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Question: Music interview - Billy Bragg: ‘Seeing The Clash convinced me there was something to punk’

Fans of Billy Bragg will have two opportunities to see the ‘Bard of Barking’ at the revived Long Division festival in Wakefield.
The 60-year-old singer-songwriter and political activist will not only perform a concert in Wakefield Cathedral on Saturday; tomorrow he’ll be at Wakefield Town Hall with Laura Snapes, The Guardian’s deputy music editor who has also written for the likes of Pitchfork, Mojo and Q, and Chris Madden, the Leeds psychotherapist and founder of Chinwag, a series of conversations with artists, writers and musicians.
The event, called Write Place, Write Time, is in aid of the charity MAP which seeks to help young people at risk of exclusion from mainstream education.
Bragg says his process of songwriting hasn’t changed significantly over the last 40 years. “It just works its way out in different ways now,” he says. “In the old days I used to have to sing everything into a big cassette recorder; now I do it on my phone while I’m wandering round.
“I don’t have to be anywhere specifically with an instrument. I don’t have to write a song with a tune in my head; I can capture it immediately on my phone and when I’m needing some ideas to make a new record I listen back to them and reconnect with them.”
He says he’s rarely been one to work to a strict routine. “I hate doing my homework,” he says. “One of the things that was a really good encouragement to write a song was getting a John Peel session. I can remember having a conversation with Johnny Marr about that, saying ‘I’ve got a Peel session, I’ve got to write two new songs, you can’t play old songs on a Peel session’. That was certainly true of me, whenever I did one if I didn’t have a couple of songs knocking around I would write a couple of songs specifically. I can remember doing that the night before, thinking to myself, ‘Come on, there’s got be something in here’ and digging deep to find it.
Billy Bragg. Picture: James Millar
“But I find more often than not when I’m making a record that I focus in on songwriting and I tend to write more songs in that process rather than day to day, whereas I used to connect with it more regularly.”
Bragg began writing poetry when he was 11 years old. “I didn’t learn to play guitar until I was 16 but I’d written a lot of songs before then. At 13, 14, 15 I was writing songs and keeping the tunes in my head.”
He quickly realised he wanted to be a full-time songwriter around the same time. “I only got one O-level, English Language grade A, so I figured that’s the singer-songwriter’s O-level,” he quips. “When I applied for the job that was one of the kickers for me – the fact that you only needed that one O-level, and also the fact that you didn’t need to do mornings, which is something that I really like, so that’s why I put my name down for singer-songwriter rock star.”
Seeing The Clash on their White Riot tour in 1977 changed a lot for the then 19-year-old Bragg. “It changed the width of my trouser bottoms, it changed the length of my hair, it changed the fabric of my jacket and I suppose it convinced me that there was something to punk after all. At the time we’d been listening to The Jam and they had a classic early 60s aesthetic but there was something about punk that I thought was a bit false. Actually seeing The Clash live I realised that a lot of the things I really liked about the Stones and The Who and The Faces were actually deep inside The Clash as well so it kind of got me connected.”
Seeing The Clash convinced me that there was something to punk after all. Billy Bragg
Bragg’s first band, Riff Raff, were influenced by both punk and pub rock. They briefly reformed recently for a gig on Mersea Island, off the south coast of Essex. “It went brilliantly, it was really good fun,” he enthuses. “It was the 60th birthday of our original keyboard player Stephen Rice who now lives on a houseboat on Mersea. Wiggy [Bragg’s long-time friend Pete Wigg], bless him, organised with Rice’s girlfriend’s Anna that they would have a secret party for him and we would be part of the surprise. We were all there ready to play and had a great time.”
Last year Bragg’s second book, Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World, was published by Faber & Faber. He says the likes of Lonnie Donegan were people he only came to appreciate later in life. “Donegan wasn’t really part of my musical palette. It was really the story of skiffle, the context of skiffle, the more I learnt about it, it seemed to be similar to my experience of punk rock, I figured there was something interesting going on here and that’s what really got my attention.”
He sees a direct relationship between skiffle and punk “on a number of levels”.
“It’s a DIY music, skiffle; it’s a rejection of what’s in the charts – in skiffle’s case Tin Pan Alley, all really written songs, all beautifully produced. It’s very much a way of a generation declaring their difference to the generation that went before them – in the case of skiffle, it’s our first teenagers. The thing that defines that first generation of kids is playing the guitar, that was something that their parents never did, so I think it has a lot of similarities [with punk].
Billy Bragg. Picture: Pete Dunwell
“The last one is that the first wave of British music that didn’t involve people that played in skiffle bands was punk. Right up until Dr Feelgood and Mott the Hoople people who played in skiffle bands were still breaking through.”
Bragg also released a mini-album last year called Bridges Not Walls. With so many things happening in the political world over the last two or three years, he says he felt compelled to address some of the issues in song. “If only to make sense of them,” he says. “That’s all I would do with the songs is look at the dots that everyone can see and try to join them in a way that makes sense. That’s as good a reason for me to write a song, and obviously there’s a lot of that about at the moment.”
Last month Bragg also spoke to the Bank of England. He says he was pleased they invited him. “It’s always good to talk to people outside your own little bubble. A lot of us now, particularly with the way social media works, we only talk to people who agree with us. They wanted to hear from someone outside of their circle and it was also a good challenge for me to throw some ideas out for people beyond my group.”
These days he finds the best way to effect change in society is to speak truth to power. “It’s as good a way as any,” he says. “It’s whether you can connect on that. How do you turn those words into actions? Words alone probably cannot save us, really; there needs to be actions. So you’ve got to get people to vote, to march, to write, to lobby and all of those other things as well, but the beginning of that is an argument and obviously music or writing books or giving talks is as good a way of getting those ideas out there as any.”
In his speech, Bragg said he found people were more inclined to listen when he talked about wanting a compassionate society rather than a socialist one. He thinks the whole nature of political discourse has changed in recent years.
“When you live in a post-ideological society like we do, compared to, say, the 1980s, the language of Marxism doesn’t really resonate with people any more,” he says. “So you’ve got to find other ways of trying to articulate what you believe in. I don’t think that’s a terrible thing; I think that’s a good thing because it gives us a chance to step out of the shadow of totalitarianism that has become part of the baggage of left-wing ideology. Having the opportunity to put that in perspective and get on and make politics for the 21st century I find that is a really interesting challenge.”
Billy Bragg will be talking at Wakefield Town Hall on Friday June 1 and performing at Long Division festival on Saturday June 2. For ticket details visit longdivisionfestival.co.uk

