InvaderRam wrote:

https://mobile.twitter.com/ChristeeAtwood/status/754786544305643520

Christee Atwood ‏@ChristeeAtwood
The words of BR Police officer killed today. Please listen to him.

========

Invader…thanks for posting that.

It’s a sad, terrible, yet also tragically heartening testimony to what these times are.

I expanded this fwiw

What we know about the Baton Rouge shooting
A man carrying a rifle outside a Baton Rouge convenience store shot six police officers on July 17, killing three. Here’s what we know so far.

Amy Ellis Nutt, Matt Zapotosky and Mark Berman/The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/3-police-officers-killed-3-wounded-in-baton-rouge/2016/07/17/3734a3a6-4c2f-11e6-aa14-e0c1087f7583_story.html

A lone gunman killed three law enforcement officers and wounded three others in Baton Rouge on Sunday morning, less than two weeks after the death of an African American man at the hands of Baton Rouge police.

The shootings occurred when police responded to a 911 call that a man dressed in black and armed with what appeared to be an ­assault-style rifle was walking near a shopping plaza about a mile from police headquarters. The deaths shocked a nation already on edge over recent killings by police and the slayings of five police officers in Dallas by a lone gunman. The run of violence that began July 5 in Baton Rouge has now left 10 dead, including eight law enforcement officers, as well as two residents killed by police.

Two city police officers and one sheriff’s deputy were fatally wounded, and another sheriff’s deputy was critically injured, Col. Michael Edmonson, the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, said at a news conference.

The gunman, who was shot and killed during the exchange of gunfire, was later identified as Gavin Long, an African American resident of Kansas City, Mo., who turned 29 on Sunday and was in Baton Rouge celebrating his birthday, according to relatives. In the spring of 2012, Long was named to the dean’s list at the University of Alabama, which he attended for one semester, university officials said.

Long was identified in media reports confirmed by his military record as a Marine who achieved the rank of sergeant and had been deployed to Iraq before leaving service in August, 2010. Under a pseudonym, Long also made videos posted on YouTube, the most recent of which derided demonstrations like those after the shooting by Baton Rouge police of Alton Sterling two weeks ago, and advocated violence instead.

With the circumstances of the shootings unexplained Sunday night, a community already numbed found itself searching for new words to describe its horror and despair.

“Stop this killing. Stop this killing. Stop this killing,” said Veda Washington-Abusaleh, the aunt of Alton Sterling, the 37-year-old man killed by Baton Rouge police on July 5.

“That’s how this all started, with bloodshed. We don’t want no more bloodshed. . . . Because at the end of the day, when these people call these families and they tell them that their daddies and their mommies not coming home no more, I know how they feel, because I got the same phone call,” she said, breaking down in tears during an interview Sunday by a Baton Rouge TV station.

Within minutes of the 911 call, a barrage of gunfire was heard from the vicinity of Airline and Old Hammond highways in East Baton Rouge, a commercial area dottedwith convenience stores, gas stations and discount clothing shops.

Louisiana is an open-carry state, where no permits are required to buy or carry firearms.

Baton Rouge has been besieged in recent years by racial tension between its predominantly black residents and predominately white police officers. Over the past two weeks, protesters marched almost daily over the same streets that police quickly barricaded Sunday morning.

One of the dead officers was Montrell Jackson, 32, an African American, married and with a baby. Although his name had not yet been released by authorities Sunday evening, multiple people, including relatives, confirmed he was among those killed.

The father of Matthew Gerald, a white officer, also confirmed Sunday that his 41-year-old married son, the father of two daughters, was another police officer killed.

Before joining the Baton Rouge Police Department last year, Gerald served in both the Marines and the Army, according to Ryan D. Cabral, a friend who served with him in Iraq.

“Matt was the kind of guy that you knew immediately when he entered the room,” Cabral said. “Whether it was the energy he carried with him or that Cajun accent he had . . . maybe it was the Marine in him.”

