Hello, I'm an incoming jr at a CBSE school. I'm gonna study science in 11th & 12th and wanted to apply abroad for my undergraduate but I'm kind of in a dilema seeing my profile and more importantly the aid I'm going to ask colleges for. So look up my stats and ecs and let me know because it ain't too late to prep for JEE too lol.
Stats: 9: 96% 10: 93%
ECs: 1. Authored a research paper on Quantum Mechanics. 2. Founding a start-up currently which connects International students with undergrads from Harvard, Stanford, etc. 3. School Football/Soccer Team Captain 4. Founder of the Quiz Club at my school. Largest club with over 300+ members 5. MUN & Debate
Awards: 1. Runner-Up of National Science Quiz 2022 by Govt. of India. (2/15,000) 2. Winner of Largest State Level Quiz
Most Importantly I'll also prolly be needing aid like 75% so lmk should I apply abroad doing more ecs or join a coaching for JEE?

Preface: There’s really no way to look back at the Chargers’ 2022 season without starting at the end. The team blew a 27-0 lead to the Jaguars in the wild card round in what can only be described as the peak of decades of cruelty by the football gods directed at the Chargers. In a year that began with Super Bowl aspirations thanks to an extremely talented on-paper roster, and included a regular season of injury after injury after injury (Justin Herbert, Rashawn Slater, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, etc.), the finale could not have been more crushing. Criticism and ridicule has rained down on head coach Brandon Staley and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, and the latter was promptly fired at the end of the season to the rejoicing of fans everywhere.
But now we begin, again. The Super Bowl hopes are very much alive. The roster saw very few changes in free agency as the front office and coaching staff clearly believe the failure of the 2022 season was generally not an issue with the assembled players. But there is a much higher sense of urgency this year, and it’s not an exaggeration to say the team is going “all in” on the final cheap year of Justin Herbert’s rookie deal. Contracts have been structured in a way that will force significant cuts after the 2023 season just to get the team to salary cap compliance. This year may be do-or-die for both Tom Telesco and Brandon Staley.

Free Agency Recap

Losses: G Matt Feiler, LB Drue Tranquill, EDGE Kyle Van Noy, QB Chase Daniel, CB Bryce Callahan, WR Deandre Carter, S Nasir Adderley, LB Troy Reeder, DL Breiden Fehoko, WR Michael Bandy, OT Storm Norton
Five starters on this list: Feiler, Tranquill, Callahan, Carter, and Adderley. Letting Drue Tranquill leave is by far the most controversial decision here, especially since he ended up going to the Chiefs. He played very well last year, but seems like the idea here is that he was a factor in the defense’s struggle against the run. Feiler was a disaster last season after a great 2021, and Jamaree Salyer should be an immediate upgrade. Callahan is still a free agent and a reunion is not out of the question. Van Noy was great as a fill-in when Bosa was injured, but the team wants to get younger at the position. Carter was a quiet signing who outperformed his contract and provided much needed depth but again, too old. Adderley was benched in the season finale and then retired. The rest were backups and rotational players.
Additions: LB Eric Kendricks, DL Nick Williams
That’s it, that’s the list. Eric Kendricks steps in as the starter next to Kenneth Murray who he can hopefully help mentor into being a good linebacker. And theoretically, he will be an upgrade in run defense over Drue Tranquill. Williams was signed after the draft as insurance for the injured Austin Johnson and Otito Ogbonnia. He may not make the team. The Chargers used most of the rest of their cap space re-signing free agents like Trey Pipkins, Morgan Fox, and Donald Parham. They still have about $12.5M to work with, pending the upcoming Justin Herbert mega-deal.

Draft Needs

WR: The trio of Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Josh Palmer is one of the best in the league. However, with their contracts, there’s really no chance Allen and Williams will be Chargers in 2024. This group also lacks a speed element.
EDGE: Similar to WR, the starting duo of Bosa and Mack is elite but they are expensive and getting older. The depth behind them is just Chris Rumph.
TE: Gerald Everett is solid but on the last year of his deal. Donald Parham has potential but can’t stay healthy. Tre’ McKitty is a blocking TE who isn’t a very good blocker.
CB: JC Jackson is an enormous question mark, both from a health and performance standpoint. Michael Davis is a free agent after 2023. Ja’Sir Taylor is penciled in as the starting slot corner after very limited playing time last year.
OL: This is the strongest starting five the Chargers have had in a decade but the depth behind them both inside and out is weak.
LB: Eric Kendricks and Kenneth Murray will start, but Murray is auditioning to be on the team next year and Kendricks is old. The depth behind them is just Nick Niemann and Amen Ogbongbemiga.
S: JT Woods was a 2022 3rd round pick but barely played in 2022. Alohi Gilman stepped up when needed, but relying on him to start is risky.
RB: Austin Ekeler requested a trade, and even though it looked very unlikely to happen, the team needs to think about life after him in 2024. Neither Josh Kelley or Isaiah Spiller have shown they can handle a full workload.
KPR: With Deandre Carter’s departure, the team has no one with real return experience.

The Draft

1.21: Quentin Johnston - WR, TCU
In hindsight, this pick should have been more obvious. The Chargers have been very strict about their size thresholds for wide receivers over the years, and despite countless debates about Johnston vs Zay Flowers vs Jordan Addison, the big guy from TCU won out. This was an immediately controversial pick among fans as many believed the speedy Flowers or the crafty Addison would be more suited to filling the biggest need in this position group: speed and separation. But while Johnston may not be your traditional deep threat, his game speed and GPS tracking data suggest a more dynamic skillset than he showed at the combine. And one area where he does beat those two guys that was probably overlooked as a need: run after catch ability. Johnston was elite at that in college, and that looks to be his primary role for the Chargers. New OC Kellen Moore will use him like he did Ceedee Lamb in Dallas. And since he will start the year at number three on the depth chart at best, he won’t be under pressure to carry the offense as a rookie while he learns from the veterans in front of him.
2.54: Tuli Tuipulotu - EDGE, USC
After WR, the Chargers’ clear next biggest need was at EDGE and Tuli was the consensus best available. The team has also shown a penchant for drafting local kids from USC and UCLA over the last few years. He was extremely productive in his final season in college where he put up 13.5 sacks playing both on the edge and the interior. In the draft process, many people questioned if he would bulk up to be a full time DT or slim down to play the EDGE. It ended up being the latter as he weighed 266lbs at the combine. Tuli will provide valuable depth behind Bosa and Mack as a rookie, while also having the opportunity to play inside on passing downs like he did in college.
3.85: Daiyan Henley - LB, Washington State
The Chargers lost two linebackers to free agency: Drue Tranquill and Troy Reeder. Tranquill was the team’s best coverage linebacker, and Reeder was key depth while also being a core special teams player. Enter Daiyan Henley, who could fill both of those roles by himself. With Kenneth Murray likely off the team in 2024, Henley has the opportunity to earn a starting job over the course of the season. He is a recent convert to the linebacker position and there is still much room for growth. At the very least, he will be an immediate special teams contributor. Staley and Telesco both raved about his prowess in that phase of the game after picking him.
*4.125: Derius Davis - WR, TCU *
Another TCU receiver! This pick was definitely a surprise, as many people projected him to be a late day 3 pick. But the Chargers coaching staff said after the draft that they believed he was the best return man available, and that they wanted to draft a starter in the 4th round. Davis was indeed one of the best returners in the country at TCU, and also can add some juice on offense even if he ends up limited to a gadget role. Either way, here’s some killer speed for the Chargers offense.
5.156: Jordan McFadden - OL, Clemson
In the last few drafts, the Chargers have shown a lot of love for late round tackle-to-guard converts. Jamaree Salyer was the steal of the 2022 draft in the sixth round. McFadden played both tackle and guard in college on both sides of the line, and some scouts believe he may even be able to play some center. For the Chargers he will compete with Brenden Jaimes for the swing guard role, and maybe even push Foster Sarrell to be the swing tackle. Key depth for a position group that needed it.
6.200: Scott Matlock - DL, Boise State
Matlock is a solid run defender with some pass rush upside who will get to learn behind a strong trio of veteran starters. And with Austin Johnson and Otito Ogbonnia both rehabbing major knee injuries, he may end up seeing some decent playing time this season. I’m very intrigued by his upside, and Staley has a good track record of getting good play from late round DTs.
7.239: Max Duggan - QB, TCU
The Los Angeles Horned Frogs are ready to take the NFL by storm in 2023 (hopefully to face the Philadelphia Bulldogs in a championship rematch). The Chargers historically have carried three QBs on the active roster, and with only two signed going into the draft, it seemed like a strong possibility they would pick one. So here’s Max Duggan, who despite leading TCU to the Natty was generally not loved by scouts. He has a ton of athletic ability but the finer points of playing QB need to be worked on. There is absolutely potential to be a long term backup to Justin Herbert though, if he can beat out Easton Stick.
Notable UDFAs
Jerrod Clark - DL, Coastal Carolina: Most people expected Clark to be drafted, and the Chargers gave him a lot of money for a UDFA. I would not be surprised at all to see him make the roster as an additional run defender.
Cam Jones - CB, Ohio State: Another guy who could have been drafted, there are depth spots at corner up for grabs and Jones is an intriguing option.
Tiawan Mullen - CB, Indiana: Mullen used to have a pretty high draft stock but fell hard in the process. The Chargers are thin at slot corner and he could earn a role.
Mikel Jones - LB, Syracuse: There’s a wide open competition for ILB5 that will most likely be decided by special teams.

