text:
Serfdom. I was a slave. Shackled, broken, and forced to submit. Constantly on my knees before my masters' crackling whip. Tossed meager table scraps from a dinner that took place miles in the sky. My master, no my *masters*, seemingly did nothing. They didn't work the long grueling hours like I did. They didn't sacrifice having a family and finding happiness like I did. They didn't devote their lives,hearts, and their souls to a convoluted dream that just seemed to get foggier each passing day. Those men up there? They didn't know the feeling of a puss-filled festering wound that was never allowed to heal, punched and kicked every single day until the skin around it turned yellow and purple and seared with pain. Those men didn't know what it was like TO BE ME.

Do you understand what it is like to know deep down in the ether of your mind, in the very marrow of your bones, that you are smarter, more talented, *more passionate*, than the people who pluck the strings that make you dance? Of course you do. As goes the curse of the first world.

But maybe, what you do not comprehend is the feeling of a massive tornado spawning storm cloud called regret that rips through your soul, every. waking. day. of your life. But I know that feeling. That dread. Of holding the sacred fruit, its precious juices glimmering down its sides and over your hands, and then watching as it withers up and dies just because you took your eyes off of it for one fucking second.

I could have been the one tossing table scraps and eating my lobster and fillet lunches on the 98th floor of a skyscraper. That could have been me in the jet-black Mercedes with a trophy wife in the passenger seat. I was so close. It was ten years ago. When I was still filled with hope, dreams, and ambition. My friend and I had just graduated from college. We saw the world as an adventurous and forgiving place where work ethic and drive would be rewarded with wild success. See, we had a plan. A business plan. A plan that was going to make us millions, buy us beach homes, and take us to far away places. It doesn't matter what the plan was, all that matters is that it required both of us to put all our chips on black. Sheer and complete devotion.

Would you do it? Really, ask yourself, would you gamble with your future   so completely? If the coin lands on heads, you win the lottery. But if its tails? Well, then you wind up listening to train outside your window to sing you to sleep every night. I didn't flip the coin. Didn't take that chance. I just got a college diploma, and damnit! I worked hard for that piece of paper and I sure as well wasn't going to risk not being able to use it.

But Chet? The best friend I mentioned? My roommate for four years of college? Chet took the chance. Chet rolled the dice. Chet placed the bet and won the whole mother fucking casino. And while I placed my foot on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder, Chet was already on the elevator, already ten million miles in the sky.

Good for Chet. No really, good for mother fucking Chet. He's my best friend! Of course I'm happy for Chet. He was adamant about being partners. 'James, we've been talking about this forever, it's finally time! Don't make me do it alone!' Chet used to say. 'No, no, no Chet, we were kids then,' I'd shake my head and answer, 'but now we're grown-ups and we have to play it safe.' So how can I hate the guy when I could have, *should* have, been there right by his side? It's my own fault! Not CHET'S. Except even when one friend achieves great success, you'd still expect him to be your friend? Right? RIGHT? Or am I delusional? Do I have my head in the clouds to think that Chet, my best friend for 20 fucking years, would have stuck by my side? Or does everybody abandon their childhood and everything in it when their wallets get uncomfortable to sit on.

Sureee, Chet still called. He still calls today even. But every single phone call is like shoving a rusty nail in my ear and hammering it over and over again, until my very brain gets tetanus. Chet tries to sound friendly, 'Hey James! How have you been? How's life treating you? Still part of that gym? Still go to Flannigan's on Saturdays? Man I miss those days. Hey, do you remember that time..." And it goes on and on and on! He talks like I can't hear that obvious condescending tone laughing at me through my headset. Like he's *actually* interested in my life!

Shut the FUCK up Chet! You fucking piece of shit Chet. You back stabbing elitist cock sucker, Chet!

Excuse me. So today is Friday. And today, after I leave this grey building and say goodbye to the plain secretary in my building's lobby, I am going to take a taxi to Chet's hillside mansion, and shoot Chet in the face. Then I am going to turn the gun on my own head, and press the muzzle HARD against my temple until I start bleeding, and pull the trigger.

I have never held a gun before. I bought this tiny revolver at a pawn shop. It remember thinking how heavy it felt, this tiny gun. This tiny, disproportionally weighted, savior of a gun. I also remember the guy who sold it me asking if I needed and bullets.

"Two please."

And now that gun, and its two shiny bullets, sat in my desk drawer, watching my computer's clock change agonizingly slow. 4:56PM. I don't leave early, no, everyday I tell myself If I work hard and stay late then one day a chance will present itself! One day James! One day! So why leave early today? Today is no different.

It was five. I grab the revolver out of my desk drawer and put it in my briefcase. I always take the stairs, two flights isn't so bad. And now I'm in the lobby, walking across the linoleum floors. And now I'm saying goodbye to the utterly boring looking woman that transfers calls. And now I'm standing outside with my hand in the air, trying to hail my chariot to heaven.

A cab pulls over. I get in. There's someone else in the back seat. I look to him, as if to ask permission, he nods his head. I look at the taxi driver, he too, nods his head. So now I'm in the backseat of this taxi, a stranger to the seat in my left. The cabby turns his head to look at me, "Where to?"

"735 Brookhill drive," I answer him.

The car turns back on the street and begins driving. We ride in silence for a few minutes then the stranger to my left turns to me, "Brookhill drive huh? Isn't that where all those rich fat cats live?"

"That's be the place." I didn't turn to look at him. Just answered his question.

"You one of those fat cats?" He asked, I could sense a little animosity in his voice from the way he emphasized 'cats.'

"Nope, would I be taking a taxi if I were?"

"Ha! You got me there! The name's Larry. Larry Tanas." Larry stuck out his hand. I grabbed it and shook, aware of his last name, and what it could spell if given some careful rearrangement. Tanas. Larry Tanas, an coincidental stranger on the last car ride I'll ever take.

"James Hoyt." I said as our hands shook.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. James Hoyt! And excuse me for asking, but if you aren't a rich CEO or some shit, then why are you going to Brookhill?"

"To see a friend."

"A friend huh? What's a money mogul doing being friends with some guy who probably works near the dirt?"

I looked at his face for the first time. He was a handsome man. Very well cleaned. His hair was cut short, not a strand out of place. He talked with his left eyebrow raised and his eyes narrowed. His teeth were as white as bones. And what do you know, the guy named Tanas has on a black suit with a red tie, cute. I don’t know what compelled me to talk to him, maybe it was because I knew my hourglass had less than sixty grains of sand in it and I knew this is the last conversation I’d ever have.

“He’s an old friend. From my college days. We were roommates an-”

Tanas cut me off, “And he went on to make millions while you signed your life over to live a safe, polite existence. Is that pretty spot on?”

His spot-on analysis wasn’t that surprising. Everyone knows millionaires live in Brookhill and I sure as hell don’t look like a millionaire. But it was the way he said what he said. The way ‘make millions’ came out like a viper spits venom. He hated Chet too. I didn’t say anything. What else did Tanas have to say?

“And you know what else I think, James?” He looked at me with his slanted eyes, seemingly looking straight through my pupils and into my conscience, “I don’t think you’re going to just visit an old friend.”

“Oh, no?”

“No. As a matter of fact, James. I think you’re going to kill a man that you hate.”

title: Two bullets

question: What does the text say about Larry Tanas?

answer: Larry Tanas is the man who rides in the taxi with James, the narrator. Larry is talkative and insightful. He realizes what James is planning to do without him saying anything. Larry is handsome, clean, and well-dressed. Larry seems to share James's animosity toward millionaires.

question: Summarize what the text says about Brookhill Drive.

answer: Brookhill Drive is a street in a wealthy neighborhood. The text indicates that millionaires live there in mansions. Brookhill Drive is also where James's friend, Chet, now lives. James sets out in a taxi for Brookhill Drive.

question: What does the text say about slavery?

answer: The narrator seems to equate his low-paying corporate job with slavery. He works hard, his ideas are stifled. His bosses, or masters, don't seem to work as hard or care as much. He seems to compare his broken dream of success to a festering wound that's never allowed to heal in the context of his work. The narrator knows he could have been at the top of the ladder but he feels like he missed his chance and now his hard work feels like slavery.

question: What does the text say about the character of James's wife?


split: test

text:
PHILLIP KENNY WALSH (died 11 May 1935),[1] invariably referred to as Phil Walsh or Phil K. Walsh, was an Australian stage actor and producer who made several feature films which still exist, unusually for those made during the “silent era”.

History

Walsh was born in country New South Wales, perhaps the son of a gold miner. He grew up in Gundagai, Tumblong and Bathurst.[2]

Between 1892 and 1895 he was with Edmund Duggan's “Her Majesty's Dramatic Company”, touring _La Tosca_,[3] F. R. C. Hopkins' _All for Gold_,[4] _Greta_.[5] _His Natural Life_ and _Robbery Under Arms_.[6] consistently receiving good notices. In 1893 he was with Irve Hayman's Criterion Dramatic Company,[7] with Gorge Leitch in 1895 and the Macmahons' Lyceum company 1897–1898. He visited Dubbo in 1894 as an RAOB member and to oversee the Aloysian Dramatic Club's production of _The Silver King_, and later developed amateur theatre companies in Dubbo and Mudgee.[8] He produced _The Silver King_ for the dramatic society at Bourke in 1897.

In September 1902 Walsh and his wife “Miss Nellie Ogden” toured New Zealand for (Marian? Ford?) Willis.[9] Later that year they left for America, having received offers to stage his plays _The Bailiff_ and _The Swanee River_,[10] and was well received.[11] He joined Andrew Mack's company for the musical comedy _Tom Moore_, which played in San Francisco in 1905,[12] though he was not in the cast when it toured Australia earlier in the year.[13]

He returned to Australia in 1907 to stage-manage the Broadway comedy _The Ragged Earl_ and melodrama _Jack Shannon_ (in both of which he also had supporting roles) for Andrew Mack,[14] under contract to J. C. Williamson, followed by a season with Mack in New Zealand.[15] In 1910 Walsh toured his own company through New Zealand's South Island.