The third fatality was identified by the local newspaper, the Advocate, as Brad Garafola, 45, who served with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. He was working extra duty at the B-Quik convenience store on Airline Highway early Sunday morning, according to his wife, Tonja, and was headed home to begin vacation when he was gunned down.

“Everybody on this street depended on him,” Tonja Garafola said.

Jackson’s sister, Jocelyn, was attending Sunday church when she learned that her little brother was among the three officers killed. Her pastor had just asked the congregation to send prayers to her family.

“I didn’t want to break down in church, but it was just something I couldn’t hold,” said Jackson, 49, who felt the weight of the news rush over her. “He was a wonderful person. A wonderful person.”

A cousin of Long’s, who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity because he feared for his job, said Long was quiet, smart and had recently written a book about his travels around the world. The man said that Long, as far as he knew, had not expressed any particular outrage over the shootings of young black men by police.

“I can’t see my cousin doing nothing like that,” he said. “Right now, I’m at a loss for words.”

Long served five years in the Marine Corps as a data network specialist, from August 2005 to August 2010. He left active duty as a sergeant. Records released by the Marine Corps on Sunday showed that he deployed once to Iraq from June 2008 to January 2009. He did not experience direct ground combat. He was assigned to units in Miramar, Calif., and Okinawa, Japan, during his military career.

In the hours after the shooting, police warned people living in the area of the gun battle to stay inside as they sought two other potential suspects. By the afternoon, dozens of law enforcement and emergency vehicles were on the scene, and police helicopters hovered overhead. Agents for the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also called to the scene, according to Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, who said in a statement that “there is no place in the United States for such appalling violence.” President Obama as well as other government and law enforcement officials strongly condemned the shooting.

“It’s just very senseless and tragic,” said Chris Nassif, president of the Louisiana Union of Police, a statewide association of municipal police departments. “You’re seeing law enforcement targeted for doing their jobs.”

Nassif and colleagues from around the state had traveled to Baton Rouge during the protests that roiled the city last week.

“They seemed to have everything under control, and then this happens,” he said. “It just takes the breath out of you.”

Sunday’s gun battle occurred in a subdivision of Baton Rouge known as Tara, about five miles from where Sterling was killed. Protesters have gathered there nightly.

Just 24 hours after Sterling was shot, Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African American, was shot to death during a traffic stop in St. Paul, Minn.

Then, on July 7, during a peaceful protest of those deaths, four policemen and a transit officer were killed by a lone gunman in Dallas.

Across the country, police have been on heightened alert, with many towns and cities mandating that officers not work their beats alone, and residents in places such as East Baton Rouge afraid to spend time outside their homes.

It was a sunny, breezy morning in Baton Rouge when shots were heard around 8:40 a.m. Police reported “officers down” at 8:44, according to Edmonson, the Louisiana State Police superintendent. Minutes later, the alleged gunman was also dead.

One Tara neighborhood woman, who asked that her name not be used, was playing tennis with her husband and two children when she first heard the gunfire.

“We have been in the house so much because of all of this going on, so we wanted to be outside,” she said. “I feel trapped in our own home. . . . I thought we would be safe here because we are close to a police station.”

The three deaths Sunday brought the total number of officers killed in the line of duty to 30 this year — up from about 16 at this point last year. The average mid-year total, according to FBI data, is about 25.

At an annual gathering of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives in Washington, an educational conference attended by police chiefs around the country, the mood was heavy with the Baton Rouge news. This weekend was the organization’s 40th anniversary celebration.

“It felt like a punch in the gut,” said Vera Bumpers, chief of police for the Houston Metro Police Department. “It resonated with everybody. The room was just like a hush and a rasp, like ‘not again.’ ”

It was a sentiment shared by Wanda Y. Dunham, the chief of police for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.

“Here we go again,” she recalled thinking. “Some people are still thinking about what happened in Dallas.” She added: “I don’t want this to be the new normal. So we have to start talking to the community before these things happen.”

President Obama asked the nation to refrain from “overheated” political discourse on the eve of the Republican and Democratic conventions.

“Regardless of race, political party or profession . . . everyone right now, focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further,” he said. “We need to temper our words and open our hearts — all of us.”

