Federal gov. approves $50M to plan PNW high speed rail. Here's what it means for WAIt’s impossible to talk about Marvel Rivals without talking about Overwatch ; the two hero shooters share a lot of the same DNA, and the team at NetEase clearly looked at the wildly popular FPS and cribbed a few notes. Now that Marvel Rivals is a successful game in its own right, attracting its own fan base, some of the old arguments that plagued Overwatch are recurring — and many players are hoping that this time, things will turn out differently. Take, for instance, the game’s three roles. There are the high-damage Duelists, team-defending Vanguards, and supportive Strategists. A common, and admittedly aggravating, issue is to load into a game only to have everyone immediately lock in Duelists. Vanguards and Strategists simply aren’t as popular, maybe because it’s harder to get a cool quadra-kill with their abilities. If you played Overwatch back in 2016, this probably sounds very familiar. Players from that era remember watching their teammates lock in as Hanzo and Widowmaker, leaving them to reluctantly play as a tank or healer. I remember playing Mercy for many games in a row, hoping in the next game one of my teammates would recognize my despair and let me finally play Pharah. They never did, because random gamers online are rarely known for their charity. Overwatch solved this problem in 2019 with role queue; players would go into a game knowing each team had to have a certain lineup of tanks, healers, or damage characters. If you played one of the less popular roles, you’d even get extra rewards. Blizzard also spent a lot of time tweaking Overwatch ’s balance to fit into this structure, with characters receiving balance changes or even full reworks to make sure they fit into the squad. With Overwatch 2 , Blizzard even removed a person from each team, turning the 6v6 game into a 5v5 instead. Marvel Rivals doesn’t have a role queue system, nor is it as stringently balanced as Overwatch . Characters like Jeff the Land Shark , while they are potent healers, are also able to pull off game-changing abilities like pulling the entire enemy team into their maw and spitting them off the edge of the map. This means that while queuing up, you could run into a team full of Strategists, or a team with a heavy Vanguard front line protecting just one or two Duelists. Right now, Marvel Rivals allows for such flexibility and freedom — and once upon a time, so did Overwatch . One of the factors that led to the addition of role queue was the GOATS meta , named after the team that popularized the composition of three tanks, three healers. GOATS dominated high-level Overwatch play for a time, including pro games, and it was criticized not just for being frustrating to play against but also boring to watch. But Marvel Rivals isn’t beholden to a professional circuit or competitive expectations; it’s very much a loosey-goosey take on the genre where most heroes are, in the right hands, at least a little bit broken. That is a big part of why some fans like the game so much; if they wanted to play a high-stakes competitive shooter, they would simply go play one of the existing esports-heavy games on the market. Still, the conversation around whether role queue is necessary or should be added continues to be one of the major topics in the Marvel Rivals community, and it has been for months . The Marvel Rivals devs at NetEase told Dot Esports they have no plans to add role queue at this time, and they have the chance to break apart from the Overwatch path and push what makes Marvel Rivals so unique. Until we find a way to convince all the Duelist fans out there to occasionally flex into tanking or healing, it’s likely the debate will continue to rage on fan forums and social media. Culture Gaming Opinion PC PlayStation Xbox Marvel RivalsAs the famous Brazilian tennis player Gustavo Kuerten, commonly known as Guga, reflects on his time in Beijing, China, he shares his thoughts on his experiences and the fulfillment he has found in the vibrant city. Despite his Brazilian roots and global travels, Guga has discovered a sense of contentment and joy in Beijing that has long eluded him.
As the romantic lead of this innovative production, you will be challenged to tap into your emotions, intuition, and desires to navigate the twists and turns of the narrative. Your character's journey will be a reflection of your own, offering a personalized and engaging experience that resonates on a deep and emotional level.
