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Coronavirus misconceptions vs. reality: the *** MAIN *** reason to no longer postpone the release of the "global pandemic" script is the dying oil industry
Introduction
All it takes is to add 1 + 1 to understand WHY illuminati MUST NOW administrate the KILL SHOT, starting with: non-renewable resources rapidly reaching ZERO, specifically OIL. (1) Passing "Truth in Plain Sight" is one of the commandments of the satanic illuminati religion, part of proving to what extent people can be reduced to human cattle. Coronavirus hoax agenda can be reduced to this: script meant to accomplish what is written in plain sight since 1980 in the Georgia Guidestones: 500 million. (2)
Fake coronavirus: "vaccine" misconceptions v reality
Misconception: "Vaccine" is meant to kill in a few years. Reality: The lethal "vaccine" round is not meant to kill in a few years but rather in a few days. (3)
Misconception: Dr. Fauci is a reliable health professional. Reality: "Fauci" is a fake name meant to suggest Fraud(ci). Same as the illuminati icon Ethiopian actor playing ...Yesus (read: "Jesus"), the head of the WHO. (4)
Talk of fake names evoking mockery ...
Giuliani-Borat script for dummies
You are in the reverse Truman Show (5), the movie released 1998 to celebrate the completion of the simulated reality matrix (6): everyone on the "political news" stage are actors (7) and the audience is Truman Burbank. (8) The main agenda of the sex-based 1998 "Lewinsky-Clinton" script was to divert the global audience from the start of air bombings against the only European country not controlled by the illuminazi. This justified by "massacres" for the camera, in a world where about every "head of state" was already doing nothing but to execute orders from the Illuminati Grand Master. (9) The main agenda of the sex-based 2020 "Hunter-Biden laptop" script is to divert the audience from the start of the global mandatory "vaccination", to reduce the world's population to 500 million. This justified by a fake "highly contagious and deadly" virus, named to mock Jesus, as it supposedly resembles a crown of thorns. As for the audience for which this script was created: reduced to "conspiracy" boards, populated by supporters of the actor playing "casino billionaire" playing LastTrumpe(nc)ts (illuminati named icon Trump after the verb ["to trump"] as well as similar nouns: Tramp, Trumpet [Last] and Truman [Show]). In other words: the very same actor about to fully detonate as suicide bomber DamnOld Tramp. (10) This while the rally audiences for the actor about to enter the White House riding the "black" Camel(a) ticket, good old Joe (of the "black" Obama Bi-nla-den ticket) (11), is reduced to two digits. The best actor to complete the disarming US citizens agenda, which must take place NOW. The same Biden who is now calling for MANDATORY masks for all interstate transportation (alias: interstate highways). Oct 23, 2020 - Video: Biden Says He Will Mandate Mask Wearing on All Interstate Highways — in Your Vehicle
The main reason to no longer postpone the release of the "global pandemic" script is the dying oil industry.
Reminder from Jan 2020: Lethal coronavirus vaccine's second round: What will happen before - Script is HERE and only here The fake global pandemic is meant to reduce the world's population to 500 million. Before the global mandatory LETHAL "vaccine" the illuminati (alias illuminazi) script has anyone not only vocally opposing it but also refusing it eliminated. This will be done in two steps.
Before the announcement of the first round of the global mandatory "vaccine" the goal is to detain all protesters, from those exposing the hoax to those opposing vaccines, masks [added: and installing or deactivating the "trace app"].
First round of the global mandatory "vaccine" will be used solely to detect and eliminate those who refused to take it. In other words: when the second deadly round will be carried out SIMULTANEOUSLY all over the world there will be no longer anyone left to oppose it.
May I remind you that the two steps announced in first post from 2009 are well behind us.
Why YOU will accept VASSACCINATION of children and parents, before illuminati VASSASSINATE YOU
Of course all reasons are a consequence that YOU carry the Mark of the BEAST, that YOU formally ACCEPTED it on November 2, 2004 in the US or in the EU a few days earlier, October 2004. But what exactly are those reasons? For a start: 1. You accepted genocide of your own people. Reminder: since 2000 alone in the US more than 4 million "unproductive" were murdered in hospitals and homes. (12) Notes Still wearing masks and installing COVID-19 mobile phone tracing apps? Then you did not get the basics that any child can get. Each MANDATORY measure is upscaled to pave the way for the FINAL SOLUTION for the global "super virus pandemic" hoax. IF you want any chance to escape the slaughterhouse that you are now currently inside but do not yet recognize it, then start by reading all articles in the CONTEXT and BASICS sections below. Note that many of these articles were posted YEARS ago by only ONE and continue to unfold EXACTLY as predicted, all verifiable by timestamp. CONTEXT(All in reddit)
To get your Age, the End Times, you MUST get the Illuminati Matrix since 1789 Illuminati World Wars and Illuminati Matrix all basic facts exposed worldwide first by Last Prophet Matt, one of only two members of the Web of Truth. In other words: same goes for the Illuminati Web of Disinformation. 2009 article, last updated Nov 2016 - Illuminati Matrix: unchallenged from the start, 1789 It was established 600 years after the illuminati stepped on stage as "crusaders". Not even those who played a KEY role opposing and even defeating the illuminati in major battles were able to recognize AND expose KEY pieces of the Matrix, let alone its totality. The list of those who could have shaken the Illuminati Matrix includes: ...
[Lost in the Sauce] Trump admin hides Paycheck Protection program details; lawmakers benefit from loans
Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater… or a global health crisis. Title refers to: The Trump admin is blocking IGs from getting info on over $1 trillion in relief spending, including corporation bailouts. The admin is also withholding PPP info from Congress, meaning we don't know if Trump or his family took taxpayer money. Additionally, we learned that at least 4 members of Congress have benefited from PPP money, but aren't required to disclose it. Housekeeping:
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Coronavirus
Inspectors general warned Congress last week that the Trump administration is blocking scrutiny of more than $1 trillion in spending related to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the previously undisclosed letter, Department of Treasury attorneys concluded that the administration is not required to provide the watchdogs with information about the beneficiaries of programs like the $500 billion in loans for corporations. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin refused to provide Congress with the names of recipients of the taxpayer-funded coronavirus business loans. After criticism, Mnuchin began to walk back his denial, saying he will talk to lawmakers on a bipartisan basis “to strike the appropriate balance for proper oversight” of PPP loans “and appropriate protection of small business information.” At least 4 lawmakers have benefited in some way from the Paycheck Protection program they helped create.Politico has been told there are almost certainly more -- but there are zero disclosure rules, even for members of Congress.
Republicans on the list include Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, a wealthy businessman who owns auto dealerships, body shops and car washes, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, whose family owns multiple farms and equipment suppliers across the Midwest. The Democrats count Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada, whose husband is CEO of a regional casino developer, and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel Powell of Florida, whose husband is a senior executive at a restaurant chain that has since returned the loan.
Mick Mulvaney dumped as much as $550,000 in stocks the same day Trump assured the public the US economy was 'doing fantastically' amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Mulvaney unloaded his holdings in three different mutual funds, each of which is primarily made up of US stocks. The next day, the value of the mutual funds tanked.
Cases rising in many states
Good summary: There was supposed to be a peak. But the stark turning point, when the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the U.S. finally crested and began descending sharply, never happened. Instead, America spent much of April on a disquieting plateau, with every day bringing about 30,000 new cases and about 2,000 new deaths. This pattern exists because different states have experienced the coronavirus pandemic in very different ways…The U.S. is dealing with a patchwork pandemic. As of Friday, coronavirus cases were significantly climbing in 16 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington. Oklahoma is experiencing a massive increase in coronavirus cases just days before Trump’s planned rally in Tulsa. In Tulsa county itself, 1 in roughly 390 people have tested positive. Yet Trump plans on cramming 20,000 people in an event with voluntary face mask policy and no social distancing. Attendees must sign a waiver that absolves the president’s campaign of any liability from virus-related illnesses.
On Monday, Pence lied saying that Oklahoma has “flattened the curve.” As you can see at any of the resources immediately below, this is not even close to true. Over the past 14 days, the state has seen a 124% increase in cases and reports 65% of ICU beds are in use.
Tulsa World Editorial Board: This is the wrong time and Tulsa is the wrong place for the Trump rally. "We don't know why he chose Tulsa, but we can’t see any way that his visit will be good for the city...Again, Tulsa will be largely alone in dealing with what happens at a time when the city’s budget resources have already been stretched thin."
Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that he is a victim of double standards when it comes to perception of his decision to resume campaign rallies in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, declaring that attempts to “covid shame” his campaign “won’t work!”
Resources to track increases: There are many different sites with various methods of visualizing the spread of coronavirus. Here are some that may be particularly useful this summer… Topos COVID-19 compiler homepage and graphs of each state since re-opening. How we reopen Safely has stats on each state’s progress towards meeting benchmarks to reopen safely (hint: almost none have reached all the checkpoints). WaPo has a weekly national map of cases/deaths; the largest regional clusters are in the southeast. On Monday, Trump twice said that “if we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any,” (video). Aside from the fact that cases exist even if we don’t test for them, we cannot explain the rising number of cases by increased testing capacity: In at least 14 states, the positive case rate is increasing faster than the increase in the average number of tests.
Reminder: In March Trump told Fox News that he didn't want infected patients from a cruise ship to disembark because it would increase the number of reported cases in the US. "I like the numbers being where they are," Trump said at the time. "I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn't our fault."
Fired scientist Rebekah Jones builds coronavirus dashboard to rival Florida’s… Her site shows thousands more people with the coronavirus, and hundreds of thousands fewer who have been tested, than the site run by the Florida Health Department.
Equipment and supplies
More studies prove wearing masks limits transmission and spread of coronavirus… One study from Britain found that routine face mask use by 50% or more of the population reduced COVID-19 spread to an R of less than 1.0. The R value measures the average number of people that one infected person will pass the disease on to. An R value above 1 can lead to exponential growth. The study found that if people wear masks whenever they are in public it is twice as effective at reducing the R value than if masks are only worn after symptoms appear. Meanwhile, Trump officials refuse to wear masks and Trump supporters copy his behavior… VP Mike Pence, leader of the coronavirus task force, published a tweet showing himself in a room full of Trump staffers, none wearing masks or practicing social distancing. Pence deleted the tweet shortly after criticism. A poll last week showed that 66% of likely-Biden-voters “always wear a mask,” while 83% of likely-Trump-voters “neverarely wear a mask.”
Trump’s opposition to face masks hasn’t stopped him from selling them to his supporters, though. The online Trump Store is selling $20 cotton American flag-themed face masks.
Yesterday, we learned that South Carolina Republican Rep. Tom Rice and family have tested positive for the coronavirus. Just two weeks ago, Rice was on the House floor and halls of the Capitol without wearing a mask.
Internal FEMA data show that the government’s supply of surgical gowns has not meaningfully increased since March… The slides show FEMA’s plan to ramp up supply into June and July hinges on the reusing of N95 masks and surgical gowns, increasing the risk of contamination. Those are supposed to be disposed of after one use. Nursing homes with urgent needs for personal protective equipment say they’re receiving defective equipment as part of Trump administration supply initiative. Officials say FEMA is sending them gowns that look more like large tarps -- with no holes for hands -- and surgical masks that are paper-thin. More than 1,300 Chinese medical-device companies that registered to sell PPE in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic used bogus registration data… These companies listed as their American representative a purported Delaware entity that uses a false address and nonworking phone number. Florida is sitting on more than 980,000 unused doses of hydroxychloroquine, but hospitals don’t want it… Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered a million doses of the drug to show support for Trump, but very few hospitals have requested it.
Native American communities struggle
The CARES Act money for Native American tribes, meant to assist people during the pandemic, came with restrictions that are impeding efforts to limit the transmission of the virus. For instance, the funds can only be used to cover expenses that are "incurred due to the public health emergency." On the Navajo Nation, the public health emergency is inherently related to some basic infrastructure problems. 30% of Navajo don’t have running water to wash their hands, but the money can’t be used to build water lines. Federal and state health agencies are refusing to give Native American tribes and organizations representing them access to data showing how the coronavirus is spreading around their lands, potentially widening health disparities and frustrating tribal leaders already ill-equipped to contain the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has turned down tribal epidemiologists’ requests for data that it’s making freely available to states. A Hospital’s Secret Coronavirus Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns… Pregnant Native American women were singled out for COVID-19 testing based on their race and ZIP code, clinicians say. While awaiting results, some mothers were separated from their newborns, depriving them of the immediate contact doctors recommend. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that state officials would investigate the allegations.
Personnel & appointees
Former IG Steve Linick told Congress he was conducting five investigations into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the State Department before he was fired. In addition to investigating Pompeo's potential misuse of taxpayer funds and reviewing his decision to expedite an $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, Linick’s office was conducting an audit of Special Immigrant Visas, a review of the International Women of Courage Award, and another review "involving individuals in the Office of the Protocol."
