I'm back and going through Battle of the Exes 2. Long in depth thoughts through each episode with a TL:Doverall thoughts of the season at the end. Ran out of room to add much more preamble to this so check out previous posts if you're interested.
Battle of the Exes II
EP 1:
Going just by the quick intro it looks like their budget went up. Lot of glances at much more involved challenges.
Not Johnny R again. :/
Fucking Knight again with a mullet.
CT saying he shaved his beard since Diem was going to be there is hilarious.
Wes looking skinny these last couple seasons is so weird.
I like John the rookie comedian immediately. Very self aware, which doesn't seem like it'd be good for this show.
CT and Diem pairs again? I mean I didn't assume she'd be with someone else, but seems weird to do the same duo a second time.
"..and she had no gag reflex." Zach is gross and a douche right from the jump.
Sarah and Jordan seem like a good pair.
Nany "I have options" wow, self burn?
Bananas?!?! Damn Nany, literally who don't you go through? No judging but damn, Bananas?!
If Theresa is strong this season, her and Wes could be great. I feel like her perception of a strong challenger came out of nowhere last season though.
This first like 5 minutes seems more explicitly sexual than any of the previous seasons lol Straight up talking about gag reflexes, world class bj's, getting caught in the bathroom. They like pushing the exes and hook up factor super hard?
Wait...so was Dustin just lying his ass off last season? He said he had some "agreement" with Heather but that he was single on Free Agents? So he wasn't and THAT's what Jessica was talking about at the reunion?
Most of these rookies just seem like they were cast by some completely other production company or something. They seem like they were cast for comedic possibilities, rather than actual personalities. It just seems like a huge swing in casting style. I hope this isn't like a shifting in focus?
I love CT, I will try not to say it as often this season.
"Take my dog on the most ridiculous vacation." Wes has his priorities straight
I swear "Shut the fuck up" is the most common words to come out of Bananas' mouth.
OK, these houses are really getting ridiculous. This place looks like a resort.
Dustin seems like he's trying too hard. Like he's trying to pick up on this Jessica/Jay joke/rumor, but he just kind of runs too much with it and just keeps going on. But it seems like it's more to appease the people around rather than like he actually cares? It seems so weird and awkward?
Bus and flying to another bus to just the first comp? They definitely got their budget upped this season. Last season all the comps were in the same damn watering hole lmao
Not to be an instant naysayer, but I hate these kind of comps. They're just boring as hell. Oh, you gotta walk across a big height and you might fall. The effect is more on the cast than viewers, it just becomes boring and repetitive for viewers.
CT seemed to have the best idea, but Diem seemed to not want to do it. Just get a big push and hang on while CT holds her. They did it the first little bit, but it didn't seem like she pushed all that hard.
I feel like a Wes first power couple is the best possible choice for potential drama.
I'm glad Theresa's sketchy ass vote from Free Agents has stuck with her. Purely because it was just so stupid.
"The Banana one"
Johnny just trying to nonchalantly swim over to listen to their convos.
Wes trying to get on the good side of rookies? Seems like a bold strategy. They're a lot more volatile and emotional and probably a lot easier to break and beat down the line. But also more likely to fuck you somewhere along the line.
I feel like sending Bananas in right away is dumb when you know he'll likely stay. At least get an idea for the eliminations before you send him in. So you have better knowledge. Him and Nany are probably automatically in the top 3 or 4 of pairs for the whole season. Sending them against some rookies is just dumb.
Is Dustin on the outs really because of his gay porn? Or is it just because he's awkward and seems to get along with the women a lot more than the guys? I could definitely see a lot of these guys being put off by the dude being in gay porn, but he also just seems like he's trying too hard all the time.
"You threw me in on the ruins." I feel like that is extremely putting The Ruins lightly.
Wes really just seems like he's having fun with this meeting. Like he just wants to scare Johnny.
Yeah, I could literally see that conversation ending with Wes saying "I'm not throwing you in, I'm just messing with you." and that being why Johnny says "Fuck you for even making me have this conversation then." I feel like Wes was having fun with it and editors wanted to use it for suspense.
Dustin and Jessica going in first really does seem like a "random" ass choice... You literally could have thrown in the other Johnny and said he skated by last season and you can't have it happen again. Or anything. Seems weird to say Jessica/Dustin are in the middle so...bye.
This comp looks simple but interesting still. I like it.
Welp, Dustin/Jessica gone. I feel like there was something more going on with this social dynamic in some way.
Drunken Diem dancing. A Diem season staple.
Weird, seeing the people leaving?
The Challenge actually enacting twists? I kind of liked the purity and straight forward aspect of the show! :/
Exes II: Ponderous edition
EP 2:
The Real World Explosion is such a dumb name. Ran out of dynamic locations?
"Get the fuck over it! Something happened you didn't like in the past!" Well, Jordan has a way with words... I think I'm getting the character turn...
Well it seems Johnny has already established the friendship in the house and that everyone is going to have his side.
A suck and blow competition, yeah they're definitely leaning in to it.
Johnny not getting by this season! lol
If Avery and Johnny somehow win, I feel like Avery is an episode away from quitting.
Ok, this ball and bat section is hilarious.
Can you not just spit the peanut butter out? You just have to get it off with your tongue, not eat it? Did I miss that part of the instructions?
Apparently they couldn't just spit it out?
"Vets, vets, vets!" Just really helping Wes and his case of getting the rookies after you aren't you Bananas?
Wes and Bananas going back to back? Will they go for it?
Nany being the one who's wanting to pull the trigger? lol
Nany ain't fuckin' around this season. Damn.
Theresa fucking this up more than anything. You're just being stubborn. Did you learn these habits from Laurel?
"You'd be dumb not to put us in." Theresa, sit down.
Uh oh. Diem not feeling well :( Every Diem moment is just going to be ominous.
They're really just repeating this boring elimination challenge? That definitely seems like a choice.
I would love nothing more than for Johnny to go out his very first elimination.
Damn, Johnny gets to stay. Not a big let down as the other two seem entirely forgettable. I just wanted Johnny out for spite.
Nany just seems to have come in to this season with a mission to be confrontational. Why does Avery being jealous and not ok with with you and Johnny happening have to be addressed? Just give it time and let it try to develop?
This weird Jay stuff is....weird.
It's a bummer with how CBS all access puts up the ads for their site because the Diem and Knight memorial pictures flash on the screen for like a half second before going to a commercial and coming back to the previews.
EP 3:
I figured this, but Johnny seems childish.
CT being pulled by producer?!
Geesh, CT is not having any of this. Killer look to the producer and just puts the phone off speaker lol Good for you CT.
Man, this is heart crushing too watch.
Oh god, seeing Nia actually sucking her thumb is unsettling. Stop it!
God this is sad and soul crushing. I can't do this!
"Only way I usually go home this early is when I hit somebody." Still able to joke lol
Well there went about a third of this seasons competitiveness.
Bananas and Jordan walking in talking about the possibilities of the comp doesn't really seem all that standoffish to me.
Jenna, your face ain't all that cute and you seem to have the personality of a brick wall.
Theresa's hand getting stuck lmao "MY HAND! MY HAND! MY HAND!" It kept you on, count it as a blessing.
I can't wait for Knight and Pennsetucky to go.
Jemmye off instantly, maybe I'll get what I want this episode.
Zach not waiting until the final to start screaming at his female partner...
I'm assuming players must have wised up to the fact that it's not always benneficial to go last? Especially on something like this where it could rain and effect grip. Just put yourself a couple groups back to get an idea but not last in case it does rain.
Simone and John must be gone here. I thought John would be funny and interesting to have in the house but he's had literally zero screen time since the introductions.
"I want Bananas in the final." What in the fuck? What are you smoking Jordan? You're just going past hoping to have yourself in the final, but you want to have Bananas beside you guys to beat him?
"I'm the same way, out of all the girls in the house, I never want to say your name." The unsaid part of "Your partner on the other hand..."
The problem with playing the middle game Sarah is that sooner or later it becomes hard to hide what you're doing because someone expects you to show your hand or make a decision sooner or later.
The good news though, is that this game is better when there is apposing sides politically. One big alliance just ruins the game, just look at modern Big Brother. It destroys the game and makes it not worth watching.
Food eating Elim?
Oh shit...a replacement for CT/Diem? I actually didn't expect that. Hopefully some good competitors.
Well what the shit, why even say shit? Jesus.
Oh shit, they brought back I Can from the duel but with food? NICE! I actually liked that comp idea, but thought it wasn't handled well at all.
Milk on the table makes me think spicy stuff.
Simmone...chick. It's a betting challenge and you go lower...
These guys are completely clowning the Are You The One cast lol
Don't give me weird ass slow mo while he's inserting a damn brownie in his mouth.
These rookies man...
"A little urgency!"
These rookies have no damn drive. Jesus.
The first vet that gets eliminated is going to have an easy ass time with whatever the hell Exile is. Just filling up that house with all these shitty rookies.
EP 4 - EP7 missing. It was probably a lot of celebrating. Knight and Pennsetucky get taken out, then Johnny/Nany. "Groupon pussy" was an amazing line that was said. Rookies still suck. blah blah blah
EP 8:
I'm going to start this episode by bitching about how much the CBS all access app/site sucks. The app is terrible, I constantly get double dose of ads, the app literally needs reset every 2 episodes because the app itself gets bogged down and starts lagging. The website constantly just freezes up between ad breaks and flipping back to the show. I've had times where the episode didn't keep track of my progress on an episode and I had to fast forward through the episode and I then had to sit through all 3-4 ad breaks before it got to where it needed to be.
I'm usually all for the Rookies coming in and fucking up the game and killing the vets gang up mentality, but the rookies this season are just damn terrible. They're not interesting, they have no real killer mentality, they stuck competitively. This cast is booty.
Sarah having to be the one too initiate some kind of team bonding is a damn bummer. Jordan is an asshole and it sucks Sarah wants a win that bad that she's the one to suck it up and feed in to Jordans ego.
TJ telling the crew about the guys having to be on the outside makes think this definitely comes up and isn't just a safety thing.
"Too fucking easy. I hesitated." Yeah, Leroy and Nia probably would have killed that if Nia didn't hesitate so long.
Jonna being able to jump back in time was great. Damn
This is a cool ass comp, but seems more cool than easy.
Zach flipping out for no reason. He just wants to flip out. Chill the fuck out.
Sarah's enthusiasm is kinda getting overboard...
Jordan completely fucked that up. He hugged the wall when coming back and yelld for Sarah to go. I mean, you gotta be the one to stay aware of where you're going and standing.
"Well, you did exactly what they told you not to do, so you need to do a better job of paying attention." TJ laying it down.
Jonna crying, Zach walks up and opens up with "I'm going to explain where all my anger is coming from..." follows up with "What did I blame you for that wasn't your fault?" God damn Zach. You flipped out for no damn reason and there was no blame, you just flipped your shit.
"You give the two black people fried chicken... I ain't even mad. I'm going to enjoy it." and "Surprise, motherfucker." I'm liking Leroy this season.
Zach asking to make Jay tremble. What in the hell is wrong with Zach?
I feel like Wes is completely lying about Zach being his number 1 just to hope he gets him thrown in lmao
"I hope you learned a lot here tonight too." "That you're a fucking snake..."
"It's guy code." Zach, shut up.
Zach instantly knowing Wes did it. I laugh knowing damn well Leroy and Nia probably went straight to Zach after talking with Wes.
I'm actually not sure who Leroy/Nia are throwing in right now. I feel like the smart play would be Zach or Wes if they're wanting to better get to the end and win, but they could easily just throw in Jay/Jenna to not make a move.
I'm guessing Jay/Jenna and all this talk really just gets Zach flipping out more after this.
Also seriously what the fuck is happening with the Exile house? There's four couples after this?
I don't understand them all fawning over Wes being such a great manipulator. He really didn't say much other than "Don't throw me in, throw my biggest partner in so you become my biggest partner." What?! You people are so easily swayed and accepting of just anything?
Going to Jay and Jenna and demanding a thanks lmao wow what a power trip
A sledgehammer elimination...for Jordan. Eesh this guy doesn't get the best luck when it comes to elim's
Oh nevermind, he's killing it lol
Zach is definitely doing this stupidly. He's getting barely any surface area of the hammer on the beam. He's basically trying to chop the damn thing in half by hitting the corner of the hammer.
Jordan walking to the beam and away from it to hand sarah the hammer is just about the same way the rookies have approached these elims.
They're somehow selling the Jonna and Sarah closeness but they seem farther apart than Jordan and Zach were. Editing!
Really hope Sarah gets a win here.
Zach still just whining because Jonna is getting words of encouragement lol
Hey it looks like Johnny and Nany may actually have some competition now.
Seriously if someone isn't coming back like right now this is the most bullshit twist. Ok, there's instantly a tease for it. I was about to say...
EP 9:
Wes getting this far and then getting messy out of fear? Where have I seen this before?
Jordan saying "I'm done wheeling and dealing." Your mark on this season is mostly not making deals lol
Jordan being mad at how Theresa talks to people is fucking hilarious. Wes calling it out. "On the asshole scale you are easily over Theresa."
I get where Jordan is coming from not just wanting to help the biggest competition in Wes. But if he plans on future appearances on The Challenge, it's real damn dumb to just show vets that you aren't open to working together at the end.
Jordan is completely bullshitting lol He started talk about Theresa by saying he didn't want to make the deal because he doesn't like the way Theresa acts and talks to people. Like she's queen of the place and she's a bitch. Why would Wes even bring up Theresa to compare Jordan to if he didn't talk shit first? Just randomly picks his partner to compare Jordan to?
"We're here and now, not ten years ago with roided up Wes." hahahahahaha
I honestly wouldn't say Wes used to do roids, he more seems like the rivals 1 final completely altered how he prepares for these challenges. It's like he died in that final and switched to way more focus on running and endurance and slimmed the hell down. Especially after fresh meat 2 where it seemed like he could get by pretty well on talent and politicking so why not just prepare more for the final?
Wes' heart looks like it's in his damn stomach as soon as he walks in to the dome.
Leroy "What the fuck ya'll clapping for?!"
There's been a whole losers bracket? Where the fuck has that been shown?!
Wes instantly "It's going to be Bananas"
Wes is instantly not enthused. He looks miserable.
I hate that this losers bracket has just gone on and not been shown at all. Was this maybe shown on their website at the time or something?
In Wes' eyes this would just fucking suck. You played a pretty damn good political game. Had a lot of weaker people going just to further help Banana's and Nany to get back in the game with 1 or 2 challenges left before the finals. And they're coming back with a lot of momentum. I'd be pissssssed.
I'm all for it from a tv watcher though, because otherwise this would have been a landslide boring season.
Another elim rehash. I wasn't a huge fan of this one though. At least this time around they aren't having to pull around a fucking 10 inch rope.
Is...Zach and Jonna winning this?
Jordan helping Bananas is like the dumbest twist of fate ever. The guys by all accounts hated each other. Bananas would probably beat Jordan in most challenges and final. Is it solely out of anger for Wes? lol
I am so confused on what happened during that? By all appearances Zach and Jonna had an easier set of rope/knots to work with, were shown well behind multiple times. Then all of a sudden it's like Zach/Jonna made zero progress.
Zach blaming Jonna lmao Fucking Zach
There's Bananas being that "Humble winner" that he loves to tout and bitch about Jordan with...
I think Wes is overstating just how much he's done, but it would absolutely blow to get to this point and just have your worse adversary come back in the game.
Bananas on the fucking high horse all over again... I really don't understand when people say they don't know where the Bananas hate comes from. He talks like he plays a certain way, but then when you actually see him play...it's nothing like how he talks about. It's bullshit. He's a douche. Talking all this shit about Wes making a ddeal with the devil. We can bring up how much shit you've done to get to some of your finals dude. The island, making a deal with Ev to fuck over your own alliance, to only fuck them over again and leave out the girls. The ruins fucking over everyone and passing it off as "fair" and what everyone wants, until it gets down to you and you flip your shit that you're going to go in. You've constantly played like shit all the way up to Free Agents where you actually had to do shit and then you had the constant best partners since then with Frank and now Nany.
Wes trembling.
Hey, I remember this challenge from Fresh Meat... The show has come a long way from throwing balls around while standing on tree stumps to now being elevated above water and doing it.
Nia literally can't stand? lol
TJ advocating for someone to quit?! Who is this man?!?! I've never seen this man before.
Damn! Jordan got a huge ball hit on Wes lol Point blank head shot that apparently Wes didn't see coming at all.
Leroy trying not to jump lol