Walsh had various interests in America away from the stage. He had a ranch and a newspaper, which he edited, in Petaluma, California. When the US joined the Allies in the Great War he joined the Army. In 1920 he made a brief return to Australia with his wife and son, and decided to return to Australia for good, after he had settled his affairs back in the USA.[16]

In 1921 he acted as assistant producer for Beaumont Smith's films _While the Billy Boils_' and _The Gentleman Bushranger_.[17] In 1922 he was in Wagga, as road manager for J. C. Williamson's _White-headed Boys_ touring company.[18]

In 1923 he returned to Australia as manager of the Abbey Theatre company and an Irish variety troupe,[19] this time permanently. He produced the highly successful silent film _Around the Boree Log_ (1925)[20] and tried to raise money from the citizens of Gunning for _Love Blind_ from a novel by Flora Ann Timms (née McLean, died 1945),[21] a resident of the town.[22] His next film project was _The Birth of White Australia_, principal scenes for which (the Lambing Flat riots) were shot at Young, whose citizens had provided the bulk of the film's £5,000 budget (many millions in today's money). The film was screened on three successive nights for its _premiere_ at Young,[23] and never seen again until “discovered” gathering dust in the Young Town Hall in the 1960s.

In 1934 he was working with the Neutral Bay Players' Club, whose members included Max Osbiston.[24] He died the following year in a private hospital and was buried privately.

Personal

Walsh was for a time married to his stage partner “Miss Nellie Ogden” (26 March 1883 – 9 October 1939).

    Ogden was a daughter of Richard D'Orsay Ogden and stage actress “Miss Helen Fergus” née Ferguson, and a stage performer from an early age.[25]
    Walsh and Ogden appeared together from Irving Hayman days,[26] then as leads in several plays, notably _The Irishman_ in 1901. She accompanied him to New Zealand in 1902, then to America, but she was back in Sydney by November 1903,[27] and from 1904 she appeared as “Miss Nellie Ferguson”. She was reported as having married John Dickenson on 3 July 1907 at Broken Hill,[28] but later became the wife of actor/manager George E. Melrose,[29] about whom little is known before 1908;[30] and was still active in 1950.[31]

Walsh was brought up in the Catholic church. James Patrick Walsh (c. 1853 – 5 February 1936), who had a furniture business in Summer Street, Orange,[32] and a residence on Bathurst Road,[33] was an older brother. Other siblings were M. R. Walsh of Bathurst and Mrs. J. Ryan of Newcastle,[34] about whom nothing has yet been found.

In 1920 Walsh made a brief (perhaps several years) return to Australia with a wife and son[35] before returning permanently. His newspaper obituary mentions his wife, Eva,[36] about whom nothing has yet been found, but no mention of children.

It has not yet been discovered what his occupation was before earning a living on the stage. There is however an enigmatic reference to his involvement with “a law firm at Cootamundra”,[37] and several of his written works have a legal theme.

Some accounts describe him as being American and, in one, of having the rank of “Colonel in the American Army”.[38]

Written works

-   Walsh wrote several plays, including _Swanee River_ and _The Bailiff_, the former being better known and reported as having an unbroken run of eleven months in London.[39]
-   His short story _The Wife of the King's Counsel_ was published in serial form in the (Orange) _Leader_ in 1920.[40]

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title: Phil K. Walsh

question: What does the text say about Phillip Kenny Walsh?

answer: Phillip Kenny Wals was an Australian stage actor and producer who made several feature films that still exist. Walsh was born in New South Wales and grew up in Gundagai, Tumblong, and Bathurst. He was married to Miss Nellie Ogden. On his newspaper obituary, he mentions his wife, Eva, whom nothing has yet been found and no mention of children with her.


text:
Australia's professional A-League is a shrewdly marketed, blossoming business that's quickly mobilizing fans all over the country. U.S. Soccer, take note.

April 10, 2013

[banner US soccer pelosi.jpg]
Chivas USA forward Juan Agudelo, third from left, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second half of an MLS soccer match against the Chicago Fire in Bridgeview, Ill., Sunday, March 24, 2013. (AP / Nam Y. Huh)

Soccer is the planet's most popular sport, both by fan base and revenue generation.

Given that it's played on every continent with a field to do so, that's hardly surprising. It hasn't made much of a difference to sports fans in the United States, though: Even after four attempts since 1967 to boost professional soccer by importing star players from foreign countries (with mixed results), the game has failed to connect with the broader American public.

Related Story

[]

So it's time U.S. Soccer's marketers realized international stars are only part of the equation. The heads of MLS and the U.S. men's national team could learn a few things from the burgeoning pro-soccer league in Australia, as well as from long-standing soccer traditions elsewhere in the world: namely, that those star imported players need clever coaching and sophisticated players around them _and_ a competitive local atmosphere to bring out their best performances.

HOPE FOR THE AMERICAN GAME
Like American soccer, the Australian game—which is more akin to the American interpretation than most others—also lives in the shadows of more popular sports. Rugby and Australian Rules football, in particular, have long dominated the fall landscape Down Under. Both boast macho, hard-nosed, working-class personalities and violent action; needless to say, Australian soccer fans don't drink at the same pub as rugby fans anymore.

A dedicated effort, though, has helped soccer finally earn validity in Australia, with the promise that it might soon explode in popularity: Australia's A-League—the country's highest division of professional soccer—just posted better attendance figures for a number of its weekend fixtures than the rugby league's opening round.

A decade ago, this would have seemed impossible.

So what can U.S. soccer's chiefs learn from the Australian game, which has similarly pursued a national presence and has finally impressed the peanut gallery?

The A-League is a streamlined, slickly marketed professional romp that succeeds not just because of its glitzy imported players (as is often the prescription for flailing sports) but because local players view the league as a destination and not merely a stepping stone. To rouse fan interest, the game's modern savior—shopping-mall honcho Frank Lowy—started by enlisting foreign talent like former Manchester United poacher Dwight Yorke, Brazil's Cassio, the once-prodigious English striker Robbie Fowler, and, more recently, Italy's "Little Painter," Alessandro Del Piero. (The Los Angeles Galaxy has adopted a similar approach in recent years, signing English star David Beckham and Irish striker Robbie Keane.) These and other international names have been bundled together with attractive uniform designs, contemporary team monikers, and more gentrified stadiums.

However, Lowy's strategy went further than just establishing one or two premier-team brands and one or two marketable names. He helped drive the sport's national TV presence by ensuring games aired live on Fox Sports, the country's primary sports network, and shifted the competition from winter to summer. The rugby diehards had no choice but to take notice (next season the A-League will go free-to-air, too). Lowy and his Football Federation Australia also enticed reputable European coaches to run the national squad, like the highly regarded Dutch tactician Guus Hiddink, the defense-minded Pim Verbeek, and Holger Osieck, a former understudy of German coaching legend Franz Beckenbauer, who each helped recast the sport's image with new techniques and ideas.

All of these initiatives transformed both public and media perception by emphasizing the international idealism of the World Cup, and encouraging a more stylish and exciting brand of soccer from the top down. After 16 years of middling results with relatively unaccomplished American coaches, this revolutionon has finally begun in America with the hiring of German great Jurgen Klinsmann to lead the U.S. men's national team.

WINNING THE CROWD
Australian soccer players have rejected British footballing staples—namely hard tackling and speculative long balls—and broadened their tactics. Creativity like this attracts new fans, plus many of these stars are (or have been) regarded among the best on the planet at their position.

Australian striker Mark Viduka, for example, scored 72 goals in just 166 appearances for Leeds United in the English Premier League. Harry Kewell, his countryman and running mate at Leeds, scored some of the most breathtaking goals ever seen in the English Premier League. Kewell joined the A-League in 2011, and although he's since taken temporary leave from playing, he is expected to return next season. Viduka retired as a player in 2009, but was named Melbourne Victory's international ambassador.

Kewell returned to Australia at just the right time, and—along with other successful Australian players like Lucas Neil, Ned Zelic, world-class goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, and Viduka, who became an ambassador to Melbourne Victory—inspired younger players to help propel the soccer movement forward.* This ultimately led to an important shift in the nation's soccer culture: The best local talents not only expanded their skill sets, but were then valued on the international market and earned the respect of the folks at home. It's crucial, then, that the MLS and the USMNT scour high and low to unearth similar American talent, and in numbers—so that collectively they can bolster the sport's reputation at home.

PRODIGAL STARS
Finding talented homegrown players is one thing—but keeping them is another. Currently, the best American soccer players seek careers overseas where they can earn big money. So U.S. soccer has a two-part problem on its hands: It must retain more top talent in the MLS, such as Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman and Portland's Jack Jewsbury, but also make the MLS an attractive enough prospect for those ambitious sons to return home. These players' endorsement of the Chicago Fire, or Sporting Kansas City, or Houston Dynamo, would spur interest in those towns individually and for the game overall.

So it's important that American players want to stay at home, and they'd be more likely to do so if there were high-caliber international stars and coaches to compete against, as well as more innovative on-field strategies to throw themselves into. Such incentives led to Kewell returning to Australia and signing with the Melbourne Victory, and Lucas Neil doing the same with Sydney FC this season. Mark Bresciano, one of Australia's best attacking talents, has also hinted at an A-League stint when he finishes playing in the Qatar Stars League.

RIVALRY AND REVOLUTION
American sports fans are diverse, but one thing that binds them is a hunger for action. It's understandable, then, that defensive, scoreless affairs infuriate most casual observers. And yet, a heated encounter between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League might yield few shots and even fewer goals, and still draw Americans to the box. This is why rivalries are so important: They amplify passions and legitimize a league's schedule with fixtures that need to be circled in red. We only need to observe Spain's famous El Clásico clashes between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona to realize the value of such a duel.

While the MLS's Seattle-Portland rivalry is blossoming, and the league noticeably points drama-hungry fans toward Galaxy-Chivas USA games, both generally fail to ignite national interest. American soccer needs genuine animosity between fan bases, like that between the New York Jets and New England Patriots in the NFL, or between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals in baseball. Clashes between these teams have certainly benefited from cultural rivalry as much as geographical proximity, but, perhaps most importantly, they also feature equally competitive, well-matched teams. By contrast, it's harder for the MLS to promote games between the New York Red Bulls and the New England Revolution when the Revolution haven't won many games the past three seasons.

The A-League has a distinct advantage over the MLS in pitting rivals against each other because it boasts four teams all within 80 miles of one another: Sydney FC, the Western Sydney Wanderers, Newcastle Jets, and the Central Coast Mariners. So even when the league's best feud—Melbourne Heart versus Melbourne Victory—disappoints, other contests might win over tentative local audiences.

There's also something to be said for intra-city match-ups, which the A-League, EPL, Serie A, and the Spanish La Liga all exploit. Even in the NBA, the arrival of the Brooklyn Nets, formerly of New Jersey and now New York's second team, may have divided New York City's fan base, but it's also sparked an intriguing crosstown rivalry. So instead of expanding into Canada, as the MLS has of late, New York and Chicago could have added second teams to create new rivalries.

