No one in the world is harder on James Kaprielian than the Athletics pitcher himself.
Even after throwing seven innings and not surrendering a run in a win over the Seattle Mariners last week, Kaprielian disagreed with A's manager Bob Melvin that the right-hander had exceeded expectations so far in his MLB career.
Against those same Mariners on Sunday, Kaprielian had his shortest start of the season so far, going just 3 2/3 innings and allowing four earned runs and three walks. In his postgame media availability, Kaprielian was visibly frustrated with his performance.
"Not my best stuff and disappointed in myself for sure, and I expect myself to be able to go attack guys a little better and I kinda got away from that a little bit today," the 27-year-old told reporters after Monday's loss in Seattle.
Kaprielian didn't earn his first loss of the 2021 season, as the A's rallied to tie the game and even pulled ahead in the 10th inning before the Mariners scored a pair of runs to walk it off in the bottom half.
The two plunked batters and three walks, in particular, left Kaprielian in a sour mood.
"That's what bums me out the most about this start is giving guys the free 90 feet. I made a couple mistakes and probably threw guys a couple pitches that I hadn't done, but it's the free 90 feet, the walks, the hit-by-pitches. I'm better than that, I know I am, and that blows innings out of proportion a little bit. That's what makes those one-run innings a four-run inning. So didn't do a good job of controlling that."
Kaprielian ended up throwing 81 pitches in fewer than four innings, and was pulled after a Kyle Lewis double pushed Seattle's lead out to 4-1. Melvin said the plan was to limit Kaprielian's pitch count regardless, but he was encouraged by the young right-hander's strong start to Monday's outing.
"It was just the one big inning, because he got off to a really good start, he got some strikeouts, he got some swings and misses, and walked some guys and then obviously gave up some runs," Melvin said after the game.
Over four starts so far in 2021, Kaprielian is 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA. Over 21 1/3 innings, the former UCLA Bruin has a 22:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio and Monday was the first of his four outings that the A's weren't able to win.
A former first-round draft pick, Kaprielian clearly isn't satisfied with how he has performed so far this season. Even with three good performances and one disappointing one, the right-hander sounds motivated.
Oakland will need Kaprielian to maintain his solid start to the season as the race in the AL West tightens up.
Simone Gordon doesn't have to worry about a byzantine legislative process to get Covid-19 relief to families she sees struggling. She has Facebook and Instagram.
Since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic took hold of the country, Gordon, a single mother from New Jersey, has turned the social media groups she once relied on for help herself into a multistate operation that targets needs large and small. She has marshaled hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and dozens of volunteers to fill in the gaps of Covid-19 government assistance while granting "wish lists" for holidays and paying off tuition bills.
And for that, she earned the nickname she used for her new nonprofit: "the Black Fairy Godmother."
"From that point on, my life has been different," she said. "It means a lot, because a lot of families, especially in the Southern states, find it much harder getting assistance."
After she lost her job at a bank in 2017, Gordon scrambled to keep up with bills and find food, clothes and other resources for her newborn son, who was later diagnosed with nonverbal autism.
Gordon tried applying for government benefits, such as food stamps and housing assistance, but, she said, she felt like she was standing on a precipice that was cracking beneath her.
"I went out to different nonprofits and social services agencies to get him the help that he needed, and I just kept getting caught up in a jam," she said. "People said: 'Well, go to this website. It's right there. You can just apply.' It's not that easy. It takes days, it takes a week, and by that time a person wants to give up."
So she did what millions of others have done over the years seeking kinship and emergency aid — she turned to social media.
She found an established private group on Facebook for low-income mothers, which helped her get supplies for her son. She realized that there were more women like her who sometimes needed an extra hand to make ends meet. She began making Facebook groups aimed at creating a network largely of women of color, including those who are, like her, the primary caregivers for disabled loved ones.
Simone Gordon in Branch Brook Park in Newark, N.J., on Friday.Gabby Jones / for NBC News
By 2018, the Facebook groups she started were raising thousands of dollars, and she relied on 12 volunteers to help distribute money and supplies. By 2019, she was on Instagram.
Then, the pandemic created an explosion of need.
Gordon said that for many families, the uncertainty — and the bills — grew as they waited for government assistance.
"I had to go to social media and ask followers to mail baby formula, to collect toilet paper, to send masks and help do grocery runs for senior citizens ... and also individuals with disabilities," she said.
Her Instagram account grew from 500 followers to 13,000 within months; she had 43,000 as of May. Her following expanded even more with the help of "Eat Pray Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert, who promoted her work.
Stories from all over the country poured in, mostly from single Black and Latino mothers asking for her help. Gordon said she raised $150,000 within the first week in March last year as lockdowns began. Overall, she said, her Instagram efforts have raised over $250,000, helped house 121 families facing eviction in temporary housing, fulfilled 324 families' Christmas wish lists and 120 Mother's Day wish lists, and awarded 11 scholarships to help single women of color pursue their educational goals.
Gordon said that she shares receipts with donors to show where exactly the money went and that she requires documentation of hardship, such as eviction notices or bills. She said she pays landlords or sends groceries directly through an online service.
Congress has passed multiple Covid-19 relief bills and imposed eviction moratoriums, and states have passed their own relief measures, such as rental assistance — yet experts have noted that there are those who still slip through the cracks.
A recent study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank, suggests that millions of Americans still find it hard to pay rent, buy food and get basic necessities.
The study also found that 11 percent of adults in households with children were likely to say they didn't have enough to eat as of May, compared to 7 percent for households without children. An estimated 10.9 million adults living in rental housing — 15 percent of all adult renters — were also behind on their payments, according to the study.
Gordon has parlayed her Instagram account into a registered nonprofit — The Black Fairy Godmother Foundation — with a paid staff and two volunteers in every state. People can apply for help through a form on the website, which requires applicants to submit various forms of documentation.
"We help you with emergency food. We help you with emergency [electricity bills]. But the next step is employment or education, because you can't go back to being broke after we assist you," she said.
She added, "The reason why I'm doing the work that I do for the marginalized community is that I went through it."
Shirnique Murray with her daughter, Aya.Courtesy Shirnique Murray
Shirnique Murray, 30, a single mother in Florida, said she stumbled across Gordon's Instagram account in May 2020 at a time of immediate need.
