • Table 2 includes an equal chance for random perk items from a pool of 5 items.
  • The 3rd table has an equal chance to drop a single Audacity upgrade scroll, 2 Audacity upgrade scrolls, Lord's Symbols, Captain's Marks, 1k Commendations, 1.5k Commendations or a new Cosmetic Selection Box.
    • The Cosmetic Selection Box contains 2 new skins for each class. Previews are available on NPCs present near the Gramsfoot retreat circle.
    • The Selection Box also contains several new cosmetic weapons: Thrâng's Sword, a silvered scimitar, a spider-clan trident, an off-hand Gundabad mace, a Spider-clan staff, an Easterling Ghost Bow, and a new Dunharrow Shield.
    • The Box also contains a new cosmetic type that can be slotted into appearance Corruptions to change the style of your 'March!' skill emitted effects. These include: a white glow, fire trail, acid trail, and a "blue-foot" trail.
• The eggs around Grodris in the Isendeep Mine will now hatch if disturbed during the battle against the matron.
• Fixed an issue with the first and second marshal rewards not providing keys to the chest. The quests for First and Second marshal now correctly reward the key to the chest.
• Tokens of Valour will now go into the War-spoils Carry-all.
• Updated the new Monster Play tutorial to reference using skills on training dummy Kelsen, Jalessa, or Light training-dummy Orion. If you choose the other training dummies you are locked in combat for the full duration of the spawn - which is five minutes. This is bad. Please use the safety dummies. Use those initial skill training dummy Kelsen, Jalessa, or Light training-dummy Orion.
• First Marshal An and Tyrant Uzulthrang are back in action and ready to rush Tol Ascarnen when the opposition is in control. The rewards on the quests to use these two is increased significantly. Each has also been buffed appropriately.
• All values and costs for Lainedhal's Insignias were reduced. You can now purchase the old versions for nostalgia, but the tier 15 version is available to all rank 1 players and better for 2000 commendations and has a 1m cooldown just as the monster player brand.
• The Rank 9 mount available in monster play now has a full +68% movement bonus because it should have been upgraded along with all other mounts that are this hard to get.
• We adjusted the damage done by Spider Hatchlings to be more in line with creatures that are level 140.
• There was a bug introduced when we lowered the cost of monster play potions where we did not lower the amount purchasable from the barter NPC. This has been corrected and now you can only purchase in stacks of three.
• Mazauk and Old Goldhead have been refreshed and stand ready to help you capture Lugazag or Tirith Rhaw.
• Old U21 gear was using old Audacity values. This has been reduced to 1.
• Freepside Ettenmoors quests now award considerably more IXP when completed.
• The Freepside weekly quest, 'Battle Across the Ettenmoors' now gives slightly improved rewards.
• Many monster player skill power costs have been adjusted. In particular, several healing skills cost substantially more power.
• The base critical heal multiplier for most Creepside heals has been reduced from 1.5 to 1.2.
• Increased damage of ranger session play skills.
• Orc Defiler
  
  • Cooldowns reduced for Fertile Slime and Fungal Spores.
  • Fungal Spores initial heal potency reduced.
  • Enhanced Fungal Spores now rolls for a critical heal on each pulse, rather than following the critical outcome of the initial skill use.
  • Fertile Slime no longer has an initial heal.
  • Healing from Improved Blessing of Darkness now occurs every 1 second, rather than every 2 seconds.
  • Constant Pain now pulses healing every 2 seconds, and will restore some power to the defiler when it does.
• Orc Reaver
  
  • Blade Toss now only applies its slow and/or knockdown effects to targets facing away from you.
• Spider Weaver
  
  • Several spider animations should no longer slow down when you gain attack speed buffs.
  • Trapdoor Sanctuary now lasts 10 seconds; when traited, it will heal 5% of your max health each second.
• New Potions (of Bravery and Essence) are now correctly usable by the Free Peoples.
  
• Insignias now have a 3 minute cooldown and provide 15 seconds of combat state immunity (Tyrant Brands still have a 1 minute cooldown and only provide 5 seconds of immunity for now).
  
• Alwuld the Item Trader now carries the updated Morale and Power potions.
  
• Potions of Essence now correctly restore different amounts of Power, according to their quality and rank requirements.
  