I feel like everyone should have been throwing that to Bananas. Let him put the blood on his own hands. He has a choice of either going back on his word or give Wes an easy win. See which matters more to him. Ya'll just did his work for him, making sure Wes goes to the dome and then being able to jump out and not have to worry about going in. Ya'll dumb.
Jordan suddenly being a fucking Johnny boot licker is certainly fucking something.
Yeah Leroy, Ya'll are stupid. You can't talk much shit Leroy, you would have been talked in to doing the same shit. You put in Zach instead of Wes only because Wes said not to lol
Apparently people in this game don't view returning players the same way as Survivor or Big Brother. Those mother fuckers instantly have a target on their backs when they come back in no matter what the party lines are(most of the time). How you don't instnatly just throw them back in the dome seems crazy. You already left once, why should someone who's made it this far deal with the risk of possibly going home? At least that's usually the mentality around this type of situation.
Nia is at least calling it true. I'm not saying it isn't the worse of the decisions, but she's definitely calling it true as hell.
This Nany/Johnny vs Nia blowup is my life. Give them alllllllll the shit.
The thing that wasn't talked about enough is how Johnny threw it knowing he'd be safe and knowing Leroy would be going in. Leroy got used and played and doesn't even realize it.
Ep 10:
Theresas smile during this fight is Chef's kiss
Sarah being straight up. "Yeah, I want to make this easier for myself going forward. It's a game." I think Nia is 100% vindicated in what she's saying about Johnny/Nany, but the reasoning behind it doesn't matter.
Fucking Johnny trying to talk fucking shit afterward. Seriously going to Leroy like nothing was done out of line and acting like Nia is insane and ruining everything. Somehow Johnny just keeps being able to play his bullshit politics and act like he's the nice guy afterward.
Crazy to think Sarah's been on 8 seasons already. Maybe because of the early dq's with teammates makes it seem smaller but I feel like it hasn't been that damn many.
I hate the echo chambers that these games create within themselves. Everyone who came up with the decision, who agrees to the decision, and is in no way getting screwed by the decision sitting in a room laughing about the people being upset being insane is just hilariously blind and inept.
I am liking the trend of not showing these elims until the contenders see it.
Hall brawl....Well bye Wes/Theresa. Sucks for you that you played a pretty great game and get fucked over by a twist.
Just for reference it isn't just that it's Nany/Johnny walking back in the game that makes me dislike the twist. I don't usually like twists at all in these shows unless they're known by everyone before hand so they can be played around. Even if CT and Diem walk back in the house somehow I'd still have an issue with it.
I think Wes knows they're already out. He doesn't look in it at all.
Both teams envisioning Nany is pretty hilarious.
Yeah, I'm not sure what that Wes strategy was...
I feel like Wes has a history of quietly quitting when he knows he's already lost. He quit against Ev in FM 2, and now he just lays down and says his head hurts?
"He's fine, he's being a pussy. Karma's a bitch." What in the hell did Wes do? Put you in to get eliminated? lol Fuuuuuck Johnny. "It's a game" "It's a game" "It's a game", but also get killed, karma's a bitch, you're being a pussy.
I literally don't know what Wes is doing lol but man I'm so fucking tired of hearing Johnny talk.
Jordan being an ass licker to Johnny after two whole seasons of Johnny talking non stop shit about him is fucking depressing. What happened to all that pride and ego talk?
It's on one part funny to watch Wes' downfall, but at the same time it's so agrevating watching it come from a twist and at the shit hands of Johnny while he talks shit.
I am not ready for the amount of times I'm going to see Johnny on seasons going forward :/
It was weird hearing shit talking of Nia sucking her thumb and then suddenly seeing it a lot this season. It's fucking WEIRD.
"It was Jordan who did it, you can't blame Bananas." Leroy, you are god damn stupid lol Johnny was talking about this shit before the competition even happened.
Apology tour. Kind of worthless at this point. There's slim pickings and it all doesn't really matter too much at this point.
Seeing the city stuff made me get excited for the idea of a city final again. We were robbed!!!!!
I literally can't get passed the Jordan ball licking of Bananas. What in the holy hell heppened?!
This is kind of a boring challenge to watch leading in to the final...
Why am I still dealing with Jay and Jenna on this damn show?!
At least it seems like these rookies won't skate by to the final and will actually see an elim. I'd rather the vets not have an easy win. The three teams other than the rookies would be a pretty good final as long as Sarah doesn't heat stroke out of this one like Cutthroat.
Uh oh, guess I counted Jordan/Sarah in too soon.
Bananas urging Nany and yelling for her to go and then falling himself is beautiful.
Johnny instantly saying "You know I love you guys" I fucking hate this guy.
They're arguing hahaha Sarah wants to stick to the same damn plan of keeping light weight and Jordan wants to lick fucking boots.
Johnny being upset hahahahahaha
Fuck Johnny. Angry they're not seeing a challenge! hahah Johnny will literally flip every fucking thing on its head when it comes down to him.
Hahahahaha Johnny, if you were concerned about that so much why were you fine with Leroy and Nia going in? Oh because now it's you going in?
I don't get the Johnny love. This dude is 100% fucking two faced. He passes it off like he's this extremely loyal smart player, but all that shit goes out the window when he can say anything against him going in.
Sarah is playing the vet and Johnny's style of game of making their way easier and cutting the fat. He's just mad his arguments are being used against him.
EP 11:
Sarah's absolutely right. "They taught me how to play this way, and now want me to play the nice girl. The nice girl game has fucked me."
Nia mad they don't have the easy elim as well lol
Johnny trying to pretend they would throw in the rookies is fucking hilarious. He talked about it being a game the entire last episode. He screwed over Leroy and Nia and jumped out knowing they wouldn't go in.
I fucking hate Johnny. He's a complete hypocrite.
Nany, Nia and Johnny ganging up on the girl who is the most chipper and least argumentative or confrontational of probably anyone who's been cast ever is definitely something. You guys played too many seasons with Frank.
My favorite thing about the location changes is there is always someone who has to ask where the location is lol
Johnny, I literally don't care if you're excited about something or not. This show is literally your career. You can deal with it.
"Wish I could actually be happy I was here." what a whiny bitch.
I'm with Jenna, down with seafood. Fuck seafood!
The team who hasn't been in an elimination "I've worked my ass off to be here." You're already talking like a vet.
Johnny "I can't deal with anyone else being smart or happy" Bananas
The buddy up between Nany and Nia has surprised me the most. What?! lol How does Johnny just screw people over and ends up best friends again the next day.
Is this Johnny/Evan/Kenny all over again? Sarah already lived through that saga.
Jesus Nia...
"Can we just eat and have one decent fucking day?" Of course Johnny would be the fucking one to say this shit. Talk all kinds of shit, encourage abuse, and then act like you're the victim and just want an easy day. Like you aren't the miserable stupid fuck making is miserable because oh no you have to go into an elimination.
If Nia gets kicked I actually will be bummed. It's deserved, but I wanted to see Leroy/Nia vs Nany/Johnny...again.
"Nia's gone, as if I didn't have enough to think about right now." Oh poor you Johnny. Let's somehow make Nia being taken away about you lol
"I should be able to just relax right now." Mother fucker you should be home. You literally got eliminated weeks ago. You had a twist that got you back in the game and are now going back in to an elimination. You're not owed shit.
I don't want Jay/Jenna in this final even the slightest bit, but fuck off Johnny. Fuck that entitled vet bullshit.
"You've had six eliminations, anything can happen." Of course you'd count the elims to come back in that we didn't even get to see lol you faced some week ass rookies.
Damn you Jay. Nany and Jenna falling in water would have been amazing.
I really don't want Johnny to just have an easy in to the fucking final.
"Nia crossed the line physically with someone and we take that seriously."....now
Do you seriously bring in Leroy another partner right in front of Sarah's face when you pulled her out fucking twice? Once for the same fucking circumstances?!!
Wooooooooooooow
They brought back Theresa to be Leroys partner for just this elim. I'm kind of pissed, but it was also wanted, but also kind of glad? I have so many conflicted feelings.
Fuck this noise in the face of Sarah. Kinda makes sense because she was already there. But at the same time she shouldn't get another chance. But she's going against another team who got another chance. I'm.....kind of ok with it? Mainly because it's against Johnny/Nany, If it was the same circumstance and Johnny/Nany hadn't come back before hand, I don't think I'd be as fine with it. Especially with Sarah sitting right there lmao
Johnny fucking yelling "Owww" Karma's a bitch I think you've said Johnny? Or "He's fine, he's being a pussy"?
Fuck Johnny!
"That's yours Nany! That's your x!" Please get it, because I failed to.
Seriously, when did the perception of Theresa shift over the last couple seasons? All of a sudden Theresa is seen as some challenge threat, where they said she was an upgrade to Nia, they talked her up the previous season as well.
Hahaha I love TJ clearly not standing at a point where he can watch Theresa kick Nany in the face repeatedly lmao he could very clearly just step to that side and watch it all happen, but he decides to keep it as a blind spot hahaha
I would have rather seen Leroy/Johnny both in the final vs Sarah, but god am I happy to see Johnny/Nany gone.
Theresa's first final and yesterday she was at home. Geesh, I am not a fan of twists.
"I would have expected my own mother to screw me over before Sarah." Johnny is such a peice of shit lmao He will literally die on any hill he talks up.
I could honestly see Jay and Jenna quitting lmao
Troll tolls!
They didn't even bother giving Theresa a different jersey lol
"I wanna go out a winner." Sarah talking about being done with The Challenge?
Jay and Jenna are so fucked lmao "We are, of course, going to finish." Yeah....that exact moment makes me think you won't.
I like that TJ still blows the horn as a necessity lol It can't be heard, no one can even see it, but sure let's blow the horn.
EP 12:
Jumping out of a helicopter to swim to a kayak would be fun as hell
"I would shut up a lot of people who talk a lot of crap about me"-Theresa. Have you watched the last couple seasons? People talk you up a lot. You were getting picked first in Free Agents some times over Laurel. In both exes you were considered one of the strongest girls. I know people may not like you but I feel like the last couple seasons you've been considered one of the best competitors for the girls.
Leroy being the one to get yelled at by the girl is hilarious.
"I could buy tons of shoes...a house. I wouldn't have to talk to my family anymore." What?! Jenna why are you still on this season?! lol
Hey, Nia called it. A word puzzle.
Nooooo you left th....ok they ran back and screwed them up. Jesus almost made a rookie mistake of leaving the puzzle there solved.
Hahaha cut back to Jay and Jenna talking about them working so hard to get here.
Flashbacks to Sarah getting DQ'd because of her partners lol in the final where Leroy gets a partner given to him.
What the hell is this path? lol cows now goats.
God damn, Sarah and Jordan take those first glasses like champs. Damn!
Quit calling it flip cup. It's not the same thing! lol
They're talking about Leroy and Theresa being on the heels of Sarah and Jordan when they're just now getting to the cows. They aren't even to the goats yet lol They aren't on their heels at all.
Yeah, Sarah and Jordan are gone and still no Leroy/Theresa
Jay and Jenna fucking walking after the checkpoint lol wow
I could get through almost all sick food things, but this weird half solid liquid would be a damn struggle for me lol
I need a counter for how many times Jenna says "whatever" for no reason
I can not imagine puking multiple times and forcing yourself to jog afterward lmao
"Oh it's a drinking game." Jenna says before seeing whats in the cups
I almost want to puke watching this.
The role reversal with Jenna haha
I will be SHOCKED if they aren't quitting. Shocked
People saying "I've never quit" have almost certainly quit.
"Are you crying? Are you serious?!" TJ, I love you.
Jay/Jenna, I wanna give you shit because you took Johnny and Nany's spot in the final making it a really interesting final, but at the same time. Johnny kind of made his own bed.
"You know how much shit twitter is going to give us?" Flashes twitter handles!!! I am dead. straight dead.
"A TUBE!!!!!!!"
First flip cup, now corn hole.
That's a huge goddamned lead blown. There had to be some struggling that wasn't shown. Jesus.
Theresa acting like she's shocked they're puking because of this caviar.
30 min time limit on this checkpoint doesn't seem to make sense if they have to run back for the rocks. Why even bother running and eating more tubes if you can just sit there and not tire yourself out? You don't even have to make it blatent, just struggle to eat the caviar.
I feel like the editing isn't doing a great job, or just don't have much to work with lol They're trying to paint like Leroy and Theresa are right on the heels of Sara/Jordan, but every time they show Leroy/Theresa they're barely traveling at all, but when they're showing Sarah and Jordan, outside of her having to stop to shit, they have been going fast as hell.
This sleeping situation lol
Theresa talking TRUTH!!!!! Johnny don't give a fuck about you Leroy. You're an idiot.
"What happened to Wes?" He got fucked by a twist...
"So I guess they were a layup." That's fucking right!
Five minute lead is pretty ridiculous. But I hate two day finals anyways, so...
Didn't Leroy have trouble on a climb previously? Or am I just thinking of Zach? I'm not sure.
Happy to see Sarah/Jordan get a win.
I have a feeling this reunion will be really interesting. Hope it has a good host.
If anything, this season has made me like Leroy more. Even though he got played and fails to realize it.
I completely forgot CT/Diem were on this season.
Reunion:
Weird to have Nia on the reunion?
Fucking Nia starting already. Jesus christ.
Johnny is such a whiny bitch. "I have never played that game." What in the hell lmao
Johnny trying to have the high ground here is hilarious.
"She will never win again because she branded herself a traitor." I love LOVE that Johnny has been able to shake off how he played with Kenny/Evan lmao The difference between Johnny and Sarah is that Sarah had the balls to just straight up make the move where Johnny just sits in the back while he convinces others to do it for him.
"Sexual harassment usually does that." Zach with the perfect statement on Nia. Why the fuck is she on the reunion? They just wanted someone on Johnny's side to talk shit to Sarah?
"This is the first season I've ever had any drama with girls." You came in to the house with previous drama. You can't come in to the season and immediately call out Theresa if there already wasn't a past. There may not have been a lot of drama, but that's basically a lie.
"There was a catalyst that got her to that point." Can we cut to an episode before where Johnny was calling Nia a fucking psycho and that she was off her rocker? lmao That's befor the supposed catalyst that Johnny is trying to excuse for Nia.
This is the type of shit of WHY I HATE JOHNNY it's so god damn clear how he plays, but he fucking tries to bitch about how other people play. Johnny outside of the house or on the face of everything he will be loyal as possible. He will defend people, like NIA, he will trash anyone who goes against any of his people, but he will turn around and have Jordan put Leroy/Nia in the elimination and act like it's just the smart move. He catches no fucking shit for it. It doesn't fucking stick to him because he isn't the one doing it. He's a spineless hypocrite.
Fuck this noise of trying to excuse Nia. Nia even being on the reunion is ridiculous but everyone standing up for her is absurd. They're mad at sarah and jordan so they'll excuse anything.
Wes really seems like he leaves the challenge house and just lets go of everything. He comes to these reunions and barely says a word.
Haha Everyone saying the layup was smart, but everyone mad at Sarah for using it. That makes sense lmao
"Everyone got a second chance and I went home. Even her(Theresa) Yeah Wes, you kinda got screwed.
Johnny HATES Wes getting all this praise for playing a great game.
Johnny saying Wes promises everyone everything and then gets them eliminated one by one his hilarious considering CT(I'm pretty sure it was him) said that about Johnny's game in a previous season.
Was really about to wonder if they were going to mention Knight and Diem. They kind of do them dirty only having them at the last 5 minutes and just having the biggest asshole at the reunion talk about Knight.
Overall Season thoughts:
Kind of a middling to lower season for me. Half the cast was complete filler and uninteresting. Rookies weren't only bad they just had no real fight or drive in them at all. I don't like twists in these games at all and to see one handled so poorly made me hate it even more. Nothing was shown of the exile at all, we as viewers didn't even know what was going to happen with them until suddenly Johnny/Nany show up. It also ultimately did nothing but make one episode interesting and get Wes out of the house. Literally every person on the season got a second chance but Wes lol that's just hilarious and fucked up.
That being said, I think Wes' game strategy is boring. It made most of the season boring and likely wouldn't have worked if there was even a little more people on the season who were competent.
I still hate Johnny and I'm still completely mystified when people ask about the Johnny hate or not understanding it. I seriously don't understand how you see how Johnny plays or portrays himself, but then see how he describes how he plays and portrays himself and not see a huge degree of difference between the two. He's a complete hypocrite and two faced. He will yell until he is blue in the face about being loyal and how everyone else is playing a dirty game, but he's also the same person who talks about Leroy/Nia needing to go in to beat Wes and then throwing the comp to not be the one to have to do it. He's a complete bitch and I am so damn tired of him. At least Sarah had the balls to make the move of putting him in the dome herself. She didn't throw the comp so someone else would have to do it. If you were so worried about the rookies not making the finals then why didn't you say the rookies needed to go against Wes? Oh was it because getting revenge on Wes was more important than your fake morals and making sure your alliance is safe?

