Five Things To Watch At The Presidents Cup

The U.S. looks like a youthful juggernaut, Tiger’s here, the golf course is bad, the fans will be wild. It might not be close, but it should be fun, and it’s big-time golf in the fall. It works.

Hey, the other international team golf competition is back in the U.S. for the first time since Tiger Woods still reigned atop the golf world.

The 12th installment of the President’s Cup gets underway Thursday just across the waterway from Manhattan at Liberty National Golf Club with 12 players from the United States taking on 12 players, uh, not from the U.S. or Europe.

Here’s five storylines to watch as play gets underway today and throughout the rest of the week.

Do we still care about the Presidents Cup? Did we ever?

We’re now 24 years and 12 events into the Presidents Cup, and the event still hasn’t taken on the impact PGA Tour officials dreamt of at the tournament’s inception in 1994. The loose catch-all confederation of players on the “International” side has always felt clumsy and weird, and that’s before you recall the rest-of-the-world bunch has only managed one win in the event in 11 tries. The Ryder Cup has 90 years of history, the baked-in nationalistic rivalry between the U.S. and Europe, and real competitiveness. Our sample size is far smaller, but so far the President’s Cup has, uh, none of that.

Yet, maybe none of that’s the Presidents Cup’s fault, exactly. Perhaps we’re using the wrong barometer — of course it’s not going to measure to golf’s most thrilling event that has a ton of built-in advantages. There’s been no War on the Shore, or Brookline, or Medinah. I cover golf for a living and for whatever reason the only recent installment that pops out in my memory is the 2007 Cup at Royal Montreal, when Mike Weir beat Tiger Woods in Sunday singles for what’s probably the best modern moment in Canadian golf history. Other than that, meh. Most others have been forgettable.

Still, that doesn’t mean this event shouldn’t continue. Especially when the alternative is perhaps another run-of-the-mill, 72-hole stroke-play event. Golf needs format variety and events that pop out on the schedule. Even for all its shortcomings as a competition, the Presidents Cup is still one of those dates. This week’s crowd at Liberty National will assuredly be massive, raucous (read: very drunk), and fun. It’ll be fine.


The Presidents Cup, for now, is fine.

BIG CAT BACK! Kinda!

If you’d like to be sad for a moment, consider where we were the last time the United States hosted a Presidents Cup. Coming into the 2013 event at Jack’s Muirfield Village in Columbus, Tiger Woods had already won five PGA Tour events that season, led the tour in adjusted scoring average, sat atop the OWGR, ran away with the top spot for Pres Cup qualifying, and took home Player of the Year honors. Life comes at you fast, etc, etc.

After another year completely away from the golf course, Tiger returns to his role this week as national team assistant captain — one he seemed to enjoy last year at Hazeltine. He’ll be a bit player in helping various groups navigate Liberty National, though Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth were quick to credit Woods last year after the U.S. team’s Ryder Cup win.

For better or worse, the golf world will always be fixated on Tiger Woods when he’s around. That hasn’t been any different this week so far, and it won’t be any different through the weekend.

Some wanted more new faces on the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year. You’ll get ’em now.

With immense pressure to get things right after a run of embarrassing losses, things worked out for the U.S. team in Minnesota. But with younger, more exciting American golf talent emerging throughout the year, plenty of U.S. golf fans weren’t happy with the Davis Love’s roster. Brooks Koepka was the team’s only national team rookie to qualify on points, only four players under 30 made the team as a whole, and Love opted for Ryder Cup veterans like J.B. Holmes and Matt Kuchar over younger talent with his captains selections.

Still, it worked. But a clear shift in the makeup of the national team will start this week at Liberty National. The youth movement is here. Exactly half of this year’s American contingent will be Presidents Cup rookies and five players (Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, Kevin Kisner, Kevin Chappell, Charley Hoffman) will be making their pro national team debuts. Matt Kuchar at 39 was the oldest player to qualify for the team on points, but the other nine were 33 or younger. Only two players on the roster are 40 or older — captains selections Hoffman and Phil Mickelson.

If for nothing else, tune into the Presidents Cup to see a stacked core of vibrant, fun, young American stars that are set to head to Paris for next year’s Ryder Cup. It’ll be fun.

The International team has a better shot than you think

If you’re reading this, you’ve won as many Presidents Cups on U.S. soil as the International team has in its history. The team’s lone win ever came at the team’s effective home base at Royal Melbourne in 1998. Let’ just say, uh, the Sandbelt’s a hell of a contrast from a former Superfund site across from Manhattan filled with Bud Light-powered New Yorkers. Probably gonna be a juuuuuuust a bit more hostile.

Take the Americans’ clearly superior roster, the home-course advantage, and the Internationals historical futility in this competition, and it’s easy to arrive at the conclusion we’re set for a beatdown this week. But, perhaps, maybe not.

Despite all the losses, there’s reason to believe this week if you want the Americans to take an L at home. The Internationals just nearly missed in 2015, with the event coming down to the final hole in the final match. This year’s roster looks to be in improving form, too. Hideki Matsuyama won more events in 2017 than anyone in the world. Jason Day seems to be rounding back into form to close the year after a rough season. Marc Leishman was brilliant in the FedEx Cup. They certainly won’t be the favorites against a U.S. team that looks like a juggernaut, but it’s not a forgone conclusion the Americans run away with this.

Liberty National is a bad golf course. That’s OK.

Here, let’s not mince words. Liberty National is not a good golf course. In fact, it’s a bad golf course! The Superfund site-turned-$250 million project has breathtaking views of the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty you can’t beat anywhere in the world of golf. It was also described as a project that ruined a perfectly good toxic dump when the course made its tour debut for the 2009 Barclays. It was voted the worst track on Tour by players in 2012. It’s generally regarded as overly penal and exaggerated, a fun-house mirror’s interpretation of a golf course by Bob Cupp and Tom Kite totally out of line with more minimalist courses appreciated in today’s world.

Listen, I’m far from a course architecture snob, but you’ll find few in the golf world that will die on a hill for Liberty National. It’s been redesigned since its early terrible reviews, and some of the dissent has lessened, but it’s not going to be confused for Pine Valley anytime soon. That’s a shame, because the location’s still one of the best in all of golf.