Roster Prediction

QB (3): Justin Herbert, Easton Stick, Max Duggan
RB (5): Austin Ekeler, Joshua Kelley, Isaiah Spiller, Larry Rountree, Zander Horvath
WR (5): Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Josh Palmer, Quentin Johnston, Derius Davis
TE (4): Gerald Everett, Donald Parham, Tre’ McKitty, Stone Smartt
OT (3): Rashawn Slater, Trey Pipkins, Foster Sarrell
OG (4): Zion Johnson, Jamaree Salyer, Brenden Jaimes, Jordan McFadden
C (2): Corey Linsley, Will Clapp
EDGE (4): Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, Chris Rumph
IDL (6): Sebastian Joseph-Day, Austin Johnson, Morgan Fox, Otito Ogbonnia, Scott Matlock, Jerrod Clark
LB (5): Kenneth Murray, Eric Kendricks, Daiyan Henley, Nick Niemann, Amen Ogbongbemiga
CB (5): Michael Davis, Asante Samuel Jr., JC Jackson, Ja’Sir Taylor, Deane Leonard
S (4): Derwin James, Alohi Gilman, JT Woods, Mark Webb
K (1): Cameron Dicker
P (1): JK Scott
LS (1): Josh Harris

Conclusion

Super Bowl or bust.

With about one more week until the 2023 VCBI, how about we give you a rundown of it.
This is a "virtual" tournament that takes the concept of a College Basketball Invitational, but for college baseball. I got this idea out of Quidster4040's Baseball NIT's. Games are simmed on Massey Ratings because i don't have a baseball game. (Maybe next year i'll get Super Mega Baseball 4).
The field has 16 teams, and 4 regionals. The winners of the 4 regionals go to the VCBI Series (basically formatted the same way as the College World Series). Since there's only 16 teams and not 64, there are no Super Regionals. Top top four regional hosts are who the NIBT Selection Committee announces as the first four out of the NIBT Tournament. This year, it was Elon, William & Mary, Stetson, and Utah Valley. The rest of the field was decided by me. Bids are determined by record and conference placement.
Here's the field:
​
Elon Regional:
#1 (1): Elon vs #4: North Florida
#2: Florida State vs #3: Gardner-Webb
​
Orem Regional:
#1 (4) Utah Valley vs #4: Little Rock
#2: Portland vs #3: Kansas
​
Williamsburg Regional:
#1 (2): William & Mary vs #4: Saint Louis
#2: Penn State vs #3: Bryant
​
DeLand Regional:
#1 (3): Stetson vs #4 Wagner
#2: Washington State vs #3 Memphis
​
LAST FOUR IN: Bryant, Memphis, Wagner, Saint Louis
FIRST FOUR OUT: Pittsburgh, Grambling State, Fairleigh Dickinson, UTRGV

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Reebok & Latin Music Icon Anuel AA Announce Official Partnership
Latin musician Anuel AA joined forced with Reebok at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 to release a handful of collaborations which include the Reebok Question Mid, Reebok Classic Leather, and more. Today Reebok has officially announced a long-term partnership with Mr. Real Hasta La Muerte across a range of product collections and special projects. Through innovative product design, original content creation and activations, the creative partnership will aim to enrich Reebok’s storytelling and connection with new audiences.
A trailblazing, Grammy-nominated artist hailing from Carolina, Puerto Rico, Emmanuel Gazmey Santiago, aka Anuel AA is a champion of Latin trap and hip hop. Anuel AA has become one of the most influential global artists of the past decade, with accolades spanning numerous Latin American Music Awards and multiple Billboard Hot 100 placements. The Latin music sensation is now making a new name for himself as a creative contributor and brand ambassador for Reebok.
“As a lifelong fan of Reebok, becoming part of the brand is a dream come true,” said Anuel AA. “I have long admired Reebok’s unique designs and iconic roster of collaborators who have never shied away from writing their own rules. It’s a special feeling to know that I’m considered a member of the team and that they not only believe in me but give me the space for unbridled creative expression. I am so honored to be a part of this brand’s legacy and help shape its next chapter.”
Be on the lookout for new Anuel AA x Reebok projects coming soon. BRRR!!!
via: Reebok

Hey TTT25, long time sub member using a throwaway so I don't get doxxed. I got into 3 out of the 7 ivies I applied to along with USC. Penn and Brown were my top choices and I officially decided to attend Penn. Here are my stats - DM me if you need any help!
Demographics:

• Indian, Female
• State school on the West Coast (2 years)
• No financial aid

Academics:
Major: CS + Psychology
GPA: 3.9 GPA HS: 3.75
ACT: 33 ACT
ECs:

• Created an app that has gained traction

Essays:
Personal statement:

• Wrote a story about my mobile app and how the idea came to me and how tech can be leveraged for good to impact entire communities

Why Transfer:

• Wrote that I wanted to attend a smaller college/work closer with professors

Others:

• Wrote about my heritage and how I paid for part of my education dancing at Indian weddings/events. Included how I was trying to keep traditions within our communities by teaching other girls how to dance (katak).
• I grew up in small town America and was bullied for the food I brought to lunch.

Overall:

• Tried to make my application very diverse in terms of things I was interested in and what I was doing to give back to my community. All of my essays were very different topically but had unifying themes.
• I put a strong emphasis on my reasons for transferring

Admissions Results:
Acceptances: Penn, Brown, Columbia, USC
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, MIT, Cornell, Stanford, Princeton, CMU

Hello! Crusader Exodus here putting out a plug for for the serial I'm writing currently set in the Parahumans universe:
The Chimera
Here's the synopsis, and I'll go into additional detail afterwards:

Morgan Rivera is a member of the Wards ENE, an organization for minors who wish to use their superpowers for good. She's a native to Brockton Bay, a somewhat infamous city in the New England states area, which is known for its fairly high density of capes on all sides: good, neutral,evil, governmental, corporate and independent. Growing up in Brockton Bay is a challenge for anyone, with the presence of Neo-Nazi superheros, cape-powered gangs, and murderous psychopaths both with and without powers. Joining the good guys seems like the logical thing to do: She goes to a good school, her family doesn't struggle with the poverty clutching the city, she's popular and the benefits are great. Life would be good, great even, if it weren't for one thorn in her side: her shapeshifting power. She's versatile, adaptive, intelligent, good-looking and pretty damn good with PR. If only she could beat anyone remotely dangerous and get herself off her number one position on the "Worst Hero N.A." list.

The story is set roughly about a year before the events of Worm. There's some familiar faces present in the start of the story, but there's also a good roster of all original heroes, villains and settings that will be introduced over time and will wind up being the more everyday faces than some of the usual go-to characters in the wormfic sphere. I've been writing it with the intention of the story running as a parallel to Worm & Ward, and for the most part, it will be following along canon. I fully admit that I'm not the best at writing WildBow's characters, but I try and do my homework. I make some pretty bold decisions in the first arc, and recognize that the story won't be for everyone. Morgan's relationship with her power is somewhat divergent from the relation that most capes have with their respective powers, but I'd like to think that it is not without precedent: there simply isn't many sentient powers that we get to see in the story.
Please read the AO3 tags. I keep them updated as the story progresses.

Things this story is:

• It's verbose. There's a lot of thinking, inner monologue and dialogue in the story. The action density picks up in later chapters, but it's nowhere near as action-packed as Worm is.
• The story deals with some tough topics and concepts, many of which are present and/or heavy in Worm: body autonomy, identity issues, gender issues, minors in uncomfortable situations & etc.
• Shapeshifting, transformation, body horror and the unique challenges that being a Changer cape present are all central themes.
• Potentially spoiler city. I do not intentionally spoil content in the story, but Morgan's exposure to characters, events, organizations and such is quite divergent from Worm & Taylor's experiences. I strongly suggest that if you care about Worm spoilers and have not finished reading it that you pause on reading this for now.
• Divergent from canon in areas: Morgan isn't going to go rescue a character and wind up altering their destiny for the fun of it. There will be Worm characters that probably aren't portrayed accurately, I'm bound to get dates and times wrong, and I can't be bothered to try and recreate some character's mannerisms that I find annoying. A good example of this would be that I'm not using a ton of SMS shorthand or trying to perfectly replicate PHO or other web mannerisms of characters as they are presented in Worm.

Things this story is not:

• Yet another Undersiders or simple OC insert. We begin in 2010, and, fingers crossed, will be moving through the twists and turns of Worm.
• A power fantasy fulfillment fic. Morgan has a power that is both powerful and versatile, and she will certainly get better and grow as a character, but I am a big proponent of there is always a bigger fish style storytelling.
• Laden with eroticism. Like Worm, it largely follows the format of fade to black for intimate scenes. It is rated and flagged as mature; I don't think it's possible to write setting accurate Worm and not encounter difficult, challenging or uncomfortable scenes and situations.
• For people who squick easily. Similar to Worm, there's scenes of intense graphic violence, blood & gore, death, body horror, mutilation & etc. This story is not torture or violence pornography, but these themes are a bit more prevalent here than they are in Worm.

I'm posting updates at least weekly, I have a pretty large chapter backlog to work through so posting will be faster than normal initially. I'd like to settle down and post at least a chapter or two a week in the future.
I love questions, comments, concerns, criticisms or just generally talking about the story and characters, so fire away!