Roland Garros : Aviator Adventurer? Or Mythical Dragon? Let's look at the facts.
1) Pokemon named the dragon looking pokemon Garrados (or something like that). Where did they get that idea? hmm
2) If you rearrange the letters in Roland Garros you get Roslan's Dragon, so the real question is was Roslan an aviator? because clearly Roland Garros was not
3) Many people dispute the realness of dragons, but have you ever been to France? If not, I promise you they had dragons
4) 4
5) Where did people even get the idea for airplanes from? Answer : from dragons. Dragons are notoriously good inventors, ever heard of fire? hoarding wealth? let's be honest, humans are just dragon wannabe's
Here's some tennis :
Djokovic Berankis : Quick standard work from Novak in the first round. No one looks more perfectly effortless than him when he’s in control. Berankis did well to surprise the lackluster Dellien even though clay isn’t his best surface. Dellien will likely be off the tour next year without some major grinding on the challenger tour. This next matchup looked good for a while at the USO but will be a similar result and a faster one on clay. Djokovic in 3.
Galan Sandgren : Cam Norrie and Galan played one of the worst 5-setters you could see if you were betting on either one. Nonstop exchanges of multiple games and no one could really sustain offense. I had thought Galan would run away with this one as he’s such a specialist but Norrie (when he wasn’t making errors) had control here and was the only one who could really change the direction of the ball or serve aces. Just the same scorelines but completely different play in the Sandgren and Hurkacz match. Sandgren hung around in the first set even though Hurkacz was dictating. It appeared fairly obvious that Sandgren’s plan was to hang in rallies and not go for much, hoping for errors. When Hurkacz managed to get broken at the end of the first it began to look like that was a solid strategy.
Sandgren was constantly serving at duece, facing break points in so many service games, and genuinely did not win this match at all. Hurkacz will need time or a new mental approach, because he’s losing matches due to errors, and this is a baaaaaad thing on tour because so many guys strategy when things get tight is to “try hard hope to earn errors”. When you’re known for making them guys try harder, and then you’re in the rare prison of supplying all the offense to a match. Guys like Federer can play 3 sets of offense, most of the tour is going to need to play error-free tennis so that their opponents are forced to at least go for something. Sandgren turned the tide in the 4th and 5th and Hurkacz began facing break points in all his games. The heavy ball Sandgren hits translates to a slightly more annoying pusher style, as he can kinda go for big targets and rely on pace/weight of shot to earn the point.
This next matchup opened at -195 for Sandgren and I tend to disagree. Sandren played an exhausting match but has gone through a number of deep runs at majors before. He’s not mercurial by any means on clay but he’s been working very hard the past few weeks to get his game together. Where Hurkacz has the weapons to really hurt Sandgren, Galan relies more on work ethic and simple consistency to unseat opponents. Barring fatigue, I don’t see Sandgren losing this, and he’ll have ample opportunities to break. His movement isn’t as good as Norrie but his offensive/service game are world’s more reliable. Sandgren in 4.
Garin Polmans : Garin and Kohl played a pretty good match, and Garin’s returning was what really got him over the finish line here. A lot of deep placement kept the times Kohl broke him from becoming a major issue, as he did have his chances. Garin is a player who thrives on flow and the more matches he wins the better he performs. Polmans, well, Polmans partied all over Humbert today. It was one-sided from start to finish, with Humbert just reflecting the ball and Polmans driving it. Fatigue could be a suggestion, but if you look at the guys who came from the ultra-fast courts of Hamburg they all struggled early in their matches. Humbert is not quite the physical talent that Rublev and Tsitsipas are so he wasn’t able to turn the tide, but they all found their timing around the 3rd set. Humbert’s mom is still cool, and he still has a bright future. If you like Polmans’ wacky hat and vivid celebrations on court (he seems almost like he’s about to start awkwardly breakdancing while celebrating/lamenting shots), him notching a win at a major is great for his ranking.
Garin is a better Polmans. I don’t consider Humbert’s demise a total implosion, and Polmans will be involved in this contest, but Garin is a player who usually loses to bigger weapons, and while Polmans moves the ball well he isn’t overwhelming. He can win a set or two because Garin is still in somewhat a daze from Hamburg, but I think Polmans will play Garin into a rhythm and Garin’s precision tend to improve as he strings games together. Garin in 4.
Vesely Khachanov : Vesely is starting to look like himself. Originally the inspiration for some Geico commercials, his transition to tennis has been brilliant, and his serving combined with the fact that he’s a lefty mean his game gives him an edge against most lower-tier players. Khachanov was one of the better comeback stories you’ll ever see in a straight set win. Majchrzak led by a break in every set and just couldn’t keep it together. A hint of future brilliance, but again his biggest issue is not being able to distance himself from his opponents in matches. Once Khachanov buttoned up his errors when he was down a break, it became difficult for Majchrzak to win rallies. I expect something similar in this tie with Vesely.
Vesely’s backhand has been the side that makes errors during neutral rallies, and for a guy who crushes the ball this represents a big target. Vesely will need to serve well to have a shot at this, and while matches between two big hitters tend to never go in straight sets, Khachanov and Garin looks like an inevitability. Khachanov in 4.
Bautista Agut Balasz : I’ve never seen someone look so dominant while getting beaten down. In the first set RBA was broken at love multiple times. Gasquet hit a number of unreal winners down the line with his backhand and worked to earn points with 20 shot rallies over and over. He led 5-2 at one point, but RBA had barely missed a shot to that point, aside from a few backhands into the net. Gasquet was emitting a quality of sweat I recognize as deep deep swampwater, and I know when things are that humid that comebacks are not in the cards. Gasquet lost the 1st set tiebreaker and was just about done. Gasquet is French for something, and while he’s out of the tournament here, he certainly has a neat backhand and a cool name,
Balasz was one of the cheapest and most straightforward options of the day, and Uchiyama never really put up a fight. Balasz has an interesting game and is worth watching, but his tournament is likely over. Gasquet was brilliant in the first set and still only won 9 games. The heavier balls and slower conditions mean RBA has a tough time hitting through the court, but the flipside is it’s very difficult to find points against him. Balasz may confuse him for a while, but errors will come as he forces shots. RBA in 3-4.
Pella Carreño Busta : Busta busta busta, I made you out of clayyyyyy. I know Pella’s name is first but I was just so relaxed watching PCB play his first round. He really comes into a match with a complete gameplan and sticks with it no matter the scoreline. Unpopular opinion : I don’t think he was going to lose in any fewer than 5 sets against Novak in NY. When he’s fresh and not making backhand errors it becomes extremely difficult to beat him, and for a guy whose somewhat regarded as a defensive player he steps into the court and unloads for winners whenever it’s possible. He is what Sandgren is trying to be.
Pella and Caruso played what must have been a depressing match for Caruso fans. Endless rallies, great quality tennis, but no real way for either player to find clean winners. Matches like that are difficult to watch because your neighbor will hear 3 hours of grunting coming from your apt and also because you know a few random points at the end of sets are going to decide things. Pella won those points, and though he was down early breaks he looked like himself for the first time. I’m glad I announced he has a terrible injury; I now know how to summon top play from any opponent.
I don’t know exactly what to expect from this matchup. They’ve traded some wins on hardcourt, but have oddly never played on clay. PCB’s movement/stamina are the biggest differences between him and Caruso, whose game sort of broke down as things progressed. Pella certainly played well, and even in a losing effort he’s going to make you play a ton of balls. The edge has to go to PCB given their recent forms, but his proclivity for going to duece means this could go the distance. PCB in 4-5.
Struff Altmaier : Struff and Tiafoe, or Struffafoe as they’re known from now on, played a pretty good quality match. I once again feel Tiafoe needs better coaching, as he was winning a fair number of the baseline rallies but insisted on playing dropshots. They cost him this match. I don’t know a nice way to outline that winning on tour just isn’t easy. The mental lapses are always going to cost you at a professional level, but Tiafoe has shown great improvements following the tour’s break, and you can’t just summon the type of resolve/focus that Nadal has. It’ll take time.
Altmaier (whose name is super annoying to type) beat Lopez in straight sets but these two pretty much started every service game at 15-40. It wasn’t great, but the conditions were such that Altmaier was able to take deep return positions and frustrate Lopez into forcing offense. A good win, and the comfort level may be a bit higher here against Struff, which should benefit him a great deal. Playing on tour in a major after grinding the challenger tour is something that gives you adrenaline you just don’t need at times, so a bit of comfort is a plus. I see a lot of recent wins for Altmaier but he hasn’t really played someone the caliber of Struff, and Struff’s loss to Coria troubles me but in a 3/5 format and after the good quality rallies him and Tiafoe had, Struff should be able to find an edge here. Struff in 4 or losing because he’s Struff.
Harris Berrettini : Popyrin really struggled on serve at times, and didn’t seem like he’d been playing enough clay leading into this match. Harris seems to get most of his points on tour in the majors, which is interesting for such a young talent. Berretini beat Pospisil like he did something, and there’s not a lot to say about this next matchup. Harris is a great server but lacks consistency. Berretini in 3.
Medvedev Ramos-Vinolas : Oops. The strangest thing about Medvedev’s loss was how early he started complaining about it. Halfway through the first set he was down a break and already fullscale yelling at the sky/his box/local squirrels/some children/the moon/the ocean/a rock/some guy. It reminded me of Novak’s wild frustration early against PCB. These guys shouldn’t be stressing so early in a match, but I think sometimes they know the writing is on the wall and the thought is too much. Fucsovics is not really a household clay name, but he stayed composed and got the job done here. Medvedev just forced shots here over and over, and it’s strange because his serve works fine on clay and his defense is good enough to really grind points.
ARV vs Mannarino on clay is like Mannarino vs ARV on grass. These guys have such specific styles that they really can’t overcome a surface disadvantage. ARV is the sort of test that Medvedev should have been for Fucsovics once he went down a few sets; very solid defensively, doesn’t give you much to work with, and works multiple shots to earn points rather than just hoping for a W. I tend to think Fucs is up to the task, and while the “going to disneyland” notion creeps in after a big win, Fucs has had enough “almost” situations against the top 20 that notching a win won’t change his game. Both should be fresh for this one and it should be a clean, crispy tennis match. Fucsovics in 3-4.
Giron Monteiro : So many matches went to overtime this first round. Both Halys and Giron were up a break in the 5th set, which is a much different feeling from Monteiro’s day. Thiago (which is the coolest name in the draw) added to Basil’s woes, breaking early and often. He just came off a finals appearance at a challenger a week ago and continued his good form. Giron represents a tough test because his speed/forehand are a gamechanger at times, but he’s unlikely to get the job done unless he gets an early lead. Monteiro tends to get out to quick starts and is a brilliant frontrunner. I give Giron a puncher’s chance, but can’t really think of a way he can win unless Monteiro’s backhand completely falls apart. Monteiro in 3-4.
Lajovic Anderson : When I picture these two I always think of them sitting across from each other wearing black turtlenecks and evilly stroking cats. Lajovic had a pretty tough time with Mager, who crushes the ball and is a good indication that Anderson’s hitting (during the rally at least) won’t be too much of an issue. Djere refused to hold serve in this match, and that’s a bad decision to make against a server. They played much of the first stretch of their match in light rain, and Djere seemed visibly upset heading into the break. I would say this was an empty victory for Anderson, but he served well and he at some point, will find his former form since he’s not exactly too old for the tour yet. I feel the same about Nishikori but the question of when is a difficult puzzle if you’re not in his camp.
Being conscious of your biases in assessing matches is a useful tool, and I’m aware that I’d never be backing Anderson in this one with Lajovic in good form. Due to this, Anderson having actually beaten Lajovic on clay two years ago in Madrid makes me think this is going to be closer than I’d normally expect. Anderson at full health gives him a slight nod. Lajovic on a decent run gives it to him here. I wouldn’t bet against Anderson here, but Lajovic in 5.
Davidoch Fokina Rublev : First time watching Mayo and he has a really nice game. Good power, good forehand, pushes the pace well. He was up early in the 1st but once errors crept into his game it slipped away from him. There’s a big key in professional tennis and it’s being able to maintain a level throughout a match, even if it means playing slightly less than your all-out game throughout. Fokina is very solid and very comfortable. He seems like win or lose his expression will remain the same, and that’s more confidence than indifference. Rublev played one of the more difficult first rounds, as anyone who expected Sam Querrey to come out firing that well must have six magic 8-balls hooked up to a super intelligent iguana flying along a slip-and-slide on it’s way to Narnia. Querrey is a scary guy when he serves well and his forehand is a thing of useless beauty. Ruvlev/Tsitsipas/Humbert all seemed like their timing was poor early in the matches and Rublev was the first to turn it around.
Fokina would win the first two sets against the Rublev from the first two sets. There’s no intimidation factor and his backhand/movement are rocksolid which is good since that’s the thing Rublev attacks the most. I think this is a tighter contest than oddsmakers are predicting but Fokina’s ability to hit winners during these baseline rallies is something I think will be absent. Earning errors, fine. Winning neutral exchanges at net, I definitely think so. Finding his way out of baseline rallies without Rublev errors? Idk. Rublev in 4-5.
Shapovalov Carballes Baena : Shap played one of the least inspiring first rounds of the heavy favorites, trading breaks and looking at times like he wouldn’t be able to find the effort to hit through Simon. Simon was happy to move the ball around but really couldn’t find 1st serves at any point in the match. It was not a great match which makes the next round interesting. RCB had some injury concerns for me going in but eclipsed those, beating Steve Johnson 1, 1, 0. For those of you not familiar with tennis, these are not good scores. RCB represents the opposite version of Simon’s game. He is dynamic, has multiple names, and hits with pace. He doesn’t serve aces but he puts his 1st serve in at a good clip, and although Shap should win this matchup almost all the time, his struggles against the pusher style of Simon in the first round make me wonder how much patience/resolve he has left after a month and a half of nonstop tennis. Shapovalov is not the -660 favorite that he is priced at in the books, and I’d avoid this one entirely unless you’re looking at RCB or the over. Shap still did break almost at will, so I’ll give him the slight nod despite his issues holding serve/hitting the ball over the net. (for those of you not familiar with tennis, hitting the ball over the net is often an effective strategy) Shapovalov in 4-5.
Martin Dimitrov : Maybe there’s something about Tuesdays that make me nervous about upsets, but this is an interesting contest. Dimitrov is -700 in this one. I also think he’s playing great ball lately, but that is not the correct line. Dimitrov is a big market and people haven’t heard of Martin so it lands this way. Sousa didn’t particularly do anything wrong in his opener against Martin, except for doing each thing you could do wrong once. He just looks unlucky out there. He’s hitting well at times, but just seems to find an error or unfortunate way to lose the point over and over. Martin, on the other hand, was crushing the ball. He hit clean winners time and time again on Sousa’s second serve, and I think that while he isn’t expected to beat Dimitrov, his ability to generate offense during baseline rallies will give him opportunities in some spots.
Dimitrov rolled Barrere, but he served at duece in a number of games. Barrere is a nice hardcourt player, but really hasn’t won too many matches on clay. It became a perfect situation for Dimitrov, who looks great when things are going well. Martin is the type of player that clay tends to produce; not a dominant guy or a title-winner, but someone who is very comfortable with their game and who isn’t too troubled situationally (similar to what we saw from Munar today competing against Tsitsipas without too much mental duress). If this were 2/3 I’d like Martin. In 3/5 I think Dimitrov will have ample chances to break serve, and so will only lose in 5. Martin in 5.
Milojevic Bedene : Upset of the first round for Milojevic. He hit the ball solid and was proactive about his shot selection, hugging the baseline and taking time away. Krajinovic really never had a chance to breathe in this one and as a player who refuses to move off the baseline, Kraj made a number of errors on the backhand trying to stand his ground. Nothing really new from him, as he’s been great on clay and also struggled at times. Bedene was solid against Rinderknech, who reminds me a bit of Ruusuvuori and may make his way on tour in a year or two. Good groundstrokes, very fluid forehand, and just a bit less experience giving Bedene the edge late in the match.
This is another match where I lean towards the upset, but is the breakdown. Milojevic beat a superior player in Krajinovic, but a less consistent one. Kraj has had his fair share of struggles. Bedene isn’t a threat for deep runs in events, but gets the job done very consistently when he’s “supposed” to win. That’s a big thing on tour, as upsets happen. I did like Milojevic’s pace, and were he playing someone who has a bit more variety in their game, I’d think he had a better shot. Bedene tends to play a very similar game though, and the edge here will be very small. Milojevic elevating his game as the Kraj match progressed rather than barely getting across the finish line indicates to me fatigue wasn’t a factor and that it was just a one-and-done effort. Milojevic in 4-5.
Cuevas Tsitsipas : Haha they put the Uruguayan flag for both, I thought. But it turns out I am a muppet and have much to learn about the world. Many countries enjoy stripey goodness it seems. Cuevas was a bit too good today, negating the over of 35 games even while going to 4 sets. Laaksonen looked ok in the second but Cuevas’ loopy returns saw Henri making error after error. The ball hitting the net with an open court is something that seems to compound struggles on tour, and this was over quickly. The polar opposite of Tsitsipas’ war with Munar, which took forever and featured some of the most skillful exchanges of the first round. Munar is everything you want in a smol one. Unexpected dropshots, clean shots down the line, and the ability to transfer luck if you rub his head. Tsitsipas looked very impatient, and I feel for Munar who really never had a chance to win after Tsitsipas found form, but Stefanos making this comeback is a very good sign. He was drenched in sweat, struggling to put this away, and never really blew up.
Stefanos and Pablo played a week ago and although Cuevas was good, Tsitsipas seemed like he was able to defend the court well enough that Cuevas was only going to get the match with errors. I expect to see something similar here, although Stefanos won’t be able to afford the sort of slow start he made against Munar. Tsitsipas in 4 or Cuevas in 4.
Bublik Sonego : Bublik got the job done, and Monfils left fans wondering if he really wants to be out there fighting any more. Nothing wrong with losing to a great server whose career is on the rise, but Monfils seems like he’s not fully engaged out there, and so as a professional athlete, people are going to ask questions. Sonego and Gomez had a good contest, and while I think Sonego matches up well with Bublik, taking 5 sets with Gomez means Bublik will be able to find breaks of serve. There are likely to be some tiebreakers here, but given Bublik’s ability to serve out Monfils, he’s likely to win them. Bublik in 4.
Albot Fritz : If you read my predictions, you know what’s coming. Albot broke his slump by playing spirited ball again Thompson. It was one of the quicker matches in the first round, lasting just (insert however many minutes it lasted). Fritz Fritz’d it up, almost dropping the ball against qualifier Machac. Considering he barely snuck by, there’s reason to believe this will be a tough contest as well, even with Albot’s struggles. Albot tests his opponents movement, Fritz makes errors on the run. Albot breaks serve at a higher clip than most guys on tour, Fritz is mainly just a server. I think Fritz is the better player here, but I think that the lead will be very important for belief here, since Albot has struggled lately. I think Albot’s movement will be a key on the slower surface, but he’ll need to get off to a quick lead since Fritz (as many servers are) is a very dangerous opponent in a 5th set. Albot in 4.
Gombos Rodionov : Finally a good reliable favorite. I warned readers that Gombos is the Gombosiest, but they didn’t listen. Coric found out the hard way, and honestly there difference in this one was just ballstriking. Coric was moving the ball around looking to present the “you can’t hit through me” challenge, and while this is a good strategy in later rounds, guys really crush the ball in the first round and the pace is much quicker. Gombos almost snagged Cilic in the USO, and didn’t falter here. Rodionov waited as long as possible to get going against Chardy, going down 2 sets and only winning the tiebreaker 8-6. He served for the match in the 5th set 3 times, and had a very lucky day to be playing Chardy. Chardy just couldn’t keep the ball in the court on offense, and will have to earn his points in the indoor season this year.
Rodionov plays a solid game, and being lefty helps, but he lacks big weapons which is why he mostly plays on the challenger tour. Gombos has enough power to be able to dictate here, and Rodionov coming through the qualifier and played 5 long sets will make this an uphill battle. Considering Gombos hit through Coric, the defense is unlikely to phase him. Gombos in 3.
Giustino Schwartzman : Lorenzo Giustino and Corentin Moutet had played the match of the first round by the end of the 2nd set. Moutet was just in unreal form and dictating most of the rallies in this one. Where he suffered was in two patterns. Giustino hit his forehand with height/shape rather than pace into Moutet’s backhand. Once into this pattern the shorter Moutet tended to drive the backhand downward crosscourt and Giustino would execute the same shot. The backhand never broke down but Giustino was able to wear down Moutet’s patience, and he took many opportunities as the match went on to run around his backhand and hit the inside in forehand. Giustino hit this ball crosscourt every time, really not missing often. These are simple exchanges but it’s the same shotpatterns that Djokovic employs against Nadal. What transpired was Giustino’s speed being pitted against Moutet’s arm, and while it looked like Giustino wouldn’t find offense, Moutet’s forehand got more loopy and Giustino found winners crosscourt since he was able to drive the ball more, and Moutet’s backhand lost depth and Giustino was able to catch Moutet with the forehand down the line over and over. If people are looking for the way to beat these lefty patterns this was a great example.
I had hoped Moutet would win, as his offense would be able to trouble Diego a bit more. Schwartzman beat Kecmanovic easily, and Kecmanovic had that “this draw sucks and I’m already thinking about the next tournament” glazed look in his eyes throughout this match. Giustino has to be exhausted at this point, after qualifying and playing an extra 2 sets of tennis in the 5th. Diego is the wrong opponent to try to outlast, and I think unfortunately Giustino will be more error prone here which will drive Moutet insane from wherever he’s watching. Schwartzman in 3.
Wawrinka Koepfer : Mats Wilander’s comment that Murray should leave these wildcards to younger players has some validity, but his presentation is part of what is wrong with social media. If he really had this concern, he could send Murray a message and offer some perspective. Maybe the clay tour isn’t really where Murray needs to play at this point. Posting these “open letters” and private messages as tweets is a really bizarre way to posture and the messages tend to be more about the person writing them than the issue at hand. Now, unfortunately, Mats Wilander (who I have never heard of) is an official douchenozzle in my mind. Unfortunate, but not as unfortunate as Murray/Wawrinka not giving us the classic we were all hoping for. Wawrinka has stumbled so badly recently that him playing his normal solid top 10 clay court tennis was unexpected. Murray’s movement was poor, but most players are going to lose to Wawrinka when he plays well.
Koepfer looked solid against in dispatching Hoang, and there’s something to the idea that this next contest will be tricky for Stan. There’s always the crisp shotmaking and overwhelming power, but Koepfer is not really looking to win the hitting contest anyway, and instead thrives on scrambling rallies and working his opponent’s backhand. The outcome here depends entirely on Wawrinka, as Koepfer is likely to be steady throughout. I expect at least one set to go the German’s way, as he has proven to be an extremely difficult out. Wawrinka in 4-5 but I would avoid backing Stan here if you like dollars, especially since he’ll likely show his level and have a more predictably simple match the next round against Nishioka. With guys who are good for deep runs in tournaments if they’re playing well, it often helps to gather information rather than let that fear of missing out have you backing question marks.
Gaston Nishioka : Lefty fiiiiiiiight! Gaston won the all-French affair pretty comfortably and Nishioka’s quality in his win over FAA was completely ignored. FAA can’t serve! FAA so many errors! Part of this is inconsistency but part of this is Nishioka being a wall and constantly moving his opponent. Gaston will be at a disadvantage here experience-wise but lefty vs lefty is always a difficult task for both, and Nishioka has been a mixed bag on the clay so far this season. Very tough to know how these two will match up, but the pre-match edge has to sit with Nishioka. Nishioka in 4.
Ruud Paul : Pretty simple victories for both of these two, and this will be a great match to watch. Paul has shown he can compete at the top level, but watching him in his doubles match today he didn’t seem to be serving great. His partner Monroe is a great player to watch at net which is why I caught it, and inferences from doubles aren’t the most reliable, but I think Paul will need to avoid long rallies with Ruud, who has been improving every week since the restart. Pretty similar styles at different points in their career. Ruud in 4.
Sock Thiem : Sock had some genuine emotion winning games against Opelka, and it’s nice to see him visibly motivated after his chubby troubles. Thiem looked like there wasn’t much adjustment to clay in the first round, and he was extremely composed/reserved while beating Cilic. Cilic isn’t in great form, but beating him so easily is a real testament to Thiem’s solid position in the top 2-3 players in tennis. Sock’s skill and whippy forehand allow him to match up better against the top tier than the results will indicate, but with Sock’s backhand still a liability this isn’t a spot where Thiem will struggle too much. Thiem in 3 and let the inbox threats begin, he is my pick to win this tournament.
Zverev Herbert : Zverev continued his slow start strong finish method against Novak. Once he locks down the errors he becomes a very tough out and he hits the ball with such reservation during rallies that when he does finally go for a clean winner his opponents almost don’t move. In Serena’s age of dominance she’d often lose the first two games and then break back and her opponents level would fall and Zverev’s slow starts give me the same sort of “accidental or genius” psychological strategic vibes. It’s more likely it’s just tall players start slow. Herbert beat Mmoh, who is somehow a pusher that makes errors. I’d like to see him (Mmoh) go a bit more offensive for a season, as looking to be solid from the baseline just isn’t enough to win on tour.
The Herbert Zverev matchup is an interesting one since Herbert’s game has the things that traditionally would snag a player who starts slow. Herbert is an old-school serve and volley player who is adept at adjusting his strokes to keep the ball in the court. Zverev is a bit too crispy at the moment to expect a bit blowup, but Herbert having a higher caliber of offense than Novak (who plays a bit too straightforward to really beat the mid-top tier guys) gives him a better chance. Zverev in 4.
Londero Cecchinato : Londero flipped the result against Delbonis, who he’d lost in straight sets against in their previous meeting. It’s nice to see him back in the win column, as he plays a very unique game, going for accurate offense and looking to test his opponents speed. If it weren’t for fatigue, I’d think he were a decent favorite. Cecchinato has been great though, and murmurs of his previous French Open run were flying with his snowball beatdown of De Minaur. De Minaur isn’t the best on clay, as many pointed out, but he has some notable wins in his past including PCB, and beating him is never simple. Cecchinato’s power gives him an edge here if Londero is tired. Slower legs will leave more short balls and Cecchinato can really dictate. He’s also fairly deft at using the dropshot which can wear his opponents down. Where I hesitate to just hand him the win is that these new wins have been out of nowhere, and he hasn’t played a real top level player yet. Londero is the first such test, as his claycourt game can threaten all but the top 10-20 guys at the French. No pick here, but if either is able to win this quickly then Zverev is in for a difficult 3rd round.
Paire Coria : Local kumquat Benoit Paire played quite well, beating Kwon in straight sets. There wasn’t a lot of hope for Kwon, and he struggled with his serving throughout. Paire, whose attention span is that of a drunk raccoon, will be a small favorite in his next round against Coria, but Coria is the quintessential villain to beat Paire. Coria lacks offense, but is a venerable wall. The errors Kwon made will be less available, and with Sinner looming in the next round both guys will know this is their last chance to advance. I expect Paire to either find great form here or lose. Finding great form isn’t what I expect, and if Coria is able to earn an early lead this could be over quick. Coria in 4.
Bonzi Sinner : Bonzi played great against Ruusuvuori, and I got that match completely wrong. Sinner’s defeat of Goffin coupled with his 6-2, 6-2 loss to Cilic a week or so ago makes me think Goffin is either a bit injured or just not fully engaged in this clay swing, but Sinner looks great. Sinner in 4.
Kukushkin Martinez : Fognini Fognini’d all over the place. He seemed to hurt his ankle during the 3rd set tiebreaker, and for a guy who lacks a bit of self control he shockingly did not withdraw. This seems to be one of his principles, as he’s finished matches injured before. Good win for Kukushkin, who hung around until he was given the match. Martinez on the other hand went out and earned it, downing the hard hitting Vukic in straight sets.
Martinez and Kukushkin are unlikely to have huge edges against each other. Kukushkin does his best work at majors, but not really on clay, and Martinez is a claycourt expert, but generally earns errors/preys on his opponents inconsistency. I expect long rallies, and I expect Martinez to gradually pull away in this one. Martinez in 5.
Korda Isner : I’m gonna have to be honest. I completely missed Isner’s match. It didn’t seem like Benchetrit was returning much, and Isner is generally the same. That being said, I regret this because Korda played very well in defeating Seppi and I’d like to be more confident about defending his chances here. Korda plays very well at net, and while he’s a bit green, he’s been losing in the qualifiers on tour for a few seasons now. Him starting to win matches now means we can expect a solid performance from him. He’ll have the edge in baseline rallies, and given they’re from the same country, he’ll be somewhat familiar with Isner’s game. This will come down to Korda’s ability to avoid bad service games, and whether Isner’s serve is unreturnable or not. These are question marks, and I’m starting to hate question marks. Not as much as I hate people bouncing the ball between their legs before their serves though. Korda in fourda.
Nishikori Travaglia : Clay Nishikori is back! A late 5th set victory against Evans saw many bettors writing creative words into the livestream chat, and if you’ve never been called an assfish, you can only imagine how upset Dan is tonight. Kei was happy to get across the finish line, and he has to feel like he can breathe a sigh of relief. Travaglia beat Pablo Andujar, who I have been instructed by my attorney to point out is not from Colombia and does not live in the jungle and does not train jaguars and does not sleep in a cave and does not channel magical eagles and definitely does not possess the ability to call the wind from within his lungs which are definitely not made out of the spirit of a cursed python. Andujar had been on a tear, and beating him in straight sets coupled with Travaglia’s serving prowess mean I make him a slight favorite to beat Kei in this matchup. Since Kei is struggling to find length and rhythm playing a big hitter is likely a bad situation, and I give Kei a good chance since he’s such a difficult defender to beat but he really will be behind the 8-ball in his service games. Travaglia in 4-5.
McDonald Nadal : Nice win and some much needed points and bucks for Mackie. Nadal didn’t look great against Gerasimov but Egor was hitting some great offense and Nadal doesn’t exactly need to press early. Nadal in 3 and the next round against Travaglia will be a good look at Nadal’s level.
​
Finishing up the women's now. Should be up in an hour or two. <3

Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater… or a global health crisis.
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Trump’s playbook is Russia’s playbook

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in July withheld an intelligence bulletin warning of a Russian plot to spread misinformation regarding Joe Biden's mental health. The bulletin, titled “Russia Likely to Denigrate Health of U.S. Candidates to Influence 2020 Election,” was blocked by the office of acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf on July 9.

• The bulletin states that analysts had “high confidence” in their conclusion. However, a DHS spokesperson tried to defend the “delay” in issuing the document by saying it did not meet the agency’s standards. This is curious because just a week later, on July 16, DHS circulated a bulletin on anarchists in Portland that officers admitted they had “low confidence” in. Why was the Russia memo held back but the Portland one released?
  
• Trump has been pushing the same line of attack against Biden for months - yet another instance of Russia and Trump operating from the same playbook. For instance, in March Trump said there was “something going on” with Biden; in June Trump ran selectively edited ads asserting that Biden is “unfit to serve as Commander in Chief”; last month Trump ran a digital ad portraying Biden as perpetually confused and mentally unstable. Most recently, Trump said questions about his own health are only in the news because “they want to try and get me to be on Biden's physical level."
  

DHS is just the latest agency in the Trump administration to erode election security, following actions by the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) last month. DNI John Ratcliffe announced he was ending in-person congressional briefings on election security ahead of November and AG Bill Barr removed a leading career official at the Justice Department’s national security division, replacing him with an inexperienced political appointee.
The ODNI’s decision to halt congressional election briefs may have been influenced by top White House officials. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, among others, have repeatedly discussed in meetings with staff and with Trump “how to restrict and control the flow of information on such sensitive topics to Capitol Hill.”

One White House official told The Daily Beast that Meadows has for months been wary of the type of briefings on Capitol Hill that Democratic sources can potentially use to try to make Trump look bad through surreptitious leaks to media outlets.

Meanwhile, interim Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee Marco Rubio (R-FL) said last week that his committee will be granted an exception to the ODNI’s new policy and continue to receive in-person briefings from top U.S. intelligence officials about election-security issues. This essentially means that only Democrat-led committees have been cut out of the process ensuring election security.
House Democrats wrote to Ratcliffe insinuating if his office does not provide the previously scheduled briefings this month they will issue subpoenas and/or defund the ODNI in the appropriations bill due by the end of the month. Read the letter here.
In addition to attacks on Biden’s health, DHS has determined that Russia is seeking to “amplify” concerns over the integrity of U.S. elections by promoting allegations that mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud. Intelligence analysts say this strategy has been underway since at least March, coinciding with Trump’s own assaults on mail-in voting.

• For instance, in March Trump said if he agreed to funding vote-by-mail expansions in the first coronavirus stimulus bill, the U.S. would see “levels of voting that, if you ever agreed to it, you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again” (clip). Fact check: Neither party has historically benefited. On April 7, at the White House press briefing, Trump claimed: "Mail ballots are a very dangerous thing for this country, because they're cheaters… They're fraudulent in many cases" (clip). Fact check: There is no evidence that mail ballots are dangerous or fraudulent.

At a White House press briefing on Friday, Trump denied there is any proof that Russia poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Instead of backing the German government's analysis of Nalvany's illness, Trump then redirected the criticism from Russia to China (clip).

"I don't know exactly what happened. I think it's tragic. It's terrible; it shouldn't happen. We haven't had any proof yet, but I will take a look. It is interesting that everybody is always mentioning Russia - and I don't mind you mentioning Russia - but I think probably China, at this point, is a nation that you should be talking about much more so than Russia. Because the things that China's doing are far worse.”

Trump then went on to say he’s “taken stronger action against Russia than any other country in the world,” but added “I do get along with President Putin” (clip).

• RELATED: Leaked notes obtained by the Telegraph say that when Theresa May asked for Trump to take a strong stand after Russia poisoned Sergei Skripal, Trump replied “I’d rather follow than lead.” He pushed May to “put together a coalition” first.

The Trump administration plans to deport a Russian national living in America, a move experts say is in response to a politically motivated request by Russia. Gregory Duralev was persecuted by the Russian state for exposing corruption. He fled to America and applied for asylum in 2015. While waiting for a decision on his application, he was arrested by ICE and jailed for nearly 18 months. His case is now in court.

“DHS has acted no better than the Russian authorities,” Duralev said. “They simply fabricated charges against me for violations I never committed — and if DHS can trump up charges against immigrants with impunity, nobody can guarantee they won’t start doing it” to regular Americans. “So that’s the main message I now hope to send.”

Michael Cohen & Peter Strzok

Former FBI agent Peter Strzok has a book coming out called “Compromised.” In it, he alleges that FBI investigators came to believe it was “conceivable, if unlikely” that Russia was secretly controlling President Trump after he took office:

“We certainly had evidence that this was the case: that Trump, while gleefully wreaking havoc on America’s political institutions and norms, was pulling his punches when it came to our historic adversary, Russia,” Strzok writes. “Given what we knew or had cause to suspect about Trump’s compromising behavior in the weeks, months, and years leading up to the election, moreover, it also seemed conceivable, if unlikely, that Moscow had indeed pulled off the most stunning intelligence achievement in human history: secretly controlling the president of the United States — a Manchurian candidate elected.”