Pompeo confidant emerges as enforcer in fight over watchdog’s firing: Linick testified that Undersecretary of State for Management Brian Bulatao, a decades-old friend of Pompeo’s, “tried to bully [him]” out of investigating Pompeo.
Trump has empowered John McEntee, director of the Presidential Personnel Office, to make significant staffing changes inside top federal agencieswithout the consent — and, in at least one case, without even the knowledge — of the agency head. Many senior officials in Trump's government are sounding alarms about the loss of expertise and institutional knowledge. Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, has a history of making Islamophobic and inflammatory remarksagainst prominent Democratic politicians, including falsely calling former President Barack Obama a Muslim. Amid racial justice marches, GOP advances Trump court pick hostile to civil rights.Cory Wilson, up for a lifetime seat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, has denied that restrictive voting laws lead to voter suppression and called same-sex marriage “a pander to liberal interest groups.” Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has indefinitely extended the terms of the acting directors of the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service, sidestepping the typical Senate confirmation process for those posts and violating the Federal Vacancies Reform Act,
Courts and DOJ
The Supreme Court declined on Monday to take a closer look at qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields law enforcement and government officials from lawsuits over their conduct. Developed in recent decades by the high court, the qualified immunity doctrine, as applied to police, initially asks two questions: Did police use excessive force, and if they did, should they have known that their conduct was illegal because it violated a "clearly established" prior court ruling that barred such conduct? In practice, however, lower courts have most often dismissed police misconduct lawsuits on grounds that there is no prior court decision with nearly identical facts. The Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-discrimination laws protect gay and transgender employees. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined the court’s liberals in the 6 to 3 ruling. They said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination “because of sex,” includes LGBTQ employees.
Alito, writing more than 100 pages in dissent for himself and Thomas, accused the court's majority of writing legislation, not law. Kavanaugh wrote separately: "We are judges, not members of Congress...Under the Constitution and laws of the United States, this court is the wrong body to change American law in that way."
Just days before the SCOTUS opinion was released, the Trump administration finalized a rule that would remove nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people when it comes to health care and health insurance. The SCOTUS ruling may make it easier to challenge the changes made by Trump.
The Supreme Court also declined to take up California’s “sanctuary” law, denying the Trump administration’s appeal. This means that the lower court opinion upholding one of California's sanctuary laws is valid, limiting cooperation between law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two of the Court's conservative members, supported taking up the case. A federal appeals court appeared unlikely Friday to stop a judge from examining why the Justice Department sought to walk away from its prosecution of Michael Flynn. "I don't see why we don't observe regular order," said Judge Karen Henderson. "Why not hold this in abeyance and see what happens?" Judge Robert Wilkins told Flynn's lawyer that if Sullivan doesn't let the government drop the case, "then you can come back here on appeal."
Other
Good read: Fiona Hill on being mistaken as a secretary by Trump, her efforts to make sure he was not left alone with Putin, and what the US, UK and Russia have in common. “It’s spitting in Merkel’s face,” said Vladimir Frolov, a former Russian diplomat who’s now a foreign-policy analyst. “But it’s in our interests.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry welcomed Trump’s plan to withdraw more than a quarter of U.S. troops from Germany.
Op-Ed: Why cutting American forces in Germany will harm this alliance
According to a new book, the Secret Service had to seek more funding to cover the cost of protecting Melania Trump while she stayed in NYC to renegotiate her prenup - taxpayers paid tens of millions of dollars to allow her to get better terms. Additionally, NYPD estimated its own costs conservatively at $125,000 a day. Georgia election 'catastrophe' in largely minority areas sparks investigation. Long lines, lack of voting machines, and shortages of primary ballots plagued voters. As of Monday night, there were still over 200,000 uncounted votes. Fox News runs digitally altered images in coverage of Seattle’s protests, Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone Fox News Mocked After Mistaking Monty Python Joke for Seattle Protest Infighting In addition to holding a rally on the day after Juneteenth (originally scheduled the day of), Trump will be accepting the GOP nomination in Jacksonville on the 60th anniversary of “Ax Handle Saturday,” a KKK attack on African Americans. Environmental news:
Ruling against environmentalists, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the federal government has the authority to allow a proposed $7.5 billion natural gas pipeline to cross under the popular Appalachian Trail in rural Virginia.
Trump administration has issued a new rule blocking tribes from protecting their waters from projects like pipelines, dams, and coal terminals.
The EPA published a proposal in the Federal Register that critics described as an assault on minority communities coping with the public health legacy of structural racism. The rule would bar EPA from giving special consideration to individual communities that bear the brunt of environmental risks — frequently populations of color.
The Trump administration is preparing to drill off Florida’s coast, but says it will wait until after the November election to avoid any backlash from Florida state leaders.
Immigration news
U.S. Customs and Border Protection used emergency funding meant for migrant families and children to pay for dirt bikes, canine supplies, computer equipment and other enforcement related-expenditures… The money was meant to be spent on “consumables and medical care” for migrants at the border.
ACLU files lawsuit against stringent border restrictions related to coronavirus that largely bar migrants from entering the United States.
Under Trump’s leadership, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has mismanaged its finances so badly that it has sought an emergency $1.2 billion infusion from taxpayers. When Trump took office, USCIS inherited a budget surplus. A large amount of funding is drained by its deliberate creation of more busy work for immigrants and their lawyers — as well as thousands of USCIS employees. These changes are designed to make it harder for people to apply for, receive or retain lawful immigration status.
Asylum-seeking migrants locked up inside an Arizona ICE detention center with one of the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases say they were forced to clean the facility and are 'begging' for protection from the virus
ICE plans to spend $18 million on thousands of new tasers and the training to use them
"From the moment “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” premiered, Heather Gay has been brash, bold, funny and outspoken. It’s easy to see why producers cast her — she’s very entertaining. Chatting on the phone, Gay is all that. But she’s also unexpectedly vulnerable. It’s clear she’s still dealing with her 2015 divorce, which she said shattered her life and her self-image. “I know that I’m unfiltered,” she told The Salt Lake Tribune. “I know that I speak from my heart. And I know that I do things that I regret and cringe after I hear myself say them. So I’m terrified of what I’ve done to ruin my own life, but I’m also excited to see how this plays out. “All I want to do is be liked! This is probably the wrong arena for that, right?” she added with a laugh. Gay said she’s a longtime “Real Housewives” fan, and didn’t hesitate when she was asked to be on the show — although the invitation was unexpected. “Just having a producer call to ask me who I thought was interesting in Salt Lake City was more fun than I’d had in a long time,” she said. “I thought I just kind of was the girl that knew a lot of fascinating women.” And she was “thrilled” to be asked. “I love the franchise. I love television. I love new experiences. I love having something other than just the doldrums of my sad, depressing life,” she said with another laugh. Heather has described herself as “Mormon-ish” and a “good Mormon gone bad.” And she told The Tribune that one of the reasons she agreed to be part of “RHOSLC” was so that her exit from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be public. “When it came down to it,” she said, “I thought if I’m going to leave the Mormon Church, this is the way to do it. I was kind of sick of living in the shadows. I don’t want to say double life, but I was transitioning out of the faith very slowly — like a slow bleed.” She remains ambivalent, however, about her church membership. “My only fear was — if I go big, I’m going to get a letter from church authorities saying, ‘We have forcibly removed you from our records,’” she said. “I’m not going to lie — I thought about it a lot and worried about it. But I’m here. My mailing address hasn’t changed either. If they want to send me the letter, I’m open to that consequence happening.” In the first episode of “RHOSLC,” Heather told viewers her ex-husband’s grandfather had been hired as billionaire Howard Hughes’ “driver and henchman,” and that the Gay family “inherited a huge portion” of the Hughes estate after he died in 1976 — which was partially true. Frank William Gay was a student at UCLA when he was hired to be Hughes’ driver and gofer; he eventually rose to become a top executive at Hughes Tool Company, Hughes Air Corporation and the Summa Corporation, which controlled Hughes’ Las Vegas hotels and casinos. But Hughes later wrote that he no longer trusted F.W. Gay. And, according to F.W. Gay’s 2007 obituary, his money came from “running Hughes’ many business ventures, not from the Hughes estate.” But there’s no disputing that Heather married into a very wealthy family. Heather hasn’t talked much about her ex-husband — other than referring to him as “Bill” in Episode 3 — and making comments like, “He’s been supportive” of her being on the show “in his way.” But she also said on “Watch What Happens Live” that “this isn’t how he wants the mother of his children to conduct herself.” Heather readily admits her marriage was no great love story, but said the end of the union devastated her. Raised as a member of the LDS Church, she wanted to get married, raise a family and “grow old” with the father of her children. But “not with the man I married,” she said. “Let’s just be clear. I didn’t want to grow old with him. I knew that, like, day three [of the marriage].” She was, nonetheless, a “dutiful housewife for 11 years,” she said, and she “suppressed every personal instinct in order to be a good wife and a good mother, but it didn’t work out.” (The divorce was finalized in 2015.) “I took that role so seriously, which is probably why it was so totally devastating when I got divorced,” Heather said. She was left feeling like she’d failed not just as wife and mother, but as a member of her church. Heather has custody of her three daughters — Ashley, 17; Georgia, 14; and Annabelle, 13 — who are “very cool, reasonable, balanced, wonderful human beings. And they have been caretakers of me, in a lot of ways. When I got divorced, I really checked out of things. … And I feel bad about that.” She doesn’t regret her decision to be on “Real Housewives,” even though her daughters’ teachers and counselors have told her “that a lot of parents have come up to them [and] are really concerned that I have done this to them. Like, ‘How could she do this?’ “And all I can say is — I don’t know. Maybe it was a huge mistake. Time will tell, right? I’m doing the best I can. And if I took the wrong road, then we’ll deal with it.” Heather has made a success out of her business, Beauty Lab + Laser, although she’s also ambivalent about that. “I can barely say that. It feels like I betrayed everything I was brought up to be by saying, ‘I’m a businesswoman,’” she said. And Heather is anxious to see how she’s edited in upcoming episodes. “I know this sounds so cliche, but the truth is, you really do forget that the cameras are there,” Heather said. “I’d watch other ‘Housewives,’ and I’d be, like, ‘Sonja, put your clothes on!’ But when it’s you … “I would think, ‘Oh, my gosh! Was I on camera and miked when I screamed at her or said that to my kids? “I never had that out-of-body experience, like, ‘I am a Housewife.’ I always felt like, ‘I am Heather Gay, and I’m pretty messed up.’” We’ve seen Heather in conflict with Lisa Barlow in the first three episodes, and that will continue. “It’s been hard to be dismissed. It’s been hard to have people that loved being my friends distance themselves,” Heather said. “It’s been hard to feel the strain on our friendships. “Doesn’t everybody just want to be friends? I’m the kind of girl that wants to get along with everyone all the time. I have really strong opinions, but I would rather be your friend than be right any day of the week. I’d rather be your friend than win.”
