Category Archives: Immortality

Stetson Bennett and Warren Ericson talk before the game against Michigan in the Capital One Orange Bowl for the College Football Playoff semifinal game. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart and his talented roster are angry and ready to serve this dish to Nick Saban and his Alabama Crimson Tide.

And lets not beat about the bush because Georgia wants to serve it cold freezing cold.

There is no doubting that Georgia and its fans are still hurting from that SEC Championship game, and rightly so. The Dawgs went into the SEC decider as overwhelming favorites, demonstrating the stoutest defense as the SEC and probably college football has ever seen.

But yet this defense did not live up to its hard-edged reputation and recorded zero sacks against Bryce Young.

While not the single most important statistic, it is helpful to compare that Auburn sacked Bryce Young seven times in the first half alone of the Iron Bowl. And this is a Georgia team that has recorded 45 sacks in the season so far. So instantly, it was evident that something was amiss with the Georgia defense.

So what and how does Georgia get revenge over that painful SEC Championship game?

The Bulldogs had momentum going into the SEC Championship game but did not use it to their advantage.

Momentum is everything in sports, giving teams confidence, team cohesion and a genuine belief in their ability to overcome the next challenge. How many times has one event during a game swung momentum in favor of the team that wins the game.

While the defeat to Alabama slowed momentum, there is no doubt that the impressive slaying of Michigan swings momentum back in favor of Georgia.

There isnt a better way to progress to the national championship game than by nullifying and dismantling the Wolverines, which was the hottest ticket in town and the name n everybodys lips going into the Orange Bowl. This Michigan team was on the crest of a wave led by Heisman finalist Aidan Hutchinson and a quarterback who finally lived up to the Big Blue hype, Cade McNamara.

Yet the Dawtgs contained both as Georgia ran out of Miami with a 34-11 victory. An impressive win and reminded the college football world that Georgia football is an excellent team.

Lets not underplay this the Georgia players and coaching staff are angry.

Angry at their performance in the SEC Championship game, mad at the level of criticism leveled at them, and mad that they succumbed to, of all teams the Crimson Tide.

If this anger can be corralled and harnessed correctly, there is no better mindset than being full-blown mad. Best of all? Georgia has almost an immediate opportunity to get revenge for that defeat.

How many times does a team have to wait a year to get their revenge? Not this time, Georgia had to wait a little over a month, and during that time, you can bet that Smart and company will be reminding his team just what they can achieve by doing what they should have done, what their talent should have allowed them to do in the SEC Championship game?

The opportunity to gain immortality in Athens is a compelling proposition. This factor is huge for the Dawgs massive.

Listen to any commentator of the game worth their salt, and they will all say how difficult it is to beat the same team twice in short succession. First, the teams have just met, so there is little time to create something new. And if you do miracle up a new play, are you going to use it in the key moments of a championship game? No, frankly.

Secondly, the SEC Championship game was a must-win situation for Alabama. In that game, Georgia had a safety net, and it showed. This time around, there is no net. Both teams have to go at it, knock out punch for knock out punch.

The 2018 National Championship game went into overtime, and it would not be surprising if this game were similarly close. Both teams will look to nullify the threats which hurt them most last time around. So history points us to a tighter game.

Tight in the fourth quarter, and it is anybodys game. Either coach would accept it being close going into the fourth quarter as they naturally have faith inter the teams abilities. Its time for Georgia football players to step up and take what is theirs.

Time will tell if Georgia can overcome the SEC Championship game defeat to secure the National Championship title. We will find out on Monday. But an angry Bulldog is not to be reckoned with, and the signs are that the Bulldogs can use this defeat to propel themselves to avenge against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

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Three Reasons Georgia football gets revenge on Alabama - Dawn of the Dawg

Quantum suicide is a thought experiment in quantum mechanics and the philosophy of physics. It was originally claimed that it can distinguish between the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. It is based on imagining oneself as the cat in the Schrdinger's cat thought experiment. Quantum immortality refers to the experience of surviving quantum suicide.[1]

The thought experiment was created by Max Tegmark.[1] In the thought experiment, a person stands in front of a gun which fires if it detects a subatomic particle as having an upward spin, or does not fire if the gun detects a downward spin. The gun does this repeatedly. From an outside perspective, both outcomes are equally likely. However, according to the thought experiment, if the many-worlds interpretation is true, the person in front of the gun finds that the gun never fires, even though this is very, very unlikely. In the many-worlds interpretation, the gun fires in one world and does not fire in another, but the person can only continue being conscious in a world in which the gun does not fire. According to the thought experiment, such a person would find themselves to be immortal.[1]

In response to questions about whether people should generally expect to be immortal, Max Tegmark stated that is flawed reasoning because dying is not an instantaneous event, and "fully dead" and "fully alive" are not the only possible outcomes, as in the thought experiment. Rather, it is a progressive process, with a continuous series of states of decreasing consciousness. In most real causes of death, one's self-awareness fades out gradually. It is only within this specific imaginary scenario that a person finds themselves surviving.[1]

