Category Archive : Sports

When an NFL team takes the field on offense, their goal is simple: gain enough yards on each play to set up an eventual first down, thereby moving the chains and starting the whole process over again, until a goal is scored. field or preferably a touch-down, is placed on the scoreboard.

First attempts can be accomplished in many different ways, of course; either through the air, or on the ground; through the big play, or by using a more conservative approach that involves more short-yard conversions in third-down situations.

Regardless of whether a team is built around speedy Pro-Bowl receivers who tear through opponents’ defenses for long gains or take a more traditional route, which involves ‘mouth hitting’ runs down the middle with a combination of short yards pass attempts. included for good measure: all coaching staffs will use the players they have on the field and the skills that go with them to the best of their ability to get the next first down or score.

The important question for those of us looking to beat the Vegas Point spread is: are there certain attacking styles that, in the right situations, cover the spread at a higher rate than others?

The answer is yes and this article will briefly explore an attack style that has produced very good results against the spread over the last 7 years when a certain statistical benchmark is reached.

The particular style of offense I’m talking about involves teams that produce a high percentage of big passing game yards as part of his total yards gained while shooting the ball.

My official label for this stat is BPY%F (Big Passing Yardage Percentage For) and it is a measure of the percentage of the team’s total passing yards that were earned from passing plays of 20 or more yards.

Dallas led the league in this category in 2007. 42.5% of the Cowboys’ passing yards for the season came from plays >= 20 yards. Green Bay and San Diego rounded out the top 3. The league average for BPY%F has generally been around 40% in most years for the past decade, but fell to 37.5% in 2007.

In fact, it was a good year compared to the margin of teams that rely on the deep ball: the top 8 teams in the league in BPY%F had a combined 75-45 ATS and none of the top 8 had an ATS record. less than .500. In contrast, the last 8, led by Baltimore’s brutal passing attack (they had a BPY%F of just 25.5%) was a dismal 50-74 ATS.

These interesting results have not developed consistently over the last 7 years; however, and in some years, teams with high BPY%F have only been mediocre compared to the overall number, while those at the lower end of the scale have been closer to .500 ATS.

When we look at the teams that enter a game with a Extremely high BPY%F (greater than 50%); however, a consistent pattern is beginning to emerge.

Since 2001, which is when I started tracking BPY, teams have had an excellent 145-119 (54.9%) ATS coming into a game with a BPY%F over 50% for the season.

Teams that have this high percentage of big passing game yardage are usually only seen in the first 6-7 weeks of the season, before an increasing number of pass attempts begin to drive BPY%F down to a more normal level across the league. That’s not to say that some teams haven’t carried a 50% level to the end of the season (Philadelphia from 2006 is a good example, they had BPY%F well over 50 at the end of that season) just that, this situation plays on teams that are extremely efficient with the deep pass out of the gate.

What we have here is good so far, but there is one more major condition that needs to be added to this situation before things really start to take shape and that is how ‘game ready’ the adversary of our team focus happens to be, at this early stage of the season.

Here’s the crux of this situation: I’ve found that teams with a Great Passing Yardage Percentage > 50%, playing a team with a Play Book Execution Penalty average per game against (PBEPA) of 1.3 or more they are a very strong 56-20 ATS (73.7%) since 2001, with a profit of $3,400.00 when you bet $110 to get $100 back.

What are they Playbook Run penalties you might be willing to ask for? For those who haven’t read my NFL Game Sheet Guide, I classify penalties under a total of 6 different headings and this particular category involves calls like: Illegal Procedures, Formations, Turns, Motions, Participation, Snaps and Substitutions; intentional grounding; Game Delay; 12 men in the field; Ineligible recipients, and so on, essentially those flags generated by the breakdown of plays, mostly on offense. The league average for PBEPs is normally around 0.7 calls per game (on each team).

It is a category of penalties that acts as a good yardstick for measuring the quality of a team’s coaching staff and also provides an indication of whether players are being used in schemes in which they are comfortable and have the skills to succeed.

Combining a team that is having great success with the deep ball early in the season, with a team that is perhaps on the other end of the spectrum in ‘preparation,’ offensive efficiency and creativity, creates line value. that the astute gambler can achieve.

In addition to the main conditions described above, there are some secondary conditions that serve to harden the record of this trend.

First of all, all games with an Over/Under of more than 48 are excluded and our focus team must also come out of a game where their possession time was 23 minutes or more (TOPF is an excellent barometer of a team’s overall health, both on offense and defense).

Additionally, teams coming off consecutive SU wins of >= 14 points are also excluded as they are more likely to be overpriced or at risk of disappointment in the current game.

Lastly, teams that met their current opponent early in the season or anytime within the previous 2 seasons and had a rotation differential (TOD) of primary conditions (building blocks)

1) % Big Passing Yards for (BPY%F) > 50%.

2) Opponent Playbook Execution Penalty Average Against (PBEPA) > 1.3.