Major League Soccer clubs and the American national team can only benefit from adopting an entrepreneurial mindset, one that's closely aligned to the aspiration of other pro leagues like Australia's that are better able to showcase their talent. Combining homegrown playmakers with popular imports, innovative coaches, and a few good inter-team rivalries will help resolve the public's ambiguity toward this wonderful and—yes, at times—beautiful game.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

_* Correction: An earlier version of this post stated that Mark Viduka, Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neil, and Ned Zelic returned to Australia to play in the A-League. We regret the error._

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

Jean-Paul Pelosi is a freelance writer based in Sydney. He has contributed to The Good Men Project, _The Globe and Mail_, and InsideHoops.

question: Summarize the steps taken by Australia's football league (A-League) to broaden its appeal within the country.

answer: The A-League is streamlined and does not really on importing famous players from other countries. It ensures that league players view the A-League as the final destination, not a stepping stone. Not only did the Australian football league sign popular names like Dwight Yorke, and Alessandro Del Piero, they ensured that the games are aired live on the country's primary sports network (Fox Sports) and also shifted the competition from winter to summer. The organization also enticed world-class coaches like Guus Hiddink to help shape the sports with new techniques and ideas. The players have also contributed by shunning the British hard-tackling principles, broadening their tactics, and implementing new ideas into the game. The Australian league is also making sure they retain local prospects so they don't go abroad for better pay and exposure. To this end, the league signed Harry Kewell and is working on signing Mark Bresciano, one of Australia's best central attacking midfielders, to the A-League.

question: Why have the Australian soccer fans rejected the British touch-tackling principles?


text:
 She walked beside her friend through the country-side, being mindful of their steps landing between the homes beneath their feet. They carried forests of wood tied by rope the length of the smaller peoples towns. Elle had blonde hair flowing down to her feet, which nearly tripped her, but she braced herself by holding a nearby mountain. The mountain tops cut her hand and her falling blood turned the river red. She watched as trails of the blood lead to the peoples city, stretching through every street and corner. She frantically reach for her wood to block off parts of the river into a dam, which slowed it down, and began draining the river dry almost immediately.

People gathered at them, like an angry pile of ants. She tried to listen to them, to calm them down and apologize. As she did, her friend eyed the rope used on the wood, her eyes widening and smile grinning. She reached for the rope and took it, but was caught. The two pulled on the rope, and their muscles tightened, their teeth grinded, and the sounds echoed throughout the ranges. The rope broke, splitting, and the two fell onto the ground. Her friend ran away with her end of the rope, but she fell to the ground.

The ground swelled with a rumble, rocks fell from mountains, forests of trees splintered, and many homes of the people below were crushed into the earth. Walls fell, bricks flying into the air, leaving the city without any borders. As she stood, debris from the earth fell off of her, attached to the foundations of homes, and the remains of the people within.

Screams of agony filled the city. People ran to the borders, collecting as many things as they could, fleeing from her. She tried to plead to them, “It was an accident! She just wanted the rope! Please forgive me.”

Some of the people below began to collect weapons and congregate at her feet. “For our forgiveness, you owe us the rope! You no longer deserve our gift, and we need it to rebuild our borders!” To which she returned the rope.

The people used the ropes great lengths to fix the borders of the city, and the city was safe from the wild. “I have you returned to you the gift” she said as her eyes watered, “Can you forgive me now?”

But their homes were still destroyed, and they needed a place to live. “For our forgiveness, you owe us your wood! We need it to fix our homes!” To which she gave them her wood, enough to build several cities.

As the town fixed itself, she sat and watched, watching the horizons for any more of her kind, and excitedly lending an ear to any people from below that came to her.

Winter came, snow laying a blanket of white across the lands. She watched the season come, and said to the people, “I have given you my rope and spent a season watching over you in the cold. Can you forgive me now?” But the people were cold and shivered, “For our forgiveness, you owe us your hair! We need it to keep our homes warm during the cold.” To which she cut her hair and gave it to the city, leaving her naked in the cold, on the mountain tops nearby, watching over the people below in their new homes.

As the winter’s snow eventually began to melt, her stomach grumbled, and it shook the ground, rattling the homes, sending people to hide in fear. She pleaded to the people, “I have given you my wood, hair, time, and starved myself. Can you forgive me now?”

They grouped together again and came to her, “For our forgiveness, you owe us your height! We need it taken away so that you cannot be a danger to us.”

“How can I do this? How can I give you such a thing?”

To which an elder person from below emerged from the mob, their face cloaked in robes, bearing a bundle of books. “I can cast a spell to bring you to the same size as us, but it requires your name.”

“You owe us your name! We need it to make us safe!”

To which she told them her name, and they used it to cast the spell. Her name written into the books to be forgotten, as her size as brought from a mountain to a hill, from a hill to a pile, and from a pile to a person.

“I have given you my wood, my hair, my height, my time, and now my name. Can you forgive me now that-”

To which the people interrupted her with their fists, beating her to death. Once her life left her, the people collected together in a line, taking turns spitting on her remains, and they did this throughout the following seasons.

In time, her remains could not be found. Instead, people spat where they stood, without knowing her name, and never wanting to either

title: [SP] Origin of Spitting

question: What does the text say about Elle?

answer: Elle is a giant who accidentally destroys a town while she was gathering resources with her friend. Her friend abandons her while she is left behind helping the villagers rebuild their home. They refuse to forgive her and keep demanding items from her. She gives them everything they ask for in the hopes of their forgiveness but they refuse claiming that she is still a threat given her height. Eventually a witch turns her to the size of a human and when she gives them her height and begs for forgiveness they beat her to death without letting her speak. When she died, everyone fell in line taking turns spitting on her remains and they did this throughout the following seasons.

question: Describe the story's setting.

answer: The story is set in a small countryside town.

question: What does the text say about witchcraft?

question: What does the text say about fear?


text:
HEAR WORD! or HEAR WORD! NAIJA WOMAN TALK TRUE is a play by Ifeoma Fafunwa. It tells stories about Nigerian women and their struggles.

The play premiered in Lagos, Nigeria in 2014[1] at the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) Centre[2] and had its international debut at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3] It was produced by iOpeneye Limited.

The playwright was inspired by_Vagina Monologues"_ and _"For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide._[4] The play combines song and dance and is performed agitprop on stage or in open air spaces,.[5]

_Hear Word!_ is the first Nigerian stage play to appear at the American Repertory Theatre.[6]

Description

_Hear Word!_ runs for 90 minutes and is delivered by a cast of 10 female performers, 3 male percussionists and 1 female director.[7] It is agitprop theater and can be performed without a set or in a site-specific location, combining song, dance, sketches and soliloquies.[8] The cast will sometimes do street storms, performing the show unannounced in markets, bus stops and university campuses.[9]

_Hear Word!_ is a piece of Nigerian performance art that combines artistry, social commentary and true-life stories of gender inequality and transformation. The show targets real issues affecting the lives of women and which limit their potential for independence, leadership and meaningful contribution to society.

Plot

The play starts off with lighthearted and somewhat humorous monologues depicting everyday situations where women navigate a patriarchal world in which they are marginalized. Groping, harassment, exclusion etc. including scenes which boldly highlight ways in which women themselves contribute to their own marginalization.

This lightheartedness soon gives way to a section of vivid monologues portraying harmful ways in which women are victimized and oppressed, including molestation, child brides and gender based violence and abuse. This painful section is punctuated by a shrill call to action chant in Yoruba which ushers in an exhilarating and refreshing second half of the play with powerful portraits of resistance, triumph and celebration. The final piece re-captures the different themes in the play with a direct appeal to audiences to get engaged in becoming part of the solution.

Background and meaning

_Hear Word!_ is derived from a Nigerian Pidgin-English phrase, which means to _“Listen and Comply”_.[10] The play was created and co-written by Ifeoma Fafunwa, a Nigerian playwright and director. Fafunwa started her career as an Architect in the United States, where she worked for at least 20 years. She returned to Nigeria and in 2009, began curating real-life stories, from women across Nigeria, as well as her own personal stories to produce the play, _Hear Word!_.[11]

The play presents an intimate view into the obstacles that Nigerian women face, including stories of domestic violence, absence of women from positions of power, resilience and resistance, shattering the culture of silence, overturning the status quo, abuse, disrespect, bravery, sisterhood and joy.[12]

Reception

In 2018, _Hear Word!_ sold out to a diverse audience at American Repertory Theater.[13] The production was featured as the event opener for the United Nations 2018 Commission for the Status of Women in March 2018.[14]

In January 2019 the play debuted at New York’s premiere off-Broadway - the Public Theater, and was described by _Theater Mania_ as a _“jubilant act of artistic exorcism”_.[15] A review in the _New York Times_ stated _"By the end of “Hear Word! Naija Woman Talk True,” from the Nigerian company iOpenEye Ltd., the brightness radiating from its all-female cast has the glare and heat of a raging bonfire."_[16]

_Hear Word!_ has also premiered at the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa, California the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, Germany[17] and the Royal Lyceum Theater at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland in August, 2019.[18]

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title: Hear Word!

question: What does the text say about the play's reception?

answer: In 2018, the play sold out at American Repertory Theater, and it was featured as the event opener for the United Nations 2018 Commission for the Status of Women. In 2019, it debuted at New York's premiere off-Broadway, The Public Theater, and received rave reviews from Theater Mania and the New York Times. In 2019, it also premiered at the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa, California, the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, Germany, and the Royal Lyceum Theater at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.

question: What does the text say about Ifeoma Fafunwa?

answer: Ifeoma Fafunwa is the creator and co-writer of Hear Word!. She is a Nigerian playwright and director, but she began her career as an architect in the United States, where she worked for at least 20 years. In 2009, she returned to Nigeria and began curating real-life stories from women across Nigeria, as well as her own personal stories to produce the play Hear Word!.

question: What does the text say about how the play is "agitprop?"


text:
April 29, 2016 - Pacers head coach Frank Vogel spoke with media before Game 6 of the Pacers' first-round matchup with the Toronto Raptors.

Pregame 160428

Scroll Video up__ Scroll Video down__ Scroll Video left__ Scroll Video right__
Blue-and-Gold Breakdown April 28, 2016

April 28, 2016 - On this episode of Blue and Gold Breakdown, Pat Boylan sits down with Pacers center Ian Mahinmi to discuss the team's mental state heading into a pivotal Game 6, and Pacers Radio Play-by-Play voice Mark Boyle joins the show to preview the keys to sending the series back to Toronto.