But good news: It’s still a fine venue for a match-play competition. The nature of match play and the unique style of the event make it more suited to bring quirky golf courses into the fold. This week, it’ll be fine for the purpose it serves.(sbnation)

It Was Not Imponderable: Wall Erred 73% Of The Sides In 22 Penalties In The Fla.

Holder in the final, shirt 38 jumped to the right corner in the five charges for strategy. Three longest-serving goalkeepers in the club's recent past have excelled in the

Diego was the villain of the Flamengo runners-up in the Brazilian Cup, being the only one to lose a penalty in the decision, after 0-0 in the normal time against Cruzeiro. However, the red-black crowd also came back to be irritated with the goalkeeper Wall. He, again, did not defend any of the five charges against his goal.

After the game, coach Reinaldo Rueda classified the defeat on penalties as something '' imponderable '' . More than that, it turned out to be a mathematical question. It was Flamengo's third penalty shootout this season, all with goalkeeper Alex Muralha. The Rubro-Negro was defeated in all three, without having any penalty defended. Fluminense and Paraná were the other executioners of the Gávea team.

After the game, coach Reinaldo Rueda classified the defeat on penalties as something '' imponderable '' . More than that, it turned out to be a mathematical question. It was Flamengo's third penalty shootout this season, all with goalkeeper Alex Muralha. The Rubro-Negro was defeated in all three, without having any penalty defended. Fluminense and Paraná were the other executioners of the Gávea team.

Ball on one side, Wall on the other: Cruzeiro converted the five charges in the decision (Photo: André Durão / GloboEsporte.com)

After the game, Wall revealed that jumping to the same side in all charges of the Cruise was a strategy . By the end, the Cruzeiro had hit 25 penalties in 2017, 14 - more than 50% - on the right side . It did not work: only Diego Barbosa beat there and the red-black goalkeeper did not even come close to defending.
Going bad in the matter is not new to Wall. In 22 penalties charged against Fla with the goalkeeper in the goal, he only defended one , against Bangu, in the Carioca of 2016 (use of 4.5%).
Of the other 21 balls, one hit the crossbar, and another 20 entered. And in 16 of them, he did not even hit the side, that is, 73% of the cases.

Cruise on penalties in 2017 (before the final)

• 25 charges 
• 14 on the right side 
• 9 on the left side 
• 2 in the middle of the goal

It is not disputed that in the hour of penalties the batter is in better conditions. However, Wall has been showing flaws. He seems impatient, therefore, unlike many colleagues who do well in penalties, it is difficult to expect the batter to make the decision and ends up falling sooner. The fact of "not going out in the photo" in several collections also put it in the sights of the fans.

COLLECTION GROWS AFTER PENALTY PICKERS PASS BY GAS

The charge is growing because Flamengo has a recent history of having penalty takers. Bruno, Felipe and Paulo Victor shone before the batters from 2006 to 2015.

Among them, Bruno was the most crucial one , today imprisoned because of the murder of Eliza Samudio. It is true that the old shirt 1 suffered 40 goals in 59 in which he was put to the test, which gives him 25% advantage, the worst between him, Felipe and PV, but the player revealed by the Rooster is a central figure in the achievements of the Cariocas of 2007 and 2009 and the Brazilian hexacampeonato. 

Among the feats, Bruno has two penalties defended in the state decision of 2007, against Botafogo, and another three - one in regulation time - before the same opponent and also in a Carioca final. In the 2009 Brasileirão, he took two penalties against Santos in the same game, giving gas to the start that culminated with the title. In games of lesser importance Edmundo and Dodo stopped, losing two in a single duel. Both wore Vasco's shirt, but in different years: 2008 and 2010, respectively.

Who has the best use of the trio, however, is Felipe : 39%. It was decisive in the Carioca of 2011, taking two penalties - each - in the semifinals of the Guanabara Cup and the Rio Cup of the year in question, against Botafogo and Fluminense, respectively. It was a penalty that Felipe defended for Elano and then made a little trouble - in the game in question, the Fla achieved to turn to 5 to 4 game that was in 3 to 0 for the Santos.

Paulo Victor , with a 30% advantage, also increased in the matter and his great accomplishment was to have caught two penalties in the epic turn over Coritiba, in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Brazil Cup (see below) , when Flamengo, who lost 3 to 0 in Paraná, returned the score.(globoesporte.globo)

The achievements of Bruno, Felipe and Paulo Victor (Photo: Infoesporte)

Bayern Munich Split From Coach Ancelotti

The Champions League defeat in Paris was too much: FC Bayern München gave coach Carlo Ancelotti the liberation. Co-coach Willy Sagnol will be taking over the team.

FC Bayern Munich have parted ways with coach Carlo Ancelotti. The club confirmed in the afternoon appropriate reports from Sportbild and Sky News . Ancelotti's Italian team was also released. The coaching coach Willy Sagnol, coached the FC Bayern with the training management. The 40-year-old Sagnol will sit on the bench against Hertha BSC Berlin on Sunday. The ESPN had earlier reported Ancelotti had the German football champions offered his resignation.

In a statement the association is Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of Bayern Munich, quoted: "The performance of our team since beginning of the season did not meet the expectations we place on them." The Champions League game in Paris had "clearly shown that we had to draw consequences," Hasan Salihamidžić and I told Carlo today in an open and serious discussion and informed him of our decision, "the communication said.

Rummenigge thanked Ancelotti: "I would like to thank Carlo for the cooperation and regret the development she has taken. Carlo is my friend and will remain, but we had to make a professional decision in the sense of FC Bayern." He now expects a positive development and absolute performance of the team.
Consequences in plain text

On the eve, the Munich side lost 3-0 against Paris Saint-Germain . Ancelotti asked for an unusual start, leaving Mats Hummels, Franck Ribéry, Arjen Robben and Jérôme Boateng on the bench. Already in the second minute the Bayern conceded the 0: 1. Also the rest of the evening they had no chance against the team around the Brazilian Neymar.
Rummenigge spoke in the evening in Paris of a "bitter defeat, which must be discussed, which must be analyzed and from which we must also draw conclusions in plain text."
With the release of Ancelottis, the club drew the consequences of the defeat in the Champions League, but also an unsatisfying Bundesliga start. After six games, Bayern Munich are in third place in the Bundesliga, behind TSG Hoffenheim and Borussia Dortmund.