He now says he doesn’t believe that Trump is literally a Russian spy: “I don’t think that Trump, when he meets with Putin, receives a task list for the next quarter,” Strzok said, referencing the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. “But I do think the president is compromised, that he is unable to put the interests of our nation first, that he acts from hidden motives, because there is leverage over him, held specifically by the Russians but potentially others as well.”
In an interview with Politico, Strzok confirms that he and then-deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, opened a counterintelligence case on the president, but that it likely was never pursued. Two weeks ago, NYT reported that Rosenstein secretly closed it.
As if there weren’t enough political books coming out this summefall, Michael Cohen is releasing his, called “Disloyal: A Memoir.” The following a couple of quick takeaways:
Cohen says that he, Trump, Aras Agalarov, Emin Agalarov, and others, watched a strip show in Las Vegas where one performer simulated peeing on another performer, who pretended to drink it. Trump reportedly reacted with “delight.” Aras Agalarov, a Russian real estate mogul, is a trusted associate of Putin and reportedly served as a liaison between Trump and the Russian president during Trump’s trip to Moscow.
WaPo:

On Russia, Cohen writes that the cause behind Trump’s admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin is simpler than many of his critics assume. Above all, he writes, Trump loves money — and he wrongly identified Putin as “the richest man in the world by a multiple.” Trump loved Putin, Cohen wrote, because the Russian leader had the ability “to take over an entire nation and run it like it was his personal company — like the Trump Organization, in fact.”
...According to Cohen, Trump’s sycophantic praise of the Russian leader during the 2016 campaign began as a way to suck up and ensure access to the oligarch’s money after he lost the election. But he claims Trump came to understand that Putin’s hatred of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, dating to her support for the 2011 protest movement in Russia, could also help Trump amass more power in the United States.

USPS & mail voting

According to a Washington Post report yesterday, Postmaster Louis DeJoy engaged in campaign money laundering, also called a straw-donor scheme, at his former logistics business. Five of his former employees told WaPo that they were “urged” to donate to politicians in North Carolina and would be paid back through bonuses from DeJoy. Such a plan would allow DeJoy to illegally circumvent campaign donation limits.

“Louis was a national fundraiser for the Republican Party. He asked employees for money. We gave him the money, and then he reciprocated by giving us big bonuses,” said David Young, DeJoy’s longtime director of human resources, who had access to payroll records at New Breed from the late 1990s to 2013 and is now retired.
“He would ask employees to make contributions at the same time that he would say, ‘I’ll get it back to you down the road,’ ” said [another] former employee.
...A Washington Post analysis of federal and state campaign finance records found a pattern of extensive donations by New Breed employees to Republican candidates, with the same amount often given by multiple people on the same day. Between 2000 and 2014, 124 individuals who worked for the company together gave more than $1 million to federal and state GOP candidates. Many had not previously made political donations, and have not made any since leaving the company, public records show.

More than one million mail-in ballots were sent late to voters during the 2020 primary elections, an audit by the USPS IG’s office determined. Most of the ballots were late, the USPS says, because local election boards sent the ballots to voters at the last minute. Official press release.

[The audit] found the problems during primaries had been most pronounced in Kentucky and New York, where a combined 628,000 ballots were sent out late. In 17 states, the audit found, more than 589,000 ballots were sent from election boards to voters after the state’s ballot mailing deadline. In 11 states, more than 44,000 ballots were sent from election boards to voters the day of or the day before the state’s primary election.
One particularly troubling situation, auditors found, unfolded in Pennsylvania, where 500 ballots were sent to voters the day after the election.

Furthermore, only 13% of the ballots were mailed with the recommended bar code tracking technology.
Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) was blocked from attending two scheduled tours of USPS facilities last week. Local Postal Service officials informed her and union leaders waiting to accompany her into the building that national USPS leadership had directed them to bar the group from the building. A Postal Service spokeswoman said they simply needed more notice for a tour.
Many states, including important battleground states, are not legally permitted to process mail-in/absentee ballots until Election Day, leading to concern that results will be delayed by days or weeks. For instance, in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan election officials cannot even begin processing ballots until Election Day. Processing involves opening envelopes, flattening ballots to run through the scanning machine, and prepping for the scanning.

"When voters have to wait so long for results, it erodes trust in the process and leaves room for partisan bad actors to dispute the will of the people," said Amber McReynolds, CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute, a nonprofit organization.

AG Bill Barr made three stunning false claims about mail voting during an interview with Wolf Blitzer last week. First, Barr wouldn’t even acknowledge that voting twice is a crime - because just hours earlier, Trump encouraged his North Carolina supporters to vote twice to “test” the state’s mail-in voting system (clip).

BLITZER: It sounds like he’s encouraging people to break the law and try to vote twice.
BARR: It seems to me what he’s saying is, he’s trying to make the point that the ability to monitor this system is not good. And it was so good, if you tried to vote a second time you would be caught if you voted in person.
BLITZER: That would be illegal if they did that. If somebody mailed in a ballot and then actually showed up to vote in person, that would be illegal.
BARR: "I don't know what the law in the particular state says.”
BLITZER: You can’t vote twice.
BARR: "I don't know what the law in the particular state says.”

Then, Barr tried to assert that foreign countries could fake ballots, but when challenged he admitted he had no evidence (clip).

BLITZER: You’ve said you were worried that a foreign country could send thousands of fake ballots, thousands of fake ballots to people that it might be impossible to detect. What are you basing that on?
BARR: I’m basing — as I’ve said repeatedly, I’m basing that on logic.
BLITZER: Pardon?
BARR: Logic.

Finally, Barr cited a supposed incident of mail-in voting fraud in Texas. Too bad it doesn’t exist.

The payroll

Charles Rettig, the Trump-appointed IRS Commissioner who has refused to release President Trump’s tax returns, has made hundreds of thousands of dollars renting out Trump properties while in office. Rettig makes $100,000 - $200,000 a year from two units at Trump International Waikiki. When first nominated, Rettig failed to disclose his financial ties to Trump Waikiki. When questioned by Congress, he did not directly answer concerns about the properties.

CREW: With Trump’s name removed from some buildings as it began to hurt property values, we can only imagine how toxic it would become if a bombshell in his tax returns were released. Which means the IRS Commissioner has a vested interest in the success of the Trump brand—and of preventing anything that could damage it.

Voice of America staffers say Trump appointee Michael Pack is threatening to wash away legal protections intended to insulate their news reports from political meddling. Since arriving, Pack has fired the network's leaders, pushed out agency executives, refused to approve allotted budgets, and refused to renew visas for foreign employees.

• Further reading: “Deleted Biden video sets off a crisis at Voice of America,” Politico.

Pack suggested the staff he fired and foreign journalists he essentially kicked out may have been foreign spies, without offering any evidence to support his claim. A group of 14 senior VOA journalists are openly disputing his explanation:

“Mr. Pack has made a thin excuse that his actions are meant to protect national security, but just as was the case with the McCarthy ‘Red Scare,’ which targeted VOA and other government organizations in the mid-1950s, there has not been a single demonstrable case of any individual working for VOA — as the USAGM CEO puts it — ‘posing as a spy,’ ” they wrote.

The White House is searching for a replacement for Federal Trade Commission Chair Joe Simons, a Republican who has publicly resisted President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on social media companies. Simons, a veteran antitrust lawyer, cannot legally be removed by the president except in cases of gross negligence. But the White House has already interviewed at least one candidate for the post.

• RELATED: The Justice Department plans to bring an antitrust case against Google as soon as this month, after Attorney General William P. Barr overruled career lawyers who said they needed more time to build a strong case.

Richard Grenell, formerly the highest-ranking out gay official in the Trump administration, has joined a law firm founded by Pat Robertson that has a history of opposing LGBTQ+ rights. Grenell also recently joined the Republican National Committee to do outreach to LGBTQ+ voters.
The Trump administration has quietly named a new acting State Department inspector general. Matthew Klimow, the U.S. ambassador to Turkmenistan since mid-2019, is the third acting IG since Trump and Pompeo ousted Senate-confirmed IG Steve Linick in May.
Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s current special envoy to Northern Ireland, former Chief of Staff, and former acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is starting a hedge fund focused on financial services regulation. Ethics experts say Mulvaney explicitly using his knowledge of CFPB to place bets for and against companies gives him an unfair and perhaps illegal advantage.

Court and DOJ matters

Court cases
The Trump administration must, for now, stop winding down in-person counting efforts for the 2020 census, a federal judge in California ordered.
The three-judge panel hearing a challenge to Trump’s new anti-immigrant census policy seemed hostile to the government’s arguments in a hearing last week.
A federal judge has stopped the Trump administration from enforcing a rule change that would let health care providers deny medical services to LGBTQ patients on the grounds of religion.
Justice Department
Federal prosecutors are preparing to charge longtime GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy in connection with efforts to influence the U.S. government on behalf of foreign interests. Broidy helped raise millions for Donald Trump’s election and the Republican Party.
Barr ordered another round of changes to FISA rules, tightening the use of government surveillance on political candidates or their staffers — a move conservatives will likely cheer, as they have long criticized how the FBI investigated the Trump campaign in 2016.

Before conducting physical searches or wiretaps of a federal election official, members of the official's staff, candidates for federal office, or their staff or advisers, the FBI must now consider giving them a "defensive briefing," to tell them that they could be the target of foreign influence.

SUMMARY
The most anticipated match of the week was the one between Piacenza and Perugia. The home team was without Hierrezuelo and Tondo, who did really well subbing in for Candellaro last week and who is now risking a long stop, so Bernardi (against Perugia for the 1st time) played with Izzo as a setter. Heynen, instead, started once again with Ter Horst instead of Vernon-Evans as OPP. The 1st set was very balanced (20-20), then 2 controversial calls by the ref and an error by Grozer sealed it for Perugia (22-25, 0-1). The guests kept the momentum and dominated the 2nd (17-25, 0-2). Piacenza reacted in the 3rd (17-12), then more controversy, as a serve out by Plotnytskyi was called an ace and a doubtful net fault by Travica was called as well (23-17), before Russell sealed it (25-19, 1-2). Not much to say about the 4th, which was led by Perugia from start to finish (20-25, 1-3). The absence of Hierrezuelo was a big blow for Piacenza (37% kills), with only Candellaro (8 points, 57% kills, 4 blocks) able to finish over 50% kills. All wings finished under 40%, with Grozer (13 points, 31% kills, 1 ace, 1 block) very far from week 1 dominance. Perugia had a good-but-not-great attack (47% kills) but compensated with 13 blocks. Leòn had very unusual stats (19 points, 32% kills, 64% positive reception, 2 aces, 5 blocks), while Plotnitskyi (16 points, 72% kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks) and Solé (10 points, 36% kills, 5 blocks) were more like their usual selves.
Lube hosted Ravenna to keep up the good work shown in match week 1. De Giorgi started Kovar over Juantorena, while Bonitta confirmed his lineup. Lots of errors by the hosts in the 1st (14-18), with Ravenna’s middles recording a clean sheet on offense (100% kills). Simon didn’t want to be overshadowed and took charge (22-22), then, on 23-23, made a silly net fault, and another error by Lube gave Ravenna the 1st (23-25, 0-1). The 2nd set was a high-precision one, with both teams killing over 70%. Juantorena went in for Kovar and, after being down 14-17, Lube went up for the first time (21-20). An ace by Leal and a kill by Rychlicki tied the game (25-22, 1-1). Lube mauled Ravenna in the 3rd (25-14, 2-1), with an ace by Yant Herrera as the closing act. The tide changed in the 4th, with Ravenna blocking everything and going up 13-18. Hadrava in for Rychlicki and Lube almost closed the gap. Almost (23-25, 2-2). Great start by Lube in the 5th (6-2), but Ravenna didn’t want to give up (8-7). The usual Simon took charge with a block and 2 consecutive aces (12-8) and the hosts could finally close it (15-9, 3-2). I guess nobody expected Lube to swear so much in order to edge Ravenna. The guests closed all doors to Lube’s offense (15 blocks), so the home team reacted with great serving (15 aces). Also, having Juantorena (15 points, 52% kills, 65% positive reception, 4 aces) helps a lot, despite his 35 years. Leal (18 points, 61% kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks) and Rychlicki (18 points, 47% kills, 3 aces, 1 blocks) were good as well. In Ravenna, nice match by Pinali (22 points, 48% kills, 2 blocks) despite a bad day from the line (13 serves, 0 aces, 6 errors) and Grozdanov (14 points, 83% kills, 4 blocks).
Trento hosted Verona, the so-called “Adige derby” (from the river which flows through both cities), in what was supposed to be another easy match for the home team. Lorenzetti started with the ideal lineup for the first time, having both Podrascanin and Lisinac available, while Stoytchev didn’t have many alternatives. The 1st set was very balanced, with frequent lead changes and nobody able to go on +3. Verona got the first set ball (23-24), Trento cancelled 3 but when Boyer blocked Abdel-Aziz the set was over (26-28, 0-1). Lisinac out, Cortesia in. Despite Verona’s good start (3-6), the 2nd one was a very balanced set as well (21-21). Once again, though, on 23-23, Nimir was key for Verona, with a spike out and another one blocked by Boyer (23-25, 0-2). In the 3rd set, after giving Trento fans so many joys in the past, Kaziyski showed no mercy with an ace (13-17) and the guests gained 6 match balls a little later (18-24). Lucarelli tried to ignite an impossible comeback (21-24), but fate decided that the Bulgarian OH should have the last point (21-25, 0-3). What an upset! 2015 is already history, otherwise I could definitely see Biff Tannen betting lots of money on this match. The first 2 sets were tight, but Trento made too many errors in clutch moments. Errors were also key in the 3rd set, where Trento actually out-killed Verona (52% vs 43%) but a staggering 11 errors (6 serving, 3 spiking, 2 faults) added to the previous 18 ones and gave the guests an incredible victory. Giannelli probably hasn’t a lot of faith in Lucarelli’s condition, as Nimir got once again 40% of sets. He did good on paper (21 points, 56% kills, 1 ace, 1 block), but it was him who made the clutch errors in the first 2 sets. Still, Lucarelli wasn’t that bad (9 points, 44% kills, 1 ace). Spirito, instead, concentrated his game on the wings (87% of sets) and especially on a regenerated Jaeschke (14 points, 46% kills, 1 ace), who was named MVP. Still, the clutch points were courtesy of Kaziyski (11 points, 45% kills, 1 ace) and Boyer (12 points, 53% kills, 2 blocks).
Another interesting match was the Lombard derby between two ambitious teams, Monza and Milano. Soli confirmed the lineup that sacked Modena last week, as did Piazza. Another very balanced 1st set (18-18), then Milano took the lead with an ace by Maar and a counter attack by Ishikawa (21-23). The Japanese OH then closed it (22-25, 0-1). The 2nd set started with a great defensive show by 19-years old libero Federici, who gave Monza a lot of counter attacks (9-7). Sbertoli then started riding on Patry (14-16) before 2 aces by Galassi turned the tables once again (18-17). Monza kept the momentum and tied the game (25-21, 1-1). The 3rd set started with a duel between Sedlacek and Dzavoronok (13-13), then the middles took charge, first Beretta, who went in for Galassi, then Piano (15-17). Milano with some nice serving, while the same can’t be said about Monza. On 19-22, the hosts tilted and were even called for a formation fault, so the guests could take the lead (19-25, 1-2). Milano kept up the good job from the line and the 4th set was no big deal for them (20-25, 1-3). Huge step backwards from Monza, after the convincing win in Modena. 33 errors (23 serving, 9 spiking, 1 fault) and 6% reception efficiency are definitely not the way to keep the momentum up. Orduna rode a lot on Lagumdzija (22 points, 48% kills, 2 blocks), but couldn’t get much from Dzavoronok (10 points, 33% kills, -3% reception efficiency, 2 aces). Nice all-around game from Milano, instead, with great pressure from the line (despite only 2 aces) and good blocking (11). Ishikawa took the lights (17 points, 63% kills, 63% positive reception), while Maar and Kozamernik shut down Monza (8 blocks).
After the disaster in week 1, Modena was called for a much better game in the Vibo road match. Giani made some changes, moving Karlitzek back to OH and starting with Vettori, while Baldovin confirmed the team that made Perugia sweat. Lots of bic in the 1st, with Vibo going up 11-8. Modena reacted with a 0-4 break, but then Rossard blocked Vettori (16-16). The guests got their first +2 thanks to Stankovic (20-22), then closed the set after some great defenses, including a foot save by Karliztek (21-25, 0-1). Modena tried to keep up the momentum in the 2nd (3-6), but Abouba’s serving broke hell (10-8). Baldovin sent in Almeida for Defalco, while Giani took off Karlitzek and Vettori for Lavia and Estrada Mazorra. Not a good idea (20-14). On 21-16, Modena’s coach pressed CTRL+Z on his subs and the guests were back on track (22-21). Vibo gained 2 set balls (24-22), but Modena sent it to overtime (24-24), and Karlitzek finalized the comeback (26-28, 0-2). Cester out, Gargiulo in. The 3rd set was very balanced until 16-16, when Vettori decided that warm-up was over and took charge (20-25, 0-3). Modena finally added a nice-level attack (52% kills) to the usual high-level defense and that should give them some hope for the future. Everyone played well, especially Karlitzek (19 points, 56% kills, 1 ace, 4 blocks) and Mazzone (10 points, 88% kills, 3 blocks), who were kinda disappointing in the first match. Also, while his scoresheet isn’t that good, Vettori (9 points, 39% kills, 1 ace, 1 block) played great in clutch moments and stayed on court for 3 sets, which should allow Modena to play with less “creative” lineups. Vibo lost 2 good opportunities in the first 2 sets, when they were +4 and +6 respectively, and with both Defalco and Almeida finishing with 14% kills they could have definitely done more. Abouba (16 points, 60% kills, 1 ace) and Chinenyeze (12 points, 64% kills, 2 aces, 3 blocks) can’t always carry the team by themselves.
Finally, another disappointing game by Cisterna, a 0-3 (56-75) home loss against Padova. 32% kills, 33% aggregate kills by the middles and Cavuto (9 points, 44% kills) as best scorer despite playing 1 and a half sets as OPP in place of the disastrous Onwelo (3 points, 38% kills). Tubertini better hope for a quick recovery by Sabbi, or it’s gonna be another hard year for Cisterna. Still, kudos to Padova and, once again, to youngster Bottolo (16 points, 58% kills, 2 aces), who was the best scorer alongside Stern (16 points, 46% kills, 3 aces, 1 block) and who showed again great personality. With the Under 20 NT winning Silver at the European Championship and 2 OHs winning MVP (Michieletto) and Best OH (Rinaldi) respectively, will the senior NT finally solve the OH problem?
​
RESULTS AND SCORE SHEETS
Vero Volley Monza 1–3 Power Volley Milano (22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 20-25)
Monza: Dzavoronok 10, Galassi 10, Lagumdzija 22, Sedlacek 18, Holt 6, Orduna, Federici (L), Calligaro, Brunetti, Beretta 2.
Milano: Piano 6, Sbertoli 1, Ishikawa 17, Kozamernik 8, Patry 13, Maar 16, Pesaresi (L), Daldello, Weber.
MVP: Yuki Ishikawa (Milano)
​
Top Volley Cisterna 0–3 Pallavolo Padova (22-25, 16-25, 18-25)
Cisterna: Seganov, Tillie 6, Szwarc 3, Onwuelo 3, Randazzo 6, Krick 4, Rondoni (L), Cavuto 9, Cavaccini (L), Sottile, Rossato, Rossi 1.
Padova: Shoji 4, Wlodarczyk 6, Vitelli 9, Stern 16, Bottolo 16, Volpato 2, Danani La Fuente (L), Casaro, Merlo.
MVP: Mattia Bottolo (Padova)
​
Callipo Vibo Valentia 0–3 Modena Volley (21-25, 26-28, 20-25)
Vibo: Saitta, Rossard 12, Chinenyeze 12, Aboubacar Neto 16, Defalco 2, Cester 2, Rizzo (L), Almeida Cardoso 3, Gargiulo 2, Dirlic.
Modena: Christenson 2, Karlitzek 19, Stankovic 5, Vettori 9, Petric 14, Mazzone 10, Grebennikov (L), Lavia, Estrada Mazorra 1, Bossi.
MVP: Moritz Karlitzek (Modena)
​
YouEnergy Piacenza 1-3 Sir Volley Perugia (22-25, 17-25, 25-19, 20-25)
Piacenza: Izzo 2, Clevenot 10, Polo 10, Grozer 13, Russell 13, Candellaro 8, Scanferla (L), Antonov, Botto.
Perugia: Travica 2, Leòn 19, Ricci 9, Ter Horst 11, Plotnytskyi 16, Solé 10, Colaci (L), Vernon-Evans, Zimmermann.
MVP: Wilfredo Leòn (Perugia)
​
Lube Civitanova 3–2 Porto Robur Costa Ravenna (23-25, 25-22, 25-14, 23-25, 15-9)
Civitanova: De Cecco 3, Kovar 3, Anzani 9, Rychlicki 18, Leal 18, Simon 13, Falaschi, Hadrava 1, Balaso (L), Juantorena 15, Yant Herrera 2.
Ravenna: Redwitz, Loeppky 5, Grozdanov 14, Pinali 22, Recine 11, Mengozzi 9, Koppers, Batak 1, Zonca 4, Kovacic (L), Arasomwan 1.
MVP: Osmany Juantorena (Civitanova)
​
Trentino Volley 0–3 Nuova Blu Volley Verona (26-28, 23-25, 21-25)
Trento: Giannelli, Lucarelli 9, Lisinac 3, Abdel-Aziz 21, Kooy 8, Podrascanin 9, Rossini (L), Argenta, Sperotto 1, Cortesia 1.
Verona: Spirito 1, Kaziyski 11, Aguenier 7, Boyer 12, Jaeschke 14, Zanotti 4, Peslac, Bonami (L), Kimerov.
MVP: Thomas Jaeschke (Verona)
​
STANDINGS
Milano, Perugia - 6
Civitanova - 5
Modena, Verona, Padova, Monza, Trento, Piacenza - 3
Ravenna - 1
Vibo, Cisterna - 0
​
STATISTICAL LEADERS – PLAYERS
Points (match day): Adis Lagumdzija (Monza), Giulio Pinali (Ravenna) - 22
Points (Superlega): Adis Lagumdzija (Monza) - 45
Points per set: Nimir Abdel-Aziz (Trento) – 7.17
Aces (match day): Osmany Juantorena (Civitanova) - 4
Aces (Superlega): Wilfredo Leòn (Perugia) – 11
Aces per set: Nimir Abdel-Aziz (Milano) – 1.67
Blocks (match day): Wilfredo Leòn, Sebastián Solé (Perugia) - 4
Blocks (Superlega): 6 players - 6
Blocks per set: Andrea Zanotti (Verona) - 1.33
Most times MVP: Wilfredo Leòn (Perugia) - 2
​
STATISTICAL LEADERS – TEAMS
Kill % (match day): Milano - 53 %
Kill % (Superlega): Civitanova - 53.9 %
Aces (match day): Civitanova - 15
Total aces: Civitanova - 20
Aces/set: Trento - 2.83
Blocks (match day): Ravenna - 15
Total blocks: Monza - 24
Blocks/set: Monza - 3.00
​
NEXT ROUND (October 7th, 8.30 pm CET):
Civitanova - Trento (RaiSport)
Perugia - Padova
Milano - Vibo
Ravenna - Modena (October 8th)
Verona - Monza
Cisterna - Piacenza