Secondary conditions (tensioners)

1) Exclude More/Less (OR) >= 48.

2) Exclude time of possession per (TOPF) in last game of = 14 points in last 2 games.

4) Exclude Turnover Differential (TOD) Situation Stats

ASMR: +0.8

% of housing: 55.4

Dog%: 42.9

ISDT%: 65.6

Weight %: 75.0

APR: -0.40

Best teams: PIT(7); ATL(6); CAR(4); KEY(5)

location records

Overall (since 2001): 48-6 ATS

2007 season: 6-1 ATS

2006 season: 9-0 ATS

2005 season: 15-1 ATS

2004 season: 11-1 ATS

Last 3 results. Select in parentheses.

2007 WK6 – CLE 41 MIA 31 (CLE – 4.5) W

2007 WK5–WAS 34 DET 3 (WAS -3.5) W

2007 WK4–IND 38 DEN 20 (IND -9.5) W

Overrated fantasy football players aren’t necessarily players who will struggle this season. They are players who are selected too high in the draft compared to their predicted production versus players at the same position who are selected much lower. Successful fantasy football team owners are the owners who recognize the value in every round and select accordingly. There is no set methodology on which position to select each round or which players should be selected each round. As always, KNOW YOUR SCORING system and let it dictate your draft strategy and be flexible with your strategy so you can make adjustments on the fly based on how the draft plays out so you can recognize the Value in players who are still available.

Assuming a standard fantasy football scoring system, we’re going to cite players we’re seeing drafted too high compared to other players at their position. Currently, the most overrated fantasy football players thus far, based on their average draft position, are as follows.

Quarterback: Peyton Manning (Denver) – Peyton started to show his age in late 2014. He was still the third-highest scoring quarterback last season, but that won’t happen this year and he’s being drafted as the third-highest quarterback. Manning is a little slower, he throws more INT, the Broncos are much more confident in their running game and Peyton has lost some weapons. Wes Welker and Julian Thomas are gone and RB CJ Anderson is on his way out. I’m still expecting 4,000 yards and 30 TDs from Peyton, but you can get that kind of production later in the draft from a lot of other quarterbacks … quarterbacks who are much younger and more mobile than the 39-year-old Manning.

RB: Jonathan Stewart (Carolina) – There are a lot of people who felt Stewart did his thing last season and will propel him into a successful 2015. Sure, he averaged 100 ypg in his last 4 and the Panthers let RB DeAngelo Williams go, but I didn’t buy him. Just he’s had a 200-plus-carry season because of injuries and already sprained his ankle this summer. If he decides it’s worth the risk, be sure to also hire Cameron Artis-Payne to hook him up the day the switch happens.

WR Sammy Watkins (Buffalo) – Sammy Watkins is about as talented as a receiver in the AFC East, but you won’t notice him this season. Kyle Orton was a useful quarterback, but he’s retired and the roster of quarterbacks now in Buffalo makes a person cringe; Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor. Coach Rex Ryan has faced this situation before and I can guarantee you that he will try to win by running the ball and letting his defense do most of the work. Also, Sammy is coming off hip surgery which is definitely not going to help. The NFL is full of quality WRs, so don’t waste a pick on Watkins, as he could be a wasted pick.

T.E. Julius Thomas (Jacksonville) – Julius is very talented, but he may never see the production he had in Denver again. Of course, he has 46 million reasons not to be too upset about it. Thomas’ greatest value has always come in the form of a TD. Because Denver had so much talent, he was never trusted to be a high-sack/yard option. Right now, Jacksonville is largely lacking in receiving talent, so it could mean Thomas will make up for his drop in TD receptions with more receptions and yards, but it could also mean he’ll face double teams. It’s too risky to even consider taking it in single-digit rounds when there could be a half-dozen tight ends who end up with the same numbers, or better, being drafted in double-digit rounds.

K Stephen Gostkowski (New England) – Gostkowski was the highest-scoring kicker in the NFL last season, so he should be the highest-scoring kicker in the draft, correct? Well, I’d agree, but why take ANY kicker before your last or penultimate round? Philly K Cody Parker was just 2 field goals behind Gostkowski in points and no one is thinking of taking him to a WR4 or RB4. Fill your bank before executing a kicker.

Seattle – In the same line as a kicker, WAIT on his defense. Unless you have a solid scoring system that heavily rewards defenses, the point spread between the top twelve defenses is too small to think about taking a defense in single-digit rounds. Seattle gets a LOT of press and has been to two straight Super Bowls, but they weren’t the highest scoring defense in fantasy last year, even after having an ADP in single-digit rounds. In fact, in some formats, they were the 7-9th highest scoring defense in 2014. Before I take a kicker, I always start two rounds early and take my first defense and then take my second defense. The best defenses fluctuate every year. Who would have guessed that Philly would have had the highest-scoring fantasy defense last season?