Hey UK Law friends,
I've been lurking here for the course of a few days as I've been looking into possiblities about a future in law. I'm scheduled to take the LSAT this week (and in August) as I am also currently preparing to apply for law schools in the states. That being said, for a number of reasons, I am disillusioned by the state of things in the US as it pertains to law and the justice system and would STRONGLY prefer to live and practice in the UK.
Here's my background: - Mixed ethnicity (White/Cherokee-Native American) US citizen - Public Administration (BA) - 3.45 GPA (2.1 equivalent. Slight caveat to the GPA... it was significantly higher before I dropped out of the police academy. I was taking the course through my uni but left due to ethical concerns - this was considered an fail/incomplete). Non-ivy league. - English (MA) - 4.00 GPA (First equivalent). Non-ivy league. - Father, Father-in-Law both hold JDs from top 25 US Law school. - My wife works in tech. - I currently work for a best selling US sci-fi/fantasy author. I have no prior legal experience, but my skillset is well suited for law. - We ADORE the UK and have strong connections to it and see ourselves there long-term (and have both lived internationally a number of times prior to this - Saudi Arabia, Spain, Germany). My father was the manager of a premier league football club there for a time. I visited several times as a teen. We honeymooned there. The list goes on and on. - We are currently working on making sure our financials are in order for our next big steps in life; whether that be US law, UK law, or some other adventure; we do not yet know for certain!
I've been trying to break down the following things:
What is the best way for me to approach qualifying as a UK solicitor? In this vein I see a few paths:
1) I find and take a UK PGDL course in the country. 2) I take a PGDL course online. Online coursework in the US is often looked down upon as "lesser than". I don't see it that way. I like the innovative approach online learning can offer. Would this be a reasonable choice? Are these courses viewed in any sort of favorable light? 3) I take the BPP LLM+SQE1 course. Includes a PGDL. Lasts 12-16 months. While taking this course, I could attempt multiple vac schemes. This option could also include other unis that offer a similar program, but I haven't been able to find one that could open up the right time requirements I am looking for. 4) I take a step back, dig deep, and shoot for an LLB from an RG/Oxbridge school. If I could land this, it could add the prestige that my application may be missing as an international student. Additionally, it gives me time and sets me up to apply for an indefinite leave to remain (and who knows, maybe I become a UK citizen one day)! 5) I try and fulfill my QWE in the US as a paralegal, or other suitable position at a firm. Would an England/Wales solicitor be willing to sign that off as qualifying work? Would doing work as a paralegal in the US work against me in any way in UK firm applications? This would close the door, I believe, on the classic TC route for QWE. However, if I could land a paralegal role at a firm in the US that has offices in London, could this be an attractive alternative approach?
Applying for TCs:

• Would it be valuable to start applying now? Would my current qualifications/background stand out in any way?
• The big hurdle here, as far as my research has shown me, is the damned visa. It's a burden for an employer. I'm not looking for visa advice here, so I am hopefully not breaching any rules. I just want to address whether already being in the country as a student at the time I am applying for TC placements would make me a more attractive/competitive candidate?

Would any of you on the path to practicing law in the UK, be you students, TC holders, associates at firms (MC or otherwise) that might be willing to have a private chat? If so, please message me. And please share you thoughts in the comments!

Demographics: Male, Asian, low ranking state, pubic HS, my state is ranked among the worst for education.
Intended Major(s): Neuroscience
ACT/SAT/SAT II: 1530
UW/W GPA and Rank: 4.0UW/ 4.7W/ ~3/400
Coursework: AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores, etc
taken 6 aps so far: 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5 taking 4 aps next year. School only offers 14.
Awards:
First Place state neuroscience comp
Top 20 national neuro comp
PVSA gold
random volunteer award
random research related award
Extracurriculars: Include leadership & summer activities
Lab tech at state school, FULLY PAID , 400+ hours doing Alzheimer's research, no first authors pubs but have helped out in numerous publications for PI and grad students.
Created and co leader of club at school, sort of school body union pushing for changes throughout school.
-50 hours volunteering at neuro PCU
75+ volunteer hours at a local preschool helping manage, plan lessons, and teach lessons.
5.100+ hours volunteering at ER, doing regular volunteer things

1. 1 year varsity volleyball.
   
2. worked a fast food job one summer.
   

Essays/LORs/Other: Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.
Common app essays will be about changing my idea of from good grades, etc to to helping change my community connect it to working with children.
LOR 1, Chem teacher: 9/10
LOR 2, Bio teacher: 8/10
LOR 3, Counselor : 8/10
Schools: List of colleges, ED/EA/RD, etc.
Duke ED
EA Yale, Penn, JHU, Wash U,
RD UNC chapel hill, UMich, USF, UCSD, U Washington Seattle

It's been a roller coaster of hits and misses as we've tried to find "the missing piece" that helps us find playoff success. Bongi's improvement this year, Sang-Bins speed, and our lower-cost starters/impact subs make me think we're making better use of our roster budget this year, but we also can't seem to end the cycle of disappointment. The 2023 Base Salaries and the 2023 Transfer Fees show a few highlights, lowlights, and surprises as compared players' on-field performance:

• We (over) paid 1.8M euro for Garcia
• We (under) pay Rosales, Taylor, and Valentin about $100K per year
• We (over) paid Henry $400K per year
• We (somehow) sold Hunou for 1.5M euro
• Arriaga, Dunbar, and Kallman all make about $165K (despite wildly different roles and contributions)

With the reported Amarilla departure and the Pukki arrival, how would you grade the club's roster management this year?
View Poll

I am an incoming freshman this year and I am so excited to be at Penn State Brandywine! I am doing the 2+2 plan and wanting to make more friends. Is there any way I can connect with other students? Thank you!