A new Bundesliga season starts today! What a glorious day full of wonder and excitement. Bayern München won the treble last season after only drawing and losing four times each across all competitions. To phrase that differently: they’ve won every single match in the Champions League and never went to a penalty shootout in the DFB-Pokal. Here’s to another exciting Bundesliga season.
But what happened over the short summer break, you wonder? A lot for some clubs, astonishingly few for others. The transfer window may still be open until October, but I still decided to take a look at new arrivals and departures in the German top flight. And by “take a look”, I mean, “hurriedly cobbled together a brief overview today”. Can you spot where I started to lose interest?
Anyway, I hope some of you find this interesting or helpful in some way.

FC Bayern München

New first kit

Transfers out

Most of their outgoing players are loanees returning to their clubs, namely Ivan Perišić, Philippe Coutinho, and Álvaro Odriozola. Perišić came in to bolster the squad and be an experienced option for rotation. He did exactly that, playing quite regularly, accumulating eight goals and ten assists. Coutinho too rarely showed his class and most likely won’t be missed much. Odriozola played a grand total of 179 minutes across all competitions, so you can probably guess how sad everyone at the club is to see him go. One loss is much more important than all of these combined, however. Thiago, the midfield maestro, leaves for a rumoured fee of about €30 million to Liverpool. This departure weighs heavy. It’s tough to ascertain how much this will impact Bayern, but given they don’t want to sign a replacement, it will certainly be interesting to watch how well they’ll cope without him. Corentin Tolisso and Michaël Cuisance could step up and fill that Spanish gap, yet I remain doubtful that Tolisso has that quality or that Cuisance is ready for that.

Transfers in

Tanguy Kouassi is a young French centre-back signed on a free from PSG, who unfortunately missed the pre-season and will return in October. Rumours persist that Lucas Hernández could leave, and Jérôme Boateng ain’t getting younger either. Considering that, barring any further signings on that position, he’ll get his minutes. Adrian Fein returns from his loan to second league side Hamburg, where the young midfielder impressed in the first half of the season, only to drop off in the second half. Can he be the new Thiago? Probably not. Alexander Nübel comes in as a new goalkeeper to put pressure on Manuel Neuer. His contract supposedly ensures him 15 apps this season. If that’s true, we might see more of his trademark blunders that saw him temporarily lose his starting spot at Schalke last season. Last but not least, Leroy Sané. Bayern’s most important signing. An elite winger added to the roster, combining pace and technical skill, he’s sure to put his mark on his second stint in the Bundesliga, much to the detriment of every other German club.

Potential breakout players

Here I’ll highlight one or two players who I believe might have their breakout season, like Alphonso Davies last year (but probably no one I mention will reach that level, let’s be real). Joshua Zirkzee, the young Dutch striker, scored four times in the few matches he played last season. He won’t bench Lewandowski, but I can see him getting more minutes and developing further into a proper rotational player. Other than that, despite my reservations, Cuisance could very well make a huge step and be a more important player for Bayern this season behind the likes of Joshua Kimmich or Leon Goretzka.

Borussia Dortmund

New first kit

Transfers out

Probably their most famous yet completely unsurprising departure is the prodigal son Mario Götze. An overall disappointing second time at Dortmund comes to an anticlimactic close, his future still in the stars. More noteworthy from a sporting perspective is Achraf Hakimi leaving, who has set up camp at Inter where he’ll sprint up and down the right flank. Most Dortmund fans will agree that while he was incredibly important, he’s far from being irreplaceable. His defensive work left a lot to be desired, a weak spot he couldn’t always compensate for with great runs and goal-scoring instinct. Other than that, a couple youngsters left. Centre-back Leonardo Balerdi plays on loan for Marseille, while midfielder Immanuel Pherai will spend next season at Zwolle. Both could have a future in black and yellow, but it’s somewhat doubtful for both. Oh, André Schürrle also ended his career.

Transfers in

Reinier came in on loan from Real Madrid to strengthen the attack and provide much needed depth. Whether he’ll amount to more remains to be seen, as he was injured/unfit for most of the pre-season. Thomas Meunier was signed from PSG to offset Hakimi’s departure (along with Mateu Morey). The experienced right-back will likely be a starter and should help the youngsters in the team. Speaking of which, Dortmund also signed 17-year-old Jude Bellingham. Some wondered whether he’d be good enough to be an immediate help. His performance against Duisburg in the DFB-Pokal last Monday served as a first glimpse of his massive talent. He might not be an undisputed starter for all of the season, but he’ll be an important player nonetheless.

Potential breakout players

Bellingham, unsurprisingly. Other than that, Dortmund’s got another treat for the American fans: Gio Reyna should play regularly and continue his good showings of last season.

RB Leipzig

New first kit

Transfers out

A giant, Timo Werner-shaped hole yawns in Leipzig’s offense after his transfer to Chelsea. In 45 matches in the 19/20 season, he scored 34 goals and assisted 13 more. Impeccable numbers that are almost impossible to compensate for. Another significant loss is Patrik Schick, who was loaned from Roma. Not quite as proficient as Werner, he nevertheless scored 10 goals in the league. The Austrian midfielder Hannes Wolf missed significant parts of last season due to injury, after his return only playing for 53 minutes in five matches. Shouldn’t be too difficult to compensate for this loss. The same can be said about centre-back Ethan Ampadu, who returns to Chelsea after only having played a combined total of 277 minutes. Second goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo went to PSV on loan.

Transfers in

Filling Werner’s shoes is a daunting task, one that Leipzig hope Hwang Hee-Chan will accomplish. In a rare, unprecedented event no one could have seen coming, he came in from RB Salzburg for the huge sum of €9 million. He’ll score a couple goals and, being just 24 years old, could develop into a very fine player, but overall a downgrade in quality and depth (given he technically replaces both Werner and Schick). Spanish goalkeeper Josep Martínez, who I’ve never heard of before, replaces Mvogo. Benjamin Henrichs comes in from Monaco to provide depth on the right side. He knows the Bundesliga from his time at Leverkusen, thus he shouldn’t have too much trouble acclimating. Arguably the most interesting signing is Lazar Samardžić from Hertha BSC. The 18-year-old offensive midfielder is regarded as a huge talent, many big clubs were said to be interested in him. This move could have come too early for him, although training under Julian Nagelsmann shouldn’t be to his detriment.

Potential breakout players

After his somewhat disappointing debut season for Leipzig, Dani Olmo will be a mainstay for Leipzig and finally prove himself in a big league. The latter holds true for Hwang Hee-chan, who scored plenty of goals in Austria already.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

New first kit

Transfers out

This transfer window was rather uneventful for Gladbach. Both Raffael and Fabian Johnson have run out their contracts and are now free agents. The former will be dearly missed, if mostly just because of sentimental values and less so for his performances last season. 30-year-old midfielder Tobias Strobl, while always reliable, shouldn’t be difficult to replace either after his transfer to Augsburg.

Transfers in

Also very restrained, something we’ll be seeing more of now with the other clubs still to come. Hannes Wolf, mentioned just above, should improve Gladbach’s midfield as a regular starter. Valentino Lazaro joins on loan from Inter. Planned to be a starter as well, he is out injured for at least another month or two. Another one for the Americans: Joseph Scally, a young right-back, could play for a few minutes here and there until Lazaro’s return.

Potential breakout players

Hannes Wolf should finally be able to demonstrate his class.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

New first kit

Transfers out

On the one hand, merely two important players left Leverkusen this summer. However, these two players are none other than Kevin Volland and Kai Havertz. Volland was, is and never will be a world class player, but he could always be relied upon to score and assist a decent amount. I don’t need to tell you about Havertz, just ask a Chelsea fan.

Transfers in

Well, this one’s gonna be quick. Patrik Schick, after his loan at Leipzig ended, decided to come back to Germany and play for Leverkusen. He should comfortably fill in for Volland. That’s it for now, but Peter Bosz already said they’d like to sign more players, especially to compensate for Havertz leaving.

Potential breakout players

Florian Wirtz will be among the hottest young prospects in Germany and potentially Europe this season. The young winger played a decent amount already last season, where he showed his talent, and it’s likely he’ll make the next step now. Exequiel Palacios, an Argentinian midfielder, couldn’t establish himself last season, but I can see him become an important part of the squad.

TSG Hoffenheim

New first kit

Transfers out

Nothing too interesting, to be honest. Leonardo Bittencourt moves permanently to Werder Bremen after his loan, Steven Zuber goes to Eintracht Frankfurt after a disappointing season, and Gregor Kobel stays with VfB Stuttgart after his loan there.

Transfers in

A quick glance at their squad on Transfermarkt reveals that five of their defenders are injured, among them Konstantinos Stafylidis, their only trained left-back after Zuber left. You’d think they’d have signed someone else for that position, but nope, apparently not. Pavel Kaderabek played as left wing-back in the Pokal, but he’s also injured now. The only player they’ve signed thus far for the first team is Mijat Gaćinović from Frankfurt, a decently talented offensive midfielder who can’t score for the life of him, except against Bayern in a DFB-Pokal final.

Potential breakout players

Christoph Baumgartner, same as last season. While he was good, he wasn’t quite at the point of garnering as much (international) attention as he is capable of.

VfL Wolfsburg

New first kit

Transfers out

With Felix Udokhai, Marcel Tisserand, and Felix Knoche, three centre-backs left Wolfsburg.

Transfers in

To compensate for that, they’ve signed 20-year-old French Maxence Lacroix, who already scored a goal in their Europa League qualifier. As a backup for Wout Weghorst and Daniel Ginczek, they’ve also signed the 18-year-old Polish striker Bartosz Białek. For €5 million, they’re obviously certain of his abilities and talent.

Potential breakout players

Well, I don’t really see anyone else besides these two signings to potentially have a breakout season, so yeah, I suppose it’s them.

SC Freiburg

New first kit

Transfers out

Striker Luca Waldschmidt (now at Benfica) and centre-back Robin Koch (now at Leeds) will be difficult to replace for Freiburg. Regular goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow left for Hertha BSC, talented centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck will play for Union Berlin, and the experienced Mike Frantz also left. Quite a bloodletting, but all things considered, it’s to be expected for Freiburg.

Transfers in

A striker by the name of Ermedin Demirović arrived, who scored a respectable 14 goals for St. Gallen last season. As a reaction to designated first keeper Mark Flekken’s injury, Freiburg loaned Florian Müller from Mainz. Offensive midfielder Guus Til comes in from Spartak Moscow. And with defensive midfielder Baptiste Santamaria, Freiburg has a new record signing, with a fee of €10 million.

Potential breakout players

Freiburg produces new top talents practically every season. This year, it could be Woo-yeong Jeong, but if recent history has taught us anything, it’ll probably be someone no one’s heard of before.

Eintracht Frankfurt

New first kit

Transfers out

A lot of experience left Frankfurt in the form of Marco Russ, Jonathan de Guzmán, and Gelson Fernandes. As previously mentioned, Gaćinović was sold to Hoffenheim, who will be remembered as never having fulfilled what many fans hoped he one day would. Gonçalo Paciência was surprisingly loaned to Schalke.

Transfers in

Ragnar Ache, a young striker, could potentially fill Paciência’s gap. Zuber comes in from Hoffenheim and André Silva is bought after his loan. Aside from that, it’s mainly loanees returning, like Jetro Willems or Aymen Barkok. It’s quite likely we’ll see some of them leave again.

Potential breakout players

If Daichi Kamada manages to score and assist more (consistently), he could prove to be very important for Frankfurt.

Hertha BSC

New first kit

Transfers out

Vedad Ibišević left for Schalke, Per Ciljan Skjelbred is back in Norway, Salomon Kalou is also gone, Ondrej Duda now plays for Köln, and the aforementioned Samardžić who is now at Leipzig. The end of Marko Grujic’s loan will prove to be more severe, I reckon.

Transfers in

Alexander Schwolow from Freiburg, who made a poor first impression during Big City Club™ Hertha Berlin’s DFB-Pokal loss to promoted second division side Eintracht Braunschweig. Deyovaisio Zeefuik (you can bet your butt I copy-pasted that) comes in from Groningen. Since Berlin sold Duda to Köln, they thought they might as well get Jhon Córdoba from them. A good striker, if he keeps up his recent form.