Quests, Deeds and Instances

​

• Tier 4 of Gwathrenost, the Witch-king's Citadel is available.
• All slayer deeds in the Wells of Langflood, will now properly reward players with LOTRO Points.
• Gwathrenost, the Witch-king's Citadel - The final Objective of 'The Storming of Gwathrenost' now functions similarly to 'Into the Hiddenhoard, allowing the Player the choice of whether or not to abandon the quest after completing it. The option to complete the quest via the Quest Actions panel was causing some players to mistakenly erase their progress in a given reset cycle, so this has been removed.
• Azanulbizar - Quest: Death in the Dale - The quest guide for this quest has been corrected to highlight the proper area.
• Azanulbizar - Quest: Elusive Prey - The quest guide now properly highlights the general locations of all the Rare foes in Azanulbizar.
• Sagroth - The Sewer Water debuff that can be applied to players during the Gárvadach encounter now carries the resistance type "disease" instead of "corruption".
• Several fading or overlapping combat music bugs have been fixed in the Race of Man and hobbit tutorials, the Archet raid, and the Trouble at Tuckborough skirmish.

Miscellaneous

​

• The Allegiance panel can now be resized an additional horizontal distance.
• Certain Brawler Belt Buckles were appearing under the Lore-master class in searches in the Auction House. That has been fixed.
• Upgraded the compiler used to compile the 32 bit game client to make it compatible with upgraded OpenAL.
• Clydesdale mounts can now be used in Thorin's Hall and the Hall Under the Mountain
• The Assistant Stable-master at Elrond's Stables in Rivendell douses the horse less frequently.
• Facepaint rewards acquired from Hobnanigans now correctly shows on Human avatars.
• The Draught Horse cosmetic pets received in the Homesteads and Harvests Coffers have been renamed to "Miniature" Draught horses.
• Matching full size Draught horse cosmetic pet tomes have been granted (account-wide) to everyone that purchased the Homesteads and Harvests Coffers.
• The Homestead Steed mount scale has been increased to match the expected size of a draught horse. Many animation issues have been resolved for the Homestead Steed mount as well.
• Updated the icon for the Stoorvales/Clegur Milestone and for the Clegur travel skills.
• Several Run Speed buffs and debuffs were overwriting effects of greater potency. Player-applied Run Speed Effects should now only overwrite effects of the same kind (out of combat speed buff, in combat speed buff, or debuff) and the most potent effect should always be the one which is actively applied.

Known Issues:

​

• In French and German the Tokens of Heroism may display as Tokens of Valour.
• The Stable-master panel in Collections has not been updated to include King's Gondor.
• The Deeds "Boar-slayer of Lower Lebennin" and "Boar-slayer of Lower Lebennin (Advanced)" are not bestowing/advancing properly.

Sorry for the delay folks, wanted to give everyone some time from Memorial Day.
Welcome to baseball's Players of the Week feature! We have one Voter from each team, and we vote each week on the best hitting and pitching performances in both the American League and the National League. This week (May 22nd through May 28th), we had 11 Votes.
Our Voters are charged with a simple question: Which MLB players had the best week?
All stats are from Baseball-Reference.com's excellent Daily Game Log Finder tool.

Mobile-Friendly Week 9 Results

National League Pitcher of the Week: Logan Webb

Name	Team	Votes	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	BF	WHIP	BAbip	SO9	SO/W
Logan Webb	SF	6	7.0	4	1	1	11	0	1.29	26	0.714	.286	14.1	11.00
Zack Wheeler	PHI	4	14.0	11	3	2	15	2	1.93	56	0.929	.250	9.6	7.50
Tristan Beck	SF	1	9.0	2	1	0	10	1	1.00	30	0.222	.056	10.0	∞

Baseball Reference Stats - FanGraphs Stats

American League Pitcher of the Week: Luis Castillo

Name	Team	Votes	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	BF	WHIP	BAbip	SO9	SO/W
Luis Castillo	SEA	8	12.0	5	0	4	18	0	0.00	46	0.750	.217	13.5	4.50
Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	2	9.0	6	1	1	5	0	1.00	31	0.778	.240	5.0	5.00

Baseball Reference Stats - FanGraphs Stats

National League Hitter of the Week: Matt McLain

Name	Team	Votes	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Matt McLain	CIN	7	31	9	15	3	0	2	7	3	1	.484	.543	.774	1.317
Pete Alonso	NYM	2	22	6	8	1	1	3	5	3	1	.364	.482	.909	1.391
Francisco Alvarez	NYM	1	20	4	8	2	0	3	8	0	0	.400	.429	.950	1.379
Jorge Soler	MIA	1	31	7	9	1	0	5	8	2	0	.290	.353	.807	1.159

Baseball Reference Stats - FanGraphs Stats

From The Voters: Can't believe I'm not voting for Soto but Matt McLain was the most valuable player in the NL in his first full week in the league. Go Bruins. - u/crimsontideftw24