Most experts believe that the experiment would not actually work in the real world.[2]:371

Max Tegmark now believes that from their own point of view, the person in the thought experiment should not expect immortality. Since they die in some worlds, they afterwards exist in much fewer worlds than they had before. People are less likely to find themselves in a world where their own existence is less likely. Therefore, it is only a possibility, not a certainty, that the person who does the experiment then goes on to feel like they survived.[3] This same problem, of not existing as much afterwards, was pointed out by Lev Vaidman in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.[4]

Physicist David Deutsch, though in favor of the many-worlds interpretation, states regarding quantum suicide that it would not work under the normal probability rules of quantum mechanics. Instead, one would need to add an additional assumption of ignoring worlds where the experimenter is not there. He believes that assumption is false.[5] Physicist David Wallace argues that a decision theory analysis shows that a person who prefers certain life to certain death must prefer to keep themselves alive in worlds that are more likely outcomes, not just in less likely ones.[2]

Physicist Sean M. Carroll, though also in favor of the many-worlds interpretation, states about quantum suicide that neither experiences nor rewards should be thought of as being shared between future versions of oneself, because these future versions become distinct persons when the world splits. He then states that a person cannot pick out some future versions of oneself as really being oneself and not the others. He concludes that quantum suicide kills some of these future selves, which is a bad thing the same as if there were no other worlds.[6]

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Quantum immortality - Simple English Wikipedia, the free ...

Television series

Immortality (Chinese: ; pinyin: Hoy Xng) is an upcoming Chinese television series based on the BL xianxia novel The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (Chinese: ; pinyin: r H H T De Bi Mo Sh Zn) by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat (Chinese: ; pinyin: Rubo Bch Ru) starring Luo Yunxi and Chen Feiyu (in no particular order).[2][3] The series is expected to air on Tencent Video with 50 episodes.[1]

The story is set in a tumultuous era where the world is facing a probable invasion by the demon world due to a rift in the heavens. The world's most powerful cultivator Chu Wanning ( Luo Yunxi) did not forget his original intention of joining the world to help the Dao cultivation and sets out on a mission to protect the beings of the world. He uses his abilities to prevent the heavens from splitting and at the same time, his compassion and love influences his misguided disciple Mo Ran ( Chen Feiyu) to return to the righteous path he has strayed from. Chu Wanning also successfully imparts the value of putting the greater good before personal desires to Mo Ran. In the end, the pair of teacher and disciple dedicate their lives and work together with the rest of the cultivating heroes to stop the villains' conspiracy and protect the world.[2]

Courtesy name: Mo Weiyu ()Mo Ran is Chu Wanning's third disciple, a confident, mischievous, and cheeky cultivator who isn't the brightest student in the sect. By chance, he gains mysterious memories of himself as Lord Taxian (), an immoral and murderous ruler who loathes Chu Wanning and vows to murder all the cultivators in the world. His personality slowly changes after being influenced by the fragmented memories implanted in his mind, and he must fight to regain his own consciousness as the kind and upright Mo Ran.

Yuheng Elder ()Also known as Yuheng of the Night Sky () and the Beidou Immortal (), he is a grandmaster of the cultivation world who hides his caring and sensitive nature behind a cold exterior. He devotes his time to the thankless task of sealing the rifts in the barrier between the ghost realm and the mortal realm and often spends his spare time creating affordable mechanical devices such as the Holy Night Guardian so ordinary people can protect themselves from ghosts. Chu Wanning takes it upon himself to protect the people and rid the world of evil even if it means sacrificing himself.

Courtesy name: Shi Mingjing ()Shi Mei presents himself as a kind-hearted, polite, and reasonable person who avoids conflict. He doesn't hold grudges and is often the mediator for Mo Ran and Xue Meng when they argue. However, he actually harbors a deadly secret, and must ultimately decide between revenge and life as he knows it.

Courtesy name: Xue Ziming ()The narcissistic young master of the Summit of Life and Death who is actually responsible and kind at heart. He respects his teacher Chu Wanning deeply and dearly loves his parents Xue Zhengyong and Madam Wang. Despite a carefree childhood, he is forced to grow up when disaster strikes his sect.

Master of the Summit of Life and DeathA kind and good-natured cultivator, he founds the Summit of Life and Death to protect the lower cultivation world from the ghost realm. He persuades Chu Wanning to join the sect after the latter leaves Rufeng Sect out of disgust.

On January 6, 2020, CD HOME STUDIO released a casting call for the series, along with information of the participating staffs.[4] The series is produced jointly by Tencent Penguin Pictures and Otters Studio.[2] The series is directed by He Shupei,[4] and the main producers are credited to be Qi Shuai, Ye Fangcang and Wang Yirong.[4] On January 8, it was revealed that the drama has been filed on record at State Administration of Film Radio and Television (China).[1]

The series began filming on April 24, 2020 at Hengdian World Studios.