Current Miami Dolphins fans, come on, you know they’re out there, they may know quite a bit about their favorite NFL team. But, this knowledge may be limited to recent years, like the Dolphins’ record during the 2006 season or which player they took as their No. 1 pick in the draft. How much do you know about the history of Dolphin? Take our test to find out.

1. The first owner of the Miami Dolphins is widely known to be Joseph Robbie. But, he originally bought the franchise with a famous actor as his partner. Who was the actor?

has. marlon brando

b. burt reynolds

against dani thomas

d. Haley Joel Osment

2. When the Dolphins started play in 1966, what was their original stadium?

has. the orange bowl

b. Raymond James Stadium

against Campo Tropicana

d. Lambeau Field

3. What was the Dolphin’s record in their first season?

has. 3-11

b. 4-10

against 14-0

d. they tied all the games

4. When Don Shula became head coach of the Miami Dolphins, who did he replace?

has. tom landry

b. george wilson

against jimmy johnson

d. jose tower

5. When the Dolphins hired Don Shula as coach, which team accused Miami of manipulation?

has. The Indianapolis Colts

b. baltimore colts

against the new york jets

d. The Jacksonville Jaguars

6. The early 1970s were the height of Dolphin’s success. During this time, they became the first NFL team to do what?

has. Win three consecutive Super Bowls

b. Reach three consecutive Super Bowls

vs. Winning consecutive Super Bowls

d. Win a Super Bowl

7. The 1971 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs set a record like what?

has. The NFL game with the most field goals

b. The most lopsided game in the NFL

vs. The longest game in the NFL

d. The day the most hot dogs were consumed

8. What was the nickname of the 1972 Dolphins defense?

has. The Nameless Defense

b. the steel curtain

against the wall

d. the great unit

9. During the 1973 season, the Miami Dolphins repeated as Super Bowl champions by beating which team?

has. The Green Bay Packers

b. chicago bears

vs minnesota vikings

d. carolina panthers

10. The AFC Divisional Playoff game played on December 21, 1974 between the Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders went down in football history as what?

has. The game of the sea of ​​hands

b. the ice bowl

against unit

d. He had no name; this is a trick question

Answers: 1.c. Danny Thomas; 2nd The Orange Bowl; 3.a. 3-11; 4.b. George Wilson; 5.b. the Baltimore Colts; 6.b. Reach three consecutive Super Bowls; 7. c. The longest game in the NFL; 8th The Nameless Defense; 9. c. the Minnesota Vikings; 10 a.m. The Sea of ​​Hands game.

See how you did it:

9-10 correct: You are a true fan of Miami. You can swim with the dolphins at any time. Two finish!

6-8 good: You may not have received a perfect score, but you still know quite a bit about the only team to have had a perfect season.

3-5 correct: You didn’t do very well, but you didn’t do horrible. One ends, but not two.

less than three: Maybe you’re better as a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Finding good employees who know how to do their jobs, work hard, use their initiative, and are prepared to go the extra mile to get the job done is a rare thing. Even if you have employees like this, there’s a good chance you have at least a few who aren’t. According to the latest research, each of those employees is costing you at least 34% of your salary in lost productivity.

You can choose to tolerate that situation or you can choose to make some changes because there is a different way. A form taken by a set of businesses that consistently outperform all others. Compared to the stock market as a whole, these businesses have performed more than 400 times better.

The problem is that most companies offer their employees little more than a salary. Even those that are more enlightened and offer other benefits: health insurance, pension, stock options, etc. – for the most part are still engaged in a time-for-money transaction.

Human beings need more than that. They need to be involved in something bigger than themselves: there must be a greater purpose in going to work every day; a purpose that goes beyond enriching shareholders with their sweat. They need to know how they are contributing to that purpose and see what difference they are making. They need to connect with their colleagues around a common goal, working together rather than in different directions. They also need to be able to see how they are developing professionally, personally, and in the community. In between all of this, on a very basic level, they want security. It’s not the kind of pseudo-security that comes from being told your job is safe as long as you keep doing it, but the kind that comes from being involved in decision-making. And not only be informed of decisions, but actively participate in decision-making.

Few companies operate with that kind of transparency and involvement.

Employee engagement initiatives help in part to address this, but even they don’t go far enough. Commitment is just a starting point for the stellar performing companies highlighted at the beginning of this article. It is necessary, but not sufficient for maximum performance. These companies have also adopted the following practices:

  • open-book management in which employees not only have full access to company finances, but are also actively involved in creating budgets and forecasts – they understand how their role impacts the bottom line and balance sheet. On the contrary, it is very likely that most of your employees do not know what a balance sheet looks like. It’s not their fault: Most school curricula don’t teach it, which is why most people go into work without understanding how business works.
  • Which brings us to the second thing these businesses do: teach all of their people how the business works, how it makes money, and how it generates cash. If you tell people how to do something, they might do it. If you help them understand how it impacts the business and therefore their job security, they are more likely to do the best they can and do the right thing to achieve it.
  • These companies also go one step further because you still won’t get 100% commitment if they are working hard just to make others rich. So they give their employees a share in the business. However, it is more than a share plan: it involves making the employees as a whole the main shareholder. Many companies, especially publicly traded ones, give shares to employees. However, his shareholding is so small compared to the total capital and his ability to influence the share price is so limited that he is generally not a great motivator. The stock price is likely to be affected by global events outside of their control much more than the work they do today. It may keep them from leaving for a while, particularly if the stock price is depressed, but it rarely motivates higher levels of performance. However, in a business that is wholly owned by employees, the main impacts on share price are strategy and execution, two things that the entire workforce can influence and impact.