Potential breakout players

Javairô Dilrosun, because it’s about time for him.

Union Berlin

New first kit

Transfers out

A lot of players left Union, but most of them aren’t too noteworthy. Striker Sebastian Andersson, now with Köln, is a heavy loss, as could be goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz, who was basically swapped with Augsburg’s Andreas Luthe.

Transfers in

Max Kruse comes back from Turkey to play for Union Berlin of all clubs. Not many people would’ve seen that coming a year ago, I assume. Felix Knoche from Wolfsburg and Niko Gießelmann from Düsseldorf should immediately strengthen the squad, and Schalke’s Cedric Teuchert can prove he’s good enough for the Bundesliga.

Potential breakout players

Max Kruse, obviously.

FC Schalke 04

New first kit

Transfers out

Juan Miranda and Jean-Clair Todibo leave Schalke besides Cedric Teuchert, and none of them need a direct replacement due to their negligible importance in the squad. Alexander Nübel leaves for Bayern, Daniel Caligiuri goes to Augsburg, and Weston McKenny will play for Juventus for whatever reason. Jonjoe Kenny also returns to Everton.

Transfers in

Several loanees return, like Steven Skrzybski, Mark Uth, Ralf Fährmann, Sebastian Rudy, and Nabil Bentaleb. Apart from Skrzybski, these are players with ambitions to be regular starters and at least a modicum of quality, even if most of them couldn’t demonstrate it in the royal blue kits. Otherwise, Vedad Ibišević adds… something to the squad, and Gonçalo Paciência could be a decent striker this season.

Potential breakout players

Can Bozdogan was one of the few bright spots of Schalke’s terrible last season. If he builds on that and David Wagner trusts him, he should develop nicely.

FSV Mainz 05

New first kit

Transfers out

Mainz, for once, don’t appear to have lost any vital players. Most important of the outgoing players is probably centre-back Jeffrey Bruma, now back at Wolfsburg after his loan. Goalkeeper Florian Müller left for Freiburg.

Transfers in

No big departures means no significant incoming transfers. Mainz signed centre-back Luca Kilian from relegated SC Paderborn.

Potential breakout players

17-year-old Paul Nebel was subbed in during Mainz’ DFB-Pokal victory, where he assisted a goal. Perhaps it’s a sign of things to come.

FC Köln

New first kit

Transfers out

Jhon Córdoba, the legendary Simon Terodde, and Mark Uth ー three strikers. No one of particular importance apart from that.

Transfers in

Coming in from Union Berlin, Sebastian Andersson is supposed to compensate for those three strikers leaving. Köln also brought in goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler as a backup and to put pressure on Timo Horn. Offensive midfielder Ondrej Duda also joins from Hertha BSC.

Potential breakout players

Left-back Noah Katterbach is in a similar position as Hoffenheim’s Baumgartner. Very promising previous season, but will show even more this year,

FC Augsburg

New first kit

Transfers out

Augsburg legend Daniel Baier left after his contract wasn’t renewed, as has Andreas Luthe. Striker Sergio Córdova will gather valuable playing time on loan at Arminia Bielefeld, similar to centre-back Kevin Danso at Düsseldorf. As has correctly been pointed out, I forgot about Philipp Max leaving Augsburg. The left-back joined PSV for €8 million, a steal even in these times. He's been an integral part of Augsburg's squad for the past years, staying longer than most would have thought.

Transfers in

Centre-back Felix Udokhai is signed permanently after his loan, Rafał Gikiewicz is the new regular goalkeeper, and Daniel Caligiuri will show his Schalke magic on the wings. Tobias Strobl will also add experience to the midfield.

Potential breakout players

I think Ruben Vargas could prove that he’s destined for greater things than playing for Augsburg, with all due respect.

Werder Bremen

New first kit

Transfers out

Nuri Sahin, Fin Bartels, Claudio Pizarro, Sebastian Langkamp, Philipp Bargfrede ㅡ a combined age of 168 years, or an average of 33.6 years. Centre-back Kevin Vogt also left, a greenhorn in comparison with his 28 years of age.

Transfers in

Leonardo Bittencourt stays permanently after his loan, as does Ömer Toprak. Left-back Felix Agu arrives from VfL Osnabrück on a free, same with Patrick Erras from Nürnberg. Bremen also loaned Tahith Chong from Manchester United, showing them how to sign a winger.

Potential breakout players

Probably Tahith Chong, who’s left a good first impression after scoring a goal against Carl Zeiss Jena in the DFB-Pokal. 18-year-old striker Nick Woltemade could see a lot of playing time, as well.

Arminia Bielefeld

New first kit

Transfers out

The loss of right-back Jonathan Clauss likely concerns many Bielefeld fans. He was an important player and integral to their promotion. Most of the other departures hurt from a sentimental perspective. Honestly, it’s remarkable how they’ve managed to keep their squad together.

Transfers in

Several interesting players. Ritsu Doan, a Japanese right-winger on loan from PSV, centre-back Mike van der Hoorn from Swansea City, and striker Sergio Córdova from Augsburg ㅡ all of them on loan. Add to that someone like Austrian winger Christian Gebauer, and you’ve got yourself a promising squad.

Potential breakout players

Centre-back Amos Pieper had a great last season in the second league, and hopes in Bielefeld are high that he continues where he left off. And finally, after all this time, Fabian Klos arrives in the Bundesliga to tear it apart. Dread it, run from, the Klos still arrives.

VfB Stuttgart

New first kit

Transfers out

Anastasios Donis and Chadrac Akolo, two attackers, left for French clubs. Just like right-back Pablo Maffeo, who now plays in Spain, they only ever showed glimpses of what they’re capable of. Sadly, we also have to bid farewell to the one and only Mario Gómez. Press the button to pay your respects.

Transfers in

Centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos arrives on loan from Arsenal, but faces tough competition from the other new centre-back Waldemar Anton. Wataru Endo bolsters the defensive midfield, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel stays after his loan.

Potential breakout players

What I’ve seen of Silas Wamangituka has been quite impressive, and I assume he’ll play at least an alright first season in the top flight.