On January 21, 2020, Luo Yunxi and Chen Feiyu (in no particular order) were announced as the main leads.[5]

A majority of the crew members, including world view design team Hua Tian, visual effects team TimeAxis, hair and makeup director Zeng Minghui and still photographer Li Ruoyu worked on 2018 fantasy romance drama Ashes of Love.[2] Chen Xin serves as the art director of the series, while Huang Wei is in charge of costume designs.[4][2] On January 21, 2020, the concept arts designed by Hua Tian were released on the series' official weibo.[6]

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Immortality (TV series) - Wikipedia

Editors note:This is part ofThe AthleticsTales from Bowl Season seriesexploring some of the best and quirkiest stories from past bowl games.

In the 20 years since it happened, many fans have brought up the game when they see him out. Former Mississippi State quarterback Wayne Madkin asks them all the same question: Did you stay or did you go?

Some people will confess to it, Madkin said. Some people wont.

The ones who do often have a compelling epilogue to their story after trying to escape a rare blizzard that dumped nearly 6 inches of snow in northwest Louisiana, the largest overnight snowfall since 1985. Mississippi State fell behind Texas A&M 14-0 in the first quarter, leaving Bulldogs fans with a difficult choice: Give up and try to get home or try to stick it out and cheer for a rally.

For many, Mother Nature forced them to choose a third option.

Some people tell me they tried to make it back, ended up sliding into a ditch and ended up listening to us come back and win that game while their car was stuck on the interstate with several hundred other cars, Madkin said. Some of them ended up sleeping in their cars.

In the almost five-decade history of the Independence Bowl, no game has been anything like the one Shreveport hosted in 2000.

Ive been to Vermont in the wintertime. Ive been to Colorado, then-Texas A&M head coach RC Slocum said. Ive never seen it snow any harder than it did that night.

The day before the game, a warning persisted throughout the city: Snow might be coming. But snow as Shreveport natives defined it and what fell from the sky a day later were two different things.

Excerpt from:

Nonstop snow, a wild overtime and a near-death experience: When a Shreveport blizzard produced bowl immortality - The Athletic

Wayne Gretzky is ready to cede the all-time goal-scoring throne to Alex Ovechkin, saying it's only a matter of time until the ageless Washington Capitals superstar eclipses 894 career tallies.

"Its not even a question that he will pass me, and I think its great," Gretzky told The New York Times' David Waldstein. "Hes well on his way to 40 or 50 goals this year, maybe more. There is no doubt that ultimately, he will break the record."

Ovechkin signed a five-year contract with the Capitals this offseason with Gretzky's once-unthinkable record in mind, and he's already made tremendous progress to kick off the 2021-22 campaign. The 36-year-old ranks second in the league with 22 goals in 31 games, putting him on pace for 58 tucks over a full season.

Gretzky has long supported Ovechkin's chase for goal-scoring immortality, saying it's great for the game.

"I'm his biggest fan," Gretzky said.

Ovi currently sits at 752 goals, good for fourth in NHL history behind only Jaromir Jagr (766), Gordie Howe (801), and Gretzky (894). He's already moved past Marcel Dionne and Brett Hull this campaign and has recently tied Dave Andreychuk for the all-time power-play goal record (274).

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Gretzky: There's 'no doubt' Ovechkin will break goals record - theScore

Its hard to be dominant in the NHL, but these teams were difficult to beat anytime they took the ice, and they all capped it off with a Stanley Cup championship.

Heres our ranking of the top teams in hockey history.

Led by center and captain Joe Sakic (118 points), the Colorado Avalanche were a force to be reckoned with at the turn of the century. Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay, and Chris Drury all had over 60 points with Colorado that season, and goalie Patrick Roy went 40-13-7 with a .913 save % and 2.22 GAA.

The Avalanche went 52-16-10-4 for 118 points, taking home the Presidents Trophy. They won the Stanley Cup over the New Jersey Devils in Game 7, which led to a memorable celebration in which Sakic handed the trophy immediately to Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, who had never won it all in 22 seasons.

One could make the case that the dynastic Canadiens of the 1970s could sweep the Top 5 greatest teams of all time, but well limit them to two placings.

The Montral squad that won the Stanley Cup in 1973 was exceptional, as they lost just 10 times in 78 games. The roster was a mlange of Canadien greats, led by 36-year-old captain Henri Richard. He had 43 points that year, while fellow greybeard Frank Mahovlich (35) had 93, second on the team to 27-year-old Jacques Lemaire. All three skaters are in the Hall of Fame, as are reliable veterans Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, and Jacques Laperriere.