From The Voters: Matt McLain’s great early play has made the Silly Circles easier to stomach for Reds fans - u/beer_down

From The Voters: Love them dingers but more importantly, got pegged. - u/mingram

American League Hitter of the Week: Yordan Alvarez

Name	Team	Votes	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Yordan Alvarez	HOU	6	18	7	5	0	0	4	7	7	0	.278	.500	.944	1.444
Julio Rodríguez	SEA	2	30	6	14	4	0	2	7	0	1	.467	.484	.800	1.284
Josh Jung	TEX	2	24	6	11	2	1	2	7	1	0	.458	.480	.875	1.355
Bo Bichette	TOR	1	31	5	14	1	1	2	7	1	1	.452	.469	.742	1.211

Baseball Reference Stats - FanGraphs Stats

From The Voters: It's 2023 stop making me write in bo bichette - u/RagingAcid

Mobile-Friendly Week 9 Results

I've been playing for over a year now with my local library, but I want to get more D&D, so I'm going to head over to my LGS's Adventurer's League night this week. Generally speaking, is there anything I should know about AL so I'm not surprised? Is it expected that I bring a new Lvl1 character? How well are new players generally integrated into the game?

Hi everyone, longtime Dc united/MLS fan here deciding to fully commit to being a Dortmund fan. I've never really had a team in Europe that I've been serious about, let alone Germany. In the US the big draw is the premiere league but I could never really settle on a team after Tim Howard left Everton. Growing up playing "soccer", fifa games, as well as the DC united ultras group "Barra Brava" turned me into a huge fan of the sport. One of my friends growing up was a big bayren fan so naturally I couldn't pick them and found Dortmund to be a suitable rival team, so I've been a casual since 2011/12 and remember watching the 2013 UCL final on Fox in the states being pissed that Bayren won AND was going to snatch Dortmund's best player soon. Bragging rights for 15 year olds was important lol. I remember players like Lewa, Kagawa, Reus, Hummels, Auba, Gotze, Pulisic (I grew up in the same area and played with kids my age who used to say "I remember playing with him back in u14 and he sucked! but one day he came in and was unbelievable". Then I'd say something like "oh so that's why you're here with me in math class"), and Haaland too before he left, but obviously from a more casual perspective.
I was wondering where you guys get a lot of news for the team. Obviously I get a lot in news via espn on the team, but I also like fearthewall.com as sb nation used to host a lot of great MLS blogs but they've since stopped funding them. Is a subscription to the Athletic worth it? Also, say I were to make a pilgrimage to Germany to see a game, whats the best way to get to Dortmund is it to fly in to Dusseldorf? Not a huge geography buff on Germany but I was just curious if that would be better or if I should send it and fly in to Amsterdam or Brussels and travel via train or something. What's the best way to get a ticket to a match, joining a fanclub, Resellers, ticket hotline?
Since I've moved away from where I grew up, I don't have as strong ties with DC united anymore. Where I live now every football fan I know/work with always seems to love Man U, Madrid or Bayren. To be honest, after following this team casually for so long and seriously watching the last 3 games of this exciting season, it only felt natural to fully back them even as disappointing as the final game was. So, perhaps it was a longtime coming but I'm all in now.

Sale in my Etsy shop: www.marybeecompany.com
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Tennessee adds another blue-chipper with the commitment of 2024 4* RB Peyton Lewis. Lewis announced his commitment surrounded by Tennessee staff, current commits, and future Vols during the '865 Live' recruiting event in Knoxville over the weekend (last year was called RockyTopalooza). This event was jam packed with other blue chip recruits and included a scavenger hunt, a putt putt golf contest, and a talent show. The Salem, VA native gives Heupel's staff their TWELFTH commitment in the 2024 class choosing Tennessee over Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Lewis was offered by the Vols in February 2023 and "always had aspirations of playing at Tennessee" so the commitment came just a few short months afterwards.
Tennessee anchors itself inside the Top 10 at #8 sandwiched between Florida State (#9) and Penn State (#7). See the other commitments below:

2024 Team Ranks: Nat'l #8 SEC #3

Rank	Team	Commits	5*	4*	3*	AVG Points	Total Points
1	Georgia	16	4	7	4	94.14	270.65
2	Michigan	17	1	10	6	91.34	250.12
3	Ohio State	13	2	9	2	93.05	238.14
4	Notre Dame	16	2	9	5	90.82	236.05
5	LSU	16	0	11	5	90.32	232.40
6	Oregon	14	0	11	3	91.01	224.58
7	Penn State	14	1	7	6	90.43	217.41
8	Tennessee	12	0	7	5	90.51	202.23
9	Florida State	11	2	5	4	90.45	192.35
10	South Carolina	9	1	7	1	92.95	183.60