Black activists also expressed outrage at the Baton Rouge police deaths.

“We’re all grieving. We’re still grieving the loss of Alton Sterling. We don’t value any life more than any other life,” said Ada Goodly, an attorney and activist with the National Lawyers Guild in Baton Rouge who had been involved in the recent protests.

Jocelyn Jackson said she understands the anger behind the Black Lives Matter movement but added that “God gives nobody the right to kill and take another person’s life. . . . It’s coming to the point where no lives matter,” she said, “whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or whatever.”

InvaderRam wrote:

https://mobile.twitter.com/ChristeeAtwood/status/754786544305643520

Christee Atwood ‏@ChristeeAtwood
The words of BR Police officer killed today. Please listen to him.

note: this article is partly critical, which is okay with me, even if I don’t always agree

==

How Season 6 made ‘Game of Thrones’ dumber, but more gorgeous than ever

By Will Nicol —

link: http://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/game-of-thrones-season-6-review/#ixzz4Ehnfho3R
Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook

Note: this article discusses plot details from the show Game of Thrones as well as the Song of Ice and Fire novels.

There is a certain cruelty, intentional or not, in titling the season finale of Game of Thrones’ sixth season The Winds of Winter. It is, after all, the working title for the next entry in George RR Martin’s series of novels. Readers have waited five years since the release of the last novel, and for those who started with the first book, A Game of Thrones, way back in 1996, watching as the television adaptation reveals scenes and details 20 years in the making can be bittersweet. In using The Winds of Winter as title for their season finale, showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss have planted their flag in Martin’s story.

In the end, how would the show perform, no longer guided by the books? At times, season 6 is a narrative that embraces the worst of television, relying on twists and drawn out mysteries to keep audiences watching and talking. However, season 6 also reaches new cinematic heights, putting together some of the most well-composed scenes in television history. Below is how, unguided, Game of Thrones is worse, and better than it has ever been.

Season 6 lacks suspense, preferring shock and awe

Martin’s novels have often been praised for subverting traditional fantasy narratives, and this praise translated to the early seasons of Game of Thrones. Many fantasy series follow a traditional hero’s journey, emphasizing physical deeds and a black and white morality, but this show was about politics, not heroism. Rather than large battles and flashy set pieces, early GoT examined the political and social structures of its fantasy world, and the people trying to navigate those structures. Few characters in GoT fit squarely into the role of hero or villain, and the morally gray, complicated narrative produced tension: viewers would wonder whose plans will work, whose will fail?

Unexpected eruptions of violence may surprise the audience, but they lack the brutal catharsis of earlier seasons.
Ned Stark’s role in the first season exemplifies the series’ ideals. A stoic man of honor, Ned tries to reform the corrupt politics of King’s Landing. In any other fantasy novel or series, he would probably discover villains and bring them to justice. But in Game of Thrones, the audience is made aware very early of what is going on in King’s Landing. We are shown that Queen Cersei and her brother are lovers, and thus, while Ned investigates the truth about Prince Joffrey’s parentage, the revelation is not a surprise. Rather than a shocking reveal that Joffrey is the product of incest, Ned’s story creates tension, as the audience can see that he is swimming with sharks even when he does not.

Contrast season 1’s slowly drawn noose with the guillotine that is season 6. Game of Thrones has always had its share of “shocking” moments (Ned’s execution, the Red Wedding), but those moments were typically the result of long build-ups, as characters make mistake after mistake until death seems the only natural consequence. In season 6, however, death comes at a moment’s notice, and while unexpected eruptions of violence may surprise the audience, they lack the brutal catharsis of earlier seasons.