She had to quit her job at a merchandising company because of the lack of child care due to school closings. The occasional work she found wasn't enough to pay the bills and feed her family. She said that within 48 hours of her having reached out to Gordon on Instagram, there were groceries at her house. But that wasn't the end of the help. Murray said she always wanted to be a nurse. Gordon helped pay for her certified nursing assistant examination course, which Murray completed this month, and the certification exam.
"When she did it, she did it right then and there," Murray said. "I was grateful and thankful and excited."
Gordon said doing the work has been fulfilling but draining, contributing to a "breakdown" at one point over the last year. Requests for help were pouring in, and she was struggling to manage a larger volunteer network. She was also caring for her autistic son, now 11, and taking classes to become a nurse — all from home while the country was largely in lockdown.
"I had a breakdown because everything was hitting me. My son didn't understand why he couldn't go outside. I was confined in a house, and people were just emailing and emailing. And my team members have actual jobs, and they were still volunteers. And some of the followers who were volunteers just didn't understand, and they were getting overwhelmed. And I felt like I was failing the people," she said.
Women's tennis great Martina Navratilova on Monday said she was saddened by Naomi Osaka's decision to withdraw from the French Open following the controversy over her decision to boycott media obligations.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka announced her decision on Monday, a day after being fined $15,000 for not attending a post-match media conference and threatened with expulsion after her first-round win. read more
The Japanese player, who cited the negative impact on her mental wellbeing caused by facing journalists at post-match press conferences as the reason for her boycott, wrote on Twitter that she had suffered from depression since 2018.
"I am so sad about Naomi Osaka. I truly hope she will be okay," 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Navratilova said after Osaka's decision to withdraw.
"As athletes we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental and emotional aspect gets short shrift," Navratilova said.
"This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference. Good luck Naomi -- we are all pulling for you!"
Osaka said she decided to withdraw from the Grand Slam tournament because she did not want to become a "distraction".
"I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris," the world No. 2 said on Twitter.
Osaka said she regretted the timing of her media boycott. Navratilova said it had made the situation worse.
"Kudos to Naomi Osaka for caring so much about the other players," Navratilova said. "While she tried to make a situation better for herself and others, she inadvertently made it worse.
"Hope this solution, pulling out, as brutal as it is, will allow her to start healing and take care of herself," Navratilova added.
Former American player Mardy Fish, who struggled with anxiety issues during his career, said Osaka should be fully supported. "Mental Health is nothing to criticize. Nothing to joke about. Please take your mental health seriously," he said.
"Without my support system, I truly believe I would not be here today. Here for you @naomiosaka".
"At present, pathogens have greater power than WHO," World Health Organization leader Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday. "They exploit our interconnectedness and expose our inequities and divisions." Tedros is seen speaking earlier this month in Geneva, Switzerland. Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images
Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images
The COVID-19 pandemic proves that the world needs a pandemic treaty, says WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. It's the one major change, Tedros said, that would do the most to boost global health security and also empower the World Health Organization.
"This is an idea whose time has come," Tedros told diplomats attending the final day of the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
More than two dozen world leaders said in March that they support an international treaty or framework on pandemic preparedness and response, signing a letter whose signatories notably did not include the U.S., China or Russia.
Momentum grew further at the World Health Assembly, as more than 30 countries, along with every EU member, supported discussing the matter of a treaty or convention in November.
"The United States was one of the countries that supported the resolution to hold the special session," the WHO said Monday in response to an NPR inquiry. "That is not to say it has committed to support the treaty yet, as the process of moving forward was only confirmed today."
In Tedros' closing remarks, he welcomed calls for a stronger and better-financed WHO. But while more resources and authority are direly needed, he said, an international treaty would connect countries in ways that strengthen the world's health security.
"At present, pathogens have greater power than WHO. They are emerging more frequently in a planet out of balance. They exploit our interconnectedness and expose our inequities and divisions," Tedros said. "The safety of the world's people cannot rely solely on the goodwill of governments."
A treaty would make countries more accountable to one another, he said.
The lack of sharing — of information, technology, resources and data — is the COVID-19 pandemic's defining characteristic, the WHO leader said.
The weeklong World Health Assembly's theme is "Ending this pandemic, preventing the next one."
While Tedros acknowledged progress in reducing the numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths, he stressed that much work remains to end the pandemic, calling it "a monumental error for any country to think the danger has passed."
Together, the world still faces "the same vulnerabilities that allowed a small outbreak to become a global pandemic," he said.
In many ways, Tedros' remarks echoed the frustrations he raised last year, when he said the pandemic was presenting humanity with a test — one that we are failing.
"How is it difficult for humans to unite and fight a common enemy that is killing people indiscriminately?" an emotional Tedros asked at a briefing in Geneva. "Are we unable to distinguish or identify the common enemy?"
When the holidays came around, everyone in my wider family knew not to play the song “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” around my grandmother.
No one wanted to see her cry.
Her brother, my great uncle, was killed during World War II, my mom would explain to me.
He had promised in his last letter home after two years overseas that — like Bing Crosby had sung in 1943 — he, too, would be home for Christmas. He was supposed to get leave that December.
Decades upon decades later, my grandmother still couldn’t hear that song without breaking down.
They say time heals all wounds. Time healed nothing for her.
And that’s all I ever really knew about my great uncle — until I was older and a relative uncovered some long-forgotten letters and military paperwork.
What I learned was the story of an American hero, a story of true love and sacrifice in a time of utter darkness and desperation.
Charles “Chic” Quinn, a Long Island Rail Road machinist from St. Albans, Queens, was 19 years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. A week later, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
According to military records, Corporal Charles D. Quinn was 5 feet, 7 3/4 inches tall with blue eyes, brown hair and a ruddy complexion.
During his almost two years overseas, he took part in several military campaigns against the Japanese in the Pacific, including a 1944 reconnaissance mission in Peleliu, in the island nation of Palau.
He completed his last mission but suffered wounds along the way.
Five days later, he died on a Navy hospital ship in the arms of a Catholic chaplain. Cpl. Quinn, a baby brother who in battle wore the Presidential Unit Citation, was later posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the military’s third-highest award for valor in the face of the enemy.
His citation reads: “While carrying out an extremely hazardous reconnaissance mission to obtain vital information, Cpl. Quinn observed a marine officer pinned down by intense enemy rifle and machine-gun fire and imperiled by snipers. Disregarding his own personal safety, he courageously advanced in the face of the hostile fire and killed the most threatening sniper, thereby saving the officer’s life.
“Although he received wounds during this action which later proved fatal, he steadfastly refused medical attention and completed his reconnaissance, subsequently dispatching a written report to the regimental command post before he was evacuated.”