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Plymouth is to celebrate 40 years of punk by re-staging one of the most notorious gigs in rock ’n’ roll history – for the second time.
The city will recreate the thrill and excitement of when the Clash and Sex Pistols came to town a year on from the first re-enactment of the famous, or infamous, gig.
Top tribute acts The Sex Pistols Experience and London Calling are to bring back memories of one of the few gigs that went ahead in the ill-fated Anarchy in the UK tour in late 1976.
They played a blistering show at The Hub, in Bath Street, a year ago – and it went so well the bands have been asked back to re-enact the re-enactment at the same venue.
(Image: William Telford)
Reg “Joe Strummer” Shaw, of Bristol’s Clashtastic London Calling, said the band will be belting out a “greatest hits” set when they take the stage on the evening of Saturday, December 16.
The group had a hugely successful UK tour earlier this year, selling out London’s world famous 100 Club twice, playing The Clash’s 1977 debut from start to finish.
“So we’re not going through the first LP this time,” said Reg. “It will be the big hits.
“And SPX will be brilliant as always. We’ve done 10 gigs with them this year.
“We’ve both become more popular and are playing bigger and better attended gigs. It was a massive show last year so we thought we would do it again.
“The Plymouth gig was brilliant, we really enjoyed it, and the crowd did too. We’ve got lots of mates in Plymouth, guys in bands too.”
In 1976 the Pistols and Clash, with Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers and the Damned too, took to the road as punk-mania swept the nation.
But after Pistols’ guitarist Steve Jones notoriously swore on a live London news show, venues up and down the nation cancelled the gigs in panic.
Plymouth’s Woods Centre – long since demolished and now the site of Drake Circus Shopping Centre – was one of only a handful of clubs that allowed the groups to play.
They took to the stage on December 21, 1976, and the gig has gone down in musical history.
Further cancellations, including in Torquay, meant it was the final gig of the tour.
Now the tribute acts want to remind Plymouth about the part it played in punk lore.
Amazingly, the two groups played together at Tavistock’s Wharf in 2007 – to mark the 30th anniversary of punk.
While not exactly looking ahead to punk’s half century, Reg is making plans for 2018, and may even come to Plymouth when the band mark the 40th anniversary of the release of the Clash’s second album, the blistering Give ’em Enough Rope.
London Calling are already signed up to tour that album, something of a re-discovered classic, from start to finish.
“I’ve been knocking about with Drug Stabbing Time, what a great song to play live,” said Reg. “When we did the first album it was brilliant, I love that album, but it’s like 1960s garage, thin.
“The second LP is a rock record, and more suited to our sound.”
London Calling will be showcasing Rope at the 100 Club, one of the high temples of punk, in 2018.
“We’ve already started to rehearse it,” said Reg. “We are ridiculously busy right until June and July 2018.
“We’re going back to Belfast next year, and ourselves and SPX could even go to Japan.”
And, in 2019, the group wants to tour the double LP London Calling.
“It will be hard,” said Reg. “We’ll have to get a brass section and keyboard. If you are going to do something, do it properly.”
But what about 1980s Sandinista triple-disc excess?
“If we could book a venue and play Sandinista right the way through and make it sound quite good, and keep people interested, it would be a great experience,” said Reg. “But I can’t imagine how that would work.
“Then we’d have to take a year off and come back with Combat Rock.”
Were you at the famous Sex Pistols/Clash gig at Woods in 1976? We’d love to hear what you remember about the night. And if you go to the Hub recreation, how did the two compare. Email wtelford@plymouthherald.co.uk


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Question: Deaf Publix employee in Virginia punched by customer

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Liberty Gratz is deaf and has vision loss.
That hasn't stopped her from working at Publix. But on the afternoon of April 22, she had an interaction with a customer that will stay with her.
Gratz was kneeling down to arrange items on a lower shelf, when a customer hit her.
"All of a sudden, I felt some woman hit me in my back," Liberty said, through her mother Jeanette Gratz's interpreting, according to CBS 17.
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Gratz couldn't hear the woman asking where to find an item in the store, so the woman became violent, her mother told The News & Observer on April 24.
"At this point Liberty was stunned, but turned and told the lady she couldn’t hear by pointing to her ear and shaking her head no," Jeanette said. "She handed the lady a pen and paper so she could tell her what she needed, then showed her where it was. She said the lady still acted and looked angry while she was helping her."
Publix was supportive and management searched security footage, but no one could determine the identity of the woman who hit Gratz.
"They kept looking again and again and again, but you couldn't see because there were so many people blocking the camera," Liberty signed while her mother interpreted for CBS17. "It was hard for me to really see her face to make sure it was the right person."
Gratz normally communicates with customers using paper and a pen. But her vision loss means she doesn't always see people next to her, or in her periphery.
"How would you feel if you were working and someone just came up behind you and decided to punch you?" Jeanette Gratz said.
Gratz and her brother, Triton, are 21-year-old twins who were born deaf and had vision issues. The twins have Usher Syndrome — the most common genetic cause of combined deafness and blindness, according to a GoFundMe campaign for the family.
Gratz and her brother use American Sign Language with family and friends.
Gratz was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome and Retinitis Pigmentosa — the disease responsible for her blindness. Retinitis Pigmentosa is a genetic disease that causes slow, but permanent vision loss.
She already has night blindness and other symptoms. Triton also was scheduled to be tested for RP.
"This diagnoses has sucked the air right out of this family," the GoFundMe said. "They are scared, angry, sad and confused. They are glad to finally have a diagnoses, but now they are trying to figure out those next steps, and the things they will need to learn to make sure Liberty (and Triton if diagnosed) has the best life possible despite the circumstances."
The GoFundMe was set up to raise money for medical and travel costs and for Gratz to go to Disney World and do other traveling before she goes blind.
As of April 24, the GoFundMe had raised more than $5,000.
Jeanette said she would pray for the person who struck her daughter.
"Whoever it is, they've been prayed for," she said. "I will continue to pray for them, and I hope that things get better in their life so they can be better to other people."

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Question: Sam Bradford has $5 million in per-game bonuses

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AP
The Cardinals giving Sam Bradford up to $20 million this year to play football seemed strange, because Sam Bradford seldom plays a full season of football.
But the Cardinals gave themselves some degree of cover, in case Bradford does what Bradford so often does.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the two-year, $40 million deal Bradford signed with Arizona includes $5 million this year in per-game active bonuses.
That’s a cool $312,500 and change every time Bradford is well enough to get a uniform for the Cardinals this year, and far different from the initial reports that pegged its value at $20 million a year since no reasonable person expects Bradford to play all those games.
Bradford played two games last year because of what was termed a “degenerative” knee problem by Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. Bradford has played all 16 games exactly twice in his career (2010 and 2012). Bradford declared that his knee “feels good” upon signing, and it’s possible that that proves everything is relative.
Bradford also got a $10 million signing bonus and $5 million in guaranteed base salary this year, so he’ll make $15 million regardless. Which is still a lot for Sam Bradford, who is a barely over .500 (16-15) even if you throw out the Steve Spagnuolo and Jeff Fisher years in St. Louis (which you should).

In typical Vikings fashion, the front office extended the contract of a homegrown talent without overly affecting this year’s salary cap.
Danielle Hunter’s mega five-year extension worth $72 million officially kicks in 2019, following the final year of his rookie deal this fall. He immediately pockets a $15 million signing bonus, which is what drops the team’s remaining cap number for this season by a prorated amount of $3,156,806, according to a summary of the contract obtained by the Star Tribune.
The Vikings have $14,061,115 remaining in cap space after Hunter’s new deal was factored into public NFLPA records.
That number is expected to drop to around $12.5 million after the team eventually gets first-round rookie Mike Hughes under contract before training camp this month.
General manager Rick Spielman and cap manager Rob Brzezinski have wiggle room to get two remaining cornerstones — receiver Stefon Diggs and linebacker Anthony Barr — on long-term deals before they each enter their contract seasons. The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling broke down just how that’s possible in this analysis.
Here’s how Hunter’s deal — making him the second-highest paid Vikings defender behind cornerback Xavier Rhodes — breaks down per season by cap hit and cash in his pocket:
2018:$5.063 million cap hit / $16.907 million in cash
2019:$13 million cap hit / $10 million in cash
2020:$14 million cap hit / $11 million in cash
2021:$15 million cap hit / $12 million in cash
2022:$15 million cap hit / $12 million in cash
2023:$12 million cap hit / $12 million in cash
Of course, NFL deals aren’t the fully guaranteed ones you’re seeing tossed around in NBA free agency this time of year. Hunter has $40 million in guarantees. That should include the $37.9 million he’s expected to earn during the first three years of the contract. After the guarantees dry up, like most NFL contracts, the team holds the power.
Starting in 2019, Hunter also has $500,000 per season tied up in per-game roster bonuses. He has an additional $100,000 per year in workout bonuses each season.
Hunter also has incentives, which are unknown at this point, that trigger salary escalators worth up to $6 million across the five seasons added to his contract.
Hunter’s deal slots him just behind Vikings team captain Everson Griffen as the fifth-highest paid 4-3 defensive end among players on long-term deals. A base value of $72 million over five years gives him a $14.4 million average, just behind Griffen’s $14.5 million average he was given on a four-year extension last summer.
Hunter, who turns 24 in October, has quickly emerged as one of the league’s most promising pass-rushing talents. He has 26.5 sacks in three NFL seasons since the Vikings drafted him in the third round out of LSU. Now he’s locked into a deal with Minnesota through 2023.