"Fans of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta are used to seeing star Porsha Williams, 39, having fun and shady moments on camera. But she shows a different side of her in the season 13 premiere as she gets arrested for her participation in the Black Lives Matter movement — a topic she’s deeply passionate about. “First of all, I’m just blessed to be able to have a platform,” Porsha exclusively told HollywoodLife during an interview from Atlanta on Nov. 24. “To be able to use my voice for the voiceless and being able to use where I am in life right now to gain attention for these families who aren’t seeing any justice. For me, being arrested and being on the front lines, it was just second hand nature.” Porsha is no stranger to fighting for social injustice. The granddaughter of civil rights activist Reverend Hosea Williams, Porsha attended her first protest at the age of 5. After the police involved murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Porsha has been one of thousands to take to the streets and participate loudly in the BLM Movement. The Dish Nation host has been so vocal that she’s been arrested not once, but twice, fighting for these families. The first arrest happened back in July 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky during a protest for Breonna and subsequently released on her own recognizance. The second arrest also occurred in Louisville at a Breonna Taylor protest, but this time, Porsha was charged with obstructing a highway and disorderly conduct in the second degree. She was also tear gassed at a rally for George in June 2020. Although she has a young daughter, Pilar Jhena, 2, to think about, she’s actually the reason for continuing to fight on. “For me, being arrested and being on the front lines, it was just second hand nature,” Porsha said. “It was an act of love for the people and we all should be treated equally and I have a little black daughter and I want her future to be better, so it’s just something in me that I have to get active and the main thing that I can call on is my grandfather, the Reverend Hosea Williams, was a Civil Rights Activist, and I learned a lot from him and seeing him in his role and sacrifice and it’s just in me to get into good trouble and it’s just something that my heart led me to do.” We can expect to hear Porsha open up about this and more alongside her sister Lauren and mom Diane on their new podcast Porsha 4 Real. “The podcast is family based,” Porsha revealed. “Of course it’s scary! But on the same hand, it’s not off limits because that’s what we’re there for. We’re there to be transparent. I’m there to use my life as a testimony. I’m pretty much an open book! Like, I really enjoy the fact that my listeners and my viewers over the years have been on this journey with me and they’ve gotten to know me, so it’s actually therapeutic for me to open up and uncover even more for them to be able to relate to me more and hopefully learn from my mistakes, that way they don’t have to go through it.” ORANGE COUNTY
“[Matt] was mentally abusive,” Gina began to Access Hollywood on November 26. “After the affair, everything was crisis mode. [We were] and trying to get over it and not getting over it, [having] explosive fights. But I was not in a physically abusive marriage. I wasn’t,” she continued. “The incident that happened that night was the first time anything like that had ever happened.” As RHOC fans will recall, Gina was allegedly attacked by Matt in June 2019 after a night out with friends, choking her and hitting her and telling her he was going to kill her. Looking back, Gina said that she was not only afraid of her ex, but also afraid of how their fight would be received once the public found out. “I was so terrified of him being angry because he was out of his mind and I was terrified it was going to get out. I was begging these police officers to let him go,” she admitted. Luckily, police didn’t do as she requested and now, over a year later, she knows it was for the best. “I think this pattern of behavior would have continued on and I think it would have gotten worse because typically that’s what happens,” she explained. Looking back at the start of her marriage to Matt, with whom she shares three children, Gina said that the two of them started off “fine.” However, just one year before Gina landed her role on the RHOC, she learned that Matt was having an affair. “We were trying to rebuild and work on it. So I never shared that because in my head the first season, I got myself to a place where that happened and I felt like we weren’t right for each other from the beginning. And even now, I do still believe that. That whole year, I didn’t tell my parents. I told nobody. That [wasn’t] something I was [going to] share. I always tried to protect my kids.” Eventually, after hiding her marriage struggles from RHOC viewers, Gina decided to come clean about what she was going through so that her drama with Matt didn’t “eat [her] alive.” Although Gina’s split from Matt was quite messy, the two of them are now on much better terms and earlier this season, Matt and his girlfriend, Brit, who is not the same woman he cheated on her with, made an appearance on the show. “His girlfriend now, Brit is great. She’s great for him [and] she’s really great to my children,” Gina admitted. “We had a conversation about it. I felt like it is a good message to show people,” she explained. “[Matt] has changed himself for the better. [And] I think it is important to show people that you can co-parent, as long as you have two mature adults. I know Matt is probably one of the most hated guys in America but he’s not a monster. He’s a good dad.”
"Braunwyn Windham-Burke’s 43rd birthday was an unforgettable one. After waking up to the sweetest surprise balloons and decorations from her kids, The Real Housewives of Orange County cast member closed out her special day by getting a meaningful new tattoo. Braunwyn commemorated the occasion with some new ink, as she captured on Instagram on November 25. In the photo, the mom of seven can be seen wearing a face mask and holding out her right arm as the tattoo artist worked on the design. “Perfect way to end the day and start the next year!!” Braunwyn wrote in part of the caption, also tagging the tattoo parlor, Gold Rush Tattoo. Braunwyn later took to her Instagram Stories to share a close-up of her completed new tattoo, which includes the word “Selah” spelled out in Hebrew flanked by two doves. “It’s Selah, I first heard of it when I read Untamed by [Glennon Doyle], with the 2 little doves for the babies we lost,” she explained in the caption. According to Doyle, “Selah” is often found at the end of the verses in the Hebrew bible and has been interpreted to mean “holy pause,” encouraging people to stop, be still, and reflect on the importance of the idea they just read."
Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words, continuing in the footsteps of daprice82. For anyone interested, I highly recommend signing up for the actual site at f4wonline and checking out the full archives. • PREVIOUS • 1987 FUTURE YEARS ARCHIVE: The Complete Observer Rewind Archive by daprice82
The wrestling war is, for all intents and purposes, over. The war between the territories, the ongoing collapse of the territory system, and Vince McMahon’s rise is certainly the biggest story in decades, and at this point the war is over and Vince McMahon has won. Sure, the fighting is still ongoing, but even if JCP can recover from their troubles, the gap between them and WWF is there and it’s just going to keep widening.
The biggest story of the week is that WWF has announced its ppv schedule for the next year. March 27 (Wrestlemania IV), August 29, November 24 (Survivor Series), and January 15 (Royal Rumble). Four ppvs doesn’t look like a big deal, just capitalization on the market trend. But it’s going to have a major effect on Crockett. Crockett had been planning ppv shows in early April (Crockett Cup), July (Great American Bash), and November 24 (Starrcade). With WWF’s new calendar and the exclusivity clause in their ppv deals requiring no competing wrestling ppv events 60 days before and 21 days after their shows and the success of Survivor Series and Wrestlemania IV (presumed for that one - Dave expects Wrestlemania IV to be the biggest grossing ppv ever to this point), WWF is putting the squeeze to Crockett. And in doing so, they’re killing any chance Crockett can compete and break into the ppv market. Long-term, ppv is going to mean live gates will be completely insignificant (like it already is in boxing - and hey, in 2020 we have seen the prophecy fulfilled). Because of ppv, Dave expects Wrestlemania IV to gross as much as every other American promotion will gross for the entirety of 1988, combined. Hence why the gap is wide and will only get wider, and JCP will never catch up. JCP’s going to try to counter, and the apparent move will be to shift those events to prime-time WTBS live (or very recently filmed, like a Saturday Night’s Main Event) specials all built as major cards. Starrcade probably will not be among those, Dave figures this will help.
WWF’s Royal Rumble came out the clear winner against the Bunkhouse Stampede Finals. The Rumble drew an 8.2 rating and was seen in 3.2 million homes, which is twice as many people as when Georgia Championship Wrestling’s show on WTBS was big several years ago when this wrestling war was getting started. It’s the highest rated show in the history of the USA network, and the encore broadcast on Monday drew a 4.8 rating (a regular episode of Prime Time Wrestling in that time slot usually draws a 2.9). All this means that the repeat showing of the Rumble was probably the second highest rated show on cable during the last week.
PPV numbers take longer to get, but it’s possible to make some sense of preliminary reports for the Bunkhouse Finals. The show was likely profitable, purely in terms of money, but the reaction was strongly negative. Early reports estimate the buyrate at 4%, which tells us that if given a fair shot at ppv, Crocket could be profitable with a ppv line up. That’s also encouraging for Crockett, since the card wasn’t strong and the show didn’t have the best heat, but those things may be moot now that WWF has a full year’s schedule set up. Big props to the JCP broadcast team for how well they sold the ppv in advance, because ppv and closed-circuit purchases are majority (90%) last minute, as opposed to house show tickets which are typically bought well in advance.
Wrestlemania IV is expected to sell out by the time this issue hits you. Yeah, Dave. By 32 years now. Anyway, about 14,000 seats went on sale to the general public on Saturday and all but a few thousand were sold by the end of the day. The highest price was $150. It’s funny to Dave that despite the crowd discrepancy, WWF may make as much off 14,000 tickets for Mania IV as they did selling 90,000 for Mania III (The April 3, 2000 issue is the earliest I can find for when Dave revised his view of the numbers for Wrestlemania 3). Anyway, the Convention Center is home to Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, and Donald Trump is using Wrestlemania as the centerpiece of a weekend-long event designed to attract vacation families to his casinos, including a Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine concert in the adjacent Convention Center ballroom. So I guess we can put Donald Trump down as the innovator of Wrestlemania weekend. WWF claims Wrestlemania will be available in up to 9 million homes on ppv, and if the show gets a similar buyrate to last year’s then we’re talking around $15 million on ppv, $1 million live, and probably $4-5 million at closed-circuit.
The employment status of the Rock & Roll Express, Michael Hayes, and Steve Williams with JCP has significantly cleared up. The Rock & Roll Express were fired at the Bunkhouse Finals. On January 23, they were asked to do a clean job to Warlord and Ivan Koloff in 12 minutes. Koloff’s been a low card guy recently, and they have been main guys for years, so instead they did the job in 12 seconds (Ricky Morton laid down and let Warlord pin him). Then they flew to New York for the finals, and Dusty learned what happened (he was not at the show on the 23rd) and fired them on the spot. They could be heading anywhere, though WWF is doubtful due to their size. Michael Hayes was fired last week following an incident. He was teaming with Jimmy Garvin and feuding with Ric Flair on the most recent tour; those spots have been taken by Ron Garvin and Sting, the latter of whom is having an accelerated push as a result. Hayes is expected back at World Class, though he did send a resume to WWF. As for Steve Williams, he stayed an extra week in Japan and missed the Stampede. He’s in a contract dispute with Crockett over whether the money he makes in Japan counts against his guaranteed minimum pay from Crockett (Crockett says yes, Williams says no, you’re not paying it so it doesn’t count toward the minimum you are paying him - corporations are not your friends). Williams has disconnected his phone and is out of communication.
Cable ratings for wrestling in the fourth quarter of 1987 dropped from the the third quarter. The World Championship Wrestling show dropped from second to eighth overall, and WWF’s All-American Wrestling surpassed it at seventh. Prime Time Wrestling, formerly ranked third, fell to tenth, while the Sunday WTBS show dropped from tenth to twentieth. AWA on ESPN dropped out of the top 20 (it was number 19 in the third quarter). Some of the drop probably comes from the change in how ratings are gathered (enter the Nielsen box, or “people-meter” as it’s known at this point). There’s controversy about this whole way of gathering ratings, as detractors believe that the boxes ensure shows that appeal to women will receive higher ratings than they would get otherwise. Regardless, wrestling shows across the board dropped about 10% in the ratings in the fourth quarter.
New Japan’s “Martial Arts Olympic” event in the Tokyo Dome has some hoping it will surpass Wrestlemania 3 for biggest live gate ever. They’ve sold tickets at as much as $220 for ringside and sold out those events, so there’s a chance they could if they price right and sell out. Dave’s been told that Inoki vs. Koji Kitao has the potential to double the gate of Inoki’s matches with Leon Spinks and Masa Saito (each over $700,000). If they can get Taue, that’s probably the best opponent they can get for Inoki to ensure a big draw. I think last week he may have written All Japan, but he's very clear this is an Inoki idea this week.
Speaking of Inoki, New Japan recently did a tour in Italy. The big show was January 24 in Rome and drew 8,000 fans. New Japan actually airs on tv in Italy, and Inoki was the big draw, and he pinned Badnews Allen in the main event. Shane Douglas won a battle royal on the show too. These are the first “western-style” pro wrestling matches in Italy since WWF did a show in Milan back in October.
Jake Roberts was on Ellery Queen mystery magazine’s cover this month, and Muscular Development did a cover story on Jesse Ventura. The Ventura article is excellent, but mostly about his life and training regimen, and not to do with wrestling.
Genichiro Tenryu won all the major awards in Japan. Tokyo Sports named in MVP of wrestling, and Gong Magazine and Weekly Pro Wrestling gave him the equivalent. He beat Riki Choshu in Gong’s annual popularity poll as the most popular Japanese wrestler (Maeda came in second, so pressure there for New Japan to bring him back). Chigusa Nagayo placed 9th, the first time a woman has cracked the top ten of Gong’s poll.
Dave went to the WWF show at the Cow Palace on January 30. It’s his first live show since Japan, and the show drew pretty well, but not as well as you’d expect from a show with a battle royal in the area. The big news of the show were four no-shows: the British Bulldogs (Dave’s heard one of them collapsed at the airport and the other went to the hospital with him), Billy Jack Haynes (his health’s really bad and he’s missed a lot of bookings lately and folks are speculating his career is done), and Bam Bam Bigelow (scheduled to face Ted DiBiase, but he had knee surgery so no clue when he’ll be back). Due to the no-shows, the athletic commission ordered WWF to offer refunds to anyone who wanted them before the end of the second match. He runs down the card: Ron Bass pinned JYD, Ultimate Warrior pinned Harley Race. Warrior’s over big, but still sucks. Ted DiBiase beat George Steele by DQ and Dave alludes to last week’s decision to no longer call matches “abortions” and says “The only word to describe this match is one that has been banned from my vocabulary.” Don Muraco pinned Butch Reed in an okay match. The Jumping Bomb Angels beat the Glamour Girls to retain their tag titles in the only good match on the card (Dave gives it three stars). Noriyo Tateno pinned one of the Girls, Dave doesn’t identify her, saying “you know how it is with those people, they all look alike to me,” which is a pretty solid skewering of people who say that about the Angels and other Asian wrestlers, imo. Ted DiBiase won the bunkhouse battle royal to moderate heat. Hercules pinned Hillbilly Jim. Jim Duggan and Ken Patera beat Demolition and Mr. Fuji by pinning Fuji. Jake Roberts and One Man Gang went to a double countout.