The '72-'73 Habs also boasted five budding Hall of Famers, namely Guy Lafleur, Guy Lapointe, Steve Shutt, Larry Robinson, and netminder Ken Dryden. With a roster this stacked, its no wonder the Canadiens secured their second of what would be six Stanley Cups in the decade.

The 1970-71 Boston Bruins team was one of the greatest squads to not win the Stanley Cup,but the redeem team that came the following year was not too shabby either.

Finishing with 119 points just two fewer than the year before the 71-72 Bruins amassed an eye-popping 5.12 goals per game, something only the Edmonton Oilers of the firewagon 1980s could dream about.

Not only did opponents have to worry about Hall of Fame center Phil Esposito who had 133 points that year but they also had to gameplan for dynamic defenseman Bobby Orr, who won his third straight Hart Trophy in 1972.

Boston dropped just three games in three postseason rounds en route to the title.

The Oilers dynasty of the 1980s was incredible, but the 1983-84 team took the cake.

Led by Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton produced an eye-popping 5.85 goals per game, leading to a 57-18-5 record. The Great One himself had an absurd 205 points in his fifth straight Hart Trophy-winning campaign (the streak would end at eight in 1988), with Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri and Mark Messier all Hall of Famers too reaching the century mark in points. Other Hall of Famers on the roster include Glenn Anderson, Kevin Lowe, and goalie Grant Fuhr.

The Oilers needed seven games to dispatch the Calgary Flames in the semifinals, but went 11-1 in all other playoff series to win their first of four Stanley Cups in a five-year period.

The 1976-77 Montral Canadiens are the measure by which all elite NHL teams are judged, so there could be no other club at No. 1.

This Habs team set the current record for points with 132, losing a mere eight of their 80 games that year (also an NHL record). Superstar winger Lafleur had an NHL-best 136 points, taking the Hart Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award. Shutt, Robinson, Lapointe, Lemaire, Cournoyer, Savard, and Dryden were the Hall of Fame holdovers from the 1973 champion club, and they were joined by eventual Hall of Famer and four-time Selke Trophy winner Bob Gainey.

Simply dominant on both ends of the ice, Montral cakewalked to the Stanley Cup and immortality in 1977.

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The best teams in NHL history - BetAmerica Extra

Last season, Devin Booker carried almost all the offensive tools imaginable around on his work belt. With a slippery mid-range pull up that transcended modern analytics, strong dribble-drive moves, an underrated post-up game, as well as the athleticism and wit to create for himself and others, he badgered opposing defenses night after night for the Phoenix Suns.

But every now and then, more so on the rarest occasions, he came up short, needing to tighten one more bolt to secure a win, but missing the right wrench to do so.

Unfortunately, last years NBA Finals best exemplified this issue for Booker. Even though he put up fantastic numbers for the series, averaging 28.2 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game, one glaring component within his game fell off during Phoenixs losses.

Booker missed that vacant tool, which of course, was an efficient 3-point shot.

During Phoenixs first two NBA Finals contests, which the Suns won, Booker shot a combined 42.0 percent from beyond the arc. His long range missile system, fully intact for the time being, destroyed the Milwaukee Bucks, dropping timely buckets while spacing the floor for his teammates.

But during the next four games, which the team lost, Booker shot an abysmal 13.6 percent from deep. The Suns fell behind asGiannis Antetokounmpo and company bullied Phoenix inside, frankly unable to keep up with all the easy points coming at the floors other end.

Even outside the postseason, the Suns put up an astute 21-7 record during games when Booker shot above 35.0 percent from range. But during games when he shot under 25.0 percent, the Suns went a less impressive 12-8.

With this alignment between Bookers 3-point shooting and Phoenixs success, he entered this past offseason with one clear goal: to fix his long range shotto go down to Home Depot and buy that last tool.

Thankfully, it appears that he did so.

This year, things look different for Booker. He finds himself shooting a career-high 42.0 percent from deep so far, even showing no signs of a drop off following his hamstring injury. That has translated into his teams success, with the Suns boasting a league-best 25-5 record.

But even beyond what the standings show you, Bookers more consistent 3-point shot has made a difference for nearly all his teammates out on the court.

Starting with fellow young gun Deandre Ayton, Bookers 3-point shooting gave way to arguably Aytons best game so far this season, occurring just two nights ago.

During Phoenixs rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Booker nailed six 3-pointers, going down as a season high for him. With Booker threatening from deep, he drew defenders away from the paint, resulting in a 19-point game for Ayton where he shot a season high 81.9 percent from the field.

High scoring, matched with efficient numbers remains the name of the game for big men these days, and Booker helped Ayton deliver in that department. Especially with him doing it against the Lakers, the game felt like one from Phoenixs playoff run last year, where Ayton even put himself into Bill Russell territory from a statistical standpoint.

Moving onto Bookers backcourt partner, Chris Paul also finds himself benefitting as a facilitator from Bookers long range mastery.With Booker again drawing so much attention along the arc, he makes dropping dimes and protecting the rock that much easier for the Point God.