As a result, at these companies, employees not only do what their job description tells them to do, but they also do whatever it takes to increase profits and strengthen the bottom line. They have a common goal, so they all come together as a team (those who don’t aren’t tolerated by the rest for long, so they’re in or out). They are involved in deciding the strategy and objectives and then in the daily execution of them. They can see how the business is run. In difficult times they get involved in creating the plans to cross over to the other side. They can see the real situation instead of filling in the gaps with assumptions. While total job security may not exist, at least they can see what’s going on and have a say in what’s going on.

The company itself becomes the product in the minds of all employees. There is only one sure way to instill an attitude of ownership in all employees and that is to make them owners. Anything else will fall significantly short.

For the second year in a row, LeBron James faced minimal scrutiny for his inability to secure a championship. Rather, he has been praised for exceeding expectations and taking his team as far as possible. Most of this praise seems to be customary, considering his deep numbers and lack of assists from his teammates. According to ESPNIn the 2015 Finals, LeBron James averaged an absurd 35.8 points, 8.8 assists and 13.3 rebounds. Such commanding overall numbers would make even the all-time greats in awe. With Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving out due to injury, LeBron amazingly led a Cavaliers team with Timofey Mozgov as the second leading scorer, two wins away against a historically great Golden State team.

As flawless as LeBron James seemed in the Finals, there are facets of his performance that deserve criticism. His incredible scoring numbers didn’t come with incredible efficiency, in fact, he shot a woefully inefficient 39.8% from the floor. Despite being known for his ability to always make the right basketball play, LeBron James had his fair share of poor shots in this series. also as hoops habit notes, Cleveland always played its worst basketball in the fourth quarter. Had they had more impressive fourth quarters, the series could have gone the other way around. Now, all the responsibility for that shouldn’t fall on LeBron James, but he should be responsible as the leader of the team. Ultimately, his main defender, Andre Iguodala, won the Finals MVP.

Similarly, last year, Kawhi Leonard won the Finals MVP award after guarding Lebron for the most possessions in the series. That year, LeBron James and the Heat lost to the Spurs in the Finals by a record 70-point margin. As deadly as those Spurs were, a team made up of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen shouldn’t be breaking records for the wrong reasons. However, LeBron James’ average of 28.2 points on 57.1% shooting, according to Basketball-Reference, seems to outweigh his team’s failures. This season, however, LeBron James won’t have the narrative of not having enough help to fall back on, should he fail to bring home that coveted championship for Cleveland.

First of all, barring an unforeseen setback, the Cavaliers should be able to sail to the NBA Finals, as LeBron James apparently has for what seems like forever. In the 2015 playoffs, the Cavaliers, with Kevin Love out and Kyrie Irving limping, only lost two games en route to LeBron James’ fifth straight trip to the Finals. Both players should be relatively healthy this coming season, and coupled with a revamped bench that now consists of Mo Williams and Richard Jefferson, the Cavaliers should be the heavy favorites in the East.

There will always be pundits who will argue that a team like Chicago or Miami has a chance, but it would be irrational to bet against the Cavs. Arguably his biggest competition is a Bulls team he beat with Love and Irving injured. The Heat, while made up of solid options at every position, lack the Cavaliers’ overall talent and rely too heavily on an injury-prone Dwayne Wade. Therefore, LeBron James has no reason not to make his sixth straight Finals appearance.

However, if he fails to get his team to the finals, he will lose another opportunity to improve his status among the all-time greats. He should be scrutinized, as other superstars have been, for not making it to the finals despite having a superior roster. However, this is all hypothetical, and LeBron James will most likely be facing the team that made it out of the brutal Western Conference.

The myriad of title contenders in the Western Conference instigates the perception that any team representing the West in the Finals is vastly superior to its Eastern counterpart. This perception has previously provided LeBron James with wiggle room to escape how he should lose in the Finals. In fact, this perception seems to persist for the next season. Teams like the Spurs, with their talent and depth, seem incapable of losing to an Eastern Conference foe in a seven-game series. Nobody would blink if the Warriors, Clippers or Thunder beat the Cavaliers in the Finals. Even the Rockets would have a fair chance.