By the way, the California state assembly voted 60-7 to reclassify pro wrestling as entertainment and not a sport. So that means once the bill passes the state senate, athletic commissions will have no power over pro wrestling in California, and wrestlers will not need wrestling licenses to work in the state (which was already a joke of a requirement - Dave got a print-out once of all 60 wrestlers licensed in California and major guys like Hogan and Steamboat weren’t on the list).
The lineup for AWA’s February 4 show, the last at the Minneapolis Auditorium before it’s demolished, has been announced. Curt Hennig defends the AWA Title against Greg Gagne in a cage match. The Midnight Rockers defend the tag titles against a mystery team (the latest announcement was Nick Kiniski and Kevin Kelly, but Kiniski was let go this week and they’re building to a face turn for Kelly). The rest of the card has Dick the Bruiser vs. Adnan al-Kaissey, Billy Robinson vs. Tom Zenk (particularly interesting since Robinson is in for a one-off but has a reputation as a shooter, as well as competing against Verne as a promoter sometimes, so there’s a chance he may go into business for himself), Wahoo McDaniel and Baron Von Raschke vs. The Nasty Boys, and Billy Jack Strong vs. Soldat Ustinov.
Adrian Adonis broke his ankle at the AWA tv tapings in Minot, North Dakota.He was getting whipped into the turnbuckle and stepped into a hole in the ring. He won’t be back for at least two months. Adonis has about 4 months left before he dies.
AWA released a song called “Superstars of the AWA.” Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett were in it due to the increased swapping of talent between Memphis and AWA. I could not find the song.
Something Dave forgot to mention about the WWF battle royal in San Francisco. Technically there were 19 guys, but only 18 actually worked the match. George Steele came out about a minute late, walked around the ring for a few minutes without getting inside, and then just walked to the back with JYD when JYD was eliminated (JYD was the second out of the match). Dave guesses at George’s age he didn’t want to take the bump or something. Dave recalls a story he heard about an unnamed WWF “neanderthal character” who stalled outside the ring for a complete match, and when one fan yelled to “Get in the ring, you lazy bum” he retorted (despite his character not being able to speak English): “What do you think this is, the NWA?”
WWF Superstars tapings were held on January 26 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Barry Horowitz and Steve Lombardi beat Lanny Poffo and Scott Casey, which set up the main event for the second hour of the taping where the Killer Bees beat Horowitz and Lombardi. Rick Rude and Ricky Steamboat had a match that ended in a big brawl that got Hercules, Harley Race, Jim Duggan, and Ultimate Warrior involved. The main event of the live show was not taped for tv, but had Hogan and Bigelow going over Andre and DiBiase (Hogan pinned DiBiase). Andre’s contribution to the match was one minute (of nine total for the match) in the ring, and a body slam to Hogan before almost collapsing. Commentary for this taping was not done live, but rather will be done in post-production due to the fact that they’re waiting for The Main Event first, since these will all air after that sets up the angles.
Dave hears that the decision on what to do with Hogan/Andre at The Main Event will be decided this week once his filming schedule is determined. If he’s available for weekends, he’ll stay champion through the summer. If not, then a title change will happen and DiBiase is the likely beneficiary.
[Stampede] Badnews Allen and Jason the Terrible were fined $200 and $300, respectively, by Calgary City Hall. This is in relation to their brawl in the audience on December 18 that led to a woman in the audience suffering a concussion.
Oregon will be holding a special show on February 16 as a Frank Bonema Memorial show. Bonema was the tv announcer from Portland who passed away in 1982 or 1983. They haven’t announced any matches yet, but Curt Hennig is supposed to defend the AWA Title against their Northwest Title holder at the time, and there are plans for a tag title match, a strap match, and a cage match.
The February 12 card will be the last card by Continental in Knoxville before Ron Fuller’s new promotion takes over the area from them. The situation with Alabama’s territory continues to confuse me.
Nobuhiko Takada beat Owen Hart on January 13 in one of the highlights of New Japan’s jr. heavyweight tournament. As of January 26, here’s the status of the tournament: Koshinaka leads with 34 points (7-1 record), Takada has 31 points (6-1-1 record), Hart at 29 points (6-2 record), Hase also has 29 points. Yamazaki has 24 points (5-2 record), and Yamada is 4-2-1 with 21 points. Kobayashi has 24 (5-1), Saito at 19 (4-4), and everyone else is negligible at the moment. The finals will be on February 7.
All Japan is pushing a big show for March 9 featuring Hansen vs. Tenryu. That will be a double title match, as Tenryu puts up the United National Title against Hansen’s PWF Title (Dave expects a double countout. Other matches will include Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask II, Baba and Wajima vs. Kimura and Tsurumi, and others.
Giant Baba’s been negotiating with the Funks and David Manning about getting All Japan on tv in the U.S. All part of his angling to help the promotions outside the NWA and WWF against the juggernauts.
AJW is building a big match for February 25, Dump Matsumoto’s retirement show. Dump and Yukari Omori (also retiring that night) will face the Crush Gals in a tag match. Also on the card will be a battle royal and Yumiko Hotta/Mitsuko Nishiwaki vs. Bull Nakano/Condor Saito for the vacant tag team titles.
AJW’s annual rookie auditions took place on January 17 in Tokyo. 1500 girls showed up, and seven were picked based on their performance in various athletic and endurance drills. Dave says this is one of the main reasons it’s ridiculous to attempt to compare joshi wrestling to any American promotion. Only the top half a percent in terms of athletic ability are chosen for training in the first place, and then “they train them like spartans from the age of 15-17 and by the time they are around 22, if they’ve even survived, they are better workers than virtually all the men.” And with the retirement age of 26, nobody stays on so long they feel stale. Then again, that level of training sounds kind of easy to become mega abusive from a 2020 standpoint.
Lots of rumor that NWA’s recent firings aren’t due to discipline issues but due to the company having financial issues. That’s the story those being fired have given. Michael Hayes in particular claims that he and Crockett agreed to a two year deal for $150k per year, but Crockett never signed it and when he pressured Crockett to sign (he wasn’t making money with the contract unsigned), and so he got fired for missing the January 23 show in Cincinnati. Even as Crockett’s financial issues become more and more apparent, they do seem to be recovering at the gate a little.
Unlike WWF, NWA’s weightlifting competition used legit weights. All four guys did 460 pound bench presses easy, then Paul Ellering called to move the bar to 600. Animal failed first, and they threw chalk in his eyes and he bled and was “taken to the hospital” and the whole thing came across well.
The road to Barry Windham joining the Horsemen (not that Dave suspects anything yet) continues as he and Luger are being pushed as a tag team. Meanwhile, Flair and Sting are set to feud.
Dave once again clarifies about Hawk’s line (because apparently he’s still saying it). It’s Neo Maxi Zoom Dweebies, not Neo Nazi Zoom Dweebies.
Crockett referee Jeff Goldberg writes in to correct the record on something. In the January 18 issue, a reader wrote in about the December 26 show in Philadelphia and said it looked like the referee screwed up the finish. Goldberg says he acted as instructed, and Flair would not have congratulated him later on if he had screwed up. He also says readers often blame referees for screwing up finishes, but that’s usually the wrestlers who screw up (or the finish is in fact supposed to look screwed up). Referees can be green just like wrestlers, but he’s proud not to be one of them.
Another reader tells us that his cable company had Bunkhouse Stampede, but Crockett did a LOLNWA. Crockett announced that Sammons cable would have the show on January 23 (day before the ppv). Except they didn’t air the announcement until 2 pm that day, had given no announcement ahead of that time, and Sammons closed their company office for the weekend at noon on the 23rd.
The longest letter this week is all about how Bret Hart deserves a bigger push. Brief version: Vince is making a big mistake by not pushing Bret as a singles star. Even the casual fans buy into him. He’s got promo ability, the ability to make a bad wrestler look good (very important in WWF), and he’d make a great opponent for Randy Savage after an Intercontinental Title change. Give it a few years, Jeff. You’ll get your wish and then some.
Crockett’s apparently going to keep two offices open. The Dallas office will be for tv production, and the Charlotte office will remain as the base for talent.
Mike Rotunda won the NWA TV Title from Nikita Koloff on January 26, then gave the Florida Title to Rick Steiner. Interestingly, Dusty did a promo referencing the Hogan/Andre/DiBiase title situation and said that in the NWA you can’t buy a title. Well, Dave points out, DiBiase offered $1 million to Hogan for the title, so that seems to be the going rate for the WWF championship for a year. Meanwhile, Rick Steiner got the Florida Title for free, which pretty accurately reflects the worth of that title.
World Class drew a crowd of 80 in Houston on January 26. No, you didn’t read that number wrong.
THURSDAY:Hogan drops the WWF Title (really the only big story next week)
Conference Call between Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada on reporting election results.
Conference Call between Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada Director: You four are the last states who haven’t reported. The entire world is waiting on you to report the results. What is going on? (silence) Pennsylvania: Trump is going to lose and they don’t want to be the ones to tell him the bad news. Director: Is this true? Georgia: He is going to go insane when he loses. We don’t want to be the one he blames and takes out his anger on. Arizona: And Pennslvana volunteered to be the one to be the deciding state. Director: Pennsylvania has over half a million ballots to still count. That could take a week. Georgia, you have less than 20,000. Arizona, you should have been finished hours ago. And what the hell is going on in Nevada? Have you even stated counting yet?’ Nevada: You know what they say…”What happens Vegas stays in Vegas”. We decided we would let everyone else figure it out and hopefully by then we won’t matter anymore. Director: Okay, enough of this. Everyone get your votes counted now. Arizona: We are trying, but all our workers are senior citizens. We are Arizona where they go out to pasture late in life. They are not the fastest counters. Hell, I think some may even have early signs of dementia and forget where they are at and have to start over. I don’t know how long it will take. Georgia: That may be a problem. We are from the South and we have a reputation of being conservative, bible thumping, anti abortion, democrat hating sort of people. We can’t be the deciding state. Director: You have less than 20,000 ballots. You could count them in less than an hour…. Georgia: We can be fast and sloppy, or very slow and accurate. Besides, it is too close here so there will be a recount and that could take weeks. Pennsylvania: That isn’t fair. Biden is from Scranton and we should be the ones to announce he won the election. Georgia doesn’t even like Biden. Georgia: Pennsylvania is right. They should be the ones to do it. Arizona: Yea, I agree. Director: They have too many votes left to count. We can’t wait that long. Director: Nevada? Nevada: Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I am trying to play blackjack here. Tell me when it is over. Director: Why can’t you report Nevada? You have more Casinos than Starbucks and prostitution is freaking legal there. Vegas may be the most liberal city in the entire country and ⅔ of your population is from there. Nevada: Sorry boss, we are sitting this one out. Director: Seriously……. FINE… Pennsylvania wins. We will just look like idiots for the next 4 years.
TL;DR: Man with too much time on his hands goes deep down the rabbit hole on a concept this sub already didn’t seem that enthusiastic about. If you really want to skip ahead, CTRL+F “verdict” and it’ll get you there. Two days ago, u/MrPhillyj2wns made a post asking whether USL should launch a D1 league in order to compete in Concacaf. From the top voted replies, it appears this made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. But I’ve been at home for eight weeks and I am terribly, terribly bored. So, I present to you this overview of what the USL pyramid might look like if Jake Edwards got a head of steam and attempted to establish a USSF-sanctioned first division. This is by no means an endorsement of such a proposal or even a suggestion that USL SHOULD do such a thing. It is merely an examination of whether they COULD. Welcome to the Thunderdome USL Premiership First, there are some base-level assumptions we must make in this exercise, because it makes me feel more scientific and not like a guy who wrote this on Sunday while watching the Belarusian Premier League (Go BATE Borisov!).
All D1 teams must comply with known USSF requirements for D1 leagues (more on that later).
MLS, not liking this move, will immediately remove all directly-owned affiliate clubs from the USL structure (this does not include hybrid ownerships, like San Antonio FC – NYCFC). This removes all MLS2 teams but will not affect Colorado Springs, Reno, RGVFC and San Antonio.
The USL will attempt to maintain both the USL Championship and USL League One, with an eventual mind toward creating the pro/rel paradise that is promised in Relegations 3:16.
All of my research regarding facility size and ownership net worth is correct – this is probably the biggest leap of faith we have to make, since googling “NAME net worth” and “CITY richest people” doesn’t seem guaranteed to return accurate results.
The most a club can increase its available seating capacity to meet D1 requirements in a current stadium is no more than 1,500 seats (10% of the required 15,000). If they need to add more, they’ll need a new facility.