The first episode of season 6 offers clear example of the show’s new priorities: the coup in Dorne. In the novels, Dorne is a hotbed of rebellion, as Prince Doran secretly works to arrange an alliance with the Targaryens (both Daenarys and Aegon, who is so far absent from the show) with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the Lannisters. Doran is playing a long game, and although his nieces, the Sand Snakes, criticize what they perceive as inaction, he explains that the grass that hides the viper is as important as the viper itself.

game of thrones season review
game of thrones season review

In the show, Doran seems not to have any plans; if he does, the audience will never know. The Red Woman features a brief check-in with Dorne, in which the Sand Snakes, led by Oberyn’s lover Ellaria, assassinate Doran and his son and assume control of Dorne. It’s a shocking moment for a few reasons. First, the Sand Snakes are upset that Doran has not avenged their father, so it seems odd that they would choose to wipe out the rest of Oberyn’s family. Second, there is no blowback for the coup; Doran’s guards, apparently disgusted by his weakness, simply watch as he is murdered. Dorne remains out of sight for most of the season, and when the show finally returns to it in the finale, Ellaria seems to be sitting comfortably, despite being a usurper with no legal or genealogical claim to the throne. The only-slightly-bloody revolution in Dorne is shocking not only as an event, but for what it says about the show’s sensibilities: the machinations of earlier seasons have given way to sudden, violent clearings of the deck.
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The northern storyline is typically heroic, and boring

Perhaps nowhere is the show’s watered-down approach to narrative more apparent than in the North. While the novels are not as far along in this story, they have set up groundwork for the eventual clash between Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton. In A Dance with Dragons, Martin sets up a conspiracy in the North, with Lord Wyman Manderly plotting against the Boltons. Manderly even kills a couple of Freys and, while visiting the Boltons and the Freys in Winterfell, serves his hosts a pie made from the Frey meat, a plot given to Arya out-of-nowhere in the show.

The novels left off with Jon lying dead, and season 6 picks up immediately afterward, resurrecting Jon, reuniting him with Sansa, and setting them off on the path to fight Ramsay, who possesses both their home and their younger brother, Rickon, who came to Ramsay courtesy of Smalljon Umber, one of the northern lords. Given Umber’s disrespect of Ramsay throughout the scene — he refuses to swear an oath of fealty, and even accuses Ramsay (correctly) of murdering his own father — viewers familiar with the show might be tempted to believe this is the show’s version of the northern conspiracy, with Umber using Rickon to bait Ramsay into trusting him. It would be a rather shortsighted way to rebel, handing over the legitimate heir to Winterfell to the murderous usurper, but perhaps fitting for the hotheaded Umber.

Ultimately though, there is no rebellion in the North. Jon and Sansa roam the lands, recruiting a few reluctant lords, while the rest of the North either sides with Ramsay or refuses to join the conflict. The Starks and Boltons ultimate face off in the climactic Battle of the Bastards, and while it is a wonderfully shot episode of television — more on that later — it is a generic, good-versus-evil narrative.

Early in season 6, Roose Bolton warns his son Ramsay to curb his violent tendencies, saying “If you acquire a reputation as a mad dog, you’ll be treated as a mad dog.” It’s the savvy advice that no viewer would ever expect Ramsay to follow, but the odd thing is how inconsequential it proves to be for his character. Despite murdering his father, mother-in-law, and baby brother, Ramsay’s supporters aren’t particularly bothered.

game of thrones season review
game of thrones season review

game of thrones season review
game of thrones season review

He is finally brought low not through his own misrule, but through a conventional underdog battle. After Ramsay’s forces back Jon’s into a corner, Littlefinger and his Vale cavalry show up in the eleventh hour to break the Bolton formation. Jon and his Wildling troops break through the gates of Winterfell, Jon pummels Ramsay, and then Sansa feeds him to his own dogs.

Ramsay’s death is poetic — he liked feeding other people to his dogs — and it is viscerally satisfying to see him beaten and killed in such an ironic manner, but it’s a strangely conventional way for the villain to end. Although it would have made thematic sense for Ramsay’s brutal rule to breed rebellion in his ranks, his men never rise up against him; he simply loses to the cavalry arriving. The Starks rule Winterfell once more, and Jon is proclaimed King of the North, but the way in which their story unfolds feels at odds with the larger themes of Game of Thrones.