Ancelotti had taken over the trainer before the season 2016/17 from Pep Guardiola. With the 58-year-old Italian, Bayern won the German championship. In the DFB Cup, however, the Munichers failed in the semifinals to Borussia Dortmund, in the Champions League in the quarterfinals at the later winner Real Madrid.(ZEIT)

Deshaun Watson Will Make The NFL Teams Who Passed On Him Regret It

Deshaun Watson looks like a potential franchise quarterback. (Steven Senne/AP)

As a refresher, and for the record, here are how the teams who had unsettled quarterback situations, either at that moment or on the horizon, approached the draft during the 12 selections it took for Deshaun Watson to come off the board:

>>> The Browns, having wandered through the quarterback wilderness since they came into existence, used the first overall pick on Myles Garrett.

>>> The 49ers, who had signed journeyman Brian Hoyer to a two-year deal, traded the second overall pick to the Bears. They would pick defensive lineman Solomon Thomas after moving back to the third pick.

>>> The Bears wanted a quarterback even though they had signed Mike Glennon in free agency, but they took Mitchell Trubisky second.

>>> The Jaguars, with Blake Bortles coming off another lackluster season, chose running back Leonard Fournette.

>>> The Jets, picking sixth without a viable long-term quarterback on their roster, chose safety Jamal Adams.

[The Texans got their initial QB decision wrong, but can fix it with Deshaun Watson]

>>> The Bengals, who had the option to get out of Andy Dalton’s contract after the 2017 season, took wide receiver John Ross with the ninth pick.

>>> The Bills, who seemed to have lukewarm feelings toward Tyrod Taylor despite signing him to a contract extension, traded the 10th pick to the Chiefs.

>>> The Chiefs, looking ahead to the end of Alex Smith’s contract, took a quarterback, but chose Patrick Mahomes.

>>> The Saints had Drew Brees, but his contract was becoming onerous as he reached his late 30s. They took cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

>>> The Browns had another shot to take Watson, but instead traded the 12th pick.

>>> The Cardinals, with Carson Palmer nearing the end and picking 13th, declined to pay the tax to move up one spot. Instead, the Texans swooped in and took Watson.

That’s ten teams in position to take Watson, with the Browns getting two cracks, before Houston nabbed him. They may not necessarily look back with regret even if Watson becomes a star. Trubisky and Mahomes, both of whom enjoyed promising preseasons, may work out for Chicago and Kansas City, respectively. The Browns ended up taking DeShone Kizer in the second round, and he’s already their starting quarterback. Fournette has been pivotal in pushing the Jaguars’ offense into adequacy. Adams might become a cornerstone for the Jets’ defense. And so on.

But then again, they may. It took one half for the Texans to hand Watson the keys to the franchise, and all he has done since is impress. In his first start, Watson led the Texans to a road win over the Bengals, keying the victory with a 49-yard touchdown run. He then validated himself as a viable NFL starter in a loss, pushing Houston to the precipice of an upset in New England.

Watson passed for 301 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which came on a Hail Mary, and ran for another 41 yards, making him the first quarterback to go for 300 and 40 against Bill Belichick and the Patriots since 2011.** “He’s a handful,” Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler said. “Running around, people diving at him, missing him. That’s a great guy. That’s an upcoming Cam Newton.”

**Here is some delightfully bizarre trivia: Watson became the fourth quarterback to pass for at least 300 yards and rush for at least 40 against the Patriots under Bill Belichick. Amazingly, all four lost. More amazingly, the other three quarterbacks were Aaron Brooks, Vince Young on the Eagles and Chad Henne. Most amazingly, in Week 1 of the 2011 season, Henne threw for 416 yards, rushed for 59 and lost by two touchdowns! That is a weird game.

Watson’s coach at Clemson, Dabo Swinney, started chastising teams for passing on Watson immediately after Watson’s college career ended. “Passing on Michael Jordan,” he said. That’s a reach, but it is possible Watson went well after he should have.

[The Texans should take a chance on Deshaun Watson as their opening day starting QB]

If a third of the league missed on Watson, then why did it happen? NFL teams typecast Watson as the product of a typical college spread offense, a passer who maximized performance in a system suited to the college game. But he was different. One of the best indicators of NFL success among college quarterbacks is simply games played — Watson started 38 in three years. Clemson’s offense contained many simple reads, but as Watson’s career unfolded, Swinney let him call his own plays and expanded Watson’s progressions. He could diagnose a defense pre-snap, decide on a multilayered play and then execute it. He was doing NFL stuff; the college scheme was veneer.

Watson used his legs plenty, but on pass plays he kept his eyes downfield and looked for open receivers before bolting. His accuracy sometimes wavered, but in NFL games, when he wouldn’t have as many designed runs, he would take fewer hits, which can affect a thrower’s precision.

As a bonus, Watson is as good of a representative of a franchise as a franchise could hope its quarterback could be. His backstory and advocacy for Habitat for Humanity are well-known. This week, Watson donated his first game check to Texans cafeteria workers who were wiped out by Hurricane Harvey.

 It’s not as if NFL teams disregarded Watson — he went 12th, and a team traded up to get him. But he sure possessed the qualities of a top-of-the-draft quarterback, qualities that in retrospect seemed to be hidden in plain sight to teams at the top of draft.

The draft process is so long and so exhaustive, and in some ways the overload of information has made NFL teams more efficient. But it also leads to overthinking. The NFL needs desperately needs quarterbacks, and here came a player who had started three seasons, won 33 games and initiated the offense with a run or pass 77 times against Alabama, an NFL feeder defense, in the national championship game. He had smarts, poise, leadership, experience and speed to spare, with adequate arm strength and accuracy.

It has only been two games, and plenty of good players were picked before him. It is still easy to imagine Watson filling opponents with regret for what they passed up.

>>> Mark Maske and Liz Clarke have an excellent, comprehensive examination of how NFL owners decided on how to respond to President Trump’s caustic comments last weekend.  Here is a key passage, regarding the deliberations of Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and top executive Bruce Allen:

Snyder and Allen considered issuing a statement, deciding to do so only after roughly three-fourths of the owners had already done so. In weighing the content and tone, they gave great consideration to the fact that the Redskins were in the nation’s capital; that the team’s fan base included a significant number of servicemen and women, both active and retired; and that President Trump was a Washingtonian, too.