So far this year, Booker has included six games where he made at least four triples and shot at least 50.0 percent while doing so. Three of those games have also been top six assist to turnover ratio outings for Paul, illustrating another positive correlation between Books shooting and a teammates success.

With the Suns offense built around a pick-and-roll based offense, this phenomenon makes sense, as Bookers scoring outside the paint takes pressure off Paul being another ball handler and someone who stretches the opponents defense. Doing that opens up space for Booker and others to score off slick feeds from Paul, and less difficult for defenders to crowd Paul at the top of the key and force turnovers.

A solid 3-point shooting night for Booker typically bodes well for Jae Crowder at the same time. Being a long range specialist, Crowders percentages better tell his story each night rather than just makes, and when Booker starts knocking them down, Crowders efficiency rises.

When making perimeter defenders sweat, Booker just opens more doors for Crowder to shoot via his floor spacing. To illustrate this, once again look no further than the numbers. Crowders top two 3-point shooting percentage games this year are uncoincidentally both games in which Booker hit at least four shots from deep.

At the same time, whenever Booker fails to threaten from outside, things become difficult for Crowder. This year, Booker has only played five games where he attempted less than four triples, and two of them include games where Crowder missed all his 3-pointerssomething done by him only three times this whole year.

These two snipers clearly play off each other, and when Booker starts to make it rain, Crowder makes sure it stays pouring.

With so much stemming from Bookers new and improved deep shot, just keeping up the onslaught from range needs to remain his primary concern. If he does that though, he owns a solid chance to not only keep the Suns winning, but also begin adding to his legacy as an individual.

Comparing Booker to Kobe Bryant often feels forced at this point, and rightfully so. For all Bryant did, there will never be another like him. But when looking purely at his numbers and that of a few other legendary shooting guards, one cannot help but point out more similarities working in accordance with Bookers 3-point shot.

Between his sixth and seventh season, Bryant experienced a massive bump in his 3-point percentage, carving out at +13.3 percent difference. Future Hall of Fame two guard Vince Carter also experienced a sudden increase at +2.3 percent, as did Reggie Miller at +2.2 percent.

With this year being Bookers seventh, his 3-point shooting reflects a +8.0 percent increase from the year prior. Now, other intangibles certainly helped Bryant, Carter, and Miller increase their long range shooting during those seasons, but the timeliness of their upticks matching with Bookers cannot be completely ignored.

All those players went on to experience Hall of Fame careers, so with Booker more or less keeping stride with them, he finds himself on track to reach basketball immortality all the same, while again pushing his team to new heights this year.

Originally posted here:

How Devin Bookers 3-Point Shooting Growth Made the Suns Unbeatable - Valley of the Suns

Penn Parents Express Further Concerns Over Lia Thomas Competing On Womens Team

The controversy surrounding Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has been brought to national attention during the past two weeks as the debate rages on about the playing field being level in womens swimming. Thomas, a transgender swimmer who has followed the rules set forth by the NCAA on this matter, has put together some of the top college times in the country two years after competing for the Penn mens swim team.

The major reaction to Thomas speed in the water has been focused on records being in jeopardy and the validity of any record she might break, and whether or not Thomas competing is fair to female swimmers who were born female. Thomas competing in womens races just a few years after transitioning has led to controversy, and there have been numerous opinions about whether she should be allowed in womens races. She has undergone required hormone therapy, but many believe that since she underwent male puberty, she has inherent advantages over her female competitors.

But there are plenty of other issues at stake that parents of Penn swimmers have discussed and written about. They, like many upset by the issue, are trying not to take their frustrations out on Thomas, but are taking their frustrations to the NCAA to change the rules after Thomas situation is revealing an uneven playing field in many peoples eyes.

One issue emphasized by the Penn parents is travel team participation. Thomas is one of 26 swimmers that can travel to NCAA away meets. Her participation means that one female-born swimmer will not get to travel and compete at each away meet.

Then there is the issue of relay participation. Thomas is the fastest swimmer on the team and would likely be chosen for most, if not all, of the Penn relays at the Ivy League Championships and any relay that qualifies for the NCAA Championships. That means other swimmers on her team wont swim at the NCAA Championships.

A Penn parent wishing to remain anonymous shared their thoughts on these matters:

The debate has been focused on Lias competitive advantage, as it relates to her being able to attain immortality status in the womens sports category; metrics like wins, records, and rankings. Fair competition is obviously a major concern. But what no one is talking about are some of the wider effects of Lias place on the womens team. University of Pennsylvanias womens team has 40 swimmers. Lia is taking one of the roster spots from a biological female. This year, a woman was left behind on the Zippy Invitational trip who otherwise wouldve been able to experience competing for her team. At that meet, Lia swam on five relays, taking a spot from a biological female on each. Lias performances arent just about her place in history, her participation means another woman does not get the opportunity; it is a zero-sum game.