In reality, the Cavaliers can realistically beat any of these teams in a series. ace Bleacher Report notes, the Cavaliers went a phenomenal 13-1 record against the Western Conference in the second half last season. They have 3 of the top 20 players in the league in LeBron, Kyrie and Kevin Love. These three players formed the highest scoring trio in the league, by 247 sports. His bench, while unspectacular, is competent enough to give the Cavaliers the depth needed to compete with these Western Conference adversaries. Above all, they have one thing that no other team in the league has: the greatness of LeBron James.

His combination of otherworldly athleticism and elite basketball IQ provides the Cavaliers with all the ingredients they need to win a championship. Despite all of his incredible numbers in both the regular season and the playoffs, to truly challenge Michael Jordan as the GOAT, he must prove that he is capable of revolutionizing a franchise, with a championship. Michael did it with the Bulls, Duncan with the Spurs, Kareem with the Bucks, Bird with the Celtics, and so on. Despite being the unquestioned leader of those Heat champion teams, Dwayne Wade was still the face of the franchise. Now that he has all the pieces, there will be no excuses. It’s time to give Cleveland its first championship in over 50 years.

After a very successful first season under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, in which the Blues completed their first double of Premier League and FA Cup winners, there were naturally high expectations for the 2010-11 season. The Blues were the favorites of many to win the Premier League title again.

Chelsea started the season as they had finished the last, in style, beating West Brom 6-0 with Didier Drogba scoring a hat-trick. The Blues looked cohesive and composed and the following week recorded another 6-0 victory at Wigan, winning their first five successive Premier League games, by the end of October Chelsea had won eight of the first ten League games, including a victory against Arsenal, and they were showing great form, even at this stage many thought they would easily retain the Premier League title they had won the previous season.

Unfortunately, the Blues lost their way in November following injuries to John Terry and Frank Lampard and many attributed their sudden loss of form to the unexpected departure of assistant coach Ray Wilkins, who left the club in early November. Managing just two wins from their next eleven games, Chelsea suffered their worst run in over ten seasons, which included a 0–3 home loss against Sunderland.

January saw the arrival of £50m to Fernando Torres from Liverpool, which became a record transfer fee for a player between two English clubs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the dream move everyone was hoping for, as the poor form he experienced at Liverpool continued at Chelsea. Torres only scored one goal and often seemed to struggle with the Blues’ formations and style of play, often showing a lone figure on the pitch.

When Chelsea met Manchester United in early March, they might have fallen 15 points behind the Reds in the title race, but a heroic second-half performance saw the Blues secure a dramatic 2-1 victory. . Seven wins from their next eight league games saw Chelsea make a late push for title glory, which would have secured one of the most dramatic Premier League titles in recent history. The loss to United at Old Trafford ended their incredible run and sealed their fate of finishing second in the league.

Chelsea were also beaten by Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals, a loss that effectively sealed the fate of manager Carlo Ancelotti, who was sacked moments after the last game of the season against Everton.

The Blues will now seek a new manager and try to rebuild their squad for next season and speculation about the future of some of the team’s older players will also be in the spotlight as Chelsea once again battle for domestic honours. and the elusive glory of the Champions League. .

The Red Sox may have a good chance of repeating as AL East champions this season, but a report by a major sports website has ranked them worst at a vital component of a baseball team. The criticism involves two positions in Boston’s infield, including former World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval.

According to Jonah Keri of cbssports.com, the Red Sox’s corner infielders are the worst in all of baseball. Those two positions are made up of Sandoval at third base and Mitch Moreland at first, neither of whom played a game for Boston’s division-winning team last year.

The club that ousted the Red Sox, meanwhile, should have one of the best infield corner tandems in 2017. Cleveland already has a potential star in José Ramírez at third, and they signed free-agent slugger Edwin Encarnación to play first. base.

As impressive as that duo sounds, they still may not be a match for the corner infielders on the Chicago team that beat Cleveland in the World Series last October. The Cubs have the top two MVP candidates filling those spots, with 2016 MVP winner third baseman Kris Bryant and MVP runner-up Anthony Rizzo at first.

Here are five other clubs that have great tandems in the corner box positions.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Having re-signed free agent Justin Turner to play third, the Dodgers can be sure he will pair with slugger Adrian Gonzalez to give the team a potent left-right combo in the middle of the order.

Kansas City Royals

Injuries forced Mike Moustakas to be replaced in third place last year, and Eric Hosmer remains a key part of the team that won back-to-back pennants.

Chicago White Sox

Todd Frazier is an All-Star third baseman who hit 40-plus home runs last year, and first baseman Jose Abreu is a potential MVP.

detroit tigers

Nick Castellanos is a commendable competitor in the hot corner, and Miguel Cabrera is a future Hall of Famer in Cooperstown.

Baltimore Orioles

His corner duo of Manny Machado and Chris Davis is a big reason Buck Showalter’s team has made perennial trips to the postseason. Machado is a star third baseman, while Davis remains one of the game’s prolific sluggers.