Howdy to the people of CFB! Welcome to my ranking of the 2022 uniforms for TCU Football! Sorry for the lengthy delay. It’s been a very busy few weeks. And even though my Wildcats got horse kicked by TCU in the Big 12 Baseball Tourney, I’m still so hyped to check out the Horned Frogs suits from this last football season. I intend on ranking each Big XII team and new additions (BYU, Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati) soon. If you are interested in my thoughts regarding the Big XII uniform season, check out my 2022 Uniform Awards post and Big XII Uniform Tracker 2022: Season-in-Review post. If you want to see more rankings, I just reviewed WVU a while ago, plus KU and OSU earlier. But for now, let’s see the Frogs uniforms from 2022, featuring some facts, stats, and history.
As always, feel free to disagree with me or tell me if my rankings hit home. I’m interested in hearing what you think, or in seeing how y’all would rearrange the rankings! TCU is a great purple bro, I have some associates that went to TCU, and in general, really respected their program this past year.
Season Gallery Link: https://imgur.com/a/4aLKooA
I’m u/matte_purple, and let's 3,2,1 go!
11. Purple/White/White Week 9 @ WVU (W 41-31) and Week 4 @ SMU (W 42-34)
Link: https://imgur.com/CTvWhrT
Okay, first things first: I love the color purple. Part of that is my alma mater, of course, but it’s also just a great look. Plus, there’s only about two dozen D-1 schools that use purple as a main color. The perceived rarity makes it a treat to look at on the field. Second, TCU has some of my favorite uniforms from this past year. That means that despite this look and others being lower on the list, I really like most of them. You could make the case that many of these should be full-time.
Anyways, I think the reason why TCU’s icy white look is so beloved is because of the “Black Panther-esque" collar. It not only looks cool but adds more purple than a normal uniform would have. Because of this, the purple helmet (which wasn’t my favorite helmet from this season anyway) kind of throws off the balance. I don’t doubt this will be a controversial take.
10. Black/White/Purple Week 11 @ UT (W 17-10)
Link: https://imgur.com/W108RdO
Anyone who has kept up with my tracker knows I have a general disdain for tri-color looks. This tends to be more pronounced with warmer colors, but I still just can’t get over it with purple and black. There is a distinct lack of flow and symmetry that I just can’t get past. I love the helmet, which was first announced in Week 5, but I just don’t think it matches up with the rest of the uniform. More about the helmet, they released a helmet identical to this (except for a purple horned frog instead of silver) in 2016 that was worn as recently as Game 11 of 2021. The silver is a FAR better option, and it really pops. I called these “Sooner Slayer” helmets after such a great win, and they worked pretty good on the Longhorns too.
9. Purple/Purple/Black Week 10 vs TTU (W 34-24)
Link: https://imgur.com/AeLbp8s
And just like that, we have already made it to some spectacular uniforms. While this is the same helmet worn in spot #11, it is instantly uplifted by those purple shirts. These tops only showed up 3 times this season, which seems like a pretty small number for a very purple-centric school. The fact of the matter is, however, TCU, like Johnny Cash, looks great in black. Plus, the purple helmet is arguably my least favorite helmet the Horned Frogs wore this season. Black was just the better color this season. These are sensational, but the upper echelon is yet to come.
8. Black/White/Black Week 6 @ KU (W 38-31) and CFP vs UGA (L 65-7)
Link: https://imgur.com/xWKuT5I
I’ll refrain from talking about the CFP game too much, but TCU should still be very proud of that game, regardless of the score. They should also be proud of those dope-ass “Oreo” uniforms. The purple on the collar, facemask, and font provides a welcome tinge of color to a still very dark look. And honestly, it looks fantastic against that big bold red. I was delighted to see it used against KU when they wore their red uniforms, and was thoroughly excited when I saw it would be used against UGA as well. There are some better away uniforms here, though. Let’s get into it.
7. Purple/White/Purple Week 1 @ CU (W 38-13)
Link: https://imgur.com/eE0OqRI
Oh darling, these are a treat. With black being such a staple of this season, the purple is a stunner. It’s still not my favorite mostly purple look on this list, but it was featured on my 2022 Uniform Awards post as one of my top OOC matchups uniform-wise. TCU’s darker shade of purple contrasted CU’s old gold nicely, and similar to the #9 and #11 spots, that helmet is nice. But it’s no coincidence the next few looks (sans one) feature a white or black helmet. We’re about to get to the top!
6. White/Purple/White Week 2 vs Tarleton (W 59-17)
Link: https://imgur.com/BTVIUXT
Similar to the last combo, this is a sharp contrast to the darker palette. And while I like the change and idea behind this look, there’s just a few changes that would really make this elite. First, white pants are EXCELLENT. They are professional, slick, and simple. Perfect when combined with the color purple. The reason the black “Sooner Slayer” helmet works so well is because of the silver logo blending with the silver font of most of the uniforms. In this combo, the silver font really confuses the rest of the “feng shui.” It doesn’t help that they also played against another purple team. The purple will lead to some top tier outfits later on, but we have now officially passed into the top half!
5. Purple/Gray/Gray Week 7 vs OK-State (W 43-40)
Link: https://imgur.com/FKa0Hnm Everybody has an opinion on these. Me personally, I’ve come around to them. I know this may totally invalidate my rankings, but these are AWESOME! There are 14 (17 in some circles) species of horned lizards that live in desert areas from Central America up through the western US. But eight species (including P. cornutum, the true inspiration for TCU’s mascot) can contract the muscles around their eyes, cutting off blood flow back to the heart. This builds pressure until the blood shoots from the eyes in a wildly metal defensive technique. The red is a wonderful tertiary color to purple. Honestly, if the recruits love them, and the equipment staff has the balls to release something like this, they should be applauded, good or bad. My taste is certainly debatable, but enough people seem to agree that they didn’t make a big fuss over these being my 3rd best alternate in my 2022 Uniform Awards. What do you think? Damn, I want one of those helmets bad.
4. Black/Black/Black Week 8 vs K-State (W 38-28)
Link: https://imgur.com/k5uMGq4
Nothing screams power like the blackout game. This was the only true blackout game on TCU’s docket. They even painted the logo at the 50 and the endzones black for this special showdown. I love the continuity of the silver on the helmet flowing through into the font, the special black facemask in lieu of the standard purple, it all leads to a pretty menacing uniform. But it just doesn’t have quite enough purple. I think it would have been pretty rad to try and lean into the lack of color more as well, maybe going with a charcoal and silver collar to really sell the blackout. But hey, I evidently like it enough to put it at just about the halfway mark!
3. White/White/White Week 12 @ BU (W 29-28) and vs Michigan (W 51-45)
Link: https://imgur.com/jJpeFDj
Going from a blackout to an icy white look, TCU knows how to get it done. Sheesh, these are gorgeous. As we have clearly discovered from the rest of the Horned Frog’s repertoire, the collar sells it. I went back to the 2019 announcement to get some info on these Nike Vapor Untouchable refresh and discovered that the geometric shapes on the collar actually dates back to the 2000 uniform, when Gary Patterson was coaching the great LaDainian Tomlinson. Neat stuff. There isn’t a ton to say about these besides the fact they were worn in two of TCU’s best games this season and look spectacular. The purple in the numbers, collar, logo, and facemask really accentuate what would be a pretty normal whiteout look.
2. Black/Purple/Purple Week 13 vs ISU (W 62-14)
Link: https://imgur.com/BK3ztvS
According to TCU’s main site, students in the late 1890’s chose new school colors: “Purple for royalty, white for a clean game.” And boy howdy, these guys are royal. The mostly purple look is only the third time this season that more than two of the three uniform pieces were purple. That automatically makes these special, but they also flow the best out of the other options. It makes perfect sense that the top spot is the inverse of this.
1. Black/Black/Purple Week 14 vs K-State (L 31-28 OT) and Week 5 vs OU (W 55-24)
Link: https://imgur.com/hBoyahV
Okay okay, I know your first inclination is to say that this uniform was obviously picked by a K-State fan, I can honestly say that this is a top look for a reason. I mean have you seen this thing? I went back to the release video for these bad boy helmets and man, I don’t think anyone had anything bad to say about these. The “Sooner Slayer” lid was released to wide praise, and ended up getting worn in 7 games (with one instance replacing a purple facemask with black). Each piece of the uniform features a small amount of purple, and the silver numbers complement the oversized Horned Frog logo in silver. The black and purple balance well while looking aggressive, punctuated by that sharp silver that shines nice under the lights. It helps that K-State also wore mostly white and silver, making TCU look even better, but the look obviously worked versus OU as well. What else is there to say about these? To end, I thought I’d relay how the horned frog was supposedly chosen as TCU’s mascot.
Older Texas and New Mexico natives will tell you about the days when you would find them everywhere, but the widespread use of pesticides and invasion of the harmful fire ants from South America has depleted their main food source, the harvester ant. The desert lizard species has been endangered since 1977. The reptile became TCU's mascot after its appearance first on the school's yearbook publication. The book was named "The Horned Frog" in 1887 and was selected over the other option "The Cactus." Gradually, the name was accepted into athletics, and sports teams began calling themselves Horned Frogs as well. According to myth, the name was selected by the yearbook because of the plentiful number of lizards that would bask in the sun on the football field. TCU has also had a goat named Samuel and a dog named Blackie as unofficial mascots in the 1930s and 1940s. Let’s just say I like that lizard a little bit more than the past options.
How about a round of applause for Head of Football Equipment Jason Jones? The Decatur, TX native has done an awesome job, and preparing the equipment for the blitzkrieg of Big XII Champ game, then Fiesta bowl, then CFP Champ game all while traveling must be a huge headache. Great job to the whole TCU football staff for a great season, let’s see how the next one goes!
Well, I think that does it! I hope you enjoyed my 2022 season TCU Football uniform rankings. What a year for the Horned Frogs. I’ll be slowly releasing more rankings for each of the Big XII teams as the offseason goes along. Again, feel free to comment or message me with any suggestions or changes to the rankings! What do you think of the “Bloody Threads” TCU wears? Did your favorite look seem properly placed? Let me and all of CFB know! Have yourself a great day, and remember, "Fight 'em until hell freezes over. Then fight 'em on the ice!"

This is a long post. I included a summary at the end
How much does strength of schedule matter to winning the national championship? This has been a big topic when it comes to LSU. I imagine a lot of coaches are the thinking the same thing: Is it better to have a weak strength of schedule so the players are more rested? What if teams are taking too hard of schedules causing them to be too fatigued by tournament start? This is to see if there's any merit to the claim.

Methodology

I will look at the past 2 tournaments, post covid era. I will use Warren Nolan rankings as basis of SOS. Ideally several years should be used, but there's no record before 2021. I'm not using 2021's dataset because teams had to schedule completely different than they normally would because of covid. The teams who made the final four will be used. If the team is in the bold, that means they had a top strength of schedule going into the tournament. I believe top 10 is a reasonable assumption as a difficult schedule.
​
2022 Tournament Final Four:

• South Carolina (#1 SOS)
• Stanford (#2 SOS)
• Uconn (#5 SOS)
• Louisville (#17 SOS)

2023 Tournament Final Four

• South Carolina (#4 SOS)
• LSU (#55 SOS)
• Virginia Tech (#18 SOS)
• Iowa (#6 SOS)

Results

In 2022, 3/4 final four teams had a top 10 Strength of Schedule. One of them won the national championship. In 2023 2/4 teams had a top 10 strength of schedule, but they did not win the national championship game. It should be noted in the past 2 years, LSU is the only team to make the final four with a below top 20 strength of schedule. Did they crack some secret formula? More on that later.

Teams that were hurt by high strength of schedule

• Maryland: There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that a high strength of schedule screwed Maryland over. It caused them to be over seeded and underseeded at the same time. They gave them a 2 seed because their wins against their tough schedule, but their losses made them be the lowest #2 seed, forcing them to play South Carolina. Considering how much problems they gave scar before getting into foul trouble, they definitely would’ve been a problem in the other divisions.
• Indiana: They looked completely exhausted in the Big 10 tournament, and ultimately underperformed. Then they lose to Miami at home in the round of 32. There's a strong possibility weaker schedule would've helped them out.

Of course, there a lot of teams with high strength of schedule that didn't do anything. But that had more to do with roster strength than schedule strength. For example, Iowa State had the 4th strength of schedule, but by no metric are they top 10 team in 2023.

Teams helped by a strength of schedule

• Uconn - They historically have the some of toughest schedules - I think the results speak for themselves
• Stanford - yes they choked in the R32. But their SOS allowed them to steal a #1 seed, they just didn't take advantage. It also doesn't erase the fact they won in 2021 and made the final 4 final in 2022
• South Carolina - 3 straight final 4 appearances and one NC in the last 3 years. Mind you their final four losses were decided in the final 4 seconds in the game.
• Iowa - I would very hard to argue that Iowa beats South Carolina without getting battle tested in several prior games leading up to the final 4 matchup.
• Virginia Tech - the toughness of the ACC definitely got them ready.

What about LSU?