Neither man signed the two-paragraph statement; it was attributed simply to the “Redskins.” It was one of just two among the 31 NFL teams’ statements that were unsigned, with the Cincinnati Bengals producing the other. Because it wasn’t released until the 8:30 p.m. Eastern time kickoff, Redskins players didn’t have a chance to see it beforehand. When it was shown to one starting player after the game ended, he frowned after reading it, explaining after a long pause that it didn’t reflect the sentiments of Redskins players. “I guess money matters,” the player said.

Allen declined Tuesday to discuss the Redskins’ process in drafting their statement and linking arms on the sideline, saying through a spokesman: “We’re focused on Kansas City,” Washington’s next opponent.

The player’s reaction shows, again, that the objectives of players and owners may not be as aligned as the league is suggesting through its messaging and branding.

>>> The Titans’ Delanie Walker tells people who want to boycott the NFL to go right ahead, as Jason Wolf reports.(washingtonpost)

Happy Durga Ashtami: Send This Whatsapp Message, Images And Sms To All The Wishes Of The Great Ashtami

Happy Maha Ashtami, Durga Ashtami 2017: Good wishes of Mahatma Ashtami can be sent to your family and friends through these views and facebook messages.

Happy Durga Ashtami: Send this message to the loved ones on MahaGurga Ashtami. Best wishes

The Mahatmati is also known by Mahadurga Ashtami's mother. Maha Ashtami is one of the important days of Durga Puja. Nine forms of the mother are worshiped in this festival of nine days. Mother Gauri is worshiped on the eve of the Great Ashtami. On this day worship text and especially Parna Kanya are worshiped. The beginning of Navratri, ie nine nights, is the first date of Ashwin month's Shukla party since 21st September and it will be completed on September 30th. First of all, Lord Ramchandra worshiped Durga Maa for nine days on the seashore and after that it had to depart towards Lanka. Then he had also won victory in battle, hence Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day and it is believed that victory over the religion of unrighteousness, to celebrate the truth of untruth, celebrates Dussehra on the tenth day. Mother Durga leaves Kailash during Navratri and comes to Earth.

At Ashtami i.e. Durga Ashtami many people complete their vow and finally the little girls are worshiped and they are invited from their homes by taking food and taking blessings from them. According to mythological beliefs, young girls are considered to be goddesses. Only after nine days of fasting after the worship of the girls, the fast is opened. To fulfill the fast and to take blessings of Durga, it is necessary to worship the daughters of Ashtami and Navami on the day of worship. This time Ashar of the Shardhi Navaratri is on Friday 28th September 2017. On this day seven fasting fasters open their fast and worship the daughters and take blessings from them. May send greetings to this family of Mahatgur Ashtami through these whitespace and Facebook messages.

Happiness and your birth, together with birth, it
is only a matter of your laughter on the tongue of all,
even if there is ever trouble in life, then
your mother, Durga is always the hand on the head.
Best wishes of Durga Ashtami Jai Mata Di ..

O my God, give me strength, Durga. 

You always give me devotion in the heart, 

do your worship , I will give 

you salvation from all your bones. 

Best wishes to all of Durga Ashtami

Where is Sarah in whose shelter, in 

the stage of 

that mother , we are the dust of the feet of that mother, 

come together and give birth to the flowers of reverence mother. 

Best wishes to Durga Ashtami

May be the power of the mother, 

the destruction of the crises 

, the happiness of every house, the happiness of 

Navratri, the warm greetings of Navratri. Jai Mata Di!!

Mata Rani do not give boon to us, to give 

just a little love to us, the 

life that you have lost in your feet, this is the 

only blessing to give us this blessing. 

Best wishes to all of you Durga Ashtami

If you are Ruthi, you will 

call him, 

he will take it in the heart of the heart, in the 

matter of things 

, all the devotees of the mother wish Durga Ashtami good luck. (jansatta)

Hugh Hefner, Iconic Playboy, Dies at 91

The founder of the Playboy empire gave generations of men a robe-clad role model.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 16: Hugh Hefner poses at Playboy's 60th Anniversary special event on January 16, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Playboy)

Getty Images for Playboy

The 1992 documentary Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time was aptly titled. For generations of men, Hefner—who died September 27 at the age of 91, according to Playboy—lived a fairy tale existence. As Kiss frontman Gene Simmons bluntly put it in the 2009 documentary Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, and Rebel: “Show me any guy of any age anywhere in the world. . . that wouldn’t give his left nut to be Hugh Hefner at 20, at 50, at 80.”

Hefner, who died of natural causes at his home—the Playboy mansion—in Los Angeles, could not have imagined that Playboy, the magazine he created in his Chicago apartment in 1953 for $8,000, and its bunny logo would “become a fixture of the cultural landscape as universal as Disneyland and Coca-Cola,” as he wrote in 1989, for the magazine’s 35th anniversary issue.” Its historic first issue, featuring a centerfold of a naked, pre-stardom Marilyn Monroe, was undated because Hefner wasn’t sure there would be a second. That issue sold almost 54,000 copies at 50 cents each.

Playboy (original proposed title: Stag Party) was a men’s magazine that challenged puritanical convention, focusing more on indoor pursuits than outdoors. “We enjoy mixing up cocktails and an hors d’oeuvre or two, putting a little mood music on the phonograph, and inviting in a female acquaintance for a quiet discussion on Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, sex,” Hefner wrote in the inaugural issue. At its 1975 peak, circulation climbed to 5.6 million

His auteurist vision made the Playboy lifestyle aspirational (“What kind of man reads Playboy?” was the magazine’s signature marketing slogan), and he transformed himself into the public face of the brand. He hosted two late-night television variety shows, Playboy’s Penthouse, which ran for 44 episodes between 1959-1960, and Playboy After Dark, which ran for 52 episodes between 1969-1970. Viewers were guests at a swinging party in Hef’s pad, where Sammy Davis, Jr., Lenny Bruce, or the Grateful Dead might pop in.

A dashing, erudite figure often pictured at work and play at the Playboy mansion smoking a pipe and clad in silk pajamas, Hefner established himself as the embodiment of his “Playboy Philosophy,” which preached personal liberation and championed social causes, including civil rights and gay rights.

Hefner himself, though, was a contradictory figure. He considered himself a feminist, but many accused him and the magazine of objectifying women. Sometimes, Hefner agreed: “They are objects!” he insisted to Vanity Fair in 2010.

As Roger Ebert noted in a 2010 essay, “He has possibly experienced more orgasms with more different women than any other man who has ever lived.” But Hefner also considered himself a romantic.