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Question: Odiase scores 19, UIC beats Oakland for fifth win in a row

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ROCHESTER, Mich. (AP) -- Tai Odiase had 19 points, on 8-for-8 shooting, and three blocks, Godwin Boahen hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points and Illinois-Chicago beat Oakland 79-73 on Friday night for its fifth win in a row.
Marcus Ottey added 15 points and Tarkus Ferguson had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for UIC (13-11, 8-3 Horizon League). The Flames have eight conference wins for the first time since finishing the 2007-08 season 9-9 in Horizon League play.
Odiase had a dunk and two layups during a 6-2 spurt that made it 17-14 and UIC led the rest of the way. Ferguson converted a 3-point play to spark a 10-2 run that pushed the lead to 11 points before Boahen's 3-pointer made it 40-30 at the break. Nick Daniels hit a 3 that pulled Oakland (14-10, 6-5) within two points with two minutes to play, but Ottey made two free throws and Odiase hit a jumper to make it 76-69 and UIC made 4 of 6 free throws in the final 32 seconds to seal it.
Martez Walker had 21 points and Jalen Hayes scored 15 for Oakland. Kendrick Nunn added 20, but shot 3 of 22 from the field, including 1 of 10 from 3-point range.

The 2016-17 season continued a run of a bumpy couple of years for the Horizon League, with more than its share of changes and challenges.
The Horizon was already due for something of a transition season after a recent rash of coaching changes. Four league schools changed coaches after the 2015-16 season, coming on the heels of three more doing so the year before. Add in two more (Cleveland State and Youngstown State) with new coaches after this most recent silly season, and the chaos has been so ridiculous that Illinois-Chicago’s Steve McClain is the second-longest tenured coach in the league. McClain just completed his second season with the Flames.
Still, the news in 2016-17 wasn’t all bad. Four Horizon teams won at least 20 games, three of them 24 or more. Two made it to the NIT, including an at-large bid for Valparaiso, and Oakland went to Clemson and knocked off the ACC Tigers. Northern Kentucky was a great story, rising from an afterthought to one of the league’s best teams. Wright State was better than expected in Scott Nagy’s first year, and the Horizon even made a modest improvement of one spot in the conference RPI (to 17th, per CBSSports.com).
It could have been even better. Valparaiso in particular appeared poised to contend for an NCAA Tournament at-large berth after a good non-conference performance. The Crusaders won the MGM Grand Main Event by defeating Alabama and BYU, then followed that up with a win over Rhode Island, taking advantage of the rare chance to host a ranked team.
Even after getting walloped by Kentucky, Valpo was still 7-2, but the season changed soon after. Senior starter Jubril Adekoya was suspended for the team’s Dec. 10 game at Missouri State due to what was regularly (and mysteriously) termed an ‘academic matter.’ He never played for the team again. Later, All-American candidate Alec Peters suffered a foot injury in February, and after attempting to play on it he was later diagnosed with a stress fracture and shut down for the season just before the conference tournament.
Valpo wasn’t the only team to have a key injury. UIC lost hotshot sophomore Dikembe Dixson in a mid-December win at DePaul, putting a damper on what was otherwise a big win over a city foe for the Flames. The bigger problem for the league, though, has been keeping good players after the season, as the Horizon absolutely has been affected by the epidemic of transferring in the sport.
Cleveland State has been a poster example of how badly a program can get killed by top players transferring ‘up’ (and then the rest of the team’s top players seeing it and thinking they should transfer too), and it finally cost Gary Waters his job. Wisconsin-Milwaukee lost three starters to transfer following the firing of Rob Jeter. Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wright State have already been affected by it this off-season. Somehow the league is going to have to at least slow the loss of talent, or at least hope the transfer fad wanes and more players again get back to putting some worth in teammates and enjoying what they currently have.
The Horizon also gained some maybe unwanted publicity when the madness at its Motor City Madness conference tournament became perhaps a little too much. The top three seeds all were eliminated in the quarterfinals, leaving three teams seeded sixth or lower in the semifinals, including the tourney’s ninth and 10th seeds. The results were somewhat frustrating, coming as they did a year after some cited the tourney’s previous double-bye format as being not an advantage but a disadvantage for the league’s top two teams.
Northern Kentucky eventually emerged for its first Horizon title and NCAA Division I tourney berth, but a 15 seed gave the Norse little chance of advancement. Thus marked the sixth straight season of the Horizon being a one-bid league going one-and-done in the NCAAs.
Final Standings
Horizon Overall Oakland 14-4 25-9 Valparaiso 14-4 24-9 Wisconsin-Green Bay 12-6 18-14 Northern Kentucky 12-6 24-11 Wright State 11-7 20-12 Illinois-Chicago 7-11 17-19 Detroit Mercy 6-12 8-23 Cleveland State 5-13 9-22 Youngstown State 5-13 13-21 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 4-14 11-24
Conference Tournament
The Horizon League tournament was played in Detroit again, a venue that has potential even as a more central location (Chicago?) might benefit the league as a whole.
It’s hard to overstate just how bizarre the 2017 Horizon tourney was. The No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds all were eliminated in the quarterfinals. The semifinals included teams seeded 4, 6, 9 and 10. Higher-seeded teams won just three of nine games.
It started in the first round, when ninth-seeded Youngstown State (84-69 over No. 8 Cleveland State) and 10 seed UW-Milwaukee (85-60 blowout winners over No. 7 Detroit Mercy) both won, but really gained steam in earnest in the quarterfinals. Youngstown State stunned top seed Oakland 81-80, as Jordan Kaufman scored the winning layup as time expired, and depleted second-seeded Valparaiso was then edged by Milwaukee 43-41 in a grinder. That would’ve seemed to open a path for defending champion UW-Green Bay to repeat, except the Phoenix also were dumped 79-70 by No. 6 UIC.
The one team holding steady in the wind was No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky. The Norse were literally the only team to win as a better seed over all five days. NKU defeated Wright State 82-77 in an entertaining 4/5 game, then held off Youngstown State 84-74 in the semifinals. Milwaukee continued to wreak havoc on the bracket, though, upending UIC 74-68 to advance to the final with just an 11-23 overall record.
Northern Kentucky finally ended the Panthers’ Cinderella run, though, never trailing in the second half but not putting the game away until hitting three of four free throws in the final 28 seconds for a 59-53 win. Lavone Holland scored 20 points and was named the tourney’s MVP, and NKU earned its first NCAA Division I tourney berth after making 12 trips to the Division II tournament.
Postseason Awards
Player of the Year: Alec Peters, F, Sr., Valparaiso
Defensive Player of the Year: Tai Odiase, F, Jr., Illinois-Chicago
Freshman of the Year: Corey Allen, G, Detroit Mercy
Sixth Man of the Year: Warren Jones, G, Sr., Wisconsin-Green Bay
Coach of the Year: John Brannen, Northern Kentucky
All-Conference Team
Mark Alstork, G, Jr., Wright State
Jalen Hayes, F, Jr., Oakland
Drew McDonald, F, So., Northern Kentucky
Cameron Morse, G, Jr., Youngstown State
Alec Peters, F, Sr., Valparaiso
Season Highlights
Alec Peters finished his Valparaiso career as the school’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, field goals and free throws made. He finished his senior season by being named a third team NABC All-American.
Northern Kentucky was one of the most improved teams in the country, going from nine wins to 24 and reaching its first NCAA Tournament. UIC also took a big jump from five wins to 17.
UIC’s Tai Odiase ranked fifth in NCAA Division I with 2.9 blocked shots per game.
Five Horizon teams played in the postseason. Oakland won a game in the NIT, and UIC won twice in the College Basketball Invitational before falling in the semifinals. Northern Kentucky (NCAA), Valparaiso (NIT) and Green Bay (CBI) all lost in their tourney debuts.
What we expected, and it happened: We essentially pegged four of the top five schools, seeing Valpo and Oakland as favorites and UW-Green Bay and Wright State also among the top four. Only Northern Kentucky spoiled that.
What we expected, and it didn’t happen: Honestly, we thought the league would be better than it was, after an exciting 2015-16 season filled with individual stars and one player after another ranking among the national NCAA leaders. All the changes clearly have taken a toll on Horizon schools, though.
What we didn’t expect, and it happened: Northern Kentucky’s emergence. Us and pretty much anyone else in the country following the league. It was expected the Norse would need significant time to build a contender in the Horizon, but their budding so quickly is a stunning story, and a great one.
Teams on the rise: Illinois-Chicago, Northern Kentucky, Wright State. Several others could be mentioned here too (Detroit, UW-Milwaukee). That’s in part because many Horizon members have nowhere to go but up, but it’s also a sign that it appears a lot of league schools have made prudent coaching hires. NKU showed last year that it certainly has a promising future in the Horizon, while UIC will be a hot pick to have a big season next year with the return of Dikembe Dixson. Wright State’s hire of Scott Nagy was a stroke of genius, and he should have the Raiders as a perennial contender in this league soon-if that hasn’t happened already.
Team on the decline: Cleveland State. The Vikings faded the last two years, costing Gary Waters his job. It’s hard to imagine the Vikings falling much further than they have, but almost every other Horizon team has a bit more of a headstart on their own rebuilding than CSU does.
2017-18 Horizon Outlook
It’s going to get better for the Horizon soon. Even with the departure of Valparaiso to the Missouri Valley, the league has too many programs capable of better than they’ve shown of late.
The loss of Valpo is a blow. At the same time, it’s possible the Crusaders were due to come back to the pack anyway. Plus, while the Horizon may not be as strong at the very top, there’s reasonable hope that it will be better collectively.
Northern Kentucky, Oakland and UIC will likely be favorites, and on paper could put together an excellent three-way battle. NKU arrived several years ahead of schedule last year, and a still-young team led by versatile big man Drew McDonald has room for growth. UIC has amassed a stable of athletes including Dixson plus shot-blocking Tai Odiase and will be a chic pick by many, but the Flames still must get better. Oakland still has Jalen Hayes and Martez Walker and is positioned to be the Horizon’s new flagship program, though the Golden Grizzlies are still looking for their first NCAA Tournament berth from the league even as they’ve had success in the Vegas 16 and NIT the last two years.
Where the Horizon could really make some strides is from the middle to the back. Everything Scott Nagy has done as a coach, including his first year at Wright State, suggests the Raiders are going to be a tough out. LaVall Jordan clearly has Milwaukee on the right track, and Bacari Alexander has recruited well at Detroit. (Late note: since this was written Jordan has taken the head coaching job at Butler.) Linc Darner also will have almost entirely his recruits now at Green Bay and will have his team flying up and down the court again, even as the Phoenix deal with significant roster turnover. Cleveland State appears to be in a full rebuild, but Youngstown State will be a wild card, with super sniper Cameron Morse back for one more year and some intriguing offensive talent around him. If the Penguins can tighten up defensively at all under new coach Jerrod Calhoun, they’ll quickly become a team few want to play.
With so many programs still in building mode, it’s going to require some patience-by fans and participating players. The league is better than it has seemed the past couple years, and it’s also better than being just a stop-off point for players looking to annually offer themselves up to the highest bidder or poacher. The next year or two should bear that out.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
Email: hoopvilleadam@yahoo.com
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Question: Arsenal Transfer News: Man City to launch £60m Alexis Sanchez bid