Apr 28, 2016  |  11:38

Shootaround: Pacers Ready for Game 6

April 29, 2016 - Pacers head coach Frank Vogel, forward Paul George, and center Ian Mahinmi discuss the team's mentality heading into a must-win Game 6 against the Toronto Raptors.

Apr 29, 2016  |  01:03

Shootaround: Lowry on Toronto's Game 6 Mindset

April 29, 2016 - Raptors guard Kyle Lowry spoke to reporters Friday morning about how the team is approaching Game 6, and his involvement on offense so far during the series.

Apr 29, 2016  |  02:04

Practice Wrap Up: Pacers Look Ahead to Game 6

April 28, 2016 - Pacers.com's Jessica Wimsatt reports from practice at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where the Pacers discussed their Game 5 loss in Toronto and looked ahead to Game 6 on Friday night.

Apr 28, 2016  |  02:39

Practice: Vogel Talks Game 6, Team Mindset

April 28, 2016 - Pacers head coach Frank Vogel talked about the team's mindset entering Friday's game, but revealed few details about his lineups going into Game 6.

Apr 28, 2016  |  03:26

Mahinmi: "We've Got the Right Mindset"

April 28, 2016 - Pacers center Ian Mahinmi discusses how the team has responded from Tuesday's Game 5 loss in Toronto and what he expects in Game 6 on Friday night in Indianapolis.

Apr 28, 2016  |  01:57

Practice: Solomon Hill on Ball Movement, Game 6

April 28, 2016 - After practice on Thursday, Solomon Hill talked about what went well for the Pacers early on during Game 5, and how the team can use that approaching Game 6.

Apr 28, 2016  |  03:12

Friday, April 29, 2016 at 7:30 PM ET at Bankers Life Fieldhouse

[]

Posted: Apr 27, 2016

_Editor's Note: The Delaware St. entrance to the Virginia Ave. Parking Garage is no longer in operation due to the construction of the St. Vincent Center. To enter the Virginia Ave. Parking Garage, please use the entrance located at the intersection of E Maryland St. and S Alabama St._

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_In addition, the southbound lane of Delaware Street from Maryland to just south of the train bridge will be closed for the duration of the construction project._

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Matchup

_PLEASE NOTE: Doors to Bankers Life Fieldhouse will open at 6:00 PM for Game 6 vs the Raptors._

After a gut-wrenching loss in Game 5 in Toronto on Tuesday night, the Indiana Pacers return home needing a win in Game 6 against the Raptors on Friday evening at Bankers Life Fieldhouse to stave off elimination.

For much of Tuesday’s game, the Pacers appeared well on their way to their second road win in the best-of-seven series with Toronto. They were moving the ball on offense and knocking down shots. All-Star forward Paul George was putting together his most outstanding performance in a series full of outstanding performances.

PLAYOFF CENTRAL: SEE MORE FROM THE 2016 PLAYOFFS AT PACERS.COM/PLAYOFFS »

Indiana took a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter, thanks in large part to 37 points, six rebounds, and seven assists from George. But that's when everything changed.

[Pacers Playoffs presented by Key Bank, Kroger, Mountain Dew, and Steak n Shake]

Toronto outscored the Blue & Gold 21-2 to open up the fourth quarter as the Pacers managed just one field goal over the first 9:33 of the 12-minute period. The formerly potent offense stalled out, as possession after possession resulted in a missed shot or turnover.

Though the Pacers admirably fought back in the final minutes, that prolonged dry spell proved to be their undoing, spoiling another stellar performance from George.

GAME 6 GOLD OUT: ALL FANS TO RECEIVE GOLD T-SHIRT »

Now, they return to Indianapolis needing a win at home to keep their season alive.

The Pacers have come back from a 3-2 series deficit just once in the NBA Playoffs, but it happened in the not-so-distant past. Indiana won Games 6 and 7 against the Atlanta Hawks to advance out of the First Round in 2014.

Despite the disappointing result in Game 5, the Pacers remain confident about their prospects in the series. Although they’ve been underdogs as the seventh seed facing off against a 56-win Raptors team, the Blue & Gold have proven capable of going toe-to-toe with Toronto.

"We believe that we can beat this team," Pacers forward Solomon Hill said after Game 5. "We know it. Little things didn’t go our way, but we are going back to Indiana. And (if) we keep the same type of intensity that we had when we were there (in Game 4) and when we were here for 42 minutes, I believe we can pull out the best game."

Important Note Regarding Signs, Banners, and Flags

Bankers Life Fieldhouse welcomes guests bringing small signs, banners, and posters to show fan support during events as long as they are smaller than 11” x 17”. If the signs are too large, fans may either return the items to their vehicle or dispose of the signs before entering. Fans may also check items at the Guest Services desk they would like returned to them at the conclusion of the game. For more information on building policy, please visit our Fan Guide.

Projected Starters

PACERS: PG - George Hill, SG - Monta Ellis, SF - Paul George, PF - Myles Turner, C - Ian Mahinmi
RAPTORS: PG - Kyle Lowry, SG - DeMar DeRozan, SF - DeMarre Carroll, PF - Patrick Patterson, C - Jonas Valanciunas

Injury Report

PACERS: None

RAPTORS: None

Last Meeting

APRIL 26, 2016: The Pacers led 90-77 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Raptors clawed back as Indiana's offense stalled out. The visitors made just one of their first eight shots and committed six turnovers over the same span as Toronto surged ahead.

The Raptors tied the game on a steal and breakaway dunk by Norman Powell with 6:31 remaining, then took the lead for the first time since then end of Game 3 on DeMar DeRozan's 3-pointer with 4:15 to play. Toronto would not relinquish the lead in the final minutes.

GALLERY: GAME 5 PHOTOS »

Solomon Hill hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to seemingly send the game into overtime, but a subsequent replay review determined that Hill's shot came a fraction of a second too late, thus sealing the win for Toronto.

Coming off an eight-point outing in Game 4, DeRozan redeemed himself in Game 5, scoring 34 points on 10-of-22 shooting. Most importantly, the Raptors' All-Star guard got to the free throw line early and often, going 12-for-13 from the charity stripe.

Paul George led all scorers with 39 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. George Hill added 15 points for Indiana, but did not score after halftime.

Noteworthy

-   The Pacers are 11-11 all-time in Game 6 of a seven-game series, including a 5-6 record at home.
-   Indiana is 3-3 in Game 6 when facing elimination at home. Those three wins all came in the Eastern Conference Finals (1995 vs Orlando, 1998 vs Chicago, and 2013 vs Miami).
-   Paul George is averaging 28.8 points per game so far in the series, the highest scoring average of any player in the 2016 NBA Playoffs.
-   After starting the first four games of the series, Raptors forward Luis Scola did not play in Game 5 due to coach's decision.

Broadcast Information TV & Radio Listings »

TV: FOX Sports Indiana - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
ESPNews/NBA TV - Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Jon Barry (analyst), Heather Cox (sideline reporter)
RADIO: 93.5 FM/AM 1070 The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Slick Leonard (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)
_Please Note: Inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Pacers radio broadcasts can be heard on 1080 AM instead of 1070._

Tickets

Limited seats remain for Game 6 on Friday night. Secure your seats now: FIND TICKETS »

Pacers Pregame Rally

If you're downtown before the game, stop by the Simon Family Plaza in front of the Pennsylvania Street entrance to The Fieldhouse for a Pacers pregame rally. The rally starts at 5:30 PM and we'll have a DJ, Boomer, the Pacemates, and other fun activities.

question: What does the text say about Pacers legend Reggie Miller?

question: Summarize the main news event.

answer: The Indiana Pacers are coming home looking to win Game 6 of their first-round matchup against the Toronto Raptors after a disappointing loss on the road in Game 5. The Pacers held a 90-77 led over the Raptors to enter the fourth quarter led by Paul George's 37 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. However, the Pacers managed just one field goal over the first 9:33 minutes of the period, allowing Toronto to outscore them 21-2 to open up the fourth. The Pacers fought back for the remainder of the game but ultimately lost. Now down 3-2 in the series, the Pacers are coming back to Indiana to defend home court and keep their season alive against Toronto. The Pacers have come back from a 3-2 series deficit just once in the NBA Playoffs when they won Games 6 and 7 against the Atlanta Hawks to advance out of the First Round in 2014. Despite this, the 7th-seed Pacers are confident they can topple the 56-win Raptors.

question: Summarize some interesting facts about the article.

answer: Pacers star Paul George led all scorers with 39 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. He is averaging 28.8 points per game so far in the series, the highest scoring average of any player in the 2016 NBA Playoffs. The Pacers are 11-11 all-time in Game 6 of a seven-game series, including a 5-6 record at home. Indiana is 3-3 in Game 6 when facing elimination at home. Those three wins all came in the Eastern Conference Finals (1995 vs Orlando, 1998 vs Chicago, and 2013 vs Miami).


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The CAPE PROVINCE CRICKET TEAM and its predecessor the CAPE COLONY CRICKET TEAM were South African cricket teams that played 11 matches against English touring teams between 1888 and 1948. The last five of these matches had first-class status.

The team brought together players from the four first-class teams in Cape Province – Western Province, Eastern Province, Border and Griqualand West. The team did not take part in the South African domestic competition, the Currie Cup; its four constituent teams competed separately. The Cape Colony team won one of its early matches, but all five of the Cape Colony/Province's first-class matches resulted in victories to the English team by wide margins.