Several months ago, right after the last Academy Awards, I posted a long, long, long list of possible contenders that had prospects to fight for the next Oscars. It was a time of hope, of looking forward, and of positivity.
Then, COVID-19 happened.
And now, we find ourselves in a year that may change the movie industry forever, with the lack of safety of theaters in times of a pandemic accelerating the switch of mainstream audiences to streaming and VOD. These are times where some people are beginning to wonder, even after they pushed the eligibility date for two more months, why the Academy doesn’t cancel next year’s Oscars. And in this rocky terrain, we lost many contenders. Fire up the Hunger Games cannons, because these are some casualties of the season (so far).
Launched to 2021: Annette, Benedetta, Deep Water, Dune, In the Heights, King Richard, Last Night in Soho, Memoria, Nightmare Alley, Passing, Red, White and Water, Raya and the Last Dragon, The Last Duel, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick… Boom!, West Side Story.
Unknown status / missing in action: After Yang, Blonde, Breaking News in Yuba County, C’mon C’mon, Next Goal Wins, Stillwater, The French Dispatch, The Humans, The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Those Who Wish Me Dead.
But even if this year isn’t as loaded with clear awards candidates, there are plenty of movies that are already drawing buzz for an Oscar season that started brewing a month ago, with the kickoff of the Venice Film Festival, and will go on for six and a half more months, when the Academy Awards take place on April 25, 2021. It’s gonna be a long, weird and rocky season, which is gonna be great to see in terms of the narratives that are coming up.
-Ammonite (trailer): When people were betting on the likelier contenders of this year, many people pointed in the direction of Francis Lee’s period drama, with previous Best Actress winner Kate Winslet and constant nominee Saoirse Ronan. Going into the premiere at Toronto, people had their eyes set in this queer romance between a paleontologist and a young wife in the coasts of England during the 19th century. But then, some things happened. First, Winslet started her promotion of the movie by talking about her regret for working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski that sounded unconvincing to the ominous Film Twitter. Then, another queer period drama, Mona Fastvold’s The World to Come, started to take the attention away at Venice. And finally, the movie premiered. The reaction? Cold. Critics came out mixed with the movie, with many of them comparing it negatively to last year’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and saying that it’s too dull and alienating. Does that mean that all is lost? Not exactly. While the movie (which, considering the genre, really needs critics' support to get into the Best Picture category) has been dismissed, the acting by Winslet and Ronan has been received positively. Now that so many other contenders have been dropping out of the year, they might get some room to campaign from a (social) distance.
-Another Round (trailer): Speaking of TIFF premieres, a film that had a better time at the Canadian festival was the reunion between director Thomas Vinterberg and star Mads Mikkelsen, who reunited years after making the stirring drama The Hunt (not the one with Betty Gilpin carrying a bad political satire, the one about a Danish teacher wrongly accused of sexual abuse). This time, the material is lighter, being a dramedy about four teachers who decide to test out a theory about how people can live and work a little better if they increase the level of alcohol in their blood. Critics really liked the way the movie dealt with alcoholism, and Toronto audiences made it a runner up for the People’s Choice Award of the festival. In a year without so much exposure from other festivals, this Cannes 2020 selection could make a candidate for the Best International Film category.
-Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (trailer): Surprise, new Borat film! While Sacha Baron Cohen made headlines several times this year because of stunts that people assumed were about a second season of Who is America?, the Internet was shocked when, in early September, it was confirmed that it was actually a very niiiiice return from the journalist character that made him famous, shot during quarantine. In a matter of weeks after the reveal, the sequel got sold to Amazon Prime and got a release date for October 23. Why so soon? Well, apparently the movie, which got him in trouble with Rudy Giuliani and other people, is about Borat taking his daughter on a road trip to give her as a bride to VP Mike Pence. Even if this movie doesn’t manage to achieve the feats of the 2006 movie (which got a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, let’s remember), it will help Baron Cohen’s image a lot, because it will come a week after his big Oscar play.
-Cherry: While everybody knows them mostly because of their contributions to the MCU, directors Joe and Anthony Russo and actor Tom Holland are trying to branch out together. Now Apple has bought into their efforts, paying more than 40 million dollars to acquire their new crime drama, about the life of former Army medic Nico Walker, who started robbing banks after his days in Iraq left him with PTSD and a pill addiction. Will Holland manage this time to escape from the shadow of “oh, jeez, Mr. Stark” Spider-Man before Chaos Walking or the Uncharted movie come out? That’s a question for another day.
-Da 5 Bloods (trailer): Talk about timing. Merely days after the country was mobilized by the police brutality that continues to divide the United States, Spike Lee premiered his new war drama on Netflix. In a vibrant, disjointed but passionate portrait of four African American veterans who return to Vietnam to search for their fallen leader and some treasure, Lee struck gold yet again with his usual fans, even though the moving of the Oscar ceremony threatened to make it harder to remind Academy voters about this movie. However, with an astounding performance from Delroy Lindo (who is confirmed to be campaigned in the Best Actor category) and a supporting turn from Chadwick Boseman which got reframed with the news of his bravery in life and death, this has what it takes to fight for a spot in the Best Picture lineup.
-Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (trailer): When it became clear that quarantine wasn’t gonna be a breeze, the first movie in consideration wise enough to move a little further ahead in the calendar was this adaptation of the hit West End production about a gay British teenager who dreams of becoming a drag queen and get his family and schoolmates to accept his sexuality. With a release date on February 26, 20th Century Studios (man, it’s weird to not use Fox in that name) hopes to strike gold, with a cast that mixes young unknowns, familiar names (Sharon Horgan, Sarah Lancashire and my boy Ralph Ineson) and the previously nominated legend that is Richard E. Grant (who is playing a former drag queen named Loco Chanelle), now taking advantage of the move of other musicals like Annette, In The Heights and West Side Story. I mean, this has at the very least some Golden Globes nods in the bag.
-French Exit: Before its premiere as the closing film of the NYFF, many pundits were expecting this surreal comedy to be somewhat of a comeback for past Best Actress nominee Michelle Pfeiffer, who here plays a close to penniless widow who moves to Paris with her son (Lucas Hedges) and cat, who also happens to be her reincarnated husband (Tracy Letts). However, the first reactions for the film adaptation of the Patrick deWitt novel were all over the place, with some people feeling cold by the execution of the weirdness and others being won over. Still, everybody had good things to say about Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance, but after the mixed reception to the rest of Azazel Jacobs’ film she really would need a lot of critics support to get anywhere near the Best Actress category. With a release date on February 12, it seems that Sony Pictures Classics is skipping the critics awards, and the distributor has a couple of big competitors above this one.
-Good Joe Bell: Every year, there are movies with big stars that go to festivals full of hope for praises and awards. Some of them work and go on, others don’t and get forgotten about. Mark Wahlberg tried to remind people that he occasionally is a good actor with a true life drama where he plays a father who decides to walk across America to raise awareness about bullying after his son, tormented for being gay, commits suicide. The film by Reinaldo Marcus Green premiered at TIFF, and the reaction was… not great. Some critics defended it, but most saw it as a flawed, baity product starring a man with a history of hate. Still, it got bought by a distributor: Solstice Studios, a new player in the game which just released its first movie, Unhinged (yup, the one about Russell Crowe road raging). While they paid 20 million dollars for Good Joe Bell, it’s clear that this won’t get near the Oscar telecast.
-Hillbilly Elegy: While many movies this year have some level of anticipation, Film Twitter is bracing for this movie in the “is this gonna be the next Green Book?” way. Ron Howard’s adaptation of J.D. Vance’s memoir about his low income life in a poor rural community in Ohio has many fearing about the overuse of tropes involving what’s called white trash porn, but rarely, Netflix has kept silent about this release. Even though it has Oscar bridesmaids Glenn Close (7 nominations) and Amy Adams (6 nominations), the streamer has not even released a photo of the movie, which supposedly will come out in November. And if you want another bad omen, take a look at the lower levels of this list by a familiar voice.
-I’m Thinking of Ending Things (trailer): Speaking of Netflix, did you know that there is a new Charlie Kaufman there, right now? While his adaptation of the dark novel by Iain Reid, seemingly about a woman (Jessie Buckley) who is taken by her boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to meet his parents (Toni Collette and David Thewlis), got the usual reception of confusion and praise that follows his movies, the release was followed for what befalls most of the Netflix original movies: a couple of days in the Top 10, and then it fell into the void. While Buckley and Plemons deliver great work in this demented, melancholic story, it’s hard to see this movie getting anything else than a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for Charlie. And that’s a long shot.
-I’m Your Woman: Following the little seen but critically acclaimed Miss Stevens and Fast Color, Julia Hart started 2020 with a Disney+ adaptation of the YA book Stargirl, and now she follows it with a drama for Amazon that will have its world premiere as the opening film of the AFI fest on October 15. In this movie, Rachel Brosnahan hopes to translate her TV success with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to the big screen, playing a woman in the ‘70s that has to go on the run with her kid due to her husband’s crimes.
-Judas and the Black Messiah (trailer): Even if this doesn’t end up winning any awards, it has a real shot at being the best trailer of 2020. Formerly titled Jesus Was My Homeboy, this biographical drama by Shaka King tells the tale of two men: Fred Hampton (Kaluuya), an activist and Black Panther leader, and William O’Neal (Stanfield), the FBI agent sent to infiltrate the party and arrest him. While the trailer for this movie promised a release “only in theaters”, we shall see if Warner Bros backs down from that fight.
-Let Them All Talk: While we’re on the subject of Warner Bros, we have to mention what’s happening with HBO Max. While the start of the streaming service hasn’t been good (I mean, there are still people confused about that name) and it lead to some people assume will cause many firings, it has begun to make some buzzed titles on TV, like Close Enough, Raised by Wolves and the remains of the DC Universe failed streaming service. Now, to make a mark in the movie business, the streamer has a new Steven Soderbergh movie, a comedy that stars Meryl Streep as a celebrated author that takes her friends (Candice Bergen, Dianne Wiest) and her nephew (Lucas Hedges) in a cruise to find fun and come to terms with the past, while he flirts with a literary agent (Gemma Chan). While it doesn’t have a date yet, it’s confirmed to release in 2020, and at least we know that it can’t be worse than The Laundromat.
-Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: While the expectations for the next film adaptation of an August Wilson acclaimed play were already high, the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman made this Netflix release one of the most anticipated movies of the season, considering this is his final movie. While past Supporting Actress winner Viola Davis takes the lead playing blues singer Ma Rainey in this tale of a heated recording session with her bandmates, her agent and her producer in 1927, Chadwick Boseman has a turn as the trumpeter Levee that was already being considered for awards, and now has even more people waiting to see. The thing is that one of the biggest competitions for Boseman this year will be Boseman himself, for his already acclaimed supporting turn on Da 5 Bloods, also released by Netflix. While the streamer will have to decide which of Chadwick’s performances will get the bigger campaign, this film by director George C. Wolfe has a cushy date set for December 18, and Viola is gunning hard for this movie to win.
-Mank (trailer): As you may have noticed by now, Netflix has a lot of plates spinning around this season, and this is the big one. After befriending the service with House of Cards and Mindhunter, David Fincher is going black and white to tackle a script by his late father Jack, about the making of the classic of classics, Citizen Kane. More specifically, the making of the script, with previous Oscar winner Gary Oldman playing the lead role of screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, while accompanied by Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Tuppence Middleton, Charles Dance and Tom Burke. After watching the first trailer of his satire of 1930’s Hollywood (that will release on streaming on December 4), it’s clear that this is gonna be catnip to old Academy voters, and it would be really hard for this to miss the Best Picture line up. Unless it’s a complete cinematic disaster, Mank is bank.
-Minari (trailer): While the last edition of Sundance took place in January, quarantine makes you feel like it took place two years ago. This year, the big winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the US Dramatic Competition was a dramedy by Lee Isaac Chung, about a Korean family in the ‘80s who suddenly gets moved by their father (Steven Yeun) to Arkansas, to start a farm. Even though the reviews have been great, distributor A24 hasn’t really had a big, Oscar nominated hit for the last couple of years, and the COVID-19 crisis made them delay all their releases. But when we were ready to write this off, a new trailer for the movie came out, confirming that it’s in the game of this awards season. Maybe the pandemic will be of help to A24, considering that one of the reasons they haven’t had success is that they divided their attention into too many releases, and ended up getting not much. This time, they are betting all on Lee who, even if this doesn’t go anywhere, also has a new gig coming up as the director of the live action remake of Your Name.
-News of the World (sneak peek): So much of this year has felt like a game of chicken between a virus and movie studios. While many movies chose to skip this year altogether, Universal remains firm (for now) with its plans to open a wide movie on Christmas Day, with a Western that reunites Paul Greengrass and Tom Hanks in an enticing premise. In this drama based on Paulette Jiles’ novel, Hanks plays a traveling newsreader in the aftermath of the American Civil War, who is tasked with reuniting an orphaned girl with her living relatives. While the first sneak peek of the movie looks promising, the future is still in the air.
-Nomadland (trailer): While the world burns around Hollywood, Searchlight is betting big on Chloe Zhao’s new film. Using the strategy of taking the spotlight while the rest of the contenders is uncertain about how or when to be released, the indie drama began its journey at Venice, with critics raving about the story of a woman (two-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand) who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad. At the end of the fest, the movie won the coveted Golden Lion. To put that into perspective, the last three winners of the award were past Best Picture nominees The Shape of Water, Roma and Joker, with The Shape of Water (also distributed by Searchlight) also winning the big prize. After drawing critical acclaim following its virtual showing on TIFF and NYFF, Nomadland seems like the first lock in the Best Picture line up. Still, there are obstacles ahead. Will Zhao break the disappointment of the last few years, when deserving candidates for Best Director got blocked by the likes of Adam McKay and Todd Phillips? And will McDormand manage to get near a third Oscar, following a recent win for Three Billboards in Ebbing, Missouri? Time will tell.
-On the Rocks (trailer): While she hasn’t been near the Oscars for a while, Sofia Coppola is still a name that draws attention. This time, she opened the NYFF with a dramedy about a young mother (Rashida Jones) who reunites with her playboy father (Bill Murray, also reuniting with Sofia after Lost in Translation) on an adventure through New York to find out if her husband (Marlon Wayans) is cheating on her. The consensus seems to be that, while light and not near her best work, it’s still a fun and breezy movie, with a very good turn by Murray. While many would assume that this A24 production will disappear into the abyss when it releases on Apple TV+ on October 23, the dropping out of many candidates gives the movie a chance to, at least, fight for some Golden Globes.
-One Night in Miami (sneak peek): Following her recent Oscar and Emmy wins for If Beale Street Could Talk and Watchmen, Regina King is still striking hard, and this time, she’s doing it as a director. For her big screen debut as a filmmaker, she chose to adapt Kemp Powers’ play that dramatizes a real meeting on February 25, 1964, when Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree) followed an iconic win with a hangout session with Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge). Opening at Venice, the film received glowing reviews, with many praising King (even though some said that the movie doesn’t fully translate the play to the film medium) and the actors’ performances, especially Ben-Adir and Odom Jr. (who, it should be said, also wrote an original song for the end credits of the movie, which could help his Oscar chances). Amazon Prime is hoping that this is their big contender this year, with plans of a theatrical release on Christmas and a streaming release on January 15. Judging by the praise this got at festival season, it has a chance to go a long way.
-Over the Moon (trailer): In a year with not that many contenders for Best Animated Feature, Netflix is betting on a musical adventure directed by the legendary Glen Keane, a classic Disney animator who recently won an Oscar for Best Animated Short for co-directing Dear Basketball. While our expectations were lowered by the first trailer for the movie, centered around a Chinese girl who builds a rocket ship and blasts off to the Moon in hopes of meeting a legendary Goddess, it’s still safe to assume that it has a shot at being nominated for something. Netflix also hopes that you like its big candidate for Best Original Song, which really, really sounds like a Disney ballad.
-Pieces of a Woman: While this year doesn’t have the amount of surprise contenders that a regular Oscar season usually has, we still have some movies that sneaked through festival season. The first one was the new, somber drama by Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó, known for the doggy uprising pic White God, and the not-so-well-received sci-fi Jupiter’s Moon. This time, we follow a woman (Vanessa Kirby) whose life is torn apart after a home birth at the hands of a flustered midwife (Molly Parker) ends in tragedy, and then leads to a court battle that also makes her confront her husband (Shia LaBeouf) and her domineering mother (Ellen Burstyn). While the movie had mixed reactions, Kirby had plenty of raves in her direction, particularly concerning her performance during a 25-minute birth sequence that is said to be brutal. That brutality paid off, though, because Kirby ended up winning Best Actress at Venice, and Netflix bought the movie, which also has Martin Scorsese as an executive producer. If the Academy wants to crown a new face in the scene, Kirby is the one who will be targeted, following her acclaimed turn in The Crown and her supporting roles in blockbusters like Mission Impossible: Fallout and Hobbs & Shaw.
-Promising Young Woman (trailer): When theaters started to close because of the pandemic, Universal started the push of their movies going straight to VOD, with titles including Trolls World Tour and Never Rarely Sometimes Always. However, there was a title that was supposed to premiere in April, and then suddenly disappeared from existence. It was the directorial debut of actress Emerald Fennell, who wrote a black comedy with touches of a thriller, centered on a woman in her thirties (Carey Mulligan) whose bright future was derailed by a traumatic event, and who’s now looking for revenge. While the reaction to its premiere at Sundance wasn’t enough to consider a Best Picture run, the twisted performance by Mulligan earned her the best praise since the last time she was nominated for an Oscar, a decade ago for An Education. Now, Focus Features is planning to open the movie at Christmas, and are positioning Carey for a run at Best Actress.
-Rebecca (trailer): When the news came out saying that Ben Wheatley would adapt Daphne du Maurier’s psychological thriller novel for Netflix, many were shocked. Some people considered the chance that this was an awards play by the cult director, who is doing the same work that earned Alfred Hitchcock his only Best Picture win. But seeing the trailer for this new version, with Lily James playing the newly married young woman who finds herself battling the shadow of her husband's (Armie Hammer) dead first wife Rebecca, we have to wonder if there’s a point to the existence of this remake. We will find out if there’s any awards chances for this movie on October 21, when it releases on streaming. Let’s hope that Kristin Scott Thomas has something to play with as Mrs. Danvers.
-Respect (trailer): Every year, there’s one or two actors who announce to the world “I want an Oscar” and campaign like their lives depended on it. Last time, it was Taron Egerton (accompanied by Elton John, who actually ended up winning another Oscar). This year, it is the turn of Jennifer Hudson, who is playing Aretha Franklin in a biopic directed by first timer Liesl Tommy, and who’s hoping that this attempt at awards ends up more like Dreamgirls than like Cats. She has been doing announcement trailers (a year in advance), quarantine tributes, award show tributes, and every possible thing to get the industry to notice that she’s playing Aretha. Hey, Rami Malek and Renee Zellweger did it in the last few years, why can’t she. With a release date of January 15, Hudson wants that gold.
-Soul (trailer): Disney may be the studio that suffered the biggest hit because of the pandemic. Their parks are a loss, most of their big productions had to stop because of quarantine, and theaters in many parts of the world are closed. After the failure of Tenet for Warner Bros. and the experiment of the mouse house of charging people 30 dollars to see Mulan (which didn’t work at all), many wondered if Disney was gonna delay the new production by Pixar, written and directed by Pete Docter, who brought Oscar gold to his home with Up and Inside Out. The movie, which centers on a teacher (Jamie Foxx) who dreams of becoming a jazz musician and, just as he’s about to get his big break, ends up getting into an accident that separates his soul from his body, had a lot of promise, but the speculation of lost money was also a concern. Finally, Disney decided to release the movie on Christmas, but only on Disney Plus, causing another failure for theaters, but assuring that Disney at least can get more subscribers to its streaming service. And the movie? Well, it just premiered at the London Film Festival, and the critics are saying it’s Pixar at its best, with praises going from the look, to the script by co-director Kemp Powers (who also wrote the play of One Night in Miami, so he has many chances for a nod), to the score by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste. That means that it’s already a top contender to win Best Animated Feature, and this may not be the only category in which the movie is gonna get nominated.
-Supernova (trailer): If there’s a theme this year in terms of Oscar contenders, it might be dementia. One of the examples of this is a small road movie directed by Hairy Macqueen, which premiered to good reviews at the San Sebastian festival. This drama centers on a trip taken by Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci), partners for 20 years, who travel across England reuniting with friends and family, because Tusker was diagnosed with early onset dementia. While usually the big awards role is usually the one of the person who suffers the illnesses, some reviewers are calling Firth’s work as the supporting companion some of the best of his career. With Bleecker Street buying the rights for a US release, this is a little film that could still make some moves.
-Tenet (trailer): For the first five months of quarantine, the big narrative in the world of film was “Christopher Nolan is gonna save cinemas”. But after postponing the release of the mind bending actioner for months on end, creating big demands and expectations to theater owners, and finally releasing as the sacrificial lamb of Hollywood, Warner Bros ended up seeing the opposite effect. Even though Tom Cruise loved to be back at the movies, critics didn’t share enough excitement to make a spy movie that goes backwards worth the possibility of dying of coronavirus. The audiences didn’t show up as much, and those who did attend, mostly complained about the sound mixing and the plot. After all the sacrifice, it’s highly unlikely that Tenet goes beyond technical awards. Let’s start the “Travis Scott for Best Original Song” campaign now, before it’s too late.
-The Boys in the Band (trailer): The Ryan Murphy blank check for Netflix has been interesting to follow. On the one hand, we have his new TV shows, which go from not existing (The Politician), to alternate movie history that doesn’t know how alternate history works (Hollywood), to a challenge of how much TV will you stomach if Sarah Paulson and other middle aged actresses are campy in it (Ratched). And now, we are seeing his producing hand over the movie side, which starts with the new film adaptation of the cult play from 1968, which was already a movie in 1970 and recently jumped to Broadway in 2018. The cast from the recent Broadway production (which includes Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer and Andrew Rannells) stars in Joe Mantello’s movie, telling the story of a group of gay friends in pre-Stonewall New York who reunite for a birthday party and end up revealing a lot of open wounds. While this movie got good reviews from critics, it kinda disappeared without a sound after beginning to stream on Netflix at the end of September. Unless the service wants to campaign for Golden Globes, this film is lost in the algorithm.
-The Devil All the Time (trailer): Another September release on Netflix was the new psychological thriller by Antonio Campos (Simon Killer, Christine) who didn’t manage to continue his streak of intense and terrifying character dramas with his messy adaptation of the dark novel by Donald Ray Pollock. Wasting a cast that includes Tom Holland, Sebastian Stan, Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, Eliza Scanlen, Bill Skarsgard, Jason Clarke and Riley Keough, this twisted period piece managed to stay for a while in the Top 10, but the reactions from critics were mixed, and audiences were busy asking what was happening with Pattinson’s Southern accent (which with The King makes two years in a row, baby). The many prognosticators who had hopes for an awards play moved on a while ago.
-The Father (trailer): It’s safe to say at this point that Anthony Hopkins is a lock for a Best Actor nomination at the next Oscars. After its premiere in Sundance, every prognosticator pointed in his direction, and for the next few months he swept praise for his harrowing portrayal of an old man grappling with his age as he develops dementia, causing pain to his beleaguered daughter (recent winner Olivia Colman, who also got praised). Sony Pictures Classics will make Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his acclaimed play its big contender of the season, using Hopkins (who this year got a nom for The Two Popes) as a starter to also get Colman, Zeller and the movie nominated.
-The Human Voice (trailer): And speaking of Sony Pictures Classics, it’s almost safe to say that they have another Oscar in the bag this year. That’s because they just bought Pedro Almodóvar’s short film, his English-speaking debut that is an adaptation of the play by Jean Cocteau. In his version (that was acclaimed by critics after premiering in Venice), Tilda Swinton plays the woman waiting at the end of a phone, expecting to hear from his ex-lover who abandoned her. Considering how the competition for Best Live Action Short Film has become somewhat lacking in the last few years (I mean, have you seen Skin), this should be an easy award to win, especially considering how beloved Almodóvar is in the Academy, which nominated him this year for the great Pain and Glory.
-The Life Ahead: While we’re talking about legends, it’s time to talk about Sophia Loren. 16 years after her last leading role in a movie, the Italian icon returns with a drama that was bought by Netflix, who plans to campaign for her as Best Actress and for the movie in the Best International Film category. Directed by Edoardo Ponti (who is also Sophia’s son), this movie centers on a Holocaust survivor who takes in a 12-year-old boy who recently robbed her, in a contemporary adaptation of Romain Gary’s novel The Life Before Us. Netflix has set a date for November 13 to release this movie, and the campaign seems to be about the narrative of seeing Loren winning another Oscar 60 years after she won her first one for Two Women, by Vittorio De Sica.
-The Midnight Sky: Based on the novel Good Morning, Midnight, this collaboration between George Clooney and Netflix is once again making us ask one thing. Are we gonna get the director Clooney of Good Night and Good Luck, or are we gonna get the director Clooney of Leatherheads, The Ides of March, The Monuments Men and Suburbicon? Let’s hope he breaks his streak of blandness with this sci-fi story, which makes us think a little bit of Gravity: A lonely scientist in the Arctic (Clooney) races to stop a group of astronauts led by Felicity Jones from returning to a devastated Earth. With a release set for December, we have to hope that this is more than some Top 10 filler that will evaporate from existence in a week’s time.
-The Prom: In probably the biggest blank check of the Ryan Murphy deal with Netflix, this musical he’ll direct is based on the Tony-nominated show about a group of Broadway losers (Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells and James “boo” Corden) who try to find a viral story to get back in the spotlight, and end up going to a town in Indiana to help a lesbian high school student who has been banned from bringing her girlfriend to the prom. While it’s clear that this December 11 release is gonna sweep the Golden Globes, the emptiness of this year compared to others could clear the way for some Oscar nominations, including Meryl and the obligatory original song added to a preexisting musical for easy clout.
-The Trial of the Chicago 7 (trailer): When it was announced that Paramount was selling Aaron Sorkin’s new movie to Netflix, some people saw it as a studio dumping a failed awards vehicle to be forgotten. However, the excuse that Sorkin wanted to release this movie before the US presidential elections seems to be true, because critics really enjoyed his old school courtroom drama, centered around the trial on counter cultural activists in the late ‘60s. Everybody praised uniformly the huge cast, that includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Strong, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Frank Langella, William Hurt, Michael Keaton and Mark Rylance, which guarantees a SAG awards nomination (but makes it difficult to decide which actors will actually get nominated for Oscars). With a reaction that brings to mind the days of A Few Good Men and is the best reception he got since his Oscar winning script for The Social Network, the film faces a couple of hurdles. First of all, it got positioned as the frontrunner in the Best Picture race by some people, which instantly puts a target on its back. Then, we have to consider that the movie releases on Netflix this Friday, October 16, which makes it the first big contender this year to face the world, and which in these times of lockdown will probably make the reception to Marriage Story and The Irishman from last year look like a walk in the park. I mean, there are some people who aren’t swayed by Sorkin, and for good reason.
-The United States vs. Billie Holiday: While Paramount was quick to hand The Trial of the Chicago 7 to Netflix, there’s another movie that the studio kept to play in the upcoming awards season. This biographical drama follows the life of another famous musician, Billie Holiday (Andra Day), and we see the journey of her career in jazz as she is targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation led by Federal Agent Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes), with whom she had a tumultuous affair. While the movie counts with a screenplay credit by Pulitzer winner Suzan-Lori Parks, the big question mark is the film’s director, Lee Daniels, who hit it big with Precious and then had results that were disastrous (The Paperboy) or financially successful, but not awards-wise (Lee Daniels’ The Butler). However, Paramount trusts in this movie, and with a release date on February 12, they want to make a splash.
-Wolfwalkers (trailer): While the attempts by Apple TV+ to establish themselves as a player in the TV world go from trainwrecks (See) to forgettable (The Morning Show) to eventually great (see Ted Lasso, everybody, this is not a joke), their plans to make a name in the film business have something to do with this year’s Oscars. While Cherry can come or go, they have a solid contender for the Best Feature Documentary with Boys State, but their big dog this year is the new movie by Cartoon Saloon, an Irish studio responsible for the acclaimed The Secret of Kells, The Song of the Sea, and The Breadwinner, all of which were nominated for Best Animated Feature. This time, Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart direct a story about a young apprentice hunter who journeys with her father to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night. After getting critically acclaimed following its premiere at TIFF, this is a surefire contender for this year’s Best Animated Feature category, and Apple is gonna parade it before its streaming release on December 11. Also, while you watch that, you could watch a couple of episodes of Ted Lasso, too. It’s a really good show, it’s all I’m saying.
Anyways, that’s all the news from the last few months of festivals. No matter what happens next, this is gonna be a long, long, long race.