Let’s pretend that people are VERY willing to sell. It’s commonly acknowledged that the USL is a more financially feasible route to owning a soccer club than in MLS (c.f. MLS-Charlotte’s reported $325 million expansion fee) and the USSF has some very strict requirements for D1 sanctioning. It becomes pretty apparent when googling a lot of team’s owners that this requirement isn’t met, so let’s assume everyone that can’t sells to people who meet the requirements.
(Known) USSF D1 league requirements: - League must have 12 teams to apply and 14 teams by year three - Majority owner must have a net worth of $40 million, and the ownership group must have a total net worth of $70 million. The value of an owned stadium is not considered when calculating this value. - Must have teams located in the Eastern, Central and Pacific time zones - 75% of league’s teams must be based in markets with at a metro population of at least 1 million people. - All league stadiums must have a capacity of at least 15,000 The ideal club candidate for the USL Premiership will meet the population and capacity requirements in its current ground, which will have a grass playing surface. Of the USL Championship’s 27 independent/hybrid affiliate clubs, I did not find one club that meets all these criteria as they currently stand. Regarding turf fields, the USSF does not have a formal policy regarding the ideal playing surface but it is generally acknowledged that grass is superior to turf. 6 of 26 MLS stadiums utilize turf, or roughly 23% of stadiums. We’ll hold a similar restriction for our top flight, so 2-3 of our top flight clubs can have turf fields. Seem fair? Capacity is going to be the biggest issue, since the disparity between current requirements for the second-tier (5,000) and the first tier (15,000) is a pretty massive gap. Nice club you have there, triple your capacity and you’re onto something. As a result, I have taken the liberty of relocating certain (read: nearly all) clubs to new grounds, trying my utmost to keep those clubs in their current markets and –importantly--, ensure they play on grass surfaces. So, let’s do a case-by-case evaluation and see if we can put together 12-14 teams that meet the potential requirements, because what else do you have to do? For each club’s breakdown, anything that represents a chance from what is currently true will be underlined. Candidate: Birmingham Legion FC Location (Metro population): Birmingham, Ala. (1,151,801) Time zone: Central Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Legion Field (FieldTurf, 71,594) Potential owner: Stephens Family (reported net worth $4 billion) Notes: Birmingham has a pretty strong candidacy. Having ditched the 5,000-seater BBVA Field for Legion Field, which sits 2.4 miles away, they’ve tapped into the city’s soccer history. Legion Field hosted portions of both the men’s and women’s tournaments at the 1996 Olympics, including a 3-1 U.S. loss to Argentina that saw 83,183 pack the house. The Harbert family seemed like strong ownership contenders, but since the death of matriarch Marguerite Harbert in 2015, it’s unclear where the wealth in the family is concentrated, so the Stephens seem like a better candidate. The only real knock that I can think of is that we really want to avoid having clubs play on turf, so I’d say they’re on the bubble of our platonic ideal USL Prem. Candidate: Charleston Battery Location (Metro population): Charleston, S.C. (713,000) Time zone: Eastern Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Johnson Hagood Stadium (Grass, ~14,700) Potential owner: Anita Zucker (reported net worth $3 billion) Notes: Charleston’s candidacy isn’t looking great. Already disadvantaged due to its undersized metro population, a move across the Cooper River to Johnson Hagood Stadium is cutting it close in terms of capacity. The stadium, home to The Citadel’s football team, used to seat 21,000, before 9,300 seats on the eastern grandstand were torn down in 2017 to deal with lead paint that had been used in their construction. Renovation plans include adding 3,000 seats back in, which could hit 15,000 if they bumped it to 3,300, but throw in a required sale by HCFC, LLC (led by content-creation platform founder Rob Salvatore) to chemical magnate Anita Zucker, and you’ll see there’s a lot of ifs and ands in this proposal. Candidate: Charlotte Independence Location (Metro population): Charlotte, N.C. (2,569, 213) Time zone: Eastern Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Jerry Richardson Stadium (Turf, 15,314) Potential owner: James Goodnight (reported net worth $9.1 billion) Notes: Charlotte ticks a lot of the boxes. A move from the Sportsplex at Matthews to UNC-Charlotte’s Jerry Richardson stadium meets capacity requirements, but puts them on to the dreaded turf. Regrettably, nearby American Legion Memorial Stadium only seats 10,500, despite a grass playing surface. With a sizeable metro population (sixth-largest in the USL Championship) and a possible owner in software billionaire James Goodnight, you’ve got some options here. The biggest problem likely lies in direct competition for market share against a much better-funded MLS Charlotte side due to join the league in 2021. Candidate: Hartford Athletic Location (Metro population): Hartford, Conn. (1,214,295) Time zone: Eastern Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Pratt & Whitney Stadium (Grass, 38,066) Potential owner: Ray Dalio (reported net worth $18.4 billion) Notes: Okay, I cheated a bit here, having to relocate Hartford to Pratt & Whitney Stadium, which is technically in East Hartford, Conn. I don’t know enough about the area to know if there’s some kind of massive beef between the two cities, but the club has history there, having played seven games in 2019 while Dillon Stadium underwent renovations. If the group of local businessmen that currently own the club manage to attract Dalio to the table, we’re on to something. Candidate: Indy Eleven Location (Metro population): Indianapolis, Ind. (2,048,703) Time zone: Eastern Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Lucas Oil Stadium (Turf, 62,421) Potential owner: Jim Irsay (reported net worth of $3 billion) Notes: Indy Eleven are a club that are SO CLOSE to being an ideal candidate – if it weren’t for Lucas Oil Stadium’s turf playing surface. Still, there’s a lot to like in this bid. I’m not going to lie, I have no idea what current owner and founder Ersal Ozdemir is worth, but it seems like there might be cause for concern. A sale to Irsay, who also owns the NFL Indianapolis (nee Baltimore) Colts, seems likely to keep the franchise there, rather than make a half-mile move to 14,230 capacity Victory Field where the AAA Indianapolis Indians play and expand from there. Candidate: Louisville City FC Location (Metro population): Louisville, Ky. (1,297,310) Time zone: Eastern Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Lynn Family Stadium (Grass, 14,000, possibly expandable to 20,000) Potential owner: Wayne Hughes (reported net worth $2.8 billion) Notes: I’m stretching things a bit here. Lynn Family stadium is currently listed as having 11,700 capacity that’s expandable to 14,000, but they’ve said that the ground could hold as many as 20,000 with additional construction, which might be enough to grant them a temporary waiver from USSF. If the stadium is a no-go, then there’s always Cardinal Stadium, home to the University of Louisville’s football team, which seats 65,000 but is turf. Either way, it seems like a sale to someone like Public Storage founder Wayne Hughes will be necessary to ensure the club has enough capital. Candidate: Memphis 901 FC Location (Metro population): Memphis, Tenn. (1,348,260) Time zone: Central Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Liberty Bowl Stadium (Turf, 58,325) Potential owner: Fred Smith (reported net worth $3 billion) Notes: Unfortunately for Memphis, AutoZone Park’s 10,000 seats won’t cut it at the D1 level. With its urban location, it would likely prove tough to renovate, as well. Liberty Bowl Stadium more than meets the need, but will involve the use of the dreaded turf. As far as an owner goes, FedEx founder Fred Smith seems like a good local option. Candidate: Miami FC, “The” Location (Metro population): Miami, Fla. (6,158,824) Time zone: Eastern Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Riccardo Silva Stadium (FieldTurf, 20,000) Potential owner: Riccardo Silva (reported net worth $1 billion) Notes: Well, well, well, Silva might get his wish for top-flight soccer, after all. He’s got the money, he’s got the metro, and his ground has the capacity. There is the nagging issue of the turf, though. Hard Rock Stadium might present a solution, including a capacity of 64,767 and a grass playing surface. It is worth noting, however, that this is the first profile where I didn’t have to find a new potential owner for a club. Candidate: North Carolina FC Location (Metro population): Durham, N.C. (1,214,516 in The Triangle) Time zone: Eastern Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Carter-Finley Stadium (Grass/Turf, 57,583) Potential owner: Steve Malik (precise net worth unknown) / Dennis Gillings (reported net worth of $1.7 billion) Notes: We have our first “relocation” in North Carolina FC, who were forced to trade Cary’s 10,000-seat WakeMed Soccer Park for Carter-Finley Stadium in Durham, home of the NC State Wolfpack and 57,583 of their closest friends. The move is a whopping 3.1 miles, thanks to the close-knit hub that exists between Cary, Durham and Raleigh. Carter-Finley might be my favorite of the stadium moves in this exercise. The field is grass, but the sidelines are artificial turf. Weird, right? Either way, it was good enough for Juventus to play a friendly against Chivas de Guadalajara there in 2011. Maybe the move would be pushed for by new owner and medical magnate Dennis Gillings, whose British roots might inspire him to get involved in the Beautiful Game. Straight up, though, I couldn’t find a net worth for current owner Steve Malik, though he did sell his company MedFusion for $91 million in 2010, then bought it back for an undisclosed amount and sold it again for $43 million last November. I don’t know if Malik has the juice to meet D1 requirements, but I suspect he’s close. Candidate: Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Location (Metro population): Pittsburgh, Penn. (2,362,453) Time zone: Eastern Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Heinz Field (Grass, 64,450) Potential owner: Henry Hillman (reported net worth $2.5 billion) Notes: I don’t know a ton about the Riverhounds, but this move in particular feels like depriving a pretty blue-collar club from its roots. Highmark Stadium is a no-go from a seating perspective, but the Steelers’ home stadium at Heinz Field would more than meet the requirements and have a grass surface that was large enough to be sanctioned for a FIFA friendly between the U.S. WNT and Costa Rica in 2015. As for an owner, Tuffy Shallenberger (first ballot owner name HOF) doesn’t seem to fit the USSF bill, but legendary Pittsburgh industrialist Henry Hillman might. I’m sure you’re asking, why not the Rooney Family, if they’ll play at Heinz Field? I’ll tell you: I honestly can’t seem to pin down a value for the family. The Steelers are valued at a little over a billion and rumors persist that Dan Rooney is worth $500 million, but I’m not sure. I guess the Rooneys would work too, but it’s a definite departure from an owner in Shallenberger who was described by one journalist as a guy who “wears boots, jeans, a sweater and a trucker hat.” Candidate: Saint Louis FC Location (Metro population): St. Louis, Mo. (2,807,338) Time zone: Central Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Busch Stadium (Grass, 45,494) Potential owner: William DeWitt Jr. (reported net worth $4 billion) Notes: Saint Louis has some weirdness in making the jump to D1. Current CEO Jim Kavanaugh is an owner of the MLS side that will begin play in 2022. The club’s current ground at West Community Stadium isn’t big enough, but perhaps a timely sale to Cardinals owner William DeWitt Jr. could see the club playing games at Busch Stadium, which has a well established history of hosting other sports like hockey, college football and soccer (most recently a U.S. WNT friendly against New Zealand in 2019). The competition with another MLS franchise wouldn’t be ideal, like Charlotte, but with a big enough population and cross marketing from the Cardinals, maybe there’s a winner here. Wacko idea: If Busch doesn’t pan out, send them to The Dome. Sure, it’s a 60k turf closed-in stadium, but we can go for that retro NASL feel and pay homage to our nation’s soccer history. Candidate: Tampa Bay Rowdies Location (Metro population): Tampa, Fla. (3,068,511) Time zone: Eastern Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Raymond James Stadium (Grass, 65,518) Potential owner: Edward DeBartolo Jr. (reported net worth $3 billion) Notes: This one makes me sad. Despite having never been there, I see Al Lang Stadium as an iconic part of the Rowdies experience. Current owner Bill Edwards proposed an expansion to 18,000 seats in 2016, but the move seems to have stalled out. Frustrated with the city’s lack of action, Edwards sells to one-time San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., who uses his old NFL connections to secure a cushy lease at the home of the Buccaneers in Ray Jay, the site of a 3-1 thrashing of Antigua and Barbuda during the United States’ 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign. Breather. Hey, we finished the Eastern Conference teams. Why are you still reading this? Why am I still writing it? Time is a meaningless construct in 2020 my friends, we are adrift in the void, fueled only by brief flashes of what once was and what may yet still be. Candidate: Austin Bold FC Location (Metro population): Austin, Texas (2,168,316) Time zone: Central Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Darrel K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (FieldTurf, 95,594) Potential owner: Michael Dell (reported net worth of $32.3 billion) Notes: Anthony Precourt’s Austin FC has some unexpected competition and it comes in the form of tech magnate Michael Dell. Dell, were he to buy the club, would be one of the richest owners on our list and could flash his cash in the new first division. Would he have enough to convince Darrel K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (I’m not kidding, that’s its actual name) to go back to a grass surface, like it did from ’96-’08? That’s between Dell and nearly 100,000 UT football fans, but everything can be had for the right price. Candidate: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Location (Metro population): Colorado Springs, Colo. (738,939) Time zone: Mountain Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Falcon Stadium (FieldTurf, 46,692) Potential owner: Charles Ergen (reported net worth $10.8 billion) Notes: Welcome to Colorado Springs. We have hurdles. For the first time in 12 candidates, we’re back below the desired 1 million metro population mark. Colorado Springs actually plans to build a $35 million, 8,000 seat venue downtown that will be perfect for soccer, but in our timeline that’s 7,000 seats short. Enter Falcon Stadium, home of the Air Force Academy Falcons football team. Seems perfect except for the turf, right? Well, the tricky thing is that Falcon Stadium is technically on an active military base and is (I believe) government property. Challenges to getting in and out of the ground aside, the military tends to have a pretty grim view of government property being used by for-profit enterprises. Maybe Charles Ergen, founder and chairman of Dish Network, would be able to grease the right wheels, but you can go ahead and throw this into the “doubtful” category. It’s a shame, too. 6,035 feet of elevation is one hell of a home-field advantage. Candidate: El Paso Locomotive FC Location: El Paso, Texas Time zone: Mountain Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Sun Bowl (FieldTurf, 51,500) Potential owner: Paul Foster (reported net worth $1.7 billion) Notes: God bless Texas. When compiling this list, I found so many of the theoretical stadium replacements were nearly serviceable by high school football fields. That’s insane, right? Anyway, Locomotive don’t have to settle for one of those, they’ve got the Sun Bowl, which had its capacity reduced in 2001 to a paltry 51,500 (from 52,000) specifically to accommodate soccer. Sure, it’s a turf surface, but what does new owner Paul Foster (who is only the 1,477th wealthiest man in the world, per Forbes) care, he’s got a team in a top league. Side note: Did you know that the Sun Bowl college football game is officially, through sponsorship, the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl? Why is it not the Frosted Flakes Sun Bowl? Why is the cereal mascot the promotional name of the football game? What are you doing, Kellogg’s? Candidate: Las Vegas Lights FC Location: Las Vegas, Nev. (2,227,053) Time zone: Pacific Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Allegiant Stadium (Grass, 61,000) Potential owner: Sheldon Adelson (reported net worth $37.7 billion) Notes: Sin City. You had to know that the club that once signed Freddy Adu because “why not” was going to go all out in our flashy hypothetical proposal. Thanks to my narrative control of this whole thing, they have. Adelson is the second-richest owner in the league and has decided to do everything first class. That includes using the new Raiders stadium in nearby unincorporated Paradise, Nevada, and spending boatloads on high profile transfers. Zlatan is coming back to the U.S., confirmed. Candidate: New Mexico United Location: Albuquerque, N.M. Time zone: Mountain Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Isotopes Park – officially Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park (Grass, 13,500 – 15,000 with expansion) Potential owner: Maloof Family (reported net worth $1 billion) Notes: New Mexico from its inception went deep on the community vibe, and I’ve tried to replicate that in this bid. The home field of Rio Grande Cr---I’m not typing out the whole thing—Isotopes Park falls just within the expansion rules we set to make it to 15,000 (weird, right?) and they’ve found a great local ownership group in the Lebanese-American Maloof (formerly Maalouf) family from Las Vegas. The only thing to worry about would be the metro population, but overall, this could be one of the gems of USL Prem. Candidate: Oklahoma City Energy FC Location: Oklahoma City, Okla. (1,396,445) Time zone: Central Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (Grass, 13,066) Potential owner: Harold Hamm (reported net worth $14.2 billion) Notes: There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow and it says it’s time to change stadiums and owners to make it to D1. A sale to oil magnate Harold Hamm would give the club the finances it needs, but Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (home of the OKC Dodgers) actually falls outside of the boundary of what would meet capacity if 1,500 seats were added. Could the club pull off a move to Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma – home of the Oklahoma Sooners? Maybe, but at 20 miles, this would be a reach. Candidate: Orange County SC Location: Irvine, Calif. (3,176, 000 in Orange County) Time zone: Pacific Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Angels Stadium of Anaheim (Grass, 43,250) Potential owner: Arte Moreno (reported net worth $3.3 billion) Notes: You’ll never convince me that Rangers didn’t choose to partner with Orange County based primarily on its name. Either way, a sale to MLB Angels owner Arte Moreno produces a fruitful partnership, with the owner choosing to play his newest club out of the existing Angels stadium in OC. Another baseball conversion, sure, but with a metro population of over 3 million and the closest thing this hypothetical league has to an LA market, who’s complaining? Candidate: Phoenix Rising FC Location: Phoenix, Ariz. (4,857,962) Time zone: Arizona Stadium (playing surface, capacity): State Farm Stadium (Grass, 63,400) Potential owner: Ernest Garcia II (reported net worth $5.7 billion) Notes: We’re keeping it local with new owner and used car guru Ernest Garcia II. His dad owned a liquor store and he dropped out of college, which is making me feel amazing about my life choices right now. Casino Arizona Field is great, but State Farm Stadium is a grass surface that hosted the 2019 Gold Cup semifinal, so it’s a clear winner. Throw in Phoenix’s massive metro population and this one looks like a lock. Candidate: Reno 1868 FC Location: Reno, Nev. (425,417) Time zone: Pacific Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Mackay Stadium (FieldTurf, 30,000) Potential owner: Nancy Walton Laurie (reported net worth $7.1 billion) Notes: The Biggest Little City on Earth has some serious barriers to overcome, thanks to its low metro population. A sale to Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and 1.6 mile-move to Mackay Stadium to split space with the University of Nevada, Reno makes this bid competitive, but the turf surface is another knock against it. Candidate: Rio Grande Valley FC Location: Edinburg, Texas (900,304) Time zone: Central Stadium (playing surface, capacity): McAllen Memorial Stadium (FieldTurf, 13,500 – 15,000 with expansion) Potential owner: Alice Louise Walton (reported net worth $45 billion) Notes: Yes, I have a second straight Walmart heiress on the list. She was the first thing that popped up when I googled “McAllen Texas richest people.” The family rivalry has spurred Walton to buy a club as well, moving them 10 miles to McAllen Memorial Stadium which, as I alluded to earlier, is a straight up high school football stadium with a full color scoreboard. Toss in an additional 1,500 seats and you’ve met the minimum, despite the turf playing surface. Candidate: San Antonio FC Location: San Antonio, Texas (2,550,960) Time zone: Central Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Alamodome (FieldTurf, 64,000) Potential owner: Red McCombs (reported net worth $1.6 billion) Notes: I wanted to keep SAFC in the Spurs family, since the franchise is valued at $1.8 billion. That said, I didn’t let the Rooneys own the Riverhounds based on the Steelers’ value and it felt wrong to change the rules, so bring on Clear Channel co-founder Red McCombs. Toyota Field isn’t viable in the first division, but for the Alamodome, which was built in 1993 in hopes of attracting an NFL franchise (and never did), San Antonio can finally claim having *a* national football league team in its town (contingent on your definition of football). Now if only we could do something about that turf… Candidate: San Diego Loyal SC Location: San Diego, Calif. (3,317,749) Time zone: Pacific Stadium (playing surface, capacity): SDCCU Stadium (formerly Qualcomm) (Grass, 70,561) Potential owner: Phil Mickelson (reported net worth $91 million) Notes: Yes, golf’s Phil Mickelson. The existing ownership group didn’t seem to have the wherewithal to meet requirements, and Phil seemed to slot right in. As an athlete himself, he might be interesting in the new challenges of a top flight soccer team. Toss in a move to the former home of the chargers and you might have a basis for tremendous community support. Candidate: FC Tulsa Location: Tulsa, Okla. (991,561) Time zone: Central Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium (FieldTurf, 30,000) Potential owner: George Kaiser ($10 billion) Notes: I’m a fan of FC Tulsa’s rebrand, but if they want to make the first division, more changes are necessary. A sale to Tulsa native and one of the 100 richest men in the world George Kaiser means that funding is guaranteed. A move to Chapman Stadium would provide the necessary seats, despite the turf field. While the undersize population might be an issue at first glance, it’s hard to imagine U.S. Soccer not granting a waiver over a less than a 10k miss from the mark. And that’s it! You made it. Those are all of the independent/hybrid affiliates in the USL Championship, which means that it’s time for our… VERDICT: As an expert who has studied this issue for almost an entire day now, I am prepared to pronounce which USL Championships could be most ‘ready” for a jump to the USL Prem. A reminder that of the 27 clubs surveyed, 0 of them met our ideal criteria (proper ownership $, metro population, 15,000+ stadium with grass field). Two of them, however, met almost all of those criteria: Indy Eleven and Miami FC. Those two clubs may use up two of our three available turf fields right from the outset, but the other factors they hit (particularly Silva’s ownership of Miami) makes them difficult, if not impossible to ignore for the top flight. But who fill in the rest of the slots? Meet the entire 14-team USL Premier League: Hartford Athletic Indy Eleven Louisville City FC Miami FC North Carolina FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Tampa Bay Rowdies Saint Louis FC San Antonio FC New Mexico United Phoenix Rising FC Las Vegas Lights FC Orange County SC San Diego Loyal SC Now, I shall provide my expert rationale for each club’s inclusion/exclusion, which can be roughly broken down into four categories. Firm “yes” Hartford Athletic: It’s a good market size with a solid stadium. With a decent investor and good community support, you’ve got potential here. Indy Eleven: The turf at Lucas Oil Stadium is no reason to turn down a 62,421 venue and a metro population of over 2 million. Louisville City FC: Why doesn’t the 2017 & 2018 USL Cup champion deserve a crack at the top flight? They have the market size, and with a bit of expansion have the stadium at their own SSS. LCFC, you’re in. Miami FC, “The”: Our other blue-chip recruit on the basis of ownership value, market size and stadium capacity. Yes, that field is turf, but how could you snub Silva’s chance to claim victory as the first division 1 club soccer team to play in Miami? Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Pittsburgh sacrificed a lot to be here (according to my arbitrary calculations). Their market size and the potential boon of soccer at Heinz Field is an important inclusion to the league. Saint Louis FC: Willie hears your “Busch League” jokes, Willie don’t care. A huge market size, combined with the absence of an NFL franchise creates opportunity. Competition with the MLS side, sure, but St. Louis has serious soccer history and we’re willing to bet it can support two clubs. Tampa Bay Rowdies: With a huge population and a massive stadium waiting nearby, Tampa Bay seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up for the USL Prem. Las Vegas Lights FC: Ostentatious, massive and well-financed, Las Vegas Lights FC is everything that the USL Premier League would need to assert that it didn’t intend to play second fiddle to MLS. Players will need to be kept on a short leash, but this is a hard market to pass up on. Phoenix Rising FC: Huge population, big grass field available nearby and a solid history of success in recent years. No brainer. San Diego Loyal SC: New club? Yes, massive population in a market that recently lost an absolutely huge sports presence? Also yes. This could be the USL Prem’s Seattle. Cautious “yes” New Mexico United: You have to take a chance on New Mexico United. The club set the league on fire with its social media presence and its weight in the community when it entered the league last season. The market may be slightly under USSF’s desired 1 million, but fervent support (and the ability to continue to use Isotopes Park) shouldn’t be discounted. North Carolina FC: Carter-Finley’s mixed grass/turf surface is a barrier, to be sure, but the 57,000+ seats it offers (and being enough to offset other fully-turf offerings) is enough to put it in the black. Orange County SC: It’s a top-tier club playing in a MLB stadium. I know it seems unlikely that USSF would approve something like that, but believe me when I say “it could happen.” Orange County is a massive market and California likely needs two clubs in the top flight. San Antonio FC: Our third and only voluntary inclusion to the turf fields in the first division, we’re counting on San Antonio’s size and massive potential stadium to see it through. Cautious “no” Birmingham Legion FC: The town has solid soccer history and a huge potential venue, but the turf playing surface puts it on the outside looking in. Memphis 901 FC: Like Birmingham, not much to dislike here outside of the turf playing surface at the larger playing venue. Austin Bold FC: See the other two above. FC Tulsa: Everything’s just a little bit off with this one. Market’s slightly too small, stadium has turf. Just not enough to put it over the top. Firm “no” Charleston Battery: Small metro and a small potential new stadium? It’s tough to say yes to the risk. Charlotte Independence: A small new stadium and the possibility of having to compete with an organization that just paid over $300 million to join MLS means it’s best for this club to remain in the USL Championship. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: When a club’s best chance to meet a capacity requirement is to host games at a venue controlled by the military, that doesn’t speak well to a club’s chances. El Paso Locomotive FC: An undersized market and a turf field that meets capacity requirements is the death knell for this one. Oklahoma City Energy FC: Having to expand a baseball field to meet requirements is a bad start. Having to potentially play 20 miles away from your main market is even worse. Reno 1868 FC: Population nearly a half-million short of the federation’s requirements AND a turf field at the hypothetical new stadium makes impossible to say yes to this bid. Rio Grande Valley FC: All the seat expansions in the world can’t hide the fact that McAllen Memorial Stadium is a high school stadium through and through. Here’s who’s left in the 11-team Championship: Birmingham Legion FC Charleston Battery Charlotte Independence Memphis 901 FC Austin Bold FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC El Paso Locomotive FC Oklahoma City Energy FC Reno 1868 FC Rio Grande Valley FC FC Tulsa With MLS folding the six affiliates it has in USL League One, the league is a little bit thin (especially considering USSF’s requirements for 8 teams for lower level leagues), but seems definitely able to expand up to the necessary numbers with Edwards’ allusions to five new additions this year: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Forward Madison FC Greenville Triumph SC Union Omaha Richmond Kickers South Georgia Tormenta FC Tucson Format of Assorted Leagues – This (like everything in this post) is pure conjecture on my part, but here are my thoughts on how these leagues might function in a first year while waiting for additional expansion. USL Premier – We’ll steal from the 12-team Scottish Premiership. Each club plays the other 11 clubs 3 times, with either one or two home matches against each side. When each club has played 33 matches, the top six and bottom six separate, with every club playing an additional five matches (against each other team in its group). The top club wins the league. The bottom club is automatically relegated. The second-bottom club will enter a two-legged playoff against someone (see below) from the championship playoffs. USL Championship -- 11 clubs is a challenge to schedule for. How about every club plays everyone else three times (either one or two home matches against each side)? Top four clubs make the playoffs, which are decided by two-legged playoffs. The winner automatically goes up. I need feedback on the second part – is it better to have the runner-up from the playoffs face the second-bottom club from the Premiership, or should the winner of the third-place match-up get the chance to face them to keep drama going in both playoff series? As for relegation, we can clearly only send down the last place club while the third division is so small. USL League One – While the league is so small, it doesn’t seem reasonable to have the clubs play as many matches as the higher divisions. Each club could play the other six clubs four times – twice at home and twice away – for a very equitable 24-match regular season, which would help restrict costs and still provide a chance to determine a clear winner. Whoever finishes top of the table goes up. And there you have it, a hypothetical look at how the USL could build a D1 league right now. All it would take is a new stadium for almost the entire league and new owners for all but one of the 27 clubs, who wouldn’t feel that their property would be massively devalued if they got relegated. Well that’s our show. I’m curious to see what you think of all of this, especially anything that you think I may have overlooked (I’m sure there’s plenty). Anyway, I hope you’re all staying safe and well.