2024 Commitments

Name	Position	Height	Weight	Class	Star	247Comp Rank	POS Rank	Rating	Commit Date
Jake Merklinger	QB	6-3	195	2024	4	65	8	0.9634	3/30/23
Jonathan Echols	ATH (TE)	6-4	230	2024	4	94	7	0.9525	7/4/22
JJ Harrell	WR	6-0	187	2024	4	143	20	0.9380	2/27/23
Kaleb Beasley	CB	6-0	179	2024	4	150	14	0.9351	10/21/22
Peyton Lewis	RB	6-1	190	2024	4	215	15	0.9208	5/27/23
Kellen Lindstrom	DL	6-5	235	2024	4	268	31	0.9117	5/5/23
Amari Jefferson	ATH (WR)	6-1	195	2024	4	270	23	0.9110	UT Baseball Commit
Marcus Goree Jr.	ATH (DB)	6-0.5	177	2024	4	416	37	0.8915	2/18/23
Gage Ginther	IOL	6-5.5	287	2024	3	604	37	0.8794	4/8/23
Edrees Farooq	S	5-11	180	2024	3	627	60	0.8778	4/16/23
Carson Gentle	DL	6-3	241	2024	3	804	81	0.8697	7/23/22​
Jesse Perry	OT	6-6	275	2024	3	851	69	0.8664	4/7/23
Jeremias Heard	DL	6-7	295	2024	3	NA	99	0.8552	4/21/23

2024 Top Targets

Name	Position	Height	Weight	Class	Star	247Comp Rank	Rating	Recent Notes
Williams Nwaneri	DL	6-5	250	2024	5	3	0.9971	247 Recruiting Director Steve Wiltfong said Vols were in "pole position" going into summer Official Visits. OV scheduled for 6/9/23. Primary competition: Oklahoma and Texas A&M
Mike Matthews	ATH	6-1	180	2024	5	9	0.9955	OV scheduled for 6/23. Primary competition: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, USC
Sammy Brown	LB	6-2	230	2024	5	14	0.9928	Vols "set the bar high" during Official Visit for '865 Live' event on 5/27. Primary competition: Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma
Eddrick Houston	Edge	6-3	255	2024	5	15	0.9907	Tennessee not yet scheduled for OV. Primary competition: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, USC
Ryan Wingo	WR	6-2	198	2024	5	21	0.9884	Tennessee not yet scheduled for OV but just visited for '865 Live' recruiting event. Primary competition: Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Texas
Elijah Rushing	Edge	6-6	235	2024	5	22	0.9883	OV scheduled for 6/23. Primary competition: Arizona, Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA
Jerrick Gibson	RB	5-10	200	2024	4	35	0.9799	OV scheduled for 6/16. Primary competition: Georgia, Miami, Texas
Jordan Ross	Edge	6-5	215	2024	4	38	0.9774	OV scheduled for 6/23. Primary competition: Florida, Georgia, Texas
Kamarion Franklin	DL	6-5	265	2024	4	39	0.9770	OV scheduled for 6/16. Primary competition: LSU, Miami
Aaron Scott	CB	6-0	170	2024	4	56	0.9665	Tennessee in Top 12 on 4/9/23 but no OV scheduled.
Kameryn Fountain	Edge	6-5.5	237	2024	4	81	0.9567	UT CRYSTAL BALL PREDICTION - OV scheduled for 6/23. Primary competition: USC and USCJr
Demello Jones	S	6-1	176	2024	4	84	0.9563	UGA commit - OV scheduled for 6/23. Primary competition: Alabama and Georgia
Daniel Calhoun	OT	6-6.5	355	2024	4	86	0.9561	OV scheduled for 6/16. Primary competition: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Texas
Tylen Singleton	LB	6-1	208	2024	4	123	0.9422	Tennessee not yet scheduled for OV. Primary competition: Arkansas, LSU, TCU, Texas A&M
Max Anderson	OT	6-5	305	2024	4	191	0.9276	MULTIPLE UT CRYSTAL BALL PREDICTIONS - OV scheduled for 6/9. Primary competition: Georgia and Oklahoma
Daniel Hill	ATH (LB/RB)	6-1	220	2024	4	196	0.9261	Tennessee not yet scheduled for OV but just visited for '865 Live' recruiting event. "Top-three" after visit. Primary competition: Alabama and USCJr
Boo Carter	ATH	5-10	184	2024	4	240	0.9151	UT CRYSTAL BALL PREDICTION - Tennessee not yet scheduled for OV but just visited for '865 Live' recruiting event. Primary competition: Ohio State
Edwin Spillman	LB	6-1	216	2024	4	251	0.9137	MULTIPLE UT CRYSTAL BALL PREDICTIONS - OV scheduled for 6/16. Brother of UT '23 commit Nate Spillman. Primary competition: FSU, Georgia, Ohio State
Amaris Wiliams	DL	6-3	260	2024	4	261	0.9130	OV scheduled for 6/23. Primary competition: Florida, NC State, North Carolina
Amari Jefferson	ATH	6-1	195	2024	4	270	0.9110	UT Baseball commit - OV scheduled for 6/23. Primary competition: Alabama and Georgia
Ronan O'Connell	OT	6-4.5	288	2024	3	539	0.8833	UT CRYSTAL BALL PREDICTION - OV scheduled for 6/23. Primary competition: Clemson and Wisconsin