Life is only as good as we can use our knowledge to successfully survive. Other than that, all degrees and diplomas are just “sheepskins” that “look pretty”. With that said, I start this article. Judge Judith “Judy” Sheindlin once wrote a book called “Beauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever.” I read the book and got the full message. Going through empty credits without any genuine basis lives completely, so completely, that sometimes at the end of those lives, even if they are “successful”, they are a “train wreck”, a “heap of junk” and nothing to aspire to not even to imitate. as an example.

Of course, what I mean by the words “genuine foundations” is the sense of reality or “survival street sense” to back up the “book sense” and “nice diplomas” obtained in schools and learning institutions .

In fact, reality is an experience, not empty credits and the construction of the ego that says “you did it, you already did it without doing anything, now go ahead!” Reality is a hands-on experience in doing something real, nothing more, nothing less, and you sink, swim, or somehow ‘paddle like a dog’ through it to survive.

So no matter how our egos are built with degrees, diplomas, or graduations, if you don’t have the real life experience to back it up, you’re in trouble. Theory and bravado won’t help you fight a thief on the street, just calm, realistic practical knowledge of how to survive and realistically (even if you decide to fight if you know how) what to do. That brings me to a point: reality comes down to what we can do in it, not the selfish brakes it gives us without doing anything yet.

So, I’ll end with an anecdote about the Los Angeles Rams: In 2016, a quarterback named Jared Goff was drafted straight out of college halfway unproven for a total of $46.9 million with a huge signing bonus, and no he won only one Super. Bowl with the team as betting experts, sports analysts and the like predicted during the four-season stretch (2016-2020) he was with the Los Angeles Rams, and nearly fifty million dollars is a steep price to pay for disappointment. and at least he has the experience to back things up now that he’s with the Detroit Lions. The point of this anecdote is that whatever the expectations, reality had better be met through function and experience or else it will all mean nothing, disappointment, or whatever you want to call negative.

So, to end with a bit of street language: Reality is cash, and nothing else matters except the results you get, good or bad.

Richard now struggles to survive on his own, refusing to follow in the footsteps of others by becoming a slave, subordinate, or complacent to southern attitudes. Rather, he tries to flee to the North to escape the prejudices of the South and discover for himself a new world beyond. His transfer to the North, by train, was thus the beginning of a new life for him.

In doing so, Richard fled, along with masses of other blacks, the racism, poverty, and lynching laws of the rural South, bound for Chicago, hoping to find a better life there. His aunt Maggie, who had come to visit, accompanied Richard on the train ride to Chicago while her mother and his brother returned to Jackson.

Arriving in Chicago for the first time, Richard is surprised by the life of the city and its new social codes. On the tram, he looked in surprise at a white man sitting next to him without caring about his color.

Richard is finally relieved of the brutal environment created by the South. To the North it seemed like one that represented opportunity and freedom to him. Wright sees interesting juxtapositions between the events in Chicago and the events of his childhood in the South. In Chicago, Richard must learn to adapt to a new environment, where “color hatred” is less prominent and racial boundaries do not control him.

Richard soon finds Chicago stimulating and less racially oppressive. Richard is finally able to see cases where people are not blinded by race. But he is presented with other problems. Richard must learn that prejudices are easily adopted. He is subject to mistreatment because of his education, his intellect, his socioeconomic background, as well as his political stance.

Richard soon finds a job as a doorman at a deli owned by a Jewish couple: Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman. Richard, attuned to the conditions of life in the South, can’t be natural with the Hoffmans, as he keeps lying to them. He still feels that he must abide by southern social rules that apply to blacks. He lies to cover up his own insecurity. Because he is incapable of understanding any social interaction with white people beyond the brutal and hateful relationships he has witnessed in the South.

After working there for a short time, Richard learns of an opening for a postal worker that required him to take an exam the following Monday. Unsure how to approach his bosses for a day off, he simply skips a day and lies to them upon his return that his mother had died in Memphis.

After a week, Richard gets a job as a dishwasher at a newly opened North Side cafe. There, he often accidentally bumps into white girls who sometimes even ask him to tie their aprons for them. He thus he realizes that they are free from racial consciousness.

Richard then works as a postal clerk and meets an Irishman he can relate to. He is eventually drawn into a literary circle with connections to the Communist Party. Richard thus joins the John Reed Club, a communist organization for the arts, in hopes of learning to write and publish.

Even in Chicago, Richard’s actions are conditioned by the social lessons he has learned in the South. After reading a magazine american mercury, the boss enters the kitchen and asks her where she found it and if she understood it. Richard lies that she “found” it instead of saying she bought it. From then on, he keeps his books and magazines wrapped in newspaper so no one will question him.

Walking past the kitchen stove at the cafe one day, Richard notices that Tillie, the Finnish cook, spit into a pot of boiling soup. Afraid that her boss won’t believe him if he reports her, he instead tells another black girl who works at the cafe. At first, the girl could not believe, but she herself spies on the cook to verify her report. Having verified it, they both now fear that the boss won’t believe them. Being informed, at first, the boss tells the girl that she is crazy. But after she spies on Tillie, who proceeds to spit on the food once more, he fires her.