He championed in Playboy’s pages such cutting-edge authors as Norman Mailer, Jack Kerouac, Ray Bradbury, and Kurt Vonnegut, and featured the most iconic and iconoclastic voices of their times in Playboy interviews, which along with the centerfolds were the magazine’s signature feature. (You know, for those who read it for the articles.) But Hefner also had a nostalgic bent, and immersed himself in the movies and jazz music of his youth.

Hefner was born on April 9, 1926 in Chicago, to undemonstrative Methodist parents. “I was in a home in which I was not getting hugged,” he wrote in Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, Rebel. But his mother was also one of his investors for his fledgling magazine, because, he told interviewers, she believed in him.

Hefner was an average student, but possessed a reported genius IQ of 152. He distinguished himself in high school by starting a school paper, serving as president of the student council, and drawing cartoons. After serving two years in the Army, he took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago before attending the University of Illinois, where he edited the campus humor magazine (and introduced a feature, Coed of the Month). For a graduate course he took at Northwestern University, he wrote a paper about sex laws in the United States.

At Northwestern, he met Mildred Williams. They were married for 10 years and had two children: Christie, who would go on to assume leadership of Playboy Enterprises, and David. The marriage was doomed, Hefner recounted in interviews, not by his work, but by Williams’ revelation that she had had an affair while he was in the service.

For want of a $5 raise, Playboy was born. At the time, Hefner was working as a copywriter for Esquire and requested this salary bump when the magazine moved its offices to New York. When he was denied, he decided to stay in Chicago and launch his own magazine.

Playboy made Hefner a pop culture icon. He appeared as himself in (or lent his voice to) television series ranging from The Odd Couple, Laverne & Shirley, and Blossom to The Simpsons and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He was also the subject of a 2017 docudrama series, American Playboy: Hugh Hefner.

But his cultural impact extends beyond the magazine and the vicarious celebrity-studded bacchanals at his mansions. There were the members-only Playboy clubs, which for almost two decades were the largest entertainment employer in America. Significantly, Hefner booked black artists in defiance of segregation laws—and also featured them on Playboy’s Penthouse, which got the show banned in the South and hastened its cancellation. “You had the courage when no one was bringing in blacks and minorities (to) let you stand flatfooted in America and just talk. You brought me in,” Dick Gregory told him at his 2011 Comedy Central roast.

Hefner funded court cases in the 1950s and 60s to challenge states where birth control was outlawed. He helped sponsor the lower-court cases that led to Roe v. Wade. He produced the first Monty Python’s Flying Circus feature film, And Now for Something Completely Different.

In recent years, Hefner’s health had declined. He suffered a stroke in 1985, said to be the result of stress over a severely critical book by director Peter Bogdanovich that blamed Hefner and the Playboy lifestyle on the death of Playmate Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her estranged husband.

But you can’t keep an old playboy down. Hefner, in his 80s, was back in circulation with The Girls Next Door, a reality series broadcast on E! for six seasons beginning in 2005. The series focused on Hefner’s girlfriends and life at the fabled Playboy mansion in Los Angeles. (He was married to 1989’s Playmate of the Year, Kimberley Conradt, from that year until 2010; in 2012, he married Crystal Harris, 60 years his junior, and remained wed to her until his death.) The mansion was sold in August 2016 to Daren Metropoulis, co-owner of Hostess. One of the stipulations was that Hefner would be allowed to stay on the premises.

Hefner spoke often of the joy and wonder of the life he led, and he meticulously archived it all; he also holds the Guinness World Record for largest collection of personal scrapbooks with 2,643.

“For a kid who was so influenced by the pop culture of my own childhood to be a major influence in the changing of social values and pop culture is wonderful,” he told me when I interviewed him in 1993. “My life and Playboy are a reflection of the conflicts that exist in America related to sexuality.”

I asked him what his favorite year was; his answer was pure Hefner, minus the centerfolds. “Probably the summer of ‘42,” he replied. “I was 16 years old and had just begun to realize the possibilities of what it was like to be alive. It was a time of tremendous creative output for me. I did all manner of things, cartoons, stories and plays, radio plays, and songs. That was a kind of microcosm or rehearsal for the reinvention of myself later on. I fell in love with a girl that summer…it was an intensely romantic, and very sweet time.”

DALLY M WAGS SPICE UP THE RED CARPET

THE WAGs and celebrity attendees of the Dally M Awards took a major sartorial plunge on the red carpet, many choosing extremely low necklines and showing plenty of leg.

Reams of Hollywood Tape helped the likes of Phoebe Burgess, Erin Holland and Lara Pitt contain their modesty, while thigh-high splits were showed off with strategic poses.

Erin Holland

Tegan Martin. Picture: Christian Gilles

Brittany Wicks

Lara Pitt. Picture: Christian Gilles

The frou frou factor was kept to a minimum, with most beauties choosing metallic, lace or matte fabrics in bold shades which hugged their figures.

Terry Biviano, a regular on the red carpet, was among the showstoppers in a Mariam Seddiq red number alongside husband and former Roosters player Anthony Minichiello at The Star in Sydney.

Phoebe Burgess

Former Newcastle Knights player Alex McKinnon and fiancee Teigan Power looked the perfect pair, with Power dressed in an exquisite metallic number with keyhole detail.

2017 DALLY M AWARDS RED CARPET

Terry Biviano and husband Anthony Minichiello at the 2017 Dally M Awards.

(dailytelegraph)

CELEBRATION TIME Google birthday surprise spinner – 9 things you didn’t know about the search giant as it marks its 19th anniversary with a Doodle

Anyone who uses the search engine today will see the company's celebrating its 19th birthday... but it hasn't always done so on September 27

THE world's most used search engine is celebrating its 19th birthday and its marking the milestone with a fun Google Doodle.

Before you give the search engine's birthday surprise spinner a go here's nine things you might not know about Google.

The Google founders hatched their idea at uni

1. Building bricks of success

Back in the very beginning, Google’s storage facility was a load of hard drives in a container made of LEGO.

But don't panic, your precious files and pictures are saved on something much less basic today.

2. Baaaa-king mad

Google’s grounds have a lot of land – and company bosses keep it maintained by hiring goats.

Around 200 goats visit for a week at a time, to guzzle up the Google grass.