LSU had one of the weakest ranked schedules out of any team in the tournament, and won the championship. How can you possibly say having a high SOS is good? The answer is simple. The SEC was much stronger than most of the community and the committee thought. The SEC's tournament success if proof of that. It's not a simple as play bad teams = win. Kims 2019 national title run included battles against several ranked teams in the regular season Kim had a bad schedule this year because she had a bunch of new players and they needed time to chemistry build. If you look at the past champions for the past several years, they all played tough teams prior to the tournament.

FINAL CONCLUSION

Having a tougher strength of schedule generally helps, but a tough OOS isn't important if your conference is strong. However, there's a caveat: the team needs to actually be good enough to play those tough teams. A team like Oregon isn't going to benefit as much from a hard schedule as much as Uconn for example. It's easy to say LSU won because of weak schedule but in hindsight a lot of SEC teams can be argued as top 25.

Hi Friends - My name is Marissa and I’m actively seeking ghostwriting opportunities. I do the work, you get the credit 😉
Fiction is my niche. I specialize in Romance (dark and contemporary), mystery/suspense, and YA Fantasy.
I’ve also written news articles (during college). I’m a Penn State Graduate with a B.A. in journalism. Now I’m 34 raising two precious boys and three dogs.
Feel free to reach out and we can discuss the details of your project/ideas. I’m passionate about my work and you’ll find me easy and entertaining to work with.

I hunted monsters for an international anomaly research center
Part 2
I decided instead of telling you about the next monster I’d planned I will tell you all what I did last week. I’d heard about this anomaly before, but that was because it was contained. Not by our organization but by one we work closely with. They’d been keeping it well in their Puerto Rico containment facility, but it managed to escape during a power outage. They’d insisted on trying to capture it themselves for a couple of days before they finally let me come in. Normally I’d be mad that they couldn’t catch it, but the Scape Ore Swamp Lizard Man is no walk in the park.
Standing 10 feet long, 8 feet tall, and pure muscle this thing is practically a walking tank. It has an almost inch-thick hide of small black snake-like scales. It stands on two legs but can switch to four when needed. It has a large head with a long muzzle full of sharp venomous teeth. Its face is always contorted into a scowl adding to its frightful appearance. Its back is covered in large spiked scutes which start at the head to the tip of the tail. On its two large four-fingered hands are two-inch-long nasty claws.
They deployed me the same way as always, and I landed with a light thud on the jungle floor after I was unlatched from the parachute and harness. I looked out at the darkening jungle around me. My search would be far from easy. I knew that, as I needed more information about where it was. However, after getting my sniper railgun ready I began my pursuit.
My pursuit was aimless and tiring. I had no direction, and the heat was slowly burning me alive. The jungle was full of loud squawking birds. At one point I looked up and saw in the evening light a small group of bats flying overhead.
I walked slowly and steadily scanning the quickly darkening ground for something, but as I suspected there was nothing in sight. No sigh from the lizardman. I walked on and on until finally, I found something. They were large three-toed tracks that almost looked like ones a T-rex would’ve made. My heart leaped in joy and excitement and I began following the footprints. They were easy to follow as the heavy feet had sunk deep into the wet muddy ground of the jungle. They followed no path and almost walked the way I had been walking aimlessly. Until like me, it seemed to have found something to follow.
Its path led in an almost perfect straight line, having trampled almost anything that wasn’t a tree out of its way. I noticed as I followed its tracks large claw marks in the trees. There were three and they were long and deep.
I followed for a good long while still tired but my determination had increased 10 fold now that there was a path to follow. As I walked along I began to hear something off in the distance. It was so faint it was hard to discern. At first, I thought it might be some sort of birdcall, but then it clicked in my head. It screamed. I started running as fast as I could through the jungle tripping at one point but pulling myself back up.
Eventually, I found myself running into a field. What I saw in that field I’ll never forget. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve never been bothered by dead humans before. In my youth when I’d go to funerals seeing the body never disturbed me. I’d be sure but the body itself never made me uncomfortable. And after I got this job I got completely desensitized, but something about dead animals. I could never handle seeing a dead animal. I don’t know exactly why. I guess it’s because it brought me back to my childhood.
My dad was born in Mexico in 1979, but he and his family moved to Puerto Rico 3 years later. My dad lived in Puerto Rico during the horrifying but short reign of the Chupacabra. When I was little he would tell me stories about it. Fields of livestock just on the ground dead wholly drained of blood. Those stories actually started me down the route of where I am today, but I don’t think I ever really comprehended what that looked like until I saw the massacre in the field I was now in.
It almost seemed as though a sheet of blood and muscle and meat had fallen over the field. It was absolutely everywhere and dispersed throughout this massacre I could see small bits of bones. Vertebrae there, or a rib over there. It almost looked like they’d all exploded from the inside at the same time, but I know that is not what happened. I saw the footprints in the ground, I saw the claw marks in the bones. I knew the only thing that could’ve done this was the horrible beast I was hunting.
I walked around through the massacre for a while in a sort of shock. Then I finally snapped out of it and looked around again. I saw a house separated only by a now broken wood fence to the field. I instantly knew where the screams had come from and what had likely happened. I ran toward the house and a story began to unfold as I got closer. The father or man of the house must’ve come outside to defend his family because I found his body ripped apart just outside the front door.
I stepped over the body and walked into the tiny house. It was absolutely destroyed. The walls were torn apart, furniture was left shattered on the ground, and there was lots of blood. I looked over and saw a partial body on the living room floor. I grimaced when I realized the poor thing had once been a big dog. Now it was nothing but torn meat and bones. One step at a time I made my way to the back of the house down a cramped hallway. In the bedrooms were the destroyed bodies of a woman and three children. The only peace I had was that these people died quickly. I noticed at the end of the hall was a shattered glass backdoor. I stepped through it, almost slipping on the shards of glass still on the floor, and walked into the backyard. It was a tiny cleared area surrounded by trees. The ground was littered with small dog toys and in the corner was a chicken coop. The roof of it had been ripped off and shattered. I peeked in through the hole and saw lots of blood-covered eggs. It looked like, unlike the other animals, the lizardman had actually stopped eating all the chickens. Maybe all of that butchering worked up an appetite. I thought.
After calling in for the investigation crew I continued on my trail. The sun had completely set and navigated the dense jungle even with my bright headlight showing the way. Not long into it rain began pouring which completely covered the tracks. In frustration, I turned around and made my way back to the farm.
Suddenly I heard something from the treetops. It sounded almost like a faint growl and before I could do anything else the large figure of the Lizardman jumped from the trees right in front of me. It immediately slashed at my chest and left arm tearing them open causing blood to start pouring through. I let out a scream of agony and fell to the ground.
With my good right arm, I reached for a gadget on my belt and pressed it. It instantly began spraying a strong wonderful smell of flowers into the air. If there’s one thing the lizardman cannot tolerate it is sweet solid smells. It roared in anger and then sprinted in the other direction. I lay there blood seeping from my wounds wondering if I was about to die. I’m not old, only 26, but for my line of work, I’m ancient; about half the guys die on their first or second mission. If you survive the first two you will probably last much longer, but even then people die within two years meanwhile I’ve been here for 5 years.
I lay there with my eyes slowly growing heavier and heavier and then they closed and I was consumed by the darkness.
I woke up in a bright white room. The light was so blinding I kept blinking but still could hardly see anything. I noticed a woman standing in the room who was like the room wearing all white.
“Am I dead?” I sputtered out in my half-dazed confusion.
The woman let out a slight chuckle: “No you’re not dead. You’re in the medical wing of our Puerto Rican location.” She explained.
As she was talking everything seemed to clear around me. It was a small hospital room and the woman was short in a doctor's coat with dark hair tied in a bun.
“Who’s we?” I asked.
“USDAC,” She said, busy with something at her table.
I knew USDAC they were the United States Department of Anomaly Containment. They were the ones the Lizardman had escaped from.
“Where’s my organization? Why didn’t they send the team out to get me?” I asked angrily.
“I’m not quite sure. They never even told us you went down. Our investigation team was looking around the jungle when they found you.” She said with a genuinely confused look on her face.
I scanned the room again and saw on a chair next to my bed all my gear laid out nicely. I reached for my walkie, grabbed it, and pulled it off of my belt.
“This is Trigger to dispatch, do you copy?” I asked through the device.
“We copy, you aren’t dead?” The receiver asked, obviously very confused.
“Not yet. Why didn’t you send the team out to get me?” I asked more confused than angry at this point.
“They said you were gone. They said the lizardman had got you.” He said.
“Well, he hasn’t got me yet,” I said defiantly then hung up.
“Mam, I’m going to go finish what I started, but I am going to need a few things.”
I suppose a few things were a bit of an understatement. I had them get the best tracker they could find out here, which they quickly got to do. I got a whole new set of equipment more specialized for the task at hand I filed a hasty but fierce resignation letter to my organization siting leaving me for dead as the primary cause. They never even got back to me and needless to say, I was pissed. I knew the moment USDAC found out I was no longer part of the organization they’d send me away, so I decided I’d better be quick with this operation.
I pulled the small Uhaul full of supplies down the dirt road. Next to me sat Santiago, an older Native American man with a long black salt and pepper braided ponytail. He’d worked with both my organization and USDAC for a number of years and had much experience in tracking beasties like this one.
“So, where exactly are we going?” I asked looking at him.
“Well we’re going to the most recent attack and I’m hoping to get there by noon so if you could step on it that would be lovely.” He said sounding rather harsh.
I nodded and pushed slightly more on the accelerator. I would’ve started flying down this road but this truck was not built for dirt roads so I had to do my best.
As I drove Santiago busied himself with a map. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he put small red x’s on certain spots. I assumed those were the previous attacks. Occasionally he would look up from his work to make sure I was still going in the right direction and finally, after he directed me to turn onto a smaller more unkept dirt road we arrived at the farm.
It was eerily similar to the other. The house was destroyed and the field was full of massacred goats. Although the main difference was this one was swarming with USDAC investigation teams. Four big black vans were parked in front of the home, almost blocking my view. I stopped the truck and me and Santiago both stepped out. We walked over to the house and one of the investigators met us at the door.
He was tall with a weathered face and a strong chin that made him look like an actor. He had nicely done silver hair, stubble, and hazel eyes. A slight grin appeared on his face when he saw us.
“You two must be the hunters, I’m Detective Slade.” He greeted, sticking his hand out for a shake.
I took his hand first. “Hello Slade, I’m Agent Biel,” I said shaking his hand with Santiago quickly doing the same.
After we finished with formalities Slade led us around the house and into the field behind it. It felt like deja vu looking at the field. It told almost the exact same story mine did. Dozens of torn-apart goats and a small now empty chicken coop. I looked at all of it in disgust. The animals had no time to defend themselves they were just destroyed.
Santiago began scanning the mess on the ground looking for tracks to follow. Meanwhile, I stood talking with Slade.
“This is the eighth attack in four days, it looks like it’s making two attacks every night.” Slade explained, “So far it has killed 37 people, 650 goats, 242 cows, and has eaten almost 300 chickens.”
“Have you noticed a pattern?” I asked.
“Besides attacking at night not really. It usually attacks the fields first, but even that isn’t always the case.”
“I found something.” Santiago interrupted.
He stood by the edge of the field that met the jungle. I saw the large tracks of the beast leading into the jungle.