Recruiting Notes

• The team rankings do not include Amari Jefferson as a UT football commit but I have included him here due to his baseball commitment to Tennessee. Jefferson has been taking football visits and it is clear that Tennessee will be a finalist.
• 2024 4* ATH Jonathan Echols has announced he is being recruited to play TE at Tennessee.
• '865 Live' Recruiting Event had some very big names in addition to some of the top targets above including...
  • 2024 5* Edge Dylan Stewart
  • 2024 4* DL Aydin Breland
  • 2024 4* Edge Brian Robinson
  • 2024 4* ATH Kamron Mikell (announced an OV for 11/18 vs. UGA)
  • 2025 5* OT Josh Petty

Main hub thread with the full 131 rankings
The year was 1976. Nevada, coming off a 3-8 year in Division II, hired a little known assistant from UNLV to be their football coach. He had returned to his alma mater where he played QB just 8 years prior. Chris Ault. Ault oversaw 2 transitions: From Division II to Division 1-AA in 1978, then again to Division 1-A in 1992. Ault was a wild success, running his patented pistol offense, making the Division 1-AA playoffs 7 times in 14 years, with an overall record of 122-47-1. Their final year in 1-AA, 1991, they overcame a 35 point 2nd half deficit against Weber State to win 55-49. Backup QB Chris Vargas led the comeback, and would become known as “The Comeback Kid”. He also donated part of his lungs to his brother-in-law in 2000. Be like Chris Vargas.

Best Seasons and Highlights

1. 2010: 12. Nevada: 13-1 (32.831) 2. 1996: 31. Nevada: 9-3 (8.179) 3. 1995: 33. Nevada: 9-3 (7.733) 4. 2020: 34. Nevada: 7-2 (7.056) 5. 1994: 34. Nevada: 9-2 (6.337) 6. 2005: 29. Nevada: 9-3 (5.411) 7. 2009: 52. Nevada: 8-5 (-1.018) 8. 2021: 55. Nevada: 8-5 (-2.971) 9. 2006: 51. Nevada: 8-5 (-3.695) 10. 2018: 66. Nevada: 8-5 (-7.539) 11. 1993: 49. Nevada: 7-4 (-8.115) 12. 2008: 60. Nevada: 7-6 (-8.404) 13. 2014: 68. Nevada: 7-6 (-10.285) 14. 2011: 69. Nevada: 7-6 (-10.406) 15. 2003: 67. Nevada: 6-6 (-12.153) 16. 1992: 61. Nevada: 7-5 (-12.975) 17. 1998: 60. Nevada: 6-5 (-13.089) 18. 2012: 74. Nevada: 7-6 (-15.548) 19. 2015: 75. Nevada: 7-6 (-16.831) 20. 1997: 72. Nevada: 5-6 (-19.971) 21. 2019: 85. Nevada: 7-6 (-20.016) 22. 2007: 81. Nevada: 6-7 (-21.387) 23. 2002: 73. Nevada: 5-7 (-22.812) 24. 2013: 93. Nevada: 4-8 (-31.474) 25. 2016: 96. Nevada: 5-7 (-32.042) 26. 2004: 96. Nevada: 5-7 (-35.568) 27. 2017: 109. Nevada: 3-9 (-36.450) 28. 1999: 98. Nevada: 3-8 (-37.940) 29. 2001: 95. Nevada: 3-8 (-38.935) 30. 2022: 128. Nevada: 2-10 (-54.907) 31. 2000: 111. Nevada: 2-10 (-59.726) Overall Score: 8991 (87th) 

• 199-177 record
• 7 conference titles
• 6-11 bowl record
• 0 consensus All-Americans
• 26 NFL players drafted

Nevada’s been in the FBS since 1992, so 31 seasons played since 1983. They were previously in the FBS (Division 1) from 1946-50, but that doesn’t fall under the 40 year timeline here. In their 31 seasons, they’ve made 17 bowls, which is 55% of the time. 7 titles means they win their conference 23% of the time. 5 titles came under Ault, the College Football Hall of Famer and easily the greatest coach in school history. Top NFL players include QB Colin Kaepernick, WR Nate Burleson, and OT Joel Bitonio.