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Manchester City are keen to sign Sanchez but Arsenal are refusing to sell to a rival.
However, City believe they can still land the Chile international this summer and will test Arsenal’s resolve.
That is according to the Daily Telegraph, who claim Sanchez will be offered a contract worth around £400,000 a week to quit the Emirates.
Sanchez has just 11 months left on his current Gunners deal and any hope of him signing fresh terms appear to have ended.

Monday’s transfer rumours claim Chelsea have two targets in mind ahead of deadline day...
Daily Mirror: Chelsea are considering a late move for Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic.
Daily Star: The Blues are also ready to bid £50m for Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk.
Don Balon: Manchester United will meet Sergi Roberto’s £36.5m escape clause should he push for a move away from Barcelona.
The Sun: Newcastle United have stepped up their attempt’s to sign Jack Wilshere from Arsenal.
Daily Mirror: Leicester City will turn down Roma’s £31.8m bid for Riyad Mahrez as they value him at £50m.
Daily Express: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is considering Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne as a possible replacement for Philippe Coutinho.
The Sun: Paris St Germain’s Jese Rodriguez has turned down a loan move to Fiorentina and is set for a similar switch to Stoke City.
Daily Mirror: Spurs could step up their interest in Lazio forward Keita Balde.


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Question: 24 hours in Charlottesville, Virginia

Dongsanqi village is the latest community to be demolished under a municipal campaign to dismantle what the city authority says are unsafe dwellings following years of "disorderly" development.

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A fourth installment. Here are the previous three: 1, 2, 3. See how many of these cities you can guess. Answers at the end. Some of these photos are a few years old. And yes, some are impossible.
IMPORTANT: You can click to enlarge them for a better look, but there will be a caption at the bottom that gives you the answer. Careful.
Answers:
1. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2. Melbourne, Australia
3. Montreal, Canada
4. Perth, Australia
5. Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
6. Saigon, Vietnam
7. Kigali, Rwanda
8. Minsk, Belarus
9. Durban, South Africa
10. Riga, Latvia
There are 1153 more photos in the Cities and Urban Life Gallery at EarthPhotos.com.


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Question: Tipton County pastor accused of sexually assaulting juvenile, tries to hurt himself

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President Trump wishes U.S. a happy Fourth of July
Conservative Rep. Jim Jordan denies he ignored alleged sex abuse
Church puts baby Jesus in a cage as a statement about family separations
Woman,92, shot and killed son who tried putting her in nursing home, says police


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Question: More charges laid against acupuncturist

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GUELPH, Ont. — Police in southwestern Ontario have laid 12 new charges against a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, accused last year of sexually assaulting several patients.
The Guelph Police Service says Sherman Lai, who also performed acupuncture, was charged with one count of sexual assault in October 2017.
Between November 2017 and April 2018, the 58-year-old was charged with 16 more counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and two counts of uttering death threats.
Police say Lai was charged on Tuesday with one additional count of sexual assault, six more counts of assault, one more count of assault with a weapon, three counts of uttering threats and one count of forcible confinement.