Visually, season 6 was a masterpiece

Although season 6 streamlines and in some ways dulls the narrative, the show has also elevated its visual aspects. Although the golden age of television has largely been considered a writer’s medium, shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad have also shown the value a director can bring, incorporating cinematography and staging worthy of arthouse films. Game of Thrones’ direction has been competent if unremarkable in the past, but several moments in season 6 show off a fantastic visual flair, with the Battle of the Bastards in particular pushing television into the realm of the blockbuster film.

The Red Woman’s mirror scene plays with audience perceptions

The first episode of season 6, The Red Woman, finishes on a striking image. As Melisandre, a priestess of R’hllor, struggles with her faith after her visions fail to come true, she undresses. This is not a new thing for the show or for her character; Game of Thrones is notorious for putting female nudity on full display, and Melisandre has been one of the show’s most forward exhibitionists. This scene ends up far from titillating, however. Melisandre removes her ever-present choker, the camera focuses on a blurry mirror, and when it cuts back to Melisandre, she is an old woman, the camera pulling back to reveal her naked form.

The wordless scene takes a character who had long been an object of desire and makes her gnarled, unattractive. For a show so often accused of servicing fans, it is a bold move. In a season where the show very pointedly tried to change its image vis-a-vis women through plotting, putting characters like Sansa, Cersei, and Ellaria in positions of power, Melisandre’s transformation was the show embracing the visual nature of the medium, playing with the audience’s perceptions in a way the written word could not do.
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The most amazing battle in TV history?

One of the things that set A Song of Ice and Fire apart from traditional fantasy novels is that Martin generally does not depict battles. As in Shakespeare, the armed conflicts happen “off-stage,” and the reader learns of them through characters’ reactions. The physical act of a battle is less important than its impact on people. In its early seasons, Game of Thrones hewed close to the novels, only depicting the major battles, such as the Battle of Blackwater Bay. These events are typically spectacular, often taking up the bulk of the episodes they appear in. These earlier battles, while well-staged, were also shot conventionally. Season 6’s climactic bloodbath, The Battle of the Bastards, reaches a level of style that previous fight scenes in the show did not, and in doing so, helps drive home the story’s grim view of war.

Game of Thrones has shown that a television series can compare with the most finely crafted epics.
The battle begins in earnest after Ramsay shoots Rickon, prompting Jon to furiously charge Ramsay’s front line, his own cavalry following behind him. Jon’s horse goes down as Ramsay’s horsemen charge at him, and he draws his sword, one man against an entire wave. This prelude is scored with thudding drums, and Jon’s lone stand gets a heroic swelling of strings, all of which is typical of fantasy battle scenes, in Game of Thrones or otherwise.

But the cavalry crash into each other like tides pouring over Jon, killing the music as well as each other. Suddenly the only sounds are diegetic, steel singing as weapons connect with armor. The camera clings to Jon as he fights stumbles through the fight, dodging a horseman’s charge, swinging at a footman to his left.

The tight framing creates a sense of claustrophobia, and emphasizes Jon’s smallness on the battlefield, as violence churns in the background.

The remainder of the battle maintains this brutally intimate look, as men bleed and Jon is briefly buried under a pile of corpses, the camera offering his dazed, first-person perspective as soldiers trample over him.

game of thrones season reviewgame of thrones season reviewgame of thrones season review
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The washed-out colors and shaky-cam direction drew comparisons to the Omaha Beach scene in Saving Private Ryan, and it served as a startling reminder of how far television has come. Shows like Mad Men proved that television could achieve the elegant composition and staging of classic cinema; with Battle of the Bastards, Game of Thrones has shown that a television series can compare with the most finely crafted epics.

Love it or hate it, Game of Thrones remains a juggernaut

Even if the rest of Game of Thrones’ narrative continues to drift toward straightforward fantasy conventions, rather than the politics and character-driven drama that characterized the novels and the earlier seasons, the series still shows remarkable signs of life. The show still draws in huge numbers of viewers, with The Winds of Winter setting a new record for the show. From an artistic standpoint, the show is more and more taking advantage of its medium, enlisting talented directors who bring an auteur’s touch to the production.