**Me and Santiago lugged the heavy equipment through the jungle we were tired and hot, but we continued knowing that the lizardman was likely close by. The sun had begun to sink low in the sky as we marched on. I was surprised at the path of the lizardman it had literally walked a straight line for miles upon miles. Only ever turning for a large tree or a hill. We were hoping we would get to the things nest before it went on its next night excursion but we weren’t extremely hopeful. I could only hope that the wretched thing was still wherever it rests.** **Suddenly their hike was interrupted by a loud call. I looked above to see a large tropical bird eyeing me from a branch. It was brightly colored vaguely reminding me of a parrot. Oddly I gave the bird a nod and then caught up to Santiago who’d ignored the bird and kept walking.** **Eventually, the sun set and we both had to turn our lights on. My body was beginning to grow heavy and I could tell it was the same for Santiago, but right as we seemed to the point of giving up we arrived at the edge of a lake. It was small and had short sandy beaches separating it from the jungle. Perfectly outlined in the sand were the feet of the lizardman. It had clear as day walked straight into the lake. We both looked at each other. He was clearly as unsure about the situation as I was. We stood there contemplating when I noticed something.** **The lake had a few logs floating in it but one didn’t look like the other. It was far too symmetrical. I scanned my light over it and realized the texture I’d thought of as bark was actually scaled. Then suddenly my light scanned over to the head and its bright red eyes opened wide. It let out a roar and started swimming toward us. I dropped my bag and hurriedly put my remaining gear on. Santiago dropped his and took aim with his rifle.** **BANG! The shot echoed through the quiet air and I saw it clearly hit the thing right in the center of the forehead. The bullet tinked off like it had hit thick steel. The Lizardman swam closer and as the water got shallower it transitioned from swimming to sprinting. The second it took a step on shore I struck. I slammed one of my gauntlet-bearing fists into the thing's face. There was a loud audible crack as it fell over. It quickly stood back up and slashed at my thick steel armor. It did nothing but scrape off some paint and I pulled my fist back and punched it again. It stumbled again and before it could recover I punched it again and again.** **Immediately after the punch it lunged forward its jaws latching on to either side of my helmet. I heard the sounds of it and felt the metal beginning to bend in on itself. I kicked the thing where I knew it would hurt. It unlatched from my face and I uppercut it right in the lower jaw. It fell into the water letting out a whimper-type noise as it did.** **I stood over the beast having misjudged it as defeated. In a second wind, it grabbed me by the leg and threw me into a tree. I heard my suit crack and crunch having been badly damaged. The lizardman started over at me threateningly and in a quick burst of speed it charged over to me.** **BANG! BANG! BANG! His first shot struck the side of its head getting its attention, and as it turned the second bullet struck it directly in its left eye. The third and final bullet struck its nose harmlessly. It roar in pain and charged towards Santiago, but I jumped up and grabbed it by the tail. I held it still for a moment before it did something that caught me off, guard. It turned around and bit off its own tail. It then continued charging toward Santiago. His bullets struck it again and again but its hide was far too strong. Quickly I dropped the tail and pulled out a canister pulling the pin and throwing it. A wonderful smell erupted from it as it soared through the air and landed right in front of Santiago.** **The Lizardman backed away from him dizzy from the overpowering smell. I pulled myself off the ground and charged towards it. I jumped on top of the thing pinning it to the ground.** **“Meds!” I yelled to him as the Lizardman was already struggling.** **Santiago reached into its mouth that I held open and shoved the tranquilizer down its throat. After another minute of shaking and struggling it finally blacked out. I pulled out my walkie and called in dispatch.** **“The lizard is down,” I said simply.** **Within minutes they had a dozen helicopters out there and had the creature properly restrained.** **I walked over to the man who appeared to be in charge. He was average height with blonde hair combed to the side, aviator glasses, and a nice gray suit. “I’d recommend you step up the security on that thing,” I suggested.** **He turned around and looked at me for a moment, almost studying me.** 

“We will be.” He said finally. “I am personally seeing that it is brought to our most secure location.”
“Good, good, I don’t want to ever deal with that thing again.” I chuckled.
He looked closer at me after I said that and it seemed to click in his head who I was.
“Agent Biel, I’m very happy to see you. I got word of your resignation at UARF.” He said sounding oddly sad.
I prepared for the worst as I was technically not supposed to be here.
“Yeah, I wasn’t exactly happy with being left for dead,” I grumbled.
“Well sir I promise if you take my offer you won’t be left for dead,” He said smiling now.
I paused for a moment unsure what he meant. Then it seemed to click he was hiring me and I took his hand and shook it vigorously.
“I do accept your offer, sir,” I yelled excitedly.
“You can call me Dr.Barclay,” He said politely shaking my hand back.
So that is how I was hired here at USDAC and I’ve already discovered that they do things quite differently here but that is a story for another day. Biel out.