CLOSE A new report shows prescriptions for opioid painkillers have dropped since 2010 in the United States. T Wochit
Gilberto Sanchez was indicted in conducting a "pill mill" and was arrested on Tuesday. (Photo: Contributed)
A counselor who provided mental health services at an Atlanta Highway medical practice has been arrested and charged in a ongoing investigation into the practice's drug distribution methods.
Johnnie Chaisson Sanders, a 48-year-old from Montgomery, has been charged with health care fraud and perjury offenses. Sanders allegedly made false mental health diagnoses to allow the practice's owner, Dr. Gilberto Sanchez, to write unnecessary prescriptions.
More: Arrests continue in Montgomery 'pill mill' case
A Department of Justice release states Sanders also collected cash payments from patients, even when she was aware the practice would bill patients' insurance companies.
Buy Photo Thousands of empty pill bottles will soon arrive in third-world countries after almost a dozen large garbage bags filled with them, collected by the Montgomery Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, were sent to the Ohio-based Matthew 25: Ministries. (Photo: Steve Arnold/Advertiser)
Sanders' indictment is the latest in a wide-reaching investigation that has netted at least 11 arrests and more than a dozen charges.
Investigators have called the Atlanta Highway Family Practice medical clinic a "pill mill," alleging employees from clerical workers to physicians conspired to prescribe unnecessary controlled substances and over bill health insurance companies for services and medications.
More: Another Montgomery ‘pill mill’ doctor pleads guilty to drug distribution, money laundering charges
Family Practice's owner Dr. Gilberto Sanchez was arrested in August 2017 and pleaded guilty in November 2017 to drug distribution, health care fraud and money laundering charges.
"Sanders allegedly testified before a grand jury and falsely claimed that Dr. Sanchez did not require patients to undergo counseling sessions with her," the DoJ release states. "In fact, as Sanders then knew, Dr. Sanchez required patients who received prescriptions for controlled substances to visit Sanders for mental health counseling."
More: Four arrested in Montgomery 'pill mill' bust from Atlanta Highway practice
Sanders could face up to a decade in prison on the health care fraud counts and a maximum of five years on the perjury count.
Read or Share this story: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/crime/2018/05/30/montgomery-pill-mill-family-practice-case-indicts-johnnie-sanders/655002002/


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Question: xXx 3: The Return Of Xander Cage

Please note that although the UK cinema release date schedule on Film Dates.co.uk is updated regularly, a release date can change at very short notice. Usually the closer a film is to its release date, the less likely its release date (and any other information) will change.
Film Dates.co.uk is also not responsible for the content of any external website. The links are provided "as is" with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them.
Last update was at 09:34 2nd January 2017

Mac Demarco - Freaking Out The Neighborhood
Derevolutions, The - When The Radio's Gone
05:13


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Question: Side channel blowers - background knowledge on faults, defects and maintenance

Maintenance ( SKVTechnik (http://skvtechnik.com) hints for maintenance):
Before starting scheduled maintenance or before repairing or repairing the device, take the following precautions:
– Turn off the main switch to disconnect the device from the mains.
– Attach a sign to the system control and controls of the device with the inscription: “DANGER! Maintenance work in progress. ”
– Let the device cool down!
– Wait until the device is completely stopped, d. h., The fan of the electric motor and consequently the impeller no longer rotates.
– Before disconnecting lines, make sure that there is no negative pressure or overpressure in them and that no liquids can escape from the device or system!
– Observe the maintenance instructions in this operating manual.
Risk of cutting or shearing due to the impeller rotation.
Through the openings of the machine housing and cover, after removing the connecting elbows or blind flanges, access is gained to the rotating impeller! In no case the hands or objects by the o. G. Insert openings.
Dangerous electrical voltage!
Inappropriate behavior can cause serious injury! Work on the electrical equipment may only be carried out by qualified and qualified electricians! Before working on the device or the system, the following precautions must be taken:
– Disconnect the mains voltage;
– secure the device against restart;
– only open the terminal box after making sure that there is no voltage.
Danger due to hot surfaces!
Under operating conditions, the unit could overheat, exposing the operator to hot surfaces. Do not touch the device during operation. Let it cool after switching off and wait at least 20 minutes before any intervention.
Danger due to rotating components: Cooling fan of the electric motor.
Although all measures have been taken to reduce the existing hazards during development, there are residual risks due to fan rotation.
Protective measures against risks:
– Do not wear loose or hanging clothes.
– Do not approach with open long hair.
Danger due to the noise level of the device!
Some machines can develop a high level of noise, even over 80 dB (A). The reference values (without consideration of the room reverb) are given in the table of technical data. Protective measures against risks:
Determine the actual sound pressure of the machine at the installation site and if necessary:
– Mark areas with noise hazard accordingly
– prescribe the use of PPE
– isolate the room.
SKVTechnik is an online retailer of side channel blowers. Over three hundred different machine types are available. Customers are expertly operated by manufacturer consultants and thus receive the best advice from a professionally trained specialist for small machine prices.
Customers are testing SKV technology. Rebates are almost 100% passed on to customers, which keeps customers’ purchase prices low.
Press contact:
SKVTechnik (http://skvtechnik.com)
Werner Bernberger – SKVTechnik ATEX Representative
Strassberger Str. 31
08527 Plauen
Tel. +49 3741 2510951

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Image Credits: Leybold
Users in research and industry increasingly rely on dry and robust vacuum solutions, which will also provide flexibility of use. With the modernized, air-cooled SCROLLVAC plus, Leybold offers an new uncomplicated, reliable fore vacuum pump, which exactly meets this requirement profile.
Suitable for a wide application range
The SCROLLVAC plus, which is an oil-free, dry running fore vacuum pump, qualifies for a variety of demanding applications: whether in the laboratory, in large research facilities, as a backing pump for turbomolecular and cryopump systems, or in vacuum ovens.
Low power consumption, high pumping speed
SCROLLVAC plus has low power consumption paired with a high effective suction capacity making it a real benefit to any application. In addition, with its very light, compact design, it occupies only minimal space in plants and equipment. This makes integration into new and existing vacuum systems an easy and convenient solution. The low level of vibrations and noise (less than 55 dB (A)) further increases the range of potential users, especially as these factors play a central role in ergonomic working environments.
Hermetically sealed, less impurities
Their functional and constructive features simplify the daily use of this fore vacuum pump. The hermetic sealing of the rotating parts from the pump chamber reduces the risk of contamination. With the absence of wear-resistant shaft seals, the developers have achieved a higher leak tightness. This predestines the SCROLLVAC plus for universal use in demanding processes.
Service and maintenance - simple and fast
The service and the sealing change are correspondingly simple and fast, and can be operated by the user on-site. Leybold's SCROLLVAC plus also has longer maintenance intervals than comparable competitive products.
With our new generation of scroll pumps SCROLLVAC plus, we offer the optimized pump variant for all customer requirements and at the same time set new standards with long service intervals and easy maintenance. Alexander Kaiser, Product Manager Dry Fore Vacuum Technology
For all standardized maintenance tasks and procedures, an integrated hours counter documents the operating time. Leybold provides the appropriate maintenance kit for the different stages of servicing.


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Question: Is this what we want the Reef to look like?