After 26 seasons, we are reintroducing a twist used in the early days of King's Survivor: the Champions Vs Contenders twist. This time, it will be referred to as the David Vs Goliath twist, and it will feature 20 new contestants: 10 people who are underdogs, and 10 who are overachievers. We will soon find out whether overachievers or underdogs do better under the circumstances in King's Survivor. Vuku (Davids) Tribe: Celine Mayer, 26, Receptionist, u/ClayTAnderson Even though Celine is your typical quiet girl, she welcomes everybody that she meets with a great smile. Everyone has skills and is good in doing something - and with Celine, by being a good listener. They enjoy talking to her and she can immediately identify their needs and help to satisfy them. But behind this angelic façade, is a girl who's already two steps ahead, planning her next move. Christa Mason, 34, Unemployed Douglas Chance, 29, ER Nurse, u/TDSwaggyBoy Ever since he was born, Douglas' family taught him how to be a ''gentleman''. Be the kind of person that people are proud to call their friend. Always help others when they need your help, always be there for people. He decided to become a nurse, wanting to help in the medical field as he always had a knack for it. Douglas has dedicated his life to helping others, and hopes to come on SURVIVOR and use this platform in order to shine a light on big and important matters. He doesn't necessarily care about winning, but he'll give it his all. Douglas has overcome a lot of challenges in his life, and he's ready to face this one head on. Eric Carter, 23, Professional Rock Climber, u/UltDragon Eric has always enjoyed traveling and the outdoors even more. The first chance he was allowed to he moved out of his town in Ohio to see the world. He manages to scrap buy as a professional rock climber thanks to gas stations and the bed in the back of his van. Eric tried out for the show for the same reason he choose to do most things in life, because it sounded like fun. Jennifer "Jenn" Greene, 46, Fast Food Employee Ji-Hyun "Jean" Choi, 23, Analytical Student, u/FabColette Jean does not want to become that typical Asian girl, who's dubbed as just smart and hardworking. She wants to live up to that unfair standards and prove everyone wrong about their race. Michael Krumptone, 47, Band Director, u/swoldow Michael had dreams of being a musician since he was a kid, and had the drive to learn his craft to the best of his ability.... however the eighties weren't really the most popular time period for French horn players, so he could never get that big break he always thought he'd have, despite getting a music degree. As a result, he grew old and bitter, resenting modern genres of music like rock and rap, as they are what took his career away from him. He does marching band at a few high schools and basically treats it like it's prison camp due to how bitter he is, and he eventually grew to love his job; torturing kids like him into giving up on their dreams. However, he still hates his life, as he recently had to pick up another school to teach to pay for his ungrateful wife's Netflix, so he needs money somehow. Michael "Mike" Phillips, 26, Unemployed, u/acegamer1337 Michael was always a David he was always on the bottom he had lost his job and his girlfriend left him he was at the lowest part of his life and decided to go on this show to show that anything is possible. Michelle Carters, 29, Rocket Scientist, u/AngolanDesert Michelle is a woman who has built herself up from the ground. She comes from a family where nobody even finished high school, so she has had to make sure to work extremely hard from day 1. She is here to win to provide for her family. Zen Atame, 24, Unemployed, u/asiansurvivorfan Zen is an odd dude. Not much is known about him and it seems like it will probably stay that way. He never really talks and he likes to keep to himself most of the time. Despite seeming pretty useless, he is fairly smart so that may be his saving grace. Jabeni (Goliath) Tribe: Brett Herman, 28, Professional Poker Player, u/Twig7665 Brett was born into wealth on a mansion in Texas, and lived through most of his childhood in that wealth, until his father was caught up in a huge scandal that left him without money, so at age seventeen Brett ran away to Las Vegas where he could begin a new life. He started playing poker in the streets, and when he was old enough to gamble, he went to a casino, and stunned his opponents by winning the first time he played for money. Soon, people began to realize his talent, and he played in his first professional poker game at the age of 22. Once again, he won, and he became one of the most successful professional poker players in history. This fame caused him to grow arrogant and become a huge jerk, even to his manager. Now rich again, he isn't playing the game for money, he's playing the game to try something new and to gain another title. Cattleya Peralta, 29, Fashion Agent, u/FabColette As a fashion agent, Cattleya has mastered the art of persuasion and that helped her a lot during showrooms and fashion weeks. She is socially aware and use her charm to sway people on her side. She may not be the most physically active person, but she's got a badass persona. Georgia "Gigi" Seedrow, 21, Unemployed, u/AngolanDesert There’s always that one girl in high school who was the most popular but was also the most mean. This was Gigi in high school. Her parents are millionaires and made sure that she was set for life. Her only worry is what shoes to pick out the next day. She wanted to play survivor because she loves to manipulate people. Maybe her insecurities will be shown this season. Jeremiah Barak, 38, Drummer, u/zohnster Barak is a very confident man in his strategy and in his power of persuasion. In addition to training physically every day, he works hard on his brain to be the best version of himself every day. Arrogant sometimes? YES, but you have a good heart of loyalty and trust. Lukasz "Luk" Zabolcki, 50, Professional Triathlete, u/zohnster Lukasz is a Polish man who came to the United States in the 1980s looking for a better life for his newly created family. With a wife and a newborn baby, he finds happiness in the adrenaline of the sport. A great triathlete, he gained notoriety about 5 years ago, when he competed in the Ironman Triathlon. Soon after, he opened a gym where he trained young people for marathons in all sports. Even at the age of 50, Lukasz has the strength and determination of a young man and sees Survivor as another challenge that he will do with all his strength. Neveah Nwosu, 50, CEO, u/TDSwaggyBoy Ever since a young age, Nevaeh always knew how to get what she wanted. And not with the help of others, no no. She always managed to get what she wanted and get it herself. Nevaeh HATES counting on other people to do what she can do, after all. Becoming a CEO at a rather young age, Nevaeh is very proud of herself and her career. Although, admittedly, she was quite busy her entire life and never really found time for her family. That's why, at age 50, Nevaeh is still single and she doesn't plan on getting married anytime soon. It's sad, but it's true. Nevaeh doesn't care about the prize. She cares about the competition and about going down as one of the greats. So you all better mark it down in your diaries boys, because NEVAEH NWOSU is going to be the winner of Survivor: David Vs Goliath. Rita Maureira, 43, Data Analyst, u/ghetra Rita is a very successful data analyst. She has always been very smart and analytical, so she worked very hard to become as successful as she is now. At 43, she has reached a point in her life where she is very happy where she is at, and rather well off. Because of this, she doesn't bother biting her tongue much anymore and is very blunt with people. She has a great sense of humor which attracts many people to her, but she can be quite polarizing due to her bluntness and tendency to provoke people for no reason. She is not very open about her personal life and is able to deceive others quite well. River Goulding, 47, Family Physician, u/FabColette Even if River grew up in an elite neighborhood, he didn't let the money get into his head. He worked hard to achieve where he is right now and he's ready to take on a new challenge in his life. Despite his age, he plans to be everyone's friend with the help of his good sense of humor. Siddhi Sanjay, 28, Bollywood Actress, u/Thisaccountishaunted Siddhi was born in Mumbai, India but moved to the States as a child. She has dual Indian and American citizenship. She moved back to India in her early twenties to take care of her grandparents, and acted in Bollywood films to help earn them money. She has two homes in each of her countries and is used to traveling. She has a busy life and chooses not to marry, despite the traditions of arranged marriage, and turns down any insistence from her parents to get married. She wants to get on Survivor because she wants more outdoor adventure in her life and wants to join this season because she wants to find herself and who she can really be as a Goliath in tough situations. Vaughn Barton, 22, College Athlete, u/TDSwaggyBoy Vaughn never had it easy. His parents died in a fire when he were young, and he spent the majority of his childhood in an orphanage. But at age 11, he was adopted by a successful lawyer who tried giving the poor boy the best life she could. In the next 11 years, Vaughn managed to make a name for himself, now playing football at his university as a quarterback. Why? Because someone gave him a chance. And now, Vaughn pleads you, the production team, to give him a chance. He'll prove he's got what it takes to win. Link to Season Episode 1: Two boats, containing the two tribes, dock at a larger ship where the host awaits them. The two tribes size each other up, and then the host announces the twist. The Goliath tribe would pick who they thought was the strongest members of their tribe, and the weakest of the other tribe. The Goliaths pick Brett and Neveah to represent them, and Douglas and Michelle to represent the David tribe. The David representatives get to pick the obstacles they have to go through. In the end, the Goliath tribe narrowly beats out the Davids. The two tribes go to their camps, and at the David camp, Christa and Celine, and Douglas and Michael get into a disagreement about the former two being lazy. Christa then forms an all female alliance with Celine, Michelle, and Jenn. At the Goliath camp, Barak and Neveah bond, and Cattleya and Luk bond a lot. Siddhi, pitching in on the shelter a little too much, causes everyone to see her as a threat. Two overlapping alliances form on the Goliath beach. One with Brett, Cattleya, Luk, Nevaeh, and Rita, and one with Brett, Cattleya, Gigi, Barak, Nevaeh, Rita, River, and Vaughn, leaving Siddhi as the only outsider. Siddhi does not have to worry, as the Goliath tribe wins immunity. Figuring out that there is a female alliance happening right under his nose, Douglas tries to round up the guys to oust Jenn, who he believes is the head of the female alliance and the most dangerous of them. He relays the information to Mike, Zen, Michael, Eric, and Jean, who was on the outer of the female alliance, and they decide to join his side. At tribal council, the women vote for Zen, thinking the others will vote him too due to how introverted he is, and in the end, Jenn becomes the first blindside in a 6-4 vote. Episode 2: After being blindsided at the first vote, Celine decides to flip from her side over to the majority, much to Michael and Douglas's glee. Mike starts to flirt with Michelle, and that causes Eric to pull him aside and let him know that flipping is a bad idea. This causes them to get in a bit of an argument, leading to a bit of a schism in the majority alliance. Zen sneaks off and finds the immunity idol on his tribe beach, and keeps it to himself. At the Goliath tribe, Brett and Barak start to bond, and Vaughn gets into an argument with Nevaeh. The Goliaths win immunity again, and Christa starts to get on everyone's nerves at the David tribe for telling everyone that they need to be more physical, while not pulling her weight in challenges, and in the end, it was her who got voted out in a 7-2 vote over Douglas. Episode 3: Wanting to have a sub alliance within the alliance in case they lose again, Michael forms an alliance with Jean, Mike, and Zen, and he plans for it to be the final four. Eric has a bit of a fight with Jean, and Michael and Zen grow very close. At the Goliath tribe, Cattleya and Luk bond a bit, but not much else worthy of mention happens. After losing three challenges, it is the David tribe's turn to win immunity, and they are thrilled at the prospect of winning a challenge. Vaughn starts to insist that Siddhi needs to be the first to go from their tribe, and most of his alliance agrees with that, and they decide to split the vote between Luk and Siddhi in case one of them has an idol. Siddhi herself targets River, seeing him as slimy. Brett, Rita, River, and Vaughn pin votes on Luk, and the rest of the tribe votes out Siddhi, and she goes out without an idol in a 5-4-1 vote. Episode 4: At the Goliath camp, Barak and Vaughn get into a large argument over something small, and Luk is able to get them to stop fighting, causing the others to respect him a lot more. Barak and River bond and form an