football
Talking about college and professional football daily. Chances are we hate your team.
Is Eleven Dead?
Introduction Since the day she emerged from the lab with a shaved head and a world of power in her eyes, Eleven has been the heart of Stranger Things. So when fans search “Did Eleven die in Stranger Things?” or “Is Eleven alive?,” the question isn’t just about plot—it’s about saying goodbye to a character who symbolizes resilience, love, and the cost of heroism.
By KAMRAN AHMADabout a month ago in Unbalanced
Nikola Jokic Injury . AI-Generated.
In professional sports, injuries are an unavoidable part of the game. When the player involved is Nikola Jokić, even a minor concern quickly becomes a major talking point. As the centerpiece of the Denver Nuggets, any Nikola Jokic injury naturally raises questions among fans, analysts, and opponents alike.
By Saboor Brohi about a month ago in Unbalanced
Brennan Johnson: From Early Promise to Resilience Under Pressure. AI-Generated.
Who Is Brennan Johnson? Brennan Johnson is a professional footballer who represents both Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League and the Wales national team. Known primarily as a forward, Johnson has built a reputation for pace, direct attacking play, and positional flexibility. His career trajectory reflects the modern football pathway: academy development, breakthrough at a competitive club, a major transfer, and the pressures that follow increased visibility.
By Saad about a month ago in Unbalanced
Armageddon (AFC Week 18)
After the NFC's important games get played on Saturday, the American Football Conference will need the first Sunday of 2026 to determine the last pieces of their playoff puzzle. The AFC has been quite captivating during the entire home stretch, with the possible Wild Cards racking up wins during the last few weeks. With all of that, the results have left quite a few things open in the conference heading into the final Sunday of the regular season.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
Judgment Day (NFC Week 18)
We made it, folks! The 18th and final week of the 2025 season is upon us. The final week is always interesting and gives us some thrilling moments that sees teams really scratch and claw into playoff spots and division titles. Of course, this is the 16th season of the "all divisional game" final week schedule, as the change was made because too many final week games lacked drama and enthusiasm, as well as a proper playoff storyline. With all division games in the final week, it makes even the least relevant games thrilling, because you want to really beat your division foe. Also, we've seen a number of head-to-head division title games over the years since this format was born.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
NFL Week 17 Recap: Not Resolved Yet
When I wrote the description for this recap, I was thinking, "It's amazing. Decades ago, the NFL season ended on the final weekend of the year with the championship." The NFL calendar has adapted, along with the league itself, but the final weekend of the calendar year continues to be pivotal, because that is when the penultimate week of the regular season takes place. Five games already took place in Week 17, and the final 11 games occurred on Sunday and Monday. For perspective, the focus will only be on the playoff relevant games.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
Unbalanced
M Mehran Callum Ward never noticed the imbalance at first. Balance is like gravity—when it works, you don’t think about it. When it fails, you fall. He used to be steady. The kind of man who woke up before his alarm, ironed his shirt twice, and brewed coffee like a ritual. He believed if you organized the outside world, the inside would follow. But life doesn’t always agree. Sometimes it throws its weight on one side until everything tilts. For Callum, that tilt began the day his wife disappeared. The Tilt The police asked the usual questions. When did you last see her? Did she seem upset? Did you two fight? Callum answered honestly. He didn’t remember fighting. He didn’t remember much of anything anymore. That, apparently, made them suspicious. Grief does strange things to a mind. It fogs it, warps it, forces it to replay moments like broken film. The house felt uneven without her—rooms too quiet, chairs misplaced, doors slightly open like someone had just left. It wasn’t just the sadness. It was the guilt. Because the truth that Callum never said out loud was simple: he felt her leaving long before she actually left. Conversations that didn’t reach their endings. Dinners eaten in silence. A growing distance that could have swallowed oceans. One night, two weeks after she vanished, Callum heard footsteps upstairs. Not loud. Not violent. Just… footsteps. Familiar in rhythm, like someone pacing. Like someone thinking. He picked up a flashlight and climbed the stairs. Halfway up, the light flickered. The footsteps stopped. He whispered her name. Silence answered. But on the landing, he noticed something new: her necklace, hanging on the doorknob. The same gold chain she wore every day. He hadn’t seen it since the night she disappeared. Callum’s legs nearly gave out. The Unbalance Grows People in the neighborhood started talking. They called him “unstable,” “off,” “not right since she left.” Someone reported that he was wandering the street at midnight, as if searching for something he couldn’t name. Another swore they saw him talking to the empty air on his porch. Callum didn’t deny it. He heard her voice sometimes—soft, like she was speaking from another