In June, Richard is called for a temporary job at the post office as a postal clerk, at the time the only place educated blacks could find work. But securing a permanent appointment requires you to pass a physical where the weight requirement is 125 pounds. So Richard endeavored to increase his weight by any means available. But no matter how much he eats, he can’t gain weight. Richard is forced to find another job. Meanwhile, his mother and his brother have moved into Aunt Maggie’s apartment. Aunt Maggie constantly criticizes Richard’s reading and studying, and after she loses his post job, she considers him a failure. So Richard decides to invite his aunt Cleo to share an apartment with him, his mother and his brother. At night, he reads books and tries to satisfy his hunger to get a lot of information about his life and the lives around him.

Richard is finally able to get a permanent night job as a postal clerk after forcing himself to eat. The resulting salary increase allowed them to move to a larger apartment and start buying better food. Having moved into four rooms on Vincennes Avenue, he was now able to read and write regularly in relative comfort. Although he dislikes the bureaucracy of the post office, he befriends many co-workers, both black and white, some schoolmates from the South.

During the day, he attends local black literary group meetings, experiments with stream-of-consciousness writing, and attempts to understand the “many modes of black behavior” through his writing. He also befriends a young Irish man with whom she has much in common, both sharing each other’s cynicism and beliefs.

Richard also begins to examine various black groups. This includes a black literary group on Chicago’s South Side that he finds almost bohemian and too engrossed in sex for comfort. Richard therefore feels distant from members of his middle class. Richard also meets a group called the “Garveyites”, an organization of black men and women seeking to return to Africa. He watches her passionate “rejection of America,” an emotion he shares. But despite their similar emotional dynamics, Richard pities them for his inability to realize that Africa isn’t really his home. He sees the Garveyists as naive for not realizing that Africa is under European imperialism and that they have already merged too much with the West to return to their native Africa. So he didn’t join him.

Meanwhile, Richard begins to learn about the activities of the Communist Party, but he does not pay attention to it either. When the stock crash of 1929 occurs and mail volumes drop, his work hours decrease. His salary also decreases with no open positions for a regular employee. He eventually loses his job at the post office, but is rehired the following summer for a temporary job. The Southside sinks into economic depression.

Aunt Cleo suffers from a heart condition, her mother falls ill, and her brother develops stomach ulcers. A distant cousin offers Richard a job selling insurance, which he accepts. During the year, Richard works for funeral and insurance companies that serve black people. His work allows him, for the first time, to explore black life in Chicago. But Richard seems to be constantly discouraged by the black culture that exists around him. He sells insurance policies to poor illiterate black families, men and women. Like the plantation families of the South, the people he meets in Chicago seem simple to him. Women who can’t make regular insurance payments could easily negotiate their way out of it by giving sexual favors. Through that, Richard has a long affair with a young woman obsessed with seeing the circus. She is portrayed as childish and almost stupid, as the only relationships she seemed capable of sustaining were sexual and, as Richard observes, her intelligence is simple and limited. Insurance agents not only viewed women as property, but also swindled them by changing policy deeds. Wright writes: “He was in and out of many Negro homes every day and knew that Negroes were lost, ignorant, sick in mind and body.”

Richard now reads books recommended by a friend William Harper (later to own a bookstore on the South Side). Among the numerous writers, Dreiser and Joseph Conrad particularly impress Wright and encourage him to continue writing. Richard Wright’s short story “Superstition” is published in April Abbott Monthly Magazinea black diary

After collecting his bonuses for the afternoon, Richard visits Washington Park, where many unemployed blacks gather to listen to communist speakers. He is puzzled and angry about the black communist movement, and realizes that in appearance, his speech and gestures are trying to copy white communists. Richard criticizes the fact that speakers adopt the styles of black preachers and tend to over-dramatize the militancy of the masses. Wright questions the understanding of communists as well as the abilities of black men and women to solve their social problems.

Richard, serving as an assistant to a black Republican precinct captain during the mayoral race on Election Day, stands in the voting booth and becomes aware of the corruption of the entire political process. Right there, on the front of his bundle, he writes: “I protest this fraud.”

Meanwhile, the depression has worsened and Richard is forced to move his family into a small, dingy rented apartment. There, one morning, his mother tells him that there is no food for breakfast and that he must go to the Cook County Welfare Office to ask for bread.

Richard begins to assess his social isolation. His isolation follows him into adulthood; Just as he found no camaraderie among other black children as a child, Richard cannot fit into any black political or social group. Along the black boy, Wright questions whether the black community is educated and strong enough to unify and overcome racial barriers and oppression. Here, he conveys a tone of disappointment because he doubts that the majority of the black community has enough knowledge about his social situation. For him, the Garveyites are naive in their desire to return to Africa. For him, black literary groups are dispassionate and twisted, even immature. But when Wright writes that he “glimpsed the potential strength of the American Negro,” he shows that he has not yet given up all hope.