Cpl. Quinn never made it home for Christmas.
Instead, he received a military funeral at sea, according to records. He left behind three sisters; his parents had both already died.
Some four months after his death, the priest who held “Chic” as he passed from this world sent two letters to his surviving family in the U.S. He mailed one letter to my grandmother’s home in St. Albans. The other he sent to my great-aunt Winifred, a Catholic nun then known as Sister Mary Coronata, who lived in Toledo at the time.
Both letters were typed on letterhead from the U.S.S. Samaritan, the ship on which my great-uncle died, but they are devoid of the buttoned-up military speak of the telegrams and citations.
The letter to Toledo, dated Jan. 4, 1945, reads as follows:
My dear Sister Coronata: May our dearest Lord bless you and your work abundantly during this New Year.
I was very pleased to receive your letter concerning our dear little “CHIC.” This is just what he was. During the few days that he was with us I visited him often. He was always so pleased to see a priest. He was such an innocent child and his faith so deeply rooted that I really loved him.
When he first came aboard I told him that someone’s good prayers had been heard. I meant that he had not been called on the field, as so many other poor boys. He immediately responded, “Yes Father, my sister, she is a nun.” Having a sister of my own a Dominican, we had something more in common.
I could not help but feel for you; for I know how my good sister would feel.
Chic was conscious till the very last moment. He was so attentive to the prayers for the dying; which was the greatest edification to me. When he breathed his last, I actually broke down myself before the doctor and nurse, as I continued to say prayers. Our dearest Lord wanted another little angel for His heavenly choir.
Please continue to pray for me, Sister; and may I ask that you have the children pray for me also.
We priests of the service have so much need for prayers than before.
Sincerely in Christ,
Joseph S. McCauley
Catholic Chaplain
On this Memorial Day, let us remember to take time out from our hot dogs and beer, and everything that makes America free, and remember the people who got us here.
So many never made it home for Christmas. Even more hearts never healed.
Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday and wrote on Twitter that she would be taking a break from competition, a dramatic turn of events for a four-time Grand Slam champion who said she has “suffered long bouts of depression.”
Osaka’s agent, Stuart Duguid, confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that the world’s No. 2-ranked tennis player was pulling out before her second-round match at the clay-court tournament in Paris.
The stunning move came a day after Osaka, a 23-year-old who was born in Japan and moved with her family to the U.S. at age 3, was fined $15,000 for skipping the postmatch news conference after her first-round victory at the French Open. She also was threatened by all four Grand Slam tournaments with possible additional punishment, including disqualification or suspension, if she continued with her intention — which Osaka revealed last week on Twitter — to not “do any press during Roland Garros.”
She framed the matter as a mental health issue, saying that it can create self-doubt to have to answer questions after a loss.
“First and foremost we are sorry and sad for Naomi Osaka. The outcome of Naomi withdrawing from Roland Garros is unfortunate,” French tennis federation president Gilles Moretton said Monday. “We wish her the best and the quickest possible recovery. And we look forward to having Naomi in our tournament next year.”
Moretton said the four major tournaments, and the professional tennis tours, “remain very committed to all athletes’ well-being and to continually improving every aspect of players’ experience in our tournament, including with the media, like we always have.”
In Monday’s post, Osaka spoke about dealing with depression since the 2018 U.S. Open, which she won by beating Serena Williams in a final filled with controversy.
“I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly,” Osaka wrote.
She also said speaking with the media makes her anxious.
“I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris,” Osaka wrote. “I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer.”
She continued: “Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety. ... I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media.”
Osaka has never been past the third round on the French Open’s red clay. It takes seven victories to win a Grand Slam title, which she has done four times at hard-court tournaments: the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020; the Australian Open in 2019 and this February.
“Here in Paris I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences,” she wrote.
Tennis players are required to attend news conferences if requested to do so. The maximum fine of $20,000 is not a big deal to Osaka, the world’s highest-earning female athlete thanks to endorsement contracts totaling tens of millions of dollars.
“Mental health and awareness around it is one of the highest priorities to the WTA,” the women’s tennis tour said in a statement emailed by a spokeswoman. “We have invested significant resources, staffing and educational tools in this area for the past 20-plus years and continue to develop our mental health support system for the betterment of the athletes and the organization. We remain here to support and assist Naomi in any way possible and we hope to see her back on the court soon.”
Other players, notably 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal and No. 1-ranked Ash Barty, have said they respect Osaka’s right to take a stance but explained that they consider speaking to reporters part of the job.
After Osaka’s post Monday, several athletes in tennis and other sports tweeted their support.
Martina Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam champion, wrote: “I am so sad about Naomi Osaka. I truly hope she will be ok. As athletes we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental & emotional aspect gets short shrift. This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference. Good luck Naomi- we are all pulling for you!”
Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry wrote that it was “impressive taking the high road when the powers that be dont protect their own. major respect.”
INDIANAPOLIS – As with every Indianapolis 500, Sunday’s 105th running had a heavy pre-race emphasis on the front row starters.
It was also billed as a battle of old guard against the kids.
Forty-year-old Scott Dixon started on the pole and had the best car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway throughout the month of May. Twenty-one-year-old Colton Herta started second and 20-year-old Rinus VeeKay started third.
After 500 miles of hard racing, however, it was a day of disappointments for the front row.
Dixon had one of the strongest cars in the race and was sticking to his strategy in the first fuel stint of letting someone else lead the race as he conserved fuel. Herta also adopted that strategy and said over the first fuel stint, a driver could lose two laps of fuel to the tank by leading the race.
VeeKay was happy to put the No. 21 car in the lead in the early part of the race, lead 32 laps.
But the dynamic of the race changed completely on lap 33 when Stefan Wilson spun out and crashed while entering pit road. That closed the pits, but Dixon was among several drivers that had to make an emergency pit stop and accept a penalty rather than run out of fuel before the pits were opened.
Problem was, when Dixon pitted, his engine stalled and refused to start putting him one lap down. The No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing team got Dixon’s engine to start, but he was all the way back in 32nd place, the last car running on the track after Wilson’s Honda had crashed.
Dixon was able to get back on the lead lap, even lead two laps late in the race, before finishing 17th.
There were 22 out of 33 cars that started the race that completed 500 miles.
The car that finished just ahead of Dixon was Herta’s No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. The son of four-time IndyCar race winner Bryan Herta was another big-time favorite to win the race, but his 16th place finish left him quite unhappy.