Matches

Cape Colony

Not first-class

-   26, 27, 28 December 1888, at Newlands, Cape Town. R. G. Warton's XI won by 11 runs. R. G. Warton's XI 122 and 162; Cape Colony XV 159 and 114.[1][2]

-   17, 18, 19 January 1889, at Pirates Cricket Club, Ground, Kimberley. Cape Colony won by 10 wickets. R. G. Warton's XI 91 and 212; Cape Colony XV 267 and 37 for 4. Frederick Klinck scored 81 for Cape Colony, easily the highest score on either side.[3]

-   23, 24, 26 December 1891, at Newlands, Cape Town. Drawn. W. W. Read's XI 180 and 218 for 2 dec.; Cape Colony XV 197 and 142 for 10.[4]

-   6, 7 January 1892, at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. W. W. Read's XI won by an innings and 39 runs. W. W. Read's XI 246; Cape Colony XV 97 and 110.[5]

-   14, 15, 16 January 1892, at Eclectics Cricket Club Ground, Kimberley. W. W. Read's XI won by an innings and 17 runs. Cape Colony XV 142 and 77; W. W. Read's XI 236.[6]

-   1, 2, 3 January 1896, at Newlands, Cape Town. Lord Hawke's XI won by an innings and 125 runs. Cape Colony XIII 118 and 162; Lord Hawke's XI 405.[7]

First-class

On the 1895-96 tour the English team met a provincial team on level terms, 11-a-side, for the first time, when Lord Hawke's XI played Western Province towards the end of the tour. It was thus the first first-class match in these tours outside the Tests.[8] On the next tour in 1898-99 there were three first-class provincial matches, one against Transvaal and two against Cape Colony.[9]

-   14, 16, 17 January 1899, at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. Lord Hawke's XI won by 101 runs. Lord Hawke's XI 134 and 228; Cape Colony 112 and 149.[10]

-   25, 27, 28 March 1899, at Newlands, Cape Town. Lord Hawke's XI won by an innings and 29 runs. Cape Colony 110 and 138; Lord Hawke's XI 277.[11]

Cape Province

By the time of England's 1913-14 tour, South African domestic cricket was considered strong enough for all seven of the Currie Cup teams to meet touring teams on level terms in first-class matches. The Cape Province team played its first match.[12]

-   21, 22 November 1913, at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. MCC won by an innings and 167 runs. MCC 385; Cape Province 158 and 60. The scheduled three-day match was completed in two.[13]

-   24, 26 January 1931, at Jan Smuts Ground, East London. MCC won by an innings and 49 runs. Cape Province 156 and 131; MCC 336 for 8 dec. The scheduled three-day match was completed in two.[14]

-   6, 8, 9 November 1948, at Newlands, Cape Town. MCC won by 10 wickets. Cape Province 225 and 323; MCC 456 and 93 for no wicket. Owen Wynne scored 105 and 48; he was the only Cape Colony/Province player to score a century. He played in the first three Tests of the series that began a month later.[15]

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[2] “The English Team in South Africa”, _Cricket_, 24 January 1889, pp. 1–4.

[3] “The English Team in South Africa”, _Cricket_, 21 February 1889, pp. 27–30.

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[13] “The M.C.C. Team in South Africa”, _Cricket_, January 1914, pp. 20–24.

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title: Cape Province cricket team

question: How long was the Cape Province cricket team active for?

answer: The cricket team played between 1888 and 1948.


text:
                                               I
	Annalee looked feverishly at the clock. Two hours. She had to leave before those two hours were up or she never would. Two hours until Shane came home from work. She had spent the day packing what little she had and if she wasn't gone by the time he came home he would know she meant to leave. Annalee had spent the last year and a half under the control of Shane and today was the day she would free herself from the confines of his wrath. She ran up stairs to make sure she had gotten her mother's pearls when she heard keys in the front door. She stopped. No. She still had time.
	Shane comes through the door, and sees her bag at the door. Annalee is rooted in the bedroom but all too aware that he is making his way up the stairs. No. He calmly opens the door and by the look on his face she knows there isn't a chance that she will be walking away from this. Today wasn't the day. She didn't have time.
	Shane, smelling like cheap whiskey, walks over to her and demanded to know why there is a suitcase by the sofa. Sarcastically,he asks if she was planning a trip for the two of them. He closes the door and begins to walk over to her. Still fixed in one spot like someone had put nails in her shoes. The questions still lingering in the air like a suffocating gas. Annalee starts to speak but he strikes her across the face, her mother's pearls sent flying under the bed.  What happens next occurs so fast that all she can see is the blur of the terrible blue wall paper. He's in front of her, hands around her neck. Shaking. Squeezing. Laughing.
Pop.
	Annalee reaches for something. Anything. In hopes of making herself steady. Instead her hand finds the silver lamp on the dresser. Something, shy of animal instinct, helps her bring the lamp swinging into Shane's left temple. The rage in his eyes goes out like a light as he falls to the ground. She hits him not once, but twice more until red beads of blood make a splash on the blue wall paper. Annalee slumps to her knees. Was he dead? Is this nightmare over? She reaches for his phone in the front pocket of his slacks. Shane groans on the floor, blood trickling from the tear in his skin. She presses three keys and waits until she hears a voice on the other end.
	After a moment Annalee tries to speak but no words come out, only a whisper of a scream. Assuming that was enough, she gets off the line and holds tight to the lamp. It felt like an eternity before she heard the sirens. Four men in uniforms entire the room, one speaks to her but she can only blink in response. He checks her pulse while another does the same to Shane. Their voices sounding like static as they report something over the walkies. More people show up, this time in white paramedic uniforms. Shane was taken some where but they hadn't tried to move Annalee. She's put on a stretcher, a brace around her neck.
	The bright lights of the ambulance is all she can see. The sound of the siren the only sound in her mind. Scared that she would be charged with assault or attempted murder. Surely they could see the scars that covered her body. Surely they would find the small attic space with her blood dried in the scratches on the door. She couldn't speak to tell them, they would have to come to the conclusion themselves. The fast beeping on a monitor seemed to worry the paramedic as he leaned over and picked up her arm. She felt a warmth spread through her body and the lights of the ambulance seemed to grow dim. Surely they would see the truth.

					II

	Annalee comes to in a hospital room. White. Sterile. Quiet. She calls for a nurse, and to her surprise a voice comes out. The nurse, grim look on her face, calls the doctor. Doctor Silverman introduces himself and looks much more pleasant than the nurse. He informs her that her neck may be sore for the next few days and her voice may sound hoarse but he has high hopes that she will be good as new. Continuing with the good news he states that she can leave as soon as they do one more check up and once the police question.
	Doctor Silverman is just finishing up his test when two police officers come into the room. Apprehension and terror wash over Annalee as they sit down. They have questions. What was her relationship to Shane? How long had she known him? What events led up to her muted call? The answers for those questions led to more. How long has the abuse been going on? Did she plan to hurt Shane that day? What attic was she talking about? Why didn't she leave sooner? It seemed as if they were putting her on trial for defending herself. Trying to save her own life. She became frantic. A nurse was called in to sedate her.
	When she awoke she found herself in a different room. Dark. Ominous. Cold. She could hear muffled yelling and even  more disturbing, whispering. Annalee got out of bed and moved to the door. There wasn't a knob.  Terrified, she began to bang on the door and call out to anyone that may be able to help her. She had fought so hard to escape Shane but now she was locked away again. The sense of urgency set her body on  fire. She was suppose to be free of control. The room seemed to be getting smaller. Closing inch by inch in on her. Back at the door she began kicking and screaming, hoping to at least get the attention of someone so she could tell them she didn't belong here. No one came.
	She must have fallen asleep at some point since she was jarred awake by the opening of her door. Doctor Silverman entered. Only he didn't wear the same hopeful expression as he had before.  Annalee tried to move from the bed. Tried to speak. Nothing happened. The doctor looked at her chart but didn't speak directly to her. A nurse entered behind him, whispering something in his ear. Annalee thought she heard the word sister but before she could try to ask what they were talking about they exited the room. Taking the chart with them.
	Alone again, but unable to move or speak. The minimal color palate in the room seemed to go in and out of focus. Like she was forgetting what the colors were. Not long after that the small desk and bolted down seat began to smear at the edges. The blankets feeling like they weighed as much as a small car pressed the air out of her lungs, making it difficult to breath. A new nurse entered her room accompanied by a woman that seemed familiar to Annalee. Where had she seen this person before?
	 Memories, floating like burning leaves in the wind came to her. A younger version of herself playing kitchen with this familiar stranger. Riding a yellow bus to a building filled with children around the same age. A flash of silver, followed by two loud bangs. Her and the stranger standing over two bodies. Weeping as if they had both lost something very important to them. The stranger came over to Annalee and dropped to her knees.
	The doctor came over and rested his hand on the shoulder of the woman. Tears began running down her face. Annalee had the urge to brush the tears away and reassure her that she was going to be okay. That she was free now. That Shane couldn't hurt her anymore. If only she could get out of the hospital, things would be okay. Sounds came from the doctors mouth, unable to comprehend them Annalee hoped it was good news but the look on the stranger's face it wasn't. The man in the white coat left the room, leaving Annalee and the woman alone.

						III

	Annalee looked so small and peaceful as her sister, Katie, held her hand. The news had come as shock. She had gotten a call from the police two days prior looking for the next of kin. She packed her bag as soon as she got off the phone and boarded a plane to take her from California to South Dakota. The news wasn't what she had hoped for. Her sister was alive but there was no brain function. Doctor Silverman sat her down with the police and recounted the events that had led up to the tragedy.
	Shane Price and Annalee Watts had been in a relationship just shy of two years. About the time Annalee ran away from college in California. The medical report revealed abuse going back over a years time. From badly healed broken bones, to deep scars running all over her back. Nails that had never grown back properly after being broken off from trying to claw her way out of the attic space. The police had gotten a call from an elderly man in Annalee's neighborhood. Saying he saw a young man putting what seemed to be a body in his passenger seat.
	The police arrived as an inebriated Shane was locking the door with a bag in his hand. Presumably the bag Annalee had packed for herself. When they got to the car they noticed an unconscious woman in the seat, her neck at a very peculiar angle. After arresting Shane and calling an ambulance for Annalee they finally were able to piece the events that led to this together.
	Shane came home early that day due to being laid of his job, but before coming home he stopped at a liquor store and bought a bottle of whiskey. After he arrived home he saw Annalee's suitcase by the door and went upstairs to confront her. In his mind she was betraying him, after all he had done for her she should be submissive and grateful. He charged into the room and began choking her before she ever had the chance to turn away or defend herself. He squeezed, shook and laughed while going on about what she owed him. Until her body wilted and he heard an audible pop. Which happened to be Annalee's neck breaking.
	It was then that he realized he would be charged for attempted murder if he took her to a hospital. So his plan was to dump her body in a bad part of town and make it look like a robbery gone amiss. Instead, Annalee was now in the hospital being kept alive by a machine. With no living will and no hope of improvement, Katie is faced with the option of taking her sister off life support or seeing if she improves in  time.
	Katie sits by her sister's bed and reads her "The Giving Tree" like she used to when they were growing up. Praying to God and anything else that might bring her sister back to her.  But Annalee couldn't tell her sister that she was there. Trapped inside her own mind. Each day more and more of reality slipping from her mind. She fades away. Never requiring her sister produce the decision.  Dark. Silent. Alone. Gone.

title: [RF] Fallacious Reverie

question: What does the text say about Annalee?