There are a lot of dogs too – with employees being encouraged to bring their own pets, because their pooches are thought to make people happier.

The green and grassy grounds of Google... which are maintained by GOATS

3. Traffic jam

Back in 2013, Google crashed for five minutes – and took 40 per cent of web traffic with it.

Nowadays, Facebook challenges Googles power, by driving a lot of traffic through social media. So any future crashes would be much less drastic.

4. The surprising cost of I’m Feeling Lucky

This handy little button costs Google tens of millions of dollars every year – because it bypasses all the adverts which would normally show up on the results page.

They’re slowly getting round it. Have you noticed that suggestions pop up even as you start typing your first word?

5. There’s a T-Rex on the Google Campus

And it has a scary message for the company’s many employees.

The dinosaur skeleton is there to remind workers that even the most powerful things can go extinct, and not to let it happen to Google.

6. They don’t want you to ‘just Google it’

Bosses didn’t like their company's name becoming a verb.

The phrase ‘just Google it’ worried those high up in the company, who thought it could undermine all their hard work to establish a brand.

Google is thought to be a great place to work... with the company looking after employees even after they pass away

7. Quest to dominate

Experts reckon Google buy more than one company every week.

Most of them are tiny, and get folded into the already established branches of Google’s business.

But others, like Android, are much bigger – and continue to stand on their own within Google’s enormous empire.

8. They really value their employees

Google make sure they look after the families of those who die while still working for them.

Husbands and wives get 50 per cent of their dead partner’s salary for a whole decade.

While their kids receive money until they’re adults, too.

9. To infinity and beyond

One Google search uses more coding and computing power than it took to send the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon.

And is significantly quicker than the rockets.(thesun)

The Actor From The Series "Fizruk" Was Killed In A Mass Road Accident In Moscow

18-year-old Egor Klynayev, who got out of his car to help the victims, was hit by another car

In the mass road accident that happened on the night of September 27 at the Moscow Ring Road, the young Russian actor, 18-year-old Yegor Klinayev, died. The guy stopped to help the drivers of the collided cars and himself was the victim of the attack.

photo: a screenshot from the series

As it became known to "MK", ​​about 3.00 Klinaev (he ran the car "Toyota Mark-2", and the right received only in May this year) moved along the Moscow Ring Road. In the area of ​​24 km, the actor saw an accident. On the fifth lane three cars collided - VAZ 2110, "Gazelle" and "Skoda Octavia". This accident was classified as small, no one was hurt in it. Alas, the drivers did not put an emergency stop sign, although the alarm on the machines worked.

Klynayev decided to stop to find out whether drivers need help. He parked his car in the same fifth lane. Also here left the car driver "Deu Nexia", who also broke his way after seeing the accident.

Meanwhile, the driver of another foreign car Honda Accord did not notice the accident - first he knocked down three drivers (among them was Klinaev) who stood on the road, discussed the accident and waited for the inspectors to arrive, then rammed the "Skoda Octavia" - this car was even thrown away in the third lane, where the car collided with the Toyota. And the Honda Accord continued its uncontrolled movement - drove to the Daewoo Nexia and Toyota Mark-2 (from the impact the first even capsized on the roof).

Klynayev died at the scene of the accident. Two people were hospitalized in the hospital: Fuad Tagiyev, a Gazelle driver (a scalped head wound in a man), and Sarkiz Hakobyan, a driver of the VAZ-2110 (with bruises of the soft tissues of the body).

Help "MK"

Film career Yegor Klinaev (in the childhood he appeared in the group "Neposedy") started in 2012 and immediately from the main role in the tape "The Secret of Egor". In the period from 2013 to 2015, starred in 8 films (thriller "Delta" (1st and 2nd seasons), youth series "Second Chance.") In April 2016, played a new hero in the third season of the series "Fizruk."(MK)

Exaltation Of The Cross Of The Lord: Secrets Of The Main Shrine Of Christianity

RIA Novosti / Maxim Bogodvid

Anton Skripunov

Today, Orthodox believers celebrate, perhaps, the most unusual of their 12 main holidays - the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord. About why no one can still find the main Christian relic and how this church holiday differs from the rest, - in the RIA Novosti news agency.

Misterious story
In the very history of searching and finding the cross, there are many blank spots. Church tradition is mainly based on the works of such Christian authors as Eusebius of Caesarea, Socrates the Scholastic and Rufin of Aquileia, who lived in the 4th-5th centuries of our era. In the XIII century, these testimonies were combined with folklore legends in the Golden Legend, the most popular book after the Bible in medieval Europe.

One way or another, according to tradition, to search for the main shrine of Christianity, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great organized an entire archaeological expedition. The excavation was led by his mother, Queen Elena. The history of finding a cross that occurred either in 326, or in 335, is full of drama.

According to the ancient Jewish rules, the execution tool should be left in the tomb. But the apostles, according to the legend, laid their Master's cross next to two more crosses (on which robbers were crucified) near the burial place of Christ.

In 130, the Romans erect there the temple of the goddess Venus - the authenticity of this fact was recently confirmed by archaeologists. But by the IV century, when the queen Elena arrived in Jerusalem in search of the cross, the pagan temple was already destroyed.
The expedition found a local resident named Judah, who knew the exact location of the relic. He, according to the "Golden Legend", after "interrogation with passion" was forced to tell everything. As a result, the queen Elena found three crosses. The church tradition says that the Bishop of Jerusalem, Macarius, proposed alternating each of them to a seriously ill woman: from touching the one on which the Lord was crucified, she was healed. According to another version, the crosses were attached to the dead man, who was carried by, and he came to life. In addition to the cross, an archaeological expedition was found by the Holy Sepulcher.

"Upon the completion of this, Basil (Imperor Constantine - Ed.) Immediately made pious orders and, giving an abundant donation, commanded a saving cave to build with royal splendor and wealth a decent prayer house for God," writes the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea. He, by the way, does not mention anything about the acquisition of the cross by Elena. This circumstance forces some scientists to doubt the veracity of this whole story.

© RIA Novosti / Taras Litvinenko

Enklopion folds (bivalves cross) XII-XIII century AD from excavations from the Mangup settlement

Mystical disappearance

The recovered relic was divided into two parts. One was left in Jerusalem, another was sent to Constantinople. But in the VII century, the Persian king Khosrov II captured the Jerusalem fragment. After 14 years, the Byzantines carried out a whole military special operation to bring the shrine back to its original place.