I hunted monsters for an international anomaly research center
Part 2
I decided instead of telling you about the next monster I’d planned I will tell you all what I did last week. I’d heard about this anomaly before, but that was because it was contained. Not by our organization but by one we work closely with. They’d been keeping it well in their Puerto Rico containment facility, but it managed to escape during a power outage. They’d insisted on trying to capture it themselves for a couple of days before they finally let me come in. Normally I’d be mad that they couldn’t catch it, but the Scape Ore Swamp Lizard Man is no walk in the park.
Standing 10 feet long, 8 feet tall, and pure muscle this thing is practically a walking tank. It has an almost inch-thick hide of small black snake-like scales. It stands on two legs but can switch to four when needed. It has a large head with a long muzzle full of sharp venomous teeth. Its face is always contorted into a scowl adding to its frightful appearance. Its back is covered in large spiked scutes which start at the head to the tip of the tail. On its two large four-fingered hands are two-inch-long nasty claws.
They deployed me the same way as always, and I landed with a light thud on the jungle floor after I was unlatched from the parachute and harness. I looked out at the darkening jungle around me. My search would be far from easy. I knew that, as I needed more information about where it was. However, after getting my sniper railgun ready I began my pursuit.
My pursuit was aimless and tiring. I had no direction, and the heat was slowly burning me alive. The jungle was full of loud squawking birds. At one point I looked up and saw in the evening light a small group of bats flying overhead.
I walked slowly and steadily scanning the quickly darkening ground for something, but as I suspected there was nothing in sight. No sigh from the lizardman. I walked on and on until finally, I found something. They were large three-toed tracks that almost looked like ones a T-rex would’ve made. My heart leaped in joy and excitement and I began following the footprints. They were easy to follow as the heavy feet had sunk deep into the wet muddy ground of the jungle. They followed no path and almost walked the way I had been walking aimlessly. Until like me, it seemed to have found something to follow.
Its path led in an almost perfect straight line, having trampled almost anything that wasn’t a tree out of its way. I noticed as I followed its tracks large claw marks in the trees. There were three and they were long and deep.
I followed for a good long while still tired but my determination had increased 10 fold now that there was a path to follow. As I walked along I began to hear something off in the distance. It was so faint it was hard to discern. At first, I thought it might be some sort of birdcall, but then it clicked in my head. It screamed. I started running as fast as I could through the jungle tripping at one point but pulling myself back up.
Eventually, I found myself running into a field. What I saw in that field I’ll never forget. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve never been bothered by dead humans before. In my youth when I’d go to funerals seeing the body never disturbed me. I’d be sure but the body itself never made me uncomfortable. And after I got this job I got completely desensitized, but something about dead animals. I could never handle seeing a dead animal. I don’t know exactly why. I guess it’s because it brought me back to my childhood.
My dad was born in Mexico in 1979, but he and his family moved to Puerto Rico 3 years later. My dad lived in Puerto Rico during the horrifying but short reign of the Chupacabra. When I was little he would tell me stories about it. Fields of livestock just on the ground dead wholly drained of blood. Those stories actually started me down the route of where I am today, but I don’t think I ever really comprehended what that looked like until I saw the massacre in the field I was now in.
It almost seemed as though a sheet of blood and muscle and meat had fallen over the field. It was absolutely everywhere and dispersed throughout this massacre I could see small bits of bones. Vertebrae there, or a rib over there. It almost looked like they’d all exploded from the inside at the same time, but I know that is not what happened. I saw the footprints in the ground, I saw the claw marks in the bones. I knew the only thing that could’ve done this was the horrible beast I was hunting.
I walked around through the massacre for a while in a sort of shock. Then I finally snapped out of it and looked around again. I saw a house separated only by a now broken wood fence to the field. I instantly knew where the screams had come from and what had likely happened. I ran toward the house and a story began to unfold as I got closer. The father or man of the house must’ve come outside to defend his family because I found his body ripped apart just outside the front door.
I stepped over the body and walked into the tiny house. It was absolutely destroyed. The walls were torn apart, furniture was left shattered on the ground, and there was lots of blood. I looked over and saw a partial body on the living room floor. I grimaced when I realized the poor thing had once been a big dog. Now it was nothing but torn meat and bones. One step at a time I made my way to the back of the house down a cramped hallway. In the bedrooms were the destroyed bodies of a woman and three children. The only peace I had was that these people died quickly. I noticed at the end of the hall was a shattered glass backdoor. I stepped through it, almost slipping on the shards of glass still on the floor, and walked into the backyard. It was a tiny cleared area surrounded by trees. The ground was littered with small dog toys and in the corner was a chicken coop. The roof of it had been ripped off and shattered. I peeked in through the hole and saw lots of blood-covered eggs. It looked like, unlike the other animals, the lizardman had actually stopped eating all the chickens. Maybe all of that butchering worked up an appetite. I thought.
After calling in for the investigation crew I continued on my trail. The sun had completely set and navigated the dense jungle even with my bright headlight showing the way. Not long into it rain began pouring which completely covered the tracks. In frustration, I turned around and made my way back to the farm.
Suddenly I heard something from the treetops. It sounded almost like a faint growl and before I could do anything else the large figure of the Lizardman jumped from the trees right in front of me. It immediately slashed at my chest and left arm tearing them open causing blood to start pouring through. I let out a scream of agony and fell to the ground.
With my good right arm, I reached for a gadget on my belt and pressed it. It instantly began spraying a strong wonderful smell of flowers into the air. If there’s one thing the lizardman cannot tolerate it is sweet solid smells. It roared in anger and then sprinted in the other direction. I lay there blood seeping from my wounds wondering if I was about to die. I’m not old, only 26, but for my line of work, I’m ancient; about half the guys die on their first or second mission. If you survive the first two you will probably last much longer, but even then people die within two years meanwhile I’ve been here for 5 years.
I lay there with my eyes slowly growing heavier and heavier and then they closed and I was consumed by the darkness.
I woke up in a bright white room. The light was so blinding I kept blinking but still could hardly see anything. I noticed a woman standing in the room who was like the room wearing all white.
“Am I dead?” I sputtered out in my half-dazed confusion.
The woman let out a slight chuckle: “No you’re not dead. You’re in the medical wing of our Puerto Rican location.” She explained.
As she was talking everything seemed to clear around me. It was a small hospital room and the woman was short in a doctor's coat with dark hair tied in a bun.
“Who’s we?” I asked.
“USDAC,” She said, busy with something at her table.
I knew USDAC they were the United States Department of Anomaly Containment. They were the ones the Lizardman had escaped from.
“Where’s my organization? Why didn’t they send the team out to get me?” I asked angrily.
“I’m not quite sure. They never even told us you went down. Our investigation team was looking around the jungle when they found you.” She said with a genuinely confused look on her face.
I scanned the room again and saw on a chair next to my bed all my gear laid out nicely. I reached for my walkie, grabbed it, and pulled it off of my belt.
“This is Trigger to dispatch, do you copy?” I asked through the device.
“We copy, you aren’t dead?” The receiver asked, obviously very confused.
“Not yet. Why didn’t you send the team out to get me?” I asked more confused than angry at this point.
“They said you were gone. They said the lizardman had got you.” He said.
“Well, he hasn’t got me yet,” I said defiantly then hung up.
“Mam, I’m going to go finish what I started, but I am going to need a few things.”
I suppose a few things were a bit of an understatement. I had them get the best tracker they could find out here, which they quickly got to do. I got a whole new set of equipment more specialized for the task at hand I filed a hasty but fierce resignation letter to my organization siting leaving me for dead as the primary cause. They never even got back to me and needless to say, I was pissed. I knew the moment USDAC found out I was no longer part of the organization they’d send me away, so I decided I’d better be quick with this operation.
I pulled the small Uhaul full of supplies down the dirt road. Next to me sat Santiago, an older Native American man with a long black salt and pepper braided ponytail. He’d worked with both my organization and USDAC for a number of years and had much experience in tracking beasties like this one.
“So, where exactly are we going?” I asked looking at him.
“Well we’re going to the most recent attack and I’m hoping to get there by noon so if you could step on it that would be lovely.” He said sounding rather harsh.
I nodded and pushed slightly more on the accelerator. I would’ve started flying down this road but this truck was not built for dirt roads so I had to do my best.
As I drove Santiago busied himself with a map. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he put small red x’s on certain spots. I assumed those were the previous attacks. Occasionally he would look up from his work to make sure I was still going in the right direction and finally, after he directed me to turn onto a smaller more unkept dirt road we arrived at the farm.
It was eerily similar to the other. The house was destroyed and the field was full of massacred goats. Although the main difference was this one was swarming with USDAC investigation teams. Four big black vans were parked in front of the home, almost blocking my view. I stopped the truck and me and Santiago both stepped out. We walked over to the house and one of the investigators met us at the door.
He was tall with a weathered face and a strong chin that made him look like an actor. He had nicely done silver hair, stubble, and hazel eyes. A slight grin appeared on his face when he saw us.
“You two must be the hunters, I’m Detective Slade.” He greeted, sticking his hand out for a shake.
I took his hand first. “Hello Slade, I’m Agent Biel,” I said shaking his hand with Santiago quickly doing the same.
After we finished with formalities Slade led us around the house and into the field behind it. It felt like deja vu looking at the field. It told almost the exact same story mine did. Dozens of torn-apart goats and a small now empty chicken coop. I looked at all of it in disgust. The animals had no time to defend themselves they were just destroyed.
Santiago began scanning the mess on the ground looking for tracks to follow. Meanwhile, I stood talking with Slade.
“This is the eighth attack in four days, it looks like it’s making two attacks every night.” Slade explained, “So far it has killed 37 people, 650 goats, 242 cows, and has eaten almost 300 chickens.”
“Have you noticed a pattern?” I asked.
“Besides attacking at night not really. It usually attacks the fields first, but even that isn’t always the case.”
“I found something.” Santiago interrupted.
He stood by the edge of the field that met the jungle. I saw the large tracks of the beast leading into the jungle.
Me and Santiago lugged the heavy equipment through the jungle we were tired and hot, but we continued knowing that the lizardman was likely close by. The sun had begun to sink low in the sky as we marched on. I was surprised at the path of the lizardman it had literally walked a straight line for miles upon miles. Only ever turning for a large tree or a hill. We were hoping we would get to the things nest before it went on its next night excursion but we weren’t extremely hopeful. I could only hope that the wretched thing was still wherever it rests.
Suddenly their hike was interrupted by a loud call. I looked above to see a large tropical bird eyeing me from a branch. It was brightly colored vaguely reminding me of a parrot. Oddly I gave the bird a nod and then caught up to Santiago who’d ignored the bird and kept walking.
Eventually, the sun set and we both had to turn our lights on. My body was beginning to grow heavy and I could tell it was the same for Santiago, but right as we seemed to the point of giving up we arrived at the edge of a lake. It was small and had short sandy beaches separating it from the jungle. Perfectly outlined in the sand were the feet of the lizardman. It had clear as day walked straight into the lake. We both looked at each other. He was clearly as unsure about the situation as I was. We stood there contemplating when I noticed something.
The lake had a few logs floating in it but one didn’t look like the other. It was far too symmetrical. I scanned my light over it and realized the texture I’d thought of as bark was actually scaled. Then suddenly my light scanned over to the head and its bright red eyes opened wide. It let out a roar and started swimming toward us. I dropped my bag and hurriedly put my remaining gear on. Santiago dropped his and took aim with his rifle.
BANG! The shot echoed through the quiet air and I saw it clearly hit the thing right in the center of the forehead. The bullet tinked off like it had hit thick steel. The Lizardman swam closer and as the water got shallower it transitioned from swimming to sprinting. The second it took a step on shore I struck. I slammed one of my gauntlet-bearing fists into the thing's face. There was a loud audible crack as it fell over. It quickly stood back up and slashed at my thick steel armor. It did nothing but scrape off some paint and I pulled my fist back and punched it again. It stumbled again and before it could recover I punched it again and again.
Immediately after the punch it lunged forward its jaws latching on to either side of my helmet. I heard the sounds of it and felt the metal beginning to bend in on itself. I kicked the thing where I knew it would hurt. It unlatched from my face and I uppercut it right in the lower jaw. It fell into the water letting out a whimper-type noise as it did.
I stood over the beast having misjudged it as defeated. In a second wind, it grabbed me by the leg and threw me into a tree. I heard my suit crack and crunch having been badly damaged. The lizardman started over at me threateningly and in a quick burst of speed it charged over to me.
BANG! BANG! BANG! His first shot struck the side of its head getting its attention, and as it turned the second bullet struck it directly in its left eye. The third and final bullet struck its nose harmlessly. It roar in pain and charged towards Santiago, but I jumped up and grabbed it by the tail. I held it still for a moment before it did something that caught me off, guard. It turned around and bit off its own tail. It then continued charging toward Santiago. His bullets struck it again and again but its hide was far too strong. Quickly I dropped the tail and pulled out a canister pulling the pin and throwing it. A wonderful smell erupted from it as it soared through the air and landed right in front of Santiago.
The Lizardman backed away from him dizzy from the overpowering smell. I pulled myself off the ground and charged towards it. I jumped on top of the thing pinning it to the ground.
“Meds!” I yelled to him as the Lizardman was already struggling.
Santiago reached into its mouth that I held open and shoved the tranquilizer down its throat. After another minute of shaking and struggling it finally blacked out. I pulled out my walkie and called in dispatch.
“The lizard is down,” I said simply.
Within minutes they had a dozen helicopters out there and had the creature properly restrained.
I walked over to the man who appeared to be in charge. He was average height with blonde hair combed to the side, aviator glasses, and a nice gray suit. “I’d recommend you step up the security on that thing,” I suggested.
He turned around and looked at me for a moment, almost studying me.
“We will be.” He said finally. “I am personally seeing that it is brought to our most secure location.”
“Good, good, I don’t want to ever deal with that thing again.” I chuckled.
He looked closer at me after I said that and it seemed to click in his head who I was.
“Agent Biel, I’m very happy to see you. I got word of your resignation at UARF.” He said sounding oddly sad.
I prepared for the worst as I was technically not supposed to be here.
“Yeah, I wasn’t exactly happy with being left for dead,” I grumbled.
“Well sir I promise if you take my offer you won’t be left for dead,” He said smiling now.
I paused for a moment unsure what he meant. Then it seemed to click he was hiring me and I took his hand and shook it vigorously.
“I do accept your offer, sir,” I yelled excitedly.
“You can call me Dr.Barclay,” He said politely shaking my hand back.
So that is how I was hired here at USDAC and I’ve already discovered that they do things quite differently here but that is a story for another day. Biel out.