“There wasn’t much we could do today, unfortunately we were just slow,” Herta said afterwards. “The balance wasn’t right, and we just struggled.
“We struggled with the scuffed tires and that kind of threw us off. Then, we were trying to correct the balance with scuffed tires, then went back to new tires.
“It was just diabolical.
“We had what should have been a good car in the Gainbridge Honda, but we just couldn’t get it done in the race.”
VeeKay ended up as the highest-finishing driver from the front row, racing the Bitcoin Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet to an eighth-place finish.
“Leading over 30 laps today feels great,” VeeKay said. “I am very happy with how I did and being able to finish eighth. I was leading in the first stint, but we wanted to save some fuel, so we worked with Conor (Daly) to run second. When the yellow came out, we fell a bit short, and it didn’t go our way.
“I was running 13th with a few laps to go so I have nothing to complain about. Lady Luck wasn’t on my side today but there are many more races this season and many more Indianapolis 500s in my future.”
The driver that won the race and became the fourth four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Helio Castroneves, started eighth, in the middle of Row 3. He led 20 laps in the fastest Indianapolis 500 history with an average speed of 190.690 mmph
There were 35 leads changes in the race among 13 drivers.
Naomi Osaka of Japan at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California.
Sean M. Haffey | Getty Images
Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday and wrote on Twitter that she would be taking a break from competition, a dramatic turn of events for a four-time Grand Slam champion who said she has "suffered long bouts of depression."
Osaka's agent, Stuart Duguid, confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that the world's No. 2-ranked tennis player was pulling out before her second-round match at the clay-court tournament in Paris.
The stunning move came a day after Osaka, a 23-year-old born in Japan and now based in the U.S., was fined $15,000 for skipping the postmatch news conference after her first-round victory at the French Open. She also was threatened by all four Grand Slam tournaments with possible additional punishment, including disqualification or suspension, if she continued with her intention — which Osaka revealed last week on Twitter — to not "do any press during Roland Garros."
She framed the matter as a mental health issue, saying that it can create self-doubt to have to answer questions after a loss.
"First and foremost we are sorry and sad for Naomi Osaka. The outcome of Naomi withdrawing from Roland Garros is unfortunate," French tennis federation president Gilles Moretton said Monday. "We wish her the best and the quickest possible recovery. And we look forward to having Naomi in our tournament next year."
Moretton said the four major tournaments, and the professional tennis tours, "remain very committed to all athletes' well-being and to continually improving every aspect of players' experience in our tournament, including with the media, like we always have."
In Monday's post, Osaka spoke about dealing with depression since the 2018 U.S. Open, which she won by beating Serena Williams in a final filled with controversy.
"I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly," Osaka wrote.
She also said speaking with the media makes her anxious.
"I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris," Osaka wrote. "I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer."
She continued: "Anyone that knows me knows I'm introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I'm often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety. ... I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world's media."
Osaka has never been past the third round on the French Open's red clay. It takes seven victories to win a Grand Slam title, which she has done four times at hard-court tournaments: the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020; the Australian Open in 2019 and this February.
"Here in Paris I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences," she wrote.
Tennis players are required to attend news conferences if requested to do so. The maximum fine of $20,000 is not a big deal to Osaka, the world's highest-earning female athlete thanks to endorsement contracts totaling tens of millions of dollars.
Other players, notably 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal and No. 1-ranked Ash Barty, have said they respect Osaka's right to take a stance but explained that they consider speaking to reporters part of the job.
After Osaka's post on Monday, several athletes in tennis and other sports tweeted their support.
Martina Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam champion, wrote: "I am so sad about Naomi Osaka. I truly hope she will be ok. As athletes we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental & emotional aspect gets short shrift. This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference. Good luck Naomi- we are all pulling for you!"
Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry wrote that it was "impressive taking the high road when the powers that be don't protect their own. major respect."
World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks as he attends the World Health Assembly (WHA) amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Geneva, Switzerland, May 24, 2021. Christopher Black/World Health Organization/Handout via REUTERS
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) called on Monday for speedily launching global negotiations to agree on an international treaty on pandemic preparedness and response.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, also told a closing session of its annual week-long ministerial assembly that the U.N. agency required sustainable and flexible funding.
"The one recommendation I believe will do the most to strengthen WHO and global health security is the recommendation of a treaty on pandemic preparedness and response which could also strengthen relations between member states and foster cooperation. This is an idea whose time has come," Tedros said.
A national lumber shortage has roiled local construction businesses, forcing them to raise their prices dramatically and delay some projects for months.
The price of lumber started to climb soon after COVID-19 hit last year. Sawmills ground to a halt as they braced for recession. But then demand for housing and home renovations surged, and suppliers couldn’t keep up.
By early spring of this year, lumber prices had roughly tripled. Rob Ciotti, general manager of Alleghenty Millwork and Lumber, said some products at his shop now cost four times what they did a year ago.
“[Prices] are moving up on a continual basis,” Ciotti said. “There's some flattening, but they continue to go up.”
Since May 2020, the cost of framing lumber at Allegheny Millwork has increased from about $400 to more than $1,500 per thousand feet of board, Ciotti said last week. The price of orientated strand board, meanwhile, rose from about $400 to well over $1,600 per thousand board feet. (OSB panels are similar to plywood.)
Ciotti said that, while his firm has absorbed a portion of the price hikes on lumber, the business must pass the rest of the cost on to consumers. The company also tries to help customers stay ahead of future price increases, Ciotti said.
“That's all you can do, is to try to work with our customers to let them know ahead of time that, [with] an order that they may have that's pending, they might want to order sooner than later,” he said.
Last month, skyrocketing lumber prices had added $36,000 to the cost of the average new single-family home in the U.S., according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Demand for new homes as well as residential renovations has helped to drive the shortage.
“The fact that people stayed home for a good bit of last year, whether it was because they work from home or just because they did so little socializing outside the home, did … inspire a fair amount of home-improvement projects, including significant renovation,” said Jeff Burd, president of Ross-based development research firm Tall Timber Group.
But Burd said longer-term trends have further strained the housing market. There was “not enough new construction" coming out of the Great Recession, he said. And he noted that “baby boomers [are] not moving out of their homes [at the] same frequency that previous generations did.”
Low interest rates have also encouraged more home buying.
At the same time, lumber suppliers have struggled to bounce back after shutting down last spring due to the pandemic. Allegheny Millwork’s Ciotti estimated that most producers had a month’s worth of inventory on hand when they closed.