The history of the Jerusalem fragment ends in 1187. The army of the Crusaders took him with them to battle with Saladin's army. The knights were defeated, and the cross mysteriously disappeared. After that, medieval Europe spread legends, the general meaning of which is reduced to one: for the cross a tree was used from the Garden of Eden, so he returned.

"These are exclusively pious stories of a metaphorical character, which rather speak about the meaning of God's suffering, the deed of Christ, rather than the literal sense, although, of course, for the church consciousness they are close and deeply rooted in the ecclesiastical tradition," notes the senior teacher of the theological faculty Orthodox Church of St. Tikhon Archpriest Nikolai Yemelyanov.

The fate of the Constantinople part of the sacred relic is no less vague. According to one version, during the looting of the Byzantine capital in 1204, the Venetians stole it and then resold it. On the other - the shrine was kept in Constantinople until the arrival of the Turks in 1453, and then disappeared. According to the third version - the cross is constantly crushed, so its particles can be found in various parts of Europe.

In Russia, the particles of the Cross of the Lord are kept, including in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo. And in 2006 the particle of the Cross was even sent to near-earth orbit.

"They always separated, it's such an ancient tradition - the shrines were always separated and distributed to different temples and monasteries, so the fact that this shrine is so widespread is a common occurrence," Father Nikolay explains.

However, the Church constantly emphasizes that far from all the particles of the Cross are genuine, as trade in fake relics flourished in the Middle Ages. The first figures of Protestantism in the XVI century were sarcastic about this: "If all the particles of the Cross of the Lord are gathered together, then Noah's Ark will be obtained."

Holiday outside the Bible

"The Church regards the cross as an instrument of life, which is the meaning of this holiday," Protopriest Nikolai Emelyanov underlines.


On the day of the Exaltation, believers remember not only the history of finding the Cross of the Lord, but also His suffering. Several dates are dedicated to the crucifixion of Christ in the church calendar: the Feast of the Crossing (August 14), the Week of the Cross in Lent, Good Friday before Easter and, in fact, the Exaltation (September 27). All these days a cross is brought to the center of the temple for worship. However, only the Exaltation entered the list of the twelve - the 12 main - holidays, although it would seem that it was devoted to events not directly related to the Gospel narrative.

"The Orthodox Church, born on the eve of the phenomenon of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and who became an eyewitness of the great feat of love in the face of the apostles - even before death and death of the cross - accepted ... the sign of the Cross as a saving symbol for believers, and not only as a symbol, but as a saving power , who are defeated by enemies ... The cross continues to live in peace one by salvation, the other to destructive destruction.The struggle of evil and good at the foot of the Cross continues for the sake of love or hatred of Him Who was consecrated to the Tree of the Cross, and Archimandrite John (Krestiankin), an authoritative Orthodox figure of the twentieth century. 

And one more detail: on the feast of the Exaltation of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, believers, in memory of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, are required to observe fasting - which does not happen in other twelve holidays. 

(RIA Novosti)

Khloé Kardashian Pregnant: A first baby with Tristan Thompson!

A pregnancy that comes to concretise a year of love.

The Kardashian-Jenner sisters definitely like to do everything together. After Kim , who will be hosting her third child next January with Kanye West with a surrogate mother, and then Kylie , who will become Mom for the first time in February at the age of 20 with Travis Scott, it's Khloé's turn to wait for a happy event.

According to site information TMZ , the 32-year-old star is actually pregnant with her first child, the fruit of her love affair with basketball player Tristan Thompson (26). A dream come true for the one who has never hidden her desire for maternity . According to our colleagues, the American reality television bomb is pregnant"exactly three months " and has " naturally conceived " her child. " For the moment, she does not know the sex of the baby, " reads one.

Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson have been dating for just one year. The American sportsman, who plays the pivot for the Cleveland Cavaliers, is already a dad of a little Prince (9 months), born from his previous relationship with model Jordan Craig.

"Khloé and Kylie will give birth at about the same time"

Last June, in the final episode of the thirteenth season of The Incredible Kardashian Family , the younger sister of the clan had announced that she had stopped the pill and that she wished to have several children with her darling. " He wants to have five or six children with me, and I find it lovely. We could already start to have one. Knowing that I do not take the pill, it's really scary. It is a big step forward " , she confided.

According to People , this new pregnancy makes the members of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, and in particular the youngest one, delighted. " Kylie is in the seventh heaven, and Khloe and Kylie will be giving birth at about the same time ... Kylie loves the fact that her family is so tight, she feels more prepared than ever, especially since she shares this experience with Khloé, "slipped a near source.

If the announcement of her pregnancy was formalized just a few days after that of her little sister, Khloe Kardashian would have wanted to wait a little longer before sharing the news with the whole world. " Things were a bit complicated with Kylie's announcement because they did not want to interfere in her moment, but Khloe came to a stage where she did not openly lie to people, and staying discreet will no longer work she started her second trimester, which is something that Khloé wanted for years and years, she did not want to start a family without being in the right relationship, it did not happen with Lamar and it was intentional, and she never thought of making a child with James Harden or French Montana or anyone else, and it was a wonderful time for her, not only was she going to become a mother, but she also raised a child with the man 'she likes. Everyone is delighted for them, "it was concluded with People.(purepeople)

Harington and Leslie "Game of Thrones"

"Game of Thrones" stars conspire

Stylishly, "Game of Thrones" star Kit Harington and Rose Leslie have announced their engagement: They switched an ad in the British "Times".

In the shooting of the fantasy saga "Game of Thrones", Kit Harington and Rose Leslie met in 2012. In the film, they fell in love with each other as Jon Schnee and Ygritte. In real life, they then equaled their characters.

As the BBC and other media reports, the couple has now become engaged. "If you find someone already attractive and then play a couple in the show, it is very easy to fall in love," said Harington last year of the Italian "Vogue".

Leslie left the series in 2014, played a year later alongside Idris Elba in the fourth season of "Luther". Harington is a fan of "Game of Thrones".

A few months ago, Hollywood star Nicole Kidman, 50, Harrington had protested in a talkshow quite candidly to the engagement. "If you are already together, I find it somehow nice to conspire." The British actor replied, "I'm being forced by Nicole Kidman, step by step."(spiegel)

COMPETITIVE PAC-MAN BATTLE CASINO COMING TO CASINO FLOORS 2018

BY SETH G. MACY Bandai Namco and Gamblit Gambling have teamed up to bring Pac-Man into the world of competitive gambling.