In February, when the team will compete at Ivy League Championships, each school can send a maximum of 18 swimmers. A biological woman, who has been swimming competitively since a very young age, training hard, and dreaming that someday she might be able to represent a great D1 school at a conference championship, will miss out on that opportunity. Now that Lia is on the team, that girl who wouldve earned the 18th spot isnt 18th and she has to stay home.

These are just a few of the ways transgender women are taking the opportunities that were created for biological women.

These ripple effects and the impact on any one biological woman wont be covered by Swimming World, but will have a big impact on these womens futures; impacts that are sure to increase as more transgender athletes are allowed to compete on teams with biological women without mitigating their male-puberty advantage, like athletic scholarships and being one-of-40 team members. Title IX was supposed to ensure women have the same opportunities as men; and without proper rules governing the womens category, perhaps we should have one swimming team, and see who makes it. In that scenario, my daughter wouldnt make it, and Im betting yours wouldnt either. The conclusion is undeniable; the inclusion of trans women with biological women leads to exclusion and loss of opportunities for biological women.

Penn parents have been active about this issue as a group. They wrote an open letter to the NCAA, the Ivy League and Penn officials, looking for answers.

Answers could include changing the rules to mandate more than one year of gender transitioning, or creating a third gender group for college swimming, and a number of other possibilities. Of course, the NCAA could also do nothing, citing Lia Thomas following of the rules.

At stake here is the integrity of womens sports, the letter said, according to DailyMail.com. The precedent being set one in which women do not have a protected and equitable space to compete is a direct threat to female athletes in every sport. What are the boundaries? How is this in line with the NCAAs commitment to providing a fair environment for student-athletes?It is the responsibility of the NCAA to address the matter with an official statement. As the governing body, it is unfair and irresponsible to leave the onus on Lia, Lias teammates, Lias coaches, UPenn athletics and the Ivy League.

The university sent a terse response to the parents, claiming the school is doing what it can to help the student-athletes navigate Thomas success, shared a link to mental health services.

Please know that we fully support all our swimming student-athletes and want to help our community navigate Lias success in the pool this winter, the university said in its reply, according to DailyMail.com. Penn Athletics is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our student-athletes, coaches and staff and we hold true to that commitment today and in the future.

Related

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Penn Parents Express Further Concerns Over Lia Thomas Competing On Women's Team - Swimming World Magazine

The King's Daughter is a new film set for release early next year and stars James Bond legend Pierce Brosnan and Skins star Kaya Scodelario in the two leading roles, King Louis XIV and Marie-Josephe D'Alember.

The film is based on the 1997 novelThe Moon and the SunbyVonda N. McIntyre, with the screenplay written byShe's the One producer James Schamus.It's directed by Hoovey producer Sean McNamara.

In addition to this, Julie Andrews will narrate the film. Director Sean McNamara said: "Im so excited for the North American audience to seeThe Kings Daughterin theaters this January.

"There is only one Julie Andrews and she has blessed audiences around the globe with her lovely voice and amazing storytelling. Please join her as she narrates our story of the mythical mermaid who lives in the fountains of Versailles."

Here's everything you need to know about one of the big new movies in 2022...

The film will be available in US cinemas from January 21, 2022. It was actually filmed in 2014, but is finally getting a release next year!

The official plot is: "King Louis XIV's (Brosnan) quest for immortality leads him to capture a mermaid's (Fan) life force, but his immovable will is challenged when his long-hidden illegitimate daughter (Scodelario) forms a bond with the magical creature."

Here's who joins Pierce Brosnan and Kaya Scodelario in The King's Daughter cast...

Yes, a trailer for The King's Daughter is available now. In it, we see Marie-Josephe D'Alember leaving her home to meet her estranged father, King Louis XIV. While there, she navigates a life she's never really known and also befriends a mermaid, causing complications for the king!

Read more:

'The King's Daughter': release date, cast, plot, trailer and everything we know - What To Watch

Photo: Kevin Baker/Netflix

Spoilers follow for the second season of The Witcher.

Fantasy series are not exactly fountains of relatability. The whole point of the genre is to step outside oneself and to imagine a different reality one inspired by folklore and myth, populated by creatures and concepts that dont exist in our universe. Magic! Monsters! Matriarchal societies! (I kid, I kid except when I watch The Wheel of Time and think misandry doesnt seem so bad.) The second season of The Witcher hits an array of fantastical tropes that genre fans have come to expect, from Ciri going full Xena in her warrior training to totalitarianism and religious fanaticism on behalf of the Nilfgaardian Empire and the White Flame. The latest episodes also address a truism with which I can absolutely empathize: Elves really get screwed when it comes to real estate! And, like, everything else!