“They're still not up at 100-percent production in mills,” he said. “It took months before they got to a point where they were able to even keep up” with orders.
Ciotti predicted that lumber prices will level off in late summer. “But even the experts are unsure," he said. "Nobody can tell us. The people that we deal with in our purchasing groups cannot really confidently say that there's going to be a correction.”
In the meantime, Pittsburgh-area contractor Chip Fisher said the shortage of lumber, and other building materials, continues to cause major disruptions to his business.
“It's almost impossible to bid jobs right now because there's no holding to a cost, and you have to put that into your contracts all the time — a clause that we can't hold material costs. I can give you a price today, but it can change in a month or two before we actually start,” he said.
With older contracts, Fisher said, he’s had to “talk with the client to say, ‘Look, I’ve got to increase … my prices.’”
In some cases, he’s even advised customers to delay projects until prices come back down.
“I've never had that conversation with customers before, you know, telling them just don't do it now,” he said.
He noted, however, that waiting is not an option for those “whose bathrooms have collapsed and kitchens are not usable. They need to get these things done.”
(May 31, 2021) The Select Board on Wednesday will discuss the town’s options for imposing a community impact fee on short-term vacation rentals.
Short-term rentals have been a hot topic in recent months, with a proposed article on Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting warrant seeking to regulate them by limiting the number of days a year they can be rented, the number of tenants per bedroom, establishing minimum stay times and other restrictions.
Opponents include the local real-estate community, year-round islanders who rent cottages or second dwellings to pay the bills, and long-time summer-residents who say they rely on short-term rentals year-round to pay the carrying costs of their Nantucket vacation homes.
Article sponsor ACK•Now, the political-action group whose stated mission is to protect Nantucket’s quality of life, says the proposal is necessary to mitigate the negative impacts short-term rentals pose to the island’s environment, traffic congestion and tranquility, and prevent more homes from being taken from the year-round housing inventory for conversion to investment properties by off-island companies.
The state law that allows towns to collect a rooms-occupancy tax on short-term vacation rentals also allows them to charge fees to address their impact on the community.
Wednesday's Select Board agenda also includes a post Memorial Day weekend report from the police, fire, licensing, health and public-works departments; a request from the Sewer Department for a waiver from the town’s noise bylaw; a request from the Department of Culture and Tourism to renew the town’s designation as a state cultural district; a report from the town’s diversity, equity and inclusion director; and the town manager’s pre-season beach update, update on town-project bids, including the Nobadeer field house, harbormaster building and F Street Pier in Madaket.
Also up for discussion are proposed amendments to the town’s harbor, waterways and town pier regulations, and a report from the Town Government Study Committee.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Meetings are still being held remotely. Click here to view.
Check back towww.ack.netThursday for a recap of Wednesday's meeting.
The board is also meeting Thursday in executive session to disuss a number of topics, including the potential purchase of the former Craig family property next to the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club. The vacant parcel was sold to D.J. MacKinnon's Atlantic Development in 2011, and is currently under long-term lease to Stop & Shop. It has been used for a number of things in recent years, including a staging area for construction materials for the new Nantucket Cottage Hospital.
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Denver’s short-term rental market passed a minor milestone last week as the industry continues its recovery from the COVID-19 downturn.
The city’s Department of Excise and Licenses issued enough licenses last Friday to push it over the 2,000 active license mark, hitting 2,008. It marked the first time the number of active licenses was that high since November, according to Eric Escudero, spokesman for the department.
That’s still down 22 percent from the beginning of the pandemic. On March 19, 2020 — a few days before a stay-at-home order was implemented — the city had 2,575 active licenses.
Active licenses hit their lowest point at the beginning of this year, on Jan. 14, at 1,875, Escudero said. Licensing had grown to 1,956 by April 22, roughly a month ago.
Denver collects a tax of 10.75 percent on short-term rental stays in the city. The city collected about $5.6 million on stays booked through sites like Airbnb and Vrbo in 2020. In 2019, that figure was about $10.6 million, according to data provided by the city. That’s a decline of about 47 percent.
The sharpest drop in tax revenue collection took place in the late spring and early summer, as travel was restricted and discouraged due to the pandemic, and stays at both hotels and short-term rentals plummeted. Another dip came in December following the fall COVID surges.
But the new data is an encouraging indication.
“We are hoping this is a signal that tourism to Denver is starting to improve since the pandemic,” Escudero said.
The Lakers didn't play Talen Horton-Tucker in their Game 4 loss to the Suns on Sunday. That's not particularly surprising. He didn't play in Game 3 either. Teams tend not to rely on 20-year-old second-round picks in big games, and Horton-Tucker, through little fault of his own, hasn't appeared ready for primetime in a limited sample thus far in this series. He'll get there. It just might be a few more years before he does.
There's just no telling where the Lakers will be in a few years. LeBron James is 36 years old. He doesn't have too many more rides left on the carousel, and thus far, it's starting to seem like this one is slowing down. Due at least in part to a high ankle sprain, James has not scored more than 25 points in any game this series. The last time he failed to do so in a series? The 2011 Finals. For the first time in almost a decade, James is looking mortal. It won't be long before he starts looking downright vulnerable.
That's an unfortunate place for the Lakers to be in a 2-2 tie against the Suns, because with Anthony Davis hurt, they now need the superhero version of James that might no longer exist. The Lakers scored only 42 points in the largely dismal second half that followed Davis' injury, including a disastrous 15-point third quarter that cost them the game. At times, James has looked healthy enough to carry the Lakers through the rest of this series. At times, he hasn't. But what can't really be disputed is that he shouldn't need to.
While it isn't fully clear how close the Lakers actually came to acquiring Kyle Lowry, all reporting on the subject suggests that Horton-Tucker was the sticking point in negotiations. Their exact motivations for pulling out of trade talks are unknowable. They might not have been willing to sacrifice a player they perceive as a key part of their future for such a short-term addition. They might have viewed the overall package, which reportedly included Dennis Schroder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but could have been amended to include Montrezl Harrell and others as cap filler in Caldwell-Pope's place, as too pricey. But the decision, as a whole, was a statement. The Lakers thought they were good enough to win the championship without a blockbuster trade.