Pac-Man Battle Casino is a new, two to four player casino gaming premiering in October at the Global Gaming Expo, basically the E3 for casinos, in Las Vegas.

Gamblit is also developing a single-player version of the game to run on its existing TriStation hardware.

While the graphics resemble Pac-Man: Championship Edition, Battle Casino is actually based off the 2011 arcade game Pac-Man Battle Royale. In Battle Royale, players compete to try to eat each other, with the last one alive winning the round. Battle Casino takes that basic concept and adds real money prizes to the equation.

Bandai Namco Executive Officer Yoshiyasu Horiuchi said the company is "thrilled" to see PAC-MAN Battle Royale adapted for casinos.

Earlier this year, Bandai Namco's Pac-Man mobile game crossed over with Hello Kitty, a strange but still complimentary pairing.(ign)

Amos Yee Granted Asylum In The US After Department Of Homeland Security Appeal Dismissed

Amos Yee stands outside the US Citizenship and Immigration Services offices after his release from detention in Chicago on Sep 26, 2017. (Photo: REUTERS/Chris Kenning)

SINGAPORE: Teen blogger Amos Yee has been granted asylum by a US immigration court despite opposition from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), his attorney announced on Tuesday (Sep 26).

Sandra Grossman, a pro bono counsel to Yee from legal firm Grossman Law, said in a statement that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) had dismissed DHS' appeal opposing a decision by a lower court to grant Yee asylum.

The court wrote in its ruling last Thursday that Yee, 18, had a "well founded fear of future persecution" if returned to Singapore and agreed with the lower court judge that Singapore's prosecution of Yee was "a pretext" to silence his political opinions, according to Ms Grossman.

“Now I can criticise the Singapore government without being sent to prison,” Yee said after his release.

Amos Yee is now a free man!

The Singaporean was sentenced in July 2015 to four weeks' jail for wounding the religious feelings of Christians and Muslims, and was sentenced to another six weeks' jail for the same offence last September.

Yee's mother, Madam Mary Toh, confirmed last December that he was detained in the United States. He has remained in detention, despite the lower court's decision to grant him asylum in March.

Ms Grossman said in the statement that her firm decried the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)'s decision to detain Yee while DHS' appeal was pending, "especially after his asylum case was granted and after DHS made no arguments, nor presented evidence, that Yee is a threat to national security or to the public".

"Grossman Law calls on ICE and the administration to revisit its detention policies and condemns the prolonged detention of those fleeing persecution and seeking refuge in the United States," she said.
She also said that the "possibility also remains for a DHS appeal, though this is unlikely given the Board's unambiguous decision". (channelnewsasia)

BIRTHDAY DOODLE Google Birthday Surprise Spinner – How To Play The Google Doodle Snake Game as the search giant marks its anniversary

Google was created in a garage by two students and is now the world's most used search engine

Its creators are celebrating the phenomenon's 19th birthday with a series of surprises for users. Here's all you need to know.

Google is celebrating its 19th birthday with a Google Doodle

How is Google celebrating its 19th birthday?

Search engine Google is celebrating its 19th birthday on September 27.

In 1997 Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, met at Stanford University and decided to come up with a system to organise the world's information.

Setting up office in a garage they got to work.

The search engine is now has 4.5billion users in 160 countries.

Its birthday will be celebrated with a fun search spinner Google Doodle that will link to 19 surprises the search engine has launched over the years - as well as the new snake game.

How can you play the Google snake game?

As part of its birthday celebrations the search engine is launching a version of the classic game snake.

The game will be available through its birthday surprise spinner.

The spinner will be shown as a Google Doodle on the search engine's homepage.

Google's celebrations include a spinner linking to surprises from its 19 years

What is a Google Doodle?

In 1998, the search engine founders Larry and Sergey drew a stick figure behind the second 'o' of Google as a message to that they were out of office at the Burning Man festival and with that, Google Doodles were born.

The company decided that they should decorate the logo to mark cultural moments and it soon became clear that users really enjoyed the change to the Google homepage.

Google celebrated the Autumn Equinox with a themed doodle

In that same year, a turkey was added to Thanksgiving and two pumpkins appeared as the 'o's for Halloween the following year.

Now, there is a full team of doodlers, illustrators, graphic designers, animators and classically trained artists who help create what you see on those days.

This week a Google Doodle also celebrated the 2017 Autumn Equinox, which marked the official ending of summer and the coming of autumn.(THESUN)

Former NFL Player Reveals Hidden Singing Talent and Sweet Coming Out Story on The Voice

Previously, this singing contestant was a human wrecking ball, but on Monday night, he was wreaking havoc on people’s emotions with his singing strength.

Former NFL player Esera Tuaolo amazed The Voice judges and the audience with his rendition of Andra Day’s “Rise Up” on the premiere of the singing TV show.

Tuaolo, 49, kept his sexual orientation a secret from his NFL teammates during the nine years he was a defensive tackle, but the player revealed on Monday night’s show what it was like to finally come out.

“When I finished in the NFL, I came out to my family. When I said those words for the first [time], when I said that I was gay, it was like this huge mountain just crumbled,” the former Minnesota Vikings player said.

“I felt light as a feather, but when I jumped on the scale I was still that 6’4”, 300 pound Samoan that’s gay and played in the NFL.”

Going from NFL star to singer has been part of his journey to living his life to the fullest.

“What The Voice has given me is an opportunity to reach for the stars,” he said before stepping onto the stage.

Tuaolo immediately caught the attention of judges Jennifer Hudson and Blake Shelton.

“That is one of my favorite songs, which is part of why it caught my attention,” said Hudson, who turned her chair first.

Tuaolo, who is from Hawaii but lives in Minnesota, sported his NFC championship ring during his audition.

When it came to picking a judge, Tualo went with Shelton, who said, “I’m a country singer, but I’ve got a lot of experience doing this with a lot of different artists. I like great singers, and you’re one of them.”

“I’m such a football geek and if I was your coach, I’d probably drive you nuts,” he continued. “You’ve definitely got two servings of talent, man.”

As he walked off stage, Tuaolo couldn’t help but say, “That was better than the Super Bowl.”

The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.(people)