This positioning of elves in fantasy often serves as a contrast to the genres depiction of humanity. While humans have forgotten their responsibilities to the natural world and hesitate when it comes to altruism, the elves prioritize both often to their detriment. In the eight episodes that premiered on Netflix on December 17, The Witcher continues its theme of human selfishness and cruelty, especially in regard to the elves, the original inhabitants of the Continent. The elves have been oppressed and massacred for centuries, and they cannot catch a break when it comes to homeownership, birth rates, or, you know, anything. Their kingdoms and cities were stolen from them, every new home they attempt to establish is destroyed, and after the events of Voleth Meir, the first pure-born elf born in countless years is dead. The Witcher primarily aligns us with protagonists Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer, but intermittently throughout its first season and consistently through its second, it makes a case for the elves refugees and survivors as worthy of our empathy, too, and perhaps even more deserving of our allegiance.

Like so many fantasy novels, TV shows, and films released after the somewhat forgotten 1924 novel The King of Elflands Daughter, by Lord Dunsany, and J. R. R. Tolkiens seminal works The Hobbit (1937), The Lord of the Rings (1954 and 1955), and the posthumously published The Silmarillion (1977), The Witcher owes much of its conception of elves to those early visions, in particular Tolkiens elves. They are ancient; they set themselves apart from humankind; and they have lived through countless betrayals. Remember the memory Hugo Weavings Elrond shares with Ian McKellens Gandalf in Peter Jacksons The Fellowship of the Ring: Men are weak I was there 3,000 years ago, when Isildur took the Ring. I was there the day the strength of men failed There is no strength left in the world of men. Theyre scattered, divided, leaderless.

Think of how concerned Elrond is when his daughter Arwen (Liv Tyler, hot) falls in love with human Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen, hot) because he fears she will give up her immortality for that guy, part of a race that has turned its back so often on elves. And think too of Thranduil the Elvenking (Lee Pace, hot) in Jacksons The Hobbit trilogy, who hides the elves deep in the forest realm of Mirkwood in response to the dual threats of the dragon Smaug and the returned Sauron. Humans are many and elves are few, and whatever control the latter beings had over their world is slipping away. Who could blame them, after again helping to finally defeat Sauron in The Return of the King, for sailing to the Undying Lands during Middle-earths Fourth Age? Their cities will disintegrate into dust and all memory of them will be lost once they leave Middle-earth, but at least theyll be free of the annoying humans, with their laziness in lighting signal fires and their inability to sense their king is possessed and their masochistic desire to make hobbits sing. (Do I just low-key hate Gondor and Rohan? Probably.)

That overall elven blueprint is repeated in The Witcher. The Continents geography is difficult to grasp for viewers unfamiliar with Andrzej Sapkowskis source novels or the accompanying video games (show us an onscreen map, I beg!), but the series establishes early on that all the human kingdoms, from Cintra to Nilfgaard to Redania, were built on lands originally populated by the elves, and the humans locations of power, such as the magical Aretuza academy on Thanedd Island, were originally built by the elves. After the Conjunction of the Spheres merged previously divided dimensions together and brought humans and monsters to the Continent for the first time, its original elven inhabitants taught humans how to turn Chaos into magic to defend themselves. In return for the elves hospitality and acceptance, the humans swindled, ostracized, and slaughtered them, as in the Great Cleansing that killed Yennefers half-elf father.

In the first season of The Witcher, much of this is explained in chunks of exposition. In episode Four Marks, all three parallel story lines address how most humans think either the elves are evil (like the boy who shows off his necklace of elf ears to Ciri) or willingly left behind these lands for their golden palaces in the mountains (as Jaskier the Bard tells an eye-rolling Geralt). Most pervasively, humans are completely unaware of the elves long history of cultural and material contributions: Yennefer has to be taught about the elves by her lover, the sorcerer Istredd, and Ciri is informed of her grandmothers bloodthirst by elf boy Dara.

Photo: Jay Maidment/Netflix

The introduction in Four Marks of Tom Canton as Filavandrel, the king of the elves, sharply rejects these human misconceptions. Hes a monarch not by choice, but because the elves need a leader after being forced out of their home in the Dol Blathanna kingdom, starved, and hunted down. The Witcher, in its first season, was often subversively cynical, and Geralt and Jaskier respond to Filavandrels complaints on that wavelength. The former tells Filavandrel to go somewhere else, which is his recurring advice in the first season guidance that ignores how humans have taken practically everywhere. The latter, although at first shocked into silence by the kings tales of mass graves and murdered babies, eventually spins the story of the elves letting them go into a song about Geralt fighting them off.

Toss a Coin to Your Witcher, with its lyrics about how Geralt thrust every elf/Far back on the shelf/High up on the mountain/From whence it came and sung with energetic gusto, becomes the Bards signature jam. Jaskier does exactly what Istredd somberly tells Yennefer humans do (rewriting history with the stories we tell, the songs we sing about our own triumphs), and to emphasize that once more, Jenny Kleins screenplay has Jaskier say a version of the same line to Geralt: Respect doesnt make history.