Conference play has begun! With the ACC getting the day off, the other five power conferences look to get off to a hot start. A couple of upsets happened, but for the most part teams asserted their dominance. How did the fun begin? Let's check it out.
*****
ACC ALL-STAR SERIES: Charter 118, South 97. One of the great traditions of ACC play on NIBL is the All-Star Series, three games throughout the regular season that showcase the best the ACC has to offer. The start proved to be just what the fans wanted as the back half of the double-header with Charlotte's team.
Michael Jordan scored 33 points as the Charter Stars routed the South Stars 118-97 in a game with an all-star atmosphere.
"It's always fun to play these games," Wake Forest representative Chris Paul said after the game. "You get to mix it up with players of other teams, and you get to play a lot of offense. The atmosphere in the ACC is always fun."
Rick Barry and Stephon Marbury led Team South with 21 points each.
*****
#8 Indiana 84, #19 Illinois 83, OT. A lot of speculation on the Indiana sideline boiled down to who would step up in the clutch. We found someone.
Isiah Thomas hit a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in the overtime period as the Hoosiers (11-2, 1-0) knocked off the Fighting Illini (8-5, 0-1) to open Big Ten play for both teams.
"He's our leader," swingman Tom Van Arsdale said after the game. "He calls the shots, and when he calls his own number, we have trust in him to pull it off. That's what happened tonight."
It looked like an upset was on the offering when Meyers Leonard's dunk over Walt Bellamy gave Illinois an 83-81 lead with 11.5 seconds to go. But Thomas brought the ball up-court, got himself around Deron Williams, and stuck the dagger to give the Hoosier faithful something to cheer.
Bellamy led the Hoosiers with 20 points; Red Kerr had 17 for the Illini.
#7 Michigan 87, #7 Michigan State 72. In football, Michigan famously refers to Michigan State as little brother. This won't help.
Chris Webber took over on Kevin Willis underneath, putting up 35 points to lead the Wolverines (10-3, 1-0) over the Spartans (9-4, 0-1) in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
"He had everything going today," guard Jalen Rose said of Webber. "I never doubted him; I could just keep giving him the ball and he'd keep scoring. That's what you want."
"When the other team's best player has a career day, there's not much you can do," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said in the press conference. "This was our chance to make something happen, and it didn't work. We have to recover now to stay in the Big Ten race."
Zach Randolph led Michigan State with 16 points.
#16 Texas 76, #17 Houston 67. Kevin Durant and Clyde Drexler were going to get their points for their respective teams; it would all come down to who else could step up. LaMarcus Aldridge had something to say about that.
Aldridge used his strength inside to muscle past the more slender Houston inside guys, picking up 13 points and 17 rebounds to help the Longhorns (10-3, 1-0) defeat the Cougars (9-4, 0-1) in the Big XII opener for both teams.
"Marc was able to use his size underneath, and that allowed us to hit our shots, and that's how we're gonna win these games," Kevin Durant (19 points) said after the game. "He really won the game for us. We were all in for the ride."
While Hakeem Olajuwon still had a regular day -- 14 points and 10 rebounds -- Aldridge kept Elvin Hayes from contributing, holding him to 4 rebounds for the day. A frustrated Hayes refused to talk to reporters after the game.
#2 Kentucky 92, #25 Auburn 75. Auburn wants to make the NIBL tournament. Kentucky wants to win it. The difference in goals reflects their talent, which was on display here.
Anthony Davis had 16 points and 7 blocks as the Wildcats (12-1, 1-0) bumped off the Tigers (8-5, 0-1) in the conference opener for both teams.
"We knew we couldn't take Auburn lightly; they have a player [Charles Barkley] who can get 20 and 20 on any night," Adolph Rupp told reporters. "So we had to go 100% out there, and that's exactly what we did.
Kentucky went 12 deep in their conference opener, with 9 of the players getting points and 4 getting double-figures. Davis' 16 led the way, but Devin Booker had 15, Jamal Mashburn had 13, and Dan Issel had 11.
Barkley did lead the Tigers with 21 points, but was held to 9 rebounds on the night.
*****
Georgetown 86, #18 DePaul 69. It was a matchup of big men underneath, with George Mikan taking on Patrick Ewing Sr. However, Georgetown had more size, and they used it to their advantage.
Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, and Ewing combined for 51 points and 38 rebounds as the Hoyas (9-4, 1-0) upset the Blue Demons (8-5, 0-1) in the Big East opener for both teams.
"We work from the inside out when we're on our game," Hoyas coach John Thompson II said after the game. "We knew they had a couple good bigs, but they couldn't match our volume. So we focused on getting 1s and 2s tonight."
DePaul looked to help from their outside shooters, but couldn't get any. Wilson Chandler shot 3-13 from beyond the arc, which still meant he led the team with 14 points. Mikan, who found himself double-teamed underneath most of the game, ended on 9 points and 8 rebounds.
"It wasn't my day," Mikan said after the game. "We have things to think about."
Minnesota 86, #13 Maryland 84, OT. Minnesota had a decision to make: how do you guard Len Bias? They went with length, and it worked when they needed it the most.
Kris Humphries blocked Bias' layup attempt with 4.8 seconds left in the extra session as the Golden Gophers (9-4, 1-0) upset the Terrapins (9-4, 0-1) to open Big Ten play for both teams.
"I had a chance to maintain my position when I saw Bias at the three-point line get the ball," Humphries said about the final play. "I knew Archie [Clark] could help over if Lenny spotted up, but I wanted to make sure he didn't send it to a double OT, and I had the position and got all ball."
It was a frustrating end for Bias, who led all scorers with 23 points.
"I thought we had a chance to win this one," Bias said after the game. "Things didn't go our way."
Mychal Thompson Sr led the Gophers with 18 points.
*****
HOW THE TOP 25 FARED

1. UCLA 90, Stanford 60
2. Kentucky 92, 25. Auburn 75
3. North Carolina did not play
4. Kansas 99, Iowa State 62
5. Duke did not play
6. Michigan State 74, 7. Michigan 87
7. Michigan 87, 6. Michigan State 74
8. Indiana 84, 19. Illinois 83, OT
9. Notre Dame did not play
10. Arizona 77, Oregon 75
11. Southern Cal 88, California 52
12. Ohio State 78, Wisconsin 57
13. Maryland 84, Minnesota 86, OT
14. Syracuse did not play
15. Connecticut 80, Providence 52
16. Texas 76, 17. Houston 67
17. Houston 67, 16. Texas 76
18. DePaul 69, Georgetown 86
19. Illinois 83, 8. Indiana 84, OT
20. LSU 83, Mississippi State 53
21. Cincinnati 100, Texas Tech 68
22. Alabama 97, Vanderbilt 73
23. Arkansas 90, Tennessee 76
24. NC State did not play
25. Auburn 75, 2. Kentucky 92