What do the Seahawks’ playoff odds look like after Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings? And who was to blame for the game-winning touchdown scored by the Vikings? Let’s review those questions in this week’s Four Downs with Seahawks beat reporter Bob Condotta. A: Yes they do. But as everyone noted after the game, the Seahawks no longer control their own destiny, which was the biggest loss Sunday. To recap, the Rams are 9-6 after winning for the eighth time in 10 games Sunday against the Jets while the Seahawks fell to 8-7. Sunday’s results mean the Seahawks' only realistic path to the postseason is for the Rams to lose their final two — Saturday night against Arizona and the following weekend against the Seahawks, both at SoFi Stadium. That means the most important game for the Seahawks' playoff hopes is one in which they won’t be playing — the Arizona-Rams game. If the Rams beat Arizona, then regardless of a loss to the Seahawks, L.A. will almost certainly win a tiebreaker thanks to a better strength of victory — a lead that would be strengthened with a victory over Arizona which has seven wins (the Bears have only four). According to The Pro Football Network, L.A. has a nine-game edge in that tiebreaker heading into Monday night’s Saints-Packers game, 60 wins by their combined opponents to 51 wins. According to The Upshot’s playoff calculator, a win by the Saints over Green Bay Monday night — L.A. beat New Orleans earlier this year — would all but assure that the Seahawks could not overtake the Rams in strength of victory. The Seahawks have a 12% chance to win the division, via The Upshot (and hey, that number is a good omen!). Wins by the Seahawks and Cardinals this week improve the Seahawks' playoff odds to 36%, or essentially the odds The Upshot gives of the Seahawks being able to beat the Rams at SoFi Stadium. Because of the strength-of-victory tiebreaker, losses by the Rams and Seahawks this weekend leave the playoff percentages basically the same — 35%. A Rams’ loss to Arizona means the Seattle-L.A. game is winner-take-all regardless of what the Seahawks do against Chicago. That’s because if the Seahawks beat the Rams and each team finishes at 9-8, the Seahawks would get the nod. That’s because the two teams would have split the season series, which is the first tiebreaker. In that scenario the Seahawks would win the second tiebreaker, which is division record, at 4-2 to the Rams’ 3-3. We’ll know by Saturday night if there is any life left in the Seahawks' season. A: As noted, two wins and a Rams win over Arizona leaves the Seahawks with a less than 1% shot of making the playoffs, via The Upshot. Those odds are the same for the division and a wild-card spot — meaning, there remains at least a chance. At least according to The Upshot’s model. ESPN Analytics stated Monday the Seahawks have no shot at a wild card. A: Well, the Cardinals did beat the Rams in Glendale 41-10 on Sept. 15 in a result that wasn’t a fluke — Arizona outgained L.A. 489-245. That was before each team’s seasons took drastic turns. While L.A. is one of the hottest teams in the NFL, the Cardinals are one of the coldest, losing four of five, including an overtime defeat Sunday at Carolina. That loss by Arizona also ended their playoff hopes, a drastic fall when you consider that the Cardinals were 6-4 and all alone in first place in the NFC West before coming to Seattle and losing on Nov. 17. Can the Cardinals find the gumption to go to L.A. and get a win? The Vegas oddsmakers don’t think so, installing the Rams as six-point favorites. But it’s the NFL, and on any given Sunday ... A: Minnesota scored the final points of the game on a 39-yard TD pass from Sam Darnold to Justin Jefferson on a first-and-10 play that followed a face-mask penalty on Byron Murphy II that negated a sack. Jefferson broke open down the sideline, running past cornerback Riq Woolen and catching the pass at the goal line as safety Julian Love raced over in a vain attempt to break it up. Macdonald explained after the game that the Seahawks were in a Cover Two zone. He didn’t go into more detail than that, but that defense generally calls for the cornerback — Woolen — to cover the flat/sideline area of the field and for the safeties to have the deep responsibility. That’s why Woolen would allow Jefferson to run past him, assuming the safety is coming over to pick him up. Many seemed to focus their blame on Woolen — the NFL Network’s Maurice Jones-Drew, for instance, who said, “I don’t know what Woolen was doing" during a replay of the TD. It's more likely the responsibility fell on Love to get over there quickly. Pro Football Focus assigned the blame to Love. Asked about the play again Monday, Macdonald said he would not publicly assess specific blame. But he did say that he thought the called defense was appropriate for the situation. “We’ll get that fixed in house and we’ve got to move forward,’’ Macdonald said. “But (for) those chunk situations, I thought we had a good plan and we just didn’t get it done.’’ Darnold, who had to step up to avoid pressure, seemed to say that it was Love's position that compelled him to throw the ball to Jefferson. “Jeff (Jefferson) is doing a great job of feeling that zone, and feeling the crowd, to get a little bit of width to get away from the safety,’’ Darnold said. “And I felt like I needed to give him a shot, put it on his back hip and let him do the rest.’’ The tragedy for the Seahawks is that it was the team’s only big defensive breakdown in the game — it just happened to come at the worst possible time. The Vikings are averaging 5.6 yards per play for the season but had just 4.8 on Sunday and didn’t have a play of longer than 27 yards until the TD that won it.U.S. analysts are warning against a possible provocation by Pyongyang after a short-lived declaration of martial law on Tuesday threw South Korea into political turmoil. "There's potential for miscalculation on North Korea's part," said Sydney Seiler, who until last year was the national intelligence officer for North Korea on the U.S. National Intelligence Council, in a phone interview with VOA Korean. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed emergency martial law on his unsuspecting country in a televised address Tuesday evening, saying it was aimed at "eradicating pro-North Korean forces and to protect the constitutional order of freedom." Surprising move Under the decree, all political activities, including rallies and demonstrations, were prohibited, while all media became subject to the control of the martial law command. Soon after Yoon's declaration, a majority of South Korean lawmakers voted to demand the lifting of martial law. Yoon, who was legally obligated to comply with the vote, did so less than six hours after his original declaration. Seiler said that could leave Yoon looking weak to the North Koreans, who might decide this is "a great time to take advantage of this weakness to deal another blow to him through some type of provocation." Seiler added that one of Kim Jong Un's primary goals is to undermine the U.S.-South Korea relationship and that Kim "may see President [Yoon]'s actions as straining that relationship." David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy, agreed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may try to exploit the situation. "If Yoon is correct and there are North Korean sympathizers in South Korea, we can expect them to incite violence," Maxwell told VOA Korean via email. Maxwell worried that this could lead South Korean law enforcement agencies to "inappropriately use force that could cause escalation." Risk of miscalculation Robert Rapson, who served as charge d'affaires and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul from 2018 to 2021, told VOA Korean via email Tuesday that the U.S. should deliver a "stern warning" to adversaries such as North Korea against trying to take advantage of the situation. Pyongyang should be reminded that "our ironclad alliance and commitment to defend remains fully in effect," he said. The United States reaffirmed it will continue to stand by South Korea, a major ally in the Indo-Pacific region, a few hours after Yoon's declaration. A National Security Council spokesperson told VOA that the Biden administration is "in contact with the [South Korean] government and is monitoring the situation closely as we work to learn more." The spokesperson added that the U.S. was not notified in advance of Yoon's plans. "We are seriously concerned by the developments we are seeing on the ground in the ROK," the spokesperson said. ROK is an abbreviation for Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea. Kurt Campbell, deputy secretary of state, told reporters at a Washington event previewing Japan's 2025 Osaka Expo: "I do want to underscore that our alliance with the ROK is ironclad, and we stand by Korea in their time of uncertainty." "We're watching the recent developments in the ROK with grave concern," Campbell said. "We're seeking to engage our ROK counterparts at every level both here and in Seoul." Campbell stressed that the U.S. has "every hope and expectation that any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law." Yoon has long been suffering from low approval ratings. Last week, his approval slid to 25% after rising for three consecutive weeks, according to a survey . Meanwhile, the ruling party and the opposition party have been in deadlock for weeks over the government budget bill for 2025. As of 4:22 a.m. Tuesday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, "so far, there was no abnormal move detected from North Korea," stressing that Seoul's military readiness against North Korea is intact. Sangjin Cho contributed to this report.
In this latest chapter of the Final Destination saga, a group of young adults find themselves targeted by death after narrowly escaping a tragic accident. As they frantically try to evade their impending doom, they must unravel the mystery of why they were chosen and if there is any way to outsmart death's design."Friday Night Lights," the emotionally stirring story of a West Texas football team, is getting a reboot from Universal Television, Variety reported earlier this month. The original TV series ran from 2006 to 2011, winning three Emmys over the five seasons. It was loosely based on Buzz Bissinger’s 1990 book that captured the socio-political climate of Odessa through the lens of a beloved high school football team: the Permian Panthers. The book was also adapted in a 2004 film starring Billy Bob Thornton as coach Gary Gaines. The TV show popularized the motivational phrase — “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” — uttered by coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler). Connie Britton and Dallas native Jesse Plemons were co-stars in the series. Showrunner Jason Katims is set to return for the new version, according to Variety. The upcoming project, which is still in the early stages, will focus on a new set of characters in the world of high school football. In a 2021 interview with "Entertainment Tonight," Britton said a reboot, particularly with the original cast members, seemed unlikely. “We’ve already had a movie, we’ve already had this TV show, and then if they were to do it again with like a whole different iteration of it, I don’t know. I would think that would be sort of odd.” Taylor Kitsch, who played football star Tim Riggins in the TV series, told Variety in 2022 he would not appear in any revival. “You may see it, but I will not be a part of it,” he said. “I’m done. I’m good. I want to keep growing as an actor. Going back to Rigs — let him live in everyone else’s memories. Whatever that is, whatever he means to them, let him lay there.” ©2024 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was fined $75,000 by the NBA for public criticism of officiating and using inappropriate and profane language, the league announced on Monday. Edwards made the remarks that drew the punishment following Minnesota's 113-103 home loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. The 23-year-old playmaker, who helped the United States capture gold at the Paris Olympics, has averaged 25.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists a game for the T-Wolves this season. Edwards used profanity in describing what he considered a poor performance from the referees, calling it "terrible" and saying he and teammate Julius Randle are penalized "for being stronger than our opponent every night. "We don't get no calls. That's how I feel about the officials every game we play." Edwards was whistled for four fouls against the Warriors and shot four free throws himself. At 14-13, the Timberwolves are 10th in the Western Conference, ahead of Phoenix on tie-breakers. js/mw