answer: Annalee is a woman whose life ends in an unfortunate way. She has a sister, Katie, whom she didn't see for a few years after running away from college. She began a relationship with a man named Shane, and he was physically abusive to her in an extreme manner - broken bones, many bruises, locking her to the attic. One day Annalee decides to leave and assembles her bag. However, Shane is laid off from work that way and comes home early and drunk. He gets angry seeing the bag, starts choking Annalee until her neck snaps. She barely survives, but she's unresponsive despite being conscious, which slowly fades away, and she dies.

question: What does the story say about Anna Lee?


text:
The house was old, two stories with yellow paint flakeing off it's walls, my friend Tyler had brought me here for a party.  I don't know who lived there or if anyone even did, the cars in the yard and lining the street told us we were at the right place.  Making our way around the fence and up the stairs to the porch I noticed an inflated pool filled with what looked like Mountain Dew in the front yard.  Not much mattered to Tyler's friends but three things, music, drugs, and parties, and they mattered a whole lot.  There was no guest list, nobody had been invited, but like vultures over roadkill, people just showed up.  Tyler stepped into the room throwing his hands up and the room exploded, for some reason he was a legend to these people, I edged in behind him, taking the room in, the smell of various narcotics wafting into my nose.  Moving farther into the house, I passed a couch spotted with cigarette burns and a beer pong table made out of saw horses and what I assume had been the front door.  A guy with a striped tank top tucked into cut off jeans was holding the cups, approaching him I started fishing in my pocket for a dollar,
 "You come with Tyler? You don't pay." he said holding out a plastic cup with a hand that had a rose tattooed on the back.
"Thanks." I mumbled, trying to make eye contact but only seeing my reflection in his gold rimmed sunglasses.
 The guy manning the keg had spiked blonde hair with sunglasses resting in it, I reached for the hose to fill the cup, he started moving the pump up and down with a hand that had 'GOLD' tattooed across the knuckles. I fill the cup while carefully manuevering it to dodge the ash falling off a Marlboro hanging from his mouth.  I put the hose back into the ice and turned towards the room, too many tank tops and t-shirts, not a single button in the room.
...
"You ready?" Tyler had yelled from his bedroom to mine earlier in the day, after we had done the apporiate amount of pre-gaming, which happens to be six beers, and two shots.  Appearing at my door pulling on a green knit jacket with no shirt and only zipping it half way, he said "After what that bitch Meghan did, you need a night to forget about it."
Meghan had been my girlfriend for two years, and she hadn't done anything to me, that was the problem.  Last week, she decided I didn't exist anymore, wouldn't answer my calls or texts.  I don't know what I did to bring this about, or maybe that's the problem, I didn't do anything.  I saw her once after I'd fallen off the face of her Earth, walking across the mall parking lot, I was leaning against my car, waiting for Tyler to finish his haircut.  She walked right infront of me, her ill fitting sandals slapping obnoxiously off the ground, a thread trailing from her unbottuned cardigan, she didn't even look at me, the only reason Tyler was getting his haircut at a mall was because I had gone to return the engagement ring.
"Yea man, let's go." I stood up but Tyler didn't move, he was still standing in the door, playing with his zipper.  More to the cracked concrete floor than to me he asked, "Have you anymore of those... those things?"  He had trouble finding the words for what he was trying to say because there were no words for it.  Since Meghan had decided I was as good to her as a second head I had begun having... these things, episodes I guess.  I would just black out, if I was talking to someone I would continue talking no problem, I still function completely, it's just not me doing the functioning, or at least not conciously.  There was no way for other people to tell that it was happening to me and Tyler only knew because he was there for the first one, when I completely lost my shit after coming back.  Coming back is such a weird way to say it, it makes it seem as if I had gone somewhere, but I don't know where I go, I'm just not there.  They're pretty regular, these episodes, like one a day, but now when it happens I can just play it off and hope whoever I'm talking do didn't just finish a sentence and is waiting for my response.
"No, just the first one man, I think I was just tired."  I lied, I didn't want to worry him, or make myself come off as some sort of psycho, who wants to be roommates with a person when they don't even know if they're talking to that person?
...
Making my way around the party three people call me Steve, two Richards, and one Eric, I think Tyler tells all his friends my name is something different everytime I'm around, which makes meeting new people very difficult since I'm never the same person when I'm introduced. Tyler sees me holding a wall up and waves me over for a game of beer pong, our opponets, two girls, one I had known from school last year, how had I not seen her when I came in?  Her name was Jule and she looked as out of place as she felt, the other, one of Tyler's regulars, Alice was killing a cup before the game started.  I'm not much of a player, but Tyler makes up for what I lack and the game quickly ends, us being victorous.  The girls move towards to the back porch and relinquishing my table rights to a shirtless mohawk sporting an eagle tattoo across his chest, I follow, taking two cups from the table, hoping to strike up a conversation, I wonder what she's doing here. Taking a long drink off of my cup, I elbow my way through the kitchen which appears to be the dance floor and out to the backyard, they were sitting on cheap white plastic chairs and talking about a cat they had just seen scramble across the backyard.
Holding the cup out, I said "Hey, weren't you in my Economics class last year?"  Jule slowly looked up from her shoes, which had different color laces, one red, the other gold, noticing the cup first and taking it out of my hand, she continued to move her glance upwards, she looked over my shirt, which I had made sure to check twice in the mirror to make sure I hadn't missed any buttons, my sleeves rolled three  times.
"Maybe," She said with a smile, "Thanks." holding up the cup with a hand that only had three nails painted.
"I think we were, Mr. Macklebe, we worked together on that essay about Greek finance." I take another drink, making sure to hold the cup from the top so I don't have to turn my hand as much and possibly spill it.  She took an exploritory sip from the cup and when she was satisfied that it wasn't ruffied she took a larger drink.
"Wait, I remember now! We had to get up infront of class and read it! What did we get on that?"
I smiled, "Must have been an A." knowing full well it was a solid D, she flattened the wrinkles out of the light pink cordoroy jacket she was wearing.
 "You knew a lot about Greece."  she said as her friend rolled her eyes. I looked back through the door and saw Tyler standing on a table, I turned back so as not to loose her attention.
"Yea, but I had to write the next paper all by myself, did you drop out?"
"Oh I transfered," She stopped to drain the cup, using her hand to clear the foam mustache from her top lip, then wiping in on the giraffe print skirt she was wearing, it had a rip near the bottom, where I would guess she had stepped on it, "Yea, my parents moved across town so I'm in a different district now."
I stuck my free hand into my pocket and then quickly removed it remembering that when you put your hands in your pockets it causes you to slump your shoulders and look shorter, I used it instead to pull a chair over and sit down.  "That's cool, my parents did the same thing, except not across town, they moved to England, do you like it there, across town that is, I don't suspose you been to England."  I said, crossing my legs, left foot on my right knee, looking to see if my shoelaces had come untied. My parents had moved because they didn't agree with American politics anymore, luckily they hadn't drug me to the land of fog and tea also, and I moved in with Tyler, I don't know if he ever had parents.
She let out a slight giggle, "Yea, I mean, it's alright, kind of shitty leaving senior year, but I made new friends so no big deal, this is Alice, by the way."  She motioned to the other girl who had been at the beer pong table.
"Yea, I think you know my roommate Tyler?"
Alice who wasn't really paying attention and appeared bored beyond belief gave me a slow nod.  I take a carefully timed drink from my cup and look her over she was wearing tight black demin pants and a silver tank top, a tattoo of an anchor on her right shoulder, "I will not sink." in a scroll underneath it.  I lower my drink and say "Cool tattoo."  Alice glances down at her shoulder as if to remember what was there, "Thanks" she responds, over the ring of a cell phone in her pocket, she steps away and answers it.
"So, how much has school changed?"  Jule said, placing her empty cup on the ground.  "Oh, it's crazy, we have weekly candle light vigils over losing you."  I get all of that out and then notice that the left hem of my pants has begun to fray, I think these might be Tyler's pants.
"You're funny, but really, how is it? I would much rather have just finished out my high school career there."
"It's the same as when you left, football team is still losing, Mr. Holmvic is still yelling and the cafeteria is still that lovely shade of beige."

"I never understood that, weren't our colors orange and gold? How do you get beige from that?"

"Mix them together, you want another beer?"
She starts laughing and nodding at the same time while, looking down at her empty cup, I smile and stand up, "Here, take this so you don't have to pay for another one."  The bracelets on her wrist retreated to her elbow as she held the cup up.  I took it and hurried inside to find 'GOLD'. He's in the same place he was before and I had him my cup so I can work the hose and hold Jules', he grabs the pump this time with his other hand 'STAY' across the knuckles.

title: First part of a story I wrote, if you guys don't think it's terrible I'd be happy to post the rest, let me know what you think of it... Where Do You Think We're Going.

question: What does the story say was the reason behind the narrator's breakup with his girlfriend, Meghan?

question: How did the narrator's breakup affect him?

answer: After the narrator's relationship with Meghan ended, he began experiencing some episodes he had once a day. He would suddenly lose consciousness if he were having a conversation with someone. He'd continue talking and functioning, but not consciously. No one else except Tyler could know what was happening to him. Tyler experienced this when this incident occurred the first time shortly after his breakup with Meghan, and he lost his composure.

question: Describe the relationship between the narrator and Tyler.

answer: The narrator and Tyler are good friends. He began staying at Tyler's place after his parents moved to England. The narrator doesn't know Tyler's parents or if they are in the picture. Tyler stood by him when his relationship with Meghan went south and even witnessed him have his first "episode." Tyler is the typical life of the party. He takes the narrator to a house party to cheer him up from his breakup with Meghan and frequently changes the narrator's name when introducing him to different people.


text:
HEIN LATT (; born 21 November 1948) is a Burmese national writer and journalism. He is one of the famous writer in Myanmar.

At 2002, he received Myanmar National Literature Award from his book _Third World to First World_. He has published More than literature articles 3,000 and 93 novels.[1][2][3][4]

Biography

Hein Latt born on 21 November 1948 in Yangon. He graduated Library Diploma from the Yangon University . He served as an assistant librarian at the University of Agriculture and as Librarian and research officer at the Myanmar Education Association.

Since 1965, he has authored over 3,000 literature articles and 93 novels. He received Myanmar National Literature Award from his book _Third World to First World_.

From 1997 to 2009, he had served as editor of the Popular Journal and as the Vice President of Asean Fame Media Group in 2010.