In The Witchers second season, when the elves are reintroduced, theyve listened toadvice Filavandrels warrior companion Toruviel gave in Four Marks. Let us take back whats ours, starting now, she had implored the king, who instead chose to let Geralt and Jaskier go and then failed to defend the elves from Ciris grandmother, Queen Calanthe. In the time between when Geralt and Jaskier cross paths with Filavandrel in the pre-Ciri timeline in season one and the elf makes his season-two reappearance, the elves have deposed him and elevated his romantic partner, sorceress Francesca (Mecia Simson). Introduced in season-two episode Kaer Morhen, Francesca is slickly political (We mustnt lose faith in a bright elven future) and is convinced shes guided by visions of Ithlinne, an oracle offering a certain prophecy about who, or what, could save the elves. Her obsessive desire to provide a path forward for her people leads Francesca into alliances with Voleth Meir, the Deathless Mother demon who inspired the creation of the Witchers, and Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni), the sorceress who helped guide Nilfgaards attack of Cintra in the first season. Voleth Meir provides Francesca with a pure-born-elf pregnancy and Fringilla with power over Nilfgaard, and the two women team up to bond the elves and Nilfgaardians together.

At first, that partnership seems like a good idea. Cintras Queen Calanthe ordered the slaughter of many elves, and Francesca is working an understandable the enemy of my enemy is my friend angle in aligning herself with Fringilla and Nilfgaard. In the middle stretch of the second season, The Witcher expands Francescas decision, focusing on the refugee elves and the difficult choices they have to make as a race without a home. Some are settled in Cintra, which they refer to by its original elven name Xintrea, but they cant simply live: The Nilfgaardian Army makes them train and fight. In sixth episode Dear Friend , Nilfgaardian General Hake (Antony Byrne) sneers, Fucking pointies think they can join our ranks, as he watches the elves train in combat, while Nilfgaards Black Knight Cahir (Eamon Farren) mockingly calls the elves fairies. But Hakes and Cahirs hatred for the elves doesnt overpower their desire to use these individuals for Nilfgaards totalitarian plans. In penultimate episode Voleth Meir, Hake complains to Fringilla when the elves dont all report for instruction, while Cahir volunteers to deal with them if they refuse to serve. The elves cant just exist; they have to prove their worth to another group of humans that has no qualms about slaughtering them. And elves who havent made it to Cintra are still subject to prejudice and oppression in other kingdoms like Temerias Gors Velen, the port city where Yennefer and Cahir see elves being rounded up and massacred in fourth episode Redanian Intelligence. (And where Jaskier, perhaps feeling somewhat guilty about using the elves plight for his hit song, is smuggling them to Cintra under the assumed moniker the Sandpiper.)

For the elves, thats all pretty crappy, especially the being indebted to someone as annoying as Jaskier part. The situation gets even crappier when Francesca and Filavandrels baby is killed in Voleth Meir, turning the elves who had recently decided to leave Nilfgaard to pursue regrowth, reneging on the partnership with Fringilla vengeful and bloodthirsty. In finale episode Family, Francesca goes all Ten Commandments in Redania, casting a spell that slaughters all the kingdoms babies. (Simsons face in that second of silence between the cacophony of wailing babies and the screams of their grieving mothers is chilling.) We learn later during a conversation between Cahir and Fringilla that the elves are fighting throughout the Northern kingdoms, attacking as many humans as they can. And we learn even later that Nilfgaards White Flame, Emhyr var Emreis, ordered the elven babys assassination because he thinks its the best path to finding his daughter Ciri. Once again, the elves are being maneuvered and manipulated, and an answer to the elves existential struggle about who they are without a home isnt exactly clear.

What is the best path forward for the elves? More pure-blood elves seems out of the question, and joining with another human kingdom, after Nilfgaard burned them, seems foolish. (One of Henry Cavills best line deliveries this season is his deadpan observation of Istredds alliance with Nilfgaard: You want to help the elves by joining a kingdom that regularly massacres whole villages? Quite a conflict there.) Ciri, now that she is revealed to be part-elf, the focus of Ithlinnes prophecy, and, as Istredd tells Francesca, Hen Ikeir, obviously has a part to play, but she seems pretty stretched thin at this point, between evading the Wild Hunt and that fire mage guy and especially her creepy dads potentially gross advances.

So, genuinely: Cant all the power players on the Continent, the Brotherhood and whomever else, just find a place that is absolutely empty and give the elves some damn real estate? Weve seen Geralt wander through so many uninhabited expanses, from mountains to deserts, and one of those has to be suitable! Offer down-payment assistance, tax credits, sacks of gold, whatever currency is used in the Continent! Make peace through compensation! Honestly, between all the widespread genocide, cutting off of ears, and defamation through song, havent the elves been through enough?

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The Witchers Elves Just Cant Catch a Break - Vulture