They still might be, but what they failed to do was insulate themselves against an injury like this. You make a trade for a player of Lowry's caliber, at least in part, for this exact situation. Teams with three stars instead of two can tread water for a week in the playoffs if the wrong ankle twists. James knows that well. He won his first championship despite Chris Bosh missing more than a round. He and Dwyane Wade were enough to keep the Heat afloat until Bosh returned. He and Lowry would've had a better chance at doing the same without Davis than James will without another headliner.
These Lakers are a two-star team in a three-star league, and now they might have to win two games out of three with only one of those two stars. Their competition simply has better insurance. Brooklyn almost never had its entire group of superstars together at one time. They still earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference because the drop from three to two is far smaller than the drop from two to one.
That's the decline that Lakers are facing now, and it's one they tried to prepare for in the offseason. The 2020 Lakers were 10.4 points worse per 100 possessions when James sat, so they added Schroder and Harrell to give themselves some sorely needed shot-creation on their bench units. It didn't work. That plan failed. Even before his injury, the Lakers were 13.1 points per 100 possessions worse when James sat this season. Even if you dial the clock back to the moment Davis got injured, that figure is still 13 points per 100 possessions. The Lakers were overly reliant on James before injuries even forced them to be. They knew that going into the deadline. They still chose not to pull the trigger.
That's a choice that might haunt them this postseason and beyond. Whether it was the primary motivator or not, the Lakers prioritized a long-term piece over a short-term boost. For most teams, that's a wise decision. For teams that employ a 36-year-old James, it's a dangerous one. He's not going to be the best player on Earth forever. For all we know, he isn't going to be the best player on Earth for the next three games, and as the Lakers learned towards the end of the Kobe Bryant era, windows like his should be cherished because you never know how long they'll stay closed.
That window was open on Sunday morning. It might not be now, and if it isn't, Lowry might have been the difference in keeping it ajar just long enough for Davis to sneak back through it. Horton-Tucker is eventually going to be able to contribute in the postseason. He's too talented not to. But nobody knows whether or not that window will be open by then. If it isn't, it might be years before a player as talented as James arrives to open it again.
From the headline you might assume that I am down on Cole Irvin. “Throw the bum out of the rotation!” I can hear you hearing me say. But that is not the case. Watching Irvin today something came sharply into focus: Cole Irvin pacing himself and throwing mostly 89-90 MPH is a very flawed pitcher, but Cole Irvin throwing 93-94 MPH is darn effective.
Today’s game was, in fact, A Tale of Two Irvins. The lefty was knocked around a bit as he tried to finesse his way the first time through the line up, hanging a curve to Jared Walsh and then having all his offerings punished like a naughty schoolboy.
And then something happened. I don’t know if there was anger behind Irvin’s pitches or if he just figured there was no reason to hold anything back as the game was slipping away. But in the middle innings, we saw 93-94 MPH from Irvin and it changed everything.
First off, hitters were flat out late on his fastball. But they were also far more vulnerable to his changeup, which makes sense because they had to start their swing earlier. Plus, Irvin throws his changeup in the mid-80s, which creates a decent differential at 93 MPH, not so much at 90.
None of this is rocket science. Obviously there is an advantage to throwing harder, including making your secondary pitches play better. But you see this more with some pitchers than with others, and what I see with Irvin is that those 3-4 miles per hour make all the difference.
Now you might say, “If he threw 93 MPH in the middle innings why can’t he do that as a starting pitcher?” I am assuming Irvin does not feel he can sustain that velocity over 6-7 innings consistently, and that is why he usually paces himself.
Pitching out of the bullpen, however, Irvin could let it go from pitch 1 to pitch last, and I could see him being especially effective in that role. In fact there is a pitcher he reminds me of, who when I looked it up indeed was ineffective when he threw around 89-90 MPH but had a window of 4 very successful seasons in the bullpen averaging closer to 93 MPH.
It’s a pitcher that Irvin reminded me of strictly based on his build and pitching motion, and so I was surprised when I saw the similarity, statistically, of how ineffective this reliever was throwing 89-90 MPH as a starting pitcher, then threw 93 MPH out of the bullpen and became an All-Star reliever.
Oh, you want to know who that reliever was? That would be Brett Cecil, a failed starting pitcher but one of the league’s better relievers from 2013-16. Check out his stats, and note the jump in velocity and performance when he transitions from the rotation to the bullpen in 2013. I see a lot of Brett Cecil in Cole Irvin, right down to being ultimately overmatched as a SP but being potentially a treasure in the pen.
It’s time for Jesus Luzardo to get stretched out and to switch places with and Cole Irvin. Not only does Luzardo have big-time SP stuff — which we saw in just one inning today — but Irvin belongs in the bullpen, where I believe he could excel or at the very least be a more consistently positive contributor. I hope the A’s are thinking the same way, because they are now 3-8 in Irvin’s 11 starts and while he did have a good run it’s important to note that you can get away with 90 MPH and a few location mistakes when you are facing the Tigers or the Orioles.
The point is that as wobbly as Irvin has been at times lately, Brett Cecil was a really good reliever and the A’s could use another of those. This isn’t just about improving the rotation, it’s also about improving the bullpen. In my opinion, the bullpen is where Irvin should have been all along. Memorial Day, symbolically, is when teams look at what they have, what they need, and what they need to do. Time to kill two birds with one stone and put Irvin where he belongs.
Volatility management, liquidity, optimal performance and risk mitigation are four elements of a successful institutional investment portfolio.
Pretty straightforward, right? But managing those elements is far more complex — particularly for fixed income in the current market environment.
“Fixed income is supposed to be the ‘safe’ part of an asset allocation, yet investors who are benchmarked to the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond index just endured the worst quarter (Q1 2021) in 40 years from a total-return standpoint,” said Joshua Lofgren, Philadelphia-based managing director and portfolio manager of $180 million long short credit assets at MetLife Investment Management (“MIM”). “The recent underperformance of traditional fixed-income products and the potential for further volatility is certainly top of mind right now for asset allocators who need alternatives to traditional fixed income, which we believe long short credit can deliver.”
MIM believes long short credit should be an all-weather absolute return strategy that seeks to provide risk protection, low volatility and liquidity, while providing a higher return in relation to traditional fixed income, Lofgren said. “It really has pretty broad utility and can play a role in a wide variety of uses.”