Books

-   World Writers and Their Letters (1997)
-   World's Love Letters (2001)
-   World's Most Famous Disasters (1993)
-   To be rich always to be rich (1997)
-   Wealth Education (1997)
-   The Gambia Astrology Project (1998)
-   Political History of the Cape (1977)
-   In the middle of the mound (2001)
-   Literature Interview (1) (1999)
-   The Search for Peace (1995)
-   Mind and Gambari (2001)
-   How to Cope With Mind (2001)
-   Political History for Sultan Chandra (1979)
-   Swami Vickyka Nanda (1984)
-   The Zinskyky Political Biography (1979)
-   The Goals of the Goat (1978)
-   Taro Gambira (1999)
-   Citizens of the People's Republic of China (1982)
-   Famous Entrepreneurs (1998)
-   Dissertation (2001)
-   Third World to First World
-   Twentieth Century Western Literature (1972)
-   English Speaking Story
-   Illustrated English Dictionary
-   Slowly Come Aged (2000)
-   Creating Value for Life (2000)
-   Modern US - English -
-   Capital Business English
-   Secular education (1996)
-   Activism (1993)
-   Events (1994)
-   Consciousness and Literature (1998)
-   Best English English Grammar -
-   White Love (Black ) (1978)
-   American English
-   English explanation
-   English (Talk English)
-   English-Speaking and Healing Litigation
-   English speaking dictionary
-   English-speaking idiom
-   How to say in English (How to say + What to say)
-   How to write in English
-   Let's talk easy in English

-Different types of English sentences

-   English grammar
-   English grammar lessons
-   English Thinking English
-   Portable English Speaker
-   20th Century West Literature
-   World Literature
-   Maoist biography
-   Biography
-   Michelle Obama
-   Hillary Clinton
-   From the Third World to Geography
-   President Ahmadinejad and Iran nuclear deal (March 2010)
-   Dear Leader Kim Jong Il or North Korea (May 2010)
-   CIA World Cup (CIA Final) (March 2011)
-   Obama's War (August 2011)
-   Salvation for Israel (September 2011)
-   Israelite adventurer
-   China is ruling the world
-   Success eyes
-   Mapless Road (personal history of South Korea's President Irrawaddy) (July 2012)
-   A Day That Was Not Easy (The Venezuelan
-   Assassination of Osama bin Laden) (October 2012)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: Hein Latt

question: Where did Latt attend school?

answer: Latt attending Yangon University and graduated with a Library Diploma.

question: Summarize Latt's activity in the 1990s.

answer: In the 1990s, he published a book titled "World Writers and Their Letters."


text:
   My soul has been cold for some time now.  My parents, fiancee,and I were in a fatal two car accident 15 years ago.  I was the only survivor; six other people died.  I lost it after that.  Nothing else mattered at all.  I spent a few years trying to drink and drug myself to death.  It didn't work.  I had a cold empty chill in my body that would not leave.  I began stealing, grafting, and hustling people just for something evil to do.  I had no conscience left.  No matter what I did, there was no feeling of remorse.  While hanging out in an Irish pub on the south side of Boston one afternoon, I was approached by a fellow drinking about doing a hit.  At first, I thought he was kidding or the booze was talking.  However, he told me he had heard about my con rackets around the neighborhood and that the Irish mobsters weren't too happy about it.  I needed to do this hit to make peace.  I thought, "What the fuck."  That's how I became a hit-man.

   I'll fast forward ten years.  I had become the primary hit-man for the Irish mob in the greater Boston area.  My severe lack of any soul or conscience made me a perfectly built killing machine.  In fact, I even got off on it in a way.  It seemed to help fill the empty hole in my life.  I know that may seem contradictory, but the loss of my loved ones changed me deeply.  It made me a monster.  Before I started killing for a living, I would stay awake for days dwelling on the reason why I survived the crash.  I could not come to terms with it.  Being a hit-man allowed me to sleep.  It removed me from my depression.  I had no remorse for the people I killed and I could care less if I got caught.  My life, nor anyone else's, had any meaning to me.  I was perfect.

   Yesterday, I met "One Thumb" McShane at Paddy's Pub.  He gave me the address and the last name of a guy I was to take care of.  The guy ran a deli in a mob controlled neighborhood.  He had stopped paying protection money and was rallying other shop owners to follow suit.  This could not continue.  "One Thumb" gave me $1500 up front and told me take care of it right away.  I nodded and ordered a double Bushmills.  I waited for darkness to set in and set out for the mark's house.

  The mark lived near the neighborhood I grew up in.  I rolled up in front of the old brownstone and I saw him through the dining room window.  He was a single guy.  I didn't have to worry about family members.  I cased the spot for an hour.  The scene looked ripe.  I grabbed my gun, stuck in my shoulder holster, and walked across the street.  He opened the door for me and had a look of surprise.  I asked, "Are you Mr. Brennan?"  He swallowed hard and said, "Yeah, what do you want."  I stared coldly at him for a moment.  I finally said, "Some folks are telling me you're not paying them some owed money.  They aren't too happy.  They want something done."  He wobbled a bit and braced himself against the kitchen table.  His nervousness gave me a rush.  He knew why I was there.  I asked, "What are we going to do about this Mr. Brennan?"  He cried, "Look man, my parents opened this deli 40 years ago.  If I pay the protection money, I can't afford to stay open.  FUCK!  I don't want to lose my family deli."  A memory came over me.  I softly said, "Brennan's Deli?  You're the Charlie Brennan from Perkin's Elementary?"  You grew up in this neighborhood?"  He looked up, stared at me for a minute, and asked, "Holy shit! Roman?"  I nodded and a wave of something I hadn't felt in a long time rushed over me.  I had some feelings come back.  They were raw and piercing.  I had buried them for so long.  Charlie had been a friend.

   When were in 5th grade, Charlie and I were walking home one evening.  Charlie was walking backwards so he could face me.  A car came screeching down the road and Charlie saw it swerving at us.  He yelled for me to get out of the way.  I slipped in some gravel and fell.  The car was speeding closer.  Charlie grabbed the hood of my jacket and pulled me between two parked cars; just as the car nicked my shoe.  I would have been killed that night if it weren't for Charlie.  I hadn't thought about that for a long time.  That was the first time I realized my own mortality.  When I was in the accident with my parents and fiancee, my mortality left me.  Seeing Charlie made me get a little of that back.  Had Charlie saved my life again?  I couldn't do what I had intended; not to Charlie.  I told him some of what had happened to me.  I told what he had given me back.  We talked for awhile.  The memories filled my head and dizzied me.

   After another hour of talking, I got up to leave.  Charlie was walking in front of me to get the door.  I took out my garrote and wrapped it tightly around Charlie's neck.  I drew him close to me.  I whispered in his ear, "You should have let me die that night Charlie.  I would never have had to live with the obscene emotional pain of that car accident.  I was supposed to die that night you bastard."  The life escaped his body and his legs fell limp.  The emptiness returned to my body.

title: [TH] The Accident

question: Why did the narrator feel that he couldn't kill Charlie?

answer: Because he knew Charlie. They had been friends. Charlie had saved him from being hit by a car in the fifth grade.

question: Why did the narrator kill Charlie in the end?

answer: The narrator told Charlie that it was because Charlie had saved his life and this was why he had had to live through the accident that killed his family and fiancee. But it may have been because Charlie was a professional killer and could not fail on a hit. Charlie has no conscience and hasn't had for years.

question: Why was the narrator the perfect hitman?

answer: The narrator has no conscience. He actually relishes the hits It helped him overcome depression and the questions as to why he survived the accident.

question: Why did the Irish mobsters want Charlie dead?

answer: He was refusing to pay protection money and was rallying the other shop owners to do the same.

question: Write a ~17 sentence summary.

answer:
Fifteen years ago, the narrator’s parents and fiancée died in an accident. He was the sole survivor. Six other people died. On that night so did his soul. He had no conscience. One day he was approached by a man who told him that the Irish mobsters weren’t happy with his con jobs. He could make amends by doing a hit.

Over ten years he became the main hitman for the Irish mob in the Boston area. He got off on the job. One day, the narrator was called to kill the owner of a deli in the area where he grew up. When he approached the man, he realized that they had been friends at school. In the fifth grade, Charlie Brennan, the hit, had saved the narrator’s life.

The narrator couldn’t kill Charlie. He told Charlie a bit about his life, told him what he had given back to him. The memories flooded his brain. After an hour of talking, he got up to leave. He wrapped a garotte around Charlie’s neck and told him that he should have let him die then he would have been saved the pain of the accident.


text:
The 2007 AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES (ALDS), the opening round of the 2007 American League playoffs, began on Wednesday, October 3 and ended on Monday, October 8. The 2007 AL Division Series consisted of three AL division champions and one wild card team, participating in two best-of-five series. They were:

-   (1) Boston Red Sox (Eastern Division champions, 96–66) vs. (3) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Western Division champions, 94–68): Red Sox win series, 3–0.
-   (2) Cleveland Indians (Central Division champions, 96–66) vs. (4) New York Yankees (Wild Card qualifier, 94–68): Indians win series, 3–1.

Although the Red Sox and Indians ended the regular season with the same record, the Red Sox received home-field advantage by virtue of winning the season series against Cleveland, five games to two. The Red Sox also got to choose whether their series started on October 3 or October 4, the first time a team was given this choice. Although the team seeded first normally faces the wild card team, the Red Sox are in the same division as the wild card Yankees, so played the Angels instead.

The Red Sox and Angels met for the third time in the postseason, following the 1986 AL Championship Series and the 2004 ALDS, with Boston winning all three and extending their postseason victory streak over the Angels to nine consecutive games (the Angels hadn't beaten the Red Sox in the playoffs since Game 4 of the 1986 ALCS). The Indians and Yankees met in the postseason for the third time with the Indians winning, following their triumph in the 1997 ALDS and the Yankees' win in the 1998 ALCS.

The Red Sox and Indians met in the AL Championship Series, with the Red Sox becoming the American League champion and going on to beat the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series.

__TOC__

Matchups

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees

Boston vs. Los Angeles

Game 1

Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts

In Game 1, Boston starter Josh Beckett threw a complete game shutout, surrendering just four hits, walking none, and striking out eight batters. After giving up a leadoff single to Chone Figgins, Beckett proceeded to retire 19 straight Angels batters with just the second Angels hit coming off the bat of Vladimir Guerrero in the top of the seventh inning (Guerrero was stranded at first base after Beckett got the next two batters out).

[All Star Kevin Youkilis] Beckett was backed by a solo home run from Kevin Youkilis in the bottom of the first inning, then a two-run home run from David Ortiz in the third inning, scoring Youkilis who had doubled to left field in the previous at bat. Manny Ramirez walked following Ortiz's home run, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Mike Lowell's single for the Red Sox's final run.