Top 5 Seasons

Worst Season: 2000 (2-10 overall, 1-7 WAC)
New conference, new coach, new lows. Nevada moved from the Big West to the WAC with Chris Tormey, who previously went 32-23 at Idaho. There were early struggles, with a 7-36 loss to Oregon, 10-41 to #22 TCU, and 14-45 to Colorado State. They did get a 35-28 win over Wyoming. The season quickly got away from them though, after a 7-38 loss to rival UNLV. Cormey would go 0-4 against UNLV in his 4 years, which was inexcusable. Nevada got a late season win over Rice, but finished off with a brutal 3-38 performance vs Tulsa. Nevada finished last place in their new conference. Sophomore WR Nate Burleson was a breakout player though, with 921 receiving yards. Burleson went on to be an All-American in 2002, leading the nation in catches with 138, for 1629 yards and 12 TD. He was drafted in the 3rd round in 2003 and went on to have a solid NFL career and is an even better media personality than football player.
5. 1994 (9-2 overall, 5-1 Big West)
Chris Ault was in his 18th season at the time, with 1st year offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino. The two made magic happen, ranking 3rd in the nation with 37.6 PPG. Nevada started 9-1, with the only loss to Boise State, who was in Division 1-AA at the time. Boise would join Division 1-A in 2 years, but in 1994, was a division below and went 13-2 and made the title game. Nevada had rolled through the rest of the Big West, mostly beating teams that finished with losing records, but did beat 6-5 Pacific 38-26. Heading into the final week, Nevada had already won a share of the Big West title, but faced rival UNLV, who was 5-4 (4-1 Big West) and looking to get a share themselves. In the most hyped game between the two ever, UNLV pulled off the upset, winning 32-27 in a game now known as the “Red Defection”, which I talked about in UNLV’s post. Nevada still finished the year 9-2, with a share of the Big West title. QB Mike Maxwell led the NCAA in passing TDs, throwing for 3537 yards 29 TD 15 INT. RB Marcellus Chrishon ran for 1000+ yards in just 9 games, and WR Alex Van Dyke, a future 2nd round pick, caught 98 balls for 1246 yards and 9 TD.
4. 2020 (7-2 overall, 6-2 Mountain West)
Nevada was expected to be a solid team in 2020, returning talented young QB Carson Strong. Because of covid weirdness, their schedule was anything but regular, and ended up playing all 8 regular season games against Mountain West opponents. Because of this, there was little room for error. They did as well as they could, starting 4-0, set to face 3-1 San Diego State, who was the division favorite. There were no divisions this year because of covid, but SDSU was still a favorite to qualify for the title game. A 26-21 lead heading into the 4th for Nevada held for the final 15 minutes, and they improved to 5-0 with a conference championship appearance in sight. At 6-1, they’d unfortunately lose 20-30 to an upstart 5-0 San Jose State team that would go on to win the Mountain West. Nevada still made a bowl, beating 6-5 Tulane 38-27 to finish 7-2, and 34th in my rankings. QB Carson Strong won Mountain West OPOTY, completing 70% of passes for 2858 yards, 27 TD, and just 4 INT. Many were talking about him as a future 1st round pick heading into 2021. RB Toa Taua, brother of legendary Nevada RB Vai, had a solid year with 675 rushing yards in 8 games, earning 2nd Team All-MWC. Toa went on to have a consistent 5-year career in which he amassed 3997 rushing yards, 4th in school history only to his brother, Chris Lemon, and Colin Kaepernick. Strong formed a strong connection with WR Romeo Doubs, now on the Green Bay Packers, who had 1000+ receiving yards and 9 TD in just 9 games. Overall, 10 players made 1st/2nd team all-conference.
3. 1995 (9-3 overall, 7-0 Big West)
This was right after the 1994 season, where Nevada went 9-2 but lost on the final day to rival UNLV, forced to share the conference title. They left no doubt in ‘95, outpacing UNLV 55-32 en route to a 7-0 Big West season and sole owners of the title. In week 3, 2-0 Nevada hosted Gary Pinkel’s Toledo, losing 35-49 in what previewed the bowl game later on. After then dropping a game to SDSU to fall to 2-2, Nevada averaged a whopping 48.4(!) PPG in their last 7 regular season games, going 7-0 with wins over 2nd placed Southwestern Louisiana and 3rd placed Utah State. That set up a rematch with Toledo in the bowl, who was now #25 and 9-0-1. In the first overtime game in college football history, Toledo won again, this time closer at 40-37. Gary Pinkel completed an undefeated season with the Rockets, while Nevada finished 9-3. The offensive numbers were again staggering, even better than 1994. Nevada ranked 3rd in the nation in PPG with 43.4. QB Mike Maxwell led the NCAA in passing yards with 3611 (in just 9 games!) and 33 TD to 17 INT. WR Alex Van Dyke had an unbelievable year, with 129 catches for 1854 yards and 16 TD. In just 11 games! If he played a 13 game season like teams do today, his stats would extrapolate to 152 catches for 2191 yards and 19 TD.
2. 1996 (9-3 overall, 4-1 Big West)