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THE Great Barrier Reef could be hit with catastrophic bleaching every two years unless more is done to limit climate change.
A new report from the Climate Council reveals coral bleaching is now happening on average every six years, compared to once every 27 years back in the 1980s.
Based on current rising greenhouse gas levels, bleaching will happen every two years by 2034.
In the report released today Lethal Consequences: Climate Change Impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, the Climate Council says the current rate of bleaching is not sustainable because it will continuously set back recovery of the reef.
At the same time, the reef will also need to deal with other threats caused by climate change - such as ocean acidification and tropical cyclones.
The report found average coral cover in the northern section of the reef is at its lowest point on record, and coral cover in the central section of the reef declined from 22 per cent in
2016 to 14 per cent in 2018, largely due to the 2017 bleaching event.
It said the damage to the reef may be irreversible and it has already resulted in a drop in the diversity of fish species and in the number of juvenile fish settling on the reef.
Underwater vision of bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, off Port Douglas taken on June 28, 2018. Source: Climate Council.
The damage could be irreversible. Source: Climate Council.
"Intensifying marine heatwaves around the world are now occurring more often, lasting longer and are more intense than ever before," Climate Councillor and ecologist Professor Lesley Hughes said.
Professor Hughes said the bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 resulted in mass coral mortality, with the 2016 bleaching event at least 175 times more likely to occur due to intensifying climate change.
"Unless drastic action is taken, extreme coral bleaching will be the new normal by the 2030s. We will see extreme ocean temperatures, similar to those that led to these bleaching events possibly occurring every two years, which will effectively sign the death certificate for the world's largest natural living wonder that is the Great Barrier Reef," she said.
The report makes clear that doing things like improving water quality are not the solution.
It says that unless "deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are made as a matter of urgency - the reef stands little chance no matter what measures are taken to enhance its resilience".
In particular, global warming must be limited to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
"A 2C rise in average global temperature will almost certainly mean the collapse of warm water tropical reefs around the world," the report states.
"The decisions and actions that we take today to reduce greenhouse pollution will have a critical effect on the long-term survival of the iconic Great Barrier Reef."
Climate Council acting chief executive officer Dr Martin Rice said the future of coral reefs around the world depended on nations including Australia doing their part to tackle climate change.
"This report shows that the Great Barrier Reef may never fully recover or return to its pre-bleaching state, which should serve as a serious warning signal for governments around the world to act now," he said.
"We all have a part to play in cutting greenhouse gas pollution levels in order to protect these natural wonders. The only thing standing in the way is political will."
The report comes as former prime minister Tony Abbott calls for Australia to back away from its internationally binding climate targets.
In a speech to the Australian Environment Foundation on Tuesday night, Mr Abbott said he would never have signed on to the Paris Agreement in 2015 if the United States did not also agree - the country has now walked away from the agreement under the new leadership of President Donald Trump.
But Mr Abbott has found little support for pulling out of the agreement.
Minister for Energy and the Environment Josh Frydenberg and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have been trying to gain support for the government’s National Energy Guarantee. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Deputy leader Julie Bishop batted down Mr Abbott's suggestion Australia was never meant to be bound by the target to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent reduction on 2005 levels.
Ms Bishop, who was also Mr Abbott's deputy, said Australia intended to be accountable for the targets, which were a commitment and not an aspiration.
"Australia plays by the rules - if we sign an agreement we stick to the agreement," she said.
She said the targets were agreed by the prime minister, the cabinet and the party room.
But the Turnbull Government is still divided on its National Energy Guarantee (NEG) proposal, which would legislate the commitment and help Australia achieve its targets.
Mr Abbott's comments have been stirring discontent about the guarantee and he claims there's "no plausible evidence" the government's energy policy can address reliability, price and emissions reductions altogether.
However, Mr Turnbull said there was "almost universal support across the country" for the plan, including from the minerals industry, manufacturers and unions.
"Our policies are working and the NEG is a very big part of it - it will ensure Australians have reliable and more affordable power," he told reporters.
Mr Abbott is one of a handful of coalition MPs pushing for new coal-fired power plants.
Opposition to the NGE exists not just in the Liberals but also within the Nationals.
Some minor-party MPs are reportedly passing around a list of demands for changes to the guarantee, including a $5 billion fund to support assistance for coal, gas or traditional hydro projects that could deliver electricity around the clock, regardless of the weather.
The Australian, which obtained a copy of the document, says it's being promoted as a "genuine and serious policy position".
Backbencher Michelle Landry says more negotiation is needed and coal must be a part of the guarantee but Nationals minister David Littleproud told ABC he was comfortable with the NEG.
REEF REPORT KEY FINDINGS
• About 30 per cent of corals on the Great Barrier Reef died as a result of the 2016 event.
• 75 per cent of coral mortality occurred in the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef, where 93 per cent of individual reefs between Port Douglas and the Torres Strait were affected.
• Fast-growing corals such as staghorns and tabular species have suffered a "catastrophic die-off".
• Coral mortality has reduced the availability of habitat for fish, leading to a decline in reef fish diversity. Juvenile fish at Lizard Island, for example, have suffered a 40 per cent decrease in settlement.
• Global sea surface temperatures have increased by over 0.2C from 1992 to 2010, increasing the odds of more frequent and prolonged marine heatwaves.
• The return period for global bleaching events has decreased from 27 years in the 1980s to only 5.9 years now.
• The likelihood that the Great Barrier Reef will ever fully recover or return to their pre-bleaching state is low.
• There is little evidence that improving water quality can sufficiently reduce susceptibility of corals to bleaching from marine heatwaves.

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Is the school changing the name from CSULB to LBSU? If so, what are students’ opinions on this? Find out more in this video! No matter the outcome, we’re still be known as The Beach!


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Question: Frosty fun at the fairgroud

The run-up to Christmas can be hectic. There’s so much to plan for - presents, cards, visits to family and friends, not to mention getting to that carol service, nativity play and let’s not even talk about work…
It can be challenging, but it’s great to grab a day or two for some fun and relaxation.
Frosted Fairground at Dreamland in Margate
This year we escaped for a weekend away, and didn’t have to worry about travelling too far.
We went to Margate, just two hours from our West Sussex home, and had an amazing day at Dreamland’s Frosted Fairground.
You might have visited the seaside in summer, but if you’re prepared to wrap up warm - you’ll need those extra layers! - then it’s great fun.
The whole park is lit with sparkling lights and festive trees, and the view from the top of the big wheel is stunning.
Frosted Fairground at Dreamland in Margate
It was very chilly on our trip and the kids were a bit dismayed that some of the rides were closed for safety reasons, but there was still plenty to do including the dodgems, maze, Magic Mouse ride and of course the Scenic Railway, which is as much fun as it ever was.
You can pay per ride, but since we had wristbands giving unlimited rides, we could go on our favourite rides again, and again… and again!
After a short stop in the cafe for a warming drink and a piece of cake, we swapped our winter boots for skates and took to the ice. As always, us grown ups clung to the edge while the children, undeterred by the odd fall, took off and skated rings around us, giggling all the time!
There was time for the arcade and to revisit the big wheel before we left, and take a last look down on the park before saying goodbye.
Frosted Fairground at Dreamland in Margate
And as a surprise for the kids, we had booked a hotel for the night overlooking the beautiful lights at Ramsgate Harbour and had time the next day for a spot of Christmas shopping at Westwood Cross before heading home, tired but very happy.
The Frosted Fairground is open weekends and holidays (excluding Christmas Day) until January 3. For full details, and to see what’s coming up at Dreamland in 2018, visit the website www.dreamland.co.uk

3:37 President Obama's final 2016 press conference Pause
1:33 Myrtle Beach weather forecast for 1.1
0:51 One suspect detained, one at large after incident at Broadway at the Beach
1:07 The week ahead for the Myrtle Beach area: Jan. 1-8
1:10 Hundreds charge into the Atlantic at annual Polar Bear Plunge
0:09 A beautiful picture at sunset of a recent fishing trip
2:42 How to keep your Christmas tree from turning into a tragedy
3:53 Brad Stair of The Barrel Bar & Grill in Myrtle Beach SC talks love, life and Making America Great Again
1:27 Meet Santa, the Grinch and more at Winter Wonderland at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach SC


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Question: Fields previously accused of beating mom