room. He smelled her perfume in the hallway. Sometimes, he even felt the mattress shift beside him, the weight of a second body settling into the bed. Callum knew grief had gravity. It pulled. It dragged. It distorted. But this was something else. One evening, when the sun was dying into a bruised purple, someone knocked on his door. Detective Rana Hale. She looked tired in a way that went beyond sleep deprivation. “We found something,” she said. The world tilted. The Truth That Isn’t Down at the station, they showed him a photograph. Callum’s wife. But not the woman he remembered—no soft smile, no warm eyes. Her hair was cut short. Her expression was sharp, like a blade disguised as a face. She was standing beside a man Callum had never seen. The detective spoke calmly. “There are signs she may have left by choice. We believe she was involved in something… dangerous. You may not have known her as well as you thought.” Callum stared at the photo. His chest tightened, breath catching like a snagged thread. That was the moment he understood: the imbalance wasn’t an accident. It was a message. His wife hadn’t vanished from life—she’d vanished into another one. “You think she ran away?” he asked. Rana nodded. “We think she’s hiding. And Callum… we think she may come back for you.” A strange relief washed through him. Not fear. Not anger. Hope. If she left by choice, maybe she could return by choice. Maybe the world could even out again. He went home that night with a spine full of static and a heart split down the center. When the Scale Breaks At 3:14 a.m., the footsteps returned. This time, they were not gentle. Callum didn’t reach for the flashlight. He didn’t hide. He walked toward the sound. Down the hall, through the open door, into the bedroom where it all began. His wife sat on the edge of the bed. She looked real. More real than memory. More real than grief. Her eyes were tired, frightened, alive. “Callum,” she said. Her voice cracked like old paint. “I need you to listen. I didn’t leave you. I ran from them. And now—they’re coming.” The room swayed. The world tilted. Every ounce of balance he had left snapped like a pulled thread. “Who?” he asked. She trembled. “The man in the photograph. I wasn’t supposed to survive. But I did. I’ve been trying to get back ever since.” He crossed the room, sat beside her. He didn’t touch her, afraid she’d disappear like fog. “Why come back now?” Her eyes lifted to his. “Because the only place I’m safe is with you.” And just like that, the imbalance didn’t vanish. It became something new. Not steadiness, not order—shared weight. Epilogue They didn’t sleep that night. They packed bags. They planned. They prepared for a world that was no longer straight, no longer stable, no longer kind. Callum learned something in that moment: Balance isn’t the absence of chaos—it’s choosing who you stand with when the world tips. He had spent months trying to regain equilibrium, not realizing that maybe life isn’t meant to balance perfectly. Maybe it’s meant to be held, together, even when it shakes. Especially when it shakes.
By Muhammad Mehranabout a month ago in Unbalanced
NFL Week 17 Christmas Weekend Recap: Out of the Picture
The 17th and penultimate week of the 2025 NFL season kicked off with the second annual Christmas Day doubleheader on Netflix, though the first game was a meaningless battle that saw the already eliminated Dallas Cowboys finish off the already eliminated Washington Commanders, to move one win away from a .500 season. The real game, at least for me, was the NFC North battle between the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings, which saw the former needing to fight for their lives.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
A Green and Gold Christmas (NFC Week 17)
Similar to the AFC, the National Football Conference could see everything completed before the regular season ends. It's been quite chaotic in the NFC; teams who are usually not in it are suddenly deep in the picture. Scenarios are insane and wild in the NFC, it's been that way in the conference for a long time, and this year is no exception. Out of the seven spots in the NFC, five of them are locked in, leaving two remaining and three divisions up for grabs.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
Nevermore? (AFC Week 17)
We are now down to the final two weeks of the NFL regular season. It's gut check time, folks! Week 17 was the final week until an 18th week became a permanent staple in 2021, but even so, it's still highly important. It can be a last chance for teams trying to get what they want, whether it's the #1 seed, a division title, or just getting into the dance. Also, Week 17 means the end in Fantasy Football, because it's championship time. I love the penultimate week, especially since 2010, when they made the final week all division games and they were scheduled right after the penultimate week's SNF game ended. The penultimate week set the stage for the final week, and it dictates what games go where, and what matchup will serve as the 272nd and final game of the season.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
NFL Week 16 Recap: Stocking Stuffers
It's always fun when the NFL gets into holiday spirit. We already saw it in the Thursday and Saturday games from Week 16, with one team clinching, another winning their division, and a third moving closer. 12 games remained in the antepenultimate week, and the top game for me was Steelers/Lions, because it was possibly Aaron Rodgers' last visit to Ford Field in his career.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