As you can tell, Nevada was balling from 1994-96. New head coach Jeff Tisdale, a former All-American QB for Nevada in the 70’s, took over for Ault, who continued in his role as Athletic Director, which he had been in since 1986. There was no drop off offensively, averaging 42.9 PPG (2nd in the nation), but the defense gave up 8 less PPG, going from 31.2 allowed in 1995 → 23.8 in 1996. QBs John Dutton and Eric Bennett alternated throughout the year, coaches trying to decide who was the right fit to take over for Mike Maxwell. Both were solid, and combined for 3907 passing yards 34 TD 11 INT. Nevada started 1-2 with losses to Pac-10 opponents Oregon and Cal, but then started to wipe through the schedule. Nevada went 7-1 the rest of the way in the regular season, with 25+ point wins over UNLV, Boise State, North Texas, New Mexico State, Utah State, and Arkansas State. The only Big West loss was 15-24 to Idaho, who finished 3rd in the conference. Nevada tied with Utah State at 4-1, sharing the conference title, but got the better of them in a 54-27 win. An 18-15 win over 8-3 Ball State in the bowl clinched Nevada’s first ever bowl win, and they now have 5 more since. LB Mike Crawford nabbed the game-sealing interception, and was the game’s MVP, logging 14 tackles and a forced fumble to go with the INT.
1. 2010 (13-1 overall, 7-1 WAC)
I said that Kansas might be the team with the most obvious “best” season, but Nevada’s up there too. This was a dream season, almost like a Hollywood script. Nevada was a very good team entering 2010, picked to finish 2nd in the WAC, but EVERYONE was picking Boise to win the conference. Not just the conference, but to possibly contend for a national title. That’s what the Broncos did, starting 10-0 and #3 in the nation, getting as high as #2 at one point. Back in Reno, Nevada expectedly started 2-0, setting up a Friday night game hosting Cal. I remember watching it, a Cal fan at the time, hoping the Bears would improve to 3-0, but Colin Kaepernick and RB Vai Taua ran all over our defense, posting 299 rushing yards between the two of them in a 52-31 win. A 27-13 win at BYU the next week put Nevada in the AP Top 25 at 4-0. They’d beat up on bottomfeeders UNLV and San Jose State before heading to Hawaii, but lose a trap game to the upstart Rainbow Warriors, who won 27-21 with almost no one watching the 11:30 PM EST start time game. Nevada kept their focus though, and won 2 more to get to 8-1 and back up to #21. A win over 6-2 Fresno State, a traditional WAC power, was huge, with the Wolfpack taking a 35-34 lead with 5 minutes remaining. After a 52-6 win over New Mexico State, the Wolfpack were 10-1, and #19 in the nation, having one of the best seasons in school history.
Then came the Boise State game. Nevada had finished 2nd in the WAC for 2 straight years, unable to get over the Bosie hump. Boise State was the class not just of the WAC, but of all the non-AQ schools in the BCS era. They were the team that finally had a chance to break not into just a BCS bowl, but the national title game. Nevada was the home team and wasn’t going to just lie down, but this Boise team was, at the time, the best non-Power 6 team we’d ever seen. Boise didn’t disappoint, galloping out to a 17-0 lead early. Taua cut it to a 10 point deficit in the 2nd quarter, but Boise RB Doug Martin immediately responded with a 51 yard TD run to send it into halftime at 24-7. With the offense stalling, Kaepernick finally broke off an 18 yard TD run on 3rd and 6 with 1:30 left in the 3rd quarter to make it 24-14. Following a defensive stop, Nevada got the ball back to start the 4th. Receiving an end-around lateral 12 yards behind the LOS, with 3 tacklers to beat, WR Rishard Matthews evaded them all and took it 44 yards to the house. 24-21. With 5 minutes to go, Nevada made it 24 all. Boise, who hadn’t scored all half, put the ball in Doug Martin’s hands and let him do the work, taking a screen pass 79 yards for the go-ahead TD. In response, Kaepernick drove the length of the field, 15 seconds to go…Touchdown, Nevada! With 13 seconds left! Will they go for 2…? No.
Boise State ball with 9 seconds to go, both teams preparing for OT. Kellen Moore throws up a PRAYER for Titus Young, nearly 60 yards in the air…and Young LAYS out for the catch, down to the Nevada 10. 1 second left, 26 yard FG, Boise with one of the best kickers in school history, game over. Except it wasn’t. Kyle Brotzman hit it wide right. OVERTIME. The stadium was shaking. 3rd & goal in overtime for Boise, incomplete. Brotzman comes back out, this time from 29. WIDE LEFT. As Joe Tessitore put it, “this is turning into a disaster”. On the other side, Nevada kicker Anthony Martinez lined up for a 34 yard FG for the biggest win in school history. Right down the middle. Nevada wins it 34-31 in OT, pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the 2010s and winning a share of the WAC title, against all odds. Nevada won their last regular season game against Louisiana Tech and the bowl against Boston College to finish 13-1 and #11 in the AP Poll.
The offense averaged 41.0 PPG while the defense gave up just 21.4. Kaepernick won WAC OPOTY, throwing for 3022 yards 21 TD 8 INT with 1206 rushing yards and 20 TD on 7.0 YPC. Taua was 1st Team All-WAC with 1610 rushing yards and 19 TD, finishing his career as Nevada’s all-time leading rusher with 4588 yards. DE Dontay Moch was in contention for WAC DPOTY, with 8.5 sacks and 13.5 TFL. Overall, this turned out to be a loaded Wolfpack team, with 9 players drafted over the next 3 years, including Kaepernick, who led the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance.