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The driver charged with killing a woman at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville was previously accused of beating his mother and threatening her with a knife, according to police records released Monday.
Samantha Bloom, who is disabled and uses a wheelchair, repeatedly called police about her son, James Alex Fields Jr., in 2010 and 2011, telling officers he was on medication to control his temper, transcripts from 911 calls show.
Fields, 20, is accused of ramming his car into a crowd of counter-protesters on Saturday in Charlottesville, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
Fields, described by a former high school teacher as an admirer of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, was charged with second-degree murder.
A judge denied him bail Monday after the public defender’s office said it couldn’t represent him because a relative of someone in the office was injured in Saturday’s protest.
Fields was assigned a local attorney, and another hearing was set for Aug. 25.
Records show that Fields was arrested and put in juvenile detention after his mother reported in 2011 that he stood behind her wielding a 12-inch knife.
In another incident in 2010, she said her son smacked her in the head and locked her in the bathroom after she told him to stop playing video games. There was no indication in the records that he was arrested.
Also Monday, a former classmate told The Associated Press that on a school trip to Europe in 2015, a teenage Fields couldn’t stand the French and said he only went on the trip so that he could visit “the Fatherland” — Germany.
“He just really laid on about the French being lower than us and inferior to us,” said Keegan McGrath.
McGrath, now 18, said he challenged Fields on his beliefs, and the animosity between them grew so heated that it came to a boil at dinner on their second day. He said he went home after three or four days because he couldn’t handle being in a room with Fields.
The incident shocked McGrath because he had been in German class with Fields for two unremarkable years.
“He was just a normal dude” most of the time, though he occasionally made “dark” jokes that put his class on edge, including one “offhand joke” about the Holocaust, McGrath said.
McGrath said Fields was no outcast: “He had friends. He had people who would chat with him.”
Meanwhile, under pressure to speak out more forcefully, President Donald Trump condemned Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazis and white supremacists who take part in violence as “criminals and thugs” and declared that “racism is evil.”
Trump’s initial failure on Saturday to denounce the groups by name, and his blaming of the violence on “many sides,” prompted criticism from fellow Republicans as well as Democrats.
A teacher who taught Fields in high school said Sunday that Fields was fascinated with Nazism, idolized Hitler, and had been singled out in the ninth grade by officials at Randall K. Cooper High School in Union, Kentucky, for his “deeply held, radical” convictions on race.
Fields also confided that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was younger and had been prescribed an anti-psychotic medication, according to the teacher, Derek Weimer.
Fields later enlisted in the Army and reported for basic training in 2015 but was released from active duty four months later because of what military described only as “a failure to meet training standards.”
The violence in Charlottesville also was blamed for the deaths of two Virginia State Police officers in a helicopter crash.
Fields had been photographed hours before the attack with a shield bearing the emblem of Vanguard America, one of the hate groups that took part in the protest against the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The group on Sunday denied any association with Fields.
Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report.

Carlotta checks her sister about Cotton's safety after she is seen hanging outside with their cousin.


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Question: Early-Season Injuries Do Not Have To Doom Your Fantasy Baseball Team

By Sam McPherson
The Major League Baseball season is two weeks in, and already there have been a ton of players suffering injuries and landing on the new 10-day disabled list. The 2015 American League Most Valuable Player, Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson, was off to a great start before aggravating his calf and landing on the DL. Same for two-time All-Star closer Zach Britton, who was leading the AL in saves with five. the Baltimore Orioles closer is now on the DL, too, with a forearm strain. You just can’t avoid injuries in fantasy baseball, unless you’re very, very lucky.
However, unlike fantasy football, which is much more punishing if you lose a top draft pick to injury so soon, you can overcome these kinds of injuries in fantasy baseball. Most of the time, you can find able replacements on the waiver wire in April to alleviate the pain of an injured player. Yes, Donaldson is harder to replace than Britton, using the above examples, because someone on the Orioles still has to save games, whereas hitting home runs and collecting RBI is harder when it comes to finding another third baseman like Donaldson.
The point is that injuries happen to almost every team in your league, and they happen often. Generally, it’s always a priority to replace injured hitters first, because the counting stats (HRs, RBI, etc.) are predominant—and the skill sets are harder to replicate. With pitching, it’s best to prioritize replacing closers over starters, as saves come from everywhere whereas bad starters can ruin your place in the standings, thanks to the ERA and WHIP categories.
Players to Get Onto Your Roster Now
1. Ryan Zimmerman, 1B, Washington Nationals: This would be a perfect replacement for Donaldson, if Zimmerman still played third. Depending on your roster, maybe you can juggle the 1B/3B slots a bit and grab Zimmerman while Donaldson heals. Strangely, Zimmerman was only an All-Star selection once (2009), but he’s off to a good start in 2017 with a .341 average, three HRs and six RBI. It may not last long, considering recent history. He hasn’t played a full season since 2013, but if you just need a few weeks out of him while Donaldson gets back to full strength, Zimmerman is as good an option as any.
2. Jason Vargas, SP, Kansas City Royals: Coming back from a UCL tear is never certain, but Vargas looks to be in good shape right now. He started three games late last year and got progressively better each time out. With another offseason to recover, Vargas has started off this season strong (2-0, 0.66 ERA, 14 strikeouts), and although he probably won’t throw more than 150 innings this whole season, now’s the time to get on board and ride his arm for as long as you can. Vargas isn’t going to win the Cy Young Award, but you don’t need him to in order to benefit from his comeback.
3. Chris Devenski, P, Houston Astros: This is an interesting proposition, since Devenski isn’t in the Astros starting rotation. However, he started five games last year and should find his way into a starter’s role soon. Devenski’s numbers in relief this year are stellar already (17 Ks in nine innings, plus a 1.00 ERA), and for his career so far, the numbers are stable and good (117 1/3 IP, 121 Ks, 2.07 ERA, 0.886 WHIP). Even if he doesn’t start that often, his overall numbers can only help your fantasy staff. Sometimes, it’s the sneaky reliever types like this that win the league for you.
4. Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees: He had a rough start to his career last season, but Judge already looks a lot better this season (three HRs, seven RBI, .870 OPS). His batting eye looks improved, too, based on four walks already in 10 games after Judge had nine total last year in 27 games. He could supply a ton of power for your team if another player goes down with an injury—and a lineup juggle works for you. Just 25 years old, Judge is one of several young Yankees looking to bring the power and the glory back to the Bronx.
Players to Sit/Drop This Week
1. Byron Buxton, OF, Minnesota Twins: He’s still only 23 years old, but with 149 MLB games under his belt now since 2015, it doesn’t look like Buxton is ever going to be the great player he was touted to be. He’s struck out 23 times already this season, in just 12 games. Overall, he’s hitting just .093, and again, with almost a full season compiled in stats, little about those numbers (.210 average, only 13 stolen bases) suggests he’s going to have a good career. Maybe he turns it around eventually, but in single-season leagues, let someone else take the chance on Buxton. You can find better players on the waiver wire.
2. Sam Dyson, RP, Texas Rangers: Hopefully, you didn’t draft both Britton and Dyson, because you’d really need to find saves now. Dyson has been a nightmare this year (0-2, 24.75 ERA) after posting 38 saves last year. But his strikeout rate has never been great (career 7.4 Ks per nine IP), so he was a risky pick to begin with this year. Psychologically, it’s hard to see the Rangers going back to Dyson later for saves, especially when they have better options on their roster. Drop him and find a better reliever. Someone else can take a chance on Dyson.
3. Russell Martin, C, Toronto Blue Jays: A four-time All-Star selection, Martin (and his Blue Jays) are off to a terrible start this season. However, he is a career .253 hitter, and for a catcher with his power, that’s acceptable. You know he will bounce back later along with his whole team. In the meantime, however, stash him on your bench and pick up a streaky, hot-hitting, unknown catcher. This will save your team average for now, and you’ll be able to ride the inevitable, stat-correcting run Martin goes on later this summer.
4. Jeff Samardzija, SP, San Francisco Giants: He’s now 0-3 with a 6.16 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP, although he looked a little better on Sunday against Colorado (no walks, eight Ks) despite taking the loss. However, the problem is that the Shark is the team’s No. 4 starter, and he lacks the quality stuff plus the mental fortitude (which is surprising, considering his college football days playing for Notre Dame) to overcome the San Francisco roster’s many deficiencies. He’s not Madison Bumgarner, and right now, even Bumgarner is winless for this last-place Giants team. Bench Samardzija if you must, but there are better SPs on the waiver wire.