Fantasy could very soon be the dominant genre in television, and Game of Thrones is the template. Hopefully future projects, whether original works or adaptations, will draw on the show’s better decisions while avoiding its mistakes.

Analysis: Standing down was the smart move by Tom Brady

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/patriots/the_blitz/2016/07/analysis_standing_down_was_the_smart_move_by_tom_brady

Why now? Why stand down?

That’s the question many Patriots are probably asking today after Tom Brady announced he would abandon his legal challenge to the four-game suspension handed down to him by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Perhaps Brady was tired of fighting. Perhaps he didn’t think he could win at the U.S. Supreme Court.

But ultimately, it was probably that Brady didn’t want the possibility of the suspension being reinstated at some point during the season that drove his decision to withdraw from the appeal.

Consider the statement from the NFL Players Association that it may yet continue the appeal — without Brady at the head of the case — at the Supreme Court. The decision for Brady to stand down, the union said, “was made in the interest of certainty and planning for Tom prior to the New England Patriots season.”

Translation: Brady didn’t want a ‘no’ from the Supreme Court to lead to him serving the suspension in December, January or … gulp … February.

Brady might have been able to get the Supreme Court to stay his suspension while it considered whether to hear his case. That would have allowed him to play in Week 1 and beyond.

But if the court then refused to hear the case, Brady’s suspension would likely be immediately reinstated by Goodell. That could happen in December with the Patriots pushing for the playoffs. Or it could happen in January with the Patriots in the playoffs. Or, in a worst case scenario, imagine the Patriots reaching the Super Bowl and then, 10 days before, the Supreme Court declines to hear Brady’s case.

That’s a bad time to have to start serving a suspension.

So instead Brady and the Patriots have the certainty of knowing he’ll miss the first four games. They know the opponents. The schedule is manageable, with three of the games at home. And it comes at a point in the season when the Patriots are still learning what type of team they have anyway.

Call it a team-friendly move by Brady if you want. But really, it’s just the smart move.

He was facing very long odds to get the Supreme Court to hear his case. The trend in the case was bad. Judges weren’t buying what his lawyers were saying.

Patriots fans may not like that. But this was the hand Brady was dealt. He made the best and smartest move he could make at this point.

Get ready to see him Oct. 9 in Cleveland.

NFLPA may take Deflategate to SCOTUS despite Brady decision

http://www.theredzone.org/BlogDescription/tabid/61/EntryId/57420/NFLPA-may-take-Deflategate-to-SCOTUS-despite-Brady-decision/Default.aspx

Despite Tom Brady’s decision to drop his appeal and accept his four-game suspension in the Deflategate debacle, the NFLPA is still considering taking the case to the Supreme Court according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

“We will continue to review all of our options and we reserve our rights to petition for cert to the Supreme Court,” said the NFLPA in a statement released on Friday. Brady will still serve his suspension but, in the extremely unlikely scenario that the union wins in court, the NFL would refund Brady’s four missed game checks to the tune of $253,000.

Brady clearly weighed the lengthy odds against him and decided he would rather miss the Patriots first four regular season games rather than face the possibility of a suspension later in the season when the team will likely be pushing towards the playoffs. That is probably the right decision for both the player and the team. As for the NFLPA, they might more wisely use their resources figuring out how to rescind Commisioner Roger Goodell’s absolute power over player discipline decisions in the next collective bargaining agreement.

InvaderRam wrote:

well. if the rams are gonna give up that much for him i’d rather he a franchise type qb. drew brees caliber is good enough for me. no pressure jared.

Maybe this is a vocab/semantics thing. To me “franchise qb” doesn’t mean “elite.” Elite is rare. A franchise qb is to me a reliable starter who plays consistently well enough across a series of seasons to KEEP starting (though any given team in question could have a FQB and still not win, due to other factors). So that would include guys like Dalton, Roethlisberger, Flacco, Smith, Rivers, Eli, Romo, Ryan, Brees, Rodgers, Cutler, Newton, Wilson, Palmer. Obviously there’s a wide range of accomplishment and skill among those guys but they fill the key benefit of having a franchise qb—namely, that you don’t need to FIND a franchise qb.