Many athletes; including Tiger Woods, Golfer Jack Nicklaus, Golfer, Frank Bruno, WBC Heavyweight Champion, New York Mets Players, Los Angeles Dodgers, Rod Carew, Minnesota Twins, Andre Agassi, Tennis Star, Phil Jackson Coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Michael Jordon, Kobe Bryant and Shaqu O’Neal, Richard Lee, Brentford football goalie Pat Cash, tennis have all used hypnosis and visualization techniques for their success. Jimmy Connors used hypnosis to practice his winning tennis shots before the US Open.

The Irish athletes commissioned a hypnosis practitioner to work with team members to help them prepare for the 2012 Olympics. The key focus is placed on the small mental factors that can improve performance under pressure.

Aspiring high jumper Deirdre Ryan is one of the Irish athletes to receive mental mentoring. Ryan said her hypnosis has helped with her subconscious thinking and also with her confidence level going into the games.

The hypnosis practitioner facilitates an altered state of mind and then teaches them how to reprogram their subconscious to regain control and regulate their bodies through breathing and heart rate.

Kevin McBride, celebrated Irish heavyweight boxing champion, before each fight uses a personal hypnosis practitioner to hypnotize him into the right frame of mind.

Steve Hooker won the 2008 Olympic gold medal in the pole vault after his hypnotist helped him visualize his success.

The number one problem most athletes face: how to manage nerves; how to overcome mental anguish, be confident and perform at your best.

Hypnosis has gained wider acceptance among Olympic athletes and the general public with the goal of helping people transform everyday stresses, fears, phobias, and personal problems while claiming that these problems will transform completely.

The good news is; whether you are a celebrity or an athlete or not, your problems can be solved with hypnosis! For example:

• Jackie Kennedy Onassis used hypnotherapy to deal with tragic events in her life.
• Mel Gibson underwent hypnosis to help him deal with his problems.
• Sir Winston Churchill used post-hypnotic suggestions to stay awake and carry out his duties as Prime Minister during World War II.
• Albert Einstein used hypnosis sessions every afternoon. His theory of relativity came to him in one of those sessions. He often used trance states to develop his ideas.
• Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud developed psychotherapy as a result of learning and practicing hypnosis.
• Orlando Bloom’s mother called in a hypnotist to break Orlando’s childhood addiction to chocolate.
• Thomas Edison used self-hypnosis on a regular basis
• Aldous Huxley used trance states to explore the nature of Consciousness.
• Sylvester Stallone worked with a hypnosis practitioner while filming Rocky in 1975. Stallone, too, used self-hypnosis to help him write the screenplay for “Rocky.” He then used hypnosis daily to overcome over 900 script rejections of his own. During each day of filming “Rocky” he used hypnosis tapes. “Rocky” became an overnight hit.
• Kevin Costner, actor, got seasick while making “Waterworld.” A hypnosis practitioner helped him overcome dizziness.
• Billy Joel, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Katy Perry, Debra Messing, Kate Moss, Ellen DeGeneres, Charlize Theron, Simon Cowell, Kevin Stone, Samuel Jackson, Winona Ryder, Ashton Kutscher, Brittany Spears, Charlotte Church, a The Welsh singer and many other celebrities have quit smoking with hypnosis.
• Celebrities Lily Allen, Sophie Dahl, Geri Halliwell and Chuck Clausen used hypnosis to lose weight.
• Sarah Ferguson (Fergie) Dutchess of York used hypnosis to stop biting her nails and to lose weight.
• Aaron Eckhart credits hypnosis with changing his life forever after he was able to quit smoking and drinking alcohol.
• Tony Curtis used hypnosis to overcome his fear of flying and improve his career.
• Famous actor James Earl Jones and the voice of Darth Vader (Star Wars) used hypnosis to overcome stuttering
• Mufasa (The Lion King) used hypnosis to overcome stuttering.
• Bruce Willis used hypnosis to overcome stuttering.
• Samuel L Jackson, Sean Penn, Sean Connery, Martha Stewart, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin used hypnosis to improve their lives.
• Mozart composed the famous opera “Cosi Fan Tutte” while hypnotized.
• Lord Tennyson Alfred wrote entire poems in a hypnotic state.
• Seigei Rachmaninoff composed his “Second Piano Concerto” following a post-hypnotic suggestion given by Nikolai Dahl, a pioneer in hypnosis. Today, after more than 100 years, this concerto remains one of the most exquisite and deeply moving pieces of music ever written.
• Princess Diana used hypnosis for public speaking and confidence.

What is stopping you from creating your success, your dreams and achieving your goals? Hypnosis can remove negative energy, fears, blocks, anxiety, phobias, and improve self-confidence, self-esteem, and ability.