Rocky Widner/Getty Images
Grant Hughes National NBA Featured Columnist
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMarcus Cousins will spend the rest of the 2016-17 NBA season walking on eggshells.
Having already served a league-mandated suspension for accruing 16 technical fouls, Cousins faces subsequent one-game bans for every two additional violations. Subduing emotion has always been difficult for the All-Star big man, but now the penalty for failure is more severe than ever.
Every incident that could produce a shout, scowl or diatribe against officials suddenly comes at a steeper price. Errant hands to the face of Donatas Motiejunas get extra scrutiny, for example. Reactions to low blows from Buddy Hield, obvious no-calls and every other potential outburst could result in another team-crippling suspension.
And you'd better believe it's weighing on Cousins.
"I don't know how to be myself anymore," he said softly from his locker stall at the Golden 1 Center on Friday night.
The Kings had just engineered a 22-point comeback to steal a win from the visiting Atlanta Hawks, but more importantly, it was Cousins' first night back from his initial suspension. He admitted the threat of future discipline affected his performance. Hence the miniature existential emergency.
"It's well known I'm a very emotional player," Cousins later explained to Bleacher Report. "I play with a lot of passion, a lot of emotion. I know that's what makes me the player that I am. When I'm kind of crucified for how I play, and they want change, it's hard for me to be the same type of player...It's just me trying to find the balance. I'm trying to make the adjustment, I'm trying to make the change for the better."
Can he sustain his productivity while snuffing out the fire that led to his suspension? And can he do it as the pressure of the season's stretch run intensifies?
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Cousins understands the stakes. He knows his team is within sniffing distance of the franchise's first playoff berth since 2007. And he knows one game lost to suspension here or there could be the difference between reaching what he's called his only goal and falling short again.
"The guy's trying so hard," head coach Dave Joerger said. "He's an emotional player, so it's like he's playing with one hand behind his back if he can't ever say anything. He doesn't want to hurt the team. He doesn't want to get another technical."
Cousins survived the comeback win against Atlanta without incurring tech No. 17, but it was no easy thing. He was sluggish, visibly frustrated and unable to hide the strain of, well...restraint. Is his effectiveness divisible from his emotion?
"I'm dealing with my own demons right now," he said. "I've got to focus on what's going on at the moment, and I did a terrible job of that."
Two nights later, Cousins was assessed a first-quarter technical foul for an errant swing of the arm that caught New Orleans Pelicans forward Motiejunas in the face. In order to compose himself, Cousins actually left the floor and went to the locker room.
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"It was kind of hard for me with that one because of the situation that had just occurred where I come back and the slightest thing and I'm back (facing suspension)," Cousins said. "It's hard, but I had to gather myself, refocus and get back to the main objective which is winning the game. I've got to walk the straight and narrow. It's all I can do."
Sacramento won that game as well, getting 28 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists from its best player—despite an ejection-triggering groin shot from Pelicans guard Hield. It was as if the basketball gods were testing Boogie. To his credit, he passed. Plenty of players with less volatile reputations would have snapped in that situation.
But so many more games lie ahead. So many more trials have yet to be undertaken. And, again, Cousins' margin for error is basically nil.
How he handles the challenge he's helped create for himself (despite protestations about unfair treatment from officials, he is partly responsible for his situation) will either signal the kind of growth so many have been waiting to see or reaffirm the doubts that have dogged him for years.
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
He'll have help.
"I lean on all my teammates, not just Matt (Barnes). But he is the voice of our team. Everybody leans on Matt when times get hard because he's been through it all, seen it all on all levels."
Barnes, like Cousins, is no stranger to image problems.
"He's got a tough rap—the reputation he's earned," Barnes told ESPN-Tencent's Yuan Fang. "Whether it's good or bad. We both have bad and that took me my whole career to change mine and it hasn't worked. He just has to be able to adjust within his reputation and still be himself. He has to keeps his head."
Barnes has been a calming figure all season, which may seem odd given his volatile reputation. He commands respect like no on else on the roster, and you can see it in the locker room and on the floor. When the Kings found life in the second half against Atlanta, they did so after Barnes gathered his teammates together at the foul line before the third quarter.
When he motioned for a huddle, everyone—Cousins included—hustled over, leaned in close and listened to the veteran as he clapped his hands and exhorted them to perform.
"I thought Matt did a good job of really talking to us the whole game," Darren Collison said. "He was the leader when things weren't going well."
This is about more than Cousins' personal journey, though. The Kings have professed commitment to their big man, with general manager Vlade Divac saying Cousins won't be traded. A contract extension worth upwards of $200 million will likely come by July.
Cousins could validate that faith by adjusting his behavior and upping his level of play. Or he could falter and, in doing so, force the Kings to reconsider their committed stance. Worse still, he might come up short and get that max extension anyway, which would effectively consign Sacramento to another half-decade of maddening sub-mediocrity.
We've seen a lot from DeMarcus Cousins over the last six years.
He's got six weeks to show us something more.
Kings Insider's Notebook
Free Willie
Joerger is loath to play Willie Cauley-Stein with Cousins, which is probably frustrating for fans who'd like to see athleticism like this alongside the proven productivity of an All-Star big man:
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Is the Phil Jackson/Carmelo Anthony Feud Being Blown Out of Proportion? Clutch Curry: Is Steph the Master of Late-Game Heroics? Greg Anthony's Starting 5: the NBA's Biggest Underperformers So Far DeMarcus Cousins Pokes Fun at Joakim Noah's Shooting Form Russell Westbrook Gets His 7th Straight Triple-Double Sam Dekker Posterizes Enes Kanter Cleveland Cavaliers Rick Roll'd Ric Bucher's NBA Power Rankings LeBron vs. Melo: the Rivalry Continues Between Superstar Friends Can VR Save DeAndre Jordan's Free-Throw Percentage? Klay Thompson Career High 60 Points
But Sacramento's defense has been untenably bad in the 119 minutes the duo has played together, and it's only gotten worse as the season has worn on. In 50 minutes since Jan. 1, the Kings have allowed 118.1 points per 100 possessions with Cousins and Cauley-Stein on the court.
That's not to say Cauley-Stein's without his uses. Lately, his energy and rim-rolling prowess have charged up the Kings' scrappy second unit. He put up 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in a Feb. 8 win over the Boston Celtics.
"He's getting to balls that are outside of his area, and I think he's a lot more comfortable with our defensive schemes and also our offensive schemes where he can find seams to get to the rim."
In limited minutes as part of a unit with Anthony Tolliver, Matt Barnes, Ben McLemore and either Darren Collison or Ty Lawson, Cauley-Stein has solidified himself as a rotation player with upside. That's good timing by him, as Cousins figures to miss a few games before season's end, which will free up minutes in the middle.
Return of the Mac
Does it count as a return if Ben McLemore's viability as an NBA player was never really certain in the first place?
Rather than worry about the details, check this out: McLemore is tearing it up since regaining a role after six consecutive DNPs.
In February, he's averaging 13.3 points per game and hitting 50 percent of his threes. His 22 points and 6-of-10 effort from long distance were vital in Friday's win over Atlanta.
"He's always been a good shooter to me, it was just a matter of time for him to really turn the corner," Darren Collison said. "One thing about Ben, even when he wasn't playing, he was always in the gym. First one in the gym, last one to leave."
Cousins, as you'd expect, was more forthright: "Ben is like a little brother to me. It's bigger than basketball, just to see him remain positive, remain professional through the bulls--t and things not going his way ... I think he's hitting his stride. I think that good karma's coming around for him now."
Digging Holes and Microcosms
It's fitting the Kings are scrambling to make up ground in the West after an uninspiring first half of the season (or 50-plus games, as the case may be). Because that seems to be the way they operate.
Here's proof:
Kings False Starts Quarter Offensive Rating Defensive Rating Net Rating First 100.7 111.9 -11.3 Second 103.5 111.4 -7.9 Third 108.8 104.9 +3.9 Fourth 108.9 105.9 +3.0 NBA.com
On the one hand, failing to show up for games before halftime is a concern. But, on the other, the Kings have been forced to develop resiliency.
"Our fight and our heart is undeniable," Cousins said. "I believe everybody here can agree with me on that. That being said, we can't keep putting ourselves in that position. We gotta make these games easier for ourselves."
Not getting blasted in every first quarter (the Kings lost all three opening periods in their three-game winning streak) would be a good start.
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All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Stats via NBA.com and accurate through games played Feb. 14.
Special thanks to Shock Doctor for facilitating our interview with Cousins. Cousins uses Shock Doctor's mouth guards in every game, and team-branded products are soon to be released.