Can Goff be that?

I have absolutely no doubt he can.

Can he be elite? Dunno. Not that it’s necessary…with other things being right, you don’t need an elite qb to win. I will say I see some Warner, Brady, Manning style traits in him.

What I like. None of this is original.

Very nice pocket presence, very nice feet, very good feel for moving in the pocket while looking downfield.

Enough mobility, enough arm.

Very quick release, very good accuracy. In a lot of ways he’s Bulger’s better cousin.

He processes fast. Very good field smarts, very good feel for the game, good ability to digest what he sees quickly and fire off on quick decisions.

AND, near as I can tell so far he is clutch under pressure.

How well he does as a rookie qb is an open question, but with this guy, I think if he struggles early, it just means he will learn from it and develop.

Martz on Goff: “Now he made some bad plays, but the (good) plays that he made are plays that only an elite player can make,” Martz said. “I think he could be just ‘stupid’ good. He gets rid of the ball so quick.”

.

10 things you should know about Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s running mate

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/14/10-things-you-should-know-about-mike-pence-who-may-join-donald-trump-on-the-gop-ticket/

After weeks of intrigue, and a chaotic 24 hours, Donald Trump is choosing Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) as his vice presidential running mate.

Pence was among the safer choices on Trump’s short list, in part because there were few options more different than Trump himself. The governor is a well-known and generally well-liked figure in Republican circles. He’s been in public office since 2000, most of that time in Congress. And he’s got social conservative cred that could shore up support for the ticket among evangelicals who are wary of Trump.

Here’s what you need to know about him:

1. Yes, he’s that guy from the last year’s religious freedom debate.

Pence was already well known and respected in Republican circles when he was elected governor of Indiana in 2012. But he became a household name when he signed a religious freedom bill into law in 2015. Pence said it would extend legal protections to Indiana business owners who didn’t want to participate in same-sex weddings, citing their religious beliefs; opponents argued that he was sanctioning discrimination.

The law got so much attention that at the 2015 White House correspondents’ dinner, President Obama joked he and Vice President Biden were so close that “in some places in Indiana, they won’t serve us pizza anymore.”

After a week of taking heat from Democrats, LGBT activists, corporate America and the NBA, Pence signed an amendment, saying it’s not okay to use it to discriminate against gay people. But that didn’t quell activists’ criticism of the law, nor did it boost Pence’s tanking approval ratings.

2. He’s a social conservative.

Pence is a devout evangelical Christian who regularly talks about his faith. (He likes to describe himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order.”) This spring, Pence signed into law one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation. Indiana is now the second state in the nation to ban abortions when the fetus has a disability, a law likely to be challenged in court.

But not all social conservatives are thrilled with Pence now: Some thought he backed off last year’s religious freedom debate under pressure from liberal groups.

3. He’s facing a competitive reelection.

At least, he was. Pence will have to drop out of his reelection bid now — which may be a good thing for him, given the religious freedom debate did Pence no favors in his reelection bid. Sensing an opportunity in a state that’s been trending red lately, Democrats re-recruited businessman John Gregg, who has described himself as a “gun-totin,’ Bible-quotin,’ Southern Indiana Democrat.” Pence and Gregg have matched up against each other before: Gregg lost to Pence in 2012 by 3.2 percentage points in an election in which Pence failed to get 50 percent of the vote. The race made our list of top 5 seats most likely to flip.

Now, Indiana Republicans have to scramble to find a replacement four months before the election.

4. He was an early advocate for the tea party movement.

One of Pence’s former advisers told NBC that even before the 2010 summer of discontent between conservatives and the establishment, Pence was tuned into the populist strain of the party. While in Congress, he voted against big spending bills that the tea party would come to loathe.