Los Angeles starter John Lackey gave up nine hits and four runs over six innings, settling down after the third inning, giving up a hit and a walk before exiting after the sixth inning. Ervin Santana relieved Lackey in the seventh inning and threw two perfect innings, but the Angels dropped the opener, 4–0.

Game 2

Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts Neither starting pitcher in Game 2 made it into the sixth inning of the contest. Game 2 became a battle of the bullpens beginning with the Red Sox in the fifth inning with starter Daisuke Matsuzaka lasting just innings giving up three runs on seven hits. Meanwhile, Angels starter Kelvim Escobar gave up three runs on just four hits and five walks. The Red Sox struck first when they loaded the bases on two walks and a single before J. D. Drew's two-run single put them up 2−0. The Angels responded in the second when Casey Kotchman drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on Kendrys Morales's single. After Howie Kendrick struck out, Jeff Mathis's groundout scored Kotchman before back-to-back RBI doubles by Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera gave the Angels their first and only lead of the series. The Red Sox tied the game in the fifth on Mike Lowell's sacrifice fly that scored J. D. Drew.

Scot Shields came on in relief of Escobar and pitched two hitless, scoreless innings, walking three batters, one intentionally. Boston's four relievers—López, Delcarmen, Okajima, and Papelbon—threw hitless, scoreless innings striking out four and only walking two batters (both by Papelbon). In the bottom of the ninth, Julio Lugo hit a leadoff single off of Justin Speier, who got Dustin Pedroia to ground out before being relieved by Francisco Rodríguez. After Kevin Youkilis struck out, the Angels intentionally walked Ortiz giving him four walks on the night—tying a post-season record before the Red Sox won on a three-run walk-off home run from Manny Ramirez, taking a 2–0 series lead.

Game 3

Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, California In Game 3, Curt Schilling pitched seven shutout innings, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out four. David Ortiz and Manny Ramírez both homered off Jered Weaver in the fourth inning to put the Sox up 2–0. Boston broke the game open with seven runs in the eighth. Scot Shields walked Julio Lugo to lead it off before being relieved by Justin Speier, who allowed an RBI double to Dustin Pedroia (who advanced to third on the throw to home) and sacrifice fly to Kevin Youkilis. Speier then allowed a single to Ortiz and walked Ramirez before Mike Lowell's RBI double made it 5−0 Boston. Darren Oliver relieved Speier and allowed a run-scoring fielder's choice to J. D. Drew and RBI double to Jason Varitek before Coco Crisp capped the scoring with a two-run single. The Angels scored their only run in the ninth off of Éric Gagné when Maicer Izturis hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Chone Figgins's sacrifice fly. This was the Red Sox' ninth consecutive postseason game victory over the Angels.

Composite box

2007 ALDS (3–0): BOSTON RED SOX over Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Cleveland vs. New York

Game 1

Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio

Johnny Damon led off the game with a home run off Cleveland starter CC Sabathia, but in the bottom of the inning Chien-Ming Wang allowed a two-out walk to Travis Hafner and single to Victor Martinez before Ryan Garko's RBI single tied the game. After Jhonny Peralta walked to load the bases, Kenny Lofton's two-RBI single put the Indians up 3−1 with Peralta out at third to end the inning. Asdrúbal Cabrera's leadoff home run in the third put the Indians up 4−1, but the Yankees got that run back in the fourth on Robinson Canó's home run. Next inning, Shelly Duncan hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a walk, and scored on Bobby Abreu's RBI double to cut the Indians' lead to 4−3, but the Yankees would not score again while Cleveland blew the game open in the bottom half. Cabrera drew a leadoff walk before Martinez's home run one out later made it 6−3 Indians. After Garko grounded out, Peralta doubled to right and scored on Lofton's single to knock Wang out of the game. Ross Ohlendorf walked Franklin Gutierrez before Casey Blake's two-run double made it 9−3 Indians. Wang was tagged for eight earned runs in innings. The Indians added to their lead with Hafner's home run and Lofton's RBI double with two on off of Ohlendorf in the sixth and Garko's home run in the eighth off of Phil Hughes. Sabathia earned the win despite walking six in five innings, and departed after throwing 114 pitches. Lofton tallied three hits and four RBI for Cleveland. The win marked Cleveland's first over the Yankees since 2006, snapping an eight-game losing streak.

Game 2

Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio Game 2 featured an old-fashioned pitchers' duel between Fausto Carmona and postseason veteran Andy Pettitte. Carmona looked to be the hard-luck loser after surrendering Melky Cabrera's third-inning home run until the eighth, when Joba Chamberlain walked Grady Sizemore, who went to second on a wild pitch, then to third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring the tying run on another wild pitch. The game went into extras, where Travis Hafner drove home the winning run on an 11th-inning bases-loaded single off of Luiz Vizcaino.

Late in the game, a swarm of tiny insects circled the mound in the late innings. Play was stopped for a short time to accommodate the players, including Chamberlain, who threw only 12 of his 25 pitches for strikes in suffering a blown save without surrendering a hit.

Game 3

Yankee Stadium (I) in The Bronx, New York

The Yankees would take Game 3 for their only win of the series despite an early exit from starter Roger Clemens, who left after innings with a strained hamstring. Rookie Phil Hughes relieved him and threw scoreless innings for the win, striking out four. The Indians struck first when Asdrúbal Cabrera singled with one out in the first, moved to second on a walk and scored on Ryan Garko's single. Trot Nixon's home run next inning made it 2−0 Indians, who got another run in the third when Travis Hafner walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Jhonny Peralta's double. The Yankees got on the board in the bottom of the third when Hideki Matsui hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a groundout, then to third on a fielder's choice and scored on Johnny Damon's single. In the fifth, Cleveland starter Jake Westbrook allowed a one-out single to Matsui and subsequent double to Robinson Canó. Melky Cabrera's RBI single cut the Indians lead to one before Damon's three-run home run put the Yankees up 5−3. Next inning, the Yankees loaded the bases on two singles and a walk off of reliever Aaron Fultz when Cano's single scored one run, but right fielder Nixon's misplay allowed two unearned runs to score to make it 8−3 Yankees. The Indians scored one more run in the eighth off of Joba Chamberlain when Peralta walked with two outs, moved to second on Kenny Lofton's single, and scored on Nixon's double, but Mariano Rivera retired them in order in the ninth to give the Yankees an 8−4 win.

Game 4

Yankee Stadium (I) in The Bronx, New York

Chien-Ming Wang was called upon to start Game 4 on three days' rest for the Yankees. Grady Sizemore hit a leadoff home run off Wang, who then allowed a one-out single to Travis Hafner, who moved to second on a groundout and scored on Jhonny Peralta's single. Next inning, the Indians loaded the bases off of Wang with no outs on two singles and a hit-by-pitch. Mike Mussina came on in relief and allowed one run to score on Sizemore's double play and another on Asdrúbal Cabrera's single. Wang was charged with four runs in one inning while Mussina threw solid innings, but in the fourth, allowed Cleveland to load the bases on a double and two walks before Víctor Martínez's two-run single proved to be the difference in the Indians 6–4 win. Though four Yankee relievers held Cleveland scoreless for the rest of the game, Cleveland starter Paul Byrd labored but earned the win with five innings of two-run ball. The only runs came on Yankees Captain Derek Jeter's bases loaded single in the second and Robinson Canó's home run in the sixth. Alex Rodriguez's home run in the seventh off of Rafael Perez cut the Indians lead to 6−3, but Joe Borowski earned the save in the ninth despite allowing a home run to Bobby Abreu. The loss marked the third time in five years (2003, 2004, and 2007) the Yankees were eliminated from a postseason series at home. This was the final postseason game ever played at the old Yankee Stadium and the last game that Joe Torre would manage for the Yankees.

Composite box

2007 ALDS (3–1): CLEVELAND INDIANS over New York Yankees

Series quotes

title: 2007 American League Division Series

question: What does the text say about the Chicago White Sox?

question: What does the text say about the 2007 American League Division Series opening round playoffs?

answer: The opening round of the 2007 American League Divison Series (ALDS) playoffs began on Wednesday, October 3, and ended on Monday, October 8. The 2007 ALDS consisted of three AL division champions and one wild card team participating in two best-of-five series. The 1st seed Boston Red Sox (Eastern Division champions, 96–66) swept the 3rd seed Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Western Division champions, 94–68) to win the series, 3 - 0. Meanwhile, the 2nd seed Cleveland Indians (Central Division champions, 96–66) battled the 4th seed and Wild Card qualifier, New York Yankees (94-68). The Indians win the series, 3 - 1. Although the Red Sox and Indians finished the regular season with identical records, Boston received home-field advantage by virtue of winning the season series against Cleveland, 5 - 2. The top seed usually faces off with the wild card team, but the Red Sox and Yankees were in the same division and could not face each other.

question: What does the text say about the history between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim?

answer: The Red Sox and Angels have a history of meeting in the postseason. The two teams met in the 1986 AL Championship Series, the 2004 ALDS, and the 2007 ALDS. Boston won all three games of the 2007 playoff series and extended their postseason victory over the Angels to nine consecutive games. The Angels haven't won a game against the Red Sox in the playoffs since Game 4 of the 1986 ALCS.


text:
CLYDE EDWARD AUSTIN (born November 1, 1957) is an American former basketball player. Nicknamed “CLYDE THE GLIDE”, he emerged as a prospect while playing for Maggie L. Walker High School in Richmond, Virginia, where he is considered one of the area's greatest high school basketball players.[1] Austin played college basketball for the NC State Wolfpack and was an honorable mention All-American during his sophomore season. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 44th overall pick in the 1980 NBA draft but never played in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Austin played for the Harlem Globetrotters for eight years.[2] After his retirement from playing, he became a pastor and founded the Raleigh Cougars of the United States Basketball League (USBL) in 1997.[3] The team was disestablished mid-season in 1999 following Austin's unexplained absence from the team.[4] In 2004, Austin was sentenced to 17 years in prison for running a national pyramid scheme in which he stole $16 million from his investors between 1996 and 2000.[5][6] He swindled the money while serving as a pastor and convinced his victims, including seminar attendees, to invest their money in bonds, overseas trading, real estate and the marketing of products including herbs and weight-loss aids.[7][8]

Austin received an early release from prison and was working at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas as of 2017.[9]

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title: Clyde Austin

question: Why did Austin fail to disclose to the Raleigh Cougars of his "absence"?

answer: Unknown. He was probably ashamed of his conduct and the fact that he has been charged with fraud.