Market conditions today seem particularly ripe for investors to consider this strategy, Lofgren said. “Long short credit strategies are designed to perform in all environments, but we believe it especially helps to offer maximum utility in the current environment. Less room for further spread compression against a backdrop of potentially higher interest rates increases the likelihood of negative total returns from traditional credit strategies. Furthermore, we believe the credit market is ripe with security-level catalysts that can be uncovered through solid security selection, and the ongoing broad market compression has driven many credits to valuations that we believe are not commensurate with their fundamentals, which can be expressed through relative value trades. We believe the robust toolbox that long short credit strategies provide makes them potentially attractive for this environment,” Lofgren said.
Defining characteristics
MIM believes long short credit strategies should embrace four key tenets.
First, Lofgren said, the strategy should focus on deep credit research capabilities and an experienced trading desk to develop the best total return ideas that run the gamut from investment grade to high yield to emerging market debt.
Second, strategies should have minimal interest rate sensitivity, and the portfolio construction process should identify idiosyncratic trade ideas that are inherently low duration rather than simply implementing a rate hedge overlay on a typical credit portfolio, he said.
Third, long short credit strategies should have a low correlation to broad fixed-income indices, such as the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond Index and “a muted correlation and a very low beta to more credit-heavy indexes. We think that allows long short credit the opportunity to be an attractive diversifier and volatility dampener within a broader asset allocation,” noted Lofgren.
Lastly, a long short strategy should prioritize the mitigation of downside risk through a rigorous risk management framework that employs highly effective tools such as stop-losses on all risk positions. “The goal should be to protect the portfolio during sell-offs while still being able to participate in the upside of rising markets.”
Appropriate for multiple investors
Lofgren stressed that long short credit can potentially benefit a wide variety of institutional investors beyond the family offices, endowments and foundations that primarily have been absolute-return investors. “Long short credit may be a compelling alternative to traditional bond strategies as well as an attractive complement to traditional strategies that can help reduce overall portfolio volatility. It may not be the first strategy that investors think of when they think about diversifying their fixed-income exposure, but we believe long short credit could definitely play a role in more innovative portfolio solutions across a very wide investor base.”
Among those investors: plan sponsors who are derisking. One of the challenges for a plan sponsor is trying to minimize surplus volatility. “Therefore, allocating to long short credit can help reduce drawdown risks while still providing the potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns,” Lofgren said. “Or if plan sponsors still need the duration but don’t want to take spread risk, particularly with credit spreads at current levels, they can pair long short credit with a futures overlay to synthetically create a longer-duration asset that has the potential to generate alpha in multiple environments.”
A long short credit strategy’s emphasis on liquidity should also be a main focus for institutional investors, Lofgren said. “There have been times in the past where credit managers have been caught with illiquid credit exposure at the wrong time,” he said. “When capital preservation is a primary goal of the strategy, you want to be in a position where you can quickly adjust your net risk positioning, either to take advantage of opportunities or to protect the portfolio during sell-offs. Liquidity in the market today is pretty reasonable, but liquidity is fleeting. What’s liquid now may not be liquid during a risk-off environment. You don’t want to be in the position where you identify a good security selection idea, get the performance that you’re looking for, and then you can’t monetize it.”
A strict risk discipline
A strict adherence to stop-losses is critical to reducing volatility. “Our risk discipline is such that we set stop-losses on every position that we put on,” Lofgren pointed out. Liquidity is a consideration here as well. “If we get in a situation where we’re in a risk-off environment and liquidity gets poor, we want to be sure that we can take action on those stop-losses. We don’t want to go back to an investor and say, ‘We picked great securities, but we’re not sure how to get out of them.’ ”
One question that institutional investors often ask is how the long-only manager picks shorts, Lofgren noted. “We’re not reinventing our process to identify short candidates,” he said. “Short ideas are going to be uncovered through our normal process of security selection.”
“It’s hard to find reasons why a long short credit strategy wouldn’t fit in somebody’s plan,” he said. ■
This article has been sponsored by and prepared in conjunction with MetLife Investment Management (“MIM”) solely for informational purposes and does not constitute a recommendation regarding any investments or the provision of any investment advice, or constitute or form part of any advertisement of, offer for sale or subscription of, solicitation or invitation of any offer or recommendation to purchase or subscribe for any investments or investment advisory services. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect, nor are they necessarily consistent with, the views held by, or the forecasts utilized by, the entities within the MetLife enterprise that provide insurance products, annuities and employee benefit programs. Subsequent developments may materially affect the information contained in this article. Affiliates of MIM may perform services for, solicit business from, hold long or short positions in, or otherwise be interested in the investments (including derivatives) of any company mentioned herein. This article may contain forward-looking statements, as well as predictions, projections and forecasts of the economy or economic trends of the markets, which are not necessarily indicative of the future. Any or all forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. All investments involve risks including the potential for loss of principal.
All investments involve risks including the potential for loss of principal. Fixed income investments are subject to interest rate risk (the risk that interest rates may rise causing the face value of the debt instrument to fall) and credit risks (the risk that the issuer of the debt instrument may default). The use of leverage has the potential to magnify both gains and losses within a portfolio. The use of leverage may cause a portfolio to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations. Leverage, including borrowing, may cause a portfolio to be more volatile than if the portfolio had not been leveraged.
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Max Viera's one-out home run in the bottom of the 10th inning gave Northeastern an 11-10 win and its first Colonial Athletic Association baseball championship on Sunday at Brooks Field.
The Huskies (36-10) earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA regionals and will find out which regional they will play in on Monday at noon on ESPN2.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, dropped to 32-22 with the loss.
Brooks Baldwin had three hits for the Seahawks, including his 14th and 15th home runs of the season. His first round tripper came in the fourth inning his second in the sixth tied the game at seven.
Cole Weiss and Noah Bridges had two hits apiece. Bridges' two-run single in the eighth gave UNCW its first lead of the game at 10-9.
Viera finished with two hits and scored three runs. Joining Viera with home runs were Ben Lageri and Jared Dupere. Malgeri had two hits, scored three runs and knocked in three runs.
Brian Rodriguez (3-0) was credited with the win, tossing two scoreless innings.
Landen Roupp (8-5) took the loss despite striking out nine in 3.2 innings of relief. Roupp had pitched a shutout in UNCW's tournament opener and finished the tournament with 21 strikeouts in 12.2 innings.
How it happened: With the game tied at 10-all, Viera homered to left center to lift the Huskies to the 11-10 win and the CAA Championship.
Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Ben Malgeri All-Tournament team: Ty Good, Charleston; Tanner Steffy, Charleston; Brooks Baldwin, UNCW; Landen Roupp, UNCW; Matt Suggs, UNCW; Cole Weiss, UNCW; Jared Dupere, Northeastern; Ian Fair, Northeastern; Cam Schlittler, Northeastern; Max Viera, Northeastern
All Elite Wrestling is heading back to pay-per-view on Sunday, May 30 with Double or Nothing. This is the third year for the event, which served as AEW's inaugural PPV in 2019 and has featured some of the young promotion's most exciting moments.
Kenny Omega has a tough task ahead of him as he defends the AEW world championship against both Orange Cassidy and PAC in one of the night's featured matches. On the women's side, Hikaru Shida, AEW's longest reigning champion in history, will defend the women's championship against Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D.
AEW Double or Nothing goes down on Sunday, May 30 at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida. The event is also the return to full-capacity crowds. The main show will begin at 8 p.m. ET on pay-per-view. So let's have a look now at the AEW Double or Nothing matches that have been confirmed as well as break down what else could be added to the match card based on current weekly television direction.
AEW Double or Nothing card, predictions
AEW World Championship -- Kenny Omega (c) vs. Orange Cassidy vs. PAC: With Omega on an incredible run after capturing the AEW title from -- and defending it against -- Jon Moxley, and then defeating Rich Swann to add the Impact championship to his collection, the champion was in need of a new challenger. Cassidy and PAC faced off on Dynamite with the winner earning a title shot. After some interference from Omega left both men down for the 10-count, it was announced that rather than having the night off, he would face both Cassidy and PAC in a three-way match at the pay-per-view. It feels unlikely that Omega drops the title here as the match simply doesn't feel big enough or feature the right opponent to take over the champion role -- though both Cassidy and PAC are outstanding wrestlers. Pick: Kenny Omega retains the championship
AEW Women's Championship -- Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D.: Shida has held the championship for more than a year, providing badly needed stability for the women's division over that time. Baker, meanwhile, has been on an impressive run of improving as a wrestler and personality, including being one half of the first women's main event in AEW history when she battled Thunder Rosa in an incredible unsanctioned match on March 17. Baker will challenge for the title for the third time in her career, the previous two attempts to capture the gold coming against former champion Riho. The length of Shida's reign and the strong focus on Baker in recent months suggests it's time for the belt to change hands. Pick: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. wins the championship
Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Ogogo: Ogogo is part of The Factory and recently laid out Rhodes with a body punch. Rhodes responded with an oddly patriotic promo announcing the match, saying that he would assume his father's nickname of "The American Dream" for it. Rhodes has been tangled up with Factory leader QT Marshall and this is the next step in that story. Given that Ogogo is not the "leader" of the faction with which Rhodes is at war and that this is now some sort of "Cody Rhodes is defending America" story, it seems this is just a showcase spot for Rhodes to get a PPV win. Pick: Cody Rhodes wins
Adam "Hangman" Page vs. Brian Cage: Cage beat Page on Dynamite after help from Team Taz. That led Page to issue a challenge for a pay-per-view match. Page also told Cage to leave Team Taz in the back so they could square off in one-on-one action with no interference. The loss to Cage knocked Page from his spot as the No. 1 wrestler in AEW's singles rankings. Page is going to continue to be a fixture at the top of the AEW rankings, and he needs to get the win back to regain his position. Pick: Adam "Hangman" Page wins
Casino Battle Royale -- Christian Cage vs. Matt Sydal vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Jungle Boy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Marq Quen vs. Isiah Kassidy vs. The Blade vs. Evil Uno vs. Colt Cabana vs. Preston Vance vs. Griff Garrison vs. Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Max Caster vs. Anthony Bowens vs. QT Marshall vs. Nick Comoroto vs. Dustin Rhodes vs. Lee Johnson vs. TBA: One of the staples of AEW pay-per-view events returns as competitors will battle for a future shot at the AEW championship. There will likely be at least one surprise entrant as has become standard for these matches in AEW. It's hard to predict a match with unknown elements and so many participants. That said, Cage is someone who could make the earned championship opportunity seem like a big deal. Pick: Christian Cage wins
TNT Championship -- Miro (c) vs. Lance Archer: Miro captured the title on May 12, beating Darby Allin on Dynamite. In the ensuing post-match chaos, Archer made his way to the ring to confront Miro. It was all but a formality that Archer would be the first man up to challenge Miro and that was confirmed on the May 19. Archer provides a good opponent for Miro, giving him a meaningful first win in a PPV title defense. It's almost a guarantee that Miro is not going to lose the belt so quickly after winning it, leaving little drama as far as the winner of the match. Pick: Miro retains the championship
Inner Circle vs. The Pinnacle (Stadium Stampede): It was impossible to believe that these two groups wouldn't clash again in some format after Blood and Guts. MJF throwing Chris Jericho from the top of the cage didn't feel like the end of the rivalry and you don't pass up on building things through the following pay-per-view event. That's exactly happened as Jericho and The Inner Circle showed up on the following edition of Dynamite to issue a challenge for a Stadium Stampede match, with the stipulation that Inner Circle would break up forever should they lose the match. The Pinnacle got the win at Blood and Guts, and with the stipulation putting Inner Circle's future at risk, it feels like they're going to get their revenge here to remain a unit. Pick: Inner Circle wins
Sting & Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky: Allin and Page had a classic independent wrestling rivalry in EVOLVE, with Page doing all sorts of damage to Allin in creative ways. That carried over to a recent Dynamite, where Page and Sky attacked Allin before throwing him down a flight of stairs. Allin will join forces with Sting in an attempt to gain a measure of revenge. While some feel any Sting match is one where he has to win, it wouldn't make much sense from a booking standpoint. Page and Sky need the win to be elevated, while Allin has already been elevated through his run with the TNT title and association with Sting. A win for Page and Sky opens opportunities to many interesting things for the future while a win for Sting and Allin does not do much for anyone involved. Pick: Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky win
AEW Tag Team Championship -- The Young Bucks (c) vs. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston: After the Bucks retained their titles against the Varsity Blondes, Moxley and Kingston attacked. That was a continuation of the ongoing issues between Moxley and Kingston and The Elite. Now Moxley and Kingston will be looking to capture tag team gold by taking out the most established team on the AEW roster. This is a tough match to call, with value in a win either direction. I'm going to assume we see some shenanigans that allow the Bucks to retain the belts and propel Moxley and Kingston forward. Pick: The Young Bucks retain the championship
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2021 AEW Double or Nothing card, matches, start time, predictions, PPV price, date, how to watch online - CBS Sports
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