5. He endorsed Ted Cruz for president.

The political world’s eyes were again on Pence this spring when his state had the potential to determine the winner of the Republican presidential primary. Pence came under scrutiny for being unusually quiet about who he’d support, a reflection of how the primary divided the populist strain of the GOP and its leaders. Four days before the primary, he finally, somewhat halfheartedly, said he’d be voting for Ted Cruz. But Pence tried to tack on a political insurance policy in case Trump won the state by adding, “I’m not against anybody,” which may not have been the boldest pronouncement but certainly seems to have been the most politically savvy.

Trump did win Indiana by almost 20 percentage points. Cruz dropped out that night, and Pence said he’d support Trump as the nominee.

[Why endorsing Ted Cruz wasn’t an easy call for Mike Pence]

6. Paul Ryan likes him.

Before becoming governor of Indiana in 2013, Pence spent six terms in Congress, where he served on committees that dealt with foreign affairs and technology and was generally well-liked and respected by his colleagues. Over time, he smoothed out his populist, tea party edges and rose to some of the highest ranks in the party. In 2008, his colleagues elected him to the House GOP’s No. 3 spot, Republican Conference chairman, a job dedicated to shaping the party’s messaging after it got slammed in the 2008 elections. (Republicans took back the House in 2010.)

Pence seems to have maintained his ties on Capitol Hill after leaving it. This week, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Pence is a “personal friend.”

And before he came to Congress, Pence hosted a talk radio show, calling himself “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.”

7. He once challenged John Boehner for his party’s leadership spot in the House.

Pence may have harbored dreams of being House speaker himself. In 2006, while Republicans were still in the minority, Pence decided to run for the leader of the party against a veteran GOP congressman from Ohio, John Boehner. It didn’t go so well. Pence, who positioned himself as the conservative in the race, lost in a vote among fellow House Republicans 168 to 27.

8. He’s long been viewed as a potential presidential candidate.

In 2010, conservative activists at a Values Voter Summit voted Pence their top choice for a 2012 presidential candidate, a key test of grass-roots support (but not one that’s necessarily indicative of success). Interestingly, Pence’s 2016 veep competition, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, was also on that straw poll and came in fourth.

Pence’s name was also floated in 2008 as a potential presidential contender. Pence decided to stay in Indiana and run for governor, where he eked out a win against Gregg.

9. He’s got ties to the Koch brothers.

The billionaire brothers have so far stayed out of the presidential race, a sign they’re no fans of Trump. But their 2016 involvement could change with Pence by Trump’s side: The résumés of several of Pence’s top aides also include stints with the Koch brothers’ vast corporate and political networks.

UPDATE: Our crack money in politics reporter Matea Gold reports that the Koch brothers don’t plan on getting involved in the presidential race even if their guy Pence is the GOP’s No. 2.

10. He grew up as a Democrat.

And idolizing John F. Kennedy. Pence told CBN News in a 2010 interview: “It may be that I grew up in a big Irish Catholic family like he did. Maybe it was that my grandparents were so proud of the first Irish Catholic president.” He even still has a box of Kennedy memorabilia.

Done: Broncos and LB Von Miller agree to six-year deal

http://www.theredzone.org/BlogDescription/tabid/61/EntryId/57418/Done–Broncos-and-LB-Von-Miller-agree-to-six-year-deal/Default.aspx

Finally-the Denver Broncos have reportedly finalized a six-year deal with Super Bowl MVP linebacker Von Miller according to Rand Getlin of NFL Network.

The exact contract numbers have not yet been released but reports earlier Friday morning listed a six-year, $114 million contract that includes $70 million guaranteed. It is easily one of the richest contracts in NFL history. Both sides won in the deal. The Broncos keep possibly the best player in the league and give themselves a realistic chance of winning back-to-back Super Bowls despite an uncertain situation at quarterback while Miller has long-term security, gets to make history with the largest amount of guaranteed money ever, and gets to stay with his chosen team and city.

Miller will likely be the only franchise player that cashes in long-term on Friday and for a very good reason-while folks like Bears WR Alshon Jeffery, Rams CB Trumaine Johnson, and Chiefs S Eric Berry are exceptional and very valuable players, they are not indispensable to their teams’ championship dreams in the same way Miller is with the Broncos. That, my friends, is the ultimate leverage.