alliance after Barak's fight with Vaughn in hopes of getting him out. At the David camp, Eric continues to be a nuisance around camp, as he has a fight with Jean for no reason. Michael finds Zen's idol, and he is furious about how he kept it a secret from him all this time. This causes Zen to be kicked out of the alliance, so he decides to flip from his side to Douglas's side. The Goliath tribe wins immunity yet again, and the David tribe is very demoralized after suffering four losses to one win. Michael, Mike, and Jean decide to target Eric for being too much of a loose cannon, while Douglas's majority targets Jean for being a liability in challenges, since both Michael and Mike were great providers, and Jean was doing nothing. At tribal council, Jean is blindsided in a 5-3 vote. Episode 5: A tribe swap is announced, and the two tribes become three. Zen is exiled and will join the losing tribe after tribal council. The Vuku tribe consists of Douglas, Barak, Luk, Rita, and River, while on the Jabeni tribe is Eric, Gigi, Mike, Michelle, and Nevaeh. Finally the brand new Tiva tribe has Brett, Cattleya, Celine, Michael, and Vaughn. At Vuku, not much happens when they build their shelter, and at Jabeni, Nevaeh tries to form a bond with Gigi, which works. The Vuku and Jabeni tribes both win immunity, and at Tiva tribe, Brett tries to vote out Celine for being the least close to him, and for being less of a provider than Michael. Brett gets Cattleya and Vaughn on board, and unsuccessfully talks to Michael, who decides to put aside his differences with Celine and works with her to try and eliminate Cattleya, and at tribal council, Celine becomes the fifth person voted out in a 3-2 vote. Zen then joins Tiva. Episode 6: Brett, Cattleya, Michael, and Vaughn welcome Zen to their camp, but see him as the biggest threat on their tribe, thinking that Zen got an advantage at Exile, which he did not. Brett looks for and finds the idol, so Zen wouldn't have it, and for future safekeeping. Brett decides to go rogue from his five person alliance and forms a bond with Michael, promising to keep him safe in subsequent tribal councils. At the second reward challenge of the season, Vuku and Jabeni win reward, increasing Tiva's losing streak. At Vuku, Barak's strength in challenges impresses the rest of his tribe, and also makes them see him as a threat. Barak also leaves the alliance he's in. Mike impresses his tribe on Jabeni, making Nevaeh want to blindside him next. Gigi and Michelle bond, and Nevaeh pulls them into an alliance with Eric to vote off Mike if they lose, and the Jabeni tribe indeed loses the immunity challenge. Unfortunately, Nevaeh has to be evacuated due to a medical emergency in her family, and she emotionally leaves the game, leaving her four tribemates to fend for themselves. Episode 7: The day after Nevaeh leaves the game, the remaining contestants compete in a reward challenge, and Vuku loses their first challenge as a new tribe. After losing the reward, Douglas blames the loss on Rita, and asks the others on his tribe to vote her off. This outburst causes him to be seen as threatening to the other tribe members. Rita leaves her alliance of six, not wanting to be associated with them anymore. Not much happens on the Tiva and Jabeni beach, but the Jabenis lose immunity yet again, and back at camp, Eric and Mike get into a huge fight, and the two begin to target one another. Eric wins the support of Gigi and Michelle, and Mike gets voted out 3-1, becoming the first man to be voted out of this season. Episode 8: The tribes merge into the Kalokalo tribe, with buffs of light blue. Still in the game is Brett, Cattleya, Douglas, Eric, Gigi, Barak, Luk, Michael, Michelle, Rita, River, Vaughn, and Zen. Michael is angered to see Mike be voted out over Eric, and he makes his thoughts very clear to the other tribe members. Luk, knowing that he'll be targeted for his physical strength, sneaks off and finds the idol. River, knowing that Barak is a sinking ship, flips on him and starts to target him. Barak himself targets Vaughn, who sees the young man as troubled, after Vaughn had an outburst earlier that day. River bonds with Zen and convinces him to join his side. Luk wins immunity, cementing his status as a physical threat, and making the other tribemates want to go after him even more. At tribal council, Eric, Barak, Michelle, and Zen vote off Vaughn, while the rest vote for Barak, and Barak becomes the first juror in a 9-4 vote. Episode 9: The final 12 compete in the first post merge immunity challenge of the season, which is won by a group consisting of Cattleya, Douglas, Michael, Michelle, Rita, and Zen. Michael and Zen reconcile, as Michael, being on the bottom, needs as many allies as he can get. Michael goes on to win the immunity challenge. Back at camp, Rita leaves her alliance with Cattleya and Luk, and they decide to target her. They get Douglas on board, and Brett calls him out for it, calling him a traitor. In the end, they decide to stick with the original plan to vote out Luk, and Luk plays his idol, sending Rita home in a 3-0 vote. Episode 10: After the biggest blindside of the season so far, the remaining contestants compete in another reward challenge, minus Luk, who sits out for rice. The group of Cattleya, Gigi, Michelle, Vaughn, and Zen win the reward, and they get to enjoy a burger bar and get their minds out of the game for a bit. When they get back to camp, Gigi and Douglas get into an argument, as Douglas feels like Gigi had never had to work for anything in her life. Brett forms a deal with Michael, and Luk tries to get Michelle to work with him, which fails. Eric wins immunity, and the majority decides that Luk is their best bet to vote out. Douglas and Cattleya vote alongside Luk, but it is not enough, and Luk goes in a 8-3 vote. Episode 11: After Luk's vote off, Cattleya and Douglas are on the bottom, with really nowhere to go. Brett forms a new alliance, with Gigi, Cattleya, and Vaughn, and soon enough, Michael figures out that alliance. He talks to the outsiders, which all turn against Brett, and their first target is the one who they think is the most likely to go on an immunity streak- Vaughn. When Brett, Douglas, Eric, Michelle, and Zen win reward, Brett tries to get Eric and Michelle to join his alliance, and it fails, since both of them were pro-Michael. Brett saves himself from being tenth by winning immunity, and the majority of the tribe is ready to vote Vaughn out. Thinking he has the majority to take out Douglas, he chooses not to play his idol on Vaughn, and Vaughn becomes the fourth member of the jury in a 6-4 vote. Back at camp, Cattleya confronts her tribe about who flipped, and takes out her anger on Eric, but forms a bond with Michelle, for some odd reason. Michelle looks for and finds the idol that Luk used a couple episodes before, and keeps it to herself. Cattleya wins immunity, and Michael decides to cut the head off the snake, so Brett becomes the next big target. Luckily for him, he has the idol, so at tribal council, he plays said idol, and takes out Eric in a 3-0 vote. Episode 12: Brett goes off and looks for an idol, unable to trust his tribemates, but is unsuccessful. The remaining contestants get a visit from their loved ones, and the group of River and Zen win reward, and they bring Gigi and Michelle along. Michelle bonds with River, and Cattleya and Zen also bond, but nobody decides to flip. The majority decide to target Brett again, but Douglas goes rogue and tries to vote for Cattleya, seeing her as more physical than Brett. Michael wins immunity, and at tribal council, Gigi plays her idol for Brett, and Douglas gets voted out 3-1 and becomes the sixth jury member. Episode 13: During the last reward challenge of the season, Gigi pulls out a tremendous effort and wins the reward, and brings her close allies Cattleya and Brett along. They plot to get rid of Zen, due to how closed off he is, but the majority four, still in power, target Brett for being an all-around threat, and after Michael wins immunity, the final nail in Brett's coffin has been hammered in. He makes a desperate plea to stay in the game at tribal council, but it is to no avail, and he gets voted out in a 4-3 vote and becomes the seventh member of the jury. Finale: Six players remain: Cattleya, Gigi, Michael, Michelle, River, and Zen. Michelle impresses the rest of the team, but some also start to see her as a goat, since she played a very safe game. Gigi wins immunity and shares the reward with Cattleya and Michael, thinking the latter would flip. He doesn't. Gigi and Cattleya target Zen again, while Michael targets Cattleya as the only person in the minority that he still hasn't vote off. At tribal council, Cattleya is voted off in a 4-2 vote. Michael wins his fourth immunity of the game, if he were to win one more, he would tie the record for most immunity wins with Jerry and Deef. Everyone in the majority, knowing what to do, all vote off Gigi, but Michelle and Zen both play their idols to be safe, and in total negate only one vote, and Gigi becomes the ninth jury member. After almost three hours, Zen beats out comp beast Michael in the final immunity challenge, but feeling indebted towards him, and the fact that River and Michelle hadn't done much to prove themselves, he puts Michelle and River in the fire making challenge, and River is able to win, making Michelle the ninth and final jury member. In the first all male final tribal council since Arabia, the final three consists of Michael, River, and Zen. River is called out for making big moves over good moves, Zen got flack for having no social game while having decent everything else, and Michael is considered the best all-arounder, even though he relied on challenges, he never got a single vote throughout the game, and the jury decides that it's good enough, and so Michael wins in a 6-4-0 vote, losing Erik, Gigi, Barak, and Luk's votes, as they vote Zen instead of him. Barak is announced as the fan favorite for being the most relatable person on the Goliath tribe, and for getting voted out in a way that did him dirty. Winner: Michael Krumptone, u/swoldow Fan Favorite: Jeremiah Barak, u/zohnster Next season, we will see the introduction of a new twist called the Edge of Extinction, and four returnees will come back to the game to face off against the 14 newbies. Will a new player win, or will a returning favorite claim the prize? Find out in King's Survivor: Edge of Extinction!
Georgia casinos are located in places that have a rich history and beautiful landscapes. There's a lot to do and see in Georgia, from the sandy beaches to the foothills of the mountains. Both Brunswick and Savannah offer guests of their cities plenty of entertainment, great dining experiences, and a good time for all. Georgia. Casinos: 1 (casino cruise ship) Social Gambling: Not Legal. DFS Bets: Not Legal. Online Gambling: Not Specified. Georgia's gaming law is the epitome of the Deep South's attitude towards most vice – they don't like it, they don't want you to like it, and they don't plan on doing much about it. The state's one legitimate gambling Georgia is one of the few US states that deem all forms of casino games illegal. Unfortunately, even the brick-and-mortar casinos fall under this law. Therefore, Georgia residents do not have access to any land-based casinos in the whole state. Moreover, online casino games are illegal in the state as well. Technically, there are some casinos in Florida. Tribal casinos, to be exact. But considering Florida is a huge tourist destination, it seems odd that there are no commercial casinos or resort casinos. There’s a big reason why. Disney owns about 90% of the convention space in the state, or a figure just as ridiculous. Gov. Kay Ivey’s Study Group on Gambling Policy issued a report Dec. 18 estimating the state would net up to $300 million a year from a lottery, up to $400 million from casinos, and $10 million Chef - Casinos are not legal to operate in Georgia. Why? Because our governor and legislature are run, for the most part, by very conservative folks who operate as much on what they perceive to be religious principals as anything else. The controlling folks believe that casinos foment crime, prostitution, etc. and just are not "good" for the Georgia Casinos | Updates 2021 Casinos are Illegal in Georgia No Indian Casinos Currently in Georgia. Georgia law prohibits casino gambling, however, the United Keetooway Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma would like to change that. The tribe is in the initial planning stages of for seeking approval of a tribal casino. Here are our Top 5 reasons why. Reasons why gambling should be illegal. 1. Gambling is subject to fraud. Legalized gambling, specifically Indian gaming, is the fastest growing industry in the world, and can have a corrupting influence on state government. The governments are addicted to the revenue received from Indian gaming and lotteries. No Casinos in Georgia Legislation that would authorize casino gambling in Georgia won’t pass the General Assembly this year. March 6, 2017, 10:14 am 0 Edit. Facebook; Twitter; email; Stephens said he doesn’t envision any potential Georgia casinos attracting the type of crime that opponents often cite. “We already gamble,” he said, alluding to the lottery. “We have for
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