5th Quarter

Do you remember that insane 2010 game vs Boise, and that Nevada team with Kaepernick/Taua? What do you think about Nevada in general, with the success they’ve had running the pistol and Chris Ault’s legacy?
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1. Having the “more talented team” is not a magic bullet to win a series. Sure you think Sam Hauser is better than the others teams 9th man. That’s great. This does not mean that Hauser’s team wins every playoff series. Many “less talented teams “ with a HOF Star have been dragged to the finals.
   
2. The role players piece. Derrick White is not better than Trey Young. 14 mins Rob Williams is not the next Shaq. Al Horford is not an “awesome player” or an “elite shooter” at this point. Grant Williams scored 3 points last night. Come the fuck on. The wild over valuing of public teams (especially Boston’s) role players makes me believe even more in the Boston Media Mafia. It’s “I’d take Iguodala!!” But way way worse and 12 months a year. My ears have taken so so much Hauser discussion. Give it a break.
   
3. Tatum is not gonna be the best player in the league. He’s not “gonna become a connector like Jokic” He’s been outplayed by Steph and Jimmy badly the past two seasons. Those guys are not in the conversation for 2023 best player. He’s 26 (an age most non Celtics get written off as “he is what he is” by the BMM), Tatum is not “ONLY 19 anymore”. He has been on a stacked team for his entire career. He’s really good helped by being on a good team. Not a mvp/ best player in the world kinda guy.
   
4. The Celtics crowd- stop it. I don’t wanna hear about it again. It’s not a good crowd. It’s not a “black panther suit”. They can barely be .500 in the playoffs. They boo quickly and sound quite as fuck most of the time. Give it a 2 year break.
   
5. The injury narrative- for every minute talking about Tatum’s rolled ankle talk about Jimmy playing through the same injury and Hero not touching the floor in the whole series. Injuries happen to every team…. Every year. Not just the Celtics who were a 2 seed and crapped the bed to a 8 seed. Also stop it with the “he must be hurt because he didn’t shoot 40% from 3 in a game 7”… Bill and his dad pretty much said the entire Celtics roster was mystery hurt , just not on any injury report last night. Amazing.
   

What else? I’d love to think the Media Mafia would eat some crow and come back more reasonable next year but I have my doubts.

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